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Mavericks assistant coach Jared Dudley says ‘it’s all love’ for Boston even with Celtics up

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Mavericks assistant coach Jared Dudley says ‘it’s all love’ for Boston even with Celtics up


Mavericks assistant coach Jared Dudley still finds pride in calling Boston his “second home” even as the Celtics have pushed Dallas to the brink of elimination.

After all, Boston is where Dudley developed into a “young man,” turning in a legendary career at Boston College in the 2000s before being taken by Charlotte in the 2007 draft.

Nearly 17 years after leaving Chestnut Hill, Dudley, 38, finds himself up against the toughest challenge he’s faced in the NBA, as a player or coach, one he is embracing.

“Everyone knows Boston fans are one of the best fans in the NBA,” Dudley told the Herald in an exclusive, after the Mavericks’ shoot-around Monday at TD Garden. “I’ve always felt ingrained (here). It’s an honor to play the Celtics.”

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“If you want to win a championship you want to go against an organization like this to cement your legacy,” he added. “It’s been fun but it’s been difficult because they’re so good.”

Dallas blew Boston out in Game 4 on Friday, handing the Celtics their worst loss of the season and the third most lopsided defeat in Finals history, but still trail 3-1 in the series. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit.

Dudley said he felt “optimistic” about his team’s prospects in Monday night’s Game 5, while understanding the likelihood that Boston would come out flat, once more, was slim. The Celtics scored just 35 points in Friday’s first half, their lowest point total in any half this season.

“It’s a good nervous,” Dudley said of his team’s overall attitude after a relaxed but playful shoot-around. “You have to be on your heels to play the best, you have to be desperate which we are. We know their crowd is going to feed off them. We have to do the little stuff.”

It didn’t take long for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to make an impression on Dudley, who praised the duo in 2017 during an interview with the Herald when he was in his second stint with the Phoenix Suns.

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“This team is setting itself up for the next 10 years,” Dudley said then.

He was right.

The Celtics are excelling, Dudley said, as Tatum and Brown have become “more willing passers.” The duo combined for 32 assists in Games 2 and 3, as Boston took the commanding 3-0 lead.

The additions of Derrick White and Jrue Holiday have solidified the team’s identity, Dudley said.

“The key with them is you can’t give Tatum any easy dunks off of turnovers, and you can’t give any open threes,” Dudley said. “I’d rather have White have the open three than Tatum, to get him going, because these guys are young guys, they want to play well, it’s the NBA Finals.”

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“Their job is to score, our job is to make it difficult,” he added. “Even if you make it difficult, they can still make shots.”

After entering free agency in 2019, Dudley was rumored to have been interested in coming back to Boston in what would have been sort of a homecoming for the former BC Eagle. He wanted to provide his veteran presence to a championship-contending team, but the Celtics never made an offer, he said.

Instead, the San Diego native returned to southern California, joining the Lakers prior to the 2019-20 season. Dudley and the likes of LeBron James and Anthony Davis went on to win the 2020 Finals in the bubble.

Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd served as an assistant coach on that Lakers squad before he became head coach of Dallas in the 2021-22 season, Dudley’s first year as an assistant.

“Eventually I want to become a head coach,” Dudley told the Herald, “so (I’m) getting the experience with how J-Kidd goes and his game plans, his adjustments, me running the defense, helping with substitutions, getting on Luka (Doncic).”

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If the Mavericks want to extend the series against Boston, Dudley said it will come down to guard Kyrie Irving finding himself. The Boston crowd relentlessly slung “Kyrie sucks” chants against the former Celtic in Games 1 and 2, when Irving combined for just 28 points.

Irving woke up when the series shifted to Dallas, scoring 56 points combined in Games 3 and 4.

“The fans are getting on him in a different way than booing. It’s personal,” Dudley said. “When it’s personal you want to be able to respond, sometimes you’re not in the right mind-frame or space, and even he’d tell you he struggled. It’s his job to find ways to overcome it.”

Dudley, on the other hand, acknowledged he has a “great personal connection” with Celtics fans and the city as a whole which he attributed to his four years at BC.

The 15-year NBA veteran ranks sixth all-time in scoring in school history, and Dudley was voted the ACC Player of the Year in 2007 and was a second team All-American.

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“They know the accolades I’ve had in Boston, of showing them love,” he said. “I’ve done camps here, I’ve given back here, I’ve given to BC financially. It’s all love when it comes to Boston.”



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Boston, MA

Texas A&M SS Boston Kellner suffers orbital bone fracture

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Texas A&M SS Boston Kellner suffers orbital bone fracture


(KBTX) – Texas A&M shortstop Boston Kellner suffered a fractured orbital bone after he was hit in the face with a fastball in Friday night’s series opener at Ole Miss, according to a team spokesperson.

He did not sustain a concussion, and there was no damage to his eye, a team spokesperson said.

The extent of the injury was first reported on the SEC Network+ broadcast.

The true freshman has been a starter for the Aggies since the beginning of the season, slashing .248/.432/.418. He has five home runs and 27 RBIs, typically batting at the bottom of the order. Defensively, he has a .928 fielding percentage.

