Red Sox are Ice Cold in May. Listen to Fired Up Sports Talk Tuesday Night at 7pm as Tim and Tom talk about who are the Red Sox the team that went 18 and 8 in April or the team who went 2 and 5 on their last home stand.

www.masportsweb.com Daily at Noon and at 7pm Tuesday and Thursday Night
WARL 1320am in Attleboro Saturday at 10am-Noon

The Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy accused David Ortiz of taking Performance Enhancing Drugs last week in a Boston Globe Article. In My opinion unless the facts are set in stone, don't make accusations, it is unprofessional. You're a journalist for a major news paper, how dare you make accusations you can't prove and try to damage the career of someone who may very well be innocent to get yourself attention. How about you do some more investigative work to prove your theory rather than make it sound like anyone on a hot streak in their 30's is on PED's. You have lost a lot of credibility in my book Shaughnessy.

Sincerely,
Tom Nappi

After being swept by the Texas Rangers the Boston Red Sox are 20-11 and tied with the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals for the best record in Baseball. After facing their toughest challenge of the season in the Texas Rangers and being swept are the Red Sox for real? We talk about this and more on Fired Up Sports Talk This Tuesday at 7pm on www.masportsweb.com and Saturday at 10am on WARL. Check Program schedule for air time!

After 2 explosions went off near the Boston Marathon Finish Line, 3 People were Killed, Including 8 year old boy, hundreds injured at Boston Marathon Finish Line by explosive devices

If you have any information that could help the investigation please call 1-800-494-TIPS

If you are looking for information on a loved one please call 617-635-4500


Monday Nights Boston Bruins game has been
postponed in light of the Boston Marathon Tragedy.

Tuesday's Boston Celtics game
verse the Indiana Pacers has been cancelled
and will not be rescheduled
in light of the Boston Marathon tragedy


Mike Napoli gets a walk off double to
help the Red Sox past the Rays 3-2.

MLB Major Trades at the MLB trade deadline.

Well the MLB Trade Deadline has came and went and here are the big deals, you will notice that the Sox only had a minor deal despite having a record just above .500 and 4th in the A.L. East

--BOSTON -- The Red Sox on Tuesday acquired lefty reliever Craig Breslow from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for right-handed reliever Matt Albers and outfielder Scott Podsednik, according to a major league source.
The 31-year-old Breslow has a 2.70 ERA in 43 1/3 innings for the Diamondsbacks this season, with 42 strikeouts and 13 walks. He has held hitters to a .233 average.

-The Red Sox also trades Lars Anderson for a Minor League Prospect seconds before the deadline.

-Phillies Trade Hunter Pence to Giants, Pence, 29, hit .271 with 17 home runs and 59 RBIs in 101 games this year with Philadelphia. His homer total considerably exceeds that of any existing Giant -- Buster Posey has a club-high 13 -- and his RBI total fits between Posey's 61 and Melky Cabrera's 52. Phillies Get: Schierholtz who finished his Giants tenure with a .270 batting average, 23 homers and 119 RBIs in 503 games after he reached the Majors in 2007. This year, he compiled a .257 average with five homers and 17 RBIs in 77 games. His final act as a Giant was lining a run-scoring single in the 10th inning on Monday night as the Giants lost to the Mets, 8-7.
Seth Rosin, a non-roster invitee to Spring Training this year, went 2-1 with a 4.31 ERA and 10 saves in 34 games, including five starts, for San Jose this season. The 23-year-old was San Francisco's fourth-round pick in the 2010 Draft. and 21 year old catcher Tommy Joseph

-The Dodgers added veteran outfielder and leadoff hitter Shane Victorino to their collection of stars in a trade with the Phillies for reliever Josh Lindblom and Minor League pitcher Ethan Martin on Tuesday.

-The Dodgers also acquired reliever Brandon League from Seattle in exchange for a pair of Minor Leaguers on Monday.

-Braves acquire left-handed starting pitcher Paul Maholm and veteran backup outfielder Reed Johnson from the Cubs in exchange for highly-regarded pitching prospect Arodys Vizcaino and Jaye Chapman to the Chicago Cubs

-Texas acquired Geovany Soto from the Cubs on Monday night for Double-A Frisco right-hander Jacob Brigham, the club announced on Tuesday morning. Soto, who won the National League Rookie of the Year Award and was named an All-Star in 2008, is hitting a career-worst .195 with six home runs and 14 RBIs in 51 games. But he has had his best month of the season in July, hitting .250 with one home run, five RBIs and eight runs scored.

-The Cincinnati Reds acquired Kansas City Royals closer Jonathan Broxton and will make him their setup man, according to a high-ranking Reds' official with direct knowledge of the trade.

By: Tom Nappi

From Worst to first and my playoff prediction as we have reached Mid-Season

30) Houston Astros (33-53) - Will there ever again be hope for the Astros

29) Chicago Cubs (33-52) - Will they ever be good enough for even the playoffs

28) Colorado Rockies (33-52) - Back to their normal selves after 2 years of glory

27) San Diego Padres (34-53) - Another Rough Year for the Padres

26) Seattle Mariners (36-51) - Felix Hernandez and that's about it

25) Minnesota Twins (36-49) - Injuries and rough season so far for the Twins

24) Philadelphia Phillies (37-50) - The most shocking team by far, no one could have predicted this but poor offense and injuries have hurt the Phillies chances at coming around from this one.

23) Kansas City (37-47) - Only 10 games below .500 this is actually pretty good for the Royals.

22) Milwaukee Brewers (40-45) - The loss of Prince Fielder seems to have to stuck a dagger in Brewers playoff hopes.

21) Miami Marlins (41-44) - The addition of Heath Bell, Jose Reyes and Mark Buhrle and 3 games below .500 at all star break = very disappointing. P.S. go back to your old uniforms and get rid of those awful Green walls in the new stadium but keep the bakini dancers.

20) Arizona Diamondbacks (42-43) - Still in the playoff hunt only 4.0 games back but don't expect much

19) Toronto Blue Jays (43-43) - About what I expected, good pitching....no hitting.

18) Oakland Athletics (43-43) - Pretty good pitching and defense as usual but no hitting, but don't count on much

17) Boston Red Sox (43-43) - .500 at All Star Break. Time to worry if the Sox starting pitching doesn't start pitching well, they are done!

16) Detroit Tigers (44-42) - After a rough start, the Tigers have turned things around and only 3.5 games behind in the Central.

15) Tampa Bay Rays (45-41) - There line up is a disgrace but the Rays pitching is terrific, which is why the Rays will be in the hunt for the 2nd wild card spot.

14) Baltimore Orioles (45-40) - I will be shocked if the Orioles keep this up but they will continue to get better every year and will be a competitor in the A.L. East within the next 2 years if they aren't already.

13) Cleveland Indians (44-41) - The Indians are right in the hunt for the A.L. Central and have improved drastically from last years horror show.

12) San Francisco Giants (46-40) - Tim Lincecum has been a disappointment but they continue to remain competitive in the N.L. West

11) St. Louis Cardinals (46-40) - The Bearded nobodies in the Cardinals bullpen will emerge towards the end of the season...BEWARE!

10) New York Mets (46-40) - The Mets have had quite the turn around this year and R.A. Dickey has led the way as he had an terrific first half of the season.

9) Cincinnati Reds (47-38) - The Reds are shockingly terrific this year and are not going away. The Reds will be a wild card threat and perhaps an N.L. Central threat.

8) Atlanta Braves (46-39) - The Braves are playing terrific through the first half and with their solid rotation will be around come playoff time.

7) L.A. Angels (48-38) - The Angels should at the very least clinch a wild card spot in the A.L. they have had a tremendous turnaround since their awful start and with the emergence of Mike Trout and Mark Trumbo and the turnaround of Albert Pujols, they are an easy World Series contender.

6) Chicago White Sox (47-38) - Ever since the addition of Kevin Youkalis the White Sox are playing .700 baseball. Youk seems to be just the piece they needed to turn their season around. The White Sox are on top of the Central and will be around come playoff time. Youkalis was the A.L. Player of the week this week!

5) L.A. Dodgers (47-40) - The Dodgers are surprisingly on top of the N.L. West but it has shown to be a pretty weak division this year however the Dodgers have been playing well and should be competitive come playoff time.

4) Pittsburgh Pirates (48-37) - Hell has frozen over. The Pirates are a good team, 11 games above .500 and in 1st in the NL Central at Mid Season...This could be the year the Pirates go from Worst to First! P.S. Andrew McCutchen is a beast!

3) Washington Nationals (49-34) - The Nationals are an unbelievable story and have climaxed quicker than most thought as they lead the N.L. East and should be taken very seriously.

2) Texas Rangers (52-34) - The Rangers are playing elite as expected and will certainly more than likely have a deep playoff run. The fear is will the Texas Rangers be the Buffalo Bills of Baseball and lose 3 World Series Straight.

1) New York Yankees (52-33) - Despite losing Mariano Rivera to a more than likely season ending injury and having Brett Gardner, C.C. Sabathia, Andy Pettitte and Michael Pineda go to the D.L. The Yankees are back to being the best team in baseball and should be feared by everyone come playoff time.

