A Cautionary Tale

The Boston Bruins currently have the best record in the NHL. Leave it to Shank to mention potential adverse results once the playoffs come around:

What happened in 1971 should be a cautionary tale for this year’s Bruins

The 2022-23 Boston Bruins are the best team in hockey, enjoying what might end up being the greatest regular season in the 105-year history of the National Hockey League. They are favorites to win the Stanley Cup.

But more than in any other sport, the best team doesn’t always win in hockey.

Ask the 1970-71 Bruins, or any old-timers who followed that powerhouse all those years ago.

The Bobby Orr Bruins won the Cup in 1970 and ’72, but the best team of that golden era was the ’71 team. The ’71 Bruins won more games, scored more goals, and piled up more points than the Cup teams that bookended them.

And they never made it out of the first round of the playoffs. The mighty Bruins were beaten in seven games by the hated Montreal Canadiens and kid goalie Ken Dryden, who had only six games of NHL experience before the playoffs.

Running into one of the five best goaltenders of all time will likely result in bad things happening to your team, and that's part of the 1971 loss to the Canadiens. Also - the rest of the Canadiens' roster wasn't too bad, either!

DHL Dan CLX - Eyes On The Prize

Back from his grueling two week trip to Fort Myers to write all of three columns on the 2023 spring training Boston Red Sox, Shank turns his attention to Celtics ace Jayson Tatum and wants him to turn his attention to...

It’s time for Jayson Tatum to focus on the prize that really matters, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while hoping my pipes don’t freeze and wondering why I came back from Florida …

▪ Enough with the MVP campaign, birthday parties, signature shoes, Subway sandwiches, and hunger for individual accolades.

It’s time for Jayson Tatum to step up and lead the Celtics to the NBA championship.

Tatum is clearly the most talented player on this Celtics team and is on a path to crack into the franchise’s all-time starting five (Bill Russell, Larry Bird, John Havlicek, Bob Cousy, Paul Pierce, Kevin McHale, Kevin Garnett, Sam Jones, and Dave Cowens are my top nine). He was just named All-Star MVP and has a chance to break Bird’s team record for single-season scoring average (29.9 in 1987-88).

Tatum turns 25 this coming week and is in his sixth season in the league. In Bird’s first six NBA seasons, he won two championships and two MVPs.

Red Sox Q & A Session, Without The A

Boston Red Sox owner (and also owner of the Boston Globe) John Henry was in Fort Myers today, but he wasn't there to chew the fat with the media:

With John Henry not speaking, all we have are questions and not answers

“If you could afford it, would you own a major league baseball team? I can’t imagine anything more fun … I have nothing to complain about. How could I possibly complain? Everyone in this community loves the Red Sox so much.”

— Red Sox principal owner John Henry, September 2008.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Has owning the Red Sox stopped being fun?

This is one of the questions I wanted to ask John Henry at Fenway South Monday. Henry was there with his wife, Linda Pizzuti Henry, and Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy for the annual ownership meeting with players and team support staff.

But he wasn’t taking questions. Not in the conventional way, at least.

From 2002-20, Henry & Co. engaged in a state-of-the-team press conference after their annual pep talk to the team at spring training. The pandemic and lockout interrupted that tradition in 2021 and 2022, but now Henry won’t take questions in a live setting. He prefers email questions, which produce careful, canned answers.

Safe to conclude John Henry no longer considers it 'fun', with recent teams underacheving and a more hostile than normal media.

Nomad

That's the moniker Shank hangs on Bobby Dalbec:

The Red Sox’ resident nomad, Bobby Dalbec, enters a pivotal spring

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Bobby Dalbec.

He’s The Beatles’ real “Nowhere Man.” Sitting in the Red Sox spring training clubhouse. Looking at his collection of fielding mitts. He knows not where he’s going to. He might be making plans for nobody.

Or Worcester. Or a new organization.

Dalbec’s going to be 28 in a few months and it feels like he’s run out of opportunities with the Red Sox. He hit .215 in 117 games last season, whiffing himself out of a spot in Alex Cora’s everyday lineup and earning a ticket to Worcester. In 273 big-league games over three seasons he’s hit 45 homers, batted .232, and struck out in 35 percent of his plate appearances.

He’s been a major league third baseman and first baseman, and now there’s talk of him in the middle infield, outfield, or even (gulp) pitching.

DHL Dan CLIX - Critical Year Ahead

With the prospects of a successful season by the Boston Red Sox seem slim, Shank's doing his best to pile on:

This is a critical year for the Red Sox and Chaim Bloom, and other thoughts

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Picked-up pieces from a correspondent’s 44th spring training …

▪ Wheeling into JetBlue Park at 7:45 a.m. on a balmy Tuesday for my first look at the 2023 Red Sox, the first person I saw was beleaguered, sweaty baseball boss Chaim Bloom doing his morning jog around the training complex.

Trust me when I tell you I never spotted Lou Gorman running around Chain O’ Lakes Park in Winter Haven.

Yabba Dabba Lou was a frequent target of Sox fans and media, but he never got booed by fans at a team promotional event. He never operated the Sox like a small-market team, and never finished last twice in three seasons.

Ditto for Dan Duquette, Theo Epstein, Ben Cherington, and Dave Dombrowski. They took the slings and arrows that come with the Boston Baseball Experience, but none was charged with franchise malpractice.

This 2023 season is critical in many ways for your Boston Red Sox, especially for Bloom.

The Chris Sale Column

Shank sits down with Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale, where the conversation starts off with concerns about weight and durbility:

Chris Sale appears thinner than usual but doesn’t sound concerned about holding up

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Chris Sale looks too thin to dominate big league hitters for a full season.

I know, I know … Sale has always been a skinny guy. Ask those hitters who couldn’t see his 100-mile-per-hour heater. Ask them if he’s too thin. Come see us in July when Sale is 10-1 and starting the All-Star Game in Seattle.

Sale threw a bullpen session Wednesday at Fenway South, then spoke with the media on the first day of pitchers-and-catchers workouts. He had the high heat. He has the great positive attitude. He plans on being Alex Cora’s Opening Day starter at Fenway against the Orioles March 30.

But he looks even thinner than usual. Gandhi-like. And though I am neither a doctor nor nutritionist, Sale’s physique makes me wonder whether his hereditary frame — the skinny gene — makes things tougher as he attempts to once again be a stud starter for the Sox.

Read on for the details, and a bonus pop culture reference not from the 1970's:

(Chris Sale, 2010 - 2012) Three seasons, $90 million, and 48⅓ innings.

The whole thing reminds me of a line from “The Town” when Ben Affleck and Jeremy Renner pose as cops and steal millions from a vault at Fenway Park.

“No one’s robbed the Sawx like that since Jack Clark!” one says to the other as they prepare to leave the park with their heist.

Book 'Em, Danno

The 2023 Boston Red Sox season starts this week, and at the same time a book comes out detailing the Houston Astros cheating from a few years ago, when now Red Sox manager Alex Cora was then (in 2017) a bench manager with the Astros. Naturally, members of the Boston sports media made Cora squirm in his first press conference of the season:

Opening press conference shows that, for Alex Cora, the book isn’t closed on 2017-18

Incorrect - the book isn't closed, for members of the Boston sports media. I'm pretty sure most normal fans don't give a rat's ass anymore.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — It’s never a pleasure cruise when you manage the Boston Red Sox. Hall of Fame-bound Terry Francona said it was the hardest baseball job he ever had, stating, “In Boston, it seemed like you were putting out brush fires every day.”

So how was Alex Cora greeted in his first 2023 picnic-table press conference at Fenway South Tuesday morning?

Hey, Alex. There’s a new book out today that details all your bad habits and cheating ways when you were with the Astros, and how you bragged to your 2018 Red Sox that ‘we stole that [2017] World Series.’ Care to comment?

OK, it wasn’t quite that harsh, but it was certainly not the way Cora wanted to launch the Chaim Bloom Celebration of Payroll Flexibility, which seems to be the theme of the basement-bound ‘23 Towne Team.

The actual first question, posed by WBZ’s Jonny Miller (who interviewed Eddie Kasko in Winter Haven in 1972), was, “Alex, first things first. Have you talked to anybody in the front office about remarks you made to Evan?”

Read on for more media grilling, and not of the good kind.

DHL Dan CLVIII - Super Bowl LVII Coverage

Today's venue for the Super Bowl brings back memories for Shank:

This year’s Super Bowl site brings back Patriots memories, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while buying a Super Bowl sheet cake at Stop & Shop …

▪ There have been two Super Bowls played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., the site of Sunday night’s matchup between the Chiefs and Eagles.

The Patriots were in both.

One good.

One bad.

Let’s go in chronological order.

Nah - Shank saves the worst for last!

Mixed Feelings

Shank takes a jump into legalized gambling:

The ship has sailed on sports wagering, but for this bettor, it’s a one-and-done proposition

I caved.

I’ve raged against the betting machine for decades. I supported Bart Giamatti when he banned Pete Rose for betting on games in the 1980s. I believe betting corrupts sports. It makes normally sane folks spit on referees and umpires. Betting has never aligned with my love of the games we watch.

I feel badly for those who have a gambling addiction, but in five decades as a sports scribe, I have largely steered clear of the betting underworld. No bookies, no cry.

'Largely', of course, includes the time Larry Bird beat his ass in a free throw contest with an injured hand, losing $160 in the process, then laying the tab on the Boston Globe for 'unreimbursed employee business expenses'.

