Red Sox honor the troops and veterans on Memorial Day by laying down to the White Sox

Boston (30-24) came home last night for the start of a homestand against the Chicago White Sox (25-31) at Fenway Park and they lost again, 7-3.

A two-game losing streak is hardly news in baseball, the streakiest of all sports, but more puzzling was Jon Lester's latest struggles. Lester (7-2) had an seven-game win streak snapped but that was deceiving since he hadn't pitched well in his last few starts but still picked up wins.

Last night, he threw a season-high 127 pitches but only went 5.2 innings, allowing seven earned runs on eight hits with four walks and four strikeouts.

The White Sox were bolstered by Jake Peavy (2-0) who many moons and shoulder surgeries ago used to be one of baseball's best pitchers. The hard drinking, dippin' good old boy went seven innings, allowing three earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts.

Chicago loaded the bases in the first inning and A.J. Pierzynski (2 hits) came through with a two-run single up the middle.

Boston got a run back in the first as Adrian Gonzalez (2 hits) crushed his tenth homer of the season, a solo shot into the Red Sox bullpen.

Providence, RI native Paul Konerko (2 hits) smacked a solo homer over the Monster in the third for a 3-1 White Sox lead.

Dustin Pedroia tied it up in the third with a two-run single of his own.

That's as close as the Red Sox would get through as Alexei Ramirez (2 hits) knocked Lester out of the game with a bloop two-run double in the sixth. The next batter, Carlos Quentin, added a two-run single off Dan Wheeler and that was it.

Alfredo Aceves goes for his third straight solid start tonight as he takes on Phil Humber.

Hell yes! Woooooo! Bruins reach their first Stanley Cup finals since 1990

I never played a day of organized hockey in my life so I'm not going to sit here and claim that the Boston Bruins have been my everything since I strapped on a pair of skates.

However, I will say that as I've gotten older and the three other Boston professional sports teams have all won championships in the last decade, the Bruins have become the last place for a real fan existence that you can find in this town. Up until now, the B's haven't been trendy, they always let their fans down and they are one of the most frustrating franchises in sports.

Well no more complaining from me or other true Bruins fans as they won the Eastern Conference finals last night by virtue of a scintillating 1-0 Game 7 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden.

Boston is back in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1990 and they'll get it started on Wednesday in Vancouver against the Canucks.

It's only fitting that their epic series was capped off with one of their greatest wins in franchise history. Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas made 24 saves for his second shutout of the series and Nathan Horton had the game-winner at 12:27 of the third period (his eighth of the playoffs) to send the Garden into delirium.

People hate on soccer when it's 0-0 but it's hard to picture a hockey game being much more exciting even though both teams failed to score a goal for over 52 minutes of regulation. Unlike the NBA where the refs have to be front and center all the time, the NHL refs assigned to the game last night stayed out of the way and didn't call a single penalty (first time that's happened in 20 years)!

When Milan Lucic was stuffed on a breakaway on the first period, it was clear that Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson (37 saves) was sharp and it would probably be a very low scoring game.

Kudos to Tampa Bay for playing their asses off. Star Steven Stamkos took a Johnny Boychuk slap shot right off his nose in the second period and he only missed a few minutes of action. His face was disgusting but I have a new found respect for him since he sucked it up and got right back out there.

Andrew Ference started the goal with a long breakout pass to David Krejci. Dangerous David put a perfect backhand pass right between Roloson, a pair of Tampa Bay defensemen and on Horton's stick. All he had to do was redirect it in.

The Bruins will be heavy underdogs against the Canucks, who rolled through the Western Conference, but they wouldn't want it any other way. It's been clear in the postseason that this is a different Bruins team. They're not the choke artists of the past as they proved again and again (beating Montreal in a Game 7 overtime, sweeping the Flyers, beating Tampa Bay in another Game 7).

I'm not making any predictions but I think it's going to be a really good series. You have to remember that Vancouver has never won a Stanley Cup in their 40 years of existence (a longer drought than the B's by a year) so it's not like Boston's facing Detroit or something. The Bruins have Thomas, Zdeno Chara and a team full of guys that know their roles and don't get rattled.

Hockey in June! Pinch me.

Call me a jerk but I honestly hope Dice-K and Lackey never return

When did the 2011 Boston Red Sox become such a wagon?

Holy shit, they've won 12 out of their last 14 games after a tidy 6-3 win over the Detroit Tigers last night at Comerica Park.

