And The New England Patriots Starting QB Is...

Shank takes a look at the soap opera like debate over the starting quarterback position for the Pats:

Should the Patriots play Drake Maye over Jacoby Brissett? It’s not about who starts, it’s who finishes.

These are days of agonizing reappraisal in Patriot Nation. Who is the starting quarterback?

Veteran Jacoby Brissett or rookie Drake Maye?

Before the start of the preseason schedule, beginner coach Jerod Mayo said there was going to be a quarterback competition. With the preseason come and gone, Mayo says that Maye has outperformed Brissett. (Third-year backup Bailey Zappe, who started eight games over the last two seasons, was cut Tuesday morning.)

So who starts? And who sits?

It is a question of the ages … for the ages.

Most of you know the history. The Bill Belichick Patriots heaped too much too soon on 2021 first-round draftee Mac Jones, and Mac has been banished to NFL Siberia (Jacksonville).

The history of NFL rookie quarterbacks taking charge immediately is not great.

From there, Shank does a good job of looking back at similar situations with previous high draft pick QB's and doesn't draw a conclsion on the current Patriots' QB situation, a situation that's now moot with this morning's announcement that Brissett will be the starter for Week 1.

Happy Birthday, Yaz!

Shank catches up with the former Red Sox left fielder:

Catching up with the great Carl Yastrzemski as he turns 85, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while trying to learn the NFL’s ridiculously complex new kickoff rules …

▪ Carl Yastrzemski is New England’s historic, hardball J.D. Salinger. He’s our Garbo. Yaz gave us great work for 23 big league seasons and now he just wants to be left alone.

The greatest living Red Sox player — and the team’s career leader in games (3,308), runs, hits, and total bases — turned 85 Thursday. He says he’s no longer fishing or playing golf, but he’s watched a lot of Sox games on TV this season and keeps close tabs on his 34-year-old grandson, Mike, who’s in his sixth season with the San Francisco Giants.

The West Coast night games are tough on Grandpa Yaz.

“They get going at 9:45 and I’m sleeping by then,” he said with a chuckle.

To Play Or Not To Play?

Obvious headline aside, Shank calls on former New England Patriots coach Bill Parcells (who's still speaking to Shank) to discuss the pros and cons of starting a rookle quarterback (I.e. Drake Maye):

To play or not to play a young quarterback? Bill Parcells discusses the pros and cons.

Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells knows all about veteran journeyman quarterbacks, first-round franchise quarterbacks, and quarterback controversies.

He also knows a thing or two about the Bob Kraft franchise and the mind-set of New England football fans. He knows the Patriots are rebuilding and that there’s going to be pressure to play No. 3 overall pick Drake Maye over eight-year veteran (five teams) Jacoby Brissett.

“Fans always want to see what’s new, particularly if you’re losing games,” Parcells said when I tracked him down on the phone this week.

No specifics, please. Parcells worked for the Krafts for four full seasons — it ended badly, perhaps you’ve heard? — and has mentored Brissett since he was a 15-year-old high schooler in West Palm Beach. The Tuna roots for Brissett to succeed, but won’t butt into New England’s football operation.

Yeah, we heard, Shank - you were one of the writers cirling like pirhanas.

DHL Dan CCXX - The Heat Is On

After Thursday's preseason game with the Philadelphis Eagles, Shank points out the obvious - that New England Patriots' top rookie quaterback played fairly well (and a whole lot more then in six snaps the previous game) and it might be decision time in Foxborough:

There is going to be a lot of pressure — and soon — for the Patriots to play Drake Maye, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while reminding you that the King of Rock and Roll (Elvis Presley, 1977), the Queen of Soul (Aretha Franklin, 2018), and the Sultan of Swat (Babe Ruth, 1948) all died on Aug. 16 …

▪ Welcome to the 2024 New England Patriots, also known as “Tomato Cans R Us.”

This is Season 5 of Life After Brady and Season 1 of Life Without Bill. The Patriots are projected as NFL bottom-feeders, and it’s pretty obvious there’s going to be a lot of noise about Drake Maye between now and January.

Maye, the anointed franchise quarterback, got his first meaningful snaps of the preseason in Thursday’s 14-13 loss to the Eagles, and it gave desperate New England fans something to get excited about.

