One Quarter For The Ages

Shank's talking about the fourth quarter of the Celtics' Game 4 win on Monday night over the Milwaukee Bucks, but my observation's a bit different:

A fourth quarter for the ages, a legendary dunk from Al Horford, and the Celtics-Bucks series is all even

MILWAUKEE — If the Celtics go on to win Flag 18 ('Flag' - seriously? - ed), years from now when tall tales are told, this might be the night folks talk about the most. This might be like Dave Roberts stealing second base, or Adam Vinatieri drilling the ice ball through the uprights in the last game played at Foxboro Stadium

Or ending your sentences with periods.

The Celtics beat the World Champion Milwaukee Bucks, 116-108, at Fiserv Forum Monday night to square their conference semifinal series, 2-2. Game 5 is Wednesday at the Garden, Game 6 is Friday back in Brewtown (Brewtown - must be firsthand knowledge! - ed), and Game 7 (probably necessary) Sunday on Causeway Street. Bring your popcorn.

And a copy editor - there's more poorly written hackery to follow that'd make a high school English teacher shake his head.

Remain Calm - All Is Well?

That seems to be the message Shank's trying to deliver after watching yesterday's Game 3 between the Celtics and the Bucks:

It was a tough finish, but all is not lost for Celtics

MILWAUKEE — The ball bounded back and forth, in and out, pinball-like, almost in slow motion.

Marcus Smart, rebounding his own intentionally missed free throw, had first crack with four seconds left. No good. Then Robert Williams tipped it back onto the rim. Not quite. Then Jrue Holiday got a hand on it and almost put it in the wrong basket. No. Finally, Al Horford tapped it through the hole just after the horn sounded.

It was initially ruled a bucket and the score was fixed at 103-103. For a second, it looked like we were going into overtime.

But Horford’s tap came after the red lights around the backboard lit. It was too late to save the Celtics for OT. A quick review revealed what we pretty much already knew.

Shank The Scold, A Continuing Series

A cheap and easy way to criticize athletes and pro sports teams in 2022 - keep bringing up everyone's Covid vaccination status:

Red Sox deny allowing Chris Sale more time to rehab injury because he won’t get vaccinated

MILWAUKEE — Are the Red Sox accommodating Chris Sale — allowing their $145 million pitcher extra time for his rehab from a rib cage fracture — because Sale won’t get vaccinated and they know he won’t be available to pitch in Toronto when the Sox return there June 27?

I ran this theory past Chaim Bloom Saturday afternoon, and the Red Sox chief baseball officer answered, “No. That has nothing to do with it.”

Bloom opened the box to cynicism in a rare media availability on Saturday before the Sox took on the White Sox in the second game of their weekend series.

Among items Bloom discussed in the dugout was an announcement that Sale’s rehab progress has been delayed because of a personal medical issue, not rib- or arm-related (Bloom also said Sale does not have COVID-19).

This means Sale’s return will be pushed back a few more weeks. It also means he won’t be available until late June at the earliest.

Shank has no problem criticizing Chris Sale but now gets to add his vaccination status as another stick to beat him with. I think it's stupid because Shank will never, ever consider the logic of continuing with Covid vaccine mandates now that the pandemic phase is well and small in our rear view mirror.

When Is A Bargain Not A Bargain?

When it's the flailing 2022 Boston Red Sox:

These cost-conscious Red Sox are no bargain, and other thoughts

MILWAUKEE — Picked-up pieces while waiting for someone to call traveling or charging on Giannis …

The 2022 Red Sox. Wow. Just wow.

The bumbling Bostons went into Saturday with a record of 10-17, last place in the AL East, nine games behind the first-place Yankees. The Franchy Cordero All-Stars have lost five consecutive series. Some Red Sox fans have taken to calling the 99-day lockout “The Good Old Days.”

It’s never a good thing when the local baseball season is already over in the first week of May. The Sox are not out of contention yet, and having six American League teams in the playoffs gives them hope …

But seriously?

Are Sox ownership and the front office appropriately embarrassed by this product in the first four weeks of the season? Also, why is Chaim Bloom asking us to be “patient”?

Like it or not, the surprising success of the 2021 Red Sox (they actually came within two wins of the World Series) might have been the worst thing that could have happened to this year’s edition. October’s success deluded the cost-cutting ownership and free-cycling Bloom into thinking that they had figured things out.

Making A Statement

Shank does a column on the Celtics' Game 2 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals:

Celtics got the message, then went out and made a statement in Game 2 win over Bucks

The Celtics were in need of a statement game. All the feel-good momentum from their sweep of the No No (Nan) Nets went away with Sunday’s Game 1 Garden smackdown at the hands of the defending world champion Milwaukee Bucks.

The national narrative seemed to be turning away from Boston as a dangerous team, bound for the NBA Finals. Marcus Smart was hurt, and pundits were calling out Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, both of whom underperformed in the series opener.

With this negativity in their heads and Smart (bruised thigh) on the shelf, the Celtics responded with one of their better games of the season, bolting to a 65-40 halftime lead, and playing smash-mouth defense in a 109-86, wire-to-wire Game 2 victory over the Bucks at the Garden. Brown (seven turnovers and 4-for-13 shooting in Game 1) scored 30, hit 6 of 10 from international waters.

Back On The Bandwagon, A Continuing Series

This is the very definition of a fair-weather fan:

Celtics could end our championship ‘drought,’ and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while thinking how much Xander Bogaerts reminds me of Patrice Bergeron …

▪ We are spoiled, for sure, but we are also officially in a championship drought. After 12 duck boat parades in this century, we haven’t seen confetti in three long years. The last New England major sports team to win a title was the 2018-19 Patriots. Remember them? They had a quarterback named Tom Brady and they beat the Rams, 13-3, in Atlanta in the first week of February 2019.

We thought the parades would last forever. And we almost got another one in 2019 when the Bruins played a Stanley Cup Final Game 7 on a perfect June night at the Garden after smoking the St. Louis Blues, 5-1, in Game 6. Alas, Brad Marchand skated off the ice too soon at the end of the first period, the Bruins fell behind, 2-0, and never recovered.

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.

It's All About Boston?

Or - The One Where Shank Decides To Troll Some Readers:

Remember when Super Bowl Week was all about us and the Patriots?

Super Bowl Week used to be our week. We’d invade a host city and bring you Patriot stories for a full six days before the big game. Media Day. Radio Row. The commissioner’s annual press conference. Nonsense. Substance. Parties. Rock stars. The whole nine yards.

Covering the Patriots put us on the scene nine times between 2002 and 2019. We went to New Orleans, Houston, Jacksonville, Glendale (Ariz.), Indianapolis, Glendale again, Houston, Minneapolis, and Atlanta. We saw the St. Louis Rams in New Orleans and the Los Angeles Rams in Atlanta. The Patriots beat both Carolina and Atlanta in Houston, and lost to the Giants in both Arizona and Indy.

DHL Dan CLXIX - Explosive Issues

Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores has launched a lawsuit against the NFL and three specific teams, and Shank has some thoughts on it:

Brian Flores shined light on two explosive NFL issues — race and tanking — and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while missing Truck Day …

▪ The Brian Flores lawsuit is bad news for the NFL on multiple levels. It’s clear that the Shield’s Rooney Rule is a farce and that Black coaches have a legit gripe; they are not getting due respect or consideration from NFL owners.

