January book reviews, part 1

I've been able to do some reading lately, and although I won't offer my take on Strunk and White's Elements of Style (aside from saying it's one of the best books ever for writers), I am going to give my opinion on some other books I've recently read. Most of them have been in the sports genre.

Today: Then Belichick Said to Brady by Jim Donaldson.

Then Belichick Said to Brady is cast as an insider's take (Donaldson worked for the Providence Journal covering the Pats for years) of New England Patriots history, with dust cover advertisements promising scoops about the stories all New England fans know.

Unfortunately, the book does exactly opposite of that: It tells, in the most bland form, the stories everyone already knows, just in a more boring way.

Rambling at best, this poor retelling of basics Patriots history is mundane, repetitive, and dull.

The long-winded accounts, which are placed in no particular order and are often revisited several times within the book (just in different chapters), are bolstered only by the occasional verbatim quotes that the dustcover promised would power the book. And these quotes are so dull that they could have easily been pulled from the Patriots' Monday press conferences throughout the years.

Now, I understand that a sportswriter moves at his own peril when he tries to cover the tight-lipped Pats, but this isn't sparse...it's shoddy. It was one of those books that makes you wonder how this sportswriter ever got paid to do what he did. There are stories here, but he doesn't find them, much less tell them, and he lacks even basic writing skills at points.

His lack of excellence is even seen on the back cover, where he runs one of the great Belichick quotes, but it's misattributed to when Belichick took over the Patriots, not the Browns (which is the actual circumstance, once you suffer through the book). If Donaldson can get even that right, don't count on good storytelling or inspiring quotes.

Furthermore, nowhere in the book does it ever recount an instance where Belichick actually said something to Brady.

For someone with no clue about the history of the Patriots, this book may help, but read it with a knowledgeable friend at your side, for you will have more questions than answers after going through it.

Questions such as, "What was this guy thinking?"

Patriots death knells?

I've refrained from writing about the Patriots this season, mostly because of lack of time but also because of some raising and dashing of hopes. The most recent loss, however, seems to have pushed some sportswriters over the edge, and I link to their comments here.

The Boston Globe's Christopher L. Gasper thinks Friar Bill has lost control of his locker room. (Surprisingly no references to Mr. Eric Mangini, though.)

Boston.com's Tony Massarotti says Adalius Thomas's time in New England is short, plus other good insights on the Boston sports scene (and Tiger Woods). Check out the Adrian Beltre comment, too.

An injury unreported by Mangini? Big surprise.

Lost in the news that the Jets failed to disclose that Brett Favre's arm was about to fall off for the second half of last season is the fact that the New York coach at the time is one of the top graduates of the school of injury non-disclosure.

Former Jets coach Eric Mangini learned from the best in keeping injuries close to the vest (Bill Belichick), and it wouldn't be a surprise if he had a big part in this flap. He's being routinely investigated, as is everyone involved in the situation, but with the classic Belichickian-Mangianian-McDanielsian way of approaching hurt players, don't be surprised if this was just part of his plan to keep the end of the season from going down the toilet (which it ended up doing anyway).