Celtics 134, Bulls 99

 

Payton Pritchard for President!

The Boston Celtics completely destroyed the Chicago Bulls last night, 134-99, behind Pritchard's 7-10 three-point shooting, including three consecutive threes in the third. He finished the night with a game-leading 28 points, 21 of which he hit from downtown. 

Percentage-wise, Sam Hauser was even hotter on threes, shooting .750 on 3-of-4 from outside the line. Starters Jayson Tatum had 23 points and Paul George, 16, while Pritchard and Hauser contributed 21 and 11 from the bench. 

It was the kind of blowout game that allowed the bench players plenty of minutes. Hugo González had 23:29, the most of any bench player, and used his time to sink 13 points, including one three, as well as make five rebounds and a blocked shot.

I don't mean to gloat, but the Bulls looked really bad, and not in a good way.

The Celtics are now 2-1, a half-game back from Jaylen Brown and the 76ers (3-1), who also lost one game to the Detroit Pistons (3-0), who are starting to look like the team to beat in the East. 

Tonight, the Celtics host the Brooklyn Nets (0-3), who have yet to find a way to win a game. So far, they're lost to the Hornets, the Cavaliers, and the Pacers, and after the Celtics they get to play the Pistons, so good luck with that. Tip-off is at 7:30.

We're No. 3!

 

Weird times: neither the Georgia Bulldogs nor the New England Patriots are playing this weekend. The Dawgs are taking their traditional bye week before the Florida game, while New England played on Thursday night. Both teams are coming off of disappointing losses, and both are playing Florida teams next week.   

The No. 5-ranked Bulldogs, however, managed to somehow move up in the rankings to No. 3 in this week's AP Poll despite being idle. Undefeated No. 2 BYU finally lost yesterday to unranked USF in double overtime and No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Notre Dame were idle this week along with the No. 5 Bulldogs. With BYU out of the picture, I had expected Nos. 3, 4, and 5 to each move up one in the rankings to the new 2, 3, and 4, but that's not what the AP voters did. Instead, they moved No. 3 Ohio State up to No. 2, dropped No. 4 Notre Dame down to No. 5, and leapfrogged the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs past the Irish up to the new No. 3. 

I like it. The Bulldogs are clearly the better team, and fuck Notre Dame. To further humiliate the Irish, the Poll even put their in-state rival, Indiana, above them at No. 4, even though the Hoosiers needed overtime to squeak past unranked Michigan, 13-6.  

BYU dopped all the way down to No. 8, but here's the bigger thing: the Cougars had both the lineal football championship and Georgia's two championship belts from 2021 and 2022 after beating Notre Dame last week, and now the unranked Central Florida Knights (4-3) of the Big 12 have them. The Knights have nothing but unranked garbage teams left on their schedule, any of whom can and probably will beat them and take the title and belts away. I mean, next week they play the Baylor Bears, a Texas Team, who won the lineal championship on January 1, 2022, when they beat Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl. The Bears held the title through the off season before losing it on September 10, 2022 to, wait for it, BYU. Oh, the irony!    

Previously undefeated Texas Tech, the old No. 8, lost to unranked Cincinnati, 37-24, and fell to No. 13. The only undefeated teams left in the AP Poll after this weekend are No. 7 UCLA, No. 6 Utah, and No. 1 Miami, the team with probably the weakest schedule in the FBS. The only team on the Hurricanes' schedule that might provide even a modicum of challenge is probably Notre Dame, but the 'Canes will probably beat the Irish and not lose a game until the playoffs, when they'll be forced to play actual challengers. 

So we now have undefeated Miami remaining at No. 1, Ohio State (6-1) at No. 2, and the Georgia Bulldogs (6-1) at No. 3. After that, No. 4 is Indiana (7-1), No. 5 is Notre Dame (6-1), No. 6 is Utah (7-0), No. 7 is UCLA (7-0), and No. 8 is BYU (6-1).

