Sports

Tom Brady gets some perspective on God’s values

Looks like Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots, is finally getting some perspective on his life after the personal and professional turmoil of the last couple of years. He tells Esquire that his value in the eyes of God is not as a quarterback.

Look at the attention I get: It’s because I throw a football. But that’s what society values. That’s not what God values,” Brady said. “He didn’t invent the game. We did. I have some eye-hand coordination, and I can throw the ball. I don’t think that matters to God.”

Incidentally, Brady’s dad is a Catholic deacon. I met him a couple of years ago when he spoke at Proud2BCatholic. Nice guy dealing firsthand with a son whose fame comes with a price.

Anyway, I hope Brady Jr. continues on his spiritual journey.

 

Good sportsmanship

An inspiring story of good sportsmanship by two college women’s softball teams competing for a championship.

All is forgiven, Bill Buckner

Bill Buckner threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park on Opening Day and you don’t have to be Red Sox fan to know what that means. Most any baseball fan can tell you that Buckner is the first baseman who let a dribbling grounder roll through his legs and past his glove in Game 6 of the 1986 World Series and began the momentum shift in favor the New York Mets.

It was unfair, really, to blame it on Buck because the whole team lost Game 7 (not to mention the pitcher didn’t get over there to back up Buckner on that play). Unfortunately, for the hapless Sox and their fans who had been waiting since 1918 for that elusive World Series championship, Buckner became the symbol of that ignominious defeat, synonymous with goat. (A late night joke of the era: “What do Michael Jackson and Bill Buckner have in common? They both one glove for absolutely no reason.” Another one: “Did you hear Bill Buckner tried to kill himself after Game 6? Yeah, he stepped in front of a bus… but it went between his legs.”)

It wasn’t the first time Buckner had been applauded by Boston fans since that fateful day.

On Tuesday, however, Buckner was received with applause and cheers by a hometown crowd as it celebrated the second World Series win since that day of nightmares. Some cynics might say that the fans would not be so magnanimous had the Sox not won the Series yet but I would point out that it wasn’t the first time Buckner had been applauded by Boston fans since that fateful day.

I don’t remember exactly when it was but it was sometime in the 1988 or 1989 seasons, when the wounds were still fresh. A group of guys I was working with in a factory in my hometown decided to take off into town that night and get standing-room tickets to the Sox game against the Kansas City Royals. We got in well before the start of the game, while on-field warmups were still underway and we stood above the left field foul line, near the Green Monster, watching the fielders work. Bill Buckner was playing for them now and the abuse rained down on him from bitter fans as he fielded some balls. But then on one grounder hit right at him, he pretended to flub it, lifting his glove comically and with obvious intention. It was not malicious, but humorous and it was the perfect antidote. Immediately the cheers turned to laughter and then applause as the fans in the stands understood that Buckner knew. He knew where he stood in the annals of baseball history and made clear that he was willing to acknowledge the label that had been attached to him.

It couldn’t have been easy being Bill Buckner for the past 22 years, although it probably got a little easier when the pressure came off in October 2004. Perhaps now, in 2008, Buckner can finally leave that burden behind. For the fans, it’s only a game and our jeers at the TV and the ballpark get left behind when the rest of life comes around. But for a man who made baseball his life, being made the goat would be a bitter pill you’d carry with you every day.

Good on you, Bill Buckner, for showing some class, and good on you, Red Sox fans, for returning the favor with a standing ovation. Now let’s enjoy the fruits of the labor of the current crop of boys of summer and leave the past where it belongs. Play ball!

 

This says it all

Link

Super Bowl hangover, or is it depression?

I suppose a Super Bowl post-mortem would be appropriate, since I’ve done one every time the Patriots won.

First, I want to congratulate New York Giants fans. Yours was the better team last night. The Patriots were merely mortal and Tom Brady was not his usual stellar self, but that aside, the Giants defense was explosive and aggressive against a porous Pats offensive line and the Giants offense scored when it counted.

