Showing posts with label New England. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New England. Show all posts
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Relationship between Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick
A look at relationship between Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick
Gary Myers
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20121221/coaching-book-excerpt
Excerpted from the book COACHING CONFIDENTIAL by Gary Myers. Copyright © 2012 by Gary Myers. Published by Crown Archetype, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.
Pete Carroll was not Patriots owner Robert Kraft's first choice to replace Bill Parcells in 1997. Kraft had grown close to Belichick in his year with the Patriots after Art Modell fired him as the Browns were moving from Cleveland to Baltimore. Belichick had alienated Browns fans with his secretive ways, lack of personality, painful-to-watch news conferences, and his controversial decision to cut popular quarterback Bernie Kosar, who grew up in nearby Boardman, Ohio. Modell knew that to get started on an upbeat note in Baltimore he could not take the morose Belichick with him. Parcells threw Belichick a career-saving lifeline and brought him to New England to help with the defense for what turned out to be a Super Bowl year. Kraft and Belichick became buddies.
"We had our budget full when Belichick got fired," Kraft said. "Parcells said, 'Look, this is a guy I think we should have in the system. You talk to him and you see if you agree.' I liked him from the minute I met him. That's when I realized I would eventually hire him as a coach."
Kraft and his wife, Myra, and Belichick and his wife, Debby, went to dinner after Parcells left, and Kraft explained why he had to make a clean break from the Parcells era. "I probably should have hired him," Kraft said. "But in the important decisions in life, I go with my instinct. I don't think Belichick would have been right in '96. I told him when I didn't hire him that I thought he had to work on how he handled the media, how he handled things. But the real problem I had with him was he was so tight with Parcells. I thought Parcells had stuck it to us. Belichick wanted to stay with us. He didn't want to go."
It shows the depth of Kraft's enmity for Parcells at that point that he dismissed Belichick, whom he considered a friend, "because I didn't want anything to do with Parcells," he said. "Anyone who could live with Parcells for so many years and be under his thumb, I needed someone as a head coach I could trust, and I hired a guy who is the antithesis. As soon as I met Pete, I knew I wanted to hire him."
Kraft needed to heal, and Carroll was exactly the right medicine to help Kraft get over Parcells. Carroll has an infectious personality, and players liked playing for him.
Parcells was the tough Jersey guy. He had friends in the Boston media. Carroll was California cool, and that didn't play well in one of the toughest sports towns in America. He used to wear sandals to work, not that there is anything wrong with that; it just didn't play well in Beantown. "Can you see Bill Parcells coming to a meeting in sandals?" Kraft said. "Pete is one of the truly great guys in the coaching fraternity, and I didn't give him all the support he needed. Pete was inclusive. Look, in the end, I needed someone to make me feel good. It was good for me to have a guy like Pete Carroll because he's my kind of guy. I mean, we loved Pete. You want Pete to marry into your family. I love the guy to this day. He's an awesome guy."
Kraft just didn't want him as his head coach anymore. Three years was enough. The team was going backward. Carroll won the AFC East with a 10-6 record in his first year in New England and lost 7-6 to the Steelers in Pittsburgh in the second round of the playoffs after beating Miami in the wild-card game. He made the playoffs his second year but lost in the wild-card game to the Jaguars. The Patriots won just nine games that year, and making things worse, Parcells and the Jets finished 12-4 and won the AFC East for the first time since the division was formed in 1970. New England avoided further embarrassment when the Jets blew a 10-0 second half lead in Denver in the AFC championship game and failed to make the Super Bowl. In 1999, the Patriots started 6-2 and looked like one of the better teams in the NFL, but they went just 2-6 in the second half of the season and missed the playoffs at 8-8. They had gone from eleven victories in Parcells's final season down to ten, then nine, then eight with Carroll. Kraft fired him.
"Pete was very good, but I probably went overboard in cutting down his influence over personnel to the point where I didn't give him a fair chance," Kraft said.
The scars had healed from Parcells, and Kraft felt the time was right to bring Belichick back to New England. Even though Belichick came off looking like a stooge when he ran interference for Parcells in the 1997 scam by briefly taking the Jets head coaching job as a way to get Parcells to New York, it wasn't something Kraft held against him. He remembered how as Belichick was leaving the Patriots, he not only spoke to him about the personnel on the team but how thorough he was in his presentation. That was his guy, and it was the right time.
The Kraft-Belichick marriage turned out to be one of the best owner-coach relationships in football history. Belichick turned out to be a combination of Parcells and Carroll. He's tough like Parcells and a control freak like Parcells. Publicly, he's cranky, but with Kraft, he's open and honest. He doesn't have Carroll's outgoing personality, but he respects his boss the way Carroll did.
"Whatever I want to know, I know," Kraft said. "Is he forthcoming? He knows what I want to know, and he tells me. He's smart because he knows it's in his interests, especially if something doesn't go right.
'Bill will leave me voice mails at eleven, eleven thirty at night, on his way home. Then I'm speaking to him at six in the morning. That's six days a week. That's just what it is." Belichick had Kraft's complete backing, and Kraft gave him the power he had taken away from Parcells and never gave to Carroll.
But Belichick had developed the rules-breaking program of having one of his video guys tape the opponent's defensive coaches hand signals sending in the alignment. He was caught during the 2007 season opener against the Jets.
It was dubbed Spygate, and the scandal had such a long shelf life that you can't tell the story of Belichick's career without bringing it up. Commissioner Roger Goodell fined Belichick the maximum $500,000, the most a coach had ever been fined. He fined the Patriots $250,000 and took away a first-round pick from New England in 2008. Belichick was fortunate Goodell did not suspend him.
"Everybody has their idiosyncrasies, but if there is trust, that's the key in business, in marriages," Kraft said. "You build a sense of trust so you go through rough times. Look what happened with this bogus thing with the Jets. I stood by him pretty darn good. That was rough."
Kraft questioned Belichick about his use of the videotape.
"How much did this help us on a scale of 1 to 100?" Kraft said. "One," Belichick replied.
"Then you're a real schmuck," Kraft said.
Maybe Kraft had blind loyalty to Belichick because he delivered three Super Bowl rings, but he never thought about firing him after Spygate. He believes Belichick wouldn't do anything "deliberately" wrong. "He would take every edge he could get, but he would never knowingly break the rules or cross the line," he said. "I know him. I'm not saying he was a choirboy."
There was never a doubt in Kraft's mind that he would support Belichick. He didn't condone what he did, but he wasn't going to end their relationship because he made a mistake. "Your wife gets very sick. You dump her? Or your kid makes a bad mistake. It's your kid," he said. "It's your family. How can you get people to dig deep and go through the wall for you if they know you're not going to be there for them when they need you? You make your decisions, you think it out, you get good people, and then you stay the course. And then the wind comes and the lightning comes and you stay the course."
Kraft one day should be in the Hall of Fame as an owner. Belichick's three Super Bowl championships as a head coach and two as an assistant will get him to Canton, too. That won't stop critics from saying that what the Patriots accomplished before the videotaping was stopped is tainted.
But as Kraft says: "That's their problem."
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Boorish behavior also contributed to Moss’ demise
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AoFHHaIXnUHg8ICTr20q011DubYF?slug=ms-mossbehavior110210
Boorish behavior also contributed to Moss’ demise
Michael Silver, Yahoo! Sports
Nov 2, 2010
When Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress told his players Monday afternoon that Randy Moss would be released because “we want good people that are good football players, and this just doesn’t fit,” several of them nodded their approval. Though Childress isn’t especially popular in the locker room, some Vikings were on board with his decision to move on without Moss four weeks after the polarizing wideout was reacquired in a trade with the New England Patriots.
Even before Sunday’s surreal address to the media following the Vikings’ 28-18 defeat to the Patriots at Gillette Stadium – during which he questioned Childress’ leadership while effusively praising his former coach, Bill Belichick, and the Patriots’ organization – Moss had alienated some of his teammates with his brash, entitled behavior, most glaringly in an incident that occurred in the team’s locker room last Friday afternoon, Yahoo! Sports has learned.
As is the team’s custom on Fridays, a local food establishment was invited to the training facility to serve a catered, post-practice meal in the locker room. In this case, a St. Paul restaurant that is a favorite of former Vikings center Matt Birk. As the proprietors helped serve chicken, ribs, pasta and other dishes to Vikings players, Moss paced up and down the serving line and loudly expressed his displeasure with the offerings.
According to one player who witnessed the scene, Moss yelled, “What the [expletive]? Who ordered this crap? I wouldn’t feed this to my dog!”
Said the witness: “It was brutal. The truth is, he deserved to be cut after that. It was such an uncomfortable moment. You know that feeling where you just can tell someone feels so small? That’s what it was like being there.
“This wasn’t a chain – it was a mom-and-pop restaurant, and you could tell it was their best stuff. They had a special carving station set up, and there were players and other support staff lining up to eat it. And [Moss] is at his locker saying, ‘You know, I used to have to eat that crap – but now I’ve got money.’ You just felt so sad for them. I had never seen anyone treated like that.
“And by the way, the food was actually really good.”
While Moss had his share of supporters in the locker room, some Vikings had grown disillusioned with his attitude. From the receiver’s uneven effort in practice to his displays of self-centeredness off the field, some veterans believed Moss was becoming a bad influence to young players like second-year wideout Percy Harvin.
There was also locker room speculation about Moss’ effort – or lack thereof – on two plays in recent games. With the Vikes facing a last-gasp fourth-down pass in a 28-24 defeat to the Packers in Green Bay two Sundays ago, quarterback Brett Favre threw a high pass in the back of the end zone that sailed over Moss’ head, though it didn’t appear as though the receiver made an effort to jump for the ball.
In Sunday’s game against the Patriots, with the Vikings trailing by 10 midway through the fourth quarter, Moss drew a pass-interference penalty on Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather while streaking down the left sideline. It appeared as though Moss might have been able to catch the pass for a touchdown after the penalty occurred but that he broke off the route once the flag was thrown.
The Vikings got the ball at the New England 9 and scored four plays later, though not before Favre sustained a lacerated chin that knocked him from the game.
Most of all, however, Moss’ treatment of the restauranteurs in the locker room convinced some teammates that he wasn’t worth the trouble. Since becoming the Vikings’ coach in 2006, Childress has consistently preached that he wants “good people who are good football players,” and Moss clearly didn’t seem to be projecting himself as someone who fits in the former category.
When Childress, according to one person in Monday’s meeting, said of Moss, “This just doesn’t fit with how we treat people, how we talk to people and how we act,” it was clear that he was referring to the incident that occurred last Friday. Sunday’s stream-of-consciousness statement to the media only reinforced the internal perception that Moss was going out of his way to disrespect the organization.
With all of that said, Childress still has major credibility issues with his players, most of whom side with Favre in his ongoing clash with the coach. And there’s no guarantee Childress will stay the coach for the remainder of the season. However, his decision to part ways with Moss was, for some, viewed as an understandable consequence of the receiver’s behavior.
Boorish behavior also contributed to Moss’ demise
Michael Silver, Yahoo! Sports
Nov 2, 2010
When Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress told his players Monday afternoon that Randy Moss would be released because “we want good people that are good football players, and this just doesn’t fit,” several of them nodded their approval. Though Childress isn’t especially popular in the locker room, some Vikings were on board with his decision to move on without Moss four weeks after the polarizing wideout was reacquired in a trade with the New England Patriots.
Even before Sunday’s surreal address to the media following the Vikings’ 28-18 defeat to the Patriots at Gillette Stadium – during which he questioned Childress’ leadership while effusively praising his former coach, Bill Belichick, and the Patriots’ organization – Moss had alienated some of his teammates with his brash, entitled behavior, most glaringly in an incident that occurred in the team’s locker room last Friday afternoon, Yahoo! Sports has learned.
