Goodbye, Eli.

It was announced today that Eli Manning has been benched in favor of Geno Smith and Davis Webb to finish the remainder of what has been a dreadful season.

I dont like it, however, the Giants pulling the plug on Eli is the right move. There are several other "right moves" to be made in the off season. Sitting at 2-9 and with a 37 year old quarterback, the Giants are starting the inevitable process of replacing Eli. First step... see what you have for inventory. It has to be done, even if it leaves us with a sour taste in our mouths.

Eli is and most likely will be greatest quarterback in New York Giants history. His career numbers will bear that out, if you need to look it up. Eli is a sure fire Hall of Famer and a two time Super Bowl MVP. He has a very reasonable chance at being the only QB to beat Tom Brady in a Super Bowl. Quite honestly the man has nothing left to prove.

Eli took a ton of shit from everyone. Most notably all the sore losers (and even sorer winners) up here in New England. Eli and the Giants boned New England twice, and instead of giving him the respect he deserved, most New England fans attacked him. That makes his accomplishments all the more special.

I sit here writing this with fond memories of everything Eli has accomplished. He was fighting back the tears because he knows this is probably the end of his storied career with the Giants. Wont be long before #10 will be retired to Big Blue's Ring of Honor.

I want to offer a Thank You and a heartfelt Congratulations on an excellent New York Football Giants career. One that will never be forgotten. You the man, Eli.

The Celtics Saved the Legitimacy of the NBA

Hey All,

I emailed a letter to Michael Felger of the "Felger & Mazz" radio program on 98.5 The Sports Hub because I feel that the Celtics' Game Three victory was the biggest victory in the NBA for the entire season. But not for the reason you may think. Here you go:

Felger,

The Celtics win on Sunday night probably wont change the fact that there will be a Golden State - Cleveland rematch in "The Finals." It was a huge win, a great win, a win that will be remembered. But for me, this win wont be remembered as a great win for the Celtics. It will be a great win for the NBA, and it's respectability in terms of competitiveness and parity. 

Don't get me wrong, the NBA lacks parity and is the only league where teams that have a losing record can qualify for the playoffs with regularity.

After last night's win against the Spurs, the Warriors SWEPT the Western Conference playoffs. Winning 12 games in a row in the playoffs is embarrassing for the NBA. For context, the Nashville Predators just clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup Finals. As an 8 seed, the Predators won their first five playoff games... the most in the NHL. The monumental difference in Parity between these two leagues is laughable. But back to the Celtics win....

If the Celtics hadn't won game three and subsequently got swept in game four, The NBA would have boasted two teams that were UNDEFEATED entering the finals. How is that good for the NBA? How is that good for sport? If you ask me, the Celtics saved the legitimacy of the NBA playoffs.

-Brian

Bruins 2016 - 2017 Post Mortem

Yesterday, The Boston Bruins lost in Game Six of their First Round Series against the Ottawa Senators to lose the best of seven series 4-2.

I have not been on record with this Bruins team much, if at all, this season. So, I have finally decided to weigh in.

First off, the 2016 - 2017 Bruins season was my first season as a season ticket holder. Being a season ticket holder has been a dream of mine since I can remember and this season I was able to become a STH.  I want to thank Papa Brunson for helping put up the initial financial investment required to purchase the tickets. This season I only went to 8 or 9 games, which was more than enough. Considering the up and down nature of this season for the Bruins, some games were frustrating to watch, while others left us wanting more... so a handful of games was able to satiate my Bruins appetite. I would also like to thank all the Bruins fans I know personally that purchased tickets from me to keep Section 313 Row 12 Seats 18 and 19 filled for the entire season. I will be moving on from 312 to Section 304 Row 9 in hopes of a better viewing experience. Tough Life, I get it.

Now onto the season....

