Tag Archives: Boston Sports Media

08/19/26 Cleaning Out the Sports Junk Drawer

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Everyone will want to be in the Pat McAfee business.

You’d think after the Patriots played their first preseason game of the season WEEI would have their resident football expert, Ted Johnson, on to break down the game, but he must be overtired from late night tweeting and that’s why he isn’t on?

Holley passing out looks like when Urkel finally sees Laura Winslow in a bathing suit.

Can’t load the dishwasher? Murdered a cop OR your children? Well, don’t worry, ladies, we’re not allowed to hold you accountable for anything!

The Kraft Productions logo still has a pink tie, but hipster RKK now goes with an open collar!

Boy Tom Verducci has the IQ of a doorknob.

Is it a rule that everybody on the Toucher & Hardy show has to wear a hat?

Lou damn Merloni just said that soft schedule talk is overplayed. Just for the baseball team, I assume.

Butch Huskey was one of our great names. RIP.

Hey gang of weather dudes! This week’s Phrase that Pays is, “Lol. There isn’t a map out there you won’t dispute.”

Dart Adams invented the run-on sentence.

Cakes are cooking for Bill Cleary, Renée Richards, Story Musgrave, Diana Muldaur, Jill St John, Jack Canfield, Ian Gillan, Bill Clinton, Gerald McRaney, Tipper Gore, Toshio Suzuki, John Deacon, Jonathan Frakes, Ned Yost, Peter Gallagher, Darryl Sutter, Ivan Neville, Ricky Pierce, Morten Andersen, Ron Darling, Valerie Kaprisky, Joey Tempest, John Stamos, Kevin Dillon, Kyra Sedgwick, Lee Ann Womack, Tabitha Soren, Mary Joe Fernandez, Michael Todd, J. J. Hardy, Christina Perri, Patrick Chung, Kirk Cousins, and Marcello Hernández.

That’s the funniest part of the Michael Holley video. Florio doesn’t care about Michael at all, he’s just upset the segment got fucked up.

The Pat MacAfee album is giving off ‘Matt and Ben wrote the Good Will Hunting script all by themselves’ vibes.

Aug 18, 1967. Tony C’s Cooperstown journey was de-railed. The Fenway silence as he lay at home plate was deafening.

The only time I was “dehydrated” I drove in to a MBTA pole.

How is it possible that Lindsay Clancy is more sane than most of the women supporting her?

Monasterio is a better Rusney Castillo.

Blue Line: Delays of about 15 minutes due to a maintenance train inspecting the overhead wires between Airport and Wonderland. Trains may stand by at stations.

There’s never been a positive news headline involving a quarry.

Sonny Gray is just a ball player.

I picture the McCourtys looking at each other during the game like, “should there be all this dead air?”

Glenn ‘Doc’ Rivers, now enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Tommy John needing Tommy John surgery, the odds on that must have been astronomical. RIP.

I’ve heard that all the best radio personalities fight for the 9-11 Saturday morning shift. Almost as sought after as DJ Bean’s 6-7 AM Soccer show.

Lucy I like you but slow your role please.

It seemed like the Chiclets guys were letting RA dip his toe back in the brackish pod waters and he predictably goes and has 17 nips on a Monday. Many such cases.

Watching Tom Caron walk around the park peddling 50/50 tickets is not good television.

Gotta give credit to Sir Mix-A-Lot, he wrote hit songs that gave love to both big butts and big boobs!

Dr. Frasier Crane is a Hank McCoy variant.

What did Hayden Panettiere know about the Red Sox hacking Pitch Comm? Taken from us too soon.

Providence isn’t sending their best to wheel of fortune.

Are we still pretending Annie Agar is funny? Or can we stop? Tits don’t make you funny. Please be better.

Fun fact: Mama Scartelli, with her atrocious Boston accent, pronounces drawer as ‘draw’.

I had no specific animus towards that Conley guy, so RIP to him. But imagine being remembered as the curator of dongs.

Orange Line Reminder: August 20-30 Service will be suspended between Oak Grove and Back Bay for infrastructure upgrades. Use shuttle buses between Oak Grove and North Station. Use the Green Line between North Station and Copley/Back Bay. Commuter Rail alternatives are available.

That twisted fruit Jake 100% got his dog stuck down by Boston Harbor on purpose and called the news himself for attention. He then made sure to call into the Sports Hub to talk about it, too.

Aubrey Huff trying to play in the women’s baseball league yet?

Honk if you remember the Little Black Sambo Merry-Go-Round at Story Land.

One of the McCourty’s was pretty good doing color on Westwood One during the playoffs. I’m not sure which one because they all sound alike.

Nobody gonna take my car, I’m gonna race it to the ground
Nobody gonna beat my car, it’s gonna break the speed of sound
Ooh it’s a killing machine it’s got everything
Like a driving power big fat tyres everything

I love it and I need it I bleed it
Yeah it’s a wild hurricane
Alright hold tight
I’m a highway star…

Drizzilicious sounds like a fake gay rapper on The Boondocks.

I bet Rich Keefe cried. Again.

Michael Holley looks like RuPaul when the AIDS test came back.

Euthanizing those who genuinely enjoy Pat McAfee seems like the moderate position.

I love a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy, but when did every bored housewife turn into Art Bell?

Turgeman is Israeli for Vrioni.

Eagles’ fourth quarterback is Cole Payton which sounds like what ChatGPT would answer if you asked it to create a name for a generic backup QB.

I am calling for a total and complete shutdown of white women watching murder trials until we can figure out what’s going on.

Pablo Sandoval was a Jimmy Fund captain? At least they got something out of him.

