Category: Boston

The 300s 2018 Celtics Summer League Update

Editor’s Note: I’m sure you’ve all seen him on The 300s Podcast with such hot takes as “Uncle Drew was good,” but this is the first of many posts for the one and only Mattes. Lets gooo!

Now that we’ve reached the end of the 2018 NBA Summer League “regular season,” ya boy Mattes is here to update you on what’s been going on with the Boys in Green on the day of their MUCH ANTICIPATED (catch the sarcasm?) matchup with the New York Knicks’ summer squad in the first round of the league’s playoff tournament.

New Bird in Town

Larry Legend he is not, but youngster Jabari Bird has continued to make a name for himself this summer. I say that he has “continued” to do so because this guy isn’t actually entirely “new” – Bird was selected by the C’s with the 57th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and has already made his NBA debut, which came as early as last October.

Bird then snuck onto the court quite a bit at the end of last season as well, averaging 16.0 minutes, 6.8 points, and 3.0 rebounds per game over the team’s final five regular-season contests, on 63 percent shooting from the field.

As if those numbers aren’t impressive enough, I was actually there, in the flesh, at the TD Garden on April 6, when Bird went off for 15 points in 24 minutes against the Bulls – with three rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block, to boot. Bird was freakin’ relentless with his energy and intensity throughout the entire game, wowing the crowd with his quickness and INSANE athleticism (seriously, this kid can FLY and throws down some pretty gnarly dunks!), leading me to keep looking over at my nephew and asking the question: “Seriously, WHO THE FUCK IS THIS KID??!!” (Relax. He’s 14. He’s heard profanity before, all right??!!)

Though he didn’t receive any burn in the playoffs, Bird has undoubtedly been one of the stars of the summer league, averaging 18.0 points and almost five boards per game through three contests. Coach Jay Larranaga, Brad’s top assistant who was chosen to lead the team’s summer league squad, has continued to rave about Bird’s play and seemed to imply the other day that the 23-year-old could potentially see some more action this fall if he works a bit more on his defense.

That is…if Bird is actually on the roster.

Bird is currently a restricted free agent this summer (that was fast!) and has already garnered some interest from teams like Minnesota and Philadelphia, per the Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn. The Celts, though, may be unwilling to pony up anything more than the $77,250 qualifying offer they’ve already extended to Bird earlier this summer.

Also, particularly if Marcus Smart does return, there may not even be a whole lot of minutes available for Bird in the rotation this upcoming seasonRegardless of what happens, this kid deserves some recognition, and here’s to hoping he can be a nice end-of-the-bench secret weapon for the Green in 2018-19.

Bad Start for Bob

If you listened to Sunday’s podcast, you heard Red and I briefly discuss the Celtics’ newest member and only 2018 draft pick, Robert Williams, to whom I am affectionately referring as “Bob” for the time being.

You see, Bob is super talented. He is a 6’10”, 240-ish-pound athletic freak who could really serve as a force the team has been lacking down low for quite some time. In fact, ESPN thought so highly of Williams as a player that he was ranked as their 12th overall prospect (ESPN Insider subscription required) in the draft, which is amazing because the Celtics got him with the TWENTY-SEVENTH pick in the first round, leading many to believe Danny Ainge has duped the league again and obtained the steal of the year.

But, Mattes, why would a guy who supposedly should’ve been a lottery pick fall all the way to the end of the first round, just three picks away from missing out on being drafted in the first round entirely?

Well, my friends, that is because perhaps we should be more aptly referring to him as “Fred,” or rather “Forgetful Fred,” as the kid seriously needs to start getting his shit together.

After already being flagged by many scouts for effort and motor issues – hence the fall from grace on draft night – he then missed what was supposed to be his first conference call as a Celtic the very next morning after he was drafted because he overslept. Oh, AND THEN he missed the team’s flight out to Vegas a week later, subsequently missing the team’s first summer league practice.

Way to start off with a bang, Bob!

He was able to play in the team’s first summer league game on July 6, piling up four points and two rebounds in seven minutes of action…before exiting the game in the first quarter with what is being considered a knee contusion. Williams then sat out the rest of that game, and he was not able to play in either of the team’s two other summer league contests so far.

NOW, we get the news, first reported by Fred Katz at MassLive, that the rookie has an artery condition in his legs which can cause cramping, fatigue, and calf pain when being active. It’s being described as “not too serious,” and apparently the team was aware of the condition on draft night. However, it’s still not the most comforting thing to hear about your 20-year-old rookie stud.

