Robert Kraft's presumed enjoyment of rape jokes, the worst MLB HOF ballot ever, your 2025 NFL MVP, stupid football players made stupider, the best D-man in NHL history that no one is aware of

Saturday 12/20/25

I thought Alabama shouldn't have been in the college playoff and then they come back and beat Oklahoma after trailing 17-0. You never know.

This year's MLB Hall of Fame ballot has to be one of the weakest ever. If we leave out the steroid guy in Manny Ramirez and Alex Rodriguez, the only Hall of Fame-caliber player is Carlos Beltran and he's not a very exciting Hall of Famer. Andrew Jones will eventually get in, but I won't like that selection.

I could see Robert Kraft being elected to the football Hall of Fame this year. The other owners don't like him. Kraft is a gross person, which I had occasion to think again not long ago as I watched him high-five Dave Portnoy in his box at Gillette.

What kind of human would associate with the likes of a Portnoy? Are you that lacking in awareness as to what Portnoy stands for and is about? Do you enjoy his rape jokes? Like when he says someone deserves to be raped because of how they chose to dress?

It's a horrible look associating with a guy like that. It tells me that you're a piece of shit yourself. There's no excuse for it. Pleading ignorance isn't an excuse either. You'd have to work at being that ignorant about the guy if you knew who he was enough to think he was sufficiently famous to be be invited to sit next to you in your booth.

If there's a hell, a Robert Kraft will land there. What would you say to a child who knew about Portnoy and asked you why you'd hang out with a guy who says things like that? What could you possibly say in response? "I thought it was witty, it's just a little rape, and some women do deserve it. Maybe you will."

Kraft will probably get in some time (not that it'd be hard to wait until he had passed on), and it wouldn't surprise me if the owners preferred it to be this year when Bill Belichick, whom Kraft detests, will definitely get in, and who would overshadow Kraft.

There's been some chatter about Jaylen Brown as an MVP candidate. That's nice. The problem is, the best three players in the league are so far beyond everyone else. So you're really competing for a top five MVP finish. You aren't going to get near the top three right now.

The Bruins play twice this weekend. They could do with a couple wins. They had played more games than most teams for what felt like most of the season to date, but that's no longer true. Seemed like the Celtics had rarely been playing, but now they're in a stretch of three games in four days, which began with a win last night. They could do with another today and then on Monday.

If there was any doubt--and there wasn't, really, after Drake Maye's poor showing last week against the Bills--that Matthew Stafford would be this year's NFL MVP, that went away the other night, despite his team's loss. 457 passing yards with three TDs and no interceptions will seal that deal. I didn't think he had a season like this in him at this point.

Will be a tough one for the Patriots tomorrow night. Could drop their second in a row after winning ten in a row. Houston could be a hard match-up for them in the playoffs. As a Patriots fan, I'd prefer to avoid the Texans, certainly to start. Maye's second half failures of last week could end up having a huge impact on the season.

Doubtless they were very stupid to begin with, but concussions can't help with people like Diego Pavia and Puka Nacua. What a chore it must be for a coaching staff to have to deal with the latter at the professional level. Then the media shovels it at you, because clicks are about what's sophomoric and brainless. Shovel, shovel, shovel. This is how you make it America, though: Be a moron. A loud moron.

Then again, I'm someone who's always baffled that parents let their kids play football. Do you not care about their brains? Guess not.

A few days ago I kept encountering these ejaculations about what a big deal it was that Dolphins' quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had lost his starting job. That shouldn't surprise anyone. This is what passes for a notable story now?

I don't know this for a fact, but it would seem like the LA Kings must have the oldest roster in the NHL. In looking it over last night, I once again had to do a double take that Corey Perry ever won an MVP. I know there weren't great candidates that year, but still...Corey Perry?

You know who I think it should have been, looking back? Tim Thomas. He had that kind of season. Like a 1988 Orel Hershiser type of season.

Saw where someone asked on a hockey history discussion forum if Victor Hedman had fulfilled his potential. Um...yeah. What were you expecting from Victor Hedman? He's a top twenty defenseman of all-time.

The better question might be is whether Drew Doughty was as good as he should have been or as good as he got credited with being for quite a while. I don't think so.

Here's another defenseman thought on the historical side of things: Brad McCrimmon was better than Rod Langway. You know who's tenth all-time in NHL history in plus/minus? Brad McCrimmon. This guy should be in the Hall of Fame. He should have been in it a long time ago. One of the very best defensive defensemen the NHL has ever known. No one ever discusses McCrimmon this way. Those who even know who he is, I mean. Why? Some guys fall between the cracks in ways that practically no one else does. That's McCrimmon. But Kevin Lowe is in the Hall of Fame? Okay, sure, I think Lowe is the worst choice by a wide margin for all of the Halls of Fame over the past, say...hell, maybe ever. But if we're putting in specialists like defensive forwards--who are far less valuable than a great defensive defenseman--then you can't put in McCrimmon for what reason exactly?