SB Nation Boston - Nightmare: Patriots Shocked Again By Giants, 21-17, In Super Bowl XLVI

Rob Gronkowski Injury Update: Tight End Reportedly Undergoes Successful Arthroscopic Ankle Surgery

2012-02-10T17:36:21Z

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski spent his Thursday night courtside watching the Boston Celtics host the Los Angeles Lakers, bathing in a standing ovation from the TD Garden crowd and listening to Kobe Bryant's pitch that the tight end should join the Philadelphia Eagles.

Friday morning, Gronkowski reportedly underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair his injured ankle.

A source told Sports Business Journal's Liz Mullen that Gronkowski's surgery was successful and he is expected to take 10 weeks to recover.

After mustering just two catches for 26 yards and zero touchdowns in a 21-17 Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants, Gronkowski made noise while being caught on camera dancing the night away at a nightclub. Just hours after the Super Bowl defeat, Gronkowski and teammate Matt Light were shirtless dancing at a bar.

Furious callers to radio stations WEEI and 98.5 The Sports Hub questioned Gronkowski's commitment, but the fact that he played the Super Bowl on an ankle that needs 10 weeks of rehabilitation should go a long way toward repairing whatever bits of his reputation were lost on that dance floor.

For more Patriots coverage, visit our team page or our blog Pats Pulpit.

Media Roundup: Sports Are Fun, Except In Boston Sports Media

2012-02-10T12:17:33Z

Sports are supposed to be fun, right? Well, it doesn't always come across that way in the Boston sports media world, and that has become increasingly evident during the fallout from the Patriots' loss to the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI.

Sports are supposed to be fun, right?

Sure, when your team loses the championship game in gut-wrenching fashion it doesn't seem so fun, but in general we watch and follow sports because it is enjoyable, and addicting.

So why, for so many, does it seem that even unparalleled success brings out the absolute worst in people?

This applies to both media and fans. Boston's 10 year run of championships and near-championships seems to have spawned a whole new collection of "fans." Boston used to be known for dedicated, blue-collar fans, who were loyal to "the cause" and who, while expecting to have their hearts broken, still hoped for the best.

These have been replaced with spoiled, entitled fans, who leap on and off bandwagons, and voice their anger at anything less than a perfect season vociferously through website comments and twitter.

Hardworking reporters who strove to bring us the latest news and report on what was happening around the teams have been replaced with speculation machines that do nothing but create fake "controversies" the small incidents, and then beat those topics into the ground for hours and days at a time.

I'm not alone in thinking this way. At least two media members, one national, one local, have noticed the same thing, and commented on it this week.

Rick Reilly on ESPN.com had a column this week entitled It's only a game. In it, Reilly notes:

To too many of us -- sports writers, analysts or supposed Patriots fans -- the Super Bowl is a zero-sum game. Win and we would step in front of arrows for you. Lose and you're the biggest choker since the Hillside Strangler.

He then cites numerous examples, from both "fans" and media of exactly this. He then says:

A little decaf, folks: The Patriots lost the Super Bowl on the last play of the game when a tipped ball failed to stay in the air another quarter second longer so a one-legged Rob Gronkowski could possibly catch it. If it had, all three of these writers would be hailing Brady, Belichick and Welker as just slightly greater than Lincoln.

How fickle are you people?

"Fickle" is one way to put it, I guess. Locally, Mike Reiss had his regular weekly chat on the Patriots, and in the middle of it, paused things to go on a rant about the negativity and the controversies that seem to be generated every week. Reiss said:

I have been having some internal philosophical debates in my head about what media is these days. What are we trying to accomplish? When I got into this business, I thought we were supposed to tell people what they needed to know. Now I think we’re trending in a dangerous area where we report based on what will get clicks. It bothers me…

He was later asked about Gisele Bundchen's comments following the game, and he turned things around a little bit:

I think she has to know better than to say that. She was wrong. At the same time, I was more angered that someone would incite her in that manner, but I guess I have to accept that’s where we are in society today. I just want to know what is in that person’s heart. What would possess them to taunt her? Who does these things? Maybe I’ve been living under a rock over the last 10 years, but when did everyone seem to get so angry?

The last part is where things really stand out to me. If you watch sports TV or listen to sports radio, you've become accustomed to being yelled at most of the time, by both the hosts and the callers/guest. Most seem to be very angry about something or another, even when things are going well.

