DeflateGate: Is it time?

By TERRY LYONS, DigitalSportsDesk

(This was previously posted to my general sports columns and contributions on Huffington Post and Digital Sports Desk):

Some roads are paved by an overnight construction crew with a slab of blacktop. Some roads are paved brick-by-brick, by skilled workers who toil for hours on end to be sure each piece of stone is laid perfectly in unison with the next, all cemented in a pavement that will last for generations to come. Today, there is a new road being paved from Park Avenue in New York to Foxboro, Massachusetts. It might be cheap asphalt or it might be everlasting cobblestone. Only one thing is for sure, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is the foreman on the job.

Over the course of more than 100 days, the National Football League and the New England Patriots have been on far opposite ends of a legal tango trying to uncover the facts behind a relatively stupid aspect of league rules involving the proper amount of air in a game ball. While airing that controversy out, the NFL has cautiously detoured, carefully dictating the road that Brady will soon walk down.

This week the NFL, via a team of hired-gun lawyers and investigators, handed down a 243-page report, authored by an independent sleuth but powered by NFL league counsel Jeff Pash's checkbook. The Wells Report, camouflaged with legal mumbo jumbo, uncovered and delivered a "more probable than not" scenario to implicate two New England Patriots game-day employees for their role in tampering with game balls and deflating them to illegal levels of PSI (pounds per square inch) much to Brady's liking for an NFL playoff game contested on a cold, damp winter evening. The report also stated that Brady "was, at least, generally aware" of the incident. Although the Wells Report left "reasonable doubt" for a level of proof mandatory in a court of law, the investigation left little to the imagination in the all-important court of public opinion.

Tom Brady of the New England Patriots (Getty Images).

Why is this crazy incident and the Wells Report so important?

On one side of that document, the newfound Magna Carta for NFL integrity because of the fact the alleged perpetrators tampered with the GAME BALLS, is a model sports franchise, model owner and model quarterback with a (real) supermodel wife. The New England Patriots are not only the reigning Super Bowl champions for the NFL, the most powerful, profitable and influential sports league in word history, but they also represent the sport in nearly every fraction one can imagine.

On the other side of the document, the NFL is practically accusing its model citizens of cheating.

The team owner has been the foundation of that franchise, etched into the New England community for rescuing a football club that nearly moved down I95 to, god forbid, Hartford, Connecticut. But, more than that, Robert Kraft, along with a very small handful of other NFL team investors, is the face of NFL ownership with visions of man hugs dancing in our heads, even after contentious labor negotiating sessions when Kraft was portrayed as the savior of the NFL back when a labor stoppage threatened the 2011 season.

The team's head coach, Bill Belichick, has carved his own legacy in stone as he is certainly on the Mt. Rushmore of the NFL's greatest coaches ever, alongside Lombardi, Halas, Shula and Landry. Belichick out-smarts, out-prepares, or simply out-coaches his opponents on a scale unimaginable in the modern-day era of salary cap and free agency. His legacy, while secure, was tarnished severely back in 2007 when the NFL levied a $500,000 fine for an unfair videotaping incident known to all as "SpyGate." But, he surely endures.

The team's quarterback and leader, Brady, is amongst the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. Period.

Off the field, Brady fast became the poster boy for what the NFL likes to portray as its typical All-Pro player. Brady's good looks, his storybook romances and media-friendly demeanor are fed to sports fans on a weekly basis every autumn. Most importantly, on the field of play, Brady has backed it up with his winning ways, complete with IV Super Bowl Wins and III Super Bowl MVPs. With it all, Brady has enjoyed endorsements, fame, glory, good fortune and extremely positive public relations throughout his career.

As the Patriots camp reacted to the Wells Report, the model team owner put out his statement, noting, "to say we are disappointed in its findings, which do not include any incontrovertible or hard evidence of deliberate deflation of footballs at the AFC Championship game, would be a gross understatement." Then both Brady's agent and his father took similar positions to put up a smoke screen of plausible deniability, all using Nixonian-like phraseology, while failing to come out and plainly state -- "We didn't do it."

As fate would have it, Brady was booked at a Salem State University speaking series, where he had the nerve to helicopter in to sit alongside media maven Jim Gray for a show right out of Inside the Actor's Studio. On that set, Brady smugly glossed over the news of the day, claiming he hadn't had time to fully digest and read the account that will undoubtedly be attached to his lifelong resume, nevermind (potentially) negatively impact the 2015 New England Patriots season, depending on yet-to-be prescribed NFL discipline via fine or suspension.

