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Celtics: Pressey New Assistant Coach

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Celtics are set to hire former guard Phil Pressey as an assistant coach, according to multiple reports Monday.

Pressey is the third addition to Boston’s coaching staff this month, joining former Philadelphia 76ers assistant Sam Cassell and former Milwaukee Bucks assistant Charles Lee as the Celtics attempt to revitalize head coach Joe Mazzulla‘s bench.

Boston still plans to add at least one more assistant in the coming weeks, per the report.

In three NBA seasons, the 32-year-old Pressey posted career averages of 3.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 148 games (11 starts). He signed with the Celtics as an un-drafted free agent in 2013 and spent the first two seasons of his career with Boston, later also playing briefly with the Philadelphia 76ers and Phoenix Suns.

Pressey served as an assistant at Missouri during the 2022-23 season but has no coaching experience in the NBA. In addition to his two seasons with the Celtics, Pressey also established Massachusetts ties by attending two high schools in the state.

–Field Level Media

Bergeron Played with Bad Back

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BOSTON – Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron told reporters that he was playing with a herniated disc in his back during Boston’s first-round Eastern Conference playoff series against the Florida Panthers.

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Bergeron sustained the herniated disc during the Bruins’ final game of the regular season, a 5-4 victory over the host Montreal Canadiens back on April 13. It was labeled as an upper-body injury at the time, and Bergeron did not return to the game against Montreal for precautionary reasons.

The injury forced Bergeron to miss the first four games of the series against Florida, but the Bruins won three of those contests. Bergeron returned for Game 5 and scored a goal — his lone point of the 2023 playoffs — but it wasn’t enough, as Boston fell 4-3. The Panthers then won Games 6 and 7 to stun the Bruins and advance to the second round.

With the offseason now upon Boston after its historic 65-12-5 (135 points) regular season, Bergeron also said that he was weighing his options when it came to the future.

“I gotta take some time and talk with the family and go from there,” Bergeron said. “Right now it’s too hard to process anything. Obviously we’re shocked and disappointed.”

Bergeron, 37, recorded 58 points (27 goals, 31 assists) in 78 games this season, his 19th with the Bruins.

–Field Level Media

Bruins Eliminated in OT

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – While Boston Bruins fans were ruing their team’s first-round upset at the hands of the Florida Panthers, oddsmakers were understandably not shedding many tears.

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The Stanley Cup favorites at every sportsbook following their historic regular season, the Bruins were the biggest liability at many entering the playoffs. That includes at BetMGM, where Boston had accounted for 28.1 percent of the Stanley Cup champion bets and a whopping 42.7 percent of the money wagered.

“Entering the playoffs, the Bruins were the betting favorites to win the Stanley Cup and a significant liability for the sportsbook,” BetMGM Sports Trader Seamus Magee said. “While heartbreaking to fans and those who closely followed their run, Boston losing in the first round was a good outcome for the sportsbook.”

Boston’s demise coincided with the defending champion Colorado Avalanche bowing out on Sunday night, and the good news kept on rolling for the sportsbooks on Monday when the New Jersey Devils took out the New York Rangers in yet another Game 7. That meant the top three liabilities at BetMGM entering the playoffs failed to make it out of the first round.

With the top three American teams eliminated, the new Stanley Cup futures list has a distinctly Canadian flair.

The new favorite entering the second round is Toronto, with the Maple Leafs being offered at +350 at BetMGM and DraftKings. Next are the Edmonton Oilers, who are +375 and +425 at the two sportsbooks, respectively.

The Oilers do remain the biggest liability at BetMGM to win the Western Conference, having drawn 23.2 percent of the total bets and 26.1 percent of the money at +750 behind the prohibitive favorite Avalanche at +175.

Since we’re talking about sports betting, it’s fair to say the Seattle Kraken are “playing with house money.”

