The NBA officially canceled games through December 15 on Tuesday, killing 26 percent of the season. The cancellation came on the same day that the NBPA decertified, with 15 players joining class-action antitrust lawsuits against the league.

With players seeking over $6 billion in damages, it would take a very player-favorable deal to get everyone back to the negotiating table. Meanwhile, every day that basketball isn’t played is another day where non-diehard basketball fans disgustedly give up on the NBA, possibly for good.

Of course, the NFLPA also decertified before a new CBA was finally agreed upon. But the animosity with which both sides have treated each other – the owners’ uncompromising demand for a significantly salary-capped league, the players’ uber-defensive unwillingness to believe their salaries might be dangerously overblown – makes this lockout far more hostile, and far more likely to cause irreparable damage to the NBA.

Because while billionaires and millionaires yell at each other over mere percentages, unemployed, angry, everyday Americans just decide to change the channel.

Where’s the Humanity?

Though both the NFL and NBA lockouts were/are first and foremost about money, NFL owners and players found a way to remain human beings whom others could identify with.

It wasn’t just that football players wanted a higher profit share: they wanted accountability.

Despite being the workforce of their industry, professional athletes do not directly benefit from the increased profitability of their companies (except for higher salaries, but NBA owners want to curtail that). Since stock options aren’t available, shouldn’t players at least get to know where all that money they can’t have is going?

Smaller side-issues during the NFL lockout also humanized the two sides. Players wanted better health insurance for retirees, including longer-term care – necessary, considering how damaging football has been shown to be on its athletes.

They wanted lower career-length requirements to get health insurance, which before had required longer service than the average NFL career, effectively meaning only the good players got it.

They wanted to keep the 16-game schedule because they were afraid of even more injuries. Most football fans have realized by now that health is almost as important as talent when it comes to NFL playoff success.

Even rookie wage-earning rules made sense to NFL fans, if only because fans had grown sick of first-round draft picks getting ridiculous contracts without having played a single NFL game.

Instead of the NFL and its two basically human sides – though it might be cynical to say, the death of Myra Kraft humanized Patriots-owner Bob Kraft, and by proxy all the owners – we have two virtually faceless sides bickering over nothing but money in the NBA. The owners speak only through the cold, disinterested NBA commissioner, David Stern. The players speak only through the equally unemotional, equally unsympathetic Derek Fisher.

Can anyone on either side think even a bit beyond his own economic needs? Can anyone see the merits of another argument, or the reality of the damage both sides have already caused their league? Does anyone care? It doesn’t appear so.

Fans Heading Elsewhere

Without anything humanizing to latch onto, basketball fans are left by the wayside. Watching people bicker can be amusing for awhile, but eventually everyone wants to see a solution. Drama and emotion can make a fight more fun to watch – just ask anyone who watches “Jersey Shore” – but absent that, fans are left watching two sides lob criticisms across the vast expanse of the sports media world.

There’s nothing wrong with players fighting for their rights. Without legal protection, management in any industry would probably screw labor every chance it had if it meant more profit. But neither side will even acknowledge that the people who ultimately make them all this money – the fans – are finding it increasingly hard to stay attached to this league.

No one who works two jobs just so he or she can afford to fill up the gas tank of the broken-down car he or she needs to work those two jobs, let alone feed a family and pay off a massive credit-card debt, can relate to people who make 50 times as much arguing over relatively piddling amounts. This lockout isn’t just costing players money: it’s costing the league fans.

The lockout will without a doubt end at some point. But how many NBA fans will remain? How many will come back to a sport they think abandoned them?

No one knows. But those numbers are quickly plummeting.

© Matt Goisman for Sports of Boston, 2011. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Celtics, Featured, NBA.

As the Red Sox continue their plunge into chaos and ruin on the likes of which a team can never recover (emphasis on never), the Patriots appear to be cruising along to another playoff run. I can’t help but compare them. Two months ago, if you asked the experts to name some of the model sports franchises, both of these teams would have been somewhere high atop that list. Some people would probably say the same thing today. They’re horribly wrong. The differences between how the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots franchises are operated are strikingly different–and one of these teams does a far superior job.

