Darth Marc's Imperial Sports Page

The Dark Lord Awakens...New Year, New Rants...

2007-01-10T11:18:00.000-08:00

What I've learned during my slumber.....

That's it's ok to root against your team in the playoffs if it means a coach that never should have been hired in the first place..gets the boot. Please Fire Coughlin!!!

That the Coughlin mess has reminded me of something I learned in Kindergarten. People forget what you do to them and for them. But they never forget how you make them feel. If he focused more on how to deal with the strong personalities in a civil but forceful way, rather than worrying whether guys are five minutes early for his meetings, than he probably wouldn't have players throwing him under the bus publicly and privately.

And maybe if he didn't treat the press like they were child sex offenders who were moving next door, he'd get the benefit of the doubt from the press. Coughlin is a better in-game coach than Herm Edwards. Yet Herm, consistently got the benefit of the doubt from his players and the press. Why? People skills. He spoke to you not at you. Even his critics liked and respected him as a man. And his players never quit on him. But as soon as the Giants started to fall apart due to injuries and bad coaching, the media was asking for his head. Never underestimate the importance of being liked. You can't be perfect all the time.

And if you treat press conferences like root canal, than you'd better be as smart as Bill Belichick.

That as important as it is for a team to have a QB that's tough and smart, it's more important if he can throw the ball down the field for more than 25 yards. You give Chad Pennington, Eli Manning's arm, they beat the Patriots last Sunday. Now if we could only give Eli, Chad's guts and accuracy....

That talent wins games. Coaching wins championships.

That the SEC is clearly the best conference in College Football. Go Gators!

That the Big 1O is the most overrated conference in the land. East Coast Bias? What about Midwest Bias?? Compare that conference to the SEC and the PAC 10 and tell me which conferences are better from top to bottom. The Rose Bowl and BCS Championship game only confirmed what serious unbiased college football fans have known all year. Guess what the records of Ohio State and Michigan against teams who ended the year in the top 25? 5-2 COMBINED. The records of USC and Florida? 9-2. By the way, one of those wins for OSU/U of M? The Buckeye win versus the Wolverines in November.

That despite overwhelming evidence to the obvious, that some idiot sports writer will still use their ballot to make a statement. Just for the sake of being contrary. Take the idiot writer who decided to give Boise State a National title vote to prevent Florida from getting a unanimous vote. I thought their Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma was one of the three greatest football games that I've ever seen. But this was not vintage Oklahoma. Top 20 team? Yes. Top 10. Hardly. Another overrated big-name team from a overrated conference. Boise State deserved a top 5 finish not a vote for National Champion. Undefeated or not.

The same goes for the idiot baseball writers who decided to hand in a blank ballot for the Hall of Fame rather than vote for Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn. I don't care what their reasoning might be, take away their privileges please.

That Charlie Weis needs to come to his sense and go to the Giants. He's never winning a National title in South Bend. Ever. And as Notre Dame continues to get waxed in BCS bowl games and their bowl game losing streak continues (it's currently at nine), his star is going to begin to lose its luster. Weis is never going to recruit enough blue-chippers to compete with the Big Dogs. And as mid-major conferences start to gain stature, it's going to be even harder for them to compete. Stay in the Top 25? Yep, Weis' coaching acumen and Notre Dame's TV contract will guarantee that. But their tough academic standards guarantees a beatdown everytime they play one of the big boys.

That in sports, it's better to be called a liar than a loser (See Nick Saban). Hopefully Charlie Weis will get the hint. You wanted the Giants job before. I'm sure if you express interest, that Big Blue will find a way to buy out your contract and run Coughlin out of town. And I'd be willing to bet that you'd win a Super Bowl in New York before you win a National title in South Bend.

That the stigma about Black Quarterbacks still exists. NFL teams are still squeamish about making a black man the face of their franchise. That's the only reason why Brady Quinn is getting better press than Troy Smith and DaMarcus Russell. Chris Leak, despite winning a national title and playing in the best conference in college football for four years, will be lucky if he gets drafted.

That giving number three starters $100 million contracts is tantamount to putting your head in a lit oven and lighting a match. Same goes with bidding eight figures just to talk to Japanese starters who have never thrown an inning in the majors.

That having nothing to do watch intently until April isn't a bad thing. I've discovered a wonderful invention that you might have heard of. They're called the books.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Bye Weeks, Shmye Weeks

2006-10-06T03:30:00.000-07:00

Time to play some friggin’ football. No more excuses.

Let the Redskins talk whatever smack they want about LaVar Arrington. They’re feeling frisky about their win vs Jacksonville. They should feel good about it. It was huge win for a team against a strong AFC opponent. It was no fluke.

Now it’s time to remind them that the 36-0 beatdown they got last year, was no fluke either.

I still think the Skins are the weakest team in the strongest division in football. It doesn’t mean that they’re a bad team. I just think that everyone else is better.

I still think the Giants are better than Washington. But they prove it on Sunday.

The Giants have never played well after bye weeks. Time to buck that trend. They cannot afford to go 1-3 in this this division. Not with road trips to Dallas and Atlanta upcoming. They have to win this game at home against Washington.

I don’t want to hear about Tim Lewis, Shockey or Hufanagel. Enough about the Coughlin mutiny. This team has more than enough talent to be playing deep into January and possibly February. Teams have gotten blown out in the regular season and rebounded to win the Super Bowl. It’s hardly unprecedented.

Just like the Yankees yesterday, it’s not a bad thing to get Jimmy Walker lips and your hair mussied up a little bit. It reminds you of what you’re playing for. Of how high the stakes are. How you respond will determine if your team is worth a damn or just another pretender.

So Eli and company need to do something the Giants have never done well…..go Wild Bunch on the Redskins after a bye week.

To do that, they’ve got to put Brunnell on his fanny. You can’t let him sit back there without pressure. He still has the arm and the weapons to pick a team apart. Ask the Jags, one of the best defensive teams in football.

Usi, Strahan and that front seven have create pressure if we have a chance of winning this game. Make him uncomfortable in the pocket, force him to make mistakes. And, god forbid, put him on his ass every once in a while. It ridiculous that the Giants have two Pro Bowl ends, but have only three sacks. Pitiful.

And Eli has do something that he hasn’t done in a while. Play a great first half of football. It’s nice to know that we have a QB that can lead a big comeback. But not every friggin’ week! This offense has the ability to score 30 plus points a game easily. They have to take some of the pressure of the defense and get staked to some early leads. Every game shouldn’t be like a Hulk Hogan match. Where you’re get beaten for 58 minutes and “Hulk” to win at the end. You’ve got to get some comfortable wins. A blowout even, if it’s not asking too much.

And Coughlin has to do something to shut the naysayers on his team up. That’s the second time a prominent player has thrown his coaches under bus after a tough loss. Winning helps, but he needs to let his team know that the next time someone mouths off like Shockey did…they’re going to sit. Maybe he’s already done that, which might be why Shockey had such an about face a day after mouthing off. If he did, then good for him. But the throwing people under bus after losses stuff has to stop now.

And enough with the yellow flags! We all know that these NFL officials are calling ticky-tack calls. We all know that half of these officials suck. But if you know that going in, then you need to adjust your gameplan accordingly. That’s coaching, but it also requires some awareness on the players parts. Policing each other without the coach getting involved.

Despite this ridiculously tough schedule, I still think the Giants can win the division and go deep into the playoffs. But the turnaround has to happen this weekend.

Break time’s over. Time to break some heads.

Random Thoughts Of The Week

2006-09-30T18:12:00.000-07:00

As amazing as Notre Dame's win over the Michigan State was, they're still overrated. If this team runs the gauntlet until the USC game later this year, they'll still have a shot at the National title. If they played anywhere other than South Bend, this team would ranked in the bottom half of the top 25(if at all) instead of 12th.

I'm tired of these T.O apologists like Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders. This guy is a clubhouse cancer and the only reason these guys continue to defend him is because he's black. As a black man, I'm sick of the double-standard in play here. These guys, despite their antics, were always considered team first guys. Great teammates. Yet they continue to defend this clown who has always put himself above the team. He's thrown more guys under the bus than anyone in recent memories. It's never his fault. If this was a white guy pulling this garbage, I doubt they'd be as sympathetic.

And I don't want to hear the mental health garbage either. If you make seven figures, that gives you access to the best health care available. But he's not sick. He's someone who has never been held accountable for his actions until recently and doesn't feel like he has live by the same rules everyone else. If there was ever a guy who deserves an ACL injury...

Pedro is out until June with a rotator cuff injury/surgery. Say what you want about the guy. I personally hate his guts. But in spite of only pitching healthy for a little over a year and a half, that was still $52 million well spent. He helped bring a dead franchise back to respectability. You can argue that the Mets are in better shape than at any point in their 40 year history. That ascension began with stealing Pedro from Boston. Did they overpay for him? Yep. But even if he never throws another pitch, he will have done his job.

As funny as it would be for me personally, anyone who thinks that any of these sad sack NL teams have a chance of beating the Mets.....is an idiot. Even without Pedro, the Mets have enough to crush any of these teams.

Coughlin should have benched Shockey against Washington for mouthing off after the Seattle loss. But I think Tim Lewis and Jim Hufnagel should be put on notice as well.

The ACC is very underrated football conference. Personally, I think it's a better overall conference than the Big 12.