The fat-fingered Bill Belichick text in which Hoodie congratulated the wrong Brian and revealed the Giants had already decided on Brian Daboll was appalling. Flores handled Bill’s blunder with grace, then submitted to a charade interview with the Giants.

Flores has demonstrated toughness, fearlessness, and competence. As head coach of the Dolphins, he was 4-2 against Belichick and 19-14 in his last two seasons. This gets you fired?

The Tom Brady Retirement Column

Dear Tom:

Remember all those negative columns I wrote about you during Deflategate (and others) and I wound up calling you a cheatin' bastard?

We're good now, right?

Thanks,

Your Pal Shank

Tom Brady goes down as the greatest athlete in the storied history of Boston sports

Old-timers (like myself) still carry a torch for the celebrated likes of Bill Russell, Ted Williams, and Bobby Orr. But the truth is that Tom Brady clinched the trophy three years ago when he won his sixth Super Bowl for the Patriots at the age of 41.

Brady, who announced his retirement Tuesday morning, goes down as the greatest athlete in the long, storied history of Boston sports.

Russell forever will be our most prodigious winner: 11 championships in 13 seasons. Teddy Ballgame was the greatest hitter who ever lived. Orr is the best to ever lace up skates.

But Tom Brady is Boston’s Zeus … A-No. 1 … Top of the List … King of the Hill … Capo di Tutti Capi of all who played sports for New England teams.

DHL Dan CLXVIII - Super Bowl Matchups, Etc.

Shank's latest Picked Up Pieces column looks at the AFC & NFC championship games:

Let’s take a closer look at each potential Super Bowl matchup, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while buying a gridiron field sheet cake to share with the grandkids during Sunday’s conference championship games . . .

▪ The Chiefs are favored over the Bengals in the afternoon game and wise guys like the Rams over the Niners in the nightcap. By late Sunday night, we’ll have the Super Bowl matchup.

Some potential themes:

Chiefs-Niners — A rematch of KC’s 31-20 victory in Hard Rock Stadium two years ago. The Chiefs would be the first team to make it to three straight Super Bowls since . . . the 2016-18 Patriots. It would be a national unveiling for San Francisco superstar Deebo Samuel and Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes’s third Super Bowl after four consecutive AFC Championship games appearances (Brady-esque). In New England, this game would be all about Jimmy G.

Bengals-Rams — A chance to see if Joe Burrow can do his Red Auerbach cigar thing at SoFi Stadium Feb. 13. Marvin Lewis could make the ceremonial coin flip before the game. Matthew Stafford can show the world what he can do after 12 years in Lions jail.

The Roger Clemens No Hall Of Fame Column

Shank sort of laments Roger Clemens' non-passage into the Baseball Hall of Fame:

Numerically, Clemens is one of the top 10 pitchers of all time. He won seven Cy Young Awards, seven ERA titles, and 354 games. He was MVP of the American League when he went 24-4 with the ‘86 Red Sox. He led his teams to six pennants and two World Series wins. He won 192 games for the Red Sox, tied for most in club history with Cy Young.

Clemens didn’t look suspicious until after he left Boston for Toronto. After going 40-39 over the last four years of his Sox career, he went to the Blue Jays and won back-to-back Cy Young Awards. He pitched ridiculously well into his 40s. Too well, maybe. Clemens went 18-4 with Houston at the age of 41, then compiled a 1.87 ERA when he was 42.

Everything went south for Clemens when his onetime trainer Brian McNamee cooperated with Senator George Mitchell’s investigation into baseball. Clemens’s name appeared 82 times in the infamous Mitchell Report. Former teammate Andy Pettitte also flipped on Clemens.

What's Old Is New Again - II

Longtime fans of the DSW site will remember the raw nastiness that Shank helped to generate (and the equally nasty rejoinders from here and elsewhere). It's the Internet's corrolay to Newton's First Law, which Shank may or may not be familiar with. Roughly stated - for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction. It's been pointed out numerous times on this site the order of precedence, which I'll dub Shank's First Law; if purposely inflammatory columns are published, there will be purposefully inflammatory reactions to the column.

This is why websites like Bob Ryan Watch, Chris Gasper Watch, Chad Finn Watch, Alex Speier Watch, etc. do not exist.

So imagine my surprise when a friend pointed out that even after all of these years of DSW being in existence, there are still pockets of vitriol for the CHB (that's Carl Everett's nickname for Shank, or Curly Haired Boyfriend) out there?

Facebook Group - Dan Shaughnessy, Insufferable Douchebag

The David Ortiz Hall Of Fame Column

Or - The One Where Shank Belatedly Recasts His Doubts About Some Players In The Steroid Era:

David Ortiz’s election seems to be another sign of a shift in Hall of Fame voting philosophy

I'll spoil part of the fun - unlike previous years, Shank does not disclose his own 'voting philosophy' this time around. This helps to not explain his own potential 'shift' in voting philosophy.

History was made Tuesday night, as Barry Bonds — one of the top five sluggers who ever lived — and Roger Clemens — one of the top five pitchers who ever lived — were rejected by Baseball Hall of Fame voters for a 10th and final time and will be removed from the baseball writers’ ballot forever. Bonds and Clemens, neither of whom ever failed a drug test, presumably were bounced because both were suspected of PED use in the second half of their careers.

Meanwhile, David Ortiz, one of the great clutch hitters of all time and a certified Boston icon — and a player whose name was on a list of those who did test positive for PEDs (commissioner Rob Manfred later cast doubt about the test, which also fingered Sammy Sosa, Manny Ramirez, and Alex Rodriguez) — was elected in his first year of eligibility. Ortiz will be enshrined in Cooperstown, N.Y., July 24.

Welcome to the wild and wacky world of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Everybody loves Big Papi (except for the author of this column! - ed), including a commissioner desperately in need of the good publicity that certainly will accompany the induction of baseball’s Santa Claus. Ortiz is the only PED suspect who ever got a presidential pardon from the commissioner of baseball. But even hard-core Red Sox fans must see that Ortiz’s career curve is curious.

These are the facts: Ortiz’s name and age changed while he was in the minors. In 1996, when Ortiz was traded by the Mariners to the Twins, a Minnesota newspaper reported his weight as 190 pounds.

He was released by the Twins at the age of 27, then blossomed into an elite slugger in Boston in 2003, when the Sox listed him at 230 pounds. The 2003 season was also the year in which Ortiz tested positive for PEDs, according to the New York Times, along with Manny, Sosa, and A-Rod.

If you look at the picture in the Globe article (and others), you'd likely chalk up a lot of the weight gain to the area around his stomach.

Second - it's been pointed out many, many years ago by my co-bloggers Mike B. and David M. that most baseball writers (including Shank) looked the other way during the whole PED / steriod era, not to mention Shank's amply demonstrated hostility towards Ortiz, and it's my contention this retroactive denial of entry to all suspected PED users by these sportswriters is just ass covering. Let the worthy ones in and slap asterisks next to their names, if that's how we move on from this stuff.

