Tag Archives: championship

Tom Brady- The Greatest Leader in Sports History

The Greatest Leader in sports-Tom Brady is going back to his 9th Super Bowl. Brady’s gone from the 199th pick in the draft, to arguably the greatest Athlete of all time. Brady’s play on the field is well documented, and his numbers are historic. The country has watched him grow as a player since 2001 and he’s gotten even better with age. Tom Brady could have 2 HOF careers, 2001-2007 and 2007-2018. It’s incredible what he has accomplished, and he has this team hungry to atone for last years’ Super Bowl loss.

Image Credit: NESN.COM — Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Brady Is A Born Leader

Tom Brady has been a leader for the Patriots since his first start. Troy Brown was asked when he knew Brady was going to be great: “When Tom came to the huddle in Super Bowl 36.” Brown says “He was calm and said let’s go win this, I could see it in his eyes and I knew we were going to win.”

The Pats did drive down the field to win, just as Brown thought after seeing Brady’s leadership in the huddle. Tom was young back then, trying to lead players older than him. Brady recently has been dealt a new challenge. Leading players who are much younger than himself, and he’s done it for years now. This year in particular is amazing, with no teammates being over 15 years old when Brady won his first ring. Brady is just a born leader, and he’s found a way to reach every teammate, young or old.

Players Talking Tom Terrific

As New England is preparing for another Super Bowl, players are raving about Brady. Jason McCourty puts it best on why Brady is such a great leader: “After the game, you see Tom’s excited to celebrate with the offense, with the defense, with the special teams guys.” McCourty continues, “Obviously for a guy like Tom, this guy is the GOAT, you’ve seen him do it so many times that sometimes you take it for granted.”

The way Brady knows everyone from Gronk to practice squad players is truly amazing. Brady’s leadership quality is overlooked nationally, but not by his teammates.

One player who’s spent the least amount of time with Brady is Obi Melifonwu, who grew up a Patriots fan and is now a teammate of Tom’s, describes his quarterback: “He’s such a great leader. I can’t even say enough about his character and the type of guy he is, on and off the field. He’s the type of guy you want to play for.”

Leading New Players, Young Players Or Vets…No Problem

Another new teammate Trent Brown: “He’s a great leader and it trickles down to the rest of the team.” Brown also said there’s one word that sums up all of Brady’s accomplishments: “There’s one word, GOAT, that’s it.”

Josh McDaniels said: “Brady is the first guy in the building to know a persons name.” Tom Brady is a living legend, yet somehow finds a way to connect with every player. Phillip Dorsett said: “We all know he’s much older than everyone in the locker room, but we do what we can to keep him young.”

The living legend was asked how he connects with every player so well: “I just play the role I can given the person and what I think they need at the moment.” Brady added: “It could be a rookie. It could be a veteran.”

The age gap this year is as big as it’s ever been, and Brady has mastered the art of relating to different generations.

Being a leader isn’t just about winning, it’s about being relatable, taking time to get to know your teammates, and no ones ever done it better than Tom Brady.

By Mike Quilty

Edited by Thomas Howland

Matchups To Watch For In Patriots versus Bills

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Alas, the matchup previews are back! The 5-2 New England Patriots will take on the 2-5 Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football in Buffalo. Boston Sports Extra brings you three marquee matchups to look out for while watching the game.

Tom Brady has won his most games versus the Bills. Photo Courtesy of Getty Images.

Derek Anderson versus Patriots’ Pass Defense

The Patriots have been on a win streak in the past month, but their pass defense has given up a lot of yards. Though they have played decent quarterbacks, there is no reason the scores should have been as close as they have been. Stephon Gilmore has been playing out of his mind, but the rest of the players needs to step up. One of the biggest keys is that they need to pick up players quicker and be more aggressive. This night has to be a statement for the secondary to not let up. The defense should not let up over 300 yards passing to a player who started off the year in as a third-stringer. Another thing to note is that the Bills have only had three passing touchdowns all year. Let’s keep it that way.

James White versus Tremaine Edmunds

James White has been a key player for the Patriots. Photo Courtesy of Sporting News.

White has been a key player for Brady coming out of the backfield and catching the ball. If White isn’t lined up on the line of scrimmage, then expect Edmunds to defend him out of the backfield. Edmunds has had his ups and downs in his NFL career, and White should take advantage of his inexperience.

LeSean McCoy versus Patriots Linebackers

The status of McCoy for Sunday is unsure. If he does play, he will be the biggest test for our linebackers and really all of our defense. Our linebackers need to plug up holes quickly and limit him in the passing game. Their offense runs through McCoy. Stopping him will mean stopping their offense.

