Some Things I Think I Think: Now it’s time for Craig Breslow to be in the crosshairs

Now that he has moved on from Cora and every staff member who was loyal to the former manager, the rest is up to Breslow. And surely he knows that the mandate is to turn around a disastrous start to the season. Or else.

Otherwise, Breslow may soon join Cora in unemployment,

∗ No matter how you slice it, the choice of Caleb Lomu as the Patriots’ first-round pick is a curious one. While it’s certainly essential for the Pats to prioritize protecting Drake Maye, for now, Lomu doesn’t figure to crack the starting lineup this fall — as long as Will Campbell and Morgan Moses are healthy.

If anything, Lomu would appear to be an insurance policy, selected in case Campbell struggles again as he did in the playoffs, allowing the team to move Campbell to guard while Lomu takes over at left tackle. Having depth at such an important position as tackle is great, but the Patriots aren’t so rich in talent that they fail to get an immediate starter out of their top pick.

∗ The first two games of the Bruins’ playoff series with the Sabres was all the evidence you need that the B’s can indeed advance to the second round. The Bruins were clearly the better team in the first two games and should have returned to Boston up 2-0.

The series has also served as a reminder that Jeremy Swayman is back in top form. If the Bruins are going to pull an upset, they need their goalie to outplay the Sabres’ choice in net. Through three games, Swayman has done just that.

∗ If they handed out awards for Most Stubborn Coach in the NBA, Joe Mazzulla would win that, too. Mazzulla’s unyielding devotion to the three-pointer is thing to behold.

∗ The first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs have been riveting, per usual — except for the epidemic of goalmouth scrums that break out every time a goalie freezes the puck. There’s nothing more tiresome than the requisite pushing and shoving that accompany every whistle and serve no purpose except to interrupt the game flow and extend the time of games. Here’s hoping that the NHL meant business when it recently warned that penalties would be enforced.

∗ At the very least, Mike Vrabel could have expressed his regret that Dianne Russinni lost her job out of all this. When Vrabel disingenuously said he “couldn’t” comment on that — as if we were dealing with some ongoing legal case and he was under a court order — he actually meant he didn’t want to comment.

∗ We’re all guilty of introducing silly phrases into our sports lexicon. This spring, you can hardly watch an NHL broadcast without hearing an analyst talk about a player who plays “on the right side of the puck.” Whatever that means....

∗ Could FIFA be any more full of itself? There’s a radio spot airing locally that refers to World Cup games being played in “Boston Stadium” which is laughably incorrect on two fronts — that’s neither the name of the facility, nor the location. But if you’re a sponsor that isn’t paying the world’s most corrupt sports entity directly, you simple don’t exist.

∗ Some Yankee players have expressed to management that they’d like to try the concept of alternate jerseys, as 29 other franchises have done, and well, the amount of pearl-clutching that ensued was pretty darn entertaining.

∗ Elsewhere on the New York sports scene, the Knicks are underachieving in the postseason, and no one could possibly have seen that coming — not after the team last won a title a mere 53 seasons ago.

∗ The Bruins have a rich history of great players, many of whom reside locally. So with no disrespect intended to Logan Mankins, why does the team import stars from the other teams in town to serve as banner captains for playoff games?

∗ Finally, recommended reading: Bosses of the Bronx, from top New York Post columnist extraordinaire Mike Vaccaro, examines the stewardship of the Yankees by George Steinbrenner and his son Hal. Vaccaro has long been a keen observer of the New York sports scene and intuitively understands the franchise’s place in history. There are plenty of great stories told and for those who aren’t as interested in pinstripes lore, no shortage of Red Sox-related content, too.

More Red Sox coverage

• What they’re saying nationally about Red Sox parting ways with Alex Cora
• Alex Cora should be relieved - The Red Sox mess is somebody else’s problem now
• How Alex Cora’s last hours as Red Sox manager played out | Chris Cotillo
• Sean McAdam, Chris Cotillo react to Red Sox firing Alex Cora | Fenway Rundown
• Red Sox’ Alex Cora went from first-year winner to survivor; Eventually, though, time ran out for him|Sean McAdam

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