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What’s wrong with me? C’s and B’s are in the playoffs... it’s baseball season... and yet...


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I see a lot of Pedr
I'm from the neighborhoods of Boston. The local teams are ingrained. For our family it was the Sox, C's Bruins and Pats when they came into existence in that order growing up. I cried as a kid for the Sox and B's of the 50's and 60's. I reveled with the C's at the same time. I was thrilled when my older sister told me Bill Russell asked her out, and then devastated when (because she was a fan too) turned him down because he was married. I came of age during the Orr/Espisito era of Bruins Hockey. I worked the door at one of the clubs the Bruins often frequented. I threw out Wayne Cashman on several occasions, but he was a gentleman each time. I was in the same bar softball league with Derrick Sanderson, who own Zelda's. He played but never owned a glove for some reason. When he played us, he used mine.

I owned the record they made when the Sox FINALLY won a pennant. Think of it as 3 days to Glory in 1967, including a song about Yaz. I was at the airport when the B's brought back the cup in 1970. I was at the Garden when Russell won the last of his Championships. I was there when Cowens won HIS first. I played tag football for the Celts front office in the mid 80's (Volk was a friend). Larry Bird once nodded to me in the locker room because he knew I was one of Jan's tag football guys, but he didn't know my name.....or care. ;)

The day the Pats won their way to the Superbowl, I booked a flight to NO and saw that game, that I knew was lost even when they were up 3-0. That's how great that Bears team was. What a 3 day party that was. (and as an aside, every superbowl that ISN'T in NO is a lost opportunity)

The 2 year old in the Kimmell/Brady skit was an accurate description of a Boston fan of that era. Hard passionate, and loyal with an attitude, but always expecting the worst to happen. And that BEFORE the last 20 years of 12 Championships for the city.

But I got older. I don't even think about the Sox until around mid August. The same goes for the B's and C's. I catch a game every now and then. I check the standings on occasion, but I don't get interested in their seasons until April. But of course now I'm all in on both.

The Pats are the only team that holds my attention year round, and controls my calendar for the FULL season. You couldn't pay me to see a preseason game of any team, yet once they put on the pads, I'm at most TC practices. Go figure

....and why I bothered to write this down slips my mind. ;)

Ken, was that Daisy Buchanan's where you worked the door? I hung out there quite a bit mid-late 70's, as did a lot of Boston pro athletes. Wonder if it still exists.
I worked the door at a club in Kenmore Square, owned by the mob. They were there a lot. Across the street from The Rat, where Ricky Marinick was the doorman. As in, the hitman, who wrote a bestseller. We grew up same neighborhood. He was a couple years older than me. Always thought he was a good guy. Serious martial artist.
You probably carded me a few times,lol.
 
I used to be extremely passionate about the Celtics up until Bird retired. Now I'll only watch them if they are in a deciding playoff game. I was also passionate about the Sox until Pedro left. I'll still catch a game now and then but only if there's nothing better to do. I'm not sure what happened but what used to be so exciting for me to watch has become boring.

The only thing that hasn't changed is my love of the Patriots. I refuse to miss a game.

Here is Puerto Rico going to baseball games is great. They have two leagues. One they call AA (non-affiliated) and the other is winter baseball which is affiliated with MLB. The AA league is awesome. The fans are really passionate about the games. There are many cross-town rivalries and the league is very professionally run. It's a league of a bygone era. What's even better about it is they mostly just play double-headers on Sundays. One $6 ticket covers both games. The games usually start at 10am or 11:30am. They are selling beer ($2.00) as soon as the gates open and some people even tailgate in some towns. You can get a heaping plate of traditional Puerto Rican food for about $6. They also have no problem bringing your own food and beer. I usually bring my own beer because they usually only offer Coors Light (the league sponsor) which I really don't care for. But you can also get a strong mixed drink for $4 if one desires. You can sit wherever you want. There are about 7 stadiums I can drive to from where I live in a half-hour of less.

When I lived in Quincy I frequented many minor-league games. I used to be a season-ticket holder for the Brockton Rox. Even when they switched from an independent league to a summer collegiate league. I loved catching a Sea Dogs game up in Portland and sometimes, if the schedule worked out, I'd head up to Manchester to watch a an early Fisher Cats game then head to Lowell and watch and afternoon Spinners game.

