Here is one writer’s top 10 Boston sports stories of the year

BOS Nation FC is a welcome addition to Boston’s professional sports club, but wow, the expansion NWSL team can’t get out of its own way. The ongoing confusion regarding White Stadium continues to put its home field in jeopardy, with cost overruns, local pushback, and general wisdom over the renovation happening while the Revolution are planning their own stadium in Everett.

But that paled in comparison to how the new name was bungled, with BOS Nation FC itself a confusing amalgam of location and word play. Worse were the accompanying taglines that played off the idea of “too many balls,” a misguided attempt at humor that made the mistake of casting women’s sports in the framework of men’s sports, an antiquated approach that leagues such as the NWSL have been so good about moving away from.

As great as the Celtics are, it’s rare for New England to make this kind of mark in the college arena. Maine’s Cooper Flagg, the top recruit in the country and a standout freshman at Duke, was just named the ACC’s rookie of the week for the fourth time already this season after his 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.5 steals per game during a 2-0 week for the No. 5 Blue Devils.

And New England gets top billing again, with Brockton native AJ Dybantsa recently making headlines for choosing BYU, a live announcement on ESPN’s “First Take” that spoke to his national profile as much as his mammoth NIL money does. “Pretty cool and unusual,” is how our own Adam Himmelsbach put it. “The top recruits in their respective classes and likely No. 1 picks in the NBA draft in ‘25 and ‘26, especially considering the lack of NBA talent that has come out of the region.”

After the promise of a “full-throttle” offseason rang so hollow last year, and then the Sox were priced out of the Juan Soto sweepstakes this year, the franchise finally got into the market by landing a top-flight pitcher in Garrett Crochet, trading for the White Sox lefthander. While it’s always tough to give up prospects — in this case, former first-round picks Kyle Teel and Braden Montgomery — this team needs MLB-ready talent. Crochet definitely qualifies.

Have the Patriots finally found a worthy Tom Brady successor? Rookie Drake Maye is making it easy to believe, taking over as starter in Week 6 and not looking back since. He obviously can’t fix the franchise on his own, not without more help along the offensive line and weapons in the wide receiving corps, not without making his own improvements such as cutting down on interceptions or bulking up his body.

But after watching the likes of an aging Cam Newton, a worn and weathered Brian Hoyer, the not-ready-for-prime-time Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe or veteran Jacoby Brissett, Maye is bringing the excitement.

The US men’s Olympic gymnastics team was back on the podium for the first time since 2008, winning bronze in Paris. It wouldn’t have been there without New England’s best gymnasts. Led by Stoughton’s Frederick Richard, whose power and grace on the high bar was unforgettable, and Worcester’s Stephen Nedoroscik, the bespectacled, nerdy specialist whose clinching routine on the pommel horse was one of the Games’ viral moments, the US team was captivating.

While the Bruins went into a wash-rinse-repeat cycle in losing (again) to the dreaded Florida Panthers in the playoffs, the women of the PWHL crashed our hockey party, going on a scintillating playoff run in the league’s debut season. PWHL Boston, now known as the Fleet, made it all the way to Game 5 of the Finals, and though they lost to Minnesota, they won the hearts of fans.

As our own women’s hockey chronicler Kat Cornetta put it, “I had been in a lot of empty rinks for women’s hockey games over the last 15 years — from college games to the various pro leagues that tried before the PWHL — and to hear that roar and see a sold-out arena that night made me tear up.”

A Presidents’ Trophy in his first year, the playoffs again in Year 2. But a slow start this season and Jim Montgomery was out, fired after 20 games. Coaches always take the fall when a team needs a wake-up call. You can’t fire an entire roster. But still, this was a stunning fall for Monty, whose hiring in the wake of Bruce Cassidy’s firing was such an early success. Beat writer Jim McBride put it best: “Other than starting QB, no job in sports has less security than NHL head coach.”

The Bruins’ front office is still on notice though, no matter how much the switch to Joe Sacco has improved things. Don Sweeney’s record free agent payouts to Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov have a long way to go to rival the 2006 impact of Peter Chiarelli’s Marc Savard/Zdeno Chara addition.

Only one track and field athlete left Paris with three gold medals: Northampton’s own Gabby Thomas.

With an unforgettable win in the 200, which she called “the happiest moment of my life,” Thomas was far from finished. She ran the third legs in two gold medal-winning relays, the 4×100 and 4×400, bringing her home as the most decorated athlete in her sport. Watch out Los Angeles 2028.

Twenty years. Six Super Bowls. The Bill Belichick era in New England is one of the greatest in sports history. But it came to an end Jan. 11, with owner Robert Kraft trying to persuade us the two had “mutually parted ways” only to acknowledge later he had indeed fired the future Hall of Fame coach. It’s impossible to overstate what Belichick accomplished with the Patriots. Already a championship coach, having won Super Bowls as the defensive coordinator with the Giants, Belichick’s union with Brady transformed an NFL laughingstock franchise into the league’s gold standard, putting the idea of the Patriot Way into our sports lexicon forever.

And now Belichick is on to UNC.

The Celtics were an absolute wagon last season, winning title No. 18 at TD Garden after romping their way through the playoffs. They left no doubt about being the best franchise in the history of the NBA, pushing one title ahead of the Lakers with a five-game win over the Mavericks, capping a 64-win regular season with a 16-3 record in the playoffs.

Banner No. 18 did so much for everyone involved, elevating coach Joe Mazzulla beyond the strange circumstances of his hiring, coronating Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum as superstars worthy of comparison to any in Celtic green, earning them all a duck boat parade the city won’t soon forget. Easily the best story of the year.

---

Tara Sullivan is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at tara.sullivan@globe.com. Follow her @Globe_Tara.