Sports Redux: A Not-Quite-Perfect Trip To Canada

"We want to be greedy," said Claude Julien. And why not? After successively blanking the Oilers and the Canucks on 1-0 scored, the Bruins were hungry and ready to go for the Western Canadian sweep in Calgary. And when Patrice Bergeron caught Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff out of position for the quick 1-0 lead, Coach Julien's green looked like it might be rewarded.

Alas, it was not. The Flames finally got to Tim Thomas, twice in the second period and once in the third. Blake Wheeler tightened it up with eight minutes to go, but Kiprusoff stepped up and survived a flurry of Bruin shots to hold on for the 3-2 win. "I’m not happy with the way we finished," said Julien. So, so greedy.

Free agency has begun in baseball! So far, from the Red Sox, David Ross, Alex Cora, and Jason Varitek have filed. The questions about whether 'Tek's incomparable catching skills and mastery of pitchcraft compensate for his [insert sad adjective] bat are swirling. Especially since he's represented by Scott Boras, who is evil. The Sox certainly want him back, but probably not for the money that Boras wants. If it doesn't work out, the Tigers have already begun to appear in rumors, but not everyone's thrilled with the idea.

Isn't it weird how little buzz there is about the Pats-Colts game this weekend? Sure, the Patriots still don't really have an identity yet this year, and the Colts look like they're about to fall completely out of relevance, but it's still Pats-Colts. They're confused and scared in Indianapolis, and the piped-in crowd noise might be the only cheering you'll hear if the Pats can stick it to them. (Yes, it's a new stadium, but we're not gonna let that go.)

Celts-Bulls tonight. If your only pipeline to the world of sports is Dan Shaughnessy, today you'll learn that Paul Pierce might be one of the best Celtics ever. (Wait until Dan learns about Leon Powe.) And the Revolution kicked off (get it?) the MLS semifinals with Chicago with a 0-0 tie in Foxboro last night. These things happen when Taylor Twellman is out. They'll try again next week.