Today sports gambling is mainstream. And state-sanctioned. It’s almost everywhere. Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred — who runs a sport that once banished Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays for merely shaking hands as casino greeters — loves gambling more than I love ice cream. Roger Goodell — who runs a sport that once suspended Paul Hornung and Alex Karras for a season for betting on games in the early 1960s — loves gambling more than Dan Shaughnessy loves chocolate chip.

It actually does get better from there, but in the end Shank's not a fan.

DHL Dan CLVII - The Hunt For Number Eighteen

Shank asks three veteran Celtics on the chances for this year's team to win it all:

Three Celtics champs — Bob Cousy, Dave Cowens, and M.L. Carr — weigh in on the chances for Banner 18, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while monitoring the southbound Red Sox equipment truck with my GPS tracking device …

▪ The Celtics have played almost two-thirds of their regular season, have the best record in the NBA, and are consensus favorites to win the NBA championship. We just saw them beat Brooklyn by 43 points, and they have a “big” game with Joel Embiid and the 76ers Wednesday on Causeway Street.

What do members of the Celtic family see when they watch this team run toward a possible record-breaking 18th banner?

Paul Pierce was here last weekend for Celtics-Lakers (LeBron James just finished crying about not getting a call at the end of regulation) and casually told our Gary Washburn that Jayson Tatum “could be the greatest Celtic to ever play.”

Whoa.

Get back, Loretta.

With this in mind, we rounded up Bob Cousy, Dave Cowens, and M.L. Carr to discuss these Celtics. Cousy and Cowens are two of only four Celtics ever named NBA MVP (Bill Russell and Larry Bird, who combined for eight MVPS, are the others). Cooz, Cowens, and Carr won a combined 10 championships. Cowens and Carr both coached the team, and M.L. was the boss of basketball operations a decade before Danny Ainge built the team that delivered the most recent banner in 2008.

Keep On Truckin'

Shank kicks off the unofficial start to the 2023 Boston Red Sox season like he's at a morgue:

Not much is expected of the Red Sox in 2023, but Truck Day rolls on nonetheless

Truck Day is Friday.

That’s right. Truck Day.

Even with five last-place finishes in 11 seasons and an angry fan base that booed Red Sox ownership/management at the club’s “Winter Weekend” in Springfield, Truck Day goes on. It’s kind of like playing “Sweet Caroline” after the Sox bullpen surrenders nine runs in the top of the eighth inning.

In this spirit, Wally the Green Monster, his sister Tessie, and a bunch of fresh-faced Red Sox ambassadors are expected to be on Van Ness Street around noon Friday, tossing soft baseballs into the “crowd” as a large truck carrying bats, mitts, and rosin bags departs for Fort Myers, Fla.

Tom Brady's Retirement

Thoughts about Tom's second retirement from the Shankster:

This time, we believe him: Tom Brady is done, and the moment is right

Tom Brady has retired.

Again.

This time, for sure.

I know we went through this last year. And then Tom un-retired 40 days after he retired. He came back and played another season, and we know there are still plenty of owners and coaches who would hire Brady to come back from this retirement.

But this time I believe him. That short, stunning Twitter video that interrupted our breakfast Wednesday looked genuine. Sincere. Heartfelt. Tom presented as a gaunt superstar in distress, resolving a midlife crisis that’s been eating at him while he has stopped eating. Tom looked very much like a man who needs to shut it down.

I hope that stays the case; I don't want to go through the Breet Favre routine again.

Unfortunate

That's Shank's opinion on the late hit in last night's game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs which wound up helping the Chiefs to win, 23-20:

The Bengals’ unfortunate Joseph Ossai pushed himself into a dubious spotlight

And who better to help put Joseph Ossai into a dubious spotlight than Our Man Shank?

Some people see GOATS and think of Tom Brady, Michael Jordan, and Bobby Orr.

I see Goats and think of Bill Buckner, Scott Norwood, Grady Little, Pete Carroll, and now Joseph Ossai.

Let's not forget Shank's attempt at revisionist history when Bill Buckner passed away a few years ago; Shank's praise or denigration of certain Boston athletes depends on the situation.

Super Bowl LVII will feature Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs against the indomitable Philadelphia Eagles, who have shredded everything in their path on the way to Glendale, Ariz.

The Eagles got there with great help from the football gods, who determined that every man playing quarterback for San Francisco would get hurt this year. The Chiefs, meanwhile, were gifted when a humble, 22-year-old kid from Nigeria was flagged for a personal foul when he pushed an already-out-of-bounds Mahomes to the ground in a 20-20 game with eight seconds left in regulation.

Classic dumb play he'll have to live with his entire career - there's your column summary!

DHL Dan CLVI - Steal This Page!

Shank brings up an interesting parallel between Tom Brady's rise in the National Football League and what's happening with San Francisco 49'ers starting rookie quarterback Brock Purdy:

Brock Purdy is taking a page from the Tom Brady story, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while wondering if George Santos would agree to a one-year contract with the Red Sox …

▪ Tom Brady. Brock Purdy.

Their names roll off the tongue in similar fashion.

That was not the interesting parallel; let's get that one out of the way...

Remember how much fun we had watching 24-year-old Brady in the 2001-02 playoffs? Fresh-faced Tom had been fourth string in 2000, but one year later took over after franchise quarterback Drew Bledsoe got hurt. With Brady at the controls, the Patriots won their last nine games, including Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans. Young Brady was Super Bowl MVP.

Now you get to watch this all over again. You get to see 23-year-old rookie Purdy take the San Francisco 49ers into a conference championship game Sunday in Philadelphia. Purdy is 8-0 since taking over for Jimmy Garoppolo (remember him?) Dec. 4. Until proven otherwise, he is the new Tom Brady. Absurd, right? There will never be another Brady. We all know that.

In retrospect, those 'new Brady' plans will have to be put on hold until next year.

Wishful Thinking

Do you think Shank's getting just a bit ahead of himself this year?

The way the Bruins and Celtics are going, something very rare could happen in June

There has never been a winter like this winter for our Boston Garden teams.

They play just about every other night. They win just about every other night. We are more than halfway through the Bruins and Celtics 2022-23 regular seasons, and they have the best records in their respective sports.

So we must ask … can both play here in the Finals in June?

Imagine. The NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Final unfolding simultaneously in the Hockey/Hoop Hub of the Universe. A Bull Gang Bacchanal. The Larry O’Brien Trophy and Lord Stanley’s chalice sitting side by side in the bowels of TD Garden. Past champions Johnny Bucyk and Robert Parish — Chief and Chief — walking hand in hand on Causeway Street. Bobby Orr as Banner Captain one night, Larry Bird handing out the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP trophy the next.

No city has ever won both winter sports titles in the same spring, but a duck boat doubleheader is possible for Boston in June.

So are our odds of hitting the Powerball jackpot tomorrow night...

DHL Dan CLV - Time For Tom To Retire

I think Shank means it this time:

A plea for Tom Brady to retire for good this time, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while waiting for Brett Maher’s first extra-point attempt against the 49ers Sunday …

▪ Please, Tom Brady.

Just stop.

Enough already.

You’ve proven your point.

You played at the top level till you were 45, just as you pledged all those years ago. You hold all the records and you’ve won everything there is to win. You’re Michael Jordan, Tom Cruise, and Benjamin Button. You gave us so much joy here in New England for all those years and we can never thank you enough.

But here’s hoping you don’t succumb to the hubris and neediness of getting back out there with yet another team next year. There’s no need to try to do this again with Josh and the Raiders. The 49ers and Dolphins are pretty much set, thank you, and we all know you can’t come home again.

A half-century in this biz has taught me that it’s not up to media, or fans, to dictate when a player should retire, and I’m pretty sure you are determined to keep playing, but anyone who truly cares about you would tell you that it’s probably time to stop.

40 Years Running - The Grueling One Mile Run

This theme was a favorite DSW staple in our earlier years, and now we arrive at its fortieth anniversary:

One man’s idea of long-distance running: A mile a day for 40 years

It started as a New Year’s resolution in the Los Angeles Hilton on Jan. 1, 1983. I was there for a Rose Bowl game featuring Michigan and UCLA.

Forty years ago.

After getting out of bed, I jogged a mile on the streets of LA to make my 29-year-old self feel better.

And I never stopped. One mile a day. A four-decade, slow-motion grind that has taken me more than 14,500 miles, across America and back — twice! Practically Gumpish.

For a long while, it was a legitimate streak, almost Ripkenesque. I’d never miss. But I must confess that there have been gaps, especially in the last 10 years. A kidney stone halted the madness in 2012 and a shattered collarbone shelved me in 2015. There are a handful of other misses due to lost luggage, a knockout flu, sinus surgery, and one day when I overslept, rushed to an interview, and just plain forgot.

Read on for a pretty good column. Congrats to Shank on the streak!

DHL Dan CLIV - The Winter Of Discontent

When local sports teams are at their worst, Shank's at his best:

It’s a winter of discontent for Patriots and Red Sox, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while waiting to watch Tom Brady in the playoffs on “Monday Night Football” …

▪ Things could not be much better for our winter teams. The Bruins and Celtics have the best records in their respective sports and we’re clearing June schedules for the Stanley Cup and NBA Finals.

But life is not perfect, and that brings us to the other two franchises in town: the Red Sox and Patriots, who have brought us an aggregate 10 championships in this century.

At this hour, both powerhouse New England institutions are in turmoil, facing crises of ownership, management, money, and roster construction.