DHL Dan CLXVII - Ten Years After

One of Shank's favorite subjects is the 2011 Boston Red Sox, AKA the 'Chicken & Beer' group. He's probably done a half dozen columns about them and had dropped numerous references to the group in his other columns since that time. Now we can add some jet fuel to that fire, courtesy of forner Red Sox consultant Bill James:

Is there anything to the cryptic criticism from Bill James on the 2011 Red Sox, and other thoughts

We know Shank'll do his best to make that case.

Picked-up pieces while pondering the truly unbelievable career of David Ortiz . . .

▪ Here’s a post-holiday gift for Red Sox fans — a parlor game in which you sit around drinking with friends and try to identify the racists, potheads, criminals, drunks, and all-around crazies on the 2011 Red Sox. That team, you may remember, delivered the greatest collapse in baseball history with a 7-20 September that eliminated them from what appeared a certain playoff spot.

You have Bill James to thank for this gift.

Stat Man James retired from the Sox with four championship rings in October 2019 after serving as a team consultant for 17 seasons. He was listed on the team masthead above “instructors” Jim Rice and Luis Tiant.

James still has a pay-subscription website and he recently made some strong comments about the role of team chemistry regarding the ‘11 Sox.

James wrote (in part) " . . . The [2011] team was split 15 ways, split between pitchers and position players, split between the super-serious guys and the fun-loving guys, split between the drinkers and the pot smokers. A couple of players were suspected of being . . . um insufficiently committed to good relations between the races. One guy who had a great year for us was really kind of a criminal; another guy was just nuts. One guy was just all in for himself. Too many people ran their mouths to the press and to one another. Most everybody on the team had a list of 10 teammates that he couldn’t stand . . . If anybody ever tried to tell you that team chemistry doesn’t matter, man, they should have been there.”

Read on for more mudslinging, their team manager Terry Francoa basically saying it's bullshit, and much more!

A Tale Of Two Snow Games

Today is the 20th anniversary of the New England Patriots / Oakland Raiders playoff game, which has a few nicknames. Here's Shank (who was at that game):

Latest drive home ever. Pulled into driveway at 3 am and Sunday Globe with photo and page 1 story plopped on snowy porch 3 hours later. A miracle. https://t.co/VxwcGVdz9l

— Dan Shaughnessy (@Dan_Shaughnessy) January 19, 2022

And now for my sad story. I had two buddies going to the game with a third ticket and I turned them down. I was then watching the game alone at my house, saw Brady fumble lose the ball, and promptly went to bed when it happened, thinking it was a fumble. Imagine my surprise the next morning!

The other two 'no, thanks' I wish I had a chance to do over again - not going to the Channel for Roy Orbison's last show and the same for the Foo Fighters first tour, playing on Lansdowne Street.

Another Big Bowl Of Awkward

The recriminations continue in the aftermath of the New England Patriots' blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night:

This loss has to be extra awkward for Bill Belichick with his sons on staff as defensive coaches

This is super awkward.

Bill Belichick will be 70 next time he coaches an NFL game. He has a Nantucket compound, a boat called “VIII Rings,” and probably makes more money than any coach in America. He’s on pace to become the winningest coach in NFL history and has absolute power with the direction of the Patriot franchise.

And yet these are not great days for Belichick. He just saw his upstart team suffer a humiliating playoff defeat in Buffalo, then watched 44-year-old Tom Brady advance in the tournament with yet another quarterbacking masterpiece Sunday afternoon.

Oh, and one more thing …

Fair or unfair, there’s the nepotism thing.

Belichick has two sons on the Patriots coaching staff, both on defense. One of them, Steve, who has been with the team for 10 seasons, may be the de facto defensive coordinator. Matt Patricia was the last Patriot assistant coach officially listed as “defensive coordinator.” Brian Flores did the same job but never had the title. Today, Steve Belichick and Jerod Mayo are believed to be acting as co-defensive coordinators.

Shank goes on to list many examples of 'nepotism' in the NFL and other professional sports. It's not always a bad thing, since these kids are exposed to / steeped in sports from an early age, which makes it a bit more natural for them. The problem arises when the team they're with loses, and loses in bad fashion.

While not exactly an example of nepotism, it should be noted the time when Shank got his daughter an internship with Red Sox co-owner Tom Werner's Hollywood production company. But that doesn't quite rise to the level of de facto defensive coordinator of the Patriots, does it?

One More For The Road

A bit out of sequence, but this one was the Patriots - Bills pregame column:

The Buffalo-Boston sports history is glittered with, well, not much

Buffalo-Boston. Sports History for $200.

What have we got?

How about the beloved C. Montgomery Burns/Jeremy Jacobs owning the Bruins and running Boston’s vaunted hockey franchise from Buffalo since 1975?

How about scoring-machine Bob McAdoo and NBA rookie of the year Ernie DiGregorio leading the Buffalo Braves against the John Havlicek-Dave Cowens-Jo Jo White Celtics in the first round of the 1974 playoffs? It took the Celtics six games to beat the Braves. Tommy Heinsohn’s championship-bound Celts had to go through Buffalo again in 1976. Two years later, there was a complicated NBA ownership/franchise swap where the Celtics stayed put and the Buffalo Braves moved to San Diego.

How about when the Buffalo Sabres and the French Connection line played vs. Bobby Orr and the Big Bad Bruins in the early 1970s? Anybody remember the Terry O’Reilly-coached Bruins beating Buffalo in a six-game set en route to the Stanley Cup Finals in the spring of 1988?

The 2011-2012 New England Patriots - The Burial

I'll bet Shank was working on this column well before halftime:

In an embarrassing performance, Bill Belichick and the Patriots get it rubbed in their faces by the Bills

The weather was supposed to play to New England’s advantage.

It did not.

The coaching matchup was supposed to play to New England’s advantage.

It did not.

What a beating!

A season in which the Patriots returned to the playoffs expired on the frozen tundra of Orchard Park, N.Y., Saturday night as Bill Belichick’s unprepared team was demolished by the Buffalo Bills, 47-17, in the sub-zero freezer that is Highmark Stadium.

Ugh.

A surprise season that peaked when the same Patriots beat the same Bills in a crossfire hurricane Dec. 6 collapsed in spectacular fashion over the final five weeks. In a stunning stretch of 42 days, the Patriots went from top seeds in the AFC (with visions of a Tom Brady showdown in Super Bowl 53) to a line of frozen Tomato Cans in a discount freezer.

You can tell he liked writing this one.

DHL Dan CLXVI - The Turning Away

Shank takes a look at what the work stoppage in Major League Baseball's going to look like:

Baseball is giving fans another reason to turn away, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while waiting for Tom Brady & Co to launch a Sunday playoff tripleheader …

▪ Baseball owners and players don’t seem to care about you, the fans. This will be painfully obvious if they fail to craft a new basic agreement in the coming weeks.

Demonstrating zero urgency, the sides have talked twice in the last six weeks — a seven-minute session in early December and an hourlong Zoom session Thursday. The sides do not trust one another, which means a likely delay for the start of spring training and possibly the regular season.

