Retweet of the Day - June 20, 2013

If you're a Patriots fan, you have had a lousy 2013. Unceremoniously and decisively bounced from the playoffs in the AFC Championship game by the eventual Super Bowl Champion Baltimore Ravens.... Anna Burns Welker further reinforcing the perception that Pats players can't control their loose-lipped wives. Tom Brady takes a salary cut to help retain his favorite wideout, Wes Welker, only to have Welker run out of town to Peyton Manning's team, the Denver Broncos after lowballs and hardballs from Patriots management.

But wait! There's more! All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski needed surgery on his often injured forearm, bringing his availability for the 2013 season into question. The Tuck Rule, which made the beginning of the Belichick-era Patriots dynasty possible, overwhelmingly tossed out of the NFL Rule Book. Then the team acquires the Tim Tebow Circus. Now this....

Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez is being investigated, and some some media outlets are reporting will be arrested, in connection with the death of a 27 year old Boston man, Odin Lloyd, found shot to death in a car rented by Hernandez. This is by far the worst offseason for Patriots Fan in this century. That leads us to today's retweet, from  HOLLYWOOD CAV ‏(@CAVBERNAH):

"We let welker go, gronk is a drunk, Chung is a bum, Hernandez killed a man b/c we picked up Tebow I'm just waiting for Brady to beat Gazel" 

Tom Brady has is own Dickipedia page and rightfully so, in my opinion. But he isn't stupid. That $20 million castle with the moat is made possible by his billionaire better half, who is fine as hell. Brady beating Gisele is like a dog biting the hand that feeds it; never gonna happen.

Image from www.nydailynews.com

Retweet of the Day - March 21, 2013

Calendar year 2013 has been a tough year for Patriots Fan, even tougher for their future Hall of Fame signal caller. New England was smothered at home and eliminated by the eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship Game. Quarterback Tom Brady restructured his contract to free up salary cap space. His guaranteed money went up, but total money went down. The Pats’ glaring free agency priority was Brady’s favorite receiver, Wes Welker.

What happened? The Pats lowballed Welker and Welker took his talents to the Mile High City for a Scorned Lover’s Discount (i.e. less than New England offered). He will be catching his passes from Peyton Manning next year. Welker’s defection, in my opinion, makes the Denver Broncos the front runner in the AFC in 2013.

Super Bowl run? Gone. Money? Gone. Favorite receiver? Gone. Tuck Rule? Gone. what's next?

Tainted Legacy

How could things get any worse for Tom Terrific? Yesterday, the NFL announced that it was eliminating the Tuck Rule. If you talk sports with me personally or read this blog regularly, I need not explain how “TuckRule” is a profanity within the confines of my fanhood. The careers of Brady, Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick, and the legacy of the current Patriots regime were launched due to the Tuck Rule.

If you are new to watching the NFL, or are not old enough to drink yet, the Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots met in Foxboro in the 2001 AFC Divisional Playoff round. The Raiders led by three points in the final minutes of the game. The Patriots were out of timeouts. Cornerback Charles Woodson of the Raiders hit Brady as Brady was bringing his arm back to his body after pump-faking a pass attempt. Linebacker Greg Biekert of the Raiders fell on the loose ball and the game appeared to be over.

Lo and behold, upon review of the instant replay, the officials ruled that Brady was in the process of tucking the ball away, part of the process of a forward pass by rule. The rule became known as “The Tuck Rule”. It was virtually unheard of by the masses prior to that January night in 2002. It has been a lightning rod football discussions ever since.

At least one problem wife (Anna Burns Welker) is out of the Patriots' clubhouse.

The Fallout

The result of the play was an incomplete pass, not a fumble. The rest is history. The Patriots tied the score, sent the game into overtime and won on clutch Adam Vinitieri field goals at the end of regulation and in the extra frame. The Patriots went on to beat the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans and the Patriots current AFC dynasty was born.

This is more than just a rule change. It is a subtle, implicit statement about the Belichick-era Patriots' legacy. It is the most legitimacy-challenged sports dynasty in my lifetime. Tom Brady himself couldn't believe the Raiders' fumble recovery in the '01 playoffs was overturned. Without it, either the Raiders, Rams, or Pittsburgh Steelers win the Super Bowl and the Pats' three championship dynasty is an impressive, but tainted, back-to-back run in 2003 and 2004.

Of course, the three Patriots Super Bowl wins have been overshadowed by the specter of the Spygate controversy, in which the Patriots were caught videotaping divisional opponents' defensive signals. New England has not won a Super Bowl since the scandal broke in 2008. 

Today's retweet could be a summary statement for the aforementioned, from Rick Fox (@RFoxxWNY):

"Tough week for Tom Brady he loses his favorite wide receiver and now the Tuck Rule has been eliminated." 

The karma from the football gods keeps piling up.

Images cited in a prior Daily Hat Trick Postings.

Retweet of the Day - January 22, 2013

The New England Patriots have been the most dominant franchise in the AFC over the past dozen years. They've won the AFC five times and won three Super Bowls during that time. The Pats have repeatedly reached the summit of pro football that most men can only dream of.

While the Pats have dominated other men in their way, apparently their stars are having some trouble with the ladies. After last year's loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI, Gisele Bundchen, the wife of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, said, in so many words, that her husband cannot throw the ball and catch it himself. This came across as a shot pointed at Pats wide receiver Wes Welker, who dropped a fairly routine pass at a critical moment late in the game, causing the drive to stall.

This year, Welker himself got to experience the sensation of his manly fortitude being seized and held in a jar by his spouse. Anna Burns Welker, the wife of Wes Welker, made comments on Facebook regarding linebacker Ray Lewis (of the AFC Champion Baltimore Ravens, who eliminated the Patriots on Sunday) and his presence during a double stabbing homicide in Atlanta following Super Bowl XXXIV, 13 years ago. I refuse to dignify the remarks by printing them but, in essence, Burns went for a low blow by implying that Lewis was guilty by association and unworthy of the Hall of Fame, a place that Lewis will walk right into and view his bronze bust five and a half years from today but Welker may only get into by paying admission for the rest of his life. Lewis never plead guilty or was tried for anything more than wasting the cops' time during his interview after his arrest following the incident.


LET LIFE IMITATE ART

I've made references to the Adult Swim animated comedy, The Boondocks in the past. I think it is a very well written and thought provoking show. There is a recurring character on the show named, "A Pimp Named Slickback", hilariously voiced by comedian Katt Williams. While he is a pimp, he "gives back to the community" by teaching men how to get their women under control for a nominal (four figured) fee.

Today's retweet, by M. King (@notezbeingking), ties all of these story lines together:

"A pimp named slick back needs to have a seminar with Wes Welker @KSpade64 @NateD0doubleG"   

Take notes, Mr. Welker.

Video from www.youtube.com

Mom Terrific

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots take on the Houston Texans tonight is a huge AFC showdown that could decide the top spots in this year's NFL playoffs. Brady and his wife, model Gisele Bundchen, recently added a new edition to the Tom Terrific Breeding Tree. I thought this was as fitting a time as any to make Gisele the topic of today's Chick Pic.

Ladies, take comfort. She just had a kid; her butt does not look that good right now. 1

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Tom's house. 2

Think she can still fit that gown, ladies? 3

This is probably a similar visual to what Tom saw just before making Little Brady. 4

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was just days ago. She wasn't in it this year. Thank goodness for the Internet, right fellas? 5

1) Image from www.backcountrybums.com
2, 3, 4, 5) Image from www.swat-portal.com