It starts with the Red Sox, who are in far worse shape than the Patriots. They’ve finished last in two of the last three seasons, five of the last 11, and will go into 2023 as consensus favorites to land in the basement again. Ownership’s reluctance to pay/retain homegrown All-Stars such as Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, and Andrew Benintendi paired with front office malpractice has left the Local Nine with a hideous everyday lineup and a starting rotation of Question Mark and the Mysterians.

Not Today

Shank feels yesterday's win by the Buffalo Bills over the New England Patriots was inevitable:

The Patriots were not going to beat the inspired Bills, not on this day, as Buffalo honored Damar Hamlin

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — We are accustomed to everyone outside of New England rooting against the Patriots, but perhaps never more than on this final day of the 63rd Patriot season.

Bill Belichick’s uneven, oft-dysfunctional 2022 squad put up a good fight in its regular-season finale, and there were still pipe dreams of playoff possibilities as darkness came over Niagara Falls Sunday afternoon. But in the end, the Patriots were vanquished by an inspired and talented group, playing to honor and celebrate teammate Damar Hamlin, who almost died on the football field just six days earlier.

Bills 35, Patriots 23.

The Buffalo Bills simply were not going to lose on this day.

DHL Dan CLIII - A Come Together Moment

To everyone's surprise, the Boston Red Sox signed Rafael Devers to a mega contract:

The Rafael Devers deal coming together was one for the books, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while packing for Buffalo, home of America’s Team …

▪ Signing a homegrown star to an 11-year, $331 million extension is not something a franchise does on the spur of the moment. It’s not something a team does in knee-jerk fashion. It’s not an emotional reaction to the owner of the ball club getting booed two days earlier in his own ballpark. That’s just silly.

But that’s the shorthand, folks. That’s what fans will remember years from now when the pluses and minuses of Rafael Devers’s whopping contract are debated after the Local Nine experiences more duck boat parades and/or last-place finishes.

Fair or unfair, the lasting narrative of the Devers extension is going to be that a minor fan insurrection at Fenway Park Monday motivated the Red Sox to sign their best remaining player.

In The Hunt

With one game to go in the NFL's 2022-2023 season, Shank devotes a column to the playoff fortunes of the New England Patriots:

Sure, the Patriots are in the playoff hunt, but does anyone really think they’re a good team?

This is why the NFL is the perfect sports product.

You can have a team like the Patriots — plagued by poor coaching, inept offense, and unusual dysfunction — and still be in contention for a playoff spot with one week left in the regular season. The Patriots’ status as a contender after 16 games is a tribute to Parity Pete Rozelle, Any Given Sunday, and the illusion of contention.

Remember when the Patriots used to play mostly 'Tomato Can' teams? Those were the days!

The Patriots beat the Dolphins (and their second and third-string quarterbacks), 23-21, Sunday in New England’s final game at Gillette this season. The Patriots raised their record to 8-8 and can qualify for a playoff spot if they win at Buffalo next Sunday.

New England fans certainly can feel good about a defense that forced two more turnovers (27) and scored its seventh touchdown of the season. Mac Jones (20-of-33 passing, 203 yards, 2 touchdowns) came alive late in the game and the much-maligned Matt Patricia made a nifty call on the goal line for the game-clinching touchdown.

But seriously, friends, is there any footie-pajama-wearing Pat Patriot who actually thinks this is a good team? Neither Full Rochie nor judge Richard Berman can make a case for the Pats beating the Bills next week (unless Buffalo has cause to tank), or winning a wild-card game on the road.

DHL Dan CLII - Picking Up Where Others Have Left Off

Shank's had nearly a full season of watching Patriots football and sums up what most other people have been talking about for months:

Mac Jones’s reputation has been taking a hit, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while wishing I saw Pelé just once …

▪ What’s up with the Patriots and Mac Jones?

As the Patriots prepare for their penultimate regular-season game vs. the Dolphins at Gillette Sunday, there’s nonstop negative narrative regarding their second-year quarterback.

Mac has regressed in his second season and is one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL.

He actually has been bad since the first eight games of his rookie season. That’s a year and a half of bad.

He has been caught on national TV yelling at his coaches and teammates during games.

He couldn’t slow down Chandler Jones on the clown-show final play of the loss to the Raiders.

He presents as insubordinate and defiant of his coach. When Bill Belichick said, “We couldn’t throw it that far,” regarding a possible Hail Mary attempt at the end of the Raiders game, Jones came back a day later and said he could have reached the end zone. ”I know my number,” he said.

The rest of the column is the usual grab bag of stuff, most of it decent to good.

DHL Dan CLI - Placing Blame

Shank's favorite pastime as applied to the offseason Boston Red Sox:

Don’t blame Chaim Bloom. It’s ownership that did this to the Red Sox, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while playing Mitch Miller Christmas carols . . .

▪ Chaim Bloom is having a horrible offseason, but he’s not the sole reason the Red Sox are bad.

It’s not Chaim. It’s not Alex Cora or Alex Verdugo. It’s not Joe Castiglione, Wally The Green Monster, or his sister, Tessie.

It’s ownership. It’s John Henry, Tom Werner, and whoever else is directing baseball ops to seek value over winning. Mookie and Xander are gone with virtually nothing in exchange, and the last Sox star — Rafael Devers — has a foot out the door. Fangraphs reports that the Red Sox — ever a top-five spending team — have dropped to 12th in cash payroll.

What is happening to the Red Sox is a direct result of ownership decisions made late in the 2019 season, after Dave Dombrowski was fired. That’s when they decided to put the bottom line above winning. And that’s why the Red Sox — while charging the highest ticket prices in baseball — have only one healthy star left on a team that will be a consensus favorite to finish last for the third time in four seasons.

DHL Dan CL - Charlie At The NCAA

Shank's quick to point out the obvious flaw in this plan:

Good luck, Charlie Baker, you’ve got your work cut out at the NCAA, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces from a week on the dusty trail in Arizona . . .

▪ Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker Thursday was named the new president of the NCAA.

Sheesh. The man who looks like Roger Goodell is now going to try to fix something far more broken than any professional sports league.

As far as them being effective or even innovative managers, I don't see it in either guy. Guys like Goddell and Baker are simply yes-men, have zero history at turning companies / organizations around and nothing of note will happen with Baker heading the NCAA.

Good luck, Charlie. Big-time college sports is a cesspool. The NCAA makes the MBTA look like a well-oiled machine.

When Baker, who could have been governor for life (wrong! - ed.), announced he was stepping down after two terms, I assumed he was preparing to run for president of the United States.

Just what the 2024 field needs - Massachusetts' answer to Jeb Bush in 2016.

No. He’s now president of the NCAA, which could be more challenging than sitting in the Oval Office.

Baker’s now got to deal with the billion-dollar, blatantly professional, borderline criminal greed of big-time college sports while at the same time trying to serve worthy, Division 3 programs with true amateurs playing for the love of the game. It’s like overseeing Brookline Booksmith and Amazon Prime simultaneously.

How unlikely is Charlie Baker to succeed here?

Good luck, Charlie. Your first day on the job is March 1. By Easter you’ll be longing for those golden days of trying to fix the Orange Line.

She Ain't Exactly Pretty (She Ain't Exactly Small)

Here's Shank on last night's admittedly tough to watch at times Patriots / Cardinals Monday Night football game:

It wasn’t the prettiest football in a place filled with Patriots lore, but Mac Jones and Co. remain in the playoff chase

GLENDALE, Az. — It was injury-plagued, mistake-filled, and sometimes downright unwatchable. But in the end, it was a beautiful thing for New England football fans as the ragged Patriots scored 20 unanswered points in a 27-13 victory over the 4-9 Arizona Cardinals on “Monday Night Football.”

Bill Belichick and Co. are 7-6. Postseason hopes live.

“We did some things better, but we’ve still got a long ways to go,” said Belichick. “It takes everybody, and I thought we kind of had that tonight . . . It’s always good to win. That’s what we practice for.”

Mac Jones (24 for 35, 235 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT) did little to remind anyone of Tom Brady — and he’s still yelling at his own people — but his performance was good enough to keep playoff hopes alive in this tractor-pull season. The Pats have been able to beat bad teams and the Cardinals (losers of five of their last six) certainly qualify. Making things easier for New England, Arizona’s star quarterback, Kyler Murray, suffered a non-contact injury on the third play of the game and never returned.

What Shank means by Mac Jones 'yelling at his own people' are the two clusterfucks 'running' the offense - Matt Patricia and Joe Judge (AKA Beavis & Butthead):

Joe Judge & Matt Patricia are LOSTpic.twitter.com/hYY2hVs6yP

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 13, 2022

DHL Dan CXLIX - Swing And A Miss On Bogaerts

Shank covers the recent signings (and non-signings) of the Boston Red Sox as they gear up for 2023:

Xander Bogaerts leaving is the latest blow to an enraged Red Sox Nation, and other thoughts

TUCSON — Picked-up pieces while contemplating an Opening Day lineup of Yoshida, Hernandez, Devers, Story, Verdugo, Casas, Hosmer, Arroyo, and Wong.

Yuck.

▪ A lot of you went to bed Wednesday night feeling better about the Red Sox. They’d picked up a legit closer in Kenley Jansen and spent some real money to acquire outfielder Masataka Yoshida from Japan. There was even word from the Winter Meetings of new contract talks with Xander Bogaerts.

