Belichick Gets A Cover

If you have ever read First To Third, then you know that the New England Patriots and anything related to them recently are a fun target.

Especially Bill "Emperor Palpatine" Belichick.

The Patriots may not have won the Super Bowl against the New York Football Giants, but Belichick got the honor of donning the front of a magazine cover for an upcoming issue.

The magazine? Spirit, a gay and lesbian magazine.

The Evil Genius, sporting his shiny barber smock in the photo, really isn’t the focus of the Spirt cover story. Sadly. He’s just a prop to illustrate the piece that asks the age-old question: “If one of Boston’s professional athletes announced he was gay would his team and the fans rally around him?”
Spirit Publisher David Zimmerman said they chose Belichick to be their March/April covercoach because “he is, currently, the most recognizable coach in the New England area.”

Palpatine is probably real happy about this. I can just hear his comment now:
"We're gonna worry about this issue at hand. Gonna move past it once the next issue comes out. That's not a question, we are done."

First To Third has no problem with the gay and lesbian community, but just takes any opportunity it can to tease Belichick (not that he even cares what I have to say).

Suck it Belichick. Wait, wait, I don't want to think about that.

Weekly Lazy Entry

I guess you can say that the last two weeks have been lazy entries, or you can be politically correct and say there have been no postings in that time.

Fans, I am sorry. Bored souls, sorry that you clicked on here only to find nothing. Haters, I love you.

Anyway, life has been crazy hectic and I am still not caught up, but that is the fun part.

Some of these links are old, but I like to think of them as timeless.

Enjoy, and I promise not to leave you for such a long time again.

- An Oregon high school basketball coach flipped his noodle and assaulted a 17-year-old referee, along with cutting the hand of a female scorekeeper when he slammed his clipboard on it which got him his second technical foul. He set a great example, as angry fans stormed the court as a direct result of his tirade. Stay classy.

- The Jamestown Vikings trashed a hotel because they thought it was owned by the owner of the team;

There has to be some rock stars on that team. I still plan on doing that to an auto shop that busted up my first truck.

- Another day, another Raider arrested. NFL needs its own jail to house all their criminals.

- Former NBA player, and current ESPN "analyst" Jon Barry loves to party away from his wife and children with Jose Cuervo girls.

- Remember I posted the perfectville video that Reebok made for the Miami Dolphins? Well if you disremembered (patent pending, Roger Clemens), it was released after the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots and was made in commemoration of the 1972 Dolphins and their perfect season... well here is the version that would have been released had the Patriots not choked lost:

Suck it Belichick.

- Annoying arguing on ESPN reverts to name calling, courtesy of John Salisbury:

Screw USC.

- A nine-year-old girl has been banned from her local tennis club after complaints came from her opposition about her grunts. Her favorite tennis player? Maria "master squealer" Sharapova.

- Erin Andrews has a hot backside, just ask this creepy Milwaukee Brewers fan.

Patriots' Fans: Stay Classy

There are times when sports fans get a little delusional following a championship, an unbelievable miracle, or in the worst case, a bad loss/upset.

Such is the case with New England Patriots' fans after the "upset" that was Super Bowl XLII. Had Patriots' fans come to First To Third, they would have anticipated the New York Giants victory.

Some losers/jackasses Pats fans have started a petition in request for the NFL to review the final 1:40 of Super Bowl XLII. The online petition has 19,267 signatures as I type this entry, which I assume more than 3/4 of which are jokes (I hope).

The first entries seem genuine and I feel sorry for the losers fans that seriously believe that there is a conspiracy theory against the Pats. I hope they do not have children and feed this information to them. The children are the future and it is never a good thing to dumb-down our future.

If this actually gets in the hands of Roger Goodell, I hope he makes like Lou Brown and pisses all over it.

Cheaters.

Super Upset?

It happened. Just as First To Third had predicted: the New York Football Giants defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, ending the dream of a perfect season for Tom Brady and Co.

Aside from last year, it was the best Super Bowl that I have ever seen (because the Colts won it in XLI). David defeated Goliath. Ricky Vaughn and the Indians beat the Yankees. The other Manning was able to step out of his brother's shadow to cast his own over the NFL.

Justice was served. The "evil" team did not prevail. Any given Sunday ... one team can defeat any other.

And this Sunday in particular that was entirely true. The Giants ate up all the doubters leading up the big game and used that motivation on the field. Brady was bothered by Justin Tuck and the Giants defensive linemen. They were the MVPs of the game even though Eli was magnificent in the decisive fourth quarter.

Watching Brady get speared during a sack late in the game was exactly what the Giants did to the Pats all day: punched them in the mouth.

But lets talk about the real issue at hand. Will Brady's girlfriend, Gisele Bundchen, make good on her promise that she would run naked in Manhattan if her super boy's team lost.

As of right now it does not look so good for your eyes and mine:

Sure enough, the Patriots were upset, losing 14-17, leading CBS Sports to remind the former Victoria's Secret model about her promise to strip down for the people of Manhattan.

