Three days after a season in which the connection between the team and the city was as evident as ever, the Bruins released a video montage reliving some of the season's best moments and recognizing those who cheered them right through Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Check it out.

If their incredible Game 7 comeback against the Maple Leafs drew a parallel between the 2013 Bruins and the Scott Brosius- and Derek Jeter-led Yankees of 2001, in the way they symbolized the resilience of a region recently targeted by terrorists, then Monday night we in Boston learned what a Luis Gonzalez broken bat feels like.

It stung, badly, when Bryan Bickell and Dave Bolland scored 17 seconds apart to deny the B's a chance to play a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup finals and simultaneously made champions of their Blackhawks. But that sting shouldn't diminish any appreciation Bruins fans have for a team that put everything into these playoffs. Nor should it diminish the appreciation fans throughout this area should have for everything the teams of this city have accomplished during the amazing age of sports theater they continue to enjoy.

Because nowhere in the country has it been even close to as good for even close to as long.

Yes, adding Monday to two last-minute Super Bowl losses and the forfeiture of a fourth-quarter lead in the deciding game of the NBA Finals makes it a rather excruciating way in which Boston has now lost four of its six trips to the title round of America's four major team sports since 2008 -- but think about that for a moment. Boston's teams have been among the last two standing six times in the last five and a half years. They've won two championships. They were minutes away from three more championships. And if things hadn't melted away so quickly on Monday, either of those numbers might've been added to by midnight Wednesday.

As Boston.com columnist Chad Finn wrote in his terrific summation today, "Only the habitual self-defeatists among us require or desire a list of the most painful recent defeats in Boston sports lore. They will revel in parades that will never happen and banners never to be raised."

Instead, let's revel in the opportunity. In the excitement. In the drama. In all the times over the past 11 years that sports have sent chills dancing down our spines, not only because of what was happening but because a championship was truly at stake. There are plenty of good sports towns across this country where fans can count those occurrences over that span on one finger. There are others that can count them all on one hand.

We can't even count all of ours on two.

The Bruins' run to the Cup Finals was Boston and New England's 11th visit to either the NHL, NBA, NFL or Major League Baseball championship round since the Patriots ushered in this era back in February 2002. In that time, no other area has made more than eight such appearances. And New York/New Jersey are only that close when combining those two locations based on the location of the Meadowlands -- which gives that region a pool of nine teams from which to draw. Here's a look at the most frequent finalists:

Only Boston and New York/New Jersey have been to the finals in all four sports since 2002 -- despite the fact that 13 markets nationwide have teams in each of them. And though Boston has in fact lost four of six, after winning its first five, it still has a decided edge in championships over the past 11 years. The Obnoxious Boston Fan boasted today, "11 title shots. 7 championships. Top that, anyone" -- and no city can, at least in terms of champagne bottles uncorked:

Below is also a look at the champions since 2002 in map form, with each pin representing a title (and seeming to justify any perceived East Coast bias among the media). The clustering would be even more concentrated in the Northeast on a map of titles appearances, so as much as it stings today, take a moment to observe -- and appreciate -- what the map shows. Over the past 11 years, Boston has been the most successful sports town in the United States.

And, even in defeat, the Bruins just reminded us that it still is. So enjoy it.

The past couple of days haven't been great for Craig Breslow and Andrew Bailey. Wednesday night the lefty allowed the Rays three runs over two-thirds of an inning, essentially dooming the Red Sox to defeat. Then Thursday the righty gave up a ninth-inning gopher to Jhonny Peralta, allowing the Tigers to walk-off as winners and potentially costing Bailey his role as Boston's closer.

But next week will be better. With what they have planned, there's almost no way it can't be.

Monday night at Brookline's Alden Castle the two relievers will host "Sip Happens" -- an event featuring wine tastings and food pairings to heighten awareness and raise funds for the Strike 3 Foundation, which supports pediatric cancer research. Breslow is the foundation's executive director, Bailey is its director of development, and in the video above they took their passion to Tufts' Floating Hospital for Children and spread some smiles.

According to Breslow, who launched the foundation in 2008 and has since raised more than $740,000, the night will feature food and beverage stations serving cocktail-type food and drink from area restaurants and specialty dining places. There will also be a silent auction featuring more than 50 prizes, and opportunities to meet some of the Red Sox. Jacoby Ellsbury, Jonny Gomes, Will Middlebrooks, Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Dustin Pedroia, Shane Victorino, Andrew Miller, Clayton Mortensen, and others are expected to attend.

Individual tickets are available here for $250, and must be purchased by Friday (June 21). Get them here. Because what better way to react to a couple of tough outings than to uncork some wine and simply say, "Hey, Sip Happens."

He didn't remember if it was during a delay, or if the game had been rained out altogether. But Mike Timlin will never forget the phone call that came to the clubhouse in Miami, where his Cardinals were facing the Marlins back in 2001.

About a year earlier, his mom had begun to drag her right foot when she walked. She was falling, a lot, though doctors initially weren't sure why. They diagnosed it first as multiple sclerosis. Then sciatica. Then dropfoot. Then came the phone call.

It was amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease. And less than a year after receiving that diagnosis -- after first taking her ability to walk and to speak, while leaving her intellect and awareness painfully unaffected -- it took his mother's life.

“It took a normal course with her,” Timlin explained. “It was in her feet more than her hands early, and her legs and her feet died out quickly. Eventually it went in and she could speak hardly, and she could barely feed herself. It took the classic rout."

Even a couple years later, the right-handed reliever said he "didn't really want to relive it" -- but he found a way to honor his mother's memory in a most productive and positive fashion. Back in 2004, during his second season with the Red Sox, he joined with The Angel Fund to establish the Sharon Timlin Memorial 5K Race to Cure ALS and raise money for research being done on an affliction about which so much is still unknown.

