By Seth Lakso, Globe correspondent

Boston Cannons goalie Jordan Burke earned his fourth career Major League Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Week award for his 17-save performance in a 15-3 win over the Rochester Rattlers last Saturday.

After surrendering two goals in the first 58 seconds, Burke, rebounded to hold Rochester scoreless for the next 36 minutes before allowing a goal midway through the third quarter. The Rattlers, who were without leading scorer Ned Crotty, finished with an MLL-record low three goals (previous mark was five).

"It was such a great defensive effort, from the midfield down to our close guys," Burke said in a statement released by the team. "We really executed the game plan well. We made two mistakes to start the game and then had one rebound goal, but other than that it was pretty much flawless."

By Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff

A Chicago news station put up a (clever?) graphic while describing a Red Sox-White Sox game over the weekend. Sports coverage lends itself to all kinds of puns, but sometimes restraint can be a good thing. This is probably one of those times.

Thanks to The Big Lead -- and to one of their readers -- for the screenshot.

By Matt Pepin, Boston.com Staff

A live sports video program featuring Boston Globe columnist Christopher L. Gasper debuts today at noon on Boston.com.

Boston Sports Live will be 15 to 20 minutes of commentary and analysis, interviews, and other feature segments broadcast live from the Globe's studio. On future shots, viewers will be able to submit questions to be considered by the host and guests using a CoveritLive window on the program's video page, via Twitter using the hashtag #bostonsportslive, or by posting comments to the program's Facebook page. Today, use those features to submit a comment about the show.

You can watch the program on a video page dedicated to the show, or look for embedded video players on the Boston.com homepage and sports page.

Boston Sports Live, sponsored by JetBlue, will air Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at noon. Archived programs will be stored on the show's video page.

By Seth Lakso, Globe correspondent

Jake Beebe wasn’t supposed to play in Saturday night’s season opener for the Boston Cannons, but after Matt Poskay’s flight to town was delayed, the Sudbury native made the most of his opportunity.

Beebe, who started the game at attack, finished with a team-leading four goals as Boston cruised to a 15-3 win over the Rochester Rattlers in front of 9,174 at Harvard Stadium.

‘‘I just had to prepare mentally the whole entire day like I was going to play no matter what,’’ said Beebe, who had many friends in attendance. ‘‘Once Coach told me I was a go, I was just hoping to come in and make some noise.’’

Poskay, an attackman who is the Cannons’ all-time leading scorer, didn’t make it back in time for the game after coaching the Wagner College lacrosse team in New Jersey in the afternoon.

After falling behind, 2-0, just 58 seconds into the first quarter, the Cannons regained the form that carried them to the Major League Lacrosse title last season, rattling off 11 consecutive goals and holding Rochester scoreless for 36 minutes.

‘‘We got off to a little bit of a slow start,’’ said Cannons netminder Jordan Burke, who finished with 17 saves. ‘‘But after that we played really well defensively — pretty much flawless after that first minute — all we allowed after that was a rebound goal.’’

Beebe’s first career goal got the Cannons on the board 5:47 into the first. Mike Stone followed up with a powerful strike past Rattlers keeper John Galloway to tie the game.
Stone’s shot had so much steam on it, the referees missed the fact that it never crossed the goal line, instead hitting three different posts.

Ari Sussman’s goal with 9:45 to play in the first gave the Cannons their first lead, 3-2, and they never looked back, taking a 9-2 lead into halftime.

‘‘It’s a great start,’’ said Burke. ‘‘It was great to come out in front of our fans and drop the championship banner and say thanks to the fans and then to put forth that kind of performance.’’

The Rattlers’ third goal didn’t come until the 8:02 mark of the third period.
Paul Rabil, last season’s league MVP, finished with eight points (three goals, five assists) and Sussman had a hat trick as well in his Cannons debut.

Chris Eck was solid as usual on faceoffs, winning 11 of 20 overall and 7 of 11 in the first half when Boston did the majority of its damage against a Rattlers team that was missing Ned Crotty, their leading scorer in 2011.

‘‘What it comes down to is having a good core of leaders on defense who understand what we want to do, and the goalie that we have in the cage,’’ said Cannons first-year coach and Waltham native Steve Duffy.

Asked if he could have scripted his coaching debut any better, Duffy replied, ‘‘No chance.’’

By Chad Finn, Globe Staff

If this clip doesn't get you pumped up for the start of the Celtics' postseason, you must be a Hawks fan or something.

It's part of a series of "A Champion Will Rise" commercials debuting Saturday morning on ESPN in promotion of the network's NBA playoff coverage. This one features Celtics captain Paul Pierce hanging out with the championship banners in the Garden rafters.

"There are 17 championship banners in this building," Pierce says, apparently not paying much mind to the NHL. "Eleven from Russell. Three from Bird. I even helped raise one. But we're not here to talk about history. We're here to keep making it."

Good stuff.

If you need a reminder, Game 1 is tomorrow night at 7 p.m. on TNT and Comcast SportsNet New England.

The Celtics' first postseason game on the ESPN networks is Friday, when Game 3 will air on ESPN2.

By Matt Pepin, Boston.com Staff

While football writers across the nation have spent the past week compiling their mock drafts to predict teams' selections in the NFL Draft, Boston sports radio host Michael Felger spent his week mocking mock drafts.

His method of predicting players the Patriots might choose was to throw a highlighter at a football recruiting magazine.

On Friday night, he nailed it when the Patriots chose Arkansas defensive end Jake Bequette, one of the players whose name was hit by Felger's highlighter.

"I've never been more confident in my picks," Felger said. "Honestly, [mock drafts are] just a pointless, futile exercise."

Marc Bertrand, a sports anchor and host on 98.5 The sports Hub who works on the Felger and Massarotti show, had this to say on Twitter last night.

Mike Felger and I just proved that chucking highlighters across the room has just as good of a chance of guessing right as any "expert"

— Marc Bertrand (@Marc_Bertrand) April 28, 2012

Bertrand provided the full list of Felger's picks this morning:

Projected First/Secound Round Guys:
Rueben Randle WR / LSU
Orson Charles TE / Georgia
Michael Brockers DT / LSU
Michael Floyd WR/ Notre Dame
Cordy Glenn Guard / Georgia
Andre Branch LB / Clemson

Projected Mid-Round Players:
Jake Bequette DE / Arkansas
Oliver Vernon LB / Miami
Lavonte David LB / Nebraska

Projected Late-Round Players
Duke Ihenacho SS / San Jose State
Nicolas Jean-Baptiste DT / Baylor

(Hat tip to Bertrand for providing the list and the photo above this morning)

By Gary Dzen, Globe Staff

Pacers team president Larry Bird would like owner Herb Simon to plan for his departure, according to a report from CBS Sports.

CBS' Ken Berger reports that Bird has told several friends in the NBA that he's decided to leave. The 55-year-old Bird had an agreement to stay with the Pacers until the end of the season. The Pacers are the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and will face the Orlando Magic in the first round of the playoffs.

Bird has been the Pacers' president since 2002. He played for the Celtics from 1979 to 1992. He was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998.

By Matt Pepin and Sean Leahy, Boston.com and Globe Staff

Washington Capitals forward Joel Ward was the hero of Wednesday night's Game 7 of the Capitals-Bruins NHL playoff series, but his shining moment was followed by racial epithets posted to Twitter in the hours after the game.

Ward scored the game-winning goal in overtime to lead the Capitals to a 2-1 victory and eliminate the Bruins from the playoffs.

Some Twitter users posted reactions that used vulgar terms and racist expressions in reference to Ward, who is black. Several web sites, including Chirpstory and Black Sports Online, collected offensive tweets from around the country, and the reactions have been a talking point on sports radio and the blogosphere.

Ward told USA Today he was alerted to the comments on the team's flight home.

"It doesn't faze me at all," Ward said. "We won, and we are moving on. … People are going to say what they want to say."

Many of the pages of the Twitter users in question have been removed.

However, Twitter's rules page indicates the service does not expressly prohibit the use of racial epithets, nor does it moderate the content posted to Twitter. It does require users to "comply with all local laws regarding online conduct and acceptable content."

