Richard RiotOn March 13th, 1955 Maurice "Rocket" Richard was high-sticked in the face and cut for five stitches by Bruins defenceman Hal Laycoe. ED Belfour Jersey . In the ensuing melee, Richard smashed Laycoe in the face with his stick, knocked out a linesman, and narrowly avoided being arrested by the Boston police. Or whats known in NHL circles as "hockey." Commissioner Clarence Campbell suspended Richard for the duration of the season and playoffs, which enraged the entitled Canadiens fan base. When Campbell attended the next Habs home game, the fans pelted him with eggs, vegetables, and other inexplicably handy detritus. A tear gas bomb was set off in the Forum to diffuse the situation, and the building was evacuated. What followed was a riot that engulfed the neighbourhood around the Forum, injuring over 40 policemen and civilians, resulting in $500000 ($4.5 million in 2014 dollars) in damages and dozens of arrests. The chaos lasted until 3am, interestingly also closing time for Montreal bars. The riot has taken on a mythology typical of Quebecs relationship with hockey. Many cite the Anglophone suspension of a Francophone player as a contributing factor in the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s. Others simply argue it gives Montrealers an excuse to set fire to stuff after hockey games. Ken Dryden Ken Dryden was drafted 14th overall in 1964 by the Bruins. Later in the day, he was traded to the Habs with Alex Campbell for Paul Reid and Guy Allen. Campbell, Reid, and Allen eventually combined to play zero NHL games, while Dryden would go on to get a BA from Cornell, win six Stanley Cups, get a law degree from McGill, win five Vezinas and a Conn Smythe, write a best-selling book, and be generally considered the best goalie of his generation while contributing to the Habs dominance over the Bruins and the league during that era. So lopsided was the trade that Dryden was unaware of it until the mid-70s. Reid didnt find out until 2002, and that discovery was predicated on the invention of the Internet. Too Many MenThe Bruins-Habs rivalry would reach its heights the 1970s, making it the most enduring and compelling matchup in sports, and creating the template for the hate that exists between the two teams today. Bobby Orr, arguably the best player of his generation, led the Bruins of the era while the Habs were the epitome of what a franchise should be, the crown jewel of the league led by coach Scotty Bowman. No moment would better represent the rivalry than the infamous too many men penalty taken by the Bruins in the 1979 semi-finals. Don Cherry, coaching the Bruins, could never quite get past his counterpart Bowmans Habs, having lost in the finals in 77 and 78. During seventh and deciding game, and having just taken the lead on a Rick Middleton goal, the Bruins were assessed a too many men on the ice penalty. Guy Lafleur would tie the game on the ensuing power play and Yvon Lambert would score in OT to send the Bruins home. Cherry would ultimately lose his job, and eventually end up on Hockey Night in Canada where he would perpetuate the rivalry with his Boston bias, intense hatred of the Habs, and inability to pronounce Francophone surnames. The Canadiens would go on to sweep the Rangers in the Cup final. Though the rivalry would continue, the 80s and 90s were marked mostly with brawls and only two Cups for the Habs.PedroThe Boston-Montreal rivalry extends beyond hockey, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the Pedro Martinez trade from the Montreal Expos to the Boston Red Sox in 1997, which would ultimately signal the end of days for the Expos. Montreal, having already endured the nightmare of a cancelled 1994 season where they were the most dominant team in baseball, and the sell-off or loss of players such as Larry Walker, Marquis Grissom, and Ken Hill, were struggling to maintain relevancy and a fan base. General manager Dan Duquette (the architect of the 94 team) and a native Massachusite, left to become GM of the Red Sox in 1994, and three years later robbed his former team in acquiring Martinez, the premiere pitcher of his generation and in his prime, for Carl Pavano, Tony Armas Jr., and a box of Kleenex. Martinez would go on to be a Sox mainstay and win a World Series in 2004, the same year the Spos left Montreal for Washington. BrosThe drinking age in Massachusetts is 21. The drinking age in Montreal is 18. Kind of. I mean, if you can make your way to a bar in Montreal, youre going to get served. Babies can be seen in sipping from shot glasses. Sweet 16s are held in bars. Its a fun city, the bars are open late, and there are strip clubs everywhere. There are 58 post-secondary institutions