The Bad News Bruins 🤦

Good Morning, Boston.

On this day in 2012 … We bore witness to the “Butt Fumble.”No single play describes the Pats’ relationship with the Jets better than this: Sanchez de-cleating himself on his own blocker and fumbling the ball away for a New England TD during New England’s 49-19 win. Fortunately, the Jets can’t get more embarrassing than this, right? Right?!?

The Celtics pull up to the White House. Boston celebrated its 2024 NBA championship with President Biden, who naturally busted out a Red Auerbach reference about the Celtics being a way of life. No lies detected.

WHAT’S ON TAP TODAY

Derrick White gets teammate-zoned

A Hall-of-Fame trio?

Maye’s top marks

LET’S GET INTO IT…

LEADING OFF

The Bruins’ Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year

Image: Danielle Parhizkaran/Boston Globe

The Bruins’ 2024-25 season has been a mess. They might not have been a Stanley Cup favorite heading into the season, but being this bad wasn’t on the bingo card. The B’s currently sit at 8-9-3 with appalling stats like:

• The second-least goals scored per game (2.4) and the fifth-most goals allowed per contest (3.45)
• A league-worst power play percentage (11.7)
• The most penalty minutes in the NHL (233)
• A minus-21 goal differential — the third-worst mark in the league behind the lowly Sharks and Penguins

To sum up, the Bruins can’t light the lamp, can’t keep pucks out of their own net, and are spending way too much time in the sin bin.

These Bruins join a long list of let-downs in Boston sports. The only positive: we’ve seen bigger disappointments around here.

Jim Montgomery paid the price for it. Something had to change, and Boston decided that “something” was its coach. The team fired Montgomery on Tuesday just a few months into his third season, replacing him on an interim basis with associate coach Joe Sacco. Fittingly, one of Montgomery’s final acts was jawing with captain Brad Marchand, with whom the coach had had multiple spats already. Clearly, Montgomery’s message wasn’t getting through anymore.

But he wasn’t the only issue. Coaching decisions can only affect a game so much. Eventually, players have to step up. High-priced free agents Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov haven’t pulled their weight. Newly paid franchise goalie Jeremy Swayman has been a turnstile. All-Star David Pastrnak has just three 5-on-5 goals in 20 games. It simply wasn’t good enough.

The pressure is now on the players and management. The talented (on paper) Bruins roster needs direction, and Montgomery struggled to provide it this year. Still, Sacco’s promotion (or a subsequent outside coaching hire) isn’t going to right the ship. It’s going to fall on the players themselves to snap out of this extended malaise. If not, more measures will need to be taken by GM Don Sweeney — who is also feeling the heat after lackluster offseason returns.

BOSTON SPORTS

Quick hits & headlines

Image: CLNS Media

👨🏾‍🤝‍👨🏽 Jayson Tatum and Derrick White’s bromance hits a snag. White was crushed when a reporter called Al Horford Tatum’s favorite teammate at the podium after Tuesday’s win over the undefeated Cavs. All those headband days and inside jokes only earn you “second-favorite teammate” honors.

⭐ Three Pats move on in Hall-of-Fame voting. The Pro Football Hall of Fame named Rodney Harrison, Vince Wilfork, and Adam Vinatieri among their 25 semi-finalists for induction next year. Kickers don’t usually get in, but most kickers didn’t hit game-winners in two Super Bowls — not to mention the Snow Bowl.

🏥 Cole Strange returns to practice. The Patriots’ 2022 first-round pick finally took the field this week after a long recovery from off-season knee surgery. As it turns out, the Pats could use some help at his old left guard spot as well as at center. “Strange” coincidence …

💯 Drake Maye gets an “A.” ESPN’s Ben Solak anointed Maye and rookie sensation Jayden Daniels the kings of the rookie QB class on Tuesday. Even with New England’s struggles, the buzz about the Patriots’ 22-year-old rookie continues to grow. Not bad for a guy some pundits thought would die behind this offensive line, eh?

🏆 Chris Sale wins NL Cy Young Award. The former Red Sox lefty made the right choice keeping off the bike lanes in Atlanta. He pulled off the pitching Triple Crown in his first year with the Braves — leading the National League in wins (18), ERA (1.38), and strikeouts (225). At least we’ll always have that World Series-winning punchout of Manny Machado in 2018.

THEY SAID IT, NOT ME

Drake Maye, the philosopher

AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

Football is easy, and people are complicated.

Maye on simplifying the game of football

Society is betting on you to lose. Well, I’m betting on you to win.

Jaylen Brown on the young people he mentors in the Brown’s Bridge Program

You hate to see a coach go through that but we all get hired to get fired.

Joe Mazzulla on Bruins coach Jim Montgomery’s firing

GAME … SET … MEME