🤩⚾ It’s a WHOLE new ball game

It’s Thursday, Boston.

🚇 Want to commute with Mayor Michelle Wu? Just ask her! Wu put out a call for folks to include in her “commute with me” series, where she joins Bostonians on their commute to work. All you have to do is comment on this IG post.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• BOS Nation gets a makeover

• Spring restaurants to watch

• Jayson Tatum makes us smile

Up first…

SPORTS

Will the Red Sox strike out?

It’s officially baseball season, baby! The Red Sox kick off their regular season this afternoon against the Texas Rangers at 4:05 p.m. in Arlington, Texas.

So whether you’re tuning in for every game, or you only go to Fenway for the *vibes*, here’s what to know about this season:

⚾ TL;DR: Things are looking good. For real this time. Thanks to some big money moves and exciting prospects, it’s safe to say this is the best the Sox have looked heading into the regular season in years. In fact, three of six Globe writers have them winning the AL East. We’re not sure we’d rev up the duck boats just yet, but a playoff appearance could be in our future.

✌️ Which means we can hopefully put an end to our flop era. If you haven’t been following the Sox lately, it’s probably for the best. Since their 2018 World Series W, the team has only made the playoffs once in six seasons, and made one of the worst trades in MLB history. Even as the team improved last year, they only finished with a .500 record, prompting one Boston.com writer to call them “the most average team in franchise history.” Inspiring!

👋 The (likely) key to our success? A few new faces. The Sox put their money where their mouth is this offseason, making a series of key acquisitions: We have a new ace pitcher in Garrett Crochet, two-time World-Series champ Alex Bregman at third, and Kristian Campbell, one of the MLB’s buzziest prospects, at second. Also contributing to the chatter are two very promising newbies, Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer, who we can expect to see on the field later this season.

😅 Though it didn’t go down without some classic blended family drama. See: An angry Rafael Devers considering asking for a trade after being bumped from his post at third base. Thankfully, he’s since walked it back. 

🌭 Only here for the Fenway Franks? That’s coming soon! After a few games on the road (peep the schedule here), the Sox will have their home opener on April 4 at Fenway, and we’ll be covering the new menu items, ticket deals, and more. Tickets for the game are still available (if a tad pricey). 

TOGETHER WITH MFA BOSTON

Happy Birthday to everyone’s favorite introverted Aries 

🎉 🎨🧑‍🎨 He may be turning 172, but Vincent van Gogh is still as iconic as ever. On March 30, celebrate his legacy at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, with free cupcakes at 11 a.m. (while supplies last), a photobooth, and portraits by local artist Nick Shea (famous for his pop-ups on the Boston Common) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Plus, don’t miss the new Van Gogh: The Roulin Family Portraits exhibition while you’re there. Grab your tickets now and make your next museum trip one for the (art) history books.

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

⚽ Out: BOS Nation. In: The Boston Legacy. That’s right, Boston’s incoming NWSL soccer team formerly known as BOS Nation has changed its name to “Boston Legacy Football Club” after their initial brand drop turned into the flop of the century. The new name is meant to pay homage to both Boston’s long history and innovative future. And while the logo and final branding are still TBD, based on the comments in their (admittedly, hilarious) IG post announcing the news, the second time doesn’t seem to be the charm.

💔 A Tufts PhD student was arrested by ICE. President Trump’s plan to deport pro-Palestinian student activists with green cards and student visas officially hit the Boston area: Disguised ICE officers arrested international student Rumeysa Ozturk on Tuesday, terminated her visa, and sent her to a Louisiana detention facility. (The video of her arrest on a residential street is quite disturbing.) While it’s unclear why she was targeted, she was recently flagged on a website that compiles info about pro-Palestinian activists. And other students in a similar position are worried.

📺 Mayor Michelle Wu made her “The Daily Show” debut. First, Gov. Maura Healey had her late night moment, and now, it’s Mayor Wu’s turn. On Tuesday, Wu appeared on “The Daily Show” to chat with host Ronny Chieng. The conversation mostly revolved around her role as mayor and touting Boston’s successes, especially in the face of Wu’s recent congressional hearing. She even managed to land a joke or two. The only sour spot in the convo? Chieng’s doubling down on a bit about Boston being a racist city, according to the Globe’s Shirley Leung.

🌷 New season = new restaurants. The Globe just dropped its list of must-try spring restaurant openings, and we’re already drooling. At the top of our personal lists: Jamaica Mi Hungry’s new downtown outpost is opening soon, and we KNOW it’s going to change our office lunch lives for the better; Jadu, a brunch-y cafe in JP, will reach its final form this May when it becomes a wine bar by night; and Gary’s Pizza will add a solid grab-and-go option in the South End, serving up pizza, sandos, salads, and dessert (note: it’s to-go only).

QUICK QUESTION!

⚽ Is “Boston Legacy FC” better than BOS Nation? 

ONE LAST THING

JT and T. Kelce

Need a reason to laugh this week? Well, when this clip of Jayson Tatum on the Kelce brothers’ podcast, “New Heights,” came up on our feed, we couldn’t help but crack a smile. And yes, Kelce as in Travis Kelce.

JT made an appearance on their pod this week, and we gotta say, it might be the most personality we’ve ever seen from him. Tatum’s vibe is usually giving media trained: Very cool, calm, and collected. But he seemed to let his guard down with the Kelce bros, laughing about his recent (minor!) ankle injury, impersonating Joe Mazzulla, and fully rolling his eyes at questions like “could an NFL player play in the NBA?”

Come playoff szn, we’re sure Tatum will be back to his media-trained self for the press, but until then, we’re going to keep letting these clips bring us some joy.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🏈 Thanks for reading! Say what you want about the Kelces, but not even JT is immune to those charms.

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, MFA Boston, for supporting local journalism and bringing culturally rich experiences to our city. 

🎤 The results are in: 44% of readers said that they don’t have a Jonas Brother of preference, but among those who do, Nick won in a landslide. Literally nobody’s asking, but Gia wholeheartedly agrees with this reader: “Growing up I was a Nick girl, but now I think Frankie is the only sane one.” 

💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected].