2020 Goes Out With Another Boston Sports Shocker: Zdeno Chara Will Be A Capital In 2021

 

    This one really hurts. Much like the world burning to the ground all around us, 2020 has been nothing short of a nightmare for Boston sports fans too as the year started with Red Sox superstar Mookie Betts getting traded to the Dodgers where he promptly helped them win their first World Series title since 1988. Next, the greatest quarterback in NFL history left the Patriots as Tom Brady signed a free agent deal with the Buccaneers. Things have been a little bumpier for TB12 than Mookie but heading into the final week of the regular season, Tampa (10-5) has already clinched their first playoff spot since 2007 and they are playing their best football of the season while the Patriots (6-9) have quickly turned into a punchline. If those things weren't enough, the guy who was truly the heart and soul of this city (particularly since David Ortiz retired)-defenseman Zdeno Chara-today signed a one-year deal worth $795,000 with the Capitals. WHAT. THE. FUCK. 

    Since NHL free agency opened in September this year due to the pandemic, the more time that dragged on, it didn't take a genius to figure out that Zee wanted to return for his 15th season as the Bruins captain but B's GM Don Sweeney and the front office were done with him. Before this news came out today, there had been rumors about Chara retiring and getting a player personnel type job with the club right away. Well it turns out that he still wants to play and while you won't find me arguing that he's anything close to the guy that was a six-time NHL All-Star or Norris Trophy winner (for best defenseman) in 2009, I believe he has a valuable role on any team by virtue of his peerless leadership not to mention his willingness to teach and support others around him.

    Even in one of the best hockey markets in the U.S., the Bruins had become almost irrelevant in the late 1990s and early 2000s. When they spent money for once and signed Chara in 2006 (immediately making him the captain) along with center Marc Savard in free agency, the team's fortunes slowly started to turn for the better. The greatest travesty of this whole situation is that he only won a single Cup in Boston. This wasn't a Ray Bourque situation where he would never win here so they did another Bruins legend a solid by shipping him off to the Avalanche where he could parachute in for a Cup run. Boston beat Vancouver in seven games in 2011 for that lone Stanley Cup then fell to the loaded Blackhawks in 2013 (6 games) before choking on their home ice in Game 7 vs. St. Louis in 2019. You'll remember that was the time that Chara broken his jaw in Game 4, then had surgery to wire it shut and played in Games 5-7 like a complete savage. We'll probably never know but I truly believe if they had won it against the Blues, it would have been the perfect time for him to retire on top. 

    Now, the future Hall of Famer that will someday have his No. 33 retired in the TD Garden rafters, plays for one of Boston's toughest rivals who happens to be in their temporary division during this bizarre 56-game regular season that starts two weeks from tonight. Ugh. It obviously wasn't about the money for the Bruins or Chara since he's playing for barely over the league minimum salary. I don't fault Boston for wanting to move on and see what else they have in the pipeline in terms of younger left-shot defensemen. With that said, you're telling me that he couldn't have been dropped down to the third defensive pairing? The whole timing of it is weasely on Sweeney's part too since they couldn't have told him he wasn't in their future plans when they returned from the bubble rather than lead him on for months only to bail at the last second. Instead, he has to go to a new team after he became an institution here for all the right reasons. 

    Anyone who has been around professional hockey players will tell you that most are incredibly down-to-Earth, funny, hard-working and smart human beings. Don't get me wrong, of course I love Brady but let's be real: the guy lived in a Chestnut Hill mansion then got the hell out of here whenever the Patriots' postseason was over. I don't blame him and he also did tons of great charity work (Best Buddies) while he was here but there is no comparing him to Zee in that regard. Chara lived close enough to the Garden that he could bike to work which he did from time-to-time. For a guy from rural Slovakia, he fit in and understood the passion (and general insanity) of what makes this area great when you are winning and very tough to deal with when you and/or your team are thought to be underperforming.

    Selfishly, I'm bummed that I won't get to cover him anymore day-to-day although truthfully this season figures to be just dinky Zoom calls with the media. For the past eight seasons, I had the privilege of going to Bruins games which included access to the dressing room and press conferences. I could talk for days about all the great people I met and incredible memories that I have collected along the way. People on the outside always want to know who is hard to deal with but honestly in hockey locker rooms, that is extremely rare besides the occasional (and completely justified) language barriers. Chara always stood out for more for than just the obvious reasons: his absurd size (the NHL's tallest ever player at 6-foot-9). He is incredibly honest and thoughtful and win or lose, he would always talk for a long time. This guy was drafted by the Islanders in 1996 (3rd round, 56th overall) and made his NHL debut with them the next season. Like Brady, he currently plays with many guys that could be his kids, that's how wide the age gap can be when you are still playing professional sports at age 43. His work ethic remains unparalleled: the Bruins always have a fitness test in training camp and despite all his other duties (he and his wife have three kids including twins), he always showed up in phenomenal shape. 

    The two sides of Chara are fascinating as well: on the ice, he is one of the scariest players in league history given his strength and the punishment that he can hand out all on his own. Couple that with the gentle giant persona that he is off the ice, for example handing out treats to homeless shelters from Mike's Pastry on Thanksgiving and going above and beyond in terms of hospital visits and connecting with sick children and people that can get so much joy just from being around him for a few moments. Center Patrice Bergeron is a lock to be the next captain of the Bruins and he will no doubt be a great one but there will never be another Chara on a Boston team for as long as we live. He is such a unique person with countless skills and abilities that extend way beyond playing hockey at the highest level. Thanks for all the wonderful memories Zee, we can't wait to see you in the Hall of Fame wearing the black and gold spoked-B. 

The Celtics Coasted By The Grizzlies 126-107 Behind Jaylen Brown's Career Game (42 Points)

 

    A little over a week into the 2020-21 NBA regular season and there have already been way too many uncompetitive blowouts to count. Every night it seems like teams are losing by 30 or 40 points and it's not just limited to the bottom-feeders of the league. Thankfully, our Celtics (3-2 overall, 2-1 home) were on the right side of that equation as they easily dispatched the Ja Morant-less Grizzlies (1-3 overall, 1-1 road) 126-107 tonight at TD Garden. Don't let that nail-biting 19-point margin of victory fool you, this was a joke of a contest where the Celts were up 26 points (!) at halftime (66-40) as apparently Memphis had big pandemic New Year's Eve plans that they had to get back home for. This win was all about Celtics shooting guard Jaylen Brown who erupted for a career-high 42 points including a career-best seven three-pointers. Most impressive, he efficiently got that all done in three quarters of action (only 29 minutes of playing time). 

    Boston's power forward Jayson Tatum (16 points) gets most of the headlines locally and nationally since his talent jumps off the screen every time that you see him on the offensive end. However, the fortunes of the Celtics these next few years will probably be decided by Brown as much as anybody. Tatum is getting better on the defensive end but Brown is already one of the top two-way wings in the NBA. Furthermore, let's not get ahead of ourselves but he hopefully will be an All-Star for the first time later this season. As we all know, the league is built around stars and teams that have one or none aren't going anywhere. The C's appear to be lucky enough to have two very promising young standouts on their current roster. Now they just have to figure out how to maximize what their supporting cast around them can be. 

    All 13 Celtics that suited up tonight scored at least two points, something that you are unlikely to see again during this campaign. Competing in the second night of their first back-to-back of the year, nobody played more minutes for the home team than Brown. Point guard Marcus Smart added 14 points and three steals while center Daniel Theis notched 12 points, five rebounds and two blocks in his best performance since the bubble playoffs. Point guard Jeff Teague (4 steals) got his first start as a Celtic as head coach Brad Stevens went with a small lineup as power forward Tristian Thompson sat out to rest his right hamstring. 

    With extended garbage time minutes to fill, Boston's bench had some standouts of its own: guard Carsen Edwards led them with nine points, rookie point guard Payton Pritchard scored eight points with two steals and center Robert Williams put up six points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. This was the last game of 2020 for the Celtics and because they are heading out on a four-game road trip to start the New Year, they couldn't have dreamed of an easier result which also gave them their first winning-streak of the new season. 

    The Grizzlies didn't look like they wanted to be there and they played like it too. With Morant out for an estimated three-to-five weeks with a high ankle sprain, it's tough to see them winning many games without their unquestioned leader and best player. Former Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas (20 points, 11 rebounds) posted a double-double but shooting guard Dillon Brooks (16 points, 5 rebounds) was the only other Memphis starter to reach double figures in scoring. Veteran center Gorgui Dieng had 17 points and six rebounds off the bench while rookie shooting guard Desmond Bane scored 16 minutes and power forward Brandon Clarke had 10 points and seven rebounds as I'm sure they all played way more than they had expected to. 

