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Patriots owner Rober Kraft wins 2012 PFWA Halas Award

All great Teams start with great leadership.  This is the type of leadership that makes the New England Patriots the "class" of the league.

Bravo Zulu Bob Kraft......well deserved and just awesome.

WEEI.com Blog Network
It Is What It Is» Patriots owner Rober Kraft wins 2012 PFWA Halas Award

06.18.12

By Christopher Price

Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been selected as the 2012 Halas Award winner by the Professional Football Writers of America, it was announced on Monday. Here’s a portion of the announcement from the PFWA:

New England Patriots Chairman & CEO Robert Kraft, who played an instrumental role in last summer’s collective bargaining negotiations between the NFL and the NFL Players Association during his late wife Myra’s battle with cancer, has been selected as the 2012 George Halas Award winner by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA).

Kraft, the 43rd Halas Award winner, is the first NFL owner and first member of the Patriots franchise to receive the honor from the PFWA.

The Halas Award is given to a NFL player, coach or staff member who overcomes the most adversity to succeed. The award is named for Halas, a charter member (1963) of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, who was associated with the Chicago Bears and NFL from their inception in 1920 until his death in 1983 as an owner, manager, player and promoter. Halas won 324 games and six NFL titles in 40 seasons as a coach.

While Kraft’s wife was battling cancer during the spring and summer of 2012, he shuttled back and forth between his wife’s hospital bed and the NFL’s labor negotiations with her encouragement. Myra Kraft passed away on July 20, 2011, and five days later, a grieving Robert Kraft stood outside the NFLPA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., as the 10-year CBA agreement was announced.

During the announcement, Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday embraced an emotional Kraft, and said, “A special thanks to Myra Kraft, who even in her weakest moment, allowed Mr. Kraft to come and fight this out, and without him this deal does not get done. I don’t want to be climactic in any way, but he is a man who helped us save football, and we are so gracious for that. We’re gracious for his family and for the opportunity he presented to get this deal done.”

No Joy in Beantown - The Patriots come up short

With apologies to Ernest Lawrence Thayer of the San Francisco Examiner -

Today's rendition of " Brady at the Ball "

The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Patriots that day;
The score stood against them, with but one quarter more to play,
And then when Welker dropped the ball, and Gronk pulled up lame,
A pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, "If only Brady could but get the ball across the line —
We'd put up even money now, with Brady on the drive."

Then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It pounded on the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Brady, mighty Brady, was advancing down the field.

There was ease in Brady's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Brady's bearing and a smile lit Brady's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his helmet,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Brady.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt.
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.
Then while the writhing NY defensive line ground their cleats into the turf,
Defiance flashed in Brady's eye, a sneer curled Brady's lip.

The sneer has fled from Brady's lip, the teeth are clenched in hate;
He pounded with cruel violence his throw of the football.
And now the linesmen holds the line, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Brady's throw.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout;
But there is no joy in Beantown — mighty Brady & the Patriots have " struck out ".

--------------------------------------------------------------

It was a good season and The Patriots did their best.....in the end, it proved to come up short.

There is always next year. And the Patriots will be there on top in the AFC as expected.

GAME 7 Looms large for the BOSTON BRUINS

FOR BOSTON - The Boston Bruins have faced the doubters, the nay sayers. They have listened to the constant remarks from teams like Tampa Bay and others. They had to fight for this tooth and nail.

Now, after a drought that has lasted since 1972, they are pearched on the edge of SUCCESS.
Vancouver has acted liked they owned the cup from the start....Not like the dreaded Pin-Stripers from NYC but still a cocky arrogance that was turned back at every corner that this series has rounded. Oh and a message to Mr. Luongo - You have shown that when the heat is on, you fold up like a cheap card table.

Now, GAME 7 looms large. One Game, winner-take-all. Such as it ever was.

FOR BOSTON.....THE BOSTON BRUINS will push on to show the world who is the best hockey team this year. BOSTON - GO BRUINS !!

Full Cup
Bruins romp again at Garden to force Game 7
By Fluto Shinzawa
Globe Staff / June 14, 2011

There will be one more flight west. One more night in a Vancouver hotel. One more game.

