Yesterday the Baseball Writers’ Association of America voted not to elect a single player to the baseball Hall of Fame for only the second time in four decades. You know that by now. What you probably don’t know is that I for one am thrilled.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely players that were on the ballot yesterday that I’d enshrine in Cooperstown if it were up to me. Craig Biggio is one. Curt Schilling as another (surprise surprise). And yes, I’m solidly in the Dale Murphy should be in the Hall camp. If anything, this year’s ballot was filled with players that in my opinion are right on the brink of being good enough to get in. That said, there’s no doubt that the ballot was also filled with a number of players whose statistics would make them automatic first ballot Hall of Famers – and none of them came even close to getting voted in. And with that, ladies and gentlemen, justice was served.

So hear me out. First off, I know that “justice is served” is a bit of an odd statement when the likes of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens haven’t technically been found guilty of steroid or PED use. This is America, innocent until proven guilty, right? While that’s true, I thought Curt Schilling made a fantastic point yesterday when he said, “I think, with a few exceptions, nobody knows [who used performance-enhancing drugs], so the whole lot of us are lumped in together. Nobody knows. We didn’t do anything about it. At the end of the day, we didn’t do anything about it. We knew about it. I think we all had an idea, a really strong suspicion, but we didn’t do anything about it. And we sat by, and we turned a blind eye, and I think this is one of the prices that we ended up paying.”

Everybody has their own opinions on who “used” and who didn’t, and in my opinion Schilling is one of the players who absolutely belongs in the Hall, didn’t use PEDs, and is not in the Hall because of the actions of his contemporaries who did use. But my point is not to convince you who used or who didn’t, who should be in or should be out. My point is that Schilling is right in his assertion that even the players who didn’t use are guilty to some extent by association – they didn’t step up, identify an issue within the game they love, and work to get it resolved. Now they are paying the consequences.

As for the growing camp of sports writers and fans whose general assertion is, “everybody did it, the best players of this generation deserve to be in the Hall,” well, I for one am disgusted by this point of view. Anyone who holds this perspective A) doesn’t love the game of baseball and B) is buying into some seriously flawed logic. Playing Major League Baseball is a privilege, not a right, and upholding the integrity of the game is part of that privilege. Because of the actions of a series of cheaters, an entire generation of baseball fans, my generation, does not have the heroes of the game that past generations had. There’s widespread disenchantment, and certainly a whole lot of bitterness. Yet you want to put these guys in the Hall of Fame and celebrate them, simply because “everyone was doing it?” Are you kidding me?

Let’s draw a parallel. I’m pretty sure the guys over at Enron broke the rules en route to running a fantastically successful business. Should we celebrate them as amazing business leaders? Not to mention enshrining them in a Hall where “character” is one of the defining criteria on which admission is granted. The guys over at Enron cheated, and their business would not have been as successful if they hadn’t. Even worse, they were far from the only business people making gains by sketchy means. So why should we celebrate any steroid user if we’re not going to celebrate the brilliance that went on over there at Enron?

The sad part is we all know that a Barry Bonds or a Roger Clemens type player never needed PEDs to get into the Hall. Any steroid user was greedy, selfish, and spat in the face of the game. And it’s worth mentioning that they all made millions of dollars more as a result of taking steroids. For all of their bitching and moaning about being locked out of the Hall, how many of those guys would give up their millions for a spot in Cooperstown? Don’t kid yourself – not a single one. These guys are babies that want it all and deserve nothing.

It’s deeply, deeply unfortunate that this will undoubtedly affect many players who did play the game the right way throughout their careers. It’s ridiculous that basically any barrel chested or stocky player, in particular, will have a much harder time ever getting elected. There’s two guys in particular who I’ll have my eyes on in upcoming years – Ken Griffey Jr and Greg Maddux (who I was happy to see Curt Schilling identified yesterday as the best pitcher in baseball history). I consider these guys to be the best pitcher and the best position player of my generation, yet both never went through any sort of body transformation nor were linked to steroids in any way. If these guys have trouble getting into the Hall on their first ballot, we’ll really know the extent to which PED users screwed over their peers who played the game the right way.

