boston Page 29 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

O, say, can you see Mark Cuban's point? No one even noticed lack of national anthem, so let it go
Somehow it escaped most everyone’s attention for 13 home games that the Dallas Mavericks weren’t playing the national anthem before any of them, which pretty much tells you how important the tradition actually was in the first place. The Mavs hadn’t been allowing fans into the arena until Monday’s g...

MLB's biggest question answered as Twins add promising pitcher; also, Dodgers sign jerkwad Bauer
The wait is over, and one of baseball’s top contenders can move toward spring training confident that its new addition to the pitching staff will be just the man to put them over the top....

Tampa Bay could be the next Titletown. What other cities have won multiple championships in a matter of months?
Tampa Bay, Titletown USA? It could happen as soon as Sunday night....

Story, Lindor and Tatis are the best crop of shortstops since A-Rod, Jeter and Nomar
People really like to post rankings, because they generate a lot of conversations and tend to rile people up with strong feelings about players or teams. “You have WHO ranked at No. 1? You have to be kidding. No way.” It’s a good time. In fact, I love posting rankings. I love sharing my opinions and...

Wizards and Beal should consider parting ways
Ray Allen didn’t ask to be traded when it was clear he probably should’ve done so if he wanted to win. Not when the Milwaukee Bucks sent him to the Seattle Sonics in season seven, and not when the Sonics shipped him to the Boston Celtics before season 12....

For better or worse, Dustin Pedroia was Boston
There’s an easy-to-reach joke when someone really old dies. “Oh he died years ago, he just fell down yesterday.” That’s basically how it feels with Dustin Pedroia announcing his retirement today. He’s only played nine games in the past three seasons, so his retirement basically announced him. ...

Tom Brady epitomizes the, “Ugh, I hate that guy,’ sentiment in sports fans … but, why?
Sports fans are a weird bunch. I know this, because I am one. As we grow, it’s important to analyze our own thoughts and biases, and why we feel the way we do about things. The way we feel about teams and players should be no different. How many times have you had a conversation about an athlete or ...

Masahiro Tanaka won’t make it to Cooperstown, but — like hoops' Hall — there should be room for stories like his
In seven seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, Arvydas Sabonis averaged 12 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. His biggest accomplishments were being the NBA’s Player of the Week at the end of March in 1996, and finishing 12th in the league in total rebounds in 1997-98....

With A-Rod and Big Papi on ballot next year, gatekeepers of Cooperstown will face a reckoning
Just as most writers want, to get the affirmation they apparently crave by denying millionaires access to a club, no one will enter the Baseball Hall of Fame this summer. Once again, they have kept the sanctuary safe from the heathen of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, as they see it. They won’t get t...

Curt Schilling’s putrid mouth continues to keep him out of Cooperstown…. good
The good news is that Curt Schilling isn’t going into the Hall of Fame this summer. In fact, no new players will be joining last year’s class of inductees this summer in Cooperstown after the results of the Baseball Writers Association of America’s balloting were announced Tuesday evening....

Marcus Smart calling out Joel Embiid for flopping is a breathtaking self-own
The hypocrisy of Celtics guard Marcus Smart is mind-boggling....

Time to put Bonds and Clemens in the Hall of Fame, because my ballot is about numbers, not punishment
The Baseball Hall of Fame punishment should come to an end....

It sucks that it’s due to COVID, but the Celtics must now give the people what they want: A giant Tacko!
On Friday afternoon, three Boston Celtics entered the NBA’s COVID-19 protocol due to Robert Williams’ positive test, according to Adam Himmelsbach’s Boston Globe report. Grant Williams and Tristian Thompson will also sit a minimum of seven days due to contract tracing, says Mark Murphy of the Boston...

Bianca Smith makes history as first Black woman coach in professional baseball
The Boston Red Sox recently announced that Bianca Smith will join the ballclub, making her the first Black woman to coach in professional baseball. Smith will begin her MLB career at the Red Sox player development facility in Florida. There, she’ll work with minor league players....

With Chara now in a Capitals shirt, here are some other guys who looked weird without Bruins jerseys
Zdeno Chara hasn’t played his entire career with the Bruins. The future Hall of Fame defenseman started his NHL career with the Islanders in 1997, moved to Ottawa in the 2001 Alexei Yashin trade, and signed with Boston as a free agent in 2006. ...

Jarome Iginla is just a regular guy giving his thoughts on the weather
About 15 years ago, I was riding on the 1 train in Manhattan with two friends, and when we got off the train, one of them asked me if I had peeked over John Turturro’s shoulder and gotten a look at the script he was reading....

If It’s Normalcy You Seek, Then a Jackass in Fenway Is What You Need
If you had to wager which stadium would see a fan quite possibly risk his life, merely for the opportunity to yell at everyone around and act like a yahoo to an audience of no one, Fenway Park most definitely would have been the chalk....

Fans Being Racist Is Nothing New
For as long as we can remember, sports fans have been on the wrong side of history....

We Rank the Worst No. 1 Picks in NBA Lottery History
Since the NBA’s first draft lottery in 1985, there have been 11 first-overall picks who did not make an All-NBA team or appear in an All-Star Game. That number is a little inflated because Zion Williamson and DeAndre Ayton are just getting started, so when you’re trying to figure out which is the wo...

Tuuka Rask Leaves NHL Bubble and of Course Boston Sports Guys Are Giving Him Shade
Tuukka Rask is the father of a newborn baby, and he’s been away from his family all month, playing with the Boston Bruins in the NHL’s Toronto bubble amid the coronavirus pandemic. On Saturday, Rask announced that he was leaving the bubble, with his team tied 1-1 in their best-of-seven Eastern Confe...