Brady's continuous, ill-advised steps, from his initial press conference just days after the Deflategate controversy broke to his disingenuous remarks told at Salem State, place Brady in a precarious position, both in terms of fighting the NFL on the discipline and in the all-important court of public opinion.

While his actions can not be properly compared to the utter depths of sports malpractice, orchestrated somewhat recently by Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds or Lance Armstrong for cheating their sports and fellow competitors by constant denial of utilizing performance enhancing chemistry, the fall-out on Brady might be as impactful were it not for the mountain of goodwill he had previously built up.

Says sports media guru and former White House Director of Communications Kevin Sullivan: "While it's still unclear what exactly Brady's role was, he has too much personal goodwill in the bank and too much success on the field for this to seriously damage him. Deflategate will be part of his legacy, but more likely as a footnote than a headline."

With that in mind, it might be time for Brady, Belichick, Kraft and the New England Patriots to 'fess up. Even if they have ballboys Jim McNally and John Jastremski text it to us.

Odds &/$ Ends?

Dez Bryant at 75/1 for NFL MVP?

Fantasy Football fans are always looking for an edge when faced with a tough first or second round draft choice in their leagues. One idea for fans is to consult with the vast number of online sites for NFL action, but the problem, for many, is to sift through the zillions of sites and find a few to trust. If that's the case, sportsbettingdime.com has taken the liberty to find the very best information on line. In this case, the NFL QB and MVP info might help you consider the players that Vegas believes will have their best season. 

New England Patriots QB Tom Brady is 12/1 to lead the league in passing yards and 9/1 to be league MVP while his fun-loving TE, the oft-injured Rob Gronkowski, is 100/1 to lead the league in receiving yards and also 100/1 to win MVP.

Here is the list for NFL MVP odds:

Peyton Manning - 7/2
Aaron Rodgers - 6/1
Drew Brees - 8/1
Tom Brady - 9/1
Andrew Luck - 12/1
Colin Kaepernick - 20/1
Jay Cutler - 20/1
Russell Wilson - 20/1
Adrian Peterson - 25/1
Nick Foles - 25/1
Robert Griffin III - 25/1
LeSean McCoy - 28/1
Matthew Stafford - 28/1
Calvin Johnson - 33/1
Cam Newton - 33/1
Matt Ryan - 33/1
Philip Rivers - 40/1
Tony Romo - 40/1
Ben Roethlisberger - 50/1
Jamaal Charles - 50/1
Marshawn Lynch - 50/1
Eli Manning - 66/1
Jimmy Graham - 66/1
Matt Forte - 66/1
Brandon Marshall - 75/1
Demaryius Thomas - 75/1
Dez Bryant - 75/1
Johnny Manziel - 75/1
Julio Jones - 75/1
Andy Dalton - 100/1
Arian Foster - 100/1
C.J. Spiller - 100/1
Chris Johnson - 100/1
Eddie Lacy - 100/1
Joe Flacco - 100/1
Rob Gronkowski - 100/1

Michael Chiklis: When the Game Stands Tall

(This story is posted on DigitalSportsDesk.com as part of a regular supply of original content, available for sports and entertainment sites worldwide).

By TERRY LYONS (Special to DigitalSPortsDesk)

During these past few lazy days of summer, there's been a lot going on in the New England sports scene. The New England Patriots are firing up their preseason engines with coach Bill Belichick and QB Tom Brady leading the way. The Boston Bruins and Celtics are scouring the earth for some added scoring, as each approach the 2014-15 season on opposite ends of the projected ladder. Over on Yawkey Way, Ben Cherington, the GM of the Boston Red Sox orchestrated a midseason coup, trading pitching ace Jon Lester and a slew of role-playing World Champions for some hope and home runs as a strategic first step in the re-engineering of the BoSox. One of Cherington's bosses, Tom Werner, is on the short list for consideration as Major League Baseball's new Commissioner. And, speaking of Commissioners, over in the western portion of the Commonwealth, the Basketball Hall of Fame is staging its annual tribute and the inductee of honor is former NBA Commissioner David Stern.

