A familiar ring to it

YAWN...

I know what you're thinking. Sunday's Super Bowl kept me up too late, and cost me some much-needed sleep. The festivities of the day, replete with booze and splendor as the Patriots dispatched the Philadelphia Eagles, stretched the limits of my endurance. And after attempting to recover in a semi-conscious state on Monday, this afternoon's ensuing rally that rolled through the streets of Boston likewise must have left me all plumb tuckered out.

But that's not why I'm tired.

Rather, I'm weary of the incessant whining, complaining, and self-centered attitudes that permeate the sports world. Even in the midst of New England's third textbook definition of "teamwork" in the last four years, broadcast yet again to a global audience, the festering wound still bleeds.

Like an evasive mosquito that just keeps buzzing in your ear, Lawyer Milloy is back as "Norma Rae". And he's trying to prevent his former teammates, who he apparently believes are brainwashed devotees of the Guyana People's Temple, from drinking the poisoned beverage being served up by Patriots head coach Bill Belichick (aka Jim Jones). The former all-pro safety offered up the following tidbits recently:

"Everybody is saying this is a team thing (in New England), and it's really taking away from the players and the individual accolades and all of that..."

"... The more they focus on 'We don't have any stars' and all of that, the more you get overlooked as far as individual accolades and contracts."

It gets better:

"Some of those guys, I think, are underpaid," Milloy said. "It's always been a team thing getting thrown around there, but if some of those guys would test the market, being a champion that they've been, they could really go out there and make top dollar. But for some reason, they want to stay. And that's good. But the other part is (making sure) your family is stable after football is all done. You can't feed your family off of Super Bowl rings."

These choice words come courtesy of an interview of Milloy on Boston's WEEI radio a few weeks ago, whichi I happened to be listening to live, and were the topic of a column this week by Leo Roth of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. On the afternoon portion of the Dale & Neumy show, Milloy was clearly bitter, sounding like Marion Barry when the FBI busted into his hotel room. The former all-pro safety carried on his end of the conversation through his speakerphone, a demonstrative gesture of defiance usually reserved for the corporate world when a frugal VP of procurement wants a 20% price reduction from a vendor. The program hosts simply sat back as Milloy muttered his sour-pussed, kick-the-dirt, "they're keeping us down" moans and groans. I kept waiting for him to cry "Marsha! Marsha! Marsha!", or exclaim "No Fairsies!"

The mantra was old before that interview. Today it's encrusted with dinosaur dung.

As you may recall, Milloy was embroiled in a public and rather messy salary dispute with the Patriots in mid-2003. His attitude made it a constant distraction during training camp that summer, and a boon for the hungry local media throng anxious for some filth. The club resolved the issue by releasing Milloy -- just five days before the start of the regular season. He quickly signed on with the Buffalo Bills.

The majority of players drafted and signed by the Pats under the Bill Belichick/Scott Pioli regime have stuck around. Of those who've left, Milloy's been the only griper. After his signing with the Lions, we didn't hear anything from Damien Woody but praise & gratitude. He understands it's a business, and is quite thankful that his tenure with the Pats helped him get a huge payday in Detroit.

Meanwhile, the Patriots have continued to shuttle some pretty decent players into Foxboro, and many have arrived of their own free will. Yet there've been no audible complaints from any of them. In fact it's been just the opposite.

And if you think Josh Miller and Keith Traylor are happy now, having won a championship in their inaugural season with the team, just wait until they see the rings. I hear they're durn purty, and that each one could comfortably feed a family of six.

All-pro kicker Adam Vinatieri certainly could've left for more coins in the piggy bank. So could Ted Johnson, Troy Brown, Joe Andruzzi, Tedy Bruschi, Larry Izzo, Mike Vrabel, and Willie McGinest. But they've stayed in New England, and now they've assembled a rather nice jewelry collection.

News flash, Lawyer. The Patriots aren't just drinking the Kool-Aid. It's a veritable chug-a-lug festival in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Bring on the frauleins and oom-pah bands.

They're the World Champion New England Patriots, and they're damn glad to meet you.