Welcome Back to the City of Champions

The sabbatical has run its course. The last time I blogged about a story in the Boston sports world, it was a full week before the B's hoisted their first Stanley Cup in 39 years. It was a hateful post directed toward the grossly aggravating hockey team based out of Vancouver. It may have even been a bit of a worrisome post, given that the Bruins trailed the series 2-1 and faced a huge hole had they failed to emerge victorious from the game that night. Of course, it all ended up working out for the best. I'll get back to that in just a moment.

The point is, it has been a long time. It has been two and a half months. You may have thought I retired. You may have thought Ultimate Boston was headed down the drain. Well, to be honest, I can't guarantee that won't happen at some point. But it isn't happening now. Not today. We're back for the time being, and it's time to recap what we've missed in the past two months.

Back to the B's. As you can see, I made a pretty permanent decision when I got this tattoo inked onto my back between my shoulder blades. I said I would get tatted up if the B's won the Cup, and I'm a man of my word. A simple tattoo, though, can't explain how much the Cup finally meant to myself, my family, my friends who are diehard fans, and all of the Bruins faithful who have tuned in for every game since the days of Orr, Neely, Bourque, and all the way up through Zdeno Chara and Tim Thomas. To all of the people mentioned, it truly meant the world. And to see Chara hoist the cup above his shoulders, it sent a feeling of goosebumps through every fan's body. Well, at least the fans who have endured through the ugliest days of the past 20 years.

My memory hardly spans through all of those years, and that was only half the period of agony. Still, this year's Stanley Cup victory helped put to rest so many of the demons that have haunted the Bruins in my own lifetime. Failing to get Ray Bourque the Cup. Tim Taylor's toe in the crease. The days of standout goaltender Byron Dafoe, never amounting to the grand prize. The relatively failed project that was Joe Thornton. The days when tickets were so easy to come by and games weren't selling out. The nights when Dave Shea broadcasted road games on UPN 38 and Dale Arnold did the home games on NESN. The crushing Game 7 losses against Montreal and then against Carolina the following season. All leading up to the moment -- unquestionably the most heart-wrenching moment in our recent memory -- in which the B's blew a 3-0 lead and let the Flyers soar past them to the conference finals in a season that had seemed destined to finally work out for the black and gold.

It was all erased on June 15th, 2011. Personally, I'll never forget the date. It was the single greatest moment of my life, when it comes to the Boston sports scene. The Pats championships, the Sox titles, the Celtics victory -- they were all amazing. But none of them truly measured up to the sentimental value that the Bruins accomplishment did this June. For me, it was the pinnacle of all the titles in title town. Now, of course, I'm greedy. I want more of them.

Fortunately, we're in Boston. Some of you may now refer to it as the City of Champions. Having garnered titles in each of the four major sports within the last 7 years, it is by no means unreasonable to expect more in the near future. Hell, even the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse took home a championship this weekend. Things really are starting to look like we're the best at everything we do.

The Red Sox continue to edge the Yankees in the AL East with a huge series against the arch rivals looming. Despite their share of injuries to the pitching staff, the Sox look poised once again to contend for their third championship in seven years. It has been four years since their last glory days. Oh, the horror!

Meanwhile, the Patriots (despite a 34-10 shellacking from the Detroit Lions this weekend) look sharp and ready to dominate the NFL as usual. With an impressive set of receivers, a newly revamped defensive line, an improving secondary, and -- of course -- Tom Brady, the team with the longest drought in this city may be ready to finally end this heart-wrenching seven-year drought.

Yup. It goes for you too. We're all greedy and spoiled here in Boston in the 21st century. A seven-year drought? That's the longest active drought in our city? Tell that to the Cubs fans who are approaching the 100-year mark in their drought. Mention it to Buffalo (who knows when they last won). Mention it to Philadelphia, who has a fantastic sports city, but still hasn't seen their Flyers win the Cup in nearly 40 years. The Eagles have never won the Super Bowl. And it has been 28 years since the 76ers brought home the NBA title.

