Hey Jarome Iginla, No Hard Feelings Right Buddy?

I am sure that you've already heard the news since it happened on Friday but I thought I'd wrap up the Bruins' moves from this weekend since many of us (myself included) were in a Fourth of July/long holiday weekend haze. The Bruins and right wing Jarome Iginla agreed to a one-year deal worth $6 million while Nathan Horton signed a seven-year deal in Columbus, Andrew Ference is off to Edmonton for four seasons, backup goaltender Anton Khudobin is now a Carolina Hurricane for at least the next season and Aaron Johnson signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Rangers.

We don't have to rehash all the drama with Iginla a few months ago but you have to admit that it is pretty funny that he ended up in Boston after getting swept by the Bruins in the Eastern Conference Finals in June. It's all about timing and despite the fact that he's slowing down (he turned 36 last week), he has a good chance to end up on Boston's top line with Milan Lucic and David Krejci now that Horton is officially gone.

Iginla's resume speaks for itself, there is a reason that he'll be in the Hockey Hall of Fame after he retires: he has the third most goals of active players (530) with 576 assists and he's +48 for his career which is great when you consider all the poor teams he played on in Calgary. He has 165 power play goals and 206 power play assists with 13 shorthanded goals and nine shorthanded assists.

The former Flames captain put up seven 30-goal seasons, two 40-goal seasons and two 50-goal seasons with a career-high 52 in 2001-02. Showing how well rounded he is, Iginla has six 30-assist seasons, two 40-assists seasons and two 50-assist seasons with a career-high 55 in 2006-07. He's never had 100 points in a season (who does anymore in the NHL?) but he's come close with 94, 96 and 98 in 2007-08.

You can't expect Iginla to still be the player he was in his prime since he showed signs of age between Calgary (9 goals, 13 assists in 31 games) and Pittsburgh (5 goals, 6 assists in 13 games) last season. Still, he missed four games in the regular season but he played in all 82 for five seasons in a row (2007-08 to 2011-12). It's also easy to forget since he had a goose egg (0 goals, 0 assists) in the Bruins' sweep of the Penguins but before that, he notched four goals and eight assists in 11 games. In 69 career NHL playoff games, he has posted 32 goals and 29 assists.

My guess is that with a full training camp, no worries around the trade deadline over if he'll get dealt and a regular season with the B's, he should be a nice fit at a very reasonable price and the fans will totally forget about all the old drama provided that he plays well. It'll be strange to see Horton and Ference in other jerseys next season. I'm happy that they both got long-term deals since they are good guys that gave everything they had to the Black and Gold. Losing Khudobin was a little surprising but I'm confident the Bruins can find a comparable backup for Tuukka Rask in 2013-14.

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Red Sox Have The Most Wins In MLB, Because America!

Today the Red Sox celebrated the Fourth of July exactly like our forefathers would want them to: by pummeling the hapless Padres 8-2 at scalding hot Fenway Park. With the win, Boston (53-34 overall, 31-16 home) swept the three-game series from San Diego (40-46 overall, 15-28 away), completed an impressive 8-1 homestand and head to the West Coast for a 10-game road trip heading into the All-Star break with the most wins in MLB (sorry Pirates).

There were many subplots in this victory for the Red Sox that could prove to be more important down the road later this season. Rookie Allen Webster (1-2) finally picked up his first career win in MLB: six innings, two earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts and four walks. He will be in the rotation for at least a couple more turns so this should help his confidence. Jacoby Ellsbury (3 hits, 3 runs, 14-game hitting streak) hit his first homer since April 7, haha seriously only his second of 2013. Last but not least, Andrew Bailey pitched a 1-2-3 seventh with two strikeouts when Boston led 7-2. He might not close again this season but the Red Sox need him to be productive to help their bullpen survive the dog days of summer.

To move a season-high 19 games over .500, Boston had 18 hits. All nine guys in the lineup had hits and Brandon Snyder was the only one with just one hit but it was a solo homer (his 1st of the season) so he's forgiven. Shane Victorino was 2 for 4 with a double and run, Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a double, David Ortiz was 2 for 5 with two RBIs and a double, Mike Napoli was 2 for 5 with two runs and a double, Jonny Gomes was 2 for 4 with double and RBI, Ryan Lavarnway was 2 for 4 and Jose Iglesias was 2 for 4 with a double, run and RBI.

