>>The Patriots are looking awfully strong. Some people thought Buffalo had a shot at knocking them off on Sunday night. No such luck. Another rout for the Pats. They still have to win another 9 in a row to go unbeaten, so in a sense this is like talking about a no-hitter in the 5th inning. But it's going to take quite an effort to beat them. Barring injuries, of course, which are always the X factor in the NFL.
>
>They are amazing. I didn't think any team could come close to being what the Cowboys of the early 90's were.
>
>>
>>Even there, though, the Patriots are so deep in every part of the game they could probably keep right on ticking. In my mind there is only one guy whose absence would seriously hurt them: Tom Brady. Sure, he's padding his stats this year, but even when games are in doubt nobody can stop him from moving them up and down the field at will.
>
>Yup and they're doing it within the salary cap rule. I think good organizations find ways to stay on top longer. I think Jerry Jones has learned his lesson too about keeping player too long on the roster.
>
>>
>>It's funny to realize the two bad boy receivers, Randy Moss and Terrell Owens, would be leading MVP candidates if Brady wasn't playing in some other galaxy this season.
>
>Well, just feed them the ball and they're happy. TO is saying all the right things about playing again and he's being good in the locker room too.
>
>For Moss, it's amazing what a "descent" QB can do for a reciever.
>
>
>>
>>I still hope someone beats the Patriots simply because I can't stand Bill Belichick. Which is odd because I like most of their players. Oh, well. They are playing a difficult team game at such a fantastic level, in a way all you can do is salute them. I always admire someone who does something this well, no matter what they do. Show me the world's best basket weaver and I want to know how they do it.
>
>>
>>Sports Illustrated ran a great excerpt a while back from a new biography of Johnny Unitas, who was widely considered the NFL's best quarterback for a long time, or at least one-two with Joe Montana. Some think he still has that status, although personally I think we are living in a golden age of QBs -- Marino, Elway, Favre, Manning, Brady. Anyway, there was a passage about Johnny U making the Colts. Some football fans, even the old timers, don't remember that he was cut by his first team, the Steelers, so at that point a pro football career was still a pipe dream. When the roster was announced the equipment manager gave him an arbitrary uniform number, 19. It wasn't the number Unitas wanted -- he wanted his old college number -- but as an unproven rookie he kept his mouth shut and took it. He was the third Colt to wear #19, and the last.
>
>Interesting story. It kind of reminds me of Brett Favre and his short unwelcome stay with the Falcons and Jerry Glanville. Glanville never wanted him. Now look where Glanville is, and Brett Favre, well Brett Favre is still going strong and has a Super Bowl ring.
>
>>
>>So how was the trip to Korea? Enjoyable, I hope. I read the other day that it is the most wired country in the world, to the point that there are treatment programs for internet-addicted teenagers. The article included a kind of funny quote from one young guy whose parents had sent him off to be reprogrammed, so to speak. "17 hours a day isn't so bad, I can handle it," he said.
>
>I was only there for six days actually. Four days in Jeh-Ju-Dho island and two days in the Seoul and Inchon area. It was a anniversary gift from my inlaws (they paid for our tickets, but we paid for the kid's). Our adopted daughter has never been so we took her. Beside I had to use my vacation up or loose them.

What was the single most interesting thing that happened on your trip?

Re Randy Moss, I disagree with your suggestion that Tom Brady has made him this season. He was known as the best receiver in the league long before he signed with the Patriots. He spent some years in the wilderness -- i.e. the Vikings in decline and then the Raiders, who are in permanent decline -- and is back with a vengeance. Read some of the comments NFL cornerbacks have to say about him. As an NFL skill player he is out of sight. He can run faster, jump higher, and has hands like glue.

I do not mean this as an excuse for his antisocial instincts. He has some issues, some probably not his fault. He grew up a ghetto kid. But as a wide receiver he is a thing to behold.