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Could This Red Sox ‘Biggest Strength’ Be The Key To Boston’s Next World Series?

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Could This Red Sox ‘Biggest Strength’ Be The Key To Boston’s Next World Series?


The Boston Red Sox are approaching a crossroads.

After back-to-back last-place finishes in 2022 and 2023, there was legitimate cause for excitement throughout much of the 2024 season. But after a recent stretch of five losses in four days, the Red Sox’s playoff odds have dipped below 20%.

Though it’s nothing compared to the 86-year drought the previous generation experienced, the days of the 2018 World Series team are starting to feel pretty far in the rearview. Red Sox fans are rightfully wondering where the next championship will come from, and what will drive that success.

Though there is no guarantee the Red Sox win it all, or even make the playoffs, in years to come, it does appear that an identity is beginning to form.

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Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report named his “biggest strengths” for each of the 30 MLB organizations, saying that the Red Sox “cranking out young players” was the best thing Boston has going for it right now.

“The Red Sox should feel pretty good about Rafael Devers, Jarren Duran, Triston Casas, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela, (Connor) Wong and David Hamilton,” Rymer said. “All seven are in their 20s and controlled through at least 2028.”

Boston has seen huge steps forward from Duran and Abreu this season, and Devers seems poised to rack up Silver Slugger awards as long as he stays at third base. Casas, too, has been one of the best-hitting first basemen in the game whenever he’s been healthy since the midpoint of last season.

Rymer doesn’t even mention the next wave of position player talent at the Red Sox’s disposal, but it’s nearly arrived as well. Potential stars Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, Kyle Teel, and Marcelo Mayer are all one step away from the big leagues in Triple-A.

There is no question that the Red Sox have become a powerhouse in churning out homegrown position players through the years. Before the current group, it was Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts, and Mookie Betts.

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In terms of young position player cores, the Red Sox have few peers around the game of baseball right now. One happens to be in their division, however, as the Baltimore Orioles have had players littered across the Rookie of the Year ballots for three years running.

Can this current crop of homegrown Sox bring the next title to Boston? They’ll need to be supplemented heavily with a quality pitching staff, but the early returns are starting to look promising.

More MLB: Red Sox Could Sign All-Star Hurler On ‘Pillow’ Contract To Solve Pitching Woes



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Celtics score a franchise-record 53 points in first quarter in rout against Heat – The Boston Globe

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Celtics score a franchise-record 53 points in first quarter in rout against Heat – The Boston Globe


“We didn’t do that,” Mazzulla said. “We kept fighting for good looks, the next best look, and I thought that kept the momentum going.”

When the dust settled after this historic opening quarter, the Celtics had scored a franchise-record 53 points and raced to a 20-point lead behind a startling display of shot making. Their defense afterward was imperfect, but it did not matter in this 147-129 win in front of an audience that included Tom Brady.

“That first quarter,” Hauser said, “was unbelievable.”

The Celtics’ first-quarter point total and their 11-of-15 3-point shooting were franchise records. Jaylen Brown (20) and Hauser (17) became the first Celtics teammates in the play-by-play era (since the 1996-97 season) to score at least 17 points apiece in the same quarter.

Boston actually trailed Miami by 1 point with just over four minutes left in the first before closing the period with a loud and masterful 24-3 run.

Brown put another notch in his MVP-caliber season by pouring in 43 points on 17-of-29 shooting. He was disheartened by a rare off night in Monday’s loss to the Hawks, but confident it would not be repeated.

“I didn’t like how that game went,” Brown said, “so I wanted to come out with an aggressive mind-set tonight and make up for that last game.”

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Jayson Tatum registered his first triple-double of the season, with 25 points, 18 rebounds, and 11 assists. Despite the impressive stat line in yet another Celtics win, Tatum stressed that he is still working to regain his All-Star form after missing the first 62 games because of last May’s Achilles injury.

When asked after Wednesday’s win how close he is to truly being back, he said he could not attach a figure to his recovery. But he said he feels the progress that has also been quite visible.

“It sounds cliché, but I feel a little bit better every game,” he said. “I don’t know how long it’ll take to get back to what I was, or hopefully better, but the goal is to continue to stack days.”

The Celtics shot 58.3 percent from the field and made 21 of 44 3-pointers. Miami actually outshot Boston from beyond the arc by making 24 of 47 (51.1 percent). The Heat hit 11 in the third quarter, matching the Celtics’ franchise-record total from the first. But it was not enough.