As is the team’s custom on Fridays, a local food establishment was invited to the training facility to serve a catered, post-practice meal in the locker room. In this case, a St. Paul restaurant that is a favorite of former Vikings center Matt Birk. As the proprietors helped serve chicken, ribs, pasta and other dishes to Vikings players, Moss paced up and down the serving line and loudly expressed his displeasure with the offerings.
According to one player who witnessed the scene, Moss yelled, “What the [expletive]? Who ordered this crap? I wouldn’t feed this to my dog!”
Said the witness: “It was brutal. The truth is, he deserved to be cut after that. It was such an uncomfortable moment. You know that feeling where you just can tell someone feels so small? That’s what it was like being there.
“This wasn’t a chain – it was a mom-and-pop restaurant, and you could tell it was their best stuff. They had a special carving station set up, and there were players and other support staff lining up to eat it. And [Moss] is at his locker saying, ‘You know, I used to have to eat that crap – but now I’ve got money.’ You just felt so sad for them. I had never seen anyone treated like that.
“And by the way, the food was actually really good.”
While Moss had his share of supporters in the locker room, some Vikings had grown disillusioned with his attitude. From the receiver’s uneven effort in practice to his displays of self-centeredness off the field, some veterans believed Moss was becoming a bad influence to young players like second-year wideout Percy Harvin.
There was also locker room speculation about Moss’ effort – or lack thereof – on two plays in recent games. With the Vikes facing a last-gasp fourth-down pass in a 28-24 defeat to the Packers in Green Bay two Sundays ago, quarterback Brett Favre threw a high pass in the back of the end zone that sailed over Moss’ head, though it didn’t appear as though the receiver made an effort to jump for the ball.
In Sunday’s game against the Patriots, with the Vikings trailing by 10 midway through the fourth quarter, Moss drew a pass-interference penalty on Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather while streaking down the left sideline. It appeared as though Moss might have been able to catch the pass for a touchdown after the penalty occurred but that he broke off the route once the flag was thrown.
The Vikings got the ball at the New England 9 and scored four plays later, though not before Favre sustained a lacerated chin that knocked him from the game.
Most of all, however, Moss’ treatment of the restauranteurs in the locker room convinced some teammates that he wasn’t worth the trouble. Since becoming the Vikings’ coach in 2006, Childress has consistently preached that he wants “good people who are good football players,” and Moss clearly didn’t seem to be projecting himself as someone who fits in the former category.
When Childress, according to one person in Monday’s meeting, said of Moss, “This just doesn’t fit with how we treat people, how we talk to people and how we act,” it was clear that he was referring to the incident that occurred last Friday. Sunday’s stream-of-consciousness statement to the media only reinforced the internal perception that Moss was going out of his way to disrespect the organization.
With all of that said, Childress still has major credibility issues with his players, most of whom side with Favre in his ongoing clash with the coach. And there’s no guarantee Childress will stay the coach for the remainder of the season. However, his decision to part ways with Moss was, for some, viewed as an understandable consequence of the receiver’s behavior.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Control Your Fucking Woman!
http://boston.barstoolsports.com/random-thoughts/control-your-fucking-woman/
Control Your Fucking Woman!
elpresidente
October 1st, 2010
Umm what the fuck is this shit? This is not only a slap in the face to Tom Brady, but all of New England. Seriously control your fucking woman Tom. Like I’ve had it up the here with this shit. Gisele tells you not to cut your hair so don’t cut your hair. Gisele tells you to dress like a pussy so you dress like a pussy. Gisele says she’s going to fuck other dudes and let them grope her ass and lick her clit and you’re like fine whatever dear. NO! It stops here!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
The Randy Moss Trade in all its Idiocy
Dave Zirin
The Patriots trade of super star wide receiver Randy Moss to the Minnesota Vikings for a third round draft pick represents everything I despise about NFL ‘conventional wisdom, the New England Patriots organization, and their dyspeptic toad of a head coach, Bill Belichick.
For 12 years, the football media has derided Moss as a malcontent, a “diva”, even a cancer. And yet, as the hate has been rained down upon his head with annual monotony, do you know who loves Randy Moss? Quarterbacks. Moss is the kind of singular talent who turns average qbs into Pro Bowlers, and Pro Bowlers into Hall of Famers. Just look at his history since coming into the league way back in 1998. In Moss’s first season he caught a rookie-record 17 touchdowns on a Minnesota Vikings team that set the mark for most points scored in a season. His quarterback, Randall Cunningham, had the best season of his star-crossed career and was named Player of the Year. When Cunningham played poorly the following season, his backup the talented but bumbling Jeff George, was finally consistent, which he achieved by tossing up remarkable spirals that Moss snatched out of the air. After George, Moss gave Daunte Culpepper two of the best statistical seasons in NFL history. After Moss left the team for the Oakland Raiders, Culpepper’s career left as well. The two years in Oakland were uneventful – as are most years in Raider-land – but when Moss signed with the Patriots, he showed that he was truly an all-timer.
The already accomplished Tom Brady had a season for the ages, throwing a record 50 touchdowns with 23 of them going to Moss, also an all time mark. That Patriots team broke the record of Moss’s old Vikings team for points in a season. The presence of Moss has opened the field for Brady to find underneath receiver Wes Welker who has more catches over the last three years than any player in the NFL. This is why Tom Brady recently called Moss the greatest deep threat in NFL history. This is why Brady is miserable today and Brett Favre is so elated, you’d think they made Wranglers with an elastic waist. Favre has pined for Moss since the 1998 draft when he begged the Packers to take the Marshall University standout and then watched as Moss tormented the Pack for years.
That last word is key: years. For all the talk of the “mercurial Moss”, his career has actually been one for the ages. Moss has the second most touchdown catches in NFL history and is still just 33 years old. The one receiver picked ahead of him in the 1998 draft, Kevin Dyson, hasn’t played in SEVEN YEARS. And yet, despite 12 years of putting up Hall of Fame numbers and being the object of desire for every qb in the game, he is still branded as a problem player. Every team should have such problems. NFL writers who still beat this dead horse sound like conservatives crying about the end of the gold standard. We’ve seen this again today. Kerry Byrnes of Sports Illustrated, before the bags were even packed, wrote, “At the end of the day, the Patriots were a better team without Moss.” He also dismissed Moss’s impact, writing, “Wide receivers, even the all-time great wide receivers, are little more than shiny hood ornaments on NFL offenses.” For proof of this, Byrnes looked at the Packer teams of the 1960s and the Steeler dynasty of the 1970s, pointing out that they lacked a dominant receiver. This is idiocy writ large and not just because, last I checked, Pittsburgh receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth were in the Hall of Fame. In today’s NFL, where changes in the rules heavily favor the passing game, if you don’t have a top receiving core, you are not going anywhere. Instead of looking at the Canton Bulldogs, or whoever Byrnes was holding up as an example of wide receiver irrelevance, look at the last four Super Bowl teams: In 2009 it was the Arizona Cardinals led by receiver Larry Fitzgerald and the Steelers and their Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes. In 2010, the Saints and the Colts passed first and ran the ball just to keep the other side guessing.
But forget the stupidity that the Patriots are better without Moss. This is just another reason why the New England Patriots and their coach Bill Belichick deserve every last dollop of our collective contempt. Over the last five years, Belichick has coldly disemboweled the team that won three Super Bowls in four years from 2002-2005. Remember their clutch kicker Adam Vinatieri, or linebacker Mike Vrabel, or Super Bowl MVP Deon Branch, or All Pro tackle Richard Seymour? They were all expendable. Other than Brady, the only surviving player is - now injured – running back Kevin Faulk who has been on the team so long he must have pictures of Patriots owner Bob Kraft snuggling livestock. For all the talk of Randy Moss being a narcissistic diva, it’s really Belichick who believes that it’s all about him. Until I see that cranky hobbit run past Darrelle Revis and catch a touchdown with one hand, I will continue to think otherwise. As for Moss, he has the chance now to end his career in Minnesota where it all began. As he said to Vikings coach Brad Childress, "I'm just happy to be coming home." So is everyone in the land of a thousand lakes. We should cheer the Vikings and jeer the Patriots for this move. But if you take a moment and listen very carefully, you can hear a very soft thumping sound. It’s Tom Brady banging his head against a wall.
Dave Zirin is the author of “Bad Sports: How Owners are Ruining the Games we Love” (Scribner) Receive his column every week by emailing dave@edgeofsports.com. Contact him at edgeofsports@gmail.com.
The Patriots trade of super star wide receiver Randy Moss to the Minnesota Vikings for a third round draft pick represents everything I despise about NFL ‘conventional wisdom, the New England Patriots organization, and their dyspeptic toad of a head coach, Bill Belichick.
For 12 years, the football media has derided Moss as a malcontent, a “diva”, even a cancer. And yet, as the hate has been rained down upon his head with annual monotony, do you know who loves Randy Moss? Quarterbacks. Moss is the kind of singular talent who turns average qbs into Pro Bowlers, and Pro Bowlers into Hall of Famers. Just look at his history since coming into the league way back in 1998. In Moss’s first season he caught a rookie-record 17 touchdowns on a Minnesota Vikings team that set the mark for most points scored in a season. His quarterback, Randall Cunningham, had the best season of his star-crossed career and was named Player of the Year. When Cunningham played poorly the following season, his backup the talented but bumbling Jeff George, was finally consistent, which he achieved by tossing up remarkable spirals that Moss snatched out of the air. After George, Moss gave Daunte Culpepper two of the best statistical seasons in NFL history. After Moss left the team for the Oakland Raiders, Culpepper’s career left as well. The two years in Oakland were uneventful – as are most years in Raider-land – but when Moss signed with the Patriots, he showed that he was truly an all-timer.
The already accomplished Tom Brady had a season for the ages, throwing a record 50 touchdowns with 23 of them going to Moss, also an all time mark. That Patriots team broke the record of Moss’s old Vikings team for points in a season. The presence of Moss has opened the field for Brady to find underneath receiver Wes Welker who has more catches over the last three years than any player in the NFL. This is why Tom Brady recently called Moss the greatest deep threat in NFL history. This is why Brady is miserable today and Brett Favre is so elated, you’d think they made Wranglers with an elastic waist. Favre has pined for Moss since the 1998 draft when he begged the Packers to take the Marshall University standout and then watched as Moss tormented the Pack for years.
That last word is key: years. For all the talk of the “mercurial Moss”, his career has actually been one for the ages. Moss has the second most touchdown catches in NFL history and is still just 33 years old. The one receiver picked ahead of him in the 1998 draft, Kevin Dyson, hasn’t played in SEVEN YEARS. And yet, despite 12 years of putting up Hall of Fame numbers and being the object of desire for every qb in the game, he is still branded as a problem player. Every team should have such problems. NFL writers who still beat this dead horse sound like conservatives crying about the end of the gold standard. We’ve seen this again today. Kerry Byrnes of Sports Illustrated, before the bags were even packed, wrote, “At the end of the day, the Patriots were a better team without Moss.” He also dismissed Moss’s impact, writing, “Wide receivers, even the all-time great wide receivers, are little more than shiny hood ornaments on NFL offenses.” For proof of this, Byrnes looked at the Packer teams of the 1960s and the Steeler dynasty of the 1970s, pointing out that they lacked a dominant receiver. This is idiocy writ large and not just because, last I checked, Pittsburgh receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth were in the Hall of Fame. In today’s NFL, where changes in the rules heavily favor the passing game, if you don’t have a top receiving core, you are not going anywhere. Instead of looking at the Canton Bulldogs, or whoever Byrnes was holding up as an example of wide receiver irrelevance, look at the last four Super Bowl teams: In 2009 it was the Arizona Cardinals led by receiver Larry Fitzgerald and the Steelers and their Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes. In 2010, the Saints and the Colts passed first and ran the ball just to keep the other side guessing.
