By Ian Tasso, and contributions made by Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writers
Endings are supposed to be climactic.
Raised with movies such as “Scarface” and books like the “Lord of the Rings,” we were taught that an ending is supposed to be glorious. Guns blazing, horns blaring — a finale is supposed to be this.
Same thing goes for the closing of a sports career. By right, it should be a culmination of a years of work, complete with standing ovations, confetti, horns — the works.
But the truth is, it rarely works out like that.
Just ask Allen Iverson, who on Tuesday was released by the 76ers, a move that figured by most to be a long time coming. Iverson was in the midst of attempting to revitalize his 13-year career, 10 seasons of which were spent annihilating defenses in Philadelphia. But after a failed stint in Denver, a mishap in Detroit and a misstep with the Grizzlies, Iverson appears to be done — finally.
Even Michael Jordan, Mr. Basketball himself, ended one of the greatest careers in NBA history with a finale that was far from epic. Jordan left Chicago with every intention of leaving the game, only to return with the Washington Wizards, a sequel that [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
They didn’t pay Asante Samuel. They didn’t pay Richard Seymour. It’s up in the air if they’ll give in and actually pay Vince Wilfork.
Now all this lack of commitment to such important players is having a rather large impact on a future free agent.
Wide receiver Randy Moss said on Saturday that he does not anticipate the New England Patriots to extend his contract after the 2010 season.
“You know the Patriots don’t really pay, so when I got my second contract from them that was a blessing in disguise. I understand the business. I don’t think they’re going to re-sign me back,” Moss told reporters at former Patriot Heath Evans’ charity softball event. “I’m not mad. I’m not bitter. It’s just the way things are in this NFL, so like I said after this year I’ll be looking for a new team. I think so.”
Moss is entering the final season of a three year deal and will make a base salary of $6.4 million. Combine the Patriots infamous frugality and the money that will be allotted to two other crucial players more valuable than Moss, and the outcome doesn’t look too rosy.
Vince Wilfork is the first [...]

Meet Benjamin Brady. The biggest question is: does he look like a model or a football player? That Zoolander face he’s making worries me.

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Bill Belichick may be a drafting wiz, but he’s had his blunders too. As the yin and yang symbolizes there is always a good with the bad. Last week we gave you the good, this week the bad. So, while the good on the Patriots during Belichick’s rain have outweighed the bad, there were still some bad picks and I’ve identified the five worst. This list will start with the fifth worse pick, and countdown to the one that was just a complete disappointment. Lets hope Belichick does better this year, so next SuperBowl Sunday won’t suck as much.
5. Kevin O’Connell, QB. Drafted: 2008, third round, number 94 overall.
Since drafting Tom Brady the Patriots have selected four other quarterbacks: Rohan Davey, Kliff Kingsbury, Matt Cassell, and O’Connell.
Drafted out of San Diego State, he had the highest draft position out of any quarterback taken by Belichick, and the highest quarterback drafted since Drew Bledsoe was taken first overall in the 1993 draft. He spent one season there, appearing in two games and throwing six passes. Then in the 2009 preseason, after he threw two interceptions in a preseason game he was waived.
Why spend such a high pick [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Bill Belichick has been the centerpiece of the Patriots dynasty since being hired as head coach in 2000. As a member of the Bill Parcells coaching tree one of his strengths has been the NFL draft. So here we will take a look at the Patriots’ top five draft picks in the Bill Belichick era.
I know you think Tom Brady will be number one on this list, and normally you’d be right. The quarterback from Michigan was drafted in the sixth round, number 199 overall has won an MVP, two Super Bowl MVPs, and has been selected to the Pro Bowl five times.
Yes, he is the coach’s and the team’s best draft pick ever. So it would be too easy to name him number one.
So I left him off. It makes it more interesting. The picks will start at the 5th best and countdown to number 1 (a different number one besides Brady).
5. Julian Edelman, WR. Drafted: 2009, seventh round, number 232 overall.
The quarterback from Kent State that many felt the Patriots took to possibly run the Wild Cat was turned into a wide receiver and a mini-Wes Welker when the real version went down [...]

By: Scott Jackson, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Ten years ago this week, Bill Belichick was named head coach of the Patriots.  In his first five years with New England, Belichick’s squad won three Super Bowls.  The Patriots were the newest NFL Dynasty.
But since beating the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX, the team hasn’t won a championship.  And the dynasty is dead.
Yes, the team has had good seasons; they made it to the 2007 AFC Championship Game (which they lost to the Colts after leading by 18, the biggest comeback in NFL playoff history), and they went 16-0 in the 2007 regular season (before losing to the Giants in the Super Bowl).
But to be a dynasty, a team needs to win championships, and New England hasn’t done that in five years (and AFC rival Pittsburgh won 2 in 4 seasons since New England’s last win).
Looking back, the dynasty died in the minutes after Super Bowl XXXIX ended.  Defensive Coordinator Romeo Crennel accepted the Browns offer to be their head coach, and Offensive Coordinator Charlie Weis, Tom Brady’s mentor, took over at Notre Dame (he had accepted the job earlier in the season, but remained in Foxborough until the final snap of the season).
While [...]

By: Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
New England Patriots fans were faced with a harsh reality at the hands of a crushing defeat to the Baltimore Ravens: their team just wasn’t good enough.
Sure they had their moments of brilliance during the season, but they also frequently looked far from the team that was a three-time Super Bowl champion this decade, or even the team that went 11-5 without Tom Brady playing an entire game.
And please, don’t even try to say that if Wes Welker played that last game he would’ve made a difference between winning and losing.
That’s why this offseason fans should expect a lot of changes in New England.
The glaring weaknesses the Patriots have are on defense. Watching Ray Rice shred through the Pats in the first minute of the AFC Wild Card round should’ve made that fact evident.
The first thing the team needs to take care of is hiring a new defensive coordinator.
Dean Pees, who has held the position the past four years, is stepping down.
Bill Belichick has hired in-house for that position the past two times it was open, so it’s possible that he would do so again. Defensive line coach Pepper Johnson, a ten-year member of [...]