Friday Four-Pack 2.13.26
The Patriots lost the Super Bowl but my confidence remains sky high for the future. Celtics, Red Sox, MutStack notes and so much more.
Note from Owner of MutStack.com, Dave Portnoy:
No note from Dave this week. We did get a full update on Go Go Greys Stables, which we’ll highlight tomorrow in Volume 5 of Kentucky Derby Prepping with Mut on the Barstool Blog.
This is all I needed to see.
In the aftermath of the Patriots' disappointing Super Bowl loss to the Seahawks, head coach Mike Vrabel waited to greet every player as they went into the locker room. And the message was clear—
“We have to make sure that whatever happens in there, we’re pissed off together.”
There’s a video below where I bitch about how the game played out Sunday in San Francisco. But my confidence in this team, this coach, and the quarterback remains sky high. Check out this clip from the NFL Films copy of the game.
We’re a year removed from the disaster that was Jerod Mayo. Drake Maye has Vrabel and Josh McDaniels to guide him. Provided the Krafts spend real money to surround their young QB with talent, this team is going to be a major player in the AFC for the next decade.
There’s no crisis of confidence here. Is there some nitpicking about the game and some questions about how the team gets back to the Super Bowl next season? Of course. But the above-the-fold headline is that the team had an unbelievable season and exceeded even the wildest of expectations.
In the aftermath of the AFC Championship win in Denver, Drake Maye told the fans in Denver and the TV audience on CBS, "Pats are back, baby.” He was right. The Super Bowl sucked, but the Pats are back, baby.
Meanwhile, yeah, the final word on Super Bowl 60 and how people have gotten the blame game wrong. The anniversary of a embarassing Red Sox social media post. And a busy MutStack Notes that includes the debut of Mut Talkin’ Movies.
All ahead in Friday Four-Pack #159.
💌 Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. You’re guaranteed to get lucky if you subscribe. Or get your wife or girlfriend to subscribe. Or boyfriend or husband.
I mean, it can’t hurt. And it’s free.
On the final word on Super Bowl 60…
Forgot to mention Vrabel punting on 4th and 1 and then NOT going for two later - both really dumb. Deserved more criticism.
On the Red Sox one-year from this dumb photo…
Yep, this was a year ago today. Fine, if you want to be a dink about it, it was 366 days ago. Red Sox owner John Henry is lighting up a victory cigar after the signing of Alex Bregman. A year later, as we prepare for the 2026 season, are the Boston Red Sox in a better position than when this photo of the owner in $600 jeans was taken?
If you look at the roster, it’s close. Out are Bregman, Rafael Devers, and Lucas Giolio, as far as big names go. In are Ranger Suarez, Sonny Gray, Wilson Contreras, Caleb Durbin. I’ll add Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer to that list, too. Both guys are going to be important to any success this year. But I’d say overall, yes, the roster is slightly better than a year ago.
But as far as team philosophy, spending, and how I view ownership and Craig Breslow? Worse. Much worse.
The Bregman signing, as silly as this photo looks now, was a glimmer of hope that the Red Sox might be willing to pay free agents at the top of the market. The Big Market Boston Red Sox were back! Then Bregman walked. Then they lowballed Pete Alonso. Then they didn’t make offers to Schwarber and E. Suarez. Then Bres pivoted from power to pitching and defense. Then they traded prospects away as part of salary dumps to get under the luxury tax thresholds. And of course, Breslow botched the Devers trade. The fact that they even MADE the Devers trade is bad, but you got nothing for him. The best player in that trade, James Tibbs, you traded for fricking Dustin May! Holy crap. Then Bres botched the trade deadline, again. How’s that Joe Ryan trade?
This past calendar year has only strengthened my belief that Breslow is not the guy to build the next Red Sox World Series winner. And that John Henry should just sell the team.
I love baseball. I’m excited to watch Anthony, Mayer, Garrett Crochet, and Suarez. But do I have full faith in ownership and management to go the extra mile (spend $$) if this team is a contender this season? I do not.
But we’ll always have this picture. Congrats on one season of Alex Bregman, John.
On the Celtics at the All-Star Break…
Henry’s cigar celebration was obviously, in retrospect, not warranted. Now, if this post were Jaylen Brown spiking the football, he has every right.
Without a minute from Jayson Tatum and with Brown leading the team at almost 30 PPG, the Celtics are playing as well or better than they did a year ago. I mean, I was pushing for them to tank just a few games into the season. Now they’re pushing for the No.1 seed in the East.
Brown’s scoring has been a huge part of it. And Peyton Prichard’s scoring. And Derrick White at the point. And the defense of Jordan Walsh. The energy and efficiency of Hugo. The whole thing. The players get the most credit.
