Matt Vautour: Al Horford was a good player, but a great Celtic
Meeting with the media earlier this week, Brad Stevens admitted, for financial reasons, it was unlikely that Horford would be back.
He's pondering retirement while considering offers from the Warriors and Lakers.
In a Celtics franchise whose history boasts some of the best players in the history of basketball, Horford was a good player.
He was never a superstar or the face of the franchise. He averaged 11.2 points per game over his seven seasons in Boston and never more than 14.0 per game. Only one of his five All-Star selections came with Boston.
But he impacted the Celtics nonetheless.
In 2016, when he signed with Boston, which has historically struggled to land free agents, he gave the Celtics valuable credibility. It was the first piece of the building process that turned the franchise back into a perennial contender. A year later, they signed Gordon Hayward and traded for Kyrie Irving.
Because of Hayward's injury and Irving's immaturity, those two didn't become the franchise-leading stars the Celtics had hoped they'd be. Still, the team continued to rise and Horford was a big reason why.
Horford emerged as a mentor and steadying presence for Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who did evolve into the superstar tentpoles for last year's championship.
Horford's professionalism, sacrifice and work ethic will be reflected in his younger teammates, long after he hangs up his high tops.
'Another guy that if he were to go and play somewhere else — I think Al's an all-time Celtic and a winner and did everything he could for this organization,' Brad Stevens said. 'Not only from the games, but also how he impacted our younger players.'
Outtakes from a busy week...
What do Messi, Clark, Ohtani and the Savannah Bananas have in common?
At first glance, this should be a slow time on the sports calendar. Patriots camp is still few weeks off and baseball is in its pre-trade deadline, pre-pennant race stretch.
But in Massachusetts, which has had a disappointing year for the local pro teams, July 2025 is showcasing visitors ranging from zany to iconic:
Lionel Messi — New England Revolution coach Caleb Porter called the Inter Miami star the best player of all time. Messi vs. Pele is a terrific debate that will keep happening for years to come. But whether Messi is No. 1 or No. 2, he's still a legend who was at Gillette Stadium on Wednesday and drew a huge crowd to Foxborough to see him.
Caitlin Clark — Clark is neither the greatest player of all time or the greatest player in the WNBA right now. But she's a star who is early in her climb. And her popularity in college has made her one of the most recognizable players and the biggest box office draws in the WNBA.
Boston only hosts one Connecticut Sun game per year, so to get Clark at TD Garden on Tuesday is a big deal.
Shohei Ohtani — There's no guarantee that he'll pitch, but baseball's power-hitting ace and the rest of the World Series-winning Dodgers will be at Fenway Park from July 25-27.
Savannah Bananas — The barnstorming baseball circus remains one of the toughest tickets in all of sports. The novelty of the Harlem Globetrotter-style, rule-changing baseball club hasn't worn off. The Bananas sold out Fenway on back-to-back days on Fourth of July weekend.
July continues an already good year.
In addition to annual visitors Connor McDavid and LeBron James, Boston hosted the World Figure Skating Championships, and a terrific NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, which featured an overtime classic between USA vs. Canada.
Alex Ovechkin visited just before breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL career goal record and the 2025 Beanpot was especially loaded with future NHL players.
French kissing doping scandal
Ysaora Thibus is a silver medal-winning fencer, but a gold-medal caliber baloney-slinger.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport overturned her four-year doping suspension for a positive test in January.
Why?
The CAS said it was in fact plausible that her positive test for Ostarine was caused by kissing her boyfriend repeatedly, who was using the banned substance.
So in the future, as long as an athlete's significant other is using performance enhancers, they've got an alibi for a positive test? Given the notorious lore of the 'mingling' at the Olympic village, it's a wonder that more people don't test positive if smooching is all it takes.
Why didn't A-Rod think of that?
That is the best excuse to dodge punishment since I successfully fought a speeding ticket incurred while running an errand the day before I got married.
'Officer, there's no way I was driving that fast because I didn't want to get back to the house and all the pre-wedding chaos happening there.'
Dismissed.
Real Jeopardy! Clue
Sports clues from actual editions of America's favorite quiz show. As always, mind the date
CATEGORY: THERE ONCE WAS THIS MAN FROM...- $200: Dec. 11, 2019
Brazil / Who kicked a ball with some skill / Finding the holes / Scored 1,200-plus goals / & gave us 2 decades of thrill
— Answer below
The Top 5
We'll call these the Cal Raleigh All-Stars.
