Friday Four-Pack 2.20.26
Significant breaking news from my boss to open today's Four-Pack. Plus Red Sox, Patriots & Celtics thoughts. Sports radio gossip šš and so much more.
Note from Owner of MutStack.com, Dave Portnoy:
In breaking news I have decided to bring the proprietor of MutStack to Las Vegas for the National Handicapping Challenge in March. I have also gifted him 3 entries to try and qualify for the tournament. Worst case he will be in charge of documenting how we do in Vegas. This is the definition of falling upwards.
Note from Proprietor of MutStack.com, Mut:
My actual reaction to the text from Dave this morning was āHoly shit, thank you, Dave.ā
And thatās my reaction here. Wow.
Dave called me about the NHC this week when he was on DDTG. I didnāt fully realize we were live when he called, probably because of the Level 10 Sinus Infection Iāve been battling. Shout out to the Z-Pack that saved my life. Or it could have been my kids SCREAMING for more screen time. Do they really need a full week for school vacation?
As I told Dave on the call, I have struggled with tournament play. And Iāll get into all of this way more Saturday in Kentucky Derby Prepping with Mut on the Barstool Blog, but qualifying for the NHC is just tough.
Simply put, the NHC is the premier tournament for horseplayers.
The seats that Dave is giving me are for what they call the Last Chance tournament in Vegas, the day before the NHC starts. If I win a seat from that tournament, Iām in the NHC. You have to qualify for the NHC; you canāt buy your way in.
You can have a max of 2 seats in the NHC. What Dave is gifting me are three chances to win one of those. Itās crazy generous of him. Iām going to try to get a seat over the next three weeks, before that, cause it will be good tournament practice, too. I need it.
The winner of the NHC gets almost $1 million. And theyāre crowned Horseplayer of the Year. Shit, theyāre given an Eclipse Award. But itās a grueling tournament. If you make the final day, youāre staring at three straight days of nothing but handicapping races and trying to find winners from tracks all over the country.
Thereās a different strategy involved from just firing race-to-race at Saratoga, which is what Iāll have to focus on next month. The Last Chance format will mirror the NHC. Top finishers earn berths to the immediately following NHC Main Event. Crazy.
Dave is already qualified. So is Elio. Iām going to go all out to join them. And thanks to Dave, Iāll be going to Vegas in the process.
This is an awesome opportunity. Huge thanks to Dave. Selfishly, I hope to qualify and compete with him in the NHC. If I donāt, Iāll be doing whatever I can to help him out. Vegas!
Meanwhile, Red Sox owners remain unlikable. A.J. Brown to the Pats, please. The Cās have a huge opportunity. And weāre starting to hear some WEEI gossip.
All ahead in Friday Four-Pack #160.
Holy shit. Iām headed to Vegas. Thank you, Dave.
Subscribe for free, so it brings me good luck. And as a thank you to Dave, who owns MutStack.
On recluse Red Sox owner John Henryā¦
So, this went kinda viral this week.
We hit the six-year anniversary of the last time Red Sox owner John Henry bothered to take questions from the Boston media. It came the day after the team traded Mookie Betts to the Dodgers. Since then, Henryās direct communication has come mostly through emails to the newspaper he owns, the Boston Globe. Or Boston Sports Journal. Oh, and he was part of a Fan Fest Red Sox Town Hall in 2023, when he told Jared Carrabis and others that āIt's expensive to have baseball players.ā When NESN aired the Town Hall later, they actually edited that line out; it was that bad. As was the crowd reaction.
In reply to my Henry post, I got a bunch of variations of this -
āYeah, who cares?ā
Iām not telling you how to feel as a fan. I hate when people do that. Iāll just give you my quick take.
I care.
If the team was winning, Henry would be speaking.
The team has moved on from three āstarsā in Mookie, Xander, and Devers. These were beloved players in the fanbase. Iād like the guy who signs checks to explain how we got here and whether he thinks itās good for the franchise.
Henry famously said the team was not investing in pitchers over 30. Ranger Suarez turns 31 in August, and you gave him a lot of money. And years. What changed?
Will you be one of the teams fighting for a salary cap in the offseason?
Do you regret that Alex Bregman Cigar Smoke Victory Lap IG photo?
Why are the Red Sox constantly out-bid for free agents?
Why do the Red Sox run like a small-market team?
And there are a million more questions I would like to ask. And I believe, as the owner of one of the most historic franchises in all of sports, Henry should have to answer. Or a non-answer, but be there in front of the media for the questions.
Iām sure the team expects the players to answer questions after a tough loss. Why shouldnāt the owner be held to the same standard?