So while so many criticize the Baseball Writers’ of America, I for one applaud them for standing up for game.

The trajectory of Eli Manning’s professional football career has been like none other – let’s begin with a little review in an effort to dispel any pre-conceived notions. For the first 4 years of Eli’s career he was generally regarded by everybody outside of New York as a joke. Many Giants fans even shared this sentiment, although you’ll have a hard time finding one who would admit that now. All in all, this was a fair characterization – Eli never had a passer rating above 80, and never had a completion percentage higher than 60%.

Then everything changed on that crazy day in February 2008.

Eli summoned his inner Little Giants and hoisted his toilet paper roll into the night sky. David Tyree scratched his head at just the right moment, and Rodney Harrison seemed to have lead in his shoes.

From that day forward, the average Giant fan felt validated. They would tell you that they put up with Eli’s first four seasons fully understanding that a Super Bowl would come their way. Many others would continue to see Eli’s performance as flukey and would continue to question his legitimacy despite his Super Bowl title – but then he went on and won again.

When Eli won his 2nd Super Bowl last February, everything changed again. His validation this time didn’t come solely from Giants fans. ESPN analysts lined up to throw Eli in a lineup of the game’s best quarterbacks. He had reached that upper echelon.

What really made this an interesting assertion is that Eli’s numbers never really popped. He’s thrown for more than 30 touchdowns in a season only once, and he’s thrown for 4500+ yards only once as well. But with Eli, it was never all about numbers. The analysts would tell you that he was a winner – it made sense, given his two Super Bowl titles. Further validation came in the form of statistics – the only commonly tracked stat that Eli has ever led the NFL in (aside from interceptions) is 4th quarter comebacks. It might be ugly, but the man was getting it done.

Then this season happened – the defending Super Bowl Champions failed to make the playoffs, losing the division to a rookie quarterback and getting bested by Tony Romo in the process. Eli collapsed down the stretch in pretty terrific fashion. My point is not to say that you need to win it all every year – nobody does that. My point is that Eli had it all this year – one of the most feared defenses in the NFL and a stable of offensive options that any QB would kill for. For a “top-tier” quarterback to not make the playoffs given this setup is a big deal – it should at least raise some eyebrows. But when you couple it with what I’ve been selling all along – the reality that Eli has a serious turnover problem – I think that Eli’s legitimacy should be seriously in question.

Now that you, Giants fan, are sufficiently pissed off (how dare I!), let me make a couple of clarifying points. I am not questioning the legitimacy of the Giants – I think they are a good team. And yes, I have seen Eli play very well. I have seen him come back and win in very impressive fashion. At his best, he’s dangerous, no doubt. But 4th quarter comebacks don’t impress me when you need to come back in the first place because you’ve given the ball to the other team twice already. Eli’s highs and lows have been very high and very low, but I’d argue that in order to be included in the lineup of the game’s best QBs you need to play at a high level with consistency. Tom Brady has done it. Peyton Manning has done it. More recently, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees have done it. Eli Manning has not.

Eli’s 2012 campaign brought 9 wins and 7 losses, 3,948 yards, 26 touchdowns and 19 turnovers. Not bad, but certainly not top-tier (especially given the weapons he has). Trust me, I know the counter argument – two Super Bowls. I’d never argue against Super Bowls, as Super Bowls trump all. But let’s not allow the Super Bowls to skew the reality that Eli Manning is most certainly not a top quarterback consistently.

I’ve long compared Eli to Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan, and have been ridiculed for doing so. Both players have less experience than Eli. Both players also throw more touchdowns and fewer interceptions than Eli. They complete a higher percentage of passes, and have a higher career passer rating. But most importantly, they win more – and it’s not close. Eli’s career winning percentage is 57%, Ryan’s is 71%, and Flacco’s is 67%. I’m keenly aware of what Flacco and Ryan have done in the playoffs – nothing – but I’m also a realist in the sense that I see the numbers telling me that Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan consistently play the quarterback position at a higher level than Eli does.

