Published June 16, 2011
When the Bruins returned to Boston today toting the Stanley Cup, the team capped an astonishing decade for Boston sports teams.
Fans in Boston have witnessed an incredible run of championships over the past 10 years.
Though hard to believe, the decade of dominance is real. Here are the details to prove it:
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Published June 16, 2011
Bruins captain Zdeno Chara hoists the Stanley Cup after his team finished off the Canucks Wednesday. (AP)
They are No. 1. (AP)
Meanwhile, back in Boston... (AP)
Boston, awash in black and gold (Curt Nickisch/WBUR)
It's been 39 years, Stanley Cup. Good to see you again. (AP)
More Bruins Coverage:
Published June 15, 2011
Last night a group of nearly two dozen Boston artists mounted an exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts. Not in a gallery, though. Instead they snuck work into a pair of bathrooms for a “renegade” exhibition.
Yes, this means they installed art in a major institution without obtaining permission. But, no, they did not break in. And yes, they got caught — but not immediately.
The MFA stays open late on Wednesday nights, and last night was particularly crowded because admission was free. This allowed the art bandits to slip in casually with the other visitors.
At about 6:45 p.m. they entered the men’s and women’s rooms adjacent to a stairway between the below-ground Chihuly exhibition and the MFA’s new atrium courtyard.
Art patrons view last night's "renegade" art show in the bathrooms of the MFA. (Courtesy)
They quickly pulled out a trove of original drawings, prints, photos — even sculptures. The works were smuggled into the MFA inside backpacks, shoulder bags, folders and notebooks.
It took just 15 minutes to install the unsanctioned exhibition, titled “Best of Boston.” The “opening” took place as scheduled, at 7 p.m. Security started removing the artworks about 20 minutes later.
As it turns out a nearly identical scene played out at the MFA exactly 40 years ago to the day.
In fact last night’s stunt was a reenactment marking the June 15, 1971, “joke show” known as “Flush with the Walls.” It was organized by seven Boston artists: Todd McKie, Martin Mull, Fred Brink, David Raymond, Bob Guillemin, Jo Sandman and Kristin Johnson. They even printed rascally invitations on toilet paper that said, “When you gotta show you gotta show.”
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Published June 15, 2011
The News: A federal jury found former Speaker Sal DiMasi guilty in an scheme to steer state contracts in exchange for kickbacks. His accountant, Richard Vitale, was found not guilty on eight charges. An associate, Richard McDonough, a lobbyist, was convicted on six of eight charges.
The defense table reacts as the verdicts are read by Judge Mark Wolf. (Margaret Small for WBUR)
Update 6:45 p.m.: We’re closing the live blog for the evening. Morning Edition tomorrow will have plenty more coverage, including reaction to the former speaker’s conviction at the State House and in his North End district.
Update 6:06 p.m.: “Men of conviction” — that’s the dialogue bubble on the Globe’s verdict cartoon, which places DiMasi next to former Speakers Tom Finneran and Charles Flaherty.
Update 5:40 p.m.: WBUR’s David Boeri, who’s covered this whole thing from the beginning, called this a “devastating conviction” for DiMasi. He offered this debrief last hour:
Update 5:06 p.m.: DiMasi’s attorney, Tom Kiley, provides a clearer indication of his appeal strategy. He says government misrepresented the payments that his client received as a lawyer:
It involves the practice of law and one’s entitlements to work. It presents, as the court said, novel issues, and we will be pursuing those issues until everybody gets it right.
Update 4:27 p.m.: DiMasi and his team were eating lunch, trying to kill time, when word came that Judge Mark Wolf wanted to see them in the courtroom, the Globe’s Glen Johnson reported.
Leaving behind half-eaten lunches, half-drunk bottles of water, half-read newspapers, the group moved toward the elevators, uncertain of the reason.
It’s a lunch DiMasi will never forget.
Update 4:21 p.m.: “I’m very disappointed … I’m still in shock,” DiMasi told the Herald. The paper also has video of the former House speaker speaking with reporters outside the courtroom.