Ownership

Let’s start at the top. Both of these teams allegedly have competent, wealthy owners, who have multiple championships on their resumes. As cynical and disrespectful as it may seem, I automatically assume that sports owners know little to nothing about sports. All they (should) decide is how many buckets of hundred dollar bills they want to pour into their franchises. The more they care about winning, the more money they will burn on overpriced, prima donnas spend (Them’s fighting words, sabermetrics). You may be insanely wealthy, but I don’t give a hoot about your philosophy of the game.

That brings us to difference #1 between the Patriots and Red Sox. Bob Kraft surrounds himself with smart football people. Shockingly, he let’s them do what’s best. That’s unheard of! Never mind, I was too busy thinking about the cold blooded John Henry. He’s got this kooky idea that advanced metrics are more important than home runs. As a result, he hires puppets to carry out his totalitarian demands.

Advantage: Patriots.

Public Relations

There’s nothing more important than PR in sports. It’s the only way teams can heartlessly satiate their hunger for more money without letting their dimwitted fans catch on. Yet again, the differences are glaring. Remember when Randy Moss went insane or something and the Patriots traded him for dirt? We still don’t know what exactly happened. It was a football decision and it was portrayed as football decision. Amazing. Or when the Patriots parted ways with Deion Branch, Ty Law, or anyone else? They may be stingy, but at least the Patriots admit it. The Patriots simply did not place the same monetary value on the players that the athletes or other teams did. Very professional.

Now think about the Red Sox signature smear campaigns. Manny, Pedro, Damon. Most of these decisions were probably money-related. But being the Red Sox, PR felt the need to bring people’s characters into question. Nothing makes their day like tarnishing someone’s reputation. Classic Red Sox.

Additionally think about, the relationships these teams have with their former players. Drew Bledsoe, Ty Law, and Troy Brown, etc. Most appear to be on good terms with the Patriots. The Red Sox…not so much.

Advantage: Patriots.

The Players

We’ve all heard about the Patriot way. When you put on a Patriots jersey, it means something. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you think you accomplished. You take in pride in that, you honor the team. And if you don’t, have fun getting cut.

Now when you’re on the Red Sox, things are a little different. First you get piles of guaranteed money thrown at you for multiple years. Then you call up KFC. Then you start playing COD5. Then you enjoy a couple Natty Lights. And if there’s a game that day? Whatever, you just gained 70 pounds–you don’t need to deal with those shenanigans. Fake and injury or something.

Advantage: Patriots.

And the Winner is…

I’m generalizing, but the Patriots clearly run a tighter ship. There’s order and discipline and a lot less BS. Of course the nature of the different sports dictates things as well. The Patriots have several major advantages in the genius mastermind that is Bill Belichick and the greatest Quarterback of all time that is Tom Brady. Nevertheless, which administration would you rather have operating your favorite sports team?

© Josh Segal for Sports of Boston, 2011. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Featured, Now!, Opinion, Patriots, Red Sox, Top Story.

Man, Vince Wilfork is pisssssssssssssssed. The big man called into WEEI’s Dale and Holley show Wednesday morning to share with the radio listening public his thoughts on his current contract status with the Patriots, and let’s just say he wasn’t exactly teeming with kind words for the Pats management (You can listen to the interview here).

Wilfork, who is looking for a long-term deal, said that he won’t “sell himself short” and that if the Patriots were to franchise tag him, it would be “a slap in the face.”

Well, Vince should be prepared to get slapped in the face, because if history is any indicator, Wilfork’s chances of landing a long-term deal with the Pats are just slightly higher than yours or mine. In the past, the team has had no problem parting ways with their star players and guys who had key roles in bringing three Lombardi trophies to Foxborough (see: Deion Branch, Adam Vinatieri, Mike Vrabel, Asante Samuel, Richard Seymour).

