Jack Edwards

Appearing Thursday on The Rob Ryan Show, Edwards discussed such topics as the season to date for the Bruins, how Brendan Shanahan has handled his new role and other teams to watch in the Eastern Conference.

Edwards discussed the unique goaltending situation the Bruins continue to be faced with this season with Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask both playing at the top of their game. Edwards said that if both goaltenders were on different teams, each would legitimately have a chance to be one of the game's top 10 starting netminders.

"Tuukka Rask has an entirely different style but brings an equal work ethic to his game," Edwards said. "Those two guys have such a good relationship, they don't compete against each other, they compete with each other, knowing that the competition is going to make the other guy better. That is unique in the NHL, it may be unique in all of sports."

He also added that Rask will continue to get better, claiming that the young goaltender still hasn't approached his best goaltending.

"This guy may not even get into his prime for another five years and I’m not being silly about it," Edwards said.

The broadcaster also discussed the way Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron has been playing of late, and advocated for him to be one of the nominees for this year's Selke Trophy, given to the best defensive forward in the league.

"When you look at the vectors on which Bergeron skates — the way he cuts off a rush, the way he anticipates a seam pass, the way he goes face-to-face with a player along the boards or in open ice — he has thought at least a couple of beats ahead of the opponent and way over 90 percent of the time he's not only correct but then he wins the puck battle," Edwards said.

"He changes the opponents attack so many times in the course of the game that it results in more offense for the Bruins."

Edwards also raved about the job Shanahan has done in his new role this season as the league's disciplinarian, saying that he has done a great job in explaining his decisions and interpretations of the rules. Edwards also encouraged fans to go online and watch video tutorials and explanations of the rules, in order to become better informed.

When asked who he thought would be the top contender in the East along with the B's, Edwards said he liked the Penguins, who have shown they can win both with and without star player Sidney Crosby in the lineup.

Hear the full interview below.

Rob Ryan Show 12-15-11 w Jack Edwards by robryan

This is the seventh Christmas at Fenway in a row that the club has sold over 200,000 tickets during the two-day period. Tickets were purchased online, by phone and at Fenway Park, and included Sox Pax and single-game tickets for select dates in April, May and September.

"We are extremely grateful for the support our fans continue to show year after year," said Red Sox executive vice president/COO Sam Kennedy. "We continue to work hard this off-season to field a team worthy of the support of our fans -– something we never take for granted -– and we look forward to welcoming Red Sox Nation home on Opening Day, April 13, 2012."

The event was attended by current players Jon Lester, Michael Bowden, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Ryan Lavarnway, Darnell McDonald, Red Sox Hall of Famers Luis Tiant and Jim Lonborg, new manager Bobby Valentine and many of the team's front office staff, including Larry Lucchino, Sam Kennedy and Ben Cherington.

Opportunities are still available to purchase the very popular Sox Pax, which are four-game packages, as well as tickets for numerous 2012 home games in April, May and September. The remainder of the 2012 regular-season tickets for Red Sox home games will go on sale on a date to be announced after Jan. 1.

Northeastern isn't one of those teams.

The Huskies, currently the Hockey East's hottest team, have won six straight, dating back to a Nov. 18 win at Providence. The team is back at .500 with an overall record of 7-7-2, and has climbed back into the thick of things in the HE standings, sitting in seventh place with a conference record of 4-7-2.

Through its first 10 games of the season, Northeastern and first-year head coach Jim Madigan had won only one game, going 1-7-2. They had also played the most games in conference, and nothing seemed to be going right. But recently, things have drastically changed on St. Botolph Street.

While many players have made changes to their game, the turnaround has undoubtedly been fueled by junior goaltender Chris Rawlings, who has been seeing the puck better. During the streak, the netminder has allowed only nine goals and has a save percentage of .951.

"He's been fabulous," Madigan said of Rawlings' play. "He gives our team confidence. There's nothing worse than playing this game when you don't have confidence in your goaltender. I've been there before. It's a tough way to approach a game and we're not in that mindset at all. We go in there knowing we got what we think is the best goaltender in the league."

Earlier this season, Northeastern had trouble pulling games out in the third period, but that has also changed, evidenced by this past weekend's result. The Huskies picked up a 3-2 win over UMass-Lowell, another team that had been on a winning streak.

