It’s no longer enough for the focus of these fans’ passion to excel; now they must do it all the time. They must never err, especially should in erring they cost their team/club/franchise a run/goal/basket/point and ultimately, a win or loss.

But it’s always okay. Because if your team has somebody who isn’t living up to his/her expectations, s/he can just warm the bench until they get it all together.

At least, that’s what we’ve always believed.

Tuesday morning, the Boston Globe published a marvelous piece written by Tony Massarotti, who – as members of the over-burdened and over-criticized media in this sport-obsessed hamlet go – is one of the most straightforward writers this town has ever seen. He wrote about a subject that’s been beaten fairly to death in these parts lately – the plight of the never-ending, but soon-to-end Boston Red Sox season.

He, like anybody else with a pen, paper or Red Sox license plate frame, re-enters the overdone conversation about how ratings have dropped, and points a finger at anyone still blaming injuries for the team’s demise. But unlike those who wear the pink hats, belt out their best inebriated rendition of Sweet Caroline even though it’s Monday night and the Sox aren’t coming back from 8 runs down to the Indians, and whine ad nauseum when they sober up, Mazz doesn’t stop there.

He does what fans are either overly excited about or completely afraid to do. He looks forward. And if the Red Sox are bad this year, just wait until next year, he says.

The outfield, of course, will feature another-year-older Mike Cameron and a Jacoby Ellsbury who might be afraid to dive for balls – but really, that’s no matter, because Ryan Kalish and/or Darnell McDonald can step in in their stead.

The infield will feature Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis on the right. Marco Scutaro will likely still be at short, but if it’s a bit overbearing to just assume that Adrian Beltre will re-sign with the Sox for four or five years at around $15 million a year, then it’s downright silly to assume he’ll take the $5 million option he has pending for 2011.

We don’t know if Victor Martinez will be behind the plate, or if David Ortiz will continue to torment the Red Sox’ opponents’ pitching. It’s reasonable to believe, above all other things, that at least one of Beltre, Martinez or Ortiz is not coming back next year. That’s not to say it can’t happen.

The Red Sox could look very different next year without Ortiz or Beltre in the lineup.

Ortiz is owed $12.5 million on a club option held by the Sox for 2011. Theo could renegotiate this contract and extend Ortiz to the tune of something like three years for $20 million. That would save the team somewhere around five million on Ortiz alone.

Mike Lowell’s $12 million salary is coming off the books this year, as the oft-disgruntled first baseman has said numerous times that he plans to retire. So far, the Sox have $17 million that they didn’t have this year.

Likewise for Jason Varitek, who could still make a fashionable switch-hitting DH for a lot of teams, but likely wouldn’t do that with the Red Sox, and likely wouldn’t play elsewhere, either. The Captain, it’s fairly safe to assume, will also hang up the cleats.

Another long-tenured member of the team likely to join the retirement platoon is Tim Wakefield. Wake is only owed $1.5 million in 2011 on the contract extension he signed with the Sox last year, but if he leaves, the gain in salary will be off-set by Daisuke Matsuzaka’s gain of $2 million entering the second-to-last-year of his contract.

Hideki Okajima’s $2.75 million salary will come off the books, and it stands to reason that he may be replaced straight-up by a returning Junichi Tazawa, should the young gun have a successful return from rehabbing after Tommy John surgery.

At this point, things seem rosy for the Sox. But that’s far from the case, and here’s why.

Although it seems to fans like closer Jonathan Papelbon has struggled, he’s actually had one of his best statistical seasons. Heading into arbitration, that will only help his case – he earned $12 million this year, and he’ll probably get that and then some again next year. And don’t think the Red Sox don’t want him back. They do.

Two other volatile names are up for arbitration: Daniel Bard and Clay Buchholz. Expect the front office to try to extend both before going to arbitration, because Bard will command around $10 million and Buchholz would command John Lackey money (about $16 million on a one-year deal).

That still doesn’t address the contract situations of Bill Hall, McDonald, Kalish, Daniel Nava, Jed Lowrie, Felix Doubront and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, among others.

Back to Mazz’s article. The Red Sox have hardly lost money this year, but they’re not nearly as well-positioned financially heading into the offseason as they have been in years past. Fans who have been turned off by the franchise’s unwillingness to make a big deadline deal are going to be in for a long summer, because even though names like Tampa Bay’s Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena, Detroit’s Jhonny Peralta and Toronto’s Scott Downs are out there, Boston doesn’t really have the money to go after them.

***

This is bigger than the Red Sox, though.

In an age where icons aren’t affiliated with teams (see: Williams, Ted; Mantle, Mickie; Clemente, Roberto) as much as they are their own, oft-inflated statistical achievements (see: Bonds, Barry; Clemens, Roger; Ramirez, Manny), winning becomes a lot more personal for athletes while fans’ attachments to their teams slowly wanes.

The Red Sox’ ratings drop on NESN exemplifies that: gone are the days of the Idiots, when those who didn’t even like baseball would watch a game to see what crazy thing Manny might do, or at least to get an inside scoop about which bar Millar, Mientiewicz and friends might make their presence felt at after the game.

If people want to be entertained, there are 3-D IMAX theatres, video games that actually respond to their movements and, of course, Chat Roulette. They don’t need baseball to get them through the long summer months anymore.

Maybe it is the Red Sox. Maybe it was predetermined when Theo admitted that it was a bridge year and said that he was going to build a team focused on preventing runs and not scoring them. Maybe it was the 20-20 start.