But forget the stupidity that the Patriots are better without Moss. This is just another reason why the New England Patriots and their coach Bill Belichick deserve every last dollop of our collective contempt. Over the last five years, Belichick has coldly disemboweled the team that won three Super Bowls in four years from 2002-2005. Remember their clutch kicker Adam Vinatieri, or linebacker Mike Vrabel, or Super Bowl MVP Deon Branch, or All Pro tackle Richard Seymour? They were all expendable. Other than Brady, the only surviving player is - now injured – running back Kevin Faulk who has been on the team so long he must have pictures of Patriots owner Bob Kraft snuggling livestock. For all the talk of Randy Moss being a narcissistic diva, it’s really Belichick who believes that it’s all about him. Until I see that cranky hobbit run past Darrelle Revis and catch a touchdown with one hand, I will continue to think otherwise. As for Moss, he has the chance now to end his career in Minnesota where it all began. As he said to Vikings coach Brad Childress, "I'm just happy to be coming home." So is everyone in the land of a thousand lakes. We should cheer the Vikings and jeer the Patriots for this move. But if you take a moment and listen very carefully, you can hear a very soft thumping sound. It’s Tom Brady banging his head against a wall.
Dave Zirin is the author of “Bad Sports: How Owners are Ruining the Games we Love” (Scribner) Receive his column every week by emailing dave@edgeofsports.com. Contact him at edgeofsports@gmail.com.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Dungy steps away after historic Colts tenure
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/colts/2009-01-12-dungy-decision_N.htm
Living 'a dream': Dungy steps away after historic Colts tenure
By Tom Pedulla, USA TODAY
1-12-9
Tony Dungy, a trailblazer and a model for all coaches with his grace and class, announced his retirement from the Indianapolis Colts on Monday.
"Don't shed any tears for me," Dungy, 53, said at an emotional news conference while his wife, Lauren, looked on. "I've gotten to live a dream most people don't get to live."
The prospect of moving into another phase of his life had intrigued Dungy for some time. Even after the defining moment of his 31-year NFL career, when he became the first black coach to hold aloft the Vince Lombardi Trophy after guiding Indianapolis to a 29-17 victory against the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI to close the 2006 season, he wavered about his future.
"I have a real peace about it that this is the right time," said Dungy, who often emphasized that faith, family and football are his priorities, in that order.
On Monday, he mentioned the possibility of working as a television analyst but said, "I really don't know what I'm going to do from here. I know I want to do something that will allow me to spend more time with my family and allow me to connect with young people."
He and Lauren have two daughters, Tiara and Jade, and three sons, Eric, Jordan and Justin. They have struggled to cope with immense grief after another son, James, committed suicide at age 18 in December 2005 while attending school in Tampa.
Kansas City Chiefs coach Herm Edwards, a member of Dungy's coaching staff with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a close friend, believes family considerations played a huge role in the decision. "He's got a lot of fathering to do," he said.
While Dungy expressed regret at having not turned his 11 postseason appearances into more NFL titles, most would argue he had little left to prove.
"He's done about as much as he can do in football," Edwards said. "I know he wants to go into the community and do other things. That is his higher calling."
Dungy has no regrets. "I won't look back and think that I could have done anything more, that if I'd put more time in, maybe we'd have won one more game," he said. "I think I did all that I could do. I think our coaches and players did all that we could do.
"The Lord blessed us with one (Super Bowl win), and that's one more than a lot of people win."
Among other activities, Dungy has spent time visiting young prison inmates in Tampa, where he now makes his home.
He said after his Super Bowl triumph, "When I was young, I thought prison was a place where you put bad people away. When I got to Tampa and I started visiting prisons, I just realized these were 17-, 18-, 19-year-old kids who had made a wrong choice and had so much more life ahead of them that we can't afford to waste."
Dungy, knowing how great the pull of the game can be for some coaches once they step away, kept the door slightly ajar for an eventual return. "I can't imagine coming back," he said, "but who knows what's going to happen five years from now?"
Jim Caldwell, another former Buccaneers assistant and member of his staff for the last seven years, will be elevated from associated head coach to head coach in keeping with a plan that was put into place last year.
He will have three-time NFL MVP quarterback Peyton Manning to direct a high-powered offense but faces enormous pressure as he follows in the footsteps of the only coach to produce six consecutive 12-win seasons and 10 playoff appearances in a row.
"He's ready. He's going to be fantastic," Dungy said of the offense-oriented Caldwell, who lacks experience as an NFL coordinator.
"He's going to keep us winning."
Victory lane
Dungy established himself as one of the finest head coaches of this era over the last 13 seasons. He compiled a lifetime record of 139-69 in the regular season, a .668 winning percentage that ranks seventh in league history.
After spending 15 seasons as an NFL assistant coach and going through countless interviews for a top job without receiving an offer, he gained the opportunity he yearned for when he was hired to take over the lowly Buccaneers in 1996.
After enduring a 6-10 record in his first season, he would never suffer another losing record as a head coach. He gradually built Tampa Bay into an NFC power. The Bucs reached postseason in each of his last three seasons there before he was hired by the Colts in 2002.
Indianapolis rattled off five consecutive AFC South titles before the Tennessee Titans ended that string this season. The Colts were hit hard by injuries in starting 3-4 with Manning and defensive stars Dwight Freeney and Bob Sanders hobbled at times. But they swept their last nine regular-season games before suffering a 23-17 overtime loss to the San Diego Chargers in the wild-card round.
The wild ride of a season demonstrated the steady hand that Colts president Bill Polian respected so much.
"When we were 3-4 and injured and things looked as bleak as they possibly could," Polian said at the farewell news conference, "a friend of mine said to me, 'You know, there's no God-given right to winning. You better get used to the fact that one of these years, the breaks will go against you and the injuries will become too great and the obstacles will become too high. You won't have that magical season.'
"I said, 'No, no. … That's not the case at all. We have to keep scratching and patching and sooner or later Tony will do his magic,' and so he did. This season, I think — and most of us around this team believe — was his greatest coaching job of all."
Held in high esteem
Polian, with his voice cracking, said of the coach who kept Indianapolis a power despite operating within the NFL's parity-driven system, "We'll miss his faith. We'll miss his optimism. We'll miss his patience — and that's something he taught me in abundance. All of which contributes to the Dungy magic."
Like Polian, Manning, who spoke with Dungy by phone on Monday, was emotional about his coach's departure.
"We went through some of the memories. We've had some great memories together," Manning said. "I told him I loved him. He told me he loved me the same. We'll always be in touch, but I am sad that he won't be my coach anymore."
For African-American coaches still striving to make inroads, Dungy will always be the one who showed the way.
"He's given a lot of energy, a lot of hope, to black coaches with the way he did it," Edwards said.
The coach's announcement prompted a wide range of reactions from across the league.
REACTION TO DUNGY: What they're saying about coach's departure
• "We are losing one of the all-time great coaches," said Bears coach Lovie Smith, a former Dungy assistant coach and his counterpart in his Super Bowl triumph. "He is one of the modern-day pioneers of our game."
• Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney said, "I think we'll miss his knowledge, what he does. He's a good person. He's the kind of guy you'd want to see in the league. But on the other hand, if he feels it's time for him to move on, then I respect him for it."
• Running back Warrick Dunn, who played for Dungy in Tampa Bay, said, "The good news is that coach Dungy may leave football, but what he's really doing is moving his extraordinary influence to other places. Just like he did for me and for countless other players, he will always be able to help teach young men how to be grown and able men."
• Long-time rival Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots, known for his chilly postgame greetings, said, "People often say that teams reflect their coach, and that can be said of Tony Dungy's teams, which are consistent winners every single year."
Contributing: Jim Corbett, Jarrett Bell, Phil Richards of the Indianapolis Star
The Indianapolis Star is owned by Gannett, parent company of USA TODAY
Living 'a dream': Dungy steps away after historic Colts tenure
By Tom Pedulla, USA TODAY
1-12-9
Tony Dungy, a trailblazer and a model for all coaches with his grace and class, announced his retirement from the Indianapolis Colts on Monday.
"Don't shed any tears for me," Dungy, 53, said at an emotional news conference while his wife, Lauren, looked on. "I've gotten to live a dream most people don't get to live."
The prospect of moving into another phase of his life had intrigued Dungy for some time. Even after the defining moment of his 31-year NFL career, when he became the first black coach to hold aloft the Vince Lombardi Trophy after guiding Indianapolis to a 29-17 victory against the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI to close the 2006 season, he wavered about his future.
"I have a real peace about it that this is the right time," said Dungy, who often emphasized that faith, family and football are his priorities, in that order.
On Monday, he mentioned the possibility of working as a television analyst but said, "I really don't know what I'm going to do from here. I know I want to do something that will allow me to spend more time with my family and allow me to connect with young people."
He and Lauren have two daughters, Tiara and Jade, and three sons, Eric, Jordan and Justin. They have struggled to cope with immense grief after another son, James, committed suicide at age 18 in December 2005 while attending school in Tampa.
Kansas City Chiefs coach Herm Edwards, a member of Dungy's coaching staff with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and a close friend, believes family considerations played a huge role in the decision. "He's got a lot of fathering to do," he said.
While Dungy expressed regret at having not turned his 11 postseason appearances into more NFL titles, most would argue he had little left to prove.
"He's done about as much as he can do in football," Edwards said. "I know he wants to go into the community and do other things. That is his higher calling."
Dungy has no regrets. "I won't look back and think that I could have done anything more, that if I'd put more time in, maybe we'd have won one more game," he said. "I think I did all that I could do. I think our coaches and players did all that we could do.
"The Lord blessed us with one (Super Bowl win), and that's one more than a lot of people win."
Among other activities, Dungy has spent time visiting young prison inmates in Tampa, where he now makes his home.
He said after his Super Bowl triumph, "When I was young, I thought prison was a place where you put bad people away. When I got to Tampa and I started visiting prisons, I just realized these were 17-, 18-, 19-year-old kids who had made a wrong choice and had so much more life ahead of them that we can't afford to waste."
Dungy, knowing how great the pull of the game can be for some coaches once they step away, kept the door slightly ajar for an eventual return. "I can't imagine coming back," he said, "but who knows what's going to happen five years from now?"
Jim Caldwell, another former Buccaneers assistant and member of his staff for the last seven years, will be elevated from associated head coach to head coach in keeping with a plan that was put into place last year.
He will have three-time NFL MVP quarterback Peyton Manning to direct a high-powered offense but faces enormous pressure as he follows in the footsteps of the only coach to produce six consecutive 12-win seasons and 10 playoff appearances in a row.
"He's ready. He's going to be fantastic," Dungy said of the offense-oriented Caldwell, who lacks experience as an NFL coordinator.
"He's going to keep us winning."
Victory lane
Dungy established himself as one of the finest head coaches of this era over the last 13 seasons. He compiled a lifetime record of 139-69 in the regular season, a .668 winning percentage that ranks seventh in league history.
After spending 15 seasons as an NFL assistant coach and going through countless interviews for a top job without receiving an offer, he gained the opportunity he yearned for when he was hired to take over the lowly Buccaneers in 1996.
After enduring a 6-10 record in his first season, he would never suffer another losing record as a head coach. He gradually built Tampa Bay into an NFC power. The Bucs reached postseason in each of his last three seasons there before he was hired by the Colts in 2002.
Indianapolis rattled off five consecutive AFC South titles before the Tennessee Titans ended that string this season. The Colts were hit hard by injuries in starting 3-4 with Manning and defensive stars Dwight Freeney and Bob Sanders hobbled at times. But they swept their last nine regular-season games before suffering a 23-17 overtime loss to the San Diego Chargers in the wild-card round.
