Avery might be laughed at, but the NHL is the real joke

Many wonder why the NHL is so obviously overlooked by the American audience. Some say it's because it's too expensive of a sport, other say it is because it's too complicated, too hard to watch on TV, yet to expensive to go see live. Others just simply don't like it because it's too violent and fighting is allowed (GASP!) yet those same people will shell out hundreds of dollars on violent video games and go see every Stallone and Schwarzenegger movie thrown on the big screen. But the biggest reason for the NHL never getting attention in most U.S. markets...is because it is a joke.

Only in the NHL will a player get suspended for saying something about an actress. In case you haven't heard or read the comments, click here. And if that is too much work for you to do, what Dallas Stars' agitator Sean Avery said was "I just want to comment on how, it's become a common thing in the NHL for for guys to fall in love with my sloppy-seconds, I don't know what that's about."

Were those comments wrong to say? Yes and no. On the ice, those comments would have been the equivalent to saying hello. The vulgar, disgusting and ruthless things said on the ice don't even COMPARE to what Avery said. Yet, off the ice, to the media, it's a different story. No, he shouldn't have said that. It wasn't awful, but it was something he should have said to the player that he was referencing in those comments, Dion Phaneuf of the Calgary Flames, on the ice.

Phaneuf is happens to be dating Avery's ex-girlfriend, actress Elisha Cuthbert.

That is Avery's game, he instigates, just ask New Jersey Devils' goalie Marty Brodeur or Colorado's Darcy Tucker.

But, back to my point. The NHL is a joke. Why? Not only was he suspended for this, but he was suspended six games! SIX GAMES! I personally think a fine would have been just plenty, but SIX GAMES! There are players in the league that are repeat offenders of illegal hits that haven't been suspended six games. Maple Leafs' winger Ryan Hollweg has dished out some of the leagues dirtiest hits and hasn't even been suspended that long. Don't get me wrong, Avery has been a thorn in the side of the league since he first laced up his skates for the Detroit Red Wings, and has always been in the middle of controversy. Hell, he even has a rule implemented because of his actions. But, he has never been suspended. This was his first suspension and he gets six games? I mean, he didn't illegally hit someone from behind, or in the head, he didn't have drugs on him, he didn't shoot himself in the thigh, he didn't beat up his bodyguard or skip practices and then call a news conference about it. No, he made remarks about his ex-girlfriend. Bravo, NHL.

Rather than clean up the game of the dirty, head-hunting hits, commissioner Gary Bettman decides THIS is what will bring the sport down. Hey Gary, ever think it's your fault that the only time the NHL gets this much exposure is when an "incident" occurs?

In an interview with ESPN, Avery actually pointed out how terrible the NHL is at marketing it's sport (and rightfully so). "It would certainly be good for the game if we marketed the game. The NHL does a terrible job of marketing. They just ... they haven't figured it out that heroes and villains are what sells." Amen!

Why do people love-to-hate the Dallas Cowboys so much? Because they are the bad-boys of America. The NFL does a great job at marketing it's villains.

Avery goes on to say that nobody cares about the players like Calgary's Jarome Iginla. Which is true. How many people outside of hockey die-hards actually know who Iginla is? Nobody. And it's a shame because he is one of the most talented players in the league. There is a plethora of young, amazing, MARKETABLE talents in the NHL that simply don't have any exposure.

Why? Because the NHL would rather focus on hushing it's players rather than exposing them. Think about how many times Terrell Owens or Chad Johnson have said something so extraordinary that it had you say "wow, I might just watch that game just to see what happens."

No, rather than do that, Bettman and Co. would rather suppress the personalities.

Just ask Washington Capitals' phenom Alexander Semin. Alex actually had the guts to speak out about NHL poster-boy Sidney Crosby in a Russian newspaper and was slammed for it. Did the NHL look at this as a way to promote arguably the top-four players in the NHL today -- Pittsburghs' Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and Washingtons' Semin and Alex Ovechkin? No, Semin was criticized and basically ambushed by everyone in the business. You would think the NHL wants exposure and ratings. Nope, guess not.

