Robert Shaw

I've probably never shared this with you yet (or maybe I have), but my favorite movie of all time is Jaws. I'm not ashamed that I know every line, word for word, of that movie. I think it has an incredible cast, and some really good acting for it's time.

If someone wanted to know my all-time favorite scene from a movie, I'd say it was when Quint (Robert Shaw) in Jaws, was retelling his version of being on the USS Indianapolis. I absolutely loved Quint's character in the movie, but that was the most moving, "Holy Shit" piece of acting that I have loved.

I'm sure most people would disagree with me, but the good thing about this being MY BLOG, is that I don't care. :-) hehehe

Post Voting Results

OK...Obama has won the Presidency. I have no doubt whatsoever that you already know this, because if ANYONE is reading my Blog for up to date world news...then you need a new link in your Firefox Bookmarks file! :-)

I'm going to try to not get too political, because I'm not huge on politics. I do vote, but I am a Registered "Independent". I don't favor one party or another. I favor making my own damn choice. I want to choose the candidate that I like, not vote for someone because of their party affiliation.

But let's speak "locally" for a moment (and if anyone outside of the realm of MA reads this, then you may want to skip past this). Let's talk about Questions 1, 2, and 3.

I'm a newly hired municipal employee, one that I feel would have potentially been facing a layoff had Question 1 passed. OK...people are upset. About how the MA Legislators blow threw our money quicker than anything. But I don't think that cutting out a good portion of the state's Income is the way to go about fixing it. I think that sometimes "radical change" is not the best kind of change. Let's make change by voting out the "big spenders", and get some fresh blood into the legislature. If any other company or corporation suddenly was faced with a 40% cut in income, can you imagine the changes that would be made? And...I don't care what you think, have you ever heard the phrase "shit flows downhill"? And look, if you want to start weeding out the old-blood spenders, you've already got a head start! On January 20th when Obama accepts the Presidency, Deval Patrick and John Kerry will be moving into their new offices in DC! So we've already started! :-)

Question 2. I think this was a no-brainer that would pass. I'll jump on the bandwagon, and say let's put our cops spending their time working on real crimes. Not getting tied up with some punk 20 year old that is caught with a couple of joints in his Marlboro pack. The only potential problem with I see, is when the same 20 year old punk happens to be driving his car, and go across lanes and hit and kill someone. When they find 1 or 2 joints in his car, how disappointed will everyone be that they can't charge him for the drugs, as well???

Question 3. I thought this would be more of a landslide than it was. I figured that people would, thanks to Michael Vick, be all for the fair treatment of animals, and would vote in droves to do away with dog racing in MA. It passed, but not by as much of a margin as I had thought.

OK...it's Wednesday. Voting is over. Shouldn't we be talking FOOTBALL???

So the Patriots face the Bills this weekend. I watched some of the Bills/Jets game this weekend (I was at work, so I watched/listened to it in between calls). At the beginning of the game, I thought, "Holy SH*T! Look at that Defense! They're in Favre's face on every play!". After the first quarter, that feeling quickly faded. Buffalo has had a great start, but the Patriots, ie: Matt Cassel, are making headway every week. I put this game as a WIN for the Patriots. They're hungry. I had put them losing to the Colts, but they squeaked out a loss in a game that they SHOULD HAVE WON! I'm not one into predicting scores, but I'll put the Patriots winning this game.

Hey David Thomas!

How's your ass feeling right now??? Because, I'm sure it has had it's diameter increased greatly both by your Coach, Belichick, and by every team mate that you have. How could you be so STUPID as to pummel someone after a play had been called dead???

Can I blame the Patriot's loss to the Colts (18-15...kind of a weird score, huh?), primarily on Thomas? YES! Sure...other mistakes were made. But this was the biggest mistake of the biggest proportion...and in my opinion (and I'm sure my others), cost them the game.

Yes...yes...Jabar Gaffney dropped a tremendous pass that was floated into his hands from a million yards away...oh, yeah...a pass that, if caught, would have resulted in a TD! But I still think that Thomas's sin was worse than that.

