Category: Sports

The Big Story – Coach B Heads to Chapel Hill: Well, I was wrong — Bill Belichick was serious about coaching in college. And it was such big news here that it blew the Red Sox trade for the top-of-the-rotation pitcher (Garrett Crochet) they desperately needed off the front page.

BB moves to college as the leader in Super Bowls won with six. The move likely finishes his quest to pass Don Shula as the NFL’s winningest coach in history. But it accomplishes two important things. (1) It ensures he will coach in 2025. (2) It gives him complete control to run the program and pick his own groceries as he did for 20 years here. Not exactly the ending to the legendary career I hoped for, but it apparently is what he wanted.

Sports 101: Name the seven players who have won the Cy Young Award in both leagues.

News Item – Sox Get Top-of-the-Rotation Starter: After losing out on free agent lefty Max Fried when he signed with the Yankees for giant money, the Sox pulled the trigger on the long-rumored deal for White Sox lefty Garrett Crochet. To do it they (sorta) went the Brad Stevens route of proven production over future promise by sending four minor-leaguers west, including highly touted catcher Kyle Teel.

I say sorta because Crochet comes with red flags. Only deranged stat geeks can proclaim a guy who was six games under .500 (6-12) and never pitched more than four innings in any start after July 1 “among the AL’s best pitchers last year” as Boston Globe beat writer Julian McWilliams did Sunday. But at 25 the stuff was good enough to strike out 208 in a career-best 146 innings. So they rolled the dice on that and the much cheaper annual price tag over the red flags.

News Item – Alumni News Yikes Department: First there was one-time walking Patriots disaster Jonnu Smith killing them with Miami. Today it’s last year’s couldn’t make a big kick if his life depended on it Chad Ryland. He was three for three on FG tries for Phoenix in Sunday’s dismal 30-16 loss. He also has three-game winning walk-off FG’s to his credit already.

The Numbers

16 – million-dollar increase to North Carolina’s NIL recruiting money from last year’s $4 million to the $20 million it’ll be with Belichick as HC of UNC.

1 – billion with a B that the Dodgers now owe in deferred payments to players after signing Blake Snell.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – Nico Collins: “It was definitely worth it ’cause it was caught by a kid” – Texan wide receiver in response to being fined $5,000 by the NFL for throwing a ball underhand to that kid after he caught it for a TD.

In Case You Missed It – Teddy Bridgewater:The one-time first-round NFL pick’s Miami Northwestern won the Class 3A championship in his first year as a high school coach with an epic playoff round run where they outscored their five opponents 262-12.

Random Thoughts:

A Little History – Team Support: Before the geeks whine that Crochet got no support from the horrible White Sox: Steve Carlton won 27 games for the Phillies when they won 59 in 1972.

Sports 101 Answer: The seven NL and AL Cy Young winners are Gaylord Perry, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Roy Halladay, Max Scherzer and Blake Snell.

Final Thought – Should Jerod Mayo Return? The real issue for a change is not improvement, it’s is he the right fit for the circumstances? And since the Pats’ biggest priority is maximizing the development of their prime asset, Drake Maye, the answer is no.

We’ve learned two things in recent years about the Coach-QB relationship: (1) the right QB is more important than the coach, no matter who he is; (2) Matt Patricia and Mac Jones clearly showed that the wrong coach overseeing a young QB can kill his development. How is Mayo’s background any different from Patricia’s? Answer: in this crucial area, not much.

Instead they need an imaginative offensive mind guiding Maye. Like Detroit OC Ben Johnson, who leads the NFL’s highest-scoring club and, outside of KC, its most creative attack. He also helped Jared Goff evolve into an MVP-caliber player after the 2016 first overall pick floundered in L.A. before being dumped for Matthew Stafford. And look what draft bust turned MVP candidate Sam Darnold has done under ex-Patriot QB Kevin O’Connell in Minnesota.

If Mayo were taking over the defense-dominant 1985 Bears I’d probably stick with him. But that’s not what the Pats are. It’s an offensive league now and Maye is key to their revival.

