Memorial Day Salute

The red, white and blue were on full display this past weekend as America honored those who have served and are currently serving in the armed forces.  This is a very special holiday that is very near and dear to my heart. 

 

Many of you might be aware of this, but I am currently finishing up my term of service in the U.S. Army.  I’ll finally be returning home for good next month.  As I sat there on Monday watching the celebrations throughout the various sporting events being held that day, it was easy to see why this country is so great. 

 

Sports are a perfect example of the tremendous freedoms this nation possesses.  But it’s also very easy to get caught up in these sorts of things, and I’m just as guilty as the next person.  It’s important to remember that it is just a game and even vitally more important we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifices to provide us with the opportunities to enjoy those freedoms.

During my time in the Army I had the honor and privilege of serving with some of the bravest and heroic individuals of my generation and I just want to take a moment to take a step away from the sports arena and honor those who took to the battle field and are truly worthy.

From April of 2007 to June of 2008 my unit was tasked to deploy to Iraq in support of OIF.  We spent 15 months with various stints of time split between Baghdad and also Baqubah and Muqdadiyah, located in the Diyala Province.  It was an intensely demanding period of time and several casualties were sustained.  I personally knew eight soldiers who paid that ultimate sacrifice and I want to make it a point to ensure that their memories will always live on and will always be honored appropriately.

SGT Joseph Dahl, 21, from Los Lunas, NM.  He was a victim of sniper fire just one week before he was scheduled to return home to see the birth of his first child.  He was survived by his son Kayden and wife Alia.

CPL Luke Runyan, 21, from Spring Grove, PA.  During a night operation his team was ambushed and he sustained a number of gunshot wounds from the exchange which he was ultimately not able to survive.  He is survived by his infant daughter Brynn and his wife Courtney.

CPL Chad Groepper, 21, from Kingsley, IA.  He was the second victim claimed in the previously described operation.  His wounds were similar to the injuries that befell Luke.  He also was a new father to infant daughter Clarissa and was also survived by his wife Stephanie.

CPL Luigi Marciante, Jr, 25, from Elizabeth, NJ.  While driving a Stryker along an uncleared route, his vehicle was struck by an IED and he was unable to survive the blast.  He was survived by his infant son Lorenzo and wife Stephanie.

CPL Donald Valentine III, 21, from Orange Park, FL.  During an extensive clearing operation he and his squad rushed into a building and were followed by a local national wearing an explosive vest.  Upon detonation of the device he and two others were lost.  He was survived by his wife Lucia.

CPL Joseph Landry III, 23, from Pensacola, FL.  I actually attended basic training with him in Fort Benning, GA.  He was one of the three victims claimed by the acts of the suicide bomber.  He was survived by his parents, Joseph and Karen, and his brother Christopher.

CPL Nicholas Olson, 22, from Novato, CA.  He was the third and final victim of the tragic events that transpired in the previous two descriptions.  He was survived by his wife and young daughter.

CPL Jason Lemke, 30, West Allis, WI.  While travelling in a Stryker, the vehicle was hit by an IED and he sustained wounds that eventually lead to his passing.  He was survived by his parents and two daughters, Elizabeth and Casey.

There is hardly a day in my life that passes without a memory of these great men.  So while we only have this one particular day specifically set aside to pay tribute to their incredible sacrifices, their honorable acts are much more deserving than that.  As we celebrate their lives and accomplishments, do so with the proper perspective and appreciation and remember those who made all of this possible for us. 

I’m sure a lot of you have many others that you know who have made similar sacrifices.  Therefore I not only want to thank these individuals I had the honor of serving with, but all of those before and after.  As a great nation we are indebted to you and we thank you.  Happy Memorial Day!

Game Five: Bruins Survive

In a series that has been as difficult to predict as the impending apocalypse, the Bruins earned a huge victory Monday night in Boston.  The win gave the B’s a commanding 3-2 series lead and they’ll look to finish off the Lightning in Tampa Bay on Wednesday.

