Rant of the Week: Obsession?

One thing you pick up on really quick if you sit anywhere near the Dog Pound at Agganis Arena is how much the BU kids really don't like BC. While no one in Hockey East really likes the Eagles, I can't think of another fan base that is this specific. PC fans as a rule do not like UCONN, Syracuse, or Georgetown in basketball. But we don't add "Huskies suck" to our chants like BU fans do to BC. The college kids in scarlet not alone: "Clarkson still sucks" at RPI and SLU and "Tech still sucks" at NMU. And of course, we have the endlessly insipid "Yankees suck" merchandising spree outside Fenway Park. But the Grandfather of all mutual antagonism is Scotland's Glasgow derby which has religious as well as sporting dimensions. In one form or another, obsession is rampant in sports.

And let's be honest with ourselves: it gets a little silly. Here's some examples of obsession getting well out of hand.

-In the Globe sports page, why are there Lakers fans on the Celtics blog? The two teams play each other twice all year. It doesn't make sense. It also makes little sense for the aforementioned trolls to continuously put down the Celtics as "irrelevant" when they seem to spend more time commenting on the blog than actual Celtics fans. I feel bad for the people who write these blogs. Some good reporting is getting muddied by garbage.

-I've mentioned this before, but the Providence Journal's message board is dominated by a handful of URI fans who seem more interested in public financing for the Dunkin' Donuts Center than they are in what the Rhody basketball team is doing. I'm not sure why they begrudge the Providence Bruins a chance to play in improved facilities just so they can screw over PC basketball. Seems kind of petty to me.

-This one really gets me: Start with a ridiculously prejudiced conceit (the Steelers are a dirty team). Add in a fan base that has never been able to cope with the idea of losing to the Patriots in not one, but two AFC title games. Then add a dash of ESPN fueled conspiracy theories that are exceeded in lameness only by the idea of Elvis still being alive. You would come up with this.
Hoo boy. The obsession here is multifaceted and quite insane. On both sides. I don't have a problem with Mr. Molori's writing (he's been giving props to the Emmy Award winning John Carchedi for years). But writing about how dirty the Steelers are? Maybe he thought his blog needed some web traffic. And it worked too well.
Steelers fans come across just as poorly as Mr. Molori. Actually, they come off worse because they just make the same moronic points over and over again. Sad. Very sad all the way around.

So I guess the lesson here is to be really really careful at how seriously you take these rivalries. Because if you go too far, you'll end up looking quite deranged and I'll make fun of you.

Random rants:
-Hey, with a seven game winning streak - punctuated by convincing results over the Suns and Magic - I believe the Celtics are no longer in "a rut". Now if only we can convince people that Stephan Marbury would not be a good pick up, we might get through this.

-Speaking of insanity, the Red Sox literally have no better options at catcher than Jason Variteck. And Mr. Variteck has no better option that the Red Sox - despite Satan Boras' delusional attempts to portray the opposite. So why the endless trade rumors on WEEI? Well, it's either that or whine about President Obama some more.

-Speaking of insane situations, the full scale rumble last Friday at Lawler (that just feels wrong. It will always be the Volpe Complex to me) that saw two BU players get injured, a parade of Merrimack players going to the penalty box, and Jackie Parker's angry post game diatribe about the refs not protecting his players has led to yet another half assed attempt to get Merrimack kicked out of the league. When are Hockey East fans going to give this up? The league isn't kicking anyone out. What might happen is that Merrimack might get sick and tired of finishing in the basement every year and drop hockey. And I'm sorry, that doesn't help anyone. Someone has to finish in last place. Umm, I hope not PC.

-Aside from Merrimack, is there any more depressing group of fans than Mainers? Even PC fans were convinced they could win ONE game. Despite a record that's much better than PC's, the Black Bears are "cursed" and need to get rid of Tim Whitehead post haste. Maine has been crappy for about a year and a half. PC has been stumbling in the dark wood for about 7 years. Yet we're the optimists. Go figure.

-Two shootouts for the Bruins this week are two too many.

-Hi Mark!

Rant of Week: Hi Mark, and other missives.

For the first PC hockey "weekend" of the new year - should a Tuesday game count as a "weekend" - I'm dusting off the free form rant from earlier in the year.

-First off, Hi Mark. Yes, we will come and visit soon. I was thinking of this weekend, but yet again there's a "the World is coming to an end! Load up on milk and bread and lobsters!!!" type snow storm coming on Saturday night. In truth, it will probably be about 1-2 inches, but the roads will still be awful. Go figure.