The first team to claim a franchise’s first playoffs series victory against a reigning Stanley Cup champion, the Kraken are significant longshots across the boards. They are by far the longest shots to win the title at both BetMGM (+1600) and DraftKings (+2000), where the Kraken have twice the longest odds of the next-closest team — the Panthers at +1000.

Stanley Cup championship odds (BetMGM/DraftKings)
Toronto Maple Leafs (+350/+350)
Edmonton Oilers (+375/+425)
Dallas Stars (+600/+550)
New Jersey Devils (+600/+600)
Vegas Golden Knights (+600/+650)
Carolina Hurricanes (+600/+700)
Florida Panthers (+1000+1000)
Seattle Kraken (+1600/+2000)

–Field Level Media

Panthers Extend Series vs. Bruins

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk scored at 6:05 of overtime to lift the visiting Panthers to a season-saving, 4-3 win over the NHL Presidents’ Trophy-winning Boston Bruins in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. The Panthers cut their deficit in the best-of-seven series to 3-2 heading to Game 6 tonight in Sunrise.

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After Carter Verhaeghe picked off Boston goaltender Linus Ullmark’s attempt to clear from behind the net, the puck bounced off Ullmark’s pads and onto the stick of Tkachuk for a backhanded, game-winning tally.

Tkachuk finished with a goal and an assist, and Anthony Duclair, Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart scored in regulation for Florida. Verhaeghe logged three assists. Bennett has recorded points in all four of his games in the series, scoring a goal in three of them.

Panthers goal-keeper Sergei Bobrovsky made 44 saves in his second consecutive start.

Boston forward Brad Marchand had a goal and an assist while returning centerman Patrice Bergeron and Taylor Hall each scored for the Bruins, who had a 47-25 shot advantage and finished 2-for-5 on the power play.

Boston’s Charlie McAvoy had two assists, and Ullmark made 21 saves.

Florida led 2-1 through two periods before the teams traded power-play goals in the first 5:14 of the third.

Hall scored his fifth goal in as many playoff games at 9:16, pulling a rebound out of traffic in the slot and ripping it off the crossbar to tie the game 3-3.

The Panthers also killed a too-many-men penalty in the last four minutes of regulation. Bobrovsky denied a Marchand breakaway attempt before the third-period buzzer.

Florida’s strong start included holding Boston without a shot on its first power play and taking the lead at 8:26 of the opening period. Off a Tyler Bertuzzi turnover, Duclair batted Verhaeghe’s pass to score out of the air.

The Bruins tied the game with a man advantage 2:27 into the second. McAvoy made an incredible feed from the right point to Marchand, who corralled his own initial shot that sat loose.

Boston had a dominant 18-8 shots edge in the second, but a late lapse allowed the visitors to take a 2-1 lead with 1:08 left. Bennett whipped home a shot from the slot after Verhaeghe won a puck battle and slipped the puck out of the corner.

The home team’s onslaught continued with seven shots to begin the third, and Bergeron needed just six seconds of a power play to make it 2-2. At 4:33, the Boston captain deflected home Marchand’s shot from above the left dot for his 50th career postseason goal.

Florida’s power-play unit went to work and got the lead back when Reinhart buried a wrister in the slot off Tkachuk’s feed at 5:14.

–Field Level Media

Bruins Part Ways with Mitchell Miller

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BOSTON – Two days after signing controversial defenseman Mitchell Miller to an entry level NHL contract, “the Boston Bruins have decided to part ways with Miller, effective immediately,” said team president Cam Neely.

“The decision to sign this young man was made after careful consideration of the facts as we were aware of them: that at 14-years-old he made a poor decision that led to a juvenile conviction,” said Neely in a prepared written statement. “We understood this to be an isolated incident and that he had taken meaningful action to reform and was committed to ongoing personal development. Based on that understanding we offered him a contract.

“Based on new information, we believe it is the best decision at this time to rescind the opportunity for Mitchell Miller to represent the Boston Bruins. We hope that he continues to work with professionals and programs to further his education and personal growth.