Woof!

Look, I’m not saying to sound the alarm yet. I’m just saying it hasn’t been the most glorious start for the young fella.

But hey, I wasn’t completely ready to start adulting at 20 years old either, and at least he’s not getting in brawls or being a creep off the court. Also, the team doesn’t seem too worried about the other health-related stuff, so I won’t sweat it too much yet either.

You got the talent, Bob, and we’re all sure as hell rooting for ya. It can only go up from here.

Smart STILL Waiting

After a WHIRLWIND first few days of free agency throughout the NBA – which included the King choosing to flee Cleveland for the Land of Angels, Paul George deciding to stay put in OKC, and DeMarcus Cousins effectively ending the point of even watching the NBA next year by joining the damn Warriors – it seems as though some of the other premier free agents slipped through the cracks a bit, which includes our friend Marcus Smart.

I, for one, am a BIG Marcus Smart fan, and I believe his tough, grit-and-balls style of play WILL win us a championship in the next year or two. While his offensive numbers don’t pop off the stat sheet – and while he has taken maybe one-too-many three pointers (or 90) in his career – there are very few players in the league that can make as much of an impact on a game defensively as Smart. The guy gives a MILLION-percent effort every night, every play, and I think people are really overlooking the value he brings to this team.

Alas, the NBA is a business, as they say, and poor Marcus feels a bit slighted that he isn’t receiving the type of offers he expected to get once he hit the market as a restricted free agent this summer. Even worse, he claims the Celtics have barely tried to work with him at all throughout the negotiation process, and now he feels unwanted. (Considering the fact that Dante-FREAKIN’-Exum received a three-year, $33 million deal for being pretty mediocre on the bench in Utah for the past four seasons, one of which he missed entirely, I can’t really blame Smart for being so butthurt.)

It seems as though the Celtics aren’t willing to offer anything more than a one-year qualifying offer at this point, and if Smart wants to remain in Green this year then that’s what he’s going to have to accept. He could then simply play his balls off this year and hope that the market’s better for him next summer, when he’ll also be unrestricted and have way more freedom to go wherever the hell he wants.

However, per NBC Sports Boston’s A. Sherrod Blakely, perhaps Sacramento is interested in paying up for Smart after offering Zach LaVine almost $80 million this offseason (barf!), only to see Chicago match the offer and bring LaVine back to the Windy City. If the Kings were to offer the same, or even $20 million or $30 million less than that, for Smart, the Celtics would have a very difficult time matching and would most likely end up losing a key rotation piece.

I understand that money rules the world, and if the Kings offer that much money then the Celts are going to need to let Smart walk.

But come on, Danny, figure something out. And quick. We can’t lose this guy.

So there you have it! Your mid-summer report on the Green. Be sure to keep checking in with The 300s for more updates throughout the rest of the offseason, and subscribe to The 300s Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, and now Spotify!

Till next time…

The 300s Podcast: The Dog Days of Summer Mean It’s Officially Red Sox Season

Start your weekend early with The 300s Podcast + it only takes 2 minutes before the first “Homer at the Bat” reference. Listen, subscribe, rate and review on iTunes, Google Play, and The 300s Podcast is also NOW ON SPOTIFYYYYY

Seeing as its the dog days of summer and there’s no other Boston teams playing, unless you count the Revs and the Cannons, pretty much everyone’s attention has shifted towards the Red Sox finally. So that’s what we’re gonna focus on today.

BONUS: If you catch the obscure reference 37 minutes in and tweet us a GIF from that movie, you win a prize.

-The Death of Baseball has been Greatly Exaggerated
-Outlaw the Shift?!
-Why Does the Media Insist Nobody Cares About the Red Sox When Ratings Are in Fact UP?
-JD Martinez may legitimately challenge for the Triple Crown this year.
-The 300’s Top 3

Reports of Baseball’s Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

Dan Shaughnessy’s column from Sunday afternoon on the demise of baseball generated a lot of buzz, and the topic has dominated Boston sports talk radio this week. When Shaughnessy, a J. G. Taylor Spink Award recipient, says that Major League Baseball is in trouble people listen. His points are fair, even if not fresh: too many bad teams, slow pace of play, too many strikeouts, the rise of analytics, and the lack of star power are all hurting the appeal of the game. But as Nick Cafardo pointed out on Tuesday night, they don’t appear to be hurting the game’s appeal in Boston.

