You Know You Have Bullpen Issues When You Do This...

The Red Sox must be desperate...take a look at this...

--Nationals-Red Sox Trade,0211
^Red Sox acquire Stanton for final four games
BOSTON (AP) The Red Sox acquired left-hander Mike Stanton from the Washington Nationals on Thursday for right-handers Rhys Taylor and Yader Peralta.
Boston's trade means Stanton could wind up pitching this weekend against his former team, the New York Yankees. If the Red Sox advance to the playoffs, Stanton would not be eligible for the postseason roster.
Stanton, who is 38, started the season with the Yankees and was cut June 30 after going 1-2 with a 7.08 ERA in 14 innings over 28 relief appearances. He signed with Washington on July 13 and went 2-1 with a 3.58 ERA in 27 2-3 innings over 30 games.
``We'd like to thank Mike for the fine job he did not only in our bullpen, but with the knowledge and leadership he shared with our young pitchers,'' Nationals general manager Jim Bowden said. ``We are pleased to acquire two young pitchers with good arms.''
Taylor, 20, was 2-2 with a 1.49 ERA in five starts and six relief appearances for the Gulf Coast League Red Sox. Peralta, 19, combined to go 2-3 with four saves and a 4.57 ERA in 27 relief appearances for Greenville, Lowell and the Gulf Coast League Red Sox.

How bad are the Boston lefties that you make this move? Stanton has been god-awful all year. Why give up a couple of young arms for this dead arm? Unbelievable. Does any Red Sox fan want to see him in a spot in the late innings versus Giambi or Matsui this weekend? The Yankees would salivate at the opportunity of taking it deep against Stanton.

The White Sox, btw, just clinched the AL Central with a 4-2 win over Detroit. That means that the Indians will be playing a Chicago team with nothing to play for outside of homefield advantage. That puts even more pressure on Boston and New York now. They might be playing for one postseason spot this weekend. Ozzie Guillen says that he plans to have his full lineup, but how hard will they play? And will it make any difference against a young team fighting for their season? This is the weekend to have MLB Extra Innings. Either that or apologize to your liver and head to a local sports bar.

Watching Mike and The MadDog on YES right now. Earlier they had Tom Verducci from SI on and he talked about the possibility of Terry Francona getting fired if they don't make the playoffs? I don't know if this is just columnist/talk show fodder to make news where none exists, but if that were to happen, it would be a borderline felony.

How do you fire a manager that won you your first World Series in 86 years? Is he the best manager out there? Not even close. Has he made some moves that you make you scratch your head? Most definitely. But he deserves to come back. He has had to deal with plethora of injuries to his pitching staff and Manny's foolishness. Yet he's had his team in the lead for much of the second half and right in the middle of it on the last weekend of the season. You can't fire him. If they lose out this weekend (and if the baseball gods are kind, they will.), it's not because of Terry Francona.

But the sad thing about it is that if he were fired, the infidel fans would probably cheer the move all across New England. I've never seen a championship manager who was more disliked in his hometown. The only coach in any sport who I think was as disliked was George Siefert in San Francisco. Fans in Infidel Nation think that the man behind the Sox curtain pulling the strings is Theo Epstein. That a manager is inconsequential to winning.

When you look at all the bad managers that they've had that have cost them in big games you'd think the same thing. Johnston in 1975, McNamara in 1986 and Grady Little in 2003. But Francona got them over the hump and they're still not happy. Wow. And you thought New York was a tough sports town.

The problem was Francona has always been perceived as a caddie for Curt Schilling and a yes man for Epstein, Lucchino and sabermetrics posse. The perception was that they never wanted a strong, independent presence managing their team, i.e Lou Piniella or Ozzie Guillen. So when Francona would make a smart move, he'd never get credit for it. Plus he never got credit for his people skills that have enabled him to control (somewhat) a very tough clubhouse. He has some real headcases in that lockerroom. Yet he has been able navigate through it all for the most part.

But being a manager is gig where you get too much of the credit and too much of the blame for your clubs success/failure. I guess this is another case of that. But I think part of it is the fact that New Englanders love being miserable. They have an addictive need to complain about something. Everyone wondered what they would do once they won. Now we know. Bitch and whine like they always have.

That region is 24/7 Red Sox. And part of that passion is complaining about every little move the Sox do or don't make. Some players like Ortiz and Schilling thrive in that environment...others like Foulke and Manny chafe under the hourly scrutiny. Boston isn't like other big cities. It's actually like a very, very big college town (Fenway is a stone's throw from Boston University). In NYC, the fans love their teams passionately. But New York is so big, that there are other things to occupy your time. Boston is very different. Boston is actually more like Philly than New York...only without the Black people. Two big college towns who are psychotic about their teams. Both have huge chips on the shoulders and despise NYC teams. Does that mean that they love their teams more than NYC. No, it just means that they express their love a little differently than we do.

If the Sox don't make the playoffs, it's going to be very interesting to see how Boston and the rest of New England reacts? Will cooler heads prevail? Or will everyone froth at the mouth and want everyone traded and the manager fired?

I hope I get the chance to find out....

Birth Of A Career, Death Of A Season

From the AP

Jets quarterback Chad Pennington will miss the rest of the season because of a torn right rotator cuff, The Associated Press learned Monday night.

Pennington's injury was confirmed by a person with knowledge of his condition, but who declined to be identified because the team had not made an official announcement.

