Something else weird today

Apparently, Ellis Hobbs is no longer starting for Philly.

Not a good day to be a former Pat.

Randy Moss Cut

Okay, so probably I should rename this blog, 'Very Occasional Thoughts About Randy Moss.'  But yeah.  There's a lot going on right now in my life.

First off, the Pats are 6-1. WHOO HOO!  That would be the best in the whole freaking NFL.  And we are just getting warmed up.  I mean that.  So much good with the new and old combined. 

However, what brings me here today is the fact that Randy Moss was waived by the Vikings.  This breaks my damn heart.  Remember when I said that without the right support, Randy Moss would be little more than a T.O., moving around the league and not finding a true home anywhere?  That's happening now.  And it BREAKS MY DAMN HEART.

I do have to say though, Randy, that the Red Sox hat during your post-game interview last night was a bit over the top (how can I not find a picture of this?).  At least you didn't completely pull a Manny and demand a translator.

Will the Pats take him back?  He needs to clear 31 teams on waivers first, so that's probably not the best question.  I also don't know that the Pats would take him back, as beloved as he is.  We're actually doing okay so far.  Nah, more than okay.  We're 6-1!  Remember?

Randy Moss is a Viking

"Over the course of the past several months, I have spoken with Randy and his representative about Randy's place on our team and his future in football. Consistent with my dealings with Randy from the day we acquired him through our conversation this morning, it has been honest, thoughtful and with great mutual respect.
While I will keep private the details of internal conversations with players and staff, suffice it to say that many things were taken into consideration before making the trade. In this business, there are complex and often difficult decisions, but it is my responsibility to make them based on what I feel is best for our football team, in both the short term and long term. I am grateful for the opportunity to have coached Randy Moss and aside from facing him as an opponent, I wish him the very best for the remainder of his Hall of Fame career." - Bill Belichick

This is difficult for me.  A lot has surfaced since we first started hearing about the Randy Moss trade rumors yesterday.  It would appear that Randy wasn't happy, that Randy wanted out from the start of the season, and that his attitude was spilling over to the locker room.  Randy is by no means perfect and, if these reports are true, then the Patriots is not where he should be playing.  But that doesn't make this any more sad.

Sports are great because they can create great excitement -- as I was reminded last night when I caught bits of the ESPN film on the 2004 Red Sox.  However, there are also the heartbreak moments.  My first was when my childhood hero, Patrick Roy, was traded from the Montreal Canadiens in 1995 after a skirmish with a coach.  There are moments when I have been decimated, such as Superbowl 2007.  There are moments of agony, such as seeing a helmet go straight into Tom Brady's knee.  This one, I'm still not entirely sure.  I always wanted to give Randy the benefit of the doubt, which likely caused me to idealize him to some extent.  Whatever happened today, I am honored to have seen a future Hall of Famer show off some of his best stuff.

I only wish that it didn't end like this.  Best of luck, Randy.  You will be sorely missed.

The week in review

So including this blog, I'm currently keeping up with 3.  That's a lot.  This one may be neglected somewhat as a result.  However, here is a summary of the week:

1) The Pats lost.  Sucks!  But hey, it happens.

2) This:

It was almost worth losing to have this touchdown.  Seriously.  Randy.  LOVE  YOU!!!  And yep, that would be Revis getting completely beat.

3) Lots of work, things to do, etc....  However, we aren't in such bad company.  Looks like the Saints could go 1-1.  It's been a wacky start of the season.  The Bucs are 2-0.  Really?

4) Still love them.  Also there is an awesome ESPN commercial.  I'm hoping to find the link.

Today was a good day

Lots of goodness today.

1) Tony Romo just made one of the most idiotic plays I have ever seen.  Four seconds left in the half, he decides to try a lateral, it doesn't work because the player who catches it fumbles, Washington picks up the ball and scores a touchdown.  Commentators then go out of their way to call him stupid for this play, including a comment that his coach was purportedly 'furious.'  Good stuff.  Looks like we are off to another one of those seasons for the Cowboys.

2) Pats win!  Remember back when we started the season scoring 38 points a lot?  I remember that season, it was 2007.  That's the number of points that we scored today.

3) Randy Moss goes on a rant and tells the media to STFU.  Media response: to make this a far more ridiculous story than it actually was.  Here's what I have to say: pay the man his straight cash, homey.

4) Not only do the Colts lose, they lose because they allow 231 yards on the ground (!).  This is like the 2004 Colts or something.  Going to be a long season if they've regressed on defense.

Belichick of the Week

I realize that I am awarding it far, far too early.  But this one I like a lot.  Upon being asked about any concerns he had about TB's health after the car accident yesterday:

“I always worry about the health of our team. There is nothing more important than the health of our team. Without players, you don’t have a team.”

Genius.

Also, anyone else notice just how rusty and old Favre looked last night?

Belichick is #1!

You probably knew already that I would love any story where Belichick was ranked as the current best NFL coach.  But what I'm really loving are the comments that follow:

"I'm not a pats fan or anything (rams fan actually) but if Belichick isn't the best coach then I don't know what reasons you could possibly have to support it that doesn't involve serious logical fallacies."

"Is Bellichik on the shady side. Probably. But I'd be very surprised if other teams weren't trying to cheat in the same way. When it comes to playcalling and decision making, Bellichik is #1. And I hate the Patriots."

And one of my favorite exchanges ever:

"Bill Belicheat number 1!?!? Of all time!?!?

The Patsys are done like dinner. Brady was never the QB everyone thought he was. He was good, but when you video tape the defensive calls of your opponent it makes QB life much easier.

...and I remember Tara Reid saying that she quit dating Brady years ago because he had bad breath."

Response:

"Brady's stats are ALWAYS near the top. You should do some research... And Tara Reid?.. really? .. He is married to Giselle dip@#$%. I would call that an upgrade...... Tara Reid?? wow, you are a complete tardobott."

It's a great point, actually.  What is Tara Reid up to these days?

Sport writer's contempt for Rusty Old Man thinly veiled

Sage Rosenfels was traded to the NY Giants.

Why is this important?  Well, two years ago, he played for the Houston Texans and did a decent job.  Then he was traded to Minnesota, where he thought he had a shot at the top position.  This thought faded the minute that they acquired Favre, or, as stated by Barry Wilner, "After an offseason of working out and learning the system, however, Rosenfels’ big shot was dashed when Favre waltzed in to take over."

I love it.

Marquis Murrell on moving forward

It looks like OL Marquis Murrell may not be making the Pats' final roster, which is unfortunate because he has one of the best names currently in Foxborough.  What makes this even more unfortunate is the fact that he apparently says great things in interviews too:

"Murrell played in 10 games last season and recorded 12 tackles. He played in the Jets’ AFC Championship game loss to the Colts and had two special teams tackles, but Murrell isn’t thinking much about his previous seasons.

“That’s behind me,’’ he said. “You never look into the past. You might turn into a pillar of salt.’’"

He's got that Patriotspeak right down.  I say, keep him.

(I know, I even went to Extra Points for this one.  My taste in blogs is clearly deteriorating.  But this article was proofread!).

