Friday Four-Pack 5.9.25

Breaking Lady Belichick news. Joe Mazzulla's brutal week and its impact. Fixing horse racing's Triple Crown. Media notes with a congrats to the Kirk Minihane Show

“Two sources at the University of North Carolina tell me that there has been a decision that was made last week by the higher-ups inside the athletic department that had hired Bill Belichick to be the highest paid public employee — not just coach in the state of North Carolina at $10 million a year — and that decision was that Jordon Hudson, she is no longer allowed in the football building.”

WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTT? NO WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.

The above quotes come from the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast, which was posted early on Friday. They should not be a surprise.

As someone described as “obsessed” with this story, I feel I must start here and save you from scrap the spicy Rafael Devers take scheduled to occupy this space.

The quotes get better. From Awful Announcing-

“She is not allowed on the football field,” Torre said on the podcast. Quote: ‘Don’t think you’ll be hearing much from Jordon moving forward.'”

And finally, this one, which I believe 100%.

“Bill Belichick’s family is extraordinarily concerned by what has transpired. One Belichick family source told me, ‘There is deep worry for how detrimental Jordon can be for not just North Carolina but Bill’s legacy, reputation — everything he has built and worked for over decades…In fact, the family has been digging into Jordon Hudson as well.”

A lot to unpack here…

• Surprise level = 0 of 10. UNC is a state school that just paid Bill Belichick a lot of money. Belichick looked out of sorts trying to answer some basic questions in that CBS Sunday Morning interview. His 24-year-old girlfriend is a walking headline, thanks partly to her own social media posts. They want the focus on football, not Lady Belichick bossing Bill around on the UNC practice field. I’m sure they wish they had clarified this to BB when he was hired, but I’m guessing they didn’t think they’d have to.

• Release the emails. UNC is a state school, and its emails are considered public records and subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). We need to see the emails that discussed this move.

• Is Bill on board with this? No more ‘Take Your Girlfriend to Work Day.’ Did he put up a fight? Is he pissed? How much was she actually in the building for UNC to take this step?

• Bill can’t quit over this…right? I mean, no way. Maybe? No way.

• The Family Stuff feels legit. And that can get messy…

• When will Jordon respond? She has been silent on social media for over a week, which surely resulted from the CBS fallout. When she returns, will she be on board with this? Or will there be a subtle shot at UNC or the report itself?

• Will this affect Jordon’s chances at winning Miss Maine USA this weekend? She’s competing. Will Bill be there to root her on? I’m hopeful Steve Robinson and the crew at The Maine Wire will have a local reporter on the scene for breaking news.

This is far from over. Bill will have his response leaked through his media friends. Jordon will do the same, maybe through something like the NY Post’s Page Six. And you know the UNC faculty will be whispering off the record to college football reporters the next few days. We are nowhere near done writing about this story.

Good luck to Jordon this weekend in Maine. If Bill is reading this, check out Central Provisions—great brunch. And get a slice from Micucci’s. Portland is a great city to celebrate Mother’s Day and, hopefully, a Miss Maine USA title.

Meanwhile, Joe Mazzulla had a rough week. Will the events of the week eventually cost him his job? I have a plan to fix the Triple Crown. Plus media and betting notes for the people.

All ahead in today’s Four-Pack.

1:40 PM Update:

No surprise, but UNC is denying Torre’s report. What the hell else would they do? Torre is 100% standing by his reporting. This is far from over. #releasetheemails

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On the Celtics being down 2-0 to the Knicks…

There are plenty of painful images from Wednesday night’s 91-90 Knicks win over the Celtics; images that made it tough to sleep once the game had gone final and the home team found themselves shockingly down 2-0 in the series.

But this one… this stupid still shot… sums it all up for me.

Seven-point lead with under four minutes to play. Your best player—and a Top 5 player in the league—Jayson Tatum, wide open in transition with two options:

1. Shoot a wide-open corner three.

2. Drive to the basket for an easy two or, at worst, a pair of free throws for Tatum or Al Horford.

While Tatum bricking that three - his 15th missed three-pointer in 20 attempts this series - was ultimately his own decision, I believe the stubborn coaching philosophy of Joe Mazzulla leads to that mistake from your best player.

