WHISTLER, British Columbia — They were bitter rivals, at least until the race was over.

Steve Holcomb has spent the better part of a decade chasing Andre Lange, trying to knock the German legend off his perch as bobsledding’s best pilot.

Saturday was Holcomb’s last chance.

Done deal. Bobsledding’s torch was passed. And when it was over, minutes before Holcomb got his first Olympic medal and Lange got his last, they sat together and shared a beer, sliding’s past and sliding’s future toasting one another.

“Overwhelming,” Holcomb said.

Holcomb, a former Utah guardsman, drove USA-1 to the gold medal in four-man bobsledding Saturday, the first American pilot to do so since Francis Tyler at St. Moritz in 1948. By winning, he cemented the status of his famed “Night Train” sled and push team of Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler and Curt Tomasevicz as sliding’s best.

“This will take a while for it to sink in,” Holcomb said. “You work so hard and when you finally get there it’s like, ‘Well, now what? I don’t know what to do.’ We’ve worked so hard and gone through so much in the last four years. To end on a high note like this is huge.”

The high note came four hours later.

They jumped atop the medal podium together, each arm raised skyward, before each man bowed to have Olympic gold placed around their necks, none of them able to stop smiling. Then they put their right hands over the hearts, and as the national anthem blared and the U.S. flag was raised, Holcomb seemed to hold back tears.

And for the photo that followed, Holcomb knelt next to Lange, then shared one last hug with the man he needed to beat.

“This will change their life,” USA-3 driver Mike Kohn said.

World champions, 2009. Olympic champions, 2010.

“You can’t do any better,” said U.S. coach Brian Shimer, a bronze medalist in 2002, the year the Americans also got a silver in four-man with Todd Hays joining Shimer on that podium.

With that, Shimer started to cry, unable to hold back any longer.

Holcomb absolutely tamed the track, his four runs completed in 3 minutes, 24.46 seconds. Lange was 0.38 seconds back for the silver, his quest to win five gold medals in five Olympic tries thwarted, and Canada’s Lyndon Rush drove his sled to the bronze.

Lange celebrated wildly at the end, as if he had won. In his mind, he had.

“Coming into today,” said Kevin Kuske, one of Lange’s pushers, “we knew silver was all we could win.”

Holcomb was that dominant. And not apologetic, either.

“I’m good friends with Andre, so it’s a thrill,” Holcomb said. “And at the same time, it’s, ‘I didn’t mean to rain on your parade — but I have my own parade going now.’ ”

Holcomb and his sledmates crossed the finish line, index fingers in the air, then wrapped each other in American flags as a red, white and blue crowd roared with delight. Holcomb hoisted his helmet as family and friends craned for photographs, and a party the U.S. program waited 62 years to throw was finally getting under way.

On the trackside podium for the flower ceremony, Tomasevicz pulled off Holcomb’s hat, planting a smooch on his pilot’s bald, sweaty head. Sealed with a kiss, it was, and then the four teammates stood together and did what’s known as the “Holcy Dance,” the little shuffle step that Holcomb does to keep his team loose.

Hours later, at the medal ceremony, they danced again.

“It means an awful lot,” said Darrin Steele, CEO of the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation. “This has been a long road. But all the components came together. You put a sled and a team together, and you never know how it’s going to go.”

Holcomb was walking around trackside about an hour before the final heat, shaking his finger, mouthing the words “one more.” With a lead of 0.45 seconds over Rush, all Holcomb needed to do was get his sled down the mountain without a huge mishap, knowing his lead was such that no one could catch him.

All he had to do was not wreck before Curve 13, this track’s most dangerous turn, the one Holcomb himself dubbed “50-50” after seeing roughly one out of every two sleds crash there last year.

Holcomb and his sledmates grabbed each other by the hands one last time, took one last look down the hill and prepared to push the “Night Train” — the menacing, flat-black, super-high-tech sled that is coveted by almost every bobsledder in the world — into Olympic lore.

Holcomb’s final message, Olsen said, was: “One more run. Let’s do it.”

A mere 51.52 seconds later, they did.

“They embarrassed the field,” Rush said. “They showed up in our backyard and it’s kind of like the theme of these Olympic Games. The Americans have shown up in Canada and whipped us.”

[Read more...]

By Tim Reynolds – The Associated Press
Feb 28, 2010

Canada Beats United States 3-2 in Overtime in Men’s Hockey
(AP)

The United States, not picked to win a medal and seeded 4th out of 12 at the beginning of the winter Olympics, took powerhouse and gold medal favorite Canada into overtime before finally losing 3-2. The spirit of our American boys shined as our boys tied a hard fought game with only 24.4 seconds left to play in regulation time.
Congratulations to our neighbors to the North.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Sidney Crosby scored 7:40 into overtime and Canada beat the United States 3-2 on Sunday to earn its second men’s hockey gold medal in the last three Olympics.