His little lapdog and mouthpiece, Sam Kennedy, just talks around any real questions and sounds like a salesman trying put you in a new 2026 Corolla. Tom Werner has some ownership, but Iād guess 99% of fans think Henry is the real owner.
Itās Henry I want to hear from. But for 2,195 days now, basically, nothing.
Henry and Co. bought the team for $660 million. Itās now valued at 7x that - $4.8 billion with a B. Itās increased in value that much, in part, because fans keep pouring money into the team. Based on my Twitter mentions, some fans donāt care if Henry ever speaks to the media again.
But a lot more than that do. And you can count me among them.
On A.J. Brown to the Patriotsā¦
āVrabe is the type of coach, heās gonna call on you in the meetings. He gonna want to make sure that youāre staying engaged. Heās going to go over the keys to the victory of the week. And youād better know them, to the back of your hand.
āI used to write in my notebook at the time. I didnāt really like Vrabe. I didnāt like him. I admit that, he knows that. So I used to write āI hate Vrabe. I hate Vrabe. I hate Vrabe.ā Right? But, I was doing that to pretend like I was taking notes to look like I was engaged.
āBecause he was so hard on me when I was rookie. I didnāt really understand it. And so, it was at the time that I was telling Vrabe like āHey, Iām humble already. You donāt gotta humble me.ā But I really didnāt understand what he was trying to push me to be.ā
"That's who (Vrabel) is. And it makes the team come together. Because nobody's bigger than the team. Nobody's bigger than the program. So you have to respect it.ā
Yes. Yes. Yes. A hundred times, yes, on A.J Brown to the Patriots this offseason.
Itās a little early for offseason checklist stuff, but I want to go on record as 100% in favor of trading for Brown. If you have to trade back from the 1st to the 2nd round to get it done, so be it. Or trade your second-round pick, fine with me.
You saw what Stefon Diggs did for Drake Maye this season. I think Brown is a better player and, given his history with Vrabel, will be as motivated as Diggs was to come in here and prove himself.
A big, physical receiver who has averaged NINE touchdowns per 17-game season, Brown is a stud. He appears ready to move on from the Eagles, and the Eagles feel ready to move on from him. One person I talked to who follows the Eagles closely told me, āHe's gone,ā when I asked his opinion of a Brown trade this offseason. Given how glowingly he spoke about Vrabel and about growing up as a Patriots fan on the DudesOnDudes podcast, Brown seems amenable to the New England move. The Patriots should be diligent in their pursuit of the three-time All-Pro receiver.
Use the money you had allocated for Diggs to pay Brown. Then draft a tight end in what is reportedly a tight-end-rich draft. Thatās a good start toward continuing to surround Drake Maye with the best possible pieces for his Year 3. Diggs was good here, but Brown > Diggs. Not much debate about that.
The Patriots have been sneaky cheap over the years, with team spending towards the bottom of the league. Given new life with Mayeās emergence as a franchise quarterback, you have to hope the team is willing to spend NOW. Itās unlikely you get another season of AFC QBs getting injured. Mahomes, Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Joe Burrow all stand in the way of getting back to a Super Bowl. The Pats are going to have to be aggressive here in the offseason.
And landing A.J. Brown would be a good start.
On a big opportunity for the Boston Celticsā¦
This was a weird answer from Al Horford last night, when asked about leaving Boston for Golden State in the offseason.
āDeeper than basketball stuff.ā
Horford said this when he signed with Golden State, "I think that where Boston was as a team, even though I called them my home and everything was there for me, they just weren't in a position to offer me the opportunity that I wanted." I think we all assumed he meant a title chance and that with Jayson Tatum hurt, he didnāt view Boston as a true contender. He had a lot of good things to say about the organization after the game last night, so this was justā¦ weird.
Itās a reminder that a lot of times, the NBA is fueled by drama rather than basketball. Something Lebron said or some burner that Kevin Durant tweeted from gets much more attention than whatās happening on the court.
On the court? On the court, the Celtics should be focused on winning the Eastern Conference because they have every chance to do so. They thumped the Curry-less Warriors Thursday night, showing no signs of rust out of the All-Star break. But with the Celtics, the off-court drama lingers.
Jaylen Brown is battling with Beverly Hills police over their shutdown of a private event he hosted during the break. Tatum is taking heat over the production of a docuseries titled THE QUIET WORK, about his return from the Achilles injury. Full disclosure - when they teased it during the All-Star game on Sunday night, it got a massive ššš from me. Feels like something that could have waited for the offseason, if it was really needed at all.
Then you have both WEEI and 98.5 The Sports Hub, as well as NBC Sports Boston, recycling the āCan Tatum and Brown exist together?ā narrative that has been around for a while. Iāve taken part in that myself. And itās a question for the offseason, for sure.
But right now, on the court, this is an NBA Title Contender, especially if you plug in a healthy Tatum. They lost three of four to the No. 1 seed Pistons and donāt play them again this season - thatās a good thing. If you see them in the playoffs, theyād have to adjust to Tatum. And big man Nikola Vucevic, who has scored 20+ against Detroit in six of the last eight games he played against them while he was with Chicago. I love Vooch, and he gives Joe Mazzula a Horford-like weapon on offense.
Again, assuming Tatum comes back on March 1 and rounds into, letās call it 90% Tatum by the playoffs, Iād take Boston over anyone in the East. On the court. Off the court? I wish there were less focus on All-Star parties, docuseries, and vague reasons why players left.
No one thought the Cās would be in this position, including Horford. Letās hope they stay focused on the opportunity on the court and not the other drama that seems to fuel NBA coverage in 2026.
On your weekly MutStack Notesā¦
ā¾ We got Red Sox baseball this weekend! To celebrate, Episode 13 of Dirty Water - A Boston Sports Podcast is now available. Hog is pushing for a Bryce Harper trade, but I donāt think Craig Breslow has it in him. Hijinx ensue. Watch and subscribe on YouTube or listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
šļø The WEEI Rumor Mill is starting to cook. Two names whispered to me as potential targets for on-air positions: The Boston Globeās Chris Gasper and NBC Sports Bostonās Phil Perry. I know they had previously spoken with Gasper about an afternoon drive role, but money may have been an issue. Has that changed? Perry is known for his Pats coverage but has done holiday fill-in work as a host for The Sports Hub. I donāt know if these talks have been about full-time or contributor roles, to be fair. But itās not surprising. Many, many texts out there, and hope to have more for you soon. March (before Sox Opening Day) has always been a month of change for the ratings-challenged sports station.
Update: After posting, heard from a very reliable source that indeed WEEI has talked to Gasper about the afternoon drive (2-6 PM). More details as I get them
šļø One leftover rumor from the Super Bowl and Radio Row. There were at least a few Audacy stations and personnel in San Francisco who viewed WEEI's sending Greg Hill to host the afternoon drive show as a ātestā for a full-time move to 2-6 PM. I donāt see it, given Greg has been entrenched in mornings for decades, going back to WAAF. I also canāt see WEEI breaking up its highest-rated show.
š Canāt spin it at all - that was a bad UConn loss Wednesday night at Gampel. The type of loss that makes you wonder if they can actually be a Final Four team this year. What has happened to Tarris Reed? Someone besides Braylon Mullins has to be able to score. Mullins remains a special player.
š Congrats to Team USA womenās hockey, but this video bothered me.
š„ I donāt know what I was expecting withĀ The Smashing Machine,Ā but I was wildly underwhelmed. It was just sort ofā¦boring? Yeah, boring. The Rock is a good actor, but I never felt I was rooting for him. Or against him. I donāt know. I was bored. I didnāt know the Mark Kerr story at all, and donāt follow UFC that closely. Would I have liked it better if I had? Ryan Bader was really good in a supporting role. I found myself rooting for him more than The Rockās character. Would not recommend. And thatās Episode 2 of Mut Talkinā Movies.
šš» I canāt believe they tore down Arlington Park so the Bears could move to Indiana. Brutal.
šAnnapolis, MD. Come on, Chris Klemmer.
š That said, very, very nervous about making my debut on The Dozen. Jeff D. Lowe does a great job, but I donāt want to suck. And I will. Hopefully, Elio and Hog can carry me. I have been practicing.
š I donāt miss many topics here in the Four-Pack. But last week I missed Jordon Hudson, Bill Belichickās girlfriend, wearing an Orchids of Asia tee-shirt the Saturday night of the Super Bowl for Duke/UNC. Orchids of Asia is where Patriots owner Robert Kraft spent some personal time back in 2019. Embarassing shit from Jordon. And from Belichick. I hated that. Maybe Iām just getting old. But that sucked.
I think thatās plenty of Stack for this week.
Holy crap, Iām headed to Vegas. Time to get to work. Much more tomorrow in Kentucky Derby Prepping with Mut on the Barstool Blog. Good luck with all your bets this weekend. Go Team USA. Go Tommy Fleetwood. And thanks for reading.
If you listened to that terrible movie show that Klemmer is on, you would have known the Smashing Machine isn't worth your time.
If you go from Mut at Night to winning the 2026 Horseplayer of the Year would be worthy of a biopic. They should get The Rock to play you in it. The MutSluts are pulling for you.