San Diego has lost six games in a row and it's not difficult to figure out why they were swept: they scored a grand total of four runs in the three games. Ouch babe. The Padres two run explosion today came on Chase Headley's sacrifice fly and an RBI single by Jesus Guzman (3 for 3, double, walk).

Without question, these next 10 games are the toughest stretch of the season (so far) for the Red Sox: three at the Angels (40-44, 3rd in AL West), four at the Mariners (37-47, 4th in AL West) and three at the A's (50-36, 1st in AL West). Putting aside the fact that the Angels have been really disappointing again and the Mariners are awful as always, playing 10 games in a row on the other side of the country presents plenty of challenges.

Red Sox fans should get some rest since two games against the Angels, three against the Mariners and two against the A's will be 10:05 p.m. or 10:10 p.m. starts on the East Coast. Felix Doubront (4-3) faces C.J. Wilson (8-5) tomorrow night in Anaheim (10:05, NESN), Ryan Dempster (5-8) takes on TBA on Saturday night (10:05, NESN) then Boston gets the Sunday Night Baseball treatment (8, ESPN) as John Lackey (6-5) returns to face his former team and Jered Weaver (2-4)-storyline that they'll hit you over the head with alert!

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Tyler Seguin's Run In Boston Comes To An Unexpected End On The Fourth Of July

Odds are that the Bruins very notable trade with the Stars today caught you by surprise since it's the Fourth of July so hopefully you were beating this merciless heat at a pool, beach or on a boat. For once, I wasn't on Twitter so the news that Tyler Seguin, Rich Peverley and prospect Ryan Button (great name) were dealt to Dallas for winger Loui Eriksson and prospects Reilly Smith, Matt Fraser and Joe Morrow first came to me the old fashioned way-via texts from a couple hockey loving buddies.

After digesting this move for a couple hours and swimming multiple times in the Atlantic Ocean, I have come to a couple conclusions: 1) Boston had to be really sick of Seguin's shit to give away the No. 2 overall pick in 2010 after only three seasons; 2) Eriksson is an underrated player that should shine with the B's in Seguin's spot on the second line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand; 3) don't ask me about the prospects since I can only keep up with so much, check back if they make the NHL.

We had all heard rumors of Seguin's hard partying ways and even though he's only 21, the Bruins were clearly fed up with it and something had to change. Why else would they publicly acknowledge as much last week at the NHL Draft? From the start, Seguin was never a good fit in terms of playing style. He's totally a finesse guy that hates to go in the corners and battle for the puck (a Bruins staple) plus he constantly gets knocked down and relies on one stupid move that rarely works to get by defensemen. Of course he's also wildly talented and has probably only reached a tenth of his potential (relatively speaking) in the NHL.

Seguin led the Bruins in points in 2011-12 (29 goals, 38 assists) so it's hard to explain how the same player (uninjured) was held to 16 goals and 16 assists this season (in 48 games) but even worse only one goal and seven assists in 22 postseason games. It got so bad that he was put on the third line and basically wasn't heard from again save for a couple pretty assists. Peverley had a nice season in 2011-12 (11 goals, 31 assists, +20) and he helped the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in 2011 with four goals and eight assists but he was beyond useless this past season: six goals and 12 assists in the regular season then two goals and no assists in the postseason. See ya later, with a cap hit of $3.25 million through 2014-15 (another awful contract by the B's), Boston can find somebody much cheaper to do similar work.

Ultimately you can't judge a player by a single moment, game or season but I can only guess that Boston predicted the future of Seguin with the Bruins wouldn't improve enough to justify his overpriced contract (salary-cap hit of $5.75 million through 2018-19 season) that they handed out way too soon. Perhaps playing for the Stars, with much less of a spotlight and pressure will do wonders for his on-ice production. Worst case, he continues to be a mess in terms of having a productive lifestyle, doesn't take his job seriously and this past postseason was a precursor of things to come except Dallas won't be in the playoffs!

In terms of Eriksson, I'll admit I know about him mostly from fantasy hockey since the Stars last made the playoffs in 2008 and they are never on national TV. He'll turn 28 on July 16 but he's already played seven seasons in the NHL amassing 150 goals, 207 assists, 82 points in the power play (36 goals, 46 assists), 11 shorthanded points (7 goals, 4 assists) and a plus/minus of +31. He's scored 26+ goals in four seasons with a career-high of 36 in 2008-09. He also racked up 71+ points three years in a row (2009-10 to 2011-12). He only put up 12 goals and 17 assists in 2013 but I can't blame him since playing for a bad team for so long takes the life out of you plus they traded away most of Dallas' best players like Jaromir Jagr and Brandon Morrow. I know he's not physical but you have to be impressed that Eriksson has only missed three games in the past five seasons (all in 2010-11).

