She's Game Sports: Boston

Why Covid is killing the NFL

Alice Cook — Sun, 18 Oct 2020 21:09:35 +0000

Imagine an Olympic athlete getting out of the pool, off the ice, off the track or permanently down the mountain with the Games just several months away.

These elite athletes all having something in common. They have practiced at least 10 thousand hours before they became one of the best in the world in their sport. Practice undoubtedly makes perfect.

The same can be said for professional football players.

Covid has knocked teams off practice fields and out of training facilities. The result has been teams showing up on game day knowing they are unprepared and fighting an uphill battle.

Like most people, I fully agree that every precaution has to be taken to stop the spread.

I don’t mind empty stadiums, fake crowd noise and the absence overall of football ambiance when watching a game.

What I do mind is watching an inferior product like the one that took place in Foxboro in Week 6.

While the Denver Broncos had to sit around for 2 weeks waiting to play the Patriots – at least they had an opportunity to practice – and practice – and practice. The opposite was true for the Patriots.

And it showed.

Coming into the game Denver had one win this season – and it was against the winless Jets. So it shouldn’t even count.

What has made the Patriots the most successful NFL franchise over the last two decades comes down to three things.

Talent, Coaching and Preparation.

Love him, or hate him, Bill Belichick has been the king of game planning, practicing, and execution.

Belichick has been forced – or has elected – to close the Patriots’ practice facility a number of times over the last 2 weeks due to multiple positive Covid tests. That means not only that practice was cancelled, but so was strength training, physical therapy, meetings and every other aspect of preparation that happens at Gillette Stadium throughout the season.

Lack of practice is lack of preparation and lack of preparation is a killer for any athlete and any team in any sport.

The NFL wants its regular season games to be played, even if it pushes the season into March of next year. Above all, they want the highest rated television event in the world to be played in Tampa Bay – at some point.

Just one request to the NFL – If the teams are going to play a 16 game schedule before that big event, make it fair and don’t make teams play without the opportunity to practice. Regardless of which team got Covid and which team didn’t.

Discussing a game plan on Zoom will never replace executing that plan on the practice field.

Practice makes perfect, and right now things are anything but perfect in the NFL.

Getting to know Kyle Van Noy

Alice Cook — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 18:42:29 +0000

Some fun facts that might surprise you about the Patriots linebacker.

Van Noy was born in Reno, Nevada and was adopted at age 4 months by Kelly and Layne Van Noy.

He went to Brigham Young University where he met his wife, Marissa.

He likes hip-hop, fashion, and food.

“I just am just intrigued with different things,” he told the Boston Globe.

He likes food so much he started his own YouTube channel called “Vibin’ With the Van Noy’s“. Kyle also launched his own show, “Elite Eats.”

The format of the show revolves around visiting local restaurants, tasting the fare, and offering menu suggestions to the viewer.

“We eat, I ask them some questions and we just vibe, eating food all over Massachusetts, different places, ” says the foodie.

Van Noy likes to get his teammates involved in his off the field project. He recently took Devin McCourty to Boston Burger Company on Boylston Street.

A few weeks ago Stephon Gilmore tagged along for brunch at “The Farmer’s Daughter in North Easton.

As a member of the “Boogeymen” linebacking fraternity, he noticed an up tick on social media and opened up a T-shirt design contest for his Twitter followers.

Van Noy admits that he is a bit “quirky.”

“As a person he is a very weird dude,” McCourty said. “But once you get to know him he’s a pretty cool guy.”

“I’m just different, Van Noy” admits. “I’m able to hang out with whoever. I’m black and I’m white, so I’m able to hang out with everybody. “

“Kyle you’ll get to talk about a lot if you talk about food and all at the bourgie things in life,” McCourty said. “That’s when he could go forever. But it’s been awesome to get to know him.”

The Boogeymen have spoken. On and off the field.