So ask yourselves, Giants fans – is Eli that good? What’s to say that with the team the Giants have built, those two Super Bowl titles shouldn’t be 3? or 4? Eli Manning’s inconsistency has undoubtedly hurt your franchise in the sense that he hasn’t been able to give the Giants an opportunity to win year in and year out – I think it’s only logical to think that if Matt Ryan or Joe Flacco was playing quarterback for the Giants they would have been even more successful, which is also a testament to how good the Giants are as a team. A true top-tier quarterback may very well have won more titles for you – and the Giants might then be mentioned in the same breath as the Patriots when discussing the best team of the past decade.

After watching the Atlanta Falcons dismantle the Giants, 34-0, I splashed some cold water on my face and gave myself a hard look in the mirror. “This can only mean that something bad will happen to the Patriots tonight,” I thought. “The football God’s would never shine on me this bright.”

As expected, the Patriots were then handed their fourth loss of the season. What a day in my NFL life – as I explained to a friend, I’ve recently come to realize that I don’t have anything resembling a second favorite NFL team. I like watching the Patriots, my favorite team, and the Giants, my least favorite team, infinitely more than any of the other games on TV. And as the dust settled after what was a crazy game for the Pats, realizations about the impact of both games began to creep in – the Giants are now only “in the hunt” for the playoffs, and the Patriots’ road to the Super Bowl will be played away from Foxboro.

While this certainly hurts the Patriots more than it helps it them, I definitely see a significant silver lining in the outcome of yesterday’s game. Everything that possibly could go wrong did for the Pats, who found themselves down 31-3 before they knew it. I was ready to pack it in at that point, but as my roommate pointed out, the Pats had a good test in front of them. They’ve shown the NFL that they can blowout the best teams when they are firing on all cylinders. But they haven’t had to show that they can fight back when they’re pinned with their backs on the mat.

The Patriots showed yesterday that they have that fight, which undoubtedly will be needed come playoff time. 28 unanswered points got them right back in the mix and answered that question pretty quickly. But in ultimately losing the game the Patriots also received a gut check. Sure, they can crush the #1 team in the NFL, but they can also surely be beaten.

Many, including myself, believe that the Patriots ultimately hurt themselves in not losing a game the year they went 16-0. They needed that gut check to understand that they needed to bring their absolute best, week in and week out. I think they got the memo yesterday, and they saw first hand what Tom Brady is capable of if needed.

Sure, there will likely be no bye week for the Patriots, and they’ll have to deal with the beds at the Ramada. But for a team that’s playing so well, keeping their momentum rolling (despite the loss) isn’t such a bad thing. And knowing that you only lost to the best defense in the league by a single score when all hell broke loose has to give you some additional degree of confidence.

Last but not least, let’s give Colin Kaepernick his due – the guy was absolutely as electric as advertised, very much living up to the hype. Let’s just hope we get another crack at the Niners come February.

The above video is a commercial for Flex Appeal, a sports nutrition and supplement provider in Medford, MA. It was too good not to share. For full effect, play with your volume turnnnned UPPPPP!

After something of a shaky start (only by their own high standards), the Patriots have managed to scrape together a 9-3 record en route to yet another AFC East title. Many of the trends we’ve gotten used to over the past few seasons have come to fruition once again – Tom Brady is in the midst of another MVP caliber season, the Patriots offense has been far and away the best in the NFL, and the Patriots pass defense has been pretty damned terrible. After a series of promising seasons ending without the Pats hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, how are we to know if this year’s Patriots team has what it takes to win it all?

In short, I think that we don’t know yet – but the next two weeks will be telling.

Tonight the Patriots play the NFL’s top team, the Houston Texans, on Monday Night Football. This game will not only have playoff implications, but will undoubtedly be played by both sides as if it were a playoff game. To the winner goes a major sense of validation, and certainly a jolt of confidence. After several weeks of blow out wins over weaker teams, the Patriots need a true test.

Whether the Pats win tonight or not (I think they will), they’ll get another test next week when they face the San Francisco 49ers. Even in the playoffs the Pats are unlikely to face a two-week test as harsh as the Texans followed by 49ers. Both are defense first teams that very much play the type of football blueprinted by the Giants as the recipe for taking down the Pats.

