BBS Awards: New England Patriots win Team of the Year

The Boston Blood Sox Awards (or Bloodies) are awarded for great success and/or pitiful failure in the 2014-15 sports calendar.

Back in January of 2008, I awarded Team of the Year to the Patriots. They were 16-0. This was before I realized that I should write these posts sometime after the Super Bowl.

I'm very happy to name the Patriots as the Team of the Year for 2014-15.

They won 15 games, including a very hard fought playoff battle against the Ravens, and of course the Super Bowl against Seattle. They were tough, they were imposing, they were difficult to match up against, they were clutch.

The stars were stellar. The role players rose to the occasion. They all did their job.

The season started poorly. At one point a reporter asked Belichick if he was considering replacing Brady (who was that idiot by the way?). The team believed in itself, even though the fans and the media didn't. The Patriots moved on to Cincinnati. Then to Buffalo, then the Jets, the Bears, the Broncos, the Colts, and so on. They scored 87 points in 2 games against the "AFC Finalist" Colts.

And the Super Bowl will probably be the Game of the Century for Boston Sports.

Belichick, Brady, Gronkowski, Revis, Edelman, Wilfork, Stork, Browner, McCourty, Blount, Gray, Vereen, Amendola, LaFell, Jones, Jones, Ninkovich, Casillas, Collins, Butler.

What a great team. What a great year.

I can't wait for the 2015 season to begin.

BBS Awards: Tom Brady wins Athlete of the Year

The Boston Blood Sox Awards (or Bloodies) are awarded for great success and/or pitiful failure in the 2014-15 sports year.

Without a doubt Tom Brady was the best athlete in all of sports in 2014.

He's better than Aaron Rodgers. He beat the Seahawks. Against the best defense in the NFL, he had the best and most clutch 4th quarter of any quarterback in Super Bowl history.

And not only did he lead his team to the top of the NFL in 2014, he's currently in a fight against the NFL and just might beat the League itself.

So much better than Aaron Rodgers.

BBS Awards: Bill Belichick wins Lifetime Achievement Award

The Boston Blood Sox Awards (or Bloodies) are awarded for great success and/or pitiful failure in the 2014-15 sports year.

By winning his fourth Super Bowl, Bill Belichick cemented his legacy as the greatest football coach of all-time. Among Boston coaches in all sports, he's second only to Red Auerbach. NFL coaches can only dream of achieving half of what Belichick has achieved.

Four Super Bowl wins as a head coach, 2 more as an assistant. He's been part of 8 Super Bowls spanning 4 decades. Named Coach of the Year 3 times by the AP. His defensive gameplan from Super Bowl 25 is in the Hall of Fame.

He's won 232 games including 22 playoff wins. His 211 regular season wins is 6th all-time, and with 12 more wins he'll pass Paul Brown for 5th.

One of Belichick's biggest strengths is his ability to move on from adversity. "We're on to Cincinnati" became a theme of the 2014 season, but moving on has been a key part of Belichick's career. He was a failure in Cleveland, but was able to learn from the experience and move on. When the Patriots lost Bledsoe in 2001, he and the team moved on. When they lost 31-0 to the Bills in 2003, they moved on. When the SpyGate story erupted, when Brady got hurt in 2008, when Aaron Hernandez murdered people, when the team was 2-2 last year and people were questioning if Tom Brady should be the quarterback, when DeflateGate broke. Belichick moves on.

No team excels in the face of adversity like Belichick's Patriots.

Few coaches have lost Super Bowls as heartbreaking as the two that Belichick lost against the Giants. And yet he still isn't afraid of risking defeat. He still has massive balls. He had the balls to reject the Jets and work for the Patriots (having learned from his Cleveland experience how important it was to work for owners who let you do your job). He had the balls to keep 4 quarterbacks on his roster, one of them was Tom Brady. He had the balls to let Brady try to win Super Bowl 36. He had the balls to let Lawyer Milloy go, to sign Corey Dillon, to bring in Randy Moss, to drop Randy Moss, to trade Logan Mankins, et cetera.

His aggression has sometimes been questioned, and it hasn't always worked out, but that aggression is why he and the Patriots are 4 time champions.

You could write a 200-page thesis paper on leadership by talking about Bill Belichick. So I'll stop myself here.

But Belichick has yet to stop. He's still doing his job.