As I said yesterday about Alfredo Aceves, spot starter Tim Wakefield (2-1) is doing an excellent job and at this point, I hope John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka never return. It's much more satisfying to watch two guys with low expectations succeed as opposed to overpaid bums that were never good fits here anyways.

The Red Sox (29-22) are also alone in the American League East after the Yankees lost last night in Seattle. The Tigers (25-25) haven't shown much of a pulse yet against Boston this season, falling to 0-4.

Wakefield went seven innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Detroit's Rick Porcello (4-3) only lasted three innings as he allowed six earned runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, stolen base) gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the first as he scored on wild pitch by Porcello.

Miguel Cabrera tied it up in the first with an RBI single which scored Austin Jackson. The Tigers took their only lead of the game in the second when Jhonny Peralta hit a bomb (solo) off Wakefield.

Any thoughts of a win for the miserable people in Detroit was quickly extinguished as the Red Sox hung five runs on Porcello in the third. Ellsbury hit a solo homer (his sixth), Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run double and Carl Crawford hit a two-run homer (his fourth of the season).

Daniel Bard threw a scoreless 1-2-3 eighth on six pitches but Peralta hit an RBI double off Jonathan Papelbon (non-save situation) in the ninth but who cares?

Clay Buchholz takes the mound tonight for Boston against Detroit rookie lefthander Andy Oliver (who was called up when Phil Coke rolled his ankle the other night). Good luck to you guy, Red Sox are mashing right now.

Alfredo Aceves is better than John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka, true story my friends

Baseball is a funny game. When you're a big market team like the Boston Red Sox you can afford terrible hiccups in free agency like John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka and then you luck out with a scrap heap pickup like Alfredo Aceves.

I'm not exactly sure about his medical history, I assume the New York Yankees let him go because he had an arm issue or something but whatever the reason, I'm psyched that he's crossed over to their bitter rivals.

Yesterday afternoon, he submitted his second good start in a row after being added to the rotation (for the injured Lackey and Dice-K). The Red Sox (28-22) won their 11th game out of their last 13 and it was another laugher, 14-1 in the series opener at Detroit's (25-24) Comerica Park.

Aceves (2-0) went six innings, allowing five hits, one earned run with two walks and six strikeouts in a game that was called off after 7.5 innings because of rain.

Max Scherzer (6-2) entered as one of the AL's top pitchers so far this season but he left with a bruised ego as the Red Sox put up 14+ runs in the second straight game for the first time since 1998. Scherzer lasted only two innings, allowing seven hits, seven earned runs with two walks and a strikeout.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 runs, 2 walks) had the most memorable hit, a three-run homer (his fifth bomb of the season). Moved up to the No. 6 spot, Carl Crawford continued to erase his terrible start. He went 4 for 5 with two triples, three RBIs and two runs.

Recent callups Josh Reddick (3 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) and Drew Sutton (2 hits, 2 RBIs, 2 runs) also had big days that no doubt they'll be telling their grandkids or bums at the homeless shelter about in a few years.

Tim Wakefield (Boston's other substitute in the rotation) starts tonight against Tigers youngster Rick Porcello.

Roger Goodell Says Season Ticket Holders Want an 18 game Regular Season. Ummmmm WHAT?

*From Profootballtalk.com

Although expanding the regular season to 18 games has faded into the background as NFL owners and players have found other issues to fight about, Commissioner Roger Goodell has confirmed that he still thinks that’s the direction the NFL should go in. And Goodell says season-ticket holders agree with him.

“We do think it is attractive to season-ticket holders,” Goodell said on a conference call with Titans season-ticket holders. “I hear that all of the time from our season-ticket holders. We have not abandoned our position on that. We do think it is the right thing for the game. It improves the quality of what we do, and it improves the value for you as season-ticket holders. . . . We do think it is a benefit for everybody, but we want to do it the right way, and we want to do it responsibly. That includes the players’ perspective.’’

The players’ perspective is already clear: They don’t want an 18-game regular season. And polls have shown that most fans don't want an 18-game regular season.

Here's a serious question: Is Roger Goodell the most clueless person on the planet, or does he really think that season ticket holders WANT to pay for two extra games? The cost of going to an NFL game has skyrocketed in the last decade with the most egregious offense being when the Patriots jacked prices up by 1/3 after losing in the Super Bowl that will not be named.

Never mind the retarded logic that Goodell is using to expand the season. In the last few seasons, the NFL has cracked down on concussions, but Goodell clearly can't make the connection between more games and more injuries. Does he really want to protect the players, or make some extra money?