How Jamal Crawford Makes The Celtics Better

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Crawford wants to add some hardware to his name before he retires

The 38-year-old veteran Jamal Crawford has reported mutual interest with multiple teams. Two of the most notable would be the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics. Since entering the league in the year 2000, he has played for eight different teams. The three-time sixth man of the year recipient knows a thing or two about playing limited minutes.

Last year with the Minnesota Timberwolves, he put up some solid numbers at age 37. In 80 games played for the team, he scored 10.3 points, while snagging 1.2 rebounds per game, and collecting 2.4 assists per game. Is there anymore he can give to any contending team?

What can he offer for the Celtics?

With a team that’s as young as this year’s Boston Celtics, this guy is worth keeping around. His ability is still up there to be able to perform on a nightly basis. He becomes more of an asset if he can help shape and develop the young core of guards on this roster, including Terry Rozier.

Terry Rozier got a small taste of being a successful starter in this league last season. While that opportunity will be very limited due to Kyrie Irving’s return this year, all eyes are on him to see if he can handle being put back on the bench and still showing ample amounts of ability.

In 16 games played as a starter, he averaged 15.6 points per game, 6.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists. What stands out to me are the 6.4 rebounds per game stat. Not a lot of point guards grab boards excessively like that besides Westbrook.

This is where Jamal Crawford comes into play. Even though he has had a successful career, he was never a prominent starting guard. If it seems that Rozier loses confidence or doesn’t play well, Crawford can come in and assist in his development.

While most sources can agree at least 4 teams are in the mix to gain his services, he clearly wants to win a ring sooner rather than later. With only the threat of signing with the Warriors, the Celtics currently have the second-best odds of landing him to Beantown.

According to Spotrac, his highest paid season was back in the 2016-17 season with the Los Angeles Clippers. That season he was 36 years old, and still made a cool $13,253,012 million.

With just weeks away from training camp, we will shortly see how this turns out. Stay tuned to Boston Sports Extra for the latest updates on everything Celtics!

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The Boston Uprising: A Look Back Through the Inaugural Season

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As we know, the Inaugural season of the Overwatch League is coming to a close within the next few weeks. Soon the Semifinals and Grand Finals of the playoffs will wrap up within the next two weeks. Unfortunately, our boys in blue were sent home a little earlier than they had hoped. Boston was taken out in the Quarterfinals of the playoffs last week to the Philadelphia Fusion 2-1. Although it seems like yesterday that Boston was “doomed to be one of the bottom feeder teams of the league”. We know our team worked through adversity to gain themselves the number three seed in the playoffs and even garnish the only perfect stage record so far for The Overwatch League! Let’s try to remember how this roller coaster season started and even look towards the future as to where the Uprising will be headed.

Their Humble Beginnings:

Back last Summer/Fall when teams were being revealed many teams were either: A.) Korean Pro Teams B.) The U.S World Cup Team (@Houston Outlaws) or C.) Notable Pro players from other Esports organizations. The Boston Uprising, along with Shanghai and Florida was none of those. This immediately led to many reporters, casters and even OWL front desk to toss Boston to the side, having no expectations of them throughout the season. A group formed from pros on lower tier teams, pro’s from other Esports teams and, an ex-professional tennis player. All the skepticism was validated at first. Although as we all know though they continued to prove everyone wrong.

Standing Their Ground:

Flash forward two stages and the Uprising finished both 6-4 just barely missing the stage playoffs both times. Stage playoffs aside, there was bigger success formed. Star players like main tank Young-jin “Gamsu” Noh, off tank Lucas “NotE” Meissner, and future MVP contender Nam-Joo “Striker” Kwon. The team only seemed to be only going up. This is due in part to their hard New England practice ethic. Hearing about just how many days a week they would be doing scrims, practicing and reviewing VODs. You could tell the dedication and grind they all had to succeed. Not to mention the constant chip on their shoulder.

Bad Luck Turned Into Better Results

After two incredibly strong stage showings, the Uprising was ready to take on Stage 3. They finally felt they could make their push for a spot in the stage playoffs. Starting off 2-0, they were tasked with facing the seemingly “unbeatable” New York Excelsior. Unfortunately, days before their spotlight matchup, one of Boston’s key DPS players was suspended. He was then quickly released with legal charges coming his way. The Uprising had to play the best team in the league, without one of their starters. They had to rely on backup DPS player Stanislav “Mistakes” Danilov. People started to cast doubts again on Boston thinking this loss would plummet them down the ranks. It seemed impossible, but the team, the coaches, and everyone supporting the Uprising believed. Sure enough, newfound starter “Mistakes” and the rest of the Uprising pulled the impossible. Boston gave NYXL their third loss of the season.

