Superweek '09

The final week of February is one of the biggest there is in terms of important dates in multiple sports. MLB Spring Training games begin this week. Many college and high school basketball conferences conclude the regular season. And the NHL and NBA are done with their All-Star breaks, and into their stretch runs. Therefore, there is no single week of the year more fitting of the title "Superweek" than this week. (With no disrespect to Chris Thompson's "Christober," celebrated annually from October 1st-5th. Read his blog here.)

Starting in 2009, I will truly celebrate Superweek, and I encourage you to do the same. Here is my schedule for Superweek '09:

Mon 2/23: Women's College BB: Fairleigh Dickinson at Quinnipiac, Hamden, CT

Tue 2/24: NHL: Florida Panthers at Boston Bruins, Boston, MA

Wed 2/25: Red Sox and Mets' first spring training games

Thu 2/26: Men's College BB: Wagner at Quinnipiac, Hamden, CT

Fri 2/27: RI Boys' High School Basketball (tentative): Mt. Hope at Westerly, The Fed

Sat 2/28: Women's College BB: CCSU at Quinnipiac, Hamden, CT

Sat 2/28: Men's College BB: CCSU at Quinnipiac, Hamden, CT

Celebrate Superweek. Or Justin Rutty will dunk on you.

--MTM

Hockey is back in Boston

Can this really be happening?

The Boston Bruins - yes, the hockey team - are once again a relevant part of the Boston sports scene. Following their 7-2 trouncing of the Isles yesterday, the black and gold are second in the Eastern Conference with 34 points, two points the behind conference-leading Rangers. (The Rangers have also played three more games than the B's.)

This Bruins team may be the most exciting to watch in my lifetime, thanks in large part to hard-hitting 20 year-old Milan Lucic, the kind of player who you love if he's on your team, hate him if he's going up against you. (I will avoid the dirty hit discussion, at least for today.)

Another key to this Bruins season is that these B's don't seem to be rattled by the hated Rouge, Blanc, et Bleu. Through the first three games of the season series, the Bruins lead two games to one, outscoring the Habs 12-7, and winning at the Bell Centre. I would be getting way ahead of myself to say that Boston has Montreal's number, but at the very least, this year's Bruins have shown that coming out of Montreal with two points is not impossible.

The B's have a huge task tonight at the Garden, when they take on the defending champion Detroit Red Wings. A Bruins win would show many of the doubters in the hockey world that Boston is back in the discussion of legitimate NHL contenders, truly a great step for this once-proud Original Six team.

- MTM