The teams entered the third period deadlocked in a 1-1 tie, but the Huskies got a goal on a deflection by defenseman Anthony Bitteto to take the lead, and later benefited from the Riverhawks pulling their goaltender Doug Carr with almost four minutes left in the game.

"There's going to be a lot of one-goal games in this league, and you have to find a way to win those games," Madigan said. "I credit our guys for finding a way to win the game. We've been in a few of these lately and you've got to come out on the plus side. These were two big points for our hockey club."

The six-game streak is Northeastern's longest since the 1997-98 season, and the team has outscored its opponents 27-9. And NU hasn't been beating just anybody. All of the team's last four wins have been over ranked opponents (Michigan, Notre Dame, Lowell), and only one of those games — last Saturday's win over the Riverhawks — came at home.

Offensively, it's been the line of Steve Quailer, Braden Pimm and Cody Ferriero that has led the charge. During the streak, the trio has combined for 14 goals, 13 assists and a plus-26.

"We're confident," Ferriero said. "When things aren't going well we know we can turn them around. We always know [Rawlings] will have our back there so we can take a few chances now and then. We don't like giving up odd-man rushes, but we're okay with giving up a few here and there to try and score some goals when we've got him back there."

What fueled this turnaround? It could have been a players-only meeting held the week before the winning streak started.

"We sat down and had a players-only meeting, kind of drew some things out and that definitely helped us out," Quailer, one of the team's assistant captains, said after the win against Providence back in November.

Quailer also spoke about the team doing something a little differently before that win.

"We tried a little reverse psychology tonight saying 'Let's go out there and lose this one' because saying 'Let's go win' hasn't been working so we switched it up."

While the Huskies will get some rest, they won't see a drop in the quality of their upcoming opponents on the schedule, as they'll return to face Princeton and then either Minnesota or Niagara as part of the Mariucci Classic in Minneapolis. After that, Northeastern will face Boston University and Boston College on its first weekend back in Hockey East play.

The game between Northeastern and BU will be televised live on NESN on Jan. 13.

Photo via Hockey East

Trivino, a senior who is currently leading Hockey East with 13 goals this season, was released without bail, but had to surrender his Canadian passport and was ordered to stay away from both the victim and BU housing. A native of Toronto, Ont., Trivino must post $25,000 cash bail in order to use the passport.

According to the police report, Trivino was “very intoxicated” during the time of the incident. He is charged with three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14, one count of assault to rape and three counts of breaking and entering in the nighttime for felony.

Trivino was arraigned on seven different criminal charges and pled not guilty at Brighton District Court on Monday.

BU head coach Jack Parker said Trivino has had a history of alcohol-related problems. In a phone interview with The Daily Free Press, BU’s student newspaper, Parker said this is the fourth alcohol-related incident the 21-year-old Trivino has been punished by the team for in his three-plus years at BU.

“There is no question in my mind it’s an alcohol problem,” Parker said. “I did [ask him to get treatment], but he didn’t think it was for him.

“Corey knew exactly where he stood,” Parker said. “It’s sad but it’s simple for me. Corey knew in September that if he had another alcohol-related incident on campus or off campus, he would be gone from the team.”

BU has been streaking as of late, winning both their games this past weekend at New Hampshire and Maine and moving into second place in the Hockey East standings.

The shot was as big as any, coming on national television and keeping Indiana undefeated while giving the Wildcats their first loss of the season. Immediately after the buzzer sounded and the ball went through the twine, the students poured on the court to embrace the win and the team.

Every student who chooses a school for a big-time sports atmosphere wants a chance to rush the field of play after an enormous upset. It is one of the purest moments in sports, letting everything go and leaving it all out there after an exhilarating victory.

But due to the frequency in which college students and fans have rushed onto the field of play, what once was a rarity has lost its flair. It has become commonplace after almost any home team gets a big win.

Indiana is one of the most successful schools in college basketball history. The Hoosiers have won five national championships and reached the Final Four eight times, which is seventh-most among all schools. With countless All-America selections and one of the best coaches the game has ever seen in Bob Knight, Indiana has been there before.

Kentucky is one of its longtime rivals, and the Hoosiers were undoubtedly underdogs coming into the game, but this was no David vs. Goliath matchup. It was expected to be a good game. While the win was big, it wasn't rush-the-court worthy.

