Best bets

Last week: 2-2

Year-to-date: 27-24-2

It just could be the Magic vs. Bird of this era. Manning vs. Brady. Brady vs. Manning. Talent vs. Grit. The Prodigy vs. Someone Who’s Dad Wasn’t an NFL QB.

The comparisons between Tom Brady and his Super Bowl victories and Peyton Manning and his great regular-season records have even garnered a Wikipedia entry that reads:

Amongst active quarterbacks, Manning is most often compared to New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Brady's statistics, while impressive in their own right, do not meet the record-setting level that Manning has established. Brady, however, has won 3 Super Bowls while posting a career 12-1 postseason record, best in NFL history. On the other hand, as Manning's supporters often note, Brady has been supported by great defenses in his Super Bowl runs, whereas Manning's offense is counted on to shoulder most of the load for the Colts. Manning has, however, had the luxury of superstar wide receivers Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, and RB Edgerrrin James for much of his career while Brady is considered to be the only offensive star for the Patriots. The Manning-Brady debate has evoked comparisons to the Marino-Montana debate of the 1980's.

But the on-the-field comparisons are only half of it. Manning and Brady seem as different as night and day. Example? Try this – Manning, even though he is from New Orleans where he attended the same high school as Harry Connick Jr., likes country music. Actually, it’s not even the good country music. It’s the conformist, watered-down-for-mass-production, derivative country music perpetrated by the likes of Kenny Chesney… whoever that is.

Sorry, folks. I hate racism, injustice, poverty, genocide and commercial country music. I can’t help it. What makes it worse is that Manning, from a city with a distinctive and unique music history, allowed himself to photographed with that Kenny Chesney dude.

Whoever that is.

Professor Longhair is from New Orleans, for God’s sake.

But let’s give Manning some credit for one thing – he has a personality. He performs in all of those wacky commercials for some type of product (cell phones? Wireless networks?) that I don’t recognize because I feel that if someone feels the need to make a commercial to tell me how great they are, they have some issues that simple therapy won’t remedy. Plus, they probably don’t have my interests at heart. People, by design, are selfish… and Bleep Commerce!

Diatribe aside, I have no idea what type of music Tom Brady likes. In fact, I have no idea about anything regarding Tom Brady. No one does. Get this – The Smoking Gun searched to find which political party Brady belongs to -- because, as everyone knows, political parties explain everything about a person – only to learn learn that he doesn’t belong to anything.

Is this just pure indifference or because Brady doesn’t want to offend anyone? Maybe it’s kind of like when Michael Jordan didn’t want to endorse Harvey Gantt over Jesse Helms because “Republicans buy sneakers, too.” Smart. Safe. Just like Brady’s game.

But not particularly inspiring – it’s not exactly “I ain't got no quarrel with those Vietcong.”

Put it this way – if there is nothing else on television except for two football games on opposite channels featuring Manning in one game and Brady in the other, which one will you watch?

Right. The one with Manning.

There is one thing we know about Tom Brady besides the fact that he has those Super Bowl victories, went to the same high school as Jim Fregosi, Barry Bonds, Lynn Swann and Gregg Jefferies and played against Bellarmine Prep’s Pat Burrell... Brady also apparently has a thing for Brazilian models.

But then again don’t we all?

Take Manning’s Colts minus 3 over Brady’s Patriots.

Super Saints?
The Internet is a neat thing. Where else would get to see this guy:



The Internet is also a place where that guy was derided and made fun of for being a whack job, which is fair. It’s probably even correct. But let me ask you this… when is the last time an Eagles fan roamed around the parking lot giving the heebee-jeebee to the visiting fans? When the last time an Eagles fan did something other than the tired old fat, drunk and stupid routine?

Perhaps being a unique, whack job with a cape doesn’t work here? Nevertheless, give the guy credit for so baffling the visiting fans from Philly that they couldn’t even beat the guy back with a boo, a drunken right uppercut, or a D battery tossed between the kook’s eyes.

Rumor has it that the guy might show up in Chicago. If that’s the case, take the Saints and the 2½ points over the Bears.