Embrace the Hate!

Fans of New England area sports teams are touted as being some of the most passionate and knowledgeable fans out there but there’s one thing we aren't very good at and that’s embracing the hate from other fans/fan bases.

There have been a few controversial calls against Boston sports teams as of late, most recently the non-call on the final play of this past Monday Night Football game against the Panthers.  There was also the call against the Patriots field goal defense team in Week 7 against the Jets costing them the game in OT.  And who could forget the obstruction call against Will Middlebrooks on what came to be the winning run in Game 3 of this year's World Series?

As the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox have amassed their various championships, starting with the New England Patriots Super Bowl victory in 2001, these big four teams have attracted far more bandwagon haters than bandwagon fans.
   
As a result, when controversial calls like these occur, bars, living rooms and social media sites erupt with various arguments from both sides.  The two main sides of these types of arguments become the Boston Fan vs. the Anti-Boston Fan.

Here is where us Boston fans need to learn to take a step back and embrace the hate.  Don’t waste your time trying to reason against such antiquated arguments as “its payback for the tuck rule and Spygate!”  Don’t even bother responding to accusations that the Bruins are so dirty and only get away with it because Greg Campbell’s dad used to be Director of Player Safety.  Oh, and most certainly do not even entertain the most bitter anti-Boston fan’s disturbing conclusions that the Red Sox World Series win was given to them as a result of the tragic events of April 15^th (disgusting, I know).

Trust me when I tell you, it is so much more satisfying to sit back and listen to these baseless arguments and unsupported character assassinations and smile.  Smile because you know that no one is as dedicated to trashing the Jaguars and Astros as they are to trashing successful teams like ours. Smile because you know players like Tom Brady and Milan Lucic would be just as popular if they played in any of these “hate Boston” markets.

If you really want other fan bases to stop hating your teams and players, it’s simple, lose.  If you want other fans to acknowledge that maybe your team did in fact get screwed on that call, stop beating their teams so much.

But if you want to see the wins and the championships continue to pile up, learn to let everyone else hate on your team knowing that the hate they live to express is just a product of the intense jealousy they try so hard to suppress.

Conference Finals Preview

Wednesday night, the Chicago Blackhawks won a 2-1 overtime thriller against the Detroit Red Wings to join the Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins as the four teams remaining in the quest for Lord Stanley's Cup. With the Conference Finals set to start this Saturday, here is what you can expect going forward from both series.

Blackhawks vs. Kings - This series is an interesting match-up as it places the hottest goalie left, Jonathan Quick against a Chicago team that is probably the most well- rounded squad left in contention.

One of the things about playoff hockey is that one player can entirely change the dynamic of a series, particularly when the individual in question is the man between the pipes. The last four Stanley Cup Champions have ridden hot goalies all the way to the Cup. The Conn Smythe went to Quick last year and the Bruin's Tim Thomas in 2011 and while they didn't win any awards Antti Nieme and Marc-Andre Fluery played crucial roles in the victories of the Blackhawks and Penguins respectively.

The Kings are hoping that goaltending once again can dictate the course of the cup this year because in all likelihood that is the only way they can compete with the three other teams left in the playoffs. Their defense has been solid thanks to the addition of Robyn Regehr but the Blues and Sharks both lack the talent of the Blackhawks forwards. Simultaneously their offense has struggled scoring three or more goals in only three of the thirteen games they've played this post season. Their leading scorer Mike Richards (two goals eight assists) is their only player in double figures and regular season scoring leaders Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams have been stagnant so far this post season.

The Blackhawks are probably the most complete team left in the playoffs. Their forward lines house the superstar power of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp (who's tied for the playoff lead with seven goals). Defensively the Hawks are anchored by blueliners Duncan Keith, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Brent Seabrook. While Seabrook has underperformed thus far he did score the game winning goal against Detroit in overtime which may provide the spark he needs to play up to his ability level. When you put Corey Crawford's, 1.70 GAA and .938 Save Percentage in the crease with that lineup you have one of the most formidable teams in the leave.

Prediction- Hawks in 6- Quick's 1.50 GAA and .948 Save Percentage are good but he can only do so much, particularly when the Kings struggling offense will be facing a talented Corey Crawford and the best defense they've seen throughout playoffs. The Kings will probably steal a game or two at home but expect the Hawks to cruise on to the Cup.