But the reason Fenway continues to sell out and the pink hats continue to come back – unabashedly, at this point – is simple. Of all the sports out there, baseball’s the one that still has longevity with people. The premise – throw, hit and catch – is simple. But what’s more important in a here-today, gone-in-five-minutes society is that, of all the major professional sports, baseball is the one where you can obtain both instant gratification and long-term security.

It is, as pastimes go, something the federal government is beyond envious of.

Theo Epstein's "bridge year" prophecy has become a reality due to a glut of injuries and a weak bankroll in 2010.

Football, Basketball and Hockey all have salary caps – and all might not be playing next year. The big word that comes up whenever the salary cap is brought to question is parity. And it’s an appropriate word – the NHL hasn’t had repeat champions in twelve years, the NFL hasn’t had back-to-back winners in six years and the NBA…well, you know.

Because of the juniors system, hockey teams are able to sustain and predict success over longer periods. But basketball and football don’t have that luxury – if anyone argues to you that the NBA D-League is a legitimate minor league and not just a clever marketing ploy, they’re crazy – and as a result, the teams that win are the ones that operate best within their respective league’s structures: scout and draft well, make low-risk trades for good system players and keep your stars happy (if you’re scoring at home, this is what made the New England Patriots good ten years ago. It also seems to be what might be the death of them. Vice-versa for their basketball counterparts).

The point is, it doesn’t matter how much money a football, basketball or hockey ownership team has. Sure, they can build new stadiums and appease the fan base, but they can’t give Alexander Ovechkin or Kobe Bryant or Peyton Manning $27.5 million a year like the Yankees can give Alex Rodriguez (hold your breath on the Manning thing if you’d like; he might come close).

Baseball owners can do that. And in the big markets, they happily do. The Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Mets and Phillies have led the league in salaries for almost the entire last decade. And there’s a reason.

Ticket Prices.

No team makes enough money to float their business on the sale of merchandise alone. They make close to 90% of their profits on ticket sales – teams like the Yankees, Mets, Braves, Cubs and Red Sox that have their own television networks make a substantial profit from the sale of TV ad space, and rightly so. But ticket sales are what drive revenue, and the more over-priced tickets a team can sell in one year, the better their chances of landing marquee free agent X in the offseason ahead, thereby generating more interest, justifying another price bump and so on.

But baseball’s starting to struggle. As prices increase amidst a recession, there are less and less consumers to gobble up the tickets. And the businesses which companies rely on to buy the really expensive seats are leaving teams in the dark – Yankee Stadium saw it last year; Citi Field, Fenway Park and Wrigley Field are seeing it this year.

And if it continues, baseball’s going to start bleeding money the way that the NBA has been over the past few years. Not at the same rates, and not nearly in the same volume, but the baseball ship will start to spring leaks.

This isn’t about money. This isn’t a cry for fans to stop or start snatching up tickets to keep their team’s hopes for the next decade afloat.

This is bigger than baseball.

***

This is about the American Dream.

While this particular writer doesn’t think that baseball is still America’s pastime, and feels so strongly about it that he once wrote a twenty-page reaction paper stating that football was the new pastime, there’s no denying the Field of Dreams sensation that is subconsciously tied to seeing a baseball field or going to a ballpark.

It’s like Fitzgerald wrote at the close of The Great Gatsby:

for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder.

Baseball, for all its flaws, has always provided the fan with the ability to wonder. It has long been a game of possibility, but in the past fifteen years, has slowly started to become impossible.

The simple game, one of throwing, catching and hitting, started to develop limits. Roger Clemens showed up and, along with Cal Ripken, The Wizard and a few other stars, baseball had reached its golden age. The game couldn’t possibly get any better.

…Naturally, anyhow.

When Brady Anderson’s sideburns went off for 50 home runs in 1996, nobody thought much of it. When Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa started spanking baseballs around any park they played in, everyone was caught up in the moment. It wasn’t really until a self-righteous Barry Bonds populated McCovey Cove with more baseballs than fish that anyone said boo. And anyway, it was too late by then.

Drug policies showed up and home runs declined. Two-and-a-half perfect games and three no-hitters to boot later, 2010 was ruled the year of the pitcher before it was even over. Names like Dallas Braden, Roy Halladay, Armando Galarraga, Matt Garza and Edwin Jackson became overnight celebrities, and Clay Buchholz, Ubaldo Jimenez, Josh Johnson, David Price and Phil Hughes became conversation pieces.

Then the kid showed up.

Stephen Strasburg had simply baffled minor league hitters for two months before being called up to the Washington Nationals. In that game, against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates, Strasburg struck out 14 and the coronation had just begun. But a funny thing happened on the way to Strasburg going 12-0 with a 1.21 ERA in his first season in the big leagues: he didn’t.

Stephen Strasburg was all systems go before his body started to crumble under the weight of expectation and a longer season.

Two and a half months later, the kid with the 100-mph heat and the 90-mph slider is preparing to go under the knife. Even though the Nationals protected him, brought him up through the system and never let him get overworked, the kid still got hurt. Because just like batters twenty years before him, his body couldn’t keep up with the changes.

Almost every team in the major leagues now has somebody capable of throwing 100 mph – the Mets may not, but ask K-Rod’s father-in-law and he’d surely tell you that it feels like the kid can. While the mechanics behind a 100-mph heater may not be ideal for the hurler, they’re downright injurious for anyone throwing a 90-mph slider.

