WKXL’s Chris Ryan has a special report following the Boston Bruins 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Chris talks with forward Daniel Paille who scored the game winning goal, as well as Bruins’ GK Tuukka Rask and defender Johnny Boychuk. The Bruins lead the best of seven series, three games to none.
AM New Hampshire: Chris Ryan Reports on Bruins 2-1 Game 3 Victory from Madison Square Garden
Brad Marchand talks with Jared Stillman after Game 1 Victory
Bruins F Brad Marchand talks with Jared Stillman following the Bruins Game 1 victory over the New York Rangers in TD Garden on Thursday night. Marchand’s OT goal gave the Bruins the victory in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Patrice Bergeron Talks with Jared Stillman after Game 1 Victory
Boston Bruins F Patrice Bergeron talks with NH Sports Night’s Jared Stillman following the Bruins OT victory over the New York Rangers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Bergeron had the game-winning assist in Game 1.
CBSSports.com’s Brian Stubits joins NH Sports Night to Preview Bruins-Rangers
CBSSports.com Eye on Hockey writer Brian Stubits joins NH Sports Night with Jared Stillman to talk about the Bruins-Rangers Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Dan Cagen Joins NH Sports Night 5-14-13 to talk Bruins
Dan Cagen, Bruins writer for the Metro West Daily News, joined NH Sports Night with Jared Stillman on May 14th to talk about the Bruins come-from-behind victory in Game 7 vs. Toronto and previewing the Bruins upcoming series with the New York Rangers.
NH Sports Night Blog: Get Excited for the NBA Playoffs
What a tough loss for the Celtics Friday night? In fact, the series versus the Knicks felt a lot like the Celtics’ season overall. They fought and clawed and battled as much as they could but still fell short. The Celtics have a lot of questions going forward and it wouldn’t surprise me to see an entirely new team out there in the fall. That being said, I can assure you of one thing, Jason Terry will be out there to begin the season and he will be talking as much as he ever has.
Our team here at WKXL that is alive, the San Antonio Spurs, is the favorite to win the Western Conference. Sure Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and the same Grizzlies team that knocked them off in 2011 will have something to say about it, but I’ve been saying all long that the Spurs were the team to beat in the west. That being said, I’ve also believed all along and still do that the Spurs will have an opportunity to beat the Miami Heat.
I assure that I like the San Antonio Spurs for one reason. That is, obviously, because WKXL’s Matt Bonner serves as a reserve forward and I consider him a good friend. It’s much easier to root for people that you know and like personally than it is for someone that you don’t really know. However, I still would pick the Spurs going forward. Why is that? Because they know what they’re doing. Yes, talent matters (which they have) but it isn’t everything. Harrison Barnes on the Golden State Warriors, is one of my favorite players going forward in terms of talent, but he made a big mistake last night leaving Manu Ginobili wide-open on the game winning three-pointer in double overtime. The Spurs don’t make those types of mistakes, yet they are so good at taking advantage of others who do.
In case you missed it last night, Miami made a plethora of mistakes against the Chicago Bulls. People who think this Bulls team will beat the Heat in their series based upon one game are out of their minds. Remember, the last team the Bulls dispatched, the Brooklyn Nets, fired their coach the next day. With the injuries they’ve suffered and the Goliath that they are facing, the Bulls will not beat the Heat, but the Spurs match up much better. The Spurs have better players in my mind, at three positions on the floor (Duncan, Parker and Leonard).
Anyway, I’ve really gotten into the playoffs this year because I like a lot of the teams. I really like the Indiana Pacers this year and I do believe the Heat are one of the best teams in the last two decades. The Memphis Grizzlies are super physical and Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony are insanely talented scorers. It’s been good to cure my post Kentucky Derby hangover (which, to me, is a hangover that lasts for a month until the Country Music Festival) with great NBA playoff basketball.
A lot of people like to rip on the NBA saying it’s boring because the athletes don’t try until the playoffs or because it’s too flashy. I used to somewhat dislike the NBA, but after following for the past six months, I have come to appreciate it. Watching NBA players go up against one another is absolutely amazing in terms of athleticism and skill and these playoffs have proven that there is a lot of both in the NBA. Remember all of those that thought Curry was too small to play in the NBA? All of you who thought Maimi’s big three would never get along? That Carmelo could never lead a playoff team? That the Spurs were too old? Well, how are those predictions working out for you? Keep in mind that unlike a lot of hockey games, you can at least watch the NBA playoffs on TV.