The Red Sox are victims of their own success (and drama). They broke the curse in 2004, went wire-to-wire and won another championship in 2007, experienced one of the biggest September collapses in the history of the game in 2011, and won another championship in 2013 after a city tragedy. There have been lots of highs, lows, and drama over the last 15 years. What could they do in July, 2018 that could match any of that sports talk radio buzz? What trade deadline deal could possibly top the Nomar trade? No wonder the Sox aren’t talked about as much on WEEI or the Sports Hub as they were 5, 10 or 15 years ago. That doesn’t mean that people don’t care about this team, and it obviously doesn’t mean that people aren’t watching.

The Red Sox sold out every game at Fenway Park from May 15, 2003, to April 8, 2013. [Sure, the sellout streak was a bit of a joke at the end, but it was very real for poor college students trying to get tickets at face value in the mid-2000s.] The Red Sox dominated the Boston sports scene for most of that time. The fact that they are no longer the most discussed team is largely out of their control.

The greatest quarterback and coach in the history of the National Football League are both in New England right now. It’d be shocking if the Patriots didn’t own the region. With the Celtics championship in 2008 and the Bruins Stanley Cup win in 2011, the city’s sports talk landscape became a lot more crowded over the last 15 years. All four Boston teams have never all been this good at the same time.

That’s not to say that baseball is fine and that it’s never been better. Baseball does need to make some changes to adapt to the times. The NFL has shown far more willingness than MLB to tweak its rules over the past 20 years, but baseball has shown an ability to adapt in the past. Lowering the mound and adding the designated hitter seemed like radical ideas at the time, but those ideas worked out okay. Rob Manfred has shown a willingness to make changes and improvements, and I’m confident more will be done.

The changes don’t need to be radical, either. Eliminate shifts [and increase offense other than home runs] by requiring two infielders to stay to the left of second base or by requiring all infielders to remain on the infield dirt. Implement a salary floor to disincentivize tanking and hopefully more decent non-playoff teams emerge. Take a few games off the regular season, and increase the division series to seven games, to make the regular season more interesting.

Baseball ain’t perfect, but don’t tell me people don’t care about the Red Sox the way they used to.

 

“The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It’s been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good, and that could be again. Oh people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.”

Red Sox to Close First Half with 10 Games in 10 Days

What a difference [not even] a week makes. After last weekend’s let down in the Bronx, the Red Sox appear to be back on track. Here are some thoughts as the Red Sox close out the first half of the season with 10 games in 10 days.

  • The Red Sox are in Kansas City this weekend for a three-game series with the last-place Royals. It’s the first of six-straight series for the Red Sox against sub-.500 teams. Their next 20 games will all be against sub-.500 teams, and nine of those 20 games will be against the three last-place teams in the American League. As Saul Goodman would say, it’s time to make hay while the sun is still shining.
  • David Price’s performance last Sunday night against the Yankees was the biggest disappointment of the weekend. The Red Sox did well to put it behind them as they went to Washington and swept the Nationals. Now Price will have a chance to put it behind him as he takes the mound Saturday night against the Royals. The Royals would seem to be a good team for Price to rebound against, as they’ve scored the fewest runs in the American League this season.
  • After the All-Star break the Red Sox will open the second half of the season on a six-game road trip. After that road trip, though, 34 of their final 58 games will be at home. The Red Sox have a .700 winning percentage at home so far this season.
  • If Price can get back on track against the Royals and then Blue Jays before the All-Star break, Cora could start him the second game after the All-Star break. That would set him up perfectly to miss the four-game series against the Yankees August 2-5. It’s crazy to think about managing opponents for a pitcher making $30 million this season, but that might be where we are with Price at this point. [Incidentally, that would also set him up to miss the series in New York in mid-September if the rotation stays on track.]
  • If the Red Sox finish the regular season with the best record in the American League, they could be on a collision course with the Yankees… in the division series. The team with the best regular-season record faces the winner of the Wild Card game in the division series. If the Red Sox have a chance to get “creative” down the stretch, they may want to remember that the division winner with the second-best record will likely get to face the winner of the American League Central in the division series.

Crushed Price

It strains the imagination to conceive of Price pitching any worse than he did. He allowed eight runs courtesy of five – yes, five – home runs in 3 1/3 innings of an 11-1 laugher that left the Red Sox and Yankees tied once again atop the AL East.

