Some things I think: The loss of Mookie Betts hurts more and more every day

* In February, just three months away, it will be five years since the Red Sox traded away a generational player in Mookie Betts. Most Red Sox fans consider this to be the moment the franchise began to lose its way. But somehow this decision seems to be getting worse every day.

On Wednesday night, Betts and the Los Angeles Dodgers were crowned champions for the 2024 season. For Betts, it was his second ring in five seasons with Dodger Blue. Would it surprise anyone if he got two more wins before his contract expired? Or more? He is already the first active player to win three World Series, having won one in Boston in 2018.

The Dodgers compete for a title every year. They have the most talented roster in the game, a loaded system and aren't afraid to spend money on improvements. Last winter they spent more than a billion dollars on two players. If they don't join the bid for Juan Soto, they are certainly in a position to sign Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki, who is eligible to come to North America.

Betts finished in the top five in MVP voting three times in his five seasons with the Dodgers. At 32, he shows no signs of regression.

With the Red Sox unable or unwilling to extend Betts, Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs and Connor Wong called for him to return. Wong is an athletic – albeit limited – major league catcher. Downs is gone, and so is Verdugo, and the Sox get a serviceable backup (Greg Weissert) and a potential back-end starter (Richard Fitts). The idea of ​​trading Betts remains the Sox' original sin, but the return isn't much better.

The Sox have posted a winning record once in five seasons since moving on from Betts. Ultimately, they appear to be on the right track and better days are just around the corner, but none of that excuses the idea of ​​trading one of their three best players, the homegrown position players of the last 50 years.

Almost five years later, the question still remains: what was you think? And on evenings like last Wednesday, the question resonates even louder.

* There's a lot of blame to go around for the Bruins' brutal start, and not all of it should go to Jim Montgomery. He's been handed a deeply flawed squad that lacks speed and scoring ability, and some of the team's best (and highest-paid) players, led by Charlie McEvoy and new signing Elias Lindholm, are clearly underperforming.

Yes, it's possible that the room blocked out Montgomery. It happens, even after two extremely successful (regular) seasons. The shelf life for NHL coaches is absurdly short. But the Bruins are kidding themselves if they think a change on the bench alone will lead to a change in fortunes.

* In a world where we've all become cynical, the video of Payton Pritchard playing basketball with a little boy on a Boston-area playground was legitimately heartwarming. It wasn't for advertising or branding reasons – it was just how a professional athlete quietly gave a child a memory they'll never forget. The video may not be as iconic as the shot of Willie Mays playing stickball with the neighborhood kids in Harlem, but it was still cute.

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* What was worse – the two Neanderthals in the right field seats acting like thugs in Game 4 at Yankee Stadium, or the reaction to their antics?

Understand: This wasn't just a few fans trying to get a souvenir ball from a World Series game. One of them tore Betts' wrist, which could have resulted in serious injury. But instead of being properly vilified, the two were somehow celebrated. Check out these crazy fans!

Fawning media profiles were published on national websites, and Rob Gronkowski felt compelled to say how proud he was to have known either of them in college and congratulated them “for shining when the moment came.”

* In a world where owners love to dress up during on-field celebrations, Dodgers owner Mark Walter was thankfully absent on Wednesday night, sparing everyone the sight of a grown billionaire prancing around in his personalized Dodgers jersey. No thanks.

* For Drake Mayes' sake, we hope the NFL knows what it's doing when it comes to concussions. But you will forgive me if I have my doubts. For weeks, if not months, everyone worried that Maye would get hurt behind a porous offensive line. Now, seven days after he developed brain swelling, some are unable to get him back on the field quickly enough.

* On the topic of Maye and the Patriots: Remember when that offensive line was the team's biggest concern? With some players healthier on the OL, the pass protection has improved significantly. The problem now lies with the receiving corps, where dropsy occurs again and again. It seems that every week half a dozen balls that should have been caught are not caught.

* In his prime, Bob Costas was a great addition to any baseball broadcast. But over time something changed. Was it the game, Costas or us? Be that as it may, the last few years have not been kind to his legacy, as Costas has slipped into a persona where he feels compelled to deliver his own curated version of “The History of Our National Pastime” from an armchair by a roaring fire to offer. It didn't fit.

But let's not forget how good Costas was at his best – as a host, as an interviewer and yes, as a play-by-play voice.

*Finally, a tribute to two industry friends we lost this week. Steve Morse, the longtime Boston Globe critic who covered the Boston music scene with insight, passion and expertise, died last weekend at age 76. Steve knew everyone who was everyone in the Boston music scene and wrote brilliantly about the music he loved – and some he didn't love.

Carlo Imelio was a longtime Republican sportswriter from Springfield who covered the Patriots with distinction for more than 30 years. Carlo died last week at the age of 88. The Patriots were far from the dynastic force they would become this century for most of his tenure, and his good humor, his friendliness, and his deft reporting made for a lot of bad football for both readers and those who were with him worked, the blow was passable.