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Chara hit causing Canadians and Canadiens to go off the deep end

Mar 10th, 2011 by Bill Burt

OK, let me state this. I would agree to a five-game suspension to Zdeno Chara, for his part in the devastating hit Montreal’s Max Pacioretty had with the padded pole on Tuesday night in Montreal.
The one caveat is the NHL would then give Matt Cooke a 50-game suspension for his intentional elbow to the head of Marc Savard, who may never recover.
So, it won’t ever happen.
Let me say this, Pacioretty’s injury was difficult to watch. I really hope he is OK. It was nasty.
But was Chara’s interference and push really intent on severely injuring Pacioretty?
Well, here’s a story coming out of Montreal today: Quebec’s Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DCPP) has announced that it is recommending a police investigation be launched into Tuesday night’s violent hit on Habs forward Pacioretty.
I’m not kidding.
Check out this link for the full story.
This is going to be interesting.
By the way, Montreal is here on March 24 for one last regular season game with the B’s. It’s a Thursday night.

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Merrimack hockey playoff tickets available … Don’t be shut out

Mar 5th, 2011 by Bill Burt

Folks, in case you haven’t been paying attention, you had better buy your Merrimack College hockey tickets or there’s a chance you won’t be able to see it in person.
Merrimack clinched home ice in the Hockey East Tournament, which starts next week against either Maine or Northeastern (will be determined tonight), after beating up Providence, 6-1.
The action begins on Friday at Lawler Arena and tickets are on sale online and through the box office (978-837-5324) between 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday [Saturday (3/5) only: 12 p.m. – 7 p.m.].
Reserved seating is now available for games one and two at $20 (adults) and $15 (youth/senior) per game. Tickets for game three will become available if necessary immediately following game two online and at the box office.
For more information, you can always visit Merrimack Athletics’ Playoff Central 2011 or call the Merrimack Box Office at (978)-837-5324.

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Belichick takes a hit from … Chris Bosh?!

Mar 5th, 2011 by Bill Burt

OK, maybe it wasn’t supposed to be a compliment, but Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh threw the name of Patriots coach Bill Belichick into the mix after the delilitating loss to the Spurs last night, 125-95, just one night after the Heat blew a 24-point lead in losing to the Orlando Magic in Miami.
Bosh was asked about the fact that Spurs guard Tony Parker was “listed” as doubtful for the game with the Heat. Not only did Parker play, but he played great with 15 points and eight assists.
Bosh said, “That’s probably like that [New England Patriots coach] Bill Belichick thing that they do. Tom Brady will go on the IR or something and he’ll be back Sunday. They’re smart guys. It’s more than just the course of the game. It’s a mental game, too. He probably knew he was playing all the time.”

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UMass-Lowell’s Robbie Walton shot make it on ESPN Boston’s Play of the Day

Mar 1st, 2011 by Bill Burt

It was a big night last night for UMass-Lowell men’s basketball, which not only upset No. 3 seeded Stonehill College in Easton, Mass., but the Div. 2 school got a little national exposure doing it.
Junior guard Robbie Walton, of South Boston, was recognized as ESPN Boston SportsCenter’s Play of the Day today. His beyond-half court buzzer-beating shot at halftime in the Northeast-10 Quarterfinal put the River Hawks up 42-30 over Stonehill at the break.
Walton and the No. 6 seeded River Hawks went on to defeat the No. 3 Skyhawks, 79-69, to advance to the NE-10 Semifinal, which they will host on Thursday against No. 7 Adelphi at 7 p.m. in Costello Gymnasium.
Walton’s shot is used to close the segment at the 2:45 mark in the following video: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6169870

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Some Jeff Green nuggets

Feb 28th, 2011 by Bill Burt

From what I’ve been told, newest Celtic Jeff Green is going to be a keeper here.
Checking from some old stories, I grabbed this quote from his hometown paper when he was drafted by the Celtics and immediately sent to Seattle.
‘‘I’m not really worried, I know I can fit anywhere,” said Green. ‘‘I can adapt easily to this environment. The biggest thing is me leaving the Washington area and my family.”
He, Kevin Durant and Delonte West are all from the same county in Maryland near Washington, D.C.
Celts GM Danny Ainge worked Green out after the 2006-07 season at Georgetown Unversity, where Green had just completed his junior year. He later opted out of school for the draft.
Ainge’s comments were: “(Jeff) is very versatile.”
The point? The Celtics had their eyes set on Green for a while now.
Also, I will blog some notes and nuggets on the Rasheed Wallace information now floating on the Internet, that the ex-Celtic might be a new Celtic real soon.

