Mid-Season Fantasy Hockey Awards

Halfway through the hockey season, the fantasy world has seen its share of surprises. Some players have been let-downs whereas others have far surpassed expectations. Let's take a look at who the Mid-Season fantasy awards go to.

MVP: Sydney Crosby

Any arguments here? First in Goals, second in assists, top-ten in every other category (except PIMs), and has taken his game to a whole new level. He dominated November and December with a point streak that lasted 25 games, in which he scored 24 goals and 26 assists. For those who drafted him, congratulations on getting a guy who's putting up Gretzky-like numbers. He's currently on pace for about 130 points and should continue to be the number one player in fantasy.

Runners up: Steven Stamkos, Tim Thomas

ULTY: Most Valuable Commenter

Well, you've all been waiting patiently to find out the winners of this year's ULTY Awards. The first annual ULYs have been a success, and we had a solid number of voters to decide the awards. But let's not kid ourselves -- the numbers aren't overwhelming, and a low total of votes leaves room for some ties. I could break the ties myself (I am entitled to my own votes, too) but I think I'll leave them as ties. Anyway, tonight we have the first announcement. The ULTY for Most Valuable Commenter. The nominees were Enahs, Ed B, Fitch, and Jack G. The MVC Award is given to the person who the fans vote has made the greatest contributions to the discussions and vibes of Ultimate Boston through the use of the comments section on our posts. The fans have spoken. The ULTY goes to...

About Time

ESPN.com -- Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven have been elected to baseball's Hall of Fame.

About 20 minutes ago (as of press-time), Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven were officially elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Roberto Alomar was elected in his second year of eligibility with a resounding 90% of the writers' votes. Blyleven waited 13 years to finally getin, gettin 79% of the vote.

It's about time for Blyleven. The now HOF pitcher has waited too long for this honor, and the writers have finally agreed. Blyeleven is a memberof the vaunted 3,000 strikeout club amongst pitchers, and is 5th all-time in strikeouts. The fact that it took this long to get Blyleven into the HOF is a joke. But none of the wait matters now, as Blyleven has been deservedly voted into the Hall of Fame.

A congratulations is in order for both Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven.
  

The Second Season

Bring yourself back to Week 1 of the NFL season and think about what you're really excited for. Fantasy football, your favorite team's development, and your opening week results. 17 weeks later, we find ourselves preparing for the true season. The postseason. The teams may be, in large part, predictable suitors -- but the way they got there and the slots the cards fell into are rather intriguing. Three of the four wild card matchups will be hosted by the team with the lesser win-loss record. But it's the way it works in the NFL. The teams have worked their way into their spots all season long. They've earned the home field by winning their divisions, regardless of the record it took to do so. But we're a predicting society. We're concerned about what's going to happen, not what has already transpired. So let's investigate. How will this thing shake up?

Excessive Celebration? Not So Much

This video doesn't show the entire situation, so let me break it down for you a little bit. This Kansas State touchdown brought the score within 2 points. They needed to convert a 2-point conversion to tie the game. Decent chance to make it, right? Well, after this "excessive celebration," the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty backed K-State up 15 yards and made their 2-point conversion nearly a 20-yard prayer. After failing to convert, Syracuse was victorious in a controversial ending. So how absurd is the celebratory penalty becoming in sports?

According to ESPN, next season the penalty will become a spot foul. If a player high-steps into the end zone from the 5 yard line, for example, the touchdown will be taken back and the unsportsmanlike penalty will be assessed from the spot of the foul. This simple salute -- a two-second gesture in the least excessive way imaginable -- played a huge factor in swinging the outcome of the game. I just find it ridiculous. We're looking to make the real world into a damn video game with players lacking emotion and spirit. It doesn't make sense to me. But I'll leave it up to you. Vote 1 for this is a totally unacceptable celebration and the rule is fine the way it is. Vote 5 for you shouldn't have to be a statue after you score a touchdown.
 

KG Injured

ESPNBOSTON- Kevin Garnett left Boston's 104-92 loss at Detroit on Wednesday night with a right leg injury.

Though as of press time we are one day away from New Year's Eve, going into 2011, it feels like 2009.

Kevin Garnett left last night's game vs. the Detroit Pistons with an apparent leg injury. The first X-Rays taken revealed there is no fracture, but he will be having an MRI later today to get a prognosis.

This is huge for the Celtics. This injury comes a game after the 14-game win streak came to an end vs. the Orlando Magic. The Celtics were playing like a well-oiled machine with all parts doing their duties to make the engine go. But with this injury, the machine might have a huge kink in it. Plus, the Celtics are entering a time in the season where they in the past have struggled. KG's injury couldn't have come at a worse time.

