Author: Dave Long

Top Story – Celtics Playoff Loss Got Worse: Just when you thought the embarrassment of blowing a 3-1 series lead to the 76ers couldn’t get any worse, the Knicks then annihilated Philly in a four-game sweep. The biggest ignominy to Slow Joe and company was that they tied a playoff record by making 23 3-balls and shot 63% in two blowout wins vs. the same Philly D that held Boston to 27.7% on 3’s in three of their wins.

Interesting that no one complains when the 3’s are falling, isn’t it? Which re-enforces the point made here last week, that all their 3’s aren’t really the problem. It’s shot selection, where Slow Joe lets them just chuck up any 3 at any time over searching out better open 3’s by running through their offense and never adapts to Plan B when they don’t.

Sports 101: Friday is the 85th anniversary of when Joe DiMaggio started his legendary 56-game hitting streak on May 15, 1941. The best since was a 44-game streak done by who?

News Item – Welcome Back, Kotter: Merrimack product Mickey Gasper came back up from AAA to go 2-3 in the Sox’s 4-1 loss to Tampa Bay Sunday.

News Item – NBA Lottery is a Joke: There’s a clear irony of the NBA going to the lottery to prevent teams from tanking, which happened after Houston did it to make sure they could draft Hakeem Olajuwon in 1984. Now several teams regularly tank for better draft position once out of the playoff race, the latest being a team with Anthony Davis and Trae Young somehow losing 26 of their last 27 to ensure getting the best pick they could, which happened by getting the top pick after winning Sunday’s lottery.

Local loss – Dave Bonner: The New Hampshire basketball community lost a great guy last week when he passed after a lengthy illness. The 6’8” giant played for Concord HS in the late ’60s before becoming the father of three D-I players, one of whom was a 12-year NBA pro. No New Hampshire family we know of has ever done that. Condolences to the family. RIP, big fella.

The Numbers

12 – playoff record blocks by 7’5” Victor Wembanyama in the Spurs’ Game 1 loss to the T-Wolves.

91 – years since the Cubs last won 10 straight in 1935 like last week.

Of the Week Awards…

Earth to Slow Joe Award: His guys were 49 for 147 (27.7%) on 3’s in their four losses to Philly. And bet it was worse in those fourth quarters.

Stat of the Year – Celtics: Guess those shocked they got knocked out in Round 1 weren’t paying attention, as they went 3-11 vs. the Top 5 playoff seeds during the regular season.

Bad Record Tied – James Harden: Interesting week for one of the biggest playoff chokers in history. First he tied Bob Cousy by shooting under 25% in a playoff game with at least 10 shots for the 20th time when he was 3-13 in Cleveland’s 107-97 Game 2 loss to Detroit. Then a game later kept the Cavs alive with the game winner in Game 3.

Sports 101 Answer: Pete Rose had everyone on high alert when the free-agent-to-be made a run for 56 in 1978 before it ended 12 short at 44.

Final Thought – A Little Streak History: The stat boys and New England deniers have been saying Ted Williams should have been the MVP instead because he hit .406 that same year and out-hit Joe D’s .408 (91-223), 15 homers and 55 RBI in every category during the same two-month period. However, those people have missed the point for 85 years. The only player to be as inspirational to his team’s success since was Yaz during the Impossible Dream season of 1967.

On May 15, 1941, the Yanks were languishing 6.5 games behind Cleveland in fourth place. The Sox were 13-10. And when it ended on July 15 the first-place Yanks led Cleveland by five games as they went 31-13 to take command of the AL race. They went on to win the pennant by a then AL record 20 games ahead of Ted and the Sox after clinching it on the earliest date in history, Sept. 4.

If you want to say based on the stats Ted was the Player of the Year, fine. But Joe D was the definition of most valuable. Which is what the award in saner times than today was about. Because if Williams didn’t play the Sox still won squat. And, oh by the way, after his o’fer, DiMaggio hit in his next 16 straight to make it an astonishing 72 out of 73 games.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

The Big Story – Loserville Weekend: Well, the Bruins had their season ended with a 4-1 loss to Buffalo on Friday. Saturday it was the Celtics’ turn, getting turned out in more brutal fashion by losing a playoff series to the 76ers for the first time in 44 years (1982) after blowing a 3-1 series lead, to make Boston Loser City for the winter pro sports teams over the weekend.

