Tom Brady Named AFC Offensive Player Of The Month For December

With the New England Patriots on a bye before their playoff game next Saturday night (8 p.m.) at Gillette Stadium, expect not much meaningful news to come out of Foxborough.

That is why I won't pay attention to practice news until next week. It means nothing when stars aren't practicing now. Moving on, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady won his second straight AFC Offensive Player of the Month award for December/January (since Week 17 ended on New Year's Day).

New England was 5-0 over that span (they're on an eight-game winning streak) and not surprisingly, Brady put up big numbers (124 of 190 for 1608 yards, 11 touchdowns, 2 interceptions).

In most seasons, Brady would be a shoe in for the NFL MVP award but not in 2011 which was the year of the quarterback. Aaron Rodgers of the Packers and Drew Brees of the Saints both had even more insane performances than Brady. Of course, all this talk of awards is ultimately meaningless. The Pats have lost their last three playoff games, including the last two at home (in their openers) so it's time for Brady and Co. to make a run deep into January.

The only other nugget of pertinent information related to the Patriots today is that rookie offensive lineman Marcus Cannon captured the 2011 Ed Block Courage Award as voted on by his teammates. I doubt anyone else received votes since who has a better or more inspiring story than him?

Keep in mind this weekend when you watch the AFC Divisional round games: if the Bengals beat the Texans, they'll come to Gillette. Otherwise it will come down to the winner of Steelers-Broncos.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

When The Regular Season Looks Like The Preseason: Celtics Scrubs Beat Nets Bums

Even with a full lineup, the New Jersey Nets are not going to be good. With their three best players-Deron Williams, Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries-all out with injuries, the Boston Celtics took advantage last night by winning the preseason-esque game 89-70 at TD Garden.

Boston's fourth win in a row was accomplished without Ray Allen, who sat out with the flu. I guess that proves that he's not a robot constructed by UConn coach Jim Calhoun.

New Jersey (1-6) is on another smooth path to a lottery pick which is a positive thing given next year's draft that should be loaded. Did I mention that they're moving to Brooklyn, NY?

The only two subplots that remotely interest me from this forgettable game were the performances of Nets rookie MarShon Brooks (17 points in his first NBA start) and Celtics second-year guard Avery Bradley (11 points, 2 steals, 1st NBA 3-pointer). Like myself, Brooks graduated from Providence College so it's extremely gratifying to see him make such an impact already coming out of a small school and a recently awful team.

I have hated on Bradley since the Celtics drafted him. He seems like a nice kid but I just wonder what dad, uncle or AAU coach was in his ear to leave Texas after one season. He simply wasn't ready for the rigors of the NBA. However, maybe after this game he'll gain some confidence and start to produce. Everybody knows how old the Celtics are so as their youngest player, he could have value.

Paul Pierce had a game-high 24 points, six rebounds and five assists. Kevin Garnett had 14 points and 12 rebounds while Brandon Bass had 15 points and a career-high 13 points off the bench.

Jordan Farmer (11 points) was the only other Net to score in double-figures.

Boston's bench outscored New Jersey's 36-31 in what will likely be a high-water mark for the regular season.

In a truly putrid first half, Boston led 18-17 after the first quarter but thanks to Brooks' 15 points, New Jersey was up 35-34 at halftime. The Celtics rolled to a 29-12 third quarter and 26-23 fourth quarter.

Things figure to pick up as the Celtics end their five-game homestand with three matchups with quality opponents: Indiana, Dallas and Chicago.

The Pacers (4-2) are at TD Garden on Friday night and it's not hyperbole to say I think Indiana will be in the 4-6 range when the Eastern Conference playoffs are set. They are an unsung young team with some talent (Danny Granger, Darren Collison, Roy Hibbert and Tyler Hansbrough). Who knows, maybe Larry Bird will grace us with his presence.

UPDATE 1/5: Allen didn't practice today and he's questionable for tomorrow night.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Tim Thomas Wins Spot As Goalie on 2012 All-Star Fan Ballot In Ottawa

Tim Thomas has had a magical ride over the last year and he has accumulated many honors and accolades, all of which could fill up a trophy case.

