BOSTON - There are cities which long for winners. Rudy Gobert Jersey . Toronto would be one. There are cities which have perennial winners, yet to outsiders seem to take all those victories for granted. Atlanta, which didnt sell out some of those playoff games during the Braves heyday of the late 1990s and early 2000s, comes to mind. Then there are cities which have become accustomed to winning, regardless of the sport, enjoy the feeling and crave more. Fans get so involved, are so passionate, it becomes difficult to separate them from their team to the point they get credit for pushing their team to victory, even though their real effect is negligible. Boston, with your Red Sox and your Patriots and your Bruins and your Celtics, thats you. What cannot be denied, ever, is the unifying force a successful sports franchise has on an invested community. Standing on the lush green grass of Fenway Parks infield, minutes after the Red Sox had defeated the Tigers 5-2 in Game 6 to clinch the American League pennant and hours after the Dropkick Murphys had put their spin on the national anthem and belted out “Shipping Up To Boston,” it was hard to forget that only eight months earlier, Boston was a city in pain. It was April 15, Patriots Day, when the annual Boston Marathon was interrupted by two explosions near the finish line on Boylston Street in nearby Cambridge. Three people were killed and almost 300 others were hurt. A police officer was shot and killed in a gun battle with one of the suspects three days later. A city was wounded. The Red Sox, both overtly and covertly, have aided the city in its recovery from that horrific day. Saturday nights victory was their latest generous overture to their baseball-obsessed town. “It means so much to this city, so much to the guys on this team,” said catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. A lot went right for Boston in this series. To win, it must. Nobody will talk about how David Ortiz was held to only two hits in the series, one of them a bloop single in Game 5. Thats because the other hit was a monstrous grand slam, which erased a 5-1 deficit in Game 2 and catapulted the Red Sox back into the series. It would have been a difficult task, heading to Detroit down two games and with the prospect of facing Justin Verlander in enemy territory. On another day, two actually, Mike Napoli was a hero. In the deciding Game 6, it was Shane Victorino with the seventh inning grand slam that turned a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 lead. Xander Bogaerts, the steel-eyed 21-year-old who carries himself as if hes a 10-year veteran, went 3-5 with two doubles and two walks after taking over third base from Will Middlebrooks late in Game 4. He worked three full count plate appearances in the clincher, reached base each time and scored twice. Red Sox hitters struck out an ALCS record 73 times. Through four games, they were overwhelmed by the Tigers extraordinary starting rotation, a staff Detroit manager Jim Leyland referred to as the best hes had in his eight career postseasons. Yet, there was Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and John Lackey matching their opponents pitch for pitch, sometimes getting by with just enough. How about that Boston bullpen? Koji Uehara, with three saves and a win to show for his six innings, was named the MVP of the ALCS. Junichi Tazawa found another gear and in three head-to-head meetings with Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera, shut him down on a strikeout and two ground balls, one of which was a key, rally-killing double play in the seventh inning of Game 5. Left-hander Craig Breslow offered up 3 1/3 scoreless innings, often working in specialty situations against Detroits potent left-handed and switch-hitters. Honourable mention also goes to youngster Brandon Workman, who worked the long role and cleaned up others messes. “Its an unbelievable team over there, extremely well coached, well managed and a great group of players,” said Canadian Ryan Dempster, who selflessly didnt raise a stink when he was asked, or more like told, he would be moving from the starting rotation to the bullpen for the playoffs. “We were able to fight through some tough times and come away with the series win and win our American League pennant. Now weve got to go on and have a real tough challenge with St. Louis.” The Tigers will lament the leg injury which severely limited Cabreras offensive and defensive effectiveness, the poor performance of Prince Fielder and, likely most of all, the inability of the bullpen to work at anywhere near the level of the starting rotation. For Detroit, which has two recent unsuccessful World Series appearances – 2006 and 2012 – along with ALCS losses to New York in 2009 and now, to Boston, it represents more playoff disappointment. For Boston, a community thats overcoming is celebrating another sporting victory, anticipating that the best is yet to come. The Cardinals will arrive on Tuesday and the World Series will start, at Fenway Park, on Wednesday. Here, there is nothing to distinguish the bombing victims from the Dropkick Murphys, from the players, from the fans. Theyre all the same in one respect. Theyre Red Sox Nation. Right now, were all living in it. Utah Jazz Jerseys . And by all indications, the team is expected to select phenom Connor McDavid with their selection. The Buffalo Sabres, who were knocked down to the second overall pick after finishing with the worst regular season record, are expected to take the other generational player in Jack Eichel. John Stockton Jazz Jersey . - After three days of light, make that very light, workouts, Team Irvin and Team Carter are ready for tonights Pro Bowl. http://www.jazzauthentic.com/customized/ . With one week left in the regular season, Cornish - voted The Toughest Player To Bring Down - is a leading candidate for the CFLs Most Outstanding Player award. He has rushed for 1,799 yards and could break Willie Burdens club record for rushing yards in a single season with a 98-yard performance against the B.The Philadelphia Flyers got unwelcome news on Thursday when they learned that team captain Claude Giroux is expected to be out of action for 5-6 weeks. Giroux underwent surgery on his index finger on Thursday after his club snapped during a round of golf in Ottawa. "Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux had successful surgery this afternoon on his right index finger performed by Dr. Katherine Boyd at the Ottawa Civic Hospital in Ottawa, Canada," Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said in a statement. "Giroux was golfing today when his golf club shattered and splintered into his index finger. Although there were no broken bones, there was some damage to his extensor tendons in his fingerr. Dante Exum Jersey. He is expected to have a full recovery in 5-6 weeks." Giroux underwent surgery on both wrists in May 2012, after the Flyers were eliminated in Round 2 by the Devils. His right wrist needed to have some torn cartilage repaired, and his left needed to have bone spurs removed. The 25-year-old signed an eight-year, $66 million contract extension in July following a season that saw him put up 13 goals and 35 assists through 48 games. Since making his debut in the 2007-08 season, he has totaled 91 goals and 199 assists over 333 games in six seasons. The native of Hearst, Ont, is also among 47 players invited to Team Canadas Olympic orientation camp, which opens in Calgary on Aug. 25. ' ' '