Odds and Sods

Any Boston Team: Since there has been a New England, it has been universally disliked.  People have an active hatred for the education, the conceit and the image of the snobbish Boston Brahmin.  There has been an upsurge of disquietude with Boston teams since they’ve been successful.  The Red Sox have a large payroll.  The Patriots have Bill Belichick and Spygate.  But the hatred of Boston teams is time and success specific, not a general trait.

New York Yankees: This one requires no thought.  Every casual fan not of Yankee ilk hates the Yankees.  True baseball fans hate them even more passionately.

Los Angeles Lakers: People do despise the Lakers.  They are successful.  They are from Los Angeles.  Kobe Bryant eludes likability for numerous reasons.  But it is a passive rather than an active hatred.  When thrust into their face, people root against them.  But no one actively checks scores and cheers when the Lakers lose.

Ohio State Unviersity: Ohio State does not belong on this list, and this is coming from a Michigan fan.  They aren’t the most hated school regionally, Notre Dame.  Michigan are more maligned in the Big Ten (see the 1973 Big Ten Title Decision).  Notre Dame football and Duke basketball are far more universally disliked.

Chelsea: Chelsea is an incongruous choice because they are English-based.  English  fans dislike the arrogance, the money, the knuckle dragging football and the baby Bentley sense of entitlement.  But, I am not sure the hatred is really of the same magnitude as in American sports.  Chelsea doesn’t have a major rival.  The other successful clubs Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal also have their detractors.  There are also clubs like Newcastle and Leeds that are often maligned.  It just seems out of place.

Omissions: I mentioned two before, Duke Basketball and Notre Dame football.  I would throw the Dallas Cowboys in there as well.  My general critique is that there should be a tradition of hatred and it should transcend rivalry.  Only the Yankees, the Cowboys, Duke and Notre Dame really fulfill that.

There is a golden rule in football - if you are bigger and faster, you are quite often better.

In keeping with that maxim, the New England Patriots have resigned free-agent wide-receiver Randy Moss to a three-year $27 million contract.  The deal includes $15 million in guaranteed money, $12 million from a signing bonus.

Moss reportedly (Boston Herald) declined a more lucrative offer from the Philadelphia Eagles to join the Kevin Kolb revolution.

He had perhaps the best season of his (or anyone’s) career in 2007, amassing 98 receptions, 1,493 yards and an NFL-record 23 touchdowns.

Healthy and happy, he was the physical freak from his Minnesota days, with fleet feet surpassing cornerbacks with ease.

The Patriots reignited Moss’s desire to play last season, and he performed fantastically individually.  But, even more importantly, he served as a powerful decoy that facilitated the flow of the passing game by creating space for others.  Whether he touched the ball or not, Randy Moss elevated the Patriots offense from superb to super-human.

The finalized deal makes sense for fans, organization and player.  Only a nattering negative Nancy could find a problem with this deal and probably one who would do so in trite cliches to boot.

The Philadelphia Eagles signed former Patriots CB Asante Samuel to a 6-year $57 million contract today, the first day of NFL Free Agency.

Samuel, 27, was an All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection last season. He has 22 career interceptions and two Super Bowl rings.

The Eagles hope that Samuel will upgrade their pitiful pass defense from the past season. The team intercepted only eleven passes in 2007 and scored no defensive touchdowns.

But, is Asante Samuel really an upgrade? More importantly, is he a $57 million upgrade?

Philadelphia already has a two-time Pro Bowl CB in Lito Sheppard. Both players are the same age. Sheppard has 17 career interceptions and has played one more season. One could make the argument that Samuel is the better player, but better enough to justify the decadent dime?

There is the question of how good Samuel really is. He failed to foment a fire at the draft, not taken until the second day. The Patriots may have found a hidden talent, but it is also possible, particularly given their history, that they found merely a player who could perform well in their system.

Samuel does have staggering interception numbers, but skill only comprises part of that. One reason a player may rack up interceptions is because quarterbacks do not fear throwing at him. Another could be that an effective front seven affects how a quarterback throws and increases the number of mistakes.

There also should be character questions. The guy who holds out of training camp and has “get rich to this” tattooed on his arm does not appear one to lead by example.

At face value, the signing appears dubious. But, with the aforementioned considerations, it might prove a disaster.

Despite the cautions, however, the Eagles are enamored with their new acquisition. “We regarded Asante as the number one available free agent,” owner Jeffrey Lurie told AP.

This was undoubtedly news to Donovan McNabb, given that both Randy Moss and Jerry Porter were available free agents to upgrade their woeful Wide Receiver position.

Samuel seems pleased with his new team as well. “I just want a chance to be able to win and get back to the Super Bowl,” Samuel told AP.

Of course, the best way to have a chance to win is to leave a team that went 16-0 last season for an 8-8 team that plays in the same division as the Cowboys (Best Record NFC) and Giants (Super Bowl Champions).

The Eagles flirtatiously flashed their cash, but, fifty-seven million dollars later, they remain only marginally improved.

