My routine for following the in-season, week-to-week adventures of the New England Patriots is as follows: I am either at the game covering them or at home on the couch watching them. And watching the Patriots, at home, on the couch, means being informed/entertained by A-list network talent, heavy on Jim Nantz and Tony Romo, with halftime shows featuring former football stars who have traded in their helmets and shoulder pads for fancy suits and wide ties. And they’re good, these former football stars. All of them. Even the ones I don’t particularly like — and come on, we all “like” and “hate” sports announcers for reasons that range from illogical to Seek Medical Attention Immediately — generally know what they’re talking about and are privy to all kinds of information they dutifully share with us. My only real problem with ex-jocks is the super-wide ties, as in wider than a Manhattan sidewalk. They look goofy.



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