Crosby’s shot from the lower part of the left circle eluded goalie Ryan Miller, the tournament MVP.

The United States had forced overtime on Zach Parise’s goal with 24.4 seconds left in regulation

Granted the victory last night in Vancouver, Canada was only a preliminary round game, but it was the biggest upset by the U.S. Olympic mens’ ice hockey team since the gold medal winning team that produced the “Miracle on Ice” in 1980. Plus, it was the first time since 1960 that an American team beat a Canadian team in Olympic play.
Both squads, made up of NHL players gave the American ice hockey community a game to remember for a long, long time.
Last night, our neighbors in Canada cryed themselves to sleep. Whose game is it now Canada? Congratulations boys!

Team USA stuns Canada 5-3 to win Group A Monday
By Shawn P. Roarke – NHL.com Managing Editor

VANCOUVER — Youth dominates this American national team, but its identity for the 2010 Olympics is greatly shaped by three former Olympians brought back for another shot at gold.

Sunday night, it was those three wily veterans — defenseman Brian Rafalski, winger Jamie Langenbrunner and center Chris Drury — and goaltender Ryan Miller, who many believe should have played at the 2006 Olympics — that navigated the Americans through their most difficult test to date, a winner-take-all Group A finale against the host Canadians.

When the final buzzer sounded on a raucous 60 minutes of the marquee game of Showdown Sunday — the Russians beat the Czechs in the afternoon and the Swedes played the Finns in the nightcap — the young and brash Americans had silenced not only the capacity crowd at Canada Hockey Place, but an entire nation with a gritty 5-3 win that featured two goals by Rafalski, single strikes from both Langenbrunner and Drury and 42 saves from Miller.

“Those guys know what to do to win,” said American coach Ron Wilson.

David Backes, part of America’s youth brigade couldn’t suppress a smile when asked about the veterans stepping to the fore Sunday.

“Veteran leadership; there’s not much of it, but those are the guys that came here tonight and got it done,” said Backes, who is making a name for himself on the international game’s biggest stage. “Ryan Miller, Brian Rafalski, Jamie Langenbrunner. Those are guys that are blue-collar and get it done.”

They certainly did Sunday, against what many considered the longest of odds.

Canada entered this tournament as the odd-on favorite and, on paper, was better than the Americans at almost every position. Now, the Canadians (1-1-0-1, 5 points) are relegated to Tuesday’s qualification round, forced to play Germany in an unwanted winner-take-all game.

The Americans (3-0-0-0, 9 points) not only win Group A, but will have one of the top-two seeds in Wednesday’s quarterfinal round.

It wasn’t supposed to shake out this way. But when Canada superstar Sidney Crosby accidentally tipped a Rafalski slap shot past goalie Martin Brodeur in the game’s first minute, the preconceived notions of this game went right out the window.

“I think that was huge for us,” Rafalski told NHL.com. “Even though we didn’t have the best first period, they came out flying and we came out with the lead. I think we got stronger as the game went on.”

The Americans led 2-1 after 20 minutes because Rafalski wouldn’t let his team question itself.

Eric Staal scored at 8:53 to tie the game at 1-1. Rafalski answered just 22 seconds later when Brodeur batted an American clearing attempt right onto the red-hot defenseman’s stick. He then used Langenbrunner for a screen to get a slapper past a surprised Brodeur. Rafalski, who scored twice in the last three minutes of Thursday’s win against Norway, had four goals in a 12-minute span when he put the Americans ahead at 9:15 of the period.

“He’s doing something special right now,” Langenbrunner said. “He’s looked at as our leader back there and he’s doing a heck of a job doing that, talking in the locker room and talking on the ice and really controlling the play. He seems to rise up in these situations and you saw that again tonight.”

Rafalski wasn’t the only old man rising up.

Canada landed its second body blow in an attempt to knock out an American team that appeared to be running on adrenaline when Dany Heatley slammed home a rebound 3:32 into the second to tie the game at 2-all.

But the American vets once again were there to pull Team USA woozily off the mat.

This time it was Drury doing the honors by scoring a put-back goal of his own just a little more than three minutes after Heatley’s goal.

“There are not too many guys more clutch than he is,” Langenbrunner said. “I’m happy to have him on this team. He’s another one of those guys that can rise up and he feels good in those situations and delivers, delivers regularly.”

Finally, it was Langenbrunner’s turn to take a twirl in the spotlight. After a ton of intense pressure by the Canadians — “We weathered some storms out there,” Langenbrunner said — the American captain just got his stick on a Rafalski slapper to steer the puck through the small 5-hole left by Brodeur, his New Jersey Devils teammate.

Now it was 4-2 and the Americans could see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Canada still had a few haymakers left to test the American will. First, Crosby scored to make it 4-3 with 3:09 left in the contest. Then, smelling blood, the Canadians came full bore, cycling the puck for well over a minute and putting the Americans under a state of siege.

