Tuesday Football Rundown

Time is money, so we're jumping right in:

1. This is hilarious. For people to suggest that he did this because he's betting on the games is even funnier. It seems there are better ways to alter the outcome than taking out the QB. I've watched it a few times and I just don't see how what the ref did can be seen as anything other than a ref losing his mind momentarily. Where's the fine??



2. Kellen Winslow may be coming out of his pocket for his mouth. Winslow is not happy about how the Cleveland Brown treated him following his three day hospitalization with a staph infection, a problem the Browns have been trying to sweep under the locker room floor. They should have known they were going to have an issue if this guy got it. He's a "freakin'" soldier, after all. Maybe now they'll try to figure out why it's happening instead of trying to hide it. Staph infections? Seriously, that's just gross . . . and Winslow's entirely too pretty for all that.

3. Let's call this one "more like 'sucking' Broncos." Monday Night Football featured a blowout courtesy of the New England Patriots, who whooped up on the Denver Broncos 41-7. Were the Pats looking to prove on the premier stage that they still got it even without their golden boy? I think so.

4. Adam "Pacman" Jones has entered alcohol rehab. I believe that means one of two things: a) he (or his people) reads the blog, and/or b) he's coming back to the NFL. "Both a) and b)" is also an acceptable answer.

5. Looks like we're going all football, all the time today. The morning-after death knell tolled again, and this time its victim is San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Nolan. Apparently, he wasn't going to be fired:

Earlier Monday, [49ers VP Jed York] had said Nolan's job was safe for the time being."What changed," he said later, "was there were numerous reports (that Nolan would be fired) that were a distraction."

That may be one of the weakest excuses I've ever heard for firing someone. So Nolan's job was safe until people started saying his job wasn't safe, at which point his job became not safe and was in fact in extreme danger. Nice.

6. Try to catch the ESPN commercial with Dwight Howard and Tracy McGrady (and some others you probably wouldn't know) featuring new additions to the team RV. If I can find it online, I will post it. Good stuff.

"Knee" England Mourns the Loss of Its Golden Boy

Yuck. Knees really aren't supposed to bend like that.

If you're here, you've probably already heard the news that New England Patriot's QB Tom Brady is a wrap for the season. All this talk about consecutive starts, Tom always gets up, ended in the blink of an eye - or a blow to the knee.

While I'm sure this makes some teams and players happy, to any real competitor worth his salt, this should be seen for what it is: a terrible thing.

Brady's departure during the first quarter of the first game was probably the last thing anyone thought was possible - kind of like seeing Superman knocked down. Remember when he was in that foot cast gallivanting around town with Giselle? No one (including me) thought it was a realistic possibility that he was not going to play - and he did indeed play.

So yesterday, when he was screaming on the field, didn't get up, and didn't at least return to the sidelines for the rest of the game, the Patriots must have known this time was serious, but I'm sure they hadn't allowed themselves to believe he was really going to be done.

Of course, now the Patriots will have very low expectations from here on out this season, considering their backup QB, Matt Cassel, has been a groomsmen and never a groom since he was in high school. Cassel says he's ready, and he did eek out a win yesterday, but even he had to admit he's no Tom Brady. Not too many guys are, Cassel, and therein lies the significance of the loss. Ironically, I mused in a post about eleven months ago about whether it's the QB, the other players on offense, or the blocker that made the Pats so good. I guess we'll finally get our answer.

As I said before, any true competitor is upset by this. No one should want to beat the team minus its star - the win's just not as sweet when there's an asterisk after it in the minds of everyone, including the now-winner.

This reminds me of what happened to Lolo Jones (whose good looks make this an even better analogy than I had anticipated) in the Olympics a few weeks ago. In case you missed it, Jones was the far and away favorite to win the gold medal in the 100m hurdles. And for the first eight hurdles of the race, she held a commanding lead and was well on her way to a win. But, God had another plan. Instead of clearing that one like she'd done the others, her foot hit it, and - miraculously - she kept her balance but faltered enough to leave her with a seventh place finish. Had she tripped over the first hurdle, the eventual winner, Dawn Harper, might have had greater cause for celebration (at least in my book - she was quite ecstatic when she won). But Jones fell after she was way ahead, which made everyone who came behind her seem more like also-rans (pun more than apropos) than winners. Not to take anything from the medal winners, but I would much rather beat the champion than have the champion get taken out by something or someone having nothing to do with me.

