Alex Bregman is a Valentine's day gift from John Henry and the Red Sox

John Henry gave Red Sox fans a surprise, early Valentine's Day gift late Wednesday night just before they laid their heads down to sleep. It was much needed to reignite the flame that had been flickering in the romance between fans and owner. Doubts have been creeping in,

Providence Friars go old school and almost pull off huge comeback against former coach Pitino

It was almost a storybook ending for the Providence College Friars — almost. The Friars trailed by 19 points with only ten minutes left in the game. The offense had only managed to score 34 points in the first 30 minutes of the game, most of it coming from the hot,

Local kid Liam Coen named head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars

I was a sophomore at Cumberland High School in Rhode Island in the fall of 1985. My parents didn't allow me to play football, but I loved the game and wanted to be around it. So when one of my friends who was the starting running back on

Super Bowl on the line: Can Buffalo get past Kansas City? Is Washington a team of destiny?

I went 3-1 in my divisional round picks last week. There was no shame in having my only loss be Detroit losing to Washington. I'm sure I was far from being alone on that one. Against the spread, I was only 1-3, thanks, in part, to Kansas City,

The most exciting weekend of the NFL season on tap

The season came to an abrupt end for five teams last week. The most disappointed team had to have been the 14-win Minnesota Vikings. They dominated the rest of the NFL, but just couldn't figure out how to beat the Lions and Rams. The Bucs were the most

Better late than never: Vrabel is the new head coach of the Patriots

My best advice to Mike Vrabel while he is, literally, receiving bouquets of flowers from Robert Kraft, fans, and media is enjoy your honeymoon period. It will last until August. Everything is great right now. Vrabel will be given the benefit of the doubt during the draft and free agent

NFL Wildcard weekend picks: Which teams are peaking at the right time

Note to self: Don't ever bet on the final week of NFL regular season games. I knew going in Week 18 it was going to be ugly, but damn. Kansas City and Buffalo couldn't have been more obvious that they wanted to lose. The Dolphins, Bucs,

When did Kraft know that he wanted to can Mayo?

Well, that happened fast. I was thinking of writing that Jerod Mayo was fired before many fans even made it out of the parking lot at Gillette Stadium after New England's win (loss?) over Buffalo in the season finale. Typically, that statement would have been true. Not this

Week 18 NFL picks: Minnesota-Detroit will end the NFL's regular season in explosive fashion

The final week of the regular season has arrived. There are many teams, including the New England Patriots – proud new owners of the #1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft – who can't wait to pack their bags after Sunday's game and put this season in the

Week 17 NFL picks:Time to shut down Drake Maye? Jayden Daniels pulls another win out of his hat

I am embarrassed to show my face this week. Good thing I'm a writer. I watch a lot of YouTube videos of people making their NFL picks. That's my research, people. I often laugh to myself when I see some of these bigger named NFL "

Buehler, Buehler

The Red Sox missing out on Juan Soto may be the best thing that ever happened to them. It's not like they are a perennial playoff team missing that one piece to get them over the hump to obtain a World Series ring. Instead, the Red Sox are

Remembering Jim Donaldson: The end of an era in Providence sports journalism

There is never a good way to find out someone you know has died. Such was the case Thursday afternoon when I was scrolling through social media. I kept scrolling down and down. Ho-hum. It was all the typical stuff on my timeline. There were reports about the Patriots maybe

Week 16 NFL preview: Can anyone slow down Josh Allen, aka Superman?

Last week was a solid week for me. It would have been made better if Mac Jones could have completed the upset of the Jets. What was that thing the Rams and 49ers did last Thursday night? Was that supposed to be a "football" game? 12-6? What year

Shut Drake Maye down for the season after Sunday's game in Buffalo

I was ridiculed, recently, on a Patriots' podcast for a question I posed. That's okay. I once had a melanoma removed from my back and my skin doctor told me it was a good thing I had thick skin. I said, "I know." I responded

You said it, I didn't

Oh, Jerod. When will you ever learn? Jerod Mayo is a rookie coach. We expect mistakes from any rookie – be it a coach or player. What we expect is for rookies to learn from their mistakes and to show that they are learning on the job. Let’s take a

Week 15: Desmond Ridder and Chad Ryland Revenge Games. Are you excited?

I knew Week 14 was going to be tough and it was. It wasn't all bad. Miami not only came back from 8 down to the Jets in the 4th quarter, but they covered the 5.5-point spread by scoring a walk off touchdown in overtime. The Falcons,

Should the Red Sox be in on Juan Soto?

It sounds as if we may be hours away from learning what uniform 26-year-old superstar outfielder Juan Soto will be donning next year. Everyone knew Soto would be a free agent after the season ended. Boston fans weren't very interested in following the news, though. They knew better.

NFL picks: Chargers-Chiefs, Green Bay-Detroit highlight Week 14

It was a great bounceback week for me after a s0-so week (by my very high standards) the week before. It is amazing how good I was on my picks, but not so good on picking the over/unders. It was a crazy week for over/unders, though, as a

Grading the Patriots’ offseason: Bring back a 4-13 team and you have a 4-13 team... or worse

Bill Belichick used to say the season really starts after Thanksgiving. For too many seasons lately, including this one, the season has been over before it ever had a chance to begin for the Patriots by Thanksgiving.  The Patriots were never expected to be playing meaningful games in December this

Payton Pritchard, the silent assassin

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown get all the attention, and rightfully so, but the secret to this team’s defense is their depth. Take Tatum and Brown off the team and it may well still be a playoff team. On any given night, there are seven players who can score

Week 13 NFL predictions: Patriots last chance for a win, Eagles-Ravens should be a beauty

When I went back and reviewed my picks from Week 12 I was like, “Uh oh.” I was under .500 on picking winners, but when I checked my picks against the spread, I found myself going, “win, win, win, win.” I think I won my first six or seven games

Week 12: Are the Ravens contenders or pretenders? Lions keep roaring

I was proud of a few of my picks in Week 11 and then others I was like “what was I thinking?” I was spot on about the Colts upsetting the Jets, although it came down to the last minute. I was right about the Bills giving the Chiefs their

Week 11 picks: Could the Rams-Patriots game harken back to 2001?

Week 10 was a beauty for me. I went 10-4 in all three categories. My season totals are now: Moneyline:  61-27 Against the spread:  49-36-1 Point total O/U: 45-42 It feels good to get over .500 in the point total betting. That was bothering me. Week 11 has some

Week 10 NFL picks

CIN @ BALT (-6.5)   Total: 52.5 The Bengals are hanging around the fringes of the playoff race. It would help if their two diva receivers were better team players. Ja’Marr Chase held out all camp looking for more money and the Bengals looked rusty in their first couple

Week 9 picks: Chiefs lose their first game, Patriots two-game winning streak

It may not have been the best of weeks for me with my picks, particularly against the spread and over/under on the point totals. But I don’t care. I got the big one right. I nailed the Patriots upsetting the Jets. That’s all I care about. I