Editorial

Connelly’s Top Ten – Brady Great, Gronk Fragile, Sox Boring, BC Losers

Published

5 days ago

September 18, 2017

Michael Connelly

1.Patriots

* OPENING THOUGHTS

* Other than the hand injury, I’m going to say that most of Gronk’s injuries occur running after the catch. Turn him into a Red Zone specialist where he is just catching the ball

* I’ve said this before – being a wide receiver in the Brady offense is dangerous - Injuries to Edelman, Hogan, Dorsett, Amendola, Gronk and Hawkins would rather go to Columbia than get hurt

* Is Ryan Allen off to a bad start? Gostkowski another missed extra point

* Patriots have lost back to back coin tosses

* How great is Belichick – just watch the Patriots kicking team run onto the field and line up for the end of the half kick – amazing thing everyone was involved – offensive players were spinning their index finger around while they ran off/ McDaniel was waving a towel over his head – amazing.

* BRADY

* Treasure every game with him representing you as your quarterback

* He won two arguments with officials and Romo was reading his mind – first time was the pick/rub at the line of scrimmage that got overturned / second was the too many men on the field (see #9 below for more Romo thoughts)

* Brady will “love” watching film when Hogan points to where he should have thrown the ball in the end zone

* OFFENSE

* Running back touches – Gillislee 18 / White 10 / Burkhead 5 / Lewis 5 / Devlin 1

* Nice game plan by McDaniel – more creativity and diversity

* Austin Carr is on the Saints but got no play on Sunday – Patriots should offer them a 7^th round draft pick – he knows the system

* DEFENSE

* Former Razorbacks - Wise and Flowers are going to make a nice pair

* McCourty is an amazing tackler

* Chung chasing in coverage

* Gilmore looked confused again on a ball down the right sideline

* Jonathan Jones just seems to make plays

* Ninkovich traveled to New Orleans?

* No Hightower – he is fragile

* KRAFT SIGHING / BILL’S GARB

* Mr. Kraft with 27 seconds left in the second quarter – he didn’t look good, put some weight on and needs a hair cut

* Bill going with the blue windbreaker with short sleeves

* OTHER

* Be prepared to hear this on sports radio some morning – “the Patriots have called for an impromptu press conference – word out of Patriots camp is Rob Gronkowski is retiring.”

* Gronk’s fluorescent underwear waste strap must have distracted the defenders

* It’s painful when a cameraman keeps the camera on a cheerleader for too long – once she goes through the pom poms, the “Go team” and throwing a kiss there isn’t a lot of material left in her routine.

* I have a funny feeling there will be some extra sprints this week after Dwayne Allen jogged off the field and got the team flagged for too many men

* Saints receiver Michael Thomas couldn’t stand on his own after hitting his head and then was cleared to come back in the game

* Gronk will be joining Bobby Orr, Cam Neely and Larry Bird for careers that ended too soon

2. Red Sox

* Tampa used 19 pitchers in the three game series

* Pedroia played in two games and went 0-12 losing 10 points off his average!

* Red Sox have played 15 games this summer over 4 hours – insane

* Red Sox analyst hit a new low Saturday with Saltlimacchia talking about ghosts that he has seen and telling the viewing not to be scared of them

* Averages since All Star game – Bogaerts .217 / Young .187 / Hanley .206 / Leon 194 (153 point lower than Vazquez)

* If Devers played a whole season – his errors would be pro-rated to a Butch Hobson level 44

* Betts and Benitendi have a high number of 10 combined errors in the outfield

* Here is a bad stat – from the ten Red Sox third basemen this summer they have more than double the errors than home runs 30 to 14 – ugh

* Sale needs 13 k for 300 – has two starts left

3. AROUND THE NFL

* I think the AFC Title comes down to the Steelers backup quarterback

* Jacoby Brissette decent numbers – 20 for 37 / 216 yds

* From the I miss Tom Brady column - No carries for Blount in Philly

4. AROUND COLLEGE FOOTBALL

* Michigan has 280 plays in its playbook / Ole Miss has 28

* Freaky watching a game played at Cal Berkley – there is an earthquake fault that runs through the football field – so there is a spot behind the end zone they can’t use turf because the shifting plates constantly rips it

* Gary Pettis of California Angels son Dante of Washington ran back his 8^th punt return for a TD Saturday tying Wes Welker’s record

* Best games of the Day – USC 27 – Texas 24 / Memphis 48 – UCLA 45

* Why is a back up kicker wearing Tim Tebow’s number at Florida – can’t believe it wasn’t retired upon graduation

