What Goes Around Comes Around

Now please don't take this the wrong way when I say this.

Yes, the Red Sox have made it to the MLB playoffs in 5 of the last 6 seasons, have the opportunity to be World Series' Champions in back-to-back seasons, and have ZERO chance of running into the Yankees on the way. BUT....do we have to celebrate with champagne, goggles, and 50 Cent blaring from the clubhouse EVERY time we accomplish a significant milestone?

Trust me, I love the fact that Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia are both considered prime MVP candidates, and that after missing 55 games Big Papi is like a young pup with all his excitement for the playoffs. We need to stay focused on the big goal at hand! Call me an insecure Boston sports fan. Tell me I'm overreacting and too uptight. Maybe I am, but maybe I have good reason.

On the other hand, from 1918-2004 the Red Sox missed the playoffs 75 out of 85 seasons. Now, even though I wasn't alive for most of those years, family members who are diehard fans have told countless stories of how hard it was to be a Sox fan and how much heartache they have endured.

So forget about my initial judgment of the boys carrying on too much and acting like 10-year-old. Boston deserves every second of celebration. We have a lot of catching up to do after 86 years of torture.

As for our Patriots, a lot of people have tried to bum me out about the loss against the fish of Miami this past Sunday. Losing 38-13 is definitely not something Pats fans are used to, especially to a team that only won one game last season. Actually, the Patriots aren't even used to losing regular season games, nevermind losing in general. You would think that I would be a little more upset over witnessing the 21 regular season game winning streak snapped, but in fact, I already survived my first Boston sports fan heartbreak months ago.

Last season's Super Bowl gave me the right to be called a brokenhearted, diehard fan in Beantown. Even though I was alive during the '86 World Series, thankfully, I wasn't aware enough to suffer through Bill Buckner's lack of fielding skills. Instead, my first sport-related heartbreak happened in February at MY Super Bowl party where I hosted several New York fans. It was bad enough that I had to suffer from the one and only loss of the '07/'08 season, it had to be in front of Giants fans who I called my closest friends! I must have had a brief lapse of insanity during my cardiac arrest that occurred during the last minute of the game.

Since that game, my feeling is that the Patriots need to remain competitive among the AFC East teams by maintaining a decent record, but it's okay to lose a couple along the way. I would MUCH rather we lose a few now and learn from our mistakes, than attract all the publicity from last year and lose the big one in the end.

David Ortiz's photo: AP Photo from Boston.com
Matt Cassel's photo: Los Angeles Times Photo / San Fernando as shown on Boston.com

One Step Closer

My website is finally complete! After a long summer and a lot of fine tuning, my personal website which contains my reel, a letter of recommendation, references, and my resume is ready for viewing. Of course this site will always be a work in progress as I update my work, but here is what I've worked on so far.

http://web.me.com/jmward1/Site/Welcome.html

If there's any trouble seeing the video on my website, I uploaded my reel onto youtube as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNp9rRgTRuI

Enjoy!

A New Look for Patriots Nation

Week 1. At home against the Chiefs. Not too much to worry about, right? With a little over 7 minutes left to go in the 1st quarter, the Patriots game plan was flipped upside down.

As if last year's ending wasn't enough, we have now lost our QB hero for the season to a torn ACL. Brady has been quoted this week to "still like our (the Patriots') chances." How many times do we think Belichick had to recite that one-liner to Brady? So now the recent debate has been: who's more essential to the success of the Pats - Belichick or Brady?

I have to go with Brady on this one. Belichick has proven himself to be a master of football for the last 7 seasons with the Patriots, but he has been able to reach an elite level of success because of the tools he has had available to execute the plays. (Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker in the most recent season, Tedy Brushchi leading the defense, and in the past, Adam Vinatieri to tally up some W's in clutch situations, etc.) Belichick's record before the Patriots as Head Coach of the Cleveland Browns? 36-44.

Does Matt Cassel have what it takes to fill the shoes of future hall-of-famer, Tom Brady? In pre-season Cassel looked anything but sharp, but he was able to pull off the first victory of the season and keep the undefeated homeopener streak at Gillette alive. Yet again, we were playing the Kansas City Chiefs who went 4-12 last season. On Sunday, Cassel will really be put to the test when the Patriots hit the road for the first time this season and take on Brett Favre and the NY Jets at the Meadowlands. This will be Cassel's first start since high school...yikes. Almost 8 years ago to the day was the last time the Patriots lost to the Jets at Giants Stadium. It was also only Belichick's second game as the Patriots Head Coach.

“I’m just going to go out there and do what I have done in the past – prepare as hard as I can and put myself in a good position to be successful and have fun,” Cassel said. “We will see come Sunday.”

Fingers are crossed for this one.

Football Season is HERE!

Week 1: Patriots vs. Chiefs

Despite the final result of the 2007 season, many NFL experts are still predicting that the Patriots will remain on top this season. Knowing Tom Brady's past, his work ethic has been unbeatable and borderline insane. He doesn't like to lose. Even though the Pats only lost 1 game last season, it was the one that counted, so I can imagine that the loss will be a burr in Brady's saddle all season.

For the first week of the 2008 season, the Patriots are predicted to beat the Kansas City Chiefs with a spread of -16. With a 4-0 home opener record over the past 4 seasons, it's hard to pick the Chiefs on this one. If you need more convincing that odds alone are in the Patriots' favor, New England holds the record for the most consecutive regular season wins at 19.

To quote Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN.com, "...there's a reason why they've (the Patriots) won 14, 14, 10, 12 and 16 regular season games during the past five years: They adjust better than any other franchise."

Bring it on.