When the NFLPA filed a lawsuit against the NFL over Tom Brady's four-game suspension in early August, I paid no attention whatsoever. I was about as weary of Deflategate or Ballghazi or whatever as it is possible to be. Did he know the balls were deflated? Did he destroy his cell phone to hide evidence? Did he break the rules? Did he order the Code Red? Does anyone care anymore?
Turns out I should have been paying attention, however, if only because there was a surprising Canucks connection.
Among the emails made public during the NFLPA's appeal was a conversation between Tom Brady and Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini. The emails returned to the spotlight yesterday as they talk about Alex Guerrero, Brady's business partner and "body guru," who has been revealed as a glorified snake oil salesman who has claimed to cure cancer and prevent concussions using supplements and sports drinks.
Aquilini, along with Trevor Linden and several members of the Canucks, may have been exposed to Guerrero's quackery and pseudo-science back in February. But more importantly, the Sedins plan on playing until they're 39! Yes, somehow these things are connected.
Deadspin has the emails in their entirety, but here are the parts we care about: Aquilini arranged to have dinner with Brady when the Canucks were in Boston in late February. Then, after casually inviting him to Elton John's Oscars viewing party, Aquilini proposed that Brady meet with several members of the Canucks prior to that dinner:
From: Francesco Aquilini
To: Tom Brady
Sent: February 10, 2015 7:06:16 PM PST
Received: February 10, 2015 7:06:20 PM PSTFantastic! Let’s have dinner at 7 pm. You decide the place. Hopefully Gisele can make it too and I will bring Martine. If not we can do just the two of us.
I was wondering if some of our players from our leadership group could meet with you say 5:30 on Monday before our dinner to talk about some of the successes in your career, what has worked for you. How do you hold players accountable, how do you build a dynasty, and particularly how to extend your career. Our two Captains Henrik and Daniel Sedin (they are twins) are 35 and want to play another 4 years. They are elite world class hockey players and it would be an honour for them to meet you and talk a about winning and extending your career. I remember you telling me you want to play another 7 years!! That is amazing!. 7 more superbowls!!
Tom, I hope I am not imposing on your generosity of your time and knowledge, our Coach Willie has asked me to reach out to you because he really feels that this could be a great help to them.
I remember you telling me some things last summer that I think they would love to hear from you.
It would be 6 guys and myself and Trevor Linden (Our President) they are all good guys that you would totally approve of. You will really like them, very down to earth and humble guys. It would only be a hour or so and we can do it in a private room at the hotel where they are staying. If you typically charge any fees for your time, I will gladly pay it.
If this is something you are not comfortable with I totally understand and we can skip it altogether and we can just go to dinner and have fun.
Anyway you decide I’m happy. You are a great guy and a true gentleman!
Cheers!
Francesco
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
This follow-up email doesn't reveal any new information, but it's hilarious. When Brady doesn't respond for a whole day, Aquilini panics, thinking he's offended him:
On Feb 11, 2015, at 5:47 PM, Francesco Aquilini wrote:
Tom:
Let’s just skip the whole talk to the players thing and just go to dinner. We will just have fun.
Cheers
Francesco
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
We can still have fun, right? Please? Oh god, I'm so sorry, please talk to me.
Also clear: Aquilini doesn't actually know how old the Sedins are, as they didn't turn 35 until September. That might have been what he intended, that the Sedins will be 35 next season, then intend to play for another four years after that.
That would mean playing until 2020, which would be pretty fantastic, as long as it's all with the Canucks. The general suspicion has been that the Sedins are likely to retire once their current contracts expire in 2018, but, if Aquilini is correct, they'll be looking for two-year extensions. This makes me happy.
It doesn't make me happy that Brady insisted on bringing Alex Guerrero, who seems like a pretty shady dude, to the meeting.
On Feb 20, 2015, at 10:18 PM, Tom Brady wrote:
Hi there. That sounds good to me. It will be a fun experience for me to share what I know with your players. I have been very fortunate to learn the right information from the best person in the world whom I work with. His name is Alex. He is my body coach and the person who I am blessed to have learned from. I would like to bring him also so he can answer some technical questions if the guys have any. He hasn’t been wrong 1 time in the 11 years we have worked together. We should allow 2 hours as time will fly.
As for dinner, there is a great restaurant called Oishii. It is in Boston. We can go with our wives there.
I do have one request. I am starting a foundation as it relates to the business Alex and I have together. We want to educate all athletes on sustained peak performance. As you might imagine, we turn kids and parents away who can’t afford to come and get treatment at our center. Sometimes they come for one treatment and are headed in the right direction but can’t follow up because they dont have the financial means. That has been a challenging issue for our center because our body coaches are also care givers and it’s hard to turn people in need away. I would only ask that after our meeting, if you feel like we have helped you and your team, that you would make a donation to our foundation to treat those young athletes who can’t quite afford it. Thanks Francesco I look forward to seeing you
According to Aquilini, the meeting consisted of "6 guys from our leadership group and Trevor Linden our President and myself." The Sedins would be two of them, obviously, but who are the others? Kevin Bieksa? Alex Burrows? Alex Edler? Ryan Miller? Or heck, considering the current Canucks, it might have included Derek Dorsett and Luca Sbisa.
To be fair to the Sedins, Tom Brady is 38 and still playing in a sport that takes a heavy toll physically, so it's understandable that they might want to know how he's doing it. I wonder if they were disappointed to find out that one of his secrets is using a sports drink to prevent concussions, because, well, that's hot nonsense.
Finally, on game day as the Canucks faced off against the Bruins, Tom Brady sent this email:
From: Tom Brady
To: Francesco Aquilini
Sent: February 24, 2015 6:22:27 PM PST
Received: February 24, 2015 6:22:27 PM PSTGo Canucks!!!!!
So, uh, Boston sports fans: how do you feel about this?
