Boston Sports Then and Now

Brady’s hair outshines Rams

Since his appearance courtside during the NBA Finals, Tom Brady has drawn a lot of comparisons to Justin Bieber. They say it’s the hair. I’m not sure if that’s the case. I’ve never seen this Bieber kid, but from what I’ve heard, he’s the apple of the eye of every 12-year old girl whose mother thought Nick Carter was “dreamy” and couldn’t wait until marriage.

But last night at the Razor, it seems like Brady’s anti-fro got in his eyes. Or at least it must have seemed that way to the Rams’ secondary, who couldn’t get a read on anything that Brady was doing as he tore them up for over 270 yards and three touchdowns.

It seems the glare had its effect on the Pats’ defense, too, as they found themselves completely unable to stop anything, much less the laser arm of Sam Bradford, as the Rams defeated the Pats, 36-35 on a last-second Josh Brown field goal.

It all leaves one to wonder: Is Bradford the anti-Bieber? And if so, why hasn’t Jive records signed him to a deal?

Didn't he used to be so cute?

Red Sox continue to tread water in soggy Fens

This week at the YMCA, the “Tuna” group completed its first diving classes. The class is comprised mostly of once-members of the 2010 Boston Red Sox, and all 38 players passed with flying colors, although there were a few question marks during the class itself. Dustin Pedroia – once MVP and Rookie of the Year on the baseball diamond – spoke at length prior to the class about how he “invented the laser show” and didn’t “need no newfangled swimming lessons.”
Former Red Sox centerfielder and leadoff man Jacoby Ellsbury complained that hitting the water “made [his] tummy hurt,” and some other whiny nonsense.

While the incapacitated version of the 2010 Red Sox were busy learning to swim, their able colleagues spent the week treading water in a rain-soaked Fenway Park against the soon-to-be Oklahoma City Mariners. Or Tornadoes. Well, whatever. Just don’t let the Starbucks guy near them.

Rondo leaves team USA, takes his Red Bull with him

Director of U.S. Basketball operations Jerry Colangelo is currently in talks with representatives from Five-Hour Energy, Monster and the Guys Who Used to Make Surge as he attempts to procure a method for giving his FIBA world championships team some motivation to win after stud point guard and Celtics poster-boy Rajon Rondo unexpectedly left the team, citing family issues. When asked about the circumstances surrounding his departure, Rondo noted that “one, I don’t play with no high-falootin’ Lakers and two, none of those guys are even close to 33. Didn’t Colangelo know I only play with guys who are past their prime?” He went on to amend his earlier statement, saying that “Glen Davis? He ain’t past his prime yet. But dude’s messed up something wicked.”

Colangelo’s attempts to procure another energy provider have not been terribly successful thus far. If talks with the energy beverage companies stay at an impasse, Colangelo has noted that he may pursue a relationship with National Grid because, while it may not give energy to the US team, it will also “knock the power out of those Canadian bastards, eh?” If all else fails, Colangelo has BP listed as his last resort.

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January is really a terrible time for the New Year. It’s always cold, often snowy, the days are short and nobody really enjoys champagne that much.

No, July 4th is a much better time to celebrate a new year. There’s grilling, fireworks, some of the longest days of the year, beach weather, beer, summer vacations – it’s just a much happier time.

But whether you choose to celebrate your changing of the calendars in January with the rest of the world or July with those a little more inclined to sanity, you agree on one thing: a new year means two things. The first is a fresh slate, a tabula raza, if you will, in which anything can happen – as Bill Watterson once aptly put it, “It’s a Magical World.”

The second, of course, is a chance to learn from your mistakes in the years prior.

Flashback: Monday, September 14th, 2009. Foxboro, Massachusetts. The Patriots, riding a consecutive-wins streak of 11 over the lowly Buffalo Bills found themselves trailing, 24-13 with 5:32 to go. Tom Brady looked unsure of himself in the pocket, thanks in large part to Bills’ DE Aaron Schobel spending more time in the Pats’ offensive backfield than any of Brady’s teammates.

The Bills were going to beat the Patriots for the first time at Gillette Stadium. On Monday night. On national television. In Week One. Trent Edwards was going to beat Tom Brady – who, by the way, hadn’t lost a regular-season game since December. Not of last year or the year before, but December of 2006. Could it really be?

Brady and Moss will need to be on the same page at all times if the Patriots have any hope of ascending to NFL greatness again.

Naw, of course not. This was Tom Brady’s team.