With the 2012 NHL All-Star Game in Ottawa approaching later this month (January 29), the league has released the winners of their fan voting contest. You guessed it, Thomas has been named as one of the six fan ballot winners. The remaining players on the teams will be selected by the NHL Hockey Operations Staff.

Thomas is 17-6 this season in 24 starts, while putting up a 1.90 goals against average as well as a .940 save percentage.

He has had one of the best seasons by a goaltender in NHL history last season and this honor shows that the fans across the world are appreciative of his effort. Thomas is also the only player from an American club to grab a starting spot in the fan ballots.

Joining Thomas will be Dion Phaneuf from the Maple Leafs as well as leading vote getter Erik Karlsson, Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek and Daniel Alfredsson, all from the host and ballot-stuffing Ottawa Senators.

Thomas led all goaltenders in votes with an amazing 626,540 total fan votes, over 128,000 more votes than the second-place finisher, James Reimer of the Maple Leafs.

Other Bruins skaters were not well represented on the fan ballot: Patrice Bergeron, (138,580), Tyler Seguin-who was inexplicably a write-in (121,135), Milan Lucic, (118,015) and Zdeno Chara, who was fifth in fan voting for defensemen with 463,650 votes.

UPDATE 1/6: Claude Julien along with his assistants Doug Houda and Geoff Ward will coach one of the All-Star teams.



Tweet


Follow @RyanBurns88

Bergeron Is Selke Smooth, Bruins Drop Devils 6-1 In The Garden State

Patrice “Selke Smooth” Bergeron had two classic Bergeron goals and the first line got it going as the Bruins defeated the New Jersey Devils 6-1 last night at the Prudential Center in hell's gate aka Newark, N.J.

It was a great start to 2012 for the B's which included six unanswered goals.

Reeling from their disappointing showing against the Dallas Stars on New Years Eve, the Bruins (25-10-1) had three days to rest before the Devils (21-16-2) game, the first of 12 games in 18 days for the defending Stanley Cup Champs.

Shawn Thornton and Cam Janssen had a great bout to begin the game, with both heavyweights trading punches and waving off the linesmen over and over again. Janssen can go with absolutely anyone in the league and helped the Devils get off to a fast start.

David Clarkson (15th of the season) scored the Devils 1st and only goal of the night early in the first, taking a nice centering feed from Zach Parise and coming within two goals of matching his career high of 17. His 15 goals leads the Devils in scoring, which is pretty pathetic if you ask me.

Just when you thought that the Devils were going to make this a competitive game, it was the fourth line once again that calmed down the action and turned energy into efficiency. It started with Daniel Paille finding Andrew Ference at the blue line, whose shot redirected off of Gregory Campbell's (4th of the season) skate and past Martin Brodeur to tie the game at one.

David Krejci and Nathan Horton have certainly underachieved at times this season, but both looked great on the Bruins next goal. With a man advantage, Milan Lucic hit Krejci with a perfect pass to set up Horton for his 10th goal of the season.

The second period saw Bergeron display his Selke skills yet again and if this game was on NESN, Jack Edwards would've reminded us of this. With the Bruins down a man, Bergeron blocked a shot and then chased down the loose puck, drew a hooking penalty and simply undressed Brodeur to stake the visitors to a 3-1 lead.

At the intermission, Mike Milbury and Greg Jones talked about Bergeron’s move to beat Brodeur, more on that later.

Once the Bruins decided to straight up suffocate the Devils, they pretty much owned the rest of the action in the contest. Bergeron scored his second of the game on an excellent play from Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin, Krejci redirected a Dennis Seidenberg bomb and Shawn “Snipes” Thornton even scored a goal, albeit an absolutley gross one, sending the Devils fans home pissed off.

Another three goals in the third period, another shellacking from the spoked B, another two points.

All in all it was a total team effort. 12 Bruins had points. All but two Bruins had shots. All four lines made plays. It was a perfect win to bounce back from the Dallas debacle and should get them ready for the next stretch of brutal games, which continues tonight at the Garden vs Calgary.

*Game Notes*

*It's always good to see fellow Friars in any professional sport, however last night was extra special for me. Matt Taormina (’09) and Mark Fayne (’10) both suited up for the Devils tonight and even played on the same defensive pair at times. PC didn’t exactly have the best program in the Hockey East when they graduated, so it's nice to see both players get some shine.

