New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is reveling in the team's fifth Super Bowl title.
"Think about the eight days I had. We had Elton John perform at a party. We have the Super Bowl, where from the depths of depression, we go to the elation of a victory," Kraft told Andrea Kramer on HBO's Real Sports. "We have this trophy, and on a snowy day in Boston, we have over a million people. Then the president invites you to dinner with the prime minister [of Japan]. It's a pretty cool week."
After Kraft said that, Kremer suggested that "it's good to be Robert Kraft," to which he replied: "Sometimes."
That could be a bit of foreshadowing in Kraft's case. Aside from the highs, he was asked about the controversies the Patriots have encountered over the past decade. From losing a first-round pick and racking up nearly a million dollars in fines for illegally videotaping opposing teams' signals from the wrong location in 2007 to watching quarterback Tom Brady's four-game suspension for his role in Deflategate as it played out, it has not always been a smooth road for the Patriots owner.
"When anyone wins at anything too often, then you start to bring out feelings that aren't maybe the most collegial in other people," Kraft said. "Envy and jealousy are incurable diseases. The haters still hate. And I understand it and we'll do our best to keep them in that position."
As perhaps expected, Kraft was glowing in his praise for Brady.
"He's just not the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL, he's an amazing person and it's genuine," Kraft said. "And as nice as everybody thinks he is, he's nicer. And to see anyone attack him as an individual or his integrity, that was just unfair."
More Kraft
Other notable items from Kraft's Real Sports interview:
• On drafting Tom Brady: "I'll always remember him coming down the stairs at the old stadium. He said to me, 'Hi. I'm Tom Brady.' He looked me in the eye and said, 'And I'm the best decision this organization has ever made.' "
• On the key moment of New England's come-from-behind victory over the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl: "The transformative moment for me was [Julian] Edelman's catch. When he made that catch, I felt really good. Once we tied the game, I knew we were going to win."
Don't forget the steal
February has been a rough month for guard Lance Stephenson.
He didn't sign with an NBA team until this month when he signed a 10-day contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. And just as things were looking up, he suffered an ankle injury.
Stephenson didn't let the injury get him down, though. He took to Instagram, where he posted a stoic photo of himself and a quote from him:
"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
"Those are some powerful words, ones that stick with you -- almost as if you've already been exposed to the uplifting verbiage of basketball perseverance," Hector Diaz wrote for SB Nation. " 'But these are Lance's words,' you maybe saying to yourself. 'How could they be familiar?'
"This is actually a Michael Jordan quote.
"Yup. Lance Stephenson straight up took Jordan's quote, took His Airness' name off of it, and replaced it with his own. This is for everyone who says Lance's quotes are trash."
Sports on 02/24/2017