Hardball Heaven

Couple of interesting items in the Globe's Patriots blog today:

Some obscure Steelers defensive back named Anthony Smith has come out and guaranteed a victory over the Patriots this Sunday. Are you kidding me? Hines Ward probably stuffed this guy into a locker after he heard this. Not exactly on the same level as Broadway Joe's famous guarantee against the Colts in Super Bowl III. Automatic bulletin board material for Coach Bill.

Also, the Monday night game drew the biggest cable TV audience in history, with more than 12 million viewers tuning in. Not sure what the weekly average is, but that's pretty impressive. People may hate the Patriots right now - like they do any dynasty - but they can't turn away from history.

On another note, as a fan of the Grateful Dead and Bob Marley, this story makes me like Salty the golfer. Not to mention it gives me an opportunity to post a picture of Jerry Garcia.