Tom Brady wins my heart forever

I'm just copying the whole story. It's too much awesome to really paraphrase (apparently this was said in a jocular fashion, but it's still hilarious):

Brady no fan of ‘Hard Knocks’ show about Jets

By HOWARD ULMAN, AP Sports Writer 1 hour, 14 minutes ago

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP)—Tom Brady says he won’t watch HBO’s “Hard Knocks” show featuring the New York Jets because he hates them.
In his weekly contractually-mandated appearance on WEEI radio on Monday, the New England Patriots quarterback said he hasn’t turned on the show about the Jets training camp.
Brady says, “I hate the Jets, so I refuse to support that show.”
He does say he’s sure it’s great television and he’s glad people like it but he has no interest in watching. He say, “I’d love to say a lot of mean things, but I’d rather not do that, either.”


Oh, and I am in no way recommending that you watch 'Hard Knocks' unless you enjoy seeing a whole lot of Rex Ryan.  But I do recommend that you read this summary of 'Hard Knocks,' which is classic.  I fully intend to read the summary, without fail, every week.

Stick a fork in 'em

14-0, Blue Jays lead, top of the 7th.  Lester gave up 9 of those runs.  Pedroia is back on the DL.

Yeah, it's over.  If the pitching could be more consistent......but it's not.

What did Albert Haynesworth do today? Second edition

He did not practice because of a headache.

Seriously, you don't even want to know how much he got paid to do this.

What did Albert Haynesworth do today?

This may have to become a daily series at the rate he is going.

What Albert Haynesworth did today: he practiced for ten minutes, then was taken off for dehydration.

This now concludes your Albert Haynesworth Update.

Impeccable timing

If you're a Red Sox fan and if you've ever listened to a single game on the radio, then you are aware that there is a whole ad campaign based around the idea that a ball got out of Fenway, landed on Landesdown Street, and took out someone's windshield.  The solution in this situation?  Call 1-800-54-GIANT.

Also, if you've ever lived in New England, you likely walked around with their commercial jingle in your head on more than one occasion.  And here's the guy you have to thank.

Anyway, that's what makes D-Mac's home run from last night funny.  Note the ad behind the plate.

And we're on again, Rusty Old Man-style

Apparently, the Rusty Old Man showed up today in Minnesota via a private jet decked out in the Vikings' colors.  Cameras were live on the scene to capture the whole thing.  Wow.  Just, wow.  I laughed really hard when I read the headline.

In other QB news, Eli is still not feeling 100% (and it was 12 stitches).  He might not play the next pre-season game.  If you're not sure, then you shouldn't play him in a pre-season game, seeing as how it counts for nothing.  Two words: plantar fasciitis.

Do you know what other story has been cracking me up this season?  The Haynesworth saga in DC.  First, it took him, like, 8 tries to get through the conditioning test.  Then apparently today, he was taken out because he was sick.  That's some good spending 'way too much money on a player stuff there.

I feel sorry for the Bills already

Bills fans, I feel your pain.  Actually, I grew up just north of your fair city and lived there during the 90s, so I am fully aware of what you had to endure.  But now things are just that little bit worse, because apparently two of your contributors, Fred Jackson and Marshawn Lynch, are out.  Both are running backs.  From what I recall, Jackson did a nice job last year.

Yeesh.

That is just a bad luck franchise.

In other football news, Eli got decked in the head and received somewhere between 3-12 stitches, depending on which news feed you read.  He is apparently just fine.  He will still stand around with his mouth open not looking all that bright, but that is in no way related to this head injury.

In finding that picture, I also located one of a shirtless Eli.  Really?

He wins

Belichick is back and in fine form.  When asked about any possible injury to Tom Brady's fingers, he answered as follows:

"I don't think it's life threatening."

He also expressed great (sarcastic) joy in filling out injury reports this season.  And with that, the title goes to the master with Belichick taking home the inaugural Belichick of the Week.

If you're curious, I do feel slightly icky about just having posted a link from the Boston Herald.  Hopefully we will all get through this together.

If I were Mike Lowell...

It seems unlikely that I would be Mike Lowell, but if I were, I would totally choose 'Back in Black' as my song when I went up to the plate.  After all, who could have guessed that we would have kept him around for three-quarters of the season, only to need him when Youk went down with a fluke injury?  Most Red Sox fans have been screaming to trade him and give him the chance to go somewhere so that he can play for real, yet have been hesitant to argue for him having a starting spot on the team.  And yet, here we are.

I think that his actual song is 'Rock the Casbah.'  Not bad, but 'Back in Black' would be so much cooler.  Plus that would just kind of be fun to walk to the plate to, in a kind of swaggery-AC/DC way.

Patriots win utterly meaningless game, I get super excited

Tonight, the Patriots beat the Saints in the first pre-season game.  It counted for absolutely nothing.  I hadn't even planned to watch it, in fact.

And yet....and yet.....I love those boys so much!

You know who was awesome?  Julian Edelman (who was also awesome in last year's playoff fiasco).  You know who else?  Randy Moss.

It was nice to see the team strong near the end and holding the Saints to a field goal when they were within 1st and goal.  Smooth play calling by the Saints, incidentally -- they almost pulled off a pretty good semi-QB-sneak (I don't know what to call it!).  But their 3rd-string QB evidently went to the Laurence Maroney School of Running Sideways Instead of Forward, which ended in basically naught.  Nothing like when your 3rd-string team can outplay the other 3rd-string team.  Final score was 27-24 for the Pats.

It's official: I am ready for some football!

Two events that are unrelated but maybe shouldn't be

(You can tell football season is sneaking up because of so many posts, right?)

Two unrelated events that maybe should be related:

1) WR David Patton retired today.  You may remember him as one of the 'no-name' wide receivers from the pre-2007 Patriots era -- you know, like back when they won Superbowls.

(This is not saying anything about our new wide receivers.  I love you Randy and Wes.  But bring home the ring!).

2) Wakefield gave up two runs in a relief outing last night.

(How are these connected?  I truly feel like Wakefield is done.  He's contributed a great deal to the Red Sox over the years, but it's time to face facts.  This season he is getting steadily worse instead of better.  It's sad to see, but that's the simple truth of it).

Tom gives an interview

"Q: There’s also a lot of speculation about whether or not you are unhappy. How would you describe your mood as it relates to the business side of things?
TB: My personal feelings are my personal feelings. I don’t want to express them with anyone except for a very few people. It doesn’t do any good. It really doesn’t. It doesn’t help this team. It doesn’t help the organization. It just really gets in the way. Everyone’s situation is different. I’m only commenting on my situation. Everyone’s got a different situation, a different approach, and they have to do what works for them."

Yay.  I love a real team leader.  (Here's the rest).

Today was a fun day to be a sports writer

First off, T.O. missed his flight to Cincinnati so that he could start at Bengals' training camp.  But the fun didn't end there.  We also learned that T.O. attended a movie last night (via Twitter) and that he can't spell 'Cincinnati' yet.  I personally wonder if he mastered 'Buffalo' last season.

Then, Miguel Batista, a pitcher for the Washington Nationals, insulted Miss Iowa.  Hilarity ensued.  I especially like the comments on this story, but not nearly as much as I like the Photoshopped picture (above) that accompanied it.

