🧦 Sox slay the curse

Good Morning, Boston.

🎉 Happy 53rd Birthday to Pedro Martinez! How fitting we get to celebrate the three-time Cy Young Award winner as we remember the 2004 Red Sox he helped lift to a title. By the way, he still hates the Yankees and accused them of spying on the Sox in that ‘04 ALCS. Some beefs never die.

What’s on tap today:

• Beautiful Banner 18

• Jerod Mayo calls out Pats

• Drake Maye makes history

Let’s get into it …

LEADING OFF

An ode to the curse-breakers

The reverse of The Curse turns 20 this weekend. This Sunday marks two decades since Red Sox closer Keith Foulke fielded a comebacker from St. Louis Cardinal Edgar Renteria, tossed it to first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz and completed a four-game sweep to win Boston’s first World Series in 86 years. The cathartic win snuffed out the “Curse of the Bambino” forever, giving Boston one of its most cherished sports memories of all time.

The 2004 Red Sox overcame ghosts of the deep past … Only the Chicago Cubs (108 years) and White Sox (87) have had longer championship droughts than the Red Sox. The 1919 “Black Sox” scandal, in which eight White Sox were banned for allegedly throwing the World Series, haunted one Chicago team, while the 1945 “Billy Goat Tavern” curse hung over the other. Meanwhile, the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to New York in 1920, only to watch him become an all-time great and turn the Yankees into an iconic franchise while they languished for more than 80 years.

… And the heartbreak of defeat. The ‘04 team wasn’t just battling the wraith of Ruth and the Yankees’ supremacy in the baseball world. They also had to overcome the weight of past failures, including:

• Four heart-breaking World Series losses, including their late-game meltdown in Game 6 of the 1986 championship (a.k.a. the Bill Buckner Game).

• A soul-crushing ALCS defeat the year before at the hands of those despised Yankees. Thanks a lot, Grady Little.

Let’s not forget the 3-0 deficit they had to erase against the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS, something no MLB team had ever done before. Until they did. 

… And they did it their way. These Sox were a group of beloved scrappers who had everything to prove:

• 28-year-old general manager Theo Epstein had never run a team when he was hired in 2002.

• Manager Terry Francona was fired from the Phillies before joining the Sox in 2004.

• David Ortiz and Kevin Millar were cast off by their previous teams before the Sox scooped them up.

• A cast of characters — including a Messiah-like Johnny Damon, pine-tar magnet Trot Nixon and Manny “Being Manny” Ramirez — who were easy to root for.

Boston fans embraced them as they gave the rival Yankees all they could handle two years in a row. Once they broke through in 2004, nothing could stop them.

That’s why they’re Boston’s greatest championship team. The Celtics have the most banners in Boston, and the Patriots can lay claim to a more dominating dynasty. But no individual title in Titletown has a story like the ‘04 Sox. The win also broke the dam for the franchise, who went on to win three more titles over the next 14 years – 2007, 2013 and 2018. Without the ‘04 squad, Boston’s legacy as a sports town wouldn’t be the same.

🤔 What’s your favorite Boston sports championship moment?

BOSTON SPORTS

Quick hits & headlines

💍 The Celtics raise their banner with a rout. Raising Banner 18 and getting their championship rings didn’t distract the Celtics on Tuesday night as they ran the upstart New York Knicks out of TD Garden, 132-109. The only boos in the building came when the Celtics fell just short of breaking the NBA record for three-pointers in a game (30) — settling for a share of the current record (29) with the 2020 Bucks. Jayson Tatum led the way with 37 points. Joe Mazzulla wanted to taste blood on the parquet. Again … who’s stopping this team?

😳 Jerod Mayo’s “soft” comments make waves. The Patriots head coach has drawn criticism from the media, including former head coach Bill Belichick, for publicly calling out his team after Sunday’s loss to the Jaguars. But current players, like Patriots captain David Andrews, backed up their coach’s assessment and urged each other to accept the challenge. If they can’t respond with a better showing against the Jets than they did in Week 3, this season could really spiral out of control.

📉 Ja’Lynn Polk’s season has gone from bad to worse. The rookie wide receiver has caught just 10 of 26 targets this season and has hinted at displeasure with his lack of production in interviews and on social media. Now, the second-rounder out of Washington is in the concussion protocol ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the Jets. Hopefully, the injury isn’t a long-term issue, but it’s clear Polk needs a minute to reset. His head hasn’t been in the game for weeks.

BEYOND BOSTON

Out-of-town report

The “Greek Freak” calls Jaylen Brown the NBA’s best player. Giannis Antetokounmpo gave Brown the nod because he’s the “best player” on the championship-winning Celtics. Doesn’t he know Jason Kidd already tried the divide-and-conquer tactic between Brown and Tatum? It won’t save the Bucks from getting stomped.  

Julian Edelman slams the Jets. The Patriots fan-favorite said the Jets are getting their comeuppance for trying to “buy” a Super Bowl with Aaron Rodgers, claiming not everyone can duplicate what Tom Brady did winning immediately with the Bucs in 2020. You know what would really humiliate the Jets? The 1-6 Pats beating them this weekend.

Grant Williams hits a game-winner for the Hornets. The ex-Celtic nailed a three-pointer with 40 seconds left on Wednesday night to secure an opening-night win for  Charlotte. Thankfully, the game didn’t come down to free throws for the outspoken forward.

BY THE NUMBERS

Did you know …

Drake Maye just joined some Hall-of-Fame company? Maye became just the second rookie QB to post at least 500 passing yards and five TDs in his first two NFL starts since 1970. The other? Dan Marino, one of the greatest QBs of all time. Obviously, that doesn’t guarantee Maye will be an elite passer for his whole career. But you can’t deny the kid has been good. If he shows out against the Jets, he might force himself into the Rookie of the Year conversation.

THE BEST THING I SAW IN SPORTS

Raise it to the rafters

🔥 The Celtics raise Banner 18. Even if TNT didn’t want us to see it live, we finally saw another banner raised to the Garden rafters. And it was beautiful. Putting Banner 19 next to it in 2025 would be even sweeter.

🗞 That’s a wrap. I’ll be looking up a copy of that banner to hang in my living room.

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