The Bruins issued the following statement on the matter via the team's Twitter account.

“The Bruins are very disappointed by the racist comments that were made following the game last night. These classless, ignorant views are in no way a reflection of anyone associated with the Bruins organization.”

Capitals owner Ted Leonsis also condemned the racial attacks on his blog and pledged the organization’s support to Ward.

“What these people have said and done is unforgivable,” Leonsis wrote. “I hope they are now publicly identified and pay a huge price for their beliefs.”

While the tweets perpetuated Boston's reputation for racism, Ward said he's heard from many Bruins fans.

I'm definitely getting a lot of support," Ward said. "There have been a lot of Boston fans who have supported me, which is very cool to see. No hard feelings from me. This is a game."

During the preseason, the NHL condemned an incident with racial overtones at a Detroit-Philadelphia game in London, Ontario.

A banana was thrown from the stands at Flyers winger Wayne Simmonds during a shootout. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said it was a “stupid and ignorant action.”

By Seth Lakso, Globe Correspondent

The Boston Cannons announced their official roster for the 2012 season, which is set to kick off Saturday at 7 p.m. against the Rochester Rattlers at Harvard Stadium.

The Cannons managed to survive the Major League Lacrosse expansion draft that filled the newly added Charlotte Hounds and Ohio Machine with their 2011 championship team mostly intact. They did lose midfielders Max Quinzani and Greg Dowling and backup goaltender Kip Turner.

Quinzani’s uncertainty over his availability to play this season led the Cannons to leave their third-leading scorer from 2011 unprotected in the expansion draft, and he was taken fourth overall by Charlotte and then traded to the Long Island Lizards.

Cannons general manager Kevin Barney said Quinzani, who isfrom Duxbury and attended Duke University, has shifted his focus toward his job at Morgan Stanley & Co., and has no plans to play lacrosse this season.

Barney said Dowling asked the Cannons not to protect him because he planned to attend graduate school in Denver. The Fairfield University alumnus got his wish when the Denver Outlaws selected him with the sixth pick of the expansion draft (acquired from Charlotte).

Turner, who was the Cannons opening-day starter in the net in 2011, will be missed, but was expendable given the emergence or Jordan Burke. He’ll be manning the net for the Chesapeake Bayhawks this season.

Look for newly acquired Bill McGlone, whom the Cannons selected from Denver in the expansion draft, to be a force in the midfield once the National Lacrosse League season comes to a close. A seven-year veteran of Major League Lacrosse, McGlone has been a steady contributor wherever he’s played, averaging 13.6 goals a season over his career.

2012 Cannons roster:
Jake Beebe – Attack
Bruce Bickford – Goalie
Ryan Boyle – Attack
Jordan Burke – Goalie
Thomas Burke - Midfield
Jason Duboe - Midfield
Chris Eck – Midfield/FO
Brian Farrell – Defense
Pat Gaffney – Defense
Jon Hayes – Midfield
JJ Morrissey – Midfield
Sean Murphy – Midfield
Ryan Nizolek – Defense
John Ortolani – Midfield/FO
Garrett Pedley – Defense
Matt Poskay – Attack
Paul Rabil – Midfield
Jack Reid – Defense
PT Ricci – Defense
Brad Ross – Midfield
Owen “Kit” Smith – Midfield
Mike Stone – Midfield
Ari Sussman – Attack
Kyle Sweeney – Defense
Ethan Vedder – Midfield

Practice Squad:
Ryan Danehy – Midfield
Kevin DeBenedetto – Defense
Kevin Gould – Attack
Eric Hagarty – Goalie
DJ Hessler – Attack

NLL Inactive List:
Mitch Belisle – Defense
Kevin Buchanan – Midfield
Pat Heim – Midfield
Bill McGlone – Midfield

The Cannons are planning to have a ring ceremony prior to the start of Saturday’s game. Their 2011 championship banner will be unveiled, and a fan will be presented with a personalized championship ring.

