Jerod Mayo Coming Back to New England as Patriots Linebackers Coach

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I love everything about this.

On Tuesday, former Patriots stud linebacker Jerod Mayo announced, via Instagram, that he would be joining Bill Belichick’s defensive staff, serving as linebackers coach under new defensive coordinator Greg Schiano.

This one kind of came out of nowhere. I hadn’t heard any rumors connecting the former All-Pro to the Pats before this, but to be honest it almost makes too much sense. Mayo was the consummate pro during his eight seasons with the team. Not only did he serve as one of the league’s better defenders – for at least the first half of his career before injuries took a toll – but he was also just a selfless, brilliant leader, both on the field and off.

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After being selected with the 10th overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft, Mayo burst onto the scene as one of the league’s top all-around linebackers, averaging over 130 tackles per year through his first five seasons. In fact, he was absolutely incredible in 2010, when he registered 175 total tackles (with two sacks and three fumble recoveries to boot), earning First-Team All-Pro honors. And though the team lost the only Super Bowl he was able to play in (2011), he still was one of the main reasons they were even there in the first place. Mayo was finally able to get his ring in 2014, after the team beat the Seahawks, even though he could not play in the actual Super Bowl due to the fact he was on I.R. at the time.

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He really was one of the game’s best for a couple years.

Sadly, such injuries began to really take their toll in the latter half of his career, and he was only able to play in 28 out of a total 51 games over his last three campaigns. He ultimately decided to retire after the 2015 season, at only 29 years old.

So while he may not have had the longest career in the world, there are very few players who have garnered more respect and adoration during their time in a Patriots uniform than Mayo. Everyone from former players to sportswriters to Belichick himself have shown no reservation in their praise for him and the type of person he was during his time in Foxborough. There’s no doubt that he’ll be an asset to this staff.

Especially during an offseason where we’ve seen such turnover, in terms of both players and coaches alike, this is a very refreshing piece of news. (And who knows? Maybe he can actually teach our linebackers how to cover someone!)

Congrats, Jerod! Welcome back!

#RushHourRap – Travis Barker – Let’s Go

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So I finally got around to listening to the Travis Barker episode of the Joe Rogan Podcast and it was an excellent way to spend an hour and a half. Travis is one of the most interesting dudes in music with some crazy stories including everything from the early days of Blink 182 to his insane airplane crash but it also got me thinking of this underrated project from back in 2011; Give the Drummer Some. It was really something out of left field and as Travis described it, there had never really been a spot for a live drummer in a rap performance. Well he put this album together from scratch and got some of the biggest names in rap to appear on the album. LETS GOO

Red Sox Going With Closer by Committee to Start the Season

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WEEI – Matt Barnes. Ryan Brasier. Heath Hembree. Brandon Workman. Brian Johnson, Colten Brewer. Hector Velazquez. Tyler Thornburg.

Thornburg is the highest-paid member of the group at $1.7 million despite not proving to be an effective big leaguer since 2016. Two guys the mix to close games — Barnes and Brasier — have a combined two career saves to their credit. Hembree has never been relied on as a consistent late-inning guy. Workman has never seen a full season in the majors. Johnson and Velazquez are more perceived as long men/spot starters than high-leverage options. And Brewer’s major league debut last season with San Diego resulted in 11 appearances in which he gave up 10 runs on 15 hits and seven walks.

And you know what? Alex Cora genuinely remains really optimistic about what he has to work with.

Closer. By. Committee. The three most feared words in all of baseball. Seriously, it’s NEVER a good idea and I am still scarred by the mere mention of it after the disaster that was the 2003 Red Sox. Byung-Hyun Kim, anyone? Kim, Brandon Lyon, Chad Fox, Mike Timlin, Tim Wakefield, Casey Fossum, Alan Embree, Jason Shiell (who?), Bronson Arroyo, and Robert Person all had saves for the Boston Red Sox in 2003. Thats TEN dudes that got the ball in the 9th inning. There’s a reason they went out and paid boatloads of money for Keith Foulke that offseason and then actually won the World Series the following season.

