Game 7 is tonight, which means I’m drinking something that reminds me of home: Irish Car Bombs. It may not be the best drink to order in Ireland (you may or may not get thrown out of the pub), but I did one of these before each period in Game 6 and it worked like a charm, so I’m sticking with it. I feel like most people in Boston already know this one, but just in case, here’s the drink:
Irish Car Bombs are like chugging a milkshake without the brain freeze.
IRISH CAR BOMB
A Boston favorite, the Irish car bomb combines Irelands three biggest exports with a chugging contest for a boozy milkshake from heaven. Although maybe not a great choice for summer, it goes great with all things Boston, so there’s nothing I’d rather drink for this game.
THE RECIPE
Pretty easy as far as cocktails go. Pour half a pint of Guinness into glass. Pour a half ounce of Jameson or Bushmill’s Irish Whiskey and a half ounce of Bailey’s Irish Cream into a shot glass. Drop the liquor into the Guinness and chug the whole glass. Boom. Bring the Cup home, boys. LFG!
As much as we blog about the Bruins, and the Patriots, and grown men beating the hell out of each other in the octagon; at the end of the day I am an unabashed nerd. You may have picked up on that from the 20+ Marvel movie reviews we did this year or the 2,500 word dissertations on each Game of Thrones episode. Well, the highlight of every nerd’s year was this week with the annual E3 Convention showcasing all the latest and greatest in the world of video games. The Electronic Entertainment Expo is something on my bucket list as I’ll need to make the mecca to Cali for this event one year. Without further ado, here’s everything you may have missed from the conference.
Halo Infinite
I’ve had an on again off again relationship with Halo over the years due to its platform exclusivity. Back in the days of the original Halo I was a PS2 guy so I would play in my buddy’s dark basement with the chunk black controller. Then I got an Xbox360 and played Halo 1/2 remastered and Halo 4 (3 got lost in the shuffle). Then I moved onto PS4 out of spite after I got the red ring of death so I have not played a Halo game in a minute. So needless to say I don’t know what the hell is going on here, BUT if this game continues to look as awesome as it does already, I could be tempted to pick up the Xbox 5 or whatever the hell Project Scarlett name they ultimately call it.
Platform: Xbox One, Project Scarlett
Release Date: Holiday 2020
Final Fantasy VII Remake
I didn’t get into Final Fantasy until FFX, but obviously FFVII is one of the most popular games of all time. This remake is something they have been talking about for YEARS with it first being announced back in 2015. So while I’m not particularly hyped for it, it looks beautiful and is a great opportunity for people like me to play a classic updated.
Platform: PS4
Release Date: March 3, 2020
Marvel’s Avengers
This is a game that I’ve been very cautiously optimistic about because its a perfect concept for a video game, but there have been so so many bad superhero video games over the years. I know Spider-Man was a massive hit last year and the recent Batman games have been well reviewed, but I still cringe just thinking about the old N64 Superman game or anything that has to do with the Hulk. Theres been next to no information available about this game, but we got our first trailer at E3 this week and I like what I’m seeing. Sure it looks a little wonky because the studio didn’t want to pay the licensing rights to use the actual actors, but other than that it looks pretty awesome so far. What’s most exciting about this game is that we’ll have an ever expanding roster of Marvel characters allegedly. I don’t believe the Marvel movie rights of who they could and couldn’t use applies to video games, but even if they did, don’t forget that Marvel just re-acquired the X-Men. Plus they don’t have to worry about the overarching movie storylines so we could get characters like the Punisher, Daredevil and maybe Deadpool dropping in? But that might be something they tackle in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 instead…
Platform: PS4, Xbox One, Stadia, and PC.
Release Date: May 15, 2020
Pokemon Sword and Shield
Everything you thought you knew about the world of Pokémon is about to change…in a big way.
Here’s the latest on the exciting new adventure that awaits in #PokemonSwordShield!
This is something I am stoked for as I haven’t bought a Pokemon game in years, but have been quietly watching from the sidelines. I basically got to a point where I refused to buy another iteration of the Game Boy (because I’m an adult damnit) so I have been waiting, and waiting, for Pokemon to finally enter the world of 3D open world platform gaming. That has arrived with the introduction of Sword and Shield. Not to mention they’ve got a gigantic direwolf looking dog with a sword in its mouth? Just take my money right now.
BEND THE KNEE TO YOUR ONE TRUE KING, KEANU REEVES. I have to say I’m a bit of a Keanu hipster since I’ve been pumping his tires since I first saw The Matrix in 1999. The Matrix, Point Break, and John Wick are some of my favorite movies. It seems like out of nowhere Keanu has become the most beloved man in America and I totally get it (especially with all the stories of his generosity), but it is weird to see a guy I’ve been stanning for years all of a sudden become a mega celeb. Anyways, Cyberpunk looks pretty sweet. Its important to note that this footage shows exactly *zero* gameplay so lets not get too excited. We’ve all fallen for that too many times with Fallout 76, Destiny, Anthem, and No Mans Sky that show incredible hype footage only to release a subpar game.
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release Date: April 16, 2020
Fallout 76 (again)
Speaking of the most panned game of the year, Bethesda is doubling down on the half-assed cash grab they put out last year. For a franchise as beloved as Fallout that relies on single player experiences, open world exploration, character development, and in depth storylines to release a multi-player online only skeleton of a game was heresy to most fans. Well Bethesda said how about we add a battle royale Fortnite mode! Guys lets just accept the L and start working on Fallout 5.
Platform: PS4, Xbox One
Release Date: Coming soon…
Dragonball Z: Kakarot
I’m 30 years old and I still love Dragonball Z. Hell I’ve even debated getting a DBZ tattoo, so needless to say I will be picking up this little gem. Dragonball games have been pretty hit or miss over the years and Dragonball Fighter Z looked pretty slick, but I couldn’t see myself playing a side scrolling fighting game for that long. So for an RPG that looks awesome though and focuses on the storylines that we all (read: I) remember so fondly? Swipe. Swipe.
Platform: PS4, Xbox One
Release Date: Early 2020
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild [unnamed sequel]
LETS GOOO. Breath of the Wild is truly one of the greatest games of all-time. It created a massive open world that you could literally do anything and everything. Infuriatingly frustrating at times, but fun as all hell once you figured out what you were doing. So to hear about a direct sequel to the first open world Zelda game has me sweating. I had heard rumors that Nintendo was going to re-use the Breath of the Wild engine so they could pump out a sequel quicker, which I am more than ok with. Use the exact same mechanics, reskin the game to create some new maps and environments, and give us some new storylines and we are in business. Unfortunately there was no release date given whatsoever so this game could be a ways off…
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: Currently “in development”
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
I missed a lot of the earlier Zelda games as I was a bigger Sonic, Mortal Kombat, and Pokemon guy before getting baptized by fire with Majora’s Mask. So games like Link’s Awakening were never really on my radar, which was originally a Game Boy title. The graphics of this updated version are gorgeous and the gameplay is clever as hell where it gives you the same Game Boy birds eye view with an updated flair. Very excited to check this one out.
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: September 20, 2019
Luigi’s Mansion 3
This is another franchise I missed entirely since I never had Game Cube or Wii. I’m still shocked that Nintendo hasn’t opened up an e-shop to download, or at the very least rent, some of their former classics. I know they did it on Wii and as Papa G says, Nintendo basically just tricks people into buying the same game 4 times. While I did miss the first two Luigi Mansions, I’m sure I’ll be able to figure it out. Either way this looks like another entertaining Nintendo romp and gives Luigi some much deserved shine.
Blues GM, Doug Armstrong just colourfully instructed the ice crew at TD Garden to get to work. Armstrong was a bit annoyed with possibility of the Blues practice being delayed. Crew member “who pissed in your Cheerios this morning”? Game 7.
