Sunday Evening Post

A challenging week of fighting off the flu, March Madness busting my bracket, and a happy, happy McSorley's Irish Black Lager full St. Paddys.  Since I've been busier than I should be, I will keep the focus on the local free agency madness...

• PATRIOTS:
• The Patriots, as per usual, watching laughing as the usual gang of idiots throwing obscene dollars at players (some worth it, most not). The Buccaneers and Redskins led the madness out of the gate.  Tampa Bay wasted millions on Guard Carl Nicks (worth every penny), Receiver Vincent Jackson (Umm, so much wasted talent and untapped production in San Diego), and Cornerback Eric Wright (overpaid); Washington made Tampa Bay's spending seem intelligent as they threw millions at Receiver Pierre Garcon (sooooo much cash for sooooo little), Cornerback Cedric Griffin (overpaid), Safety Brandon Merriweather (bwah-hah-hah!  Bwah-hah-hah! Sorry, this is too sad to do anything but laugh. That bum must have the greatest agent ever. Washed out from playing for Bill Belichick and Lovie Smith and another team still finds a reason to pay him. Sad.)  and last and certainly the least, Wide Receiver Josh Morgan (no talent, no game, no reason to pay).  
• The Patriots, as usual, were boring.  They signed the best deep-threat receiver in football in Receiver Brandon Lloyd (most targets and receptions on passes thrown over 20 yards over the last two years) and reuniting him with Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels seems to be what gets the best play out of Lloyd.  The fact that there was no market for him was not surprising.  The fact the Patriots got him at the insanely affordable 3 years and $12 million total seems mind-boggling in comparison to the 5 years and $60 million Washington doled out to Garcon. Also, the Patriots took a low-risk, high-potential flyer on Receiver Anthony Gonzalez of the Colts who provides hold-out insurance if Wes Welker cannot work out a deal and a hold-out ensues. Gonzalez was a first-round pick, but various injuries kept him off the field after a strong start.  
• Finally, Center Dan Connolly re-signed to keep the offensive line in one piece.  Whether Center Dan Koppen is invited back to compete with Connolly is unknown at this time, and one assumes there is a market for Koppen, but nothing is certain at this point of free agency.  Expect the Patriots to add some interior line help late in the draft again in hopes of finding another lineman or two to build for the future.
• WIth Lloyd and Gonzalez in the fold, Deion Branch becomes (if he returns) a nice depth option, which is what he is at this point of his career.  Branch filling the role of Chad Ochocinco is a huge upgrade, and the countdown to the release of Ocho-stinko becomes the only reason to pay attention to the fraud.  
• On defense, the Patriots continued to make smart, cost-efficient moves.  They added Defensive End Jonathan Fanene who was a high-motor, pass-rusher for Cincinnati and would seem to be a great back-up to come in and play on third down as Mark Anderson did before Andre Carter was injured and Anderson stepped-up to full-time.  With Anderson and Carter still un-signed, the Patriots may be able to bring one or both back.  Safety Steve Gregory adds some depth at safety and special teams.  Defensive End Trevor Scott is another low-risk with potential high-reward signing.  
• Much like the Bill Belichick Patriots did back their glory days of adding unknown, but talented role players and perfect fits to their system, and those low-risk, high-reward players on the free-agency market. The depth on defense is improved, the gaping hole on offense is filled, and (oh yeah, forgot to mention) special teams depth remains high. Now, time to focus on the draft!

Saturday Morning Coffee

Wow. A whole week between posts.  What happened to this week? Maybe it was Peyton Manning Overload.  

