Connelly Top Ten - Sox Fans Disguised as Red Seats / Tatum Misses Again / RIP SI

?

1. Red Sox ticket sales

?

* Attendance has declined on average by 2% the last four years?

* If tickets sales are down by 6% this year - it will be the first time under 2,500,000 since 1999

* In 2009, Sox drew 3,062,000 - they are on pace to lose 500,000 fans in just over a decade that 6,172 fans a game

?

2. Around the NFL -

?

* How tough is to game plan against Ravens - Spy on Lamar Jackson and take away Flowers

* Not only are teams pushing their runners forward - refs are letting players pull the player forward?

* Every Bills game is a nightmare for Buffalo Chamber of Commerce and Tourism

* Green Bay got passive on defense - always attack

* NFL rule - If Kelce makes a catch you must show Taylor Swift

* Nothing cracks me up like a receiver celebrating a meaningless reception not knowing there is a flag behind them

?

3. Coaches who were glad their star left

?

* Spoelstra lost Lebron

* LaFleur last Aaron Rodgers

* Jim Leyland lost Barry Bonds?

* Francona lost Manny?

?

4. Does anyone care over at the Heights???

?

* Boston College basketball has not been ranked in Top 20 once in 15 years / football not much better - ranked in Top 20 just ONE WEEK? (17th):

*?Same 12 months of 1984 - Football was ranked 4th / Basketball was ranked 6th?

?

5. Harvard Football in 1919

?

* 9-0-1 tie with Princeton

* Beat Bates, Coby, Tufts by a combined score of 111-0

* Beat BC and Virginia 64-0

* Beat Oregon in Rose Bowl 7-6

?

6. Amazing Stat - Canadiens losing seasons

?

* 1948 to 1994 - ZERO

* 2014 to 2023 - SEVEN

?

7. Old School - Watched a 1960's Bruins game on YouTube - some thoughts:

?

* The game was better without helmets

* Johnnie McKenzie was Marchand before Marchand - Pie had 369 pro goals 518 assists / 1,542 penalty minutes

* Love the changes NHL made on tying up the puck?

* Top Ten reader Ian O'Connor won't like this, but Orr was amazing blocking shots - Gretzky would have been floating at center ice under his Jofa helmet looking for a loose puck when Orr was throwing his face in front of slap shots

?

8. Just a Little Bit Outside - Sports Illustrated is done - great local covers

?

* Patriots - Bruschi - Defense Rules (1/24/05) / Hannah - The Best (8/3/81) / Harrison - Super Bowl (2/14/05) / Brady - Amazing (2/13/02)

* Bruins - Boston's Mighty Orr (5/4/70)

* Celtics - Celtic Pride (6/8/87) / Russell - Boston's Old Guard (4/28/69) / Rondo Power (5/31/10) / Cousy - Basketball Genius (1/9/56)

* Red Sox - Fisk punches Pinella (5/31/76) / Ted Williams kneeling on deck (8/1/55) / Tony C's black eye (6/22/70) / Yaz swinging (8/21/67) / Amazing Pedro 4/20/98

* Other - Marathon Bombing (4/22//13) / Flutie Little Big Man (9/26/83) / Bill Curley - Take That Tar Heels (3/28/94) / Hagler - Mr Tough Guy (3/24/86)

?

10. Randomocity?

?

* James Oglethorpe designed the Savannah squares in 1742 - we couldn't even properly design the Seaport in 2010 - 268 years later (so much for technology advances)

* Spoiler alert - American Nightmare on Netflix is mind boggling - law enforcement disgrace

* Didn't know there were rampant race issues in the Patriots organization - surprised that an industrious beat writer didn't break this story?

* Tatum missed yet another last second shot (tried to tell you) - White then Porzingis then Holiday then Brown then Tatum

* Imagine the obesity trajectory on a graph - post television invention, then post video games, they post streaming services

* Its award season - Golden Globes, Oscars, Bafta, Emmy's, Etc - where people who do nothing for society spend millions of dollars on clothes, jewelry, parties and tell each other how awesome they are

* Ironic that the older runner, Bill Iffrig, on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Boston Marathon bombing Cover would die on the same day that Sports Illustrated would die?