Ron Borges sticks his foot in his mouth

A friend of mine from twitter made me aware of this ridiculous, buffoonish and moronic tweet. Is this supposed to be funny? Borges also posted this retraction or apology at the Boston Herald.

I am getting sick and tired of people ripping on Tim Thomas; he's a solid American and one of the best American goalies in the game of hockey. I wish people would also realize that Tim Thomas failed to go to the White House because of his political views not because he is racist.

 Ron Borges, Boston Herald --- Few would argue that among the very rarest of things in North American team sports are hockey players of color, although Grant Fuhr was among the greatest of goaltenders, and certainly Willie O’Ree and Anson Carter acquitted themselves with distinction during their years with the Bruins.

Lastly, the team that sent Thomas home was, of all teams, the Washington Capitals, the team representing the city where Barack Obama lives and works ... apparently not to Thomas’ satisfaction.

Karma, in case you are unfamiliar with the concept, is considered “the sum and consequences of a person’s actions during the successive phases of his existence, regarded as determining his destiny.’’

So what struck me was this karmic notion: Thomas refuses to go to Washington, thus snubbing the first black president in our country’s history, and is a few months later eliminated by a black hockey player who had only six goals all season — and only that one in the seven-game playoff series.

It didn’t strike me as racial, it struck me as ironic.

If you look at the comments that are connected to this article you will see that the readers weren't very impressed with  Borges' comments either, this guy is probably lucky to still have a job with the Boston Herald. [Click to view]

Lastly, the game and series winning goal was scored by Joel Ward - who is a hockey player. 

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Thomas Clarifies the We/They statements

Goalie Tim Thomas, NHL Hockey player for the Boston Bruins (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas has clarified his we/they statements that he made during the post game press conference. Personally, I think there are some in the Boston Media that are trying to make an issue out of Thomas' comments and looking further into them than they need to.

Thomas for his part clarified his “we/they” statements after Game 7 by saying he was using the word “they” to make sure his teammates were getting credit without him involving himself in the complimentary statements.

“It’s because I’m trying to give them credit without giving credit to myself. They deserve a huge amount of credit. Don’t read too much in the ‘they/us’ thing, please. What I’m trying to say is that this is a special group of guys in here. Whether we won the Cup last year or whether we failed this time. It’s a special group of guys that bodes well for the future of the Boston Bruins.” [Joe Haggerty, CSNNE]

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More hating on Timmy Thomas?

First off, if you cover hockey or watched it for more than a minute you will know that goalie are weird ducks. You have to be odd to stand in front of a rubber disk that is going 85-95 miles an hour. Like my buddies kid said once, there is no team in goalie but there is a big friggen "I"... In other words, goalies are basically in their own worlds and the game starts with and revolves around them. Think about it - a lot of times when things are going bad, goalies are the ones that the fans focus their attention on and a lot of times they get blamed when their favorite team's loses.

Of course there are some in the Boston Media that have hung on ever word that Tim Thomas has said this season, the Facebook posts brought some unneeded attention his way and you can tell by reading some of the articles in the Boston Media that there are some that want to run Timmy him out of town.

Then there were the references to the rest of the Bruins team as “they” at least five times during his postgame interview. If one were a conspiracy theorist it sounds like there is a clear separation of State and Tim Thomas going on.

"What it says about our guys is that they’re battlers and they’re still champions," he said. "They gave everything they had to the bitter end. Unfortunately this is sports and they fell short this time."

The remarks were consistent with Thomas' tendency to paint himself as an individual. [Joe Haggerty, CSNNE.COM]

Thomas would not be the first professional athlete to feel the wrath in Boston, it's a tough city to play in for professional athletes if you catch the ire of the fans, just ask Bill Buckner and Bob Stanley of the 1986 Red Sox, it's not quite as bad as Montreal but it up there.

Sifting through the debris one day after the loss

Goalie Tim Thomas, NHL Hockey player for the Boston Bruins (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Boston Bruins roller coaster season has come to an uneventful and disappointing end.

Last night the Bruins were eliminated by the Washington Capitals in game seven in overtime by a score of 2-1. Before the T.D. North Bank Arena was empty, the hockey pundits were also discussing Tim Thomas’ future/fate.

