Adam McQuaid is a warrior. He is what the prototypical Boston Bruins defenseman should be all about: with grit, courage in the face of adversity, all-around professionalism, class and the determination required to do all that it takes in order to achieve victory.
He reminds me of Gord Kluzak - and the two share many other traits, too, that she shouldn't share... You could add Bobby Orr and Cam Neely to this list -and maybe even Normand Léveillé, but that might be too extreme- as great players who got career-threatening injuries or conditions that shortened their stay in the NHL.
Adam is fortunately not there yet: he can and does continue to play, contributing in a big way to the Bruins' march to the Finals, successively besting Toronto, New York and Pittsburgh on their way to battle their virtual mirror image in Chicago... Having said that, the adversary does not have anyone comparable to the survivors and warriors that are Patrice Bergeron, Nathan Horton and Adam McQuaid indeed; all they have are kids like Toews and Kane and one of those Hossa hussies.
That doesn't even begin to compare with an Adam McQuaid who just recently survived the greatest scare any athlete could have: to be diagnosed with a horrible condition called Thoracic Outlet Syndrome that causes dangerous, potentially lie-threatening blood clots to form in his body. He underwent two emergency operations to remove these clots and then went immediately into an intense rehabilitation program to join his team on time for the January start of the shortened 2013 season.
Such dedication, perseverance and resilience indeed can only be applauded, admired and rewarded with the smallest honor the NHL bestows upon such remarkable players: the Bill Masterton Trophy, which has been won by Gord Kluzak and Cam Neely in the past for the exact same reasons, though neither of those two greats had faced life-threatening conditions: only career-ending ones...
The only other player worthy of the trophy is unquestionably Josh Harding, the netminder of the Minnesota Wild who has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and came back to play and lead his team after a 33-game hiatus for treatment.
And yet, and yet... The front runner for the trophy was Sidney Crosby with his concussion and broken jaw; or so it read like last May... Luckily, they regained their senses and awarded the trophy to the player dealing with the only thing worse than T.O.S. - M.S.
Adam McQuaid has a chance to win his second Stanley Cup in three years after being salvaged from a sinking ship called the Columbus Blue Jackets.
His warrior status was evident as he was seen writing his blog (and posting it at 2:44AM) after the Boston Bruins played a marathon triple overtime game one of the Finals against the Hawks. The fact that he displayed complete and absolute belief in himself and his teammates after the game ended the wrong way totally drives the point across: Adam is of that mettle that can only be aptly surmised as... the best. It makes no sense whatsoever to ever doubt that (or buy into the silly things put together by buffoons such as Jon Stewart back in 2011 to discredit the mettle of these champions: Jon Stewart would lose in the most pathetic way in a one-on-ne debate with Jack Edwards. And so would Colbert!) and Adam should be expected to be hoisting the Cup once again - exactly as he did back in 2011.
Hopefully it will not have to be in seven games again - but if so, then so be it!
Go Bruins - Go!
June 13, 2013
June 09, 2013
Another Dream Come True!
We had originally envisioned a hard-fought series that would have almost gone the distance - evidently giving the mercenary hearts that chose a Pitt over a Beantown way too much credit in the process! Our prediction of BRUINS IN SIX was based upon the knowledge that all of those misbegotten statistics-lovers readily have at their disposal throughout the year; partly thanks to the wretched NHL.COM. And, sure, the core group of forwards that the Pitt had assembled had wreaked havoc all throughout the league, scoring almost at will against everyone else - but, ah-ha, there it is right there: the Boston Bruins are not ''everyone else'' - not at all! Where no one could make the necessary adjustments in any single game matching-up with these so-called ''mighty Pens'' - when two other teams (made up of considerably weaker elements than both the Bruins and the Pitt itself) could not adjust either, despite being in the midst of a series with them - the Boston Bruins could. Not only did they make all the right adjustments required to take game one, they made them for the course of the entire series and limited an adversary used to score at will and averaging nearly 5 goals a game to just two goals - for the entire series' length. This sure is another dream performance, another dream scenario unfolding and another dream come true: and it is all so richly deserved, too.
It's A Tough Job, But Someone's Gotta Do It -
The Bear - And His Broom!
Cleaning The League Of All The Posers
Since 2010 - at least!
(Photo Credits: Unknown - Come Forward!)
BRAVO BOSTON BRUINS! 2013 Eastern Conference Champions (just as in 2011 - however, this time around, they needed only 16 games to achieve it, compared to 18 two years ago. Still, both times they swept a team from Pennsylvania: and it seemed to be easier this time, too!)
What a great gift for Milan Lucic, who celebrates his birthday simultaneously...!
And, as I said on Facebook: no worthier team in the entire Eastern Conference (past, present or future: you hear, that, teams that will be realigned to be a part of the East, next year?) could or should have landed this precious title! Next up: the prestigious cup that should have been yours three years in a row, really - if not for that instance of high larceny on ice that occurred last year in the first round... Capital punishment was served afterwards though; they went nowhere fast after that and, this year, they were victimized by the under-performing ''blue shirts', that fell to the Bruins in five games. (Now this time it really was ''cing petites parties'' you history-revising -distorting, in truth- yellow wanna-be journalists up north - otherwise known as the envious rabble from Quawbeck! It was so nice to see your prodigal son, ''Mario Le Magnifico'' totally bewildered as his team of rag-tag all-stars failed miserably when they came up against a real cohesive team that redefines fraternity, hard work and flawless execution! Just like in the 80s and 90s, when Cam Neely eclipsed Mario Lemieux on the ice when their respective teams matched-up, Cam The Man has done it again to LaMeww from the other side of hockey operations this time! Take that, all of the so-called Belle Province - FOR YOU ARE NOT THE HUB OF HOCKEY - BOSTON IS THE HUB OF HOCKEY! But I digress...)
