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." 

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: Jerry Remy Impresses on Opening Day

By Bob Lobel (@boblobel)

We know how the Red Sox did in game number one, but a more difficult measurement is the Jerry Remy factor. 

On a scale of one to 10, how do you think it was? I’m putting him down for a solid seven, and the reason it wasn’t higher was the opening of the game, when he was on camera in the most intimate, for lack of a better word, setting. 

A Tale of Two Cities: Championship Nights in Miami and Boston

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

I normally try to write in a way the average sports fan can relate to, but I'm pretty much gonna throw that out the window here: I just spent the last two nights at a Stanley Cup game in Boston and at Game 7 of the NBA Finals in Miami.

Before you dismiss this as a blog from a pompous jerk bragging about an awesome experience, give me the benefit of the doubt, and at least get these three points out of this.

1. Boston is a great sports town (Something you already knew).
2 South Florida is a weird freakin' place (Something you may have known).
3. My dad is awesomely crazy (Something you surely know if you've ever met the man).

Let's start with that last one, as I explain my recent championship night experience.

I called my dad on Father's Day, and the first thing he said to me was "Joe, it's Father's Day, but I've got a present for you."

Lord Stanley's Cup: Game 1 Recap

Hockey, I guess.

(Editor's Note: We finally have hockey coverage. Yes, we're about six months late, but it's better late than never. Our NHL commentator is Phil Rizzuto (not the dead Yankee shortstop), and he'll be stopping in throughout the Stanley Cup Finals to drop knowledge that neither Joe nor I are intellectually or creatively capable of. -JC)

By Phil Rizzuto

Five takeaways from Game of the Stanley Cup Finals, a 4-3, triple OT win for the Chicago Blackhawks:

1. The Bruins had the edge on special teams

One of the biggest talking points going into this year’s Cup Finals was which team could produce more on the power play, or, in other words, which team’s power played was going to suck less than the other (both are under 17 percent for the playoffs and finished in the bottom third of the league for PPGs in the regular season). For one game anyways, that team was the Boston Bruins, who produced a power-play goal in the third period and came within a whisker of the game winner in the first overtime. The Blackhawks, meanwhile, looked stagnant and disorganized on their 5-on-3 opportunity in the second period, not registering a shot despite a ridiculously long (1:23) two-man advantage.

Bob Lobel: Ever Seen a Penguin Get Shocked? They Roll Over and Play Dead

By Bob Lobel

There may be more drama about the guilt or innocence of Whitey Bulger than the Pittsburgh Pretenders can generate against the Bruins in the NHL's Eastern Conference Finals.

I mean, seriously, after last night's game two beat down the Bruins put on Pittsburgh, they should have done the traditional series-ending handshake and just gotten it over with.

Catching Up with Bob Lobel: Can the Bruins Win the Cup?

Legendary sportscaster Bob Lobel joins host Joe Parello to discuss the Bruins' Stanley Cup chances, the curious cases of Tyler Seguin and Jaromir Jagr, and the Red Sox heading into a holiday weekend home stand. All that, and more, on this week's Catching Up with Bob Lobel podcast.

Listen to internet radio with Real Fans Sports Radio on BlogTalkRadio

Quick Hits: Lobel on Bruins-NYR Game Three

By Bob Lobel

The Rangers should be embarrassed. Their fans should feel betrayed.

As for the Bruins, Seguin seemed more aggressive and Jagr continued to be about Jagr. Rask probably didn't need a shower and Torts could been on the endangered species list.

Bob Lobel: Still Room on the Bruins Bandwagon

By Bob Lobel

The bandwagon is starting to move at full speed, and it's hard not to be on it after last Monday's miracle.

Now, we have two straight against the Rangers, the emergence of Torey Krug, Dougie Hamilton and Johnny Boychuck, but not everybody can be a hero. With that in mind, I would like to nominate two guys that have been less than heroic for the otherwise bandwagon-worthy B's.

Bob Lobel: A Historic Night at the TD Garden

By Bob Lobel

When I first started writing this, I vowed to write about anything but the Red Sox.

I thought that would be tough… Not true.

Historic is the only way to describe what happened at the TD Garden last night. Historic.

Let's take it from the Toronto fans' perspective, standing in a crowd of thousands of fellow fans with a three-goal lead in that third period. No team had ever lost a game seven with a lead like that.

But you, unfortunate Toronto fan, are about to join thousands of your fellow fans in watching your team become the first.

That must really suck.

SuiteSports on the Radio: Catching Up With Bob Lobel- May 2nd, 2013

Join legendary Boston sportscaster Bob Lobel and host Joe Parello as they discuss the biggest sports stories of the day, and look back on some of the greatest moments in New England sports history.

Today, Lobel talks a huge day in Boston sports that saw the Celtics stave off elimination, the Red Sox bounce back and the Bruins start the playoffs off in dominant fashion.

Can the Celtics become the first NBA team to ever come back from down 3-0? Where does Paul Pierce rank among the all-time great Celtics? Are the Bruins a legit Stanley Cup contender? And, are the Red Sox postseason bound?

All this, and more, on this week's edition of "Catching Up With Bob Lobel."

Listen to internet radio with Real Fans Sports Radio on BlogTalkRadio