Here's something we never thought of: the Patriots' (hopeful) victory parade would have to be on Tuesday, thus conflicting with the Massachusetts primary. The team won't be back on Monday, and most of them have to go to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii on Wednesday. So Tuesday (and not AFTER the Pro Bowl, which would just be crazy talk) it is. "We have to have a plan," saidMayor Menino. "I'm just thinking about it; I......

We are optimistic about many things. We're optimistic about the Bruins' chances when it comes to the Stanley Cup. We're optimistic that the Red Sox will manage to land Johan Santana while keeping Jacoby Ellsbury on the roster. We're optimistic that the San Diego Charges will, after being defeated soundly at Gillette on Sunday, line up as a team at the 50-yard-line and bow down before Brady and Moss. We can be optimistic all we......

The baseball winter meetings are over, and the Red Sox find themselves without an ace. Except for the one they have. And the Japanese guy who might yet become one. And the old cowboy back for one more year. And the two or three promising kids who might be a couple years away. But they haven't landed Johan Santana, which is either a failure (if they really were after Santana) or a success (if their......

Forget for a moment the questions still lingering around the Red Sox. We know about those. Let's take a brief look at the angst-ridden article in today's LA Times about the myriad questions swirling around our first-round opponents, the AnaheimOrWhatever Angels. They don't know who's starting when (OK, neither do we). Two of their key sluggers, Vlad Guerrero and Gary Matthews, are nursing injuries and may not be 100% (hey, just like Manny!). Will their......

Normally, we avoid Saturday Night Live like the plague because it just isn't funny. And we avoid Peyton Manning like the plague like any good Patriots fan. However, we saw clips of Peyton Manning on Saturday Night Live, and we were floored. We were laughing, and there's good reason why this athlete-service spoof is getting aired all over the place: The Bruins lost another one in a big way. The Pittsburgh Penguins took 'em down......

The Ron Borges been-caught-stealin' story ain't over. The Globe reporter who was suspended for two months without pay for taking content from the Tacoma News Tribune has stirred up quite the ethical debate over at Deadspin. Deadspin has drawn the line between "pooling" content and stealing content, and Borges definitely did the latter. One reporter offered the "we did this in the '80s" defense. Well, not everything from the '80s was a good idea. Exhibit......

With both local winter teams off Monday, all the local attention could focus on Globe writer Ron Borges, who was benched for two months for plagiarizing a Seattle writer in his Sunday football column. (Deadspin has the passages in question.) When asked for a quote, Borges said (not really): "'Tis a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done." Good news in Florida, as Jon Lester got back on the mound......

Well, don't you all feel better? The centerfield and shortstop holes have been filled, and the Olde Towne Team is shaping up. After an arduous and sketchy month or so, the Sox finally came to terms with the Cleveland Indians, acquiring highly touted Coco Crisp, relief pitcher David Riske, and backup Catcher Josh Bard. The Sox sent the Indians 3rd base prospect Andy Marte, catcher Kelly Shoppach, relief pitcher Guillermo Mota, a player to......

The Olde Towne Team, which in recent months has been in GM hell, has finally begun wheeling and dealing this off-season in preparations for the 2006 campaign. Peter Gammons of ESPN.com is reporting that the Boston Red Sox have tentatively agreed to a deal with the Florida Marlins (pending physical examinations) that would send stud starting pitcher Josh Beckett and contract liability Mike Lowell to Boston for 2 top prospects (Hanley Ramirez SS, and......