Bruins (NHL)
Though the Bruins had a rocky start to their season, losing three games in a row during the first two weeks of play, they handily defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 in Toronto on Saturday. The clear MVP for the Bruins was defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who had two assists and one goal. Saturday’s victory over Toronto gives the Bruins a 5-5-0 record and puts them in fourth place in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. The Bruins will face the Minnesota Wild at TD Garden in Boston on Tuesday, and will travel to Buffalo, NY to play the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.
Celtics (NBA)
The Celtics begin their season today against the Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden in Boston. The Celtics finished a solid preseason with a 5-3 record, which ranked them third in the preseason standings for the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference behind the Toronto Raptors and the Brooklyn Nets. Despite being ranked one spot behind Brooklyn, the Celtics defeated the Nets last Wednesday 100-86 and the previous Sunday 95-90. As the Celtics look to maintain their perfect record against Brooklyn, key players to watch will be Brandon Bass, Avery Bradley, Jeff Green and Jared Sullinger.
Patriots (NFL)
The Patriots defeated the Chicago Bears on Sunday 51-23 at Gillette Stadium to head into the eighth week of the season leading the AFC East with a 6-2 record. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady contributed one of the best performances of his career, throwing five touchdowns, no interceptions, and a total of 354 passing yards. Brady threw three of his touchdown passes to receiver Rob Gronkowski, and added one each to receiver Brandon LaFell and tight end Tim Wright. Sunday marked the Patriots’ fourth straight win as they hope to keep the momentum going into this Sunday afternoon’s game against the Denver Broncos at Gillette Stadium.
Revolution (MLS)
The New England Revolution picked up another victory in their final regular season match over Toronto FC on Saturday. The Revolution topped Toronto 1-0 thanks to MVP candidate Lee Nguyen’s goal in the 36th minute.While the Revolution was thrilled with the play, Toronto fans questioned the legitimacy of Nguyen’s goal because Revolution midfielder Jermaine Jones passed the ball to midfielder Chris Tierney, who appeared to be in an offside position as the play developed. Tierney then dished the ball to Nguyen, who scored the sole point of the game. Although the linesman saw that Tierney was in an offside position, the referee never blew the whistle, so the goal stood. The Revolution will end the regular season ranked second in the Eastern Conference behind D.C. United with a record of 17-13-4. Their success landed the team a spot in the playoffs, where they will host their first post-season match at Gillette Stadium on Nov. 9 against a to-be-determined third place Eastern Conference opponent.