Actor Michael Chiklis (Getty Images)

With all of that going on, I thought it was time to step back, maybe escape a bit from the reality that I won't be watching late October baseball at Fenway. So, with that in mind, there was one reliable ole' friend I could reach out to, in order to set my mind on a clear path from the Mass Pike of the depressing local sporting news, so I could look toward the future.

My inside source to all things sports - historical and soon-to-be imagined - provided some fan-friendly perspective as a real New Englander, one with appreciation of the past and the ability to see the future. Fittingly, like Stern, he was someone who had the credentials of a Commissioner but, they were mixed with the passion of a sports fan.

I needed to speak with Michael Chiklis, the actor. 

Chiklis was born in Lowell, Mass, and gained wide notoriety as an actor when, from 1991-96, he played Tony Scali - The Commish. Since that career-breaking role, he went on to star in "The Shield," and even played Curly in "The Three Stooges.” More recently, Chiklis starred in "The Fantastic Four" and he is currently filing FXs "American Horror Story: The Freak" in New Orleans. However, it was Chiklis' previous casting that was the more appropriate subject of discussion when we spoke by phone this past weekend, catching up as though we were old friends sitting in my West Village studio watching his "Commish" reruns, but talking about his soon-to-be-released film role, the portrayal of Terry Eidson an assistant coach to Bob Ladouceur in the true story of (Concord, California’s) De La Salle High School's 151-game winning streak, the backdrop for “When The Game Stands Tall,” a SONY Pictures release, hitting theatres nationwide on August 22.

First, Chiklis was sure to set the record straight when I brazenly asked if he continued to have ample time to follow sports, and in particular, Boston sports while he was so busy with life as a famous actor and jaunts between New Orleans and Los Angeles.

"I still am, and will always be, -- until my last breath -- an avid Boston sports fan," said Chiklis with an emphasis that might've been taught in drama class by Kurt Douglas. "I think one of the single greatest things about my celebrity is that it’s gained me access to my beloved Boston teams."

Where you at Fenway last fall, I asked?

"I was there.  I was at Game 6.  My wife and I went with my dear friend and his wife.  We were there for the celebration, and we ended up going to the owner’s box after the game and had the greatest time in the world.  It’s been wonderful. And, one of the most special things was that I lived out a "Jimmy Fallon moment" (noting the motion picture, Fever Pitch) when Curt Schilling brought me out onto the field right after we won in ’07 in Colorado.  I was right on the field right after the win.  To be that close in proximity to those guys, right there. I was standing there, literally, right with Mike Lowell’s brother while they gave him the MVP trophy on the field, I mean that’s incredibly special, it was insane.  You’re right there, it’s historic stuff that’s happening, and you’re privy to it."

Chiklis then opined on the sport of football, being that the role of assistant coach Eidson was fresh in his mind.  What is it about football, anything with the Patriots that made you particularly insightful to your role in the movie?

"Look," Chilkis said. "I’ve always grown up with the mentality that I’d rather be a good player on a championship team than the "franchise" player on a lousy team.  When you see the way Coach B (his nickname for Belichick) coaches the team and the way he picks players, he’s never been about stars.  One of the goose-bump moments of my life as a Patriots fan was in 2001 at the Superbowl when they introduced the (St. Louis Rams) 'Greatest Show on Turf' player by player.  And then, after all of that fanfare, they went 'introducing the New England Patriots.' and they came out just as the Pats team. Every hair on my body stood up and I thought, 'we are winning this game.' Something about being a New Englander, we love the idea of a team, as opposed to the individual. 

"We don’t like blow hards much."

"It’s about the way we’re raised, I guess," he continued.  "In New England, if you get too far ahead of yourself, you’re going to get brought down to earth really quickly.  When I was growing up, it was really instilled in me that it’s just a better experience in life to be yourself and not be a narcissist, but rather to be a part of a community.  And our teams are like that.  You look right and left of you and you feel that bond between the people. It’s an incredibly special thing, and you’ll get a feel for it in this movie, When The Game Stands Tall.  You’ll see that camaraderie, that brotherhood that happens on a team.  And you can see that in real life with the Patriots and Belichick when he speaks to the players coming into this team he says, 'You want to succeed? You want a ring on your finger? Then, you’re gonna plug into this system, we’ll all pull our weight, we’ll all do this together.'"

Chiklis was quick to put two-and-two together.

