Boston: Hello darkness, my old friend

🏈Patriots: That extra hour of sunshine came just in time, because we’re having trouble finding a bright spot in the latest Patriots news. On Friday, the Pats signed quarterback (QB) Cam Newton to a one-year, $13.6 million deal. In Newton’s first season as New England’s starting QB, the Pats missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Yeah, not great.

• Even with the massive deal, Newton still might not be a lock for the starting job. The Pats are reportedly still interested in finding another QB to add some competition for Cam. In Bill we trust.

• And in non-QB news, the Pats traded three-time Super Bowl champ and right tackle Marcus Cannon to the Houston Texans in exchange for late round draft picks. Cannon is a cancer survivor and had opted out of the 2020 season. Thanks for everything, Marcus!

🏒College hockey: No. 9 BU and No. 20 Northeastern both lost their men’s Hockey East quarterfinal matchups yesterday, but No. 1 B.C. held it down for the Hub, defeating New Hampshire 3–2.

• The Eagles now advance to Wednesday’s semifinal, where they’ll take on UMass Lowell. Puck drop is at 4:30 p.m. ET. We’ll see you there.

And the women have us covered ’til then anyway, as the NCAA tournament begins later today. No. 1-seeded Northeastern will face No. 8 Robert Morris at 2 p.m. ET while No. 6 B.C. takes on No. 3 Ohio State tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET. Okay ladies, now let’s get in formation.