Bleacher Report - Articles by Greg Howe

Marc Savard's Transformation From Journeyman To Complete Player

Greg Howe — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 07:48:53 -0500

Marc Savard has quietly become one of the most complete centers in the NHL. Everyone knew about his scoring and passing ability, but what is becoming more obvious this year is his ability to change and become better defensively.

Before coming to Boston, Savard played for three different teams over an up and down nine year career (New York Rangers, Calgary Flames, Atlanta Thrashers). He has never once had a plus/minus higher than +7 in a season. His only other plus season was in his second year with the Bruins and he was only a +3. Other than that, Savard has been a minus player including his first year with the Bruins when he was a -19 (a career low).

This season, Savard is already a +12. He leads the team in points with 27 and assists with 19. Despite the great numbers, it is obvious Savvy buys into Claude Julien's system. He is often the first forward back into the defensive zone and he has even seen some penalty killing time.

It is clear that Savvy finally gets it. He understands that in order to gain the respect that he deserves in this league, he needed to become a complete player. He has now become a very good face-off man, defensive support guy, and, like all of his Bruins' teammates, he is willing to stick up for his fellow B's (check the game against the Dallas Stars).

Marc Savard might not lead the league in points (although he is tied for second now) and he might not be the toughest player, but he is quickly becoming one of the most complete players on the Bruins' roster and in the NHL.

Watch out for Savard as he continues to thrive under Claude Julien and as he continues to come up with new, creative ways to pass the puck. He is just becoming a thrill to watch and I have caught myself numerous times wondering how he just made that pass.

With Savard healthy, the Bruins will only continue to get better not only offensively, but defensively as well...and that's something that could not have been said a year ago.

Boston Bruins the Hottest Team in the NHL— Are You Serious?

Greg Howe — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 07:16:28 -0500

As a die-hard Bruins' fan, I was simply hoping for continued improvement and maybe clinching as high as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. I felt they got better with the Michael Ryder addition and with Patrice Bergeron coming back from injury.

Did I expect this?

Absolutely not.

Tim Thomas is the best goaltender in the NHL right now and this team is playing better than anyone in the league. They have all bought into Claude Julien's system and they are all willing to stick up for one another.

Often called one of the most boring teams to watch last season, they are the exact opposite this season. Anyone on this team can score goals. Marc Savard might be the best passer in the game. Did I mention a beast of a man named Milan Lucic is close to the top of the league in hits, can score, pass, and fight (ask Mike Komisarek about his fighting ability)?

This team is absolutely on fire. After a slow start, they are 11-1-1 in their last 13 games. Are you kidding me? That is absolutely unreal. They are tied for first in the Eastern Conference with the New York Rangers at 30 points and they have two games at hand.

They lead the Northeast Division by four points over the hated Montreal Canadiens, but Montreal has two games at hand.

Overall, it has been an exciting start to the season for Bruins' fans so far. They have figured out how to play the ultimate team game as a team and they are doing it without the most talented players in the league. Each player knows their role and understands how they fit into the system.

Do I think the Bruins can keep it up? I have no idea. I'm not used to a Bruins team performing this well. I don't know how to feel in this situation and I am trying so hard not to get too excited and over confident.

Yes, I think they will come back down to Earth, but from what I have seen so far, they can challenge for the Northeast Division title, and ultimately a top three seed in the Eastern Conference.

If you are a hockey fan out there, watch this team play especially tonight when they take on the Habs in Montreal. This game will have everything from goals to hits to fights.

Oh, did I mention Patrick Roy's number is going to be retired before the game? That should only add to the intensity of this rivalry.

Go Bruins!

Steve Detwiler and Fresno State: "Underdogs to Wonderdogs"

Greg Howe — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:54:01 -0400

The Fresno State Bulldogs overcame all odds and won the College Baseball World Series.

Not only was this the first National Title for the Fresno State baseball team, it was the first National Title won by any men’s team in any sport at Fresno State.