Lets just take a look at the Red Sox recent championship history as it relates to the closer position.

  • In 2018, there were four guys that recorded a save, with Craig Kimbrel racking up 42/46.
  • In 2013, there were three guys that recorded a save, with Koji Uehara racking up 21/33.
  • In 2007, there were five guys that recorded a save, with Jonathan Papelbon racking up 37/45.
  • In 2004, there were four guys that recorded a save, with Keith Foulke racking up 32/36.

Have I made my point clear enough?

Don’t get it twisted, I am not the guy campaigning to give Kimbrel and his wildly inconsistent performances $100M, but I do prefer to give the job to one guy until he proves he cannot handle the job. None of this closer by committee junk that 100,000% will fail spectacularly.

The manager added, “One thing we found out towards the end, that although the people outside our world think we’re short on pitching, we’re not, and we’re going to be fine.”

I understand that there isn’t a young stud closer waiting the wings. There isn’t a Papelbon pushing Foulke out the door on this roster, but what worries me about the Sox is how they went about this. And I knew they would the second they won the World Series too. All summer we railed against the team for not making any big trades to shore up the bullpen and how it would be the end of them. Naturally they fell ass backwards into Ryan Brasier and Joe Kelly turned into 2003 Eric Gagne for a month and the Sox cruised to another title. Now Dave Dombrowski is pointing to what the team did last year and their philosophy on the position and the results they got. Except the only problem is that shit ain’t normal. Joe Kelly will never pitch that well for that long again. Ryan Brasier could be an absolute diamond in the rough, but he could also revert to the guy that was pitching in Japan before the Sox signed him last year.

So to not only double down on that devil may care attitude with the bullpen, but then to also make no moves while guys like Kelly and (probably) Kimbrel walked is not ideal.

But hey did you hear that Tyler Thornburg is close to returning from injury for the third consecutive year??

Oh man, I hope this Durbin Feltman kid really does fly through the minor leagues this year and is ready for prime time because this could get ugly quick. Hopefully he’s more Papelbon than Craig Hansen though.

It’s not that I’m down on all of the individual relievers themselves because they’ve all proved they can be more than effective…in certain roles. If we are looking to go the 2003 route where the Sox had 10 guys vying for saves, then I think this team is in big trouble.

Conor McGregor Has Tweeted He’s Retired. Is He Really Though?

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So at 1:18am Eastern Standard Time Conor Anthony McGregor “broke the internet” with this tweet, his second of such a message. Remember, almost three years ago he dropped a very similar bombshell.

 

So is that it? Is “The Notorious” done fighting? It wouldn’t not make sense. He’s made boatloads of money and turned himself into an international brand in the process. If he is smart in his business ventures, which he seems to be, he can continue to grow his vast fortune without getting punched in the face.

But that’s where people get it a little twisted. You see, not many people enter a career where their source of income is to get punched in the face unless they enjoy the carnage, competition, and blast of adrenaline that comes with it. Sure, there are the Derrick Lewis-types who just have big, heavy hands, and see fighting as a much more lucrative alternative to changing tires. But for a lot of fighters, McGregor included, this is in their blood. Especially when, although he now has financial pursuits outside of the cage, he indeed can still make a hell of lot inside of it too.

Conor McGregor is not done fighting. It just isn’t in the cards, yet.

So what is he on about here? Why is he dropping this and what is he trying to accomplish? Well, I think the first question is simple enough to answer and the second could have a few possible explanations.