The most Boston response of all time. Oh you’re the GM of the St. Louis Blues who are about to play in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals? Go piss up a rope, I’m working here. This is exactly why I’d either get murdered or become King if I ever moved to a new city. There’s just a certain blunt, straight to the point, sarcastic charm around here that we all lovingly refer to as being a Masshole. Never change, Boston.
ESPN – Warriors star forward Kevin Durant suffered a right Achilles tendon injury in Golden State’s 106-105 win over the Toronto Raptors in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night.
Warriors general manager Bob Myers said Durant will have an MRI on Tuesday to determine the severity of the injury, but the emotional looks on the players’ and coaches’ faces told more of the story. League sources told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski that the Warriors believe the MRI will confirm an Achilles tear.
What an absolute bummer. Say what you will about Kevin Durant, his burner accounts, and his poor handling of media scrutiny, but the guy is a top 3 player in the NBA and is one of the best all around scorers in league history. An absolute baller that is a blast to watch play the game of basketball. If you’ve never seen his HBO documentary “The Offseason” go back and watch that right now because it is A+ content and will definitely make you a KD fan if you are undecided.
So to see him go down with what looked like a clear achilles injury last night was terrible to see. Especially considering he probably returned too soon because his team was in the NBA Finals. Its not like it was Game 7 either, sure the Warriors won last night, but at what cost? They’re still down 3-2 and now KD is looking at a probably 12 month recovery timeframe, just 3 weeks before free agency starts.
Kevin Durant is proof about why Kawhi telling the Spurs to eat rocks till he got healthy was 100% legitimate. That’s a damn Achilles injury
It’s important to note the Durant does have a player option for $31.5 Million with the Warriors next year. I’m curious to see how this all plays out though because while he is an all-world talent, will another team really pay him $30 Million just to rehab next season in hopes of securing him for the following 3 years (and hope he’s healthy)? Or would he go out on the market only to have to take an incentive laden deal or in the worst case scenario will he lose out on a huge contract similar to what happened to Isaiah Thomas? Or the Warriors could actually offer Durant the supermax 5-year $220 Million deal because who has a better idea on the severity of his injury than Golden State? Either way you have to imagine this changes the landscape of the NBA for players debating returning to action too soon. Unless its a Game 7 or your an aging vet desperate for a ring, risking further injury (and potentially generational wealth) just ain’t worth it.
And not to make this all about the Celtics, but this could have a snowball affect on the rest of the league, particularly the Knicks, as SNY points out. If KD is seriously hurt, he may just exercise his player option in Golden State while he recovers, which takes him off the board for the Knicks. If they can’t get KD, maybe the Knicks rethink trying to trade for Anthony Davis and/or maybe Kyrie rethinks potentially signing there. Maybe Kyrie takes a look around and realizes Boston is his best shot at winning a title and maybe the Celtics re-sign Kyrie and then they trade for AD. A lot of maybes in there, which is why the NBA offseason is the best show on TV.
PS – Toronto Raptors fans are dirtbags for cheering the KD injury. I hope Steph Curry scores 60 points in Game 6 and rips Drake’s heart out in the middle of Jurassic Park in Game 7.
Some awful Toronto fans started cheering when they realized Kevin Durant was hurt.
Let’s GOOOOOO! As you probably saw Red worked some magic and your boy gets to live his MMA blogger dream Saturday when we get to sit cageside at Cage Titans, a premier New England MMA promotion.
This week I’ll be speaking with a few of the fighters competing this Saturday to get their thoughts on everything from the their upcoming bouts to the fight game in general.
I led off by speaking with Peter Barrett, an insanely talented vet of the New England MMA scene, which I knew, and a sharp mind when it comes to the fight game and the local scene, which I did not. He fights Zach DiSabatino in a lightweight bout this coming Saturday at Cage Titans XLIV.