This past weekend in Hopkinton the Timlin race was run for the 10th time, with 100 percent of the money raised going to the Cecil B. Day Laboratory for Neuromuscular Research at UMass-Medical -- and taking the total of its contributions well past $1 million over the course of a decade.

Timlin was on hand, of course, signing autographs with a right hand that wore one of the two World Series rings he earned during his six years in Boston, as was former Sox teammate Tim Wakefield, who has become something of a regular at the event. The initial race in 2004 featured 400 runners, but Saturday the field featured 1,800 participants, including ex-Senator Scott Brown and Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez, as well as hundreds of people who have been somehow affected by the disease and were running with a personal purpose.

They came from 12 different stages, ranging in age from 7 to 78 -- and organizers are hopeful they'll come again next year, as the race enters its second decade.

Jared Sullinger and Walter McCarty are joined at Victory Programs' ReVision Family Home by Sun Life Senior Vice President of Operations David Healy.

As the Celtics' young power forward carefully edged his brush along a stretch where the wall met the ceiling, adding a fresh coat of paint to one room in the Victory Programs' ReVision Family Home in Dorchester, he wore the same color as a lot of what he's worn since becoming a pro last June. His shirt was green.

Most days, the identifier stretching between his shoulder blades says, "Sullinger."

This recent Friday, however, it said, "Volunteer."

Both are plenty appropriate and applicable.

Jared Sullinger was born, raised, and went to college in Columbus, Ohio, and it hasn't yet been a year since the Celtics brought him to Boston by tabbing him with the 21st pick of the 2012 NBA Draft. But in that short period of time Sullinger has embraced his new home with open arms, becoming a frequent participant in the team's community forays -- and perhaps becoming a prominent public face of a franchise that may be in full-blown transition any day now.

"It means a lot to me, personally," the 21-year-old said after joining almost 100 Sun Life Financial employees, members of the Celtics' front office, and Boston Cares at the Dorchester event where the group undertook a variety of maintenance and service projects at the home that serves a stabilizing shelter for 22 homeless women who have young families or are expectant mothers.

Hall of Famer Robert Parish also made an appearance, while former Celtic Walter McCarty joined Sullinger in painting the hallways and common areas and doing some minor repairs, redecorating, and putting together some furniture. Volunteers also brought in TVs and computers, as well as planted plants and vegetables in the ReVision Urban Farm.

Just a couple weeks earlier, McCarty and Sullinger teamed up to talk to more than 1,500 Boston middle school students as the Celtics celebrated the 22nd season of their "Stay in School" initiative. A few days later, Sullinger manned the register at a Revere Taco Bell that was pledging the proceeds from sales of $1 Doritos Locos Tacos to the One Fund Boston. Then a few days after that, the forward signed autographs and hung out with the kids as the Celtics and City Year staged a carnival to celebrate the "Step Your Game Up" program.

Back surgery officially ended Sullinger's rookie season in February, though prior to that he found plenty of time to support causes including Special Olympics, the Boys and Girls Club Music Clubhouse, Read to Achieve, Rosie's Place, and Boston Children's Hospital among others, and to make numerous visits to area schools on behalf of the team. In January he also hosted his own clothing drive, asking C's fans to donate to Goodwill -- and they responded, coming from all across New England to drop off almost 11,000 pounds worth of Goodwill in less than two hours.

"I think it's big-time for them," Sullinger said of getting to meet people in and around the city, "but it's more exciting to me because I live for stuff like this."

Sullinger's community service was lauded during his days at Ohio State, and throughout those two years his coach often took advantage of every opportunity to heap praise upon the way the burly forward was raised by his parents. The go-to example to illustrate his proper upbringing has become the tale of how Jared's dad Satch, who was his high school hoops coach, benched his son for a playoff game because the sophomore Sullinger was placed on academic probation. His team lost that game, ending its season -- but Jared still remembers the lesson learned in letting down his teammates that day, and relayed that story once more while addressing the middle schoolers at Matthews Arena in May.

He has said his parents also taught him how to avoid trouble -- and Sullinger now wants to help others do the same. He may not have been through some of the same things as some of the more disadvantaged people he meets in his community appearances, but he is nevertheless familiar with their stories.

"I have a connection with a community like this," he said in Dorchester. "Where I grew up, it really wasn't healthy as far as living arrangements (for) people you see outside, so I know what type of situations people go through, and for me to get out here -- especially in Boston."

And so as much as their basketball team, Boston has become a beneficiary of Sullinger's draft day slide, when 20 times the talents of a two-time All-American were passed over because clubs had concerns about the health of his back. The Celtics ultimately decided he was a worthwhile risk, and if his first half-season is any indication, he may have enough ability to be part of their foundation on the court.

Off the court, there's even less of a question. Last winter, as the Red Sox looked to publicly move past the mess over the previous season, they frequently sent the fresh face of Will Middlebrooks to community events -- intentionally or unintentionally giving the impression that he was a major building block of their brand moving forward.

Based on the past month, it seems Sullinger is on his way to becoming that same sort of ambassador for the Celtics in their efforts to make an impact the way McCarty described earlier this month.

"It's very important," the forward said after the Victory Programs event. "As a kid I was very fortunate to have people who always were around when times wasn't so well. It's great to come out in the community and show people that you care.

"People support us in our career during the year and during the season, and we want to make sure that we're doing the same thing for them."

Not even a year since coming to Boston, that's something the Celtic wearing "Sullinger" across his back certainly seems to understand.

McCarty and Sullinger stand with Sun Life employee Viola Adami.