Another Big Ten Conference member, Michigan, is guilty of the same offense, rushing the field after defeating Ohio State in its regular-season finale in Ann Arbor, Mich. Yes, it is perhaps the biggest rivalry in college football and the Wolverines hadn't beaten the Buckeyes since 2003, but they were clearly the favorites coming into the game. In fact, had Michigan lost, it would have been a disaster, as it would have cost itself a BCS bowl bid.

This is the same sport in which players are barely allowed to celebrate after scoring a touchdown. These collegiate athletes are expected to act professionally and routinely jog off the field following a score, yet when the the game ends, thousands of fans come streaming onto the field after a routine win.

It is understandable that students at big-time sports schools want to celebrate victories. If you go to a school in the SEC or Big Ten, though, and you have a long, storied history, you're a big dog. Your school brings in the most sought-after, top-notch recruits from around the country, you have the facilities that rival a professional sports franchise, and you probably have a coach who has achieved a lot of success in his career. You're expected to win. That's just the way it is.

There is definitely a place for these types of celebrations, but they are better saved for small, mid-major schools. If a school from the Horizon or Sun Belt conference picked off a No. 1 team, for instance, not only would the celebration be warranted, but necessary to effectively capture the moment.

As with anything else, too much can be a bad thing. But if done just right, storming the field of play can create memorable experiences that last a lifetime.

Photo via Flickr/twittek

Last season the Steelers defensive standout was fined $125,000 for illegal hits. Harrison's most recent rule violation occured last week when he laid a helmet-to-helmet hit on Cleveland Browns quarterback Colt McCoy.

McCoy, who suffered a concussion on the play and is not playing Sunday, was considered a "defenseless player" as he had thrown the ball before being hit.

The NFL hasn't yet made a ruling but it is expected that Harrison will at least be hit with a large fine, as he is a repeat offender, ESPN reports.

Harrison however, didn't see anything wrong with the hit, and maybe that, in itself is the root of the problem.

"From what I understand, once the quarterback leaves the pocket, he's considered a runner," Harrison said. "All the defenseless(ness) and liberties that a quarterback has in the pocket are gone and you can tackle him just as he's a running back. The hit wasn't late, so I really don't understand why it was called."

The league should have a ruling on the play early next week.

Tyson Chandler, who is credited with changing Dallas' defensive culture before its title run, is reportedly in serious talks with the New York Knicks on a new contract. If he does leave, Chandler would become the first big free agent to sign a deal once the NBA's new labor deal is ratified.

ESPN's Marc Stein is reporting that New York moved past Golden State in the race for Chandler and a source says, "It's 98 percent sure that Tyson is going to wind up with the Knicks."

The move was thought to have been a precursor to the Knicks eventaually landing Chris Paul in a trade with New Orleans. Paul was reportedly traded in a deal to Los Angeles, but the NBA wiped out the proposed trade. Paul was thought to have longed for a reunion with Chandler, as the two previously played together with the Hornets. If they can lock up Chandler, the Knicks would be in position to offer star forward Amare Stoudamire to New Orleans in a trade for Paul, provided that the league would allow the move.

New York would also most likely part ways with Chauncey Billups and Ronny Turiaf through trades or the new NBA amnesty clause in order to make room for Chandler.

CSNBayArea.com reported that the Warriors have a four-year offer valued at $60 million on the table for Chandler and will try to outbid the Knicks. Golden State has made him its top target in what is sure to be a wild free agent signing period before the season gets under way on Christmas Day.

With Chandler in talks with other teams, it seems as if the Mavericks will let him walk without putting up much of a fight. Mark Cuban's team is instead concerned with staying as far under the cap as possible before the 2012 free agents like Paul, Dwight Howard, and Deron Williams become available.

With star player Dirk Nowitzki getting older, the Mavs want to add another big name to compliment Dirk's talent. It seems as if Chandler has moved on as well, telling ESPN last week, "I really think I'm going to be on a new team come training camp."

It is no secret that Paul would prefer to sign a long-term deal with a big-market franchise. If the Knicks go through with the move to bring Chandler to town, they could have a shot at landing Paul as well, but if Paul is off the market, New York could have second thoughts about the signing.

The video, which was made to thank fans for being patient during the lockout, shows Davis knitting, putting together a model car and building a replica of the TD Garden entirely out of popsicle sticks.

Big Baby seems to be doing well, until someone steps on screen and informs him that the lockout has ended.

Check out the video below.

