Category: Sports

The Big Story – NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament: It all started with Tuesday’s play-in games, which included San Diego State vs. (yup, once mighty) North Carolina. It goes full throttle Thursday with the top seeds being Auburn, Duke, Houston and Florida. The two biggest questions are (1) Can 10-seed UConn be the first to win three straight titles since the UCLA dynasty won seven between 1967 and 1973? and (2) How close to full strength will Larry Bird play-alike Cooper Flagg be when Duke opens Friday after spraining his ankle last weekend?

Sports 101: Aside from UCLA’s seven straight titles, how many of the eight other schools to win back-to-back NCAA titles can you name?

News Item – The Good, Bad and Ugly for Pats Last Week: Good – They solidified the defense, with the best FA signings being Eagles nose tackle Milton Williams and Detriot CB Carlton Davis. Edge rusher Harold Landry’s wasn’t bad either. Bad – Maybe he can’t play anymore, but not throwing a fifth-round pick at the desperate for anything Rams to take a flier on Cooper Kupp seems dumb. Especially with him signed at manageable money for just two years. Ugly – They got no left tackle and no number one wideout, leaving their two biggest needs unfilled.

News Item – Garrett Crochet: The new Sox hurler was named the opening day starter. Given his numbers — one run allowed in four starts with a whopping 21 strikeouts in 10.1 innings — that’s hard to argue with. That’s 18.2 k’s per nine innings and is more than baseball’s all-time one-game record was for 85 years until Roger Clemens struck out 20 in 1986. Can someone please tell me why top prospect Roman Anthony only had 22 at-bats as of Monday? That he knocked in eight runs in those 22 is impressive, as that projects to 240 RBI over a full season! I know, not possible, but that’s what it comes to in a short sample size.

Biggest Sox Question – They still don’t know who the closer will be.

Biggest Sox Surprise – Trayce Thompson. Klay Thompson’s unheralded little brother has a team-leading six homers and 13 RBI in 30 AB’s.

Sox Injured List – Starters Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford will start 2025 on the IL.

News Item – NFL FA Leftovers: The vaunted QB draft class of 2021 with five taken in the first 15 picks is likely the biggest bust ever. With Justin Fields (Jets), Zach Wilson (Miami) and Mac Jones (SF) moving last week they’re all now on their third teams. Trey Lance was bounced out of SF after just two years and first overall pick Trevor Lawrence ain’t exactly the most popular guy in Jax these days. After leaving the Giants and Steelers hanging I’d tell Aaron Rodgers to stuff it. Dealing with his nonsense once might have been worth it, but now it’s a distraction.

The Numbers:

6 – record-setting number of schools Rick Pitino has taken to the NCAA Tournament after St. John’s won the Big East Tourney Saturday to join BU, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and Iona.

70 – pace for the second most wins in NBA history the Cleveland Cavaliers are on.

Of the Week:

Thumbs Up – David Andrews: A true Patriots gamer gets it on his way out the door after being released.

Random Thoughts: Calling the SEC having 14 teams in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament “historic” is a joke. With major conference expansions as schools defect from their traditional conferences that’s no great accomplishment, because the big schools are stuffed into half as many conferences as there used to be. Jones to SF and Jacoby Brissett to Houston. The Pats are supplying the NFL with QB’s.

Sports 101 Answer: The back-to-back winning schools are Oklahoma State (45-46), Kentucky (48-49), San Francisco (55-56), Cincinnati (61-62), UCLA (64-65), Duke (91-92), Florida (06-07) and UConn (23-24).

Final Thought – Golf Media:

After he suffered a torn Achilles last week it’s sad to see Tiger Woods hurt again. But when is the golf media going to understand that he is no longer a big story? Every time a big tournament rolls around, like last week’s Players Championship, he’s a lead story despite the fact he’s far more likely to miss the cut than finish in the Top 25. Last week’s headline was Tiger Won’t Be Here This Year. It’s just nuts. Earth to golf media: It’s over. Like with Michael Jordan, Willie Mays and Peyton Manning the end comes for everyone no matter how great they are. And then those still don’t lead Super Bowl and World Series stories.