As Doc Rivers continues to be publicly noncommittal about his future with the Celtics, his point guard filmed a multi-part interview released by Red Bull on Monday -- wherein Rajon Rondo his relationship with his coach as strong, and said he'd rather not play for somebody else when he returns to the court after tearing his ACL in January.

Rondo, who's a pitch man for the energy drink, sat down with Sal Masekala and Brian Kamenetzky and admitted that things were rough for him as a rookie, though "each year we're growing, we're communicating better, learning each other more and more each year."

Kamenetzky then asked the all-star if he thought he was difficult to coach early in his career, to which Rondo quickly replied, "I still am." Then he clarified.

"It's not that I'm hard to coach, it's just that, you know, I may challenge what you say," Rondo said. "I know the game myself, I'm out there playing the game, so I may have saw something different from what you saw on the sideline. So I'm going to be respectful. I'm going to let the coach talk. Like I said, me and Doc talk all the time, it's just a different dialogue -- but we've built to that relationship.

"I've been fortunate playing for Doc for seven years; if I have any questions, he pretty much got all the answers. If he doesn't, he's always honest with me. I wouldn't rather play for any other coach."

In the same video, Rondo revealed that Courtney Lee is the current Celtic who does the best impersonation of Rivers -- Lee's got it right down to the walk, apparently -- and in a couple of other clips posted to RedBull.com, he gives a glimpse into a couple of his own off-court interests.

In the first clip below, he gives visual evidence of his prowess as a Connect Four player, ruthlessly dominating his two hosts by thinking "two steps ahead." Then in the second he talks about the impromptu visit he made to Dorchester's Jeremiah E. Burke High School, when he wound up doing some teaching and warming the hearts of mathletes everywhere.

There's no question that Patriots' punter Zoltan Mesko is on the short list of Boston's most interesting athletes. If a life of avoiding gunfire and then emigrating from Romania during the overthrow of a dictator isn't enough, click here or here or here to get a sense of his fun-loving and multi-faceted personality. But maybe most impressive about Mesko's makeup is his genuine enthusiasm for helping others.

And Saturday night he'll have a chance to blend it all together on behalf of a few worthy causes.

For the second straight year Mesko will host "Zolioke" at Boston's Royale Nightclub, welcoming several teammates and a variety of other local celebrities to sing songs/make fools of themselves at a karaoke event to raise funds for a trio of area hospitals. Those beneficiaries will be Hasbro Children's Hospital (in Providence, R.I.), Massachusetts General Hospital, and Boston's Children's Hospital -- which recently honored Mesko with the Champion Award it gives annually to one Boston athlete who continuously makes a difference in the lives of children.

For Mesko, that means frequent visits (like this one) to the very hospitals his Foundation aims to support Saturday night.

"The patients and families I’ve visited with over the years," he said, "inspire me every day.”

Mesko is also the most recent recipient of the Ron Burton Community Service Award, which the Patriots give to one player each year for outstanding contribution to the community. A most deserving honoree, Mesko is constantly supporting his teammates' various charitable endeavors -- and Saturday night a number of them will return the favor.

This year's confirmed guests include Jerod Mayo, Stephen Gostkowski, Sebastian Vollmer, Nate Solder, Chandler Jones, Matt Light, and Tedy Bruschi, and there will almost certainly be more on a night that last year included Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, the latter of whom delivered a rather, um, interesting rendition of LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem."

Those who purchase $250 VIP tickets will have the opportunity to interact with those celebrities while enjoying hors d'euvres from Del Frisco's steakhouse and free drinks from Three Olives Vodka and Samuel Adams. General admission ducats for the three-hour event are $50, and both can be purchased through TicketMaster.

After several surgeries to repair a break and infection in his forearm, and with another due soon on his back, Rob Gronkowski still plans to go under the knife this Sunday -- or, more accurately, under the buzzers, when he shaves his head in support of children fighting pediatric cancer.

The Patriots' tight end has participated in the Kid's Cancer Buzz-Off the last two years, then committed to this year's event months ago, and organizers say he'll keep that commitment this weekend despite the fact it comes just days before Gronkowski is expected to undergo a procedure to repair a herniated disk that affected him most of last season and will likely require rehab that lasts into training camp.

Joining 867 men and women who've pledged to shave off their hair as a show of solidarity with cancer patients and a means of raising money to enhance the lives of those patients and their families, Gronkowski is expected to arrive at Gillette Stadium on Sunday morning and meet with VIPs in the Putnam Club around 10 a.m. About a half-hour later he'll have his own head buzzed, and he'll do the buzzing of top sponsors and fundraisers. Then he's expected to meet with the media.

The Buzz-Off itself runs from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., with the childhood cancer fund One Mission hoping to raise $1 million for Boston Children's Hospital -- which would double the money the event has raised over its four years. Those interested in donating can sponsor a buzzee, including Gronkowski himself, or make a general donation.

They were held almost a mile apart, though two charities with ties to the local sports scene staged events on Tuesday night in Boston centered around the same goal: Helping children lives as healthily and happily as possible.

At Alex and Ani's on Newbury Street, Farrah Lester -- bride of pitcher Jon Lester -- brought together a bunch of her fellow Red Sox wives for a shopping event to benefit her husband's NVRQT initiative, which raises money for the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation. Fifteen percent of all sales made between 7 and 9 p.m. went directly to the cause, which was started by the Lesters last year, and will be hosting its second annual NVRQT Night at the House of Blues on July 29.

Farrah Lester is flanked by Amanda Bailey and Kelsey Ellsbury in the first photo below, while Hyla Ross, Lindsey Buchholz, and Kim Doubront (left to right) are in the second.

Around the same time that was going on, over at Abby Lane on Tremont Street, former Patriots' running back Kevin Faulk was holding the launch party for his new charity -- which, naturally, is titled the Kevin Faulk Foundation.