And for everyone who still says Avery is a moron, should be banished from the league, has no right to even skate with the class-act Dallas Stars...if it weren't for rules implemented by the NHL, guys like Avery wouldn't even be in the league. In the past, if a guy like Avery skated around, ran his mouth and did the things he did today, he would pummelled to no end. Now, thanks to the brilliant "instigator rule" which penalizes the starter of the fight, the enforcers of the league are handcuffed. So guys are allowed to skate around freely taking cheap shots and don't have to worry about a thing. Hey Bettman, want less "incidents" get rid of that rule!

Say what you want about Sean Avery, love him, or hate him, but the NHL is the real joke.

Nassau Conference I Football Championship

Hempstead, Long Island- - Chants of “uno mas” filled Shuart Stadium as the Freeport Red Devils advanced to the Class I Long Island Championship with a victory over the Massapequa Chiefs.

The Red Devils defeated the Massapequa 34-21, last night at Hofstra University, in the Nassau Conference I Football Championship.

The Red Devils’ (10-1) pass rush proved to be too strong for Chiefs’ (7-4) offensive line to handle. Chiefs’ QB Rob VonBargen, who was sacked on five occasions and threw three picks, only completed seven passes on 19 attempts for 145 yards.

The most devastating interception thrown by VonBargen came with 36 seconds remaining in the half to Red Devils’ junior DB Michael Groover. Groover ran the pick back for a 45-yard touchdown to give Freeport a 20-6 lead.

“I read the play right, saw the ball come out and just prayed to God not to drop it” said Groover. “It gave us a major boost, we kept the momentum from that point on”

That was the first interception ran back for a touchdown by the Red Devils all season.
Freeports’ ground-and-pound offense was also too much for the Chiefs to handle. RB Jules Harvey rushed for 138 yards and QB Erick Lapice added another 60 on the ground.
“We gotta give credit to the line tonight” said Lapice.

Lapice, a first-year quarterback, opened up the scoring with a one-yard run for a touchdown midway through the second quarter. Lapice added another rushing touchdown for one yard in the third quarter.

“ He’s [Lapice] the general that makes everything click” said Freeport head coach Russ Cellan. “He’s really a great high school player; he keeps this whole thing going.”

The Week 4 matchup between Freeport and Massapequa also ended with a Red Devils’ victory, when they defeated the Chiefs 27-26 in overtime.

Cellan told his players not to get distracted by the hype that the Class I LIC game will bring or they will “fall one rung short.”

Freeport will play the winner of Friday night’s Lindenhurst (8-2) vs. Connetquot (8-2) game at Hofstra University, Nov. 28th.

“The LIC has been our goal all year, there’s no stopping until we get there” said Lapice. “We still have one more week of practice, and one more game to play.”

Texeira a Yankee!

Kanekoa Texeira. What? Were you expecting someone else?
The Yanks acquired Kanekoa yesterday as part of the deal that brought Nick Swisher to the Bronx. The Yankees, in return, traded Mr. Utility, Wilson Betemit and two prospects to Chicago.

Now that the Yankees traded for Swisher, it pretty much ends the Mark Texeira to the Bombers thought/hope.

Swisher, who was traded from Oakland to the White Sox last winter, hit .219 with 24 homers and 69 RBI last season.So essentially, the man who is slated to play first base for the Yanks is a home-run hitter, who has a sub-par average with a scruffy beard and long hair from Oakland...I could have sworn the Yankees didn't pick up Jason Giambi's option...

According to ESPN.com, the Yankees also offered CC Sabathia a deal that would be larger than the one the Mets inked Johan Santana to last winter. It is reported the deal is for six years, and worth more than $137.5 million. Other pitchers on the market are A.J. Burnett (formerly with the Blue Jays) and Derek Lowe (of the Dodgers).

Sabathia, is a lock. Any team that wouldn't want to sign him is out of their minds. I don't want to hear that he only pitched like that because it was the National League either because his record (106-71) in the A.L. is outstanding. Any money the Yankees throw at him is worth it.

Burnett on the other hand. I'm not too sure about. Outside of pitching against the Yankees (3-1, 1.64 ERA) and BoSox (2-0, 2.60 ERA), he really didn't pitch that amazing. I'd be careful of throwing huge dollars at him. And as far as Lowe goes, he needs to stay in the N.L.

Now play nice boys

The NFL might as well start putting it's quarterbacks in the same bubble Jake Gyllenhaal used in Bubble Boy.

It's gotten to the point where it is almost sickening how much players are being protected in the NFL. Forget about No Fun League -- it should be No Force League.