This was homo-undecuple perfection. They wouldn’t lose at home in Week One. Definitely not to the Bills. Brady wouldn’t let them.

And he didn’t; in the game’s last 2:06, Tom Terrific twice found Ben Watson in the end zone for Pats’ touchdowns, giving the Patriots a hard-earned (but maybe not hard-fought) victory over a once-proud AFC East patsy.

As the season wore on, however, something became painfully evident: these weren’t your now-18 month old cousin’s Patriots.

Perfection was not their forte – petulance, perhaps, or maybe even pitiful was more like it.

And by the time Ray Rice went MAC Truck on their front seven in the first round of the playoffs the next January, something Pats fans had feared since the Week 2 loss to The Sanchize’s New York Jets had become a painful reality: they just weren’t that good.

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This is a wicked good read.

I review Steve Buckley’s Wicked Good Year.

A great read about the incredible Boston sports year of 2007.

The Red Sox and the Celtics took home championships. The Patriots were 3 minutes from a perfect season and the Bruins were the Bruins.

Sit back and enjoy my video review.

This book is wicked good and wicked pissah too!

Are You Ready to Get Your Blog On?

As a wise man once said, things happen for a reason.

I completely buy that.

Blogapalooza has had it’s share of obstacles, but what doesn’t kill Palooza only makes it stronger!

All of this holds true to the evolution of Boston Sports Blogapalooza.

What is Blogapalooza you ask?

Boston Sports Blogapalooza is an event where social media and Beantown sports collide. Bloggers, their fans, and Boston Media members will have the opportunity to meet, network, trade social media tips and of course talk sports.

Now that you know what it is, your next question is who is going?

Boston Bloggers spanning all five major sports will be attendance. The Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, Bruins, and even the Revolution will be represented on May 2^nd at the Baseball Tavern. If you would like to view the list of participating bloggers, please visit the Boston Sports Blogapalooza website.

As I mentioned earlier, Good things happen to those who wait.

Since March, NESN and Lenovo have joined Swing Juice and The Baseball Tavern as event sponsors.

Our participating company list has grown to the Elite Eight. We have two minor league baseball teams, three apparel companies, a western Mass brewery, a charity marketing agency, and an online directory joining the Palooza party. For a complete list of partners, please visit the Blogapalooza event page.

All of our sponsors and partners have contributed wicked awesome merchandise for our event raffle. Also sprinkle in some sports oriented artistic works and you have the recipe for a fantastic variety of giveaways.

Are you excited yet?

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Portnoy's Youk

One of the great things about social media (i.e. Face book and Twitter), you meet all types of people.

People with different personalities and different skills.

People you would probably never have met if it wasn’t for the social technology at your finger tips.

In my cyber travels, I came across two artists that have produced Boston sports works that really caught my eye and piqued by interest.

Neal Portnoy of Idrawpeople.com and Chris DeRoy have expressed their love for Boston Sports in different artistic styles.  However, they have married their passions for art and sports in very similar ways.

With paint and paper.

DeRoy's KG

Works such as these become conversation pieces and family heirlooms that will be passed through generations.

Fans will go on lifelong treks to have these masterpieces signed by the athletes that are depicted in them.

It would be the cherry on top of any Boston sports fan’s sundae.

So take some time with me and meet these memory makers.

I  asked each artist some questions about their backgrounds and of course talked Beantown sports.

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BSB has risen from the ashes like a pissed Phoenix!

Just like phoenix rising from the ashes, ‘Palooza is back!

You can’t stop Boston Sports Blogapalooza; you only hope you can contain it!

The Baseball Tavern has stepped up in a very big way and the event has been rescheduled for Sunday, May 2nd.

To refresh everyone’s memory, Blogapalooza is an event where social media and Beantown sports collide. Bloggers, their fans, and Boston Media members will have the opportunity to meet, network, trade social media tips and of course talk sports.

Blogapalooza is a networking event with a festival feel. Mix in some great food (provided by The Baseball Tavern), cool music (The Hootchies and Brian Richard), wicked awesome companies (Swing Juice), some frosty beverages (cash bar), raffle prizes and you have the recipe for a fantastic Sunday!!

Are you ready to GET YOUR BLOG ON!?!?

Please RSVP for this event on Facebook.

This event is 21+.

Fellow Bloggers please spread the word to your readers. Let’s make this ten times better than the original!!

Also a special shout out to Kevin at Supahfans for helping in the rebirth of Blogapalooza!!

For a lineup of participating companies and blogs please visit the Boston Sports Blogapalooza website.