Three Sporting Thoughts

ONE:  Bill Belichick 

Big news on the football coaching front is that Bill Belichick, arguably the greatest coach in NFL history, will be returning to the sidelines in 2025, not in the NFL, but at the University of North Carolina.  "Can you imagine crusty, curmudgeonly  Bill Belichick kissing the asses of  17 year old high school kids on the college recruiting circuit?" seemed to be the most common theme among pundits.  True, although the landscape of college football has changed so drastically in recent years, that it has been speculated that a football "general manager" may be hired at UNC (as has been done at many other schools) to deal with the unseemly details of recruiting, transfer portal issues, and NIL money, and Bill would be left to do what he does best: coach football.  We'll see how it turns out.

A bigger question would be why has no NFL team turned to Belichick to become their HC?  He interviewed in Atlanta last year, and he reportedly wanted that job, but Arthur Blank choice otherwise. There will also be bunch of openings after this season concludes, and don't you think that Coach Bill would be a better option than any of the various OC's, DC'c and others who will be hired to fill those openings?

Belichick is 72 years old, and perhaps no team wants to commit long term to a guy of that age, but North Carolina is willing to go for five years at $10 million per.   It is going to be interesting to follow how things transpire in Chapel Hill over the ext several years.

TWO: Baseball Hall of Fame

Whatever they are calling the "Veterans Committee" in Cooperstown these days righted a couple of wrongs when it was announced this week that it has elected Dave Parker and Richie Allen into the Hall of Fame.

I'm not going to go into a recitation of the stats and numbers that Parker and Allen posted over long careers.  You can look those up.  If you followed baseball during the time that they played, you know just exactly how great they were.  Parker was a driving force  and best player on Pirates teams in the late '70s/early 80s that always competed for division titles and won the World Series in 1979.  He was the National League MVP in 1978.  The Cobra has fallen into ill health in his senior years, and I am glad that he got to know that he is a Hall of Famer while he can still smell the roses.

Not so Richie Allen, who left us in 2020.  A star with the Phillies, Cardinals, and White Sox (Al MVP in1972), Allen is surely one of the greatest players to ever come from Western Pennsylvania (Wampum, Beaver County), and I judge him by one totally subjective metric:  If the Pirates are clinging to a one run lead in the ninth inning and the other team has men on base, who do I LEAST want to see come to the plate in that situation?  Richie Allen was high, very high, on such a lot.

You can read what I wrote about Allen in 2020 when he died HERE, but I would like to add one paragraph from that post for y9our immediate reading:

He had his enemies and his defenders.  

"At two different SABR meetings in Pittsburgh over the years, I heard both sides.  Chuck Tanner, who managed him in Chicago, defended him to the highest, and said he was one of the best players, on and off the field, that he ever managed, a great guy.  On the other hand, Nellie Briles, who played with him on the Cardinals, said he was one of the worst teammates that he ever had, and almost shuddered when he even mentioned his name."

Both Parker and Allen were iconoclasts of sorts and I include these two photos proof:

THREE: The Pirates

Major League Baseball's annual winter meetings concluded this week and, lo and behold, the Pirates made a trade.  They acquired first baseman Spencer Horowitz from the Blue Jays via the Guardians.  Until the day of the trade, I had never heard of Spencer Horowitz.

No offense to Mr. Horowitz who I am sure is a nice guy and a competent baseball player, but the one word that appeared over and over again in news stories about the deal was "affordable".  In other words, he comes cheap, and that is the way our Beloved Buccos do business.  Free agent 1B Pete Alonso would sure have been a better addition for the Pirates, but, alas, he is not "affordable" for Bob Nutting's Pirates.  And when the biggest news was the Mets signing Juan Soto to a fifteen year contract worth $765 million, it becomes more depressing being a Pirates fan.  Oh, and Braves ace pitcher Max Fried signed an eight year, $218 million contract with.....the Yankees.

Other teams over the years have shown that you don't have to spend THAT kind of money to compete and win, but the Pirates won't even do that.  

Anyway, welcome to Pittsburgh, Spencer Horowitz!

It ain't easy being a Pirates fan.

"I'll See You On The Other Side....", and A Few Other Thoughts

Yes, I am stealing a quote for "Hamilton" as the title of this post today because tomorrow, Friday, January 12, I check into AHN Wexford Hospital to have surgery for a partial knee replacement.  I anticipate no problems, and frankly, I am anxious to get it done and have it behind me.  I anticipate that post-surgical pain, recovery, and rehab might keep me away from the keyboard for some period of time, but rest assured, I will back in The Grandstand pounding away at this as soon as I possibly can.

Big Coaching News

I cannot leave, though, without acknowledging two monumental bits of news that occurred within the last day.   Of course, I am referring to the resignation of Nick Saban at the University of Alabama and whatever it was in New England that has brought about the departure of Bill Belichick as head coach of the Patriots.

