Sports Redux: Worst Thursday Ever

"This could be the greatest night of our lives, but you're gonna let it be the worst." - John Blutarsky

It could have been. It was all so close. It was all so in reach. Two more butterflies flapping their wings in China says chaos theory, and maybe a puck bounces a little differently, maybe Hedo Turkoglu's shot flies a little wide, maybe...maybe.

The evening got progressively worse. The Red Sox lost in twelve in Anaheim, leaving a squadron of baserunners stranded. The Celtics had Orlando half-buried and somehow let them claw out. And the Bruins....done. Just like that. In the worst way possible.

Our usual recaps aren't even going to cut it today. It just whams you upside the head every way you look at it. The Bruins lost on a goal by Scott Walker. That's like the C's losing on a 3 by Laimbeer. Or the Sox losing on a HR by A-Rod (OK, that last one's a little farfetched). David Ortiz (0-7, 63 LOB) and Ray Allen (2-11, no fake stat could make that look any worse) look like they're ready to be taken out to the country to live with a nice farm family. Julio Lugo won one of our three stars of the day. OK, not really, but when he's getting 5 hits, you know the Boston sports scene is upside down.

Who does get our three stars on the Worst Thursday Ever? One should go to Rajon Rondo, who scored 19 points and hauled down 16 rebounds on a night when the big guys were riding the Foul Trouble Express. One should go to Marc Savard and Milan Lucic for their combined efforts on the sweet game-tying goal that turned a nervous Garden crowd into a roaring mass for the next 32 minutes of hockey. One should go to Tim Thomas for some amazing saves, and let's not forget Aaron Ward gingerly pulling the puck back after it got by Timmy and rested so close to the line that a breath of air (or one of those stupid Chinese butterflies) would have made it 3-1 at the time. Thomas, seen here, looks like he knows how close things came to him wearing the shocked grin that Cam Ward is wearing instead.

As for us, we're just going to pound our heads on the wall a few more times, and hope Friday somehow is a little brighter. Sox-Mariners. The healing begins.

Photo by Charles Krupa/Associated Press.