Predictable Dolphins, college hockey, Edmonton Oilers, home court, Larry Bird, Boston Bruins, the great Super Toe

Sunday 1/14/24

The Miami Dolphins were about as competitive as I expected them to be. That is one overrated coach, the type of person it's very easy for the media--which is never about the truth--to pump up. Looks good, sounds good, you can get good pieces of video of him, but really does nothing in the end. The quarterback I believe in a lot less. Here's the Dolphins: They beat bad and mediocre teams, don't beat good teams, and every year they'll blow someone out by a score that makes you do a double-take and you think they're on their way, but each year they are not.

You're a different kind of creature than I am to want to go to a game like that in that weather. Let us pretend I had my house in Rockport back and was out of this hell and the Patriots were playing in the AFC Championship game at home and I could go and it was ten degrees out. I would not go. I'd wake up early, listen to Miles Smiles, write an entry or two on here, work on a new story, finish a book, go for a run, purchase a one-sheet poster of a Mitchum film, and later in the day sit in a chair, knowing all I'd gotten done, all that I could look forward to, and watch the game and pull for the Pats. Then when it was over I'd read a little Sherlock Holmes, go to bed, and get up super early. Nor would I go if I were in a box. All of that time getting there and back, all of those people.

College games are different, and events at the Garden. I take the B line to BC to watch the men's hockey team play BU, and I read there and back. For the Beanpot I walk to the Garden, maybe stop at Bova's on the way home.

The Bruins started the second half of their season last night with a win over St. Louis, concluding their four-game road trip. They had dropped three straight games in OT, I believe. It's all about how someone wants to spin something. Sometimes it's, "The Bruins have dropped three in a row." Or, as I saw after last night's win, "The Bruins extended their point streak to four games." As I've said, all that really matters is you don't lose in regulation. Those are the only real losses in the regular season. Going on the road for four games and dropping three in OT and winning the fourth--in OT, as it were--is a successful trip, especially with two very good teams in there like the Avalanche and Golden Knights.

The Bruins are on pace for 48 wins. The other day--maybe it changed since--they had the most points in their conference while being on a pace that would result in seventeen fewer wins than the total they had last year. The biggest choke in North American sports history. I still can't believe an NHL team won 65 games in a season. I actually checked again the other day thinking, "Wait, do I have that wrong?" Then you go up 3-1 in the first round and still lose, by dropping three games at home no less. That's the worst. As chokers, that Bruins team stands apart in my view.

The Oilers won their tenth in a row--in OT--setting a new franchise record, which is surprising but somewhat less so if you think about it. You'd expect the powerhouse Oilers teams of the 1980s to have won ten or more in a row, but they never did. But that's how it goes when you run-and-gun--along comes a night when someone beats you 7-5. It's not a precise, locked-down style of hockey. It worked out a lot more often than not, but there was more room to be beaten on a given night when a couple posts were clanged instead of those pucks finding twine.

McDavid passed Glenn Anderson in points on the Oilers' all-time list. People underestimate how good Anderson was. You'll see him get talked about as a non-deserving Hall of Famer, which is foolish to me. Absolute legit selection.

Those Celtics just keep winning at home. Curious how far they can take that. The mid-80s Celtics had just about the biggest home court advantage I've ever seen. Who would be close? The early 1990s Bulls, maybe--Chicago Stadium had a much different atmosphere than the United Center--but not really. The layout of the Garden had something to do with it--the seats seemed to overhang the playing surface.

I saw a video of Dennis Johnson dunking the other day when he was on the Celtics, which wasn't something you saw much of.

Larry Bird story: Celtics were on the road, Celtics were down by one with like a second to play, Bird gets fouled. He goes to the line, puts the ball under his arm, motions to the crowd to stand up and make noise--you know, jeer him, making it, in theory, harder to hit the shots--then drains both free throws, nods, Celtics win. Publishing people would not understand something like this. Competition and being competitive is the opposite of a circle jerk.

BC men's hockey lost last night to Providence at Providence, which I expected. They had blown out the Friars the night before in Chestnut Hill. BC is ranked first in the country, PC ninth. The Friars are a good team--wrote in these pages, I believe, about a contest earlier this year between the two teams. BC had an exhibition game after the Christmas break--not sure if Providence did--so they'd seen some game action, and then they go their players back from World Juniors. I expect to see both teams in the national tournament. BC has a real opportunity to do something this year. Need to get back on track next time out. A lot of talent on that roster and a lot of future NHL players.

In my entry about football associations, I should have included this guy, who went by the handle of Super Toe. You set up his plastic goalposts, moved him back, put the ball down, slammed his head, and tried to send the ball through the uprights from way back by the couch. In that Rockport scenario, as Miles Davis's Second Great Quintet does their thing, I could definitely see myself testing Super Toe's range after having purchased his vintage self on eBay. I'll look forward to that. The football goes up to his stomach, but he drills field goals nonetheless.