-I understand that Tim Army can't come right out and say "Oh my God, we're screwed, we're screwed!" but if there's a reason for optimism about PC's season right now, I'm missing it. One point in Hockey East. One.

-I'll stay in Rhode Island for the next comment. Congrats to Keano Davis and company for somehow getting the PC team I saw flounder against BC to 3-0 in the Big East. I don't care what kind of teams they had to beat to get there and how big of a challenge the game at Georgetown is going to be. That's an accomplishment. Keep up the good work.

-And on opposite side of the spectrum, we have the Celtics. Talk about a perfect cocktail of awfulness: unforgiving schedule, awful bench play, an offense that disappears in the last quarter, teams "figuring out" my man Rondo, a defense that has played poorly at times, and - as always - the awful officiating that NBA is famous for. And now, we have Cleveland on the horizon. The way this travesty of a month is going, look for LeBron to score 137 tonight.

-It's such a cliche: "I almost drove off the road when I heard BLANK on the radio." So no, I didn't almost drive off the road when some caller to WEEI called in to say he thought Theo Epstein was doing a great job this off season. But I did laugh. Loudly. As currently, constituted, the Red Sox will be fighting the Yankees for the Wild Card spot. If everything works out, they might beat out Tampa Bay for the division lead - I'm not sold that the Rays are going to fade.

-Charlie Chaplin needs to focus his feline anger on the tools that infest the Celtics side of www.boston.com. Is it really that boring in Los Angeles that the same two or three Lakers trolls have NOTHING better to do than post immature trash talk and whine about how the person who runs the blog keeps deleting their idiocy? My advice to them : If you don't like your posts being deleted, why don't you attempt to add to the conversation instead of posting like a 9 year old with a sugar high and no dictionary? Or get your own blog so we can make fun of you in a new and different way!

-The biggest story in Boston sports right now is the dismissal of BC's football coach for going behind AD Gene DeFillipo's back to interview for ... the Jets?!?! I've heard every conceivable angle on this story, but no one has yet brought up what an awful job that is: not only are coaching a team that plays second fiddle to the Giants, but you play in a stadium NAMED after the team you're playing second fiddle to. While there's a lot of talent on the Jets, you do have to deal with a quarter back who practically gifted the last game of the season to the opposing team. To top it all off, you have the New York media breathing down your neck and practically begging you to fail. Yep, sign me up for that job! He was better off at the Heights.

Rant of Week: PC's greatest rival?

One of the great frustrations in being an alumni of Providence College is the lack of a true rival. Friar basketball fans might dislike UCONN, Syracuse and Georgetown, but all of those schools have more impressive rivals to feud with and - let's be fair here - PC can't beat any of them on a consistent basis. Except maybe UCONN, and that was only last year. Similarly, URI fans dislike PC with the fire of a thousand suns, but not even I would go out of my way to lavish a similar feeling on the Rams. So finding a basketball rival is a bit of a problem.

A similar situation exists in hockey. I thought I would go down the list of potential rivals. Here are the teams I'm eliminating right off the bat: UML (I actually like them), UMASS (not enough water under the bridge), Merrimack (last year notwithstanding), NU (too much in common), UVM (too new), and Maine (teetering towards complete irrelevance). This leaves the following four schools:

Brown: Bruno makes the cut because the over all series is pretty much dead even (I think the Bears have a one or two game lead) and the results of Mayor's Cup usually have nothing to do with the record of either team. There are several problems here. The first of which is that PC is not Brown's arch rival. That would be Harvard and that particular rivalry dates back to the 19th century. The second problem is that if you compare the strengths of the two programs, PC is out in front by a very wide margin. PC has more ECAC titles that Bruno, and they haven't been in the ECAC since 1984. Third, as horrible as the attendance is for PC home games (probably due to the LOUD SPEAKERS!) the attendance at Meehan is actually worse. That thought always give me pause. How can you lavish hate on a team with a smaller fan base than yourself? The only fans who even deserve a smidgen of dislike are the people in the band. Fourth, and most importantly, I like Brown. And I really shouldn't be able to say that about a rival.