Seth Lakso can be reached at slakso@globe.com and @sethlakso

By Matt Pepin, Boston.com Staff

New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis was able to eavesdrop on opposing coaches in the 2002 to 2004 seasons by using a wireless device in his Superdome suite, according to an ESPN report.

The US Attorney's Office in Eastern Louisiana was informed of Loomis's activity on Friday. Sources told ESPN that Loomis, who was suspended for eight games for his role in the Saints' Bounty scandal, was able to listen to game-day communication among opposing coaching staff members.

A Saints spokesman denied the accusations, ESPN reported, and an NFL spokesman said the league was not aware of the allegations.

By Gary Dzen, Globe Staff

Former Red Sox pitcher Derek Lowe, who won the clinching games in the divisional series, league championship series, and World Series in 2004, is missing his championship ring.

The Fort Myers News-Press reports that the Lee County (Fla.) Sheriff's office is investigating the theft of Lowe's World Series ring, as well as a trophy, some necklaces, and women's shoes and purses from his home. The total value of the stolen goods is estimated at $90,000.

The 38-year-old Lowe is currently a pitcher for the Cleveland Indians. He lives in Fort Myers during the offseason.

This is ugly. The Lakers' Metta World Peace, formerly known as Ron Artest, was ejected from Sunday's Lakers-Thunder game for a brutal elbow to the head of Oklahoma City's James Harden.

By Matt Pepin, Globe Staff

The New York Post, the tabloid newspaper known for its sensational and humorous headlines, couldn't resist using the occasion of Fenway Park's 100th anniversary to take a potshot at the Red Sox.

"100 Years of Ass Kicking," screams the paper's front page this morning.

The Yankees have a 1,133-954 lead over the Red Sox in their all-time series, including Friday's 6-2 Yankees victory, according to the Red Sox media guide. However, in the last four years, the Red Sox have split or won the season series, including a 12-9 edge last year.

By Gary Dzen, Globe Staff

The Celtics are close to signing free-agent center Sean Williams, league sources tell ESPN.com's Marc Stein. In order to make room for Williams on the roster, the Celtics are expected to waive the injured Jermaine O'Neal.

Williams was waived by the Mavericks on March 22, and he would be playoff eligible if he signed with Boston. The 6-foot-10-inch, 235-pound big man is known as a shot blocker, and he could provide the Celtics with much needed depth in their frontcourt. Kevin Garnett, Brandon Bass, and Greg Stiemsma are the only three big men the Celtics play comfortably. Ryan Hollins was brought in recently to compete for a bench role.

Williams averaged 3.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 8.1 minutes in eight games in Dallas.

Terry Francona may attend Fenway Park’s big party after all.

ESPN reported that the former Red Sox manager told the network on Wednesday that he would accept the team’s invitation to attend the 100th anniversary celebration of Fenway Park on Friday. Francona is now an analyst for ESPN.

Last week, Francona told the Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy that his feelings were still too raw after parting ways with the Red Sox following eight seasons as manager following the 2011 season.

“I just feel like someone in the organization went out of their way to hurt me,” Francona said, in reference to an explosive Globe story that examined why the Red Sox blew a 9 1/2-game lead and missed out on the playoffs last September.

The Red Sox will host the Yankees on Friday on the 100-year anniversary of the first game played at Fenway Park. They have invited every living former Red Sox player back to Fenway Park to take part in the ceremonies.

Legendary Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt will step aside after 38 seasons, Summitt told the Washington Post today. Longtime assistant Holly Warlick will take over for the Lady Vols.

Summitt -- who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease eight months ago -- will remain on staff as “head coach emeritus," where she will advise players as her health allows. NCAA rules will prohibit her from actively coaching.

Summitt has won more games (1,098) than any man or woman in the sport. Her teams have won eight national championships.

The university is expected to officially announce Summit's status Wednesday afternoon.

By Chad Finn, Globe Staff

When Tim Thomas is asked about his decision in January not to attend the White House along with his Bruins teammates in celebration of their Stanley Cup victory, he puts a stop to questions as quickly and effectively as he does most slap shots.