An MRI exam showed Pennington tore his rotator cuff in Sunday's 26-20 overtime loss to Jacksonville. The NFL Network originally reported the injury, the second time Pennington has had this tear in less than a year.

Pennington was expected to visit noted orthopedist Dr. James Andrews in Alabama on Tuesday.

When it rains, it monsoons for the Jets. They lose two QBs in one game and now have to rely on Brooks Bollanger to keep their season afloat....at least until this guy gets up to speed...

NEW YORK (AP) Vinny Testaverde, who spent some of his best NFL seasons with the New York Jets, is set to rejoin the team to replace Chad Pennington, lost for the season with a shoulder injury.
The agreement was confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday by a person with knowledge of the deal, but who declined to be identified.
The Jets are desperate for a veteran quarterback with the loss of Pennington, and his backup, Jay Fielder, who also injured his shoulder after replacing Pennington in Sunday's loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Brooks Bollinger, in his third season, was expected to start for the Jets in Sunday's game against Baltimore.
Testaverde, who started for Dallas last season, was at the Jets' training complex Tuesday morning for a physical. He was unsigned when this season began.
The agreement was first reported by Newsday on its Web site.

Bringing back Vinny to work behind that offensive line is pretty much asking to put another QB on the DL, but he still has an arm and to quite honest, there's not much out there.

The injury bug has hit the AFC East hard...as the Pats lose Rodney Harrison for the season with a ACL, MCL, PCL injury, and the Bills lose LB Takeo Spikes with a Achiles tear. But the Jets don't just have a bug, they have malaria.

I just had Metstradamus, a die-hard Mets fan, try to blame me for the Pennington and Fiedler injuries!! He thinks that because I was at the Jets-Jags debacle, that it's my fault that he lost both of his QB's for the season in the same game. Why would I use my powers to hurt the Jets? The Cowboys or Eagles? Absolutely. The Pats or the Skins? With pleasure. But I have always had an affection for Gang Green. The first pro football game I ever attended was a Jets-Pats game in 1981 at Shea Stadium. Even though I'm a Giants-Yankees fan....I would never ever use my powers to hurt the boys from Hempstead.

but you have to admit, for a Rhodes Scholar candidate, Pennington was pretty dumb to try and come back early from his injury. Bravery is one thing, but if you can't help the team, then don't make matters worse. He hasn't been 100 percent or even close to it since the middle of last season. And it's not as if he had a cannon to begin with. I understand him wanting to help the team, but he has done more to hurt them than help. He killed them in the Pittsburgh playoff game and hasn't thrown a NFL spiral in a about a year. When he was healthy, he had an average NFL arm. Now he has the worst arm in the league of any starter.

This thing has been botched since day one. The Jets should have had Chad get his surgery as soon as their season was over. Instead they wait until February. Now I don't know of a major league pitcher who has shoulder surgery in February and comes back in August. He came back wayyyyyyy too quick. Pennington is now having his second shoulder surgery in a year. This mook has got a long road ahead of him. Hopefully the Jets fans will layoff Chad when he gets back. He was so awful in the game, that they were cheering when Fiedler came in and booing when Chad came back!!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Meadowlands, last week will probably be the only time that Giants fans will be happy after a 22 point loss. Eli Manning's performance in a very hostile environment was impressive to say the least. Who knows what would have happened if Burress wasn't benched in the first quarter by Coughlin for being late. We still would have gotten our doors blown off, because LT went completely nuts. The Chargers were 0-2 and needed that game to stay in the playoff race because they have a killer schedule. But I loved the way Manning handled himself with the hostile crowd and everything else going on. This kid made some great throws and with this offense, he can have a sick year. Now if the defense can get their act together, we might have a chance to turn some heads....

Raffy The Rat Bastard

I'm sure you've all read this but if you haven't take a look at this article on ESPN.

So not only is he a cheat, he's a rat bastard. Wow, this guy went from upstanding citizen to the biggest rat this side of Jose Canseco. At least Jose made some loot of of it.

Considering that this guy had a rep for boning teammates girlfriends and wives...I'm not surprised that this guy has become a rat.

And to implicate Tejada? One of the better lockeroom guys out there isn't going to help his image, either. Granted Tejada has been linked to steroids by Canseco and I've heard from friends of mine that he's probably not drinking "soda water". But like Giambi, players like him and his energy. Unless you have proof, you better shut up.

He's not playing again this year. And I don't think he'll ever play again. He's a pariah now. Forget about the Hall. Pete Rose and Joe Jacksonwill get in before Raffy even gets to sniff Coooperstown. And deservedly so.

Take a look at his stats. This is a guy that could only hit a high of 14 homers in a full season playing half his games at Wrigley Field. Ironically his stats jump when he heads to Texas. You want to talk about the Gulf-Streams that make the ball jump out of the park in Arlington fine. But you can't attribute jumping from 14 to 30 plus homers a year to gulf streams. And this was also around the time that he was teammates with Jose Canseco. 2+2....

Good riddance....

The Merlin Blog

Sorry that I'm just getting around updating this blog. Alcohol-induced exhaustion has forced me to play catch-up. So I'm writing a Merlin blog to get back up to speed.

For those of you didn't get that. Merlin lived his life in reverse. Which is the order I'm writing this blog.