This Friday we’ll have another “Sports Night Mailbag” send in your questions to @JaredStillman or Jstillman@concordnewsradio.com
Have a great week,
Jared
NH Sports Night Blog: Don’t let the Celtics turn you Green
I have to start this blog by saying the names of the two friends that I have in this story are completely and utterly 100% fictitious. The events described in the following are simply based on a true story, and that story is the Knicks’ 90-76 walloping of the Celtics. You see, the Celtics are represented by two separate yet equally important groups; the offense, which has struggled to score points, and the defense, which cannot contain Carmelo Anthony…these are their stories.
Our story begins with my friends. As aforementioned, they are represented by fabricated names. One of them is a huge Celtics fan. Let’s say his name is Greg. Greg, as I have informed you, loves the Celtics. He and his friend, who we will give the designation as “Matt”, have this Bert and Ernie thing going on, but it’s cool because they are good friends of mine, and really cool guys. So at the game, I venture to their seats to see them, where apparently they have laid claim to an entire section of TD Garden. In this section sits Matt and his entire constituent of Knicks fans, followed by Greg and his green-wearing girlfriend. As I start talking to them, I notice Matt in great spirits, and he should be. Despite the fact that the Knicks won by 14 points, it felt like they won by 6000. Greg meanwhile is sitting there in his seat looking like a George Jones song (rest in peace, Possum! We love you). Why? Because the Celtics are getting killed. Greg, remember that’s not actually his name, more or less represents all of TD Garden on Friday night.
Do you need to know why I had to note this? Because it’s shocking to me that the Celtics are so upset that they are getting beat by a team that is hands down much, much better than them. The Celtics, for all intents and purposes, are not a good basketball team right now. Is it their fault? Not necessarily. For starters, they lost their All-Star point guard, Rajon Rondo, mid-year with a torn ACL. Secondly, first-round pick Jared Sullinger, who has an awesome first name and is very promising, has missed about just as much time as Rondo, with a back injury. Third, one-third of the “Big Three”, Ray Allen, defected for the Miami Heat in the offseason. That is a lot to overcome. It also doesn’t help that their other first round pick, Fab Melo, hasn’t played any serious minuets in the state of New York (or anywhere else for that matter) since he was at Syracuse and that Allen’s replacement, Jason Terry, has played about as poorly and talked even more than Shaquille O’Neal did when he was with the Celtics. Oh, and FYI, Terry is guaranteed for two more years. Boston, which has a bench pieced together by Danny Ainge, who, outside of Fab Melo, has done a great job with this roster this year, can’t hang with the Knicks, who have waited over a decade to be good again. On their best day, nobody in green is half the scorer that Carmelo Anthony is. Jeff Green has surprised many with his level of play this year, but he isn’t Anthony. Also, he nor Paul Pierce nor anyone else on the Celtics can guard Anthony.
Pierce and Kevin Garnett are still great players in this league. Sure they are older than when they were winning and playing for titles and the loss of Allen certainly doesn’t help, but neither is at a level anymore where they can be “the guy” who catapults his team from mediocre to top 2 seed in the conference. Anthony is. For all of his shortcomings on the defensive and passing ends of the floor, Carmelo is the best scorer I have ever seen. LeBron James is the best player I’ve ever seen and I have never witnessed Kobe’s greatness in person, but Anthony is simply one of the top three scorers in this league (Bryant, when healthy and Kevin Durant are other two). The Celtics went 1-3 against the Knicks in the regular season and looked overmatched in their two meetings late in the season. You can have all the Avery Bradley’s and Brandon Bass’s in the world and you wont a beat an NBA team that is playing well and headlined by a top scorer. The Celtics have had problems with this all year. Why do you think the Cavaliers gave them a problem? Because Kyrie Irving is a fantastic scorer. Add in another elite player (Tyson Chandler), another scoring threat off the bench (J.R. Smith), a sharp-shooter (Steve Novak), a really underrated guard nobody had ever heard of (Pablo Prigioni) and a veteran who has “been there and done that” (Jason Kidd) and you have the makings of a team capable of a very deep playoff run.
