Manny Fernandez will haunt your dreams

After witnessing first-hand my second Bruins win in as many days (a 4-1 whitewashing of the defending Stanley Cup Champions from Detroit), I'd love to take credit for the wins (11-1-1 in November) but I had nothing to do with it.

This Bruins team (16-4-4) doesn't need any help, they're stacked as they proved last night at the Garden.

Detroit (15-4-4) dominated possession in the first 10 minutes of the game, putting constant pressure on Manny Fernandez (29 saves) but the Boston backup stood tall. He got the surprise start (his second in a row) after Tim Thomas was scratched with an illness.

Blake Wheeler (8th of the season) made Boston's first chance count as he took a pass from Michael Ryder (and David Krejci) and one-timed a snap-shot past Red Wings goalie Ty Conklin, 12 minutes into the first.

4:11 later, Phil Kessel doubled the Bruins' lead as he put a screened shot past Conklin. It was Kessel's 13th of the season, from Shane Hnidy and Zdeno Chara.

Patrice Bergeron dug a puck out of the corner in the second period and whipped a pass to Chuck Kobasew in the slot. Kobasew (5th of the season) put it past Conklin, who was promptly pulled in favor of Chris Osgood.

The Red Wings finally made some noise as Jiri Hudler (9th of the season) scored a power-play goal with 3:35: left in the second. Henrik Zetterberg and Mikael Samuelsson assisted on the lucky goal that Hudler bounced off Marc Savard's skate after a scramble in front of Fernandez.

The third period wasn't exactly thrilling (especially for the Red Wings fans in attendance) but the Bruins had one more highlight as Krejci (7th goal of the season) scored from Michael Ryder and Dennis Wideman. Krejci used his quick hands to fish out a loose puck in front of the Detroit goal.

Detroit outshot Boston, 30-19 and the Bruins were 0-for-1 on their only power-play opportunity.

The Bruins get a few days off before hitting the road for a game at Tampa Bay on Thursday night.

The Celtics are making it look way too easy (and I'm fine with that)

Anything can happen over the next six months but will everyone admit that at this moment the Lakers and Celtics are head and shoulders above anyone else in the NBA?

Boston (15-2) won its seventh straight last night, 102-78, over the Philadelphia 76ers (7-9) last night at the Garden.

After giving up 100+ points in two consecutive games, Boston got back to its meat and potatoes style: defense, passing and smart shots.

Ray Allen had a game-high 23 points while Kevin Garnett added 16 points. Rajon Rondo had six points, six rebounds and 12 assists. Kendrick Perkins had eight points, seven rebounds and four blocks.

Paul Pierce had another terrible night (6 points) but nobody will remember that as Leon Powe and Tony Allen each scored 10 off the bench.

Boston outscored the Sixers 22-16 in the first quarter and led 46-28 at the half. A 27-19 third by the Celtics allowed all the starters to sit out the entire fourth quarter.

Philly's scrubs outscored Boston's, 32-29 in the garbage-time fourth.

When the game was still somewhat competitive, Elton Brand (18 points, 8 rebounds) was the only Sixer who bothered to show up. Louis Williams scored 15 off the bench and Andre Miller had 12. Marresse Speights added 12 before he was booted with less than a minute left in the game thanks to a hard-foul on Brian Scalabrine (totally worth it).

Boston shot 51.3% to Philly's 41.6%. The C's took advantage of free throws (18-for-22) while the Sixers did not (12-for-21). It's hard to do but the Celts doubled up the Sixers on assists (30-15).

The C's travel to Charlotte tonight to take on a very beatable Bobcats team.

Let's be real: Nobody likes the Islanders

Thanksgiving night, my buddy Jim texted me with an offer to go to the Bruins-Islanders game yesterday afternoon (the annual day after thanksgiving noon start) and of course I said yes even though I'm going tonight too.

The Bruins (15-4-4) came out slow against the Islanders (9-12-2), down 1-0 after the first period but they blew New York out in the third period with a five-goal barrage, en route to a 7-2 domination.