After leaving Maye on the shelf for all but seven plays of the first consumer-fraud exhibition against the Panthers (every other 2024 first-round quarterback got meaningful minutes in Week 1 of the preseason), New England’s rookie head coach, Jerod Mayo, let the 21-year-old Maye play two quarters against Philly, and it made us want to see more.

“Tomato Cans R Us” - is this the schtick Shank's gonna roll with all season? Stay tuned!

Larry Lucchino, The Final Farewell

Shank covers the Jimmy Fund, where the team said it's last goodbyes to the former general manager:

John Henry and Red Sox offer a final — and well-deserved — salute to the late Larry Lucchino

Red Sox owner John Henry and the Boston ball club said their final goodbyes to former ownership partner and CEO Larry Lucchino at Fenway Park Tuesday.

On the first day of the 22nd WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon, Lucchino — who died April 2 — was feted in Fenway Park’s function rooms by a procession of speakers including Henry (who also owns the Globe) and former US Senator and (2000) presidential candidate Bill Bradley, who was Lucchino’s star teammate when Princeton went to the Final Four in 1965.

The hard-charging Lucchino (think of him as Harry Sinden with a law degree), who ran the Orioles and Padres (and built Camden Yards and Petco Park) before coming to Boston, oversaw the refurbishment of Fenway Park after Henry’s group bought the club in 2002.

Major Embarrassment

Celtics legend Bob Cousy is not too happy with US Basketball coach Steve Kerr:

Bob Cousy speaks out about Steve Kerr not playing Jayson Tatum: ‘This is an embarrassment’

Celtics legend Bob Cousy turned 96 Friday and had a lot to say about US Olympic men’s basketball coach Steve Kerr not playing Jayson Tatum in Thursday’s critical 95-91 semifinal victory over Serbia in Paris.

“This isn’t just a snub,” Cousy said from his Worcester home Friday morning. “This is an embarrassment for that poor kid all over the [expletive] world. The Olympics have gotten that big. Everyone’s going to think that there’s something wrong this this kid.”

Thursday’s benching vs. Serbia — a game in which the US trailed by as many as 17 points — marked the second time Kerr has chosen not to play Tatum for a single minute in the Olympics. The US plays France Saturday in the gold-medal game.

“Somebody from Boston should stand up for this kid,” Cousy said. “In my judgment, this is going out of your way to embarrass one of your players.

Make that two players, as Tyrese Haliburton got fucked over as well.

DHL Dan CCXIX - Wondering About The Red Sox

Although he's been covering the team for decades now, Shank doesn't know what to think about the 2024 Boston Red Sox:

We're still wondering exactly what the Red Sox are, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while worrying that Jerod Mayo might be the second coming of Daddy Butch Hobson …

▪ The 2024 Red Sox were built to make money, avoid the luxury tax, and probably finish last. After an offseason promise of “full throttle,” the Sox became Fenway Sports Group’s “golf widow” and were tossed into the 162-game grind with almost zero hope.

Then came the surprise. Under the guidance of Alex Cora, and some nifty magic by pitching coach Andrew Bailey, the Sox exceeded expectations and became an interesting watch. There were stretches when they were winning more than any other team in baseball. They worked their way to 11 games over .500 and achieved the illusion of contention that upper management covets.

Galvanizing nicely, Boston’s Dom Smith All-Stars have gifted New England with the thing we really want from our local baseball team: games that matter in August and September.

Fair to say the Red Sox stumbled into some success so far this year. But wait - it's gonna get worse:

The Sox have played two-thirds of their season. They’ve given us a nice ride, but things are trending in the wrong direction. Going into the weekend, they’d lost eight of 12 and given up a whopping 94 runs in 12 games since the All-Star break. Eighteen of those 94 runs were unearned. Boston relievers have a 7.35 ERA since the break.

The vaunted Bailey pitching corps has gotten worse every month. The March-April ERA was 2.59, May 4.12, June 4.38, and July 4.91. The Sox lead the majors in errors and unearned runs.

Yes, the Red Sox are contending for a wild card. So are Tampa Bay, Minnesota, Kansas City, Houston, and Seattle.

DHL Dan CCXVIII - Change Of Attitude?

Shank believes the recent re-signing of Red Sox skipper Alex Cora just might mean a different direction for the team:

Let’s hope Alex Cora’s deal is a sign that Red Sox are spending again, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while observing that “WAR” has yet to be chiseled on any plaque at Cooperstown …

▪ Alex Cora has agreed to manage the Red Sox through the 2027 season. Cora’s three-year, $21.75 million contract extension was announced by the team Wednesday.