Update 4:10 p.m.: WBUR’s Jesse Costa has this graphic on the specific charges:
Click the image below for the full graphic.
Update 3:52 p.m.: More from legal analyst Randy Chapman, as he’ll join us on All Things Considered later on:
Chapman says the “theft of honest services charge” is likely to be the issue that will percolate in appeals, perhaps all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Published June 15, 2011
The jury in the federal corruption trial of former House Speaker Sal DiMasi and two co-defendants is in its second full day of deliberation today.
The jury instructions from Judge Mark Wolf in this case are 65 pages long. That’s even longer than the government’s indictment of the three defendants!
It took the judge over two hours, with a brief intermission, to instruct the jurors on the law Monday. Yesterday, the jurors requested the judge give them the instructions a second time. He did.
Then, yesterday afternoon, the jury sent a note asking for a written transcript of his instructions. This morning, Wolf told the jurors they will get them some time today.
You want to see just how complicated the charges in this case are? You want to see what the jurors are struggling with? Here are the judge’s instructions. You be the jury.
Published June 15, 2011
Nevermind the road. Rubber, meet ice.
When the rubber puck drops tonight in Vancouver, the Bruins and the Canucks will decide who is crowned the NHL’s champion. The Stanley Cup hasn’t been in Boston since Bobby Orr and the Big Bad Bruins won the 1972 championship and no Bruins team has ever played in a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup finals.
You’ll have to celebrate a Tim Thomas save or drown the sorrows of a Henrik Sedin goal by yourself after tonight’s game, because there won’t be a Bruins viewing party the TD Garden. Boston police and the TD Garden couldn’t reach an agreement over limiting liquor sales.
Jurors in the corruption trial of former House Speaker Sal DiMasi and two others will deliberate for their second full day today. We’ll provide updates on the case as they become available.
After being labeled, gasp, a flip-flopper four years ago, former Gov. Mitt Romney is holding his ground this time around, the Globe reports. Romney is doing more sticking to his guns, even if it puts him at odds with many national Republicans.
Sen. John Kerry controls more stock in media companies than any other member of Congress. He even owns a stake in Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., which owns Fox News.
The Boston police officer who was shot yesterday responding to a domestic dispute in Dorchester was in stable condition last night after undergoing surgery to control bleeding. Boston Police Officer Shawn Marando, 46, is a former member of the Air Force and Marine Reserves.
The Boston Archdiocese is getting a new vicar general. Monsignor Robert Deeley, originally from Belmont, will become one of the top aides to Cardinal Sean O’Malley.
The Mark Wahlberg movie “Ted” filmed a scene at the Somerville Theatre last night. Mila Kunis also stars in the movie.
What we’re following: As we watch for developments in the DiMasi case, we’ll continue to report on the ex-aide to the mayor of Lawrence in federal court and the student in Attleboro charged with raping a classmate at school.
Published June 14, 2011
The Bruins came out firing in last night’s must-win Game 6 at the TD Garden, scoring four goals in just over four minutes to put the game out of reach. Tim Thomas, Brad Marchand and the B’s forced a final Game 7 tomorrow night in Vancouver. One game, for all of hockey’s marbles.
Though perceived as the early front-runner, former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney largely avoided criticism at last night’s first GOP presidential debate in New Hampshire. The seven Republican candidates mostly stuck to criticizing President Obama instead of each other.
A Boston police officer was shot this morning while responding to a domestic disturbance in Dorchester. A man and a woman were also wounded in the confrontation.
The Archdiocese of Boston says four inactive priests have been defrocked over allegations of child sexual abuse from decades ago. Cardinal Sean O’Malley announced the removal of the priests yesterday.
It is the first full day of deliberations today for the federal jury weighing corruption charges against former House Speaker Sal DiMasi and two others. We’ll have ongoing updates of any news from the trial here at wbur.org.
What we’re following: We’ll continue to report on the Haverhill budget rejected by the City Council, the Longy School of Music merger and the state pension fund’s allegations that it was overcharged by the Bank of New York Mellon Corp.