in the Boston area. Its a six-hour drive from Boston to Montreal. A forty dollar bus trip. The result? A wealth of bros infiltrating Montreal, a city they hate, to indulge in the citys offerings. Summer nights are marred by puking frat boys, eight to a hotel room, loitering Crescent Street, hitting on unimpressed locals, polluting the air with Boston slang and unearned bravado.So many tucked-in golf shirts. So many Red Sox hats. So many goatees. So many pre-ripped jeans. So many gold crosses on necklaces. So many diamond studs. Its like an Abercrombie ad got a Coors Light ad pregnant at Maroon 5 concert at Fenway and gave birth to an army of bros. Montrealers hate it, yet endure it. It fuels the fire.The Pacioretty Incident and the 2011 Playoffs On March 8th, 2011, while skating down the boards, Habs winger Max Pacioretty was checked into the metal upright that ends the glass by Bruins defenceman Zdeno Chara. The hit, even to the most strident of Bruins supporters, could at best be called gruesome. Pacioretty suffered a severe concussion and a fractured vertebra. Chara received no supplemental discipline, leading to Habs fan outrage and a Montreal police investigation. [Sidebar: You know you have a good rivalry when the police get involved on a regular basis.] Bruins winger Mark Recchi (a former Canadien) openly questioned the severity of Paciorettys injury, despite Recchis inability to complete medical school. The incident provided additional animus for the first round playoff meeting between the teams. Recchi, still not a medical professional, did not relent in his comments. The series went a thrilling seven games, with the Habs P.K. Subban tying game seven late and forcing overtime. Early in OT, the Bruins Nathan Horton scored to win the series. Boston would go on to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1972, devastating Habs fans.Pacioretty would recover to become the Habs most prolific goal scorer in twenty years. Mark Recchi would retire after the Cup win, and as of yet is still not a licensed practitioner of medicine.P.K. SubbanHabs and Bruins fans like nothing more (other than victories and Cups) than booing each others players. No more has this been more evident in the current incarnation of the rivalry than in the Bruins disaffection for Habs defenceman Pernell Karl Subban. It seems to be more venomous and vitriolic than hatred of the past, more angry and intense than the booing that Subban gets in nearly every other arena he visits, except the Bell Centre. Id like to write that it isnt racism, but its totally racism. Is my argument anecdotal and biased? Yes, yes it is. But anecdote and bias are the backbone of sports journalism, so Im going to argue that the most contentious of entities in the contemporary Boston-Montreal rivalry is Bruins fans intense and racially motivated hatred of the most dynamic defenceman to lace up Bauers since, well, Bobby Orr. The series will be a bloodbath, no doubt, and add to the legacy of its legend. Boston fans: Please direct your hatred to @mdspry on Twitter. Habs fans: Dont set fire to stuff. Steve Larmer Jersey . This week, topics cover the Blue Jays rotation, the futures John Gibbons and Alex Anthopoulos, protecting pitchers and a bonus question on his predictions for the MLB playoffs. Pierre Pilote Jersey . Anaheim Ducks Reassign D Colby Robak to Norfolk Admirals (AHL). - Team Website D Eric Brewer (foot) removed from injured reserve.The Blue Jays offence has been positively dazzling, especially in the first eight days of May. You might as well change the franchise name from the Blue Jays to the "Thunder Birds." The Jays have scored 56 runs in putting together a 6-2 record, good for an average of seven runs per game. Over the last couple of weeks, everyone has been talking about the firepower of the Colorado Rockies and rightly so, but the Rockies have scored 58 runs over the same span in May and have an identical 6-2 mark. Granted, the Rockies dont play with a DH for the bulk of their games, so their totals are slightly more impressiveThe Jays pitching numbers have improved this month, as well. They have given up just 31 runs or just fewer than four per game. Colorado has surrendered exactly 32 or four runs per game right on the button. On the season, the Jays have scored 178 runs and given up 158. That 178 total is second in the American League to the Chicago White Sox who have racked up 184, which is, coincidentally, the same number they have allowed. The 178 the Jays have scored is the best in the AL East, but the 158 against is fourth-worst in the American League, ahead of only the Texas Rangers (174), Houston Astros (181) and the White Sox. The Jays though have