Editorial

Connelly’s Top Ten – Bat Signal for Logan Ryan

Published

5 days ago

October 2, 2017

Michael Connelly

1.Patriots

OPENING THOUGHTS

· Logan Ryan - a Patriot Nation turns its lonely eyes to you

· I said three weeks ago they are an 11-5 team – which means they will have to win in Kansas City and will only host the wild card team

· Not since the Miami game in 2008 when Ronnie Harmon went wild in the Wildcat have I ever seen a Patriots team so confused

· Never seen so many Patriot assistant coaches looking panicked talking to their players

· Bill has to send someone home this week!

TOM BRADY

· Brady is going to have to channel 1969 Bill Russell and come out of the weeds to steal it this year (and then retire)

· End of the half drive for a FG should be enough evidence that the Patriots should never take a knee

· Brady has tempted fate with his workout regime that says he is bulletproof and the cover of Madden

OFFENSE

· Why no hurry up

· I know a tough catch but Dwayne Allen should have had that ball down the sideline – that’s not working out

· Forget about Dwayne Allen and send Jacob Hollister home with Marv Cook videos

· The dreaded play action / fake end around – TWICE!

· Speaking of not working out – Brissette is a starting NFL quarterback in Indy and Dorsett is catching one ball a game and then running out of bounds

· Gronk was limping at the end of the game

· Deion Lewis has lost a step of elusiveness post-surgery

· Running back touches – Gillislee 12 / White 11 / Lewis 5 / Develin 2

· Good day for Develin blocking

DEFENSE

· I’d rather the Gilmore girls – Gilmore’s last penalty was literally the difference between winning and losing

· Why not more blitzing – you need to move the QB if the secondary can’t cover anyone

· I’m guaranteeing you that nutty tattoo guy Marsh will pick up a stupid 15 yarder before the season is over

· Malcolm Butler has gone from making millions to trying to stay in the league

· Carolina was running right up the middle

· Brandon Bolden and Alan Branch are tied in tackles after four games with TWO

KRAFT SIGHTING / BELICHICK GARB

· Tough game for Kraft – really struggled with a weak showing late in the third quarter showing him falling over Rupert Murdoch to try to make a point

· Bill with a blue windbreaker – keeping it chill

OFFICIALS – horrendous all game

· The pushing off calls on Amendola and Gronk were disgraceful – especially considering that Fuchness was pushing off all game

· The defensive interference call on Gronk was terrible

· Troy Aikman actually said there was some home cooking going on after Cannon was not called for procedure – you kidding me Patriots got hosed

· Gilmore I get it – he was terrible – but those hands to the face were ticky tack – especially the second one at that time of the game

· The holding call on Chung was a disgrace - it was a running play – was that the same ref on that sideline?

CAROLINA

· If you have Christian McCaffrey on your fantasy team – trade him. They are going to get him killed – returning kicks, returning punts, carrying the ball, receiving out of the back field, picking up blitzes

· Cam Newton will be out of the league in two to three years – his body isn’t the same

· This will be Kuechly last year – his body and head is a mess (14 tackles)

· Only punted once

· Carolina have Patriots number? 2-4 regular season

FOX COVERAGE

· Can’t watch Fox and not remember that Aikman is a Brady hater

· Enough with the Ghosted promo’s

· KFC commercial campaign is infantile

· That camera on the wires was way to active

· Bud Lite enough with the Dili, Dili – it was amusing once

MISC

· I’m confused – I thought putting your fist up - like Cam Newton, or the Cleveland Browns or the people in the Eastern Bank ad (what?) – is a symbol that can by attached to black power? Isn’t that counter-intuitive to the whole unity message the NFL players keep saying they are pushing?

· I think Gostkowski kicking from the left hash is helping him on the extra points

· Late in the game Cam Newton ran forward and was sitting on top of another player and the ball got slapped away from him before the whistle – I would have thrown the red flag and asked for a replay

· Is it good for the league that the two kickers in the game are 13-13 combined this year and banging through 58 yarders no problem?