A destructive Muay Thai striker that has rounded his game off on the mats of Lauzon MMA. As he rolled up to Lauzon’s on Monday, he gave us a few minutes of his time to discuss his training, the New England MMA scene, and his penchant for rendering the scorecards unnecessary
The 300s: So you took some time off between fights, I think a year, year and a half maybe, was that by design or no? Was this just the right time to take a fight?
Barrett: Well originally, I hurt my arm fighting Connor Barry, so I took some time off for that. But I’ve actually been trying to get a fight since November, actually September.
The 300s: Really?
Barrett: So I was supposed to fight Blair Tugman for Bellator and then he tested positive for steroids, suspended a year and that fight got scrapped. Then November for Cage Titans, I tried to get on there against Keegan (Hornstra), he ended up having a health issue with a new doctor that had been previously cleared by another doctor, but not this one. So that fight got cancelled at weigh-ins. I was aiming for January for Cage Titans and that opponent pulled out. So it’s been about a year since I fought last and I’ve been trying to fight for the last eight months.
The 300s: O wow
Barrett: I mean my trainings been good, everything’s been consistent, I was just talking to Jason Floyd the other day and mentioned that in hindsight maybe not fighting for a year was the best thing that could have happened. For awhile it felt like fighting and training, from my perspective I had built it up to be like a job more than it was to have fun and enjoy myself and be creative and just like, enjoy it, you know? You see guys like Rob and Calvin (Rob Font and Calvin Kattar, two fighters from MA on the UFC roster) and they’re laughing and having a blast every day at training and I wasn’t, that wasn’t what it was for me at the time. Now I’m back to that. Having fun with training, learning, getting better you know? I’m just really enjoying myself. This camp has been incredible. My cardio, my strength, my skill everything is coming full circle and it’s going to put out the best product I’ve had so far.
The 300s: So this fight Cage Titans is promoting as short notice, do you think some of that “fun” is coming back from not having to think about an 8-10 week camp, you just had a few weeks and then “go”?
Barrett:Well actually I was scheduled to fight this kid Darius from Jackson-Wink. And he started dropping hints that he was going to pull out basically two weeks before we announced the fight with Zach. He hadn’t completely pulled out but we, we being Cage Titans, had already started talking to South Shore (South Shore Sport Fighting, DiSabatino’s gym) about this fight. We had it done about a week and a half before it was announced.
The 300s: You mentioned Zach, he has a lot less experience than you. Some would say that’s an automatic advantage for you but at the same time there’s also a lot less, you know, “game tape” type stuff to go on. Does that effect how you prepare at all?
Barrett:No not so much, he’s also one of Cage Titans guys. I’m familiar with Zach, I’m familiar with his style. But he did just lose to Estell in his last fight. There’s no tape of that fight. Somehow Flo lost it when they were transferring files. It’s not on Flo, Youtube, Facebook. But if you look back at his fight with Keegan Raymond, which Keegan did not answer the bell for the beginning of the third round, maybe he quit after the first round…but Keegan was able to pressure him and pick apart Zach pretty easily you know? And that’s what we saw at the last fight. Darius Estell, his last opponent, just beat the breaks off him. And that’s what I’m taking into this. He doesn’t do well under pressure, he covers up, he shells up, and I’ll be able to, really just stay in control and pressure this fight the way I want it to go.
The 300s: Before we hit “go” (Note: Before I hit record) you mentioned you were spending some time at Lauzon’s, I know you’re at Sityodtong, are you vacillating between those two, those are your home camps?
Barrett: Ya so for this fight I added some time over here at Lauzon’s which has been a great help to my ground game. My home base has always been at Sityodtong and that’s where I got most of my training for this camp. I also went down to Triforce working with Nate (Andrews) a little bit before his PFL fight. I’ve been up with Tom Egan’s guy’s at Trifecta in Quincy wrestling. You know, like you said, I’ve been in the game for a little bit, got a really good relationship across the community, and it’s provided me with the opportunity to cross-train outside of my home camp as much as possible which is a blessing.
