The wheels are coming off the bus. After Monday night's debacle in DC and Tuesday's shutout at the hands of Florida, the Bruins desperately needed a strong showing last night, with Toronto in town and their six-seed hanging by a thread. They gave a strong performance, all right, but only if you gauge by smell. The Bruins opened a 1-0 lead, then watched helplessly as the Leafs pummeled them into a fine dust, scoring eight......

It was about a week ago when we noted that the Bruins were in 6th place in the Prince of Wales Eastern Conference, which was a decent place to be, thus drawing the winner of the weak-sister Southeast Division. In that week, the B's have solidified the 6th spot, but are now officially in spittin' distance of bigger and better things. They've won blowouts this week, they've won shootouts, they've won at home, they've won......

Bostonist was at a bar last night. Hey, it happens. Everything was good and fun, until the TV (sans sound) flashed a news report: "Brady Seen In Cast". We weren't around for the JFK assassination, but now we have a pretty good idea what the terrified hush that fell over the nation felt like. A couple panicked phone calls later, we weren't any closer to an explanation. The video on TMZ shows a small cast......

Never has a matchup between the best team in football and the worst team in football had this much riding on it. The Patriots, as we all know, have clinched the division, home-field advantage, and everything that matters in a typical season. The Miami Dolphins are God-awful, zooming towards the #1 draft pick, and would be in line for a season of historic ineptitude except that the stupid Ravens were worse last week. Should be......

Hope you sports fans were able to relax yesterday. The disappointing non-slaughter of the Jets is in the rear view mirror, the Dolphins game isn't quite as exciting since the stupid Ravens ended Miami's bid for a winless season, everything is sewn up in the AFC, and the Monday Night game wasn't that exciting. Plus, the Celtics and Bruins were off. But we've got some big games coming up in the next 48 hours, so......

Larry Bird was once quoted as saying, "I've got a theory that if you give 100 percent all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end." If this theory holds true, Larry was speaking in the long-term - the Celtics gave 100 percent last night and things didn't work out in Cleveland in the end. After battling through regulation and overtime, the Celtics fell to the Cavs, 109-104. In order to pull......

Tim Thomas has been a rock in goal for the Bruins; even when they've been floundering offensively - and make no mistake, they have - Thomas has played well enough to keep them in the game. But last night against Toronto, another team struggling to put the biscuit in the basket, the B's found their rhythm and controlled the tempo, punishing old friend Andrew Raycroft for a 5-2 win. (Your humble correspondent was there, doing......

The Celtics are pleased to announce that they've added an extra level to the bandwagon, and it's poised to start its run tonight at the Garden against Washington. This is the original bandwagon, mind you; not the auxiliary bandwagons the team expects to roll out over the course of the season. Naysayers (and there are some) point out that the supporting cast around Ghidorah is untested and unreliable. OK, whatever. So their starting point guard,......

Curt Schilling got a hit! After bunting into a strikeout in the second, Schill hit a bleeder in the fourth that rolled right past second base into center field for a single. Maybe we should focus on that, since Curt's pitching was...well...bad. Two starts after his Flirt with Destiny, Schilling got rocked again, by Atlanta's bats, giving up six runs on ten hits in less than five innings. His fastball doesn't seem to be fast......

It seems that Mother Nature didn't think the Red Sox's doubleheader sweep of the Tigers on Thursday was impressive enough - the first games after that two-fer will be tidily bundled in another dual-game gameday. The Sox called Friday's scheduled game against their Interleague Play Atlanta visitors pretty early, deciding instead to go the route of a 1 p.m./7:35 p.m. Saturday schedule. The pitching breakdown: Dice-K vs. Braves pitcher Anthony Lerew in the afternoon game,......

Let's give a hand to WEEI caller Pauley, who aptly summed up Tuesday's Sox home game against the Detroit Tigers during the Planet Mikey Show with, "It was a drinking night tonight." It wasn't a pretty showing at Fenway on Tuesday, despite the presence of the brilliant-this-season Tim Wakefield on the mound. The Sox endured a 7-2 pounding that was led by Tiger pitcher and 2006 AL Rookie of the Year Justin Verlander (7 2/3......