    Boston just got back from a road trip to a blah Midwestern city (Indianapolis) and now they get to go to an even worse one-Detroit-for two games starting on New Year's Day (7, NBC Sports Boston). At 0-4, the Pistons are tied with the Wizards for the worst record in the NBA so I am counting on the Celts to win twice in the Motor City including the rematch on Sunday afternoon (3, NBC Sports Boston) which sounds about as exciting as Patriots (6-9) vs. Jets (2-13). Luckily, things get a little more interesting after that with Boston going to Tampa Bay (yes, you read that right) to meet winless Toronto (0-3) in their temporary home on Monday (7:30, NBC Sports Boston). Canada won't let them play in their home country during the pandemic so the Raptors went to Florida where I'm told there are no rules about anything ever. The final stop on the road trip is Wednesday (7:30, ESPN) at Miami (2-2), you know the team that beat them in the Eastern Conference Finals held in the bubble. The Celtics bench better get some rest because I have a feeling they will be getting plenty of action right from the jump in 2021. 

Boston Comes Home With A Much-Needed Road Win (Their First of the Season) At Indiana

 

    As great as it must have been to be stuck in an Indianapolis hotel for three days during the pandemic holidays, the Celtics (2-2 overall, 1-1 away) made sure that their first road trip of the season wasn't a complete waste of time. After a frustrating 108-107 loss to the Pacers (3-1 overall, 2-1 home) on Sunday night, the Celts bounced back tonight with a legit 116-111 victory-their first road win of the 2020-21 regular season-at good old Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Things weren't looking great for the C's late in the third quarter when they trailed by as much as 17 points (88-71) but they closed it to a slightly more digestible 11-point deficit (94-83) heading into the fourth quarter. From there, power forward Jayson Tatum (game-high 27 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals) and Co. put together their best frame in this young season by outscoring the home team 33-17 to hand them their first loss of the year. 

    After sitting out Sunday's encounter, Indiana's best player-shooting guard Victor Oladipo-was back in action with a team-high 24 points to go along with six rebounds and six assists. On Monday, Pacers power forward Domantas Sabonis (14 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals) was named the Eastern Conference Player of the week but this time around, head coach Brad Stevens and his team did a better job limiting the talented big man. The other three Pacers starters all scored in double-figures: sneaky Celtics killer/point guard Macolm Brogdon put up 19 points and seven assists, small forward T.J. Warren had 17 points and center Myles Turner filled the stat sheet with 16 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals. 

Boston's starting five wasn't quite as productive as Indiana's but small forward Jaylen Brown (20 points, 4 steals) and point guard Marcus Smart (17 points, 5 assists) were both good and power forward Tristan Thompson (14 points, 10 rebounds) had his best game as a Celtic by recording his first double-double in green and white. Coming into this season, I don't think many thought that the Celtics bench would be one of their strengths but the additions of rookie point guard Payton Pritchard (10 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists) and veteran point guard Jeff Teague (6 points) have really helped them not to mention the fact that center Robert Williams (8 points, 5 rebounds) is finally becoming a little more consistent. In this win, Boston's bench outscored Indiana's 34-21. Shooting guard Justin Holiday (12 points, 4 steals) was the only Pacer substitute who did anything meaningful in the loss. 

    There is not much that separates these two teams which is why it would make perfect sense to see them playing each other in the playoffs next spring as the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics got off to another fine start as they led 31-26 after the first quarter but the Pacers outscored them by four (31-27) in the second quarter to trim Boston's advantage to one-point (58-57) at halftime. Honestly, what is with the Celtics' struggles in the third quarter? This is getting a little absurd since this evening they were outscored 37-25 by the Pacers to take full control of the game. Who knows the reason but Stevens and his staff have to figure it out fast because the C's can't survive doing that for much longer. For once, Boston made a concerted effort to drive to the basket all game long and it was rewarded handsomely as they took more than twice as many free throws (37-16) as Indiana and hit 14 more of them (27-13). Another good sign for the road team was that they grabbed seven more total rebounds (43-36) including three times as many offensive boards (12-4). 

    I doubt that any other club in the NBA had a tougher first four games than Boston in terms of quality opponents: Milwaukee (2-2), Brooklyn (2-2) and Indiana are no doubt three of the better teams in the East. While it would have been nice to pile up some easy wins against the dregs of the league, if the Celts want to get any better they might as well get tested right out of the gate like this. In their first back-to-back of the season, the Celtics catch a break tomorrow night (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) as they host the Grizzlies (1-2) without their star point guard Ja Morant who is out for three-to-five weeks with a sprained ankle. The C's will be running on fumes while Memphis was waiting for them in Boston tonight but that is still not an excuse. They are a far better team with a superior coach and especially with no Morant, they should beat the Grizzlies end of story. For what it's worth (nothing), it would be nice to close out the worst year ever above the .500 mark rather than below it, just saying.

This Miserable Season For The Pats Can't End Soon Enough After A Humiliating Defeat To The Bills

 

    It's only fitting that in the worst year in modern human history, the Patriots (6-9 overall, 4-3 home) have come crashing back to Earth after an unmatched nearly two decades long run of incredible success. We knew that life after Tom Brady would be rough but who could have guessed that it would get this ugly this fast? Tonight they hosted the AFC East champion Bills (12-3 overall, 6-2 away) at Gillette Stadium which used to be a place where the visitors could never do anything right. Not anymore. After a slow start, Buffalo rolled to a laughable 38-9 victory (the worst home loss in the Bill Belichick era) which puts them in good shape for the No. 2 seed in the AFC for the upcoming playoffs. It also gave them their first season sweep of New England since 1999; the Jets and Dolphins both swept the Pats in 2000, since then they had at least split with everyone in their pathetic division for the last 19 years. The Bills embarrassed the Patriots in every possible way including executing a successful fake punt throw that went for 13 yards and a first down conversion while also going a flawless three-for-three on fourth-down conversions. 

    With all their gross warts on full display for the world to see, perhaps the scariest aspect of this one-sided loss for the Pats was that the gap between them and the Bills is now immense and I don't know how that changes in the near future. Buffalo's star quarterback Josh Allen (27-of-36 for 320 yards, 4 TDs; 35 yards rushing) is playing at an MVP level-not that he'll probably get it in 2020 over Patrick Mahomes or Aaron Rodgers-while wide receiver Stefon Diggs (9 catches for 145 yards and 3 TDs on 11 targets) has made a huge impact right away in his first year with the Bills. He's at least entered the conversation of the top wideouts in the league and his connection with Allen is almost unstoppable. The Pats famously cannot draft receivers so they'll have to follow Buffalo's lead and trade for a top one or use all that cap space ($51 million?) to sign one hopefully this off-season. 

    The Patriots quagmire of a quarterback situation coupled with their lack of any weapons is downright horrifying. There are a million issues currently with this team but as this season has proven, even with Belichick the head coach, without a decent QB they have nothing. Cam Newton (5-of-10 for 34 yards; 24 yards rushing, TD) for some reason that only New England head coach Bill knows, still started but he was pulled in favor of Jarrett Stidham (4-of-11 for 44 yards) in the third quarter. After not scoring a touchdown in the past two games, the Pats finally found the end zone with a nine-yard touchdown run by Cam in the second quarter. It was a small morsel of 2015 MVP Cam that we've seen far too little of in a Patriots uniform. Forget that his 13th rushing TD set a new franchise record for QBs (sorry Steve Grogan), that's only an indictment on their lack of athletic signal-callers throughout their history. Also, please note that quarterbacks run way more now in today's NFL.

    Just like it's hard to complain after the Patriots have brought us so many wonderful moments, it's also silly to bitch about the Bills finally looking like contenders again for the first time in this century. Even if you love the Pats like me, you probably hate other dynasties (Cowboys, Lakers, Yankees, Canadiens, Alabama football, Duke basketball, etc.) so it's impossible to have it both ways. Buffalo is our lovable, drunken neighbors that have been a laughingstock for ages but that has changed in their favor with Brady in Tampa Bay. Ditto for Miami (10-5) who have a chance to make the playoffs as well if they can beat the Bills on Sunday in the regular season finale. 