Tom's Midseason predictions

Here is how I believe the playoffs should break down after a 2012 first half of irony and surprises in MLB.

NL East - Washington Nationals NL Central - St. Louis Cardinals NL West - L.A. Dodgers

National League Wild Card
Atlanta @ Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Wins!

Division Series
Pittsburgh VS Washington - Washington in 6
St. Louis VS L.A. Dodgers - St. Louis in 7

Washington over St. Louis in 7, Thats Right The Nationals make the World Series!

AL East - New York Yankees AL Central - Detroit Tigers AL West - Texas Rangers

American League Wild Card
Chicago White Sox @ L.A. Angels - Angels Win!

Division Series
Yankees VS Angels - Yankees in 7
Detroit VS Texas - Texas in 7

Yankees Over Texas in 7

World Series
Yankees over Nationals in 6 games!

Let's Flash Back.
Tom's Prediction Prior to Season Start - Most of my picks are still very alive, except the Phillies they will not win the World Series and probably won't make the playoffs!

AL East - N.Y. Yankees
AL Central - Detroit Tigers
AL West - Texas Rangers
WC 1- L.A Angels
WC 2- Boston Red Sox

NL East - Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central - St. Louis Cardinals
NL West - S.F. Giants
WC 1- Miami Marlins
WC 2 - Atlanta Braves

AL Winner - N.Y. Yankees
NL Winner - Philadelphia Phillies

WS Winner - Philadelphia Phillies in 6

By: Tom Nappi

Sunday, June 3rd, 2012 marked perhaps the end of Daniel Bard's Major League pitching career as he went 1.2 innings giving up 5 earned runs and walked 6. This guy straight out fell apart and was then sent down to Pawtucket 2 days later by the Red Sox. First of all, moving him down to Pawtucket was an awful move, at least give him another shot in the bullpen, Bard was solid as a late inning reliever for about 3 years now and as I have continuously said THIS GUY IS NOT A STARTER, HE IS A CLOSER or LATE INNING RELIEVER.

I am now afraid that the Rick Ankiel affect may happen to Bard in which he loses all confidence and can never find the plate again, and he will be another 98 mph fastball hurler to work his way out of the big show because I am not sure if he qualifies as an outfielder. This demotion was way to harsh and I did not expect this to happen so fast, I expected at least a move down to the bullpen considering he has been decent on the mound before this past Sunday.

We discovered in Bard's starts that he is not a strike thrower and the problem is hitters have figured that out. Only 43% of Bard's pitches are making it over the strike zone and only 39% of his pitches have been swung for, these stats put him in the bottom 3 starters in the majors. This was never discovered when he was in relief because hitters did not see him enough and you can utilize your fastball more when your in the game for 1 or 2 innings compared to trying to go 5 or 6.

In the past 10 games for Bard
Innings Pitched - 6.2, 0.2 (in relief), 7.0, 5.1, 7.0, 6.0, 5.0, 5.1, 5.1, 1.2,
Earned Runs - 1,0,2,4,5,1,5,2,2,5
Walks - 7,1,1,2,4,4,5,4,2,6

If you look at the overall stats they are inconsistent but decent especially in the American League, but you can see the longest he can last is 5 innings and he typically in 5 innings will give up 4-5 runs, which means he is a 1-2 inning relief pitcher not a starter, and I hope they don't have him start in Pawtucket because a few shaky starts will lead to a complete loss of confidence and perhaps mark the end of Bard's pitching career.

Fail by whoever made this guy a starter and Bobby Valentine is exempt from this fail because I know it wasn't him!

Article By: Craig D'Alessandro

Craig D’Alessandro’s MLB Power Rankings
Month 2: May

Well one month is in the books Ladies and Gents, and what an exciting first month of baseball it was!

What is this, Opposite season?
You take a look at those standings from every division and you have to say “Wow.” There really isn’t any one division that is turning out the way we thought it would. Teams that should be doing excellent (Angels, Red Sox, San Francisco, Detroit and Miami) are struggling out of the gate and teams that should be on the bottom (Cleveland, Atlanta, Oakland, and Baltimore) are really having very good seasons to start! It is just the first month, and we usually see things like this, but that will be a interesting storyline going forward.

The Future of Tomorrow, TODAY!
We are barley a month into the season and with the aforementioned teams ( LA, WAS, and BOS) struggling out of the gate (ok not Washington, but they were getting nothing out of their left field position) we are seeing a lot of the top prospects in MLB getting the call up to the Majors to try and make an impact. The Angels have had nothing going on , and with the MAJOR disappointment Albert Pujols has been, the Angels released Bobby Abreu and called up Top Prospect Mike Trout, while he hasn’t made a great impact yet, its only a matter of time before he is raking the ball.
The Washington Nationals are actually off to one of the best starts in baseball, but they had a luxury of needing only to upgrade one spot, and luckily for them, the spot that needed upgrading could be filled by their 19 year old phenom Bryce Harper, and he has been as advertised so far, I have really high hopes for this kid.
Finally we have our hometown Boston Red Sox, with Kevin Youkilis having an injured back, and the Red Sox offence needing a boast, the Red Sox have called up top Prospect Will Middlebrooks, who had a very good first game for the Red Sox, going 2-3 with a double, and even stealing a base. If you’re a fan of the show, and you should be, you know I am not a very big fan of mister Youk, so I am really rooting for Mr. Middlebrooks here.

The Year of the Pitcher
Last year, there were 3 no hitters/perfect games in the MLB. This year we already have two; WE’RE NOT EVEN 20% INTO THE SEASON YET! And this is not a surprising Item, offence is down throughout the league, except if your name is Matt Kemp, so would it really surprise me to see a few more no hitters this season? Heck no! I love this!

So without further Adie, your MSEN MLB Power Rankings:

No. 30: Minnesota Twins (Previous: 27)
Josh Willingham (.353 BA, 5 HR, 15 RBI) remains the team's offensive leader, while Joe Mauer (.325 BA, 1 HR, 13 RBI) continues to show he is finally healthy. However, they may have the worst pitching staff in baseball, and that will continue to keep them near the bottom of the rankings. Maybe the Metro dome would help them out…ohh wait…

No. 29: Kansas City Royals (Previous: 18)
Two losses to open the week pushed the Royals' losing streak to 12 games, but they rallied to take the final two games of their series with the Indians before splitting two games with the Twins for a modest 3-3 week. However, they are still 0-10 at home on the season. Which is really to bad, since the Royals have one of the best Parks in baseball.
Alex Gordon (.232 BA, 4 HR, 10 RBI) has begun to turn things around after moving out of the leadoff spot, and if Eric Hosmer (.188 BA, 5 HR, 13 RBI) could follow suit it would go a long way towards helping the team find some consistency.

No. 28: San Diego Padres (Previous: 21)
The Padres had a tough draw this week, facing the Nationals and Giants. They managed to win one game in each series for a 2-4 week.
Their pitching is starting to come around, and their bullpen has been terrific, but that doesn't mean much when they are not scoring runs. Carlos Quinton should soon be making some rehab assignment, and if he’s healthy he can be a force at the plate, Chris Denorfia (team-high .282 average) has moved into a starting spot in left field, but it's going to take a lot more than that for the Padres to turn things around.

No. 27: Houston Astros ( Previous: 30)
The offense has been solid, led by Jose Altuve (.373 BA) and J.D. Martinez (19 RBI), but the team desperately needs someone in the rotation to step up alongside Wandy Rodriguez (2-2, 1.72 ERA). But still…

No. 26: Miami Marlins (Previous: 11)
So far, the team has been perhaps the biggest disappointment in all of baseball, and it starts with their superstars as Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez are both hitting .205, while Josh Johnson sports a 5.34 ERA. Ugly, ugly start for the Fish, pull it together Boys!

No. 25: Chicago Cubs (Previous: 26)
The Cubs are in the midst of their best stretch of the season thus far, as they took two of three from the rival Cardinals before completing a 4-2 week with a victory over the Phillies on Sunday.Tony Campana (.435 BA, 6 SB, 6 R) has provided a spark taking over in center field for the departed Marlon Byrd. The starting rotation has also impressed, with Matt Garza throwing seven innings of one-hit ball to cap the week.

No. 24: Pittsburgh Pirates (Previous: 23)
The Pirates it seems can’t score a run to save their lives, dead last in the MLB but their pitching has been very impressive so far, ranking third in all of baseball.

No. 23: Oakland Athletics (Previous: 28)
The A's have struggled to find any consistency so far this season. They took two of three from the White Sox before dropping two of three to the Orioles over the weekend.
Despite having the worst team batting average in all of baseball at .205, the A's have managed to stay competitive thanks to their pitching staff. Recent call-up Jarrod Parker (6.1 IP, 1 ER, 5 Ks) could make the rotation even better after looking strong in his first start. Now they just need to find someone who can hit the ball.