The problem with Conor the Fighter now is that the illusion of Conor the Fighter is gone. He was a Goddam world beater. For a time he was unstoppable. Mystic Mac. He knocked out one of the most dominant fighters of his generation in Jose Aldo, and he did it in mere seconds. But then came Chad Mendes, and some holes were exposed in an eventual victory. Then came Nate Diaz, and he got beat. Then came Nate Diaz again, and he slinked by. Then came Khabib Nurmagodmedov and he got steamrolled.  So instead of being a Demigod with two belts Conor McGregor is now a very talented, ultra charismatic lightweight with no belts. It is to the point where Dana White did not want McGregor vs. Donald Cerrone, a very popular fighter in his own right, to headline an event. Coming off a loss and without a belt McGregor may just have not been that kind of draw anymore.

So to answer the first question of “why?”, he is quite literally leaving us wanting more. He wants the fans and media to remember the good times and beg for him back. And when he does come back it will be with a heroes welcome and a roar of the crowd. He may have even seen the reaction to Gronk’s recent retirement and said, “hey, look at that.”

But what is his end game? Ultimately what does he seek in his return? Well, there’s a few possibilities.

1.) He wants a share in the UFC
Conor said, I’m pretty sure last week, that he really doesn’t care if he fights in the ME or on the pre-lims as long as he is paid what he is worth, which includes a partnership in the company. It makes sense in a way. Even if he is not the ME, a large number of those PPV buys will be for Conor McGregor, so he should get a cut of that. But this scenario is simply not going to happen in my opinion. For Dana White, this would just open way too much of a floodgate.

2.) He is luring out Nate Diaz
Even though Diaz vs. McGregor III would be the most financially lucrative fight for both men right now, Diaz has actually sounded like he is not as interested as of late. He tweeted/IG’d out something recently that he beat Conor’s ass twice already and that Dustin Poirier was, in fact, a pussy (Remember Poirier dropped out of a recent Diaz-Poirier match up. Beyond that I am not sure why he was caught in Nate’s cross-hairs. O well). So maybe Conor is walking away to get Nate’s attention? Maybe this sets off a patented Diaz social media attack and gets the fighters, the fans, the media, and the UFC bought into this third match up? It wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world and one that comes with a big pay day.

3.) He is taking a page out of Nate Diaz’s book and simply shelving himself until they desperately need him to save a card
This is 100% what Nate Diaz is doing by the way. The nixed Poirier fight aside, Nate Diaz is keeping in shape, talking some occasional shit, and waiting for a main or co-main to fall through on short notice so that the UFC needs a big name to save it and is willing to cut a big check to get them to do so. To that end, Conor is kind of back-dooring his old nemesis here. 9/10 if the 155lb division needs someone to step in the Irishman would be the first choice. Not always, however. If the Fight Gods smile on the upcoming Poirier-Holloway Interim Lightweight Title Fight in April, then the winner ostensibly fights Khabib when he returns in the fall for the real belt. This is a huge if by the way as both fighters have pulled out of past fights. Anyway, should Dagestan’s favorite son’s challenger fall out of the unification bout, I can’t see them giving Conor another crack after the mauling he took. Not before he wins again. So Nate could get that fight, although his dormancy is becoming more and more of an issue.

But that fight itself? Poirier-Holloway? Giving one of those guys a rematch against the phenom who slowed their ascent when they wore a younger man’s clothes? Sure. What about the Iaquinta-Cerrone fight? Imagine Conor saying “fuck it” and fighting on a Fox card to earn his possible, eventual rematch with Khabib?

Whichever way you spin it, I see either reason 2 or 3 as the most plausible for McGregor’s random tweet. Sure, he could have accomplished either end without tweeting out his retirement but this makes it all that much more dramatic.

If Jordan never came back with the 45, would it have been such a come back?

-Joey B.

With Ryan Fitzpatrick Joining His Third AFC East Team, I Have Found the Perfect Group Halloween Costume

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I remember seeing this idea a few years back when Jaromir Jagr was playing for the Bruins en route to finishing his NHL career having played for 9 teams over 24 years.