With the Bruins loss, the NHL has only one high seed left in the East in the New York Rangers, whose season could come to an end at the hands of that Ottawa Senators.

I wonder if NBC execs love the prospects of a possible match-up between the Florida Panthers and the L.A. Kings in the Stanley Cup Finals as  all of their pretty match-ups have gone by the wayside. None the less, I will still be watching no matter who is playing.

Who would have thought that Detroit, Vancouver, Boston, Chicago Pittsburgh would all be out in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Most of those teams were built to go deep into the Stanley Cup playoffs and are now golfing. 

So after one round the in the Stanley Cup playoffs we have lost Gary Bettman’s team the Penguins, who bowed out gracefully in game six against the Philadelphia Flyers – the defending Stanley Cup Champions the Boston Bruins, who went down with a thud to the Washington Capitals. Finally the Presidents’ Trophy winner the top seeded Vancouver Canucks fell on their nose quicker than Alex Burrows and Ryan Kesler in full dive mode, as they were eliminated last week by the eight seed the L.A. Kings in six games.

I can only imagine that the NHL front office is probably pulling For New Jersey and or the New York to win their game sevens tonight so the NHL doesn’t have to face the possibility of having the Panthers and the Senators in the Eastern Conference Finals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Elephant in the room

So the re-emerging theme that didn’t want to go away during the second half of the station was the Tim Thomas snub and him failing to go to the White House to see the President with the rest of the game back in January. One of the questions to immediately emerge in the locker room after the game was whether the Boston Bruins are behind their former Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas.

“I think he’s a great goalie,’’ Johnny Boychuk said. “He’s saved our butts a lot throughout the year. Throughout the series, he made plenty of saves and you know he’s going to be battling for you every night. And when you have a guy like that behind you, you don’t have any worries.’’

The issue now, though, is the long summer ahead. [Boston.com]

Some of the reports don’t sound so good coming out of the Boston Bruins Locker-room. There seems to be a bit of a of a disconnect between Thomas and his fellow teammates; or this story is being manufacturing in the media? It's hard to tell because a few of the Boston media guys have failed to let Thomas live down the "famous" White House snub last January.


While I admire Tim Thomas for making a stand personally and holding true to his core beliefs, I sometimes wonder if Thomas would have been better off just going to the White House with the rest of his teammates.

"Our best players, we probably needed more out of their game," said Boston coach Claude Julien, referring to a number of Bruins. "I didn't think our team was in tune as much as it was this time last year."

And with that, a year in which Boston's season was at least partly defined by Thomas' refusal to visit the President in the White House with his teammates in January ended with some degree of irony. Some Boston reporters said Thomas walked on the sacred Bruins logo after the game; there is speculation that the divisive former Vezina winner will be on the market this summer. And it was Ward and the Capitals who sent him there. [Montreal Gazette]

This little tidbit from the Obnoxious Boston Sports fan, apparently Tim Thomas referred to his fellow teammates as they. Boy what a difference a year makes and how soon they all forget, last year the fans and media in Boston were singing Tim Thomas’ praise as he was leading the Boston Bruins through the Stanley Cup playoffs. What have you done for me lately?

With the Bruins' exit, Thomas will be freed up to focus on Mitt Romney's choice of a running mate. Thomas, who played good but not great, will draw the ire of plenty of fans and others, who will continually make the mistake of linking his Facebook posts and political edicts to the fact that his GAA ballooned to 2.14 in the playoffs this season and his save percentage tumbled to .923. Tuukka time was likely going to arrive whether or not Thomas went to the White House and appears even more likely with Thomas' use of the dreaded "they" word while discussing his teammates last night. [Boston.com]

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‘Capitals GWG shouldn't have counted’ - per Kerry Fraser

When I watched the Washington Capitals score the game winning goal I thought that the refs blew that call and while the officials can't review that goal, the rules should be tweaked to allow a review. I thought there was some interference on Thomas by Mike Knuble. According to Veteran NHL Officials Kerry Frasier that goal shouldn't have counted.

