Finding the Light in the Darkness through Hockey and The Nightwatchmen

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been both thrust to the back burner.

The American Financial Market is on the verge of complete collapse as the ineptitude of American leadership is exposed to the world.

Tom Brady blew out his knee ending the Patriots quest for the Super Bowl 8 minutes into the season.

And where do the people of New England turn as the world collapses around us?

No, not just Soxtober on NESN, but pre-season Boston Bruins Hockey. Thats right, the B's are back, Let the mediocrity begin....

The other major news story of the week not related to the coming global depression was that the great WR/PR/QB/DB Troy Brown retired on Thursday. God Speed TB, there was not a classier professional athlete anywhere in the world over the past 14 years then you

The Nightwatcmen's second album comes out on Tuesday and I could not be any more excited. In an era of flagrant commercialism, it is wonderful to see someone flying under the radar who is content being a passionate human being instead of a whore for the media.

When the St.Louis Rams are sold at the end of the season, any chance they come to Hartford? Lets make this happen!

Max Kellermen deserves the national 10 am ESPN radio show. Send Cowhurd back down the hole he crawled out from.

Lets us not underestimate Manchester City being bought by a trillion dollar mid-east consortium. With Russia running Chelsea, let us as Americans rise up in support of Man United and Aston Villa. The EPL is the first battle ground in the new cold war, and as a campaign promise, I would make this a top priority.

Do not let the West Coast Bias fool you. Manny Ramirez is doing nothing but creating bad karma for the Dodgers organization.

"Burn After Reading" was Malkovich's best performance since "Con Air".

If JD Drew slips and falls in the forrest, is he ever seen again? I mean, holy crap, Mike Lowell is looking as hobbled as Kirk Gibson in '88 as is still forcing himself into the lineup. Every two weeks Drew is going to play, then we get word he is going to see another specialist.

oh its on...lets get debatin'...Jim Leherer just busted out some Eisenhower ....that is soo Leherer....

"This is the End of the Beginning"-John McCain

Question of the month-How can we "control spending" in government without making any move to end the war in Iraq? That 20 Billion a month would look great if it stayed in our pockets.

Serenity Now....

My goodness....

First a fight in the WNBA and then in a Single A baseball game. In these troubled times, It is great that sports fans can enjoy the civility of NFL Training camp. With that said, if the world of science has actually created a piss test for HGH, get ready for the NFL to regress into the 1960's.....Just another reason to watch soccer....

Muse was right...

This is the end of the world...time to get Political...

Can somebody explain to me where Senator Arlen Spector gets off going after the NFL over Spygate when he is paid by American taxpayers and is in a position to:

A. Work on Fixing the American Economy...Which sucks right now by the way...
B. Work on accomplishing an end to the War in Iraq, The War in Afghanistan, the War on Terrorism, and the War on Drugs and paying health benefits to all the American victims who have been left physically and mentally scarred all of these events
C. Cleaning up the Environment, ending Global Warming...Climate Change, or whatever yor want to call the fact that the last ten years have been the hottest ten years on record...
D. Bridge the gap between the rich and poor in America...the time is now
E. Write effective illegal immigration policies
F. Saving American Public Schools
G. Investigating links between American coorporations and the profiteering of the murder of innocent people...
H.Investigating Barry Bonds....hell, at least Bond is accused of breaking actual laws in America...
I. Joining Ct's own Joe Lieberman in trying to start WWIII. Thanks for everything Joe!

And the List Continues...

This is why I hate the Congress. They are a group of egotistical agenda setters who whore themselves and the American public out to the nearest camera. They might as well be the cast of The Hills....

The C's are up 3-2. Still confident it is going 7.

How did it come to this?

"We Haven't Located Us Yet"-The Darjeeling Limited

In the past month I have learned a few things. Tom Coughlin can outcoach Bill Belichek. Kevin Faulk and Willie Andrews like the ganja. No NFL contract is safe. Hank Steinbrenner is a meathead. Roger Clemens is delusional, and so is Bob Knight. I learned everything is Not everything, Life Is a hustle, and the Alli-Opp was invented in Flint, Michigan. I also learned that the Super Bowl may have been a highpoint for the NFL, from which it is never to return. The league needed to see perfection, so did the Patriots, and so did I .

