December 19 - December 25

New England Patriots

On December 20th, the New England Patriots announced that DE Andre Carter would miss the remainder of the season with a leg injury. This is a big blow to the Patriots defense as Carter was having an impressive season  registering 59 tackles and 10 sacks.

On December 24th, the New England Patriots overcame a 17 point deficit to beat the Miami Dolphins 27-24. The Patriots offense bounced back from being shutout in the half half by scoring 5 times ( 3 touchdowns, 2 field goals) in the second half. Tom Brady led the attack passing for 304 yards and a touchdown to go along with 2 rushing scores. Deion Branch was on the receiving end of Brady's lone touchdown pass and Steven Gostkowski kicked 2 field goals. With this win the Patriots clinched a first round playoff bye.

December 19 - December 25

Boston Celtics

On December 25th, the Celtics opened up their 2011-2012 season against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The C's, playing without star player Paul Pierce, came up just short as they were defeated 104-102. Rajon Rondo led the Celtics attack with 31 points, 5 rebounds, 13 assists and 5 steals.  Newly acquired Brandon Bass also had a good game pouring in 20 points and adding 11 rebounds.

December 19 - December 25

Boston Bruins

On December 19th, the Boston Bruins took on their archrival the Montreal Canadiens and defeated them by a score of 3-2. Goalie Tim Thomas stopped 33 shot and the offense got goals from David Krejci, Benoit Pouliot and Brad Marchand. With this win the Bruins have now won 19 of their last 22 games.

On December 23rd, Brad Marchand had his first career hat trick leading the Boston Bruins to their most lopsided victory of the year beating the Florida Panthers 8-0. Patrice Bergeron, Milan Lucic, Benoit Pouliot, Dennis Seidenberg and Gregory Campbell also scored for the B's. Goalie Tuukka Rask stopped all 30 shots he faced for his second staright shutout. With this win the Bruins now sit atop the Eastern Conference.

December 19 - December 25

Boston Red Sox

On December 23, the Red sox announced their 2012 coaching staff. The new staff includes Bob Mclure as pitching coach, Tim Bogar as bench coach, Dave Magadan as hitting coach, Alex Ochoa as first base coach and Jerry Royster as third base coach. These new coach's join new Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine in what should be a very exciting season.

Decade of Dominance

Came across this video and it reminded me of the best 10 years in New England sports history.

December 12 - December 18

New England Patriots

On December 18th:
It was a total team effort for the Patriots on Sunday, as they defeated the Denver Broncos 41-23. Tom Brady and the offense were tough to stop as five different players scored touchdowns for the Pats, with Brady having a hand in 3 of them ( 2 passing, 1 rushing). The defense got off to a slow start but tightened up as the game went on and forced the Broncos into committing 3 turnovers.

With this win the Patriots clinched the AFC East title and put themselves in good shape to receive a first round playoff bye

December 12 - December 18

Boston Celtics

On December 17th, the Boston Celtics announced that forward Jeff Green will undergo heart surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm, which will cause him to miss the entire 2011-2012 season. Doctors are optimistic that he will return to full health and be back on the court for the start of next season.

On December 18th the C's took the court for their first exibition game. Only having two preseason games to check out his young talent, coach Doc Rivers played mostly his bench and role players against the Toronto Raptors. In a close game, the Celtics prevailed 76-75 on a buzzer beating tip-in by backup center Greg Stiemsma. Ray Allen led the Celtics with 12 points, while Marquis Daniels added 11. 

December 12- December 18

Boston Bruins

On December 13th, Bruins backup goalie Tuukka Rask stopped all 41 shots he faced to lead the B's to a 3-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. It was Rask's first shutout of the season. The offense was lead by Brad Marchands two goals while Rich Peverley added another.

On December 14th, the Bruins headed to Ottawa to play the Senators. In a high scoring game the Bruins came out on top winning 5-2. Goalie Tim Thomas stopped 47 shots in his return to the net after a two game break. Daniel Paille led the scoring attack netting two goals. With this win the Bruins moved atop the Eastern Conference standings.

                                                   

    On December 17, the Bruins headed down to Philidelphia for a highly anticipated matchup against the Flyers. In what most people thought would be a close back and forth game, the Bruins scored early and often and easily defeated the Flyers 6-0. Thomas once again had a great game stopping all 31 shots he saw. Six different players scored for the B's. 

December 12 - December 18

Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox made some key moves this week:

On December 13th, the Red Sox signed veteran cathcer Kelly Shoppach to a 1 year deal worth $1.35 million dollars. Shoppach was once Boston's top pick, playing part of the 2005 season with the Sox. He then spent the next four seasons in Cleveland before playing last season for Tampa.
Shoppach's lifetime batting average is .224. However, against left handed pitchers his average jumps to .274. He has thrown out 28% of potential basestealers during his career.

On December 14th, the Red Sox acquired potential closer candidate Mark Melancon from the Astros for shortstop Jed Lowrie and pitcher Kyle Weiland. Melancon converted 20 of his 25 save opportunities and posted a 2.78 ERA in 2011. The right handed pitcher spent the 2009 and 2010 season's playing for the New York Yankees.

Also on December 14th, the Red Sox signed veteran utility infielder Nick Punto to a two-year, $3 million dollar deal. The switch hitting Punto broke into the majors in 2001, and since then has played for the Philidelphia Phillies, Minnesota Twins and the St. Louis Cardinals. Punto is a .249 lifetime hitter with 14 homeruns and 218 RBIs.

Welcome

New England Sports Weekly is a blog I created to keep New England sports fans up to date with the most important happenings of their favorite professional sports teams: The Boston Red Sox, Boston Celtics, Boston Bruins and  New England Patriots. I hope you enjoy!