And then there was today

I decided to spend the afternoon partaking leisurely in watching the Red Sox game.  My plan was going perfectly well right up until the 7th inning, when Bard took the mound.  At that point, the Sox were up 2-1.

My question at that very second was, 'Why Bard?  Isn't he more of an 8th inning kind of guy?'  He did just fine in the 7th and they brought him out for one batter in the 8th.  Said batter got a hit.  Bard was done.

Then they brought in Okajima.

Now, it might have been okay if Okajima had had an off-day.  But this was more of an off-day.  This was an off-day when he couldn't even pick up a bunt and throw someone out at first.  Youkilis got so jumpy that he was running across the entire diamond trying to get plays in case Okajima missed them (including one that Okajima blew because he cut Youk off).  Youk will get hurt if he keeps doing this and that we do not need.

Okajima gave up three runs in the 8th and the Mariners went on to win 4-2.

Good grief, Charlie Brown.  It was a pretty sad effort.

Time to bring out the 'Red Sox Annual Collapse' label.  And I was so optimistic yesterday!

Saturday Afternoon Thoughts

(Note: I did a run this morning in 95% humidity with a 78F dew point.  So my brain is maybe not operating so well right now).

I have two thoughts on this lovely -- albeit hot -- Saturday afternoon:

1) Despite the fact that I love Robert Kraft and everything that he has done to create what is undoubtedly the best football team I will ever see in my lifetime, I am not agreeing with the lack of signing Tom Brady.  Now, I don't want to say that TB is the linchpin that holds the Patriots together, but I don't want to say that because it is, in fact, an understatement.  There are three things that made the Patriots team of the decade:

•  Bill Belichick and various other coaching genii around him (although then they leave and become much less genius-like)
• A strong, solid defense (or else you'd just be the Colts and fizzle out year after year)
• Tom Freaking Brady (see: Brett Favre in numerous pressure chokes, Tony Romo, etc...)

Now, I know that Cassel did not play shamefully when he was put on the spot, but he was still no Tom, as the games against equivalent/better teams showed (see: Pittsburgh [it still makes me wince]).  There is no other Tom in the entire game and may never be.  So sign him!  Now!  Do it!

I had mostly been ignoring this story on the grounds that it was probably another fruitless media hunt against the Patriots ('Belichick neglects to say 'Bless You' to woman sneezing in restaurant'-type material).  But more and more is surfacing to show that he is not happy.  Now I will continue to be in happy denial.  Pass that Foxborough Kool-Aid.

2) I like the Red Sox's chances.

Yes, really.

You never thought that you would read that here, did you?

Now, it has been a trying season.  In fact, that's an understatement.  This has been one of those seasons where you actually start to see why Red Sox fans mention the Tobin Bridge so often as a jumping point.  Remember when Papelbon blew two saves in a row?  Or when we came back against the Yankees, then lost it in the bottom of the ninth (due to A-Rod no less)?  Or when Bard came in against Cleveland and was a disaster zone?  Or the countless injuries that we've had to endure (Buchholz pulls his hammy running the bases)?  Or Bill Hall at the start of the season?  Or Papi being on-again-off-again?  Or....or....or....  The list goes on and on and on and on.

But, one thing we did see after the hideous start is that this is, in fact, one of the best teams in baseball.  Run prevention-schmrum prevention.  They can hit, pitch, and even have dramatic moments from guys just called up from Triple A (Daniel Nava, Darnell McDonald).  And they did have one of the best records in baseball through May-June.  Here is my logic: if we get people back off the DL (Pedroia, Martinez, and the pitchers, who are getting off the DL), then we could make a run for it.

Conversely, the Yankees and Rays will probably slump.  So we just need to time this for when they are.  I feel like the Yankees are evil mutant robots who never tire or get injured in a big way, so I'm thinking it might be the Rays.  Either way, I -- of all people -- have not given up hope.  So neither should you.

The post-mortem

Literally. One of the fans has written an obituary for our former, beloved Hab.

The only possible bright spot right now is the fact that while we may have lost our 'Habs Romance,' you can fit 'Carey Price' right into 'Poker Face' with zero difficulty:

Ca-ca-ca-ca-rey Price
Ca-ca-ca-rey Price.

Halak traded! HUH?

Where were you December 2, 1995?

Don't remember?

I remember it well. I was at Peel Pub, in downtown Montreal, watching mes Canadiens get shellacked by the Detroit Red Wings. The final score was 11-2. Newly appointed Mario 'Bluet bionique' Tremblay was behind the bench. Patrick Roy allowed nine goals and was finally pulled. When he came back to the bench, words were exchanged. It was clear that he was angry. The next day, what I feared most happened: my hero, my favorite hockey player since a young age, the guy who occupied an entire portion of my bedroom wall, was traded.

To the Colorado Avalanche.

Which used to be the Canadiens' arch-rival and nemesis, the Quebec Nordique.*

(It could have been worse. If they had traded him to Toronto, I probably would have cried for a decade).

Now, I don't want to pretend like June 17, 2010 will be seared into my memory in quite the same way, but I cannot believe that mes Canadiens just traded yet another goalie: Jaroslav Halak.

What? <-- you may be asking yourself. 'But he had such a great theme song.' But we're losing more than just an amusing Lady Gaga cover in this trade.

Commentary believes that perhaps he priced himself (ha!) out of the Canadiens' range, that we acquired potentially good players, and other speculation. I think that all of it is hooey. This guy just got the team through two very difficult rounds of the playoffs. You keep that guy. Carey Price on the other hand, has done basically bupkis apart from not living up to his potential. I didn't see much emergent potential last season from him. One theory is that Price gets traded too. Great. So then we have an unknown in net.

Has hockey really reached a point where you trade one of the most valuable players from your recent playoff run for two potentials? That's awful. Bad locker room karma. Mind you, I shouldn't be surprised seeing as how this franchise could also not keep one of its most dedicated and valuable players, Saku Koivu, in what may have been the last year of his career.

Oh, and in case you want to make some comparison with the Patriots cleaning house last year: I don't see these situations as parallel. The Pats had issues, primarily on the D, and they attempted to solve them. Halak, on the other hand, is likely at the top of his game -- or at least he was in that playoff run. You've just traded away a real asset on your team.

Current mood: severely unhappy.

*In a kind of James Bond, the villain always loses way, because they pretty much sucked and Montreal was pretty much awesome.

Welcome to Boston, Daniel Nava

The Red Sox called up another outfielder today with Hermida going on the DL for collision with Beltre. The running count is Beltre 2, outfielders 0, if you are keeping score (Ellsbury being the other victim). This prospect was promising since he'd been doing pretty well in Pawtucket. But let's just say that Nava has out D-Macked D-Mac. He got up to the plate, on the very very first pitch of his very very first MLB game, and hit a freaking grand slam.

I like him already. Just keep him away from Beltre!

Dice-K decided moments before the game that he had an arm sprain and couldn't pitch. Atchison is in. Really. The good news is that we currently have a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the second. And it's against the Phillies. Run prevention may not be our thing, but at least run scoring is. What was the other run, you might ask? That was J.D. Drew. Heh.