I look forward to Vrabel’s human shields becoming more outlandish as the season goes on. He’ll be juggling ALS patients while blindfolded by the end of the year.

Red Sox 2-0 on TV38 this season.

It’s odd that longtime Clippers season ticket holder Bill Simmons wants that story to go away.

Best bet for the weekend: Gonzo gets the bag!

“Bway-nos tahr-days, amigos! We all know how important the Jimmy Fund is, Don. Those kids need our help. But I got an even better idear: helpin’ my beauterful son Jared get outta prison. Look, he made a mistake, but the young lady there shouldn’t auhter have made him angry. It’s time to put aside the annermosity and bring my son home. BE SURE TO TEXT #FREEJARED TO THE NUMBAH ON YOUR SCREEN BELOW.”

Material from interviews, wire services, Twitter, Meta, other writers, league and team sources, Matt Vautour, Joe Giza, and the members of #the15 were used in this column. I got all the trouble I’m ever gonna need. And I just don’t want no more.

BdlG. LBD. CONSONANTS.

Washburn After Reading

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Gary had his car painted so it looked like Jaylen Brown’s car.

Gary Washburn’s inconvenient memory lapse on Tatum’s Game 7 ankle: When the beat guy builds an argument on a game he apparently didn’t watch

Boston Globe national NBA writer Gary Washburn offered some thoughts recently that included this recollection of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals Game 7 against the Miami Heat:

Jayson Tatum sprained his ankle a couple of minutes in and “does not play again.” He contrasted it with Jaylen Brown being “on the damn floor,” tying it into broader points about availability in critical games (including a more recent Tatum Game 7 absence).

Problem: Tatum played 42 minutes that night.

He rolled the ankle on the first possession—landing awkwardly on Gabe Vincent after a euro-step—grimaced, stayed in initially, got some work on the bench, and returned. He finished with 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting. Everyone who watched or covered the game, including Tatum himself afterward (“I was kind of like a shell of myself… It was tough to move”), noted he was clearly compromised: limited explosiveness, swelling, reduced mobility. The Celtics’ offense looked like 4-on-5 much of the night. Miami won 103-84. Boston’s historic comeback from 3-0 fell one win short.

This wasn’t an obscure footnote or a random regular-season game from a decade ago. It was the defining, widely discussed injury moment of that playoff run, the play that, for many, sealed the series tone from the opening tip. Video circulated immediately. Postgame quotes from Tatum, Brown, Smart, and others addressed it directly. Box scores, recaps from every outlet (including the Globe’s own live coverage at the time), and the subsequent offseason chatter all treated Tatum’s limited effectiveness while playing as central.

Washburn later acknowledged the error, saying he “erred in the recollection of Game 7 three years ago,” apologized, and asked the account that clipped/posted the comments to take it down. Fair enough on the correction. Mistakes happen.

But the details matter here. This isn’t a minor numerical slip or a misspoke name. It’s the foundational fact of one of the more memorable Celtics playoff losses of the pre-championship era for the Tatum-Brown core, used to support a larger argument about who shows up. When a national NBA writer for the paper of record in the market, whose job involves covering this team, misremembers the basic outcome of that sequence, that the star stayed on the floor for the vast majority of a decisive Game 7, it raises the obvious question of how the point got constructed in the first place.

The15 has always been about the coverage more than the hot takes. Local and national media get plenty of latitude to analyze, criticize, and draw conclusions. Accuracy on observable, heavily documented events is the baseline. Building a narrative around Tatum not playing when the record (minutes played, contemporaneous reporting, player comments) shows otherwise is the kind of unforced error that undercuts the surrounding analysis, whatever its merits.

Washburn has covered the league and the Celtics for a long time. One bad recollection doesn’t erase that. But for a moment this fundamental, on a game this recent and this public, the bar shouldn’t require a post-facto apology to reset. The receipts were already public in May 2023.

So let’s don’t be forgetful like Gary when March Sadness 2027 rolls around.

08/05/26 Cleaning Out the Sports Junk Drawer

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Sox? Sox!

Jarren Duran hasn’t been this surprised since the gun didn’t go off. What?

New Englanders wait all winter for warm weather just for people to start acting like it’s October in August #lol

You should be publicly flogged for posting Madden ratings.

Imagine committing fraud for Daniel Theis.

Oh to buy a legit Red Sox shirt with my own last name on it.

I bet Romo got pulled over for having that haircut. That’s enough probable cause.

Sure it’s late here after a west coast game, but Rich Hill should have lower energy on the postgame show.

Few if any executives have had a more expansive impact on a sports organization’s business-side success over the past two decades than Tom Garfinkel.

Cakes are cooking for John McCartan, Jo Collins, Bernie Carbo, Eddie “Fingers” Ojeda, Maureen McCormick, Pat Smear, Otis Thorpe, Patrick Ewing, Mark Strong, Adam Yauch, Jeff Coffin, James Gunn, John Olerud, John Wasdin, Eric Hinske, Carl Crawford, LoLo Jones, Paula Creamer, Patrick Reed, and Anthony Edwards.

Why does everyone making “content” (Sideshow Bob groan) use that tiny little microphone you can only hold with two fingers?

The 8K Calorie Challenge, or as Tazzi’s wife calls it, breakfast. HeyOOOOO!

Is this even fun for Dodgers fans? Like yeah, you get all the best players and you’re going to win the World Series, but can that replicate the joy of watching Caleb Durbin lay down a perfect bunt, or Andruw Monasterio line a double to the gap?

Hey gang of gamers, this week’s Phrase that Pays is, “Spent a long time on myrrh”.

Good thing I have plus-plus barrel control.

Red Line: Delays of about 15 minutes due to a signal problem near Harvard. Trains may stand by at stations.