New Hampshire: One of the main motivators for finding a team you hate is jealousy and it's easy to covet certain parts of the Wildcat's program. UNH has a much larger fan base, a lovely rink, a program that's always ranked in the top 10 and gets home ice every year, and a period of competence that dates back to the 70's. The problem with UNH is that "competence" doesn't quite equal dominance. The Wildcats have the smallest series lead of any of the teams PC plays in the Big Four. They also have LESS tournament titles than PC (four is greater than three) and have never won the national title either - even with many more Frozen Four appearances. The other problem is that the days of Kitty fans constantly complainng about how "dirty" the Skating Goons of PC are seem to be in the past. In fact, UNH's constant inability to win the national championship seems to have depressed the entire fan base. How can a team be a rival when their fan base is almost as unhappy as your own? And who in their right mind would want to get rid of Dick Umile?

Boston College: It's much easier to envy BC: better rink, larger fan base (although not as big as UNH), countless conference titles, a massive overall advantage over PC and three national titles. Yet, there's still plenty to dislike. The school considers itself a Football School, which means that as much as some of the fans really like hockey, most of them are more interested in football or even basketball. Also, the band plays "For Boston" about 90 times per game which puts them in the same category as Michigan (but still ahead of MTU and their catchy yet toxic Penalty Kill Ditty). The Eagles seem to enjoy nothing more than ruining my evening, which is an excellent reason to dislike them. The piece de resistance was last year when PC won the season series 2-0-1 against BC only to get drubbed in the playoffs. I hate it when that happens. BC also seems to have at least one completely unlikeable yet insanely talented (and usually diminutive) player on their roster each and every year.
It would seem that BC would be perfect as PC's rival. But there are a few problems. First of all, PC will never be considered a rival with BU around. And certainly not with the Eagles in the ACC. Superfans might take the Friars more seriously if they had a football team. Secondly, we have Jerry York. I have yet to find anyone in college hockey who doesn't love this guy: he's a great coach, a brilliant recruiter and he practically generates class. If the AD at the Heights ever loses his mind and fired Jerry, I will personally drive him to Schneider Arena.

Boston University: The Terriers are the most successful team in the east - nevermind Hockey East - so there's plenty to be jealous of an dislike. The huge fan base, the fantastic rink, the plethora of hardware and that meaningless tournament they keep winning. No team - not even BC - has done more to ruin the Friar's season as BU. If BU isn't actually beating them in the playoffs, they're dragging out the proceedings for two overtimes. It does help that BU has played PC in the playoffs more than any other team. So BU is an excellent choice, even if you disregard the hairy half naked men and Jackie Parker's voodoo mind hold on whatever official Hockey East cares to put on the ice.
But as always, we do have problems. BU has more enemies than any other team in college hockey: ALL of Hockey East, plus Harvard, Cornell, and - for some reason - Minnesota. Clearly, PC is not alone in disliking BU. But the BC rivalry is the biggest in the east - if not all of college hockey. The second problem is the near obsession that the team has with winning the Beanpot. Clearly, it's tough to take a rivalry seriously when your "rival" is looking forward to the first and second Monday in February.

I think that for PC fans, BU and BC are probably the two closest thing we have to "rivals", even if neither team would care to see PC in that light.

Random Rants:
-I'll keep it short... HI MARK!

Hey, our league doesn't suck!

Congratulations to Jerry York and the 2008 BC Eagles for bringing the National Championship back to Hockey East after a seven year absence!

Yes, as poorly as PC played down the stretch, they did manage beat the eventual National Champions twice. I can't believe it either.

Frozen Four preview... time to make predictions that won't come true!

What is more of a motif for me then kvetching and pointless hostility is making predictions... that don't come true! So here are some more you can all make fun of me for tomorrow.

Frozen Four predictions:

Michigan vs Notre Dame- It is difficult to think of a team more impressive this year than the Wolverines. When I saw them play at GLI, I was astounded at the fact that the NCAA actually allowed Billy Sauer to play with a force field surrounding his net. All kidding aside, the smart money is on Michigan to advance. Of course, it would be remiss of me not to give the Irish props for upsetting UNH and Michigan State on consecutive days and keeping our old friend Pooley gainfully employed. I think Notre Dame makes a game of it, but I see Michigan advancing.

BC vs North Dakota- Ah yes, the Eagles and Fighting Si- er, Flickertails meet YET AGAIN. On paper, you have to hand it to UND; they appear to have better goal scoring and the better goalie. But there's something magical about the ride Joe Muse has had and Nate Gerbe will probably annoy yet another college hockey fan base. For some inexplicable reason, I see BC advancing - even without a horrific cloud of fog, but not without some difficulty and not without TJ Oshie taking a number one in a public place.

These are my predictions, and please enjoy the UND/ND matchup on Saturday. Because I'm always wrong.

Hockey East Semi-finals Preview

Once again, Joe Bertagna gets what he wants (well, maybe not a surprise appearance by the Black Bears) and Jon doesn't. You think this would teach me a valuable lesson about watching Hockey East, but it never does. At any rate, here's my break down on the HE semi finals.

UNH vs BC: I don't know how Jerry York is going to deal with having to coach against the team that has a pulse, do you? Normally, I would say BC's playoff experience would carry the day here, but this is offset by the fact that the Kitties have become a juggernaut during the second half of the season. My feeling is that they have too much firepower and Brian Regan is certainly better than Joe Muse. The Kitties advance, but in a closer game than you'd think.

BU vs UVM: The caveat for this game is that if the Catamounts get any kind of lead, Joe Fallon and the neutral zone defense will make it stick. The problem is BU is on such a hot streak right now that I doubt the Terriers will give them that luxury. UVM might be looking for one goal, BU is looking for 3. The Terriers advance.

Finals: UNH/BU: It is rather appropriate that that the two hottest teams in HE would meet in the finals. I think its a close game, but Regan is better than Bennett and that's the difference. The Kitties add the tournament trophy to their trophy case.

Rant of the week: Jon is a slacker!

I apologize for the fact that there was no rant of the week last week.

I know that no one was looking for one, but I will not offer that as an excuse.

Now, here is what Providence needs to do to advance to the TD Banknorth Garden:

Score a ****ing goal: The only thing worse than being swept by BU is being swept by BU without scoring a goal. Unbelievable. I understand that the Terriers have turned around their horrible goaltending from earlier this year, but not scoring a single goal is still unacceptable. Obviously, PC needs to score goals to win in this series.

Improve on the powerplay: This ties into the above point, but if you want to jump start your offense, you have to figure out a way to score on the power play. The play did improve in the 2-0 loss at BU, but not enough to score a goal, obviously.

Shut down Nathan Gerbe: This might be the tallest task of all (no pun intended) because Gerbe is by far the most talented player on the ice for both teams. Tyler Sims came up HUGE against Gerbe in the season series and shut him down of a few odd man rushes in the 2-2 tie at the Coffin. If they can keep this up, PC gives themselves a chance to advance.

Be Opportunistic: BC made some horrible horrible defensive and goaltending gaffs in the season series. PC needs to pounce on these.

Weather the storm: As the game goes on, BC's advantage is talent becomes more obvious. PC HAS to build up a big enough lead - or have enough in reserve- to weather these third period surges. BC's dominance in the first few years of Army's reign was due to PC running out of gas at the end of the game.

Stay out of the box: Self explanatory.

Whatever you did in the first two games at Conte, repeat: This was a good matchup for PC this year. There's no reason why that success can't be repeated. Except for the fact that God hates PC athletics and He enjoys mocking us.

Further Rants:
-The Bruins made no trades before the deadline, and the fan base has been rewarded with one of the most PATHETIC ongoing string of hockey games I've ever seen. Eight goals in eight games? Sigh.

-Kevin Walsh has as much "dirt" on the Patriots as I have on Paris Hilton. Someone smash ESPN on the head with the bowling ball and tell them to stop talking about story where the proof is "hidden". What next ESPN? A startling expose on Bigfoot?

-I can not for the life of me imagine Kevin Garnett kicking back at night and chilling out to Phil Collins. Sorry, I can't see it...

-Was that the end of Tim Welsh? Or is there something even worse on the horizon for PC's basketball team. Incidentally, if UCONN is really that good, would they have lost to the Lame Duck Friars TWICE?!?!?

-Are people really freaking out about the Red Sox struggling through spring training? Honestly?

-Bobby Knight on ESPN last night actually did a pretty good job. I'm just waiting for him to throw a chair at Digger Phelps' head.

-I've given props to the WCHA Whining Blog before and I'll do it again. I'd say we need a Hockey East version of that blog, but since UNH Fans were chosen as a "whiner of the week" that idea might be redundant. Still, I can't see the recent winner - a MSU-M player who went after one of his own fans - being beaten any time soon.

-Lock up your women and children! The Pinheads MIGHT be back!

-Now that the Hockey East regular season is at an end, I can say unequivocally that "Jack Parker is a man of many jackets" is the best Bob Norton quote of the year.

-I know nothing about Joe Bertagna's religious life, but I have to feel he's praying for UNH, BU, UVM and BC to get to the Gahden next weekend. And I'm hoping just as hard for the opposite.