Let me explain it again. You either win or you don’t . How many times do I have to write it and say it? I couldn’t make it any clearer.
Yesterday in this blog I was merely pointing out how hard it was to get to the Super Bowl and listed all the teams who hadn’t been there in the last five years and I thought it would be fun to list how many years it had been since they were last there.
I also wrote, clearly I thought, that I was just talking about historic perspective.
Anyway do you think that if the Patriots beat Baltimore and then lost to San Francisco I would say anything like “at least they were there?”
Yea sure I would’ve. Just like I would’ve said that “at least the Red Sox beat the Yankees” if they had lost to St. Louis in 2004 or I would’ve said “at least they beat the Russians” if the US Olympic hockey team went on to lose the gold medal game against Finland in 1980.
Yea sure I would’ve.

I think I’ve made myself clear on that pretty much as far back as I can remember during my professional career.

Another thing I want to make clear. There is a difference between fact and opinion.
Here’s what I wrote yesterday that was fact:
1. The list of NFL teams and how long it had been since they were in the Super Bowl
2. The NFL teams that had never been to the Super Bowl and the NFL teams that had never won the Super Bowl.
3 Tom Brady’s passing yardage in the AFC title game last week.

Here’s what I wrote yesterday that was opinion:
1. Yes Belichik is a poor sport and a sore loser. [this is a tough one because even though this is an opinion shared by many, it’s still not a fact. We don’t know what is said behind the scenes and we can’t climb into a person’s head.]
2. So were Earl Weaver,Billy Martin,George Steinbrenner and Red Auerbach.
3. My comments about what the public thinks about coaches and athletes dissing the media and Bill Parcell’s treatment of the media.


Some other stuff.
Some is fact, some is opinion.
I was dissed by Rich Gedman as I tried to interview him in the Red Sox locker room in 1985. [fact]
I’m still miffed about it as people who have heard this story over and over again can probably gather. Not much of a public outcry about it though, but then again I’m not CBS trying to interview Bill Belichik.

Gil Santos called his last game as the radio voice of the Patriots.[fact]
Santos is the best in the business! [opinion]


Tom Brady is 7-7 in his last 14 playoff games, but is 8-7 in his last 15, 9-7 in his last 16,10-7 in his last 17, 11-7 in his last 18 etc. etc. His overall record is 17-7, the most wins in playoff history. Also the most passing yards in playoff history. He’s 3-2 in Super Bowls and 5-2 in AFC championship games. [Fact]

Peyton Manning is 9-11 in playoff games, 1-1 in the Super Bowl and has been eliminated in his first playoff game 8 times. [fact]

Eli Manning is 2-0 in the Super Bowl with both victories against Tom Brady and the Patriots. [fact]

Eli is better than Brady and Peyton. [opinion]

The public misconstrues and misinterprets things way more than the media does. This is an opinion, but it is my observation in over 40 years in the media business that makes it actually closer to being a fact than an opinion.
I see it almost every day.

Today’s blog is brilliant and should win the pulitzer prize. [fact]
Ok it’s an opinion!