Boston.com

Red Sox’ Rafael Devers leaves game with knee discomfort, might need imaging

The hits keep on coming for the Red Sox.

A Boston roster already decimated by injuries so far in 2024 received more bad news on Tuesday, as star third baseman Rafael Devers exited the team’s eventual 10-7 loss to the Cleveland Guardians due to knee discomfort.

Speaking after the loss, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said that the team might have to take a closer look at Devers’ knee — with more updates available on Wednesday.

“We’re discussing if we’re going to take imaging, just to make sure everything is ok,” Cora said. “It came out of nowhere. There was a play he made in the seventh… He felt it there. We’ll know more tomorrow.”

Devers, who went 1-for-2 at the plate on Tuesday with two walks and a two-run double, exited the game in the top of the eighth inning — with Bobby Dalbec replacing him at third base.

Red Sox starter Garrett Whitlock also exited Tuesday’s game early — leaving after just four innings and 56 pitches due to left oblique tightness. The righty noted after the game Boston’s decision to take him out of the game was more of a “precautionary” move.

It’s already been a difficult season for the 27-year-old Devers, who missed four straight games last week while resting a nagging shoulder injury. He is batting just .205 so far this season, with two home runs and five RBI.

NFL execs offer mixed reviews on potential Patriots draft pick Drake Maye

With the Patriots holding onto the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, there stands a good chance that UNC QB Drake Maye will be on the board when New England lands on the clock.

It’d be a welcome development for the Patriots, who are in desperate need of a game-changing talent at quarterback in 2024 and beyond.

Maye — who has held court as a viable top-five pick in the 2024 draft class for months now — does fit the billing for New England, given his pro-ready frame, strong arm, and potential for further growth.

But that doesn’t mean Maye is a slam-dunk pick for the Patriots if he’s available at No. 3, with several NFL executives offering both high praise and some sobering concerns about the young QB in a new piece from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. 

Fowler placed 11 quarterbacks in this draft class in different tiers as part of his new story, with Maye landing in “Tier 2” alongside LSU’s Jayden Daniels. USC’s Caleb Williams was the lone entrant in Fowler’s “Tier 1” designation, while Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy was placed in “Tier 2.5.”

As far as Maye’s NFL comparisons, scouts and execs tabbed the UNC signal-caller as similar to Josh Allen (with less arm strength) and Carson Wentz.

“Extremely gifted athlete, best size of all the guys — confident he’s still developing with enormous upside,” one executive told Fowler of Maye’s potential. “Can make all of the throws and is a very good athlete to create on his own as a runner and passer. Highly competitive. He’s got star potential.”

Even with his appealing skillset, another staffer told Fowler that Maye might need some seasoning before taking the reins of an NFL offense.

“Huge upside, but way more of a project than he appears to be,” an NFL coordinator told Fowler. “Footwork all over the place, same with his eyes. Kind of just makes plays off raw talent and athleticism. Thought he would be much more polished.”

Granted, the Patriots may not necessarily be in a rush to throw Maye into the fire if they draft him. Not only do they have veteran QB Jacoby Brissett in place to serve as a potential bridge starter in 2024, but New England may want to further build up their roster in 2024 and 2025 before giving Maye the keys to the team. 

“He does need some time, and there will be growing pains, but you take him because he has the most upside of everybody,” one high-ranking NFL staffer told Fowler. “There’s major ability there. I worry that if you take him and you don’t have a supporting cast and a good offensive line or receivers and he has to play right away, he will struggle early.”

Even though New England could shore up its offensive line and receiving corps via the draft, the Patriots don’t exactly boast a roster conducive to easing a rookie QB into the NFL — at least when it comes to both pass protection and weapons on offense.

Takeaways: Another Bruins-Maple Leafs series awaits

The first 82 are now a distant memory.

The next goal for the Boston Bruins: 16 postseason victories.

Jim Montgomery’s club secured their first-round matchup with the Toronto Maple Leafs following Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators. Here’s what we learned from Boston’s regular-season finale.

Another first-round matchup with the Maple Leafs awaits

The Bruins’ loss to Ottawa and the Panthers’ win over the Maple Leafs confirmed the latest playoff meeting between the two Original Six squads.

