Fortress Of Good Fortune

Stanley Cup Finals Game 6: Chicago Blackhawks 3, Boston Bruins 2 (Monday June 24, 2013) (2-4)

Sadly, my Bruins lost their chance to hoist the Stanley Cup. They had led for most of the game but blew it in the final minutes as Chicago scored twice, kicking overtime out the window. It's tough to put in all that effort, sweat, and practice and get that close and lose. :( Patrice Bergeron played with broken ribs, torn cartilage, and separated his shoulder in the last game. Zdano Charra suffered a painful hip flexor, one of the reasons he wasn't as effective. The Blackhawks had plenty of walking wounded, too.

Stupid to have hockey going until nearly the Fourth of July. The Boston Garden had to keep the air-conditioning on full blast to keep the ice from melting on a 92-degree day in Boston. The famous picture of Bobby Orr scoring the game-winning goal to win the Cup in 1970 took place on May 10th, Mother's Day!

*sighs*

Another sports-related story is even sadder in a real life context: New England Patriots' tight end Aaron Hernandez was charged with Murder 1 and five gun charges yesterday. If he's guilty (only the prosecution gets to lay out its case during arraignment so the defense will have to wait until trial), he's pretty stupid. Pick up a guy from Dorchester, drive him a mile from your home, shoot him five times so that people working the night shift in the industrial park hear five shots, leave the shell casings there and in your rented vehicle, leave the car there and return in another car (he had two confederates with him) to your home, and your security system records you walking in with a gun. You disable your security system and hand the police a smashed cell phone when they start investigating.

Speculation at this point is that the murder victim, Odin Lloyd, might have known of another murder that Hernandez might have been involved in last year in Boston, and was talking to people at a nightclub that upset Hernandez. Prosecutors claim he orchestrated the murder of Lloyd.

So if Aaron Hernandez is guilty, he gives up his career, which could have been Hall of Fame, his money ($40 million-dollar contract), his fiancee and baby girl, and his freedom. He could go to prison for life. The Patriots cut him 90 minutes after he was arrested. He's an ex-football player now.

How far to fall so fast!

Stanley Cup Finals Game 2: Boston Bruins 2, Chicago Blackhawks 1 (OT) (Saturday, June 15, 2013) (1-1)

Another crazy game! The Bruins came out flat in the first period (Thank Goddess for goalie Tuukka!) but rallied enough to tie the game and they went into (yep, you guessed it!) overtime! ;) The Bruins scored in the first OT period so split the games in Chicago and now will be playing at the Boston Garden tonight.

I'm put out by NBC's decision to not broadcast the game Saturday or tonight on free TV. I'll see the game on Wednesday and hope I'll see the remaining games! Stupid decisions, if you ask me. They're losing viewers and apparently The Voice will get them more ratings tonight. *rolls eyes* But why just reruns on Saturday? NHL, now you know why you're the fourth sport in this country. *grumbles*

Wow! The Boston Bruins dominated last night's game against the Vancouver Canucks, 5-2, forcing a seventh and deciding game to see who wins the Stanley Cup. They knocked out the Canuck goalie ten minutes into the game with three goals! The fourth goal was scored on his replacement, and the four goals in a span of approximately four minutes is a Stanley Cup Finals record.

The Cup was in the building last night. That's always a special feeling. :)

Tomorrow night is Game 7 in Vancouver. Let's hope the Bruins win their first Stanley Cup in 39 years! :)

If the Bruins win, every major Boston sports team will have won a championship in the space of a decade, a new record! It's the City of Champions! ;)

Well, as you can see, no spam today! ;) I decided to smoosh all the chapters together since I had to post them all in the same day for lgbtfest, anyway. I had a good time writing Gossamer Wings because I'm a sucker for hurt/comfort, especially as I like to add in quite a bit of comfort to the hurt. :) I also enjoy writing about people who love each other despite pain.

Wow, last night Celtics' game was amazing! The bench players came out in the fourth quarter and kicked butt! Big Baby, Nate, Tony, 'Sheed...the second unit really energized the team! The Garden was rockin'! Series tied at two! Woot! :)

Return To Glory! Game 6: Boston Celtics 131, Los Angeles Lakers 92 (4-2) (Tuesday, June 17, 2008)

Well, the Celtics hit the pot o' gold at the end of the NBA rainbow, my friends! In the second quarter they took over the game and never looked back! Rajon Rondo, just 3 1/2 months old when the Green last won a championship in 1986, was outstanding, buzzing around the ball, stealing it and making baskets like there was no tomorrow. Paul Pierce played decoy and still got 17 points. Kevin Garnett came alive and played like the superstar he is. James Posey befuddled Kobe Bryant, and on and on...

The Celtics kept up the pressure even when they were up 30 points! Their defense was stifling, and their offense sparkling enough to take that big lead. The Lakers were soft on defense, something they'll have to address next season. The Celtics won by the largest margin every in the NBA Finals! 39 points!

The Gahden was jumpin'! :) People who remembered the glory days and those tasting them for the first time were excited. Green was everywhere! Fans stood practically the whole game, and the chants were boisterous and loud. Celebration after the win outside the Garden was orderly enough that they were few arrests. Pity in today's society you need riot police after a championship win, but there you go.

Bill Russell, winner of 11 championships, was there, and so was John Havlicek, No. 17, as the Celtics clinched their 17th championship on June 17th, Bunker Hill Day. :) Other Celtic greats were working radio and TV, Cedric Maxwell and Tommy Heinsohn. Celebrities in the crowd included Bill Belichick, Steven Tyler, and more! Not L.A. glitter, but we'll take our New England crowd. :)

The only thing missing was Red Auerbach lighting up a victory cigar, but I'm sure if heaven allows it, he was lighting up in the final minutes! ;)

Any fan of a professional sports team knows that when your team wins it all, there's nothing quite like that moment when you clinch it: pure and sparkling and joyous.

The parade in Boston is tomorrow! :)

Congrats to the fans who stuck it out during the lean years (including me!) and to the players and organization that got this done. The Lakers brought us to six, so Lakers fans can look forward to good things, though that defense needs shoring up! :)

Thanks to all for reading my sports blathering! ;)

This win really cheered me up after a rough day yesterday.

Game 1: Boston Celtics 98, Los Angeles Lakers, 88 (1-0) (Thursday, June 5, 2008)

The Celtics won the first game of the seven-game series last night, 98-88. The Boston Garden was rockin' (No native really calls it the TD Banknorth Garden. It's a new arena but it's still known by the old arena's name. And it's pronounced 'Gah-den'. ;) ).

There was drama a-plenty as it looked as if Paul Pierce, our best player and scorer, might be done with a knee injury. He was carried off in the third quarter and put in a wheelchair to go to the dressing room, but returned soon after. It's a knee sprain and may keep him out of the rest of the series, but who knows at this point? He came back, the crowd roared, and he promptly hit two three-point baskets in a row, the momentum coming back to the Celtics and staying with them as a close game ended with them as the victors.

The New England Patriots usually support the Celtics (all the major teams support each other) and Randy Moss was sighted at the game.

It was an exciting game and lots of fun to watch! Kevin Garnett (K.G.) was awesome, and the rest of the Celts really did well. Let's hope they keep it up for Game 2! :)

Over at Fenway Park, there was a brawl on the field and a dust-up in the dug-out. Busy night all around! :)