More Linky Links

More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Reports of the GOPs demise have been exaggerated. He's not wrong.

- We wish you a Merry Christmas Bruins style.

- Michigan football is a dumpster fire right now.

- Inflation decrease in the US is insane!

Lyndon Byers an Appreciation.

Former Boston Bruin and radio personality Lyndon Byers has passed away aged just 61. Known as LB to many he was beloved and if you're not from Boston it is hard to explain but has was really beloved.

• His wife Annie announced his passing
• An example of how beloved LB was

Brad Marchand

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting and thought I'd share. 

- Admit I like the cut of his jib.

- Boston Bruins to honor Brad Marchand's 1.000th game next Monday.

- Amazon Prime adding commercials sparks lawsuit.

- VDH on if the Democrats now believe progressivism doesn't work. I, for one, won't go to San Fran or California in its current state.

The Bruins and Jack Edwards Wish You a Merry Christmas

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- From Senator Chuck Grassley This could get interesting. (Via)

-  Morgan Housel on Smart Things I've Read Lately. Big believer in Munger's idea of going to bed 1% smarter than when you woke up.

- Lewiston in our hearts

- Jamaal Bowman and the fire alarms.

Patrice Bergeron

A day after his birthday Patrice Bergeron announces his retirement after 20-years with the Bruins in the NHL. He'll always be pure class and the Captain in my mind. Here's hoping he enjoys his well earned retirement. I'll be sure to watch the game where his number is retired.

Guessing one reason why Patrice Bergeron went out the way he did is because he had a front row seat to how Zdano Chara's career ended elsewhere. Boston picked Bergeron with the 45th pick overall - a pick they got from the NHL for losing Bill Guerin to free agency. I'd call that a good trade any day. 

I'd also 100% support renaming the Selkie Award after Bergeron. May the road rise to meet you. Thanks for the memories!

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Chris "the Bear" Fallica's US Open best bets.. I'm jumping on board.

- This did not age well.

- So very true!

- Good for her! Another reason why I don't drink Starbucks.

Boston Bruins

It's been more than two weeks since the Boston Bruins lost the deciding game 7 against the Florida Panthers. To say that the series loss shocked and depressed Boston fans would be an understatement (myself included). You have to understand that any Bruins season that ends before the anniversary of Bobby Orr's iconic goal (May 10, 1970) is considered a failure. This season even more so because Boston had set the NHL record for success in the regular season and were the top ranked team in the playoffs. 

It should be remembered, though, that great things were not expected of this team before the season started. They were a 25-1 long shot to win the Stanley Cup before the first puck was dropped in the season. They were a long shot for a reason. New coach, and big questions on both the goaltending and blue line fronts. These expected deficiencies did not rear their heads during the regular season. In fact the Bruins had the best goaltending in the league. It was in the first round of the playoffs that these deficiencies made their presence known and now hockey fans in Boston are forced to watch other cities strive for the cup.

What saddens me the most is that this was no way for Captain Patrice Bergeron to end his Hall of Fame career. If he does retire, he'll do so as the reigning Selke Award winner as the top defensive forward in the NHL. Basically still at the top of his game. Bergeron is one of the nicest people in all of sports and I'll be sad to see him go if he does decide to hang up his skates.

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share. 

- The Fall of the FBI. Still say they should move the FBI HQ to Salt Lake City to get the stench of James Comey's political bureaucracy off the department.

- Nice simple explainer on what ChatGPT is and how to use it.

- 10-years ago, 2-days after the Boston Marathon bombing, gets me every time.

- Interesting - Samsung is considering replacing Google with Bing on their devices. The browser wars have begun! 

Top NHL Goal Songs

 

The Athletic has their List of the Top 10 NHL Goal Songs (subscription required). The above is the snippet of Zombie Nation that plays after each Boston goal and as  a Bruins fan this has a special place in my heart. The Athletic reluctantly has this listed 6th on their list (as an aside I thought Zombie Nation was the name of the song but its actually KernKraft 400 by Zombie Nation).