We have it made here in Boston. That's all there is to it. I'm not guaranteeing another championship for the Sox or the Pats this season. I'm not saying the Bruins have undoubtedly kicked off a dynasty at the Garden. I'm not saying the Celtics will compete yet again if the NBA even has a season. Truth be told, all of our teams could drop into 100-year slumps starting today. We may be miserable sports fans for the rest of our lives, reliving the heartache of the Red Sox, Bruins, and Patriots days of old. Reliving the Celtics days just before the Big Three. Maybe that is what destiny has prepared for us. Even still, it won't change the golden age of sports we have experienced. If you're reading this right now, you have lived during an amazing era. Whether or not another parade goes rolling through Beantown in the coming months, years, or decades, the name is irrefutable for this moment. Enjoy it. Remember it. Because right now, Boston is unquestionably the City of Champions.

Three New Shirts On Sale

The last time I blogged, I had probably just finished taking my pet dinosaur for a walk. For that, I apologize. Life is a lot busier than it used to be. I'll get around to it. To the faithful viewers who keep checking back, I'm sorry that I haven't even made a post since our Bruins took home the cup. Although, truthfully, I was pretty much speechless anyway. I may not have been able to articulate a well-written post in the first place.

I'll do my best to pick the blogging game up again, but the tee shirt shop is still motoring forward. Three new tees. The first two pictured above of kinda-sorta replicas of a shirt in Barstool's store, but I changed it up a little and offered it in some colors. To be honest, I made them because I wanted them, not because I wanted to sell them. The third picture shows the newest shirt which was requested by fans. It could get taken down, so I would go ahead and buy it if you're interested in getting it. As usual, pictures of players are susceptible to being removed by the site.

I'll hopefully be making some changes around here soon, but we'll see. Until then, browse the Pro Shop and see if you find anything you like.

  

For America, For the NHL -- Get It Done.

Being a hardcore Bruins fan, I can say that I have never wanted to beat a team as much as I want our B's to beat the Vancouver Canucks in these Stanley Cup Finals. And if you've watched the series, you know I'm serious when I tell you that the reasons go far beyond the proximity of that big silver mug that is on the line in this matchup.

Who saw it coming? The Canucks are quickly proving the Chicago, Nashville, and San Jose fans and writers to be correct. I hadn't noticed that Vancouver had a roster full of cheating, diving, crying, biting, dirty scumbags until this series got underway. Now I get what the fuss was all about in some of these other cities. I used to respect Vancouver, because I was under the impression that they just went about their business, operated like a machine, and churned out winning efforts. I stand humbly corrected as we prepare for game four of the finals.

This series has stirred up so much emotion in me that I have no idea where to begin. I'll start with the brutal mess that the NHL has left itself with. Prior to game four, the league has made a few statements. First off, they said that both teams needed to cut out the "crap" that has been going on. Additionally, they said that the next player who waves his fingers in another player's face will get a two minute penalty and a ten minute misconduct. They want the biting incident to be a thing of the past.

Wait. Hold on. The same incident you took no action against? You ruled it was clean, that there was no evidence that Burrows intentionally bit Bergeron? The same unpunished action that saw Burrows allowed back into the lineup the following game, where he created all three goals in a 3-2 overtime win for his Canucks? Oh, yeah, of course! Your decision to let the incident go unpunished didn't blow everything out of proportion or anything. You guys clearly know what you're doing. We shall obey.

The biting incident has been behind me since game one ended, to be honest. And I wasn't ready to judge an entire Canuck team based on the foolish and savage action of one scummy forward. But then the rest fell into place. The Sedins mocked the bite, saying that Burrows was a "vegetarian." Max Lapierre went on to mock the incident the following game, sticking his fingers in Patrice Bergeron's face  and laughing with that dirty, arrogant smile in an eventual overtime win for Vancouver. And even though the Bruins laid a beating on the Canucks in game three, their dirtiness delivered a crushing blow to Bruins forward Nathan Horton, who was blasted with a late hit to the head that gave him a severe concussion. When the guilty party -- defenseman Aaron Rome -- was suspended for the remainder of the series, the classless bunch of players and coaches from Vancouver displayed their disgrace once again. Not only did they stick up for Rome and publicly disagree with the league's ruling, but they actually placed the blame on Nathan Horton for watching his pass. Let me repeat that last part. They placed the blame on Nathan Horton. For basically getting killed by a dirty hit. Sometimes I wonder if people are serious.

