Following the New England Patriots’ complete destruction of the Buffalo Bills’ defense, we learned two things: Andrea Kremer would totally go out with Tom Brady, and the Patriots are offensive (pun!!1!) simply by taking the field and playing the game they’re paid to play.
It wasn’t the first time the Patriots have beaten an opponent as
severely as they beat the Bills, and, not surprisingly, it wasn’t the
first time they’ve been accused of “running up the score.”
24, 24, 31, 21, 17, 21, 45, 4, and 46. Those are the Patriots’
margins of victory in their ten games this season. That’s an average
margin of victory of over 23 points.
The latest wails of “running up the score” came after the Patriots
twice went for the touchdown on fourth down instead of settling for a
field goal in the Bills game. The oft-cited “unwritten rules” were
brought up, that it is unethical to go for it on fourth down if you’re
enjoying a comfortable lead.
This rule applies to almost any team sport, especially baseball,
where, if you’re up by about 8 runs or so, it becomes unethical to
steal bases, bunt, bring in your better pitchers, and try trick plays.
It’s just an example of how no one can be offended anymore in this
country. On this blog, as well as in many other venues, I’ve made what
some consider extremely liberal claims (e.g. drugs should be
legalized), but one liberal issue I completely abhor is political
correctness. It’s often hypocritical and almost always an infringement
on First Amendment rights. The Patriots didn’t even speak — they simply
played a game well.
Here’s a list of people you can’t offend in this country:
Homosexuals
Bisexuals
Transgenders
Christians
Jews
African-Americans
Women
Anyone who knows anyone who knows anyone who is in the armed forces
The Bush administration, and the government in general
The disabled (note: not referring to the Bush administration)
People who are squeamish when it comes to violence or “foul” language
NEW: Bad sports teams, or otherwise good teams simply getting demolished
It’s politically correct to not run up the score. It’s politically correct to not brag and to modestly acknowledge your success.
It’s politically incorrect to humorously reference a movie about
homosexuality — still a fine source of humor for many in the comedy
industry — and analogize it to basketball, as Phil Jackson did.
Back to the Patriots — what did the P.C. people want Belichick to do
instead? Kick a field goal and tack on more points? At least if he goes
for it on fourth down, he gives the Bills defense a chance to step it
up and prevent them from scoring any points. At that point, with the
Patriots leading as emphatically as they were, the difference between a
touchdown and a field goal (four points) was moot anyway.
Isn’t it more insulting to “play down” to your opponent after you
get out to a sizable lead? It says, at least to me, “I’m so good, I
don’t even need to try hard to beat you. I can take out all of our best
players and play second- and third-stringers.”
Don’t want the Patriots to run up the score? Keep them out of the end zone. That was the response Leon Grant of the Seattle Seahawks gave to reporters
when asked about Chad Johnson’s touchdown celebrations (another thing
you’re not allowed to do when the P.C. police are around):
And though none of the Seahawks wants to witness
one of Johnson’s elaborate celebrations, they are more concerned with
the reason it would occur rather than the act itself.
“My mentality is that if you don’t want a guy to do all of that on you, just keep him out of the end zone,” Grant said.
The Patriots will continue to win by at least three touchdowns, and
will kick sand in the face of their opponents as they go for the fourth
on fourth down.
March/April – .499 opponent ‘07 winning percentage over 10 series.
May — .484 opponent ‘07 winning percentage over 9 series.
June – .498 opponent ‘07 winning percentage over 8 series.
July — .506 opponent ‘07 winning percentage over 8 series.
August — .487 opponent ‘07 winning percentage over 9 series.
September — .480 opponent ‘07 winning percentage over 8 series.
OVERALL – .492 opponent ‘07 winning percentage over 52 series.
Before any off-season wheeling and dealing, and based solely on the
teams’ 2007 performances, the Phillies appear to have an easy schedule
ahead of them in 2008.
Interleague
Even though it’s not really special anymore, it is still worth noting which A.L. teams the Phillies will face.