Arguably, the greatest College coach and the greatest NFL coach of all time are hanging up their whistles within twenty-four hours of each other.  I have always admired greatness in any form so over the years I have come to admire, and even root for both of these guys.  

I know, I know.  I live in an NFL city and cheer for a team that has been on the wrong side of Belichick's greatness too many times, but I had come to like Bilichick's single minded devotion to a cause - winning - and his, shall we say, iconoclastic behavior in the course of doing his job.

I will comment more upon that and on my other thoughts on both Saban and Belichick when I come off of the IR list and can devote more thought on the topic these two coach's careers.

My Favorite Movies of 2023

I usually devote extensive space at the end of a year to my favorite movies of that year.  In total, I saw twenty-two new movies in 2023, some of which were actually 2022 releases.  Professional movie critics have  to see every movie that comes out.  I am not one of those.  I see only the movies that I want to see, hence, I tend to like every movie that I do see. 

Herewith, then My Ten Favorite Movies of 2023:

1. Oppenheimer
2. Killers of the Flower Moon
3. No Hard Feelings
4. Emily The Criminal
5. All Quiet on the Western Front
6. She Said
7. Barbie
8. Yogi Berra, It Ain't Over
9. NYAD
10. BlackBerry

What was Number 22 on my list, you may ask?  Well, it was last year's Oscar winning Best Picture, "Everything Everywhere All At Once."   Unlike some years, where I actually hated the last movie on my list, I didn't hate this one.  It was...interesting, and the acting was great, but there were 21 movies ahead of it that I enjoyed more.

Movie viewing for 2024 got off to a rousing start two nights ago with a viewing of "The Holdovers".  I'll be surprised it that one isn't among my Favorite Ten for this year when all is said and done.

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Okay, that'll do it for awhile.  See you on the other side.

Here Come the Patriots, and the Week 13 GPR

 

After a hiatus of several weeks, the Grandstander Power Rankings are back after Week 13 of the NFL season, but before we get to those, a word on this week's Monday Night Football game between the Patriots and the Bills, a 14-10 win for New England.

Cold temperatures and winds in the neighborhood of 30-40 MPH caused Bill Belichick to dig deep into the playbooks of Jurassic Era football and come up with a game plan that would not expose his rookie quarterback Mac Jones to the vagaries of those conditions.  As a result, Coach Bill had the Pats use running plays on all but three plays.  Yep, only three passes thrown by Jones in the entire game.  It was amazing to watch, as was the Pats defense that that held the Bills to only ten points with the Buffalo TD coming after New England muffed a punt and gave them the ball inside the twenty yard line.  Not sure if the Patriots are a Super Bowl team for this year, but in a season where there does not appear to be a singularly great team, would you sell short the possibility of Coach Bill making it to the Big Game in February?

Within the last three days, we were able to witness two of the greatest football coaches ever work their magic in big games, Nick Saban of Alabama against Georgia on Saturday and Belichick last night.  Never bet against those two.

Okay, now for the GPR:

1. Cardinals (10-2)
2. Packers (9-3)
3. Buccaneers (9-3)
4. Patriots (9-4)

The Cardinals remain at the top simply because they have the best record in the league and seem to be back on a roll with the return of the injured QB Kyler Murray.  The Patriots are at number 4 simply because of a rookie quarterback.  If you wanted to argue the placement of each of these four teams in the 1-2-3-4 order, I wouldn't argue strongly against it.

PITT WINS THE ACC CHAMPIONSIP, and Other Football Thoughts

 

Last night was another "This Is Why You Follow Sports" moment for fans (long-suffering?) of Pitt football, as we watched as the Panthers rolled to a 45-21 victory over Wake Forest to claim their first ever Atlantic Coast Conference Football Championship.  After a first quarter that appeared to be the beginning of a 100 total points game, Wake led 21-14.  It was the Panthers defense that then rose up and completely throttled Wake Forest from that point forward. Numerous sacks of the quarterback and four interceptions, one returned to the two yard line and one returned for a touchdown, led to Pitt's dismantling of the Demon Deacons.

The night also was showcase for quarterback Kenny Pickett, who threw for 258 yards and two TDs, and positively electrified the crowd, the announcers, and the TV audience on the fourth play off the game by running around end for 58 yards and the game's first touchdown.

It was the culmination of a season that will surely make Pickett a Heisman Trophy finalist, and a career that has seen him claim ownership of every single significant passing record in the history of Pitt football.   He was both the ACC's Offensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year in 2021.  He is a likely first round NFL draft pick, and he has given his name to an era of Pitt football: The Kenny Pickett Era.  Pitt will have one more game to play, probably the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day.  In order to protect himself from possible injury, it is possible, and probably advisable, that Pickett will sit that one out, and if chooses to do so, I don't think that a single Pitt fan will begrudge him that choice.  I'm guessing, though, that from what I've read about him and seen of him over the past five years, he will be playing in Miami on January 1st.

