Morning sports update: Bruce Arians says Tom Brady was ‘adamant’ about the Buccaneers adding Rob Gronkowski
"Yeah, he really wants to play, he’d love to play with us."
The Patriots’ schedule was released on Thursday night along with the rest of the NFL. New England will open at home on Sunday, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. against the Dolphins.
And golf courses are open in Massachusetts. Though the swiftness of the move caught course administrators “a little off guard,” players are returning to what would otherwise be an increasingly frequent seasonal destination.
Bruce Arians talked about Tom Brady’s role in recruiting Rob Gronkowski: The Rob Gronkowski trade between the Patriots and Buccaneers appeared to materialize out of thin air to casual observers. But the reality was that it was the product of weeks of Tom Brady lobbying Tampa coaches and team executives.
Recently, Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians told ESPN about Brady’s role in the eventual deal.
“It was really Tom,” Arians explained. “Tom brought it up to me, and I didn’t even think it was a possibility that [Gronkowski] wanted to come back. And [Brady] was adamant about, ‘Yeah, he really wants to play, he’d love to play with us.’ So Jason Licht got the ball rolling with the Patriots, the conversation was there, and he’s working out, he’s in great shape and he’s raring to go. So we’re really looking forward to getting on the practice field.”
Eventually, the Patriots traded Gronkowski — who was retired for the entire 2019 season — to the Buccaneers along with a seventh-round pick in return for a fourth-round pick. Exactly how Gronkowski is used by Arians and the Tampa offense remains to be seen, but it gives the 42-year-old Brady one more weapon to call on.
Trivia: The Patriots play the NFC West in 2020 as part of the league’s regular schedule rotation. The last time this happened was in 2016. That year, the Patriots defeated the 49ers in Week 11, 30-17. Who led the Patriots in receiving yards in that game?
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: His only appearances in NFL games came in the 2016 season.
Note: In yesterday’s trivia, the hint mistakenly stated that Jimmie Foxx won MVP awards in both leagues. He actually won all three in the American League. Frank Robinson remains the only player to win MVPs in both leagues.
More from Boston.com:
- Why Charlie Baker says he decided to open up Massachusetts golf courses
- 10 thoughts on the Patriots’ 2020 schedule
- Bill Belichick on Patriots’ quarterback situation: ‘We feel like we have four good players’
- Brandon Copeland went undrafted after graduating from Penn. Seven years later, he’s playing for the Patriots.
- Nomar was better. Allow me to explain.
- Here’s the Patriots’ 2020 schedule
- ‘The phone has been ringing constantly’: How courses in Massachusetts are managing the return of golf.
- Jim Harbaugh proposes one-and-done rule change for NFL draft
- Baseball thinking ahead to silent stadiums
- More normality from NFL. Will it happen on time?
- Tom Brady’s move to Tampa Bay posed late challenges for networks
- Bill Belichick on Patriots’ quarterback situation: ‘We feel like we have four good players’
In his first game away from the Patriots, Tom Brady will be an underdog
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Allen Iverson’s modern update to his iconic “practice” press conference:
We talkin about practicing social distancing!!! #StayHome #StaySafe pic.twitter.com/wJZjQU5I7V
— Allen Iverson (@alleniverson) May 8, 2020
On this day: In 1926, a fire broke out in the left field stands at Fenway Park following a game earlier in the day.
“The fire started in the third-base bleachers, near the famous Duffy’s cliff,” wrote a Boston Globe story from the day. “It burned through the wooden fence on Lansdowne Street and so heavily damaged the third-base bleachers that they are a total loss.”
Like the on-field product, the look of Fenway Park that summer reflected the increasingly dilapidated state of team ownership and management. After years of competing for (and winning) championships, the Red Sox fell into disrepair in the ’20s.
Fenway would experience another small fire later in May (and a third in July), and the damaged left field seats weren’t removed until August, leaving an entire section of the ballpark as a charred ruin for much of the ’26 season.
The result of Fenway fires in 1926.
It wouldn’t be until new investment from Tom Yawkey in the ’30s that Fenway would regain its full capacity.
Classic rewind: From a year ago, when Chris Sale threw an immaculate inning.
Trivia answer: Malcolm Mitchell
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