Yes, the year is shaping up to be GREAT
for the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics
And things are shaping up, too, very well
for the retooled Boston Red Sox.
(Don't know about the New England Patriots
or the New England Revolution - sorry!)
{This is, primarily, a blog about BOSTON}
[As in... BOSTON teams, yes!]
The greater New England...
can take care of itself!
IT'S ALL ABOUT BOSTON;
BOSTON BRUINS... CELTICS, RED SOX...
So, yes... I should cover the Boston Pops, too
Boston Symphony Orchestra...
BOSTON FLEET - certainly!
As we did cover the Boston Blades,
Boston PRIDE...
That lacrosse team they have, also...?
Boston Cream Pie!
THE WORKS!
If it starts with "BOSTON..."
* I COVER IT HERE!!! *
In the blog about Boston...
The City of Champions
- all sorts of champions -
{there are tons of individual champions
to cover, too - many remain unknown}
BOSTON
is the focal point, however -
the city itself... and its mayor, as it is;
she just delivered a rousing, inspiring speech
just the other day, as it happens:
BOSTON MAYOR >>> Montreal mayor (a Valerie)
BY THE WAY...
There is absolutely no comparison! *
But this was, obviously, a greater feast day: Ash Wednesday!
If there is one thing I would lament, though,
about Mayor Michelle Wu's discourse,
is that she mentioned the Celtics, she mentioned the Red Sox...
(May have mentioned the Patriots - I'm not sure)
But she definitely did not mention the BRUINS.
Now, everybody's a critic
and, given the nature of her speech, this may not be
even applicable as an element to criticize -
but here, on this blog, it is.
For in these parts of the blogosphere,
THE BRUINS are at the heart of everything.
But that's just ME - again, Michelle Wu's
discourse attracts other sorts of... diatribe.
That's for another time - and another blog.
BACK TO BOSTON, now;
BACK TO THE BRUINS.
Because, before Michelle Wu,
there was a mayor in Boston named
MENINO - and he could have told you:
not just since Bobby Orr
but since Eddie Shore
THE BOSTON BRUINS
are the soul of the city of champions,
emblems of hard-working
hard-luck heroes
who prevail, the majority of the time
but not quite all the time... alas.
EXAMPLES of what perseverance
honest effort and sheer guts
can accomplish.
AND THAT IS WHY,
right there,
they are THE SOUL of THE TOWN!
The Year of Our Lord 2025
may be a lot of different things
for all the other categories of
BOSTONIANS -
but for the Bruins, it is
nothing short of
THE END OF AN ERA.
The last remaining member of that Stanley Cup
championship team of 2011
is now gone - TRADED, to a bitter rival.
MARCHAND was not alone being traded
on the very day of the NHL trade deadline:
Coyle, Frederic, McLaughlin, Jones, Carlo
and Brazeau were all traded away -
with interesting returns, each time...
VERILY, THE BOSTON BRUINS GM
DID THE BEST THAT HE COULD DO,
GIVEN THE DIRE CIRCUMSTANCES...
It has been said that *never* has it been seen
a general manager executing or initiating a rebuild
on the very day of the trade deadline.
Don Sweeney is just that damn good.
And few - so very few - appreciate it.
But we're getting to that in a jiffy...
And so ends a long period
of contending teams
that could aspire to the cup
each and every year;
it started in 2008, really
should have culminated in 2010
but that was delayed until the next year
and then, the very next year,
got derailed a first time...
OTHERWISE, IT COULD HAVE BEEN
{SHOULD HAVE BEEN}
A THREE-PEAT RIGHT THERE!!!
As it has been stated
on this very blog
time and time again...
HENCE, we're looking at a franchise
that has constantly been a contender
for over FIFTEEN YEARS IN A ROW!
MOST of those under the care
of one general manager Don Sweeney
and team president Cam Neely.
On this March of 2025,
they had to make extremely difficult decisions
and admit that their latest attempt
at keeping that awesome streak going
had not worked out - for once.
AND YET... And yet...
At the beginning of this season,
it looked like they had successfully addressed
absolutely ALL of the team's concerns;
Krejci had been replaced by Lindholm (the 2nd)
Coyle appeared ready to step in
and replace Bergeron - and if that didn't pan out,
they had not one but two back-up plans.
