Boston vs Chicago countdown day 5

the last day of the series, but I'll have one more game preview post in the afternoon...

part I: The Brothers Esposito
yesterday was "brother against brother" photos, today it's "brothers working together." awwwww. first, the photo that convinced me I HAD to check out this 1971 book and scan and post the photos:

and now, a nice All-Star photo:

I meant to introduce this series by noting Aubrey's Hockey Advent Calendar, which is a great idea I wish I'd thought of (sure, I could have done one too, but didn't come up with a theme). she's posted a lot of interesting videos and historical articles, and today posted links to a 1971 Sports Illustrated article on the Espositos (I didn't even bother to look up any extra material to post with the photos!), and a Wikipedia list of father/son/brothers in hockey. so check it out...

I've gotten in the habit of just assuming any players in the NHL/AHL/college/junior hockey with the same name, if it's not a super-common name, are brothers. if I heard of two writers with the same name, I might wonder if they're related, but in hockey I assume they are unless it's proven otherwise. i.e., I saw the Abbotsford Heat play the Chicago Wolves, and Keith Seabrook is in fact Blackhawks' Brent Seabrook's brother. (I know, I should have known that sooner...) the Heat are the Calgary Flames' affiliate, so if Keith moves to the NHL, it'd add more interest to the already intense games between those teams...

part II: when I think of Boston, I think of:

saved the best (well, to me) for last: the MBTA! I've photographed the Chicago Transit Authority extensively, as you can see. (and even had my photos included in a traveling exhibit that's now...ON DISPLAY AT THE CTA HEADQUARTERS.) so I love photographing the transit system of other cities I visit. I had three trips to the Boston area in 2009, and each time I bought the amazingly cheap 7-day unlimited pass ($15! the equivalent in Chicago is $23, $28 for the one that includes suburban buses, which I need to get to Wolves games). I rode the ENTIRE subway/elevated system on my first trip (didn't get to all of the Silver Line, but that's a bus, not a train).

don't know whether regular MBTA commuters would be surprised by this or not, but I found the system so fantastic--on time, convenient, reasonably priced, as noted--that it nearly made me weep to have to go back and ride the CTA. and all the colorful trains! Chicago also names its lines after colors (since the 1990s), but in Boston, the trains actually are the colors of the lines they're named after--they're all plain silver in Chicago. and the variety--Chicago is purely a heavy rail system, while MBTA uses heavy rail, light rail, trolley cars, AND bus rapid transit? I had a couple bad waits, and it's not much fun to be around before/after Red Sox games, but for most part it was great. BUT...the trains shut down after midnight, while the CTA has 24-hour service, so Chicago wins based on that.

and the commuter trains! I was staying with a friend who lived barely a block from a suburban station, so I got to see MBCR trains many times. my first trip on one was to Providence, and I had a few other rides. the MBTA pass even includes short trips on MBCR, so I went to Chelsea for no extra cost.

alas, some of the more macho railfans out there don't like the MBCR colors; they can't appreciate the wonder of PINK (or magenta?) trains. anyway, you can check out more of my MBTA/MBCR photos here. Bostonist.com even used one. I've actually had more fun taking transit photos in Boston than in New York (and technically Boston's subway is older...I've read several books on the history of Boston transit. I even know about lines that used to exist!)...yes, Boston people always like hearing that something there is better than in New York. I went a little overboard posting photos here, but why not?