Sweep Revenge

That's Shank half-clever cliched headline after the Boston Celtics bounced the Brooklyn Nets out of the 2022 NBA playoffs:

The Celtics got their sweep revenge, and now it feels like this could be a long, magical spring

NEW YORK — Did anybody really think Kyrie Irving and the Nets actually wanted to come back to Boston?

The Celtics finished off Brooklyn’s latter day Bums Monday, beating the Nets, 116-112, to complete a four-game sweep of a team that was favored to win the NBA championship at the start of this season. It was sweet revenge for last spring’s series loss to Brooklyn when annoying Kyrie stomped on the Celtic logo at the Garden.

All of Boston and NBA America expected Dem Bums to roll over one last time against the surging Celts. It would be not fair to say Brooklyn quit in this one, but the dysfunctional Nets fell behind by as many as 15 and never led. They go down as the Greatest Dynasty That Never Was.

DHL Dan CXXVI - Mr. Mandate

That would be Shank, of course, insisting it's a professional obligation to get vaccinated against the Wuhan Flu virus, side effects be damned:

Say hello to Tanner “Kyrie” Houck, a 25-year-old righthanded pitcher who told us last weekend that he is not vaccinated and therefore will miss his scheduled start against the Jays Tuesday.

“I think it’s a personal choice for everyone whether they get it or not,” Houck said. “I’m definitely bummed that I won’t be able to make that start.”

Wow. Bummer, man.

Kyrie Houck went on to say, “But the starts I am able to make, I plan on giving 100 percent for this team. Anything I can do for this team to help them win, I’ll do it.”

If you really feel that way, just get the shot, big fella. You are a professional athlete. You are part of a team. Maybe this would be a time to forgo your “personal freedom” and do what’s good for the team and everyone around you.

Now, that's a Boston Globe attitude for ya!

Clunker

Shank's first Celtics playoff column focuses on how bad Kevin Durant sucked in Game 2:

Kevin Durant has another clunker against Celtics, and that’s a big problem for the Nets

He has played 14 NBA seasons, which is longer than Larry Bird played. He was in the NBA when Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen were preaching Ubuntu and winning a championship. Kevin Durant has been around so long, he actually played for the Seattle SuperSonics.

But in Wednesday’s 114-107 loss to the Celtics, Durant — for the first time in his career — looked old.

“KD is in the Boston Celtics Correctional Facility,’’ tweeted Durant’s former Thunder teammate Kendrick Perkins. “The Celtics did the same damn thing they did in Game 1 and that’s get physical with KD and Punk’d him.’’

Great Celtics defense, or is it the beginning of the end here for Durant?

Careful What You Wish For

Shank's thinking about the Celtics' possible 1st round playoff opponent:

It’s easy to root for a Celtics playoff match with Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and the Nets

Celtics-Nets?

Kyrie Irving coming back to Boston for the first round of the NBA playoffs?

It’s too good to be true. And it’s not certain yet. But if the Nets win their play-in game Tuesday at home against Cleveland, get ready for sage-burning Kyrie to come back to the Garden to stomp on Lucky the Leprechaun this coming weekend.

The Celtics beat the declawed Memphis Grizzlies, 139-110, in their regular-season finale in Memphis on Sunday to secure the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed for the upcoming playoffs. Memphis, which had already secured the No. 2 seed in the West, had nothing to gain by winning the game and rested four starters to give the Celtics an easy win.

It will indeed be the Brooklyn Nets in the 1st round.

DHL Dan CXXV - Goners?

Shank takes a look at the contract situations of key members of the Red Sox:

It already seems impossible to get away from Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts contract talk, and other thoughts

NEW YORK — Picked-up pieces while back in New York for the first time in 2½ years …

▪ Two days into a new baseball season and it seems impossible to get away from contract talk. Is Xander Bogaerts going to opt out at the end of this season? Is Rafael Devers gone after 2023? Why won’t the Red Sox just pony up and sign their homegrown stars to whopping contract extensions?

Fair or unfair, this is a reality as the Red Sox start their season in Yankee Stadium. It’s been hard to focus on competitive baseball issues — such as the questionable quality of Alex Cora’s starting rotation and bullpen.

Money was on everyone’s minds at Yankee Stadium for Friday’s opener. Bogaerts and Devers had acknowledged that spring negotiations with the Sox went nowhere. Both said they didn’t want to negotiate during the season. And once the game started, everything they did felt like a referendum on their worth to the franchise.