The craziest part, though, is that plenty of impartial analysts keep bringing up the fact that Horton was watching his pass. It's driving me crazy, so I need to speak my mind. Being a hockey player, I keep trying to understand the rationale behind this argument. Ultimately, I realized there is no rationale. If a player doesn't have the puck (Horton did not have the puck) where is he supposed to be looking? Into the stands? At his own skates? Straight ahead? No.... he's supposed to be looking for the damn puck, looking for open space, and a combination thereof. There is nothing wrong with watching your pass. Had he not watched his pass, he wouldn't have known if Lucic received it. He doesn't know where to go if he doesn't know what Lucic is doing with the puck in that situation. If he dumps it, Horton has a different responsibility than if he tries to drive wide. Christ Almighty -- he's supposed to be watching the puck! That's what hockey players do! Read and react! When you don't have the puck, you don't need to worry about defensemen stepping up and blasting you with a shoulder to the head. There are no two ways about it. The hit was dirty, the NHL got it right (for once), and the Canucks are just a bunch of gutless pieces of scum who defend and condone all the cheap and classless "crap" that has gone on throughout the series.

I could keep ranting, but I just want to watch these games. Tyler Seguin will be called upon once again to step in for an injured contributor. Ryder or Peverley will likely step into Horton's slot on Boston's top line. And the Bruins have a chance to even up the series and take another step toward the ultimate goal. Losing tonight puts them in a 3-1 hole heading back above the border. And if that happens, that shameful group of Canucks would be one win away from tarnishing the surface of Lord Stanley's Cup with each and every one of their names. For America and for the NHL -- please get the job done, Bruins. We're counting on you for the grace of the game.

  

NBA Finals Previews/Predictions

It's been too long UB faithful, but school is out for summer, and I have more free time. Feels good to be back.

I realize that the city of Boston and most of the UB faithful (including myself) are immersed in Bruins fever. However, I don't want to write about the Bruins for two reasons: I don't know enough about hockey to churn out a whole article, and DRob has already posted a fantastic article on the Bruins earlier today.

Instead, I have decided to cover the other upcoming finals, the NBA finals. On one hand, we have the Miami Heat, the "villains" of the NBA. The Heat made a huge splash this off-season with the additions of LeBron James and Chris Bosh, making them automatic favorites. On the other hand, the Dallas Mavericks have had a season that exceeded expectations, with veterans Jason Kidd and especially Dirk Nowitzki shining in the playoffs, fighting tooth and nail to win their first championship ring.

Because of Miami's star-studded starting line-up, they have been picked as the favorites. But I am apprehensive for a couple of reasons. The biggest reason is that if ANY of the "Big Three" are off their game, Miami will almost certainly lose to a Dallas team which boasts depth over the Heat. I have gone in depth about depth in past articles (ZING!), and it should be no surprise that I think Dallas has a big advantage with more depth than the Heat.

The second reason I'm weary to pen the Heat as the winners automatically is Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk has always been a star in the NBA, but this playoffs he has put his team on his back and carried them through the proverbial desert. Take a look at the Western COnference Finals, Game 4 for a perfect example. The man was on FIRE in the last five minutes, overcoming a seemingly insurmountable lead that the Thunder had. He made some of the most sloppy looking shots I have ever witnessed en route to victory, proving to me and countless others how much he wants to win the title.

However, the Heat is my pick to win it all. LeBron, as much as I am put off by his antics, is an absolute beast on the court, and Wade has beat Dallas in the finals before with a lesser team. I have been rooting for the Mavs since the Celtics' elimination (I am somewhat of a closet Mavs "fan"), but I cannot let my biases seep into my predictions. The Mavs have had a great year, but it feels like the dark possibility of a Heat dynasty is about to come to fruition.

Heat in six games.

With Cup Finals Looming... Why Not Us?

The Boston Bruins have reached the Cup Finals for the first time in 21 years. It is the first time in my lifetime that I will get to see the black and gold directly compete for the right to bring home Lord Stanley's Mug. The road to this point has been long and arduous, and the odds have been stacked against them from day one. Mixing in a little bit of my nostalgia for the Red Sox glory days, I can't help but ask the same infamous question in regards to this Bruins squad. Why not us?