Just ask Giants defensive end Justin Tuck. He is the latest victim of a bogus fine dished out by the NFL. Tuck was slapped with a $7,500 fine after a hit -- which NFL director of football operations Gene Washington, deemed too forceful -- on Dallas Cowboys QB Brooks Bollinger.

"We can't hit them in the head, we can't hit them in the knees, and now we can't hit them hard?" Tuck said in an interview with ESPN.

This is just a string of fines dropped by the NFL. What's the point. If you can't hit your opposition hard -- something that's embedded in your brain since pee-wees -- what's the point of even playing?

I have a solution. Maybe for now on, all quarterbacks should just wear flags around their waste. That solves everything right NFL? No more gray area. If the NFL keeps this up they're going to turn into the No Fans League.

GR8 vs. The Kid

The Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin debate is going to rage on until one of these superstars falls off track.

Alex the GR8 and Sid the Kid have been taking the NHL by storm since they first made their debut on Oct. 5th, 2005. Ovechkin had two gaols, and 17-plus minutes of ice time in that 3-2 victory over Columbus.

Crosby? Well, he didn't fare too well in his NHL debut – recording only an assist in a 5-1 loss to New Jersey.

Both were picked #1 overall in their respective years. Both play on small-market teams. And both proved they deserved every bit of hype.

Ovechkin won the Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year) in 2006, just nudging out Crosby. The following year, Crosby won the Hart Trophy, which is given to the league MVP. Not be outdone, Ovechkin won the Hart last year.

Since coming in the league, Crosby has developed a bad, but earned, reputation of being a baby and a diver. NHL fans have dubbed him the name "Cindy." It's not uncommon to see Crosby talking (complaining) to referees about calls, or non-calls. Ovechkin on the other hand – can not have a bad word said about him from anyone.

Ovechkin will dazzle you with his moves, stun you with deadly shot, entertain you with his post-goal celebrations, but he'll also do something that Crosby will not do – knock the snot out his opponents.

Ovechkin has also earned a reputation in his short time in the league – get out of his way, or he will destroy you!

Don't get me wrong, Crosby will check, will mix in with the rough stuff, but Alex punishes players, there is no such thing as a bump, Alex finishes each-and-everyone of his checks – and makes sure his opponent remembers it.

Here's a breakdown of what each has done in the league since their debut:

Alex Ovechkin-#8-Washington Capitals

• Games - 253
• Goals - 165
• Assists - 150
• Points - 315
• Shots - 1304
• +/- 15
• Playoff Appearances - 1
• Stanley Cup appearance - 0
  
• NHL Scoring Champion 1, Hart Trophy, Calder Trophy, Lester B. Pearson Trophy

Sidney Crosby-87-Pittsburgh Penguins

• Games- 224
• Goals - 102
• Assits - 205
• Points - 307
• Shots - 738
• +/- 28
• Playoff Appearances- 2
• Stanley Cup Appearances - 1
• NHL Scoring Champion 1, Hart Trophy, Lester B. Pearson Trophy

The only thing Crosby has over Ovechkin, is that Stanley Cup finals appearance last year when the Penguins lost in six to the Detroit Red Wings.

My choice, by unanimous decision, Alexander "the GR8" Ovechkin. Hands down, the most entertaining player in hockey today.

Big D....L

Ok, so in football it's called the IR not the DL, but Dallas has been struck with a huge mess of injuries so far in 2008.

Of course the biggest injury (stature, not size) was to QB Tony Romo's pinky but America's team is missing a slew of other key players, which isn't really helping them climb out of the hole they dug themselves into.

Rookie RB Felix Jones(hamstring) is most likely going to miss this week's game against the Bucs after missing practice again on Thursday. He also sat out last week's disgrace of a game against the Rams.

The Cowboys didn't only lose to the Rams 34-14, but they also lost Roy Williams for the remainder of the season. S Roy Williams, not the newly acquired wide receiver from Detroit. Williams re-broke his fractured right forearm in his first-game back since the initial injury during a Week 2 win over the Eagles.

CB Terrence Newman has been out after undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia since Week 5. Unlike the Saint's Jeremy Shockey, he will take the suggested recovery time and isn't expected back until Week 11 against the Redskins.

