U.S.A. Upsets Canada, Celtics Fall In Denver

As per usual, we’ve pretty much stayed away from Olympic coverage here on BSMW, but the United States Olympic hockey team pulled a huge upset in the non-medal round of competition last night, stunning Team Canada 5-3.

The game was broadcast on MSNBC, which left a lot of people looking for it, and others looking for an HD version. Wondering why it was put on that secondary outlet rather than on NBC? A couple of reasons come to mind, first, putting it on MSNBC allowed the network to keep commercial breaks at a minimum, keeping the broadcast focused on the ice. Second, while this game was hugely attractive to sports fans, the casual observer of the Olympics probably wouldn’t sit through the entire broadcast, rather, they would be more likely to watch several events over the same time period, such as skating, skiing or whatever. Putting those events on NBC allows the network to keep their attention on their main channel, while knowing that more hard-core sports fans are going to find MSNBC, and appreciate the network sticking with the whole game there.

Stirring win vs. the iron of the sport – Bob Ryan looks at “one phenomenal game of hockey.” One tiny quibble – Bob, do you have to resort to statements like “He was bleepin’ great.” That’s Ordway-esque.

US steel – Kevin Paul Dupont has the game story in the Globe.

What Sox pitchers are working on this spring – Alex Speier looks at the Red Sox top 11 pitchers and what each of them will be trying to improve on during spring training.

Pedroia thinks Sox will rock – Sean McAdam has the Red Sox second baseman feeling that the team’s offense will be better than people think.

Sox will be Hall monitors – Nick Cafardo with a profile of new Red Sox utilityman Bill Hall, who hit 35 homers playing shortstop with the Brewers in 2006.

Contract year or not, same old Beckett – Daniel Barbarisi says Josh Beckett will not allow the final year of his contract to be turned into a public circus.

Reaching into (traveling) bag of tricks – Gary Washburn has the Celtics feeling like they’re heading in the right direction, especially on the defensive end, with Kevin Garnett looking closer to his pre-surgery form than at any point this season.

Nate Robinson improves – Steve Bulpett’s notebook has the Celtics new guard set to join them in time for a game against his old team tomorrow night.

Deficit in Denver too great for C’s – Jessica Camerato reflects on the Celtics loss in Denver, and the previous games on their West coast swing.

Patriots Got Job Done in 2008 Draft With Jerod Mayo Pick – Jeff Howe reviews the Patriots’ 2008 draft, pick-by-pick.

A quick check of sports radio this morning had 98.5’s Toucher and Rich talking Red Sox spring training with Dan Roche in Ft Myers, and Olympics with Shira Springer (Front page Globe story on Bode Miller this morning) in Vancouver, while WEEI’s Dennis and Callahan were all Tiger in the times I listened.