It’s that time of year again. Deep into baseball’s off season, and soon all anyone will be talking about is Roger Clemens. In years past it’s been the retirement watch, as he jerks everyone around, pretending he doesn’t know whether he’ll pitch again. This time we know the answer. He won’t. Steroid talk is so much more fun.

Round 2 of McNamee vs. Clemens is about to begin, and this week has the potential to make or break our opinions. It also has the potential to be another waste of time, as both sides presents evidence which means absolutely nothing. McNamee submitting syringes with Rocket DNA is about as meaningful as Clemens’ statistical analysis of his career was. The man already admitted that McNamee injected him with substances, only it could just has easily have been B12 as steroids. The only thing the syringes prove is that McNamee is a psycho. Who keeps bloody needles lying around the house for five years? McNamee claims it was because he didn’t trust Clemens to tell the truth. Please. McNamee’s credibility is based on the fact that he loved Clemens, the man who “treated him like family”. I’m a suspicious guy, but I don’t keep evidence of every bad thing my friends ever do, just in case one day I decide to turn against them. Hear that my scrawny friends? Take ‘roids all you want, you’re in the clear.

So what could happen in these Congressional proceedings that would mean something? It all depends on Andy Pettitte. Should the man go under oath, and corroborate McNamee’s story, that will be the final nail in the coffin. If, on the other hand, he says he has no knowledge of the situation, that doesn’t exonerate Roger by any means. He could either be lying, or Clemens could have kept his drug habits a secret. It really is a no win situation for Clemens. Now he must know how all those hitters felt facing his juiced up fastball; we’ll know starting this week if he fares any better than they.

There are reports today in the Globe and Herald that Curt Schilling may have a shoulder injury. It is supposedly serious enough that the Red Sox have investigated whether they can void the pitcher’s contract, and Schilling will be out until at least the All Star break. This injury just highlights how important it was to trade for Santana; this rotation isn’t as deep as people think it is.

The Patriots got beat. They didn’t choke, they weren’t robbed by the referees, they didn’t even get outplayed, they just got beat. When the last hail mary fell to the ground rather than in the hands of Randy Moss it was a rare feeling of pure disappointment. There is usually a bad call to blame, or a player who can’t handle the pressure, or a Grady Little who forgets how to manage, but not today. Today there was no anger, just disappointment.

And yes, this was the most disappointing loss in my sports life. In 2003, after a ‘roided out Aaron Boone hit the game winning home run, I would have contested this claim. But looking back now, with the championships of ‘04 and ‘07, that loss seems like nothing. I’d like to think that next year, or a few years from today, I will look back on the 2008 Super Bowl and think, “It’s too bad, but at least they made up for it since”, but the overwhelming odds are that it won’t happen.

We knew, even in 2003, that the Red Sox would have another chance to win the World Series. Do we know now that the Patriots will ever, in our life times, get another chance for a perfect season? Of all the football seasons left, from now until you die, next year is the best opportunity they have of winning that 19th game. And, if you had to bet right now, what are the chances of that? 10%? 5%? After that it gets even more unlikely. When you factor in the potentially once-in-a-lifetime run of New England dominance, what with the success of the Red Sox and Celtics, the loss seems all that more tragic.

But in the end, this tragic ending can’t be pinned on the Patriots. Even in their one loss, the Pats played as close to perfect a game as you can hope for. The coaching was great, Tom Brady was his usual mistake-free self, the defense was terrific. The team’s one glaring problem in this game: the offensive line. But even they weren’t blowing assignments or being penalized. They played as well as they could against a great Giants rush.

And the Giants played as well as they could. They too were near perfect. Were they the better team? No. In the end things broke their way. Sometimes, when you put yourself in a position to win, a receiver will make a catch with their helmet, and an interception which would end the game will be inches out of the cornerback’s reach. Today was that day, and the Giants deserve the win; nothing can be taken away from them for catching some breaks. Giants fans should be very proud of their team, a team that did something no one thought they could do. Just be aware, I hope your team makes it back to the Super Bowl next year, because the Patriots will be their waiting for you.