Scott Hamilton the survivor and optimist

Alice Cook — Mon, 29 Jul 2019 18:37:36 +0000

I interviewed Scott recently for WBUR’s “Only a Game.” He and I go way back in the world of figure skating. Scott won Olympic gold, I was just happy to be there.

In this interview Scott talks about his childhood illness, surviving cancer and battling three brain tumors.

Through it all he never lost his faith or sense of humor.

https://www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2019/07/26/scott-hamilton-health-figure-skating

Left to right. Peter Carruthers, Alice Cook, Rosalyn Summers and Scott Hamilton on the set of Turner Sports “The Cutting Edge.” 1998 Winter Olympic Games- Nagano, Japan.

Mahomes vs Brady – Kid vs GOAT

Alice Cook — Wed, 16 Jan 2019 21:06:38 +0000

At age 23, Patrick Mahomes can be considered a kid, or maybe even a baby GOAT, which are also called kids. Mahomes will be facing THE GOAT this Sunday who goes by the name of Tom Brady.

The Greatest Of All Time has earned this status over his 19 years in the league and five Super Bowl titles. On Sunday, 41 year old Brady will be dueling a kid 18 years his junior for the AFC Championship.

Let’s take a look at how the baby goat matches up with the buck, on and off the field.

Early Years:

Tom Brady is the son of Tom Brady Sr. who almost became a Maryknoll priest. New England Patriots fans don’t even want to think what would have happened if Brady Sr. chose the life of celibacy instead of marrying Gaylynn Johnson, a flight attendant. The family settled in San Mateo, California where Tom grew up with three older and very athletic sisters.

Patrick Mahomes is the son of Pat Mahomes, a former major league pitcher. The elder Mahomes played for 7 different teams including the Boston Red Sox. Patrick Lavone Mahomes II has a younger brother and sister.

High School:

Brady was not good enough to start at quarterback on his 0-8 JV football team. His best high school sport was baseball where he was a left handed power hitter and catcher. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in 1995.

Mahomes was also a stand out three sport athlete at Whitehouse High School in Whitehouse, Texas. In his senior year he threw for 4,619 yards and 50 touchdowns. He also tossed a no hitter with 16 strikeouts his senior year.

College:

Brady attended the University of Michigan where he struggled for playing time for several seasons. The Wolverines won 20 of the 25 games Brady started.

At Texas Tech Mahomes started 32 games over his three year college career. In 22 of those games he threw for over 300 yards. In a game against Oklahoma, Mahomes threw for a record 734 yards.

Draft:

By now the entire planet knows that Tom Brady was famously snubbed by every team in the league and was finally selected by the New England Patriots with the 199th pick in the 6th round of the 2000 NFL Draft. The rest is history.

The Kansas City Chiefs took Mahomes with the 10th pick in the 2017 draft.

Pros:

Brady has won five Super Bowl championships, four Super Bowl MVP awards, 3 League MVP’s and more division titles (15) than any other quarterback in NFL history.

In his first season as a starter, Mahomes is team MVP after throwing for 50 touchdowns and for over 5,000 yards.

Athletic Idols:

Brady- Joe Montana

Mahomes- Derek Jeter

Personal:

Brady is married to super model Gisele Bundchen, one of the most successful fashion models and business women in the world.

Mahomes girlfriend, Brittany Matthews was a varsity soccer player at University of Texas Tyler, and had a short pro stint in Iceland. She now runs a personal training business.

Diet:

Tom Brady has a regimen that includes 12 to 25 glasses of water a day, lots of smoothies, and TB12 snacks. He never mixes proteins with carbohydrates, and always tries to mix proteins or carbs with vegetables which is “ideal ” for digestion. No nightshades which include tomatoes. As for dessert? “Nothing, at least on an average day.”

Meanwhile Mahomes is a ketchup junkie. (nightshade alert!) His love of the condiment has landed him an endorsement deal with Hunts. Mahomes is known to put ketchup on everything from steak to macaroni and cheese. Yum!

GOAT vs Kid. Bring it on. And pass the ketchup.