The party itself was in support of the Kevin Faulk Youth Summer Football Camp, though the charity's overarching purpose is to "to support any and all non-profit organizations and activities with a specific mission to ensure that our youth have a healthy balance between academics and athletics and are well prepared for educational and athletic experiences during their school years and beyond." Started in honor of Faulk's mother, the Foundation aims to do that by placing an emphasis on the educational mentorship of student-athletes.

Thursday night he'll be at the Red Sox game -- watching Lester pitch, incidentally -- with a couple of the party attendees who joined him in launching things on Tuesday.

With the sun shining outside, the heat engendering thoughts of summer, and the countdown to vacation having begun, these dog days of the school year can make for some distracted students. But if any little baseball fan needs a bit more motivation to stay focused, and turn that C+ into a B- over the final few weeks, the Red Sox would like to help parents provide some incentive.

The club announced this week that it will give a free ticket to any student 14 years or younger who brings a report card full of A's and B's to Fenway Park's Gate E on the day of a game in June. Tickets are good for that day's or night's contest, and the child must be accompanied by a paying adult, with a maximum of two eligible students per adult. Ticket availability is on a first-come, first-served basis, and the Sox will also honor report cards reflecting marks corresponding to A's and B's in cases where a student's school uses a different grading system.

The report card must be the student's most recent, so those who did well last term can claim tickets to the ongoing Red Sox-Rangers series, or to this weekend's set against the Angels. As an added bonus, after this Sunday's finale to that Los Angeles series, all kids 14 and under will be allowed to run the bases.

Students might also go to Fenway when the Rays are here June 18 and 19, but with many schools finishing the academic year on or around June 20 this year, those looking for another reason to finish strong can do so with an eye toward seeing the Rockies on June 25-26, or the Blue Jays on any of the four days after that (June 27-30).

It's all part of the Red Sox' "Calling All Kids" month, which features a number of other contests and opportunities. Click here to check out the details on those.

The Patriots wrap up a second week of organized team activities in Foxborough on Thursday -- but Tom Brady plans on throwing the football around on Friday, too. Joined by teammates, celebrities, other athletes, and more, the quarterback will be at Harvard Stadium for the annual Tom Brady Football Challenge.

Kickoff is at 6 p.m., with the program starting 15 minutes earlier, and tickets are free (though they must be reserved here beforehand). The flag football game is held in conjunction with the Best Buddies Challenge, which will follow a day later, but Brady announced last month that money raised Friday night will be donated to the One Fund Boston and victims of April's marathon bombing.

As for Saturday's Best Buddies Challenge, it benefits an organization Brady has been involved with for 12 years, and is the first of four 2013 events nationally. It features a 100-mile bike ride winding from the JFK Presidential Library to Hyannis Port, though riders can join in Carver for the final 50 miles, or in Sandwich for the final 20 miles. The bikers will be joined along the way by cycling legend George Hincapie, while there's also a 5k run/walk that takes place in Hyannis Port, and that will be led by Olympic icon Carl Lewis.

Brady, who is the event chair, will be among those waiting for everybody at the finish line -- where all participants will celebrate at a private beach-side party with gourmet food, an open bar, celebrity guests, and concert by Dennis DeYoung (of Styx).

More than 1,500 people are expected to participate -- registration is still open -- including some of those who will benefit from the money raised in support of Best Buddies International, a non-profit dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. Last year's Hyannis Port event raised $3 million-$4 million, according to Brady, who would like to see that number climb this time around.

"Hopefully we can do more this year," he said in a recent appearance on WEEI. "Come on out, it's a great event, a lot of my teammates will be there and it's really the highlight of my offseason."

Thanks in part to a couple of former Red Sox players, Jeff Bauman and Carlos Arredondo weren't the only heroes of the Boston Marathon bombings throwing ceremonial first pitches from major-league mounds on Tuesday night.

About a month after Josh Reddick and Brandon Moss visited Aaron Hern in his room at Boston's Children's Hospital, their new team, the Oakland Athletics, welcomed the 12-year-old to open the festivities before the A's took on the rival Giants at O.co Coliseum. It had been just 43 days since Hern was standing near the finish line to watch his mother in her first Boston race when an explosion sent bits of shrapnel into his legs, leaving a particularly deep wound in his left thigh and necessitating a sequence of surgeries -- but when his parents forgot his crutches Tuesday night, he walked strongly to the mound and tossed the baseball to his new friend, Moss.

"The hospital visit by the A's was a special thing," Alan Hern, Aaron's father, told the Silicon Valley Mercury News. "It was a very cool thing for them to do. Aaron really hit it off with Moss. They talked about how it would be nice to meet under different circumstances."

The April 22 visit was arranged by Oakland first base coach Tye Waller, who accompanied the players to the hospital after learning that the sixth-grade student from Martinez, Calif., was among those injured. Moss and Reddick didn't hesitate, both having visited the hospital before during their days with the Sox, and understanding the way meeting a big-leaguer can brighten a kid's day.

Among his other visitors while at Children's was First Lady Michelle Obama, and once he returned home to the Oakland area, the Golden State Warriors gave Hern, his family, and his 10-year-old sister courtside seats for their playoff clincher against the Nuggets. Then came Tuesday's honor at the Coliseum.

And now he continues the process of just getting to be a 12-year-old again.

"He's back in school. He was at a pool party the other day with his friends from junior high. He's got an iPod Touch, too, so he's texting like all his friends," Alan Hern told the Mercury News.

"But he still has bad days. And it's hard to predict when they might come or what might set them off. It might be a song he hears or an image. Sometimes it's nothing at all."

