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A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Sorry.<\/p>\n
This wasn\u2019t always the case. Remember the good old days of Dan Duquette? When Pedro Martinez was available on the trade market, the Duke traded for Pedro. When Manny Ramirez was a free agent, the Duke signed Manny to an eight-year, $160 million contract.<\/p>\n
In the first 18 years of this century, the Fenway Sports Group Red Sox were always in the conversation when great players were available, and they weren\u2019t sending Hollywood Tom to close the deals.<\/p>\n
When Boston\u2019s bullpen imploded in the \u2018Cowboy Up\u2019 fall of 2003, the Sox signed Keith Foulke, the best free-agent closer on the market. That November, Theo Epstein went to Arizona to have Thanksgiving dinner with Curt Schilling and close a contract extension with the Big Lug.<\/p>\n
They even went out and got Alex Rodriguez \u2014 quite possibly the best left-side infielder in baseball history \u2014 if only for a short few hours until the MLB Players Association cried foul.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the way it was until 2018. The Red Sox had a top-three payroll. They had stars. They were in almost all conversations for top talent, and stars were happy to bring their talents to the Back Bay.<\/p>\n
Not anymore. The Sox pivoted after winning that World Series. They went from the winning business to the making-money business. They elected not to compete for the services of home-grown future Hall of Famer Mookie Betts, and it\u2019s been all downhill since.<\/p>\n
Today, the Sox annually sell the illusion of contention and the ever-elusive, cost-effective, farm system \u201cfuture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, they hope you believe they\u2019re serious about acquiring a 26-year-old generational talent who\u2019s probably going to sign the richest contract in baseball history.<\/p>\n
At the MLB Owners Meetings in New York, Sam Kennedy delivered this year\u2019s \u201cFull Throttle, 2.0\u2033 promise. The Sox CEO spoke of \u201cextreme urgency internally.\u201d He said, \u201ceven if it takes us over the [competitive balance tax].\u201d<\/p>\n
He also said \u201cwe are investing more than we did last year\u201d and \u201cthe PGA Tour deal did take a lot of time last year,\u201c two galling admissions that FSG did not prioritize its baseball team last summer.<\/p>\n
Maybe they\u2019ll follow through and do more than \u201cshow interest\u201d this time. Maybe the wildly-wealthy, most-expensive-ticket Red Sox are finally willing to eschew their Tampa Bay Ways.<\/p>\n
They could restore all credibility by signing Juan Soto.<\/p>\n
But until we see it \u2026 or something like it \u2026 they\u2019ve lost the benefit of the doubt.<\/p>\n
\u25aa Quiz: Name five Boston athletes or teams who were Sports Illustrated\u2019s Sportsperson(s) of the Year. (Answer below.)<\/p>\n
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\u25aa What\u2019s up with Bob Kraft and the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Kraft\u2019s been a candidate for consideration 13 times, and 13 times he\u2019s failed to make it to the final ballot. Vying to be considered as a \u201ccontributor,\u201d last year he was aced out by the late Buddy Parker, who coached the Lions from 1951-56. We just learned that Kraft\u2019s been snubbed this year in favor of the immortal Robert Hay, who owned the Canton Bulldogs from 1918-22. Yikes. Who does Kraft lose to next year? Clive Rush? Buddy Garrity? Jimmy \u201cHot Fingers\u201d McNally?<\/p>\n
\u25aa In 2022, Bruins players complained that coach Bruce Cassidy was too tough. They wanted a change. They got it. Cassidy was dumped \u2014 he went on to win a Stanley Cup with Las Vegas \u2014 and nice guy Jim Montgomery came on board.<\/p>\n
In his first year on the job, Nice Guy Jim\u2019s Bruins produced the greatest regular season in NHL history \u2014 65-12-5. But they were bounced by Florida in the first round of the playoffs. One year later, the B\u2019s again were really good in the regular season, and managed to get past Toronto in Round 1, only to be bounced again by the Panthers.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Nice Guy Jim was fired after the slow and friendly Bruins got off to an 8-9-3 start. In two-plus regular seasons as head coach, Nice Guy Jim went 120-41-23.<\/p>\n