Come Saturday night, the Bruins and Leafs will renew postseason acquaintances for the first time since 2019. Before that, they met in Round 1 in 2013 and 2018. All three meetings resulted in the Bruins winning in seven games.

At some point, the Leafs are due to finally defeat the Bruins in a seven-game series. Over the last few years, they’ve established a top-tier core featuring Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and Morgan Reilly. A productive supporting cast featuring former Bruin Tyler Bertuzzi, Matthew Knies and Max Domi (to name a few) provided timely secondary scoring of late, allowing the Leafs to post a productive plus-38 goal differential at 5v5.

Yet, Toronto’s defense and goaltending remain a glaring concern. The Bruins chased their starter, Ilya Samsonov, after he fell asleep on Craig Smith’s winner in double overtime during Game 3 of their first-round series with Washington in 2021.

Samsonov and the Leafs may have finally earned their first series win in nearly 20 years against Tampa a year ago. But until the Leafs significantly improve their back end, they’ll remain a team on the outside looking in at serious Cup contention.

This transitional Bruins squad won’t take the Leafs lightly, even after sweeping the four regular-season matchups. After all, Toronto had Boston on the ropes only to fall short in three bitter Game 7 setbacks.

Either way, the Bruins hope to showcase a similar urgency in the third, resulting in Pavel Zacha cutting Ottawa’s lead to 2-1 with a needed power-play tally. Otherwise, a flat outing similar to Monday’s tilt in Washington or the first 40 minutes from Tuesday will put them in an early hole.

“Disappointed in it,” Montgomery said of Boston’s effort against Ottawa. “But I do like the fact that we got better every period, and the third period was a good brand of hockey. It’s something we can be confident about going into our preparation for the playoffs.”

Jack Edwards calls his final regular season game

For 19 years, the Hub accustomed themselves accordingly to the voice of Jack Edwards. On Tuesday, the longtime NESN play-by-play occupant announced his retirement from the broadcast booth effective at the end of Boston’s postseason.

“A congratulations to Jack Edwards on a tremendous career and personally disappointed that he’s retiring, but really happy for him,” Montgomery said. “He’s a Bruins icon and a big part of the Black and Gold tradition with what he’s done over a tremendous career.”

At times, Edwards’ homerism and over-the-top commentary may have rubbed some fans, critics, and even opposing players the wrong way. But his passion and love for his hometown team went unmatched, earning him plenty of praise from a well-informed Boston fanbase.

Bruins fans echoed their respect ahead of puck drop as the organization honored Edwards with a gold stick and other gifts for his nearly two decades of service. After the tribute, Edwards stuck around to announce the winner of this year’s NESN’s 7th Player Award.

Edwards, who opened up about his speech issues from the past few seasons to The Boston Globe‘s Chad Finn, will remain on the mic for Boston’s first-round series.

Trent Frederic voted in as 7th Player Award recipient

The criteria for NESN’s 7th Player Award involves a fan vote for a Bruin who they feel performed above and beyond expectations.

A handful of candidates fit that description during Boston’s centennial season. But Danton Heinen became the likely favorite to take home this year’s distinction after earning his roster spot as a training camp invitee and performing well in various roles on both wings throughout all four forward trios.

Frederic also appeared on the shortlist of candidates. But overtaking Heinen came as a surprise to some.

Still, Frederic fit the seventh-player mold, improving his shot selection and creating a solid net-front presence in Boston’s middle-six. After a breakout season last year, Frederic picked up where he left off, posting career highs in every offensive category (18 goals, 22 assists, 40 points) in 82 games played.

“I just wanted to be better than I was last year and just wanted to keep improving my game,” Frederic said of the honor. “I think I worked on a lot of stuff this summer and just tried to get better every day.”

The Bruins would love nothing more than to have Frederic’s motor running early against Toronto. The 2016 first-round selection saw his offensive production dry up over the final 10 games of the regular season, tallying a goal and an assist over that stretch.

Waltham’s ‘amusement park’ plan on Fernald School land draws criticism and praise

The Walter E. Fernald State School in Waltham has a controversial history dating back to the 1880s as the Western Hemisphere’s first state school for people with intellectual disabilities. Now, Waltham’s plans to turn it into an “amusement park” have been met with both outrage and support.