As they continue their support of defender Kevin Alston, who was recently diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia, the Revolution have joined with The Midnight Riders in giving a chance for fans of the club to put their knowledge of the Revs, of sports, and of pop culture to good use.

Thursday night at The Banshee in Dorchester they'll host a trivia night where all proceeds will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Alston himself is expected to attend, along with a number of teammates including Matt Reis, Kelyn Rowe, and Stephen McCarthy, and they'll be competing in a contest that offers giveaways and a variety of prizes, including Revolution tickets and autographed memorabilia. The Rev Girls will be there, too.

"As soon as we heard about Kevin and his diagnosis, we came to the team to help however we could,” said Fran Harrington, president of the Midnight Riders, which is an independent group of Revolution supporters. “Our first idea was a trivia night, which coincidentally was what the team had in mind as well, so we decided to combine our efforts and throw one trivia night to raise some money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and show our boy Kevin support.”

The 21-plus event begins at 7:30 p.m., with tickets available for purchase here. And if you can't make that event, but still want to support Alston, the Revolution are expected to announce soon that June 8 -- when the team plays DC United -- will be Kevin Alston Bobblehead Night.

A year ago Friday, Rajon Rondo was readying for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Philadelphia, a contest in which he would post a triple-double and dominate the deciding fourth quarter of a clinching Celtics victory.

A year later, this time far away from his team and Coach Doc, Rondo found himself sitting next to another Rivers. Joan Rivers. And they were talking fashion, naturally.

While the NBA playoffs raged elsewhere, Rondo joined the E! network's Fashion Police for a six-minute segment that began with Rivers asking the 6-foot-1 guard if basketball people refer to him as the "Gary Coleman of the NBA," because knowing nothing except that he was a hoops player she was expecting him to be more like 7-foot-9.

Rivers admitted beforehand that she'd never previously heard of Rondo, but their mutual love for fashion and trends helped facilitate an interview that an easygoing Rondo seemed to enjoy. It began not with an update on the player's recovery after tearing his ACL in late January, but rather with the folks from the network that makes sure we keep up with the Kardashians seizing the chance for some subtle cross-promotion when Rivers asked Rondo what he did to provoke a fight with Kim's ex-husband, the Nets' Kris Humphries, early last season. Rondo laughed at the cracks, but eventually brushed it aside -- "I don't have a problem with Kris Humphries" -- and the conversation moved on to the more pressing matters at hand.

They talked about Rondo's internship with GQ last summer, about his favorite designers, and about attending New York Fashion Week, which Rondo said he plans to do again soon. Then they talked about a particular piece of the point guard's wardrobe, and let their panel of fashion plates debate whether he should trash or stash one of his more controversial pieces of clothing.

The item in question was the jacket he wore to his press conference after the Celts lost Game 5 to the Hawks in 2012. In case you need a refresher:

Ultimately an audience vote decided that Rondo should get rid of the garment, and instead of shoot it into the trash barrel himself, he passed it off to co-host Giuliana Rancic and let her put it home. (Typical Rondo: always chasing assists and trying to pad his stats.)

The best comment of the discussion, though, came from Rivers -- no relation to Doc, by the way -- who looked at the jacket and added one of the Celtics' rivals to a hit list that included LaToya Jackson, Gary Busey, Julianne Moore, and several others over the course of the show.

"It's a little too old," she said. "It's mostly black, and not accomplishing anything. I'm surprised that it doesn't play for the Lakers."

Jared Sullinger -- the rookie forward who the Celtics surely could've used in the playoffs, had he not been down with a back injury -- joined ex-players Walter McCarthy and Dana Barros among a group celebrating the 22nd year of the team's Stay in School program with more than 1,500 middle school students at Northeastern's Matthews Arena.

Celtics President Rich Gotham was also in attendance, as were executives from presenting sponsor Arbella Insurance and Boston Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Carol Johnson, for an assembly that was the culmination of a year in which the initiative's efforts focused on instilling P.R.I.D.E. -- which stands for Perseverance, Respect, Integrity, Decisions, and Education. It was a message they delivered six times throughout the course of the season, according to the team's website, which indicates the Celtics participated in at least 35 community events between October and their playoff exit earlier this month.

Sullinger (pictured with McCarty above) was an active participant in those off-court activities during his first year in Boston -- and on the court he's confident he'll be even more active in year two, despite the surgery that has sidelined him since February. He hopes to be 100 percent by September or October, around the time training camp opens.

“I’ve got 10 weeks to get back to where I was or even better,” he told the Globe's Baxter Holmes on Thursday.

“Everybody says ‘back’ with a question mark, [but] you might as well put an X through that,” Sullinger continued. “Because I had surgery, I’m taking my time and getting back right. [There] won’t be no recurring injuries.”

The Red Sox will be in Baltimore for the middle game of a big series with the Orioles on June 15, so Fenway Park is available that day for anyone who'd like to take some swings or field balls off the Monster.

No, really. It's available.

All it takes to have that opportunity is a donation to the Jimmy Fund, part of which is a registration fee, but the rest of which is tax-deductible or could come by way of fundraising. A $750 donation gets one person onto the field for 30 minutes of fielding, a $2,000 donation gets 25 pitches at bat, and a $2,500 donation combines both of those packages into one experience. All of those also come with a bunch of other stuff, including a hat, shirt, and food, and if those who step up to the plate will have their names announced over the public address system while their name appears on the big screen in center field.

There are a couple of group packages available -- 24 people for $40,000, and six people for $18,000 -- while there's also an option to sponsor a patient. To learn how to do that, or for additional information on John Hancock Fenway Fantasy Day, click here.

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The Jimmy Fund is also looking for full teams to help raise money by joining the Jimmy Fund Little League Program presented by Extra Innings. Now in its 27th year, the program raised more than $230,000 for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute last summer, when 5,000 kids throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire participated in local tournament and fundraising efforts.