What's more, Milan Lucic proved he is the present and the future - while Jarome Iginla is only the past, fading away fast... Patrice Bergeron proved he is the best two-way center in the league - and that Sidney Crosby is a distant second. David Krejci proved he is the best performer come clutch-time - and Evgeni Malkin is nothing more than a poser indeed. Zdeno Chara schooled the entire Pitt defense (and most particularly absurd Norris Trophy nominee Kris Letang) what proper defense is all about. Andrew Ference taught every other defenseman from the Pitt what truly bringing it is all about! And Jaromir Jagr showed Brenden Morrow what a veteran is supposed to bring to the table in order to help his new team win!
I could go on with the comparisons... But why bother? The Pitt is gone - good riddance! Onwards to the next opponent now...
But not yet - not just yet...!
Enjoy this remarkable and complete victory first - for BOSTON deserves it!
NHL Properties again - but credit the Boston Bruins first!
June 02, 2013
Dreams Get To Boil Over Too - Before They Simmer Down
Simmer down a bit, it will, surely - but just as the Bruins remain brimming hot, of course!
;-)
No pun intended at all at the expense of one Charlie Simmer whom I knew first as Bruin, a teammate and, I believe, a linemate of Ken Linseman, Steve Kasper or some other hard-working type, and truly appreciated immensely as such - especially on one given night when the final score was, I do believe... Boston Bruins 7, Montreal Canadiens 3. Thanks again, Charlie, for scoring - was it two or three? It doesn't matter: what mattered was that there were ten goals and seven belonged to BOSTON!
It was around those same good old days, when the Bruins tied and then bested a record for most consecutive playoff appearances by any NHL team, challenged the mighty Islanders (who were right in the midst of their little ''dynasty run'' there...) and suddenly found themselves in the Stanley Cup Finals of 1988, led there by newcomer Cam Neely, the three aforementioned veterans, captain Ray Bourque and a duo of brand-new (for the team anyway) goal-tenders... It was around those days, aye, I remember it very well (okay; somewhat well? Well enough not to have to google the info and actually pen this aaaaaaaaaaall by sheer memory - yeah!) when JUSTICE ON ICE had to be administered by the players -still- because the NHL and its sorry bunch of nitwit referees simply could not do it... would not do it... or were a totally clueless bunch of buffoons completely inept at doing their job!!!
And so the Boston Bruins saw this sell-out jerk, Chris Nilan, injure their proud enforcer, Terry O'Reilly one day - hitting him when he was down. I remember Brian Curran, among others, going after Nilan the very next game the two teams played again. It was time to settle that score - and then, the obtuse refs intervened and stopped JUSTICE from being served - and they did that far better than they ever could stop injustice from occurring in the first place, ironically. Goons were targeting Boston's best players? The Bruins dispatched their equalizers - and it was dealt with appropriately. It was necessary to do so, because the good players certainly were not being protected by the farcical league - or their representative zebras, the obtuse refs. Gretzky had his protector - didn't Boston playmakers Craig Janney, Randy Burridge and Ray Bourque himself deserve protection as well?
But that was then - and this is now.
Has nothing changed in the God-Forsaken NHL?!?
When one sees the likes of Matt Cooke boarding someone from behind - and that someone happens to Adam McQuaid, the same Bruin who suffered a life-threatening injury back in September 2012. CBC.ca will report it as a ''season-threatening injury'' but really now: when your league is looking at a work stoppage, there won't be any hockey for months, you're diagnosed with a condition that causes dangerous blood clots to form in your body if you are severely hit (whether it is from behind or not matters not at this point) - it's not your season that is threatened: it is your very life! And yet, in four short months, Adam McQuaid underwent not one but two operations followed by an intense therapy in other to be in shape for the season, yes, the hockey season which finally started only in January after the wretched NHL and spoiled-rotten NHLPA finally worked out a ''deal''...
Now, you're a jerk who happens to be able to simultaneously skate and chew gum - you see this guy, who may still be pre-disposed to this horrendous condition's hazards, and you're going to slam him face first into the boards the first chance you get...?!? (And then peeps complained of the similar, but vastly different hit later on, when Boston's Marchand planted one on the Pitt's James Neal - who then proceeded to embellish it and fall all over the ice, trying, hoping, dreaming of being able to draw a 5-minute misconduct penalty too...! The hits were not the same; the parties involved neither - it was totally different in any imaginable way. But I am digressing now...)
This is not surprising, mind you - since it comes from the same dirty player -COOKE- who cuts opposing players' tendons with his skates (by accident, sure) and caused so any to simply stop playing, due to severe concussions... Need we remind the tragedy that befell Boston Bruins playmaker Marc Savard?
And speaking of concussions... What kind of ''all-star'' player are you, Evgeni MACACO Malkin, when you try to drop the gloves and go out of your way to finally punch someone, prove you're a man, be tough on ice as all hockey players should be but you never are, really... What kind of ''man', though when you pick as your sparring partner concussion-survivor Patrice Bergeron, of all possible opponents? And you really went out of your way to try and hit him too - with those little fists of yours searching for Bergeron's head, not caring one iota that here is a guy who's had been sidelined MANY TIMES with concussions... Maybe you want a concussion all your own, Malkin? Maybe Lucic can serve you one - please, please. pleeeeeease ask Milan for one... illico! You shall be served - pronto!
You would think that Malkin and co. would be kind to players who have come back from concussion syndrome - just like their precious Sid The Kid finally did, after taking longer than anyone - save Marc Savard, maybe? You would think that Sid The Kid had been hit by Matt Cooke too...! He sure would deserve it, too... What was that, Sidney Boy: you shoved the opposing goalie, Tuukka Rask, after he blanked you and your entire over-rated team of punks with mercenary hearts and not much else to show for it: you, the purported poster boy of the league, the face of the NHL (a face that deserves to be bashed in considerably more than Brad Marchand's, I tell you now and I'll tell you again - in any hockey bar there is!) you showed no class, displayed no guts and proved to be nothing more than a sour puss sore loser on the grandest stage of all: the Eastern Conference Finals. You even shoved Tuukka Rask twice - because he did not accept your feeble attempt at intimidation with the first shove, he pushed you back and you came back to shove him more convincingly...! WHAT A TOUGH GUY! Try and do this with Zdeno Chara next, with whom you were having such interesting conversations but always from a certain distance - try and shove HIM like that, you coward!!!