The Fernald, which closed in 2014, moved to Trapelo Road in Waltham in the 1880s and housed around 2,600 residents at its peak in the 1960s. Residents were abused, malnourished, and neglected. Some incarcerated residents weren’t disabled and were forced to work for the school to save money, according to the City of Waltham. 

Some boys were even fed radioactive isotopes in their oatmeal — a notorious science project conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with Quaker Oats.

Fernald closes, Waltham acquires in 2014

The sprawling 200-acre property had more than 70 buildings before Waltham spent $3.7 million in 2014 to buy the land, mostly with Community Preservation Act funds, saying it intends to use it for open space recreation and historic preservation.

A large, “ambitious” project was approved in 2022 — complete with an electric train, mini golf, open green space, tennis and pickleball courts, a massive athletic complex, eight parking lots, an amphitheater, and a universal playground for children with disabilities.

Electric train rendering from the City of Waltham.

One city councilor said the electric train gives justification to call the project an “amusement park,” which another said is “abhorrent.”

“Using this type of language is an insult to the many children and adults of all abilities and non-abilities who yearn for a park just like this,” City Councilor Joey LaCava said in December. “This abhorrent behavior should not be tolerated.”

A petition with nearly 1,000 signatures alleges that the city hasn’t taken proper care of the site. The Fernald, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been defaced repeatedly by vandals, and the City has already demolished about 25 buildings on the site.

The Boston Globe also reported on confidential Massachusetts State Police reports left strewn about the Fernald, and another writer described patient files all around the campus.

“This is not what people asked for,” former City Councilor Jonathan Paz said in December. “I have not once heard someone say, ‘The best thing to do in a place where historical injustices happened is to put an amusement park.'”

In October of 2023, the city said that open space along Trapelo Road with a large pond and wetlands was restored. The city said two parcels on the northern part of the property would be next.

Petition accuses Waltham of low-profile meetings, while councilors say it’s been decades in the making

At a Waltham City Council meeting in December, members approved $9.5 million loan authorization for the “Universal and Memorial areas of the property.” The 16.6 acres will have a memorial for the school’s former residents, a universal play area, a spray park, the electric train, and a 18-hole mini golf course.

A memorial for the residents of the Fernald will include “historical information, seating, flag pole, plantings sea walls, and brail (sic.) trail.” The City of Waltham said the “Guardians of the former Fernald school” consulted for the memorial, which some said is too small.

Residents have raised concerns of transparency, multiple city councilors said at December’s meeting. Former City Councilor George Darcy said abutters weren’t involved in the final plan. Residents were told they could review three plans, but it never materialized, he said.

City Councilor Sean Durkee replied that the three plans were all combined. Durkee, who voted for the $9.5 million allocation, pointed out that the Fernald Reuse Committee has been meeting since 2004. 

“No one has been denied the opportunity to give input to the Fernald. No one,” Durkee said. “But at some point you have to make a decision.”

The Waltham Recreation Board approved the 2022 plan in an “unusual” summer meeting, which left constituents out of the loop, the petition claims.

“That plan came out in the middle of the summer at a time when the recreation board did not normally meet,” said Diana Young, the former chair of the Waltham Community Preservation Committee.

Public meeting in March

Darcy also called the plan “piecemeal,” which some residents echoed in a March public meeting. Residents lobbied a variety of concerns at the city councilors at the meeting on March 27, from trees to traffic to accessibility to moving Consolidated Public Works onto the property.

Owl Hill, a beloved sledding hill, has also been leveled, residents say, but the plan calls for a sledding hill near the playground. Some said the land should be used for affordable housing, while others spoke positively about the recreation plan.

The city said construction on the 16.6 acres of parks “could commence” in 2024, but there’s no completion date projected.

Bryan Parcival, who worked to photograph the abandoned Fernald, spoke at the public meeting. He said when Waltham bought the property, multiple residential buildings could’ve been converted into housing almost immediately. There was also a fully functioning hospital on the site before Waltham cut the water and power.