Now fueling another fire formed from the doubters, and the adrenaline of taking down the beast of the league Boston went on a tear. They ended up finishing Stage 3 undefeated (and garnishing undefeated records on the stage Control maps) and rode a 14 game win streak to the stage finals. Unfortunately New York got their revenge there beating their division rivals 3-0. Losing in the Stage 3 playoffs may of stung, but once again Boston continued to defy the odds. Boston established themselves as a “top 3” team in the league heading into the final stretch.

A Sour Final Stretch Doesn’t End Their Dreams

Unfortunately as the final stage approached came a new meta: The Brigitte meta. This brought upon a lot of trouble for the Uprising as this new character directly countered their previous compositions. With it taking extended time to figure out new strategies to overcome this they ended up finishing the season 4-6. After slugging out wins against poor preforming teams Shanghai, Florida, Seoul, and a “sandbagging” New York. This unfortunately wasn’t enough and they missed the stage 4 playoffs. Thankfully, due to their stellar performance the other 75% of the season, Boston still landed the number three seed in the playoffs.

We sadly know how the playoffs ended with their 2-1 loss to Philly. Now though there is so much to look forward to with the future and the Uprising. Nobody can call them a bottom tier team anymore, nor doubt their potential to win the league in year two. It’s looking more and more hopeful that Boston will bring back all of their starters when free agency signings start up in the fall. Furthermore, they can only add more talent around them with two more roster spots open to be filled. The Uprising may of exited the race a little earlier than they hoped this year, but one things for sure: they’ll be back stronger and better next year. Thank you Boston for the incredible first season!

NFL Championship Sunday Preview and Predictions

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The stage has been set for some of the most talented teams in football to compete in the Conference Championship. They devoted over 1,500 hours, or six days a week from August to January, to train for a shot at an appearance in Super Bowl LII. The postseason isn’t just an extension of the regular season, it’s what teams grind for all season. In the playoffs fans and players are shrouded by the fear that there might not be another week to play. One mistake could end a season. It’s go big or go home. Fans and their teams mesh together to create an electric atmosphere, all equally knowing what is at stake. Regular season stats are thrown out of the window. When faced with a win or go home situation adrenaline takes over, causing players to dig deeper than ever.

We have seen a multitude of spectacular moments already in the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Patriots will appear in their seventh consecutive AFC Championship game and are searching for their sixth Super Bowl ring. Their opponents, the Jacksonville Jaguars, have shocked the league by steamrolling their way deep into the playoffs after several failed seasons. In the NFC the Vikings and Eagles will square off after both securing late fourth quarter wins last weekend. Unfortunately, two teams must go home after this Sunday. This guide includes tips for betting on this weekend’s NFL championship games. These are the match-ups that we will be talking about all week:

AFC Championship: Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots

For the past five seasons the Jaguars were a laughing stock in the NFL. From 2012 to 2016 they failed to eclipse five wins on the season. However this year the Jaguars were on a mission. They finished with a winning record for the first time since 2007; coincidentally the last time the team appeared in the playoffs. In a low-scoring affair the Jags were able to survive the Bills, winning 10-3 in the Wild Card round. Critics scoffed at the idea that they would surpass the Divisional game in Pittsburgh. Their low offensive output in the first round of the playoffs was deemed futile against one of the AFC’s premier squads.

Everyone doubted the Jaguars except for themselves. The Steelers spent the week preparing for the Patriots rather than their current opponent. They seemed to forget that the Jaguars’ defense had a field day on Ben Roethlisberger back in Week Five, where he was picked five times. Last weekend “Sacksonville” was able to secure a 45-42 upset victory over the Steelers behind their running back corps’ four scores. The Jags’ defensive nightmare that they create for offenses is always something to worry about.

The Patriots played exemplary football so far in the postseason. They are held to high expectations because they are always able to ascertain them. It’s always hard to figure out what the Patriots are planning going into each match-up. They have the offensive weapons to pick apart any defense. Interestingly enough Tom Brady is the only quarterback left in the playoffs who has won a Super Bowl ring. The Patriots have the poise and experience to make another deep playoff run.

What is the most admirable about them is that Bill Belichick can remove a vital player on the opposing team from the game. Consequently this always makes the opponent squirm and eventually sputter out as the Pats skirt on by for a win. That was the case for their Divisional game last weekend against the Titans. Running the football is the basis of the Titans’ offense, and without Demarco Murray the running back corps was slim. Play after play Derrick Henry slammed into a wall of defenders and was only able to pick up twenty-eight yards against the Patriots. On the other side of the field Tom Brady outplayed Titans defenders through the air. The Patriots sailed to an easy 35-14 victory.