And it was a massive mistake, even if Tatum had been 99 for his last 100 from three. My brother’s own terrible take via text is that if the shot had gone in, the Celtics would have won. Maybe? But it’s the fact that he’s been programmed by his coach to take that shot. Worse, he’s been programmed to settle for that shot, even if the smarter play is going to the hoop.

Has Tatum been good in this series? No. Has Jaylen Brown been good in this series? Also, no. But there biggest share of the blame for being in this two-nothing hole falls on the head coach.

He sat idly by in Game 1 as his team choked away the lead late - a game they never should have lost. A day after the game, when asked about his team’s defense against the Knicks, he had this hardo answer that was actually just a defense of his own ‘shoot the three at all costs’ mentality.

nbcsboston

A post shared by @nbcsboston

In Game 2, the Celtics had an arrousing two and a half minute offensive stretch late in the third quarter, where they scored 13 points on six field goals and only one three-pointer. Pick and rolls, dunks, layups…some actual bully ball pounding the Knicks down low. By the end of that run, the lead was 20(!!!) with just 16 minutes left in the game. I was ready to give Hardo Joe credit for the adjustment and for finally realizing his team can get whatever they want against the Knicks’ defense if they take their time.

Then the fourth quarter happened. Same shit as Game 1. What a disaster.

Yeah, Tatum sucked. But so did the decision to sit both Tatum and Derrick White for almost three minutes of the final quarter. Just as bad was the decision not to call a timeout on the final play. Mazzulla admitted in the postgame that they ran the same play that resulted in the Tatum dunk on the previous possessio. The Knicks players have working brains, so they recognized the play and adjusted, forcing the Tatum turnover. JT now has eight turnovers in the series, as does JB.

The Js have been bad. Kristaps Porziņģis is sick (again) and looks like he’s about 60%. The NY role players >> Boston role players through two games. To their credit, the Knicks are a tough group, and Jalen Brunson is terrifying with the ball in his hands late in a close game.

But the Celtics are a MUCH better team. Their unwillingness to adjust once they get big leads speaks to a stubborn coach and philosophy.

I received a ton of responses to last week’s Four-Pack lede, which lauded Brad Stevens for his work building this Celtics team. I wonder how many C’s fans would rather have him - and not Joe Mazzulla - back on the sideline for Game 3 Saturday afternoon against the Knicks, which leads us to…

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On the chances Joe Mazzulla is fired after the season…

Well, it’s not 0%.

So, I think the Celtics still find a way to win this series. From DraftKings Julian Edlow, “out of 89 games this season, their two worst FG% games of the season have come in this series.” Boston has led for 81 minutes - or 67% of this series vs. the Knicks at 12 minutes and 10%, respectively. They played well on the road this season and have been bet from +115 to -125 favorites to win the series in the hours after that Game 2 loss. Boston is the better team.

He won't get fired if the Celtics reach the NBA Finals and lose. The chances of Mazzulla losing his job if the team falls to the Pacers or depleted Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals are smaller, but they would still exist, given the expectations of this year’s team.

But somehow lose this series to NY? If that happens, I’d guess there’s at least a 25% chance Mazzulla is gone this offseason. And that number would increase if Tatum or Brown were to go against Mazzulla publicly or privately in the aftermath of a series loss to NY. Again, I believe they’ll win four of the next five and advance.

BUT…let’s say they lose this series.

NBA teams have been firing coaches at an obscene rate.

After leading the Denver Nuggets to the 2023 NBA title, Mike Malone was fired by the team last month, just three games before the end of the regular season. With Malone’s ouster, just three coaches who were in their roles at the end of the 2019-20 season have their jobs today. Titles do not equal job security.

Multiple NBA reporters have already teased that the team will undergo significant changes in the offseason, thanks to their luxury tax situation. New owner Bill Chisholm will not love an offseason where the storyline is the new guy dismantling a championship contender. Fans are going to be angry.

One way to deflect some of their anger is to fire the coach who lost to the Knicks in the second round.

And it would not just be this upset loss on Mazzulla’s resume. Remember the #2 seed Celtics lost to the #8 seed Miami Heat in his rookie year as coach. Boston was a -500 favorite to win that series, losing the first three games before ultimately getting blown out at home in Game 7. Winning a title last year helped remove some of the stink from that series - a loss to the Knicks would be a much more pungent odor.

