The WGOM

I definitely do.

It's not that I'm a Patriots fan -- I'm not an NFL fan. But, I am a fan of achieving excellence and this team is in position. I want the 1972 Dolphins in the dustbin of history.

Listening to the morons on ESPN this morning, I'm just outraged with their bullshit. Where is the logic? According to the talking heads, the Patriots would have been better off losing the game against the Giants if they lost the Super Bowl. What? Heads is tails. Better to lose now, in case we lose in the future?

The New England Patriots just finished the greatest regular season in NFL history. Bar none. No matter what happens from here forward, that should not be forgotten. And here's to a Super Bowl Championship to cap it to shut up that dope fiend and convicted cocaine trafficker Mercury Morris and his doddering old granddad Don Shula.

Here's Shula. He's at least got enough sense to back away from his ridiculous stances in the past. He's probably got some people around him telling him that he needs to be gracious.

(Damned ESPN. They give you the embed clip, and then make the video unavailable.)

But, watch this clip. Bob Griese tries to be magnanimous, but that fucking Morris will have none of it.

For the life of me, why doesn't someone from that 1972 team stand up and tell Morris to shut up? He's an embarrassment.

Then again, if they don't win, I'd accept a brilliant performance by Peyton Manning to knock them out and complete a back-to-back Super Bowl run. That'd make Sports Guy's head explode, which wouldn't be a bad thing.

I feel bad for Mike Vick. I do.

I don't approve of what he's done. It was cruel and sadistic.

But, I feel bad for him. He's going to the Big House for almost two years. I think that's a lot, maybe too much. But, then again, he failed a lie detector test, he tested positive for marijuana after pleading guilty, he showed he didn't get it. So, it's not surprising I guess that he got the sentence that he did.

I had to laugh when I read about his lawyer's explanation for Vick's drug use: he was "self-medicating" for clinical depression. Well, isn't that what pretty much every drug user is doing? Self-medicating? That's not flying in front of any judge with a brain in his head.

I want people with talent to exploit those talents. I want people to succeed. Vick has a lot of talent, and he's thrown it all away. Now, he'll pay a huge price. He may never play in the NFL again. I hear he has money problems. Good grief. All that money, blown. What a shame.

I feel bad for him, even if I don't approve of what he's done.

We don't talk a lot about the NFL, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to Pats v. Colts. The Pats are making a mockery of the league this year and Tom Brady is in full-on assault of the single season QB record book. (How much of that is attributable to #81? I think a lot.)

I'm a Peyton guy -- I think he's a great QB and on the short list of all-timers. I think, prior to this season, that Brady's been a little overrated -- but even still, I think he's easily second best in the league. And now? Wow, he's been off the charts in 2007. As I mentioned above, I think having a motivated Randy Moss lining up on your team makes anyone look better. He's still a singular talent.

With the proverbial gun to my head, I think that Peyton Manning is still the best quarterback in the NFL. But, that's no slight to Brady. He's carving out an all-timer type of career, too. Do you agree with me? Or are you going with Brady? Or maybe you are a Tarvaris guy. (Sorry about that last crack.)

Good grief:

Remember, the charges against Vick are accusations. The Duke lacrosse mess reminded us that accusations are not the same as guilt and that prosecutors might be unscrupulous.

True enough (well actually, accusations are not the same as a conviction, which is proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but considering the rest of the article, this is a very minor point). But at this late date, with all of his co-defendants copping pleas and agreeing to testify against him, and with Vick's lawyers desperately trying to work out a plea bargain, you are going with "the prosecutors might be unscrupulous"? Breathtaking. Speaking of breathtaking, here's part of the reason why Easterbrook feels sympathy.

Next, I feel sympathy for Vick because he made his own problem worse. The Greeks knew 2,500 years ago that the most tragic events are those of our own making. When the dogfighting accusations surfaced, Vick was called to New York to meet with Roger Goodell. The NFL commissioner sternly warned Vick not to lie. The Atlanta quarterback then swore he knew nothing about the dogfighting house, and Goodell allowed Vick to take the stage at the NFL draft a few days later. The Iron Law of Scandals holds: Lying about what you did is worse than what you did.

No kidding, those are actual quotes from an article posted at ESPN.COM. He says, in the same article, that the prosecutors might be unscrupulous AND that Vick lied to the Commissioner. Because of this, Easterbrook feels sympathy for Vick. And no, Gregg, you moron, lying about killing dogs is not worse than killing dogs. Just as lying about killing a person isn't worse than killing a person. And even so, you feel sympathy for him because he's not only a heartless animal abuser but a liar to boot?

There's more:

You don't need to be Dr. Freud to see the parallels between killing a dog that lost a fight and cutting an NFL player who had a bad game -- or shrugging as a soldier dies in the Iraq desert because the Pentagon didn't care that a corrupt defense contractor stole the money that was supposed to be used for armor.

What? Is this supposed to make it all right? I'm not following.

Go on over to SBG Citizen Cheesehead Craig's Oracle of Cheese for his take on the Moss to Packers rumors. I love that picture, CC!

The Green Bay Packers are reportedly "very interested" in Randy Moss. I'd get some perverse glee watching Packer fans cheer for Moss.

Rachel Blount of the Strib:

When it was revealed that baseball planned to make its Extra Innings pay-TV package available only through DirecTV, Sen. John Kerry took it up with the Federal Communications Commission in the name of public service. When the NFL's lawyers shut down the big-screen church parties to protect their Nielsen ratings -- because the league just doesn't make enough money -- the outcry didn't extend beyond talk radio.

Never mind that the NFL has its NFL Ticket plan on DirecTV exclusively and just a couple of years ago reupped with so much as a wimper. But, if baseball does it, Congress is getting involved? Now, perhaps baseball's anti-trust exemption prompts more Congressional inquiry. But, how about this heavy handed maneuver to not allow churches to have Super Bowl parties? Just imagine if baseball did the same thing during the World Series!

People may sometimes wonder why I bad mouth the NFL. It's because someone, somewhere should say something.

I'm pretty sure that God doesn't care that the Colts won the Super Bowl, the comments of Tony Dungy and Robert Irsay notwithstanding.

Regardless, Manning has been the best player in the league for last five years. Tonight, there are no criticisms that can be levied about his play with a straight face.

Get on the record as to how it turns out.

Update: Bah! My neat new ajax polling isn't working! Just put your predictions in a LTE.