Noontime Sports closed out the month of April with Matt Noonan, Dan Libon and Dan Rubin talking about the Boston Bruins-Philadelphia Flyers NHL Stanley Cup playoff series, as well as sprinkled in some Boston Celtics and NFL Draft talk too. Also, the guys were joined by WEEI’s Sports Saturday Host, Matt Perrault to discuss college football and the New England Patriots draft selections.
Hour 1:
Hour 2 :
Will Boston figure out a way to win a championship in June?
By Dan Libon
Do you remember the Dan Libon Podcast? Of course you don’t, so why am I mentioning this obscure rarely listened to sports podcast?
The answer is because during the “2010 Year in Review” episode, my friend, colleague and sports media mogul in training, Matt Noonan predicted that there would be four championship parades in Boston during 2011. That’s right, four!
We all know what happened to the Patriots, they lost to the New York Jets in January; so sadly, I don’t expect to see a parade featuring a bunch of overgrown human beings with muscles the size of my head.
It is too early to predict how the Red Sox will finish the 2011 season, especially with all the struggles they have endured thus far, but maybe the great Andy Lindberg could help us answer that particular question.
Andy, your thoughts?
How about the Boston Celtics? They could possibly contend for a NBA championship, right? Doubt it!
Besides the Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox, what about the Bruins, do they have a shot at ending their Stanley Cup drought?
The Boston Bruins are in position to lose yet another NHL playoff series and the person to blame for that is most likely their head coach, Claude Julien.
Julien is the perfect coach for Bruins.
For a group that was never motivated or seemed intent on winning championships, Julien gets the job done. He’s a good coach, but not a great coach. He’ll get your team into the post-season, as well as put fans in the stands, although, that’s really it.
However, couldn’t this be said about Jeremy and Charlie Jacobs?
As long as games are sold out and they’re making money, why does Boston need a sixth Stanley Cup?
Before we begin to destroy the modern day Grady Little, let’s not forget where this team was prior to Julien’s arrival.
The Bruins were decent under other head coaches, but when Julien was hired to lead this bunch of rag tag hockey players, he took a team that was going nowhere and pushed the Montreal Canadiens to the limit during the 2008 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. That alone made the next season’s standards incredibly high. Yet, while the Bruins ’08-’09 season was one of their best in franchise history, they did however find a way to lose to Carolina during the second round.
Also, should I mention losing four straight games to Philadelphia last season?
So, while Boston was very excited about being in the playoffs for three back-to-back seasons, sadly, they choked and it seriously hurts.
It’s evident that Julien has no idea how to coach under pressure. Watch him on the sidelines and you’ll notice that no matter how the Bruins play, his emotions never change.
Oh by the way, let’s not compare him to the great Bill Belichick because at least that guy knows how to win championships, right?
I suppose that all Bostonians should consider labeling any coach or team that can’t win the “big one,” a second coming of Grady Little’s Boston Red Sox of ‘03 or should we just blame him?
Although, against Montreal, everyone wants Shawn Thornton to play against the Canadiens, but is it really worth having the Bruins fourth line rack up a few playoff minutes? Again, who truly knows?
Currently the Bruins are trailing the Canadiens in the first round of the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but it’s certainly possible that they could come back, make a run and everything I have stated would be completely invalid. Yet, at the same time, it’s possible that they choke and there will be a new coach behind the Bruins bench next season.
You can’t blame Julien for all of the Bruins problems. A team’s motivation to win starts at the top and at the top is a group of guys looking at the financial sheets and not the stat sheets.
Noontime Sports the Radio Show had a lot to say about the Boston Red Sox first win, as well as Manny Ramirez’s retirement on Saturday April 9, 2011.
Also, Jon Meterparel of WEEI’s Dennis & Callahan joined the show to talk about the Boston Bruins, Celtics, Red Sox and Boston College Eagles men’s basketball team.
April 9, 2011 – Noontime Sports Radio Show:
Interview with Jon Meterparel:
This is a special article, which was contributed by Dan Libon, Brian Maloney and Mike Riley.
World Wrestling Entertainment will once again put on their annual WrestleMania show on Sunday from Atlanta, Georgia. The annual “Super Bowl of Sports Entertainment” will feature the WWE has to offer and it’s many story lines.
