It wasn’t that long ago when the Angels swept the Sox and with the Manny being the topic of every sportswriter’s columns across the country, the fans weren’t sure what they'd see last night. Would it be the shining star that makes the great catches and drives in runs two or three at a time? Or would they get the Manny we knew a few years ago who wouldn’t run out a grounder, or......

It doesn't take long, does it? All the Sox needed were three chances to whup the Mariners, and the bitter taste of the sweep in Anaheim is gone. True, the Sox did clock a little overtime yesterday, but the end result was a satisfying 6-3, 12 inning win. The Sox loaded the bases in the top of the twelfth on an Ellsbury single, a JD Drew walk, and an error. Mike Lowell brought two home......

We'll have to wait another week to see him whaling on Yankees pitching, but fans in Pawtucket will probably vouch that David Ortiz looks ready. Playing the first game of his seven-game trip through the minors, Papi homered to lead an offensive barrage as the PawSox crushed the Mud Hens 15-6. The buzz in Pawtucket was definitely centered on the big guy, but Sox fans had to like what they saw all around. Jeff......

We don't expect miracles when guys come back from the DL. But yesterday, in his return to the mound, it seemed like a miracle each time Daisuke Matsuzaka got a Cardinal out. Which he only did three times before being sent to the showers, as the Cards rocked him for seven runs en route to a 9-3 pasting at Fenway. Daisuke says he felt OK. Sure, he gave up a two-run homer to Aaron Miles,......

Since the Red Sox have had recent success in Game 7 situations, the Bruins were probably hoping that it would rub off on them, allowing them to shake off a history of constantly losing Game 7. Sorry, try again. Last night brought a close to the hockey season in Boston, when the Bruins lost to the Montreal Canadiens in a 5 – 0 shutout. Habs rookie goalie Casey Price won his second shutout of......

He says he feels better. He says he's actually felt pretty good for a couple of weeks now. But David Ortiz must feel great today, after his season-long slump ended with a Monster shot grand slam off the hapless Rangers to spark a 11-3 whupping. It was such a rebirth for Papi that his teammates gave him the "silent treatment" in the dugout usually reserved for rookies hitting their first homer. Other offensive highlights: a......

We'll just say pitching was a factor in the Sox-Yankees game last night in New York. To be more specific, the Red Sox pitching - and complete breakdown thereof - allowed the Yanks to run amok, and while the Sox got plenty of offense, it wasn't enough, as the Sox got smacked 15-9. Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez homered off Clay Buchholz in the first to give NY a 2-1 lead. There was a little......

Time to bring in the big guns. We need what's left of the 2004 Red Sox to make a conference call from the Bronx. We need Terry Francona talking to Claude Julien, David Ortiz talking to Zdeno Chara, Curt Schilling talking to Tim Thomas. Call Dave Roberts and Kevin Millar and get them involved, too. Maybe even Curtis Leskanic is available. Because the '04 Sox are about the only team who knows what the Bruins......

They worked hard enough in Game Two to go to OT. Last night, they took it a step further, as the Bruins beat Montreal for the first time since about 1982 in a thrilling 2-1 OT win at the Garden. It started with a Milan Lucic goal in the first period, giving the B's their first lead against the Canadiens since about 1995. Tom Kostopolous evened the score late in the second. So much for......

The long drought is over! With the Revolution losing the MLS Cup, and the results of the Superb-oh God, we still don't want to talk about it - it's been almost six full months since a local team brought home a piece of significant championship hardware. No more. Boston College hockey captured their second title of the young century by flummoxing Notre Dame 4-1. Nathan Gerbe, as he does, led the charge with two goals......

The Bruins had high hopes coming into their first playoff series in years. Within two minutes, though, Montreal had slapped them with a cold dose of bitter reality. The Habs were faster, stronger, more accurate, and less nervous. The result: a 4-1 loss. The Flying Kostitsyn Brothers got Montreal's show on the road early, as Sergei scored at 0:34 and Andrei followed at 2:02. The Bruins settled down a bit towards the end of the......

Nobody around here enjoyed last night very much. The Sox' listless loss to Detroit has us wondering where we chucked the Panic Button. The offense is anemic (did you catch Lugo coming six inches away from hitting into a triple play?). David Ortiz is off to a particularly wretched start, at .091. Mike Lowell jammed his thumb and we don't know how hurt he is. Jon Lester keeps digging holes for himself that he doesn't......

There are 39,195 lucky souls in the metropolitan area today. They're the ones holding tickets, through fair means or foul, to the home opener today at Fenway. They get to see the flag unfurled, the bling distributed, and hopefully the Red Sox get back on track against the winless Tigers. And when we say foul means, it's not just our standard we-can't-get-tickets bitterness. Stories like the Sox auctioning off Green Monster seats, and police giving......

It was a lot closer, anyway. That's about the best thing we can take from the Sox' 7-4 loss in Toronto that ended the worldwide road trip and sent the boys home 3-4 and in the AL East cellar. The big difference was that Toronto ace Roy Halladay pitched like an ace for the most part, while Sox ace Josh Beckett pitched like a rusty, easily-tired version of himself. He hung in for a while,......

A very weird day in Boston sports. It's a day when Ghidorah takes the day off, but the Celtics still romp. A day when the Bruins' hard work and perseverance is rewarded with a trip to the torture chamber. And we still don't know what the hell is going on with the Red Sox. So let's start there. The Blue Jays punished Clay Buchholz and a series of ineffective relievers en route to a 10-2......