After an 18-1 season the New England Patriots have entered the off season a team in flux. Asante Samuel has bolted to Philly. Dante Stallworth will find the seam for the Browns next year. Kyle Brady is done. Randell Gay, Roosevelt Colvin, and Special Teams stalwart Kelly Washington will inevitable find a new employer. Junior Seau had shoulder surgery and is staring retirement in the face. More importantly Randy Moss is reportedly pissed off no deal has been made since he became a free agent. The horrific thought of Moss landing anywhere outside New England, especially Dallas, would be enough for me to move to Manchester, England. After last the off season, this is all very confusing. Maybe the 2007/08 Patriots were the great perfect storm of luck and talent, the juggernaut whose clock struck midnight 3 minutes too soon. Is the organization going all the way back to the drawing board? You might as well redraft the league and start anew.

The inability to convince the often injured Gay to stick around will have real draft day consequences. The opportunity to take over for Samuel apparently is not his motivation. The team is letting Eugene Wilson walk, so they will have lost past starters at DB, Safety, and DE/LB in the past two weeks. The team has the # 7 pick in the draft. However, the chances of the team making and keeping that selection are slipping away as they put itself in a position to have to rebuild every aspect of the D. The #7 pick for a late first and an early second round pick give them a chance to pick up some depth. They are going to need it. Plus, let’s face it, for all the hoopla about Belichek and Pioli being geniuses, rounds 3-6 have not produced much in terms of on field production in recent years.

As we see the complete tranquility of Red Sox Spring Training, it really makes me wonder what the Patriots are doing. We have seen this mentality before, and it ended with Champ Bailey picking off Tom Brady in the end zone.

The Charisma Bowl

For last two months the New England Patriots have dealt with the change of seasons in God’s country. They have gutted out hard fought victories. Yesterday’s win in the AFC Championship was no different. A bitter wind hampered the greatest passing attack in the history of the NFL. Tom Brady threw three picks and had a QB rating in the 60’s. They used their veteran experience to adjust to any difficulty their opponents threw at them.

Now, none of it matters.

The New York Giants are an enigma. They started 0-2. By October they looked like a hilarious precursor to the 2007/2008 New York Knicks. Then, they found an offense to go along with the leagues best defensive line. They found comfort away from the demonizing New York media. They have now won 10 straight road games, 3 straight on the road. They have established a wining attitude.

Now, none of it matters.

We are 12 days away from Super Bowl Forty Two. Do not expect any bizarre comments or locker room fodder coming from any of the players. Both the Pats and the Giants have head coaches who are down right mean about controlling their players. I will refer to this game as the “Charisma Bowl”, mainly because even with his oppressive personality, I think Belichek is far more personable then Tom Coughlin. These are going to be some fun press conferences….

In Week 17 these teams meant in the most watched regular season football game in over a decade. Playing in the “NY”, the Giants came out smoking, actually gaining a 12 point lead at one point. The Patriots, playing for perfection in the regular season, made some huge adjustments and overpowered the Giants in the Fourth quarter. The Giants scored a late TD and the game ended as a 38-35 victory for the P-men.

The only thing that really matters is that these two teams are playing the game at the highest level at the best time of the year. They will be playing in Glendale, Arizona. There will be no talk of wind, cold, or snow. I am looking forward to the possibility of seeing the New England Patriots from September and October 2007. That team played the most dominating football I have ever seen at the pro level. This game could be as lopsided a Super Bowl as has ever been played. But don’t get your hopes up, it won’t be. The Patriots under Belichek do not play blowout playoff games, let alone Super Bowls.

Both teams will be ready. Now we just have to deal with the media onslaught. Overnight the Giants became media darlings. Eli Manning is now the “hottest quarterback in the league” according to the World Wide Leader. You will also hear the “I’m picking the Giants, so that makes me a rebel football analysis guy who is playing coy and trying not to look ridiculous for picking against a team that is 18-0.” radio and TV personality. It will sound like this,

“Now I know this is gonna ruffle some feathers here,… and I am going out on my own here…but I am Picking the Giants. They had the hardest road to get to the Super Bowl, and Eli Manning is playing like a number one pick, the offensive line is matching the intensity of the incredible D-line. This team dominated the Packers and the Cowboys!!! I gonna say it, and I hope nobody in New England shoots me over this….The Giants will beat the Patriots.”

And they will be wrong. Lame historical coincidences won’t work. Even the Ewing Theory. The Giants will play up the “us against the world” moniker. Its doesn’t matter.

In 12 days the New York Giants have to beat the New England Patriots.

It won’t happen.

My prediction….Patriots 38, Giants 35

Now let’s play the game already….