Tag Archives: Football

Patriots trade for Randy Moss

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Never thought I would see this happen. The Patriots have traded for WR Randy Moss.

I wonder what Bill Belichick will do with him…Moss isn’t exactly known for his work ethic. If any team can turn around Moss, it is the Patriots. I am really excited to see him and Tom Brady play catch, as this is by far the strongest group of receivers the Pats ever had. They will have great depth and if someone dares to double-team Moss, a lot of single coverage for the other Pats receivers.

If it doesn’t work out, it is just a 4th round pick that the Patriots gave up…a 4th round pick in a draft that they apparently don’t like.

Maybe this is the year Brady gets to add a regular season MVP and ring #5 to his resume.

Random brain dump

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Some random stuff that I have been meaning to write about:

  • What is up with the weather? Tonight it is going hit -2 degrees according to weather.com and my morning commute looks like it will be in the 4 degree range. It is so cold that my stereo system in my car takes a few minutes to heat up before it will talk with my iPod (note to self: gotta get that fixed). By 3:00pm on Saturday (roughly 42 hours from now), it will be 47 degrees out and all next week we will be flirting with 50 degrees. Welcome to spring in New Hampshire.
  • It has been about 9 weeks since I started using Invisalign braces. I just started aligner set #5 (of 12 for my bottom teeth, of 24 for my top teeth), so I am almost halfway done the bottom teeth and almost a quarter done the top teeth. I switch to a new set of aligners 2 weeks on Wednesday. Usually by Friday (48 hours or so), my mouth is no longer sore from the new set and I can easily take them off. So really, it is just 2 days of being sore and having a relatively difficult time taking them off. I think that with the last set is the first time I think I started to notice something, but it is tough to tell since each set does such a small amount of change on its own. I think I will have to look at the before/after photos to really appreciate the amount of change.
  • I have a good feeling about the Red Sox this year. This is one of the deepest starting rotations around (even deeper then 2004′s) if everyone stays healthy. The offense looks pretty well rounded. Only concern is the bullpen, but those are always a crapshoot and it is the one thing Theo can’t seem to get together (outside of 2004).
  • Speaking about good feelings, how about the Patriots? They are schooling everyone in free agency. So much for being “cheap” like some members of the media (*cough* Ron Borges *cough*) think they are.
  • On the other hand, those Celtics are doing a great job working for that #1 (or #2) pick!
  • On the geek front, the DST changes are a bane to my existence. This is one of those (many) times where the government did more harm then good…why break something that was working fine? I think at work we got everything patched up on the Windows side, but I am worried about Lotus Notes…calendar systems are really weird to begin with when it comes to time zones. Nothing can be simple and easy I guess.
  • I have been reading Barack Obama’s two books and I don’t think I ever been more impressed with a politician. He is exactly the type of leader that should be President.
  • Tomorrow marks the return of me to the gym at work. Actually, technically I returned yesterday when I got fitness tested (being entered in a drawing for a new iPod had nothing to do with that, I swear). So anyways, tomorrow I going to restart working out and be very sore this weekend.

Super Bowl XLI Prediction

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I couldn’t care less who wins Super Bowl XVI tomorrow. I am just not interested in the Colts winning or the Bears winning.

No, I am not bitter because the Patriots aren’t in the big game. After all, we had three Super Bowl wins in six seasons…who could be disappointed with a record like that (ok, maybe WEEI or the Knights of the Keyboard, but who cares about them)? I am forever grateful to experience a dynasty like that. Heck, you could argue the dynasty is continuing still thanks to nearly making the Super Bowl again.

I just don’t care for either team playing tomorrow.

I will never cheer for the Colts (especially Peyton Manning), especially since I am sure the Patriots and Colts will face each other many more times in the near future. You don’t cheer for your mortal enemy. Although I do have to say, I am intrigued to see if Peyton will resurrect his choking daemons…

Why should I cheer for the Bears too? After all, they massacred beat the Pats 20 or so years ago in the Super Bowl. While they have a very good defense, I have never been sold on Rex Grossman. You just have to look back at earlier this season, when the Pats picked off Grossman 3 times in a 17-13 victory over the Bears. How this guy is a quarterback for a Super Bowl team is beyond me.

So which team do I pick?

I predict a very close game…after all, any blow out will just bore me and I am always up for a good football game.