I get the feeling neither one of them will re-sign with the Sox, the way it's going now.

Thud

Shank predictably wrote about the 2022 Red Sox' 1st game of the season - because they lost:

Our daily soap opera of Boston and baseball began with a back-end thud

NEW YORK — They play almost every day. There is always a chance for quick redemption. It’s one of the reasons we love baseball and one of the reasons we are glad it is back.

The Red Sox opened their 122nd big-league season Friday with an 11-inning, 6-5 loss to the Yankees in the House That Jeter Built. On a postcard-perfect Bronx afternoon, the Sox got good work from a raft of no-name relievers before the immortal Kutter Crawford (a man with two innings of big-league experience) surrendered a game-winning single to Josh Donaldson.

That's practically mid-season form right there for Shank!

DHL Dan CXXIV - Off The Brady Bandwagon Again

Shank's a bit put off with Tom Brady's offseason antics:

Tom Brady is making it impossible to root for him anymore, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while packing for Opening Day at Yankee Stadium …

▪ Nothing is ever enough for Tom Brady. It’s not sufficient to be the GOAT, the seven-time Super Bowl champ, the most handsome, most pliable, greatest 44-year-old starting quarterback anyone has ever seen.

He also has to be CEO, general manager, and head coach of his team.

Brady erased Bruce Arians from the Tampa landscape Wednesday, orchestrating the retirement of a coach who occasionally pushed back. Arians will be replaced by Todd Bowles, an estimable football mind who no doubt will let Tom run the Buccaneers for the foreseeable future. I expect Alex Guerrero to be named Tampa’s team doctor any minute.

DHL Dan CXXIII - Show Him The Money!

Shank's latest 'effort' takes a look at Xander Bogaerts and whether he'll get a nice new contract:

Xander Bogaerts deserves a lucrative extension from the Red Sox, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while watching the NCAA basketball tournament …

▪ “We Take Care of Our Own.”

Rock bard Bruce Springsteen wrote this in 2012, and there are varying interpretations, but in the baseball spring of 2022, it’s clear that the Boston Red Sox — finally again spending like the big-market team they are — need to take care of their own as they prepare to launch the new season.

Sign Xander Bogaerts to a contract extension. As soon as possible. Lock him down from now until the end of the decade. Keep him in the fold.

Bogaerts is the Red Sox’ Patrice Bergeron. He is their Steve Grogan. He is their John Havlicek (OK, not quite that talented or impactful, but you get the idea).

Nice backhanded compliment!

A reader noted Shank's 'efforts' since the baseball work stoppage was resolved. We now have four columns in just under two weeks, for those keeping score at home.

Change Of Pace

With one signing, Shank's suddenly singing a different tune:

By signing Trevor Story, Chaim Bloom and the Red Sox finally show they’re willing to play ball

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Hallelujah. The Red Sox are behaving like a big-market ballclub again. After two-plus years of boring “payroll flexibility” and fiscal conservatism, your baseball team is back in the free-agent game.

The Sox agreed to terms with free agent shortstop Trevor Story on a reported six-year, $140 million contract. Story will fill a big hole at second base in 2022. If Sox veteran Xander Bogaerts opts out at the end of this season (a sad outcome that feels increasingly likely), Story can go back to short where he belongs.

Story is a 29-year-old two-time All-Star who hit at least 24 homers in five of his six seasons with the Rockies (he hit 11 in 59 games in the COVID-shortened 2020 season). His 72 homers in 2018 and 2019 — adjusted for Coors Field inflation — amounts to about 30 per season. He gives the Red Sox a powerhouse infield for 2022; just keep an eye on Story’s throwing elbow.

DHL Dan CXXII - Frugality

Now hitting his spring training stride, Shank discusses the recent spendthrift nature of the 2022 Boston Red Sox:

It looks as though the frugal, bottom-line Red Sox are here to stay, and other thoughts

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Picked-up pieces while loving a return to a new normal …

▪ Are you outraged about the Red Sox’ (thus far) still-life approach to player acquisition in the post-lockout spring of 2022?

Do you not care?

Or are you perhaps one of the loyal legions who think Red Sox ownership trimming costs and saving money makes the fan experience more enjoyable — as if you are some kind of profit-sharing partner with John Henry?

Barring something unexpected, it’s pretty clear that the 2022 Red Sox are the Bottom Line Red Sox. The Sox have about $20 million to spend under the luxury-tax threshold, but don’t seem interested in big-money talent, while most of their competition has been aggressive.

Swing And A Miss

While that's a theme that can be applied to some of Shank's work, the swing and a miss is on me, as Shank's been going at a good clip since the baseball lockout / labor dispute was resolved last week. Just go here and read them; regular Shank coverage will resume shortly!

Kyrie's Homecoming

The Boston Celtics beat Kyrie Irving's newest team, the Brooklyn Nets 126-120 on Sunday, and Shank writes about the warm, loving Boston reception Kyrie got:

The Garden was not a stomping ground this time for the unfiltered Kyrie Irving

Given all the history and weirdness, it seemed appropriate that Kyrie Irving made his return to the parquet floor one day after Boston’s indoor mask mandate was lifted.

Kyrie got the Rick Pitino-Manny Machado-Ulf Samuelsson reception you’d expect, but he was not the story of this day. The story of this day was Jayson Tatum (54 points) and the Celtics prevailing down the stretch of a thrilling 126-120 victory over the hot-mess Brooklyn Nets.

We saw two engaged teams go back and forth for more than 46 minutes before Tatum and the Celtics dropped the hammer. Celtic fans got their last laugh, chanting “Kyrie sucks,” when Jaylen Brown went to the line with 31.3 seconds left and victory secure.

DHL Dan CXX - Back On The Celtics Bandwagon

It's interesting what a decent sized winning streak can do to change the attitude of certain sports columnists:

It might be time to start thinking ‘why not us?’ about the Celtics, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while cursing baseball owners and players …

Except for his boss - don't want to mess up those paychecks!

▪ The Celtics are fun again. And they are good. Sunday afternoon at home against Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and the Brooklyn Nets, the Celtics have a chance to go on national television and announce their candidacy for the 2022 NBA championship.

Wait … too much too soon, you think?

Probably. But maybe not. There are no current NBA monster teams (think 1985-86 Celtics), and given what the Celtics have been doing, you can make the “Why Not Us?” case for this group.

They have a terrific starting five, play the best defense in the league, and finally seem to be buying in on new coach Ime Udoka. In the cold and dark of March — with no football or baseball — this brings out the Full Scalabrine in some of us.

Two months ago he was calling the team annoying and frustrating. Winning cures a lot of things.

Shank On Sports Labor Disputes

As the baseball lockout drags on, Shank looks back at other pro sports labor disputes:

MLB’s lockout reminds us the history of sports and labor disputes is rife with regrettable moments

Sports and labor are contradictory terms. None of us who grow up playing sports think of it as work. We loathe sports labor stories. Sports strikes and lockouts are particularly odious when front-page headlines are dominated by a two-year pandemic and a war unfolding in Europe.

America has no appetite to debate the “issues” of contention in MLB’s lockout.

In this spirit, I’m ignoring the “negotiations” in Florida while looking back at some labor squabbles that tainted other sports seasons.

▪ Let’s start with the myth of the 1972 Red Sox getting robbed because a labor dispute denied them a chance to win the American League East. If you look at ‘72′s final standings, this appears to be true. The Tigers finished 86-70, won the AL East, and went to the playoffs while the Sox finished 85-70, a half-game out, and went home (no wild card in those days).

DHL Dan CXIX - No Shifts In Baseball?

Without any major news on the pro baseball front, Shank takes a recent Fred Lynn tweet and made a column out of it:

Picked-up pieces while waiting for baseball …

▪ There’s considerable push to ban defensive shifts in baseball because, well, hitters are too stubborn to make adjustments. An excellent analysis in The Athletic found many baseball people who want to legislate where a manager can position his defenders.

I say no. There have been nine defensive players on the diamond for more than 150 years. Put ‘em anywhere you want. It’s up to the hitters to figure it out. In the words of Wee Willie Keeler, “Hit ‘em where they ain’t.”

Add Fred Lynn to the chorus of those who think today’s hitters need to stop crying and make some adjustments.

“I believe they shifted on Ted Williams and didn’t he hit .406?” Lynn tweeted this past week.

Lynn’s remark was a response to Joey Gallo’s sob story in The Athletic.

Fight Night

I was watching this very game the other night but wound up flipping channels when the shit hit the fan. Fortunately, Shank's here with a recap of things:

Juwan Howard isn’t the first coach to lose control, but he was definitely out of line

By now you’ve probably seen the video of Michigan basketball coach and former NBAer Juwan Howard getting into a postgame dustup with members of the Wisconsin basketball staff after losing to the Badgers Sunday afternoon. The lowlight of the clip unfolds when the 6-foot-9-inch Howard reaches over a pack of police officers, players, and coaches and slaps Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft upside the head.

