🫡 Boston’s unexpected stars

Good Morning, Boston.

On this day in 2016 … Tom Brady and Peyton Manning faced off for the last time, as the Patriots fell to Manning’s Broncos, 20-18, in the 2016 AFC Championship Game. So nice of Brady to let his old rival go out on top at 39 years old. (Brady still won the all-time matchup, 11-6.) At least that’s one Manning brother he’ll have permanent bragging rights over.

WHAT’S ON TAP TODAY:

“Return of the McDaniels 2”

A new Red Sox Hall-of-Famer

Bye, bye, Bluesky

LET’S GET INTO IT…

LEADING OFF

Unlikely heroes

The best Boston sports moves no one expected. Back in January 2003, the Red Sox took a one-year, $1.25 million flyer on a young slugger the Twins had just released, hoping he could add some pop off the bench. His name: David Ortiz. That move might be one of the shrewdest in baseball history when looking back at “Big Papi’s” first-ballot Hall-of-Fame career. That got us thinking: what other unsung players came in and changed the course of Boston sports? Here are a few great ones.

Celtics: Derrick White. The former San Antonio guard wasn’t exactly the championship piece many fans had in mind when Brad Stevens acquired him for Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, a 2022 first-round pick, and a 2028 conditional pick swap. But he won over fans as an honorary Bostonian in record time, helping the C’s reach the Finals in 2022, winning a wild Eastern Conference Finals Game 6 in 2023 with a buzzer-beating putback, and starting for the 2024 championship team. Celtics history wouldn’t be the same without the two-time NBA All-Defensive Teamer and Sam Adams aficionado. 

Bruins: Phil Esposito. Shoutout to Conor Ryan for the assist:

Esposito was already considered a promising young center in Chicago before Boston traded for him (along with B’s stars Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield) in 1967. But he became an offensive juggernaut after joining the Bruins, scoring 60+ goals five times, setting an NHL record as the first player to hit over 100 points in a single season (a feat he accomplished five times), and winning two Stanley Cups here. He was so awesome, Ray Bourque switched his number to 77 to give Esposito his old No. 7 back at his jersey retirement.

Red Sox: Koji Uehara. The Sox signed the oft-injured Japanese reliever to a one-year, $4.25 million to be another setup arm in 2013, but injuries to other pitchers forced him into the closer’s role. He rewarded Boston with an insane run of dominance: posting a 1.09 ERA, retiring 37 straight hitters from July to September, striking out almost 40 percent of batters he faced, earning ALCS MVP honors with his three saves against Detroit, and shutting the door on the Cardinals to win the World Series. The BoSox don’t win that ‘ship without him.

Patriots: Mike Vrabel. Long before taking the reins as New England’s head coach, Vrabel was an unheralded former Steelers linebacker who signed with the Pats as a free agent in 2001. He became one of the first dynasty’s defensive lynchpins, starting 110 games, registering 48 sacks, and even catching 12 career touchdowns, including two touchdowns in Super Bowls 38 and 39. The very definition of a “winning” football player. Now, he’ll bring that spirit back to Foxborough as a coach.

BOSTON SPORTS

Quick hits & headlines

Jabrill Peppers pleads guilty on possession charge. The Pats defensive back admitted to possessing cocaine during his arrest last fall in Braintree for alleged domestic violence, which should lead to the drug charges eventually being dropped. The trial for the more serious allegations has begun this week, and the results could decide his future in Foxborough.

Josh McDaniels is back … back again. Tell a friend. The longtime Patriots offensive coordinator will officially return for a third stint in Foxborough (after another exhaustive OC search) to turn Drake Maye into a superstar. While you’re at it, you might want to pencil in a roster spot for Jakob Johnson — cuz the fullback is about to be back.

Red Sox legend Billy Wagner makes the Baseball Hall! The ex-relief pitcher, who made a whopping 15 appearances for Boston in 2009, made the cut for the 2025 Hall of Fame class alongside fellow pitcher CC Sabathia and the great Ichiro Suzuki. Actual Sox legends Dustin Pedroia and Manny Ramirez didn’t come close to Cooperstown, but hey … take the wins where you can! 

Patriots get bounced from Bluesky. The New England squad tried to get in on Bluesky trend this week, only for the NFL to nix the team’s account. The reason: the NFL hasn’t yet approved teams to post on the emerging social platform, though they likely will in the future. By the way: B-Side Sports is on Bluesky. Give us a follow.

Northeastern women three-peat at Beanpot. The Huskies women's team might seriously be the best hockey squad to play at TD Garden this year, easily dispatching Boston University for their third straight Beanpot in front of a crowd of 13,279 — the fifth-largest crowd for a women’s Division I hockey game in NCAA history. The scary part: unstoppable Northeastern goalie Lisa Jönsson is only a freshman. Good luck scoring on her the next three years.

POLL

🤔 Did the Patriots get it right with the Josh McDaniels hire?

LAST CALL

It’s not rocket science … right?

Will these receivers who can barely run routes grasp the “calculus” of Josh [McDaniels]’s scheme? — @MP82971 (X)

Well, Marc, we’re about to find out.

McDaniels’ offenses demand a lot from WRs and QBs as far as recognizing coverages pre- and post-snap, adjusting routes depending on what they see, and being on the same page — something the team struggled with last season. The complexity often limits what kinds of WRs McDaniels has brought into the offense in the past and hamstrung many a rookie pass-catcher.

On that note … what do you think the Raiders would want in exchange for Jakobi Meyers?

No hard feelings?

GAME … SET … MEME

Let the [Pats] hate flow through you

The difference between the Chiefs and Patriots’ dynasties: People are just annoyed by the Chiefs and their seemingly unending luck. They loathed Tom Brady and the Pats — because they were more inevitable than Thanos. Scott Pioli didn’t call Brady “Freddy Krueger” for no reason.

🗞 That’s a wrap. I’m going to set the record for most consecutive minutes booing a game when the Chiefs and Bills play on Championship Sunday.

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