5. BOSTON COLLEGE FOOTBALL

* The worst thing you could say about a coach is that his team quit

* What a message Addazio sent to his team with 18 seconds left in the first half and the ball on the Notre Dame 44-yard line and two time outs and he virtually took a knee – how ironic that the school who threw the most famous Hail Mary pass in college football history doesn’t even trust their team to throw a ball into the end zone – how did the team respond – they were outscored 35-10 in the second half before Notre Dame decided to stop scoring (BC should play big games with a nothing to lose dangerous attacking spirit)

* BC gave up 515 yards rushing (515!) to a team that last week ran for 55 yards on 37 carries

* Defensive end Harold Landry finished last year with 7.5 sacks in four games – could have went into the draft and made millions – came back to play for Addazio and has one sack in three games and his future less green

* BC last eight games against opponents ranked in the top 25 – 0-8

* Has recruited one four-star player

* Central Michigan is a must win in two weeks – because they play top 15 teams Clemson, Louisville, Florida State and Virginia Tech over the next 6 weeks

* Take a chance and hire a coach that needs a job – Mack Brown (old doesn’t matter), Les Miles, or how about this - hire despicable Art Briles and make him donate his entire contract to Rosies House and put insane restrictions on his tenure and player’s behavior

6. Since 1980 Mt Rushmore – Brady, Bird, Neely, Pedro

7. Amazing Stat - Quarterback Luke Falk of Washington State’s in his last 28 games has thrown 85 TD passes / Boston College last 75 games - has thrown 83 touchdown passes

8. Old School – A stat from MLB Network – Yankees completed their 25^th straight year with a winning record which is fourth behind the Bruins’ 29 straight years 1967-1996 – thank you Bobby Orr

9. Just a Little Bit Outside - Wow – Tony Romo – his voice wasn’t perfect but his insights were superb and a lot of them:

* Talking about Brady’s flat-footed throwing
* Brandin Cook and Brady not being on the same page and that Brees didn’t fight to keep him
* About Brees trying to add yards to his stats at the end of the game like he used too

* He read Tom’s lips talking to the trainer about Gronk

* Belichick running a certain defensive front to throw off game prep for future teams – really interesting

10. Randomocity

* Ironic David Ortiz is doing a documentary on Ted Williams seeing Ortiz has gone out of his way to say the red seat in the bleachers is fiction

* What has John Henry done with the Boston Globe – it shows up later and doesn’t have up to date scores or stats – with today’s technology this should be the easiest thing he does over there

* Colin Kapernick - Never seen a quarterback who has won 9 of his last 31 games get so much attention – Tebow fans aren’t as insane

* Great stretch of weather – should rent a cottage in September not August

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Editorial

Connelly’s Top Ten – Brady Target, 300 K’s, Raging Bull

Published

1 day ago

September 22, 2017

Michael Connelly

1.Patriots

* Marcus Cannon and probably Gronk out – here comes JJ Watt

* Tom Curran is guaranteeing that Brady won’t complete 50% of his passing – ugh

* 8-1 lifetime against Houston – six straight

* Romeo has been able to confuse the Patriots offense

* Patriots 27-10 over Texans

2. Red Sox

* I like the decision to let Chris Sale go deep into the game Wednesday and get 300 strikeouts – now they can rest him over the next two weeks - one more start not to exceed 80 pitches

* Red Sox have a pitcher leading in wins and another leading in losses – 17 and 17

* With all the Red Sox extra-inning success (15-3)– I’m guaranteeing if they get in an extra-inning game in the playoffs they will lose (could be the first game)

* Has David Price scheduled his surgery yet and vacation spot for 2018 summer?

* Not only has Porcello given up the most home runs in baseball (35) amazingly he’s given up the most doubles (51)
3. Manny and Ortiz in 2004:

Manny…..43 HR / 130 RBI / .308 AVG / 175 Hits

Ortiz……..41 HR / 139 RBI / .301 AVG / 175 Hits

4. Playoff wins since messing with Patriots

* Raiders since whining about the Tuck…………0 wins

* Rams since whining about video of practice…..0 wins

* Jets since snitching on video……………………0 wins

* Colts since snitching on football air pressure…..0 wins

* Ravens playing a role in deflategate……………0 wins

5. Mt Rushmore of Patriot haters: Marshall Faulk, Bill Polian, Tom Jackson, Merrill Hodge

6. Around the MLB

* Altuve on a pace for 209 hits which would be four straight years with 200 hits

* Bryce Harper is averaging 127 games played a year

* Who is better catcher – Joe Mauer or Buster Posey: .308 / 33% caught stealing versus .308 avg / 33% caught stealing

* Todd Frazier is the Yankees version of 2004 Kevin Millar

* 24 hitters are on pace to knock in 100 runs – only five of them won’t strike out 100 times – Betts, Pujols, Rendon, Votto, Rizzo

* Tim Anderson of the White Sox is leading baseball with 26 errors

* Five pitchers have an absurd strikeout to walk ratio over 5.00 / Kluber, Sale, Samardzija, Kershaw, Grienke

7. Amazing Stat – In 1982, Ricky Henderson stole 130 bases. He attempted 14 stolen bases against Angles catcher Bob Boone who threw him out seven times.