“We owe it to our fans, players, staff, partners and community to make sure that our practices and protocols are in keeping with the ethos that we demand from ourselves and as an organization. As such, we will be reevaluating our internal processes for vetting individuals who wish to earn the privilege of playing in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins.

“We are sorry that this decision has overshadowed the incredible work the members of our organization do to support diversity and inclusion efforts. We will continue to stand against bullying and racism in all of its forms.

“To Isaiah (the victim of Miller’s misguided activities) and his family, my deepest apologies if this signing made you and other victims feel unseen and unheard. We apologize for the deep hurt and impact we have caused.

“Finally, as a father, I think there is a lesson to be learned here for other young people. Be mindful of careless behaviors and going with the group mentality of hurting others. The repercussions can be felt for a lifetime.”

Miller, 20, skated in 60 games with the Tri-City Storm of the USHL in 2021-22, recording 39 goals and 44 assists for 83 points with a plus-43 rating. The 5-foot-10, 189-pound blueliner was named the USHL’s Player of the Year and Defenseman of the Year after the season in which he set league records for goals and points by a defenseman. Miller has appeared in 154 career USHL games with Tri-City and Cedar Rapids from 2017-22, totaling 51 goals and 82 assists for 133 points with a plus-54 rating. The Sylvania, Ohio native was originally selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the fourth round (111th overall) of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

Bruins Sign Controversial Free Agent

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BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney signed controversial defenseman Mitchell Miller to an entry-level contract. He is scheduled to report to the Providence Bruins minor league franchise.

“When I was in eighth grade, I made extremely poor decisions and acted very immaturely,” said Miller. “I bullied one of my classmates. I deeply regret the incident and have apologized to the individual. Since the incident, I have come to better understand the far-reaching consequences of my actions that I failed to recognize and understand nearly seven years ago. I strive to be a better person and positively contribute to society.

“As a member of the Bruins organization, I will continue to participate in community programs to both educate myself and share my mistakes with others to show what a negative impact those actions can have on others. To be clear, what I did when I was 14 years old was wrong and unacceptable. There is no place in this world for being disrespectful to others and I pledge to use this opportunity to speak out against mistreating others.”

“Representing the Boston Bruins is a privilege we take seriously as an organization,” said Bruins President Cam Neely.

“Respect and integrity are foundational character traits we expect of our players and staff. Prior to signing Mitchell, our hockey operations and community relations groups spent time with him over the last few weeks to better understand who he is as an individual and learn more about a significant mistakes he made when he was in middle school. During this evaluation period, Mitchell was accountable for his unacceptable behavior and demonstrated his commitment to work with multiple organizations and professionals to further his education and use his mistake as a teachable moment for others. The expectation is that he will continue this important educational work with personal development and community programs as a member of the Bruins organization.”

Miller, 20, skated in 60 games with the Tri-City Storm of the USHL in 2021-22, recording 39 goals and 44 assists for 83 points with a plus-43 rating. The 5-foot-10, 189-pound blueliner was named the USHL’s Player of the Year and Defenseman of the Year after the season in which he set league records for goals and points by a defenseman. Miller has appeared in 154 career USHL games with Tri-City and Cedar Rapids from 2017-22, totaling 51 goals and 82 assists for 133 points with a plus-54 rating. The Sylvania, Ohio native was originally selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the fourth round (111th overall) of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft but was released after public pressure.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | October 16th

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While We’re Young (Ideas) Examines the Upcoming 2022-23 NHL Season

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The weekly notebook has listed sports franchise valuations, underrated rock bands, NFL Power Rankings, and NCAA College Football Playoff possibilities week-by-week.

Next Up?

The TL Sunday Sports Notes a.k.a. “While We’re Young (Ideas)” will take a crack at the brand new National Hockey League season and list the best of the best and as the list goes, the bottom-feeder “hosers” will be left to the age-old chore (before the great Zamboni was invented) to hose down the ice for the next period.