Baseball is beginning to notice this trend: the game has hit a ceiling. The players’ bodies cannot improve anymore; the equipment can’t change (without amending the rules) anymore and the specifications of the game, long without restrictions past 90 feet and 60 feet, 6.5 inches, can’t be amended to change the game.

The NFL has devoted a large amount of time, money and passion to researching  ways to prevent – or at least slow down – the neurological regression of its players in their advancing age. It has worked to come up with safer equipment and rules that not only protect the head and neck, but the knees, shoulders and ankles as well.

Baseball isn’t a contact sport in the way that the NFL is, but it could be well served to learn from its brethren’s efforts. The commonest injuries among baseball players are not linked to any sort of neurological degeneration later in life, but are focused primarily on the arm, elbow and shoulder. They would, in theory, be easier injuries to treat and ultimately, to prevent.

The American Dream has faded because of complacency and, let’s be honest, the internet. Baseball is lining itself up for a similar fate, though it’s hardly through any fault of its own.  The game, like so many other American institutions, is simply realizing its limits.

It has not dropped the ball – yet, but it is quickly becoming defined more by what it is not than by what it is.

And as errors go, that one might just prove to be unforgivable.

Savard may not be so excited to play for the Bruins this season.

The 2009-2010 season was perhaps the worst of Marc Savard’s career.

After leading the Bruins in points for three consecutive seasons, Boston’s most dynamic offensive force suited up for just 41 games in an injury riddled season. During training camp prior to the season Savard took a shot to his foot, but decided to play through the pain.

Just seven games into the regular season Savard was struck in the same foot, an injury later revealed to be a broken foot. Savard was put on the injured reserve list as he watched his team a struggle. Savard returned to the Boston line-up in November scoring seven points in his first seven games back, including a hat trick in old pal Phil Kessel’s return to the TD Garden.

Savard’s bad luck struck again in January when the Bruins vicious injury bug hit him less than a minute into a game against the Chicago Blackhawks. Savard collided with Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews and Savard went down clutching his leg. He was later diagnosed with a slight MCL tear, an injury that did not require surgery but put Savard on the shelf once again.

He returned to the ice just 22 days later but exactly two months after going down with that knee injury Savard was lost for the remainder of the regular season when the Penguins’ Matt Cooke struck Savard in the head with an elbow. Savard was diagnosed with a Grade 2 concussion as many wondered if his career might be at stake. A horrible season for Savard became that much worse.

Savard made a dramatic return in Game 1 of the second round series against the Flyers, scoring the game winning goal in overtime as the Boston crowd worked into a frenzy. He virtually disappeared the rest of the series, culminating in Savard’s key role in a too many men on the ice penalty in Game 7 that ultimately cost the Bruins the series.

Even though the season was over, Savard’s year continued to get worse. What has perhaps hurt Savard most of all, more than an injury riddled season, are the constantly swirling trade rumors he has had to deal with since the conclusion of Game 7.

Savard's injury plagued season gave way to a rocky off-season.

In December Savard signed a 7-year extension with the Bruins, a deal he had hoped would leave him in Boston for the rest of his career. Both Savard and team management talked about their desire to continue their partnership and bring the Bruins further success. But when Savard seemed reluctant to accept any responsibility for that infamous penalty the trade rumors began, growing ever louder as the summer progressed.

Savard’s mental state, not his physical state, could be a big problem for the Bruins when the season begins. Savard was understandably less than pleased with all the trade rumors and reports that the Bruins were actively shopping him.

“I was really focused on staying there for the rest of my career. To hear all this stuff this summer bothered me inside more than anything else,” Savard said over the summer.

The key question for the Bruins is whether or not the relationship can be repaired enough to make Savard a productive member of a team that has Stanley Cup aspirations.

If the rumors are to be believed the Bruins have actively shopped Savard over the summer without finding any takers, and Savard has taken this as a sign of disloyalty. The NHL’s pending investigation in Savard’s contract makes him a tough sell if the Bruins are trying to move him, but keeping him could be just as big of a problem.

The Bruins have high expectations coming into the 2010-11 season and need every player, first line or fourth, to be on the same page if they hope to compete in an increasingly difficult Eastern Conference. A disgruntled solider has the potential to cause a rift in the lockerroom and perhaps derail a team with such lofty expectations.

Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com has reported that sources indicate the Bruins fully expect to have Savard as their top-line center when training camp begins in mid-September despite a summer of rumors.

But can the Bruins and Savard get past any lingering “hurt feelings” and get Savard to fully commit to winning with the Bruins this season? Players are generally professional in these situations but thinking about how the team signed a 7-year deal with him just a few months ago and now wants him gone, regardless of the reasons,  may make it hard for Savard to concentrate and want to help that team win. Why would Savard actively want to help a team that supposedly does not want him?

With youngster Tyler Seguin coming aboard, developing players like Blake Wheeler looking to improve and newcomers like Nathan Horton looking to make a fresh start the Bruins need Savard to be committed and dedicated to the team. If Savard enters camp mentally unavailable and not committed to team goals, chemistry with his linemates and other teammates may never develop and could stunt team growth and success.

Lucic and Savard have worked well together in the past.

An engaged and committed Savard could help reignite a Bruins offense that was second worst in the league last season. Imagine the havoc a Lucic-Savard-Horton line could potentially cause if Savard continues to work his offensive magic.

