Celtics 124, Bulls 105

 

At my darkest hour, deep in my deepest funk, who comes to rescue me, to bring light to my darkness, but the Boston Celtics. They trounced the Chicago Bulls last night, 124-105, and I can see clearly now, the clouds are gone.

Pritchard led the team with 26 points and Brown was right behind him with 24. Nikola Vučević, playing against his former team, went 4-for-5 on threes, scored 19 points, and grabbed 11 rebounds for the night's double double. He also had three assists, two blocks, and one steal. The guy may still have that new-car smell on him, but I think he's going to fit into this team just fine.

Overall, the Celtics outrebounded the Bulls, 48-24, and made 18 three-point buckets to Chicago's 12. Hugo González got nine minutes playing time and frankly didn't do much with them (two rebounds, no points, and one turnover). 

We may have to substitute Vučević for González in the Celtics' success formula (rebounds + threes + González minutes = success) as the team was +26 when Nikola was off the bench, while they were only +5 with Hugo. True, González had only 9:02 minutes to Vučević's 26:23 but that's 0.72 points per minute for Victor but only 0.55 ppm for Hugo. It's not a competition, but . . . wait a minute - it is a competition. That's exactly what it is. What's not fair is comparing a big-man center off the bench on a team that sorely needed a big-man center with a backup shooting guard on a team that already has Derrick White and Baylor Scheierman. 

Despite losing to the Knicks on Sunday, the Celtics are in first place in the Atlantic, up a half game on New York.

The Celtics will have a week off. Most of the Celtics, anyway, except for Jaylen Brown, who will play in Sunday's All Star games. After that's all over, the Celtics will go on a West Coast road trip against a killer lineup of Golden State (Thursday), the Lakers (Sunday), Phoenix (Tuesday), and Denver (Wednesday). Collectively, those four teams are 128-90 (.587), and when the Warriors are the easiest team, you know that's one tough stretch of schedule.

Beanpot Final: BC 6, BU2

These are terrible times, my friends. Terrible. There might be brief, fleeting moments of joy or happiness left in life, but the great American experiment in participatory democracy has come to an end. Our government is corrupt, blatantly racist, and hostile to the very nation is purportedly governs. The climate has gone haywire, regulations protecting the environment from industrial discharges are being dismantled, new diseases are emerging and old one are reemerging, popular music is shit, movies have become comic books, and comic books have become our new sacred texts. 

Sports, once the true opiate of the masses, offer no relief. The Georgia Bulldogs were eliminated from the Playoffs in their first game, the mighty Boston Bruins are a fifth-place team, Jayson Tatum can't dance, the New England Patriots lost the Super Bowl on Sunday, and last night, Boston University, the defending Beanpot champions, lost to the No. 14 Boston College Eagles, 6-2, in the 2026 Beanpot final game. The fucking Eagles, man! I hate the fucking Eagles!

For the record, it was the 73rd annual Beanpot tournament and the 300th hockey game between BU and BC. Svoboda and Eiserman both scored goals in last night's game, but does it matter? Does anything matter? Life is a formless, empty black void which we can try to fill with alcohol, drugs, and sex, only to find ourselves staring back into the infinite abyss again. 

The unranked Terriers, the No. 1 team in the country earlier this season, fall to 13-14-2 overall. They trail Providence by 13 points in the Hockey East standings at 9-10-0 in conference play, with only five games left to the regular season. If there's a god, he, she, or it is staring back at us in astonishment, trying to figure where and how their creation's gone so horribly wrong. We're staring into the void, the void is staring back at us, and the first person to blink losses their testicles.

This cursed month of February, dead in the lifeless cold of mid-winter, will offer us a Friday the 13th, so there's that. On that inauspicious date, the Terriers will try to regroup, and in an act of near-heroic self will, get up out of bed that morning, at some point lace up their skates, and despite the overwhelming meaninglessness  of human existence, play an ice-hockey game in the frigid state of New Hampshire against the pitiful Wildcats (11-14-1), the last-place team in Hockey East, where they're 5-10-1. 

The Terriers will probably lose the game because it's that kind of year. 

Seahawks 29, Patriots 13

I'm not going to talk about the Halftime Show (loved it) or the ads (meh); I'm not even going to talk that much about the game itself (disappointing). This post is an unapologetic tribute to the 2025 New England Patriots and an appreciation of the progress the team's made. 

The team that went 4-13 in 2024 turned it around and went 14-3 in 2025. If they can improve that much in one year, just imagine what the team could be like by the end of next season. 