Speaking of the potential rapture, Tim Thomas played the role of the Bruins’ savior in net.  Thankful that the world did not recently come to end, he took advantage of the opportunity to play in the game and gave a performance that was one for the ages.

 

After giving up a goal 1:09 into the game, he proceeded to dazzle the crowd with incredible save after save, racking up 33 for the game.  His tremendous goalkeeping made it impossible for Tampa Bay to maintain any sort of offensive flow and instilled confidence among his teammates giving them the opportunity to overcome the early goal to come from behind and notch this crucial victory.

The Bruins honestly had no business being in this game early on.  The disparity in shots in the first period just further attests to Thomas’ brilliant performance.  The Bruins only managed to get off four shots over the first twenty minutes, while the Tampa shots rained down on the Boston net minder in a monsoon-like fashion to the tune of fourteen shots.

Fortunate that the lead only stood at one goal after the first session, the second period is when the tide really started to turn in the Bruins’ favor.  They made a determined effort to establish themselves physically on both ends of the ice delivering a number of vicious blows to help set the tone for the turnaround. 

 

Horton’s goal served as a huge momentum changer 4:24 into the second period.  It was a gorgeous goal orchestrated off of a face-off win in the offensive zone by Krejci.  A beautiful pass by Milan Lucic set up the ferocious blast that the opposing goalie’s first glimpse of the puck was when he was fishing it out of the back of his own net. 

 

Despite the score being 1-1 after the goal, the Lightning should have just boarded the plane back to Tampa after that, because the Bruins are 6-0 this postseason when Horton scores a goal.  Just to make it official though, with just over four minutes remaining in the second period Brad Marchand banged home a pin-point pass from Patrice Burgeron to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead that they would not relinquish.  Rich Peverley put the icing on the cake for the Bruins when he scored an empty netter with just 12 seconds left.

For the game, the B’s were outshot 34-19.  And although it hasn’t exactly been a completely stellar series for Thomas, in the two of the most critical contests he has been at his absolute best.  The Bruins were outshot in every single period, even in the second period where Boston really swung the momentum to the way of the black and gold.  But Thomas’ effort proved he was more than up to the task.

It was an immensely entertaining game that further contributed to the exciting nature of this series.  Wednesday night should not be any different as Bruin fans will look forward to a potential Stanley Cup Finals berth.   It would be their first appearance in the NHL championship since 1990.  Tampa will certainly be a tough out as they are 3-0 in elimination games in the playoffs so far.  But given Tim Thomas’ pedigree and latest performance, Boston has to feel good about their chances with him in net.

Interleague Fun at Fenway

Many people in baseball circles bicker and argue over the concept of the interleague play, but every once in awhile the MLB gets it right.  The people in the Chicago Cubs organization must have called their travel agents to double check the details of their trip this weekend as they will be heading to Boston for the first time since the 1918 World Series.

What a crazy and interesting history that has developed for both clubs since that championship match up almost a century ago.  I hope the members of that Sox team celebrated the 4-2 series win a little extra because they could not have imagined the pain and suffering that would follow that famous year.  And for the Cubs, little did they know, but that would mark the ten-year anniversary of the most futile run in major professional athletics.

Unfortunately, I was not around for that monumental victory, but I have been fortunate enough to witness the two most recent titles.  One broke what seemed to be an irreversible 86-year curse of torturous misfortune, and the second validated the Red Sox' transformation from lovable losers to legitimate, modern dynasty and perennial powerhouse.  The Cubs, however, have still been unable to shake that label that once plagued Boston and if the early season results are any indication, it looks as though the Cubs are doomed to wait yet another season.

If anyone would be able to relate to the Cubs' misery, the Red Sox would be able to offer some consolation, but I doubt there will be too many offering it up this weekend as Boston will be looking to add their continued struggles.  The Sox have won six straight coming into the weekend and find themselves only 1 1/2 games out of first place in the AL East.  Since their horrific 2-10 start, the Red Sox have been winning games at a .700% clip (21-10).

