Connect with us

Boston, MA

Boston Celtics Upgrade Breakout Player To Remake Bench, Complete Tax-Saving Plan

Published

on

Boston Celtics Upgrade Breakout Player To Remake Bench, Complete Tax-Saving Plan


The Boston Celtics path to remaking the end of their bench and getting under the tax line without touching any of their regular rotation players (and actually giving one of them a promotion) is now complete, and with room to spare. 

As you probably remember, the Celtics traded away Xavier Tillman, Josh Minott, and Chris Boucher at the trade deadline without getting a player in return. The Celtics then played a shell game with those three spots at the end of their bench, threading a needle many thought was impossible when the season started. 

After a series of 10-day contracts, Charles Bassey among them, the Celtics upgraded two rookie contracts to fill two of those roster posts. 

Advertisement

Max Shulga, drafted 57th overall and initially signed to a two-way contract, was upgraded to partially non-guaranteed standard contract. Amari Williams, drafted 46th overall, was also signed to a similar, partially non-guaranteed standard contract. 

Advertisement

Charles Bassey then signed two 10-day contracts, the second of which expired today, leaving Boston under the mandatory 14-man roster limit. To fill that, the Celtics made the highly-anticipated move of upgrading Ron Harper Jr.’s deal. It’s a two-year deal that will be similarly structured. 

Harper has had a breakout season with the Celtics. He’s only averaging 3.4 points per game this season, but he’s had several standout games. He scored 22 points against the San Antonio Spurs, helping make up for Jaylen Brown’s ejection and giving Boston a chance to win. He also had a tremendous performance against the OKC Thunder, where he was a +15 in a two-point loss. 

So this is a fitting reward for a player who has earned his spot.

“Ron has worked,” Joe Mazzulla recently said about Harper Jr. “The way he plays in games against San Antonio and OKC is the way he plays in a state-ready game, it’s the way he plays in a G League games, it’s the way he plays in practice. So he cares about winning, he cares about competing. And he executes the details very well in all settings. And so his ability to think the game and compete is top notch. He’s getting better and better.”

Advertisement

The upgraded contract means Harper Jr. is now eligible to play in the playoffs, which two-way players are not. 

Advertisement

The moves have now put Boston about $38,000 under the tax, a miniscule number that is the NBA equivalent of counting out pennies at the cash register (and maybe using the take a penny, leave a penny tray). They still have an open roster spot, and the the $38,000 is enough for them to sign someone on the last day of the season and also carry him into the playoffs in case of an emergency. So it’s possible there’s another move yet to come. 



Source link

Boston, MA

Boston Signs Big Blueliner Rylind MacKinnon To One-Year Extension

Published

on

Boston Signs Big Blueliner Rylind MacKinnon To One-Year Extension


The Boston Fleet have signed defender Rylind MacKinnon to a one-year contract bringing back the 5-foot-10 defender.

Last season was MacKinnon’s first with the Fleet, whhere she recorded one assist in 28 appearances, and also played in three games.

Advertisement

According to the Fleet MacKinnon added “grit and physicality to the team’s blue line.”

Advertisement

The 26-year-old British Columbia product signed as a free agent with the Toronto Sceptres after going unselected in the 2024 PWHL Draft playing 22 games for the Sceptres as a rookie.

Collegiately, MacKinnon was the University of British Columbia’s all-time leading scorer by a defender.

Boston now has 13 players signed including MacKinnon, Loren Gabel, Ella Huber, Laura Kluge, Shay Maloney, Olivia Mobley, Jill Saulnier, Liz Schepers, Sophie Shirley Susanna Tapani Amanda Thiele, Megan Keller, Haley Winn, and Aerin Frankel.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Boston, MA

Duck parades, outdoor drinking, and Gronk in a kilt. Here’s how Friday’s World Cup festivities unfolded. – The Boston Globe

Published

on

Duck parades, outdoor drinking, and Gronk in a kilt. Here’s how Friday’s World Cup festivities unfolded. – The Boston Globe


Despite concerns about transportation and crowd management, the region’s biggest World Cup day yet appeared to unfold largely without major problems.

Morocco fans, many of whom celebrated on Shirley Avenue in Revere, rejoiced after their win against Scotland.

“We’re going to go very far in this World Cup,” predicted David Lalou, a Moroccan fan from Casablanca who saw the game live.

Here’s how Friday’s festivities unfolded.

Advertisement

The drinks continued flowing

Mayor Michelle Wu announced Thursday that in two zones in the city – the Temple Place Social District and the Union-Marshall Street district – it would be legal for patrons to consume alcohol outdoors.

The measure took effect Friday, and by game time the two zones had quickly become lively block parties, complete with live music and hearty Scottish accents.

Zachary Lobel, 22, of Newton, and Ruairidh Davidson, 24, of Inverness, Scotland, independently brought their bagpipes to Union Street. The pair found each other, and a crowd of people gathered to watch them play.

Zachary Lobel (left) and Ruairidh Davidson, both carrying a set of bagpipes, meet at a World Cup street party.Ariela Lopez

George Comeau, a senior event manager with the Downtown Boston Alliance, organized the outdoor alcohol consumption zone on Temple Place. He estimated at 6:30 p.m. that 4,000 fans were watching the Scotland-Morocco game from the party there.

Advertisement

On the Common, a free watch party attracted fans of every competing team.

Stan Abraham, 38, of Jamaica Plain, came with friends to support Haiti in its match against Brazil.

“I just got to be around my people, around the energy,” he said.

Stan Abraham, 38, waves a Haitian flag at Boston Common.Ariela Lopez

Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, who is up for reelection this year, shook hands and posed for pictures with gleeful Scottish fans outside The Dubliner, the popular Government Center bar.