Ben Royo entered in his place and was a key contributor early Saturday. The senior blasted a pair of home runs against Ole Miss on his first two hits of the season. He entered Saturday’s first game with four at-bats this season.

A&M has struggled with injuries as of late. Chris Hacopian, who also could have been an option to fill in at shortstop, has been relegated to the designated-hitter role as he recovers from a leg injury suffered during the Florida series. Third baseman Nico Partida remains out with a pulled hamstring he sustained against Auburn.

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What we know about wrong-way driver killed in head-on collision with state trooper in Lynnfield – The Boston Globe

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What we know about wrong-way driver killed in head-on collision with state trooper in Lynnfield – The Boston Globe


Court records show that Marrero was the father of three children, the oldest of whom is 17. The youngest two children, twins, are 13 years old; Marrero’s death came days before their 14th birthday.

Records in Middlesex Probate and Family Court also suggest that Marrero faced financial difficulties and personal troubles, stemming in part from a work injury that family members said caused a bout of depression and deteriorating behavior in his personal life.

For nearly a decade, Marrero worked at Dewberry, a Boston engineering consulting firm, court records show, obtaining a job as an architectural design apprentice in 2005. He left the company in 2014, according to a company spokesperson.

Hernan Marrero.Facebook

Throughout that time, he doubled as a bartender on the side, working at Mexican restaurants in Boston and Waltham, court records show.

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A knee injury ended Marrero’s career at Dewberry, court records show, and he left the company shortly thereafter.

That injury, according to court documents, was the catalyst for what his wife described as a “major depressive episode,” which she said contributed to the strain in their marriage. The couple, who had been married for more than 20 years, separated in 2022.

Records also show that Marrero struggled with debts to family members and credit card companies. During his divorce proceedings, it was unclear how much money he was taking home in income.

Marrero briefly owned and operated a contracting business, 109 Construction, but the corporation was administratively dissolved in 2024, according to state filings.

Marrero had lived in US since at least 2001, holding legal status. He became a naturalized citizen in March 2021, court records show.

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Social media posts suggest he was active in the tight-knit Venezuelan community in Massachusetts. Photos show him cheering on Venezuela at a World Baseball Classic watch party in Brighton earlier this year.

Court records appear to show Marrero’s interest in art and music, owning a Venezuelan guitar, conga drums, and several Venezuelan paintings, as well as homemade winemaking setup.

Marrero’s family could not be reached for comment. A close friend reached by the Globe declined to comment.

Trainor had just completed his shift at about 2 a.m. on Wednesday and was driving home when he responded to a report for a Jeep traveling south in the northbound lanes of Route 1, near the Lynnfield overpass.

Raised in Salem, Trainor began his public safety career as an Essex County correction officer before graduating from the State Police academy in 2023, State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble said.

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Trainor’s fiancée, Jessica D. Ostrowski, of Georgetown, posted an emotional message to social media Thursday, describing the late trooper as “my absolute best friend.”

“I am beyond proud for the amount of love you have been given by those who loved and cared about you,” she wrote.

Travis Andersen and Jeremiah Manion of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Material from previous Globe coverage was used.


Camilo Fonseca can be reached at camilo.fonseca@globe.com. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports.





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Funding scandal-hit Croft schools in Boston to close this summer after all

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Funding scandal-hit Croft schools in Boston to close this summer after all


Administrators at the Croft School, struggling after allegations of financial fraud, haven’t been able to find a buyer for its Boston locations, which will now close at the end of the school year, parents were told Friday.

Millions of dollars were raised by families and community members to keep the private school open for a few more months while Croft School administrators scrambled to find a buyer. But in Friday’s email, the chief restructuring officer and independent sale advisor said that two parties expressed interest but they ultimately had to pivot toward winding operations down.

“To be clear, the 2025-2026 school year will be completed based on the availability of parent funding. However, without a viable timetable for a transaction, we are faced with this difficult decision,” the email said.

About 350 students had attended the Croft School’s three campuses, two in Boston and one in Providence. Regular tuition starts at $31,000, according to the website.

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Millions were raised to keep the private school open for a few more months but the Croft School is looking for a buyer as a long-term fix to its financial problems.

More than 60 families unenrolled from the South End campus over the weekend, the email said.

News of the debt crisis surprised parents in March, when the school’s board revealed in a letter that founding Executive Director Scott Given admitted to fabricating a letter of credit regarding a possible expansion and keeping two sets of books, overstating the school’s revenue while understating its expenses.

The discovery that the school was more than $13 million in debt came after police were alerted to possible fraud. The school has said it’s cooperating with multiple investigations involving Given, who has been suspended.

The private school, with two locations in Boston and one in Providence, requires $5 million to stay open for the rest of the schoolyear.

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Given has been sued by at least one Boston parent, accusing him of running a Ponzi scheme. His legal team has said he has no comment.

Parents rallied to save the school, raising enough funds to keep classes going.

The officials in charge of the sale noted “how hard many of you worked to maintain The Croft School as you know it,” but added that the “difficult circumstances, uncertain financials and condensed timeframe made this a trying environment for purchasers to timely make a binding offer for the schools.”



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