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Two views of Celtics’ trade

Feb 28th, 2011 by Bill Burt

Admit it, the Boston Celtics appear to be in a funk after their trading of Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma Thunder. Newly acquired Jeff Green looks like a fish out of water and center Nenad Krstic.
In essence, it does feel like a great deal right now, does it, particularly after listening the rest of the free world condemning the loss of a “big man down low.”
But let’s look at both sides and see if we can come up with a realistic view:
Being I like bad news first, let’s check out the “bad” side.
WHY IT WAS A BAD TRADE
The Celtics were very good right now and close to being very, very good when a healthy Shaquille O’Neal returns and, lest we forget, Delonte West getting in a groove as a backup to both Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen. Why mess with a good thing? Isn’t the goal to win championships and not obsess about the future?
The one thing the Celtics had over the previous few seasons is manpower in the paint. Rebounding has been the Achilles heel, probably keeping the Celtics from dominating the Lakers last June. They had rebounding with a healthy Perkins. And their offense, which easily leads the NBA in shooting percentage (49.1 percent) is, even with a less-than-mediocre Perkins, is in form.
Basically, why now?
WHY IT WAS A GOOD TRADE
Have we fallen in love with Perkins because he is a good defender who understands his role, and he’s a great guy who hates to lose? Yes.
There are two problems where I sit:
1. His offensive abilities have not improved as much as his defensive abilites have. In fact, he is a 50-50 proposition when he has the ball, alone under the basket, with a defender within five feet. I’ve never seen anything like his struggles to score sometimes.
2. He wants Rondo money — $11 million per season — and the Celtics can’t approach anywhere near that with The Big Three still intact. Celtics owners have put the clamps on their budget, with an impending lockout next season a certainty. I can’t say I blame them, either. Anyway, in other words, he was gone after this season and why not get something of substance for him — Jeff Green is a good backup to Paul Pierce and Krstic is a nice offensive backup to Shaq.
And remember the Celtics weren’t all bad without Perkins (33-10), which makes them a 62-20 team.
One other mini-thing: The Celtics got the Clippers first round pick in the Perkins-Robinson deal in 2012. It can’t be in the Top 10, but that will probably be a commodity going forward.
SYNOPSIS
It’s a tough call, but I’m am in the affirmative on this deal. When Green plays a little more unabashedly and Shaq returns to full form — if that’s possible — the Celtics will be as good as they’ve ever been. I like the fact that Ainge also has an eye on the future with Green, Krstic and the draft pick. It means they might not have to rebuild, but simply reload. I like Perkins’ game. But I didn’t love it.

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Were Pats right in dealing Seymour away?

Feb 16th, 2011 by Bill Burt

We trusted Bill Belichick on this one when he decided to trade Richard Seymour to Oakland two seasons ago.
Seymour was getting old and he wanted to be paid like a superstar. The rumblings we got from Foxboro was that Seymour was good, but not great any more.
Well, yesterday he signed for two years at $38 million with a reported $22 million guaranteed. He is now the highest paid defensive player in the league at $19 million per season.
I have one reaction to that: Wow!
Realizing the Patriots will receive a first round pick, 17th overall, in the draft in April, is that enough for Seymour, who made the Pro Bowl this past season?
Would Seymour have made a difference on the depleted defensive line?
This is a worthy discussion.
Anyway, here is a strange quote from Seymour from December, via ESPN.com and AP.
“It’s a great place to play,” Seymour said last December. “The fans are unlike any others in the league. They’re definitely committed, and they want the same type players to play in this organization. The history of being here, the mystique of putting that silver and black on and representing the Raiders, it’s been a lifelong dream for me and, hopefully, it continues.”

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NCAA Div. 1 graduation rates … read them and weep

Feb 10th, 2011 by Bill Burt

If you’ve got 30 minutes to kill, check out this thorough look at graduation rates at all of the major Div. 1 schools for football, basketball and baseball, and then a look at totals for all student-athletes.
They break it down, first, by conferences.
Anyway, Boston College is among the best in the nation, which is nice to hear.
Check out this link, which is a Website run by Scout.com, which I believe is owned by FOX Sports.