Well I would say we’ve officially reached that point with Ryan Fitzpatrick. Everyone’s favorite gigantic bearded, wedding ring wearing, smart as hell, bridge quarterback will join his 8th NFL team in Miami this season. It also will mark him playing for 3/4ths of the AFC East. So who knows, maybe if he kicks around for a couple of more years he could complete the rounds and be a veteran backup QB to the next great Patriots signal caller? We can only hope.

So if 7 of my other friends want to create the greatest Halloween costume of the season, the Ryan Fitzpatrick group costume is the way to go boys.

Gronk Calls It Quits

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 AP – The New England Patriots’ gentle giant has decided to hang up his cleats.

Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski said Sunday that he is retiring from the NFL after nine seasons.

Gronkowski announced his decision via a post on Instagram , saying that a few months shy of his 30th birthday “it’s time to move forward and move forward with a big smile.”

“It all started at 20 years old on stage at the NFL draft when my dream came true, and now here I am about to turn 30 in a few months with a decision I feel is the biggest of my life so far,” Gronkowski wrote in his post. “I will be retiring from the game of football today.”

The Sunday Scaries never hit harder than on the first Sunday of the NCAA tournament. Gronk announcing his retirement today certainly doesn’t help with that, but I won’t hold it against him.

For a while, Patriots fans debated who was the second best player of the Bill Belichick Era. There’s no debate any more. It’s Rob Gronkowski and it’s not even close.  There have been a lot of players who have exemplified the Patriot Way in Foxboro. Tedy Bruschi, Troy Brown and Julian Edelman immediately come to mind. Few players, though, were the unstoppable force on the field that Rob Gronkowski was.

Gronkowski retires with 79 receiving touchdowns, fourth most among active players. His three Super Bowl rings are more than the three men in front of him on that list combined (0).

With that in mind, it’s hard to blame Gronkowski for choosing to hang ’em up now. It sounded like this was a real possibility a year ago. Instead of retiring at that time, though, Gronk came back and earned his third ring. Instead or retiring after one of the most puzzling defeats of all time, Gronk can retire as a Super Bowl champ. With Brady and Belichick the Patriots are always in the hunt, but retiring on top is never a given. Choosing to step away now, Gronkowski can be sure there’s no bitterness left over from how it all ended. And with a bright future after football, he can be sure to step away without yet another injury or surgery.

We’ll have more on this over the next few days but for now, on behalf of all Patriots fans, thanks, Gronk.

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Checking in on the Celtics With Just 10 Games Left to Go

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(The NBA postseason begins in less than a month, and let’s just say it’s been a rather up-and-down season for our Boys in Green. While there’s still 10 games left to go in the regular season, Mattes and Dom are here with their take on the Celtics’s play this season and where things stand with the team heading into the home stretch.)

MATTES: I’ll be honest, heading into the year I never thought I’d see this team sitting 10 games out of the top spot in the East with 10 games left to go in the season. After they were mere minutes from an NBA Finals appearance last season – without their best player, mind you – I (and pretty much everyone else) am shocked to see them sitting in freakin’ FIFTH at the moment. After two tough losses this week, the Celtics are now four games behind Philly for the 3-seed and a half-game behind Indy for fourth place. At the moment, they wouldn’t even get home home-court advantage in the first round!

If things stand pat – and they probably will, especially with Kyrie saying he’s probably going to take some time off to rest before the playoffs – the Celtics are likely to take on the Pacers in the first round. (The Pistons are 5.5 games behind the C’s, and unless The Green absolutely collapse, they should get either the fourth or fifth seed and play Indy either way.)

So, Dom, how are you feeling with just 3.5 weeks left in the season? Do you feel OK with this squad heading into postseason play? Kyrie said back in February that all that matters is getting to the dance, and basically that the regular season is overrated. Do you agree?

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Kyrie says not to worry, but shouldn’t we be?