    This couldn't have featured a more perfect start that epitomized this waste of a season by the home team. For once, they actually ran a pretty trick play as a flea flicker from Newton to Damiere Byrd would have put New England on Buffalo's goal-line during their opening possession. The problem was that the open Byrd simply dropped the ball. Nick Folk eventually settled for a 45-yard field goal and a 3-0 Patriots lead-their only one of the contest. New England's defense stopped Buffalo at the goal-line on their first drive and Tyler Bass settled for a 22-yard field goal. It was 3-3 after a utterly thrilling first quarter that we all will be talking about for the rest of our lives.

    The Bills woke up in the second quarter and as you can guess, the Patriots had no response. Rookie running back Zack Moss ran for a five-yard touchdown that gave Buffalo a 10-3 advantage before Newton's TD run that was capped off with a PAT miss by Folk (his 3rd of what otherwise has been a great season for him). Former Patriots great Lee Smith-a blocking tight end roughly the size of an interior lineman-caught a four-yard touchdown from Allen and Diggs started to heat up with a 50-yard catch-and-run for another score late in the second quarter. 

    The Bills led 24-9 at halftime and they never let up (no complaining since the Patriots did this for years) as Diggs caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Allen in the third quarter where he bounced off multiple hits from New England's useless secondary. Stats are for losers as we have been told but let the record show that Allen set a single-season record for passing yards by Bills QBs and Diggs set a single-season record for receiving yards by Bills WRs. That dynamic duo ended it with a diving eight-yard touchdown catch by Diggs in the back of the end zone early in the fourth quarter. With former Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore on IR, Diggs repeatedly abused his fellow Maryland alum and Pro Bowl snub J.C. Jackson. It got so bad that the immortal Matt Barkley got some garbage time snaps at quarterback for Buffalo. 

    It makes me barf even thinking about it but the Pats do have one more completely meaningless game to look forward to on Sunday (1, CBS): they host the Jets (2-13) who bungled away the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft (which is sure to be Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence) by winning their last two games. That means the only thing left to be decided in this worthless matchup is New England's draft position in 2021. With a glut of 5-10 and 6-9 teams in the NFL this season, they could potentially finish anywhere from No. 7 to No. 15. New York is locked into the No. 2 pick and as they've shown the last few weeks, they are dumb enough to win when it does them no good at all. Therefore, here's hoping that Stidham starts and he stinks, Pats lose and boom they get a Top-10 pick. That wouldn't fully make up for this lost season but at least it would give us something positive to rally around. Otherwise, what else about the Patriots gives you any hope for 2021 and beyond?

A Blown Defensive Assignment & Dumb Shot Make The C's Lose Their First Road Game Of '20-'21

 

    It's amazing how often a 48-minute NBA game (assuming that it's decided in regulation) can come down to a few plays here or there that mean the difference between winning or losing. The Celtics (1-2 overall, 0-1 away) found themselves on the wrong end of a 108-107 loss tonight to the unbeaten Pacers (3-0 overall, 2-0 home) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Instead of picking up a very satisfying win in their first road game of the season, Boston basically blew it with a pair of fatal mistakes on both ends of the floor. Indiana was nursing a one-point lead when point guard Marcus Smart (11 points, 6 assists, 2 steals) stole the ball from small forward T.J. Warren (17 points, 5 rebounds) on an inbounds pass and went in for a layup that put the C's up 107-106 with 11.8 seconds left. If you felt like that was way too much time left on the clock for the Pacers, your worst fears soon came true.

    On their next offensive possession, Indiana's best player-power forward Domantas Sabonis (19 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists)-drove to the basket and made a layup while getting fouled. Somehow Celtics power forward Grant Williams (6 points, 4 rebounds) and center Robert Williams (12 points, 4 steals, 2 blocks) screwed up the defensive switch on Sabonis which gave him a wide-open lane to the hoop. He missed the free throw and Robert Williams grabbed the rebound which gave Boston another chance to win it. With eight seconds left (!), the best that head coach Brad Stevens could come up with was an ill-advised three-pointer attempted by power forward Jayson Tatum (team-high 25 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists) that clanked harmlessly off the rim. Obviously, his luck from Wednesday's bank-shot three against the Bucks (1-2) was nowhere to be found. There's not much in the NBA that I hate more than that hero shot in those type of situations: go to the basket and try to draw contact or get a better shot for yourself or heaven forbid a teammate. Ugh, those are the worst and they are only infecting lower levels of basketball (college, high school, AAU, etc) with that crap.

    Besides those two rough sequences, this was a contest that Boston honestly should have won. They outscored Indiana in three of the four quarters (not the 3rd of course), hit two more three-pointers (9-7) and seven more free throws (18-11) while also grabbing three more rebounds (40-37) and making two more steals (13-11). The only place where the Pacers really excelled was in the paint as they outscored the Celtics by 20 points (62-42) near the basket. 

   Playing in the second night of a back-to-back, the home team understandably got off to a very slow start but the fresher Celtics weren't really able to take advantage as they only led 23-19 after the first frame and 55-49 at halftime. The Pacers predictably woke up coming out of the break, hitting the Celts with a 16-2 run that left the C's dazed. As bad as they were in the third quarter (getting blitzed 39-28), Boston locked down Indiana in the fourth quarter (24-20) except when it mattered most. 

    After dropping 33 and 27 points in his first two games, small forward Jaylen Brown (18 points, 2 steals) was held more in check by Indiana. There were many frustrating aspects of this winnable game for the Celts but another angle is that they are unlikely to have many better collective performances from their bench this season: they outscored Indiana's 42-3 led by rookie point guard Payton Pritchard (13 points, 2 steals) who shot a perfect five-for-five from the field including three-for-three on three-pointers. The Pacers only played eight guys but they all made some type of contribution to the victory: point guard Malcolm Brogdon (25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals) was surprisingly their leading scorer, center Myles Turner (10 points, 7 rebounds, 5 blocks, 2 steals)-who should be a Celtic if GM Danny Ainge had pulled the trigger on the widely reported trade offer for Gordon Hayward-was a defensive force while small forward Doug McDermott (16 points) and shooting guard Justin Holiday (13 points) were both solid off the bench.

    These teams will no doubt start to hate each other in due time since they meet again on Tuesday night (7, NBC Sports Boston) in Indianapolis. Indiana's second best player-shooting guard Victor Oladipo-sat out tonight to rest his knee-and he scored 22 points in both of their previous games this season so you figure that if he suits up, the Pacers will be even harder to beat. If Stevens ever wants to show his face in his beloved home state, he has to return to Boston with a win from this brief return to his roots. As I predicted, Indiana is right at their level but still, a sweep would be simply unacceptable if they have any intention of being above average this season. Just find a way guys, 2-2 would look a whole lot better than sporting a yucky 1-3 record.

It Was Not A Merry Pandemic Christmas For The C's Who Got Blown Out At The Garden By The Nets

 

    When the NBA's most sensitive superstar (small forward Kevin Durant) teamed up with the league's most insufferable superstar (point guard Kyrie Irving), you knew that no matter what the dramatic end result would be, the Brooklyn Nets (2-0 overall, 1-0 road) just got way more interesting than they ever have been since they moved from New Jersey into New York City. Now that they're both healthy and motivated, the outcomes in their first two games of the '20-'21 regular season have been downright scary to fans of any other team in the Eastern Conference. On opening night, they crushed the Warriors (0-2)-without Draymond Green or Klay Thompson-125-99 and they followed that up with an even more impressive result: they came to TD Garden tonight and utterly destroyed the Celtics (1-1 overall, 1-1 home) 123-95. Irving was brilliant with a game-high 37 points and eight assists while Durant added 28 points and two steals. 

    For the Celts, it was an embarrassing loss on national TV in front of no doubt a massive Christmas audience. This afternoon, word came that former Celtics standout player and head coach K.C. Jones had passed away at the age of 88. Coming on the heels of Tommy Heinsohn dying pretty recently as well and having the wonderful tribute to him on Wednesday night, it's been a really sad period for the franchise. You would hope that something like that coupled with the fact that the Nets had come to the Garden last Friday in the second and final preseason game (granted it meant absolutely nothing) and destroyed them in similar fashion would serve as a little extra fuel for the home team. 

    It turns out not so much as the Celtics really only played well in the second quarter. They got off to a slow start getting outscored 26-22 in the first quarter but heating up in the second quarter to take a slight 54-51 lead at halftime. The wheels quickly started to fall off in the second half though as Kyrie and KD took over and Boston had no answers for either guy. Brooklyn outscored them 35-23 which is bad enough and the C's officially gave up in the fourth as they were more than doubled up (37-18) which is pathetic. As you can guess, nobody on the Celts played well: shooting guard Jaylen Brown (27 points, 8 rebounds) had nice numbers but he was a game-low minus-25. Forward Jayson Tatum (20 points, 8 rebounds) shot 9-of-22 from the field and even worse, he hasn't attempted a single free throw in two games while point guard Marcus Smart (13 points, 6 assists, 2 steals) was the only other Celtic to score in double-figures. 

