What is Up, Vanilla Face?

Yeah, I know. We've been slacking around here lately. But it's the summertime, there is golf to be played and beverages to be consumed (just sprite dad, just sprite). So for now just check out The Terrier Hockey Fan Blog and Barstool Sports , and we will be back to posting regularly soon.

Bucholz,Lowrie, Beckett back...Remdawg re-signs with NESN

The Sox are getting healthy right in time for the stretch run. Clay Bucholz came off the DL today to start for the Sox. SS Jed Lowrie also came off the DL to start at shortstop and give Boston a quality backup middle infielder. Ace Josh Beckett also will come off the DL to start Friday's game in Seattle. The Sox continue to get bodies back and seem to have survived the large amount of injuries as they sit five games out of the division and three out of the wild card. They look to continue to get bodies back as Dustin Pedroia, Victor Martinez, Mike Lowell, and Jacoby Ellsbury get closer to coming back. Lowell is on a rehab assignment with Pawtucket this week while the other three work out with the team.

Beloved analyst Jerry Remy signed a multiyear extension with NESN today which locks up Remy for the next few seasons. It is good NESN didn't let him get away to free agency to create a super team of broadcasters like LeBron,DWade and Bosh.

Kovalchuk signs 17 year deal with Devils...

The year will be 2027. Hybrid cars will considered inefficient and garbage. Our HD TVs will be mocked by our kids. If you are a college student now, you will be 35. Also Ilya Kovalchuk will be finishing his deal with the New Jersey Devils that he signed today. That is ridiculous deal. Apparently, it is made mostly for cap reasons where only his average salary over the course of the contract count toward the cap so he can make 12 million next year but only have six count against the cap and the Devils will buy out his deal at the end of the deal when he is 40+ for the last five seasons. I don't care how it makes sense it is still nuts and I am bored so I am writing about it. Deal with it.

Update- NHL commish Gary Bettman rejected the deal citing that it circumvents the salary cap rules.

Parker Inks A Couple For The Class of 2014

I find it so interesting that college hockey teams can recieve verbal commitments from players as young as 15 while NCAA basketball is considering not letting players sign (or be offered scholarships) until the July before their senior year of HS. In this case, it seems to have worked in the Terriers' favor as they recently recieved verbals from two players who reportedly have long wanted to play at HAA.





Firstly, according to the ever-excellent Terrier Hockey Fan Blog, BU reportedly struck gold by recieveing a commitment from its first Class of '14er, the highly touted Anthony DeAngelo, a 15-year old right defenseman from New Jersey who currently plays with the Westchester Express. According to US Hockey Report, he is not shy to drop the gloves, and is a fantastic skater with great ice awareness and the potential to be a star powerplay QB. Next year he will team up with another future Terrier, Cason Hohmann on the roster of the USHL's Cerdar Rapids RoughRiders. He will be the youngest player in the league's history.





Several days later, another excellent pickup surfaced in the personage of our second class of '13 member, Adam Erne, according to The Boston Hockey Blog. USHR describes the rising HS sophomore left winger as a power forward type with passing and scoring ability. He also has size and what have been described as "scary" stickhandling skills. I'm looking forward to seeing both on the ice in a couple years.





Speaking of in a couple years....

Oh yes you know you like that.

And one more thing, I don't care what Corey Trivino says from Islanders camp to WTBU about Vinny Saponari mulling the USHL and the QMJHL, I saw #27 and #10 in BU Facilities shirts presumably serving some sort of debt to society on campus over a month after the hammer fell, so I'm like 99% sure at least the younger of the Georgia boys is coming back this fall. I'm just writing it down now so I have a record of saying it first that I can point to when he is welcomed back into the fold with open arms a few months down the road.

Wade says LeBron didn't quit so it must be true

Dwayne Wade didn't take long to stick up for his new superstar teammate. Wade defended the NBA's two-time reigning MVP on Thursday, telling The Associated Press that James "didn't quit" on Cleveland during the playoffs. That was the accusation made by Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert last week, not long after James went on television to reveal he was leaving Cleveland for Miami. Wade said he watched every game in Cleveland's second-round series against Boston, the team that eliminated the Heat in the opening round of the postseason. The Celtics used a similar defensive scheme against James as they did against Wade to open the playoffs, throwing a slew of challenges in the way of both.