I hate the wave. If I had my way, anyone caught doing it at Yankee Stadium would be summarily executed.

I'm going to miss Jason Whitlock on ESPN 2. I definitely agree with his assessment of Mike Lupica, but I think he's being a little hard on Scoop Jackson.

Working on weekends sucks. That's why I don't work in sports.

Gotta Love The Football God's Sense Of Humor....

2006-09-27T15:37:00.000-07:00

This is the greatest story of all time. From the AP Wires...

Flamboyant Dallas Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens tried to kill himself by overdosing on pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened, according to a police report obtained Wednesday.
Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a ``thumbs up'' but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.
Publicist Kim Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that the police have gotten the story wrong. She said she was with Owens, who was having trouble because he'd mixed his pain pills with supplements. She said she called for help because he was becoming unresponsive.
Etheredge did not immediately respond to repeated calls and e-mails from The Associated Press.
The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers ``if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time (he) stated, `Yes.'''
The report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend ``that he was depressed.'' Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.
Police Lt. Rick Watson said during a brief news conference that he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.

Remember what I said about Karma, T.O? You must have thought I was playing. Wrong!

This couldn't have happened to a more deserving player or franchise. As a Giants fan, I can't ever bring myself to hate Bill Parcells. But Owens and Jones, however, are quite high on my hate parade. They have their own floats and everything. Everyone in the NFC East (and the NFL for that matter) must doing a jig after hearing about this.

Forgive me if my level of sympathy for this boob and his situation isn't up to snuff. But I have hard time believing that this is anything more than a publicity stunt by this clown.

Stop the train, I want to get off....

Thank God For Bye Weeks

2006-09-26T01:14:00.000-07:00

Because noone needs a team timeout more than Big Blue right now.

Between that debacle of a game and Shockey's tirade, this team is very close to a mutiny. Coughlin has to find a way to get his troops back under control and he has two weeks to do it.

In some ways I think this loss was a blessing in disguise. It's hard to find a silver lining in a beating like this. But if this wasn't a wakeup call for the G-Men that they aren't as good as their press clippings say, I don't know what it is.

The Indy loss and the comeback win gave this team delusions of grandeur for accomplishing little or nothing. The Indy loss allowed them to assume that they were ready for primetime in spite of foolish penalties and turnovers that ultimately a win.

The Philly win allowed to think that no deficit was too big for a comeback for Manning and company. So there was no sense of urgency for the defense to stiffen up.

Seattle gave them the wakeup call, they needed as well as their fanbase.

I still think that this team is capable of the playoffs and more. But they have to realize that despite having talent on both sides of the ball that many teams envy, talent alone doesn't make a great team.

Coughlin has to figure out how to get both units to play disciplined football, otherwise, this is an exercise in futitility. If you look Seattle's roster, there's not a lot that jumps out at you with exception of Alexander and their offensive tackle Walter Jones. Hasselbeck is a good quarterback in that system but he doesn't make anyone think of Young or Montana. You could argue that the Giants have more playmakers on both sides of the ball.

But the difference between the Giants and Seahawks is that Seattle buys into their system and as a result they're a very disciplined, well coached unit. The Giants, after two plus years under Coughlin, are still a work in progress. Sometimes they show flashes of brilliance and seem to buy whatever he's preaching. Other times, they seem totally discombobulated like Sunday.

I have serious reservations about Tim Lewis as defensive coordinator and Hufnagel leaves me scratching my head with some of his play calls. But Lewis isn't the one who pressures the QB or covers the tight end over the middle. Hufnagel isn't blocking defensive tackles or running routes against corners. The one who executes the best wins more times than not. So even if the schemes don't remind anyone of Bellichick or Walsh, you can still be sucessful if you know how to execute.

A long look in the mirror is in order for this team and its coaching staff. Yell at each other, cuss each other out, get into some fistfights. Get it out of your system and then get back to work. It's only the third game of the season and there's a lot of football to played. There's plenty of time to turn this around.

But whatever happens, they can't that they say that they were surprised. Good or bad.

What I've Learned This Week

2006-09-23T04:10:00.000-07:00

That if you're T.O, Karma isn't just a bitch. It's a man-hating 6'2'' machete-bearing lesbian.

That the Jets can make this season interesting if they can get a running game going. And that Chad Pennington will have a lot of bastards owing him an apology at season's end.

That Katt Williams is a funny Mofo. And Dane Cook is not. If you don't believe me, go on HBO In Demand and watch their comedy specials. The fact that they gave Cook an hour and a half is bugging me out. You can't possibly less funny than this corny bastard.

That the Wire is the best show on TV.

That the White Sox are done. And that Frank Thomas, a legitmate MVP candidate, has gotten a revenge he doesn't deserve.

That if there isn't a Subway Series this fall, that this winter for one or both of the New York teams will feel like an Ice Age. Mammoths not included.

That Ohio State is the best college football team in the country. And that Troy Smith is a top 10 pick in the next draft.

That Notre Dame as always, is overrated. That Weiss, realizing he'll never win a national title there, will be gone for the NFL within three years.

That you might see a USC vs OSU in the National title game.

That Miami is a great school for running backs, but a horrible school for QBs.

That A-Rod's legacy will be made this postseason. For better or worse.

That Jeter, if he were hit by a bus tomorrow, is a first ballot hall of fame player. But not a HOF captain. A great captain is a captain for the whole team, not just for the guys he likes. If he was, he would have nipped some of this A-Rod stuff in the bud sooner. Instead, he let it linger. In that sense, he's no better than Thurman Munson in 1977 in handling Reggie.

That getting Sheffield's bat back for the postseason was huge. But his performance at first base last night could be the key to another crown for the Yankees.

That Tiger Woods is the man. He's the best non-team sports athlete of my lifetime, but the way he's handled his father's death and all the tabloid mess about his wife makes him even bigger in my eyes. If the mainstream press establishment could see him for what he is instead of analyzing him for what he's not....

That Omar Minaya is the executive of the year in baseball. Hands down. And that Brian Cashman is a close second. Forget money. It's a GM's job to put their team in the best position to win and that's exactly what these guys did. The Abreu deal might have been the biggest deal at the deadline, but the Mota deal could be the one that gets the Mets back to the Fall Classic.

That Jimmy Leyland is the manager of the year in baseball. But his counterpart in the NL, Joe Girardi, will be looking for a job in the offseason because the Marlins owner is an idiot.

That Jason Giambi is a prime example of a truism my mother once told me; People might forget what you do to them or for them. But they never forget how you make them feel. A lot of people in that Yankee clubhouse liked Jason Giambi before the whole BALCO mess. And they like him now. That's why he has the clout to talk to someone who will go down as one of the greatest players of all time like he was a Columbus callup.

That sleep isn't overrated. Just the opposite.

That the Giants win over the Eagles was huge. But a win in Seattle would really open some eyes around the league.

That the Redskins who suck, suck even more without Clinton Portis.

That the Eagles are a 250 carry a year back away from going back to the Super Bowl. And that Donovan McNabb is the most underrated great player in the league.

That the Cardinals, with Braeden Looper as their closer, are one and done in the postseason.

That Tony LaRussa, despite the bad press to the contrary, is a great manager. But he can't pitch.

That Ryan Howard will probably win the MVP, and deservedly so. But Albert Pujols is still the man. Look inside the numbers closely and you'll see why. And he's younger than Howard as well!

That the Bears will do what they always do. Beat up on the weaker teams, make the playoffs and then lose to a team that actually play pro football.

That Brett Favre was done three years ago. Even if you put him on a playoff ready team. He'll throw five picks against a good defense.

That Eli might not put up his brother's stats. But he'll win a title before Peyton does. Look at how the two handle adversity or bad losses and you'll see why.

That Tom Brady is the best QB in football, but key to the Patriots season is Lawrence Maroney.

That Bill Bellichick is an asshole, but Mangini and Tannenbaum are sneaky assholes. See the Deion Branch debacle.

That Deion Branch is not worth a first round pick. And Seattle will find out the hard way.

That the New Orleans Saints should stay the New Orleans Saints. LA had two teams and lost both. In my eyes, that bars you from having the opportunity to stealing someone else's. Number two TV market be damned.

That Little Miss Sunshine is one of the funniest movies I've seen in years. That Joel Sherman is a better book writer than a columnist.

That Roger Kahn is still the best baseball writer that I've ever read. But Tom Verducci is a pretty darn close second.

That it's time for me to wrap this up so I can get up in the morning and go to the zoo.

Bring The Noise, Bring Tha Funk

2006-09-23T04:09:00.000-07:00

I remember dealing with the piping in crowd noise issue in Indy a few years ago. It was a Jets-Colts game that me and a few friends made the roadtrip for in 2003. I was scratching head as how a moderately excited crowd sounded like Yankee Stadium in October.

Seems like the Decibel monster has reared its ugly head in the Emerald City.

I’ve always thought the practice was lame. Maybe living in New York has spoiled me. But I figure if your fanbase can’t get live and rowdy for a playoff game, then they don’t deserve to have a team. I don’t want to hear about East Coast bias. It’s not as if West Coast fans have different anatomy than their East Coast counterparts. Their vocal chords and lungs work just the same as ours.