A few years ago, someone asked me "What are your reasonable expectations of a college football team that you follow (in my case, Pitt)?"  My answer was that (a) when you watch them play, you would hope that they would have a reasonable chance of competing in every game that they play, (b) that you would hope that they win more games than they lose, (c) that they would be entertaining, and (d) you would hope that they would be competitive for their conference championship most years  and have a reasonable chance of actually winning the conference every five years or so.

Pitt did all of that in 2021, and gave us a season to remember.   Anything that happens in a Bowl game (which, except for the CFP games, have become pretty much meaningless) will be icing on the cake, and that 2021 ACC Championship Banner can hang forever at Heinz Field.

It's Why You Follow Sports.  Hail To Pitt!

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Yesterday was absolute Hog Heaven for fans of college football with Conference Championship games being played throughout the day.  Serving as the amuse-bouche  for the Pitt game for me was the Big XII title game at Noon and the SEC matchup at 4:00.

Baylor defeated Oklahoma State in the Big XII game, a game that served to convince me that neither of these teams deserve to be within sniffing distance of any CFP consideration.  It was an exciting game, but not all that good a one.

In the SEC, Alabama throttled undefeated, first ranked, and seven point favorite Georgia 41-24.  It was a game that undoubtedly sewed up the Heisman Trophy for Crimson Tide QB Bryce Young, and also a game that prompts the question, why would you ever - EVER - pick against a Nick Saban team in a big game?

Did you catch this amazing statistical graphic that CBS showed during the game?  In games where a Saban coached team has held a 14 point lead at any point in the game,  the teams have a record of 160-4.  Now it's 161-4.

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The CFP Committee will announce it's four finalists in about a half hour (it is 11:30 AM as I type this).  My guess is that Alabama will be #1 and Cincinnati will be #4.  Michigan and Georgia will be 2-3 or 3-2, not that that matters.  No way the Committee would want to see a Alabama-Georgia rematch in the first round, and why would they even want to allow for the possibility of that in the final?  I think inclusion of Notre Dame in the final four would be better and more attractive, but I also think that the sway that the SEC holds in college football will carry the day, and they will get two spots in th playoffs.

Let's hope for a Michigan win in the semis.  Can you imagine the hype a Nick Saban-Jim Harbaugh match up will generate?  Assuming that the Tide beats Cincy, of course.

One really good thing about his year's CFP, of course, is the fact that William Christopher Swinney will not be coaching in it.

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Before actual games were played this weekend, college football dominated the news this past week with two amazing coaching changes.  Lincoln Riley leaving Oklahoma for USC,

and Brian Kelly leaving Notre Dame - NOTRE DAME!!!! - for LSU, where he immediately began speaking with a southern accent.

There may be college football programs bigger and more vaunted than Oklahoma and Notre Dame, but if there are, you can count them on the fingers of one hand.  There was a time, and it wasn't so long ago, that it would have been impossible to imagine a coach voluntarily leaving either of those schools to take a job at another school.

The times, they are a-changin'.

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Now to the pros.  

The Grandstander has been remiss in posting his Grandstander Power Rankings.  There are reasons for that, not the least of them being the awful performances of the Steelers in recent weeks.  I was ready to do one yesterday, but at the last minute thought, to Hell with it; might as well wait until this weekend's games are finished, so look for a new GPR come Tuesday morning.

One aspect of the NFL in recent weeks that bears noting is the fact that the New England Patriots.  Led by rookie QB Mac Jones, a strong defense, and, of course, their always lovable and peerless coach, 

the Pats have won six games in a row, have an 8-3 record and a one game lead over the team that they will play on Monday night and once again two weeks from now, the Buff Bills. This will be the Game of the Weekend in the NFL, and I can't wait to watch it come Monday night with Peyton and Eli.

It's indeed a great time of year to be a football fan!!

Patriots Win

The New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 13-3, to win the Super Bowl last night, and in the twelve or so hours since the game ended, it has become de rigueur for sportswriters, commentators, and people on various forms of social media to try to out-snark each other in proclaiming how AWFUL and BORING and LOUSY the low scoring game was.  Even people who have spent a season decrying how out-of-control offense had gotten in the NFL and how defense has been legislated out of the game (yeah, that's you, Michael Wilbon) are trashing this game.

I agree that this one might not have been as exciting as that Steelers 27-23 win over Arizona ten years ago, or the Pats come from behind overtime win over Atlanta two years ago, or last year's 41-33 Eagles win over New England, but when you consider what was at stake - the Super Bowl Championship! - there is some value in a low scoring game, when a 3-0 lead, which NE held at halftime and deep into the third quarter, could be wiped out and overcome on the very next play of the game (which didn't actually happen, but it could have).