Then, while you were sleeping, it was reported that Bogaerts agreed to an 11-year, $280 million deal with the Padres.

An abused and enraged Red Sox Nation awoke to soul-crushing news of another cornerstone player gone with little coming in return. The notion that ownership cares more about money than winning was reinforced.

The Red Sox can afford to keep their best players. They just won’t do it anymore.

Not if it's going to be a contract lasting over a decade, which ought to be understandable. Three other teams are supposed to have been ready with similar bids but a 10+ year contract for a guy who's 30 isn't very logical. Let the other teams chase and likely overspend.

Dancing On A Grave

Posted with great glee and satisfaction, no doubt about it:

Schilling got 71.1 % of writers votes in his 9th yr of eligibility. He reacted by demanding to be removed from ballot, stating, "I'll defer to the veterans committee and men whose opinions actually matter.'' Today he got 43.7 % of their vote.

— Dan Shaughnessy (@Dan_Shaughnessy) December 5, 2022

DHL Dan CXLVXIII - Last At-Bat For Curt Schilling

A man who Shank can't stand has one more shot at the Baseball Hall of Fame:

Sunday is the judgment day Curt Schilling wanted, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while remembering when the Red Sox used the Hot Stove season to announce something better than advertisements on their uniforms …

▪ Curt Schilling could be named a Hall of Famer Sunday night. Same goes for Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds.

Baseball’s 16-person Contemporary Era Committee convenes at the Winter Meetings in San Diego Sunday, and just after 8 p.m., white smoke will likely emerge from the conference room, indicating that one or more new Hall of Famers have been chosen from a list of eight candidates who failed to gain election in 10 or 15 tries on the writers’ ballot.

Sheer math ensures that we won’t have a large class from this vote. A candidate needs 12 of the 16 votes to gain admission, and each voter can select no more than three. I’m expecting to see Fred McGriff elected. Schilling is a possibility. The other six men on the ballot are Clemens, Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, and Albert Belle.

It’s a potentially explosive night for MLB. This is the first opportunity for Schilling, Bonds, and Clemens to be judged by their peers. Seven Hall of Fame players — Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux, Jack Morris, Frank Thomas, Ryne Sandberg, Lee Smith, and Alan Trammell — are on the committee. Others on the committee are executives Theo Epstein, Paul Beeston, Arte Moreno, Kim Ng, Dave St. Peter, and Ken Williams, plus media reps Steve Hirdt, La Velle Neal, and Susan Slusser.

McGriff has considerable support, including some former teammates who are members of the committee.

We'll see how much support the others on the ballot receive, including Schilling.

Shank's Annual Boston Bruins Column

Nothing like a little bandwagon hijacking where the Bruins are concerned:

They’re responding to a new coach, have a former MVP on the third line, and plenty of locker room leadership. No wonder the Bruins can’t lose.

The Bruins were already good. Then they changed coaches and got better. Now they are playing the best hockey in the NHL.

How did this happen?

There was a lot of negativity on Causeway Street when Cam Neely and Don Sweeney fired Bruce Cassidy in June. The demanding Cassidy, a fan favorite, had coached 399 games and taken the Bruins to the playoffs in six straight seasons. He came within one game of winning the franchise’s seventh Stanley Cup in 2019.

But Jake DeBrusk didn’t like Cassidy and asked to be traded. Brandon Carlo told The Athletic he felt “beat down” by Cassidy. David Krejci went home to Czechia for the 2021-22 season.

In true millennial fashion, player empowerment trumped player accountability. So Cassidy was fired, Sweeney explaining that the coach’s style “takes its toll.”

“I had a long history with Bruce,” Sweeney said before the Bruins’ 3-1 victory over Tampa Bay Tuesday. “I respect the hell out of him. He’s a fantastic coach. But sometimes you just take the pulse of where your team is at and where you think you can get to, and you make a really tough decision. This was difficult.”

We'll see how long two things hold up - the Bruins' record and Shank's non-hostile treatment of the team.

DHL Dan CXLVXII - Conflict

It seems Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics has been making, shall we say, very unprofessional comments in past weeks:

Jaylen Brown’s actions are in conflict with his words, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while watching NESN’s Franchy Cordero highlight reel …

▪ No thanks, Jaylen Brown.

Again Wednesday, you spoke about continuing to “do what I’ve been doing, trying to uplift my community, spreading kindness, spreading love, trying to be the best version of myself, but also help any and everybody around me. That’s what I’ve been since I came into this league and that’s what I’m gonna continue to do.”

Sorry, Jaylen, but I have no interest in reading or hearing your well-intentioned words promoting social justice and spreading love. You’ve had three chances in the last month to denounce antisemitism and in each instance you balked, or chose to support your misguided friends, Kanye West, a.k.a. “Ye,” and Kyrie Irving.

When you were first asked about dumping your affiliation with the hateful Ye’s Donda Sports Agency, you said you planned to stay with the agency because Ye was “dealing with a lot of adversity.” It was only when Adidas dumped Ye that you followed.

I haven't been following this story all that closely but I'm pretty sure about one thing - you can't profess support for one group of people while pissing on another.

Punting On A Good Column

As is usually the case with many Shank columns about a win by the New England Patriots, it's not that the Patriots won but rather it's the Jets who lost the game:

Why didn’t the Jets punt the ball out of bounds instead of to Marcus Jones? Because they are the Jets.

In the end, the Jets are going to Jet. And Belichick is going to Belichick. And just when you think you have wasted three hours of your life, the Patriots reward you with one of the most exciting plays in sports; an 84-yard, last-minute, game-winning punt return by a player who is unknown to most New England sports fans.

The Patriots beat the Jets, 10-3, Sunday and Jones won the game.

Not quarterback Mac Jones.

Not ballhawk defensive back Jonathan Jones.

Not Dalton Jones, Sam Jones, K.C. Jones, Popeye Jones, Adam Jones, Tom Jones, nor Me and Mrs. Jones.

Now that's some Pulitzer Prize level writing right there!

DHL Dan CXLVI - A Cold Hot Stove

While three of the four local pro sports teams are doing fairly well (Patriots) or very well (Celtics & Bruins), Shank picks on the runt of the litter:

Red Sox sure seem to be taking their fans for granted, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while hoping to see Fireman Ed at Gillette Sunday …

▪ Do the Red Sox care that they’re largely irrelevant around here at this hour? Is anybody listening to the sounds of silence on Jersey Street? How long will the Sox continue to suggest they are going to do something about their roster while they do nothing? Does the team believe fans will keep filling Fenway (at the top prices in baseball) and buying NESN if it won’t pay market value to keep homegrown stars? Are we in for another long cold winter of “the Sox are in on this guy” while they merely troll the waiver wire for bargains who’ll come here for a one-year contract?

These are things I think about while the Celtics and Bruins go into the weekend with the best records in their sports, and the potentially playoff-bound, always-a-hot-topic Patriots attempt to beat the hated New York Jets for a 14th consecutive time.

Seriously. While acknowledging that the Celtics, Bruins, and Patriots are in season, and the Sox are not, how many times have we been able to safely say that the Red Sox are the least popular team in New England? By a wide margin?

He's got a point - the Red Sox have yet to sign either Xander Bogaerts or Rafael Devers and they don't seem serious about doing so.

Early Conversation

Shank's first real column on the 2022-2023 Boston Celtics focuses on Jayson Tatum... the league MVP?

Jayson Tatum has been undeniably brilliant for the Celtics, but it’s a little early for MVP conversations

It is the middle of November. The Celtics have the NBA’s best record (11-3), have won seven straight, and have played roughly 17 percent of their schedule.

And the Jayson-Tatum-for-MVP campaign is all the rage.

“Tatum’s The One.’’ “Why Not The Best?’’ “Yes, He Can.’’

These veteran eyes have never seen anything like it. The Celtics haven’t yet played an NBA month, but Green Teamers are going door-to-door to spread the word of Tatum’s candidacy. This would be like dubbing Rafael Devers American League MVP in the middle of May. Or pushing Tom Brady after the first three games of an NFL season.

DHL Dan CXLV - Second Bite At The Apple

Since the Patriots aren't playing this past weekend, and the Bruins & Celtics both on winning streaks (and thus can't dump on either one), Shank looks at the upcoming Baseball Hall of Fame chances for certain former players:

A fascinating Baseball Hall of Fame committee vote is upcoming, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while wondering if the Red Sox will use the millionaires tax as their new excuse to not sign free agents . . .

▪ Roger Clemens in the Hall of Fame next summer?

Barry Bonds?

Curt Schilling?

It could happen. These three failed to gain admission in 10 tries on the writers ballot, but any of them could be announced as a Hall of Famer Dec. 4 when a committee of 16 baseball folk (usually eight Hall of Fame players plus some veteran executives and media members) votes on an eight-man ballot at the annual winter meetings in San Diego.

In addition to Clemens, Bonds, and Schilling, the committee will consider Fred McGriff, Rafael Palmeiro, Don Mattingly, Dale Murphy, and Albert Belle — five more players who were repeatedly passed over by the writers and moved to this Contemporary Baseball Era Committee.

Unforced Error

You'd think that local sports teams would exercise greater levels of due diligence on prospective team members, especially in light of the Ume Udoka situation. It looks like the Boston Bruins didn't get the memo:

The Bruins tarnished their brand, and for no good reason

There’s honor in the brand of the Boston Bruins, perhaps more than the team’s ownership has ever understood.