After nine career starts against the Yankees with the Red Sox, Price’s ERA is 8.43. At Yankee Stadium, he is 0-5 with a 10.44 ERA.

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I don’t how much else there is to say about David Price and last night’s game. Another disastrous outing against the Yankees for him. If I were Alex Cora, though, I’d start thinking about finding ways to limit Price’s appearances against the Yankees. Seriously.

The Red Sox have ten games left against the Yankees in the regular season. Those ten games include a four-game series in Boston the first weekend of August, a three-game set in the Bronx in mid-September, and another three-game set in Boston to close out the regular season. At the very least, Cora should find a way to make Price miss the series in New York.

That’s more difficult with both Drew Pomeranz and Steven Wright on the disabled list, but it’s still a proposition worth exploring. If the Sox have an extra off day the week of a Yankees series, maybe move up Price to miss the Yankees series. If the Sox are playing 12 straight days going into a Yankees series, maybe bring up a minor leaguer to “give everyone an extra day of rest,” and push Price back.

Cora shouldn’t embarrass Price, but he should get creative. It shouldn’t matter to Cora how much Price is getting paid. Do what’s best for the team by putting Price in the best positions to succeed.

Price is 9-6 through 17 starts this season, and the Red Sox are 11-6 in the games he’s started. If he could repeat that in the second half of the season, the Red Sox would take it. Wins against the Yankees in the regular season don’t count extra. If Price can give more for the team against the Rays, Blue Jays and Orioles, take it.

Danny Ainge Should Give the Spurs a Godfather Offer for Kawhi Leonard. Godfather: Part II, I Mean

No, no, no, not a “Godfather offer” as is commonly used to describe an offer you cannot refuse. I’m talking about a Godfather: Part II offer.

Rumors are starting to heat up surrounding the Spurs’ trade partners for Kawhi Leonard, which the Celtics are prominently mentioned in. The Spurs have to trade Kawhi and Danny Ainge knows it. The whole league knows it. So why he would go out on a limb and trade one of his best young players for a guy that is almost assured to walk in 12 months is asinine. Sure Kyrie could walk at the end of next year too, but you traded an injured Isaiah Thomas and the No. 8 pick for 2 seasons of him.

Offer the Spurs a couple of low draft picks and maybe a bench guy like Terry Rozier and see if the Spurs bite. If not, then good day sir because I like this team heading into next season as is. The Celtics don’t have to add Kawhi. The Spurs do have to trade Kawhi though. And it would seem from all the rumors out there that the Spurs would rather send him East just to spite him rather than simply handing him to the Lakers.

Advantage: Ainge.

So let them take your blatant low ball offer, or they can go digging for gold with the Lakers, who, ironically considering the title of this blog, are now rumored to be planning a “Godfather offer” for the Spurs.

Your move, Danny. Don’t mortgage the future for 12 months of a guy who played only 9 more games in the NBA than me last year. I would love Kawhi Leonard on this team, but only on our terms. There’s no sense in pushing all your chips to the middle of the table for ONE run at this, not with Golden State still lurking in the West.

Why Can’t We Get Players Like Adrian Beltre?

It would take some creative thinking to bring Adrian Beltre back to the Red Sox, nearly eight years after a different front office regime let him get away.

Dombrowski’s mostly winning habit of wheeling and dealing has left the Boston farm system thin in the caliber of prospects required to entice Beltre’s employer, the Texas Rangers, to send him this way…

The margin might be even thinner between the Red Sox’ current payroll (in the range of $233 million) and the massive financial punishment that comes from surpassing the highest luxury-tax tier ($237 million).

It’s a bummer, but it’s the truth.

I’m always in favor of trading prospects for established veterans. Buy low, sell high. Who is the last prospect the Red Sox dealt that turned into a Hall of Famer, MVP, or All-Star? Jeff Bagwell? The Red Sox didn’t get much out of the Jon Lester or John Lackey trades in 2014, but they were sellers that year which kind of proves my point. Even with the Lester trade, though, they later flipped their return in that deal (Yoenis Cespedes) for a future Cy Young Award winner (Rick Porcello).

And remind me, what’s Anderson Espinoza (from the Drew Pomeranz trade) up to these days Tony?

I also do not care about the Red Sox luxury tax situation. Obviously it’s not my money, but the Red Sox have the money. Can you really put a price on another ring?

