The reign of parity in the NFL this season has crumbled with the New England Patriots led by MVP frontrunner Tom Brady emerging as a legitimate Super Bowl favorite off an ominous run of excellence.
As the winds of this month begin to howl, New England (11-2) have sent shudders through other contenders after back-to-back blowouts against teams that had combined records of 18-5.
New England followed a 45-3 demolition of their AFC East rivals the New York Jets by burying the NFC North-leading Chicago Bears 36-7 in a Windy City blizzard on Sunday for their fifth win in a row.
PHOTO: AFP
Hungry to return to the Super Bowl spotlight that brought them three Lombardi trophies in four years from 2001 to 2004, the Pats continued their December dominance by flouting a windchill of -minus-13oC and winds blowing more than 48kph to storm to a 33-0 halftime lead against the bewildered Bears.
“It’s one of those days where a lot of people would rather be cozied up near the fireplace, drinking hot chocolate,” Brady told reporters after throwing for a season-high 369 yards. “But we work on Sundays and, all of us, we’re pretty committed to coming out here and trying to play well and execute well in some pretty tough conditions.”
The Pats matched the NFC’s Atlanta Falcons for best record in the NFL, but no team is playing at their level.
In his last eight games, Brady has thrown 18 touchdown passes and no interceptions.
Boasting a record of 35-5 in December since 2001, the Patriots are on the way to guaranteeing that the road to the Super Bowl travels through Foxborough, Massachusetts where Brady has won a record 26 successive home starts at quarterback.
Playing a precision, short-passing attack to perfection, the -Patriots have outscored opponents 102-10 in their last nine quarters of play and a young defense molded by defensive-minded head coach Bill Belichick has grown into a force itself.
Practice makes perfect and Brady said it was no coincidence that the tough-minded Pats had thrived in adverse conditions.
“You’ve got to be mentally tough enough to play in them,” Brady told reporters. “We don’t go in our [practice] bubble very often. If it’s windy, we practice out there. If it’s snowing, we practice in the snow. If it’s raining, we practice in the rain.”
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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