"Of course, superstars have emerged (in the New England Patriots' system) due to their level of commitment and play," said the actor. "Tom Brady couldn’t be a better example of a guy who’s all class, who never would say disparaging words about another player.  But, it’s not about the other guy.  It’s about his personal execution as it relates to the guys right and left of him and his commitment to them as a team.  He knows that they can be relied upon.  These guys can rely upon each other.  They have each other’s backs.  And that’s the kind of thing that makes your chest swell when you’re watching this movie.  You can see that in the context of the picture.

"When you’re watching movies like 'Remember the Titans' or 'Rudy' or 'Miracle,' you’re always threatened by that fine line between too corny and something that doesn’t make a mark. But, what I love about this movie is that it's not about 'the cliché version of 'two seconds left on the clock and he scores and the game’s over and we win.'  The film we're so proud of doesn’t take it from that place. The De La Salle high school football team won 151 games in a row in twelve years which for anybody who knows sports, that’s ridiculous.  It just doesn’t happen.

"There’s a reason why their formula was successful and they kept winning," noted Chiklis.  "Sure they want to win their games, but the onus and the focus wasn't on winning games. It’s on making these boys into young men.  They are conscionable, responsible, credible human beings and you rely upon them.

 "I’m very passionate about the movie, I’m a supporting player in this movie, When the Game Stands Tall, but I love what it says."

You will too.

Brady Going Nowhere?

To the tune of Bruce Springsteen's "Radio Nowhere"

***

Is Brady Going Nowhere?

"I was lying on my couch at home
Tune 'in my Verizon's great Red Zone,
With a signal off some satellite,
Crushing a 'six of tasty cold American Lite,

Then I saw, "Brady Going Nowhere,"
Is there anybody alive out there?
It was Brady Going Nowhere,
Is there anybody alive out there?

I sat staring at the end zone,
Just a three yards for a 20-10 halftime tone,
Passing to a dark hole,
Then the 10-second 'run-off" toll.

This is Brady Going Nowhere,
Is there anybody alive out there?
Brady Going Nowhere,
Is there anybody alive out there?
Is there anybody alive out there?

I just want a QB with some rhythm,
I just want a QB with some rhythm,
I just want a QB with some rhythm,
I just want a QB with some rhythm.

I want a thousand yards from the backfield,
I want a pounding defense,
I want a million voices at Gilette, screamin' out-'er lungs.

But, we've got Brady Going Nowhere,
Is there anybody alive out there?
Brady's Going Nowhere,
Is there anybody alive out there?

Seattle's driving through the misty rain,
Searchin' for an easy field goal
Boppin' through the secondary
Hell, they could've made a connection with you,

But, Brady's Going Nowhere,
Is there anybody alive out there?
This is Brady Going Nowhere
Is there anybody alive out there?

I just want a QB with some rhythm,
I just want a QB with some rhythm,
I just want my QB to show some rhythm,
I just want my QB to show some rhythm,
I just want to feel that rhythm,
I just want to feel that rhythm."


Bruce

Bobby V: Managing with those Mind Games

By TERRY LYONS

(Special to DigitalSportsDesk.com)

BOSTON, MAY 1, 2012 - What are the inexorable rights of a New Englander?  Since the turn of the century, meaning the 21st century, the seemingly God-given rights include all of the following activities:

- The right to bear arms

- The right to bitch about the weather changing by the minute

- The right to imbibe Dunkin' Donuts coffee every 30 minutes

- The right to botch-up a Senatorial election to replace the late Ted Kennedy

- The right to great, make that Championship-level sports teams - including the 2004 and 2007 Red Sox; the 2001, 2003 and 2004 New England Patriots, the 2008 Boston Celtics and, even, the 2011 Boston Cannons of lacrosse.  Boston has had its share of winners since father time partied 1999 away with Prince and shuttled in the year 2000.

Darnell McDonald of the Boston Red Sox

Despite all of that winning, if there is one sure-fire right of a Bostonian, it is the right to second-guess.  And, second-guess they do.  They quibble with the  coaches, the managers, the players, the politicians, the dogs, the cats.  Hell, they even second guess NE Patriots QB Tom Brady, and he might be one of the greatest New England players of all-time, along with Bill Russell, Ted Williams, Bobby Orr and Larry Bird.