Due to this special event, a few members of the Noontime Sports family have decided to provide their thoughts on this rather special occasion.
Will John Cena beat the Miz? Can the Undertaker continue his “undefeated” streak at WrestleMania? Will the WWE fans care when Snooki from the Jersey Shore enters the ring for her match? We’ll find out on Sunday.
Main Event: World Heavyweight Championship Match – (Champion) with Christian vs. Alberto Del Rio (Challenger) with Brodus Clay:
Dan Libon: Edge is due for a win. There has been an effort to turn Del Rio into a star overnight, but EDGE will get the win.
Brian Maloney: This may turn into a Triple-Threat Match, but I can see Christian costing Edge the title and creating a feud that lasts until Summer-slam. ALBERTO DEL RIO will be your new champion.
Mike Riley: The “Rated R Superstar” will be lowered to Rated G. The company has been pushing Del Rio for months and his Royal Rumble win was the clear indication. I’ll take DEL RIO over Edge and say that Christian turns on his former partner to set up a match at next month’s pay per view.
The Miz (Champion) with Alex Riley vs. John Cena (Challenger):
DL: CENA is going to win, but someone is getting a Rock Bottom. WrestleMania is all about happy endings, so I can’t see The Miz winning here.
BM: You know that The Rock will get involved and I really hope that this leads to a Cena “heel turn” in the long run. THE MIZ retains due to Cena being distracted and hopefully, Cena goes postal and turns heel to end the show
MR: Everyone including myself will be watching this matchup for the sole purpose of The Rock. Does he do it before, during or after the match? My best bet says that CENA wins this match, (he is still the “face of WWE”) and The Rock comes out after with the “Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow.”
Triple H vs. The Undertaker:
DL: The streak goes to 19-0. Its going to be long and boring. I can see both guys kicking out of finishers but UNDERTAKER should come out on top.
BM: If the streak ever ends, it won’t be to someone else on their way out. UNDERTAKER’s streak lives on.
MR: This is should by all means necessary be the last match. No holds barred, maybe some extra time for the two to work extra time, but I still think HBK will get involved after Undertaker beat him at Wrestlemania 25 and 26 (retirement match) to help out Triple H. THE DEADMAN will find a way to win. I believe in streaks but they don’t last forever.
Jerry Lawler vs. Michael Cole with Jack and special guest Stone Cold Steve Austin Swagger:
DL: Jerry Lawler finally gets his WrestleMania match and everyone gets to see Michael Cole get beat up. LAWLER will win and Cole may take a Stone Cold “stunner” to the approval of everyone.
BM: Cole gets in a cheap shot. Lawler unloads on him. Austin stunners Swagger when he tries to interfere. Austin stuns Cole just for being himself. JERRY LAWLER gets the pin.
MR: Very excited about this match. You could see the tension for weeks building up (kayfabe) with Cole and Lawler leading up to war or words in the ring. LAWLER wins with help from his old partner Jim Ross, who will come out and knock out Cole. Austin stuns Swagger at the end. And Lawler, JR and Austin celebrate with some beers.
Randy Orton vs. CM Punk:
Libon: I would love to see a Punk win. CM Punk will have Orton in the “go to sleep” mode only to have ORTON reverse it.
BM: CM Punk is such a great character and I really could see this match go either way. I’m taking CM PUNK.
MR: Two very talented athletes and with ORTON tearing apart the New Nexus, he’s earned the chance to take down CM Punk.
Rey Mysterio vs. Cody Rhodes:
DL: REY will win this match.
BM: Rey is too big of a fan favorite to lose, especially with WWE reallytrying to expand into Mexico.
MR: I do think REY MYSTERIO takes it though, he’s always been a fan favorite.
Trish Stratus, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and John Morrison vs. Dolph Ziggler and LayCool (Layla and Michelle McCool with Vickie Guerrero) 6-person mixed tag team match:
DL: It’s a shame when guys like Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne can’t get a match on the show, but Snooki can because she’s famous for being an out of control reality television star on MTV.
BM: Why would Snooki or Trish agree to come in and not win? I really hope Snooki gets booted in the head.
MR: For entertainment purposes with SNOOKI and a $1 million dollar contract for the night.
Sheamus (c) vs. Daniel Bryan Singles match for the United States Championship:
DL: I feel this could be “that match.” It’s too bad because Daniel Bryan is arguably the most talented wrestler on the card. SHEAMUS will win, but there will be better days for Bryan.