So Bob Kraft, admit your mistake and then go get someone like Johnson, O’Connell or a young Andy Reid. Because that’s what’s needed going forward.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

The Big Story – Soto Goes to the Mets: The Juan Soto sweepstakes ended Sunday with him getting the highest deal in history, an astronomical $765 million for 15 years from the New York Mets.

We’ll never know if the talk of signing him was just Red Sox PR speak. But the good news is (a) he’s not a big enough difference-maker to justify spending all their free agent money on when their biggest need by far is pitching; (b) it wounds the Yankees deeply, not just in losing him but in the top prospects they gave up to get him for just one year, and (c) since people here barely know the NL exists he’ll rarely be thought of again.

Now open the checkbook for pitching.

Sports 101: Nine current NBA teams have failed to win even one league title. Name them.

News Item – Sox Sign Aroldis Chapman: It’s nice to see them spending, but $10.75 million for an eighth-inning set-up man seems pricey.

The good news is at 36 he struck out an astonishing 98 batters in just 61.2 innings, which says he still has major juice on the fastball. The bad news is the 3.79 ERA and 1.346 WHIP are the second-worst of his career. That suggests command is enough of an issue to make the Nation squeamish in tight games. But it’s a one-year deal, so good move.

News Item – Alumni News: Among the recent Patriots I found most vexing was Jonnu Smith, who was a calamity waiting to happen. Balls he should have caught weren’t just dropped, they bounced to defenders for interceptions or, worse, pick 6s, which happened twice. Think of his role in the humiliating loss on a bonehead series of final play laterals in Las Vegas that wouldn’t have happened if his mindless motion penalty hadn’t taken a TD off the board in lieu of a FG that kept it a one-score game.

And now he’s in Miami, where his 61 catches are more than any Patriot has now and the meager 55 he had in two seasons in Foxboro. It includes 14 catches for 149 yards in two Miami wins over NE and his game-winning TD in OT vs. the Jets on Sunday.

The Numbers:

3.1 – million dollars bet on Philadelphia to beat Carolina by some guy in Kentucky for a $422,000 payout that was in doubt until a final-seconds Carolina TD was overturned on replay to make Philly the winner.

235 – most receiving yards ever in a first game against the team that traded the player by Cleveland’s Jerry Jeudy in a 41-32 loss to Denver.

… Of the Week Awards

Doink of the Week – KC Chiefs: They lucked into another win. This time while down one to the L.A. Chargers when third-string kicker Matthew Wright hit the crossbar on a point blank FG try to give beyond belief lucky KC a 19-17 win.

Dumb Gamble of the Week – Dan Campbell: I know the analytics crowd will laud him for going for it on fourth down, especially because it worked. But while I like the faith he has in his team, passing on a 38-yard field goal attempt in lieu of going for it on fourth and one from the Green Bay 21 with 43 seconds left in a game tied 31-31 seemed like too big a risk. Especially when his kicker had two walk-off game winners already. Plus they nearly botched it when the center stepped on Jared Goff’s foot and he had to lunge just to make the hand-off falling to the ground. So what did it gain?

Wow Moment of the Week – Ja Morant Dunk: Caught it in the corner, the 6’2” guard drives the baseline, goes up with back to the basket but pulls it down against a double team, then double pumps and dunks it backward on 7’4” Kristaps Porzingis.

I’m guessing only Dr. J and Michael Jordan could have pulled that off.

Those new Denver Broncos uniforms with the white helmets are You-gly.

Sports 101 Answer: The nine teams to never win a NBA title are the Magic, Jazz, Nets, Clippers, Hornets (originally Bobcats), Pacers, Grizzlies, T-Wolves and Pelicans (originally Hornets).

Thunder have never won, but they did as the Supersonics in Seattle.

Final Thought – Suspension Policy All Wrong: Sorry, folks, the three-game suspension given to Houston’s serial cheap shot artist Azeez Al Shaair for the one that ended Trevor Lawrence’s season was not outrageous. The penalty should be that if a guy hurts someone with an intentional cheap shot he should not play for as long as the player he hurt is out.