Now how about Bylsma, the Pitt's coach - you better not take a page out of one of your predecessors-ancestors, DAN... We mentioned 1988 - flash-forward to 1991, and we have the same Cam Neely (now the fully empowered Cam ''The Man'' Neely) leading the Bruins' offense and single-handedly beating the Pittsburgh Posers that included Mario ''the magnificent'' and several other inflated egos who thought themselves to be greater than they truly were - ironically, that included even one Mark Recchi, who aptly replaced Marc Savard in the Boston Bruins line-up for the 2011 championship run. But that is another story... What did the old Badger do when he saw this? He dispatched the most despicable cheap shot artist he had at his disposal to ''take out'' the opposition's number one weapon, with a sneaky insidious knee-on-knee attack... Up until then, Neely was virtually scoring at will - much like David Krejci does, did in Game 1 against the Pitt's Posers, and will continue to do - heck, Krejci has 45 points in his last 45 playoff games! He's even more reliable than Neely himself, being a playmaker primarily, not a power forward like Cam redefined the role of, christening it in the process... Don't even dream of it, Danny Boy - because if you send anyone after Krejci, Nathan Horton will tear him limb from limb!
It was a wonderful sight to behold: David Krejci and Tuukka Rask silence the rowdy crowd at Consol Energy Center in the first game of the series. Boston proved they can beat you in so many different ways: with physical play, surely, but with finesse plays too. With teamwork, neutral zone entrapment and flawless defensive execution all throughout the game. With excellent coverage and even more excellent goal-tending! Any given night, any given game, it can be any one of the four lines scoring against you: and it will be so delightful when Jaromir Jagr breaks out with two or three goals against his former team! He doesn't have to score them himself though - he can always assist on Bergeron and Marchand goals! Or Lucic's... Or Seguin's... Or Krug's - KRUG THE BRUIN KING!
I have just had about enough of all this talk that "the Boston Bruins use intimidation to win their games, playoffs series, Cup championships..." - they simply play the damn game the way the damn NHL wants it to be presented as a spectacle ''different enough'' to have a chance of progressing in an extremely tough and competitive sports market in the damnable U.S.of A. - dammit!!! Anyone too blind to see that deserves only to be condemned to a lifetime of watching nothing other than curling and figure-skating - 24/7 - without the slightest chance of parole!
The fools who claim this do so, of course, on message boards such as those found on... NHL.com! What a coincidence... Some claim that the league plays favorites with the Bruins, due to the Bruins' ''Merlot line'' forward Gregory Campbell being the son of one Colin Campbell... I see no evidence of favoritism, any nepotism stemming out of that and, in fact, I see the league constantly being unfair to the Boston franchise just as they used to be back in the old Boston Garden & Harry Sinden days...! When a pro-Bruins commenter tries to post something, something totally devoid of cynicism, disguised profanity or ill-intent of any kind, it gets blocked by the so-called moderators - who then turn around and let a dozen inane and revolting bits pass by their ''keen eye for censorship''... MY FOOT! There is bias a mile long and if I didn't know any better, I'd say this crappy site is run by Montreal Habs-Not fans...!!! What with titles and headlines reading in such uninspired ways as ''Bru-te Force'' and ''Trouble Bru-in?'' when the Boston Bruins soundly defeat the Pitt Posers - how can anyone with half-a-brain even pretend that the nhl is biased towards the Bruins? It makes no sense whatsoever, you nhl ninnies! And by that I mean the FANS - of course!
I am through bothering to dignify such a lowly website, owned by such an abysmal league run by inept sapsuckers in it for nothing else than the money, with any of my commentaries! They will remain exclusively here - on B.D.! And if the masses miss them entirely - too bad for them and their lack of enlightenment...!
The wretched NHL sure missed their chance -once again- to make an example and send a message not only throughout the blasted league but throughout the world of hockey as well; they refused to suspend repeat offender Matt Cooke for his reckless play relapse... What they deserve to see now is one of the Bruins -Shawn Thornton, maybe- send Cooke to the hospital. But then they would suspend Shawn, I suppose...? For what, I wonder, Brendan "Blind Sonovabitch" Shanahan? Using his fists? Rectifying an oversight on your damnable part? DOING YOUR JOB FOR YA? And to think that I once wanted to see a guy whose initials are ''B.S." finish his uneventful career as a member of the Boston Bruins... He went on to become the ''senior vice-president of player safety"" instead, imagine that - and he can't even prevent things from happening, seize the opportunity to do so, when he can do so - WHAT A JOKE! Curse you, Shanahan - curse you to hell! Where Badger is, with Ulf - and his Cooke is heading there too!
Cooke and his idiotic teammates better ease off the Boston Bruins' best elements - and their most vulnerable -yet courageous and resilient- ones, such as Bergeron and McQuaid - or else, Pen Posers... You're going to be in a world of hurt, courtesy of the fists of Milan Lucic, Shawn Thornton and Gregory Campbell - to name but three possible providers of JUSTICE ON ICE!
Since the zebras and NHL hierarchy seem to be so devoid of any sense of justice...
;-)
No pun intended at all at the expense of one Charlie Simmer whom I knew first as Bruin, a teammate and, I believe, a linemate of Ken Linseman, Steve Kasper or some other hard-working type, and truly appreciated immensely as such - especially on one given night when the final score was, I do believe... Boston Bruins 7, Montreal Canadiens 3. Thanks again, Charlie, for scoring - was it two or three? It doesn't matter: what mattered was that there were ten goals and seven belonged to BOSTON!