The Bruins and their fans have always stood for something around here, a tad different from our other three franchises. The Bruins have been around much longer than the Celtics or Patriots and play in a house populated by rowdy, respectful, demanding folks who probably make less money but tip better than fans of our other three teams.

The Black and Gold have lived up to the love of their fans most winters since they first skated here in 1924. They are usually competitive, traditionally pugnacious, and ever-accountable. And Cam Neely — a big, tough, skilled leader first brought here by Bruins godfather Harry Sinden in 1986 — has been a worthy steward of the franchise since taking over as team president in 2010.

All of which made it so crushing to see Neely and the Bruins blunder into one of the worst decisions in team lore, bringing distraction and dishonor to the Hub Home of Hockey just when the surprising Bruins were off to their best start (10-1-0) in franchise history.

Read on as Shank gets to mount the Shetland Pony high horse once again.

DHL Dan CXLIV - Make Them Pay

A few weeks ago everyone was up in arms about the Ime Udoka situation. Today's complaint - the Celtics aren't getting anything in return, and we know how Red Auerbach would've handled things:

Celtics are breaking their own precedent on Ime Udoka compensation, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while remembering when Patriots-Colts and Brady-Manning was appointment television …

▪ The Celtics must really want Ime Udoka out of their lives. It’s pretty clear that Udoka — even after the disgrace of bad behavior that earned him a one-season suspension in Boston — is of great value to the Brooklyn Nets.

And yet it looks like the Celtics are willing to part with Udoka without asking for compensation from a conference rival.

I know these are different times and far different circumstances, but Red Auerbach would never have done such a thing. If the Nets wanted a guy who was under contract to the Celtics, Red would have made the Nets pay. Even if Red didn’t want the guy around anymore.

Let’s go all the way back to the 1969-70 season when 41-year-old Bob Cousy was coaching the Cincinnati Royals and reluctantly agreed to come out of retirement to help the cash-strapped team sell a few tickets. Coach Cousy hadn’t played a game in seven years but agreed to lace ‘em up to help the struggling franchise.

“Not so fast,” said Red, who was rebuilding the Celtics after the retirement of Bill Russell. The Celtics still owned Cousy’s NBA rights; he was on their “retired” list. He could not play for another team without their permission. So Red demanded compensation.

“How do we know Cousy isn’t better than ever at 41?” asked Red. “Like Gordie Howe and Pancho Gonzalez?” (Tom Brady hadn’t been born yet.)

The Royals grudgingly parted with 6-foot-7-inch forward Bill Dinwiddie to grant the Cooz his “freedom.”

That's right, folks - a 'precedent' set 52 years ago and not since that time by completely different people involved (not to mention what Udoka's been accused of) is not being followed. Sorry - that 'reasoning' fails my logic test.

You First

Isn't this an interesting take from a guy who's run enough Red Sox players out of town over his career to field an entire team:

Five years after the Astros’ trash-can transgressions, maybe it’s time to let our grudges go

PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies thrashed the Astros, 7-0, in Game 3 of the World Series Tuesday. The Phils hit five homers in the first five innings. It’s almost like their hitters knew what was coming.

And America no doubt loved it. Everybody still hates the Astros.

They trail the 118th World Series, two games to one, but still have a chance to win their second World Series in franchise history.

It would be their first legit title.

I'd say their first unquestioned title, but go on...

We all remember 2017 when Alex Cora’s trash-can dream came true. The Cheatin’ Stros beat the Red Sox, Yankees, and Dodgers in succession, only to live forever in disgrace when it was learned they enjoyed the benefit of an illegal sign-stealing system designed in part by the man who would become manager of your Red Sox. The Astros instantly became America’s most hated team since the Spygate/Deflategate, Belichick/Brady Patriots pantsed the NFL for the better part of two decades.

Houston’s transgressions were worse than anything the Patriots ever did, but New England fans haven’t had much high ground in this area, given the hiring of Cora, two celebrated football scandals, and the 2017 Red Sox Apple Watch malfeasance.

Not to go all “Trash Can Report In Context” on you, but the ‘22 Astros might be good without cheating. They won 106 regular-season games, and eight of their first nine postseason games. They swept the 99-win Yankees in the ALCS and went into Tuesday’s Game 3 with a combined record of 114-58, including playoff games.

They hope this Fall Classic will be their redemption tour.

Gotta love the warped mind that can take a World Series baseball game and make it about the Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots, like that grudge will ever be let go.

Familiar With The Subject Matter

Longtime readers of Dan Shaughnessy Watch will know Shank writes about a theme that's right in his wheelhouse:

Philadelphia and Boston sports fans have a lot in common, especially when it comes to holding grudges

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia is bigger than Boston, but when it comes to sports, the two towns have much in common. Both have history, success, epic failures, and edge. It’s personal. Nobody ever forgets anything.

Neither does Shank!

Folks here still talk about ‘64 and Gene Mauch the way we talk about Denny Galehouse, Bucky Dent, and Bill Buckner. We’re still mad that Bobby Clarke and Co. beat the Bruins in the Cup Finals in ‘74, and they won’t talk about Donovan McNabb barfing in the huddle at Super Bowl XXXIX.

Here In the autumn of 2022, Philadelphia’s Phillies and Eagles are championship caliber at the same time. They have a World Series baseball team and a 7-0 football team with designs on the Super Bowl.

We did this multiple times already.

After the ‘04 Sox won the World Series, the Patriots beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl in Jacksonville. After the ‘07 Sox swept the Rockies, the Pats went 18-0 before losing the Super Bowl to the Giants. Alex Cora’s 2018 Red Sox won the World Series less than four months before Tom Brady and Bill Belichick won their final Super Bowl together.

Its Appeal Has Become More Selective

Shank's at another World Series and laments the lack of fans in recent times:

The World Series is a huge deal in Houston and Philadelphia, but not so much elsewhere

HOUSTON — Picked-up pieces from the World Series and beyond . . .

This is the 32nd World Series I’ve been privileged to cover. Friday night’s Game 1 was everything a baseball fan could want. The Phillies came back from a 5-0 deficit, we saw a great defensive play extend the game to extra innings, and the Phils won in 10 when a catcher hit a solo homer. Just like Carlton Fisk in 1975.

But I write with sadness in my hardball heart. I love the World Series. And baseball. And it feels like this once-national event is shrinking by the hour.

We all know the old saw about how baseball no longer grips the nation as it once did. We know the games are too long, played too late at night, with not enough balls in play. We know that America’s true pastime is almighty football. Baseball fans are an older crowd — folks who grew up when everybody knew who was heavyweight champ, and people still read newspapers, went to the track, and maybe attended daily Mass.

Revisiting Dave Dombrowski

Never one to shy away from kicking a hornet's nest, Shank catches up with former Red Sox general manager Dave Dombrowski:

Dave Dombrowski clarifies his feelings about the Red Sox, declaring he wants Boston ‘in the past’

HOUSTON — Terry Francona. Theo Epstein. Grady Little. Nomar Garciaparra. Manny Ramirez. Roger Clemens. Bobby Valentine. Carl Crawford. Adrián González.

"Name the Red Sox players and personnel Shank has run out of town over the years!"

It almost always ends badly for Boston baseball figures. And we can surely thank Shank include former Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski in that.

In September 2019, Dombrowski was fired less than 11 months after winning 119 games and the World Series.

It’s still amazing when you think about it. And the announcement of his dismissal came in old-timey cut-throat fashion. A midnight surprise, minutes after a Sunday night loss to the Yankees, while the Patriots were unfurling a championship banner and beating the Steelers at Gillette on “Sunday Night Football.”

For more than three years, Dombrowski has taken the high road, eschewing opportunities to gloat while the Sox finished last twice. Now that he’s brought his Phillies to the World Series, he’s admitting hard feelings about his final Boston days.

Smoke And Mirrors

Never one to let a bad New England Patriots loss go to waste, Shank laments the end of a situation he cheerleaded for three weeks, complete with lame nostalgia, a Jethro Tull lyric mention (feel free to guess which one!) and baseball cross-references:

After Patriots’ defeat, it is easy to see the magic show was just smoke and mirrors

For a couple of minutes in the second quarter, it was Zappe Magic and almost felt like 21 years ago when young Tom Brady came out of nowhere and took the quarterback job from Drew Bledsoe.

In the first half of the prime-time “Monday Night Football” game against the Bears, Mac Jones was Wally Pipped by Bailey Zappe’s Lou Gehrig (Zappe even wears No. 4). Zappe was Elvis. He was Rudy — with talent. The fourth-round pick from Western Kentucky came off the bench and directed two TD drives in less than four minutes, rocking Gillette to its foundation, and taking the Patriots from a 10-0 deficit to a 14-10 lead. The golly-gee kid completed 4 of 4 passes for 97 yards. He threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Jakobi Meyers and a 43-yard bomb to DeVante Parker.

Despite preposterous insistence that the Pats were planning to play two quarterbacks regardless of performance (lie detector machines exploding from Portland to Newport), our local quarterback controversy was in full (not Chaim) Bloom when Jones failed and Zappe succeeded in the first half. In that moment, Zappe officially supplanted last year’s Pro Bowl/playoff rookie, Jones, who came to New England as a first-round QB savior. It looked like the Pats would move to 4-3 and take Zappe Magic into the Meadowlands against the hated Jets this weekend.