There are plenty of reasons why the Bruins simply can't win the Cup against these highly talented Vancouver Canucks. Boston fans... just be happy they got you this far, right?

First, you have the Olympic hosting curse. If you don't believe in superstition, it really won't mean much to you. But if you are a little bit wacky, the evidence is quite staggering. In 1976, Montreal hosted the Olympics. When the next cup finals rolled around in 1977, it was the Habs who hoisted the Cup. In 1988, it was Calgary who hosted the Olympic games. The 1989 cup finals saw their Flames reach the promised land. With a third chance for a Canadian team to execute the trend, Vancouver -- the city which hosted the most recent Olympic games -- will look to bring the Cup back home to Canada for the first time since the 1993 Habs.

Then, you have the special teams advantage. The Canucks have an unstoppable power play and a phenomenal penalty kill. The Bruins have an anemic power play and a mediocre penalty kill. How can the B's overcome such a discrepancy? Game, set, match. There's no way it can happen, I guess.

The Canucks won the Presidents Trophy, finishing with the best record, the most goals for, and the least goals against in the NHL. Their top-end talent will destroy the Bruins, and the B's won't be able to match up. Unlike Tampa, the Canucks have top end talent joined with forward depth and a strong defensive core. The B's will have their hands full once again.

And perhaps the most alarming, for those of you who buy into simulations, is the incredible forecast of EA Sports NHL 11 simulation engine. Back in October, the simulator picked the Canucks to win the Presidents Trophy and power their way to the Cup Finals in a big matchup with none other than the Boston Bruins, where they would win in a seven-game thriller. In the next go-around this week, the simulation engine predicted the same outcome as it did seven months ago, picking the Canucks in seven games to bring the Cup back to Canada for the first time in 18 years. The simulation has been correct on 13 out of 14 series in the playoffs thus far. Those are some tough odds to defeat.

I wonder what the credentials are for NHL simulations. I mean, each player is given a rating, right? I'm sure the Sedins are in the 90s. Krejci and Horton may have earned high-80s ratings in the updated roster. Chara and Thomas, as well as Luongo, for that matter, also probably notched into the 90s. By and large, the Canucks are most likely the better team on paper. And by that token, they're more likely to win a simulation.

Fortunately for the Bruins, the games aren't played on paper. Why not us?

Fans groaned sighs of disapproval when the B's failed to trade the old, washed-up Tim Thomas in the offseason. They were written off when Marc Savard went down with another concussion. Fanatics and critics alike called for the heads of Michael Ryder and Chris Kelly in the very early stages of the playoffs. People started calling to make tee times for the B's after they lost games one and two at home against the Habs. A week or so later, when the Habs forced a Game 7, everybody explained that the Bruins simply couldn't win the big game. The heartbreak in the life of a Bruins fan would continue.

After sweeping the Flyers and silencing the critics who believed they would blow another 3-0 lead, some attributed the win to lousy goaltending and asserted that the Lightning would be a much stiffer and nearly impossible challenge. That vaunted 1-3-1 neutral zone structure would suck the life out of the Bruins in much the same way it did to the Caps. And after a brutal 5-2 beatdown in the series opener, the tee times were being scheduled once again.

The comeback kids never surrendered, though, sparked by a huge coming out party for Tyler Seguin in just his second career postseason game. But when the B's failed to put away the Lightning in Game 6, the same critics raised the same concerns as they did back in the Montreal series. They just can't win the big one. They can't win those crucial seventh games. It's been a good run, Bruins fans. Hit the golf course.

Yet here we are. 28 teams have already teed off and shot a few rounds. Personally, I've played two rounds of golf this season. The same figure as the total number of game-winning Game 7 goals that Nathan Horton has tallied in the 2011 playoffs, sending his B's all the way to these very Cup Finals that we find ourselves preparing for right now.