Despite their latest success, the Sox will certainly have their work cut out for them.  Friday night offers a favorable pitching match up with Lester throwing against Doug Davis, but Lackey and Matsuzaka have both recently landed on the DL.  This appears to open the door for journeyman Tim Wakefield and long reliever Alfredo Aceves to jump into an ailing Red Sox rotation.

It should be a good early-season test for Boston as they continue their pursuit of first place in the division.  Either way, this historic series should be a lot of fun.  The street vendors outside of Fenway have already joined in on the fun selling t-shirts that read: "The Green Monster.  No Ivy On This Wall."  Now that we've established our edge in the cleverness category, let's hope our hitters have the edge over Chicago and hit a few more balls over that wall and have them leave Boston with the same deflating feeling of defeat that they experienced all those years ago.

Back on Track?

Break out the bottles of champagne!  Well, it might be a tad early for that just yet, but the celebration seems appropriate given the Red Sox struggles so far this season.  With a dramatic, come-from-behind victory Monday night the Sox have climbed their way back from the early season hole they dug themselves into and have finally claimed a record above the .500 mark for the first time this year.

After a huge three-game sweep of the Yankees in New York, which helped the Sox reach that elusive .500 milestone, Boston looked as though they might throw away all the momentum created from that series in the Bronx against the Baltimore Orioles Monday night.  Finding themselves down 6-0 after five innings of play, due to a disastrous starting pitching performance by Daisuke Matsuzaka, in which he walked seven batters in 4 1/3 innings, The Sox offense slowly clawed their way back as the game progressed.

Down by one run heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, the stage was set for a hero to come through in the clutch and hopefully turn the fortunes for this team to a more positive direction for the remainder of this so far frustrating and puzzling season.  Enter Adrian Gonzalez. 

  

A one-out walk and stolen base by Jacoby Ellsbury, followed by another walk after a great at-bat by Pedroia set the table for Boston’s newest slugger.  And he certainly did not disappoint.  Despite the wind blowing in violently, he turned on a back-door breaking ball and planted the pitch half way up the wall of the Green Monster allowing both runners to score and sending the Fenway faithful into a frenzy.

The Red Sox are now 19-10 in their last 29 games and tied for second in a tight AL East division.  The turnaround can be largely contributed to the same player who delivered late Monday night.  Just like the entire Sox team, Adrian got off to a little bit of a slow start in April.  While the average was solid, the power numbers had yet to show themselves.  The month of May, however, has been a completely different story.

Coming into the month Gonzalez was sporting a .314 average with one home run and 14 RBIs.  In just 15 games so far this month, he is absolutely tearing the proverbial cover off the ball to the tune of a .349 average with eight home runs and a ridiculous 23 RBIs.  His 37 RBIs are first in the AL.  Looking a little deeper into his production, during Gonzalez’s tear he has raised his on base percentage to .384 and his slugging percentage is now at .583 (4^th in MLB), giving him an OPS of .967 (5^th in MLB).  Putting up these kinds of numbers, it’s easy to see why he had been the object of Red Sox management’s affection for so long.

While a record of one game above .500 is good considering the horrendous start, it still has to be considered as a disappointment for this team so far.  Gonzalez’s efforts will hopefully inspire some his other teammates who still haven’t found their way out of the gates yet.  The good news is that players like Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia seem to be showing signs of turning it around recently.  Their production will be vital to the team’s success and both will be relied upon heavily as the season continues.

It’s not all gravy for Sox fans though.  The expensive new left-fielder Carl Crawford continues to struggle mightily and has not found his comfort level at the plate nor in the Red Sox lineup.  Though he isn’t as bad as he was in April, his average still sits slightly above the Mendoza line at .208, 41 games into the season.  He’s far too good of a player for that to continue too much longer, so that doesn’t worry me all that much.

The more alarming aspect, however, is the state of the back end of the rotation.  Matsuzaka has been his normal, consistently inconsistent self so far this season; tossing one-hit gems followed up by four-inning performances packed with complete frustration.  Also it was announced last night that the overwhelming under-achiever of the year, John Lackey, will be taking his dazzling 8.01 ERA with him to the disabled list.

