Patritos Daily: Brady in Braoadcast Booth; AirKraft to Calder Cup

The Boston Celtics have an opportunity to win their eighteenth NBA Championship tonight in Game 5 against the Dallas Mavericks. With an opportunity to win a title, there are likely to be many members of the extended Boston sports family in attendance. New England Patriots’ legendary head coach for one has already taken in multiple playoff games at TD Garden this season. For anyone wondering, I will be watching from my living room couch, barring a last-minute offer to attend for free.

New England’s timetable to return to playing in a Super Bowl was previously analyzed on Patriots Football Now. If Drake Maye becomes a quality NFL quarterback and the Patriots do well in the draft and free agency, 2028 feels optimistic and realistic at the same time. The most consecutive seasons a team with Tom Brady failed to reach the Super Bowl was three (2008-2010). No pressure!

Speaking of Tom Brady…

Broadcast Debut

Tom Brady made his broadcast debut for Fox Sports yesterday. He appeared in the broadcast booth, alongside Kurt Manafee and Joel Klatt, for a portion of the United Football League Championship Game. Nothing noteworthy came out of his comments, though he implored the offenses to try and move the ball vertically down the field. The score was 0-0 in the second quarter at the time. “Make them defend every blade of grass,” implored Brady.

The five-time Super MVP was also on the field to hand out the UFL Championship Game MVP Award after the game. The Birmingham Stallions defeated the San Antonio Brahmas 25-0. Birmingham quarterback Adrian Martinez, who played collegiately for Nebraska and Kansas State, earned Most Valuable Player honors.

The 🐐 @TomBrady presents Adrian Martinez the UFL Championship MVP Trophy 🏆 pic.twitter.com/fU4g7MLhIu

— United Football League (@TheUFL) June 17, 2024

This was the first season for the UFL. It was formed through a merger of the USFL and XFL. The Stallions won the last two USFL titles before claiming the inaugural championship in their new league.

AirKraft In Use

The New England Patriots have work to do before playing for another championship. But the team’s private jet, AirKraft, assisted another franchise’s hopes of bringing home some hardware.

The Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) are in the Calder Cup Finals against the Coachella Valley Firebirds. The series is currently tied 1-1. On Sunday the Bears won Game 2 by a final score of 5-2. Hershey then hit the road for Game 3 and found AirKraft waiting to escort them to Southern California for Game 3.

It is unclear if the Patriots charter will bring them back to Pennsylvania after Game 5, but if Hershey can sweep the next three games in Coachella Valley, they’d be returning with the Calder Cup aboard.

Heading to the West Coast in style 😎 pic.twitter.com/9lV42bv3mT

— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) June 17, 2024

Also in Monday’s Patriots Daily:

Daily Patriots Fun Fact

There are currently seven former Birmingham Stallions players on NFL rosters. This group includes New England Patriots tight end La’Michael Pettway.

Post of the Day

A look back at La’Pettway Pettway scoring the game-winning touchdown (one of two on the day) in the 2023 USFL Championship:

TOUCHDOWN @LaMicha_Pettway FOR THE LEAD!!!

🎥: @nbc | @peacock pic.twitter.com/pIIqPCpa9P

— B2B2B CHAMPION STALLIONS 🏆🏆🏆 (@USFLStallions) June 3, 2023

New England Patriots

Patriots Football Now – The Patriots 90-man roster spotlight takes a look at the wide receiver with the most NFL experience on the Patriots roster. There are 12 players in the wide receiver room at the moment. How many of them will make New England’s 53-man roster? What are JuJu Smith-Schuster’s chances of making the team and making an impact in his second season with the Patriots?

Patriots Football Now – Which two current New England Patriots players had fathers who played in the NFL? Who are the 12 former Patriots who had sons make the NFL as well? Want to see Tom Brady and Bill Belichick showing love and appreciation for their dads? Check out a special Father’s Day edition of Patriots Sunday.

NFL News

NFL.com – After the NFL expanded to a 17-game schedule, the regular season NFL records should be easier to break, in theory. However, many key records have remained unchanged since the additional game was added in 2021. This includes Calvin Johnson’s record for receiving yards (1,964). Will the NFL have its first 2,000-yard receiver in 2024? Bucky Brooks looks at the Top 5 candidates to break Calvin Johnson’s record.

Pro Football Network – There are already former USFL and XFL players in the NFL. Now that the league has merged, there are certain to be UFL players heading to camp with National Football League teams. Tony Catalina looks at five UFL players who could help the Dallas Cowboys (and others).

Boston Bruins

Boston Hockey Now – The Boston Bruins 2024 Stanley Cup run ended in Round 1 against the Florida Panthers, who are now just won win away from winning it all. But the Bruins still have plenty on their plate, with free agency and the 2024 NHL Draft on the horizon. Check out BHN for all the latest coverage.

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