The QB is the most important player on every team, so why should the player who takes him out with an intentional cheap shot only miss three games while Jacksonville’s QB misses the rest of the season? If you want this stopped make the penalty onerous.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

The Big Story – Will Jerod Mayo Be Back? Expect that to be the talk until Bob Kraft decides to stop it either way. I know 13 games is a short trial. But after Sunday’s excruciating 25-24 loss dropped them to 3-10 his progress bears watching closely. The best barometer to gauge how he’s doing is, do you think they’re improving? Sunday said yes and no. We’ll keep asking until we know the answer in January.

Sports 101: With 1,499 rushing yards and 267 receiving Saquon Barkley is threatening to break both the single-season rushing and total yards marks. Name the players who hold those marks.

News Item – Sox Lose Out on Blake Snell: With the Red Sox in need of pitching help it might seem odd that the Dodgers’ signing the best free agent pitcher was a good thing for them. But the $186 million deal likely takes L.A. out of market for another starter. And with the Yanks and Mets focused on Juan Soto it might give Boston an opening for the pitcher who fits their young core best, 23-year-old Japanese import Roki Sasaki. Since he can’t get big money by posting rules they’ll be big competition. I’d sell him on the success Japanese players have had in Boston and for him being a key piece added to a young core that is about to make noise.

News Item – Another Sunday, Another Excruciating Loss: This time it came on the game’s final play for the Patriots when Indy QB Anthony Richardson ran in the two-point conversation to make it 25-24.

But it wasn’t all bad news. They had 200 rushing yards and Drake Maye continued to grow. He went 24-30 for 238 yards and a TD, ran for 59 more, including a 41-yard first-quarter scramble, and led another TD drive that gave them a fourth-quarter lead. Plus they stayed in contention for a needed Top 5 pick.

The Numbers:

4 – consecutive years Michigan has beaten Ryan Day’s Ohio State Buckeyes after Saturday’s 13-10 verdict, dropping Day to 1-4 vs. OSU’s archrival while being 47-1 against everyone else in the Big 10.

5 – days Jim Montgomery was unemployed between the Bruins firing him as head coach and the St. Louis Blues hiring him to be theirs.

7 – Patriots penalties for 88 yards that took two TDs off the board that later became just FGs to play a big role in Sunday’s 25-24 loss to Indy.

… Of the Week Awards

RIP Little Louie: The St. John’s basketball coach Lou Carnesecca died last week a month short of his 100th birthday. His heyday was as the Big East was formed and evolved into a national power. Never won a national title, but the 524-200 record was deemed Hall-worthy in 1993.

Random Thoughts:

How did they score that play on SNF when Josh Allen’s short pass to Amari Cooper bounced off him back to Allen, who then ran it in for a TD — TD pass from Josh Allen to Josh Allen with a hockey assist from Cooper? Never seen one like that before.

Not a huge LaMelo Ball fan, but hard to ignore him putting up 50 and 44 in back-to-back games vs. the Bucks and Magic last week.

Of course, since it’s the Hornets, then he got hurt and will miss three weeks.

Is Al Horford an eventual Hall of Famer? Answer? If Chris Bosh is in, YES!

Sports 101 Answer: Barkley is on pace to run for 2,124 yards and get 2,503 total yards. That would take him past Eric Dickerson’s 2,105rushing record and fall just short of Chris Johnson’s total yards mark of 2,509.

Final Thought – No Empathy for Bob Kraft:

After seeing him once again denied entry as a contributor to the Pro Football Hall of Fame it’s obvious some voters are sticking it to the Patriots owner.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and the three SBs he won 150 years ago cruised in. But not BK, who doubled that and went SB four other times. He also saved the franchise from moving to St. Louis and built the new stadium with his own money rather than moving them to Hartford for a free one.

And why would you make a guy in his 80s wait over picking Ralph Hay, who’s been dead for 80 years and passed over every year since the Hall opened in 1963?

But having said all that I have no empathy because Kraft’s doing exactly the same thing to the 80-something Bill Parcells when it comes to the Patriots Hall of Fame. Yes, he left under less than desirable circumstances. But outside of founder Billy Sullivan, Coach B, Tom Brady and Drew Bledsoe no one has meant more to the overall building of the Patriots’ success and popularity than Tuna. Which he did from the ashes left behind by Victor Kiam.