Context is everything.  I will grant you that if that game yesterday was played at 1:00 on a Sunday afternoon in early October, it would have been written off as a desultory and boring game, but if you cannot find tension and value in  game like that when the league championship is at stake, well, then you're just looking for something to bitch and moan about.  You probably shouldn't be a sports fan at all then.

I have written much about the Belichick/Brady/Patriots Dynasty in the lead up to this game, so I won't belabor it in this post.  Simply stated: 18 seasons, 9 Super Bowl appearances, 6 Super Bowl Championships.  Greatest of all time, and we will ever see anything like it again, certainly not in my lifetime.  It is becoming part of the narrative that last night's Super Bowl win was the "last shot" for this particular Pats' dynasty.  Maybe so, but raise your hand if you would be willing to bet a lot of money on Coach Bill and the Golden Boy NOT being in the hunt for the Super Bowl next year. Anybody?  Didn't think so.

Why I Am Rooting for the Patriots in the Super Bowl Tomorrow

Yeah, yeah, I know it can be viewed as treasonous and a mortal sin to root for the Patriots, but I am going to be doing so tomorrow as they take on the Rams in Super Bowl LIII.  Here's why:

1. Three weeks ago in Las Vegas I place a $15 bet on the Pats to win the Super Bowl and three and a half to one.  So there's that.
2. History has it's eyes on them.  What the Pats have done over the last eighteen season has been undeniably historic.  Nine Super Bowls in eighteen seasons.  We'll never see this again, certainly not in my lifetime, so I will always, in most instances, root for historical greatness.
3. Tom Brady.  Yes, he can be smug and annoying, and yes, the officials always seem to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he is also the greatest quarterback who ever played the game.  After tomorrow, he will have played in NINE SUPER BOWLS.  No other player - ever - has appeared in more than six.  This is historical greatness that must be appreciated and burnished.
4. If New England should lose tomorrow, Brady's record in the games will fall to 5-4 and there will be people who will say something like, "well, he's barely over .500 in those games, so he's no big deal."  A Brady/Pats win will cut off such patently ridiculous statements at the pass.
5. Bill Belichick.  As Brady is to quarterbacks, Belichick is to coaches.  He's the best there is and ever was.  Yes, he's crusty, arrogant, a poor loser, and a public relations man's nightmare, but there is something about him that appeals to me (and yes, I have gotten as PO'd over and at him over the years as many of you have).  I like his single-mindedness, and his penchant for sending a metaphorical middle finger at authority, especially the Suits in the NFL offices on Park Avenue.  For example, earlier in the season, Coach Bill appeared on the sidelines in his rumpled Patriots blue hoodie when every other coach, assistant coach (including the Pats' staff), and player was wearing those mandated military-style olive drab hoodies.  And if you tell me that you DIDN'T love seeing Bill hurl that Microsoft Tablet to the ground during the Chiefs game last week, I just don't believe you.  I mean, who among us HASN'T wanted to do something exactly like that at one time or another.
6. And how about that story that Bill Cowher told this week of Belichick's offer to help him, Cowher, and the Steelers out in preparing for the Broncos in the 2005 AFC Championship game, after Belichick's Pats had lost to Denver in the previous round of the Playoffs.  You gotta love him for that, right?
7. My cousin Janice Spencer lives in Maine and is a big Patriots fan, and she was a really good sport when the Steelers beat the Patriots in December, posing with a Terrible Towel on Facebook, so I am rooting for the Pats for her sake, too.
8. I don't really care that a sixth Super Bowl win will tie the Patriots with the Steelers for most Lombardi Trophies. Neither my civic nor sports fandom self-worth will be diminished by such a fact.  Also, nothing that the Patriots do, or any other team, for that matter, lessens the accomplishments of the Steelers over the years.  Let's all get a grip here.

Of course, the main thing I am hoping for is an entertaining and competitive game.  And if the Rams should win, that's okay by me, too, my fifteen buck wager aside, for a couple of reasons.  One, I would be happy for Pitt's Aaron Donald to get a Super Bowl ring, and two, I'd never feel bad to see Bob Kraft and his stuffed blue-shirt-with-a-white-collar come up on the short end, and if that conflicts with my History Has It's Eyes On You themes spelled out above, well, being a sports fan doesn't always have to be accompanied by perfect logic.

Enjoy the game tomorrow, everyone!

Steelers Sunday Night Fever: Stayin' Alive

Joe Haden with the key play off the game.

After three weeks of consecutive Steelers losses and the sturm und drang  that goes with such a streak, Rooney U pulled off what many, including The Grandstander, who placed a legal wager on the Patriots at -3 at the newly opened sports book at The Rivers Casino on Saturday morning, thought was impossible: they defeated the evil New England forces of Belichick, Brady, and Gronk 17-10 under the cold dark early evening skies at Heinz Field last night.  Entering the weekend with a 1/2 game lead over Baltimore, and knowing that the Ravens won earlier in the afternoon, and knowing that they have to play 11-2 New Orleans next Sunday, this game with the Pats was about as close to must win game as you could possibly get.

