So the Celtics couldn’t finish off what would have been the perfect road trip, but it was a solid on nonetheless. The four game swing included the best win of the season Monday night in San Antonio, a thrashing of the red hot Rockets, and a close victory in Dallas. Hopefully the loss in the final matchup against the Hornets will teach the team to be more careful with the ball as I don’t remember the C’s turning the ball over that many times since last season.

The trip contained some pretty poor officiating in all four games, which is a continuing trend for the NBA. Basketball, more than any other sport, has consistently controversial calls. The nature of the fouls makes them far more subjective than football or baseball, and the sheer number of fouls per game means more errors are made. Turning the ball over so frequently narrows the margin for error, and the Celtics need to do a better job of ensuring that referees can’t decide the game.

I would also like to state my concern for the Pacman Jones rumors that have been floating about. Supposedly the Patriots are one of 3 teams, including the Lions and Cowboys, who have interest in the troubled cornerback. Now I trust that Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli will not acquire Pacman unless they believe that he can turn his life around, but he has a pattern of bad behavior far more concerning than that of Randy Moss and Corey Dillon, the other two players who have played nice once wearing the flying Elvis on their helmets. In the cases of the latter, they both had attitude problems on losing teams, which was appeased by the Patriots and their winning ways. Pacman on the other hand has shown a pattern of detrimental and downright dangerous off-field behavior, and the inability to learn from his mistakes. I for one have a hard time believing that coming to New England will make much of a difference.

If Randy Moss were Jewish today would be the day of his Bar Mitzvah; he has grown up and is now a man.  If there was any doubt that Randy is a new, more mature person, it goes out the window with the report in the Boston Herald that he turned down a larger contract with the Eagles to stay in New England.  An obviously good decision, perhaps, but not one that I would expect him to have made in his younger days.

I would bet, and this is pure speculation, that the contract the Eagles offered was more than a little richer than the 3 year, $27 million deal he just signed with the Patriots.  It turns out that the lure of playing with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick was more valuable than some extra dollars.  This will turn out to be a great decision for Moss, and for the Patriots.  $27 million is quite a reasonable price to pay for the best receiver in football.

Although the Moss signing is a major off season hurdle now behind them, the Patriots have a lot of work to do.  Not only are there holes to fill on the defense, particularly at cornerback and linebacker, but the offense needs to figure out a way to return to form.  While still good, even great, towards the end of the season, the offense became much less dominant than it was at the start of 2007.  It seemed as though the defensive coaches finally caught up with the innovative Patriot offense, now it’s time to once again take that step ahead.  What remains to be seen is whether Belichick and Co. will try to do this by adding personnel, through free agency or the draft, or will do what they do best and change up the schemes.  Regardless, with Moss now secure, the Pats seem a lock to repeat as division champs and go deep into the playoffs.

The great Willie Gary is suing the Patriots. Oh, what? You’ve never heard of him? Gary’s illustrious career consisted of 6 games in 2001 with the St. Louis Rams. Now the guy with one career NFL tackle is trying to take down the Patriots. Guess what Willie Gary, you’re lawsuit is going to go about as well as your career.

For those of you who don’t subscribe to Frivolous Lawsuits Weekly, Gary wants the Patriots to pay him the $25,000 difference between the winner’s and loser’s share of the 2001 Super Bowl, as well as $125,000 for a Super Bowl ring. He is joined by fellow dolt Kevin Hacker (perfect name for a sleezeball, no?), a ticket broker who thinks that every ticket holder from that Super Bowl should receive a refund. This all stems from the rumor that the Patriots filmed the Rams’ practice prior to the game. Unfortunately for the plaintiffs, there is no evidence to support this (by the suit’s own admission), and law suits without evidence tend to do poorly. You didn’t earn a Super Bowl ring, Willie Gary. You’re not a champion. You’re not good enough to play in the NFL. You’re certainly not smart enough to win this lawsuit. Not since Ron Paul began his presidential campaign has a man with two first names embarked on a mission so doomed to fail.

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.

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!)

I will reveal the my revolutionary Big Brother theory later in this post, for now it’s time to put my reputation on the line and make some playoff picks. Let’s start out with the one right here in New England, obviously I think the Patriots will probably win the game, so we’ll give the Jags a chance and go with the spread on this one.

Currently the gambling gurus have it at Pats -13.5, I think the Patriots will beat this, and I’ll tell you why (its not just because I’m a homer, I am but this one I can justify). I don’t think anyone is too concerned about the Patriots offense, so the question is whether the Jaguars can put up points. Quarterback Garrard’s claim to fame is throwing few interceptions, but he’s still a inexperienced quarterback. If his team gets down he’ll have to go away from the safe passes he usually completes. I also expect him to have problems with the Patriots confusing package of rushes, he hasn’t faced a defense that operates quite like the Pats’.

The analysts love to talk about the Jags’ potent running game, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard this past week that they will keep the Patriots offense off the field; “Brady and Moss can’t score if they’re on the sideline”. When you think about it, this is one of the stupider theories out there. Sure, if the clock is running the Pats will have fewer drives, but so will the Jaguars. Common wisdom is that time of possession means you’ll win the game, but such wisdom is based in fallacy. Teams with longer drives score more, and by longer I mean by yardage. Obviously these tend to take up more time than a drive where you get a couple first downs and punt or turn it over.

So in the end I don’t buy the running game making the difference, you need to do more than run the ball. It would be difficult for the Jags to score the 25.7 points per game they averaged this season, and even that would not be close to enough to beat the Pats. If they try to slow down the game to lower New England’s score they do the same to themselves.

On to the rest of the games, beginning with Indy and San Diego to round out the AFC. Indy is favored by 9, and I’ll take them over the Chargers. San Diego looked pretty mediocre against a weak Titans team last week, and Indy has all of their weapons back; they’ll be looking to use them and put up some points. And if the game is close they’d better hope Adam Vinatieri returns to his Patriot form.

I’m picking the Packers (-7.5) over Seattle simply because the Seahawks don’t play well on the road, and Lambeau is a tough place to play, especially with freezing temperatures forecast for tomorrow’s game. I do think Seattle has a chance to pull off the upset if they can utilize their experience on offense and Favre makes some mistakes with the football, as he is sometimes wont to do.

The trendy upset pick this week is NY over Dallas. I’ll take the Giants getting 7.5 with the spread, but Dallas will win the game. Romo has something to prove after all the talk of him being distracted, and after his playoff debacle of last year. The Giants have played well these past two weeks, but as I’ve said before I have no faith in Eli Manning, and I don’t think he’ll keep up the strong performance for a third week in a row. Which brings me to the much anticipated…

Big Brother Syndrome Theory! The performances of Eli and Peyton are inversely proportional. Whether he can’t handle the pressure of living up to his brother, or there is some cosmic force limiting the combined success of the Mannings, Eli plays his worst when Peyton has a strong game. He does well in weeks where Peyton struggles or doesn’t play at all. Don’t believe me? Let’s look at some numbers. Peyton’s 2007 season QB rating was 98.0, Eli’s was 76.0 (including his playoff game). In weeks where Peyton had a better QB rating than his average, Eli was held to an average rating of 65.6. During weeks where Peyton did worse than his average, or didn’t play at all, Eli had an average QB rating of 87.7. That’s a whopping 22.1 point difference in rating, and since Peyton will probably have a huge game this week, the Giants are in huge trouble. Remember, you heard it here first.