Wednesday Daily Rundown 5/18 – New England Patriots News & Notes
(PHOTO: Mark J. Rebilas - USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 4 minutes
Posted Under: Daily Patriots Rundown
(PHOTO: Mark J. Rebilas - USA TODAY Sports) 🕑 Read Time: 4 minutes
New England Patriots > Patriots Blog
(PHOTO: Mark J. Rebilas - USA TODAY Sports) Here’s a quick rundown on this Wednesday of this morning’s stories
Brady’s team has a plan to try and beat his suspension – As the deadline for Brady’s legal team to file a petition for a rehearing looms with next Monday, May 23rd approaching, there’s certainly a lot at stake with this next step.
However, one of the biggest questions will be whether or not he’ll get the Second Circuit of Appeals to hear the case. As ProFootballTalk.com points out, if they do, that should make him available for most of or all of 2016 and push this nonsense off for another year.
But if they don’t, then the road becomes a little more difficult, but not necessarily impossible.
NFLPA and high-powered lawyer Ted Olson is approaching this case in such a way where he’s seemingly putting together a reasonable argument against the league that could impact future labor situations even outside of football, which is important since the last decision involved accepting the NFL’s argument about this being more about the labor aspect of the case based on the language within the Collective Bargaining Agreement. It’s something Commissioner Roger Goodell keeps harping about whenever someone is willing to put a microphone in front of him, so Olson did a good job in attacking it.
CBS Boston’s Michael Hurley caught this part of Olson’s written request for an extension. Olson wrote, “… the Court’s decision raises significant labor law issues that could have far-reaching consequences for all employees subject to collective bargaining agreements. … These aspects of the Court’s opinion are of great importance not only to NFL players, but to all unionized employees.”
It was a solid tactical move by Olson, which added a little more foundation to their argument. At this point, if the Second Circuit denies their petition, PFT’s Mike Florio points out that the next step would involve requesting a stay of suspension from the Supreme Court in the interim, which would postpone the suspension until a later ruling was made. If the stay is granted while the Supreme Court decides to even consider the case, Florio reminds us that the stay would keep Brady on the field until at least 2017.
If that happens, Patriots fans get to enjoy another year of seeing Brady play on while this remains in the background.
Brady’s former teammate, Drew Bledsoe, has had to endure seeing this saga drag on and having watched how hard he worked in 2001 when he helped lead the team to their first championship, he knows the effort Brady puts in, which is what really gets to him when it comes to this whole mess.
“Tom just continued to just grind and work, and he’s put in the time and the effort and that’s part of the reason that this whole delflate thing pisses me off is because I know the kind of work that he’s put in to become one of these guys,” Bledsoe explained in his recent appearance on WEEI’s “Enough About Me” podcast with Kirk Minihane. “That didn’t just happen.”
“He’s a grinder, he works his butt off to get there and he’s done that continuously and that really to me is the legacy of what he’s done with the Patriots has been his work ethic, his leadership and his relentless desire to win. Far more than anything than he’s done throwing the football, has been his legacy.”
And that legacy is also part of what’s on the line, which is why it’s important that this fight continues and it looks like his chances aren’t as bleak as they might have seemed after all.
 Tom Brady remains determined to continue his battle against the NFL. |
Patriots Hire New Medical Director – The Patriots made a selection for their new medical director, with Tom Curran of CSNNE reporting on Tuesday that the Patriots have hired Mass. General’s Mark D. Price.
He replaces Dr. Matt Provencher, who was New England’s former team medical director who left the team after last season and has quite a change of scenary after he took a position at the Steadman Clinic in Vail Colorado.
Price is a Harvard Medical School alum who is also part of the Navy Reserves and takes care of athletes across multiple sports, as he also serves as the team physician for the Red Sox.
According to his bio on aaos.org (a site for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons), Price, “specializes in the treatment of sports and non-sports related injuries of the knee and shoulder. He performs arthroscopic surgery of the knee and shoulder as well as total shoulder replacement and complex shoulder reconstructions.”
Easley Lands in Los Angeles – Dominique Easley could potentially be back in Foxboro this season, although this time when he comes back, he could be in the visiting locker room at Gillette Stadium.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Easley was signed by the Rams on Tuesday, who will visit New England on December 4th in a 1:00pm game at Gillette Stadium.
Easley worked out for the Rams last week and they must of liked what they saw, as he now joins other former first round pick tackles in Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers. He reportedly signed a 1-year contract with Los Angeles, although the terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. But if he earns a spot on their roster, like former Patriot Chandler Jones, this return to Gillette Stadium will likely be one that will be circled on Easley’s calendar.
Brady’s Neice Carrying on the Family Tradition – There’s obviously some athletic talent in the Brady bloodline, and Tom Brady’s niece is certainly reminding people that her uncle isn’t the only one with skills.
California high school softball standout Maya Brady is already making waves as a freshman, so much so that the Ventura County Star reporting that she’s even already verbally committed to play at UCLA.
According to the Star, she had a pretty incredible start, batting .391 with 36 hits, along with 12 RBIs and 30 runs scored. She also finished with seven doubles as one of the offensive stars for the team as she helped lead her them to a 27-1-1 record.
She’s also a little more fleet of foot than Brady, stealing a perfect 13-of-13 base attempts.
However, her uncle did have something in common with her as he was also a star on the diamond as a catcher during his high-school days, so much so that he drew enough interest from the Mariners for them to send scouts to watch him play, and he was also courted by the Expos before he went off to Michigan.
Obviously there’s a lot to live up to when your uncle is a 4-time Super Bowl Champion, but at this point, Maya’s focused on hopefully making her own mark in the family.
“Given the athletes in the family, it’s definitely hard to make your mark. It’s hard to pass up someone who wins the Super Bowl,” she told the Star. “But hopefully in the future I can make my own mark and say look what I did in my career.”
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