Don’t look now folks, but the Red Sox have won 7 out of their last 9 games after sweeping the Jays in Toronto. Josh Beckett got lit up once again on Monday night, but the Sox were able to outslug the Jays, winning 13-12. On Tuesday, Clay Buchholz showed why the Sox have been keen on keeping him around and believe him to have top-of-the-rotation stuff. Buchholz pitched 8 innings, allowing 1 earned run and struck out 4. Buchholz has been the true ace of the staff in the early going posting a 2-2 record with an ERA of 2.19 in 4 starts. Wednesday, Jon Lester pitched like the ace he is, shutting out the Jays through 7, while striking out 11. Daniel Bard struck out the side in the 8, and Jonathan Papelbon retired the side in order in the 9th to pick up his 7th save of the season. The three pitchers combined for 15 Ks, while only giving up 2 hits. Sox are back to .500 and are now in 3rd place and 5.5 games back of Tampa Bay. John Lackey gets the ball Friday against Baltimore and Daisuke Matsuzaka makes his return to the Sox’ rotation on Saturday.

The Celtics, defeating the Heat 96-86 in Game 5, will face a familiar foe in the 2nd round of the NBA Playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Lebron James has been nursing a sore right elbow, so we’ll see how that factors into the series. One thing is certain, this series should be epic and don’t be surprised if it goes to 7 games.

Marc Savard returns from a Grade-2 concussion as the Bruins take on the Flyers in Eastern Conference Semifinals

With the 8th-seeded Montreal Canadiens upsetting top-seeded Washington in 7 games, the Bruins will have home-ice in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals as they play host to the Philadelphia Flyers. On paper, the Bruins should be favored in this series, especially with Tuukka Rask in net and the return of Marc Savard to the lineup. Granted, the Flyers did knock out the #2 seed New Jersey Devils and should not be taken lightly, especially because of their physical style of play. Bruins are going to have hold their own in the toughness department, continue to play strong defensively, and get those timely goals they were able to achieve against Buffalo. If all goes according to plan, expect a Bruins/Penguins matchup to decide who earns the right to play for Lord Stanley’s Cup out of the Eastern Conference. Out West, the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Phoenix Coyotes 6-1 in Game 7. In the Semi-Finals, the 5th seeded Red Wings will match-up with top-seeded San Jose, while #2 Chicago matches up with #3 Vancouver. As a hockey fan, I’m hoping for an Original Six match-up in the Stanley Cup Finals pitting the Bruins against either Detroit or Chicago.

We apologize about the lack of posts recently, school and work tend to get in the way of things sometimes it seems.

First off, congratulations to the New Orleans Saints and the city of New Orleans on the Super Bowl victory. Manning may very well be the top-QB in the NFL, but I’ll take our 3 rings and Brady any day.

Bruins went into a winter hibernation, losing 10-straight before recently turning it around before the Olympic Break, winners of their last 4 and points in their last 6. Tuuka Rask was in net for all 6 of those games. His calm and composed demeanor radiates off of him, making his teammates play the same way in front of him. In contrast, Tim Thomas is constantly looking like a fish out of water and his teammates play nervous and tentative in front of him. It’s a hard pill to swallow, having a $5mm a year back-up goalie, but if the Bruins want to win, they NEED to turn the reigns over completely to Tuuka Rask. In hockey, you turn to the hot-goalie and that has been Tuuka all season long. For the most part, he has kept his team in every game that he has played in, which is all one can ask of their goalie. Tim Thomas played out of his mind last season, winning the Vezina Tropy in the process. But this season, he’s showing why he was a journeyman for all of those years. Fortunately for the Bruins, the Eastern Conference is wide-open this year and their losing streak didn’t hurt them too much in the standings, as they now sit in 7th place following their 4-game winning streak to end the first-half. They have to play like they have been the past 6 games and stay healthy and I think this team could be a sleeper come playoff time.

The Celtics are at the half-way of their season and needless to say, they have been a bit disappointing. Garnett can’t seem to stay healthy and there have been talks about trading away Ray Allen. One bright spot is Paul Pierce winning the 3-point contest during the All-Star weekend. He wanted to be in the competition and he did not disappoint. Also of note from the All-Star festivities, is the continuing downfall of the Slam Dunk contest. I truly believe that Lebron James could bring it back to where it was in its hayday. Back to the Celtics, another bright-spot is the continuing development of Rajon Rondo, whose play this season garnered him an All-Star selection. If the Celts want to compete for a title this season, they’re going to have make a move.

It’s almost baseball season! Pitchers and catchers officially report tomorrow and position players later in the week. The team improved tremendously defensively in the off-season with the acquisitions of Adrian Beltre, Marco Scutaro, and Mike Cameron. With Jacoby Ellsbury shifting to Left Field, the Sox have an outfield that will cover a lot of ground and not too many balls are going to drop in. Beltre at Third Base will give the Sox a gold-glover and will allow Kevin Youkilis to play 1B full-time. The strength of the team will definitely be the starting pitching with a rotation of Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, John Lackey, Clay Buchholz, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Tim Wakefield waiting in the wings. Not too many positional battles will be going on this year besides the fight for the 4th outfield spot and the bullpen. Mike Lowell needs to show he’s healthy and will be able to contribute to a team so the Sox can deal him. Jed Lowrie is fighting for a job as well with Bill Hall as the team’s utility-man. One guy to keep an eye on this Spring is Casey Kelly and how fares against some higher, tougher competition. Sox open up the regular season against the Yankees at Fenway Park on April 4th. Here’s hoping to for another solid season from the Sox and hopefully we’ll be seeing them in Soxtober once again.