Brady or Belichick
Ian O'Connor has written a book on the Patriots and the layered and complicated relationship between the head coach and the long-time quarterback of the last NFL dynasty of its kind.
New England has exploited several things:
The AFC East has been awful over the last decade and a half;
A sixth-round quarterback who became a fixture in the GOAT discussion who married a super model who makes $40 million a year and is willing to take below market value:
A head coach that has two all-time-great parts of his skill set in that he has forever been able to make a team try to beat him without its No. 1 option and he has forever been the best ever at letting a player go one year early rather than half a season late, and in a hard salary-cap sport that is truly invaluable;
A willingness throughout the organization to look for every edge - legal or not, ethical or not - and leverage that in an effort to win.
All of those are part of the legacy that has been the New England Patriots since the early 2000s when Bill Belichick and Tom Brady became the only coach-quarterback duo to win five Super Bowls.
Now, the book details the well-know divide between the two surefire Hall of Famers, which first became clear to everyone with the Jimmy Garropolo trade last season.
Brady, according to the book, was very close to looking for a "divorce" form his coach, which leaves us with a couple of questions.
It's also clear that nothing lasts forever, so enjoy it Spy and the rest of the Pats backers.
Because when one leaves (either one frankly), well, the house of cards will crumble.
Betting on the number or the clear reality
We discuss betting a fair amount in this space because we find it interesting.
And this story will be especially interesting to follow.
Last Sunday, Denver trailed Oakland 19-17 and when Case Keenum completed a pass to get the Broncos to the Raiders' 18, the odds adjusted.
Fan Duel said the odds were supposed to be adjusted to the Broncos minus-600, which means you would have to bet $600 to win $100. That makes sense.
The computer odds malfunctioned and it was posted at Broncos at 750-to-1 to win.
A bettor went to the window and bet $110 on the numbers posted on the Broncos to win, which they did when the nailed a game-winning field goal to topple the Fightin' Chuckys 20-19.
Under the correct odds the bettor would have won a net of $18.35; under the odds on the ticket he claims that should win $82,610.
Fan Duel offered him $500 and tickets to three Giants games. The bettor wants the ticketed payout and says he's hiring an attorney.
So which way on a Wednesday: Do you side with the bettor or the number?
FILE - In this Aug. 22, 2001 file photo, original muppet characters Bert, left, and Ernie, from the children's program "Sesame Street," are shown in New York. Sesame Street continues to attract millions of viewers after 45 years on the air, appealing to both preschoolers and their parents with content that is educational and entertaining. The show has kept up with the times by making its segments faster-paced, by fine-tuning messages, and by keeping a steady flow of appearances by contemporary celebrity guests. The show first aired Nov. 10, 1969. (AP Photo/Beth A. Keiser, file) Because, well, it's so today
Here's a story on a former writer of Sesame Street saying that Bert and Ernie are gay.
Mark Saltzman confirmed to the LGBTQ website Queerly that Bert and Ernie were way more than just friends.
Why? Do we really need to make everything - even something as fondly remembered as Sesame Street for a lot of us who watched the show as a kid and rewatched it as parents of young kids - make everything a political statement?
Quickly after the story appeared on Queerly, the directors of the Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind the show, issued a statement that really cuts to the heart of the matter:
"As we have always said, Bert and ernie are best friends. They were created to teach preschoolers that people can be good friends with those who are very different from themselves. Even though they are identified as male characters and possess human traits and characteristics (as most Sesame Street Muppets do), they remain puppets, and do not have a sexual orientation."
Exactly.
This is not about gay or straight. It's about a kids show not needing a conversation about any sexual orientation and talks and discourse of a topic of that advance nature to begin with.
And if we're going to make social conscious IDs up and down the block, well, let's get to it.
Are we going to identify the sexual habits of Kermit D. Frog and his fondness of makin' bacon?
Is Oscar going to be the face of homelessness, and thusly are we worried about offending the less fortunate by making the assumption that all homeless people are stinky and grouchy?
Is Big Bird, and his imaginary friend Mr. Snuffleupagus, a potential side effect of mental disease? Or maybe Double B has a hallucinogenic drug problem?
The Cookie Monster and his awful eating habits, but somehow our blue friend never gains any weight? An eating disorder maybe?
And let's not even get started on Elmo, a 3-year-old and the potential of inappropriate touching.
Are some of the above examples ridiculous? Of course they are because we're taking about puppets on a kids' show. Heck, half of them do not wear pants.
Even Frank Oz, one of the co-creators of the Muppets with Jim Henson and the original voice of Bert, thought the need to sexually identify the classic duo that was the first embodiment of best friends for kids of multiple generations was simply needless.
Here's the social media post from Oz: "It seems Mr. Mark Saltzman was asked if Bert & Ernie are gay. It's fine that he feels they are. They're not, of course. But why that question? Does it really matter? Why the need to define people as only gay? There's much more to a human being than just straightness or gayness."
Like understanding from a very young age that having a best friend that accepts you warts and all is the gift of a lifetime.
This and that
- The fall-out from the points raised by Eric Dickerson and the former NFL players and Hall of Famers about insurance and post-career salaries continues. There's a few points that must be tossed out: These players were not worried about the former players when they were current players and in a position to adjust this. Why? Money out of their pocket. And the news that guys such as Jerry Rice and Kurt Warner, who had their name on the letter but had no intention to boycott anything, is not a good look.
- TFP ace columnist Mark Wiedmer headed to Atlanta and caught up with former Sequatchie County pitcher and current St. Louis pitcher Dakota Hudson. Good stuff here friends.
- This bettor turned a Fin and a powerful pro football progressive parlay into more than $86 grand. He nailed all 15 NFL games that had a winner this weekend.
- Antonio Brown was not at work on Monday. This came after his second social media outburst in 10 days. He's 30 years old. Man, for a franchise that has forever been the foremost example of steady and focused, these Steelers have a ton of drama right?
- Our picks come on Thursday. You know this. We start perusing the lines on Tuesday and Wednesday. Want to know how much FSU has fallen? The Seminoles, at home mind you, are a 10-point favorite over a 1-2 Northern Illinois bunch. Egad.
- We mentioned the ever-present need of today's social media morality mob to be involved in everything. And while some will surely ask, "Well, why does it bother you? It doesn't have anything to do with you?" And that's true. But the angst and wasted energy on whether Bert and Ernie are canoodling and misplaced claims of racism take real reaction to actual acts of stereotypical behavior and racism. Case in point: This Texas school superintendent put on social media after Deshaun Watsons sketchy performance in a 20-17 loss to Tennessee. His post, especially from a person with so much involved in the development of young people of all colors and creeds and every other box, is simply unacceptable. "When you need precision decision making, you can't count on a black quarterback." Bye.
Today's questions
Which way Wednesday.
Which legend deserves more credit for the Patriots success, Brady or Belichick?
Which Muppet was your favorite, regardless of sexual orientation of course?
Which side do you back - bettor or Fan Duel - in the above case?
As for Sept. 19 - and yes, we are late again on the Survivor Pool; we're on it, we swear - let's get to it.
Some cool things happened on this day gang. The Mary Tyler Moore Show premiered on CBS on this day in 1970. Chubby Checker's "Twist" hits the top spot on the Billboard chart on this day in 1960.
Jeremy Irons is 70 today. Jimmy Fallon is 44.
Well it's also International Talk like a Pirate Day.
We're down with that: Rushmore of pirates start with Captain Jack Sparrow right?
Go, and remember the mailbag and if you know you are still kicking on the Survivor swim, that too.