So when I say the Red Sox shouldn’t pick up Adrian Beltre, it’s strictly for baseball reasons.

Beltre is by all accounts a great teammate and still hitting .309 at age 39 this season. He could give the Red Sox some better at bats lower in their lineup, but it would take plate appearances away from Rafael Devers and Jackie Bradley Jr. Devers is hitting just .234 through 77 games, but he does have 12 home runs and 40 RBI. Bradley is hitting .199 this season, but he’s at .303 over his last 10 games and still provides excellent defense in center field.

Even if you think taking plate appearances away from Devers and Bradley is a good thing, and that Beltre would improve their offense, the offense is not the Red Sox problem. The Red Sox have the highest team batting average in baseball and more hits than any other team. They’re second in runs scored and home runs.

If Dave Dombrowski is going to break the bank next month, he should do it for a bullpen arm.

And one last thing about the Red Sox letting Beltre “get away” after 2010. Before coming to Boston, Beltre was a .270 career hitter who averaged 24 home runs and 87 RBI per 162 games. He had a great season in Boston in 2010, hitting .321 with 49 doubles, 28 home runs, 102 RBI and an OPS of .919 at age 31. How were the Red Sox supposed to predict that Beltre would hit .308 from age 32 on? Nearly 40 points higher than his batting average from age 19 to 31. How would they have predicted he’d average 30 home runs and 104 RBI per 162 games from age 32 on? They also had a chance to acquire the younger Adrian Gonzalez.

I’ll rip the Sox when I think they’re wrong, but I would’ve made the same move and would still make it again tomorrow. Not all moves pan out, but to say the Red Sox let Beltre “get away” is a little bit of revisionist history.

Now the NFL Doesn’t Know What Edelman Tested Positive For; NFL Scientists Trying to Figure it Out

SI – “I know what Julian Edelman posted on Instagram in the wake of the suspension news (“I don’t know what happened”) came off as a little weird, but there is an explanation for it. I was told Edelman’s result was triggered by a substance that wasn’t immediately recognizable, and there are scientists analyzing it. And as to the timing, the test did happen during the offseason (a couple months ago), which means it’s not for any kind of stimulant. You might remember the rash of players saying they got popped for Adderall—the rules have changed now so that offseason use of stimulants falls under the substances of abuse policy, rather than the PED policy.”

Late last week Julian Edelman got popped for PEDs, but it wasn’t immediately known what he had actually tested positive for. However, Bert Breer of MMQB reported today that Edelman’s “I don’t know what happened” defense may not be totally unfounded because apparently the NFL doesn’t know what happened either.

I was told Edelman’s result was triggered by a substance that wasn’t immediately recognizable, and there are scientists analyzing it.”

Ask anyone who has read “Game of Shadows” or “Juiced” or followed really any of the Olympic track scandals over the past 20 years; the steroid scientists are always ahead of the league scientists. Its just a constant game of catch up as the leagues are trying to reverse engineer everything and figure out what to test for. With that being said, when they do pop someone its usually a hybrid substance or a masking agent of another substance that triggers the test. Breer makes it seem like Edelman tested positive for something the NFL has never seen. But if thats the case, then is the substance he took actually banned? Did Edelman even know if it was or wasn’t?

I mean technically, if its not a banned substance then you can’t suspend a guy for it. You would have to at least inform the NFLPA that it will soon be banned and that it will be tested for in the future. Without knowing all the details its hard to say who’s more in the wrong here (neither Edelman nor the NFL are in the right) because if you’re the NFL how can you suspend a guy for something you didn’t know even existed let alone banned? If you’re Edelman WTF are you doing taking something that isn’t 100% approved by the NFL. A lot of players won’t even step foot in a GNC anymore because who the hell knows whats in half of the supplements they sell? If you don’t know, then don’t risk it.

So the real question is what did Edelman test positive for? Adamantium? Vibranium? The symbiote that forms Venom?

Or is it a TB12 cocktail? I’m certainly not going to point the finger because it would be criminally negligent for Alex Guerrero and Tom Brady to be signing off on anything even approaching questionable as part of the TB12 Method. Doing so would essentially submarine a potential billion dollar business in a second.

But thats not to say the media won’t make the connection, allude to the connection, or nearly come to blows arguing over the mere mention of a possible connection.

