20 stories that made Boston sports in 2013

It was an unforgettable year on the Boston sports scene. The four major sports teams were all involved in either championship runs or a thorough rebuilding. Some of Boston’s biggest sports stars packed their bags while newcomers made a splash on the scene. And other stories arose that crossed the line into the hard news landscape, some shocking us in disbelief.

Click through the gallery to see our Top 20 list of stories for the year.
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Winslow Townson for The Boston Globe

20. Andre Williams is best running back in college football

Heisman Fever gripped Hub for a few days when Andre Williams, the highly decorated and skilled Boston College running back, was being mentioned as a possible candidate for college football’s highest honor. But once it was announced that Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston would not be prosecuted in a sexual assault case, the buzz cooled in Chestnut Hill as it was then a foregone conclusion that Winston would walk away with the venerable trophy. But it was a spectacular season – 2,000 yards – for the senior back, who became BC’s 12 different consensus All-American and the Eagles all-time leading rusher.

“God has just shown me a lot of favor, shown BC a lot of favor, and I’m glad that I could represent BC well and go out on a high note,” Williams said after receiving the Doak Walker Award as the nation’s best running back in December.
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19. The Big O is out at WEEI

In what my colleague Chad Finn described as “a seismic shakeup” at sports radio WEEI, Glenn Ordway was shown the door in February, ending a 27-year run at the station for the affable and talented host. “It’s their decision, it’s not mine,” Ordway said at the time of the firing. “It’s obvious that we are not getting the ratings that we need to get on this program.”

Launched in 1995, Ordway’s “The Big Show” was must-listen-to radio and had the luxury of being the only game in town until CBS Radio-owned 98.5 The Sports Hub launched in August 2009 with the popular “Felger and Massarotti” pulling listeners over to the new station in the afternoons.

With Ordway out and Mike Salk taking over with co-host Michael Holley, WEEI continues to struggle with their afternoon program ratings-wise, while Felger and Mazz continute to dominate the afternoon drive in Boston. Meanwhile, Ordway has a Sirius XM radio program, titled “The Big Weekend Show with Glenn Ordway,” which airs every Saturday and Sundays at 8 a.m.
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Jim Davis/Globe Staff

18. Ryan Dempster plunks A-Rod

It was the plunk heard ‘round the world last August when Red Sox righthander Ryan Dempster sent a message to the embattled Alex Rodriguez about what he thinks of so-called cheaters when he fired a fastball into his back during a Sunday Night Baseball showdown between Boston and New York at Fenway.

A-Rod called Dempster’s hitting him “unprofessional,” … like when he tried to knock the ball out of Bronson Arroyo’s glove trying to get to first base. Official Friend-of-Alex David Ortiz said he didn’t like Dempster’s plunking to complicate the matter further among Red Sox Nation. Dempster naturally denied throwing at the disgraced three-time MVP, who is fighting MLB on a pending 211-game suspension.

Dempster received a five-game suspension for the act – essentially zero for a starting pitcher – and he went along to celebrate a World Series Championship along with Ortiz when the Red Sox defeated the Cardinals in October. Rodriguez recently appeared at the David Ortiz Celebrity Golf Classic, causing another faux-firestorm when he appeared in a photo with the Red Sox DH.
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Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

17. Jacoby Ellsbury signs with Yankees

Well we knew he was gone. But this was Johnny Damon deja-vu all over again. Jacoby Ellsbury was a home-grown Red Sox product that never really seemed at home in Boston. And when his contract was up at the end of the 2013 season – and with two World Series rings on his resume – it was just a matter of time before he signed on the dotted line to play anywhere but Boston. But not many had him landing in New York to play center field for the dreaded Yankees for a whopping $153 million over seven years. Ells scooped up that deal faster than a one-hop ground ball to center.