And of course there's Pacman...I mean Adam Jones who was suspended at least four games by commissioner Roger Goodell after an incident with his team-appointed bodyguard. "If he can deal with whatever issues he may have, handle his responsibilities, make good decisions, then he may have an opportunity to play again in the league," said Goodell. Wait, I thought that's what he said last time? Pacman checked himself into an alcohol-treatment center earlier this week.

Backup QB Brad Johnson better rekindle the game he had back in 2003 when he led the Bucs to a Super Bowl victory over the Raiders if Dallas has any chance of beating the 5-2 Buccaneers in Week 8.

Snap Back to Reality

It's about time the New York Rangers and their fans were brought back to reality. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a die-hard Rangers fan, but I'm a realistic one.
Everyone had the Rangers winning the Stanley Cup after they started the season 5-0. Please. Sure they started off with five straight wins, something they hadn't done since the 83 season, but in they looked awful in some of those games.
Take the first two wins of the season. Both were in Prague against the Lightening. Now Tampa has a brand new coach fresh off the desk at ESPN, and a roster that has had more significant changes on it than any other team in the NHL. Not to mention a completely new front office and direction. They squeaked by Tampa and beat them 2-1 in each contest.
Ok, now fresh off that nice little Eurotrip, time to open up the Garden. They beat the Blackhawks. This game easily could have went to the Hawks. Lundqvist made 30 saves, but the Hawks missed the net a good 10-12 times on quality scoring chances. Oh yea, Chicago is the youngest team in the NHL and just fired their coach only four games into the season.
Alright, 3-0 bring on the Flyers. The Rangers started with the most dominating period they have played all season jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first. After that? Same old Rangers. They let Philly creep back to make it 4-3 but the most troubling figure was they only went 1/9 on the Power Play. That's disgusting.
4-0, here comes Marty and the Devils. No complaints. Power Play looked great, Aaron Voros and Brandon Dubinksy continued to play amazing with Nik Zherdev on the other wing, also playing very well. The Power Play was there with Voros putting in two PP goals and Lundqvist looked very sharp as he has all season. Good win boys.
Now, with history on the line, going for their first 6-0 start--Buffalo. This is where the same old Rangers came. They looked awful, absolutely awful. Michal Rozsival continued to show why he is grossly overpaid and would barely be a top-three defensemen on other teams. How he is given so much praise on this team, I don't know. The Rangers looked flat-footed, sluggish and a step behind the entire game. Renney tinkering with lines didn't help either. The worst point in this game was when the Rangers, only down 2-1 gave up a short-handed goal to Thomas Vanek in the middle of a four-minute power play. Ouch.
Hopefully now that the fans are a little more grounded, the Rangers can put together another nice string of wins, with games against Toronto, Detroit and Sean Avery's return with the Dallas Stars coming up.

Upper Deck'd Out

I just spent the last four hours of my life digging through boxes, rummaging through binders, squinting at checklists and staring at online Tuff Stuff books...only to realize that the fortune that I made for myself from the ages of four to 15, is worth less than an autograph from Doc Gooden.

When the hell did sports cards drop so much in value?

I remember saving every penny from lunch money just to go down the block to buy packs of cards from the local card store. There use to be a few card stores in my town, now I had to Google just to find out where the closest one was located...which happens to be two towns over.

Thousands of rookies, inserts, holograms, foilgrams, whatever-grams, all worth peanuts now. As a matter of fact, the most expensive card in my whole collection is only about $150.

What kills me the most is not the fact that the cards are decreasing in value, but the most expensive brands back in the day, are the LEAST worthy now. I remember spending $6 on one pack of cards...which was huge money for a nine year old...and now, they aren't even listed in the pricing books.

Oh the game-used memorabilia card! Those were the biggest thing to find years ago. Imagine finding part of Mark Messier's stick or Babe Ruth's jersey!If you had a jersey or game-used card, it was special, it wasn't just a run of the mill player. Now, ANYONE can get a memorabilia card, who the hell wants an Anthony Thomas jersey card(which I reluctantly pulled from a pack last week).


Nowadays, kids are too busy buying skinny jeans and ring tones to pick up some packs of cards. I asked the guy who owns the store two towns over why there was such a decrease in cards these days and he said one of the biggest reasons...besides the tainted youth, was the MLB, NFL etc. were asking for too much of a kickback to use their likenesses. Figures.