Bruins v. Penguins- The Penguins handled the Bruin's fairly easily in the season series but the playoff will pit two very different teams against one another. This is going to be a tough one either way and both teams have a legitimate shot at taking the East.

The Penguins have the most talented forwards in the league plain and simple. Any team that can place the league's reigning Most Valuable Player on the second line clearly has a lot of depth and that's exactly what the Penguins have done with Evgeni Malkin. Oh and by the way they also have Sydney Crosby the league’s best playmaker running the first line. Veterans Pascal Dupuis and Jerome Iginla  give the team the experience it needs for a playoff push and their third and fourth lines are two of the best in the league. While Bruins fans may claim to have four solid lines the Penguins have more depth and skill top to bottom then the Bruins forwards do. For this reason the Penguins forwards will be the ones who decide the series. Defenders Kris Letang, Paul Martin and Brooks Orpik are extremely talented but they have been plagued by subpar goalkeeping throughout the playoffs giving up a lot of soft goals. Thanks to their lackluster defense they are going to need to score if they want to win games.

The Bruins on the other hand are going to need to rely heavily on their defense and an underrated Tuuka Rask if they are to contain Pittsburgh's explosive forwards. Boston's Young Defenders Dougie Hamilton, Matt Barkowski, and the unbelievable Torey Krug played a fantastic series against the Rangers, but the Bruins are going to need Dennis Seidenberg and Zdeno Chara to play their best in order to prevent Crosby and Malkin from running wild. In order to accomplish this the Bruins need to play physically but disciplined. The slight physical edge the Bruins bring to the table could be their biggest asset, particularly with the Merlot Line playing extremely well. That being said it is imperative that the Bruin's stay disciplined and out of the box. If the Bruins commit the number of penalties against the Penguins that they did against the Ranger's they'll be out of the series before you can say “Crosby to Dupuis”.

Prediction- Bruin's in 7- I'm not even going to pretend to not be biased on this series. Are the Penguins the favorite? Definitely. Do they have home ice? Yes. Does that matter? No. It's the playoffs and the beautiful thing about the playoffs is that nothing leading up to a series matters. The Bruin's are going to need to play well to win, but they made a very talented Ranger's team look so bad that head coach John Tortorella got the boot. It's going to be a tough series, but I've got faith in the boys.

Regardless of what you think there is no denying that the Conference Finals are going to be great battles. These four teams deserve to be here and have all played exceptionally well up to this point. If the first two rounds are any indication there's a lot to look forward to as the hunt for the Cup continues.

Dustin Brown: Classy Beard = Classy Language

The Los Angeles Kings are the 2011-2012 Stanley Cup Champions.  They clinched the Cup with ease, coasting in, 6-1, over the New Jersey Devils last night at home in Game 6.  After the game, captain Dustin Brown was interviewed by NBC Sports' Pierre McGuire, when Brown let an f-bomb drop on his first response.

Honestly, I don't really care if a player swears on live TV.  Its happened before, and it will happen again.  For the kids, they've probably heard the word a thousand times before, so everyone can relax.  Does anyone remember Nyjer Morgan dropping it three times last postseason?

Dustin Brown played out of his mind in Game 6, scoring two goals to clinch the game almost by himself, but when you add that disgusting beard into the mix along with a very unnecessary line like, "that's why we fuckin' play," you look like a chump.

Semi-Live Blog -- Bruins and Capitals, Game 6

Photo: nhlsnipers.com

I'm supposed to be doing my thesis paper, but the B's are on, so let's be real.

Overtime: KREJCI TO LUCIC!!!! LUCIC TO SEGUIN!!!! SEGUIN HOLDS, FAKES, GETS AROUND HOLTBY AND SCOOOOOOOOOOOOORES!!!!!!!!!!!!! 4-3 THE BRUINS WIN IT IN OVERTIME!!!!!!!

Capitals come out banging on all cylinders.  Looking tough.

Third Period: Third period draws to a close.  Bruins can't let this one slip away.  They need to come out with fire.

Dammit....Ovechkin ties it up.  Capitals are heating up, pray for overtime.

GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAL ANDREW FERENCE!!!!!!!!!!! 3-2 BRUINS!!!!! 7 minutes to go!  I've given up updating times for this period.  Actions too crazy for that.

Both teams are absolutely flying out of the gate this period.  Pouliot got himself an idiotic penalty, second game and second day in a row, but the B's penalty kill was on point again for this one.

Sorry for the break, had to run over to the cafeteria and grab some grub before the third period.