With a labor dispute and impending player lockout not too far off on the horizon, the Pats have all the incentive to just keep him around for another year by bestowing the 325-pound nose-tackle with the dreaded franchise tag, which, in NFL terms, is the equivalent of your girlfriend giving you crabs–it’s not the end of the world, but chances are you’re going to be pretty upset and break off the relationship once the whole thing passes.

But Wilfork has to play this smart. If he openly complains about it (which he has all the right to do) he can end up in Belichick’s doghouse (like Adalius Thomas was last year), or even worse, get shipped off to an NFL gulag like Oakland (which his former teammate, Seymour, can tell him all about). It’s not like he can half-ass it on the field either, as doing so could seriously cost him dollars when he looks for a lucrative deal after next season.

So Wilfork has to be coy about his anger. But for an oversized man who makes a living pushing around other oversized men, I assume subtlety isn’t his strong suit. No problem, that’s what I’m here for. See, I’m fairly non-confrontational (part of the reason why I write about sports instead of playing them). Therefore, I’m an expert at passive-aggression and have a few pointers for Vince to help him take out his anger.

1) Create bad press

The saying, “there’s no such thing as bad press” doesn’t apply in the NFL. They loathe it. That’s why they suspended Pacman Jones. It’s why they helped cover up the fact Marvin Harrison helped kill a dude. It’s why Michael Vick went to jail. The NFL and their teams can’t stand negative publicity. So my advice to Vince is to use this against them. You need to do something stupid that reflects poorly on your team, but not too stupid that it will get you suspended or make it obvious you were trying to create bad press.

A popular way of doing this lately is to either send naked pictures of yourself over the Internet or commit some kind of transgression with a firearm. I suggest the latter option for the sole sake of me not having to bleach out my eyes. But he shouldn’t go over the top with the guns like Gilbert Arenas or Plaxico Burress. Instead, I suggest shooting a deer out of season. It’s a pretty despicable act, but not one that will earn him jail time or even a suspension. Still, the outrage from animal rights groups and even responsible hunters like myself will cause Bob Kraft to shake his head and scramble to assemble his PR team.

2) Miss team events to participate in things that make him look like a saint

Everyone knows Coach Belichick has no tolerance for players showing up late to practices and team meetings. So Vince needs to do just that. But the key is that he needs to miss these events while performing some charitable act. Maybe build some Habitat for Humanity houses or help the people in Haiti. That way the Patriots management either has to let it slide or punish him and risk looking like heartless bastards for thinking that breaking down the 3-4 defense is more important than helping people recover from a natural disaster. The only downside to this is that it requires a selfless act, which I’ve never been one to advocate, but hey, sometimes you got to get your hands dirty.

3) Get more out of shape

Vince has a good start to this, but there’s always room for more. Deep fried Twinkies and minimal physical activity go a long way. Then during the season, he can run to the sideline gasping for air and take a few plays off. Vince does this already, so I don’t think it will be viewed as a malicious act if he continues to do so. As always, when being passive-aggressive, Vince should divert the blame away from himself. If anyone questions his work ethic, he should simply blame the weight gain on a mysterious gland problem or family-related stress.

4) Make up and squash a nasty rumor

While cameras and tape recorders are rolling, Vince should openly fabricate and then deny a damning rumor. He can say something like, “I don’t know where y’all heard it, but Bob Kraft does not hate black people.” This will accomplish two things: 1) People will think Vince is defending his boss, thus placing him above suspicion of sabotage and 2) People will think that Bob Kraft is a racist. To drive this point home, Vince should try to get some footage of Kraft laughing a little too hard while watching a racially charged bit from the Chappelle Show or a Chris Rock comedy special, then anonymously send it to the media.

—

In the likely event that Vince Wilfork gets the shaft from the Patriots, he has these suggestions to help him get even. They may not completely make up for the millions he may lose, or the fact that the team he faithfully served for the past six years royally screwed him, but it will help make it a little more tolerable. Because as any non-confrontational, pessimistic, passive aggressive person can tell you—it’s never about being happy; it’s about everyone being equally miserable.