So much for planning an early retirement off my Pavel Bure, Eric Lindros and Griffey Jr. rookie cards!

Thanks for all your talent Europe!

Well, the NHL has decided to give a little back to Europe, I mean after all it's the least they can do considering half of the league consists of European players.

Four regular-season games will be held overseas thanks to last years successful games between the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks, held in London.

The New York Rangers will open the season playing two games in Prague, Czech Republic against the Tampa Bay Lightening, while the Ottawa Senators play the Pittsburgh Penguins in Stockholm, Sweden.

There have been rumblings that the NHL might want to make an European division, and add them to the NHL. Really? The NHL just got over re-balancing their terrible schedule because it was too rough on Western Conference teams playing one night in Vancouver, the next in Dallas, and the following in Chicago. Does Gary Bettman really think the NHLPA will fly, literally, for a that same schedule followed by a nice flight over to Moscow? Please.

Mr. Bettman,

Please worry about fixing your games image in the United States and actually draw a decent TV rating here first(yea, right) before you go and expand it to Europe.
Remember what happened last time the league expanded to all these great cities that were just ohhh so booming for hockey? Pheonix, who cares? Nashville? Please move them to Hamilton already. Carolina? Should have stayed in Hartford. Hell, maybe we'd get to see some more of those cool full-pant uniforms of the '70s. Atlanta...enough said.

Instead of worrying about what European city is going to host a MEANINGFUL regular season game, how about you worry about the officiating, and how terribly inconsistent it is, or maybe worry about getting some useful TV exposure.


Sincerely,
Frank Castaldi

Joe Money, Joe Problems

Say what you want about the record or the division, bottom line is the Dodgers will still be playing in October and the Yankees won't be.

Sure, the Yankees (87-71) are four games ahead of Torre's Dodgers (83-75), and will probably finish with a better record than them, but when all is said and done, Torre will have lead his team into the playoffs (thanks to an Arizona loss today) while the Steinbrenners, Cashman, Girardi and the rest of the Yankees will be heading home.

What makes the fact that L.A. is in the playoffs and the Yankees aren't even sweeter, is the fact that MANNY RAMIREZ ignited the flame under the Dodgers late-season push. ManRam has been on absolute fire since he first flashed his half-assed smile and donned that blue L.A. fitted during his press conference following the trade.

Not only is Manny destroying opposition pitching since coming to the West Coast (.398 .AVG, 17 HR, 53 RBI), but he is also rubbing off on some of the youngsters in the lineup, like Andre Either.

Since Manny made his debut on Aug. 1st, Either has raised his average up 100 points during that span hitting .374.

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No Respect...

It is absolutely disgusting how Brendan Shanahan is being treated by the Rangers right now. I don't care how old he is, or what type of a role he will have on the team, he is still MORE PRODUCTIVE than anything the Rangers have to offer. Take a look at what he did last year when he was deemed too old or past his prime;

Points- 2nd
Goals- 4th
Power Play Goals- 2nd
Shots on Goal- 1st

Now not only were those good numbers for the team, but he easily could have led the team in each category considering he played in nine less games. The games he missed due to injury weren't because of a man getting old and his body weakening. No, these injuries were due to him playing his heart out and doing the intangibles on the ice. Even at 39, he was blocking shots, finishing checks, fighting, and grinding it out in the corners and in the crease.

Shanahan virtually worked for peanuts compared to league standards last year. He has made it very clear that he wants to play for the New York Rangers. According to Shanahan, other teams are offering him legitimate jobs with contracts, yet he still only wants to talk to the Rangers. Why? I don't know.

This all comes down to Sather wanting Mats Sundin. This wouldn't have been a problem if he didn't foolishly dish out millions of dollars to undeserving players in the off-season. Michal Rozsival granted a 4-year, $5 million contract is absolutely absurd. Especially when Wade Redden was handed a 4-year, $6.5 million contract by Sather on the same day. Not only would Shanahan be able to fit under the cap if the Rozy contracted wasn't so stupidly handed out, but Sean Avery might still be on Broadway, but that's a whole different problem for another time.

Shanny, we love you, and as much as we would love to see you in Broadway Blue again, please tell Glenn Sather to shove it and sign on with somebody else you actually respects you, and win yourself another cup!

Royal Pain in the Draft!