The next four teams after that are all SEC: Kentucky (7-1) is No. 9, Alabama (6-2) is No. 10, Texas (5-2) is  No 11, and Ole Miss (5-2), Georgia's Week Ten opponent, is No. 12. 

We also note that although Texas managed to end their two-game losing streak with a one-TD win over Ole Miss and No. 23 SMU beat unranked Cal, 59-20, other Texas teams lost to out-of-state opponents. Texas Tech lost to unranked Cincinnati, Texas A&M to Alabama, and No. 18 Houston to No. 6 Utah. Texas football sucks.

The Bulldogs next opponent are the No. 17 Florida Gators (5-2). Despite the loss to Auburn, Georgia still has 43.0 points per game, third best in the FBS, while Florida has 39.6, ninth in the subdivision. Defensively, Georgia has a bigger advantage, giving up only 15.9 points per game compared to Florida's 28.3. The biggest factor, though, is probably Gunner Stockton's 74.1 completion percentage and 185.8 QB Rating, compared to Gators QB Aaron Philo's 70.5% and 162.0 rating. 

Georgia-Florida is an ugly rivalry with an ugly history, and anything can happen. But Kirby Smart has never yet lost in back-to-back games and he's had a week to correct the problems observed in the Auburn loss. Rest assured, Coach will figure out a way to win.

Go, Dawgs!

BU 6, UConn 3 (men)

 

The No. 15 Boston University men's hockey team, having already split a series this season with Vermont, continue their campaign against the New England states with a series against No. 16 UConn. After Thursday night's 5-4 overtime loss in Storrs, the Terriers won decisively last night in Boston, 6-4 to split this series as well.

The Terriers scored twice in the first period with goals by Charlie Trethewey and Ben Merrill to take a 2-0 lead. Tynan Lawrence scored on a power play in the second, followed by an even-strength goal by Conrad Fondrk, and led 4-1 after two.

Jack Harvey gave the Terriers a 5-1 lead early in the third period, but UConn's Kaden Shahan scored twice that period, once on an even-strength play and once on a power play, to bring the Huskies to within two. But BU's Brandon Svoboda hit an empty-netter in the last minute to seal the Terrier's win.

No. 15 BU improves to 4-2-0 overall, and are tied with Providence for first place in Hockey East at 2-2-0. The campaign against New England continues next weekend when BU hosts Maine for a pair of games.  

         

Bruins 6, Sharks 4

 

The mighty Boston Bruins are not to be denied. Down 3-2 midway through the third period to the San Jose Sharks, they scored four goals to take the lead and win the game, 6-4.

Those four goals included David Pastrnak's seventh of the season. Pasta now has 427 regular-season career goals as he moves into a tie with Patrice Bergeron for third place on Boston's all-time goals list. 

Casey Mittelstadt scored the first goal of the game and Marat Khusnutdinov scored in the second. Pastrnak's third-period goal was followed by a goal by James Hagens and a power-play goal by Fraser Minton. William Borgen sealed the win with an open-netter in the last minute of play.

Jeremy Swayman faced 27 shots and made saves on 23 of them (.852).

On the other side of the ice, Macklin Celibrini (BU, 2024) contributed one assist for San Jose, but otherwise wasn't much of a factor in the game.

The Bruins are now 9-2-1 on the season, first in the Atlantic Division and three points ahead of Ottawa and Toronto. They're a mere one point behind Carolina for the best record in the NHL. 

They'll put that record on the line Tuesday when the go down to Raleigh to play the Hurricanes (9-2-2) in one of the biggest games so far in this NHL season. Puck drops at 8:00.

BU 2, Robert Morris 1

 

The Terriers win the consolation game!

Forward Kaileigh Quigg scored in the first period and defender Keira Healey scored in the second. Mari Pietersen made 28 saves in the net, and while Robert Morris eventually slipped one past her in the third, BU won the game and improves to 2-5-1. 

Today's win was a non-conference game in the Ice Breaker Tournament, so nothing changes in the Hockey East standings, where the Terriers are still 1-0-1 and in third place with five points, behind BC (7 points) and Northeastern.(6).

