Thinking out loud…while wondering if kids know the best way to get a puppy for Xmas is to ask for a baby brother…
The Sox were top five in payroll last season? Presently they’re 12th in cash payroll, 14th in luxury tax payroll. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports Boston is about $30 million under the lowest tax threshold.
But there aren’t any more top-flight players left available in free agency. Trades, maybe? Humbug.
Not only is Boston ownership not empowering Chaim Bloom to sign players in order to compete, Bloom isn’t getting the right players he DOES sign to try and compete.
So excuse me if getting Masataka Yoshida or Justin Turner isn’t on my Christmas list of things to request from Santa.
It’s really simple. Pitching – you can never have enough of it. Defense – be solid up the middle. And right now, there’s a big hole at shortstop as you may know.
Meanwhile, Red Sox fans can be jealous of Philadelphia (they actually re-signed GM Dave Dombrowski), or the Mets (they signed Carlos Correa), or the Padres or (gulp!) the Yankees, who believe in spending as the market dictates…not sitting on the sidelines or – worse yet – in last place.
Nice to see someone with money (like Mets owner Steve Cohen) actually SPEND money.
Best thing for the Fenway Sports Group ownership to do? SELL THE SOX.
Go invest in the NBA, or the NFL, or buy another soccer team. Leave the Red Sox be. Thank you for four world titles. But it’s time to find the door since you clearly no longer want to be at the party.
I, for one, won’t be spending my $$$ on an organization that isn’t putting the best team on the field. It’s expensive at Fenway if you haven’t noticed. Time to redirect discretionary income on some entity that cares where it’s spent.
But you’ll still have “Sweet Caroline” to sing you into nauseousness next summer, amiright?
Not for nuthin’, but the big winner thus far in baseball’s off-season? Superagent Scott Boras. He’s negotiated more than $1.4 billion in new contracts…including the $90 million the Sox will pay to Yoshida…and likely more to come.
URI’s basketball team became the first team in the country to cancel a game this season due to Covid, calling off the Milwaukee game Thursday scheduled for the Ryan Center. It won’t be made up.
Several players and staffers tested positive upon returning home from a loss at Georgia State that dropped the Rams to 4-8. URI will open A-10 play on New Years’ Eve at Duquesne.
And then there were three. #1 Purdue, #2 UConn, and New Mexico (15th in the NET, coached by PC alumnus Richard Pitino) are the three remaining unbeaten teams, out of 353, in Division I.
Both Hurley brothers (and former Rhody coaches), Dan and Bobby, have teams ranked in this week’s Top 25. Bobby’s team likely falls out next week after getting thumped by San Francisco.
A tragedy occurred last weekend when former Friar player Rob Sanders was killed in an auto accident. Sanders played at PC from 2001-04, and his athleticism was evident every time he stepped onto the floor for Tim Welsh’s team.
He’s a guy who, if social media had been as prevalent then as it is now, would be an internet star for his high-flying dunks. Surely, you’ll remember his MOAD (Mother of all Dunks) in the ’03 NIT against Charleston, throwing the ball off the backboard to himself for the slam? Kinda hard to forget it if you saw it.
He also had a pretty good one in a big win against Illinois at the Garden the next year. But Rob was more than just athletic, as he turned into a solid shooter and overall player. Thoughts are certainly with his family.
Kentucky’s loss is a Providence win. Big time. Thanks, Coach Cal.
Bryce Hopkins is growing up – and has grown up – right before our eyes. Ed Cooley has sufficiently challenged him enough that he is a legit 20/20 threat every time out.
That he exploded on Marquette Tuesday night – without a foul, 29 points and 23 rebounds – was a game we may not see again for some time. Several media types indicated Hopkins may be the first college player in 25 years to have a 20/20 game with NO fouls.
A lot of those sources came from Milwaukee. Just sayin’.
Hopkins’ 29/23 double-double is the first in the Big East since Seton Hall’s Angel Delgado had a 22/20 game against St. John’s in 2017.
Finally, this Providence team is gaining an identity. Drive it to the rim. Get to the line more than the other guys. And it’s working. The defense isn’t there yet, but it is improving.
Butler has the fewest fouls per game of any team in the nation, at 11.9. Creighton snapped a six-game losing streak against the Bulldogs Thursday…and Butler is the Friars’ next opponent on Dec. 29th at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Remember that Miami loss at Mohegan Sun, Friar fans? The Hurricanes are blowin’ and goin’ in the ACC right now, at the top of the league at 3-0. Isaiah Wong is the 2nd major conference player in the last decade with at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists per game over four straight games.
