Sports of Boston » Pete Rampino

Seguin’s OT Goal Sends Series Back to Boston for Game 7

Pete Rampino — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 23:05:40 +0000

The Bruins had the city of Boston on the edge of their seats all through Game 6 in Washington. The B’s repeatedly gave up their one-goal lead through three periods, but were ultimately victorious in overtime 4-3 thanks top the heroics of Tyler Seguin.

Boston started off strong and broke young goaltender Braden Holtby less than six minutes into the game as Rich Peverley scored his third goal of the series. As has been the case for the series, the celebration was short-lived as the Capitals answered back less than five minutes later on a goal by Mike Green. Dangerously close to going into the first intermission tied, David Krejci netted his first goal of the series as Boston was able to take advantage of a power play (1-5 on the day). It was 2-1 B’s after the 1st period.

The majority of the 2nd period was an offensive stalemate characterized with sloppy turnovers. With less than a minute remaining, Washington’s Jason Chimera was able to put one past Thomas to tie the game at 2-2. Washington outshot the Bruins 15-5 in the period.

Andrew Ference made his presence known early in the 3rd period as he took advantage of a rebound and put the Bruins ahead 3-2. Tyler Seguin made the goal possible by stripping Alexander Semin of the puck.

Patrice Bergeron was noticeably absent on faceoffs due to an injury and this led to the next opportunity for the Caps. A faceoff in the Boston zone was taken by Rich Peverley, but won by Nicklas Backstrom, who dumped it back to Alex Ovechkin, who promptly slapped it into the net to tie it at 3-3 with 4:42 remaining.

A lot of the game was highlighted by some sloppy defense and giveaways. This theme carried over into OT and Boston was not to be on the losing end again. After winning the faceoff in the Washington zone, Nicklas Backstrom promptly gave the puck away to David Krejci. Krejci slid the puck to Milan Lucic and then to Seguin who made a beautiful move on Holtby to score the game winner and send the series back to Boston for Game 7. Seguin had a goal and an assist in this game; it was hist first points of the entire series.

Game 7 will be in Boston on Wednesday night.

Game Notes

Tim Thomas: 36 saves
Number of hits embellished by Brad Marchand: 1 (which led to Chimera’s goal)
Every game in the series has been decided by one goal (3 OT games)

Sox Remain Unbeaten at Home with 6-4 Win Over Rays

Pete Rampino — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:43:19 +0000

On a gorgeous Sunday afternoon at Fenway, the Red Sox continued to roll over their division enemies by winning their third straight with a 6-4victory over Tampa Bay. With some help from the bullpen, Felix Doubront picked up his first win of the season after going 5.0 innings.

Doubront Lasts Long Enough

Just like his previous start, Doubront went 5.0 innings. This time around, he allowed 4 ER on 9 H with 7 K’s. Home plate umpire, Brian Gorman, was very tough on his calls today as Doubront repeatedly peppered the outside of the strikezone with fastballs to little avail. Nevertheless, Doubront was effective enough and gave the Sox offense a chance to win the game.

Cody Ross Blasts Another, Mike Aviles Flashes Power

RF Cody Ross homered for the 2nd straight game (his only hit) and drove in three. Mike Aviles looked good in the leadoff spot and added his first homer of the season in the 7th which gave Boston some insurance and a 6-4 lead. David Ortiz led all hitters with a 3-4 day.

Bullpen

After Doubront’s exit, the bullpen shut the door for 4.0 stellar innings. Scott Atchison, Vicente Padilla, Franklin Morales and Alfredo Aceves didn’t allow a run over their four innings and gave up just four hits and recorded four strikeouts. Aceves worked a perfect 9th inning for his 2nd save of the season.

What’s On Tap

Tomorrow is Marathon Monday in Boston and that brings the Patriot’s Day morning game to Fenway. Daniel Bard will get the start against James Shields at 11:05 am.

The New God Squad? Tim Tebow Could Get Traded to Patriots

Pete Rampino — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 20:07:56 +0000

With all the talk this NFL offseason being about who will win the Peyton Manning sweepstakes, three teams are reportedly the front runners for #18′s services. San Francisco, Tennessee and Denver are the three names that pop up most frequently. Manning worked out with the Titans on Saturday afternoon, which only fueled talks of the future Hall of Famer signing with the Music City. However, one scenario, if it comes true, could bring the NFL’s most religious figure to New England.

