Breaking: Hanley Ramirez Involved in Federal and State Investigation [Updates]

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Back at the beginning of the month, the Boston Red Sox released their always smiling and lighthearted first baseman Hanley Ramirez. At the time, he was batting .254/.313/.395 with 29 RBIs in 177 at bats. Since releasing him, the Red Sox seemed to miss a certain aspect to their lineup. They just haven’t looked like the offensive juggernaut that they were in April. This move confused some who thought the move was strictly “baseball related”, according to Red Sox VP of media relations Kevin Gregg. Some thought that this move came because of his pending activation of a $22 million vesting option for 2019, which would kick in if he piled up 497 at bats in 2018.

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The Story so Far

Today, ABC News’ Michele McPhee broke that Hanley is being roped into a federal and state investigation. McPhee also reports that Hanley has alleged ties to a party police arrested during a drug stop. The said party possessed 435 grams of Fentanyl and other drugs, and stated that some of the drugs were Hanley’s. According to state evidence, in the past Hanley allegedly made several visits to the Fentanyl ring that police busted.

MLB, Red Sox, and Hanley (via his agent) all deny knowledge of the federal investigation. However, the FBI does not need to inform any of these parties about an investigation while it’s underway. We could all be finding out together.

More to come.

@ELJGON

Could Dwight Howard Sign with Boston?

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Will Dwight Howard Wear a Celtics Jersey?

After the Hornets traded Dwight Howard to the Nets, Brooklyn negotiated a buyout with the big man that is set to go into effect on July 6th. Howard will then become a free agent and choose his team for his 15th season. There has been speculation thus far that the Celtics have interest in bringing in “Superman”. Is this a good move?

Career History

Orlando drafted Howard number one overall selection in 2004, straight out of high school. He played his best basketball with the Magic, winning three consecutive DPOY awards from 2009-11. He was also an All-Star from 2007-14. The Magic then traded Howard to the Lakers in 2011. He played one rocky season there before moving to the Rockets. After three seasons there, he was with the Hawks and Hornets for one year each before this trade. Howard has always been a double-double machine, averaging 17 points and 13 rebounds in his career thus far. Although a terrible free throw shooter, he’s an excellent finisher around the rim and also an elite defensive threat in the paint.

How He Fits

There’s no doubt that Howard could be an important piece in the rotation. He’s a true big man, and his seven-foot frame is one that many say the team desperately needs. Last year with the Hawks, he averaged 12.7 rebounds. Al Horford, Boston’s leading rebounder, averaged 6.3. He would also add a bona-fide shot-blocker to Boston’s already top-tier defense.

However, his past is controversial to say the least. In Los Angeles, he butted heads with Kobe and his coach. Things got ugly with James Harden in Houston. Hawks players reportedly cheered aloud when he was traded. ESPN’s Brendan Haywood said Thursday that the Hornets didn’t want him in their locker room either. It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Brad Stevens would be willing to deal with a player like that. However, he’s undeniable talent and Danny Ainge might be willing to overlook his off-court issues. He’d be coming off the bench, but if he can play 20 minutes a night with the second unit, he could make big contributions.

Will Boston Sign Howard?

The Celtics’ money situation is complicated. They’re already over the salary cap for this upcoming season based off of their guaranteed contracts. However, Howard had an interesting quote on which team he’ll sign with: “I want to be in a situation where I have an opportunity to help a team win. That’s my only goal.” If this is true, it’s possible that he would be willing to take less money to join Boston. The Celtics are obviously a franchise poised to contend, and if Howard means what he says, he might join them on a bargain. However, if Howard’s ego gets in the way and his demands get too high, Ainge would have no problem walking. Let’s see if Howard wants to take a reduced role and less pay in order to chase a championship ring with the Celtics.

Follow Jack on Twitter for more: @jackbuffett_

Celtics Select Robert Williams in NBA Draft

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The Pick

Boston has chosen Robert Williams at pick 27 tonight, their first and only selection in this year’s draft. Throughout the day, rumors flew concerning the Celtics trading up to select in a lottery pick. However, Danny Ainge decided to stay put at the end of the first round.