The wild ride of a season demonstrated the steady hand that Colts president Bill Polian respected so much.
"When we were 3-4 and injured and things looked as bleak as they possibly could," Polian said at the farewell news conference, "a friend of mine said to me, 'You know, there's no God-given right to winning. You better get used to the fact that one of these years, the breaks will go against you and the injuries will become too great and the obstacles will become too high. You won't have that magical season.'
"I said, 'No, no. … That's not the case at all. We have to keep scratching and patching and sooner or later Tony will do his magic,' and so he did. This season, I think — and most of us around this team believe — was his greatest coaching job of all."
Held in high esteem
Polian, with his voice cracking, said of the coach who kept Indianapolis a power despite operating within the NFL's parity-driven system, "We'll miss his faith. We'll miss his optimism. We'll miss his patience — and that's something he taught me in abundance. All of which contributes to the Dungy magic."
Like Polian, Manning, who spoke with Dungy by phone on Monday, was emotional about his coach's departure.
"We went through some of the memories. We've had some great memories together," Manning said. "I told him I loved him. He told me he loved me the same. We'll always be in touch, but I am sad that he won't be my coach anymore."
For African-American coaches still striving to make inroads, Dungy will always be the one who showed the way.
"He's given a lot of energy, a lot of hope, to black coaches with the way he did it," Edwards said.
The coach's announcement prompted a wide range of reactions from across the league.
REACTION TO DUNGY: What they're saying about coach's departure
• "We are losing one of the all-time great coaches," said Bears coach Lovie Smith, a former Dungy assistant coach and his counterpart in his Super Bowl triumph. "He is one of the modern-day pioneers of our game."
• Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney said, "I think we'll miss his knowledge, what he does. He's a good person. He's the kind of guy you'd want to see in the league. But on the other hand, if he feels it's time for him to move on, then I respect him for it."
• Running back Warrick Dunn, who played for Dungy in Tampa Bay, said, "The good news is that coach Dungy may leave football, but what he's really doing is moving his extraordinary influence to other places. Just like he did for me and for countless other players, he will always be able to help teach young men how to be grown and able men."
• Long-time rival Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots, known for his chilly postgame greetings, said, "People often say that teams reflect their coach, and that can be said of Tony Dungy's teams, which are consistent winners every single year."
Contributing: Jim Corbett, Jarrett Bell, Phil Richards of the Indianapolis Star
The Indianapolis Star is owned by Gannett, parent company of USA TODAY
Friday, January 2, 2009
Hall of Shame: Detroit sets dubious mark
http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=nfl/news/newstest.aspx?id=4199839
Hall of Shame: Detroit sets dubious mark
12/28/08
Green Bay, WI (Sports Network) - The Detroit Lions finished their 2008 season the way they finished every week of this season, with a loss, and became the first team in NFL history to finish a campaign 0-16.
Just one season after New England became the first NFL team to go 16-0 in the regular season, Sunday's 31-21 loss for the Lions, at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, handed Detroit the first winless non-strike season since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 0-14 in 1976, the expansion club's initial season.
It is appropriate that Detroit ended its lost season at the Packers, as its current run of 17 straight losses began in Green Bay on the last week of last season.
The Lions came into Sunday's contest with hope, given that the team had played the Packers tight during a Week 2 loss at Ford Field. In that game, the Lions took a 25-24 lead with 7:41 to play after Jon Kitna and Calvin Johnson connected on a 47-yard score, but Green Bay scored 24 unanswered points and Jon Kitna was picked off three times on the final three drives, with the last two being returned for touchdowns in a 48-25 loss.
The team had a four-week stretch in which it lost by eight points or less, including a 12-10 loss at Minnesota in Week 6, but was beaten by at least 20 points in five games this season and lost by double-digits in 10 games.
The Lions now join the 1962 New York Mets (40-120), the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers (9-73) and the 1974-75 Washington Capitals (8-67-5) as the owner of the worst season in their respective sports. However, the Mets and Capitals were both expansion teams when they set their marks.
Despite Sunday's history, this was not the first time Detroit went winless in a season. The 1942 Lions finished the 1942 campaign at 0-11 in a season that saw the war-depleted Lions outscored by a total of 263-38.
The Achilles' Heel of this team was its defense. Going into Sunday's action, the Lions were last in the league in the following defensive categories: total defense (399.1 yards per game), scoring defense (32.4 points per game), rushing defense (169.5 yards per game), touchdowns allowed (59), rushing touchdowns allowed (30), yards allowed per rush (4.99), rushes allowed of 20 yards or longer (23), and interceptions recorded (4).
The team gave up a total of 517 points on the season, which is the second-most in the history of the league, and just 16 points fewer than the 1981 Baltimore Colts, who gave up 533 points.
The offense hasn't been much better, but the team did have two outstanding players in wide receiver Calvin Johnson (78 receptions, 1,331 yards and 12 touchdowns) and rookie running back Kevin Smith (238 carries, 976 yards and eight touchdowns). In addition, kicker Jason Hanson was his usual effective self as his only missed field goal attempt of the season was a block, and he went 8-for-8 from 50-plus yards. Hanson, who also had an extra-point attempt blocked, finished the season with 88 points.
That being said, one of the biggest problems of the offense was that it used five different quarterbacks during the campaign: Kitna, Dan Orlovsky, Daunte Culpepper, Drew Stanton and Drew Henson.
Rod Marinelli, who could lose his job in the coming days, and his club have not won a game since a home win over the Kansas City Chiefs last Dec. 23rd, and are 1-23 in their past 24 games overall, in addition to a a 12-game losing streak as the visitor since notching a win at Chicago last Oct. 28.
Hall of Shame: Detroit sets dubious mark
12/28/08
Green Bay, WI (Sports Network) - The Detroit Lions finished their 2008 season the way they finished every week of this season, with a loss, and became the first team in NFL history to finish a campaign 0-16.
Just one season after New England became the first NFL team to go 16-0 in the regular season, Sunday's 31-21 loss for the Lions, at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, handed Detroit the first winless non-strike season since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers went 0-14 in 1976, the expansion club's initial season.
It is appropriate that Detroit ended its lost season at the Packers, as its current run of 17 straight losses began in Green Bay on the last week of last season.
The Lions came into Sunday's contest with hope, given that the team had played the Packers tight during a Week 2 loss at Ford Field. In that game, the Lions took a 25-24 lead with 7:41 to play after Jon Kitna and Calvin Johnson connected on a 47-yard score, but Green Bay scored 24 unanswered points and Jon Kitna was picked off three times on the final three drives, with the last two being returned for touchdowns in a 48-25 loss.
The team had a four-week stretch in which it lost by eight points or less, including a 12-10 loss at Minnesota in Week 6, but was beaten by at least 20 points in five games this season and lost by double-digits in 10 games.
The Lions now join the 1962 New York Mets (40-120), the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers (9-73) and the 1974-75 Washington Capitals (8-67-5) as the owner of the worst season in their respective sports. However, the Mets and Capitals were both expansion teams when they set their marks.
Despite Sunday's history, this was not the first time Detroit went winless in a season. The 1942 Lions finished the 1942 campaign at 0-11 in a season that saw the war-depleted Lions outscored by a total of 263-38.
The Achilles' Heel of this team was its defense. Going into Sunday's action, the Lions were last in the league in the following defensive categories: total defense (399.1 yards per game), scoring defense (32.4 points per game), rushing defense (169.5 yards per game), touchdowns allowed (59), rushing touchdowns allowed (30), yards allowed per rush (4.99), rushes allowed of 20 yards or longer (23), and interceptions recorded (4).
The team gave up a total of 517 points on the season, which is the second-most in the history of the league, and just 16 points fewer than the 1981 Baltimore Colts, who gave up 533 points.
The offense hasn't been much better, but the team did have two outstanding players in wide receiver Calvin Johnson (78 receptions, 1,331 yards and 12 touchdowns) and rookie running back Kevin Smith (238 carries, 976 yards and eight touchdowns). In addition, kicker Jason Hanson was his usual effective self as his only missed field goal attempt of the season was a block, and he went 8-for-8 from 50-plus yards. Hanson, who also had an extra-point attempt blocked, finished the season with 88 points.
That being said, one of the biggest problems of the offense was that it used five different quarterbacks during the campaign: Kitna, Dan Orlovsky, Daunte Culpepper, Drew Stanton and Drew Henson.
Rod Marinelli, who could lose his job in the coming days, and his club have not won a game since a home win over the Kansas City Chiefs last Dec. 23rd, and are 1-23 in their past 24 games overall, in addition to a a 12-game losing streak as the visitor since notching a win at Chicago last Oct. 28.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
First $1,000 Super Bowl tickets
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iiA0rincFcZASFgTSP_5-fRup7iQD93RO3UO0
First $1,000 Super Bowl tickets
10-16-8
NEW YORK (AP) — The official price of Super Bowl tickets will reach $1,000 for the first time this season.
The NFL confirmed Thursday that 25 percent of the tickets for the Feb. 1 game in Tampa will be priced at $1,000. It also announced it will drop the price of 1,000 tickets at Raymond James Stadium by $200 to $500, the first time the league has cut prices for a Super Bowl.
Tickets for last year's game in Glendale, Ariz., between the New England Patriots and New York Giants were priced at $700 and $900, up from $600 and $700 the year before.
Overall, the official price for 17,000 suite and club seats will be $1,000 each. Another 53,000 tickets will go for $800, with the remaining 1,000 at $500.
At last year's game, the average price of tickets on StubHub, the online resellers, was $4,300.
Ticket prices for the first Super Bowl, played at the Los Angeles Coliseum 43 years ago, were $6, $10 and $12. They went over the $100 mark in 1988 and have increased regularly since.
First $1,000 Super Bowl tickets
10-16-8
NEW YORK (AP) — The official price of Super Bowl tickets will reach $1,000 for the first time this season.
The NFL confirmed Thursday that 25 percent of the tickets for the Feb. 1 game in Tampa will be priced at $1,000. It also announced it will drop the price of 1,000 tickets at Raymond James Stadium by $200 to $500, the first time the league has cut prices for a Super Bowl.
Tickets for last year's game in Glendale, Ariz., between the New England Patriots and New York Giants were priced at $700 and $900, up from $600 and $700 the year before.
Overall, the official price for 17,000 suite and club seats will be $1,000 each. Another 53,000 tickets will go for $800, with the remaining 1,000 at $500.
At last year's game, the average price of tickets on StubHub, the online resellers, was $4,300.
Ticket prices for the first Super Bowl, played at the Los Angeles Coliseum 43 years ago, were $6, $10 and $12. They went over the $100 mark in 1988 and have increased regularly since.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
NFL Team Values Average $1 Billion
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601079&sid=aW_sThvHEe04&refer=home
Cowboys Lead as NFL Team Values Average $1 Billion, Forbes Says
By Mason Levinson
Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) -- The National Football League is the first professional sports league to have its franchises average over $1 billion in value, with the Dallas Cowboys remaining atop Forbes magazine's annual rankings.
The average value for an NFL team this year is $1.04 billion, mostly because of revenue from seating and sponsorships at new stadiums, Forbes reported in its ranking of the 32 teams. The Cowboys, owned by Jerry Jones, are worth $1.61 billion, a 7 percent increase over 2007.
Values have more than tripled from $288 million since Forbes first began the ranking 10 years ago.
Daniel Snyder's Washington Redskins ($1.54 billion) remained second after leading the rankings for seven years before being supplanted by the Cowboys in 2007.
With a new shared stadium scheduled to open in 2010, New York's Giants and Jets each saw a 21 percent increase in franchise value.
The Giants ($1.18 billion) are fourth, trailing the New England Patriots ($1.32 billion), whose operating income of $58.1 million is highest among the top 10 teams. The Jets are fifth, with a value of $1.17 billion.