Despite the positive feel of the team’s recent success, there are some inherent flaws that this team will eventually need to address if they go uncorrected.  Major contributions will now be expected from unexpected sources like Tim Wakefield given the latest injury concerns.  Let’s hope old reliable can reach into his bag of knuckle-ball tricks and help the Sox stay on the path to success.  Otherwise, I’m afraid the inconsistency that has plagued them all year will linger for a while longer, and if that happens, systematic changes are sure to follow.

Heat Rising

With an overtime win on Monday night, the Miami Heat has put the Boston Celtics on ice and has grabbed a commanding 3-1 series lead.  It was a heartbreaking defeat for the Celtics and a hard-fought battle for a majority of the game. 

 

The Celtics found themselves in a very familiar situation at the end of the fourth quarter.  The game was tied at 86 with just over 19 seconds remaining.  Not only was it a very familiar situation, but it was also one that Boston had experienced success on several occasions.  But Monday’s events had an entirely different outcome.

On a team who usually excels and a coach who prides himself in late-game execution, the final seconds of the game could have not gone more terribly wrong.  Instead of capitalizing on a golden opportunity to even the series and swing all the momentum back in the Celtics favor, they looked like a bunch of discombobulated teammates scrambling around the court unable to avoid running into one another on what appeared to a simple high, pick-and-roll screen for Paul Pierce at the top of the key.

The confusion led to very well-defended, last-second heave from Pierce which really had no shot of ever going in.  The miss of course forced overtime where the Celtics completely folded and got outscored 12-4.  In the final 5:19 of the game and overtime period the Celtics blew the game and probably a chance at winning this series.

The inability to set a screen for Paul Pierce was not the only problems Kevin Garnett had in this crucial game.  One game after one of KG’s most impressive playoff performances in recent memory, he pulled a repeat of Game 1 and was unable to produce in game that C’s needed him most. 

 

He was absolutely pathetic from the field only managing to make one shot out of ten, and after embarrassing Heat defenders on the low post in the previous game; he failed to even make any attempt to mount any sort of effective low-post attack. 

 

Even Rajon Rondo managed to score ten points (4-7 FGs) playing with basically one arm!  Like Dwayne Wade stated in his last post-game press conference, I am also not a doctor, but I was under the impression that dislocated elbows were not contagious.  Apparently Garnett was unaware of this mostly common medical knowledge.  It was a truly puzzling and frustrating performance, and one that I’m afraid the Celtics will not be able to recover from going forward.

The Miami Heat had not won a game in Boston all year, but they certainly picked an opportune time to do so.  The less original “Big 3”, or “the Heatles”, as they so cleverly dubbed themselves, completely dominated the Celtics’ three stars, outscoring them 83-51.  Ray Allen did not have a horrible game, as he scored 17 points, but he failed to convert several wide-open jumpers that we are so accustomed to seeing him make. 

 

This one stung.  No doubt about it.  Especially considering the defensive game plan against the Heat seems so simple -- Stop any one of their version of the “Big 3” and they simply cannot win.  We saw it first hand with Chris Bosh in game 3.  I know it’s obviously easier said than done, but no other player on their roster had more than four points in the game!  Hopefully The C’s can pull it together and make the necessary adjustments to replicate the results from their lone victory in the series.

An injured and noticeably hindered Rondo makes the task at hand all the more daunting.  If the Celtics want to advance they’ll need to channel their early-season mojo in which they rattled off three consecutive wins over Miami to start the season.  However, more recent history might allude to the record in the previous five meetings, during which the Heat have completely turned the tables and compiled a 4-1 record against Boston.

It’s definitely not an impossible hole to climb out of though.  As Boston sports fans we should certainly know that it’s not over ‘til it’s over.  A visit and pep talk from Jon Havlicek seemed to inspire the Celtics prior to a game 3 victory.  Perhaps a few members from the 2004 World Series Champion Boston Red Sox should stop by the locker room before each of their next few games.  I’m pretty sure that may cause a few schedule conflicts with the baseball regular season in full swing, but this is the playoff we’re talking about here, and desperate times call for desperate measures.