All last week, Sports World focused on the rivalry between quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. Brady vs. Manning. Manning vs. Brady. Their 17th, and possibly final, game against each other when Brady and the New England Patriots tackle Manning and the Denver Broncos Sunday for the AFC Championship and a trip to Super Bowl 50.
Call them The Questionables because there was just a 50-50 chance they would play in their AFC divisional playoff game Saturday.
Questionable Rob Gronkowski, he of the back and knee injuries, caught seven passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns and recovered an onside kick with 1:13 to play. Questionable Julian Edelman, he of the broken foot, grabbed 10 passes for 100 yards. Questionable Chandler Jones, he of abdomen and toe issues and a shirtless foray to the Foxboro Police Department six days prior, forced a Chiefs fumble that became the Patriots’ third touchdown.
Yellow caution flags should flutter over Gillette Stadium Saturday when the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs kick off their AFC divisional playoff game. Why worry? Let us count the reasons.
The Chiefs, winners of 11 consecutive games, are the hottest team in pro football. They launched their postseason run last weekend with a 30-0 rout of Houston, a convincing performance by the seventh-best defense in the NFL.
For workers and unions, there hasn’t been much to celebrate on Labor Day in recent years. RIPR political analyst Scott MacKay says things may finally be looking up. (Sneak preview of Monday MacKay commentary).
Today we honor organized labor, the folks who gave us the 40-hour week, overtime pay and health benefits. Not to mention the middle-class that long made America an exceptional, stable and prosperous nation.
Judge Richard M. Berman’s decision to vacate Tom Brady’s four-game suspension is a stunning victory for the New England Patriots quarterback and a stinging blow to the National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Think of the NFL as the Roman Empire of sports in America and Goodell as Caesar. Magnificent stadia dot the landscape from coast to coast, and every week from September to January gladiators clash to the cheers of hundreds of thousands of loyal subjects.
A federal judge has tossed out the four-game suspension imposed by the National Football League on New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the so-called Deflategate case.
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman ruled minutes ago that the suspension violated provisions of the NFL’s contract with the labor union that represents the players.
Thank goodness for a new week. Could last week have been any worse for Boston sports?
