Sports

The Boston third-grader who narrowly missed a bullet that came through his bedroom wall and left a smoking hole in his Boston Celtics jersey has met the player whose shirt he was wearing. More >

The first Game 7 of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs will take place tonight in Boston (4:30 p.m., CBC), as the defending champion Bruins host the seventh- seeded Washington Capitals at TD Garden for the decisive battle of this Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. More >

During the three days leading up to the 150th Boston Marathon, the beef checkoff made sure that the runners were well equipped with fuel for the finish. Runners and their families came to the Sport & Fitness Expo to pick up their numbers and registration packets; an estimated 85,000 health conscious athletes attended the expo over the three days. More >

Add the Boston Marathon organizers to the list of people who were just happy to finish the race. “This one was more stressful, because of the heat,” race director Dave McGillivray said Tuesday, a day after more than 22,000 runners plodded through temperatures hitting 89 degrees in the 116th edition of the event.

“You do the best you can, and then you have to go like this,” McGillivray said, holding his hands in the air with his fingers crossed. “You have to rely on so many things. I mean, this isn’t a beach volleyball tournament.”

They were easy to dismiss: age and injuries, a lack of big bodies and rebounds, a 15-17 record at the All-Star break. The Boston Celtics appeared finished, the years finally bringing down the proud veterans who won the 2008 championship but just as the obituaries were being written, the Celtics erupted: at 21-8 they are the NBA’s best team over the past two months and have surged from the edge of the play-offs picture to the likely No 4 seeds.

“We’ve been put on the back burner all year long,” said Paul Pierce, the veteran forward, after Boston defeated the Miami Heat for the second time in as many weeks. “This is our opportunity to show the world we still have a lot left in the tank.

Officials with Boston’s TD Garden are looking into why a piece of glass came loose after Thursday’s overtime win and injured Boston Bruins centre David Krejci.

The bizarre incident happened not long after Bruins teammate Chris Kelly scored the winning goal and the entire team was celebrating behind the Washington Capitals net. More >

The Boston Celtics stepped up their run to the play-offs on Tuesday by upsetting Miami 115-107 for their second victory over the Heat in 10 days. Kevin Garnett recorded 24 points and nine rebounds and Rajon Rondo had 18 points and 15 assists for the Celtics (33-24), who are two games out of third spot in the Eastern Conference. More >

With three games remaining until the playoffs, the Boston Bruins have nothing left to do but get ready to defend their Stanley Cup championship. On the other hand, the Pittsburgh Penguins have plenty to play for. More >

Given the three little words “beer and chicken” became synonymous with the Boston Red Sox last September, perhaps no pitching staff wants the 2012 season to start more. Then again … More >

Former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon backed off his criticism of Boston baseball fans on Monday.

Papelbon said he meant no harm and didn’t mean to rip Boston fans when he said on Philadelphia radio station 94-WIP earlier in spring training that the difference between Boston and Philadelphia is, “the Boston fans are a little bit more hysterical when it comes to the game of baseball. The Philly fans tend to know the game a little better, being in the National League, you know, the way the game is played.”