Why don’t they just let it be and put him in the Hall? Because no matter what, he ain’t coming back to within three time zones of what he once was.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

The Big Story – NFL Year Opens: The new business year starts today with the opening of free agency, where the real action takes place over the next 10 days. The next time to add talent is over three days during the 90th annual NFL draft beginning on April 23. And the final big time is after June 1 when teams can cut players and lessen the cap hit by splitting their contracts over 2025 and 2026.

Sports 101: Name the 10 who once played for the Patriots who are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

News Item – Patriots FA Start: Despite being flush with free agent cap space with acknowledged huge holes on the O-line and at lead receiver they passed on immediate opportunities to address them right out of the gate. They wouldn’t meet the price of KC and Seattle to bring old friend Joe Thuney and wideout DK Metcalf to Foxboro. The 33-year-old Thuney, coming off a First Team All Pro season, has one year left on his $15 million and cost the Bears just a fourth-round pick to get him. For Metcalf, Pittsburgh gave up a second-round pick and $150 million over the next five years to trade for him. A lot of dough, yes, but that’s the going rate for high-end receivers.

If they had done that, they could have used their fourth overall pick to get a high-value left tackle to fill their three biggest holes, then focused their two third-round picks and remaining FA money to fortify the interior defense, which they started doing by signing Mike Vrabel’s edge rusher in Tennessee, Harold Landry.

So it sounds like more talk, little action again.

News Item – More Patriots Thoughts:

Travis Hunter: Not that the Patriots have to follow it if they decided take Henry. But he was listed as a DB at the Combine, which indicates where many believe he’s best suited to play. Given their previously stated Top 3 need that lowers the odds that NE will take him at 4.

Will Campbell: Does 3/8 of an inch in arm length really mean that much? The LSU left tackle is the highest-rated O-lineman on the Big Board. But the chatter about him is his arms are too short because they measure 32 5/8 inches in length, which is below the accepted 33 inches minimum for a left tackle.

Cooper Kupp: With Metcalf, Tee Higgins, Davante Adams and Deebo Samuel off the table what would you give to L.A. to get the once great but on the back nine wideout? A fourth-round pick?

Joe Milton: It would be stupid for the Patriots to trade their backup QB as the rumor mill is saying they might. They should showcase him in pre-season at least, because a strong showing raises his value even higher.

The Numbers:

30 – in case my Cowboys-loving friend George Copadis has forgotten, the number of years since “America’s Team” last even got to the Super Bowl.

84 – combined points scored by Peyton Pritchard (43) and Derrick White (41) to fill in the gap for the missing Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis in Wednesday’s 128-118 win over Portland.

Of the Week:

Thumbs Up – Joe Mazzulla: For correctly treating Saturday’s game with the Lakers as more than just a regular regular-season game by playing Tatum 45 minutes, Jaylen Brown 41 and Al Horford a season-high 38, leading to a 111-101 statement win.

Best Game of the Week – Nikola Jokic: For the Larry Bird play-alike putting up the first 30-point, 20-rebound, 20-assist game in NBA history in Friday’s low-scoring 149-141 win over Phoenix.

Radio and TV Broadcasters Phew of the Week: They were spared the arduous task of trying to pronounce the first name of Sox prospect Jhostynxon Garcia for at least another year after he was optioned to the minors last week.

And don’t ask me, I don’t have a clue.

Random Thoughts:

I heard all the chatter about Metcalf not being a good fit for Josh McDaniels’ system. But shouldn’t offensive coordinators find ways to get talented receivers the balls in the way that capitalize on their outstanding skills over just fitting them into the system? Isn’t that what coaching is about?

Sports 101 Answer: The 10 Patriots Famers are Nick Buoniconti, John Hannah, Mike Haynes, Ty Law, Curtis Martin, Junior Seau, Randy Moss, Richard Seymour, Andre Tippett and Darrelle Revis.

Final Thought: True, most are happy with Mike Vrabel as the choice for Pats head coach. But given that the barren roster had far more to do with their going 4-13 than Alex Van Pelt or even Jerod Mayo did, that puts personnel chief Elliot Wolf in the spotlight. With holes all over the roster he needs to deliver at least six players in free agency and the draft who can contribute in a significant way next season. Otherwise they won’t be much better.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

The Big Story – Spring Training: Baseball games are back as the spring training exhibition season is under way.