All goats under 6 months of age are called kids. … Once a female goat has reached maturity, she is called a doe. A mature male goat is called a buck. When a male goat is castrated, he is called a wether. Our version of “kid” derives from the German “kinder” for child.

8 reasons to love the 2018 Boston Red Sox

Alice Cook — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 01:17:27 +0000

Many agree the 2018 edition of the Boston Red Sox were the most like-able group of players in franchise history. There are probably hundreds of reasons New England fell head over heels for their boys of summer, and spring, and fall. Here are our top eight.

1. Alex Cora

In his first season as Red Sox manager, Alex Cora was the rock that kept this team winning, not whining. He is a players manager and clearly respected by everyone around him- including the media and fans. His comments after getting hit by a flying beer can during the parade are just another example what a class act Cora is. Instead of lambasting the kid behind the foaming projectile, Cora once again took the high road.

“I know the kid didn’t mean to hurt anybody, Cora said. Obviously it’s dangerous, but it is what it is. I guess he apologized and I don’t know where he’s at right now but we’re fine, actually. I just got to be ready to make that play the next time. ”

2. Mookie Betts

Mookie was amazing throughout season and rightly deserves the AL MVP award for his on the field performance. He also did something pretty outstanding off the field during the playoffs. Betts and his cousin enjoyed a late night post game meal after a Game 2 of the World Series. It was nearly 2:00 in the morning when the pair decided to distribute trays of food to the homeless outside the Boston Public Library. They did it quietly, and without pictures or fan fare.

“It’s pretty cool,” Betts said in the Dodger Stadium visitors’ dugout before Game 3. “I’ve been blessed with everything I have, and I might as well share it.”

3. David Price

After being vilified for most of the season for his inconsistency and poor playoff history, Price went from chump to champ in a blink of an eye. Coming into the playoffs Price was 0 for 9 in his playoff starts. This time around the Price was right. He started and won Game 2 of the World Series. In Game 3 he came on in relief and got two outs. He offered his services to come out of the bullpen in Game 4. And in Game 5, Price held the Dodgers to three hits and one run over seven innings carrying the Red Sox to victory and the Championship trophy.

4. Steve Pearce

This 35 year old journeyman came out of the woodwork to deliver key hits throughout the World Series to become the most improbable MVP in Red Sox history. Pearce delivered clutch hit after clutch hit including two homers in the Game 5 clincher. Pearce also won a sweet red truck. Hopefully we will see him driving it to Fenway Park next season. Pearce is a free agent and is hoping “something good happens with the Red Sox.”

5. New York, New York

Who ever thought the theme song of NYC would be a lightening rod for the Red Sox? After a Yankees win in Game 2 of the ALDS, outfielder Aaron Judge thought it would be cute to carry his boombox out of building blasting the Frank Sinatra‘s famous ballad about the city that never sleeps. The Red Sox went on the win the series and also had the last laugh when the team blasted the song in the victorious club house after eliminating the Yankees in four games.

6. Adam Benintendi

I never want to hear another word about baseball players not being all that athletic. One look at the spectacular catch by Adam Benintendi in Game 2 of the World Series is all you need to see. It has been compared to one of the most talented graceful and leapers of all time- Russian ballet great, Rudolf Nureyev.

7. John Martin

If the Red Sox had an angel on their shoulder, his name is John Martin. The longtime NESN photographer lost his battle to ALS in mid October. John was right in the middle of many championship celebrations and the tributes were many from players, management, ownership and fellow media members. John will always be remembered for his professionalism, friendliness and beautiful family.

8. Duck Boats

Boston knows how to do parades. Since the year 2000 Boston has celebrated a total of 11 championships. The city is the GOAT when it comes to sports. Count your blessings New England, and be grateful. Rolling rallies, flying confetti, and raised trophies- they say it can’t last forever. We’ll see about that.

Boston10/31/18 The Boston Red Sox World Series victory parade headed down Boylston Street as players and staff filled duckboats to cheering fans lining the streeet. Photo by John Tlumacki/Globe Staff(sports)

Shape Magazine names Decker and Brady top hottest players in NFL

shesgamesports — Tue, 07 Aug 2018 20:22:58 +0000

It isn’t often that Tom Brady takes second to anyone. Now he has lost out to one of his own team mates.

In a June 18, 2018 article, Shape Magazine named Eric Decker the NFL‘s hottest player. This was 7 weeks before the veteran wide receiver signed a one year deal with the Patriots.

According the “Shape,” Decker is “hot and humble. He is so charismatic, he’s even got his own reality show on E!”

Brady who nearly always finishes at the top of “hotness” polls was second on the list. “He is a winner, a GOAT, and has five rings,” the story says. “He also has the hottest NFL wife.”

Getting absolutely no respect is former Patriot Jimmy Garoppolo who came in at number 10. The mag liked that Jimmy was single and “looking for love.”

But it is hard to fathom how Jimmy G placed behind the likes of the Clay Matthews, (must be the hair)…

…and Brock Osweiler.

Anyway, take heart New England. Vegas has the Patriots as a favorite to win the Super Bowl. And now we know, enough eye candy to get us through a long, hard fought season.

Getting to know Red Sox infielder Tony Renda

Alice Cook — Mon, 06 Aug 2018 18:06:01 +0000

The Red Sox called up second baseman Tony Renda two days ago. He made his first appearance in the wee hours of last night’s game against the Yankees. It was a debut he won’t soon forget.

Renda was put in as a pinch runner for Sandy Leon, and became part of the heroics when he scored the winning run in the 10th inning, on a single delivered by Andrew Benintendi.

The 27 year old ended up in the middle of the mob scene celebration at home plate, in one of the most exciting Red Sox finishes of the season.

Here are a few tidbits about the Red Sox new infielder.

Renda went to Junipero Serra High School, in San Mateo, CA, the same high school as Tom Brady. Brady also played baseball in high school, and like Renda became a major league draft pick

Brady chose instead to play football at the University of Michigan, and the rest is history.

As a junior at UC Berkley, Renda was selected in the second round of the 2012 MLB draft. He also did stints in the minor league systems of the Yankees, Reds, and Diamondbacks.

The Red Sox signed Renda last April, and assigned him to the Portland Seadogs, where he hit .371 in 26 games.

Renda’s mother, Laree began her career as a grocery bagger at Safeway Inc. at age 16, where she is now an executive vice president.

His father, Frank Renda was a construction worker, who pushed his son hard on the baseball field. His father died at a age 56 of lung cancer when Renda was 19.

Renda credits his parents work ethic to his success as a baseball player.

“That’s the way I was raised,” Renda said. “You work your tail off. Nothing is earned. You want something, you go out there and get it. There are no handouts.”

Sounds a lot like someone else we know, who practices his craft down in Foxboro. Maybe it’s something in that San Mateo water.

The Spiritual Side of Tom Brady

Alice Cook — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 20:27:40 +0000

Tom Brady sat down with Oprah Winfrey last weekend, and gave us a rare glimpse into both his personal and spiritual life. In a wide ranging interview on CNN‘s Super Soul Sunday, Brady revealed that something greater than football defines who he is.

“Spirituality is my greatest purpose,”Brady said.” I want to know why we are all here and where we are going.”

Those are some powerful words spoken by a five time Super Bowl Champion, and Oprah was right there with the obvious follow up question.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I think I have curiosities in many ways,” Brady said. “I think a lot of it is learning and loving to learn. My wife would say we are human beings having a spiritual experience. I want to live a purposeful life, and I want to impact people from the lessons that I’ve learned.”

Brady was asked about life after football:

“I am seeing there is an end coming sooner rather than later.”

On his relationship with Bill Belichick:

“I love him.”

About kissing his son on the lips during an episode of Tom vs Time.

“I grew up in an affectionate family. The hard part was I thought he would get teased at school.”

As for his thoughts on being considered the best quarterback of all time, Brady had this to say:

“I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all. I am not attached to that feeling and I don’t care if people feel that way or not. I just want to be the best quarterback I can be.”

Oprah and Brady had this exchange on the topic of DeflateGate.

Oprah: “What did it teach you?”

Brady: “It taught me a lot of things. It taught me about the people I could really count on. It taught me a lot about life.”

Oprah: “What made you decide to let it go?”

Brady: “I realized I couldn’t win.”

At the end of the interview, Oprah asked Brady to read this letter he had recently posted on his Facebook page:

“If you happen to be very lucky, when you are 10 years old, you will have people in your life who tell you the world is anything you want it to be, and you will believe them. And those people will never put limits on your abilities. In return, no matter the circumstances, you always try your best and you never give up, because that’s what you do when you’re chasing your dream.”

If you’re lucky, you will have family, teammates, coaches, mentors and trainers along the way to help you when you lose faith in yourself. And they will give you the strength to carry on.

If you’re lucky, you may get picked last, you may ride the bench, and many times the team may move on without you, and you come to recognize that, in return, you are given the chance to earn the greatest edge of all and one that can never be taken away:

WILL.

HEART.

To anyone who feels left out or is afraid of trying their best for fear of failure, you are not alone. The magic you’re looking for is in the WILL of trying and not giving up. The love of your dream is in your HEART. One day, you will look back on your life and appreciate the struggle and have nothing but gratitude for everything that happened along the way.

To anyone who is struggling early in the morning or late at night in pursuit of your dream, struggles that many will never see, and to any leaders out there who believe in someone who doesn’t yet believe in themselves…

Keep going.

Because WILL always finds a way”

Oprah then wrapped up the interview by saying, “Tom Brady just preached. Y’all, Tom Brady just took us to church.”

Amen to that.

photo courtesy Boston Globe

olympic ice becomes splat mat for male figure skaters

Alice Cook — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 22:56:25 +0000

At spin class this morning, my friend Kristen Grossman (once an Olympic caliber diver) asked me why so many men are falling all over the ice at the Winter Games in PyeongChang.

She said, “it makes the sport really hard to watch.”

Kristen is right. Viewers get uncomfortable seeing wipe out after wipe out in a sport that is known for it’s beauty, grace and execution. Especially at the Olympic level.

There is no easy answer as to why Olympic ice has become a cold and unforgiving splat mat, but here is my take.

Quad mania. The four revolution jump, be it a toe, loop, flip, or lutz is a “must have” in men’s competition at the National, World, and Olympic level. Quads are so tough to land that a skater is given some credit for just attempting it. The skater can land flat on his butt and get more technical points than another skater executing a flawless triple. It’s the bloody judging system that most viewers and may seasoned figure skating fans just “don’t get.”
Early wake up calls. Because of the twelve hour time difference between South Korea and the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, skaters are being asked to roll out of bed at 6:00am and compete at their highest level at 8:30 in the morning. Any parent who has a teenager in high school knows this is not an optimum time for getting out of the sack, let alone high athletic performance. There is a reason NHL hockey players have a “morning skate” on game days. A skater’s body takes time to “warm up and wake up.”
Ice Baby Ice. No two skating surfaces are ever alike. Figure skaters tend to prefer softer ice than hockey players. The ice at the Gangeung Ice Arena looks as hard as granite. Seeing so many slips and shaky landings leads me to believe the ice could be a factor. But no figure skater in the world is going to complain about the ice.
Nerves. A wise person once told me “butterflies are ok as long as they are flying in formation.” There is no scarier stage for a figure skater than the Olympic Arena. US skater Adam Rippon was asked the other night how he felt before competing. He said, ” I feel like I am going to throw up and I want to skate over to the judges and ask for a Xanax.”

The truth of the matter is, ice is slippery and quads are really, really hard to land.

The quad is here and isn’t going away any time soon. So let’s give credit to all these brave and talented men who go for it. And major kudos for skaters like Nathan Chen who is capable of landing 6 quads in a single long program on a good night.

There is a long way to go with the individual event up next. Viewers will have to be ready for some big falls. Just remember, the skater is getting “points” for trying.

Top 10 reasons Patriot Nation will miss Jimmy Garopollo

Alice Cook — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 00:36:31 +0000

When the Patriots announced the trade of Jimmy Garopollo earlier this week we learned two things.

First: The team has total confidence that 40 year old Tom Brady can play at peak performance for at least three more years.

Second: Garopollo has a great chance of becoming the next big thing for the San Francisco Forty Niners.

Although Garopollo didn’t get to play much, he will leave his imprint in New England. And here are our top ten reasons reasons why.

He helped make Brady better.

When the Patriots chose Garopollo in the 2nd round of the 2014 draft, Tom Brady was coming off a less than stellar season. Since then, Brady has done nothing but get better with age. Brady elevated his game to new levels while winning two Super Bowl Championships since the arrival of Jimmy G. Although much has been made of Brady’s plant based diet and impeccable training method, it was Garopollo who ignited the competitive fire in the belly of TB12.

2. He did his job.

During his conference call with the media on Tuesday, Bill Belichick overflowed with compliments about Garropollo. In his opening statement, (which went on for several minutes), Belichick waxed poetic about the quarterback he took in the second round three years ago.

” First of all, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Jimmy [Garoppolo]. I couldn’t ask for him to give us any more than he’s given us. The 49ers are getting a good player, and they’re getting a good person, and they’re getting a great teammate and they’re getting a good quarterback. Jimmy is getting a good coach. His career is moving forward. He’s a talented individual, was a great person to coach.”

“I met with him weekly and, again, have a tremendous amount of respect for him. As his career moves forward we have to look to our team, both this year and beyond, and that’s a consideration we have to make. We probably had, in my opinion, the best quarterback situation in the league for the last – let’s call it two-and-a-half years,” said Belichick.

Meeting with the back up quarterback weekly? Now, that is respect.

3. He had patience.

It can’t be easy standing in the shadow of Tom Brady. Any professional player wants to play, and the opportunities were few and far between for Jimmy G. Belichick was spot on saying the Patriots had the best quarterback situation in the league.

4. He played the bad guy at practice.

During his time in New England, Garopollo had the unenviable task of morphing into the next quarterback the Patriots defense would see. Jimmy G would pour over hours upon hours of video to prepare for this role. Goropollo has mimicked every quarterback from Russell Wilson to Aaron Rogers up to 19 weeks per season. The Patriots defense depended largely on Jimmy G’s ability to play the “bad guy.”

5. He crushed it in college.

Eastern Illinois is not a power house like a Big Ten or SEC school. Garopollo was a four year starter for the Panthers, and broke Tony Romo’s record for most TD’s. He led his team to back to back conference championships including a perfect 8-0 season in 2014.

6. He gave back.

Goropollo was active in charity work during his time in New England. Two years in a row he donated his time and skills to Access Sport in America, an organization that inspires children and adults living with disabilities through high challenging sports and training.

7. He is really good looking.

Let’s just say it flat out- the New England Patriots had by far the best looking quarterback duo in the NFL. A picture is worth a thousand words. Maybe more in his case.

When asked about dating, Jimmy G told ESPN’s Dan Patrick that “I just don’t have time…too busy.”

Wow. That’s unfortunate.

And according to some, Garopollo has surpassed Tom Brady in the good looks department.

A 2014 poll by SB Nation asked the question… who is the better looking QB?

23% of respondents said Tom Brady.

77% of respondents said Jimmy Garopollo

8. Best smile.

During the 2014 draft, Garopollo was voted “best smile” in the quarterback class by NFL Network’s Mike Maycock.

9. He loves his family.

Garopollo says the two most important people in his life are his parents. His father, Tony is a mechanic and mother Denise is a chef. He has two older brothers and one younger. The family grew up in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

10. He loves his mom.

On Instagram, Garopollo declared in a photo with his mother, ” The only gal I will ever need.”

Sweet.