Sure, plenty of fans would blame the players before the coach, I get it. Most of the time, I’d 100% agree. But in this case, the combination of series losses to the Heat and Knicks, plus the stubborn approach of the head coach...now that I write this all out, I actually think most fans would be okay with a new coach if they lose here to NY.

It might not be the most likely outcome. And in the end, it might not be fair to Mazzulla. But if this Celtics team can’t find a way to battle back and win this series, there’s at least a 1 in 4 chance they’ll have a new head coach on the sidelines next fall.

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On how to fix horse racing’s Triple Crown…

Unfortunately, no.

I could have written this week’s newsletter entirely on this issue. I’m excited to talk about it more in-depth next week on our MutStack Podcast - Preakness Stakes episode with Jessica Paquette and Dick Jerardi. It was last year at this time that Jess believed the Triple Crown schedule was fine and did not need adjusting - many people probably agreed.

I wonder if Jess and others feel the same way today, with the news that Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott will bypass the Preakness with Sovereignty. The Derby winner will instead point for the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga on June 7 and is apparently healthy and doing well.

The Triple Crown as we know it is not.

No, whatever the Triple Crown was or was marketed to be, is gone. And that’s okay. There was a point in history when horses in the 1930s (when the Triple Crown term was first used) would run five to six races a month. In 2025, the best horses run five to six races a year. Fifty years ago, the ‘Derby Trial’ was a Kentucky Derby prep race run just a week before the Derby, and horses would run in both races. But those days are longggggggg gone.

It doesn’t make sense to run a series of races essential to the sport's health if the current state of training and running horses no longer fits that series, especially considering how important the Triple Crown is to marketing the sport.

NBC reported 17.7 million people watched the Derby this year, the most since 1989 and a 6% jump from 2024. Racing has its issues, but the Derby is not one of them. Like thousands of other fans, I started following racing because of the Derby and the Triple Crown. You're devaluing this tremendous asset by sticking to an outdated schedule. The Preakness is great, in part, because the Derby winner is running. When the Derby winners start skipping the race, you’re zapping the Preakness and the Triple Crown of much-needed buzz.

The Preakness is also big business. The $49 million handled on the race in 2024 was behind just the Derby and the Belmont Stakes in total money bet on a single race for the year.

TL;DR Version: The Triple Crown is outdated for racing in 2025, and it's time for a change for the betterment of the sport as a whole.

The easiest change would be to push back the Preakness one week, then push back the Belmont Stakes a week. The Preakness and the Belmont could also offer a $1 million bonus to a Derby winner who runs in the Preakness, splitting the cost. It would be worth it to both. If I had to guess, this is the change we’ll get.

What would I do? I’m glad you asked because it’s a better plan.

First Saturday(s) in April - Final Round of Grade I Derby Preps 🧲
First Saturday in May - Kentucky Derby 🏆
First Saturday in June - The Preakness 🦀
First Saturday in July - The Belmont Stakes 🏇🏻

Then, in late July, the Grade 1 Haskell at Monmouth. Late August, you have The Travers and Del Mar Derby. In late September, you have the PA Derby. The Breeders’ Cup preps in October and then the Classic in November. Of course, you’d have the other 3-year-old races (Ohio Derby, Matt Winn, Indiana Derby, Jim Dandy, West Virginia Derby) along the way.

That’s a powerful series of races for three-year-olds that would run over eight months and give the sport a real chance to market the horses all those millions of viewers see line up in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby.

But, because race tracks are selfish and there’s no governing body for the sport, there’s little chance a significant change like this happens in our lifetime. Scared of real change, it’s much more likely that racing sits around and ‘hopes’ the Derby-winning connections in 2026 care enough about the outdated Triple Crown to run in the Preakness. Then those same people and all those fans holding on to the tradition of a race series started in 1930, they’ll point and say, “See, I told you there was nothing wrong with the Triple Crown!”

The problem is that it’s not 1930, 1950, or 1970. It’s 2025. Racing is much different now, but different does not have to mean worse.

And it’s okay if the Triple Crown is different, too,

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On your sports media and sports betting notes…

➡️ On Monday, The Kirk Minihane Show will celebrate Episode #1000. According to the podcast recording platform Riverside, around 90% of podcasts don't get past episode 3. So 1000 episodes is kind of a big deal.

