How else to explain the team re-signing or extending more than a half-dozen players from a team that tied for the second-worst record in the NFL last year? The latest beneficiary of New England’s new contractual charity was linebacker Jahlani Tavai, who signed a three-year, $15 million contract extension worth up to $21 million.
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They’re in for a rude awakening if they want to put all the blame on Belichick and Jones. This roster is missing the difference-makers. When you win on the backs of all-time greatness at quarterback and coach, it’s easy to assume that decline at those positions is the primary cause of the loss. But with fewer of the all-time standard-bearers at quarterback and coach, you have to build a team with more talent.
▪ Celtics fans should root for passionate co-owner Steve Pagliuca to win the franchise bid with the same force they rooted for the Celtics in the NBA Finals. Considering what the Celtics have built, the status quo is optimal.
Pagliuca made it clear he will be involved in the bidding. BetOnline odds had Pagliuca buying the team at 3/1. That put him second behind Oracle founder Larry Ellison (2/1), who tried to buy the Golden State Warriors in 2010.
Pagliuca, a former Bain Capital chairman and current senior adviser and board member, has deep pockets and knows where to find other wealthy people. Finding the capital for the Celtics, valued by KeynoteUSA at $4.7 billion, shouldn’t be a problem.
Pagliuca has assembled a group to acquire a majority stake in Italian soccer club Atalanta in 2022. His group was one of three finalists to buy English Premier League club Chelsea, which sold for $5.4 billion. Majority owner Wyc Grousbeck should do himself and Celtics fans a favor and back up Wyc’s rhetoric about being “paid in parades.”
▪ Part of the discussion surrounding eventual new Celtics ownership is the idea of Green leaving TD Garden to build a new arena. However, a new hardwood site in the near future is a pipe dream. The Celtics signed a 15-year lease with the Jacobs family, owners of TD Garden and the Bruins, in 2021 that runs through the 2035-36 season.
The Jacobs certainly don’t want another stadium nearby competing for lucrative concert dates and events. It wouldn’t be surprising if they harbored some concerns about the Revolution building a soccer stadium in Everett for similar reasons. The Jacobs, who have done a tremendous job with the Hub on Causeway development, also remain influential in the current city government.
▪ One of the great American myths is that we are a society built on pure meritocracy. Connections, influence and entitlement have always tipped the scales. So no one should be upset that Bronny James, the son of megastar LeBron James, was drafted 55th overall by the Lakers. It’s the American way.
Bronny’s last name opened the door for him to the NBA as a VIP player, whereas if his last name had been Jones, he wouldn’t have been drafted, as he was a 1.88-meter point guard who averaged 4.8 points with 36.6 percent field goal shooting at USC. His last name gave him the opportunity, but now the important thing is what he does with it. That doesn’t make him any different from the offspring of icons from other industries.
▪Let’s get this straight: The Red Sox are a more competitive and entertaining team than expected. Watching the maturation of Jarren Duran, Tanner Houck and defensive wonder Ceddanne Rafaela has been a joy. However, one reason that has been given for why the Red Sox should add players during this supposed playoff run is that postseason experience speeds up the Blueprint.
Meet the Arizona Diamondbacks, who surprisingly made the World Series as the NL’s third wild card last year, led by Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll (5.4 WAR), who has posted a better version of the season than Duran is having. The Diamondbacks haven’t gotten a boost from their Fall Classic appearance. They’ve been stagnant. Carroll has struggled this season with a .619 OPS.
▪ As the sui generis Bob Ryan would say, here’s a mea culpa about the MLB pitch clock. It hasn’t altered, perverted or harmed the product as much as I feared. After some initial hiccups last year, players have adapted, even with MLB reducing the pitch clock time with runners on base from 20 seconds to 18 this season.
Last season there were 1,075 violations. At the start of the season on July 4, when all teams had played more than half of the 162 games, there had been 357. The average length of games was 2 hours and 37 minutes, a reduction of five minutes; it would be the lowest for a full season since 1979 (2:35).
Still, there are some crazy events that don’t help the competition, like the Rockies’ victory last month on a foul call with the bases loaded, but that’s the price of progress.
▪ Along the same lines, has there ever been a bigger debate over anything other than the universal designated hitter? Diehard traditionalists fought it for nearly 50 years. Now, no one bats an eye when the pitcher doesn’t hit in the National League. The bifurcation of baseball was a waste of time and breath.
▪ The Bruins struck early in free agency with the additions of top-line center Elias Lindholm and potent defenseman Nikita Zadorov. But the Bruins’ season will be determined by their ability to develop and integrate young players (Matt Poitras, Mason Lohrei, Fabian Lysell), which despite some busts like Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman hasn’t always been a strong suit of Don Sweeney’s front office. Getting the prospect pipeline flowing was supposed to be one of Sweeney’s key attributes.
He and team president Cam Neely can’t keep changing hockey players and blaming the coach ad infinitum. The owners will eventually realize that.
Christopher L. Gasper is a columnist for the Globe. He can be reached at christopher.gasper@globe.com. Follow him @cgasper and on Instagram @cgaspersports.
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