Beginnings and endings, they are an inevitable part of life, be they good or bad. So, too, in sports, for both individual players and teams.

For the Boston Bruins, it is the end of an era, and so it is for their fans.

The Celtics were once the proud green and white, the swashbucklers of the NBA. The cigar smoke of their coach meant another win and it was a signal to the rest of the league that the Celts were still rolling.

There was an aura that surrounded the Russell-Ramsey-Cousy era and it was passed on to the Jones-Havlicek-Bird years. It was a pride in wearing this uniform above all other NBA tops that both Celtic players and fans cherished.

The ending came with the Bird retirement. The franchise began to flounder, losses piled up, players had problems on and off the court. The Garden came down, replaced with a pile of cement without memories, bad seats or sticky floors.

The Celtics have yet to find a new beginning. They move from game to game, season to season, as just another NBA team. History let go is tough to coral again.

The Red Sox have a new beginning. In Pedro Martinez there is a fire, a hope, unabashedly displayed on and off the mound. The Sox have someone special here, someone to build around, to win around.

The Sox have rekindled the “just maybe this year” faith with a rock to base their belief on. Even without the ultimate prize last year, Sox fans said, “that was fun.”

It is not fun to see the Bruins without Ray Bourque. “The Franchise” has gone west to seek gold in Colorado. He was running out of time to stake his claim. All that work, all that effort, all that loyalty, but no Cup.

Over the past few seasons Bourque was, usually privately and quitely, becoming less and less sure the Bruins’ owners were making every effort to lay claim to Lord Stanley’s Cup. It was a dilemma for the Bruins’ captain.

On the one hand, his presence was essential to putting a winner on the ice. On the other hand, his presence insured that the team always had a saleable commodity to the fans, win or lose.

Say Boston Bruins, and for 21 years the word was associated with Orr and Bourque. Orr left in an ugly argument with ownwership and finished one of the game’s great careers in the shadows of an arena that wasn’t even home.

Bourque leaves with apparent good will on both sides. The Bruins wanted to give him a shot at a Cup. He sees the end nearing and can leave knowing he left all he had, every game, on the Boston ice.

Years from now, we will learn Bourque felt anger at the Bruins lack of effort in going for the prize. The Bruins wanted none of that to boil over now, so moving Bourqe was a way to leave the fans sad, but not defiant toward the organization.

So, we of Bruins and Bourque affections, will cheer for that team of Patrick Roy and Raymond Bourque, at least for one playoff year.

Beginnings and endings – a part of life.

NEWS columnist Gary Thorne, an Old Town native, is an ESPN and CBS broadcaster.