So, when the ping pong balls once again didn’t bounce the Celtics’ way in 2007 (the C’s won the fifth pick), the wheels were set in motion to pull the trigger on a deal that eventually brought Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett (thanks again, Kevin McHale) to Boston for a mix of raw talent, expiring contracts and draft picks.

And so the second Big Three era was born.

This group was said to have a three year window to win the title. It was accomplished in Year 1. And if not for Garnett’s knee injury the following season, and Kendrick Perkins tearing his ACL in Game 6 of the 2010 NBA finals, the Green may have joined the Lakers and Spurs as the only teams to win multiple championships during the decade. But it didn’t happen, and the page should have been turned following that season, but it wasn’t.

So, here we are.

The Celtics are coming off a season in which they were bounced from the first round of the postseason to a Knicks team who, let’s be honest, was not a title contender. Yes, the Celtics were missing key pieces in Rajon Rondo and Jared Sullinger, but c’mon, really? The team still relied on the 37- and 35-year-old respective legs of Garnett and Paul Pierce. And that just won’t work.

Now, the opportunity to rebuild is upon us. The Los Angeles Clippers reportedly want Doc Rivers to be their next head coach. Garnett and Pierce may be shipped to the west coast, along with Jason Terry or Courtney Lee. Doc, K.G., and Pierce have done so much for the Celtics franchise, revitalizing the fan base and bringing another banner to Boston.

But the time has come.

DeAndre Jordan, Eric Bledsoe and a first-round pick, or whoever else is included in a trade to Boston, are not going to be the players that win you a title. But they are pieces to a puzzle. Pieces that can help Danny Ainge do what he did six years ago when he swung one of the biggest trades in Celtics history which brought a championship to Boston.

The last time two Original Six teams played each other in the Stanley Cup Final a gallon of gas was 86 cents, a Sony Walkman cost $200 and Rocky II was a hit movie in theaters. The year was 1979, and the Canadiens and Rangers played a series for the history books.

The Bruins and the Blackhawks will be adding their own chapter to that text starting Wednesday night. For the first time in more than 30 years, two Original Six teams will take the ice to vie for Lord Stanley’s Cup. The significance isn’t lost on Bruins players who are more than ready to leave their mark on history.

Watch the video above to hear what Milan Lucic had to say about the opportunity.

The Red Sox have seen Daniel Bard struggle since coming up from Double-A Portland, and a Red Sox legend thinks the reliever just needs to bring some cockiness to his pitches.

Jim Rice said Bard needs to be more like Dennis Eckersley and stop thinking so much on the mound. Rice said that will allow Bard to fire the ball like he used to and get his velocity back up in the 97- or 98-mph range.

Watch the video above to hear Rice and The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo discuss Bard with NESN’s Adam Pellerin.

The culmination of one of Boston’s greatest traditions was marred Monday afternoon when two explosions went off on Boylston Street near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

A majority of the runners had already crossed the finish line when the explosions detonated just before 3 p.m., but more than 4,000 had not, and those who remained in the area had difficulty putting the incidents into words even hours later.

“It’s a fun day that should be fun and exciting. And it’s not … it’s not going to be remembered that way,” one runner said.

See the video above to hear firsthand accounts from marathoners and spectators.

Beginning the season amid a cheating scandal that cost the Harvard basketball squad two of its two co-captains, few foresaw this kind of ending.

Despite being bounced by Arizona in the round of 32, Harvard managed to beat New Mexico in the round of 64 to capture its first NCAA tournament victory in school history, one of the biggest March Madness upsets in recent memory. Crimson coach Tommy Amaker recently talked to NESN Daily‘s Adam Pellerin about the historic win and the adversity his group overcame this year.

Check out the interview in the video above.

When the Cambridge police and fire departments get onto the ice, their friendly working relationship goes out the window, and it’s all about hockey.

But while the two squads battle it out on the ice, ultimately it’s a respectful grudge match which they both know goes to support a good cause. Proceeds from the annual game go to the fight against muscular dystrophy, for which this year’s game raised more than $7,000.

Check out the video above to learn more about the game, and visit MDA.org to see how you can help in the fight against muscular dystrophy.

The Bruins and Canadiens gave fans everything they expect from one of hockey’s greatest rivalries Sunday night, with the Habs pulling out a 4-3 victory in a physical affair at TD Garden.

