I'm Shipping Up to Boston

Bruins Win Stanley Cup

What a run that Boston sports have been going through. Since 2001 we've seen the Patriots, Red Sox and Celtics win championships. This week, the Bruins joined them by winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in 39 years. This team won in a similar matter to the other Boston sports teams. Through grit, determination and very hard work. Making less mistakes than your opponents. Like the 2004 Red Sox, they were on the ropes a few times and did not give up. Like the 2001 Patriots, they were going against an offensive juggernaut in the championship round and few people were picking them. But the Bruins shut down the Canucks offense in a similar matter the Patriots shut down the Rams offense in Super Bowl XXXVI.

When Zdeno Chara hoisted the Stanley Cup, it not only marked the Cup finally coming back to Boston. It made it that all four Boston based major professional sports teams have won titles in seven years. Nobody else have ever done that. Seven championships since 2001. This is a sharp contrast from what it was like previous to 2001. The Patriots were the laughing stock of the NFL. The Red Sox were a team that seemed curse. A team that had a knack to losing in the most painful way possible (Bucky Dent, Mookie Wilson, Aaron Boone). Even the Celtics, who won a few titles in the 1980's, suffered through a few lean years before re-emerging with the new big three and winning the long awaited 17'th banner.

The pre 2011 Bruins had a knack for Red Sox types looses in play off games. There was also a perception and ownership and management did not want to spend the money it would take to have a championship team. But a lot of that changed a few years back went Peter Chiarelli was hired to be the team general manager. He put together much the the team nucleus that enabled the 2011 Bruins to win the Stanley Cup. Much of the team is still very young, so the Bruins are in position to be contenders for years to come.

Vancouver Fans

OK, it's not easy to see your team lose in the championship games. But rioting is totally unnecessary. But that is what some Vancouver Canucks fans did this week after thier team lost in game seven of the Stanley Cup finals. Come on what is this? Doing a bad impersonation on soccer hooligans? This makes your team and your city look bad. Vancouver deserves better.

Anthony Weiner Update

In my last blog I wrote about the self inflicted woes of Anthony Weiner. Since then, things have gotten worse for him. Still in the headlines and the fodder of late night comedians, Weiner was iceasingly becoming more and more of a distraction to Congress and the details were becoming increasingly sordid. It got to the point that many of his fellow Democrats were calling him to resign. This past week, Weiner resigned from Congress. Though he'll be gone for a while, this might not necessarily be the end for Weiner. Eliot Spitzer is doing well these days.

Day of Portugal 5K

This past Sunday, is just missed returning to the sub 20 minute mark in 5Ks, running the Day of Portugal 5K in 20:01. In my best running shape in years, I hit a nice burst of energy around the half way mark that carried me to the finish. Fairhaven Road Race tomorrow. Doing the 5K.

Weiner Gets Exposed

To my readers, my apologies for not blogging much as of late. My schedule has been insane. I've been working 50 hours a week at my day job plus whatever I've been putting in at the liquor store. I requested and will soon get less hours at the liquor store. I've been doing two jobs for a long time and I needed a break. So hopefully in a few weeks, my schedule will calm down and I can blog more often.

Politicians Behaving Badly

So a U.S. Congressman named Mr. Weiner gets in trouble when he gets caught sending lewd emails and pictures over the internet. No, this isn't a Saturday Night Live skit or a plot to a B-grade porno flick. This is real. After repeated denials, Rep. Anthony Weiner admitted to inappropriate relationships with women he met over the internet, none of who were his wife. he then apologized for lying about the "Weinergate" allegations. Even when it looked liked he got caught with his pants down, Weiner continued his denials to the bitter end, even claiming that his twitter account got hacked. Now he's just the latest in a long line of politicians who let their reputations get tarnished by sheer stupidity.

Of course no politician in recent memory has had a more dramatic fall from grace than John Edwards. Not long ago, he was a U.S. Senator and came close to being elected Vice-President. But as we know, Edwards got himself involved in scandals involving his extramarital affairs. Now he could be facing prison time over allegations that he used campaign funds to cover up his extramarital affairs. It's just not Democrats who are getting in trouble. The list of Republican sex scandals is big and growing all the time.

Lessons of the Weiner and Edwards messes: (1) never put anything over the internet you wouldn't want the public or your wife to see and (2) if you want a career in politics, it's not a good idea to take part in extramarital affairs. You would think highly educated men would be smarter. But as long as they are politicians, they will be plenty of writing material for blogs.

Stanley Cup Finals

It's not too often in New England that the Red Sox and the Yankees are in the back seat. But our attention there days are focused toward hockey as the Boston Bruins continue to play the Vancouver Canucks in the Stanley Cup Finals. After a pair of tough losses on the first two games, the Bruins came out firing in game three in a 8 - 1 thrashing of the Canucks. Much of it came after the Bruins lost Nathan Horton due to a cheap shot by Aaron Rome.

So Boston Bruin fever is pretty much gripping New England these days. Also, with their biting and cheap shots, the Canucks are playing a good role as hockey villains. Either way, come 8 PM tonight, a lot of us will be glued to out TVs watching game four of the Stanley Cup Finals. I will be one of them. Go Bruins!