By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Everything seems to be breaking just perfectly for the Bruins right now, and the timing couldn’t be better.
Due to one of the most bizarre and unexpected twists in NHL playoff history, Boston has secured home-ice advantage and a date with the seventh-seeded Philadelphia Flyers for the upcoming second round. That’s right–two of the last teams to qualify for postseason play in the entire league will now battle it out for a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, and the Bruins, bumbling and stumbling out of playoff contention little more than a month ago, are odds-on favorites to advance.
While I’d never dreamed of saying such a thing, we can thank Hal Gill and the Montreal Canadiens for this magnificent aligning of the stars. By shocking the world with a 2-1 Game 7 victory over the Capitals on Wednesday night and erasing a 3-1 series deficit, the Habs not only dispatched Alexander Ovechkin & Co. from the playoff race, but they snatched Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin right off the Bruins’ postseason platter. Had the Capitals won, they would’ve hosted Philly, leaving Boston in line for an incredibly challenging matchup with the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Now if [...]

By: Zach Comtois, YawkeyTalkies Correspondent
We’ve all been thinking about this for a month. Some of us have given up wondering, some are angry, and some remain hopeful. It’s time for us to get it out into the open. What’s going on with Ortiz? I’d like to take a moment of your time and explain what I feel is going on with the former big slugger.
We all know his history with the Red Sox not only as a power home run hitter with a high batting average, but easily the most clutch hitter in Red Sox history. I’m not going to get into the steroid aspect of this debate, because the only solid proof we’ve had is that someone sprung said fact onto Ortiz before a ballgame, and he dealt with that by smacking out a few homers.
So let’s look at the current situation: Ortiz is currently batting a .156 with 7 hits per 45 at bats. He has walked five times, was caught stealing in his only attempt, snapped his homerless streak the other night with a big fly, and has three RBI’s. This puts him on pace to not do too much (if any) damage this season.
Don’t get me [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
The Patriots 2010 draft class is certainly an interesting mix. There are no sure-thing stand-out studs, but there are quite a few solid players that certainly merit their respective selections. Still there are questions with a number of prospects as well as if the Patriots did enough to address their needs.
The Patriots again traded down in the first round, twice. Then with the 27th pick they selected Rutgers cornerback Devin McCourty. The pick surprised a lot of people who were expecting a defensive end or outside linebacker. McCourty also wasn’t projected to be a first-rounder.
However, after the McCourty pick, of the next 23 picks four cornerbacks were taken as well as three safeties. With such a run on defensive backs, it’s likely the Patriots would have been unable to obtain any of them, let alone McCourty, the man they targeted and desired.
So they selected him, without much fanfare. But he’s a good overall corner, an incredibly smart player and person, a good locker room guy, and he can also contribute immediately on special teams. Not to mention the Patriots don’t have the greatest secondary to begin with. He will fit in right away with New [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Patriots fans, meet your newest player. Well, the newest as of the Pats first pick in the 2010 NFL draft.
After trading down twice in the first round the New England Patriots actually didn’t trade out of the round, unlike last year. With the 27th pick the Pats selected cornerback Devin McCourty, a senior out of Rutgers.
Although McCourty flew under the radar a bit, New England is getting a talented player at a position they sorely need help at.
In four years as a Scarlet Knight he amassed 261 tackles, six interceptions, two and a half sacks, and two forced fumbles. In 2009 he was a first team All-Big East selection.
While not a shutdown corner like Darrelle Revis or Nmandi Asomougha, McCourty comes pretty close. He’s very good in coverage and is an equally good tackler.
Not necessarily predicted to be a first rounder initially, McCourty had a strong combine with a strong 4.38 40-yard dash time that possibly pushed him into the first day of the draft.
With good speed, he also has returned his share of kickoffs. Without Wes Welker for the beginning of the season, New England could really use someone to step up in that [...]

By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
The Bruins return home to the Garden tonight with high expectations following their Game 5 setback in Buffalo on Friday night. The Sabres cut Boston’s series lead to 3-2 with a convincing 4-1 victory, but the Bruins still have two more cracks at upsetting the Northeast Division champions and moving on to a matchup with either Pittsburgh or
Philadelphia, depending on the outcome of the Capitals-Canadiens series.
Here’s 5 things to consider as we gear up for Game 6:
1. Is Thomas Vanek set to return?
While possibilities of Marc Savard’s return by the end of the series are the hottest rumors around town these days–some are speculating that he’ll swing down from the Jumbotron James Bond-style in time for the opening faceoff, while others swear they’ve already seen Boston’s best offensive player using the alias “Ryder” a few games back–he likely won’t be available until next round, should the Bruins advance. On the other hand, Vanek’s return is much more imminent; coach Lindy Ruff even stated that his Austrian sniper can return “whenever he feels ready.” Which could mean trouble for the Bruins.
But in regards to Ruff’s comment, how the hell could a player nearing health not be ready for an NHL playoff game if given clearance to make the decision himself? [...]

By: Dan Massar, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
For three games and 3 quarters of Game 4 the Celtics switch was flipped on.  But then the 4th quarter on Sunday came and the Celtics reverted back to regular season mode and let a sweep slip away in Miami.  The Celtics were up 6 going into the 4th Quarter.  They were 12 minutes away from finishing off the Heat and getting some extra rest before a potential second round matchup with LeBron James and the Cavs.  Make no mistake, the Celtics should still win this series, most likely Tuesday night at The Garden they will wrap it up.  But there’s no doubt they let a golden opportunity slip away.
The Heat outscored the Celtics by 15 in the 4th Quarter.  The Celtics missed 5 free throws in a row at the end of the game when they had a chance to come back.  Dwyane Wade had a dominant offensive performance.  He poured in 46 points, including 30 in the second half, both are franchise records.  Finally Wade took over a game.  The Celtics had no answer for him.  Of course the question now is can the rest of the Heat show in game 5 in [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
The New England Patriots have joined the rest of the AFC East and have signed a big name wide receiver. The team came to terms with 12-year veteran Torry Holt to a one year $1.7 million deal.
Big name pickup, but does the 33-year-old still have the big game that new AFC East wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Santonio Holmes have?
Once one of the members of the St. Louis Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf”, Holt’s numbers have declined dramatically. Last season with the Jacksonville Jaguars Holt caught 51 passes for 722 yards, both career lows. It was also the first season he did not play all 16 games (he only missed one game—the final game of the season—so it isn’t that big of a red flag) as well as catching zero touchdowns.
However, those stats don’t tell the entire truth about how much gas is left in Holt’s tank.
The Jaguars are a run-heavy team. Holt’s 722 yards were second-highest on the team, behind Mike Sims-Walker’s 869. Sims-Walker was also the only player to catch more than two touchdowns (7).
On the other hand, the Patriots like to pass the ball a lot and Tom Brady—a fan of veteran [...]