DOM: I both agree and disagree with what Kyrie says. The big reason being that home court is important, no matter how much players and coaches try to downplay it in press conferences. The Celtics are under .500 on the road but 29-14 at home. That’s important. We’re about to start playing the best teams in the league, and although I think any team in the East will have a hard time beating us in seven games, being able to play in a building that you dominate in is a massive advantage. Combine that with the fact that since February 1, we’re 4-8 against playoff teams, so we’re going to need all the help we can get. However, I do agree with Kyrie in the sense that there’s no point risking injury in the regular season if you know where you’ll end up in the playoffs. I’d actually like him to take the less important games off so we can get Terry, Tatum, and the rest of the cast feeling better about themselves for the playoff push.

As far as preseason predictions, I’m glad I didn’t put any money on this team like I originally wanted to. That’s for sure. I think we’ll move into the 4-seed by the end of the season, as the Pacers are fading and have a really tough schedule ahead. We also get to play them twice, so that’ll be a nice postseason preview. Still, though, fourth? I’d call you an idiot if you said that to me six months ago. As for predictions now, safe money has them getting knocked out in the second round by the Bucks.

MATTES: I agree that making preseason predictions can often be a fool’s errand, but there is no doubt this team has severely underachieved. Yes, the Bucks and Raptors (especially the Bucks) are also far exceeding expectations, and Philly got even better by adding two studs (Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris) to their already loaded roster since last year. And I definitely did not expect an Indiana Pacers team which lost their best player (Victor Oladipo) for the season two months ago to still be hanging tough with the big boys in the East. So some might say that the surrounding competition is simply a lot better than we thought it would be.

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Harris (left) and Butler (right) have been two huge additions for the Sixers.

Honestly, though, I think it is much more about the Celtics themselves, as you even said they are 4-8 against current playoff teams since February 1. That includes teams out West, who do not affect the Celtics’s position in the Eastern Conference standings. To me, effort and demeanor has been the team’s biggest issue all year long; the talent is still obviously there.

It does seem as though we’ve gotten past a lot of the ridiculous off-court drama/bitch-ass-ness that was engulfing the team a few weeks ago, and it does seem as though they’re working together much better than before. (On Wednesday night, Kyrie was a wizard on the floor, making sick passes all over the court while trying to get the rest of the team involved early on in Philly. In fact, since March 1, he’s been averaging over eight assists per game, dishing out at least 10 dimes in 4-of-9 games this month.)

But again, effort is still lacking. After being a top-five defensive squad all year long, the team has dropped to sixth in terms of defensive rating. While that might not seem like a noteworthy change at all, it’s not a comforting trend when you consider they’ve given up an average of over 122 points per game (!!!) over their last five contests. They’re also 21st in the league in total rebounding, including being 20th in terms of offensive rebounding specifically. One of the first things I texted you while watching the game in Philly on Wednesday night was the fact that I was infuriated that the team refuses to even box out at times. I get that Embiid is really good. I get that we don’t really have anyone to match his size. But letting the guy get TWENTY-TWO boards on the night, including 16 on the defensive glass? That’s unacceptable.

 

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Embiid is one baaaaad man. He could be a huge problem in any potential playoff series against Philly.

DOM: All great points there. Defensively, we’ve actually been 16th in the league post-All-Star Break, and the team’s opponents’ points per game has really been driving me crazy. I often see people not knowing who to guard on fast breaks, losing their man on switches, and not closing out with their hands up. And that’s the difference in effort between winners and losers at the end of the year. Watching March Madness, you see it all over the place: teams who consistently lay out for loose balls, have their hands up and heads on a swivel, and play team defense usually come out on top.

