FOXBORO -- Make no mistake, the Patriots are fully-focused on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
But Bill Belichick is a loyal friend, which would explain the white Tony La Russa St. Louis Cardinals jersey he sported in the Patriots' locker room prior to Friday's practice at Gillette Stadium.
Belichick and La Russa are good friends, and the Pats' coach was clearly pulling for the Cardinals manager after Thursday night's wild Game 6 of the World Series, in which St. Louis came from behind several times and finished it off with a walk-off home run in the 11th inning.
"I'm happy for Tony," said Belichick in his morning press conference. "I wish him well tonight. That team's showing a lot of resiliency, physical toughness, mental toughness, from being way behind in September, and in the World Series and in various games. They lost a couple games I'm sure they feel like they should have won. But they've been able to bounce back from those. And now it's a one-game season."
Belichick said he spends at least one day with La Russa in spring training every year, and sees plenty of benefits with having a great relationship with coaches of other sports.
"It's good to talk to people, sometimes, in other sports," said Belichick. "Coaching's coaching. Dealing with players, dealing with coaches, dealing with other situations. There's certainly a lot of common ground there. I'm fortunate to have a great relationship with a person like Tony."