Regarding Roman Anthony: Call me when he has more swings than swigs.

The Invite is a pants-pissingly hilarious movie and funniest of year so far. Seth Rogen and Olivia Wilde pull off hilarious Laurel & Hardy routine as miserable married couple hosting their horny, chill neighbors (Penelope Cruz and Ed Norton) for dinner and hilarity ensues. Wilde is the revelation here though, giving a comedic performance for the ages. Expect some noms.

Dondero really wants you guys to know he played baseball in college.

“I work seven days a week!” like she’s punching the clock at the Pontiac plant and not part-time at whatever the fuck Action Network HQ is.

Soon, Wally will be wearing a Ceddanne Rafaela mask.

My goal in life right now is to cut off the sound of the Toyota singing cowboy commercial before he gets to the second “big.” Most annoying commercial of the year.

Corruption? In Rhode Island? Seems farfetched.

I never had Sweetgreen in my life. It looks like one of those places that puts processed chicken in your salad and tells you you’re eating healthy.

The Patriots are at their best when they have a cannon-armed black QB who has no chance of actually playing.

The Skyhawks is a great name.

Wait, did Merloni do a Pedro imitation using an Asian voice?

Surprised they re-signed Pochettino when guys like Twellman have all the answers.

Tarik Skubal is still white.

Anyone needs me, I’m going to Cumbys to get some toad venom.

So Kyle Shanahan got hit in the face with airbags? Same thing happened to Coach Vrabes and Dianna!

Ohtani lost 45K betting that the Sox would throw at him. Sad.

No matter where I am, every time I see a traffic cone now, I smile thinking of the Scottish invasion of Boston during the World Cup.

I can’t stand it, I know you planned it
I’m gonna set it straight, this Watergate
Lord, I can’t stand rockin’ when I’m in this place
Because I feel disgrace because you’re all in my face
But make no mistakes and switch up my channel
I’m Buddy Rich when I fly off the handle
What could it be? It’s a mirage
You’re scheming on a thing, that’s sabotage.

Please don’t respond to me and tell me to “relax” or “calm down” I’ll block your ass so fast. The audacity of people on this app (men)

News Item: Boston College fired longtime MBB broadcasters because new coach Luke Murray didn’t want anyone tied to old staff. OK, but can he get Meterparel fired too?

The last 2 players to wear number 11 for the Red Sox were traded to the Giants.

My dad heard “Big Pussy died” and immediately called my wife to ask how I killed myself. Very hurtful. RIP.

Bye, Narv.

The 4th Earl of Sandwich didn’t become so degenerate a gambler that he wouldn’t leave the card table to eat supper just to have his name misstated.

Best bet for the weekend: Revs over Dynamo.

“Down by way of the G & T!”

Material from interviews, wire services, Twitter, Meta, other writers, league and team sources, Fearless Farinella, Joe Giza, and the members of #the15 were used in this column. Intergalactic.

And a joyeux anniversaire to French-American actress and author Stéphanie Szostak.

07/29/26 Cleaning Out the Sports Junk Drawer

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You wouldn’t ask a hard question to a coach holding a puppy, would you?

I would suggest that Portnoy not take retards with him to Celebrity Family Feud, but I honestly don’t know who the non-retarded Barstool employees are.

How do you have x-rays negative and a broken wrist?

I love a good Facebook page.

Dr. Blumberg is neglecting her wifely duties; keeping Robert’s pathological need to be in front of a camera in check.

If you get into an online argument about badminton, do they say “you don’t know cock”?

It’s over for Mr. Lombardi.

Lot of bad tattoos at the beach right now.

LeBron is not a Wolf.

Hi not being a jerk but please don’t use “kiddos.” Kids or campers works. Thx

Cakes are coking for Charles Schwab, Roz Kelly, Michelle Angelo, Neal Doughty, Leslie Easterbrook, Geddy Lee, Ken Burns, Patti Scialfa, Scott Steiner, Martina McBride, Mike Williams, Wil Wheaton, Wanyá Morris, Josh Radnor, Allison Mack, Ashley McBryde, Chad Billingsley, and Dak Prescott.

Hey gang, this week’s Phrase that Pays (enough to be constantly on vacation) is, “Maybe the crew at Dave & Busters are still trying to fish out those skee balls.”

311 is very polarizing.

You get tired much earlier in the night after a fun day at the beach.

The WNBA is going to fuck up the free lunch after the one-car funeral procession for their league.

I don’t want to say I called the Mead injury right away but that’s exactly how it unfolded, like an old AAA map of New England in your glove compartment.

Imagine sharing a screen with Chris Curtis and being, by far, the uglier person.

Cumberland College thought Team Barstool got their asses kicked.

I like that Dan Kelley strays into slightly edgier content than Dan Kelley Sports.

A seagull pooped on my mom’s head at the beach. Thankfully she was wearing my old Hartford Whalers hat that i never wore because it was the wrong hat style. Still sucked having to throw away a Whalers hat at a CT Beach.

Living on a lighted stage
Approaches the unreal
For those who think and feel
In touch with some reality
Beyond the gilded cage

Cast in this unlikely role,
Ill-equipped to act
With insufficient tact
One must put up barriers
To keep oneself intact.

Curtis Mead got injured before some not-as-clever-as-they-think social media person tried to get him to attempt pronunciations of Massachusetts towns in his Aussie accent.

We also monitor your Facebook, too, dummy.

I love the phrase “prospect hugging,” Every player in baseball was a prospect at some point in time. They were all hugged.

Curtain bangs are out. Cloud bangs are in.

