Game 1: Bruins at Flyers

Today is Game 1 of the Bruins/Flyers series. Full post coming soon....

Pats Add 4 More Players on Day 2

The Patriots surprised everyone yesterday by holding onto the top pick in the 2nd round of the 2011 NFL Draft, and then used it to grab Ras-I Dowling from Virginia. Dowling was one of the nation's top cornerbacks heading into 2010, but injuries marred his senior senior and caused his draft stock to drop. New England used their next 2 picks on running backs: Shane Vereen of Cal (#56) and Stevan Ridley of LSU (#75). Vereen has #1 back potential, while Ridley is a bruiser who will likely help on short yardage and special teams. At #76 the Pats grabbed QB Ryan Mallett of Arkansas, considered one of the top talents in the entire draft. Mallett possesses a great arm, and was thought to be in the mix to go very high in this draft, but rumors of off the field issues caused his draft stock to plummet. It seems the type of high risk/reward pick that the Pats could afford to make while trying to find somebody to groom an eventual successor for Tom Brady. Surprisingly the Pats continued to ignore improving their pass rush, so it will be interesting to see what Bill Belichick does to address that via trade or free agency once the lockout is lifted. Today the Pats are scheduled to have 4 more picks: #'s 138 & 159 in Round 5, #193 in Round 6 and #219 in Round 7.

Patriots Select Nate Solder in 1st Round

The Patriots held on to the #17 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, and used it to select offensive tackle Nate Solder from Colorado. Solder is over 6-foot-8 and tips the scales are nearly 320 pounds, so he certainly has NFL size already. In his 3 years as a starting tackle for the Buffaloes, Solder missed only 2 snaps. He was 1st Team All-Big 12 as both a junior and senior, and was a consensus 1st Team All-American in 2010. Despite weighing well over 300 pounds, he has less than 10% body fat, enabling him to be very nimble for a big man. In his career at Colorado he surrendered only 5 sacks in 3 years. He has the potential to start at left tackle right away, or possibly right tackle with Sebastian Vollmer moving over to the left side. The selection likely means the end of the Matt Light era in Foxboro. Light, the 3-time Pro Bowl selection and 3-time Super Bowl champ, is an unrestricted free agent. Solder said when the Pats were on the clock, "I was sitting there hoping and praying they picked me because it's such a great organization." He also acknowledged that he still has plenty to improve on, but added, "the great thing about that is I'm a coachable player." New England shipped their other 1st round pick, #28, to the Saints (who took 2009 Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram of Alabama). In return the Patriots obtained New Orleans 2nd round pick in 2011 (#56) and their 1st round pick in 2012. Welcome to New England Nate!

2011 NFL Draft

The 2011 NFL Draft begins tonight, with the 1st round getting underway at 8 pm when the Carolina Panthers go on the clock. As usual the Patriots have a plethora of picks, some of which they'll use, with others likely to be traded for higher picks in next year's draft. But regardless of what the Pats do over the next 3 days, they will certainly have a hard time matching the success of their 2010 draft class. Last year New England added 6 players who went on to play key roles on last year's team as rookies: Devin McCourty, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, Brandon Spikes, Jermaine Cunningham and Zoltan Mesko. The Pats have 2 picks tonight, slated to select at #17 and #28 (they also have 2 picks in both the 2nd and 3rd rounds tomorrow). Although New England's top pick would seem likely to come from a group of defensive linemen that includes Cameron Jordan, Aldon Smith, J.J. Watt, Ryan Kerrigan and Adrian Clayborn, the call here is that Bill Belichick shakes up the draft (as usual) and reaches for Temple defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson. At #28 Belichick will try to solidify his offensive line by grabbing guard Danny Watkins of Baylor. Of course when considering a Bill Belichick draft there is always the possibility that the Pats pick at neither #17 nor #28, in which case all bets are off. With that warning, check out the comments section for my entire mock draft, and feel free to add your own. In Bill We Trust!

Round 2: Bruins/Flyers and Celtics/Heat

Last night the Bruins knocked off the Canadiens, winning Game 7 in OT on a Nathan Horton goal, and will now square off against the Flyers in the conference semi-finals with a chance to avenge last year's playoff meltdown. Meanwhile the Celtics also found out their 2nd round opponent last night when the Heat knocked off the 76ers in Game 5, advancing to face Boston. While the Celts and Heat may not have as much history, it certainly hasn't taken long for these teams to get on each other's bad side. Miami, after adding Lebron James and Chris Bosh to go along with Dwayne Wade, were widely considered the championship favorites when the season began, but they lost 3 of 4 against Boston this season, and LBJ has been eliminated by Boston's Big 3 both times he has met them in the playoffs. So which Boston team has a better chance to advance? Which series are you more excited about? Which opponent do you hate more? Luckily for RBSF, it appears there is still plenty of postseason fun ahead!

Mid-Week Miscellaneous

As always there is plenty to talk about in Mid-Week Miscellaneous.....Congratulations to Jed Lowrie, who has taken over as the Red Sox starting shortstop, replacing Marco Scutaro. The moved was inevitable considering Lowrie (in 18 games) is hitting .390 with 36 total bases, 13 runs and 12 RBI. In 16 games Scutaro is batting .204 with 12 total bases, 3 runs and 4 RBI. Seems like a no brainer.....Speaking of the Sox, at some point having your catchers hit a combined .145 (11 for 76) with 0 homers and 6 runs batted in has to be considered unacceptable. Starter Jarrod Saltalamacchia (.171) and backup Jason Varitek (.091) are both providing nothing more than a hole in the lineup offensively....The NFL Network has produced an upcoming series featuring listing the top 100 players in the league. Although the list has yet to be unveiled, it has been released that 5 Patriots made the cut. The guess here is that it's Tom Brady, Logan Mankins, Wes Welker, Vince Wilfork and Jerod Mayo, with cornerback Devin McCourty among the snubs. If Brady is any lower than #1 on the list it will be impossible for me to take any of it seriously.....these and any other topics on your sports mind are open for discussion right here in MWM.....

Game 7: Bruins vs. Canadiens

The Bruins return home tonight to take on the Canadiens in Game 7 of the opening round playoff series. After battling back from a 2-0 series deficit the Boston battled back to take a 3-2 lead, only too see Montreal tie it up in Game 6 last night with a 2-1 win. The referees screwed Montreal early by blowing a premature whistle on what should have been a Brian Gionta goal, and they then spent the remainder of the game trying to make up for it. Milan Lucic was given a 5-minute major and a game misconduct on a hit that maybe should have been called 2-minutes for boarding. Somehow the "victim" of his hit, Sissy Spacek (I mean Jaroslav Spacek), was down on the ice for 5 minutes yet returned to action that same period as if nothing had happened. Miraculous! Not all the blame for the B's loss can go elsewhere however, as their anemic power play continued to be nothing short of an embarrassment. Will that finally get turned around in time to win the series? Will Lucic return with avengence and have his first great game of the series? Will Tim Thomas be able to rebound quickly in time to have a strong game tonight? We'll have all these answers soon enough.....let's go Bruins!

Ladder Challenge: Vinatieri vs Schilling

In last week's Ladder Challenge it was Red Sox slugger Jimmie Foxx defeating 7-time NBA champion Frank Ramsey in a lopsided win to move up to #68 on the RBSF Ladder. This week's challenge features more modern players, as Patriots Super Bowl hero Adam Vinatieri (#52) tries to hold off the challenge of the Sox postseason stud, Curt Schilling (#61). Even though the Sox would not have won in 2004 had it not been for Schilling's contributions, the same could be said about multiple titles when it comes to the Pats kicker. As a result Automatic Adam has my vote this week. So who has your support in this week's battle? (and remember, the most votes in the comments section is the tie-breaker, so be sure to share your thoughts!).

Game 6: Bruins at Canadiens

The Bruins head north of the border to Montreal to take on the Canadiens in Game 6 tonight. Boston has a chance to put the series away with a victory, something that seemed highly unlikely after the dropped the first 2 games of the series at home. But the B's have battled back, winning the last 2 in overtime and double OT to take a 3-2 series lead. While Tim Thomas, Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron have been expected bright spots in the B's turnaround, they would not have taken control of the series without the work of Michael Ryder, Brad Marchand and Andrew Ference. So who will step up big for Boston tonight and put this one away? Or will we be returning to the Garden for a Game 7 tomorrow night. Since my heart cannot take much more of this series, I'm predicting (and praying for) the B's to finally coast to an easy victory before getting ready for their next opponent. Let's go B's!

Happy 60th Birthday: Steve Nelson

RBSF sends a very Happy Birthday out to former Patriots linebacker Steve Nelson, who turns 60 today. Nellie was the Pats 2nd round pick in the 1974 NFL Draft out of North Dakota State, and he went on to play his entire 14-year career in New England. In 1985 he helped the Pats win their first AFC Championship, earning them a trip to Super Bowl XX to take on the Bears. That year Nelson was also selected for a trip to his 3rd Pro Bowl. His honors within the Patriots franchise are numerous.....member of Patriots Hall of Fame.....his #57 has been retired by the franchise.....selected to Patriots All-Decade Teams for both the 1970's and 1980's.....selected to Patriots 35th (1994) and 50th (2009) Anniversary Teams. Following his playing career he worked from 1998-2006 at Curry College as both head football coach and athletic director before moving into the private sector. Nelson is currently ranked #83 on the RBSF Ladder. Thanks for the many years of quality service Nellie, and here's wishing you a very happy birthday!

Chara a Finalist for Norris Trophy

Congratulations to Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, who earlier today was named 1 of 3 finalists for the Norris Trophy, given out annually to the NHL's top defenseman. Chara played in 81 games this season, scoring 14 goals and adding 30 assists. His +33 plus/minus was tops in the entire NHL. Chara also won the Norris Trophy in 2009, and another win would help him join the exclusive company of Bobby Orr (8) and Raymond Bourque (5) as Bruins that have won the Norris Trophy multiple times. The other finalists this year are 6-time winner Nicklas Lidstrom of the Red Wings (16-46-62, -2) and Shea Weber of the Predators (16-32-48, +7). I'm not sure how Chara wouldn't be the choice here. He averaged 25:26 of ice time per game this season, and the opposition had virtually no chance of scoring when he was out there. Lidstrom is obviously an all-time great, but this is not a lifetime achievement award and it's hard to justify giving the award for the league's top defenseman to somebody with a plus/minus in the negative. Weber is a very solid candidate, and this simply comes down to Chara's dominance in his own end, especially short handed, separating him from the field. Regardless of the outcome (I believe Lidstrom will actually win the award) it is nice to see Chara being recognized for his fine work this season. Good luck Big Z...you would definitely be a very worthy winner (again)!

What a Weekend for Boston Sports

It was just 9 days ago that the Bruins were down 0-2 to the Canadiens, the Celtics were finding out that their struggling squad would be without Shaquille O'Neal against the Knicks, and the Red Sox were 3-10 after being outscored by 33 runs in their first 13 games. Fortunately this past weekend made that time a very distant memory. The Bruins won Game 5 Saturday night in double OT on a Nathan Horton goal, giving the B's their third consecutive win and a 3-2 series advantage over Montreal. On Sunday the Celtics kept the good vibes going, completing a 4-game sweep of the Knicks that sent New York on vacation while giving the C's additional rest for Round 2. Finally the Red Sox, struggling so mightily to begin the season, completed a 4-game sweep of their own (over the Angels) that game them 5 straight wins and brought their overall record up to a respectable 10-11, just 3 games out of the division lead. So will the Bruins finish off the Habs and advance to the conference semi-finals? Will the Celtics be well rested instead of stale when they meet their next opponent (likely the Heat)? Will the Red Sox continue to play like the team that has won 8 of their last 9, instead of the team that lost 10 of their first 12? We hope the answer is a resounding "yes" to each of these questions, but for now the good vibes of this past weekend is all any Boston sports fan should be dwelling on. At least for today it's good enough for me...though tomorrow the games begin again. What a weekend!

Game 4: Celtics at Knicks

The Celtics take on the Knicks in New York for Game 4 this afternoon, with Boston enjoying a 3-0 series lead and aiming for the sweep. After squeaking out wins in the first 2 games of the series, the Celts dominated Game 3 behind 70 combined points from Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Rajon Rondo was also brilliant, adding a triple double, including a franchise playoff record 20 assists. The only other player in NBA history to achieve a triple double while dishing out 20 assists is Magic Johnson, so needless to say the C's point guard is in some very elite company. A victory tonight would give Boston a week off before they take on their next opponent, so it would be extra nice to put the Knicks out of their misery today and move on well rested. Happy Easter...and let's go Celtics!