It’s clear that owners care most about postseason TV revenue and would be happy to lose some of the 162 if they can get a favorable new deal. Meanwhile, ballplayers have made their disregard for fans clear with their insistence on maintaining a still-life pace of play that has turned off millions of baseball watchers.

Including this one.

Patriots Loss Is Shank's Win

One of the more predictable Shank columns comes after a New England Patriots loss:

As they ready for Bills again, Patriots look like an average, undisciplined team that can’t play from behind

The Patriots are returning to the playoffs for the first time since Tom Brady left town. Saturday night — playing in Buffalo — the Patriots hope to win their first playoff game since Brady won Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta three years ago.

The bad news is that the Pats are stumbling into the postseason with three losses in four games, including Sunday’s 33-24 beatdown in Miami Gardens, Fla., against the no-playoff Dolphins.

“We didn’t do anything well,’’ mumbled Patriots coach Bill Belichick in his postgame news conference. “Just too many mistakes . . . Wasn’t good enough today. Just leave it at that . . . Lot of poor execution, poor coaching, poor playing.’’

DHL Dan CLXV - The Worst, Etc.

Now that the Boston Celtics have lost a few games, Shank sets his sights on the team:

The Celtics are the worst finishers in the NBA, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while assembling a shrine to Australian prime minister Scott Morrison …

More on this in a minute.

▪ So many topics, so little space.

One could rant about the ongoing Antonio Brown circus. One could ask for compassion for the much-traveled wideout, or simply conclude that AB is a manipulative liar and we should save our compassion for his multiple (alleged) victims and all those he has mistreated.

The Tampa Bay Bucs and Tom Brady get no compassion. They enabled Brown, did headstands to work around his baggage, lowered all standards in the quest for a championship, and ultimately deserve the predictable mess AB left behind.

Totally agree - AB's an asshole who burns nearly everyone he comes in contact with.

...

Then we have the 2021-22 Celtics, who have become the region’s most annoying and infuriating team since … last year’s Celtics.

What is it with these guys? Wednesday’s and Thursday’s losses to San Antonio and New York were as bad as it gets. No team blows leads like these guys. Six times in 16 days your Green Team lost games in which they had a lead or a tie in the fourth quarter. They are the worst finishers in the NBA. Thursday they blew a 25-point lead in New York and after the game their poor new coach said that they lack mental toughness.

If it makes you feel better, Bob Cousy sees the same things you see.

Read on for more of that, but I think his column leadoff was grating, and now for some outstanding commentary:

▪ The Novak Djokovic episode features the latest and thus far best handling of anti-vax athletes. Chris Sale, Aaron Rodgers, and even Irving all got their way when they put their personal freedom ahead of the health of their teammates and the good of their sport. Not so for Djokovic, who landed at the Melbourne airport with his vax exemption and was told “no.”

“Any individual seeking to enter Australia must comply with our border requirements,” said Morrison. “We await his presentation and what evidence he provides to support that. If that evidence is insufficient, then he won’t be treated any different to anyone else and he’ll be on the next plane home. There should be no special rules for Novak Djokovic at all. None whatsoever.”

Suffice to say, Shank barely knows any of the details here. Djokovic had some level of assurance from Tennis Austalia that things were a go and was in fact granted permission to enter the Australian province of Victoria via a medical exemption when the Australian Feds suddenly stepped in and decided without explanation or elaboration his papers were not in order. These and many other factors can be seen here and paint a decidely diffeerent picture of the situation than Mr. Branch Covidian here does. In his view, anti-vax athletes should be dealt with in this manner; ambush swift, harshly and with one level of appeal available to you, the aggrieved party. Completely ignored by both the Feds in Australia and by Shank - Novak has already had Covid-19 and thus far better immunity against future infection (also known as natural immunity) than from these so-called 'vaccines'. Is it a real 'vaccine' if the're recommending boosters every couple of months? People like Australian prime minister Scott Morrison and Shank are without doubt proponents of compulsory vaccination regardless of the facts.

Tension

Shank does his first ever column devoted to Red Sox and Boston Globe owner John Henry:

John Henry is no Rob Manfred, and I appreciate that

I am here today to celebrate and applaud John Henry.

Words you never thought you would read.

Here’s the deal. The Major League Baseball Network terminated an outstanding reporter, Ken Rosenthal, evidently because MLB commissioner Rob Manfred thought Kenny was being too mean to the commish and his ideas. By any measure, it goes down as one of the most idiotic management moves in MLB Network history.

Rosenthal is fair and smart, universally respected in big league baseball — by fans, owners, players, team officials, and reporters. Rosenthal is the goods. It is incredibly petty and short-sighted for Manfred to eliminate Rosenthal’s podium just because he can.

You can’t fool fans. Or viewers. Or readers. They always get it.

Henry is no Manfred. There no doubt have been plenty of times when the owner of the Red Sox — who is also owner of the Globe — would have preferred that my thoughts not run in his newspaper. Yet I am still here. Unfortunately for MLB Network viewers, Rosenthal didn’t have a boss who understood the role of the media, was willing to take some hits, and let the viewers make up their own minds.

Definitely worth reading in full.

Let's You And Him Fight!

Remember when I was mentioning a few years that Shank wouldn't be doing his weekly broadcasting gig at 98.5 The Sports Hub for much longer (and by implication he wasn't getting along with Marc 'The Beetle' Bertrand and Scott Zolak)?

Shots fired!

OK now, Beetle? https://t.co/lWw7YILfmf

— Dan Shaughnessy (@Dan_Shaughnessy) January 2, 2022

Turn On A Dime Dan, A Continuing Series

After the New England Patriots placed a beatdown on the Jacksonville Jaguars 50-10 yesterday, Shank sees a resurrection of sorts:

Mac Jones is breaking down walls every step of the way. It’s as if he was invented by Bill Belichick

Rookie Wall?

Don’t be ridiculous. Mac Jones played a 13-game championship season at Alabama in 2020, where he was subjected to the same rigors and scrutiny he’s experienced during his terrific NFL rookie season.

When the Patriots lost a couple of games before Christmas, there was predictable noise that Jones had run out of gas at the tail end of the NFL’s 17-game regular season. He wasn’t allowed to throw the football on a windy night in Orchard Park, N.Y., and followed that with a couple of losing efforts, throwing four interceptions combined against the Colts and Bills.

For a full week after the loss to Buffalo, we heard about another brick in the Rookie Wall, the first-year Wailing Wall, and Foxborough’s Wall of no sound. Sports radio yakkers urged Jones to “take down this Wall.’’

It was one week ago when Shank was all but burying the Patriots and now expects us to believe otherwise.

Sam Jones, R.I.P

Another Boston Celtic great has passed away:

With Sam Jones’s death, Bob Cousy loses another beloved Celtics teammate

Bob Cousy got the call early Friday. New Year’s Eve. Another teammate was gone.

Sam Jones.

“I just got off the phone with Satch,” Cousy said from his Worcester home Friday morning. “I told him not to look over his shoulder.