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Sox offer chance for tickets to Opening Day, Yankees and Cubs games

Feb 9th, 2011 by Bill Burt

It has already begun. See below.
Good luck:

Registration for the opportunity to purchase tickets in the 2011 Random Drawings presented by MasterCard begins today, Wednesday, February 9, at noon online at redsox.com. Fans may register for the chance to purchase tickets for select Red Sox home games including all nine home contests versus the New York Yankees (including Opening Day), three games versus the Chicago Cubs, as well as the chance to purchase tickets to the highly sought after Green Monster and Budweiser Right Field Roof Deck locations

Fans may register online at redsox.com through noon on the day of each drawing. Three separate random drawings will take place. There is no fee to register, and fans can register for all three random drawings at once. To be as fair as possible in the distribution process, the Red Sox will limit purchases to four tickets per customer per drawing.

For fans not comfortable using on-line methods, the Red Sox will also place tickets on sale via telephone at (877) RED-SOX9 for each of the three categories according to the schedule listed below.

The complete registration, notification and sale schedule for all three drawings are as follows:
REGISTRATION PERIOD BEGINS: Noon EST, Wednesday, February 9, 2011
OPENING DAY, YANKEES AND CUBS GAMES TICKET DRAWING:
Registration Period Ends: Noon EST, Monday, February 14, 2011
Winners Notified via E-Mail with Instructions How to Participate: Wednesday, February 16, 2011
On-Line Purchase for Drawing Winners: 12 p.m. – 9 p.m. EST Saturday, February 19, 2011

GREEN MONSTER TICKET DRAWING
Registration Period Ends: Noon EST, Monday, February 21, 2011
Winners Notified via E-Mail with Instructions How to Participate: Wednesday, February 23, 2011
On-Line Purchase for Drawing Winners: 12 p.m. – 9 p.m. EST Saturday, February 26, 2011

BUDWEISER RIGHT FIELD ROOF DECK TICKET DRAWING
Registration Period Ends: Noon EST, Monday, February 28, 2011
Winners Notified via E-Mail with Instructions How to Participate: Wednesday, March 2, 2011
On-Line Purchase for Drawing Winners: 12 p.m. – 9 p.m. EST Saturday, March 5, 2011

SCHEDULE FOR PHONE SALES
For fans who do not have internet access, or those not selected in the random online drawings, tickets will be sold by telephone at (877) RED-SOX9 for each of the three categories according to the following schedule:

YANKEE and CUBS GAMES including Opening Day (While Supplies Last):
Beginning at 2:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, February 19
GREEN MONSTER TICKETS (While Supplies Last):
Beginning at 2:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, February 26
BUDWEISER RIGHT FIELD ROOF DECK TICKETS (While Supplies Last):
Beginning at 2:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, March 5

Fans with disabilities may also call (877) RED-SOX9 and hearing impaired fans may call the TTY line at (617) 226-6644 to purchase accessible seating (while supplies last). The phone sales for accessible seats will begin at 10:00 a.m. EST on each of the days listed above: Saturday, February 19 (Yankee/Cubs Games); Saturday, February 26 (Green Monster Tickets); and Saturday, March 5 (Budweiser Right Field Roof Deck Tickets).

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Carmelo Anthony to Lakers? Believe it

Feb 8th, 2011 by Bill Burt

Word on the basketball street is that Los Angeles Lakers are close to making a deal with the Denver Nuggets. The Lakers would get eventual free agent Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets would get oft-injured, but young center Andrew Bynum.
Personally, I like the deal and I see it happening.
I think it helps the Lakers in short-term and puts them back in the spot as the favorite to win the NBA championship. In fact, I’d probably pick them to beat the Celtics. Right now I have the C’s beating the Lakers in 6.
And the Nuggets get something for him, albeit a risky proposition because of the incessant knee injuries Bynum has suffered at the age of 23.
The Big Three concept has become the rule and ‘Melo gives the Lakers Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Anthony. We can’t put Lamar Odom in that category, I believe. Though he might be the Celtics answer to the Big Four — KG, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo.
The Lakers want to win championships. They have a chance to win three straight. It’s worth doing, as Bynum isn’t anywhere close to a sure thing but is worth the gamble for Denver.
I like the trade and I believe it will happen.
As for my thoughts on Anthony? If he understands, like Pierce did, that while he can play a major role in winning championships he is not the key guy on a championship team. He is the No. 2 guy, at best. If he accepts that fate, he could be part of something special.
My guess is, though, he won’t accept that plight for more than a few months.

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