If Lito Sheppard ends up a Patriot, it is entirely possible that they were outfoxed again. And this time. Arlen Specter cannot bail them out.

The Associated Press is reporting that former St. Louis Rams player Willie Gary “and others” are suing the New England Patriots in U.S. District Court in New Orleans for $100 million dollars. The suit reportedly names Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft and head coach Bill Belichick. Note: The Odds and Sods is not suggesting the identity of one of the aforementioned others by displaying the aforementioned photo. Nor are we wink-winking or nudge-nudging.

From an amateur legal analysis, the plantiffs would have to prove that the Patriots cheated without documented evidence. They would then have to prove that said cheating affected the game outcome. And, they would then have to justify why said cheating which led to said outcome entitles them to $100 million in compensation. Good luck with that.

Thank you, Arlen Specter!

Tom Petty’s words never proved more prescient as he encompassed the very feeling that would hours later engulf all of New England.

It was a night for history, the media monster maintained. A pursuit of perfection. The champagne was on ice. The riot squad was out en force. The panegyric was written (in The Globe’s case it was available for pre-order on Amazon). Even Dan Shaughnessy could not envision disaster. But it was not to be.

There were no smiles. There was no champagne. No guttural roar. And no celebratory kiss. There was only a blank stare at the floor, and a lecture from my girlfriend about how I was not a member of the team and that this had no tangible effect on my life. Nervous elation plunged straight into darkness. This must be what it is like to walk into a living room and find Chris Hansen.

I searched for logic in my explanation and found none. I blamed Belichick for having the audacity to change hoodies. I blamed Gisele for being a Brazilian Yoko Ono. I thought of Eli Manning’s favorite show, and asked whether I had entered the Bizarro World. There was no rationalization that accounted for the best regular season team to play in a Super Bowl to be staved off by arguably the worst.

There were many accomplishments for the Patriots this year, some of them great. They are the only team to go 16-0 in the regular season. They had perhaps the best offense in NFL History. Tom Brady and Randy Moss set historic records. They were a profoundly lucky throw and an absurd catch away from perfection.

However, there is only one word that can describe the season, failure. The stated goal of every team at the beginning of NFL Training Camp is to win the Super Bowl. It is that simple. It is what the Patriots’ dynasty was built upon. It is where legends are made. It was where Tom Brady became Tom Brady. You can have the finest beurre blanc sauce and thick succulent slabs of bacon, but if the scallops are off you’re still going to get sick.

This season was not enjoyable. The beginning was fun. The blowouts were a blast. We saw perhaps the best football that has ever been played. But, the dynamic soon shifted. The Pats were no longer vintage Mike Tyson pummeling people with ease. We were Muhammad Ali fending off George Foreman week after week. Philadelphia, Baltimore, the Giants. Everyone threw the kitchen sink at us. We had to grind out playoff victories. It was no longer about winning. It was about surviving.

For the fans and indeed for the players, the goal became not losing, which is when it becomes trouble. Winning the Super Bowl for the Patriots was not going to be joy, but relief. Relief from the Brobdingnagian burden heaped upon them by the Mercury Morris-fueled media at every turn. Lions fans could innocently hope for mediocrity. Patriots fans had to claw tenaciously at the unattainable, only to lose grip at the peak and fall into a 72′ Dolphins infested cavern.

The major issue being debated is whether this tarnishes the legacy. The answer is no. You are defined by your accomplishments, not your failure. No one will go back and ask Shakespeare why Measure for Measure sucked. Assuming Tom Brady’s Super Bowl winning days are over, he will be in the Hall of Fame. Ditto for Belichick. Does anyone ask Elway about the three Super Bowls he lost? How often does Parcells’ 1996 Super Bowl loss with the Patriots get brought up?

There is the “specter” (pun intended) of a certain Senator from Pennsylvania and his one man crusade to forfeit a Super Bowl victory to the Eagles. But. in the grand scheme of things, it will be about as important as the steroid scandals were to the 1970’s Steelers. Translation, not at all.

In truth, my girlfriend was right. The Patriots’ loss has no tangible effect on my life (Aside from the oncoming fusion of Peyton and Eli Manning’s combined commercial power into an unchained behemoth known as Uber-Manning that will eventually throw off the chains of television’s oppression and destroy us all).
I should be satiated on sweet victory wine, having not seen my football or baseball teams lose since Mid-October. So, just this once, I will be beneficent.

Congratulations, Giants Fans. Patience is a virtue, and one which you have displayed proudly this season with your unyielding support of Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning. Congratulations to you, sweat-browed stallion, with a heart (and many chains) of gold. Congratulations to you as well, lugubrious lass, who serenades us all with the dulcit tones of your Long Island accent. And, most of all, congratulations to you, New York-based media personality. No one would dare accuse you of bandwagon jumping or reading the players’ names off a cue card.

To everyone in New York, a hearty congratulations, your humility and grace is an example for us all.