Sports 101: Name the two players who won the most World Series and how many they won.

News Item – Red Sox Update: Notables from spring training.

In his first appearance, major off-season acquisition Garrett Crochet got tagged for four hits in 3.1 innings. But he gave up no earned runs and struck out an impressive seven batters.

Overhyped prospect Marcelo Mayer lived up to it for one day anyway, by going 3-3 with a homer and a triple in a win over Minnesota.

Wilyer Abreu might be warming up to win the Wally Pipp Award because with him likely out for opening day that could open up right field for baseball’s top prospect Roman Anthony, who knocked in four runs with four hits in his first 13 at-bats.

InjuryUpdate: In addition to Abreu, it’s looking like starters Brayan Bello and Kutter Crawford will be on the DL when the season starts, bringing on a pitching crisis from Day 1.

That might be good for one-time Pirates top pitching prospect Quinn Priester, who they got in a swap of former first-round picks that sent Nick Yorke south last summer. Priester was a disappointment in Pittsburgh, but he’s got a live arm that gave up just one run in his first two starts.

News Item – Unsigned Free Agents: JD Martinez leads the list of the five biggest unsigned free agents as camps opened. The only one who might help Boston is former Yankees reliever Dave Robertson. He’s 40, but the ERA was 3.00 last year over 69 appearances. The others are starters Kyle Gibson and Jose Quintana along with Sox alum Jose Iglesias.

And according to Pete Abraham’s Baseball Notes column in Sunday’s Boston Globe JD and Iglesias are joined by fellow unemployed Sox alums Daniel Bard, Matt Barnes, Adam Duvall, Joe Kelly, Craig Kimbrel and unlikable Alex Verdugo.

The Numbers:

4 – under .500 teams — Orlando, Atlanta, Miami and Chicago — headed for the NBA’s Eastern Conference 7-10 play-in tournament.

5 – hits in Alex Bregman’s first 10 Red Sox at-bats.

268,000 – dollar amount solid citizen Jimmy Butler’s Miami landlord is suing him for in unpaid back rent and damages to his apartment.

Of the Week:

Thumbs Up – Team Owner Quote of the Week: From lifelong Long Island Mets fan and now owner Steve Cohen on why heblew through their planned payroll budget to sign Juan Soto and re-sign Pete Alonzo: “Because I want a winning team.” When’s the last time John Henry said something like that?

Thumbs Down – Mindy Kaling: The Dartmouth alum gets it for admitting/announcing on Jimmy Kimmel Live she’s switched from being a lifelong Celtics fan to a Lakers fan since moving to L.A.

Embarrassingly Clueless Comment of the Week – Brian Scalabrine: For the Cheerleader saying the current NBA has gone to a “new level of physicality” during Friday’s Celtics-Cavs game. Would somebody please show him videos from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s when guys routinely took people’s heads off on drives to the basket? Or what the Laimbeer-led Pistons did night in and night out to teams in the ’80s and ’90s. Scal’s the latest from a younger generation thinking life started with them.

Random Thought:

A headline (from ESPN.com) I thought I’d never see: Watson drops 30 on UCLA as USC Wins the BIG TEN.

Sports 101 Answer: Not hard to guess the team they came from, as Yankees Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra each won a record 10 World Series.

A Little Baseball History – Yogi Berra: Much is made (often by me) of the fact that Bill Russell played 13 years with the Celtics and won 11 NBA titles. But you don’t often hear that baseball’s greatest winner, Yogi, played for 17 years and missed the World Series only three times. Which would have bettered even Russell’s mark if the NBA didn’t have a multi-team playoff system, because title 11 came when the C’s finished fourth in the East in 1968-69. Otherwise it would have been 10 in 13.

Final Thought – Joe Mazzulla: Does anyone out there think it will ever occur to Joe he needs to find a way to get his team to stop blowing the gigantic leads they regularly blow? Which they once again did in Friday’s loss to Cleveland.That’s a coach’s job isn’t it?

Email Dave Long at [email protected].