8. Old School – The 1939 NHL semi-finals, Rangers versus Bruins:

Former Ranger, Mel Hill scored three sudden-death goals for the Bruins including Game 7 clincher in a four-hour, triple-overtime thriller in front of 17,000 Boston Garden fans (netting the owner Brown family $5,500) – Boston Globe wrote: “Fans were dancing in the aisles, kissing each other, whooping like Indians”

9. Just a Little Bit Outside - Jake LaMotta died this week - the source of the great movie Raging Bull:

* LaMotta fought 20 times in 1941 alone (5 times in April)

* Fought Ray Robinson five times beating him once

* Scorsese only agreed to do the film after he almost died from an overdose

* Deniro gained 60 pounds for the movie (145 to 215)

* Deniro fought in three fights to get ready and won two of them – LaMotta who trained him said he was a top twenty middleweight

* Budget of $18mm and made $23mm in box office receipts

10. Randomocity

* I like the Geico commercial with the football official ordering his dinner with his field microphone

* From the documentary Vietnam – Ho Chi Min was a pastry chef at the Boston Parker House

* Bogut to Lakers doesn’t help the Celtics cause in their quest for a high draft pick NFL and College Football Preview

* Picks for the weekend - Oklahoma State favored by 13 over TCU – like Ok State / Navy – Cincy – like the over 52

* Games of the week: Georgia vs Mississippi State / Air Force vs. San Diego State / Oakland at Washington

Editorial

Connelly’s Top Ten - Patriots Must Win to Keep Tobin Bridge from Being a Launching Pad

Published

1 week ago

September 15, 2017

Michael Connelly

1.Patriots

* When Brady lost in two openers he came back and won the next games outscoring his opponents 61-17 / 4 TD to 0

* If Hightower can play this week then he shouldn’t have sat the other night

* How many tattoos did Marsh get this week - should get one of toast

* What is the over- under of Patriot fan arrests on Bourbon Street

*Patriots 38-17

2. Red Sox

* David Price has made $454,545 an inning this year

* Pedroia needs two hits for 1,980

* I would say that Hanley’s helmet falling off to hits ratio has to be 5 to 1

* Red Sox on pace to win 92 games
* Sam Travis should start getting bats over Hanley who is under .240 now
* Pedroia 45 strike outs / 45 walks

* Betts 72 strikeouts / 72 walks

3. Players or sports personalities we hated to see leave:

* Danny Ainge

* Terry Francona

* Phil Esposito

* Isaiah Thomas

* Leon Gray

* Michael Haynes

* Carlton Fisk

* In retrospect - Sparky Lyle

* Bill Parcels

* Theo

* In retrospect - Paul Westphal

* Paul Silas

* Andy Moog

* Frank Lahey, Gary Williams, Tom Coughlin, Dr. Tom Davis (and the bounce pass)

4. The attendance for the last five home games of winning streak in Cleveland

Win 18 vs. Baltimore – 21,259

Win 19 vs. Detroit – 18,521

Win 20 vs. Detroit – 24,654

Win 21 vs. Detroit – 29,346

Win 22 vs Royals - 30,874

5. Rick Porcello giving up home runs as compared to a guy whose nickname was - Way Back

* Porcello given up 35 home runs this year or one every 5.1 innings

* Wasdin gave up a home run every 6.2 innings when with the Red Sox

6. First three years David Pastrnak scored 59 goals in 172 games

* Seguin 56 goals in first three years - 203 games

* Kessel 66 goals in first three years - 222 games

7. Amazing Stat - Drew Brees has thrown 466 TD’s to Tom Brady’s 456

8. Old School – Fisk vs. Munson (less at bats for Munson)

Fisk - .269 average / 23.3 at bats per HR / threw out 34% of runners / Rookie of Year

Munson - .292 average / 45.8 at bats per HR / threw out 44% of the runners / Rookie of the Year and MVP

9. Just a Little Bit Outside - Racism sign dropped from the green monster - what signs should have been dropped:

* Players AND manager - Stay off the sideline reporters

* Someone wake up John Henry

* Is the bat boy eligible for social security

* You could buy a 12 pack for the price of one Fenway beer

* How do we get down from here

* Was that from North Korea or is Porcello pitching

10. Randomocity

· Joe Montana crossed the picket line

* Indians are 31-5 since Jay Bruce arrived

· How does Japan know if the North Korean missile had a nuclear warhead. And was there any defense systems in play over there?