That Romo bodycam footage was underwhelming – you’ll all probably pass ten drivers before noon tomorrow drunker than he was.

How can you not love a guy who spreads sawdust during the day, and hot takes at night?

Watch the Backlund cage match vs Snuka from MSG….listen to that crowd.

Red Line Update: Delays of about 20 minutes due to a switch problem at JFK/UMass. Trains may stand by at stations.

Honk if you remember “Captain” Lou Albano.

Fun fact: I’ve never had an Uncrustable. Not opposed, just hasn’t happened.

Will Mead be back before Roman?

Wilt Chamberlain played one season for the Harlem Globetrotters.

Belichick chooses friends like an aspy automaton.

Obviously not the main point of the news this week but Tony Romo pretty lucky at 46 to have his grandparents still alive.

No, I think we should debate Jordan and LeBron again.

Down undah, a limp wrist is an advantage kehd.

Ryan Whitney someday donating his brain to BU for study will have a nice symmetry to it.

Best bet for the weekend: loud and pointless ‘WR1’ arguments.

Zero. Point. Zero.

Material from interviews, wire services, Twitter, Meta, other writers, league and team sources, Matt Vautour, and the members of #the15 were used in this column. We are the Priests of the Temples of Syrinx.

Dutch tilt Bianca. Like a Batman TV show villainess. She can tie me up anytime. What?

TO’s & Threes – NBA Column 07/27/26

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LeBron. Raymone. James. Think he likes the attention? Heh heh heh.

By Vinny Jace, Special to the15net dot com:

To many onlookers, the simplest answer is always the most alluring: “Just keep Jaylen Brown—you don’t have to give him the extension if you don’t want to.” “Just trade for Giannis. What’s all this jargon about not wanting to pay him 35% of the cap?” “Go get LeBron.” What complicates this is that the teams who made these moves aren’t inherently dumb. While I see flawed logic in their methods, I can’t deny it’s arguably more fun to be a fan of the Miami Heat or Philadelphia 76ers right now. Giannis and Bam Adebayo form a fierce frontcourt. The 76ers have a stacked starting five of pure hoopers and two bench pieces to round out their rotation. What they did was undoubtedly sexier than anything Boston did. Miami might fade, but Philadelphia is a tougher sell—mainly because I can’t name a team that ever regretted getting into the LeBron business.

The new realities of the CBA have scared some teams into submission and driven others into volatile states where they’re throwing whatever they can at the wall. Timberwolves GM Tim Connelly was the first to routinely take out another mortgage on the house to build around Anthony Edwards—first with the Rudy Gobert acquisition, then by trading Karl-Anthony Towns, and now with his riskiest gambit yet: sending four first-round picks and three seconds for LaMelo Ball. Holding a core together nowadays is nearly impossible. Constant reshuffling and big splashes are to be expected. The only alternative is patience, but only a few general managers can keep their ducks in a row before job-security rumblings begin.

Coming off the heels of the “Dork Elvis” era, the 76ers have decided to go full dumb-jock mode: trading for Jaylen Brown and throwing themselves at LeBron. Their starting five features two electric scoring guards in Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe, a Finals MVP in Brown, arguably the Greatest Player of All Time in LeBron, and the most dominant big man since Shaq in Joel Embiid. Sounds great, right? That’s because it is great. But there are major related caveats: health and age. In the most recent playoffs, only two players logged significant minutes among the league’s aging stars—LeBron (duh) and Kevin Durant. (& also James Harden- Ed.) Neither made it to the Conference Finals. LeBron was eliminated in the second round by the Oklahoma City Thunder. He wasn’t personally embarrassed—he played 37 minutes a night, averaging 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists—but on December 30th he’ll turn 42. He’s still the man.

Just not on defense.

You can’t blame him for taking plays off, failing to box out, or loafing in transition. Nick Nurse isn’t known for conserving his players. Maxey and Edgecombe had to play a grueling 35–40 minutes per night just to drag Philly to the 7th seed. While the team is significantly more talented than last season, all it takes is one injury to LeBron or Embiid to put the young guards back in the same brutal spot.

In 2023, Milwaukee was instantly labeled a title contender after trading for Damian Lillard. Then it turned out Giannis and Lillard were like oil and water. The partnership fizzled, and the biggest acquisition ended up being Jrue Holiday, whom Stevens swiped from the scrap heap in mid-September. The following year, savvy moves on the margins delivered Oklahoma City a title with Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein. A year later, the Knicks’ retention of O.G. Anunoby proved more valuable than the flashy, score-first guard San Antonio had in De’Aaron Fox.
This is the new NBA. Stars get you through the regular season.


The players on the margins save your ass in the playoffs. Why did the Celtics lose to Philadelphia? Because Payton Pritchard and Jordan Walsh didn’t play more. It sounds ridiculous—like saying the Celtics lost in ‘85 because there wasn’t enough Quinn Buckner. But that’s the world we live in now. The 76ers and Heat will go as far as their role players take them. But they can’t be just any role players. They need super subs—guys who do everything consistently enough that you take it for granted. You can’t cross your fingers hoping for a good night from your eighth man. The moment you realize you can’t count on two threes off the bench, a handful of lockdown defensive possessions, or connective passing from your backup ball-handler, you’re fucked. Maybe the Heat and 76ers will prove me wrong. I’m typically wrong about these things. I can’t lie: I’m a little distressed. The two teams I hate most just added unstoppable individual forces. Yeah, I’m scared. Yeah, I’m concerned.

