Dirty Water Sports
Breaking down the storylines of Boston’s beloved sports teams with brash commentary, pithy reporting, and smart – sometimes snarky – analysis of the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins.
Patriots Deliver With Goal Line Stand
The Patriots pulled off an adventurous win against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. The Patriots defense, and perhaps Kyler Murray’s injured shoulder, was the key to victory. The high scoring Arizona offense was held to 17...
Playoffs? Playoffs?!? Here’s the Patriots road to the playoffs
The Patriots dropped a disappointing game to the Houston Texans, 27-20, on Sunday and are now seeing their chances of playing in the postseason dwindle. The Patriots showed some flashes of good play, but as has happened in several of their losses this season,...
Nesmith a solid first round pick up
After a flurry of speculation, the Celtics ended up holding on to their first selection in Wednesday night’s draft and selected Vanderbilt’s Aaron Nesmith with the 14th overall pick. The small forward spent two seasons at Vanderbilt and dramatically increased his...
Patriots pour it on Ravens, salvage season
The Patriots held off the Ravens 23-17 on Sunday night to put themselves at 4-5 and within striking distance of the playoff hunt. New England rode Damien Harris (121 yards) and the ground game throughout the night and Cam Newton threw his first touchdown pass since...
The Rebuilding Fail
Patriots Nation, the trade deadline has come and gone and all New England has to show for it is Isaiah Ford. The team has failed you. It was rumored that the Patriots would be sellers at the draft, all signs pointed to Stephon Gilmore being traded after he listed...
Crunch time has crushed Patriots
For the third time this season the Patriots lost a game while having a chance to win on the final drive on Sunday. This time, in Buffalo, the Patriots were in the red zone down 24-21 when Cam Newton fumbled to give the Bills the ball back with 30 seconds to play...
Can the Patriots Recover?
The Patriots turned in one of their worst team performances of the Century on Sunday, looking listless for much of the game and losing to San Francisco 33-6. The New England defense forced one punt while the offense failed to score a touchdown and turned the ball...
Covid, Mistakes Caught up with Patriots
The Patriots fell to the Broncos 18-12 on Sunday in a game filled with mistakes and missed opportunities. New England had three turnovers and the weapons in the passing game were not a threat. The offensive line was in a shuffle and Denver was able to move the ball...
Dugger, Onwenu Make Immediate Impact
The 2020 NFL draft was unlike any before it, with teams picking remotely due a pandemic and the understanding that rookies selected would not have the benefit of an offseason program or even a full training camp. Due to this, it has been an especially hard year for...
The Anomaly Game
The Patriots just experienced one of the weirdest 72 hours in recent NFL history. For starters, they lost their starting quarterback two days before a game and traveled the day of said game to the home of the defending champs. In the game itself, New England got...
Litmus Test in Kansas City
The Patriots have played three games this season and in each one faced a different level of opponent. The Dolphins are a below average team, the Seahawks are a great team, and the Raiders are a good team. New England beat the below average team and the good team,...
Celtics not quite there yet
The Boston Celtics led 96-90 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals with 8:48 remaining on Sunday night. After a convincing win in Game Five, this was a moment that made it appear that Boston was going to force a seventh game with a trip to the NBA Finals on...
Patriots showed they can hang with big boys
There are no moral victories in the NFL, but Sunday night’s Patriots vs Seahawks classic left New England with some significantly positive signs for their future. The 35-30 defeat showed that the Patriots offense can compete with the best units in the NFL and that...
New age for BC Football
Boston College, like most other colleges, has gone through a roller coaster this offseason. It kicked off with the hiring of former Ohio State defensive coordinator, Jeff Hafley. Hafley was able to secure the transfer of Phil Jurkovec, from rival Notre Dame and...
Cam Looks Good in Debut
The Patriots started the 2020 season and Cam Newton era with a 21-11 win against Miami on Sunday in a game which featured positive signs for the direction of the franchise post-Tom Brady. Newton went 15/19 for 155 pass yards and ran for 75 yards and two touchdowns...
Will Nate Oats become the next Brad Stevens?
Time to punch in. By now, you’ve probably heard the old adage about “hard work paying off.” Frankly, probably more times than you’ve poured a cup of morning coffee or tea. That’s because it’s true. After all, sayings are proven right more than a few times before...