improved by leaps and bounds over a year ago when they were 13-23 out of the gate. At this point last season, the Jays had only scored 139 runs and had given up 190. The -51 run differential was second-worst in the American League to Houston at -73. The really interesting comparison takes us back to 1993, the last time the Blue Jays won the World Series. The season started a week later so it took the 93 Jays until May 14 to play their 35th game, but guess what - their record then was exactly the same as this years edition at 18-17. On that date the 93 Jays had scored, you guessed it, 178 runs, the same as this years team. The 93 bunch though had allowed a dreadful 193 runs through May 14 for a -15 run differential. Im not saying the 2014 Blue Jays are as good a team as the 93 Jays, because at this point that would be ludicrous. Remember that the 93 Jays added Tony Fernandez and Rickey Henderson to the mix with in-season deals and became even stronger and the 1993 edition also had a lights-out closer in Duane Ward. Still, the numbers of the current team are intriguing and give cause for some hope. Another point - the Blue Jays have won a season high five-straight, which, while impressive, can only be considered a starting point. The 93 Jays had three outstanding runs in-season, From May 20 through June 5, they won 13 of 16 games. Then, from June 15 through the 29, they took 12 of 14 to push their record to 48-30. After losing 10 of 11 from June 30 to July 11 to fall to 49-40, they rebounded to take nine of 10 from July 24 through August 3. Next came a nine-game win streak from September 10 through 21 and then they finished the season by winning five of their final seven. The Jays finished the 1993 regular season with a 95-67 record, one victory fewer than the previous years team. Richard Panik Jersey. They scored 847 runs, second-best in the American League and gave up 742, which was fifth in the American League. Their run differential was +105. On last May 9, the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox were in a virtual tie for first in the AL East. Tampa Bay was 16-18, four-and-a-half games out. The Blue Jays were dead last at 13-23, eight-and-a-half games out. On May 9, this time around, the Jays are alone in third place in the East, one game back of the Yankees and one-and-a-half behind first-place Baltimore. Its still a very long, difficult haul, but this summer may not be as long as many of us thought it would be. - We dont get to see enough of Colorado to truly appreciate the talents of their young third baseman Nolan Arenado. On Thursday, he broke Michael Cuddyers club record 27-game hit streak that was set only last season. At 28 games, Arenado is exactly halfway to Joe DiMaggios iconic 56-game streak set in 1941. If Arenado stays healthy and can put together one of those streaks for the ages, he would be in position to equal and then surpass DiMaggios streak June 10 and 11 at home against the Atlanta Braves at Coors Field. Realistically, though, in this day and age, its hard to see anyone coming close to that milestone. - The Blue Jays lost outfielder Moises Sierra on a waiver claim to the White Sox last weekend. He was added to Chicagos roster last Sunday and made late-inning appearances in that game against the Cleveland Indians and in Mondays cross-city rivalry game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, going hitless in one at-bat for the two games. On Tuesday, though, Adam Dunn was a late scratch and skipper Robin Ventura stuck Sierra in the line-up in right field. He went four-for-four and scored a run in the White Sox 5-1 victory over the Cubbies. It will be interesting to see how his career unfolds with this fresh start. - Two of this years early season hard-luck pitchers faced each other earlier this week at Wrigley. Jose Quintana of the White Sox pitched seven innings of one-hit ball, giving up just one run, while racking up his fourth no-decision in starts. This coming from the guy who set an American League record a year ago with 17 no-decisions. Quintana is 1-2 on the campaign with a 3.56 ERA. On the flip side, the Cubs Jeff Samardzija, whos in his contract year, fired nine innings of three-hit, one-run ball before being taken out. Again, a no decision. Samardizija, whos pitched like an All-Star and has been the subject of many a trade rumour is 0-3 with an incredible 1.62 earned run average. Ultimately, he probably will be traded to a contender, maybe even the Jays, but not until a lot closer to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. And, yes, the White Sox did win that game at Wrigley 3-1 over the Cubs in 12 innings. 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