BSJ Daily Briefing 04.02.18: Promising news on Gronk? Bruins & Celtics just never stop coming, Sox' soft opening

Good morning!

A few thoughts while I don't mention anything about the snow falling outside on April 2....

• So I guess the big news over the weekend was Jeff Darlington's story from the Gronk camp that the tight end is "pretty certain" he'll come back if Tom Brady is as well. Since there's basically zero chance of Brady not returning — I don't care how bad things may be between Bill Belichick and Brady, there's no way QB1 quits on Robert Kraft — that's good news.


• But what's the deal with all the caveats on the story? Lingering frustrations remain between Gronkowski and Belichick ... those frustrations could impact Gronkowski's return to the team. ... For Gronkowski, the physical anguish of the 2017 season, which led him late in the regular season to tell people that he was likely to retire ... If Gronkowski and Belichick don't come to an understanding before the end of the month, all bets are off and all options are on the table.


• Two newsy items — Belichick privately questioning whether or not Gronkowski is "all in," and the coach being upset with some of his players' Instagram activities — I've heard those as well. The "all in" part is some of the reason why I decided to explore Gronkowski's trade market as part of due diligence. Doubt he gets traded but it's something you can't rule out and have to be prepared for.


• The mental toughness that the Bruins show game after game is probably the most enduring quality for this team. All the injuries, tough stretches of the schedule ... and they just never stop. Like yesterday in Philadelphia. Scrambling all over the zone to keep the puck in, and then Patrice Bergeron scores with 4 seconds left. They lost in overtime, but those Bruins have no quit – and I think it's because Bruce Cassidy just doesn't accept anything less. If Claude Julien was still coaching this team, Sunday would have been a 5-1 loss.


• Of course, the Celtics are no slouches either. Brad Stevens has his team 6-0 without Kyrie Irving (and seemingly a host of others). I've covered other teams in other markets where all you would hear is whining from the coach about injuries and the schedule. Cassidy and Stevens don't give that nonsense any air.


• The Red Sox' recovery has been nice, but not sure how we're supposed to the judge the team with nine games against the Rays and Marlins to open the season. Those teams are terrible. ... At least the Yankees come to town on April 10.

I’ve watched this thirty times.

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— Downtown Josh Brown (@ReformedBroker) April 2, 2018

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