Sunday, June 22, 2008

Being a Boston Sports Fan

Ok it was only a matter of time before I was going to write about this. I have lived in Boston my whole life and these past few years have been the best time to be a sports fan in Boston. We have seen six titles since February 2002. We have seen three Superbowl titles, two World Series, and now the Celtics. (I actually say there is seven: I count the comeback against the Yankees in 2004 as a title win). In addition, the Bruins made it to the playoffs this year. They took Montreal to game seven. The Revolution (MLS) have been to the finals the last three years. There are many college titles and great runs in the New England area including a college hockey team, not to be mentioned, that has won two national titles since 2001.

Sorry, but the parades do not get old. I am lucky; the parade route goes by the building I work at so I have a prime seat. I work in the same building shown on the TV show Boston Legal so we watch from the balcony that Denny and Alan smoke their cigars at the end of a tough day of legal work……Just kidding there is no such balcony but I do have a prime seat from the building. In my opinion the 2004 Red Sox parade was the best, even if it was a cold and rainy day.

The problem is some of the younger kids here in Boston don’t know what it is like to go through bad sports times in Boston. With the Red Sox, "Wait 'til next year” was our famous saying and you could actually get tickets to the game. What about the Patriots? Remember when home games were “blacked out” in the area because the home games were not sold out? As for the Celtics, the death of Len Bias and years later Reggie Lewis was the beginning of the end of a great run. And finally, the Bruins: well they have always had a loyal fan base through the good times and bad.

Yes, we had a similar run in the eighties. The Patriots had the miracle run to the Superbowl only to be blown out by the Bears. The Red Sox went to the '86 World Series and all is forgiven, Bill Buckner, it was never your fault; it was a team lost. We all forget that in the next game, game seven, you went 2 for 4 and scored a run. The Celtics' win in '86. The Bruins made it to the Stanley Cup finals in '88 only to lose to the Oilers. This was also a great time because it was unexpected…other than the Celtics.

As Boston Sports fans we are a little spoiled. We now begin to expect that the Sox will make the playoffs, the Pats will make their Super bowl run and now the Celtics could be a dynasty. All that is left is the Bruins, so who knows if they will join the title party. I hope so!

All I know is it's great to be a Boston sports fan. We should enjoy the run because as history has shown us the run will end and all we will have are the stories of the great times as a Boston sports fan.

Friday, June 20, 2008

BU & Sioux Players selected at the NHL 2008 Draft

The following players associated with BU and UND have been drafted in the 2008 NHL Draft:

Pick /Team /Player
7 /Nashville/ Colin Wilson
36 /NY Islanders/ Corey Trivino
56/ Montreal /Danny Kristo
66/ NY Islanders/ David Toews
81/ Buffalo/ Corey Fienhage
90 /Detroit/ Matt Nicastro
94/ Atlanta/ Vinny Saponari
95 /St. Louis /David Warsofsky
158/ Toronto/Grant Rollheiser
159/Phoenix/Brett Hextall
188/Toronto/Andrew MacWilliam
192/Chicago/ Joe Gleason

Colin Wilson Drafted by Nashville Predators

Colin Wilson was drafted by Nashville Predators in the 7th pick. Now the Colin Wilson watch will begin. Does he go Pro or stay with BU.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Corey Fienhage

Twincites.com has an article on Corey Fienhage, a defensive recruit for UND. Just think of the size of the UND defense with Finley at 6-4, LaPoint at 6-3, and Fienhage at 6-2.

2008 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp

The roster for the US National Junior Development camp has been announced. It includes Danny Kristo a UND recruit and five players connected with Boston University. The BU players include current players; Colin Wilson, Colbly Cohen, Kevin Shattenkirk and two recruits; Vinny Saponari and David Warsofsky.

It would be fun to see the Wilson, vanRiemsdyk, Schroeder line again.

Wilson and Trivino - USA Today Mock NHL Draft

USA Today has a NHL mock draft with two BU connections going in the first round. They have Colin Wilson going ninth to the Nashville Predators and Corey Trivino going twenty fifth to the Montreal Canadians.

Good Luck Guys!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Big Papi becomes a US citizen

Ok, it's not hockey, but it's great news. David Ortiz became a US citizen today at the JFK Library. I guess being on the DL is not all that bad.

Congratulations Big Papi... it's a proud day in Red Sox Nation.