Monday Night

Went to the Giants-Saints game last night. Shocked on how many empty seats there were in Giants Stadium. The trip to the stadium was an adventure in itself. Was going to take the usually reliable bus to the Meadowlands. There were two lines wrapped around Port Authority waiting for buses!! They probably didn't take into account the number of buses needed and weekday traffic. I ended up splitting a cab with three other folks to get there. These cabbies are stone-cold thieves. The Meadowlands is 6 miles from the city. Yet this scumbag wanted to charge 20 dollars a person! Anyhow, I finally get there in the middle of the first quarter and the Jints are up 7-0. This was an ugly game all around. The Saints had a trillion penalties and almost as many turnovers. They moved the ball well but the Jints would cut the drive short with a big play. Eli Manning was serviceable as Tiki Barber, Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey carried the weight for the offense. The Giants won 27-10 and go to 2-0.

A couple of notes on the game. I hate preseason football as much as anyone. But after watching two weeks of just horrible football all over league I think a few more pre-season games are in order. Most of these games have been unwatchable. Part of it is the parity of talent in the league. But I think another problem is that the first units aren't getting enough reps together on either side of the ball. Some of it is because of injuries to starters. But some of it is because of holdouts and coaches being gun shy about their starters getting hurt. I think it's probably going to be another week or so before we get to see what many of these teams capable or not capable of.

I sat next to one of the rarest of breeds...a Giants-Mets fan. That's right. You'll see Yankees-Jets fans (mostly from NJ, even Yankees-Cowboys(because they're bandwagon jumping pansies) but rarely do you see a Giants-Mets fan. For those of you who are new to New York sports allegiances....Most Giants fans are also Yankees fans in part because the Giants used to play at Yankee Stadium and because they are the two oldest franchises in the city (along with the Rangers). So chances if your daddy raised you to be a Yankee fan, you're probably a Giants fan as well. Since the Jets played at Shea stadium for 20 years and most of the Jet/Met fan base is from Queens/Long Island/Brooklyn, most people who are Jets fans are Mets fans.

And on top of that she was a Yankee hater too!! So she couldn't even enjoy the Giants win because our section started chanting "Bubba Crosby! Bubba Crosby!" after we got word that he hit a walk-off homer to beat Baltimore. Needless to say, she left early. Her friend says that she had a tough day at work. I think it was because of the dark side of the force pulling at her conscience. Forcing her to make the inevitable choice that was in front of her....To finally don the midnight blue hat with interlocking NY. To finally join the Empire.



So concerned about her fate, the Emperor had this to say to this confused soul.

Sometimes tough love is the only way to go....

Now riddle me this, Batman....if you're going to a Saints-Giants game...why would you wear a Donovan McNabb jersey?? Eagles fan or not, why subject yourself to that sort of abuse? I once wore my Yankees hat at Fenway for Sox-Mariners game and I got more dirty looks and middle fingers than a kid wearing a Che Guevara shirt in Little Havana, Miami. This Iggles fan got the same treatment. The entire councourse started chanting "Eagles Suck!", "Eagles Suck!". He was last seen having drinks with Jimmy Hoffa in the Giants skybox.

Sunday

More awful football. The first game I watch is the Bengals mangling of the Roy Horns....I mean the Vikings. Think Daunte is missing Randy yet? He actually has to play QB instead of point guard now...no more alley oops. I don't think the Vikes are quite as bad their record. But I don't think they have the coach to pull them out of this malaise. Mike Tice has to go. He is an awful coach.

Any team that has a polka rally song deserves to have their fan base picked off like the conspirators at the end of the Godfather. One very demented Steeler fans decides to play their polka song before the game. The rest of the bar is shooting her death rays. It's the second game of the season, people! Jesus, can you chill with the Super Bowl predictions, please?

The second game shown on my side of the bar was the Jets-Fins game. I couldn't get to the second half of that train wreck. I went home to take a nap. Chad Pennington and his lollipop arm were just too much to take.

And people wonder why I stay up to watch USC?

Speaking of which....

Saturday Night

Joined some friends to watch Florida-Tennessee at Blondies. Another sloppy game but at least I was treated to a couple of gems earlier in the day. In both the road teams prevailed as Miami beat Clemson in OT in their first visit to Death Valley and Michigan State beat Notre Dame in front of Touchdown Jesus. Great games. Between that and the Yankees-Blue Jays Glove Fest in Toronto, I was good to go. But the dessert of choice that night...was watching USC trounce Arkansas 70-17.

Now you may ask...what's the attraction of watching a beatdown like that? I ask how often do you really get to see greatness? I mean really? How often? I watch USC for the same reason I watched Larry Johnson's UNLV squad at 1 in the morning and Mike Tyson destroy people during his title run. They were forces of natures, heads and shoulders better than anyone else. You have to appreciate the talent and skill that they bring to every performance. How they force their competition to play at their level if they don't want to be embarrassed like Arksansas or Oklahoma. Wearing my Marcus Allen USC Jersey I was as giddy as a schoolgirl at a Britney concert.

So giddy that I decided to play "Tusk" by Fleetwood Mac during the beatdown. All the Trojans fans bobbed their heads in acknowledgement. The USC marching band played on the song and now they play it at games. Guess what I'm playing at Blondie's if they win it all again....

Sheaway...Lose Fresh

A funny from Bill Gallo in Friday's Daily News...

Looks like Joe is still mad about Willie not making his sub fresh toasted....