If there were to be a second-guesser's Hall of Fame, it would be situated somewhere near Fenway Park, maybe at the corner of Lansdowne Street and Yawkey Way.  The halls would be extra wide, so as to allow the patrons to walk three or six abreast. If they were to build it, people would come.

They would come to to reminisce about their favorite second guessing moments involving Grady Little.  Back on October 16, 2003, the Red Sox manager decided to leave his ace, Pedro Martinez, on the hill against the New York Yankees. The Sox had a 5-2 lead in the eighth, but ole Pedro tired and let up three runs before Yankees' journeyman Aaron Boone belted a Home Run off Tim Wakefield in the 11th.  The rest was history.

The faithful will second guess the great Bill Belichick, too.  The same man that's presided over three Super Bowl championships and a pair of AFC title that cowboy-up with two stunning Super Bowl losses was second-guessed beyond your wildest dreams for a 4th down and 2 call against the hated Indianapolis Colts.  The play failed, the Patriots lost 35-34 in a mid-November game and you'd thought the sky fell when the team returned from Naptown to Patriot Place.

The second-guessing works in politics, too.  Democratic Senatorial hopeful Martha Coakley started to do the backstroke after gaining her party's nomination in a special election to replace the late Ted Kennedy, only to have Republican Scott Brown, he of barn jackets and GMC trucks, walk-away with the 2010 Commonwealth of Massachusetts Senatorial election. In doing so, it upended the life's work by his Senatorial predecessor in regard to universal healthcare and it ignited a flurry of second-guessing that hasn't been seen nor heard since Michael Dukakis ran into a juggernaut named Ronald Reagan in 1988. But, we digress and prefer to stick with sports.

On the parquet and the ice at TD Garden, Celtics coach Doc Rivers and the Bruins main-man, Claude Julien, do not escape the seasonal sport of second-guessing to the ummph degree, however, in the sports of basketball and hockey, New Englanders seem to like to blame the players and the GMs rather than the coaches.  So, in NBA lore the second-guessers mock Boston GM Danny Ainge for shipping center Kendrick Perkins outbound while Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli is being whipped like a rare persian rug on a dusty day in Baghdad for his stand-still approach with the 2011 Stanley Cup champions who were ousted by the Washington Capitals in the first-round of the 2012 Cup playoffs, amidst mockery of an inefficient offense.

Now and then, New Englanders like to second-guess other coaches, too.  Case in point this week, one former Celtics assistant coach, Tom Thibodeau of the Chicago Bulls who decided to run 2011 MVP guard Derrick Rose with the Bulls while the team was trouncing the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of their first round NBA playoff series.  Rose took a clumsy two-step and crushed his ACL, ending his season and, possibly the longterm playoff hopes of a (still) deep Chicago Bulls basketball team.  Boston sports talk-show radio lit up with disdain directed at Rivers' former aide and defensive wizard.  Second-guessing has no boundaries.

David "Big Papi" Ortiz of Boston off to hot start.

And, that brings us to the 2012 Boston Red Sox.  After a rough start at the Detroit Tigers (0-3), at the Toronto Blue Jays (1-2), then a slight reprieve by winning three of four at home against the highly rated Tampa Bay Rays, the Sox and Manager Bobby Valentine caught the wrath of the Kenmore Square faithful when the Sox dropped two-straight to both the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees before a rain-out saved the day on April 22.  

Right smack in the middle of the near nuclear fall-out was a Patriot's Day/Boston Marathon Day lyric-reading of John Lennon's "Mind Games," as Valentine questioned the emotional status of veteran third-baseman Kevin Youkilis and the Sox clubhouse came to "Youk's" emotional rescue when veteran second baseman and annual MVP candidate Dustin Pedroia chastised his new boss, stating, "that's not the way we go about our stuff here.  I'm sure he'll (Valentine) will figure it out soon."

Alas, since the marathon day Dustin dust-up, the Boston Red Sox have won seven of eight, including tonight's 11-6 cropping of the Oakland A's.  Boston scored 11 runs over the course of the 2nd through 5th innings and held on after starting pitcher Clay Buchholz melted down to allow five runs in the top of the seventh, but still managing to gain his third win in four early season outings for the 11-11 Bostonians, as of Monday night.

