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| The Great "OFF-SEASON" Shuffle By Mike Dodge Players have been released, some have been traded, but it�s safe to say this is just a glimpse of what�s to come. The Champs are a few players lighter, but don�t be surprised if at least Troy Brown returns wearing a Patriots uniform next year. I read an article the other day titled �Dismantling of a Dynasty�. My question is, how is releasing Troy Brown, Ty Law, Joe Andruzzi, David Patten and Roman Phifer dismantling anything? Ty Law is a stud, but the Champs won with and without him. Troy Brown and Andruzzi were great Patriots, but you can�t keep everybody on the roster, especially when they want more money. Don�t believe the hype. If a name like Tom Brady, Deion Branch or Corey Dillon is released, there will be a cause for concern for Patriot Nation The deal is done�Randy Moss is a Raider. What can be said that hasn�t been addressed already about this move. When Culpepper was drafted in 1999, I had nightmares about the damage these two could do in the NFL. But of course, all the coaches and teams that passed over Randy during the 98 draft knew exactly what they were doing�avoiding a plague. Now he is in a system-less system, and the smile he wears now, will turn to frowns and scowls by midseason. For you fantasy football fanatics, better scratch him off the top of your list; his numbers are not going to be pretty. Tell me if you have heard this line before, �I want to play for a contender and win a championship�. Well obviously Derrick Mason feels money is more important than a ring. The Patriots showed interest in the receiver, and he went and signed with Baltimore. The Ravens have juiced an already great defense with the addition of Samari Rolle, and I know that defense wins games but the Raven offense needs more than Mason to get them back to the Super Bowl. Two-time MVP Kurt Warner expressed winning a championship with Dennis Greene after signing a 1 year deal with the Cardinals. Welcome to the Neighborhood of �Make Believe� boys and girls. I have a better chance of becoming the Queen of England than Warner has of winning a Super Bowl with the Red Birds. Looks as though Warner may have taken a few too many blows to the head. Marcus Pollard won�t be on the receiving end of any Marino Jr. passes next year. Instead he will be playing with the Detroit Kittens�I mean Lions. BUT, the big move was picking up Kenoy Kennedy. Kennedy is most commonly known for his hard and sometimes illegal and punishing hits. Yes Marcus Pollard catches passes, but Kennedy instills fear, and sometimes fear makes a big difference�ask the Colts receivers. And now for my �BONE HEAD MOVE OF THE WEEK� award. That honor goes to the Washington Redskins for trading wide receiver Laveranues Coles to the New York Jets for Santana Moss. Why would you do this? Yes Coles is a complainer, but who the hell cares? As long as he catches passes (when thrown in his general area), and doesn�t give up on plays, he is twice the receiver Santana Moss is. Just goes to show, Coach Gibbs may have bit off a little more than he can chew returning to the NFL. Reason #1 not to use steroids: Bill Romanowski. The former 49er, Bronco, Raider, etc. is facing the music in an Oakland CA courtroom. This all stems back to the beating he threw 2nd year TE Marcus Williams 2 seasons ago. During an altercation iat practice, Romo ripped-off the helmet of Williams and clocked him�hard enough to cause brain damage and end Williams� NFL career. I guess saying �I�m sorry� doesn�t cut it when you mash in the side of a guys head. I remember when you wanted players like Romo on the football field. Now, we have a more kinder/gentler league where whining (COLTS!) and filing post game protests are not only acceptable, but welcomed by the commissioner. I have been saying �so-and-so is a classy player� way too much lately. I would rather say �That is one Bad Mother (SHUT YO MOUTH)�. First objective is eliminate hitting, next is tea and cookies during halftime. With the off-season settled on us like a thick fog, I have found myself doing the unthinkable�watching the NBA. At first, I had a feeling of shame. I like to compare watching the NBA to watching the Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon� mostly kids are watching it. A recent poll revealed the average NBA fan is between the ages of 15-25�and it doesn�t surprise me. With the long/baggy uniforms, over