Quotable

  • belichick1“We are not condoning Mr. Roethlisberger’s actions that night. We do not prosecute morals. We prosecute crimes.” -Fred Bright, the district attorney for Ocmulgee County (GA)
  • The secret is to work less as individuals and more as a team.  As a coach, I play not my eleven best, but my best eleven. -Knute Rockne
  • My sons and I loved to watch Mosi. He was one of our favorite players for more than a decade.” -Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft on the passing of Mosi Tatupu
  • Hartford is fertile ground for professional football.  Sports Illustrated icon Peter King called me when it first leaked out that I had accepted this position and mentioned that he and his brother had fond memories of going to games for the Hartford Knights back in the 1960’s.  It wasn’t long after I hung up the phone with Peter that I called Eric Mangini, the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, and during the conversation he said that his father had taken him to Knights games as a kid and that he remembered those games vividly.  -Chris Palmer, Head Coach of UFL’s Hartford Franchise
  • “When coach Bill Walsh asked his staff if they were in favor of making the trade for Young, there were no yes votes…This is what made Walsh brilliant. He was not hoping for Young to be a good player, he had a plan to make Young a good player.” -Mike Lombardi, National Football Post, comparing Tim Tebow to Steve Young
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  • “Who’s been wrong more than Casserly? His percentage is like a meteorologist…” -Bill Belichick on CBS’ Charley Casserly, who reported that Tom Brady had 3 broken ribs
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  •  ”Any person who makes a profession out of a hobby is a lucky person.” -Natick High School football coach Tom Lamb upon the announcement of his retirement http://tinyurl.com/yabryp7
  • “The University of Connecticut is very proud to be bringing its football team to Birmingham to play in the Papajohns.com Bowl…We look forward to playing an SEC opponent and enjoying the Southern hospitality that Birmingham offers to visitors. We encourage all of our fans to make the trip and support our team in its third-consecutive bowl appearance.” -UConn Director of Athletics Jeffrey Hathaway
  • “It’s a great feeling after all the games where we came up close and didn’t finish the game…I think this is the loudest I’ve ever heard a stadium get in all my time playing college football. It’s a great win.” -UConn RB Andre Dixon after beating Notre Dame in double overtime
  • If you were there, no explanation is necessary.  If you weren’t, no explanation is satisfactory. -Lou Holtz, on the mystique of Notre Dame
  • “…to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.” -Abraham Lincoln in his second inaugural address, affirming the country’s obligations to care for its veterans
  • “As I stand here this evening, I can see that smile…I can see his face and know that he thanks everybody for being out here this evening.” -UConn’s Randy Edsall at the candlelight vigil in memory of Jasper Howard
  • “In hockey parlance, the court is passing the puck to the NHL who can decide to take another shot at the sale net or it can pass off the puck…” -Judge Redfield T. Baum, in his decision to reject bids from both Jim Balsillie and the NHL to buy the Phoenix Coyotes
  • “The question is who are you to say you know what’s best for the team, and you work 9 to 5 at Mcdonalds [sic].” -Redskins LB Robert Henson, on Twitter, after Redskins booed team after Sunday’s win over Rams
  • “Why, during these historically bad economic times, is the NFL sticking it to its fans?” -Sean Gregory of Time, regarding NFL’s reluctance to relax TV blackout rules http://tinyurl.com/n3tqx6
  • “There’s a reasonable chance that the Justice Department might get involved, and then at least we’d find out whether it violates antitrust laws or not” – U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), on the current BCS system in college football (“The Tony Barnhart Show,” CBS College, by way of SportsBusiness Journal).
  • “For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.”  -Senator Edward M. Kennedy, addressing Democratic National Convention, August 1980
  • “This was not an intentional criminal act. In my judgment, a two-year prison sentence is a very severe punishment.” -Benjamin Brafman, Plaxico Burress’ attorney, as reported by ESPN.com
  • “This (lawsuit) is just me, individually, but it happens all the time and it needs to stop…To have doctors come out and shortchange you like that, that’s not right.” -Tebucky Jones, on his lawsuit against New England Patriots team doctors (as quoted by Boston Herald)
  • “We have yet to hear a single player stand up and tell us the complete truth, that the game was out of control, that players felt the need to keep up, that things became twisted and out of control. That the line between right and wrong did not grow fuzzy – it disappeared entirely – and the game became one muddied mass.”  -Tony Massarotti on steroids in baseball
  • “I tend to agree with Terrell Owens on this…I feel like he’s missed 32 games already and missed a ton of money.” -Tony Dungy on whether Michael Vick should be suspended by the NFL
  • “According to O’Bannon, neither NCAA officials nor college athletic officials advise student-athletes that they can seek legal advice in connection with the release of future compensation rights.” -Michael McCann of SI.com on O’Bannon v. NCAA, and whether former student athletes should be compensated for their image rights
  • “Policy remains as it always has been: Fans are free to move about during the playing of ‘God Bless America.’” -Alice McGillion, spokeswoman for the New York Yankees on the settlement of a lawsuit brought by a fan who claimed he was kicked out of Yankee Stadium because he left his seat to use the bathroom during “God Bless America.”
  • Why are Major League Baseball Players such as Manny Ramirez and J.C. Romero allowed to play for their clubs’ minor league-affiliated teams while on suspension from Major League Baseball?  How can this happen? -Andrew Brandt of the National Football Post
  • “This court cannot find that antitrust law, as applicable nonbankruptcy law, permits the sale free and clear of the relocation rights of the NHL…” -The Honorable Redfield T. Baum on the Phoenix Coyotes Bankruptcy case
  • “The Court finds that there is probable cause to believe that the defendant NCAA is in indirect civil and criminal contempt of its [Temporary Restraining Order], issued August 15, 2008, as well as its Order & Judgment, issued February 12, 2009.” -The Honorable Tygh M. Tone in the matter of Oliver v. NCAA
