More Probable Than Not

I went to see Northeastern play its last home game today.  I love our coach, Bill Coen. His team plays hard and intelligently each game.

Earlier this year we had won eight games in a row. I witnessed a whipping of Delaware in January which made me think we might win a game or two in the big dance. But then we were hobbled by a series of injuries.  Today we had only seven players participate.  On the bench were two starters who were hurt. One attempted to play and lasted a minute. The other was in street clothes.  Seven players.  We played hard but could not keep up with the College of Charleston.

Still, I think if the hurt players come back we could go far in the CAA tournament. I don't see us winning it all which means our season will end during that tournament. Even if this occurs and we have no post season it has been fun to watch us play this year.  TJ Williams who had, previously, been just a complementary player, has emerged as something special.  I would not be surprised if some pro team gives him an opportunity to compete for a job.

After the game I took a walk downtown.  One of the perks of working at a university right smack in the middle of a city, is that after you work or go to a game, you can amble to various parts of a vibrant downtown.

So, today I walked to Copley Place to a sports bar that has the largest screen I have ever seen at any such establishment.  There I saw what--to date--is my favorite tee shirt. In the past my favorite tee shirt--as those who read Madness of March may remember was worn by a real sourpuss of a guy I saw in the early hours of a Sunday morning.  He was parked with a nasty mug at a bar as if he had sat there for six hours and hated the world (or more likely had lost a bundle at the tables).  I spotted this miserable looking guy and noticed his tee shirt.  It read, "My anger management class pisses me off." Perfect.  Later that day I saw what had been my second favorite tee shirt.  I was leaving the Flamingo and walking to an adjacent hotel.  I saw a couple walking from the rail system that links the various casinos. They were beaming. Her tee shirt, a take-off on the Nike slogan, read: "Just Did It."

But that is in the past. The one I saw today is the topper. No sexual innuendo with this one. Nothing about anger management.  Just a plain tee shirt with five rings on it.  The shirt reads, "More Probable Than Not."

Fans of the New England Patriots know what those words refer to.  Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the NFL who does not have the integrity in his entire body that his father, Charlie Goodell, had under a fingernail. Roger Goodell who never would have gotten his 40 million dollar job if it had not been for the courage of his dad who, a Republican during the Nixon years, stood up to Tricky Dick.  Roger Goodell was the architect of the mind bogglingly farcical Deflategate matter which resulted in the decision--sans any real evidence--that it was "more probable than not" that Brady attempted to deflate footballs during a playoff game in 2014.

Only lawyers have read the documents more thoroughly than I have. It is pure speculation that Brady was culpable.  Because Goodell deemed that it was "more probable than not" that Brady was guilty, the Patriots lost a number one draft choice, a million dollars, and Tom Brady had to sit out the first four games of this season.

What are the odds, Herr Goodell, that the  Patriots without its star for 25% of the season, and without a first round draft choice, would win its fifth championship in the past 16 years.

More Probable Than Not.