Sometimes we watch sports or became fans to see that one defining moment, as was the case Monday Night in Boston. The bruins found their backs up against the wall down 3 goals with 10 minutes to play in game 7 in logical Hockey terms it was time shine the golf clubs and get the summer started. But they just didn’t quit of course they seem to have quit in games 5 and 6 to let the Leafs back in. But hard work and determination prevailed for the Bruins as they took game 7.

I feel for the Toronto fans, after all we here in Boston had Bucky Dent, then Bill Buckner, and David Tyree We had Grady Little. Yes we have had our share of playoffs and championship games yanked from the Jaws of victory and ending up in the agony of defeat.

The Leafs will be back next year they have the makings of a contender but Leafs fans are like Cubs and Red Sox use to be. They are just never quite good enough but they continue to support the team so hang in there Toronto.

I guess now when a player has unusual high numbers in baseball we automatically question it and assume there is PED issue. That issue was created by players of the not so distant past. We still see instances of it as we did with Melky Cabrrara. This year it seems at least here in Boston on David Ortiz. Remember , he did test positive a few years back 2003. Ortiz has had unusual hot early season so the question arises. To Ortiz’s credit he is willing to share his test results. . To the medias credit for questioning him he is 37 coming of an injury and was batting over .400. That should be a red flag. Sometimes I think it’s guilt that needs to prove innocence.

Again the players have created this and baseball kind of gave them a wink and a nod for manyt years. Although it has gotten better over the past several years with more testing there is always that seed planted in the media and the public eye. In Ortiz’s case he just seems focused and as made a few adjustments to his swing. He will eventually comeback to a typical Ortiz season if he remains healthy.

NHL Update

The Elite 8 are in place . You have two orgiinal six series one in each conference with the Black Hawks and The Red Wings Hawks lead series 1-0. After a 4-1 victory last night in Chicago. Meanwhile in the East the bruins and Rangers will battle in game 1 tonight both coming off tough 7 game series This is the second straight orginal 6 series the Bruins had. All six of the orginal teams made the playoffs this year with both Toronto and Montreal getting knocked out in the first round.. I think the Bruins will have all the can handle with the Rangers but it should be a decent series. Meanwhile back in the old West we have the second six Kings against the Sharks in a battle of the Golden State.Kings lead series 1-0. And in the East the second six penguins have taken a 1-0 series lead over the Senators. Winning Tuesday 4-1 in a hard checking game.Penguins should roll through this series. I still see the Hawks and the Penguins in the finals but I wouldn’t mind seeing that spoked B getting there somehow.

Zebra Tale

I have been working a lot of HS baseball over the past few weeks. In all the years I haven’t seen this. I ring this kid up on a funky curve ball that came in high and then dropped and curved through the strike zone. The batter was totally fouled on it. The kid stood there with the are you serious like back at umpire(me) look. But he turns to me and the catcher and still kind of in shock and says what a great pitch. The coach comes down the line and says hey Blue he wasn’t giving crap was he. I said no not at all. So the coach who is a pretty good guy says what did he say.I said well he had the dear in the head lights look and the he just turned to me and the catcher and said what a great pitch.

That’s it for today

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I really have struggled this week to get anything on this blog. It has been a crazy week starting last Thursday. Last Thursday at 5:15 Middle Lanz got a call they needed an extra guy in his Babe Ruth League. For a%:45 game. The problem was that he promised his Lacrosse coach he would be at practice because he has only gone to Wednesday skills practice because of Baseball. He played the baseball game and ended up leaving early for Lacrosse practice. I stayed and watched the end of the baseball game the Mrs. took him to Lacrosse.

The kids at Lacrosse were getting ready for a drill they didn’t start and one of his knucklehead teammates wound up and whacked him on the side of the head with his stick. Yes, he should have stayed at baseball. He complained about a headache that night, and it was still there on Saturday when he went to the doctor. He has a concussion and will miss Lax and baseball until the headache clears for a week it hasn’t. The other kid is suspended until he returns. He did convince the Doc. To let him ref soccer on the weekends as a sideline official

Speaking of Soccer best wishes to brother official Ricardo Portico’s family. As we all have heard the sorry he was punched by a 17 year old after a call and later died. As a three sport Official people take some of these games way to seriously. I have been screamed at while changing after a baseball game, I have been threatened during a football game when an ambulance showed up for a hurt player and father whose son got ejected by rule for two personnel fouls said there is the ambulance for the referee.