Now we watch. We watch to see if Jackie Bradley, Jr. can handle a bat in the big leagues as Ellsbury’s replacement in Boston. And the majority of Red Sox Nation will be watching the Bronx Bombers more closely next season, openly rooting for Ellsbury to fail in New York. Stay tuned.
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Jim Rogash/Getty Images

16. David Ortiz delivers quote of the year

”This is our f-----g city. And nobody is going to dictate our freedom.”

David Ortiz put the city of Boston on his back and made the remark heard ‘round the world to the Fenway Park crowd at the emotional memorial service for Boston Marathon bombing victims when the Red Sox returned to the playing field on Apr. 20. The Fenway Faiithful roared when they heard the soundbite has been played countless times as part of the story of Boston’s healing, often with a beep covering the famous expletive.

In a strange twist, the official Twitter account of the Federal Communications Commission announced that Ortiz was off the hook as far as any potential fine, giving him a pass considering the magnitude of the moment.

The World Series MVP’s emotional battle-cry also came in at No. 2 in Yale’s top quotes of 2013. It will be interesting to see what message Big Papi has for Boston during the Patriots Day game that coincides with the 2014 Marathon on April 21.
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Barry Chin/Globe Staff

15. Jackie Bradley Jr. makes Opening Day lineup

It was THE STORY coming out of Red Sox camp back in March. Would Jackie Bradley Jr. make the Opening Day roster and would Boston lose a year of eligibility if JBJ wasn’t shipped down to Pawtucket. Bradley was en fuego in the Grapfruit League but that didn’t translate to the majors right away and he was soon suiting up for the PawSox while Daniel Nava and Jonny Gomes shared duties in left during the Red Sox World Series run.

Now with Jacoby Ellsbury suiting up in pinstripes in 2014, the center field job in Boston belongs to the 23-year-old Bradley. The defense is there, but the question remains if he will be able to handle the bat in the big leagues.
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Dominic Chavez/Globe Staff, Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff

14. Jerry Remy out of broadcast booth after son's arrest for murder

It was one of several high profile horrific news stories that touched the sports scene last summer. Jared Remy, son of uber-popular Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy, allegedly killed his girlfriend Jennifer Martel inside their Waltham home on Aug. 15. Jerry Remy took time off from the broadcast booth immediately and two weeks later, NESN announced that Remy would sit out the remaining games of the 2013 season to be with his family with the hope that the 61-year-old former Red Sox infielder would return in the spring.

Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley continued to develop a strong following while filling in for a number of games in Remy’s absence. Whether Remy will return to the NESN booth in 2014 has yet to be announced.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>It's John. Jerry will not be returning this season to spend time with his family. Read this just released statement. <a href="http://t.co/NgTwbaEb6s">pic.twitter.com/NgTwbaEb6s</a></p>&mdash; Jerry Remy (RemDawg) (@Jerry_Remy) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jerry_Remy/statuses/373270660513931264">August 30, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

I knew there was something special about Koji when he showed off his big personality right out of the gate during an interview in spring training. He was supposed to be one of the late inning guys, just one of many new faces to join the revamped Red Sox in 2013. You know the story. Boston started the season with two closers, but when both Andrew Bailey and Joel Hanrahan went down, the team turn its lonely eyes to …. Junichi Tazawa. When he faltered, they turned to Koji to fill the closer role and the team never looked back. The numbers were staggering and he was solid right through the clinching game of the 2013 World Series. The only question remaining is whether the 38-year-old Uehara can keep the magic going for another season in Boston.

On Dec. 9, battered and bruised Patriots tight end was put on injured reserve, ending his fourth NFL season. The Brown’s T.J. Ward took Gronk out at the knee and it was all over just as it was getting going again for the big receiver. The upcoming surgery to repair his torn anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in the right knee will be the sixth operation the 24-year-old has undergone since Nov. 19, 2012, the day after he broke his left forearm in a game against the Colts. In January, he reinjured the forearm in the playoffs. Gronkowski needed three more surgeries on the arm, and also underwent a microscopic lumbar discectomy on June 18. It’s not an overstatement to say Gronk has been injury riddled. But he manages to stay in the news with announcements about cameos in upcoming movies, potential TV shows, and when you’re not looking he shows up in a Whole Foods riding a grocery cart.

