Not everybody associated with the Patriots is thrilled with the Brady Rule (designed to protect quarterback knees) and the other safety-minded reforms passed by the NFL this off-season.

Legendary cheap-shot artist Rodney Harrison expressed outrage over the crackdowns while visiting the Dan Patrick Show. Sure, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady suffered a catastrophic knee injury when Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard tunneled into his legs.

But the way Harrison sees it, that’s just football.

Here were a few highlights from Harrison:

“It’s crazy. You’ve been taught since you were six and seven years old to finish the play.”

“Football is supposed to be a man’s sport.”

“The game is going to slow down and it’s going to get softer.”

“It’s like patty-cake right now.”

At least Harrison is consistent. This guy derailed Trent Green’s career by diving into his legs during a preseason game, it would be disingenuous to support the Brady Rule now.

SPEAKING OF BRADY

This commercial reminds us that quarterbacks are always in play. They don’t want to go out of their way to upset the other side.

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while David Freese settles into third base for the Cardinals:

• How could Billy Gillispie’s job be in peril after just two seasons? Are Kentucky boosters really THAT impatient?
• If Mike Anderson bolts for Alabama, wouldn’t Gillispie become a very solid option for Mizzou? Wouldn’t he be able to step in and put these high-tempo players right to work?
• If U-Conn coach Jim Calhoun was grouchy before, how does he feel now that Yahoo! Sports has uncovered potential NCAA infractions?

CRUMMY JOB OF THE WEEK

Maria Jimenez didn’t enjoy working for Kobe and Vanessa Bryant. In fact, she has filed suit in Orange County (Calif.) Superior Court against the couple, claiming, among other things, that Vanessa “badgered, harassed and humiliated” her “by yelling and screaming at Maria and criticizing her in front of Kobe, the Bryants’ children, employees and other people in the household.”

According to TMZ.com, here was the worst of it:

The final straw: Vanessa went nuclear because Maria put an expensive blouse in the washer. Vanessa demanded that Maria put her hand in a bag of dog feces to retrieve the price tag for the blouse.

JOHN CALIPARI KNOWS BASKETBALL

He hit on a couple of these. Tipsheet should have followed his investment advice:

MISTER ROGERS GOES TO JAIL

The Rams, as you know, have the second overall pick in the NFL Draft. The Lions had that pick in 2003 and took receiver Charles Rogers.

Oops! Not only did the injury-prone Rogers wash out of the NFL, he ended up in jail recently after violating his probation for a domestic violence beef. The Associated Press reached him in jail and got this update:

“I’m just going to do my 10 days, get out of the court system and try to get in shape for a comeback. Am I sad about the way my life has turned out? No, because I know the strides I’ve made to take care of Charles Rogers.”

Rogers violated his probation by testing positive for alcohol use and for fudging his Alcoholic Anonymous meeting log. Referring to himself in the third person is NOT a probation violation, although it should be.

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Jeff Schultz, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Japan won the World Baseball Classic over Korea. They have stolen our game. Americans every where hide their faces in shame. (Pause) OK, I’m fine now. When’s the season start?”

Greg Cote, Miami Herald: “A student in Des Moines, Iowa, won her middle school’s ‘take an NFL player to breakfast’ contest and chose Bears quarterback Kyle Orton. Good God, girl, why?”

Mark Kriegel, FoxSports.com: “The president of Florida State University says ‘the coaches’— read: Bobby Bowden — ‘had no involvement’ in a widespread cheating scandal. In other words, it’s business as usual for the Seminoles. At least now we know why the university turned Myron Rolle’s bid for a Rhodes Scholarship into a publicity stunt.”

T.J. Simers, Los Angeles Times: “Cities such as Cleveland, Baltimore and St. Louis had NFL teams, lost them and fought like crazy to get another. You live in one of those cities, and you need a good reason to shovel your way out of the driveway. Around here, though, it’s as if the NFL is dead and buried, the five stages of death eventually leading to acceptance, which is where L.A. sits after experiencing denial, anger, bargaining and depression.”

MEGAPHONE

“We have to try to push up the intensity for the U.S. team and have to find ways to get our best players and make sure they’re out there. Everybody who has ever played in it loves it . . . We have to pick up the selection process. We need, as the other countries do, to get the very best players we have.”

Commissioner Bud Selig, beating the drum for his beloved World Baseball Classic.