I would also agree the competition in the East has gotten markedly better, especially at the top. The Bucks, Raptors, and 76ers are all legit championship threats, and Nate McMillan deserves serious consideration for Coach of the Year with what the Pacers have been able to do after the Oladipo injury. However, of the Celtics biggest disappointments, the coaching of Brad Stevens has to be the biggest for me. A lot of people will point to Hayward and say for a guy making $30 million a year, he sucks! But his salary doesn’t matter. The dude had one of the most horrific injuries you can possibly have, and anyone who expected him to come back and be the same player he was before is a fucking moron. Now, I’m not saying I don’t want more out of him, but his scoring and shooting percentage have increased every month this season. If you want to talk about contract value, that’s a conversation for next season.

Brad should’ve won the Coach of the Year Award last year with all the juggling of minutes of reserves, getting the most out of his players, and managing injuries as good as I’ve ever seen. This year, it seems he’s worrying too much about the egos of guys like Hayward, Tatum, and Morris and not doing the things that made them so good late last year. Namely, keeping a rotation based on who’s hot rather than giving people a set number of minutes. Although he’s been better lately, I can point to a dozen losses from earlier in the year where he failed to call timeouts when the other team went on a run, especially late in the game. Obviously the players have to perform, but as a coach you need to be able to stem the tide and know if the levee is about to break.

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Sorry, Brad. You’re not getting away scot-free here.

MATTES: YES! Brad Stevens really isn’t getting enough flak for the poor job he’s done overall this year. I’ve always been a big fan of Stevens, ever since we first brought him on almost six years ago. Especially after last season, like you mentioned, I thought he was quickly ascending up the NBA coaching hierarchy and that we’d be set for years to come with him leading the way. But, like you also mentioned, the guy refuses to take timeouts when needed or make the tough calls, and he instead seems to be more worried about upsetting the big egos on this team. (Although, much like when he called out the team for taking shortcuts on defense after the game in Toronto a few weeks ago, he seems like he’s been finding his voice at least a little bit more lately.)

As I’ve said time and time again this year, though, there might simply be too many cooks in the kitchen. There are eight very talented guys who are averaging over 20 minutes a game for the Celtics this year, and that can’t be very easy to manage. Also, in regards to Hayward, the team plays incredibly well when he specifically plays well. (But no really, they’re almost unstoppable when Hayward is on his game.) So I don’t necessarily blame Brad for continuing to play him so much, even when he’s been outright bad at times.

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As much as people might want to get on him this year, Hayward’s been huge for the team at times this season.

But, it is now March 22, and the postseason is right around the corner. Brad needs to continuing tightening things up, shorten the rotation even more, and play the guys who are really making an effort to salvage this season. No more “figuring things out.” We’re 90% of the way through the season! Get it together, boys!

DOM: Totally agree. I’m not one of these dopes calling for Brad to be fired, and even if they were to get swept in the first round, I still want Stevens as our head coach, for now at least. He’s had five years in a row to prove himself, and one bad year isn’t enough for me to call it on him as a good coach. But you’re right, Brad needs to stick with the guys who are playing well, and hopefully these guys can start playing consistently as a unit. That’s the key to winning: team basketball, on both sides of the ball.

Here’s a stat that blew my mind, and although it’s not surprising if you’ve watched this team at all this year, it is frustrating. Aside from Kyrie and Horford, the Celtics suck in the ISO. There’s two guys in particular who need to cut the shit and stop clearing everyone out: Tatum and Morris. To give people an idea of how effective people can be out of the ISO, James Harden is the league leader, averaging 18 points per game in the ISO, and Steph Curry is the most efficient, scoring 1.1 points per possession in terms of people scoring more than one basket per game in ISO. (Technically, Rodions Kurucs is No. 1 at 1.75 PPP, but we’re not gonna count that).

The best players in the league hover around 1.0 PPP, but plenty of quality players keep it above 0.9. However, once you start dipping from there, you become increasingly ineffective. And that’s where Morris and Tatum come in. Morris is averaging 0.66 PPP and Tatum is at 0.64!! And it’s not like this is Draymond Green, who’s at 0.67 but is only in ISO 2.9% of the time. Tatum and Morris get the ball in ISO 13.4% and 9.8% of the time, respectively, and both only shoot 32% in those situations. Basically, that means that when Morris or Tatum go at it alone, they only make one of every three shots, good for two points every three trips up the court. That is GARBAGE.

