Top Boston sports stories of 2023: A year of disappointment
BOSTON -- When the calendar changed to 2023, things were looking up for Boston sports. The year, however, did not end very well for any of the teams.
On Jan 1, 2023, the Celtics were 26-11 and in first place in the Eastern Conference. The Bruins were even better at 28-4-4 on their way to rewriting the regular-season history books. The Patriots were out of the playoffs for the second time in three years, but a correction was expected for the following season. And even the Red Sox had a little bit of positivity surrounding them after signing Masataka Yoshida.
But neither the Bruins nor the Celtics brought home a title. The Red Sox gave us another meaningless summer and last-place finish in the division. The Patriots have somehow gotten worse, and even the New England Revolution had a promising season derailed by turmoil at the top.
Since it didn't result in any banners or parades from the four major teams, 2023 was a pretty disappointing year for the Boston sports scene. But at least it was mostly entertaining and rarely boring. Even the Red Sox found exciting ways to lose by the time August rolled around.
Here's to hoping 2024 brings much better results.
New England Patriots
Tom Brady retires (again) and is honored by Patriots in Week 1
The GOAT retired for good on Feb. 1, 2023 after a third season in Tampa Bay. He was honored at halftime of New England's Week 1 loss to the Eagles, where he was the first-ever "Keeper of the Light" atop Gillette Stadium's new lighthouse.
That was also the day that Robert Kraft announced that Brady would be going into to team's Hall of Fame on June 12, 2024. Brady received tons of ovations that afternoon -- including one when he made his patented run down the field -- but none was louder than when the quarterback professed "I am a Patriot for life."
Mac Jones gets benched
This was a huge year for Mac Jones and the Patriots, as the quarterback was entering his third NFL season. The Pats were giving Jones a mulligan after last season's disaster with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge as offensive coaches, and there was some hope that Mac would bounce back under new OC Bill O'Brien.
He looked decent for the first few weeks, but New England's sieve of an offensive line had him seeing ghosts. His decision-making tanked and Jones threw backbreaking pick after backbreaking pick. He was benched FOUR TIMES midgame, and then in Week 13, the Patriots made the move to Bailey Zappe.
It would appear as though Jones' time in New England is over.
Bill Belichick's future
This is all anyone has talked about since the team started 1-5. There were rumblings that Belichick could lose his job mid-season, only for that to be shot down a short time later. There were even more rumblings that Robert Kraft had already decided to move on from Belichick after the team's embarrassing loss to the Colts in Germany, with the caveat that things could change with a strong finish to the season.
The Patriots are, ultimately, expected to move on from Belichick at season's end, ending one of the most incredible head-coaching runs in NFL history. That could potentially change when Belichick and Kraft meet at season's end. Belichick would likely need to be open to taking a step back in the player personnel department and show accountability for his team-building issues the last several years.
But it's hard to envision Belichick ceding any power. It certainly seems like we're in the final days of Bill Belichick as HC of the NEP, but whatever the franchise decides to do, it will quickly become the biggest story of 2024.
Boston Celtics
A disappointing end after a near comeback
The Celtics were a wagon during the regular season and finished at 57-24, good for the two-seed in the East. Their path back to the Finals got a little easier when the top-seeded Bucks were knocked out in the first round, but the Celtics didn't make anything easy on themselves in the playoffs.
It took them six games to dispatch the Hawks in the first round, losing a close-out Game 5 at TD Garden. They fell into a 3-2 hole to the 76ers in the East semis, but embarrassed Philly in Games 6 and 7.
The Celtics then proceeded to lose both games at home to start the Eastern Conference Finals against the Heat, and were down 3-0 after a blowout loss in Game 3 in Miami. It was embarrassing until Boston ripped off three straight wins, including an amazing Game 6 victory in Miami on a Derrick White putback at the buzzer. (One of the many Derrick White highlights from the last year.)
It was all for naught though, as Jayson Tatum rolled his ankle on the first play of Game 7 and the Celtics got trounced on their home court.
Marcus Smart gets traded
After coming up well short of their goal, Brad Stevens knew it was time to change the DNA of the Celtics. He did so by trading away Marcus Smart in a shocking midnight deal in June that brought Kristaps Porzingis to Boston.
Smart was the longest tenured member of the Celtics and seen as the heart and soul of the team. But the Celtics were not going to trade Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown, so Smart was the one to go.
It's worked out pretty well, with Porzingis fitting in perfectly with Tatum and Brown. Stevens wasn't done after acquiring the big man, either, landing Jrue Holiday after he was dealt away by the Bucks in the Damian Lillard blockbuster.
Those moves have the Celtics with the best record in the NBA and near the top in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
Jaylen Brown gets his bag
Brown got PAID over the summer, signing the richest contract in NBA history. His supermax deal with Boston will pay him $304 million over five years, and Brown has some plans to use that giant wad of cash to make Boston a better place for everyone.