BBS Awards: Bill Belichick wins Red Auerbach Award for Executive/Coach of the Year

The Boston Blood Sox Awards (or Bloodies) are awarded for great success and/or pitiful failure in the 2014-15 sports year.

Bill Belichick the GM had been the focus of criticism in this town for 7 or 8 years. Some of it deserved, much of it exaggerated, most of it emotionally overblown. Somehow as a GM, the 2007 team he assembled was inadequate. And the 2011 team, with an unhealthy Gronkowski in the Super Bowl, was insufficient in the talent department to win. He was even blamed for Gronkowski's injuries.

The Patriots' mantra in 2014 was "Do Your Job." The GM's job is to put together a team capable of winning. And that's what Belichick did. And all the critics of Belichick the GM can shut up, finally. From familiar faces like Tom Brady and Vince Wilfork, to a 2nd round steal like Rob Gronkowski, to ring hungry Darrelle Revis, to a former Kent State quarterback turned receiver, to an oft-injured replacement for Wes Welker (who is himself now oft-injured), to an undrafted free agent out of West Alabama named Malcolm.

The team was built for toughness and versatility. It could beat you with offense and defense. And they were physical.

Belichick was also the coach of the year. He kept his team focused even when they were 2-2. He didn't allow DeflateGate to distract them in the Super Bowl. He and his staff prepared his team to make big plays, made the right adjustments during the game, and had the balls to let the clock run out in the 4th quarter.

Bill Belichick was the best coach and best GM in Boston sports last year.

BBS Awards: Super Bowl 49 wins Game of the Year

The Boston Blood Sox Awards (or Bloodies) are awarded for great success and/or pitiful failure in the 2014-15 sports year.

There are about 85 years left in the century. That's around 14,000 baseball games, over 7,000 hockey and 7,000 basketball games, and counting the playoffs, about 1,400 football games. Odds are, none of those games will be able to top Super Bowl 49 as the Boston Sports Game of the Century.

The game was great, but so was everything going on around it. The build up with DeflateGate. The story-lines of old dynasty vs. new dynasty, of attitude vs. adjustment, of Sherman vs. Revis, of Carroll vs. Belichick. The two most talented teams, the two toughest teams. A powerful running back, a powerful tight-end, formidable DBs on both sides of the ball. The anticipation was unreal.

The game itself surpassed expectations, featuring some of the best individual plays of the season. Great throws, great catches, great interceptions, from both teams. So many big plays. So many heroes. Brady, Gronk, Amendola, Edelman, Butler.

And it ended with the best quarterback of his era leading his team to victory. And the best coach of all-time seeing his adjustments, his pre-game preparation, and his audacity pay off.

The lasting impact of the game is another rarity. The Championship tore down the divide between the glory years of 2001-2004, and the "almost" years of 2005-2013. It launched Brady and Belichick into the "best ever" category.

It's very rare that a sporting event has such high expectations, then exceeds them, and then has a major impact in the history of the game. Super Bowl 49 did all of that.

And just imagine what enduring all those blizzards would have been like had the Patriots lost.

BBS Awards: Pete Frates wins Bloody Sock Award for Toughness

The Boston Blood Sox Awards (or Bloodies) are awarded for great success and/or pitiful failure in the 2014-15 sports year.

This award goes to players who have gone through serious injury, and sometimes serious illness. From Dustin Pedroia and Wes Welker, to Jon Lester and Mark Herzlich. This is probably the most prestigious award that this humble blogger gives each year.

Pete Frates was diagnosed with ALS in 2012. He's not only fighting his own fight against this illness, he's fighting the entire disease. It can't be easy for him to make as many appearances as he does to raise awareness and funds. His level of toughness is off the scale, and has inspired a tremendous amount of good.

BBS Awards: Malcolm Butler wins Tom Brady Award for Coming Out of Nowhere

The Boston Blood Sox Awards (or Bloodies) are awarded for great success and/or pitiful failure in the 2014-15 sports year.

This Award goes to players who went from anonymity to superstars. For example, Koji Uehara won it for 2013, Danny Woodhead in 2010. This year's winner didn't have a great season, or even a great game.

It was one play. At least that's how we'll remember it. Malcolm Butler was the center of 4 big plays in the 4th quarter of Super Bowl 49. He broke up a few passes on key downs. He made a few important tackles. And of course, his interception.

Most of us didn't know who this guy was before that night. Now everyone knows. Take Tom Brady's entire 2001 season and condense it into an hour of football. That was the night Malcolm Butler had.