Boston fell behind early for the second straight night when Tomas Plekanec potted a power-play goal — the third extra-man tally allowed by the B’s in two game. The Bruins rallied to take a 3-2 lead in the second period but were then forced to spend 17 minutes without captain Zdeno Chara, who challenged Montreal’s Alexei Emelin after Emelin’s questionable hit on Tyler Seguin.

NESN’s Andy Brickley credited both the sluggish start and the absence of the Bruins’ top defenseman as key factors in Montreal’s eventual win. Check out Brickley’s full breakdown of the game in the video above.

The Florida Panthers were the best team in the Southeast Division last season, totaling 94 points and earning the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. This season has not been so bright in Sunrise.

Kevin Dineen‘s club currently sits in fourth place in the Southeast, having totaled just 14 points through 17 games, and has dropped six of its last seven contests. Those struggles start between the pipes, as Jose Theodore, Scott Clemmensen and Jakob Markstrom have combined to post a 3.60 goals against average that is dead last in the NHL. The Panthers will look to get back on track when they host the 10-2-2 Bruins on Sunday at 3 p.m.

The Miami Herald’s George Richards joined NESN Daily to preview the matchup. Check it out in the video above.

Economist Andrew Zimbalist has been studying sports for a long time, writing his first book about the business of baseball all the way back in 1992.

In a recent interview, NESN’s Adam Pellerin sat down with Zimbalist — a professor of economics at Smith College — to talk about the Red Sox’ ownership, and Zimbalist said the group is among the best in professional sports. Zimbalist recently wrote a column for The Boston Globe defending the organization from claims made by former manager Terry Francona.

Check out Zimbalist’s interview in the video above.

Over the years the Bruins have seen some of the NHL’s all-time great defensemen suit up in the black and gold, and captain Zdeno Chara is just the latest to follow in that tradition.

The 6-foot-9, 255-pound Chara has learned over the years to use every inch of that lanky frame to his advantage, becoming not only one of the most fearsome physical presences in hockey, but using that reach as a smart defender and adept poke-checker. However, he’s also one of the league’s best from the point, and an invaluable asset on the power play because of that heavy shot. And, of course, that’s to say nothing of his by-example leadership on and off the ice.

Check out the video above as the Big Bad Bruins Live Presented by DCU spotlight lands on Chara.

Going down early to the Rangers 2-0, the Bruins looked flat coming out of the gate at Madison Square Garden.

Marian Gaborik made them pay for their slothfulness, slotting in a pair of first-period goals which prompted a Bruins timeout. However, as poor as the B’s looked in the early going, eventually they got their legs under them and made a game of it, losing in overtime 4-3.

A couple of defensive breakdowns cost Boston, though, and Andy Brickley is here to break down the X’s and O’s for you in the video above.

Red Sox fans have plenty of questions about this year’s team heading into the new season after a tumultuous 2012 campaign and a busy offseason. Luckily, they will have a chance to see some of those questions answered by some key members of the Red Sox organization.

New Red Sox manager John Farrell and second-year general manager Ben Cherington will appear at this year’s Red Sox Town Hall presented by Cape Air on Saturday, Jan. 19, at 11 p.m. It will air on NESN.

Tom Caron will host the interactive event between the Red Sox and their fans along with reporters Adam Pellerin and Jamie Erdahl.

Additionally, fans at home can participate in the Q&A by submitting questions for Farrell and Cherington to answer using a #RedSoxTownHall hashtag on Twitter.

Doc Rivers was a man of many emotions on Wednesday night, coaching against his son Austin for the first time.

With the Hornets beating the Celtics — snapping Boston’s six-game winning streak in the process — the elder Rivers was caught in a conundrum. Should he be happy that his son had played well? Or, did he have to be upset with the end result for his team?

Luckily, Doc won’t have to wrestle with his feelings again for a while and can go back to rooting for his son until March 20, when the Celtics travel to face the Hornets in New Orleans.

For more reaction from the Celtics’ coach, check out the above video from NESN Daily.

Tyler Seguin led the Bruins in scoring last season, and showed that he was on the verge of becoming the playmaker that Boston envisioned upon taking him with the second overall selection in 2010. Now, with another year of development, Seguin could be a nightmare for opposing teams in 2013.

Seguin, who is still just 20 years old, enters his third season with a great deal of confidence, but the Bruins forward admits he’s still trying to improve. In fact, Seguin already showed plenty of improvement while playing overseas during the NHL lockout.

Seguin played in Switzerland and led EHC Biel in scoring during the lockout, but the rising star insists it was the life lessons he took from the experience that could prove to be just as valuable as his on-ice development.