Williams is a big from Texas A&M. At 6’9 and 237 pounds, he primarily played the four spot in college, but will likely play the center position in the NBA. Williams is freakishly athletic with a massive 7’6 wingspan. He’s a stupendous shot blocker, and will add to the team’s already stifling defense. His offensive game is in development, but at his size, he should be able to play well around the rim.

Multiple sources said that Williams could have been selected with a lottery pick. However, concerns about his work ethic reportedly detracted from his stock. He was also suspended for the first two games of the season by A&M for an unspecified violation of team rules. There was some uncertainty surrounding the health of his knee as well. However, his ceiling is high, and if he puts in the work he could contribute in his rookie season, much like the last two first-round selections before him.

What It Means for the Team

Williams obviously won’t start this year ahead of Al Horford. However, this selection puts the jobs of Aron Baynes and Greg Monroe in jeopardy. Monroe’s future in Boston was already uncertain, and this move now makes him seem to be the odd man out. Baynes’ role seems more secure. As of this writing, Keith Smith reports that the Celtics still are fixated on resigning him. However, should the team decide that they want to go a new direction, Baynes could also find himself with a new team. It is also possible that Williams could be included in a trade package come July. With so many big names in play, Williams’ value could prove tantalizing to other teams.

For now, however, Brad Stevens will work hard to fit him right in with the already cohesive unit. It is likely that WIlliams’ first appearance in a Celtics jersey will come during the 2018 Summer League. He will wear number 44, the jersey last worn by fan favorite Brian Scalabrine. Hopefully, fans will become drawn to the new teammate in the same way. Welcome to Boston, Robert Williams!

Follow Jack on Twitter for more: @jackbuffett_

Charlie McAvoy – Next Bruins Superstar

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Charlie McAvoy is looking like the next Bruins superstar and foundation defenseman.

We can go all the way back to the 70s to see the all the great defensemen the Bruins enjoyed.

Orr , Bourque and Chara.

We were able to experience one of the greatest, if not the greatest player of all time, in Bobby Orr. He won the Norris Trophy as best defenseman eight times and won the Stanley Cup twice during the 70s era. Orr then passed it on to Brad Park, who was just keeping the seat warm for Ray Bourque, the true leader of the blue line during the 80s. Bourque himself won the Norris five times in his career. Once Ray moved on to win his Cup, the Bruins picked up Zdeno Chara as a free agent. Chara also won a Stanley Cup and Norris trophy as a member of Boston’s illustrious defensemen in their history.

McAvoy Is Next Up

Bruins next superstar.

Charlie McAvoy has had success wherever he has gone due to his talent, hard work and the determination to keep learning.

He had a successful career at Boston University, which made the scouts in Boston aware to draft him 14th overall in the 2016 NHL Draft. He has also left his mark in international play, representing USA in the World Juniors. There McAvoy won Player of the Game in the 2017 Gold Medal game.

During his short career, he has been faced with adversity. He missed time after a heart procedure this past season. Once he recovered, he suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for four weeks.

Despite this, Charlie was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team and came in fifth in Rookie of the Year honors. It is easy to see his natural talent hockey skills he’s on the ice. He is has exhibited that he’s not afraid to throw his weight around, either. McAvoy is known to deliver highlight hits and drop his gloves when needed to stick up for his teammates. He’s a natural leader.

We all know Chara gives his all in the locker room and on the ice, but it’s good to know that once he decides it is time to move on, that we have Charlie McAvoy waiting to be added to the great defensemen in Bruins history.

Boston Bruins Charlie McAvoy and Zdeno Chara.

Follow me on Twitter: @SOURCEFRIAS

David Pastrnak

David Pastrnak Tops Czech Awards

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For the second consecutive year, Boston Bruins right winger David Pastrnak was awarded the Golden Hockey Stick Award for top Czech Player of the Year.  Fellow countryman David Krejci ended up in third place.

David Krecji

GOLDEN STATS

The 22 year old ended the 2017-2018 regular season with 80 points in 82 games. For the playoffs, Pastrnak burst out quickly—in just 12 games he garnered 20 points.  In Game 2 of the Toronto series, Boston saw Pastrnak score a hat trick along with three assists, for a total of six points.  “Pasta” beat a record previously held by Wayne Gretzky as the youngest player in NHL history to get six points in one game.

THE VOTES WERE IN

In the final tally, Pastrnak came out on top, ahead of Philadelphia Flyers forward Jakub Voracek and David Krejci.  The Czech center ended the season with 17 goals and 27 assists for a total of 44 points in 64 games played.  In the playoffs, he had ten points, netting three goals and seven assists.

David Pastrnak

OVERSEAS

In the 2018 IIHF in Copenhagen, Denmark, the two were on the same line and posted some pretty good numbers;  “Pasta” had four goals and two assists while Krejci had one goal and five assists. Both players ended up with six points in five games played.  Being successful overseas has certainly trickled back to Boston, where GM Don Sweeney has said that “Nothing is set in stone” in keeping lines together.

Czech Mates David Krecji and David Pastrnak

FINAL THOUGHTS

Will Bruce Cassidy change the dynamics of the Bergeron, Marchand and Pastrnak line to spread out offensive skill? Too many rumors surround the organization as we hit the first day of the NHL draft in Dallas. Moving that first line would really depend on who the Bruins sign (Kovulchuk is still a big question).  And with recent talks about moving Krecji and Backes, we would be seeing some lines shifting. This offseason has certainly been a little crazy and as fans, we’ll just have to wait and see.

David Krecji

David Price Loves Fortnite

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David Price at It Again

David Price continues to give the media something to talk about. Ever since he’s gotten here he’s done nothing but complain about being in Boston and the fans. David Price once again made news this week after being asked if he’d pitch in the All-Star game. His response was “I’ll come up with something if I am an All-Star that I won’t have to pitch. I’ll play a lot of Fortnite the night before.”

What a response that is, but typical coming from him. When he was diagnosed with carpal tunnel in May it was reported that playing Fortnite was the cause of it. Price did say he would stop playing Fortnite at the ballpark because it became a distraction.

Playing Fortnite Is More Important Than Pitching

Last night the allergies must’ve kicked in as he didn’t pitch that great. Maybe he played Fortnite in his hotel the night before so his hand hurt. He’s making $31 million dollars a season. Price’s latest comments prove his childish behavior, and also that he’s upset his video game got taken away from him at the ballpark. So he says he’ll play before the All-Star game so he doesn’t have to pitch.

What a loser. He doesn’t deserve to be in the All-Star Game anyway. Price also said he wasn’t an All-Star, saying “I ain’t going. I’m not an All-Star. Craig Kimbrel is gonna get his, I didn’t vote for Craig because he’s Craig Kimbrel, he’s going to get his votes. I voted for Joe Kelly and Matt Barnes. Actually, I did vote for Craig. Joe, Barnes, and Craig. Craig doesn’t need votes. His name is going to get him in.”

Price doesn’t belong pitching on the Red Sox, period. He belongs on the Tampa Bay Rays again or some other bad team that doesn’t care about winning. He’d rather go home to his two dogs, family, his mother-in-law, and play video games than pitch on a big league team with high expectations. He’s nothing but a complete loser.

REPORT: The Celtics are Including Terry Rozier in Draft Trades

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Danny Ainge and the Celtics are reportedly involving Terry Rozier in potential trades to move up in the draft. This was first reported by Brian Robb of the Boston Sports Journal. Robb says that, “the Celtics have discussed Terry Rozier with other teams as part of a trade package to move up.”

Rozier, 24, is entering the final year of his contract next season. He expects to cash out on his next deal considering his 2017-18 performance. He was the 16th overall pick by the Celtics in the 2015 NBA Draft and has made a massive contribution to this team. His first two-years for the Celtics were pretty quiet. He started no games and averaged 1.8 PPG and 5.5 PPG. However, in his third year Rozier exploded into one of the best bench-options in the NBA. In the 80 regular season games that Rozier played, he started 16 of them. This was due to the injuries Kyrie Irving accumulated throughout the year. Rozier averaged a career-high in PPG (11.3), RPG (4.7), APG (2.9), FG% (.395), and 3-point FG% (.381).