The 300s: Ya that’s cool. I didn’t even plan to ask you this but reading between the lines over the years, it seems unlike the big camps in California and Florida that seem to have beef with each other, the Mass MMA community and MMA gyms seem to have pretty good relationships and at least healthy, friendly competition. Any thoughts on that?
Barrett: Ya that’s what makes it work – at least the higher level pro promotions in the area like CES, Cage Titans, they do a good job of bringing guys in for local guys so local guys don’t necessarily have to fight each other, which then lets us cross-train and just get better and really increase the level of competition in the area, which is the end game. We want to be able to say, “I come from New England MMA, we’re some of the baddest motherfuckers in the country,” you know? We got guys like Rob and Calvin, who just destroyed Ricardo Lamas last weekend, they’re the guys putting the name out for Northeast MMA right now. By being able to cross-train and bring that level up behind the scenes it allows us to go out there and perform so much better.
The 300s: That’s Awesome, that’s really cool. Look I only have one more and it’s been burning a hole in me, it’s the one I’ve been waiting to ask: you are hands down the one true, blue knockout artist on this card. Are you giving us one Saturday?
Barrett:Absolutely. 100%. You’re either going to get total fuckin knock out or Zach is going to crawl out of that cage because he can’t stand on his lead leg anymore.
The 300s: I love it. Alright man, I don’t want to hold you up anymore, anything you want to throw out there before I put this to print?
Peter “Slippery Pete” Barrett vs. Zach DiSabatino goes down at Cage Titans Titans XLIV. June 15, 2019 at 6:00pm at Plymouth Memorial Hall in Plymouth. MA.
From all the latest reports out now it seems like David Ortiz will make a full recovery, but that doesn’t change how scary the entire situation has been. I still can’t believe someone tried to assassinate Big Papi. It all sounds like a fake story, but thankfully he’s back in Boston and seems to be in a good spot. His former teammates have begun reacting to the news and its just heartbreaking. Pedro played with Ortiz on the Sox for 2 seasons, but they’re both DR guys and thats a pretty tight knit community in baseball.
Jason Varitek is one of the most stoic guys you’ll ever see and was always pretty reserved in how he addressed the media. So to see this coming from Tek was really emotional.
“[My] heart goes out to Alex and D’Angelo and his wife. … It’s very scary …”
Jason Varitek was emotional when speaking about his former teammate David Ortiz pic.twitter.com/7Sg1PekFnY
To hear him nearly break down in tears while discussing David Ortiz being shot is heartbreaking. These guys were more than just teammates, they were like family. They played together for 9 years and both are still involved with the Red Sox organization to this day. It says a lot about how much people genuinely care for David Ortiz.
Kennedy: “We all remember in 2013 when we needed him the most, he was there for us.” Says now organization wants to be here for him.
In less than 12 hours, we could ultimately have a new NBA champion – as long as Toronto can pull off just one more victory over Golden State tonight in The Six. Even if they don’t, we’re still officially less than a week away from the NBA season being over no matter what. Then the real fun begins, as this will likely be one of the absolute craziest, landscape-changing NBA offseasons in recent memory.
The Celtics will no doubt be one of the most active squads throughout the league this summer, but which direction they choose to go in is the real question. What’s going to happen with Kyrie? Are we really going to get Anthony Davis? What do we do with Terry Rozier? How about going after a guy like Mike Conley (an idea I mentioned in my offseason wishlist piece a few weeks back)? Maybe Kemba Walker is an option? Or could Danny truly be interested in swinging a trade with Houston for a big like Clint Capela, and if so does that mean the whole Davis idea goes out the window???
Yes, it’s quite a lot to digest for even the most die-hard Celtics fan. And due to the incredibly fickle nature of NBA stars nowadays, things can change in an instant.