© Fudge for Sports of Boston, 2010. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Featured, Opinion, Patriots, Top Story.

On the warm Sunday afternoon of October 11, just before 4 p.m., shortstop Erick Aybar settled under Dustin Pedroia’s pop up, ending the 2009 ALDS in front of a deflated crowd at Fenway Park. The inning was officially scored: 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB. Angels 7, Red Sox 6.

Just like that, without flourish or fanfare, the greatest decade for any American city in the history of professional sports came to an end. (Get the low down on why this was the greatest sports decade here.)

Final tally: Six championships, 23 playoff appearances, and enough big plays, big personalities, and big moments to keep an entire generation of proud Boston fans spinning “Remember when?” yarns for the rest of their lives.

It’s been said before, but it bears repeating: enjoy it New England, because it’s not only likely, it’s probable we’ll never have it this good again.

The proof lies in the not-too-distant past, a time when Boston sports’ darkest hour felt like it would last a lifetime.

The Beginning of the End

Take my hand, intrepid readers, as we journey back to 1979, a year when Boston’s teams were just as bad as the feathered-back hair and awkwardly short shorts. The Celtics were coming off a 29-53 season, the Red Sox finished third in the AL East, the Pats were 9-7, and the Bruins were the only team to make the playoffs, losing a heartbreaker in the deciding game of the semifinals against the Habs.

As sports years go, 1979 was as forgettable as David Caruso’s career as a leading man on the big screen.  But it’s also the year the Larry Joe Bird came to town.

Tangent: Caruso, now the lead on “CSI: Miami,” broke into the biz as Detective John Kelly on uber popular cop drama “NYPD Blue.” After much critical praise for his first season on “Blue,” Caruso’s ego no longer fit the small screen. He left the show four episodes into its second season to pursue a career in film. Ironically, his first role as an ill-fated leading man was in the movie “Kiss of Death.”

For all the talk of Boston being a baseball town ever since the Pilgrims used Plymouth Rock as home plate, the ‘80s belonged to one Boston franchise: the Celtics.

Larry Bird and company not only brought three titles to the Hub, they helped elevate the NBA to its greatest heights. While Boston’s other franchises toiled, the Celtics gave Boston fans pure joy.

Then the bell tolled. To the uninitiated, 1986 simply means the Red Sox, Bill Buckner, and a ball between the legs. But for those that lived through it, 1986 was a complete Boston sports nightmare. It all started in the Louisiana Superdome on the night of January 26, 1986: Chicago Bears 46 – New England Patriots 10.

Humiliating is an apt description. The Pats managed a laughable 123 total yards before a worldwide audience at the Super Bowl, including just seven rushing yards. Seven. The Bears added a kick to the groin when they gave William “The Refrigerator” Perry the ball at the goal line in the fourth quarter. The monstrous, gap-toothed defensive tackle barreled into the end zone to put the Bears up by 41 points. Tears still stain the “Berry the Bears” T-shirt tucked away in my closet.

Boston pinned its hopes on the Bruins in April, but archrival Montreal swept Ray Bourque and crew out of the Adams Division semi-finals without breaking a sweat.

The Celtics were there to save the day yet again, putting what is considered by many to be the best basketball team ever on the court in 1986. That team beat the twin towers of the Houston Rockets to bring sweet 16 home in June.

Then, just a few weeks later, Len Bias died. The second pick in the NBA Draft—the athletic phenom who would take what was already the best team in basketball to new heights and extend the careers of Larry Bird and Kevin McHale—was gone.

Without blinking, Red Auerbach called it Boston’s worst tragedy since JFK’s assassination. The Celtic’s 16^th championship suddenly felt like it happened in the distant past. And in our worst nightmares, we never imagined the Celtics—the best team in the NBA—wouldn’t win another title for 22 years. At the time, life for Boston fans couldn’t possibly get worse.