“Now we’re down to just three. Satch [Tom Sanders], Russ [Bill Russell], and I are holding up the float, I guess. The last thing I said to Satch was that I’m going to have my lonely New Year’s Eve drink tonight at 6 o’clock and I’m going to hoist it to Sam. I told Satch he should do the same and he said, ‘I won’t have mine till 10,’ and I said, ‘By 10, I will have been asleep for an hour.’ ”

Not So Hot Stove League

Since Major League Baseball's currently under a lockout, Shank (co-author of his book) talks to former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona about other baseball stuff:

Catching up with Terry Francona, who plans to be back in the Cleveland dugout

It is the end of 2021, the middle of baseball winter, and all of our Hot Stoves are Ice Cold.

So here’s a little baseball for you. Here’s what’s going on with Terry Francona — the best manager in Red Sox history — who was fired by the Sox exactly 10 years ago.

Francona averaged 93 wins in his eight seasons at Fenway, winning two World Series, taking the Sox to the playoffs five times, and playing in front of a full house every night. After the 2011 chicken-and-beer collapse, Francona gave way to Bobby Valentine, who gave way to John Farrell, who gave way to Alex Cora.

Cora was one of Francona’s Red Sox players. So were future managers Dave Roberts (Dodgers), Kevin Cash (Rays), Gabe Kapler (Giants), Rocco Baldelli (Twins), David Ross (Cubs), and Mark Kotsay (A’s). You can say that Francona’s managing tree has borne more fruit than Bill Belichick’s coaching tree. Cora, Cash, Roberts, and Kapler all managed in the playoffs in 2021.

Mirage

With the New England Patriots losing two games in a row, Shank thinks the previous success of the team was all bullshit:

Turns out, Patriots as Super Bowl contenders was just a mirage

It was fun while it lasted.

This is not to say the Patriots can’t rally in the final two weeks (they have the 2-13 Jags at Gillette next weekend), then go on one of those magical wild-card playoff runs. Theoretically, they still can get where they want to go.

But not even Zo or the Full Rochie would dare predict a Super Bowl or a deep playoff run for these 2021 Patriots. Not now. Not after what we just witnessed. Not for a team that couldn’t get Josh Allen off the field in a 33-21 home loss. Not for a team that evidently can’t play from behind. Not for a team that just got manhandled by the Colts and Bills in back-to-back games.

DHL Dan CLXIV - The 'Mea Culpa' Column

Or - The One Where Belichick Gives Shank An Out:

In the spirit of the season, there are more than enough apologies to go around, and a few other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while laying out cold cuts and chips for Sunday’s big game in Foxborough . . .

A wee bit too early for that, isn't it? And why isn't he doing a traditional Buffalo Bills recipe (as I will) for the game, Buffalo Wings?

Pro tips here - a) cook the wings on the grill, not in the oven; b) coat the wings with flour & paprika so as to help prevent the wings from drying out; and c) your blue cheese recipe can be a mix of shredded blue cheese (I use Danish blue cheese) and sour cream, with a pich of mayonnaise.

▪ As you are no doubt aware, Bill Belichick on Monday apologized to reporters for his miserable news conference after losing to the Colts. Belichick’s remarkable act of contrition filled us with the spirit of Christmas.

Taking cues from the greatest coach of all time, let me take this opportunity to apologize to those who may have been offended in this space over the course of 2021.

Sorry, Ed Davis. There was no need to poke fun of you week after week about “cracking the case” of the David Ortiz shooting in the Dominican Republic. It was never personal. You are a great guy and a much-respected cop.

Do I detect just a bit of tongue-in-cheek sarcasm here?

Jackie Bradley Jr.? It was not necessary to highlight your .163 batting average on a weekly basis (but he did anyway - ed.). I’m pretty sure the metrics show that you were just unlucky. Welcome back to Boston, dude. We look forward to all the great catches in center field.

UMass football? Can’t say I’ve been wrong about this, but it’s certainly not the players’ fault and perhaps we don’t need to keep reminding everyone that Division 1 was a mistake. Sorry.

Mindful that space is precious, let’s bundle other personalities who perhaps misunderstood my attempts at constructive criticism.

In the spirit of Belichick, here’s a massive mea culpa to Garrett Richards, Sean McDermott, Tiger Woods, Sam Kennedy, Aaron Rodgers, Danny Ainge, the Cheatin’ Houston Astros, all soccer owners who attempted to form a Super League, J.D. Martinez, Naomi Osaka, everyone at NESN, Bob and Jonathan Kraft, Kyrie Irving, Craig Kimbrel, John Calipari, the New England Revolution, Brad Stevens, Megan Rapinoe, the anti-vax Red Sox, Geno Auriemma, Tom Werner, Rob Manfred, Ortiz, and Cam Newton.

I could go on, but there’s a big game coming up and we don’t want this apology to last longer than the Beatles’ “Get Back” documentary.

Can you imagine how long this coulum would be if Shank offered up apologies of questionable sincerity that go back decades? What if he 'apologized' for slagging the likes of Roger Clemens, Nomar Garciaparra, Pedro Martinez, Johnny Damon, Theo Epstein (AKA the infamous 'Dirty Laundry' column), Bill Buckner, Carl Everett, and Jeff Stone, just off the top of my head?

Now that obligatory and insincere apologies are out of the way, let's get back to cricizing athlethes, shall we?

▪ Nice job by selfish anti-vaxxer Cole Beasley exercising his “personal freedom,” which makes him unavailable for the Bills’ biggest game of the season. Fellow unvaxxed receiver Gabe Davis will also be out for Buffalo Sunday.

First - this is disingenuous - Beasley's not on the sidelines for not getting the 'vaccination'; he's out because he's contracted the virus. Is Shank not aware that vaccinated people can contract and spread the Wuhan Flu just like the unvaccinated? There are many concerns why someone won't go for a 'vaccine' - potential blood clots, myocarditis, heart arrythmia (since your heart's inflammed after myocarditis) and what might not be currently known about these 'vaccines'. I for one will not be getting any more 'vaccines' based on these facts, having suffered multiple 'cardiac events' as my doctors euphemistically call them; I'll wait for full FDA approval before the next one. Also consider - I got an MMR booster vaccine (Measles, Mumps & Rubella) two years ago, about fifty years after receiving the first one. Now that's a vaccine, not this 'booster' flu shot stuff, which is how this virus is currently shaking out.

Here's a shocker - Shank knows about other bands besides the Beatles & the Rolling Stones:

▪ Former Dodgers All-Star center fielder Brett Butler went to the same high school (Libertyville in Illinois) as Marlon Brando and Adam Jones, the guitarist for Tool.

Here's Tool's Danny Carey behind the drumkit wearing a Larry Bird jersey.

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Long Time Coming

Shank's columns mostly come after a loss by the New England Patriots, so to the surprise of no one, here's the latest:

It was a long time coming, but Colts got a measure of revenge not only beating, but outcoaching, Patriots

Remember all that fun we had mocking the Buffalo Bills and their fans after Bill Belichick cut their meaty hearts out in Orchard Park a couple of weeks ago?

Yeah, that’s pretty much how Indianapolis Colts fans are feeling today.