BM: Somehow I feel like this could be an epic match. I got Daniel Bryan regaining the title after getting beaten down most of the match and reversing a Big Boot into a LaBell Lock.
MR: About a year ago, SHEAMUS was near the top of the WWE circa, as the Champ. Seems like they are trying to bring him back, but he’ll win easily over Bryan and continues his run as the new U.S. Champion.
Kane, Big Show, Santino Marella, and Koffi Kingston vs. The Corre (Wade Barrett, Ezekiel Jackson, Justin Gabriel, and Heath Slater) 8-man Tag Team match:
DL: I’ll go with TEAM RANDOM because Santino is the only person in the match I really care about.
BM: THE CORRE wins because they are the only ones who can really gain anything.
MR: Can the company get away from the wannabe stables like the nWo or DX? They’re just not cutting it. Give me the MIXED SUPERSTARS in this one over the Corre and that may be the end of them. Corre will be gone after Sunday.
**Just before this post was published, Kozlov was attacked by The Corre at the Fan Axxess, so his replacement will indeed be Kofi Kingston, according to reports.
By Dan Rubin
Since its inception, the Hockey East Association has been one of the preeminent college hockey power conferences throughout the NCAA landscape. Its tradition is unmatched, and its ability to produce NHL players is unrivaled. In recent years, it established its presence as THE national championship conference, holding the last three titles.
Two of those titles belong to Boston College, a team making a strong run at #3 this season. They’ve been among the best teams in the nation all season, and regardless of how this weekend at TD Garden turns out, the Eagles are a top seed in the national tournament, and they remain penciled in as one of the teams most likely to raise the trophy in St. Paul, Minnesota.
But the Eagles also find themselves in a dogfight to win the league championship. Where there are definite favorites in the other two eastern leagues, this year’s Hockey East could belong to any one of the four remaining teams. They all have good reasons why they should and shouldn’t win the tournament. Even Northeastern, the lowest seed of the bunch, has a solid argument outside of Dan Libon’s fandom.
Noontime Sports will be at the Garden this weekend to cover these games, and we’ll have full coverage of the Hockey East Championship starting this evening and continuing through tomorrow.
#1 Boston College Eagles
How They Got Here: [28-7-1], [20-6-1 Hockey East], Swept UMass 2 games to none.
Why They’ll Win: You find me a better team in the nation this year, and I’ll argue it to my grave. BC is among the nation’s elite, and the case can be made that they’ll be facing North Dakota with the national title on the line in Minnesota. They’re the best overall team, and the names of players who can make an impact roll off like a Murder’s Row of sorts – Cam Atkinson, Brian Gibbons, Jimmy Hayes, Brian Dumoulin, Joe Whitney, Chris Kreider, Tommy Cross, Philip Samuelsson, Pat Mullane. That’s a better lineup than an All Star team from other conferences. They’re the best-coached team, with Jerry York. And their nonconference schedule isn’t about whom they beat because they beat pretty much everyone. They swept Denver, and they won the Beanpot. They lost two games after New Year’s. And it gets even scarier when you think that this team hasn’t quite hit its ceiling yet. They can only get better.
Why They’ll Lose: The biggest hole for BC is goaltending. John Muse is prone to a bad game and soft goals. He’ll win games for the Eagles, but he only faced 840 shots this season. He made a 92% save percentage, and he posted six shutouts. Despite this, he hasn’t had to make 30 saves since the Beanpot opening round game against Boston University back on February 7th. I’ve never been sold on Muse, especially not after he coughed up seven goals to Yale in last year’s NCAA tournament. One of the losses post New Year’s was to Northeastern, their semifinal opponent. Don’t discount the fact that this is the sixth meeting between the two teams. Northeastern knows everything there is to know about BC. Add Libon pulling for Northeastern, and that actually could make “Super fans,” (like yours truly) slightly nervous.
