So... Blake Wheeler?

Over the past few weeks, all of the talk with the Boston Bruins has been about Blake Wheeler and this arbitration deal. Should the Bruins sign him? Can they even afford it? In an article last week, I explained the situation the B's are in. Wheeler's arbitration value was made official today. The offer? 1 year, $2.2 million.

The Bruins can now take it or leave it. If they choose to ignore the arbitration offer, Wheeler can walk as an unrestricted free agent. If they choose to accept the offer, that is $2.2 million that they don't have. When Marco Sturm comes back in December and his $3.5 million cap hit is reassumed, the Bruins will need to dish out salaries to remain cap-competent. So what should they do? What will they do?

They'll sign Wheeler. I'm almost sure of it. $2.2 million is a pretty decent figure, considering he made $2.8 million last season and was actually our third highest goal scorer. It seems to be becoming a more and more likely option to throw Michael Ryder into a mix of negotiations to fix this cap problem. Yes, it would be absurd to have a $4 million player in Providence, but it would also clear him out of the way. Some are worried that Ryder would be claimed off waivers first by another team. So be it! All the power to whatever team wants Michael Ryder! I'd pay $4 million for a cheeseburger before I'd pay $4 million for Michael Ryder.

Of course, they could always hold off on everything. Sign Wheeler and Seguin. Sturm is out. Keep the team as-is. If Ryder fails to produce in the first few months, waive him. Then he'll either be gone or in Providence. If he does produce, that probably means things are going well. They would have to find another way to dump salary. At least the Bruins have some options. But when you consider that there are possibilities by which you could choose between Ryder and Wheeler, at $4 million and $2.2 million respectively -- it's tough to let Wheeler walk as a UFA.

Black Bear Steals Teddy Bear

AOL  -  Separated at birth?


On Tuesday, a black bear entered a house in Laconia, N.H., munched on some pears and grapes left on a kitchen counter, and drank some water (plus a few fish) from a fishbowl before picking up a stuffed teddy bear.


As WMUR News reported, the bear, who had come in through a sliding glass door that had been left open, was apparently scared off when the family returned home.


Homeowner Mary Beth Parkinson discovered the discarded teddy bear on the lawn, along with a box of Goldfish crackers.


"I thought maybe ... [the teddy bear] looked like a little baby cub to her, and she picked it up and then dropped it when she had to jump over the wall to get away," Parkinson told WMUR.


Surge Desk reported Wednesday on a bear attack in Montana's Gallatin National Forest, near Yellowstone National Park, that left one person dead and two injured.




Let me start by saying that bears are awesome. But I do have a few problems with this story. I won't even bother with the part about the family who leaves home as a unit with pears and grapes on the counter along with boxes of Goldfish lying all over the place and their sliding glass door completely slid open. That's not even the main part of the story with me. I really wish they could have elaborated on the encounter a bit. This article doesn't even tell about the family coming home and seeing the bear. How do we know it wasn't just a hungry burglar? And maybe the glass door was open because the burglar opened it? All I'm saying is that they never gave me a real reason to believe the bear was ever there at all. No eye-witness accounts. No photographs. Are we just assuming it was a bear because the burglar attempted to steal a teddy bear? And that this will make a fantastic story if we say a bear stole it? That's what I'm smelling here. Nice try, AOL.


PS -- The last sentence is boggling the hell out of me. Why is that part of the story necessary? It's like if I wrote a blog telling about how Johnny Cupcakes threw a perfect game at Fenway last night and then ending it by mentioning that Johnny French Fry shot two people on the street after his game in Atlanta. They're completely unrelated except for the fact that they're both baseball players. These two stories are totally unrelated except that they have to do with bears. What does a bear burgling a home in New Hampshire have to do with a bear attack near Yellowstone National Park in Montana? I just don't understand the motives of some people.

Eddie House Heating Up

The once beloved sparkplug of the Boston Celtics bench unit, veteran guard Eddie House has found himself a new home. And much to the dismay of some Bostonians, he'll be putting on the black and red jersey of the Miami Heat. House signed a 1-year, $2.8 million deal with the Heat today, becoming yet another solid complimentary piece to their Gargantuan-Three on South Beach.

Obviously I don't hold anything against Eddie for signing with Miami. The Celtics shipped him away to a non-contender. He wants another ring. So he's going for his best shot. The painful part is just that now a player I once loved is on a team I cannot help but hate. Which, in turn, will mean that I no longer am an Eddie House fan. You were a perfect role player, though. And I expect you will be with Miami. House just has that winning attitude about him. Hopefully the losing LeBron mojo will override the winning mojo of other players.