In the midst of the Patriots Super Bowl run, it amused me that 98.5 ran promos of their "edgy" show which featured a very angry Tony Massarotti shouting "HOW ABOUT BRINGING IN SOME PLAYERS AND WINNING SOME FOOTBALL GAMES!!!!" That was from this season, and is typical of the sports radio mindset.

It would be nice if we could just pause and enjoy the moment, enjoy the journey once in a while without getting all worked up about all the possible things that could go wrong. It'd be nice, but I don't see it happening. This is how things are.

Bradying Now Has Its Own Website

2012-02-09T13:02:13Z

Bradying has really taken off in the last few days. The pose, which mocks Tom Brady as he sat on the ground after throwing a game-changing interception during Super Bowl XLVI, has spread like wildfire throughout the internet. In fact, our original Bradying post has been the most viewed post on SB Nation Boston over the past few days.

Now, Bradying has its very own website.

Bradying.com features pictures of exactly what you would think - people "Bradying." If you are a New England Patriots fan, we would advise that you don't visit the site. It is depressing, beyond words. Still, there are plenty of people who hate Brady (if there's any consolation, people always seem to hate the world's most successful people). Here's a sample.

Depressing, isn't it? As if we needed anything else to make us feel worse. Well, at least we still have the Bruins, Celtics and soon the Red Sox. All things considered, we still have it made here in Beantown.

For more New England Patriots coverage, visit our team page and blog, Pats Pulpit.

Rodney Harrison Not Pleased With Rob Gronkowski

2012-02-09T02:07:16Z

After suffering a 21-17 loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI, players of the New England Patriots would most likely be too depressed and sad to reenter the public spotlight, right? Well, not exactly.

Following the team's loss in the Super Bowl, Rob Gronkowski and other teammates took out their frustrations by heading out that night to a team party. Gronkowski was spotted with his shirt off and partying hard into the Indianapolis night. Former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison wasn't a fan of this at all, and took to the airways on Wednesday to voice his opinion about the young player's actions.

"I guarantee you this, if Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, Larry Izzo, Richard Seymour or myself had been at that party, [Gronkowski] probably would have got his head rung," Harrison told ESPN Chicago Radio 1000. "There's no reason for that to happen.

"When we lost the Super Bowl, any of my Super Bowl losses, I was so devastated the last thing I ever wanted to do was party, let alone dance or take off your shirt," he said. "It's just immaturity. It's not right. He made a mistake and I'm sure he feels absolutely stupid about it at this point. There's a time and place for everything."

(via WEEI)

Harrison, as we all remember was a member of the 2000's Patriots dynasty that won three Super Bowls. Harrison was also a part of the 2007 team that lost the Super Bowl to these Giants, as he was the one who allowed David Tyree to make that infamous helmet catch. You could imagine why he was a little steamed at Gronk for partying away his sorrows.

With veteran leadership a core value of the Patriot dynasty years, he was also not pleased to hear that 11-year veteran Matt Light was also at this party, also with his shirt off.

"The leadership has to step up and someone has to pull [Gronkowski] to the side and say, ‘Look young man, this is inappropriate, this is not the time nor the place. You need to grow up,'" Harrison said. "And that's what it comes down to. I like this kid. I think he's a good kid, works hard, is unselfish. But he made a mistake. ... There's a certain way of representing yourself and your family and that's not the right way." (via WEEI)

For more New England Patriots coverage, visit our team page and blog, Pats Pulpit

Giants' Brandon Jacobs To Gisele Bundchen 'Stay Cute And Shut Up'

2012-02-09T00:53:37Z

Following the New England Patriots' 21-17 loss to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl in Indianapolis, Tom Brady's wife Gisele Bundchen heard it from hecklers while she was leaving the venue. Bundchen tried to defend her husband by criticizing Brady's teammates for dropping passes.

Giants running back Brandon Jacobs had a message for Bundchen

Brandon Jacobs to reporters on Tom Brady's wife, Gisele Bundchen: "She just needs to continue to stay cute and shut up."
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 8, 2012

Jacobs had nine carries for 37 yards for the Giants in the win. Jacobs' teammate Osi Umenyiora was not exactly on the same page about Brady's wife

"I mean she's supposed to stay out of things like that," said the Giants defensive end."But at the end of the day that's their relationship and she has the right to say whatever she wants to." (via Shutdown Corner)

For more Patriots coverage, visit our team page and Pats Pulpit. For more 2012 Super Bowl news, follow our stream.