To be fair, I’ve always thought that Giants Stadium at times, has been a tame crowd by East Coast standards. Maybe it’s because the fanbase is older, I don’t know. But go to a Jets, Eagles, Steelers or Pats game and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

That being said, I fully expect the Giants to romp on the Seahawks Sunday.

Yeah I know, the Hawks are 2-0 and the defending NFC champs. I know that they were 8-0 at home last year and 24-4 there over the last several years.

But this team is prime for a beatdown. They squeaked by Detroit in a fieldgoal fest who went to get pimpslapped by Chicago last week. That’s followed up with a solid, if unspectacular win over Arizona at home, who could be decent this year. Hardly the sort of wins you write songs about.

And can someone tell me how the Giants get this brutal schedule, but Seattle, the NFC champs, starts off against Detroit and Arizona. Someone in scheduling must have a little something extra under their pillow courtesy of Paul Allen.

Meanwhile, the Giants start their year off against the formidable Colts at home and the always dangerous Eagles on the road. Were it not for some bonehead penalties, the Giants could be going into this game 2-0 instead of 1-1.

The Seattle offense hasn’t hit full throttle yet with Alexander hobbled and Branch yet to play. But neither has the Giants defense. I still think this can be one of the better units in the league if they can stay healthy. Umenyiora manhandled one of the best tackles in the game in Walter Jones last year. He and Strahan have had a lackluster two games. I expect them to come in amped for this contest. I think Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka will get some plays to keep Seattle off balance.

I keep hearing about how good Seattle’s defense is. We’ll see on Sunday, the Giants pretty much had their way with them last year and I don’t expect much to change. I don’t think Jay Feeley will be a factor in this game. But if he is, I suspect he’ll redeem himself quite nicely.

I don’t normally get all fanboy about the Giants, but I think this win in Philly is the beginning of a nice run for Big Blue. Manning makes me remember why I have him on two of my fantasy teams as does Tiki Barber. The Giants get a nice win on the road to go into the bye week.

31-21 Giants.

Chokeadelphia

2006-09-18T17:41:00.000-07:00

I was ready to write this depressing post about how the Giants were mandled in the trenches on both side of the ball. About how Donovan toyed with Big Blue's secondary for most of the day. How Osi and Strahan couldn't lay a hand on the Eagles QB.

I thought that I was watching the best team in the NFC. "The Eagles are a premium back away from going back to the Super Bowl." The way this team was rotating in their defensive lineman to keep fresh pass rushers in the game, I held out little hope that the Giants could pull this one out.

But then, Reid got conservative with his play-calling after the Westbrook fumble. Donovan got cocky, going so far as taunting Antonio Pierce at the line of scrimmage, getting a false start penalty called on himself. The score was still 24-7, but in spite of the fourth quarter deficit, I thought that they could make a game of it if they gave Eli some time and the defense could get some three and outs.

The rest as you know, is history.

This was easily the biggest win of the Coughlin-Manning era. McNabb and the Iggles have had our number for the past several years. It wasn't lost on me the fact that our wins over Philly last year were somewhat tainted because McNabb was out of the lineup. This was their first win over a McNabb run offense and the Giants first win over Donovan since 2000. That game was an important psychological hurdle for Big Blue.

Now with the Redskins stinking it up and the Cowboys losing Terrell for a couple of weeks, the schedule looks a little less imposing right now. 2-1 going into the bye week seems very possible with a win in Seattle Sunday.

As for Philly, well, when it rains, pours on that team. From today's AP Wires....

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Jevon Kearse's season is over because of a severe knee injury the star defensive end suffered in Philadelphia's overtime loss to the Giants yesterday.
Kearse tore multiple ligaments in his left knee when his leg knocked against Mike Patterson while the two brought down Eli Manning on New York's first possession of the extra period. Kearse reached for his knee immediately after the play, was helped off the field and carted to the locker room.
Kearse had two-and-a-half sacks against the Giants. He is in his third season with the Eagles after signing a 66 (m) million dollar, eight-year contract in 2004.
Kearse's injury should give former first-round pick Jerome McDougle an opportunity to play after he was inactive the first two games.

The Eagles still have plenty of depth on both lines, but losing Kearse is going to hurt morale somewhat. We'll see what sort of fallout occurs there. One thing that can't be overlooked is their lack of a bigtime back. Westbrook is great utility back, but you need someone that you can give the ball 25 times a game. He's not that sort of player. Their slip is going to show bigtime if their O-line gets banged up and their pass protection becomes compromised later in the year.

As for the Giants, I still have serious concerns about their defense. They have too much talent in the front seven and secondary to be giving up this much yarddage in their air. They have to find a way to get more pressure on the QB and create some turnovers. On offense, the penalties have to stop. They almost shot themselves in the foot on that last drive in OT with two careless flags. Shockey's balky ankle is a concern as well.

But you have to love the maturation process of Eli Manning. He still throws the occassional wounded duck, but his passes yesterday were on the money for the most part. The one pick he threw yesterday wasn't his fault. He hit Tiki in the numbers and the ball bounced off of him. The TD throws to Toomer were on the money and his call at the line of scrimmage for Plaxico to go full throttle for the end zone to beat the blitz...a thing of beauty.

This can be a very special year if he can build on what he's learned from these first two games. He has the talent and the temperament. Now all he needs is the experience.

Very Fasselesque

2006-09-14T02:27:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling Deja Vu watching this Giants team. It feels like the Fassel years all over again.

You all remember. Those flawed overachieving teams that were fascinating and maddening at the same time. Those teams that would play with the best in the league, only to find a way to lose at the end.

With those teams, it was the special teams. Fassel could never seem to get that equation right. The missed field goals, shanked kickoffs and touchdown returns kept reoccuring like some Groundhog Day film in the third rung of hell. Thankfully, everyone got injured in 2003, which led to a 4-12 debacle and forced Acorsi and the Maras to fire Fassel and end our Meadowlands nightmare.

In comes Colonel Coughlin, the disciplinarian. Just what the team and the fanbase needs. Parcells minus the sense of humor.

But whatever he lacked in style and personality, you knew one thing, the stupid mistakes would cease and desist under him. And for a little while, that seemed to be the case. Tiki stopped fumbling and went from being a very good back to a borderline Hall Of Famer. And the special teams went from being one of the worst to being one of the best. The team has become a playoff team and a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

But there's a pox that's keeping the G-Men from becoming a real power in the league. That pox reared its ugly head in the Seattle game last year and the Manning Bowl Sunday night. Two wins that would have made the league and the national media stand up and take notice of what's going on in East Rutherford.

Instead of huge wins however, the Giants hand their fans bitter defeats. What happened against Carolina was understandable. When you lose your starting linebacker corps and their backups. When you have guys coming off the street to play for the first time in years. You can understand why the Panthers were able to do what they wanted in that game.

But these false start penalties, these dumb mistakes at critical moments will be the death of this team. There's a thin line between the best and worst in the NFL. You can't afford to make these mistakes against bad teams, much less Seattle and Indy.

I'm hoping that Sunday was an eye-opener for this team. They're on the verge of either doing great things or falling back to the pack. There's a very small window in this age to compete for a title. Here's hoping that the Giants window hasn't closed.

Sunday Post-Mortem

2006-09-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

Breaking news from the AP wires...

BOSTON-New England Patriots ended the months-long holdout of receiver Deion Branch on Monday by trading him to the Seattle Seahawks for a future draft pick.
Patriots spokesman Stacey James confirmed the trade, but would offer no further details on its conditions. He referred questions to an afternoon news conference by coach Bill Belichick.
Branch was entering the last season of the five-year contract he signed as a rookie. He held out of the mandatory minicamp in June and all of training camp. He has been subject to a $14,000 fine for each day he held out from July 28, the start of training camp.
Last season, he caught 78 passes for 988 yards and five touchdowns, all career highs. In his four seasons, he has 213 receptions for 2,744 yards and 14 touchdowns. In the 2005 Super Bowl he had 11 catches for 133 yards against Philadelphia as the Patriots won their third championship in four years.
Branch's agent, Jason Chayut, did not immediately return calls for comment.
The Patriots are without their top two receivers from last season. David Givens signed with Tennessee as a free agent for five years and $24 million, including an $8 million signing bonus.
On Aug. 25, the Patriots gave Branch, who had been scheduled to make $1.045 million this year, permission to negotiate a contract with other teams and seek a trade until 4 p.m. on Sept. 1. The NFL Players Association filed a grievance on behalf of Branch after the Patriots did not trade him by the team-imposed deadline.
The grievance alleged that in allowing Branch to work out a contract with another team, the Patriots agreed they would trade him if Branch was comfortable with that contract and the draft choice compensation for him ``was commensurate with what has been the value of similar players,'' said Richard Berthelsen, lawyer for the union.
He said the New York Jets had offered a second-round draft pick for Branch, which Berthelsen said was of commensurate value.
James would not say what round draft pick the Patriots had received from Seattle.

This trade will show the world how good Tom Brady really is. Branch was not worth a first round pick. Not even close. He had a great Super Bowl a couple of years ago. But he is not a franchise receiver. This trade helps Matt Hasselbeck's passing game. But it was not worth a first round pick. A first round pick gets you to the Super Bowl and wins it. Not having Deion Branch wasn't the reason they lost to Steelers.