Either way the Patriots have become a constant source of drama and gossip this offseason, which is the antithesis of what this team has been for the past 18 years. Thats tough to ignore because where there’s smoke there’s usually fire. But until that shoe drops, I fully expect the team to win 12+ games and be chasing another Super Bowl this year. So for all the critics calling for the end of the dynasty, saying every great team run ends the same; It only ends once. Everything before that is just progress.

Julian Edelman Just Got Popped for PEDs and is Facing a 4 Game Suspension

ESPN – New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman is facing a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances, league sources told ESPN on Thursday. The suspension is currently under appeal as Edelman has taken “hundreds of tests” and has not tested positive before, a source told ESPN..Edelman, who has been a regular participant in the team’s offseason program, OTAs and minicamp, is returning from an ACL tear during the 2017 preseason that forced him to miss the entire season. He turned 32 years old last month and is entering his 10th season in the NFL.

Goddamnit, Jules.

This is not what the Patriots need right now. Not with all the drama surrounding Brady v Belichick. Not with Gronk nearly retiring to become a wrestler. Especially not with the receiving corps being comprised primarily of cast offs and new faces. If Edelman misses the first 4 games that means the Patriots receiver depth chart will look something like this (barring roster cuts):

  • Chris Hogan
  • Kenny Britt
  • Phillip Dorsett
  • Malcolm Mitchell
  • Jordan Matthews
  • Cordarrelle Patterson
  • Riley McCarron
  • Braxton Berrios
  • Cody Hollister
  • Matthew Slater

Besides the fact that we lose Edelman for a month, does anyone really care about the sanctity of the game? Football fans aren’t a bunch of MLB HOF voters wielding the vaunted morality clause, which is the biggest difference between football and any other sport. A baseball player tests positive and its the lead story on SportsCenter and that athlete is required to do the Game of Thrones shame walk with the crazy nun before they’re allowed to play again.

I heard Edelman got popped for PEDs and I just thought oh goddamnit, now we’re really gonna miss Danny Amendola. Totally unfair to baseball, but thats what happens when you build your entire sport around numbers and records and then a couple of juiced up sluggers completely destroy said record book by ingesting and injecting everything under the sun into their bodies.

I really just don’t care mainly because I’m jaded having grown up in the rise and fall of the steroid era. I read “Juiced” and “Game of Shadows” in high school and witnessed the fallout with all of these athletes getting outed over the years so many times that I just am numb to it.

The most similar example of then 31-year-old Edelman’s case has to be Rodney Harrison in 2007. Harrison was also suspended the first 4 games of the season for PEDs after coming off a serious shoulder and knee injury that ended his 2006 season at the age of 34. My point being, whether its naive or not, HGH is probably the No. 1 supplement to help an athlete recover from an injury. Is it banned? You bet. But if I’m in my 30’s staring down the barrel at the end of my career, then you bet your ass I’m taking whatever I can to get back to 100% as fast as possible.

What will be really interesting though is the connection, real or imagined, that is made between Edelman’s PED usage and his time working with Alex Guerrero and the TB12 Method. There’s probably no connection as it was made abundantly clear in Tom vs Time that Edelman loves to lift weights more than anything the TB12 Method could offer in terms of pliability and exercise bands. But, as we all know Guerrero has a shady past selling all kinds of shit so the questions will be asked no doubt.

PS – I will be using this as an opportunity to go on the attack if people start with the “Patriots are cheaters” bullshit, particularly in the wake of Peyton Manning’s HGH scandal. Jerry Thornton is doing God’s work over at Barstool keeping everyone apprised of that story. Basically Manning’s lawyers confirmed that Peyton took the HGH, which he publicly denied taking, saying it was for his wife. So a guy who had made over $100 Million in his career was getting his wife’s medicine shipped to some shit hole clinic in downtown Indianapolis IN A STRIP MALL. Get outta here with that nonsense.

 

The 300s Podcast: Red Sox on Pace for 100+ Wins? Are You Team Brady or Team Belichick?

The latest episode of The 300s Podcast is LIVE! Click here to listen or download on iTunes or Google Play.

On this episode Red and Big Z discuss:

-For a team on pace to win 100+ games I don’t feel overly confident about this Red Sox team in the playoffs.

-The Sox cut their No. 3 hitter and it took less than a week for it to blow up in their face with both Dustin Pedroia and Mookie Betts now on the DL.

-Is JD Martinez the Best Red Sox Free Agent Signing Since Manny Ramirez?

-How concerned are Red and Big Z about all this Patriots drama?

-Are you Team Brady or Team Belichick?