No. 22: Colorado Rockies (Previous: 22)
A 2-4 week saw the Rockies drop two of three to both the Pirates and the Mets, although they did explode for 18 runs on Friday.
They acquired a good deal of starting pitching depth in the offseason, and they are already dipping into it as former A's starter Guillermo Moscoso was called up with Jeremy Guthrie on the disabled list. The rotation has undoubtedly been their weakness to this point, with just one starter (Jamie Moyer, 3.14) with an ERA under 4.00

.No. 21: Los Angeles Angels (Previous: 4)
After giving them the benefit of the doubt through the first three weeks of the season, a 1-5 week and the third-worst record in the American League simply can't be overlooked. The Angels were swept by the Rays and dropped two of three to the Indians before eking out a 2-1 win on Saturday.
The call-up of uber-prospect Mike Trout, who was hitting .403 in Triple-A, could be the spark the team needs to get things going. A hot streak by Albert Pujols (.216 BA, 0 HR, 4 RBI) certainly wouldn't hurt either.

No. 20: Seattle Mariners (Previous: 24)
The Mariners swept the Tigers in Detroit to open the week before dropping two of three to the Blue Jays at home, but they have to be happy with a 4-2 week against two of the league's top teams.
They tallied 30 runs in their four wins and just two in their two losses, a sign of how their season will go as they have the pitching to compete but will only be as good as their offense allows them.

No. 19: Chicago White Sox (Previous: 20)
The White Sox have been better than expected, led by Paul Konerko (.383 BA, 5 HR, 15 RBI) and Jake Peavy (3-1, 1.67 ERA), and their solid start could be enough to delay what was expected to be a full-blown rebuilding season.

No. 18: Milwaukee Brewers (Previous: 9)
There is little doubt that the team misses Prince Fielder's bat, and the struggles of Rickie Weeks (.193 BA) and Aramis Ramirez (.228 BA) have only magnified the loss. Their pitching staff may be a bigger concern though, as Randy Wolf (7.17 ERA) and Yovani Gallardo (6.08 ERA) have struggled mightily.

No. 17: Cleveland Indians (Previous: 19)
The starting pitching has been hit-or-miss, and the offense has no true standout player at this point, but they continue to win games and in what looks to be a wide-open AL Central.
No. 16: Philadelphia Phillies (Previous: 6)
The unexpected trio of Carlos Ruiz, Juan Pierre and Ty Wigginton are the only three everyday players with respectable averages, and Kyle Kendrick has struggled filling in for an injured Cliff Lee. All-in-all, things just don't look great in Philly right now.

No. 15: Cincinnati Reds (11-11, Previous: 15)
The Reds moved to second in the NL Central with a 4-2 week, as they captured two of three from both the Giants and Astros. Jay Bruce (.296 BA, 7 HR, 17 RBI) is on fire right now, as the highly touted offense is finally performing up to expectations. If the notoriously slow-starting Mat Latos (5.97 ERA) can start pitching like an ace, Cincinnati will be in pretty good shape.

No. 14: Boston Red Sox (Previous: 10)
Led by David Ortiz (.395 BA, 4 HR, 18 RBI), their offense has been solid despite a slow start from Kevin Youkilis and the absence of Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury. Their pitching continues to be a question mark, but as long as they continue to post double-digit run totals like they did three times last week, they will win games. The recent cold spurt against the A’s concern me though, this team is so hit or miss

No. 13: Arizona Diamondbacks (Previous: 13)
The team finally had enough of Josh Collmenter's struggles (9.82 ERA), moving him to the bullpen and calling up touted prospect Patrick Corbin (1.67 ERA, 27 IP at Double-A) to make his big league debut. As long as they can consistently score runs, they should be able to find a rotation that works with perhaps the youngest starting pitching depth in baseball.

No. 12: San Francisco Giants (Previous: 7)
Buster Posey (.353 BA, 4 HR, 9 RBI) has bounced back from his injury last season, but the offense is still struggling to score runs. The biggest stat of the week for the Giants, though, was Tim Lincecum's eight-inning, zero-run outing.

No. 11: New York Mets (Previous: 25)
New York be getting center fielder Andres Torres back from injury on Monday, shifting rookie Kirk Nieuwenhuis to left field which should improve the lineup moving forward. As long as their pitching staff keeps performing like they have, the Mets are on track to do much better than expected.

No. 10: Toronto Blue Jays (Previous: 16)
Edwin Encarnacion (.310 BA, 7 HR, 20 RBI) is 5-for-9 with three home runs and seven RBI in his last three games, and he's been moved to the cleanup spot in hopes of better protecting Jose Bautista. The real story, though, has been the team's starting pitching, as four of their five starters have ERAs under 4.00.

No. 9: Detroit Tigers (Previous: 1)
they released long-time Tiger Brandon Inge and lost Delmon Young indefinitely after he was arrested and charged with hate crime harassment. They will look to get things back on track against the Royals and White Sox this coming week, and still have to be considered among the AL favorites despite these hiccups.

No. 8: New York Yankees (Previous: 2)
They drop on this list due to the news that Michael Pineda is done for the year with a shoulder injury. With Phil Hughes (7.88 ERA) and Ivan Nova (5.18 ERA) struggling and Freddy Garcia (12.51 ERA) moved to the bullpen in favor of untested David Phelps, the rotation is once again a huge question mark.

No. 7: Baltimore Orioles (Previous: 29)
Well…quite a jump here, huh? With an offense that ranks 10th in runs scored and a pitching staff that ranks seventh in ERA, the O's are doing everything well right now. Five players have double-digit RBI, and J.J. Hardy (.181 BA) and Nick Markakis (.244 BA) are not among them. Once those two get going, the Orioles could be even better.

No. 6: Washington Nationals (Previous: 8)
I am still very much a believer in the Nats, as their pitching (2.33 team ERA) is going to keep them in most games. The call-up of Bryce Harper should allow them to get some much deserved national attention, and also gives them a boost not many teams can find from their farm system.

No. 5: Atlanta Braves (Previous: 14)
The team pulled a shocker of sorts when they sent 2011 All-Star Jair Jurrjens (9.37 ERA) down to Triple-A, but the move corresponded with Tim Hudson coming off the disabled list so Atlanta should be fine in the short-term.
The Braves are off to a good start, but there is a ton of room for improvement across the board.

No. 4: Los Angeles Dodgers (Previous: 17)
The offense has consisted almost exclusively of Matt Kemp (.425 BA, 11 HR, 24 RBI) and Andre Ethier (.277 BA, 5 HR, 24 RBI), and the rest of the team needs to start hitting around them. Also of note, Ted Lilly is very quietly 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA through three starts.

No. 3: St. Louis Cardinals (Previous: 12)
Outside of Adam Wainwright (7.32 ERA), the starting pitching has been phenomenal. At the plate, World Series MVP David Freese (.333 BA, 5 HR, 20 RBI) continues to carry an offense that has gotten consistent contribution up and down the lineup.

No. 2: Tampa Bay Rays (Previous: 5)
there is a lot to like about the Rays, from a deep offense that is light years better than last season to their immensely talented pitching staff. They could certainly challenge the Rangers for the top spot in the near future.

No. 1: Texas Rangers (Previous: 3)
Josh Hamilton (.395 BA, 9 HR, 25 RBI) continues to be the AL version of Matt Kemp, while the rest of the offense is doing its part with five players tallying double-digit RBI. The Rays showed that the Rangers are human, but there is still little question that Texas sports the best team in baseball right now.

NEW ENGLAND INTENSITY WOMEN'S TACKLE FOOTBALL IS LIVE SATURDAY APRIL 28th at 4:00PM ON MA SPORTS WEB.COM


Other draft News Boston College Inside Line-Backer Luke Kuechly went to the Carolina Panthers with the 9th overall pick.


Last night on WMRC you heard The Boston Red Sox took on the Chicago White Sox in game 2 of the Series. The Red Sox rolling on a 4 game winning streak heading into last night send Daniel Bard to the Hill to face John Danks. Well the result was just super for the Sox as they get the 10-3 victory, their 5th win in a row. Daniel Bard went 7 innings pitched, gave up 2 earned runs. Ortiz belted his 4th homer of the year and Darnell Mcdonald had 4 RBI's. The Sox scored 6 runs on the top of the 6th last night.

The Red Sox take on the Chicago White Sox in game 3 of the series in Chicago tonight, Jon lester to the Hill for the Red Sox, Jake Peavy for the White Sox game time is 7pm, coverage starts at 6 pm right here on wmrc first class radio.


Yankees last night won the game against the Tigers in the bottom of the 9th on a passed ball. Derek Jeter came around to score in the bottom of 9th after a skipped pitch. Mariano Rivera got the win for the Yanks. The Yankees play at 4:05pm today against the Detroit Tigers, Tigers Rookie Drew Smyly matches up against Freddy Garcia for the Yankees.


The Bruins may be done for the season but the Celtics will get started up Sunday against the Atlanta Hawks right here on WMRC, 1490 am, Coverage starts at 6pm for Celtics playoff basketball as they battle the Hawks in game 1 in Atlanta.


Thursday Night Milford High Baseball Branched out as J.J. Branch took the mound and took down Algonquin 10-6. 4 of the runs were earned. Jarrod and Chriss Casey as well as Matt Ferelli all contributed hits in the Milford victory. The Scarlet Hawks after Thursday are 6 and 1 on the season.