    Boston's bench was so good in their crazy 122-121 win against Milwaukee (1-1) but predictably tonight they flopped as the Nets outscored them 38-25. Point guard Kemba Walker is at best the third best player on the Celtics right now when he is fully himself but his absence proves just how badly the team is missing a consistent third option offensively. So much pressure falls on Tatum and Brown every game and no matter how well they play, they need other guys to help them out. Durant and Irving is the best duo in the East and other than LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it's tough to think of any other ones that are better in the entire NBA. 

    The Nets look like the team to beat in the Atlantic Division and they figure to be at the top of the conference along with the Bucks and Heat (1-1). This is also where Boston's quiet off-season did them no favors: center Tristan Thompson and backup point guard Jeff Teague were quality veteran additions but you simply cannot count on them to produce as much as they did in the opener every night. They combined for 31 points vs. Milwaukee but only eight this evening as Teague was held scoreless after scoring 19 in his Celtics debut. Losing Gordon Hayward in free agency wasn't a huge deal on the surface but C's GM Danny Ainge did nothing to replace him. The Nets, Bucks and Heat all seemingly improved while it feels like the Celts will be lucky to tread water in the middle of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. 

    Boston hits the road for their first two road games of this bizarre regular season and in fitting fashion, they are both at Indiana (1-0). Not a home-and-home, two straight games in the Hoosier State. Thanks Coronavirus! They take on the Pacers on Sunday night (8, NBC Sports Boston) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse followed by another meeting on Tuesday night (7, NBC Sports Boston) at the same boring, empty place. The last game of 2020 for the Celtics is on Wednesday night (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) as they host Memphis (0-1) and its young superstar point guard Ja Morant (who dropped 44 points in their season-opening loss to San Antonio). I suppose that you can't expect the Celtics to sweep the Pacers at home but conversely, they have to win at least one of those. Going 0-2 against the Pacers these next few days would be a bad sign since Indiana is nothing more than another middler in the East that should be at Boston's level if not hopefully a step or two below them.

Tatum Comes Through In The Clutch & Giannis Chokes In Wild Season-Opening Win For The C's

 

    In a night that started with a moving tribute to Celtics icon Tommy Heinsohn, Boston did him proud with a riveting 122-121 season-opening victory tonight against Milwaukee at an empty TD Garden. C's star Jayson Tatum (30 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals) hit an absurd 3-pointer that banked off the glass before going in with 0.4 seconds left in regulation. That gave the Celtics a 122-120 lead, so obviously game over, right? Haha it's still 2020 for a few more tedious days therefore the reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (game-high 35 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks and 7 turnovers) was fouled by one of the newest Celtics-center Tristan Thompson (12 points, 8 rebounds)-going up for an alley-oop off the inbounds pass. Giannis hit the first free throw but then he front-rimmed the second one and that's how it shockingly ended. 

    With point guard Kemba Walker out for at least the near future with his troubling knee injury, the Celts will have to lean heavily on Tatum and shooting guard Jaylen Brown (team-high 33 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) and this evening against last season's No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, they both stepped up in a major way. Center Daniel Theis added 10 points while the other starter fill-in point guard Marcus Smart (7 assists, 2 blocks) struggled offensively managing just three points in 38 minutes. This was the third time that Tatum and Brown have each scored 30 points in the same game and not surprisingly, their team is 3-0 in those special occasions that should soon happen more frequently. They also became they first Celtics teammates to ever do that in a season-opener. Head coach Brad Stevens improved to 5-3 in season-openers as the Celtics head coach.

    Boston's bench is one of its biggest question marks coming into 2020-2021 but at least this evening, they were light years ahead of Milwaukee's terrible bench. The Celtics outscored them 34-12 thanks mostly to veteran point guard Jeff Teague (19 points, 2 steals) who was fantastic in his Celtics debut. Former All-Star Khris Middleton (27 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists) nearly notched a triple-double while the Bucks' huge offseason addition point guard Jrue Holiday added 25 points and six rebounds. Finally, former Villanova star Donte DiVincenzo (15 points, 5 rebounds) looked like he belonged in Milwaukee's starting lineup which is undoubtedly one of the best in the league. 

    They didn't meet in the bubble playoffs (since the Bucks laid an egg against the Heat) but before that, Boston and Milwaukee had met in the previous two postseasons as this has gradually become a solid rivalry in the East. Did I mention that the C's almost blew a 17-point lead? Haha oh that. They were up 101-84 going into the fourth quarter but that was all gone before Tatum hit his prayer. As you can guess, it was a very entertaining back-and-forth contest as the Bucks jumped out to a 34-31 lead after the first quarter before Boston took control in the second quarter (33-25) to go up 64-59 at halftime. In the Disney World bubble, the third quarter was a nightmare for the C's but not this time as they outscored the Bucks 37-25. 

    As always under Stevens, Boston will live and die by the three and they hit four more than Milwaukee (18-14). They also had four more assists (23-19), twice as many steals (8-4) and 10 less turnovers. The Bucks must be shaking their heads, wondering how they even lost this game. They shot over 50% (51.1%-47.5%), they took seven more free throws (18-11) and hit seven more (15-8) than Boston. Milwaukee also grabbed 15 more rebounds (52-37) including 14 more defensive boards (41-27). No matter what happens for the rest of this bizarre 72-game Covid-19 shortened regular season, there won't be many better games than this one, I guarantee it (Charles Barkley voice)!

    The NBA takes Christmas Eve off-giving bozo James Harden more time to hit the club-but then they are back for one of the most important days of the year for the league: Christmas. There are five marquee matchups spanning all afternoon and night including your Celtics hosting (5, ABC) the Nets (1-0) who embarrassed the Warriors (0-1) 125-99 last night in Brooklyn. Perhaps the most annoying man in pro sports-Kyrie Irving (who scored 26 points vs. Golden State)-will return to Boston along with a fully-healed Kevin Durant (he put up 22 points against one of his old teams). The Warriors were playing without Klay Thompson and Draymond Green so I don't want to be like everyone else and overreact too much about one win but the Nets looked deep and damn good. If nothing else, Celtics-Nets should be a spicy new rivalry since you'll remember that Durant could have chosen to come here in free agency a few years back but he rightfully picked the easiest road to a ring-the Warriors. Still, Boston sports fans have amazing memories when it comes to real or perceived slights by players on other teams.

The Inevitable Is Now Official: For The First Time Since 2008, The Pats Will Not Reach The Playoffs

 

    If you've spent any of your plentiful pandemic spare time watching this sad-sack version of the Patriots (6-8 overall, 2-6 away), you knew that at some point soon this day was coming. At no point in this waste of a season (for them at least), have they consistently looked like a playoff team. Sure, they've had a few nice moments and unexpected wins along the way but as a wise man-Bill Parcells-once said, "you are what your record says you are." Indeed, that's a bit of a dated reference but probably fitting as this afternoon New England lost 22-12 to the Dolphins (9-5 overall, 5-3 home) at Miami's Hard Rock Stadium. For the second straight game, the Pats failed to score a single touchdown which is about all you need to know about another pathetic offensive effort from this deeply flawed team. As a result of today's completely predictable outcome, New England won't be in the postseason for the first time since 2008 (the year that Tom Brady blew out his knee in the opener) and it is also their first non-winning campaign since way back in 2000. 

    Last week's wretched loss to the Rams (who somehow lost today to the Jets!) basically sealed the coffin shut on New England's unlikely path to the playoffs. Instead, they get two more meaningless contests to hopefully tank to get the best possible draft pick (not that I have any faith in Bill Belichick to select the right player in the first round). In a related topic, for the love of God, can he finally bench quarterback Cam Newton (17-of-27 for 209 yards; 38 yards rushing) and give Jarrett Stidham his first career NFL start? Even if he plays for free, there is no logical justification to bring Newton back next season and why is Bill so reluctant to put Stidham in any situation but a blowout? Few think he'll be the answer for the next Pats quarterback but why not throw him out there next Monday night (8:15, ESPN) against the high-flying AFC East champion (for the 1st time since 1995!) Buffalo Bills (11-3) who are suddenly one of the best teams in football?