This is the time of year where a manager earns his paycheck. The Mets are done despite Pedro's effort last night. But it's the manager's job to make sure his team continues to play hard despite the fact that they're out of contention. Look at what Lou Piniella has done. His team has had another putrid season. Yet, look at what they've done against the Yankees. Look at what the Nationals are doing staying in the thick of things. The Mets have at least as much talent as the Nats. Why are they still giving the fans their money's worth while the faithful in Flushing are throwing tomatoes?

Bullpen strength? That's part of it. Timely hitting and fielding? Yes, but the Mets are as good defensively and better offensively. What been the difference? In my opinion, it's been managing? Look at what Frank Robinson has done this year? That team has taken on his persona and is grinding it until the end. Look at the Braves and Bobby Cox. Torre and the Yankees and all the pitching problems that they've had. While it's up to the players perform, it's up to the manager to put his team in the best position to win. To keep an even keel in the clubhouse. Randolph has failed miserably in that regard.

This team is better than its record. Not much better, but with their pitching staff, they should be over .500. I'm not gonna say that they've tanked it because they've been in every game for the most part. But the way they fell apart after getting within a half game of the wildcard lead is inexcusable. And Randolph deserves some of the blame for that.

I'm not saying that he should be fired. On the contrary, I think he'll be a good skipper someday. But not right now. A good manager can be the difference in 10 to 15 wins a year. Willie has cost his teams games. He's gotten a pass from the media this year for the most part because of the bullpen problems. But it's going to be very interesting how they react to Willie next year if the ballclub struggles.

I Hate This Game....Fantasy Nightmares....Mets Obit

I'm officially horrified....

I'm watching Mike and the Mad Dog on YES right now and they're talking to Mike Thibault, Head Coach of the Connecticut Sun....YES I have the TV on mute.

WNBA???? What???

Who still cares about this league? I mean really...who cares?

The game must be on the WFAN or this is some Mohegan Sun promotion because that's only way I see WFAN or YES caring about this league's finals. The FAN's demographic is white men between the ages of 25-54. You think they give a shit about the WNBA? They're barely watching the NBA. They've had it up to here with the bling-bling, thug-life, all-flash-no fundamentals league. But at least you know you're watching the best in the world. And if rating are down for the real thing, do you think they'll watch that?

This league is a joke. You'll never get me to watch a league where they stop the all-star game because someone dunked. Where I could grab a decent pick-up squad at the West 4th St ball courts and beat their all-star team by 25 points. Where an average Division III team would beat them by 50. Forget about the Rucker or And 1. That would be tantamount to first degree manslaughter.

And please don't compare this to Women's tennis. The best women in the world might not be able to beat the top men. But they'll beat some mook from off the street. I don't know that about the WNBA. When my former interns who played Division III ball, think they can take them, you know your league has zero credibility. Plus the WTA has some sex appeal. Unlike the WNBA. And don't make this about men being sexist pigs. Go to a Yankee game and see how many girls are screaming for Tito, A-Rod or Jeter. Or a sports bar and hear some girl talking about Jason Taylor's ass. Last weekend, I see one of the Blondies waitresses wearing a Ty Law Jets jersey. I say, "I thought you were a Packers fan." She responds that she couldn't find a Packers jersey in her size and that she thinks Law is "hot". Nuff said. Sex sells on both sides of the aisle.

I don't even want to waste anymore time on this. The Red Sox infidel Bill Simmons, who has made it his life's mission to see this league destroyed, wrote a great column about how much of a joke this league is and how Stern and the NBA are shoving this league down the networks throats.

Coming into this year, I have Randy Moss, Marvin Harrison, Javon Walker and Donald Driver on my fantasy league. I'm so loaded at the receiver position that I decide to trade Driver & Doug Jolley for Jeremy Shockey and Braylon Edwards. What happens? Walker is out for the season. Ugh....then in my other league, I have to worry about Larry Johnson doing a bid after smacking up his girlfriend. After Jamal Lewis' awful start, Johnson's the only decent back I have. Plus the talent pool is thin because both leagues have 12 teams. If I'm dead by Monday, then you know someone blew out an ACL....

Metstradamus sent me this obit from one of his fellow Met bloggers on the Amazin's season...hilarious...

Reports of Their Demise
by Greg at 12:49PM (EDT) on September 14, 2005 | Permanent Link | Cosmos
The 2005 New York Mets, beloved Wild Card contender and object of irrational obsession to thousands, passed Tuesday evening.

They were 144 games old.

The cause of death was termed offensive futility exacerbated by an attack of executional ineptitude.

A coroner's report indicated there was little heart left at the end.

The 2005 New York Mets were best known for their sound starting pitching and a five-game winning streak late in life, most notably a pair of contests in Arizona in which they scored 32 runs.

"That's how I'd like to remember them," said Mr. Met, self-identified "mascot" for the deceased. "Hitting and running and what not like they were really good at it. It seemed so unlike them but they seemed so happy."

Mr. Met admitted he has a lot of thoughts rattling around in his head, "and there's room for lots more."

The 2005 New York Mets gave new meaning to the term ".500 club," a designation that seems appropriate in light of the deceased's wish to be cremated and scattered in 500 equal fragments over Citizens Bank Ballpark, Dolphins Stadium, Robert F. Kennedy Stadium and Minute Maid Park.

"They really wanted to be a part of the Wild Card race to the end," said a National League source. "This way they'll be somewhere in the post-season."