With the Ravens losing this week, the path to a first round by is open for the Patriots taking. We need Rob Gronkowski back, sure, but that seems likely in time for the playoffs. The next two weeks will tell us what the Patriots are made of – and it all starts tonight on Monday Night Football.

Since Bobby Valentine was ran out of town and the Boston Red Sox officially began rebuilding, the Red Sox have made a series of what I’d consider bizarre moves involving player personnel. Most maddening to me is letting reliever Scott Atchison get away. This is a guy who pitched 50+ innings of relief for the Sox last year, compiling a tidy little ERA of 1.58. But the two new players the Sox have brought in thus far, Jonny Gomes and Mike Napoli, leave me equally bewildered. While both will supposedly factor into the Red Sox plans in a major way, both come with a series of issues that I’d say raise at least noteworthy red flags.

Let’s start with Gomes, the lesser of the two signings both in talent and in contract. A two-year $10 million contract isn’t going to scare me away from any player with potential, so I’m not overly concerned there. Better yet, I get the Gomes signing – the guy clearly is dying to play for the Red Sox. He knows many of the Red Sox core players, and refers to Boston as “the Mecca of baseball.” I think Gomes is a great signing chemistry wise, and it’s clear that that’s a priority. But at the end of the day this guy can’t hit off of righties and generally seems to lack talent. His career high is 21 home runs, and he’s topped 60 RBIs just once while hitting .244 for his career. Sounds pretty mediocre to me.

Then there’s Napoli. I’ve always liked Mike Napoli, but 3 years and $39 million is a lot – heck, you can get Mark Sanchez for that kind of money. While Napoli likes hitting in Fenway and has some pop in his bat, he did throw down a .227 average last season (en route to being named an all-star?). His numbers at the plate are also eerily similar to Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s, who is a far cheaper option. Which brings me to my next point – the Red Sox clearly plan on playing Napoli at first base, despite his recent comments that he views himself as a catcher. This guy is certainly cheaper than Adrian Gonzalez, but he’s a massive downgrade at first base both offensively and defensively. While he’ll be a great fit in the clubhouse, as evidenced by Dustin Pedroia and Jon Lester rallying to sign him, again my concern is he’ll be a good fit in a line-up lacking the fire power to truly compete with the elite teams in the league. And all of this of course assumes that his health issues aren’t a concern.

Alas, I won’t allow myself to get too worried yet. Ben Cherington has clearly been addressing the team’s chemistry issues, and there’s a lot of players still left to be signed. And better yet, I think one thing is clear – the 2013 Red Sox will play with a chip on their shoulder like few teams in baseball history ever have. That’s a significant X-factor that no coach, GM, or statistician can put a value on. Now let’s get some starting pitching!

The video cannot be shown at the moment. Please try again later.

Rajon Rondo, keep your hands off my man. I mean… let me start again.

There are so many players, Yankees players specifically, that Boston fans hate and attempt to remind Yankees fans that they’d hate too if they weren’t donning pinstripes. In all fairness, Boston teams have had plenty of these players over the years as well. While Manny Ramirez and Kevin Garnett immediately come to mind, perhaps the worst offender in my opinion is Rajon Rondo.

I’ve said it countless times, and I’ll say it again; I maintain that Rajon Rondo is one of the very best players in the game, but he’s also a complete punk. If he wasn’t a Celtic, I’d undoubtedly hate this guy. First off, when you’re 6’1 and 186 pounds you might want to find a new workout program option before you tangle with the 6’9 235 pound Kris Humphries. While that may not really be true (Humphries likely had a pedicure shortly before the game while catching up on The View), the spat that Rondo created against the Nets was not only completely uncalled for, but it will hurt his team now that he’s being suspended for 2 games. And I mean, come on man – Kris Humphries? How can you not love a guy who told Kim Kardashian she’d be irrelevant in a few years while dating her?

Don’t get me wrong – I love the little guy sticking up for his teammate despite the size of the opponent in question. But Humphries’ push of Kevin Garnett was incredibly subtle – literally dozens of such pushes take place in every single game. KG oversold it a bit by going down, but I guarantee you he would have simply popped up if Rondo hadn’t created an unnecessary melee. He’s lucky Humphries didn’t clock him one.