Ugh

Now, the Red Sox bullpen is somewhat decimated right now, but I have to say that we need to rethink what is happening here. Remember Boof Bonser? Yeah. He had his first game last night and let's just say it was not impressive. The game was against Cleveland, we were down 3-0 in the 8th. Bonser failed to get any outs after four batters, was taken out and replaced by Nelson, we gave up a grand slam, and God only knows what else. When the carnage was over, Sox were down 11-0. That's right. Our bullpen gave up 8 runs.

Ugh.

Our bullpen has not been the strong point this year by a long shot.

Good people:
Manny Delcarmen (but he was recently pulled with a possible injury)
Daniel Bard
Jonathan Papelbon (who is on leave for family reasons)

Bad people:
Everyone else that has been involved in this revolving door bullpen.

Now thinking back to last season, the Yankees had a horrid bullpen (minus, of course, Rivera), and managed to get it together. So here's hoping.

Incidentally, Justin Masterson had a great game yesterday for the Indians. Much credit needs to go to him for the shut out -- he pitched the entire game.

Also, I heard rumors that the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. It's June 10 and finally hockey is over.

Apparently, it could have been worse

One Habs fan comments on his day:

'I totally blame my sons mother today. I was all set to enjoy the game, gave her plenty of notice, then at 3:10 she comes up to me and says "We need potatoes" Really? Really? we need potatoes? the damn game is starting and you want me to goto the store and get potatoes? WTF!!! can't make rice? it has to be potatoes? I have had a headache ever since.'

In other news, Dice-K allowed one hit in 8 innings today. That's right. Dice-K. One hit. Eight innings. Or was that actually Dice-K? It's worth noting that V-Tek caught instead of V-Mart, whom Dice-K had thrown somewhat under the bus after his last (bad) start. Also, JD Drew got an RBI with no batteries thrown at him whatsoever (at least, none that I heard about). Heh, I say. Stick it to those Phillies fans.

More from Wes

After today's disheartening loss against the Flyers (Montreal is now down 3-1 and I don't know if we are coming back this time) and no recovery in sight for the Red Sox (even though at least Ellsbury is back...here's hoping...but Dice-K is pitching tonight.............................), let's switch the focus to football, where everything and anything seems possible, even if some people are choosing to write off the Patriots already, more than three months before the season actually starts.* Wes Welker gave an interview in which he reiterated that his knee feels peachy keen and offered up the following description of Tom Brady:

“He looks really good. He’s working hard, he’s getting after it. It’s always ‘one more’ with him. If it’s not perfect, it’s ‘another one, another one.’ He’s like ‘two more to this side’ and I’m like ‘So that’s about 10.’ You love to see it, but at the same time, you’re looking at your watch and like ‘My parking sticker is about to run out of time here. Let’s go.’ It’s good to see.”

I like that we have the kind of players that worry about expired parking.

*Yeah, I'm irked by all of these developments. What gave it away?

Congratulations to Wes Welker

Apparently Wes's knee is doing okay, which is fabulous news. But even better is the fact that he managed to construct a sentence that combined almost every single Patriot cliche:

"So we have to make sure guys are setting good examples and kind of channeling that down to younger guys and making sure we’re on the same page and working hard together and playing together and being mentally tough together."

If only there had been a 'it is what it is.' Nonetheless, Belichick of the Week for Welker on that one.

Red Sox atrocious in day games, possible reasons why

The boston.com website ran a story today about how the Red Sox are terrible in day games. My favorite theory is that Ortiz, Varitek, and Lowell are so old that they need afternoon naps.

Actually, an afternoon nap sounds good right about now....

Habs win! On to Round 3!

We have only 8 more games to go before we win the Stanley Cup! If only it were that easy.

Anyway, idiots decided to riot in Montreal last night even though: a) we still haven't won the Cup and b) rioting is stupid. However, the story brought some fun quotes, including my favorite:

' [McGill] Classmate Evan Martow, a Torontonian who was born in Montreal, said he’s never seen the kind of team spirit in Hogtown. “People here support the team regardless of how they’re doing.”'

Ha! Yeah, that's called 'being a fan.' This is exactly why, as a small child, I chose to cheer for Montreal over Toronto.

Next game is Sunday night, the opponent is still undetermined. It's either Philadelphia or Boston, which is fine by me because I dislike both of these franchises.

Habs even series at 1 apiece

The Canadiens came back yesterday with a 3-1 win over the Penguins. Halak was more Halakish, which is a promising sign. I didn't actually get to see the game, but was provided with ample and detailed updates from a friend. Yay technology!

One obvious Penguins fan on the Yahoo message boards asked what a 'Hab' was as disrespectful gesture. He was provided with the following response:

'What is a Hab ????

A Hab is a player who plays for a team that has won the most Stanley Cups ever and may just shock everyone this year !!

That is what a Hab is !!'

Used to be the most championships of any league, but those damned Yankees took us over.

I like our chances

Okay, I know that you never hear anything like that from me, the mega-pessimist fan. But after tonight's Game 1 of Montreal and Pittsburgh, I actually almost like our chances:

1. Tonight's team was tired. Very tired. Not sure if they will be awake by Sunday. But bearing that in mind, the game wasn't so bad.
2. Halak was definitely tired. Maybe you start Price next time. Maybe just some rest will help. Either way, get him more on his game, and maybe things will be okay.
3. The injury to Markov: if they can get a player up from the AHL, they can replace the missing defenseman. Again, they were already playing tried, then missing a player would have made them even more tired. That's fixable.
4. There is time to study some tape. The Penguins did some good things in this game, especially on the powerplay and defending against the powerplay. But I was seeing adjustments in the third period. You make some more, you look over what happened in this game, and voila, that's a formula for winning future games.

I have to say that for the first time in years, I really feel invested with this team. I like them. They can skate. They can pass. They have that certain je ne sais quoi associated with the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge (I believe the actual term for it is 'finesse'). Most of all, they had the grit and determination to come back from a 3-1 deficit and win Round 1. Go Habs go!

(Seriously, I don't remember the last time I felt this optimistic about a team, except maybe right after the Patriots signed Joey Galloway. Hm. I see. Optimism ends in ouch).

Habs win Round 1. Rating: Guarded Optimism

Now, I know that I am the eternal pessimist fan and that I had little/no faith in this year's Habs. But then I saw them in Round 1 and they played well, well enough that I thought, 'Maybe there is a chance.'

Well, there is more of a chance because they won a nailbiter on Wednesday, 2-1, to go on to Round 2. I almost got a bit teary-eyed, I am the first to admit. Coming back from a 3-1 deficit against the #1 ranked team was, for me, almost impossible, but somehow they did it.

It started with Halak's incredible amazingness in net. And we just went from there. Who knows if we can repeat this round (we haven't made it past round 2 in 17 years, after all). But wow, I am actually turning into almost an optimist.

Almost.

I still think we lose in Round 2, though.

Your Belichick of the Week (off-season edition)

Yes, he got one in while discussing the draft. As usual, the master is...well, the master:

'When we look at the board, based on everything we want in a football player at that particular time, we evaluate them and take the player that fits best for our football team. That’s what we always do, and I think the last nine years we’ve put a pretty competitive team out there on the field every year.'

Let's see, in 9 years we have won 3 Superbowls, made 4 Superbowl appearances, and been in the playoffs 7 out of 9 times. Yeah, I guess we haven't been too bad, now that you mention it.