This is great news for Sox fans. Also somewhat surprising. Cora, who would have been a free agent at the end of this season, had stated repeatedly that he would not negotiate once the season started.

This is why four weeks ago I told you to enjoy these final months of Cora because, “There is nothing to indicate he’ll be back next year.” (My finest prediction since “Mavericks in seven.″)

Good for Red Sox ownership to pay close to market rate for a manager who has become the face of the franchise. Former Brewers manager Craig Counsell — with a résumé shy of Cora’s — got $40 million over five years from the Cubs last winter. The Red Sox have responded by making their skipper the second-highest-paid manager in baseball history.

If this does mean the Red Sox are going to start spending again, I think we see the template already - "to pay close to market rate".

Things To Avoid In Sports Columns

Politics tends to be a topic that doesn't mix well with sports. This is why:

As always, the world revolves around the Red Sox … even when it comes to presidential politics

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Everything in life comes back to the Red Sox … even the stunning news that President Joe Biden is dropping out of the 2024 race for the Oval Office.

In the days leading up to Biden’s Sunday afternoon shocker, there was considerable pressure on the aging president to stand down. Multiple Democratic senators and representatives were urging him to step aside.

Clearly, the last straw was Representative Jamie Raskin’s four-page letter to Biden in which he compared the 81-year-old commander-in-chief to Pedro Martínez melting on the Yankee Stadium mound after throwing too many pitches in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series.

“Martínez one of the greatest pitchers in Red Sox history, began to tire badly after 118 pitches,” wrote Raskin (D-Md.). “Martínez vigorously protested that he could continue and gave it his all despite the statistics about what happens when pitchers play after throwing for so long.

DHL Dan CCXVII - Hall Of Fame Worthy?

That's the question Shank has about former Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia:

Is Dustin Pedroia a Hall of Famer? We asked him about his chances.

Picked-up pieces while ever-grateful that we emphatically said “no” to the 2024 Olympics . . .

▪ This weekend in Cooperstown is a reminder of why baseball’s Hall of Fame is the one fans care about most, and how it’s nice that we’re back to real baseball discussions (dare we say “arguments?”) regarding who qualifies for diamond immortality.

For too many years it’s been about closed-door lobbying by small committees, performance enhancers, and/or the dreaded character clause that asks BBWAA voters to consider factors other than what a guy did on the field. This is how we got a Hall that features Harold Baines but does not include Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, or Manny Ramirez (you can add Curt Schilling, whose debatable candidacy was blown up by his own big mouth).

... So what about Boston’s own Dustin Pedroia? The diminutive second baseman is eligible for the first time this winter and faces a high hurdle for admission.

Why is it every single fucking time I read a Shank column about Pedrioa, he has to mention his height in some sort of negative fashion? It's unprofessional and nauseating - to hell with Shank for that 'need' to constantly bring it up whenever he writes about Pedroia.

DHL Dan CCXVI - Into Darkness

Shank's most recent column dives into (what else) the bad parts of Ted Williams' life:

Ted Williams was the greatest hitter ever, but there was bad luck and darkness in his family life, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while wondering why MLB doesn’t go back to having players wear their own team jerseys and hats at the All-Star Game . . .

▪ The death of Claudia Williams was announced Wednesday by the Red Sox, with the permission of her husband of 17 years, Eric Abel. Claudia was Ted Williams’s last surviving child.

Boston’s Splendid Splinter was the greatest hitter who ever lived, but there was a lot of bad luck and darkness in his family life.

The slugger’s only sibling, brother Danny, died of leukemia at the age of 39 in 1960. Ted’s eldest daughter, Bobby-Jo, was estranged from her dad in his final years and died of liver disease at the age of 62 in 2010. Ted’s only son, John Henry Williams, died of leukemia at the age of 35 in 2004. And now we learn that Claudia Franc Williams died at the age of 52 in December.

DHL Dan CCXV - For Sale

A few weeks after winning their 18th banner, the owners of the Boston Celtics are getting out while the getting is good:

Who’ll be next to own the Celtics, how long will it take, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while watching the USS Constitution take its annual victory lap . . .

▪ The Celtics just won a championship, Jayson Tatum got his extension, the whole band is back for next season, and it looked like everything was coming up Green around here.