    If you ever doubted the importance of a quality QB in the NFL, this ill-fated season by the Patriots could serve as a case study in how not to address the fallout from the best quarterback in NFL history leaving for another team. There is a reason why Newton was still available this summer: he's absolutely cooked. He simply can't throw anymore (which was never his biggest strength anyway) and like any running quarterback, the wear and tear has caught up to him so he's not the battering ram like he used to be. The only pleasant surprise with him is that it turns out he's actually a really good guy that teammates love to play with. The Pats have no choice but to use a draft pick (preferably one of their first ones) on a new quarterback while simultaneously signing an experienced veteran signal-caller (in the Ryan Fitzpatrick or Matthew Stafford mold) while serving as a bridge to the next guy. 

    The scary part about the Patriots' rebuild is that they appear nowhere close to being good again since years of awful drafts coupled with being super cheap in free agency coupled with not hitting on many trades has left them with a mediocre at best roster. With their quarterback Josh Allen a legitimate MVP candidate, the Bills are in great shape (not to mention a loaded roster) and meanwhile former Patriots defensive coordinator Brian Flores is building something in Miami with rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (20-of-26 for 145 yards, INT; 2 rushing TDs) showing signs that he could be a nice player at this level as the Dolphins make a push for the playoffs. The Jets' (1-13) mind-numbingly stupid victory today means that if the draft happened tomorrow, the Jaguars (1-13) would get the top pick which will be Clemson's incredible quarterback Trevor Lawrence. If New York can acquire him, they would have a better QB than New England as well, yikes.

    Today was a microcosm of this entire frustrating season for the Patriots as their best players were kicker Nick Folk (who made 4 FGs) and punter Jake Bailey who hit a 56-yard punt that was downed at the two-yard line. Wide receiver Jakobi Meyers (7 catches, 111 yards on 10 targets) re-emerged, with Damien Harris (ankle) out, running back Sony Michel (10 carries, 74 yards) had fresh legs and cornerback J.C. Jackson picked off Tua at the goal-line for his eighth interception of the season. After a scoreless first quarter, Folk hit a pair of field goals in the second quarter and the Pats took a 6-0 lead into halftime. Even with their best receiver (DeVante Parker) and a good tight end (Mike Gesicki) both out with injuries, you knew that the Patriots' crappy defense could only hold down Miami for so long. Seeing cornerback Stephon Gilmore leave with a non-contact leg injury in the second quarter probably puts a cap on a bizarre and disappointing 2020 for him. You have to wonder if he'll ever play another game for the Pats after all the drama he caused this year. 

    The Dolphins running game is not known as a powerhouse by any stretch of the imagination but you wouldn't know that the way that a no-name undrafted rookie named Salvon Ahmed (23 carries, 122 yards, TD) and veteran Matt Breida (12 carries, 86 yards) both ran over the Patriots particularly in the second half. Ahmed's one-yard touchdown run on the opening drive of the third quarter put the Dolphins ahead 7-6. Another 45-yard field goal by Folk gave New England their last lead at 9-7 late in the frame. Tua ran for a three-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter and added a two-point conversion pass to Ahmed which gave Miami a 15-9 lead. Folk's last field goal cut it to 15-12 Miami but Tua's one-yard touchdown run iced it late for the home team.

The 72-game NBA regular season starts on Tuesday with the Celtics opening on Wednesday as they host the Bucks then the NHL just confirmed that their 56-game regular season will start on January 13 with some different divisions (including an All-Canada one since they have strict travel restrictions during the pandemic). There won't be any Patriots playoff action but it's not like they deserved to be anywhere near that. At least we aren't some one team podunk place, this holiday season among many other way more important things (the health of my family, friends and myself), I am thankful to have the Celts and B's to get us through our first and hopefully last Covid-19 winter.

UPDATE 12/21/20: There was some good news on the Gilmore injury front as he tore a quad muscle which will require surgery but at least it wasn't a serious knee or leg injury that would take a much longer recovery period. Tonight, Gilmore, punter Jake Bailey and special teams captain Matthew Slater were all named to the Pro Bowl for the Patriots this season, their only three representatives. 

With Apologies To 2Pac, The Patriots' Playoff Hopes Just Lived And Then Promptly Died In LA

 

    As always, let's be honest here: it's been fun to have a football team to care about for the past month. The Patriots (6-7 overall, 2-5 away) had won four of their last five games including Sunday's 45-0 pasting of the Chargers (3-9) to theoretically get back in the AFC playoff hunt. Playing in the same city-Los Angeles-and at the same futuristic stadium-SoFi-four days later, New England was on the other end of a humbling result. In spite of their mediocre quarterback Jared Goff (16-of-25 for 137 yards, TD, INT), the Rams (9-4 overall, 5-1 home) are a really good team and they proved that the Pats were no match for them tonight in a 24-3 win that didn't feel nearly that close. With three games left in the regular season, the Patriots have their most losses since 2002 (also their last season with less than 10 wins) and as a result, they will most likely miss out on the playoffs and their standard AFC East title for the first time since 2009. 

    New England had 220 total yards and quarterback Cam Newton (9-of-16 for 119 yards, INT) was pulled in the fourth quarter in favor of Jarrett Stidham (5-of-7 for 27 yards) but it made little difference. Before you get your hopes up that Stidham could start next Sunday afternoon (1, CBS) in Miami (8-4), Pats head coach Bill Belichick squashed that potential juicy storyline in his postgame press conference as he stubbornly stood by Newton for whatever reason. Ugh. LA has one of the better defenses in the league and they racked up six sacks including two by defensive tackle Michael Brockers and one-and-a-half by future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Aaron Donald. The two main factors that helped Los Angeles roll were that rookie running back Cam Akers (29 carries, 171 yards) had by far his best day as a pro (1st career 100-yard game) and linebacker Kenny Young had a 79-yard pick-6 early in the second quarter which made it 17-0 Rams and effectively ended it with tons of time left on the clock.

    The Rams are trying to win the loaded NFC West and secure home-field advantage in the playoffs so they weren't messing around when they went right down the field on the opening drive (6 plays, 75 yards in 3:39) capped off by a one-yard sneak by Goff. Other than that rough start, the Patriots defense was fine. They only allowed 10 other points on a 35-yard field goal by Matt Gay later in the first quarter and a two-yard touchdown catch by Cooper Kupp in the third quarter. They even set Newton and the offense up with great field position after an amazing interception by undrafted rookie cornerback Myles Bryant who wrestled the ball away from Rams wide receiver Robert Woods. Bryant returned it for a touchdown but he was ruled down by contact so the Patriots got the ball at the Rams 32-yard line only trailing 10-0. After two carries by Pats running back Damien Harris (11 carries, 50 yards), Newton looked for him on a screen pass but it was overthrown (after Donald briefly held him) and Young took it to the house. On the ensuring drive, the Patriots drove to the Rams 2-yard line before offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels called some sort of fake option pitch where Newton got tackled for a loss of two yards. Goodnight Patriots. Nick Folk's 29-yard field goal with 1:04 left in the first half was all that they could muster in 60 minutes.

    I don't look at this as revenge for the Super Bowl two years ago since not only have the teams changed drastically (ie. no Tom Brady) but as we all hopefully understand, you cannot compare a regular season game to the NFL title game. LA head coach Sean McVay is no slouch but he has his work cut out for him trying to win a Super Bowl with Goff. Other than him, the Rams basically have everything you want (talented running backs and receivers, decent tight ends, a great defense, one of the best punters ever) in a true contender. As long as Goff as their starter though, I can't see them going all the way. Luckily, the Rams have tons of money invested in him so he probably isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

    Of much more interest to us, a Bills (9-3) win on Sunday afternoon vs. the Steelers (11-1) guarantees that either Buffalo or Miami will take the division this season. Furthermore, with playoff spots and seeding to jockey for, it's tough to picture the Patriots beating the Dolphins or Bills (who they host the following week on Monday Night Football) before the season finale against the Jets (0-12) who likely will be cementing a winless masterpiece. In the few times that we have seen Stidham in an actual NFL game, he has shown very little to inspire much confidence that he'll be a starter anytime soon on a good team. With that said, don't you have to at least give him his first career start (not against the Jets) the second that the Patriots are officially eliminated from playoff contention-in the next few days or weeks-just to know what you really have (if anything) in him? It's abundantly clear that Newton's best days are long behind him and whispers about Cam coming back next season to start once again are enough to give us all nightmares. If you don't have a good quarterback, you are doomed and right now, your guess for who will be the next great Pats quarterback is as good as mine.