On the other side, a Savard that feels betrayed by the Bruins may not be dedicated to helping the Bruins reach new heights and may coast. Feeling unwanted or unneeded can weigh heavily on a player and a disengaged Savard would surely hurt the Bruins and could lead to an ugly divorce or a divided lockerroom, problems a promising team certainly does not need.

No matter who is at fault in the relationship, if anyone, Boston needs to work on repairing Savard’s fragile mental state if they hope to move forward this season.

Get Your Blog On 11/6 With CSNNE.com and Youk's Hits For Kids!

The Red Sox playoff hopes are dimming. The Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics are about to embark on another season and it’s almost time for Boston Sports Blogapalooza II!

Your favorite networking event where social media and Beantown Sports collide is back!

Can you believe it’s been almost four months since ‘Palooza I?

It was a smashing success with over 80 sports bloggers, fans, and Boston media members from WEEI, NESN, The Boston Herald, and Comcast SportsNet New England congregating at the Baseball Tavern for day of sports talk. It didn’t matter if you wrote for your own website or blogged for a major media outlet, everyone shared one thing…..there undying passion for Boston sports.

Friendships were forged.

Business deals were made.

Jobs were found.

These were just a few of great things that came out of Boston Sports Blogapalooza I.

Very few sequels match the success of the original but Boston Sports Blogapalooza II is ready to break the mold!

It’s official!  Comcast SportsNet New England has been inked at the title sponsor for the event.  After hearing about the success of the ‘Palooza from friend and fellow blogger, Mary Paoletti, CSNNE.com knew this would be the perfect marriage between Boston sports and the blogosphere.

Mohegan Sports Tonight has been a staple in my nightly routine. So to say that I am excited and thrilled to work with CSNNE.com is a slight understatement. It’s like watching Vinatieri’s championship kicks all over again.

The only thing that may outweigh this feeling is if and when the Bruins raise Lord Stanley’s Cup (I won’t hold my breath).

The great news doesn’t end there!

Come support a great cause at 'Palooza II!

Come join us on 11/6 at the Baseball Tavern to talk sports but also support a great cause. Kevin Youkilis Hits for Kids has been chosen as the charity for Boston Sports Blogapalooza. The Red Sox star started his own foundation that supports organizations focused on the health and well being of children. A portion of the profits raised by the Blogapalooza raffle and silent auction will be donated to Youk’s Hits For Kids.

Are you excited as much as I am? If so register now for the Boston Sports Blogapalooza II!

How can you pass up a day of networking, discussion panels, raffle prizes, and sports talk at the Baseball Tavern in the shadows of Fenway Park?

Get Your Blog On Again on November 6^th starting at noon!

The Patriots will likely enter the season without their two time All Pro guard.

With the regular season approaching, it is becoming more and more likely that Pro Bowl left guard Logan Mankins will not be suiting up the Patriots.

Mankins, who is a restricted free agent, has not signed his one year tender and is seeking a deal that will make him one of the highest paid guards in the league. There has been little to no communication between the Patriots and Mankins, as neither side is willing to budge. His agent, Frank Bauer, has said that the team has “totally lost this player mentally.”

Rather then continuing to dig into this dirty standoff, lets focus on the present situation at the Patriots’ left guard spot. The reality is the team will enter the season without their left guard mauler.

The Patriots entered training camp with Nick Kazcur manning the spot. However, last year’s starting right tackle went down with a back injury the second day of camp. He has not been placed on season ending injured reserve, but he did recently have surgery to repair a bulging disk. Even if Kazcur does make a speedy recovery, he has lost valuable practice reps, as he had not played the guard spot since high school.

Enter, Dan Connolly.

The sixth year pro out of Southeast Missouri State, is the man that will man the spot in between mainstays Matt Light and Dan Koppen. Connolly, who went undrafted in 2005 spent two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars before spending time with on the Patriots’ practice squad for two seasons.

After spending some of the ‘08 season on the active roster, Connolly ascended up the depth chart in ‘09. Most of his early season work came as a situational fullback and as a sixth offensive lineman inside of the 5-yard line. DC ended up starting four games at right guard for the Patriots when incumbent starter Stephen Neal missed action.

Connolly was solid filling in for Neal last year, but can the former undrafted player out of Southeast Missouri State be a 16 game starter at left guard int he NFL?

The 6′4″ 313 lb Connolly will see his first extended time at the all important left guard spot. He filled in admirably for Neal last season on the right side, so hopefully, just hopefully, he can translate that success to the left side over several more games.

One cause of concern is health. Stephen Neal hasn’t played in 16 games since 2005 (12, 11, 8, 13 games over the past four seasons), and the depth behind him is very weak. Having to have Connolly start takes away the Pats’ top reserve. Not to mention, Connolly’s starting gig takes away from his fullback role that he had just begun to get comfortable with. Also, Connolly hasn’t experienced anything close to the grind of a 16 week NFL season as a reserve the past five seasons.

The 2010 Patriots season is upon us, and as Bill Belichick says the team has to worry about the players that are under contract and with the team. The Patriots will being their journey toward the Super Bowl with a fifth year former un-drafted Dan Connolly with minimal starting experience filling in for a two time All Pro. Big shoes to fill for sure, but you have to trust Belichick and his decision to not cave in. He sees something in Connolly, and if he and Neal can stay healthy, this could just work out.

Boychuk punishes former Bruin Phil Kessel

The additions of Nathan Horton and Tyler Seguin are certainly the Bruins biggest moves of the offseason but the re-signing of one of their own should have a big impact on the Bruins back end.