However, Drury (blocking a dangerous Shea Weber slapper) and Miller were there for Team USA.

“It was a long shift,” Drury said. “It seemed like they had eight or nine guys out there to our five. We hung tight and, obviously, ‘Millsie’ made some huge saves. I’m glad we were able to get it out of the zone and be able to change.”

On the change, Team USA scored its final goal with Ryan Kesler out-racing Corey Perry to sweep the puck into a net that had been vacated by Brodeur for the extra attacker just seconds earlier.

Perhaps, the most lasting effect the Olympic vets on Team USA had was felt after the game.

There was little denying that this team had just authored a signature win, but nobody on the American team was going down that road; not with another week left before a champion is crowned in this tournament.

“It’s three points and it’s a highly touted game that a lot of people put emphasis on,” Backes said. “But we said before the game this isn’t going to be the most important game we play.”

No, the Americans’ next game will be their most important. But now, after proving its mettle Sunday night against the Canadians, this young team is far more prepared to navigate the upcoming challenges.

Gumbel: Lack of Blacks Makes Winter Olympics ‘Look Like GOP Convention’
By Brent Baker (Bio | Archive) NewsBusters.org
February 13, 2010

It is sad to see an African-American make silly racist remarks during February, African-American history month; or simply known as Black history month. Shame on Mr. Gumbel. But then again he has no shame to feel remorseful for. Dr. King would be ashamed of Mr. Gumbel.

On the eve of the Winter Olympics four years ago, Bryant Gumbel couldn’t resist taking a racial shot at the Republican Party in a commentary at the end of his Real Sports magazine show on HBO. The former NBC and CBS morning news host concluded by telling viewers that as for the Winter Olympic games, “count me among those who don’t like ‘em and won’t watch ‘em.”

He condescendingly suggested viewers “try not to laugh when someone says these are the world’s greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention.”

Gumbel’s remarks came on the February of 2006 edition of Real Sports, a monthly sports news magazine show which includes Bernard Goldberg amongst its correspondents. It first aired on Tuesday night, February 7, a few days before the Olympics opened in Torino, Italy.

Gumbel’s commentary, at the end of the February 7, 2006 Real Sports on HBO, in full:

Finally tonight, the Winter Games. Count me among those who don’t like ‘em and won’t watch ‘em. In fact, I figure when Thomas Paine said “these are the times that try men’s souls,” he must have been talking about the start of another Winter Olympics. Because they’re so trying, maybe over the next three weeks we should all try too.

Like try not to be incredulous when someone attempts to link these games to those of the ancient Greeks who never heard of skating or skiing. So try not to laugh when someone says these are the world’s greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention.

Try not to point out that something’s not really a sport if a pseudo-athlete waits in what’s called a “kiss and cry” area while some panel of subjective judges decides who won. And try to blot out all logic when announcers and sports writer pretend to care about the luge, the skeleton, the biathlon and all those other events they don’t understand and totally ignore for all but three weeks every four years.

Face it, these Olympics are little more than a marketing plan to fill space and sell time during the dreary days of February. So if only to hasten the arrival of the day they’re done and we can move on to March Madness, for God’s sake, let the games begin.

Previewing a 1989 NBC prime-time special, ‘The Racial Attitudes and Consciousness Exam (RACE),’ Gumbel revealed how he presumes conservatives are racists: “This test is not going to tell you whether you’re a racist or a liberal.”

For dozens more videos of Gumbel’s liberal advocacy and bashing of conservatives, as well as links to many more MRC articles about Gumbel’s bias on NBC’s Today and CBS’s Early Show, check out the MRC’s special Web section, “Bryant Gumbel: Liberal Activist Masquerading as Impartial Journalist.”

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brent-baker/2010/02/13/flashback-gumbel-lack-blacks-makes-winter-olympics-look-gop-convention#ixzz0fSmbIKxI

Predictable Lefty Outrage at Tebow Pro-Life Superbowl Ad
By Matthew Philbin NewsBusters.org
January 26, 2010

Way to go kid, you just threw a touchdown pass of the biggest kind. Congratulations! ChandlersWatch-Team

Told ya so. When reports first surfaced a few weeks ago that Focus on the Family was planning to run a pro-life ad during the Super Bowl broadcast featuring University of Florida quarter back Tim Tebow, the Culture & Media Institute predicted liberals would be upset.

Like clockwork, an article in the Huffington Post on Jan. 25 reported that “a national coalition of women’s groups” that includes the National Organization for Women and the Feminist Majority is demanding that CBS reconsider its plans to run the ad.

Tebow, a Heisman Trophy winner who led the Gators to an NCAA championship, is a famously outspoken Christian noted for wearing Bible verses on his game day eye-black. He is also a walking pro-life story: the Super Bowl ad will relate how Tim’s mother, against the advice of doctors, carried him to term in a dangerous pregnancy while on a church mission to the Philippines.