The complete game is a dying art in the States. In the age of relief specialists, managers tied to pitch counts, and Papelbon, there aren't a lot of occasions when a manager wants to leave his starter in any longer than necessary. And last night, in fact, Papelbon was warming up when the Sox blew the game open in the 8th, taking a 7-1 lead and giving Terry Francona an excuse to leave Daisuke in......

Twins ace Johan Santana only made it five innings, but that was more than enough to send the Red Sox bats into a tizzy from which they never recovered. The Minnesota bullpen, if anything, was sharper than the starter, and the result was a 2-1 loss and the waste of a very good outing from Sox starter Julian Tavarez. Tavarez went six, giving up only four hits and two runs, while striking out seven. But......

Bostonist would much rather sit in an obstructed view right field seat behind a sign-wielding fan gabbing on his cell phone than trade in Fenway Park for a newer model. Whenever Tim Wakefield takes the mound in a domed facility, however, we can't help but wish that there was a canopy or something that the Fenway crew could erect over the ballpark every five days. The typically fluttery knuckleball becomes even screwier, allowing Wakefield to......

The defining moment in the career of Dennis Johnson - who Larry Bird called the best teammate he ever had - came in the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals against the evil Pistons (as seen on this clip). Everyone remember's Bird's steal, but it was Dennis' layup that won the game. And check out the clip; DJ is breaking towards the basket even before Bird picks off the pass. It was like telepathy. And now DJ......

Yeah. We know the New York Islanders don't use their angry-fisherman logo anymore. But we love it, and can't help ourselves. The Bruins last night held tough with the Gorton's Gang, but the Isles racked up three quick goals in the third period and sent the B's packing 4-1. They'll play the Sabres, seemingly for the 43rd time this season, tomorrow night. The Celtics, finally able to breathe again, turn their eyes to Gerald Green......

The Celtics lost their sixteenth game last night to the Miami Heat, 79 to 91. The Heat wasn't going to cave in. They had the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, and they wanted to keep it. In more absurdity, Wally Szczerbiak injured himself yet again by spraining his ankle on Leon Powe's foot. If this year's Celtics pass 19 losses, they'll break the NBA record for most losses in a row. And now,......

Hockey players everywhere are thawing out in Dallas for the All-Star festivities, and several Bruins are making the most of it. While Bostonist was obsessing over the fancy new NHL uniforms, Iron Man Phil Kessel got the job done and scored three goals in the YoungStars game. The Bruins' Zdeno Chara won the hardest-shot competition as well, and he was a defenseman for the Eastern Conference in the All-Star game. That didn't work out as......

Bruins 3, Buffalo 2 - Apparently whatever Coach Lewis told the Bruins in the parking lot worked. After three shootouts, they finally won when Marco Sturm broke through. Celtics 96, Atlanta 100 - Ouch. At least it was close, but it was a loss to another team lurking around the lower reaches of the Eastern Conference. To play the Celtics Glad Game, the Herald had a nice piece about Doc Rivers' relationship with the family......

We say "World's Fastest" because the Patriots vs. Chargers game has already started. People have their Pats gear on, their brews out, and their munchies on the coffee table. Most likely, they aren't reading Bostonist. Heck, this Bostonist has one eye on the telly and the other on the computer screen. But, in the interest of staying consistent, Bostonist has the Redux for last night. Bruins 1, NY Rangers 3 - The Bruins lost again,......

Some thoughts while preparing for a sunny Memorial Day Weekend cookout… David Wells had some bad luck earlier this week, taking a baseball off his right knee. The 43 year-old lefty was pitching quite well until he took a Travis Lee line drive off his knee which knocked him out of the contest. Wells was pitching quite well, leaving after giving up 1 run on 5 hits (and no walks) over 4 1/3 innings. Although......

We're still groggy from the party last weekend, so all apologies for the slow delivery of this week's music selections. Bostonist is still working up to multiple lists, featuring your classical agenda over the weekend because we know you want culture and the rest of the best coming at you on Monday because, well, we know you want to rock. Monday, 3/27 Magnolia Electric Co. (Songs: Ohia's Jason Molina) presides over an evening of......