Had the Bruins dropped Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Canucks last night at TD Garden, tomorrow probably would have been breakup day. For the final time this season, the Bruins would have gathered at their home rink, packed up their items, held exit interviews, and said their goodbyes.

Instead, they will be pursuing the greatest trophy in sports in the grandest spectacle of them all: Game 7.

“Not too many people counted on us being here right now,’’ Mark Recchi said after last night’s 5-2 win before 17,565. “It’s a great feeling. We battled real hard tonight. We came to play. It comes down to one game. This is what we dream of. When you’re a little kid playing street hockey, you’re in Game 7. We’re going to go out there. We’re going to lay it on the line just like they are. It’s going to be a pretty exciting game. We’ve got to go find a way to win a game and win a Stanley Cup. We’re going to do whatever we can.’’

The champagne that was on ice for the Canucks last night is only an afterthought. The Cup that was in place for the Canucks to hoist must now travel west to accompany both teams.

Last night, only one club could have claimed the Cup as its own. Tomorrow, because the Bruins did something good last night, they can do something great.

The day started with focus. The Bruins didn’t think about their season coming to a close. In the home dressing room, there was a quiet confidence as the Bruins tried to bundle their collective energy toward a single goal: living to see another day.

“It was very quiet in here,’’ said the usually chirpy Brad Marchand. “It was tough to figure out if it was nerves or just guys being calm and focused. It seemed like everyone was very prepared and very excited to get underway.’’

After warmups, the calm was gone. As the Bruins bosses had hoped, the mood rose another level while the players prepared for battle. The Bruins weren’t afraid of what was ahead of them. Instead, they couldn’t wait to get their job started.

So, what was quiet and poise ramped up to energy.

“Excitement, that’s for sure,’’ Michael Ryder said. “We were all pumped up. We knew that we had to come out hard, especially early in the game. I think it was pretty intense in here. Everyone was jumping around, getting ready to go. We knew what it meant. We knew the fans would be behind us. We wanted to make sure we set the tone early and got the fans into it.’’

Soon after the Bruins hit the ice, all that buildup, tension, and excitement exploded into a four-goal supernova. Marchand snapped a shot over Roberto Luongo. Milan Lucic hit a shot that dribbled between Luongo’s pads and rolled over the goal line.

Nathan Horton, his season over because of a concussion suffered in Game 3, stood in the Zamboni entrance during a television timeout at 7:27. With a smile across his face and rally towels waving in both hands, Horton gave the Garden even more juice.

“We didn’t know they were going to be doing that, showing him up there,’’ Marchand said. “For him to come in and give us that boost of energy is unbelievable. Obviously, the crowd loves it, loves him, and they’re supporting him every minute of the day. It was great to see him out there. He gave us a big energy boost.’’

That was nothing.

At 8:35, with Recchi setting a screen in front, Andrew Ference ripped a slapper that sailed past Luongo to give the Bruins a 3-0 lead.

During the Final, Luongo has had more ups and downs than a yo-yo. He has posted two shutouts at home, allowing just two goals in three games at Rogers Arena.

But at the Garden, Luongo fished eight pucks out of his net in Game 3. He was pulled after giving up four goals in Game 4. Last night, after three pucks went past him — one of the dribbling manner — in less than nine minutes, Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault had seen enough.

Just moments after Ference’s shot hit the back of the net, Luongo was skating toward the visiting bench for the second time in his last two visits to the Garden.

Then, after relief netminder Cory Schneider had been in goal for only 70 seconds, Ryder tipped a Ference shot into the net to give the Bruins a 4-0 lead.

“We needed to come out hard tonight,’’ said Bruins coach Claude Julien. “I thought our guys responded. We needed to come out hard the last two games before that, because we were trailing, 2-0, in the series. Our guys have responded well. Now we have to make sure we don’t get comfortable with our game. We’re willing to bring it to Vancouver with us, because that’s what it’s going to take to win.’’

Unlike their two previous stops in Boston, the Canucks pushed back. Henrik Sedin made it 4-1 at 0:22 of the third. Jannik Hansen thought he had trimmed Boston’s lead to two at 3:17 of the third, but video replay showed his shot hit the left post.

