Only In Boston


Scott Zolak, a Boston radio sports host, was on an elevator at Gillette Stadium last Sunday , talking with a bunch of Patriots fans before the game.

I'll let Scott tell the rest of the story:

“Gisele Bundchen gets on, and her hair’s a little damp, because it’s raining out. The guys in the elevator don’t even give her a second look, they just kept talking to me,” Zolak laughed. “And I’m thinking to myself, ‘Only in Boston could a $34 million-a-year supermodel get on an elevator full of sports fans and they don’t give her the time of day!’”

Tom And Gisele Marry - Again!

Following up on a recent post, Tom and Gisele are getting married again:

"Word on the wedding front is that a number of Tom Brady’s teammates and some New England Patriot brass will be heading to Costa Rica next month to watch No. 12 and Gisele Bundchen tie the knot - again!

"Our locker room spies confirm that invites have gone out for an April wedding at Gisele’s getaway on the beach in Malpais on Costa Rica’s South Pacific Coast."
(Source: Boston Herald)

Tom And Gisele Get Married

Pats superstud Tom Brady reportedly...
The Boston Herald has reported that it's a done deal.
Because I know that many Freeway regulars want all of the details, here they are:

"New England Patriots superstud Tom Brady - the region’s most eligible bachelor - reportedly tied the knot last night with his supermodel galpal, Gisele Bundchen, in a romantic twilight wedding in California.

US Weekly magazine reported on its Web site that the pigskin prince and his Brazilian bombshell traded “I do’s” in a small Catholic ceremony in St. Monica’s Church in Santa Monica. The “very small and intimate” gathering consisted mostly of immediate family, including Brady’s parents, Tom Sr. and Gaylen, and 2-year-old son, Jack, by ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan .

The 28-year-old bride wore a form-fitting strapless ivory lace gown with a trumpet skirt, scalloped edges, long train and a floor-length veil with attached handmade satin roses and attached satin headband by her favorite designers Dolce & Gabbana, the magazine reported. Her three dogs also wore matching Dolce & Gabbana floral lace collars.

A spokesman for the Patriots was unable to immediately confirm that Brady was a married man. But a source at US said the story was “1,000 percent true.” A witness to the nups confirmed the details for the magazine, the source said.

The reported wedding seemed to fit with what Bundchen once described as her perfect “I do” scenario.

“I don’t like parties,” she said. “I prefer something more intimate, just for the closest people.”

The church, in a quiet parish near the beach, is known as “the church of the stars” because a number of movies have been filmed there, including “Going My Way” and “The Bells of St. Mary.”

Parishioners include Martin Sheen, Brooke Shields, Kelsey Grammer and the late Chris Farley . Lucy Lawless of “Xena, Warrior Princess” fame also was married there.

In recent weeks, both Brady and Bundchen repeatedly denied engagement rumors that began in December when TMZ.com reported that No. 12 proposed to his girlfriend of two years on a private jet filled with roses and champagne.

“Someone deduced I was getting engaged . . . I don’t know how people are so creative,” Bundchen told Brazilian magazine Caras Gi last month after receiving more than 100 e-mails from pals asking about the engagement.

And just last week at a charity event in Allston, Brady also claimed he had no immediate wedding plans. When WBZ-TV (Ch. 4) sportsguy Steve Burton asked the QB/QT whether he was going to tie the knot, the two-time Super Bowl MVPreplied “I say, ‘may’ - maybe, maybe not.”

“I am in a great spot in my life. I have a lot of people who care about me that I love being around,” Tom continued, “and one of them is my girlfriend.” However, Brady added that “unfortunately” the engagement rumors weren’t true.

However, the Internet was buzzing earlier this week about some fuzzy paparazzi snaps of Gisele taken at Carnival in Brazil, which showed a ring on her left ring finger.

A pal close to the couple told Us Bundchen and Brady are perfect together.

“She’s definitely ‘The One,’ ” the source said. “She really makes him comfortable and just happy.”

The couple purchased an $11.7 million piece of property in a gated community in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles late last year and are building a house there."

Has Tom Brady Gone Soft?

Dan Shaughnessy, writing in today's Boston Globe, has spoken for hard-core football fans everywhere:

"I can't take it anymore. Aliens have overtaken Tom Brady's body. He's not the guy we thought we knew."

"Yesterday was the last straw."

"You know what I'm talking about. You opened your newspaper (or perhaps viewed online) and saw the photograph of Gisele Bundchen feeding Brady at poolside in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico."