For the ultimate face-off, “While We’re Young (Ideas)” is picking the Colorado Avalanche to play the New York Rangers in the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals. The Avs dominated the Edmonton Oilers in the 2022 Western Conference Finals, winning the series in four straight. There is nothing on the radar screen to spark another western winner, although Edmonton, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Nashville and Calgary remain as contenders for a Cup Finals appearance.

In the East, the New York Rangers behind goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin have stepped-up as the team to beat. To advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, the Rangers will have to reverse the outcome of last season’s Eastern Finals when the Tampa Bay Lightning eliminated New York, 4-games-to-2.

Last season’s contenders in the East – Carolina, Florida, Pittsburgh, Toronto and Boston – can all challenge the NYR and TB with a combination of goaltending, luck, avoiding injury and playoff positioning determining who might face the West (Colorado) in the final.

While Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Nikita Kucherov and Shesterkin are top-rated players and most frequently listed as favorites for NHL Most Valuable Player (Hart Trophy) winners, the player who led the Avs to their third Stanley Cup title, Nathan MacKinnon, is the player to watch. He will determine the success of the Avs and can will the club to a championship, just as he did a year ago. In recent memory, only Mark Messier’s efforts for the 1994 New York Rangers can compare.

Jack Eichel, the local Boston favorite out of BU, left Buffalo and landed in Vegas where he finished the 2022-23 season strong. Orlando-born and Toronto-bred Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils, the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, is another player to watch this season.

NHL POWER RANKINGS – (As of start of the 2022-23 NHL regular season)

  1. Colorado Avalanche
  2. New York Rangers
  3. Tampa Bay Lightning
  4. Carolina Hurricanes
  5. Edmonton Oilers
  6. Toronto Maple Leafs
  7. Calgary Flames
  8. Florida Panthers
  9. St. Louis Blues
  10. Pittsburgh Penguins
  11. Nashville Predators
  12. Minnesota Wild
  13. Boston Bruins
  14. Los Angeles Kings
  15. Las Vegas Knights
  16. Washington Capitals
  17. Dallas Stars
  18. Winnipeg Jets
  19. New York Islanders
  20. Vancouver Canucks
  21. New Jersey Devils
  22. Ottawa Senators
  23. Columbus Blue Jackets
  24. Philadelphia Flyers
  25. Buffalo Sabres
  26. Detroit Red Wings
  27. Anaheim Ducks
  28. San Jose Sharks
  29. Seattle Kraken
  30. Montreal Canadiens
  31. Chicago Blackhawks
  32. Arizona Coyotes

East: New York Rangers over Tampa Bay Lightning, 4-games-to-3

West: Colorado Avalanche over Edmonton Oilers, 4-games-to-1

Cup: Colorado Avalanche over New York Rangers, 4-games-to-2

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: In the world of sports, you learn something new everyday. A Premier League peep whispered to drop everything and tune-in to the USA Network at about 2:45pm (ET) Friday for the Brentford v. Brighton match.

The pre-game commentators for USA Net were touting their Soccer Showcase at Dilworth Park on Saturday and Sunday in Philadelphia by comparing the “biggest weekend” they’ve ever televised,’ with all the “big” games in the Philly. This weekend, MLB’s Philadelphia Phillies host, and defeated the Atlanta Braves at Citizen Bank Park a couple hours ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers facing the Vancouver Canucks at the Wells Fargo Center, right across the soft pretzel-packed street. Of course, the “biggest game” of the weekend will feature the Philadelphia Eagles playing host to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football at Lincoln Financial Field, a 9-iron from the basketball/hockey arena and an easy wedge away from the baseball field. By the way, the Sixers open the NBA regular season on Tuesday here in Boston and then return to the “City of Brotherly Love” to host the Milwaukee Bucks this Thursday.