Scary Terry became a national star in the playoffs as he started every game for the Celtics. He averaged 16.2 PPG, 5.6 APG, and 5.3 RPG. Terry Rozier was a major reason as to why the Celtics made it all the way to a game-seven of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Possible Options with Rozier:

Rozier has one year-left on his rookie contract, leaving the Celtics with a big decision. Do they keep him and try to negotiate a new deal with Rozier, or do they trade him? In this scenario the Celtics use Rozier as leverage to move up in the draft. This does not mean he is the center of the trade. However, it means he will be one of the reasons it will happen. The Celtics have had reported interest in top-10 prospects Mohammad Bamba and Michael Porter Jr.

The Celtics could be looking at a potential major trade to help them not only compete with teams around the league, but win the NBA championship.

The Celtics Are Interested in Signing a Euro-League Star

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The Boston Celtics seem to be looking to add another overseas player for next season. His name is Brad Wanamaker, a Turkish guard who is very highly decorated. This was reported first by David Pick, who is considered the top guy for overseas news.

College Career

Wanamaker played college ball at the University of Pittsburgh. He averaged only eight points, four rebounds, and 3.5 assists during his four year college career. He also started the entire last two seasons for Pitt. Brad finished his senior career as a honorable-mention for the NCAA’s Men’s Basketball All-American.

Career Overseas

Brad started his professional basketball career in Italy and played for two Italian clubs. He then went back to America and signed with the Austin Toros, the Spurs’ G-League affiliate. The Toros won the developmental championship the only year Brad was on the team.

After his time back in America, Brad went overseas again to play in France’s top league, the LNB Pro A. He averaged nine points and 3.4 rebounds during his time there. After a brief stint back in Italy, Wanamaker signed with Brose Baskets, where they went on to win the championship with Brad winning Finals MVP. Brad re-signed with Bamberg and they went on to win their second straight title, and Wanamaker was MVP of the league.

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Brad then went to go play in Turkey after his very successful German career. He signed a two-year contract with Darussfaka. After those years went by, Brad signed with the reigning Euro-League champs, Fenerbahce. He led them to their fourth consecutive Final Four. He eventually lost to Luka Doncic and Real Madrid in the championship game.

Wanamaker finished his Euro-League career averaging 13.5 PPG, 4.2 APG, while shooting 36% from three. He also achieved many accolades like German BBL MVP, 2X German BBL Champion, and a Finals MVP.

Contribution to the Celtics

The Celtics have a few guys coming off their bench who come from overseas. One of them is Daniel Theis, who like Wanamaker, played most of his professional career overseas. Theis as a rookie, made a very solid contribution off the bench in his rookie year. In the 63 games he played, he averaged 5.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, while shooting 54% from the field. Backup point guard, Shane Larkin, came from overseas to the Celtics as well. Larkin played in the NBA for the first 3 years of his career before going overseas to Spain. Larkin revived his career in Spain which led him to getting signed by the Celtics.

Brad Wanamaker is set to be paid $3.8 million dollars by Barcelona next year unless he signs with an NBA team. Chances are Wanamaker stays in Europe, but the Celtics are one of the few teams interested, and it could be very useful to help the scoring off the bench.

2018 NHL Award Winners

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The NHL Awards celebrated its ninth season in Las Vegas this summer. Here are the players that brought home some hardware.

The Bruins were represented by Head Coach Bruce Cassidy and Patrice Bergeron.
The most emotional and memorable part of the night was when the Humboldt Broncos reunited on stage to give the Willie O’Ree Award to their head coach, who did not survive the crash.

Humboldt Broncos

Hart Trophy — League MVP.
Taylor Hall beat out Anze Kopitar and Nathan MacKinnon for this award.