Here's what the Steelers had going against them, and how it all shook out:

• James Conner was still out with an injury, and rookie Jaylen Samuels, who showed very little the week before against Oakland, had to play.  He rushed for 143 yards and caught two passes for 30 yards, each of which resulted in critical first downs.  He may well have been the MVP of the game for Pittsburgh.
• Ben Roethlisberger threw two interceptions, and was flagged for intentional grounding that proved critical during a Steelers drive in the second half.  It was not his best game, BUT he also threw two TD passes in the first half and completed several key third down passes.
• Yips-afflicted kicker Chris Bosworth missed a near chip shot FG that loomed large, especially when playing Brady and the Pats, BUT he also made a longer FG late in the game that extended the lead to 17-10.
• The Steelers defense gave up a TD on New England's first possession of the game that was so bad, it looked like  they only had nine guys on the field, BUT although we didn't realize it at the time, that was to be the only time NE was to put the ball in the end zone all night.
• That same Steelers defense, which all season long has appeared not to realize that you were allowed to intercept the opposing QB's passes, came up with a critical one when Joe Haden (see photo at top of this page) picked  one off inside the five yard line when Brady appeared to be driving the Pats to a score.
• As they did in last year's loss to New England, the Steelers could not manage to get just one more first down late in the game, and that gave Brady and the Pats the ball with 2:30 in the game on their own 25 yard line.  How many time had we seen that movie before?  Somehow, though, this time the Steelers managed a different ending.  Brady did drive the Pats down to inside the Steelers twenty yard line, BUT then threw three straight incompletions, including one on fourth down, and for the first time in what seems like a thousand years, Mike Tomlin's Steelers came away with a "W" over Bill Belichick's Patriots.  The game and the victory were both gut-wrenching and euphoric.

It has been mentioned on some national shows today that in that game, Tom Brady looked every bit like a 41 year old dude out there playing quarterback last night.  I am not saying that this is the end for the Golden Boy, nor am I writing off the Patriots as a Super Bowl contender, but those Pats last night didn't look like some of the Pats teams that we have seen over the years.  No, I am not saying that the end has arrived for New England, but are we seeing the beginning of the end?  Like I always say, watch but don't bet.

And a word about Mike Tomlin, whom the vast majority of yinzers in Steelers nation (not to mention Steelers Legend Rocky Bleier) wanted fired after the loss to Oakland last week.  He will get little, if any, credit for yesterday's win, but he obviously held that team together during what was a seemingly turmoil filled week as the team's (and, to be honest, his) greatest nemesis was coming to town.  He obviously did something right in preparing the team for this game.  Of course, there will be a lot of people who will never admit that.

That win also assured the Steelers of a winning season.  They can finish no worse that 8-7-1.  That will be twelve winning/non-losing seasons in Tomlin's twelve seasons at the helm.  Yeah, that's a guy who deserves to be fired, alright. Pffft!!!!

Finally, on personal note, I made a friendly wager with my cousin Jan Spencer, a resident of Maine and a New England fan.  The wager involved photos that we would have to post on Facebook if our team lost.  To her credit, before both teams left the field after the final gun last night, she posted the following photo on Facebook:

#goSteelers

She certainly was a good sport about the whole thing.  However, there exists a very real possibility that the Steelers and Patriots could meet up in the post-season, so I am sure that she will want another crack at me should a rematch take place.  To which I say...You're on, Janice!

As I type this, it is a little over twenty-four hours since the end of last night's game, and to my knowledge, there has as yet been no pronouncement from Rocky Bleier.  Stay tuned.

Are You Ready For Some Football (Observations)?

It has been 23 days (I looked it up) since The Grandstander has made any serious commentary on football, so it's time to catch up.  Since I last checked in....

• The Steelers kicked the collective asses of the Cleveland Browns and took revenge upon their earlier defeat at the hands of the Ravens, by beating them in Baltimore.  The score of the Ravens game would indicate a close contest, but the Steelers pretty much had that one in control from start to finish.  They have now won four straight games and sit in first place in the AFC North at 5-2-1.  The second half of the schedule won't be easy as it includes games against the Panthers, Chargers, Patriots, Jags, Saints, and the rematch with the Bengals.
• James Conner has made people forget Le'Veon Bell, who has to fish or cut bait by, I believe, next Tuesday.  That is the subject of a whole 'nother post, which I will probably write up as soon as we know whatever the hell it is he decides to do.

• As it stands, though, if I were voting for Steelers MVP today, I would probably vote for Ben Roethlisberger, but James Conner would not be far behind.
• After that win over the Browns, we all know what happened.  The Brownies fired Had Coach Hue "Mr. 3-36-1" Jackson.  This marks the sixth consecutive Browns HC who has been handed the paper key following the second game of the season against the Steelers (all Browns losses, of course).  SIX TIMES this has happened.  In an ESPN interview a few days later, Jackson blamed the whole thing on Baker Mayfield!  The man is totally delusional.

