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Jonny Gomes scores the game-tying run before driving in the game-winning run in extra innings to give the Red Sox a 3-2 win. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

He’s hitting .183 on the season. His slugging percentage (.310) would be good if it were his batting average. The supposed lefty-masher has just six hits (albeit two home runs) in 37 at-bats against left-handed pitching – in other words, half his strikeout total in those plate appearances (12).

Nonetheless, despite going hitless last night, Jonny Gomes still sacrificed (terrible pun intended) personal statistics for the sake of the team on Friday night, driving in the go-ahead run with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 3-2 victory in 10 innings over the Minnesota Twins. He also scored the game-tying run earlier in the contest to set up his extra inning heroics.

Continue reading Heeeere’s Jonny! Gomes Lifts Red Sox to Extra Inning Win over Twins »

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1. Bruins:

* Are you kidding me NBC with that announcer – guy couldn’t work in a library

* Crowd was dead

* What did Lucic score on the Wonderlic – don’t let him touch the puck in his own end

* Did Pierre really call Seguin a sniper?

* Bruins set a record on icings

* Is Tim Thomas bumming or building a bunker?

* Rask has a nice job handling the puck

* Seguin poked checked – can not beat anyone one on one

* Is that Jagr or Milt Schmidt? Continue reading Connelly’s Top Ten: Bruins Keep Rolling »

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Three Red Sox come home on Will Middlebrooks' dramatic double in the ninth inning. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

The Boston Red Sox were down to their last strike against the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night, trailing 3-1 with Will Middlebrooks at the plate in the top of the ninth with the bases loaded against Rodney. The third baseman delivered for Boston, drilling a bases-clearing double into the left-center gap, giving the Red Sox the eventual 4-3 win.

Felix Doubront started for Boston, pitching 5.0 innings while allowing two runs on three hits. Continue reading Middlebrooks Delivers in 9th as Sox Rally in Dramatic Fashion »

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Detroit did well to knock off Anaheim, but their arch rivals Chicago await. (http://angelinos.narod.ru/)

The second round of the NHL Playoffs is underway, and it should be fun. Chicago and Detroit face off for the last times in the same division. Boston and the Rangers face each other in the playoffs for the first time in 40 years. The Penguins face a Senators team that just won’t go away. Los Angeles finally hosts four games in a playoff series, but against a well-rested Sharks squad coming off a sweep as the road team.

All of it makes the series pretty difficult to choose, as just one of the series had a unanimous winner as predicted by our panel. No sweeps were predicted in this round, but predictions for how many games each series will last were also quite diverse.

As before, picking the winner of a series is worth two points, while picking how may games each series will last is worth one point.

That all opens the door for some big movement in the standings after the second round, so check below for the second round picks, and come back once the round is complete for all the results.

Name Brian John Nick Taylor
Penguins vs
Senators
Winner Penguins Penguins Penguins Senators
Series
Length
5 5 6 7
Bruins vs
Rangers
Winner Bruins Rangers Bruins Bruins
Series
Length
7 5 6 7
Blackhawks vs
Red Wings
Winner Blackhawks Blackhawks Blackhawks Blackhawks
Series
Length
6 7 5 6
Kings vs
Sharks
Winner Kings Sharks Kings Kings
Series
Length
5 7 7 5
Total Points 19 8 13 11

Previous Results:

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Stephen Drew launches a grand slam in the third inning to give the Red Sox an  8-0 lead. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

The Boston Red Sox had been struggling mightily over the last few games with runners in scoring position, but on Wednesday night the team broke the trend in a big way against the Tampa Bay Rays, as they snapped a three-game losing streak with a 9-2 win.

In the third inning, Boston broke through against David Price, as Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz delivered RBI hits to stake the Sox to an early 2-0 lead. Price was quickly removed, as he suffered from triceps tightness and couldn’t continue for Tampa Bay. Continue reading Drew’s Grand Slam Leads Red Sox to Blowout Win Over Rays »

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Despite a three-run shot in the first inning from David Ortiz, the Red Sox couldn't generate enough offense on Wednesday night against Matt Moore. (Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

The Boston Red Sox continued their slide in the American League East on Tuesday night at Tropicana Field as they fell to the Tampa Bay Rays by a final score of 5-3. After an early lead on a mammoth home run by David Ortiz, the team surrendered five runs to the Rays in the fourth inning, and Tampa Bay’s bullpen held on after six effective innings from Matt Moore earned him his seventh win.

Moore has excelled this season despite consistently walking batters, and his wildness was on display in the first inning. After Jacoby Ellsbury was struck by an erratic pitch, Dustin Pedroia doubled down the left field line as the ball bounced off the third base bag. With runners on second and third, Ortiz launched a three-run home run to give Boston an early 3-0 lead. Continue reading Moore Too Much for Red Sox as Offense Keep Scuffling »

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Boston nearly gave away a 3-1 series lead, but erased a three-goal deficit to pick up a huge win. (iStockPhoto)

What a first round. The only team to sweep an opponent was a #6 seed. The Bruins undertook a comeback for the ages. Pittsburgh was given a run for their money by the Islanders. All of that produced a variety of levels of success for our panel.

The Penguins, Blackhawks and Bruins were all solid choices, and the Sharks weren’t far behind. The rest of the field, difficult to pick, produced mixed results. The length of each series was also hard to choose, further widening the scoring gap between our experts.

So be sure to check the results below to see who’s in the lead, and come back Thursday for the next round’s picks. Continue reading 2013 NHL Playoffs Expert Picks: First Round Results »

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