· After the whiplash hit on Amendola – BU should get his brain right now

· Crazy thing is that they should be 1-3 / 0-3 at home

2. Red Sox

· Just glad Farrell didn’t pinch run Chris Sale on Sunday

· In the post-game celebration Saturday – Christian Vazquez did his best to keep the streak alive of Red Sox making moves on sideline reporters by sending a mating call to Guerin Austin by soaking her with champagne

· Brock Holt went 2-3 to sneak his average up to .200

· Sandy Leon getting 300 at bats with Vazquez on the bench reminds me of Grady Little feeding Jason Giambi at bats over Ortiz in the beginning of 2003

· Playoff prep – Justin Verlander is 5-5 lifetime versus Red Sox

· Do you have to take Devers out for defensive purposes in the playoffs?

· I would pitch Fister before Porcello

· Chris Young you can stay home

3. Red Sox season wrap

· Seven Red Sox hit into double digit double plays this year

· Five complete games in 2017

· I would trade Jackie Bradley this offseason before his trade value goes down – not throwing as well (six assists and four errors this year / 13 - 3 last year), and too many holes in swing (.245)

· Dustin Pedroia went from 201 hits last year to 119 this year

· Average differential from last year to this year team .282 to .258: Leon .310 to .225 / Pedroia .318 to .293 / Betts .318 to .264 / Bogaerts .294 to .273 / Hanley .286 to .242 / Bradley .267 to .245

· Average of Red Sox hitters in the four and five slot of the line up - .240 and .219

· In 621 at bats from the five slot – ZERO triples

4. Around Baseball

· Aaron Judge when he put the ball in play hit .461 / Aaron Judge either hit a home run or struck out in 48% of his at bats

· Heads up in the Fox studio during the playoffs for Nick Swisher – you are going to throw your TV out the window

· Denny McClain where are you - No pitcher won more than 18 games

· Top eight pitchers in ERA are all in the playoffs

5. Around the NFL and College Football

· Boston College hasn’t had a quarterback throw for 300 yards in a game in five years

· Any truth to the rumor that the town of Cambridge has sold out of seats of yellow school buses traveling to the Monday night game – Chiefs vs. Redskins

· DeShaun Watson is now my favorite player in the league – someone I can root for

· With Beckham incapable of controlling himself (ie. Simulating being a dog and peeing in the end zone) how many of his endorsers – Visa, Papa John, Dunkin Donut, Verizon, Nike are holding their breath

· Great day for Buffalo fans – they are in first place and OJ got out

6. My preseason predictions on the Red Sox:

· Red Sox gets the Wild Card with 92 wins / John Farrell over under on hooking up sideline reporters 1.5 / Sale, Betts, Porcello All Stars / Kimbrel over-under blown saves 8 – take the over / Moreland and Sandoval on the corners hit a combined .259 with less than 20 home runs / Vazquez picks off 8 / Remy mentions Wally over 496 times

7. Amazing Stat – Red Sox had five complete games - in 1974 they had 71

* Tiant…..25

* Lee…….16

* Cleveland..10

* Moret…..10

* Drago…..8

* Wise…….1

* Barr……..1

8. Old School – Attendance for important Ted Williams games:

· First exhibition game at Fenway as a rookie – 15,300

· First home regular season game as a rookie – 15,000

· Hit .406 (Philadelphia) – 10,268

· Game before leaving for Korea – 24,764 (hit a home run in final at bat)

· 500^th home run (at Cleveland) – 9,765

· Final Game – 10,454 (hit a home run in final at bat)

9. Just a Little Bit Outside – In honor of Monty Hall dying – how about best deals in Boston Sports:

· Varitek and Lowe for Heathcliff Slocumb

· Phil Esposito, Fred Stanfield and Ken Hodge for Pit Martin and Gilles Marotte

· Randy Moss for a third-round pick

· Parish and McHale for Joe Barry Carroll

· Bill Russell for Ed McCauley and Cliff Hagen

· Cam Neely for Barry Pederson

· Pedro for Pavano and Armas

· Schilling for Fossum Lyon and De La Rosa

10 Randomocity

* Is Joseph Aboud the most over-showed fan in Boston sports history?