Sports 101: Who was the last NL’er to hit .400 and when did he do it?

Big Story II – Saint Anselm Drops Down To D-III: The rumor that’s been around forever finally came true when Saint Anselm Athletic Director Phil Rowe announced last week their athletic programs would compete in D-III after the 2026-27 season for mission-related reasons.

It prompted basketball HC Chris Santo to resign and be replaced by top assistant Trey Witter. It ends the great local men’s basketball rivalry between the Hawks and SNHU. Though it really hasn’t been the same since Keith Dickson and Stan Spirou each retired a few years ago.

News Item – Red Sox: In a 3-4 week when they scored just 2.5 runs per game things are still pretty much a disaster. But one good thing new manager Chad Tracy did was move his best RBI guy, Roman Anthony, out of the lead-off spot, back to third in the order, where he belongs.

News Item – Gronk Goes to Patriot Hall:As predicted, the wildly popular Rob Gronkowski was selected in a fan vote to be the next to enter the Patriots Hall of Fame. Gronk goes in on the strength of being arguably the greatest tight end ever with after being their all-time TD leader with 80 to go along with 521 receptions and a second best all-time 7,861 receiving yards.

The Numbers:

-6 – revealing plus/minus rating when the Bruins’ alleged best defenseman Charlie McAvoy was on the ice as the B’s were eliminated in the Stanley Cup series by the Buffalo Sabres 4-2.

7 – MLB record-tying consecutive walks issued by Cincinnati pitchers in the second inning of a 17-7 loss to Pittsburgh.

13 – major league leading homers hit by Japanese import Munetaka Murakami, who embattled Sox GM Craig Breslow passed on last winter for his power-devoid team for a measly $35 million over two seasons.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – Airplane Advertising: For the one flying over Fenway on Friday dragging a banner behind it begging John Henry to SELL THE TEAM.

Quote of the Week – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: From YouTube post about why the skyhook he made famous has faded away from the game. “So the kids, they don’t want two points … that’s not cool. They want to go out there in the stratosphere and shoot three-pointers. … They don’t get to realize that if you get close to the basket, a lot more of your shots will go in.”

Sports 101 Answer: NY Giants player-manager Bill Terry hit .401 in 1930 to be the last NL’er to hit .400 or better. He was a lifetime .340 hitter, but didn’t have the power numbers Ted Williams had when he was the last .400 hitter.

Final Thought – Celtics Elimination:

Joe Mazzulla is the only coach I’ve ever seen who expands his rotation in the playoffs rather than shortening it like everyone else has done since James Naismith nailed that first peach basket up on the side of the barn. A long way from Pat Riley’s “use 8, rotate 7, play 6, trust 5” Lakers credo.

Does anyone besides slow Joe think Boston wouldn’t be a top team if they became less 3-ball dependent?

Besides, a much bigger problem was their shot selection on those 3’s. Which was about taking really quick ones, settling for that rather than running through the offense to get a better one or forced 3’s because the shot clock was running down after never taking it below the line.

But give the Philly D its due. All of their wings have outstanding quickness to tie up guys with the ball on the perimeter and had one of basketball’s best big men at protecting the rim if someone got by them.

Outside of the White House, if there’s a bigger sideline crybaby in the world than Sixers coach Nick (good night) Nurse I’ve yet to see who it is.

Let the record show that the ridiculous starting line-up Mazzulla opened Game 7 with included his eighth (to fill in for Jayson Tatum), ninth and 11th best guys for “strategic” reasons, did not score at all and put them in an immediate 13-point hole.

If KC Jones had done that for Game 7 vs. L.A. in 1984, it would have given Carlos Clark, Greg Kite and 112-year-old M.L. Carr the start.

Bottom line – Joe does a great job keeping everyone playing hard through the regular season. But he is the worst game coach with strong talent I’ve seen since Guy Lewis got U of Houston to all his Final 4 appearances.