The Big Story – NBA Hits the Stretch Run: With the All Star Game nonsense and Super Bowl out of the picture, the NBA moves to center stage. The three biggest questions are (1) Can Cleveland keep doing it in the playoffs like they have in the regular season?, (2) Can the Celtics shake off their lethargy to hit the switch to defend their crown? and (3) How big a difference will Luka Doncic make as he joins LBJ out there in L.A.? And here’s a fourth: Will we be lucky enough to see a real competitive New York-Boston playoff series for the first time since 1984 (OK, 1990) followed by a Boston-L.A. Final? Time will tell.

Sports 101: Who holds the NBA record for playing the most consecutive games without fouling out?

News Item – Celtics Come Out Swinging:Maybe the Celtic Slump is over, as they came out of the All-Star break with big wins over Eastern rivals Philadelphia and New York on national TV. With Philly reeling and Joel Embiid looking like he’s headed for season-ending surgery, the Knicks’ win was more meaningful, as it was their third drubbing of their likely Round 2 opponent in the playoffs in three games against N.Y.

News Item – Kenny Atkinson: Thing I love most about NBA season so far is that in his next try as a HC after his cowardly boss listened to dirtbags Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving stabbing him in the back to get him fired in Brooklyn, Atkinson is coaching the team with the NBA’s best record in Cleveland while Kyrie and KD are facing steep climbs just to even make the playoffs. As Pat Riley once un-grammatically said, sometimes dems get what dems deserve.

The Numbers:

7 – million dollars the reported among the nation’s top college basketball recruits AJ Dybantsa (Brockton, Mass.) will be paid in NIL money to play at BYU next year.

13 – goals away from passing Wayne Gretsky as the most prolific scorer in NHL history for Alexander Ovechkin after going for the hat trick in Washington’s 7-3 rout of Edmonton on Sunday.

49 – years since Yankees players could have beards and mustaches until this year, now that the ban imposed by George Steinbrenner in 1976 was lifted last week.

… Of the Week Awards

Thumbs Up – Cooper Flagg: The Larry Bird-like Maine native told The Atlantic that he wants to return to Duke for his sophomore season over becoming the NBA’s No. 1 draft pick. The question is, if he does do it, will the team with the first overall pick take him anyway as the Celtics with Bird after he said he was returning to Indiana State for his senior season?

Random Thoughts:

Why does nobody do the “was it Brady or Belichick?” game with Duncan and his coach Greg Popovich? Because in the eight full seasons since TD retired, Pop’s won-loss record is a Cotton Fitzsimmons-like 299-356.

Sports 101 Answer: Most incorrectly believe Wilt Chamberlain holds the record because he never fouled out of any game ever. But he only played in 1,045 in his 14-year career. And while Moses Malone fouled out five times early in his career, he later played in 1,212 straight without fouling out.

Final Thought – Victor Wembanyama: With the French phenom likely shut down for the year due to shoulder and neck issues it’s a good time to evaluate how he’s lived up to the hype he got when entering the league down there in San Antonio.

His 22.6 ppg, 10.8 rpg and 3.8 bpg stats are among the best in the game in his two years. But after hearing how he would turn the NBA on its head, besides those stats and some highlight videos, we haven’t really seen it turn up in the standings. In his Year 1 the Spurs won the same 22 games they won the previous year, which is area codes behind these four guys who actually did immediately turn the league on its head by dramatically improving the teams they joined over the year before they got there:

Larry Bird – Boston had the greatest turnaround ever in going from 29 wins to 61.

Lew Alcindor – expansion Milwaukee won 27 in their first year and 56 the next.

Tim Duncan – he had more help in his first year than the other three as David Robinson missed the year when the Spurs won just 20 and 56 when he was back with Duncan in his Year 1.

Shaquille O’Neal – Expansion Orlando won 21 in their first year and 41 the next year with Shaq.

The first three won the NBA title in Year 2 while Shaq magically had Orlando in the Finals after knocking no less than Michael Jordan and Chicago out of the playoffs. While for Big V it’s just 24-31.

This is picking on the prognosticators who overhyped a new guy again. Not Wemby because he’s been terrific. Just not beyond belief, where so far he’s more Yao Ming than the four real game-changers mentioned above. Email Dave Long at [email protected].

