Morning sports update: Tom Brady says it ‘actually kind of sucked’ playing on Thursday
The Red Sox are finishing their homestand with a three-game series against the Oakland A’s, the Patriots are looking to avoid an 0-2 start for the first time since 2001, and the Bruins are starting training camp on Thursday.
Tom Brady talked about the differences between playing on Thursday versus on Sunday: The Patriots’ season opener was on Thursday, which means the team had a little extra time to prepare for Week 2. During his weekly Kirk & Callahan appearance on WEEI, Brady shed light on how playing earlier in the week affects their post-game preparations.
“It actually kind of sucked having three extra days to think about it and re-watch the game,” Brady said. “The good thing about football season when it is Sunday to Sunday is Monday you watch it, and by Tuesday you’re on to the next team. I have kind of moved on to the next team, but we haven’t really done that formally as a team. We’re doing that today. It kind of sucked. Maybe it is good to stick with us longer and make us continue to evaluate and nitpick and so forth.”
Patriots replacing field turf after one regular-season game: ‘‘While it met the safety requirements of the NFL and MLS, it wasn’t up to the standards of the Patriots and the Revolution,’’ Patriots spokesman Stacey James said. ‘‘This was the first time all summer that we had a two-week window to replace it.’’ (Boston.com, via AP)
Here’s what Bill Belichick had to say about the new field: During an appearance on WEEI’s show, Dale & Holley with Rich Keefe, Belichick was asked about stadium’s change. He responded quite characteristically: “I would say the field is being replaced because it needs to be replaced, and it’s probably something you should talk to the field experts on.”
Ray Allen says he “didn’t want to leave” Boston: The retired shooting guard elaborated on his decision to leave the Celtics in 2012, saying that he actually would have preferred to stay if the circumstanced allowed for it.
“When I left, what you need to know is that everybody on one side is going to say what they need to say to make their side look like they did everything that they could to make sure that they made it correct for me. But from my opinion, I see something totally different,” Allen said in an interview with Tecent.
“As well as any player that was traded or moved on, you have your issues, you have your beefs that you have,” he continued. “And it’s up to the team to make sure that they, in a free agency period, make sure that they take care of whatever issues that you may have. If a team doesn’t do that, then you have to make sure that you find the best situation that’s available. And that was probably one of the hardest decisions that I had to make because I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to have to. But the team almost put me in a bad situation.”
As training camp looms, Bruins still don’t have David Pastrnak aboard: The NHL is a deadline league. Thursday, when the players open camp with physicals, represents a critical date. There is urgency on both sides to put pen to paper by then. But to this point, that looming checkpoint has not initiated enough progress to produce a handshake. (The Boston Globe)
Boston College to stick with freshman quarterback Anthony Brown for Notre Dame: Steve Addazio noted on Monday that two of Brown’s interceptions in the team’s game against Wake Forest were tipped by the receiver. Addazio added: “Anthony’s ready to rock and roll. He’s our quarterback, and we’re looking to him to get going.” (Boston.com, via AP)
