Brady, Ortiz, and Raisman highlight the top 10 moments of 2016 in Boston sports
COMMENTARY
If the past seven years are any indication, we’re due for another championship parade sometime in the next calendar year.
Even years have become a bummer around here. It’s the odd years that have delivered of late. In 2011, the Bruins hoisted the Stanley Cup. In 2013, the Red Sox improbably won the World Series, and in 2015, the Patriots won their fourth Super Bowl title by defeating Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks.
So, bring on 2017.
Even without the benefit of a duck boat parade, 2016 still managed to deliver its fair share of memorable moments in Boston sports. We said goodbye to David Ortiz (more than once), the Red Sox went from worst to first, the Patriots were back in the AFC Championship Game, the Celtics made the playoffs for a second-straight year and flirted with Kevin Durant, and the Bruins…well, the Bruins…
What was your favorite moment? Here are 10 of mine.
10. Celtics snap Golden State Warriors’ 54-game winning streak at home
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Otc9dmWYvvY
If the Celtics seem like they’re in some sort of NBA purgatory, not exactly built for a title, but not bad enough to find themselves in perpetual lottery pursuit (thank you, Brooklyn), at least they can boast deliveries like this one in April. In beating the Warriors, 109-106, snapping Golden State’s historic winning streak at the Oracle Center, the Celtics made a leap into the conversation that they might be on the doorstep of being an elite team in the NBA. Of course, it was only a few weeks later that Boston fell to the Atlanta Hawks in six games of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, so perhaps that talk was a bit premature. But for one night, the Celtics had a game-changing moment, and perhaps a symbolic gesture that may have been relayed to the Cleveland Cavaliers, convincing LeBron and company that the Warriors were, indeed, beatable.
9. Aly Raisman shines at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro
Needham’s own Aly Raisman once again became a household name as captain of the first U.S. teams to win back-to-back Olympic gymnastics gold. The 22-year-old gymnast also added a silver in floor exercise and finished second to teammate Simone Biles in the artistic individual. Now with six Olympic medals, Raisman sits behind only Shannon Miller (seven) for most medals won by a U.S. gymnast. She may go for the record in 2020. “That’s the goal,” Raisman said in September. “I’m really excited. I mean, I thought I was in the best shape of my life in 2012 — I was even better now, so I’m excited to see what will happen in 2020. Get better with age.”
8. The emergence of David Pastrnak
So, it was another epic collapse down the stretch for the Boston Bruins at the tail end of the 2015-16 season, the second year in a row that Claude Julien watched his team go down in flames. And while the 2016-17 season has had its ups and downs at the outset, putting the coach back on the hot seat yet again, Pastrnak’s explosion into one of the NHL’s top young talents has at least been an encouraging sign. Now in his third professional season, the 20-year-old forward is second in the NHL with 19 goals (Sidney Crosby leads the way with 22). “I think he’s just maturing into his own player,” teammate Patrice Bergeron told Sports Illustrated earlier this month. “He’s playing with some more confidence, and when that happens, obviously you start to make plays and create a lot for yourself…he’s definitely giving us the offense we need right now.”
7. Patriots win at Mile High, clinch AFC East title
The interception that led to the #Patriots TD: https://t.co/RImgb48ss3
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) December 18, 2016
It had been five years since the New England Patriots escaped from Denver with a win under their belts. So, considering last season’s heartbreaking regular-season loss to the Broncos, never mind the backbreaking defeat in the AFC Championship game, the team’s 16-3 win last weekend was a definitive outing. Not only did it secure a playoff berth, the Patriots clinched the AFC East for an eighth-straight year — a new NFL record — and also earned a first-round postseason bye. The loss of Rob Gronkowski has been tempered with back-to-back strong defensive efforts against the Baltimore Ravens and Broncos, cementing the Patriots as the team to beat in the AFC. The Super Bowl may seem a certainty — only Oakland is conceivably in the way — especially with the Patriots peaking at the perfect time.
6. Rick Porcello wins the Cy Young Award
With all due respect to Kate Upton, who took issue with the Red Sox’ righty winning the American League’s top honor for a pitcher in lieu of boyfriend and Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander, Porcello’s second season in a Red Sox uniform was both a pleasant surprise and a relief based on the amount of money the Red Sox had dedicated to him. Porcello rebounded from a 2015 season during which he went only 9-15 with a 4.92 ERA to post a 22-4 record with a 3.15 ERA. In addition to Cy Young, Porcello also won AL Comeback Player of the Year Award, and became the ace of a staff that just so happened to also include $217 million man David Price. With the addition of Chris Sale (more on him in a bit) to the starting staff, how’s it feel to have the reigning Cy Young Award winner be the team’s No. 3 starter?
