Back of Gronk

We will never know the extent of the injury to Rob Gronkowski's back. He injured it during yesterday's win over the Jets.

It remains to been seen if he will miss any time. Gronk is one of the toughest players on the field, but it's hard to see him playing for another ten years.

At 27, his body is showing a great degree of wear and tear. Will he be around in five years?

Tom Could Get The Record

You always hear that some records will never be broken. Baseball has the 56 game hitting streak by Joe DiMaggio from 1941.

With the Pats win today over the Jets, Tom Brady moves into a tie with Peyton Manning with 200 career wins, including playoffs.

With another victory, Tom will own a record that might never be broken. There is nobody close to him. Drew Brees and Eli Manning will never play enough games in their careers to have a chance.

Longevity has certainly helped him. Now in his 17th season, he didn't see much action in 2000 as a rookie. He also missed 15 games in 2008 because of a knee injury.

Winning 77.3% of his starts never hurt his progress towards the record.

The Optimistic Announcer

At this time of year, some college football games get out of hand with their scores. There are many mismatches out there.

It's a challenge for the announcers to keep the interest of the viewers. They can get carried away with their comments which often don't make any sense.

Last night, I watched the Texas Tech and Baylor game with 5:41 left in the third quarter and Tech leading 51-28.

One announcer sounded very optimistic by saying it was just a three score game. He felt that Baylor could get back into it with three good offensive drives.

Baylor lost 54-35. At least they got another field goal.

Too Many Super Bowls

There is no fair way to crown a state high school football champion. Most states use a divisional system where schools are ranked by enrollment size.

In Massachusetts, the MIAA has established a playoff system that seems to have too many teams involved and results in eight "Super Bowl" games.

It was always special for the teams to play for their championship in Gillette Stadium. Unfortunately, the amount of games grew so big that two must be played at another site.

It's a crazy system that has Divisions 1, 1A, 2, 2A, 3, 3A, 4 and 4A. At some point, there are too many champions. In this day and age, everyone needs to be a winner.

Five To Go

The college football bowl game season is getting closer. We will face the absurdity of 80 teams playing in 40 different games. Some of them will be classic. Others will make us realize that they only exist because of the money involved. Too many teams with six losses end up qualifying.

Boston College at 5-6 could still get a bid even if they lose to Wake Forest on Saturday. The NCAA knows that it can be a challenge to fill the schedule. They allow for a team like BC to play if their Academic Progress Score (APR) is exceptionally high.

The excellent graduation rate of BC players could get them a game in spite of  a losing record.

Jets Crashing Again

New York Jets fans are wondering why Ryan Fitzpatrick is starting Sunday against the Pats. They were hoping to see more of Bryce Petty, but Fitz will be back under center, in spite of leading the NFL in interceptions and having the lowest quarterback rating.

At 3-7, the season of the Jets is on the brink of imploding into a total disaster. It looks like the team needs a strong finish for Coach Todd Bowles and GM Mike Maccagnan to keep their jobs.

Fans realize that Fitzpatrick is not in the team's future plans and want to see either Petty or rookie Christian Hackenberg. Coach Bowles is fighting to keep his job. The team just needs to win.

No Luck For Andrew

Colts QB Andrew Luck is a great example of a player being put into the concussion protocol. He took far too many hits to his head on Sunday. It's hard to determine which play was the one.

It's good to see the league respond with this program. Too many players suffered concussions in the past where nothing was done. They pay the price when they get older.

The Highest Kickoff

Tonight's MNF game between the Raiders and Texans in Mexico City is all about growing the Hispanic fan base. The 22 million NFL fans in the Mexico City area make up the league's 7th largest fan base. The 76,000 tickets for the game were sold out within one hour.

The league makes its first appearance there since 2005, in spite of the concerns about street crime, smog and playing at the high altitude of 7,500 feet.

If things go well, more games will be considered. One of the biggest issues is that one team will lose a home contest.

The Pats have traveled to England to play, but only as the visiting team.

Left Behind

DE Jabaal Sheard must wonder what his future is with the Pats after they left him behind when they traveled to play the 49er's.

He will be a free agent at the end of the season. It doesn't bode well for him, especially because he was healthy. The word is that the coaching staff is not happy with his performance.

Fans will never know the real reason. Coach Belichick will mumble his way through any questions and say that the decision was made in the best interest of the team.

Three or Nine

I don't gamble, but if I did, it might be a good bet to take 2-8 UMass over 6-3 BYU today. The Minutemen face an uphill battle for a win before they depart for their trip to Hawaii.

Depending on the source, BYU is favored by 28-32 points. UMass has been competitive in most of their loses. They have beaten the spread against some strong opponents.

It seems like everyone has written off UMass today and expects them to be 2-9 before the day ends. 

Law On List

Former Pats CB Ty Law is one of the 25 semi-finalists for the Hall of Fame. He is making progress from just being on the ballot.

Every player on the list is worthy of induction. It's good to see more defensive players and offensive linemen make the cut.

I don't understand why DE Jason Taylor is the only defensive lineman. It's a joke if the only two linebackers don't make it. How could you not include Clay Matthews and Karl Mecklenburg?

Morton Anderson deserves to be the second kicker. The list of the offensive players is loaded with running backs and receivers. It's hard to believe Kurt Warner is the only quarterback.

The voting process is difficult and has its flaws. It's an amazing accomplishment for these players to get this far. Unfortunately, some will never make the final step.

Ban The Fans

If the NFL can make a dollar off some idea, they will try it. Fans can begin voting today to select players for the Pro Bowl. Their input carries weight, along with the players and coaches.

I think it's a bad idea to allow fans to vote. They tend to go with players from their favorites teams or names they know.

The league now has a poll on their website to solicit fan input for Hall of Fame selections. This idea is even worse. The selection process has its flaws. Thankfully, this is just a poll of the fans and carries no weight in the final decisions.