To the brainwashed souls out there, the Patriots do not need to win the Super Bowl for this season to be labeled as a success. Even if they don't win the Super Bowl, they still proved themselves to be the greatest team that ever existed in the regular season.

Listening to a lot of people everywhere including the Patriot players themselves is a bit nauseating, and I'm as devoted a Patriots fan as there is. At least when Patriots players say that the season won't mean anything if they don't win the Super Bowl, I understand that they have to say it. They're still playing football, and since they have a game coming up, it's no time to rest on laurels.

But that doesn't mean that there are no laurels to rest on already.

Let's figure out the reasons why the Patriots winning season has already surpassed the '72 Dolphins.

1) length of season. If we want to compare apples with apples, then let's look at overall games. The Dolphins won 14 regular season games (17 overall) and the Patriots so far have won 16 straight. Last time I checked 16 was a higher number than 14, but some of you may be using the "new math" to figure things out so you may come to a different conclusion.

2) the competition. Here are the teams that each played, the season records, and their conference standings.

                      2007 Patriots                              1972 Dolphins 

@NYJ    4-12       3rd   AFC East                @KC    8-6       2nd   AFC West

SD          11-5       1st    AFC West              HOU     1-13     4th    AFC Central

BUF        7-9        2nd   AFC East                @MIN  7-7       3rd    NFC Central

@CIN     7-9        3rd   AFC North              @NYJ   7-7       2nd   AFC East

CLE        10-6       2nd  AFC North              SD         4-9        4th    AFC West

@DAL   13-3       1st    NFC East                BUF       4-9-1    4th    AFC East

@MIA    1-15       4th   AFC East                @BAL    5-9       3rd   AFC East

WAS        9-7       3rd   NFC East                @BUF    4-9-1   4th    AFC East

@IND    13-3       1st    AFC South              NE          3-11     5th    AFC East

@BUF     7-9        2nd  AFC East                 NYJ       4-9        4th    AFC East

PHI          8-8        4th   NFC East                 STL       4-9        4th    NFC East

@BAL    5-11       4th   AFC North              @NE      3-11      5th    AFC East

PIT         10-6        1st   AFC North             @NYG    8-6       3rd    NFC  East

NYJ        4-12       3rd   AFC East                BAL        5-9-2    3rd    AFC East

MIA        1-15       4th   AFC East                          67-124-2  = .360 winning %

@NYG   10-6       2nd   NFC East 

            120-145  =  .453 winning 

                 

The overall winning percentage of the teams the Patriots played was 0.453 vs. 0.360 for the Dolphins.

 

note: I counted games against divisional rivals as if they were separate teams to be merciful to the Dolphins. How so? Calculating it this way helps the Dolphins. Don't believe me? Here are the standings 

 

     AFC East in 2007                                AFC East in 1972                              

TEAM     W-L     Win%                       TEAM     W-L-T   Win%                    

NE          16-0     1.000                        MIA        14-0-0    1.00                      

BUF          7-9     0.438                        NYJ          7-7-0    0.500                     

NYJ          4-12   0.250                        BAL          5-9-0    0.357                    

MIA          1-15   0.063                        BUF          4-9-1    0.321                     

                                                             NE            3-11-0  0.214

 

Still think that the '72 Dolphins had a better regular season than the 2007 Patriots?

Let's rearrange the season records according to division rankings and then overall records:

 

             2007 Patriots                                     1972 Dolphins 

@DAL  13-3     1st  NFC East                            ----

@IND   13-3     1st  AFC South                          ----

SD         11-5     1st  AFC West                          ----

PIT         10-6    1st  AFC North                         ----

 

CLE       10-6     2nd  AFC North           @KC    8-6       2nd  AFC West

@NYG  10-6     2nd  NFC East              NYJ     7-7        2nd  AFC East      

BUF       7-9       2nd  AFC East                           ----

 

WAS      9-7       3rd  NFC East             @NYG   8-6      3rd  NFC East

@CIN    7-9       3rd  AFC North           @MIN   7-7       3rd  NFC Central

NYJ       4-12     3rd  AFC East              BAL       5-9      3rd  AFC East)