On Friday a different story Milford Gets shut out against Shrewsbury 3-0 but the Milford Softball team shut out Shrewsbury 8-0, Caroline Fairbanks ripped a 3 run homer in the Milford victory.

Other Baseball scores from around the Area, Franklin Panthers shut out division rivals Mansfield 8-0, In Tri-Valley Play Hopkinton took down Medway 6-2, Millis wiped out Ashland 9-6, Medfield beat up on Bellingham 14-1 and in Non-League Play Hopedale took down Worcester North 16-0.

Other Local Softball Scores, Mansfield shut out Franklin 3-0, Bellingham shut out Medfield 4-0, Ashland took down Millis 13-2, Hopkington over Medway 4-2.


This has been Tom Nappi With your Sports Sting keep it locked WMRC 1490am Milford and Wmrc Daily News.com every saturday 10am-noon to hear more extremely exceptional sports talk.

RONDO's KENTUCKY WILDCATS TAKE IT ALL OVER PIERCE"S KANSAS JAYHAWKS 67-59

Baylor becomes first NCAAW team to go 40-0 as they take down Notre Dame 80-61 in championship game!



Bobby Valentine has decided Alfredo Aceves will be closer with Andrew Bailey out 4-5 months due to injury.

Bobby Valentine has also reached an agreement with a New York Radio station to make a weekly appearance all season long.



Ray Allen returned to action Wednesday in the Celtics 87-86 loss to the Spurs. Rondo dropped 17 points in a game which the Celtics got outscored 59-48 in the first half but would come back in the 2nd half and outscore the Spurs 38-28, but Pierce would not be able to hit the buzzer beater for the victory. Celtics have 13 games left in the regular season and are currently 11 games back of first place Chicago and holding onto the 4th playoff seed.



The Independent Women's Football Conference Champions New England Intensity kick off their season on Saturday April 7th against the Montreal Blitz. 4:00pm Kickoff at Medway High School on 88 Summer Street in Medway. Tickets are cheap so attend some games and enjoy some great spring football. Also stay tuned to "The Sports Blast' for game highlights of the New England Intensity as well as interviews with players and coaches throughout the season



Kyle Lohse had a no hitter going into the 7th inning for the defending World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals but it would be broken up by Catcher John Buck however the Cardinals would spoil the Miami Marlins home opener taking them down 4-1 in game 1 of the 2012 MLB season in North America.

Tags: Bobby Valentine, Kentucky Wildcats

Celtics beat Heat 91-72, Rondo Triple double 11 rebounds, 14 assists, 16 points.
Doc Rivers said in a quote we are going to start telling Rondo we are on national t.v. every night.
Why is he so good in the spot light, much more so than other games, 16 points last night 6 points, 17 assists @ minnesota Friday, 6 points, 14 assists vs UTAH wednesday.
I will give him credit for the assists but 12.4 points per game in the last non big profile games in the month of March these are Rondo's point totals, 9 Vs Houston, 5 VS Philly, 8 VS Portland, 12 vs clippers, 8 vs golden state, 4 vs sacramento, 12 vs denver, 10 vs atlanta, 10 vs milwaukee, 6 vs philly, 4 vs washington, 7 vs bobcats, 6 vs utah, 6 vs minnesota In february however he did drop 35 vs detroit and 15 vs milwaukee ill give Rondo credit for those 2 games
Rondo in big profile games and I will include February in this statistic, 14 vs lakers, 32 vs bulls, 17 vs chicago, 14 vs nets, 18 vs knicks, 24 vs lakers, 16 vs miami.
Is Rondo only a prime time point scorer or what?

So to sum up Sox spring training Andrew Bailey and Josh Becket have injured thumbs possibly because of video games, maybe thumb wrestling, i would be surprised if both pitchers had thumb injuries a day within each other for pitching purposes especially after last season and the guy who broke the news about Beckett The New Red Sox PR guy Pitcher Alfredo Aceves.
How disapointed would you be if after all the Sox went through with Becket he doesnt start the opening game because of a thumb injury, is it just me or is that a highly questionable injury?



MIAA IS PATHETIC BECAUSE THESE ARE THEIR NEW RULES
In addition to banning banners and balloons, the MIAA also forbids:

• Cheering when an opposing player makes a mistake.

• Cheering when the other team’s band is playing.

• Cheering when your opponents get a penalty.

Mel Parnell, the winningest left-hander in Red Sox history, died Tuesday after battling cancer, according to reports from his hometown of New Orleans.
Parnell spent his entire 10-year career with Boston, pitching for the Sox from 1947 to 1956. His best season was 1949, when he was 25-7 with a 2.77 ERA. Parnell led the American League in wins and complete games (27), and started the All-Star Game.

Daniel Bard yielded three runs across five innings Tuesday night against the Blue Jays. Bard allowed three hits while walking three and striking out a pair. While he was pretty shaky early on, he retired the final eight hitters he faced and 12 out of the last 14. Still, he has an underwhelming 10/6 K/BB ratio over 12 2/3 innings this spring and Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine admitted after the game that the walks are a concern.

THE SPORTS BLAST AND THE B4 ALTERNATIVE WILL BE BROADCASTING LIVE FROM THE TRADESMAN IN MILFORD, MASSACHUSETTS on 284 WEST STREET
AGAIN SOON!
TELL THE TRADESMAN YOU HEARD ABOUT THEM RIGHT HERE AND RECEIVE A DRINK DEAL!!!!

Tags: Red Sox

Happy St. Paddys day Ladies and Gentlemen,

Well the luck of the Irish did not help the Celtics last night as right here on First Class Radio they got wooped by the Sacramento Kings 120-95, Marcus Thorton dropped 36 points on The C’s as with a chance to pull closer to the top of the division, The C’s were denied. With 22 games left to go in the season the Celtics currently hold the 7 seed in the eastern conference, only a game and a half back of the 4th seeded Philadelphia 76ers.


Yesterday was bracket buster Friday as St. Bonaventure, a small school out of New York and a 14th seed in the tournament took down 3 seeded Florida State 66-63.
11 seeded North Carolina State took down 6 seeded San Diego State 79-65
while, the most shocking game I believe took place in North Carolina as the 15 seeded Lehigh Mountain Hawks eliminated coach K. and the Duke Blue Devils 75-70. Oh and how about one more shocker from yesterdays March madness as Number 15 seeded Norfolk State out of Virginia knocked out 2 Seeded Missouri with an 86-84 win.

Also the last standing New England team was eliminated from the tournament as 16 seeded Vermont got man handled by the 1 seeded Tarheels of North Carolina 77-58. Your brackets are busted, New England is out time to route for the underdogs as Lehigh and Norfolk State advance.

NCAA Womens tournament kicks off today Prairie View A&M takes on Uconn at 1:30.


Big Time Hockey Action coming your way all weekend from NHL, NCAA and MIAA

Today at 1pm the Bruins battle with the Flyers at the Garden and look to get back to winning as they have dropped 4 straight and are now the number 7 seed in the eastern conference.


and The Hockey East Finals have been determined Boston College will take on Maine. B.C. beat Providence yesterday in the semi-finals 4-2, while the Night game featured Maine taking down Boston University 5-3.

Maine takes on Boston College in the Finals tonight at 8pm.



Sunday afternoon WMRC First Class Radio heads rink side at TD Garden as the Medway Mustangs battle Hudson at 1:30pm in the Boys Division 3 finals, followed by Wilmington VS Franklin at 3:30pm in the Boys Division 2 Finals right here on First Class Radio, coverage starts at 1:15pm on Sunday.


In Spring Training action the Minnesota Twins had a split squad and took down the Sox 2-1, John Lester went 4 not so good innings for the Sox and gave up 2 earned runs and 5 hits.


In the Peyton Manning sweepstakes The Broncos and the 49ers appear to be the 2 finalists as Manning is scheduled to work out for both teams this weekend. The Broncos offered Manning a contract close to what he would have gotten with the Colts totaling about 90 million dollars and over 5 years.

Tags: Peyton Manning, March Madness, Missouri, Hockey East, Duke

By: Tom Nappi

Jason Varitek will announce his retirement Thursday, Varitek came up with the Red Sox in 1997 and never left as he spent all 15 years of his career with the Sox. He Played 1,546 games in a Red Sox uniform, had a career batting average of .256 with 193 Home Runs, 757 Runs Batted In, 306 Doubles, 14 Triples and 1307 hits in 5,099 At Bats, Varitek also had a .341 on base percentage and a .435 slugging percentage.

Fielding wise as a Red Sox catcher, Varitek was one of the best fielding catchers in Red Sox history with a .994 fielding percentage and only 69 errors in his 15 year career. Varitek also only had 105 passed balls with 25 of them coming in his first year as a full time catcher for the Red Sox with 25 passed balls.

Varitek was one of the greatest catchers in Red Sox history and should always be remembered as one of the heroes that brought home the World Series trophy in 2004 and 2007.

You Will Be Missed, Mr. Varitek and we hope to see you take on a coaching role very soon with the Boston Red Sox!