The Big Story – Alex Bregman: There is an old adage that says it’s not how much you spend, it’s how you spend it. That is the opening discussion point for the Red Sox signing Bregman to a contract that will pay him $40 million a year for the next three years. Even before you get to the fact that his RBI total dropped from 98 to 75, giving a guy who hasn’t driven in 100 runs since 2019 an annual salary that’s larger than all but four MLB players seems like a massive overpay. Which could have been applied to get top-of-the-line FA starters like Max Fried or Corbin Burnes. There’s also the fact that he’s ticketed to play second base, where he’s only played seven games in the majors — last done in 2017.

On the bright side he’s a needed right-handed batter, a solid to very good fielder at least at third base, with major playoff experience, and is the kind of willing leader this young team needs.

Plus John Henry finally acted like a major market owner with a deal that’s only three years. So it won’t strangle them if he’s deeper on the back nine than they think.

Sports 101: Who’s the only player in college basketball (Division I) to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding in the same season?

News Item – Have Celtics Righted the Ship? In winning eight of 10 going into the All-Star break some think they have. Me, not so much. They have a focus problem that has them play down or up to the competition on a nightly basis. Like beating Cleveland and New York in recent high-profile games and losing to Dallas just after they traded Luka Doncic. And that lack of urgency has them an embarrassing 17-10 at home, while it’s a league best 22-6 on the road. Something that suggests their underwhelming 39-16 overall record is more a function of head/motivation issues than physical ability.

News Item – End-of-Year NFL Awards: With football over, here are a few random awards for the just concluded 2024 season.

MVP – Josh Allen –One of the harder choices since 1963 with voters having to decide between Allen, Saquon Barkley and Lamar Jackson.

A Little History – 1963 MVP Vote –Y.A. Tittle threw arecord-setting 36-TD-pass season and Jim Brown ran for all-time records 1,837 yards and 6.7 per carry average. Tittle won.

Most Ironic Story – The Jets, of Course – Seeing their high draft pick QB bust Sam Darnold in the MVP conversation for leading Minnesota to an unexpected 14-3 season, just as they went 5-12 with supposed QB savior Aaron Rodgers.

Worst Decision – Player Category – Has to be Atlanta giving 36-year-old Kirk Cousins a four-year guaranteed deal for a bazillion dollars and then seeing him benched over the rookie they drafted right after signing him. And now they’re on the hook for around $100 million.

Worst Decision – Coach Category –The over-his-head Jerod Mayo. Bob Kraft, why would you hire a guy because he was polite on a trip to Israel?

Worst Decision by an Owner – Bob Kraft – First there was hiring Mayo, then compounding the problem by keeping the same personnel people in place (except Coach B) that had been drafting terribly for several years, which is what they did again after Drake Maye fell in their lap at third overall.

The Numbers:

6.5 – million dollar net loss for Pennsylvania sportsbooks on bets they handled in Pennsylvania on the Super Bowl.

30,000 – career points scored platinum reached by Kevin Durant with a free throw vs. Memphis last week.

Sports 101 Answer: The late Hank Gathers, Loyola Marymount.

Final Thought – The GOAT Race at QB: The dumbest post-Super Bowl comment I heard came not so surprisingly from Steven A. Blowhard on ESPN that the GOAT race between Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes was overbecause he dropped to 3-2 in SBs after his less than stellar effort vs. the Eagles. Guess he forgot Brady was 3-2 in SBs after losing for a second time to the Giants in 2011. It’s silly to say it’s over after Mahomes’ first seven full seasons. Especially since Brady didn’t win his fourth SB until his 14th season.

Thus all you can compare is after their first seven seasons, and I hate to tell the homers in the crowd, Mahomes has got Brady in playoff appearances (7-6), playoff record (17-4/14-5), playoff one-and-dones (PM none, Brady 2), TD passes (46-26) and QB rating (105.4-87.1).

That puts Mahomes in position to catch Brady if he’s able to match his amazing longevity. And if so, will he be able to manage the tall task of winning four more in his late 30s, which Brady needed to do after going 10 years between winning his third and fourth SB?

So actually the race is just getting started, not the done deal some guy on TV proclaimed. Email Dave Long at [email protected].

