Todd's Post Christmas Year In Review

Here it is, the biggest letdown day in the history of the world. The first workday after Christmas. The day where we still feel like shit from all the damn food we ate and beer we drank with our families celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ our lord and savior. Thank you Jesus. There are many things that I am thankful for and here are the Top Three.

Uno: Much love for my family. Always a grand time when we spend the holidays together. I've said it once and will keep saying it....spending time with my relatives is the biggest battle of wits you will ever see. Everyone is always trying to one up eachother with a smart ass comment. Laughs are abundant. Shannon, if you are interested in upping your pictionary game, my family is the major leagues of that game.

Due: Almost earned the number one slot but nothing can beat that. The Boston Bruins make me happy. It is hard to critique this team. After their dreadful 3-7 start, this team has torn apart the competition amassing a 22-2-1 record since. +56 in goal differential (20 goals ahead of the second best team in Detroit), 9,count 'em 9 players with 20 or more points. If that doesn't show that the Bruins are a deep team then I don't know what does. Top notch goal tending (Sieve needs new shorts) in Timmy and Tuukka. Fast forward to June.

Inside scoop for everything Bruins here.

Tre: Although they make me want to puke most days, I am thankful for the New York Football Giants this season. Beating The Patsies and the Jets were glorious moments. Hopefully this team will not step on their own dicks Sunday and actually make the playoffs. Big Blue is coming off one of their best games defensively in recent memory and that can be attributed to JPP.

YOU DOWN WITH JPP??????

Now, as many of you like to say, I can be a bit of a downer sometimes...I must not disappoint. Here is my biggest gripe of 2011.

Fuck The NBA and Forget ESPN. My goodness do I despise these two entities. The NBA may just be the most embarrassing sports outfit in the land. Never have I seen a sport get disrupted by bad officiating as much as this league. There is no flow to this game because of all these tick-tack calls. As an AVID hockey fan, watching basketball is worse than watching paint dry. TOO MANY WHISTLES. Strap on some elbow and knee pads, put on a helmet and drive to the bucket and take a bump like a real man. Shame on ESPN for glorifying this sport. ESPN is losing my viewership (not that they give a shit) because of their lack of diversity on their television programs. Football and Basketball gets old very quickly when it gets airtime at nauseam. Thank the lord for the new NBC Sports Network. They will have the most balanced sports coverage on TV. All things sports, not just the sports they have TV contracts with.

UPDATE: My sources tell me that ESPN has failed to recognize NHL players that died tragically this offseason during a tribute to sports figures who passed in 2011. This is sickening. Shame on ESPN.


Todd's Favorite Moment of 2011....Like you even had to guess.

Sunday Funday Indeed

 RMC Hero Todd Brunson and forward Cameron Scola pregame 

What a Sunday for Todd. The two most aggravating teams in the sports universe were on display last night and both teams, somehow, came out with big wins. Here is a breakdown of what may or may not have actually happened.

Rockport Mortgage Hockey: 36 minutes was not enough time to contain the now 4-3 RMC hacks. Clinging to a 4-2 lead late in the third, Todd Brunson was gracious enough to let Derek Discotti tip in the Penguins 3rd tally of the game. Moments later the puck somehow found its way in on a bad bounce and we were headed into sudden death overtime. I sure as hell was not trying to die last night so I found strength deep down in my heart to tip a rebound forward where Cameron Joseph Scola, who was lollygagging in the high slot, took off with blazing speed (blazing is a relative term). Unbeknownst to himself, later clarifying that he "blacked out" on the rush, he put the puck behind the goaltender and got me an overtime assist. Winner, Winner, Chicken dinner.

*****Just for the record, I was giving positive encouragement all game.....shocker*****

New York Giants Football: You cannot spell Elite without Eli. Jason Pierre Paul is a bad man. The Giants defense sucks so bad that we should enlist the help of the New England Patriots secondary...yeah its that bad. Down by 12 with 5 minutes to go? I will take Eli Manning versus any team in the league. Kid just straight knows how to get shit done. Eli may go down as having the best single season 4th quarter balls of any QB in the history of the game. Tying his brother Peyton and John Unitas for the most 4th quarter touchdowns in one season, with three games to play. Note to Tebow maniacs....Eli-te has registered more fourth quarter comebacks than ya boy Tim Tebow. Giants play their last 3 games at home (road contest vs. Jets at Metlife) and could quite possibly win the division.....but this is Giants Football, anything can happen for better or for worse. Go Big Blue.

Now pardon me as I wait until noon for the ESPN NHL Power Rankings....Possy Out.