“I would’ve said it was impossible to drink Boston dry, but clearly [the Scots] are here and they are testing the capacity of the city to serve them,” Markey said. “It’s just a happy week.”

Scotland fans wear jerseys as they wait outside The Dubliner bar before a FIFA World Cup watch party June 13 in Boston.Mel Musto/Getty

In the Boston Public Market, which extended its hours for FIFA Fan Fest, thirsty Scottish fans did just that, lining up through the narrow Boston Beer Alley, their arms filled with as much alcohol as they could carry.

“I don’t think we’ll last all night,” said owner Dawa Sangpo.

Advertisement

Also in the Public Market were Moroccan fans, many of whom frequented Mo’Rockin Fusion, a fast-casual restaurant where the food is inspired by owner Morad Bouzidi’s childhood in Morocco.

“It’s 100 percent the Moroccan experience,” Bouzidi said.

Yes, the World Cup is in Boston, but, like, not actually in Boston.

As was the case before last week’s game, South Station was packed, but some fans reported an easier commuting experience this time and Globe reporters observed a quick-moving queue.

“I had a pretty smooth experience,” said James Pennie, who is visiting from Vancouver but is originally from Scotland.

Advertisement

Near 3 p.m., as a final few fans jogged through the queue to enter South Station, MBTA employees yelled out encouragement.

“No Scotland, no party!” they said.

Members of the Tartan Army sing and cheer together as they take a school bus to Boston Stadium in Foxborough for Scotland’s World Cup game against Morocco on Friday.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff

Richard Sullivan, the Transit Police superintendent, said the fans were “a very orderly crew.” The MBTA sold over 19,000 tickets to and from Foxborough as of 3 p.m. Friday.

“The queues were very minimal,” said Phil Eng, the MBTA’s general manager. “We got everyone through.”

But not everyone took the commuter rail. A Globe photographer witnessed a convoy of 12 school buses, packed to the brim with Scottish fans, pulling into South Bay to pick up online alcohol orders, before going on to Foxborough.

Members of the Tartan Army stop at South Bay to load up on alcohol as they take a school bus to Foxborough for Scotland’s World Cup game against Morocco on Friday.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff

A duck ? Leading a parade? And what was that about Gronk?

Patriots legends Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman appeared on Fox’s pregame show wearing kilts, accompanied by a man playing bagpipes.

Advertisement

Edelman and Gronkowski applauded the Scots’ drinking prowess after they drank some Boston bars out of beer over the last week.

“The last time it happened was after we won the Super Bowl in 2015 against the Seattle Seahawks,” quipped Gronkowski.

And in Providence, a famous duck named Dawn led Scottish fans on a very orderly march. In a video shared on Dawn’s Tiktok page, the little creatures waddles forwards, a small Scottish flag on its back, while leagues of kilted men with bagpipes march behind it.

Jessica Rinaldi, Omar Mohammed, and Amin Touri of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Globe correspondents Ariela Lopez, Aayushi Datta, Lauren Albano, Audrey Tomlin, Jaden Perry, and Emily Spatz also contributed.


Truman Dickerson can be reached at truman.dickerson@globe.com.

Advertisement





Source link

Continue Reading

Boston, MA

MBTA, state transportation chief apologizes for ‘insensitive’ employee hair-pulling incident

Published

on

MBTA, state transportation chief apologizes for ‘insensitive’ employee hair-pulling incident


Gov. Maura Healey’s Transportation Secretary and MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng said he has apologized “fully” to the subordinate T employee he’s been accused of pulling the hair of at a work dinner two years ago.

Eng has come under fire for the late 2024 incident this week and admits that it was a “mistake” that has forced him to reflect upon his actions.

“My goal is always to lead with respect and inclusivity,” Eng said in a statement. “I know that this was a mistake, and I own that. I have apologized to this employee fully and have reflected on my actions.

“I am committed to learning from this experience and upholding the highest standards of professionalism in all my interactions as secretary and general manager,” Eng added.

Advertisement

The MBTA said the incident, first reported by Contrarian Boston, occurred in November 2024 at a restaurant where T employees and their spouses were having a team dinner.

WCVB-TV reported that the MBTA employee has told people the interaction with Eng was not welcome and highly inappropriate.

The station described Eng as being accused of committing the hair-pulling faux pas while saying good-bye to the T employee after a work function at a brewery.

The MBTA confirmed that an “insensitive” interaction occurred between Eng and an employee, but downplayed the incident as occurring in the context of a larger conversation about hair from earlier in the evening that included multiple people.

Eng was poking fun at his own baldness when the alleged interaction occurred, according to the MBTA.

Advertisement

“The MBTA is committed to fostering a respectful, inclusive workplace environment,” MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo said in a statement. “Leadership plays a critical role in that. Two years ago, General Manager Eng had an insensitive interaction with one of his direct reports. He subsequently apologized directly to this employee.

“Any claims of harassment, discrimination or retaliatory behavior are completely without merit,” Pesaturo added.

Sources have told WCVB-TV that the T employee is involved in negotiations to leave their job with the agency.

Eng is the state’s top transportation official. Healey appointed him as general manager of the MBTA in 2023, and interim transportation secretary in late 2025.

He was paid $509,114 last year, which includes a $30,000 retention payment he is eligible for each year he remains with the T, per his contract and state payroll records. He does not get additional pay for working dual roles in Massachusetts, but continues to take in a roughly $185,000 pension from New York.

Advertisement

Eng, former president of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Long Island Rail Road, came out of retirement to work for the MBTA, but remains retired with the New York State and Local Employees’ Retirement System, which is paying him a gross monthly pension of $15,357.39, according to the New York State Comptroller’s office.



Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending