Bob Lobel: A Massive Sports Weekend that Can Only Happen in Boston

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

Just wondering if the Red Sox are paying attention to the success of the Bruins since the firing of head coach Claude Julian. 

Not saying anything, just wondering. Probably not, but maybe. 

It's been pretty hard to ignore, actually.

That brings us to this weekend, when there is an amazing coming together of everyone in just such a short period of time. All here in Boston, and all in a span of days. The Red Sox on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, especially Monday. The Bruins on Monday night at the TD Garden. The Celtics open the playoffs at home at the Garden on Sunday, and the backdrop of this whole excess of playoff sports and the Patriots Day game is the 121st running of the Boston Marathon. 

This might be labeled overkill, but it is a rare thing indeed. 

Blog: Former BU Star Charlie McAvoy Will Take the Bruins By Storm

By Nick Beaudoin (@beaudoin91_)

Charlie McAvoy is the future of the Boston Bruins franchise.

He is a generational talent, and the Bruins may have made one of the greatest picks in the team’s 93-year history when they selected McAvoy 14th overall in last year’s draft. The 6 foot, 208-pound offensive defenseman has played at the highest ranks of American hockey his entire life. McAvoy is product of the NTDP (National Team Development Program) in Ann Arbor, Michigan and, most recently, the storied hockey program at Boston University.

Bob Lobel: Time to Relegate the Bruins

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

Now, this about your Boston Bruins.

If they were in the English Premier League, they wouldn’t be around long. It's not easy to miss the playoffs three years in a row in the National Hockey League. Heck, it's not easy missing the playoffs at all in the National Hockey League.

Bob Lobel: Those Sports Stories That Never Die

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

Sometimes you just sit in front of this computer and nothing comes out. 

Empty. 

I plead guilty. 

Bob Lobel: The Phony GMs of Sports Talk Radio

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

The last thing I want to do is offend anyone but, sometimes, it can't be helped.  

With that said, let me launch into the phenomenon of talk show calls offering trades to help the local club, no matter the sport. Why does this happen? Maybe they think one of the GMs might be listening, and the trade sounds so brilliant that the caller will be hired to come to work for said team that very day.

Plus, they'll be asked to ride in the next parade for the team that they, and they alone, fixed. 

Bob Lobel: The Dark Matter of Boston Sports

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

One of the great mysteries of the universe is the dark matter that seems to hold all things together. 

Here on this part of the planet we are very unaccustomed to dark matter, which is now surrounding our boys in Boston uniforms. I mean really. It's crazy how the Bruins and Celtics seem to have mirrored each other in their front office building plan. Seems like their theory has been taken from the Red Sox handbook.

Chapter one: Throw money at the problem. 

Bob Lobel: An Ode to Bruins Fans

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

They are the best of fans and they are the worst of fans. 

Trying to compare the fan bases of our professional sports teams is not easy. It's like trying to explain why one pizza is better than another.  Clearly, any team that is winning attracts the die hards, the “I told you so” group, the “remember whens”, the singled out heroes, the coach that ownership knew would win, and the money spent by that owner. Blah, blah, blah. 

You know the obvious signs and sayings. It is, of course, the opposite when teams underachieve. That is fan speak for “they  suck." For some reason, the Bruins usually can wear both the "team to beat” hat and the “they suck” hat.

When that change occurs, it goes from "we" and "us," to "them" and "they." 

Bob Lobel: The Magic of Spring in Boston

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

There is no doubt that April around here has added significance. Not just that the end of this freaking winter is here, but also there is the opportunity to play golf without  having  to get on a flight to wherever. 

April is, of course, marathon month. The few  weeks leading up to this one will be an emotional ride of sadness, heroes, victims, joy and general awareness that, in this day and age, no person or place is exempt from terror and the fear it brings.   

Yes, the Red Sox are there, though many of you would not recognize them if you passed them walking down Newbury Street without their uniforms. This is that kind of year. Anything is possible, but this could be a very, very good team. 

Bob Lobel: Your Fantasy Sports Dinner

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

You don’t have to pay the bill or provide the tip. 

You just have to pick five people, give or take one or two, to meet for dinner and drinks. This would be a once in a life time experience. 

It's probably easier to pick five people you wouldn’t go out with than the five you would. I'll start with Red Auerbach as the guy at the head of the table, and then ask John Calipari to join us some other night. 

Bob Lobel: The Bruins and Celtics Make their Spring Pushes

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

Usually at this very time of the year, which happens to be coyote mating season (yet another way wild beasts have primal connections with humans), the sports universe is getting edgy. 

Bruins fans sense the grim prospect of staying up while it's obvious their team is down. Maybe the warriors with the black and gold B have tuned Claude Julien out. By the way, do you see a black and gold B, or do some see gold and white? Whatever! 

How are the Bruins and Celtics in the Same Boat?

The absence of David Krejci likely won't help the Bruins' 23rd ranked offense or 22nd ranked power play, but the recent addition of diminutive Isaiah Thomas has helped the Celtics close out a pair of key games late.

 By Andy Dougherty (@AndyDougherty10)

Before the start of the NHL and NBA seasons, experts predicted the Boston Bruins to be championship contenders and the Boston Celtics to be a doormat. About 70% of the way through, their seasons have played out more similarly than anyone expected.