With the games on back-to-back nights, Manny Fernandez got the start against the Islanders and true to form, he gave up a soft goal 1:46 into the game. Nate Thompson skated down the wall and wristed a shot past Fernandez's glove-side.

Chuck Kobasew tied it up 3:28 into the second on a power-play goal (his fourth of the year) from Marc Savard and P.J. Axelsson. Islanders goalie Joey MacDonald stopped the inital shot but Kobasew stuck with it and jammed it over the line.

A bad turnover in their own end by New York led to Michael Ryder's goal 15:16 into the the second. Ryder intercepted the puck and quickly loaded his stick before wristing it past MacDonald (his fourth of the season).

The third period was absurd, definitely one of the craziest 20 minutes I've ever seen for the Bruins as they scored five goals and got into two fights.

At 6:48, Blake Wheeler (6th of the year) scored from David Krejci and Mark Stuart. After winning the ensuing face-off, Krejci scored (his 6th of the season) from Wheeler and Zdeno Chara, just 10 seconds later.

MacDonald got the hook in favor of rookie Peter Mannnino, who was making his NHL debut.

Dennis Wideman tallied a power-play goal (6th of the season) from Matt Hunwick and Phil Kessel. Right after the goal, Milan Lucic and Islanders goon Brendan Witt fought in front of New York's goal.

22 seconds after that, Shane Hnidy and Tim Jackman also fought. Both fights were pretty even but it should be noted that the Bruins guys scored the takedowns.

Richard Park's power-play goal (from Andy Hilbert and Mark Streit) cut the Bruins lead to 5-2.

No matter though as Ryder got a power-play goal (from Wideman and Hunwick) and Kessel scored on a sick deflection of a Lucic pass across the middle (Savard started the play).

Things should be much more difficult tonight as the Detroit Red Wings, the defending Stanley Cup Champions, come to the Garden for an early-season showdown. It's the teams' only meeting of the season and it should be a good one, dare I say a Stanley Cup preview?

Cassel and Moss unstoppable as Pats beat Dolphins in Miami

A day that most thought would never happen has come: Matt Cassel is a solid NFL quarterback on a playoff contender. I can hardly believe it myself but such is the storyline after Cassel and the Patriots (7-4) won 48-28 yesterday at Dolphin Stadium in Miami.

Cassel was 30 for 43 with 415 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. His second straight 400+ passing yards performance was the fifth time in NFL history that has happened.

His two main targets were Randy Moss (8 catches, 125 yards, 3 touchdowns) and Wes Welker (8 catches, 120 yards).

The Patriots needed all of the offensive fireworks as once again, the defense was awful.

Miami (6-5) quarterback Chad Pennington threw for a career-high 341 yards and three touchdowns.

Stephen Gostowski began the shootout with a 30-yard field goal on the Pats' opening drive.

The Dolphins responded with a touchdown on their first possession. Pennington found wide receiver Greg Camarillo (6 catches, 75) with a three-yard TD pass.

In the second quarter, both quarterbacks ran for touchdowns on broken plays. Cassel's eight-yard run put New England up 10-7 while Pennington scrambled seven yards for a 14-10 Miami lead.

With a little more than two minutes left until halftime, Moss scored his first touchdown of the day on a 25-yard catch and run into the end zone.

On its first drive of the second half, the Dolphins once again moved the ball at will on the Pats terrible defense. Fullback Casey Cramer ended it with a 2-yard catch from Pennington, putting the Dolphins up 21-17.

Cassel hit Moss with a beautiful 8-yard fade in the corner of the end zone to give the Patriots a 24-21 lead.

Set up by Welker's 64-yard catch and long run, Kevin Faulk (53 yards rushing, 52 yards receiving) ran up the gut for a 21-yard score on the last play of the third quarter.

From there, the Patriots' composure and big game experience finally showed in the fourth quarter as the Dolphins (led by head idiot Joey Porter) accumulated penalties and gave up huge plays.