No, you did not misread that. Rumor has it that if Peyton Manning were to sign with the Denver Broncos, then they would have no need for QB Tim Tebow. It is no secret that Executive VP of Football Operations, John Elway, does not like Tim Tebow as the team’s franchise QB. Go ahead and dispute that statement all you want based on Elway himself saying he has no problem with Tebow, but give me a break. If Elway and Denver landed Manning, it would take about 14 seconds for Tebow to be out the door.

So what would become of Tim Tebow? Rumors are circulating that Tebow could end up a Patriot if the Broncos somehow signed Peyton Manning. Ridiculous you say? Well, kind of. Then again, the situation wouldn’t be the worst idea on the planet.

It is obvious that while Tebow still finds ways to win games, he is by no means a fundamentally sound NFL QB. When opposing defenses find ways to shut down Tebow’s running game, relying on his passing skills would result in poor consequences as evident by his 45.6 completion percentage last season.

That being said, if traded to New England, Tebow would be the #2 QB behind one of the best to ever play the game in Tom Brady. Remember, the man is only 24-years-old and would benefit greatly from sitting, watching and most importantly, learning. I mean, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers sat for three seasons behind Brett Favre before going full time. No, I’m not saying Tebow is the next Rodgers, but you get my point.

Another benefit for Tebow besides being mentored by Tom Brady? How about being reunited with Josh McDaniels? When McDaniels was the head coach in Denver, he was the man who had enough faith in Tebow to take him 25th overall in the 2010 NFL draft. Giving Tebow an offensive coordinator who has the highest faith in his abilities would produce great results. Speaking of coaching, Tebow being brought into the Belichick system could yield interesting outcomes.

Bill Belichick knows how to maximize talent and Tebow could become a respectable passer under him. While I personally don’t believe Tebow would play a different position in New England other than QB, you really can’t predict what Belichick will do next. If you want to develop Tebow as a QB, then let him sit and learn as a QB and don’t bounce him around at other positions. Tebow is a great athlete and strong runner. If New England did put him anywhere else, it would be some aspect of the running game, most likely at FB to bulldoze over any defenseive linemen.

Yes this is still a rumor in its infant stages, but to say the least, it is a very interesting rumor to talk about. Let’s be honest, the sports world and a lot of NFL analysts still despise the Patriots for Spygate. I’m not saying New England needs to re-shape its image, but could anyone really hate the Patriots if Tim Tebow was on our team? No chance in hell!

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. All of this is contingent on Peyton Manning signing with Denver. If that fateful day does come, then fans in Gillette could be Tebowing in 2012.

Bruins and Shawn Thornton Agree to Two-Year Extension

Pete Rampino — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 17:08:25 +0000

After celebrating their 3-2 shootout victory over Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon, the Bruins decided to keep Shawn Thornton around for a little longer. Boston signed the 34-year old forward to a 2-year extension worth $1.1 million per year thus keeping him from becoming an urestricted free agent at the end of this season.

Thornton has played for the Bruins since 2007-’08 and has won two Stanley Cups in his career including last season’s with Boston. He has registered 4 goals and 8 assists in 70 games this season and is 5th in the NHL with 145 PIM.

Patriots Sign WR Brandon Lloyd

Pete Rampino — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 16:33:56 +0000

Free agent WR Brandon Lloyd has been connected to joining the Patriots since the end of the regular season. Now all the talk has been confirmed as New England inked the veteran receiver to a three-year deal worth $12 million.

Lloyd has bounced around the NFL for the better part of last decade playing for San Francisco, Washington, Chicago, Denver and most recently St. Louis. He had his breakout season during the 2010-11 season with career highs in receptions (77), yds (1,448) and TD (11). It was there that he and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels found each other. Lloyd was traded by Denver to St. Louis last season after only four games and struggled to find consistency with QB Sam Bradford and the anemic Rams offense.