Jets Players Dont Miss Atlanta Whatsoever

Jets Stifle Bruins 2-1 

I mean, maybe Dustin Byfuglien and Evander Kane miss the nice warm Atlanta weather. But for a team that had a minuscule following in the ATL sure as hell love the RABID MTS Centre in frigid Winnipeg, Manitoba. Boy can those fans get loud. Coming off a solid win in Pittsburgh, the Bruins had to play back to back nights on the road and they ran into a well rested Jets squad and a goaltender that could not be beat (minus a lucky deflection). 2-1 Jets. Thornton with the deflection goal. First game in 16 that the Bruins failed to secure a point. Good game to watch.

Sticking points from the biggest win in Jets franchise history....

Although it is a tough thing to admit, I am almost glad the Bruins lost in a tough game. Losses can build character in a long season and it was inevitable that the streak was going to end. 14-1-1 in their past 16 is just as impressive. Forget all about the streak and focus on an upstart Florida group that is getting some well deserved attention.

Tyler Seguin set his alarm clock to EST and missed a team breakfast. Sorry kid, can't show up to work late and expect to play. Boy did he look pissed in that press box. Hopefully this is a not so subtle reminder that he is indeed expected to act older than his age and he learns from it. Maybe he even seeks retribution for his gaffe and goes on a tear. Heres to hoping.

Winnipeg played a great game. Tuukka let in a couple softies but nonetheless the Jets were a stout defensive team this evening and they were blocking shots like madmen. Sticks in passing lanes disrupting the flow of the Bruins offense. Taste of our own medicine I'm afraid.

We had a ridiculous amount of chances. My goodness was it tough to bury the biscuit tonight. Hot goaltenders can steal games. Where have we learned this lesson before? Hmmmmmmmmm...... Great game by Ondrej (spelled Andre) Pavelec making key save after key save to keep the Bruins offense at bay.

Penalty Kill is looking outstanding these past two days. Opposing teams are making futile attempts to score on the man advantage as the Bruins continue to move up the PK rankings. As Jack Edwards would say "too many layers." Speaking of which, does this guy write down one liners before games wait till the right moment to use them? Settle down my man.

Later on Croutons.

Hockey Pornography?

Boston Bruins 16-7-1....First in Northeast

 

29 teams in the NHL did not fare as well as the Boston Bruins did in the 2010/2011 season. Now they are getting a reminder of said futility. MOvember treated the Bruins extremely well as the garnered 25 of a possible 26 points. Muff duster staches a plenty, the Bruins steamrolled their competition (with the exception of Detroit) vaulting them from worst to first in the Northeast Division standings. Needless to say, the Boston Bruins get myself and other B's fans excited.

Talking points from this past month of Bruins Hockey....

Chris Kelly has officially swooped in and stole my heart. Too bad you cant get his jersey. The guy is playing lights out hockey on the third line with Rich Peverley and Benoit Puliot. Leads the team with 2 shorthanded goals while on pace for 34 goals this year. He plays down and dirty defense, and is eating humble pie all day every day. What a steal this guy was.

The kid is becoming a man. Tyler Seguin is making women feel a tingle in their naughty places (probably some men too) as he as already eclipsed his point total from his entire rookie season. Kid is a stud (not a bad looking fellow either). Not only does he lead the team in points, goals and plus minus....he gets to play on a line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand as the Bruins "second line" is fast becoming one of the more dominant and prolific scoring lines in the league. I wonder how he sleeps at night knowing that in 2 years hes going to be getting paid stupid amounts of money. 10 years for $100 million sounds like a nice number.

I guess when your +34 in goal differential your top 5 leaders in plus minus would naturally lead the league in that category. As a defenseman who didn't really score many goals, Plus Minus was my go to stat to justify why I belonged on the ice (even though Sieve probably deserved some serious credit for my gaudy plus minus numbers). Anyways, Seguin, Bergeron, Chara, Kelly and Marchand complete the sweep of the leaders all being +15 or better after 24 games. Daddy like.

Where would the Bruins be without their solid goaltender combo of Timmy and Tuukka. Holy Moly are they good. I could waste time by throwing out all these stats justifying why they are the best but their play speaks for itself.

Do they need to lose? Yup, they are long overdue and it would help them immensely in terms of keeping them grounded. We want to play our best in June, not necessarily in November. But if they keep wanting to win games I guess I will just have to suck it up and enjoy it. 

Now pardon me as I sit at my computer hitting refresh on the ESPN NHL Power Rankings page waiting impatiently for what I already know will be a #1 slot. Dont try to tell me I am pathetic because I already know I am. Go Bruins!