Will Norton Article Archive

B/R Articles

Diamond Deliberations: Some 2009 'What Ifs' for the Average Fan

It's almost July. That means we have almost three months of MLB highlights, wins, losses, and data at our disposal. From this we can draw conclusions, project outcomes, and try to figure out the Rubik's Cube that is the 2009 baseball season...

Written by Will Norton about 5 months ago 37 reads 0 comments
New England Formation Fluctuations: Pats' Alter Looks in '09

Becoming familiar with Bill Belichick’s playbook tendencies is one of the most difficult things to do in football due to the amount the "Hooded One" alters his schemes, realigns his looks, and constantly tries to keep teams off balance...

Written by Will Norton about 6 months ago 14 reads 0 comments
Positional Battles to Watch In Foxborough: 'Backers and D'Backs

On a proven, veteran team such as the 2009 New England Patriots, positional battles and depth chart struggles are more than likely to occur along the periphery...

Written by Will Norton about 6 months ago 18 reads 2 comments
Laurence Maroney: Linchpin Or Fringe Player? His Take

It is the opinion of this writer that the health and productivity of Laurence Maroney will greatly dictate the success, or relative failure, of the 2009-10 New England Patriots...

Written by Will Norton about 6 months ago 46 reads 0 comments
Brady, Buffalo, and The Wildcat: Breaking Down The AFC East

Forecasting the AFC East: Balanced Division Will Depend on Brady’s Return In a division that has shifted from a one horse race to a balanced field in just a year, the battle for AFC East ...

Written by Will Norton about 6 months ago 212 reads 2 comments
Man Oh Manny: Ramirez' gaffe further complicates baseball's numbers game

Grow up and deal, baseball. The problem, as I see it, with major league baseball’s lost sense of self in the “PED age” is that there is a preponderance of historians, journalists, ...

Written by Will Norton about 6 months ago 47 reads 0 comments
Glue Guys: Ten Middle Relievers Who Are Successfully Bridging The Gap

Often times, the difference between a playoff team and a .500 team is how many games each wins and loses in the middle innings...

Written by Will Norton about 7 months ago 126 reads 0 comments
Wandy, Gamel, and the Bay Side Boys: Five 2009 Breakouts

Five under-the-radar teams/performers that should enjoy breakout levels of success in ’09. 1. Wandy Rodriguez- A guy known for his disastrous road performances despite pitching in a hitter ...

Written by Will Norton about 8 months ago 2,215 reads 16 comments
Kansas City Steamers: Royals May Rise in 2009

As the 2009 Major League Baseball season rapidly approaches and the second edition of the WBC fades into the rear-view mirror, it’s hard not to look across the league as a whole and notice ...

Written by Will Norton about 8 months ago 110 reads 0 comments
Musings from Around the Association

1. While this has been another disappointing season in Charlotte, the optimist in me has to look at several players who have flourished under Larry Brown...

Written by Will Norton about 9 months ago 112 reads 1 comments
How Danny Ainge's Draft Success Fueled the Resurgence of Celtic Basketball

While many will point solely to the acquisitions of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen as the reason Boston has surged back into the NBA's elite group, I like to look at it from a different angle...

Written by Will Norton about about 1 year ago 251 reads 2 comments
Econ-O-Ball: How America's Money Crisis May Affect Major League Baseball

We’re talking about money, here. Dollars and cents. With America's economy floundering and many cornerstones of our capitalist foundation in flux, this offseason should be an interesting one for baseball's free agent crop...

Written by Will Norton about about 1 year ago 470 reads 3 comments
Shhhh: Matt Cassel Silences Joey Porter, Dolphins

These are not the New England Patriots of old. Not this year at least. Watch New England circa 2008 and you won't see stifling pressure on the quarterback, opportunistic interceptions, big plays ...

Written by Will Norton about about 1 year ago 889 reads 1 comments
Turkey Time: A Hodge-Podge of Sports Fodder for the Hungry Sports Fan

Sometimes there’s so much going on in the world of sports, you just can’t write about one game, one team, or even one sport. You have to attack it all, with a whimsical, dart throwing philosophy...

Written by Will Norton about about 1 year ago 110 reads 0 comments
24 Wins Later: Post-2003 Red Sox Making It Look Easy

24 wins, 9 losses. That is the Boston Red Sox post-season record since Aaron Boone crushed a Tim Wakefield knuckler- and every heart in Boston- deep into the night back in 2003. Bedlum in the Bronx...

Written by Will Norton about about 1 year ago 76 reads 0 comments
Five Major Disappointments in Major League Baseball

Disappointment in sports is a funny thing. It's a term that is dictated by so many tangential factors: expectations, salaries, past performance, historical success, and potential...