Read more: http://www.newsbusters.org/#ixzz0dkCyY3mA

(AP) ESPN FACTS
PASADENA, Calif. — The running game wears teams down. The defense changes games.

Yes, Alabama, this season’s version of the Crimson Tide could have been your dad’s Crimson Tide, too.

High Tide.

Or Bear Bryant’s.

The Alabama ‘D’ knocked Texas quarterback Colt McCoy out of the Citi BCS Championship Game early, then made a big play late to stop a Longhorns comeback in a 37-21 victory Thursday that brought glory back to the program Bear built.

“We back,” said Mark Ingram, the Heisman Trophy winner who ran for 116 yards and two scores.

Instead of Bear’s houndstooth hat, it’s Nick Saban in a polo shirt who walks the sidelines these days. Nobody’s complaining. In the short span of three years, Saban took a program that had drifted far from what it had been and brought it back to championship caliber.

This was Alabama’s first title since 1992, its eighth since the advent of the polls in the 1930s and its seventh Associated Press championship. The top-ranked Tide (14-0) won the AP title unanimously.

Fast Facts

• The win gave Alabama its eighth major poll national championship, tying Notre Dame for the most ever.

• Alabama coach Nick Saban became the second coach (Urban Meyer) to win two BCS national championships. His other title came at LSU.

• Mark Ingram joined USC’s Matt Leinart (2004) as the only players to win a BCS title and the Heisman Trophy in the same season. Ingram also became the second running back in the last 64 years to win the Heisman and a national championship of any kind in the same season, joining Tony Dorsett’s (Pittsburgh) feat in 1976.

• Texas lost its first BCS bowl game in four tries, dropping to 3-1 all-time. Only LSU (4-0) had a better record in BCS games.

• The Longhorns’ Jordan Shipley finished with 10 catches for 122 yards, tying him for the second-most receptions in a BCS championship game.

– ESPN Stats & Information

Saban picked up the trophy Friday morning, and someday soon, his likeness will go up next to those of Bryant, his protege, Gene Stallings, and the other coaching greats whose statues stand outside Bryant-Denny Stadium.

“I feel good that I’ve been able to contribute something significant in this time,” Saban said Friday. “I feel there’s a tremendous responsibility and obligation to having a high standard of excellence. Because of that tradition, it makes me feel very good we’ve been able to contribute to that in a positive way.”

Saban’s defense changed the tenor of the title game suddenly and startlingly when Marcell Dareus hit McCoy, injuring the quarterback’s shoulder and knocking him out on Texas’ fifth offensive play.

“I just heard a thump when I hit him,” Dareus said. “I did lay it down pretty hard. I didn’t try to, but it felt great.”

McCoy said he lost feeling in his right shoulder but wasn’t in pain. He asked to come back in, but coach Mack Brown didn’t want to risk it — a decision that will certainly be discussed for a while down in Austin.

“I would have given anything to be out there, because it would have been different,” McCoy said.

Not to be, though, and when Dareus picked off backup quarterback Garrett Gilbert’s shovel pass and returned it 28 yards for a score right before halftime, the Tide was rolling with a 24-6 lead that looked like it would get bigger.

But something funny happened.

Gilbert, the highly recruited freshman who had only thrown 26 college passes, grew up in a hurry. He led the No. 2 Longhorns (13-1) on touchdown drives of 59 and 65 yards, capping both with scoring passes to All-American Jordan Shipley.

The Alabama lead was only 24-21 with 6:15 left and all the momentum was in Texas’ favor.

“It’s a hard learning curve but he learned fast,” Brown said. “At one point, I thought he was going to win the ball game.”

Texas got the ball back on its 7-yard line with about 3 minutes left, still trailing by three. Gilbert had a chance to complete the comeback and go down as one of the most out-of-nowhere success stories in college football history.

Instead, another unlikely star, Alabama linebacker Eryk Anders, got a blindside sack and stripped the ball. Teammate Courtney Upshaw recovered. Three plays later, Ingram scored from the 1 to give ‘Bama some breathing room. A few minutes after that, Trent Richardson scored to make a close game look more lopsided than it really was.

“We said, ‘It’s on us, the defensive line,” said Alabama’s Terrence Cody, the 350-pound All-American. “We had to make plays to finish it off. There was no doubt in our huddle. We knew what we can do.”

The Alabama win brought a fourth consecutive title back to the Southeastern Conference.

Richardson ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns, and combined with Ingram’s effort, the Tide won despite a modest 6-for-11 passing night from Greg McElroy. Talk about getting it done on the ground: Dating to Bryant’s last title, in 1979, Alabama has thrown the ball a grand total of 32 times in its last three bowl games that led to national championships.

Ingram became the first running back to win the Heisman and the national title in the same season since Tony Dorsett in 1976.

Ingram was Alabama’s first Heisman Trophy winner. Before this year, the Tide used to point to all its championships and say winning those were better than winning Heismans (Remember that, Auburn?).

