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Former Patriot Joe Andruzzi wanted to ‘smack the smile’ off rookie Tom Brady’s face, and other things we learned from ‘The Tradition’

On Wednesday, NESN aired the Sports Museum’s 19th annual “Tradition,” a one-hour special that honored four iconic championship teams from Boston in the 21st century: The 2001 Patriots, 2004 Red Sox, 2008 Celtics and the 2011 Bruins.

Each segment featured stories and interviews with hosts Jackie MacMullan and Tom Caron, who spoke to members of each team about their respective runs to the title. Here are some of the stories they shared.

The 2001 Patriots

The Patriots’ season was supposed to be over when Drew Bledsoe suffered a terrifying injury in Week 2, prompting little-known quarterback Tom Brady to join the starting lineup.