Now I am smiling like an idiot

But it's so true. From Reiss' mailbag today:

'I hope Patriots fans appreciate what they're seeing, because these are the golden years of the franchise. It's hard for me to imagine it will ever be like this again.'

*sigh*

Next year should be seriously awesome. Yay. Provided I can actually get to a game (thwarted again for opening weekend...I need to be in NE, the Pats will be in NE, but they play Monday night, when I need to be back here!).

Spring Training

So obviously, spring training is happening and I've managed to make it to a couple of games. Today I will be headed to Fort Myers to take in the Red Sox at their spring training home. Should be fantastic, particularly because Beckett and Papelbon are scheduled to pitch!

Yesterday the Sox beat the Blue Jays 6-4 in what was a pretty good game. The Sox definitely came out swinging and got a number of very nice hits. Of the regular starters, Jacoby Ellsbury and J.D. Drew were in, along with Lowrie at shortstop who had a decent day (great hitting, not bad fielding. He was a mess on the Monday before against the Pirates though). It looks like Lowrie may be our starter because apparently Lugo needs surgery.

Chris Carter, who played center field yesterday (I think), had a very good day at the plate as well, getting a home run in the fifth inning. Also, they were hitting Halladay, who is actually one of the Blue Jays' starters and one of their better pitchers.

Not nearly as exciting as the previous Monday, where the Sox won 15-14 in 10 innings against the Pirates, but still a good game.

Julius Peppers?

Julius Peppers is currently a Carolina Panther, apparently a fabulous linebacker, and not yet signed with the Patriots.

That was 'not yet.' Rumors are swirling that he will, although because he is franchised, we may have to wait on that. However, rampant rumors are all over the league these days.

Also, Jay Cutler has pulled a hissy fit and apparently no longer wants to play for Denver. There are plenty of teams that need QBs (Detroit, the Jets, Tampa), so we'll see where he winds up.

Wide receiver paradise

The Patriots have signed Joey Galloway from Tampa Bay. That means that we have, like, the greatest WR combinations ever: Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Greg Lewis, and Joey Galloway. Provided everyone stays healthy, our offense should be utterly and completely ridiculous.

Not to mention that we will have Tom Freaking Brady throwing the ball.

*drooling already*

Papelbon calls Manny Ramirez 'like cancer'

And not just once. He said it multiple times, in fact, during an interview with Esquire.

He also praised the player they got for Ramirez, Jason Bay, calling him a great guy who will even play with broken knees. I'm not sure that anyone should really be playing any sport with broken knees, but perhaps that is why I am not a professional athlete.

We've got another corner!

The Patriots signed Leigh Bodden, meaning that my label of 'We Need Corners' is clearly being taken seriously by the team's management. Good to know. Although now (one can only hope!) we will not need corners any longer!

Also, we replaced our long snapper (he went to the Broncos) with another one who is apparently also very reliable. Larry Izzo of special teams signed with the Jets.

The Pats will now have to play against T.O. twice a year (he signed with Buffalo last weekend), but I feel that we can survive that experience.

There are still lots of rumors floating around that Jason Taylor will be signing with the Pats. I remain somewhat unconvinced.

Peyton skips Manning Day

Okay, to start, it pains me that there is such a thing as Manning day. Thank GOD I do not live in Mississippi.

What's even better though is that apparently March 10 was Manning Day in Mississippi (did you dust off your old Manning stocking and put up your Manning lights and pick out a Manning tree?). However, Peyton ditched Manning Day to go play golf with Tiger Woods.

Now if Tiger Woods called me up and asked if I wanted to go for a round, I would probably say sure and drop pretty much everything I was doing to go and do so. Or maybe not. I'm not much of a golfer truth be told. However, what kills me here is that Peyton is not the average Joe Schmoe who might never get the opportunity to meet a celebrity like Tiger Woods. No. Last time I checked, Peyton is one of the pre-eminent (*cough*) quarterbacks in the National Football League. I would think that he and Tiger could have their people talk with each other and sort something out, maybe re-arranging for one of the 364 days that is not Manning Day.

Seriously? Manning Day?

Carbonneau fired!

Most mornings I sit around in a semi-conscious fog as I get my day started far too early.

However, this news has me awake. Carbonneau was fired! Gainey is taking over. Big stuff for 6am!

Halak in Georgia

Halak has flown to Georgia and may start tomorrow against the Thrashers.

May.