Boston Bruins
The Bruins were the best team ever -- until the playoffs
We'll keep this brief because it's just going to make everyone upset. The 2022-23 Boston Bruins were the best regular-season team in NHL history. They racked up 135 points off their 65-12-5 record, besting the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens and their 132 points. They set a new franchise record for wins, Linus Ulmark and Jeremy Swayman combined for a historic season in net, and it was looking like Patrice Bergeron would go out a champion.
But then the postseason started. And it ended quickly for the Bruins, as they lost to the eight-seeded Florida Panthers in seven games, falling in overtime on their home ice in Game 7. At least Florida went on a run to the Cup Final, but that won't make Bruins fans feel any better about the first-round defeat.
It was stunning. It was shocking. And man was it painful.
Patrice Bergeron retires
That Game 7 loss is how Patrice Bergeron's Hall of Fame career ended. A few months after feeling the sting of that defeat and hugging every teammate as they made their way off the ice, Bergeron announced his retirement after an incredible 19-year career.
It's only a matter of time until No. 37 hangs in the TD Garden rafters.
Cassidy wins a Cup and brings it to Massachusetts
To add some salt into the wounds, Bruce Cassidy won the Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights, roughly one year after being fired by the Bruins. And when he got his day with the Cup, he brought it back to Massachusetts. At least it was for a great cause.
Boston Red Sox
Another wasted season
The Red Sox didn't look like a team that could win a World Series but they were at least competitive through July. They were flirting with a Wild Card spot and players were begging Chaim Bloom to add at the trade deadline.
He did not, and for the second straight season, the Red Sox went into a tailspin in August and September. Alex Cora had to rely on a pair of "openers" in the summer months, which worked for a bit but greatly taxed the bullpen.
Cora sent a shot at Bloom on one of the most bizarre nights at Fenway Park on Aug. 28. The Red Sox were still technically in the playoff race and were up 4-3 on the Astros. After Chris Sale failed to make it out of the fifth inning, Cora turned to reliever Kyle Barraclough.
Cora stuck with the journeyman as the Astros pummeled him for 10 runs off 11 hits and five walks. He gave us six runs in the top of the sixth, turning that 4-3 Sox lead into a 9-4 deficit. The Astros added two more in the seventh and eighth innings off Barraclough, sending Boston to an embarrassing 13-5 loss.
Cora's message was clear: "This is what you gave me, so this is what I'm sending out there."
The Red Sox went 9-22 the rest of the way and finished the season at 78-84.
Chaim Bloom fired, Craig Breslow hired
Another wasted season -- and some "Get in for free" nights against the Yankees at Fenway Park -- saw the end of Chaim Bloom's run as chief baseball officer in Boston. He was really just following the orders of ownership, who wanted to slash payroll and rebuild the minor league system, but he also didn't do much of anything to help the big league club.
Now the Red Sox have turned to another self-proclaimed baseball "nerd" in Craig Breslow. At least Breslow pitched for and won a World Series with the Red Sox, but he hasn't done much to help the team in his first offseason on the job.
Rafael Devers signs a big extension
The Red Sox started 2023 by giving Rafael Devers a gigantic extension worth $331 million over 11 seasons. It was the largest contract in Red Sox history in terms of total value, and the sixth-largest in MLB history at the time.
Bloom and company basically had to make this move though, after letting Xander Bogaerts walk in free agency the month prior.
RIP Tim Wakefield
The Red Sox lost an incredible ambassador to the community on Oct. 1 when Tim Wakefield died at the age of 57 after fighting an aggressive form of brain cancer. The knuckleballer won a pair of World Series over his 17-year career with the Red Sox, and he was an honorary chairman of the Red Sox Foundation after his playing days.
New England Revolution
The Bruce Arena saga
The Revs had a nice thing going to start the season and it looked like they'd be competing for an MLS Cup come the fall. But then everything fell apart.
Bruce Arena was placed on administrative leave on July 30, pending an MLS investigation into "insensitive and inappropriate remarks" made by the head coach and sporting director. He resigned on Sept. 10, but we're still in the dark on what Arena said or did to end his run in New England.
As the Arena ordeal played out and there was more inner turmoil under interim head coach Richie Williams, the Revs began to slide. Williams was eventually replaced with Clint Peay, formerly the head coach of Revolution II, and New England lost to Philadelphia in the opening round of the playoffs.
Now, the club is going in a new direction under sporting director Curt Onalfo and new head coach Caleb Porter, who has a pair of MLS Cups on his resume.
Everything Else
Boston gets a PWHL team
Boston will have one of the Original Six teams in the new Professional Women's Hockey League, it was announced in late August. The Boston team will play at Tsongas Arena in Lowell, and will begin its season with a home game against Minnesota on Jan. 3.
The Boston Renegades win another title
The Boston Renegades of the Women's Football Alliance have a nice little dynasty going. The Renegades won their fifth straight championship in July and their eighth title overall. The Renegades have won 40 straight games going back to 2018.
The Army-Navy Game invades Gillette Stadium
The home of the Patriots played host to America's Game, which saw Bill Belichick steal the show by donning a 1962 Navy helmet ESPN's College GameDay. Army won the game, 17-11, in front of a packed house in Foxboro.