ON THE ROAD TO PALOOKAVILLE- The New England Patriots hit the road again this weekend, Jack, and they may come back to Foxboro no more like an undefeated team.
Week after week they have defied the odds and the oddsmakers. Some of their luck is owed to NFL scheduling-and some of it to old-fashioned Tom Brady heroics. The Red Sox aren't the only ones with an impossible dream.
Yet, we know the Patriots cannot keep taking the hits. The wall is a hard spot to hit.
If X marks the spot, then Cincinnati could offer their usual bungles to help keep the Patriot Place/Potemkin Village of victories alive for another week.
Vince Wilfork has rumbled off to the Old Elephant Burial Grounds, maybe gone for a year, maybe gone forever.
This leaves only one member of the herd who recalls the glory days of Super Bowl winning. Tom Brady may be all you need.
Nowadays the Patriots look like Marlene Dietrich on her farewell tour: it's a trick done with smoke and mirrors. Tom Brady may be the New Dietrich. And, he's not just a gigolo, nor is he like a virgin when it comes to winning the big one.
Frank Sinatra managed to do a farewell tour with his Rat Pack that gave echoes of his heyday. Tom Brady and his rat pack may be singing the same tune in one note.
If you meet a team coming through the rye, the Patriots likely will take any road to reach Zanzibar. If the Patriots have met their opponents at groundhog level, the opponents have found their hopes falling into a sinkhole.
Tom Brady sings that refrain every week, if you walk through a storm, hold your head up high-and don't be afraid of the dark. Walk on, walk on, and you'll never walk alone. The fans will be with you.