Prediction time as NFL season set to begin
With the NFL season set to kick off Thursday, let's make some predictions at how the teams will rank when the playoffs are set to begin. AFC East: Patriots Bills Dolphins Jets This season marks the best chance since 2008 for a non-Patriots team to win the AFC East....
Turning Point Led to Disappointing Ending
For the second time in the last three seasons, the Bruins saw their season end with a five-game, second round loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It’s a disappointing end for a Bruins team that was aiming to get back to the Stanley Cup Final and avenge last year’s...
It’s Cam’s team now
The Patriots entered training camp with something that had not had in two decades: a quarterback competition. With the regular season opener now a couple weeks away it is clear that Cam Newton has won it. This does not come as a massive surprise as second year...
Kobe was the perfect rival
Back in 2010 when I was 9 years old, I remember hearing my dad yell at the TV downstairs. I came down nervously -- since it was past my bedtime -- to see what was going on when my dad noticed me and let me watch the rest of the Celtics-Lakers game. I remember...
Newton, Stidham bring unique strengths to QB battle
With the Patriots official practices underway, the top storyline is no surprise: whether Cam Newton or Jarrett Stidham will replace Tom Brady as starting quarterback. Both players bring advantages and the decision by Bill Belichick on who to start in Week 1 will be...
The end of the Red Sox relevance
In 2013, my cousin Ed contacted me about contributing some of my baseball blog posts to a small, free bi-weekly print newspaper two of his former fraternity brothers from Plymouth State College—also my own alma mater—were publishing in Boston. Seeing it as an...
Stevens extension a winning play
Prior to the start of their first round series against the Philadelphia 76ers the Boston Celtics announced that they had signed head coach to a contract extension. The extension is a win for both Stevens and the team and keeps one of the NBA’s brightest coaches in...
The Florida Project: The Disney Difference inside the NBA Bubble
I’ve only seen Wolf of Wall Street a handful of times, but I can tell you that investments will make or break anyone. Even if that “anyone” is a multi-billion-dollar league such as the NBA. Amid an unprecedented global crisis, the sports world has seen its...
Look for Harry to jump forward
N’Keal Harry came to New England as a first round draft pick who was hopeful to be a large part of the 2019 offense. Things did not fully shape up that way, but there were flashes of potential that gives reason for optimism going forward. Harry began 2019 on...
Early Play Bursting Bruins Bubble
The Bruins have played three games since the NHL returned in its bubble format, first an exhibition tilt against Columbus and then two seeding games against Philadelphia and Tampa Bay. To call the results underwhelming would be too polite, they have been nothing...
Opportunity knocks for Harris with Michel on PUP
The Patriots placed starting running back Sony Michel on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list at to start training camp. That the talented Michel will now miss at least some and potentially all of training camp for the second time in his career is obviously...
Short Game: MLB Return gives us beacon of hope
I have not in the time of lockdown turned into an Apple computer from the 80’s. This year is simply a bad beat. And even though we’re in like, the fifth month of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are still collectively struggling to accept our new normal. At the outset of...
Bruins return as Cup favorites
The Boston Bruins ended the 2018-19 season in the most heartbreaking way possible, falling flat in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final at home and watching someone else celebrate with the Cup in their arena. They returned to the ice this season looking like a team on a...
Core will be key to Celtics chances
The Celtics return from the NBA mandated hiatus on Friday and are looking to compete for a championship in one of the most surreal seasons in NBA history. Boston established themselves as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference prior to the suspension of...
Five takeaways after 136 days away
The Boston Celtics are finally back, 136 days from the last time they suited up. It was a surreal sight watching them play, with no fans, socially distanced benches, and plexiglass all around. It felt more like a museum exhibit than an actual basketball game. But...
Crossing the bridge year
Boston fans were treated to a familiar, but still fun site on Tuesday night when the Red Sox scrimmaged the Blue Jays in a tune-up for the regular season. It was fun to finally see the Red Sox playing another team in 2020 amid their ramp up to a pandemic shortened...
Five players to watch heading into camp
The Patriots are scheduled to open training camp in just over a week, and this camp will be different than any other one this century for two major reasons. First, Covid-19 has changed how all NFL teams are operating and how camp will be run, with a longer...
Everyone wins with responsibility
Professional sports are right around the corner. After the NBA and NHL shut down in March and the MLB had their season delayed, America went months without them. The MLS started this week and we are hopefully on track to see the NHL, NBA, MLB and NFL all either...
Signing Mahomes is right on the money
The NFL world has kept things interesting despite no team being on a field since February. That continued this week when the Chiefs signed quarterback Patrick Mahomes to a 10 year extension, that added to the two years he has remaining on his deal will keep him in...
Play ball! Then what?
If you’re seeking your daily dose of optimism and affirmations, now is a good time to stop reading. While one might expect a little more enthusiasm from a baseball fan, seeing Spring Training 2.0 resumes today, at this point—after three full months living through a...
Lights, Cam, Action!
The Patriots made a splash on Sunday night when they agreed to a one year contract with 2015 NFL MVP Cam Newton. Newton, who is 2-0 in his career against the Patriots, will battle Jarrett Stidham to take over the starting quarterback job that Tom Brady held since...
The Legend Of Blaze Jordan
The MLB draft isn’t usually something that gets a whole lot of media attention, but this draft was different. When I saw the Red Sox drafted 17-year-old Blaze Jordan I had to know more. He has already committed to Mississippi State. I honestly would’ve expected...
Asiasi could have immediate impact
The Patriots invested at tight end with two picks in the 2020 draft in UCLA’s Devin Asiasi and Virginia Tech’s Dalton Keene. They are the two highest tight end draft picks for the Patriots since 2010 and figure to be a major part of the offense over the next...
Baseball is dead. Does anyone care?
My affinity for baseball is largely romantic, a medley of images and associations: the smell of leather and linseed oil, the crack of a bat making solid contact. I’ve always been drawn to the game's serene rhythms broken by an eruption from the crowd. I’ve also...
As Bruins and Celtics return, which team has the best shot at a title?
The sports world received good news that both the NHL and NBA will be returning to action later this summer. Before play was shut down early in the spring, both the Bruins and Celtics were establishing themselves as top tier teams in their respective leagues. With...
Uncomfortably Numb
Fifty years from now, when historians look back on the year 2020, their tone will be somber. For 2020 has been a low point in American history. From the initial mismanagement of a pandemic and the pandemic itself to nationwide protests due to yet another tragic...
Change is finally coming to America
This is a terrifying time to look at the state of our nation. I'm scared that many of my friends are treated differently than me based solely on the color of their skin, scared that innocent people will die expressing their first amendment rights, scared that...
Look for Rookie Josh Uche to Make Biggest Impact
The Patriots added a lot of youth to their roster on draft weekend by picking ten players and signing 16 undrafted free agents. Of those 26, some will make an immediate impact on the field while others will never see game action. The hope for the Patriots is that...
Perk Looks Forward, and Back on His Time in Boston
Kendrick Perkins will be remembered around the TD Garden forever, having helped the Celtics win their first championship in over 20 years back in 2008. Perk did it all over his 15 year NBA career, and has since transitioned to the media, becoming one of the most...
Tough games right on schedule
The Patriots found out how the Post-Tom Brady era will look on Thursday night with the release of their 2020 schedule. Unfortunately for New England, they have one of the hardest schedules in the league. Kickoff to the Stidham Era The Patriots will begin the season...
Absent Minded Musings
I’m going to say it plainly. I’m going to say it, and it will probably seem trite. I’m going to say it this way because there’s no other way I can say it without sounding sentimental. I miss sports. A lot. Last week, the NFL threw sports fans some chum by...
Burt Will Make a Name for Himself
Let me introduce you to New England’s new favorite son: Jake Burt, the former Boston College tight end now on the Patriots roster. Bill Belichick has been trying to fill a Gronk-sized hole for a few years now and have been unsuccessful at every stop. That ends with...
From Tight Ends to Tattoos: Some Thoughts on the 2020 Draft Class
In their first draft without Tom Brady as quarterback, the Patriots selected ten players and (as of this writing) signed 14 undrafted free agents. With over 20 new faces in the locker room next year, New England took a big step towards turning what will hopefully...
Both sides win in Gronk Deal
The predraft news buzz exploded on Tuesday when news surfaced that the Patriots would be trading Rob Gronkowski to the Buccaneers. The deal, which is Gronk and a seventh rounder for a fourth, is a win for both teams leading into the first round of the draft on...