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Move the fucking basketball. Somehow, the Celtics actually average 26.4 assists per game, good for sixth in the NBA. But could you imagine if the ball didn’t seem to get stuck in someone’s hands so often? On the other side of it, Horford and Kyrie are both ridiculously efficient off the pick-and-roll, averaging well over 1.0 PPP each and shooting 50% or higher. That’s insane. Keep doing that.

MATTES: Well, it’s seems pretty obvious that we both feel that guys getting over themselves, learning to defer to those who deserve it, and actually acting like they care are three simple changes this team can make right now. If so, maybe – JUST MAYBE – a second straight push for the Finals isn’t such a crazy thought after all. If not, we might ultimately be looking at one of the more disappointing seasons for a Boston sports team that we’ve seen in quite some time.

The Celtics kick off their final slate of regular-season games on Saturday night in Charlotte.

Red Sox Are Nearing Extension With Chris Sale

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I love this move for the Red Sox. Granted Chris Sale has had his injury concerns the past two seasons, he has still been hands down the best pitcher on the roster and a Cy Young front runner the past two seasons. David Price turned things around last year and was excellent in the ALCS and World Series, but I would still feel a whole lot more comfortable with a savage like Chris Sale as my ace on the mound. 5 years $150 Million is a bargain at this point too, which speaks to Sale preferring comfort over maximizing every last dollar, which is even more impressive having been on team friendly deals his whole career. Sale hasn’t been shy about telling people how much he loves playing in Boston so this deal makes a ton of sense for both sides. Assuming he stays healthy its a steal for the Sox, but if he does get hurt a 5 year contract won’t totally sink the team like an 8 or 10 year deal would.

Just 8 days shy of his 30th birthday too so the Red Sox can stick to their “we don’t sign pitchers over 30” shtick too if they want, which as we all know lost them Jon Lester. Win win for everyone!

I do think this brings us one step closer to the end of the Mookie Betts era in Boston though. The timing is just too perfect. Maybe the Sox saw the recent deals signed by Bryce Harper and Mike Trout, made one last pitch to Mookie, got rejected and turned to the next guy in line due to get paid; Chris Sale. If you believe the reports the Sox have tried to negotiate long term deals with Betts in the past including an 8 year $200 Million offer last year that he turned down. Now with Trout signing a 12 year $430 Million extension just the other day you would think thats what Mookie will be looking for, assuming he keeps up his MVP-level performance over the next two seasons.

I would think the Red Sox could realistically have three $30 Million players on their roster. David Price is one (albeit the first year of Mookie’s new deal would be the last year of Price’s contract), this new contract would make Chris Sale two, and then the Sox would likely need to pick between Mookie and Xander Bogaerts. I just don’t see this team paying Xander $200+ Million and then Mookie $400+ Million.

So the Sox can go one of two ways: double down on the next two years and maximize your time with Mookie, Xander, Chris Sale, David Price, JD Martinez and co. or privately admit that you have no intentions of paying Mookie half a billion dollars in the near future and sell high for a boatload of prospects. This is the Boston Red Sox though so I can’t see them trading away a homegrown MVP player in his prime because they’re worried about footing the bill. And its not my checkbook so I’ll be fine if they extend him tomorrow, but I would probably be wary of signing a 5’9″ 180 lbs guy with two 30 HR seasons under his belt to a $400+ Million contract. He’d still only be 28 when he hits free agency in two years, but a 12 year deal puts him into his Age 40 season and I don’t want any part of the back-9 on that deal for any player.

I think we all know which direction Dave “trade every prospect who ever sniffed a Top 100 list” Dombrowski is going to lean though. We’re riding this baby into the ground so hopefully the Sox can reel off another World Series or two before Dealer Dave rides off into the sunset.