To say the Bruins can't do it is pure blasphemy. They have scored goals and shut down offenses beyond all expectations. In fact, I think Vancouver might even be a better matchup in some ways than Tampa was. They aren't as fast and small, and they play a more physical style. That's the kind of game the Bruins play. If they continue to get great goaltending from Tim Thomas, great shut-down defense from their defensive pairs -- Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg in particular, shutting down Vancouver's top line -- and consistent scoring from their forward lines, they will be in great shape. Is the power play a concern? Obviously. It's a brutal power play. But who are we to keep asking about it? They've made it to the cup finals with an anemic power play. Let's just see how things unfold, shall we?

Either way, this series is poised to be absolutely exceptional. Two franchises who have been cup-deprived for longer than most of their fans can remember. Two cities who are crazy about their teams. Two arenas that will be absolutely rocking each night. It all begins on Wednesday night, and the Bruins have the odds stacked against them once again. They're even a 2-1 underdog in Vegas. They can't do it. People have been saying those words to this team all season and long before it as well. It's time for the Bruins to write their own history. Why not us?

Bruins Set for Conference Finals

39 years. In the same fashion that the 2004 Red Sox were constantly reminded that it had been 86 years since the franchise's last championship, the 2011 Boston Bruins are staring history square in the face. It has been a long, heartbreaking, and stressful 39 years for Bruins fans. The likes of Cam Neely and Ray Bourque poured in years and years of hard work with the spoked B on their chests, only to come up short and and every time. Whether it has been a Glen Wesley missed backhand, a Tim Taylor toe in the crease, a too many men on the ice penalty, or a devastating wrist injury that led to a brutal four-game collapse, the hub of hockey has been let down time and time again by the boys wearing black and gold.

Good things don't stay away forever. Have these Bruins finally broken through the red tape and put themselves in a position to win? It's too soon to even think about that, of course -- I won't be thinking about Chara raising the cup above his head until there are about 12 seconds left in the clinching game of the cup finals. But it has to start somewhere, and the Bruins will get their first crack at it Saturday night at TD Garden. As they prepare for another new opponent -- this time the star-studded Tampa Bay Lightning -- the B's will turn to their goaltending, their team defense, and their spectacular roster depth to get them over the hump once again.

In my eyes, Boston needs to win those categories to win the series. Up front, Tampa has the edge. When it comes to top end talent, the Lightning are, quite fittingly, electrifying. With the likes of Stamkos, Lecavalier, St. Louis, Gagne, and Malone, Tampa Bay has five forwards that arguably all have more offensive firepower than any of the Bruins forwards. Even if that may be a stretch, there is no denying that Tampa's big three forwards are dominating, fast, and possess an uncanny ability to bury the puck. You may not shut them down -- the key, though, will be exploiting their lack of depth. The Bolts lack the ability to roll three lines (maybe even four) like the Bruins can. They can't turn to their third and fourth lines with the confidence and comfort that Claude Julien can with his Bruins team. They don't have the firepower on the blue line that Boston does, and even though Roloson has played spectacular hockey for them since his arrival -- they don't have the Vezina trophy winner between the pipes.

Personally, I'm very interested to see how Boston's wild card third line performs to start this series. With Patrice Bergeron still out with a concussion, explosive rookie Tyler Seguin will be slotted into the lineup alongside Rich Peverley and Michael Ryder. With plenty of speed and lots of talent, this third line could be the X-factor early in this series. I'm expecting Seguin to play well, maybe aside from a few early-game jitters on Saturday night. Think about it. After an offseason, you would expect the kid to come back much stronger, much fresher, more mature, and an all-around better player. During this layoff for Seguin, it has been a mini-offseason of sorts. I would expect him to be a better player than we have seen thus far in his time here, and it should be a great growing experience for him as well. Apart from my clear bias and optimism, I truly believe that Seguin will have himself a good playoff debut in this series.

The NHL playoffs are the best, and this series promises to be no different. Of course, you never know what to expect in games like these ones in the months of may and june. By all indications, though, we can expect a hard-fought, energetic, captivating, and potentially long series between the Bruins and the Bolts. It has been a long, long time since the black and gold have been in this position. They appear focused and ready, and their fans can only hope we aren't witnessing another instance of Bruins heartbreak.
 

Where Does This Leave the C's?

