Boston Sports Then and Now

Yesterday, the Twitterverse — and, for that matter, Red Sox-based media at large — was abuzz with talk of Jason Bay as the Sox trekked to Port St. Lucie for an exhibition with the left fielder’s new club, the New York Mets.  Bay’s departure from Boston, amidst concerns about his knees and shoulder, was perhaps the team’s biggest off-season story and is certainly the root of wide-spread concerns regarding the Sox’ offense in 2010.

Jason Bay left Boston for the Mets this offseason.

In Theo Epstein’s time as General Manager, several players have left the team as free agents, igniting debate amongst media and fans alike.  Here, I will look at some of the more controversial decisions to let a player walk in the Epstein era and categorize said decisions based on their effect upon the organization since having been made.  Perhaps of note, the six players examined were important parts of the 2004 World Champion Red Sox.

Theo is not sentimental.

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Unlike these goons, the Hanson Brothers dropped the gloves.

Call them what you will.

Villains.

Cheap shot artists.

Goons.

Instigators.

Turtles.

Cowards.

The Boston Bruins have had their fair share of run ins with gutless and spineless opponents over the past 30 years.  These players don’t fight with their fists like real men, but creep around the corner and run players from behind.

They probably started rumors as children to start fights in school or got their siblings in trouble for taking cookies from the cookie jar. They pulled your hair and if you retaliated, your parents would punish you instead.

To put it mildly, they are rats. They won’t go toe to toe with the enforcers of the league; instead they go after the stars of the league with their stick blades, butt ends, shoulders, and elbows.

Here are my picks for the Spineless Opponents Of The Black and Gold.

5. Scott Walker

During the 2009 Eastern Conference Semi Finals, the Carolina Hurricanes forward sucker punched Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward.

Scott Walker sucker punched a defenseless Aaron Ward.

Ward crumpled to the ground like a pile of freshly fallen leaves.

The Bruins defensemen hadn’t dropped his gloves and didn’t even engage Walker. He was not inviting fisticuffs. Most men would have asked his opponent to “dance” to a song of haymakers and uppercuts, but not the coward known as Scott Walker. Fair fight is not even in Walker’s limited vocabulary. The cavemen from the Geico commercials wouldn’t want to be spoken in the same breath as the Neanderthal known as Scott Walker.

And to add insult to injury, Scott “bleepin” Walker would score the series clinching goal in Game 7 in overtime. He marked his place for eternity on the Most Wanted List of the Black and Gold.

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Tim Wakefield

When someone says the name Tim Wakefield, one of the most automatic thoughts is the knuckleball. The 43-year-old pitcher has been on the mound for the Red Sox since 1995 and could be there for a while longer.

After graduating from Florida Tech, Wakefield was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 8th round of the free agent draft in 1988. A scout told Wakefield that he would never make it past double A with his position skills.

At this point, Wakefield focused on improving his knuckleball that has made him so well known today. He had immediate success and it did not take long to make the majors.

In his Major League debut, Wakefield pitched a complete game against the Cardinals. He struck out ten batters and threw 146 pitches in doing so.

As the season continued, Wakefield started 13 games, going 8-1 with a 2.15 ERA. His success as a rookie earned him the National League Rookie of the Year Award.

The next season, Wakefield began to struggle and was eventually released by the pirates. Six days later, the Red Sox picked him up. He began Read the rest of this entry →

Celtics had a decent effort but fell to the hungry Bucks.

So the Celtics lost last night against a surging Bucks team who were favored by 1-½ points.I found that kind of disturbing but then I thought it made sense with the Bucks winning 15 out 19 games before last night.

But what a game it was, like Mike Gorman said it felt like a playoff game.

And if I am correct, neither team led the game by more than 8 points.

But sadly, this was a MUST win game for the C’s that just fell short.

Pierce 3-13

KG 7-13

Allen 0-3

Rondo 6-10

Robinson 2-5

The Bucks outscored the Celts 22-16.

Although they lost by two, and had plenty of opportunities with Buck turnovers and missed shots I can’t be maI thought they played well.

This Bucks team looks ready and extremely hungry for the playoffs. Can you blame them?

Nate Dogg Robinson had two great 3 pointers and that was it? Ugh!

I understand that Nate is faster then Eddie House and can move around better but I am still uncertain about the trade.

I hope he can find his groove during practice.

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Campbell and Bettman's refusal to take a tough stance on headshots and intent to injure is going to cost a player his career.

Bruins All-star center Marc Savard fell to the ice Sunday afternoon after a devastating blow to the head at the hands of Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke. Savard left the ice on a stretcher and was later diagnosed with a Grade 2 concussion and his return this season is in doubt.

But don’t blame Matt Cooke. Not entirely at least. It was Cooke who struck Savard, yes. Savard never saw Cooke coming and had no opportunity to defend himself. If not for Cooke’s errant elbow Savard would likely be playing tonight in Toronto.

But Cooke doesn’t deserve all the blame. Instead look to the NHL offices, specifically head disciplinarian Colin Campbell.

Campbell’s “spinning wheel of justice” has been so erratic and senseless that it offers no deterrents to hits like these. At times it seems as though Campbell flips a coin in his office to determine whether or not someone is punished. Campbell is so maddeningly inconsistent that it is almost impossible to tell what types of hits and plays will be penalized.

Headshots are a regular occurrence around the league, especially this season, largely because there is little to no punishment for driving your shoulder or elbow purposely into an opponent’s head. And if you’re a first line star player the wheel of justice never affects you.

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Reynolds was one of five Broncos selected in the 2010 WPS draft

The following is part of a weekly series in which writer Todd Civin presents the lighter side of the Boston Breakers of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS).

The league is built based on the down-to-earth nature and approachability of its athletes. “Getting Silly with the Breakers” is a fun-filled way to create a comfortable bond between the fans and the professional athletes who are the Boston Breakers.

A special thanks to Erica Hunt, the communications director for the team, as well as the players themselves for making this approach possible.

Only two days removed from her first official full team workout as a professional soccer player, I suspect that there are still a lot of things going through the mind of Boston Breakers’ rookie defender, Katherine Reynolds.

A new team, a new city, new teammates. and her first training camp is an awful lot of adjusting for any of the 65 newbies attempting to make the squads of the eight Women’s Professional Soccer teams. Read the rest of this entry →