Written by Will Norton about about 1 year ago 3,835 reads 2 comments
Green and White Style Shines In Game 1

The Boston Celtics are unquestionably the most decorated, accomplished franchise in NBA history, and arguably in all of sports. But not in my lifetime. Not in my brain bank...

Written by Will Norton about about 1 year ago 346 reads 0 comments
James Posey, Paul Pierce, All Celtics Return to '08 Season Form; Dominate Game 3

With the proverbial monkey off their backs (in the case of the Celtics playoff road woes, it was probably a 250 lb. Silverback Gorilla), the Boston Celtics can smell blood...

Written by Will Norton about about 1 year ago 519 reads 0 comments
Red Sox Review: Champs Are Starting to Take Form

For the Boston Red Sox these last few weeks, it’s been business as usual. The formula which the Red Sox have utilized each of the last two years—solid starting pitching and timely hitting—is taking shape yet again in 2008...

Written by Will Norton about about 1 year ago 615 reads 1 comments
"Rooter" Analysis: A Breakdown of the 2008 New England Patriot Draft Class

I can remember when Drew Bledsoe and Terry Glenn were fresh looking rookies, ready to make their mark on the NFL. I remember when Ben Coates was virtually unstoppable and Bruce Armstrong was a brick wall along an otherwise porous offensive line...

Written by Will Norton about about 1 year ago 1,141 reads 5 comments
One Month Down, Five to Go: 10 April Surprises from Around Major League Baseball

Well, we’re into May and the Major League Baseball season is a little over 1 month old. In the 6 month, 162 game marathon that is the MLB season, nothing we know up to this point can be taken as gospel...

Written by Will Norton about about 1 year ago 304 reads 1 comments
Boston Bruins on the Brink: Game 4, and Likely the Season, Slips Away

Well, here we are: Game 5 in Montreal with the season on the line. While this is certainly a position no Bruins player, fan, or coach wants to be in, it's a situation many knew we would ...

Written by Will Norton about about 1 year ago 579 reads 6 comments
Bruins-Maple Leafs: Boston Gains Two Points in Toronto, Gears Up for Playoff Push

Injured, offensively inept, and in danger of losing hold on a playoff spot they have coveted all season, the Boston Bruins traveled to Toronto Tuesday night with one objective: get some points...

Written by Will Norton about about 1 year ago 541 reads 0 comments
Tommy John Kids: Baseball's Development Problem and a Few Sleepers for '08

The medical procedure known as “Tommy John” surgery has become just another common feature of the jargon surrounding today’s brand of professional baseball...

Written by Will Norton about about 1 year ago 945 reads 0 comments
Where We've Been and Where We're Going: A Look at Past and Future Red Sox Business

A collection of family holiday cards hanging in the bathroom of a Belmont, MA house tell the story perfectly…...

Written by Will Norton about about 1 year ago 738 reads 2 comments

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Will Norton Article Archive

Diamond Deliberations: Some 2009 'What Ifs' for the Average Fan

New England Formation Fluctuations: Pats' Alter Looks in '09

Positional Battles to Watch In Foxborough: 'Backers and D'Backs

Laurence Maroney: Linchpin Or Fringe Player? His Take

Brady, Buffalo, and The Wildcat: Breaking Down The AFC East

Man Oh Manny: Ramirez' gaffe further complicates baseball's numbers game

Glue Guys: Ten Middle Relievers Who Are Successfully Bridging The Gap

Wandy, Gamel, and the Bay Side Boys: Five 2009 Breakouts

Kansas City Steamers: Royals May Rise in 2009

Musings from Around the Association

How Danny Ainge's Draft Success Fueled the Resurgence of Celtic Basketball

Econ-O-Ball: How America's Money Crisis May Affect Major League Baseball

Shhhh: Matt Cassel Silences Joey Porter, Dolphins

Turkey Time: A Hodge-Podge of Sports Fodder for the Hungry Sports Fan

24 Wins Later: Post-2003 Red Sox Making It Look Easy

Five Major Disappointments in Major League Baseball

Green and White Style Shines In Game 1

James Posey, Paul Pierce, All Celtics Return to '08 Season Form; Dominate Game 3

Red Sox Review: Champs Are Starting to Take Form

"Rooter" Analysis: A Breakdown of the 2008 New England Patriot Draft Class

One Month Down, Five to Go: 10 April Surprises from Around Major League Baseball

Boston Bruins on the Brink: Game 4, and Likely the Season, Slips Away

Bruins-Maple Leafs: Boston Gains Two Points in Toronto, Gears Up for Playoff Push

Tommy John Kids: Baseball's Development Problem and a Few Sleepers for '08

Where We've Been and Where We're Going: A Look at Past and Future Red Sox Business

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