BBS Awards: Jon Lester wins Ted Williams Award for Red Sox Player of the Year

The Boston Blood Sox Awards (or Bloodies) are awarded for great success and/or pitiful failure in the 2014-15 sports year.

The 2014 Red Sox season seems like a long long time ago. It's hard to imagine that the Sox were once a team struggling to get out of last place and were failing even at the most basic and fundamental... wait.

Jon Lester won 10 games for the Sox in 2014 before he was traded. His ERA was 2.52 and he was earning the contract that the Red Sox refused to consider giving him. And also making the Sox look stupid for not negotiating with him before the season.

Speaking of the Sox looking like idiots, Lester was traded for Yoenis Cespedes. Cespedes was then traded in the off-season for Rick Porcello. The Red Sox then extended Porcello's contract.

Great moves, Red Sox. Keep up the good work.

BBS Awards: Rob Gronkowski wins Drew Bledsoe Award for Patriots Player of the Year

The Boston Blood Sox Awards (or Bloodies) are awarded for great success and/or pitiful failure in the 2014-15 sports year.

Tom Brady is the heart of the Patriots. And Rob Gronkowski is the muscle. As Gronk got healthy, the Patriots got healthy. As Gronk started to dominate, the Patriots started to dominate. The Patriots were 10-0 when he caught for 60+ yards, 3-2 when he didn't.

Not only did he produce, the way he played gave the Patriots a ferocious edge that they haven't had (especially on offense) for a long time. This was not a finesse team. It was a brutal, hard-hitting game when Gronk was on the field.

He also caught a TD pass in each playoff game.

His 12 receiving TDs were tied for 4th in the NFL and tied for 1st among tight-ends. He led tight-ends in yards, 20+ yard catches, first downs (60 of them), and yards after the catch. And don't forget he's one of the fiercest blockers in the League.

BBS Awards: Isaiah Thomas wins Bill Russell Award for Celtics Player of the Year

The Boston Blood Sox Awards (or Bloodies) are awarded for great success and/or pitiful failure in the 2014-15 sports year.

Maybe the Celtics will regret their playoff berth, but it did give us a chance to see just how good Isaiah Thomas really is, and how hopefully he might one day play a role in this team's return to contention. Thomas led the C's in scoring and assists in the Cleveland series. His 19.0 points per game in the regular season would have also led the team.

It's going to be a long road back to contention for the C's. In the meantime, Thomas is a talented and exciting player to watch. And he's 10 times more likable than Rajon Rondo.

BBS Awards: Patrice Bergeron wins Bobby Orr Award for Bruins Player of the Year

The Boston Blood Sox Awards (or Bloodies) are awarded for great success and/or pitiful failure in the 2014-15 sports year.

It was a bad year for the Bruins. No playoff hockey. Cap issues on the horizon. One bright spot was Patrice Bergeron. Who is also one of the few bright spots going forward. He won the Selke (again) for the best defensive forward. He was second on the Bruins with 23 goals, and led the team with 55 points.

Surprisingly, this is only the second time Bergeron has won this award. The last was for 2006. Hopefully he wins more in the future, and hopefully some of his teammates play well enough to compete with him for the honor.

BBS Awards: Jack Eichel wins Agganis-Flutie Award for College Athlete of the Year

The Boston Blood Sox Awards (or Bloodies) are awarded for great success and/or pitiful failure in the 2014-15 sports year.

In years past, this was known the Doug Flutie Award. I think with BU freshman hockey player Jack Eichel winning it, it's a perfect time to add Harry Agganis' name to this honor. Agganis was an All-American quarterback at BU, and also played baseball and basketball. He was drafted by the Browns in 1952, but decided to play baseball for the Red Sox instead. He died tragically in 1955 at the age of 26.

BU's hockey arena is named after Harry Agganis, and that's where Jack Eichel dominated Hockey East opponents in the 2014-15 season. In 40 games he scored 26 goals and added 41 assists. He won the Hobey Baker (college hockey's Heisman), becoming only the second freshman to do so. He was also drafted 2nd overall in in the NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres.

Not a bad freshman year. My freshman year was all about D.P. Dough calzones and playing Madden.

BBS Awards: Tuukka Rask wins Varitek Award for Most Overrated Athlete

The Boston Blood Sox Awards (or Bloodies) are awarded for great success and/or pitiful failure in the 2014-15 sports year.