Michigan State’s Denzel Valentine did that back in 2016 – on his way to winning the Associated Press National Player of the Year award.
Oh, and the TCU loss? The Horned Frogs have now won eight straight with only two of those wins (one against PC) coming with their full roster intact. TCU was 20th in this week’s AP poll.
Want a shocker? PC is 62nd in this week’s kenpom rankings, and only 169th in “luck.” 76th in the NET. They’ll need to move into the 40’s or higher for a legit at-large NCAA shot. Unless the luck factor somehow kicks in.
Which they might need. Providence is a mere 350th (out of 353) in non-conference strength of schedule rating…with no more non-conference games to play.
Bryant (179 kenpom, 145 NET after a Thursday win against Towson), Brown (225 kenpom, 219 NET after beating UNH) and URI (205 kenpom, 272 NET) follow if you’re scoring at home.
When Georgetown held a second half lead on UConn Tuesday night, it was the first time in 13 games this season the second-ranked Huskies have trailed in a second half. UConn hadn’t even trailed anyone by more than six points at any time, until falling behind by seven with 11 minutes left.
The Huskies, naturally, prevailed in the end.
The countdown to a collision at The AMP on January 4th is on.
The Hoyas have now lost 22 straight conference games. If you had said this would happen, oh, maybe five to around 40 years ago, you’d be locked up in a nut farm. And with Patrick Ewing as the coach?
Xavier held off Seton Hall at home this week to join the Friars and Huskies at the top of the early Big East standings. While Texas-El Paso transfer Souley Boum has dazzled in his year thus far at X, the reinvigorated play of Zach Freemantle is a primary reason the Musketeers are realizing preseason potential at present.
Big East All-Transfer team? I’ll take Boum, Manny Bates (Butler), Andre Curbelo (St. John’s), Primo Spears (Georgetown) and Bryce Hopkins. Probably Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman, too. Not sure they’d be great together – they each need the ball in their hands. But formidable.
St. John’s was 11-1 going into Wednesday night at Villanova. Now 11-2. Not (yet) ready for prime time are the Johnnies. The Wildcats have now won five straight and dominated in the middle against improved Red Storm big man Joel Soriano. He needed help that never came.
The first Christmas Day game in Big East history will be Sunday, when Creighton hosts DePaul.
Boston College is 7-6 and 1-1 in the ACC after beating 21st ranked Virginia Tech this week in OT. The Eagles have lost to Maine, UNH and Tarleton State, but former Friar Makai Ashton-Langford led them to the win over the Hokies.
By the way – the nomination list for the Class of ’23 Basketball HOF in Springfield is out – and it again includes Providence’s Joe Mullaney in the Veterans Direct-Elect category as a coach.
It’s way past time for Coach Mullaney’s recognition here – as the mastermind behind the matchup zone, as a coach and program-builder at PC, and as a coach for the LA Lakers. The official announcement will be made February 17th.
My buddy “Big E” sez he bought Mrs. E a new fridge for Christmas, and he can’t wait for her face to light up when she sees it.
The Sin City Miracle? Or the Sin City Meltdown? Depends upon your point of view, I suppose.
Was ‘the lateral’ a Top 10 worst play of all time? How about a Top 2 in the Belichick era…alongside the one in Miami?
Of course, the previously unthinkable was set up by one of the most egregious mistakes made in Official Replay history. You will never convince me otherwise now that we’ve all had time to look it over.
Keelan Cole’s left toe was, in fact, square on the boundary line in the end zone. The front of his shoe was black, which gave it the appearance (from a distance) he was in bounds. He was not. White chalk kicked up in the closeups.
The NFL blew it, and they know they blew it.
As such, it’s time to blow up instant replay. I mean, if we can’t get these calls right because these images aren’t immediately available, then leave it up to the human error factor of the officials on the field.
Why waste more time on an imperfect system? It won’t EVER be perfect.
The worst play of all, in reality, in Sunday’s Vegas meltdown? Putting the defense in position to allow the Raiders to convert on 4th and 10, which eventually resulted in the controversial touchdown, which led to the…oh, you know.
And then before that, of course, was the colossal screw up in the red zone during the first half, calling TWO timeouts on the Raiders’ one yard line. Whatever happened to just punching it in? Is TB12 the only QB who knows how to sneak?
Tweet of the Week, from @ZackCoxNESN: “Fifteen weeks in, the Patriots offense ranks: 32nd in the redzone, 30th in goal-to-goal, 29th on 3rd down. Uncharacteristically poor situational football game after game.”