It's doubtful that Boston will pick No. 2 again for a long time which of course is a good thing. Still, only time will tell if they simply whiffed on Seguin (assuming he falters with the Stars) or didn't give him enough experience in the Black and Gold to get comfortable and become the star (no pun intended) that we thought he would be.

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You Know Things Are Going Well When Jonny Gomes Is Hitting Walk-Off Bombs

So have you jumped back on the Red Sox bandwagon yet? If not, you're missing out on a fun team that seems to get better by the game. Tonight, Boston (52-34 overall, 30-16 home) delivered its MLB-best (tied with Giants) eighth walk-off win of 2013, 2-1 over San Diego (40-45 overall, 15-27 away) at Fenway Park on Jonny Gomes' solo homer just over the Monster.

Gomes pinch-hit to start the bottom of the ninth and came through with his sixth homer of the season. It was also his third walk-off hit of 2013 (2 homers) which is pretty remarkable for a guy that I thought was completely useless when they signed him. He's not a great player by any means but he obviously has a clear role as a clubhouse leader and pinch-hitting specialist. In the last two nights alone, I've had to admit that John Lackey is pitching really well and Gomes is the perfect fit for a squad like this.

Jon Lester got a no-decision but that shouldn't hide the fact that this was his best start in a month and a half. He went seven innings, allowing one run on six hits with five strikeouts and one walk. He threw 31 pitches in the first inning and gave up an RBI single to Kyle Blanks in the frame so lasting that long and getting into a rhythm was key.

The Padres had been playing well up until a few weeks back but now they've lost five in a row and haven't scored more than two runs in any of those contests. Edinson Volquez (6 innings, 1 run, 7 hits, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk) was good and Nick Vincent pitched a scoreless seventh but Luke Gregerson (4-4) choked when Bud Black tried to coax another inning out of him.

The Red Sox tied it at one in the fourth on Jarrod Saltalamacchia's RBI single which drove in Mike Carp (2 for 4, double). Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 4 with a double and stolen base while Carlos Quentin was 3 for 4 with a double and run in the loss.

Junichi Tazawa had maybe his best outing of the season as he struck out the side in the eighth and Koji Uehara (2-0) continued his magical first half with a 1-2-3 ninth including a strikeout for the win.

Boston is 7-1 on this excellent homestand and they'll try to close it out tomorrow afternoon (1:35, NESN) with a sweep of San Diego on the Fourth of July. Red Sox rookie Allen Webster (0-2) looks for his first MLB win against Eric Stults (6-6).

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Your Next Head Coach of the Boston Celtics: Brad Stevens?!

There is no bigger proponent or fan of Twitter than me but I will say that this fantastic tool (that I spend way too much time on every day) has taken one thing away from my obsession with sports: surprises. Whether it be player moves, coaching hires or anything else involving my favorite teams, it has been almost impossible to pull a fast one on me since I first logged on to Twitter a few years ago. I have to say that today's huge news shocked me: Brad Stevens has been named the new head coach (17th all-time) of the Boston Celtics. Through all the rumors since Doc Rivers left, I had never heard Stevens' name mentioned even once. For instance, the Boston Globe had a story today listing 13 possible candidates and he wasn't one of them.

Yes the same guy that led Butler to the NCAA Tournament championship game in back-to-back years (2010 and 2011) where they lost to Duke and UConn respectively. As a college hoops fanatic, I love it way more than the flawed NBA, I am bummed out because in his six years with the Bulldogs I came to love Stevens and his style of coaching. Who couldn't root for this young guy (36, youngest head coach in NBA) with marginally talented players at a small school in Indiana that kept making insane runs in the NCAA Tournament?

Butler has always been into basketball but Stevens put them on the map by going 166-49 and 12-5 in the NCAA Tournament with the Bulldogs. Nothing better illustrates that then looking at how they've upgraded conferences three years in a row: from the Horizon League to the Atlantic-10 and two days ago they began life in the new look Big East. They were always one of those teams that nobody wanted to play in March/April. How that translates to the NBA is impossible to say. We all know how badly Rick Pitino (with the Celts) and John Calipari (Nets) fell on their faces when they came to the NBA. Then they went back to the college game and reached the top of their professions. In college you are a teacher more than a coach whereas in the NBA you are just trying to reach the stars on your team and hoping that they're on your side.