Fortunately for them, their next moves will be made by GM Brad Stevens.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

The Big Story – Cora Gets the Axe: It takes something big to knock the NFL draft and crucial playoff games for the Celtics and Bruins off the week’s top story. But Red Sox owner John Henry did it Saturday by scapegoating Alex Cora and several coaches for the team’s you-get-what-you-pay-for dismal 10-17 start by firing them, leaving this question to be answered: Now what, Mr. Henry?

Sports 101: When the Patriots traded down with SF from 16 to 28 in the 1985 draft for extra picks, who did the 49ers take with the Pats’ original pick?

News Item – Patriots Draft Observations:

• They drafted for need in the first three rounds to improve the OL with tackle Caleb Lomu and tight end Eli Raridon, sandwiched around edge rusher Gabe Jacas. If they can play, nice job.

• It doesn’t mean he won’t be a good player, but it was interesting seeing six edge rushers taken in Round 2 alone ahead of Pats taking their new edge guy Jacas.

• After the Eagles used their top pick on the highly rated receiver along with dealing for pricey DL Jonathan Greenard, it’ll be a stunner if that AJ Brown-to-NE trade doesn’t happen in June.

The Numbers:

0 – sacks allowed on the 358 snapsLomu played last year for Utah when he allowed a puny eight pressures and six hurries.

21 – rebounding edge when the Celtics destroyed Philly on the boards 46-25 in Sunday’s blowout win.

43 – points scored off the bench by Ayo Dosunmu after Minnesota lost Anthony Edwards early in their 112-96 Game 4 win to lead Denver 3 games to 1.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – The Celtics: A little of their annoying but familiar lost in game focus in the Game 2 loss. But mostly solid the rest of the time in taking a 3-1 lead over Philly.

Thumbs Down – Prime and the NBA: Blacking out playoff games, as the NBA did with the Celtics-Philly on Friday, so desperate fans will buy a Prime subscription is a good way to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. Until it stops, boycott Amazon and NBA merch.

Bad Announcing Moments of the Week – Jayson Tatum: To all NBA announcers now slobbering over him every time he has the ball: He did not cure polio as you’re making it seem. It should be: admirable job on the rehab and nice to have you back, young fella, and leave it at that.

Anti-Raffy Devers Quote of the Week – Pats’ Top Pick Caleb Lomu: “I just want to play, I’ll play wherever. I’m coming in to play some football, the game I love. I’m able to play any position, so wherever the team needs me, I’m going to be able to play.”

Sports 101 Answer: That ill-fated 1985 draft swap is the Patriots version of selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees, as SF took the great Jerry Rice with the 16th pick that day.

A Little History – Yikes, What a Steal: The Patriots used the first, second and third SF picks from the swap for center Trevor Matich at 28, then DE Ben Thomas and DB Audray McMillian. The Niners got the all-time leader (by wide margins) in receptions, receiving yards and TDs, while leading them to three SB wins.

Final Thoughts – Alex Cota Firing: Some of it’s on Cora, as they lacked spark coming out of spring training again. However, a bigger reason is that their best players have not lived up to management’s expectations. But the GM also put a team out there on the cheap so devoid of power that they’re somehow last in MLB in homers while playing at Fenway! Whichhappened despite there not being anyone in New England who didn’t know they needed to add power last winter.

They cheaped out on Pete Alonso, whose slow three-homer start for Baltimore would still be second on the Sox in homers. Let Alex Bregman walk, which I was fine with because he’s injury-prone and not worth close to the $40 million per he got from the Cubs. How is that fatal flaw Alex Cora’s fault, Mr. Henry?

Especially when another big bat they didn’t even try for was slugging Japanese import Munetaka Murakami. Yes, he was untested in the MLB (so were Ichiro and Shohei Ohtani). All he did last week was hit more homers than any Red Sox has hit the entire season. His five bombs in five games gave him a second best in MLB 10 homers in 2026. And all baseball’s worst team (White Sox) gave him was $34 million over two years. Not a lot even for the ever evolving cheapness of John Henry.