The questions now are, will these surgeries take a long-term toll? Does Gronk’s style of play and size make him a target for hard hits and will the hits prevent him from staying on the field for a full season going forward?

So far the Nets are 9-15 in the middle of the Atlantic division while Pierce is fifth in scoring for Brooklyn, coming in with around 12 points and 5 rebounds per game, while Garnett is averaging over seven rebounds but putting up just over 6 points per game.

They’re not gonna come walking through that door, but if they do, they’ll be old, gray and playing for the Brooklyn Nets. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are gone from the Boston sports landscape.

Garnett, the 18-year NBA veteran and 15-time All-Star that led the C’s the the 2008 world championship, was tabbed for the San Diego Clippers along with his old coach Doc Rivers before the NBA stepped in to nix the deal. KG was eventually shipped to the Brooklyn Nets with Pierce, the former Celtics captain and ten-time All-Star, as the Celtics put their rebuilding into overdrive.

“Today, the basketball gods smiled on the Nets,” said Nets Principal Owner Mikhail Prokhorov when the trade became official in July. “With the arrival of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, we have achieved a great balance on our roster between veteran stars and young talents. This team will be dazzling to watch, and tough to compete against.”

So far the Nets are 9-15 in the middle of the Atlantic division while Pierce is fifth in scoring for Brooklyn, coming in with around 12 points and 5 rebounds per game, while Garnett is averaging over seven rebounds but putting up just over 6 points per game.

In Boston, the big question remains, what will the Celtics eventually reap with the 2014 first round pick – the less favorable of the Hawks or Nets pick – that they picked up in the deal?

It was fun while it lasted. And that was until cut-down day. Tim Tebow joined the Patriots during training camp in 2013 and created mostly positive buzz in the wake of the murder arrest of Aaron Hernandez.

But three is a crowd when it comes to quarterbacks on the New England roster and the throwing-challenged former Heisman winner was not able to sneak ahead of Ryan Mallett in the Patriots pecking order. In his last preseason game, Tebow performed well—completing six-of-11 passes for 91 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. But it wasn’t enough to make him stick with Bill Belichick.

The Ravens avenged a bitter loss in the AFC title game in 2012 when they beat the Patiots 28-13 at Gillette Stadium in January. A weak second half offensive performance did the Patriots in and it was Ray Lewis’ gang that advanced to the Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49’ers. It was the first time the Patriots watched an opponent celebrate a trip to the Super Bowl on their home field and it was the eighth straight season without a ring for the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick combo.

“It always comes to a screeching halt. That’s just the way it is,” Brady said after the loss. “Only two teams advance and those two teams deserve it. We’ve lost before. It takes a while to get over.”

No one knew at the time how much would change after that title game loss. Wes Welker played his last game in a Patriots uniform. So did Aaron Hernandez. Tim Tebow came to town for a cup of coffee. Vince Wilfork, Jerrod Mayo, and Rob Gronkowski all went down with injuries. And now we wait to see how this Patriots team – on the verge of winning their 11th AFC title in the last 13 years – will fare in their quest to win their fourth Super Bowl title in franchise history in New Jersey on Feb. 2.

Revenge is a dish best served cold. And nothing was colder than the excerpts that came to light when former Red Sox manager Terry Francona published a tell-all book on his time with the Red Sox that he co-authored with the Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy.

This book covered it all. The good, the bad, and the ugly parts of the Red Sox dynasty, but mostly drew an unflattering portrait of the Red Sox brass that had brought two World Series titles to Boston at the time. Francona was fired after the infamous 2011 September collapse.

“Our owners in Boston, they’ve been owners for 10 years,” Francona is quoted in the book. “They come in with all these ideas about baseball, but I don’t think they love baseball. I think they like baseball. It’s revenue, and I know that’s their right and their interest because they’re owners—and they’re good owners. But they don’t love the game...”