"That did it. The tipping point. The coup de grace. The shark jumped."

"She was feeding him."

Tom Brady Rehabs in Puerto Vallarta


For all the Tom and Gisele fans on the Freeway, from boston.com:

"While the rest of us are huddled beneath a pile of blankets trying to survive another batch of frigid weather, Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen are busy catching some rays south of the border."

"On Sunday, the paparazzi snapped the Patriots signal-caller and his supermodel sweetheart snuggling in sunny Puerto Vallarta, Mexico."

"While it's unclear if the couple is or isn't engaged, they sure look like lovebirds lounging poolside in their boardshorts and bikini."

Watch out for the lizards!

Chains


The sideline chains used in all NFL games are a little more tricked-out with color and plastic coverings, but they are essentially identical to the ones used when I played high school football fifty years ago.

In the extreme high tech world of the NFL, this analog anomaly is still around because nothing has been found to improve on it.

“There must be a better way,” said Pat Summerall, the longtime N.F.L. player and broadcaster. “Because games are decided, careers are decided, on those measurements.”

Ideas have come and gone, but "inventors like Alan Amron, a 60-year-old from Long Island, plan their extinction."

"In 2003, with the help of Summerall, Amron presented a sophisticated laser system to the competition committee."

"Using lasers permanently mounted into stadium lights, a green line — visible to players, coaches and fans in the stadium, and to television viewers — would be projected onto the field to mark the line for a first down."

"Amron said it would be accurate to within a sixteenth of an inch."

I'm sure we will soon see a digital alternative to chains, but the game will lose one of its most dramatic rituals:

"[An] official protectively holds the ball against the ground, because precision is suddenly important. The chains arrive from the sideline. An official slowly pulls the chain taut. Breaths are held."

“When we measure, we make sure the players are clear so that TV can get a good shot of the actual measurement,” [Mike] Pereira [Director of NFL Officials] said."

"Suspense would be lost if every first down were determined instantly."

Plaxico Burress Perp Walk

A Boston police detective I spoke with said that an expensive handgun has become a fashion accessory among some professional athletes, right after the diamond earring, gold chain, and Rolex watch.

And no -- if you're thinking that the Patriots might ever consider signing Plaxico Burress after he gets out of jail, because they signed Randy Moss, let me just say that Plaxico Burress is no Randy Moss, and never will be.

Tom And Gisele's Thanksgiving


A Thanksgiving Day helping of Tom-and-Gisele for their fans on the Freeway, from today's Boston Globe:

"Tom Brady and his supermodel sweetheart Gisele Bundchen surprised everyone at yesterday's annual Thanks-for-giving meal organized by Goodwill Industries at its Roxbury headquarters.

Walking without a limp, the Pats QB upstaged a slew of pols who were present,

Bundchen arrived first, and quickly put on an apron and got down to work dishing out stuffing, mashed potatoes, and squash. (We spied the slender siren sneak one bean.)

Brady showed up as the tables were being cleared, and was greeted by Bundchen with a kiss on the cheek. Later, Brady signed a few autographs while Gi, who seemed to be genuinely enjoying herself, chatted with folks and moved to the music

Speaking of Brady, Maria Menounos called to clarify something. She says she didn't mean to suggest that the Pats should permanently replace the two-time Super Bowl MVP with Matt Cassel.

In an item this week hyping her "Access Hollywood" interview with Ashley Dupre, Menounos told us she's been impressed with Cassel's passing progress. But that's as far as the infatuation goes.

"Matt will be a wanted man after the season, no question," the Medford native says of Cassel, who will be a free agent. "But there's no replacing Tom Brady. Period."

By the way, the guy in the background of the picture at the top looks like he can't wait to get his hands on some of that pie!

OMG! - NFL 3-D!!


"With sports fans still getting used to their high-definition television sets, the National Football League is already thinking ahead to the next potential upgrade: 3-D.

Next week, a game between the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders will be broadcast live in 3-D to theaters in Los Angeles, New York and Boston [invitation only]."

The Wall Street Journal reports that while watching an NFL game live in 3-D, "it's as if the ball is coming into your arms."

Football fans can let their imaginations run almost as wild as these Halloween-costumed New England Patriots cheerleaders did during the Pats-Rams game at Gillette Stadium on October 26.

The possibilities are endless.

