Sports Redux: Manny's Being Manny Again, But It's Good

This is getting a little out of control. Even Bruins goaltender Manny Fernandez realizes this: "It is unbelievable to do what we are doing...looking at those numbers kinds of scares me." The numbers he's talking about: 10 wins in a row, 9-0 for Manny at home, two regulation losses since Halloween.

And two straight over the Penguins, who came to the Garden last night and left sad and disappointed like so many before, after another Manny spectacle and a 4-2 Bruins win. Manny saved 30 Pittsburgh shots, the Bruins spread the scoring (Krejci, Axelsson, Lucic and an empty-netter from Savard), and the Pens are having team meetings and figuring out ways to keep their season from spiralling out of control. Simply not having to play the B's for a while won't hurt that. San Jose was idle, which means the Bruins are sitting all alone at the top of the NHL heap this morning. And there are five games left on this homestand.

Yesterday we worried about Scott Pioli heading for Cleveland; today we can worry about the Broncos, who fired Mike Shanahan the other day (for losing a do-or-die game to Norv Turner, the one unforgivable sin in the NFL). They're circling Pats offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. We keep having to remembering that it's the system, not the individual (well, one individual, initials B.B.) that keeps this team humming, but it's sad to think more people might leave. Pioli is also getting phone calls from Kansas City, so even that's not over.

As if a 3-for-4 losing streak isn't troubling enough for Celtics fans, now come rumors that Stephon Marbury is interested in leaving his Kafkaesque situation in New York and coming to Boston. And what's worse, the C's might be interested, too. You know those guys who you respect because it's pretty clear all they're interested in is selflessly winning? Marbury is kind of the exact opposite of that. We'll watch this situation develop with no small amount of trepidation.

Photo by Winslow Townson/Associated Press.