Last night in Boston reality struck when the series ended with a Game 7 overtime goal that was manufactured by Mike Knuble in another example of goalkeeper interference. After taking a backhand shot from close in that Tim Thomas saved Knuble continued on his path entering deep into the goal crease and made sufficient physical contact with the Bruins goalie to knock him off his set position and back toward the goal line. The undetected rebound was shot past Thomas as he attempted to pull his head out of Knuble's midsection and right arm.

It would defy logic to maintain that rule 69, as it is written, was not sufficiently violated for the referee to disallow this goal.

Rule 69.1 — "Interference on the Goalkeeper...Goals should be disallowed only if: (1) an attacking player, either by his positioning or by contact, impairs the goalkeeper's ability to move freely within his crease or defend his goal; or (2) an attacking player initiates intentional or deliberate contact with a goalkeeper, inside or outside of his goal crease.

"The overriding rationale of this rule is that a goalkeeper should have the ability to move freely within his goal crease without being hindered by the actions of an attacking player. If an attacking player enters the goal crease and, by his actions, impairs the goalkeeper's ability to defend his goal, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed."
[Kerry Fraiser TSN]

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Interesting Steven Kampfer tweets...

Here is former Boston Bruins defenseman Steve Kampfer and his twitter feed after the Boston Bruins were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs. Kampfer was traded to Minnesota for former UNO Maverick Greg Zannon.  It sounds like Kampfer might be a little bitter or unhappy about his time in Boston.

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A couple of nice goals - Kreider and Zajac

Here are a couple of great goals to prepare us for game seven between the Boston Bruins and the Washington Capitals. This is the first career NHL goal of former Boston College Eagles Chris Kreider, who is now a member of the New York Rangers. The box score read - Chris Kreider (1) Wrist - ASST: Derek. Stepan (2) AND Mark. Staal (1)... Nice to see two former Division I college hockey players leaving their mark on the score sheet.



While I am not a fan of the New Jersey Devils, however as a Fighting Sioux hockey fan this line in the box score makes me happy - Travis Zajac score his third goal of the NHL -playoffs with an assist from Kovalchuk and former Fighting Sioux star forward Zach Parise. Congrats to the former Sioux hockey players that helped the New Jersey Devils extend the Devils season.

New Frozen Four ticket policy

 Official Press Release

The NCAA has announced a new ticket purchase process for the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four, effective with the 2013 championship at the CONSOL Energy Center April 11 and 13 in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The ticket purchase process, approved by the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee, will now be conducted beginning Oct. 1 and will no longer involve submitting an application for the opportunity to purchase tickets. Instead, ticket purchasers will be invited to purchase tickets, based on their priority level, and select their own seat locations at the time of the order submission.

“This new system gives our priority ticket holders something tangible,” said Sean Frazier, chair of the Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee and deputy athletics director at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “A lot of people never fully understood what priority status got them. Now, with this new system it leaves no doubt because they will be able to pick their exact seat location first.”

An individual’s priority level is determined by the number of Frozen Four championships he/she has purchased tickets to through the NCAA ticket application process, beginning with the 1997 championship in Milwaukee through the 2012 championship in Tampa. Ticket purchasers are awarded one priority point for each year tickets have been purchased in his/her name.

Each priority level will be given a designated date to begin the ticket purchase process. Individuals with the highest priority level will be invited to purchase tickets starting Oct. 1. Individuals with the next highest priority level will have the opportunity to purchase tickets shortly thereafter, and so on until the available inventory has been sold. Ticket purchasers will receive an e-mail approximately one week prior to the designated purchase date for their priority level with an invitation and instructions for purchasing tickets. Each priority ticket purchaser is limited to a maximum of four tickets.

All orders must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, Friday, Nov. 30, and tickets will be mailed in late February 2013.

Under the previous system established in 2002, seat assignments were determined based on the ticket purchaser’s priority level. But that location was not determined by the buyer. Fans also had to purchase tickets almost a full year in advance from the event and seat locations were not known until the tickets arrived in March.

“When the Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee came up with the original system in 2002, it was done to ensure that we were rewarding the loyalty of our most avid fans,” said Lori Wolf, NCAA associate director for championships and alliances, ticketing. “However, with the new tweaks, it really takes the ticket-buying and seat selection experience to the next level. We really feel this will be a big hit with our fans.”