Well what you expect Wade to say" "Hi, LeBron. Welcome to South Beach." Then throw him under the first bus that drives by(or whatever the public transportation is down there...rafts I think). Of course Wade has to say he didn't quit. He can't be honest about LeBron who clearly look disinterested at points in the series with the Celtics. When the games got tough, he got going. The kid is a punk who only enjoys the attention. He hasn't worked for a thing since fourth grade when he finally learned to read(or so we hope). Wade has to defend him to avoid conflict but there is no way he belives what he is saying. LeBron defended his poor play by saying the Cavs fans were "spoiled" by his behavior. haha yeah he is very modest. Just don't both DWade. It is a battle you can't win with the American public. The whole city of Cleveland is still backing their crazy owner and offering to pay the fine for him. You aren't going to find many supporters outside of South Beach. Even your mom will be rooting for her Delonte's Cavs. She must be especially happy today that Delonte pleaded guilty to weapons charges and will be allowed to travel to the team's away games this upcoming season despite his house arrest.

T.O. wants to join Pats?..... I'll pass

According to an interview with Terrell 'T.O.' Owens today, he would be open to playing for the Patriots in the coming season. T.O. compared himself to LeBron James and said he would take a lesser role and less money to play with the Pats in the coming season.

T.O. had me thinking until the LeBron reference. Like come on man. LeBron is villain number one in all of America besides in southern Florida. The Pats don't need you. We brought in veteran receviers (Torry Holt, David Patten) who are model citizens not trouble-makers. We brought in Randy Moss already because he was actually good. T.O. is a washed up schmuck. We don't need another bad character guy to worry about. T.O. just thinks this could get him a ring in New England. He can take his celebrations and antics to Cincinnati when half the team is serving jail time by Week 6 anyway.

I am only tempted to give this signing my blessing if T.O. will stand up on the podium after a loss and be don't be mean to Tom. "He my quarterback. He my teemate(sniffle)."

You Show Me a Good Loser and I'll Show You a Loser

As many of you probably already know, longtime Yankees owner and figurehead George Steinbrenner died early today from a massive heart attack. Steinbrenner (and later his sons) has run the Yankees since 1973, bringing a winning attitude back to the Bronx. Steinbrenner had a history of micro-managing his teams, and famously had 20 different managers in his first 23 years as owner (including hiring/firing Billy Martin 5 times).

You might think it's weird that a blog which principally focuses on Boston sports would write about anything involving the Yankees, but I can personally say I respected Steinbrenner's desire to win. Yeah, I hated how he always seemed to grab top free agents on us, but you can't fault the man for wanting to win. As a fan of baseball, I'd be incredibly psyched to have an owner like that, one who would do anything to bring a winning team to his fans.

Anyways, here's a quick video from an old 60 minutes interview which features George's opinions on winning and losing...

Ortiz wins derby...Perk undergoes successful surgery

David "Big Papi" Ortiz outblasted former Sox product Hanley Ramirez in the final round 11-5 to win the 2010 HomeRun Derby. Ortiz stayed the course in an event where the first round leader usually tires out. Ortiz hit 8,12 and 11 homeruns in each round. The first round leader Corey Hart did not hit a homerun after hitting 13 in the first round and finished last in the semi-final stage.



It was a night a Sox fan could enjoy despite Joe Morgan's pointless comments. If he said Hanley Ramirez was bigger than he looks one more time, I was going to drop kick him in the face.



Celtics center Kendrick Perkins had surgery today to repair his torn ACL. Perkins waited until now to hope to reduce his recovery time but is expected to be out 5-6 months. The Celtics have signed free agent Jermaine O'Neal to play center until Perk brings back his tenacious 'D' and scowl.