“It was a big [expletive] deal,’’ longtime Indianapolis media member (print and TV) Bob Kravitz said after the Colts beat the Patriots, 27-17, Saturday night. “To have the Patriots continually outplay, outsmart, and out-bully the Colts has been a blow to the local psyche. This felt cathartic in a way that the 38-34 AFC Championship game in 2006 was cathartic.’’

Here in the Hub of the Universe, ridiculing the Colts has been a parlor game since the days when Tom Brady and Peyton Manning first dueled at the beginning of this century.

This one is notable for its lack of venom and animus usually reserved for coach Bill Belichick and / or owner Robert Kraft. It's actually a solid column but he should retire some Shankisms, at least in my opinion.

The Ime Udoka Column

Shank writes a pretty good column about the coach of the Boston Celtics:

Last June, a small but powerful Celtics contingent flew to New York to interview Nets assistant Ime Udoka for Boston’s head coaching vacancy.

In a conference room at co-owner Steve Pagliuca’s Bain Capital offices, they noshed on veal parmesan, meatballs, and linguine as Udoka described his winding journey and his vision for this team. Then co-owner Wyc Grousbeck asked a simple question that left Udoka stumped.

“What are your hobbies outside of basketball?”

Udoka has never considered a life outside of basketball, and he has never wanted to.

This was a man who skipped his school prom to play in late-night pickup games. Who took graveyard shifts loading trailers for FedEx just so it wouldn’t disrupt his training sessions. Who returned to practice with the Portland Trail Blazers the day after his father’s sudden death.

For Udoka, basketball is all-consuming and fulfilling and essential. So his answer to Grousbeck’s question may have sounded overdone, but it was honest.

“For me,” he said, “there’s nothing else.”

DHL Dan CLXIII (Part Deux) - Stirring The Pot Again

By most accounts, Danny Ainge resigned from the Celtics as head of basketball operations six months ago on his own accord. This being Boston, arguably the most negative sports media town in the country, Shank questions this premise:

Danny Ainge says he wasn’t pushed out by the Celtics when he ‘retired,’ and other picked-up pieces from the sports world

Picked-up pieces while listening to Mitch Miller and the Gang singing Christmas carols (why do they sound so angry?) . . .

I had an enjoyable “exit interview” with Danny Ainge Thursday, one day after it was announced that he was taking a position in the front office of the Utah Jazz.

Why did he abruptly “retire” from the Celtics in June?

“I just felt like I needed a break, well before the playoffs started,” said Ainge. “And I also felt like the team was in great hands. When I decided to walk, I didn’t think that Brad [Stevens] would take over my spot. I thought that Brad would still be coaching. I just wanted to get away from the game for a while, and I’ve done that for seven months and I feel reenergized and I have a unique opportunity to work with a good friend [Jazz owner Ryan Smith]. This is a much different role [than in Boston]. It’s a much lesser role. It happened quickly, over a period of a couple of days when I finally showed a little interest with Ryan.”

Note the selective use of quotes, all the better to create some doubt.

When Ainge “retired” he was asked about perhaps working in Utah down the road and answered, “Nothing is going on there . . . I honestly haven’t thought about what’s next. I don’t have any urgency or anything planned.”

On Thursday he said, “I honestly didn’t know back then. I was prepared to be done for good and find something else. I’ve had other opportunities. I just really haven’t been willing to listen until just recently.”

At this point in our conversation, I felt a need to address local speculation that Ainge might have been nudged by Celtics ownership when he “retired” after the team was routed by the Nets in the playoffs.

“Just for the record, were you pushed out of Boston?” I asked.

“No,” Ainge said with a laugh. “Are you serious? Do you seriously think that, or is that just like some commentary?”

It wouldn't surprise me a bit if Shank, in spite of this conversation, continued to push the notion that the Celtics gave him the bum's rush out the door in some fashion.

DHL Dan CLXIII - Shooters

Shank gets down to some serious ball sucking on a recent basketball 'record'"

Shooting is why we love basketball, and no one has ever done it better than Stephen Curry

False premise; I used to like pro basketball for more than the shooting.

Love of basketball starts with shooting.

Line up a bunch of 6-year-olds in front of a kiddie hoop. Roll out the balls. Watch the kids aim and throw the balls toward the little hoop. It’s as instinctive as reaching for the first chocolate chip cookie you’ve ever seen.

Shooting the basketball is what we first love about the game.

In this spirit, we love the long-distance bombers; guys who can fill it up from downtown. For some of us, this goes back to Bill Sharman, Sam Jones, “Jack the Shot” Foley, Jerry Lucas, Calvin Murphy, and Pistol Pete Maravich. Some of us think Larry Bird is the best shooter we’ve ever seen. Others might choose Lou Hudson, Reggie Miller, Glen Rice, Dirk Nowitzki, Ray Allen or Kevin Durant.

But now there’s Stephen Curry — the greatest shooter of all time.

Stephen Curry has made more three pointers than anyone else; that in and of itself doesn't make you the 'greatest shooter'. I'm bored to death watching nearly half the shots (40.2% of all shots that happen in the 'modern' NBA game are three point shots) being jacked up from downtown and I can barely watch it anymore. Your mileage may vary.

Thar She Blows - A Clive Rush Sighting!

We know Shank has certain go-to references when he's making a point, and this point is evident - the current Buffalo Bills coach sucks:

As an NFL coach, Sean McDermott is Clive Rush (look it up, young people).

— Dan Shaughnessy (@Dan_Shaughnessy) December 12, 2021

Just to make it easy on those 'young people', here's a link to the former Patriots coach.

DHL Dan CLXII - Retroactive Praise

Nearly a week after his previous column and four days after a Patriots win, Shank absorbs enough of the local takes on the Patriots / Bills game on Monday night to 'heap' some praise on Bill Belichick:

The Bills game was truly a Bill Belichick special, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while wondering if Sean McDermott sticks pins in a Bill Belichick doll before going to sleep at night . . .

I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a Patriots game as much as Monday night’s throwback special in Orchard Park. Wish the Patriots had come out wearing leather helmets with no facemasks for the second half. As Matt McCarthy of 98.5 The Sports Hub tweeted, “We’re officially one dropkick away from this being Bill’s favorite game he’s ever coached.”

Watching the Patriots’ beefy offensive linemen control the game with 33 consecutive running plays, I wondered if that’s what it looked like when Belichick was a center and Ernie Adams a pulling guard for undefeated Phillips Academy (Andover) in 1970. Milt Holt was Big Blue’s star quarterback and later played at Harvard, but the football brains in the Andover huddle were the senior center and guard who studied interior line blocking and knelt at the altar of the single-wing offense.

...

The Hoodie has reclaimed his title as Greatest Ever. He’s on a collision course to face Tom Brady in February’s Super Bowl. He’s found his new franchise quarterback. He’s got his two sons on his staff and once again appears to be getting everything he wants from his owner. Belichick should be good for at least 10 wins a year for the foreseeable future. Shula has to be in his sights.

Apparently Belichick wasn't the 'Greatest Ever' a mere three months ago. Funny how a seven game winning streak can change perceptions.

DHL Dan CLXI - Getting It Wrong In Advance?