Kraft can fix this, and until he does, I hope the Hall keeps him waiting, because what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

The Big Story – Football on Thanksgiving Weekend: It’s the best weekend of the regular season in the NFL and college games, where along with the usual family debates, arguments and near fistfights, the motto is, eat, drink and watch football. Enjoy.

Sports 101: What was the shortest overtime in a game in NFL history?

News Item – Sale Wins Cy Young: You can’t blame the Red Sox for sending him away. But you just knew after all the misery his avalanche of injuries caused them as it cost them $120 million for 11 measly wins that he would miraculously get healthy and turn back into the guy he once was. Which he did by going 18-3 to win the Cy Young Award last week.

News Item – Ovechkin Closing in on Gretzky: I know I checked out on hockey sometime after the Rangers finally won the Cup in 1994, but I had no idea Alex Ovechkin was so close (894 to 865), as he went to the short-term injured list last week, to passing The Great One as the most prolific goal scorer in NHL history. I had thought that record was unapproachable.

News Item – Rodgers to Jets a Total Failure: The Coach has been fired. The GM has now been fired. And the team is 3-8 after finishing 7-10 last year. So the yacking from Jetland that Aaron Rodgers in New York meant the Super Bowl was a lock has turned out to be just the latest blast of hot air coming from the Big Apple.

The Numbers:

9 – incredible place the Patriots could actually pick in Round 1 of the 2025 draft despite their awful 3-8 (at my early deadline) record thanks to the dearth of horrible NFL teams who can finish below them.

528,750 – dollars paid at auction last week for Ted Williams’ 1946 MVP trophy.

… of the Weekend – Top 5 Games:

Tradition at its Best – Bears-Lions, 12:30 p.m.: It would be better if it were the Packers, because the Bears stink and that would also take me back to the first one of these I’ve seen when the Lions handed GB their only loss in 1962. But nothing’s better than the game on Thanksgiving in Detroit and this time the Lions are headed to the SB.

Most Competitive College Game – #3 Texas-#15 Texas A&M, Saturday 7:30 p.m.: The winner gets a spot in the SEC Championship game.

Rivalry Game, Saturday at noon: UM is unranked this time but Michigan vs. Ohio State is the best rivalry in college football. Plus we get to see Ryan Day and Chip Kelly in action.

Indy at New England – Sunday at 1 p.m.: This was once the game, but now it’s a chance to see more of Drake Maye.

Best NFL Game – Eagles at Ravens, Sunday, 4:25 p.m.: Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley are the top two rushers in the NFL, while Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts are exciting two-way threats. Buckle up.

Random Thoughts:

Sorry, Sam Kennedy, but I don’t believe a word you said at last week’s presser about the Red Sox being willing to spend big this offseason. Actions speak louder than words. Until we see it, you’re just a mouthpiece for an owner who doesn’t have the guts to face the music himself. The outspoken thing has worked out pretty well financially for Kendrick Perkins. But I’ve got to think a lot of past and present NBA players think he’s pretty mouthy for a guy with a dinky five points per game career score.

Sports 101 Answer: The shortest OT in an NFL game is 13 seconds, which is how long it took Chicago’s Dave Williams to take the OT kickoff 92 yards to the house to beat Detroit on Thanksgiving Day 1980.

A Little History – Game on Thanksgiving 1980: Making the Bears’ win even more improbable was QB Vince Evans running 4 yards for a TD as time expired to tie it at 17-17 after the PAT. Then came Williams’ TD meaning they’d scored 13 points in 13 seconds for the 23-17 win. Oh, and they had been down 14-3 in the fourth quarter.

Final Thought – Local Sports Things to Be Thankful for at Thanksgiving

I wasn’t for drafting a QB this early in the rebuild because I thought they needed more talent in place to help him when he did arrive. But the Patriots brass appears to have gotten it right with Drake Maye and he’s making what was a dull, boring team before he started to play a lot more interesting to follow.

Derrick White and Jrue Holiday — Tatum and Brown get all the attention, but these two accept lesser roles than they’d have elsewhere because they’re true team players who just want to win. Ditto for ageless Al Horford.

