Tag archives for new england patriots

Most Valuable Sports Franchises

22nd July 2010 by SportsFags under Business of Sports     

Forbes released its annual list of the world’s most valuable sports franchises on Wednesday, topping the list — at a net worth of $1.84 billion — is the English Premier League’s soccer/football behemoth Manchester United.

  • Manchester United valued at $1.84 Billion.

    No. 1: Manchester United
    Sport: soccer
    Value: $1.83 billion
    Owner: Glazer family
    Revenue: $459 million
  • No. 2: Dallas Cowboys
    Sport: football
    Value: $1.65 billion
    Owner: Jerry Jones
    Revenue: $280 million
  • No. 3: New York Yankees
    Sport: baseball
    Value: $1.6 billion
    Owner: Steinbrenner family
    Revenue: $441 million
    • Patriots QB Tom Brady

    Patriots QB Tom Brady

  • No. 4: Washington Redskins
    Sport: football
    Value: $1.55 billion
    Owner: Daniel Snyder
    Revenue: $345 million
  • No. 5: New England Patriots
    Sport: football
    Value: $1.36 billion
    Owner: Robert Kraft
    Revenue: $302 million
  • No. 6: Real Madrid
    Sport: soccer
    Value: $1.32 billion
    Revenue: $563 million
  • No. 7: New York Giants
    Sport: football
    Value: $1.18 billion
    Owner: John Mara, Steven Tisch
    Revenue: $230 million

    • Cesc Fabregas

    Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas

  • No. 8: Arsenal
    Sport: soccer
    Value: $1.18 billion
    Owner: Stanley Kroenke
    Revenue: $369 million
  • No. 9: New York Jets
    Sport: football
    Value: $1.17 billion
    Owner: Robert Wood Johnson IV
    Revenue: $227 million
  • No. 10: Houston Texans
    Sport: football
    Value: $1.15 billion
    Owner: Robert McNair
    Revenue: $256 million

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Brees-y in the Big Easy

1st December 2009 by under NFL     

tom-bradyWith pinpiont precision Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints took apart a young New England Patriots defense on Monday night for a 38-17 victory at the Superdome. Monday night’s game was definitely a statement game and the Saints declared ‘Dats Who’ on offensive, defensive and special teams.

Brees’ five TD passes were the most ever against a Belichick coached team and Tom Brady and the Patriots looked as confused as they did earlier in the year when Brady was returning from a knee injury.

The Patriots at 7-4 have a 2-game lead over the Dolphins and Jets in the AFC East so there’s no need to panic. However, after 11 games in 2009 it’s clear that the Patriots are on the downside of their championship years, the offense has been good at times but the defense hasn’t been able to come up with big stops.

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Patriots Can’t Put Colts Away

16th November 2009 by SportsFags under NFL     

The most hyped game of the weekend, Colts versus Patriots, lived up to its BILL-ing, partly due to coach Bill Belichick’s controversial decision that may have cost the Patriots more than just this game. Leading by 6 points, facing 4th and 2 at their own 28 with just 2:08 left in the game, Belichick decided his team’s best chance to win the game was to go for the first down. The Patriots weren’t able to convert and Peyton Manning, working with a short field, hooked up with Reggie Wayne on a slant route for a game winning touchdown with just 13 seconds left to go, that capped a 17-point fourth quarter comeback for Manning and the Colts.

Tom Brady can't hide his disappointment

Tom Brady can't hide his disappointment

I think you can credibly argue that Belichick’s decision to go for the first down versus punting in that situation cost the Patriots the game. However, I think you can also argue that his decision put his team in the best position to win the game.

Traditional football wisdom says you punt the ball and make the Colts go the 60-70 yards to beat you. Yet, with Peyton Manning in charge of an offense that was rolling, Belichick decided to do what he thought gave his team the best chance to win. We can all argue whether it was the right decision, but the reality is, Belichick is a genius if the Patriots convert. In my opinion, the odds of Peyton Manning leading the Colts down the field to victory with 2 minutes and 3 timeouts left is somewhere north of 70%, no matter where they’re on the field.

If the Patriots were my favorite team in that situation I would have wanted them to punt BUT I understand what Belichick was thinking. Whether or not the right decision was made is totally dependent on the outcome and thus Belichick is under fire for his decision because Tom Brady and the Patriots failed to convert.

Long-Term Implications
The long-term implications of this one decision may reverberate within New England’s organization for quite some time, or it may not have any impact at all. I’m not a Belichick apologist at all, in fact I think he’s an asshole who deserves more criticism for illegally taping opponents during the teams Super Bowl years but he did what he thought gave his team the best chance to win.

tom brady shirtlessHow this will impact the Patriots will play out over the course of the season. The big news here that is getting over looked, is that the Patriots, with a recent team history of making plays to put teams away, couldn’t put the Colts away and now find themselves with almost no chance at all of getting a home game against the Colts in the playoffs.

Hottie Watch – despite not being able to convert on the last play, Tom Brady had a good game going 29 of 42 for 375 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT.

Next up for Indianapolis, a road game versus the inconsistent Ravens while the Patriots return home with a chance to avenge an earlier season loss to Mark Sanchez and the Jets.

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Lather, rinse, repeat…Steelers in the AFC

10th September 2009 by SportsFags under NFL     

Pittsburgh-SteelersThe one thing I am certain about this year is that the Steelers will either face New England or San Diego in the AFC championship game. San Diego is the chic pick to win the AFC and the Chargers will probably win home field advantage because they play in the weak ass AFC West. Yet, the Chargers are too inconsistent and haven’t proven they can win the big game. The Patriots can’t match the Steelers defensively and when you play defense like they do in Steeltown you put yourself in position to win a lot of football games. Pittsburgh is my pick to win the AFC.

A tumultuous NFL offseason that included head coaching changes, TO to Buffalo, Cutler to Chicago and quarterback controversies has been relatively quiet in the little hamlet of Pittsburgh. And that’s the way they like it in Western PA. The Steelers are the model franchise for the NFL and with improved health at the running back position and 18 of 22 starters returning they appear primed to defend their Super Bowl crown. Some have compared the Steelers to the Yankees. Yet these franchises have drastically different approaches to success. The Yankees have the funds to acquire the best free agents in baseball. The Steelers? Well, they unload veterans who are too expensive in favor of younger players who they acquire through the draft.

Over a period of 30 years the Steelers have established a brand of winning football that only the Patriots are close to emulating. Let’s play word association. When I say Steelers, what comes to mind? Defense, running game, power, fear or stability. OK, next word. When I say Cowboys, what comes to mind? Jerry Jones, Tony Romo or Cowboys stadium? Do you see the difference? The Steelers have a winning system, into which, the players fit. While teams like the Cowboys and Redskins follow the Yankees’ roadmap to success.

What do you know the Steelers are going to do this year? Play tough defense and run the ball, right? What do you know about the Cowboys this year? You know they’re changing their offensive scheme to account for the loss of TO, unproven wide receivers and the addition of Marty B at tight end. Anyone really thinking the Boys are gonna be there to meet the Steelers in January? I’ll have my NFC prediction tomorrow.

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