Second Period:

Period comes to a close, Caps holding a 15-5 shot advantage in that frame.  Chara's bloodied but back on, and the Capitals are playing like the Canucks tonight.  The refs are slowly letting the game slip out of control.  Should be an intense third period one way or the other.

0:20 remaining: Matt Hendricks really helping his team with a dumb tripping call, catching Peverley going across the blue line.

0:41: Apparently you're allowed to run around and hit whoever you want away from the puck today.  Jason Chimera clips Brad Marchand in the head, then streaks down ice and gets a pass from Niklas Backstrom to tie the game up at 2-2.  Glad to see that this will be the sixth straight game that the Capitals will play like cheap bastards.

4:10: Capitals earn a bullshit power play, after play was stopped for an apparent too many men call.  The only man in the box is Patrice Bergeron for a high-stick.  Good news: Chara's back out for the penalty kill.

5:26: Things are getting a little scrappy. Roman Hamrlik knocks down Chris Kelly in front of the net, and then Brouwer has some words for Kelly during the stoppage which Peverley took exception to, hence the shove and separation.

Tim Thomas with an ABSOLUTELY AMAZING STICK SAVE on Marcus Johanssan!  Wide open net as the Capitals are maybe starting to catch on to Thomas' aggressive net-minding style. 8 to go.

9:26:  SAVE BY THOMAS! And Jay Beagle being a chump again, par for the course.

14:02: Power play ends, good pressure, probably too much passing, with no goal to show for it.

18:03: Alex Ovechkin draws a four minute double minor for smacking Zdeno Chara in the face with his stick.  Bloodied up, Chara will sit out for a few series.  Let's see what the power play unit can do.


Milan Lucic, Dennis Seidenberg and Troy Brouwer all have 4 hits with a period and two minutes under their belts.

Both teams come out with no real advantage one way or the other.  Anyone else not a fan of NBC's NHL coverage exclusively playing Nickelback into commercial breaks?

First Period:

First period came to a close with the Bruins holding a hard-fought 2-1 lead over the Caps.  The Capitals are putting on a lot of pressure on the forecheck, something the Bruins aren't returning.  The hitting game goes to the Bruins so far, but so do the bonehead mistakes.

Rich Peverley cashed in the Bruins first goal, which was quickly answered by Mike Green to tie the game at 1-1.  The Bruins power play was looking weak as it usual does at playoff time, but potted their second power play goal off the stick of David Krejci to make it 2-1.  Braden Holtby is still playing out of his mind, but the Bruins are being patient and taking some good shots.

And to be fair, that goal by Green was going a foot wide if it didn't hit Greg Zanon's leg and roll in.

Some other news, Patrice Bergeron isn't taking face-offs because of an apparent upper-body injury, but its not like he'd be allowed to stay in half of his face-offs anyway.  The refs aren't taking any horseplay at the dot, and have thrown out players on almost every face-off so far.

Shawn Thornton and Joe Corvo didn't dress for today's game, instead Jordan Caron will play in his first playoff game and Mike Mottau will take his place beside Zanon as the third defensive pair.

Backs Against the Walls

                                                              Photo: SullysBrand.com

One shot to keep the season alive for the Bruins tonight.  They lost an absolute heart-breaker last night at home.  Dennis Seidenberg and Brad Marchand scored within :28 seconds of each other to tie it up at 2-2 in the second period, which gave Boston a short momentum burst.  But when Mike Knuble threw back a rebound for a 3-2 lead, Boston sprung back to life.  Johnny Boychuk, the second defenseman to score on the night, lit the lamp on a power play goal with 11 minutes to go.

Unfortunately, home ice didn't give us any advantages here.  I thought the Capitals were supposed to suck.  They just squeaked into the playoffs, with their best player being a rapidly-declining Alexander Ovechkin?  Unreal.  About as unreal as Beniot Pouliot's decision to slash with 2:50 remaining in the game.

Pouliot has played tough in the first five games of the playoffs, but left the team out to dry on that play.  Troy Brouwer came with a full head of steam down the right side boards and flung one, near post, past Tim Thomas' shoulder.  I was sitting in the media dining room at Fenway Park with some other Fenway employees and some media types including Dan Shaughnessy.  Just utter disbelief filled the room.  The big, bad Bruins are one loss away from packing it in for the summer.

Bruins play today, Sunday, at 3:00 in Washington.  I want Braden Holtby's head on a stick...