#2 UNH Wildcats
How They Got Here: [21-9-6], [17-6-4 Hockey East], Swept Vermont 2 games to 0
Why They’ll Win: They’re one of the better overall teams, and they are able to fly under the radar because of Boston College. They also played well enough out of the conference to warrant mentioning, including a win over Miami and a tie with Michigan at the beginning of the year. Statistically, they have a lineup that rivals BC’s – Paul Thompson, Mike Sislo, Phil DeSimone, Blake Kessel, John Henrion, and Dalton Speelman, with Matt Di Girolamo in net. And they have a battle-tested coach in Dick Umile. They have a lineup to hang with the Eagles, as long as you ignore that last weekend blowout at the hands of the top seed.
Why They’ll Lose: You don’t get a nickname like “University of No Hardware” by winning conference championships. UNH chokes on the biggest stage, historically, and last year, they were one game from the Frozen Four when they ran into RIT. Rochester dominated the Wildcats and took their spot in Detroit. UNH was also crushed the last weekend of the regular season by BC, and they went 1-0-2 against Northeastern. But the most damning stat is that they draw Merrimack in the semifinal round, a team they were swept by in February. Yes, they beat the Mack at home earlier in the year, but that sweep is not a good sign.
#4 Merrimack Warriors
How They Got Here: [24-8-4], [16-8-3 Hockey East], swept Maine 2 games to 0
Why They’ll Win: They’ve beaten everybody. They have signature wins over every team in the league, and they bounced back from a late-season choke to dominate a good Black Bear squad in the playoffs. They were head and shoulders better than BU this year, even though BU was the #3 seed, and they were in the #1-seed, national ranking argument until the last weekend of the season. But the slide seemed to reignite the Warriors, and they righted the ship. Their lineup includes seven double-digit goal scorers, including Stephane da Costa and Chris Barton. They also have the best goalie of the four remaining teams, a very underrated Joe Cannata. With bigger names like Muse, di Girolamo, and Rawlings, Cannata can be overlooked. But on talent, Cannata is the best big game goalie of the lot. They’re the most dangerous team because they’re talented, they’re good, and everyone expects a BC-UNH final.
Why They’ll Lose: Each of the other remaining teams has been here before. Merrimack has never been. And when I say they’ve never been, they’ve legit never had a relatively decent season before this year. This is their first .500 or better season since 1988-1989, when they were an independent. And they’ve never been tested in the playoffs like this before. They’ve never been to an NCAA tournament while a member of Hockey East. And while Mark Denehy is a good coach, he’s not the same as having York or Umile.
#6 Northeastern Huskies
How They Got Here: [14-15-8], [10-10-7 Hockey East], Beat BU 2 games to 1
Why They’ll Win: Because Dan Libon is going to use his Liboninator powers.
They’ve played Boston College so much that they are most likely not intimidated by them. They’ve proven they can hang with BC, and they’ve proven they can beat BC. That weekend series following the Beanpot championship game was so epic that I had a feeling these teams would meet again. Wade MacLeod leads the Huskies up front, and Chris Rawlings is a very good goalie. I personally think Rawlings is a little overrated, but I’d still take him over Di Girolamo and Muse any day of the week. The Huskies also have the benefit of being an underdog and playing the “nobody believes in us” card. Greg Cronin is a great motivator, and don’t think that won’t factor into the weekend.
Why They’ll Lose: Because I won’t be there to curse Boston College on Friday. Seriously – every time I pick a team and say great things about them, I curse them. Look at Harvard last week for hockey, and I’m not getting started on Louisville and St. John’s in yesterday’s debacle in the NCAA basketball tournament
Yes, they can get up for Boston College, but Northeastern went .500 for a reason. They lost to Holy Cross, Bentley, and Niagara. They lost the season series to BU, and I personally believe the only reason they beat BU in the playoffs was because of a cocktail of disaster for the Terriers. BU had to play Games 1 and 2 on Thursday and Friday because they hosted the America East basketball finals (which they won). That meant that the student fan base was divided between an underachieving hockey team and a new, fresh basketball team. The remaining students went out on Spring Break, and the hockey team drew a team with a rabid fan base that sits just 5 miles away. When NU packed Agganis last week, everything I said came true. Three game victory for Northeastern. Hockey East this year is a three-team league, but four teams had to make the Garden.
Be sure to check out Noontime’s coverage of the Hockey East championship weekend. Dan Libon will be covering both days, and I’ll be joining him for the championship tomorrow as the banner patch is raised to the Garden rafters. I’ll also be making my championship predictions and bracketology, listing what’s at stake for teams with consolation and championship games tomorrow.