I blame Theo

Well, last night's game turned out to be an entire roller coaster of emotions. We won. You might be thinking to yourself, 'How is that possible?' I mean, I saw the game and I'm still asking myself that question. But we did win, and here are some of the key points:

• We still allowed 9 stolen bases
• Big Papi was benched -- more on this below
• Lowell and Tek were brought into the game and made positive contributions (Tek did with a double and a walk, Lowell had a walk).
  
• Darnell McDonald ('Who?' You may be asking yourself. And rightly so. He was called up from Pawtucket as a possible replacement for Ellsbury) hit not only a 2-run home run to tie the game, but also an almost-Monster home run in the 9th to bring in the winning run. Red Sox Nation, being what it is, has already christened him 'D-Mac.'

So back to Big Papi. Sure, he's had a bad start this year. There is no question. And he's not really hitting; in fact, his average is .146, which is just not okay for a DH obviously. But what we've been seeing this year is not a happy man. He's been frustrated from the start. I'm calling out Epstein on this one. In a press conference at the end of last season, he made it very clear that unless Ortiz started producing, there would no longer be a place for him on this team. Papi seems to have listened. He lost a bunch of weight coming into spring training and he seemed committed to it (and he was even hitting then). So what went wrong? I think the pressure of knowing that he could be gone is getting to him, hence the breaking of the bat over his knee. I didn't like when Epstein called him out and I don't think that this move has helped anything. So yeah, Theo, on this one, it's your fault.

Ignore previous entry. The time has come to panic.

Now I know that I vowed not to panic until the end of June. My logic was sound. My intentions were good. But all that has evaporated with the events of the past week.

First, the Rays swept the Sox at Fenway. At Fenway. In a four-game series. This is normally where we can play. Other parks are generally where we cannot play so well. Plus the weather was cold and the Rays were wearing stupid flappy hats to deal with the cold, including manager Joe Madden. They should get classy tuques, like the Patriots -- although admittedly, they would probably need them maybe once or twice per year.

Now, there was a glimmer of hope in Game 1 against the Rays. Beckett pitched well. It was 1-1 through 8.5, then the game was postponed due to rain. The next day, the game resumed and we went on to lose 3-1. The pitcher to blame was (not surprisingly) Delcarmen, so I guess he hasn't got 'it' back. Sometimes I wonder if he ever had it to begin with. Remember last season when he didn't suck? Did I dream that?

Then everything went pear-shaped. I don't want to think about how badly we lost. But like a good Red Sox fan, I thrive in the face of grimness. So the scores were: 6-5 (we got all of those runs late), 7-1, and 8-2. Yes, really. We were 0-30 with men in scoring position, or something like that (by which I mean we may have been 0-25. It was awful). In fact, we had last scored a man in scoring position on April 15 against the Twins, meaning that we almost went for a week without scoring a man in scoring position.

Now we are playing against the Rangers. They are not very good. In fact, their record is really not that much better than ours (they are 5-7, we are 4-9). But that's not even the bad part. We are in the 5th inning and:

• The Rangers are up 6-2.
• We have allowed 9 stolen bases. That's a record for the Rangers. That ties a record for us going back to 1913.
• Wakefield is a mess --> wasn't he good at some point last year too?
  

So yeah, you know what? It's okay to panic. Go right ahead. Remember last year when I proclaimed that the Red Sox were a freaking disgrace? We have moved into a whole different league of disgrace here. I've even gone so far as to bring out the 'Red Sox annual collapse' tag and it is only April.

He's earning his place on the roster

Guess which catcher came into today's game with a .500 batting average and has maintained that average with another home run?

Jason Varitek.

(Okay, so if you've been paying attention this season, you might have guessed that, but I'm pretty sure you would not have predicted that a month ago).

So far, V-Mart has not exactly been fab as a catcher. Maybe keeping Varitek was the right move? Could there be a fight for the starting position?

Need I point out that Varitek's first name starts with 'J'? Huh?

And while we're asking questions, why didn't we get someone up from Pawtucket to replace Bill Hall in outfield? Not only is his fielding a disaster zone, his batting average is .000. And he's already played in 3 games. Seriously.

Dare I dream?

I should really know better by now than to dream about the Habs and playoff success, but they played very well tonight. It was Game 1 of Series 1, which means that there is a whole lot of hockey left to go before the Stanley Cup -- they should be wrapping up by June-ish, just in time for World Cup.

(Hockey season is far too long).

They beat the Washington Capitals, who are ranked #1, by a score of 3-2. In overtime. In proper overtime, no less. None of this '4 skater' nonsense or shoot-outs like in the regular season. That is demeaning to hockey. I'll bet, somewhere, that old-time hockey heroes roll in their graves during shoot-outs. But now that we are back to the playoffs, we are back to sudden-death overtime, and that makes for some good hockey.

Plekanec scored a super nice goal to win the game. Halak was a monster in net, with 19 saves (!) in the first period alone. And Montreal actually was skating, passing...all the things that they have been attempting to do (and not quite doing) for years. I mean, this is not a revival of 70s Habs hockey or anything, but when they had it together, they looked pretty good. Line changes...not so much.

I love how since the Olympics, suddenly everyone pronounces Plekanec's name differently, although I still don't think that most of the announcers have it right.

Okay, dare I say it: Go Habs Go! Although if history is anything to go by, they will win Round 1, then keel over and die in Round 2 (see, most recently, 2007-08, but it's happened a whole lot of times over the past 17 years since they last won the Stanley Cup).

....now that is amazing, it has been 17 years since they last won the Cup. Yeesh.

The annual switch from Football Mode to Baseball Mode

I shall not panic until the Red Sox until early June. In any capacity whatsoever. Here is my logic:

1) In football, you really shouldn't start panicking until around 3-4 games in. Since there are 16 games in the season, that means 25%.

2) In baseball, were one to panic 3 games in, there would still be about 98% of the season remaining. So employing football panic logic, there is no need until around a quarter of the season has transpired, which would put you 40 or so games in. I've just estimated that this would be mid-May, so panic need not ensue until that time. And even then, there is an awfully long time to correct mistakes, unlike in football.

That being said, it's a bit hard sometimes to switch modes, particularly after losing 2 out of 3 to the Evil Empire. I could say that I want Papi to get it together. I could be unimpressed with our bullpen and name names (Okajima/Delcarmen/Ramirez). But it's too early for all of that.

(Right?)

I do have to say, it's hard to switch modes. We were wicked awful at the beginning of last season though, and we got it together in the end.

Stay classy, Joey Porter

Professional loudmouth, and sometimes linebacker, Joey Porter, who is now an Arizona Cardinal, was arrested in California on suspicion of drunk driving. Even better, he assaulted the officer and is accused of resisting arrest.

Plus he can't back up his trash talk. He should get a few months for that too.

Now let us all wait for the Wrath of Goodell to descend like...well...like the Wrath of the Current NFL Commissioner.

Shows I really don't need to watch

Apparently, there is going to be a reality show on HBO that shows the Jets' training camp.

Ugh.

And apparently, this is why Rex Ryan got weight-loss surgery.

