Josh Q. Public. For the public, by The Public. Irreverent sports opinion from a Bostonian in New York. The one blog to read, when you’re reading more than one.
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Josh Q. Public:From nobody to upstart. From upstart to contender. From contender to winner. From winner to champion. From champion to Dynasty. -Pat Riley
Public Service Announcement: OK, here we go! These Patriots are fantastic. These Patriots are boombastic. I’m Boombastic say me fantastic. Touch me on my back, she says I’m Mr. Romantic. But are these Patriots dynastic? That’s the question. To be or not to be, that is the question. Make no mistake about it, if the Pats run the table in these here playoffs, that question will be put to bed. Truth is, that question should have already been put to bed. Already good as dead. Off with her head! As of Saturday’s historic beating of the Giants, the Patriots now have the longest consecutive regular season win streak in the history of the NFL and still counting. Pressure still mounting. They just surpassed their old mark of eighteen they set back in ‘03-’04. And we all know there were a bunch of wins between that. Honey bunches of wins. And they won two Super Bowls before that. When they beat the Philadelphia Eagles by the banks of the St. John’s river, Tom Brady and company had just secured their third Super Bowl victory in four years. So dynasty? Ya, I’d say so. That’s what makes this run so remarkable. An undefeated season amidst one of the greatest runs in NFL history. If that’s not a dynasty, I don’t know what is. And listen up Mercury Morris. You cats had an easy schedule. A soft schedule. Carvel soft. All Cookie Puss and shit. Fudgie the Whale. You beat nobody. Nobody. Opponents winning percentage of .367. It is to laugh. You beat the 8-6 Giants. You beat the 8-6 Chiefs. That’s it. These here Patriots beat the number one seed in the NFC. The Dallas Cowboys. These here Patriots beat the reigning Super Bowl Champions. The Indianapolis Colts. I know, I know. They haven’t won anything yet. Yet. But since 2001 they’ve been just tenacious. Anything but gracious. Audacious. Salacious. Ostentatious. Since 200,1 they have only lost one regular season game after holding a fourth quarter lead. That makes 83-1 in those situations boys and girls. Big deal, you say. Easy as pie, you say. Know this. Every other NFL team has at least seven losses in that time, under those same circumstances. So let us just say, this team knows how to win. Tom Brady knows how to win. The best regular season record for any NFL quarterback since 1950. Better than Roger Staubach. Better than Joe Montana. Better than that six-five, 230-pound quarterback with a laser rocket arm. Better than all of them. Post season? NFL record for most consecutive wins in post season. Three rings. Two Super Bowl MVPs. And not for nothing. Just for fun. Randy Moss is the only cat to play for two teams that won fifteen games in one season. These guys just know how to win. And it all starts with the Brain. Pinky, are you pondering what I’m pondering? Um… I think so, Brain, but what if the chicken won’t wear the nylons? Bill Belichick is 90-37 as HC of the NEP. Only four other cats have done better with on team. George Siefert. Vince Lombardi. Paul Brown. John Madden. Boom! Good coaches. Great coaches. Dynastic coaches. Yes sports fans. This is a dynasty. And will be for a long, long time.
Public Acknowledgements: Shaggy, William Shakespeare, Cheerios, Seymour Siwoff, Master Card and Pinky & the Brain
Most truths are so naked that people feel sorry for them and cover them up, at least a little bit. -Edward R. Murrow
Public Knowledge:
1. The old Gordie Howe Hat Trick. A goal. An assist. And a fight. Despite that feat being named after him, Howe only recorded one “Gordie Howe hat trick” during his career. Sid the Kid just tied him. Last night, Crosby was looking a lot like Vincent Lecavalier. Last night, against the Boston Bruins, Sid took on D-man Andrew Ferrence for the first fight and major penalty of his career. Like my main Paulie Cicero always says: “Awww, you broke your cherry!”
2. The Glove wants to be a Celtic. Again. I know he started all seventy-seven games he played for the Hot ‘Lantic champion Celtics back in ‘05. I know, and I don’t care. I never liked this guy. Never. He’s a big mouth. A loud mouth. A blabber mouth. He’s received the second-most technical fouls of all time. That’s not the kind of guy you want on this ball club. But it’s not just that. GP’s decline from superstar to borderline shouldn’t-be-in-the-NBA status was fast and furious. He was averaging 20.8 points, 8.8 dimes and 1.8 steals when he was traded from Seattle in ‘03. A mere two years later, he was backing up Jason Williams in Miami. I know he may have mellowed with age. I knowboth Shaq and Antoine loved playing with him. I also know the Celtics need a back-up point guard. I just hope the Glove isn’t it.
3. Down goes Fast Willie Parker! Down goes the NFL’s leading rusher. Down goes his season. Down goes Pittsburgh’s chances for doing anything substantial this post season. Fast Willie Parker suffered a broken right leg against St. Louis last night. This is a huge loss for the Steelers as they prepare to head into the playoffs. Yes, Not So Fast Najeh Davenport stepped up in Parker’s absence, gaining 123 yards on 24 carries with a score, and adding a touchdown catch for the Steelers. But Not So Fast Najeh taking over as the starting running back is bad news for the Curtain. Davenport is slow and only effective in short yardage situations. It’s all up to Big Ben now.
4. The NBA: Where amazing happens:
5. Marian Gaborik. Minnesota Wild. Every which way but loose. He scored on the power play. He scored on a breakaway. He scored by batting an errant puck out of the air. He notched the NHL’s first five-goal game in eleven years. Oh doctor! He notched the first five-goal outing since Sergei Federov did it for Detroit on Dec. 26, 1996, in an overtime game against Washington. Super Mario was the last to net five in regulation, on March 26, 1996, versus St. Louis. This coming after Gaborik notched at least one goal in his past four games and at least one point in eleven of his past twelve. He has nine of the thirteen hat tricks in the franchise’s seven seasons. No Wild player had ever scored more than three times in one game. This cat is explosive. This cat is elctrifying. If only this cat could stay healthy.
7. A nephew of Trevor Berbick has been convicted along with another man of killing the 54-year-old former heavyweight champion. See more on Trevor Berbick here.
8. Four out of five dentists say. In a survey of 90 veteran baseball writers who vote on player inductions, neither Bonds nor Clemens garnered the 75 percent that is required to gain entry into the Hall. Good for them. The thing is, we just don’t know who was juicing and who wasn’t. I get that. But, if the voters do know, how can they vote the juicers in?
9. Tribune Co. chairman and chief officer Sam Zell is up to his ears in debt. $13 billion in debt. To lighten his load, he wants to sell naming rights to Wrigley Field. Boy oh boy. How’s this one going to over? How about Abe Froman Stadium?
10. Fire Isiah watch. Knicks/Bobcats tonight. A loss to pathetic Charlotte won’t help anyone. Except maybe Knicks fans.
When the complete book on sportsblogging in the 21st century is composed, Josh Q. Public will have earned the longest chapter. His influence on sportsblogging has been profound. -Dick Enberg