I just watched the godforsaken New York Knicks win a title, and now Ben Stiller is doing a documentary à la Celtics City. Unlike that asshole Bill Simmons, Stiller will portray New York as sunshine and lollipops, glossing over the large swaths of time when the Knicks were a shit-for-brains franchise. That’s one of the benefits of rooting for a Big Apple team, baby. So yes, I’m nervous. Boston is still good enough to contend, but they’ll need some breaks to go their way and may have fallen to third in the East, at least according to the gamblers. Stevens is both competitive and practical – qualities some people (if they’re dumb as rocks) think can’t coexist. Unless you can guarantee a Larry O’Brien Trophy next June, you’re not even trying.

Stevens is biding his time. For what? Who knows. But he saved the team from financial ruin by having the stomach to do what many of us couldn’t. The signings of Mitchell Robinson and Jordan Walsh signal a calm confidence that generates yawns and glazed eyes. One thing I’ve learned in my years of watching basketball: there’s no use fretting right now. Go outside, touch grass, watch a movie. To borrow a phrase, turn off your radios. Don’t invest yourself in media narratives or take the bait from smarmy podcasters.

Vinny Jace is a special contributor to The15net.com. He has never moved from Philadelphia to Bel Air or vice versa.

‘I feel like an afterthought in this article.’

World Cup 2030 Announcement

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

the15net.com Hires Warren Dull
as World Cup Correspondent

Boston, MA – 07/16/2026 – the15net.com, the independent Boston sports news collaborative dedicated to sharp analysis and cutting through the noise on local teams, is proud to announce the hiring of @Warren_Dull (Pierre Nightmare) as its new 2030 FIFA World Cup correspondent.

In this role, Warren Dull will provide on-the-ground insights, match coverage, tactical breakdowns, player profiles, and fan perspectives from the world’s biggest soccer tournament. His reporting will bring a fresh, no-holds-barred voice to the15net.com’s growing audience of passionate sports fans. “We’re excited to expand our coverage beyond the core Boston teams and into global soccer with someone who brings a unique edge and perspective,” said Steve Bosell, Managing Editor of The15Net dot com,. “Warren Dull ’s voice aligns perfectly with The15’s mission to deliver honest, entertaining, and hype-free sports content. World Cup season is heating up, and we can’t wait for fans to see what he delivers.”

Mr. Dull added: “I’m thrilled to join the team at 15net.com and bring World Cup coverage to Boston sports fans who appreciate straight talk and deep dives. Whether it’s the drama on the pitch or the stories behind the teams, I’ll be there in 2030 to cut through the noise—just like The15 does every day with the Pats, Sox, Celtics, Bruins, and Free Jacks. Hashtag LOL.” Coverage is expected to ramp up in the lead-up to and throughout the tournament, with articles, analysis, and updates appearing regularly on the15net.com.

— Steve Bosell

Managing Editor, The 15 Net

Steve Bosell has been Managing Editor of The 15 Net since fall 2012. He resides in Lynn, MA with his wife and three children.

About the15net.com
The15 are a news-gathering local collaborative of concerned citizens designed to combat hottakes, specifically as it pertains to Boston sports. Focused on the Patriots, Red Sox, Celtics, Bruins, and beyond, 15net.com delivers thoughtful analysis, columns, and commentary from writers who live and breathe New England sports.


07/15/26 Cleaning Out the Sports Junk Drawer

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Boston Stadium and its natural grass is gone.

America’s Hat is on fire. Disapprove.

I still haven’t heard Paul George say a single word. For that reason alone, the Celtics won the trade.

Maybe Fenway Park will get the All-Star Game again in 2099.

Bomani Jones still has a podcast? Good for him!

Got home to all the doors and windows open while it’s 86 out.

Sam Neill. OOTG’s. Gone too soon. Maybe they can clone him, from bits of his DNA?

Need Caleb Durbin to hit a grand slam at some point so I can use “Durbie fully loaded” for a headline.

I like to think there is a chestnut eating contest somewhere in the world and Joey Hot Dog is the champion.

Carrabis looks like how Japanese people draw Americans in hentai porn.

I hate that I have to share a world with people who find Pat McAfee entertaining and informative.

Cakes are coking for Linda Ronstadt, Artemis Pyle, Trevor Horn, Jesse Ventura, Jeff Carlisi, John Stallworth, Terry O’Quinn, Alicia Bridges, Joe Satriani, Kim Alexis, Willie Aames, Forest Whitaker, Lolita Davidovich, Brigitte Nielsen, Kirt Manwaring, Adam Savage, Carnell Lake, Scott Foley, Brian Austin Green, John Dolmayan, Diane Kruger, Gabriel Iglesias, Damian Lillardm and Masataka Yoshida.

Good for the Rockies. Finally nailing a draft.

Sorry Norway, but cables & catwalks rules apply to all Florida stadia.

No one celebrates entry level jobs like the sports industry. But congrats to Michael Hurley, I guess!

Punches landed in Vegas: Bam Adebayo: 1, Conor McGregor: 0

Worcester Line Train 533 (10:50 AM from South Station) is operating 10-20 minutes behind schedule between Boston Landing and Worcester due to necessary track work and a switch issue.

Le Braquet is bousted…..well not mine…..!!!!

‘You’re the co-pilot? Wow, you’re pretty enough to have been a stewardess!’ as a pick-up line may not get you cleared for landing, Iceman.

Try to imagine being upset about the 3rd summer league game.

Hair is only useful under age 30.

A fantasy football draft in early July is fucking insane.

Hey gang of right-swipers! This week’s Phrase that Pays is, “Oh, you tryna get bumpy, my Nilla?’

Al’s Seafood in North Hampton kinda owns.

Do you ever lay in bed at night and think about just how good Rajon Rondo was.

Lindey Graham only died to fuck all the people on Kalshi who bet on McConnell being the next dead senator. RIP.