Only problem? Gisele's agent says the supermodel never made such a pledge. "She didn't say it. This is ridiculous," her agent tells PEOPLE. "What's wrong with the world?"

Just like her boyfriend, she is cheating the world.

And what the hell is with Bill Belicheat? Leaving the game early like a sore loser, as did Brady. They make LaDanian Tomlinson look like a good sport.

I cannot believe Belicheat switched up the "hoodie" on us and the rest of the nation for the biggest game of his life. I guarantee the Pats store takes that jacket off their shelves immediately.

If only I had balls and put my money where my mouth was... even my girlfriend's friend had the balls to put up a G on the Giants. And this is me shrinking...

Super Bowl XLII

The biggest sports holiday is upon us. Gather the finger foods, warm up those barbecues, and start chilling those beers.

I planned to do a full break down on Super Bowl XLII this week, but time was not on my side.

So, I will just throw it out there right now: Giants win 28-24.

What? Are you stupid? Maybe.

The top two teams are in the big game. And the New York Football Giants have caught lightning in a bottle. Eighteen straight wins cannot be denied, but the Giants are hot right now. Clicking on all the cylinders that the New England Patriots are running on.

Bill Belicheat is dangerous when he has plenty of time to prepare, but lets not forget that the Giants had the benefit of playing the Patriots this season.

They know what to expect, and know they cannot make mistakes because the Pats capitalize on them, immediately.

You all know this statement is true: nobody is perfect. Not these Patriots, not this year.

I foresee Peyton Manning and his father getting some camera time with little bro and son Eli after a New York victory... along with an endorsement for Disneyland, of course.

16-0

As much as I hate the New England Patriots and watching their games, I must say that was one of the most entertaining games of the year. The four games in which they trailed (Colts, Ravens, Eagles, and Giants) proved to be the best games to watch this regular season.

Needless to say if you follow sports, but the Patriots completed their perfect regular season by beating the New York Giants, 38-35, making them the first 16-0 team in NFL history.

And that is not the only history breaking stat that was broken on the night. Tom Brady broke Peyton Manning's single season TD record by throwing his 50th TD of the year. Randy Moss broke Jerry Rice's single season TD record by catching his 23rd TD of the year. And finally, the Patriots scored a single season record 589 points on the year.

It was hard to believe that the Patriots would lose even as I watched the Giants move to a 28-16 advantage. Somehow, someway, you knew that Bill Belichick and Brady were going to find a way to win.

Hats off to Eli Manning and the Giants for showing up for this big game. I was worried that this game would get out of hand quickly and that Manning would have been pulled from the game if that happened. But Manning came up BIG for the Giants, keeping them in the game by throwing 4 TDs and only one pick.

This has to be a confidence builder for Manning and the Giants heading into the playoffs and their first round match-up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They can look themselves in the mirror and say "we can hang with the best in the league".

If you give the Patriots any light of hope they will eat you up. As soon as the Giants turned the ball over, the Patriots took advantage by scoring off of the turnover.

Good luck to any team that faces the Pats in the playoffs. They will need a perfect, flawless game to defeat the Pats... just like how the season gone for New England.

Evil Empire - Veteran's Day Edition

In honor of Veteran's Day being observed today, I would like to bring to your attention that the new "evil empire" (aka Boston teams, in this case the New England Patriots), stiffed Iraq War veterans yesterday.

From the Boston Herald:

Hundreds of hopeful Iraq War veterans and their families had their hearts broken on Veterans Day when their heroes, the New England Patriots, were MIA at a Gillette Stadium luncheon billed as a Patriots tribute to the National Guardsmen’s bravery and sacrifice.

“We were told that the Patriots were going to be there - that’s why we brought our families,” said Sgt. Sean Morrison, who returned from his second year-long tour in Iraq in September. “All the soldiers showed up in uniform and their families were in Patriots gear waiting for the Pats to show up.”

To the Patriots defense it was a miscommunication between the front office and the team. They were not told they were expected to attend the event.

But do not let them off so easy. At your workplace don't you know everything that is going on in the office? Like knowing when you are expecting visitors from another company, customer, etc.?

So why wouldn't the Pats know about the event and that it originally said that some players would be there to meet and greet the veterans.

Sgt. First Class Daniel Saulnier drove to the Foxboro luncheon from North Reading.

“I brought my wife, her sister and my brother,” he said. “It was basically a waste of time to even go there. The whole reason to go was to see the Patriots. Yeah, there was a free meal and two cheerleaders and one Super Bowl ring instead of three rings but there was absolutely no Patriots.”

Saulnier said the crowd was upset.

“A lot of us brought stuff to be signed by the Patriots,” he said. “Kids brought hats, jerseys, and footballs. They lugged all that stuff in for nothing. It was real depressing. It was just a disappointment all across the board.”

Yes. Yes. Hate the Patriots more. Wait, not such a good idea.

Those guys are really going to put the pounding on some teams if people are aware of this story and it comes out into the national media in a negative way.

