The Rangers have chosen David Quinn of Boston University as their next head coach, after weeks of talks in which Quinn turned down at least one offer from the team. https://t.co/dU2sphRc1Z
Boston University held its 145th commencement ceremony on Sunday and in addition to its 7,072 graduates it appears that its men’s hockey coach David Quinn will also be leaving campus. Quinn is reportedly set to become the next head coach of the New York Rangers, with a five-year deal worth $12 million.
Quinn, 51, has deep ties to Boston University. The Rhode Island native played at BU under Jack Parker from 1984-1988, served as Parker’s associate head coach at BU from 2004-2009, and took over as head coach at BU after Parker retired in 2013. Quinn likely could have coached at BU for as long as he wanted to. He reportedly rejected an offer from the Rangers earlier this month, but a five-year deal worth $12 million proved to be an offer he couldn’t refuse.
While Parker coached at BU for 40 years, Quinn’s situation is different. In 1997, Parker turned down the Bruins for a second time. At age 52, he had been head coach at BU for nearly 25 years and couldn’t be wrested from that position. Quinn has only been head coach at BU for five years, and at 51 might wonder if he’ll ever get an opportunity like this again. In addition to the money, this is an opportunity for him to coach an Original Six franchise in the largest media market in the country.
Quinn did a superb job as head coach at BU. In his five years as head coach, the Terriers went 105-68-21, won two regular season league championships, won two league tournaments, made four trips to the NCAA tournament, and made one trip to the NCAA National Championship game. The Terriers fell to Providence College in the 2015 National Championship game, but that loss can’t be pinned on Quinn.
When Parker retired in 2013, Quinn was the clear choice to take the helm. It doesn’t feel like there is a clear choice to take over the program this time around.
It’s a bittersweet moment for Terriers fans, but the Rangers are sure to gain some new fans in the heart of Red Sox Nation. No easy feat. Terriers fans will certainly be rooting for Quinn in his new endeavor.
We brought in friend of the podcast Mattes and we’re talking Celtics playoffs, where the C’s stand after Game 3, and should fans be worried about this Cavs series now?
Well that was less than ideal. The Celtics never lead once in Game 3 and lost to the Cavs in an absolute blowout, 116-86. From the jump the Cavs were the hungrier team, the Celtics looked slow and sloppy with 15 turnovers and they got absolutely worked on the glass with the Cavs crushing them in rebounds 45-34. Cleveland was just more engaged and aggressive on defense and of course shooting 50% from behind the arc helps.
Kyle Korver went 4-4 from 3, JR Smith went 3-4, and LeBron went 3-3 himself. Thats a lot of firepower raining down on the C’s from deep. The Cavs were obviously a 3 point heavy team in the regular season, but it was a stark contrast from the first two games when the Cavs shot 32% and 15% respectively from deep.
Cleveland also stopped relying entirely on LeBron to bail them out. Something I pointed out in Game 2 was how the Celtics had several players in double figures while the Cavs had just 3 (barely). Well in Game 3 the Cavs had SIX players in double digits and the Celtics looked like a high school team.
With that being said LeBron was still incredible with a “quiet” 27 and 12 and was making plays like *this*
Jaylen Brown came crashing back to earth with 10 points after being the Celtics best player the first two games of the series. Marcus Morris was 2/8 from the field for 9 points and was a dreadful -28 on the night. The bad Marcus Smart reared its ugly head after getting his tires pumped up by everyone in Boston for the past week and a half for doing all the little things. In Game 3 he jacked up 4 three pointers and made exactly none of them.
As soon as you saw Guerschon Yabusele enter the game with 4 minutes to go in the first though, you knew it was gonna be a bad night. If the Dancing Bear is in that early you’ve already lost.
Celtics are 1-5 on the road in the playoffs now.
I’ll take the crab juice.*
Al Horford took FOUR fucking shots all night.
Its like everyone ragged on Al all season long for being too passive, for not shooting enough, then he cranked it up in the playoffs and looked like a legit stud. Then in Game 3 he took his foot off the gas and somehow the whole game went to hell. Thats not Tristan Thompson being a Horford antidote; thats Al slipping back into the average monicker.