Adam here’s a non sports question or debate I would love a discussion of is what’s the worse kind of in law to deal with ..a gossiper? Or a complainer all the time?

Taylor Mathis looks like she’d have a hotter voice.

We’re doing “reach” in the baseball draft now?

Ain’t no change in the weather
Ain’t no changes in me
Well, there ain’t no change in the weather
Ain’t no changes in me
And I ain’t hiding from nobody
Nobody’s hiding from me
Oh, that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

9.5 hours of sleep + 60 eggs hard boiled = gear for the 47 year old man.

Imagine not wanting to pump a baby into Laura Dern?

They should make the whole of extra time out of corner kicks only.

Tootle your signal device if you shop at a foodstore.

It doesn’t matter if you believe in the Red Sox. All that matters is that the Red Sox believe in the Red Sox.

Thrilled to find out ̶R̶e̶a̶d̶ Rear Admiral is a fellow fan of physical media. Back in the day RA was going to color the outside edge of the CDs with a green felt tip, but all he could find was one of those giant Marks-A-Lot pens and he ended up spending the afternoon huffing that.

You suppose Platner’s oyster farm is set up like a concentration camp?

The LPGA ladies are fun to watch if you’re a golf purist. Just insane ball striking. And a few of them rise to ‘sweaty tennis broad’ level.

And yet his profile pic is of a black man…

The Revs should have their own hall of fame.

Kendra looks like Thomas the Tank Engine, but with rosacea.

I wonder if Nick Wright was wearing a Lindsey Graham jersey the other night.

All the best sex apps names evoke VD symptoms.

In their inaugural season, the @VermontGreenFC women’s team is going to the national championship.

Oh man, Chris Simms put Brady 9th on his all-time QB list.

Imagine if Wemby played goalie.

Best bet for the weekend: a Red Sox second-half stumble out of the gate.

That big Viking fella, he gets America.

Material from interviews, wire services, Twitter, Meta, other writers, league and team sources, Joe Giza, Matt Vautour, and the members of #the15 were used in this column. Call me the breeze.

And happy birthday to German actress/former model Diane Kruger.

07/08/26 Cleaning Out the Sports Junk Drawer

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Wheeeeee!!!

2-0, the most dangerous lead in sports.

A lotta Celtics fans getting the big sads now that they’ve learned Jayson and Jaylen aren’t best fwiends.

Ronaldo is the only Portuguese guy I’ve ever seen with two eyebrows.

Getting screamed at in Arabic has to be frightening.

Look, that was a disappointing game, but the memories of the USA Soccer snapback I bought will last three, maybe four more days.

Keith Smith is underappreciated until you trade for Paul George and need some explanations.

Belgium has more planet players.

Cakes are coking for Janice Pennington, Jeffrey Tambor, Kim Darby, Raffi Cavoukian, Wolfgang Puck, Anjelica Houston, Jack Lambert, Kevin Bacon, Joan Osborne, Bob Ctvrtlik, Billy Crudup, Michael Weatherly, Beck, Staci Wilson, Wang Zhizhi, Sophia Bush, Jamie Cook, David Corenswet, Jaden Smith, and Maya Hawke.

The fattest most pungent smelling people are always the most opinionated.

I just can’t get out of my head that if only MLS had promotion and relegation Freese wouldn’t have fucked up that third goal.

Why didn’t Brad navigate the Celtics out of the worst CBA in sports in one fell swoop? Felgy coulda done it.

Pochettino looks like he wants to show me how clogged my car’s cabin air filter is.

I don’t know why I think it’s funny that Vrabel took his wife to Taylor Swift’s wedding, but I do.

Airport meals are a killer.

Green Line D Branch: Delays of about 20 minutes due to a disabled train near Brookline Village. Trains may stand by at stations.

Ironhead has broken containment.

So California Bill has his endoscopy? Let me guess: no polyps, but lots of solipsism.

Hey gang of hyperboleists, this week’s Phrase that Pays is, “There was the Babe Ruth trade out of Boston and then this is probably next.”

Is Carli Lloyd pregnant or is this a Christina Erne situation?

Bring back the Shaw’s Pro Summer League.

A Roger Goodell flunkie is furiously taking notes on the FIFA appeals process.

As my grandpappy used to say, the poor always find time to fuck and paint mini furniture.

Wait, Jaylen Brown and A.J. Brown are cousins?

If I was playing against Messi I would make sure we talked about how someone should mark him.

Buying off deadbeats and grifters with a lifetime meet and greet fast pass is the easiest move Rubin ever made.

Who do you think you’re calling a ‘deranged little clique?’

I somehow don’t believe Thierry Henry actually cares about growing the game in the United States.

@fartpants86 I just reported you to twitter ..

What question did Dondero ask at the presser? Oh, right. Right right right.

Pick yourself up off the side of the road
With your elevator bones and your whip-flash tones
Members only hypnotizers
Move through the room like ambulance drivers

Shine your shoes with your microphone blues
Hirsutes with your parachute fruits
Passing the dutchie from coast to coast
Like my man Gary Wilson (I rock the most)

Where it’s at
I got two turntables and a microphone.
Where it’s at
I got two turntables and a microphone.

I guess we can talk about that paint on Jaylen’s head now.

If you’re going to invent your own hall of fame might as well make the path to induction arbitrary and capricious.

Brad twice basically saying “what the fuck are you talking about?” to Shaughnessy was pretty great.

Nothing good begins “divorce response”.

Imagine how good Pulisic will be in 2030 when he’s healthy!

Honk if you remember the MetLife blimp.

The Nantucket police got any, you know, promising, uh, leads on the missing Breer bikes?