All I ask from Goodell is to not come across like he has the fans best interest in mind. This is the same guy who used the tornadoes in Alabama to deflect the "we want football" chants at the NFL Draft last month. Just the greediest, most selfish guy on the planet.

There is literally NOTHING wrong with the NFL. 16 games is perfect, not to mention the two bullshit preseason games that the teams charge full price for. Not to mention the fact that most teams require all money up front, even though the paying customers don't even know whether or not there will be football. Adding two extra games requires the fans to not only fork over hundreds of additional dollars before the season not to mention 50 dollars to park, hundreds of dollars in food and beer, and gas to get to the game.

It is this disconnect with the common fan that makes Gillette Stadium a fucking wine and cheese party half the time, the same disconnect that makes me walk by (and throw up in) a Victoria's Secret on the way into the stadium.

Stop speaking for us Roger. No one cares about the lockout until training camp starts. So keep dragging your feet and acting as our voice because you're not. No one wants to PAY MORE to attend football games, so you better hope that longtime season ticket holders give up their seats for corporate dickheads who wear boat shoes to Pats games and throw the football like girls in the parking lot before the game. Fans want football period. Not more football. And they certainly don't want to spend more money while the owners make record profits. Deuche.

Can I please trademark "It's never easy with the Boston Bruins"?

Before the Eastern Conference finals started between the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning a few weeks back, I felt that either way the series was going the distance (seven games).

Still I take no joy in knowing that I was right since the B's should have ended this series already. Tampa Bay won 5-4 at the St. Pete Times Forum last night to tie it up at 3 and send the teams back to the TD Garden tomorrow night for Game 7 and a shot in the Stanley Cup finals against the Vancouver Canucks (starting next Wednesday).

Last night's outcome couldn't be more simply defined: Tampa Bay's power play was 3 of 4 while Boston was 1 of 5. The gamesmanship from Lightning head coach Guy Boucher before Game 6 is irrelevant since the B's had more opportunities and also earned the first three power plays of the game so end of discussion.

I would love to dump on the Bruins for losing since it might make me feel temporarily better but they don't deserve it. They actually showed a ton of heart (rare for them) as they battled back from a 5-3 deficit in the third period and essentially ran out of time as Tampa Bay switched roles with Boston and hung on for dear life.

The loss wasted a hat trick by David Krejci along with a big boy game by his linemates Milan Lucic (1 goal, 1 assist) and Nathan Horton (2 assists). Unfortunately, the Lightning received similar primetime performances from Martin St. Louis (2 goals, 1 assist), Steven Stamkos (1 goal, 2 assists) and Vincent Lecavalier (2 assists).

Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas (21 saves) continued his trick or treat series with another rough outing. Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson (16 saves) didn't do much and looked extremely shaky as well but hey, he came out on top.

Besides the power play struggles for Boston, which everyone in New England could point out (including my dog and cat at this point), the much more unreported nightmare has been the Bruins' propensity to give up both early and late goals in periods. Two times last night, Tampa Bay scored with 36 seconds or less into a frame. That's simply unacceptable at any time, especially now with so much at stake.

Teddy Purcell made it 1-0 Tampa Bay 36 seconds into Game 6, scoring his fifth of the playoffs assisted by Lecavalier. Before Bruins fans could freak out too much, Lucic had scored his third of the playoffs (at 7:09 from Horton and Johnny Boychuk) and Krejci potted his eighth of the playoffs (at 16:30 off a nice feed from Daniel Paille of all people).

All the effort and hard work in the first was quickly wiped out in the second as the Lightning got a pair of power play goals. St. Louis tied it up at 7:55 (from Lecavalier and Stamkos) and Purcell scored his second at 13:35 (from Steve Downie and Brett Clark).

Boston always seems to play better from behind so a one-goal deficit wasn't the end of the world, particularly since they were on the road (where they're more mentally tough for some unknown reason).

Stamkos scored (his sixth of the postseason, from Eric Brewer and St. Louis) another power play goal, 34 seconds into the third and that seemed like game over.

Krejci wouldn't let the B's go down so quietly as he cut it to 4-3 at 9:46 on the power play (!). Horton and Tomas Kaberle had the assists.

Before you could even get too excited though, Boston made sure to punch you in the gut one more time as St. Louis scored the game-winner 29 seconds later. Downie and Stamkos assisted on a play that was a complete fail by so many Bruins. Boychuk pinched in offensive zone and got caught up ice, Thomas over committed and came out too far and Ference didn't cut off the cross ice feed. Yuck.