All in all...I was pretty happy with how the Patriot's played the Colts. Up until Thomas's major screw-up penalty...I was happy with their performance. I think that Cassel improves every week. Cassel, his ability to scramble combined with a better O-Line performance, actually wasn't sacked! Holy Shit! Given the shortage of healthy Running Backs, I thought they ran the ball well (of course, I picked up and activated "Old Reliable" Kevin Faulk on my Fantasy Football Team this week, and wanted to see him touch the end zone with the ball!)...against a fairly lame Run Defense. But it was also against the COLTS! And Peyton Manning seems to be improving every week as well.

Ultimately, I'm happy with how the Pat's played most of the game. And I feel pretty good about the last half of the season. They've got 3 Divisional games coming up, which will be huge, considering that they are now in a 3-way tie in the Division with the Bills and the Jets.

I think they plan it this way...

I think some of the professional sports teams in New England plan it this way.

I mean, c'mon...the Red Sox are down 3-1 in the ALCS, they've just lost 2 games AT FENWAY, to the Rays. This game has Dice-K being benched after giving up multiple runs. And they still squeak out a wak-off-win, 8-7.

I think they do this just to keep us fans still caught up in the Playoffs. What other explanation could there be???

Even if the Red Sox go no further in the Playoffs...this was the game of their year. It really was. Because now we face 2 games IN Tampa Bay, to win our way to the World Series again. I guess we shall see...

It's been awhile!

Whoa! It's been over 2 weeks since my lazy ass has posted something new! I apologize for that, for the 2 of you who read this blog (I think I have 2 readers now! Yay me!).

Let's talk Patriots. After Brady went down, and some marble-rolling around in my brain, I still called for the Patriots to go 11-5. That would put them winning all the games they "should" win, and allowed for winning and losing one each that would leave people saying, "Huh???". The Dolphins probably would have beat the Brady-Pats, if the Defense still allowed them to use that play against us over and over again. I picked us winning that one, and we lost. So there's the one "gimme" that we lost. The game against the Chargers was the 1 game that we were supposed to lose, that I thought would be our "Huh???" game...especially in the way the Chargers had been playing the last few weeks! But they proved me wrong. However! That still statistically lines up an 11-5 season.

But...I digress. Even being a tried-and-true Pat's fan...I don't see it happening. Offense and Defense plays spotty. Cassell, who I still hold on to a string of hope to be a good QB, is not producing. He's holding the ball too long. But is that all is fault? If, A: He has no open receiver to throw it to, or B: He's getting rushed by the Defense within a second of the ball being snapped, what is he to do??? OK, sure...Brady will stay in the pocket until 1 millisecond of him being steamrolled by 900 pounds of Defensive Linemen...but if he doesn't have the time, and his receivers can't get open...the same results happen. Is this Cassell's fault? Or is this the Offensive Line's fault???

Last year's Superbowl proved, once and for all, that if you rush Brady, then he's not the same Superstar as he is if you try to triple-team Moss. So every team is coming full-bore at our QB this year. And the O-Line isn't stopping them. At all. I, like everyone, can't wait to see Brady be back to full health, and leading this team. But I still don't think that Cassell is the "little backup that thought he could". I think he can. Given the right situation.

The Pat's Defense sucked, too. How many times did Phil Rivers throw down the field? We know their running game is in a state of uncertainty...yet it seems that we were all for defending the run. So Rivers threw the ball all day long.

Oh well...game is done, the Bronco's are next. This is one of the games that I had called for the Patriot's to win. I honestly think that this is the game that decides the fate of the 2008 season for the Patriots. Monday Night Football. You still have a winning record. You're going against a 4-2 team (that hasn't yet had their Bye). And, as I just read, you may be going into this game without 2 of your starting Offensive Linemen, Matt Light and Nick Kaczur. If Cassell thought that he had to scramble last week, just wait 'til this week!

I've officially called of trying to call a season-record for the Patriots. A good friend, and devoted NFL, and also Patriots, fan, has told me 9-7. I'm witholding predictions until after this weekend's game against the Bronco's. I need more info...ie: I need to see how they do this weekend to make sure last week wasn't just a "fluke".

No matter what...I'm still a Pat's fan.