"What, me worry?"

• A lot of people laughed at the beginning of the season when Head Coach Pat Narduzzi said that Pitt would be playing for the ACC Championship.  That thought was especially hilarious after Pitt got pasted by Penn State and Central Florida and lost to a bad North Carolina team.  Since then, though, Pitt almost beat Notre Dame, and have run off three straight ACC wins, sits at 4-1 and are in first place in the ACC Coastal Division.  Win out against Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, and Miami, and guess what?  They will be playing in the ACC Championship Game.  At the beginning of October, I'd have given you long odds that they would be in this position with three games remaining in the season.
• Remember after the Pitt-Penn State game when I said that I would sure like to see James Franklin get dealt a big heaping helping dose of humility at some point.  Michigan 42 - Penn State 7.  Thank you, Jim Harbaugh, who, it must be said, could stand to be dealt some humility himself, but that's college football coaches for you.
• Were you like me and looking forward to watching the Alabama - LSU game last week, a game where all keen observers of the sport said that Alabama would be tested and might well lose to the third ranked Tigers?  29-0 Alabama, and the game wasn't as close as the score indicated.  Don't want to hear about LSU anymore.  Their coach Ed Orgeron, by the way, appears to be certifiably insane just from watching him on the sidelines.
• Back to the pros, throughout the season, I have been posting on Facebook a Top Four, College Football Playoff-Style, ranking for the NFL.  As of this week, it looks like this: 1. Chiefs 2. Saints 3. Patriots 4. Rams.  Other teams are knocking at the door (Steelers, Chargers, Texans, Panthers among others), but right now, those four teams have separated themselves from the rest of the NFL pack.  It will never end up that way, but for right now, does anyone disagree?
• On the Sunday Night Football game, the Packers won the coin toss and deferred, thus kicking off and giving the ball the Tom Brady and the Patriots to begin the game.  Did you watch that one?  If you did, you saw Brady and the Pats march down the field and score in ten plays and less than two and one-half minutes.  The Packer defenders were gassed and sucking wind on THE FIRST DRIVE OF THE GAME.  Why would a team choose to give the ball to Tom Brady to start a game?  You're just asking to have your heads handed to you on a platter when you do that.

• Speaking of the Patriots, did you notice Bill Belichick during that game?  On a Sunday when every coach and player in the league was wearing those olive drab military style sweatshirts and hoodies on the sidelines, Coach Bill was out there in his blue Patriots hoodie.  As much as everyone outside of New England is supposed to despise Coach Bill, there is something about his way of giving the NFL Suits on Park Avenue the middle finger every chance he gets that makes me admire him in a perverse sort of way.

Brady and the Pats Go Down

The 2017 National Football League season opened two nights ago with a surprising, to me, anyway, 42-27 beat down by the Kaycee Chiefs over the New England Patriots.  Tom Brady had a most un-Brady-like performance in the loss, and it led to an interesting discussion on PTI on both Thursday and Friday.

The question proposed was, Will 2017 be the year that Tom Brady declines as the pre-eminent quarterback in all of football?  He is, after all, 40 years old - young for a doctor or lawyer, but ancient for an NFL player - and Father Time does catch up to everybody, does he not?  I liked Wilbon's response:  "I won't be surprised if Brady declines significantly this season, he is forty years old, after all, but I will never predict that he will, because he is, after all Tom Brady!!"  (Maybe not the exact Wilbon quote, but close enough.)

As for me, I will never sell Brady, Bill Belichick, or the Patriots short.  They are still the team to beat and if you want to go to the Super Bowl, you are probably going to have to win in Gillette Stadium come January.  So, until it actually happens, I, like Wilbon, am not going to predict a demise of the Golden Boy or his team.  Again, though, always remember the words of famed philosopher Shaquille O'Neal: "Thirty-nine, it ain't twenty-nine, bro."  And Brady is now forty.

And speaking of the ever charming Coach Bill, I conceded after last season's Super Bowl victory, that he is among the very best coaches, and may very well be THE very best coach, in all of football history, but I have to wonder....when Tom Brady goes, just how great a coach will Bill Belichick be?

Yet A Few More Post-Super Bowl Thoughts

I mentioned in my post on Monday how I felt about Robert Kraft's comments on the podium during the Lombardi Trophy presentation.  Upon further thought, I have decided that Mr. Kraft has earned a very special award for his behavior.  Hey, Bob, this one's for you!

Jockey's silks will be a blue shirt with a white collar.

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I also read today about Rob Gronkowski at the victory parade in Boston yesterday.  Gronk, who, I'll remind you, didn't play throughout the playoffs,  took off his shirt and chugged beer throughout the parade.  Very classy.  A special citation for The Gronk here.