He is still battling the same virus. However, this is a drastic improvement from him not being with the team at all.

In Bill We Trust: all the pieces are coming together

So yeah, in less than a week, we have put more of the puzzle back together:

1) Today the Pats acquired Greg Lewis from the Eagles for draft picks. He's a wide receiver and presumably our Gaffney replacement (except that he can hopefully hold on to the ball better). He's had a few good games against the Patriots, which seems ironical.

2) It looks like we will get Shawn Springs from the Redskins. He's a corner! Okay, an older corner, but when healthy, a good corner. So that is another piece of the puzzle I hope.

3) They re-signed Chris Hanson, our awesome kicker who played excellently in the super windy Buffalo game last year.

Oh, and LaMont Jordan is now with the Denver Broncos. So that is one less running back.

Habs end win streak

Carey Price was in net last night. The final score was 5-1 against Buffalo and that 1 was very last minute. Argh!

The CJAD sportscasters noted that while the first goal was probably not his fault, the remaining four were. There was even talk (by them) in the third of pulling him for the back-up you've never heard of (they needed a last minute guy because Halak has the flu).

I sure hope Halak is better for Friday!

T.O. cut by Cowboys

T.O. has been reportedly cut by the Cowboys. It's entirely possible he does not know this yet because apparently he is traveling and may have missed the news.

This article notes that who knows where he may wind up....there don't seem to be a lot of teams left for him to go to (not to mention that he would take up a lot of salary cap).

Other people getting annoyed at stupid reporting

Okay, nice to see that I am not the only one. From this week's mailbag (Reiss):

'Hi Mike, my question is regarding "anonymous" sources being the backbone of articles -- specifically in the backdrop of the Cassel/Vrabel trade. First, why are they anonymous? Are these undercover FBI agents who identity cannot be disclosed? Is national security at stake? I'm specifically talking about Chris Mortensen's report claiming Belichick turned down the No. 12 overall pick for Cassel straight up. What?!? My 2 cents: They asked Vrabel to take a pay cut and he refused. Coupled with Cassel's cap number they found themselves strapped. Pioli knows this, so he offered the No. 34 pick and offered to take Vrabel, which ended up being the best option. If (I reiterate IF) there were any other offers, they must have had contingencies - such as the team and Cassel need to agree to a contract, which could have dragged this out and made the Pats bystanders in free agency. What's your take?'

Reiss answers that apparently anonymous sources can be actual real sources and that the internet is a wild world filled with rumor that can lead a good journalist astray. I still like the idea that national security is at stake though.

Some are now calling for Casselgate

Oh good grief.

Let it go people. The second-round pick makes sense. Was it the best trade ever? Maybe not, but it did clear cap space and let the Patriots get on with things. Also, this whole three-way trade thing was never fully established and it would seem that Jay Cutler hasn't been drummed out of Denver, yet, so just let it go. At any rate, I don't think that there is any call for investigation into collusion or anything else. I need to stop reading these stories, they will age me prematurely.

Also, Bill sports a lovely pair of shorts (WHAT IS HAPPENING THERE? MY EYES! MY EYES!) while talking to Cassel in practice. Wow.

Halak has the flu

If you think this could potentially be bad, then you are right. We do not need Halak out right now. However, the good news is that the Habs don't play again until Wednesday, so hopefully he will be cured by then. He missed practice today with the flu.

Apparently the 'University of South Florida' is accomplishing its diabolical geographical repositioning of Tampa

Tampa is now, according to the media, in South Florida:

"Before Matt Cassel was traded from New England to Kansas City on Saturday, Cutler’s name came up in a proposed three-way deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that would have brought Cassel to Denver and landed Cutler in South Florida." From a story today by Arnie Stapleton of the AP.

The irony is that Tampa is really not in South Florida, unless you consider everything south of Tallahassee south. Or something weird like that.

The Canadiens summarized in one word

So if I had to pick a word to describe les Habs this season, it would be 'streaky.' They win a lot, then they skid, then they win a lot again. Just look at how they have been doing in 2009 as proof: 6-2 in the first few weeks of January, then that dreadful 13-3 streak, and now 4 straight including games against teams who should have kicked our butts (last night, for instance, San Jose). I am not a big fan of 'streaky,' although it is naturally better than 'chokeur.' However, I just hope that we have not peaked too soon...there is still a lot of hockey to go.

Oh, and guess who was in net yesterday again? Halak.