 

PHI         8-8       4th  NFC East              SD         4-9      4th  AFC West

@BAL    5-11     4th  AFC North           BUF       4-9      4th  AFC East

MIA       1-15     4th  AFC East              NYJ       4-9       4th  AFC East

STL        4-9       4th   NFC East             HOU    1-13      4th   AFC Central

                                                               NE       3-11      5th   AFC East*

 

[* in 1972 both the AFC East and NFC East had an extra team. sorry about the alignment problem. the NE score is obviously for the 1972 Dolphins column, but i can't get it to align correctly.]

 

Kind of brutal for the '72 Dolphins.

 

Also, they beat 2 teams tied for the 2nd best record in the entire NFL while playing them on the road.

 

Folks, it's not even close. Now how about the rest of the reason?

 

3)   the players. No offense meant to guys playing in 1972, but the players today are bigger, faster, and more athletic. Not by a little but by a lot.  

 

4)   the parity. Today's NFL was created with parity as a major underpinning. The '72 Dolphins never had to worry about it. Parity was created by introducing the salary cap (in 1994) and free agency (in 1989). Therefore, in 1972, a team like the Dolphins had a far easier time keeping key players.

 

5)   the drugs. Any team with a sharp enough trainer could get their hands on drugs to make the team play better. For the NFL amphetamines and steroids were common friends until drug testing began in 1987. Does this mean that any or all of the '72 Dolphins were using them? Nope. But it's a factor in considering the nature of the game.

 

 

Only an idiot (and maybe not even an idiot) would try to argue that it was harder to play in the NFL in 1972 than today.

 

In this age of "we're just taking it one game at a time" and "it don't mean nothing unless we win the Super Bowl", it's easy to brainwash ourselves into not appreciating what has been accomplished.

  

As my stat friend UltraMega likes to point out, regular season and post-season stats are kept separate for a reason. So be it. We keep the stats separate because the regular season and post-season are different.

 

The idea that "records don't mean nothing if we don't win the Super Bowl" has become a mantra, but we all know it's a lie. Regardless of what happens, Tom Brady should be proud of owning the single-season record for passing touchdowns, Randy Moss should be proud of getting the single-season record for touchdown receptions, and the Patriots should be proud of setting the single-season record for most points scored.

 

Any Yankee and/or A-Rod fan who points out that he's the greatest offensive player at this point in his career should keep quiet at this point. You should be supporting this post, because if there was ever a guy who epitomized why the regular and post-seasons should be kept separate, it's A-Rod. He's a regular-season wonder and a post-season miss.

 

Probably a lot of Patriot fans will be angry about this post, because they too have been brainwashed into thinking that anything less than a Super Bowl is failure. As for me, I "gather (my) rosebuds where (I) may".

 

Here is another couple of things to chew on. First, to the naysayers out there who think that anything less than 19-0 is complete failure, let me remind you that since the advent of the 16-game regular-season schedule, do you know how many years a team has won the Super Bowl? EVERY YEAR. During that same time frame and until this season, do you know how many teams have gone 16-0? ZERO!!!!! You tell me which one is more precious.

Second, Manning did not get his single-season touchdown passing record and his Super Bowl victory in the same season. How many people really care that he did it in two separate seasons? ZERO. We honor his accomplishment for exactly what it was. No matter what happens in this postseason, for a long long time QBs will be chasing Brady, wide receivers will be gunning to beat Moss's record, and all teams will be trying to break the 2007 Patriots single-season points record and undefeated regular season record. See? 16-0 really does mean something.

 

Regardless of how the Patriots do in the post-season, they are indisputably the greatest team to ever take the field during the regular season. When you combine overall record, strength of schedule, scoring and defense, it's undisputable.

 

Congratulations Patriots!!!!!! Now let's go win the Super Bowl.

 

P.S. for all of you who think that this season was marred by "spygate", get a life. I'm sure they really needed to cheat against the hapless Jets.