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Finally, I love this quote attributed to Bill Belichick on Monday.  "Winning yesterday was nice, but it also means that we are five weeks behind every other team in preparations for the 2017 season."

Yeah, you gotta love Coach Bill.

Patriots Win. I Believe I Had That!

We all know what happened in the Super Bowl last night.  Atlanta bolted to leads of 21-0 (in the second quarter) and 28-3 (midway through the third quarter).  Patriot haters across the country were rejoicing as Tom Brady was looking every bit like a 39 year old quarterback.  And an extra point attempt that clanged off of the upright seemed to just add to the debacle that New England was experiencing.  But as we all know, you don't tug on Superman's cape....

Add a New England field goal after that missed PAT, then a touchdown and a two point conversion, and all of a sudden, it's 28-20.  Atlanta begins a march down field that included a remarkable Matt Ryan to Julio Jones pass completion, and it looked that at the very least, the Falcons would kick a field goal that would ice their victory.  Then Ryan does the one thing that a quarterback absolutely cannot do in such a situation.  He takes a sack.  Then Atlanta gets hit with a holding penalty. Then Atlanta punts, and even though the Patriots were starting at their own nine yard line, did anyone have any doubt that Brady was going to lead the Pats down field and score the TD and two point conversion that would tie the game and send it into OT?  I didn't.  At that point I made this post on Facebook: "The sonsabitches are going to pull this one out."  And they did.

They tie the game. They win the coin toss.  They march right down the field and score a touchdown.  Atlanta never sees the ball again.  34-28, Pats win!

And I will say it right now.   Bill Belichick is the best coach ever in the Super Bowl Era, and possibly of all time.  Tom Brady is the best quarterback ever.  Ever.   As my buddy Dan put it last night, we never got to see Babe Ruth play, but we are seeing Tom Brady play, and thus, we are witnessing true greatness.

A word on Pats owner Robert Kraft.  He could have taken the high road in the trophy presentation, but he didn't.  He chose to be a jagoff and take his shots at the Commissioner.  No, I am not defending Roger Goodell, and yes, Kraft could have said a lot worse.  However he could have chosen to be a bigger man, but he didn't, so he can eat it, as far as I'm concerned.

And speaking of owners, how about Arthur Blank appearing on the Atlanta sideline early in the fourth quarter?  I really detest showboating, egomaniac owners standing on the sidelines, so when I saw Blank down there so early, a part of me began to root for the Patriots.  I am only sorry that the Fox cameras weren't on Blank as Brady undressed his Falcons to tie, and then win that game.  I'd have paid to see that.

Oh, and I heard whining on the radio this morning that the NFL's overtime rules aren't fair.  Now, to be fair, I am not sure if the Falcons themselves are making that complaint, but if they are, then here's what you need to do.  First,  When you have a twenty-five point lead with twenty-two minutes or so left in the game, DON'T give up twenty-five unanswered points to the other team.  Second, if you lose the coin toss to start overtime, DON'T turn into Swiss cheese and let the other team go seventy-five yards down field and score a touchdown.

As I said to Marilyn this morning, that game last night is why you watch sports.  Not every game you will watch will be a classic.  A lot of games that you watch will be pretty much unmemorable.  But every so often, you will see a player like Tom Brady, and  a team like the Patriots, turn in a game like we all watched last night, and THAT makes all the dull games and even the downright lousy games that you sit through worth the effort.

There's nothing like it.

Edelman's Amazing Catch 

on the game tying drive.

White's TD Wins It in OT

The MVP

Oh, and as for the headline on this post, I did predict a Patriots win in the Super Bowl, although I certainly never envisioned that it would happen in quite the way that it did.  I finish the NFL Playoffs Season with a prediction record of 9-2.  Yeah!

Super Bowl Prediction Time

The Grandstander brings an 8-2 NFL Playoffs Predictions record to tomorrow's Super Bowl.  Pretty good, but that second loss on the ledger sure did hurt.  Oh, well, time to put that behind and start anew.

The Patriots-Falcons match up doesn't seem to be generating a lot of buzz nationally, but by all indications it shapes up to be  a high scoring affair and a close game.  It pits the presumptive NFL MVP Matt Ryan - and hasn't he been great in the Playoffs? - against four time Super Bowl winning QB, the Golden Boy, Tom Brady.   The Pats are a narrow favorite,  and many of the so-called experts are actually calling for an Atlanta win.  

Not me.

Hate them all you want, but it cannot be denied that Bill Belichick may well be the greatest coach in NFL history (yep, I said that), and Tom Brady may well be the greatest quarterback in NFL history. 

 That being the case,  and with an historic fifth Super Bowl win for this tandem at hand, I'm calling it a Patriots victory tomorrow.

I'll also throw in two other predictions:

• The Patriots will cover the -3 point betting spread.
• Over/Under is 59.5.  OVER will win that bet.

As always, watch, but don't bet.

