Hot & Not: Boston Sports In February
BOSTON (CBS) -- The shortest month of the year is in the books, and it was a mixed bag for Boston sports.
The first problem with the month was the fact the Patriots didn't play in the only NFL game on the schedule: Super Bowl XLVIII. The Bruins were mostly inactive due to the Olympic break, playing just five games, and the Celtics were, well, the rebuilding Celtics.
Here are those that were hot, and those that were not, in the month of February.
HOT
Patrice Bergeron
Bergeron had a pair of goals and an assist in five games for the Bruins, but more importantly brought home a gold medal as a member of Team Canada. Bergeron won 63.27 percent of his 49 faceoffs during the winter games, chipping in with a pair of assists in six games.
Tuukka Rask
Rask also brought a medal home from Sochi, winning a bronze medal with Finland, though it did come at the expense of Team USA.
In his four Olympic games, Rask owned a .938 save percentage and 1.73 goals-against average, posting a shutout against the U.S. to give Finland the Bronze.
Read: Rask's Medal-Winning Performance Should Erase 'System Goalie' Label
Jarome Iginla
Iginla has been great for the Bruins in his first season, and February was no exception despite only five games on the docket. Iginla scored two goals and had six assists for the B's, and was a plus-five during his time on the ice.
Rajon Rondo
Aside from one controversial birthday party in Los Angeles, the Celtics point guard had himself a solid month. In eight games, Rondo averaged 15.3 points, 9.9 assists and 5.1 rebounds. He shot the ball extremely well, hitting 49 percent of his shots from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range, and 84 percent from the free throw line. For comparison's sake, Rondo is a career 25 percent 3-point shooter and just 62 percent from the free throw line.
Kelly Olynyk
The rookie has been sidelined by a bad toe, but put up 8.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game (both season highs) in 21 minutes per game during February.
Jared Sullinger
Sully continues to impress, though he has been slowed recently by a mild concussion. The second-year star-in-the-making averaged 15.3 points and 10.9 rebounds in eight February games.
Jerryd Bayless
Bayless was shipped out of Memphis because of his poor shooting, but shot the ball well for the Celtics in February, hitting 46 percent of his shots from the field and 42 percent from 3-point range. His best game in a Boston uniform was the Celtics' final tilt of February, when he scored 29 points in a win over the Atlanta Hawks on 12-for-21 shooting.
Grady Sizemore
He went 0-for-2 in his spring debut against Northeastern, but just getting on the field (the first time since September of 2011) is a big step for Sizemore.
Boston College Hoop's One Big Win
The BC Men's basketball team won just one game during February, but it was a pretty big one, knocking off top-ranked Syracuse 62-59 in overtime in the Carrier Dome.
The win had even more meaning, as Boston College had just lost long-time assistant AD Dick Kelly, who lost his battle with ALS just a few days before.
NOT
Denver Broncos
Patriots fans didn't get to see their team battle for that allusive fourth Super Bowl title, but they did get to watch Peyton Manning lose another.
Manning and his Broncos were completely outplayed by the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVII to the tune of 43-8. Yep, Manning and that high-powered Broncos offense managed just one touchdown against Pete Carroll and his "Legion Of Boom" defense in the game that really counts. The Broncos should have known they were doomed when their first offensive snap bounced off Manning's head and went for a Seattle safety.
The Patriots probably wouldn't have fared much better, but at least seeing this was an added benefit to them losing in the AFC Championship:
Boston Celtics
After winning three straight to begin the month, the Celtics dropped six of their next eight to go 5-6 for the month and now sit at 20-39 for the season as February comes to a close.
Some would say that 5-6 record, which included an 0-4 West Coast trip, is just what the Celtics needed in the "Tank Rank," while other will say it wasn't bad enough. For those hoping the losses pile up the rest of the season fear not, the Celtics have some very tough games in a grueling 15-game March, beginning with the 44-13 Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.
Avery Bradley
The Celtics shooting guard played in just three games last month before re-spraining his right ankle on February 9. He missed five games in January with the same injury, and this time it appears to be even more severe.
Bradley still hasn't resumed basketball activities, and there is no timetable for his return.
Jeff Green's Shooting
Green averaged a team-high 20.3 points per game in February, but needed 17.3 shots per game to do so. For the month, he shot just 39 percent from the floor and 32 percent from 3-point range.
Green had some stellar nights in February, like his 39-point game against the 76ers when he shot 11-for-18 from the floor, but also had a few stinkers. He scored just 10-points on 4-for-17 shooting against the Spurs, and though he scored 29 in Boston's loss to the Kings last weekend, he was just 7-for-25 from the floor and 2-for-9 from downtown.
Green's high-scoring didn't result in an automatic W for the Celtics either, with Boston going 2-3 when Green scored 20+ points.
Gerald Wallace
Wallace's first season in Boston is over, with the forward likely facing season-ending surgery for a torn meniscus.
USA Hockey
Early in the Winter games, it looked as though both the Men and the Women's U.S. teams had a great chance at bringing home Olympic gold. In the end, only the Women brought home a medal, and it wasn't that shiny gold one.
The U.S. Men were riding high after beating Russia in a shootout in the preliminary round, and had a solid 5-2 win over the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, but suddenly couldn't score when they hit the final four. The U.S. was shut out in a 1-0 loss to Canada, and then didn't medal following a 5-0 loss to Finland.
For the women, it was a little more heartbreaking. They had a 2-0 lead on Canada in the third period of the gold medal game, and could have walked away with a 3-1 win if Kelli Stack's empty-net bid from the length of the ice went in with 90 seconds remaining. But that attempt missed by mere inches, allowing Marie-Philip Poulin -- who currently plays at BU -- and Canada to tie the game with 56 seconds remaining in regulation.
The women had to settle for yet another silver medal when Poulin found the back of the net just over eight minutes into overtime, finishing off what could be one of the most heartbreaking losses for the U.S. in Olympic history.
Stephen Drew
Drew is still unsigned, waiting for a team for 2014. There's a good chance he waits until after June's draft, when the team he signs with won't have to surrender a pick to the Red Sox, but he won't be getting that $14.1 million the Red Sox offered him in arbitration.
Danny Ainge
After months of hearing that the likes of Brandon Bass, Kris Humphries and even Rajon Rondo could be moved on deadline day, Ainge and the Celtics stood pat.
It was an overall boring deadline day around the NBA (aside from the Pacers getting Evan Turner and the 76ers acquired the entire second round of the draft), but it would have been nice to see Ainge get at least a second round pick or other assets to help build for the future.
Steve Gregory
The veteran safety was released by the Patriots on Friday after two seasons with the team.
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