A Grip on Sports: Tom Brady makes an announcement and everyone stops to think about it, even us
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Who would have thought, in these days of living alone as much as possible, huge sports news would break early in the morning. Tom Brady announcing on social media today he won’t be returning to the New England Patriots qualifies as humongous, doesn’t it? Yes, it does.
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• Johnny Unitas. Joe Namath. Joe Montana. Brett Favre. Peyton Manning. Those are some of the great NFL quarterbacks in the past 50 years who spent most of their career with one franchise, were identified with that franchise, and yet did not finish with that franchise.
Didn’t it seem odd to have Montana run out onto the field in a Kansas City uniform? Or Namath in the Rams’ colors? And now Brady, who spent 20 years helping the most-hated franchise in the nation – but only in counties outside of New England – win game after game, title after title, will be wearing some other jersey.
That just seems weird.
Twenty years with one team. Six Super Bowl victories, including one over the Seahawks. Three MVP awards. Nine AFC championships. And, most importantly, more wins – 219 – than any quarterback.
That’s a quarterback’s job, right? Win games? No one has done it better.
Now Tom Brady will try to accomplish that goal with some other team. He is 42 years old. He will be 43 next season. That’s not young in NFL years. Heck, it’s not young in real years.
But someone will sign him. Maybe Chicago. Maybe the Chargers. Maybe some other franchise. No matter what, though, the idea of Brady not wearing a New England uniform will take some getting used to for everyone.
• We promised yesterday we were going to give you a list of the most accomplished basketball coaches in our area over the past 50 years. But news intervened. We have the list ready – we picked eight to highlight – but have decided to hold it until tomorrow. That will make Wednesday even more full, I’m guessing. And allow you more time to second-guess the people you think will be included. That’s fun, isn’t it?
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WSU: Around the Pac-12, longtime Oregon athletic administrator Jim Bartko died suddenly this week. … What will happen to Justin Herbert? … Utah needs to figure out its running back situation. … Arizona added another assistant football coach. … Their our other things to worry about everywhere, including USC. … A couple of Colorado underclassmen are contemplating their basketball futures. … Here is one person’s AP basketball ballot. … Finally, studying overseas when the virus problem hit meant a harrowing journey home for some Arizona football players.
Gonzaga: Though games are not being played, regular season awards are still being handed out. And GU’s Filip Petrusev has earned one. Jim Meehan lets us know the sophomore was named second team All-American by a couple of media outlets. … The Zags, meanwhile, finished second to Kansas in the final USA Today coaches’ poll. Jim has that story as well. … Jim also spent some time with Larry Weir for the latest Press Box pod. … Elsewhere in the WCC, BYU will lose some crucial seniors and must rebuild the roster. … So Randy Bennett isn’t headed to Grand Canyon. The school hired Bryce Drew.
Preps: Idaho has joined Washington to suspend spring sports, putting a halt into effect until at least April 6. Dave Nichols has the latest in this story.
Seahawks: Brady’s announcement wasn’t the only big event in NFL free agency, even today. Nope. The Hawks re-signed Luke Willson. And Jarran Reed. That’s on the same level, right? … George Fant is off to the Jets. … They also missed out on Stefon Diggs. … Will the same thing happen with Jadeveon Clowney? … Arizona got a lot better yesterday.
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• Maybe Brady will be more like Manning than Namath. By that I mean successful, if not flashy. Watching Broadway Joe quarterback the Rams was almost as bad as watching Willie Mays play for the Mets. Almost. Until later …