What irks Boston Celtics fans more, Marcus Smart to the Lakers, or Ben Simmons rumors?
Needless to say, neither of these offseason news items went over well with a large portion of the Boston faithful, with some riled up by the possibility of seeing a beloved former player suiting up in gold and purple, and others cringing at the notion of Simmons playing for the Celtics.
The folks behind the "NBC Sports Boston" YouTube channel put together a clip taking a closer look at what is behind the visceral responses to both. Check it out below!
Listen to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" on:
Spotify: https://tiny.ee/CdKp
iTunes: https://tiny.ee/RK47
YouTube: https://tiny.ee/cOW3
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: What irks Celtics fans more, Smart to Lakers, or Ben Simmons rumors?
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3 minutes ago
- CNN
US Open will offer the largest purse in tennis history at $90 million
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New York Times
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In the digital age, this nostalgic pastime still has a home — the college football preview magazine
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Steele delivered the magazine a month later, and still does every year. Despite the ever-increasing dominance of digital media, the annual summer rite of preseason college football magazines has endured. There are far fewer options than 20 years ago, but Phil Steele, Athlon and Lindy's still have loyal audiences eager to scarf down season previews and prognostications for 130-plus college football teams. And football fans in Texas still buy up Dave Campbell's Texas Football, a staple since 1960. 'The printed magazine is a quicker, easier reference than even the Internet. The information is in the same spot on every page for every team,' said Steele, whose 2025 edition spans 360 pages. 'If you want to know a score from three years ago, you know exactly where to look. You can close your eyes and point your finger.' 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New York Times
4 minutes ago
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The Patriots are honoring Tom Brady with a statue. Will Belichick, Kraft get similar treatment?
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They tentatively earmarked a Week 5 game in early October against the Miami Dolphins as the date for Brady's return. It would be an opportunity to showcase the statue with Brady in attendance. But the Patriots started the season 1-4, and the Dolphins lost quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to an injury in Week 2. So Fox pivoted and sent Brady and the top broadcast crew to call the Arizona Cardinals-San Francisco 49ers game. The Patriots weren't considered for Fox's top billing after that. So the 12-foot statue — get it? 12 feet? — has remained in hiding. Not even Brady has seen it yet. But at long last, Brady is returning Friday for the team's preseason opener against the Washington Commanders for the unveiling of his statue, which will sit on the pavilion outside the team Hall of Fame. What would you want the @TomBrady statue to look like? 🤔@TheHall | #NEPats — New England Patriots (@Patriots) August 4, 2025 It'll be a great celebration for a great player. But it also opens the door for several tricky questions looking forward: How will the Patriots eventually commemorate legendary coach Bill Belichick? And what will they do for Kraft? Will all three get a similar treatment, perhaps three statues next to each other outside the stadium? And, awkward as it may be, when do they honor Belichick, especially considering how icy the relationship clearly still is after he took offense to comments from Kraft insinuating that hiring Belichick in 2000 was a risky decision? The most likely answer seems to be statues placed near Brady's outside the stadium. But there are rarely easy answers when it comes to how to commemorate the greatest runs — and figures — in your sport's history. Different franchises and different sports handle the question differently. The New York Yankees installed Monument Park beyond the centerfield wall as a place to recognize the franchise's best players. The Montreal Canadiens installed statues of the four best players from their various dynasties. Advertisement But there is no precedent to what the Patriots accomplished in the NFL this century, which complicates how you celebrate their six Super Bowl titles in 18 years. Teams with that level of success have put in varying rules for retiring numbers. The Edmonton Oilers will only retire a player's jersey if he's inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Surely, Brady isn't the only former Patriot headed to Canton, Ohio. Rob Gronkowski should be a shoo-in when he's eligible in 2027. Julian Edelman, who is being inducted into the team Hall of Fame this September, will present an interesting debate when he's eligible next year. Regardless, Brady's No. 12 may be the lone number from the dynasties retired by the Patriots. They've already given out Gronk's No. 87 and Edelman's No. 11 multiple times. (They are currently worn by Jack Westover and Joshua Dobbs, respectively.) But beyond the number and statue, how can they continue to celebrate Brady? And how will they commemorate Belichick's and Kraft's roles in the franchise's success? With Brady, surely the team would love to have him back as often as possible. How else can they pay homage after the last two years? Perhaps it's by celebrating various teams. For example, 2026 will mark the 25th anniversary of the first Super Bowl team, while 2027 will mark the 10th anniversary of the last Super Bowl team. When there are six championship teams, you can find a lot of excuses to get those groups (and, thus, Brady) back together. But the Belichick of it all is where things get a bit uncomfortable. It's been well documented that he and Kraft didn't end up on the greatest of terms. But he's still the best coach of all time, and as such, his accomplishments should be celebrated. It's made more difficult by the fact that he is still coaching at North Carolina, and it seems likely he'd jump at the chance to return to the NFL if he gets one. Should the Pats wait until he retires to honor him? And when they do it, how creative should they get? NFL franchises have taken different approaches to memorializing their greatest coaches. The Chicago Bears practice in Halas Hall. The Packers play at Lambeau Field (though Curly Lambeau did more than just coach). Despite their multitude of memorable players, the Cowboys have only one statue outside their stadium: of Hall of Fame coach Tom Landry. Advertisement One option for the Patriots comes from the college game. A number of universities have celebrated former coaches by naming the field after them — but without changing the stadium name. Nebraska plays on Tom Osborne Field, which is inside Memorial Stadium. Alabama plays on Saban Field, an addition made without changing the name of Bryant-Denny Stadium. No NFL team has named its field, and the league has no restrictions blocking such a move. Perhaps that's too much for the Patriots, considering how things ended. But a statue of Belichick seems likely, perhaps with a star-studded event similar to Brady's when they eventually induct the coach into the franchise's Hall of Fame. Then again, it wouldn't be without precedent to not make as big of a deal for the former head coach. To commemorate their dynasty, the Chicago Bulls put up a statue of Michael Jordan, maybe Brady's lone peer in American pro sports. But there has been little public celebration from the franchise of former coach Phil Jackson — who, like Belichick, won six titles before leaving unhappily — and there's no statue or special area of the United Center celebrating him. Finally, there's the issue of how you honor Kraft. The Pittsburgh Steelers commissioned a statue of former owner Art Rooney two years after he died in 1988. Something similar seems likely for the NFL owner with the most Super Bowls ever. Maybe that means three statues near each other outside the stadium. Maybe it's something more complex. Either way, the greatest player in NFL history is set to return to Foxboro on Friday for a celebration that both immortalizes Brady and generates questions about what is to come for the other figures so central to the franchise's successes. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