Working backwards to what was learned this week, my surprise was teed-up by Rebecca Lowe, host of NBC’s English Premier League coverage, as her Philly-based introduction to the game in London was done just as the Brentford players took to the pitch:

BRENTFORD has a great tradition, far better than the tired, old Red Sox playing of “Sweet Caroline” in the middle of the 8th inning. During pregame introductions, seemingly every one of the 18,000+ Brentford fans raises their red & white team scarf and belts out The Beatles’ “Hey Jude.” … If the team wins, the song is sung – once again – in the postgame.

The good times came to a halt postgame, however, as sadly, after the 2-nil Brentford victory and the postgame “Hey Jude II.” Striker Ivan Toney, who notched the two Brentford goals, was “subjected to disgusting, racist abuse via a direct message received on social media,” according to the club statement issued after the game.

“We condemn this discriminatory behaviour in the strongest possible terms. An attack on one of our players is an attack on all of us. Ivan will receive the full backing from the Club and from the Brentford fans who we have already seen condemning the abuse.

“We expect strong support from the police, legal authorities and from Instagram’s parent company, Meta, to ensure that the individual involved faces the full force of the law for this despicable hate crime.”

[Read more…] about TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | October 16th

Bruins Sign Krejci; Await Pastrnak

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BOSTON – The Boston Bruins signed forward David Krejci to a one-year contract through the 2022-23 season worth $1 million, plus an additional $2 million in performance-based incentives. The announcement was made by Bruins GM Don Sweeney on the same day the club re-signed forward Patrice Bergeron.

Sweeney has one other key free agent that remains unsigned in David Pastrnak. On his conversations with Pastrnak, Sweeney would not elaborate but indicated talks were on-going through-out the off-season.

“Ongoing would probably be the best way to describe it,” said Sweeney.  “We’ve been in regular communication. Obviously, David’s still over in Europe and the likelihood is he’ll come back and we’ll talk between now and then. When he gets back, we’ll maybe have a better idea of a deal timeline. But I don’t have one today and you guys know me well enough, I’m not going to comment publicly on ongoing negotiations, but we’ve been in regular contact with JP.”

Krejci, 36, played the 2021-22 season in the Czechia league for HC Olomouc. In 51 games, Krejci led his team in goals (20), assists (26) and points (46). The Sternberk, Czech Republic native also represented his country at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China and at the IIHF World Championship in Finland. In four Olympic Games, Krejci recorded one goal and three assists. At the World Championships, he finished second on his team in scoring with three goals and nine assists for 12 points to help his team win a bronze medal.

Prior to his season with HC Olomouc, Krejci played 15 seasons in the NHL, all with the Bruins. In 2020-21, the 6-foot, 188-pound forward appeared in 51 games, tallying eight goals and 36 assists for 44 points and plus-16 rating. In 11 playoff games, he recorded two goals and seven assists for nine points.

Krejci has appeared in 962 career NHL games with Boston, totaling 215 goals and 515 assists for 730 points. In 156 career playoff games with the Bruins, he’s totaled 42 goals and 82 assists for 124 points. He led Boston in postseason scoring in 2011 en route to winning the Stanley Cup. Krejci ranks seventh in Bruins history in games played (962), assists (515), eighth in points (730) and 10th in game-winning goals (41).

Krejci was originally selected by Boston in the second round (63rd overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

Bruins Sign Patrice Bergeron for a Year

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BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official News Release) – The Boston Bruins signed forward Patrice Bergeron to a one-year contract through the 2022-23 season worth $2.5 million, plus an additional $2.5 million in performance-based incentives.  The announcement was made by Bruins GM Don Sweeney.

Bergeron, 37, is entering his 19th NHL season, all with the Bruins. The L’Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec native ranks third in Bruins history in games played (1,216) and game-winning goals (74), fourth in goals (400), assists (582) and points (982). The 6-foot-1, 195-pound centerman also ranks second in Bruins history in playoff games played (167), playoff points (127), third in playoff assists (78) and tied for third in playoff goals (49).

Among active NHL players, Bergeron ranks third in plus/minus (plus-254), ninth in points and games played, 10th in assists and 12th in goals. Bergeron also ranks seventh among active players in playoff points and playoff assists, eighth in playoff games played and tied for eighth in playoff goals.