So goes Brady, who also "hit the hurdle" after having already established himself as the leader in the race for the top the QB of his generation. No viable argument can be made that any QB playing today has come close to what he's done at such a young age and with such dominance, and just that fast, beating the Pats just took on a whole lot less significance.

The NFL is certainly going to be brooding for a long time. There go the ratings, the merchandise, the fans at the games of terrible teams who showed up just to see Brady and his Pats.

And finally, Brady himself. What's he going to do all year? Actually, I'm sure he'll be right there with the team as much as humanly possible for an injured person. Good thing that the football season is short so he won't have to suffer through it too long. I'm not a big Pats fan but I am sorry to see him gone, just out of the pure love of knowing I'm seeing the best of the best compete.

Oh, and there is one more greatly affected party who ESPN won't lament in the weeks to come: fantasy owners who thought they had it made in the shade when they got Brady. Good thing I waited too late to play because with my penchant for winning drawings, that probably would have been me. And this post would have been a lot less pleasant.

Here's to a speedy recovery, Tommy. We'll miss you.

Running 'Fore the Weekend

I've seen PTI numerous times but today is the first time I ever noticed that they call their countdown the "rundown" - that's what I get for always trying to multi-task. Rest assured that I thought I was the only one running it down on a daily basis. I see I have company. Good company. Without further ado:

1. They're calling this a blockbuster trade, but I think that's just because it involved so many players. The main points of the trade is that LeBron the Cleveland Cavaliers get Ben Wallace from the Chicago Bulls and supermodelWally Szczerbiak (that's a lot of consonants) from the Seattle Supersonics, and the Cavs sent Drew Gooden and two other players with whom I'm not all that familiar. The Supersonics get Donyell Marshall and two other players whose names you probably wouldn't recognize. Interesting. So I guess this means that the Cavs have finally decided that LeBron will score all the points, since this trade means that the Cavs will be playing 4 on 5 in every game. Not their best work.

2. Some people don't like to eat at other people's houses if they think the house is dirty. Usually this is not a problem, and you can politely decline a meal or two. But when you are there for nearly three weeks, and you bring your own food in the house, at some point the host is bound to get upset. Which brings me to #2: I am thoroughly amused by the fact that China is upset at the U.S. for deciding to bring its own food to the Olympics this summer. Recently, China has had some issues with food quality. Not "oh this meat may have not been refrigerated" issues. More like "oh **** how did that poison get in there" problems. I'd bring my own food, too.

3. The New England Patriots decided not to hit Randy Moss with the franchise tag. This whole concept is funny to me, but I guess this means that he will have some bargaining chips now. You have to wonder about the power of the NFLPA (players association) when "getting slapped with the franchise tag" is a concept that made its way into the collective bargaining agreement. Something seems fundamentally unfair about this given how short their careers can be.

4. The New Jersey Nets' Richard Jefferson is in trouble for allegedly choking a man to unconsciousness who wanted him to leave a private party. Um. I'll just wait for the entire story to emerge.

5. University of Tennessee All-American baller Candace Parker has decided to forego her senior year of college and enter the WNBA draft. Hmm. She would likely be the top pick of the draft, going to the Los Angeles Spark. L.A. = one of top markets = endorsement deals. And Hollywood. Can't forget that. Yeah, this is probably a good move. And she's going to graduate before the draft. I'd call this a good move.

And one for the road: The Boston Celtics dropped another one to Golden State. Just a few hours ago, ESPN said that the Phoenix Suns/Celtics game might be a preview for the NBA Finals. Slow down, boys.

Have a great weekend!

Born To Run

I promise that I will actually write full articles again, someday. Until then:

1. Another young college athlete has died after collapsing during practice. 20-year old Jonathan Mason-Davis collapsed during basketball practice at Ohio University-Chillicothe. And two of his cousins were on the team. Is it just me or is this happening at an alarming rate these days? I can't help but wonder if it has something to do with our health care system, or lack thereof, not catching these things like we should. Whatever the reason, it's troubling and very sad to lose a child this way, so I hope we can study this and find out whether this was preventable. Very sad.

2. Shaq is headed from heat to sun. Yes, it's almost official - Shaquille O'Neal will be traded to the Phoenix Suns for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. This would have been #1 but out of respect for the deceased, I dropped it to #2. Marion has been trying to get traded for a while now. Sources say that this deal is a go if Shaq passes his physical. Wow. Now we know that the Suns don't and never have played defense. He would seem to be slowing down the movement of the running Suns. I would say this is as much about ticket sales as it is about fit.