Blame Cora all you want. But the truth is the mess at Fenway is much more a front office and ownership failure than bad managing. Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

The Big Story – Celtics Begin Playoffs: The playoffs were not expected to begin with this amount of enthusiasm around here, or hopes for title 19. But with Jayson Tatum back and quickly more productive than most thought possible, they’re at worst co-favorites to win the East with top seed Detroit. It started swimmingly with a 123-91 thumping of the Joel Embiid-less 76ers in Game 1, as Tatum (25-11-7) and Jaylon Brown combined for 51 points.

Sports 101: Name the school and the record six players it’s had taken first overall in the NFL draft.

News Item – The NFL Draft: Story No. 2 for the week is the draft. It will be the biggest upset since 1980’s Miracle on Ice if the QB-needy Raiders don’t take Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza with the top pick. Meanwhile the Patriots will be looking to fill their three biggest needs — edge rusher, O-line and No. 1 receiver — with picks or picks used in a trade.

News Item – Red Sox Week:

Good –Ranger Suarez allowed no runs in two starts and 14 innings.

Bad – They’re collectively hitting .228 as a team and have the fewest homers in baseball with 13.

Ugly – Garrett Crochet had his two worst Red Sox starts when he gave up 15 earned runs and 16 hits in 6.2 innings to raise the ERA from 2.64 to 7.88.

News Item – NBA Playoff Notes: With retirement rumors all around, will this be the last we see of LeBron James? Ditto for GS’s trio of Steph Curry, Al Horford and Steve Kerr. And speaking of GS, he certainly has been a productive player on a historic team. But given his toxic act on and off the court, getting tossed and taunting the crowd on the way out as Golden State’s playoff hopes (and its mini-dynasty) were ended by Phoenix, it seems like a perfect way for the career of the always obnoxious Draymond Green to end.

Markelle Fultz Factoid: The failed 2017 first overall draft pick has an interesting connection to the Boston-Philly series by delivering each team’s best player to them. Danny Ainge traded that pick to Philly for their third overall slot where he took Tatum. Then after Fultz’s disastrous two years in Philly they dumped him to Orlando for the 20th pick in 2019 Round 1, which they used to take Tyrese Maxey out of Kentucky.

The Numbers

.542 – best batting average in the entire minor league as the week started, belonging to No. 2 Red Sox prospect Franklin Arias. He also has three homers, nine RBI, a .613 OBP and .875 OPS in AA with the Portland Sea Dogs.

11 – losing streak for the NY Mets, which left the team with the second highest payroll in baseball ($350 million) with its worst record at 7-15.

12 – straight years the Celtics have been in the NBA playoffs.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – Jaylen Brown: He delivered one of the greatest step up performances to meet the challenge for a team that lost its best player before their year with his best year as a player and a leader.

Stat Day: Must have been something in the water Wednesday for the F-Cats and the SNHU baseball team. The F-Cats scored 30 times in a 20-1 and 10-0 doubleheader sweep of the Chesapeake Baysox, while for the Penmen it was a 24-0 demolition of crosstown rival Saint Anselm.

Sports 101 Answer: USC has had the most first overall picks in the NFL draft starting with tackle Ron Yary followed by O.J. Simpson, Ricky Bell, Keyshawn Johnson, Carson Palmer and Caleb Johnson.

Final Thought – Pats Name Hall Nominees: Even though it made sense to do it at the time, fan voting is what started the descent of baseball’s All-Star system into the death spiral it finds itself in today. It gave us simpleton fan-boy homerism ballot stuffing for favorite players over the guys who earned it and it hasn’t been the same since.And it’s about to happen with the Patriot Hall of Fame after Rob Gronkowski, Logan Mankins and Adam Vinatieri became this year’s Hall of Fame nominees, where the wildly popular Gronk will win the vote ahead of a most deserving guy, who, by the way, is already in Football’s Hall in Canton.

I know how great Gronk was in arguably being the greatest (and definitely the most fun) tight end ever. But, but, but how can Adam V, who started the dynasty with three of the greatest clutch plays/kicks in history, not get in ahead of Gronk? Especially after already having been elected to the tougher Pro Football HoF?