I guess it would be silly of me to say with absolute certainty that LeBron will never win a ring and that the Heat still will never win the title. They're damn good. But what I can say with absolute certainty is that LeBron's rant at the Miami Heat rally was outrageous. For those of you who missed it, he essentially guaranteed 8 championships in Miami. Easy, bro. Never gonna happen. Don't put 600 lbs on the bar if you can only press 200 of it.

Calling All Fantasy Football Experts!

I mentioned a few days ago that we were calling all Fantasy Football experts. Well, now is your time. If you think you're a fantasy expert and would like to become one of our fantasy panelists for the upcoming season, you better get that application in. Send us a sample of your Fantasy Football analysis for the upcoming season. Email it to TheUltimateBoston@gmail.com and we will get back to you. If you become an analyst, you'll have your stuff featured every week, along with the other analysts -- including myself. Right now I'm the only one listed. I'm taking somewhere between 4 and 7 more. That will depend on whose analysis I think is the most qualified. Deadline for submissions is August 15. So yes, that does mean to send your stuff in pronto. You don't want to miss out on the chance to become an Ultimate Boston Fantasy Football Expert... do you??

Get Your Popcorn Ready: NFL in Review

Scutaro's Slam Gets Sox Past Halos

The blog has been a little slow lately, I'll be the first to admit it. Truth be told, the amount of posting will probably never get back to the level it was once at. But I'll write some stuff explaining the way things will work later. Now it's time to talk about how Scuts saved the day for the Sox.

Josh Beckett was solid for the second consecutive outing since returning from the DL, firing 7 innings and surrendering 3 runs on just 5 hits. He fanned 5 hitters. Still, though, Boston found themselves in a 3-3 tie heading for the 8th inning. That's when their shortstop came to the rescue. With the bases loaded, Scutaro jacked a grand slam out of the yard and sent the Angels packing, being swept at home for the first time in their last 72 home series. Scutaro would reach base in 5 of his 6 at bats in the game, punching out officially with a 3-4 day with 4 RBIs.

Don't look now, but the Red Sox are creeping back into the picture in the division. The Yankees have some struggling personnel right now, and the Sox find themselves just 6.5 games back in the AL East. String a few more together and you'll have something to watch out for in this division. 6 of Boston's final 10 games this season are against the Yankees. It would be phenomenal to see a tight, heated race at the end of the year for a playoff spot and/or the division title.

T.O. to Cincy

Well, I just got back from Boston College orientation. Went well. Officially have become a Superfan now. And the best news of all is that nothing too crazy went down in the sports world over the span I was out. But then I get back today, exhausted, not planning to really blog unless something strikes my eye. Well here it is. This one stood out. Terrell Owens to the Bengals? So to get this straight, TO and Ochocinco are in the same receiving core? This should be fantastic publicity and entertainment. And even on a serious note, if both guys can become humble winners instead of selfish superstars, this will be a pretty deadly duo. Both of these guys are freak athletes and have the potential to be some of the best receivers in the game. They have a QB that was at one time regarded as one of the best in the game. Watch out for Cincinnati. But they probably still won't go anywhere.

The NHL Off Season; What you need to know and more

Here at Ultimate Boston we like our followers to be up to date on what is happening in the world of sports. We're here this Sunday to bring you the latest and greatest in what is happening in the NHL Offseason. We'll bring you up to speed on signings, trades, and more so that you know what to expect come next season.

While Drob and company keep you up to date with what is happening on the home front, I will be bringing you news and deals that have been happening elsewhere in the NHL.

Let's start off with the most talked about topic in the NHL right now, Ilya Kovalchuck. Kovy has become the LeBron of the NHL. Two teams led the forefront when it came to signing Kovalchuck this offseason, the LA Kings and the NJ Devils. Kovalchuck was acquired by the Devils last season after he denied the Atlanta Thrashers offers of $100 million over 10 years. On July 19, 2010 Kovalchuck and the NJ Devils came to terms on a 17 year, $102 million dollar deal that was inevitably rejected by the NHL because it "circumvents the league salary cap". He was set to earn about $98 million in the first 11 years of the deal and the rest to be paid over the next 6 years, thus reducing the hit the Devils would face from the cap. Kovy's fate is still uncertain as he remains a free agent.

Another big name was on the move this offseason, Simon Gagne. Gagne was traded from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Tampa Bay Lightning this offseason in exchange for defenseman Matt Walker and a 4th round pick in the 2011 draft. Gagne was a key member for the Flyers during the post-season, especially scoring the game winning goal, eliminating the Bruins from the playoffs.