Double ugh. And I'll bet he's still nasty.

Chris Chelios comes out of retirement

Perhaps we should dub Chris Chelios the Junior Seau of the NHL. Except that Chelios is 48 years old. Think about that for a minute. An NHL defenseman who is 48 years old. That is insane.

Anyway, Chelios is now playing for the Thrashers and hopes to help them in their quest for the Stanley Cup and all of that jazz. However, I still think he's nuts.

48. Years. Old.

I remember this guy from when I watched the Montreal Canadiens as a kid. Almost everyone else that I remember from these days is now a coach/GM/other type of office job position. Pretty sure he is the only active player.

In talking to the press, Chelios made the following statement: '"In hockey every game is a playoff game," he said. "It's a tight race."

No.

There are 80 games or something, dude. Not every game is a playoff game. I could see putting that argument forward for maybe the NFL, since there are only 16 games. But when you are playing 80 games, they are not equally important.

Oh, and here's a fascinating statistic: of the 26 seasons that Chelios has played, his team has made the playoffs 24 times. Pretty amazing.

QB moves by Cleveland Browns: Really?

The past few days have been very exciting, Cleveland-Browns-wise. By which I mean, as usual, that Mangini has boggled my mind:

1) They cut one of their QBs, Derek Anderson.

2) They got Seneca Wallace from the Seattle Seahawks (I'm not blaming Mangini on this one since Wallace must have been Holmgren's idea. But still).

3) They acquire Jake Delhomme days after he was cut by the Carolina Panthers for sucking big-time last season.

4) They traded remaining QB Brady Quinn to the Broncos.

So their starting QB is now either the back-up for Matt Hasselbeck or Jake Delhomme, who was really not very good last year (to quote one Yahoo commentator, he was the 'worst QB not named Jamarcus Russell').

This is almost as good as when Mangini acquired Brett Favre, but not quite. Because at least you might deceive yourself into thinking Favre could be good. These guys? I am confused.

Last year's QB ratings:

Anderson: 42.1
Quinn: 62.7
Wallace: 81.9
Delhomme: 59.4

League average: 83.4

Not like they were all that phenomenal as QBs, but I mean, you've got four guys here under the QB average and you purposefully went out of your way to acquire two of them. Hence my confusion.

Nomah!!!

Nomar Garciaparra has retired. But, in what has to be the cutest gesture ever, the Red Sox signed him for one day, then he retired. So Nomar retired as a Red Sox. This is only fitting since he has one of the best Boston accent names to wear the uniform.

Awwwwww.

Yay, this makes me happy. Good luck with your future ESPN-type career.

Incidentally, this was today's Red Sox Insider email:

================================================================
RED SOX INSIDER -- March 10, 2010
================================================================


:: THE VOICE OF THE NATION:
:: Nomah retires, Cheesy Fries and Chuck Norris

T.O. cut by Bills

The Bills have announced their intentions of releasing T.O. on March 5 (which is Official Release Day, aka, Don't Let The Door Hit You On The Way Out, Adalius Day). Isn't that amazing? Here we have one of the great wide receivers of his generation who has languished because he never found the right environment to give him the support that he needed.

Change that scenario around slightly, and that could be Randy Moss. He still has 2-3 years before he reaches T.O.'s age, but it is amazing to consider how these extremely talented players have experienced these ups and downs. While I may not like him all that much, I do feel for T.O., to some extent, on this one. Get your popcorn.

Deion Branch speaks truth, makes Hasselbeck sad

So apparently some people, like Seattle Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck, were not happy to hear that Deion Branch would be all over playing in New England again.

Dear Matt Hasselback,

From 2001-2004, the New England Patriots fielded what will be considered by many to be one of the greatest teams to ever play professional football. As fans, we were honored to be able to watch such a high caliber of sport and the players who contributed to this deserve all of the love and respect that they have earned. Since going to Seattle, Deion Branch has experienced none of the same highs with you as his QB. So when he gets all misty-eyed at the thought of returning to the place that provided him with such a desirable environment, let him. What the Patriots did over those four years will not be easily repeated, if it will be repeated at all.

I know you've been injured and all, but still. Let Branch have his memories. He'll still play as best he can, no matter what team he is on. This isn't personal toward you, but hey, you're no Tom Brady.

(I know, below the belt. Meh.).

Starts with Randy Moss, ends with Rodney Harrison

Randy Moss, playing at a charity game in Jupiter, FL, stated that he doesn't think he'll be a Patriot after 2010. This did not come off as selfish or diva-esque, or anything else. He thinks that his value will be less than they will be willing to pay.

But Randy, what about our love? Our deep-seeded love? I hope that he is proven wrong, although I respect his candor in the matter. Good guy, really.

Incidentally, I have stopped reading 'Extra Points,' the boston.com Patriots blog, because I couldn't deal with the lack of professional proofreading (this is the website of the Boston Globe, so come on people and step it up). Actually, that's a bit of a white lie. I did stop reading for those reasons, but my tipping point was when they ran a story asking who doesn't like Peyton Manning. The answer: me, and about 75% of your readership. I do still read their Red Sox coverage (even when they post somewhat ick pictures of Josh Beckett...see previous post).

Here is a fabulous example, though, of the crapterrific proofreading:

'Former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison hit on the team's absence of a defensive coordinator and dearth of leadership at Heath Evans's charity softball game.'

I had no idea that you needed a defensive coordinator for softball or that there was a dearth of leadership at Heath Evans's game. Dear me. They take their off-season charity softball seriously, I guess.

If you're wondering, Rodney basically feels that Bill is capable of everything and anything, and that it will all be okay. Although he did point to a lack of leadership with the young defense.

Josh Beckett Weathers Many Storms

Guy found his saying and stuck with it. Drink every time Beckett says 'storm.'

All kidding aside though, I like the cut of his jib in this interview. It's good of him not to get distracted by contract stuff and worry about it. He came across as a professional in this one, and not a sleazy ickball question mark pitcher who maybe needs to make sure the shirt stays down. No need, Josh. No need at all.

Did you actually watch him pitch?

The Dodgers have signed Eric Gagne.

Eric Gagne.

This proves that no one's career is ever really over.

Or something.

Please re-sign Deion Branch. I want to see this

So as usual in the off-season, speculation is running wild about three things:

1) Will the Patriots sign Jason Taylor? My gut says, 'no.'
2) Will the Patriots sign Julius Peppers? My gut says, 'no.'
3) Will the Patriots acquire Deion Branch again? My heart says, 'Please, please, please, please, please.'

Addressing the question of whether he would be willing to return to New England, Branch said the following: "I still love coach Belichick, and if the opportunity presents itself to come back, I would love to be there. I still talk to Tom [Brady] to this day, and the crazy part is, you never lose that relationship with guys, especially when you do something special, which is what we did in my first four years in New England. I still talk with half of the team. To this day, I still talk with half of the guys that were on the team with me. It’s a special bond. For us to reunite, I don’t know. I would probably be crying at the press conference, if it happens."

There might be something that gets caught in my eye as well.

Plus, then if we are really, really lucky, we might get to see the Deion Branch Dance again. Love this guy.

