* The better a team plays, the better its uniforms look.
* You could also call him Tom BRANDy. The Bucs iconic new QB’s trademarks now include: “Tomba Bay” and “Tampa Brady.” You’ll be seeing it on T-shirts, hats and footwear. Ironically, for the last decade Tom Brady has trademarked “TB 12” into a lifestyle brand that includes workout equipment, nutritional supplements and apparel.
* It’s still impossible to forget that Tom Brady is a friend of Trump. He was even asked by Trump to speak at the 2016 Republican National Convention. Could make for a quick honeymoon.
* No surprise: According to Forbes, the three top-valued MLB franchises are the New York Yankees, $5 billion; the Los Angeles Dodgers, $3.4 billion; and the Boston Red Sox, $3.3 billion. The bottom (28-30) three: the Tampa Bay Rays, $1.05 billion; the Kansas City Royals, $1.025 billion; and the Miami Marlins, $980 million.
* “With all due respect.” “Apologies to those who were offended.” What they have in common is that they are formal, prepared-statement clichés disingenuously intended to convey a self-serving sense of sincerity before pivoting to a parsed-language diversion. Most recent Exhibit A: New Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach’s “apology” for passing along a meme with a noose joke. What Leach, outspoken about his right-wing politics and a Trump supporter, should have said: “That was awful judgment on my part–noose humor, especially in Mississippi! I apologize for being so unconscionably, stupidly insensitive. The onus is on me for offending. Period. And, yeah, I’m going to self-quarantine my Twitter account.”