To learn more or to get involved, click here.

Boston considers itself a big-market sports town -- presenting its well-stocked trophy cases as an indication of its national import -- but Sports Illustrated released its 2013 list of the 50 highest-earning athletes in American sports on Tuesday, and not a single player among them takes his paycheck from one of this area's teams.

That, however, doesn't mean the list isn't interesting to people in these parts. Here it is, in its entirety (based on total earnings from salary, winnings, bonuses, and endorsements). And here are some notes when looking at the list through a local lens:

• There are three former Boston athletes on the list. Celtic-for-a-few-months Joe Johnson is No. 43. More interesting, though, are Adrian Gonzalez (No. 34) and Carl Crawford (No. 42), in large part because their presence here is due to the contracts they both received from the Red Sox. In a way, seeing them here makes last August's megatrade all the more remarkable, considering Boston GM Ben Cherington was able to unload all except about $12 million of not only his two biggest contracts, and two of baseball's biggest contracts, but a couple of the biggest contracts in all of American sports -- and still get stud pitching prospects Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa in return.
• It's not as though the deal crippled the Dodgers' ability to spend money, however. The club gave Zack Greinke an enormous contract when he was a free-agent this winter, so despite making a paltry $20,000 in endorsements, the righty ranks 10th with an income of $29,020,000. Matt Kemp is also on the list, so the Dodgers are represented by a total of four players who they'll pay a combined $92 million in 2013.
• Led by Kobe Bryant at No. 4, Los Angeles clubs currently employ eight of the 46 team-sport athletes. Vernon Wells would've been a ninth, but he was traded to the Yankees, giving New York a total of 10 players. Half of those are Yankees, and three of those Yankees -- Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, and Derek Jeter -- haven't played a game this season.
• The next-best represented cities are Detroit and Philadelphia, with four each. The Lions' Calvin Johnson is the only non-baseball player among that group. Other cities with multiple athletes on the list include Miami and San Francisco, with three each, as well as Chicago and (believe it or not) Tampa, with two each.
• The most notable absence from a Boston perspective is Tom Brady, especially considering there are two quarterbacks in the top eight -- No. 3 Drew Brees and No. 8 Peyton Manning -- and four on the list, with Matt Schaub 27th, while Eli Manning is 48th. And Brady's omission isn't because of the contract restructuring he did earlier this offseason. According to SI, for these calculations "salaries are based on current or most recently completed seasons; for instance, for NFL players the season that ended in February was used." So Brady isn't likely to appear in 2014, either, as reports indicate his salary for the upcoming season will be $1 million in addition to the $10 million bonus the Patriots will pay him.
• The only player to make the list from the AFC East is Bills' defensive end Mario Williams. His $25 million salary helps him rank 18th. The Yankees are the only players from the AL East on the list, while Knicks Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudamire join Brooklyn's Johnson as the only players from the Celtics' Atlantic division.
• Baseball is often criticized for its haves vs. have-nots system, though 11 of the 30 major-league franchises are represented on the list, including teams from Seattle (Felix Hernandez), Minnesota (Joe Mauer), and Cincinnati (Joey Votto).
• Of the 25 baseball players on the list, 11 are pitchers. Of the eight football players, the four non-QBs are WR Johnson, DE Williams, and the Buccaneers duo of WR Vincent Jackson and LG Carl Nicks. Of the 13 basketball players, only four are bigs.
• There are no hockey players on the list.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the only NASCAR driver on the list, though he slid from 8th last year to 49th this. His appearance is powered by an industry-leading $12 million in endorsements.
• Of the nine highest earners, LeBron James (No. 2) and Derrick Rose (No. 7) are the only athletes younger than 34 years old. Maybe not coincidentally, six of those top nine have missed significant time due to injury (Bryant, Tiger Woods, Rose, Manning, Rodriguez) or imprisonment (No. 1 Floyd Mayweather Jr.) over the past few years.

In addressing the crowd at Fenway Park's first home game after the Boston Marathon Bombing, David Ortiz delivered a most memorable quote. And now he's wielding those words to raise money for the victims of the attack.

The Red Sox designated hitter announced that in conjunction with Marucci Sports he'll be selling customized bats, and 100 percent of the net proceeds will be donated to the One Fund Boston and other sources of victim support. Available at BigPapi.com, the bats look pretty cool: The barrel is blue, and reads, "This is our f-ing city!" next to a silhouette of what appears to be Ortiz pointing skyward after a home run. Next to that, where a player's name would normally be printed, these bats say, "Never Forget. BOSTON STRONG. 4.15.13."

Unsigned bats are being sold for $125, while a $500 donation buys an autographed model. They can be shipped anywhere in the United States, and according to the order form it looks as though you can order up to 20 of each.

Ortiz also left a message on his site:

My Fellow Bostonians,

On April 15, 2013, nearly a decade after I first came to Boston, our city was attacked during one of Boston's most beloved events. Through the great bravery of our service men and women, and the strength of our citizens, Boston has and will continue to persevere through this tragedy. I wanted to figure out a way to do something to help the victims, so I reached out to my partner Marucci Sports who have created these bats to help raise money for those affected by this tragedy. 100% of the net proceeds from these sales will go to the OneFund and other victims of this terrible event. When I gave my speech during the pregame ceremony of our first game back, I fully meant the words I said. Let's get together as a city to show everyone that "nobody is gonna dictate our freedom!"

Boston Strong,
David Ortiz

We won't know until some point late Monday night whether it was an omen -- or merely a coincidence. But already we know this: The Maple Leafs have eliminated the Bruins in the round of 16 ...

... of the NHL 14 Cover Vote currently being conducted by EA Sports.