DHL Dan CXLIII - The Tuna Speaks

Shank keeps the Mac Jones / Bailey Zappe thing going for a little bit longer:

Here is Bill Parcells’s philosophy on players losing jobs to injuries, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while wondering how my invitation to Bob Kraft’s wedding got misplaced …

▪ As we wait to see whom Bill Belichick starts at quarterback Monday (going into the weekend, the best guess was that Mac Jones is coming back), know that Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells doesn’t subscribe to the notion that an NFL player should never lose his job while he is injured. The Tuna believes professional sports is a results business.

“I’m not speaking for Bill [Belichick],” Parcells said via phone this week. “This is just me. Players will say, ‘You don’t lose your job to injury.’ That’s right. You lose your job for two reasons: 1. You’re not playing well, or 2. Someone else is playing better.

“I would tell my team that. If you’re out of the game and someone else goes in and obviously plays better, then you lose your job. That was my approach.”

The Bill Russell Tribute

Lots of good Bill Russell stuff in this column:

Ceremony honoring late Celtics legend Bill Russell was a thank you and a tribute

He’s always been here, even when he was no longer blocking shots and firing outlet passes to ignite the fast break.

Bill Russell proudly prowled the Old Garden’s parquet floorboards for 13 seasons, first in 1956-57. In his final three seasons, he had the audacity to coach the Celtics while he was still playing. In retirement, his 11 championship banners and venerable No. 6 flapped gently above the action as the torch was passed to Havlicek, Cowens, Bird, Pierce, Garnett, and Tatum. Every time the Celtics neared the winner’s circle, Russell returned to visit Red, bask in the glory, and hopefully hand off a Finals MVP trophy named in his honor.

Russell died at the age of 88 July 31, and Tuesday night on Causeway Street the Celtics played their first-ever game in a world without William Felton Russell.

Quality Reporting, By Ben Volin

It looks like a colleague of Shank's got punked by a commenter on Barstool Sports:

EXCLUSIVE: Ben Volin's "Report" That The Whole Building Hates Mac Jones Is Based On A Stoolie's Fake DM

If you heard this on Greg Hill this morning it was a real mess. Volin, very sheepishly, said he got a DM (according to the tweet "from someone that would know" but I didn't hear that in the audio, might've been in a different part of the interview) that "everyone in the building knows it." I retweeted it because it was pretty dumb, particularly considering that as the same time this interview was happening Jason McCourty was on Good Morning Football saying he was hanging out with the team on Monday night and everyone loves everyone.

Encouraging Useless Debate

Okay - I know that the headline and the subject of this blog makes for a redundancy, but to some extent so are comparisons like this one:

It’s time to revisit the Belichick vs. Brady scoreboard

Team Bill is trending up. Team Tom is trending down.

Wonder how this is all going to end for Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.

We’ve been keeping score of Team Bill vs. Team Tom since the final days of the 2019 Patriots season when a restless Brady threw tantrums, made faces, and said he was unhappy as the Patriots marched toward another AFC East title and a first-round playoff defeat.

Belichick said little, as usual, and had nothing at all to say on St. Patrick’s Day 2020, when Tom announced he was taking his talents to Tampa Bay.

We have been tracking their successes and failures ever since, and Team Tom has been the easy winner in just about every exit poll. Tom won another Super Bowl in his first year without Bill while Bill endured Cam Newton and didn’t even make the playoffs.

For more than two years, it’s been Team Tom in a rout. Brady’s success without Belichick advanced a narrative that New England’s dynasty was more about Tom than it was about Bill. Tom Toadies and many Patriot fans love to announce that Head Coach Bill never won a Super Bowl without Quarterback Tom. Bill’s record with and without Brady has been highlighted, and the numbers are a lowlight for the vaunted coach.

If you want to know when to stop reading this dreck, go forth a few more paragraphs until you run into this crap:

Meanwhile, Belichick has his upstart Patriots back to 3-3 and has discovered a fourth-round, third-string rookie quarterback named Elvis (Bailey) Zappe.

Zappe Fever?

Let's start off the week with some more Bailey Zappe, shall we?

Get ready for another week of debating Bailey Zappe vs. Mac Jones after Patriots rout Browns

CLEVELAND — The only question now is “How come Bailey Zappe wasn’t invited to Bob Kraft’s wedding?”

I mean, who needs Elton John, Drew Bledsoe, and Tom Brady when you’ve got the star power of Bailey Zappe working for you?

Zappe Fever is about to go viral. Bailey Zappe is ready to break the Internet. The kid quarterback is hotter than Wordle. He had a better game in Cleveland Sunday than Kraft-wedding-guest Brady had in Pittsburgh.

OK, I’m exaggerating a little. Zappe may not be the Next Big Thing. He may just be a placeholder until Mac Jones’s high ankle sprain heals. But New England’s fourth-round, third-string rookie completed 24 of 34 passes for 309 yards, threw two touchdowns, and had no interceptions in a 38-15 win over the Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium Sunday.

DHL Dan CXLII - Making History

Shank notes a possibility this weekend with respect to NFL history:

Bill Belichick has some historic NFL ties (and hats), and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while hoping the Joba Chamberlain midges don’t invade FirstEnergy Stadium Sunday in Cleveland …

▪ Is it time for the Hoodie to bring back the fedora?

Bill Belichick has a chance to make history in Cleveland. A victory over the Browns will tie Belichick with George Halas as the NFL’s second-winningest coach (324 victories; Don Shula is first with 347).

In 2010, when Belichick was readying to tie legendary Paul Brown on the all-time list, he wore a “Mad Men” lid to Heinz Field as an homage to Brown. In 2018, traveling to Minneapolis for his eighth Super Bowl as a head coach, Belichick wore a Brown/Halas fedora, telling reporters that the hat had belonged to his dad, coach Steve Belichick.

Brown and Halas are the two coaches Belichick honors most, and he interacted with both while growing up.

Before the start of the 2022 season, I asked Belichick about respecting coaches who came before him, particularly Brown and Halas.

A Slight Overreaction

The New England Patriots shut out the Detroit Lions on Sunday, 29 - 0. Look who's doing cartwheels over the third-string quarterback:

Rookie Bailey Zappe is undefeated as a starter, so where does that leave the Patriots’ quarterback situation?

OK, strap yourselves in.

Here we go.

Zappe Fever Grips Hub. Zappe Days Are Here Again. Zappe Hour at Gillette. Don’t Worry, be Zappy.

Suddenly, Mac Jones is on notice. Mac Jones is Wally Pipp and Zappe is Lou Gehrig. Mac is Drew Bledsoe and Bailey Zappe is (gulp) Tom Brady.

We have what Bill Belichick hates the most: a fabricated quarterback controversy. I mean, we all know you’re not supposed to lose your job to an injury, but Zappe is undefeated as a starting quarterback in the NFL. How can Bill move him out of the position? And who cares if he looks like Ollie from “Hoosiers”? (Thanks, Rochie.)

DHL Dan CXLI - Rooting For A Loss?

If Shank isn't openly rooting for a New England Patriots loss against the Detroit Lions tomorrow, he's certainly emphasizing the thought:

Patriots get no slack this week against the Lions, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while listening to the 2022 Red Sox insist that they really weren’t that bad …

▪ There will be no forgiveness for the Patriots if they lose at home Sunday to the Lions.

The 1-3 Patriots enjoyed a very un-Boston-like reception when they lost in overtime to the Packers at Lambeau last weekend. We gave them all kinds of slack because they were forced to use their third-string quarterback, played on the road against Aaron Rodgers, played good defense, and Bill Belichick almost willed them to victory. The day-after headlines in our sports section were unusually forgiving: “Masterful show by Belichick,” “Outlook is better despite outcome,” and “It was magic until the end.”

Wow. That’s Full Rochie stuff right there. Right out of Channel 4′s “All Access” playbook. We sounded like a bunch of fanboy Baghdad Bobs, like Alex Cora saying we had the best worst team in baseball.

Not this weekend. No more Mr. Nice Guy. If the Patriots can’t beat the 1-3 Lions at home, it’ll be raining hot takes on the head of the Hoodie, his coaches, and his players.

Famous Last Place Words

A cute twist on an old phrase leads off Shank's obituary for the 2022 edition of the Boston Red Sox:

Famous last-place words: These Red Sox quotes spoke volumes about their season

Allow me to spare you lots of tedium:

Over the course of the 2022 Red Sox season, a lot of things were said by players and the front office. Let’s revisit a few of the bon mots regarding Boston baseball’s fifth last-place finish in 11 years:

“I’m excited to be here. I think this team has a chance to win again … I would love to finish my career here.”

— J.D. Martinez, March 13

“What we should be trying to do is use all our resources and be as great as we can, whatever that means … We have opportunities to boost our outfield in some way … The important thing is to focus on what you’re doing, not to focus on what everybody else is doing and not to focus on what kind of splash you might be able to make … I actually think we were better for what we did.”

— Chaim Bloom, mid-March

Fairy Tale Column

Given Shank's history with writing nasty columns about the New England Patriots after a loss, this one's a pleasant surprise:

Bailey Zappe’s fairy-tale debut had all the makings of a winning show for the Patriots, until the end

Aaron Rodgers vs. Bailey Zappe (which rhymes with “happy’').

A four-time NFL MVP vs. a fourth-round draft pick who’d never played a down of professional football?

A Super Bowl champion against a third-string rookie who made his last meaningful pass against Appalachian State in the vaunted Boca Raton Bowl?

A “Jeopardy!” host with 29 career game-winning drives against a 23-year-old who was playing at Houston Baptist two years ago?