Boucher was still in a gift giving mood and he let Krejci get his hat trick (Boston's first in the playoffs since Cam Neely in 1991) at 13:28 from Lucic and Kaberle. However, the Bruins couldn't find the tying goal and are forced to play one more deciding game.

I don't care if you have tickets to Game 7, no sane Bruins fan (an oxymoron) wanted it to happen. Boston survived Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens in the first round but in the last three seasons they've departed the playoffs with brutal Game 7 losses. The last two were particularly unforgivable since they were on home ice.

Tomorrow night will answer many questions regarding head coach Claude Julien's legacy along with the leaders of the team: Thomas, Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron to name a few. If the Bruins lose, it's time to shake things up since this group will have maxed out and they won't go any further with a coach as stubborn and simple-minded as Julien.

Red Sox take a dump on the Cleveland Indians, leave town with a series win

I was all set to watch the series finale yesterday afternoon between the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. However, when I flipped the game on the radio (while I was on the computer), I listened in amazement as they hung seven on Indians (30-16) starter Mitch Talbot in the first inning, en route to a 14-2 ass kicking.

Thanks to the blowout, I felt comfortable going to the gym and catching bits and pieces of the game when I could. The Red Sox (27-22) won the series and their 10th game out of their last 12 thanks to a season-high 20 hit attack including four homers and six doubles.

Jon Lester (7-1) was the lucky recipient of the ridiculous output from his offense. Lester threw six scoreless innings, allowing three hits with a walk and seven strikeouts. After a couple subpar outings in a row, it was nice to see him be lights out once again.

Talbot (1-1) deserves some sympathy since he was making his first start off the DL, against a red-hot team, but thems the breaks sometimes. In three innings, he allowed 12 hits, eight earned runs with two walks and a strikeout.

Carl Crawford led the Red Sox, going 4 for 4 in his best game so far in an underwhelming season in Boston. He had a homer, two doubles, three runs and two RBIs. Jacoby Ellsbury (2 walks) and Drew Sutton (2 runs) had three hits while Dustin Pedroia (3 RBIs), Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz, Jarrod Saltalamacchia (3 RBIs) and Mike Cameron all had two hits.

Pedroia, Ortiz and Saltalamacchia had the other homers in this joke of a game.

Boston travels to Detroit for a four-game series beginning with an afternoon game today. Alfredo Aceves takes on Max Scherzer.

Not This Shit Again

Once again, the Bruins displayed a half-assed effort and Tampa Bay finally got their power play going last night, winning 5-4 and tying the series 3-3. Game 7 is tomorrow night in Boston.

In what is quickly becoming a theme this series, the Bruins once again allowed a goal in the opening minute of the first period. After David Krejci got kicked out of the faceoff circle, Teddy Purcell took the puck off the faceoff and fired a strike past Tim Thomas to take an early lead. Purcell shifted to his left after Chris Kelly replaced Krejci in the faceoff dot and made a great adjustment along with Vinny Lecavalier

The Bruins responded with goals from Milan Lucic and David Krejci. Both shots were wristers that beat Roloson top shelf glove side. The Bruins dominated the first period after getting scored on early and it looked like it was going to be another long night for Roloson.

Unfortunately for the Bruins, Game 6 was all about the power play. Taking advantage of a Denis Seidenberg cross check and a shitty interference call on Rich Peverley, the Lightning were finally able to capitalize on the man advantage.

While Tampa could lay claim to the best PP in the NHL playoffs, the Bruins PK unit bottled them up in the first five games of the series, as Tampa was just 2 for 18 with the extra man. All of that changed last night.

Martin St. Louis and Teddy Purcell each scored in the 2nd on the aforementioned power plays and just like that, Tampa was up 3-2 after 2 periods.

It obviously wouldn't be a Bruins game without allowing another early period goal, and that is exactly what happened, when Steven Stamkos scored on the PP just 34 seconds into the third. The Lightning had a man up because of a cross check penalty on Andrew Ference at the end of the third. More on this shitty call later on. This game seemed to be over after the Stamkos goal but the Bruins answered with a PP goal of their own, as Krejci scored his second of the night.

The celebration didn't last long, thanks to another St. Louis goal just 30 second later. Krejci scored once more to cut the lead to one with a bit more than six minutes left. His hat trick was wasted as the Bruins could not tie the game, even as their frantic effort produced several scoring chances. Time ran out and Game 7 was guaranteed.