Then, wham! The Celtics announced that the franchise is for sale. The team statement said the Grousbeck family, which holds the majority stake, has decided to pursue a sale “for estate and family planning considerations.”

It’s seismic sports news. We’ve had ownership stability for almost the entirety of this successful century. The Bruins have been owned by Jeremy Jacobs for 49 years, Bob Kraft bought the Patriots in 1994, and John Henry’s group took over the Red Sox in 2002. Irv Grousbeck and son Wyc took control of the Celtics in December of that same year.

And just in case you thought Shank's lost a bit on that ol' asshole fastball (Beetle on 98.5 The Sports Hub pointed this out this morning) ...

In conversations with some sources close to the situation, I’ve come away convinced that soon-to-be-90-year-old H. Irving Grousbeck is the one driving this sale and that 63-year-old son Wyc (one of four children of Irving Grousbeck) — managing partner, governor, and CEO of the Celtics, and always identified as the team’s owner — actually owns a relatively small stake in the franchise.

H. Irving Grousbeck — still teaching at Stanford Business School — has been the money behind the group since the beginning. (Forbes lists “Irving Grousbeck and family’s” worth at $1.8 billion.) There’s every indication that the billionaire rarely seen at Celtics games is motivating this sale in an attempt to get his affairs in order.

He made his fortune as cofounder of Continental Cablevision and is no doubt interested in ongoing negotiations for the NBA’s media rights. A nine-year deal is set to expire at the end of next season and the new deal, reportedly close to $76 billion, will have considerable impact on franchise values.

I emailed the elder Grousbeck late Wednesday, requesting comment on my assertions, and he responded Thursday with a polite no comment.

When I texted Wyc with, “You OK if I say your personal stake in the team is less than 2 percent?” he answered, “We hold as a family — all unified . . . We are a family and I also have a Celtics family is my comment. Thanks.”

I wonder what prompted Shank to try and pull Wyc's pants down like that? Time will tell, and I'll post something on it once it hits the news.

DHL Dan CCXIV - Curtains For Cora?

Shank thinks it's the last season for Alex Cora as skipper of the Boston Red Sox:

This sure feels like Alex Cora’s last season with the Red Sox, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while wondering if Brad Stevens has ever smoked a cigar …

▪ Enjoy these final months of Alex Cora managing the Red Sox. There is nothing to indicate he’ll be back next year.

In his sixth season as skipper of the Local Nine, Cora (along with Cleveland’s Stephen Vogt) would be one of my top candidates for Manager of the Year in the American League. After a winter and spring that were anything but “full throttle,” Cora has the depleted Sox over .500 and very much in the running for a diluted wild-card spot. Nobody covets the “illusion of contention” more than Red Sox management, and Cora has his ragtag bunch in the hunt.

He is the face of the franchise and the best thing the Sox have going for them.

And though he won’t come out and say it, he’s also gone. In my opinion.

Cora is in the final year of his contract. No team serious about keeping its manager would allow this. Cora’s value around the game is at an all-time high. He’s young (48), smart, bilingual, and great at team-building with today’s players.

Read on for more reasons Cora won't be here next year, and other thoughts!

DHL Dan CCXIII - Credit Is Due

Shank thinks (correctly) former Celtics GM Danny Ainge deserves credit for putting this team together:

Danny Ainge isn’t taking credit for Celtics’ title, but he deserves some, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while plucking green and white confetti from my hair …

▪ Danny Ainge hasn’t been taking any victory laps. He was neither seen nor heard from while the Celtics were shredding playoff competitors from Miami, Cleveland, Indiana, and Dallas en route to banner No. 18. Ainge wants the credit to go to the Celtics owners, Brad Stevens, Joe Mazzulla, and the rest of the team’s staff and players.

“I was watching; I just couldn’t be there,” the 65-year-old Ainge said via phone from Utah, where he is an executive with the Jazz. “Justin Zanik, our GM, just went through a kidney transplant and so I’ve taken a little more responsibility here right now.

“It was fun watching. We followed the Celtics’ success all during the playoffs, and it was exciting to see and it’s fun to see everybody shine. There’s so many people there that we’re rooting for.

