Page 10 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020 Brady follows in footsteps of childhood hero By Greg Phipps W hen the season ended disappointingly for the New England Patriots in the first round of the playoffs back in January at Gillette Stadium, it seemed rather obvious, at least to this observer, that legendary quarterback Tom Brady would never again don a Patriots uniform. Brady often appeared frustrated and unhappy during a regular season in which the Pats went 12-4 (starting off 8-0) and once again took the East Division crown. The one key difference from many previous years is the Patriots lost out on a first-round playoff bye by falling to the lowly Miami Dolphins at home in their final regular-season contest. Having grown up in the California Bay Area, Brady’s childhood hero was Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, who won four Super Bowl titles with the San Francisco 49ers before leaving under similar circumstances to finish out his career in Kansas City. This Brady saga has a familiar feel to it. Going back to that Miami game, Brady actually led the team to a go-ahead touchdown late, but the defense, which had been considered the team’s strength most of the season, allowed the Dolphins to march over 80 yards for the game-winning score. Against Tennessee in the playoff, New England trailed by just one point in the final minutes, but another miracle Brady finish was not in the cards. His final play in a Pats jersey ended up being intercepted and returned for a touchdown in an eventual 20-13 defeat. In fairness, that last play was an impossible situation with the Pats pinned deep in their own territory and Brady forced to try and make something happen under extreme duress. When he left the field, the chant of “Brady, Brady” filled the scene at Gillette. The atmosphere had all the earmarks of finality to it – a great performer taking his last bow before his legion of supporters. All last season, reports had it that Brady was displeased with the offensive personnel at the skill positions, in particular, and that he and head coach Bill Belichick were not seeing eye-to-eye. Despite all this, the Pats still managed to win 12 games with an offense that often looked off-balance and a lot less efficient than the high-powered Patriots offenses of the recent past. Winning six Super Bowls, playing in nine and most recently competing in the American Conference title game nine years in a row is astonishing when contemplating what the team had accomplished during Brady’s 20-year tenure. Why Brady left we don’t know for certain, at least not right now. Perhaps the reportedly strained relationship with the dictatorial Belichick was not exaggerated, or it was really more about the money, or his family – one or more of the numerous reasons talked and written about in the media. One thing is certain, of course. He did choose to go and sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – a franchise that won a Super Bowl under head coach Jon Gruden back in 2003 but hasn’t made a playoff appearance in more than a decade. In fact, the Bucs have only had 12 winning seasons since the franchise was established in 1976. Like some of the great quarterbacks before him that departed their signature teams – Montana leaving the Niners for KC, Brett Favre leaving Green Bay for rival Minnesota and even the storied Johnny Unitas exiting the Baltimore Colts to finish his career as a San Diego Charger – Brady, who will be 43 next season, may find tougher-than-expected sailing with his new squad. Then again, Brady may experience renewed vigor and success, as both Montana and Favre did in the initial seasons with their new teams. But whether Brady will be part of another Super Bowl champion – that would be something Montana and Favre didn’t achieve. It would place Tom Terrific in a stratosphere all his own when rating the greatest quarterbacks of all time. We’ll see how it all plays out. As a fan, it would have been more fulfilling to see Brady duplicate the route of John Elway in Denver and Terry Bradshaw in Pittsburgh and finish out his career as a Patriot. Then again, years from now none of this will matter much when people look back on these dominant Patriots teams of the past two decades. As the saying goes, nothing lasts forever, and change is inevitable. Crimson Tide softball and baseball squads still hopeful for season By Greg Phipps W ith uncertainty still in the air regarding the 2020 high school spring sports season, the Everett softball and baseball squads are hoping a spring season can be salvaged. The COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of all schools two weeks ago with an initial reopening date set for April 6, though Everett had already decided to close its schools to the 27th. This forced the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) to put off the start of the season to April 27. That date is now certain to be extended, at the very least, after Governor Charlie Baker on Wednesday ordered schools to continue in lockdown mode until May 4. The MIAA reportedly is going to decide early next week on how to proceed following Baker’s announcement. Meanwhile, the Everett Crimson Tide softball and baseball teams are hoping a season of some sort will actually take place. Under head coach Stacy Poste-Schiavo, the Tide softball squad produced a 12-8 finish in 2019. The season culminated with a 9-2 loss at Woburn in the first round of the Div. 1 North playoffs. Everett was 19th-seeded in the tourney and actually held a short-lived lead in that game. Seniors Maddy Duraes and Veronica Bento are among House passes legislation to support workers affected by public health emergency H ouse Speaker Robert DeLeo and State Representative Joseph McGonagle, along with their colleagues in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, recently passed legislation to waive the one-week waiting period for workers seeking unemployment insurance benefits related to, or resulting from, the COVID-19 pandemic or the effects of the State of Emergency declared by Governor Charlie Baker on March 10. “Massachusetts workers drive our economy, and the action we took…will help thousands of individuals and families as we confront the economic effects of this public health crisis,” said DeLeo. “I am grateful to my colleagues in the House for their work to addressing the urgent needs relating to the outbreak. HEALTH | SEE PAGE 15 the players returning from a unit that made last year’s tourney by winning its final three regular season games. The Tide softball team has a record of competitiveness in recent seasons, having also gone 12-10 and winning a firstround tournament game in 2018. Poste-Schiavo told the press after last year’s playoff loss that only one starter departed last year’s squad. “Hopefully, [this year] we can pick up where we left off.” On the baseball side, the Tide won 10 games and lost to Chelmsford in the opening round of the playoffs last year. It was a marked improvement from the previous 2018 campaign when Everett produced a 5-16 season and missed the postseason. Bread of Life COVID-19 response B read of Life is seeking to maintain a balance between keeping staff, volunteers and patrons safe from virus exposure, while also getting food to our most vulnerable neighbors. We have instituted these changes: Malden Food Pantry at 54 Eastern Avenue– NO CHANGE IN SCHEDULE. Open Wednesdays 4-6pm and Fridays 2-4pm. Serves residents of Malden, Everett, Medford, Melrose, Saugus, Stoneham, Wakefield, Winchester, Reading and North Reading. Hand sanitizer is available in several locations and public safety protocol information is posted. We have initiated an outdoor distribution to reduce or eliminate the waiting line, keep people at least 6 feet from each other, eliminate patrons entering our facility, and eliminate the need for people to congregate as they normally would in the hallways and waiting room. We ask people not to come if they are experiencing any symptoms of sickness, including sneezing, coughing or fever. Everett Food Pantry–CLOSED AS OF MARCH 13 UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. Everett residents are welcome to pick up food from our Malden Pantry. Evening Meals at the First Baptist Church, corner of Main and Salem Streets, Malden–TAKE-OUT MEALS STARTING TUESDAY, MARCH 17. There is no congregate dining. Patrons are given a bagged meal to-go at the door, Tuesday–Friday, 5:30–6:30pm. We invite all our partner organizations and volunteers to continue to provide food and a limited amount of volunteers to prepare and package food in the kitchen of First Baptist Church, 3:30-7pm. Hot meals, sandwiches and soups are welcome. We have take-out containers for any type of prepared food. Food donations–Bread of Life is happy to receive your PERISHABLE AND NON-PERISHABLE food donations for our food pantry at 54 Eastern Ave in Malden, Tuesday–Friday, 12–5 pm. Please email info@breadoflifemalden.org if you will need to arrange pick up of your donations. Clothing–we are NOT accepting clothing donations as of March 17. Volunteers–we welcome volunteers especially for our Malden Food Pantry, Wednesdays 12-6 and Fridays 12-5 For more information, call 781-397-0404, email info@breadoflifemalden.org, or see www.breadoflifemalden.org
11 Publizr Home