In the previous 18 games this season, the Patriots had some lucky breaks—last-minute penalties, lucky bounces, incredible catches—that they didn’t get on Sunday and thus they were denied a definitive statement of their uniqueness among football teams. Nevertheless, they still accomplished a lot this season. Among their superlatives is the only 18-win season and the best offense ever.

And there aren’t many footballs fans who can say that the first time they experience their team lose in a season happened in February.

It was a good season that I wished could have ended better. And, again, congratulations to the New York Giants and their fans.

P.S. It was mighty subdued in my office today.

 

Perfect!

Contrary to popular myth, big games have never come easy for the Patriots. Each of their Super Bowl wins has been by just three points. Teams that others think the Pats should beat handily make a squeaker of it. It’s just the way it is for the heart-attack Patriots under Bill Belichick.

So it was no surprise to me that the Patriots did not crush the New York Giants by three touchdowns last night. Neither was I surprised that they defeated them in the end and that the game in the end was not as close as the score indicates.

What was very evident to me was that the Patriots, especially Tom Brady, were having a good time. Even after a promising drive bogged down and they had to punt, Brady could be seen on the sidelines looking loose, talking happily and animatedly with this teammates, perhaps saying something, “Dang, we should have had that. Here’s what we do next time…”

Let’s also not discount the importance of so-called “lucky breaks”. For any time to go undefeated, they need plenty of timely errors by the other teams, penalties that go their way, and officiating mistakes in their favor. Every team gets them occasionally and most bear the brunt of opponents getting them, too. This season the Patriots got more than their fair share of lucky breaks.

By the way, can we all agree that the announcing team of Bryant Gumbel and Chris Collinsworth were the best argument against watching games on the NFL Network. In a close second place was constant, not-so-subtle campaigning in their battle with the cable systems to be made part of basic subscription packages that almost made it impossible for me—and millions of other fans throughout the country—to see this historic game.

The big debate at the end of the game is whether the 16-0 record will be meaningless if the Patriots don’t win the Super Bowl. I think as far as comparisons with the 1972 Miami Dolphins and the title of the Greatest Team Evah, then yes, they will have to win it all. That’s never been in doubt, in my mind. Nevertheless, running off a string of 16 straight, regular season wins is an accomplishment that stands all alone, specially in this age of the salary cap and league-induced parity.

That’s not to put in doubt that the Patriots will win it all. While all the teams in the playoffs are formidable opponents, the Patriots have proven they can beat them all. The Colts, the Steelers, and the Chargers have all fallen victim to the Perfect Season. They could fall again. Yet I won’t be comfortable until they’re all in the rear-view mirror and I hope to be celebrating in February the first 19-0 Perfect Season and the undisputed era of the New England Patriots dynasty.

Quote of the Day

On the plus side, however, since his namesake is in every paper every damn day of the week, there’s a very good chance that Alex Rodriguez will poop on himself.

Laid-Off Dad

Patriots Red Zone in the Razor rap

My brother-in-law Pete sent along this New England Patriots-themed hip hop song from a Houston Catholic rap singer called D Major. It's not my usual cup of tea, but I like it. Here are the lyrics:

Chorus
In the Razor
the Patriot stadium
foes afraid of them
Visiting team looked mean
til New England Tom Brady’ed them
80% completion percentage
they rated them
some radios hated them
now they don’t know what to say to them
3 Super bowls, and they look’n for more (what!)
Patriots got it popp’n baby this year for sure!
You ain’t never seen a team give it to em that raw
Take em to the Red Zone keep ahead in the score

Verse 1
It's the Super Bowl 42
with Wes Welker spin’n like Spider man with smooth moves that never bore you
and Seymour too, yeah he was injured,
but he’s back to give ya havoc like Moss with sticky fingers
They keep it hot, heat’n up for Arizona
Teddy B’s gonna getcha, Rodney’s got ya number
on the road or home, Patroits are on throne
and you’ll end up look’n week, just when you think you’re looking strong
and they cool sipp’n Beli-aid, everyday
on the field give’n these sucka teams belly ache
Chomp’n that, Humble pie, the Pats are on the rise
When they play they just sing the opposition a lulla bye
wonder why? Pioli’s the man with the master plan to draft
a team full of passion man
to smash on real, give Bob Kraft a hand
From him to Bill to players mad skill that slam!