And as much as I hate to admit it...when I drafted my 2 Fantasy Football teams, I didn't draft any Patriots players. Both by draft pick selection, and whatever else I called it...I just didn't. I'm not totally feeling the pain from THOSE decisions, although I'm feeling the pain of a number of my OTHER choices...ie: Joseph Addai, Willie Parker, Brian Westbrook (who's on-again and off-again), and T.O. (who's been mostly off-again this year). Oh well. Such is life. I still have a 5-1 record thus far!

The Winner of Week 4 of the 2008 NFL Season

Bret Favre threw 6 TD passes. The Redskins beat the unbeaten Cowboys. The Bills lead the AFC East, undefeated, for the first time in like 700 billion years (or is that how much money I have to pay to bail out the economy???). One of the Ohio NFL teams has finally scored a Win. The Patriots didn't lose (jump on the Bandwagon, HATERS! I stand by my predictions. After the embarrasing THRASHING that the Patriots received by the Miami Browns...er...oh, wait, that was Ronnie Brown. I meant, Miami Dolphins...do you not think that the SF 49ers shouldn't consider themselves Bill Belicheck's personal Red-Headed-Step-Child???).

The real, true, and only winner in Week 4 is Matt Bryant, the Placekicker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Really??? Did he kick a 76 yard Field Goal? Did he place a Kickoff in the parking lot? Did his coach decide to try using him as a Wide Receiver, and he score 27 Touchdowns? No. None of that happened. Here's what happened:

This past Wednesday morning, Matt and his family woke up to find his 3-month old, Matthew Tryson Bryant, dead in his crib. Autopsy Reports are FOO FOO. It doesn't matter what the cause. This family found their infant dead. There will be a million questions going through their minds, about whether they put him in the crib in the right position, did they make sure he couldn't roll over, did they burp him correctly after his last bottle? I can't even imagine. And don't want to imagine.

Matt Bryant buried his son on Saturday, and then played in Sunday's game. Should he have played? I have read a number of Sports Writers that think it was ok that he did, and a number that think he shouldn't have. Who are any of us to judge any one else for the way they deal with this type of loss?

People deal with death in many different ways. There's no right or wrong way. People deal with death in THEIR OWN way. Matt Bryant chose to be surrounded by his family. Both on and off the field, his "family" was all with him, supporting him.

I declare Matt Bryant as my Winner of Week 4 of the 2008 NFL Season. For all the reasons previously stated.

Oh, yeah, by the way...a fact that really means very little...he kicked 3 PAT's and 3 Field Goals, including the game-winning Field Goal.

The following is an article written by Roy Johnson of Yahoo Sports Blogs:

A kicker's mind is supposed to be clear.

They live by rituals – preparing exactly the same way before each kick. They often stand at the same place on the sidelines; ask that the holder places the ball just so; take the same number of steps backwards to get into place, then – only when they're ready – will the action begin.

Then the kicker thinks about nothing except swinging his leg.

No one yet knows what was on Matt Bryant's mind today. But every parent can imagine what burden was laying upon his heart.

On Wednesday, Bryant, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' placekicker for the last four seasons, and his family awoke to discover 3-month-old Tryson Bryant dead in his crib. As of now, there has been no announcement as to a cause.

Matthew was the youngest of Matt (shown with Melissa and son Tre prior to Sunday's game) and Melissa's two sons. His funeral was Saturday.

And yet there was Matt, trying to keep a clear mind, trying to adhere to his rituals on Sunday at Tampa Bay's Raymond James Stadium against Green Bay.

Going into the game, Bryant was one of the game's most accurate kickers. He'd not missed a field or or PAT in five and eight tries, respectively. He remained perfect Sunday, hitting three PATs and field goals of 23, 36 and the game-winner from 24 yards during a 31-20 victory.

There may be some who criticize Matt for playing on Sunday. I am not among them. Nor do I think any parent would be.

They can only imagine his pain. And they never want to imagine his grief.

Grief requires peace. Grief requires finding a place where one can make sense of the senseless.

Grief requires finding a place in the mind that can be clear while the heart tries to mind.

Everyone has a different place. For some, it's a place of solitude. For others, it may be a place that holds 65,857 people.

Matt Bryant's place of peace and clarity was where it always is – on the football field.

