Random Thoughts - the Red Sox and Patriots edition: January 22, 2008

** my sadness about Green Bay not winning is rapidly becoming anger directed at one Elisha Nelson Manning (seriously, try to say that with a straight face). i hope that he becomes sandwiched between Rodney Harrison & Junior Seau so many times, he flinches when he sees them on tv a year from now. i hope he cries before halftime. i hope he sits on the bench on February 3, while his defense is on the field, wishing he had never won on January 20. and i hope they have to carry him out of the locker room for the second half, kicking and screaming and clutching onto lockers & doorways, so badly does he not want to be on the business end of another New England rushing defense.

** i have a new theory about my Perfect Super Bowl now too: i was not meant to see my teams play one another. so the Patriots will have to be the 2007 Team of Destiny, what with their undeafeatedness & all. and *next* season will have to be Favre's Team of Destiny, and he'll just have to be back, because they have built an amazing young team around him -- the youngest average age in the NFL even with guys like Favre & Driver factored in!! -- and he led them so close. next year will be his year. the Year of Favre. right? right.

** (if you scroll all the way to the bottom of the linked page) apparently Mike Lowell has been converted into a Patriots fan. like i needed another reason to love him.

** i really wish that the New England fans hadn't booed when Belichick congratulated the Chargers on a good game during the trophy presentation. it's embarrassing to see such poor conduct. let this show for the record that not *all* Patriots fans are insufferable. some of us do actually show some class & can win graciously without gloating.

** looks like Eric Hinkse won't be back in 2008. i'm going to miss his happy self. and the way he covered right field in a way that would have made Trot proud.

** i also really wish Belichick would get one quarter the acknowledgement for shaking Norv Turner's hand & exchanging conversation for a few moments at mid field after the game, that he gets negatively when he has nothing to say to Mangini. unfortunately, the media thrives on negative attention.

** back to Mike Lowell for a minute: "I think it's a three-year motivating test," he said, "for me to prove that despite everyone thinking it's just for three years, it's the beginning of something that is going to last more than three years." be still my beating heart.

** "But seriously, they're more worried than we are… I promise you…because, ah, they know what's up." (Igor Olshansky, San Diego Chargers) so Igor... what's up? >=]

** coming soon...

...but not soon enough & OMG i cannot wait!

** when first i read about/saw this, i felt like i'd swallowed my own tongue.

(photo from ESPN.com)
then i thought to myself: is this the same Tom Brady who has been on the injury report for like three years now? did we not see Tom Terrific pull off some Oscar-worthy performaces against the Jaguars, in the form of that Statue of Liberty play & then that over-the-top look-the-passer-got-roughed bit that he did? and do we not have a coach in New England who delights in shenanigans, like that Doug Flutie drop-kick point after? so... yes, denial is an acceptable coping strategy here at The Broken Road.