The young core already at Fenway and the four others not far from getting there promise to make it exciting for several years. But only if John Henry is willing to spend to bring in high-end pitching this winter to complement those everyday players.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

The Big Story – Education of Drake Maye: They lost another tight one where he again was driving in the final two minutes. But it was undone by an interception after miscommunication between Maye and DeMario Douglas to end it at 27-22. But overall it was a solid effort with career highs all around for the rookie QB as he went 30-40 for 283 yards and a pair of TDs, along with two turnovers. Plus they stayed in contention for a Top 5 draft pick while giving an encouraging effort. Win-win.

Sports 101: Nikola Jokic is trying to become the sixth player to win four or more MVP Awards. Name the five who’ve done it.

News Item – Sox Hot for Soto: Who’s buying that they are? Or that the “JuanSoto Was Impressed With Red Sox Presentation” idea is anything more than a Scott Boras-planted story to ratchet up leverage on the big-spending Yankees, Mets and Dodgers? Likely just the latest Red Sox PR ploy to get fans and the media off their back.

News Item – Alumni News: Not going well for Mac Jones in Jax. In two losses filling in for Trevor Lawrence, including Sunday’s 52-6 pasting by Detroit, he’s gone 31 of 51 for 249 yards with three interceptions and no TD passes as the Jags scored just 13 points.

News Item – Dimwit Analytics Mavens at it Again: No argument on Chris Sale being named NL Comeback Player of the Year, as his spectacular season followed years of injury travails. But exactly where did Garrett Crochet come back from to be the AL winner? He was a relief pitcher who never threw more than 56 innings in his career before going 6-12 this year. Which means he got it on analytics numbers because, I forget, wins by a pitcher don’t matter. What’s more important for those guys are WHIP, BIP and DIP.

The Numbers:

4 – woeful number of the 15 teams in the NBA’s Eastern Conference that had a win-loss record over .500 as the new week began.

9.3 – best-in-the-NFL yards-per-rush average by Patriots rookie Drake Maye.

16.2 – points scored per game averaged so far by Celtic sixth man Payton Pritchard

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Down – NBA In-Season Tournament: I know the announcers are forced to talk it up like it’s the greatest thing ever, but who actually gives a flip about the NBA Cup? It’s a European thing that will never make any impact here. You know why? ’cause it’s stupid.

Clutch Play of the Week and Season – Josh Allen: His 26-yard TD scamper on fourth down with less than 3 minutes left in the game not only prevented another Patrick Mahomes miracle finish by icing Buffalo’s 30-21 win; it ended KC’s quest for an undefeated season as well.

Dumbest Thing of the Week: That 65 million people watched 58-year-old Mike Tyson step into the ring for the first time in two decades against someone no one ever heard of. Who won? The better question is, who cares?

RIP – Gerry Faust: Those of a certain age remember he was the coach of powerhouse Moeller High in Cincinnati shockingly hired by Notre Dame to take over their storied football program in 1981. He passed away last week at 89. He was on ND’s radar because he went a remarkable 174-17-2 in 17 seasons at Moeller. The story was different at ND, however, where his tortured five-year run ended after going 30-26-1.

Random Thoughts

Soto’s really good but not worth Ohtani money.

Anyone else noticeIme Udoka has Houston off to a 9-4 start?

Sports 101 Answer: The five who have been MVP four times are Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James.

Final Thought – Garrett Crochet: Yes the 209 strikeouts in 146 innings this summer were impressive. But as the robot used to say on the 1960s TV Show Lost in Space, WARNING! WARNING!, over rumors of Boston’s interest in trading for the White Sox lefty. First, there are durability concerns where he already missed the 2022 season due to Tommy John surgery. Then those 146 were by far the most innings he’s ever thrown, with next high being 56 in 2021. He also didn’t go more than four innings in any of his 14 starts after July 1. So he’s not exactly an inning-eating horse. Then there were rumors he wanted a multi-year extension to OK any deal at the trade deadline. Which means he was OK staying on the worst team in history over going to a contender unless he got paid. That’s a big mark against for me. All of which pushes him way down my priority list behind the best free agent pitchers. They’d be much better off adding someone to their exciting young core, like 23-year-old Japanese import Roki Sasaki, rather than subtracting some from that core to get a guy with red flags like Crochet.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

The Big Story – Patriots’ 10-Week Update: After Sunday’s 19-3 domination of Chicago they stand 3-7 in Week 10. Here’s a brief update.