Francona went on to lead the Indians to a postseaon appearance in winning manager of the year honors last season. The Red Sox meanwhile endured an embarrassing season with Bobby Valentine at the helm before roaring to a World Series championship behind. Francona has a frosty relationship with the Sox brass to this day but remains an immensely popular figure in Boston as we approach the 10-year anniversary of the epic 2004 championship.

This controversial trade was born on the fourth of July 2013. The Bruins decided to cut ties with former No. 2 overall pick Tyler Seguin after his disappointing playoff performance when the Bruins untimately fell to the Blackhawks in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The 21-year-old center/winger had a well-known reputation as someone who enjoyed the nightlife in Boston, while his performance on the ice could not keep up with his antics off the ice.

The key player the Bruins received in return was Louis Ericksson, along with some prospects with some upside who also cracked the Boston lineup.

Seguin leads the stars in scoring with 18 goals and 15 assists in 31 games. Meanwhile Riley Smith, who came back to Boston in the deal, has been a pleasant surprise, with 23 points in 34 games. But Ericksson, with 14 points in 24 games, has gotten off to a slow start and it looks early on like the Stars got the better of the deal here.

One thing is certain, the Seguin trade was one of the most hotly-debated topics on Boston sports radio through the summer, and continutes today.

It turns out he did not want to stay around for the rebuilding. From 2004 to 2013, Rivers guided talented Celtics teams to seven playoff runs, six Atlantic Division crowns, two finals appearances and one NBA championship in 2008. In 2011, after rumors that he would retire from coaching to be closer to his family, Rivers signed a five year, $35 million contract extension with Boston, where it was assumed he’d be the steward of a rebuilding process.

On June 25, the Celtics and Clippers agreed to a deal that let Rivers out of the remaining three years of his contract so that he could sign a deal with Los Angeles, where he also became the senior vice president for basketball operations. Rivers finished his career with the third-most wins of any Boston coach at 416, trailing only Tom Heinsohn (427) and Red Auerbach (795), but many fans feel he forced his way out of Boston and gave up on the Celtics.

Last week, Doc received a rousing ovation in his return to the Garden as a member of the Clippers. Now it will be interesting to see if his Clippers can do battle with the powers in the West come playoff time.

After playing out the one year franchise tag, Welker opted for free agency, and, in a seemingly unthinkable turn of events, Welker decided to leave New England and sign a two-year, $12 million deal with the Denver Bronocs, with speculation suggesting that he took less money to leave the Patriots after he decided he did not want to play for New England anymore.

Tom Brady’s former favorite target received cheers during introductions in his initial return to Gillette Stadium on Nov. 24. During the game, Welker was booed when he touched the ball, and cheered when he muffed a punt.

The end of Welker’s tenure in New England, however, was not as smooth as his catching ability. After a dropped pass on third down that arguably cost the Patriots the Super Bowl in 2012, Welker and the Patriots could not agree to a long-term extension, with the Patriots instead placing the franchise tag on him for the 2012 season..

Welker remains one of the top receivers in the NFL, with 10 touchdowns and over 70 receptions from likely future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning so far.

Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask was doing his best Tim Thomas circa 2011 impersonation throughout the NHL playoffs until he gave up two goals that came 17 seconds apart in final 76 seconds of Game 6 and the Chicago Blackhawks hoisted the Stanley Cup at the Garden in a 3-2 shocker for the ages.

Bruins fans were crushed but generally thankful for a second Cup Final appearance in the last two years. For nearly two months, B’s fans were treated to many epic postseason hockey games as the Bruins disposed of the Maple Leafs in a miracle comeback, took out the New York Rangers, then sweeping the Penguins before facing the Blackhawks. The Bruins were fun and inspiring – seeing Gregory Campbell skate on one leg against the Pens, and watching the hardnosed Patrice Bergeron gut it out in Game 6 with a broken rib among other injuries were among the iconic highlights of the Cup run.

The Bruins are back having a strong regular season, currently sitting atop the Atlantic Divion – sans Tyler Seguin – but in a position to give Boston another memorable ride next May and June.