Everyone on the Celtics took their foot off the gas on Saturday night and I guess thats the danger of such a young team, which shouldn’t really be a surprise. But for god sakes LeBron James is Jason Voorhees; do not let him up off the mat. He’s not dead until he’s dead. If this series comes back to Boston tied 2-2 I will not sleep well.
Home cooking was a factor as well with Jaylen Brown having four fouls before the fans were back from getting beers at halftime. His fifth foul was a disaster of a defensive effort and well deserved, but it was interesting to note that Boston’s clear cut best player in Games 1-2 is immediately chucked into foul trouble in the first road game of the series.
Silver lining of the night was former Celtic (draft pick) Ante Zizic chucking one off the back of the goddamn backboard. I legitimately laughed out loud despite the 30 point shellacking.
Uncle Drew still looks like possibly the worst movie of all time and Kyrie Irving isn’t even able to blind us to that fact with his play on the court.
I honestly think Mark Jackson might strangle the life out of Jeff Van Gundy before this series is over. These guys legitimately do not like each other and with a 30 point blowout there was plenty of time for these two to subtweet each other live on TV in front of America.
Game 4 will be a pivotal point in the series as the Celtics will either snap out of it and be one step away from offing LeBron or the series will go back to Boston tied and I will be more nauseous than a pregnant woman. Game 4 tips off Monday night at 8:30, see ya there.
*If you get that reference then you and I are now good friends.
If records are made to be broken, what is history for? Color commentators, play-by-play announcers and analysts of all sports use the cliché often; “We are watching history.” What is sports history? Record breaking nights on the diamond? A back and forth NFL playoff game? Do we ever really know what will be dubbed “history” when it is happening? Aside from the obvious legendary moments like the 2004 ALCS series between the Red Sox and the Yankees, can we always pinpoint a certain moment or game or series as “history?”
An individual such as Michael Jordan had some pretty iconic moments throughout his career, a 60 point playoff game with the flu, monumental trash talk backed up by superb game stats. Did we know the most viewed moment of Jordan’s career would be a jump shot over Craig Ehlo in a playoff game 5 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1989? No way! So when I watch Vasyl Anatoliyovich Lomachenko fight, how do I know we are all watching boxing history? His fight IQ, his unorthodox training methods, and the compu-box numbers say so.
To the hardcore boxing fan Vasyl Lomachenko is already the greatest featherweight and lightweight in boxing’s history. While I refuse to pull the trigger on such a massive statement, I will concede that in only 12 (11-1) professional bouts he is the best of my generation, BY FAR! Yes only a dozen fights to pick through and being considered a great is totally unheard of but just like Slater from Dazed and Confused said: “It’s quality not quantity, man!” He was talking about the women he had been with, I am speaking on the strength of Loma’s record, it’s on steroids.
Lomachenko has fought seven current champions out of twelve career fights. Only one of his opponents had more than three career losses. Astoundingly the combined record of Loma’s first twelve opponents is 352-30. Yup, read that again. On top of that he has already won three different world titles: WBO feather and lightweight championship and he is the newly crowned WBA Lightweight champion. Whether he is defending or fighting the current champion a belt is usually on the line for “Hi-Tech.” In achieving all of this he has become the fastest fighter to hold a belt in three different weight classes, by eight fights! Compare that to the other boxing great of this generation Floyd “Money” Mayweather, whose first twelve opponents combined record was a puny 96-84, also he did not fight for a belt in those first dozen either. Excited yet?
From a “sweet science” standpoint the Ukrainian does everything perfect. His hand speed is second to none, his footwork is unlike anyone’s we have ever seen in boxing before or since, the angles and openings he creates and uses to set up combinations is godly. There is no comparison in the last 100 years to Vasyl Lomachenko, he is one-in-a-billion. The boxing unicorn. Coming into his most recent fight against Jorge Linares he had made his previous four opponents quit before the 8th round, all former champions. Not from the beating being too severe but because Loma has mastered the old boxing golden rule of hitting and not being hit. Annoying his opponents into submission, every older brothers dream. His training methods are strange but clearly effective, all of which are usually made by his father Anatoly Lomachenko. He trains his mind as much as his body and that is where he separates himself from the rest of the pack, or in his case, history.