Yes, they lost the Super Bowl. Were blown out, even - dominated. But they made it to The Big Game, which is more than 30 other teams can say. Yes, they had an easy schedule this year to get there, arguably the easiest in the NFL, but beating the Chargers, the Texans, and the Broncos in the post-season was no cakewalk and for three quarters last night they played strong against the Seahawks before things finally collapsed on them. Seattle's a damn good team with an amazing defense, and the Patriots couldn't come up with a winning answer to the challenge posed to them. 

So congratulations to the Seahawks for a good season (14-3) and a commanding Super Bowl LX win. Y'all earned it. But as a Patriots fan, it's time to look forward and not back. We need to improve the offensive line, but we still have an effective defense and a world-class QB, even if his best wasn't on display last night. But if the NFL were Wall Street (and it's often not very far removed), I'd be betting on futures of Drake Maye (62.8% last night for 295 yards) over Sam Darnold (50%, 202 yards). 

I've been a fan of the Patriots since the late 1970s, and have survived some pretty awful seasons as well as some incredibly rewarding ones. One loss in a good year does nothing to change my loyalty.

So yes, I'll even repeat my congratulations to the Seahawks for their well-deserved win, but I'll also congratulate the Patriots for a remarkable turnaround and a terrific season, thank them for such a fun and gratifying season this year, and wish them the best for a highly successful 2026. 

See y'all in Superb Owl LXI!

   

Knicks 111, Celtics 89

 

Embarrassing. The Boston Celtics were simply blown out, 111-89, by the New York Knicks by 22 points. What is there even to say? Boston was 7-41 on three-point shots, with Brown, Garza, González, and Harper a combined 0-13 from downtown. 

This isn't exactly an auspicious omen for the Patriots' chances in the Super Bowl tonight. Did this loss set the tone for a disappointing day, or did we just simply get all the bad juju out of our system early before the Big Game begins?   

24 Hours Until the Super Bowl

Twenty-four hours from now, we'll all be watching the Super Bowl, and we'll have watched the first-place Celtics play the second-place Knicks earlier in the day. 

Forty-eight hours from now we'll be watching BU and BC go at it for the Beanpot title.

Exciting times, my friend. Exciting times. 

BU 3, Maine 2 (OT)

 

The unranked (for now) BU Terriers beat No. 18 Maine, 3-2, when Ryder Ritchie hit a goal 1:42 minutes into overtime tonight. 

Maine took an early lead, but BU's Jack Murtagh's tied the game at 1-1 in the second period. Maine scored again late in the period, but Cole Eiserman tied the game again in the third with his 11th goal of the season to force the overtime. Mikhail Yegorov finished the game with 28 saves in the net.

The Terriers are 13-13-2 on the season and 9-10-0 in conference play. Their 26 points ties them with UMass for fourth place in Hockey East. 

The Terriers are off tomorrow in order to prep for Monday night's Beanpot championship game against the No. 11 Boston College Eagles (15-9-1).  

Celtics 98, Heat 96

 

The Celtics debuted new center Nikola Vučević off the bench last night, but gave him over twice as many minutes playing time as starting center Luka Garca. Vučević responded to the generosity with an 11-point, 12-reboiund double double, the most rebounds in a Celtics debut since Kevin Garnett in 2007.

Even more importantly, the Celtics came back from a 22-point deficit to win tonight's game. After rallying back with a 36-15 third quarter, Boston trailed by one point with a minute and a half left in the game. Derrick White then made a 24-foot three-pointer, his fourth of the night on a dozen attempts, assisted by Vučević to give the Celtics a 98-96 lead. The Celtics held on to that razor-thin lead with three steals (Brown, White, and Vučević) a Jaylen Brown defensive rebound, a Baylor Scheierman defensive rebound, and a Derrick White blocked shot.   

Brown scored 29 points, but Pritchard had the hot hand in three-point shooting, going four-for-six on threes and scoring 24 total points. White contributed 21. Overall, the Heat led the game in three-point shooting but the Celtics had more rebounds, 50-42.

The Knicks finally lost a game last night, so the Celtics are all alone in first place in the Atlantic Division at 34-18. Unfortunately, the Knicks lost that game to the Eastern Conference leading Pistons, so the Celtics trail Detroit by 4½ in the Eastern Conference.

Sunday afternoon (12:30 pm), well before the Super Bowl, the Celtics will host the Knicks (33-19) on a nationally-televised game on ABC to settle this whole who's-the-best-in-the-Atlantic business. Watch it, and then watch the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Vermont 3, BU 0

 

The B.U. women's hockey team, fresh off a weekend sweep of Merrimack, were shut out, 3-0, in Vermont last night. 

