Few state semifinals were as highly anticipated as the Div. 2 tilt between top-seeded Norwood and underdog Canton – two potent lineups featuring Norwood’s all-time leading scorer, Shea Larkee (150 points), and a pair of young Bulldogs star scorers. Shannon Lane, who eclipsed 100 career points as a sophomore last year, roofed a highlight-reel reverse chip to the top shelf in the first quarter for a 1-0 lead. Carolyn Schiavo – the junior half of Canton’s ultra-talented scoring tandem – then buried a corner midway through the third. Along with goalie Shealyn Murphy’s shutout through the first 38 minutes, those…
Author: BostonSportsNews
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye accounted for two of the Patriots’ five turnovers in Sunday’s 21-14 loss to the Steelers, and one of those came at a pivotal moment of the game. Down 14-7 on third-and-goal from the Steelers’ 2-yard line, Maye threw a bullet to open wide receiver Kayshon Boutte in the end zone. The pass was tipped at the line by defensive lineman Cameron Heyward and intercepted by cornerback Brandin Echols. Head coach Mike Vrabel was asked Monday morning on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” if it should have been a back-pylon throw to Boutte. “It shouldn’t have been…
A lot went wrong for the New England Patriots in their Week 3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Turnovers were the focus — New England turned the ball over five times — but other mistakes killed their slim chances at stealing a win. Penalties were another area of weakness for the Patriots. They had seven penalties for 54 yards accepted. Three of the seven penalties came on third down, two of which extended drives after plays that would have set up fourth downs. Patriots coach Mike Vrabel is fine with penalties. They’re unavoidable in the course of a game. The…
It is utterly insane that the Patriots were in a position to win Sunday’s game at all. With five turnovers — most of them being of the devastating variety — they had no business having a chance to steal a win against Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Yet there they were, facing a fourth-and-1 at the Pittsburgh 28-yard line, trailing by seven with 67 seconds left to play. The Patriots had gone 4-for-4 on fourth-down conversions to that point, including one on their own 15-yard line. Now with the game on the line, this one figured to be the…
Six games remain in the regular season, and as things stand there are four American League teams within a game of each other battling for three spots. The Red Sox are among them. A lot could change between now and Sunday, but while the final week will no doubt be stressful, the Red Sox are well positioned to reach the postseason for the first time since 2021. Here’s the latest. If playoffs began today… 1. Blue Jays 90-66, 2. Mariners 87-69, 3. Tigers 85-71, 4. Yankees 88-68, 5. Red Sox 85-71, 6. Guardians 84-72 If the season ended today the…
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Brandon Lowe hit his 30th home run of the season and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 7-3 Sunday night to avoid a series sweep.The Rays (76-80) snapped an eight-game losing streak against Boston.Despite the loss, the Red Sox (85-71) maintained their one-game lead in the race for the AL’s second wild card as Cleveland and Houston also lost Sunday.The Rays finished with a 41-40 home record at Steinbrenner Field, the spring training home of the Yankees, after Tropicana Field was damaged by Hurricane Milton in October. Tampa Bay, which closes the season with six…
Connelly Early took the mound for his first start against a team not named the Athletics on Sunday. The Boston Red Sox rookie had been excellent in his first two starts, allowing just one earned run in 10 1/3 innings. He faced adversity early in his start against Tampa. Chandler Simpson led off the game with a single, and the lefty appeared to be affected by his presence on the bases. He walked each of the next two hitters to load the bases as he monitored the speedsters’ leads. Early then struck out Brandon Lowe to ease some of the…
This offense is still killing me.I wrote yesterday about the tropes of the 2011 season and how it ended and while this series in general was helpful, a win on Sunday night would have been. No dice on that one. Even with a Guardians loss to shrink the magic number to five, early and eager opportunities did this Red Sox team in against the Rays.Bases loaded, top of the first, Joe Boyle looking like a deer in the headlights on the bump, the perfect opportunity to do damage early. Nathaniel Lowe strikes out. Boyle regains control and shuts down the…
FOXBORO – By Monday afternoon, Mike Vrabel’s assistants will have parsed through every play. They will have mined the film of Sunday’s loss, hunting for every insight and competitive edge; sacrificing sleep and sanity along the way, all in the pursuit of victory. Let’s save them some time. The truth of that tape is this: the Patriots beat themselves. Again. Five turnovers, including two on the doorstep of the end zone. Six first-half penalties, including two that resuscitated Steelers touchdown drives. And another home loss drenched in regret. Granted, this is a young team. A new team. But everybody inside…
It’s never a good idea to waste a bases-loaded opportunity. The Red Sox are painfully aware of that, as they entered Sunday’s series finale in Tampa hitting .143 (6 for 42) in such situations over their last 38 games – including 0 for 2 in Friday’s series opener – with just one extra base hit, one walk, two hit-by-pitches, and three sacrifice flies. (A far cry from their .586 average (17 for 29) in bases-loaded situations in the previous 54 games.) Tack on another left-’em-loaded in Sunday’s first inning. And another in the fifth. In total, the Red Sox left…