The answer that boxing has been looking for since the downfall of Mike Tyson in the mid 1990s is here. He is the most exciting fighter to watch since Muhammad Ali danced like a butterfly into living rooms across the country and stung like a bee against his foes. A soft spoken, average sized man who moves like a dancer and thinks like a mathematician. Loma makes fraction of a second decisions in half the time needed and seems to always apply the correct technique and counter for every fight situation presented to him across his entire career. A career as a pro that I listed above is preceded by his two Olympic gold medals and his ridiculous 396-1 record as an amateur boxer. So where does a generational great go after only a dozen fights against champion after champion?
To the Mount Rushmore of his weight class course. Boxing is always good for knocking on the door of a retiree to remind them how old they are and offer them an offensive amount of money to try to derail a recently steaming hype train. In fact when generational greats square off, if the young fighter isn’t named Mayweather, the older fighter usually wins. For Loma the older fighter looks as if it is going to be fan favorite Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao. Both camps have been in serious talks for Manny to challenge Lomachenko for his WBO featherweight championship. Many fans want this fight but I would rather watch CSPAN for 16 straight hours.
This is a lose, lose, lose/promotion – company win type of fight. Both fighters and the fans lose if this fight is made. For Vasyl Lomachenko this is not good for his career because Pacquiao is 5-4 in his last nine fights and currently holds no championships which would make “Pacman” a giant step back from the strong fighters Loma has fought thus far in his career. Manny Paciquiao isn’t on the same boxing or athletic level as Loma, even in his prime. This fight hardly has the allure that it would if Loma fought other active fighters closer to his age and current skill level such as Terrance “Bud” Crawford or Gervonte Davis. Nonetheless its seems as though the 39 year old Pacquiao is going to be next to step into “The Matrix” that is Vasyl Lomachenko’s ability.
At his best “PacMan” was a forward pressing power puncher and the style that fares the worst against Loma happens to be a forward pressing power puncher. Even if Pacquiao somehow has a technical revelation occur to his game he still has too many holes against a sniper like Vasyl. When Pac retreats he goes straight back instead of moving laterally, it has cost him more than one fight in his career and that bad habit would be where Loma will do most of his damage to the older fighter. Midway through the second round I can see Loma learning the timing and finding a rhythm against Manny’s persistent in-and-out power punching. Through frustration of being hit by Loma and not being able to return fire, Pac will overextend himself during the middle rounds which will either lead to a stoppage or cause the elder man to severely slow down if the fight were to somehow make it to rounds 9-12. “Hi-Tech” by 6th round KO or unanimous decision.
The only man who has a chance at stopping Loma within the next 2 years (yes, that short time frame) is Floyd Mayweather Jr. Otherwise Lomachenko has a clear and easy path to Living Legend status.
As Walter White once said, I’m in the empire business. And as we keep building The 300s empire we’re doubling down with more videos, reviews, podcasts, and of course blogs so we’re always looking for guys that can help us continue to produce that constantly improving content. Theres nothing more disappointing than when a site becomes too big too fail and they start posting stuff just to post it.
So we’re always on the lookout for funny dudes that can write and of course have no qualms about arguing with you in the middle of a bar about the sports topic du jour. With that being said I’d like to introduce the newest writer for The 300s:
Mike D.
“Amateur MMA fighter found on the doorstep of The 300s with two black eyes. I work hard so they keep me around. I have an opinion on everything so they lock me in the basement. When you read what I write, they feed me… I’m hungry.
Joe Kelly is my favorite athlete of all time.”
Keep an eye out for Mike’s first post coming tomorrow AM…
NESN – The Red Sox announced Thursday they will host an alumni game at Fenway on Sunday, May 27, the club’s first such event in 25 years. The three-inning contest is set to begin at 10:30 a.m. ET before Boston’s 1:05 p.m. ET tilt with the Tampa Bay Rays.
So, who’s playing in this game? Dwight Evans and Luis Tiant will serve as managers for the two competing teams, which will be comprised of a total of 25 former Red Sox. Here’s the full list of expected attendees, in alphabetical order:
Wade Boggs, Oil Can Boyd, Orlando Cabrera, Scott Cooper, Jim Corsi, Lenny DiNardo, Alan Embree, Rich Garces, Jonny Gomes, Mike Greenwell, Sam Horn, Chris Howard, Bill Lee, Darren Lewis, Steve Lomasney, Derek Lowe, Mike Lowell, Julio Lugo, Steve Lyons, Keith MacWhorter, Pedro Martinez, Lou Merloni, Rick Miller, Mike Myers, Troy O’Leary
The roster for this game reads like a Deadspin “Let’s Remember Some Guys” blog post. Definitely a diverse group, with National Baseball Hall of Famers Wade Boggs and Pedro Martinez, Red Sox Hall of Famers Mike Greenwell and Bill Lee, NESN fill-ins Jonny Gomes and Steve Lyons, and some guys like Steve Lomasney and Keith MacWhorter who would make more sense on a milk carton than in a Red Sox alumni game.