That there isn’t a sense of order to honor the players who started the Pats’ amazing run, like Julian Edelman getting in before Wes Welker, who is only the most productive receiver in Patriots history, doesn’t make sense. There should be an order to it. To be disrupted only by supreme Patriots like Tom Brady, Drew Bledsoe and Coach B.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

The Big Story (a three-way tie): The most immediate was Rory McIlroy winning his second straight Masters despite blowing a huge lead after setting a two-day record of -12. He hung on to grab the lead down the stretch and win at -12, one shot ahead of Scottie Scheffler.

Then there’s the start of the NBA play-in tourney. Not sure who the C’s eventually will play, but after seamlessly bringing Jayson Tatum back into the lineup by going 13-3 in games he played since returning on March 6 they look like the favorite to come out of the East.

Finally, the NFL Draft comes your way this weekend starting with Round 1 on Thursday night. The Pats pick 31st at the moment. But stay tuned, as I feel a trade up or down or a big deal coming.

Sports 101: Name the only team since the NFL and AFL began drafting in the same year in 1960 to draft a QB in both the first and second rounds in the same draft.

News Item – Red Sox Update

Going into the series with St. Louis four Red Sox starters were hitting under .200.

Ceddanne Rafaela has the second highest chase (out of the strike zone) rate in the majors according to Boston Globe analytics wonk Alex Speier. Which is supposed to be bad. Yet he’s hitting .326 with a second best of the starters .396 OBP.

Garrett Crochet is 2-1 while striking out 11.4 batters every nine innings.

Nice return to St. Louis for Willson Contreras by going six for 13 with a double, a homer and six RBI.

In case you missed it, my No. 1 free agent target, Pete Alonso, hit .188 with one homer and three RBI with 15 k’s in his first 50 Orioles at-bats. For Alex Bregman it’s .213 with 6 RBI in 69 at-bats.

News Item – Pre-Draft Notes

Notre Dame has never had two RB’s taken in Round I in the same year. But Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price have a chance to become the fourth RB teammates to do that.

Another reason to like Fernando Mendoza: The expected first overall will watch the draft with family/friends at home in Miami instead of preening for the cameras at the draft when he gets picked.

The Patriots have 11 picks in this draft including their own at 1, 2, 3 and 5 along with several others below the fifth round.

The Numbers:

2 –despite the Red Sox Nation pearl-clutching during their awful 6-9 start, games out of first place in the AL East for Boston.

5.43 – MLB’s all-time high average salary in millions.

69.4 – million bucks earned by NCAA Basketball champion Michigan.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – Joe Mazzulla: Hate his game coaching and resting policies. But no one expected 56 wins without Tatum. He got them to play hard and brought along/trusted young players better than any Celtics coach I remember.

Thumbs Down – NBA on Prime Video: Yet another reason to dislike Jeff Bezos and the ever greedy NBA was being unable to watch the Knicks-Celtics last week unless you’re a subscriber. Boooo!

‘Those are the Breaks’ Award – Ichiro Statue: Nice to see the great hitter see the humor of the bat his statue was holding break in half when unveiled last week by saying, “I didn’t think Mariano [Rivera] would come out here and break the bat.”

Trade of the Week – Angel Reese: The thoroughly unlikable petulant WNBA big will take her toxic personality and petty jealousy of Caitlin Clark to Atlanta after Chicago got two first draft picks.

Random Thoughts:

The Masters – it’s just a nice golf course. Not St. Patrick’s Cathedral like so many suck-ups act like it is.

I got SGA, The Joker and Jaylen Brown 1, 2, 3 in the MVP race.

Sports 101 Answer: The 1965 NY Jets drafted Joe Namath first and then took 1964 Heisman winner John Huarte in Round 2.

A Little History – John Huarte: Came out of nowhere to win the 1964 Heisman while leading Notre Dame to a shocking 9-0-1 season and a national title. Shocking because ND had been struggling for a decade. But the pro career was a different story, as Huarte lasted just two seasons in NYC and six overall in the NFL, where he completed just 39.1 percent of his 58 passes for one TD.

