Patriots Actually Celebrating Imperfect Season with Rings, Banner

As if Boston-based teams have not already given us a plethora of reasons to despise them, the New England Patriots and owner Robert Kraft are now seemingly ignoring their historic Super Bowl (collapse, loss, what-have-you) and are presenting players with rings commemorating last year’s near-perfect campaign.

According to the Boston Globe, the Krafts are presenting rings which have “16-0 – perfect season” on one side and “18-1 AFC Championship” on the other.

I have heard about second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, hell tenth place being celebrated in youth leagues to boost the self-esteem of kids that way no one is titled a “loser.”

Guess what, Patriots players and fans?! This is the pros. YOU LOST! YOU ARE LOSERS!

As one former AFC East rival once said, “You play – to win – the game.” You lost the game. You don’t deserve a ring. You don’t deserve a banner in the rafters (which the Krafts are also planning). You don’t get to celebrate failure. 16-0 is not a perfect season; 19-0, however, is, and you fell short.

If Kraft is all about spending money to accurately represent the Patriots accomplishments, shouldn’t there be a little video camera/asterisk on their last three Super Bowls…or at least this past imperfect season?

The Patriots came 35 seconds away from winning a Super Bowl…but they lost. Where is the New York Yankees 2001 ALCS ring for 95 wins and being an out away from winning their fourth-consecutive World Series? Where is Rocco Mediate’s U.S. Open trophy for finishing just a stroke short in extra holes on Monday? Why aren’t the Miami Dolphins celebrating going 1-15 with a Jake Long sign hanging next to Dan Marino’s?

Because you do not celebrate failure, no matter how well you play up until you fail.

Where are Mercury Morris and his quotation-churning brain when I need them?

Pats Also Good at Spying for Government

New England Patriots offensive lineman Nick Kaczur was arrested in April for illegal possession of painkillers but somehow it never got out to the media. That is because Kaczur, instead of being arraigned like a normal arrest, decided to cooperate with federal agents in a sting operation against his alleged supplier.

Even though Kaczur, 28, had purchased hundreds of oxycodone pills from this dealer beginning in November 2007, the federal government must have seen something that said "spy" in him and had him wear a wire during three drug buys in southeastern Massachusetts. According to the Boston Globe, the third of those buys was followed by federal agents arresting the alleged supplier.

While, of course, no one will comment on the matter further, it does make for an interesting thought: Maybe the Patriots teaching their players to cheat and their team to spy is good for something?! Nah...

Weekend Wrap-Up

Some stories from the past weekend, then a new post later today!

Prior injured, again: San Diego Padres pitcher Mark Prior has a shoulder tear, again, will require season-sending surgery, again and will go without pitching in another full season, again. All the talent in the world and this guy can't catch a break for anything.

Kimbo should box: The New York Post's Dave Willis writes a great article about Kimbo Slice following his so-so coming out party on CBS. Willis thinks Slice's fists would have been better off in boxing then MMA. I happen to agree.

Whose moving to L.A.? With Los Angeles still without a NFL team, many have begun speculating who will take the home of the new $800M stadium that has already been promised a Super Bowl? The San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, San Diego Chargers and Minnesota Vikings are all viable options. This article explores the issue.

Get over it! And finally...New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison is stuck in denial over New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree's circus catch in Super Bowl XLII. I guess Bill Belichick didn't have the Spygate film on that one. 18-1 is perfect to me.

Saturday News & Notes

Rose Won't Wither - Continuing the trend from two stories below, Pete Rose still can't keep his mouth shut. This time he claims he would have amassed 5,000 hits if he would have been on steroids. Pete, I thought we just went over this--stop.

Kimbo Slice Debuts - There is no more waiting as backyard brawler-turned-MMA superstar Kimbo Slice will fight in an EliteXC card tonight live on CBS. This is the first time MMA is being broadcast on network television and EliteXC is using Slice (real name Ferguson) as their poster boy for potential success. While his peers still question Slice's ability, there is no questioning his star power and potential to brutally dominate the sport.

I Thought Seau was Retired? - New England Patriots LB Junior Seau retired from football (and his Miami Dolphins contract) in 2006 by signing a one-day deal with the San Diego Chargers. Four days later, he signed with the Patriots and is now considering a third year with the team. What a stand-up guy, huh?

Dukies Hire Notre Dame AD - While Duke (outside of lacrosse and basketball) leaves little to be desired as far as a collegiate athletic program, hiring the AD that hasn't done much at all with Notre Dame makes you wonder if they are even serious about improving their programs?

More U.S. Friendlies with Euro Clubs - F.C. Barcelona has signed to play two friendlies in the United States by scheduling games in Chicago and New York against Mexican club Chivas Guadalajara at Soldier Field and the MLS's Red Bulls at Giants Stadium respectivley. This will be the club's third trip to the U.S. in the last five years.

Porter Brings Heat on Beli-cheat

During an interview with NFL Live and host Trey Wingo this afternoon, Miami Dolphins LB Joey Porter called out the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick and the NFL for the handling of Spygate and the most recent discovery of further cheating by Belichick by allowing players on the IR to practice with the team. Below is my transcription of the interview:

JP: They cheated, there should be an asterisk. They cheated and they got caught. Marion Jones—she got caught they took the gold medals back. Obviously, they got caught. If it wasn’t that bad, why would they destroy the evidence? If you have nothing to hide, why would you destroy it? Why destroy something that doesn’t have to be destroyed? Let everybody see what was on that tape. Why are you going to destroy it so fast? I think it must’ve been that bad to where they didn’t want anybody else to see it. It had to be that bad. And if it wasn’t helping nobody, why did you do it? If Tom Brady wasn’t getting help out of it—why would you do it every week? Everybody wants to wonder how these guys just went from 0 to 60 overnight. That will do it for you.

TW: Is there a lot of talk among the players about that? Whether the Dolphins or other locker rooms around the league?

JP: Anybody I know that lost to them in big games—they’re very upset about it. The slap on the wrist didn’t really fit the crime. I don’t think the $500K fine was really big enough when you make multi-millions and billions off of the championships. He probably didn’t even have to pay it anyway—Kraft probably paid that fine, so it didn’t really hurt Belichick. He’s supposed to be this great coach—but cheating. He’s supposed to be a good coach, a great great coach and he got caught cheating. I don’t understand that. I lost two of those championship games, and if you tell me that happened, there is no way I can look at it and not feel cheated.

Anyone that knows my opinions of the situation will agree that I've been calling for steeper penalties, further investigations and the suspension of Belichick since the original punishment was levied. With further confirmation from former New England Patriots OL Ross Tucker that the Pats did, indeed, cheat in more ways than Spygate--why hasn't Commissioner Roger Goodell done more to investigate and justly penalize the coach and franchise?

Read my thoughts on Goodell and Spygate from February 2008.