Tune into the Sports Blast Special Tuesday Edition Feb 28th as we pay tribute to one of the Red Sox Greats!

Tags: Jason Varitek, Boston Red Sox

By: Tom Nappi

Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield retired Friday February 17th 2012 and should be remembered forever as one of the greatest and most loyal Red Sox of all time. Wakefield was an outstanding pitcher throughout his Red Sox career and for the most part always came through with an impressive performance when called upon as a starter, reliever, set up guy or closer. He Started off his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1992, but was acquired by the Boston Red Sox in 1995, which he debuted with a 16-8 record and a 2.95 E.R.A.

Tim Wakefield was one of the rarest pitchers in the league surviving primarily with his knuckleball, his most noted failure was the Yankess Aaron Boone home run given up by Wakefield in 2003 to give the Yankees the ALCS victory, but Wakefield would avenge that fault by being huge in the 2004 and 2007 playoffs, which gave him the chance to end his career with 2 Red Sox World Series rings. What Tim Wakefield did in the Majors was truly unique and he showed a style of pitching that is unlike mostly any other in which you don't need speed but you need accuracy and movement, and gave hope to up and coming knuckleballers around the world. Watching Wakefield pitch throughout my life was truly a great experience and I will always remember him as one of the greatest Boston Red Sox of all time.

Tim Wakefield finishes his career with a record of 200 Wins and 180 Losses with a 4.41 E.R.A., 2156 Strike Outs and only a .254 batting average for opposing batters. Tim enjoy retired life with your family and friends and I hope you are back very soon for an honorary pre-game ceremony, preferably for another World Series or maybe we will see you sometime soon take a coaching role!

Tags: Tim Wakefield, Boston Redsox

TUESDAY FEB 14th 2012 at 10pm Special Edition of Sports Blast!

- Floyd Meaweather questions the fame of Jeremy Lin. Floyd Tweeted
"Jeremy Lin is a good player but all the hype is because he's Asian. Black players do what he does every night and don't get the same praise,"
Tonight We discuss this on the Sports Blast


13 and 5 Milford High School matches up with 14 and 5 Wachusett High School Tuesday Night! Action can be heard on www.wmrcdailynews.com or 1490 am in the Milford, MA Area. Tom Nappi has the call! We will have the recap of this game and more H.S. B-Ball action on the Sports Blast!

Bruins take on the first place New York Rangers, are the Rangers a legit threat for the Bruins quest for a Stanley Cup Repeat?
Rangers are 36-13-5 on the season with 77 points, 7 points ahead of the 2nd place Bruins who are 34-17-2, 70 points.


The Boston Celtics take on the 8-21 Detroit Pistons wednesday night. The Celtics are 15 and 12 on the season 2nd place in the Atlantic Division. Celtics are 7-3 in their last 10.


Boston College claimed their 3rd straight Beanpot Championship as they take down the Boston University in overtime last night 3-2
Read More Here: http://news.bostonherald.com

All This and More on a Special Valentines Day Tuesday Night Sports Blast

Andrew Bailey to Red Sox: 10 More Steps to Reclaiming AL East Throne for Boston
Craig D’Alessandro

Andrew Bailey was finally dealt this off-season, exactly where everyone thought he would end up going.  The Boston Red Sox dealt Josh Reddick and a pair of prospects Wednesday to the Oakland Athletics to land Bailey, along with outfielder Ryan Sweeney. The deal presumably solidifies the team's need for a closer since Jonathan Papelbon signed with the Phillies and helps the Sox’s plan to move Daniel Bard or Alfredo Aceves into the starting rotation for 2012.

The deal is a step forward for Boston. Sweeney and Reddick are more or less a wash, so they improved their bullpen substantially at the cost of only two mid-level prospects. They are now closer to winning the AL East in 2012 than they were Wednesday morning.

Still, there is work to be done in order for THIS Red Sox team to be a contender. Unless the Tampa Bay Rays throw up their hands and just slot Dan Johnson in at first base, and unless the New York Yankees stubbornly stick with their current starting rotation going forward, Boston is not the favorite in the AL East right now. They need to shore up their starting rotation and (probably) bolster their outfield, finding a partner for Sweeney in right field. Here are 10 things they must do in order to head to Florida in February as divisional favorites.

1. Fix Carl Crawford’s Plate Approach

Call it trying to do too much or simply reading pitches less well than he once did, but Carl Crawford's problems in 2011 trace back primarily to terrible plate discipline. He swung at drastically more pitches outside the strike zone in 2011 than he ever had before: 37.9 percent of all bad balls, up from a career average of 31.5 percent. Therefore, he posted the highest strikeout rate of his career (nearly 20 percent of all plate appearances), and his worst walk rate since 2005.  In laymen’s terms, when ever the Red Sox didn’t need an out and Carl Crawford was at the plate, Crawford got out, whether it was a ground out, fly out, or strike out, Crawford always found a way to stop a rally in his first year in Boston.

It shouldn't be terribly hard to fix this. When Crawford chose pitches well, he could still drive them. Neither his bat nor his feet seemed markedly slower last season than they had been before. He simply couldn't find the right mental approach at home plate. Assuming the Sox can remedy that, Crawford should bounce back and make theirs, by an even wider margin, the league's best lineup.

2. Sign Edwin Jackson

Matt Garza is available, and Matt Garza is better than Edwin Jackson. He's maybe five or 10 percent better, though, and he's likely to cost 15 or 20 percent more than Jackson. The Chicago Cubs will not deal Garza for fewer than two long-term assets, and the Red Sox do not need to drain their farm system depth further just for that marginal advantage.

Instead, Ben Cherington should spend some money (hardly a scarce resource in Boston) on Jackson. He's underrated, really, a young guy with a top-flight fastball who makes life Hell for right-handed batters and who has pretty good control. He would slot in nicely in Boston.

Lets Look at Matt Garza and Edwin Jackson during the 2011 season:
Matt Garza went 10-10 with a 3.32 ERA in 31 games, 198 innings pitched with a Strikeout per 9 innings of 9
Edwin Jackson went 12-9 with a 3.79 ERA in 31 games, 199.2 innings pitched with a Strikeout per 9 innings of 6.7

Pretty similar if you ask me.  The Key difference here is, Garza is going to take a lot more to get then Jackson and your basically getting the same result, why deplete your farm system even more then it already is when you can sign basically the same pitcher in free agency.

3. Trade for Marlon Byrd

The Garza deal would cost Boston more than it would be worth. This trade, however, could be the right one on which to pull the trigger, for both the Sox and their departed GM, Theo Epstein.

Your current right fielders signed for this season are Ryan Sweeny, Mike Aviles, Darnell McDonald and Ryan Kalish….not very exciting right?

Byrd could be part of an otherwise lopsided trade for an Epstein/Jason McLeod cheese ball, which would take care of compensation for Epstein's defection to the Cubs. Alternatively, the Sox could simply package two players to whom Epstein took a special shine and receive Byrd straight up.

Either way, the player they would receive would be a constant. Byrd will be paid $6.5 million in 2012, hardly a hardship, and would be a virtually ideal platoon partner with Ryan Sweeney.

He is a center fielder by trade, which would make him more than adequate to cover the cavern that is right field at Fenway Park, and he could rack up a bunch of doubles with his line-drive, pull-conscious right-handed swing. As a bonus, Byrd could be insurance against injury to Jacoby Ellsbury.

4. For Whichever reliever they try to convert into a starter, follow the Alex Ogando model

The Red Sox are going to attempt to turn one of if not both of their most effective relievers into a starter this upcoming Spring Training.  If its Alfredo Aceves, it won’t be that much of a change, he has always been a starter and has handled it well, it was just the fact he worked so well out of the bullpen in recent years that the Red Sox decided to keep him there.

Daniel Bard on the other hand is a different story.  While he had also been a starter while in college and in the minors, it never really worked out for him, at one time posting an ERA over 10 in a season, it was after this (and the discovery of a 100 MPH fastball) that the Red Sox decided to convert him into a reliever, where he has excelled over the past 3 seasons.

Daniel Bard has, in theory, three pitches. It's the effectiveness of his third pitch that seems to have captivated the Red Sox. They think they can make him an effective starter by simply asking him to pace himself and throw his decent changeup more often.

That's not the right model for this scenario, though. Instead, Boston should simply ask Bard to reel in his fastball a tad, and be the same two-pitch pitcher he has been the past three years. He just needs to do it every fifth day, to 25 batters, instead of every other day to five. The model, in fact, is Alexi Ogando.

Last season with Texas, Ogando moved from exclusive relief work to exclusive starting work without a change in repertoire at all. He threw his fastball three percent more often in 2011 than in 2010; his slider three percent less; and his changeup exactly as often, 4.8 percent of the time. If Bard follows that regimen, he has a chance to be a solid mid-rotation starter for the Sox, and if he does that, the Sox become AL East favorites.

5.  Sign Darren Oliver

With the addition of Bailey, the Red Sox seem to have a strong overall bullpen. Mark Melancon now slides into a setup role. Bobby Jenks doesn't slide into anything, but he'll probably plop into more of a seventh-inning slot, pun intended. Alfredo Aceves is a terrific right-handed long man; Andrew Miller fills that role well from the left side.

