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Write to us at startingpoint@globe.com. To subscribe, sign up here. The victory image has been a time-honored trope in sports for thousands of years. Today, photos of players celebrating championship wins go viral on social media. In particularly momentous years, they dominate newspaper front pages. Millennia ago, the ancient Greeks decorated terra cotta jars with racers sprinting, boxers duking, and Nike, the goddess of victory, preparing to crown the winners. Even in today’s multibillion-dollar, idol-worshipping world of professional sports, championships don’t just happen. They’re products of incremental wins — like the kind the Patriots have been stringing together these past several weeks. In their first season under head coach Mike Vrabel, the Pats have won their last six games in a row and are 7-2, tied for the best record in the NFL. Globe photographer Matt Lee was at one of those games last month, watching the Pats beat the Cleveland Browns at Gillette Stadium. During the third quarter, Matt took the above photo of Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte celebrating a 39-yard touchdown reception with tight end Hunter Henry, who grins and throws his arms wide in triumph as fans look on in the background. The Pats’ streak owes to a combination of preseason planning and a soft schedule. And if winning games takes both preparation and luck, photographing them does, too. As the Pats get closer to the end zone, Matt tends to position himself closer to the middle. If the Pats score, as they did on the next play that day when Boutte caught a pass from quarterback Drake Maye, the celebrating begins — but not for Matt, who has to delay gratification a few moments longer. “The key to great reaction photos is to stay on the play after the score,” he says. “Because sometimes the money shot is the reaction after.” Matt calls the resulting photo a product of “prepared luck.” If their streak continues on Sunday, the Pats might call it something similar. Matt’s photo is among the 28 best that the Globe published last month, as selected by editors. Take a look at the rest. More on the Pats: New England opted against major additions ahead of yesterday’s trade deadline but did sign wide receiver Brenden Rice, son of Hall of Famer Jerry, to their practice squad. Boutte, the wide receiver who caught the touchdown pass at the game Matt photographed, left Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons with a hamstring injury after just 18 snaps. Vrabel called Boutte’s condition “day to day.” 🧩 8 Across: L.A. hoopster | ☁️ 56° Windy and rainy Shutdown watch: President Trump threatened to defy a court order by withholding funding for federal food benefits until Democrats end the government shutdown, which is now the longest in US history. His administration later walked back the threat. Meanwhile, SNAP cuts threaten Massachusetts small businesses and these 39 Boston-area food pantries are taking donations. Kentucky plane crash: A UPS cargo plane departing from Louisville crashed and exploded after its left wing caught fire, killing at least seven people and injuring 11. (AP) ICE in Massachusetts: Federal immigration agents raided an Allston car wash and detained eight workers. The manager said many of his workers hold legal status but couldn’t immediately produce their documents. Harvard explosion: Federal agents arrested two Massachusetts men who allegedly set off a firework at Harvard Medical School while partying over the weekend, causing an explosion that rattled the campus. The men could face up to five years in prison. Hotel UMass: The Amherst hotel is known for its prime location, its Brutalist architecture, and for helping train students majoring in hospitality. Now it’s getting attention for its role in an elaborate cocaine sting that ensnared a former aide to Governor Maura Healey. John Deaton: The Republican attorney and cryptocurrency advocate who lost to Elizabeth Warren last November plans to run for US Senate again next year. But this time he wants an early endorsement from the state GOP to box out the competition. The Ken Burns effect: The legendary documentarian has a six-part series about the American Revolution coming out this month. He spoke to the Globe’s Mark Arsenault about the war’s 250-year-old lessons. Staying put: Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story won’t opt out of his contract, bypassing a shot at free agency to stick with Boston for another two years and $55 million. Sit, stay, clone: Tom Brady’s brown pit bull mix Junie is a genetic replica of his former pooch, Lua, cloned from a blood sample collected before Lua’s death in 2023. Colossal, a company that aims to resurrect extinct species, did the cloning. Remembering Dick Cheney: Republicans and Democrats mourned the former vice president who advocated invading Iraq, came to oppose Donald Trump, and died this week at 84. And Globe critic Chris Vognar recalls a scene from the 2018 biopic “Vice” in which Cheney (played by Christian Bale) pulls “the perfect political jujitsu move.” By David Beard 📺 Kim Khazei departing: Growing up, my family thought of TV anchors as people they knew. Kim Khazei has been a familiar face since starting with WHDH-TV Channel 7 in 1994. Yesterday, she announced she’ll be leaving next month, relocating to be closer to her kids and her first grandchild. Good luck, Kim! 💋 Sexiest Man Alive: For the first time since 2021, People magazine chose a non-New Englander, “Wicked” star Jonathan Bailey, as its prime beefcake. 🍿 Equal time for Sydney Sweeney? She tells us about shedding jeans for polyester and spandex, and training to be a boxer for the new movie “Christy.” 🇮🇹 But is it worth the wait? That’s what Devra First finds out about Italy’s most viral sandwich shop, which opened to long lines in the Back Bay. On the menu: a “Boston” special: porchetta, taleggio, and pumpkin cream. 🎸 Bob Dylan, PhD: Berklee has given the folk legend an honorary doctorate — and has a concert dedicated to Dylan tonight. “What a pleasant surprise,” Dylan responded, wondering what directions he might have taken if he had studied at the Boston school. 💌 Love Letters: What to do about hating the husband’s tattoos? 🏃➡️ Quality of life: Which country does it best? This ranking shows a big jump for the Netherlands, and big slides for the US, Canada, and Saudi Arabia. (Visual Capitalist) Thanks for reading Starting Point. This newsletter was edited by David Beard. ❓ Have a question for the team? Email us at startingpoint@globe.com. ✍🏼 If someone sent you this newsletter, you can sign up for your own copy. 📬 Delivered Monday through Friday.