The show and the community he’s built since leaving terrestrial radio and Sports Radio WEEI in 2019 is one of a kind. He does three to four shows/podcasts per week. He sells out wild live shows across New England. And he’s become one of the leading content figures at one of the biggest brands in the country, Barstool Sports. In his spare time, he solves murders with his true crime podcast, The Case, which will be highlighted on NBC’s Dateline sometime this spring. Sounds like there are even bigger plans for The Case down the road.

When I was not renewed at WEEI, he welcomed me as a guest on his show, and it’s been a blast…even when a listener banned me for four months.

He hates compliments from friends, but what he and his various producers have built is special. I'm looking forward to listening to his 1000th show on Monday and then 1000 more after that.

➡️ The current state of terrestrial radio means that just because you’re dominant in the ratings, it doesn’t mean you’re immune to financial cuts. 98.5 The Sports Hub was victim to that this week, when the station and host Dan Lifshatz announced he would no longer be part of the two-hour sports betting show, The Over/Under Show, which aired from 7-9 am on Saturday mornings.

The show is being cut to one hour and will see Lifshatz’s co-host, Kendra Middleton, stay on and host the show solo from 8-9 am. The popular Over/Under Podcast hosted by Lifshatz is also going away, though Dan said on X.com he hopes to bring it back soon.

In asking around, it sounds like so many other sports radio stations nationwide, The Sports Hub suffered from losing sports betting advertising dollars. These sportsbooks are pulling back, maybe to spend again come football season. As a result, Dan’s role as a host was eliminated.

He seems to annoy Boston sports fans on social media, and he has a bad take about Josh McDaniels not being a good choice for Pats OC, but I like Lifshatz's approach and tone on sports betting. I listened to his show with Kendra frequently and with Joe Murray before that.

The Sports Hub’s parent company, Beasley Media Group, reportedly faces major financial issues. This week, stations in Philadelphia, Detroit, and Tampa Bay all made on-air cuts.

The move allows Middleton, who tried out for a position on The Greg Hill Show that eventually went to Courtney Cox, to host her own weekly show.

Beasley’s financial issues could become a bigger issues in Boston as they their day-part talent comes up for renewals in the next year or so. Worth watching, for sure. And it’s worth watching what Dan does next in the sports betting space.

➡️ My friend, MutStack podcast guest, and Parx racing announcer Jessica Paquette, once again picked a Derby winner in Sovereignty (7-1). She picked the Preakness winner a year ago at 9-1, a 47-1 winner on the Derby undercard in 2024, and picked Two Phil’s in the 2023 Derby - he ran second at 30-1. She deserves more credit as a sharp handicapper and you’re a moron if you don’t listen to opinion next week on our Preakness Podcast.

➡️ The Boston Globe’s Ben Volin wrote a long column this week about Mike Vrabel's concerted effort to rid the team of anyone and anything connected to Bill Belichick and Jerod Mayo. He suggested that TE Hunter Henry was among the holdovers, “probably still here only because (his) contract (is) close to fully guaranteed in 2025.” No mention that Henry’s 66 catches were tied for the 7th most in the NFL a year ago at the position, or that he was one of Maye’s most trusted receivers.

There’s also zero mention that Jerod Mayo’s brother, Deron Mayo, was retained as the team’s strength and conditioning coach. Or that Matt Groh sticks in the front office and now handles the team’s contracts with players. Tough to write a column saying that “Hurricane Vrabel” was 100% clearing house and not mention those two guys being retained.

Volin famously ran with a random (and fake) DM from a Barstool Sports fan and said on the radio that Mac Jones had an attitude problem, before having to walk that back. He doesn’t seem to like football all that much and has reportedly told multiple people in the Boston media that his dream is to cover the PGA Tour.

I get the impression Pats fans (and fellow Pats media) would be okay with that.

And with that, we have said it all.

Back next week with a Preakness Podcast on Thursday, usual Friday-Four Pack, and Saturday’s Preakness Final Thoughts.

A very Happy Mother’s Day to Ellen, Jess, and all the other moms who will spend some of their Sunday watching their kids (or grandkids) play sports. Or have done so over the years. And please make sure to get your mom (and the mother of your children) a card and some flowers on Mother’s Day - it’s the least you can do. They deserve a lot more!

Thanks for reading.