It was around those same good old days, when the Bruins tied and then bested a record for most consecutive playoff appearances by any NHL team, challenged the mighty Islanders (who were right in the midst of their little ''dynasty run'' there...) and suddenly found themselves in the Stanley Cup Finals of 1988, led there by newcomer Cam Neely, the three aforementioned veterans, captain Ray Bourque and a duo of brand-new (for the team anyway) goal-tenders... It was around those days, aye, I remember it very well (okay; somewhat well? Well enough not to have to google the info and actually pen this aaaaaaaaaaall by sheer memory - yeah!) when JUSTICE ON ICE had to be administered by the players -still- because the NHL and its sorry bunch of nitwit referees simply could not do it... would not do it... or were a totally clueless bunch of buffoons completely inept at doing their job!!!
And so the Boston Bruins saw this sell-out jerk, Chris Nilan, injure their proud enforcer, Terry O'Reilly one day - hitting him when he was down. I remember Brian Curran, among others, going after Nilan the very next game the two teams played again. It was time to settle that score - and then, the obtuse refs intervened and stopped JUSTICE from being served - and they did that far better than they ever could stop injustice from occurring in the first place, ironically. Goons were targeting Boston's best players? The Bruins dispatched their equalizers - and it was dealt with appropriately. It was necessary to do so, because the good players certainly were not being protected by the farcical league - or their representative zebras, the obtuse refs. Gretzky had his protector - didn't Boston playmakers Craig Janney, Randy Burridge and Ray Bourque himself deserve protection as well?
But that was then - and this is now.
Has nothing changed in the God-Forsaken NHL?!?
When one sees the likes of Matt Cooke boarding someone from behind - and that someone happens to Adam McQuaid, the same Bruin who suffered a life-threatening injury back in September 2012. CBC.ca will report it as a ''season-threatening injury'' but really now: when your league is looking at a work stoppage, there won't be any hockey for months, you're diagnosed with a condition that causes dangerous blood clots to form in your body if you are severely hit (whether it is from behind or not matters not at this point) - it's not your season that is threatened: it is your very life! And yet, in four short months, Adam McQuaid underwent not one but two operations followed by an intense therapy in other to be in shape for the season, yes, the hockey season which finally started only in January after the wretched NHL and spoiled-rotten NHLPA finally worked out a ''deal''...
Now, you're a jerk who happens to be able to simultaneously skate and chew gum - you see this guy, who may still be pre-disposed to this horrendous condition's hazards, and you're going to slam him face first into the boards the first chance you get...?!? (And then peeps complained of the similar, but vastly different hit later on, when Boston's Marchand planted one on the Pitt's James Neal - who then proceeded to embellish it and fall all over the ice, trying, hoping, dreaming of being able to draw a 5-minute misconduct penalty too...! The hits were not the same; the parties involved neither - it was totally different in any imaginable way. But I am digressing now...)
This is not surprising, mind you - since it comes from the same dirty player -COOKE- who cuts opposing players' tendons with his skates (by accident, sure) and caused so any to simply stop playing, due to severe concussions... Need we remind the tragedy that befell Boston Bruins playmaker Marc Savard?
And speaking of concussions... What kind of ''all-star'' player are you, Evgeni MACACO Malkin, when you try to drop the gloves and go out of your way to finally punch someone, prove you're a man, be tough on ice as all hockey players should be but you never are, really... What kind of ''man', though when you pick as your sparring partner concussion-survivor Patrice Bergeron, of all possible opponents? And you really went out of your way to try and hit him too - with those little fists of yours searching for Bergeron's head, not caring one iota that here is a guy who's had been sidelined MANY TIMES with concussions... Maybe you want a concussion all your own, Malkin? Maybe Lucic can serve you one - please, please. pleeeeeease ask Milan for one... illico! You shall be served - pronto!
You would think that Malkin and co. would be kind to players who have come back from concussion syndrome - just like their precious Sid The Kid finally did, after taking longer than anyone - save Marc Savard, maybe? You would think that Sid The Kid had been hit by Matt Cooke too...! He sure would deserve it, too... What was that, Sidney Boy: you shoved the opposing goalie, Tuukka Rask, after he blanked you and your entire over-rated team of punks with mercenary hearts and not much else to show for it: you, the purported poster boy of the league, the face of the NHL (a face that deserves to be bashed in considerably more than Brad Marchand's, I tell you now and I'll tell you again - in any hockey bar there is!) you showed no class, displayed no guts and proved to be nothing more than a sour puss sore loser on the grandest stage of all: the Eastern Conference Finals. You even shoved Tuukka Rask twice - because he did not accept your feeble attempt at intimidation with the first shove, he pushed you back and you came back to shove him more convincingly...! WHAT A TOUGH GUY! Try and do this with Zdeno Chara next, with whom you were having such interesting conversations but always from a certain distance - try and shove HIM like that, you coward!!!
This is where I should credit NHL PROPERTIES - hmm?
Sid The Kid, at his most pathetic, about to be bitch-slapped...
And he will be - trust me - he will be!
No one will spare him from the lesson he deserves -
not Iginla, not Cooke - NO ONE!
Now how about Bylsma, the Pitt's coach - you better not take a page out of one of your predecessors-ancestors, DAN... We mentioned 1988 - flash-forward to 1991, and we have the same Cam Neely (now the fully empowered Cam ''The Man'' Neely) leading the Bruins' offense and single-handedly beating the Pittsburgh Posers that included Mario ''the magnificent'' and several other inflated egos who thought themselves to be greater than they truly were - ironically, that included even one Mark Recchi, who aptly replaced Marc Savard in the Boston Bruins line-up for the 2011 championship run. But that is another story... What did the old Badger do when he saw this? He dispatched the most despicable cheap shot artist he had at his disposal to ''take out'' the opposition's number one weapon, with a sneaky insidious knee-on-knee attack... Up until then, Neely was virtually scoring at will - much like David Krejci does, did in Game 1 against the Pitt's Posers, and will continue to do - heck, Krejci has 45 points in his last 45 playoff games! He's even more reliable than Neely himself, being a playmaker primarily, not a power forward like Cam redefined the role of, christening it in the process... Don't even dream of it, Danny Boy - because if you send anyone after Krejci, Nathan Horton will tear him limb from limb!