The 2012 Red Sox (69-93 in case you hadn’t heard) were an embarrassment to Boston, but the organization turned it all the way around in just one season to win their third World Series title in the last 10 years. It was the most improbable championship for a Boston team since Adam Vinitieri split the uprights in New Orleans for the Patriots first title in 2002. But it took a while for the bearded bunch to catch on around New England.

The 2011 collapse, the 2012 debacle, and a book that implied ownership cared more about revenue than competing on the field took its toll on the enthusiasm of Red Sox Nation. Add in the fact that the Bruins played deep into June and the Patriots were making headlines for all the wrong reasons everyday, and it’s not hard to see how the resurgent Red Sox slipped under the radar in Boston until the final stretch of the regular season. Those who followed closely all the way witnessed a magical ride with a different Dirt Dog-type coming through every night. The postseason runs through Tampa and Detroit were exciting to the final outs, and even the World Series lived up to its billing this time with St. Louis showing up for a few games.

The team has now parted ways with Jacoby Ellsbury and Jarrod Saltalamacchia and hope A.J. Pierzynski and the young Jackie Bradley Jr. can seamlessly fit in and keep the short-term-contract magic going for 2014. Fans are now lining up in Fort Myers to get their hands on tickets for spring games, so maybe the Sons of John Farrell are back on the radar to stay. But can they do it again as they’re currently constituted?

On Wednesday June 26, then Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested and charged with murder for the fatal June 17 shooting of a friend, Odin Lloyd, in North Attleborough a few days after the two got into a dispute at a Boston nightclub. The 23-year-old receiving star had signed a $40 million contract with the Patriots a year before the arrest. He is now out of the NFL and staring at life in prison if convicted of the murder charge.

“No one in our organization was aware of any of these kind of connections. If it’s true, I’m just shocked,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in July in his first comments on the arrest. “Our whole organization has been duped.”

For weeks on end, the Hernandez murder saga was the only topic people were talking about in bars, on sports radio, in conference rooms, and in cities and towns across New England. On the field, the Patriots have strugged to regain the offensive punch they showcased when Hernandez was in the lineup along with Wes Welker a healthy Rob Gronkowski.

The publicity surrounding the case has been “virtually unprecedented in the history of the commonwealth” according to one of Hernandez’ three defense lawyers, and that buzz surrounding the Hernandez case won’t subside once the trial gets underway.

Boston’s signature athletic event turned unspeakably tragic when at 2:49 p.m. on April 15, 2013 the first of two bombs exploded near the Marathon finish line on Boylston Street. Three people were killed and more than 260 wounded in the attacks; an MIT police officer was also killed in a shootout during the manhunt. I saw the attack from 10 yards away, witnessed the heroic first responders in action, and watched my city transition from a state of shock to quick recovery mode.

The Red Sox made sure the city knew the team was behind them during the initial days. While in Cleveland on a three-day road trip, the players posed for a famous photo in the visitors’ clubhouse with a ‘‘B Strong’’ banner and a Red Sox jersey reading ‘‘Boston Strong’’ with the city’s 617 area code hung in the dugout.

In the first game back after the Marathon, the Red Sox conducted an emotional ceremony at Fenway Park that started with David Ortiz’ into a season-long tribute to honor the victims, doctors and nurses, police and other first-responders. The other Boston sports teams continued to honor those impacted by the events of April 15, with the Bruins having Marathon bombing survivors and first-responders astheir honorary captains for home games during their postseason run.

The Marathon will never be the same after the terrorist acts that took place last year. Next year’s marathon on April 21, 2014 is sure to be one of the most emotional days in Boston history. I’m looking forward to crossing the finish line with the other runners.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>I can't wait to put on my jersey today... I get to play for the strongest city out there. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23BostonStrong&src=hash">#BostonStrong</a></p>&mdash; Will Middlebrooks (@middlebrooks) <a href="https://twitter.com/middlebrooks/statuses/324153581152378881">April 16, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>