Quite frankly, this whole FIFA ordeal reeks of private equity.

Oh, you’re looking to grow the game? Good luck. We’re putting the ugliest American we got on this story: Ben Volin.

Payton Tolle is the first Red Sox pitcher since Dennis Eckersley (1978) to make at least 4 starts of 6.0+ innings and 0 ER in a single season prior to turning 24.

What do people expect Brad to do, sit there and say “Yeah, we don’t think Jaylen is that good”? For years, we heard sports radio wetbrains saying that Brown and Tatum couldn’t play together. Now that Brad finally agrees, he’s the bad guy?

It’s amazing how Bill Simmons always has an object lesson from his own life to poorly analogize with a current sports situation.

Gonna have to bill my idiot New Hampshire relatives 35 cents for the returnable cans and bottles the threw into the regular trash on the 4th of July.

Best bet for the weekend: ships that are tall.

Material from interviews, wire services, Twitter, Meta, other writers, league and team sources, Joe Giza, PatriotsDaily, and the members of #the15 were used in this column.

Now you’re back to Now u’re back to Brown. Please continue speaking so I don’t have to remind everybody how dumb you are.Brown.N you’re back to Brown. Please continue speakin you’re back to Brown. Please continue speakNow you’re back to Brown. Please continue speaki

07/01/26 Cleaning Out the Sports Junk Drawer

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Take it easy. No need for fisticuffs.

Is anyone in here actually turning off their radios??

Contreras is a compelling character – fiery hotheaded Latin with a grudge against shifting tectonic plates. His partner is his polar opposite – Yoshida is icy cool and inscrutable. The tsunamis and violent earth movements are but a falling cherry blossom in the stream of this life.

Fun fact: The attempts in a World Cup shootout are not “penalty kicks” because they don’t penalize anything — they just use that procedure. They’re “kicks from the penalty mark.” (See law 10.3.)

Jaylen Brown is clearly not the 7th best player on his team by any reasonable metric, but using analytics to troll him into a meltdown? Very funny.

Weathermen saying it’s going to be hot this week but I’m staying woke.

They should play “Sweet Caroline” at the second half hydration break to make sportswriters around the world get unnecessarily angry.

I love how in 2026 there are people who still look to Ordway for info on how the NBA works.

Is “brash” a synonym for “brainless moron”? #lol

There’s no truth to the rumor that Early strained his elbow trying to pick up Roman Anthony’s bar tab.

However this LeBron James situation plays out, it’s going to be fascinating. Could be a lot of CBA/trade/cap stuff at play here. Should be fun to put together!

Cakes are coking for Sam Rutigliano, Jamie Farr, Twyla Tharpe, Doug Carpenter, Geneviève Bujold, Debbie Harry, Mama Scartelli, Fred Schneider, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Shutt, Mike Haynes, Alan Ruck, Brian Sabean, Lorna Patterson, Grant Daulton, Hannu Kamppuri, Nancy Lieberman, Evelyn “Champagne” King, Carl Lewis, Roddy Bottum, Carl Fogarty, Patrick McEnroe, Pamela Anderson, Julianne Nicholson, Missy Elliott, Jarome Iginla, Liv Tyler, Nelson Cruz, Charlie Blackmon, Michael Wacha, and Tate McRae.

Do we like the J.J. Peterka deal? Let us know in the comments.

Hey gang of snack food addicts, this week’s Phrase that Pays is, “Hey fat Grimace, get your dick out of the zebra cakes.”

Dianna Russini was making 800K a year? She brought home the bacon and the hog.

Sucks when you’re already uncomfortable on camera as it is and someone makes a dick comment on your appearance. And I’ve even been working on it lately because I don’t want to die of liver failure at 42. But hey internet a-holes don’t care. Oh well.

Carrabis spends more time driving by Cora’s house than working on his legs.

Blue Line: Delays of about 10 minutes while a maintenance train inspects the overhead wires between Airport and Wonderland. Trains may stand by at stations.

You can never have toumani camaras.

How are the midgets in Nova Scotia? I feel they’re probably more midgety with the exchange rate.

Head Dummy gonna Head Dummy.

Can’t tap your helmet? Can’t throw your helmet at people? This sport has gotten soft!

Has anybody thought how much this elevates Trick’s wins over Sami? You can slide him into the main event anytime now with clear logic. Give a guy his flowers and help establish another talent. Good business.

Jaylen will go full Kyrie if someone says he’s the seventh smartest player on the team.

In honor of Italian-American Night, all the women will be absolutely smoking hot for the first five innings, and then they’ll turn into their fat mothers for the last four.

It’s so nice not to be followed around by cops anymore.

Nick Cattles doing a million trade proposals after being aggregated once is a tremendous look into his vapid empty head.

Maybe don’t open mouth kiss all the other gym dudes?

I don’t like certain elements of Socialism but I do know that Mayor Zoran Mandani Is already a national figure .

The rivalry lasts 9 innings. Being decent people lasts a lot longer.

Mbappe is probably going to with that SuperToe Award.

Massachusetts hasn’t had this bad a week for Hooters since back when Linda H. had her implants removed.

John Zannis is unequivocally the biggest retard in Celtics media and that says so much because he’s talking next to Bobby Manning.

Side loading is how Asians get pregnant.

People used to call sports radio wanting to make Clemens and Pedro closers. Let’s just take Cy Young winners pitching 200 plus innings a season and have them throw 60 innings instead. Dear departed EGA was a big proponent of converting Clemens to a closer. It all goes back to Dave Righetti. Anyone who throws a lot of strike outs should automatically become the closer, kid!