Florida Panthers' Management Not Nice

I've decided to acknowledge the existence of hockey again. Amazingly, Montreal is currently in the running for a playoff spot, despite the fact that they've been, um, kind of bad (apart from the bizarre win against the Capitals the other night, ending their 14-game win streak).

Anyway, the talk today is about the Florida Panthers and a letter that the management wrote to the fans acknowledging that they suck. For reference, they are currently third from the bottom in the Eastern Conference and on a 5-game losing streak. For additional reference, the Leafs are in the basement. HA! But I digress.

Anyway, the letter used lots of fun businessese, including such classic phrases as 'going forward,' which is one of my least favorite. They have asked the fans not to judge them until they are done with their rebuilding process. When would that be? How do you know?

This move seems like a bad one, in my opinion. Talk about dividing the players from the management. And why would this be made public? Just make changes and keep it in the organization. You've probably already figured out that I don't like it when players air their dirty laundry in public, but I've learned from this experience that I hate it when management does it even more.

Joey Porter: It's Complicated

The Dolphins released Joey Porter today. Ha! That's what you get for talking smack to my boys, then not getting one single tackle when you actually play them. Ha, I say again!

However, apparently due to legal snafuese, he cannot be released at this time, so he has been placed, again, on the Dolphins' roster.

Incidentally, he was not actually released for talking smack about the Patriots, I just choose to think of it in that way. He and, well, pretty much everyone else from the coaching staff right up to Big Tuna were not getting along.

By the way, have you ever wondered where Parcells got the nickname Big Tuna? No? Then don't click.

Huh?

Dear My Habs,

Get it together!

Bob Gainey, the GM, resigned today. No, it is not June. It's the middle of the season and the GM just resigned.

Huh?

I can't think of this happening in other situations very often. Doesn't seem wise.

Gainey, of course, provided many years of service to the Canadiens. He was the first captain that I remember from when I was a kid and a devoted fan.

It's sad to see him go. But a confused kind of sad.

He Who Laughs With More Superbowl Rings, Laughs Last

Mike Reiss came out swinging in defense of Brady as the better pressure QB. I guess I totally missed Dungy's comment about how he'd rather have Peyton in any situation, particularly a drive down the field in the 4th quarter.

How are those SB rings looking there, Dungy? Oh wait, you only got one? Could that be because your QB was one of the great chokers of our generation?

Seriously. Great end. Great game. Geaux Saints!

Bill takes over defense

Okay, this was announced a few days ago and I am behind on things (it has been a busy month...thank God spring training is soon because I am looking forward to the distraction!). Anyway, Belichick has decided not to name a defensive coordinator and will be taking a more active role in the defense.

I don't like this.

Also, apparently they are not making any changes to the offensive coaching staff.

Definitely don't like this.

Compare how we looked this season (sluggish/cruddy) to how the Saints looked tonight (energetic/awesome). We need some of DAT. And while I was hardly expecting them to bring in someone totally new, a shake-up on offense is, in my view, mandated after last season.

My next question: when the hell are we going to start signing our free agents?

THAT JUST HAPPENED

Oh lord.

Lord.

Lord.

That's it, I now agree. The NFL is scripted.

First, the Favral choke.

Then, Peyton late in the 4th to give the Saints a 31-17 lead.

Breesus, take the damn wheel. I haven't been this happy, football-wise, since SB 39.

PS - For tonight, I declare myself the Future Mrs. Sean Payton. Just for tonight. I still love you, Pats, but I mean come on. Saints are on freaking fire here.

Articles that I'm just not even going to bother to read

Peyton Manning's Case for Being the Best Ever.

So you can't have it both ways. Either the ring is the thing, in which case Tom Brady is the best QB of this generation. Or the regular season performance is pivotal, in which case the 2007 Patriots are the best team of this generation.

In other words, the Pats are still #1, no matter which way you choose to cut it.

We're at the very start of the first. I'm liking the Saints' zest. GEAUX SAINTS!

Why I heart Tom Brady as my QB

Beyond the obvious of course. Words from a charity event he attended and gave gobs of money to:

'Asked about entering the final year of his contract, Brady said he doesn't really like to talk about those issues. "We're way overpaid as it is," he said. "That's not really a concern."'

Excellent. Someone who is cute and understands the salary cap (even if there isn't one next year, there still won't be unlimited amounts of money to spend!).

Choke of Favral proportions

Tonight, I almost feel sorry for Brett Favre.

Almost.

Because that was painful. First, what a completely stupid penalty the Vikings took. Too many men in the huddle? That is a Don Cherry move! Except that instead of leading to the game-winning score, it put them out of field goal range.

Then, he threw what has got to be the interception to end all interceptions. Now as you may recall, the last time that Favre made it to the NFC Championship game (2007), he also gave up a critical interception, leading to the Giants' win. Damn you, Brett Favre. Damn you for that interception.

I was pulling for the Saints, so I am glad at the result. But I have just one word to describe what happened there from a Vikings standpoint: ouch.

I will feel sorry for him right up until the moment he starts talking about coming out of retirement. Then my pity shall dissipate.

Game of Choke: who shall reign supreme?

This weekend, football fans have the pleasure of watching two of the greatest playoff chokers in recent memory play each other: Tony 'Fugly Beret' Romo (Dallas) vs. Brett 'Retire?' Favre (Minnesota). Favre brings decades -- literally decades -- of choking experience with him, but Romo has been the most consistent for choking late in recent years. The question is: who will choke and lose?

I do have to say that the Viking losses in December were less about Favre choking (unlike his time with the Jets) than the rest of the team laying down and almost dying at times -- karma at its finest. However, I have faith that his experience with choking will serve him well here.

Fixing the Patriots, step 1: get new defensive coaching staff.

Done.

Step 2: new offensive coordinator. Bill, get on that. It's been four days, already.

What the Pats need to do to improve next year

Patzboy09 has all of our problems solved. Trenchant observations about the fact that Romeo Crennel has also joined Kansas City (meaning that they now have Weis, Crennel, and Pioli), as well as a few suggestions for next season:

Patzboy09 wrote: Am I the only one who thinks that we should just let these fckers go and move on with life and be a fcking man and get tough within, seriously..For a whole dam year, its been Romeo this, Charlie that, on and on and on and ON...geez, f0ck them, let them go to the piece of sht worthless Kansas City Chiefs and become failures again and embarass themselves. I'll tell you this, Kansas City Chiefs doesn't make the playoffs next year or within three years of those 2 over there and they end up getting fired, they might as well retire because it will put the shine out of them for good. the Patriots organization and its fans needs to stop being a bunch of Girlie men, stop thinking like a bunch of girlie men and fcking man up and get tough. Let Dan Pees go, seriously, that's priority#1. Dan Pees is a girlie men of a defensive coordinator. He gets his cues from his grandaughter, I bet you she stood on the sidelines during Patriots practices dictating to her Grandpa that the players "hit too hard" and they need to be "caressy like". No wonder they couldn't tackle for sht. What kind of f0cking weights are these slackers lifting over there to be playing like a bunch of girlie men on PMS. I say next season, double the fcking Weights, those that can't lift, send them packing. It pissed me off this season everytime I watch a Patriots game and saw how weak and feeble they were compared to the other teams. To add more insult to injury, you watch the following game that came on from another team and you see how feracious those players were, how high they jumped for balls, how hard they hit any receivers that caught a ball, how much they pounded a line on a critical 3-4th and inches and you say to yourself, why couldn't our players play like that. Why has the Patriots players become nothing but a bunch of Prima Donnas puzzies. The Team's uniform next year might as well have them wearing fcking skirts, seriously. Get fcking tough you bunch of girlie men 1/11/2010 7:26 PM EST Thought-provoking...