It was a true Cinderella story, ‘til Zappe turned into a pumpkin ‘neath the cover of October skies. The undermanned Patriots pushed the Packers into overtime, but Rodgers finally stepped up and the Packers beat the Pats, 27-24, on a 31-yard walkoff field goal by Mason Crosby.

DHL Dan CXL - Keep 'Em Guessing

Shank isn't too happy with the New England Patriots' recent roster situation:

Patriots’ attempt at a guessing game on starting QB was uncalled for, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while waiting to see Brian Hoyer play quarterback for the Patriots Sunday . . .

▪ Mac Jones or Hoyer?

What’s the difference, really? Jones has been one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL this season. Hoyer has lost his last 11 games as a starter, with seven touchdown passes and eight interceptions. He has not won as a starting quarterback in the NFL since 2016.

Jones suffered a high ankle sprain at the end of last weekend’s home loss to the Ravens and we’ve spent the week assuming he can’t play against the Packers Sunday. But Bill Belichick dangled the carrot all week, insisting that Mac was “day to day” even though he did not practice Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, and reportedly went looking for a second opinion while considering surgery. On Friday afternoon, the Patriots finally placed him on the inactive list.

Does Bill really think this ambiguity in any way confused the Packers? Is there really a competitive advantage to this stupid guessing game?

The above is, shall we say, heavily sampled from Felger & Mazz from Thursday afternoon.

No More, No More

I went with the Aerosmith angle instead of Shank's half-nod to Bruce Springsteen when discussing the current state of affairs of the local pro sports teams:

There was a time when championships were all we knew, but those glory days appear long gone

Remember those golden days of confetti and duck boat parades? Remember when we were the envy of our friends who live outside New England? We were so flush with success, folks at Logan ran out of space for new championship banners over the security station at Terminal C.

Not so much anymore.

The Red Sox are going to finish in last place for the fifth time in 11 seasons. The Bruins fired their coach and come into the new season with lowered expectations. The Celtics — who appeared to be our one team with title hopes — start training camp this week after suspending their head coach because of an in-house scandal, and their starting center just had his second knee surgery since March.

Oh, and as if we didn’t need any more poison in this big boat of bad, Mac Jones, New England’s franchise quarterback, appeared to sustain a serious leg injury in the closing seconds of Sunday’s 37-26 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at Gillette Stadium.

DHL Dan CXXXIX - Speaking Of Terrible Positions...

Just a tad late on a few Shank takes, and one of them's on soon to be former Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, who apparently dipped his pen in company ink:

Ime Udoka has put the Celtics in a terrible position, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while anticipating a big bowl of awkward at Monday’s Celtics Media Day …

▪ Ime Udoka is suspended for a year, and it’s hard to imagine him returning to the Celtics bench. Rumors of the suspension first leaked Wednesday night. Twenty-four hours later, in a short statement (issued during “Thursday Night Football” and Red Sox vs. Aaron Judge), the Celtics announced that their coach was suspended for “violations” of team policy. Minutes later, Udoka issued his own brief statement, apologizing to everyone and accepting the team’s decision.

Friday morning, a full 36 hours after first reports of the scandal were leaked, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck and president of basketball operations Brad Stevens finally met with the media, acknowledging that they’d known for a couple of months about Udoka’s inappropriate relationship with a female member of the team’s staff. The Celtics bosses said they’d commissioned a law firm to investigate the situation during the summer and just got the firm’s findings Wednesday.

What Is Your Quest?

New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge has a shot to break Roger Maris' Yankee home run record. Shank helpfully points out this could happen at the expense of the Boston Red Sox:

Aaron Judge’s record quest reminds us of what the home run chase used to mean

Your Boston Red Sox always seem to be in the middle of the American League single-season home run record.

Red Sox outfielder/pitcher Babe Ruth set the first “unreachable” mark when he blasted 29 homers in a 154-game season in 1919. Before you could say “Mookie Betts,” the Sox traded the home run champ to the Yankees for cash.

Ruth hit 54, then 59 homers in his first two seasons with the Yankees. Then he hit 60 in 1927. It was a record that stood for 34 years.

In 1961, when Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris dueled throughout the “new” 162-game season, aiming for Ruth’s magical 60, Maris hit his record-breaking 61st home run off Red Sox righthander Tracy Stallard in Yankee Stadium.

Let's Change The Subject

With yesterday's win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Shank is deprived of his chance to shit on the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick. This is a classic 'look over here - squirrel!' column:

Yes, OK, the Patriots beat the Steelers, but so far what have we learned about Mac Jones?

Mac Jones is better than Mitch Trubisky.

So there’s that.

This is the NFL and a win is a win. Your quarterback can be terrible on any given Sunday, or your quarterback can manage the game well enough to beat a Tomato Can that is begging to be crushed.

Funny how the 'tomato can' angle was conveniently omitted from the previous column, isn't it?

So we will resist the urge to be spoiled and unsatisfied with the Patriots’ 17-14 victory at Pittsburgh Sunday. We won’t say that this 60-minute rock fight set the sport back a couple of decades, or that we still have a million questions about Jones, 2022 Bill Belichick, and New England’s William F. Buckley/Pat Buchanan offensive game plan.

Conservative - get it? Shank just tried for a funny!

The rest of the column looks equally lame and unfunny, like that will shock you.

DHL Dan CXXXVIII - On The Hot Seat

That would be New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, of course:

Bill Belichick is on the hot seat, and other thoughts ahead of a must-win for the Patriots

Picked-up pieces while waiting for kickoff in Pittsburgh ...

▪ In October 2016, hours before the seventh game of the World Series between the Cubs and Indians, Cleveland manager Terry Francona was forced to take questions from the media. There’s not much to say before a Game 7, so I broke the ice by asking Tito if this was a “must-win” game.

He took the bait. He laughed. Hard.

On Sunday in Pittsburgh, beleaguered Patriots coach Bill Belichick is faced with one of the more critical early-season games of his legendary career. Our estimable Chris Gasper calls it a “sneaky must-win.”

Wow. Must-win. Week 2.

Clearly, sharks smell blood in the moat waters surrounding Fort Foxborough. Can any of us ever remember Bill taking this much heat around here? Bill must feel like he’s back in Cleveland in the days after he benched local hero Bernie Kosar.

The coach is 'taking heat' because Shank's there with a blowtorch.

On With The Blame Game, Chapter One

That wasn't a very tough call, was it?

It probably could not have gone worse in the opener for the Patriots, so blame Bill Belichick

Bill Belichick opened the door last week. Asked about his curious plan to proceed with no proven offensive coordinators or quarterback coaches, the Hoodie said, “If it doesn’t go well, blame me.’’

OK. So here goes.

It’s only one game, but things could hardly have gotten off to a worse start for Belichick and his “new” old staff Sunday as the Pats were stuffed, 20-7 by the Miami Dolphins and their 39-year-old head coach who broke into the league as a ballboy for the Denver Broncos.

Seven measly points. That’s all the Pats could generate against the upstart, rugged Fish. It was almost bad enough to make you think about switching to the Red Sox-Orioles.

At least Shank's in midseason form, that's for sure.

Ready For The Blame Game

Shank does a phone interview with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and, in true Shank fashion, makes it as uncomfortable as possible right off the bat:

Belichick voices support for Patricia and Judge as Patriots get set to open their season

Red Auerbach was 48 when he coached his final game with the Celtics.

Bill Belichick is 70, readying for his 48th season in the NFL, his 28th as a head coach.

Seventy puts Belichick closer to Red from “Shawshank” than Red on Roundball.

In 2009, a 57-year-old Belichick stated, “I won’t be like Marv Levy and coaching in my 70s, I know that.”

“I wish I hadn’t said that,” Belichick said Thursday in a telephone interview from Florida. “I was probably thinking of what I would feel like. Now, there’s what I actually feel like, and those are two different things. That was not one of my better statements.”

Which is precisely why Shank brought it up.

The Patriots open Sunday at Miami, Belichick’s 23rd season as New England’s head coach. The Patriots went 10-7 last year, then got blown out by the Bills in the playoffs.

New England’s 2022 preseason was unimpressive. No longer able to lean on Tom Brady or trusty assistants Nick Caserio (general manager of the Texans), Josh McDaniels (head coach of the Raiders), Dante Scarnecchia, and Ernie Adams (both retired), Belichick has put a bull’s-eye on his back, declining to name coordinators and hiring cronies/failed head coaches Matt Patricia and Joe Judge to take charge of second-year quarterback Mac Jones.

“I think they’re both good coaches,” said Belichick. “Ultimately, it’s my responsibility, like it always is. So if it doesn’t go well, blame me.”

Don’t worry. We will.

Of course he will!

Enjoying Other Peoples Misery

If it weren't for the fact that there's always a losing team, Shank would have nothing to write about.

The DSW alternate masthead lives on - Shank loves it when people and teams lose games:

Keeping an eye on the stumbling Yankees and Mets is entertaining right now

I’m in a New York state of mind.

Maybe it’s because watching the Yankees lose to the Rays last weekend was more enjoyable than watching the Red Sox roll the hapless Rangers (nine straight losses!).

Maybe it’s because the Yanks saw their AL East lead go from 15½ games to just three in the loss column earlier this week. The Yankees have a million players on the injured list, and Aaron Judge is the only guy who’s still hitting. A full el foldo is not out of the question.