Chorus repeat

Verse 2
Now the media be hate’n and bending all out of shape but
they ain’t made us, we home grown in grey hoodie tree
They say we gonna loose but they QB just threw another interception
thanks now you can give me three
Once upon time, your team was doing fine
til your quarterback got sacked flat on his behind
now its our time! Patriots are gonna shine
soon the oppose’n coach’ll be the locker room cry’n
Oww… you thought Polian would help you too?
Like he helped the Colts win make’n bogus rules?
No! that don’t mean a thang to the Hard Hitt’n gang
The Dynasty of the decade, don’t forget it mayne!
The best in the league, the top of the crop
top notch dopp’n touch downs hard as rock
again i say The best in the league, the top of the crop
not to up-stage the Sox, but the Pats are un-stopped

Chorus repeat

It's not the Super Bowl Shuffle. It's much better.

Carrying on the tradition

I was wearing my Red Sox World Series championship shirt today and Isabella noticed the Red Sox logo on it. She pointed at it and said, “Socks.” That’s one of her few words, although she’s learning more every day.

(She knows how to say, “Niiice” after a really good play by the Patriots, how to say “Touchdown” and raise her arms to signal the score, and how to say and do a high-five. All the important stuff.)

So when she recognized the logo, I said, “That’s right, honey, Red Sox.” So during prayers tonight, she kept pointing at my shirt and saying over and over, “Socks, socks, Red Sox, socks.”

A new member of Red Sox Nation has been naturalized a citizen. Melanie just rolled her eyes.

Sox!

I suppose I should have blogged about the Red Sox wonderful World Series win already but: (1) I’m still exhausted from staying up late watching it and (2) I don’t have much to add. It’s not like I watched a lot of games this season, being distracted and all.

Yet, it’s good to see them win. This time is different from 2004 because there isn’t the whiff of desperation of eight decades of losing and because this year’s team looks ready to build on this success. This is a young team looking to build on its future.

As for the Colorado Rockies and their fans, they are a class act, just like the St. Louis Cardinals and their fans in 2004— and not at all like those Denver Broncos and their fans. Seriously, what the Rockies accomplished cannot be underestimated and they provided an object lesson for the future that an eight-day layoff is a danger not to be underestimated.

Tomorrow is the big victory parade in Boston. Gerald Augustinus happens to be in town this week—good timing!—and while I won’t be able to connect with him unfortunately, I think he’ll be able to get some great photos of the parade. Good for him! Can’t wait to see them.

And so the offseason begins, where talks turns to trades and contracts. By the way, nice of A Rod’s agent, Scott Boras, to horn in on the World Series spotlight yesterday to make himself the center of attention again. He’s a very talented ballplayer, but I hope the Sox don’t pick him up. I’d rather see Mike Lowell stay right at third base in a Red Sox uniform.

So, how ‘bout dem Patriots? I hear they have a big game this week.

Don’t hate me because they win

To the rest of the sporting world: I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that Boston sports fans are no longer the lovable sad sacks that you could take great joy in pouring your pity on. I'm sorry our teams have found success and have been better than your teams. But hey, if you want fans you can take pity on, there's always Chicago. (I kid, I kid.) I've seen several articles and blog entries like this one from the Boston Herald that report an ever-increasing disdain and hatred of Boston sports fans by fans from other parts of the country because of the success of Boston sports teams, like the New England Patriots, the Boston Red Sox, the Boston College Eagles, and presumably the revitalized Boston Celtics. (Sorry Bruins fan; no hope for you yet.) Apparently when our local teams were always losing, our collective anguish made for good feelings out there in the sporting world. You could even call it schadenfreude. But now, emotions have turned, as evidenced by this Sports Illustrated column quoted in the article above.