But Ingram showed it’s possible to have both.

“I was so happy to leave my heart out there for the team, and blood, sweat and tears,” Ingram said. “We were out there running 110 sprints in 110-degree heat. We were like, ‘Why are we doing this?”

For a night like this, celebrated on the hallowed ground of the Rose Bowl — not known as Alabama’s turf, but certainly part of its heritage. It’s mentioned in the team’s fight song, harkening to trips the team made in the 1930s, a much different era when the Tide was a more regular visitor.

Bryant’s arrival in 1958 turned Alabama into a powerhouse. He built it on his demanding, sometimes demeaning, work ethic that was accepted as part of the game back then and made him the quintessential college coach — houndstooth hat on his head, cigarette dangling from his mouth.

Saban arrived a couple generations later, hoping to clean up after more than a decade of turmoil that included the three Mikes — DuBose, Price and Shula — trouble with the NCAA and problems at almost every turn.

The new coach told the fans they’d have to let go of the expectations of the past if they were going to enjoy the future.

They believed, and now they have a coach who has become the first to win BCS titles at two schools. He adds this to the 2003 championship he won at LSU.

“It’s the whole work ethic, the mental thing, toughness, all the intangibles you’d like to see in players so they can be the best they can be,” Saban said.

The Bear would certainly approve.

The Tide is rolling again.

IIHF.com
January 5, 2010

SASKATOON – John Carlson’s goal at 4:21 of overtime lifted the United States to a thrilling 6-5 victory over Canada in the gold medal game of the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championship. It was the first U.S. gold since beating Canada in the 2004 tournament, and only the second in history for the “other” North American hockey power.

Carlson fired a quick shot from the left side to beat Canada’s Martin Jones, sparking a wild celebration by the American players, aged 18.5 years on average.

For the hosts, Carlson’s winner spoiled a desperate comeback spearheaded by tournament MVP Jordan Eberle. In the style of his miraculous heroics from last year’s semi-final against Russia, Eberle scored two late goals to send the game to overtime after the Americans had built up a seemingly insurmountable 5-3 lead.

It was as wild and unpredictable of a final as anyone could have asked for. Who could have imagined that both teams’ starting goalies would end up getting pulled? Much like during their 5-4 New Year’s Eve shootout loss to Canada, the Americans outplayed the vaunted hosts for most of the game, but this time they got rewarded for their efforts when it meant most.

Canada failed in its quest to win a sixth straight gold medal, which would have surpassed the record set between 1993 and 1997, and 2005 and 2009. Canada’s all-time record against the United States now stands at 27 wins, six losses, and three ties.

This was the third meeting of all time between Canada and the United States in the World Junior gold medal game. Canada won 2-0 in Switzerland in 1997.

This was also Canada’s ninth straight gold medal game (since 2002) and twelfth straight medal (since 1999) at this tournament.

At 4:12 of the third period, the Americans made it 4-3 when Jerry D’Amigo finished off a sweet rush. Fed by American captain Derek Stepan, he sent a high shot past Canadian starting goalie Jake Allen’s blocker.

The Americans got a stroke of good luck at 6:23 when Allen bobbled the puck in front of him after a high American shoot-in by D’Amigo, enabling Stepan to waltz in and tuck a backhander past the stunned netminder from the Montreal Juniors.

It was time for a Canadian goaltending change. Out came Allen and in went Martin Jones, whose only previous tournament appearance came in an Preliminary Round 8-2 romp over Slovakia.

Canada tried to ramp up the pressure as the clock ticked down. With about six minutes left, USA netminder Jack Campbell stoned Nazem Kadri twice from the slot. A couple of minutes later, Gabriel Bourque’s in-tight backhander skittered just wide of the post.

The best Canadian chance to pull within one came when the USA’s Kyle Palmieri was penalized for running over Jones with four minutes to play. They took full advantage when Eberle slammed home a one-timer from the faceoff circle to Campbell’s right with 2:49 left.

The crowd of 15,171 exploded with joy, and Canada brought furious pressure to bear on the American net, almost tucking home a wraparound on the next sequence of play. With 1:35 left, Eberle created more magic, banging home a rebound to tie the game at 5-5 after Campbell made a great pad save on Ryan Ellis’s point shot. Off to overtime.

What a gold medal game — full of lead changes and unexpected developments from the very start.

In front of frenetic fans at Credit Union Centre, the Canadians didn’t get their first shot on goal until 2:40 of the first, but they made it count. Jordan Caron cut down the right side and fed Luke Adam, who deposited a backhand through the pads of American starter Mike Lee to give Canada a 1-0 lead.

Midway through the period, the USA’s Tyler Johnson got behind the Canadian defence but failed on a deke as he was checked by Ryan Ellis, crashing into the end boards and hobbling off. Shortly afterwards, Jordan Schroeder tested Allen with a backhand on the rush.

