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Fresh off the cover of TIME, Jaylen Brown is continuing to prove that he’s one of the NBA’s most interesting players. The 27-year-old, who helped the Boston Celtics win their 18th championship in June, recently tackled hot questions and even hotter wings in his “Hot Ones” appearance in which he said “technology is dope” and that one of the best things about his life is that he learned how to play chess.
Hot Ones host Sean Evans asked Brown a series of questions as the star shooting guard and small forward completed rounds of eating chicken wings coated in spicy hot sauce — we should note that he did not take a sip of the water or milk that was provided; though he did inquire as to whether previous contestants needed water, showing that his competitive spirit extends beyond the court.
Brown acknowledged he doesn’t do too many podcasts or talk too much in interviews but that he knows there’s been a lot out there about him this summer — from the Stephen A. drama to the Olympics snub.
“Some of the narratives kind of float, and I allowed them to float, but going forward I look forward to like clearing up some misconceptions and addressing some things in the past,” said Brown, who wore a ‘State your source’ t-shirt at Boston’s championship parade. “Maybe Stephen A. and I will have a sit-down at some point and hash things out.”
But the focus is also on basketball right now. With the preseason upon us (the Celtics got off on the right foot Friday in Abu Dhabi), Boston is getting ready to defend their championship, and Brown said the team’s mindset is about fighting complacency.
“I think the pressure and the expectation level needs to be raised,” he told Evans. “Human nature kind of sneaks in once you win, and makes you kind of relax.”
One of the key people in helping his team on that quest is head coach Joe Mazzulla, who has become known for some bizarre metaphors on occasion.
As an example, Brown said, “One of Coach Mazzulla’s favorite things is like ‘there’s no such thing as a foul. Either you die or you don’t.”
“He just has a bunch of like crazy quotes and mentality, like one of the things he’s coined is like we call our offense like the killer whale offense and we attack seals, cause killer whales like how they hunt seals, and we study like how killer whales attack as a unit and then we built our offense kind of like off killer whales,” Brown expanded. “So Joe definitely has a bunch of crazy stuff but there’s a method to his madness and obviously it works.”
From Mazzulla’s madness to Brown’s favorite philosopher — Tupac or Socrates — the Celtics star covered a wide range of topics in this particular interview, including the importance of technology, and the pros and cons of advanced statistics.
“I think technology is a great way to make the world more efficient. I definitely think ethics is something that should be maintained as technology advances because there’s no governance as we continue to make new things but technology is dope,” Brown said. “I’m super into it and I cant wait to be able to give it to communities that can benefit the most from it.”
Brown thinks the crossover between sports and technology, with analytics and data definitely leads to good results, but he says that he’s still a big believer in just the feel of a situation.
“I’m a big feel guy,” he said. “I trust the numbers but if a guy is hot or if a guy’s got it going, like the numbers and system it don’t matter. You gotta feed the hot hand so it’s just a balance and some people have better feels than others.”
Celtics star Jaylen Brown launched Boston XChange, a nonprofit he wants to spur economic growth in traditionally under-invested communities.
Brown, who is somewhat of a history buff, said he has trouble choosing who is the NBA’s most historical figure but he offered up a few names, including a Celtics icon.
“Of course you’d go Michael Jordan for his marketability and how he globalized the game especially during that Olympic timeframe, but you can also say from a cultural standpoint,” Brown started off. “Allen Iverson, and just him integrating culture which is so influential between music, sport, art, fashion, and how he represented like that, that urbanist of basketball.”
“Kobe Bryant and his mentality and how that translated from generation to generation and that’s going to continue to translate,” Brown continued. “Steph Curry influence on his generation. You see how the game is played now, it’s all threes.”
Lastly, Brown pointed out Bill Russell.
“Not just in sports, being the most winningest player, but how he seen his influence beyond an athlete or an entertainer. A lot of guys just want to keep it sports and basketball, but I think our value, our influence goes beyond and it depends if we want to use it or not, that’s it.”
Brown, who is already using his own influence to go beyond basketball, talked about the importance of self expression, saying, “I always encourage people to do what makes them feel the most expressive. We’re born to kind of stand out, so don’t be afraid to be unique, don’t be afraid to be yourself and don’t be afraid to think for yourself, that’s most important.”
Boston Celtics superstar Jaylen Brown just revealed his new sneaker. Here’s what the name of his new brand, 741, means; how Brown got here after falling out with Nike; and what people around Boston think of the shoe so far.
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Brown, who was selected by the Celtics with the third overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft, was asked if he remembers his first “welcome to the NBA moment” — and he certainly does.
“When that first check hits your bank account, you know, welcome,” he revealed. “That was my welcome cause like I told them to mail it to me so I could just feel it and touch it, I wanted to see my first check. I wanted to feel it in my hand. The first check I got was like $182,000 or something like that, and I remember seeing that as an 18-year-old coming from a single parent household, I was like alright, welcome to the NBA.”
