Briefly.
If you believe in the “Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx”, Brady is on it.
Tom Brady is 26-3 vs. Pittsburgh in his career.
Tom Brady is on his way to his 11th Conference Championship game. Peyton Manning and Brett Favre played in 10, combined.
Oxfam, an anti-poverty charity, reports that the 8 wealthiest people in the world (6 are Americans) have as much wealth as the 3.6 billion people that make up the world’s poorer population. Last year it was the top 62 people and in 2010 the richest 388 people in the world was equivalent to that of the poorest 50%.
Trivia: Ben Roethlisberger will be starting his 20th playoff game on Sunday. Name the other 5 quarterbacks who have started 20 or more playoff games. (think about this)
DYK, when Brady and the Patriots last beat the Steelers in the playoffs (2005 AFC Championship), rookie Ben Roethlisberger was coming off 26 wins in a row – his last 12 college games at Miami, OH and his first 14 NFL games.
The Steelers are not only the only team to win a playoff game without scoring a touchdown (last weekend) but DYK, they are the first team to win a playoff game in which the opponent scored two or more touchdowns than they did – other teams had been 0-245 in such games before Sunday.
The Patriots defense allowed one run of 30 yards or more this season, tied for the fewest in football.
The winner of the AFC Championship game will be the first franchise to reach 10 Superbowls!
Aaron Rodgers had 60 pass attempts in which he had five or more seconds, with nobody else in football getting more than 33 such plays in 2016.
The Red Sox “Truck Day” is set for February 6.
The Knicks win the other night was their first over the Celtics in three years.
This week’s sign of the apocalypse: A Texas couple is suing Apple, claiming its FaceTime app is responsible for the death of their 5-year old daughter. James and Bethany Modisette say Apple was granted a patent in 2014 for a FaceTime design that would have used GPS tracking to determine speed of travel to prevent people from using the app while driving. Yet Apple never implemented the design, nor did it strongly warn drivers against using the app. Apple’s failures “were a substantial factor in causing the plaintiffs’ injuries and decedent’s death,” the lawsuit states. Apple has not responded.
On January 18, 1950 pitcher Bob Feller asked that his salary be reduced from $45,000 to $20,000 because he felt his sub-par record of 15-14 didn’t merit an increase. Ya, that would happen today!
The Islanders beat the Bruins 4-0 the other day. The next day the Islanders coach was fired.
Kevin Durant scored a season high 40 points the other night on just 16 shots.
Trivia hint: I said to think about it because back in the day they didn’t play as many games in the playoffs, al a Aaron Rodgers is starting his third playoff game this season on Sunday.
Haverhill will host the first ever (annual, I hope) Hillies Classic this coming May. The tournament will feature 8 high school baseball teams from all over the area. Good to see the city putting good use to an absolutely beautiful venue.
I don’t know about you but I am glad the MLB HOF voting is finally over.
Speaking of which, here is your stat-of-the-day. If Ricky Henderson were to come out of retirement he would have to steal 448 consecutive bases to tie Tim Raines’ career stolen base percentage.
Jerry Remy just signed a new multi-year contract with NESN as the Red Sox primary color analyst. He is heading into his 30th year with NESN. I’m really not sure how I feel about that. He’s just not the same without Orsillo.
Isaiah Thomas is on pace to break the Celtics’ January record for average points per game.
Last weekend:
Atlanta over Seattle 30-29 (actual 36-20)
Pats over Houston 30-10 (actual 34-16)
Pittsburgh over KC 24-23 (actual 18-16)
Green Bay over Dallas 30-27 (actual 34-31)
Not bad. Let’s try again:
Pats over Pittsburgh 33-23
Green Bay over Atlanta 62-61 (whether Jordy and/or Davante Adams play is a big factor but hey, you have to play some defense! The Falcons play none) Also, the Packers were vastly undermanned during their regular, 1-point loss to Atlanta.
Whatever happens, the Falcons are NOT going to win the Superbowl.
Trivia answer: Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Joe Montana and John Elway
And for you locals – http://haverhillbgc.org/2017-annual-celebration/
One year ago yesterday my then 56-year old brother-in-law, Tim Shea, dropped dead of an apparent heart issue. Here’s to him. Live large, my friends!
“I’m your top prime cut of meat, I’m your choice
I wanna be elected
I’m your yankee doodle dandy in a gold Rolls Royce
I wanna be elected
Kids want a savior, don’t need a fake
I wanna be elected
We’re gonna rock to the rules I make
I wanna be elected”
Ed's Head On Friday 