I wouldn't go to a game at Fenway if you gave me a free ticket anymore. It's a hassle getting in there. Ticket prices for a decent seat is outrageous. The prices are ridiculous for food and beer and the seating is terrible. Also they act as if it's a privilege to attend a game there. The last straw is when I went to a game by myself. It was a rainy, cold day with many seats empty. I had standing room tickets but kept eyeing some empty seats for a few innings. At around the 4th inning when it was obvious nobody was going to be sitting in those seats I went in sat in one. About half a second later an attendant came and kicked me out of that seat. Give me a break. Also it's really disheartening to see a multi-millionaire not hustling down to first base.

When I see friends posting on FB about how they are At the Sox Game! I can only think of how much $$$ they are doling out for the privilege and how much more fun it is and how much of a better value it is at the minor-league level (to me anyway). If there is that huge of a difference in the quality of play vs. the minor leagues I'm not seeing it. The only major difference I see is at the A level (i.e. the Lowell Spinners) the kids don't have much power so you're not seeing many home runs.
 
Even though I've been in Vegas now for 28 years, I'm still a die hard fan for all of them.

Patriots always have been my first love even when they sucked as a kid. Possibly because it was the game I was best at myself.

These days, Bruins are number two on my list even with the Golden Knights now in existence. Yes, I am a fan of theirs too.

Sox, baseball is just too slow of a game for me these days. Let me know when the playoffs start.

Celtics, I hate today's NBA game. Too many time outs. Way too much inconsistency on foul calls etc.
 
Is it safe to say Brady is the greatest athlete in Boston sports history? Sorry, I'm not from there.

It's close between Brady and Russell.
 
It would be almost to insane to say he isn’t, but then again you have three athletes who arguably cannot be second place to anyone in their sport.

Brady - No sense explaining this one

Orr - I said “arguably”, and I feel very strongly that Orr > Gretzky though that is not majority opinion. The longevity gap is a big factor, but I think he was significantly better than Gretzky.

Russell - He won 2 National Championships and then NBA 11 Championships. It’s something like 13 in 14 years. Many people old enough to to remember Russell rank him above Jordan, Kareem, LeBron, etc.

So Brady is universally held as the best QB/football player ever, which it’s probably safe to say he’s number one. Orr and Russell might be #1 in their sports, but it isn’t a more universal opinion.

I think it’s definitely safe to say Brady has surpassed other absolute legends like Ted Williams and Larry Bird.

When it come to absolute dominance in their prime, I’ll still take Pedro Martinez over anyone. I mean anyone. There’s no one else I’d rather see live. He wasn’t human.

Great response to the question.

When you look at it we could make a case that many GOAT athletes have been Boston athletes.

Best QB - Brady
Best BB Player - Russell
Best Hockey Player - Orr
Best Pitcher - Pedro
Best Hitter - Ted Williams

If only the Red Flops didn't trade The Babe.
 
It would be almost to insane to say he isn’t, but then again you have three athletes who arguably cannot be second place to anyone in their sport.

Brady - No sense explaining this one

Orr - I said “arguably”, and I feel very strongly that Orr > Gretzky though that is not majority opinion. The longevity gap is a big factor, but I think he was significantly better than Gretzky.

Russell - He won 2 National Championships and then NBA 11 Championships. It’s something like 13 in 14 years. Many people old enough to to remember Russell rank him above Jordan, Kareem, LeBron, etc.

So Brady is universally held as the best QB/football player ever, which it’s probably safe to say he’s number one. Orr and Russell might be #1 in their sports, but it isn’t a more universal opinion.

I think it’s definitely safe to say Brady has surpassed other absolute legends like Ted Williams and Larry Bird.

When it come to absolute dominance in their prime, I’ll still take Pedro Martinez over anyone. I mean anyone. There’s no one else I’d rather see live. He wasn’t human.

Not disagreeing with anything, but Brady's story isn't over yet.
 
I see a lot of Pedr


Ken, was that Daisy Buchanan's where you worked the door? I hung out there quite a bit mid-late 70's, as did a lot of Boston pro athletes. Wonder if it still exists.
I worked the door at a club in Kenmore Square, owned by the mob. They were there a lot. Across the street from The Rat, where Ricky Marinick was the doorman. As in, the hitman, who wrote a bestseller. We grew up same neighborhood. He was a couple years older than me. Always thought he was a good guy. Serious martial artist.
You probably carded me a few times,lol.
Talk about hitting the way back button. I worked at the Eastside and Brandy's one And two.
It was Ricky who hired me for my first bar job at KKKKaty's at the Kenmore club. So many good stories coming out of those jobs. I could do one a day and still have more in October.
 
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Gotta add #4 to that list.

I think his injury shortened career hurt him. We know that there has never been a player more dominant than him though.
 