This team had to win its conference tourney, Western Athletic Conference, just to make the CWS.

If they didn’t do that, then they would have been sitting at home watching the games on TV.

The Bulldogs entered the tournament as a No. 4 seed—which is equivalent to a No. 15 or 16 seed in the NCAA basketball tournament—in the Long Beach regional.

Its RPI, 89, suggested that they would be an easy first-round opponent for anyone.

Instead, Fresno State went on to become the first No. 4 seed ever to make the College World Series, let alone win the whole thing.

This team not only overcame six elimination games, but they also stunned four national seeds (No. 3 Arizona State in the Super Regionals, No. 6 Rice, and No. 2 North Carolina to reach the CWS finals) on their way to the title.

This was a team who started 8-12, yet last night, they became the No. 1 team in the nation.

One of the best stories on this team is outfielder Steve Detwiler.

This guy left everything on the field. He was in the middle of a huge slump coming into the championship series—4-for-39 in the NCAA tournament—but in the end, he became the hero.

In the championship series, Detwiler carried his team.

He set CWS records for home runs (four), RBI (11), and hits. He also made a few great plays out in right field, including catching the final out of the game.

He belted two home runs and drove in all six runs for the Bulldogs in the championship game.

Oh yeah, did I mention that he did all of this with a torn tendon in his thumb?

It isn’t just any torn tendon. The tendon is completely gone. Doctors have to go take part of a tendon from somewhere else and put that into his thumb. Imagine the pain!

Detwiler summed it up the best when he said, “It's mind over matter. It's just a little pain. The pain is temporary. Pride is forever.”

This team just kept surprising everyone except themselves. They played like a true team and got contributions from a different player every night.

They overcame everything that was thrown at them and they are now National Champions.

Congratulations to the Fresno State Bulldogs for playing the game the way that it is supposed to be played and for coming out on top. No one deserves it more.

Information from the Associated Press and Espn.com was used in this article.

NHL: Boston Bruins' Offseason Preview

Greg Howe — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:03:38 -0400

As the 2008 NHL Entry Draft approaches this weekend, every team continues to work hard to figure out how to best improve their team. The Boston Bruins are no different.

The Bruins are off of a better-than-expected season, where they made the playoffs and took the No. 1 seeded Montreal Canadians to seven games before being eliminated—this after being picked by many to finish close to last in the Eastern Conference. They are looking to add a few players that will not only improve them in the future, but also for next season.

The Bruins have two major needs: a goal-scoring winger and a puck-moving defense-man.

The perfect fit for the Bruins up front would be Marian Hossa. Hossa is big, fast, strong, can score, and can protect the puck well. He is everything the Bruins need up front and more. The only problem is that he is rumored to be the Penguins’ top priority this off-season and even if he becomes a free agent, he is going to command at least $7 million a year for four or five years.

If Hossa hits the open market, expect the Bruins to be aggressive in their pursuit of him. In order to do this, they will have to free up some cap space. One way to do this is to either trade Glen Murray or buy out his contract.

After an awful season, where his age and slowness showed, there is no way Murray will be back in a Bruins’ uniform, especially with all of the young guns fighting for NHL roster spots. He only finished with 17 goals and 30 points and didn’t register a single point in the playoffs.

Murrayis supposed to make $4.15 million next season so ideally the Bruins would trade him and lose his salary completely. If they can’t move him, expect Peter Chiarelli to buy out his contract and take the cap hit of $1.38 million for the next two seasons.

If Hossa does not become available, look for the Bruins to go after someone like Ryan Malone (if his rights don’t get traded to Columbus).

Besides a forward, the Bruins would love to add a puck moving defense-man. Wade Redden or John-Michael Liles would be ideal, but money becomes a problem again. Redden might be willing to take a pay cut to play with Zdeno Chara again, but he might still be too expensive even after a pay cut.

With the draft coming up, expect the Bruins to be aggressive in the trade market. They need to add size up front (although they will sign Blake Wheeler who adds some size if he makes the NHL team) and they need to cut salary. If they do stay at the No. 16 spot, expect them to select the best player available even if that player doesn’t fill a need.