The Bears will win…if they pick off Peyton several times and score points directly from those picks. Grossman will not win the game for the Bears and the Colts defense certainly won’t win the game themselves. The battle is simple: Peyton vs. Da Bears defense. If Peyton gets into a rhythm and can wear out the Bears defense, the Bears are done…as no one can rely on Grossman gunslinging to a Super Bowl victory.

However…I have been wrong many times before. I am human after all…

Super Bowl XL

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Well time for that Super Bowl XL post.

I have had a hard time getting into this year’s Super Bowl. Any other year and I would be dissecting every angle of the game, trying to figure out who has a chance to win. I would be having many conversations with co-workers, friends, and family about the matchups. After all, the Super Bowl is the cap to the football season…even if your team isn’t in it. Heck, growing up, having the Patriots in the Super Bowl seemed like a bonus.

The Patriots not being in it for the first time since 2002 has put me in a depressed mode though. When you are emotionally involved in three out of the past four Super Bowls (nevermind having that “oh my god we won” feeling in each of those three appearances), you get used to that feeling that the Pats were invincible…that nothing could take them down.

Even in that awful game against Denver, when Brady suddenly became mortal for the first time in his playoff career…every Pats fan still had that feeling that we could somehow, someway, figure out a way to write a comeback again. Our luck ran out though.

Right now I am watching the hour 20 of the pregame show (this almost feels like an episode of 24) and I still can’t get into it like I used to. You win so much in a four season period and it just feels weird not playing in early February.

So onto the game…

I think Seattle can pull this one out. I’m going to say 28-24 Seattle. Should be a great game between two very good/solid teams.

As long as the Steelers lose, I am happy :)

Top 10 Sports Moments

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Kevin Drum posts an interesting list on his blog…his personal Top 10 Sports Moments that he saw either live in person or live on TV.

Here is mine (note: these are the only ones that I either attended or watched on TV, and that I actually remember):

  1. The final out of Game 4 of the 2004 World Series…with me tearing up right before hand and bursting out crying afterwards, rolling on the ground while my girlfriend looked at me in disbelief.
  2. Games 4-7 of the 2004 ALCS: The most improbable comeback in sports history began with a epic 14-inning game and Big Papi’s walk-off HR…the next day saw another epic 14-inning game with a walk-off single by Big Papi (notice a trend here…)…a couple days later, Curt Schilling pitches on one leg and throws a gem, and Game 7 Johnny Damon and the Red Sox mopped up the mess that was the New York Yankees.
  3. 2001 Super Bowl: Less then a minute left, tie game, no timeouts, and everyone (including infamously John Madden) outside of New England telling Tom Brady to run the clock out for overtime. Brady instead executes a perfect drive into field goal range and Vinatieri nails the game winning field goal as time expires…the first walk-off field goal in Super Bowl history.
  4. The Snow Game: It had everything, from a full-blown blizzard, a controversal call (Tuck Rule), the first of Tom Brady’s now famous comebacks, overtime, and the most clutch/hardest/spectacular field goals in NFL history by Adam Vinatieri.
  5. 2001 World Series: Rivera blows up and the Yankees lose in Game 7.
  6. Pedro comes out of the pen: Game 5 of the 1999 ALDS vs. the Indians. An offensive slugfest, with neither side’s pitching able to hold down the fort and it is just 3 innings into the game. Pedro, injured early in the series with a pulled muscle in his back and written off by everyone, all the sudden emerges from the bullpen and enters the game. The crowd in Cleveland goes silent, the Indians players stare with facial expressions that were well into that fear territory…everyone watches Pedro in horror, realizing that the game was over…it was with 6 perfect innings from a pitcher that lost 10 MPH off of his pitches due to his injury. Later described by him as the most pain he has ever pitched through…by far.
  7. Kerry Wood’s 20 strikeout game: I have never seen a pitcher so unstoppable…his curveball was FILTHY and his performance was even better then Roger Clemens’ 20-strikeout games (1 of which I saw).
  8. Jordan’s “last” shot: We all thought this was his last ever shot and what a great way to go out as it turned out to be the winning basket. But MJ had to ruin this…
  9. Ray Bourgue finally does it: Ray didn’t win it with his beloved Bruins, but he finally got his Stanley Cup. Another event that made me cry with joy and the only time I have ever cried when it did not involve a hometown team. For a week and a half, all of New England was a Colorado fan.
  10. Greatest comeback in NBA Playoff History: The Celtics were down over 20 points in the 4th quarter against with minutes to play and pull off the greatest comeback in NBA playoff history.