Carkner comes to the Islanders on a 3 year deal worth $4.5 million.  The winger recorded 3 points in 29 games last season for the Senators and will come the a young Long Island club hoping to add some grit and leadership to the squad.

Boyes is of a different pedigree than Carkner and is coming off a poor season with just 23 points in 65 games for the Buffalo Sabres.  Boyes however has been known for is goal scoring ability as he posted 43 goals in the 07-08 season and 33 in the following season for the Blues.
The Islanders no doubt will continue to revamp their roster especially after the loss of set-up man PA Parenteau who will know be a member of the Colorado Avalanche.  No word yet on who will replace Parenteau on the top line with Tavares and Moulson but there are plenty of options considering the addition of Boyes and the prospect of high draft picks Ryan Strome and Nino Niederreiter getting close to being ready to make the jump to the NHL.

Follow me on twitter for all sports news and updates @Tyler_Murry

The day began with B’s winger Benoit Pouliot signing a 1 yr $1.8 million deal with the lightning after being trade last week.  At just 25 years of age, Pouliot scored 32 points including 16 goals (both career highs) for the Bruins last season.

Joe Corvo was also on the move today and will return to Carolina on a 1 year deal.  Corvo registered 25 points in 75 games for the black & gold, despite dwindling playing time due to poor play on the back-end.  In the end, Boston’s depth on the blueline with youngsters Torey Krug, Dougie Hamilton, and Matt Bartkowski left no spot in the lineup for Corvo for the 12-13 season.

And finally, rental Greg Zanon has landed with the Colorado Avalanche after recording 8 points in 56 games last season.

Follow me on twitter for all sports coverage and updates @Tyler_Murry

The B’s are reportedly in the market for a pure 30+ goal scorer and 25 year-old winger Bobby Ryan seems to fit the bill.  Ryan recorded 31 goals and 57 points last year as a duck and has netted at least 30 goals the past four years including a career high of 35 in the 09-10 season.  Ryan has been linked to the bruins in possible trade rumors over the past few weeks and has been on his way out since the beginning of last year.  Other names swirling are Zach Parise and Rick Nash to Boston.  Out of these three Ryan is the best fit for numerous reasons. Nash’s cap hit of 7.8 million automatically makes life difficult for the cap-stricken B’s and Parise is likely to command around 7 million this offseason. Parise and Nash would likely be the highest players on the B’s, which simply is not their style.  Chiarelli loves to find the diamonds in the rough and get guys cheap hoping they will grow into stars.  This makes Ryan that much more appealing due to his reasonable cap hit of $5.1 million.  In addition Ryan is much younger at age 25 than Nash (28) and Parise (27), and will improve even more as he begins to enter his prime.

Perhaps the most underrated reason that Ryan is perfect for the bruins is his efficiency while on the ice. last season he scored 31 goals in just 18:21 time on ice.  Parise and Nash recorded 21:29 and 19:05 TOI with similar scoring results.  In Boston, Claude Julien loves to roll all four lines meaning that few players will receive large amounts of minutes.  Players therefore need to capitalize on the time they get and Ryan can do that better than anyone else in the league.

Names like David Krejci and Milan Lucic have been floating around as possible trade chips due to their poor performances last spring. The next few weeks could decide where Ryan lands and that destination could very well land him in Boston this summer.

Follow me on twitter for all sports news and updates @Tyler_Murry

“I’m coming back. Write it down in big letters. I’m not going out like this.”
-Mariano Rivera today on his possible season-ending ACL injury 

Those are the words of a true champion, of someone who doesn’t know the meaning of the word “can’t”. If you know him just as the all-time saves leader, then you do not know Mariano Rivera. Despite whatever resentment you may hold for the logo across his chest, one has to stand in shear awe of the pure talent that resides in the being of the man beyond the uniform. Yes he is the man who reached 608 saves on virtually one pitch, yes he is the man who has a career 2.21 ERA and WHIP under one. But the man we know as Mo, is also one of the few remaining gentlemen of the game. Despite his incredible abilities on the field, the drive and motivation, the pure heart for the game off the field, is what makes Mariano Rivera a true legend.