Now what?<\/p>\n
\u25aa The Celtics went to the White House Thursday, five months after winning the NBA championship. Many layers of planning and preparation went into the trip.<\/p>\n
It was different when they won it in 1984. The Larry Bird Celtics beat the Lakers in Game 7 at the Old Garden on a Tuesday night and were told to report to the Eastern Air Lines Shuttle for a short flight to National (now Ronald Reagan) Airport the next morning. Warp speed.<\/p>\n
The Celtics (without Chief, Larry, or Max) made it from the steaming hot Boston Garden to the steaming hot Rose Garden in less than 15 hours and presented President Reagan with a Celtics jacket. Dennis Johnson was selected to deliver remarks and said, \u201cI\u2019d like to ask the president, how do you stand out here and don\u2019t sweat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25aa The death of international gymnastics coaching legend Bela Karolyi at the age of 82 reminded this typist of a magic Olympic night at the Georgia Dome in 1996 when American Kerri Strug landed a vault despite two torn ligaments in her left ankle. The vault clinched America\u2019s first team gold.<\/p>\n
Karolyi first came to fame at the Montreal Games in 1976 as Nadia Comaneci\u2019s Romanian coach. Comaneci, who\u2019d been discovered by Karolyi when she was 6 years old, scored the first perfect 10 in Olympic history. Karolyi defected from Romania to the US five years later, then guided American Mary Lou Retton to the all-around title in Los Angeles in 1984.<\/p>\n
Karolyi was a powerful presence in Atlanta in 1996 and I remember him yelling, \u201cYou can do it!\u201d (like Rob Schneider in \u201cThe Waterboy\u201d) at the wounded Strug before she landed her winning vault. Strug donned a walking boot for the medal ceremony and her big bear coach proudly carried her to the platform.<\/p>\n
Fortunately for Globe readers, a Boston scribe with no knowledge of gymnastics could get information from credentialed reporters Comaneci and Retton, who were stationed with the uninformed dopes in the Georgia Dome\u2019s press area. It was like having Stan Musial and Ted Williams sitting in the Fenway press box while covering the Red Sox and Cardinals in the 1967 World Series.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe US no longer follows in the world of gymnastics,\u201d Retton told me. \u201cAfter so many years of following the Russians and the Romanians, we\u2019re the leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope I helped,\u201d Comaneci added. \u201cGymnastics is a beautiful sport, as big as figure skating at the Winter Olympics. And woman can do it as good as boys.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25aa Speaking of The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived, Teddy Ballgame\u2019s infamous Hitter.net cap \u2014 regrettably worn during Ted\u2019s unforgettable 1999 All Star Game visit to Fenway \u2014 fetched $3,400 at auction last weekend. The Kid\u2019s 1946 American League MVP award went for $528,750.<\/p>\n
\u25aa Prediction: Dodger manager Dave Roberts will soon get a contract extension that will exceed Craig Counsell\u2019s MLB-best $8-million-per-year deal with the Cubs.<\/p>\n
\u25aa NBA Commissioner Adam Silver indicated in September that the league is considering expansion, which has Seattle folks in a lather. The SuperSonics \u2014 great uniforms, and remember when young DJ was MVP of the Finals for the Sonics in 1979? \u2014 left for Oklahoma City 16 years ago and Seattle is ready for another NBA team.<\/p>\n