It’s the same with the crosstown Mets. The Amazins have been in first place in the NL East for the entire season. They had a 10½-game lead over everybody in June, but just lost three straight to the lowly Nationals and Pirates, and were caught by the Braves Tuesday night. New York and Atlanta had identical records going into Wednesday’s play.

DHL Dan CXXXVII - The Kiss Of Death

Do the Shank sharks smell blood in the water?

How did the Red Sox’ Chaim Bloom take his recent vote of confidence? And other thoughts ...

Picked-up pieces while wondering if the feds found a “Malcolm Butler/Top Secret” file at Mar-a-Lago …

▪ Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy was compelled this past week to issue a vote of confidence for Chaim Bloom and Alex Cora.

“I am very comfortable saying Chaim and Alex will be back,” Kennedy told The Athletic.

The proverbial vote of confidence. Since we never hear from ownership anymore (feels like John Henry is ghosting his baseball team), Kennedy’s backing will have to do.

How did the statement land with the Red Sox chief baseball officer — who has had a year like Eddie Mush in “A Bronx Tale” and is taking way more heat than his manager?

“I believe in what we’re doing here,” said Bloom, whose team is likely to finish last for a second time in his three Red Sox seasons. “This year has not so far gone the way any of us would have wanted. We’ll work hard to get better.

... Thanks for the time, Chaim. But watch your back. Ownership always needs a scapegoat.

Written without a hint of irony.

You Must Be New Around Here

Did you move to Boston recently? Are you a freshman at one of the local colleges this fall? Here's Shank to give all of you newbies a taste of Boston sports:

For college students coming to town, here is a guide to the local sports scene

U-Hauls, packed vans, and SUVs with New York plates are double-parked all over Commonwealth Avenue, Harvard Square, and Bay State Road. Every day there’s another report of a too-tall Ryder rental truck stuck under a bridge on Storrow Drive with its roof shredded like a Spam can.

Out-of-town Gen Z-ers are invading Boston for their college experience.

Let me be one of the first to welcome freshmen who have come to Boston in advance of Labor Day weekend. Most of you are probably sports fans, some maybe not. Doesn’t matter. You’ll quickly learn that you can’t escape the ethos of Greater Boston sports teams. In this spirit, I’ve assembled a handy-dandy, clip-and-save, Hub sports orientation memo.

Though we are nothing like Pittsburgh or Dallas, know that you have moved into a pro football town. The success of Tom Brady and the Patriots in the first two decades of this century spawned a legion of folks who talk pro football 12 months of the year. It’s not just bettors and fantasy footballers. It’s almost the entire male population and a good portion of women under 50. Our local sports talk shows are full of it, and I mean that in every possible way.

I'm sure he does!

DHL Dan CXXXVI - Amazing Grace

Shank, as he's wont to do, jumps all over David Ortiz for his, um, inconsistency:

Examining an ‘amazing’ statement by David Ortiz, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while watching the Little League World Series …

▪ After becoming the first MLB player elected to the Hall of Fame despite a positive steroid test — a test that baseball commissioner Rob Manfred suggested might have been a false positive — David Ortiz went on the offensive in the wake of Fernando Tatis Jr. testing positive for clostebol in mid-August.

“MLB needs to have some sort of regulations before they make public news like the one that happened to Tatis Jr.,” Ortiz told Dominican reporter Hector Gomez. “I think they haven’t handled this situation the right way. We can’t kill our product, we’re talking about an amazing player.”

It sounds like Ortiz is saying, “Sure, Tatis is using, but fans love him and he’s got great numbers, so let’s pretend nothing happened.”

I'm of the school of though that maybe Ortiz should just avoid giving opinions about this topic, in no small part because he gives folks like Shank free gas to pour on the fire. Then again, Shank would probably find a way to drag him for saying nothing.

Fixing The Red Sox

In the latter part of the 2022 baseball season, the Boston Red Sox are in last place in the American League East. Shank actually has a column devoted to constructive criticism of the team:

Some suggestions on how to fix the broken Red Sox for 2023

How do we fix the Red Sox for 2023?

Here’s a thought for starters … how about ownership opens up its wallet and spends some money?

Only let’s do it wisely this time.

The last-place Red Sox, who proudly remind you they won four World Series in this century, have become a bottom-line-based operation. True, they still have a ridiculously high payroll, but that’s from mistakes going back to 2019 when Dave Dombrowski was giving out multimillion-dollar contracts (hello, Chris Sale) like M&Ms. The Sox are still paying David Price, for gosh sakes.

Since Dombro was fired and gave way to Chaim Bloom, the Sox have been dumpster divers — ever in search of a deal, always trying to turn another team’s trash into treasure. They’ve had a few hits with Nick Pivetta, Garrett Whitlock, Christian Arroyo (when he’s healthy), and John Schreiber, but mostly it’s been misses.

DHL Dan CXXXV - The Popular Patriots

Finally - a Patriots themed column without the normal cheap shots and insults aimed towards Bill Belichick and the Krafts:

A look at Patriots popularity, then and now, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while wondering why Red Sox fans still root against the Yankees when the Yankees are playing the Rays and Blue Jays — teams the Sox need to leapfrog to get a wild-card spot …

▪ Two unrelated correspondences this past week made me appreciate just how big the Patriots are in today’s New England sports market.

A friend forwarded an e-mail that had been sent from “Patriots Members Services” regarding how long it might take to move up on the team’s season-ticket wait list:

“Our records indicate that you joined the List in April of 2016. To give you a point of reference, waitlist Members who joined the Patriots Season Ticket Waitlist as late as December of 2003 were offered season tickets prior to the start of the 2022 season.”

Bonus - a Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis reference!

Lost Season

If ever there was bulletin board material for the 2022 Boston Red Sox, here it is:

With atmosphere at Fenway electric, it’s hard for Red Sox to admit this is a lost season

Red Sox-Yankees. Good close games, full houses, and the Red Sox competed.

Sweet. Just like the old days . . .

Except for those nasty American League East standings that show the first-place Yankees 15½ games ahead of the last-place Red Sox.

There are 46 games left in the Red Sox’ Lost Season. Thirty-two of them will be against the Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays, and Orioles and we all know the Red Sox fare poorly when playing teams in their own division. The last-place Sox are 15-30 against the AL East.

DHL Dan CXXXIV - Cutting No Slack

Shank seems to be a tad upset with Tom Brady today:

This time, Tom Brady shouldn’t get any slack, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while suggesting that our leaders find a more prominent spot for the Bill Russell statue . . .

▪ Tom Brady is a great football player and put the Patriots on the map.

He is also proof that winning a lot of championships cuts you slack forever in this town.

Brady turned 45 this past week while working out in Tampa, trying to win his eighth Super Bowl. On the day before his birthday, we learned that Tom was talking to the Miami Dolphins — angling his way out of Boston — before he even started his 20th and final season with the Patriots in 2019. Throughout the ‘19 season, Brady was actively working on his next gig while he was playing for the Patriots.

Beyond weak. Phony. A betrayal. Hard to forgive.

One thing potentially missing from this diatribe - given it was Brady's final season with the Patriots, was Brady at the point where he knew he was on the outs with the team? That might be a mitigating factor in all of this, no?

When all this came out, the Dolphins were docked a first-round draft pick (and a third) and slapped with a $1.5 million fine for tampering violations. Owner Stephen Ross was suspended for six games.

Brady got nothing … just like in an NFL game in 2022. You can’t touch the golden boy quarterback, which — avocado ice cream aside — is the biggest reason Brady can keep playing at this level at 45.

So it has nothing to do with Brady's training regimen? You decide if Shank's ignorant of this fact or deliberately ignoring it to make this point.

Brady’s integrity takes a well-deserved hit. You have to be a true sycophant/fanboy to dismiss this one. We know for a fact that while he was performing and pouting with the 2019 Patriots, he was scheming to join one of their hated division rivals.

He later did the same two-faced thing in Tampa; his “retirement” was merely a ruse to get him to a player/ownership role in Miami. The scam was foiled when Brian Flores filed his discrimination lawsuit against the Dolphins and Brady had no choice but to slink back to the Bucs, but not without first getting his coach (Bruce Arians) fired. For all these years, we’ve heard about how team-guy Tom took pay cuts to help the Patriots. In the end, it was just the opposite.

How is all of this OK with you, Boston? Your guy was mentally checked out of Foxborough in his last Patriot season. A lot of Patriot fans are still angry at Bill Parcells for talking to the Jets while he was taking the Patriots to a Super Bowl. The Tuna had a much better reason for leaving (stabbed in the back on draft day by Bob Kraft) than Brady. How is Parcells a traitor but Brady is OK?

This is another non sequitur - you can believe Parcells isn't a traitor, or that Brady is regardless of your opinion on Parcells. I think Shank's forcing things here so he can keep taking shots at Brady.

Bill Russell, R.I.P.

This was, of course, from a few days ago:

Bob Cousy remembers teammate Bill Russell: ‘He fought the good fight’

They had Hall of Fame players and a Hall of Fame coach, and the Celtics were champions every year, it seemed. They won eight consecutive NBA titles in Red Auerbach’s last eight years as coach. They won 11 championships in 13 seasons between 1957–69.

And the one and only constant was Bill Russell. The man in the middle. The greatest winner in team sports history.

Russell died Sunday at the age of 88.

We’ve been losing these fabled champs with somber regularity the last four years. Frank Ramsey died in 2018. John Havlicek in 2019, Tommy Heinsohn and K.C. Jones in 2020, then seven months ago (just before New Year’s), Sam Jones. Hall of Famers, one and all.