NFL picks are like gold and first rounders are platinum. Forget potential Hall Of Famers, a first rounder can mean a 10 year starter at a premium position like offensive or defensive line. The building blocks of any great team. That's why the Jets picking Ferguson and Mangold was such a smart football move.

But you don't trade a first round pick, even a low number one, for a number two (borderline one at best) receiver. Unless they get back to the Super Bowl, win it and he's MVP, it's a bad trade.

Speaking of the Pats, I picked up Lawrence Maroney as one of my sleeper picks after watching him in the preseason and reading the Boston papers. Looks like I might be able to use him or Frank Gore in a trade for a quality receiver. Yeah!!!

Sterling Sharpe said something very curious last night during the Sunday night pre-game. He said that he didn't think that the Texans made a bad pick in grabbing Mario Williams over Reggie Bush. He said that Bush at this stage of his career isn't a every down player and that Williams is.

Williams might end up being the better player between the two when all is said and done. But you have to pick Reggie Bush if you have the first pick of the draft. You have to. He's one of the most exciting talents to come around in a long time. You have to draft him. Even with the chance that Williams does become the second coming of Reggie White.

Jerry Jones explained it best. He said that Williams was first on their board as well. But if the opportunity presented itself, the businessman in him would have to pick Reggie Bush. Well said.

Now all that Bush memorabilia money is going into the Saints pockets instead of Houston's.

If anything they should have picked an offensive lineman to keep David Carr in one piece.

I'm really happy that Chad and the Jets got off on the right foot with a win, but it's amazing how two-faced sports fans can be. Half of these Jets fans I know who have Pennington pom-poms wanted him cut in the off-season. You can't burn someone and effigy one minute and want to name your first born after him six months later.

Now they're turning on Nugent after his awful day. Come on, Gang Green! If the kid turns into Adam Vinatieri or Morten Andersen after you run him out of town, you're gonna regret it.

I hate Michael Irvin for a variety of reasons. The latest is his bufoonery for ESPN. Saying the most ridiculous things to get attention. Last year's idiocy was when he said that the Eagles would be a championship team if Brett Favre was the QB and not an injured Donovan McNabb.

I wonder if he believes that after yesterday's masterpiece by good ol' Brett?

If there was ever a player who needed to read the writing on the wall and hang it up, it's Brett. He was an amazing player in his prime, but I've never bought into the hype around Favre. He won one title and that was only because Dallas was beaten up and he got Carolina in the NFC championship game and an overmatched Pats team in the Super Bowl. When he had to face a real team in Denver the next year, his Packers fell short. He could never beat Dallas when it mattered and you get the feeling that Elway would have found a way to win the game on that last drive if the roles were reversed.

But in spite of all that, he was still a great player. One of the 10 best QBs ever. Not better than Montana, Marino, Elway, Staubach or Aikman. But a great player.

Now he's painful to watch. I understand his team is falling around him and his arm is still strong. But he's nowhere close to being the old Favre. I keep hearing if you put on him on a playoff team that he could be a difference maker. That if he had a coach who could rein him in a bit like Holmgren used to, that he would be an asset. I don't think so. Maybe two years ago. Not now.

I wish he could hang it up just so I can be spared all these blowjob sessions ESPN do with him. I always put my head in the oven after all of the Agassi nonsense. You know what's gonna happen when Favre decides to hang it up.

Speaking of Agassi. Let's put some perspective on his career. He might have been the most talented American player ever along with Sampras. But he'll always be an also-ran to Pistol Pete because he was more focused on being a rock star than a tennis player. But unlike the Williams sisters and John McEnroe who suffered from similiar maladies during their careers, he was able to get his focus back in time to become a hall of famer in the second half of his career.He just wasn't dominant enough. And he could never beat Pete enough when it mattered. Heck, Courier used handle him regularly before he burned out. Great player, but I could have done with all the crying.

I Hate NFL Refs

2006-09-11T00:51:00.000-07:00

This ticky tack officiating has been driving me nuts since last year's Seattle game.

Tonight was the kicker. Yes, I understand that Coughlin and company have to adjust to these ticky tack refs. But that Carter pass interference call was ridiculous by any reasonable standard. The false starts? Please. The Giants should have won that game by 10 points. They lose by six. Give Peyton and company credit. They were efficient in the pass game and were able to overcome the fact that they couldn't run the ball. But they had no business winning this game.

I think what happens is that the Giants have a rep for being one of the more penalized teams in the league and the refs more on them than other teams. The Giants have a chance to be a very special team this year. Look at the way Tiki and Jacobs moved the ball on the ground. The mismatches that Shockey and Burress create for most secondaries. If Eli continues to progress, they have a chance to put a real hurting on some teams. But they have to find a way to negotiate a way around these penalties. The Giants could have put 30 plus points on the board against that defense. But those damn penalties keep stopping drives in their tracks.

If Coughlin is this stickler for discipline that I keep hearing about, then he has to find a way to cut down on these flags. That more than anything else is keeping this team from becoming one of the elite teams in the league. They can survive Eli's occasional shaky throws and Shockey or Plaxico's drops. They can't survive all that and a million false starts penalties.

The defense also needs to double up on their receiving drills. I counted three or four chances the Giants had to keep the Colts off the boards with timely picks. Instead, the Colts get three points when they should have had none. The difference between the Giants defense and the Ravens, Pats and Steelers is that those would have been picks and their offensive units would have been back on the field. You can't give a QB like Peyton second chances.

Peyton had a decent night. But there's nothing I saw tonight that makes me think that this is the favorite in the AFC. But they did JUST enough and we did the rest. Now the Giants get to go to Philly to face a rejuvenated Donovan McNabb 0-1 instead of 1-0. Fun times.

I'm a Giants fan born and bred. I don't hate the Jets but if it comes down to a showdown between Blue and Green for ....Green always loses.

So when my Jets buddies asked me to buy into their season ticket group, I did for two reason 1)Kickass tailgates 2) and the chance to see some players in person I normally wouldn't see watching NFC games. I never thought I'd actually see winning football this year.

Chad, Eric and company are trying raise my lowered expectations.

Pennington has been getting killed by the fans and talk-radio over the last year and a half. But even before the injuries, arm strength was one of his...well, strengths. It was intellect and accuracy that set him apart. As long as he has enough to get the ball to his target, he can be effective. Kill them softly with the underneath stuff and occasionally hit the defense with a 30 yarder. If Eli had Chad's accuracy, he'd be Marino.

I'm not predicting playoffs for Gang Green, but I think they can be better than 6-10. Their defense is solid and if they can get any sort of running game going, they can be competitive. Today's win was a good one for the Jets even if the opponent wasn't. It's one in the books that noone can take away from them.

7-9 and 8-8 is a reasonable goal for the Jets and their fans. And will keep me interested in something other than the chili and brats in Jets Parking lot when I go to home games.

I'm convinced that these pundits that pick Dallas to go to the Super Bowl don't actually watch Dallas games. I have two words as to why the Cowboys won't win the division much less go to the Big Dance. Drew Bledsoe.

Today big Drew showed the world why the boys in Big D will be also-rans once again.

Jacksonville has a good team with a solid defense. But if you have a QB with some semblance of mobility in the pocket, you win that game by two touchdowns easy with Dallas' defense. That's not Drew Bledsoe.

With Larry Allen gone and Flozell Adams hobbled, you're looking forward to a 9-7 record with pissed off T.O in Ewingville. I can't wait.

Ok...Maybe I Do Care....
Because Andy and Roger forced me to. Thanks fellas.

The US Open final wasn't a great match. Far from it. But it showed me just enough to continue to think that the Grand Slams still matter.

You saw a former champion regain his old swagger and push the big dog to step up his game. You saw the big dog say, "Ok, let's do this." And not only steps it up a notch, but three just to get the message across to his opponent and the rest of the field.

It was apropos that Tiger Woods was there. Woods and Federer are no longer competing with the rest of the field. But with the ghosts of history. Roger's chief competition is Pete, Bjorn and Rod. Tiger's is Jack. Only Tiger can relate to what going Roger is going through right now. And what he needs to to do to stay motivated to stay on top in a way that Pete and Bjorn couldn't. Sampras got married, had kids and had to be dragged to matches. Bjorn thought he couldn't beat McEnroe anymore so he quit. McEnroe wanted to be a rock star. Hopefully Roger can avoid those fates.

And hopefully Roddick, Nadal, Safin and company can elevate the quality of play to match Federer and make these tournaments interesting. In the same way Mickelson, Singh, Furyk and others have done in golf. There's nothing to say that these guys can't break through against Federer and add to their Grand Slam hardware. As I've said before, we'll see how great this guy is, when there are a number of top players in their primes to challenge him. Let's hope Roddick's match today and Nadal's performance against him will be the beginning of a new golden age in the men's game.

As for the women....Great win by Sharapova over Henin-Hardenne. But I still don't care.

More on that later...

Thank You Roger.....

2006-09-08T13:24:00.000-07:00

For whupping this tool's ass last night. I almost threw up in my mouth when I saw him with that jersey on the other night.

Is this the best that the brothers can come up with? The sisters get Serena and Venus. As maddening as they can be at times, at they've delivered on the court. This bitch-ass can't even win a five set match.

Arthur is spinning in his grave right now. First Malavai Washington, now this clown. Why can't we represent in every sport except men's tennis?