P.P.S. And if the Patriots were to go 19-0, then they would not share the perch with the '72 Dolphins, they would be a notch above them for the same reasons that they are already in a higher plane for the regular season record.

P.P.S.S. this is a repost due to a slightly altered state this morning leading to an accidental deletion.

P.P.P.S.S. does anyone know how to work with the alignment on this blogsite?  

So, who really was the biggest winner of the Patriots-Giants game tonight? The NFL!!!!

Not only was the game highly entertaining and well-played for the most part, but the score was close and it came right down to the final minutes of the game. It's the type of game which makes people want to watch more football.

Also, the game was historic on far more levels than just what happened on the field.

Let's count the ways:

1)  For the first time that I can remember (other than the State of the Union Address) all 3 original major networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) were broadcasting the exact same game. They were all broadcasting the NFL Network. Talk about maximal expsosure

2)  For the first time ever, all three of the networks were broadcasting the exact same commercials (except during the half).

3)  For the first time ever, all three networks had the same annnouncers

Trust me, such a thing will never ever happen again, and I hate using "never".  It was a historic moment in television history that will never again be equaled.

 

Other winners:

1)  The broadcasting squad of the NFL Network. Gumbel was not great but he wasn't terrible. Collinsworth is just Collinsworth.

2)  All the companies that paid for ad time on the NFL Network for this game. Imagine thinking that you were going to be advertising to a few hundred thousand households and instead you get to millions of houses. Just amazing.

3)  The Patriots for obvious reasons

4)  The Giants. they didn't win, but they almost beat the best team in football. For Manning, he needed a game like this one to show that he can compete and excel against the best. For Tom Coughlin, he needed a close game like this to show his team that the coaching staff really do know what's going on.

Sure, the Giants lost the game, but this is one of those times where everyone actually won and both teams benefitted.

Well the 12 days of Christmas are over. I'm still not sure why there are 12 of them. Must have something to do with dozens of eggs or donut.

As we go into tonight's heavily anticipated contest between the Patriots and Giants, here are 10 things I'm thankful for:

 

 

1)      the game is on Saturday night. Sunday night games are the worst for going to work on Monday

2)      the NFL has put the game back on free TV

3)      this blogsite's NFL section is not 95% full of blogs about the latest Jason Whitlock article

4)      the NFL still has cheerleaders

5)      we've managed to get through another Christmas season without any idiotic terrorist screwing things up (at least in the U.S.)

6)      yesterday, I saw the largest peregrine falcon ever sitting on the ground in Mt. Auburn Cemetary in Cambridge, MA. No joke, I walked to within 5 yards of it, but then remembered that falcons are superior hunters and can snatch pigeons and just about anything else in midair, so I just stood there and marveled at it. for some reason it made me think of Michael Vick.

7)      the Celtics are still cruising

8)      New York City reported a nearly 20% drop in homicides (hey, I can still be a Bostonian and love NYC)

9)      Dunkin Donuts still makes a heck of a good donut (btw, here's a shocking fact for you people in Albany and the surrounding areas. I just heard that your donuts are not made fresh on-site, but rather are shipped from Massachusetts. I'm serious. That comes directly from a manager at a Dunkin Donuts in the Albany, NY area. Maybe that's why Dunkin Donuts had to pull the ad for "time to make the donuts". Maybe that has to be replaced with "time to unpack the donuts".)

10)  my little niece who just happens to love Tom Brady.

 

Rocket: "Hey Andy, are you crossing your fingers also? I won't tell the truth if you won't"

 

Roger Clemens is used to being in the driver's seat, and nothing has changed with the Mitchell Report. He might not be doing any future PSAs for a "Drug-free America", but even if he never gets another endorsement deal, he's got a multimillion dollar bank account to console him at the end of every month.

Ever listen to an automated bank system tell you your account balance?

Imagine Clemens's bank system saying, "Rocket, your available balance is one-hundred and seventy-million dollars." 

Now his lead attorney, a term that immediately makes you suspicious that he's got a lot to hide since he needs a team of attorneys, has announced that he's doing his own investigation. Where would Roger be without you Rusty Hardin?