Is this a unanimous top 5 (doesn’t have to be in that order)?

Tom Brady
Bobby Orr
Bill Russell
Ted Williams
Larry Bird
 
I don't get Bruins, Celtics or Red Sox games where I live.

I never miss a Pat's game unless there is a funeral.

There are online options available for out of town fans.

I couldn't care less about Basketball which has put me with odds of where I moved (CBB rules here in the Triangle), but am actively engaged with the Bs and Sox.

Reddit has entire boards for out of town streamers available assuming you could cast them to your tv from your phone/tablet or laptop or via a built in browser on a SmartTv/FireStick.
 
Gotta add #4 to that list.

I think his injury shortened career hurt him. We know that there has never been a player more dominant than him though.



Dominant isn't even a strong enough word for Orr. Everyone knows he's the only defenceman to ever lead the league in scoring but that doesn't scratch the surface of how complete his game was. The two other players that come up in the 'greatest ever' argument always seem to be Gretzky & Mario Lemieux, two guys that spent so little time in their own end they needed to be introduced to their own goaltenders. Orr’s career plus/minus record was plus 597. Not only is that the NHL's all time record but the next closest is Gretzky who in spite of being an offensive 'specialist' seldom on the ice against the other team's top scoring line (unlike Orr who almost always was) and playing 830 more games than Orr has a career plus/minus of 518. Lemieux's overall plus/minus record for his career was plus 115 which is nine less than Orr’s single-season NHL best record of plus 124
 
Is this a unanimous top 5 (doesn’t have to be in that order)?

Tom Brady
Bobby Orr
Bill Russell
Ted Williams
Larry Bird

I think so.

I mean....you can argue Pedro belongs as well. Statistically speaking, from 1998-2004 when compared to his peers and era (see live ball & steroids) he was one of the most dominant pitchers in the modern era. With that said it's an argument, but not one i'd fully get behind :p
 
Dominant isn't even a strong enough word for Orr. Everyone knows he's the only defenceman to ever lead the league in scoring but that doesn't scratch the surface of how complete his game was. The two other players that come up in the 'greatest ever' argument always seem to be Gretzky & Mario Lemieux, two guys that spent so little time in their own end they needed to be introduced to their own goaltenders. Orr’s career plus/minus record was plus 597. Not only is that the NHL's all time record but the next closest is Gretzky who in spite of being an offensive 'specialist' seldom on the ice against the other team's top scoring line (unlike Orr who almost always was) and playing 830 more games than Orr has a career plus/minus of 518. Lemieux's overall plus/minus record for his career was plus 115 which is nine less than Orr’s single-season NHL best record of plus 124

Bobby Orr is the greatest all-around hockey player to ever play the game.

He did everything at an elite-level or very well.

You could argue #4 could hold his own vs some of the all-time goons

 
Is this a unanimous top 5 (doesn’t have to be in that order)?

Tom Brady
Bobby Orr
Bill Russell
Ted Williams
Larry Bird

The first four should be pretty close to unanimous. You could probably generate one hell of a discussion over who the 5th one should be. For example I could easily see someone making a respectable argument for Ortiz, Cousy, Pedro, Havlicek or (insert name here)
 
Dominant isn't even a strong enough word for Orr. Everyone knows he's the only defenceman to ever lead the league in scoring but that doesn't scratch the surface of how complete his game was. The two other players that come up in the 'greatest ever' argument always seem to be Gretzky & Mario Lemieux, two guys that spent so little time in their own end they needed to be introduced to their own goaltenders. Orr’s career plus/minus record was plus 597. Not only is that the NHL's all time record but the next closest is Gretzky who in spite of being an offensive 'specialist' seldom on the ice against the other team's top scoring line (unlike Orr who almost always was) and playing 830 more games than Orr has a career plus/minus of 518. Lemieux's overall plus/minus record for his career was plus 115 which is nine less than Orr’s single-season NHL best record of plus 124

Gordie Howe belongs in the conversation for GOAT as well
 
I run around wild late at night when I think of our teams.
 
Gordie Howe belongs in the conversation for GOAT as well

I didn't say it was my list, just the two that always seem to come up ;)
Personally I'd say the top 5 are Orr followed by Maurice Richard, Howe, Jean Beliveau and Bobby Hull. I have a real problem putting guys that couldn't find their own end without a map ahead of any of them.
 
FOOTBALL GOAT - BRADY
BASKETBALL GOAT - JORDAN
HOCKEY GOAT - GRETZKY
BASEBALL GOAT - RUTH
 
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