So while every in Boston says, “Hey did you see the Rondo fight?” “Yea it was wicked awesome!” just remember – Rondo’s basketball skills are breathtaking, but his attitude continues to be a work not in progress.

With a barrage of reports that Rory McIlroy will soon sign a 10-year, $200 million equipment and apparel deal with Nike – coupled with McIlroy’s own admission that he’s been tinkering with new clubs – the transition for McIlroy from Titleist to Nike now seems imminent. “I’m a Titleist player until the end of the year, and I’ve made no commitment to any company for next year,” said McIlroy. “I have a process that we are working through and you’ll probably hear more about it in the next few weeks.”

While the reported move has already drawn criticism from the likes of Nick Faldo, I for one have no issue with the move. It’s easy to share Faldo’s opinion when you don’t have a $200 million contract in front of you, but I’d imagine it’s damn near impossible to turn down that kind of guaranteed money. Faldo’s opinion is based largely on the notion that any change in equipment will initially lead to you having less trust in your clubs, which can in turn shake your confidence when  you’re not sure if it’s the Indian or the arrow leading to errant shots. While I see Faldo’s point, I think Rory has picked the perfect time of year to experiment with new clubs. Couple that with the fact that all of the major equipment manufacturers make awesome stuff, and I think Rory has nothing to worry about. On top of this, Nike is reportedly bringing in one of Cleveland/Srixon’s former top designers exclusively to match Rory with the equipment that works best for him, much like they did when they lured Tom Stites away from Titleist and made him Nike Golf’s Chief of Design (essentially to work with Tiger Woods). Rory will also continue to play equipment with same shafts that he has been using, a key to consistent shot-making.

All of this aside, I stand by the notion that if you’re that good at golf, you can play with a wooden spoon. Give Rory a set of ladies clubs and he’ll shoot a 65 on your home course with ease.

With the switch now seemingly imminent, one interesting by-product of the move is that Tiger Woods is no longer Nike’s highest paid golfer. Will the man who essentially built Nike’s golf division on his back now play second fiddle? Far from it. While Rory is the world’s current #1 player and their highest paid golfer, Rory is no match for what Tiger does for the Nike brand. No athlete in history has ever touched Tiger’s marketability – his ability to reach what has long been a historically Caucasian market, coupled with the Asian market and the African-American market is unmatched. He’s brought more people to the game who otherwise may never have found it than any player ever will. Rory’s a white kid from Ireland, and no matter how good he becomes, he’ll never be as valuable to Nike as Tiger.

That said, you have to credit Nike for  a brilliant business move. Nike knows Tiger as well as anybody, and they clearly believe that he has plenty of golf left in him. By bringing Rory onboard they’ve further fueled the growing Woods-McIlroy rivalry. As the golf world drools over Woods-McIlroy showdowns that you know will happen for years to come, both men will be donning the Nike Swoosh. The best golf ever played may very well be in front of us, and Nike is positioning itself as the gold standard of the game.

In signing Rory, Nike is also stepping pretty solidly on Titleist’s neck. Long considered arguably the best equipment company in the game, Nike has used it’s seemingly endless resources to squash the competition. While I’m something of a golf traditionalist and yearn for the days of the best players hitting MacGregors and Wilson Staffs, I’m aware that that will never happen again. I’ll never root for any corporate takeover, but you have to admit Nike is pulling all the right strings in their golf division.

Tiger will always be the man at Nike, but the new kid will certainly position them as golf’s premier equipment company well into the future.

One of the beauties of Thanksgiving football is that you know you’ve got an entire nation of turked-up fans and semi-fans at least gazing in the general vicinity of the TV. For the Patriots, this proved to be very fortunate – it was an opportunity to instill a bit more fear in their opponents and their fans across the league. For the Jets, well, they probably feel like the guy who got pantsed immediately after taking the Thanksgiving Day Plunge.