A viewing will be held at Wilpon & Son Funeral Home, 123-01 Roosevelt Ave., Flushing, September 14-22 and September 29-October 2. September 14, 15 and 29 are Value Viewing Dates.

"Come on out to Shea," urged New York Mets eulogist Fran Healy, "and watch the Mets lie in state."

Monday Night Mayhem, Death To Shills

Nice defensive battle to start off the Monday Night Football season. The Falcons gave the Eagles a good old fashioned punch in the mouth as they take the season opener 14-10. McNabb looked out of sync all night as he was running for his life much of the night. T.O had a good game but the Iggles were unable to sustain a drive long enough to put up any points. Two David Akers FG misses didn't help matter either.

The Atlanta defense was impressive, but I'm not quite sold on the ATL just yet. Michael Vick is a fantastic talent, but I'm not sure they can win a title playing their style of offense. The option doesn't really work much in college anymore, much less the pros. And Vick is an option QB. I think he's going to have play a more traditional style of QB play to take the dirty birds over the hump. I'm not saying that he has to completely subjugate his running game, because that would take away his greatest weapon...his legs. But Vick has a helluva arm too and learning to play a more traditional drop-back style would make the offense that much more dangerous.

Randall Cunningham was never able to take the Eagles to the Super Bowl for two reasons. A mediocre running game and his inablity to read defenses. Vick has enough of a running game to keep most defenses on their toes. But if he really wants to take the next step, he'll learn to play dropback. Otherwise, good defenses will always be a step ahead of him.

That fight at the beginning of the game was so stupid...I can hardly believe it happened. Then again, this is the NFL, so I shouldn't be surprised that two players would hurt their teams that way by getting into a silly confrontation before the game. Fellas, there's too much money at stake to be getting into schoolyard brawl.

I've been meaning to write about this subject for a while but always seemed to get sidetracked. But this disgusting column that Mike Lupica wrote today, it gave me inspiration to talk about shills and the damage they can cause the sports landscape of a city.

Lupica is practically salivating at the possibility that the D-Rays and Lou Piniella could play a part in the Yankees demise this year. If you haven't been reading him lately, he hasn't gone more than two columns without mentioning the Yankees $200 million. He could be writing about the Knicks or Tennis, yet he finds a way to mention the Bombers payroll. He's so offended by the fact that one team has the resources to pay their players seven or eight figures a year. Forget the fact that he's probably making six maybe seven figures to write about these athletes.

Now I know a lot of people who are troubled by the fact that one team has a payroll $80 million higher than the next highest team. If he wanted to talk about the flaws in the current system, a system created to prevent one team from outspending the others by a significant ammount, a system that has failed miserably in that effort...fine. If he wanted talk bout the Yankees being a $200 million bust if they don't make the playoffs, fine. If he wanted to talk about the Yankees losing to a team like the Marlins, a team with a lot of homegrown talent, with a payroll that's a fraction of the Yankees, that's cool. About how the win now attitude of the Yankees has depleted their farm system and how poor scouting hasn't helped matters...go right ahead.

But to actively root against a New York team in your columns is wrong. To try to plant the seeds of dissent so someone loses their job is wrong. To be a press shill for another team because the ownership takes care of you and your family is wrong.

It's no secret that Mike Lupica has been a Mets Shill for years. I'd have no problem if he was a Mets fan. That's fine. And there have been columnist shills for years. Dick Young of the New York Post was a shill for O'Malley and the Dodgers and later he was a shill for M Donald Grant and the New York Mets. He helped run Tom Seaver out of town but he also was a defender of Jackie Robinson. So the power of the pen can draw red or blue ink on its target. Lupica has made it his raison d'etre to derail the Jets/Olympics Stadium project. While I agreed with him, I have to wonder whose agenda he was serving on that one.

And it's not just columnists. Radio and TV personalities are also guilty of this. Mike and the MadDog are at the top of the lists on that one. It's sort of the pathetic that the two hosts of the station's number one show...the station happens to be the flagship station of the Mets....that both hosts have little or no use for the team in Flushing and their fans. That's one thing. You can't force someone to root a team. But when they're giggling their asses off like little schoolgirls after the latest Mets collapse against the Braves....as amusing as it for me....is wrong.

When you have one of the hosts who is good friends with a certain head coach (Francessa/Parcells) that's one thing...but when they not only won't criticize their friend on the air...but call in and disparage a host who does (as Mike did to Joe Benigno several years ago) that's another ball of wax. When those hosts kill the choice of Willie Randolph as Mets manager because he has no managerial experience, but you're ok with Joe Girardi getting job even though he has zero experience...that's smells of favoritism.

When you have Russo killing Isiah Thomas before he even gets here, but you constantly give the worst GM in the history of the NBA (Scott Layden) a pass, that stinks to high heaven.

I could go on forever with those two, but I think you get my point.

Surviving in the media business is about nuturing and fostering relationships. There's nothing wrong with being an insider or a homer. Peter Gammons is the ultimate baseball insider, yet he's a fantastic reporter and columnist. Phil Rizzuto, Harry Carey even the great Jack Buck and Vin Scully were and are homers. But they never got in the way of the action, never perpetuated their own agenda and always made the game fun to watch or listen to. But being a shill is something else entirely. Waldman and Sterling are worst examples of this. I blame the Yankee management for this one. They assume that fans can't deal honest critique and analysis of their teams. They think that fans want to hear their spin on a situation. Wrong.