It was a wonderful sight to behold: David Krejci and Tuukka Rask silence the rowdy crowd at Consol Energy Center in the first game of the series. Boston proved they can beat you in so many different ways: with physical play, surely, but with finesse plays too. With teamwork, neutral zone entrapment and flawless defensive execution all throughout the game. With excellent coverage and even more excellent goal-tending! Any given night, any given game, it can be any one of the four lines scoring against you: and it will be so delightful when Jaromir Jagr breaks out with two or three goals against his former team! He doesn't have to score them himself though - he can always assist on Bergeron and Marchand goals! Or Lucic's... Or Seguin's... Or Krug's - KRUG THE BRUIN KING!
I have just had about enough of all this talk that "the Boston Bruins use intimidation to win their games, playoffs series, Cup championships..." - they simply play the damn game the way the damn NHL wants it to be presented as a spectacle ''different enough'' to have a chance of progressing in an extremely tough and competitive sports market in the damnable U.S.of A. - dammit!!! Anyone too blind to see that deserves only to be condemned to a lifetime of watching nothing other than curling and figure-skating - 24/7 - without the slightest chance of parole!
The fools who claim this do so, of course, on message boards such as those found on... NHL.com! What a coincidence... Some claim that the league plays favorites with the Bruins, due to the Bruins' ''Merlot line'' forward Gregory Campbell being the son of one Colin Campbell... I see no evidence of favoritism, any nepotism stemming out of that and, in fact, I see the league constantly being unfair to the Boston franchise just as they used to be back in the old Boston Garden & Harry Sinden days...! When a pro-Bruins commenter tries to post something, something totally devoid of cynicism, disguised profanity or ill-intent of any kind, it gets blocked by the so-called moderators - who then turn around and let a dozen inane and revolting bits pass by their ''keen eye for censorship''... MY FOOT! There is bias a mile long and if I didn't know any better, I'd say this crappy site is run by Montreal Habs-Not fans...!!! What with titles and headlines reading in such uninspired ways as ''Bru-te Force'' and ''Trouble Bru-in?'' when the Boston Bruins soundly defeat the Pitt Posers - how can anyone with half-a-brain even pretend that the nhl is biased towards the Bruins? It makes no sense whatsoever, you nhl ninnies! And by that I mean the FANS - of course!
I am through bothering to dignify such a lowly website, owned by such an abysmal league run by inept sapsuckers in it for nothing else than the money, with any of my commentaries! They will remain exclusively here - on B.D.! And if the masses miss them entirely - too bad for them and their lack of enlightenment...!
The wretched NHL sure missed their chance -once again- to make an example and send a message not only throughout the blasted league but throughout the world of hockey as well; they refused to suspend repeat offender Matt Cooke for his reckless play relapse... What they deserve to see now is one of the Bruins -Shawn Thornton, maybe- send Cooke to the hospital. But then they would suspend Shawn, I suppose...? For what, I wonder, Brendan "Blind Sonovabitch" Shanahan? Using his fists? Rectifying an oversight on your damnable part? DOING YOUR JOB FOR YA? And to think that I once wanted to see a guy whose initials are ''B.S." finish his uneventful career as a member of the Boston Bruins... He went on to become the ''senior vice-president of player safety"" instead, imagine that - and he can't even prevent things from happening, seize the opportunity to do so, when he can do so - WHAT A JOKE! Curse you, Shanahan - curse you to hell! Where Badger is, with Ulf - and his Cooke is heading there too!
Cooke and his idiotic teammates better ease off the Boston Bruins' best elements - and their most vulnerable -yet courageous and resilient- ones, such as Bergeron and McQuaid - or else, Pen Posers... You're going to be in a world of hurt, courtesy of the fists of Milan Lucic, Shawn Thornton and Gregory Campbell - to name but three possible providers of JUSTICE ON ICE!
Since the zebras and NHL hierarchy seem to be so devoid of any sense of justice...
NHL Properties - Boston Bruins
Go, Bruins, GO!
May 28, 2013
The Renewed Rivalry Dreamed For...
Both teams have defeated competition coming from New York on their way there: and both teams eliminated opponents hailing from Ontario too...
Both teams sport the exact same color scheme - and both have, over the years, courted the exact same talent pool as well (from the lamentable Kevin Stevens to Jarome Iginla, most recently...)
Both teams have won Stanley Cups with the exact same player in their line-up: Mark Recchi.
And, now, the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins are set to do battle once again - the winner representing the Eastern Conference in what probably will be a lopsided battle for that Cup again, advantaging the Western Conference champion (be it Los Angeles, San Jose, Chicago or Detroit.)
But then - the Western Conference champion was a heavy favorite in 2011 too: and the Boston Bruins did defeat that supposed juggernaut to hoist the Cup as the one true NHL champion.
But that is getting ahead of oneself now...!
Let's remain focused on the present task, that which lies ahead for the coming week or so - defeating some sort of cosmic twin opponent.
