"Death and Football," an important and seminal article about the long-term impact of football injuries, written by Clark Booth for Boston alternative weekly the Real Paper in January 1976, is back online -- legally this time -- thanks to the New York Times.

Although the story got caught in the middle of an ideological cock-fight about copyright between myself and the Times, that skirmish is over, and it's a pleasure to be able to recommend you go immediately to the Times site and read Booth's piece, which is a classic.

Sports radio guy and notorious pants salesman DAMON AMENDOLARA breaks it down: RICK PERRY is the Houston Texans: meaning he has no chance. NEWT GINGRICH? The Baltimore Ravens: a long shot to win, has a shaky reputation, known for making bad decisions in the past. Broncos? That would be the Tebow-ish RICK SANTORUM: preachy, really conservative, and we're all ready for his exit.

Oh Year End List Makers:
This week (the second to last of the Footballz broadcast schedule) we reap the benefits of a sports media that is a slave to the whims of the Big Markets. Let me set up a hypothetical for you. Two teams have the sterling records of 7-6 and 4-9 going into a game, and even the 7-6 team has a very slim (almost no) chance of making the playoffs.

F

Week 13: when the NFL hits the doldrums. The Baltimore Ravens usually sit someplace between boring and deplorable. Ray Lewis just seems like a dick and they manage to make purple the snooziest (<-- that is some new West Coast slang) color, so they are like Opposite Prince. Joe Flacco is from Delaware -- he was Delaware Mr.

Week 12 is upon us, the Thanksgiving has passed, and while we have feasted and fattened, the NFL has trimmed itself down to a small number of teams who could legitimately get to the Super Bowl and win. Tonight we will watch two of those teams so it should be exciting.

The New Orleans Saints are awesome. There is little argument with that.

Foot Ballz Talk is a live internet broadcast in which “two guys talk about football during a Monday night and play records.” It is produced by Mac and TD (familiar to fans of the musical endeavors Big Digits and Bodega Girls), and has been described by us (not by them) as “Mystery Pigskin Theater 3000

The New York Times's 5th Down Blog has done the math, and it turns out that the Patriots had a better chance to win the game by going for it on 4th and 2 from their own 28 than they would have if they'd punted:

With 2:00 left and the Colts with only one timeout, a successful conversion wins the game for all practical purposes.

1. adamcohen Breaking News: Brett Favre is addicted to attention. Stop feeding it. #enoughalready 05 May 2009 from TweetDeck
2. CapnCrook07 I hope Brett Favre breaks both of his legs in some freak accident just so he has to stay retired. Honestly, fuck you Favre. 05 May 2009 from web

As always, in times of trouble, trial, and tribulation -- no less THE SINGLE WORST LOSS IN NEW ENGLAND SPORTS HISTORY -- we look to . . . Hannah Montana. Oh, Miley, what would you sing to a town writhing in misery this morning? What have you for the vanquished 2007-08 New England Patriots, a team whose season is destined to replace "Casey at the Bat" as the tragic, cautionary sports tale of all time?