The Patriots will have their work cut out for them against Jacksonville’s stingy defense. The key to keep them afloat is for their offensive line to have a repeat of last weekend. Against the Titans the o-line didn’t allow Brady to be sacked once. On the other side Blake Bortles is always unpredictable and Leornard Fournette has been a huge cog for the Jags’ offense. They must strike early and keep Brady off the field as often as possible to pull out a win. The first defense to break down will dictate who will win the AFC Championship.

Prediction: 27-17 Patriots

NFC Championship: Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles

The Vikings quietly had one of the best seasons in the league this year. Their defense was phenomenal behind Pro Bowlers Everson Griffen, Xavier Rhodes, and Anthony Barr. Also, despite all odds and injuries suffered on offense the Vikes were able to get to where they are today. The loss of rookie Dalvin Cook caused the run game to take a hit, but since then balanced out. Teddy Bridgewater, the team’s original starter, sat out with a brutal knee injury for one and a half seasons. His place was taken over by the man with the hot hand: Case Keenum. Keenum went from the bench in Los Angeles at the end of last season to a strong MVP candidate in Minnesota. Teams wrote him off but his leadership brought the Vikings to the conference championship for the first time since 2009.

In an insane chain of events the Vikings came out on top over the Saints 29-24 on the final play of the Divisional game. A last play touchdown by Stefon Diggs is now regarded as the Minneapolis Miracle.

The Eagles were the team to beat for the majority of the regular season. Their year was going perfectly up until when the injury bug took away their star quarterback (and probable MVP) Carson Wentz. Since then there has been a little turbulence for the Eagles since Nick Foles took the helm. The Eagles locked up the number one seed in the NFC despite losing Wentz, yet things felt different. The once dangerous offense the Eagles possessed became mundane. Those strikes down the middle of the field for huge gains became less common. Nick Foles has done what’s in his power to lead the Eagles through the playoffs, but their offense is not as dangerous as they once were weeks ago. Home field advantage has been a saving grace for the team.

The Eagles’ Divisional match up against the Falcons was a physical defensive bout. Though the Eagles failed to score a touchdown against the Falcons they snuck by with a 15-10 win. All credit for the victory goes to the defense, who shut down Devonta Freeman and Julio Jones.

The Eagles’ defense will be a huge test for Case Keenum and the Vikings. On the flip-side, the Eagles will have to put their running game into high gear to jump-start the offense. The key for this match-up will lie in the trenches. Foles will need a scapegoat to open up his passing game. Jay Ajayi also has to be a prime performer to make a dent in the Vikings’ defense. However Minnesota is one win away from being the first team to play in a Super Bowl that they are hosting, and they are going to fire on all cylinders.

Prediction: 20-14 Vikings

Follow Mike Clement on Twitter @MClementMedia

Cover photo courtesy of Todd Rosenberg/NFL.

Realistic Expectations for 2017-2018 Season

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BASKETBALL SEASON IS UPON US

Training camp is less than a week away and the basketball junkies are coming out of hibernation. Soon enough, a clearer picture of what we can expect the Celtics to look like will start to show itself. So, you’re probably expecting a post about how the Celtics are going to go all the way this year, right?!?

Well, this is the part where I tell you to temper expectations just a little bit. It’s an exciting time to be a Celtics fan, but moreover a fan of the NBA in general. A lot of teams have a similar buzz around them. The Celtics might have a tough time shining the brightest in the 2018 Playoffs. Even if they eclipse their previous high-water mark for the fourth consecutive year and reach the NBA Finals, a juggernaut will await. It won’t be a cake walk.

I wrote an article about how this team shouldn’t have any problems hitting the ground running, and I stick to that. We should see some amazing basketball out of the Celtics this year. Furthermore, I don’t think they’ll have many problems with team chemistry. This group of guys just seem to mesh together already; it’s the perfect mixture of skill sets ready to complement one another. Add in some colorful personalities to taste, and it smells like a recipe for success. The things I think will hold this team back initially all share a common thread – inexperience.

ON YOUR MARK…

Most of the players we had that gained playoff experience in the past few years are gone. Sure, Kyrie won a championship and should be a leader of the Celtics in time. Can we really expect a 25-year-old to lead even younger guys to the top of the NBA in less than a year, though? Stevens and Hayward have been to the championship stage before together in college but didn’t win. Horford won in college and should step further into a leadership role. All things considered, the reality is this team needs more experience before being catapulted into the history books.