The Patriots (6-6) Are Finally Back To The .500 Mark After Destroying The Hapless Chargers 45-0

 

    2020 has brought all of us many unexpected (and mostly terrible things) but I can confidently say that I never saw a 45-0 Patriots victory transpiring in this worst year in modern human history. Enter New England (6-6 overall, 2-4 on the road) who are playing their best football of the season as they won for the fourth time in the last five games by going into SoFi Stadium and completely embarrassing the Chargers (3-9 overall, 2-4 at home). Just how bad was it for the home team? Well it goes down as the worst (by point-margin) defeat in franchise history. Head coach Anthony Lynn was already on the hot seat before this steaming dump of a performance and this turned out to be so ugly, that would anybody be the least bit surprised to hear that he's been fired tomorrow or later on this week? 

    It figured to at least be a relatively close game that LA would inevitably cough up at the end (their trademark if you will under Lynn is losing one-score games) but rookie quarterback sensation Justin Herbert (26-of-53 for 209 yards, 2 INTs) had by far his worst game as a pro that should cool down his Rookie of the Year campaign just a bit. On a related note, I have no idea why he played the entire contest when he represents both the present and the future of that perennial losing team. Patriots rookie wide receiver/human emoji Gunner Olszewski had never scored an NFL touchdown so obviously he found the end zone not once but twice on the day thanks to a 70-yard punt return in the second quarter and a 38-yard catch-and-run from Jarrett Stidham (!!!) deep into garbage time in the fourth quarter. 

    Patriots quarterback Cam Newton (12-of-19 for 69 yards, TD; 48 yards rushing, 2 TDs) did not have to do all that much besides a pair of short touchdown runs (1-yard and 2-yards) and a five-yard touchdown pass to everyone's favorite bust wide receiver N'Keal Harry in the third quarter. Down 21-0 on the last play of the first half, Lynn chose to go for a 58-yard field goal attempt that immediately backfired in the worst possible way as something called Cody Davis on the Pats blocked it and safety Devin McCourty returned it 44 yards for a touchdown. Haha unbelievable, this felt like the good old days of New England sucking the life out of an overmatched opponent in hilarious fashion.

    Olszewski ironically had a punt return for a touchdown called back last week vs. Arizona so it was nice to see him get rewarded right away after that tough break. Patriots defensive end Chase Winovich made a beautiful diving interception (his 1st in the NFL) while cornerback J.C. Jackson also picked off an errant throw by Herbert for his NFL-best seventh pick of the season. Normally, I could care less about the Pro Bowl (the stupidest All-Star game in pro sports) but with that said, Jackson has to be a Pro Bowler this season, who could have believed he would do this? The Patriots are staying in California since they have a very quick turnaround as they visit the Rams (8-4 overall, 4-1 at home) on Thursday night (8:20, Fox). LA's real team beat Arizona (6-6) 38-28 this afternoon and Seattle (8-4) shockingly lost to the Giants (5-7) so the Rams are now in first-place in the NFC West-the best division in the NFL.

    Thursday Night Football is usually trash but at least this matchup is extra intriguing because these teams last met in the Super Bowl two years ago (won 13-3 by Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the Pats). Rams head coach Sean McVay and his mercurial quarterback Jared Goff are having a good season after they were both a mess last year (can you say Super Bowl hangover?). New England's defense has really stepped up lately so it will be interesting to see if McVay can find a way to solve whatever Belichick decides to throw at them this time. They still probably have to win out and finish 10-6 to have a realistic shot at the playoffs since the teams ahead of them in the AFC don't seem to be losing much but regardless of that, the Patriots deserve serious credit for giving us a season after all hope looked lost multiple times following brutal losses to Denver, San Francisco and Houston.

Revs Gonna Revs: Instead Of Choking In An MLS Cup Final, This Time They Bow Out In The ECF

 

    For the first time in years, there genuinely was (a little) buzz about the Revolution, both around New England and even nationally when it came to hardcore MLS fans. What interests me is the fact that people who normally don't pay any attention to the team or league were starting to take notice so of course, the Revs did what they always do in big games, they lost 1-0 this afternoon in the Eastern Conference Finals vs. Columbus at MAPFRE Stadium. Just like that, their great postseason run is over as the Crew advance to host the MLS Cup Final on Saturday night (8, ESPN) against the winner of tomorrow night's (9:30, FS1) Western Conference Finals matchup between Seattle and Minnesota.

    I would love to say that I'm surprised by this depressing result but the truth is that I'm not at all. As a longtime Revs supporter (granted many of those years I hate-watch them), I knew that no matter how much success they were having and how everything seemed to be going their way lately, impending doom is always right around the corner for a club that is 0-5 all-time in MLS Cup Finals. I guess we'll never know what kind of bump they would have received in terms of creating new fans since many of them end up going away once you lose. That's the harsh reality, everyone loves a winner and if you cannot do that on a consistent basis, what's the point in watching an inferior product when all the top European soccer leagues are easily viewed with a basic cable package.

    Revolution head coach Bruce Arena is the best at his job in league history so if anyone can end this dare I say curse, it should be him. Furthermore, despite my initial tone here, it shouldn't be all doom and gloom since they have a ton of talent returning next season and many young players that hopefully will be here for years to come. Still, the path to their first MLS title was right there for the taking. Columbus is a solid team but they are not better than Philadelphia (who New England beat two rounds ago) and probably about on the same level as Orlando (who they dispatched in the previous playoff game). Ugh. 

You got a bad feeling that it wasn't the Revs' day when striker Adam Buksa hit the post with a shot in the 28th minute. He had teammate Gustavo Bou going to the net (mostly covered) but instead of playing it into traffic-where many things could have happened-he chose to take a low-percentage shot that went off the outside of the the post. New England had scored first in all three of its playoff games during this postseason but finding themselves scoreless at halftime was not the worst fate in the world. The home team broke the deadlock in the 59th minute as they scored following a corner kick and some pretty passing: midfielder Artur hit a low one-time shot past Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner (MLS postseason-high 6 saves) with an assist from defender Jonathan Mensah.

    Trailing for the first time all postseason, the Revs never put enough pressure on Columbus' goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell (4 saves). There two best chances in the second half both happened very late as Bou's shot was saved in the 92nd minute and then on essentially the final play of the game, a corner kick bounced to New England midfielder Matt Polster but he lamely kicked it right into Tarbell's chest. The Crew did a nice job bottling up Revs midfielder Carles Gil who is by far their top playmaker that makes most good things happen offensively. With him contained, New England could only manage to earn four corner kicks and take 10 total shots. When they struggled for long stretches in the regular season, goal-scoring was usually the main issue so it's fitting that came up one last fatal time. 

    Probably the toughest part out of all this was the fact that the Revolution were probably the closest of the five main Boston pro sports teams (Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, Patriots) to winning a championship. That's not to say that they are the best of that bunch, only that MLS' new one-game format for each playoff round makes it easier to navigate in addition to soccer's utter randomness in big games not to mention few fans at the stadiums due to the pandemic. I know plenty of die-hard Revs fans (haha seriously, they do exist) that will watch them forever no questions asked but I wonder how many more casual fans were ready to jump on the bandwagon with their recent success but now they are already gone. Ultimately, this team didn't reach the MLS Cup Final in 2020 but they still found a way to bum us all out, just what we don't need in this nightmare year on Earth.

The Revs Are Just The Team That We Desperately Need In This Nightmare Of A Year, Seriously

 

    Reaching the Eastern Conference Final has become old hat for the Revolution considering that they have now reached that game eight times in the franchise's long history (they are an MLS original club that started in 1996). However, I doubt that there was ever a more improbable run in team annals to reach that stage than this season's wacky edition. New England led from start to finish this afternoon at Exploria Stadium as they put together their second straight huge upset, 3-1 vs. Orlando City SC in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. With their latest fantastic result, they will next get to play at Columbus on Sunday afternoon (3, ABC) in the Eastern Conference Final for a spot in the 2020 MLS Cup. Did I mention that the Revolution have never won an MLS Cup (0-5) and this is the furthest they've gone in the playoffs since their last ill-fated journey to the Final in 2014?  

    Once again, the Revs were ably led by their three best players: midfielder Gustavo Bou scored a brace (two goals) while fellow midfielder Carles Gil bagged a penalty kick and added an assist then finally, goalkeeper Matt Turner (2 saves) stepped up and made perhaps the biggest play of the game as he stopped Orlando's superstar midfielder Nani on a penalty kick that would have tied it at 2-2 in the 74th minute. Soccer is all about dictating the game which usually means scoring the first goal. Just like their 2-0 shutout of top-seeded Philadelphia in the first round last week, New England jumped at the opportunity to take an early lead and then they doubled it before Orlando knew what had hit them.

