d know I looked through almost 20 variations of this opening

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- In packed stadiums, Tom Brady had one of his worst statistical seasons. Behind the scenes, hes working hard to have a better one. And, more importantly, carry the New England Patriots further -- to the Super Bowl -- than they went last season. Brady has heard coach Bill Belichick stress throughout their 14 full seasons together "that whatever matters to you as an individual, its far distant from what the team goals are," the quarterback said Monday. Achieving those goals is a year-round pursuit with intense off-season preparation setting the stage for the regular season. "What youre trying to establish this time of year is what kind of team youre going to be," Brady said during the Patriots third week of organized team activities. "Whos willing to put it all on the line when theres really no glory in this. Theres no glory in an OTA practice. Theres no glory in the weight room or out there on the conditioning field, but itll show up at some point. "Its a long season, so, at some point, the mental toughness, the discipline of the team always shows up and those are the things that were trying to work on." Last season, Brady was 17th in the NFL in passer rating, 21st in completion percentage, 22nd in average gain per pass attempt and 11th in touchdown passes. Of course, Wes Welker left before the season for the Denver Broncos, Aaron Hernandez was charged with first-degree murder last summer and Rob Gronkowski was limited by injury to seven games. The Patriots leading returning receiver was Julian Edelman, and he had just 21 catches in 2012. He followed that with 105 receptions in a breakout season, but the rest of the receiving group suffered from injuries and inexperience. The only significant addition to the group is Brandon LaFell, who had a career-high 49 catches in his fourth NFL season last year with Carolina. "Theres always ways to find improvement," Brady said after posing for photos with winners of the 2014 Myra Kraft Community MVP awards in honour of team owner Robert Krafts late wife. "Youre always working with lots of other guys. So its not necessarily just my improvement, but how my improvement relates to the rest of the team. And we all change from year to year." Receivers Danny Amendola, Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins are entering their second season with the Patriots. Brady is starting his 15th and wants to play as long as possible. "The thing that Ive learned over the years is youve got to pay the price in advance," he said. "You just cant run out on the field and expect things to be better without putting the time in and extra effort. I try to be really consistent and dependable for our guys, and I think thats what the quarterback position needs to be." The Patriots won their fifth straight AFC East title last season and 10th in the past 11. But Brady was outplayed by Peyton Manning in the AFC championship game. Denver won 26-16 as the Patriots made it nine straight seasons without a Super Bowl title. The off-season intensity increases next week with a three-day minicamp followed by training camp next month. For Brady, theres no time to waste. "I dont think theres any time that we come out of a meeting thinking, Man, were great. Weve got everything figured out. Its really a time of year where youre going to make a lot of mistakes," he said. "Youre going to give great effort and youre going to fail and then youve got to gain trust in each other and become more consistent." Then, after speaking with reporters for nearly 10 minutes, Brady was eager to return to work. "Back to practice," he said with a big smile. Jaren Jackson Jr. Jersey . -- Sonny Grays fastball wasnt as sharp as it usually is, and the Oakland Athletics young pitcher even had a quirky replay go against him. Custom Memphis Grizzlies Jerseys . The 48th-ranked Williams made her first appearance in Dubai since she won her second straight title here in 2010. Shed missed the last three years either because of injury or Sjogrens Syndrome. http://www.grizzliesbasketballpro.info/Shareef-Abdur-Rahim-Grizzlies-Jersey/ . Thats the feeling that eight Canadian Football League teams are experiencing right now in advance of the expansion draft to stock the Ottawa Redblacks. Dillon Brooks Grizzlies Jersey . Cavaliers shooting guard Craig Ehlo makes a solid play on the ball, but still Jordan hits the amazing shot. Mike Bibby Grizzlies Jersey .Y. - The New York Yankees made it official Saturday, announcing the completion of a seven-year deal with free-agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and a one-year contract for returning starter Hiroki Kuroda.Lets take a moment to compare that to Hank Williams Jr.s Are You Ready for Some Football, which was performed on every episode of Monday Night Football for 20 years. Readers should know I looked through almost 20 variations of this opening on YouTube to find the most "American" version. Youre welcome.In The Cartridge Family episode, play-by-play man Kent Brockman sounds painfully uninterested in the soccer match, which is contrasted by a Latino announcers extremely enthusiastic call. As the crowd begins to lose interest, a violent football riot breaks out under Groundskeeper Willies direction. In a more rrecent episode called You Dont Have to Live Like a Referee, FIFA officials recruit Homer Simpsons to referee the World Cup in Brazil.ddddddddddddThe episode mocks flopping in soccer, the unnecessarily jubilant announcing and even guest stars legendary Spanish commentator Andrés Cantor.Homers honest officiating is quickly tested by the bribery of local gangsters seeking to influence the outcome of the event.Of course, Homer does the right thing and Germany goes on to win the 2014 FIFA World Cup by a score of 2-0… you heard it here first!And who could forget the time The Simpsons featured Cristiano Ronal…DOH! ' ' '