The Bruins are clinging to the final Eastern Conference wild card spot while the Celtics find themselves just percentage points behind the Pacers in what is practically a tie for the final playoff spot in their Eastern Conference. Additionally, the Celtics actually have more room to climb the standings than the Bruins. They are just 1.5 games behind the 7th-seeded Miami Heat, while the Bruins are 7 points (or the equivalent of 3.5 games) behind the next highest team in the standings, the Washington Capitals.

How did this happen?

Bob Lobel: Little Havana in Fenway

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

How can we make a hockey fan out of John Henry?  

Why does he have to limit his time to baseball and futbol? And, of course, there is the paper. Does he know all about these complicated organizations?  Everything? How is that possible? Does money make you smart?  

Doesn’t smart make you money? One guess why I want him to buy the local hockey team. No, it's not signing Cuban players to skate, but the way they are setting up the Red Sox, with cash, cash and more cash being thrown toward Havana, John Henry is making  a commitment. 

Bob Lobel: My Favorite Boston Sports Memories

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

No denying that one of the most beneficial by-products of sports competition is the memory the game, team or moment generates. 

It's one of those things that place you somewhere in space that the memory transports you to. Like, I know where I was the moment Fisk hit his home run off the pole in left. There are hundreds of these moments that keep calling to us from a less complicated and seemingly more pleasant past. 

Here's the big bang for our (New England, Boston, etc) buck… Really now, how many other cities have franchises that crank out memories faster and better than this one? Really! Trying to think, and in doing so, came to the conclusion that we just own it. The best moments, the best teams, the best drama, the best clutch, the best parades, the most invested fans holding all those memories. 

Boston Strong didn’t just show up on our doorstep. Boston Strong should add the words, “get over it." 

Bob Lobel: Post-Parade Depression in New England

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

This is no laughing matter. 

Record snowfalls are the price we are supposed to pay for one more Super Bowl title? I'm not sure I want to make that deal.

I would have prior to title number four, but this pay back wasn’t spelled out. I know Boston Strong is the battle cry, but now I just cry. 

Bob Lobel: Boston's Naughty and Nice Trades

 By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

Now that Rajon Rondo is gone, I must tell you I have no clue as to who is currently wearing a Celtics uniform. 

I should be horribly embarrassed, but I am not. I could be way off base, but I don’t think I'm alone. Funny how some players you get attached to and like immediately, and then there is a guy like Rondo. It's weird how that happens, but it does. 

In this season of giving, let's consider the Rondo deal as a gift. Kinda like when Theo went to the Cubs, which now prompts me to say the deal he did for Lester will blow up in his face. It will not be the gift he thought it was. Kinda like Eric Gagne. 

One of the worst trades in recent memory pulled off by the Sox, and it was engineered by Theo. 

Bob Lobel: Boston's Championship Family

From our family to yours, happy holidays!

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

This is our small, but much envied family.

Everyone wants us to come live with them, not for a holiday, but forever.  They say they will build a special house for us, something like a museum.  

As a season greeting, the four of us want you to know we love our home just the way it is, and just where it is. We love it here, and from what we can tell, you love us back. 

One thing to keep in mind this holiday season is just how we got here. We were not delivered by a big guy in a red suit. We all arrived at different times in different ways, but once we met, it was love at first sight. 

Of course, we have baggage. All families do! 

Bob Lobel: The Revs and the Pain of Losing "The Big One"

 By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

My eyes were still red and swollen when I looked in the mirror this morning. 

Two long nights of crying from something only a sports fan can feel: The big one! The big game! The one and only, win or lose, world championship game. The 7th game of the World Series, Stanley Cup or NBA finals! The Super Bowl!  

One game to take it all, or take the fall! 

The Worst Boston Sports Years Ever: Where Does 2014 Rank?

Unlike recent years, 2014 has not been kind to Boston sports fans. Where does it rank among the worst sports years in the city's history?

By Adam Lowenstein (@StatsAdam)

Since we turned the page to the most recent millennium, Boston’s four major professional sports teams have tasted a ton of success, but 2014 has been a different story thus far.

With this season’s version of the Red Sox all but eliminated from the postseason, we are now on pace for one of the five worst years in Boston sports history. Even with the Bruins’ terrific 2013-14 regular season, the overwhelmingly subpar seasons from the Celtics and Red Sox have brought the group record down to historic lows.

Bob Lobel: And You Can Quote Me On That

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

“Too many men on the ice” is one of those abbreviated descriptions of moments we will not easily forget. When anyone says it, people just know its code for a Stanley Cup Game 7 against Montreal. Don Cherry was the coach, but who was responsible for the gaffe that cost the Bruins dearly? Not many want to take credit, but the one that keeps coming up is Mike Milbury.

I can’t confirm or deny the veracity of that but I do know Milbury, in a totally separate context, was one of the best quote machines ever. Like his coach, Don Cherry, and his general manager. Harry Sinden, you can imagine how much fun you could have covering these guys. One cardinal rule when you were in their presence was to never turn you camera or microphone off. The memory of where this took place is a little sketchy but it was a Stanley Cup Playoff game and I’m pretty sure it was Pittsburgh. The game ends and the Bruins had lost.

Bob Lobel: Dealing With Sports Disappointments

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

Folks that follow professional sports teams and identify their lives as good or bad depending on the success of those teams need therapy in a big way. 

The success or failure of these teams is too precocious to attach any real significance to their fate. I suppose in shrink speak this might be called  “insecurity attachment.” Like, we need some medical marijuana to pull us out of a losing streak, or at least take our mind and put it somewhere else. 

This is not a personal recommendation.