Brady vs Manning

As far as sports writers go, I think Bill Simmons is one of the best working today. That said, he has some annoying traits, and perhaps most annoying among them is his slavish defense of Tom Brady (and all things Patriots) and his constant belittling of Peyton Manning. In assessing last week's home loss that the Patriots suffered at the hands of the Colts (built on a magnificent performance by Manning and a 4 interception outing by Brady) Simmons damns Peyton with faint praise:

Taking my right shoe off ... )
(Taking my right sock off ... )
(Jamming my entire right foot into my mouth.)

There. You happy, Colts fans? Just remember, Chamberlain's teams beat Russell's teams plenty of times in the regular season. Didn't mean anything in the big scheme of things.

Simmons is a homer for all things Boston (not that I have a problem with that...at least he doesn't hide his allegiences). However, beating the "Manning can't win in the post-season" drum is getting old...so old in fact that in today's Miami Herald, Dan Le Batard breaks down the idea that Manning is a "stat-padding loser". Worth the time to read.