Sports Redux: Revenge

How would you handle it? Straight up revenge, going after Matt Cooke? Eye-for-an-eye, going after Sidney Crosby? Or just try to win the game? That's the dilemma the Bruins face tonight, with Cooke and the Penguins in town for the first time since he knocked Marc Savard out for the year with the famous cheapshot to the back of Savvy's head.

It's not enough for the B's that the NHL is finally thinking about considering maybe doing something about hits like Cooke's. When even Penguin teammates are surprised about the lack of a suspension ("Guys don't mean to hurt each other, but they do. You got to pay a price for that," said Billy Guerin, and we understand he's being political in the first half of that), something has to give. Early indications are that the Bruins would be happy just sending Shawn Thornton out to make Cooke drop the gloves, but we don't think that's going to be enough for Bruins fans. We're pretty sure that sending Crosby into the third row would be enough for Bruins fans. We hope it's somewhere in between. Even if the B's have to know that NHL "disciplinarian" Colin Campbell will be in the house tonight to dole out "justice" for any retaliation they provide.

Last night, the Garden witnessed a different kind of beating, as the Celtics trounced the Knicks, 109-97, in one of those games that wasn't even close to being as close as the final score indicates. Paul Pierce's 29 and Kevin Garnett's 22 came early, then they sat and watched over a quarter of garbage time for the second straight blowout of an Eastern Conference chump. "I like where we’re going," said Doc Rivers, and we assume he means the blowouts and not the tough three-game Western trip that starts tomorrow in Houston.

John Lackey had another solid start, giving up twi hits in four innings, even though the Red Green Sox lost to the Mets 4-2. Some good news for the boys, as Daisuke Matsuzaka felt able to throw a little BP, and presumably filled out paperwork afterwards describing his health and disclosing any pain he may have felt.

Get your red pens out - the tournament starts today in four cities, including Providence. Go team.