We say ''cosmic twin'' for various reasons: these teams' histories are intertwined in so many ways. Both teams are led by a concussion-survivor in the B's Patrice Bergeron and the P's Sidney Crosby. Both teams are perennial contenders, dating back to the days when they were led by Raymond Bourque and Mario Lemieux, respectively - ironically two Québécois by birth who've become Americans by choice. There is bad blood between the teams, too: for it was a P, Matt Cooke, that gave a (all evidence leads to believe career-ending) concussion to Marc Savard - imagine (dream of) the team the Boston Bruins would have if they had Savard as an additional offensive threat... It was also a P that effectively ended the great Cam Neely's career - when Neely was single-handedly defeating the Pens in the 1991 playoffs and then P-coach (we'll not ever speak his name again - ever!) dispatched a dirty-player to collide with Neely's knee in order to purposefully take him out of the series - which they did. Also, but of considerable lesser importance, there is that color scheme... The Pens used to be blue-garbed but, quite obviously out of envy, they adopted the same colors as the Bruins after a while... Here are the eventual Stanley Cup champions of 1972, the Boston Bruins, facing off with the Penguins of their era. Pens' goon Bryan Watson can hardly contain his jealousy of the great Bobby Orr and tries to hurt him - to no avail. The Bruins' legend roughs him up, instead! Just watch an all-around hockey master, who could do it all on the ice, teaching the lesser opponent not to mess with his success...
Both teams sport the exact same color scheme - and both have, over the years, courted the exact same talent pool as well (from the lamentable Kevin Stevens to Jarome Iginla, most recently...)
Both teams have won Stanley Cups with the exact same player in their line-up: Mark Recchi.
And, now, the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins are set to do battle once again - the winner representing the Eastern Conference in what probably will be a lopsided battle for that Cup again, advantaging the Western Conference champion (be it Los Angeles, San Jose, Chicago or Detroit.)
But then - the Western Conference champion was a heavy favorite in 2011 too: and the Boston Bruins did defeat that supposed juggernaut to hoist the Cup as the one true NHL champion.
But that is getting ahead of oneself now...!
Let's remain focused on the present task, that which lies ahead for the coming week or so - defeating some sort of cosmic twin opponent.
We say ''cosmic twin'' for various reasons: these teams' histories are intertwined in so many ways. Both teams are led by a concussion-survivor in the B's Patrice Bergeron and the P's Sidney Crosby. Both teams are perennial contenders, dating back to the days when they were led by Raymond Bourque and Mario Lemieux, respectively - ironically two Québécois by birth who've become Americans by choice. There is bad blood between the teams, too: for it was a P, Matt Cooke, that gave a (all evidence leads to believe career-ending) concussion to Marc Savard - imagine (dream of) the team the Boston Bruins would have if they had Savard as an additional offensive threat... It was also a P that effectively ended the great Cam Neely's career - when Neely was single-handedly defeating the Pens in the 1991 playoffs and then P-coach (we'll not ever speak his name again - ever!) dispatched a dirty-player to collide with Neely's knee in order to purposefully take him out of the series - which they did. Also, but of considerable lesser importance, there is that color scheme... The Pens used to be blue-garbed but, quite obviously out of envy, they adopted the same colors as the Bruins after a while... Here are the eventual Stanley Cup champions of 1972, the Boston Bruins, facing off with the Penguins of their era. Pens' goon Bryan Watson can hardly contain his jealousy of the great Bobby Orr and tries to hurt him - to no avail. The Bruins' legend roughs him up, instead! Just watch an all-around hockey master, who could do it all on the ice, teaching the lesser opponent not to mess with his success...
Aw, that was beautiful - said Don ''Grapes'' Cherry to Blue. And speaking of success...
The Boston Bruins have already shown that they are a tailor-made team for success in the playoffs - that last year's failure to defend their championship was a fluke (losing to a lesser and lowly Washington Capitals squad that, immediately after, floundered and went nowhere at all; just like they did this year, too. The Caps couldn't handle the New York Rangers - what did the Boston Bruins do to the New York Rangers just now? They dispatched them in five games!)
The Bruins allow less goals than the Penguins do and produce more than the P's are used to allow to weak opposition such as the Islanders and Senators. The B's have a better overall defense, with greater depth, a superior goaltender and four lines that have gelled well together. The Bruins are also more of a tight-fitting team, as the majority of the players have been together for more than three years and most of them were there for the 2011 championship. Therefore, the nucleus remains that of a champion, even though more than a year removed from it. The Penguins have their core top three still intact, of course, but then they've assembled a team of mercenaries - that's all. They must realize that Krejci, Bergeron, Jagr, Marchand, Horton, Lucic, Seguin, Chara, Seidenberg and Krug match up extremely well with Crosby, Malkin, Neal, Kunitz, Iginla, Dupuis, Jokinen, Morrow, Letang, Orpik and Martin - it is only their fans that do not realize it. The Bruins have far more grit then the puny Pens, who rely on the referees not allowing anyone to touch their Sid The Kid and their Evgeni - and yet they still have got Matt Cooke, consummate goon, on their roster - the very same that injured Bruins star Marc Savard. Forget revenge - this is a cause of JUSTICE. And justice will be served - by the Bruins! The Bruins are better coached too: a distinct advantage in the playoffs. Aye, this will be a battle for the ages between two well-balanced teams - but only one deserves to win: the team that didn't injure the other's star forward, the team that plays hard but fair, without intent to injure the opponent - the Bruins!
But who cares about all of these stats and long, drawn-out series of numbers and analytics... For it just comes down to simple logic here. BRUINS defeat PENGUINS - every time out! A hirsute bear up against a bird that doesn't even fly? Come on! It is a pre-decided outcome here! Especially since it is long-term competition between the two, a test of endurance such as a best-of-7 series...
It is but simple pure common sense; such as the following demonstration illustrates perfectly well:
BRUINS IN SIX.
Many thanks to the little sister's room
for all the props - and inspiration!
;-)
May 16, 2013
Krug The Bruin King!
Krug The Bruin is coming - and not since Kull The Conqueror, Conan The Barbarian, Claw The Unconquered, Beorn The Skin-Changer, Thorin The Dwarf-King, Bard The Bowman, Bilbo Baggins The Hobbit, Thundarr, Valdemar or Solomon Kane has his like been seen or heard of...!
All of you listen and take heed of this now: beware of Krug The Bruin!
