Boston, MA
Celtics Champ Formally Apologizes to Jayson Tatum
Despite winning the NBA Championship and an Olympic gold medal, Boston Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum has garnered a lot of flack.
Even though he was a key part of both teams, Tatum has garnered criticism for not being named Finals MVP (that went to teammate Jaylen Brown) and for being benched for Team USA against Nikola Jokic and Serbia.
However, fans and experts have begun to take back their negative comments on the five-time All-Star, including former Celtics champion Kendrick Perkins.
“Jayson Tatum, I apologize because we should mention your name more often when it comes down to the three letters of MVP,” Perkins said on NBA Today. “We talk about everybody else, but we don’t talk about this man who, constantly night in and night out, is flirting with 30-point triple-doubles.”
Tatum has been having an incredible season, averaging 28.4 points, 8.2 total rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per game across 18 games. He is also shooting 46.4 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from the three-point line.
This is easily keeping him on pace with other MVP frontrunners, like the aforementioned Jokic.
Jokic, a three-time MVP, is currently averaging 29.7 points, 10.9 assists, 1.5 assists, and a league-leading 13.4 total rebounds with the Denver Nuggets.
Additionally, Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers is also having a career-best season, averaging 29.8 points, 11.4 total rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.1 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game.
One major advantage Tatum has over both of these players is his team’s record. The Celtics are currently second in the Eastern Conference with a 15-3 record, right behind the 17-1 Cleveland Cavaliers.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets are boasting a 9-7 record and the Lakers have a 10-7 record in the Western Conference. This gives Tatum an additional edge over his MVP competitors, especially since he leads the team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals per game.
This marks the closest Tatum has come in the MVP race since the 2022-23 NBA season where he came in fourth behind Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid. That season, Tatum averaged 30.1 points, 8.8 total rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.1 steals per game across 74 games.
In the end, it’s going to be a tough MVP race, and a few bad games could easily be the decider for who walks away with the NBA’s top individual prize.
More Celtics: Boston’s Jaylen Brown Lists Lakers Superstar Among Biggest Sports Influences
Boston, MA
Power outages in Massachusetts affecting tens of thousands amid stormy weather
Stormy weather caused power outages for tens of thousands of customers in Massachusetts, as well as over 200 cancellations and delays at Boston’s Logan Airport today.
According to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency’s outage map, about 65,000 customers were without power as of 3 p.m., down from 81,000 outages around noon. Some of the hardest hit communities were Foxboro, Wrentham, Pepperell, West Brookfield, Franklin and Holliston.
Wrentham police said drivers should expect delays as many streets are blocked by fallen trees. Police shared video of a downed wire sparking across one road.
High winds brought down trees and wires on roads across the state, according to damage reports from Skywarn weather spotters. One report said the wind blew scaffolding off a building on Heath Street in Boston.
Massachusetts Weather Radar
There was a high wind warning for much of eastern, northeastern and southeastern Massachusetts. The Blue Hill Observatory in Milton reported a wind gust of 79 mph on Friday just after noon.
Other communities reporting high wind gusts included Attleboro (65 mph), Wareham (62 mph), North Dighton (61 mph) and Wrentham (60 mph).
Heavy downpours and possible thunderstorms that could cause localized street flooding were expected to continue through mid-afternoon. The rain should move offshore by 5 p.m.
Logan Airport delays and cancellations
According to FlightAware, there were 110 total cancellations at Logan Airport, and 211 total delays. JetBlue was hit hardest, with 23 cancellations and 55 delays.
“Due to wind, Boston Logan may see delays and cancellations,” the airport’s website said. “Please check with your airline before coming to the airport.”
Boston, MA
Red Sox’s Veteran Leader Gets Alarming Projection For Upcoming Season
Somehow, in the midst of all the injuries the Boston Red Sox dealt with last season, shortstop Trevor Story stayed healthy.
Story played 163 games in his first three years as a Red Sox, then played 157 this past year. He led the team in home runs, RBIs, and stolen bases. His defense tailed off in September, but he was also leading the charge on offense by the time the Sox got to the playoffs.
Entering his age-33 season, Story has been vehemently endorsed as the starting shortstop by the Red Sox organization, specifically chief baseball officer Craig Breslow. Are the Red Sox counting too heavily on the veteran repeating his production from a year ago?
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Story coming back to earth this season?
On Thursday, MLB.com published a “snapshot” of the Red Sox’s Fangraphs projections for this season, and the No. 1 thing that stood out from the list was Story and the Boston shortstop group being projected for 2.0 WAR, which ranked 27th out of the 30 teams in baseball.
“This projection and ranking might be a bit surprising, considering that Trevor Story had a resurgent 2025 season with a .741 OPS, 25 home runs, and 31 stolen bases and finished with 3.0 WAR,18th-best among shortstops,” wrote MLB.com’s Brent Maguire.
“Projection systems, however, are notoriously conservative and are looking beyond just the previous season. Story was oft-injured and unproductive during his first three years with the Red Sox before 2025 and with him entering his age-33 season, there are still some questions about his production in 2026.”
Certainly, one projection does not mean Story is doomed to have a bad year, and if anything, he might have a better defensive season if he stays healthy, because he’ll be better conditioned for those final weeks of the year.
However, this underscores the need for the Red Sox to land another big bat, and ideally, two. The odds that Story leads the team in all of those offensive categories again feel slim, and even if he does, that likely means Boston’s offense was fairly pedestrian.
More MLB: Red Sox’s Former No. 5 Prospect Breaks Silence On ‘Surprise’ Trade
Boston, MA
Person of interest in Brown University shooting identified, sources say
Authorities have identified a person of interest in the Brown University mass shooting, three senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation told NBC News.
This comes after days of intense investigation and a manhunt for a gunman who opened fire inside the Barus and Holley engineering building on the Providence, Rhode Island, campus on Saturday. Two students were killed and nine other people injured.
Another person of interest was previously taken into custody, but that person was eventually released when investigators ruled them out as a suspect.
Michael Tabman, a retired FBI special agent in charge, joined NBC10 Boston on Thursday to discuss the possible connection being investigated between the shooting death of an MIT professor in Brookline, Massachusetts, and last weekend’s mass shooting on the Brown University campus.
Investigators released a series of surveillance videos and images of a person of interest, asking the public for help with the search.
The shooting has raised questions about safety and security on Brown’s campus and concerns about misinformation and AI-generated images circulated online due to the high-profile nature of the case.
Investigators are looking into whether the Brown shooting may be linked to the killing of an MIT professor at his Brookline, Massachusetts, home this week.
This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.
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