Final Thought – The Caitlin Clark Effect: Hope those jealous crybabies in the WNBA noticed that the rating for the Women’s NCAA title game between South Carolina and UCLA was a 9.8 share as compared to the record 18.87 recorded in Clark’s final year of 2024. That was the only year the women have beaten the men, let alone been within solar systems of the men’s ratings. This year the UM-UConn Men’s Final had a 20.4 share.Conclusion: Wake up, WNBA, Clark is your meal ticket to higher ratings and ticket sales, which leads to more money for you.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.

The Big Story – The Masters: Get ready for feeling like spring is here, as the cathedral of golf is back at center stage, with the usually dominant at Augusta National Scottie Scheffler going off as the Masters favorite and 2025 winner Rory McIlroy a bigger threat than usual after shaking off his history of close losses and collapses with last year’s win. And thanks to his latest move, Tiger Woods will not foolishly be included in talk about who could win.

Sports 101: Name the four pitchers to have struck out 4,000 or more batters in their careers.

News Item – NCAA Championships: On the women’s side it was about shocking blowouts as UCLA buried South Carolina 79-51 for its first ever title, after SC stunned undefeated UConn in the semi. For the men it was the UConn-Illinois (71-62) barn-burner that sent the Huskies on to face Michigan, who’d blown out Arizona. Then UM hung on to beat the Huskies 69-63, driven by impressive size and D. UConn’s loss denied it legitimate dynasty status, as it would have been their third title in four years and seventh since 1999.

News Item – Jayson Tatum Update: Those silly folks who thought adding him would upset the karma in the surprising season, guess again. The team is now 11-3 in the games he’s played. The best one came when they scored 53 points in the first quarter in a 147-129 win over Miami where Jaylon Brown and Tatum meshed perfectly, with JB going for 43 and JT a 25-18-11 triple double.

News Item – Red Sox Update: Not exactly a great start in losing five straight after their opening day win. They start the week at 2-6 with the pitching, D and hitting all underperforming.

The Numbers:

1 – hit allowed in his pitching debut when Shohei Ohtani went six innings and struck out six in a 4-1 win over Cleveland.

19 – years old when Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg scored 96 points in two weekend games and became the youngest in NBA history to reach the 50-point plateau on Friday vs. Orlando.

50 – million dollars wasn’t refunded to customers who bought during the promotion by Jordan Furniture that would give them their money back if the UConn Men and Women both became national champs this year. It ended when the women lost.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – Chandler Morris: The latest moment that tells us college sports has lost its way ended on a sane note for a change last week when a federal court judge offered a shard of common sense when he denied an injunction to allow the 25-year-old to play a seventh season of college football. Yup, the guy who has played at, and transferred from, Oklahoma, TCU, North Texas and now Virginia somehow thinks he should be able to play college football in perpetuity and finally someone said no to him.

Defensive Player of the Week – Jo Adell: I know — who? He’s the Angels RF who no one ever heard of until he made three hanging over the wall home run-saving catches Saturday, including tumbling into the stands in the ninth to preserve a 1-0 win over Seattle. Anyone ever seen anyone do that three times in one game? Didn’t think so.

Temper Tantrum of the Week – Geno Auriemma: Got a kick out of seeing the guy who’s been running up huge victory margins for years on his opponents not exactly showing grace under fire after UConn’s hopes of another undefeated went down in flames Friday.

Sports 101 Answer: The 4,000-strikeout club includes Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens and Steve Carlton.

Final Thought – 1989 Bird vs. 2026 Tatum: As mentioned earlier, they’re 11-3 since he’s come back, a winning percentage of 78.5%, which projects to a 64-win season. The fun, though, is comparing the winning percentage without him as compared to how the 1988-89 Celtics fared in the year Larry Bird missed all but six games because of heel surgery.

Before Tatum returned the C’s were an admirable 41-21 for a 67.1%. The C’s were40-36 without Bird, 52.6% and 2-4 with him.

Does that mean Bird meant more to them? Or could it be Jaylen Brown has been a much better new leader/No. 2 than Kevin McHale was? KM had a good season averaging 22.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while getting no MVP votes. Brown has hit career highs in points (28.6), rebounds (7.0) and assists (5.3) while being in the MVP conversation for driving them to a surprising season without JT.

I think it’s the latter. Brown has been great.

Email Dave Long at dlong@hippopress.com.