Noontime Sports the Radio Show returned to the airwaves on Saturday March 12, 2011, to discuss a boatload of topics, ranging from Harvard-Princeton, the NFL Lockout, as well as the struggling Boston Bruins and Celtics. Both Dan and Matt were joined in studio by the Wheelock College Sports Information Director Josh Kessler.
Also, this past Saturday’s show featured a great interview with the head coach for the Wheelock Wildcats field hockey team, Kyoungho Koh and sophomore midfielder Chelsey Ballard, who not only gave great insight on the team, but also, discussed an exciting fundraising event called Showcase 4 Haiti, which will be held on Monday March 28, 2011 at the Wheelock Family Theatre.
For more information on the event or Wheelock College Athletics, make sure to check out their website!
Radio Show:
Interview with Kyoungho Koh and Chelsey Ballard:
Milan Lucic saved the day and extended the Boston Bruins winning streak to seven games.
By Dan Libon
BOSTON, MA – Showing no signs of a hangover or any emotional turmoil from their six game road trip, the Bruins picked up a very big, 2-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night at the TD Garden. In a game that would break the tie for second place in the Eastern Conference, Boston showed great patience in their shots and beat a difficult team known for having a strong offensive presence.
Having already defeated the Western Conference leading Vancouver Canucks and the red-hot, (no pun intended) Calgary Flames, the Bruins would once again have to come up with answers to one of the top teams in the league.
“Just like all year, seems like we end up lining up against teams right when they seem to be really big games as far as the standings go.” said Bruins goalie Tim Thomas.
Going into this game, the test would be if the Bruins defense could stop the league leading scorer Steven Stamkos, as well as the person who ranks second in assists, Martin St. Louis.
The difference between second and third place for the Bruins is a potential factor because if Boston finishes in second place, it almost guarantees a game against the New York Rangers, Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres or Toronto Maple Leafs. A third place finish however is most likely a date with the Montreal Canadiens. A Montreal series would be exciting, as well as exhausting and emotionally draining for a Bruins team that has struggled in physical contests. Although, this is not saying that the other teams are easy, but they do provided a series with less historical emotion, which may not be a bad thing, right?
With two of the best offensive teams in the league playing against one another, a shootout was not to be expected. Instead, the Bruins fan faithful saw two teams that took their time on offense and waited for the right opportunities. While there was no score after the first period, the Bruins showed great patience in their shot selections with good puck movement. On the other end, Stamkos had the best attempt for a goal for the Lightning with a shot from the left side that wound up hitting the post and didn’t land in Thomas’s net.
As emotions and tempers on both teams increased, it would be the Lighting that would score first with a slap shot from Eric Brewer from the top of the slot. The Bruins would not be down for long, as Steve Kampfer scored off of a Rich Peverley pass off the boards to tie the game, 1-1.
“I tried to poke it up to [Steven] Kampfer and he had a great shot off the post and it was perfect,” said Peverley.
After a 10-minute game misconduct on both Bruins’ forward, Shawn Thornton and Lightning’s forward Steve Downie, Nathan Horton would get called for tripping penalty, while Milan Lucic was flagged for roughing and fighting. Yet, despite having almost 2 minutes of a two-man advantage, Tampa Bay failed to get a goal on the power play.
“They came at us really hard.” said Lightning forward Simone Gagne. “You don’t expect that on a 5-on-3, and I think they caught us by surprise there.”
Once the third period began, tempers on both benched settled down, but also, Boston eventually watched Lucic net the go-ahead goal, which secured their seventh win in a row.
“I was just trying to look for the loose puck because there was enough guys in front of the net. I knew there was not real reason for me to get in there but just kind of wait around,” said Lucic.
With this win, the Bruins have taken sole possession of second place and have earned a two game lead on Tampa Bay. In addition, the Bruins are also only three points behind the conference leading Philadelphia Flyers, who remain atop the Eastern Conference standings.
The Bruins will continue their current home stand against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, face-off is scheduled for 7:00pm eastern.
Matt Noonan and Dan Libon hosted Noontime Sports the Podcast on Tuesday February 22, 2011, to discuss the recent NBA trade, which involved the New York Knicks acquiring Denver Nuggets “swingman,” Carmelo Anthony.
Also, special thanks to all the fans who commented on the trade, we did indeed mention them on the podcast.