Johnny Boychuk was a revelation for the Bruins last season. After spending about a quarter of the season watching from the press box, the patient Boychuk got his opportunity as the injury bug hit the Bruins and his play earned him a permanent role on the Bruins blueline.

In his last full season with Providence, Boychuk scored twenty goals and sixty-five points in seventy-eight games. He did not approach those totals in his first season of active duty at the NHL game but he brought an all around defensive game that opened eyes around the league while showing flashes of why he was a dominate force in the AHL.

The former Eddie Shore award winner, awarded to the AHL’s best defenseman, netted five goals and fifteen points in 51 games for Boston, a decent total when you consider he had previously played in just five total NHL games.

His powerful slapshot always seemed to find it’s way to the net on the powerplay, although not in the net as much as he would have liked, and came to be respected and feared by the opposition.

But what impressed Boston brass and fans alike was how calm and collected Boychuk seemed on the ice. He made his fair share of mistakes but Boychuk almost always looked in control. He rarely got flustered or taken advantage of by opposing players and showed a defensive side to this game that perhaps was not expected considering his AHL offensive output.

Boychuk also displayed great decision making, not only with the puck but also with his devastating physical game. He was not out on the ice pulling himself out of position to make big hits but rather he let the game and the puck carrier come to him and unleashed upon any opposition unfortunate enough to let him get that close.

Boychuk is hungry for NHL hardware.

After Dennis Seidenberg went down with a wrist injury, Boychuk seamlessly stepped up into first pairing duty with team captain Zdeno Chara and never seemed out of place. Boychuk’s defensive responsibility allowed Chara to take more risks with Boston’s more skilled opponents while remaining confident that Boychuk would pick up the slack if Chara made any mistakes.

Boychuk further boosted his reputation as a budding go to defenseman in the playoffs. In thirteen playoff games Boychuk scored six points but racked up 29 hits and 39 blocked shots and was arguably Boston’s best defender. Boychuk never hesitated to lay his body down in front of a puck or obtain the puck through brute foce.  His booming shot from the point produced rebounds and scoring chances for his team while his timely hits gave the Bruins momentum and made opponents more cautious when entering the Boston zone.

He will enter the 2010-11 season having gained great experience earned while patrolling Boston’s top line in the playoffs and coming through with higher confidence. The incredibly calm and patient Boychuk just loves to win and will literally go through opponents to achieve victory.

A full NHL season should produce even better results for a bruising defender still eager to prove he belongs, and will excel, at the NHL level. Boychuk’s drive to be even better should produce even higher results, and more highlight reel hits, on the ice.

Gronk and Hernan may be the Patriots next dynamic duo.

Its only the preseason, but Gronk and Hernan have been quite impressive for the Patriots.

You don’t know who Gronk and Hernan are?  If don’t know already, you will.

Rookie tight ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez may be New England’s next offensive dynamic duo since Moss and Welker.

When the Patriots selected Gronkowski in the 2^nd round and Hernandez in the 4^th round in this year’s draft, fans may have been scratching their heads. Okay maybe one tight end but two?

New England hasn’t utilized the tight end position in their offense since the retirement of Ben Coates for the most part. Since 2000, Ben Watson(48 catches in ’06) and Daniel Graham(38 catches in ’03) have been the Patriots biggest “threats” at the tight end position.

After the release of Watson and the failed experiment, Chris Baker the Patriots had a gaping hole at the end of the line. Besides the addition of Gronk and Hernan, New England added veteran depth by signing Alge Crumpler. Crump was brought in to be more of a blocker that will assist in the running game. He will not be relied upon offensively, he’ll leave that to the young guns.

Gronk is a perfect mix of power and agility. At 6’6” 264 lbs, he has the size and surprisingly the quickness to break free

It's no suprise that Gronkowski reminds people of the other #87.

across the middle and in the red zone( 3 touchdowns in three preason games). Ironicallly, he wears the same number, #87 as the last Patriots player to dominate his position, Ben Coates. Both players are physical beasts that overmatch their defensive foes.

Gronk is not Coates, not yet.

One play against the Rams in the preseason, made fans look twice to see which #87 was on the field. Gronkowski dragged a defender five yards and then lunged for the goal line for a score. Just like against Coates, the linebackers and secondary will have a difficult time getting Gronk down with the first tackle.

What Gronk has in pure physical freakishness, Aaron Hernandez has in shiftiness and “Dallas Clark” headiness.  He is able to slice up the middle of the field which will have defenses thinking twice about focusing solely on Wes Welker.

Could Hernandez be the Pats' Dallas Clark?

The Connecticut native played at the University of Florida and benefited from having Tim Tebow has his quarterback. As a junior, Hernandez was awarded the John Mackey award for the nation’s best tight end. His stat line that year was quite impressive with 68 receptions for 850 yards and five touchdowns.

There is no doubt that Hernan can perform in a high octane offense like the one in New England.

Hernandez has also made his mark in the preseason catching 7 balls for 72 yards and a score. His touchdown catch off his back shoulder versus Atlanta, made people take notice. It seems like Tom Brady and him are already on the same page.

Granted it’s still preseason, but the Patriots may have struck gold with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. They have the power in Gronkowski and the agility in Hernandez.

Could they be the next Ben Coates and Dallas Clark?

You know that Tom Brady is licking his chops to find out.