abundance of prison tattoos, and playground fundamentals, what adult in their right mind would watch this 3-ring circus? I actually saw a player on the court with his shorts pulled down (for the half moon look) and his sneakers hardly tied. I swear, I saw 50 kids that looked just like him trolling the mall last weekend. The reason mostly kids follow the NBA these days is because they were too young (or not alive) to remember when the NBA was great. When the uniforms were horrible and there were 2 brands of sneakers. I guess when you grow-up a Celtics fan, and were spoiled watching great players like Havlicek, Cowens, Bird, McHale, Archibald, Maxwell; guys that played as a team�and made the other players around them better. It has all seemed to fade away in a putrid cloud of modern day toxic NBA smoke. BUT! With no hockey, and baseball still a month away, I have had no choice but to actually give the NBA a chance. Hand me a Kleenex please. The only saving grace is, the new Patriots Championship DVD was released recently, and with that I have received my stay of execution! You see, I can�t only watch the current DVD, I have to watch all three, locking up the television for 5 hours. Then when I have relived greatness on the gridiron, I throw in the Red Sox DVDs, and beat my chest like a true fan of greatness. When that�s over, I head to the reserves�old Celtics DVDs, like �Larry Legend� and �the History of the Boston Celtics�. This can easily take care of four days of the week. The other evenings, I catch a Celtics game (BECAUSE I HAVE TO RIGHT NOW) or cut my toe-nails. I would use that time to concentrate on this article, but I know if it gets too lengthy, the 3 of you that read it would lose interest. With that being said�LET�S GO TO THE MAILBAG! SIX folks cared enough to shoot me an e-mail last week�but I expected it after I threw a monthly prize in the mix. All of you in the most part agreed with my ranting (which was flattering), but there has got to be someone out their gritting their teeth wanting a piece of me�bring it on Moss fans! Without further ado�. Tazmocan writes: Moss needs the Raiders like they need him. He will fit in there perfectly. Although the Vikings should have gotten a better value then they did, I guess they know what they are doing (NOT). I believe they could have gotten a better deal. I know my husband is mad about the trade. He is a big Viking fan and will only watch the Vikings play. To be honest, I do believe the eagles will win next years Super Bowl. They just need to get their game under control. I do believe they were intimidated by the Pats and were not that prepared. I do believe they will be better prepared this next go around. This is just my opinion and I'm just a female collector who loves the game. I think the Raiders need quite a bit more than Randy Moss, and yes the Vikes kinda stiffed themselves�but what other option did they have? The Eagles will probably win the NFC again next year, but I predict Donovan will once again dry heave himself out of his game, and the Eagles will lose once again�probably to the Champs. It�s refreshing to receive correspondence from a female fan. I guess not all of you ladies watch the NFL for the tight pants and pretty color uniforms. Bearfield writes: Why is my ProSet Blichick RC only worth $25? (Actually, Bear sent a 2 page e-mail, but it was mostly just a bunch of stuff he needed to get off his chest). $25 is great for a card from a product that produced enough cards to cover the planet...twice! Any luck with the medication I prescribed? For the rest of you, I added your names to the �Lucky Patriots Hat�. Keep them coming! Until next time folks... I would like to hear from you. If I post your remarks in my column, you will instantly qualify for an end of month drawing. A prize will be sent to the person whose name I pull out of the "Lucky Patriots Hat". E-mail your comments, suggestions, or questions to [email protected] Pictures provided by NFL.com |
| Today boys and girls we have a special guest with us in the Neighborhood of Make Believe...Mr. Kurt Warner |
| I did not have sexual relations with that woman...oops, I mean... I never took steroids...Geez, I meant.... |
| The face of today's NBA. So what, I shoot 10 percent and don't pass...but I do wear a cool uniform and have a lot of neat tattoos! |
| Smile now while you have a short lived reason to...YOU PLAGUE! |
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