Vezina Trophy — Best Goaltender.
Pekka Rinne was awarded the trophy over Connor Hellebuyck and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Norris Trophy — Top Defenseman.
Victoe Hedman was victorious over Drew Doughty and P.K. Subban.

Calder Trophy — Best Rookie.
Mathew Barzal won this trophy over Brock Boeser and Clayton Keller.

Selke Trophy — Top Defensive Forward.

Anze Kopitar narrowly beat out Patrice Bergeron of the Bruins and Sean Couturier. Bergeron had won the award in 2012, 2014, 2015 & 2017.

Jack Adams Award — Best coach.
Gerard Gallant beat out Boston’s Bruce Cassidy and Jared Bednar to win the award.

General Manager of the Year —
George McPhee was rewarded in his first season of the Knights over Kevin Cheveldayoff and Steve Yzerman.

Ted Lindsay Award — Most outstanding player voted by the members of the NHL Players’ Association.
Connor McDavid was voted by his peers over Taylor Hall and Nathan MacKinnon.

Lady Byng Trophy — Most gentlemanly player.
William Karlsson was voted over Aleksander Barkov and Ryan O’Reilly .

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy — Perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
Brian Boyle was the recipient of this award over Roberto Luongo and Jordan Staal.

King Clancy Memorial Trophy — Humanitarian Award.
Daniel and Henrik Sedin were the winners beating out P.K. Subban and Jason Zucker.

Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award — Leadership qualities on and off the ice.

Deryk Engelland won the award over Wayne Simmonds and Blake Wheeler .

NHL Foundation Player Award — Community service award.
Humboldt Bronco coach Darcy Hauger.

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First Three Games of the Bruins Regular Season Have Been Announced

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Coming off a year where the Bruins made it to the Eastern Conference semi-finals, the hopes are very high heading into the next NHL season. Many people believe that the Bruins are good enough to be hoisting the Stanley Cup by the end of the year. Those expectations will be tested in the regular season. The entire regular season schedule for the Boston Bruins does not come out until later today, but the NHL released every team’s home-opener for the upcoming season. During this, The Bruins found out who they will face in the first three games of the season.

AT Washington Capitals (October 3rd):

The Boston Bruins open up the 2018-2019 season against the Washington Capitals. The Capitals are coming off their best year yet, winning the 2018 Stanley Cup. The Bruins will have a front-row seat to see the Capitals hoist their championship banner into the rafters that night. This seems fitting for a team like the Bruins to play against in the first game of the season with the amount of expectations on them this year.

The Capitals swept the season series last year, winning three out of three. The Bruins look to live up to expectations early, and there is no better way to do it then by knocking off the defending Stanley Cup Champions.

AT Buffalo Sabres (October 4th):

Right after the Bruins play the Capitals they will have to head up to Buffalo, New York. The Sabres regular season home-opener is going to be against the Bruins. Buffalo is coming off a year where they were the worst team in the NHL last year in a season, scoring only had 62 points. The Sabres have the worst record in the NHL since they last made the playoffs in 2011, going 197-293-70 in those seven seasons. That is a point total of 464 while every other team has at least 499 points.

The Sabres do look to have a very bright future. They hold the first overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, and it is a lock that they will draft Rasmus Dahlin. Dahlin will be leading the way for the Sabres next year with Jack Eichel and Rasmus Ristolainen.

The Bruins will look to see if this young Sabres team is legit and not the joke of the league that they have been.

VS Ottawa Senators (October 8th)

In their first home game of the regular season, the Bruins face the second worst team from a year ago, the Ottawa Senators (67 points). The Senators’ future is not as bright as the Sabres’. One of the main questions is if Erik Karlsson will even be on the Senators’ roster by the time the puck drops for this game.

Boston swept the season series from last year winning the games by a combined margin of 13 goals. The Senators seem like a long way away from what they were two years ago when they knocked the Bruins out of the playoffs. This game should be a nice treat for home fans if it goes as expected, and will be a good way to get the season at TD Garden off to a hot start.

Tickets go on sale for TD Garden games on Friday, June 22nd. With the first three games of the season set, Boston look to show that they are worth the hype.