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Plus: ⚾ Women’s baseball in Boston!? It’s Wednesday, Boston. 🎃 Need free Halloween plans? DONE. This Saturday, 10 B-Side Members (and their plus ones!) get to go to The Liberty Hotel’s 90’s-themed Halloween party FOR FREE. It’s a $166 total value. Become a member now for the chance to claim one tomorrow at 10 a.m. 🐶 Calling all pet parents! The Boston Globe is looking to talk to Mass. pet parents who have been hit by high vet costs. Share your thoughts in this survey, or email [email protected]. 👀 What’s on tap today: Women’s baseball in Boston!? Boston’s best pizza roundup Joe Mazzulla goes rogue Up first… SPORTS Hoop! There it is. Image: Barry Chin/The Boston Globe. Illustration: Gia Orsino It’s time to make like Troy Bolton and get’cha head in the game. Because the Celtics’ regular season tips off at 7:30 p.m. tonight against the Philadelphia 76ers. Here’s what to know: 🏀 We’d rather forget how last season ended … ICYMI: Expectations were sky-high as the C’s attempted to run back their 2024 championship season. But that dream came to a screeching halt in a tragic series where the New York Knicks knocked us out of the playoffs AND star player Jayson Tatum suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon that put him OOO for the foreseeable future. Yeah … it was a rough one. 👋 And unfortunately, the band is not getting back together. Starters Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday were traded, and staple rotation players like Big Al Horford and Luke Kornet shipped out of Boston during free agency. So, the buck will fall to our three remaining (mostly) healthy guys, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard (who’s likely getting a big promotion). That said, the team’s brought in a handful of new faces like former Trail Blazer Anfernee Simons and draft pick Hugo Gonzalez to beef up the squad. ⛹🏾♂️ One BIG question: Will JT take the floor? Historically, Achilles injuries have taken players out for an entire year or more, and the recovery process tends to be rough. But just five months out from his surgery, Tatum is already back to dunking, and has teased a potential return later this season, which would be seriously impressive. But whether that’s actually going to happen is very much TBD. 🫣 All that said, DON’T call it a rebuild. The Celtics organization prefers the term “retool.” While expectations are far from championship-level, we still have a few championship-caliber players on the floor, plus a lot of new young talent, which means the C’s have potential to be a competitive team (especially in the generally “meh” Eastern Conference). 🏆 TL;DR: The ceiling is high, and the floor is low. The Globe’s basketball writers have the C’s falling somewhere between the fourth and eighth seed in the East, which puts them either straight-up securing a playoff slot, or at least getting a shot at the play-in tourney. Our two cents: If a “retool” = we can actually afford tickets this season … we’ll take it. TOGETHER WITH AFFORDABLE ART FAIR Museum-worthy finds. Apartment-friendly prices. 🎨✨This is your sign to finally make that Pinterest gallery wall a reality. At Boston’s Affordable Art Fair, every piece is priced between $100 and $10,000. From bold abstracts to the kind of portrait that makes your friends say “Wait, who painted that?” you’ll find thousands of works from 56 galleries around the world at SoWa Power Station, Oct. 23–26. Discover art you love (and can actually afford). CITY Quick & dirty headlines Image: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Associated Press ⚾ Boston’s women’s sports boom is BOOMING. Translation: We’re getting a pro women’s baseball team! Yes, we said baseball. The Women’s Pro Baseball League (WPBL), which will kick off in May 2026, announced Boston as one of its four inaugural teams along with NYC, L.A., and San Francisco. For now, the details about names, rosters, coaches, and personnel are still TBD (stay tuned), but we do know that year one will feature a seven-week season, with games at one or two neutral sites. That won’t stop us from manifesting a game at Fenway … 🚇 WFH culture has done a number on T ridership. And by a number, we mean five years after a COVID-era nosedive, the T is still only seeing between 63 and 75% of pre-COVID monthly ridership, and likely won’t fully recover anytime soon. The main culprit? WFH culture, according to the MBTA. About 18% of Bostonians, 26% of Somerville residents, and 27% of Brookline residents work from home, and it looks like many won’t fully return to the office. Meanwhile, on the days they do go in, some are opting to drive instead. 🗳️ AG Andrea Campbell is going for a two-peat. Campbell officially announced her 2026 re-election bid, vowing to continue her fight against President Trump. Since she took office in 2023 (and became the first Black woman to hold statewide office), she’s been BUSY, filing lawsuits on behalf of the state about everything from TikTok to wage theft, not to mention nearly 40 (and counting) against the Trump administration. With this announcement, she’s *currently* running unopposed, but there’s a loooong way until primary season. 🍕 You never *need* a reason to have pizza. But if you want one: It’s national pizza month! In celebration, the Globe put together a list of 17 standout slices within Route 128. Selections include all-time classics like Santarpio’s in Eastie and Joe’s in Harvard Square; notable newbies like Allston’s FiDo (home of the pepperoni negroni, BTW), and Gary’s in the South End; and even Papa Gino’s gets a mention (it’s nostalgic, OK?). Check out the whole list here. GIVEAWAY Together with Five Iron Golf Enter to win a complimentary visit, including 90 minutes on our golf simulator for you and up to five friends, plus a $200 food & beverage credit. To enter, just refer a friend and have them accept your invite by the end of the day on 10/22/2025. If you have already referred a friend to B-Side (and they’ve accepted), you’re eligible! Full details below* 18+. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Limit one entry per person. See Official Rules & an additional entry option here. ONE LAST THING Joe Mazzulla goes rogue Image: Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe. Illustration: Gia Orsino. Joe Mazzulla has officially out Joe Mazzulla-ed himself. Once a year, a group of Celtics writers and media personnel gather at TD Garden to play against their peers. Usually, it’s a chill, good-humored tradition, to give them a little taste of what the players do every night. But this year, Mazzulla had other ideas. When the media showed up, he informed them they’d actually be playing against the C’s coaching staff. If this doesn’t sound bad, consider how pretty much every Celtics coach is a former D1 or pro basketball player. Mazzulla’s goal? A complete shutout. Let’s just say, it went about as well for the media as you’d expect: They lost 57-4, and one player described it as “watching a pee-wee team.” Just check out this buzzer beater. And as if they hadn’t already made their point, after the game ended, Jaylen Brown, who stuck around to watch, yelled, “Does anyone want to do media?” — Written by Gia Orsino, Emily Schario, and Claire Nicholas 🏀 Thanks for reading! That’s that killer whale defense, baby. 💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, Affordable Art Fair, for supporting local journalism and making art accessible to everyone. 😋 The results are in: 36% of B-Siders say they eat out about once a week or so. One reader said: “What’s a girl gotta do financially to be able to select ‘More than once a week?’” If we find out, we’ll let you know.