Steve DeOssie On His Comments At Giants Party: 'I Called It Like I Saw It'

2012-02-08T00:47:13Z

Steve DeOssie, co-host of the Real Post Game Show on WEEI and father of Giants long snapper Zak DeOssie, got into some hot water about comments he made at a party for the Giants. DeOssie a former linebacker and long snapper for both the Patriots and Giants, explained his comments today on The Big Show.

"I basically said a lot of things that I believe, like the Giants were going to win the game," DeOssie said. "That has nothing to do with my son, and if people up here take it as some way of me disliking the Patriots, it's wrong. My heart, when it comes to football, is with the team that gave me an opportunity, that I won a championship with. The ownership helped me with a very difficult position that I was in in my life. Without any recriminations, I love the Giants organization. It doesn't mean I don't feel strongly about the Patriots. I really loved my two years there. It was great, and it was fun, but when I look back on my football career, I consider myself a New York Giant. I could understand how people could get riled up about that, but I'm not sure I said anything that was untrue." (via WEEI)

DeOssie did say that he could have done a better job clarifying his comments. He also explained his feelings for the Patriots organization.

"When it comes to my allegiance to the Patriots, which has been great," he said. "Bill Belichick has been great to me, and the two years that I was there, the Krafts were fantastic to me. The Patriots fans have been great. ... I grew up here, I chose to make my home here. In a football context, sometimes when it comes to a choice between the Patriots and the Giants, there's a conflict there ... but I'm not struggling in New England. I love New England."

DeOssie knew that his comments could have been taken the wrong way by Pats fans, although that was not his intention.

"My intention was to enjoy the day, appreciate the giants' fans support," he said. "I called it like I saw it. I saw the Giants winning that game."

For more Patriots coverage, visit our team page and Pats Pulpit. For more 2012 Super Bowl news, follow our stream.

Super Bowl 2012: Patriots' Kevin Faulk Undecided On His Future

2012-02-07T21:25:17Z

Kevin Faulk is undecided about his future in the NFL, as the longest tenured member of the New England Patriots is facing a tough decision about whether or not he should continue his career. Faulk took to Twitter to address the issue.

@feezy_k
K. Feezy Good afternoon everyone, been seeing the question thrown around if I m retiring. As right now can t say yes and can t say no.
Feb 07 via Echofon Favorite Retweet Reply

Faulk was inactive for Super Bowl XLVI, and the 13-year veteran of the NFL saw very limited playing time for the Pats this past season. In seven games in 2011, Faulk had 57 rushing yards and zero touchdowns on 17 carries. In his career, which began in 1999 with the Patriots, he has racked up 3,607 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns on 864 carries in 161 games.

Faulk has never played the role of a feature back with the team, and in his later years he was used as a third down back. However, Faulk has built a reputation as a true team player and a clutch performer during his time in New England. His work ethic and professionalism has made him a fan favorite among Patriots fans.

For more Patriots coverage, visit our team page and Pats Pulpit. For 2012 NFL Playoffs news, follow our stream. Visit SB Nation New York and Big Blue View for Giants news.

Super Bowl 2012: Bradying, A Sad New Trend?

2012-02-07T13:01:32Z

Hopefully, this won't become a real thing. Browsing through my Twitter feed last night, I stumbled upon this picture. It's of Tom Brady and some other gentlemen who I do not know. He says he is Bradying ... you know, like Tebowing? Yeah, it's exactly what it sounds like, and it's downright sad. See the photo after the jump.

It's sad, depressing and angering. All of that and more. Brady, of course, was on the losing end of Super Bowl XLVI along with his New England Patriots in a 21-17 loss to Eli Manning and the New York Giants. It was pretty much like Super Bowl XLII - a late Pats lead, a game-winning drive led by Manning and plenty of missed opportunities for New England. Except this one hurt a lot more. Now, people are Bradying. I need some aspirin.

For more Patriots coverage, visit our team page and Pats Pulpit. For 2012 NFL Playoffs news, follow our stream. Visit SB Nation New York and Big Blue View for Giants news.