The Cowboys' value rose 28 percent in 2007, adding about $350 million, because the team is building a $1 billion stadium in Arlington. Scheduled to open in 2009, the arena will seat 80,000 people, can be expanded to hold 100,000, and will host the 2011 Super Bowl, the first to be held in the Dallas area.
The Houston Texans ($1.13 billion), with an operating income of $43.9 million, rank sixth, followed by the Eagles ($1.12 billion), Colts ($1.08 billion), Bears ($1.06 billion) and Ravens ($1.06 billion).
To contact the reporter on this story: Mason Levinson in New York at mlevinson@bloomberg.net.
Cowboys Lead as NFL Team Values Average $1 Billion, Forbes Says
By Mason Levinson
Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) -- The National Football League is the first professional sports league to have its franchises average over $1 billion in value, with the Dallas Cowboys remaining atop Forbes magazine's annual rankings.
The average value for an NFL team this year is $1.04 billion, mostly because of revenue from seating and sponsorships at new stadiums, Forbes reported in its ranking of the 32 teams. The Cowboys, owned by Jerry Jones, are worth $1.61 billion, a 7 percent increase over 2007.
Values have more than tripled from $288 million since Forbes first began the ranking 10 years ago.
Daniel Snyder's Washington Redskins ($1.54 billion) remained second after leading the rankings for seven years before being supplanted by the Cowboys in 2007.
With a new shared stadium scheduled to open in 2010, New York's Giants and Jets each saw a 21 percent increase in franchise value.
The Giants ($1.18 billion) are fourth, trailing the New England Patriots ($1.32 billion), whose operating income of $58.1 million is highest among the top 10 teams. The Jets are fifth, with a value of $1.17 billion.
The Cowboys' value rose 28 percent in 2007, adding about $350 million, because the team is building a $1 billion stadium in Arlington. Scheduled to open in 2009, the arena will seat 80,000 people, can be expanded to hold 100,000, and will host the 2011 Super Bowl, the first to be held in the Dallas area.
The Houston Texans ($1.13 billion), with an operating income of $43.9 million, rank sixth, followed by the Eagles ($1.12 billion), Colts ($1.08 billion), Bears ($1.06 billion) and Ravens ($1.06 billion).
To contact the reporter on this story: Mason Levinson in New York at mlevinson@bloomberg.net.
Monday, September 15, 2008
And so is Matt Drudge...
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/female_fans_out_for_season_withFemale Fans Out For Season With Tom Brady's Knee Injury
September 11, 2008 Onion Sports
FOXBOROUGH, MA — More than 90 percent of female football fans were lost for the season on Sunday when New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady suffered a left knee injury that will require extensive treatment. The Patriots announced Monday that Brady, the 2007 NFL Most Valuable Player and arguably the NFL's most handsome man, will be placed on injured reserve, where despite being no less attractive than before his injury, he will only be partially visible for the rest of the 2008-2009 season.
Bill Belichick held a press conference Tuesday confirming that Brady will have surgery, ending his 128-game combined starting-and-high-visibility streak, the third longest for a quarterback and the longest ever for a quarterback heartthrob.
Brady left Sunday's game against Kansas City after suffering an ugly anterior cruciate ligament tear in his incredibly handsome left knee after being hit by merely average-looking Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard.
"We feel badly for the nation's women about the injury," Belichick said. "And for Tom, of course. You hate to see anyone with that kind of masculine yet boyish appeal go down. No one has worked harder or done more for this team's female fan base than Tom has, and we expect him to set his rugged, chiseled jaw, keep his twinkling blue eyes on the prize, and be ready to get back on the field and in front of the cameras by next year."
Matt Cassel, who analysts say looked "consistent and confident" while guiding New England to its 20th straight regular-season win after Brady was hurt and "okay but not remarkable" in jeans and a polo shirt after the game, will start Sunday at the New York Jets, although there are doubts Cassel can win as many games and women as Brady.
"Well, as far as my role on this team goes, I'm not trying to be Tom Brady. I'm just trying to be Matt," Cassel said when subbing for Brady on his regular weekly radio show. "I mean, I have to just be myself, or else the ladies will sense I'm faking it, and in the end, that'll make it worse. I just hope there's one special fan group out there for me."
Cassel has been a second fiddle his entire football career, even in college at Southern California, where he was backup and wingman to lovable tousle-headed manchild Matt Leinart.
But football and demographics analysts agree that Brady's injury surely changes the rugged, weatherbeaten complexion of the entire NFL, where the Patriots, winners of three Super Bowls since 2001 with Brady as their quarterback and spokesmodel, were the strong female-fan favorite. However, Belichick denied the team reached out to any other more experienced or handsome quarterbacks.
Although losing Brady's strong arm and sculpted face will not be easy for the Patriots, the impact of his loss is expected to be felt around the NFL, where Brady has been the leading performer both on and off the field for the last several seasons. League commissioner Roger Goodell called an emergency owner's meeting Monday in which attendees discussed measures designed to compensate for Brady's loss, such as giving poise and diction lessons to Peyton or Eli Manning, getting Brett Favre a new wardrobe and a decent haircut, or teaching Ben Affleck how to play football.
Unfortunately for the NFL, Brady's loss seems to have affected more than just the Patriots and women. Many Boston-area fans of both genders, claiming that the team isn't worth watching without Brady, have concentrated their attention on the waning and somewhat disheveled Red Sox season or the attractive upcoming Celtics' NBA title defense. The sports media has likewise gone into shock, with columnist Bill Simmons saying he will no longer watch football this season, Sports Illustrated canceling large Brady-themed sections of this years' upcoming swimsuit issue, and NBC Football Night In America analyst Cris Collinsworth bursting into tears and collapsing into Peter King's arms upon receiving the news.
"No one else in football has Brady's unique talents—the physical gifts of build, height, arms, cheekbones, piercingly sultry field vision, the combination of arm strength and accuracy with a sense of tenderness, the combination of smirk and pout—along with the intangibles and the ability to look good in everything," said Tom Chiarella, who scouted and evaluated Brady for the September issue of Esquire. "It's impossible to estimate the impact of his loss, but it will almost certainly mean the loss of most female fans, many Boston-area fans, fair-weather fans, and the majority of mainstream media fans. The NFL is really looking at a worst-case scenario here, one that it never wanted to happen: A football season that's only watched by actual football fans."
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Brady's Season Appears Over
http://views.washingtonpost.com/theleague/nflnewsfeed/2008/09/bradys-season-appears-over.html
Brady's Season Appears Over
By Mark Maske
September 7, 2008
An NFL source said tonight the New England Patriots believe they have lost quarterback Tom Brady for the remainder of the season with a serious knee injury.
The Patriots are resigned to the fact that Brady likely suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and perhaps other damage in his left knee during today's game against the Kansas City Chiefs, said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss Brady's condition publicly.
Brady exited the game after taking a hit to the knee and was replaced by backup Matt Cassel.
Cassel finished the game, won by the Patriots.
He probably would become the Patriots' starter if Brady indeed is sidelined.
Brady, a three-time Super Bowl winner, is coming off one of the best seasons that a quarterback ever has had. He threw 50 touchdown passes and only eight interceptions during the regular season last year while the Patriots went 16-0. He was named the league's most valuable player but fell short of a fourth career Super Bowl title when the Patriots were upset in the Super Bowl by the New York Giants.
He has been beset by a series of injuries beginning with the AFC title game last season, when he suffered a high ankle sprain on his right leg. He was sidelined for this entire preseason because of a sore right foot, and now comes this injury.
Brady was hurt when he was hit by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard after delivering a throw.
Free agent quarterback Chris Simms, released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their final round of roster cuts, is scheduled to work out for the Patriots on Monday and could be signed by day's end. The Patriots also could consider free agent Tim Rattay, a source said.
Brady's Season Appears Over
By Mark Maske
September 7, 2008
An NFL source said tonight the New England Patriots believe they have lost quarterback Tom Brady for the remainder of the season with a serious knee injury.
The Patriots are resigned to the fact that Brady likely suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and perhaps other damage in his left knee during today's game against the Kansas City Chiefs, said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss Brady's condition publicly.
Brady exited the game after taking a hit to the knee and was replaced by backup Matt Cassel.
Cassel finished the game, won by the Patriots.
He probably would become the Patriots' starter if Brady indeed is sidelined.
Brady, a three-time Super Bowl winner, is coming off one of the best seasons that a quarterback ever has had. He threw 50 touchdown passes and only eight interceptions during the regular season last year while the Patriots went 16-0. He was named the league's most valuable player but fell short of a fourth career Super Bowl title when the Patriots were upset in the Super Bowl by the New York Giants.
He has been beset by a series of injuries beginning with the AFC title game last season, when he suffered a high ankle sprain on his right leg. He was sidelined for this entire preseason because of a sore right foot, and now comes this injury.
Brady was hurt when he was hit by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard after delivering a throw.
Free agent quarterback Chris Simms, released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their final round of roster cuts, is scheduled to work out for the Patriots on Monday and could be signed by day's end. The Patriots also could consider free agent Tim Rattay, a source said.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Patriots bring back Moss for another try at title
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-patriots-moss
Patriots bring back Moss for another try at title
By JIMMY GOLEN, AP Sports Writer
Mar 3, 2008
BOSTON (AP)—Randy Moss is staying with the New England Patriots.
The defending AFC champions re-signed the record-breaking receiver on Monday to a three-year deal worth $27 million, his agent said. The signing was confirmed by the team shortly after Moss posted a message to fans on his Web site.
“I want to take time out to thank all of the fans for their support and for wishing me well in my return to New England,” therealrandymoss.com quotes him as saying. “I’m ready to get back. We have some unfinished business to take care of.”
Moss’ agent, Tim DiPiero, said the deal included guarantees of $15 million, including a $12 million signing bonus to the receiver who set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches and helped the Patriots reach the Super Bowl in his first season with the team.
“Randy was serious about wanting to stay,” DiPiero wrote in an e-mail. “Because of Randy’s record-breaking year, the interest in him was very high. Randy took less than he could have to rejoin his teammates.”
Pairing Moss with NFL MVP Tom Brady, who broke the league record with 50 touchdown passes, the Patriots breezed through the regular season with a perfect 16-0 record. They improved to an unprecedented 18-0 before blowing a chance at the league’s longest unbeaten season with a 17-14 Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants.
“What Randy did for our team last year was outstanding,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said in a statement. “He is one of our most consistent, competitive and team-oriented players and it is undoubtedly a relationship we are excited to continue.”
Moss, 31, has caught 774 passes for 12,193 yards in a 10-year career, and his 124 career receiving touchdowns are fourth in NFL history.
A four-time All-Pro, Moss took a pay cut to get out of Oakland and come to New England last April in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick. In addition to his 23 touchdowns, he caught 98 passes for 1,493 yards and largely avoided the type of turmoil that characterized his previous NFL stops.
During seven years with Minnesota, where he made five Pro Bowls, he was fined $10,000 for pretending to pull down his pants and moon the Green Bay crowd during a Vikings playoff win, and drew criticism for leaving the field with 2 seconds left in a loss to Washington.
He also bumped a traffic control officer with his car in 2002, verbally abused corporate sponsors on a team bus in 2001 and squirted an official with a water bottle in 1999.
In Oakland, he openly campaigned to be traded to a winning team. With the Patriots, he avoided controversy until the playoffs, when a woman sought a restraining order against him, claiming that he committed “battery causing serious injury.”
Moss denied the allegation and said the woman was trying to get money from him.
Also Monday, the Patriots signed free agent receiver Sam Aiken.
The 27-year-old has played five seasons with the Buffalo Bills with 19 career receptions for 250 yards and 61 career special teams tackles.