The Return Of The Dark Lord...With Rants A Blazing

2006-09-07T00:56:00.000-07:00

Lots to go over tonight.

Anibal Sanchez's no-hitter makes me giggle for a couple of reasons.

First of all, Sanchez was one of the minor-leaguers the Red Sox gave up to get Josh "Chicks Dig The Long Ball" Beckett. The other was Hanley Ramirez. Think they could use him right now? Bill Simmons five year grace period has officially ended at two.

The other is the fact that the Marlins have four no-hitters in their history. While the Mutts, with all of their great pitchers in their history, have a great big goose-egg. Something this guy, is now painfully aware of right now.

Mets fans...Ryan Howard or Albert Pujols is winning the MVP. Deal with it.

A while back I wrote that Beltran would probably finish second to Prince Albert this year. Now he's a distant third. Take a look at the numbers.

Pujols
G-119 AB-442, Runs-102 Hits-142 HR-44 RBI-116 BB-77 SO-40 BA-.321 OBP-.424 SLG-.686 OPS-1.109

Howard
G-135 AB-502, Runs-89 Hits-155 HR-53 RBI-134 BB-78 SO-154 BA-.309 OBP-.403 SLG-.665 OPS-1.069

Beltran
G-122 AB-455, Runs-113 Hits-130 HR-39 RBI-112 BB-75 SO-87 BA-.286 OBP-.386 SLG-.626 OPS-1.013

I love big Ryno, but to me, Pujols is the MVP hands down. His power numbers are comparable to Howard's despite playing in 16 less games. He has a better batting average and better OPS numbers. And look at the strikeouts, Pujols has 4O punchouts compared to 44 dingers. Just sick. Beltran? His numbers are great and he plays at a premium defensive position. But he also plays in one of the best lineups in the majors and his numbers still don't stack up to those two. He's the best player on the best team in the senior circuit. But he'll have to settle for an appearance in the Fall Classic.

And Mets fans, spare me with A-Rod-Papi defense analogy because it doesn't work in this instance. A-Rod had equal or better stats than Ortiz in every category except for RBIs. He also played on a team that won the division, beating Ortiz's Red Sox. Alex also had several huge hits to win games against the Sox last year. So even if he didn't play an excellent third base last year, he more than made his case for AL MVP.

You'd never know they had the best record in baseball with the way they whine.

Bill Parcells has always had his sycophants in the media. The late Will McDonough, Mike Francessa, Peter King and Gary Myers being the most high profile among them. But what has he been feeding all these idiots this off-season, that he's got them picking his Cowboys to win the NFC East? Are we forgetting that Drew Bledsoe is still their QB? That one of the most divisive players in the history of the game is their number one receiver? That the Giants had one of the better front seven units in the league until every one of their LB's and their backups got hurt. And the Giants strengthened all of their weakenesses from last year (Secondary and LB depth). And that my boy Eli is going to be a year wiser?

The 'Boys should have gotten swept last year by Big Blue. They lucked out a couple wins versus Philly and Washington. I concede that Terrell Owens can help their offense and that their defense will be tough. But as George Foreman says, everyone has a plan until they get hit. Knock around Bledsoe a couple of times and Drew will become the interception ATM he's always been. He's Kerry Collins with a higher IQ. Nothing more.

Here's how I have the NFC East going this year.

Giants 11-5
Eagles 10-6
Cowboys 9-7
Redskins 7-9

Despite a killer schedule, I think the Giants are poised to repeat as NFC East champs and join Seattle and Carolina as the Conference elite. I think Big Blue is better than Seattle and can give Carolina a run for their money this year. McNabb is going to have a big rebound year and getting Donte Stallworth was huge. The Redskins are horrible and Brunnell will show his true colors in '06. Arrington will get his revenge. Eli takes his place as one of the elite QB's in the game this year.

I've been watching tennis for over 20 years and I can't remember a worse time for the sport then now. I'm not taking anything away from Federer and Nadal. They're both very good. But who are they beating? The field is as shallow as it's ever been. In the late seventies and early eighties you had Borg, Connors, Gerulaitis, Lendl, McEnroe, Natase and Vilas. In the eighties, you have Connors, McEnroe, Lendl, Becker, Wilander, Edberg and Noah...all Hall of Famers. In the nineties, You have Sampras, Agassi, Chang, Becker, Edberg, Stich, Kafelnikov, Muster, Ivanisevic, Krajicek, Bruguera and Courier. In the late nineties, early 2000's, you have Agassi, Sampras, Kuerten, Hewitt, Safin, Rafter, Roddick and Federer.

Now? There's a field of two. Yeah those two are very good, but I doubt that either of them dominate a deep field like in years past. They've come into prominence during a transition period. The old lions like Sampras and Agassi are gone. Many of the other top players like Safin, Roddick, Federer and other have struggled through injuries and mind games. And the rest of the field is either too young or not good enough to consistently challenge the big dogs.

Federer and Nadal didn't have to face as deep a field as previous number ones like Pete, Lendl, Agassi, Edberg, Becker or Courier have. Clay-courters, Serve and Volleyers, big servers, baseliners. Federer might challenge Pete's record. He's a wonderful player. But in my mind, he's a great player playing in a very weak era for the game. Same with Nadal.

The women's game is a little better, but it's a shame that the two best players in the game can't decide if they're entertainers or athletes. The Williams sisters can no longer sleepwalk their way to finals. The field has caught up and they're ready to get some payback. Serena's fourth round match versus Amelie Mauresmo was a disgrace. She was a ham sandwich away from exploding. She lost that match because she was fat, not because Mauresmo was better.

Mauresmo has to be the worst number one player in recent memory. Congrats on her two Grand Slams this year, but I don't think anyone thinks that she would have the top spot if Henin-Hardenne or Cljisters didn't get hurt or the Williams sisters decided to practice every once in a while. She's there because she plays every tournament. Which in this age of lowered expectations is a big deal.

Until Sharapova wins another Grand Slam, I don't want to hear her name in the conversation.

Try to get me to care about either final this year. Please.

Hiatus

2006-04-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

You've probably noticed that I haven't posted in a while. That's because I'm doing most of my posting on my other blog, the Evil Empire Chronicles. So for the 10 people who actually read this thing, you can get your fix there. I'll let you know if I post anything over here over there.

Gator Bait

2006-04-05T16:50:00.000-07:00

I can get used to this being right stuff.

When everyone around at my job was picking UCLA, I'd ask why. I'd rarely get an intelligent reason. It was always because "I hate Florida" or "Because I loved the O'Bannon brothers." Garbage like that.

Oh well. It was nice seeing someone aside from the usual suspects win the whole thing. Gator fans will definitely appreciate this because the ones I know, never expected they'd ever win a basketball title.

Let me go record now and say that with a little more seasoning, Noah can become a more athletic version of Kevin McHale with better defensive skills. I really hope this kid comes back to school, because with a little more experience, he can become a real franchise guy.

And that way, the Knicks can pick him up in 2008, since we don't have a 2007 pick thanks to the Eddie Curry trade. Thanks Isiah. Thanks a lot.

Caffeine Anyone?

2006-04-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

The NCAA's at 9ish. The Yankees at 10:05.

Anyone who has stock in Mountain Dew should hold on to it.

If this was a Friday night, I'd be in heaven. But it's a Monday. Three days before I go on vacation. The last thing I want to do is do something where my vacation would be permanent.

But the hell with it. Baseball's back.

I must have been watching three or four games from my office today. Cheering that Miguel Tejada (one of my fantasy shortstops) smashed a home run off of Scott Kazmir. Until I realized that Scott was on one of my other teams.

Somehow, I'm thinking that three fantasy teams (five if you count my two strato-leagues) are a little too much.

Here's to baseball.

Cinderella Gets Pummeled And Develops Battered Baller's Syndrome

2006-04-02T00:59:00.000-08:00

Talk about leaving no doubt...

These two games were the equivalent of boyfriend/spouse who finally has enough of his woman browbeating him and finally snaps...He takes her out back and just gives her the whupping of a lifetime...with all of her friends watching because they're afraid that if they try to break it up...they'll get beat too.

Not that I condone or endorse that sort of thing. Just making an observation.

At least I know who I'm rooting for. My love for USC prevents me from rooting for UCLA in well, anything....so going for Florida was an easy choice even if I didn't 1)Like Florida Football 2)Was a fan of Yannick Noah 3)Joa'chim Noah went to Poly Prep, a Brooklyn private school in the same conference as my high school alma mater (I wrestled against their guys several times)and 4)Billy Donovan is a Long Island guy.

It's pretty funny since that these two teams are in the final game. Both coaches have Big East roots (Howland coached at Pitt, Donovan played at Providence) and have been an easy targets for the pundits. Howland was awful in his first couple of years at UCLA and many wondered why he left Pitt in the first place and Billy's team have underacheived since making the Finals in 1999. Now one of them will get a very large primate off their back.

Here's hoping it's Billy.....

Florida 65 UCLA 57

Well....I got one right....

2006-03-28T08:01:00.000-08:00

And one of my darkhorses turned out to be a winner as well. So I didn't do too bad.

For the first time since 1980, no number one seeds advanced to the Final Four. How appropriate considering how competitive this tournament has been. Not one of the traditional powers is winning this thing.