Four months later, a Mookie Wilson grounder found its way through Bill Bucker’s wickets in Game 6.

Oh, the humanity.

If it wasn’t for the Celtics winning the title in 1986, the line to jump off the Tobin would have stretched all the way to Braintree.

The Big “What if?”

The fickle hand of fate flipped Boston off in 1986, jump-starting a dismal, 14-year championship drought. But what if it didn’t?

What if the Patriots actually showed up to play in the Super Bowl? What if the Bruins beat the Canadiens? What if Len Bias didn’t die? And what if Bill Buckner lowered his glove two more inches?

We could very well be reminiscing about 1986 as not only the greatest year in Boston sports, but also the greatest year for any city in the history of professional sports.

Alas, between Champion and Chump often lies a crack, not a crevasse—a tantalizingly narrow crack that can be filled (or not filled) by the right player, the right play, the right decision, the right bounce, even the right gust of wind.

Look at The Greatest Sports Decade Timeline, and it’s easy to spot the people, plays, and decisions—big and small, lucky and unlucky, good and bad—that filled the cracks:

• January 27, 2000: Bill Belichick pulls a fast one on the Jets and becomes the head coach of the Patriots.
• September 23, 2001: Drew Bledsoe takes a devastating hit from Jets linebacker Mo Lewis, paving the way for unknown sixth-round backup, Tom Brady.
• December 20, 2001: A group led by John Henry and Tom Werner buy the Red Sox for $660 million.
• January 19, 2002: The Tuck Rule.
• February 3, 2002: Adam Vinatieri kicks game winners in the snow at Foxboro and as time expires in New Orleans. Pats win the first championship in franchise history, ending Boston’s 14-year drought. Tom Brady named Super Bowl MVP.
• September 27, 2002: Boston Basketball Partners LLC, led by Irving and Wyck Grousbeck, buy the Celtics for $360 million
• November 25, 2002: 28-year-old Theo Epstein named GM of the Red Sox (then the youngest GM in the history of MLB).
• May 9, 2003: Danny Ainge hired as the Celtics’ Director of Basketball Operations.
• November 28, 2003: Theo Epstein trades Casey Fossum, Brandon Lyon, Jorge de la Rosa, and Michael Gross to Arizona for Curt Schilling.
• December 13, 2003: Red Sox sign reliever Keith Foulke to a three-year deal.
• December 18, 2003: A trade for then-Texas Ranger Alex Rodriguez falls apart.
• February 2, 2004: Vinatieri kicks another Super Bowl-winning field goal against the Carolina Panthers.
• April 20, 2004: Patriots trade a second round pick to Cincinnati for running back Corey Dillon.
• June 31, 2004: Epstein trades Nomar Garciaparra to Chicago. The Red Sox receive a pair of former Gold Glove winners, Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz.
• October 17, 2004: Dave Roberts’ steals second base in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the ALCS.
• October 19, 2004: Curt Schilling wins Game 6 of the ALCS pitching on a sutured ankle, aka The Bloody Sock.
• October 27, 2004: Red Sox win first championship since 1918.
• February 6, 2005: Vinatieri kicks what would become the game-winning field goal as the Pats win their third ring in four years, 24-21 over Philadelphia.
• November 27, 2005: Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell traded from Florida to the Red Sox for Hanley Ramirez and other prospects.
• June 29, 2006: At the NBA Draft, Danny Ainge trades a first-round pick in 2007 to the Phoenix Suns for rookie Rajon Rondo. The Celtics go on to post a franchise worst 24-58 record in the 2006-2007 season.
• April 2, 2007: Patriots trade a fourth round pick to the Raiders for Randy Moss.
• May 23, 2007: Hoping to win the first or second pick in the NBA draft lottery (Greg Oden or Kevin Durant), Boston ends up with the fifth pick.
• June 28, 2007: Ainge trades the fifth pick, Delonte West, and Wally Szczerbiak to Seattle for Ray Allen and the rights to Glen Davis.
• July 31, 2007: Ainge trades Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Ryan Gomes, Theo Ratliff, a 2009 first round pick, cash considerations, and an autographed picture of Larry Bird to Minnesota for Kevin Garnett.
• October 21, 2007: Josh Beckett leads the Red Sox back from the brink of elimination in the ALCS.
• October 28, 2007: Boston wins the 2007 World Series. Mike Lowell is named World Series MVP.
• December 29, 2007: Patriots become the first NFL franchise to go undefeated in a 16-game regular season, beating the NY Giants 38-35. Randy Moss sets the record for touchdown receptions in a single season with 23, while Tom Brady sets the NFL record for touchdown passes in a single season with 50.
• April 15, 2008: Celtics complete the largest single-season turnaround in NBA history (66-16).
• June 17, 2008: the Celtics defeat the Lakers to win Boston’s first NBA championship since 1986.