• PATRIOTS
• The best news for the Patriots is that Peyton Manning will not join the Jets, as they agreed for some god-awful reason to give Mark "Dirty" Sanchez a 3 year $40.5 million dollar extension.  Really?  Sanchez falls between average and mediocre and most analysts have a tough time cramming him into the top-15 QB list, and the Jets decide to hitch their wagon to his star? Wow.
• With Manning out of New York, which would have made the Jets an immediate Super Bowl contender, the next target in the AFC East is the Dolphins (as the Bills extended Ryan Fitzpatrick after 6 good games early in the season and then watched him crash and burn in the second-half of the season with the ink still not dry on his 5 year contract extension).  The good news for the Patriots is that the Dolphins owner is the type to scare away a control-freak like Manning. 
• With Manning out of the division, there is one less headache twice a season.  With Sanchez staying in New York, the Jets guarantee more 8-8 seasons.  
• I love RG3 (Robert Griffin III) from Baylor, but 3 first-round and a second-round pick to move up 4 spots in the draft? The Redskins obviously believe that Peyton will not play in the same division as Eli, and not believe the Matt Flynn hype. If he's the real deal, no one cares the cost.  If he's a Ryan Leaf...need I say more?
• EVERTON:
• 10 straight without a loss.  The Spurs go down as the Toffees catch a huge break with Louis Saha hitting the post in extra time as the club with the best name in sports (Tottenham Hotspur, how do you beat that name?) falls short to the lads in blue.  Where was the offense going to be coming from down the stretch? The lone goal came from Croatia, as new striker Nikica Jelavic banged it home.  Now, the Merseyside Derby awaits.  Time to make John Henry cry and let Rived\rpool see red.  In the top ten, two points from 7th place.  C'mon Toffees, keep it going!
• CELTICS
• Jekyll and Hyde describes this team.  They've proven they can beat bad teams at home.  Then they go and lay and egg on the road against Philadelphia with a chance to tie for first in the Atlantic.  Last night they just plain destroyed Portland.  How was that the same team that was run off the court by Philly? I expected Andrew Toney to come off the bench and start firing threes for Philly it was such a classic beat-down.  Then to be without a bunch of bigs due to injuries, the Celtics turn around and run Portland outta the building .Sasha Pavlovic leading a 16-0 run in the second quarter? Is Portland that bad? 
• The other big deal is the impending trade deadline.  Does General Manager Danny Ainge blow it all up?  More and more it seems to be clear that the most likely course of action is going to be chasing free agents this off-season. 
• RED SOX:
• Opening day just around the corner....whoo-hoo!

Saturday Morning Coffee

• As a baseball traditionalist (I'm still raging against the designated hitter which went into effect in the American League before I was born) I am hardly jumping for joy over the wild card adding another team, but I do like the idea of the play-in game.  A one game playoff in baseball is hard to beat for drama (and TV ratings!).  As Jayson Stark at ESPN said, "It's March Madness with bats and balls". 
• Personally, I would have two leagues, no divisions, and have the two teams with the most wins in each league play in the World Series like they did from 1903 to 1968 (but I am not so naive to know that it will NEVER EVER EVER happen and accept it).  It's great news for the 2012 Red Sox because Tampa Bay and New York are both looking like 90+ win teams again this year.  
• New Orleans Saints coaches placing bounties on opposing players?  It is just like "Spygate"--everyone did it, but when one team gets caught publicly, everyone is aghast, just SHOCKED and DISMAYED that this behavior is going on.  Like in Casablanca, Major Renault says "I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here! " and then his winnings are handed to him.  
• This is as shocking to me as baseball players taking steroids in the 90s.  Yawn.  Give me more mock drafts and free agency rumors, please. 
• It was nice to see the Celtics beating on the dregs of the NBA, if only to know that this team is .500/barely playoff team and not a hopeless cause destined for a high draft pick in the lottery....wait, this sucks. I've changed my mind. Trade everyone, Danny.  This team is going to get swept out of the playoffs in the first round by Miami or Chicago. Blow it up, get some young players in here and rebuild ASAP.
• Of course, it's easy to look a the Celtics game last night against the Nets and think "If they click like this, they could put a scare in some teams in the playoffs".  Of course, a 20-10 game from KG and Paul Pierce 10 of 14 from the field are aberrations, not a normal night anymore.  
• Everton versus QPR this afternoon on Fox Soccer at 5pm. Have to go on "electronic lockdown" so I catch the match semi-live (aka, I don't know what the final score was). The Toffees have moved from relegation fodder and possibly costing David Moyes his job in the first months of the season up to 10th place and only 6 points behind Liverpool (because what really could be more important than beating 'pool?).  The Toffees have more talent than Sunderland and Norwich City and should pass them soon.  Tuesday, 3/13 is the Merseyside versus Liverpool: The Blue wave is peaking in time for the Derby.  Crank up your favorite Beatles tunes and give John Henry, NESN, and his Liverpool boys the working man's salute!
• Truthfully, there is concern with the Toffees having lost two key cogs recently with Landon Donovan heading back to the states and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov back to Russia.  Losing play-makers always hurts, and QPR should be a good chance to get the offense back in rhythm.  
• Really liking the trades made by the Bruins at the deadline.  Kept the key prospects like Tuuka Rask and Dougie Hamilton; gave up nothing on the active roster; and some plugs in the line-up for some injured pieces in Boston until the playoffs (and hopefully full health).
• Brian Rolston can take the empty void left by Mark Recchi's retirement as the veteran forward.  This team is still remarkably young and having a veteran on the bench and in the locker room always helps out for the final stretch and in the playoffs. Recchi was invaluable the last two years, and even if Rolston doesn't have much for the ice, he should be a lift in the clubhouse.
• Mike Mottau and Greg Zanon are steady, stay-at-home, gritty defensemen.  In the Claude Julian system, the team can never get enough of these guys.  The Bruins need to win close games in the playoffs.  These guys can help.