But the goalie's refusal to discuss the matter or elaborate further on posts of a political bent on his Facebook page hasn't stopped him from meeting up with like-minded people while the Bruins have some down time in Washington.

Tuesday, during a day off in Boston's first-round playoff series with the Capitals, Thomas visited FreedomWorks, described by Yahoo! Sports's Puck Daddy blog as "a political group founded by former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey that advocates for lower taxes, less government and more freedom, a.k.a. things found on Tim Thomas's Facebook page."

According to the Puck Daddy blog, FreedomWorks vice president Dean Clancy tweeted that Thomas, who posed holding a Ron Paul bumper sticker, explained to the staff why he "declined to visit the Obama White House.''

Presumably, the question wasn't posed by a Bruins beat reporter.

The Red Sox will place 100 balloons in Boston neighborhoods today, and each one has two tickets to a game inside.

Five of the balloons will have a pair of tickets for Friday's 100th anniversary game.

The balloon blitz began at 7:30 a.m., and runs until 3:30 p.m. No more than 10 balloons will be out at any time, according to a news release about the event.

Follow the discoveries on this page, which collects Tweets from the Red Sox (@RedSox is tweeting every time someone finds one) and others. Use the hashtag #Fenway100balloons to have your tweets considered.

Photo by Steve Silva / Globe Staff

The Popeyes fast-food restaurant near Fenway Park gave fans heading to the Red Sox' home opener a good chuckle with this sign today.

For those who have hibernated from Sept. 29 until, say, Thursday, the sign was a reference to Red Sox pitchers who spent their off-days eating fried chicken and drinking beer in the clubhouse rather than watching games from the dugout bench.

Are you a Red Sox fan with $100,000 or so kicking around and a penchant for masochism that somehow hasn't been fulfilled by the end of last season and the beginning of this one?

If so, have we ever got the item for you:

The infamous “Buckner Ball” from the 1986 World Series, Game Six, perhaps the most recognized baseball in the world, will the be the centerpiece of The Seth Swirsky Collection when it comes across the block as part of Heritage Auctions’ May 3-5 Vintage Sports Collectibles Signature Auction. The ball, being offered without a reserve, is expected to bring more than $100,000.

“This is indeed the ball that dribbled between Bill Buckner’s legs when Mookie Willson hit his ‘little roller’ up the line in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, giving the Mets the win,” said Chris Ivy, Director of Vintage Sports Auctions at Heritage. “It represented the cumulative crushed hopes of generations of Red Sox fans for almost 20 years until the Sox finally shook the curse in 2004. It’s a crucial piece of baseball history and easily the most notorious baseball ever hit – or missed – depending on how you look at it.”

It should be noted that Swirsky purchased the ball from Charlie Sheen. Feel free to supply your own punch line.

Are you a Red Sox fan with $100,000 or so kicking around and a penchant for masochism that somehow hasn't been fulfilled by the end of last season and the beginning of this one?

If so, have we ever got the item for you:

The infamous “Buckner Ball” from the 1986 World Series, Game Six, perhaps the most recognized baseball in the world, will the be the centerpiece of The Seth Swirsky Collection when it comes across the block as part of Heritage Auctions’ May 3-5 Vintage Sports Collectibles Signature Auction. The ball, being offered without a reserve, is expected to bring more than $100,000.

“This is indeed the ball that dribbled between Bill Buckner’s legs when Mookie Willson hit his ‘little roller’ up the line in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, giving the Mets the win,” said Chris Ivy, Director of Vintage Sports Auctions at Heritage. “It represented the cumulative crushed hopes of generations of Red Sox fans for almost 20 years until the Sox finally shook the curse in 2004. It’s a crucial piece of baseball history and easily the most notorious baseball ever hit – or missed – depending on how you look at it.”

It should be noted that Swirsky purchased the ball from Charlie Sheen. Feel free to supply your own punch line.

By now, you've probably heard about the flare-up between Magic center Dwight Howard and head coach Stan Van Gundy, who confirmed to reporters yesterday that the rumors about the Orlando star wanting him fired were actually true, only to have Howard interrupt with a faux show of support. 

But it's only when you watch the video of the press conference can you understand how truly awkward the moment was.