Still, Miami’s response allowed the Celtics to extract some teaching moments from an otherwise feel-good night.

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“The sign of a great team is even after a great quarter you come back and do it again,” Brown said. “I thought in the second quarter we allowed some slippage and they took advantage. So, still some stuff to clean up.”

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum had 25 points, 18 rebounds, and 11 assists for his first triple-double since returning after missing the first 62 games of the season.Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

Brown scored the Celtics’ first 11 points, and they opened the game by making 10 of 12 shots and 5 of 6 3-pointers. Despite this initial surge, though, they trailed, 30-29 with 4:15 left.

Then Boston uncorked one of the most dominant stretches of this season. Hauser, who was 5 for 5 from the arc in the quarter, drilled four over the final 4:14.

Baylor Scheierman came up with a steal and flipped the ball over his shoulder to Brown for a reverse dunk. The dam was opened.

Hauser’s fifth 3-pointer, with 32 seconds left, set up a two-for-one chance. Tatum air-balled a 3-pointer on the final play, but Payton Pritchard slid in for the putback to make it 53-33.

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“Just high-level shot-making on both ends,” Tatum said.

The second quarter was more, well, normal, with Tatum leading the way after having his first quarter disrupted by foul trouble. The forward had 10 points and eight rebounds and Boston outscored Miami, 27-24.

At the end of the second, Derrick White lofted an alley-oop to Brown, who converted the layup with 1.5 seconds left. White then noticed Heat guard Pelle Larsson roaming free at the other end, so he broke into a full sprint and got there in time to disrupt his last-second attempt. The Celtics went to the break with an 80-57 lead.

Boston led, 104-80, with four minutes left in the third, but Miami punched back with three 3-pointers over the final 65 seconds, with a buzzer-beater by Davion Mitchell pulling the host within 112-102 after its 45-point period. The Heat sliced the deficit to 9 early in the fourth, but a pair of mid-range jumpers by Hauser and a Tatum 3-pointer ensured there would be no collapse.


Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.

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Boston celebrates first goal in club history – Equalizer Soccer

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Boston celebrates first goal in club history – Equalizer Soccer





© Eric Canha-Imagn Images

This week’s Anatomy of a Goal is a historical one! We’re breaking down Boston Legacy FC’s first-ever goal. 

Before we get into that, though, let’s do a quick Legacy heat check. I won’t dice words here: this team is struggling. It’s taken them three games to score a single goal, and they’ve conceded six. Boston has also been averaging the second-lowest expected goals per game thus far (0.60 xG, American Soccer Analysis), though it’s worth mentioning that we’re only three games into the season.

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Arvidsson Posts Hat Trick In Boston’s 6-3 Win Over Dallas | Boston Bruins

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Arvidsson Posts Hat Trick In Boston’s 6-3 Win Over Dallas  | Boston Bruins


BOSTON –– Viktor Arvidsson’s oldest daughter, Navy, turned five on Tuesday.

The dad, and Boston Bruins forward, celebrated the occasion by posting his fifth career hat trick that night at TD Garden in a 6-3 win over the Dallas Stars.

“That was pretty cool, I got a hat trick on her birthday,” Arvidsson said. “She’ll be happy, for sure.”

Arvidsson’s three goals earned the Bruins their fourth consecutive win against top-ranked opponents and extended his point streak to four games; he has nine points (five goals, four assists) through that stretch.

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“I think we have fun together, and we put a lot of emphasis on being hard on each other, really pushing each other,” Arvidsson said. “I think in that regard, we’re really happy where we are.”

The Bruins got out to a 2-0 lead by the end of the first period. Marat Khusnutdinov opened the scoring with his 15th goal of the season. David Pastrnak got the puck down low and chipped it up to Henri Jokiharju, who blasted a shot from the point. Khusnutdinov was there to knock in the rebound at 9:58.​

Arvidsson doubled the advantage just as the B’s power play expired. Pavel Zacha threw the puck on net, Pastrnak collected the redirection and pushed it towards the crease where Arvidsson battled for positioning and tapped it in at 18:51 to make it 2-0. Zacha’s helper on the play extended his point streak to five games; he has five goals and four assists in that time.

“It always seems like we play better when we’re playing against better teams. For us, the playoffs already started a long time ago,” head coach Marco Sturm said. “I think that’s a good thing about our team right now – we want to get challenged right now.”

​Dallas got on the board in the middle frame with a wrist shot from Jamie Benn at 4:49. Matt Duchene found the 2-2 equalizer at 16:53.

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