Combs is 5-foot-9, 170 pounds, and has played defensive back at Iona Prep in New Rochelle, N.Y. He was also reportedly offered scholarships by Illinois, Virginia and Wyoming, the Los Angeles Times points out.

This news comes following the school's decision to fire head coach Rick Neuheisel on Monday before its Pac-12 conference championship game.

"Playing Division I football was a lifelong dream of mine, and through hard work I was able to achieve it," Combs said in a statement released by his family's public relations firm.

Diddy also expressed his gratitude.

"As a parent, this is one of the proudest moments of my life," Combs said in a statement. "This is everything a father could want in his son, for him to excel at what he loves to do."

Combs will have to wait and see who his new coach will be, as UCLA is expected to conduct a national search for Neuheisel's replacement once the season ends.

During his playing days, Shawn Kemp got pretty high above the rim. Playing for Seattle, he and Gary Payton made up one of the most dynamic duos the league has ever seen.

Kemp was a six-time All-Star and made the NBA Finals with the SuperSonics in 1996, but lost to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls in six games. He played 14 seasons in the NBA between 1989 and 2003 with Seattle, Cleveland, Portland and Orlando.

Check out Kemp's dunk on Alton Lister in the video below.

The performer, country star Jesse James, is Decker’s girlfriend. The receiver said he was excited for the performance and said he wished he could sneak out of the locker room to see it, but he had to settle for watching a recorded version after the game.

Decker has been the Broncos best wideout recently, and has seven touchdown receptions this season.

Check out photos of Jesse James performing and more >>

Although they got off to a slow start this season, the B's are riding an eight-game winning streak and have dominated in the month of November. Saturday's impressive 6-0 shutout of the New York Islanders just added to what has already been quite an impressive run.

The streak has fans thinking about a possible repeat when June rolls around. Since Boston won the Cup, most experts have said the Bruins will be contenders for years to come as they retained almost all of the players responsible for the win. The addition of defenseman Joe Corvo along with the maturity of second year forward Tyler Seguin could be just what the Bruins needed to stay on top of their game.

That combined with the netminder tandem of Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask, who have both played very well so far this season, could bring about another long run in the playoffs.

The 2010-11 team will be remembered forever in Boston for all the excitement it brought to the city last summer, but is this year's team better?

Are the Bruins better this season than they were last season?

There have been many rumors this offseason about if and where Kobe Bryant would play if there is no NBA season. Kobe has been linked to international teams in Italy, Turkey, and China, but as of now has not signed any deals.

The Lakers' standout guard has also made appearences at the negotiations between the owners and the players association.

In the first round of the 2006 NBA playoffs, with the Lakers visiting the Suns, the Philadelphia native drove the lane and threw down an uncontested the one-handed slam.

To see the play, check out the video below.

After coming up short in the NBA Finals this year, superstar LeBron James might have to wait a while to get another crack at a championship. With even more setbacks in negotiations this week, the league might be headed towards cancelling the 2011-12 season.

Although LeBron faced a lot of criticism after leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers, he did have a lot of success there. He is a two-time MVP, a seven-time NBA All-Star, and has produced a lot of big highlights over the years.

Back when he was still in Cleveland, LeBron rose up and dunked over his future teammate Delonte West.

Check out "The King" in the video below.

Shaquille O’Neal picked the right time to walk away from the game. The Diesel announced his retirement at the end of last season, ending a 20-year career filled with tons of accolades and four NBA championship rings. With the league in a lockout, he wouldn’t have been playing much anyway.

Shaq started his career in Orlando with the Magic and quickly turned the team into a contender. Always one of the biggest players in the game, he was an immovable object in the paint.

During a game in Phoenix against the Suns, Shaq caused an entire basketball hoop to collapse after a putback dunk.

Check out the video of the play below.

The Terriers had a ton of offense returning when most schools lost their top forwards to graduation or a professional contract. They had a national championship-caliber goaltender who, in his senior year, would be as hungry as ever to get back to the national stage and they had an experienced defense in front of him that was supposed to be big and physical with opponents in front of the net.

In its first game of the season with New Hampshire, the Terriers delivered as advertised, winning 5-0. Although many said the game was closer than the score dictated, it looked as if BU would be getting off to the start many had expected from them.

But the next week, the Terriers lost to Providence, a team that has been in the cellar of the Hockey East the past few years, by a score of 5-3. After a bounce-back win against Denver, BU lost to Holy Cross at home. That's when the warning signs went up.

