V-V-V-Vinny and the… PATS?????

We all know Bill Belichick loves the biggest bust named Vinny this side of Vin Baker, aka the pride of UHartford (Go Chazer and your Fighting Sousaphones or whatever the heck they are called). Conspiracy theories abound (Tom Brady/Matt Cassell have serious arm injuries, Belichick has gone crazy and is bringing back Touchdown Tommy Vardell to play fullback, or that Belichick is paying back Vinny for his silence about certain indiscretions from the past). In all seriousness, Vinny is here to replace the trifecta of back-up QBs who have bounced around New England since the exiling of Drew Bledsoe. Nothing more. Nothing less. Belichick likes to have a veteran QB on the bench. Too bad it is not more exciting.

Just to divert away for a second:

Here a very personal note regarding Vinny Testaverde. I was in Junior High (7th grade) when he won the Heisman while playing for the U aka Miami University of Florida (not Ohio). I remember watching his choke job on TV while sleeping over a friends house (Tom McManus). Not too long afterwards, I drifted away from Tom, eventually ending up with my friends who I am still friends with today who were much more involved in sports and more involved in the geek realm I populated, and Tom ended up as one of those kids in high school that were way too into drugs, partying, and just acting out for the sake of acting out. Do not get me wrong, he was a good kid, definitely not stupid, funny as all hell, but just not in a position in his life to put it together. I was not close to him, but he was one of those people I always said hi to in high school and would chat with, just because we had been better friends in our youth. Not too long after high school he crashed his motorcycle into a tree. Dead as a doornail. Other than his picture in the local paper for his memorial service, I never saw him again after high school. But when I hear the name Vinny Testaverde, I think of Tom and what a waste his death was and think about what he could have done and who he could have been been had he been in a different place.

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