\u25aa Golden Bachelor Bill Belichick went home to be inducted in the Anne Arundel (Maryland) County Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 13. As reported by the Wall Street Journal\u2019s Jason Gay, the Hoodie delivered remarks from a first-floor ballroom at the DoubleTree Annapolis. Belichick was starting center for the Annapolis High Panthers, class of 1970.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo these hometown friends and long-timers, Bill was a Panther more than a Patriot,\u201d wrote Gay. \u201cA player before he was a coach, a lacrosse obsessive as much as a football wizard, a generous dry wit instead of a crab.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u25aa After Sunday night\u2019s win over the Bengals, Chargers linebacker Daiyan Henley said, \u201cWe\u2019re trying to put the league on notice. This is a different team. This is not what the Chargers have been.\u201d Sorry, but until they win a Super Bowl, they always will be the same old Chargers.<\/p>\n
\u25aa The Lions, meanwhile, are a wagon. Detroit goes into Sunday\u2019s game against the Colts with a plus-159 point differential, and already has won three games by 36 or more points.<\/p>\n
\u22c5 NBA teams looking for front office help (you know who you are) should hunt down former Suns general manager Ryan McDonough, who drafted Devin Booker at No. 13 for Phoenix in 2015. McDonough, a son of Will and brother of Sean, is raising a family with his wife in Louisville, working for multiple media outlets.<\/p>\n
\u25aaThe Dallas Wings won the WNBA draft lottery, which means they\u2019ll select UConn\u2019s Paige Bueckers if she forgoes her final year of eligibility for the Huskies. This will be a boost to the Wings, who are planning to leave Arlington, Texas, for downtown Dallas for the start of the 2026 season. Meanwhile, Bueckers and the Huskies seek to win Geno Auriemma\u2019s first NCAA championship since 2016.<\/p>\n
\u25aa Must read: \u201cThe Ancient Eight: College Football\u2019s Ivy League and the Game They Play Today,\u201d by John Feinstein. Did you know that Harvard won the 1920 Rose Bowl, 7-6, over Oregon?<\/p>\n
\u25aa Folks who endured Netflix\u2019s trainwreck telecast (nonstop buffering issues and freezing-palooza) of the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson farce last weekend are dreading Christmas Day, when Netflix will be streaming Chiefs vs. Steelers and Ravens vs. Texans.<\/p>\n
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\u25aa It\u2019s hard to think of a more dominant local high school team than Watertown\u2019s field hockey Raiders. To clinch their fourth consecutive Division 3 state championship, they beat unbeaten Sandwich, 2-0, last Saturday in Worcester. Watertown senior forward Caroline Andrade did not lose a game in her four varsity seasons. Coached by Eileen Donahue, this year\u2019s Raiders beat five tournament teams by an aggregate 25-0. They\u2019ll go into next season with 97 consecutive wins.<\/p>\n
\u25aa Patriot fans who want to watch Sunday\u2019s game against the Dolphins with Joe Andruzzi \u2014 for the benefit of Andruzzi\u2019s foundation, which provides financial assistance to New England families battling cancer \u2014 can go to the Victory Point Restaurant in Quincy from 12:30-4 or purchase spots in advance at victorypointmb.com. Ticket includes a drink, tailgate food, a photo op with Joe and his Super Bowl rings, and a halftime Q and A.<\/p>\n
\u25aa RIP Larry Johnson, who died in Brockton at the age of 75 last Friday. Larry was the Globe\u2019s sport cartoonist throughout the 1980s, worked for the National Sports Daily, and was a longtime co-host of \u201cMustard and Johnson\u201d at WEEI with co-host Craig Mustard. Visiting hours will be held at the Farley Funeral Home in Stoughton from 9-10:30 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 25.<\/p>\n
\u25aa Quiz answer: Carl Yastrzemski (1967), Bill Russell (1968), Bobby Orr (1970), Boston Red Sox (2004), Tom Brady (2005, \u201821).<\/p>\n
\n
Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at daniel.shaughnessy@globe.com. Follow him @dan_shaughnessy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Until 2018, the Red Sox had a top-three payroll. They were in almost all conversations for top talent, and stars were happy to bring their talents to the Back Bay. Not anymore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":11264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n