*Game Notes*

*The Bruins power play sucks balls. Yes, Krejci scored a PP goal in the third but the Bruins had more than a few chances to make Tampa pay for their penalties. Julien had Chara down low for the first two PP attempts and they were actually able to keep the puck in the Tampa zone. However on their third attempt, Chara was back on the blue line and the Bruins mounted virtually no offense. Not only does their decision making suck, but their breakout is just brutal. Kaberle is clearly not the man for the job, as the Tampa forecheck imposed their will on the Bruins PP.

*Tampa had no problem on the power play last night. Probably because they have skilled players who have the ability to gain entry in the zone. On most occasions, Stamkos was the QB of the power play, taking the puck from his own end attacking the Bruins' blue line with skill and speed, something that Kaberle lacks. If you need a guy to dump it in the corner though, Kaberle's your man.

*Would this series still be going on if we were a bit better on the PP? I don't think so. If the Bruins are lucky enough to win the Cup with this awful PP, it would be the equivalent of Trent Dilfer winning a Super Bowl despite being the most average QB ever.

*I am back to despising Michael Ryder. As an alleged "sniper", he should put the puck on net more. But he would much rather try to dangle through the entire defense and see what happens. He had only one shot on net. There were three or four times last night when Ryder tried to make it a one man show, rather than just throw a puck on net and hope for a rebound. The worst occasion was late in the third when he held onto the puck and took it around the net, only to run into Kaberle and lose control of the puck. I'm literally running out of ways to bash Kaberle. He actually got more ice time in Game 6, skating for just under 20 minutes just one game after only skating 13. I expect less minutes for him in Game 7, especially on the PP, but you know how much Claude loves sticking to his guns.

*Speaking of sticking to your guys, it's time for Mark Recchi to start getting Shawn Thornton minutes. He is simply giving the Bruins nothing at all offensively, failing to record a point thus far in this series. In his 15 minutes of ice time (about 5 minutes too much) Recchi failed to put a shot on net. Not exactly the kind of production you want from a top 6 forward. I'd like to see Seguin on this line in game 7 but Julien will undoubtedly stay the course.

*Both Tampa Bay and Boston's best players showed up last night. Lucic, Krejci, and Horton combined for 7 points and Stamkos, Lecavalier, and St Louis combined for 8. Both top lines will have to play like that in Game 7 to give their team a shot.

*Downie is such a homo. Did anyone else see the kiss face he gave to Ference? If this was the regular season, Downie would still be lying on the ice right now. Just total garbage.

*Is the Versus color commentator on the Tampa payroll? I am used to biased commentary from Jack Edwards but not from a national broadcast. Listen Eddie, I know the Bruins sucked last night, I have eyes. I don't need you telling me what they "should have done". Just shut up, call the game and leave the talking to Doc.

*I don't normally blame refs but last night was absurd. As Julien alluded to postgame, Guy Boucher asked a "particular" ref to be more balanced, and we saw that last night. The Peverley and Ference penalties were just bullshit, no other way to put it. Hats off to Tampa for taking advantage, but those were calls that shouldn't have been called in the first place.

*One more game. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared shitless.

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Red Sox finally top the world beating Indians

After four tries in 2011, the Boston Red Sox (26-22) finally beat the Cleveland Indians (30-16) 4-2 last night at Progressive Field.

Josh Beckett (4-1) picked up his first regular season win in Cleveland (who could ever forget his legendary start there in the 2007 playoffs?) after 6.2 innings. He allowed five hits, one earned run with three walks and six strikeouts.

Fausto Carmona (3-5) went eight innings for the Indians but he allowed five hits, four earned runs with one walk and seven strikeouts.

The unlikeliest of heroes stepped up at the plate for Boston as Jason Varitek hit a two-run homer, his first in almost a year (May 30, 2010).

Jonathan Papelbon gave up a solo homer to Travis Buck in the ninth but recovered to get his ninth save of the season.

Some Amish guy named Ezequiel Carrera gave Cleveland a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the second which scored Buck.

Jed Lowrie tied it up in the third with a sacrifice fly which drove in Carl Crawford. The Red Sox went ahead for good later in the frame on Adrian Gonzalez's RBI double (scoring Jacoby Ellsbury).

Varitek's two-run bomb in the seventh plated David Ortiz.

Jon Lester takes on Mitch Talbot this afternoon in the series finale.