Obviously this game got out of control in a big way, fast. After a scoreless first quarter, the Patriots reeled off 35 points in the second quarter en route to a 49-19 victory. Rex Ryan, who referred to Tom Brady as a “machine” early this week, seemed more obsessed than ever with stopping the man who has single-handedly ruined his professional life as of late. In 65 plays from scrimmage the Jets would match up with 5 or more defensive backs an amazing 56 times. But get this – the Patriots lined up 3 or more wide receivers on less than a quarter of those snaps. Despite almost every receiver being double teamed, Tom Brady averaged 11.5 yards per attempt and passed for 3 touchdowns (while running one in himself). For the Brady haters out there, chew on that for a bit.

But beyond all the crazy statistics that came out of this game, it also served as a perfect opportunity to stop and reflect on the men that lead both teams. “I’ll put it to you this way,” said Rex Ryan. “We’re about as wounded as you possibly can be, but we’re not dead.” Belichick, on the other hand, won the 200th game of his career. Perhaps more impressively, his Patriots improved to 19-0 in the second half of the season since 2010 (an NFL record). Given that Belichick has had very young teams, nothing could speak more to the coach’s ability to take in a young group in the preseason and turn them into contenders through a system of  week to week improvement.

While I’m sure Belichick washed down this win with a celebratory glass of eggnog, this was undoubtedly one of the toughest losses of Rex Ryan’s career. Despite being a Patriots fan, I’ve long voiced mostly positive opinions of Rex. Sure, he’s a clown and he talks way too much, but I’ve always gotten his schtick. I maintain that if I was a player, I’d be happy to play for Rex. But after years of guarantees gone wrong, of soundbites about being happy Gronk is out against the Jets, of locker room chemistry issues and most importantly, of shotty on-field coaching, Rex now has nowhere to hide. No one feels bad for him, and he has only himself to blame. If he doesn’t turn things around real quick, I suspect it’s just a matter of time before he’s shown the door.

Oh yea, and remember Julian Edelman? That hockey player trapped in the midst of one of the best football teams in the NFL? Yes, he’s still seeing sideways.

Let’s face it – all I really need to say is “insert caption here.” While yesterday’s 59-24 onslaught on the Colts was a hell of a lot of fun to watch, nothing was better than watching Tom Brady bob over to Andrew Luck in his silly hat for the post game handshake. In many ways this was Luck’s true welcoming to the NFL – “you’ve got a long way to go, Junior,” I imagine Tom saying. “Call Peyton for some pointers.”

While Colts vs Patriots games have been my favorite to watch over the last decade, easily, one thing is now clear – the Patriots and the Colts never had a rivalry – Tom Brady and Peyton Manning did. I can guarantee you that both want a shot at each other in the playoffs, and if the damn Ravens would just cooperate, my Brady-Manning fix just might be met. As for Andrew Luck, well, the hype and rushing TDs have been fun to watch… but keep on practicing.

Yesterday’s game solidified the Patriots ranking as the pre-eminent offense in the National Football League – in fact, it’s disgustingly not even close. And with Aqib Talib returning an interception for a touchdown in his first game as a Patriot, there is at least room for some degree of optimism on the defensive side of the ball.

Two things about the Patriots genuinely scare me – first how bad the Patriots secondary has been, and how easily that could end their season prematurely. Secondly, just how good the offense has been, considering it hasn’t even touched upon its total potential as of yet. Gronk has been battling injuries all season, and managed to break his arm with no one noticing yesterday (click here for more information). Aaron Hernandez has been out. Many of the O-line’s best players have been battered, but I won’t lean on that crutch – after all, they’re offensive linemen. Perhaps the most intriguing takeaway from yesterday’s game was the emergence of Julian Edelmen. He did it all yesterday – from amazing returns, to a 47-yard run, to receiving touchdowns. That little bastard is fast, let me tell you. Unfortunately, that’s likely just another sign that Wes Welker will be playing elsewhere next season.

With Gronk and Hernandez now out, it’s a shame that Jake Ballard is also out for the season. Apparently the Patriots don’t have enough depth at tight end. But as I said last week, the question remains to defense’s ability to not be tragically bad against the pass. Keep at ‘em Bill.