The Big Story – Super Bowl: The Kansas City Chiefs’ effort to chip away at the Patriots dynasty took a hit on Sunday when they got crushed in a not-as-close-as-it-looks 40-22 final vs. the Philadelphia Eagles. The story of this game was how Philly’s D-line manhandled the KC O-line in a dominant defensive performance that gave Patrick Mahomes no time to think, let alone throw. The win also gives Philly a double no one else can claim: They’re the only franchise to beat both Tom Brady and Mahomes in a Super Bowl. Guess now even the loons in Philadelphia endlessly calling for Nick Sirianni’s head will finally pipe down ’cause he’s a Super Bowl champ.

Sports 101: Name the current Patriot who caught a touchdown against them for Atlanta in SB 51.

News Item – Dynasty Update: As we mentioned, the KC dynasty took a hit Sunday. Their loss means the following go on their resume: (a) no three-peat, (b) no fourth SB win, (c) a second SB rout for the Mahomes-Reid era vs. tight games for all three Patriots losses, (d) Mahomes remains four SB titles behind Tom Brady, and (e) at 2-0, Brady will always be undefeated vs. Mahomes in playoff match-ups.

News Item – Adam V: It was a no-go for the greatest kicker who ever lived in this year’s voting for the Pro Football Hall in Canton. The four new players, Jared Allen, Eric Allen, Sterling Sharpe and Antonio Gates, are all Hall-worthy I guess. Though I don’t think they were better at their position than Adam Vinatieri was at his, which means he should be in.

News Item – Former Patriots in The Big Game: The only one who did anything was KC’s JuJu Smith-Schuster, who had two catches for 16 yards.

The Numbers:

6 – second most ever Super Bowl sacks made by the Philly defense.

39 – meager receiving yards all-world tight end Travis Kelce was held to in the SB.

57 – yearslowest rushing yard total for Saquan Barkley in Sunday’s win over KC.

… Of the Week Awards

Good Timing Award – Nick Sirianni: He put a SB win on the resume just as he became a free agent coach. That’s called leverage.

Do Nothing Award – Red Sox: Since there weren’t any new signings of an on-the-cheap, one-year contract deal for a journeyman reliever, they did nothing to help their incomplete team with spring training days away.

Random Thoughts:

Why do they do a Marine flyover when no one can see it when the Super Bowl is played in a dome like on Sunday?

Watching the Celts and Cavs on TNT and I was thinking someone should check analyst Grant Hill for a pulse. Yikes — boring.

A Little History – Rare NBA Feat: That would go to Kareem Abdul Jabbar, who revealed in the most interesting internet factoid of the Week he’s likely the only one who saw the historic Laker moments in person of Kobe Bryant going for 81 in 2006 and when Elgin Baylor scored a (since eclipsed) NBA record 71 points in Madison Square Garden in November 1960 when he was a high school kid living in NYC.

Said comparing them is apples and oranges because Kobe did his in the three-point-shot era (he had nine) and Baylor’s happened when the league was more balanced, because the top 100 players in the world were crammed into the league’s eight teams. Today those 100 would be spread over 30 teams and all would be starters.

Sports 101 Answer: Current Patriots back-up tight end Austin Hooper scored the second TD of the game in Atlanta’s 34-28 OT loss to the Patriots in the greatest SB ever played.

Final Thought – Why Do They Always Get the MVP Vote Wrong: In the Pats’ first Super Bowl Tom Brady, despite throwing for under 150 yards, was named MVP. Except he didn’t deserve it. Ty Law did for scoring the game’s first TD on a pick six and being the focal point in shutting down the most prolific passing attack in league history in their 23-20 upset of the St. Louis Rams. Brady was again MVP while throwing for a meager 201 yards for Tampa Bay in SB 56. Except the story was TB defense holding the NFL’s highest-scoring offense to just eight points, and LB Devin White was all over the field for the Bucs and should have won.

My point is the QB unfairly wins MVP half the time in reputation more than results. Case in point: Sunday.

I know Jalen Hurts had a terrific game. But he was mostly in position to do it because Philadelphia’s dominant defensive performance makes their field position and giant time of possession edge the story of the game. So common sense suggests the best person on the D should have been MVP. That was edge Josh Sweat, who was disruptive all game long with 2.5 sacks and six more solo tackles. So he gets my vote.

Email Dave Long at [email protected].