 

Whole Foods May Soon Let You Booze While You Go Grocery Shopping

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WCVB –  Grocery shopping could become less boring in town. Representatives of Whole Foods rolled out a “shop while you drink” concept for its Sudbury store in the Meadow Walk development during a recent selectmen’s meeting.

The store hopes to have the coffee bar area serve beer and wine at certain hours. While there is seating there, the plan would allow customers to enjoy their beverages while shopping throughout the store as well, the MetroWest Daily News reported.

I absolutely *despise* grocery shopping. I will avoid it at all possible costs, which is probably why Grubhub gets more money from me than my 401K. I’ve legitimately product mapped ideas for apps to help you get in and out of the grocery store as quick as possible, but maybe thats just me. Maybe its a guy thing I don’t know, but if I can avoid the grocery store I do….until now.

Drinking makes everything better. To quote the legend that was Frank Sinatra,“I feel sorry for people that don’t drink because when they wake up in the morning, that is the best they’re going to feel all day.” A backyard and a grill is great, but add a few Bud Heavys and you got yourself a cookout. Golfing is fun, but its difficult and frustrating as shit at times. I’ve seen guys from this very blog smash their cell phone off a bench after a bad hole. Add in a case of cold ones? Best way to spend a Saturday afternoon regardless of how many balls you lose in the woods.

Now add drinking to grocery shopping? Shit I might call up the boys and tell em to meet me down at Whole Foods so we can cross something off the honey do list. Just mildly buzzed while shopping for Cocoa Pebbles, maybe sip some whiskey while browsing the different cuts of steak they have out. That just sounds delightful. Might have to start taking Ubers home from the grocery store though which presents a completely different budgeting conundrum. Come to think of it, this may be Amazon/Whole Foods’ play to take over not only the grocery store game, but the ride share game too. Goddamnit Bezos you brilliant bastard.

A New Way to Gamble On Sports

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March Madness is here, which means even people who don’t follow college hoops, like at all, have filled out their brackets and are watching the scores roll in. Based on the excitement and relative ease of filling out one of these brackets, I’ve developed a whole new way to gamble on professional sports. Essentially, brackets for the MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL and the field is the entire league.

Image result for mlb playoff bracket

I tested this out on a small scale with some friends last year, and with a little tinkering on the MLB bracket, I think I’ve found a pretty fun and unique thing here. One of the reasons that fantasy baseball and basketball aren’t as popular as football is because there are just too many games to pay attention to. With the individual sport bracket, you place your picks at the beginning of the year, and that’s it. Just like March Madness, you have a field of teams to choose from (in this case, the whole league), and you pick winners at each step of the way. Here’s a more detailed description of how baseball works:

There are 6 total rounds, with the first two rounds checkpoints in the regular season and the last four being each round of the playoffs. The first checkpoint will be May 15th (around the 1/4 season mark). The second is the All Star Break. You get 10 points per pick in the regular season rounds (1 and 2), 10 points for picking correct playoff teams and a bonus 10 points for getting seeds right (round 3). This way, if you guess a team that makes the playoffs but you don’t get the seed right, you still get awarded something. Round 4 includes the wild card game (30 points per correct WC winner) and the teams that make the LCS (40 points). I’ve scored it this way because you have a very slim chance of guessing the team that wins the actual Wild Card game, but ultimately an LCS berth is more important. Correct LCS winners get 100 points, and correct champion picks get 200 each. First tiebreaker is correct game count, second is total runs in the series clinching game.

Football works much the same way, but with no regular season checkpoints and more of an emphasis on division winners and seeding. The scoring is slightly different just because baseball playoffs aren’t as straightforward as the other leagues. Basketball and hockey start with the All-Star Break, and also assign bonus points for seeding and division winners. All brackets in any league get submitted before the season starts, again, just like with March Madness.