    Keep in mind, this was the first time in its six seasons in MLS that Orlando City had even reached the playoffs and they needed an absolutely bonkers penalty kick shootout to survive against NYCFC in the previous round just to get here in the first place. What I'm trying to say is that they were understandably a bit nervous from the beginning and you could tell that pretty early on as midfielder Oriol Rosell took down New England defender Tajon Buchanan in the 15th minute for a penalty kick. Gil gave Orlando City goalkeeper Brian Rowe (3 saves) no chance to stop his shot as he blasted it straight down the middle and into the net two minutes later. 

    Before the home team had any time to recover, they were down 2-0 as Revs striker Adam Buksa's initial shot (from a perfect low cross by Buchanan) hit the post but Bou was alertly there to smash the ball in for a 2-0 lead in the 25th minute. New England only really made two mistakes (of course they were big ones) on the day and the first came in the 33rd minute as their defense couldn't clear the ball out of a dangerous area in the box and Turner was uncharacteristically out of position after making a save. This allowed Orlando midfielder Junior Urso to swoop in and crank the rebound past a bunch of bodies between him and the net. As ugly as that moment was for the Revolution, full marks to them for not letting it affect them too much as Buksa forced a spectacular diving save from Rowe only five minutes later. 

    Nursing a 2-1 lead at halftime, New England was in good position to see out the game and that only increased when Orlando midfielder Mauricio Pereyra made a wild sliding challenge on Revs midfielder Matt Polster. With his studs up, Pereyra's reckless decision cost him and his team dearly because he was shown a red card so Orlando City was forced to play a man down for the final 30+ minutes as they tried to rally from down 2-1. Few in MLS possess a more lethal shot than Bou and he will let it fly from just about anywhere including well outside the box. Rowe made a pair of good stops on Bou and New England couldn't connect on either corner kick that came from those chances. Polster was on the other end of a penalty kick call as his foul of striker Daryl Dike in the 73rd minute led to the best play of Turner's blooming professional career. The Portuguese international and former Manchester United star tried to hit a low shot into the left corner but Turner guessed correctly and got over in time to deflect it out of bounds with his Inspector Gadget arm. 

    That took the wind out of Orlando's sails for the most part since they probably knew in their heart of hearts that was their golden opportunity to tie it up. New England did its best to smartly waste time and then pounce when the time was right for that killer insurance tally. That curtain came in the 86th minute fittingly with Gil putting a through ball to the top of the box that Bou got to before Rowe and his toe poke went in for what had to be one of the best and most meaningful goals of his life. PS check out his celebration in honor of recently deceased soccer icon Diego Maradona after his first goal of this win: it was incredibly moving as Bou found an Argentinian flag and pointed to the sky. When the final whistle blew, the Revs collectively went crazy with delight on the field as they had knocked off another darling of the league. 

    At this point, you'd be pretty idiotic to write off the Revolution as a fluke. Yes, they were the No. 8 seed in the East (out of 9 playoff clubs) but let's not forget that Gil missed much of the disjointed regular season and Bou was not healthy at times either. Obviously, every team deals with injuries and bad performances but you can see over these three playoff matches how much of a difference a healthy Gil and Bou can make. All I know is that New England is only one win away from another MLS Cup appearance and two from finally putting to bed the ugliest Albatross in Major League Soccer. With USMNT players such as striker Gyasi Zardes (who scored a goal in tonight's 2-0 win vs. Nashville) and midfielder/possession machine Darlington Nagbe, the Crew are more than formidable opposition. Still, bet against New England at your own peril or how about you check in with Philly or Orlando to see what they are up to at the moment.

The Patriots Kept Their Slight Playoff Hopes Alive With A Thrilling 20-17 Win vs. The Cardinals

 

    Not much makes sense in this crazy year of 2020 and the Patriots (5-6 overall, 4-2 home) fit under that general premise since they are becoming very difficult to predict from game to game. For instance, in the last three weeks in particular, I think that going into each matchup we would have thought they'd lose to Baltimore, win at Houston and lose against Arizona. It turns out that the opposite has occurred in each of those three contests with them pulling out a 20-17 victory this afternoon vs. the Cardinals (6-5 overall, 3-3 away) at Gillette Stadium via a 50-yard field goal by Patriots kicker Nick Folk as time expired in the fourth quarter. New England quarterback Cam Newton (9-of-18 for 84 yards, 2 INTs; 46 yards rushing) had perhaps his worst game as a Patriot-which is saying something-yet they still somehow found a way to win thanks to some timely plays by the defense (including a key goal-line stand) and stellar special teams. 

    After DeShaun Watson of the Texans torched the Patriots last week, you figured that Cardinals star quarterback Kyler Murray (23-of-34 for 170 yards, INT; 31 yards rushing) would similarly tear up New England's subpar defense but that wasn't the case at all. In fact, it was the first time all season that Murray was held without a touchdown since Arizona's running back Kenyan Drake (22 carries, 78 yards; 15 yards receiving) did most of the damage with a pair of one-yard touchdown runs. The ghost of Larry Fitzgerald was out with Covid-19 so the Pats were able to concentrate most of their energy on arguably the best wide receiver in the league-DeAndre Hopkins (5 catches for 55 yards on 7 targets)-and it showed as they mostly held him in check which was a surprise to say the least. 

    New England spotted Arizona a 10-0 in the first quarter thanks to an interception by Cardinals linebacker Markus Golden on the third play of the game as Newton's pass was deflected right into Golden's hands for his first career INT. With incredible field position (starting at the Pats 23), it only took Murray and Co. three plays to find the end zone after a 19-yard catch and run by UMass' Andy Isabella (4 catches, 33 yards) brought them down to the 4-yard line. Late in the first quarter, Arizona's kicker Zane Gonzalez hit a 47-yard to give his team what would turn out to be their biggest lead of the day. Pats running back James White hadn't scored a touchdown all season so it was great to see him take an option pitch from Newton and find paydirt on 4th-and-2 from the Cardinals 7-yard line. That whole drive was set up by a 53-yard kickoff return from Donte Moncrief that put New England in Arizona territory at the 46-yard line. 

    New England's defense stepped up right before halftime after the Cardinals held the ball for almost half of the quarter (15 plays, 71 yards in 6:57). First they tackled KeeSean Johnson at the 1-yard line and then Akeem Spence (recently elevated from the practice squad) and Ja'Whaun Bentley (13 tackles, 6 solo) combined to stop Drake on a run up the middle for no gain meaning that Arizona got zero points from that long drive. I appreciate the aggressiveness from dreamy Arizona head coach Kliff Kingsbury but that turned out to be a huge three points that they could have used at the end of the game. After forcing a punt on the Cardinals' opening drive of the third quarter, the Patriots appeared to go ahead on a punt-return for a touchdown by Gunner Olszewski. It being this year with this middling club, the six points from the 82-yard run were taken off the board as rookie Anfernee Jennings was ruled to have made an illegal blindside block. That still gave New England more great field position as they began that drive at Arizona's 39-yard line. Newton and the Pats' drive stalled near the goalline as they were forced to settle for a 22-yard field goal which tied it at 10. 

    The momentum kept building for the Patriots as Murray was picked off three plays later when defensive lineman Adam Butler (4 tackles, assist & sack) tipped a pass and it was caught by safety Adrian Phillips (5 tackles). New England's ensuring drive started at Arizona's 31-yard line so even the Patriots' slo-mo offense scored six plays later on a 1-yard run by White to the opposite corner of the end zone from his first score. Trying to keep pace with Seattle (7-3) and the Rams (7-4) in the best division in football-the NFC West-the Cardinals flipped the momentum back on their side as they surged ahead on another short Drake touchdown then cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick read Newton's eyes and picked him off on the next drive.

    It looked for sure that the Patriots were doomed at that point but thankfully, Gonzalez missed a 45-yard field goal by simply pushing it wide. Before Folk's heroics, Arizona committed two fatal mistakes on the same play to essentially put New England in field goal range: on 3rd-and-13, they let Newton scramble for 14 yards and even worse, rookie Isaiah Simmons drilled him with a helmet-to-helmet hit (which itself is a penalty but it was incorrectly called unnecessary roughness instead) as they both went out of bounds. That careless mistake resulted in a 15-yard penalty which moved the Patriots into the Cardinals' side of the field and after two short plays, Folk was called on to deliver with the game on the line for the second time in four weeks (he also won it in NY against the Jets) and once again, he made it count. 

