Most Exciting Player in Boston?

Last night on the show the question was brought up: Who is the most exciting player currently in Boston?

Tough.  Isaiah Thomas jumps out and was the imputes for this question.  Here's my best guess for each of the four major teams.

CELTICS:

Isaiah Thomas
Without a doubt.  The smallest guy on the floor each night is also the best scorer the Celtics have had since Paul Pierce.  He's been a shot in the arm for this franchise, and is the most fun player to watch on the team hands down.

Honorable Mention: Marcus Smart, James Young

RED SOX:

David Ortiz?
Not playing in the field hurts his case because you won't see diving plays or sicks throws.  But when he is at the plate you are most likely to stay watching compared to any other player.

Honorable Mentions: Mookie Betts, Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval

PATRIOTS:

Rob Gronkowski
Has to be.  On and off the field.  He does things that no other player in the NFL can do.  Legit chance of being the best TE of all-time.

Honorable Mention: Darrelle Revis (for now), Julian Edelman

BRUINS:

?  I got nothin.

David Pastrnak?  

Who knows.

Bruins Eliminated

Bruins lost Game 6 and Game 7 by a combined 7-1.  Awful.   The best team in the regular season goes down in the Conference Semifinals.

David Krejci playoff goals - 0
Brad Marchand playoff goals - 0

Zdeno Chara playoff goals FOR MONTREAL - 1

Gonna be tough to win with those odds.


NBA Draft Combine tomorrow!  I'm in.

Game 7! Let's Go!

Bruins-Canadiens Game 7 Odds

According to the fine folks at Bovada, the current odds for Game 7...

BRUINS (-175)

CANADIENS (+155)

If you want to go spreads 

BRUINS (-1.5 = +155)

CANADIENS (+1.5 = -175)

Over/ Under = 5

Over = +105

Under = -125

I think the Bruins win a low scoring game and apparently so does Vegas.  I thought the under might get better odds considering the winning team has scored at least 4 goals in 5/6 games.  But it is a Game 7. 

How many more hours til puck drop?

NHL Conference Semifinal Picks

BRUINS over CANADIENS in 7

RANGERS over PENGUINS in 6

KINGS over DUCKS in 7

BLACKHAWKS over WILD in 5

Bruins vs. Canadiens Schedule

The schedule has finally been released for the Eastern Conference Semifinal match up between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens.  RDS of Quebec was the first to report.

Bruins vs. Canadiens Eastern Conference Semifinals schedule: pic.twitter.com/JN7xHli50A

— Rich Keefe (@Keefe21) April 29, 2014

Merry Christmas from the Bruins

Podcast: Former Bruins D Andrew Ference

Rich Keefe talked to former Bruins defensemen and current Edmonton Oiler Andrew Ference on Tuesday night. They talked about Seguin, Julien, and when he  knew he wouldn't be back in Boston.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE ANDREW FERENCE INTERVIEW

Badass Bruins Montage

Sports Hub producer Mark Feldman put this together, summing up how the Bruins made it to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Bruins vs. Rangers Round 2 Schedule

Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4. Boston Bruins vs. 6. New York Rangers

Game 1: Thursday, May 16, 7:30pm (Boston)

Game 2: Sunday, May 19, 3:00pm (Boston)

Game 3: Tuesday, May 21, 7:30pm (New York)

Game 4: Thursday, May 23, 7:00pm (New York)

Game 5: Saturday, May 25, TBD (Boston)

Game 6: Monday, May 27, TBD (New York)

Game 7: Wednesday, May 29, TBD (Boston)

Bruins Fans Sing Anthem In Wake Of Marathon Bombing

Just an incredible scene at the TD Garden as the Bruins face the Sabres in the first sporting event in the city of Boston following the horrific attacks at the 117th Boston Marathon. Check out the National Anthem if you haven't seen it, or if you're like me, watch it again and again. (Video thanks to Barstool Sports)

Fighting The Boston Bruins

The Bruins got some tough fellas on their squad. Their physical style of play helped win them the Stanley Cup last year and finish 2nd in the Eastern Conference this year. Now they are waiting to play a Game 7 against the Washington Capitals in their first round series this Wednesday, but the more important question remains... how do you rank the fighters on this team? Rather than going through all the statistics and finding who leads the team in fighting majors this season, career, etc. I'm going to do a much simpler examination. Let's say you had to drop the gloves with these guys, who should you want to avoid at all cost? I broke down the entire team into 5 easy categories.

