Yup, that’s his name. Who is he and where did he come from? He’s Richard Fitts, and he comes from the funniest set of parents in all of Jefferson County, Alabama. Though in a baseball sense, he comes from . . . the New York Yankees. The Red Sox sent Alex Verdugo to the Bronx for Fitts and two other young arms in an extremely rare trade between the two biggest rivals in North American sports. Since divisional play began in 1969, this is just the ninth trade conducted between the Sox and Yankees. The very first of these deals explains why they are so rare: the Sox traded ..read more

Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via The B’s will try to continue good habits set from the last few games tonight. Just the facts When: Tonight, 7 PM Where: TD Garden — Boston, MA How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub Opposing perspective: Die By The Blade Know your enemy 10-14-2, 22PTS, 7th in Atlantic Division Casey Mittelstadt: 6G-16A-22PTS; Rasmus Dahlin: 6G-15A-21PTS; Jeff Skinner: 11G-9A-20PTS Devon Levi: 3-4-1, 3.73 GAA, .876 save percentage Game notes The Boston Bruins are back in action to continue their homestand tonight against the Buffalo Sabres! It ..read more

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports The Steelers field a potent and versatile duo of running backs. Despite their 2-10 record, not all is bad about the 2023 New England Patriots. The team of head coach Bill Belichick, for example, features one of the best defenses in the league — a unit that has looked particularly good stopping the run. In fact, when looking at the expected points added metric (EPA), no team in football is better at doing that than the Patriots: New England is ranked first in the league, giving up an EPA of -0.216 per run play this season. The team has ..read more

Photo by Kevin Sabitus/ The Patriots will take on the 7-5 Steelers on Thursday Night Football. Week 14 of the 2023 NFL season will feature some marquee matchups, but the game to kick off the action is not one of them: the 7-5 Pittsburgh Steelers will play host to the 2-10 New England Patriots on Thursday night. While the two teams field some of the best defenses in football, their offensive counterparts have had their issues so far this season. Their primetime meeting will see both teams rely on backup quarterbacks, for example. Whereas the Patriots benched struggling ..read more

Over the last couple of weeks, the Boston Bruins have certainly had their ups and downs. They went through a stretch of losing four out of five games, then bounced ..read more

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports Consider this more a movie review that basketball analysis. These Celtics are a hard watch. Obviously, this isn’t about the winning. They’re 15-5 with room to grow. It would be disingenuous to argue against a style that has vaulted them to the top of the NBA. This isn’t about the (occasional) losing either. They’re out of the In-Season Tournament after 15 turnovers and 12-of-21 from behind the arc buried them against the Pacers on Monday night. There’s no point in overanalyzing what is likely a blip in their regular season ..read more

Zeke Elliot prepared to take the bulk of RB duties tonight. | David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports Daily news and links for Thursday. TEAM TALK Patriots-Steelers updated Injury Report. Evan Lazar analyzes who will step up at running back without Rhamondre Stevenson vs. the Steelers? What they’re saying: Pittsburgh Steelers. Gillette Stadium will host the 2023 Army-Navy game for the first time ever this Saturday, Dec. 9. Press Conference: Bill Belichick. Patriots Unfiltered on TV: Chargers Recap, Steelers Preview, Lawrence Guy 1-on-1. (22 min. video) Belestrator ..read more

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports We’re still alive! Playoffs, here we come! Since tonight’s game is likely going to be extremely painful to watch, I thought I’d lighten the mood around here with some pure, unadulterated comedy: The New England Patriots are still alive in the playoff hunt. Now that you’re done laughing, let’s get to business. Of course, everything could change with a loss tonight, but as of right now, the Pats can technically still make the postseason. They just need absolutely absurd number of other things to all go their way in order for that ..read more

Mike Onwenu wanted Patriots fans to know he wasn’t dissing Mac Jones in one viral clip from Sunday’s loss to the New York Giants. The video, from FOX’s game broadcast, showed Onwenu shoulder-bumping Jones as the quarterback walked off the field following one of his two interceptions in New England’s 10-7 defeat at MetLife Stadium ..read more

During the New England Patriots’ loss to the New York Giants, video was captured of offensive tackle Michael Onwenu bumping into quarterback Mac Jones as he exited the field. The gesture left some room for interpretation, but Onwenu took to social media after the game to clarify: there was no malicious intent. “False narrative,” he wrote on the platform formerly known as Twitter. “This is me telling Mac to keep his head up. Not bumping him intentionally.” Jones threw a pair of interceptions against the Giants, and was benched at halftime in favor of backup Bailey ..read more