In the end, as disappointed as I am, it doesn’t take away at all from what I admire about the 2007 Patriot team. They strove for perfection, and worked their asses off to achieve it. They played as a team, and were humble to the end. The Patriots may not have a perfect record, but they are the perfect team. And, because they’re the perfect team, they’ll be back.

February 3, 2008. Super Bowl Sunday, the greatest day in sports. If the World Series took place in a day it would probably be better, but it doesn’t. Today also marks the third consecutive major sport’s finals in which New England is participating. In October, the Red Sox; November, the New England Revolution; and after suffering for two and a half long months without a championship game, the Patriots will play for the Super Bowl. Even if they lose, which they won’t, this has been one of the greatest stretches this region will see in our lifetimes. Should the Celtics make it to the finals in June, it may be the best stretch ever.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves or caught up in the recent past. Today is a day to appreciate the Patriots, and that is why I am breaking my streak of 156 days without touching a cooking pan or baking dish, to make the guests of my Super Bowl party a dip for their tortilla chips. After enjoying months of Patriot perfection it’s the least I can do. As I said two weeks ago, I expect this perfection to continue and, in honor of the three past championship Pats teams, am picking New England by 3.

And with that short post, it’s off to the kitchen. I’ll be back sometime after the game, either tonight or tomorrow, depending on how late we party. If you’re hoping for tonight, don’t hold your breath.

You better watch out…I’ll try not to cry…I’ll probably pout…

Screw it, I’m in no mood to write another song just yet. Johan Santana, according to media reports, is bound for the New York Mets, pending a contract extension. And, barring failure of said contract extension, I’m pretty disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, I am happy that the Sox did not offer Ellsbury and Lester for Santana, but I am sad that the Twins decided the Mets’ package was better than one or the other, along with Coco Crisp.

As has been well established throughout recent baseball history: a great pitching staff is far more formidable than a great offense. While Ellsbury, assuming everything works out as projected, will be a solid addition to the Boston lineup, Santana would have been more valuable in the starting rotation. Am I the only one who has some concerns about the rotation as presently constituted? Beckett is great, and we can figure on him to have another strong year, but beyond that there are question marks. Matsusaka will do better; after all, it’s his second year; he’s had time to adjust…we think. In reality Daisuke could struggle with his control just as much as he did this year, and remain a middle-of-the-road, number two starter. Beyond that things are very uncertain, what with the age of Schilling and Wakefield, and the uncertainty of Clay Buchholz and John Lester. I would’ve felt much better with two dominating aces in the rotation, even at the cost of a potential lead-off hitting all star. A guaranteed half-decade of AL East superiority is now in question. One day we may look back on this non-trade and smile, but for now I wish the Twins would’ve seen things differently and taken the Sox’ package over the Mets’.

On a happier note, I now pledge to watch at least one Bruins game per week. It’s easy to forget about the one team in Boston that is not in the process of making history, but the Bruins are a fun team to watch. In a year where we root for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Celtics, expecting them to excel, it is refreshing to have a team to root for which is just trying to hang on to make the playoffs. It took sitting rinkside at the game today to remind me, but hockey can be damn entertaining. Honestly, check out this view, how could you not get excited:

The Orioles have thrown in the towel. News reports today indicate that Erik Bedard is going to be traded from Baltimore to the Seattle Mariners. In return, the Orioles will receive a package of Adam Jones, one of the Mariners’ top prospects; George Sherill, a little known relief pitcher coming off a solid year; Chris Tillman, a 20-year-old second round draft pick who’s played one year of A-ball; and an unnamed fourth player, who, being unnamed, is likely not in the same class as the other prospects.

I believe that this is a poor trade for the Orioles. Bedard, who is 29 years old, is one of the best lefty hurlers in baseball, and has improved his pitching every year he’s been in the league. For a man of his age he has not been in the Majors very long (4 full years), which limits the number of innings he has thrown (658) in contrast with a guy like Johann Santana who, at the same age, has tossed 1308 major league innings. Although the Orioles are in a rebuilding phase, Bedard is not eligible for free agency until after the 2009 season. Until then, he can be had for relatively cheaply. If the Orioles determined closer to 2010 that they were still not in a position to sign Bedard, they could trade him away and recieve significant value, especially if Bedard continues to improve. I just don’t think its worth trading away your team’s one exciting player when he will be relatively young in the years you hope to contend, he isn’t breaking the bank, and he can be a centerpiece around which to build a team. While the O’s are getting some fairly highly regarded prospects, unproven players meet expectations at a very low rate. Is it worth sacrificing the only chance you have at a decent team for a couple of hit or miss prospects? I don’t think so.