Other Notable Off Season Moves:

Evgeni Nabokov G From: San Jose To: KHL
2009-10 Stats: 44-16-10 2.43 GAA .922 SV%

Jaroslav Halak G From: Montreal To: St. Louis
2009-10 Stats: 26-13-5 2.40 GAA .924 SV%

David Perron LW Re-Signed: St. Louis
2009-10 Stats: 20 G 27 A 47 PTS

Mikko Koivu C Re-Signed: Minnesota
2009-10 Stats: 22 G 49 A 71 PTS

Matthew Lombardi C From: Phoenix To: Nashville
2009-10 Stats: 19 G 34 A 53 PTS

Pavel Kubina D From: Atlanta To: Tampa Bay
2009-10 Stats: 6 G 32 A 38 PTS

Ray Whitney LW From: Carolina To: Phoenix
2009-10 Stats: 21 G 37 A 58 PTS

Anton Volchenkov D From: Ottawa To: New Jersey
2009-10 Stats: 4 G 10 A 14 PTS

Henrik Tallinder D From: Buffalo To: New Jersey
2009-10 Stats: 4 G 16 A 20 PTS

Vladimir Sobotka C From: Boston To: St. Louis
2009-10 Stats: 4 G 6 A 10 PTS

Vaclav Prospel C Re-signed: New York Rangers
2009-10 Stats: 20 G 38 A 58 PTS

Dan Hamhuis D From: Nashville To: Vancouver
2009-10 Stats: 5 G 19 A 24 PTS

Zbynek Michalek D From: Phoenix To: Pittsburgh
2009-10 Stats: 3 G 14 A 17 PTS

Sergei Gonchar D From: Pittsburgh To: Ottawa
2009-10 Stats: 11 G 39 A 50 PTS

Colby Armstrong RW From: Atlanta To: Toronto
2009-10 Stats: 15 G 14 A 29 PTS

Olli Jokinen C From: New York Rangers To: Calgary
2009-10 Stats: 15 G 35 A 50 PTS

That about wraps up all the bigger names. I will be doing the same thing next Sunday with more off season moves and other minor news within the NHL.

DRob's Out. Be Back Tuesday.

I'm out guys. Taking off for Boston College Orientation today. I guess it's time to open the door for you guys into some facts about me. I'm a sophomore in college. Freshman year, I went to URI. Had a blast. Shout out to my Rhody gang, you know who you are. But for several reasons, highlighted by the academic and financial ones, I decided to transfer to Boston College. So I have orientation today. Until Tuesday night. Won't be bringing my laptop. I no longer have a smartphone. No access to this blog. Which means I can't post anything. I'll be busy learning the Eagles fight songs and what not. So leave me plenty of messages and all that good stuff, and our other writers might write a few things if you're lucky. Hopefully nothing too ridiculous goes down in the sports world that I miss.

Another quick announcement. We are calling all fantasy football experts. I'm going to put together a panel of fantasy experts if we can. Ideally I'd like 5 including myself. All doing the same thing on a weekly basis. Giving their fantasy input. That will be the biggest part of our site during football season. Fans can get input from the 5 analysts. And we'll have games of the week and keep records and make a little competition out of it for the hell of it. But I need the analysts. To try to get a spot, send me a small article previewing this football season. I want your Top 10 fantasy draft picks, your NFL division winners, and your Super Bowl matchup. But the important part is the ANALYSIS. If you give good analysis you'll be in good shape. I'm looking for 4 more analysts. So show me your stuff right now. Consider it a challenge.

Alright, time to go become a Superfan. Wish me luck. Happy 25th of July.

Tough Luck for Lester in Sox Loss

Coming off a victory in Josh Beckett's return and coupled with a Yankees loss tonight, the Red Sox had a chance to gather a big win and gain some momentum with their de facto ace on the hill. Jon Lester was dealing a perfect game into the sixth inning before the wheels fell off the wagon around him. A dropped fly ball in center field by Eric Patterson allowed one runner to reach before Lester surrendered a home run to give Seattle the lead. On just one hit, he'd found himself trailing the game, 2-1. A suicide squeeze, an RBI single, and a bases-loaded HBP by Manny Delcarmen in the 8th inning added insurance runs for the Mariners, who topped Boston by a 5-1 final.

Lester hurled 7.2 innings and yielded just 4 hits. However, due to some tough luck and a poor relief appearance by Delcarmen, the Sox lefty stud was charged with 5 runs -- 4 earned -- to suffer his 5th loss of the season . He struck out 13 while walking just 1 batter. It took 124 pitches before Francona had no choice but to replace him.

The lone piece of offense for the Sox was a David Ortiz home run in the 4th inning. It was Big Papi's 19th dinger. Boston was 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and stranded 7 runners on base.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (7-3, 4.29) takes the hill for the Red Sox tomorrow in the finale of this series with the Mariners. Boston remains 7 games behind the Yankees and is now 4 games behind Tampa Bay. Tomorrow's game starts at 4:10 PM ET.