May 16-18: Toronto Blue Jays (83-79, 3rd in AL East in ‘07)
June 16-18: Boston Red Sox (96-66, 1st in AL East in ‘07)
June 20-22: Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (94-68, 1st in AL West in ‘07)
June 24-26: at Oakland Athletics (76-86, 3rd in AL West in ‘07)
June 27-29: at Texas Rangers (75-87, 4th in AL West in ‘07)
Those five series yield an average record of about 85-77 (.525).
The Phillies are home against the “good” teams, which bodes well
both from a perceived home field advantage standpoint, and from a
ticket sales standpoint.
Divisional Rivalries
The number of times the Phillies face division rivals by month…
March/April — 9 games out of 28 (32%)
May — 8 games out of 29 (27.5%)
June — 7 games out of 27 (26%)
July — 18 games out of 25 (72%)
August — 8 games out of 29 (27.5%)
September — 21 games out of 26 (81%)
I think it’s safe to assume that July and September are the most important months of 2008 for the Phillies.
Reservations
Finally, a look at the Phillies home/away match-ups…
March/April — 14 games home out of 28 (50%)
May — 15 games out of 29 (52%)
June — 11 games out of 26 (42%)
July — 13 games out of 25 (52%)
August — 15 games out of 29 (52%)
September — 13 games out of 25 (52%)
Every month, the Phillies have more home games than road games besides June, so that also bodes well.
The worst trips for Eastern teams like the Phillies, obviously, are westward. The Phillies head West four times:
April 21-22: Colorado for 2 games
May 5-11: Arizona and San Francisco for 7 games (4 ARI; 3 SF)
June 24-29: Oakland and Texas for 6 games (3 apiece)
August 11-17: Los Angeles and San Diego (4 LAD; 3 SD)
As mentioned, the Phillies’ 2008 schedule is tentative — it is subject to change.
Philadelphia is home to the least attractive people in the United States, a survey of visitors and residents showed on Friday.
The city of more than 1.5 million people was also found to be
among the least stylish, least active, least friendly and least
worldly, according to the “America’s Favourite Cities” survey by Travel
& Leisure magazine and CNN Headline News.
I was just getting some confidence in my self-image back, and then I hop onto the Internet and read this. That’s it! No more Pat’s and Geno’s cheesesteaks! No more Italian ice or pretzels! No more hoagies!
I think I’m going to start a group and go on a field trip to Los Angeles to get some plastic surgery, too.
Oh, nevermind, I just read more of the article and now I realize that while I’m not attractive, I’m also not unattractive:
[…] [Travel & Leisure senior editor Amy] Farley
pointed out the results don’t mean people in Philadelphia are ugly or
the city is a bad place to visit.
“We were asking people to vote on attractiveness, not
unattractiveness. Travel & Leisure editors believe there are a lot
of attractive people in Philadelphia,” she said.
Phew. I almost made a rash decision.
Blog Hoppin’
Check out these quality blogs:
Vancouver has a fool-proof plan to earn the right to host the 2010 Olympics. [100% Injury Rate]
Taco Bell is intensely patriotic with this new marketing ploy. [Babes Love Baseball]
The Eagles are so bad, Philadelphians are already counting down to Spring training. Only 115 days left! [Balls, Sticks, & Stuff]
Settle down, folks! We know it’s Willie Green season! [Broad Street ####s]
The guy responsible for the Indians’ seventh-inning baserunning
blunder is the leading candidate for the job as manager of the
Pittsburgh Pirates. [Bugs & Cranks]
How Scott Boras became the most hated man in baseball. [I’m Writing Sports]
It’s fun to blog when your favorite teams are winning. [Josh Q. Public]
Keyshawn Johnson’s interview with Chad Johnson is ironic. [Signal to Noise]
Visit my new website -- Crashburn Alley!>
Crashburn Alley is a fusion of the phrase "crash and burn" with Ashburn Alley, which is beyond the center field fence at Citizens Bank Park. You can read more about Crashburn Alley here.>
I'm a diehard Phillies fan who is still reeling from the 1993 World Series and Joe Carter's three-run homerun in Game 6.