Shank jumps on another hot-take type of bandwagon:

Revisiting that Patriots-Buccaneers Super Bowl prediction, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while the Bills Mafia gets lathered up for the first-place-again Patriots in Orchard Park Monday night …

▪ As one who is routinely wrong, let me mention that I’m no latecomer to the suggestion that the Bill Belichick Patriots could wind up facing the Tom Brady Buccaneers in Super Bowl LVI Feb. 13 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.

Go back to the Globe’s “NFL Season Picks” that were posted online Sept. 8 and you’ll see me predict that the Patriots would go 11-6 and make it to the Super Bowl, where they’ll beat Tampa Bay in “the greatest event in the history of sports.” Colleague Chad Finn also had the Buccaneers and Patriots in the final, but he picked Brady to win the big game.

Speculation about a Patriots-Buccaneers Super Bowl was a topic this past week after New England knocked off top-seeded Tennessee while the Brady Bucs got back on the winning track in Indianapolis. Data analytics website Football Outsiders stated that going into Week 13, Patriots-Buccaneers is the most likely Super Bowl matchup, with a 9.9 percent chance of happening.

Suicide Solution?

Shank writes about a potential upcoming work stoppage in baseball, which is always less harmful in the offseason:

The good news about Major League Baseball’s imminent lockout is that it has created an artificial free agency deadline for many teams looking to improve in hopes that therewill be a full 162-game season in 2022.

As of now, unless there’s a labor agreement between owners and the Players Association, all MLB business closes at midnight Wednesday. As a result, we’ve seen a frenzy of signings by aggressive teams intent on improving their chances for 2022.

Through Monday, there had been 16 free agent player agreements with guarantees of more than $20 million (no big splashes for the “deliberate” Red Sox, who spent the last few days buying an NHL team). In the past month, MLB owners have pledged more than $1.4 billion in guaranteed contracts, almost $1.2 billion since Friday.

I remember a few vague stories about a work stoppage / strike during the year and didn't take much stock in them, given that the game was / still is losing viewership / popularity and anything like a stoppage now would affect (read - hurt) all sides. Cooler heads have this one resolved well before spring training starts.

Not So Hot Takes, By Dan Shaughnessy

With the Patriots winning yesterday's game against the Titans, Shank focuses on Mac Jones and one key aspect of the current football season:

Mac Jones can take the hits, make the plays, manage the game — and play in the cold

Mac Jones keeps checking the boxes, passing the tests.

Managing the game. Check. Completion percentage. Check. Pocket presence. Check. Taking the hits. Check. Inspiring teammates. Check. Winning close games. Check.

Now a new one. Mac Jones Sunday showed he can play in a cold weather game, too.

This wasn’t Patriots vs. Titans at Gillette in January of 2004 (windchill, minus 10 degrees) when Tom Brady and Co. beat the Titans, 17-14, in a playoff rock fight. It wasn’t the Snow Bowl Tuck Rule Game against the Raiders. It wasn’t Orchard Park, N.Y., in December (that’ll be next week).

But it was near freezing with snow showers in Foxborough and privileged folks in the red seats stayed inside by the big fireplaces while Jones completed 23 of 32 passes for 310 yards and two touchdowns in a 36-13 demolition of Mike Vrabel’s top-seeded Titans. Jones was sacked twice, but didn’t have to do much after a spectacular 41-yard touchdown pass play to Kendrick Bourne made it 26-13 with five minutes left in the third.

One game's an awfully small sample size, but we'll know more next week at Buffalo.

DHL Dan CLX - Now With More Duende!

Shank recalls a few good local sporting moments:

Recalling some great Boston ‘duende’ moments, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while wondering if Mike Vrabel has any rule-book trickeration in store for Bill Belichick …

▪ In this space last weekend, we asked for submissions of Boston sports “duende” moments, like the Kyle Schwarber mock ovation when the Schwarb made a clean play in the playoffs, and the famous “Beat LA” chant at the Old Garden in 1982.

The response was overwhelming. Dozens of you fondly recalled the Red Sox home opener in 2005, when all the Yankees were booed during introductions right up until closer Mariano Rivera received a standing ovation for his role in the 2004 playoffs (Rivera blew the save in Game 4 when Dave Roberts triggered a comeback for the ages with the Stolen Base Heard ’Round the World).

There were plenty of other great suggestions, some too dated, arcane, or difficult to prove.

Some duende nuggets that made the cut: Ray Bourque giving his No. 7 jersey to Phil Esposito and switching to No. 77 when Espo was honored at the Old Garden in 1987; a long standing ovation for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar when he set the NBA field goal record at the Old Garden in 1984; TD Garden fans singing the national anthem a capella before the first Bruins game after the Marathon bombings; Fenway fans chanting “steroids” at Jose Canseco in 1988, long before anybody knew it was true; Cape Cod families annually opening their homes to host college baseball players for Cape League summers; Globe Pulitzer winner Stan Grossfeld getting the photo of bullpen cop Steve Horgan making a perfect “W” by raising his arms next to an upside-down Torii Hunter when David Ortiz’s homer changed the 2013 ALCS.

DHL Dan CLIX - Belichick Is Back

Shank does some backtracking on the Patriots coach...

Bill Belichick is right back to being, well, Bill Belichick, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while waiting for the Bills to lose to the Colts and restore the Patriots to the top spot in the AFC East …

▪ In short order, we have seen the rightful restoration of the legacy of Bill Belichick. The waves in Nantucket sound were getting choppy around Hoodie’s “VIII Rings” boat in early October. The Patriots were 1-3, coming off the heels of 7-9 with Cam Newton last season. Meanwhile, Tom Brady was a Super Bowl champ — looking good to do it again this season — and the Belichick haters had their day.

Belichick never won anything without Brady … The whole dynasty was because Bill had Tom … Belichick the GM failed Belichick the coach … The Patriots were just another team … Hubris and arrogance will get you every time …

So - pretty much what Shank was saying two months ago!

Another Excerpt From Shank's Latest Book

The Boston Globe published a little more from Shank's book on the Larry Bird era Celtics:

Book excerpt: Remembering the first Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals of the Larry Bird era

The Celtics host the Lakers Friday night at TD Garden (wotta coincidence! - ed.) , and any renewal of one of the great NBA rivalries always conjures memories of their historic matchups.

With that in mind, this has been excerpted from “Wish It Lasted Forever — Life With the Larry Bird Celtics” by Dan Shaughnessy. Copyright ©2021 by Dan Shaughnessy. Reprinted by permission of Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

The Bird-Magic Finals of the NBA’s golden 1980s — the Celtics and Lakers met three times in a stretch of four seasons between 1984-87 — were like the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier title fights. The first of the three Bird-Magic bouts came in 1984 after the Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference finals, while the Lakers advanced in the West against the Phoenix Suns.

CBS was ecstatic. Boston-LA meant that Larry Bird and Magic Johnson would be meeting in a championship event for the first time since NBC set unbreakable ratings records with its broadcast of the Bird-Magic NCAA Final in 1979. At least one of them had been in the NBA Finals in each of their first four NBA seasons, but this was the first championship series featuring both.