*Sometimes it is like pulling teeth to get a glowing quote from Eddie Olczyk about the Bruins, but god damn if Pierre McGuire didn’t make up for it tonight. From the fourth line, to Bergeron, to the goaltending, it was as if Jack Edwards was operating McGuire like one of Jeff Dunham’s puppets. Only Jack is much funnier.

*One McGuire quote that jumped out at me was that the Bruins were “brilliantly built.” Raise your hand if you would have said that about the team two years ago with Byron Bitz, Derek Morris, Steve Begin and Miroslav Satan. If your hand is in the air, you're lying your balls off.

*Seriously, this team is as deep as any NHL team I can remember in the last few years. So much so that their second line (Bergy, Marchand, Seguin) is more effective and consistent than the first. Chemistry is huge in this sport and Bergeron’s second goal was a product of the newfound chemistry between the kids. It started with Marchand controlling the puck behind the net (shocker) and after he curled around Brodeur, Seguin and Bergeron both posted up down low. From here there are so many options for each player, whether it be a deflected shot or a simple one-timer. Bergeron wanted the latter, so he bounced outside and was wide open as the Devils defense was preoccupied with Seguin and Marchand. Marchand’s crisp pass found Bergy and we all know what happened next.

*No bias here at all, but the Enterprise Rent A Car Agent in their new ad campaign is fire. Straight fire. I'm willing to overlook the fact that she is in Vancouver.

*Not as fire as Timmy’s commercial for Discover with “Peggy” and the creepy cab driver. When he slinks into the seat at the end, I almost lost it. Can you win a Stanley Cup, Vezina, Conn Smythe AND and Oscar all in one year?

*Maybe Number 30 is in line for a SpikeTV Man Award for deflecting a shot from the wing with the crown of his helmet! Did you see that shit? A shot came in from his left side and rather than paddling the puck away, he stuck his head right in the line of fire and headed the puck to his left. Rediculous. You don’t do that unless you're having fun out there, word to Brett Favre.

*Feel free to start calling Bergeron “Selke Smooth”. Shit it's better than Poo Poo Pouliot.

Tweet


Follow @RyanBurns88

The Greg Stiemsma Era In Boston Is Everything I Dreamed It Would Be

I might be unemployed but if Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers feels like stepping down at any point this season, I think I'm the man to take his place. Proving that your favorite blogger knows his hometown teams, I suggested last week after losing in New Orleans that Rivers should shake up his lineup with the only possible solution: replacing zombie Jermaine O'Neal with rookie Greg Stiemsma.

Five days later, Doc must have read my post since today he made the switch when O'Neal sat out with some old man injury (sore hamstring/broken dentures). Stiemsma's presence helped spark Boston (3-3) to its third straight win and second in as many nights against the Washington Wizards (0-5), 100-92 at TD Garden.

Don't be surprised if the Wizards are the worst team in the Eastern Conference this season or maybe even the entire league, they are that awful. Washington is the only winless team remaining in the NBA.

Before training camp, I can honestly say that I had never heard of Stiemsma. Truth be told, looking at pictures from his college days at Wisconsin, I remember him (which is saying something since everyone on the Badgers looks exactly the same). It tells you something about O'Neal that The Steamer is already better and more consistent than him at this juncture.

In 21 minutes, Stiemsma had 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks. He provides energy and a defensive presence that the Celts lack without him protecting the rim. Plus, it allows New England to embrace its racist roots. We always need a white scrub to root for on the C's-somewhere Brian Scalabrine weeps.

So while O'Neal and Kevin Garnett (10 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists) age in dog years, Ray Allen continues to defy all logic and not get older at all. Remember when everyone wanted to trade him a few seasons ago? Well it turns out ol' Ray is still the best shooter in the NBA. This evening he had a team-high 27 points including an absurd 6 of 7 on 3-pointers. His prego wife was loving it, proving that he's accurate off the floor as well. Rim shot!

Paul Pierce added a season-high 21 points in his third game and Rajon Rondo had 13 assists (7 turnovers), seven rebounds and six points. Brandon Bass continued to be excellent off the bench for Boston with 14 points and six rebounds.

Andray Blatche, who is a fat slug, put up a game-high 28 points and nine rebounds based mostly on long jumpers and free throws. If you know a more soft and less motivated big guy than him (that's American and not European), I'd be shocked.