In a battle of former second-overall picks, Toronto's James van Riemsdyk ousted Boston's Tyler Seguin in a left-bracket quarterfinal that went final on Sunday night -- not long after the real-life Leafs beat the in-the-flesh Bruins to force Monday's deciding Game 7 at TD Garden.

The former University of New Hampshire Wildcat assisted on both of Toronto's tallies in its 2-1 victory, and his five points over the first six games could only have helped him in the vote, which is decided by fans making their picks at NHL.com/covervote and on Twitter. Seguin, in the meantime, is still looking for his first point in the series despite 27 shots on goal and nearly 104 minutes of ice time.

Van Riemsdyk next takes on Martin Brodeur -- and if he wins that he could find himself up against teammate Joffrey Lupul in a battle for a finals berth, with Lupul taking on Pavel Datsyuk in the quarters.

That'd probably be fine with Seguin and the Bruins, though, as long as they're able to make sure the tussle be on a video game cover is the only competition the Leafs are still fighting to win after tonight, and Toronto's only triumph comes in a popularity contest. Omens be darned.

Manny Ramirez lasted only 17 at-bats as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays, retiring from Major League Baseball after registering one hit and a failed drug test in five games. But if he'd only stuck around longer it looks like he might've fit in.

Joe Maddon's Rays are famous for their themed road trips, traveling to their next city in some sort of silly garb, and this week the team Ramirez is playing for in Taiwan decided to do the same thing. According to MLB.com's Dakota Gardner, the EDA Rhinos opted to wear Halloween costumes while riding the train along the coast of Taiwan.

And so, buying in completely, Manny was no longer being Manny. Manny was being the Hulk. With sunglasses. And toe shoes.

We can only assume the costume was as well-received as the ex-Red Sox slugger's home runs have been in the Far East. And that this isn't the last time Manny makes news merely by doing something goofy.

UPDATE: For more oft-hilarious tales of Manny's time in Taiwan, follow Brandon DuBreuil on Twitter, and check out his site dedicated to the subject, mannydoestaiwan.com. He reports the costumed ride was specifically mean for the rookies, and seeing that the soon-to-be-41-year-old Ramirez is technically one of those, he hopped on board. The site is full of good stuff, and definitely one to check back on as the CPBL season continues.

Looking for a place to take the mom in your life this Mother's Day? The Red Sox would like to suggest a visit to Fenway Park -- and for more than just a baseball game.

After the Sox and Blue Jays are finished with the ballpark on Sunday afternoon, the club will welcome mothers and their kids on to the infield to run the bases. In my case it'd be nothing short of a Mother's Day Miracle if my mother made it all the way around, considering I don't think she's run a total of 360 feet in the last 30 years, but there are alluring perks for those types of moms, too: Fenway tours will be free for women all weekend, while during Sunday's contest women can receive a complimentary chair massage, courtesy of Equinox Fitness, in the Champions Club located behind right field.

It's all part of a month-long celebration of "Women and Baseball," with the Sox planning to highlight that theme at each of May's 13 home games. Leading up to Mother's Day, events include the Red Sox Wives conducting a mystery grab bag fundraiser supporting the One Fund on May 9 and 10 -- with fans who donate $40 having a chance to “grab” an autographed baseball. The next day, Miss Universe, Olivia Culpo, will be on hand as the Sox celebrate her native Rhode Island.

Of course, it might also be a good idea to get gifts for the moms in your life, and the Red Sox are currently offering discounts on jewelry and handbags bought through their team store.

There's also a new piece from Alex and Ani, the local brand that has created an exclusive expandable wire bangle to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the partnership between the Red Sox and the Jimmy Fund. Pictured below, the bracelet is available in gold or silver, and can be purchased for $28 by going here or to an Alex and Ani store.

Each bangle is accompanied by a meaning card that is marked with three descriptive words -- legacy, teamwork, dedication -- and 20 percent of the proceeds from the sale of the bangle go directly to the Jimmy Fund. Might be a nice accessory to wear on a Sunday in the park.

A Division I-recruited pitcher who always dreamed of making it to the big leagues, David Mellor saw those hopes all but dashed in the summer of 1981, when he was run down by a car in the parking lot of a McDonald's and told he'd never walk normally again.

But determined to get there one way or the other, he still made it to the majors. And you're probably quite familiar -- perhaps occasionally in awe -- of his work.

Here's a look at Fenway Park's groundskeeper, as told by Buster Olney on ESPN's E:60 news show.

In the last few weeks, a couple members of the Revolution have been hit by hardship. On April 8, the team announced that 24-year-old defender Kevin Alston had been diagnosed with Leukemia, then, a week later, the father-in-law of goalkeeper Matt Reis was among those seriously injured in the Boston Marathon bombing.

Now, while Alston continues to receive treatment for his cancer, and while Reis' father-in-law remains hospitalized after being upgraded from critical to serious condition, the club is looking to raise money on behalf of both causes. The New England Revolution Charitable Foundation has opened a memorabilia auction at biddingforgood.com, with all proceeds to be donated to the One Fund Boston and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

The auction is available here, and will feature items from last Saturday’s match against the Philadelphia Union. Bidding is open now through noon on May 7.

Going directly to the One Fund will be money raised on bids for a team-autographed 2013 BAA Boston Marathon white medical staff jacket, a Chris Tierney-autographed 2013 BAA Boston Marathon yellow volunteer jacket, and a Jay Heaps-autographed 2013 BAA Boston Marathon blue manager jacket.