But also credit to Brad Stevens - a GM I actually trust. He drafted several players later in the draft who are impacting the team right away. And the move for Anfernee Simons led to landing Nikola Vucevic, who looks like a HUGE piece off the bench and fits the team better than Simons when Tatum returns.
As much as, if not more than Stevens, credit Joe Mazzulla. I don’t believe many teams would lose a Top 5 player, respond this way, and end up in this position. His ability to mix in all these new pieces without Tatum has him in Coach of the Year conversations, rightfully so. With Tatum back practicing and looking more and more like a March return, this team can win The East. Pistons? Knicks? Cavs? I’d take a healthy Tatum and the Celtics over all of them.
It’s a little unfair since we’ve seen half a season, but if you were ranking the Boston teams in order of most likely to win a title next, the Celtics are #1. I never would have believed that at the start of the season.
Can’t say I’ll be locked into the atrocious NBA All-Star Weekend. But coming out of the break, the Celtics will be a must-watch for fans looking to fill the void left by the end of football. And for that, Brown can brag about his team all he wants.
On your weekly MutStack Notes…
⚾ A very funny episode of Dirty Water - A Boston Sports Podcast this week. Hogdale is ill, and the train derails later in the episode. The lineup, the Trevor Story issue, and Craig Breslow being bad at his job are all in focus. Watch and subscribe on YouTube, or listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!
🎙️ Everyone was back in their regular shows this week for 98.5 The Sports Hub and WEEI. There were a couple of stragglers. Scott Zolak, who called the game on the radio, was not back in time for his Monday show. And then there was Greg Hill, who joined his show live from San Francisco, about 90 minutes into the show.
A WEEI listener alerted me that the promoted and sponsored Greg Hill Big Game Watch Party was rebranded as a Chris Scheim-hosted event sometime during the weekend. I’m told Greg decided at the last minute to stay out west for the game, which forced the change.
Nitpicking? Sure, that’s what I do here most Fridays. But as the station’s biggest star, I’m surprised he was not the first voice people heard Monday morning at 6 AM after the Super Bowl. And that he bailed on a station event. If this had happened on the watch of Glenn Ordway or Kirk Minihane, they would have made fun of Greg. Glenn would have had a Pete Gustin bit ready to go. Kirk and Gerry would have spent an hour on it. And it would have been funny. But that type of radio is dead in Boston. Only Fred Toucher seems okay ripping people now. Chad Finn will not write about it, so it goes unmentioned. Which is dumb. I noticed. The listeners noticed, Greg, even if you want to pretend they didn’t.
🎙️ Not a surprise, but people at WEEI were not happy with how things went down RE: The Super Bowl. Sounds like Jones & Keefe thought they were going, only to be told the week before that the plan had changed to send Hill, Wiggy, and Ted Johnson. Can’t imagine Andy Hart and Fitzy were excited about being benched, but both guys were ready to go for the postgame radio. A reminder: WEEI has made numerous lineup changes in March over the years. With 41 days until Red Sox Opening Day in Cincinnati, we’ll be keeping an ear out for any potential changes. As of Friday morning, nothing to report.
🎙️ Felger & Mazz doing four hours on “Are you worried about Drake Maye????” on Wednesday was peak F&M.
🔊 New, live, Eric Church album today. Almost makes you happy to be alive.
🏒 Outside of hockey, I don’t see investing much time in the Winter Olympics. College hoops, Pebble Beach >.
⚾ With Yoshida still here, Nick Castellanos does not make sense.
👀 I miss the Kirk Minihane Show every day. But the gossip this week…Gus still not working…Coleman’s tweets…Justin post loss…Coach Cully…yeah would have been a scene.
🍿 I like gambling movies. There are many bad gambling movies. One of the best (if not the best) I’ve seen is the A24 movie, Mississippi Grind. Starring Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn, it’s about a down-on-his-luck gambling/poker loser who finds an eccentric friend who is on his own journey. Mendelson plays the loser role to perfection; he’s the star here. He believes Reynolds is his good-luck charm. A road trip ensues. Great chemistry. Love the Midwest/New Orleans feel. Some very depressing moments. Depressing movies are okay. Great soundtrack. It’s back on Netflix now, and if you like gambling movies, you should watch it.
And that’s Mut Talkin’ Movies.
That sure feels like enough Stack for this week.
Back Saturday to preview the Risen Star Stakes in Kentucky Derby Prepping with Mut on the Barstool Blog. Great racing set for Saturday.
Good luck with all your bets this weekend. Thanks for reading. And watching.
I forgot to write about Jordon wearing that Orchids of Asia shirt. #fail
KMS would have been epic this week…Boston radio used to be must tune in, now it’s just safe and packaged. There’s no rebel, no personalities.