It will be interesting to see how this trade affects the dynamic of the American League East this year. The Red Sox and Yankees are still clearly the two teams to beat, and now that the Orioles have taken a huge step backwards they will likely complete the job they started last year and finish in last behind the up-and-coming Rays. While the Rays and Blue Jays have little hope of winning the division, they should face an intense battle for third. The re-signing of Carlos Pena by Tampa Bay was a surprise to me, and represents a newly evident commitment to retain players who perform well. Both the Rays and the Jays have a good chance to finish above .500 this year, as they should be able to beat up on the Orioles, who may win the dubious honor of being the first team mathematically eliminated in 2008.

Alright Bill, you win again. You want us to play your little games and we can’t help ourselves. And really, what are we supposed to do? Who isn’t at least a little curious as to why Tom Brady is missing? I’m sure the Giants coaches are out right now searching for the New England quarterback instead of looking at game tape and motivating their team with false hope for next Sunday.

Well that’s probably a bit optimistic. But to be honest, even as we play along with Belichick’s hide-and-seek shenanigans, we all know that our precious quarterback is fine. Have any doubts? Here’s what we know:

1. The injury isn’t serious. It was supposedly sustained during the Chargers game, yet it was minor enough that we didn’t even notice it at the time. Brady may be tough enough to make the likes of Philip Rivers envious, but I’m pretty sure you can’t cover up running around on a serious ankle sprain. Additionally, he was seen walking around again a few hours after he had the boot on, sans boot. God bless the paparazzi for keeping us all so up-to-date, I’m sure Tom doesn’t find it annoying at all.
2. There are only three possible reasons to hide Tom from the media. He either a) is completely fine, and Belichick simply wants to mess with the Giants’ heads, b) is trying to hide a serious injury so that the Giants don’t game plan for it, or c) has been kidnapped by the Dolphins because they’ve given up on Cleo Lemon. Since we have already established that ‘b’ is false, and ‘c’ is too low even for Bill Parcells, we are left with the psychological ploy theory.

So there’s nothing to be worried about, you can take Brady’s picture off of that milk carton. I’m sure that while the media searches the locker room Tom is sitting in Coach Belichick’s office staring through the keyhole and giggling. My personal theory is that Belichick wants the Giants to blitz a lot, which they may be wont to do if they think Brady is playing on a bum ankle.

Hey, I guess it’s worth a shot, and at worst the coach has given everyone something to do while we wait for the game. I know I’ve had so much fun I’m off to peruse some children’s books for Waldo.

Another great weekend of playoff football is over, and now we must wait the tedious two weeks until the Super Bowl. I, for one, am not a fan of the two week break, but Tom Brady seemed pleased about it, so I won’t complain. There will be much to discuss in the next two weeks, but I am coming out now with my prediction for the big game: Patriots by 3. That’s how they’ve done it the last three times, so I’m sticking with it until they do otherwise. By the way, I really wish that I wasn’t a Pats fan so that I could bet on the Giants with their +14 spread. That spread is way too high and the Pats have not been doing very well at all against the bookmakers recently.

I am very confident that the Pats will win the game, however the one thing to be concerned about is the play of Mr. Eli Manning. He and the Giants are reminding me of the 2001 Pats, so much so that I found myself during the NFC title game rooting for a New York team for the first time in my life. The Giants don’t have the greatest players, but they’ve been playing hard, mistake-free football and it’s working. In the weeks since I trashed Eli Manning, he has been superb. While I am flattered that Eli was so offended as to elevate his game after reading my post, his performance needs to stop before he plays the Patriots. And so, to show my sincerity, I have composed this heartfelt apology to Eli, in the style of Akon’s hit, “Sorry, Blame it on me”:

• I’m sorry for the times I wrote about you
• In all those posts I didn’t have a clue
• I’m sorry that I wrote about how you sucked
• I’m sorry that I thought your team was f*cked

• I’m sorry that I said that you were lame
• That you wouldn’t make it to a Super Bowl game
• Now you’ve shown I should’ve held my tongue
• Peyton wishes he could’ve gone that young

• I’m sorry I thought you’d disappoint Dad
• For sixteen games Archie saw you look bad
• How was I to know you’d turn it around
• That in the post season you would rebound

• I thought your brother was better than you
• Peyton always had more commercials to do
• But while he was filming you were in the gym
• I guess it should be you giving pep talks to him

• Even though you’ve had your problems
• In the playoffs we now know
• All the talent’s been inside you
• At long last you’ve let it show

• If I can’t apologize for being wrong
• Then it’s just a shame on me
• I didn’t think that you had game
• And you can put that blame on me

There. You can take my other comments off your bulletin board. And please don’t ruin the perfect season, the last thing we need is for a New York team to end the streak.

Just finished watching Roger Federer, one of my favorite athletes, in his grueling match against Janko Tipsarevic in the Australian Open.  For those of you who are not tennis fans, the dominate, #1 ranked Federer nearly lost to the little known, 49th ranked Tipsarevic.  This match was a striking reminder of how an underdog with a lot of heart who plays the game of their life can pressure a superior opponent.

Sound like there might be a similar situation with the Patriots this weekend?  I think not.   While it would be foolish to take the Chargers lightly, and as we all know the Patriots will not, they are in no shape to put up a strong fight.  Philip Rivers is listed as doubtful for the game, I’m sure he’s hoping he can stay on the sideline so he can talk trash to fans all game, and key players like Gates and LT are banged up.  The only consolation for Chargers fans is that Rivers isn’t really very good, so the drop off if Billy Volek plays won’t be too big.  There’s still a chance that Rivers could play, but does he scare you?  I’ve rarely seen a more gutless performance than last week as he ran back to the field after having his knee looked at in the locker room only to stay out of the game in a critical situation.  Gutless players don’t do well against the Pats; my pick for the game is the Patriots (-14).

I’m also going to take the Giants and their +7.5 spread.  While it is yet unknown whether the Manning theory still applies with Peyton done for the year, the Giants (in an un-Rivers-like fashion) are playing with a lot of heart.  If the Manning theory does apply Eli will have a great game again.  Just as Eli’s performances are the opposite of his brother’s during the year, perhaps his playoff success will be just as different (mediocre in the regular season, great in the playoffs).  Green Bay does have a really good chance to win this game, but it should at least be close.  By the way, has anyone seen the forecast for the game tomorrow?  I’ve seen sources range from +5 to -5; either way, that’s f*cking cold!  It must be miserable for the players while they’re on the sideline, and cheese hats off to the Packers fans for sitting through it.

It’s been a pretty slow news week in New England up to this point, I thought it time to make a quick post about the Celtics and Randy Moss.

Let’s start with the better of the two stories, the Celtics. I’ll admit that I was pretty down on them after their two recent losses. Ray Allen had been awful, and Rondo’s injury was clearly hurting the team. As they proved against the Blazers, however, the Celts will step it up for big games, and when Allen is on they can overcome other setbacks. Had Rajon played last night, the point difference would’ve been even greater.

This game also highlighted one of the main differences between Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. Paul had an off night in the scoring department, but was still able to make a huge contribution with 8 rebounds, and the team won the game. Ray on the other hand doesn’t do much when he isn’t scoring, so let’s hope he’s put his shooting troubles behind him.

Now on to the Randy Moss situation. Already he has shown that he is much more adept at defending himself than Roger Clemens. Hopefully this is because he actually isn’t guilty. In Roger’s case, no one is benefiting from the accusations, whereas Randy’s accuser clearly has a lot to gain at his expense. We should find out more details soon; in the meantime is anyone concerned that the Patriots will be distracted by this? Didn’t think so.

That’s it for now, be sure to check back Saturday for my next round of playoff predictions. (By the way, the Manning theory is in tact, let’s see if it applies after Peyton’s season is over. If it does, watch out Packers!)