Perk needs to rest up to do that alot to LeBron next season. Turn the Big three into the Big two real quick

This is ridiculous

This is ridiculous. I saw this and was just in shock. My first thought was no way in hell is this real. The sad part is that it is. The Miami Heat and the so-called "Big Three" turned this free agent signing period into something that should be on MTV not ESPN. I will say it is probably the strongest free agent class of all time. I just don't see the need to come up through the stage like Michael Jackson on the Thriller tour. This is ridiculous. You took less money to win. Ok. You also broke numerous rules about speaking together to come together and build a dynasty. Bosh messes up at one point and says him and LeBron had been speaking for months of coming together. I can look past these as the NBA will too because of the publicity these signings are generating and the number of seats it will sell. The endorsements will also be ridiculous because the NBA is all about money. The fucking idiots dont need to come out and rap about how they just signed contracts. It is fucking retarded. Have a news conference like everyone else. I am sure Wade would have been fine with that since he is easily the most likable of the three. Bosh and LeBron love attention. LeBron had to have his one hour special where everything was handpicked by him and then during the interview talk about his childhood was so tough blah blah not given anything blah. Hey LeBron, you have never earned a thing in this league. You can't win a title on your own so you moved to South Beach to get one with Wade and Bosh. You are a choke artist and want to be able to just pass to Wade with the game on the line. I give these three clowns a month into the season before they start fighting over who has more points. Lebron and Bosh can go fuck themselves. Wade is going to wish he went to Chicago with Boozer,Rose,Deng, and Co. This is ridiculous and I can't wait for them to go 70-12 in the regular season before losing to a team with chemisty in the playoffs(read Magic/Celtics...lakers still sucks ).

This is how big thees should be announced.

NBA Free Agent Signing

Today, the Boston Celtics inked a mid level exception deal with veteran center Jermaine O'Neal, worth 5.7 million. O'Neal spent the past couple seasons down in Miami with the Heat, where he had his ups and downs. However, O'Neal is still an all star caliber big man who can play both inside and out, a huge versatility for a center. O'Neal will likely be the starter until resident big guy Kendrick Perkins is fully healthy (expected to be about February).





What, was there another free agent signing today?

Celtics re-sign Ray-Ray , considering multiple O'Neal's

According to Ray Allen's agent, he is resigning with the Boston Celtics for roughly 10 million annually that includes a player option for 2011-2012. That keeps Ray-Ray with the Green until he is 38. This along with Pierce's deal to keep him here until he is 37 keeps this aging team together that was just ten minutes away from a second title in three years.



Also, both Shaquille and Jermaine O'Neal have been reported as having an interest in coming to the Celtics to give much needed big man depth. The Celtics have very little size, especially with Perk out for the next six months. Luke Harangody and Big Baby are not the answers. The team needs to grab one of these aging big men to help start until Perk is back when they could come off the bench for some solid minutes.

I am Back

So it has been awhile since I wrote some shit, so I rather just post this sick video that gives me chills when I watch it.

Thinking Hockey in July

BU standout defenseman and now future Boston Bruin Dave Warsofsky stopped by NESN recently to talk about his chance to fulfill two dreams - play for BU, and play for the Bruins...


Hockeysfuture.com profiled the San Jose Sharks 2010 draft picks, and had this to say about first rounder (and incoming BU freshman) Charlie Coyle (full link here

"Charlie Coyle, RW - South Shore Kings (EJHL)
1st Round, 28th Overall
6'2, 200lbs

San Jose was looking to add size on the wing, and they weren't picky about where it came from.

Coyle is a solidly-built center/right-wing from the Eastern Junior Hockey League. With the South Shore Kings, he posted 21 goals, 42 assists, and 60 penalty minutes in 42 games. For his efforts, the 18-year-old was named Rookie of the Year, as well as the recipient of the John Carlton outstanding student-athlete award.

With good up-and-down speed, aggressiveness, and soft hands, Coyle will be given time to develop into a power-forward role. Following in the footsteps of his cousin and former NHLer Tony Amonte, Coyle is slated to attend Boston University next year.

While strong on his skates, Coyle will work on his quickness and acceleration, which could determine if he is a future offensive contributor or a checking forward."

With the fall semester on the radar, that means it's time to start thinking about BU hockey 24/7. In the coming weeks, I hope to have a mock up of potential lines (so take note, Parker). It'll probably be way off knowing Parker but whatever I'm doing it and sticking by it. So you have that to look forward to, which is nice...