In 2021-22, the Bruins captain appeared in 73 games, tallying 25 goals and 40 assists for 65 points with a plus-16 rating. In seven playoff games, Bergeron recorded three goals and four assists for seven points.

Following the season, Bergeron was named the winner of the 2022 Frank J. Selke Trophy, given annually to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game as judged by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. It was the fifth time in his career that Bergeron has won the Selke Trophy, the most ever by a player in NHL history. Bergeron previously won the award in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2017.

Bergeron was originally selected by Boston in the second round (45th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 31

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State of the Commonwealth Sports

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – From June 19th to 27th, all was well in the Nation of Sox. After a very well documented — call it crummy (10-19) — start to the 2022 season, the Boston Red Sox battled back to the .500 mark by June 5th at Oakland. While still mired in 4th place in the American League East, Boston clawed their way to a (35-30) record when – on June 17th – Sox SP Michael Wacha out-dueled his former St. Louis Cardinals teammate, Adam Wainwright, 6-5, for Wacha’s fifth victory (5-1).

After dropping a game to the Cards the following day, Boston went on to win seven games in a row and climb to second place in the AL East, 11 games over the coveted .500 mark.

As the calendar turned to July, all hell broke loose.

As this is being written from Fenway Park on a gorgeous New England Saturday afternoon, Boston (50-52) dropped a game to Milwaukee, is 7-19 in the month of July, and that includes a 3-13 mark over their previous 16 games. The not so secret sauce is the fact that since Uncle Sam’s birthday, Boston is playing teams with records plus-.500 up until August 3 when they face AL Central cellar-dweller Kansas City.

Combined with the tougher comp, a slew of devastating injuries crashed down on the Sox. In no particular order:

  • June 12 – SP Nathan Eovaldi – lower back pain
  • July 2 – SP Rich Hill – left knee sprain
  • July 5 – SP Michael Wacha – right shoulder inflammation
  • July 9 – INF Christian Arroyo – groin strain after bout with COVID+
  • July 14 – 2B Trevor Story – right hand contusion (hairline fracture)
  • July 19 – SP Chris Sale – left hand, finger fracture
  • July 19 – J.D. Martinez – back spasms
  • July 23 – 3B Rafael Devers – right hamstring inflammation
  • 13 Red Sox players were on the IL at one point

In their place, Boston was forced to call-up “F-Troop” from their Triple A Worcester WooSox farm team, and the Red Sox became the Red SAAAwx for much of the month. Starting pitching prospects, a la Brayan Bello (0-3), Josh Winckowski (3-5) and Kutter Crawford (3-3) were thrown into the deep end of the drowning pool.

With the cumulative effect, the ‘22 Red Sox started to resemble a memorable team from 60 years ago, with comparisons to the expansion New York Mets.

The Sox are a calamity, whether it be fly balls falling between three players in the infield, throwing, fielding and mental errors costing runs, pitchers failing to properly cover first base on routine ground balls to the right side of the infield, batted baseballs lost in the sun or twilight gleaming in both right and center field at Fenway. You name it, and it happened to the home team.

The lowlight was a July 22 inside the park home run by Toronto’s Ramiel Tapia during a 28-5 beat-down of the Red Sox by the Blue Jays, and a score falling two runs shy of the MLB record for most runs scored in a single game.

Overall, it seemed the Sox fell apart when the long-expected return of their ace – Chris Sale – went flat after an inning as a come-backer broke the fifth finger on his pitching hand. The injury sucked the life from the team, as Story, Martinez and Devers were all absent from the line-up.

Thus is the “State of the Red Sox,” as of July 30.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: If there’s one thing the New England fan base can do better than any other in the land, it’s turn the page and change with the seasons. Just as the aforementioned Sox fade to the bottom of the AL East, the footballs are out at Gillette Stadium as NFL training camps began this week. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you the 2022 New England Patriots.