I will close with some pictures of everyone's favorite football party animal.  The guy is the epitome of "Wild and Crazy", don't you think?

Oh, and for any Cleveland Browns fans who might be reading this, don't you wish that this was still the case?

 

Enjoy the game, everyone!

Spygate, Deflategate, The Patriots, and Roger Goodell

Yes, like you, I am tired of all of the topics mentioned in the title of this post.  That said, I cannot recommend highly enough hat you read the following article from ESPN's "Outside the Lines" investigative team.

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/13533995/split-nfl-new-england-patriots-apart

It is an extremely lengthy article by reporters Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham, but it lays out in such detail the Patriots' history of cheating under Bill Belichick that it really prompts one to question the integrity of many of the games that they have played in the last 15 years.  Until I read this article, I was among those who felt that the taping of the other teams' signals and the whining of teams defeated by the Pats over the years, and, yes, that includes our own Pittsburgh Steelers, were nothing but the the attempted justifications of poor losers.  I don't feel quite that strongly now.

More disturbing was the actions of the National Football League and Roger Goodell and his minions during this period.  They have given new definitions to the word "arrogance".  As recently as July 30 I wrote in this blog that I would not bet against Goodell retaining his job over all of the deflategate nonsense.  After reading this article, I honestly don't see how he can keep it, or how the thirty-two NFL owners could justify retaining him as Commissioner.  His dealings with United States Senator Arlen Specter when the NFL was being threatened with a Congressional investigation were reprehensible.

And, of course, it goes back to the Patriots.  The article concludes with a description of a party that owner Robert Kraft held at his estate this summer when the he brought in all of his players and coaches to distribute their Super Bowl rings and divide the spoils of yet another NFL Championship.  It brought to mind these images of another meeting back in 1959:

It didn't end well for those guys either.

Kraft, Belichick, Brady, and All That Hot Air

It so happens that I was fortunate (?) enough to turn on my TV yesterday morning just as Patriots owner Robert "I Like White Collars On My Blue Dress Shirts" Kraft addressed the assembled media in Boston, after which Coach Belichick took to the mic.  It was classic stuff, and I am not sure that I have witnessed anything quite like it since this guy was addressing the news media on a seemingly daily basis:

"Do you know who I am?"

Well, I am not going go into a lot of detail as to what was said.  If you are interested in the topic, you've read and heard it all already, but here is my take on Kraft's scorched earth blast against Roger Goodell and the NFL.  Here in Pittsburgh, if you are old enough, you have heard tree generations of Rooneys talk about how the overall interests of the National Football League are far more important than the interests of any one individual franchise.  It seems to have been a sound way to do business and it has certainly served to make the NFL the most powerful and successful sports league in America, if not the entire world.  Kraft sure thumbed his nose at that notion in his diatribe yesterday.  If the "League Comes First" attitude of the Rooneys and Maras still exists out there among the other 31 lodge brothers that comprise NFL ownership, it would seem that Robert Kraft may find himself all alone on an island, and he may be fighting a very lonely battle out there.  Roger Goodell's father was a US Senator, and I am sure that he taught young Roger that before you do anything big, be sure that you have the votes, and I am guessing that Roger Goodell "has the votes" from among his bosses.

A few months ago I might have thought that Goodell would lose his job over his handling of this (and other) issues(s).  Now, I wouldn't bet against him.

The other part of that press conference was Bill Belichick being Bill Belichick.  He answered questions for about ten minutes and this was the sum and substance of it:

• "That issue has already been addressed."
• "We're here to start training camp and get ready for the 2015 season."
• "Everybody will get the same number of reps in training camp.  That's what training camp is for."

He never once mentioned the name of any player, including You-Know-Who.  

I know that we are not supposed to like Bill Belichick, and I know all the reasons for it, but I have to say that I came away from that performance of his yesterday with a grudging admiration for him.  He seems to be telling us (although who really knows what he thinks) that he is a football coach, plain and simple.  He doesn't give a shit about any of these outside distractions, he really doesn't give a shit about who his players are, he just wants to get to training camp and prepare for the next game.  There is something to be said for that.

As for Brady, I think we can all agree that his punishment does not fit his crime, and that this whole thing could have been reduced or even avoided entirely with a mere slap on the wrists to those involved if all parties had reacted just a bit differently.  However, Tom Brady has shown himself to be just another spoiled "Me-First" jock with a monstrous sense of entitlement.  By God, he wasn't going to give in because "I am Tom Brady", and he has cooked his own goose because of it.  I don't really care what happens to him.  As for the destruction of his cell phone, this has become the 2015 version of Rosemary Woods' missing seventeen minutes of audio tape.

The story isn't over, as injunctions and lawsuits are sure to follow, and a lot of lawyers will get rich.  As for me, I can't make any promises, but I am not so sure how much I am going to write about this in the weeks and months ahead.  I've had my say.