In the blink of an eye, the Celtics had their season ended by the last team you would have ever wanted to end it. Ousted by LeBron James and the Miami Heat in a mere 5 games, Boston boarded their flight home staring a myriad of questions about their future straight in the eye.

What do I think? That's a question that isn't easily answered. I've had my doubts about the NBA for quite some time, but I won't jump ship and attribute this loss to any type of fixed outcome. In fact, these playoffs haven't gone in accordance with the whole conspiracy theory. Lakers swept in four games? Celtics torched in five? That isn't exactly drawing the biggest revenue from two huge basketball markets. As Memphis and Oklahoma City hang around and Dallas the remaining favorite in the West, who said anything about large markets being fixed into the finals? But I digress. This is about the Boston Celtics, not David Stern and the NBA or any type of conspiracy theory.

First off, let me express my thoughts about the season as a whole. I've encountered plenty of people who simply pull the trigger on Danny Ainge, saying the Kendrick Perkins trade failed miserably and brought the downfall of this squad. I understand those accusations, and I simultaneously disagree with them entirely. I will still contend that the Kendrick Perkins trade was not the reason this team lost. The post was not the issue in this series. Boston's lack of energy at the end of games and their lack of depth on the bench is what put the nail in the coffin. Did the Perkins trade fail in regards to the goal it was trying to accomplish? Possibly. Jeff Green may not have been the bench scorer they thought they were getting. Still, Green scored more points in this series than every player on the Miami Heat excluding their "Big Three." Was production the issue? Debatable. What about the fact that Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and LeBron James dropped a combined 355 points in these 5 games, completely obliterating the 252 scored by Boston's three studs (Pierce, Garnett, and Allen). 103 points was the advantage. Is it the bench's fault for not making up a 103 point difference (over 20 points per game)? If you believe so, I guess. Would Kendrick Perkins have diminished that number at all? Unlikely. I don't understand why we suddenly flip the switch because of the Perkins trade. Throughout the big three era, have we not been victorious when our big three dominates? Have we not always lost when our big three gets outplayed by the oppositions big stars? It has always been the same formula, and the bottom line is that this team doesn't have the backup unit needed to make up for the big three's growing inadequacy to give forty-minute performances of A+ basketball. The burden was too heavy for this reason, and they weren't able to shoulder the load. The younger and more athletic team pulled out every single game in the fourth quarter.

So yes, maybe the Perkins trade failed to give us the bench unit we truly needed. But I contest that had the trade never happened, our situation would have been no better. Subtract Jeff Green from the mix and add Kendrick Perkins. Does that solve the equation? Just look at the facts. Miami rained on us from the perimeter. Joel Anthony's 5 points per game -- was that the difference? Because Perkins would have been guarding anthony. Was Jermaine O'Neal really that bad in the post, averaging 6 points, 4 boards, and over a block per game in 21 minutes per contest? He was enough of a presence down low. Perk wouldn't have won us this series. You can't convince me otherwise. Management may have failed to give us the depth and athleticism we needed to win, but it sure as hell wasn't that particular trade that blew up our chances of winning.

Plain and simply, the Miami Heat were a better team than the Boston Celtics this year. It took them a while to gel, but they finally have. As much as I hate to see it happening, they're making a title run. They're going to be tough to beat. Their big guns are in the primes of their careers, and they are capable of playing just as effectively in the fourth quarter as they are in the first. The reality is that Boston cannot say the same about their own big guns, and their secondary guns aren't polished enough to pick up the rest of the load. Doc Rivers, though, feels that there is still gas in the tank. He will likely return to the Celtics next season, judging by his post-game comments.

"I'm leaning heavily towards coming back," Rivers told reporters after the loss to Miami. "I haven't made that decision. But I can tell you that I probably will. I've kind of come to that over the last couple of weeks. I'm a Celtic and I love our guys."

If there is a bright spot to take out of last night, it has to be these comments. As I've expressed time and time again, this team is an effective second unit away from being a title contender again. If they were able to rest their starters more throughout the game, you wouldn't see them dropping the ball in the fourth quarter. It happened in just about all of the losses in this series. If Ainge can assemble a second unit capable of shouldering that load throughout the game, this team may have another run left in them. Nobody said it would be easy, but at the same time, it is far from an impossibility. And if you trust Doc Rivers' judgement, there may a least be something to look forward to.

