After a thrilling Super Bowl, multiple records were set or tied. The NFC has now won 13 coin tosses in a row, which has a probability of 1/1892, or .0122%. When the Saints attempted (and recovered) an onside kick to kick off the second half, they attempted the first ever pre-4th quarter onside kick in Super Bowl history. Garrett Hartley of the Saints became the first Super Bowl kicker to have three 40+ yard field goals. Drew Brees tied Tom Brady’s Super Bowl XXXVIII (2004) mark with 32 completed passes. And the Saints tied the Redskins’ Super Bowl XXII (1988) record for the largest deficit (10 points) overcome en route to victory (the Broncos were the unfortunate victims then). The Colts, for their part, also scored on the longest (96 yards) Super Bowl touchdown drive ever, tying the Bears in Super Bowl XX (1986).

The game was back and forth, but the game was, for all intended purposes, over when Tracy Porter returned an interception 74 yards for a touchdown in the 4th quarter, giving the Saints a 31-17 lead with 3:12 left. With this Super Bowl, the Saints became the first team to lose their last three regular season games and win the Super Bowl. Speaking of losing, Manning became the fifth consecutive regular season MVP to lose the Super Bowl, when the MVP reached it. On a brighter note, Colts kicker Matt Stover became the oldest player in Super Bowl history at 42 years, 11 days old.

With all that happened, points were doled out like they’re going to expire soon, because they essentially already have. After the final scores have been tallied, the 2010 NFL Playoff Pick ‘Em winner is … Brian. Correctly guessing how the Saints would pull it off helped Brian come out on top, and stay ahead of Erikk and yours truly. In addition, Andrew emerged victorious in the Fantasy Pick ‘Em, with a score of 504 points. Jumping on the Saints’ bandwagon and Adrian Peterson’s NFC title game performance helped there. To see the final standings and the Super Bowl results, you may kindly look below.

And while I have you, my favorite Super Bowl commercial, by definition, was the Coca Cola commercial involving The Simpsons and all their auxiliary characters. My favorite non-Simpsons commercial was the Snickers commercial featuring Betty White playing tackle football in the mud. Hilarious. Feel free to leave comments below with your favorites.

2010 NFL Playoff Pick ‘Em Final Standings

NFL Fantasy Playoff Pick ‘Em Final Standings

—

Super Bowl Results

Table Legend

• Two point picks are bolded.
• One point picks are italicized.
• Zero point picks are crossed out.

Table Legend

• The number in brackets after each pick indicates the points earned by that pick.—–

Pro Bowl Results

Table Legend

• Two point picks are bolded.
• One point picks are italicized.
• Zero point picks are crossed out.—–

Championship Round Results

Table Legend

• Two point picks are bolded.
• One point picks are italicized.
• Zero point picks are crossed out.

Table Legend

• The number in brackets after each pick indicates the points earned by that pick.—-

Divisional Round Results

Table Legend

• Two point picks are bolded.
• One point picks are italicized.
• Zero point picks are crossed out.

Table Legend

• The number in brackets after each pick indicates the points earned by that pick.—–

Wildcard Round Results

Table Legend

• Two point picks are bolded.
• One point picks are italicized.
• Zero point picks are crossed out.

Table Legend

• The number in brackets after each pick indicates the points earned by that pick.

© John for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Featured, Now!, Patriots.

The Bruins entered Super Sunday losers of their last 10 games as they closed in on the worst losing streak in team history — an 11-game stretch in the 1924-25 season. A loss against the rival Canadiens on Sunday, and the Bruins would match the dubious mark and undoubtedly send a shockwave of panic across Boston.

The formula for Bruins success is simple: score, hold a lead, and prevent the other team from scoring. Tuukka Rask held up his end of the bargain on Sunday, and shut out the Canadiens 3-0 to give the Bruins their first win since mid-January.

Marco Sturm scored two goals for the good guys, and the Bruins finally held a lead. Against the Canucks on Saturday, the Bruins had a two-goal lead, but eventually lost in a shootout 3-2. Adam McQuaid scored the other goal for the B’s, notching his first goal of the season with three minutes to go in the 1st.

I’m willing to bet that Claude Julien may have already made his goaltender change. Rask started his third straight game on Sunday, and with his 36-save shutout of the Habs, he may have cemented himself as the team’s No. 1 goalie.

What do you think Claude?

“Our goaltender was unbelievable,” coach Claude Julien said. “Whenever they had the great chances, he made the big saves.”

The Bruins next take the ice on Tuesday against the Sabres.

In other news…

Bruins rookie defenseman Johnny Boychuk will be out until after the Olympic Break with a broken orbital bone after taking a shot off his face by a flying puck. It’s a tough break (literally) for the Bruins and the rookie, who had been looking good as of late.

© KC for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Bruins, Featured.

The Celtics led Sunday’s game against the Magic by 11 points, 57-46, with 8:48 to go in the third quarter. Rajon Rondo hit three-pointer to give the Celts a 60-51 lead with 7:16 left in the 3rd. Then, the Saints went on a 19-0 run. Yes, A NINETEEN-TO-NOTHING RUN. Check it out:

• Vince Carter makes 25-foot three pointer
• Vince Carter makes driving layup
• Vince Carter makes free throw 1 of 1
• Rashard Lewis makes three point jumper (Vince Carter assists)
• Vince Carter makes 27-foot three point jumper (Rashard Lewis assists)
• Rashard Lewis makes 24-foot three point jumper (Dwight Howard assists)
• Dwight Howard makes two point shot (Matt Barnes assists)
• Jameer Nelson makes driving layup

The Magic went from being down by nine points to up by 10 points in one run, and never looked back in a 96-89 win. The Celtics out-scored the Magic in three of the four quarters, but the Magic used a startling 36-11 third quarter edge to beat the Celtics for the third time in four tries this season.

Age Issues

The Celtics are old. They get tired and always tend to lose their momentum/focus/desire in the second half. The aging C’s had an 11-point lead at the half thanks to just three first half turnovers. Then, in the third quarter, the team had seven turnovers with only four field goals. Meanwhile, the Magic had 12 field goals against just two turnovers in the frame.

For the game, the old Celtics players really showed their age: Paul Pierce was 5-12 for 13 points, Kevin Garnett was 5-13 for 13 points and 9 rebounds, Ray Allen was 4-13 for 14 points, and Rasheed Wallace was 1-6 for two points.

Meanwhile, the Celts’ young gun, Rajon Rondo, was the best player on the court yet again, as he shot 7-13 to get 17 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists with ZERO turnovers.

Trouble With the Top

Against the three other top teams in the East, the Celtics are currently 2-7, with one win each against the Cavaliers and Magic, and zero wins against the Hawks. During Sunday’s game coverage, Jeff Van Gundy said the Celtics would definitely beat the Hawks and Magic in a seven-game series (assuming both teams were healthy). I’m not nearly as sure as Van Gundy, and Doc Rivers isn’t either.

“One of the guys said, ‘We’re better than Orlando,’ and I said, `No, you’re not,” Rivers said. “They knocked you out of the playoffs last year. Orlando’s better than us right now. Atlanta’s better than us right now. L.A. (Lakers are) better than us right now.”

Doc is right, though it is “just the regular season.” How many losses can the Celtics take against top teams before they start to lose their confidence? Only time will tell.

The Celtics next play on Wednesday against the Chris Paul-less New Orleans Hornets.

© KC for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | One comment
Filed under: Celtics, Featured, Top Story.

It’s time for the final round of SoB’s annual NFL Playoff Pick ‘Em. The Super Bowl features a lightning round with five bonus categories. Also included is a tiebreaker, just in case, in which participants predicted the length, in minutes and seconds, of the longest drive of the game.

Brian is currently in the lead with 30, narrowly beating out Andrew with 29. SoB favorite teams are currently just 5-6 so far, which means several participants can still win, with the right combination of factors going in their favor.

As for points, the regular scoring remains the same:

• Correctly picking the winner of a game is worth two points.
• Picking the number of combined touchdowns to within one is worth one point, or two points if guessed exactly right.
• Picking the top passer’s passing yard total to within 50 is worth one point, or two points if guessed to within 10.
• Picking the game’s MVP is worth one point.
• Any incorrect pick is worth zero points.

The bonus categories are set up as follows, with each successful pick being worth one point, and each incorrect pick being worth zero points:

• Top passer
• Top rusher
• Top receiver
• Type of winning score (touchdown, extra point, two point conversion, field goal, safety). (Say you think the Colts will win 14-10 on a couple of touchdowns and extra points. You would pick touchdown as the winning score, because it would result in the Colts’ 11th point.)
• Quarter in which the winning score will occur (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, Overtime). (Say you think the Saints will win 28-14 on a series of touchdowns and extra points, with a touchdown and extra point in each quarter. You would pick the 3rd quarter as the winning quarter, since it would feature the Saints’ 15th point.

The tiebreaker for longest drive (min:sec) will be used ONLY to break ties in final scores.

P.S. NFL Fantasy Pick ‘Em

—–

—–

Pro Bowl Results

Table Legend

• Two point picks are bolded.
• One point picks are italicized.
• Zero point picks are crossed out.

—–

—–

Championship Round Results

Table Legend

• Two point picks are bolded.
• One point picks are italicized.
• Zero point picks are crossed out.

Table Legend

• The number in brackets after each pick indicates the points earned by that pick.—

Divisional Round Results

Table Legend

• Two point picks are bolded.
• One point picks are italicized.
• Zero point picks are crossed out.

Table Legend

• The number in brackets after each pick indicates the points earned by that pick.—–

Wildcard Round Results

Table Legend

• Two point picks are bolded.
• One point picks are italicized.
• Zero point picks are crossed out.

Table Legend

• The number in brackets after each pick indicates the points earned by that pick.

© John for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Featured, Now!, Patriots.

Pierce and ‘Sheed were part of an act based on the children’s book “The Clever Boy and the Terrible, Dangerous Animal” by Idries Shah, as part of the team’s Read to Achieve program.

After seeing a portion of it during ABC’s coverage Sunday’s game against the Magic, I felt it necessary to share with you, the reader. I found a pretty good version on NESN.com. Check it out below:

© KC for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Celtics, Now!.

In the spring of 2006, Theo Epstein traded Bronson Arroyo to the Cincinnati Reds for aggressive, raw, outfielder in Wily Mo Peña. With Trot Nixon entering the last year of his contract, Peña looked like the heir-apparent in right field. This did not turn out to be the case; Wily Mo was a flop offensively and defensively. Unlike Peña, Hermida stands a chance be the biggest steal since Heathcliff Slocumb was peddled for Jason Varitek and Derek Lowe, if he can prove that 2007 was not a fluke.

Who Is This Guy?

Jeremy Ryan Hermida was drafted 11^th overall by the Florida Marlins in 2002 ahead of Scott Kazmir, Cole Hamels, and Matt Cain. The Red Sox, of course, drafted Jon Lester in the second round that year. Curtis Granderson, now with the Yankees, was taken at pick 80 in the third round. Hermida was taken ahead of young Reds slugger Joey Votto and Braves catcher Brian McCann. The Marlins current ace, Josh Johnson, who was just signed to a four-year $39 million dollar contract this winter, was not selected until the fourth round.

Baseball America’s prospect rankings, which were done after the trade of Hanley Ramirez from the Red Sox to the Marlins, listed Jeremy Hermida as the Marlins top prospect heading in to the 2006 season. Being a high draft pick is no guarantee for success, but Hermida was not just a top pick and a highly ranked prospect, he was a also a force to be reckoned with in the minors with a career .284/.398/.436/.834 line in 410 minor league games.

Gone Fishing

During his time with the Marlins, Hermida put up a .265/.344/.424/.769 line over four seasons and a 23-game “cup of coffee” in 2005. So far, Hermida has not lived up to the hype while Granderson has become an established player, but there is still time.

Hermida has hit 57 career home runs with his high of 18 in 2007 and 17 more in 2008. He has stuck out more than twice as much as he has walked in his major league career.

Though he has yet to show as much power as new teammate Adrian Beltre, they have had similar careers with Beltre owning a .270/.325/.453/.779 line. Compared to new center fielder Mike Cameron, who has compiled a .250/.340/.448/,788 line, Hermida also fairs well. However, as a corner outfielder without the kind of defense Cameron and Beltre provide, Hermida will likely struggle to find his way into the Boston lineup barring injuries.

What’s Luck Got to Do With It?

In his career year of 2007, Hermida had a batting average on balls in play (BABIP) of .356. BABIP is a statistic that measures “the percentage of plate appearances ending with a batted ball in play (excluding home runs), for which the batter is credited with a hit.” This lets us take a look at how much of a hitter’s success in a given year was due to luck.

For Hermida, his career BABIP is .322, well below his 2007 mark. For an idea on how much this one season meant to his career BABIP, Hermida put up BABIPs of .310, .311, and .311 in 2006, 2008 and 2009 respectively. Unfortunately, these statistics make 2007 seem like the fluke and not the breakout season it was hoped to be.

Left Leaning

A left-handed hitter, Hermida owns a career OPS nearly 100 points lower against southpaws than righties; .697 vs. 792. With J.D. Drew typically sitting against lefties, this is unfortunate for Hermida’s attempts to increase his playing time.

In more hopeful news, Hermida has performed much better out of Florida. While the power surge away from Miami has had little effect on his doubles (43 home, 46 away) it has translated into more home runs (23 home, 34 away). In just 24 additional at bats on the road, Hermida collected 11 home runs.

The Bridge

With David Ortiz and Mike Lowell both expected to leave via free agency and J.D. Drew entering the penultimate year of his contract, there may yet be an important role for Hermida to play in Boston, if he can claim it. He will have to fend off the advances of prospects like Josh Reddick, Ryan Kalish and Ryan Westmoreland, but Hermida could slide into left or right field or even DH if he can repeat the success he had in 2007.

In 2009 he posted the highest walk rate of his career, taking the pass in 11.4% of his plate appearances, while striking out in 23.5% of the time, a career low. For the price of Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez, Hermida is at worst a competent bat who can play both corner outfield positions. With Hermida having just turned 26 in January, that’s a risk worth taking.

© Mike Carlucci for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Featured, Red Sox.

Sure the big game is later today. Many people have planned their parties for months now, but there’s no reason why you too can’t be the man on the big day. There are many different ways to throw a party. You can be the big spender, or make it more traditional and cheaper. Just remember that the right food and drink can save the day, should the game be a blowout.

THE GUESTS:

The Low-Key Party: Keep it simple. Family is most likely the only ones involved, especially if you have young kids. You can spend the day talking football with fathers, brothers and sisters. What better way to have a family reunion then to ignore them all day and watch a TV?

The Traditional Party: Call up the buddies. Bring your closest bros over to your place for some good ol’ fashioned male bonding. Their girlfriends and wives are welcomed, they will keep busy and off your butt. Hopefully.

The Blitzkrieg Party: Everyone you know should be there. Friends, family, coworkers and neighbors all have to be there to prove that you are the most popular guy in the world. They can all get to know each other during pre-game activities. You want coworkers to talk about this party the next day, friends to reminisces all the time and in the end you will set the standards for parties.

THE VENUE:

The Low-Key Party: The Living/Family room. Where everyone can be comfy and relax. If you have your lucky chair sit there while the rest of the family fights over the best couch position (it’s in the middle in front of the coffee table, where the snacks should be).

The Traditional Party: In your man room. If you don’t have your man room then the basement. Where ever you and your dude-guys can relax and be men. There should be a fridge close (we’ll get to that later) and a bathroom within running distance cause you can’t miss the game, or the commercials.

The Blitzkrieg Party: Everywhere. Your kitchen, dining room, basement and deck are all options for guests to mingle. Then you move into your TV room where your brand new 60 inch hi-def 1080 with digital cable is the model of perfection for any football viewing. They do not have to know its a rental from Aarons. (remember we’re in a recession).

THE ACTIVITIES:

The Low-Key Party: Time to dust off the football. Get everyone outside, no matter the weather, and throw the old pigskin around. There’s no better way to celebrate the Suepr Bowl then to pretend you might get drafted this year by outplaying little kids.

The Traditional Party: Most likely you’ll be in the basement, perfect time to pull out your copy of Madden 2010. If you have enough guys, start a tournament. The only rule, you can only pick between the Colts and Saints. Still in college? Then bring out the ‘ruit table, just remember it’s a long day.

The Blitzkrieg Party: Do not just have an average game of football. Make sure you have a mini-field, complete with team end zones. You can mark downs using Colts and Saints balloons. Before the game gets going, make sure to take the bets. There is no better way to celebrate the Super Bowl then with some friendly gambling.

THE FOOD:

The Low-Key Party: Start with some chips, preferably Doritos and Fritos. Then you can not go wrong with some pizzas. Kids will love it and it’s on the cheap side. You can get a large pie for about ten bucks, but remember, if you’re getting it delivered it will take some time. If you’re not in the mood for pizza, then Chinese food can be substituted.

The Traditional Party: Start out with some surefire hits. Bean dip, guacamole, and cocktail weenies are the best way to begin. Always have chips laying around, make sure you got some tortillas for that guac. Then get ready to grill with some burgers and sausages. If you have the time, get a chili going. You’ll have to start early, but by kickoff you’ll look like Bobby Flay offering up bowls of the good stuff.

The Blitzkrieg Party: Go regional. The Super Bowl is in Miami so you should start by having mounds of gulf shrimp and stone crab claws. Pizza’s are no good here. Try frying up some grouper, a Florida favorite. However, you should offer some New Orleans and Indianapolis cuisine. Jambalaya and Buffalo Burgers will show your dedication to the game by offering food from the two cities competing. Finish off with some beignets. They are New Orleans doughnuts and they are delicious.

THE DRINKS:

The Low-Key Party: Surrounded by kids and grandparents, sodas will be the main feature. Have a variety. Coke, Orange, Grape and of course Dr. Pepper. Keep a flask nearby, or it will be a long night.

The Traditional Party: BEER. What else in the world would you be serving? Ice Tea? Grab some Budweiser or Coors. Really want to impress your friends try some Sam Adams. Better yet? Grab a pony keg of PBR. While beer shopping, just keep in the back of you mind that this is America’s game, so drink some American beer.

The Blitzkrieg Party: Got Miami Style. Land Shark Lager (remember, early this season the stadium was called Land Shark Stadium) or Key West Lager, it’s harder to get, but delicious. Then to really go all out, grab the blender and start churning out Margaritas, with or without salt. Still, you want this to be the best part every. Toss everyone a Caipirnha. The national drink of Brazil has quickly become the toast of Miami. You’ll need to get yourself some Brazilian Rum, but in the end your guests will be planning on coming back next year!

Should it be with family, friends or the entire neighborhood, just remember to have fun and keep it safe on Sunday. If you invite Saints and Colts fans over, make sure they stay away from each other, especially if it’s a blowout. Be smart. If people are drinking, don’t let them drive. The Super Bowl is about having fun and watching the greatest sporting event of the year, just make sure you don’t forget the beer!

© Teddy for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | One comment
Filed under: Opinion, Patriots, Top Story.

The Boston Bruins blew a two-goal lead for the third time in four games as they fell to the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in a shootout to extend their losing streak to ten games. The Bruins are now only one more loss away from tying the franchise record for consecutive losses set during the 1924-1925 season.

Captain Zdeno Chara opened the scoring just 1:56 into the game, when he dropped to the crease on the power play to put away a pass from Marc Savard. Following a fight between Shawn Thornton and Darcy Hordichuk and a particular scary moment when Johnny Boychuk stopped a Mikael Samuelsson slapshot with the left-side of his face, Michael Ryder deflected Savard’s wrist-shot from the blue line to put the Bruins up 2-0 and very much in control with less than six minutes to go before the first intermission.

Early in the second, the Bruins nearly went up by three, but Henrik Sedin took a smart slashing penalty by breaking Chara’s stick in front of the net. The Bruins failed to capitalize on the ensuing power play, but came close to cashing in again when they were forced to kill Ryder’s tripping penalty. Canucks goaltender Robert Luongo stuffed Derek Morris on a breakaway, while German Olympian Marco Sturm misfired left on his own breakaway.

The Canucks cut their deficit to one on just their tenth shot when Mason Raymond put the puck past Tuukka Rask halfway through the second period. After two, the Bruins had more than doubled the Canucks number of shots, taking 25 to Vancouver’s 12.

Play opened up in the third period, as opportunities abounded at both ends of the ice as the teams combined for 29 shots (18-11 in Vancouver’s favor), but superb goaltending by both starters kept the score 2-1 until less than five minutes remained. Sami Salo’s broken-stick slapshot turned into a pass to Tanner Glass, whose slapshot was tipped past Rask by Pavol Demitra.

In the extra session, despite holding a 7-1 shot advantage, the Bruins still couldn’t put a third puck past Luongo. The inability of both teams to score sent the game to a shootout, the second time in as many games for the Bruins.

After Patrice Bergeron, Kyle Wellwood, and David Krejci all had their attempts stopped, Demitra struck again, neatly scoring with a backhand on Rask’s glove side. Blake Wheeler was unable to extend the game any further, preventing the Bruins from winning their first game at the TD Garden since the new year began.

With the point gained from the shootout loss, the Bruins (23-22-11) moved up to ninth place in the Eastern Conference, just two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the final playoff spot. They next play tomorrow in Québec against their division rivals, the Montréal Canadiens; the game marks the beginning of a four-game road trip that ends with the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Game Notes:

• Boychuk didn’t return to the bench after being hit by Samuelsson’s slapshot. The Bruins are not releasing the details of his injury.
• The Bruins’ 43 shots marked the eighth straight game they have out-shot their opponent, the fifth straight game they’ve taken more than 30 shots, and the third straight game they’ve taken more than 40 shots. In their last three games, they’ve taken 132 shots and managed only five goals.
• Rask had never lost consecutive starts this season until this afternoon.

© Erikk for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Bruins, Featured, Top Story.

Pierce has fired with tremendous accuracy from long distance this season, as he has hit 47% of his three-point attempts, good for third in the league.

The Celtics captain will be competing with Chauncey Billups (Denver), Stephen Curry (Golden State), Danilo Gallinari (New York), Channing Frye (Phoenix), and last year’s winner, Daequon Cook (Miami).

© KC for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Celtics.

The draw for Takahashi in Boston is obvious: the Sox employ two prominent Japanese pitchers in Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima. The Sox would do their very best to make Takahashi feel at home in Boston, despite its long distance from Japan.

The obvious draws to the other three cities is that they’re on the West Coast, which is three time zones and 3,000 miles closer to his home nation.

It’s good to see the Sox dipping into the international player pool again, as they have plucked some quality finds (like Okajima) seemingly out of nowhere.

© KC for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Red Sox.