I had a feeling Villanova would be overwhelmed by a bigger team. I just thought it would be Boston College because of upperclassmen experience and size. And they would have done it, had the officials not thought Villanova was Dook and decided to give them the game. Granted, BC had a ridiculous amount of turnovers, but the officiating down the stretch of that game was awful. If you're going to let them play, then let them play, don't pick and choose your spots.

That being said, I'm not at all surprised that Florida beat up the Wildcats in the way that they did. I had a chance to see them at the Garden last November. They whupped up on Syracuse in a way that isn't indicative in the 75-70 score. Despite their youth, I was very impressed with their poise and athleticism. I didn't pick them in my Final Four, but I'm not at all surprised they're there.

You have to be able to get some easy baskets to take the pressure off your backcourt. If not, and your guards are off, it's going to be a long night. Simple as that.

The problem with this tournament and people's selections is that they look at names and not at matchups. Noone is saying that a team like George Mason is better in UConn. But if you look at the matchups and ask yourself...."If we're playing one game for all the marbles, do they have a chance?" Then you realize that they weren't as much of a Cinderella as we initially thought.

There's a reason why when teams look at building a team, they always look for a quality big man. Not guards. Michael Jordan was an anomaly. Maybe picking Sam Bowie over Jordan was a mistake. But remember who was chosen first overall, Hakeem Olajuwon.

It's probably going to be an all SEC final. I'm rooting for Florida, but I wouldn't bet the ranch.

No KeyShawn, But Big Blue Keeps Tim....But I Want Lavarr!!!!!!

2006-03-25T18:16:00.000-08:00

It's put up or shut up time for Mr. Auburn. From ESPN.com.

Unrestricted free agent wide receiver Tim Carter, one of the most star-crossed players in recent league history but a young veteran whose deep speed still makes him an intriguing prospect, on Friday afternoon reached an agreement to return to the New York Giants, ESPN.com has learned.

The four-year veteran, who was also in negotiations with the Tampa Bay Bucs earlier in the day, will sign a two-year contract worth $2 million. The contract includes $500,000 in upfront money and allows Carter the opportunity to earn an additional $300,000 per year in incentives.

A second-round choice in the 2002 draft, and the 46th player chosen overall that year, Carter's progress has been stymied by a number of injuries. In fact, the former Auburn star has finished three of his four seasons in the league on the injured reserve list, and has started only three games in his career.

So rare is Carter's speed, though, that he remains a prospect on whom the Giants didn't want to give up. His mere presence on the field can dictate secondary coverages because defenses have to honor his big-play potential, and the feeling is that Carter can still become a viable No. 3 wideout.

In 37 games, Carter has 49 catches for 714 yards and one touchdown. He had just 10 receptions in 2005 but his 18.6-yard average was reflective of his potential to get deep. Carter's best season was in 2003, when he had 26 catches for 309 yards.

Once again, Carter will go to camp this summer with an opportunity to win the No. 3 job behind starters Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer.

The problem for Carter, 26, hasn't so much been nagging injuries, but rather disastrous ones. He suffered a torn Achilles tendon in his 2002 rookie season, limiting him to five games. In '03, a December concussion prematurely ended his season. And then in 2004, after only five games, he sustained a hip injury that was thought to be potentially career-ending.

Through it all, Carter has maintained the breathtaking speed that made him one of the fastest risers on NFL draft boards in 2002.

If Carter could stay on the field, the Giants would have one of the two or three most terrifying receiving corps in the NFL. As it stands now, they're very good, but with Burress, Toomer and Shockey and a healthy Carter...they would be virtually indefensible with Tiki coming out of the backfield. With Manning a year older and a solid offensive line in place, I really like our chances to make serious playoff run this year.

I'd like our chances even if we were to get Arrington and or strike gold in the draft with either a D-Tackle or a linebacker. With the improvements in the secondary, the one concern we have on defense is depth at D-line and linebackers. How do we prevent what happened last year from happening again. While it's impossible to stockpile talent in the way teams did in the 70's because of the cap, there are ways to maintain depth without breaking the bank.

That being said, I want LaVar...bad. Let him freelance and wreak havoc like he did under Marvin Lewis. I've never like Gregg Williams as a coach. He was horrible in Buffalo and anybody who can't find a place for someone like Arrington in their defense is doomed to failure. I hate these rigid coaches who don't know how to coach to their talent level.

Ernie, Tom...make it happen...please!!!

Am I watching the NCAA's or Love Story??

2006-03-25T16:05:00.000-08:00

Because that's what it felt like watching the end of Gonzaga/UCLA game. The next great white hope Adam Morrison didn't even wait for the game to end before he did his Demi Moore imitation. I felt like I was watching Steel Magnolias or the Hours with a bunch of women on fertility hormones.

I can understand crying after the game. But there was still about two seconds on the clock. Anything can happen in that time. And your best player should still have his head in the game. Not crying in the middle of the court with all the world (and more importantly your teammates) to see. Way to inspire confidence in your teammates, Adam.

You think you would ever see Larry Bird, Magic or Michael crying before the game was completely out of reach? Never. It was a shameful display. As the team's best player and leader, your teammates are looking to you for inspiration and guidance in moments like that. What do you thinking was going through their minds as Adam's bawling like Amidala when Anakin finally turned to the Dark Side?

"UCLA, stop it...you're breaking my heart!"

He needs to keep his ass in school. Don't think after that incredible display of bitchitude that the boys in the NBA aren't waiting to take his lunch money and put him in touch with his feminine side.

Hopefully the scouts took note of that as well. Although I doubt it. The owners are so obsessed with finding the next Great White American Hoops Star that they'll overlook any flaws that they might see in his game or makeup.

That's what I love about the NCAA's. All the pretenders are eventually exposed and disposed of with a efficiency Darwin would obseve with marvel. As much as Vitale and company want to shove Morrison and Redick down our throats, the deficiencies in their games and their teams are displayed for all the world to see as teams with equal skill and greater athletic ability advance.

Greater athletic ability is in bold for a reason. The amazing thing about those Duke teams from the early 90's was that as skilled as they were, they also had some incredible studs in Grant Hill, Hurley and Laettner. The teams with Battier, Brand, Dunleavy, Williams and Maggette weren't exactly slouches either.

Noone says that every player on your team has to be a first round-blue chip-can't miss prospect. But when the situation warrants, they have to be able to make an athletic play that there is no defense for against a defender who is their athletic peer.

Morrison and Redick have shown flashes of that. But neither of them will make anyone forget about Bird, Mullin, Stockton, Price, Chambers, Vandeweghe, West, McHale or Barry. Much less foreign imports like Nash, Novitski and Stojakovic.

Both will be decent pros. But neither of them will be perennial all-pros or franchise players that you build a team around. I don't see the competitive-refuse to lose-determination that you saw in Bird. Redick is the closest in atttitude. But I don't think he has the athletic ability to back it up over 82 games plus playoffs. Morrison is comparable in ability. He might be a better athlete than Bird was. But he doesn't have the assassin's heart like Bird did. He had several chances to put UCLA away in the final minutes of that game and failed each time. Bird or Mullin win that game by 15 points.

The bottom line is this. For whatever reason, the nation's best white athletes are not playing basketball. They're playing football and baseball. So instead of trying to create a white hope where none exists, they should spend their time covering players who are actually going to be difference makers at the next level.

UConn has finally arrived.

Why do I say that? After they've won two national titles under Jim Calhoun, why have I declared that the Huskies have finally arrived?

Because they're getting Duke-like calls in their tournament games. They were this close to getting blown out until the refs call a technical and a personal foul on Brandon Roy. In college, a technical counts as a personal, so he went from two to four fouls on one play. Since five means buh-bye, Roy had a reservation on the bench in his future. And even with Roy out for most of the second half, it took an amazing shot by Anderson to take it to overtime. With half of Washington's team fouled out, you knew how this was going to end.

Not to take anything away from UConn, they were given an opportunity and they took advantage of it. But being given the benefit of the doubt by the officials didnt exactly hurt their chances despite 20 plus turnovers. But unlike Duke, they had the athletes who could make plays even against the best defenses. I don't know if they'll win it all, but they're going to be a tough, tough out.

Keyshawn Or LaVarr?

2006-03-23T00:28:00.000-08:00

It's a nice problem to have. Being able to choose between those two. But as much as the Trojan in me wants to say Keyshawn and see him balls across the middle for the Jints. I have to say that we need LaVarr more. We need the big boy from Penn State just a little more. He would wreak havoc on the defensive side of the ball. Plus he's several years younger than Johnson.

He's also going to be more expensive, but I think he's worth the investment. With Strahan getting up there in age, it would be nice to have Umenyiora, Pierce and Arrington as the cornerstones of our defense for the next couple of years.

If the opportunity presents itself. Get the big man. Most definitely.

I can't believe Jets fans are griping about "only" getting a late first round pick for John Abraham.

Is he one of the best pass rushers in the game when he's healthy? Absolutely. The key term being "when he's healthy."

But he also has some baggage and has shown an unwillingness to play hurt. He was not worth all the money he was looking for.

The Jets now two first round picks and three picks in the first 35. They can either use it to trade up or stay put and get three young players to help rebuild this team. Pretty good situation.

We'll see how good Tannenbaum and Mangini are at player personnel. If they mess this up, then they deserve all the grief they get from Gang Green.

