VICTORIOUS BOWLING

Despite the fact the Pats stole the headlines this week, other big events in the sports world occurred here in Boston. Let's start with the Boston College Eagles.

If you've been following this blog or the team all season, we know how great they are. They've been a top ten team all year and were ranked #2 for awhile. In the end, they lost the ACC Championship game and were forced to play in the Champs Sports Bowl instead of the Orange Bowl. The Eagles came in with seven consecutive bowl game victories, a current record. They took on a 7-5 Michigan State club that played in the tough Big Ten Conference and all 5 losses were close. They run well but the Eagle boast the nation's top run defense at 68 yards per game.

Well, the Spartans easily passed that average but still got trounced by the amazing Eagles.

It was 14-13 at the half and before we knew it the Eagles led 24-13 late in the game. Spartan QB Brian Hoyer threw 4 picks and fumbled once but the Spartans stayed close.

After BC fumbled late as they were running out the clock, Hoyer came back and threw a TD pass and the 2 point conversion was good; 24-21 ballgame. But the BC defense was too good and the team held on. BC QB Matt Ryan threw for 3 TD's on 22-47 passing and 249 yards. But his fumble and pick gave the Spartans hope. BC WR Rich Gunnell caught 2 scores and BC safety Jamie Silva had 2 picks and took home MVP honors.

The Eagles have now won 8 straight bowl games, the nation's longest bowl win streak. Ryan and Silva are heading to the pros but accomplished so much. Most notably, the seniors capped the best 4 year record at The Heights at 39-12! The 11 wins is the most since the 1940 team!

The Celtics continue their remarkable season. The team headed out for a 4-game West Coast road trip starting with the Kings. They won 89-69, then beat the Sonics the next night. Two nights later, they beat the Jazz for a 3-0 trip with one game left. The sit at an astonishing 25-3 record and a double digit lead in the division. the team already surpassed last year's win total!

It can't all be good though. The Bruins have collapsed. In a recent blog, I mentioned the team was 4 points out of first place. They had the 1st place Senators in town but lost 3-2. Now they're way back thanks to a 6 game losing streak! The team entered the week with a 4 game losing streak. They went 0-2 this week, losing to the Hurricanes 4-3 then Atlanta the following night 5-0! 6 games in a row. They hope to stop the streak tomorrow at home in a re-match with Atlanta at The Garden. Yes, the team is decimated by injuries(Ward, Bergeron, Murray, Alberts) but the team is just not putting in a 60 minute effort. Time will tell if the team can right the ship. The good news is that the club's minor league affiliate, the Providence Bruins, are an incredible 27-5.

Lastly, the UMass and BC men's college hoops team are both playing solid and should be ranked by week's end. Check back for updates on the sports scene in New England. It's never been better!