Problems With The Pats

Put a lid on it, Tom! But please, make it a Sox lid
By Gayle Fee and Laura Raposa
Thursday, May 3, 2007 - Updated: 01:31 PM EST

Say it ain’t so, Tom! The ever-vigilant paparazzi snapped New England Patriots [team stats] QB/QT Tom Brady [stats] sashaying through the streets of New York City yesterday shamelessly sporting a New York Yankees cap! Tom and his galpal, soon to be ex-Victoria’s Secret model Gisele Bundchen, were strolling hand-in-hand in the West Village when he was snapped committing the horrid topper transgression. Red Sox [team stats] Nation was shocked and appalled and - as is our way - making excuses for the Bronx Bombers blasphemy. “We know that Tom has an array of Red Sox caps from which to choose,” said team spokesguy Dr. Charles Steinberg. “But we fully respect that he needed to wear a suitable disguise for his own health and protection. We don’t doubt that he’s a card-carrying member of Red Sox Nation.”
Perhaps Tom was wearing the hat as a sympathy gesture. Alex Rodriguez & Co. are, after all, in last place. But avid Brady Bunchers know this isn’t the first time No. 12 has committed the ultimate in homer heresy. We told you way back in 2003 that Tom was sporting a Pinstripes lid when our ever-vigilant spies spotted him fueling up at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Foxboro. At the time, the excuse was that it was a gesture of solidarity with then-Yankees rookie Drew Henson, who, like Tom, is a former quarterback for the University of Michigan. Of course, that lame-o rationalization has gone by the boards now that Henson has ditched MLB for the NFL to play third-string quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings. And although Tom has sported a Sox cap on numerous occasions - including during a Super Bowl XXXVIII press conference - and he was in the Fenway stands rooting for Josh Beckett [stats] & Co. on Opening Day, he has been busted in Bombers’ mode before. He was also, need we remind you, caught in flagrante with A-Rod at Tao in NYC, shortly after the Yankees third baseman was declared Public Enemy No. 1 for slapping Bronson Arroyo! Of course, most of Tom’s Yankee-lovin’ has come when he’s been conveniently outside the jurisdiction. And now that the lovesick stud has semi-permanently relocated himself to the Big Apple - to be closer to Gi - he’s apparently in a New York (Yankees) state of mind! Ducking the rap And speaking of the Patriots, as if they don’t have enough problems with their new players’ bad-boy reps, the team was busy denying yesterday that first-round draft pick Brandon Meriweather was a member of the University of Miami’s notorious 7th Floor Crew - a group of Hurricane football stars who recorded a filthy rap song. “The best that I can offer is that it was not him,” said team spokesguy Stacey James. “Multiple sources that we are confident would know that answer say it was not Brandon.”The not-always-accurate Web encyclopedia Wikipedia - as well as numerous sports blogs - identify Meriweather as one of the amateur rappers who made a MySpace [website].com rap song that has been charitably described as “mysogynist garbage.” Chicago Bears first rounder Greg Olsen has had to apologize for his participation in the raunchy rap tune, which he admits he made as a college freshman under the name G-Reg. Linebacker Jon Beason, drafted in the first round by the Carolina Panthers, also has been identified as the 7th Floor Crewman known as Big Beast. He has yet to issue a denial. As for Meriweather, Wikipedia says he was the rapper known as Hollaman whose expletive-filled rap rant comes at the tail end of the nine-minute, er, tune. We’d regurgitate a few lines, but as we are under rather tight rein here, it would just read something like this: “(Bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleepedity, bleep, my hos.)“ One possible reason that Meriweather has been implicated in the 7th Floor Crew - named for the U of Miami dorm floor that housed most of the team - is that the name Brandon is Holla-ed out during his rant. Another reason, of course, is that Meriweather is not exactly a choirboy. In 2006, he fired shots at an unknown assailant who had capped his roomate in the butt. He was also caught on camera stomping a Florida International player during an infamous on-field brawl.
File Under: Crew-d.