On Day One of Patriots’ training camp, all eyes were on second-year QB Mac Jones who appeared to be all business, in great condition and prepared for the challenges ahead of the Patriots team in transition from its many waltzes to the Super Bowl. While coach Bill Belichick and the Pats are accustomed to being the favorites in the AFC East, this year, they’ll be fortunate to win 10 games (as they did a year ago) and finish second to the ‘21 division champion Buffalo Bills. In many circles, it is the Bills, not the Patriots, who are destined for AFC glory and a trip to the Super Bowl.

Belichick is beginning his 23rd season with the Patriots as the team avoids any sense of the word, “rebuilding,” but does face uncertainty at many key offensive positions. Meanwhile, a look to the south and AFC East rival, Miami, has stocked up with arguably the best wide-out in the NFL in former KC Chief Tyreek Hill to pair with second-year QB Tua Tagovailoa. The Dolphins won nine games a year ago and will fight it out with New England for a possible Wild Card berth, for sure.

Meanwhile, there’s a lot of news and speculation as the NBA off-season hits midstream. For the Boston Celtics, all eyes are on Nets F Kevin Durantwho has asked for a trade from Brooklyn and reports have the Celtics offering some unknown package of players (with one piece likely to be F Jaylen Brown).

Of course, the Celtics made the NBA Finals but simply saw the fatigue of prior match-ups vs. Brooklyn, Milwaukee and Miami finally take their toll against Jayson Tatum and the team. Boston made one major move to acquire a true point guard in former Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdan for Milwaukee who the Cs acquired from Indiana in a multi-player trade in July.

The allure of an offensive threat, like Durant to pair with Tatum, is attractive to the Celtics and their fan base, but the lack of defensive intensity shown by Durant in the playoffs makes one wonder if his Achilles’ injury is limiting his defensive mobility against quicker players.

The foundation of the Celtics is “Team Defense” and the questions is whether Durant can buy-in? Brown’s contributions to that defense might be too costly a loss, never mind if 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smartbecomes part of the deal.

On the ice, the Boston Bruins are another team, like the Patriots, in total transition. Gone is goalkeeper Tuukka Rask, while Brad Marchand injured his hip and out for six months since his late May surgery. Then, there’s the uncertain status of forwards Patrice Bergeron and un-signed David Pastrňák, the club’s two best players.

On defense, more injuries and surgeries. Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk will be out until late November after shoulder surgeries. Mike Reillyis recovering from May ankle surgery.

In goal, Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark will share the netminding duties, trying to replace the talents of Vezina Trophy-worthy and former winner Rask has officially retired after some back-and-forth during the pandemic.

All the while, Boston is welcoming new coach, Jim Montgomery, to a team that is deep with talent but largely uncertain of its short term destiny.

If you take a step back and look at all four major pro sports, it’s a one for-four (.250) average for sure-fire success and that is only the Celtics.

DIAMOND DUST-UPs: Trade winds are blowing in Major League Baseball prior to Tuesday’s (August 2 – 6pm ET) trading deadline. Of course, the big fish in the MLB pond are Washington’s Juan Soto, who turned down a megabucks deal of 15-years and $440 million, and possibly Boston’s J.D. Martinez. The Seattle Mariners already acquired former Cincy ace Luis Castillo in a deal for a ton of top prospects. The terms “Buyers” and “Sellers” will be over-used this week.

Others MLB players reportedly on the block:

  • Josh Bell, 1B, Washington Nationals
  • Wilson Contreras, C, Chicago Cubs
  • Ian Happ, OF, Chicago Cubs
  • Tyler Mahle, SP, Cincinnati Reds
  • Frankie Montas, SP, Oakland Athletics
  • Noah Syndergaard, SP, Los Angeles Angels

That leads us to the extremely slim chance of the LA Angeles moving Shohei Ohtani before the deadline. The multi-talented Ohtani would be a game-changer as a starting pitcher and DH for any contender, but the question would be: “At what cost?”