Here's to Baseball

(Elsa / Getty Images)

With the Bill-Wound-Them-Too-Tight Patriots Down and Out,
And the NHL and NBA Regular Seasons a Colossal Waste
Let's All Raise a Cup to the Red Sox and Baseball

The Shirt Before the Shirt: Some January Spring Training Stories:
Gut-Be-Gone? Lucchino Says Beckett Was Spotted Working Out This Winter
... And Get Ready for Henry and Werner Bringing Liverpool to Fenway in 2012
Idiots for Dummies: Welcome Back Manny Raymirez and Johnny Raymon
Larry Tate Says: 'It's Called Red Sox' Was Runnerup to 'Exciting Times'
No Kidding: New Kids/Backstreet Boys Playing at Fenway Is Old News
But Rumors Swirl That Bieber-Swift Will Get Fenway's Street Cred Back in 2012
Straight Cashman Homey: Is Brian Trying to Be the New Rex Ryan?
Obstructed View, Standing Room, Scattered, and Single Seats On Sale Saturday
All the Good Seats Already Accounted for, Or for Sale at 300% Or More at Ace
Meanwhile, Linda Pizzuti and John Henry Hard at Work Dining in London:
'Has John W. Henry's WAG Persuaded Luis Suarez to Join Liverpool?'
Whoops: Complaint Set to Filed Against Liverpool for Illegal Contact with Suarez
Henry to Skip 'Red Sox Town Hall' on Monday

"If the Red Sox have injuries it's 'Oh, the injuries.' ... If the Yankees have injuries, nobody in the media acknowledges that." -- Hank Steinbrenner, The Crying Game

Chat With Big Papi Live, Sort Of ...

Ask David Ortiz What He Ate Last Night
And He'll Answer From An Underwater Location on Mars

Jets Flying Low

(BDD / Morphinian)

Criticizing Ryan's Dopes Is Just Jerseylicious

Wes Walks the Walk

(BDD / Mr. Punchy)

And Now He Talks the Talk

So Bill Belichick Embarrasses Wes Welker Before the World,
And It's Welker Who Regrets It

Star Spangled Bungle

(Sully: Stan Grossfeld / Boston Globe Staff; Bon Jovi: Elsa / Getty Images )

Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Dropped the Ball By
Going with Stocking Capped Sully Over Jon Bon Jovi
for National Anthem Duties in Foxborough

Blame Pie Gets a New Slice: Move Over Belichick, Brady, Welker, and Chung ...
Pats Smacked Down After Sully Erna's Small Time Performance Before Big Game
Shot Through the Heart: Kraft Leaves Superstar Jon Bon Jovi on the Sidelines
Home Team Stumbles After Solo Album Promo Turned Gillette Into Sully Stadium
This Never Would Have Happened If Dr. Charles Steinberg Were Still Alive
You Guys Just Got Off On the Wrong Foot. Sincerely, Mrs. Rex Ryan
Best Laid Plans: Kraft Had 'Fitzy' Lined Up to Sing Before AFC Championship

Patriots Jettisoned

(Jim Davis / Boston Globe Staff)

Brady Looked Dazed and Confused in the Only Game That Mattered This Season
Tom Needed a Guy to Take the Top Off the Defense. Sincerely, Randy Moss
This Just In: The Alge Crumpler Attack Wasn't the Answer
Inside Track: 'Gisele Jinx' Rears Ugly Head Again

�Ultimately, we all know this wasn�t really a 14-2 team. It was nothing like the 14-2 teams of 2003 and 2004. The Patriots were suspect on the defensive side of the ball. Brady gave them a lot of big early leads and they looked great with big leads when the other team was taking chances. The 2010 Patriots were classic frontrunners. But when somebody came to town and hit them in the mouth, they didn�t know what to do." -- Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe

The Dead End

(BDD Photo Illustration / J. Nathan)

It Was the Longest 7:45 in the History of the World

Bill Did a Great Job Of Running Out the Clock in Fourth Quarter...
Only Problem Was, He Forgot His Team Was 10 Points Behind
While You Are Reading This, The Patriots Are Still Walking From the Huddle
Bad Timing: Save the Danny-Woodhead-Off-Left-Tackle Plays for the Buffalo Bills
The BenJarvus 3-Yards-and-a-Cloud-of-Dust Blitzkrieg Wasn't So Hot Either

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Super Bowl Trophies ...

(BDD Photo Illustration / Morphinian)

... When Wes Welker Has This Awesome Plaque to Hang

'Footgate' Update: Everybody's Weighing in on Welker

"From what I understand is he denied it initially, after talking to Bill [Belichick], came clean about it. There's no choice at that point. If you run a team a certain way, you have to be consistent." -- Steve DeOssie on WBZ-TV Ch. 4's Sports Final

Hello Grady Gaga

(BDD Photo Illustration)

Don't Look Now But Bill Belichick Has Turned Into Grady Little
Legendary Coach Now 5-5 in Last 10 Playoff Games

Where Egos Dare: Belichick Keeps Welker Out Until 5:44 Left in Q1
Harris Poll: Was Brady Ever the Same After the Without-Welker Interception?
If Patrick Chung Calls a Fake Punt, And You Blow the Game on the Play,
the Decision Still Lands at the Feet of the Head Coach. Sincerely, Rex Ryan

A Kick in the Glass

(BDD / James MacLeod Cartoons)

Dead Team Talking

(BDD / Mike Briggs Illustration)

Rexy and His Players Keep Running Their Mouths
Like They're Six Feet Under Already

It's Amateur Hour in New York: Cromartie: @*#% Brady!

"An ass----. ---- him." -- Father of the year Antonio Cromartie on Teflon Tom Brady

Yes, Brady Being Brady

(BDD Photo Illustration / Dr. Striper)

The NFL's Valedictorian Shows the Jets How
Professionals Act at the Podium Today

Sorry Rexy, But Brady's the Head of His Class...You Remain Just an Ass
This Just In: Peyton Manning Will Be Watching the Game on TV, Again

Sorry Raffy

(BDD Photo Illustration / Joe D.)

But You'll Forever Be Known as a Kingpin of The Steroid Era,
Not The Spinach Era

This Just In: Congressman Doesn't Think Palmeiro Lied in 2005
This Not Just In: Raffy Wasn't Strong to the Finish, 'Cause He Eats His Spinach
3,020 Hits, 569 Home Runs, 1,835 RBIs, 1 Finger Pointed, 1 Failed Drug Test
Baltimore Sun: Palmeiro Reflects on Career, Failed Test, Hall Chances
I Never Thought Bagwell Would Get In Either. Sincerely, Lou Gorman
Does Jose Canseco Have a Vote This Year?

"I don�t know what to expect. From what I can gather, from what I see [on TV)], my take on it is, yeah, it�s probably not going to happen. What can you do about it? There is not much I can do. ... It�s not a story I made up. It is exactly what happened to me. I took B12 I got from a teammate, I took it to my house and my wife gave me an injection and I threw the stuff away and that was the end of it. ... I think people hold that [finger point in Congress] against me more than anything and maybe that hurts me, but I was adamant about it and about telling the truth. I could have done what Mark McGwire did...." -- Rafael Palmeiro to Dan Connolly, Baltimore Sun