Still, the relief corps is missing something. They need a lefty specialist, someone to get key outs against the likes of Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano. Darren Oliver is perfectly suited to that gig. Boston can bid a bit more for those services than other teams, so this is a no-brainer.

6. Take Control of the Clubhouse

Clubhouse factors are overstated. Teams get far too much credit for their cohesion when they win, and when collapses happen, those same squads get far too much blame for lacking focus.

That said, the Red Sox do have a lot of established veterans on the roster, and sometimes, getting those players to watch video, work on what's not working and stay in premium shape can be tough. Baseball is about day-to-day adjustments, and too many veterans get lazy about those things.

That's why Bobby Valentine was the team's choice to take over as manager. He's a man of boundless energy, the kind that rubs off on everyone he encounters. The Red Sox need his constant kinesis to keep themselves on the top of their game. If he can set the right tone for the team in the spring, they will be a more disciplined bunch come autumn.

7.  Platoon to Kingdom Come

The Red Sox have depth, but too many American League teams fail to make the optimum use of their benches. Boston is in a position to be better.

In right field, Ryan Sweeney and some right-handed bat (Marlon Byrd, perhaps?) would make a terrific platoon. So would Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Kelly Shoppach behind the plate (At least untill Ryan Lavarnway is ready full time.) 

The most intriguing platoon possibility, though, might be at shortstop. Both Marco Scutaro and Jose Iglesias bat right-handed, but whereas Scutaro is primarily an on-base threat for the bottom of the batting order, Iglesias is a prospect with elite defensive skills. 

That creates an interesting opportunity. When ground-ball mavens Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz start, the Sox could put the glove wizard Iglesias at shortstop and save some runs. When Josh Beckett takes the mound, Scutaro could provide offensive punch without costing the club.  This is the Ideal scenerio, however with Iglesias in my mind about a year away still (his offence is still terrible) I expect a lot of Nick Punto this season.

8.  Rebuild the Training Staff

The 2011 Red Sox did lack pitching depth, but realistically, it never should have gotten as bad as it did for them. They had Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Clay Buchholz, John Lackey, Andrew Miller, Tim Wakefield and (after the trade deadline) Erik Bedard on hand. 

Yet, those players had an awful time staying healthy down the stretch. Lackey's and Matsuzaka's problems were arm and workload-related, and likely inevitable.

In the cases of Beckett, Lester and Buchholz, though, the Sox lost starts that should have gone to their top hurlers, because they all recovered on a much slower schedule than expected. That failure traces back to the training staff. If the Red Sox can find a group of athletic trainers who will keep ankle and back injuries to the lowest level of impact possible, they will get much better.

9. Put together the Right Lineup

The Red Sox struggled to find the right lineup throughout 2011. The slow emergence of Jacoby Ellsbury as a superstar and the failure of Carl Crawford to find his usual rhythm made it hard to know where people belonged.

In 2012, more questions might pop up, but this is my ideal lineup set for the team come Opening Day:

v. RHP  v. LHP
Ellsbury Ellsbury
Pedroia Pedroia
Gonzalez Youkilis
Youkilis Gonzalez
Ortiz     Ortiz
Crawford          Byrd
Saltalamacchia     Crawford
Sweeney Shoppach
Scutaro Scutaro

With those personnel in that arrangement, Boston should lead the AL in runs scored again in 2012.

10. Find pitching at the Trading Deadline

It's clear that the current market for starting pitching favors sellers. C.J. Wilson got more than he was worth. The Padres and A's extracted more from trading partners for Mat Latos, Trevor Cahill and Gio Gonzalez than anyone expected they would. Yu Darvish cost $51.7 million, and that was just to start talking.

Edwin Jackson is a great option, but even if they add him, Boston might need an extra arm down the stretch. The way to get it, though, would not be to continue paying through the nose and adding pitching at the current top-dollar prices.

Instead, if the Sox wait for July, they should be able to add Wandy Rodriguez or a comparable hurler at a much more reasonable cost.

Patrick Chung and Sebation Volmer were the only two players not at practice for the Patriots this afternoon 14 players were limited.  The Patriots are gearing up to face Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos this sunday.

Prosecutors have dropped indecent assault and battery charges against Patriots WR/KR/CB Julian Edelman., Edelman was accused of groping a woman at a nightclub in late October, but prosecutors cite a lack of evidence.

Bears WR Sam Hurd was arrested Wednesday night in Chicago on federal drug charges.
According to authorities, Hurd attempted to purchase drugs from a supplier in North Texas. Court documents say he tried to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of mixture or substance containing cocaine.  If convicted,  Hurd faces up to 40 years in prison
.
The Celtics will be without Paul Peirce for Sundays Exibition game againts the Rapters, he has a bad heel, Rajon Rondo is Questionable. Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge are expected to talk publicly for the first time about Jeff Greens health issues, sources say that Green failed a stress test used to gauge how ones heart is working.

The Bruins defeated the Ottowa Senators last night 5-2.  Adam McQuaid has been fined $2,500 for kneeing Ottawa's Nick Foligno in Wednesday's contest, but he won't be suspended.
The incident occurred late in the second period and it resulted in McQuaid being given a five-minute major and a game misconduct.

Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington said Thursday that he believes the newly-acquired Mark Melancon is "capable of closing." but ESPN's Buster Olney reported that the Red Sox are still pursuing Athletics' closer Andrew Bailey among other relievers. Namley Ryan Madson.  The Red Sox also signed Nick Punto to a two year deal.

Tags: Boston Redsox, New England Patriots, Boston Bruins, Bobby Valentine

After 46 years, Joe Paterno is out as head coach at PENN State, Paterno was fired Wednesday night amid a sex abuse scandal, in which Paterno is accused of covering up former coach  Jerry Sandusky sexually abusing players and young children. Tom Bradley will be the interim head coach and will coach PENN’s States game on Saturday. Mike McQueary will not be at the game Saturday vs Nebraska after receiving numerous death threats.



The Boston Bruins won there 4th straight as they shut down the Edmonton Oilers 6-3. Marchand had 2 goals and T. Rask had 27 saves.



After taking two straight losses for the first time since 2009, the Patriots got back to practice this week as they prepare to head to The Medowlands to take on the Red Hot Jets.  9 players were limited for the patriots including Wes Welker.  Dan Fletcher, Patrick Chung, and Brandon Spikes did not practice.

The Patriots also released defensive tackle Albert Hayensworth on Tuesday, he has since joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.


Sandy Alomar Jr. was the lastest managerial canidate to be interviewed for the Red Sox open manager position, The Red Sox will interview Blue Jays first base coach Torey Lovullo on Friday and Tigers third base coach Gene Lamont on Saturday.

The NBAPlayers Assoication and NBA owners have been meeting since 1 PM today in hopes of reaching a new CBA, Reports say that the issue of basketball related income has been resolved per a 50-50 split, and reportedly there is momentum for a deal, later tonight.

Tags: Penn State Sex Scandal, Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins are set to take the ice in Toronto tonight at 7 to take on the Maple Leafs. The Bruins won their last game 5-3 Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators.


The New England Patriots take on the New York Giants this Sunday in a 2007 Super Bowl rematch, Good news for the Patriots as RB Ahmad Bradshaw and WR Hakeem Nicks are doubtful for the Giants.


In baseball off season news Chicago Cubs President Theo Epstein allegedly met with Terry Francona about becoming the next Cubs manager, after firing Mike Quade last week. Cubs also interviewed other candidates for the position as well.


The Red Sox have allowed Jonathan Papelbon, David Ortiz, Tim Wakefield and Jason Varitek to become free agents. The Sox and Cubs have asked the Rangers permission to talk too Pitching Coach Mike Maddux about there vacancies at the Manager Postion.


Free Agent Jim Thome will sign with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Tags: Boston Bruins, Boston Redsox, Chicago Cubs, MLB

Tuesday Night the Bruins dominated the Ottawa Senators in a 5-3 victory. The Bruins next play Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins are currently last in the East with a record of 4 and 7.



Cubs President Theo Epstein met up with last years Chicago Cubs Manager Mike Quade to inform him he has been fired. Terry Francona and Ryan Sandberg are reportedly not candidates for the position.



The Boston Red Sox have allowed Tim Wakefield, Jason Varitek, Jonathan Papelbon and David Ortiz to hit the free agent market.

The Boston Bruins hosted the Montreal Canadians for a 2 game home series starting Thursday Night and concluding Saturday.  The Bruins first round playoff opponent has gotten off to a slow start this season, with a 2-5-2 record, but came out on top Thursday. Thomas Plekanec knocked in a goal for the Canadians 10:46 into the 3rd period to cap off the 2-1 victory over the B's. Bruins and Canadians meet Saturday 7:00pm at the Garden.


The Patriots will head to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers this Sunday.  Tom Brady has historically been very successful against the Steelers totaling a 6-1 record since 2001.

Dane Fletcher and Ras-I Dowling did not participate in practice today, 8 other players we limited, the Patriots Also activated Kevin Faulk and 2 other players from the Physically unable to perform list.


