The Boston Sunday Sports Section
Welcome
Remember how much you loved reading the Sunday Globe Sports Section?
Welcome to the thinking fan’s modern Sunday Sports Section with features, analysis, and depth. The Boston Sunday Sports Section brings together the best Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, and Bruins articles, podcasts, videos, and tweets of the week all in one place, delivered to your inbox at 6:17 AM Boston time every Sunday morning — 617, for those keeping score.
But wait, there’s more. A Watch Guide so you always know where to find your teams. (Could there be any more streaming services? Wait, don’t answer that.) A Stat of the Week. A So-What summary for each team to put the week into a broader perspective. And the Long Game featuring the best long-form piece of Boston sports content of the week. All the links are to free sources, so you won’t get paywalled.
I’m Adam Steinmetz, a Boston-based sports writer and longtime Boston sports fan. The Boston Sunday Sports Section is where I bring that perspective to all four Boston teams every Sunday. Each issue opens with my Editor’s Take — my perspective on the week that was, the bigger picture behind the scores, and what it all means for the teams we love. Think of it as the columnist’s corner of your Sunday morning read.
Easy like Sunday morning.
Sports at their best create instant connections and long-term memories. Nobody high-fives a complete stranger at the end of a Broadway musical — and yet we all do at Fenway after a Ceddanne Rafaela walk-off home run. And I dearly hope that when he is my age, my son Jackson will still remember our annual father-son tradition of going to Fenway for Opening Day.
The initial bond that sparks these connections and memories, though, is between fan and team. Sometimes you choose your team, sometimes it chooses you. In either case, a big part of that connection comes from a feeling that you know the players as people. And that feeling takes time to build. Tom Brady played twenty seasons for the Patriots, Patrice Bergeron played nineteen for the Bruins, and Big Papi played fourteen for the Red Sox.
Celtic fans now have that feeling with Jayson Tatum in his ninth season with the team. They saw his pain when he went down with a torn Achilles in the playoffs last year and have witnessed his determination to get back on the court. They have seen his highs, winning an NBA Championship, and his lows, including some turnover and brick-filled playoff games.
What cemented this for me was how excited my son got to see Tatum’s son, Deuce, out on the court ahead of the team’s pregame warm-up at a recent Celtics game.
‘Dad, that’s Deuce,’ he screamed.
Deuce arrived in December 2017 after the Celtics drafted Tatum in June of that year. We have seen him grow from an adorable baby to a cute toddler to an eight-year-old boy who is not all that far from hitting NBA threes (see video below). Turning ten tomorrow, Jackson was completely convinced he could take the younger Deuce in a game of one-on-one, even after I reminded him Deuce had Jayson Tatum’s genes and coaching, and he had mine. But either way, recognizing Deuce strengthened his connection to the Celtics.
Tatum has grown from a teenager into a poised young man before our eyes. And we not only know him, we know his family. That matters.
Contrast that with the Red Sox. Can you even name the longest tenured Red Sox player without looking it up?
This lack of connection between fans and team may be the biggest long-term consequence of John Henry’s refusal to put all his chips into the center of the table on the Red Sox (or even half his chips). Mookie Betts could have been that guy. But instead of shipping up to Boston every spring, he was shipped out to Los Angeles. He has won three titles in Dodger Blue versus one as a Red Sox, and if he makes the Hall of Fame, he will likely go in with a Dodgers cap. It didn’t have to be that way.
On the flip side, the Patriots are rebuilding this connection with Drake and Ann Michael Maye’s baking videos, and with Mike Vrabel going mano a mano with draft prospects at their pro days. That is what will create those memories and high fives down the line.
Deuce Tatum on the court before pregame warm-ups for the Celtics March 25th game vs. OKC.
No years off
After the Patriots won Super Bowl LI in February 2017, Bill Belichick stood at the victory parade and led the crowd in a chant: “No days off. No days off. No days off.” When Belichick tried to trademark “No Days Off” (Bill’s Version) after he left the Patriots, the USPTO rejected it. The Patriots liked it so much that they had already trademarked it.
Joe Mazzulla owns the basketball version — No Years Off.
Before this season started, it was hard to find a mention of the Boston Celtics that didn’t include the words “gap year.” Jayson Tatum was gone. Jrue Holiday was gone. Kristaps Porzingis was gone. Al Horford was gone. See you in 2026-27.
Without a proven big man, without his best player, without the roster that carried him to Banner 18, Mazzulla turned a team everyone was ready to write off into the second seed in the Eastern Conference. He gave Jaylen Brown the keys and watched him become the alpha this team needed. Mazzulla made hitting the glass a non-negotiable from day one of the preseason. He benched players mid-game for missed box-outs — including Brown. The Celtics couldn’t replace what they lost in size. But they made up for it with an intentional focus and tenacity.
Then Tatum came back. And Mazzulla threaded the needle — getting the best of Tatum without losing what they had gained without him.
Mazzulla has won 50 games or more in each of his four seasons as head coach. The much-ballyhooed Erik Spoelstra also has four 50-win seasons, over an 18-year span. But, you know, Heat Culture.