“Competing against Sam many times over the years, we know firsthand what he brings to us,” Belichick said.
Patriots bring back Moss for another try at title
By JIMMY GOLEN, AP Sports Writer
Mar 3, 2008
BOSTON (AP)—Randy Moss is staying with the New England Patriots.
The defending AFC champions re-signed the record-breaking receiver on Monday to a three-year deal worth $27 million, his agent said. The signing was confirmed by the team shortly after Moss posted a message to fans on his Web site.
“I want to take time out to thank all of the fans for their support and for wishing me well in my return to New England,” therealrandymoss.com quotes him as saying. “I’m ready to get back. We have some unfinished business to take care of.”
Moss’ agent, Tim DiPiero, said the deal included guarantees of $15 million, including a $12 million signing bonus to the receiver who set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches and helped the Patriots reach the Super Bowl in his first season with the team.
“Randy was serious about wanting to stay,” DiPiero wrote in an e-mail. “Because of Randy’s record-breaking year, the interest in him was very high. Randy took less than he could have to rejoin his teammates.”
Pairing Moss with NFL MVP Tom Brady, who broke the league record with 50 touchdown passes, the Patriots breezed through the regular season with a perfect 16-0 record. They improved to an unprecedented 18-0 before blowing a chance at the league’s longest unbeaten season with a 17-14 Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants.
“What Randy did for our team last year was outstanding,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said in a statement. “He is one of our most consistent, competitive and team-oriented players and it is undoubtedly a relationship we are excited to continue.”
Moss, 31, has caught 774 passes for 12,193 yards in a 10-year career, and his 124 career receiving touchdowns are fourth in NFL history.
A four-time All-Pro, Moss took a pay cut to get out of Oakland and come to New England last April in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick. In addition to his 23 touchdowns, he caught 98 passes for 1,493 yards and largely avoided the type of turmoil that characterized his previous NFL stops.
During seven years with Minnesota, where he made five Pro Bowls, he was fined $10,000 for pretending to pull down his pants and moon the Green Bay crowd during a Vikings playoff win, and drew criticism for leaving the field with 2 seconds left in a loss to Washington.
He also bumped a traffic control officer with his car in 2002, verbally abused corporate sponsors on a team bus in 2001 and squirted an official with a water bottle in 1999.
In Oakland, he openly campaigned to be traded to a winning team. With the Patriots, he avoided controversy until the playoffs, when a woman sought a restraining order against him, claiming that he committed “battery causing serious injury.”
Moss denied the allegation and said the woman was trying to get money from him.
Also Monday, the Patriots signed free agent receiver Sam Aiken.
The 27-year-old has played five seasons with the Buffalo Bills with 19 career receptions for 250 yards and 61 career special teams tackles.
“Competing against Sam many times over the years, we know firsthand what he brings to us,” Belichick said.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Bill Belichick would rather be elsewhere
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/nfl_experts/post/If-he-s-going-to-lose-Bill-Belichick-would-rath
If he's going to lose, Bill Belichick would rather be elsewhere
By MJD
Sunday, Feb 3, 2008
On more than one occasion this year, Bill Belichick and the Patriots have run up the score on an overmatched opponent, and forced an opposing coach to sit there and watch his beaten team go through the motions while their heineys were being handed to them.
But when the shoe's on the other foot, and Bill Belichick's team has been beaten, he can't sit there and take the pain for a few seconds.
With :01 left on the clock, and his team just having failed on a last chance 4th down effort, Bill Belichick ran onto the field for a quick handshake, and then bolted for the locker room. Belichick's an important guy and everything, but I wasn't aware that the league had given him the authority to decide when games end.
There's time left on the clock, his team's been humbled, outplayed, and lost their chance at history ... and Bill Belichick doesn't have the stomach to sit there and absorb the pain until the clock read 0:00.
That's unsportsmanlike at best, disrespectful at least, and at worst, it makes him a big sissy.
Because Bill Belichick wanted to go hide when he lost, the field ended up being flooded with people, and the officials had to clear the area before the Giants could take their final snap and make it official. When you lose, you take your loss. You don't leave early because it makes you feel sad inside. Your opponent deserves more respect than that.
Anyone remember in 2004 when Randy Moss left the sidelines with two seconds left in a Vikings vs. Redskins game? Moss was selfish, a baby, a quitter, didn't respect his teammates, and didn't respect the game. Belichick just did the same thing, but did it on the biggest possible stage, and did it from the position of a leader of men.
Maybe there's something to be said for the inability to lose well ... most great winners don't lose well, and a sore loser is still a loser.
But still, if you're an adult, you finish out the game, and you give your opponents the stage and the respect they deserve.
Related: New England Patriots, New York Giants, Super Bowl XLII
If he's going to lose, Bill Belichick would rather be elsewhere
By MJD
Sunday, Feb 3, 2008
On more than one occasion this year, Bill Belichick and the Patriots have run up the score on an overmatched opponent, and forced an opposing coach to sit there and watch his beaten team go through the motions while their heineys were being handed to them.
But when the shoe's on the other foot, and Bill Belichick's team has been beaten, he can't sit there and take the pain for a few seconds.
With :01 left on the clock, and his team just having failed on a last chance 4th down effort, Bill Belichick ran onto the field for a quick handshake, and then bolted for the locker room. Belichick's an important guy and everything, but I wasn't aware that the league had given him the authority to decide when games end.
There's time left on the clock, his team's been humbled, outplayed, and lost their chance at history ... and Bill Belichick doesn't have the stomach to sit there and absorb the pain until the clock read 0:00.
That's unsportsmanlike at best, disrespectful at least, and at worst, it makes him a big sissy.
Because Bill Belichick wanted to go hide when he lost, the field ended up being flooded with people, and the officials had to clear the area before the Giants could take their final snap and make it official. When you lose, you take your loss. You don't leave early because it makes you feel sad inside. Your opponent deserves more respect than that.
Anyone remember in 2004 when Randy Moss left the sidelines with two seconds left in a Vikings vs. Redskins game? Moss was selfish, a baby, a quitter, didn't respect his teammates, and didn't respect the game. Belichick just did the same thing, but did it on the biggest possible stage, and did it from the position of a leader of men.
Maybe there's something to be said for the inability to lose well ... most great winners don't lose well, and a sore loser is still a loser.
But still, if you're an adult, you finish out the game, and you give your opponents the stage and the respect they deserve.
Related: New England Patriots, New York Giants, Super Bowl XLII
Patriots' Season Perfect For Rest Of Nation
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/patriots_season_perfect_for_rest
Patriots' Season Perfect For Rest Of Nation
February 7, 2008 Onion Sports
FOXBOROUGH, MA — As the once-invincible, still-insufferable Patriots attempt to come to grips with their 17-14 Super Bowl loss to the Giants, the death of their dream to go undefeated, and the possible end of their dynasty, almost every other person in America is reveling in what they consider the perfect ending to New England's season.
"I just couldn't imagine a better ending to the Patriots odyssey," said Simon Williams, a Kansas City-area football fan who usually watches the college game but found himself caught up in the Patriots' sheer loathsomeness during the season. "The utter lack of humility they displayed alongside an equal lack of any joy in the game, that toad of a coach, and that cologne-ad quarterback… If they have to act that badly while playing that well, you really want to see them fail in the biggest way possible. Thank God almighty, that's what we got."
There is general agreement that the Super Bowl, despite the low score, was one of the finest in recent memory, due in part to the fearsome performance by the Giants and a cool, courageous display of quarterbacking by Eli Manning.
However, when asked about their favorite parts of the game, most fans chose the Patriots' cocky decision to begin the game with a trick play, which the Giants stopped handily; Bill Belichick's smug third-quarter attempt at a fourth-and-13 conversion, which blew up in his face, instead of trying a field goal; and New England's offensive line, which featured three Pro Bowlers, allowing high-cheekboned, doe-eyed, supermodel-impregnating passer Tom Brady to be hit over 20 times during the course of the game.
"Did you see [Giants defensive tackle Lance] Alford smack Brady right in the face on that last drive?" said Bellvue, WA newsstand operator Christian Dansby. "Brady was almost offended. I think he forgot for a few months there that he was a football player. It was just perfect."
"God, seeing Randy Moss do his weird chicken-wing crowd taunt when they scored to go ahead in the fourth was awful," said Jeff Lafferty, who watched the Super Bowl with rabid New England fans despite having known them for years. "What's worse is that the Pats fans ate it up. Of course, when Burress made that catch to win… Perfection. That's the only word for the Pats now. Perfection."
However, most fans gave responses that had little to do with the game itself and more with the almost flawless joy of seeing the Patriots lose, as a team that has been insufferable and unappealing in victory instantly became inconsolable and self-pitying in defeat.
Frequently mentioned examples of instances which, upon reflection, sweetened the Patriots' utter failure included the team's propensity to complain about unfair officiating after their victories; their habit of gleefully running up the score, which also resulted in Brady and Moss earning NFL single-season scoring records in blowouts; and of course, the players' and coaches' hateful attitude.
"Come on, that cheating scandal to open the season and all they say is 'Everybody does it?' They could have at least acted a little bit sorry," said Milwaukee architect and sports fan David Engel. "They acted like a bunch of third-graders, just the way Belichick did when he ran off the field with time left on the clock. At least he shook the other coach's hand this time. That's a first for the big baby."
"The worst part for me is that none of them seem to enjoy playing football," said Lexington, KY-area mechanic Jack Colgrave. "Even when they were winning, all they did was taunt—Randy Moss taunting crowds, Wes Welker telling people they sucked, Brady sneering at the very idea they might get beat someday. What a bunch of absolutely perfect assholes."
"Did their team plane land safely back in Foxborough?" Colgrave asked. "It didn't happen to lose altitude over Boston, burst into a cartwheel of flames, throwing players like Roman candles across New England, and then slam into few dozen loudmouth Patriots' fans houses? It didn't? Well, I guess no football season is perfect."
Patriots' Season Perfect For Rest Of Nation
February 7, 2008 Onion Sports
FOXBOROUGH, MA — As the once-invincible, still-insufferable Patriots attempt to come to grips with their 17-14 Super Bowl loss to the Giants, the death of their dream to go undefeated, and the possible end of their dynasty, almost every other person in America is reveling in what they consider the perfect ending to New England's season.
"I just couldn't imagine a better ending to the Patriots odyssey," said Simon Williams, a Kansas City-area football fan who usually watches the college game but found himself caught up in the Patriots' sheer loathsomeness during the season. "The utter lack of humility they displayed alongside an equal lack of any joy in the game, that toad of a coach, and that cologne-ad quarterback… If they have to act that badly while playing that well, you really want to see them fail in the biggest way possible. Thank God almighty, that's what we got."
There is general agreement that the Super Bowl, despite the low score, was one of the finest in recent memory, due in part to the fearsome performance by the Giants and a cool, courageous display of quarterbacking by Eli Manning.
However, when asked about their favorite parts of the game, most fans chose the Patriots' cocky decision to begin the game with a trick play, which the Giants stopped handily; Bill Belichick's smug third-quarter attempt at a fourth-and-13 conversion, which blew up in his face, instead of trying a field goal; and New England's offensive line, which featured three Pro Bowlers, allowing high-cheekboned, doe-eyed, supermodel-impregnating passer Tom Brady to be hit over 20 times during the course of the game.
"Did you see [Giants defensive tackle Lance] Alford smack Brady right in the face on that last drive?" said Bellvue, WA newsstand operator Christian Dansby. "Brady was almost offended. I think he forgot for a few months there that he was a football player. It was just perfect."
"God, seeing Randy Moss do his weird chicken-wing crowd taunt when they scored to go ahead in the fourth was awful," said Jeff Lafferty, who watched the Super Bowl with rabid New England fans despite having known them for years. "What's worse is that the Pats fans ate it up. Of course, when Burress made that catch to win… Perfection. That's the only word for the Pats now. Perfection."