McDaniels hadn’t landed back in New England for more than 12 seconds before the Brandon Lloyd talk began and now with the pair re-united, many believe the receiver can have another productive year and become that outside threat the passing game has been missing for several seasons.

The Pats didn’t stop there, they also signed former Colts WR Anthony Gonzalez. Gonzalez has been plagued by the injury bug for several seasons with injuries to both legs and knees and has played in only 11 games since 2008.

Dropkick Murphys’ Comment About Papelbon Taken Out of Context

Pete Rampino — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 02:21:16 +0000

With the departure of closer Jonathan Papelbon to the Philadelphia Phillies after last season, we here in Boston assumed Pap’ would take everything with him.

Ken Casey, the frontman of Boston’s own Dropkick Murphys, reportedly told ESPN Music that he does not want the former Sox closer to use their song, “Shipping up to Boston” for his bullpen music anymore.

“He can’t use ‘Shipping Up To Boston,’” Casey said. “That’s a Boston song. One of the Philadelphia radio guys suggested ‘Johnny I Hardly Knew Ya.’”

Well apparently, this quote was taken the wrong way.

The Murphys issued a statement via Facebook minutes ago about the situation:

What’s this we hear about us telling Papelbon he can’t use Shipping Up To Boston as his entry song? We would never do that! It was a joke, people!

There you have it. Straight from the band. It was all in good fun. The matter is now closed.

Other Suggestions for Awesome Bullpen Music

“For Whom the Bell Tolls” – Metallica
“Walk” – Pantera
“War” – Vince DiCola
“L’estasi dell’oro” – Ennio Morricone
“Run to the Hills” – Iron Maiden
“Imperial March” – John Williams

Bruins and Boychuk Agree on Three-Year Extension

Pete Rampino — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:13:31 +0000

Boston has locked up defenseman Johnny Boychuk for the next three years to the tune of $10.08 million. TSN reported the news earlier today. Boychuk would have been an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, but the Bruins got a deal done and were able to secure the services of the 28-year-old.

Through 52 games this season, Boychuk has three goals and seven assists while averaging 20:30 of ice time.

New York Giants Declared Super Bowl XLVI Champions One Day Early

Pete Rampino — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:58:57 +0000

The New York Giants official website has committed this generation’s version of “Dewey Defeats Truman” by prematurely declaring the Giants as Super Bowl XLVI champions. The official site not only posted a celebratory ad, but they also put in a link to let fans purchase official Super Bowl champion merchandise. The website staff quickly realized their mistake and immediately took the ad down.

Suddenly Tom Brady expecting a bigger crowd at the next pep rally and Gisele’s email prayers don’t look so bad now.

Philadelphia Phillies to Sign Jonathan Papelbon

Pete Rampino — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 19:53:34 +0000

The Red Sox have officially said goodbye to their All-Star closer this offseason. The Philadelphia Phillies have reportedly reached a deal with Jonathan Papelbon for 4 years/$50 million, pending a physical.

Papelbon put together another stellar season in 2011 with a 2.94 ERA in 64.1 IP with 31 saves and a 12.20 K/9. The Phillies reached the deal with Papelbon after talks with their closer from last season, Ryan Madson, fell through. As a result of this deal, Boston will receive Philadelphia’s first round draft pick in 2012.

With this news, Boston will need to either sign another anchor for their bullpen next season, or prepare to hand the job over to Daniel Bard in 2012.

John Lackey to Have Tommy John Surgery

Pete Rampino — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 22:03:14 +0000

At today’s Red Sox press conference, new GM Ben Cherington made his first big announcement in his new position as he announced that SP John Lackey will undergo Tommy John surgery and will most likely miss the entire 2012 season.

Lackey put together one of the worst seasons in baseball history with a 12-12 record and 6.41 ERA over 160 IP. He has also been one of the focal points this offseason in one of Boston’s biggest clubhouse scandals involving fellow pitchers Josh Beckett and Jon Lester, who drank beer, ate fried chicken and played videogames on their off days.

It is noteworthy that Lackey spent time on the disabled list in May with an elbow strain, so maybe Sox fans can cut him a little slack. However, fans wanted Lackey gone this offseason, but this is now how they envisioned it. Sorry folks, he is here to stay for at least one more year, even though he won’t be pitching.