Since that moment, Brown has certainly found more success in the league and now has one of the largest contracts in NBA history. The three-time NBA All-Star said his all-time favorite NBA buzzer beater is definitely in last season’s finals.
“Game 3, we were in Dallas. We were up 2-0, and they were storming back, like the Mavericks got hot. Kyrie started going crazy, like one minute, I feel like I hit a shot that kind of halted their momentum and kind of helped us carry out and get the win,” he shared. “That was this year and I think that ultimately help us get the championship.”
Brown also discussed his unique take on scouting other players, likening it all to “poetry in motion.”
“Being an elite defender you gotta study guys rhythm, there’s a rhythm and a cadence to how some people play, so if you see like certain guys they play to a certain beat, to a certain cadence. They play a certain style and if you know their style you can time what they’re gonna do next because you know the rhythm and the [beats per minute] that they kinda play at,” Brown said.
“Luka [Doncic] has a unique rhythm. It’s almost so slow that it’s hard to time. Kyrie [Irving] has a unique rhythm as well, very one of one, so his moves and his cadences is sometimes very, very hard to time he has a lot of counter moves like he can go and pivot off both feet, he can shoot with both hands, he can drive both directions which makes his rhythm a lot harder to track. Some guys only go right, some guys only go left, some guys have two moves that they go to. So I look at basketball as like poetry in motion, which is music, and everybody is playing their own song you know, and everybody samples from different artists, and they playing their own song and if you wanna stop them you gotta study their rhythm. You gotta learn when their beat is about to drop.”
It’s a unique perspective from someone who was the captain of his middle school chess team and loves the game to this day.
“I was a big gambit guy, I think one of the best things about my life is that I learned the game of chess,” Brown said. “Depending on what gambit, what trap or what style of play, you’re thinking about the end in the beginning, and in life, I like to encourage more to do the same, like think about the beginning and the end, like what is your mission? What is your purpose? What do you want your legacy to be? And you start to play the game based upon how you want to finish.”
The Celtics may be far off from this feat but many are already looking ahead to the end of the 2024-2025 season, hoping Boston can defend their title. Brown says the C’s will win back-to-back NBA finals if they stay healthy.
“Looking forward to this upcoming season,” he said. “Make sure you stop and see a game.”
It was that enthusiasm that made International Skating Union and U.S. Figure Skating officials want to bring the championships back to Boston in 2025. At the TD Garden on Thursday, Wagner joined 1984 Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton and current world champion Ilia Malinin to mark the start of single-session ticket sales for the event, which begin Friday at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster.
“That response at worlds is why I moved to Boston,” said Wagner, who now lives with her family on Nantucket.
While every year’s World Championships are important, the 2025 edition is particularly so. The 300 athletes expected to participate will be seeking to secure their nation’s spots for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina, Italy. In each discipline (men, women, pairs and ice dance), if a nation’s top two skaters or teams placements combined equal 13 or less, the nation receives the maximum three spots in that discipline.
“Boston is truly the first step to Milan,” said US Figure Skating president Sam Auxier.
Being one of the last major events before the 2026 Olympics, the 2025 World Championships also are important for purposes of momentum. Hamilton recalled that while he had won two world titles heading into the 1983 World Championships, it was his title that year that truly made him believe he could win gold at the 1984 Games.
“It was a situation where once I won in 1983, it felt like the Olympic gold medal was mine to lose,” said Hamilton.
Malinin will be looking to repeat after winning his world title in March in Montreal. Having made history in 2022 at Skate America, an international invitational held at The Skating Club of Boston, by landing the first quadruple axel at a major international event, he is looking forward to skating in front of the area’s audiences again.
“Here in Boston, they are really great fans of sports,” said Malinin. “They really get energetic and almost chaotic in a way, and it really helps us to feel that energy and how excited they are to see us skate.”
The World Championships are expected to bring a $40 million boost to the Boston economy, with 12,000 hotel room nights expected to be reserved between fans, skaters, coaches, volunteers, and media. Internationally, Boston is considered one of the sport’s hubs, and skaters were excited to hear of the event’s return to the area after a mere nine years, which is rare for the World Championships.
“It is rare for a city to host twice in such a short amount of time,” said Doug Zeghibe, executive director of The Skating Club of Boston, which is the host of the event. “The audience made 2016 a standout success.”
Kat Cornetta can be reached at sportsgirlkat@gmail.com.
BOSTON — It certainly wasn’t pretty at times, but the Bruins pulled off an overtime victory against the Calgary Flames on Thursday night.
The Bruins and Flames traded goals in the opening period, but then Boston scored twice in the second frame to take a 3-1 lead into the final 20 minutes of regulation.
Calgary didn’t fold. They pushed back with two goals of their own in the third period to force overtime. The Black and Gold were determined to not lose the extra point and Brad Marchand scored the game-winning goal with 20 seconds left of three-on-three play.
“We stuck with it,” Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm said. “Obviously, we don’t want to give up a 3-1 lead in the third, but we found a way to win a hockey game and that’s hard in this league. So, I’ll try to focus on the positives here.”