5 - Juan Pierre
4 - Jeff Montgomery
3 - Cal Raleigh
2 - Oscar Charleston
1 - Jacksons - Reggie, Shoeless Joe, Bo
Today in Boston Sports History
July 11
1914 — Babe Ruth makes pitching debut for the Boston Red Sox against Cleveland, getting the 4-3 victory over the Indians.
Lightning round
Caitlin Clark is David Pastrnak. Angel Reese is Cam Neely.
If Missouri pitcher Sam Horn, a projected early-round pick in next week's MLB Draft is selected by the Red Sox, he could be celebrated on the Sons of Sam Horn despite not being the son of Sam Horn.
In related news, Celtics Summer League big Kenny Lofton Jr. is the son of Kenny Lofton, but not THAT Kenny Lofton.
MLB Pipeline's No. 44-ranked draft prospect is a player named Jack Bauer, a lefty pitcher from Indiana. His jersey number is exactly what you think it is.
Even if Juan Soto was kidding when he complained about missing his All-Star bonus, when you sign a $765 million contract, there are no funny jokes about missing a check.
If you missed ESPN's SportsCenter feature on Ezra French, USC's amazing disabled track star, read his story here.
Real Jeopardy! Question:
Who is Pele?
Finally...
Happy National French Fry Day to those who celebrate.
Read the original article on MassLive.
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17 minutes ago
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‘They're absolutely underpaid': Economists weigh in on WNBA labor showdown
They chatted over breakfast the morning of the WNBA all-star game. Some of the players who have led the fight to overhaul the WNBA's financial structure held an impromptu meeting early last Saturday to air out their frustrations over how labor negotiations with the league had stalled. Out of that conversation came the idea for a bold new approach to the WNBA's labor standoff. Players decided that it was time to stop bargaining primarily behind closed doors and to instead bring their message to the masses. Later that same day, players union leaders gave every WNBA all-star a black T-shirt with the slogan 'Pay Us What You Owe Us' emblazoned in white letters across the front. The all-stars unanimously donned those shirts during pregame warmups in front of a sellout crowd of nearly 17,000 and millions more viewers watching from home on ABC. 'The players are what is building this brand,' all-star game MVP and players union vice president Napheesa Collier said Saturday. 'We feel like we're owed a piece of that pie that we helped create.' Collier's comments come at a time of unprecedented growth for the WNBA, accelerated by the popularity of Caitlin Clark and other recent high-profile college stars. The league had a record 2024 season with historic viewership, attendance and merchandise sales. Expansion teams will debut in Toronto, Portland, Philadelphia, Detroit and Cleveland over the next five years. In 2026, the league will begin an 11-year media rights deal worth a reported $2.2 billion. Eager to cash in on that influx of revenue, the players union opted out of its collective bargaining agreement with the league last year and now must negotiate a new deal before the current one expires on October 31. Players are seeking a drastically improved revenue sharing model that would allow their salaries to grow as the league does. The league has scarcely acknowledged those proposals during early bargaining sessions, players have complained. The distance between the union and the league is vast enough that it raises the question: Who's right? Are WNBA players as grossly underpaid as they claim? Or are they asking for too much given the WNBA's history of unprofitability and the potential fragility of its recent rapid surge in popularity? For the past year, Harvard economics professor and 2023 Nobel Prize winner Claudia Goldin has been advising the WNBA players union in collective bargaining. Last month, Goldin penned a guest essay in the New York Times entitled 'How Underpaid Are WNBA Players? It's Embarrassing.' After examining TV ratings, attendance data and other metrics, Goldin estimated that the average WNBA salary should be 'roughly one-quarter to one-third of the average NBA salary to achieve pay equity.' In reality, WNBA salaries currently range from the league minimum of $66,079 to a maximum of $249,244. That's not in the same stratosphere as the NBA, where the league minimum is $1.27 million and the highest-paid superstars will earn more than $50 million apiece next season. 'How could that be?' wrote Goldin. 'The most likely explanation is that the WNBA is not receiving the full value it contributes to the combined NBA and WNBA enterprise revenue.' Three other sports economists who spoke to Yahoo Sports agreed with Goldin's assessment that WNBA players are not being paid what they deserve. As evidence, they pointed to the fact that about 50% of the NBA's revenue goes to player salary and that WNBA players take home a miniscule percentage of their league's revenue by comparison. 'Even without knowing the exact revenues of the WNBA, we know they're certainly not making even close to 50%,' University of San Francisco professor of sports management Nola Agha told Yahoo Sports. 'So they're absolutely underpaid.' 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Fans Stir Bam Adebayo Trade Rumors After Sighting With Pau Gasol At WNBA All-Star Game
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