When you call someone overrated, you're not criticizing the person, you're criticizing the people who have unduly lifted that person up beyond where they should be lifted. Jason Varitek was an integral part of the Red Sox winning their first World Series since 1918. But he was horribly overrated by us Boston fans. That's why this award is named after him.

Being overrated isn't a direct criticism, but I will directly criticize Tuukka Rask. The Bruins goalie followed up on his Vezina winning season with disappointment, and almost nobody pointed it out. Sure, the team around him sucked, so there were plenty of guys for B's fans to hate on, but Rask seemed immune.

He was 14th in GAA, 10th in save percentage, and 19th in shutouts.

Rask wasn't a reason the Bruins lost, but he didn't do much to help them win. And since he was not criticized sufficiently for his average play, he was the most overrated athlete in Boston sports last year.

BBS Awards: Pete Carroll wins A-Rod Award for Biggest Choker

The Boston Blood Sox Awards (or Bloodies) are awarded for great success and/or pitiful failure in the 2014-15 sports year.

Normally the A-Rod Award for choking goes to a Boston based athlete, or even an entire team. But nobody in sports last year choked more than Pete Carroll choked at the end of the Super Bowl, which allowed a Boston team to snag victory from the gum-chewing jaws of defeat.

It wasn't just the decision to pass on the goal-line. It was letting the clock wind down before passing. It was having a team so disorganized and undisciplined that they had to burn a timeout after Kearse's catch. Then the penalties committed after Malcolm Butler's interception which removed all doubt.

The impact of Carroll's choking goes beyond one game and one championship. Think of the impact it had on the legacies of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Think of how many New Englanders would have willingly buried themselves and drowned in feet of snow had the Seahawks won that game. Pete Carroll's idiocy as a coach and impotence as a disciplinarian solidified Tom Brady and Bill Belichick as arguably the best at their jobs.

Thank you, Pete.

BBS Awards: DeflateGate Coverage wins Shaughnessy Award for Worst Sports Media

The Boston Blood Sox Awards (or Bloodies) are awarded for great success and/or pitiful failure in the 2014-15 sports year.

The Dan Shaughnessy Award is typically given to a single sportswriter or sports radio personality. Past winners include Shaughnessy himself, Michael Felger, Ron Borges, John Dennis/Gerry Callahan. This year's winner is a little different.

The media didn't just cover DeflateGate, it became an active participant. A leaked report with incorrect details about air pressure started the DeflateGate circus. Sources within the NFL used the media to stoke the flames until the story became self-aware and spread into mainstream media. You had Good Morning America talking about inflated footballs. Scientists were canvassed for their expertise. Ex-players, lawyers, children.

Belichick was blamed. People wanted the Patriots banned from the Super Bowl. Some wanted Belichick banned from the game, Pete Rose style.

Whatever the most sensational and ridiculous interpretation of leaks from the NFL, that's what the media went with. Whatever the most absurd opinion or "take," and that's what the media went with.

Facts were obstacles that could only slow down the rapid firing DeflateGate media machine. As Gene Hackman's character in The Birdcage said: "People in this country aren't interested in details. They don't even trust details. The only thing they trust is headlines."

Actual journalism has been dead for many years, DeflateGate was simply the pressure gauge that proved that all the air, and with it all the standards and quality of the media, had leaked out and dissipated.

BBS Awards: Peter Chiarelli wins Harry Frazee Award for Goat of the Year

The Boston Blood Sox Awards (or Bloodies) are awarded for great success and/or pitiful failure in the 2014-15 sports year.

The Harry Frazee Award for Goat of the Year is given to the sports figure who was the most disliked, derided, even detested character in Boston sports. Basically the guy sports fans would be happiest to see leave the city. Past winners include Manny Ramirez (twice), J.D. Drew, John Lackey, Tyler Seguin, and Randy Moss. It is named after the owner of the Red Sox that sold Babe Ruth and a number of other great players to the Yankees.

Peter Chiarelli, former Bruins GM, wins the Goat of the Year Award.

Unfortunately, there were a number of other candidates for this award, most of them with front office jobs on Yawkey Way. Chiarelli, however, was completely in over his head as Bruins GM. The cap was mismanaged, the drafts were poor, deadline trades didn't get done, contracts were extended too early for too long. It was just a disaster.

He's gone to Edmonton, and good luck to him.