No Official should have to be subjected to that kind of crap. I think B.O.B. asked earlier this week why we do it. Usually, because it’s fun, you stay involved and if you’re calm and professional out there and set an example the kids respond well to it. None of us go out there and have a fear that a player or parent will be that extreme. However, we attend rules meetings constantly and are being taught how to avoid it and handle of it does arise.

The best advice I have gotten is from one of our baseball rules inturpator said if you had a bad game get in the car and drive away. I always park far away when doing baseball or a Youth sport just avoid any conflicts.

I hope the 17 year old gets what he deserves there is no excuse for that crap in recreational sports. I will say more often than not people thank you or say good job at the end.of game but there are always a few.

NHL Update

The Boston Bruins took a commanding 3-1 games lead against Toronto,+ What about that dumb ass Maple Leafs fan that held up the Toronto Stronger sign Monday Night at the Air Canada Centre what a meat head.

No surprises with the Hawks and a 3-1 series lead with the Wild. The Penguins have all they can handle with the NY Islanders as the series is even at 2. Meanwhile Montreal and Ottawa have had a nasty battle but the Senators are up 3-1. The rangers came back nicely after being down 2-0. Both the Ducks and the Kings are up 3-2.The Sharks have sent the Sedin brothers packing eliminating the Canuacks 4-0.

The Boston Red Sox were one of the surprise teams early on in baseball but after a weekend series in Texas and being swept by the Rangers and then struggling with the Twins this week at home losing 5 of 6 and are tied now with the Orioles for first place.

That’s all I have.

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Hello Welcome to another Thursday edition of talking sports.

They did it all those Knicks and their celebrity fans wearing black anticipating a Celtics Funeral had a surprise when the grime reaper didn’t show up and we are shipping back to Boston. The Celtics just wouldn’t fold last night despite the Knicks starting with 11-0 run. Maybe this will be a series after all. There were low expectations for the Celtics but some how they managed to hang in there forcing a game six .

Everytime, I think Pierce and Garnett have had enough they seem to come up big both had 16 points last night and Garnett had 18 rebounds, They also got good numbers from Jeff Green 18, Brandon Bass.17. Celtics may not get out of the first round but they will go down fighting and perhaps pushing the Knicks a little harder than they wanted to be pushed.

NHL Update

The Stanley Cup playoffs started this week which simply means over the next 6 weeks it will be some of the best hockey you will ever see. The intensity of the Stanley Cup playoffs iss just amazing series for the most part play every other night and it’s just fasted pace action. In Boston we have a couple of original 6 teams who haven’t faced each other in the playoffs since 1974. The Bruins and the Maple Leafs. I have to give credit to the Leafs they are like the Cubs fans of the NHL often had horrible ownership and poor decision making by that front office the fan base has been extremely loyal. The Bruins after struggling in the final few weeks of the regular season won with a 4-1 victory. They out shot the Leafs 40-20.

In the West the Hawks , Sharks, Ducks, and Blues all lead there series 1-0, In the east Pittsburgh and Boston lead 1-0 in their series. The rangers and Capitails go tonight as Do the Canadiens and Senators. I think both these series will be interesting to watch. I think the Capitails and Rangers will be a beast of a battle and look forward to Ranger Coach John Tortorella going off on a tirade . All you hockey guys know that’s coming. Tortorella is a throwback coach fiery and emotional, I love the guy. Canadiens and the Bruins were in the I don’t want it you can have battle for the Northeast Division. I think the Senators give them a battle .

I just want to say congrats to a local kid Joe Canata who is a Goalie on the Chicago Wolves of the AHL.. Joe was called up last week to finish the regular season as the Canaucks back up goalie as Cory Schneider another local kid due to  injury.. I  saw Joe’s dad the other day he was pretty excited.

Last week was a crazy week of baseball for me. I umpire 8 games in 7 days coached two games and ran a practice. I enjoyed every minute of it. Last Wednesday I knew it would be a bad from the start. My partner and I show up at the field as listed on our assignment sheet.No players, the tarps covering the plate and the mound. Lucky both doing HS games in that town before the often use the middle school field as well the game was there. Game was pretty decent went to extras one contrevesry on Interference call by my partner who handled it well.After the gameI was taking off my plate gear locked my keys in the trunk. It was in the next town over so the Mrs came by with a key and giving a good natured rash of shit that I deserved. So looks in the parking lot sees our neighbors car two rows behind mine. She says that’s Dan and Lisa’s car. Forgetting our towns girls Lacrosse team is playing the next towns. Could got a ride from the neighbor. Sure enough see gives me the key and here comes Dan and his family.One of his daughters is on the girls Lacrosse team.