Two first round picks and Jets fans act like they don't have a pick until the third. The sad thing about it is that they might justified in their angst.

Imagine Mo In A Red Sox Uniform?

2006-03-22T03:29:00.000-08:00

I know it sickens me to think about it as well. So how do you think Patriots fans feel when they read this? From ESPN.com...

In a move fraught with irony on any number of fronts, the most accurate field goal kicker in NFL history is about to be replaced by one of the most clutch placement specialists in the game.

Unrestricted free agent Adam Vinatieri, who provided the winning field goals in two of the New England Patriots' three Super Bowl victories, has reached a contract agreement in principle with the Indianapolis Colts, ESPN.com has learned.

Complete terms of the contract were not immediately available, but league sources told ESPN.com that the multiyear deal includes a signing bonus of $3.5 million and that it averages $2.5 million over the first three years of the contract.

There remains some detail work still to be done on the contract, but sources said that it could be completed by late Tuesday night. Vinatieri is scheduled to fly to Indianapolis for a Wednesday news conference.

Vinatieri played the 2005 season for the Patriots under the one-year qualifying offer for a kicker, in his case $2.6 million-plus. The Pats opted not designate Vinatieri as a franchise player for a second consecutive season, because it would have cost them more than $3 million.

That decision could end up costing New England far more, since Vinatieri will be difficult to replace, both on and off the field.

Vinatieri, whose performance under fire had come to be symbolic of the Patriots' excellence under coach Bill Belichick, and whose departure will be a significant blow to New England, will replace longtime Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt. Though most recently remembered for his last-second miss against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a divisional-round playoff defeat two months ago, a 46-yard attempt that would have sent that game into overtime, Vanderjagt is the most accurate field goal kicker in league history.

But Vinatieri has become famous, and nearly iconic in New England, for converting such clutch kicks over the course of his 10-year career. And at age 33, he might become even better, given that he will be kicking much of the time in a domed stadium now, after a career often spent in blustery conditions.

Let me be clear. There is no "Tom Brady" without Adam Vinatieri. Just like there is no "Derek Jeter" without Mariano Rivera. What are the Pats thinking about? McGinest, I understand, somewhat. But you don't grow clutch kickers on trees. Noone was more accurate than Mike Vanderjaght in regular season games. But when it came time to get his team over the hump, he folded like a graphic novel.

Maybe Belichick has something up his sleave. He better because knowing New England fans, they won't tolerate going 6-10 because their kicker can't make extra points or 35 yard field goals. And they will turn on you in a second.

Ask the Red Sox.

George Mason 65, UNC 60....One of the reasons Darth Marc doesn't do brackets anymore...

2006-03-20T13:01:00.000-08:00

I'm tired of giving my money to these pools. All I end up doing is donating to someone's vacation fund or all-night bender since I never win. This year, I decided to look at each bracket and decide who was coming out of it as their final four representative.

I choose UConn, BC, UCLA and Texas as my final four picks. I had UNC, Georgetown, LSU and West Virginia as my darkhorses. It's a lot easier doing that than filling out a bracket and then pulling your hair out after Northwestern State hits a fallaway tray to beat Iowa or watching the Heels spit the bit versus George Mason.

I wish I could say that I was surprised that UNC lost. But having watched them all year, I knew that they had a bad habit of playing up or down to their competition. That's why I couldn't put them in the Final Four. As much as I hate Duke, I respect the fact that they don't lose to teams in the tourney like George Mason. You have to bring your A game to beat them.

But UNC's loss also highlights another trend. That's the emergence of mid-major teams going from the occasional spoiler (Richmond vs Syracuse, Princeton vs UCLA)to legitmate contenders. And I think the tourney committee acknowledged that trend in some of the picks and seedings.

The Major conferences are going to continue to get the best athletes, get the most at large bids and win the whole thing most of the time. But I wouldn't be surprised to see one of these mid-majors get to the Final Four or win it all in the not so distant future. When you can keep a team together for three or four years, it's always going to help your chances of advancing in the tournament....even if your competition has better athletes.

That's where the big teams are at a slight disadvantage. The blue-chip propects don't stay in school for four years anymore. And the really special players aren't going to college anymore. Yeah, Stern raised the NBA age minimum to 20. But kids who don't want to go to school are going to find ways around it. Some will probably play overseas for a couple of years before coming back.

This all means that the playing field in the NCAA will continue to level over the coming years. Which means that we could very well see a mid-major conference team win it all in the not-too-distant future.

Hell, although Mason's win was at the expense of one of my favorite teams I love the fact that Mike and MadDog have major egg on their faces. They were killing the choice of George Mason for an at-large bid over local team Hofstra. I wonder how they'll wiggle out of this one?

Imperial Points Of View

2006-03-16T18:03:00.000-08:00

A couple of quick points on the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame inductions.

Sex Pistols. Way overrated as a group. More image than substance. But I can see why they're in.

Black Sabbath. Their induction was wayy overdue. One of the most important and influential bands in the history of Rock. The most important hard rock act after Led Zeppelin.

Miles Davis. One of the most important artists this country has produced this century. One of the few people that could say that he changed the face of music several times and mean it. Nuff said.

Lynyrd Synyrd. Great Southern Rock Band. But not as good as the Allman Brothers. Even after Duane Allman passed. But a great band.

I liked Blondie and Debbie Harry....but take a look at some of the acts that have been around longer that are still waiting to get in the Hall.

1)Dionne Warwick
2)The Spinners
3)The Carpenters
4)Barry White
5)Genesis
6)Neil Diamond
7)Bill Withers
8)Diana Ross (as a solo artist)
9)Smokey Robinson (as a solo artist)
10)Steve Winwood (as a solo artist)
11)Hall & Oates
12)Chicago
13)Electric Light Orchestra
14)Deep Purple
15)Roberta Flack
16)Donnie Hathaway
17)Minnie Ripperton
18)KISS
19)Carole King (as a solo artist, she's in as a songwriter)
20)Quincy Jones

Just to name a few. I could name more if I really tried but those were the ones that I named off the top of my head.

All of these acts predate Blondie. All of them have had commericial success. All of them are as influential as Blondie was in their way. What did they lack that Blondie has? Aside from a hot blonde lead singer? Some of them were too commercial for the writers taste. Some weren't cool enough for the writers to consider.

When will these voters start voting for artists that people actually listened to instead the ones in their CD collection?

Just wondering.

I was at last night's double overtime game at the Garden was a perfect example as to why the Nets need to move to Brooklyn.

In a meaningless regular season game, the building was rocking in a way that Meadowlands can only come close to sounding like during big playoff games.

The Nets can win 70 games a year and they won't attract the sort of interest the Knicks can on a regular season game on a Wednesday night.

I went to a Nets-Spurs game at the Meadowlands last month. You'd think that that game like that with two playoff teams (a rematch of the 2003 NBA Finals) would have had a live amped crew right? On a Friday night?

The turnout was weak and so was the crowd. Didn't come close to what the Garden had last night.

Hell, when the Knicks were playing Kobe and the Lakers at the Garden, Jay-Z was in the house...even though the Nets had a home game that night!!!

Can imagine if George Steinbrenner was at Shea Stadium for a Mets/Braves game while the Yankees were facing off with the Red Sox in the Bronx?

If Bruce Ratner ever needed an excuse to get out of the swamp. He's got it.

Big Blue Moves...Never Too Early to Talk Football

2006-03-15T02:03:00.000-08:00

A subject that I actually want to write about....

Giants Announce Signings
The Giants today began the promised upgrade of their secondary while also bolstering their special teams when they signed cornerbacks Sam Madison, R.W. McQuarters and Jason Bell, plus safety Quentin Harris. In addition, the Giants re-signed punt and kickoff returner Chad Morton, backup tackle Bob Whitfield and reserve quarterback Tim Hasselbeck. The team was also awarded cornerback Brandon Williams off waivers from the Atlanta Falcons.

Loving these moves. We've got a nice mix of veteran leadership and youth on our defense to complement the guys we have on our offense. The NFC East is going to be tough once again. But I think whoever comes out of that division this year has a good shot at going to the Super Bowl. I really do. Eli will be a year older and hopefully wiser and the skill guys will have another year under their belts.

Baring any major injuries, a bar we haven't been able scale the last couple of years, I really feel good about our chances. If we can draft a solid player at either Linebacker or Defensive Tackle, that'll give us much needed depth on that side of the ball.

Now if I can just get my Strat-O-Matic team together....I'd be in business....

Imperial Points On Bonds

2006-03-15T01:22:00.000-08:00

I've been resisting writing about this guy. But here it goes.

I hate Barry Bonds and what he's done to distract from the game. All this talk about him and what he might or might not have done is taking away airtime from the most important thing...the games themselves.

But even if it's proven that he did do steroids, and there's yet to be a shred of hard core physical evidence produced to say that he did, what exactly are you going to do to him? Answer...not goddamn thing.

It wasn't illegal to do steroids in baseball until 2003. And unless someone can come up with a positive bloodtest of his in the last three years, there's nothing you can do to punish him. Nothing.

Yeah, maybe you can turn him into baseball version of OJ. A pariah who will never be able to make the sort of money an athlete of his stature should be able to make off his name and exploits after his career is over. But that's unlikely.