"I don't believe this team is done," Rivers concluded.
 

End of an Era for the Green?

In the wake of last night's heartbreaking overtime loss to the hated Miami Heat, Celtics fans and basketball fans alike are left pondering the same question. Has this organization reached the end of an era and entered into a landslide back down to the rebuilding ranks of the NBA?

Of course, Boston fans more than any others know that a series isn't over until the fourth game has been won on either side. See the Red Sox in '04 against the Yankees or in '07 against the Indians. On the flip side, see the Bruins last spring against the Flyers. Even this season, we saw the B's come back from a 2-0 hole. Sure, a 3-1 hole is much different for the Celtics as they fly back down to South Beach for a critical game 5, but who are we to say die just yet? With a win tomorrow night, the series would come back to Boston for game 6 with a chance to force a game 7. That's a situation that plenty of teams have battled through. When you think about it one game at a time -- which this Celtics team has done an exceptional job of in the Big Three era -- the task becomes a little less daunting.

But for the sake of speculation, I take the approach that an unlikely comeback will not surface. If, in fact, the Heat win this series (get my puke bucket ready), have we seen the end of an era in Boston? With a potential NBA lockout looming large and a team full of veterans and hall-of-famers who aren't getting any younger, has the window finally closed on banner 18? It's tough to say. I see Paul Pierce as a guy with plenty of heart left and certainly some more productive years left. I see Ray Allen as the purest shooter the game has ever seen, a guy who has played just as many minutes in the big games over the past few seasons as he has during the rest of his career. I see Kevin Garnett, a player who can't consistently punch through defenses like the Big Ticket he used to be -- still, he's capable of bringing 28 points and 18 boards in big playoff games. Do the C's need more pieces in order to re-establish their dominance? Of course they do. The traditional "Big Three" cannot carry the ship any further by themselves. In that sense, we have reached the end of an era. But with players like Chris Paul and Dwight Howard hitting the market in the near future, you simply cannot count out the possibility that this team finds lightning in a bottle.

If there is a lockout, things look much worse. A full missed season is another year tacked onto all three major veterans for the C's and an increased likelihood of retirement for any of them. With young players like Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green showing promise in the playoffs, anything is possible. But let's be real. It's a star-driven league, and unless the C's find top-notch players to take over for some of the journeymen they have on their squad, the window may be closing harder than we think. Some LA Lakers will be for sale this offseason by all speculation, but those guys are the same type of veterans that the C's will be losing themselves. Young, athletic, energetic stars are the driving force of today's NBA. It's like finding a needle in a haystack these days. It's why the league is so top-heavy and lacks parity each year. The stars take over the games, the stars get the attention and the preference, and the stars win championships. Aside from maybe the Detroit Pistons, how many recent champions have just been a fully well-rounded unit without any studs? It doesn't happen. And when you lose your studs to injury, old age, retirement, whatever it may be -- you usually start the slide back down to the bottom, and you get back in line to climb to the top.

There are ways around that long journey. The best GMs find ways to shorten that transition, even make the transition during the climb in order to stay at the top through it all. That burden falls on Danny Ainge's shoulders. He has plenty of critics to answer and plenty of rebuilding to do within the next few years or less. The journey commences shortly.

It won't commence, however, until Boston says die. Never say die. See you in Miami.
 

Heart of a Champion, Guts of a Warrior

Rajon Rondo has dealt with his fair share of critics this season. After a blazing hot start, Rondo struggled for large portions of the season and, quite frankly, played like a D-Leaguer in games one and two of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Miami Heat. But in game three Saturday night, the C's point guard quieted his haters and inspired a team and a city.

The above picture shows it all. After getting pulled to the floor by Dwyane Wade on yet another dirty play by the Heat star, Rondo braced his fall with his left arm and paid the severe consequences. In case you're still trying to decipher that snapshot -- a human arm isn't supposed to bend that way.

Waves of green collectively held their breath. That's a broken arm. Any doubt? He'll clearly miss the rest of the playoffs. Delonte better be ready. But even if he is, can the C's overcome the loss of Rondo to make a whole run through the NBA playoffs to the finals? We're doomed. It's over. So much for 18. Time to rebuild.