    The Pats will get another chance to reach the .500 mark next week as they travel to Los Angeles to face the lowly Chargers (3-8) on Sunday afternoon (4:25, CBS). By taking on a rookie quarterback in Justin Herbert (granted he's been awesome) and an overmatched head coach-Anthony Lynn of Hard Knocks fame this past summer-your instinct tells you that the Patriots should win that one. I've made that mistake too many times before during this season so I'm going to hold off on any predictions and just say that hopefully New England can build off of this ballsy win and take advantage of an opponent that while talented is going nowhere in 2020.

Who Had The New England Revolution Being The Feel-Good Story Of The Year In Boston Sports?

 

    2020 has been a nightmare for everybody and just the latest example of the sports world being turned upside down as well is the fact that the Patriots (4-6) are slogging through their first rebuilding campaign in 20 years while the other (and for good reason often forgotten) club that also calls Gillette Stadium home-the Revolution-are giving us all something to be happy about when we needed it the most. With less than zero expectations coming into this postseason, the No. 8 seed New England followed up Friday's thrilling 2-1 victory over the No. 9 seed Montreal in the play-in game at Gillette with a much more unexpected and therefore mighty impressive result tonight: they went to Subaru Park in Chester, PA and knocked off MLS' top team-the Philadelphia Union-by a score of 2-0. With the win, the Revs advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday afternoon (3, ABC) at No. 4 seed Orlando City SC. 

    Above all, there are two primary reasons that make this latest triumph so impressive for New England: 1) The Union won the Supporters' Shield-given to the team with the best record in the league-so needless to say, nobody and I mean nobody was expecting Philly to lose their first playoff game after such a dominant regular season; 2) The Revs were 0-4-1 against Philadelphia in 2020 including three straight losses coming into this matchup. Furthermore, dating back to the last few seasons, they hadn't actually beaten the Union in their last nine meetings. So yeah, to say this was an upset is a bit of an understatement.

    The best part for the Revs is that this was far from a fluke result. They scored twice in the a four-minute span in the first half then smothered any hopes of a Union comeback in the second half with an air-tight defensive effort. Philadelphia's excellent Jamaican goalkeeper Andre Blake (2 saves) earned the Goalkeeper of the Year award in MLS this season but this evening, he was simply outplayed by New England's Matt Turner who made four saves to notch the clean sheet. Granted Turner didn't have to deal with hardly any real dangerous chances but that's besides the point. The Fairfield University alum and New Jersey native should soon find himself in the mix with the U.S. men's national team, he's become that good over the last few years of his rapid development with the Revs. 

    I think we can conclude that New England's midfield maestro Carles Gil is back to full health as he completely controlled this entire match. He not only set up both goals but he nearly added a strike of his own with a beautiful chip early in the second half that ricocheted off the crossbar. Another sign that this isn't your typical middling Revs team is that both of their tallies were beautiful in their own right: Polish striker Adam Buksa headed in the perfect free kick from Gil in the 26th minute for a 1-0 Revs lead. Before the Union had a chance to catch their breath, it was 2-0 and basically game over as fullback Tajon Buchanan (who is normally a forward) took a pass from Gil, beat his defender then blasted a low shot into the far side past a helpless Blake.

    Looking around MLS and particularly in the East, it's predictably clear that home field and seeding has meant little in this bizarre postseason. Most stadiums are devoid of fans because of the local Covid-19 protocols or they choose to let very few in-like the poor souls who watched the Union get beat tonight-so any previous home field advantage is thankfully for the Revs' sake nullified. Playing in their first season in the league, the No. 7 seed Nashville shocked heavyweight and No. 2 seed Toronto (MLS Cup winner in 2017 and runner-up in 2019) 1-0 in extra time earlier tonight in Hartford (Toronto can't play in Canada during the pandemic) so they are also in the Eastern Conference semifinals and they'll meet the No. 3 seed Columbus on Sunday night (8, ESPN). In the Western Conference the semifinals are the defending champions and No. 2 seed Seattle vs. the No. 6 seed Dallas next Tuesday (9:30, FS1) followed by top-seeded Sporting KC taking on the No. 4 seed Minnesota on Wednesday (9, FS1). 

    It's hard not to look ahead with the Revolution and dream about two more wins bringing them back to that elusive MLS Cup where they are a mind-numbing 0-5 all-time. Still, let's sit back and relax a bit over the Thanksgiving break and enjoy these first two tastes of playoff wins by the Revs for the first time in six long years. Who could forget that their 2014 playoff run of course ended in the MLS Cup with a crushing 2-1 loss in extra time to the Galaxy. Haha I'm not still bitter about it though! After being a laughingstock for years, Bruce Arena-who is unquestionably the best head coach in league history-has quickly brought them back to relevance and soon perhaps the ultimate glory after all these years of misery and irrelevance. I make fun of the Revs and MLS all the time but this is genuinely a fantastic story that could not come at a better time with the Pats floundering, the Celtics and Bruins at least a month away from returning to action and the Red Sox fading from everyone's radar more every year. 

After Quite A Lengthy Wait, The B's Finally Signed Forward Jake DeBrusk To A Two-Year Contract

 

    NHL free agency officially opened a month and a half ago so you are not alone if you basically forgot that winger Jake DeBrusk (a restricted free agent) was still sitting around waiting for the Bruins to hit him up with a contract offer. Naturally, on a sleepy Monday night a few days before Thanksgiving, B's GM Don Sweeney & Co. got it done as they signed DeBrusk to a two-year deal worth $7.35 million. It has to be a relief for Jake after he saw literally hundreds of players from around the league get paid recently while he and his agent patiently bided their time waiting for Boston to make a decision. 

    In many ways, this was an easy move for the Bruins since DeBrusk represents one of their few young forwards who has really shown anything positive lately at the NHL level. He was the middle pick of Boston's infamous three first round selections in the 2015 Draft. Sandwiched around DeBrusk at No. 14 were defenseman Jakub Zboril at No. 13 and right wing Zach Senyshyn. Haha who? Only hardcore Bruins or hockey fans know who those other two guys are since neither has made any kind of impact yet for the B's and they've mostly been stuck wasting away in Providence. 

    Jake just wrapped up his third full season with the Bruins and he's been consistently productive from his rookie year until now. He's scored at least 16 goals and had at least 16 assists in all three seasons. He's also been relatively durable-and almost always worthy of a lineup spot-since he played 70 games in 2017-18, 68 games the following season and 65 in this past Covid-19 shortened schedule. After recording 27 assists in his rookie campaign and 27 goals in his second season, I think that many were understandably a bit disappointed that his game didn't take any noticeable leap in 2019-20 but rather it felt stuck in neutral. 

    His plus/minus has also plummeted from plus-13 in his first year, to plus-two then minus-one. For most of his brief Bruins career, David Krejci has centered DeBrusk on the second line with a revolving door of nobodies at right wing. That's not an excuse for the dip in his numbers but a statement of fact. When you watch Jake over a full season including the playoffs, you see more than a few glimpses of some outstanding tools: game-breaking pace, great hands to get around defensemen and goaltenders in small areas not to mention the clutch plays that he often makes. He's been on the Bruins' second power play unit for much of the last two seasons and he has potted eight goals and seven goals there respectively. He also put up 14 game-winning goals (in the regular season) between his first three years which is nothing to sneeze at.

    The bubble playoffs were not his friend though as he was mostly shut down to the tune of only four points (all goals) in 13 games. That paled in comparison to his rookie season when Boston where he notched six goals and two assists in only 12 games or the next season where they went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals and he had four goals and seven assists. He's definitely an X-factor kind of guy and like most teams, the Bruins are always in need of some secondary scoring from DeBrusk as well as many others besides the top line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak.

    If you've ever watched Behind The B (NESN's underrated behind the scenes show about the Bruins) or you've caught some of his hilarious post-game interviews, you know that Jake is a character to say the least. Having grown up around the NHL (his dad Louie was a long-time enforcer), he has a great sense of humor-witness the mullet that he has sported for long stretches-and being Canadian the typical down-to-Earth, relatable nature. Playing here generally doesn't bring the same insane pressure as a Toronto or Montreal but for an American market, it's still pretty tough. I wouldn't worry too much though about that being a factor for DeBrusk since he seems well equipped to handling the ups and downs of a professional sports career. With the right attention to details-like getting stronger for puck battles in the corners and better touch around the net-he has the ability to be a 30-goal scorer in the near future. It took way too long to get this done but I think we can all agree that this was a good day for the Bruins.