He wandered for eons in the wastelands of the Spartans (MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS-CCHA) - and honed his craft with the primal tribes up north (INDIANA ICE-USHL) until he was free to offer his prowess to the Kingdom of Boston. Emperor-King Cam saw the skill and strength of this new warrior Divine Providence had brought him - and so he was quick to seize the chance of knighting him so that he remained in the Bruins court (SIGNED BY BOSTON AS A FREE AGENT, MAR. 25, 2012.)
Krug The Bruin got his first taste of battle as the kingdom repelled another attack from the northern-bound barbares sometimes called Les Canayens (des canailles, by any other name - on MARCH 27 '13 ) at the next solstice - it was an inconclusive skirmish, unsolved by the league's trickery of shooting wizardry that betrays the very essence of these wars on ice.
Krug The Bruin retired to the forest after that, in order to ressource himself and prepare for the next big battle. There, he momentarily joined a band of young aspiring Killer B's who'd done battle with another league of icy assassins; these were found to be on a different quest, as they sought a different grail - that of Calder. In fact, the Calder grail is really a Calder Cauldron - but that is not important right now! Krug The Bruin joined the battle alongside these other brave warriors from the Island at the crossroads - and he battled well for them. They advanced, made significant progress in their quest while he was with them and slayed many a foe.- all thanks to the very same Divine Providence that had brought them all together in the first place.
But then came the time that Krug The Bruin had secretly, in his heart of hearts, hoped and prayed for: the Kingdom of Boston had need of him once more and he was summoned. Emperor Cam was sternly looking at his gathered forces and he assessed a sudden weakness in them. A triad of justice on ice had fallen - Sir Ference, Sir Seidenberg and the errant knight Sir Redden - and so the times were dire and Krug The Bruin had to fill that void left in the Bostonian Round Table if victory was to be achieved. Krug The Bruin was told he had to come in and basically replace three valiant warriors nearly all by himself!
He did so in brilliant fashion, registering a tally on a show of force, as the Boston battalion overwhelmed the enemy. However, the enemy came back to make it a challenging contest - but to no avail, as the Boston troops rallied to best the dastardly Lundqvist and wicked Tortorella with, ultimately, three well-aimed strikes against two fool's luck ones. Emperor Cam was content - but he knew this was but one battle waged - and a war beckoned... The mighty Krug wouldn't have any other way though: ''bring it on'' he howled, fierce as ever, ready as always. The feudal lord of the castle, Jacobs The First, saw this as a good thing, too - and both he and Emperor Cam saw to it that Krug The Bruin was bestowed with enough servants to make his stay comfortable - and his muscles well taken care of, until the next contest...
And Krug The Bruin was serene - because he was finally in his rightful place - and he would be king!
Beware Krug The Bruin! For his wrath knows no bounds!
And he will not stop until he is satiated either...!
Photo Credits: all here!
Creative Commons - you gotta love it!
Unselfish don de soi - just like the B's!
They give it their all to win!
And they do!
+++
Hey - Robert E. Howard wrote about barbarians he saw in his DREAMS...
J.R.R. Tolkien dreamed up all manners of allegories for what he truly wanted to write about - and did so splendidly well and so inventively that one just got the message - despite all the shenanigans, trolls, dwarves and make-believe fluff sugar-coating it all, really...
Surely all manners of Boston Bruins fans will follow this piece of fancy of mine just as well - and get the true gist - and true grit - of it...!
Sempre Por O Melhor
+++
May 13, 2013
The Dream Comeback
Not enough can be said about the stunning comeback orchestrated by the Boston Bruins in their do-or-die unlikely Game 7 (unlikely because the Leafs should have spared everyone -including themselves and, most of all, their delusional fanbase- and simply died in Game 5, really) As they suddenly trailed in the game by three goals in the final frame, the Bruins once again mounted a resilient effort to dig themselves out of the hole they unjustly found themselves in and triumph over adversity in amazing fashion! What they did, once again and quite simply put, no one had ever done it before in NHL history: they tallied one to make it 2-4, through the poised stick of forward Nathan Horton whose air of professionalism, calm demeanor after scoring, imposes respect right there and then. Had the comeback fallen short, it would have still remained. But it wasn't done at all - in fact, the record-setting feat hadn't even begun yet... And no team had ever comeback after being down three goals in the third period of a decisive game seven: until these Boston Bruins did just that... Watch:
Once the final two minutes of play in regulation were underway, time truly started pressing the Bruins to make something happen. Pulling the goaltender in favor of an extra attacker almost never works, but they did so anyway - they had no other choice. The result would not only be favorable this time: it would be magical. Within 1 minute and 22 seconds, the Bruins scored twice and almost scored a third! The two goals salvaged their season and sent the game to overtime. And once there, within six minutes of play, the Bruins completed the rally by scoring the winning and decisive goal for the series - and once again it was assistant-captain Patrice Bergeron who scored, he who had tied the game in the first place. His tying goal had been verbally requested by teammate Milan Lucic too: in the video above you can read on Lucic's lips ''one more'' after he scored on a rebound to make it 3-4. And they did get ''one more'' - and then nearly another before the end of regulation, which would have been fair given that the Bruins should have won that series in five or six games maximum. But the suspense - it had to last a little while longer - for the feat to be all that much more impressive, surely. The same hero who had tied the game was destined to also net the winning tally.
No Bruin partisan could have dreamed of a better ending, given the incredible circumstances: and what was a dream ending for B's fans was a nightmare for T.O. delusionals.
And so it goes, as Linda would say...