Valentine has his team playing .500 ball and with the American League schedule coming in like a soft summer breeze on the Cape, the Sox might remain well over the .500 mark through the Ides of May after a few more A's games, then series against Baltimore, Kansas City, Cleveland and Seattle with only a three-game stretch in KC away from the comfy confines of Fenway.

Taking the second-guessing game aside, is it possible that Bobby Valentine's intuition as a manager called for him to speak his peace against Youkilis to see if he could light the fire of camaraderie under the fannies of "Youk's" teammates?  Is it at all possible that Valentine wanted to perform a Kentucky Fried (or Popeye's) seance against a locker air that still stunk of September's past?  Was it a challenge?  Was it managing by Mind Games?

We'll just have to listen, wait and see.

Game Notes:  The Boston Red Sox have won seven of their last eight and evened their record at 11-11 (.500).  DH David Ortiz recorded his 36th multi-home run game as a member of the Red Sox and his 38th overall.  Ortiz moved past Jim Rice in the team lead of multi-HR games and trails legendary ted Williams by only one 2x HR outing.  Ortiz is batting .448 (13-of-29) on the season. Manager Bobby Valentine praised the efforts of Darnell McDonald who went 3-for-4 with a 2B, HR, two RBIs and a career-high three runs scored.  Oakland A's starter Tommy Milone reminded many of the Boston faithful of Sam Malone of Cheers fame.  Milone went 4.2 innings, allowing eight runs, seven earned, on eight hits while giving up three HRs.  No truth to the rumor that Milone was heading to Bull & Finch Pub.

Sense or Nonsense of Humor?

What was the big story stemming from media day at The Super Bowl, the most important sporting event of the year in the USA?

A wedding proposal to New England quarterback Tom Brady from a TV Azteca (Mexico) entertainment reporter, dressed in a wedding gown, no less.

That is not good.

The issue that I bring-up to the blogosphere today is whether the NFL public/media relations department should have stepped-in and denied access to the 'bad excuse' of a reporter, who was obviously calling attention to herself while having fun (a.k.a. making mockery) at an official media session. (Also, the outside chance that TV Azteca was doing a little outbound PR blitz of their own, as another branch of the station had a reporter dressed as "Carnac the Magnificent" in order to 'predict' the outcome of the big game.)

Now, everyone knows that the NFL media day has become a joke. It is a shame, as the average 'working' stiff of a reporter actually needs a half-hour to 45-minute period of decent access to be able to provide fans with some insight into the big game.

The NBA All-Star Game media session - held the Friday before the game - has turned into a similar circus, but at least it is a media session for an exhibition game. The media availability sessions around the NBA Finals remain large, but very professional and the game is the center of attention, not the media circus.

So, what's a PR guy to do?

I tend to think the TV Azteca folks took it a bit too far... make it, way too far.

"Okay Sherlock," you say? "What would you do about it?"

Well, the NFL has the hammer. They can deny future access or they could seek out a new TV partner in Mexico, possibly losing some revenue in the process, as TV Azteca is a major player and has been doing the NFL regular season and playoffs/Super Bowl since I can remember.

One thing is for sure, even though the reporter (I am choosing not to use her name) was acting in fun, I would politely inform her of the fact she is welcome to remain in Arizona at the media hotel, but she would no longer be in possession of a media credential, nor would her crew.

Maybe I would be called "No Fun League" names, branded as a "suit" without a sense of humor. But, I would take the heat with knowledge that the day-to-day NFL media need a professional working atmosphere and, as crazy as the Super Bowl media day has become, I would hope that taking a stand and getting the word out on a 'professional' atmosphere would be the result nearly everyone 'really' wants to see.

To that fact, we'll see what the fallout will be, if any? The NFL 'rep' is as strong as the "Teflon Don's." The media tend to let alot go, knowing it's not in their best interest to knock the league and its operation.

My view, in the end, is that the true fans enjoy insightful stories like NYT reporter Karen Crouse's cover story take-out on the Manning family in the 1-29-08 paper and I would put stock in the reporters who want to get quality time with the players, rather than with the "Ms. Look-at-Me's" who want to become the story themselves at the expense of their working colleagues.

So, tell me a little more about this game? How the coaches will address the match-ups, how the Giants will look to blitz Brady and limit the time he usually gets to throw? Don't tell me who is dating who and that a QBs girlfriend has any connection to the outcome of the game.

Thanks, Roger.