And then the morbid sea parted straight down the middle, and a golden ray of light shone through on the horizon. Rondo strolled his way out of the locker room, merely adding a protective sleeve to his left arm, and made his way back onto the court with a dislocated elbow. A point guard playing with a dislocated elbow. He played with one hand. It didn't matter. He made plays. He had a big steal that he finished off with a breakaway lay-in. One handed. You may be sick of the NBA in much the same way that I am. Maybe you have grown tired of the prima donnas like LeBron James who complain at every call and make the television product excruciatingly painful for those who love the gritty, hard-working, gut-wrenching battles. Maybe all of that is true. But no one can deny the glimmer of hope we saw last night. The gutsy players are still out there. Rajon Rondo may have inspired this team just enough to savor the last few drops they have left in the gas tank. The window may be closing on this team's chances, but they won't let it close without a fight. If nothing else, we know that. If these Celts are going to go down, they're going down fighting. And if we continue to see the same heart and dedication that Rondo showed last night, there's a pretty solid chance this series continues to turn around. If we see the same kind of performances from Pierce and Garnett, the same clutch shooting from Ray Allen, the same bench presence from Jeff Green, and the same cohesiveness among this entire squad, we will at least get to see a fun ride. Don't give up on 18 just yet. Let's see where this thing takes us.

PS -- The NBA may not be rigged after all. Why would they sweep the Lakers out in round two? Another glimmer of hope. Maybe we have hope.
 

Redemption: Bruins Sweep Away Flyers

I was in Section 325. High above ice level, I rejoiced with my fellow Bruins fans. A year after losing Game 4 in overtime and proceeding to choke away a 3-0 lead in the most epically awful manner, the Boston Bruins achieved redemption. They weren't about to let the Flyers even think about another historic comeback. With their second straight 5-1 victory, the B's swept away the Flyers in four games.

Bruins fans everywhere are asking the same question. Is it finally our year? It's the first time in a while that I've considered it a true possibility. Even if the B's hadn't choked up the lead against Philly last year, you knew that the way the team was playing, they wouldn't have had enough to win the Cup. Not the same feeling this season. This squad is clicking, getting exceptional goaltending, limiting their breakdowns and playing solid team defense. The first line is finally contributing, coming off a huge series against these Flyers. Everything looks very promising moving forward. Everything except for one thing.

Patrice Bergeron suffered a mild concussion last night in Game 4. Very bad news for Boston. Bergeron might be the most important forward on this team. His skates are impossible to fill -- from the leadership he brings, to his defensive prowess, to his offensive playmaking -- it simply cannot be done. It will likely be Tyler Seguin who gets a chance to fill that role, whether it be on that line or in a different spot in the lineup. Fans have wanted to see Seguin get a chance, and he finally has it. But I think everyone can agree that this is pretty much the last circumstance under which we would want the kid to see ice time.

The biggest concern for Bergy is that he has had concussions in the past, including a vicious one a few years ago. Concussions are a scary thing. We saw Marc Savard rush into a comeback, and that severely backfired on both his own health and this team's standing. You have to be careful treating a situation like this one, especially with a much younger Bergeron who is one of the primary leaders on this team. As much as you want the Cup this year, the smarter decision would be to treat this with every precaution in consideration -- rely on your depth and ensure that you don't lose this guy in the long term. Peter Chiarelli built a team that is structured to endure adversity like this. There are plenty of teams around the league that wish they had Tyler Seguin at their disposal to plug into the lineup in the case of an injury. Even without Bergy, the B's have a very formidable lineup and they have every capability of taking down Tampa. But they're going to need continued domination from their goaltender, continued power from their defensive core, and continued scoring from their top line. If those things don't happen, and if there is a rusty transition into new combos on lines 2 and 3, the Bruins will have a tough time getting past these skilled and experienced Bolts.

We'll see what happens with Bergeron and the Bruins lineup with Tyler Seguin sliding into the mix. Either way, the other leaders in that locker room will need to step up and make sure that whole squad can still smell the roses. Eight wins separate this city from something it has craved for 39 years.