The Catamounts scored their first goal a mere 10 seconds into the game. They scored again in the second period and then again in the third. BU's Mari Pietersen stopped 20 attempts in the net, including 12 in the third period alone.

The Terriers drop to 9-16-3 overall, and 7-10-2 in Hockey East. They're off tonight and will host Maine (10-17-3) on Saturday night.  

48 Hours to the Super Bowl

 

The New England Patriots (14-3) versus the Seattle Seahawks (14-3). 

Drake Maye (4.394 yards passing, 450 yards rushing, 31 passing TDs, 4 rushing TDs) versus Sam Darnold (4,048 yards passing, 95 yards rushing, 25 passing TDs, 0 rushing TDs). 

2015 Superb Owl XLIX rematch (New England 28, Seattle 24), ending with an infamous goal-line interception.

Get psyched.

Celtics 114, Rockets 93

 

No Vučević (yet) and no Brown but no matter - last  night, the Celtics still beat Kevin Durant and the Rockets by 21 points down in Houston and get to leave the state of Texas, 2-0, with wins over both Dallas and Houston.

With Mr. Brown our due to the lingering hamstring and knee problems he's been dealing with since sitting out the January 30th game against Sacramento, Mr. White led the team with 28 points. Pritchard was right behind him with 27 points off the bench. Scheierman (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Queta (10 points, 19 rebounds) both had double doubles, and the Celtics led the Rockets in rebounding, 57-38, and three-pointers completed, 19-11. Defensively, they kept Durant to 15 points, and he was the team leader last night.

In what's getting to be a tiresome story, the Knicks won last night too, so Boston, despite four straight wins, is still tied with New York at 33-18 for first place in the Atlantic. However, Detroit was idle so both teams move up a half game in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Celtics will return home and play Miami (27-25) on Friday night - hopefully, we'll get to see  Vučević make his debut with the C's then.

Panthers 5, Bruins 4 (SO)

 

Kryptonite is still kryptonite, and even though the Bruins went into last night's game, 32-20-4, and the Panthers, 28-24-3, Florida continues to be Boston's kryptonite team and won the match in the OT shootout, 5-4. 

Worse, a Panthers' forward hit Charlie McAvoy (BU, 2016) midway through the first period with a cheap-shot, leaping elbow to the head that forced McAvoy to leave the ice. Still wearing a full face shield from a a broken jaw he suffered in December, McAvoy returned to the game and played 22:05 more minutes.

Michael Eyssimont scored twice in that first period to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead, but the Panthers responded with three unanswered goals in the second.  Kastelic and Mittelstadt scored in the third to tie the game up, but no one scored in the OT.  Viktor Arvidsson scored a shoot-out goal in the first attempt, but was matched by a Florida goal. Fittingly, the game ended when former Bruin Brad Marchand hit a shoot-out goal on the sixth shot of the period, and Mittelstadt's last attempt was stopped.

With the shootout loss, the Bruins add a digit to the end of their season record and are now 32-20-5, fifth in the Atlantic. They're still in the running for the last Wild Card spot, four points up on the next contender, Columbus.

The Bruins, along with the rest of the NHL, will take two weeks off so players can compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. They'll return to action February 26 to play Columbus and protect their Wild Card lead.

Celtics 110, Mavericks 100

 

Before getting to the game, we first have to acknowledge that the Celtics have traded Anfernee Simons to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for veteran big man Nikola Vučević. Simons was a great asset to the Celtics this season, shooting 44%, 39.5% on threes. Thanks you for your service, Anfernee, but the Celtics most pressing need was for a big man in center, and Vučević  (6' 9", 265 lbs) fills that role. He's averaged 16.9 points per game for the Bulls this season, shooting 50.5% and 37.6% on threes. More importantly, his 9.0 rebounds per game will be useful on a team whose best rebounder, Neemias Queta, gets 8.1 and Jaylen Brown, 7.0.

Last night, Mr. Brown snagged 11 rebounds and scored 33 points against the Dallas Mavericks. Pritchard and Garza got 26 and 16 points, respectively, and Hauser and White 11 each. Garza went four-for-four on three-point shooting, but overall the team shot only 33.3% outside the line. They were outrebounded by Dallas, 49-47, but they was good enough to beat the Mavs, 110-100, even with teen sensation Cooper Flagg (36 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists).

The Knicks won last night as well, so Boston and New York remain tied, 32-18, in first place in the Atlantic The Pistons won as well, so Detroit remain 5½ games up in the Eastern Conference.

The Texas roadhouse roadtrip continues and takes the Celtics from Dallas to Houston tonight (8:00 pm), where they will face Kevin Durant and the Rockets (31-17).