The Terriers return to conference play next weekend, when they host the Northeastern Huskies (4-1-1) for two games. 

Celtics 107, Knicks 103

 

I grew up on Long Island, in the vast suburban sprawl of New York City. Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs, with their towering buildings, teeming streets. and diverse populations, were my first impression of what a big city was like - thrilling, overwhelming, and with limitless potential. To this day, I love that city, with its world-class museums, music scene, jazz clubs, theater, and other arts. But I loathe their sports teams.

So, consider my affection for the City of New York when I say, fuck New York. Fuck the Yankees and fuck the Giants. Fuck the Jets and the Nets and the Mets and their lack of originality in team names. Fuck the Rangers and the Islanders. And mostly, not in spite of the fact that they're the reigning NBA champions but because they're the reigning NBA champions, fuck the Knicks.  

Really, fuck those guys and fuck their toxic fans. I'll never forget nor forgive them for May 12, 2025, when Jayson Tatum suffered a ruptured right Achilles tendon during Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals in New York and the Knicks fans cheered and jeered and laughed as he writhed in pain and was potentially facing the end of his basketball career. Fucking classless animals. 

So, imagine the satisfaction I feel when their team starts the 2026-27 season as NBA champions with two consecutive losses, the first NBA champ to start 0-2 the following season in 15 years. I'm laughing and pointing at them just like they did when Tatum was on the floor of your filthy, so-called "Garden." You reading this, Spike, and Stiller, and Stewart? I'm laughing at fucking you.

Last night, a rehabed Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics delivered the second of the two consecutive losses to the Knicks. Tatum returned to form after his listless performance in the first game of the season, a 121-113 loss to the Pistons, by dropping 36 on the Knicks, leading all scorers. His three-point shooting, 3-10, can still use some improvement, but he also had nine rebounds and seven assists. New guy Paul George contributed 15 points, and Neemias Queta kicked in another 15 from the bench. Derrick White was in double-digits, too, with a dozen points.

The Knicks led by a point after the first quarter, but Paul George gave the Celtics a one-point lead with a three-point buzzer-beater from 24 feet out as the end of the half. In the third quarter, the Celtics outscored the Knicks, 33-24, and led by as many as 12 points in the fourth. The Knicks tried their comeback and got to within one point with less than two remaining - no one said this was an easy win - but the Celtics held on and won the game by four.

Bonus entertainment points for watching Jalen Brunson miss two free throws and OG Anunoby miss a 28-foot shot in the closing seconds. LOL, losers.

So the Celtics are now 1-1 on this youngest of seasons and the Knicks are 0-2 and all alone in dead last place in the Atlantic Division. I'm sure the New York press will handle that well and with adult maturity (Update: the headline on the sports page of today's New York Post starts "Dumb motherf–ker"). The Sixers and the Raptors are tied for first at 2-0.

Boston hosts the Chicago Bulls (1-1) Monday night (7:30 pm).

Yale 3, BU 2

The battle between BU and the Nutmeg State continued today with the Terrier women's hockey team taking on Yale University. After the men lost to UConn last night in Storrs in OT, the women lost this evening in Boston, 3-2   

After Yale scored the first goal in the game, senior Peyton Blaney hit her first goal as a Terrier to tie it up. Unfortunately, Yale took the lead back a mere 22 seconds later. Freshman sensation Lo Lachapelle scored her fourth goal of the season to tie the game up again late in the second. The score remained tied through the third and the game was looking like it was heading to OT, but then Yale scored the game-winning goal in the last minute of play to win, 3-2.

BU goaltender Sydney Fogu made 34 saves in the net.

The Terriers drop to 1-5-1 overall. Since Yale is nonconference, the Terriers remain 1-0-1 in Hockey East. 

The match was the opening game in this weekend's Ice Breaker Tournament. In tomorrow's consolation game, the Terriers will face Robert Morris - men in women's sports! (but at least Robert will be outnumbered 5-to-1 on the ice) -  while Yale will face Minnesota State for the championship.