2.5. I forgot about Pau Gasol going to the Lakers which broke over the weekend. This is an almost 19 points a game, 9 rebounds type player who has been averaging those types of numbers for his entire 6-year career. No slouch at all. He looked pretty darn good on Tuesday night althought it was against the not so good New Jersey Nets, scoring 24 points in his debut. This could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

3. Roger Clemens testified under oath about his steroid use, or lack thereof. His trainer will also testify and say that Clemens is lying. All I hope is that someone, or both, avoids jail time because we know what happens when you lie under oath.

4. One Patriots player is taking the loss extra hard. Defensive back Willie Andrews was arrested after a traffic stop in which he had weed in his car and apparently didn't have a registered vehicle. I really hope his license plate had fallen off or he just bought the car and didn't have his registration sticker in the window. Because otherwise, why?

5. It's not a good day unless the Celtics lose. This time to the Cleveland Cavaliers. I'm not a huge fan of LeBron James, but we can band in solidarity in our dislike of the Celts overratedness. And again, only 2/3 of the Big 3 are healthy enough to play. Notice the talk of world champs has gone by the wayside now that they are close to double-digit losses. That's what I like to hear.

David v. Goliath: David Wins Again

Wow. That's all I can really say. No one believed it. You didn't believe it was possible. They looked fallible but it wasn't possible . . .

Indeed, it is. In dramatic fashion, the odds-on favorite New England Patriots were stunned by the New York Giants in the final seconds of the 42nd playing of the Super Bowl. The Giants came to play, but I wonder if they even believed they could win.

And I wonder this to myself, not to the Giants' coach or any of its players, as Terry Bradshaw did after the game. Someone please tell me what the point is of the question, "Did you think you were going to win tonight?" "Hell, no, Terry, I knew we were a goner but I told the guys put on some pads, get on that field, and maybe the Pats will like let us score or something." Yeah.

Not exactly. I wanted the Pats to go undefeated in the regular season, but I was pulling for Eli and the Giants. Eli has that whole "always a bridesmaid never a bride" (or groomsmen/groom, you get the picture) thing going for him. He's an everyman that you want to root for because not one sports pundit would even utter the idea of a Pats upset. But on this night, the groom watched his best man finally take the leap, as big brother Peyton cheered from his luxury box. Eli deserved every bit of that MVP, too, with that tackle he avoided. Exciting finish. And he overcame every odd - and I'm sure made some people very, very rich - and rose to the occasion when it counted. Nice touch by Fox showing the route that Plaxico Burress ran in practice compared to his winning touchdown catch. I was also touched by Burress' display of emotion during his post-game interview. We all get caught up in the hype of the game, the commercials, whose party we're going to attend (where we do not have a seat, miss all of the commercials), but to these guys, it is the culmination of a lifetime of hard work. A lifetime of people who said you would never amount to anything or didn't believe in you, and proving them all wrong in an instant, and forever. This is why sports connects with the people.

You can admit that you thought Tom Brady would launch one to Randy Moss and win the whole game. Even with 10 seconds left. It was simply too unbelievable to think that the Giants might actually win.

Perhaps Bill "I Spy" Belichick is to blame for the Pats loss, because in the end, cheaters just don't prosper. And good guys - like Eli - do finish first.

Congrats, Giants!

Rundown from the Run-Down - 2008

Happy 2008!!

Pleats 'n Cleats took a much needed vacation, and I could still use another one. I will be back in the full swing of things next week but instead of leaving you for a full two weeks, I thought I'd give you the first rundown from the run down for 2008.

So without further ado:

1. So the Boston Celtics went 4-0 on their west coast trip. Yeah, yeah. Whoop-dee-do. They also lost to the Detroit Pistons - placing them second in ESPN's power rankings for the week. Get back to me come playoff time.

2. The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Celtics on Sunday, in a game featuring a montage of the storied Lakers-Celtics rivalry and in which the Lakers donned short shorts in true throwback fashion. Said Kobe Bryant:

"I don't know what it feels like to wear a thong, but I imagine it feels something like what we had on in the first half," he said with a grin. "I felt violated. I felt naked. It's one thing to see films with guys wearing those things. ... I'd rather stay warm, man."

Um. I believe you, Kobe.

3. By now you are fully aware that the New England Patriots went 16-0. Their final game against the New York Giants was kind of close but not they-might-not-make-it close. Pretty anticlimactic if you ask me. Way to go, Pats.

4. The Georgia Bulldogs put a beating on the Hawaii Warriors football team in Tuesday night's Sugar Bowl, 41-10. It was sad hearing the commentators say they had no business being in the bowl game, but it was even sadder to see all the fans who traveled from Hawaii and got all dressed up just to see their team score when the game was pretty much over. But they still get to go back to school in Hawaii. Don't feel too bad.

Pats Perspire . . . Just A Little Bit

The Baltimore Ravens came the closest that any team has come this season to beating the New England Patriots. You can read all about the game here. Forget Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, with this great escape, this team's leader must be Houdini.

In the end, although the Ravens led much of the game, the small things did them in. An errant time out called here, a penalty there, another penalty there. And another penalty there.

You get the point. They actually had one more try for the win on a serious hail mary by Ravens QB Kyle Boller. It was actually caught

I wanted them to win, the Ravens that is. I wanted Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and Willis McGahee, all University of Miami football alums along with Sean Taylor (and Reed and McGahee, Taylor's former teammates) to win it for Taylor, as Lewis said during their pre-game prayer/pep talk. And Lewis and company definitely came to play Monday night.

But I must admit that I also wanted to see the Patriots win the game and maintain their perfect record. (Did I say that out loud?) I like seeing history be made. Sue me.

Alas, the Patriots pulled it off by making a few key plays, including scoring a touchdown with less than a minute to go . . . and by the Ravens making a series of errors resulting in 4th downs magically turning into 1st downs and a mistimed (from the Ravens' defense's perspective) timeout.

But as Tony Kornheiser said, all these gaffes resulted in the best team winning - again, like they always do. True statement. Teams have had enough of that running the score up, 50+ point games. They are coming to play now. The Eagles gunned for them, the Ravens gunned for them even harder. But they withheld the pressure and came up with the win. This team is GOOD.

Since my team is tanking, I have to have someone to watch come January. So without further ado . . . Go Pats.

My Post-Super Bowl 41 1/2 Round Up: Canned Fans? Battle of Just the QB's?

So much has been said about yesterday's game between the New England Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts. But I have two things to say.

First up, were the Colts playing unfair?

Like the Patriots several weeks ago, the Colts have also been accused of cheating. (For irony, see the sign behind Brady in the picture above.) This alleged cheating is actually kind of interesting. First, they're saying that the Colts piped in the canned sound of fans to make it extra loud while the Pats were on offense yesterday. Presumably so that the Pats couldn't hear any signals.

Now, I am surprised because I actually noticed this yesterday. I thought I was hearing things, or a mic had changed positions, but lo and behold, I heard what could become "Coltgate." The idea that the Colts would purposely pipe in fan sounds is quite comical for its genius.

However, CBS says blame it on them. And the NFL looks like they're going to go with that, too.

There were having some audio problems at the Colts' home that prevented Bill Belichick from communicating with his beloved Tom Brady, which required them to have to signal plays in to Brady.

Well, it didn't matter in the end because the Colts didn't win anyway, proving once again that alleged cheaters never prosper . . . but confirmed cheaters do.


My second point: why do the quarterbacks on these teams get all of the accolades? I found myself falling into that trap yesterday. Caught up in the hype of the battle between the QB's that I unwittingly framed the game as "Peyton's showing up" when I was referring to the whole team. It seems that not enough credit is given to the Colts' running back, Joseph Addai, or Brady's receivers (including my own fantasy team's Wes Welker, and Randy Moss, Donte' Stallworth). The commentators are in on it, too. I'm not sure if it's the nature of the beast (that the QB runs the show) or something else . . .

The Brady Bunch?

I think our generation has been pretty blessed to see some of the greatest of all time in their sport:

Michael Jordan.

Roger Federer.

Steffi Graf.

Wayne Gretzky.

Tiger Woods.

Barry Bonds.(*)

Now perhaps I'm being shortsighted because the people playing now are the only ones I've ever seen play live and in person, but I think we're in a truly special era. Records that have been around for a half-century or more are being smashed -- even though I think these statisticians come up with more stats and records than could possibly be relevant.

Now, it looks like we might have to add Tom Brady to that list. Sunday, Brady threw for the most touchdowns in the first six games of a season in NFL history, throwing at least 3 TD's per outing, and helping the New England Patriots kept their undefeated season alive with a 48-27 win over the Dallas Cowboys and my fantasy-nemesis, Tony Romo.

I know I harped on Tony Kornheiser for kissing Brady's butt, but he is shaping up to be one of -- if not the -- best at his young age. SI.com is already predicting that he'll win his first MVP. To me, it's hard to judge how good a QB is because they seem only as good as their offensive line is at keeping the defense from sacking him. I guess there's some combination of foresight, play-running, etc. that makes him so good.

So is Brady the G.O.A.T. or just a good QB with a great offensive line?


* Pending BALCO telling on him, too.

In This Case, Silence Just Might Be Platinum

Instead of talking to the press, for perhaps the first time in his life, Terrell Owens has decided to let his game speak for itself.

In anticipation of the "clash of the Titans" - ok, the clash of the Dallas Cowboys and the New England Patriots, which are both undefeated - the media was of course of hoping to get the usual outrageous sound byte from their favorite target (and Tony Romo's, apparently). Instead, they were met with this note:


He signed the note "Sincerely, (T.O.'s signature)" and further added: "p.s. Getcha Popcorn Ready." The "Original 81" is the Cowboys' own T.O., of course, and the "other 81" refers to his opponent, Patriots' wide receiver Randy Moss. You knew he couldn't just write any old note.

If nothing else, the man knows how to keep the people entertained!

Kornheiser's Other "Pumpkin"

I know I'm not the only one who watched Monday Night Football and was heartbroken by Carson Palmer and the Cincinnati Bengals' performance. While we got to see Carson get scolded for arguing with his, uh, interesting wide receiver, Chad Johnson, all we heard about Tom Brady is that he's the second coming of Jesus Christ Himself.

Seriously, Tom Brady has a lot of great assets (who wouldn't be jealous of three Super Bowl rings before the age of 30? Hate on this man!) but we don't need to hear how great he is for an entire football game. I'll take one quarter, maybe two, but an entire game of butt-kissing is just outrageous.

Tony Kornheiser, who co-commentated last night's game and delivered the vast majority of the besos to Brady's behind, is responsible for the brown-nosing. Even more than Brady's on field accomplishments, Tony gushed over Brady's movie star looks, dating supermodels (Giselle), and his new baby daddy status, and his penchant for being gossip column fodder as a result of all of the above. It got worse when he started talking about the New England Patriots going 16-0. Not so far-fetched if we're at, say, game 10 or higher in a season of 16 games. But this is game 4. That means there are 12 more games to go, and that is beyond way too early for anyone to be talking about an undefeated season.

Not only that, Tony went on and on about the genius of Bill Belichick, completely ignoring that just a few short weeks ago, his beloved Belichick was coughing up $250 G's for cheating. But never mind the cheating, this guy is amazing!

Even his fellow commentators took him to task for going too far. I'm not sure how long he's going to last on Monday Night Football after this. It's OK to do on Pardon the Interruption, but an entire game is entirely too long to hear about your crush on a football player and his team - from a man or woman. But while Tony is certainly responsible for the unending gushing, I think the men or women who cued up his ridiculous comparisons and scenarios by adding graphics and doing fact-checking should also be taking the heat. I blame you all, too.

But I don't know if I can totally blame you for being a fan.

Update #2: No 'Pat' On the Hand

Our favorite commissioner, Roger Goodell, has fined Bill Belichick the NFL maximum $500,000, and the New England Patriots must pay $250,000 for stealing offensive and defensive signals. They also have to fork over next year's first-round draft choice if they reach the playoffs, or give up their second- and third-round picks if they don't make the playoffs.

This is a low moment for the NFL. The referee debacle was bad for the NBA, but it's worse when a coach is the one cheating. This is really heinous and utterly unprofessional for a coach to be involved in a scheme like this.

How come he doesn't have to sit out any games?

Cheaters Never Prosper . . . But They Can Win Super Bowls

What's up with this charge that a New England Patriots cameraman was spying on the NY Jets, recording the Jets' hand signals for defensive plays during their game yesterday? A game that the Patriots ended up winning.

Apparently, you can lose a draft pick for such an offense. I would have said it was sour grapes, except the Pats - and specifically, the cameraman in question - have a history of cheating.

This is just dumb. Can't be worth the risk, even if you do have "that's just my baby daddy" Tom Brady to help you out on the other end . . .