* Lynn Swann went to Brady’s high school

* ESPN ranks Al Horford 40th best player and shockingly Jae Crowder 38th (Irving 25 / Hayward 20)

Editorial

Connelly’s Top Ten – Patriots / Porcello / Irma

Published

2 weeks ago

September 11, 2017

Michael Connelly

Connelly’s Top Ten – Patriots / Porcello / Irma

1. Isaiah Thomas hip in big trouble – I’ve heard (from someone that knows someone) that his career is now in jeopardy and might be facing hip replacement surgery.

2.Patriots

* Patriots are in last place – Bill’s in first!

*In Super Bowl championship years – Patriots were 2-3 in opening game / 4-1 second game

* Has Deion Lewis lost a step?

* Has Malcom Brown improved?

* They looked like an 11-5 team

3. Red Sox

* The three-man booth with Eck and Remy wasn’t awful

* Friday night – 28-minute bottom of the fifth – that’s an out every 9.1 minutes

* Drew Pomeranz is tied for the American League lead in wins with 15 – I presume he would be the only pitcher to win that title and never make it into the eighth inning in a game

* Just think – David Price and Rick Porcello make a combined $50mm a year and they won’t pitch in the first three games of the playoffs.

4. Around the NFL and College Football

* Eziekel Elliot getting in injunction just drove every fantasy football player wild who didn’t draft him

* Evander Holyfield’s son is returning kicks for Georgia (one of 11 kids – six mothers)

* Ohio State is 1-2 over last three games / 3-2 at home over their last five games

* Boston College up to its old tricks in the ACC – throwing three interceptions to Wake Forest

5. Around the MLB

* Red Sox managers Lovullo and Francona will be managers of the year in their respective leagues

* No Major League pitcher on a pace to win 20 games

* Adrian Gonzalez impact on the Dodgers: While on disabled list the team was 46-8 since his return - 7-16

* Phillies rookie Rhys Hoskins has hit 14 home runs in 107 at bats = 7.6 at bats per HR (Stanton is 9.7 at bats per HR)

6. Draft position of the Patriots captains:

* Andrews…..Undrafted

* Brady………..199th

* Slater………..153rd

* Harmon……..91st

* Gronkowski….42^nd

* McCourty…..27th

* Hightower….25th

7. Amazing Stat – Rick Porcello versus Pedro Martinez:

Porcello in 2017….9-17 record / 29 starts

Pedro 1999-2002: 68-17 record / 106 starts

8. Old School – In 1971, four Oriole pitchers won at least 20 games – Jim Palmer, Mike Cueller, Dave McNally, Pat Dobson. How about multiple 20 games winners for the Red Sox in a single season dating back to 1930:

1935 – Wes Ferrell - 25 / Lefty Grove - 20

1946 – Dave Ferris – 25 / Tex Hughson - 20

1949 – Mel Parnell -25 / Ellis Kinder - 23

2002 – Derek Lowe – 21 / Pedro - 20

9. Just a Little Bit Outside – 9/11 and Irma

* Don’t forget about 9/11 anniversary – amazing 16-year anniversary – never forget!

* Underdogs can use weather to help neutralize a superior foe – so wouldn’t be this an opportune time for an enemy of the United States to attack with the Texas floods, Florida storms and Mexico earthquakes

* Looters exploiting the vulnerable represent the worst element of our society – if they were shot on sight they would have no one to blame but themselves – I wouldn’t waste any Kleenex on their loss to the community

* Irma approaching Florida is eerie - it’s like Hiroshima having notice (not that it was the wrong decision)

* Would it be bad if Irma took out the Tropicana in Tampa?

* Where’s Shelby Scott?

10. Randomocity

* Sadly, the US Open isn’t what it used to be - Nadal didn’t have to beat one player in the top 25 in rankings - seedings of opponents 121^st / 85^th / 64th / 59th / 53^rd / 32^nd / 28^th

* Brilliant letter by Isaiah Thomas – his line “I fell in love with Boston” will endear him forever here

* How about Martina Hingis winning two US Open championships this weekend: Women’s Doubles / Mixed doubles – 25 Grand Slam titles now

* With football teams doing excessive team building exercises – a high school in New York is in trouble when a football player dropped a log killing him