I am not writing this blog to blast the Celtics. I think the Celtics have a very astute management team, a great head coach in Doc Rivers and players who are giving it their best shot. What I am trying to say is that you have to understand when a better team beats you. If the Celtics are playing blackjack, they have seventeen versus a face-card showing. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but you know deep down that you’re probably not going to win. When my alma mater, Louisville, lost to Kentucky in the National Semifinals in 2012, was I upset? Sure. But unlike a lot of Celtics fans, who are clamoring for Doc to be fired or for the team to blown up and start from scratch, I understood why it happened. Celtics fans can be upset like Greg. It’s okay. But just understand why it’s happening.
Monarchs’ Tanner Pearson joins NH Sports Night
Tanner Pearson of the Manchester Monarchs joins NH Sports Night with Jared Stillman to talk to Jared and Chris Ryan about the Monarch’s run to the playoff and preview their series at Springfield.
NESN’s Ben Watanabe joins NH Sports Night to talk Playoffs
NESN.com Celtics writer, Ben Watanabe, joins Jared Stillman on NH Sports Night to talk about the Celtics and their 0-2 start in the Eastern Conference Playoffs vs. the New York Knicks.
NH Sports Night Blog: We are All New England Patriots
“Been a long hard ride. Got a ways to go. But this still the place. That we all call home. –Dierks Bentley
The events this week have certainly changed the lives for all of us living in the New England area. From WKXL’s outstanding coverage, with special editions of New Hampshire Now, both Monday and Friday, to Chris Ryan reporting live from the TD Garden Wednesday night on New Hampshire Sports Night, we tried to give you a front-row seat to the action.
Generally speaking, I don’t consider my job a real job. Sure, I get a paycheck like a real job and I have responsibilities like a real job, but to me, being a reporter, anchor or host has been something I’ve wanted to do my whole life. One of my finer moments this week as a broadcaster was giving you up to the minute information on Friday’s three-hour special edition of New Hampshire Now. Working alongside experts such as Merrimack co. Sheriff Scott Hilliard and WKXL’s Chris Ryan, we brought you news, analysis and eyewitness testimony from one of the scariest acts in the region’s history.
Watching the Bruins’ pregame ceremony with an updated tribute video and another fine rendition of The Star Spangled Banner by 17 thousand people, I can assure you there was hardly a dry eye in the house. Even in the media section in the mezzanine level, where emotions are almost always barred, the compilation of radio hosts, writers, television reporters and team scouts were belting out the anthem as if it was their duty. Hands clapped vigorously and tears flew rampant from almost everyone, myself included.
As the game progressed, the crowd did to, and this became just another game. The chants of “Lets go Bruins” started and the puck was dropped. It is moments like this that make me remember how important all of our armed forces are, our polices officers, our first responders and our good Samaritans are. The New England area, is possibly one of the most proud and patriotic areas in the world. But having been at the scene of the bombings on Monday, at the TD Garden on Wednesday, in the news room on Friday and back at the Garden on Saturday, I learned first-hand that the exact strength I speak of has been tested. It has been tested, and it has prevailed.
Once again, I said my job doesn’t feel like a real job. After all, I’m living a nine year-old’s dream, literally. But over the past six days, I am reminded why I am allowed to live that dream. The people who protect this country and it’s citizens, whether it’s a Navy seal, a member of the Secret Service, a SWAT team officer, a police officer, a sheriff, a school-crossing guard or your elected officials, value and protect our freedom, daily. Remember that everyday when you get upset about that speeding ticket, or the crossing guard who tells you to slow down. Without them and others who protect your freedom and livelihood, you may never have had the opportunity to speed in the first place.
The freedom that allowed this kid from Nashville to cover the nation’s greatest sports region is something that I may take for granted on occasion. Not anymore. The freedom that you have to enjoy your Saturday but supporting the Bruins, the Red Sox or the Revolution is a privilege that not all people around the world are able to experience. As a public addresses announcer in college, I have instructed people to rise and remove their caps for the national anthem countless times. Perhaps I should have taken more pride in that honor. I also, probably like you, hate having to take off my shoes and belt at airport security. Times like this make us remember who we are and why we do what we do. There could never be a more fitting time to be reminded why our football team is called the “New England Patriots”.
The cowardly acts of a few over the last week may have bent an entire region, but we did not break. With the support from their fellow good-hearted friends and neighbors, New England will survive and be stronger than ever. David Ortiz said it best.