They had even found a replacement
for Zdeno Chara - one whose name
also begins with a Z - Zadorov!
A plethora of free agents had been signed
and the team was poised to carry on
contending for a championship
THAT IS... if all the pieces of the puzzle
performed as it was expected of them,
under the guidance of coach Montgomery
who had, just two years earlier,
been given an unbelievable team
that dominated like no other ever had
in the history of the NHL - and it did so
in this era, the era of PARITY,
which made the performance
that much more spectacular
and impressive.
But as we all know, that RECORD YEAR
was ruined in the 7th game
of a series the Bruins dominated
but were still robbed blind in -
in sudden death overtimes
by a bunch of overtly aggressive degenerates
from down south...
Coach Montgomery may have been
outcoached by the degenerates' coach too,
Maurice... it's true.
The cruel evidence is there:
the rematch, the following year,
ended in six games.
Hard-fought games, but still...
Jim Montgomery had no clue what to do
to counter the pesky Panthers tactics.
And the following season,
2024-25... this year, therefore...
it became painfully apparent that
Montgomery's message was not motivating
the players anymore - to the point that
one could wonder if it ever did.
Neely and Sweeney
reacted quickly;
dismissing him.
He rebounded quickly too,
landing the same job with
other lowlife, classless rivals
- the bozos in St.Louis, Missouri...
Where he is floundering.
Jim Montgomery
is a unique case;
his name is in the record books now,
thanks to the circumstances in Boston,
really... and I was rooting for the guy
as much as I pitied him ever since
{knowledge of his personal ailments
will have that effect; it's called empathy}
But this is not about Jim.
This is about BOSTON.
The fanbase - any fanbase - can turn on you
at the drop of a hat.
Or the drop of a pair of gloves.
Anyway... the fact is that
those fans who are calling
Sweeney and even Neely
"clowns" or "dumb and dumber"
while crying over Marchand
"who devoted his entire life"
{allegedly} to Boston
forget one thing, so fast, so easily:
NEELY and SWEENEY
have devoted their entire careers
-as players and, now, as management-
to the Boston Bruins.
They have fought all the wars
- not since 2008 but since 1986 -
and took down, one by one,
all the hated rivals of this team:
it used to be Montreal,
Hartford, Buffalo,
Edmonton, Pittsburgh,
New Jersey...
BOSTON beat them all - in time.
And Neely and Sweeney
were at the forefront of those wars
whether as players
or in their current function.
Don Sweeney even proved himself
the most capable general manager
with his selection of players
for the 4 NATIONS CUP -
which his selection won!
IN BOSTON.
Brad Marchand got to hoist that cup, too.
CAM NEELY...
well, Cam is still THE MAN.
Period.
They have been heroes
the like none of the other franchises
in the fabled City of Champions
has been able to produce:
not Celtics Pride, not Red Sox Nation...
HEROES
with as much brains as brawn.
HEROES
beyond that championship year/season...
HEROES
through thick and thin.
AND, NOW, THEY HAVE THE GUTS
TO PULL THE TRIGGER ON A REBUILD
when they stand 3 point away from a playoff spot
{which isn't bad - but isn't good enough either.
Not for a team that was positioning itself
to be, once again, near the top of the
standings - as they are only two years
removed from THE RECORD SEASON...!}
No... fanboys. NO.
Cam Neely and Don Sweeney
do not deserve to be fired for their
tough calls, astute moves and gutsy acts
- THEY DESERVE YOUR PRAISE
AND RESPECT.
FOR NO ONE HAS THAT SPOKED B
CLOSER TO THEIR HEART
THAN THOSE TWO GUYS -
absolutely no one.
Not any of the players traded today
- no, not even Marchand -
AND CERTAINLY NOT ANY OF THOSE
FAIR-WEATHER, DUCKBOAT FANS!!
I KNOW IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE IT NOW
- HARD TO DIGEST, HARD TO ACCEPT...
BUT THE BOSTON BRUINS WILL BE BACK.
BRAD MARCHAND WILL BE BACK.
...AND NOT LIKE MILAN LUCIC WAS...
THE BOSTON BRUINS
WILL WIN THAT CUP
* AGAIN *
* I would be remiss if I didn't precise it:
the Valerie in Montreal
that doesn't compare to
Boston's Michelle...
It is because she doesn't even compare
to another Valerie, in Montreal...!!!