Enjoy it all, Boston, but understand that the rest of the sporting world is getting a little tired of your act,” Taylor wrote yesterday in his column. “Winning all the time gets on people’s nerves, especially when so many other fans would kill for a fraction of your recent success.”

Is this really what we've come to? It's not enough to be a fan, but now you have to be an anti-fan? Team rivalries I can understand. If Yankee fans hate the Red Sox or Jets fan hate the Patriots, that I get. (Although I saw on Jets fan blog recently that was full of vitriol and hate, I can't even link it for the terrible language; Dude, take some Xanax and get some perspective.) But why should, say, an Arizona Cardinals fan hate the Pats just because the Pats have won three Super Bowls in the past six years? To my mind, it's even worse when a Steelers or Cowboys fan is in the same "the Pats are too successful" mindset because it wasn't long ago that their own teams had such success. Maybe if the players were boastful--I'm thinking of some of the players on the 2001 St. Louis Rams--that would be just cause, but have any the Patriots or Red Sox been boasting? Incidentally, I'm just as sick of Ben Affleck and his ubiquitous Red Sox cap and box seats as they are. Really, what has the guy done to deserve the attention but have a series of disastrous relationships and a series of box-office bombs? Can he just go away?

Sox in the Series again!

Sox Win! What a game! Even while the big bats of Papi and Manny were silent, the little guys, like the Mr. October, Pedroia, were providing the thrills. Not to mention the pitching of Papelbon.

Now I’m wishing we could have bought that living room set from Jordan’s Furniture back in the Spring. It’s looking like a good bet now. I hear that up to 30,000 people are set to get their money back.

Too early to talk about undefeated Pats

Everyone is very excited about the New England Patriots’ start to the 2007 season. Last Monday, during their game against the Cincinnati Bengals on ESPN, Tony Kornheiser even started talking about breaking the 1972 Miami Dolphins’ perfect season record.

Woah. Woah, woah. Let’s take a breath here.

Every year around the fourth game, people start getting breathless about one or more of the undefeated teams. And let’s point out that the Patriots are just one of several undefeated teams, including the Colts, the Cowboys, and the Packers. And every year all that hype is for naught when the “chosen team” falters around the 10th or 11th game.

Let’s look at some facts first. All of the teams that the Patriots have faced so far have a record of 1-3. So far the first four teams they’ve played have been pretty bad. Now some, including my brother-in-law Peter, might say that’s because the Patriots have exposed their weaknesses for other teams to exploit, but the explanation gets weaker every week. How to explain the Bengals two losses before they faced the Pats?

Now, I’m not saying the Patriots aren’t awesome this year with their high-flying passing offense. What I am saying is that’s way to early to start talking about undefeated, perfect seasons. Frankly, I’d settled for 10-6, winning the division, the conference, and the Super Bowl. That’s the goal after all, isn’t it?

After the Cleveland Browns (2-2) this week, the Pats fly to Dallas to face the 4-0 Cowboys, then hapless 0-4 Miami, the 2-1 Redskins, and the 4-0 Colts. If the Pats are still undefeated in a month, then we can start talking about undefeated seasons, but until then, let’s just enjoy the games.

Red Sox prove me right

For those of you who got the vapors when I said this:

Over the last 10 seasons or so, it fells like (even if this isn’t born out by the actual stats) that no matter how well the Red Sox played at the end of the season, trailing in second place behind the AL East-leading Yankees, they could just never catch up. Perhaps the tables are turned this year.

…and then accused me of bringing down some kind of curse, to which I replied that as a Catholic I don’t believe in sports curses or superstitions….

…. I told you so.

That is all.

Dads, tips for watching weekend sports

Tips for dads who just want to watch the game in peace. Remember those bachelor days when you ensconced your butt in the sofa on Saturday or Sunday (or both!) and watched baseball, football, NASCAR, basketball, soccer, and golf? Sometimes all in one day!

Oh, those days are long gone. But you can still weasel your way back into an occasional game with these tips from the guys at the Dad Labs. I especially like the Longhorn board book idea.

“Bella, say, ‘hook-‘em horns!’ Um, yeah, close enough.”