Happy 100th, Bruins! 👴🏻

Good Morning, Boston.

On this day in 2001 … Bill Belichick andTom Brady got their first of 30 wins together over the New York Jets in a 17-16 rock fight. If Mo Lewis had just let Drew Bledsoe run for a first down a few weeks before that … Brady might be selling insurance in 2024 instead of holding court as the GOAT.

WHAT’S ON TAP TODAY:

Joey Slye shanks the game away

BC ends season on a high note

Jaylen Brown brings down the house

LET’S GET INTO IT…

LEADING OFF

The birth of the Bruins

Image: BOSTON BRUINS

The Bruins just celebrated a major milestone. Yesterday marked 100 years since the Boston Bruins beat the Montreal Maroons, 2-1, in the franchise’s first NHL game. They fittingly rang in their centennial with a 6-3 shellacking of the Montreal Canadiens.The Original Six squad has witnessed its fair share of hockey history over the last century, and they might have the coolest origin story in Boston sports.

They brought NHL hockey to the United States. Pro hockey had roots in Michigan and Pennsylvania originally, but NHL games were played solely in Canada from its founding in 1917 to 1924. Then, Vermont native and grocery chain owner Charles Adams secured the first U.S. team charter for $15,000 on November 1, 1924 — subsequently founding the Boston Bruins. He then had to field a team in under a month and secure Boston Arena (now Northeastern’s Matthews Arena) for home games.

They didn’t always wear black and gold. The Bruins’ original primary color was actually brown. The reason? Adams wanted the team’s colors to match his grocery store chain. So in addition to being an “untamed animal embodied with size, strength, agility, ferocity and cunning,” the team’s mascot also had to be brown. That’s when coach and general manager Art Ross’ secretary Bessie Moss reportedly suggested “Bruins” — an old Dutch word for brown bears. The name stuck even after the team ditched brown for black in 1935.

Their coach Art Ross was a visionary. The Bruins’ first-ever coach and general manager was always a forward-thinker, even as a player. He’s often considered one of the first defensemen to skate up the ice with the puck rather than simply passing or shooting it immediately. (No. 4 apparently took notes.) He’s also credited with standardizing the shape of hockey pucks, creating mesh goalie nets, and starting the strategy of “pulling the goalie” for extra skaters. Oh yeah, and he coached/managed the Bruins to ten first-place finishes and three Stanley Cup wins. 

The B’s legacy is still going strong. Despite a Boston Globe editor openly questioning hockey’s long-term viability in the city right after that first game in 1924, the Bruins are tied for fourth among NHL franchises with six Stanley Cups and even set the single-season record for wins and points in 2022-23. Plus, the Boston Fleet are setting sail once again after opening the PWHL’s inaugural season with a run to the Walter Cup Finals. Hockey has long had a home in Boston — and it all started a century ago with the Bruins.

BOSTON SPORTS

Quick hits & headlines

Image: Charles Krupa/AP Photo

😞 Joey Slye comes up just short as Patriots lose. The Patriots kicker almost hit an NFL-record 68-yard field goal as time expired, but his attempt came up just short as New England fell to the Colts, 25-24. At least head coach Jerod Mayo’s decision to try the long kick wasn’t as bad as the Bears’ epic Thanksgiving catastrophe. Besides, Slye’s missed field goal before halftime hurt even worse.

💭 Jerod Mayo’s job is reportedly safe. Speaking of the Patriots’ coach … insider Albert Breer, who’s pretty plugged in with the Patriots, suggested Mayo is on “really solid ground” heading into 2025 and that ownership is willing to be patient with the rebuild. I’m sure Bill Simmons will be thrilled by that news.

🤷🏾‍♂️ Cavs get revenge in rematch with Celtics. Well, sort of … Cleveland did beat Boston fair and square Sunday thanks to Donovan Mitchell’s late-game takeover, but the Cs didn’t have Derrick White and Jaylen Brown, who were resting on the first night of a back-to-back. Let’s see the Cavs win this matchup when Boston’s at full strength.

🦅 Ty Clemons’ “thicc six” stamps BC’s win. Clemons became the Eagles’ first defensive lineman to return an INT for a TD since 2007 in the Eagles’ 34-23 victory over Pitt, and the big fella was not about to get caught from behind. Let’s see him do it again in a bowl game while we’re at it.

😎 Christian Gonzalez keeps balling out. Gonzalez nabbed his second INT of the season in Sunday’s loss to Indianapolis, further cementing his future All-Pro status. Meanwhile, the Washington Commanders just cut Emmanuel Forbes, the guy they selected instead of Gonzalez with the No. 16 overall pick in last year’s draft. Wooof.

THEY SAID IT, NOT ME

The silent assassin

Image: Barry Chin/Boston Globe

GAME … SET … MEME

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