  • “Red was absolutely brilliant. The first thing he said is, ‘I don’t know everything.’ He had a great set of ears.” -Bill Russell, in his new book “Red and Me.”
  • “It’s not a question of whether this guy can afford the 500 bucks. We’re just trying to send a message to our kids: He was here for us. Now we’ve got to be there for him.” -Jim Mraz, Great Falls Little League President re: Wash. Nationals’ fine of Elijah Dukes
  • “It’s been such a great ride … the NFL has been my life for more than 40 years, it has been my passion — it still is…” -John Madden, on his retirement
  • “Bill Belichick’s presence at the University of Connecticut Pro Day last week was duly noted in one NFL office, and that club wouldn’t be surprised if cornerback Darius Butler is strongly considered with New England’s 23d pick.” -Boston Globe
  • “Judging any man’s character by his adherence to NCAA rules is quite possibly the dumbest thing sports writers and fans do.” -Jason Whitlock, FoxSports.com
  • “If approved, it would be a new round for us because we’ve had land developers and former players and oilmen as owners but we’ve never had a U.S. ambassador as a club owner.” -Joe Browne, NFL Executive VP of Communications on nomination of Steelers owner Daniel Rooney as U.S. Ambassador to Ireland
  • “This will be awesome…It’s pure coaching – players that want to get better, players that want to develop. A lot less of the other stuff that’s always involved when you’re an NFL coach.” -Jim Fassel, on coaching in the upstart United Football League
  • “Of all the players I have coached in my career, there is nobody I enjoyed working with more than Mike. In the same way people recognize guys like Troy Brown, we appreciate and thank Mike Vrabel. He is one of the very special Patriots champions.” -Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick
  • “They made an offer, but I’m going to test the market and see what’s out there for me…I’m pretty confident that I’m going to get a better offer.” -Former UConn QB Dan Orlovsky on contract offer from Detroit Lions
  • “There’s many things that you can take that are banned substances.  I mean, there’s things that have been removed from GNC today that would trigger a positive test. I’m not sure exactly what substance I used. But whatever it is, I feel terribly about it.” - Alex Rodriguez
  • “The game was the third most-watched program in American television history, after the 106 million people who watched the “M-A-S-H” series finale in 1983 and the 97.4 million who watched the New York Giants end the New England Patriots’ bid for an undefeated season in the 2008 Super Bowl.” -AP, reporting on Super Bowl XLIII
  • “Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.” - President Barack Obama
  • “The future does not belong to those who are content with today, apathetic toward common problems and their fellow man alike, timid and fearful in the face of bold projects and new ideas. Rather, it will belong to those who can blend passion, reason and courage in a personal commitment to the great enterprises and ideals of American society.” -Robert F. Kennedy
  • “We have a stallion on offense and we rode him all the way to the finish line.” -Randy Edsall on Donald Brown, as reported by Desmond Conner of The Hartford Courant
  • “A small cache of weapons and ammunition, plus the pants and sneakers that Plaxico Burress wore when he accidentally shot himself last month, have been seized from the home of the New York Giants receiver, police said Wednesday.” -AP story, as reported on ESPN.com
  • “There’s the Nike swooosh. There’s… the golden arches of McDonalds and the Hanging Sox of the Red Sox. No letters, no words, no nothing. Just a symbol.” -Boston Red Sox President and CEO Larry Lucchino at Christmas at Fenway on sports radio WEEI
  • “We’re not talking about steroids in this case. Period.” -Federal Judge Paul Magnuson (as reported by Andrew Brandt, National Football Post) regarding litigation to reverse suspension of NFL players who tested postive for weight loss pill
  • “The Giants should have picked up the phone right away as good corporate citizens. I don’t care if there’s a legal responsibility for them to do it…they have a responsibility as a team that depends on the public and wants to be a role model for the public.”  -New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on the Plaxico Burress debacle
  • “The Patriots have to franchise Cassel; he has way too much value right now. If Aaron Rodgers can get $20 million from the Packers, what will Cassel get when there is competition in the bidding? -Michael Lombardi, The National Football Post
  • “If you’ve got a bunch of teams who play throughout the season, and many of them have one loss or two losses, there’s no clear decisive winner. We should be creating a playoff system…I don’t know any serious fan of college football who has disagreed with me on this.” -President Elect Barack Obama
  • “Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” -Robert F. Kennedy
  • “Who could have predicted that in a World Series battle between a Red team (Phillies) and a Blue team (Rays), one presidential candidate would delay the deciding game to spread his message, while his opponent promised that, if elected, he’d never let politics stand in the way of a good ballgame?” -Hal Habib, PalmBeachPost.com
  • “The misnomer is that we’re a minor league franchise [considering] all the kids [13] we have in the NBA.” -Jim Calhoun, as reported by the Hartford Courant
  • “Interest is good in UConn football, but scarcely through the roof. Sellouts aren’t guaranteed. The great D I-A experiment is still being nurtured and with every important state media outlet represented, it was the perfect time to let Frazer introduce himself.” -Jeff Jacobs, Hartford Courant, on Randy Edsall’s decision not to allow access to QB Zach Frazer
  • “I think the Court can absolutely positively take judicial notice that Duke is probably the worst football team in Division I football. Everybody knows that. That’s no secret.” -Attorney for Duke University, defending the university against a breach of contract claim brought by the University of Louisville
  • “Troy Brown to me is the consummate Patriot because of what he did on the field, the way he conducted himself off the field and the fact that he always put team first.” -Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft on the retirement of Troy Brown
  • “No one revolutionizes the starting quarterback position. The position revolutionizes the person playing it.”  -Jason Whitlock, FOXSports.com

 

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