So rather than speculate on everything that will happen in the coming months, I’ve got you covered on a few tidbits from this past weekend to hold you over, including a former favorite yearning for a comeback as well as Danny’s alleged interest in one of the game’s top young bigs. Let’s hop to it:
I.T. Wants Back In
This dude just doesn’t quit…but in a good way.
Two years after he was suddenly traded immediately following one of the most impressive, MVP-worthy individual seasons in recent Celtics history, Isaiah Thomas still has nothin’ but love for The Bean. And he let the people know it once again on Saturday with this tweet:
Since it seems pretty apparent that Kyrie Irving – the man for whom Thomas was traded – is on his way out the door, everybody knows the Celtics are likely to have a gaping hole at the point guard position next season. Though the team can simply bring back Terry Rozier (PLEASE DON’T, DANNY!) or go after a slew of other guys via trade or free agency, Thomas seems to think he can still get the job done himself.
And while I love the confidence, I.T., please understand why many are skeptical. After playing in a total of just 44 games over the past two seasons, for three different teams no less, there are those out there who are surprised the 30-year-old is still trying to play at all. His recurrent hip issues – which apparently started during his last season with the C’s – have taken quite a long time to heal (if they even really have at all), and he was only able to play in just 12 measly games for Denver this past season.
However, maybe it took so long because he apparently gutted it out when the issues first arose and played through the pain, a decision which many believe may have severely hampered his recovery. Or maybe he just needed a few years to heal up. Again, the dude is only 30 years old. And above all, maybe he just needs to be back in the place where his heart truly belongs to start playing like the absolute baller he truly is once again.
Now, can he replace Kyrie’s production? Absolutely not! There are very, very few out there who could. But could he come in and compete with a guy like Rozier if all else fails, or at the very least serve as a nice bench piece and team leader that was desperately missing in last year’s locker room? Why not?!
So, if the price is right and I.T. is willing to lace ’em up for the Green once again, I wouldn’t say no. And Danny shouldn’t either. I would freakin’ love this!
Celtics Reportedly Looking Into Trade for Clint Capela
On Sunday morning, Basketball Insider’s Steve Kyler tweeted out a report that the Celtics are actively engaged in trade talks for Rockets big man, Clint Capela:
The Celtics from what I have heard engaged pretty seriously on Clint Capella… have had some level of talks with Terry Rozier on a new deal. Everything is very fluid at this stage in the draft/trade process. It’s finding out what you can do. https://t.co/7kHmEWP6X1
He does note that “everything is fluid at this stage,” and this does not mean that Danny & Co. are definitely ready to change course and build the franchise around the 25-year-old Capela. But where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire, and it’s not surprising that the team would be interested.
Capela has been one of the NBA’s best-kept secrets for a couple years now. The 6’10” athletic beast was selected with the 25th overall pick in 2014, and for the past three seasons he’s averaged a robust 14.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Especially with how awful the Celtics were in the rebounding department at times last season, his skills on the glass would be extremely welcomed. His 1.5 blocks per contest also highlight his ability to protect the rim, too. Capela really could be a force on the interior that we haven’t seen since the days of Perk and K.G.
But we have to be careful to not fall so in love with the player that we completely forget about the fit. I mentioned in my previous offseason piece that I wanted the Celtics to load up on more shooters due to the fact that’s simply how you win in today’s NBA. Again, the top six teams in the NBA in terms of three-pointers made in 2018-19 were, in order: Houston, Milwaukee, Golden State, Atlanta, Brooklyn, and the Celtics. With the exception of one squad (Atlanta), those are all playoff teams – and four were top-four seeds in their conference. Toronto, who is one win away from being this year’s champion, finished eighth. On the flip side, the top-two teams in terms of points in the paint this season were the Pelicans and Lakers. Soooo…yeah. I’ll stop there.
Capela has attempted two total three-point attempts in 295 career games! Just .0027 percent of his career field-goal attempts were from deep, and the guy is pretty much useless from an offensive standpoint when he’s more than five feet outside the paint. So before you start labeling him “our version of Draymond Green” (who owns a 32 percent career mark from three and is an also all-world passer), just don’t. Nahhht even close.
