I've been on vacation for the past week, and while it's winding down, still have some time to write. As it's the 31st, and the Winter Classic will be played in Pittsburgh tomorrow (weather permitting), I thought I'd touch base on that, and some other end of the year odds and ends.
I just spent the last 3 hours watching HBO's Penguins-Captials 24-7, and it was an incredibly enjoyable spectacle. Having the kind of access that they did to the locker rooms of two of the NHL's premier franchises was a fantastic look at sides of the game the average fan never sees, and a wonderful way to build anticipation for the event itself. The Bruins were even featured, as they handed the Capitals their 8th straight loss earlier in the month. Some thoughts:
- As promised, Bruce Boudreau likes to swear. A lot. Well, everyone featured likes to swear, and it was awesome seeing that the coaches and players react to penalty calls and goals the same way the fans do (with a lot of "Are you fucking serious?!"es and "Fuck yeah!"s). Having it uncensored on HBO was a great bonus, too.
- Hockey players are different than other athletes. From seeing Sidney Crosby watching hockey highlights in his hotel room instead of hitting the town on a road trip to finding out that Alex Ovechkin still lives with his parents and loves to play video games, the series demonstrated that for the younger players, it's a lot like college. For the older ones, bringing your kids to the rink and shooting around with them is the norm, and it was great to get a snapshot into their day to day lives. My favorites so far are Pascal Dupuis of the Penguins, and Mike Knuble of the Caps. Though Knuble is a former Bruin, so that might have something to do with it. I like Dan Blysma better than Boudreau, not because I don't like Bruce, but because I like Blysma's understated style to team management. Also he seems like a pretty chill guy away from the rink.
-The Penguins organization has an optional pickup game for anyone on the payroll who wants to play, at 1:00 pm every gameday. It's basically the coaches and trainers, though owner Mario Lemieux got in on the action in preparation for the Winter Classic Alumni Game that was today. I don't have anything else to say out that other than that's completely freaking awesome.
-Both teams also have quirky trophies that they give out to the hardest working player after each game. The Caps have a hard hat and the Pens have a shovel. I'm sure most teams do this, but it was a neat little hockey culture thing to see, as each player gets to pick his successor after the game.
-Matt Hendricks of the Capitals sported a wicked shiner and a burst blood vessel in his eye for his one on one interviews. Badass.
So, yeah. An amazing window into the NHL, and the kind of thing they desperately need to draw pink hat/ casual fan interest (Bill Simmons was even watching it!). Pretty awesome.
In addition to the Classic, the end of the year has seen a lot go on in Boston Sports, especially since the beginning of December. After arguably becoming the 4th most exciting team in the city, the Red Sox FINALLY went "Fuck it, everyone lumps us in with the Yankees, let's fucking act like it", and went all in for 2011. With the additions of Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford, as well as Bobby Jenks to light a fire under Papelbon's ass, the Sox look like a World Series favorite on paper. of course that means literally nothing once the season starts, but the Red Sox put themselves back on the front page of the Globe after their most lackluster season since 2006 (or honestly, 2001).
They have more power in their lineup than they have since the 2003-2004 HGH glory days of Manny and Ortiz, and with a healthy Ellsbury and a healthy Crawford, they have more speed in their lineup since I've been alive. The rotation is still a concern, with Beckett and Lackey inching towards Roger Clemens 1996 territory, but as long as Lester and Buchholz anchor the staff like the did last year, and Dice-K is just OK, they really should be fine. Also, not for nothing, they'll be getting A LOT more run support than they did last year, so hopefully that'll help.
The other team to have a monster December was the Patriots, based on their 7 game win streak. They are, at time of press, 13-2, having locked up the best record in the NFL, the 1st seed in the AFC, a first round bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Tom Brady is playing the best football I have ever seen, having just set an NFL record for most pass attempts without an interception (319, at present).
The defense that was statistically among the worst in Patriots history has solidified behind players like Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung, and outstanding play by rookie tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez make it look like the 2010 draft will go down as one of the best in recent memory. Of course I'm still convinced that everything that goes wrong for the Pats will lead to defeat (you should have seen me during the Packers game), but the playoffs are looming and I like the Patriots' chances.
The Celtics recently had a 15 game win streak halted, highlighted by a heartstopping victory against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, and a quality win against the Hawks at home that I happened to have been at. without Kendrick Perkins, Rajon Rondo, and now Kevin Garnett, the C's look like the class of the East, and have the playoffs in sight already. Barring, that is, of course, a lackadaisical end to the season like they had last year. But even those of us who favor the other 3 major sports are taking notice.
Of course, with the three other teams in town crushing opponents and making headlines, it's a tough time to be the Boston Bruins. After a 3-0 whitewashing at home against the Ducks (one of the worst efforts I have ever seen in person), there were calls for Claude Julien's head, and the Bruins looked to be a lot more like their tragic predecessors from last season than the world beaters they appeared to be at the beginning of the year. However, after a resounding win against the Thrashers that saw a line brawl in the 3rd and a fight by MARC SAVARD, the Bruins have points in 4 straight games. Seeing the brawl unfold on Festivus, I couldn't held but think about the Stars game on November 1, 2008, when the Bruins gelled as a team and formed an identity. I can only hope that they repeat that success now, and if they can close their current road trip 4-0-1, they would go a long way towards playing their way back into the sports conversation. That's not even really their fault; they are in first place in the Northeast Division, a 3 point lead on the Habs with 2 games in hand.
In any other city the Bruins wouldn't be seen as the underachievers Boston views them as presently. I guess that's what happens when the other 3 sports team sin town win 6 championships in the last 10 years. I still have my fingers crossed, and it's difficult to really get mad at a division leading team, for any other reason than I think they aren't reaching their potential yet. But for the time being, they are in good shape.
But for now, I think I'm going to go iron my shirt in preparation for the New Year's festivities. The Classic has been pushed to 8:00 tomorrow night, but that'll just give me more time to work off the champagne hangover before the game. See you all next year!
-M
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