My collective impressions of the new controls.

Boston Bruins GM Mike O’Connell was given his walking papers yesterday by team president (and former GM) Harry Sinden, a move long overdue in my opinion. Assistant general manager Jeff Gorton will assume the GM's duties for the rest of the season.

O’Connell was in his 6th year as GM after 6 years as Sinden's hand-picked assistant. Under O'Connell, the Bruins twice topped 100 points but never made it out of the first round of the playoffs.

Mikey had been shooting his mouth off BIG TIME heading into the '04-'05 NHL lockout season about how the Bruins would wildly prosper in a salary capped league. He dumped all kinds of popular players with long-term contracts freeing up $ to sign the potential flood of free-agents on the horizon. But once the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was in place O'Connell struggled to make good on his bold promises.

Currently, the Bruins are 28-32-12, 9 points out of the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race with only 10 games remaining in the regular season.

Apparently the move does not affect Head Coach Mike Sullivan. "We'll probably address that at some later date," Sinden said.

I am surprised that Mike Sullivan wasn't let go as well. I think Sully is a nice guy and all, but the team just isn't responding to his leadership. Maybe team owner Jeremy Jacobs is just letting him finish out this dreadful season before standing him up in front of the firing squad.

Anyway, typically, the Bruins themselves responded with a win. Over Buffalo no less.

OK. I have calmed down some, not much, but some.

I have to keep reminding myself that this is the reality of being a fan in a Belichick-run organization. He does not pay for past performance. He's a man who lives in the present and in the future. He makes cold, hard, calculated moves that are void of emotion. Which is pretty much the polar opposite of most insane Patriots fans.



But now it's official : The Patriots have entered a rebuilding phase.



Not a "tear it all down to the ground" rebuild, but a structured, measured, "recognize when talent is past its prime" (no matter how painful) process. And it is painful. But Belichick's philosophy seems to work. And he's extremely consistent with his moves.

When you combine all of these recent non-signings with past deals for additional draft picks, the Pats are clearly positioning themselves for the future. And the draft has always been a strong point for Belichick. I guess we all have to wait and see.

* * * BREAKING NEWS * * *
Boston radio station WEEI is reporting that NFL free-agent kicker Adam Vinatieri has signed a deal with the Indianapolis Colts.



I.....

am.....

CRUSHED.



In Bill we trust. In Bill we trust. In Bill we trust. In Bill we trust. In Bill we trust. In Bill we trust. In Bill we trust. In Bill we trust. In Bill we trust. In Bill we trust. In Bill we trust. In Bill we trust. In Bill we trust. In Bill we trust. In Bill we trust. In Bill we trust. In Bill we trust. In Bill we trust. In Bill we trust. In Bill we trust.

THE PATRIOTS ARE LIKE $20 MILLION UNDER THE SALARY CAP!!!!

HOW CAN THEY NOT SIGN THIS GUY!!!!!!

THE COLTS??? THE COLTS!!!

WHO THE HELL IS GOING TO REPLACE HIM?????!!!!!

Mike Vanderjagt??
Paul Edinger??????
Booty McPunterson???

Tell me this is all a BAD DREAM.

I can see a new horizon, underneath the blazing sky,
I'll be where the eagle's flying higher and higher.
Gonna be your man in motion, all I need is a pair of wheels.
Take me where my future's lyin', St. Elmo's Fire...

Sorry, it's stuck in my head.

I thought if I typed out the words I might possibly exorcise the haunting refrain from my consciousness.

Nope.

Driving in today I couldn't help but notice this guy in the car behind me. He was gesturing wildly at the woman in the passenger seat.

At first I couldn't figure out what was going on, I thought maybe they were fighting, but then I saw the woman do the same style of wild movements back at him.

Then I figured it out. They were doing sign language. You hear all this stuff about how dangerous it is driving while talking on a cell phone, right? Driving-while-signing looked 10 times more dangerous to me. The driver was using two hands (one hand 1/2 on the wheel) and trying to maintain eye contact the whole time.

I guess staring into your rear view mirror while barreling down the highway isn't too safe either.

Labor peace was restored to the NFL yesterday when the owners agreed to the players union's proposal, extending the collective bargaining agreement for six years. The agreement increases the salary cap from $85.5 million last season to $102 million for 2006. The cap will increase to $109 million in 2007.

Free agency, put off twice by the protracted negotiations between the owners and players, now will start at 12:01am, Saturday, March 11.


VOICE OVER INTERCOM: Stand-by alert. NFL Free-agency approaching. Estimated time to firing range, 39 hours.

BELICHICK: All wings report in.

SCOTT PIOLI: Red Ten standing by.
JOSH McDANIELS: Red Seven standing by.
DEAN PEES: Red Three standing by.
DANTE SCARNECCHIA : Red Six standing by.
BRAD SEELY: Red Nine standing by.
PEPPER JOHNSON: Red Two standing by.
JONATHAN KRAFT: Red Five standing by.

BELICHICK: Lock S-foils in attack position....

U.S. President George W. Bush drops the bat after being hit by a cricket pitch during a cricket workshop with players from the Islamabad College for Boys at the U.S. embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, March 4, 2006. Wicket keeper at rear is unidentified. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

That punk threw right at his head!! Unbelievable! It looks like the President is thinking about charging the mound in the 2nd picture. Too bad it was an away game.


The Secret Service should have poured out of the dugout and pummeled that guy.