I’d literally trade the entire franchise for Draymond. Any chance we can make that happen, Danny??!!!
Also keep in mind that if Kyrie does leave, the Celtics would be losing their top shooter from last season. And if we trade the house to get Capela, then Danny better make damn sure he grabs some other players who can shoot the rock, because you just cannot win in today’s game without ’em. You just can’t.
To reiterate, this is only a report, and we also have no idea what a potential trade package would even look like. Also, I totally realize the value of bringing in a young guy with as much talent as Capela. But remember, we might already have a young Capela in Robert Williams, and I feel like there are much more pressing areas of need for this team than what Capela can provide.
Hey, don’t forget about Time Lord!
This story is still developing, but it might be providing some very interesting insight into the mind of Danny Ainge heading into what will be one hell of an offseason.
Other than that, though, it’s still a whole lot of rumors and speculation at this point. With the draft set for June 20, we may actually get some questions answered before the end of the month, but we likely won’t really see anything go down until free agency starts in July. Either way, it’ll be a blast, and we certainly won’t be bored once the dog days finally hit. Strap in, folks.
The two sweetest words in sports; Game. Seven. It all comes down to Wednesday night as this series flipped on its head for like the fourth time last night. I know its obvious that when a team wins they normally look different than when they lose, but the Bruins have looked like a completely different team in Games 1, 3, and 6. Last night the B’s were aggressive, but they weren’t chasing hits, they cleared the puck effectively, and they were able to consistently enter the Blues zone with the puck, which is something they’ve struggled with mightily in their losses.
Great moments are born from great opportunity
Apparently Patrice Bergeron delivered a Herb Brooks type speech before the game and I NEED to know what he said.
Jake DeBrusk and Charlie McAvoy said that Patrice Bergeron delivered quite the speech in the locker room ahead of this game.
DeBrusk: “It made us all want to run through a wall.”
Bergeron has always been the quiet, classy, lead by example type of guy, but every Bruins fan knows that you don’t become the player Patrice Bergeron is without some fire. Bergeron has been on the Bruins since 2003, he played for a last place team in the disaster that was the 1-year long Dave Lewis era, he won a Stanley Cup in 2011 and he lost a Cup in 2013, so he has seen it all and he realizes this could be the last shot for this group.
For the past week people have been saying Tuukka needs to steal a game if the Bruins are going to win this series and he was A+ in net last night with 28 saves. Hell the one goal he allowed he technically made the save. So while its hard to say a goalie stole a game in a 5-1 win, Tuukka carried the B’s on his back early last night. If the Bruins win Wednesday night, Tuukka’s legacy is going to shift from a pretty good goalie who couldn’t win the big one to an absolute gamer who shined in the 2019 playoffs to lead the B’s to a Cup when their top 2 forward lines were non-existent.
Marchand and Pasta FINALLY get it going
Heading into Game 6 Marchand (100 pts in the regular season) had 1 goal in the series, which was an empty netter so it doesn’t really count, and Pastrnak (38 goals in the regular season) had ZERO. So for both of those guys to score last night was huuuge because the Bruins have got this far with next to no production from their two best offensive players. Its crazy they’re even alive at this point, which speaks to the excellent depth this team has. So you gotta feel good heading into Game 7 with Marchand, Pasta, and Tuukka all having their best game of the series last night.
The Blues have to be one of the dirtiest teams in the league
Throwing cross check cheapshots in Acciari’s face in the final seconds of the game just trying to incite a riot. I’m all for tough physical play, but these guys are dirtbags. Robert Bortuzzo got tossed with a 10 minute major for that, but that doesn’t carry over obviously so whats he care? And that goddamn wink…
Robert Bortuzzo keeps things classy, as he punches Noel Acciari and gives a wink after. pic.twitter.com/ZaIzHTmSM7
I have to admit I did not know a ton about the Blues heading into this series, but I have very quickly developed a strong hatred of everyone on this team and their coach. I want blood, but I’ll settle for the Stanley Cup.