Tom And Gisele Update

From the Boston Herald's "Inside Track:"

"New England Patriots prince Tom Brady returned to rehabbing at Gillette Stadium yesterday. We know this because his locker is once again filled to the max with clothes, caps and a variety of metrosexual must-haves.

First off, we must point out that No. 12 is the only Patriot with a mirror in his cubby. Like he needs one.

We also bring to your attention the bottle of Propel Fit Water in the SmartWater spokesjock’s locker, ahem.

There’s also an array of personal-care products: Listerine, deodorant, skin lotions, etc.

And it’s all so very neat, isn’t it? Like, Jerry Seinfeld neat. Unlike Tom’s neighbor, Randy Moss, whose shoes and laundry-filled locker is a shocker!

BTW, nice to see that Tom isn’t stowing his beloved Yankees cap in Foxboro. His non-Pats lid of choice is one from “Entourage,” the HBO biopic of Boston bad boy Mark Wahlberg’s early days in the Holly ’hood. As you’ve probably read, Marky claims he’s scored Tom for a cameo in the upcoming sixth season of the show.

Well, Tom appreciates a good Entourage. He’s got Gisele, his Guy Friday Will McDonough and, you know, little Vida, the dog . . .

[Regarding Gisele,] Tom Brady’s glamazon GF, who hasn’t been seen in these parts since No. 12 returned from La-La earlier this month, finally surfaced in the Big Apple - leading us to wonder whether Gi has been sex-iled for the duration of Tommy’s recovery!

Gisele was photographed - solo - at a weekend cocktail party in NYC hosted by Harper Collins and DVF, designer Diane von Furstenberg’s label, to celebrate the publication of “A Year in High Heels: The Girl’s Guide to Everything from Jane Austen to the A-list.”

Meanwhile, word from Gillette Stadium is that Brady has been there nearly every day working to rehab his injured, infected knee. And if you believe Tom’s trainer, Oscar Smith, when Brady’s rehabbin’ it’s No Girls Allowed!

Smith, who runs the O-Diesel Studios in NYC’s Tribeca, said Brady - who underwent surgery for a season-ending torn ACL in La-La last month and has been battling post-operative infections - wants no distractions when he’s training.

'There are crazy women out there who will hit on him, take his picture and pull other stunts in public, so he trains alone,' Oscar told the New York Post. 'No distractions and no Gisele.'"

I know this appears to be a shameless and tacky post, but Antelope Freeway has certain reader commitments to honor.

Alternative Investments


If you're on the sidelines financially, uncertain which way to turn, there's a new way to keep yourself warmed-up while you wait to get back into the game.

"Today OneSeason.com is introducing a day-trading site for sports fans – a Web stock market which allows people to invest real money to own “shares” of their favorite sports players, teams and leagues. The word “shares” is in quotes because the shares on OneSeason are, ultimately, meaningless— only illusory slices of players like Eli Manning or Lebron James, which either rise or fall depending on the demand for those shares among other traders. People can transfer up to $2500 a year to their OneSeason accounts."

Fantasy Sports on steroids.

Tom and Gisele

This photo of Tom Brady and his girlfriend Gisele Bundchen returning to their condo in Manhattan after shopping last week makes me really, really sad.

No, not for the reasons you might be thinking -- supermodel girlfriend, Amex card with no limit, condo in Manhattan – well maybe the condo in Manhattan a little bit.

I’m sad because even though this is probably what he would have been doing anyway during the Patriots’ bye week, he’s not going to play again this season.

I know that the economic crisis is serious, but this is worse. Much worse.

Finish

Bill Belichick's theme for the 2008 New England Patriots is "Finish."

Patriots fans for whom this photo generates dangerous levels of hypertension and nausea will understand.

Forget the regular season records and forget all that "Perfect Season" crap.

Finish this season with another NFL Championship.

Are you listening, offensive line?

No more pictures like this one.


NFL Ticket Prices

A colleague at work is selling his season tickets to a few Patriots regular season games this season. His seats are in the corner of one of the end zones. He's asking $468 for a pair of tickets (face value for the pair: $234). Even if he were selling them for face value, who could afford to take a son or daughter (or even himself and a friend) to a game? Outdoors in New England on a late December Sunday night (game time 8:30PM), against the St. Louis Rams? After paying $35 for parking and God knows how much on food and drink? And why would you want to, if you could watch it at home on a 42" plasma high definition television, with all of the cool network camerawork and replays? I don't get it -- but then I never got tailgate parties and getting fall-down drunk, either. I'm just a fan who loves to watch the game.