It sounds like the Bruins are going to be very aggressive this off-season and I am excited to see what they do. The Bruins surprised almost everybody last year, including most die-hard fans, and I only hope they can continue to build on their successes and continue to develop the younger talent.

Patriots Spygate: Can We Finally Move On?

Greg Howe — Thu, 15 May 2008 08:10:31 -0400

Former New England Patriots’ employee Matt Walsh met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Spector on Tuesday. He turned over eight tapes to the commissioner that showed the Patriots filming opposing coaches’ signals and the plays that followed.

That’s it.

There was no tape showing the St. Louis Rams’ Super-Bowl walk through (thank you Boston Herald for blowing that one), and Walsh said that he had no knowledge of anyone taping it.

There was nothing else.

Are we all happy that we had to be put through this so much longer than what was necessary?

Good thing the media wouldn’t give up on this and just let it go, because obviously there was so much more new information that shows how bad the Patriots franchise really is.

The only new information that we got was that an un-named player practiced while he was on injured reserve.

The Patriots did what probably every other team does in the NFL, yet they were the ones that got caught.

It happens.

They got punished for it.

Can we let it go now?

It seems almost everyone is ready to let it go except for Sen. Spector, who is calling for a private investigation into the whole incident.

However, he isn’t going to get it from Congress, so if some private company does it, then no one is going to take it seriously.

Let it slide Senator. The Patriots beat your Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX. There is nothing you can do about it now.

The Patriots will still be remembered as one of the best teams in NFL history.

They will still be considered a dynasty, and nothing should be taken away from the players that were on those Super-Bowl winning teams.

I still think Bill Belichick is one of the best coaches ever, even after this incident. Yes, this lowers him in the rankings a bit, but he still has to be one of the top-ten best coaches of all time.

It looks like the Patriots can finally move on.

A big thank you goes out to the media and the NFL for dragging this one on longer than it had to be.

I don’t know why it took so long to come up with an agreement with Matt Walsh, but good thing you made us wait, because we all benefited from it so much.

Watch out for the Patriots this season. The team never needs any extra motivation, but now that they have it. Another trip to the Super Bowl looks likely for Belichick and his crew.

The Atlanta Hawks: The Team That Keeps Talking

Greg Howe — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:57:48 -0400

The NBA playoffs are well under way, and the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks are in a battle with the top seeded Boston Celtics. Currently, the Celtics are up three games to two in the series, and they have a chance of closing out the series Friday in Atlanta.

It seems as though this series has been filled with numerous on and off the court incidents. There have been technical fouls, flagrant fouls, confrontations, trash talk, and bulletin-board material. It sounds like a great, intense series, but it’s getting a little bit out of hand.

Mike Bibby started things by coming out and saying that most of the Celtics' fans at the games were bandwagon fans. Now, can someone explain to me how this makes sense? Yes, the Celtics have their fair share of bandwagon fans, but most of them are diehard fans that bleed Celtic green and white.

Last year, in one of the worst years in franchise history, the Celtics still drew sell-out crowds. Now, maybe since Bibby was in Sacramento he didn’t notice, but it happened. To make things worse, Bibby plays for the Hawks, the team that might have the most bandwagon fans in the entire league.

They very rarely sold out games during the regular season, and they were a playoff team! The Celtics sold out last season as an awful team. I’m surprised the Hawks sold out for the playoffs, but it obviously has helped them. Just imagine how many games they might have won had they gotten more fans during the regular season.

On top of the Mike Bibby comments, Al Horford thought that it was a good idea to run his mouth to Paul Pierce after he hit a clutch jump-shot. Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing players show emotion, but don’t be stupid. You are a rookie, and although you had a great season, that doesn’t give you the right to mouth off yet. Win a playoff series or two, and then maybe you can run your mouth a little bit.

I wonder what the rest of the series will hold.