Great drama.

If I were advising Clemens, here is what I would say:

"Roger, dig up every little piece of trash possible on Brian McNamee. Look for evidence of dog fighting, so you can turn the PETA people against him. Look for any shred of racism to turn the NAACP against him. Come up with some sacrilegious statement that he was heard uttering in a bathroom stall during a particularly painful bowel movement to pit every non-atheist against him. Finally, if he has any history of domestic abuse against a woman or child, then throw that in there also.

As for yourself? Your lawyer Rusty Hardin is doing a fantastic job. Keep having him get up there instead of you, because then he becomes the face that the American public associates with your illegal drug use.

Have Rusty keep stirring the pot and announcing that he won't rest until the people who killed your reputation have been brought to justice. For good measure, have him say that he's going to use his and your money to find the killers. Even better, have him tell people that you only can tolerate a 25-gauge syringe needle and that McNamee swears that he only used 20-gauge needles on you (the higher the gauge number, the thinner the needle). Then have Rusty thunder, "If the needle don't fit, you must acquit!!!!!!"

If you're feeling super adventurous, start a rumor that you were the one who tipped off the authorities to the illegal activities of Radomski and McNamee. That should get a few law enforcement people on your side, and that's always a good thing, especially when you or your sons pick up a parking or speeding ticket.

Also, never ever admit your guilt. Of course you got better with age all by yourself. Keep saying that to yourself. The funny thing about positive affirmations is that they can become your reality if you say them often enough and for a long enough period of time. And that might really help your case, because then you can take a polygraph test and pass it with flying colors.

And just remember that the steroids and HGH you took are completely untraceable now. Remember that, because without that proof there is "reasonable doubt". And we know that "reasonable doubt" does not mean that the doubt you've created is reasonable, but rather that you've managed to insert the smallest shred of doubt into the situation.

It's just your word against some guy who was a true drug pusher: he not only sold you the drug, but he also pushed it into your body. It's your Cy Youngs against his heavy sighs. It's your World Series ring against his mood ring.

Keep saying that you're innocent, because the longer you do it, the more traction you get in people's minds that maybe you are innocent. Don't stop doing that, because I'm telling you now that outside of some Yankee and Astros fans, there's not a single person on this earth who believes that you didn't bend over and take that needle in the kiester for your own embellishment.

And make sure to be modest. Don't ever run around naked, because shrunken testicles are a classic sign of long-term steroid use. If people insult you, don't turn your back on them or turn the other cheek, because that might expose more of your steroid-induced acne. As for your breast development, confuse people by appealing to their common sense and asking how could you possibly be growing breasts if you've been taking a drug that's  suppose to turn you into a He-man (although people in medicine know that breast development in a male is a classic gender-specific side effect of anabolic steroid use).

Some people may say that a well-known negative side effect of anabolic steroids are significant muscle cramps, as well as increased risks of muscle tears and tendon injuries. The really sharp ones might look at your record with the Yankees and Astros and wonder if the way you broke down the past several seasons was due to the steroids. Keep making jokes about your age, because that's the best way to deflect such a line of questioning.

Stay in control.

Hey, I don't blame you for thinking you can get away with it. Don't you remember in 2000 when Mike Piazza hit that broken bat single and you grabbed part of the broken bat that was closest to you and threw it at Piazza while he was running to first? At that time you told all of us that you thought you were "fielding the ball" and had mistaken the bat for the baseball. We ridiculed you then, but maybe we should be apologizing, because can't 'roid rage make a guy hallucinate? The thing is that miraculously you weren't ejected that game, and you went on to completely obliterate the Mets by mowing down 9 batter and allowing only 2 hits in 8 innings. You were in total control.

How about in 2006 during the World Baseball Classic game between Japan and Korea when you said that, "None of the dry cleaners were open; they were all at the game." For your information and according to several of my Korean friends, only the Koreans dominate the U.S. dry cleaning business, so you not only made a racially insensitive comment, but a racially ignorant one as well. But it's okay, because you got away with that one also.