You Just Might Win The Fight:
David Krejci
Patrice Bergeron
Tim Thomas
Tuukka Rask
Tyler Seguin
Joe Corvo (unless you are that woman he beat up when he was in the AHL)

You Will Get A Few Shots In:
Brad Marchand
Chris Kelly
Rich Peverley
Benoit Pouliot
Mike Mottau

You Sure You Want To Do This?
Brian Rolston (old man strength)
Johnny Boychuk
Dan Paille
Greg Zanon

You Better Have Great Insurance:
Gregory Campbell
Andrew Ference
Nathan Horton

You Might Want To Get That Will Done:
Milan Lucic
Zdeno Chara
Dennis Seidenberg
Shawn Thornton
Adam McQuaid


-Keefe

Later this week I will help you choose a new favorite MLB team, while I also choose a new favorite MLB team.

Saturday Parlay

Been gone for a couple of weeks, figured I would bounce back with a Saturday parlay for all you gambling fans.

Winners: Patriots, Saints, Jose Aldo, Vitor Belfort, Bruins, Pacers (over Celtics).

You're looking at a lot of favorites there, but put them all together and see what happens.

Goodluck!


In fact, I can get you: Broncos (+14), Saints outright, Aldo, Belfort, Pacers (-3.5), Bruins outright.... $100 bet wins you $1,796.20. Niiiice.

-Keefe

Rich Keefe Hosting The DA Show

The Rich Keefe Project will be sitting in for The DA Show on 98.5 The Sports Hub for the next week+. The show airs from 6-11pm Monday-Friday. 98.5 can be found on iTunes as well as at CBSBostonSports.com. You can contact the show by phone: 617-779-0985 and text: 69985.

Showtimes:

Monday - 12/19 - 6-6:30pm BRUINS vs. CANADIENS; 9:30-11pm.
Tuesday - 12/20 - 6-11pm
Wednesday - 12/21 - 6-11pm
Thursday -12/22 - 6-11pm
Friday - 12/23 - Following BRUINS vs. PANTHERS; 9:30-11pm

Sunday - 12/25 - Special Christmas post Celtics show with former Patriots TE Jermaine Wiggins from 2-6pm

Monday - 12/26 - 6-11pm
Tuesday - 12/27 - 6-11pm

The Rich Keefe Project on 98.5 this Weekend

Check out The Rich Keefe Project this weekend on 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Who: Rich Keefe
What: Two radio shows
When: Saturday night following Bruins-Sabres & Sunday afternoon post Cowboys-Bills & before Patriots pre-game. (Sat. 9:40pm-ish & Sun. 4pm-ish start times)
Where: 98.5 The Sports Hub / CBS Boston
Why: Why not?

Call in at (617) 779-0985 and text the show at 69985.

Bruins vs. Canucks Game 7 (NHL '95 Rosters)

The Bruins are playing their biggest game in nearly 4 decades tonight as its Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. They are facing a team that has become as hated as the Canadiens, Heat, and Yankees, the spineless Vancouver Canucks.

An important question has yet to be answered until now... what would the starting lineups look like if it were played on the greatest video game of all-time, NHL '95 for SEGA? Here it is: position - player - game rating.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS:

LW - Geoff Courtnall - 71
C - Cliff Ronning - 77
RW - Pavel Bure - 94

D - Jeff Brown - 74
D- Jykri Lumme - 64

G - Kirk McLean - 70

BOSTON BRUINS:

LW - Bryan Smolinski - 69
C - Adam Oates - 84
RW - Cam Neely - 76

D - Ray Bourque - 96
D - Al Iafrate - 77

G - Jon Casey - 63

Clearly the Bruins upgraded with Tim Thomas over the ever-popular Jon Casey, however Oates, Neely, and Bourque would be the 3 best players on today's Bruins.

Enjoy Game 7!

-Keefe

You Ready for Game 5?

Bruins and Canucks Game 5 is tonight. Need some help killing time from now until then...

Keefe on 98.5 The Sports Hub Tonight

Rich Keefe will be hosting the DA Show tonight from 7pm-12am on 98.5 The Sports Hub in Boston. You can listen online at www.cbsbostonsports.com. Call in at 617-779-0985 or text the show at 69985.