There’s also the guy the six-strikeout game is named after, Sam Horn. Luckily for Horn this game will only be three innings.
Regardless of who fills out the last few roster spots, though, this should be a fun event. The Red Sox haven’t hosted an alumni game since May 29, 1993, which was so long ago that Carl Yastrzemski played in it. It would be great to see Pedro replicate his performance from the 1999 All-Star Game, or Steve Lyons drop his drawers at first, but it would also be great just to see Bill Lee strike a guy or two out. Lee is 71 and still throwing darts. Just a few years ago he pitched a complete game for the independent San Rafael Pacifics, and got the win!
No word on whether or not this game will be broadcast, but why not bring back some former broadcasters? I doubt Don Orsillo or Sean McDonough would want to set foot in the Fenway press box for this event, but how about Jerry Trupiano? Just in case Troy O’Leary has one more grand slam left in him.
[If you can find video of O’Leary’s 1999 ALDS grand slam Trup on the call, let us know.]
After watching high octane playoff games with the Bruins and Celtics playing every other night for basically the past month, the fact that there are 4 days between Celtics-Cavs Game 2 and 3 is criminal. With the Bruins and Celtics both in the playoffs I was watching something every night that had me gripping my chair like I was dropping into the Sunken Place.
Now that has slowed to a snail’s pace as the Bruins got knocked out of the playoffs and the NBA is squeezing every last drop of attention out of the Conference Finals as it possibly can by spacing the series out over 14 DAYS. That leaves this huge gaping hole in between Games 2 and 3 where I’m forced to watch the Red Sox run into outs on the bases and injure themselves playing Fortnite and having hissy fits in the dugout. It just doesn’t compare.
I am salivating at the thought of potentially putting the nail in LeBron’s coffin on his home floor. Only another 50+ hours until Game 3.
NBC Sports Boston – Blake Swihart has spent all season in a virtually non-existent role, one that Alex Cora and Dave Dombrowski both indicated on Tuesday will not change barring injury to Sandy Leon or Christian Vazquez. Swihart’s agent, Brodie Scoffield of The Legacy Agency, sees a situation that’s been unproductive for both the player and the team, and has asked the Red Sox to trade Swihart…Swihart earlier in May said he would leave the trade topic to Scoffield. Scoffield declined to comment at the time. Now, with more than a quarter of the season completed and Swihart still serving no purpose other than “protection for us as a third catcher,” as Dombrowski put it Tuesday, Scoffield is pushing for change.
“With Dustin Pedroia returning, it seems now would be the time to make a move with Blake,” Scoffield said.
I can’t say I’m surprised and I absolutely don’t blame the guy. He was once the top rated catching prospect in all of baseball and then the Red Sox stuck him in left field where he jacked up his ankle and derailed his career.
“Catcher Blake Swihart, who continues to impress with his consistent approach at the plate and his skills on the defensive side, is ranked No. 18. Though he didn’t become a regular catcher until 2010, Swihart is now the game’s top prospect at the position, reminding many of a young Buster Posey.”
Now he’s the 3rd catcher and the 25th man on a Red Sox team that rarely even plays him. Since he’s out of options the Sox can’t send him down to Pawtucket without the risk of another team claiming him and the Sox aren’t going to risk losing him for nothing so here we are. Blake is stuck in no man’s land. A trade is probably the best result for both sides. As much as I’d like to just see the team start playing him, Christian Vazquez is dynamite defensively and Sandy Leone seems to have settled in as Chris Sale’s personal catcher so there’s not a lot of playing time to go around. Those two have been positively radioactive offensively though so why Swihart hasn’t gotten really any playing time is beyond me.