Money bid on autographed jerseys worn during the Union match, all featuring an orange leukemia awareness ribbons, will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Up for bid are Reis' black No. 1 goalkeeper jersey, Bobby Shuttleworth's black No. 22 goalie jersey, as well as the navy jerseys of these players:

• Jerry Bengtson’s (game-worn) #27


• Scott Caldwell’s (game-worn) #6


• Kalifa Cisse’s (game-worn) #4


• Andrew Farrell’s (game-worn) #2


• Diego Fagundez’s (game-worn) #14


• Jose Goncalves’ (game-worn) #23


• Ryan Guy’s (game-worn) #13


• Stephen McCarthy’s (game-worn) #15


• Lee Nguyen’s (game-worn) #24


• Kelyn Rowe’s (game-worn) #11


• Saer Sene’s (game-worn) #39


• Chris Tierney’s (game-worn) #8


• Andy Dorman’s #12


• Darrius Barnes’ #25


• Sainey Nyassi’s #17

Because we know you were dying to know who won the Burger Brawl, here's how it finished:

A couple hours before Sports Illustrated published details of his personal life that could permanently alter the sociological landscape of American professional sports, Jason Collins picked Twitter as his platform.

"Played golf for the 1st time since Oct on Sun," he wrote. "I broke 100 and had a birdie. Great way to relax before the start of a big week."

Initially seeming little more than another innocuous, mundane update typical of social media, the Tweet -- particularly the final sentence -- made much more sense soon enough, when SI released a first-person essay in which Collins revealed he is gay and set a spark to the trail he is about to blaze. The center the Celtics traded to the Wizards in February is believed to be the first male athlete in the United States' big-four pro sports leagues to live openly as a homosexual while he's still an active player.

Most certainly, Collins is not the only gay player currently in major-league American sports -- likely not even in the NBA -- so we knew this day was eventually coming. In fact, it became a hot-button issue around the time of the Super Bowl, then a month ago the NFL Players Association said it was making plans to prepare its members for the "inevitability" that one of them would come out. In other sports, teams like the Bruins have backed campaigns encouraging openness, and all sorts of players have long been asked how they'd feel if a teammate was to tell them he was gay. Those questions were posed with the safe assumption that someday one of them would.

But that doesn't make Collins' admission any less courageous, or this moment any less important, or this day any less of one to feel good about. After all, there are reasons a revelation such as this hadn't happened already, and whatever those reasons may be, we can take pride in knowing our society has at least progressed to the point where hope for acceptance and inclusion outweighs the fear of ridicule and ostracism for a person working in a high-profile and most-macho profession.

As Collins explained over the course of 2,906 poignant, powerful, and sometimes soul-pouring words, "I'm glad I'm coming out in 2013 rather than 2003" because "the climate has shifted; public opinion has shifted." In a way, there's some sadness in those words; they present a reality in which Collins has spent the vast majority of his career hiding something, and has been kept from getting close to any of his teammates because of his so-called "double life."

Though that's why, as much as an eventuality as it may have seemed, it is important that Collins came forward now. Having told his twin brother of his sexuality last summer, and other family members at other times, he waited until after his 12th NBA season so as not to cause a distraction for the Celtics, or the Wizards. But by not waiting any longer, he opened the door to the closet for anyone else to walk through as soon as they're ready.

Ex-power forward John Amaechi decided he wasn't ready until after he retired, though hopefully because of what Collins did today, a decade from now there won't be a pro athlete who delayed coming out until 2023 rather than 2013. And hopefully the reaction from the NBA community only furthers that process.

Collins admittedly doesn't know what that reaction will be, even after a dozen years in the league. He says that as a pragmatist he's expecting the worst while hoping for the best, and at least early the response has been positive. Dozens of his peers have taken to Twitter with messages of support -- the list of well-wishers including Kobe Bryant to Mark Madsen and guys of all skill levels in between -- while Commissioner David Stern reached out to tell Collins he was proud of him, and Celtics Coach Doc Rivers released a statement through his team that likened Collins' bold step to baseball's breaking of the color barrier.

"I am extremely happy and proud of Jason Collins," Rivers said. "He’s a pro’s pro. He is the consummate professional and he is one of my favorite 'team' players I have ever coached. If you have learned anything from Jackie Robinson, it is that teammates are always the first to accept. It will be society who has to learn tolerance.

"One of my favorite sayings is, 'I am who I am, are whom we are, can be what I want to be its not up to you, it’s just me being me.'"

Collins praised Rivers' attitude in the SI piece, and the column somewhat suggests that his brief stint in Boston did have an impact in moving him toward today's disclosure. He notes he was jealous that Massachusetts Congressman Joe Kennedy, his old roommate at Stanford, could walk in last year's gay pride parade -- yet Collins couldn't even openly cheer. Then, having lived near the site of the Boston Marathon bombings, he asked himself, "Things can change in an instant, so why not live truthfully?" and decided to do so.

Because of that decision, he says he's happier. He's finally able to be honest, and genuine, and if anyone in the NBA is uneasy with the reason why that is, the center says he's happy to sit down with them and discuss it. If that doesn't work, and he finds himself on the court "up against an intolerant player, I'll set a pretty hard pick on him. And then move on."

Here's hoping a big man who has made his career out of using his fouls and proudly setting picks doesn't have to change his game just to send a message -- but moving on won't be easy. While Collins may have written that he has never sought the spotlight, by making himself a pioneer he has instantly gone from a basketball backup who plays 10 minutes a night to a face of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community nationwide.

That's an enormous change in responsibility -- though it is just as enormously important a role to undertake. Nineteen months after Barack Obama told gays they could exist openly in the military, Jason Collins told gays they could do the same in major-league sports, and with another wall of testosterone having been torn down our culture has moved a step closer to an ideal where everyone can simply be himself. A step closer to acceptance and true tolerance.

A step closer to the day when word that a pro athlete broke 100 on the golf course, and made a birdie, is just as newsworthy as the fact that he's gay.