Since his appearance courtside during the NBA Finals, Tom Brady has drawn a lot of comparisons to Justin Bieber. They say it’s the hair. I’m not sure if that’s the case. I’ve never seen this Bieber kid, but from what I’ve heard, he’s the apple of the eye of every 12-year old girl whose mother thought Nick Carter was “dreamy” and couldn’t wait until marriage.

But last night at the Razor, it seems like Brady’s anti-fro got in his eyes. Or at least it must have seemed that way to the Rams’ secondary, who couldn’t get a read on anything that Brady was doing as he tore them up for over 270 yards and three touchdowns.

It seems the glare had its effect on the Pats’ defense, too, as they found themselves completely unable to stop anything, much less the laser arm of Sam Bradford, as the Rams defeated the Pats, 36-35 on a last-second Josh Brown field goal.

It all leaves one to wonder: Is Bradford the anti-Bieber? And if so, why hasn’t Jive records signed him to a deal?

Didn't he used to be so cute?

Red Sox continue to tread water in soggy Fens

This week at the YMCA, the “Tuna” group completed its first diving classes. The class is comprised mostly of once-members of the 2010 Boston Red Sox, and all 38 players passed with flying colors, although there were a few question marks during the class itself. Dustin Pedroia – once MVP and Rookie of the Year on the baseball diamond – spoke at length prior to the class about how he “invented the laser show” and didn’t “need no newfangled swimming lessons.”
Former Red Sox centerfielder and leadoff man Jacoby Ellsbury complained that hitting the water “made [his] tummy hurt,” and some other whiny nonsense.

While the incapacitated version of the 2010 Red Sox were busy learning to swim, their able colleagues spent the week treading water in a rain-soaked Fenway Park against the soon-to-be Oklahoma City Mariners. Or Tornadoes. Well, whatever. Just don’t let the Starbucks guy near them.

Rondo leaves team USA, takes his Red Bull with him

Director of U.S. Basketball operations Jerry Colangelo is currently in talks with representatives from Five-Hour Energy, Monster and the Guys Who Used to Make Surge as he attempts to procure a method for giving his FIBA world championships team some motivation to win after stud point guard and Celtics poster-boy Rajon Rondo unexpectedly left the team, citing family issues. When asked about the circumstances surrounding his departure, Rondo noted that “one, I don’t play with no high-falootin’ Lakers and two, none of those guys are even close to 33. Didn’t Colangelo know I only play with guys who are past their prime?” He went on to amend his earlier statement, saying that “Glen Davis? He ain’t past his prime yet. But dude’s messed up something wicked.”

Colangelo’s attempts to procure another energy provider have not been terribly successful thus far. If talks with the energy beverage companies stay at an impasse, Colangelo has noted that he may pursue a relationship with National Grid because, while it may not give energy to the US team, it will also “knock the power out of those Canadian bastards, eh?” If all else fails, Colangelo has BP listed as his last resort.

NHL bloggers take center stage

In what has turned into a fight to the death, the entire city of Toronto is in an uproar because members of its media are disrespecting their underground media. After Dave Fuller of the Toronto Sun took it upon himself to steal a translation of an interview with Tomas Kaberle’s father from Pension Plan Puppets, Damien Cox accused bloggers as a whole of living in their mother’s basements, which many native Toronto-ans took exception to, because Toronto is actually built below sea level and nobody there is allowed to have basements after that whole Katrina fiasco.

It’s a relevant argument – the battle between bloggers and MSM is beginning to get extremely heated, and there’s reason to believe that the Obama administration could harness the animosity and use it to fuel the fancy, shiny trains that they plan on distributing all over the land.

Seriously, though, it’s created a gigantic underground movement that hasn’t gained any steam because the media is the only way movements pick up speed in this country anymore, but continues to get headier and headier as time goes on. It’s gotten so bad thatt Pope Benedict was forced to release this edict: Every Time a Blogger scoops the MSM, Brett Favre will debate his football future for another day.
Scary stuff, indeed.

Gronkowski clubs baby seals. And people love him for it.

Patriots rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski has a manly name, a manly haircut, a manly style of play and, now, a manly hobby to boot. After scoring two touchdowns in the Patriots’ preseason loss to the lowly St. Louis Rams, Gronkowski immediately hopped on his private jet to fly to the north Atlantic and start “beating the living hell out of the declining seal population,” according to his agent.

Normally, the clubbing of seals is frowned upon by animal activists, 14-year old girls and anyone with a soul (see: not Tiger Woods). But after Gronkowski’s beast of a TD catch in which he first shook off the weak hands of Rams’ linebacker James Laurinitis and then actually pushed the earth down with his free hand, nobody in Patriot Nation is complaining. Besides, how could you, with that haircut?
“I grew up a big fan of seals, really,” said Gronkowski in-between clubbings. “But ever since I heard that atrocious ‘Kiss From a Rose’ song, it was downhill. And I’ll keep clubbing them until I find the one that sang that song.”

Justice never rests.

According to Twitter, it’s still the NBA Finals.

Despite the Fourth of July coming and going, the Red Sox’ annual visit to the playoffs being cut way short and the Bruins drafting all those guys who pronounce their names weird, one internet domain hasn’t lost sight of what time it really is.

According to Twitter, the social networking site that caters to those incapable of comprehending more than 140 characters at a time, it is still the NBA Finals. Twitter’s localized trending topics for Boston are headlined by “Grand Theft Rondo” and include nothing but references to how glorious a game seven the Lakers played.