The Cardinals sent out Jamie Garcia in St Louis Thursday Night for game 6 of the World Series,  The Rangers sent out Colby Lewis. The Texas Rangers found themselves 1 strike away from a world series victory for their 2nd time Thursday Night but could not come through as David Freese hit the game winning homer for the Cardinals in the 11th inning. The Cardinals found themselves down 9-7 in the bottom of the 10th after Josh Hamilton hit a 2 run homer in the top of the 10th for the Rangers, Ryan Theriot and Lance Berkman had base hits in the 10th to drive in 2 runs off Fernando Salas too send the game into the 11th. David Freese would then hit a solo shot in the 11th off of Jamie Garcia to keep the Cardinals alive and send the World Series to game 7 Friday Night.  

ESPN SCOREBOARD:
Coverage: FOX
8:05 PM ET, October 27, 2011
Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri 

Tags: Boston Redsox, World Series, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Bruins, New England Patriots

We are at the middle of the High School Football season and Friday’s TVL Game of the week on WMRC featured the Hopkinton Hillers and the Holliston Panthers. Hopkinton played without there starting Quarterback Mike Decina. Holliston came out on top in this game as they shutout Hopkinton 20-0. Dan Barone had 3 touchdown runs for the Panthers. Holliston is now tied on top in league play with Westwood, as the Panthers are 2-0 in the league, 5-1 overall.



Westwood bested Medway last night 7-0 to improve too 6-1 and 2-0 in league play. Bo Berluti caught a 10 yard touchdown pass from Alex Berluti.



Millis-Hopedale remains undefeated as they took down Dover-Sherborn in Tri-valley small play. Final score of that game was 28-0. Jim Perkins had 3 touchdown runs for Millis-Hopedale.



In Midwatch Play Shrewsbury over Wachusett 36-29, North Middlesex lost to Hudson 34-19, Marlborough defeated Algonquin 35-14 and Westborough got crushed by Nashoba 57-13.



Tonight the Milford Scarlet Hawks battle the Fitchburg Red Raiders. Milford and Fitchburg are both 3-3 in the season and undefeated in league play. The winner of Fitchburg and Milford will be in first place in Mid-Wach A. Game can be heared tonight on WMRC with coverage starting at 5:45pm, beginning of the game will be available online only until B.C. Football ends, then the game can be found on 1490am.



Talking about B.C. Football, the Boston College Eagles play at 3:00pm today as they take on Virgina Tech who is ranked 12th in the country. B.C. is having a rough season as they are 1-5 and 0-3 in ACC play, Virgina Tech is 6-1 on the season and 2-1 in ACC Play. Coverage starts on WMRC at approximately 2:45 today.



Theo Epstein has officially resigned from the Red Sox and is set to become the new President of the Chicago Cubs, press conference is expected to be held Tuesday, Ben Cherrington will take over as Red Sox G.M.



Game 3 of the World Series is tonight as the Cardinals head to Texas, series is tied 1-1. Kyle Lohse takes the Hill against the Rangers Matt Harrison.



The 3-4 Boston Bruins take on the San Jose Sharks tonight at the Garden game time is 7:00pm.



Earlier this week the Lions and Eagles agreed on a trade that would send RB Ronnie Brown to the Lions and RB Jerome Harrison to the Eagles, but the trade was nullified as it was discovered during a physical that Jerome Harrison had a brain tumor. Jerome Harrison since had surgery and is expected to have had the Brain Tumor removed.




Patriots have a bye week this week but some games going on is the Chargers @ the Jets – 1:00pm start, Tim Tebow gets the start for the Broncos as they take on the Dolphins at 1:00 and Carson Palmer and the Raiders welcome the Chiefs at 4:00. Sunday Night game is the Peyton Manningless Colts at the Saints and on Monday the Ravens battle Jacksonville.

Tags: High School Football, Boston Redsox, Theo Epstein, World Series, New England Patriots, Boston Bruins

Bruins got their 3rd win of the season as they took down the Toronto Maple Leafs last night 6-2.

Tim Thomas got the start at goalie, he’s now 3-2 on the season.

In the 1st Period Nathan Horton, Zdeno Chara and Chris Kelly all had goals, no one scored in the 2nd period, but in the 3rd period Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron and Tyler Seguin knocked in goals for the Bruins.

Mark Bartkowski has been sent back down too providence and Stephen Kampfer is in!

David Krecji saw action last night, he has been out since the early part of the season with a core injury. 



According to reports The Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox are finishing up negotiations that would send Theo Epstein to the Cubs.  The current hold up appears to be reviewing of medical records of players that the Red Sox would receive in exchange of Epstein.  San Diego Padres General Manager Jed Hoyer is expected to join Theo in Chicago and would take over as Cubs GM.



The Texas Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals played game 2 of the World Series last night, the Cards took game one with a 3-2 Victory, but in game 2 the Rangers struck back scoring 2 runs in the 9th to take game 2 2-1 and tie up the Fall Classic at 1.

Colby Lewis for the Rangers went 6.2 IP and gave up 4 hits and 1 run while Jamie Garcia went 7 scoreless innings for the Cardinals. Josh Hamilton and Michael Young both had sacrifice hits in the 9th to drive in runs. Jason Motte gave up both runs, only 1 run was earned.



A trade that would have sent Running back Ronnie Brown to the Lions has been voided after Jerome Harrison, the player that Brown was being traded for, failed his Phycial, reports are now that a Brain tumor was discovered during Harrisons Physical.

Tags: MLB, Boston Bruins, Boston Redsox, NFL, Jerome Harrison, Ronnie Brown, Tim Thomas

The situation down on Yawkey Way keeps getting worse and worse, after accusations that Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and John Lackey were eating fried Chicken and Drinking Beer in the club house, quotes from Jon Lester pretty much confirmed it, Curt Schilling slammed the Sox and Johnny Damon avoided every question he was asked. The quotes from this past week are below.


Jon Lesters Comments:
There’s a perception out there that we were up there getting hammered and that wasn’t the case. Was it a bad habit? Yes. I should have been on the bench more than I was. But we just played bad baseball as a team in September. We stunk. To be honest, we were doing the same things all season when we had the best record in baseball.”
Lester went on to say that the Fried Chicken was a once a month event and that the beers were specifically 9th inning rally beers.

Schilling responding to Lesters Comments
Ex-Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling called Jon Lester's comments to Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe about the Sox needing "more structure" than Terry Francona providing "embarrassing and . . . sad", because it showed a lack of maturity on the parts of the players, and that the 2011 Sox had "no leadership whatsoever in that clubhouse".

"That kind of boggles my mind that [Lester] said that, because at the end of the day, these are grown men," Schilling said on WEEI Radio's 'Mut and Merloni' Show. "Do you need a manager to tell you? They all knew, and you always know, when you’re doing something questionable or wrong.

"They chose not to correct it, and because they chose not to correct it, I think some of them were absolutely not in good enough shape to pitch through September and help them win games.

Schilling went on to add: "That’s sad. That’s embarrassing, and that’s sad. That basically says, at the age of 28, 29, 30, I need an adult more mature than me to give me rules and guidelines. ... That’s sad, because that’s why we won World Series. We won those World Series because [Francona] was that way, because he allowed us to police ourselves. What it says to me even more clearly, they have no leadership whatsoever in that clubhouse."


By Peter Abraham, Boston Globe Staff

Johnny Damon, a player who knows a thing or two about winning and good team chemistry, was on WDAE in Tampa today and talked about the news coming out of Boston.

Question: "There was a report out of Boston that Josh Beckett was one of three Red Sox pitchers that drank beer in the dugout this season. Did that happen in 2004 when you were with the Red Sox as well? Your thoughts on Terry Francona not being the Red Sox manager any longer?"

Damon: “Terry Francona to me is a great manager, but sometimes the players in the clubhouse also help smooth things out. The players probably should have known a bit better to respect the game a bit. There are teams that I have been on before that have tried to get a rally going [by having a beer] or obviously the guys who aren’t playing in a game, but it’s unfortunate. I think Jon Lester called it a ‘witch hunt,’ and trying to play the blame game. They just had a bad September. Nobody wants to go through that.

"Unfortunately when you are in the Boston market and that happens and you don’t make the playoffs things change and there is a lot of changes going on there right now, especially with the team that was supposed to win the World Series. We were happy because of their demise. It got us into the playoffs and gave us a chance to possibly do something great, so unfortunately that is how that market is. David Ortiz said too that there is drama every single day.”

Question: "So did the beer drinking in the clubhouse and dugout happen in 2004? Or is the media just making too big of a deal about it?"

Damon: “The thing is in 2004 we had such a great chemistry in the locker room that people had each other’s back. If the media was blowing up a player we had guys like Kevin Millar or guys like myself and Bill Mueller, who would step up and take the bullet and protect players and that’s very important to a team. I felt like every time we lost a game this year it was on me because I didn’t get that hit in the first inning or didn’t have a good base running play in the third. I learned early to be accountable even when you don’t have to be accountable and because of that over time it has made me a better player and an even better teammate.”