This MRI is going to really determine the Celtics success for the the rest of the season. If KG's injury is day-to-day, the C's should be fine. But if the forward's injury is a tear or another serious leg injury, it almost guarantees that the Celtics will fall way short of expectations this season.

We can only hope that the former is the case, because this season has been blissful to watch, and a leg injury could send Celtics fans off Cloud 9.
   

Black and Gold Finding Their Stride

One week ago today, I was writing an article about the struggles of the Boston Bruins and their need for a spark of life in the locker room. Today, we observe how quickly things can change. On the heels of two straight victories to leapfrog over Montreal and into first place in the Northeast Division, the Bruins aren't struggling so much anymore -- rather, they are looking to turn the corner and start a streak.

On Thursday night against the Atlanta Thrashers, we saw some life out of the black and gold. When Milan Lucic took a hit up high to the head area, Andrew Ference and the rest of the Bruins on the ice took exception. They came to the defense of their teammate. They showed some heart and soul for the first time in a while. That energy translated into an eventual 4-1 win and the end of a little skid for the B's. In their follow-up effort last night, they were slated against a hot Florida Panthers team that had won three of its last four games. It was a tough, mostly sloppy game, but Tim Thomas stood tall and David Krejci notched a pair of timely goals -- each tying the game at the time -- in what amounted to a 3-2 shootout win for Boston. Can the B's carry it over and continue on the winning track?

Guest Article: Meet Matt Patricia

By: Derek Harrington

So, I bet you are saying to yourself, who is that stylish man on the Pats sidelines with a beard that puts Bruce Gardner’s to absolute shame? Meet Matt Patricia, the Patriots LB Coach. The past few weeks I always see this younger coach on the sideline talking to guys like Mayo or Ninkovich. Each week, I noticed his beard growing more and more glorious, and with Manuary around the corner, a tribute to him was definitely needed.

Patricia has been with the Patriots for six years now, but has been involved with football his entire life. Matt was born on September 13th, 1974 and grew up in the city of Sherrill, New York. He attended Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Central School, and was both a lettered football player and wrestler. Patricia was an offensive lineman for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he won 3 ECAC Championships. He never played in the NFL.

Merry Christmas to All

From all of us here at Ultimate Boston, we'd like to wish our readers a very happy and safe holiday weekend. Sure, it's a little bit lame that Christmas is on a Saturday -- worst case scenario for the working man -- but we'll take it with a grain of salt and enjoy the season regardless. I wouldn't expect that you'd be spending your Christmas time on Ultimate Boston anyway -- but if you were planning to, I believe our writers will remain on break for a little while. You might see an occasional one, but consider the blog to be in a mini hibernation mode. But, by all means, at those family gatherings for the holidays -- show your relatives, their friends, their dogs, their grandmothers, and anyone else who might be in attendance. We're looking to come out of the holiday break with a bang. The ULTY Awards will be distributed and the Boston sports seasons will kick it into gear. The Pats will head to the playoffs in search of their fourth ring in a decade's span. The B's and C's will look to enter the meat of their schedules and establish their dominance in their respective conferences. And hey -- in just a few months, pitchers and catchers will report to Fort Myers. There's plenty to smile about this time of year, so keep your chins high and your grins wide. Merry Christmas from Ultimate Boston!

State of the Boston Bullpen

Right after the Red Sox landed outfielder Carl Crawford in their second big free agent signing of the offseason, everyone was screaming and crying for Boston to address their final important concern -- the bullpen. Since then, Theo Epstein has brought in former closer Bobby Jenks and setup man Dan Wheeler. Wheeler has had a WHIP under 1.00 in two of the past three seasons, and he converted 51 of 63 save opportunities for the Rays over that span. Jenks, a two-time all-star with the Chicago White Sox and the MLB record-holder for consecutive batters retired (41), has stirred several rumors that Jonathan Papelbon may be on his way out of Boston. Could that actually be the case? Dustin Pedroia was asked the same question yesterday on WEEI.

“Everything is going to work fine,” Pedroia said. “Pap wants to win. And when he gets the ball in the ninth inning it’s his job to make that happen. Pap I know is kind of a colorful guy, says a lot of things, but the biggest thing on his mind is winning. I know some people don’t think so, but that’s the main thing he thinks about. The toughest job in baseball is being a closer, because you go out there and give up and we lose, everyone points the finger at one guy.”