Boston pro, college teams had busy year

Beyond the Boston Marathon bombing and the Red Sox, there were several other noteworthy moments in 2013 in and around the Boston area for professional and collegiate sports.Coming in just a notch below the Red Sox and the Marathon was the Boston Bruins? march to the Stanley Cup Finals, followed — in terms of significance — by the Patriots? navigation through injury and incarceration to another AFC East title (as well as Aaron Hernandez? arrest for the murder of an associate of his); the Celtics? early exit from the NBA playoffs and the departure of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Doc Rivers; the re-emergence of the Boston College football program, led by a new coach and the nation?s best running back; and Harvard University?s men?s basketball Ivy League title and opening-round victory in the NCAA Division 1 Tournament.B?s in it to the endWhen the National Hockey League lockout ended last January, fans had experienced just about enough sports-related labor strife. In a sluggish economy, with so many people out of work, it seemed beyond irrelevant for athletes with so much going for them to haggle over money.The Bruins quickly shifted the focus back to hockey, getting off to a strong start and finishing the truncated season as one of the NHL?s elite teams. But after taking a 3-1 lead in games over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup first round, the Bruins lost two straight, making a seventh game necessary.Toronto was up, 4-1, midway through the third period and seemed poised to spring the first-round upset. But Nathan Horton started the comeback at 9:18. Then, it was Milan Lucic at 18:38; and then Patrice Bergeron less than a minute later, tying the score and sending the game into overtime.Six minutes and five seconds into the extra period, Bergeron struck, with assists from Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand, and the Bruins pulled out a stunning victory.The Bruins rode that emotion to beat the New York Rangers in five games and stun the Pittsburgh Penguins in four straight to make the Cup finals. Then, with the Bruins leading 2-1 in Game 6 (trailing 3-2 in the series), the Chicago Blackhawks stunned them with two quick goals with less than a minute to play to skate away with the Cup.Patriots stayed focusedThere?s no other way to explain New England?s 12-4 season than to say that the New England Patriots followed their motto and ignored the noise. Between Wes Welker?s departure to free agency, Aaron Hernandez? arrest for murder, Alfonzo Dennard?s legal problems in Nebraska, and season-ending injuries to defensive starters Vince Wilfork, Jerod Mayo and Tommy Kelly, plus Sebastian Vollmer and Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots somehow kept winning.It was hardly ever pretty. They won last-second victories against the Buffalo Bills and New Orleans Saints, and came back from major deficits against the Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns. They hung on for dear life against the New York Jets in Foxborough and probably had one stolen from them in Carolina.With all that, they finished with the second-best record in the AFC and earned a first-round bye in the playoffs.While the bulk of their injuries hit a defense that had been penciled in to take more of a central role in winning (it was hoped that it would carry the offense through its growing pains), the Patriots lost players on the other side of the ball too. Shane Vereen, emerging as the go-to back to take Danny Woodhead?s place, missed nine games with a broken wrist. Vollmer broke his leg in the Dolphins game and was put on injured reserve; and — of course — Gronkowski, after missing six games rehabbing from arm and back surgery, tore his ACL against Cleveland.Hernandez became the focus of an investigation in mid-June after the murder of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd of Dorchester. And he was finally, over a week after the investigation began, arrested on June 26 and charged with murder.Patriots coach Bill Belichick spoke for the organization w