Each day during the sports pause stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, NESN.com will publish a diary full of random thoughts, opinions, takeaways and other cool tidbits we’ve stumbled across in the absence of actual games. Because why not? We’re all in this together.
Congratulations. We’re halfway through another week without sports. It’s not much of a consolation, I know, because who knows how many more weeks we have like this.
At least today there was no shortage of sports content, thanks to a highly anticipated interview between Tom Brady and Howard Stern. And oh boy, did it deliver.
Brady spoke extensively about how marriage issues are the reason he skipped the New England Patriots’ OTAs leading into his final two seasons, that the Brady vs. Bill Belichick debate is stupid and how telling Patriots owner Robert Kraft and coach Belichick he was leaving New England made him emotional. He also spoke to how he “absolutely” wants his children to play football, and admitted to occasionally smoking weed in high school. He also finally talked about his relationship with President Donald Trump.
Some of the juicier details include him revealing that he told Belichick about his lack of trust in certain Patriots receivers last season, and that he knew last offseason that he’d probably be leaving the team.
There was a lot to unpack. NESN.com’s Mike Cole summed up some of the best quotes for you folks.
— Not mentioned in the interview with Stern, but made public by the charity Feeding Tampa Bay, Brady and his wife, Gisele Bündchen, donated 750,000 meals to the Tampa Bay charity to help alleviate those affected by food insecurity amid the coronavirus pandemic.
— With Brady joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that meant Jameis Winston was out. He seems to be taking it pretty well, though, and supposedly felt honored that the G.O.A.T. took his job. Weird brag, but OK.
— Brady may have left the Patriots, but Julian Edelman’s Boston pride was pretty evident. He posted a video on Twitter while wearing a Celtics jersey and a picture to Instagram of him photoshopped as a Red Sox player.
He heard baseball might be coming back and is in desperate need of competition, apparently.
Edelman’s posts did so well on social media, that it earned him NESN After Hours co-hosts Emerson Lotzia’s nod of approval. Wednesday, Lotzia highlighted Edelman’s posts in his “LOTZ of Likes” segment.
— Keeping with the Patriots, it looks like Belichick is the favorite to win the NFL Coach of the Year award in 2020. We’ll see what happens, but for now, check out NESN.com’s Zack Cox’s rankings for the coach’s best and worst draft classes.
— Speaking of, the NFL Draft is going to look drastically different this year, but the league is making the best of it. The selection process and show will be virtual this year, but will serve as a three-day long fundraiser to COVID-19 causes. Props to the NFL for turning a negative into a positive.
— Shoutout to Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron, who as noted by the B’s twitter account today, is now the longest tenured Boston athlete with 16 years under his belt.
— Yesterday news broke of Edmonton Oilers center (and former Boston Bruin) Colby Cave was in a medically induced coma suffering from a brain bleed. On Wednesday, the Bruins recorded heartfelt messages of well wishes. His wife, Emily, uploaded an emotion post on Instagram saying her family “needs a miracle” for his recovery, especially since they aren’t allowed to be in the hospital with him amid coronavirus concerns. That’s just horrible. Thoughts and prayers to his loved ones.
— On a much happier note, the NBA has been trying to come up with entertainment for fans while its season is in limbo. The league and ESPN came up with the idea for a televised H-O-R-S-E competition featuring some of its star players.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday reported that Chris Paul, Trae Young and Zach LaVine are in for the event, as well as some star WNBA players and NBA alumni.
It still would be nice to see Steph Curry get involved and hit crazy shots from Timbuktu. Also, Marcus Smart is a pretty good shooter with his back to the hoop.
— It appears that Chris Sale has learned a new pitch, despite recovering from Tommy John surgery March 30. Unfortunately, the toss won’t fly in Major League Baseball, as he’d need to use a whiffle ball.
Stat of the Day
Wednesday’s stat of the day is a bit sad. Sorry. But it would have marked the first day of the NHL playoffs. The Bruins were in first place when the league was paused due to the coronavirus outbreak, but if some type of postseason can be salvaged, the B’s will be in good shape.
Imagine being a team on the cusp of the postseason when the hiatus started? That hurts.
Today would've been the first round of the @NHL playoffs.
FIVE teams on the outside of the playoff picture were within THREE points of getting in when the season paused on March 12.
East: Islanders, Rangers, Panthers
West: Canucks, Wild pic.twitter.com/7VrejIfLbp— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 9, 2020
Tweet of the Day
The Carolina Panthers organization did some friendly chirping of the Atlanta Falcons’ new uniform reveal, hilariously pointing out that the new jerseys are very reminiscent of the Mean Machine unis from “The Longest Yard.”
https://t.co/p3KLugxW1o pic.twitter.com/KJAzCARsUT
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) April 8, 2020
Video of the Day
We need some positive encouragement every day. Edelman not only came through with the positivity, but also reminded us how much he loves Boston, repping a Celtics jersey, and dropped some references to some very happy Super Bowl comeback memories.
We know a thing or two about comebacks around here. Stay strong Boston, stay inside. This too shall pass. pic.twitter.com/liIZIeXAA5
— Julian Edelman (@Edelman11) April 8, 2020
And that’s about it for the day. Stay safe out there, everyone.