Then the Americans found a weak spot. With 6:04 left in the first, the USA’s Chris Kreider tied the game with a quick shot from the top of the left faceoff circle that beat a surprised Allen over the glove. Just 36 seconds later, Ryan Bourque came down the right side and fed Schroeder, who also beat Allen over the glove to make it 2-1 for the Americans.

The hosts didn’t fold, though. At 16:03, Canada tied it back up when Greg Nemisz grabbed a loose puck on the rush and slammed it past Lee’s left skate. It was Nemisz’s first goal of the tournament.

Canada ran into penalty problems late in the first, as Stefan Della-Rovere hit Jordan Schroeder at centre ice and was sent off for charging. Next, Alex Pietrangelo took a minor and misconduct for a hit from behind.

With heavy pressure early in the second period, the Americans jumped into a 3-2 lead on the power play at 1:03 when John Carlson fired a shot from the center point that eluded Allen through traffic.

Allen fumbled yet another high glove side shot, which almost slipped behind him. But at 3:56, Canada came right back to tie it up at 3-3 when Taylor Hall’s shot bobbled over Lee. At this point, the Americans were outshooting Canada 21-7, and Team USA coach Dean Blais had seen enough, yanking Lee in favour of Jack Campbell.

LUCAS AYKROYD

Boston Bruins Win 2-1 In The NHL Winter Classic!

Final Score:
Flyers 1
Bruins 2

Shots on goal:
Flyers 25
Bruins 26

The Boston Bruins came storming back in the third period and tied the NHL Winter Classic game at Fenway Park against the Philadelphia Flyers with a little more than two minutes left to play. Mark Recchi beat Flyers goalie Michael Leighton to tie the game.

In overtime, after a Boston power play, the Flyers almost scored as they pressured Bruin netminder Tim Thomas. Boston held the fort and on the ensuing rush down the ice, Marco Sturm scored the winning goal.

It was the most exciting and well played game yet in the successful NHL Winter Classic games.

Friday, January 1, 2010

Flyers 0 1 0 0 1
Bruins 0 0 1 1 2

GOAL SCORERS
PHI: D. Syvret (04:42 – 2nd)
BOS: M. Recchi (PPG, 17:42 – 3rd) , M. Sturm (01:57 – OT)
GOALIES
PHI: M. Leighton (L) BOS: T. Thomas (W)

Associated Press
Bruins 2, Flyers 1 (OT)

BOSTON (AP) – The Boston Bruins provided their own unique finish to Fenway Park’s history of memorable endings.

In the stadium where Ted Williams hit his 521st homer into the bullpen in the last bat of his career in 1960, and Carton Fisk waved his homer fair down the left field line, winning Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, Marco Sturm’s overtime goal Friday gave the Bruins a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in the Winter Classic.

Sturm’s heroics certainly doesn’t measure up to those. But for the winners of the first NHL game in baseball’s oldest stadium, it was a moment they won’t soon forget.

“It’s probably going to be my most memorable goal ever and I’m going to enjoy it,” Sturm said.

The rink ran from the left field to right field foul lines, primarily across the infield, with the center dot at second base – the spot where Dustin Pedroia makes his double-play pivot.

When Sturm scored at 1:57 of overtime, teammates poured off the bench and surrounded him behind the net where short left field would be for baseball games.

Despite the loss that ended the Flyers’ four-game winning streak, coach Peter Laviolette was excited to be a part of the NHL’s third annual New Year’s Day outdoor game.

“The experience is once-in-a-lifetime,” he said. “Bruins, Flyers, 40,000 fans on a perfect day, you couldn’t ask for anything better for the game of hockey.”

As the minutes ticked away, it looked like the Bruins might end up like many teams that faced Roger Clemens in Fenway: scoreless.

Danny Syvret gave the Flyers the lead at 4:42 of the second period with the first goal of his career. And with less than 5 minutes left, goalie Michael Leighton’s scoreless streak had gone over 150 minutes and the sellout crowd of 38,112 had little to cheer.

“For a while there, I didn’t know if they were going to ever find out how these fans were going to react if we scored a goal,” Boston coach Claude Julien said.

But then Mark Recchi, a former Flyer, tied it on a power play when he deflected Derek Morris’ shot past Leighton with 2:18 left in the third period. Sturm capped the comeback when he tipped in a pass from Patrice Bergeron for his team-leading 14th goal.

“It was a phenomenal day,” Bergeron said. “It was a nice ending.”

The temperature was 40 degrees when the Bruins walked out of the Red Sox dugout before the game, the highest of any of the three Winter Classics. Skies were overcast throughout as snow and rain forecast earlier in the week never materialized.

The Winter Classic was previously played at Ralph Wilson Stadium, where the Buffalo Bills play, and Wrigley Field, baseball’s second-oldest stadium and home of the Chicago Cubs.

Fenway opened in 1912. Football, basketball, boxing and soccer also have been played there.

