Rick N. Backer

This you?

Which one needs it?

Look, I get it. I know how it feels to be compelled to make an argument that, if God were to ask me if I believed it, I would have to say I didn't. You use the tools available to you in that circumstance. Like suggesting that Deion Branch and Reche Caldwell are "great," receivers (how did Super Bowl MVP Branch do when he wasn't on the Patriots?). Troy Brown is beloved here, because he was a warrior, but the idea that he is a "great" receiver is not serious. And like a certain former U.S. president, I get the impulse to claim that someone you hate only won because they cheated, even when the accusations sound silly if you say them out loud. Tom Brady played on 10 Super Bowl teams. In 20 seasons. No one on the 2001 Patriots team was on the 2020 Buccaneers team. The coach wasn't the same. Between those 2 years, Brady played QB on 8 other teams that played in the Super Bowl. In the 3 games he lost, twice he left the field with minutes to play and a lead, and once he threw for 500 yards. At some point, you have to realize that he didn't get lucky, he didn't play on 10 teams that were just brimming with talent, he didn't just play in a great system, and his team didn't cheat over the course of 10 seasons. Yes. Both the really fast team AND the really slow team played in the mud. I wonder which one benefited from that little mishap the most? Sort like how the NFL told teams it knew they all videotaped coaches sending in signals from the sidelines in front of 70,000 people, or how Aaron Rodgers said everyone tinkers with the ball inflation to try and get an advantage. Out of curiosity, was that Colts game the only one where Brady made the difference with his passing. Because your argument otherwise seems to be that he does little contribute to his team's success passing the ball, except in that game I guess.

Sorry I missed this, my friend. Hope you've been well, and it was a good one.

Yes, the player's health does play a role in how he performs: https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/tom-brady-history-playing-through-injury-patriots-buccaneers/ Sorry for, in your view, deflecting. Brady would have at least 1 or 2 Super Bowl rings if he played on the 80s and 90s Dolphins. Can you name a Patriots receiver from the 2001-2006 teams that won 3 Super Bowls, other than Terry Glenn who didn't play in any of the Super Bowls? Cheatriots? Lol. https://vault.si.com/vault/1983/01/31/miami-was-one-tough-mudder

I'm happy to try and answer that. Initially, of course, it has to be acknowledged that no one can know that for sure. But what we do know is that Brady took over the Patriots' job in game 3 of 2001 when the team was 1-1. He left after 2019. In those years, the Patriots won fewer than 10 games once, 9-7 in 2002. One of those years, as you like to point out, his team lost for the first time in the Super Bowl, and when he left the field with a few minutes left, his team was up by 4. We also know that his first Super Bowl win was after the 2001 season with the Patriots, his last was after the 2020 season with the Bucs. In between those 2 there were 8 Super Bowl appearances, 5 of which his team won. You're a very smart guy, so I know you know that it can't be the players around him, or his coaches, who deserve all the credit for that. Who is the common denominator? We can also look at how the Patriots have fared since Brady left. 7-9, 10-7, 8-9. So, how would Brady have done with receivers like Clayton and Duper, or a head coach like Shula, who the league changed the rules for whenever he bitched about something that happened to him? Well, Randy Moss didn't come to New England until after Brady-led teams had won 3 Super Bowls, Gronkowski and Hernandez (a murderer, but for our purposes here a very effective receiver) didn't come to New England until after Brady had led 4 teams to the Super Bowl. In his 40s he led the Bucs to their first Super Bowl victory in 18 years. I'm pretty confident he would have found more success in Miami than the most overrated glove salesman in history did.

Of course it’s Dapper Dan. Look at how many different collections of players he willed to Suoer Bowl championships in Miami. You could say 1 is a fluke. Or maybe 4 were flukes. Or 6 were flukes. But 7? And look at how many years his teams advanced to the conference championship. 14 times? In 2 different cities? Only a person suffering from MDS would deny Dan deserves the credit for that kind of sustained success. I mean, he couldn’t throw the ball as far as Jeff George. But a QB is more than just a football passing machine you set up and feed balls into.

And you nailed the accent.

Glad you enjoyed it. I'm a huge fan of his. I could do without the guitar solo, but for different reasons (I don't really enjoy extended guitar or drum solos anymore). I've seen that band live at House of Blues in Boston, and they were great. I think the solo is used for the theatrical purpose of allowing Slash to end it with the Sweet Child O'Mine riff (he did it again last week when I saw GNR at Fenway Park). For my money, Myles Kennedy is one of the best rock vocalists working today. Alter Bridge isn't really my thing, but I think that's more a Tremonti thing, because I like Myles' solo work. I also agree that Slash's true gift is his songwriting.

What did you think?

The nicest gal on here? I think so. Hope it was a good one.

Just came back from the great state of Maine not too long ago.

Slash - Made in Stoke 24.7.11. This is frankly one of my favorite live albums of all time.

Thank you, Derek. Cheers.

The feeling's mutual my friend.

Thank you my friend.

F*ckin' Rask. And f*ck Claude for not calling a time out to gather the team.

The second one is about right. "Bawston."

Thanks Robert. Long Live the Hawks.

Let's all take a moment to celebrate the fact that it's been 50 years since LABT joined our ranks and has been providing us with keen insights with a healthy dollop of good humor. Oh. Wait. You know what? LABT's been here 23 years. It's been 50 years since the Miami Dolphins won the Super Bowl. . Hold on. I'm still off. LABT's been here 13 years. It's been 23 years since the Dolphins won a playoff game. Sorry for the confusion. You're a good man. Here's to another 10, or 37, or however many years it takes for the Dolphins to finally stop embarrassing themselves and their fan base.

Lately it's been all Apple Music Essentials all the time: Today: Nirvana, Soundgarden, Jane's Addiction.

I have to sort of agree. While I do like the hair band version of Whitesnake, I prefer the pre-Slide It In material. I wonder, if Coverdale kept singing like that, would his voice have held up longer?

If you could go back in time and talk to the drug-dealing, gangbanger you were 30 years ago, do you think he would believe what you've become? Scott Weiland.

I caught the GNR show at Fenway Park last night. Unfortunately, the heavens opened up about 3 or 4 songs in, and our seats were not covered. Fortunately, we stood in a stairwell, and were able to watch the show for about 30 minutes under cover. It stopped so we went back to our seats and then started to rain again at the end of Knockin' on Heaven's Door (the second to last song). Axl sounded better than he did last summer. This was my 5th time seeing them (1988, 1991, 2017, 2022, 2023). The last 3 times, outside of the band introductions, I doubt if Axl said 50 words during the whole show. Gone are the days of his rants about things like Warren Beatty. I could have done without the 3 newer songs. Last year it was cool that they played Absurd, because I think that was the first time, ever, they played that song. This time they could have just put 3 more UYI songs in the set (since they released the DEs last fall). Slash was phenomenal as always, and after the band left the stage, he was out there throwing picks and interacting with the crowd. He gets it. If you like them (I loved them in the 80s and early 90s) it's a good nostalgia show.

The answer to your question to Ozzy is because he benefits from it. She engages in sharp business practices that help him, and he gets to pretend he's just lovable, bumbling Ozzy who just sings.