Lindholm opened the scoring for the Bruins with a first-period strike from newly reunited Czech mates David Pastrnark and Pavel Zacha.
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“I feel really good about my game,” Lindholm said. “It’s nice to get put out there in situations to succeed and it makes it fun for me. Feel that reward and obviously, get a goal, is always a good feeling.”
Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery praised Lindholm not only for the goal but also for his overall performance in the game.
“I thought Hampus was really skating. I thought he was on his toes tonight,” Montgomery said. “The really good thing, when Hampus is playing really well, and that goal is a perfect example, is he’s moving his feet in the neutral zone, he’s moving it north, and he’s jumping into the offensive zone to support the play. That way it’s easier for the defensemen to be uncovered.”
Not only did Pastrnak and Zacha connect on the Lindholm goal, but the duo also helped generate some of the Bruins’ best scoring chances and Zacha scored his first five-on-five goal of the season.
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“They played really well,” Montgomery said. “I thought that line was our best offensive line.”
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Here are more notes from Thursday’s Bruins-Flames game:
— Marchand now has 21 overtime goals in his career, which is the most in franchise history and third-most among all NHL players behind Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. The game-winner was the 79th of his career and ranks him third in Bruins history, trailing only Johnny Bucyk (88) and Patrice Bergeron (81).
— Zacha’s second goal of the season was his 300th NHL point. He joined linemate Pastrnak, Tomas Hertl and Ondrej Palat as the fourth active player born in Czechia with 300 points.
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— Cole Koepke joined Charlie Coyle and Matt Poitras on the third line and tallied his fourth goal of the season to extend the Bruins lead to 3-1 in the third period. Coyle earned his first assist of the season when he set up Koepke’s tally.
“As long as I’m playing the right way and creating opportunities, getting opportunities, that’s what I worry about. … I’m not really too worried about individual stuff,” Coyle said. “I want to play the right way for my team, make sure I’m on the right side of the puck, and pick my spots when to go and find that balance too.”
— The Bruins will look to build on the overtime win when they host former teammate Linus Ullmark and the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.
The matchup could feature Boston’s former formidable goalie tandem — Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman — facing each other for the first time since the former was traded to the Senators in the offseason, or Ullmark could possibly face the goalie the Bruins received in the trade — Korpisalo.
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Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pre- and postgame coverage on NESN.
Politics
Two Boston city councilors who have butted heads with the body’s progressive majority are voicing their concerns about City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune’s “conduct in meetings.”
Boston City Councilors Erin Murphy and Ed Flynn sent a formal communication to City Clerk Alex Geourntas dated Monday, which was listed in Wednesday’s City Council meeting agenda.
“The Council President frequently engages in commentary following the remarks of certain councilors, particularly myself and Councilor Flynn, which undermines the impartiality expected of the presiding officer,” Murphy wrote.
Louijeune was sworn into her two-year term as president earlier this year, replacing Flynn in the role.
When reached for comment, Louijeune said her focus is “to keep this honorable body and our great city moving forward.”
“As Council President, I continue to maintain an open-door policy to all of my colleagues if they have any questions or concerns that they would like to discuss in a professional and respectful manner,” she said in a statement.
Murphy and Flynn, who are moderates, have previously raised concerns in the press about the City Council. She told the Boston Herald that she sees “chaos and resistance” on the council, while Flynn said he feels “isolated” and bullied as he considers a mayoral bid next year.
Murphy lost her bid for Suffolk County clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court in September. The little-known seat turned into a proxy battle between progressive Boston pols like Mayor Michelle Wu, who backed Murphy’s opponent, and moderates like Flynn backing Murphy.
Late last month, Flynn was a sole objection to adding a home-rule petition filed by Wu as a last-minute addition to the council’s agenda. Audible gasps could be heard from the chamber, and someone cried “shame on you!” after the objection.
The communication filed Wednesday didn’t mention any specific incidents but noted that “several colleagues and members of the public have noted this behavior and expressed their discomfort with the perceived bias.”
“This behavior raises concerns about adherence to our established rules, specifically regarding the expectation that the Council President must step down from the dais to express personal opinions that are not procedural in nature,” the communication read.
Councilor Brian Worrell, who represents Mattapan, Dorchester, and parts of Jamaica Plain and Roslindale, also weighed in. He said Flynn and Murphy’s portrayal “is far from reality.”
“That politically-motivated plot has been a constant on social media and in the press since the start of the term. I urge councilors to sit down and communicate directly with the Council President,” Worrell said in a statement.
Councilor Liz Breadon, who represents Allston/Brighton, is the second-longest tenured member of the council and has served under four council presidents, she said.
“I vehemently disagree with these unfair and baseless characterizations of the Council President,” Breadon said. “These grievances reflect a brand of petty politics that I had hoped this body was above.”
In their letter, Murphy and Flynn ask Geourntas to take their concerns seriously, “as they affect the integrity of our council and the public’s perception of our work.”
“It is our hope that we can foster a more collaborative environment where all voices are heard and respected, adhering strictly to the rules that govern our conduct,” they wrote.
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