Topics will include: Red Sox opening day vs. Texas. Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford's Boston debuts. Jon Lester's 1st opening day start of his career. Celtics and Bruins getting closer to the playoffs and maybe even some Wrestlemania chatter.

Bruins Don't Take No Mess

14 goals were scored, but more importantly 180+ penalty minutes were given out in the Bruins win over the Canadiens. Even the goalies got into a "fight." Check out all the crazy moments from the garden below.



-Keefe

Which Boston Pro Team Has the Best Outlook in 3-5 Years?

Everyone knows the Boston sports teams have had a lot of success since 2000. The Patriots (3 Super Bowl titles and an unbeaten season), Red Sox (2 World Series titles), Celtics (1 NBA title), and Bruins (playoffs 6/8 years and 2 division titles) have all (minus the B's) been the best in the league at least once over that span. But which team is in line to be at the top in the next 3-5 years?

Bruins-
Just became the 3rd team in NHL history to blow a series in which they had a 3-0 lead, falling to the Flyers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. They would have had home ice in the Conference Finals against Montreal with a great chance of making it back to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1990.

Good news: They have the #2 pick coming up in the draft. If healthy they have the best center depth (Savard, Krejci, Bergeron) in the NHL. Tuukka Rask appears to be the real deal in net.

Bad news: Ownership. A 2nd round playoff loss is fine with them as long as they are making money. Fact. Don't have a scoring wing to pair with Savard.

Celtics-
Won the title in 2008 then lost in 7 games (without Garnett) in the 2009 Conference Semifinals to the team that won the East. Right now they have a 2-0 series lead over the Magic in the Conference Finals with Game 3 this Saturday night in Boston.

Good news: They have 1 of the top 3 (Deron Williams and Chris Paul better watch out) point guards in the game and they have him for years to come at a great price. Rajon Rondo is their guy, and they need to find him some running mates for the future.

Bad news: Age. Pierce, Ray Allen, KG, Rasheed are all playing great right now, and who knows maybe even next season. But the question is 3-5 years. KG still has a couple years left on his contract as (unfortunately) so does Sheed. Ray Allen is a free agent and Pierce has a player option which he will undoubtedly pick up. Even if they resign Ray and Pierce, what's the window? Not to mention they could be looking for a new coach.

Red Sox-
Can't seem to get out of their own way thru a couple of months in 2010. The offense looks good one night but the pitching lets them down then vice verse. Victor Martinez can't catch, Mike Lowell wants out, Josh Beckett is on the DL, and Daisuke is Daisuke. The team is 3 years removed from a World Series win, and last year were swept out of the playoffs by the Angels, who never beat the Sox in October.

Good news: Starting rotation? Lester, Lackey, Beckett, Buchholz, and Matsuzaka should keep them in games throughout the season, should. Pedroia and Youkilis have long term contracts and good seasons left in them.

Bad news: No Mark Teixeira/ no power. They dealt Manny Ramirez for Jason Bay and now have Jeremy Hermida starting in LF. Ortiz has shown some power this year, but I wouldn't count on it in 3-5 months let alone 3-5 years. Jonathan Papelbon's 1 pitch is not as effective as it used to be. Theo Epstein wears disguises to Pearl Jam concerts. Also, Yankees & Rays.

Patriots-
The Pats have had a winning record in each of the past 9 seasons and at least 10 wins in 8. 2004 was the last Super Bowl, but they did go 18-0 before a ridiculous play cost them a Super Bowl win in 2007. Then the Matt Cassel year happened, and then last year where they were embarrassed by the Ravens in the playoffs.

Good news: Tom Brady has 3-5 years left in him. The drafts have been getting better, so for the "where will they be in 3-5 years question," that's a positive. Bill Belichick is still one of the best coaches in the game, it's true. It's near impossible to stay on top in the NFL, the Pats and Colts are basically the only teams that have figured it out.

Bad news: Free agent signings have not been their thing. Joey Galloway, Greg Lewis, Shawn Springs, etc., etc.

It is hard to say which team is in the best situation for the future, but it's always hard to count out the Patriots when they have Brady and Belichick working for them. Right now I would also probably put the Celtics #2 because of Rajon Rondo.

What do you think? Hit up the comment section or send an e-mail to sportsbrief@gmail.com

-Keefe