Tags: Boston Redsox, MLB

Tags: Boston Bruins, Boston Redsox, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers, Boston Bruins, NBA Lockout, Texas Rangers

Nelson Cruz hits a 3 Run Homer in the 11th to help the Texas Rangers go up 3-1 in the ALCS as the Rangers cruise to a 7-3 victory.



The St. Louis Cardinals are up 2-1 in the NLCS after they defeat the Brewers 4-3. Chris Carpenter bests Yovani Gollardo.



A team source told the newspaper that Terry Francona was distracted by marital issues and his use of pain medication last season, allegations the former Red Sox manager has strongly denied.
"It makes me angry that people say these things because I've busted my (butt) to be the best manager I can be," Francona said when the Globe presented him with its findings. "I wasn't terribly successful this year, but I worked harder and spent more time at the ballpark this year than I ever did."
Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia had plenty to say. Speaking to WEEI from vacation in Mexico he couldn't believe someone from the organization would talk that way about Francona, who "had everyone's back since Day 1."
"He's protected every single guy in that clubhouse and that's why I respect him like you can't believe," Pedroia said. "Whatever job he gets, if he needs me for a couple of games or whatever just let me know, I'll go play for free. That's how I care about this guy. This guy is my family.
"For him to have to deal with this, he's the best manager in the history of the Red Sox organization. He won two World Series, look at the run that he had there, it's pretty remarkable. That's the part that hurts and whoever the person it is that's saying this I think they need to take a step back and kind of look in the mirror and understand what they're saying about a guy. A lot of guys in this organization have his back and I'm one of them."
Papi out of Beantown Next Year?
Espn Article:
Longtime Boston Red Sox slugger and free-agent-to-be David Ortiz spoke about the possibility of signing with the AL East rival New York Yankees during an interview Wednesday with ESPN's Colleen Dominguez, after expressing frustration with the state of the Red Sox, who've seen manager Terry Francona and general manager Theo Epstein leave in the wake of the team's September collapse.
"There's too much drama, man," Ortiz told Dominguez in reference to the Red Sox. "There's too much drama. I have been thinking about a lot of things. I don't know if I want to be part of this drama for next year."


Boston Bruins fall to 1-3 as they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes Wednesday 3-2

Tags: Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Redsox, Boston Bruins

The Chicago Cubs have reportedly agreed with Theo Epstein on a 5 year close to $20 Million Dollar Deal for Theo to become the new President of the Cubs.



The Boston Globe has released an article written by Bob Hohler which digs into the problems with the Red Sox ownership, atmosphere in the club house and accuses certain players of being careless to the team.
"The indifference of Beckett, Lester, and Lackey in a time of crisis can be seen in what team sources say became their habit of drinking beer, eating fast-food fried chicken, and playing video games in the clubhouse during games while their teammates tried to salvage a once-promising season."


Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony have mentioned that players may start their own league if NBA Lock Out wipes out the 2011-2012 NBA Season.



Tigers win game three 5-2 against the Rangers on Tuesday and now trail 2-1 in the Best of 7 ALCS.
Game 4 is this afternoon at 4:15pm



The Cardinals and Brewers are knotted up at 1-1 in the NLCS, Game 4 is tonight at 8:05 PM.



The New York Jets have traded WR Derrik Mason to the Houston Texans for an undisclosed 3rd Round Draft Pick



Looking for a fun Read Check out Jessica Dempsey's article about the Come Back Kids, The Detroit Lions! Click Read More for Article!

Tags: New York Jets, Detroit Lions, NBA Lockout, Boston Redsox, Theo Epstein

The Red Sox are out of the Playoff picture as they lost to the Balitmore Orioles last night in the Regualar season finale, The Red Sox had a 3-2 lead in the ninth until Jonathan Paplebon gave up a Nolan Reimold ground rule double to deep center and the next batter Robert Andino seemed to had flown out to left, however Carl Crawford bobbled the catch and the Orioles went on to win 4-3

And down in Tampa the Rays trailed the Yankees 7 to nothing but came roaring back in the late innings to tie the score at 7 in the ninth, this game would conclude in the 12th inning, where minutes after the Red Sox had lost to Baltimore, Evan Longoria hit his second home run of the night and clinched the Wild card for the Rays.

This is the second year in a row the Red Sox have not made the playoffs, something they have not done since the 2001 and 2002 seasons

The Playoffs start tommorow night with The Rays Heading to Texas to take on the Rangers and The Detriot Tigers heading to New York take on the Yankees

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The New England Patriots Try to shake off their first defeat of the season as they head to Oakland to take on the Raiders.  Logan Makins Returned to Practice after sitting out Wensday with an illness.  Missing Practice were Albert Haynsworth (Back) Mike Wright (Concussion) Aaron Hernedez (Knee) and Sebastion Vollmer (back)

Tim Thomas will make his Preseason debut for Boston as the Bruins take on the Senotars and Nathan Horton is expected back in the lineup for the first time since suffering a concussion in the Stanley Cup Playoffs agasint Vancuver.  The Regular Season Kicks off one week from tonight as the Bruins open up their season with a three game homestand againts the Philadelphia Flyers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Colarado Avalanche

NBA commissioner David Stern is planning to threaten players with the cancellation of the entire 2011-12 season if the sides haven't made major progress toward a deal by the end of the weekend.  The Players view this as just a negotiating tactic.

One NBA player with Job Security however may be LA Laker Kobe Bryant who said that if the NBA lockout holds over into the season and games are lost, it quote "Very Possible" that he will play in the Italian Basketball Leauge team Virtus Bologna.  The Team is offerning 2.5 million dollars for Kobe to play 10 games over 40 days.

This has been Craig D'Alessandro with your Sports Report catch the Sports Blast on www.masportsweb.com

This is Craig D’Alessandro with your SPORTS BLAST Update, Tune into the SPORTS BLAST on MASPORTSWEB.COM and tonight on www.thelook247.com 8-midnight/et

The Boston Red Sox dropped 3 of a 4 game series to the Baltimore Orioles. Wednesday’s starter Josh Beckett went 7 and one third innings, giving up 6 runs, 4 of which come off the bat of Orioles’ slugging first baseman Mark Reynolds.
With the loss, the Red Sox Record in September falls to 5 and 16, the Sox get a much needed day off before a Pivotal 3 game series with the AL East Champion New York Yankees, who clinched the title with a day-night double header sweep against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Current Standings in the Wild Card:  The Red Sox led by 2 ½ games over the Tampa Bay Rays and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

The Boston Herald is reporting that The Red Sox have tried for the last week to acquire New York Mets pitcher Chris Capuano to pitch Sunday’s series finale against the Yankees.  If Capuano is acquired, he would be ineligible to pitch in the Post Season, a deal is not expected.

 The New England Patriots head to Buffalo this Sunday to play the Surprise 2-0 Bills.  Tom Brady will look to keep his stellar start to the season alive against a team he has fared very well against in his career with a current 17 game winning streak against the division Rival.
The Patriots announces some roster moves this week, including placing Dan Koppen on the season ending injured reserve.  The 32 year old center broke his fibula in the season opener against the Miami Dolphins, The Patriots were hoping to get Koppen back late in the season, but with Dan Connelly filling in, the Pats did not want an injured player take up a spot on the 53 man roster.
Other injures include tight end Aaron Hernandez who is out from anywhere from 2-6 weeks with an MCL injury and punter Zoltan Mesko, who injured his knee in the win against the Chargers, he has since returned to practice and Safety Patrick Chung underwent thumb Surgery earlier this week, his status for the Game against the Bills is uncertain

Getting their first game action since winning the Stanley Cup, the Boston Bruins opened up their Pre-season dropping the first game to the Ottawa Senators in a 2-1 overtime loss.

October 2 is officially the final day a New NBA collective Bargaining Agreement can be reached without the NBA losing out on a full season.  NBA players and owners are scheduled to meet tonight but a deal is not expected anytime soon.

The Boston Red Sox have been on a slide as of late losing 7 of their last 10 games. Tim Wakefield got the nod tonight against Brandon Morrow and the Toronto Blue Jays, in his 8th attempt at career win number 200. Going into the 4th inning the Sox were down 5-4 but the bats would heat up as the Sox put up 14 more runs in the 18-6 victory over the Blue Jays. Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury both went 4 for 5. Wakefield may have given up 5 earned runs tonight, but a little help from the line up helped Wakefield to his 200th career win! Tim Wakefield has been pitching in the majors for 19+ years (since 1992) and has a career record of 200-178.

Congratulations to Tim Wakefield for becoming the 61st pitcher in Baseball History with at least 200 Wins!

Another major accomplishment happened tonight besides Tim Wakefield getting his 200th win and that was Closer Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees getting his 600th career save in the Yankees 3-2 victory over the Mariners. Rivera is the 2nd Closer in Baseball History to get at least 600 saves, only the retired former Padres Closer Trevor Hoffman has more saves than Rivera at 601. Catcher Russell Martin threw out Ichiro Suzuki on an attempted steal in the bottom of the 9th to help one of the greatest closers of all time get his 600th career save.