The Celtics and Lakers were the Yankees and Dodgers of pro basketball. They’d played in seven NBA Finals from 1959 to 1969 with Boston winning every one. Lakers fans were haunted by the 1962 finale, when Frank Selvy’s potential series winner clanged off the rim at the Boston Garden. LA general manager Jerry West experienced what he called the low point of his life when the Lakers couldn’t beat Boston in 1969. A Celtics-Lakers Final in 1984 meant that the league’s two showcase franchises accounted for 60 percent (23 of 38) of all NBA crowns in the first four decades of the league’s existence. (In the COVID summer of 2020, the LeBron James Lakers won their seventeenth NBA crown, finally tying the Celtics for most championship banners.)

DHL Dan CLVIII - The Tuna Speaks

Shank caught up to the former New England Patriots coach and gets his opinion on a few things:

Picked-up pieces while stacking cordwood …

▪ Bill Parcells was the last Patriots coach to turn his team over to a rookie quarterback. In his first season as New England’s head coach (1993), the Tuna put the ball in the hands of No. 1 overall pick Drew Bledsoe and watched the Patriots lose 11 of their first 12 games. The Patriots finished with a four-game win streak, made the playoffs a year later, and went to the Super Bowl in Bledsoe’s fourth season.

Fast-forward to 2021 and Parcells likes what he is seeing from Bill Belichick’s Patriots and rookie quarterback Mac Jones.

“I’ll tell you something,” Parcells said from his Florida home. “I thought last week’s Patriots game was superb. I liked their time of possession [32:29]. That’s my kind of game right there. I really like that.

“The guy [Jones] is taking care of the ball and you had control of the game from beginning to end. You can’t ask anything else of a quarterback. If you can play like that, you’re going to win a lot of games. I really think they’ve got a good chance. I really do.

What's Old Is New Again

It seems Shank wrote a book about the 1980's era Boston Celtics recently, and now there's an excerpt or two making the rounds. Here's part of one of them:

During the 1985 Eastern Conference Finals against Philadelphia, Bird’s ever-crooked right index finger was newly mangled and swollen.

The day before Game 5, Bird practiced with his right hand taped in a web-like fashion. His ring and pinky fingers were wrapped together, as were his middle and index fingers. At the end of practice, he stopped on his way to the locker room and took questions.

“Larry, you can’t play in a playoff game with your hand taped like that, can you?” I asked.

“You never know,” he teased. “It’s a different feeling. I don’t like anything taped because then it just doesn’t feel like it usually does. It’s difficult to shoot when you have something on your hand. Although I don’t think Greg Kite has anything to worry about. He could wear a cast.”

“But seriously,” I pushed. “You’re not going to tape it like that for the game tomorrow, are you?”

“Scoop, I could tape my whole hand up and make more shots than you.”

...

The worse I got, the better he got. Bird made 46 of his last 50. He made 73 of 80 after figuring it out in the first two rounds. He made 86 of 100 free throws with a taped fist. I made 54.

“You owe me $160,” he said.

Seems a few details were left out of this 'excerpt', like - 'how'd Bird's hand get injured?' and 'did Shank actually cough up $160 to Larry Legend?' First question first:

Larry was MVP in ’84, ’85, and ’86, and the height of his powers was ’85. He was on the cover of Time magazine and it was a big deal. That’s when he had the 60-point game in New Orleans against the Atlanta Hawks. So, we found out later he’d gotten in a barroom fight in downtown Boston, down by Faneuil Hall. It was a bar, I think it was called Chelsea’s. Larry had come to the defense of a teammate, or some issue, and doing the old-school Indiana thing he swung at a guy and he messed up his hand. And he was taping it at practice, and it was a very odd-looking kind of a web-taping, splitting his hand into two sets of fingers.

And question #2 - Dan Shaughnessy, cheapskate!

HIMMELSBACH: So wait, you expensed the $160 that you lost in a shooting contest?

SHAUGHNESSY: Yes, and evidently the IRS frowns on the word ‘wager’ in expense accounts, (because it's a personal expense, maybe? - ed.) because it bounced back and they said ‘You cannot put ‘wager’ in an expense account.’ So I just made it eight $20 lunches with [Celtics center] Robert Parish. We just substituted.

Guess Who's Back On The Patriots Bandwagon?

With the 2021 Patriots getting a winning record at 5-4, Shank dusts off the pom-poms:

The Patriots are back, so let us be the first to suggest how great a Belichick vs. Brady Super Bowl would be

Getting way ahead of ourselves here, or what?

Here we go.

The Patriots destroyed the Carolina Panthers, 24-6, in Charlotte Sunday. That’s three straight for New England so brace yourself for a surge of “the Pats are back” stories from local and national media outlets.

Gentlemen, start your search engines. Let’s harken back to a time not so long ago when the Patriots were the dominant team in football, occasionally bending a few rules and running over just about every team in their path.

It was not so long ago. New England was a dynasty. Every other team was a Tomato Can. The Pats had Coke-bottle-glasses-Ernie Adams devising diabolical adjustments at halftime. The Pats had Dante Scarnecchia sculpting harmonic, tenacious offensive lines. The Pats had tough, Swiss-Army-knife slot guys like Wes Welker and Julian Edelman. The Patriots had the greatest tight end of all time, Rob Gronkowski. They had the greatest quarterback of all time . . . a man named Brady.

DHL Dan CLVII - Piling On The Celtics

We saw Shank swipe themes from The Sports Hub and do a column on the Celtics earlier this week. Today he keeps going:

Getting an early take on the Celtics from Brad Stevens, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while trying to watch the Celtics without thinking about how much better the NBA was when Bird & Co. roamed the parquet …

▪ The 2021-22 Celtics have already received a full season’s worth of local scorn for hideous losses, blown leads, and the appearance of internal strife. They seemed to respond positively after veteran Marcus Smart called them out earlier in the week, but they still haven’t won a home game yet.

Never mind that the two games since Smart's callout were both road games; it's just another way to criticize the team.

Brad Stevens coached these guys for eight years and now serves as president of basketball operations (the new Danny Ainge). I caught up with Stevens Friday morning after the Celtics’ impressive blowout of the Heat in Miami Thursday.

The Jerry Remy Column

The longtime Red Sox broadcaster and former player has been battling health problems for a few years now, and finally passed away yesterday. Here's Shank on Jerry Remy:

Jerry Remy was a terrific baseball player, and that’s where the legend began

Before he was “The RemDawg,” he was Jerry Remy, Red Sox All-Star second baseman.

On a splendid Halloween Sunday morning, Red Sox Nation learned that Remy over the weekend lost his seventh and final battle with cancer. No more will we hear him explaining the fine art of bunting and what it was like to grow up worshipping Yaz in Somerset and then make it all the way to Fenway’s infield where he was Carl Yastrzemski’s teammate for six seasons.

After his big league playing days were over in 1984, Remy grew to be the face and voice of Boston’s vaunted baseball franchise as a color analyst on NESN. He opened restaurants, wrote books, sold RemDawg merchandise, and was elected president of Red Sox Nation. The RemDawg was popular with baseball diehards, casual fans, and even those who didn’t know Manny Ramirez from Hanley Ramirez.