But Boston’s cushion was too large.

And now it’s come down to this. Next win is for the Cup.

“There’s no pressure,’’ Recchi said. “Go play. Go out and have fun with this. It’s what you play for and what we’ve worked hard for all year. We’re going to have a blast doing it.’’

Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeFluto.

© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.

The BOSTON BRUINS head out to Vancouver in the QUEST FOR THE STANLEY CUP

Those of us who are older than a certain age,(and I'm not telling you what age that is), can remember the days of "The Big Bad Bruins". Boston was a huge hockey town and playing "pond hockey" with your friends was the sport of choice in the winter. We would get dressed up, my Mom would hand us a bag lunch and we would head out to the local pond in the woods for an all-day hockey fest. Each of us would want to be Bobby Orr or Phil Espisito...These were our Heroes and Hockey was huge...Every kid wanted to find new hockey skates & a new hockey stick under the Christmas Tree.

As time went forward, Hockey lost some of the luster after the Bruins became regular cellar dwellars...we had the 1980's USA Olympic Team which had many hometown players from the Boston area. The Bruins teams we had in the late 1980s and early 1990s had some of the best players we had seen in Cam Neely, Ray Borque and Andy Moog. Those were good days but still no Stanley Cup while the other teams in Boston,(Patriots, Red Sox and Celtics) all made efforts to once again stand on the top of the mountain....Only the Bruins lagged behind.

NOW, we will see if the 2011 BOSTON BRUINS can recapture the magic and the title of the BIG BAD BRUINS....THIS will be good.

‘It’s unbelievable!’
Fans fired up as B’s skate into finals
By Ira Kantor
Tuesday, May 31, 2011 - The Boston Herald

Hundreds of devoted fans clamoring for a long-sought Stanley Cup triumph sent their hometown heroes off with cheers at TD Garden yesterday, as the Bruins [team stats] headed for Vancouver and a brutal battle with the Canucks.

“It’s the first time they’ve advanced to the finals since I’ve been alive,” said Colleen Donovan, 21, of Lynn. “It’s long overdue. We don’t have any passengers on this team. Everyone’s up front.”

Season-ticket holder Danny Fortunato, 54, of Beverly brought along his son, Michael, 18, who was not only wearing a Bruins jersey coated in autographs but also was draped in a Bruins flag. The die-hard fans have a Bruins “shrine” in their home full of team paraphernalia.

“The players are really into the fans and vice versa. You can just feel it throughout Boston — it’s like a family atmosphere,” said Danny Fortunato, a social worker. “You don’t see it every day like this. You got to take it all in. We’ll be following them the whole way.”

“I will not move,” added Michael Fortunato, “I don’t want to a miss a second of it.”

Fans proudly draped in black and gold stood behind a yellow barricade in the Garden’s parking lot chanting, “We want the Cup!” and, “Let’s go, Bruins!” as star players, including defenseman Johnny Boychuk and center Tyler Seguin emerged from inside to slap high-fives and sign autographs.

“It’s unbelievable,” Boychuk told the Herald. “Everybody’s dream is right now. We just got to make sure we fulfill that dream.”

Seguin called the fan support “phenomenal.”

“Everyone wants the Cup back here in Boston,” Seguin, 19, told the Herald. “If hockey wasn’t in Boston the last few years, it definitely is right now.”

Game 1 of the 2011 Stanley Cup finals takes place tomorrow night in Vancouver. The Bruins have not won a Stanley Cup since 1972.

“It’s such an awesome feeling,” said Julie Happel, 45, of South Weymouth, who came to the Garden with her husband, Fred, and sons Michael, 9, and Sean, 4. “It’s true hockey at its best.”

Jay Dellisola of Lynnfield said he encouraged his two sons Alex, 14, and Jack, 7, to stay up late on school nights to watch the Bruins’ nail-biting playoff games.

“I was 7 when [Bobby] Orr won us the Cup, now (Jack’s) 7. It’s a sign,” said Dellisola, who predicted the Bruins would win in six games. “I don’t think they’ll let this chance fly by. It’ll be a great two weeks.”