Morning sports update: Kyle Van Noy called fans booing Patriots ‘disrespectful’
"Too much booing for me."
The Yankees have reportedly signed 29-year-old ace pitcher Gerrit Cole to a nine-year deal worth $324 million. It would make the former Astros righthander the highest paid player in baseball, with an average salary of $36 million per season.
Both the Celtics and Bruins play tonight at 7 p.m. The Bruins are in Washington D.C. to face the Capitals, while the Celtics are in Indiana to play the Pacers.
Kyle Van Noy thought the booing at Gillette Stadium was excessive: During an interview with NBC Sports Boston’s Tom Curran, Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy shared his thoughts on the fans at Gillette Stadium booing as the team left the field at halftime.
Asked if he thought it felt like a playoff atmosphere against the Chiefs (the Patriots eventually lost, 23-16), Van Noy weighed in on the fans’ reaction.
“Too much booing for me,” said Van Noy.
“I thought it was disrespectful,” he followed up. “It is what it is.”
Curran tried to explain the rationale of the fans while also acknowledging that he doesn’t necessarily agree with those who boo a 10-2 team.
“Positivity? A little cheering?” added Van Noy, reiterating that it didn’t affect the team. “We control what we can control, right?”
Asked if it bothered him personally, the 28-year-old responded by saying, “No. Why would booing bother me?”
“Because it was the first thing you mentioned,” Curran pointed out.
“Well, you had asked if it had a playoff atmosphere,” Van Noy replied, insinuating that booing wouldn’t occur at a playoff game.
Van Noy talked about the Patriots’ defense, which started well against the Chiefs before allowing multiple scoring drives during the first half.
“Yeah I mean we’re hungry, we’re trying to win,” said Van Noy. “We put so many hours, time, sacrifices into each week and we just want to win. Obviously it sucks when it doesn’t go the way we want, but know that we’re all trying. And we’re trying to put the best product out on the field. We’re not trying to disappoint anyone, but just imagine as a fan or a media person that’s cheering for us, imagine our feelings are probably 100 times more because our livelihoods are on the line and we want to win. We’re competitive, we’re alpha males, we want to do whatever it takes to win. We have to do better, and we want to.”
Trivia: David Pastrnak currently leads the NHL in goals. Who is the last Czech Republic player to lead the NHL in goals over the course of a season?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: He won Olympic gold at Nagano in 1998, and helped his NHL team win the Stanley Cup in 2001 alongside Ray Bourque.
More from Boston.com:
- 8 things we learned from the Bill Belichick and Nick Saban documentary on HBO
- Patriots notebook: Josh McDaniels targeting ways to get N’Keal Harry more opportunities
- NFL hopes to decide quickly whether to punish Patriots for taping Bengals’ sideline
- MLB free agency: The latest moves and Red Sox news from the Winter Meetings
- The best ski and snowboard mountains in New England, according to Boston.com readers
- Nancy Frates is sharing tributes she’s received after her son’s death from ALS
- Bill Belichick says he had ‘no knowledge’ of Patriots filming Bengals’ sidelines
- Bengals are said to be ‘livid’ over Patriots’ illegal videotaping
- Trading Mookie Betts doesn’t seem to be high priority for Red Sox
- Tom Brady, Patriots hope 3rd time is the charm on clinching playoff spot
- What NFL experts are saying about the Patriots’ videotaping controversy
The latest from the Red Sox
:
The Boston Red Sox continue to pursue ways to shed salary, and multiple teams have targeted starter David Price, sources tell ESPN. He is owed $96 million over the next three years. Red Sox could either attach player with value or potentially pay down some of Price’s remaining $.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 11, 2019
Adam Vinatieri was unsurprisingly included in the NFL’s all-time team:
https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/1204748165020184576
The U.S. women’s soccer team was named Time Magazine’s “Athlete of the Year”:
The U.S. Women’s Soccer Team is TIME’s 2019 Athlete of the Year #TIMEPOY https://t.co/POPdUBWsK6 pic.twitter.com/UX8GyRWJgV
— TIME (@TIME) December 11, 2019
On this day: In 2000, Alex Rodriguez sent baseball contracts into the stratosphere when he signed a deal for 10 years worth $250 million with the Texas Rangers. It was by far the largest contract ever given to a professional athlete in American sports.
Rodriguez would go on to hold up his end of the bargain over the three years he spent in Texas, averaging a whopping 52 home runs a season while batting .305. Yet Texas was unable to put talent around him, particularly regarding the pitching staff (which was last two of Rodriguez’s three seasons with the team).
Finally, in early 2004, the Rangers traded Rodriguez to the Yankees (after a Red Sox effort failed).
Daily highlight: Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah scored what manager Jurgen Klopp described as a “sensational” goal in the Champions League on Tuesday from a seemingly impossible angle:
https://twitter.com/brlive/status/1204479799441399810
Trivia answer: Milan Hejduk.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com