It’s official… I hate everybody at school. Well, not everybody. I’m not that miserable. Just certain people.

For example, I will never understand why one thinks it’s funny/cool/totally awesome to brag about not buying the course textbook when it’s already three weeks into the semester. Never fail, in ten years of college, there is always at least one jamoke in my class who brags about either a) not having bought the book deep into the semester or b) having bought the book but not even taken the plastic wrap off it yet – thus declaring to all that he (‘cuz it’s always a he) does not study.

I’ve been out of high school too long to remember if this actually attracted girls then but I can’t see how it is even remotely funny in college. In fact, I’ll even say it is sad. It’s sad that someone would waste his time going to a class he clearly (pretends?) doesn’t give a rat’s ass about. It’s sad that this sack of shit is taking up a spot in class when someone who genuinely wanted OR NEEDED to be there couldn’t get in. It’s sad that mommy and daddy, OR WORSE, the taxpayer (if he gets financial aid) is paying for tuition when said jamoke thinks it’s all one big fucking joke. And if tuition is coming out of his own pocket, then that’s really fucking sad.

Sometimes, it’s no surprise to me that our country is turning into a shithole. The amount of shitheads here is staggering.

I’m a little teary-eyed at the moment upon learning Troy Brown has retired. There’s been so many moments, so many big game… knowing that Troy Brown won’t be there anymore is weird.

I have said this many times before, but screw it, I’ll say it again. Troy has been a Patriot as long as I’ve been a fan. Back in the day, when Terry Glenn would get hurt, Troy would step in. When Shawn Jefferson left, Troy stepped up. When Drew Bledsoe went down, Troy was there to help rear Tom Brady. Half of the secondary goes down, who steps in? Troy. Need another quarterback? Troy’s there. He’s done EVERYTHING for the Patriots.

People talk about Bill Belichick showing loyalty to no one but even carrying Troy on the roster last season, for no reason, shows his feelings toward the eternal Patriot. And Troy has shown that loyalty in return, taking a hometown discount instead of playing for New Orleans, and again this off season, as we now know, he turned down an opportunity to play for the Jets because it “didn’t feel right.” Other players like Willie McGinest and Drew Bledsoe will always be Patriots despite ending their careers with other teams. But Troy will ALWAYS be a Patriot. Truly.

And last year’s miffed punt aside, one of Troy’s last moments as a Patriots was another of a long list of exciting plays… you know what I’m talking about… stripping Marlon McCree of his interception in the 2006 playoffs. The thing that always stands out in my mind about Troy is that he lacked that God-given talent like a T.O. or Randy but through work and perseverance, he made the big plays.

Oh man, I’m going to miss him like crazy. I hope he stays active within the organization like Andre Tippett or the Steves (Nelson and Grogan). I’m sure he will.

OMG! OMG! THE RED SOX WON THE WORLD SERIES LAST NIGHT WHILE I SLEPT?!

Oh, they only clinched a playoff spot? Really? Are you sure? Seems like a slightly excessive celebration for that, huh?
***
During MNF…

Jest
Pronunciation: \ˈjest\
Function: noun
1: an utterance (as a jeer or quip) intended to be taken as mockery or humor
2 a: prank b: a ludicrous circumstance or incident
3 a: a frivolous mood or manner b: gaiety and merriment
4: laughingstock

Was this intentional?

It was Week Three of the Matt Cassel Experiment and, after four maddening quarters, I’m begging for mercy. With Cassel at the helm of such a beautiful and talented offense, things came to a grinding halt. If you could call the Patriots offense a car, Cassel just burned out the clutch and dropped the transmission. And if Brady could see the game, I doubt he didn’t die a little on the inside because that was putrid.

I tried very hard to be optimistic after Brady went down. “I’m sure he’ll (Cassel) be fine. He has to be fine. Right? Yeah. He’ll be fine. I hope.” Last week against the Jets, I thought maybe, just maybe, Cassel was improving. Maybe he was getting more comfortable and maybe the horrendous showing in preseason was just a fluke. See, this is what happens when I try to be optimistic.

Matt Cassel looked overwhelmed all game. I don’t think he could have made a decision to save his own life yesterday. Errant passes galore. AND he got worse as the game went on. To his credit, the touchdown pass to Jabar Gaffney wasn’t bad but it was lost in a sea of bad passes.

The one glimmer of hope was when rookie QB Kevin O’Connell came out and shot a missile to Gaffney through two defenders. I’m not one to scream for a player to be benched and I regularly cringed when morons would beg for Michael Bishop to start in place of Drew Bledsoe, but this is different. What do we have to lose at this point? Oh yeah, games.

But, even with all of Cassel’s ineptness, he can’t be blamed for the PATHETIC outing for the defense yesterday. I thought the one thing on our defense that we didn’t have to worry about was our defensive line? So, how can we explain Miami’s Ronnie Brown running (and throwing, for that matter) all over our D?

The one bright spot, if you could call it that, was special teams (with the exception of Matt Slater’s boneheaded play, needlessly touching the football after he had stepped out of bounds). Ellis Hobbs looked great and I think Chris Hanson is relishing his new role as a punter.

I don’t think I have ever missed a player as much as I missed Brady yesterday. This game was bad. I’m even going to go out on a limb and say this was the worst showing since Tampa Bay Bowl, also known as the Mosh Pit Bowl, in 1997. You remember, after Drew Bledsoe’s Everclear mosh pit incident, the Patriots got trampled by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On that afternoon, I watched my dad get so angry, he ripped off his Drew Bledsoe jersey Hulk-Hogan-style and flung a Patriots mug across the room. But, in a way, without Brady there the loss didn’t sting too badly. It was almost laughable. Actually, I think I did laugh after Miami running back Ronnie Brown threw a beautiful TD pass to TE Fasano… a pass that was better than just about anything Matt Cassel had thrown all day.

Here goes my eternal optimism again – there’s still hope for the season after watching a lot of big teams *cough Colts cough* also lose yesterday. This bye week couldn’t come soon enough.

Ahoy, mateys! Yer fair wench Angela here on Talk like a Pirate Day!

Th’ Swashbucklin’ Matt Cassel and th’ great grand Patriots be battlin’ th’ scurvy dogs from thar Miami! Arr, ye scallywag Joey Porter be talkin’ ’bout stealin’ th’ booty from me matey Cassel. Cassel be no lily-livered swab! Shiver me timbers! Me thinks Matt Light and Logan Mankins be ready to make Porter walk th’ plank and say “Fair Winds!” Yo ho ho! Patriots be not afraid of ye sprogs from Miami! On Sunday, me ready to splice th’ mainbrace with me mug of grog! Arrrrr! Aye, Cap’n Belichick be no landlubber! He has his men shipshape for battle!

Me thinks o’ score be Patriots 24, Miami 6. And ye may lay to that! Arrrrrr!