Jimmy Golen

BOSTON — New Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo said on Monday that he is fully healthy and he will be ready for the season — if there is one.

The games are too long, scaring away younger fans with ever-diminishing attention spans. There is too much standing around between spurts of activity.

And the unpredictable duration makes it difficult for TV networks to plan for a predictable broadcast window.

Not baseball. Not football.

Curling.

BOSTON—Alex Cora has already been identified as a ringleader in an illegal system of sign stealing when he was with the Houston Astros.

The Red Sox didn't wait to see what punishment Major League Baseball might give him for possibly bringing a similar scheme with him to Boston.

BOSTON—The grand slam was nice.

What Red Sox rookie Michael Chavis really wanted to talk about was his batting eye against the Toronto Blue Jays last night.

BOSTON—Blues goalie Jordan Binnington was waiting patiently, as NHL rookies learn to do, while the Stanley Cup was passed from teammate to teammate across the recently conquered ice of the new Boston Garden.

Thirteen St. Louis players took their turn with the iconic trophy, raising it above their heads, lowering it for a kiss, posing for a picture.

BOSTON—With a five-goal, third-period lead and the Bruins still not done scoring, the crowd in the new Boston Garden began a throaty chant of “We want the Cup!”

The next time they see their team, the NHL's championship trophy might be on the line for real.

BOSTON—Kyrie Irving said he regretted criticizing his younger teammates, then he made a call to a former teammate he also owed an apology.

The Celtics' point guard said he called LeBron James over the weekend to apologize for failing to understand the burden the four-time NBA MVP carried when they played together on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

BOSTON—From playoff flop to October ace in two legacy-shifting starts, David Price earned his second post-season victory in a row and moved the Boston Red Sox halfway to another World Series title.

BOSTON—David Price went home a winner in a post-season start for the first time in his career.

That, he insisted, is all he ever cared about.

“This is bigger than David Price," he stressed last night. "This isn't about me. This is about the Boston Red Sox.”

BOSTON—Alex Cora led Boston to a victory over the hated N.Y. Yankees.

Next up for the first-year Red Sox manager: the team he left after winning a World Series as a bench coach last season.