Kind of a welcome breather yesterday, huh? No controversial coaching decisions. No stymied power plays. No frustrating breakdowns in defensive adjustments. No Laurence Maroney running 11 yards to gain two. No leaving Tim Thomas helplessly out to dry against a flurry of goals. No settling for threes when the lane is wide open. No red zone failures. Nobody lost. Around here, this week...we'll take it.
In ten years prowling the Patriots' sidelines, Bill Belichick has earned all kinds of trust and goodwill and benefit-of-the-doubt. Which is good, because he needs it this morning.
Atlanta's coach Mike Woodson viewed this game as a measuring stick for his squad. The Hawks measured up well with the Celtics and won, 97-86. Atlanta led 72-70 after three quarters and outscored the veteran C's crew 25-16 in the fourth. Former Celtics player Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 24 points. Jamal Crawford added 18 points. Paul Pierce led Boston with 24. Pierce went to the floor once, came up limping, went to see the trainer, and returned with a brace thing on his leg. Boston dropped to 8-2 with their second home loss of the season. Comcast Sportsnet said the second home loss of 2008-09 took place on January 7. If you're wondering how the rag-tag Hawks won, check the box score and look for "Rebounds." Or, go with Kevin Garnett, who said Atlanta simply "beat us."
Remember a couple of weeks ago, when Claude Julien said he was getting tired of hard-fought losses? Well, last night must have exhausted him.
Let's face it. That was uglier than Minnesota's starting power forward. But if the Celtics are going to make a run at 70+ wins this season (and while PTI and the Globe and others are speculating about the possibility, we say, let's can that talk and let things unfold), they have to win games like last night. Trap games, against young athletic teams, on the second night of back-to-backs. And somehow, finally, the Celtics did.
It's hard not to experience a letdown after a 59-0 thrashing like the one the Pats put on Tennessee last night. The schedule makers, though, were kind enough to put another winless patsy in the Patriots' path, and the boys responded, delighting Londoners (well, we like to think so, anyway) with a 35-7 mauling of the Buccaneers.
Fans of American Football in London won't see a textbook example of the sport when the New England Patriots play the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. If the game on display isn't something the league really wants on display - unless the NFL loves potentially one-sided games - then that leaves this year's London game as a means to promote the league through its stars. In other words, Tom Brady. That's what Mike Reiss theory is, and he believes Brady has embraced that theory, too. That would explain the sight of Brady in a suit surrounded by teammates in their casual team gear. It might explain more detailed, emphatic answers to media inquiries instead of the usual Belichick-speak we are treated to.
"It’s the only team that has the word ‘England’ in it," joked Alastair Kirkwood, the managing director of NFL UK. Ah, so that's why the Patriots had to spend last night flying across the Atlantic to get ready for Sunday's game against the Bucs in London.
The Patriots made a lot of roster moves yesterday. A LOT. To the point where we wonder if (a) Bill Belichick wasn't happy with the 59-0 win on Sunday, or (b) they were worried about jettisoning some extra weight for the team flight to London this week. Officially gone are TE Michael Matthews and WR Joey Galloway, who was handed his walking papers and promptly dropped them. Not gone long enough to be forgotten were linebackers Eric Alexander and Tully Banta-Cain, who were released and then promptly resigned, possibly for paperwork reasons. "There’s a lot of different procedures and rules, and I don’t even know if I understand them all," said Belichick, who's a lot more concerned right now with puffing up the 0-6 Buccaneers in his players' minds to make them think the Bucs are the second coming of the '66 Packers.
Tom Brady is big in Canton, Massachusetts, and is already being discussed by some interested folks in Canton, Ohio. Canton, North Carolina? Not so much. The Amazing Grace Baptist Church of Canton, North Carolina believes Tom Terrific is leading us to eternal damnation, which earned him a spot on the Church's list of ungodly athletes.
Some time this winter, you'll no doubt read about a storm that dumps an inch of snow on some Southern locale and sends the entire town to hell in a handbasket. It happens every year; when you don't see it much, you don't know what to do with it, and it's good night, Charlotte. Or Little Rock. Or Nashville.
“The season doesn’t wind down. It just comes to a crashing halt,” Boston manager Terry Francona. That quote wraps up the entire sports day as the Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots were on the losing end of comebacks today.
In some ways, the game was as ugly as the pink accents all over everything (yeah, we know, good cause and blah blah blah and all, but in the words of MAD Magazine, bleccch). In other ways, it was one of those tight, efficient Patriots game that may not be aesthetically pleasing but get the job done. In any case, it's a win, a grinder of a 27-21 over the previously undefeated Ravens.
Someday, we're going to know what exactly we're supposed to expect out of the 2009 New England Patriots.
Oh, and the Red Sox lost the game, 9-5. Lester wasn't having a very good even before the ball hit his knee. He threw 78 pitches in 2.1 innings and allowed eight hits and five runs. David Ortiz had three RBI. A-Rod was 3-3 with four RBI and three stolen bases. The Yankees stole 97 bases. We know the box score says seven, but it felt like more.