“None of those original residential buildings, save one North Hall, can be easily repurposed at this point,” Parcival said, who spoke in favor of preserving the historic buildings. “There was a missed opportunity.”

Bruins drop final regular season game, will play Maple Leafs in 1st round of Stanley Cup Playoffs

A tale as old as time.

Once again, it’s going to be Bruins vs. Maple Leafs in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Bruins locked themselves into a matchup with their Original Six foe on Tuesday after letting their hold on the Atlantic Division slip away in Game 82 of the regular-season docket.


Boston (47-20-15, 109 points) fell to the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden, while the Florida Panthers leapfrogged Boston in the standings after winning their game against Toronto, 5-2.

As a result, the Panthers (51-24-6, 110 points) won the Atlantic Division, and will now play the top Wild Card team in the Eastern Conference in the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Despite relinquishing the divisional crown, there was a compelling case to be made for the Bruins to drop Tuesday’s game in order to face Toronto over a seasoned Tampa Bay team.

The Bruins have historically had Toronto’s number in the postseason, including three seven-game triumphs over the Leafs in 2013, 2018, and 2019.

Some of that postseason success has also carried over into the regular season as of late, with Boston winning its last seven games against Toronto. In their four wins over the Leafs during the 2023-24 regular season, Boston outscored Toronto, 14-7, and cashed in on 30 percent of its power-play opportunities.

Much like the Lightning, the Maple Leafs are still bolstered by one of the best top-six units in the league — headlined by 69-goal scorer Auston Matthews, William Nylander (97 points), and Mitch Marner (84 points).

Toronto is still saddled with a familiar flaw down the other end of the ice, however. The Maple Leafs rank 18th in the NHL in goals against per game (3.13) and 24th overall in terms of penalty-kill percentage at 76.3 percent.

Still, the Maple Leafs are a potent offensive team that will test Boston’s goalie duo of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman — as well as a Bruins’ D-zone structure that has been prone to critical lapses in Grade-A ice this season.

Regardless of whether or not the Bruins were going to draw Toronto or Tampa, Brad Marchand stressed on Tuesday that the team wasn’t changing its postseason approach based on matchups.

“It doesn’t matter who it is throughout the entire playoffs,” Marchand noted. “Everybody’s good. Everyone is in the playoffs for a reason. I mean, you see it every night, you saw it tonight. Doesn’t matter who you play. Any team can win if you’re not prepared to play and that’s the same with playoffs. … It’s gonna be tough regardless.

“But we’re excited. We earned a spot in playoffs and we have an opportunity play for a Cup. And that’s all you want to start to hear. So we’re excited to get going, regardless of who we play.”

Remains of woman last seen in Mass. last month found in New York

The remains of a woman who had been missing since the beginning of March were found near the border of New York and Massachusetts, officials said Tuesday. 

Fae Morgana Barbone’s body was found just off the Taconic Crest Trail in New York, Williamstown police said in a statement. Several agencies were involved in “extensive searches” for Barbone in the days following her disappearance, according to the statement.

Barbone, 40, was last seen in Williamstown, Mass. on March 7, Massachusetts State Police said at the time. Barbone’s car, a black Ford Fiesta, was found parked on a street in Maine on the same day. 

Investigations by New York State Police, Williamstown police, and Abington police are ongoing, WWLP reported. 

Local reports: 9-year-old injured in huge East Boston fire earlier this month has died

A girl who was injured in a major fire earlier this month died at Mass General Hospital on Monday, WCVB 5 reported. 

The family identified the girl to the news station as 9-year-old Ceydi Karina Corrales, who had spent the past two weeks in intensive care at the hospital. 

The fire broke out at a large multi-family building on Meridian Street early in the morning on April 2, Boston fire officials said.  The fire spread to nearby buildings and was quickly elevated to six alarms, prompting a response by more than 130 firefighters. 

One person died the same day and six residents, including Corrales, were transported to local hospitals. The identity of the other victim has not been released. 

Corrales’ family asked a local priest to baptize her in the hospital before removing her from life support, WCVB reported. A funeral mass will be held at Most Holy Redeemer Parish on Saturday, according to the outlet. 