* Sound familiar – in an AP report following Babe Ruth’s 60^th home run in 1927 – the article connected the frequency of home runs with a “jack rabbit ball” that was being used

* Actuary tables going crazy with OJ out of prison

* Saw the Big Sick this weekend B+ / might be the worst year in movie history (I knew I should have released the history of the Top Ten)

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Editorial

Published

13 hours ago

October 6, 2017

Michael Connelly

Connelly’s Top Ten – Bad Patriots Team Holds On / Fighting Farrells Toast / Young Bruins Could be Fun

1.Patriots

OPENING THOUGHTS

· Patriots 3-2 with two of those games coming down to passes in the end zone

· Bill Belichick’s demeanor to me said – This team won’t listen and I’m disgusted

· A win without Gronk and Edleman on the road is impressive – the last three years those two fragile receivers represented 33% of receptions 2016 / 33% in 2015 / 44% in 2014

· Not a fun team to watch

· Four out of five games lose coin toss and are forced to take the ball first – just isn’t there year

TOM BRADY

· He is playing with either a separated left shoulder or broken rib

· Watch Brady he is actually choosing to fall on his throwing shoulder

· He needs Mickey to tell him to stay down

· Brady is not only the greatest quarterback of all time, not only the toughest quarterback of all time, he is also the least protected QB of all time by both refs and

offensive line – they were allowed to knock him to the ground late after balls were released

OFFENSE

· Deion Lewis best footwork in two years

· Dante better figure this out on the O Line

· Nate Solder could be brought up on manslaughter charges at the end of the year

· Running back touches – Gillislee - 12 / White - 9 / Lewis – 9

· Amendola 8 targets / 8 receptions (he won’t last at this pace)

· Andrews gets his helmet ripped off and then stands in the way of his running back whining

DEFENSE

· Nice effort by defense in four days

Need to work on wrapping up

· Gilmore admirable job on Evans

· Needed a little bit of pass rush

· Did give up 300 yards again by a quarterback

· Branch you can stay home – looks like they don’t need your lazy out of shape game

KRAFT SIGHTING / BELICHICK GARB

· Kraft with 3:42 left in second quarter and pulls off the double dip with 2:03 left in game – needs to lose 15-20 lbs and get a haircut

· Bill little windbreaker / rain coat

PENALTIES

· 12 penalties - 108 yards

· Most undisciplined team in Belichick history

· Penalty on Bruce Bolden adds to a disastrous year for him

· Four penalties gave Tampa

first downs

· The two roughing the QB’s were silly (I predicted Monday that Cassius Marsh would pick up a critical 15 yarder soon)

TAMPA BAY

· Feel bad for Folk – he will be cut within 24 hours

· Surprised Tampa didn’t go with three receiver stacks on men in motion and confuse the secondary

· Doug Martin should have got 25 touches (13 carries / 74 yards / 1 TD)

· Tampa had more first downs, yards, plays, won the turnover battle, the penalty battle and lost

BROADCAST

· Romo was good but a little goofier this time

MISC

Didn’t hate the white uniforms

· No Gronk or Edleman and Dorsett can’t get on the field and Allen no catches AGAIN

2. Red Sox

· A trainer or doctor should be fired for examining Nunez and saying he could play – hurt on his first step (going into free agency he could have a law suit)

· The Red Sox top five paid players did not start a playoff game – Price, Hanley, Panda, Porcello, Rusney Castillo

· How about Bregman and Altuve both 5’8” or smaller combining for 4 Hr’s

· Major League Baseball should fine that umpire for the number of pitches he missed in a playoff game

· Jim Kaat does a nice job / Costas average

· Jeff Bagwell needs to shave

· Just throw Dever’s fast

ball above the letters

· Pedroia horrendous game – pops up with men first and third no outs / stupid trying to go to third and gets thrown out to end an inning

· Looking like a sweep

3. Bruins

· Pastrnak celebrated his new contract by giving the puck away in his own zone for the first goal of the season for the opposing team

· Awesome moment when Jake DeBrusk scored his first NHL goal and his father former NHL goon started crying

· Charlie McAvoy had as many penalties as marbles in his cheeks - three

· Rask 3 goals allowed on 29 shots

4. Playoffs – MLB doesn’t get it – game times so far:

· 3:58 / 3:52 / 3:26 / 3:26

5. Long way since Doug Williams – Patriots have played against three straight black quarterbacks – DeShaun Watson, Cam Newton, Jamis Winston