Consider just a few pieces of the timeline, and it’s easy to see how deeply a single player, play, or decision can impact an entire organization—for better or worse—for years. Just as easily as we can play “What if?” to transform 1986 into a dream sports year, we can make the aughts a sports nightmare:

• What if Bill Belichick decided to stay with the Jets?
• What if Drew Bledsoe never got injured?
• What if officials ruled Brady’s fumble against the Raiders in the 2001 playoffs a fumble?
• What if Vinatieri missed even one of his big kicks?
• What if Henry, Werner and crew never bought the Red Sox?
• What if Theo never traded Nomar?
• What if the Celtics won the first pick in the 2007 draft?

The “What ifs?” go on and on. They serve as a reminder of just how lucky Boston sports fans have been over the past decade, and also lead to a sobering realization: The Greatest Sports Decade almost never happened.

That’s Mister Kraft

Rarely in the annals of sports history can you point to a single individual making 100% of the difference for an organization’s success or failure. The Greatest Sports Decade Timeline clearly illustrates how a number of people, plays, and decisions contribute to a championship outcome. With the New England Patriots, the Team of the Decade, however, you can point your finger squarely at one man—Brookline’s own Bob Kraft.

Here’s why:

In 1992, St. Louis businessman James Orthwein bought the Patriots, who were coming off a dismal 6-10 year, the team’s third consecutive losing season. The Pats were in Corey Feldman free-fall mode, and fans were groping for the lack of a light at the end of the tunnel.

Orthwein, great-grandson of Anheuser-Busch founder Adolphus Busch, didn’t hide the fact he bought the team with the intent to move the franchise to his native St. Louis (the Rams didn’t make it to Missouri until 1995). Orthwein only had to wait for the team’s big-ticket lease at Foxboro Stadium to end.

Orthwein grew restless, and in 1994, decided to pay off the remainder of the team’s lease so he could ship the Pats to the Midwest, making the St. Louis Patriots the most inappropriately named sports franchise since the Utah Jazz. Fortunately for New England, the man holding that lease was Bob Kraft.

Kraft not only refused Orthwein’s generous $75 million buy-out bid, he made a ludicrous counter offer: sell me the franchise for a then-NFL record $175 million.

It’s easy to look back now, after a decade of dominance, and say Kraft was making a wise investment. But at the time, the Patriots were among the NFL’s least valuable franchises—the team was Pittsburgh Pirates-bad and empty Sullivan Stadium was an aluminum-bleacher relic. Kraft’s wife stood on solid legal ground to have her husband committed.

But Kraft did it. He bet everything and won big. Thank the Sports Gods he did, because:

• If not for Kraft, there would be no New England Patriots, period.
• If not for Kraft, there would be no Bill Parcells in New England.
• If not for Parcells, there would be no Bill Belichick in New England.
• If not for Belichick, there would be no Tom Brady.
• If not for Tom Brady, there would be no Super Bowls and no Team of the Decade title.

Kraft created an organization with the best, brightest, and hardest working people at all levels. It’s an organization that broke the 14-year funk the city had been under since 1986, and more than that, Kraft and the Patriots got every other Boston franchise thinking, “Hey, maybe we should try doing things like them.”