Finally, the Freshman Coach in our town runs the umpires for the Sr. Little League or Babe Ruth League whatever you want to call it. He calls me a couple o weeks ago and says can you do a Sr. League game. I say yes the guy has been a friend for a few years. So middle Lanz plays in that League I’m at one field he is at another. I get home the Mrs. Says He made a great catch and he turned it into a doubleplay . (Apparently he saw the runner on first take off before the catch he pumped faked to second after the catch and nailed him trying to get back to first for the DP).So now I’m a little ticked off at myself for not being there.

So on Sunday I’m at my teams pictures and one of the kids on my team’s brother plays on the team Middle Lanz played against. She comes up to me and says your son made agreat play saved a Home Run and double a kid off.. I go get a coffee and met somebody else who was at that game hey what agreat play your son made yesterday. After that I was in Staples and some one else so me says I heard your son played agreat game yesterday. I was like really., Like I wasn’t feeling guilty enough.!

So Middle Lanz’s plays Lax on Sundays I’m sitting there and I usually sit with a friend who is an HS and College Hockey Official so he doesn’t say Hi he says Hey what was the result of that Interference play on Wednesday. I’m looking at him saying how the fuck did you know about that. He says I was walking down the path to go to my daughters Lacrosse Game saw the SS go down and saw your conference. I told him the other guy ruled interference. I didn’t get a good look I was watching the runner on third and all I say was the SS go down. He says that he lives stuff like that he finds the more complex a play is the more he finds interest. The funny thing is we sit together at Lacrosse our sons are on the same team . Every week he knows a Lax official from Hockey or I know one from Football.

I worked with a new Ump the other day we talked and the guy coaches AAU basketball. He looks at the home teams coach and says Hey you refreed my basketball games yesterday. Like I say it’s a small world.

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Boston has always been a great place to walk, a safe city. Yes, we have areas that  people should stay away from at night, we have crime, and we have drugs like all major cities. But downtown Boston, from the Garden to Fenway Park and along the River or the harbor has always been a place where I have felt comfortable and safe. I grew up 5 miles North and now live 15 miles North in a middle class suburb.

I drive into the city every day because a work downtown and am lucky enough to have a parking sport in front of my office. I often take a stroll at lunchtime around the olde ballyard down, Newbury street or down Boylston past the library and around the old Trinity church. I have never felt threatened or unsafe in anyway.  Boston is a great city to take in by foot. The events on Monday will not change my routine or my view of a city I love. The events on Monday will perhaps make me more vigilant as I walk through these same streets. It will make think of all 180 people who were injured and the three innocent people that where killed including the devastation to the Richards family.

Boston has been a place of peace and camaraderie.  Wear a Sox or Pats hat anywhere else in the country and I can guarantee you will be greeted by someone who lived in Boston, or is from Boston and it is like you are old friends.

This blog is dedicated to 17 year old Zach the son of close friends of ours who was about 50 yards from the bomb site with his buddies. They were among the lucky ones. I dedicate this Tom who works for Boston EMS as a Paramedic and is always on hand for events like the Marathon, a competitive runner himself. It’s dedicated to Hector, I've coached his son in baseball and played on the same soccer team as my kids. Hector works for the Boston Police Dept. This is for several other dads who are Boston Police officers that we see at the local high school gym or Hockey rink. This for Anthony who after his own liver transplant was asked by the Liver foundation to be a motivational speaker to folks running for that foundation. He was planning to greet runners with his two teenage daughters at the finishing line. He did not end up going because the foundation was meeting elsewhere after the race. These folks are some of the heroes. These folks will help keep Boston strong. These folks will return Boston and restore the feeling of safety in the city.

I had been off for several days (school vacation week)  and returned to work yesterday not knowing what to expect. I work several blocks away from the bomb sites. It was eerie driving into the city yesterday, a large police presence at each intersection. A lot have armored plate vehicles and there were sirens all day, which isn’t that unusual. There was a calm and a weird quietness, maybe because it’s school vacation week here. Maybe because the senses where heightened. But it was a noticeable quiet, there wasn’t the usual hustle and bustle. I didn’t venture out of the office I just didn’t want to as they reopened streets and continued to gather evidence.

This hit home pretty hard, a feeling of being violated in a sense. Deep down you known things will be all right and eventually things will get back to almost normal. The outcry for Boston tells you this wasn’t a violation of only Bostonians. It was a violation of Americans... not the same mass murder as 9/11 but the same feeling of being violated and the same feeling of American pride. Thank you for thinking of us here in the Hub. Thanks to all the sports teams for singing sweet Caroline, and Chicago giving praise to the Red Sox , Bruins, Patriots, Celtics, and Revolution. Most of all Thank you America for keeping the victims and Bostonians in your prayers. I’m getting emotional writing this I’ll stop now and leave you with this link to the opening of the Bruins Sabres game last night.

