DHL Dan CCLXXX - Back To The Top?

Sorry, Buffalo - Shank thinks you were just filling in for the Patriots for the past few years:

Patriots can win the AFC East title against the team that’s been ‘filling in,’ the Bills, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while waiting for Patriots-Bills kickoff . . .

⋅ They are the Mike Vrabel-Drake Maye Patriots now, and Sunday at Gillette Stadium they have a chance to clinch their first AFC East championship.

Not so long ago — when we watched the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady Patriots, winning the division was something that happened here annually — like February Fenway Truck Day, the Pops on the Fourth, and Allston Christmas on Labor Day Weekend. From 2001-19, the Patriots won the AFC East 17 times in 19 seasons.

That all ended when Brady left. Belichick lost his way, and the Patriots wandered aimlessly across the NFL landscape. Five long years came and went with no division titles and no playoff victories.

Now it is the holiday season and we have this unexpected gift of the 2025 Patriots. A franchise that won four games in each of the last two seasons comes into this weekend with the best record in the NFL (tied with the Broncos), 10 straight victories, and a chance to win the AFC East Sunday.

DHL Dan CCLXXIX - Goodbye, Matthews Arena

Shank pays homage to a place that's steeped in local history:

It’s the end of an era for Matthews Arena (formerly Boston Arena), and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while waiting for the wrecking ball at the old Boston Arena …

⋅ Northeastern University’s Matthews Arena, the ancient sports palace formerly known as Boston Arena, is a humble building in a humble neighborhood. It’s a multipurpose athletics hall that for 115 years has been home to events featuring magic and star power on par with Fenway Park, both Boston Gardens, and the long list of gridirons that have housed your Patriots since their creation.

Sadly, it’s time to say goodbye to this bastion of New England entertainment that first opened its doors on St. Botolph Street in April 1910. The curtain falls for good Dec. 13, when the Northeastern men’s hockey team hosts Boston University at 7 p.m.

From the jump, the old Arena was a place for big names, often folks with three names: James Michael Curley, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, J. Edgar Hoover, and Jerry Lee Lewis all spoke/performed at the Arena. George Herman Ruth, a Red Sox pitcher and slugger of some renown, played pickup hockey games there during his baseball offseasons, circa 1914-18.

Ruth wasn’t the only champion hanging around St. Botolph Street in those early days. Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney, and Joe Louis sat ringside for Arena prize fights, and Olympic skating champion Sonja Henie performed at an ice show in 1930. Later in the 20th century, the Rev. Billy Graham spoke at the Arena, as did General Dwight David Eisenhower.

Prime Time

A few months ago Shank predicted seven wins for this year's New England Patriots. Currently sitting at eleven wins, his attitude towards the team has changed quite a bit:

Drake Maye, Mike Vrabel certainly have these Patriots ready for prime time

Back in prime time on “Monday Night Football,” the Patriots thrashed the New York Football Giants, 33-15, Monday at Gillette Stadium.

This means 10 straight wins for the 11-2 Pats — the best record in all of the NFL — and a legit shot at the top seed when the AFC playoffs begin next month.

“Players are coming in here each and every week and practicing and executing,” said first-year coach Mike Vrabel. “Ultimately, it’s on the players. We try to give them a plan they can execute. I’m proud of them and happy they can have some success.”

Extending Thanksgiving weekend an extra 24 hours, quarterback/MVP candidate Drake Maye (24 for 31, 282 yards, two touchdown passes) carved up the New York turkeys for another easy win against a pathetic NFL wannabe.

“Drake is ... realizing what he can be and the impact he makes on this offense,” said Vrabel. “We are very appreciative that he’s our quarterback.”

To some people, the Patriots have suddenly became a very good team. Then there's Shank:

The Patriots have a well-earned bye week. No game Sunday. The bad news is that the March of the Tomato Cans — easiest schedule in NFL history — is suspended for a couple of weeks. They will be legitimately tested twice in December, with a home game against the Bills on Dec. 14 followed by a rugged road trip to play the smashmouth Ravens in Baltimore.