Even further, they simply lack experience in terms of player age. Let’s face it: this is one of the youngest teams in the NBA. They will be relying on first- and second-year players making a big impact if they want to make a deep playoff run. Jaylen Brown did get meaningful PT last year in the playoffs. He was on the floor frequently in the ECF and was even tasked with guarding Lebron James at times. Jayson Tatum very well might be the best rookie in his class. And fellow rook “The Terminator” Semi Ojeleye might just contribute immediately on defense as Brad Stevens indicates. Regardless, this is a team with five rookies on guaranteed deals and 10 players 25 years of age or younger.

PLANT THE SEEDS AND WATCH THEM GROW

This team to me is complete. When I say that, I mean I don’t think they really need to add anything major to compete for championships. The biggest thing that is going to help them reach another level is organic growth in the coming years. The young stars, Jaylen and Jayson, need to continue to improve. Hopefully one or both will be ready for crucial starting roles within a couple years. The other rookies need to find ways to contribute as well, and the younger guards that have been here (Smart and Rozier) need to start showing leadership and growth.

Even the players at the top of the lineup are still getting better in Irving and Hayward. The only player that seems to have reached his peak playing level is Horford, and he still has some great years ahead of him. The dynamic of this team is exciting, but there are a lot of moving parts here. Only time will tell if they are all moving in the same direction.

BUELLER… BUELLER…..

So where will this team get its leadership? Kyrie will be expected to take on that role, and he seems ready for the challenge. Al Horford will be another guy the Celtics will lean on heavily this season to keep everybody focused on the goal of winning a championship, something he did twice in college at Florida. He is the oldest and most experienced player on the team at 31 with 10 years of NBA experience. Together these two have 144 playoff games good for 143 starts. But when you take them out of the equation, the situation is pretty grim; the rest of the team has a combined total of 114 playoff games under their belt, good for just 27 starts.

PLAYOFFS? WE TALKIN’ BOUT PLAYOFFS??

Getting down to brass tacks, I see this team finishing as the number-one seed in the East again, with a slightly better record than last year. I’ll peg them for 55-60 wins which should easily get them the top spot. The Cavs will be without Isaiah to start the season, trying to figure it out. When he does come back, they’ll have to reconfigure again.

The second round will be the first real test for the new look C’s, but don’t expect it to be a drawn out battle. The number-one seeded Celtics move on to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive year. Following the same narrative as last year, they run in to a team they have yet to see all season – the Playoff Cavaliers.

WHO ARE THESE GUYS?

There is no way to sugarcoat it. The Cavaliers are going to be in the Eastern Conference Finals, and they will be ready. Not only ready to play, but ready specifically to beat the Boston Celtics. There will be a guy by the name of Isaiah Thomas in the ECF, playing with a chip on his shoulder. Oh, and he’s going to have his friend Jae Crowder with him as well, ready to lock down Lebron James all game. Wait.. this is getting confusing. We can’t put Jae on Lebron?

Seriously, that’s going to be an issue. As if that weren’t enough, lining him up with Lebron on defense is going to be scary for any team. And then there’s the fact that, well, Lebron does a lot more than just play defense. Not to mention he’s going to be out to show Kyrie he made the wrong choice leaving Cleveland. When the best player in the world has your number, it’s never a good thing.

JUST BEING REAL, FOLKS

This series is going to be a classic, point blank period. The last time I was waiting for a particular series before the season started, it was the Celtics-Lakers in the Finals. It is simply the fate of these two teams to go the distance in the Conference Finals after all that has transpired. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but my prediction is the Celtics will lose to the Cavaliers in seven. The inexperience of the young C’s will show itself, and the Cavs will be more hungry for it this season. They will be out for revenge; the Celtics are just going to be taking it all in. The Cavs also don’t have the luxury of youth and (take a seat, Danny, your job is done) stability, and thus have more of a sense of urgency to win now.

All things considered, if the Celtics get this far, it’s not that far-fetched to see them advancing to the Finals. Anything can happen in a game seven, but I don’t think that scenario favors the Celtics. In the wise words of former Celtics coach Doc Rivers, “you never want the series to get to a game seven when the best player is on the other team.” He was talking about Lebron James, right after his Celtics team lost to the Heat in game seven of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals. Lebron had 45pts-15rbs-5ast in that game. Fast forward six years and I think the narrative proves to be eerily similar. The Celtics crawl a tad further into uncharted waters in their quest for Banner 18, but fall just shy of the NBA Finals this year.

Stay tuned for my upcoming article on when the Celtics will win their next championship!!