5. Celtics sign Al Horford
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEAqUB3AcxE
Before signing Al Horford to a deal worth $113 million, you could argue that the Celtics’ history in attracting free agents was highlighted by Dominique Wilkins in 1994. Yippee. But landing Horford marked a new era in Celtics history, with Danny Ainge proving that the team both has the resources and the ability to attract big-name free agents to Boston (just not Durant, despite the full-court press from the likes of Tom Brady and Kelly Olynyk’s shirt), a landing city that hasn’t exactly been met with the same regard as Los Angeles, South Beach etc. When healthy, Horford has been a nice veteran presence on the Celtics, and it will be interesting to see how the team can proceed when Horford, Isaiah Thomas, and Jae Crowder are all healthy together for an extended period of time.
4. Red Sox trade for lefty Chris Sale
Yes, with the deal including young studs Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech, the price was steep. Just not anywhere near what we thought it might have been last summer, when names like Andrew Benintendi, Mookie Betts, and Xander Bogaerts figured to be the starting point in discussions with the White Sox. Sale was 17-10 with a 3.34 ERA last season with the rebuilding White Sox, a career 74-50 with a 3.00 ERA, and 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings. His 4.9 WAR last season was just lower than Porcello’s 5.0. He also proved himself to be something of a mad man with his Edward Scissorhands performance on retro White Sox uniforms he deemed unfit for public approval. But he’s also one of the best lefties in the game, on a ridiculously affordable contract. Plus, his presence gave Dave Dombrowski more freedom to finally jettison Clay Buchholz, which isn’t such a bad deal, no?
3. Patriots go 3-1 without Tom Brady
Left wiiiide open…@JimmyG_10 finds @ChrisHogan_15 for the @Patriots TD! #NEvsAZ https://t.co/ixVMMMtT0L
— NFL (@NFL) September 12, 2016
It was, officially, the end of the nightmare known as Deflategate, that is until the sequel that never was occurred between the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers. Without Brady, the Patriots figured to start the season 2-2 behind backup Jimmy Garoppolo — a QB situation that eventually also included rookie Jacoby Brissett once Garoppolo got injured. The remarkable addendum to all this is that Brady continues to play at a level that has him one of the favorites for the NFL’s MVP trophy, despite the fact that he might only play in as few as 11 games (as long as the team can seal up the No. 1 seed making next weekend’s game in Miami a pointless exercise for New England). Well, as long as everyone learned their lesson, I guess, right Mr. Commissioner?
2. Brady sets NFL win record for a quarterback
Tom. Brady. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/7vxl6LLBGE
— NFL (@NFL) December 4, 2016
Brady may have set the NFL record for wins by a quarterback, leaping over former rival Peyton Manning with his 201st victory earlier this month (now sitting at 203, and counting), but he has a long way to go to topple former teammate Adam Vinatieri for the overall NFL wins record. The Colts kicker won his 219th game in December, putting him atop the list of all NFL players. That’s only a season-plus for Brady to capture the kicker, but just as it appears Brady isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, nor does it seem Vinatieri’s retirement is imminent. Brady not only broke the record for quarterbacks, he’s going to end up shattering it, putting another feather in the already-dead argument that he’s the best QB to ever play the game. He is. End of story. This is only the latest reason why.
1. David Ortiz calls it a career
There aren’t many players that have had an MVP-type season at the age of 40 like Ortiz managed during his final season in the big leagues. Ortiz, who announced that he was retiring after the 2016 season last November, hit .315 with 38 home runs, and led the American League with his 127 runs batted in, .620 slugging percentage, and 1.021 OPS. After two seasons of being mired in last place, the 2016 Red Sox were a Renaissance, winning the AL East for the first time in three years, and Ortiz — along with Porcello, Mookie Betts, and Dustin Pedroia — was a major reason. Ortiz was so good that more than a handful of people were convinced by midseason that the guy was going to re-think his decision. But he was also playing on heels that could do little more for him, even as a designated hitter, thus the end of the line for one of the greatest athletes Boston has ever had the enjoyment to watch. The World Series memories will live forever, as will how Ortiz dominated like no other since Ted Williams.
Next week, the 10 worst moments in Boston sports during 2016.
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