Tom Brady has never lost in Minnesota Authentic Brock Nelson Jersey , with his latest game in the land of lakes this weekend at the Super Bowl of course looming as the largest yet.
Well, long before all this football success, Brady actually endured a couple of memorable failures in the state. They came during those treasured visits to his family’s farm outside the tiny town of Browerville.
First, there was his grandfather’s dog, Tippy. Little Tommy ignored the advice of his elders one day and decided to feed Tippy a bone.
”I bent down to give him a kiss, and he bit through my lip,” Brady said. ”That was pretty rough.”
Then there was his ill-fated debut with chewing tobacco, which he persuaded his uncles to let him sample during the half-hour ride back to the farm from their fishing expedition on the lake.
”They said, `Look, if we give it to you, you can’t spit it out until you get home,’ Of course they give it to me, and within five minutes I’m outside of the car, throwing up all over the place,” Brady said. ”And I don’t think I’ve had much chewing tobacco since then.”
Brady spent plenty more time in central Minnesota as he aged into a star quarterback and eventually one of the most famous people on the planet. He still makes a priority to visit in the offseasons with his wife and children, trying to continue a tradition he reflected upon fondly and often during news conferences this week.
”I’ve come here my entire life since I was a baby. I’ve been coming to Minnesota in summers and winters. I loved the experience. I loved the life here,” Brady said. ”Some of my greatest memories as a kid were coming here and milking cows with my grandpa; hanging out in his silos and in the haystack above his barn; going out to where he would pasteurize the milk and pull the cream off the top of the milk in the morning; and shooting his (.22-caliber rifle) at targets in the backyard, and catching sunfish with my uncles. It was great. I love being here. It’s a great state. Obviously, I love the people. Being that my mom’s from here, I’m proud of that.”
Galynn Johnson was the middle child between two boys Cal Clutterbuck Jersey , the 1961 homecoming queen at Browerville High School who moved to California and met Tom Brady, who would later add senior to his name when a certain five-time Super Bowl winner was born. The couple returned to Todd County, where the prairie meets the forest a little less than a 2+-hour drive northwest of downtown Minneapolis, in 1969 for their wedding.
Brady and the Patriots will play the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, when several family members will be in attendance at U.S. Bank Stadium.
”These tickets are pretty tough to come by,” Brady said. ”But I’m trying my best to accommodate everyone. It is very special.”
The group will include Paul Johnson, who at age 50 is 10 years older than his quarterback cousin. He’s an entrepreneur who has stayed around his whole life. After CBS announcer Jim Nantz mentioned Browerville to Brady during New England’s AFC championship celebration, Johnson has been the subject of a barrage of media coverage that’s highly unusual for a quiet burg of 793 people.
”It’s fun. I wouldn’t want to be a celebrity, I know that,” Johnson said, conducting an interview with The Associated Press from his ice-fishing shack on one of the region’s bounty of frozen lakes, with the clinking of his propane tank audible in the background. ”We’re just so proud of him.”
The Johnsons of Browerville quickly became Patriots fans after Brady was drafted in 2000, veering away from the home-state Vikings.
”We clearly remember the game where Drew Bledsoe got hurt,” Johnson said, ”and the rest is history.”
Johnson’s 22-year-old son, Benton, is a University of St. Thomas senior in St. Paul who was fortunate enough to get on the ticket list for Sunday, too. This will be his first in-person Super Bowl, but he and his 25-year-old sister, Kenley Calvin de Haan Jersey Kids , have been lifelong fans of the Patriots.
”It was probably the coolest thing on earth to say that Tom Brady was your cousin,” said Benton, who always carried photo evidence of his relation to disprove any doubting peers at school.
Even for young Benton, visits to Browerville from the Brady clan made a major impression.
”It was always like, `Mom, when are they coming?”’ Benton said. ”I always told my parents I would move to California because I just loved seeing them and the stories they would tell.”
Brady’s mother underwent breast cancer treatments in 2016 and made a stirring appearance on the field this season before New England’s game against the Atlanta Falcons . Brady has beamed this week every time he’s spoken about his family, proudly reporting that his mom remains cancer free.
”My parents mean everything to me,” Brady said. ”They’ve been here by my side every step of the way.”
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White Sox manager Rick Renteria has been talking with Yoan Moncada about his focus lately.
The talented second baseman sure looked locked in on Sunday.
Moncada broke out of a slump with a three-run homer and six RBIs, and the White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics 10-3 for a split of their four-game series.
”Anytime you’re going through a rough moment, you have doubts, you have questions,” Moncada said through an interpreter. ”But when you keep working hard, you can answer those questions.
”I keep grinding and just working hard.”
Daniel Palka and Yolmer Sanchez also connected for the White Sox, who had lost nine of 10. Carlos Rodon (1-2) pitched a season-high eight innings in his fourth start after missing the beginning of the year while recovering from shoulder surgery last September.
Moncada, who hit .183 over the previous 35 games, gave the White Sox a 3-2 lead with a three-run double in the fifth. Moncada then scored on Avisail Garcia’s single, and Jose Abreu added another RBI single.
Palka, Sanchez and Moncada all went deep in the sixth. Moncada belted a three-run drive for his 10th homer, making it 10-2 Chicago.
”I think he’s probably giving a little bit of a wakeup call to himself in terms of where he sees himself,” Renteria said. ”I think he’s also learned that truly you have to take every single pitch of a game into consideration because they all matter.
”I think he’s starting to realize that maybe I have to have a little bit more focus and intensity.”
Oakland set a modern major league record when Mark Canha hit a drive to left on Rodon’s first pitch of the fifth Casey Cizikas Jersey , extending the A’s streak to 25 straight road games with a homer. Canha also opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the second.
A’s right-hander Paul Blackburn (1-2) allowed six runs and eight hits in five-plus innings. He permitted only one baserunner through the first four, but got into trouble with two out in the fifth.
The rally started with back-to-back singles by Omar Narvaez and Leury Garcia, and then Blackburn hit ninth hitter Adam Engel with a pitch.
”Garcia didn’t look very good on a couple changeups I threw. I threw another one that was a little up and he kind of flipped it over there (right field),” Blackburn said. ”Then I hit (Engel), and it was kind of downhill from there.”
Rodon allowed two runs and seven hits. The eight innings matched his career high.
”It was good to go eight and just be ahead of guys,” Rodon said. ”There’s up and down days when you go through shoulder surgery or any kind of surgery for a player. You just have to work through it, try to make your way back.”
ANOTHER STOP
Well-traveled right-hander Edwin Jackson will be activated on Monday and start for Oakland at Detroit.
The A’s will become his 13th major league team, which ties retired right-hander Octavio Dotel for the major league record. The 34-year-old went 0-1 with a 4.02 ERA in three starts for Triple-A Nashville. He owns a 98-120 major league record and 4.67 ERA in 15 seasons.
”I’m probably the only guy in the clubhouse that has never met him, but I did earlier today,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said.
Outfielder Nick Martini will be sent to Triple-A Nashville to open a spot for Jackson on the roster.
HISTORIC HOMER
Melvin said the team celebrated Canha’s record-setting home run in the dugout.
”It’s nice to hang your hat on, but it certainly would have been a little better if we had won the game,” Melvin said.
The previous record was set by the Orioles in 1996.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Athletics: RHP Daniel Mengden (sprained right foot) returned to the Bay Area to consult with team physicians. The injury is not believed to be related to his previous right foot injuries. ”We’ll probably know a little bit more in the next couple of days,” Melvin said. … INF Matt Chapman (right hand contusion) could have a cortisone shot in the wrist area on Monday and will sit out the Tigers series. He had an injection in his thumb last Monday. The hope is the trouble spot has been localized and he’ll be available on the next homestand.
White Sox: RHP prospect Dane Dunning left his start Saturday for Double-A Birmingham with right elbow soreness, Renteria said. He will undergo an MRI.
UP NEXT
Athletics: Jackson will make his A’s debut in the opener of a four-game series in Detroit. RHP Jordan Zimmermann (2-0, 4.95 ERA) goes for the Tigers.
White Sox: Following an off day, the White Sox begin a three-game set against visiting Minnesota on Tuesday. RHP Reynaldo Lopez (2-5, 3.59 ERA) opposes Twins RHP Lance Lynn (5-5, 4.64 ERA) in the opener.