Sports Redux: Sunday Evening, A Play In Three Acts

Act I, In Which We Are Rocked Like Hurricanes

"Our guys made that decision tonight to go out there and play the way they needed to play to succeed," said Coach Claude Julien, in possibly the understatement of the series. The Bruins released all the anger and tension of losing three in a row to Carolina, and came out as fast and energetic as we've seen them in like forever. Result: a 4-0 massacre that brought out everything the B's lacked in the three losses. Like defense that allowed Tim Thomas to only need 19 saves for the game. Like an offense that kept all sorts of pressure on Cam Ward all night, flapping the unflappable. Like physical play that seemed to stun the Canes and forced them to play uncharacteristally chippily in an attempt to avoid being shoved off the ice. Now they just have to do it two more times.

Some scary moments for the B's, though, as Zdeno Chara went down hard after getting his leg slashed in the second period. He came back. Thank goodness. And Aaron Ward got his face crunched by Scott Walker; he may have a broken orbital bone, and Walker will almost certainly be asked by the league to take a game off.

Act II, In Which We Walk Down The Street Whistling "Yessir, That's My Baby"

One point down. Seconds left to go. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are on the floor, veterans of many a game-winning buzzer beater. Eddie House is on the floor, and has proven he can hit a shot from anywhere without notice. Rajon Rondo is on the floor, and he's never been quite sure of the meaning of the word "fear". Who gets the last shot?

How about Glen Davis? Sure, in this crazy season, why not? Davis has become pretty adept at sinking that 20-footer from the side. He did his a similar shot to stop the bleeding in the final minutes as the C's turned a good lead into a nailbiter. And it's not like Orlando was expecting it. When he released the shot, this amazing photograph captures every emotion in the human repertoire - seriously, it's like a Dutch masterpiece - and we can report that each one of those emotions went through our heads in the 11 minutes it took for the ball to fly from Big Baby's hand to the bottom of the net. Dan Shaughnessy says it's the moment kids dream about when pretending they're in the pros.

It was a fittingly crazy end to a crazy game. The first half was the Joey Crawford Whistle Hour, leaving most of the Celtics in foul trouble, some even before they had time to break a sweat. Then, Paul Pierce and Orlando's Rashard Lewis took turns acting like the basket was ten feet wide. Then, there was craziness - we're pretty sure we blacked out a couple of times - and then there was Baby, sprinting down the sideline after the game-winner, laying out a Magic ballboy, screaming his round head off. "This is really neat," said Davis after he had a minute to collect himself. "It would have been a long, long flight home if that shot didn't go in," said Eddie House. Now the C's are guaranteed at least one more trip to Orlando.

Act III, In Which We Learn Eventually That The Red Sox Also Won

Jason Bay got the game-winning double in the eighth, and Jonathan Papelbon somehow survived a walk, a hit and an error, striking out the side with the bases loaded to lock down a 4-3 win and a series victory against the Rays. Dustin Pedroia strained his groin and had to come out midway, but he expects he'll be fine for the upcoming West Coast trip.

FIN