FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Matthew Stafford remembers what didn’t go right during his last visit to New England, in 2014 when he was still with the Detroit Lions. “We came in with I think the No. 1 or top five rush defense in the league. I’m not sure they ran it once,” Stafford said this […]
Kyle Hightower | AP Sports Writer
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Patriots coach Jerod Mayo believes win over Bears can be template for the rest of the season
Jerod Mayo has vowed the second half of the Patriots’ season will be focused on making positive steps toward the future. His team continued to make good on that pledge, bouncing back from an overtime loss at Tennessee last week with a 19-3 dismantling of the host Chicago Bears that the first-year coach compared to the Patriots’ […]
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Jacoby Brissett is selected Patriots starting quarterback for Week 1 against Cincinnati
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Patriots coach Jerod Mayo is putting the keys to his offense in the hands of the veteran quarterback on his roster over the franchise’s potential quarterback of the future. Mayo selected Jacoby Brissett as the starting quarterback for New England’s season opener at Cincinnati, one of the biggest decisions of the […]
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Jacoby Brissett sees himself as the Pats starting QB heading into Week 1
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Until he hears otherwise, Jacoby Brissett is planning to take the field as the Patriots starting quarterback in Week 1 against Cincinnati. “In my eyes I am,” Brissett said Tuesday during an appearance on WEEI radio in Boston. “I haven’t heard anything differently. So that’s what I have to go off […]
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Witt, Melendez both homer to help Royals beat Red Sox 6-1 for 4th straight win
BOSTON (AP) — Bobby Witt Jr. and MJ Melendez each had solo home runs, Cole Ragans allowed one run over seven innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Boston Red Sox 6-1 on Friday night for their fourth consecutive victory. Adam Frazier, Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez (with two) all added RBIs for Kansas […]
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Celtics star Jayson Tatum agrees to 5-year, $314 million supermax extension, AP source says
Jayson Tatum is the newest member of the NBA’s $300 million club. The Boston Celtics star has agreed to a five-year, $314 million contract extension to remain with the reigning NBA champions, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Monday. The new pact will begin with the 2025-26 season and keep […]
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Ownership group of NBA champion Boston Celtics is putting team up for sale
BOSTON (AP) — The ownership group that controls the NBA champion Boston Celtics says it intends to sell all its shares of the team. In a statement released Monday, Boston Basketball Partners LLC said it intends to sell the majority of its shares in 2024 or early 2025. The balance of its shares would then close in […]
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Devers, Hamilton homer, Red Sox rally from 4-run deficit to outlast Blue Jays 7-6
BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Celtics made Fenway Park the latest stop on their post-NBA championship tour. The Red Sox marked the occasion by coming through with what manager Alex Cora called perhaps their best win of the season. Jarren Duran drove in Ceddanne Rafaela with a ninth-inning single to help the Red Sox cap […]
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Cue the duck boats: Boston salutes Celtics’ record 18th NBA championship with parade
BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics entered the season vowing to turn recent playoff heartbreaks into happiness. Eight months later, they toasted the franchise’s 18th championship in what has become the signature Boston celebration, joined Friday by a huge crowd for a duck boat parade to mark the 13th championship won this century by one of […]
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Celtics win 18th NBA championship with 106-88 Game 5 victory over Dallas Mavericks
BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum put his hands behind his head, with TD Garden fans standing on their feet cheering around him, and took it all in. Walking to the bench, he wrapped both arms around Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. The journey was complete. The Boston Celtics again stand alone among NBA champions. Tatum had 31 points, 11 […]
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Celtics take season’s worth of lessons into Game 5 of NBA Finals with latest chance to secure title
BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics picked the most inopportune time to play their worst game of the season. Boston’s 122-84 Game 4 loss to Dallas had all kinds of superlatives, and none of them were good. It ended the Celtics’ 10-game playoff win streak. It was the Celtics’ lowest scoring output of the season and marked the […]
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Tom Brady enshrined into Patriots Hall of Fame during star-studded night
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Tom Brady brought the New England Patriots endless memories and six Super Bowl trophies during his two-decade run with the team. The Patriots made sure his induction into the franchise’s Hall of Fame was a celebration unlike it had ever thrown before. Dozens of Brady’s former teammates and coaches, spanning multiple […]
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Celtics traded for Jrue Holiday with NBA Finals in mind, and now they’re 2 wins away from title