Wow. Big-time college basketball coaches going at one another after a hard-fought game in February? Never seen anything like it … except for what happened at the Mullins Center in Amherst 28 years ago.

Local sports fans of a certain age certainly remember that one. No actual punches were landed, but those who were there won’t forget hearing enraged Temple coach John Chaney yelling, “I’ll kill you!,” as he charged UMass coach John Calipari.

“You remember that — when I see you, I’m going to kick your ass!,” Chaney hollered as he was restrained by UMass player Mike Williams while Calipari stood at the postgame podium.

Video goodnewss of the Calipari / Chaney interaction can be found here, and read on for more coach on coach dustups!

DHL Dan CXVIII - Imagination Required

With Major League Baseball still at a lockout / labor impasse phase, Shank gets creative with his latest Picked Up Pieces column:

What might have been if the Red Sox had started spring training this week, and other thoughts

Less snow shoveling for Shank, just to name one thing...

Picked-up pieces while daydreaming about the column I should be writing today . . .

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Alex Cora is confident the 2022 Red Sox are ready to take care of unfinished business.

The Sox and their brash manager almost made it to the World Series four months ago and on the first day of pitcher/catcher workouts Cora told reporters, “No more sneaky good. We are ready to be world champs in 2022. Get ready for a lot of laundry cart rides in our dugout.”

Boston’s manager wants you to know that the 2021 playoffs were not a mirage and the Red Sox — who pantsed the Yankees and Rays, then dominated the Astros over the first three games of the 2021 ALCS — are ready to take things to the next level this season.

The Only Winning Move Is Not To Play

That's Shank's opinion (one that I share) about Boston not getting the 2024 Summer Olympic Games:

Not hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics is the best thing that never happened to Boston

Billionaire Charles Dolan almost bought the Red Sox in 2001. We have seen what he and his family have done to the Knicks. We dodged a big bullet there.

Bob Kraft almost moved the Patriots to Hartford in 1998. Kraft announced that it was a done deal. Fortunately, it was only a threat, and the Patriots never left Foxborough.

The list goes on. The Red Sox almost traded for Alex Rodriguez in the winter of 2003-04. The Celtics almost re-signed Kyrie Irving three years ago.

Oh, and back in 2015, Boston actually made a bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Seven months after the US Olympic Committee designated Boston as the American city best equipped to bid for the Games, we withdrew our application. The 2024 Games will take place in Paris.

At least Shank's consistent with this opinion.

DHL Dan CXVII - Please Be Patient!

The NBA season's past the halfway point and the Celtics are 3rd place in the Atlantic Division. Shank urges Celtics fans to be patient:

Celtics fans, be patient, because they’re sticking with this team, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while going big on the Rams in the Year of the Tiger …

▪ Brad Stevens was busy on the day of his first trade deadline as Celtics president of basketball ops. He shipped seven players out of town, none of whom were destined to have their numbers retired in the Garden’s rafters. Derrick White (who played three seasons of Division 2 college ball) and Daniel Theis (hello, again) were the “name” acquisitions.

None of these deals will rock Causeway Street like Dennis Johnson for Rick Robey or Charlie Scott for Paul Westphal (remember when an NBA deal was player-for-player, talent-for-talent?). There were no fireworks. In Stevens’s first year as boss, it’s clear that the Celtics are staying the course with this group, and with rookie coach Ime Udoka.

Stevens is playing the long game with this team that has tested our patience.

All together now … meh.

Brett Favre 2.0?

It seems like Tom Terrific isn't officially off the retirement list:

We just said goodbye to Tom Brady, and he’s already talking about a comeback?

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water …

Tom Brady is already talking about a comeback.

Sheesh. Does it ever stop with this guy? Is there no end to his hunger for attention? His need to be loved and admired?

C’mon, Tom. We just said goodbye and already you want to have us at hello. Couldn’t this have waited a few more weeks or months? Maybe until after the Super Bowl and the draft? Maybe after the 2022 schedule comes out? Maybe after Jimmy G leaves the Niners?

Tom lit his comeback fuse Monday on the public platform where he delivers many of his other important messages — the “Let’s Go” podcast, Brady’s annoying weekly SiriusXM show with Jim Gray.

Jim Gray's the annoying one there but god damn, I don't like this any more than Shank does, and that makes me nervous.