Puck drops at 2 p.m.

Bears 30, Patriots 24

 

Thursday night football. Who, other than television networks, thought that would be a good idea? Two teams coming in with only four day's rest, playing on a weeknight when some fans can't even make it to the stadium? 

Anyway, the Chicago Bears beat the New England Patriots in Foxborough last night. The Bears jumped out to a 10-0 start and never trailed, although New England kept on coming back at them, including a spectacular 48-yard touchdown pass from Drake Maye to Rhamondre Stevenson as the first half expired to move to within 20-14 against Chicago. 

It was a marquee matchup of young QBs, with Maye against the Bears' Caleb Williams (USC, 2024). Both QBs had two passing TDs, although Maye got picked off in his own end zone for a second-quarter interception while Williams had no INTs. Otherwise, Maye had just ever-so-slightly better stats on the night - a .774 completion rate (24-31) for 321 yards versus Williams' 22-33 (.666) for 308 yards. Maye was sacked twice for 11 yards lost while Williams' was sacked three times for 19 yards. Maye finished the night with a 117.8 QB rating versus Williams' 116.7. Close, but no victory cigar; the Bears still won. 

Notably, Maye led the Patriots with 26 yards rushing while former Bulldog D'Andre Swift (Georgia, 2020) led all teams with 78 yards for Chicago. It may have been New England's lack of a big-yardage rusher that was the difference in the game. It's great to have a QB who can also run the ball, but when your entire team has fewer yards rushing (70) than an opponent's single rusher alone, you have a problem.

Trailing by six at the start of the second half, the Patriots kept responding to Chicago's scores, but were never able to get closer than six points. A desperate, fourth quarter on-side kick attempt failed in the closing seconds, and that was it for the night.

The Patriots fall to 4-3, second in the AFC East, and first-place Buffalo (5-1) has a bye this week. The good news is that the team has 10 days to rest and regroup, and then gets to go to sunny Miami to play the pathetic, last-place Dolphins (0-5) on November 1. The Patriots are early 8½-point favorites.

Bruins 6, Predators 0

 

Two goals in the first period by the Bruins, two in the second, and two in the third. None the whole game by the Nashville Predators. The mighty Boston Bruins celebrate their return home with an emphatic,  shutout win.

Pastrnak scored two goals, his fifth and sixth of the season, and made two assists, his ninth and tenth. Defenseman Charlie McAvoy (BU, 2016) had assists on four of the Bruins' six goals. Pavel Zacha had two assists as well, and Elias Lindholm, Mittelstadt, Peterka, and Kastelic all scored goals. And perghaps most notable, backup goaltender  Michael DiPietro had his first career shutout, with 28 saves against 28 shots.

Well done, lads.

The Bruins (8-2-1) are off to a terrific start this season. Their 17 points leads the Atlantic Division by three points over Tampa Bay and Ottawa, and they are only one point back from the Carolina Hurricanes for best in the NHL.   

Macklin Celibrini (BU, 2024) is coming to town! Saturday night, the Bruins will host Celibrini (five goals, nine assists) and the San Jose Sharks (6-4-1). While Macklin's six points in the last week alone is fourth best in the NHL, Pastrnak notched a third-best eight points over the same period while McAvoy had five (5th best). Overall, the Bruins have the second best (after Dallas) defense in the NHL, giving up only 30 goals and 50 assist so far this season, and should be able to handle Mister Celibrini. Mister Mack Celibrini. 

Allez, allez, les Bruins sont magnifiques!

UConn 5, BU 4 (OT)

 

This weekend, the Boston University hockey teams, both men and women, take on the Nutmeg State, Connecticut, the third smallest state in the Union. The women will start their Ice Breaker Tournament tonight with a game against Yale, while the No. 15 men's team plays a home-and-away against No. 16 UConn. Last night, the Terriers lost the opening game of the interstate rivalry with an OT loss in Storrs. 

The Terriers' Kamil Bednarik and Nick Roukounakis both scored in the first period to end the period, 2-2. UConn scored the lone goal in the second on a power play to make it 3-2, and then scored again in the third to take a 3-2 lead.   

Sophomore Carter Amico scored his first collegiate goal at 16:34 in the third period and then Ryder Ritchie hit the tying goal on a power play with 47.5 seconds left in regulation. The UConn Huskies scored the game-winning goal with 49.9 seconds left in the OT period. 

The Terriers outshot the Huskies, 50-30, including 22-10 in the third period. However, with BU's Mikhail Yegorov made 25 saves in the net, UConn's Kam Hendrickson had 46. 

Despite losing, the Terriers (3-2-0 overall) pick up a point in the Hockey East standings for the overtime loss. They're 1-2-0 in the Hockey East play, and their three points are tied with UMass for second in the conference behind Vermont's four. UConn (3-2-0 overall and 2-1-0 in Hockey East) are fourth with two points.

The teams are off tonight and will renew the series Saturday night in Boston. Puck drops at 7:00.

Stars 3, Bruins 2 (OT)

 

More like Mikko Rantanen 3, Bruins 2. The Stars' wingman scored all of Dallas' points last night with a hat trick, his third, fourth, and fifth goals of the season, including the third period goal that tied the game up and the OT goal that won the game. 

Matthew Poitras scored in the first period for the Bruins. Rantanen tied it up in the second, but then James Hagens gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead with a goal that period. After that, it was all Rantanen - the lone third period goal and an  OT power-play goal.

BU defenseman Charlie McAvoy (BU, 2016) had four blocks and made two hits. The Stars' Jake Oettinger (BU, 2019) made 18 saves for the Stars, while the Bruins' Jeremy Swayman made 22.  Swayman's 206 saves on the season are the second most in the NHL. 

The Bruins (7-2-1) pick up a point in the standings for the OT loss and still lead the Atlantic Division with 15 point, one point ahead of Tampa Bay and three up on Ottawa and Florida. 

That's it for this current road trip. The Bruins went 3-0-1 in the West and will play their first home game since October 10 on Thursday when they host the Nashville Predators (3-2-3). Both teams are defensive juggernauts - the Bruins have limited opponents to 30 goals, second fewest in the NHL, while Nashville has allowed only 32, third in the league (Dallas is first with only 17). 

Puck drops at 7:00.

Pistons 121, Celtics 113

 

New look Celtics, same disappointing flavor.

Basketball's finally back, and the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons played the first game of the NBA season. The Celtics lost.

As everyone in the whole universe knows by now, Jaylen Brown is gone, sent off to Philadelphia, and former 76er Paul George now mans the frontcourt with Jayson Tatum in Brown's place. Former Knick Mitchell Robinson is filling in the Celtics long-overlooked center position. 

Today, Robinson was a big nothing, four points and three rebounds. George did all the heavy lifting, leading the team with 38 points and 7-for-12 three-point shooting. Tatum had only 13 points and was 0-7 on threes, but he did get 11 rebounds for about the weakest double-double possible.

It didn't have to be this way. The two teams were evenly matched in the first quarter, going bucket-for-bucket and ending, Celtics 28, Pistons 27. Then Boston broke loose in the second, outscoring the Pistons, 30-18, for a 58-45 halftime lead.

Then it all went to shit. Detroit outscored the Celtics, 37-30, in the third quarter and 39-25 in the fourth, including an absolutely humiliating 23-0 run mid-quarter. Did they run out of gas? Did Detroit figure out the optimal defensive strategy against them? Did they forget there are basketball plays other than randomly shooting from outside the three-point line? No one knows, and it's going to be a long season if someone in the Celtics organization doesn't come up with an answer.

And they better come up with that answer quick, because the next game is Friday night against the New York Knicks, reigning NBA champions and the team hungriest to establish early dominance over the Celtics this season.