It doesn’t happen too often, but we’re in a real quiet time for the Boston sports scene. The Patriots are done, the Red Sox are a few weeks away from spring training, and the Celtics and Bruins are trudging through the tedious regular season. Add to that the fact that sports were on the back-burner for the last week or so with all the election talk, and it’s been actually a slow time for sports.
Mark Farinella says that the Patriots are in a decline just like they were during the Pete Carroll era, and Carroll was fired, so he wonders why there is no talk of firing Belichick. (Yep, slow sports day.) He wonders if Robert Kraft still has the fire to win, and puts the onus on him to get things turned around down in Foxborough.
Albert Breer says that Dean Pees may soon join Josh McDaniels in Denver. Ron Borges says that Pees will find Mike Nolan a tough act to follow if he chooses to go to Denver. Tom E. Curran offers a mea culpa of sorts on his speculation that Matt Patricia could end up in Denver. Ian R. Rapoport says that it appears that Floyd Reese will be sticking around as well. Mike Reiss wonders if Jared Odrick might be a good choice for the Patriots to draft at # 22.
Over on Patriots Daily we’ve put together as complete a list of the NFL Key Offseason Dates as we could find.
Red Sox
Amalie Benjamin has Jonathan Papelbon and the Red Sox avoiding arbitration with a one-year, $9.35 million contract. John Tomase says that the deal is a tremendous bargain for the Red Sox. Steve Buckley says that Papelbon is made for Fenway. Rob Bradford looks at what is ahead for Papelbon and the Red Sox. Sean McAdam looks at Papelbon’s climb up the salary ladder.
Alex Speier has a look at outfield prospects Josh Reddick and Ryan Kalish. Joe McDonald and Daniel Barbarisi have the Red Sox also agreeing to 2010 contracts with Manny Delcarmen and Ramon Ramirez.
Mike Fine begins his spring training previews with a look at the starting rotation. Gordon Edes says that the Red Sox will need big production from David Ortiz and Victor Martinez this season.
Celtics
Gary Washburn has ex-Piston Rasheed Wallace making his first trip back to Detroit as a member of the Celtics. A. Sherrod Blakely has Wallace hoping to replicate his Detroit success here with the Celtics.
Chris Forsberg has Kevin Garnett returning to practice yesterday in anticipation of returning to the lineup on Friday. Scott Souza has Garnett running, shooting, and doing a lot of talking. Frank Dell’Apa has Garnett believing that the Celtics’ cautious approach to his recovery is paying off. Jim Fenton has Garnett the last Celtic off the court yesterday. Steve Bulpett says that even with the full practice, Doc River says there is no way he will play KG tonight in Detroit.
Jessica Camerato has Eddie House talking about the art of sharpshooting. Bulpett’s notebook says that the return of KG won’t solve all the Celtics recent problems.
Bruins
Brendan Hall has the Bruins getting a little rest after a rough stretch of travel and games. Kathryn Tappen says that the Bruins will get through this tough stretch. Rich Thompson says that goal tending was the biggest problem against the Senators. Matt Kalman has a Bruins mailbag.
