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Answer: Not likely, but it sure could jeopardize his job security and impending payday 
By now we all know the details that have made available surrounding the latest strange & scandalous story involving Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss.
But, in case you've been watching too much American Karaoke, here's a brief rundown:
Moss has been slapped with a restraining order by a "longtime companion" of his, who claims that on January 6th, Moss inflicted bodily harm on her and then would allow her to leave her residence to seek medical attention for the (alleged) injuries. The document also states that Moss has a drinking problem, and owns some firearms.
Hmmmmmm.
The episode quickly went from Internet rumor to full-blown scandal after Moss took to time out of his normally media-silent week to defend himself in an impromptu news conference at Gillette on Wednesday that had the feel of a future R. Kelly rape trial presser.
He claims that this companion was slightly injured during an act of "horseplay", and that he never tried to prevent her from taking care of her injury. It was all a misunderstanding. In fact, he professes to have "never laid a hand on a woman in his life", this coming from a guy who tried to run over a meter maid in Minneapolis.
Since then shots have been fired from both camps, with the Moss lawyers stating that he was being extorted by a companion of the companion to the tune of $500 Gs, and The companions firing back that Moss tried to blackmail them to stay quiet.
It's a classic, convoluted case of 'he said-she said', but let's get one thing clear: since no one wants to talk about what actually happened, and the women is being labeled a "companion", and Moss deemed the action an accident, we can all assume that this was some R. Kelly-related form of kinky sexual injury we're talking about, and not a full-fledged attack on a defenseless woman.
In other words, it's just another case of Randy Being Randy, which is evidently the mid-winter equivalent of Manny Being Manny for Boston sports fans.
But the big question is, will this distraction hinder the team's ability to obliterate every team in its path on the way to immortality?
And the answer is no. because nothing, not even the lead QB impregnating an actress and then upgrading to a supermodel, can prevent this team from accomplishing its goals. Especially not a minor flare up like this.
No, the question isn't whether Randy will go on to catch 10 passes for 150 yards and 3 scores on Sunday, the question is what this latest incident--and the pending outcome of any legal decisions-- could do to his status as an unrestricted free agent?
Over the last few weeks word was coming out that Moss, who took a major pay cut and a 1-year deal to play for New England this year, could command, or demand, $10 million a year for multiple years following his record-breaking 23 TD reception season.
But with another character blemish hanging over Randy's cornrows like a nagging bug, the Pats brass will have him right where they like all their star players not named Brady: over the contract barrel.
Good move, Randyman. Now go ring up that 10/150/3 game and continue to pray this issue all blows away.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Could the latest episode of 'Randy Being Randy' derail Pats?
Sunday, April 29, 2007
WTF are the Pats doing?!
First New England drafts a thug from 'Da U' and then it trades for Mr. Malcontent himself, Randy Moss
Sorry I haven't posted in so long, but the Sox blog is really keeping me busy , especially with all the games against New York this past week.
But what has happened during the 2007 NFL Draft these past two days have forced me to put down the red ink and post something about what the Sox' sister team is doing out there in Foxborough.
I went to bed last night reading all I could about New England's only 1st round pick, U 0f Miami safety Brandon Meriweather. All the reports are the same: hard hitter, fast runner, nose for the game, can step in immediately and be a factor in the secondary, all the things you want to hear about a No. 1 pick.
Oh, except for the fact that he tried to bash somebody's skull in on the football field last fall.
Yes, he's that Brandon Meriweather, the one who had his face plastered all over every sports and news show in America, along with 30 of his close friends & teammates after they were inolved in that infamous, ugly on-field melee between Miami and Florida International in October.
Various versions of the video are readily accessible on YouTube, and Meriweather is easy to pick out of the sea of players: he's the skinny one wearing #19 who can be seen joining the fracas shortly after it began, and he is doing his best imitation of trying to put out a fire that might have sprung up on the FIU player's face & legs, because he keeps stomping on them furiously.
Your New England Patriots #1 draft pick, folks.
Of course everyone associated with the team & the league says that Meriweather is contrite, that's not how he really is, and he will have to conform to the strict policies and style of the Patriots team. And when you think about it, the brawl was a spur of the moment thing and he may deserve the benefit of the doubt that his emotions probably got the best of him.
Oh yeah, but he was also involved in a incident where he discharged a firearm in the direction of a suspect who had shot his Hurricane teammate in the ass last July.
Anyway...people change ya know (like the battered wife said about her hot-tempered fiancee)
As if that bit of draft day news wasn't enough to wrinkle the nose of any diehard Pats fan, waking up this morning made one such fan think that the Apocalypse was finally upon us: the Pats traded for wide receiver/world class asshole Randy freakin Moss.
Everyone who watches the NFL knows Randy Moss, whether it be for his spectacular catches, length-of-the-field sprints to the end zone, and acrobatic feats like throwing the ball over his shoulder or catching a hook & ladder and running in for a TD.
Too bad everyone in the country with a TV set knows who Moss is from his litany of on-and-off field incidents, a list that would take up most of this post to detail. Some of the lowlights include attempting to run over a police officer in Minnesota, walking off the field before the end of a game, squirting a bottle of water at a referee during a game, and perhaps most memorably wiping his ass along the goalpost at Lambeau Field during a playoff game a couple of years ago.
Add to that laundry list a history of admitting that he stops trying when he's not into playing, that he jakes it every time he feels like, and that he has such a problem with authority that he drew the ire of respected NFL coach Art Shell and noted football maverick/Black Hole creator Al Davis, and to say the Pats are getting a guy with a lot of baggage is like saying Donald Trump is having a bad hair day- it's redundant.
Of course Moss has talent, although no one knows whether that talent is actually in decline, or have his totals just dropped because he decided he didn't want to contribute in Oakland anymore. Either way, my question is, why bother?
The Pats have always been the leader in taking character over talent, as evidenced by the numerous drafts when big-name guys were on the board but the NE brass went for lesser-known character guys. Now it appears that the team may be selling out on its own motto just to borrow from Davis' familiar mantra of "Just Win Baby"
Is it really worth it to bring another Rozelle trophy to town?
People of Foxborough, heed the words of the immortal Clark W. Griswald: "roll 'em up!"