Friday, it was hockey’s turn.

“I got kind of nervous (Thursday) night,” said Leighton, who had won all four games in the winning streak after being claimed on waivers from Carolina on Dec. 15. “You don’t realize how big of a deal it is until you’re actually here and see what it’s like.”

Recchi’s goal ended Leighton’s shutout streak at 154 minutes, 7 seconds.

Then Sturm gave the Bruins their fifth win in six games, although some Flyers contended Boston had too many men on the ice.

“From where we were it looked like it, but we don’t make the calls,” Jeff Carter said.

Both sides said the ice was in good shape. Several times, though, an area in the faceoff circle to the left of the goal where Sturm scored had to be patted down to fill a hole. A few minutes after one of those patchups, Syvret scored when goalie Tim Thomas cross-checked Scott Hartnell to the ice from behind as Syvret shot. Seconds earlier, Hartnell had hit Thomas, knocking him off his skates.

“I was very grateful to tie the game because (their) goal was basically because I lost my cool and wasn’t following the puck,” said Thomas, who was selected for the U.S. Olympic team after the game.

There were several reminders of an earlier era.

Julien wore a fedora behind his bench, just as Toe Blake did when he was leading the Montreal Canadiens to eight Stanley Cups as coach from 1955-1968.

And with a decrease in fighting compared to the days of the Flyers’ Broad Street Bullies of the ’70s, Philadelphia’s Dan Carcillo and Boston’s Shawn Thornton engaged in the first bout in Winter Classic history. Carcillo ended it with a hard right that sent Thornton to the ice in the first period.

The NHL launched the Winter Classic hoping a return to hockey’s outdoor roots would attract fans. Interest has ramped up each year.

Across the street from Fenway, only Winter Classic items were on display in the Red Sox team store. A replica of Boston captain Zdeno Chara’s jersey carried a $300 price tag. The hottest items were knit caps, going for $20 to $35, according to store manager Scot Saklad.

The teams were from cities that celebrated two of the last three World Series winners, the Red Sox in 2007 and Phillies in 2008. In 2009, the New York Yankees finished ahead of the Red Sox in the AL East and beat the Phillies in the World Series, disappointing passionate fans from both losing towns.

“Their intense dislike of New York is something they have in common,” Curt Schilling, who pitched for Boston and Philadelphia, said on NBC during the first intermission.

Fans of both teams had something else in common Friday. They had just seen a marquee game with a magnificent climax.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that this is a special park,” Julien said.

NOTES: The Bruins became the first home team to win the Winter Classic. Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 2-1 in a shootout in 2008 and Detroit topped Chicago 6-4 in 2009. … James Taylor, a Boston native, sang the U.S. national anthem. Daniel Powter, a native of Vernon, British Columbia, sand the Canadian national anthem. … Former stars Bobby Orr of Boston and Bobby Clarke of Philadelphia served as honorary captains and shook hands at center ice 10 minutes before the game.

Three star selections
1st: MARCO STURM
2nd: MICHAEL LEIGHTON
3rd: Winning Goaltender Tim Thomas

Losing Goaltender
Michael Leighton

After Two Periods Of Play In The NHL Winter Classic

Score:
Flyers 1
Bruins 0

Shots on goal:
Flyers 18
Bruins 15

The Flyers took the play to the Bruins in the second period. The lone Philadelphia goal was scored by Danny Syvret. It was Syvret’s first NHL goal after 43 games played in the league. Boston goalie Tim Thomas was out of position on the play as he was retaliating against a Flyer forward.

Ice conditions are near perfect and the weather in Boston is holding up with no threat at this time for any inclement weather. However, it is apparent that there are some strange bounces off the glass.

Third period coming up shortly.

After One Period Of Play In The NHL Winter Classic In Boston, Massachusetts-Fenway Park.

Score:
Flyers 0
Bruins 0

Shots on goal:
Flyers 6
Bruins 9

A well played game so far by both teams with the territorial edge going to the home team Bruins.

Ice conditions are near perfect and the weather in Boston is holding up with no threat at this time for any inclement weather.

Second period coming up shortly.

FLYERS (19-18-2) at BRUINS (20-12-7)
Last 10 — Philadelphia 5-4-1; Boston 5-3-2
From The Boston Bruins
The Skinny On The Game Today:

Season series — This is the third of four meetings between the teams this season. The Flyers won the first two games and they meet again March 11 in Philadelphia. The Flyers won the first game, 4-3, Oct. 22 in Philadelphia when Claude Giroux beat Tuukka Rask in the shootout. The Flyers ended a 1-7 run on Dec. 14 when they beat the Bruins, 3-1, at the TD Garden. Kimmo Timonen scored twice and Brian Boucher made 26 saves.