Here's what The Athletic had as their Top 5 songs:

1. Seattle Kraken - Lithium by Nirvana

2. Ottawa Senators - Song 2 by Blur

3. Chicago Blackhawks - Chelsea Dagger by the Fratellis (perhaps the funkiest of the choices)

4. New York Rangers - Slapshot byRay Castoldi (Meh)

5. Minnesota Wild - Shout by The Isley Brothers (old school)

Why Bruins Fans Love Brad Marchand

"You don't hit our captain late. That was a three-second late hit. I love that Marchand did that." - Bruins Coach Jim Montgomery (Photo via)

Happy 75th Birthday to the Great Bobby Orr

I think the expectations in Boston have become such that any Bruins season that ends before the anniversary of Bobby Orr flying through the air to beat St Louis in the Stanley Cup (May 5, 1970) is a disappointment. Happy birthday Robert Gordon Orr!

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Marc Andreessen - On Pausing Alcohol

- Are Apple suppliers rushing to get out of China faster than expected?

- The Death of Historical Truth

- Boston Bruins sign David Pastrnak to huge 8-year extension. Great news for Bruins fans!

More Linky Links

More stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Are there benefits to statins?

- Why Penn Entertainment bought Barstool Sports for $551 million. Good for Dave Portnoy - he built the company from nothing. 

- Love Brad Marchand's candor. And the way he didn't back down. Edmonton and Alberta aren't exactly dream winter travel destinations.

- China's manual for defeating America - weaponize everything including lawyers and balloons. Don't trust China - China is asshole!

Another Reason Hockey Players are the Best

Members of the Boston Bruins dress up as Super Mario Brothers characters to visit local childrens' hospitals. Why? Because it makes the kids happy and they're hockey players

Congrats to Bruce Cassidy

Former Boston Bruins head coach has been hired to be the head coach of the Las Vegas Golden Knights. Congrats coach! Just 10-days out of a job. 

I'm of two minds on the Bruins firing Cassidy. First I strongly believe in the Scotty Bowman rule - that a head coach should never stay beyond 8-years with a team. Bowman was the greatest coach in NHL history and he never did despite the success in Montreal, Pittsburgh and Detroit. Although Cassidy was only coach for six seasons - he was an assistant in Boston before that. So maybe close enough to the 8-year rule?

However, I don't like that Cassidy seems to have been made the scapegoat for not going further this postseason. What about GM Don Sweeney or team President Cam Neeley? If you're placing blame - shouldn't they be sharing the blame equally? Hate to say it because Neeley was one of my favorite Bruins ever but he's starting to give off John Elway with the Denver Broncos type vibes. Maybe number 8 is in over his head as the team's top executive?

With Las Vegas now having former Boston coaches heading both the Raiders and Golden Knights I can see many New Englanders adopting Las Vegas teams as their second favorites to root for in the NHL and NFL. I know I already have.

NESN for $30 a Month? No Thanks

NESN, the regional sports network that carries the Boston Red Sox and Bruins, launched an app NESN 360 that allows subscribers access to the network and it's libraries and other exclusive content for $29.99 per month.

At first blush the product seems way over-priced. That's about triple what NESN charges the cable operators to carry the network. But perhaps that's the point. Perhaps the initial price had to be high enough that the cable operators did not feel threatened. In the age of cord cutting - live sports, like Red Sox and Bruins games, are the one last advantage to having a cable subscription.

It looks like the app is free (or minimal charge) to those who already have NESN through a cable operator. I'm guessing that one result of the new app will be NESN 360 passcode info will shortly be more shared in New England than Neftflix passcodes.

Let's Go Bruins!

Boston Bruins

Last night the Boston Bruins were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs after a lackluster 6-2 loss to the New York Islanders. I feel so unsatisfied. 

I really felt this Bruins team had the capability to compete for the Cup. I was wrong.

There were countless missed scoring chances (including multiple whiffs at open nets). Countless defensive miscues that led to Islander goals. And most of the goals against the Bruins were soft.

This series has brought me to the conclusion that it is time for Boston to move on from Tuukka Rask. Yes Tuukka is the franchise's greatest goalie in its storied history but the time has come. Let's see what the kid Jeremy Swayman can do.  

This morning I will dutifully shave my playoff beard and next week I will be paying my bookie. I feel so unsatisfied.