BOSTON (AP) — This moment is exactly why the Boston Celtics went out and got Jrue Holiday. When president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and the rest of the front office sat down after last season to piece together their next steps following Boston’s Eastern Conference finals loss to Miami, a question hovered over them. […]
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Celtics’ Kristaps Porzingis suddenly a big problem in Finals for a Mavericks team that cast him off
BOSTON (AP) — The Mavericks couldn’t figure out how best to utilize big man Kristaps Porzingis during his three seasons in Dallas. Three years later, the Mavericks now have a big Porzingis problem in the NBA Finals. Dallas coach Jason Kidd said before the start of the series that he didn’t think Porzingis received nearly […]
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Celtics rout Mavericks 107-89 in Game 1 of NBA Finals behind Brown, returning Porzingis
BOSTON (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis didn’t want to make predictions about how his body would respond heading into the NBA Finals after he spent more than a month on the sideline with a calf injury. Just fine, it turned out. Jaylen Brown scored 22 points, Porzingis made an immediate impact off the bench and added 20 and the […]
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Celtics will win unprecedented 18th title if stars Tatum and Brown focus on details, not emotions
BOSTON (AP) — Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla doesn’t point to just one moment he believes helped his team get past the emotions of losing to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals two years ago. There were many. “You can pick numerous experiences that everybody in our locker room has been through that you […]
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Celtics have followed ‘craziness’ of Joe Mazzulla’s coaching style straight to the NBA Finals
BOSTON (AP) — When Celtics guard Derrick White stood in the corner behind the 3-point line late in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals as teammate Jaylen Brown drove into the lane, drew defenders and flipped a pass toward him, White felt prepared for the moment. That’s because Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla had simulated scenarios just […]
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Tatum scores 36, Brown hits 3 to force OT and Celtics edge Pacers 133-128 in Game 1 of East finals
BOSTON (AP) — The Celtics entered the playoffs expecting to get everyone’s best shot. The East’s top seed barely survived a tough one to open the Eastern Conference finals. Jayson Tatum scored 36 points, including 10 in overtime after Jaylen Brown’s tying 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds remaining in regulation, and Boston rallied just in time for a […]
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Eastern Conference finals is a matchup of season-long favorite Celtics and proud underdog Pacers
BOSTON (AP) — So much about the journey the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers have taken to the Eastern Conference finals has been about what – or specifically who – they haven’t had to face to get to here. Top-seeded Boston mostly coasted to a 4-1 first-round series win over a Miami Heat team that […]
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Jacoby Brissett is embracing role of mentor during his 2nd stint with the Patriots
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Jacoby Brissett had no expectations the first time he walked into the New England Patriots’ training facility in 2016 as a wide-eyed, 23-year-old rookie quarterback. A third-round pick, he was joining a team that had a four-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback in Tom Brady at the time and an entrenched backup in […]
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Jayson Tatum scores 25 to lead Celtics past Cavaliers 113-98 and into 3rd consecutive East finals
BOSTON (AP) — Al Horford wanted to savor the moment. With play stopped and the Celtics’ victory no longer in doubt, Horford turned in the direction of the sideline, walked a few paces, stopped and extended his hands overhead, bringing an already raucous TD Garden crowd to its feet in applause. The task was done. […]
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Brown, White lead Celtics’ 3-point onslaught, powering Boston to 120-95 Game 1 win over Cavaliers
BOSTON (AP) — When Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum have it going, it usually means good things for the Boston Celtics. This postseason, it’s also been opening up the floor —- and the 3-point line —- for Derrick White. That’s added a new layer to a team that was already the one to beat in […]
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David Pastrnak scores in overtime to lift Bruins to Game 7 win over rival Maple Leafs
BOSTON (AP) — With the Boston Bruins’ season on the brink and the team’s top scorer mired in a scoring slump, coach Jim Montgomery didn’t hesitate to publicly challenge David Pastrnak to do more in Game 7 against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It helped bring out some of his best hockey at the perfect moment. […]
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Celtics advance to East semifinals, beating short-handed Heat 118-84 in Game 5
BOSTON (AP) — If this playoff run is about redemption for the Boston Celtics, it had to start with exacting some revenge against the Miami Heat. A year ago, Miami embarrassed Boston in a Game 7 showdown at TD Garden. This time, the Celtics returned the favor. Jaylen Brown and Derrick White each scored 25 […]
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Knies scores in overtime, Matthews-less Maple Leafs avoid elimination with 2-1 win over Bruins
BOSTON (AP) — Toronto didn’t have its biggest scoring threat on the ice for a must-win matchup with Boston. But the Maple Leafs did just enough to put the Bruins’ latest playoff lead in jeopardy. Matthew Knies scored less than three minutes into overtime off a feed from John Tavares and Toronto beat Boston 2-1 […]