The Patriots created the blueprint for running an organization that’s competitive at the highest levels every single season, and the Celtics and Red Sox front offices have admittedly followed it. If not for Bob Kraft and the Patriots, the aughts in Boston sports would have unfolded much differently.

Make no mistake Boston fans, in the aughts, we had it better than any other city has ever had it in professional sports. After 14 years of flipping us the bird, the fickle hand of fate finally gave us the thumbs up. Cherish it, because people like Bob Kraft and success like this is not likely to come along again for a long, long, time. Perhaps not ever.

© Sharkey for Sports of Boston, 2009. | Permalink | No comment
Filed under: Featured, Now!, Opinion, Top Story.

London is abuzz with Boston accents, Budweiser, and flying Elvis’. From the moment I arrived at Boston’s Logan Airport for our Virgin Atlantic flight to Heathrow, Patriots fans have been in my sight. Hundreds of Bostonians, New Englanders and fans from all over the world have come to London to see the Patriots play the Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium today.

On Saturday night, the Sports Zone near Picadilly Circus was the sight for a VIP pre-game party for Patriots fans. Pats owner Robert Kraft, Andre Tippett, the Patirots Cheerleaders and others were on hand as fans congregated to throw back a few pints and get psyched for the game.

I had the pleasure of chatting with two young guys who flew in from Denmark to see their first ever NFL game (and they are Patriots fans). The game is just a few hours away and the atmosphere is building as I get ready to hop on the tube to head to Wembley for ‘pre-game festivities’. The Patriots are big favorites in this game and judging from how filled the streets are with our supporters, we will be well represented at the national stadium of England.

© Jeff Christenbury for Sports of Boston, 2009. | Permalink | One comment
Filed under: Patriots.

Peter King of CNNSI.com thinks so. So does ESPN’s John Clayton. What say you?

My Take: Two words: No thanks. The argument used here is that Vick could help the Patriots take the Wildcat offense to new levels. Whether the Wildcat is going to evolve into a legitimate offense or is just a fad formation is another topic, but the baggage Vick will bring to whatever franchise he joins will be immense. You think it took some “Dennis” for the Celtics to bring in Stephon Marbury? That was nothing compared to a convicted felon. I can’t see owner Bob Kraft – who thankfully is very conscientious about the image of the franchise – allowing Vick to make his return to the NFL in Patriots blue. What say YOU?

© Jeff Christenbury for Sports of Boston, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments
Filed under: News, Patriots, Rumors, Top Story.

Brown retires as the all-time leading receiver for the Patriots with 557 career catches. Known for making smart decisions on the football field, Brown is most recently known for his heads-up play against the Chargers in the 2006 playoffs.

With five minutes left in the game and the Pats down 21-13 on 4th and 5, Tom Brady threw what normally would be a game-ending interception to the Chargers’ Marlon McCree. Brown instinctively went right for the ball and forced McCree to fumble it. Reche Caldwell recovered, the Pats scored and tied the game with a two-point conversion, then shockingly won it with a field goal.

9/24: The Patriots Wednesday announced that WR Troy Brown will join coach Bill Belichick and owner Bob Kraft for an ‘important announcement’ for Thursday morning at 10am. Now before everyone (like SoB’s KC) gets excited that the old No. 80 is going to come back in on a white horse and save the Patriots, reports are the Brown is set to retire from the NFL. Belichick hasn’t ruled out a return for Brown in an emergency, but sources close to the 37-year-old seem to think he’s ready to move on to a media job.

We’ll see what happens…

My Take: My first reaction to seeing the announcement of the press conference was that Brown is coming back. But after reading more into the story it seems very likely Brown is set to retire. The Patriots struggles aside, Brown really wouldn’t solve any of the Patriots problems. He’s the Patriots all-time receptions leader with 557 and he was integral in the dynasty here in New England.

© Jeff Christenbury for Sports of Boston, 2008. | Permalink | One comment
Filed under: Featured, Patriots, Top Story.