Those interested in the opportunity to purchase tickets for the 2013 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four, but do not currently have an existing account/priority level, are invited to visit http://www.ncaa.com/frozenfourtickets to complete a registration form with their contact information. Any individual who registers their contact information prior to Oct. 1 will be sent an invitation to purchase any remaining tickets.

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Caps want to take advantage of wear and tear on Bruins

Alzner Shoots (Photo credit: clydeorama)

After reading this blog post and some of the other ones from the Capitals media, it kind of hit me that the Washington Capitals have done a lot of extra talking and at times some serious whining during this hard fought series.

Maybe it's a difference in the two teams and their leadership. Frankly, you haven't heard the Boston Bruins doing this much talking.

Obviously I follow the Boston Bruins and I haven't watched the Capitals enough this season to know if it's their modus operandi or not. Lastly, if the Capitals think they are going to run the Boston Bruins out of the building playing a physical game they are sorely mistaken.That plays right into the Boston Bruins Hands.

Katie Carrera, Capitals Insider --- “You can tell by the way they play and where they go on the ice and where they don’t go on the ice and if they’re rushing off or if they’re on the play. You can definitely tell,” Karl Alzner said. “You’ve just got to — it’s like we said at the beginning of the series — you plant the seed. If it’s mentally with hitting them or getting in their face, or if it’s dumping the puck in every single time, then they start to know — and that’s when you start to take advantage.”

While some injuries are readily apparent — Patrice Bergeron is dealing with an upper-body ailment that likely will prevent him from taking face-offs again in Game 7, Joe Corvo missed Game 6 after taking a puck off the leg — others are less visible. Alzner said the Capitals have discussed who they think is hurting and how to put extra pressure on the Bruins in this contest.

“There’s a couple guys I know — and we talked about it — that they’re cheating,” Alzner said. “You can see where they’re cheating, and we’re waiting to for an opportunity to take advantage of it, and you’ve got to wait for that chance. It’s not always there, but sometimes it is, and it’s a fatigue thing. Hopefully you take advantage of it the next game.”

Michalek kicks Girardi

This is the kick that everyone has been discussion on line today. If you watch the video you will see that Ottawa Senators forward Milan Michalek actually kicked NY Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi during the closing minute of the third period of game six. This Michalek kick happened during the scrum on the controversial Jason Spezza goal.

The Senators were unable to get the game tying goal and there is a good chanced that Henrik Lundquist is going to be fined by the NHL for bad mouthing the officials after Monday night's game.

"It's an absolute joke. Oh my God. It scares me," Lundqvist said in an emotional rant. "When it's such an obvious play, goalie interference and a kick, and they still call it a goal? It scares me that someone can call that. It's just unbelievable. It still upsets me, because we have this game, and then they get a chance. Someone wants them back in the game obviously, because there's no other explanation, I think." [Daily News]

The National Hockey League Department of Players Safety has decided not to discipline Michalek for his kick on Dan Girardi, but he was given a warning from the Shanahammer.

Kristo coming back for senior season at UND

The Fighting Sioux hockey team got some very good news today as 2/3 of the Knight line will be returning to North Dakota for the 2012-13 season.

Official Press Release

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota forward Danny Kristo announced today that he will return for his senior season in 2012-13.

A second-round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2008, Kristo enjoyed the best season of his collegiate career in 2011-12, achieving career highs in points (45), goals (19), assists (team-leading 26), game-winning goals (3) and plus/minus (+16). He was named to the NCAA West Region All-Tournament Team and received UND’s Virg Foss 3-Star Award for earning the most 3-star voting points at home games.

UND’s leading active scorer with 109 points (42 goals, 67 assists) in 117 career games, Kristo finished ninth in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) scoring race and put together 15 multi-point games. He became the 84^th player in program history to amass 100 career points when he scored twice in a 4-2 win over Minnesota State on March 2.

As a sophomore in 2010-11, Kristo collected eight goals and 20 assists in 34 games and finished the year with 23 points (7 goals, 16 assists) over his last 17 games. He returned from a 10-game injury absence in March to record three goals and three assists in UND’s five playoff games.