Ricky Williams had Miami's last score with a 13-yard fade from Pennington, making it 31-28 New England.

The Patriots scored 17 unanswered points to finish it off.

Moss' final touchdown was a 29-yard catch. For some reason, the Dolphins chose to single-cover Moss all day which obviously yielded great results for Moss and the Patriots.

Gostowski kicked another 30-yard field goal and BenJarvus Green-Ellis scored a garbage time 1-yard TD with 37 seconds left. As Gostowski put the last extra point through, Patriots left tackle Matt Light and Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder started punching each other and both were subsequently ejected. Light seemed to get the better of the fight as he pulled Crowder's dread locks and pummelled him. Good stuff.

Jabar Gaffney and Ten Ginn Jr. each finished with five catches for 88 yards while Davone Bess had five catches for 87 yards.

The Jets knocked off the unbeaten Titans yesterday and hung onto their one-game lead in the AFC East over New England. Buffalo and Miami are tied for third with matching 6-5 records.

New England is still on the outside of the playoff picture but at 7-4 with a favorable schedule down the stretch, the Pats are in a good position.

Their toughest remaining regular season game is next Sunday as the Pittsburgh Steelers come to Gillette Stadium. Pittsburgh can be great or Big Ben and his team can be awful. Who knows which version of the Steelers will show up?

Sorry A.I., Rajon Rondo is the future

A few months back, when I purchased tickets to see the Detroit Pistons vs. the Boston Celtics at the Garden, I expected a tight early season meeting of the Eastern Conference's two best teams.

With that said, the result was surprising as the C's (11-2) absolutely dominated the Pistons (8-4) in a 98-80 romp last night.

Detroit started the game on a 13-2 run but as quick as you noticed that, the Celts were tying it up as the teams each had 21 in the first quarter.

Boston's bench was the key to the game as Tony Allen (13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks), Eddie House (11 points) and Leon Powe (7 points, 7 rebounds) gave the C's energy and production in extended playing time.

As a result, Boston took a 49-40 lead into the break and never looked back as they led 77-57 going into the fourth.

The Big Three had collectively as bad a game as you'll ever see from them: Kevin Garnett (15 points), Ray Allen (12 points) and Paul Pierce (9 points) got to sit out the entire fourth quarter though which is vital since they play tonight and Sunday on the road.

In a game full of so many stars, one player that you might not expect, totally stood out above the rest: Rajon Rondo. I can't decide who is more appropriate named Mr. Jekell and Hyde, between Rondo or Tony Allen but it's clear that when Rondo is on, he's one of the great young stars in the NBA.

Rondo had a game-high 18 points, eight assists and three steals. Kendrick Perkins added 10 rebounds.

The Pistons never seemed into the game. Allen Iverson paced Detroit with the quietest 16 points I've ever seen. Rasheed Wallace (13 points) and Richard Hamilton (12 points) didn't leave any imprint on the game before retreating to the bench for good.

Jason Maxiell had 10 points for the Pistons.

It's way too early to say whether the Chauncey Billups for A.I. swap was a success for Detroit or not but as of now, the early returns are not looking good. Sure, the Pistons beat the Lakers last week but A.I. is not at the point in his career where he can lead a team (while Ba Ba Ba Billups still can as he's showing in Denver). Iverson's game has been reduced to driving the lane, jumping in the air then passing back out. He's not a total bum by any means but it barely resembles the sure bet Hall-of-Famer in his Sixers days.

The Celts shot 49.3% to Detroit's 42.6%. Boston had five more rebounds (42-37), five more assists (22-17), four more steals (12-8) and four less turnovers (16-12).

Tonight is KG's first official visit back to Minnesota. Last year, he was out with the abdominal injury so he couldn't play. He still garnered an awkward pre-game ceremony but this game should be much more enjoyable for Garnett and the Timberwolves' fans.