Howard went on to score just 8 points with 8 rebounds as the Knicks lit up the Magic last night, 96-80.

A documentary filmmaker has released excerpts of recordings he made of former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams instructing players to try to injure opponents.

A Yahoo! Sports report exposed the new evidence about the depth of the Saints' bounty scandal. In the recording, reportedly made before the Saints' playoff game vs. the 49ers, a person identified as Williams delivers a speech in which players are told to target 49ers players, including running back Frank Gore, quarterback Alex Smith and receiver Michael Crabtree.

“We need to decide whether Crabtree wants to be a fake-ass prima donna or he wants to be a tough guy. We need to find that out, and he becomes human when you [expletive] take out that outside ACL," Williams can be heard saying.

You can listen to the audio on the web site of Sean Pamphilon, the filmmaker who recorded it, or on YouTube. WARNING: The audio includes countless profanities and is definitely NSFW. According to Yahoo, Pamphilon had access to the Saints activities during the 2011 season to facilitate a film he is making.

Williams has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL. Saints coach Sean Payton, general manager Mickey Loomis and assistant coach Joe Vitt are scheduled to have appeals of their penalties in the Bountygate scandal heard on Thursday.

It's a tradition at the tradition-filled Masters golf tournament for players to try to skip their drives across the water on the 16th hole during the practice round. Some players have success, some don't.

German golfer Martin Kaymer got a hole-in-one Monday, and the video that shows the shot is pretty incredible. Vijay Singh reportedly did the same thing three years ago, but that doesn't make this shot any less incredible. (Deadspin was the first site to post the video).

By Gary Dzen, Globe Staff

The commercialization of Red Sox nation took a turn toward the intimate last season with a new line of clothing from Victoria's Secret.

The line, trademarked as "Pink Loves Red Sox", features comfortable clothing for women as well as, ahem, underwear. Victoria's Secret debuted the line last summer, and model Chanel Iman and David Ortiz promoted the event at Cambridgeside Galleria.

There are some new items in the collection this season. You can see two examples of the clothing above. The Pink line should go well with the hats.

What do you think? Will you buy it? Leave a comment below.

Red Sox starter Josh Beckett is in Cleveland today getting his right thumb examined by Dr. Thomas Graham, a hand specialist, according to multiple reports.

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports was the first to report the Beckett visit to see Dr. Graham at the Cleveland Clinic. According to Rosenthal:

The team wants Beckett to visit Graham for “peace of mind” and still expects him to pitch the second game of the season, sources say. But the visit will mark the second time in two days that Beckett has seen a hand specialist for a thumb problem.

Beckett was in San Antonio on Monday to be examined by Dr. Mark Bagg, another hand specialist.

“If he needed to talk to me, he was going to talk to me. He didn’t talk to me, so I think he was fine,’’ Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said Monday regarding Beckett.

Beckett threw a lengthy bullpen session on Sunday and did not miss any of his starts this spring. He allowed two earned runs on seven hits over 19 innings against major league competition.

“He threw 100 pitches yesterday and felt great, hit location,’’ Valentine said. “He’s had a little situation that he’s getting taken care of today just for peace of mind.

Red Sox reliever Andrew Bailey is also having his right thumb checked out by Dr. Graham in Cleveland today as well.

The Globe reported Monday that Red Sox team doctors in Boston determined Bailey will require surgery. If Graham agrees with the recommendation for surgery, it could happen as soon as today.

Graham also performed surgery on Kevin Youkilis and Jarrod Saltalamacchia in 2010. Youkilis had a torn muscle in his right thumb and Saltalamacchia a torn ligament in his left thumb.

Fenway Park will again participate in the worldwide "Light it up Blue" movement to raise awareness for autism.

Landmarks around the world will use blue lighting tonight as part of World Autism Awareness Day. According to a Red Sox press release, the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Tower in New York City, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and the Sydney Opera House in Australia are among the places that will participate.

Fenway Park's facade near Gate A on Yawkey Way will have blue lighting tonight.

Light it up Blue was created by Autism Speaks and is now in its third year.