However, most fans gave responses that had little to do with the game itself and more with the almost flawless joy of seeing the Patriots lose, as a team that has been insufferable and unappealing in victory instantly became inconsolable and self-pitying in defeat.
Frequently mentioned examples of instances which, upon reflection, sweetened the Patriots' utter failure included the team's propensity to complain about unfair officiating after their victories; their habit of gleefully running up the score, which also resulted in Brady and Moss earning NFL single-season scoring records in blowouts; and of course, the players' and coaches' hateful attitude.
"Come on, that cheating scandal to open the season and all they say is 'Everybody does it?' They could have at least acted a little bit sorry," said Milwaukee architect and sports fan David Engel. "They acted like a bunch of third-graders, just the way Belichick did when he ran off the field with time left on the clock. At least he shook the other coach's hand this time. That's a first for the big baby."
"The worst part for me is that none of them seem to enjoy playing football," said Lexington, KY-area mechanic Jack Colgrave. "Even when they were winning, all they did was taunt—Randy Moss taunting crowds, Wes Welker telling people they sucked, Brady sneering at the very idea they might get beat someday. What a bunch of absolutely perfect assholes."
"Did their team plane land safely back in Foxborough?" Colgrave asked. "It didn't happen to lose altitude over Boston, burst into a cartwheel of flames, throwing players like Roman candles across New England, and then slam into few dozen loudmouth Patriots' fans houses? It didn't? Well, I guess no football season is perfect."
Friday, February 8, 2008
Patriots taped Rams before Super Bowl
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs07/news/story?id=3227245
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Report: Source claimed Patriots taped Rams before Super Bowl
ESPN.com news services
An unnamed source has claimed a New England Patriots employee secretly videotaped the St. Louis Rams' pre-game walkthrough the day before Super Bowl XXXVI, the Boston Herald reported Saturday.
According to the report, an unnamed source close to the team during the 2001 season said that following the Patriots' walkthrough at the Louisiana Superdome, a member of the team's video staff stayed behind and taped the Rams' walkthrough -- a non-contact, no-pads practice at reduced speed in which a team goes through its plays.
The cameraman was not asked to identify himself or produce a press pass and rode the media shuttle back to the Patriots' hotel after it was over, a source told the Herald. It is not known what became of the tape afterwards, or whether the cameraman made the tape on his own initiative or at someone else's instruction, according to the report.
Asked about the report, Patriots media relations Stacey James said "The coaches have no knowledge of it," according to the Herald.
The next day, the Patriots upset the favored Rams 20-17 for their first Super Bowl championship. New England will play the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII on Sunday, in a bid to become the first NFL team to finish a season 19-0.
Former St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner, currently with the Arizona Cardinals, told ESPN.com investigative reporter Mike Fish that if the league has heard those claims, he's surprised the NFL has not spoken to former Patriots video department employee Matt Walsh. He said if Walsh or any other source has information, it should be investigated.
Walsh, a former Patriots video assistant, has suggested to ESPN.com that he has information that could have exposed the Patriots prior to the NFL catching New England taping the New York Jets' defensive signals during the 2007 season opener. The Patriots were fined $750,000 and lost a first-round draft pick as punishment.
"If I had a reason to want to go public, or tell a story, I could have done it before it even broke," Walsh told ESPN.com. "I could have said everything rather than having [Jets head coach Eric] Mangini be the one to bring it out."
"If they're doing a thorough investigation -- they didn't contact me," Walsh told ESPN.com. "So draw your own conclusions. Maybe they felt they didn't need to. Maybe the league feels they got satisfactory answers from everything the Patriots sent them."
Walsh, 31, now an assistant golf pro at the Ka'anapli Golf Resort in Lahaina, Hawaii, worked for the Patriots from 1996 until the winter of 2002-03 when he was fired. He has hinted to ESPN.com that he has information that could be damaging to both the league and the Patriots, but declined to make it available, saying that it could possibly be seen as stolen property.
Walsh said he is fearful of potential legal action against him by either the league or Patriots if he details what he knows. He has refused to provide evidence of potential wrongdoing unless ESPN agreed to pay his legal fees related to his involvement in the story, as well as an indemnification agreement that would cover any damages found against him in court. ESPN denied his requests.
Friday, Senator Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he had written NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, seeking an explanation as to why evidence in the NFL's investigation of the Patriots videotaping was destroyed.
"I am very concerned about the underlying facts on the taping, the reasons for the judgment on the limited penalties and, most of all, on the inexplicable destruction of the tapes," Specter said in the letter to Goodell.
Specter, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the matter could put the league's antitrust exemption at risk. In a phone interview with The New York Times, which first reported Specter's interest in Spygate, he said the committee at some point will call on Goodell to address the antitrust exemption as well as the destruction of the tapes.
Goodell, in his previously scheduled news conference Friday from Phoenix, said, "I am more than willing to speak with the senator. There are very good explanations why the tapes were destroyed by our staff -- there was no purpose for them."
There were six tapes, according to Goodell -- some from the 2007 preseason, and the rest from 2006. He said he had them destroyed because he was confident that the Patriots had turned over all of the tapes and notes the NFL had requested in its investigation. He also said they were destroyed in order to prevent leaks to the media -- as some footage from one of the tapes was shortly after the story broke.
"We wanted to take and destroy that information," Goodell said. "They may have collected it within the rules, but we couldn't determine that. So we felt that it should be destroyed."
Patriots coach Bill Belichick had little to add on the subject.
"It's a league matter," he said Friday during his news conference. "I don't know anything about it."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Report: Source claimed Patriots taped Rams before Super Bowl
ESPN.com news services
An unnamed source has claimed a New England Patriots employee secretly videotaped the St. Louis Rams' pre-game walkthrough the day before Super Bowl XXXVI, the Boston Herald reported Saturday.
According to the report, an unnamed source close to the team during the 2001 season said that following the Patriots' walkthrough at the Louisiana Superdome, a member of the team's video staff stayed behind and taped the Rams' walkthrough -- a non-contact, no-pads practice at reduced speed in which a team goes through its plays.
The cameraman was not asked to identify himself or produce a press pass and rode the media shuttle back to the Patriots' hotel after it was over, a source told the Herald. It is not known what became of the tape afterwards, or whether the cameraman made the tape on his own initiative or at someone else's instruction, according to the report.
Asked about the report, Patriots media relations Stacey James said "The coaches have no knowledge of it," according to the Herald.
The next day, the Patriots upset the favored Rams 20-17 for their first Super Bowl championship. New England will play the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII on Sunday, in a bid to become the first NFL team to finish a season 19-0.
Former St. Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner, currently with the Arizona Cardinals, told ESPN.com investigative reporter Mike Fish that if the league has heard those claims, he's surprised the NFL has not spoken to former Patriots video department employee Matt Walsh. He said if Walsh or any other source has information, it should be investigated.
Walsh, a former Patriots video assistant, has suggested to ESPN.com that he has information that could have exposed the Patriots prior to the NFL catching New England taping the New York Jets' defensive signals during the 2007 season opener. The Patriots were fined $750,000 and lost a first-round draft pick as punishment.
"If I had a reason to want to go public, or tell a story, I could have done it before it even broke," Walsh told ESPN.com. "I could have said everything rather than having [Jets head coach Eric] Mangini be the one to bring it out."
"If they're doing a thorough investigation -- they didn't contact me," Walsh told ESPN.com. "So draw your own conclusions. Maybe they felt they didn't need to. Maybe the league feels they got satisfactory answers from everything the Patriots sent them."
Walsh, 31, now an assistant golf pro at the Ka'anapli Golf Resort in Lahaina, Hawaii, worked for the Patriots from 1996 until the winter of 2002-03 when he was fired. He has hinted to ESPN.com that he has information that could be damaging to both the league and the Patriots, but declined to make it available, saying that it could possibly be seen as stolen property.
Walsh said he is fearful of potential legal action against him by either the league or Patriots if he details what he knows. He has refused to provide evidence of potential wrongdoing unless ESPN agreed to pay his legal fees related to his involvement in the story, as well as an indemnification agreement that would cover any damages found against him in court. ESPN denied his requests.
Friday, Senator Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said he had written NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, seeking an explanation as to why evidence in the NFL's investigation of the Patriots videotaping was destroyed.
"I am very concerned about the underlying facts on the taping, the reasons for the judgment on the limited penalties and, most of all, on the inexplicable destruction of the tapes," Specter said in the letter to Goodell.
Specter, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the matter could put the league's antitrust exemption at risk. In a phone interview with The New York Times, which first reported Specter's interest in Spygate, he said the committee at some point will call on Goodell to address the antitrust exemption as well as the destruction of the tapes.
Goodell, in his previously scheduled news conference Friday from Phoenix, said, "I am more than willing to speak with the senator. There are very good explanations why the tapes were destroyed by our staff -- there was no purpose for them."
There were six tapes, according to Goodell -- some from the 2007 preseason, and the rest from 2006. He said he had them destroyed because he was confident that the Patriots had turned over all of the tapes and notes the NFL had requested in its investigation. He also said they were destroyed in order to prevent leaks to the media -- as some footage from one of the tapes was shortly after the story broke.
"We wanted to take and destroy that information," Goodell said. "They may have collected it within the rules, but we couldn't determine that. So we felt that it should be destroyed."
Patriots coach Bill Belichick had little to add on the subject.
"It's a league matter," he said Friday during his news conference. "I don't know anything about it."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
New England 38, NY Giants 35
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/recap?gid=20071229019
New England 38, NY Giants 35
By BARRY WILNER, AP Football Writer
December 30, 2007
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Tom Brady was as giddy as the quarterback of an unbeaten and perhaps unbeatable team should be. Had Bill Belichick spotted him slapping the backs of his New England teammates, the dour coach might have scoffed.
After all, a perfect 16-0 regular season won't mean much if the Patriots don't win their next three games and another Super Bowl.
"We've been dealing with being undefeated all season," Brady said Saturday night after the thrilling 38-35 victory over the New York Giants in a game worthy of the NFL's championship showcase. "It was kind of a strange game. It really doesn't mean much to either team, but it means a lot."
New England became the first NFL team since the 1972 Dolphins to win every game on the schedule, and that one was only 14-0. This victory required a Brady-engineered comeback from a 12-point deficit and smashed the Patriots' league mark for consecutive victories.
"Going undefeated during the regular season is a remarkable achievement," 1972 Dolphins coach Don Shula said. "I know firsthand how difficult it is to win every game, and just as we did in 1972, the Patriots have done a great job concentrating on each week's opponent and not letting any other distractions interrupt that focus. If they go on to complete an undefeated season, I will be the first to congratulate Coach Belichick and the Patriot organization."
Validation of the Patriots' inexorable march through the season can only come by adding a Super Bowl championship. Do that, and there'll be no challenge to their spot at the top.
"Hats off to us," said record-setting receiver Randy Moss, who caught Brady's 65-yard bomb for the go-ahead score that set two major records. "I know a lot of people didn't think we were going to do it. A lot of people didn't want us to do it.
"In this game of football, it's hard to go 16-and-0. As a football player and a fan of the game, my hat's off to this organization."
In gaining their 19th straight win over two seasons, the Patriots went on top on Brady's 50th touchdown pass of the year and Moss' 23rd TD reception. It came with 11:06 remaining.
Brady beat Peyton Manning's mark of 49 touchdown passes and Moss broke Jerry Rice's record of 22 TD receptions. And the Patriots finished with an incredible 589 points for the season, another single-season record.
Once the victory was clinched, Belichick was barely more animated than usual. He shared hugs with players and assistant coaches on the sideline, but there was no thought of carrying him off on the Patriots' shoulders or dumping Gatorade all over him.