Check out the video above from NESN Daily to hear more about Seguin’s upcoming season.

This season is going to be an interesting one for the NHL, as a shortened slate will make each game more meaningful and each divisional matchup that much more intense.

One guy who knows a thing or two about the madness that is a 48-game season is former Bruins captain Ray Bourque. Bourque, of course, played in a 48-game season during the lockout-shortened campaign of 1994-95.

Bourque spoke with NESN’s Naoko Funayama on Tuesday, and the Boston legend said that the lack of training camp and preparation before playing “real” games was perhaps the biggest adjustment. He also stressed that it’s important for teams to get off to a good start.

Check out the video above to hear more from Bourque.

Fasten your seat belt, hockey fans. We’re in for a wild ride.

Now that we know we’re going to have hockey this year, it’s time that we shift our focus to on-ice matters rather than continue to get caught up in the legal jargon of the NHL’s labor negotiations. And one of the biggest things that stands out as we await the season’s first faceoff is the schedule each team will be faced with.

With 48 games standing between the season opener and the postseason, it’s very important for teams to get off to a hot start, as each game is that much more important. Adding to each game’s importance is the fact that every team will play each of its division opponents seven times.

For Bruins fans, that means a heavy dose of the Canadiens, Sabres, Senators and Maple Leafs. The B’s had the benefit of playing well within their division last season, going 19-4-1 against Northeast Division opponents, so the hope in Boston is that the Black and Gold will be able to follow up with a similar performance this season.

On Monday’s NESN Daily, Adam Pellerin took a look at three burning questions for the Bruins’ upcoming season. Check them out in the video above.

With so much of the passionate hockey talk in recent months centering on the NHL lockout, it’s almost easy to forget how the 2011-12 season ended for the Bruins. Claude Julien must make sure his team hasn’t forgotten.

The Bruins, of course, fell to the Capitals in overtime of Game 7 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Heartbreak doesn’t even begin to describe that night for many Bruins fans who hoped — and even thought — that a Stanley Cup repeat was in the cards.

Now, as we shift to a new season, NESN’s Andy Brickley thinks it’s imperative that Julien remind his players of the anguish they felt while skating off the TD Garden ice that April night. With the upcoming season chopped down to 48 games, a shorter training camp in place and no exhibition contests to get teams warmed up, Brickley thinks some squads might be rusty, thus making a head coach’s motivational tactics that much more important.

Brickley thinks the Bruins’ depth and consistency should give them a leg up in the shortened season, though. Check out more from Brick in the video above from NESN Daily.

Jimmy Vesey is no longer just a standout freshman at Harvard and a third-round pick of the Nashville Predators. He’s a gold medalist.

Vesey helped lead Team USA win the title at the World Junior Championship in Russia, even jumping to the squad’s first line after some solid play. The North Reading, Mass., native could have NHL glory in his future, but Saturday’s victory in the gold medal contest is definitely worth savoring.

NESN was on hand to watch the gold medal game with Vesey’s family, and the scene was intense. Once the final horn sounded, there was not only a great deal of relief, but also plenty of jubilation.

Check out the video above to hear more about Vesey, and to hear from Vesey’s father about the big win.

There will be plenty of adjustments for players as the NHL season starts. They’ll have to face a shortened season, a shortened training camp, and they’ll have to get back in game shape fast. But for Shawn Thornton, the biggest adjustment is easy to understand: he hasn’t been punched in the face for nine months.

Thornton said the physical nature of the game will be the toughest adjustment to make after sitting at home since the 2011-12 season ended. Thornton was among the NHL players that didn’t play overseas.

Thornton said it was tough to be away from the game and that he faced, “the ebbs and flows; the highs and lows” during the lockout. His first reaction to finding out from teammate Andrew Ference that the lockout was over was, “thank God, it’s about time.”

Watch the video above to hear the Bruins enforcer talk to NESN’s Naoko Funayama about the end of the lockout.

As happy as fans are about the end of the NHL lockout, players might be even more excited.

Bruins forward Milan Lucic was so happy to hear about the agreement between the NHL and NHLPA that he said he kind of had to pinch himself over the news. His teammate, defenseman Andrew Ference, e-mailed the Bruins with the good news early on Sunday morning.

Lucic said he was happy for everyone that was affected by the lockout, including those that work at the TD Garden and fans. He’s just hopeful that the Bruins’ supporters will forgive the players once they’re back on the ice.

Watch the video above to hear NESN’s Naoko Funayama get Lucic and Ference’s reaction to the end of the NHL lockout.