A place where every parent's prayers were with him.

And, here's another gut-wrenching article about Matt Bryant. It's as special as any:

Matt Bryant hits game-winner amidst tragedy

By Chris Chase

One day after burying his three-month old son, Matt Bryant kicked the game-winning field goal for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After the kick sailed through, giving the Bucs a 23-21 lead over Green Bay, Bryant blew a kiss skyward with tears in his eyes. Holder Josh Bidwell embraced Bryant in a bear hug after the kick, and the rest of Bryant's Buc teammates joined in a subdued celebration too.

Bryant's son, Tryson, unexpectedly died Wednesday morning. Jon Gruden told the press that afternoon that Tryson "just didn't wake up."

Watching Bryant attempt the kick today was a truly gut-wrenching scene. I was watching the game with three friends, none of whom could care less about the outcome of the Bucs/Packers tilt, but we all celebrated when Bryant hit the kick.

That Bryant was even playing today is amazing. The NFL has no roster exemptions for bereavement, meaning that if Bryant didn't play, the Bucs would have had to have cut another play in order to sign a replacement. It's a terrible rule, especially considering that teams can make roster exemptions for suspended players. Hopefully, Bryant's tragedy will force the NFL to reconsider.

Dolphins 38, Patriots 13

OK all you Haters...let's hear it. OK all you Bandwagoners...hop off. Do what you need to do. I'm not worried.

I still stand by my predication of the Patriots going 11-5 this season. Built into my prediction was a loss that nobody could imagine. I'm picking today as that loss. I had picked last week as a loss to the Jets, and they won. So maybe it's a wash. Maybe it's coincidence. Maybe I'm 0-2 in my predictions of the Cassel-led Patriots so far, so you should tell me I have no idea what I'm talking about and stop reading my Blog (I hope you both don't stop reading!).

And don't you dare blame this loss only on Cassel (bring it on, Haters!)

I'm not worried. In October of last year, a flurry of articles came out about the Media entering the Patriots locker room at Gillette Stadium to find all of the players wearing gray t-shirts, and they all said the same thing on them. On the front, it said, "I eat it". On the back, it said, "Humble Pie".

I'm hoping those t-shirts are still hanging around. Because today the Patriots ate a huge slice of Humble Pie. A la Mode. Or should I say, "A la Brown". After Ronnie Brown THREW for a Touchdown pass, I sent a txt message to my good friend Greg, who was at his home watching the game, and my txt said, "Hey...when does the bus carrying the Patriot's Defense arrive at Gillette? They're running late." WTFO??? How many more times did Pennington have to line up as a Wide Receiver (isn't he usually a Wide Passer?), and the Dolphins direct-snap to Ronnie Brown, for the Patriots Defense to pick up on it??? I'm more worried about the Patriots Defense than I am about Matt Cassel. They played like shit. Like dog shit. Did they prepare like Pennington was going to throw the ball all night and forgot about Williams and Brown?

But wait! With me...sitting on my couch...Sunday-Late-Night-Quarterbacking...did you think that I was NOT going to comment on the Patriots Offensive Line??? How many times was Cassel sacked? Knocked down? Hurried? I don't care what you say...but that has very little to do with the Quarterback! That's all to do with the guys that protect him. The Patriots O-Line has always been heralded (up until last years SuperBowl). So where are they? If anyone thought that the Defense had to step up now that Cassel was calling the shots...did they not think that the Offensive Line had to step up as well? Where's all the Pro-Bowler Offensive Linemen? If the QB, no matter who he is, doesn't have time to grab the ball before he has loudmouth Joey Porter grabbing his shirt, then how can he perform?

Remember last year, when one sports-writer wrote: "Brady has enough time in the pocket to txt on his Blackberry to his WR's who he's going to throw to". You know what? You did that for Brady...but Brady's being massaged by Giselle. Now it's time to step up, and do that for Cassel! If the O-Line would step up and give Cassel the same amount of time...he'd be throwing bombs to Randy Moss all day long.

I'm not worried. But I'll leave you with this question:

Given the way that in these 3 games, the Offensive Line and Defensive Line have played... how well would Brady be doing?