Forget that you read this, it never happened. Do not tell a veteran, friend, family member, anyone.

The Pats will probably read the story in the Herald and dedicate the rest of the season to the soldiers, meaning they have another reason to kill everyone in the NFL.

You sly little dogs, Boston Herald. Creating more motivation for Bill Belichick and Co. in your local media.

Miami Dolphins: You Are Dead Week 16

I think Don Shula has made sure that we will see the first 100-point game by an NFL team this year. Shula stated that this New England Patriots team should have an asterisk next to their season if they go undefeated this season.

"The Spygate thing has diminished what they've accomplished. You would hate to have that attached to your accomplishments. They've got it," Shula told the Daily News yesterday. "Belichick was fined $500,000, the team was fined $250,00 and they lost a first-round draft choice. That tells you the seriousness or significance of what they found."

"I guess you got the same thing as putting an asterisk by Barry Bonds' home run record."

Oh snap. Great, another way for the Patriots to motivate themselves. Damn you Colts! You had the game in hand, lost, and now the Patriots just got more motivation to tear the NFL a new one.

Dolphins are dead when they meet the Pats in week 16 in Foxboro. You know Bill Belichick is going to make sure Tom Brady hangs a 100-spot on the Dolphins to spite Shula.

Shula should have kept his mouth shut if he wanted to keep his record intact of having the only undefeated team. If the Patriots go undefeated I say the 1972 Dolphins squad (the perfect season team) gather up rats and throw them in Shula's restaurant.

He also went on to say that he might seek those to support his thoughts.

Told that he might get support in his desire to have an asterisk placed next to New England's potential perfect season, Shula, the winningest coach in NFL history, said, "I don't know how people can't agree with that."

"Oh snap!" indeed.

About To Be Clubbed?

Former Pittsburgh Steelers coach, Bill Cowher, says that someone may take a cheap shot at a Patriots player at some point.

“It’s risk and reward,” he said. “How long do you want your starters to play? You want to be careful. At some point if this continues, someone’s going to take a cheap shot. Is that worth subjecting your players to if it comes to that?

“You can say it’s playing football, but those are the decisions you have to make.”

The person that could suffer that shot is Stetson cologne poster boy, Tom Brady. I do not agree with Bill Belichick's antics of running up the score, well, not in the manner they are doing it. If they were running mostly running plays with a big lead and score that is fine. But the Brady and the Pats continually throw the ball late in the game and with the game already decided.

I would have no problem if they handed RB Laurence Maroney the ball and let him run all over the opponent with a huge lead. But throwing to Wes Welker for TDs, going for it on fourth downs in field goal range, and keeping Brady in an already decided game is ridiculous.

We get it Belichick, the Pats are good and are on a mission.

You better protect your good smelling QB (not my type of smell) before someone does a "Tanya Harding" on his knee.

Ryan Parker even has posted a song on YouTube to warn the Pats:

NFL Week 8 Almost Over

NFL week 8 concludes tonight with the Green Bay Packers visiting the Denver Broncos.

My head was killing me yesterday as I woke up, and I had to "think" at 12:30 p.m. to draft my fantasy basketball team. The NFL games that I saw on TV did not help me get through my day. And where the hell was my night game?!?!

Blow outs, sloppy games and one game on local television at 10 a.m. I guess that is the price you pay when you are already looking ahead to week 9 (yes, November 4).

The Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots both won their games, meaning two things:
1. Both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are the first QBs to beat all 31 teams.
2. Both teams are undefeated heading into their matchup in the RCA Dome.

The Colts beat the Carolina Panthers 31-7, while the Patriots embarrassed the Washington Redskins, 52-7. Some are accusing the Patriots of running up the score on opponents, especially after this week's antics.

With the game already in hand, the Patriots elected to go for a fourth-and-1 on the Redskins 7-yard line instead of kicking a field goal for a mere three points.

Here is what Bill Belichick had to say about that situation:

"What do you want us to do, kick a field goal?" he said.

Stay classy Emperor Palpatine Bill Belichick.

It is obvious these Patriots want to roll up all their opponents this year. That is the Belichick we have come to know. Cross him and you will pay! I knew it would get ugly as soon as the reports came out that the Pats were part of "spygate 2007"; a sleepy giant was woken.

More on the week 9 to come...

Quick hits on week 8:
LenDale White carried the Titans over the Raiders, as Vince Young was slowed by injury. The Rams helped the Browns win their first road win. Minnesota's pass defense allowed McNabb to look good for a week in the Eagles win. The Bengals still continue to underachieve in a loss to the Steelers. Miami continued their perfect season by losing to the Giants in London. Lions are 5-2 after beating the Bears, again; Griese still sucks. Jeff Garcia's interceptions are too costly for the Bucs as they lose to the Jags. Buffalo Bills beat the New York Jets in the "who cares?" game. Brees finds Colston three times in the end zone against the Niners.

Picks results coming tomorrow.