Remember, you're not just the Rocket, you're the driver of the Rocket.

You need to be in control. That's why you loved to throw tantalizingly close to a lot of batters. I know, I know, you're misunderstood on that count. Hey, you weren't throwing at them to hurt them, you were just trying to make them appreciate the fact that they were still alive after the ball was pried out with a crowbar from the catcher's mitt or the backstop. Isn't it amazing how people try to vilify the good works of Samaritans such as yourself?

You're still in control, just like you were in control every time you pulled a fast one on the steroid testing people from MLB. The only thing you missed is that AT&T Wireless dropped call commercial. You thought you were in control as you pulled a fast one on your wife by telling her you were coming out of retirement while your call had been dropped. But actually, the commercial demonstrated what we've known all along: you'll do anything and use any trick to control the situation.

So, as you skip off into the sunset and protest loudly that you must be innocent because you've never failed an MLB steroid test, I have one final piece of advice for you: make sure to delete Marion Jones's number from your speed dial.

Your Friend,

DivineSwine"

There are several sports which lend themselves well to television. Baseball, gymnastics, basketball are ones that come to mind immediately. Of course, the king of them all is football. I've gone to Red Sox games this past season and Patriots games this season, and the truth is that there is no sport which transfers better to TV than football.

Why? The players are big, the football is big, there is a lot of stop-and-start action (a key for those looking to refill on food or make a bathroom pit stop), and the cheerleaders brighten up the screen.

There is also one clear TV loser: ice hockey.

Give Fox Sports credit for trying to put a little pizzazz into hockey with colorful tails to help TV viewers track the puck speeding towards the goal, and also putting a colored dot over the puck to help viewers track its course as it passed from stick to stick and disappeared into the corners of the rink. But in the end it was a failure. A noble failure.

For anyone who hasn't seen a live highly competitive collegiate or professional ice hockey game, you have no idea what you are missing. In terms of sound, there are few sounds that rival the sharp crack of a puck being slapped by a piece of wood travelling towards it at high velocity. How about the distinctive sound that a hard body check makes?

As for visually, the action and the puck are usually visible from anywhere in a hockey arena. The skating is beautiful as is the top-flight passing, and the only thing it needs is a flashier way of indicating that a goal has been scored. Maybe the lights should flicker on-and-off on the ice.

As an example of how ice hockey transfers miserably to TV, let's talk about hard hits. When I watch football on TV, I really feel the hits. No joke, it's like my own neck is getting snapped back, but that never happens with hockey on TV.  

The NHL and the networks have tried just about every camera angle, but nothing seems to work. Maybe they need to design hockey pads that make a lot of noise when a guy gets checked so that the harder the check, the louder the sound. Until that time, hockey is a sport that's just meant to be watched in person.

Here's another example of why watching live hockey is far better than attending any other pro sporting event. In Gillette Stadium, I sit right near the goal line, but when the action is all the way down the other end of the stadium, I usually watch the big jumbotron that's over that end. It's because the players shield the ball. But in Boston Garden, while sitting up in the balcony and off to the side of one goal, I never need to watch the jumbotron at center ice, even when the puck is down at the other end. By the way, the jumbotron in Boston Garden is super nice.

When I'm sitting near Pesky Pole (down the right field line) at Fenway Park, it's a bit tough to track the baseball, especially on a sunny afternoon. When I'm sitting in the balcony at Yankee Stadium, it's also tough to track the ball at times. That problem almost never occurs at a hockey game.

Hockey might not be as popular as baseball or football, but it definitely is the best sporting event to watch live. If you don't believe me, then head over to Boston Garden for a Bruins game and sit in any seat (trust me there are enough unoccupied ones that you can sample seats to your heart's delight), and after watching that contest, there is no way to tell me that the same can be said for Fenway Park or Gillette Stadium or any other baseball or football stadium.

 

P.S. yes, the Celtics also play at Boston Garden, but one of the problems with pro basketball is that there is too much emphasis on guys standing around while the ball handler runs an isolation play. In hockey, the players are in continuous motion.