Once the final two minutes of play in regulation were underway, time truly started pressing the Bruins to make something happen. Pulling the goaltender in favor of an extra attacker almost never works, but they did so anyway - they had no other choice. The result would not only be favorable this time: it would be magical. Within 1 minute and 22 seconds, the Bruins scored twice and almost scored a third! The two goals salvaged their season and sent the game to overtime. And once there, within six minutes of play, the Bruins completed the rally by scoring the winning and decisive goal for the series - and once again it was assistant-captain Patrice Bergeron who scored, he who had tied the game in the first place. His tying goal had been verbally requested by teammate Milan Lucic too: in the video above you can read on Lucic's lips ''one more'' after he scored on a rebound to make it 3-4. And they did get ''one more'' - and then nearly another before the end of regulation, which would have been fair given that the Bruins should have won that series in five or six games maximum. But the suspense - it had to last a little while longer - for the feat to be all that much more impressive, surely. The same hero who had tied the game was destined to also net the winning tally.
No Bruin partisan could have dreamed of a better ending, given the incredible circumstances: and what was a dream ending for B's fans was a nightmare for T.O. delusionals.
And so it goes, as Linda would say...
BOSTON STRONG - as always
We all know what happened in Boston during the 117th edition of the prestigious Boston Marathon - and the subsequent wave of support, worldwide, for the victims of that cowardly act that left many Bostonians scarred for life, both emotionally as physically. Jeff Bauman was one of those people - one of those who lost limbs in the explosions that interrupted the marathon's finish and ended three lives as well. Mister Bauman lost, in fact, both lower limbs and yet he courageously faces the future with optimism. He even accepted the invitation of the Boston Bruins organization to wave the flag of the new movement that the tragedy gave birth to: ''Boston Strong'' - strong in the face of cowardly terrorist attacks, strong in the advent of more threats mushrooming at every corner, the fruit of pernicious minds that should have never been born. Boston Strong - when faced with evil.
Honestly now, if it was you or I, would either one be willing and pre-disposed to go wave a flag at some massively public event, showing your newly-cut off legs, your new wheelchair to which you will be bound for the rest of your days, show up and subject yourself to all the inquisitive eyes of the world - some of which belong to morons who simply do not even get it...?!? Honestly now - you and I would have declined this invitation - just like many other Boston Bombing victims surely did. Our collective hat has to be tipped and has to be off for Mister Jeff Bauman - a true survivor.
There is but one easy step to make in order to deter from the original, meaningful and true definition of the Boston Strong campaign though - and to slap it onto mere sports contests. Of course. It was even cute, at first, when a message board user who, coincidentally or not, named himself ''Jon Strong'', lauded all three major Boston teams at once, earlier in May in this manner: commending the Celtics for staving off elimination twice against a purported-to-be mightier Knickerbockers team; lauding the Red Sox for a terrific start to their 2013 season, as they led the major leagues right out of the gate; and applauding the Bruins for taking game one of their first round playoffs match-up with Toronto extremely convincingly by the score of 4 to 1 - which is the way the entire series should have gone, too. Cute, yes. Alas, to do that opens the gates for all the morons to walk in and wreak havoc with everything: especially common sense and plain old civility.
For there are troglodytes such as this one from Toronto, who, first off, was obtuse enough to sincerely believe that the mere youthful enthusiasm of his team (all of which had made it to the playoffs for the very first time in their lives) was going to propel them past a former championship team that still retains all the elements required to reclaim said championship. And that is without taking into account the experience factor, the trademark resilience of the Boston Bruins, the superior talent and skills of the set of players playing in Boston right now (not in 2011, when they won it all - right now) compared to the bunch of still-wet-behind-the-ears neophytes in T.O. today... (Which are, in truth, the same kind of neophytes they've had for over a decade - a decade spent without ever qualifying for the spring ''tournament'' as Europeans call it, always... But that is another aspect we need not address at this time, really.) Graver of all, the Toronto fan made the crucial mistake of never assimilating the true meaning of BOSTON STRONG - and he then cooked up for himself a sign (a professionally-made sign, in the looks anyway; how deceptive looks can be sometimes...) that read... Toronto Stronger. Stronger? When there were shootings downtown T.O. did your citizens suffer half as much trauma as Bostonians did, in April of this year? When is the last time T.O. was hit by something nearly as trying as the Boston Bombing...? To wish upon T.O. a ''ground zero type of experience'' because of that one turd would be way too extreme - but that is the only way they could possibly prove to be ''stronger'' in any way - if they can, at all. Alas, all that doesn't register with the troglodyte below, wearing shades to mask his shame, we hope: all he could comprehend would be, perhaps, that his slogan makes no sense at all even in the world of sports as neither the Raptors nor the Leafs have had anything to show for themselves that comes even close to match the successes of the Boston teams that they respectively compete against. And the Argonauts are not even in the same league -in all possible meanings of the expression- than the New England Patriots. Also, at blogging time, the New England Revolution is still better than the Toronto F.C. in Major League Soccer; which is, in truth, the real football -European football- but that is another topic once more; one we need not address here and now...
Truly, the Toronto Troglodyte has no base whatsoever on which he could possibly stand and build the foundation of his idiotic statement. And when one knows the true meaning of the STRONG component at the root of it all, he comes off only as an obnoxious, repulsive, utterly clueless turd totally devoid of class. Sincerely, I doubt that he even had a clue how clueless he was about everything involved here...
To match up this pathetic troll -one who somehow came out of hiding; 'tis foolishness, I tell you, not courage- therefore, with the amazing example of courage that Mister Jeff Bauman is, is actually in very poor taste as well, indeed. However, since it has made the rounds in social media and needs to be done, in order for any other troglodytes to, possibly (hopefully) get it - and Lord Knows there are tons of those in various towns too: New York, Montreal, even Boston itself, alas - here we go:
Photos Credits: Getty Images most probably
- and the idiot's idiotic pal.
To think that some idiot recuperated that
badder-than-just-bad idea
and made it his monicker on NHL.COM
- whilst he's an avowed Winnipeg fan
(of all conceivable things to be)
he chose this heinous way to bash Boston,
as it eliminated yet another Canadian team,
but, most appallingly of all,
NHL.COM just let him do it
under that very username...?
Boycott NHL.COM - I say!
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