Go Pats!

Professional football has always been a part of my life. Sundays on the couch with my dad were the norm in my house as a kid growing up, and throwing the pigskin in our conveniently gridiron rectangular shaped backyard was commonplace. I remember my dad teaching me different passing routes, the difference between an out and an in, a post and a slant, a button-hook and a hail mary. He would bring home pick sheets from work and I would make my picks, usually the favorites because they had a better chance of winning.

Though my favorite teams have changed over the years (Giants, Bills, Packers, and now the Patriots), my love for the game hasn't changed over the years.

This time of year has always been my favorite - autumn's coolness replacing the heat of the summer. Schoolyard pickup games on weekends were a great way to get the guys together and flag football was played in PE. Defensive pass rush counts were heard: One Mississippi, Two Mississippi, Three Mississippi...

Welcome to the 17 weeks of NFL Football.

PS: Kudos to my fantasy football mate Rob who named his "team 18 and OH NO". I know this Colts fan is snarking on our Pats but it is worth a giggle.

Monday Morning Quarterback

The big story about last night's game wasn't the Giants' upset or the Patriots' choke. And it certainly wasn't about how I fell asleep with less than 3 minutes to go and woke up with the TV still on and the Giants had won.

The real story here is the ridiculous change of wardrobe for Patriots coach Bill Belicheck. I mean, hello, let's stick with something that works, the gray hoodie! What's this, a tacky red hoodie with the sleeves cut off? Are you serious? With the red hoodie, you look like the Kool-Aid Man.

Bill, please stay with the gray hoodie, for all of our eyes' sake, and for your team's winning sake.

In other news, 10 days until Red Sox pitchers and catchers report for spring training.

Super Bowl Weekend

Kick off your weekend with a video. Even your grandmother and my toddler know the Patriots are going to make carnage of the Giants.

Congratulations 2007 Undefeated New England Patriots

*photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images*

We interrupt your regularly scheduled year-end countdown to bring you these words.

Congratulations on an undefeated season to the 2007 New England Patriots. The celebrations were subdued however as in two weeks they will resume their quest for the Vince Lombardi Trophy, but the undefeated season almost wasn't.

The Giants were on their game, at least for the first half, and the Pats really got lucky a number of times and almost threw it away on a ridiculous penalty. In the first quarter on the Pats' second drive, on a 3rd down and 14 play, the Giants get called for soft penalty, giving the Pats 5 yards and a fresh set of downs, allowing the Pats to score 6 plays later.

During the touchdown celebration as pictured above, a zebra was almost struck during the play, warranting him to throw a flag for excessive celebration, constituting as unsportsmanlike conduct. That brought the Patriots' kickoff back 15 yards, allowing speedy kickoff returner Hixon to return the kickoff for a touchdown. Had the Pats kept those 15 yards, they might have had a chance against Hixon, who didn't make a return for less than 11 yards all night except for the one touchback.

New York led most of the game, but began to lose their focus and sharpness in the second half, whilst the Patriots seemingly found theirs. Patriots go on to score 22 unanswered points, and that pretty much was the end of that. Giants brought it back within 3, but the ensuing onside kick failed for the Giants, with about a minute to spare for a timeout and a couple QB kneels.

Now if I may shift to the other football, that's soccer to us Americans, hooray for Dimitar Berbatov for scoring 4 goals, a hat trick and then some in a massive goal-scoring fest in Tottenham's 6-4 win over Reading yesterday. Also, cheers to West Ham United for toppling Manchester United yesterday 2-1, no easy feat. Too bad for Everton, just getting manhandled by Adebayor's Arsenal yesterday 4-1.

As Casey Kasem would say, now on with the countdown.