Despite pleas from many Boston tweeters that the service update its algorithm to provide Bostonians with real-time trends so they never actually have to leave their computers to know everything that’s going on, Twitter hasn’t been able to rectify the situation. When approached for comment, the San Francisco-based company had this to say:

Pretty self-explanatory, no?

Fortunately for Boston residents and Celtics fans alike, there’s still always next year.

Pedroia heading to IR, but at least he can use his crutches to get that coffee now!

Red Sox’ second baseman Dustin Pedroia is likely going to be placed on Injured Reserve, effectively ending his season and the Red Sox hopes to be the only team in the playoffs with a midget on their roster.

After the media dug him out from under a pile of used jockstraps, Pedroia mumbled something about the laser show before sneaking out of the locker room through a hole he chewed with his teeth underneath David Ortiz’ locker.

There is good news for Pedroia, however. Doctors told him that with the appropriate rehabilitation and crutch use, he can appear to be as tall as a “normal” person, at least until he’s healthy. After that, he can keep the crutches to help get that elusive Dunkin’ Donuts Iced Coffee down from the top of his locker. When informed of this development, Pedroia was so happy, he “pooped a little, right there.”

Match Made in Heaven: He love Hoopz, She Loves Money

Boston Celtics’ Center Shaquille O’Neal is rumored to have recently proposed to his to his girlfriend, Nikki “Hoopz” Alexander. Alexander is known for winning VH1 reality/competition shows “Flavor of Love” and “I Love Money.” O’Neal is famous for having lots of money.

With the pending nuptials, Shaq becomes the second member of a professional sports team to bring a woman considered a “10” to Boston with him this offseason.

The first, of course, was new Bruins winger Nathan Horton, whose wife Tammy has posed for Playboy (sorry, boys, no links here). Rumor has it that Tammy, Hoopz and Gisele, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s spouse, will be teaming up to – among other things like fighting cancer and teaching inner-city school kids to read – convince the single members of the Red Sox to settle down with “a nice piece of ass for a change.”

Brady to Jets: I hate you. Sanchize to Brady: But i wuvvvvvv youuuuu

Earlier in the week, when he was asked about whether or not he’d seen the New York Jets’ attempting to play football “or whatever it is that they do” on HBO’s Hard Knocks by a reporter, Tom Brady replied by saying that he hates that shows and he hates the Jets, so he’ll never endorse that show.

He went on to note that he hates “anything Rex Ryan eats; the color green; the letters J, E and S but not T because that’s what my name begins with; New Jersey, New York and Connecticut; Sam Bradford’s stupid shit-eating grin and both meadows AND lands.”
Approached about Brady’s comments the next day, Jets quarterback and known wuss Mark Sanchez said succinctly: “I love Tom Brady.” He also made it clear that he enjoys “the section of FAO Schwartz with the big, cuddly stuffed animals, the PINK line by Victoria’s Secret and long, sensual massages” from his life partner, movie star Bruno.

In other Jets news that nobody cares about, Darelle Revis – who apparently has an island named after him – was going to sign a contract extension with the team, but decided instead to take a vacation, prompting ESPN’s Adam Schefter to start bitching on Twitter about how his job was “too hard” and he needed all his followers to do his work for him.

Brady announced SI’s best ever to wear Number 12

According to a Sports Illustrated report, Tom Brady is the best football player to wear the number 12. The report was clearly put together by monkeys on drugs, because obviously Tom Brady is the best player to wear the number 12. He’s also the greatest human being, ever.
Honorable mentions went out to Johnny Boychuk (almost not included because he wears 55, but then he beat the writer in a staring contest when the power of his breath rendered the writer dead), Wayne Brady and the guy who mows my lawn.

But really, this was a no-contest from the beginning.

*****

That’s it for this week’s 10 most important things. Check back next week when we discuss the beginning of the football season, the end of the Red Sox’ season and Tiger Woods going single and immediately becoming a tease.

How did this oddly patterned surface come to fruition?

In 1946 Celtics owner Walter Brown funded the construction of a new floor for the team to play on. The floor, which cost about $11,000, was set in the Boston Arena (currently the Mathews Center home of the Northeastern Huskies).

The parquet floor is synonymous with the Boston Celtics.

The East Boston Lumber Company used scrap wood, originally cut in Tennessee for World War II purposes, as the material for the floor. The scraps used during a lumber shortage after the war were pieced together in an alternating pattern in order to get the most out of the material they had. When the Celtics moved to the Garden in 1952, the floor went with them.

Each of the 247 pieces were 5′ by 5′ and 1.5″ thick and they were held together by wood planks and brass screws that were connected by 988 bolts. In order to put the floor together, it took a team of many two and a half hours.

Many opposing players and coaches complained about the hodgepodge floor, as they claimed it had dead spots. Red Auerbach claimed the floor wasn’t nearly as bad as the floor at Madison Square Garden, but he said that didn’t stop him from using that notion to his advantage.

When the team moved to the Fleet Center in 1995, they brought the parquet with them. The floor was officially retired in 1999, as it was disassembled. Many of the pieces were sold as memorabilia and parts of it were integrated into the new floor.

When you think of the Garden, the picture of the mosaic floor immediately comes to mind. When you think of the Celtics and their famed decades of dominance, the famous plays that come to mind have the backdrop of the parquet.

The rivalry has admittedly been mostly one sided in favor of the Canadiens throughout the years as the majority of the Bruins most heart breaking memories came at the hands of the hated Habs.

An iconic photo that sums up the Boston-Montreal rivalry.

