Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving’s candidacy for NBA MVP was bolstered during Thursday night’s ugly offensive performance by the C’s in an 89-80 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden. Without Irving, who sat out because of a shoulder injury, the C’s shot just 41.1 percent from the floor, hit only seven of 29 3-point shots, generated 13 points in the second quarter and scored a season-low 53 points through three quarters. In addition to poor shooting, the C’s also were sloppy with the basketball. They committed 19 turnovers and had just 13 assists on 30 made shots. Irving is the team’s leading scorer with 23.6 points per game,... NESN.com
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Bruins Legend Rene Rancourt Reveals Most Memorable Moment, Plans For Retirement
BOSTON — Rene Rancourt, like he has done so many times, walked onto the TD Garden ice to sing the Canadian and American national anthems before Wednesday night’s game between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens. But this night had a different feel. The emotion of the crowd, and Rancourt himself, clearly was heightened. That’s because the legendary national anthem singer will retire at the end of the season, the B’s announced Wednesday. Rancourt has been singing the “Star-Spangled Banner” and “O Canada” before Bruins games for more than 40 years, and he’s become a staple of not only the B’s culture, but also the community as well. NESN.com
North, South Korea To Unity In Sports At Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony
The 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, will include unprecedented displays of unity. North Korea and South Korea announced Wednesday in a statement they’ll march together under a unified flag next month at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony, according to Bloomberg’s Kanga Kong. The countries also will field a joint women’s ice-hockey team in an apparent sign of thawing relations between them. The unified flag might be similar to the one the Koreas displayed at numerous sporting events in recent years, including the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2006 Winter Olympics. Tensions over North Korea’s nuclear p... NESN.com
NBA Rumors: Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan Wants To Be Traded To Rockets
It appears DeAndre Jordan might miss one of his old teammates. Jordan is expected to be one of the most prominent trade options come the Feb. 8 deadline. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks have been rumored to be possible destinations for Jordan, but the Los Angeles Clippers center reportedly is eyeing a team in the Western Conference. During Tuesday’s edition of “First Take” on ESPN, Stephen A. Smith gave his two cents on Monday night’s melee between the Clippers and Houston Rockets, which might have centered around Chris Paul. The star point guard, who was traded to Houston in the offseason, reportedly wasn’t very well-liked by ... NESN.com
Max Kellerman Kind Of Picks Jaguars To Beat Patriots Because Of Blake Bortles
Max Kellerman is at it again. The co-host of ESPN’s “First Take” has been trolling New England Patriots fans and taking odd shots at “ordinary” Tom Brady all season. So it should come as no surprise that when Kellerman was asked on Monday’s episode whether or not the Jacksonville Jaguars are a serious threat to the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, he answered with a resounding yes. But while Kellerman noted the Jaguars have a stout defense, as did co-host Stephen A. Smith, his main reason for kind of picking Jacksonville to pull the upset was quarterback Blake Bortles. Yes, you read that correctly. Here’s what Kelle... NESN.com
Radio Call Of Vikings’ Miracle Win Over Saints Will Give You Chills
The Minnesota Vikings pulled out a miraculous win Sunday when Case Keenum hit Stefon Diggs for a game-winning 61-yard touchdown pass as time expired to beat the New Orleans Saints to secure a spot in the NFC Championship Game. Minnesota was on its own 39-yard line with seven seconds remaining when Keenum hit Diggs who broke one tackle and raced down the sideline to stun the Saints and cement the improbable victory. And absolutely no one was more excited than Vikings radio announcer Paul Allen, whose call on KFAN 100.3 will absolutely give you chills. Take a listen: And Allen was so fired up he was pumping his fist and yelling at the
How Patriots Dominated Titans: 12 Plays That Defined Divisional-Round Rout
by Zack Cox on Sun, Jan 14, 2018 at 10:37AM 1,978 After each New England Patriots game, we take a look at the handful of plays that, added together, resulted in one team celebrating victory while the other pondered what went wrong. Below are the 12 (or so) plays that defined Saturday night’s 35-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans at Gillette Stadium in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. James Harrison wrangles Derrick HenryNESN.com