My favorite part of free agency so far was windy dropping “What if Jaylen Brown goes to the Cavs and LeBron James joins him there?” as the ESPN show went to commercial. The way he dropped that and strutted back to the desk like a boss was amazing.

I love seeing fat guys respect each other.

An MLB work stoppage might give Roman Anthony enough time to get healthy.

Don’t leave me hanging on the telephone
Don’t leave me hanging on the telephone

It’s good to hear your voice, you know it’s been so long
If I don’t get your calls then everything goes wrong
I want to tell you something you’ve known all along

Don’t leave me hanging on the telephone.

Freddy was the spiritual grandson of Max von Sydow’s ‘Good Nazi’ character in Victory. I hope you nabobs of negativity are proud of yourselves.

Why do you need to understand a community to make a Red Sox hat?

Don’t invite Jaylen to a conciliatory dinner at Toscano’s, send him to Table by himself and tell him to fuck off.

Honk if you remember Milly Alcock..

Can’t wait to see if Willson Contreras gets ejected for the 3rd straight game today.

New music on the radio is in desperate need of more saxophone.

Ivan Ivan? Really?

I guess ‘Annoying Pizza-Loving Midget Jew’ was deemed too clunky a title for Portnoy’s book.

Don’t forget to thank an armed service member this weekend.

Red Sox are in last place at the end of June with the worst record they’ve had in decades, and it’s still a Baseball Town.

Germany lost to a line on the map?

Best bet for the weekend: everyone comes back from the 4th with the same number of fingers they started with. Happy 250th, United States of America.

Bianca is ready for summer. Are you?

Material from interviews, wire services, Twitter, Meta, other writers, league and team sources, Matt Vautour, Joe Giza, and the members of #the15 were used in this column. The tide is high but I’m holding on.

And happy Birthday to French actress Léa Seydoux.

TO’s & Threes – Celtics Column 06/26/26

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Is the Celtics glass half-empty, or half-full?

By Vinny Jace, Special to the15net dot com:

It’s been a rough few months for the Celtics, to say the least. It’s not often that people look at a roster featuring a four-time All-NBA First Team superstar, a Finals MVP, a reigning Coach of the Year, and a two-time Executive of the Year — and still feel the team has hit a wall. In some ways, the Celtics have. If there is a fault in Joe Mazzulla’s philosophy, it isn’t shooting too many threes. It’s the lack of an off-switch from their frantic style in the playoffs, when defenses can game-plan around Boston’s desire to win the numbers battle. It’s hard to make your threes when you can’t attack the basket against drop coverage. The Celtics have failed to generate good looks in the clutch during the playoffs in two straight years, and it has resulted in early exits that have dramatically shaken the confidence this group built from their title run.

Getting Giannis was supposed to fix that. But for whatever reason, the pursuit fell through. We can blame Brad Stevens for not going all-in, refusing to include Hugo Gonzalez, Baylor Scheierman, and more picks on top of the two first-rounders the Celtics are confirmed to have offered. Or we can believe the rumor that Bucks owner Jimmy Haslam nudged GM Jon Horst toward accepting Miami’s offer out of fear that Jaylen Brown would demand a trade. (Author’s Note: My source is Kevin O’Connor’s tweet: Kevin OConnor (@KevinOConnor) on X)


No matter who we blame, the Miami Heat now have Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the Celtics do not. Their problems remain the same as before, and the clearest avenue to address them is closed. It’s easy to fall into despair and remember the later days of the Big Three era, when it felt like Danny Ainge couldn’t make the necessary moves to prop up an aging core while rivals got younger, faster, and better.

The silver lining is that Stevens isn’t wrong, in a vacuum, to walk away if he believed the price was too high. We’ll see how Miami builds around Bam Adebayo and Giannis. They are undeniably thin in an era where the last three NBA champions have been incredibly deep. They do still hold their 2028 and 2029 first-round picks, and we’re about to find out how valuable those picks are now that Miami won’t be lingering in the play-in. If the Heat can navigate these limitations and win a title or two, Stevens getting cold feet will look worse. If they fail, the bill will come due, the Heat will be in hell, and the Celtics will still have options.

The three most gnawing words fans hate to hear: wait and see.

The advice I’ll give Celtics fans is this: stay off Twitter. Stay off Reddit. If news breaks, you’ll find out the way your fathers and grandfathers did — a friend will tell you. If it’s any consolation, Jaylen appears ready to let bygones be bygones. Unless Stevens pokes the bear and tries to trade the two-time All-NBAer a second time in one summer and that deal also falls through, it’s safe to assume Brown will remain a Celtic for the foreseeable future. The front office will pivot to addressing their pitiful situation at center and may look into trading Derrick White.

For all the faults I’ve previously laid out about “Mazzulla-Ball,” it is uniquely suited to churning out 50-win seasons and making us forget the various weaknesses this team possesses. After all, we entered the past playoffs thinking we were a Finals team with Neemias Queta, Luka Garza, and Nikola Vučević as our centers. We’ll see if White can rediscover his jump shot. If a fully healthy Jayson Tatum will fix Boston’s problem of going 3-11 against the NBA’s best teams last season. If another year of Jordan Walsh as a lockdown bench defender — along with Hugo and Baylor as reserve spark plugs — can move the needle.

Can they beat New York, Miami, Detroit, or Philadelphia as currently constructed? Probably not. And that feeling truly sucks. But there’s no use dwelling on it now. Situations change. Things can shift in a month or two. Even if everything remains the same and the Celtics fail at every plan to improve this offseason, they’ll have plenty of flexibility next summer — perhaps making it easier to trade Brown and/or White under new circumstances.

We. Will. See.

Vinny Jace is a special contributor to The15net.com. He does not live at Boston Stadium.

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