Kristo was named the WCHA Rookie of the Year in 2009-10 after winning the league’s rookie scoring race with 36 points (15 goals, 21 assists) in 41 games and leading the team with nine power-play goals. He was also Inside College Hockey’s National Rookie of the Year runner-up and helped lead the United States to a gold medal at the 2010 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship.

Kristo, a 5-foot-11, 188-pound, product of Eden Prairie, Minn., will enter the 2012-13 season as the leading active scorer among WCHA forwards.

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Chimera says that Marchand a diver.

The Washington Capitals forward Jason Chimera and others from the Capitals and their media has called Boston Bruins forward Brad "the Little Ball of Hate" Marchand a diver.

“No matter how much Marchand’s diving and stuff like that, is embellishing a bit, but you can’t do stuff like that because it’s going to be called.” [Capitals Insider]

The Little ball of hate, Marchand has been less than thrilled with being called a diver. Here is what he has to say. Just for the record Marchand was cut on the play in question.

“For them to judge what knocks you down, they don’t know your balance or what not on the play,” Marchand told reporters. “They’re sitting at home watching on TV. I don’t really care what they say. They have no impact on my game, my life. They mean nothing.” [Capital's Insider]

WCHA Issues Suspension to MSU Women’s Hockey Coach

Western Collegiate Hockey Association logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This can be marked up as being the head scratcher of the week. The WCHA has suspended MSU-M Women’s coach Eric Means for five games. The suspension isn’t that head scratcher, but the fact that he was suspended two months after the season was over, so much for swift justice.

 April 23, 2012/For Immediate Release

MADISON, Wis. – The Western Collegiate Hockey Association today announced that head women’s hockey coach Eric Means of Minnesota State University, Mankato has been issued a five-game suspension from coaching due to a violation of the WCHA Code of Conduct.

The decision was reached by the WCHA Women’s Executive Committee after a review of his actions during the February 17 (2012) game versus the University of Minnesota Duluth. The five-game suspension, which includes one first round WCHA playoff game that Means sat out voluntarily back on February 24, will consist of the first four conference games (no exhibition or non-conference games) of the upcoming 2012-13 season.

Minnesota State University issued a statement in response to today’s announcement from the Association that said “We understand and accept the decision made by the Women’s WCHA Executive Committee. MSU Athletics supports the underlying principles of sportsmanship, respect, and fair play and insists on integrity, ethical conduct, and accountability from all staff, coaches, and student-athletes. This decision suggests that the WCHA is committed to similar principles and ideals and this outcome sends a strong message to member institutions underscoring those expectations.”

The WCHA will have no further comment on this issue.

Jason Spezza's controversial goal - Rangers nation not happy

This is one of the reason that I love playoff hockey. There is so much going on in the game and the players take it up a notch from the regular season. Unfortunately, the right call isn't always made or is it?

Here is the controversial goal that was scored by Senators' forward Jason Spezza. It would appear from the video that Chris Neil going hard and crashing the net; did help the end result. Obviously the Rangers didn't like the call.

Fortunately for the Rangers, the Senators were unable to get the game tying goal in the closing minutes of  game six and held on to win the game 3-2. The Rangers and the Senators' will play game seven in New York (TBD).

This what the NHL officials had to say on the controversial goal.

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist was less than pleased with the Senators' second goal. “I just think it’s an absolute joke," Lundquist said. "I am going to freeze the puck, he pushes me out and kicks the puck. It scares me that they can call that a goal. Someone wanted them back in the game for sure. It upsets me but we played a really good game and deserved this one.”

Those comments could get Lundquist a fine from the NHL.

The Senators' tough guy Christ Neil has been was a big factor in this series and was named the third star of tonight's game, Neil scored a goal for the Senators and fought Brandon Prust at the 15:10 mark of the first period.
In game five Chris Neil nailed Brian Boyle with this monster hit [click to view] causing Boyle to miss tonight's game with an concussion.  The tide would turn for Neil as he would end up on the receiving end of a  hit by the Rangers Michael Del Zotto behind the Rangers net in the third period. Neil laid on the ice for a few second before he got up and skated to the Senators' bench.

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