Bob Ryan

The next time we see Marcus Smart, he will be in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform Bah! And wah! Certain thoughts are just plain anathema to Boston sports fans.

Babe Ruth, the most impactful player in baseball history, wore No. 3 for the Yankees. Associated Press

Each sport has a personal history, an aesthetic pleasure, and a drama. We are thrilled watching great athletes, or even not so great athletes, make plays.

First things first: Lay off Joe. Yes, many of you are unhappy with Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla's heavy reliance on the 3-point shot.

Basketball's Bradley and hockey's Dryden competed at the highest levels in sporting and political arenas, and each authored his life story. The parallel is remarkable.

You're tired of hearing about it, but you're going to hear it, anyway. New England sports fans are a quarter of the way into the 21st century as the luckiest fans in America.

Me and the tournament go back pretty far. Ike was president. America loved Lucy . We hadn't yet heard from Elvis. Color TV was a rumor.

Some people believe the 1984 NBA Draft was the best of all time. The first round gave us four Hall of Famers.

It was the late , truly great Jimmy Cannon who, fed up with the chattering of his younger press box colleagues, reminded them precisely why they were so gathered in the first place.