Sports Redux: He's Fine

He looked fine, and he said afterwards he felt fine. Tom Brady played almost the whole first half, threw two touchdowns, and kept his knee in one piece in the Patriots' preseason opener in Philadelphia.

Brady sat out the preseason last year, and played about nine seconds in the opener before being injured. So it's the first time we've really seen him since they beat San Diego for the AFC title in January 2008 (what happened after that game's still kind of a blur). Brady said, "there's no place I'd rather be," presumably meaning on the field and not Philadelphia. Offensive lineman Logan Mankins was a little sentimental, saying, "He was cool and calm as usual and he was hitting receivers, so it must have been the same old Tom."

New tight end Chris Baker was the recipient of both Brady TD passes. The starters left with a 21-6 halftime lead, but things unravelled in the second half and the Pats wound up winning only 27-25. But everyone's healthy, Coach Bill undoubtedly has a lot to work on, and that's what matters.

The game was overshadowed in Philly by the announcement that the Eagles signed convicted dogfighting kingpin and QB Michael Vick, since things there haven't been the same since Terrell Owens took his baggage and constant media circus elsewhere. Philly's slow to warm to their new signing, with some dumping their tickets on Craigslist. Maybe some Philly fans will exercise their famous creativity to welcome Vick once he stars playing.

Clay Buchholz pitched a great game for the Sox yesterday afternoon. Only trouble was, Detroit's Justin Verlander pitched something a little better than a great game, mowing the Sox down on the way to a 2-0 Tigers win and keeping the home team from a four-game sweep. The boys travel to Texas tonight for a three-game series with the Rangers, who are half a game behind in the wild card standings.

Leon Powe talked to the Herald about the chain of events that led to him being an ex-Celtic. Whatever went down, it ended with mutual respect; Powe says, "I love Boston and all of its fans...there’s no hard feelings," while GM Danny Ainge says he "love[s] Leon and wish him the best", adding, "we’re all better for having known Leon."