What he said.
Anyone think BB is taking these screw ups lightly at this late stage of the season? Or does he no longer care?
And who picked up the subtle dig at Mac Jones when asked if a Hail Mary might have been an option at the end and BB replied he “couldn’t throw it that far?” Hmmm.
Don’t want to read too much into that comment, but that’s not a ringing endorsement of your franchise QB, is it?
Mac has taken a step back this season. But much of that is due to coaching, or a lack thereof.
At the beginning of this grand experiment with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, I agreed with you, BB. Good coaches should be able to coach anywhere.
But the game today is so complex, with intricacies and moving parts and athletes with extraordinary abilities. Patricia and Judge can coach, sure. But they clearly can’t do what you need them to do, and what you’ve apparently asked them to do.
It’s time to cut bait. We’re onto 2023.
This doesn’t help matters in trying to improve upon “Team Dysfunction.” Offensive tackle Trent Brown liked a social media post on Instagram this week promoting the Patriots’ “moving on” from Jones as QB.
Yo, Trent? Maybe you should sit this one out, big fella. No one on this flawed team has been penalized more than you have.
Willie McGinest, really? Did you think no one would notice you? Dude, big brother exists. He’s always got eyes, and people always have camera phones. Plus there’s that internet thing, too.
Franco Harris was a player I loved to hate, even from his time as a star at Penn State. But I appreciated him more as time and his career progressed. Shockingly, the Steelers’ Hall of Famer died this week at age 72, just prior to the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception against Oakland.
He was slated to become just the third Pittsburgh player to have his number officially retired this weekend.
Sure, the Steelers ended up short of the Super Bowl in ‘72. But many would tell you the Immaculate Reception was the actual start to Pittsburgh’s dynastic run. It was a truly bizarre play that has resonated through the years like another one this past week, um, undoubtedly will.
Hey, have you found Amazon Prime yet? Brace yourself – the NFL Sunday Ticket package is ready to move from DirecTV – where it has been for 28 years – to YouTube.
The Bruins are winning – to the point of holding the NHL’s best record at midweek. But heard read within media circles that the B’s are fighting through (Cough! Cough!) complacency?
Whoa. Hey, win something other than the months of November and December, like maybe a Cup or two, then complacency could set in. But now?
C’mon man. But they are 18-0-2 at home, so there’s that.
Boston assigned winger Craig Smith to Providence this week after passing through waivers. Seems to be a cap management move more than anything else, but it would be cool to see him lace ‘em up at the AMP.
Want another name for your future goaltending desires? Brandon Bussi. The rookie PBruins netminder led the AHL at midweek in save percentage at .936.
All of a sudden, the Celtics CBO. Can’t Beat Orlando. Two of their five losses in the last six games before Christmas have come from the Magic.
Defense is improving, which was a major issue as the season got started. In the last 10 games, Boston’s defensive rating ranks fourth in the NBA. Now, if they could just get offense and defense together on the same page, they might have something.
ICYMI – Argentina’s win over France in the World Cup final was the second-most watched soccer match…of any kind…in the United States. Nielsen, Fox, and Telemundo report that more than 25
million viewers tuned in, trailing only the 2015 women’s World Cup final that aired in prime time when Team USA beat Japan.
MLS is considering an expanded playoff format for 2023. Probably why the league hasn’t yet set a date for the MLS Cup championship, even though the schedule has been released. The Revs will open on the road Feb. 25th (yes, February!) at Charlotte with the Gillette Stadium opener March 4th against Houston.
Speaking of Charlotte, they drafted URI forward Patrick Agyemang in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft, 12th overall. Agyemang is the highest draft pick in program history.
I’m thinking I should have picked up golf clubs earlier in life. During the 2021-22 PGA season, a record 126 golfers pocketed at least $1 million. The leader in the clubhouse was Scottie Scheffler, who earned a cool $14 million in 25 starts, and another $5.75 million in playoff bonuses.
But I’ll keep working on my 16-handicap and take your $2 Nassau whenever you like.
Happy holidays, and Merry Christmas! Always appreciate your reading and thinking out loud.
Interested in having your questions on local Rhode Island sports (and yes, that includes the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics) answered in a somewhat timely fashion? It’s your chance to “think out loud,” so send your questions, comments, and local stories to jrbroadcaster@gmail.com. We’ll share mailbag comments/Facebook posts/Tweets right here! Would appreciate the follow on Twitter, @JRbroadcaster…and join in on Facebook, www.facebook.com/john.rooke ...
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