JaVale McGee (17 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks) had another nice performance against the Celts. His length and athleticism really gives them trouble, it's a shame he's on a currently hopeless team. John Wall had 11 points and eight assists (7 turnovers) while Nick Young scored 10 points on a brutal shooting night (3 of 14).

Boston's bench outscored Washington's 21-17 thanks to Bass and Marquis Daniels (7 points).

Predictably on the second night of a back-to-back, against the same opponent, it was close the whole way. The Celtics won because they hit seven more 3-pointers (10-3) and shared the basketball (28-14 assists). The Wizards made five more free throws (19-14), had seven more steals (10-3), six more blocks (10-4), six more fast break points (17-11) and 12 more points in the paint (50-38).

Washington head coach Flip Saunders, who I nominate for the worst coach in the NBA, was ejected for arguing about a non-call 1:44 into the game. He doesn't deserve to get paid for this game, seriously. He probably just wanted more time to style his sweet lax bro hair.

Washington led 24-23 after one quarter and 48-47 at halftime. The Wizards were up 70-69 heading into the fourth but the winless team wasn't able to notch its first win of 2011-12. Boston took it home with a 31-22 last frame.

Another patsy comes to town on Wednesday night as the New Jersey Nets (1-5), who are about as bad as Washington, visit the Celtics. It should be another win for the Green which will tell us absolutely nothing about them. The only aspect of it that interests me is seeing how my guy Marshon Brooks (rookie from Providence College) does for the Nets. He's been putting up nice numbers off their bench so far.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

This Much Is Certain: The Celtics Will Beat Shitbum Teams In The 2011-12 Reg. Season

I know we are only a few games into the 2011-12 NBA regular season but since it's shortened, I feel like I'm more justified in making knee-jerk reactions about the Boston Celtics. After all, that is what being a fan is all about.

Write this down in stone: barring things like back-to-backs or the end of long road trips, the Celts will pile up wins against bad teams and in the Eastern Conference particularly, there are plenty of those.

Tonight, Boston (2-3) won its first road game of the season by beating the Washington Wizards (0-4) 94-86 at the Verizon Center.

If you're ever played basketball at a YMCA or in a park, this was the classic old man team beating the younger one. The Celts used veteran intelligence to beat the much more athletic and quicker Wizards.

It also helped that Boston had the two best players on the court: Rajon Rondo recorded his first triple-double of the season (14th of his career) with 18 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds while Kevin Garnett had a breakout performance with 24 points and nine rebounds. KG was extra motivated since for whatever reason, he hates Washington's Andray Blatche (10 points).

John Wall (19 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds) is the franchise player for the Wizards which is fine and dandy but they're screwed as long as Flip Saunders-a supreme bozo-is the head coach and knuckleheads like Blatche, Nick Young (18 points) and JaVale McGee (16 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks) are the best players around Wall.

Boston built up a nice lead with a solid first half. They were up 28-17 after the first quarter and 51-34 at halftime. Washington rallied in the third (26-22) and fourth (26-21) but the terrible first 24 minutes killed them.

Ray Allen scored 13 points for the Celts, Paul Pierce had nine points while Jermaine O'Neal and Brandon Bass (off the bench) notched eight points apiece.

For the game, the Celts shot nine percent better (50-41), hit three more 3-pointers (5-2), grabbed two more rebounds (41-39) and handed out 11 more assists (26-15) thanks to Rondo. The Wizards hit five more free throws (20-15), had two more steals (7-5), three more blocks (8-5) and eight more fast break points (19-11).

Boston's bench outscored Washington's by a 22-15 margin. I noted that because these same teams play tomorrow night at TD Garden. Just a beautiful scheduling move by David Stern (I know he isn't in charge of every schedule, humor me). The Celtics bench is deeper and better so they'll need it to play well again if they want to sweep this mini-series with the Wizards and keep Washington winless.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

For The Second Straight Season, New England Earns The No. 1 Seed In The AFC

I've seen plenty of fake life stuff from the New England Patriots this season but fittingly, on the first day of 2012 (and the last day of the regular season), they topped anything else they had done in 2011.

