David Ortiz puts Sox scandal behind him
The Red Sox DH said he quietly spoke to teammates about the chicken and beer antics last season, but he considers the issue a non-factor now.
VIDEO
Ortiz: ‘I believe’ in this team
Ortiz said today the reaction to the clubhouse actions during last season’s meltdown was overblown.
Captain Dustin Pedroia? Not now
With Jason Varitek not figuring in the 2012 plans, would Pedroia consider the captaincy? “I don’t even think about that stuff,” he said.
Manny Ramirez getting a third chance in Oakland
Banned last year for again violating the drug policy, Ramirez is back as a controversial and sometimes reviled reminder of baseball’s tainted era.
Rajon Rondo to be on NBA All-Star team
Rondo, after he completes his two-game suspension tonight, will replace Atlanta’s Joe Johnson on the team, a source said.
Rebecca Cook/REUTERS
Christopher L. Gasper
Rajon Rondo may not be a building block
Among the Celtics’ many questions, the most pressing one is whether Rondo should be regarded as a future franchise cornerstone or a stumbling block?
Tom Brady ‘deeply saddened’ by coach’s passing
Brady’s longtime passing guru, Tom Martinez, died yesterday at 66. Brady had been trying to help get Martinez a kidney donor.
“I’m not a babysitter.”
David Ortiz, on the Red Sox’ problems late last season
Inside Sports
Baseball
Red Sox notebook
Carl Crawford keeps open mind on his return
The Red Sox left fielder, who is recovering from surgery on his left wrist, isn’t giving up on the idea that he could be ready for Opening Day.
Hockey
Bruins notebook
Bruins struggling to score first
When the Bruins have scored first, they are the second-best team in the NHL, winning 84.6 percent of the games. Trouble is, those first goals have been elusive.
Basketball
Celtics feeling pain of injuries
The Celtics officially went from banged up to crippled when Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Wilcox left the 89-73 loss to the Mavericks in the same quarter with injuries.
Football
On football: Season review
Patriots by the numbers: Lots to improve on
Where will Bill Belichick look to improve heading into next season? That’s part of our trip through some of the significant figures from the 2011 season.
Colleges
BU hockey player pleads not guilty to rape
Max Nicastro, 21, was released on $10,000 cash bail yesterday, several hours after pleading not guilty to two counts of rape on the Riverside campus.
Other sports
Soccer notes
Klinsmann wants US players to make a statement
Part of US national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s contribution to taking soccer to the next level in America is connecting its best players with elite teams in Europe.
Bob Ryan
Ryan is a columnist who has been writing for the Globe since the 1970s.
Dan Shaughnessy
Shaughnessy is a columnist who has been writing for the Globe since 1981.
Tony Massarotti
Massarotti is a columnist whose work typically appears on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Opinion
“The Red Sox really came out of it no better off than when they entered it, while the Cubs got their head of state and surrendered only a marginal player.”
Nick Cafardo, on the compensation the Red Sox received from the Cubs for Theo Epstein