Big story — Welcome to the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic. Both teams have tried to put this game out of their minds for several weeks as they concentrated on righting their respective listing ships. The Flyers are 5-7-1 since Peter Laviolette replaced John Stevens as coach on Dec. 5 but winners of their last four games. Bruins center Marc Savard appears to be fully recovered from the broken left foot he suffered in late October. The Bruins are 4-1 in their last five games as Savard has posted a goal and seven assists.

Team Scope:

Flyers — Goalie Michael Leighton, picked up on waivers from Carolina on Dec. 5, has won his last four starts while allowing only six goals. He has a 1.50 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage. Left wing Simon Gagne has four goals, including a hat trick in his last game against the New York Rangers, and three assists in the six games since he returned from hernia surgery. Laviolette has installed an aggressive, two-man forecheck that has made the Flyers hard to play against.

Bruins — The Bruins have the best goaltending tandem in the NHL. Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas, who will start Friday, is 10-9-5 with a 2.42 GAA and .918 save percentage. Rask is 10-3-2 with a 1.85 GAA and .935 save percentage. The defense is also solid but the Bruins have trouble scoring, ranking 26th with 2.5 goals-per-game. They rank 19th with only 17.8 percent efficiency on the power play after finishing fourth last year with a 23.6 percent success rate.

Who’s hot — Flyers captain Mike Richards has six points in the past four games. Linemate Danny Briere has four points in two games as does Jeff Carter. Giroux has five points in the last two games. … Boston left wing Marco Sturm has goals in four of his past five games. Defenseman Dennis Wideman has four points in his past four games.

Injury report — Bruins left wing Milan Lucic suffered a high-ankle strain on Nov. 26 and has missed 15 games. He’s played only 10 games all season but he’s due back soon. Defenseman Mark Stuart has missed seven games with a fractured sternum and is due back in late January. … Flyers defenseman Ryan Parent has missed three games with back spasms and is day-to-day. Goalie Ray Emery had abdominal surgery on Dec. 9 and is due back in late January. Defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefson suffered an MCL strain in the Dec. 14 Bruins game, his first game after missing 16 games with a concussion. He’s played only 10 games this season.

Stat pack — Neither the Flyers nor Bruins have a player among the top 30 scorers but both are in position for a playoff berth, the Bruins ranking fifth in the Eastern Conference and the Flyers eighth. The Flyers still lead the NHL by taking 17.5 penalty-minutes-per-game but that number has been declining under Laviolette. Boston, taking only 11.5 penalty minutes on average, ranks eighth. The Flyers have 20 percent power-play efficiency on the road while the Bruins kill 88.8 percent of penalties at home. The Bruins score on 22.2 percent of their home power plays while the Flyers kill 79.5 percent of road penalties.

Puck Drop — “I think players are just playing a little looser,” Laviolette said after the Flyers beat the Rangers, 6-0, Wednesday night. “We’re trying to check all the baggage at the door and the pressures of what it is we’re trying to do. Just go out and play hard and have fun and I feel we’re starting to do that.”

 

                                      DIV  GP W L OTL PTS GF GA HOME AWAY LAST 10 STREAK

1 Chicago Blackhawks CEN 38 26 9 3 55 117 79 17-4-1 9-5-2 8-2-0 Won 3
2 Washington Capitals SE 38 24 8 6 54 139 103 12-2-3 12-6-3 7-3-0 Won 3
3 New Jersey Devils ATL 36 26 9 1 53 107 79 13-6-0 13-3-1 8-2-0 Lost 1
4 San Jose Sharks PAC 38 23 8 7 53 127 99 10-2-5 13-6-2 5-2-3 Won 4
5 Pittsburgh Penguins ATL 39 26 12 1 53 127 101 13-7-1 13-5-0 6-3-1 Lost 1
6 Buffalo Sabres NE 38 23 11 4 50 103 87 12-5-4 11-6-0 6-2-2 Won 1
7 Phoenix Coyotes PAC 39 24 13 2 50 103 87 15-5-0 9-8-2 7-2-1 Won 3
8 Colorado Avalanche NW 40 22 12 6 50 119 115 11-5-2 11-7-4 7-3-0 Won 1

Blackhawks 5, Predators 4
December 26, 2009

CHICAGO (AP) -Patrick Kane scored with 43.4 seconds to play, his second goal of the game, capping a wild third period Sunday night and lifting the Chicago Blackhawks to a 5-4 victory over the Nashville Predators and with this win moved into first-place overall in the 30 team NHL.

John Madden scored twice in the third for the NHL-leading Blackhawks, who beat Nashville on consecutive nights to open an eight-point lead in the Central Division over the second-place Predators.

Chicago (26-9-3) trailed 2-1 entering the final period, went up 4-2, let Nashville tie it and then finally won on Kane’s team-high 15th goal.

Dan Ellis stopped Kane’s shot from the right circle but Troy Brouwer got to the rebound and flipped the puck back to Kane, who wristed a shot over Ellis.

This story is for you Howie and Blackhawk fans everywhere. (It’s about time!)

Wow!