So, you're sitting there last night, in front of your TV, possibly enjoying some wings, drinking a beer or two watching the Oakland Raiders get annihilated by the Broncos. As you continue watching, you notice some guy named Eddie Royal catching everything in sight. You brush it off and say "ahh, it's just the Raiders". As the game progresses you realize, "wow, this guy is for real" and quickly make a mad dash to the closest computer to quickly pluck him off the Free Agents list.

You check the recent transactions and his name is nowhere in sight. Yes! He is yours! You type in his name and up comes the results...to that cold, familiar, confusing feeling...

Not only was he not available on the Free Agents list, but he was drafted. Yes, Royal was drafted in the late rounds by who? By that guy.

There are four types of fantasy sports players out there, they are:

1) The fantasy manager, who knows the established players. This person selects only names he or she knows, and usually finishes in the 4th to 5th place region after the season is over. This person generally can't name one defensive player on any team, and if they do...they definitely can't name his position. Every now and then they might get a sleeper on their team, but it is generally by luck of draw.

2) Up second is the person who not only knows the established players but thinks they know all the sleepers. This person drafts horribly. In the first three or four rounds of the draft, they will draft okay because it's kind of hard to mess up the first four picks. After that names like Hank Baskett, and Ronald Curry start coming having everyone going "huh?"

3) The third fantasy sports player is the manager who drafts very well. Has a good balance of youth and veterans on their team. This person has the sleepers, has the stars and has the upsiders. Unfortunately, this is also the person who has more players on the IR than her or she has IR spots. This person no matter who or when they draft gets bombarded with injuries all year. Whether it be a nagging groin, strained hammy or a torn ligament this persons team is doomed from the get go.

And then...

4) That guy. That guy is the person who year, after year, always has the other leagues participants scratching their head saying "huh?" after every pick. The only difference is this connoisseurof fantasy, has every player you so cleverly want to add in Week 6. This person knows way more than any human being should know about fantasy sports. That guy has players scouted since they were in High School just waiting for them to come into the NFL in six years so he could draft him in the 11th round. That guy doesn't always win the league, but nine times out of ten he eliminates you from the playoffs. Or at least has the guy stashed on his keeper roster that would have put you over the hump.


We hate that guy, but deep down, we all wish we were that guy.

Daunte's Peak?

On a day where Michael Turner rushed for 220 yards and scored two touchdowns, Donovan McNabb racked up 361 yards and three touchdowns and the Panthers shocked the Chargers with no time left; Tom Brady still managed to steal all the headlines in the NFL world.



Hey Brady, maybe you should have stayed on the Injury Report, at least you would have saved the league some time by not having to redo your paperwork.



Now that it has been confirmed that Brady is done for the season, the million dollar question is who is going to take the helm at QB for the Pats.



Chris Simms has already been summoned by the Patriots brass for a workout, and there have been whispers about Tim Rattay as well. Another option is to just stick with Matt Cassel and see how he runs with it. After all, that is how Brady became the superstar he is today after taking over for Drew Bledsoe when he went down in week one of the 2001 season.



One major difference; Brady was a stud at the University of Michigan before coming to the NFL where as Cassel has ONE start on his college resume. AT TIGHT END!

With the Bills new and improved defense, Parcells genius behind the Dolphins and of course the New York Bretts, the Pats need to make a phone call to the retirement home and beg Daunte Culpepper to come out of his three day retirement.



Culpepper told ESPNthat "I would rather shut the door to such 'opportunity' than continue to wait for one of my fellow quarterbacks to suffer a serious injury." Well, Daunte, I'm sure I speak for a lot of us when I say, FORGET you ever said that and get on the phone with Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick right now.



Now I'm not saying that Daunte is a better QB than Cassel, Simms or Rattay(even though he is without a doubt), but it just makes more sense for the Patriots as far as chemistry is concerned. And by Patriots, I mean Randy Moss.



Yes Cassel knows the Pats system, but who knows Randy Moss better than Culpepper?

Besides finding a replacement for Brady, keeping Moss and his 23 TD catches from 2008 happy should be the number one priority for the Pats. It goes without saying that if Culpepper were brought in, Moss would be smiling from diamond studded ear, to diamond studded ear.

Moss himself even pitched the idea of reuniting with his former slinger as a package deal for teams interested in the off season before he was graced with his three year; $27 million dollar contract.