The bitterness of the rivalry throughout the years can probably be best summed up in a classic picture of Bruins goalie Jim Henry and Canadiens famed scorer Maurice Richard shaking hands, both looking especially battered and bloody, after Richard’s goal sent the Bruins home in the 1952 playoffs.

Between 1944 and 1988 the Bruins lost to the Canadiens in the playoffs 18 consecutive times. In the 1971 Stanley Cup playoffs the Boston machine was derailed by a young goaltender named Ken Dryden.

In game seven of the 1979 playoffs, the Bruins held a 4-3 lead over the Canadiens as the third period was coming to a close. The Don Cherry coached Bruins were caught with too many men on the ice and the Canadiens went on the powerplay.

Seconds later a Guy Lafleur laser found the back of the Bruins net and the game was tied and a Yvon Lambert overtime goal completed another chapter in the Bruins book of heartbreak as Boston let yet another chance slip away.

Thirteen years after Dryden upset the Bruins, little known goalie Steve Penney started in the playoffs for Montreal and helped the Canadiens sweep a Bruins team that had racked up 49 regular season wins. Penny and Montreal’s three game sweep of the overwhelmingly favored Bruins left Bruins fans bitter once again.

The Neely led Bruins of the late 80s and early 90s exacted a small degree of revenge on the Canadiens, winning four of six consecutive playoffs series from 1987 to 1992 but Boston still failed to win any Stanley Cups after beating their rivals.

In the 2004 playoffs the Bruins held a 3-1 lead over the Canadiens and looked primed to defeat Montreal. But Montreal overcame a game five deficit to beat the Bruins and would win the series in seven games, embarrassing the Bruins once again.

The heated rivalry turned in the Bruins favor during the Bruins great regular season in 2008-2009. After losing the first game in their six game regular season series the Bruins reeled off five straight wins against Montreal and the top seeded Bruins later met the Canadiens in the playoffs.

A common scene during a Bruins-Habs game prior to last season.

However unlike past years the favored Bruins ran over Montreal, sweeping the series in four games in a completely dominating performance. Each game saw great action and chippy post whistle play while the Bruins scored at least four goals in each game. Milan Lucic was even suspended for having his stick in his hand when he threw a punch late in a game as the post whistle scrums got more chippy as the series went on.

Heading into the 2009-2010 season the rivalry looked primed to continue as the Bruins went into the season with a chip on their shoulder after a bitter loss to Carolina in the second round of the playoffs and the Canadiens were motivated for a Cup during their 100-year anniversary season. Their season series seemed destined to be filled with their classic intensity and vigor.

That scenario, however, never played out.

Boston lost five of the six regular season games and were outscored 17-10. The Bruins losing to the Canadiens was certainly nothing new but the lack of any fire or determination against Montreal surprised a Bruins fan base that loves to see the Canadiens suffer.

Perhaps the Bruins malaise and perceived lack of caring throughout most of the season attributed to the lack luster bouts and the less than enthusiastic reaction from the crowd.

Maybe the roster turnover on the Canadiens contributed to the unusually cordial encounters between the rivals last season. The Canadiens roster, while not especially tough the past few years, now features even more play makers than gritty forwards. Most players donning the blanc, rouge, and bleu of the Canadiens are not as feisty and quite literally smaller in stature than what the Bruins are used to seeing from their tormentors from the north.

Public enemy, and Lucic punching bag, Mike Komisarek left Montreal for Toronto, subtracting a degree of animosity between the two teams and eliminating the TD Garden crowd’s favorite boo magnet. Montreal saw roughly half their roster leave after the 2008-2009 season, replaced with new faces who were new to hockey’s greatest rivalry.

Maybe current Bruins players and management who were previously embroiled in the rivalry did not do enough to instill the history of hatred into new members of the team.

The biggest disappointment in the season series happened on December 4^th when the Bruins visited Montreal on their centennial night. A Boston team that should have been motivated to ruin their rival’s celebration fell easily, losing 5-1 in a game that produced little fight from the boys in black and gold.

Throughout their storied history, even when Montreal was dominating the Bruins year in and year out, the Canadiens knew that the Bruins were going to make them earn that win. Montreal may have won on the scoreboard but they headed back to the locker room battered and bruised. That hunger and desire to leave Montreal hurting all but disappeared last year.

Why the rivalry fizzled last season is anyone’s guess but the NHL needs their most bitter, and best, rivals to reignite the flames. The atmosphere of a Boston-Montreal game in years past had been unrivaled, producing a playoff like atmosphere no matter when the two teams met. The intense hatred always extended beyond the ice as fans of each team verbally, and at times physically, battled in the stands and hurled vicious insults at the players on the ice. Even fans that did not support either team would tune in to watch the two teams clash.

Maybe current Bruins players need more of a history lesson from their predecessors. Cam Neely and Johnny Bucyk, two players who know the intensity of the rivalry as well as anyone else and currently work for the Bruins, might need to go down to the locker room and educate the players and revive that history.

Refs trying to pull Stan Jonathan off Canadien Bouchard.

Put on old game tape, show highlights to the players… anything to get that intensity back. Breed that culture of pride that comes with throwing on a Bruins jersey and treating games against the Canadiens like it is game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals every time.

With the Bruins looking determined to put the miserable end to the 2009-2010 behind them and a Montreal team motivated to prove their Conference Finals appearance was no fluke, perhaps their games will once again be must see television.

Hopefully this season Montreal and Boston will once again show the world what a real rivalry looks like.