On the surface Stevens seems like the perfect guy for the Celts since they are already underway on a serious rebuilding/tanking effort at least for the next season. I'm really pleased that Danny Ainge didn't go with a nameless assistant coach or one of the veteran NBA coaches that had been fired recently (Lionel Hollins or George Karl). This is a fresh start and a big name (for basketball fans, not NBA people) that the team can build around. Yes I realize that the NBA is all about the players but having Stevens who is so energetic, smart, well-spoken and normal (thank you Midwest) will help them stay sane between all the losses that are sure to pile up.

All I know is that the next few seasons (he's reportedly getting a six-year deal worth $22 million dollars at Friday's introductory press conference) for the Celtics are about to be way more interesting than any of us could have reasonably expected. By thinking outside of the box and doing some FBI level work behind close doors and away from the media/cameras, Ainge has hit a home run in my humble opinion. This is a great moment for the Celtics as they now employ one of the best minds in basketball (any level) from around the globe.

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Jose Iglesias Named American League Rookie of the Month for June

Let's state the obvious: absolutely nobody (outside of maybe friends, relatives and the man himself) could have expected this start for Red Sox utility infielder Jose Iglesias. We are a few weeks away from the 2013 MLB All-Star Game and he's hitting .415/.463 OBP/.533 SLG in 41 games with 56 hits, 23 runs, nine doubles, two triples, one home run and 10 RBIs. Today, Iglesias was named the American League Rookie of the Month for June.

Showing how few homegrown prospects the franchise has hit on lately, Iglesias is the first Red Sox to receive the honor since Jacoby Ellsbury way back in September 2007. In June, Iglesias hit .395 with .453 on-base percentage. For a guy that looked hopeless at the plate as recently as last season, this start to 2013 (that we all know will end some point soon) has been nothing short of amazing.

He's always been known for his exceptional glove but Jose has also shown his versatility as he started the season at shortstop, was sent to Pawtucket when Stephen Drew was healthy then came back and now he's the third baseman with Will Middlebrooks playing for the PawSox. Scratch that, he's been in his natural position the last few games because Drew is doing what he does best-missing games with iffy injuries.

Another cool part of this is that Iglesias-a Cuban-is also joined by his fellow countryman outfielder Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers who was named the National League Rookie of the Month for June. It's the first time two Cubans have won the award at the same time. For what it's worth, I think that Iglesias has a good shot at the American League Rookie of the Year as well since it is not a particularly strong class. Stay tuned on that.

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John Lackey: Red Sox Ace, Wait What?

(ESPN's 30 for 30 voice) "What if I told you that John Lackey has been Boston's best pitcher for the last month and a half?" This extremely unlikely scenario has become the reality for the Red Sox (51-34 overall, 29-16 home) with Clay Buchholz out indefinitely due to his annual mysterious injury and Jon Lester unexpectedly struggling. Lackey (6-5) pitched his second gem in a row as Boston beat San Diego (40-44 overall, 15-26 away) 4-1 tonight at Fenway Park in the opener of a three-game interleague series.

Lackey won his fourth straight decision as he went eight innings, allowing one earned run on six hits with six strikeouts and one walk. You know the shameless Red Sox honk media will be writing poems about Lackey while this run continues but he is turning into the main individual story (see: redemption) on a team full of overachievers.

The Red Sox improved to a season-high 17 games over .500 and they are 6-1 on this current homestand. Brandon Snyder-who?-had the biggest play of the game, a three-run double in the fourth which gave Boston a 3-0 lead. That came after a great nine-pitch at bat against Padres rookie pitcher Robbie Erlin (1-1). Jose Iglesias (2 hits) added an RBI single in the sixth before Jesus Guzman hit a solo homer in the seventh just over the Monster for San Diego's lone run.

Not counting Iglesias, three other Red Sox had multiple hits in the victory: Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, stolen base), David Ortiz (2 hits, double, run) and Jonny Gomes (2 hits, double, run) while Dustin Pedroia walked three times and stole a base. Former Red Sox great Pedro Ciriaco singled and stole two bases in his first game against Boston since getting traded to San Diego last month.

Joining Lackey, Snyder and Iglesias, the night's other star was Boston's closer Koji Uehara. Yes, I can't believe I just typed that sentence either. Uehara had a 1-2-3 ninth inning with two strikeouts for his fifth save of the season (and fourth in a week).

Lester (8-4) faces Edinson Volquez (6-6) tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) as Boston goes for their seventh win in their last eight games.

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