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.