We were going to let yesterday's hawk incident go. We swear. Everyone's gotten their yuks in already, from the wildlife expert who commended the hawk for protecting the plate, to the clever fellow who said that they should release the hawk when Joba Chamberlain is in town. We would have been OK letting it go, except the girl who got attacked is named Alexa Rodriguez. She, we repeat, is fine, but she's glad her friends......

David Ortiz is back! That guy who went to Japan, kind of looked like Papi, swung with a handicap, and made lots of outs was replaced by the confident slugger we all know and love. The real Papi singled in the fifth for his first hit of the year, then put the Sox on the board with a 2-run homer in the seventh. The blast made a winner of Jon Lester, who pitched a great......

There was almost a full slate of MLB games yesterday. Not here. There were a good handful of NBA games last night. Not here. There were a couple of NHL games. Not here. There are teams still thriving and striving for NCAA glory. Sigh. Almost everything cranks up again tonight; the Sox are in Oakland, for another game out of prime time. When do they get back home? The Celtics are in Chicago looking for......

We'd heard the Miami Heat were terrible. At 13-60, with Shaq traded, Wade shelved, Pat Riley having wandered off in indignity, we didn't expect a real tough game for the Celtics last night. But terrible doesn't even begin to describe this team. Miami set an NBA record for fewest field goals (17) in a shot-clock-era game, set an unofficial record for passes right to defenders, and would have only been able to climb back in......

"Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in." - Michael Corleone There are things that are a little confusing. There are things that out-and-out defy logic. Then there are the 2007-2008 Bruins. Left for dead a week ago, unable to score a goal and suffering a rash of untimely injuries, most of us figured the Bruins had as much chance to compete for the Stanley Cup this year as the Hartford......

One of the few remaining regular-season goals left for the Celtics is checked off. They've seen every NBA team; they've beaten every NBA team. The Hornets were the last stragglers, winning in New Orleans last week. Last night, they found out what 2008 Celtics basketball is really all about. The game was close at halftime, but the C's clamped down the defense, completely took out the Hornets' stars, and rallied to their 2nd straight 20-point......

We'd sure like to know what happened in the Bruins' locker room between the second and third periods last night. After two, the Leafs had tied the game 1-1, had peppered Tim Thomas with 18 shots, and had everybody at the Garden pontificating whether the game would be a microcosm of the entire season. Well, maybe not everybody. But whatever was said, it lit a fire under the B's; Phil Kessel, Glen Murray and Peter......

1-0. That's all that matters. Sure, Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched like he just got off the plane after a 19-hour trip. Papelbon was shaky. J.D. Drew got hurt. But look at the bright sides. Hideki Okajima upstaged his countryman and got the win. Manny's on pace for 648 RBIs. And J.D. was replaced by Brandon Moss, who hit the game-tying home run. In case you had cable or satellite problems, you weren't alone. And ESPN's GameCast......

Yesterday was a bad day for Boston teams to play in cities associated with French exlorers. First, we'll blame Samuel Champlain, who established a fur-trading post on an island in the St. Lawrence River in 1611. That post eventually grew into the city of Montreal, whose major industry changed over the years from fur-trading to Bruin-beating. It was, truth be told, the best Bruins-Canadiens game of the season; the B's even escaped with a point......

Even the most pie-eyed, green-blooded Celtic optimist didn't think it was going to be this good. No team since the Kings did it in 2001 has traveled the fabled Texas Triangle without at least a nick and a scratch. Maybe no team since then has really been as good as the 2007-08 Celtics. And last night was tough; make no mistake. The Mavericks, even though they haven't gotten all the attention of some of their......

Did you enjoy yesterday's narrowly-averted international incident? All is well, and the Sox will be landing in Japan this morning. The deal as we understand it is that instead of the $40K(!) the coaches were supposed to get as a business-trip bonus, they're now getting a good chunk of that from MLB, and the Red Sox will make up the difference. The best thing to come out of this is that the team's been united......

--Have you shopped at Hannaford recently? You might want to check your past credit card bills. They just had a huge data breach. Is the series of tubes on which we rely secure? [WBZ] --Please don't deliver phone books to us. Please, pretty please! [Boston Globe] --Just as people get nervous about the economy, keno expands as a new way to separate us from our money. [WBZ] --Imus was doing his St. Patrick's Day......

This is the week we've had circled on our calendar since the Celtics' blistering start. We knew at least three of the four games would be tough, but now every team between the Mississippi and the Pecos has their eyes on the NBA Finals, and since the Celtics want to be there to meet them, these four games are huge. It starts tonight in San Antonio against the defending champs, who have a shocking 2-game......

Where to begin? Two of our local teams played yesterday, and two of them won. Let's start with the Bruins, who needed this win much much more. The story was poised to be another in a terrible series of "why can't this team score" rants, until there were 26 seconds left. With Tim Thomas pulled for an extra skater, Andrew Ference picked a hell of a time to score his first goal of the season,......

The game that unfolded within the TDBN Garden on Friday night was better than the score, 110-92 in favor of the Utah Jazz, indicates. So there's a silver lining. Add to it the fact that it was inevitable that the Celtics' umpteenth hot streak of the season would hit a snag and Friday's home loss isn't devastating. Disappointing? That's another story. The Jazz came out on fire, led by Deron Williams' 32 points, and was......