Bostonist can't explain how the Patriots lost to the Jets despite allowing just 16 points and having Tom Brady at quarterback. Since we can't explain it, we're blaming Gisele. Gi wants to fly, and is learning on helicopters in Marshfield. Perhaps Brady is forced to fly with her as she practices when he could be resting or looking at extra film. Or, he could simply be driven to distraction with fear over her stupid hobby. Either way, she should consider us when she pulls this crap. It's really not just about us. Well, mainly it is. But, how does Gisele's extravagant use of fuel mesh with her environmental advocacy? What will they say at the U.N. about their newly minted Goodwill Ambassador? Okay, they won't care.
It might have been even worse if Kerry Rhodes had played (wait, he did?). Anyway, the Patriots did a fine job of embarrassing themselves yesterday in New Jersey, playing a listless and mistake-prone game and coming out of it the proud and deserving owners of a 16-9 loss to the Jets.
Tom Brady's confirmation that his wife is pregnant should have calmed interest in that matter until we closed in on the due date in December. Not quite. The National Enquirer says Brady's wife Gisele Bundchen is carrying a baby boy to be named Gabriel. If true, Brady would then have two sons. According to the Enquirer, a friend said Gisele has a sister named Gabriela and wants to honor the archangel Gabriel. The Globe found a "source" to deny the Enquirer's story. The Globe's source reportedly said "If it is not a boy, what other options do we have? Lol." Football fans know any Brady kid named Gabriel would be named after Roman Gabriel.
As if Rex Ryan hadn't done enough to fan the "flames" of the Jets/Patriots "rivalry", now we have Jets "safety" Kerry Rhodes unwisely sent in front of a microphone in anticipation of Sunday's game.
Our QB's back, now there's gonna be trouble. Hey now, hey now, Tom Brady's back...
With a day left before the New England Patriots suit up for real, Bostonist can't get enough news on the team. Two issues to focus on: Tom Brady is first and the new-look defense is second. Everyone knows by now that Brady spoke to ESPN and confirmed the baby news. He expressed complete confidence in his rebuilt knee in his chat with Chris Berman, and also dropped some Bill Belichick philosophy on us by saying he has to prove himself at every game and practice. "You got to earn it every week." That the video clip from ESPN includes a Dos Equis Most Interesting Man In The World ad is purely coincidental and not an endorsement of Brady as more interesting than the Dos Equis guy.
It's official! Tom Brady finally confirmed what we all sort of already knew: Gisele Bundchen is pregnant. As secrets go, it wasn't well hidden. He told Chris Berman of ESPN the news, and joked that the birth can't occur on a Sunday. But, if the blessed event were to happen on December 13 or 27, when the team plays in Foxboro, there may be a way Tom could witness the birth of his second child and play quarterback on the same day. The sprawling Patriot Place complex includes the Brigham and Women’s/Mass General Health Care Center. Bostonist has had an appointment there. It's an impressive facility. There must be some intern working for Bill Belichick who can check to see if it's equipped to handle women in labor.
Pretend scientists at Forbes Magazine have decided that living in Boston is stressful! Here's why. Remember when everybody had a job and valuable real estate? If you are remembering hard enough, you are probably having stress spasms in your back since now everybody in Boston has bupkes. That's what the Forbes people are talking about. But buck up. Boston's only the 8th most stressful city. Think of it this way. If you're looking at Tom Brady, you probably think he's the hottest man ever. But, actually, he's only the eighth hottest NFL quarterback, and at least you aren't looking at Ben Roethlisberger, allegedly the sixth hottest. Similarly, living in Boston might seem stressful, but at least you don't live in Providence, tied for fourth most stressful, despite or because of its legal weed, prostitution, and gambling. Come to think of it, maybe Providence is the Ben Roethlisberger of New England cities.
With most of September left to go, it's too early to say anything definitively. But it sure seems this morning like the Red Sox dealt Tampa Bay a devastating blow in the AL Wild Card race last night.
Mike Mennonno points out a disturbing article in the Wall Street Journal offering scientific evidence that injury machine Tom Brady isn't the hottest quarterback in the NFL. He isn't even in the top five. In a study showing that every starting quarterback in the NFL had a better-than-average facial symmetry, "a trait that shows a strong correlation to a person's perceived attractiveness," Brady's face scored an impressive 99.14% symmetrical—the average face is about 90%—but that was only good enough for 8th place. According to the study, Matt Ryan is the most attractive QB in the league, and Brady loses out to Brett Favre, Matt Hasselbeck, and, um, Ben Roethlisberger. So, if you have Brady on your "fantasy" roster, consider trading high.
Two of Boston's best pro athletes were on display on Friday with mixed results. Preseason 2009 for the New England Patriots can be summed up in two words: Tom Brady. Is he ready to play after missing the entire 2008 season? Is he risking injury by playing too much in games that don't count? We'll get back to the injurry question.
Tom Brady is the epitome of footballl goodness. In recent years, his image has revealed he is human, and has flaws - shocking, we know. Now, Brady is allegedly dangerous. Tom Terrific ranked fourth on McAfee's third annual most dangerous celebrity searches list, which tracks celebrity websites created by cybercriminals hoping to spread spyware, malware, adware, potential viruses and other Internet threats. The top three on the list, in order, are Jessica Biel, Beyonce and Jennifer Aniston. Gisele Bundchen, whose marriage to Brady increased his profile and Internet searches, ranked sixth. Other celebs on the list included Jessica Simpson, Megan Fox, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.
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