Please keep your Thoughts and prays for the people of West Texas as well

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Good Morning all as it’s Thursday and April is moving along in a fast pace motion. It has been acrazy busy week so far with practices and break up events.More on that later.

Hey John,Larry , Tom where is everybody?

Baseball is in full swing and it is crazy the Fenway sellout shame has finally came to end. We don’t have hear about it and you can actually get a ticket at face value or below for a Red Sox game. Off course them not sellout is no big deal they will still go over 2 million fansand not selling out is 33, 000 in a 38,000 seat stadium. Unlike Tampa where it's easier to count who is in attendance then it is to count empty seats.

The Red Sox started out pretty hot 4-2 road trip and then winning again on opening day. The Baltimore Orioles came back late in the 9^th last night and hammered new closer Joel Hanrehan welcome to the American League Joel. The Orioles scored 5 in the Ninth including one ona Wild Pitch a 20 year old Manny Machado hit a 3 run blast to cap it off. Chris Davis also had a ninth inning home run. I’m suspecting the 2013 may have afew of these nights but that’s baseball.

John Lackey is back on the  DL with a right bicep strain. It looked like his damn arm was falling off when it happened . he should be fine. Jackie Bradley JR. seems to be struggling a bit his this kid was the hot story in camp and after watching him a few times I bought in. However, I think he may end up going down and then coming back up later in the year.

Rob Gronkowski looks like he will be going under the knife again due to infection in his surgically repaired arm. They may have to take the plate out. Is Gronk one of those guys that will end up being he could have been great but injuries killed his career? Who are the guys that fall in that category on your list?

NHL UPDATE

The Penguins have clinched the Atlantic Divison. They will be the number one seed in the East. I have to ask did the Rangers upset their own Applecart by trading Marian Grabonik? The Rangers are sitting in the eigth seed after a win last night . Thet are two points a head of Winnipeg. Take notice the third place Capitials have had the hot hand lately they are 8-1-1 in their last ten including a 5 game win streak. The Bruins got spanked a little last Saturday against the Canadiens but has shown some much needed offense beating the Canes 6-2 on Monday and The Devils 5-4 last night.

LIL Warrior Update

The boys season came to a crushing end on Saturday. They lost to ahot Nashua team 5-0. The boys skated there Butts off and just couldn’t get it going. They went down 1-0 and the got behind 2-0 on power play. Nashua played well. This was the most fun group of kids I have ever been lucky enough to coach. They were fun and they all wanted the play all the time.

One of the really coolest things happened after the game. A kid from the Nashua team all sweaty after changing out of his uniform. He came into our locker room myself and the guy I coach with were the last two all the kids had cleared out. He came up to us shy and timid and said hey coach can you tell Caleb thank you for me. This kid and Caleb had a lot of back and forth and pushing in all 4 games we played them this season.

The kid went down in the playoff game and Caleb was the kid who gave him in encouragement. I talked to the kid from Nashua’s parents afterward they were as proud as peacocks of the kid. They said that Caleb fustrated this kid tono end all year. That’s the class of Hockey at a young age. We told Caleb’s parents what happened  as well. Mrs Lanz did a very cool thing for the coaching staff she had all the kids sign a team picture for each of the coaches. The season ended with a Banquet on Tuesday turned in Lil Lanz’s #44 Jersey and it’s time to move into baseball and lax. One last lil Lanz story he some how conned teenage anti sport daughter Lanz to play NHL on the XBOX with him. She came out and said he had  his guy and whole bunch of guys with funny names that I couldn’t prounce.He apparently loaded the team with Superstars with Russian and Swedish last names.

On Sunday Middle Lanz had his first Lax game in the 7/8 grade divison understanding for the past 3 or 4 years there have been 3 teams in this group since 4^th grade and they have only lost 2 regular season games combined in that time frame both by 1 goal. The field narrowed to two teams this season both lost and I’m not sure the kids knew how to handle it. Middle Lanz’s team came off with the deer in the head light look. To their credit they played a great first half not so good in the second half.

Has anyone checked the price of a baseball lately. Middle lanz has moved into Sr Little League which is the equivilent of Babe Ruth. I bought him a nice bat for Christmas that he can't use. They have to use BBCore (Ball to Bat Co efficent resolution) Bats  these are composite and aluminum bats that act like wood bats more or less. It takes the pop out of the bat so the ball does come off s fast. The prices on them are crazy. Finally found a discontinued model. It was still expensive but not has bad as some of the others.

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