Most fans would prefer to be at the game and not listen to announcers at all. But since we can't be there for every game, all we want the announcers to do is tell us what's going on and to give some fair and detailed analysis. After that, we want you to shut up and stay out of the way until it's time for you to say something else..Got that, Michael Kay and Joe Buck??

T sum it up, my friend K-Bisch sums it up perfectly on how I feel about Lupica's column and how I hope the Yankees react to it.

Yankees, I want you to go out and beat the living shit out of every team from here on in to the rest of the season almost more than I have ever wanted something for this team. Alex Rodriguez, I want you to lead the attack, and I want Randy Johnson right there behind you, to shut everyone the hell up. In year's past, I've wanted the Yanks to win for my own personal delight. Now I want them to win just to piss everyone the fuck off; Every Yankee hater. Every A-Rod basher. Every ESPN columnist. Every bandwagon fan who jumped off earlier this season. And Lupicass. Win this sucker to SPITE THEM ALL. And it will be awesome.

Amen to that.

A Super Sunday In Sports

Wow...the Sports Gods gave me quite a bit to blog about today. Hopefully I won't let them down.

Because I've never claimed to be fair and balanced and I'm a Giants fan, guess what I'm starting with?

Despite, all of these pundits who have jumped on the Arizona bandwagon over the last couple of weeks, I'm not one of them. I thought that Giants had too many playmakers on both sides of the ball to lose to the Cardinals. Even with Manning in game eight of development, I thought that the Giants improved enough around with their skill players and defense, that they could compensate for Manning's inexperience.

Barber, Jacobs, Burress and Shockey proved me right. Those guys, great special teams and a very opportunistic defense enabled the Jints overcome Eli's first half problems.

Jacobs, I feel, is one of the great steals of this year's draft. This kid is a keeper. I think he'll do a good job of complementing Tiki in the backfield.

Manning is going to have to be better next weekend vs the Saints. But this was a very nice start to the season for Big Blue.

On the other side of the ledger is the NY Jets. You couldn't have played a worse game than they did yesterday vs the Chiefs. They made the KC defense look the Doomsday Defense or the Steel Curtain. An absolutely putrid performance.
While Pennington's shoulder strength is a legitimate concern, I would caution to Jet fans to hold off from jumping off the GW or the Goethals. There have been many teams who have been as horrible as the NYJ in week one, yet went on the playoffs. One team that comes to mind is the Pats in 2003. They got their wigs split by the Bills 31-0. They looked even worse than the Jets in that game if that's possible. So people jump off the Gang Green bandwagon.....and onto the Dolphins, Lions, Bucs or anyone else's...wait a couple of weeks lest you break your ankles in the fall.....



I didn't realize that the Titans were that bad. McNair is healthy, but outside of Brown, Bennett and Henry, there's not much there. I guess I always assumed like most everyone else, that Fisher and Co. would find a way to be compeitive. The Steelers looked good in their first game. It's hard to know if they're that good or if the Titans are that bad. Probably a little of both. We'll see.

One more note on PGH....I loved the team growing up, but I hate their fans right now. God, I hate them. They're as obnoxious as any I've encountered. Now you're probably saying, Darth Marc, you're a Yankee fan. The most evil and toxic creatures in the universe, how can you say that Steeler fans are worse? And what about Eagles fans? And Red Sox fans, aren't they scum as well?

You're absolutely right. All I can say is come to Blondies in NYC on a Sunday when the Steelers are playing. And you'll see what I'm talking. Some jackass in a Joey Porter jersey giving you grief about the Giants losing to Eagles. Or calling someone's wife a bitch because she has to nerve to disagree with a penalty call. Or talking smack about the Yankees during the ninth inning of the Yankees-Sox game yesterday. Worry about your own game, jackass!!!

The point is, it's one thing for you to talk trash to your opponent. It's another thing to kick someone who's down just because they're an easy target. That's a good way to catch a beating.

Another team that probably going to have a long year is Green Bay. If their offensive line woes continue, then Javon Walker isn't the only who will be on the IR. Speaking of Walker, losing him, absolutely killed me in one of my fantasy leagues. Just killed me.

Let's talk baseball now and about two teams going in very opposite directions. The Indians are red-hot (no pun intended). A week ago, they were a game and a half out of the wildcard lead. Now they're coming off a sweep of the Twins (beating Johann Santana Friday night for the first time ever) and face the A's in tonight. They can knock the A's down a peg and put some distance between them and the Yankees if the Bombers don't get their acts together and beat Tampa.

I hate Cleveland. With the fire of a thousand suns. But I have to admit...this team is very good and very dangerous. They can hit, run and field their positions. Their is starting pitching isn't great but it's serviceable. With that lineup, if their starters can limit the opposition to three or four runs a game, That might be enough to get it done on most nights. The Yankees need to bring their A-game for the next three weeks if they hope to overtake the tribe.

On the opposite side of ledger, is the Mets. Six games above .5000 and a half game out of the NL wildcard lead a week ago, the Amazin's are now a game under .500 and 5 and a half out.

Now I despise the Mets (see a recurring theme?) but even I think the baseball gods were a little cruel in leading the Flushing faithful on like that. This was nothing more than a .500 team and they made their fans think that they were something more than that. Their starting pitching is solid, but their bullpen is atrocious and they can't hit a lick. Carlos Beltran has been a huge bust this year. If he had anything close to the years he's had in the past, the Mets would still be in the hunt. They're another bullpen arm and a bat from being real contenders. They'll probably finish at around .500. Which I thought would happen in the first place, but it's a shame that they fell as flat on their face as they did.