‘I wasn’t myself’: Liam Martin details factors for WBZ departure in essay

Former WBZ anchor Liam Martin is sharing more about why he chose to leave his position at the station last month, penning an essay for Boston magazine in which he detailed how he arrived at the decision to depart from his “dream job.”

Martin, who recently announced that he is joining Boston public relations firm Newsmaker Marketing as partner and chief marketing officer, begins the piece by sharing that despite the success he had achieved professionally, he was suffering from “crippling anxiety and major depression” in recent years.

With his move to Newsmaker Marketing, Martin is teaming up with founder and CEO Jackie Bruno — a former news anchor herself — and partner and president Rachel Robbins. Bruno shared her own experience with burnout in a Boston magazine essay last year.

In his own essay, Martin detailed a moment during the summer of 2022 when he knew he needed help, writing, “‘I wasn’t myself.” 

“On some level, I knew the source of my tailspin,” he wrote. “For months, I had been agonizing over the feeling that I couldn’t be the husband or father I wanted to be. With an overnight schedule, I was gone by the time my kids woke up and often in bed before they went to sleep. And when I was present, I was too tired to be truly present. That came with guilt. And more anxiety. And more depression.”

Martin pointed out that the challenge of balancing parenting priorities with  career aspirations is one that working mothers have been “discussing publicly for years,” but added that there has also been a change in expectations for “what it means to be a good dad.”

It’s one that is long-overdue, he noted.

“We are expected to be more involved,” he wrote. “More hands-on. More sensitive and emotionally connected with our children. More vulnerable with our partners. More engaged with household chores. And that has meant men, too, are increasingly grappling with the serious question of work-life balance. Better put, work-family balance.”

But Martin said men are not speaking openly enough about the pressures faced to both provide and succeed professionally while being the dad or husband they want to be.

“Our inclination is to keep our emotional vulnerabilities secret,” he said.

Martin said with his own realization that he needed help, he turned to a therapist. Working with her, he said he questioned whether he could continue to bear the toll — the physical and mental impacts from his early hours and the conflict with how he wanted to be involved as a parent to his children — from the dream job he’d worked so hard to reach.

Deciding to leave was difficult, he said.

“I loved my coworkers,” Martin wrote. “Truly loved them. And I felt very connected to the viewers, who often tell us it feels like we’re a part of their family. What an incredible honor. But I knew what I wanted my life to look like, and ultimately—for me—it couldn’t look that way while working in TV news.”

Read the full essay in Boston.

In search of a vehicle with a smart parking feature

Q. I’ve gotten no response from several local dealerships in trying to locate a Sportage (or any vehicle) that has remote smart parking. Kia America was not helpful at all in answering our inquiries. We have rather narrow garage door openings, and this feature would be a welcome addition if we can find it. What do you think of this feature? 

A. I have driven several different Hyundai and Kia models with this feature and only once did I really have a use for it. I was parked at a restaurant, and someone parked six inches off my driver’s door. I pushed the button, started the car, and backed the car up to get in. The other times I used this system was more of a novelty, just showing off. Looking on Kia’s website, it appears that the Smart Parking Assist is only available in the premium trim of the Sportage hybrid or plug-in hybrid. The Hyundai Tucson, which is very similar to the Sportage and according to Hyundai’s website does have Smart Park available in non-hybrid models, but in the top-of-the line trim levels. 

Q. I know you have answered this before, but I am looking to purchase a decent OBD code reader or perhaps a scan-tool. What would you recommend for a brand at a reasonable price point?

A. Currently in my toolbox, I have two bi-directional scan tools. One is the Xtool D8, which is a bit pricey at $500, but is as close as you can get to a professional, all make and model scan tool at a competitive price. The other is the Innova 5610 at $400 (there are various models and price points). What is nice about the Innova tools is the compatibility with their Repair Solutions2 app. Once you have the code you can look at real world fixes. For a basic code reader/scan tool I keep a Bluetooth compatible tool from BlueDriver in my car. The BlueDriver is more than a code reader; it can display live data, emissions readiness monitors, and confirmed fixes, all for about $100. TOPDON also makes a Bluetooth code reader scan tool ($60), which I will be testing out in the near future. 

