The Aaron Hernandez media circus

Rest in Peace, Odin Lloyd.

It’s rough out there today on the airwaves.  The media circus is doing a brisk business.

“I would rather be raped by a gang of Latin Kings than give up my coffee!”, quoth WEEI shockmeister, Gerry Callahan this morning in reference to the coffee-free penal culture in which Aaron Hernandez is now held.

As much as Gerry gets under my skin every time he leans against “the lazy”, against Larry Lucchino, or against Barack O’Bama, as much as I dislike his controlled aggression, even I do not want the Latin Kings taking him up on his suggested quid-pro-quo.

Careful, Gerry.

There was a somber moment today, possibly an accurate one, in which Attorney Harry L. Manion was on air and suggested that one year from today Hernandez would be represented by the Public Defender because he would be penniless.  Manion explained that legal costs will cause a cash-drain that could be accelerated by a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of the deceased, and further accelerated when the Patriots cut off scheduled payments of Hernandez’s guaranteed signing bonus, should such an action be legal under the present collective bargaining agreement.

The WEEI hosts thanked Manion for making us all smarter than we were before he came on the air.  But really, Manion’s appearance was all about continuing the shock effect of the 24/7 coverage.  It helps to paint the picture of a 23 year old man who couldn’t control his anger, killed a man and lost a fortune — quickly.  It’s a classic tragedy.  Tragedy boosts ratings, ratings sell radio advertisements.

Another of today’s media moments was positively prescient.  “He looked like he thought he had ended up where he would always end up, at his felony arraignment.”  That is what one WEEI caller, a man who had served 56 months himself, said Hernandez looked like when he was brought into court to face the charges.

Wow.  That former convict read the look on Aaron Hernandez’s face via TV and that is what he ascertained.  You could almost see what he was talking about.  If you think you can read minds.

Lastly, there was a caller who expressed his disgust that Aaron Hernandez was being partially excused for allegedly killing Odin Lloyd, excused because he is young, and because he lost his Dad at age 16.

I don’t get that.

As far as I can see, no one is making any excuses for Aaron Hernandez.  In fact, the media, talk radio specifically, already has him tried and convicted.

And maybe Hernandez is guilty.  The long list of leaked evidence indicates as much.  But it doesn’t serve a useful purpose for the media to make a spectacle of this tragedy. 

The terrible loss of Odin Lloyd, a child of God, is of great pain to his mother, Ursula Ward, and his father, and his sister, Olivia Thibou, and others.  The death of Odin need not be fodder for ratings sharks and a violence addled audience.

The death of a child or brother is a nightmare that never ends.  The memory of their laughter, the day they first tied their shoe, their first date, a graduation, the little things unbalance the mind and break the heart just when you have stopped thinking about them.

Rest in Peace Odin.  May God now hold your family in his hands.

Go Sox.

Congrats to the G Men !

No team more deserves their Super Bowl victory than the 2007 NY Giants because they succeeded in doing what everyone knew was the key to beating the Patriots:  They took out Tom Brady.  They hurried him, sacked him, knocked him down and reduced him to a third of his normal  point production.

The Giants do not have a great offense.  But you don’t need one when your defense plays “like a pack of wild dogs”, to borrow a vintage quip from Lawrence Taylor.

God Bless the downtrodden Giants fans who winced all week long when enduring the 38-20 and 52-14 predictions from the sports intelligentsia.  In a poignant coincidence, yesterday’s Catholic Mass featured the Sermon on the Mount, which includes the passage that the meek shall inherit the Earth.  And that, fellow and sister Sports fans, is exactly what happened in Phoenix yesterday.  NY Giant fans were the meek all week, having capped their emotions & expectations, girding against a predicted catastrophe.  But the superior-team-by-consensus looked old, slow, ragged, and disrupted against the brutal NY defense. 

Now Patriots fans must contemplate the downside of their dynastic curve.

Congratulations, Giants fans !  Your boys pulled off a historic stunner. 

Patriots v Giants : Only one way to beat the Pats

Pats fans  have much to be grateful  for.    An unequalled season from Brady.  A receiving corps that is the deepest in NFL history.  The offense may be based on the pass, but Faulk, Maroney & Co. have contributed many of their 1,557 yards just when needed.  

Turnovers are rare.  Records are falling. The Defense is the 4th best in the NFL.

Patriots fans are cranked up and over-the-top.  New England is thinking all-Patriots, all-the-time. 

It’s not going to happen, it’s not going to happen, it’s not going to happen.

That’s what I’ve been repeating for the last 6 weeks.  And with good reason.  If you remember the 1985 Bears, you’ll recall how invinceable they looked before they went down.  The Bears were scary-good in a way the Patriots could never be.  Those Bears had a defense that destroyed everything in its path with style and a smile.

I did not expect the Patriots to get this far.  A little bad luck like a a high ankle sprain to you-know-who is all that it would take to give the Pats their first defeat.   

But they are here.  They win big.  They win the close ones.  They are unlikely to  lose this Sunday against a Giant team that has already clinched a playoff spot.  And once they reach the post-season, they won’t lose because they know they’ll be preparing their place in History next to the ’72 Dolphins.

 You know they’ll find a way to win it all.  If they get past the Giants.

It all comes down to Brady staying in the game.    There is zero depth behind Brady — with Matt Cassel and Matt Gutierrez .  The two Matt’s have garnered nearly no NFL experience since leaving USC and Idaho State, respectively. 

Cassel spent all of his time at USC as a backup behind Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart. 

Gutierrez led Idaho State to a 1-7 record after transferring from Michigan, where he tore a labrum. 

The ’72 Dolphins had Earl Morrall.

One head-rattling sack and the Pats could suddenly have the same offensive efficiency as the Chicago Bears.

Tom Brady has missed ZERO games since week #2 of the 2001 season.  ZERO absences in his first 7 seasons.  By comparison, Dan Marino missed 4 games, and Joe Montana missed 9 in their first 7 years.

Is the injury clock ticking on Tom ?    He is almost too good to be true.  Here’s hoping he keeps his streak going and rises above all the physical shots he is taking.   You may have noticed, he’s been getting whacked.   The Giants have 42 sacks and three players high among the league leaders. Brady’s demise is the opposition’s most viable blueprint for victory.  He is the target.

We’ll all be watching for the record breaking touchdown passes.  But the story of the season could be seen by watching how Matt Light, Logan Mankins, Dan Kopen, Stephen Neal, and Nick Kaczur protect their Q.B. against Strahan, Umenyiora and Tuck.