The Good – Drake Maye: “I tell the guys all the time he looks like Josh Allen 2.0. I played Josh Allen in Miami his rookie year, and he didn’t look that good. Josh Allen is a phenomenal player. He’s an MVP-type player…. Drake looks better than Josh in his rookie year.” — D-tackle Davon Godchaux as told to the Boston Globe.

The Bad – The Coach We knew there’d be a learning curve for Jerod Mayo. But for much of his first 10 games he hasn’t looked ready for this assignment.

The Ugly – What Maye Has to Work With: With 32 sacks allowed and the QB under pressure 43 percent of the time the O-line has been mostly bad, and outside of Hunter Henry, with flashes from DeMario Douglas, ditto for the receivers.

Bottom Line: A lot of struggles, but they’ve won two of three, so things are looking better.

Sports 101: Name the only person to lead the NBA, ABA and NCAA in scoring for a season.

News Item – Sox Reset Starting: The brass was at the GM meetings last week to get the off-season re-shaping underway. The big rumor says Triston Casas may be trade bait because both he and Rafael Devers should play first base. If that’s the case, I trade Devers instead for two reasons. First, because trading the more established Devers frees up big money for free agency, which along with what they get back in the trade could net them two-three solid pitchers. Second, with as many four top minor prospects close to joining Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Brayan Bello, Tanner Houck and Casas in Boston, that is a deep, young, low-payroll (for now) core that can grow up in the way the Mookie Betts-JBJR-led group started in 2015. Plus the under-control low payroll lets them invest in additional pieces to fortify the team as it evolves.

News Item – Best Sign About The Celtics: That Jayson Tatum is looking to score from the jump — by scoring 14+ in five of their first six games. As opposed to the absolute nonsense Doris Burke spewed on ABC/ESPN all last year about it being good he wasn’t shooting early to get others involved. The only people who thought that was a good idea were those guarding him in the first quarter (phew!).

The Numbers:

1.5 & 13 – dismal sacks and solo tackles for ex-Patriot Matthew Judon with the 6-4 Falcons.

9 – second best in Patriots history sacks for the D vs. Chicago on Sunday.

13 – consecutive strikeouts by soon to be Japanese free agent hurler Roki Sasaki when the now 23-year-old had 19 overall in his 2022 perfect game.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – UNH Hoops: For hanging in against two-time defending champion UConn to be down by just five (29-24) in the final minute of the first half. Yes, it was Katie bar the door after that as the Huskies finished it with a that’s more like it 92-53 final. But it was a nice half for the one time Yankee Conference rivals.

Random Thoughts:

Rookie issues? Or did the Bears draft another QB bust? I saw nothing from first overall pick Caleb Williams vs. NE on Sunday to be impressed with.

How is it that Steph Curry goes down after every single shot he takes? Couldn’t be he flops on every single shot he takes? What happened to T’s for flopping, Adam Silver?

With Milwaukee off to a 2-8 start after blowing a big lead to the Celtics on Sunday, wonder if they still think it was Adrian Griffin’s fault last year. You may recall after starting out 30-13 in year one the ex-Celtic got axed and replaced by Doc Rivers, who is 20-27 since then.

Sports 101 Answer: Rick Barry led the NCAA in scoring at the University of Miami, the NBA with the San Francisco Warriors and the ABA with the Oakland Oaks.

Final Thought – Celtics Broadcasters: The trio of Abby Chin, Drew Carter and to a lesser extent Scal could not have sounded like bigger homer yahoos during last week’s game with GS talking about Steve Kerr not playing Jayson Tatum in the Olympics as much as everyone wanted. Earth to those people: He did it for one reason and it wasn’t match-ups. That was the excuse. It was because Tatum didn’t play well. Period. Slump, confidence loss or Kerr is his kryptonite, but do these yahoos know he was 0-10 from behind the line during the Olympics? Or that he averaged just five points per when he did play? Give it a rest. If he’d played better he’d have gotten more time, just like Derrick White and Jrue Holiday did.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].