Going on the Airwaves Tonight

The long-awaited debut of my radio career launches tonight, at 9:00 on WATD-95.9 (Marshfield). I'll be performing a weekly, five-minute segment every Monday night, aptly-titled "The Five Minute Major" in homage to hockey's most famous penalty.

None of this would be possible without Stan Blackmur, a co-host of "South Shore Weekly", which airs every Monday night 8-10 on ATD. It's truly a privilege to have this chance, and I'll take this time to personally thank Stan for allowing me space on his radio show. I can't freaking wait for tonight, and I'm definitely gonna make the most of this opportunity.

So if you have a chance tonight, tune in at appx. 9:00 on 95.9 FM and check out "The Five Minute Major". History will be made.

For the first time since the 2008-09 Hingham hockey season, the voice get's unleashed. Too bad Boylers won't be alongside for the ride.

It's Officially Time for Brady to Cut the Hair

When you're the face of the team that's on the longest championship drought in these parts, clearly you ain't doin' something right. It's been seven freaking years since the Patriots won a Super Bowl around here. Seven years! That's like a century in any other city. Brian Scalabrine, Julio Lugo, JD Drew, and Johnny Boychuk have been crowned champions more recently than Mr. Bundchen. Inexcusable. Tom, you can literally have any woman within the greater Boston area. Gisele's even a little overrated herself. Yeah I said it. So cut the damn hair, cut ties with Gisele, and bring the damn Lombardi Trophy back to Foxboro where it belongs. 

Tom Brady once won 10 playoff games in a row.  With his ridiculous style right now, he's a perennial one-and-done in the post-season. C'mon Tom the writing's on the wall.

Score Early, Score Often

If all this doesn't get you pumped up, then I don't know what does. You either have no soul or you're Canadian. Every single event that's happened along this ride for the Bruins doesn't matter now. It's all about tonight. From Tuukka getting shelacked by the Coyotes in Slovakia in the opener, followed by Timmy Thomas's three shutouts in October, to the street fight with Dallas, the 6-0 West Coast road trip, overhauling the roster at the deadline, the first three rounds, and the first six games of this series: none of it matters at this point. The only thing that's relevant are the 60 minutes of hockey the Bruins are about to play out in British Columbia tonight. Win and gain immortality; lose and become yet another Bruins roster that's failed to deliver the prize since 1972.

Speaking of 1972, I've been trying to pump myself up all day by only listening to songs from that year. And that's my era anyways, but my God what a year. The Stones unveiled Exile on Main St; Sir Elton John unleashed "Tiny Dancer" and "Rocket Man"; Led Zeppelin's fourth album produced "Stairway to Heaven" and "Rock and Roll"; and perhaps the greatest stadium anthem of all-time, "Rock and Roll, Part II" by Gary Glitter was released.

So that's all I've gotta say at this point. If the Bruins come out firing like they have in Games 3, 4 and 6, get ready to head into Boston on Friday or Saturday for a parade. If they go scoreless beyond the first period and deeper into the second, you might as well resign yourself to the fact that we were duped yet again. They fooled me, Jerry! Hey B's.

Game 7 of Lord Stanley's Cup

I've got nothing say except that title. The Bruins are outscoring the Canucks 19-8. I'ts pretty clear who the better team has been. Tim Thomas is a lock for the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP) win or lose Wednesday. Meanwhile Bobby Luongo, who will never play for my fantasy team again, has now been yanked twice in this series. It's pretty clear which team is more worthy. Of course, the home team has won every game thus far, as has the team that has scored first. I have no idea what will happen on Wednesday, but I do know that it will be the greatest sporting event in Boston since Red Sox-Yankees 2004 ALCS Game 7. It's house money on the line. Vancouver tried to sell their rights to a parade to a broadcast corporation already. If that's not bulletin board material, than I don't know what is.

May the better team win. And the better team is the Bruins. We'll see you Wednesday on NBC at about 8:20 for the drop of the puck.

You Can Take Your Talents Wherever LeBron

And it just won't matter. 

First things first, I'm absolutely thrilled for Dirk, Mark Cuban, and the rest of the gang in Dallas. No longer will Dirk mentioned in the "best players of all-time without a championship". Eleven-straight 50-win seasons for the Mavs finally validated. Even though it just makes them the 90's Braves and 2000's Colts, so be it. Better that than the 90's Jazz or 90's Indians, in terms of great teams that never quite could seal the deal. 

Historically, Dirk's Championship/Finals MVP likely push him into the top-25 of all-time, and with perhaps another three or four seasons playing at a high level, he could continue to climb even higher. Jason Kidd put the exclamation point on his Hall of Fame career, while America also learned who exactly Jason Terry is, that Shawn Marion doesn't need Steve Nash to be effective, and that being short is not a death sentence to one's basketball abilities (thank you, JJ Barea). 

And I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I wish every owner was like Mark Cuban. That unbridled passion is unmatched by any other owner in the NBA, and possibly across all of sports. Funny how fellow Dallas owner Jerry Jones is really the only other legitimate argument when it comes to owners as fans.

Now onto the Heat side of things. HA! IN YO FACE! IN YO FACE! Everything I've been writing and saying about LeBron over the past year is now 100% fact and not just opinion. Not only did he quit in the waning minutes of the game tonight, when Miami definitely still had a chance, but the entire Heat team did. My buddy KC Murphy pointed it out to me with that under a minute left, LeBron had un-tucked, even though he was still in the game. Subtle detail, yet actions can speak louder than words as we all know. 

Of course, I can still hear the phrase "This fall I'm going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat" ringing in my ears. Those words will continue to dog LeBron for at least one more season, maybe even two minimum if there's a lockout. And don't think Miami is a shoo-in to win next year just because this loss will "make them stronger". Besides the fact LeFraud is bound to resort to another summer of finger pointing and whining, Chicago and Seattle Oklahoma City are teams quickly on the rise that will definitely be able to play with the Heat next spring. Dallas will defend their title with pride. You can't convince me the Lakers are done yet. And we'll have interesting situations brewing in New York and Orlando as well. So while Miami will undoubtedly be a contender for years to come, it's by no means guaranteed they'll ever win a title. 

Having three great players is one thing; having three great players with a supporting cast that can actually, you know, support them, is another. And actually, let's just call it two great players, because I think tonight was the death kneel for Chris Bosh's legitimacy, as if he had any left in the first place. Because as the cameras followed him down the tunnel to the locker room, the whole world saw him break down and cry like a little spoiled brat. Game set and match, son. Shoulda stayed in Toronto, where even the hilariously hideous Leafs can cover up your shortcomings.

What a great way for the NBA to end its season. Do I wish it had been a certain green-uniformed team hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy? Sure. But The Dirk Show deserved it. That was quite the consolation prize.

LeBron Scores in the 4th Quarter!

Oh, it was only when Miami was down 7 with 29 seconds left? Damn I thought he had finally killed off his 4th quarter demons. Hey, not too shabby though. He infinitely increased his 4th quarter scoring load from Game 4. He's up to a grand total of 1.0 ppg in the final period these past two games.

In a related note, LeBron's 17 tonight raised his average in the Finals all the way up to 17.2 ppg. Jordan never averaged fewer than 27.3 in any of his 6 Championship appearances, and said scoring average (1996 vs. Seattle) was his only dip below averaging the 30 point mark in his Finals career.

And don't give me the "Oh but he had a triple-double tonight! He's playing a great all-around game!". He was nowhere to be found where it mattered most, once again. If LeBron ain't scoring, the Heat ain't winning. It's pretty simple. C'mon now Dallas. One more.

Me and Sir Charles are on the same page

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nba/news/story?id=6642006

Charles Barkley lobbed another verbal salvo on Wednesday in his war of words with theMiami Heat and their fans.

When asked if Miami is the worst professional sports town, Barkley, who reiterated his admiration of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, said: "Yeah they have the worst fans. No question. It's not even loud in there. You're at the game and you are like, 'Man this place isn't even loud.' At least when you go to Chicago, it's loud in there, it's crazy down in Dallas but it's not even loud in Miami."

When the Heat were playing the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals, Barkley said he liked James and Wade personally, but he called the Heat a "whiny bunch." He didn't back off that charge on Wednesday when he was a guest on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000.

"Listen, if the Miami Heat were playing the Washington Generals I would pick the Washington Generals," Barkley said with a chuckle. "It's something about that team that annoys me.

"They just a whiny bunch and I can't root for them."

Heat fans let Barkley know they weren't happy with his criticism. In fact, TNT moved its set for pregame shows during coverage of the conference finals from outside American Airlines Arena to inside because of negative interaction between Barkley and fans.

The NBA Finals between the Heat and Dallas Mavericks is being carried on ABC.

I thank Barkley for not only pointing out the obvious, but also for being possibly the one and only member of the media unafraid of bashing the Miami Heat. Literally, he's the only one who's been consistent in the aftermath of The Decision that's had the cojones to stand up to those punks time and time again. He's my favorite NBA analyst, and maybe even my favorite analyst on all of TV, for one simple reason: he's not afraid to speak his mind, and he tells it like it is.

Of course, it's no secret Miami is a terrible sports town. There were empty seats in that arena all season long for the Heat. The Marlins draw about as well as a Hingham baseball game. The Dolphins do alright fan wise, but they've never won a Super Bowl. And of course, the Florida Panthers add to the city's fan prestige by not qualifying for the post-season in 10 years, longest active drought in the NHL, as well as for ranking near last in attendance year after year after year. 

Man I just hope the Dirk Show can win this thing. It will be almost as satisfying as if the Bruins win the Cup. Almost.

Yep, they turn out in droves in South Florida.

Rape, Pillage, Plunder

What's the best way to respond to dropping the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals? You come home and outscore your opponents 12-1 over the next two games, that's how. And really, it goes deeper than the 12-1 composite score. This onslaught is all in the aftermath of Aaron Rome's despicable hit on Nathan Horton. The Claude Julien-era Bruins took heat, and rightfully so, for their lack of retaliation on Matt Cooke's blindsider on Marc Savard back in March of 2010, but there's no denying they've avenged the loss of Horton in the best way possible: by not only humiliating the Canucks on the scoreboard, but down in the trenches and when the gloves come off as well. Milan Lucic and Mark Recchi did it in Game 3, poking their fingers in the face of Alex Burrows, with the clear message "oh but you won't bite me now?". And Shawn Thornton is making every shift count, doing his job as well as any 4th liner in the game. It had to be killing him watching those first two in Vancouver from high atop the ice, it just had to.

Tim Thomas, besides stopping 78 of the past 79 shots he's faced, has scored takedowns on Ryan Kesler and that classless punk Burrows in these past two games as well. He's the best goalie on the planet right now, and it's not even close. His counterpart and fellow Vezina finalist Bobby Luongo has crumbled faster and more furiously than the French in World War II. And this isn't a Tampa situation, where it was merely Dwayne Roloson laying an egg. Luongo is considered by many, myself included, to possess the most talent of any goaltender in the NHL. He's lost all of his confidence for the second time this post-season, the first time occurring when the Nucks nearly blew a 3-0 lead against the Blackhawks. It isn't a good sign for your team when there's a goaltender controversy in the Stanley Cup Finals. The man's a headcase. I don't think I can ever draft him to the Jacobo Avengers in the Nestle Plan hockey league ever again after this.

There isn't one Bruin who isn't contributing in some way, shape, or form right now. Even though the series is tied at two apiece, it's as though they're pulling away. They have 100% of the momentum, and that's an understatement. I'm on record as saying earlier today that the winner of tonight's game will go on to win the Stanley Cup. I'm not backing off those words. I'll stop short of the ol' guarantee, circa Hingham vs. Xaverian in the 2008 Super 8, but it's the Bruins series to lose at this point. Go Go Black and Gold.

PS The Red Sox could sweep the Yankees tomorrow and no one in New England will notice or care. That's when you know things are going well in these parts. Can't wait for the Dirk Show tomorrow either.

Rape, Pillage, Plunder

What's the best way to respond to dropping the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals? You come home and outscore your opponents 12-1 over the next two games, that's how. And really, it goes deeper than the 12-1 composite score. This onslaught is all in the aftermath of Aaron Rome's despicable hit on Nathan Horton. The Claude Julien-era Bruins took heat, and rightfully so, for their lack of retaliation on Matt Cooke's blindsider on Marc Savard back in March of 2010, but there's no denying they've avenged the loss of Horton in the best way possible: by not only humiliating the Canucks on the scoreboard, but down in the trenches and when the gloves come off as well. Milan Lucic and Mark Recchi did it in Game 3, poking their fingers in the face of Alex Burrows, with the clear message "oh but you won't bite me now?". And Shawn Thornton is making every shift count, doing his job as well as any 4th liner in the game. It had to be killing him watching those first two in Vancouver from high atop the ice, it just had to.

Tim Thomas, besides stopping 78 of the past 79 shots he's faced, has scored takedowns on Ryan Kesler and that classless punk Burrows in these past two games as well. He's the best goalie on the planet right now, and it's not even close. His counterpart and fellow Vezina finalist Bobby Luongo has crumbled faster and more furiously than the French in World War II. And this isn't a Tampa situation, where it was merely Dwayne Roloson laying an egg. Luongo is considered by many, myself included, to possess the most talent of any goaltender in the NHL. He's lost all of his confidence once again this post-season, the first time occurring when the Nucks nearly blew a 3-0 lead against the Blackhawks. It isn't a good sign for your team when there's a goaltender controversy in the Stanley Cup Finals.

There isn't one Bruin who isn't contributing in some way, shape, or form right now. Even though the series is tied at two apiece, it's as though they're pulling away. They have 100% of the momentum, and that's an understatement. I'm on record as saying earlier today that the winner of tonight's game will go on to win the Stanley Cup. I'm not backing off those words. I'll stop short of the ol' guarantee, circa Hingham vs. Xaverian in the 2008 Super 8, but it's the Bruins series to lose at this point. Go Go Black and Gold.

PS The Red Sox could sweep the Yankees tomorrow and no one in New England will notice or care. That's when you know things are going well in these parts. Can't wait for the Dirk Show tomorrow either.

A Few More Jordan vs. LeBron Facts

Jordan's career-low points in an NBA Finals game: 22 (Game 4 vs. Utah in '97, Game 6 vs. Seattle in '96). LeBron had 8 points last night.

Jordan's first 8 career Finals games: Never scored less than 28 points (held under 30 just twice) and held under 50% shooting just twice. LeBron is yet to score 25 or more points in a Finals game, and has shot over 50% just twice.

Jordan's record through 8 career Finals games: 6-2. LeBron is the polar opposite: 2-6.

Jordan only once took fewer than 16 shots in a Finals game (Game 3 vs. Utah in '98). LeBron is yet to take more than 16 shots in a game in the 2011 Finals.

Unfortunately, I can't find 4th quarter numbers on Basketball Reference. But I'm sure they would be in Jordan's favor as well.

Any more questions? Mr. Pippen? And for those making the comparison that LeBron is the Pippen to Wade's Jordan.......Scottie had already won 3 rings before he finished with less than double figures in a Finals game.

A picture really can be worth 1,000 words sometimes.

The Number 8

I just realized this. LeBron was held to 8 points tonight.....the Bruins scored 8 goals last night.....

Coincidence? I think not. In the battle of Good vs. Evil, Good almost always prevails, except for the Vietnam War and the Seinfeld Finale. Maybe, just maybe, all will be right in the world after all.

Fahrenheit 102

Scottie Pippen would not want to use tonight's game as evidence in the trial of LeBron vs. Jordan. Because while Dirk Nowitzki was battling a 102 degree fever, LeBron James went 3-11 from the field for a grand total of 8 points on a night in which all the Heat needed to prevail would have been some semblance of the artist known as "King James". The fact that Dallas could survive a, relatively speaking, poor night from Dirk and still come out on top goes to show that this baby ain't even close to over yet. Because I'll tell you right now there's about a 0% chance Dirk shoots 6-19 again with zero makes from downtown.

What more can you say about Dirk? The guys a warrior in every sense of the term, the exact kind of player you want leading a franchise, a true team player, the kind of guy you want your daughter to marry. He's battling 102 degree fevers and playing in NBA championships. I'm battling 102 fevers and calling in sick to ProSports. He knows this could well be his last chance to get the coveted ring, and will leave everything he has on the floor to ensure he gets it. He's the anti-LeBron. He could've bolted Dallas to form a glorified street-ball team somewhere, but the thought never even entered his mind. You can tell he's never been more focused on getting the job done.

Obviously, tonight's effort by Dirk doesn't quite matchup with Jordan's "Flu Game" in terms of battling illnesses, as MJ dropped 38 on Utah in Game 5 of the '97 Finals. But it's a helluva lot gutsier than Chris Bosh getting poked in the high early in Game 3 only to make the game-winning shot with 38 seconds still on the clock. The amount of coverage that garnered on SportsCenter was sickening. You'd think they were talking about Willis Reed in the present tense.

In essence, Game 5 is a winner-take-all game. While I'm positive Dallas can win one in Miami, I'm almost equally positive they couldn't sweep Game's 6 and 7. So Thursday night will surely determine who's hosting the Larry O'Brien trophy next week.

Do You Believe In Miracles?

Congratulations to the Hingham High Class of 2011 for makin' it on through, past the reign of terror of G-Mac and into the so-called "real world". But an especial shout out to one Jesse Levin, who defied the odds when nobody said he could do it, and graduated on time. It came down to the wire, and in a photo-finish the kid prevailed. Well done sir, well done.

Shaq Retires

Hey I'll miss Shaq the personality in the NBA. But I won't miss the Shaq that was supposed to be a missing piece here, or the Shaq that was supposed to make the Kendrick Perkins trade hurt less, or the Shaq that had time to be a statue in Boston Common but not enough to time to avoid the statue of Nenad Kristic starting at center. 

Shaq's season here in Boston was one to forget. Sure, I'll remember his 25 point, 11 rebound game against the Nets in November which made us all think "wow, once Perk is back, this is our backup center!" But the end has been near for Shaq for some time now. I'll never forget in history class, junior year, where my teacher Mr. Nugent compared Shaq to the Spanish army in the 1800's. "At this point, Spain was a washed up power. They were sort of like Shaq. I'm sorry, but he's done!" This monologue was made four seasons ago. Nuge couldn't have been more right then, and he sure looks like a genius now.

Did Shaq hurt his legacy with the Lakers by playing a season in Boston? If Roger Clemens joining the Yankees was a 10 on the vengeance scale, and Hal Gill joining the Canadiens was a 1, I'd say the Big Fella's move to Boston was about a 3. Weird, sure, but in the end, completely and utterly meaningless. So no, zero tarnishing of his Laker years. 

And of course, this isn't really good-bye for Shaq. You really think he'll fade out of the picture into oblivion? He'll land up on his feet somewhere. I'm pretty sure Dancing With the Stars has already contacted his agent about appearing on next season. And maybe the reality series Shaq Vs. will make a comeback. Think he has what it takes to compete on Survivor? What about the possibility of Shaq and Sir Charles in the same studio, breaking down game film? 

The possibilities are endless. It's just too bad his career in Boston couldn't have been. That 18th banner woulda looked mighty fine.

Lord Stanley is coming to town

Or, at least the right to claim Lord Stanley is up for grabs around these parts. For the first time since 1990, the Boston Bruins are in the Stanley Cup Finals. Being born in the fall of 1990, this is the first time ever I've witnessed the black and gold playing for the championship. Sure, I've seen 5 Super Bowl appearances (3 titles); 2 World Series appearances (2 titles) and 2 NBA Finals appearances (1 title). But it's about damn time the Bruins join that list.

With the Celtics surely on the decline, the Bruins have a chance to own Boston, especially in the winter, for the next several years. The nucleus of this team is not only locked up for the foreseeable future, but the majority of it hasn't even reached age 25. Timmy and Big Z aside, obviously, but Chara is signed for 6 more seasons after this one.

So with that being said, there's no real sense of urgency for the club to win this particular season. It's not as though they're a team full of 30-somethings playing for one last hurrah. The campaign has already been a success, regardless of what happens over these next two weeks. But you know what? There's no chance in hell the Bruins are complacent with merely reaching the Stanley Cup. Once you've come this far, there ain't no turning back. So while they'll be contenders for the next several years, there's absolutely no reason this can't be their year, too.

Can it be their year? The Vancouver Canucks are undoubtedly the toughest challenge they've faced yet. They're like the Lightning on steroids, with the Sedin twins and Ryan Kesler playing the parts of Stamkos, St. Louis, and Lecavalier. Another big difference comes between the pipes. With all due respect to Dwayne Roloson, he's no Bobby Luongo. Although Luongo has been sketchy at times throughout his post-season career, he's sporting a 2.18 GAA and a .932 SV% since he nearly contributed to the Nucks blowing a 3-0 series lead to the Blackhawks in Round 1. Formidable numbers, to say the least.

The Canucks power play unit is something else to watch out for. Daniel Sedin and Ryan Kesler have combined for 9 PP goals already this post-season, and the Canucks entire unit is 17 for 60 on the power play, 28.3%, tops of any team in the playoffs that played beyond the quarters. Forget Seal Team 6, the 5 guys on this unit coulda taken out bin Laden. Meanwhile, the B's unit continues to limp through the post-season. If declining penalties were an option in hockey like it were in the NFL, it'd be about time for the Bruins to go in that direction.

From a depth standpoint, the Canucks are a lot more top-heavy than the Bruins. Over the course of the regular season, I'd definitely prefer the twins and Kesler to anyone on Boston's side. But in the playoffs? It's a whole different animal. While the Canucks can ride with the B's for two lines, the Bruins third and fourth give them a decisive advantage pertaining to depth. The Canucks fourth line is a liability for them; the Bruins fourth line can can generate offense when necessary.

Back on defense, the Canucks have a solid unit but no one who compares to the Bruins top defender in Chara. And since Chara makes everyone he skates with better, I'll take the B's on this one.

And lastly, between the pipes, I've already talked about Bobby Luongo. From a shear talent standpoint, he might be the best goalie alive. But when the going gets tough, he's been known to crumble time and time again. And why pick against the hottest goaltender in hockey since October?

It's not gonna be easy, it's not gonna be pretty, and Tim Thomas is going to need to steal at least a game or two for the B's to come out on top. But I like the odds of that happening. Give me the Bruins in 7.