Two late regular season collapses had management on a short leash and thin ice simultaneously. Beyond that, Head Coach Claude Julien was neck deep in rising floodwaters needing a miracle to see the season  through as Ownership demanded that the Bruins make the playoffs. While in the end, the Bruins got the Jacobs' three games of playoff revenue, Julien would be behind a different bench. A lackluster five months of hockey ultimately cost him his job. Julien is a top five coach in the NHL. He will have a job in this league for as long as he wants. There is always a shelf life for a coaches message and spending 10 years behind the home bench at TD Garden is nothing short of remarkable. So remarkable in fact, The first place Montreal Canadiens fired their coach to hire Claude making the next few years of Bruins - Habs extra special indeed. Thanks Claude, I love you. I will never forget when you asked me where the bar was at our Tampa Hotel, and I meekly said "I dont know, I brought my own beer." I should have offered you a beer....

To begin my thoughts on the actual team, lets start with the goaltending.

Tuukka Rask is an elite goaltender. You have him on a great contract. He is not a problem. In the beginning of the season the backup situation was a nightmare. Subban, McIntyre and Khudobin simply could not win games. As the season wore on however, Khudobin was able to sort out his issues between the pipes and caught fire down the stretch. Winning his last five games, Khudobin was a key reason the Bruins made the playoffs. As of right now, goaltending is not an issue. Just to reiterate, Rask is elite.... so shut up about him.

.....

The blue line, where the Bruins were thought to be at their weakest, had a few players step up to have BIG seasons.....

- Zdeno Chara is 40 and deteriorating. He has one season left. He was good not great. But he is 40. He is our Captain and Leader. Give him the respect he deserves after he turned this franchise around.

- Torey Krug, who seems to always be on peoples shit list, had a second consecutive stellar season. He doesnt score goals with regularity, but he can have my Cape Ann Youth Hockey Playmaker Patch. Guy dished 40 plus assists in two straight seasons. Contract is iffy but with Chara's back-diving final year cap hit it becomes more manageable. FYI, you missed him dearly in the playoffs.

- Adam McQuaid is as advertised. Nothing special. Bad contract, and a bit injury prone. Expansion draft Nominee.

- Kevan Miller... Huge improvement this year. Solid defender. Again, as advertised. Most likely defenseman taken by Vegas.

- Brandon Carlo was a revelation. I had never heard of him prior to training camp. SOLID SOLID SOLID. Hit a wall mid season and muddled through for a time, but finished strong. You missed him in the playoffs as well.

- Charlie MCavoy - You saw him. I saw him. Seeing is believing. Gonna make more mistakes next season but that's OK.

- Colin Miller also had a marked improvement. Fast, Great shot. Will only get better from here.

In the SEE YA Category.... Morrow and Liles.

.....

Onto the Forwards....

Marchand and Bergeron.... Elite.

David Pastrnak was awesome this regular season. Great shot, had that youthful energy we all needed. Going to pay dividends moving forward. Seemed lost in the playoffs at times but that was also to be expected. Two gripes with Pasta... First, He tries to do way too much sometimes. Keep it simple, use your speed. Second, DON'T PLAY WITH THE PUCK AT THE OFFENSIVE BLUE LINE. Holy god that is frustrating. I cant count how many times he would bring the puck from the half-wall to the blue line and create a clusterfuck. Clean that up. Also, What is his contract going to look like?

In the Meh Category.... Nash (As Advertised), Backes (Overpaid), Moore (As Advertised), Vatrano (High Ceiling), Schaller (As Advertised), Krejci (Underperforming).

Looking forward to: Acciari banging bodies and crashing the net. Seeing more of Kuraly after that Game Five performance. JFK? We will see.

We hardly knew ye: Drew Stafford was a nice acquisition. As much as I would welcome it, The Bruins probably wont resign him. But he was a nice fit here.

In the SEE YA category: Hayes, Beleskey, Spooner. Just nothing doing with these three guys.

.....

I cant complain about the series vs. Ottawa. The better team won. Would have been nice to have seen a win at home but the team showed some balls in games one, three and five that was refreshing. The young kids got some good experience and have a better idea of what it takes to win in the playoffs. Can pretty much guarantee they will be back next year.

Give Bruce Cassidy the full time head coaching gig. He has earned it.

Give Don Sweeney a few more years to see his retool, rebuild through. He asked for patience and I am willing to give it. Team should get better and will be fun to watch.

See you next season.