Bruce Cassidy does it again by pulling rookie Karson Kuhlman off the discount rack
I am a humble man and I will admit when I was wrong. I thought it was crazy to leave David Backes up on level 9 last night for an untested rookie who hasn’t played in a month. Sure Backes is older and slower, but the guy is playing against his former team (who seem to hate him now) in what is likely his last shot at a Cup. I’m pretty sure that guy would die for the Bruins in Game 6. But that doesn’t necessarily means he’d be effective, so Bruce went with Kuhlman and he rewarded the coach with an absolute SNIPE of a goal. Well played.
I love me some Jon Hamm so don’t take this the wrong way, Don. Its one thing to wear wacky scarves, its an entirely different thing to shave your playoff beard before Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. That is an absolute crazy person move. Remember when Tom Brady got a freaking haircut before the 2007 Super Bowl and we all groaned? Yea, you don’t worry about your hair or your beard during a playoff run. Insanity.
The officiating remains infuriatingly inconsistent.
Look I get why some of these calls are made. In a vacuum and because of his reputation, this Marchand sweep is almost always going to be a penalty, but why is this any different from the Acciari non-call in Game 5?
This is how these series get out of hand. I guarantee Marchand’s thinking well if they’re not going to call it I might as well do it. Same thing with every Blues player head hunting and boarding every Bruins player any chance they get. Granted they did actually call that dirty and dangerous boarding call early in the first period, but theres so much not getting called its hard as a player to know what the hell is going to be a penalty.
Good job good effort
Even though the Bruins mopped the floor with the Blues, the St. Louis fans were still chanting like they’d won the damn game. If you guys want to be Seattle and hang your hat on being “the loudest fans” then you do that. I’m going to worry about adding another championship to my resume.
I don’t have @redsox contacts but I surely hope someone is looking into this report about David Ortiz out of Santo Domingo because I’m having a small heart attack.
Rough English Translation:
David Ortiz hurt in a confusing incident in the Bar Vial of Avenida Venezuela, Santo Domingo Este. The former player was transferred to a health center, for the time being unknown. https://t.co/aux1ZpgtIl
I really hope this isn’t true, but CDN 37, a blue check marked news network in the Dominican Republic, is reporting that David Ortiz has been hospitalized with a gunshot wound in Santo Domingo. I’ve seen some other rumors on Twitter saying that it happened during a robbery at gunpoint, but I don’t know if thats true or not. A couple of websites are reporting that he was shot in the leg after an altercation and that the suspect has been arrested.
This is exactly why a lot of players make it big and never go home when they come from less than well off countries. It must be an insanely scary feeling to be the richest guy in one of the poorest parts of the world while everyone knows you’re the richest guy in the country. Even if you’re the humblest, most modest dude, just having Big Papi’s face would be like me walking through the Bronx with hundred dollar bills hanging out of my pockets. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to do David Ortiz harm. He’s Big Papi for christs sake. Street justice will probably be swift on the dude thats responsible if its true. We’ll keep you updated with any info we see come through, but for now prayers up to No. 34.
Thats right, The 300s is getting into the fight game and we’re going to be sitting ringside (cage-side? Octagon-side?) at Cage Titans XLIV next Saturday, June 15th. We’ll be on hand to see local guy and Ultimate Fighter Finalist Joe Joe Giannetti take on D’Juan Owens out of North Carolina and a whole host of other fights.
Now we’re not going to cover this event with a fight by fight recap because to be completely honest with you I’m not going to know a ton about the majority of the fighters (but Joey B might). So we’ll probably do some live video, some recaps, fan and/or fighter interviews, and just bring you the general vibe that only the local MMA circuit can bring.
So I don’t know what the hell to expect, but Joey B and I will out there grinding for content. We’ll see ya out there.
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The 300s 