By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
With just three games remaining and a likely playoff berth in the cards, it isn’t too early to assess a rollercoaster regular season for the Black and Gold. Here’s a look at some of the studs and duds of the 2009-10 season:
The Jack Bauer Award: Given to the player who best exemplifies mental toughness in the midst of crisis, standing out from the rest to deliver results in the clutch.
Recipient: Tuukka Rask
Runner-Up: Patrice Bergeron
Without a doubt the Bruins’ savior of the season, Tuukka has been cool as a cucumber while overtaking Tim Thomas as the #1 goaltender. Although the depths to which Thomas has sunk this season have been significantly overblown–he hasn’t been spectacular, but he certainly hasn’t deserved the magnitude of criticism he has received–Rask has clearly become the superior goaltender, leading the league in both goals against average (1.99) and save percentage (.930) despite having appeared in just 43 games. Often keeping the goal-starved Bruins in games with his calm aura and steady positioning, Rask has been positively Bauer-like in ensuring that this season isn’t bombed to pieces.
The Maurice Clarett Trophy: Because awarding something named the “Maurice Richard Trophy” to the highest-scoring Bruins player this season would be an insult to The Rocket’s legacy, it seemed appropriate to [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Last season the two top teams in the AFC East were the division champion New England Patriots and the New York Jets.
In the playoffs the Patriots burned out fast, getting blown apart at home by the Baltimore Ravens. Meanwhile the wild card Jets surprised everyone by making it to the AFC Championship game before bowing out to the Indianapolis Colts.
The two teams seem to continue to be going about their business differently in the offseason.
The Jets, feeling they are on the brink of the Super Bowl have made a splash and added a few talented players to the mix in an effort to push them over the edge.
Meanwhile the Patriots, as per usual, have not gone out and paid big bucks for any free agents and have sat mostly quiet just bringing back their own players that were out of contract.
Two distinctly different styles, but which is the right way to go about business?
The Jets, who also made a big in-season trade acquiring wide receiver Braylon Edwards, brought in two very sexy names in the NFL: cornerback Antonio Cromartie and running back LaDanian Tomlinson.
Cromartie came to the Jets by trade for a conditional third round [...]

By: Jordan Liebhaber, with contributions from Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writers
Spring Training is under way, so you know what that means…  It’s time to get your Fantasy Baseball Leagues set up!  The 2010 Boston Red Sox have a number of players who you should consider for your team, and maybe some who you shouldn’t.
Note: Last year I (Jess) stacked my team with many Red Sox players (Pedroia, Dice-K, Papi, Becket,  and Ellsbury to name a few. My team placed second–so building your team around your fan base is okay.
Bats:
Kevin Youkilis is proving to be a reliable power hitter in the post-steroid era, and with the Sox going for defense this year, one of the best bats, if not the best, on the Sox roster. Last season he hit for a .305 average, drove in 94 runs, and hit 27 home runs. Youk is a valuable commodity since he can play first or third base for your team, so look for him to be scooped up by the 3rd round. Rank: 38
Dustin Pedroia disappointed fantasy owners last year, not living up to his 2008 MVP season.  He ended the season with a  .296 average, 72 RBI’s, 115 runs, and 20 [...]

By: Gabe Souza, YawkeyTalkies Correspondent
It started off so promising.
A clutch opening day win over Cleveland had analysts abuzz on whether they had misjudged the Celtics’ power in the East.
A few easy wins here mixed with very few loses there had C’s fans flaunting their bragging rights up and down Mass. Ave. They could even throw it back in the face of Lakers’ fanatics – World Champion Laker fanatics. And it was all merited.
The green demolished the likes of Philadelphia, Utah, Chicago, Golden State and even Oklahoma City. With only four losses up to Christmas Day, things looked good in the Garden.
But as the yuletide spirit began to grow, so did the anxiety that the Celtics would get coal in their stocking like the had the year before against the Los Angeles Lakers, a loss that ended up derailing their postseason hopes.
Turns out the knots in fans’ stomachs were for not.
By the time Santa finished his rounds on December 25, five Celtic players had scored in double figures – including a near triple-double from Rajon Rondo – and the C’s defeated Superman’s Magic, 86-77.
A solid win. Things looked good. Championship run: still intact.
Then they lost to the perennial cellar-dweller, the Clippers. [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
This past season the Patriots did not perform to fans’ expectations. Fans are yearning for the earlier years in the decade when New England won three Super Bowls in four years.
By remembering those magical teams, some prominent names long gone are thought of once more. One of those players is open to a reunion.
Seahawks receiver Deion Branch told the Boston Herald Thursday that he would be open to a trade that brought him back to New England, where he won two Super Bowls and was named Super Bowl XXXIX MVP.
Seahawks general manager John Schneider has reportedly said while he won’t release Branch, he would be open to trading him.
Branch has responded that he enjoyed his time in New England and liked the coaching staff and players. It’s good to know there’s no ill will with Branch.
That being said, as things are now the Patriots should not be tempted to go after him.
The Patriots could use some help at wide receiver, especially after the injury to Wes Welker, but there are more glaring needs for pass rushers and help in the secondary. Those need to be addressed first.
What really makes Branch not worth going after is [...]

By: Dave Cheng, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
It’s been over a month since the mini craze over Asian basketball player, Jeremy Lin.  After being featured in Time and Slam magazines and on ESPN, the 6′3 senior point guard from Harvard has receded to the back of most people’s minds, if he hasn’t disappeared completely.  However, for others like me, his name will remain prominent in my consciousness, well beyond his playing days.
Though not a Harvard supporter myself,  I’ve become a huge Jeremy Lin fan.  In case you’ve been living under a rock, Lin, from Palo Alto, California, is the star point guard and leading scorer on the Harvard basketball team.  No, that was not a misprint and yes, I said Harvard and star in the same sentence.  He’s the player that has led the Crimson to wins over Boston College two years in a row, scoring 25 against the Eagles this season.  Lin followed that performance, with an even better one against an even tougher opponent; he put up 30 points against the University of Connecticut.  It was just another day at the office for him, so to speak.  As of February 3, he was averaging over 17 points per game, and [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
The Patriots defense was often criticized.
The media was harsh on them and their own coach lacked faith in them sometimes, the glaring example coming when head coach Bill Belichick chose to go for it on fourth-and-two with just over two minutes to go while ahead by six points.
Many thought the personnel on the field would see some changes, but now the team also has to find a new defensive coordinator.
Dean Pees stepped down from the job in the middle of January after holding the position for four seasons, and has since joined the Ravens coaching staff (bringing major insult to injury to the Patriots organization as Baltimore whooped New England in the playoffs) as the linebackers coach.
The Patriots still have not filled that void.
On the field the Patriots were not very talented in the secondary.
The linebackers were old, slow, and banged up, and they frequently dropped back to help in pass protection to make up for the sub-par defensive backs. Thus the quarterback had plenty of time to throw the ball and the running backs had plenty of open lanes.
The defensive line was the most productive of the group, although they missed end Richard Seymour [...]