Published June 13, 2011
After struggling in two games in Boston, Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo bounced back with a solid Game 5 Friday at home. (AP)
I dared to think about it. I dared to imagine the incredulous feeling that could have been Monday night at the TD Garden. Friday night, while driving home from work, I had that tingly feeling when we think of the improbable, the excitement we get from some of the greatest moments in our lives. I had come thisclose to turning that corner and letting it all hang out.
What the heck was I thinking?!
I should know by now that what Ringo Starr said so long ago was oh-so-correct: “It don’t come easy.”
These Stanley Cup Playoffs have not been easy for the Boston Bruins — or for us, the fans. Seven games against the Canadiens, a tidy four-game sweep of the Flyers, a tense seven-game standoff with the Lighting. Now, the Bruins are on the brink of elimination.
After lighting up the Vancouver Canucks and Roberto Luongo for 12 goals in the two games in Boston, you would have expected more of the same in Game 5, but a funny thing happened on the way to Canadian soil. The B’s lost their scoring touch and Luongo managed to take lessons from Tim Thomas on how to play goal. Despite the Bruins putting 31 shots on the Canucks’ goalie, many were not of the quality variety. In three games in Vancouver, the visitors have scored a mere two goals. That definitely is not good enough.
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Published June 10, 2011
About 4,000 state managers will be getting a raise, thanks to Gov. Deval Patrick. Critics say the wage hike is inappropriate in this time of shrinking state coffers, but the Patrick administration maintains they are necessary to retain good managers.
A bill that would bar non-profit health insurers from paying their boards might also affect charitable organizations. Other major non-profits that pay their board members would have to seek state approval to continue payments, the Globe reports.
As officials assess the damage last week’s tornadoes caused, residents of central and western Massachusetts are busy putting their lives back together. Brimfield Police Chief Charles Kuss warned residents to watch out for scammers looking to take advantage of tornado victims. On the other side of the coin, the tornadoes did bring many communities closer together.
The mother who died protecting her daughter from a tornado last week was buried in West Springfield yesterday. Angelica Guerrero died after putting her youngest daughter in the bathtub and laying over her to protect her from storm.
More severe weather wracked the state yesterday. This time, it was severe thunderstorms. UniversalHub has some great pictures of lightning hitting Boston.
A Connecticut woman was the third American to receive a full face transplant after doctors at Brigham and Women’s Hospital completed the procedure last month. Charla Nash was mauled by a friend’s pet chimpanzee in February 2009.
When the Bruins and Canucks lineup for the faceoff tonight in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, the B’s should have a little confidence, despite being on the road. That’s mostly due to the man between the pipes who has doubled as the Hoover Dam of goalies, holding back a deluge of Vancouver shots: Tim Thomas.
What we’re following: We’ll continue to report on the closing arguments in the DiMasi trial, Mitt Romney skipping the Iowa straw poll and the landmark Mayflower II boat, which survived being struck by lightning last night.
Published June 9, 2011
Backed by the stellar goaltending of Tim Thomas, the Boston Bruins came back to Boston, held serve and won — no, destroyed — Roberto Luongo and the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals Wednesday.
The series is now tied at two and headed back to Vancouver, where a fan-packed Rogers Stadium erupted with cheers when — after Rich Peverley scored his second goal of the evening — Canucks coach Alain Vigneault waved the white flag for Luongo and removed him from the game.
Bruins center Rich Peverley celebrates his first-period goal against the Vancouver Canucks Wednesday. (AP)
The Canucks tried to take their cue from their coach and get in the “blue paint” and disrupt Thomas’ aggressiveness. They had no chance, as Thomas was his feisty self and his teammates would have none of it. The Canucks had two power plays in the first period, which the Bruins killed off with more spectacular goaltending, while the Bruins had a good advantage in puck possession, but only seven shots. But one of those shots was on a Peverley breakaway and thus the beginning of the end for Luongo and the fight-less hockey team from the Great Northwest.
It has been Bruins hockey since their return to Boston, as they have fought and clawed and broken down the Canucks, outscoring them 12-1 in two games at the Garden.
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