This ain't Harry Sinden's Boston Bruins (even though he still has some pointless post)

In the last few years, the Boston Bruins have struggled to score goals, meaning that if they gave up more than one or two, you knew their chances of losing increased dramatically. That's part of the backstory that makes this season so enjoyable thus far.

The Bruins (12-3-4) smoked the Buffalo Sabres (9-6-3), 7-4 last night at the Garden as they scored five unanswered goals to recover from an early 4-2 deficit. This year's Bruins can win close, low-scoring games, high-scoring games, everything.

Marc Savard was all over the place with a goal and two assists. Zdeno Chara had two power play goals while David Krejci (1 goal, 2 assists) and Chuck Kobasew (2 goals) had the most productive nights.

It was a night of video game stats for the B's as rookie defenseman Matt Hunwick had two assists, Phil Kessel had a goal and assist and Patrice Bergeron added two assists.

What started out as a disastrous start (3 goals in the first 5:38) for backup goalie Manny Fernandez (25 saves), became a memorable game as the Bruins continually peppered the Buffalo zone and its outstanding goalie Ryan Miller (who was yanked after the 7th goal).

1:41 into the game, Jason Pominville scored off assists from Thomas Vanek and Craig Rivet.

At 2:59, Kobasew scored his second of the year (assists to Krejci and Blake Wheeler).

A minute and a half later, Derek Roy put Buffalo up 2-1 with assists from Toni Lydman and Drew Stafford.

29 seconds later, Vanek put the Sabres up 3-1 with helpers from Pominville and Jochen Hecht.

40 seconds after that, Krejci cut it to 3-2 with an assist from Shane Hnidy.

Vanek's power play goal later in the first period was ironically Buffalo's last goal (assists from Roy and Pominville).

The Bruins started their streak with Savard's seventh of the year, from Kessel and Hunwick.

In the second, Boston blitzed the Sabres with three more goals: Chara's two goals (both from Savard and Bergeron) were sandwiched around Kobasew's second of the night (from Hunwick and Krejci).

Kessel completed the madness with his ninth of the year in the third period, from Milan Lucic and Savard.

Boston hosts the lowly Florida Panthers tomorrow night (the first Friday night home game in 31 years).

No KG, No problem (for one night)

With Kevin Garnett freaking out in his living room at home, the Celtics (10-2) held off the Knicks (6-5), 110-101 last night at the Garden.

KG was suspended for one game after he shoved Andrew Bogut of the Bucks in the face on Saturday (after Bogut had elbowed him in the face). The suspension was pretty lame but it was only one game so no use getting our panties in a bunch, it is November after all. Not May or June.

With Isiah Thomas gone and thinking of new ways to off himself (too soon?), the Knicks under new coach Mike D'Antoni have shown some life. This team always had talent but it seemed like bad chemistry coupled with the worst management this side of the Detroit Lions crippled them.

The C's had five players in double figures. Paul Pierce led the way with 22 points and eight assists. Kendrick Perkins had 16 points, eight boards, three assists and three rebounds. Ray Allen scored 15 points and dished out four assists while Rajon Rondo added 15 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

In 28 minutes off the bench, Leon Powe was great with 14 points and seven rebounds.

New York actually had six players reach double figures. Wilson Chandler paced the Knicks with 23 points and seven rebounds. Zach Randolph had 18 points and eight rebounds. Chris Duhon posted 15 points and five assists.

Nate Robinson dropped 14 points, Quentin Richardson scored 13 and David Lee added 10.

New York outscored Boston, 28-26 in the first quarter. The C's responded with a nice 30-19 second quarter.

The game was played in the Knicks' favored style of run and gun as the Celts won the third 33-30. New York took the fourth 24-21 but the Celts got enough plays from everyone, including a clinching 3-pointer from Brian Scalabrine (8 points in a rare start) and Eddie House (8 points).

Boston shot 53.2% to New York's 43.5%. The C's owned the boards (45-36) and had six more blocks (8-2).

Detroit comes to town tomorrow night with Allen Iverson for a primetime TNT which I plan on attending.