Why I Am Rooting for Tim Tebow Over the Hated Tom Brady and Bill Belichick This Weekend

I make no secret about I can't stand pretty much everything related to Boston and New England. When the commercial says to "Trust the Gorton's Fisherman," I say "No way! He's from Massachusetts!" I also love to hate Tom Brady and Bill (Belicheat) Belichick. It's funny that Brady does Uggs commercials, because that's what I think every time I see him -- ugh!

And Tim Tebow is my favorite NFL player to watch this year. I'm generally pretty cynical about athletes, but he is just so gosh-darn likeable, I cannot help but root for him. And all those come-from-behind wins are nothing to sneeze at, either.

Put those things together, and you have must-see TV tonight. To steal Bart Scott's link, I can't wait to see the Broncos/Patriots game later this evening. And I am going to go out on a limb here, the way I did with Squawker Jon last week on the phone, and say that Denver will win tonight. (I won a $1 from Jon over the Steelers game, but I should have bet that Jon would have to do a Tebowing pose!) While my predictions aren't always right, I did call the Jets' victory over the Pats in the playoffs last year, and the Giants' win over the "19-0" Patriots in the Super Bowl.

What New England reminds me of a little are the Yankees towards the end of the Torre years. Both teams had great dynasties going. Both teams would have impressive regular season records, where they looked pretty dominant, but they would then lose in the postseason again and again.

People talk about New England like they are the best team in football. But the last time they won a Super Bowl was when George W. Bush was getting inaugurated for the second time. The last time the Patriots won a playoff game was in their would-be undefeated season. They lost to the Sanchize and the Jets last year, 28-21, and to the immortal Joe Flacco the year before. But I am supposed to think that there is no way that they can lose today? Sorry, I'm not buying it. The glory days are over, my friend.

So, even though the Patriots are 13-point favorites, I am not counting the Broncos out. New England was nine-point favorites against the Jets last year, and how did that work out in the end?

I am strangely confident in Tim Tebow for this game. There is some sort of magic around him this year. And how great would it be for somebody who emanates such goodness to beat the face of evil? I am imaging Belichick disappearing in a great cloud of black smoke at the end of the game, with the hoodie turning into a cape!

This time around, I don't think even Squawker Jon can root against Tebow. Go Broncos!

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Yeah, baby! Jets destroy the hated Patriots

I'm exhausted from doing the Snoopy Dance last night to celebrate the Jets stomping the Patriots (I'm not agile enough to do the Braylon Edwards backflips, though!) And yes, I did totally call the win.

I haven't as been as excited about a sporting event since the Yankees won the World Series. Granted, I'm not really a Jets fan, but I am a Rex Ryan fan -- and a longtime Bill Belichick and Tom Brady despiser. Not to mention that I dig seeing Red Sox Nation unhappy. So yes, this was great fun to watch. 

And I love, love, love all the trash talk between the two teams. Phil Simms said something after the game about how all the talk this week took away from the game. Are you kidding me? All the trash talk is what made this game such a marquee event! It's entertainment, guys!

The same with Shonn Greene's nap in the end zone, and Rex Ryan roaring down the field over the last touchdown, yelling "Yeah, baby" like he was Austin Powers. But Jim Nantz didn't care for it:

"I've never understood the absurdity of all the self-aggrandizing and now you're going to cost your team 15 yards on the kick and you're going to give Brady and his unit a chance to do something."

Oh, please. That stadium was like a ghost town at that point. Nantz was about the only person who thought the Patriots could "do something" to win the game, being 14 points behind with less than two minutes to go.

And I want more of Bart Scott, please. His postgame interview was epic.

One of my Facebook friends mused last night as to whether Bill Belichick is becoming the new Joe Torre -- great in the regular season; not so great in the playoffs anymore. He has a point. After winning three championships in four years, it's now been six years since the Patriots won a Super Bowl. And they haven't won anything since Spygate, either. Coincidence? I think not.

And Tom Brady, Mr. Postseason, hasn't exactly been bringing it. Bart Scott mocked him in another postgame interview. And the Boston Herald (!) pulled up the stats to show that Bart also had a point:

“This was the quarterback that couldn’t get touched,” Scott said. “(The media) talk all about how great he’s playing, but what Rex (Ryan) pulled out for us was his last three playoff games – what his record was and what his rating was then. He had a 66 quarterback rating in his last four or five playoff games and you guys didn’t believe that. You guys didn’t look deep enough into the notes.” 

Taking Scott’s advice, here is a closer look at Brady’s stats in his last three playoff games:

1/16/11 — 28-21 loss to Jets: 29-45, 299 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, 89.0 rating

1/10/10 — 33-14 loss to Ravens: 23-42, 154 yards, 2 touchdowns, 3 interceptions, 49.1 rating

2/3/08 — 17-14 loss to Giants: 29-48, 266 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions, 82.5 rating

Looks like Tom Terrific isn't so terrific as of late. But hey, at least he still has that Uggs endorsement. And the supermodel wife -- unless she dumps him for Mark Sanchez, the new postseason QB hero!

Well, at least Mr. Bundchen has time to go to some more Broadway shows. Maybe instead of watching "Lombardi" during the Jets-Colts game, he should have caught "Jersey Boys" instead?


What do you think? Tell us about it!

Why Reggie Jackson was wrong to compare Tom Brady to Mariano Rivera

Here's something I wanted to weigh in before the Jets-Patriots game is over. Lots of people have noticed how, um, hypocritical it was for career big talker Reggie Jackson to essentially tell the Jets to drink a nice, steaming cup of shut the bleep up. But what bugged me about his ESPN Radio lecture was the fact that he compared Tom Brady to Mariano Rivera:

Jackson also said Jets coach Rex Ryan made a mistake when he questioned Brady's decision to attend the Broadway play "Lombardi" last Saturday instead of watching the Jets' 17-16 wild-card win over the Colts.


"This guy is an automatic Hall of Famer, making fun of him is like making fun of Mariano Rivera," Jackson said. "What are you doing? What are you doing?"

Excuse me? This is insulting to Rivera, someone who has never trash-talked or pointed or shown anything but respect to his opponents.Not to mention that Mo never left his pregnant significant other for a supermodel. He's also not running around with Justin Bieber hair meant for somebody 20 years younger.

No matter how many rings Brady has, he is still a serial tweaker. This is a guy who likes to stick it to his own Boston fan base by wearing a Yankee hat. And he couldn't have been more public in dismissing the opposition than by spending last Saturday night on Broadway going to see "Lombardi" instead of watching the Jets-Colts game. Do you think Tom just happened to go that night because he just wanted to catch a good play? Puh-lease. Don't see why Rex Ryan shouldn't be allowed to note that.

What do you think? Tell us about it!

Story of the week::Justin Bieber disses Tom Brady for stealing his hairdo

Squawker Jon told me yesterday about how Justin Bieber made fun of Tom Brady for stealing his hairdo, but I thought it would be too good to be true. Thankfully, it really happened!

The teenage pop star rapped under the moniker "Shawty Mane" this week in this video, and here's what he said about the Patriots quarterback stealing his infamous hairstyle:

"Sacked like a sacker. Call up Mr. Brady. Tell him to leave his hair to the guy who sings ’Baby.’"

Love it!

Brady claimed he didn't know who Bieber was. I don't believe him.

What do you think? Tell us about it.

Whose hairstyle is worse -- Tom Brady's or Jan Brady's?

CBS Sports' Charlie Casserly claims that there's a hair-raising reason Randy Moss got traded from the New England Patriots -- Moss reportedly said Tom Brady's goofy new hairdo made the quarterback look like a girl. Please, oh, please, let this story be true!


Casserly reported on NFL Today:

"One of Brady's problems with Moss was his behavior as a Patriot," said Casserly. "One of the things overheard was Brady telling Moss, 'You've got to cut your beard.' And Moss counters, 'You've got to get your hair cut. You look like a girl.'" 

You can watch this report here from NFL Today (the best part is the uproarious laughter in the studio after Casserly reports this.)

I try not to comment on players' physical appearance, but Tom's Justin Bieber hairdo needs a hair-intervention. It's the most ridiculous hairstyle on a Brady since Jan Brady wore that black wig on "The Brady Bunch" back in the day. Only thing is, her siblings told her she looked dopey with the "New Jan Brady" wig.

On the other hand, Tom's wife Gisele Bundchen is the one who pushed this ridiculous style on her hubby. Why? Is she trying to keep every other woman in the world from finding her husband attractive?

And if this story about the Moss-Brady confrontation is true, where does Brady get off complaining about Moss' beard, and telling him to cut it? Is the Patriots' QB -- who roots for the Yankees, by the way -- taking his Yankee fandom so far that he wants to institute a hair code for his team? If so, he really needs to take a look in the mirror, and see that his own hair would be banned in Yankeeland.

What happens if the Patriots don't make the playoffs because of Moss' absence? How silly will that be if this story is true, that Moss is gone because he dared to criticize what pretty much everybody else in America acknowledges -- that Tom Brady needs a haircut! When I saw Bill Simmons speak last week, he brought up Brady's hair several times, and mocked the 'do (more like a don't!)

Whose hairstyle looks dumber -- Tom Brady's or Jan Brady's? Tell us about it!