One week after spotting the Dolphins a 17-0 halftime lead, the Pats (13-3) raised the stakes a bit higher by handing the Bills (6-10) a 21-0 advantage in the first quarter at Gillette Stadium. Luckily, it was still Buffalo so just like Miami they quickly coughed it up as New England rolled to a 49-21 victory (yes 49 unanswered points).

With the win (their eighth straight), the Patriots clinched the No. 1 seed in the AFC to go along with home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and the bye they had already secured. We found out tonight that New England will host either Cincinnati, Pittsburgh or Denver on Saturday, January 14 at 8 p.m. depending on who wins in the divisional round next weekend.

Mostly since the game was announced by the preseason hero unit of Don Criqui and Randy Cross, I'm not too interested in going to in depth on this absurd contest.

Tom Brady (23 of 35, 338 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception) went over 5000 yards (5235) for the season, the first time he's done that in his career. He also finished second all-time (behind Drew Brees) for yards in a season.

Also setting records was tight end Rob Gronkowski (8 catches, 108 yards, 2 TDs). He now has the most yards in a season for a tight end (1327). Bill Belichick will always pretend to not care about statistics but it's a proven fact that the Patriots gun for historical numbers like this. How else can you explain Brady playing at the end of blowouts and Gronkowski breaking the record on the last non-kneel of the regular season?

Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (29 of 46, 307 yards, 2 touchdowns), one of my favorite Harvard alums, was in a giving mood as he threw four interceptions. Sterling Moore made the first two picks of his career, the second of which he took back 21 yards for the final Patriots touchdown. Devin McCourty (who played some safety) and Antwaun Molden had the others.

Stevan Ridley (15 carries, 81 yards) and BenJarvus Green-Ellis (2 rushing touchdowns) proved to be a 1-2 rushing combination for the Pats. Look for New England to stick with that duo in the playoffs. Ridley has the explosive burst in the open field and Green-Ellis is better by the goalline.

I don't know if I've ever seen a quarter of football better sum up a franchise or a city than the first quarter today for the Bills. Buffalo got off to the perfect start thanks to a 4-yard run by Tashard Choice, an 18-yard catch by Steve Johnson and a 15-yard catch by C.J. Spiller.

In an omen of things to come, Johnson was flagged for a personal foul by lifting up his shirt to reveal an undershirt that said "Happy New Year." You can't make this stuff up. Bills head coach Chan Gailey decided to sit the talented Johnson for the rest of the game; Gailey made his point and I doubt that Johnson (who will be a free agent) will return to Buffalo next season. Way to be an idiot.

Green-Ellis' 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter got New England on the board and woke up the hungover and even more quiet than usual Gillette crowd. After that, Aaron Hernandez (7 catches, 138 yards) turned in the play of the game with a 39-yard catch and run for a score.

Brady threw an interception on the last drive of the first half but it didn't matter since the Pats had all the momentum and received the kickoff to start the second half.

Two Stephen Gostkowski field goals (47, 20) cut it to 21-20 Buffalo in the third quarter before Gronkowski put his team ahead for good with a 17-yard catch. Danny Woodhead added the two-point conversion run and New England led 28-21 late in the third quarter.

Things got silly in the fourth as Fitzpatrick threw it up for grabs on basically every play and even the Patriots' terrible secondary could take advantage of that. Green-Ellis added a 3-yard touchdown run and Gronkowski had a 7-yard touchdown catch before Moore's pick-six which was a big play for his confidence.

The crazy part about this team is that even after 16 games, nobody can say they know what will happen when the Pats have to face a worthy opponent and not a team that will piss down its leg and hand the game to them. They can beat anybody in the AFC playoffs and they can also lose to any of those same teams.

The offense can score plenty of points (49 was a season-high) but they basically have to be flawless to make up for the bumbling defense. Along those lines, if the defense can make a big stop or better yet force a turnover, the Patriots have an exponentially improved chance of winning.

All I know is that this team was in the same position last season with the No. 1 seed and a seemingly easy path to the Super Bowl. We all know how that ended up. New England has lost its last three playoff games and they've lost their openers for two years straight at home. That all has to change starting on January 14 and for the record, I don't want to face the Steelers. Bring me the Broncos or Bengals and I like the Patriots chances to get to the AFC Championship Game.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate