
Paul Flannery | 11/07/2009 - 7:41am EST
In the NBA it never pays to look ahead, but it is sometimes instructive to look back. The Phoenix Suns came into the TD Garden Friday night licking their wounds after an embarrassing loss to the Orlando Magic Wednesday night. Grant Hill and Jason Richardson went scoreless in that game and Steve Nash played just 22 minutes. With that in mind there was no way the Celtics weren’t going to get Phoenix’s best shot, and they got it over and over again in a 110-103 loss, their first of the season. Phoenix shot 50 percent and made 13-of-24 from 3-point range. Outlandish numbers when you consider the Celtics had been holding teams to 40 percent from the floor and just 25 percent from 3-point range. But hey, that’s life in the ...

Joe Haggerty | 11/06/2009 - 11:46am EST
Things were getting downright historical for the Bruins Thursday night while matching up against the Montreal Canadiens, and not at all in a good way. Racing against time to avoid earning the title of most offensively inadequate team in 80 years of Black and Gold hockey, the Bruins simply couldn’t score a goal no matter what was attempted. The kitchen sink was chucked. The vulcanized rubber peppered the Montreal net with sufficient follow-up effort. Dogs and cats were living in matrimonial harmony while the hibernating Bears found new ways to come up short. The B’s team simply couldn’t locate the back of the net even with hockey’s version of GPS. For a third straight game -- after dropping consecutive shutout ...
To the Marlins, Jeremy Hermida’s 2009 disappointment rendered the outfielder an unaffordable luxury. To the Red Sox, Jeremy Hermida’s not-so-distant past meant that the outfielder represented an affordable lottery ticket with at least a chance to offer a tidy jackpot. The 11th overall pick of the 2002 draft had stardom written all over his amateur and minor league careers. He showed an advanced approach at the plate, a precocious ability to control the strike zone and the potential for significant power. Then, in 2007, he showed every indication that he could translate all of those traits to the major league level. As a 23-year-old, he won an everyday job with the Marlins by hitting .296 with a .369 OBP, .501 slugging mark, ...
FOXBORO — In the AFC East, division wins are rare currency. The Patriots enter Sunday’s game with the Dolphins in first place in the division with a 5-2 mark, and a division win over a 3-4 Miami team (currently 3-0 in the division) would give New England (1-1 in division play) a two-game lead in the division over the idle Jets (4-4) and a little separation in the chase for the AFC East title. It won’t be easy. The Dolphins are one of the best running teams in the league. Behind Ricky Williams (averaging 5.4 yards per carry in 2009) and Ronnie Brown (seven touchdowns in his last six games), they tote the rock at a rate of 153 rushing yards per game this season, the fourth-best average in the NFL. Meanwhile, the Patriots ...
10/26/2009 - 11:57pm
Joe Urbon and his team at CAA Sports have made it clear they’re prepared to enter the offseason starting blocks. Their client, Jason Bay, is on the verge of becoming one of the most sought-after free agents this winter, and whether it’s continuing negotiations with the Red Sox or introducing the outfielder’s abilities to another ... more »
11/06/2009 - 2:41am
To the Marlins, Jeremy Hermida’s 2009 disappointment rendered the outfielder an unaffordable luxury. To the Red Sox, Jeremy Hermida’s not-so-distant past meant that the outfielder represented an affordable lottery ticket with at least a chance to offer a tidy jackpot. The 11th overall pick of the 2002 draft had stardom written all over ... more »
11/06/2009 - 1:20am
FOXBORO — In the AFC East, division wins are rare currency. The Patriots enter Sunday’s game with the Dolphins in first place in the division with a 5-2 mark, and a division win over a 3-4 Miami team (currently 3-0 in the division) would give New England (1-1 in division play) a two-game lead in the division over the idle Jets (4-4) and ... more »
11/07/2009 - 7:41am
In the NBA it never pays to look ahead, but it is sometimes instructive to look back. The Phoenix Suns came into the TD Garden Friday night licking their wounds after an embarrassing loss to the Orlando Magic Wednesday night. Grant Hill and Jason Richardson went scoreless in that game and Steve Nash played just 22 minutes. With that in mind there was ... more »
11/05/2009 - 6:53am
On Tuesday night, the Thunder forced the Lakers into overtime in an attempt to make a statement against the defending champions. On Wednesday, the Timberwolves tried to send the same message to the Celtics. However just as the Lakers did to the Thunder, the Celtics took advantage of their veteran experience and rallied to fend off the eager home team, ... more »
11/06/2009 - 11:46am
Things were getting downright historical for the Bruins Thursday night while matching up against the Montreal Canadiens, and not at all in a good way. Racing against time to avoid earning the title of most offensively inadequate team in 80 years of Black and Gold hockey, the Bruins simply couldn’t score a goal no matter what was ... more »
11/04/2009 - 7:53am
The Cold, Hard Football Facts, if they had emotion, would love Miami’s Wildcat offense. It’s the best thing to happen to the NFL since the advent of (take your pick) the 4-3 defense, the deep-fried turkey or the Dallas Cowboys cheerleader — a titillating sensory marvel for hard-core pro football fans and bloodthirsty shut-ins. ... more »
11/05/2009 - 7:36am
We are doing our best to shake the bye week blues here at the mailbag. The bye week is rough, of course, because it’s really two weeks. Fourteen days between games. And it’s been nearly a month since the Patriots have played in a game that felt like it meant something. That’ll change on Sunday when the Dolphins roll into Gillette, a ... more »
10/28/2009 - 10:40am
While everyone (rightfully so) focused on Kevin Garnett and how his surgically repaired knee would hold up against LeBron James and the Cavaliers in the Celtics' season-opener, the most encouraging sight of the night was seeing Kendrick Perkins on the bench in crunch time. I’ve said it over and over. Perkins is an ideal backup center for a ... more »
06/22/2009 - 10:33am
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Ricky Barnes and Lucas Glover in the final pairing of the U.S. Open? It’s a storyline that looked as plausible at the beginning of the week at Bethpage Black as the grounds crew having to syringe the greens between groups just to keep them moist. Nonetheless, that was indeed the case when the two teed off Sunday ... more »