When Bad Things Happen to Good People

Imagine the conversation.

Bill: Richard, can you please step into my office?
Richard: Sure, coach. What's up?
Bill: Have a seat. We've traded you to Oakland.
Richard: Whaa....
Bill: You've done a bang up job here with the Patriots, don't get me wrong. But the opportunity came up to fleece them again and I couldn't resist.
Richard: Wait. Please. Hold on a minute. Let's not do anything rash.
Bill: They gave us an unconditional first round pick in 2011. Thanks for the hard work but you need to go pack your things. Tom Cable should be giving you a call.
Richard: Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Talk about a worst possible landing spot for a good guy - at least a year in the 9th circle of Hell, given it's the last year of his contract (due $3.7 million, by the way). Of course, lots of upside opportunity (read: no place to go but up) there but Oakland is sure to win at most 7 games? 6? ...giving the Patriots a high pick. I think Belichick has stones the size of... a football field. A quote from Belichick on day two of Seymour not yet reporting to Raiders' camp:

"There's a lot of things that Richard did well," Belichick said in his first remarks since Sunday's written statement announcing the trade for Oakland's first-round draft pick in 2011, "but that's the way it is and we're moving forward and our team's moving forward."

Wow. A smart move, in my opinion, on a big name before the last year of a big contract. Short term it hurts the Patriots, but I really like this move long term. I think very few coaches would make a move like this, yet Belichick has made these moves an art form. What say you?

photo credit: pkeleher via flickr

New York Props / Humble Pie

Back at the end of November, I took a few swipes at the various New York sports teams.
I just want to take a second now to acknowledge I was "slightly" off in my predictions that the Pats would dismantle both NY football teams...since they won by a total of 13 points.
( Put my plate of humble pie here, 2 slices please )

I give the Giants their props on coming back from a tough 0-2 start and a few tough losses to win so many road games and give the Pats all they could handle to make it to the Super Bowl.
I was very happy they beat the Cowboys and quite surprised they outlasted the Packers in
that miserable weather in Green Bay.

They are surely playing inspired football since that tough loss to the Pats.
But after reading this, another nice Greg Garber article on ESPN.com, I can see where the Giants true inspiration came from. Certainly worth a few minutes to read it.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs07/columns/story?columnist=garber_greg&id=3222397&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1

A very good story and timely reminder of real perseverance.

So good luck on Sunday to the New York Football Giants and New England Patriots.
May the better ( and undefeated ) team win.
Enjoy the game everyone !

New York Beatings...may they continue..

First of all Aaron..my belated thanks for the kind words Monday regarding my 40th b-day. It sure has been a fun and exciting friendship the last 30+ years and hopefully many more. But one thing we have always enjoyed was sports and occasionally a little schadenfreude.. which brings us to the current sad state of New York sports compared to what we are enjoying in Boston.
You have to admit it has never been this good in Boston and that bad in NYC. For the 3 sports that matter in Boston I mean..
The new Celtics just put a 50 point whupping on the Knicks last night ( 45 points whatever ) which doesn't really show how good the C's are but really how bad and pathetic the Knicks are.
They were a mess way before the whole Isaiah sex-harrassment suit, and have done nothing to improve themselves but they may want to clean house by having Dolan fire himself and "little Zeke" and maybe turn them over to the capable sons of Steinbrenner Hank and Hal so they can trade for Kobe and sign him to a 20 year 900 million dollar contract extension and re-hire Larry Brown.
And the hits keep coming...
After the Spy-gate nonsense with the Patriots/Jets and the upcoming shellacking on Dec 16th (talk about 50 point beatings), and then the Football Giants turn to get abused just 2 weeks later, it should be a Merry X-mas and a Happy New Year for all Pats fans after watching them dismantle both NY football teams on the way towards hopefully an undefeated season and a victory in The Big Game ( no royalties paid for saying S___r B__l )
And last but not least..
The best rivalry in sports will get a lot better if Johan Santana lands in EITHER Boston or NYC this weekend or during the winter meetings next week. Honestly I would like nothing other than to step on the throats of the Yankees for the next 5-6 years by having Santana paired with Beckett and Dice-K in the rotation. The Sox are dealing clearly from a postion of strength after winning the World Series, having a farm system overstocked with talented prospects and of course tons of cash..so they win big by landing the prized lefty.
Even if he ends up in pinstripes it will certainly add to the drama ( OK the ridiculous over the top madness) that is Sox-Yanks and that would mean the Yanks have paid dearly in players/prospects and dollars. All of this after the very enjoyable A-Rod fiasco, (Thanks Boras and thank god he is not here) the gobs of cash given to Jorge,Mariano,Abreu ad all to keep up with the Sox, keep up with the Sox.. sounds funny doesn't it ?

**
But, being a hockey player since I was a kid, I feel I should add the Bruins to the mix since they are on the verge of becoming semi-relevant.. but there is no real Bruins - Rangers stuff to discuss but I have this.. enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8K7roZu3WU&mode=related&search

Last Night of the Patriots Dynasty?

I'm going to break ranks from the baseball talk for a second because I need help with some football questions. Namely, why is everybody bending over backwards to hail the Patriots for these free agent signings -- particularly the receivers? What in the name of Daniel Snyder is going on here?

Let's recap for a second WHY the Patriots needed to sign free agent wide receivers:

1) They've received little to no return on the first round draft pick they spent a year ago on Chad Jackson
2) The highly touted tight end position -- and the assumed ascension of Ben Watson -- hasn't really played out
3) Their best receiver is suiting up for the Seahawks, their most consistent playoff receiver is in Tennessee and the replacements for those two may have cost the team home field in the AFC title game last year

The bottom line is: the Patriots' mismanagement of the receiver position may have ultimately cost them the Super Bowl last year. In response, they've gone out and obtained Wes Welker, Donta Stallworth and Kelley Washington. While Welker has been productive, Stallworth is in the drug program and Washington hasn't even had 400 yards receiving in a season (shades of the David Terrell signing last year). Why do I get the feeling that these guys are on the Patriots roster because they were all that was out there on the market? It seems to me that the Patriots have been backed into a corner at this position to the point where they have had to scrap some of the criteria they use for evaluating players before signing them. This is a new direction for their front office -- and one that certainly hasn't worked well for others such as the Redskins.