You would think playing outfield is completely out of the question after what happened last time and with Dustin Pedroia coming back from the DL soon there will be even less room in the infield. He could DH but he’s definitely third in line behind mashers like JD Martinez and Hanley Ramirez for that role.
So we may be seeing the final days of Blake Swihart in Boston. I hope he goes somewhere and gets the opportunity to play because the Red Sox have royally fucked up his career to this point. Who knows if he goes the way of other former top catching prospects like Jared Saltalamacchia (spelled that right on the first try, NBD) and sucks or if he goes on to be an excellent catcher for the next decade. But lets see the guy play somewhere else if not here. Because a 3rd string catcher who doesn’t really play any other position well is not a great depth option on a major league roster. The 25th man on a roster should be a super utility player who can play basically anywhere on any night. Maybe the Sox get a decent reliever in return for Swihart and kill two birds with one stone. Either way, it seems like its probably time to cut bait. We hardly knew ye, Blake.
ESPN – Boston Red Sox reliever Carson Smith suffered a subluxation of his right shoulder when he threw his glove in the dugout Monday night, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told reporters Tuesday. Smith was placed on the 10-day disabled list Monday, but Dombrowski said there was no timetable for his return. Dombrowski called the injury “unfortunate” and said Smith is seeking a second opinion. “It’s got the potential of being a major injury,” he said. Smith allowed an eighth-inning home run to the Athletics’ Khris Davis in Boston’s 6-5 loss Monday night. When Smith left the mound he threw his glove in frustration, causing the injury. Smith is 1-1 with a 3.77 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 14.1 innings pitched. Left-handed pitcher Bobby Poyner has been called up from Triple-A Pawtucket.
Can’t make this shit up guys. As much as the Patriots have been filling the tabloids this offseason, the Red Sox literally are never not a soap opera. How a professional athlete can dislocate his shoulder throwing a small piece of leather yet is fine repeatedly throwing a baseball 95 mph is beyond me.
“I think fatigue played a factor in my shoulder. My shoulder just couldn’t handle it.”
Carson Smith, the guy who has pitched a grueling 14.1 innings this season is complaining of being overworked. Granted 3 of his last 4 YEARS in the majors have been more or less on the shelf throwing 6.2 IP, 2.2 IP, 70 IP and 8.1 IP each of the last 4 years. So he may have been feeling a little fatigued, but you gotta start throwing the ball at some point.
Which brings me to my next point, its time for Dave Dombrowski to face the music a little bit. This guy has failed time and time again to build a respectable bullpen. Trading for Craig Kimbrel has been a huge plus as he’s been dominant, but that obviously taxed the farm system for future trade chips or depth. Acquiring one of the best closers in all of baseball by trading a ton of prospects isn’t exactly a groundbreaking chess move. After that though? He’s traded for guys with known injury histories like Carson Smith and Tyler Thornburg, who we STILL haven’t seen on the mound for the Red Sox yet despite having traded for him 17 months ago. Dombrowksi trades for these guys that are always injured and is then surprised when they get injured, leaving the team in a shitty spot. Same thing with Drew Pomeranz who was great last year, but is constantly on and off the DL.
Anybody can trade the farm for guys like Craig Kimbrel and Chris Sale and then sign the top free agents in David Price and JD Martinez. But its the little moves that make a great GM and ultimately build a championship team. Dombrowski has botched all of those little moves thus far and unless the Sox do something about it before the trade deadline, I worry this bullpen will be the weakness that ultimately sinks any World Series aspirations.
Grit and Balls baby. That was a vintage Celtics win that would make Kevin Garnett proud. Boston imposed its will on the Cavs and just beat them down for a 107-94 victory despite a monster game from LeBron. Now the series heads back to Cleveland on Saturday night with the Celtics holding a commanding 2-0 lead.
Fun fact: the Celtics are 37-0 when up 2-0 in a best of 7 series.
As back and forth as this game was, there were actually only 2 lead changes in the entire game. That really speaks to the Celtics just holding on for dear life as LeBron put up 42 points including an insane 21 points in the first quarter.
LeBron was using allll of the Infinity Stones in that first quarter as he was just unstoppable.
Despite that absolute show from LeBron, the Celtics were only down 4 after one due in large part to Jaylen Brown dropping 13 points himself in the first quarter.