6. Las Vegas – Going forward:

· Everyone needs to have an exit plan for every public place they go to

· I would say eight times out of ten – run don’t wait

7. Pitcher performances in the playoffs so far:

· Sonny Gray – 3.1 innings / 3 runs / 6 hits-walks

· Chris Sale – 5.0 innings / 7 runs / 10 hits -walks

· Severino – 0.1 inning / 3 runs / 5 hits -walks

· Santana – 2.0 innings / 4 runs / 5 hits -walks

8. Brady Pace – (he needs 1.5 years after this for the big individual records)

35 TD - - 491 for his career – record 539 Peyton

· 5,440 yards – 66,600 for his career – record Peyton 71,940

9. Tom Brady’s best first five games in a season:

· 2017 – 11 TD to 1 Int

· 2016 – 14 TD to 1 Int

· 2015 – 14 TD to 1 Int

· 2011 - 14 TD to 5 Int

· 2007 – 16 TD to 2 Int

· 2002 – 13 TD to 6 Int

10. Randomocity

* Not being mean and who am I to say – but was that a bad look in Vegas by singer Jason Aldean to take off from the

stage without his band or any type of effort to direct the crowd?

* Is it me or is Barstool Sports not as current as it used to be – They had no Patriots stories until Tuesday this week

* Yes nuts in chocolate Chip Cookies / no cherry on ice cream sundae / no sour cream on baked potato.

Editorial

Boston Sports Trifecta, Bruins, Sox, Patriots All Playing

Published

1 day ago

October 5, 2017

Tanner Rebelo

A Trifecta will occur on Thursday. Three Boston sports teams will be playing huge games all on the same day. A feat that doesn’t occur all the time. Sometimes you will get two big games going on the same day, but three? Almost unheard of.

The three games are as follows:

Boston Red Sox at Houston Astros, ALDS Game 1, 4:08 pm on MLB Network (WTF)

Boston Bruins vs Nashville Predators, Regular Season Opener, 7:00 pm on NESN

New England Patriots at Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pivotal Week 5 game, 8:25 pm on CBS, NFL Network, Amazon

All three games are important. You could debate which one is actually the most important as crazy as it sounds. The Red Sox are playing game 1 of their postseason. But a game 1 loss isn’t a big deal for them. Since it is a 5 game series you really only need to win one of the first two games before heading home to Fenway.

But with Chris Sale on the mound, the Red Sox would like to get a win to start off their series.

The Boston Bruins game kicks of their 2017 campaign that has so many question marks. With such a young team getting a win to start off the season is huge. But admittedly it is the least important game of the day between the three teams. The most important is a week 5 game for the Patriots.

New England enters week 5 2-2 and in third place in the AFC East behind the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills. Tampa is a tough opponent with an elite offense led by Jameis Winston. They will see the return of Doug Martin and have one of the best 1-2 receiving punches in football with Desean Jackson and Mike Evans.

Tampa Bays offense will pose a tough battle for a Patriots defense that ranks dead last in the NFL in multiple key categories including pass defense. A Patriots loss could be devastating to the franchise and their future.

When it comes down to it there are three important games for fans to watch and the time of the starts allow fans of all three teams the opportunity to watch some of each game. My prediction? A complete sweep for all three teams.

Editorial

A Trip to a Mets Bar

Published

6 days ago

September 30, 2017

Jackson Kelley

“You don’t know just how good you have it.” Being fans of modern Boston Sports, chances are you’ve been scolded for this “ignorance”, at one time or another. But if you take a step back, gain perspective and absorb the history, you’ll find that this is a resoundingly accurate statement.

Come on, we were all recently unnerved because, for a moment, it appeared as though the Sox would have to make the playoffs through the AL Wild Card Game. That sentence contains the phrase “make the playoffs”…

Man, we have it rough!

In nearly every relevant professional sports institution, New England has established hegemonies. Since the year 2000, between the Red Sox, the Patriots, the B’s and the C’s, we’ve collected 10 championship wins in total. That equals more than 1 championship every other year.

We’re simply the winningest. Boston you could go and hibernate for a decade, knowing that when you woke up we’d still be on top. As a demographic, we’ve become appropriately accustomed to winning, and that’s fine.

But it’s important to have sympathy for the less fortunate. There are populations out there that have forgotten the definition of the word “dynasty”.

So, in a humble effort to become more gentrified, I traveled to the most depressed and most neglected bowel of the Sports World - a Mets bar.