That will have to wait for three more wins -- if they come.
"It's a great feeling," Belichick admitted. "Now is the time to take a day or two and appreciate what this team has done, but at the same time we have our biggest game of the year coming up. Pretty soon we need to turn the page and move on."
Who knows, the Patriots might even find the Giants on one of the next pages, especially if Eli Manning again resembles his vaunted older brother.
"We didn't win the game, but if you saw everybody in the locker room, everybody was excited," Manning said. "I never saw a locker room so upbeat after a loss because we played so well, did some good things and hung in there in a game where we didn't have to play. We wanted to. We wanted to come out and play well, and we did that."
The Giants (10-6), already guaranteed a playoff game against Tampa Bay next weekend and with little to play for except spoiling New England's perfect ride, led 28-16 in the third quarter. It was the Patriots' largest deficit all year as the Giants showed no fear and plenty of versatility, scoring the most points New England allowed in a game during this remarkable run.
Manning threw for four touchdowns and Domenik Hixon, in his first game as New York's primary kick returner, went 74 yards for a score 11 seconds after Brady and Moss tied their respective records.
Not to worry. These Patriots are unflappable, and they matched their comebacks in wins over Dallas, Indianapolis, Philadelphia and Baltimore earlier in the season. A 73-yard drive ended with Laurence Maroney's 6-yard run to make it 28-23 with 4:00 to go in the third period.
Then came the most familiar of scenes: Brady dropping back, winding up and hitting a wide-open Moss in stride for a touchdown. The final go-ahead TD in their perfect year.
"What I'm most proud of is playing a playoff team on the road that was playing extremely hard," Brady said. "We found a way to come back and win. We did the same thing at Dallas. We did the same thing at Indy. We've been in some tough games.
"Everyone is going to enjoy this one. It happens once every 35 years."
Although many are eager to hail these Patriots as the NFL's all-time best, such acclaim won't come unless they win two playoff games and their fourth Super Bowl this decade. And for those who might deny such greatness considering the "Spygate" scandal, well, 19-0 would speak pretty loudly.
Certainly louder than any postgame celebrations at Giants Stadium, the same building where they were caught videotaping New York Jets assistant coaches in Week 1, a rules violation that cost Belichick and the franchise $750,000 in fines and a 2008 first-round draft choice. That made Belichick even more close-mouthed and dour than usual, and his team followed his lead -- right to 16-0.
The Giants opened the game as if they were, well, the Patriots, driving 74 yards, sparked by a 52-yard completion on which Plaxico Burress outleapt Ellis Hobbs for Manning's jump-ball throw. Brandon Jacobs broke Tedy Bruschi's tackle to score on a 7-yard reception for a 7-0 lead.
Naturally, the Patriots, the highest-scoring team in NFL history, struck back. After Stephen Gostkowski's 37-yard field goal, New England went on top -- and surpassed Minnesota's league mark of 556 points -- on the record-tying 4-yard TD pass from Brady to Moss, who soared above rookie Aaron Ross for the score.
The 10-7 lead lasted all of 11 seconds. The usually staid Patriots gathered around Moss as he did a dance in the end zone, prompting a 15-yard excessive celebration penalty. Belichick argued the call with referee Mike Carey, perhaps sensing how costly it might be.
It was as Hixon sped 74 yards untouched to lift the Giants back in front.
"There is nothing but positives," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "I told the players in playing this game everything would be positives, there would be no negatives and that is how I feel.
"I don't know any better way to be prepared for the playoffs than to go against a team that was 15-0."
Gostkowski kicked two more field goals as the Patriots grabbed a 16-14 lead with 1:59 left in the half.
That's when Manning, coming off several rough games, was at his best, leading a quick 85-yard drive that included a rare scramble for 11 yards just before he found Kevin Boss in the middle of the end zone with 13 seconds remaining. The 21-16 deficit was only the second time New England has trailed at halftime this season; the other was to the older Manning and the Colts.
But with such a potent offense, the Patriots never are out of any game. Once they got the lead, they closed it out with another touchdown drive, Maroney scoring from the 5. Manning hit Burress again from 3 yards with 1:04 to go, but New England recovered the onside kick.
"We're down 10 or 11 (actually 12) in the third quarter, the crowd was into it, and we found a way to win," Brady said. "That's the way it's going to be down the stretch ... just hope we can continue to play this kind of football."
Notes: Brady finished 32-for-42 for 356 yards, while Manning was 22-for-32 for 251 yards and the only interception. ... The other teams to go unbeaten in a season were the 1934 and 1942 Chicago Bears; both lost in the NFL title game. ... New England also set a league mark with 75 touchdowns. ... The Giants lost center Shaun O'Hara, backup safety Craig Dahl and linebacker Kawika Mitchell, all with knee injuries, and cornerback Sam Madison with an abdominal strain.
New England 38, NY Giants 35
By BARRY WILNER, AP Football Writer
December 30, 2007
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Tom Brady was as giddy as the quarterback of an unbeaten and perhaps unbeatable team should be. Had Bill Belichick spotted him slapping the backs of his New England teammates, the dour coach might have scoffed.
After all, a perfect 16-0 regular season won't mean much if the Patriots don't win their next three games and another Super Bowl.
"We've been dealing with being undefeated all season," Brady said Saturday night after the thrilling 38-35 victory over the New York Giants in a game worthy of the NFL's championship showcase. "It was kind of a strange game. It really doesn't mean much to either team, but it means a lot."
New England became the first NFL team since the 1972 Dolphins to win every game on the schedule, and that one was only 14-0. This victory required a Brady-engineered comeback from a 12-point deficit and smashed the Patriots' league mark for consecutive victories.
"Going undefeated during the regular season is a remarkable achievement," 1972 Dolphins coach Don Shula said. "I know firsthand how difficult it is to win every game, and just as we did in 1972, the Patriots have done a great job concentrating on each week's opponent and not letting any other distractions interrupt that focus. If they go on to complete an undefeated season, I will be the first to congratulate Coach Belichick and the Patriot organization."
Validation of the Patriots' inexorable march through the season can only come by adding a Super Bowl championship. Do that, and there'll be no challenge to their spot at the top.
"Hats off to us," said record-setting receiver Randy Moss, who caught Brady's 65-yard bomb for the go-ahead score that set two major records. "I know a lot of people didn't think we were going to do it. A lot of people didn't want us to do it.
"In this game of football, it's hard to go 16-and-0. As a football player and a fan of the game, my hat's off to this organization."
In gaining their 19th straight win over two seasons, the Patriots went on top on Brady's 50th touchdown pass of the year and Moss' 23rd TD reception. It came with 11:06 remaining.
Brady beat Peyton Manning's mark of 49 touchdown passes and Moss broke Jerry Rice's record of 22 TD receptions. And the Patriots finished with an incredible 589 points for the season, another single-season record.
Once the victory was clinched, Belichick was barely more animated than usual. He shared hugs with players and assistant coaches on the sideline, but there was no thought of carrying him off on the Patriots' shoulders or dumping Gatorade all over him.
That will have to wait for three more wins -- if they come.
"It's a great feeling," Belichick admitted. "Now is the time to take a day or two and appreciate what this team has done, but at the same time we have our biggest game of the year coming up. Pretty soon we need to turn the page and move on."
Who knows, the Patriots might even find the Giants on one of the next pages, especially if Eli Manning again resembles his vaunted older brother.
"We didn't win the game, but if you saw everybody in the locker room, everybody was excited," Manning said. "I never saw a locker room so upbeat after a loss because we played so well, did some good things and hung in there in a game where we didn't have to play. We wanted to. We wanted to come out and play well, and we did that."
The Giants (10-6), already guaranteed a playoff game against Tampa Bay next weekend and with little to play for except spoiling New England's perfect ride, led 28-16 in the third quarter. It was the Patriots' largest deficit all year as the Giants showed no fear and plenty of versatility, scoring the most points New England allowed in a game during this remarkable run.
Manning threw for four touchdowns and Domenik Hixon, in his first game as New York's primary kick returner, went 74 yards for a score 11 seconds after Brady and Moss tied their respective records.
Not to worry. These Patriots are unflappable, and they matched their comebacks in wins over Dallas, Indianapolis, Philadelphia and Baltimore earlier in the season. A 73-yard drive ended with Laurence Maroney's 6-yard run to make it 28-23 with 4:00 to go in the third period.
Then came the most familiar of scenes: Brady dropping back, winding up and hitting a wide-open Moss in stride for a touchdown. The final go-ahead TD in their perfect year.
"What I'm most proud of is playing a playoff team on the road that was playing extremely hard," Brady said. "We found a way to come back and win. We did the same thing at Dallas. We did the same thing at Indy. We've been in some tough games.
"Everyone is going to enjoy this one. It happens once every 35 years."
Although many are eager to hail these Patriots as the NFL's all-time best, such acclaim won't come unless they win two playoff games and their fourth Super Bowl this decade. And for those who might deny such greatness considering the "Spygate" scandal, well, 19-0 would speak pretty loudly.
Certainly louder than any postgame celebrations at Giants Stadium, the same building where they were caught videotaping New York Jets assistant coaches in Week 1, a rules violation that cost Belichick and the franchise $750,000 in fines and a 2008 first-round draft choice. That made Belichick even more close-mouthed and dour than usual, and his team followed his lead -- right to 16-0.
The Giants opened the game as if they were, well, the Patriots, driving 74 yards, sparked by a 52-yard completion on which Plaxico Burress outleapt Ellis Hobbs for Manning's jump-ball throw. Brandon Jacobs broke Tedy Bruschi's tackle to score on a 7-yard reception for a 7-0 lead.
Naturally, the Patriots, the highest-scoring team in NFL history, struck back. After Stephen Gostkowski's 37-yard field goal, New England went on top -- and surpassed Minnesota's league mark of 556 points -- on the record-tying 4-yard TD pass from Brady to Moss, who soared above rookie Aaron Ross for the score.
The 10-7 lead lasted all of 11 seconds. The usually staid Patriots gathered around Moss as he did a dance in the end zone, prompting a 15-yard excessive celebration penalty. Belichick argued the call with referee Mike Carey, perhaps sensing how costly it might be.
It was as Hixon sped 74 yards untouched to lift the Giants back in front.
"There is nothing but positives," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "I told the players in playing this game everything would be positives, there would be no negatives and that is how I feel.
"I don't know any better way to be prepared for the playoffs than to go against a team that was 15-0."
Gostkowski kicked two more field goals as the Patriots grabbed a 16-14 lead with 1:59 left in the half.
That's when Manning, coming off several rough games, was at his best, leading a quick 85-yard drive that included a rare scramble for 11 yards just before he found Kevin Boss in the middle of the end zone with 13 seconds remaining. The 21-16 deficit was only the second time New England has trailed at halftime this season; the other was to the older Manning and the Colts.
But with such a potent offense, the Patriots never are out of any game. Once they got the lead, they closed it out with another touchdown drive, Maroney scoring from the 5. Manning hit Burress again from 3 yards with 1:04 to go, but New England recovered the onside kick.
"We're down 10 or 11 (actually 12) in the third quarter, the crowd was into it, and we found a way to win," Brady said. "That's the way it's going to be down the stretch ... just hope we can continue to play this kind of football."
Notes: Brady finished 32-for-42 for 356 yards, while Manning was 22-for-32 for 251 yards and the only interception. ... The other teams to go unbeaten in a season were the 1934 and 1942 Chicago Bears; both lost in the NFL title game. ... New England also set a league mark with 75 touchdowns. ... The Giants lost center Shaun O'Hara, backup safety Craig Dahl and linebacker Kawika Mitchell, all with knee injuries, and cornerback Sam Madison with an abdominal strain.
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