1.Red Sox Predictions and Thoughts:
* The Hanley watch is on – 497 plate appearances and his $22mm option kicks in for next year (that’s 125 games played)
* You missed your chance to trade Jackie Bradley – hitting .184 in Spring Training
* Who is this Marcus Walden: 13 innings – 15 K – 0.69 ERA – 0.77 WHIP
* Porcello 4.91 ERA in Spring following last year’s 4.65 ERA
* Love the extension for Christian Vazquez
* Here’s hoping Price has a decent year and opts out
* Prediction – Porcello over 4.00 ERA / Steve Wright won’t pinch run / Martinez will fly out to the warning track in right 10 times / Stanton doesn’t hit over 37 home runs for Yankees / 90 wins
2. Patriots
*Patriots offseason trade – Butler, Solder, Lewis, Amendola, 3rd round pick, 5th round pick for Shelton, McCourty, Clayborn, Hill, Tobin, Patterson – so far their defensive line is much better, offensive line worse, backfield the same, defensive backs same
* If Jimmy G was in the draft right now he would be a top three pick – the Patriots got a 43rd pick in exchange for a top three pick / for the 3rd pick – Jets gave their 6th, 37th, 49th, and another second rounder
* Jeremy Hill is in for a culture shock coming from the Bengals (don’t forget about his sucker punch when at LSU)
* Interesting to hear Troy Brown on WEEI saying there is tension between Bill and Tom
* Patriots have the 31st / 43rd / 63rd / 95th / 136th / 159th / 219th picks
3. Celtics
* Brad Stevens wins as the Celtic coach – 25 / 40 / 48 / 53 / 55 (this year’s pace)
* No Irving, Smart, Brown or Hayward – ugh
* What does the eye test tell you on Horford – underachiever - overpaid
* Horford Rankings – Salary - 11th highest paid ($27.7mm) / Scoring - 85th at 12.7 / Rebounding - 28th at 7.5 rpg
* Marcus smart is 155th in three-point shooting at .301
4. Bruins
* Cassidy Coach of the Year – Four of his top five players – Marchand, Bergeron, Krejci Backes – have missed a combined 73 games
* Donato, Hodge, Grahame, and Bourque – Donato the only son better than father
* Record without Bergeron 35-20 .636 / 11-7 without .611
* Backes 29 goals in two years – not bang for the buck
* Does Khudobin get playoff starts?
* Next year – Haynes, Beleskey and Sidenberg count $4mm against the cap
* Crazy stat in the Globe – Brad Marchand hasn’t taken a slap shot yet
5. My thoughts on Yawkey Avenue:
* Qualifier – Yawkey wasn’t the picture of progressiveness – and not being a forward voice in Boston is not what we’re looking for (we are the hub of Abolitionists)
* But whenever you talk about history you must put everything in context (ie. Negro and Colored were accepted terms – someday African American term will be deemed insensitive)
* You don’t have to look any further than the newspaper - that John Henry owns - to see context. Headlines such as “Japs Surrender” / “Krauts on the Run” / And the N word routinely showed up in the Boston Globe
* Black players – Reggie Smith and George Scott spoke favorably of Mr. Yawkey
* Yawkey is criticized for being the last to integrate (1959) BUT REALLY – so the Tigers 1958 (11 years after Robinson) / Phillies 1957 (10 years) / Yankees 1955 (eight years) – they are all guilty as well
* Before John Henry starts naming himself the beacon of inclusion – anyone look at his hedge fund holdings in the 80’s - South Africa? Gun companies?
* If you had to bet in Vegas – did Cora’s minority status make his naming inevitable?
* If I’m the Yawkey Foundation – if the city pulls the name – I pull all my investments in the city schools and services and take their money to a town that understands the family could have done better but in the totality has made a significant difference
6. NCAA Basketball
*Watched the Villanova vs West Virginia game Friday night – 40 minutes – 48 fouls (a foul every 50 seconds of the game – that’s every other possession): “look at me – I’m an official and need attention.”
* Does TBS really need five people in their studio and a politically correct effort by adding a woman
* How has Duke lost a game this year – their front line – 7’0” / 6’11” / 6’11” / 6’10” / 6’10” (Celtics go 6’11” / 6’10” / 6’10”)
7. Amazing Stats – There were obviously eleven defensive players on the field for the Patriots when Butler intercepted the Seattle pass - How many defensive plays did those eleven play in this year’s Super Bowl? ZERO
8. Old School – After Paul Pierce was given the gift of having his number retired – silly talk about Garnett’s number being retired– who are players that dropped in for a cameo and contributed but don’t deserve their number retired:
· Keith Foulke
· Koji Uehara
· Darrell Revis
· Charlie Scott
· Corey Dillon
· James Posey
· Paul Silas
· Bailey Howell
9. Just a Little Bit Outside – In March of 1935 – a dog in Japan died named Hachiko. Hachiko was such a devoted dog that he used to meet his owner at the train station at the end of each day. One day the dog’s owner died at work. The dog showed up for that train every day for nine years before dying while waiting for him.
10. Randomocity
* I hate that moment between seeing a pothole and hitting it – recoil city.
* Anything cause goosebumps more than the lyric “and the rockets red glare!”
* Whatever happened to fish sticks?
* Now in Chicago they say the most dangerous place to be is at funerals – there has been a run of shootings at graveyards, funeral homes, and churches – hmmm quite a place.
* 172 firemen that worked on Ground Zero have died since 9/11 – that’s 10 a year
* Watched documentary – The Kill Team on Amazon – yikes you would never enlist after watching this