How awesome is Tom Brady? Let us count the ways

Courtesy 1888CelticBoston: Largest touchdown to interception difference: +42 (2007) NFL Record Highest total passing touchdowns in a regular season: 50 (2007) NFL Record Highest total passing touchdowns in a quarter: 5 (vs. Tennessee, October 18, 2009) NFL Record Highest single-game completion percentage: 92.9% (vs. Jacksonville, January 12, 2008) NFL Record/Playoff Record Highest single-season quarterback rating: 117.2 (2007) 2nd highest all-time Highest single-game quarterback rating: 158.3 (at Miami, October 21, 2007) Perfect Rating 21-game win streak NFL record for most consecutive wins in post season: 10 Most completions in a Super Bowl (32 in Super Bowl XXXVIII) Most career Super Bowl completions (100 in four games) Pro Bowl selection (2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009) First-team All-Pro selection (2007) Second-team All-Pro selection (2005) Super Bowl champion (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) Super Bowl MVP (XXXVI, XXXVIII) Sportsman of the Year (2005) ,SI NFL POY ,Sporting News Sportsman of the Year (2004, 2007) ,AP Male Athlete of the Year (2007) ,AP NFL MVP (2007) ,AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2007) NFL Comeback Player of the Year (2009) TD-INT 225-99 Passing yards 30,844 QB rating 93.3

It will all be okay. But not this year. This year was painful.

I still stand by what I said after the Saints game: it was not our year. We had too many weaknesses (I listed a few two posts ago, such as pass rush). That being said, I'm actually not so upset about it. Yesterday basically took all of the flaws that we had seen all season and magnified them. That was painful. I wish that the team hadn't had such weaknesses. But we did and the Ravens exploited them, and that's how you win football games.

I'm a fan. Not a bandwagon fan, not a fair-weather fan, but a fan. The team will go through good and bad. Extremely smart decisions will be made (such as the acquisition of Moss/Welker or re-signing TBC). Extremely stupid decisions will be made (dear Lord, may I never have to see 3rd & 20 with a hand-off to Faulk again...that is an extremely stupid decision and I saw it more than once this season, making it even stupider since people might expect it). This year, I do feel that there were some very bad coaching calls and I would like that to be fixed for next season. Yet at the same time, you have to take risks and change or you could become stagnant (a la Giants this season). We sought change. It may have been too much and some bad decisions may have resulted. But the point is that they tried, they failed (somewhat), and now's the time to regroup.

I see at heart here the whole question of why we watch sports: part of the thrill is seeing a group being challenged, struggling, and overcoming. Pats fans are used to this narrative. Yesterday, we saw a group that failed to cohere and could not get together from start to finish. I hope that we can return to the struggle-overcome mode. I think that this has to do with that elusive mental toughness that was a problem for much of the season. Perseverance is what we like to see. Staying around after they fail, that's what a fan needs to do.

The one bright spot

Julian Edelman.

That is all.

Pats lose in first round for first time in Belichick's tenure. Game immensely ugly.

That was not a fun game to watch.

It wasn't enough that we gave up a 24-0 lead in the first quarter, it was even worse that we could get nothing together on the offense. Tom did not have a good day, but for the first half of the game, Baltimore's D was owning our O-line in awful ways. I mean come on. Dude almost didn't have time to hand the ball to Maroney at one point. That is not Brady's fault that he can't execute in such situations. The love-child of Peyton Manning and Joe Montana couldn't execute in such a situation.

The second half was better because they changed the snap count and it was effective. Fewer turn-overs. The turn-overs freaking killed us. And two of them bounced off someone and there just happened to be a Raven there (admittedly, we got one of those too, but three times in one game? When does that happen?).

Let's not even talk about the defense. I mean, full credit to the Ravens RBs (Flacco's QB rating was, like, 8.6 in the first half or something...Tom's was 32.something, which isn't exactly great either), who completely dominated our players, including that killer first run where we gave up, like, 833 yards (okay, it was actually 83, but it felt like ten times that). Wilfork was tied up most the time and contributed. TBC, bless him, picked off a ball that hit a Ravens' player. Not all was gloom and doom. No wait. The rest of the D was doom and gloom.

It was ugly. It was a horrible way to go out. It's time for Change. I'm torn because I think we desperately need new coaching staff, yet I think that part of the problem is the turnover in the coaching staff. Dilemma.

For you haters: Brady is not done (are you freaking kidding me?), Belichick is not washed up (he coached Matt Cassel to an 11-5 season last year!), and the Pats can be a strong team again. But there is a whole pile of work that needs to be done in this off-season. I have a laundry list:

1) Pass rush
2) Pass rush
3) Pass rush
4) Offensive coordinators whose plays are more exciting than 'Pass to Welker or, failing that, to Moss.'
5) Pass rush
6) Defensive coordinators who can teach how to rush the pass
7) BETTER FREAKING COACHING BY THE COORDINATORS
8) Pass rush
9) Running backs who can *hold* *on* *to* *the* *freaking* *ball*

That's all I've got.

Incidentally, who wants to take bets on when Adalius Thomas gets released? He can take his Jetson pack elsewhere, I think.

Who dropped the ball? Seriously?!?

Yes, I do have to bring it back. Apparently that week in Buffalo was just a fluke.

Fred Taylor had his first 'who dropped the ball' event in the game against Houston. But what made it even worse is that he dropped the ball and it was taken into the end zone for a Houston touchdown. And do you know who did that? Bernard Freaking Pollard. Yes. That Bernard Freaking Pollard of taking out Tom Brady fame.

He was also close to Welker when he sustained the knee injury.

Why does he hate us so much? What did we ever do to Pollard? Whatever it is, I really wish that he could just let it go.

So much to say, so little time

I had sketchy internet over the past week so I didn't get a chance to post. However, now is the time!

1) Wes, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! So much sadness. Your contributions this year were amazing, you are a wonderful WR, we will miss you during the playoffs. Please come back soon, we all wish you the very best and quickest recovery possible!

2) Pats vs. Ravens: I think the Ravens are going to win. Sure, we are 8-0 at home during the playoffs, but that sounds like the same kind of 'the Angels *never* beat the Red Sox in the playoffs' talk we were hearing in October (as a reminder, this past season the Angels beat us and how). But even if they don't, do you really think that we can beat the Chargers? Have you seen our secondary? Because I don't and I would prefer not to see us get embarrassed by them.

As always, I love them, I want them to win, but I'm not sure that this year they can.

3) Jim Leavitt gets fired. Now he was fired over the fact that he allegedly struck a student, which is clearly bad. But bring in the new, I say. It's been time for a new coach for a while.

4) Lots of other people fired, but amazingly not Mangini. Although I will be damned, he finished 5-11, just like the 2000 Patriots. Hm.