The Boys Are Back In Town

in ,
image.jpg

I went to Summer camp this morning, in Foxborough MA, with about 10,000 other New England Patriots fan(atic)s.  

It was very hot, and free, and absolutely wonderful to see football back for another season. 

And Tom Brady was already in his teammates' faces to push harder. He even chewed out a ball boy for getting in his way.  

A WBZ-TV reporter interviewed me on camera about my expectations for the team during TB12's four-game regular season suspension. 

"3-1" I replied.  No hesitation.

It's on... 

image.jpg
image.jpg
image.jpg
image.jpg
image.jpg

Knowing When

in , , ,
image.jpg

After the Primary debates ceased to be fun anymore and I suspended my political campaign, I've been getting more and more excited about the upcoming NFL season.

Outside of rooting for my fellow Penn State alum Christian Hackenberg to get drafted by a decent team tonight, I care as much about the NFL Draft as I do about fantasy football. Which is zero.

With the almost-certainty of Jimmy Garoppolo playing quarterback for the New England Patriots while Tom Brady serves his four game regular season suspension, I can't wait for the new season to start.

image.jpg

NFL training camps will open in about ninety days, just after the Republican convention in Cleveland. TB12 will only have played his first couple of regular season games and we will have a good idea of whether or not this will be the "Fuck You" season that Patriots fans had hoped for last year, one that ends with another Super Bowl victory.

And not long after Brady returns from his suspension, we will finally know whether the next President of the United States will be Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. 

As it was for me during the late 1960s, I am once again blessed to live in interesting times.

Okay. I'm Moving On Now.

in

I believe that I have now cycled through each of the three stages of grief, following the New England Patriots' elimination from the NFL Playoffs by the Denver Broncos.  

Tom Brady, after the Patriots were eliminated from the NFL Playoffs by Denver.

Tom Brady, after the Patriots were eliminated from the NFL Playoffs by Denver.

Yesterday sucked even worse than Sunday night. It was hard to find the spark to begin the day, or get out of bed. But life has a way of kicking your ass, and getting you moving. So I moved directly to caffeine and sports talk radio - the fellowship of the miserable in New England, the grief counsellors  - and that helped. 

Watching the game again helped, being able to see more clearly what Denver did to take away the plays and players Tom Brady most depends on. The Broncos defense played an outstanding game, and their Defensive Coordinator had the perfect scheme to take away our best players, through formations, blitzes, and match ups, and the Broncos defensive line played on a level well above our offensive line - so much so that our Offensive Line Coach was fired yesterday.

I'm back.  On to next season.

Ground Control To Major Tom

image.jpg

Although we were contemporaries, and shared many of the same musical roots, I was never particularly affected by David Bowie's music, even though I understand the major impact he had within the rock and roll universe, and within the culture at large.

But I have been quite moved today at how deeply his death yesterday at 69 has affected so many of my friends.

So in order to show respect in my own way, I'm sending out this portion of David's "Space Oddity" to Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, ahead of next Saturday's NFL Divisional Playoff game against Kansas City:

Ground Control to Major Tom

Ground Control to Major Tom

Take your protein pills and put your helmet on
Ground Control to Major Tom (Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six)
Commencing countdown, engines on (Five, Four, Three)
Check ignition and may God's love be with you (Two, One, Liftoff)

This is Ground Control to Major Tom
You've really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear

I wish for TB12 a better outcome than Major Tom experienced. 

And RIP, David Bowie.

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!

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!

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.

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.