LeBron did give everyone a scare at the end of the 2nd quarter though after taking a shoulder to the head from Jayson Tatum. He looked a little woozy and shortly afterwards went back to the locker room for a brief moment. He came back just a couple of minutes later and did finish with 40+ points so he seemed to be fine. Was he milking it for the cameras? Ehhhh I think he might have been just a little bit, but its always difficult to tell with potential head injuries.
We do get this qualifier directly from NBA.com of when and why the C’s went on a huge run and won the game so thats fun.
Kind of leaves out the fact that LeBron only scored 4 points in the second quarter and elected to not play defense half the game. Really, it was a HUGE run after half time that was the turning point for the C’s who outscored Cleveland 36-22 in the third quarter and then never really looked back.
The Cavs also had TRIPLE the amount of turnovers as the Celtics with 15 to Boston’s 5. Rebounds were nearly even with Boston edging Cleveland 46-45 so the Tristan Thompson effect wasn’t nearly as prolific as many thought it may have been. Al Horford even finished with another double double (15 pts, 10 rebounds) despite having Thompson’s vaunted defensive attention.
The Cavs also got some bad news before the game when their coveted Brooklyn Nets pick, the crown jewel of the Kyrie Irving trade, turned into the No. 8 pick in this year’s draft. So Danny Ainge hoarded those Nets picks for *years* and then at the last second he jumps off the bandwagon and trades his last Brooklyn pick and it drops all the way to No. 8!
J.R. Smith always has been and always will be a scumbag. Late in the game Horford went up for a layup and Smith pushes him in the back sending Horford crashing to the hardwood behind the hoop. Even the broadcast team called it a disgusting, dirty play and called for a Flagrant 2 (Smith only got a 1).
Do people remember J.R. Smith legitimately hammer fisting an unsuspecting Jae Crowder in the face in the 2014-15 playoffs? That was one of the dirtiest things I’ve ever seen.
Smith was suspended 2 games for that sucker punch. Once a shithead, always a shithead.
Absolutely LOVE Marcus Smart getting right in JR’s grill too and letting him know that shit ain’t gonna fly, resulting in both getting technicals. Its a walking cliche at this point, but Marcus Smart just has that IT factor. Whether you want to call it energy, passion, grit, whatever it is, Smart makes this team remarkably better.
The TD Garden crowd was doing their role too with crystal clear chants of FUCK YOU JR, which was easily heard on the ESPN broadcast.
After that the Cavs checked out and called it a night. Even the national grab ass broadcast team was calling out the Cavaliers’ effort once the Celtics started putting the screws to them. Usually those takes are reserved for Boston talk radio in between Terry Rozier MVP calls.
We talked a lot in the past few days about how much deeper the Celtics are in terms of scoring threats. Just look at the Game 2 box score. LeBron went off for a monster triple double with 42 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. Kevin Love had a great game with 22 and 15. Other than that only one Cavs player even touched double digits and that was Kyle Korver with 11 points and Korver scored all of those in his first 9 minutes on the floor before going scoreless for the final 12 minutes he played. Not exactly the Big 3 LeBron is used to playing with.
The Celtics meanwhile had SIX players in double digits. Jayson Tatum (11 pts), Marcus Morris (12 pts), Al Horford (15 pts), Jaylen Brown (23 pts), Terry Rozier (18 pts), and Marcus Smart (11 pts). That is depth.
Now holding a commanding 2-0 lead the Celtics head to Cleveland on Saturday night to try and put the nails in LeBron’s coffin. However, its a popular saying for a reason: you’re not in trouble in a series until you lose a game at home. While I think the Celtics are in prime position to win this series it is far from a lock because LeBron is legitimately Jason from Friday the 13th. Don’t just assume he’s done, make sure he is dead and buried before turning your attention elsewhere. I do not want to be having this conversation about the series being tied 2-2 this time next week.
Keep the foot on the gas and put LeBron away so he can get out of Cleveland, head west, and cede his rule over the East to this young Celtics squad. Bend the knee, LeBron.
Grit and Balls baby. That was a vintage Celtics win that would make Kevin Garnett proud. Boston imposed its will on the Cavs and just beat them down for a 107-94 victory despite a monster game from LeBron. Now the series heads back to Cleveland on Saturday night with the Celtics holding a commanding 2-0 lead.
The 300s 