Whether it’s a three run lead in an April game, or Game 7 of the World Series, Mo always maintains the same presence on the mound, standing tall, delivering that pitch most have only dreamt about facing, while others wish they hadn’t. The cutter, Mo’s bread and butter. The lone pitch that has brought him twelve all-star nods, four Top-3 Cy Young finishings and two Top-10 MVP honors.

If there was a record kept for the number of bats broken by a pitcher, Rivera would undoubtedly be the all-time leader. His cutter somehow breaks at the exact point when the unfortunate batter at the plate believes they have a hanger to tear the cover off of, and instead it is their bat –and in 608 cases, the hope of a rally–, that is torn to shreds. What creates the bewilderment over Mariano Rivera’s cutter is not just how effective it is, but that everyone knows that’s what will be coming, the hitter knows it is going to be a strike, yet when their bat reaches the would-be point of contact, they find nothing but the wake of the baseball as it sails into the catcher’s mitt, untouched by anyone else, but Mo.

If not his raw ability, you have to appreciate his love and respect for the game. He isn’t like Jose Valverde or his teammate Joba Chamberlain, who get pumped up when they close out a game or punch out someone in a key situation. Mo walks off the mound, often does a humble point to the sky, shakes hands with his backstop and his teammates, and retires to the lockerroom. He is a man who never gets too high or too low, he simply goes out there and throws, no flashiness, no showboating; he just pitches.

As not a fan of the Mets or Yankees, Redsox or Phillies, but as a fan of baseball, one must respect, appreciate and admire Mariano Rivera. He has taken his God-given ability to throw a cut-fastball and used it to make himself into an icon, a pillar of the game today. That coupled with his humble personality, his gentleman approach to everyone, treating them as equals and not putting himself above others as so many athletes do today, and you have a man –not just a baseball player– that anyone, young or old should idolize and look up to.

Get well soon Mariano Rivera, baseball misses you.

***Originally posted on MetsMerizedOnline.com

]]> http://trifectasports.org/2012/05/05/im-coming-back/feed/ 0 metsfan237 mo-787251-400x268 mariano-rivera-2006-entering-the-game-sepia-photo-signed-by-anthony-causi http://trifectasports.org/2012/02/07/photos-of-the-giants-ticker-tape-parade/ http://trifectasports.org/2012/02/07/photos-of-the-giants-ticker-tape-parade/#comments Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:44:20 +0000 Clayton Collier http://trifectasports.org/?p=530 ]]> To the shock and joy of many –myself included– the Giants are Superbowl 46 champions! I was lucky enough to make it to the parade in downtown Manhattan; and it was pure insanity. People stood on ledges 5 stories up, the streets were packed in every crevice. Chants and choruses of air horns erupted as the Giants triumphantly made their way to City Hall. Fans climbed on top of bus stops, scaffolding; lamp posts and street signs just to get that “money shot” of their favorite stars. It is something I will never forget.

Anyway, here are a few photos I snapped in between cheers at the Canyon of Heroes (last one is a friend of mine’s):

Many film and music companies as well as MLB, NFL, ESPN, Disney and many others support the bill because of the money they have lost to piracy. On the other side of the argument, Facebook, Twitter, Google, Wikipedia as well as thousands of other sites have openly opposed this bill. Wikipedia has even gone as far as to shut down their website for the day in protest of the bill. Google features a large black rectangle over their logo with a message “Tell Congress: Please Don’t Censor The Web!”

To sign the petition against SOPA, please click here.

The Philadelphia Flyers led by points leader Claude Giroux battled against Marian Gaborik and the Rangers on center stage.  And what a game it was.

After a stellar goaltending performance in the first period, the two teams were tied at zero after one period of play.  However two quick goals by Schenn and Giroux by the Flyers half-way into the second period gave the Flyers the upper-hand.  Shortly after, Mike Rupp netted a goal from the top of the slot to cut the lead in half.

The Flyers entered the third period up 2-1, but once again Rupp lit the lamp with his second of the game to tie things up at 2-2.  Then with just under six minutes to play, center Brad Richards scored to give the Rangers their first lead of the game.

Richards’s goal ended up being the decisive one as Lundqvist was able to stop the rest including a penalty shot by Danny Briere in the final minute of play.

it was a great outing for hockey, the fans, and both teams at play.  In fact, over 47,000 fans were present at the game and one can only look forward to next year’s Bridgestone Winter Classic that will be unveiled at the end of this season.