Celtic Pride now rests heavily on the three-ball. The C’s tied an NBA record with 29 threes in Friday’s thrashing of the Pelicans, which clinched the two seed and home-court advantage over the Knicks, should they meet again this year in the playoffs.
Mazzulla doesn’t just deserve the Coach of the Year trophy. He deserves recognition for the best job done by any NBA head coach in recent memory.
The long-game piece from The Ringer below, while from that Banner 18 season, is even more relevant today in sharing some of the methods behind Mazzulla’s seeming madness.
The pundits forgot one thing: Joe Mazzulla does not do gap years.
The definitive piece on how Brown carried this team through the gap year and into legitimate contention. Free.
Mazzulla’s approach from Day 1: focus on what you know, not what you’ve lost. The inside story of a coaching masterclass.
▶ Garden Report on CLNS — Celtics vs. Pelicans Postgame: Clinching the 2 Seed + 29 Threes — YouTube
Same old story — and not just Trevor
Sometimes a picture is worth ten thousand words.
The dominoes above tell the story of how the Boston Red Sox arrived at Friday night — a night when Dustin May, who entered the contest with a 15.95 ERA, held them to two runs over six innings. The same Dustin May they acquired last summer for James Tibbs III, a power-hitting prospect they had just received in the Rafael Devers trade.
The Red Sox entered Saturday’s game with the same offensive problems they had last year. They are striking out too much. They are not hitting the ball out of the ballpark. They are not driving in runners in scoring position. Alex Cora said it plainly:
It is early — fourteen games into a 162-game season — but so far the power outage that began with the Devers trade has not only remained, it has gotten worse. To be fair, home runs are down league-wide in April. But the Red Sox aren’t just below the league average. They’re near the bottom of it.
| Category | 2025 MLB Rank | 2026 MLB Rank | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runs Scored | 7th | 27th | ▼ 20 |
| Home Runs | 15th | 26th | ▼ 11 |
| Walks | 14th | 24th | ▼ 10 |
| Strikeouts* | 23rd | 18th | ▲ 5 |
Their payroll is $75M less than the division rival Blue Jays, and nearly $100M less than the Evil Empire. The money saved by trading Devers was not reinvested in the offense. Pete Alonso went to a division rival in Baltimore. Kyle Schwarber re-upped with the Phillies. The power vacuum created by trading Devers remains.
The one bright spot has been Wilyer Abreu, who has taken a significant step forward offensively and offers a genuine reason for optimism. The rotation has shown some promise. Garrett Crochet looks like the ace they hoped he would be. Good baseball may still be ahead. It is still early. We are more than a week away from Patriots Day.
But this Monday night at Fenway, the crowd was chanting “Yankees Suck” as the Sox were bumbling the game away against Milwaukee with leadoff walks and errant throws. So far, it hasn’t been the Yankees who have sucked.
The first signs of life after a brutal opening stretch. Free.
The plate discipline numbers that back up everything Cora said publicly. Free.
The comforting — and complicated — historical parallel. Free.
▶ Colin Cowherd on the Red Sox — The Herd
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Handle with care
James Hagens is here. You’ll just have to wait a little longer to see him play.
Hagens is 19. He was the seventh overall pick in the 2025 draft — the best Bruins prospect in a decade, since at least Charlie McAvoy, arguably since David Pastrnak. He led Hockey East in scoring this season with 47 points in 34 games at Boston College. He chose number 44 because Bobby Orr’s number 4 hangs in the rafters, and you don’t mess with that. He has played six professional games in his life.
Coach Marco Sturm is threading a needle between the spark the team needs, especially on the power play, and Hagens’ long-term future.
Consider that Tyler Seguin — a second overall pick — was a healthy scratch for the first two rounds of the 2011 playoffs before the Bruins finally inserted him in the third round. He scored a goal and an assist in his first playoff game. The 2010-11 Bruins entered the playoffs as the third seed with 103 points — not a favorite, not a juggernaut. Their top prospect was an afterthought for six weeks.
They won the Stanley Cup.
As of this week, Hagens is still living in his dorm room at Boston College, still meeting with his guidance counselor, and still taking a class on the Cold War — which seems fitting given where he works. He is moving into a hotel soon. If the Bruins make a playoff run, he may be staying in a few more after that.
Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay was a heartbreaker. The Bruins led 1-0 until the Lightning tied it with 13 minutes left in regulation, then scored again with 95 seconds remaining to steal the win. An overtime or shootout loss would have clinched a playoff berth. Instead, the Bruins have now lost five straight — and head into Sunday’s game against Columbus still needing points to lock up a spot.
Which raises a question Marco Sturm may be asking himself this morning: with the team in a five-game skid and a playoff spot still not clinched, maybe now is the time to check a few more of those boxes. The kid in the dorm room might be exactly the spark this team needs.
The scene from Warrior Ice Arena on Hagens’ first official day as a Bruin. Free.
The official callup — everything you need to know about what comes next. Free.
Who could Boston face? A smart breakdown of the playoff bracket possibilities. Free.
▶ Morgan Geekie on James Hagens joining the Bruins
Culture is not a slogan. It’s ten thousand small decisions.
At an Arizona State pro day last month, Mike Vrabel walked onto the field, emptied his pockets, and started stretching. Then he got on the floor and went mano a mano with Max Iheanachor — a 6’6″, 321-pound offensive line prospect — one on one, in front of every scout and coach in attendance.
It was not a stunt. He did the same thing with Will Campbell last year.
Chris Hogan, a Super Bowl champion with the Patriots, put it simply on The Patriots Report podcast this week. Vrabel’s energy has breathed new life into the entire organization, and the rest of the NFL can feel it. And this, Hogan was clear, is not a tough guy act. This is authentically Vrabel.
Two years ago, Calvin Ridley used the Patriots as leverage to get a better deal somewhere else. Brandon Aiyuk refused a trade to New England outright. This offseason, free agents were lining up to get here. That is not an accident. It is because Vrabel has changed the culture in a hundred little ways, and some big ones, like going mano-a-mano with a 321-pound draft prospect.
Of course, the NFL Draft is notorious for smokescreens and secrets, and some are speculating that Vrabel instead plans to draft Dianna Russini in the third round to shore up the team’s offensive line depth, after the two were spotted conducting what appeared to be an extensive pre-draft interview in Arizona this week.
The Patriots’ most urgent need heading into April 23. A thorough breakdown of the best fits at pick 31 and beyond. Free.
Latest Patriots updates, intel and buzz heading into draft week.
Price puts the current Vrabel/Maye era in historical context — from Brady at 199 to the Hernandez summer. Worth the read to understand just how much this offseason matters. Free on Substack.
Needs-based draft preview: surrounding Drake Maye is the whole game. Free.
▶ Mike Giardi on Vrabel credibility and the Patriots as a football team — YouTube
One place. Every game. Every network. No hunting.
| Sun 4/12 |
Mon 4/13 |
Tue 4/14 |
Wed 4/15 |
Thu 4/16 |
Fri 4/17 |
Sat 4/18 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🏀 Celtics | vs. Magic 6 PM · NBC Sports Boston |
— | — | — | — | — | — |
| ⚾ Red Sox | @ Cardinals 2:15 PM · NESN |
@ Twins 7:40 PM · NESN |
@ Twins 7:40 PM · NESN |
@ Twins 7:40 PM · NESN |
@ Twins 1:40 PM · NESN |
vs. Tigers 7:15 PM · NESN |
vs. Tigers 4:10 PM · NESN |
| 🏒 Bruins | @ Columbus 6 PM · NESN |
— | vs. Devils 7 PM · NESN |
— | — | — | — |
| 🏈 Patriots | No games. NFL Draft: April 23 — eleven days away. | ||||||
🔑 Celtics: Regular season finale vs. Magic Sunday. Playoffs begin later this week — schedule TBD.
🔑 Red Sox: Seven games this week — can they start turning things around?
🔑 Bruins: Five straight losses, playoff spot still not clinched. Columbus Sunday, Devils Tuesday. Must start winning.
🔑 Patriots: NFL Draft April 23. Pick 31. Who does Vrabel take?
The Tao of Joe Mazzulla
This week’s Long Game is Seerat Sohi’s remarkable Ringer profile of Joe Mazzulla, published during the 2024 NBA Finals. My take follows.
Parents often say the days go by slowly and the years go by quickly. In that same vein, most fans give coaches/managers too much credit or blame for individual wins and losses (why did he go for it on fourth and five?), and too little credit for the results of entire seasons.
In-game decisions happen publicly. The underrated part of coaching, the people part, happens privately — building relationships with players and staff, fostering a team-first culture, keeping the team motivated for the fifth game of the post-Christmas road trip in Sacramento, supporting players and coaches through personal and/or professional adversity, and all the other things managers and leaders do in every walk of life, only without millions of fans following their every move. The people part is why Josh McDaniels has been an all-time great offensive coordinator and a lousy head coach.
I wrote earlier this year on my Substack Authorenticity about Mike Vrabel’s Warm Candor. Mazzulla is also warmly candid, but in a very unique way. The Ringer staff writer Seerat Sohi wonderfully captures Mazzulla’s unconventional ways in her piece below, published during the 2024 NBA Finals as the Celtics were on their way to Banner 18. It is even more relevant to the Celtics’ success this year.
▶ Read “The Tao of Joe Mazzulla” — Seerat Sohi, The Ringer — Free (~7 min) →Sohi’s piece closes with Mazzulla in his own words: “Can you fight to notice the things that other people aren’t? Because that’s where winning and losing is, in that space.”
That ability to view the game differently — rather than relying on conventional wisdom — enabled him to lead the Celtics to a successful 2026 regular season not in spite of the adversity they faced, but because of it. Before the season, oddsmakers gave the Celtics roughly a 2% chance of winning the championship. They currently sit third in the NBA at roughly 14%. For Mazzulla, that probably just puts him on guard.
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