Heh, Heh, Heh.....

Onto the US Open, as God...I mean, Roger Federer, won his second US Open title by beating Andre Agassi. It was his sixth career Grand Slam title and 24, he's poised to take his place among the all-time greats, if he hasn't already.

Andre Agassi called him the best he's ever played. Whoa, Andre. Do you remember abushy-haired lad who used to beat consistently in your prime? A certain player who, when you were at the peak of your powers, when noone else on the earth could touch you, would pummel you on a consistent basis? A man who has been number one longer than anyone in the history of men's tennis? Won more Grand Slams than anyone on the Men's tour?

Do you remember Pistol Pete?

I know you're probably sore that you could never get the best of Pete when it mattered, but to annoint this kid as the best you've ever faced is disengenous. This kid beat you at age 35. Pete beat you just as badly, worse even, when you were at the top of your game. That would be like Floyd Patterson getting his ass kicked by Ali or Sonny Liston...but saying Ingemar Johannsen was the best he ever faced. No, the guy who knocked you out in the first round twice (Liston) and the guy that punished you mercilessly before knocking you out twice because you wouldn't acknowledge him by his Muslim name, are probably a little better than the Swede.

This is not to say that Federer won't become the best ever when it's all said and done. But a lot of things can happen in a career and a life. He could get hit by a truck. Or he could meet some hot chick and she gets him hooked on Coke and Heroin. Anything can happen. Agassi was supposed to the next big thing when he was 16. He didn't win his first Grand Slam until he was 24. Life is a funny thing that happens to the living.

Federer certainly has the most fluid game that I've seen and he certainly has the right temperament to stay on top for a long time. But let him actually win a few more matches before annointing him the best ever.

Let Pete keep the title a little longer before giving it to someone else. He deserves it.

It's The Sport of Kings...Better Than Diamond Rings

The first week of the NFL. There's nothing quite like it.

I'm going to be at Blondies', watching about eight tv sets of games and Yankees-Red Sox...how awesome is that.

I'll have plenty to write about when I get back...for both blogs....

Great Saturday Of Sports

I had every intention of leaving the house after that debacle of a Yankees-Sox game today. But between the fact that I was busy trying to update my Yankee blog and watch the US Open match and two football games....something that should have taken a half hour ended up taking two friggin hours.

So I said fuck it. I'm gonna stay in and watch the rest of the games/matches on my couch. And save some brain-cells from an alcohol-induced death at Blondie's while I'm at it.

I made the right decision. What a day!!! A great day of College Football, one great match at the Open, one decent one and someone's coming out party.

Let me start off with today's College Football. Charlie Weis is playing Chess and everyone's else is still playing checkers. That what it seems like as Notre Dame goes into Ann-Arbor and beats number three Michigan 17-10. Now I'm not one of these people who are ready to annoint the Irish as one of the best teams in the country....but I will say this...With Weis at the helm, they'll never lose a game they're supposed to win and they'll play the big boys tough. They should have a good year. Probably finish 10-2 or 9-3.

I never believed that Michigan was a number 3. But that comes from the Big Ten rep as a top-tier conference. Yes, it's still a good conference, but it's not the best. The SEC and Big 12 are much better football conferences and have been for several years now. And if they're not careful, the Big 10 could be supplanted by the ACC, if they haven't already. There's not one team in the Big Ten, that's as good as USC or Texas. Ohio State had a chance to make a claim but Vince Young had something to say about that...

Speaking of Vince Young, what a spectacular win over the Buckeyes in the Big House tonight! But I wonder why people kept saying that it would be something of an upset if Texas manage to pull it off. Why? Because Big Ten homers Lee Corso (Indiana) and Kirk Herbstreit(Ohio State) said so? Please. Texas has the most talent in the nation this side of the Rockies and USC. They have a legitimate Heisman candidate in Vince Young has their QB. Heck, the only thing that's kept them from winning a couple of national titles is Oklahoma and the fact Mack Brown is a horrible in-game coach. A magnificent recruiter (I saw that when he was at USC), a decent defensive mind. But a very mediocre X's and O's head coach. He'll rarely lose to an inferior coach. But if he's facing an equal opponent with a superior coach like Stoops, he's in trouble. That's why even if he beats Oklahoma and wins the Big 12, no way he's beating USC. Pete Carroll is his equal as a recuiter, is a better defensive coach and has a better coaching staff.

In college, recruiting is king. If you can recruit, you'll always have a chance. And if you're halfway decent, you'll always be in the hunt. Take Bobby Bowden. He is not a great in-game coach by any means. But he lives one of the most talent rich states in the union and is a great recruiter. As a result, he can coach until he's 100 with Alzheimers and still win 10 games a year. Joe Paterno can coach rings around Bowden. For years, he was the only thing to keep East Coast football relevant. But he can't get the horses like he used to because he's competing with Big 10, ACC and Big East schools for the same players. Barry Switzer and John Cooper couldn't coach a lick. But because they were great recruiters who had no moral compass, they were successful. Jim Tressel of Ohio State can coach, but it remains to be seen what sort of recruiter he is.