On the last weekend in October when BU took three points from UMass, most figured they had righted the ship. But their next game was at UMass-Lowell, and the Terriers got pushed around in a 7-1 loss.

This was not the way this season was supposed to start for BU.

Last weekend, head coach Jack Parker said that playing down to Hockey East teams is inexcusable.

"We didn't feel like a BU hockey team," Parker said. "It was the absolute lack of respect or lack of effort or lack of both that we went out and laid an egg up at UMass-Lowell. How could we not think they were that good?"

Parker partly blamed the loss on his coaching staff, calling it a mistake that they couldn't get the team ready. But this past weekend was a big chance for the Terriers to turn it around as they went up against the top two teams in the Hockey East in Merrimack on Friday and Boston College on Sunday.

Although BU lost to the Warriors on a last-second goal on Friday, the team dominated BC two days later, winning a blowout game 5-0.

After the win, goaltender Kieran Millan said he felt things coming together.

"Although we lost to Merrimack, I think that was a huge step in the right direction for us," Millan said. "I think that was the first time we outshot a team and probably outplayed them. They got a couple fortunate bounces and they got the benefit of the doubt on that one but going into [Sunday] I think we really carried the momentum we brought in from Friday night’s game and it showed and paid off."

Parker agreed that Friday may have been a turning point, calling the team's effort on Sunday its best of the season.

"It was our best effort of the year no question about that," Parker said. "We saw this coming a little bit against Merrimack the other night and [Sunday] we see BU hockey show up."

When a team plays such inconsistent hockey, most people point to a common trait of playing up to better opponents and down to the teams it should beat. Parker acknowledged that his team has done that at some points.

"Well we certainly played up tonight," Parker said after the victory at BC. "I don't know why we would play down to anybody because this league is so tough. You better not play down to Lowell or Providence or anybody in this league and we've already shown the rest of the league that so we'll certainly remember that."

But the good news for the Terriers is that they think they've turned it around. This weekend will test the team's consistency as they play Vermont on Friday night, a team that has yet to win a conference game this season. The game will be televised on NESN, with the puck dropping at 7:00 p.m.

"So far this year we've really played well against the good teams and we've faltered against the weaker teams or teams we're supposed to beat so I think it's a big step for us," Millan said. "I think a lot of the guys on our team showed a lot of maturity about playing hard even when we were up by four or five goals and I thought that the way we played is the way BU hockey was supposed to be played."

It's definitely not too late for BU, who are currently tied for fourth place through seven conference games, but if they want to be on top at the end of the season, earning themselves a trip to the NCAA Tournament, they need to be a more consistent team.

Photo via Flickr/National Collegiate Athletic Association

Even though he didn’t have the best track record as a general manager, Isiah Thomas will always be mentioned as one of the best true point guards of all time.

Thomas led the Pistons from 1981 until 1994. During that time, he won two titles in ’89 and ’90 and was named an NBA All-Star 11 times.

At Magic Johnson‘s Mid-summer Night’s Classic in 1990, Thomas gave a bounce pass to Dominique Wilkins. The pass was bounced high off the hardwood, high enough that Wilkins could finish the play off with a big dunk, completing an alley-oop play.

Check out the video of the play below.

Michael Jordan provided NBA fans with plenty of highlight-reel dunks when he was in his prime.

In Game 3 of the 1995 playoffs, Jordan got to the rim by moving in between Magic big men Shaquille O’Neal and Horace Grant.

However, the Magic won the series and eventually advanced to the NBA Finals, where they were swept by the Rockets.

Check out the video below to see the big dunk by Jordan.

Nate Robinson is just about as entertaining as they come.

Although he didn't have a great tenure with the Celtics, Robinson sure helped to entertain the fans. Even as a member of the Knicks, Robinson stood out, and his ability to dunk the ball at just 5-foot-9 is tremendous.

Robinson is a three-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner and he showed why in the video below, taking a pass off the backboard from Tony Allen and finishing off this game against the Pistons.

Although he retired in 1987, Julius Erving is still one of the most exciting players to ever play in the NBA.

More commonly known as “Dr. J,” Erving won two titles in the ABA before the league merged with the NBA. He won an NBA title with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1983.

The UMass grad helped change the game with his incredible leaping ability, dunking over just about anyone who got in his way — including Michael Cooper in the 1983 NBA Finals.

Check out this move he pulled on the Lakers in the video below.