Here is what happened according to Reese’s recent blog post:

“Me and Doc Halladay even came across a local, sitting bare naked on a tree by the river. What we were able to figure out is that he was fishing in the river for tropical fish to sell for aquariums when he got attacked by an anaconda.”

“The snake apparently bit him on the ass but he was able to free himself before the snake wrapped him up. Instead the snake wrapped around his motor on the back of his little 14 foot dugout canoe and tore it off the back of his boat. Doc and I helped him gather his gear and flip the boat back over and then towed him home. You could definitely see the bite mark on his ass, but he was able to fight it off; amazing.”

So let me get this straight: The Mets won’t let R.A. Dickey climb Mt. Kilimanjaro but the Phillies will let Roy Halladay wrestle anacondas in the Amazon? Got it.

Mets Have Interest In Ryan Theriot: The New York Mets have expressed interest in free agent middle infielder Ryan Theriot says Jon Heyman via twitter. The 32-year old Louisiana native batted .271/.321/.342 with 26 doubles and 47 RBIs for the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals this past season.

Yankees To Sign Hideki Okajima: The Yankees have agreed to terms with reliever Hideki Okajima on a minor league deal. Okajima spent most of last year in Triple-A with the rival Boston Red Sox where he pitched to the tune of a 2.29 ERA.

Omar Vizquel Will Not Go To The Mets: Responding from a tweet from yours truly, the 11-time Gold Glove award winner stated he not consider going to the Mets if offered a contract.

A-Rod Gets Medical Treatment: Yankees’ slugger Alex Rodriguez flew to Germany recently to receive an experimental treatment for his ailing knee and shoulder. The treatment involves taking the patients own blood, separating its components and then re-injecting it into the affected area. The procedure was cleared by both the Yankees and MLB.

Mets Ask R.A. Dickey Not To Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro: The Amazin’s sent knuckleballer R.A. Dickey a letter informing him that they are not in favor of him climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and should he get injured on the journey, they would have grounds to void his contract. The 37-year old plans to climb the mountain for charity and risks losing $4.5 million if anything happens to him on his trek to the summit.

A big credit to the hot streak has to be the phenomenal goaltending.  Both Tuukka Rask and Tim Thomas are on pace to have personal records shattered.  Thomas currently has a 1.81 GAA and a .943 S% while Rask has a 1.61 GAA and a .945 s%.  Last year Thomas was the guy, he posted big numbers and played the majority of the games.  Not so much this year as Rask continues to earn time between the posts for the Black & Gold.

“When there are not many shots, you have to find ways to stay sharp. It becomes a mental thing, but, in the end, good teams find ways to win,” said Rask after Thursday night’s win against the Phoenix Coyotes.

When Rask’s number has been called upon, he has stepped up and this versatility in net will be a vital advantage as the B’s approach the stretch run.

But the goalies can’t get all the credit for allowing just 64 goals against (Fewest in NHL).  In fact the Bruins are on pace to surpass the record set by the 03-04 New jersey Devils for the fewest goals against in a season of 164. Defense has been spectacular.  Team defense is stressed upon for the B’s and has become the team’s biggest obstacle.  Players like Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand have stepped up each with a +25 giving the Bruin’s an edge in all three zones.

“We take pride in our defensive game without the puck,” said Bruins head coach Claude Julien  ”Confidence grows with each game, and we believe 99 percent of the time, we will get great goaltending.”

The next commodity that sets the B’s apart is their depth ant ability to roll four lines.  Depth has always been a strongpoint but this year the B’s have truly stepped up their game with nine players with 20 points or more (leads NHL).  All four lines are producing and as a result the B’s currently have 121 goals for this season second only the western conference leading Chicago Blackhawks.

“We have great depth throughout the whole lineup and that helps a lot,” said assistant captain Patrice Bergeron “You can’t say enough about the importance of that, because if one or two lines are off you still have others you can rely on. You look at the teams who have won the Cup, that’s a common denominator.”

No doubt the B’s have been great so far but can they keep it up?

“However, we know there will be challenges ahead, so we have to guard against overconfidence,” noted Julien.

If the B’s can stay grounded and put their head down and play their brand of hockey there is no reason why we shouldn’t see the Bruins roster engraved into the side of Lord Stanley’s Cup.