Q. I have a friend that has a Volkswagen that is only a few years old and uses oil at about one quart per 2,500 miles. The dealer has offered no answers. I have owned many cars and never added oil between oil changes. What advice can you offer to my friend? 

A. Volkswagen and Audi have had issues with oil consumption, but consider one quart of oil use in 1,200 miles normal. Since her car is well above that number, there is nothing that Volkswagen will do. Realistically, all engines will use some oil during the normal combustion process, some more than others. Volkswagen has a very long oil change interval of once per year or 10,000 miles, and it is critical especially on this model to check the oil periodically. 

Q. My daughter and I want to do an automotive project together. I’m pretty handy and she is a great student. We have extra space in the garage and a good assortment of tools. We were thinking of something custom (maybe a Mustang or ‘60s sedan) but not overly expensive. Any thoughts? 

A. Go to as many car shows as possible and ask questions about some of the cars you like. Do a little research on YouTube. In fact, teenage carburetor rebuilder RileyRebuilds is on social media building a Ford Fairlane with her dad. The other option is to look at Smyth kit cars. These are kits that can turn a VW Beetle, Dodge Charger, and a few others models into a Ute (pickup truck of sorts). I was at a car show, and someone had a Volkswagen version, and it got more attention than the Porsche 911 parked next to it. Good luck and send me pictures of your project. 

Q. I recently purchased a used Range Rover. It is beautiful inside and ran great until the check engine and temperature lights came on. I limped back home and after a bit of struggling bled some air out of the system. Right now, the engine seems fine. Should I worry? 

A. Probably, unless the cooling system was serviced and the system had trapped air in it. I suspect the air in the system is from the start of a cylinder head gasket leak. Head gaskets can leak both oil and coolant externally, but also coolant can leak internally and be burned up during combustion. As the coolant is sucked into the engine it will create air in the cooling system and cause an overheating situation. At this point buy or rent a Block-Check combustion leak tester. This is a simple test that will look for the presence of hydrocarbons in the cooling system which would indicate a possible head gasket leak. 

John Paul is AAA Northeast’s Car Doctor. He has over 40 years of experience in the automotive business and is an ASE-certified master technician. E-mail your Car Doctor question to [email protected]. Listen to the Car Doctor podcast at johnfpaul.podbean.com.

Trent Frederic wins Bruins’ 2024 7th Player Award

After orchestrating a breakout season in 2022-23, Bruins forward Trent Frederic has shown this year that his offensive surge was not just a flash in the pan.

The 26-year-old forward emerged as a key cog on Boston’s third line this season, setting new career highs in goals (18), assists (22), and points (40).

In recognition of his efforts, Frederic was named as the winner of the Bruins’ 7th Player Award for the 2023-24 season on Tuesday night.

The award, voted on by fans, is doled out annually to the player who exceeded expectations during the regular season.

Fans had no shortage of viable candidates to pick from in a season where the Bruins have been buoyed by other under-the-radar pickups like Danton Heinen, Morgan Geekie, James van Riemsdyk, and Parker Wotherspoon.

Frederic has been a valued asset further down Boston’s depth chart over the last few seasons thanks to his coveted size, snarl, and scoring punch.

But with Charlie Coyle bumped up from the third line this season, the onus has fallen on Frederic to drive play as a fixture in the bottom six. The former first-round pick has largely been up to the task, ranking fourth among Boston skaters in even-strength goals (16) and even-strength points (38) this year.

Frederic’s physicality will be needed in the postseason, especially on the third line. The St. Louis native had a postseason to forget in 2023, appearing in just five of Boston’s seven games against the Panthers and failing to register a point.

Along with the 7th Player Award trophy, Frederic will receive $5,000 to donate to a charity of his choice. Frederic has chosen to donate to Casting for Kids, a fishing tournament dedicated to raising funds for children fighting cancer at American Family Children’s Hospital and the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center.

Previous recipients of the Bruins’ 7th Player Award who still remain on Boston’s roster include Pavel Zacha (2023), Jeremy Swayman (2022), Charlie Coyle (2020), Charlie McAvoy (2018), David Pastrnak (2017, 2015) and Brad Marchand (2016, 2011).