Thursday's Mashup: Athletes, celebrities, Patriots teammates respond to Tom Brady's 'more to prove' Instagram post

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THURSDAY'S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:NBA: Boston at Philadelphia, 7 p.m. (TNT)NHL: Winnipeg at Boston, 7 p.m. (NESN)

AROUND THE WEB: 

-- After Tom Brady shared his Instagram post thanking Patriots fans on Wednesday and saying he has "more to prove" in the NFL, celebrities, athletes and his Patriots teammates flooded the comments with responses. 

I just wanted to say to all of our fans, THANK YOU! After a few days of reflection, I am so grateful and humbled by the unconditional support you have shown me the past two decades. Running out of that tunnel every week is a feeling that is hard to explain. I wish every season ended in a win, but that's not the nature of sports (or life). Nobody plays to lose. But the reward for working hard is just that, the work!! I have been blessed to find a career I love, teammates who go to battle with me, an organization that believes in me, and fans who have been behind us every step of the way. Every one of us that works at Gillette Stadium strived to do their best, spent themselves at a worthy cause, and prepared to fail while daring greatly (h/t Teddy Roosevelt). And for that, we've been rewarded with something that the scoreboard won't show - the satisfaction of knowing we gave everything to each other in pursuit of a common goal. That is what TEAM is all about. In both life and football, failure is inevitable. You dont always win. You can, however, learn from that failure, pick yourself up with great enthusiasm, and place yourself in the arena again. And that's right where you will find me. Because I know I still have more to prove.

A post shared by Tom Brady (@tombrady) on Jan 8, 2020 at 5:50am PST

"CANT STOP WONT STOP,"  P. Diddy wrote. 

"Beautiful said. Powerful mana in your words, brother. #daregreatly," The Rock posted. 

Cody Kessler wrote, "Let's go 12!!"

"Yes sir @tombrady football," David Beckham wrote. 

Jalen Ramsey posted two "100" emojis. 

"You have Nothing to prove, but so much to give! Biggest fan. Rock on," Venus Williams said. 

Jarrett Stidham wrote, "You're the man 12!"

"Love competing with and against you!!!," Devin and Jason McCourty wrote. 

"THE GOAT," Mark Wahlberg added. 

And Ben Watson left a longer, heartfelt message to Brady: "No bro. We all need to be thanking you! Your leadership is an inspiration, your example exemplary, and your fire is contagious. Generations of players have been blessed to take the field and share the locker room with you. You made everyone better and made us appreciate this game all the more. You taught us the importance of TEAM and that winning is not by chance. It's by choice, in every drill when the lights and cameras are no where to be seen. And even though your stardom is unmatched you still take time hug our kids, wives and parents, sign all the stuff people send you and have normal conversations lol. Kindness lasts forever. Play as long as you desire to. This decade needs some TB records as well. Fan for life #LFG."

-- Jimmy Garoppolo tossed a football into the stands following the 49ers' Week 17 win over the Seahawks and it cost him thousands of dollars. 

The NFL is fining the quarterback $7,017 for throwing the ball into the stands after the team clinched the NFC West title when he was supposed to give it to referee Tony Corrente. 

"I looked for the ref initially but no one was around me," Garoppolo said. "So I was like … I'm just going to throw this thing."

He plans to appeal the fine and said he will sign the ball for 49ers fan Matt Pinelli, who was the lucky recipient of Garoppolo's costly throw. 

From NFL Now on @nflnetwork: Good story from @MaioccoNBCS on the #49ers fan who caught Jimmy Garoppolo's pass into the crowd in Seattle, though it did cost Cousin Jimmy a few bucks (pending appeal). pic.twitter.com/VqP088Qc0E

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "It's unfortunate. I thought they were going to win the Super Bowl. They're the Patriots. I feel like they're the best franchise in the NFL. They will figure things out. Tom Brady is the greatest. You can't knock that. You have good days, bad days, but that doesn't define him. He knows who he is and I'm sure he'll work through it and make things happen." -- Tacko Fall, on the Patriots