That's why I think if Charlie Weis is half the recruiter Carroll or Brown, he'll be successful. If he can get the sort of kids Lou Holtz was able to get past the gestapo admissions office, he'll be in the national title picture sooner rather than later. Why? Because he can coach. He's coached at the highest possible level you can coach in the game. With one of the great teams of the last 30 years. He has automatic street cred with kids that you can't put a price on. The NFL is all about schemes and planning. Free Agency and Expansion has made the talent level pretty level. It's all about who can do their best Bobby Fischer imitation. Who can be Rommel and who can be Patton. Weis learned at the feet of two of the best. He won't face anything in the way of coaching remotely close. It's like Michael Jordan posting up Spud Webb. All day every day.

Once Weis is able to get the talent to match his coaching ability, he'll be on his way.

Great to see Kim Clijsters finally get the Gorilla off her back, winning her first Grand Slam title in her fifth final. I've always liked her game, but she always fallen a bit short. I thought she would relegated to Jana Novotna/Gabriella Sabatini status. Good players, but lacking the killer instinct to be great. But the way she dispatched Mary Pierce 6-3, 6-1 in 65 minutes showed me that she's ready play with the big girls now. She beat Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams and Mary Pierce to get there. Not too shabby.

Nice to see Mary Pierce back in the thick of things. I've loved her game since she smoked Steffi Graf at the French Open years ago. The only time I ever saw Graf get blown off the court. But she's never been able to stay healthy because she took fitness seriously. That and she liked to party as young girls in the 20's generally do. Now she's fit and hopefully she'll be able to get a title or two to add to her Australian and French crowns. Two grand slam finals this year. Pretty good start.

The women's field is a deep as it's ever been. At every Grand Slam tournament, you have about 10 to 12 women who could win it all. Maybe more. I can't think of anytime where the women's field has been that deep. Five to eight maybe. But never 10. Fun time to be a tennis fan.

I have to admit, I've never been a Andre Agassi fan. I've always resented the fact that he got better press than other players who were easily his equal or better. All this junk about overcoming this or that, ignores the fact that he never took fitness seriously until late in his career. His eight Grand Slams should be 10 or more if he took his craft as seriously as Pete Sampras, Ivan Lendl or Jimmy Connors did for their entire careers.

And I've always been more partial to Stefan Edberg and John McEnroe and hybrids like Sampras or Boris Becker. Andre's ground game, although magnificent, never did much for me.

That being said, I will be rooting for him tomorrow against Roger Federer tomorrow. I don't think he has a chance in hell against the Almighty in Tennis Shorts. But I think his game/style will give Roger problems. And if God has an off-day, who knows what might happen? Should be fun.

Even if he does win, Agassi in my mind, doesn't belong in that first level of Tennis Giants in the Open. The Sampras, the Lavers, the Emersons. He probably belongs in that second or third tier of great players. Just a step below the Connors, Borgs, Lendls and McEnroes. On par with the Wilanders, Beckers, Edbergs and Rosewalls.

Why not higher, you ask? Because as good as he was, he was never the guy. Never the man. There was always someone better out there. Whether it be Sampras or Courier or Federer, he's never been number one for any extended amount of time. He might bne number one for a couple of months, the Sampras would kick the shit out of him at the US Open or Wimbledon. Yes, he's the only man since Laver to have won every Grand Slam title in his career. But you can't tell me that he was a better player than Lendl, McEnroe, Borg or Connors because of that. Lendl was number one three years in a row and made it to eight straight US Opens(1982-89), winning three straight(85-87). Borg won five straight Wimbledons and Six straight French Opens. McEnroe was the number one player in three straight years and the number one doubles player in the world. He won 7 singles majors (3 Wimbledon, 4 US) and 10 doubles majors. He won over 70 singles titles and over 150 total. All while winning several Davis Cups. Connors was number one in the world for over five years, winning five US Opens and two Wimbledons and one Australian title. He won over 100 titles in his career.

As good as Agassi is, His career doesn't match that. Yes he's won every major at least once. But he's won Wimbledon once. In 1994, a year before Sampras made it his own personal plaything. He won Australian four times. The least prestigious of the slams. Yes, he's won the US twice. Beating Todd Martin and Michael Stich. Granted you can only beat the guys who are on the schedule, but whenever he's had to face his equal, more often or not he loses. He was Sampras' bitch at the US Open three times. Hell, the last time, he was playing much better tennis that year than Pete, beat the guy who pimp-slapped Sampras the year before in the final (Lleyton Hewitt) and still couldn't beat Pete.

The great ones eventually get the best of their rivals in the big game. Lendl eventually beat up on Connors and McEnroe. McEnroe eventually got past Borg and Connors. Heck, Borg was so frustrated, that he retired at 26 because he thought he couldn't beat McEnroe anymore. Connors and Borg beat up on each other for years.

Andre never got past Sampras except in the Australian Open in 1995. And that was because Pete was an emotional wreck because his coach was dying of brain cancer. Every other time, Pete had his number in the big match.

So as good he is, Andre isn't the immortal that people make him out to be. If he beats Federer, that might move him up a little. But not enough to call him an immortal.

Welcome To Imperial Sports!!!!!

Since I have no life and I'm trying desperately trying to stay on the wagon, the Emperor told me that I need channel my knowledge of the dark side of the force into other realms of sports. That's why I decide to this blog.

Since other sports are so encompassing, it would be wrong for me use my Yankee blog to talk about other sports stuff, I decided to create a new blog to talk about the other goings on in the world of sports.

So Enjoy. I'll start posting new stuff shortly.