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It’s time for Irving, Price to stifle themselves

By Hector Longo - Staff Writer | Apr 18, 2019

In honor of Las Vegas sports bettor James Holzauer, who owns the 7:30-8 p.m. TV slot in the palm of his hand these days with his epic, history-making ($566k) run, we will play a little Friday morning “Jeopardy.”

The answer is: Kyrie Irving and David Price.

And the question? Who are two pivotal forces on the Boston pro sports scene who need to stifle themselves and shut the heck up?

Seriously, after Wednesday night’s sports fiesta, the two mercurial heroes chose to engage with the media, Kyrie’s words are mandated, and Price just figured something needed to be said.

Unlike his usual penchant for diatribe, Kyrie inflamed a strained situation with one word, calling the Game 2 comeback win over Indiana, “peaceful.”

Seriously, K?

Honestly, and this is huge as decision time looms for this on-again, off-again Celtics sensation, if he just walked on the court, ripped it for 30 and 10 a night, kind of like James Harden in Houston, then sped home in the Range Rover sight unseen, he’d zoom into his own special zone among New England athletic heroes.

Kyrie is a monster, when he’s dribbling, shooting, passing and winning.

If he just shut it down postgame? You would think Brad Stevens might turn off the mic when he sees Irving is ready to pontificate. But no, Kid Nausea has to show the world that he once studied at Duke and might have even taken an English class.

“Peaceful,” Kyrie? I believe the word you were looking for was “fortunate.”

Now finish these chumps off in four.

And then there is the oft-misunderstood Mr. Price, the lefty with the 5-9 playoff record, the 4.63 postseason ERA and the $217 million contract.

The Red Sox 2019 “ace” (1-1, 3.79 ERA) sent out the Wednesday warning shot over the bow with notice to the Globe’s Alex Spehr that he, Mookie and JD Martinez, among others, could all be on the trading block if the current run of baseball ineptitude endures.

Your baseball team is languishing, and you send a message via mid-April threat?

If I were Betts, who is admittedly scuffling early, I’d have been in Price’s locker in a second.

Price wants out. He finally did something in October, got his title and now this guy is begging to find a way to Kansas City, St. Louis or Arizona, somewhere the only thing that truly matters on gameday is the length of the beer line.

Stop trying to plant the seed Little D. Your baseball home is, was and will be right here, where you pitch and pitch well or people will actually start paying attention to the drivel.

Chief concern

Please tell me that when asked what he was doing, using the Lombardi Trophy to bunt the baseball at Fenway, Rob Gronkowski responded like Walt the bus driver in the classic hockey movie, Slapshot:

“Making it look mean!”

Sticking with Gronk’s ex-team, the Pats and Wednesday’s schedule release, it’s hilarious that fans are incredulous that New England is opening the season with the Steelers and not the Chiefs.

Do you think for a second the NFL, after guffawing at Andy Reid’s plea to change the overtime rules, is going to send the lovable loser into Gillette on opening night without Tyreek Hill, who is likely to be suspended to open the year?

No chance.

Kansas City will have the game’s most explosive offensive force when they hit Foxborough in early December.

Finally, for those of you familiar with this scribe’s career work, it was annual rite of the offseason for this corner to assess the Pats schedule and come up with the most uneducated, pre-draft guess on the outcome possible when announced.

I won’t bore you with another painful “game-by-game” synopsis, but I will say the champs finish at 9-7 with the No. 4 seed in the AFC by winning the division. (Side note: I had 11-5 at this time a year ago and nailed it.)

Hector Longo can be reached at 594-1253 or hlongo@nashuatelegraph.com.

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