Banner # 18

Here's Shank on the 2023 - 2024 NBA Champions:

A torch has been passed: Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum join the champions club and help Celtics raise Banner 18

Light up a Hoyo de Monterrey in honor of Red Auerbach and get ready for another parade. Playing on their fabled parquet floor, with banners flapping high above courtside, the Celtics won their NBA-best 18th championship Monday with a 106-88, NBA Finals Game 5 victory over the Dallas Mavericks.

Order is restored to the pro basketball universe. From the 1950s through the ‘80s, Boston’s Green Team ruled the National Basketball Association. The torch has been passed to a new generation of champions: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

“It’s time for us to graduate,” Brown told Tatum before Game 5.

When it was over, Brown received the Bill Russell Finals MVP Trophy.

“It was a full team effort and Jayson Tatum was with me the whole way," said Brown.

One Win Away

Here's Shank's column after the Boston Celtics win Game 3 of the NBA Finals Wednesday night:

Game 3 was harder than it should have been, but Banner 18 is an inevitability for the Celtics

DALLAS — You can relax, Boston. It might happen here Friday, or maybe you’ll have to wait until Monday on Causeway Street, but it’s inevitable. The Celtics are going to raise their 18th championship banner.

Just try not to worry about your team letting a 21-point fourth-quarter lead dwindle to one in what seemed the blink of an eye.

It wasn’t as easy as it should have been, but the Celtics beat the Mavs again. Playing at American Airlines Center on Wednesday without tree-top Kristaps Porzingis, the Green Team took charge early in the fourth quarter, watched their big lead fizzle, then prevailed for a third straight game. The Celts rode the broad shoulders of the two Jays (Tatum had 31, Brown 30) to a 106-99 victory, taking a definitive 3-0 series lead in the NBA Finals.

Celtics Wrapup - II

Shank's been banging out the columns over the past week or so, with images of victory cigars after the Boston Celtics take a 2-0 series lead, and The Cooz wants another banner in the rafters, presumably so all of The Cooz's banners have some company!

Celtics Wrapup

With Shank firmly on the Boston Celtics bandwagon, he comes out with a bunch of columns the past couple of days. The first one lets us know it's good for us and the NBA, the second column is a Larry Bird Sighting^TM, which includes a Bruce Springsteen sighting / anecdote that I'll gladly ignore, and another column from Game 1, which Shank takes to all but declare an early winner.

I don't think that's good karma, but there it is.

DHL Dan CCXII - End The Drought

Shank's thirsting for a championship, folks!

It’s the Celtics’ time to end our championship drought, and other thoughts

ROME — Picked-up pieces while asking Italians what they think of Giuseppe Mazzulla’s work in the first three rounds of the NBA playoffs …

▪ We’re due for another professional sports championship, are we not?

I mean, it’s been a whole five years and four months since guys named Brady and Belichick hoisted their sixth Lombardi Trophy after a 13-3 victory over the Rams in Atlanta.

That was New England’s 12th men’s major sports championship of this century. Good times never seemed so good. The Red Sox won four World Series from 2004-18, the Celtics acquired Kevin Garnett and then won Banner No. 17 in 2008, and the Bruins in 2011 won their first Stanley Cup since 1972, beating Vancouver in seven games.

This means that between February of 2005 (Patriots over Eagles in Jacksonville), and June of 2011 (Bruins in Vancouver), each of our four major men’s professional teams won a championship.

Rev up those duck boats!

Bill Walton, RIP

Legendary Boston Celtics player Bill Walton passed on earlier this week after a battle with cancer. Shank does the honors and pays tribute:

Bill Walton’s time in Boston was brief but unforgettable, and we were lucky to have him

The memories and stories started pouring in as soon as the news broke.

Everyone remotely connected to the 1985-86 Celtics has a Bill Walton memory. Invariably, those stories are personal. And all of us were shocked Monday when it was learned that Walton had died in California at the age of 71.

No player ever loved playing for the Celtics more than Walton. And it’s cruel and ironic that Bill would pass as the team is on to another appearance in the NBA Finals, which would mean a chance to win an NBA-record 18th banner.

My friend Rich Johnson, longtime curator of the New England Sports Museum and — like Walton — someone with a lifelong stutter, weighed in online, sending out a recording of the Grateful Dead’s “He’s Gone,” while writing, “Listening while wiping away tears. His personal kindness to me was life changing.”

Bill touched a lot of lives in his short stint in Boston, and those of us lucky enough to have known him share the same emotions.