Bruins have hat trick of honors to hail the 'Chief'

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02/13/2007 -

BOSTON (AP) -The Boston Bruins completed the hat trick for John ``Chief'' Bucyk on Tuesday night, giving the Hall of Fame forward a third night in his honor to commemorate his 50th anniversary with the team.

The last Bruins captain to skate with the Stanley Cup, Bucyk was given a gold watch by current captain Zdeno Chara before Boston's game against the Edmonton Oilers. The Bruins played with Bucyk's No. 9 on their jerseys, and highlights from his career were shown during the game.

``It's very exciting. I never thought there was another thing they could do for me,'' Bucyk said. ``I've had two nights already, they had my number retired, I'm in the Hall of Fame and now this.''

Bucyk was also honored in 1968, when the team feared he might have to retire because of a back injury. But he stuck around and, along with Bobby Orr, led the Bruins to the 1970 and '72 Stanley Cup championships.

``The 1970 Cup. To me that was the highlight of my career as a player,'' he said. ``You wait, and you want your name on the Cup. That was a great honor, and being the captain I was the one who accepted it and was the one who skated around the rink with it.''

Bucyk retired as the team's leading scorer, a mark that was surpassed by defenseman Ray Bourque in 1997. The Chief remains Boston's goal scoring leader, compiling 16 seasons of 20 or more goals, receiving two Lady Byng Trophies, and appearing in seven NHL All-Star Games. He was the fifth NHL player to score 50 goals with 100 points in a season.

A second night was dedicated to him in 1980, when his No. 9 was retired; a year later, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

On Tuesday, Bucyk was back on the ice for a pregame ceremony. This time while wearing a full Indian headdress.

``Hail to the Chief'' was played on the organ in recognition of the nickname Bucyk was given by teammate Bronco Horvath when he was breaking in during the 1950s. Bucyk shook hands and posed with former Bruins stars Johnny McKenzie, Terry O'Reilly, Cam Neely, and Bourque.

Bucyk played for the Bruins from 1957-78, worked in the broadcast booth and is now the team's road service coordinator. He has also been active in community service through the Boston Bruins Alumni Association.

``I am really enjoying this season. I hope and I think it will happen - that this team will turn around,'' he said. ``Still, we have a lot of time to make (the) playoffs. I hope they can string some games together and get us back there into the playoffs. I think the wheel will turn.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

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