You're not going to keep him out of the Cooperstown. Any honest baseball fan has to admit after 1998, that Bonds was a first ballot Hall Of Famer if he was hit by a truck the day after the season was over. The last eight seasons have been icing on the cake and more cheddar in his bank account. You might be able to keep him out the first year. But eventually, he's getting in.

Outside of a possible perjury charge, and that's shaky at best, Bonds is getting off. A witchhunt turns Bonds into a martyr and that's the last thing you want to do.

To paraphrase a line from Full Metal Jacket "This is a big shit sandwich and Bud and MLB is going to have to take a bite."

Bonds got away with it. Just like OJ. Deal with it. Let's just hope the measures put in place will prevent another Bonds, McGwire, Sosa or any other abuser you want to name from taking their place.

Baseball waited too long to deal with the problem. Now it must deal with the fallout.

Congrats On Winning The ACC Tournament, Duke

2006-03-13T00:15:00.000-08:00

But I'll always have this....

Carolina goes farther in the Big Dance than Dook. JJ goes home crying. Doesn't Williams look a little like the autistic kid who hit all those three-pointers a few weeks ago in Rochester?

Get used to that look on your face, Sheldon. You're going to have it lot for the rest of your basketball career....

Giants Move

2006-03-12T23:59:00.000-08:00

Like us getting Sam Madison. Don't like giving up Clancy. Now we have to hope that Joseph will stay healthy or this stud tackle Brodrick Bunkley out Florida State is everything they say he is. Provided he's still around at pick 25.

Another option is doing what I wanted them to do after the their playoff debacle versus the Panthers. And that's draft a linebacker. A couple of sites say they're targeting Sims from Florida State. Haven't seen the kid play so I don't have an opinion one way or another about him. But he has to be an upgrade over what we had out there the last couple of weeks of the season.

I would love for us to go for LaVar Arrington. With him and Pierce, we could make a real run at a title next year. Cross your fingers.

White Boys Are Running The Roost...For Now

2006-03-12T23:50:00.000-08:00

G-Mac makes the Garden his own version of the Rucker, JJ Redick turns Greensboro into the tournament at West 4th. Hats off to both of them. PTP'ers both of them.

Too bad both of them will be gone after the round of 16. The NCAA's has a way showing of the warts in your game. Call it the Anti-Clearasil. Basketball's version of kissing of a toad.

Although I'd take either one of them over Rudy Gay late in the game. Maybe he'll have a better pro career. But he needs to develop a spine in the worst way.

My picks tomorrow.

The Knicks....The Light At The End Of Tunnel is the Reflection of your Flash Light off a Steel Wall

2006-03-06T01:15:00.000-08:00

Before I get on the Bricks, I want to make two statements.

First, Stacey Kiebler got robbed on Dancing With The Stars!! I knew there was a reason that I don't watch anything involving audience/viewer participation. Now I know why.

Second, I'm not a big coffee guy, but Starbucks sucks. Dunkin Donuts kicks its ass in taste any day of the week.

Back to your regular scheduled programming.

Here's how down I am about the Knickerbocker situation. I'm this close to walking away, to asking for a divorce. At least until the Dolans sell the team. They've taken one of the jewel franchises of the NBA and turned them into the Clippers East. I can't even call them the Clippers. They're making the playoffs!

What's the situation feel so hopeless is not the fact that they're 15-41. I've watched bad NYK teams before. The hopeless feeling comes from the fact that there's talent on this team. A lot of talent. This isn't the mid eighties. When Bernard King blew out his ACL and we were waiting for Patrick Ewing to become the franchsise. Those teams were suppose to be bad. But this team has playoff caliber talent.

The problem is that they're not a team in the way the Pistons or Spurs are a team. The Knicks are a assemblage of players and spare parts. The pundits keep saying that if Larry had the right sort of players, he could win. I take a different stance. If we had the right sort of coach, the right sort of management, we could win.

I'm so disgusted...I can't even finish this post.

The Annual Dance Of Life Begins.....

2006-02-18T19:28:00.000-08:00

Pitchers and Catchers have reported....The Season Of Hope begins anew....

In tribute to Spring Training, a friend sent me some Yogi Berra-isms to get us ready for the Death Star's next departure. Enjoy.....

Yogi Berra Quotes

If you don't know where you're going, chances are you will end up somewhere
else.

I really didn't say everything I said.

If you ask me a question I don't know, I'm not going to answer.

It ain't the heat; it's the humility.

It's deja-vu all over again.

You should always go to other people's funerals. Otherwise they won't come
to yours.

The only reason I need these gloves is 'cause of my hands.

You can't think and hit at the same time.

If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be.

If I didn't wake up, I'd still be sleeping.

The other teams could make trouble for us if they win.

I knew I was going to take the wrong train, so I left early.

If you can't imitate him, don't copy him.

Never answer an anonymous letter.

90% of the game is half mental.

It's never happened in the World Series history - and it hasn't happened
since.

I'm as red as a sheet.

It's not too far, it just seems like it is.

If you don't set goals, you can't regret not reaching them.

Slump? I ain't in no slump. I just ain't hitting.

We were overwhelming underdogs.

A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore.

Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.

You mean now? (When asked for the time.)

We have a good time together, even when we're not together.

Little League baseball is a good thing because it keeps the parents off the
streets and the kids out of the house.

The future ain't what it used to be.

If you come to a fork in the road, take it.

Pair up in threes.

Don't get me right, I'm just asking.

I wish I had an answer to that, because I'm tired of answering that
question.

You give 100 percent in the first half of the game, and if that isn't
enough in the second half you give what's left.

90% of short putts don't go in.

We made too many wrong mistakes.

Thanks, you don't look so hot yourself. (After being told he looked cool.)

We're lost, but we're making great time!

If people don't want to come to the ball park, how are you going to stop
them?

How long have you known me, Jack? And you still don't know how to spell my
name. (Upon receiving a check from Jack Buck made out to "Bearer".)

I'd say he's done more than that. (When asked if first baseman Don
Mattingly had exceeded expectations for the current season.)

He can run anytime he wants. I'm giving him the red light. (On the
acquisition of Rickey Henderson.)

I knew exactly where it was, I just couldn't find it.

If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.

You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because
you might not get there.

The towels were so thick there I could hardly close my suitcase.

You better cut the pizza in four pieces. I'm not hungry enough to eat
eight.

I don't know, I'm not in shape yet. (When asked what size cap he wanted.)

I want to thank you for making this day necessary. (On Yogi Berra
Appreciation Day in 1947.)

I don't remember leaving, so I guess we didn't go.

I'd find the fellow who lost it, and, if he was poor, I'd return it. (When
asked what he would do if he found a million dollars.)

I usually take a two hour nap, from one to four.

Steve McQueen looks good in this movie. He must have made it before he
died.

It gets late early out there. (Referring to the sun conditions in left
field at the stadium.)

It was hard to have a conversation with anyone - there were too many people
talking.

I always thought that record would stand until it was broken.

Texas has a lot of electrical votes. (During an election campaign - after
George Bush stated that Texas was important to the election.)

You can observe a lot just by watching.

No, you didn't wake me up. I had to get up to answer the phone anyway.

I really liked it. Even the music was good. (When asked if he liked the
opera one evening.)

Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel.

Shut up and talk.

Once, Yogi's wife Carmen asked, "Yogi, you are from St. Louis, we live in
New Jersey, and you played ball in New York. If you go before I do, where
would you like me to have you buried?" To this, Yogi replied, "Surprise
me."

Carmen said "I took Tim to see Doctor Zhivago today." Yogi replied, "What
the hell's wrong with him now?"

The NY Knicks...Is Darth Marc Gonna Have To Choke A Bitch???

2006-02-16T00:47:00.000-08:00

That's right...The Sith Lord was so disgusted, he took off his mask to show the world his contempt.

You're probably wondering what could make Darth Marc so angry, that he would reveal himself to the world.

If you're wondering that, well then, you're obviously not a Knicks fan.

This photo was taken last Wednesday at the Meadowlands as the host Nets were giving the Knicks the Marcellus Wallace treatment. The pliars and blowtorch were put in use as Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson displayed some new moves for their new EA Sports game. Me and my man Darth Clay missed the first quarter because Holland Tunnel traffic. But we thought we might be in for a pretty good game since the Knicks had an early lead.

Why we delude ourselves, I'll never know.

Needless to say, our guarded optimism quickly turned into despair as the Knicks reverted to form and got their doors blown off for the next three quarters.

I thought the Knicks would at least be competitive in this game. The Nets, despite the brilliance of Kidd, VC and RJ, are a perimeter team. They have noone to match up with Frye or Curry down low. Even with Star-bury out, I thought the Bockers had enough to make it interesting. Silly me.

But it's not the 10 game losing streaks, the 50 different lineups or any of the stuff going on the court that's so troublesome to me. I can live with rebuilding if there's some hope on the other side.

It's that Isiah and company have turned a bad situation into a hopeless one. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. Trading bad contracts for worse ones. Getting younger and athletic...but not bothering to find out if they know how to play. Or more importantly, can they play with this coach.

Just before he was immortalized with this look of disgust....My buddy, Darth Clay shown here, said something that I thought was rather profound about the Knicks situation.

He said, "We need a White Boy, Marc."

He didn't mean it literally, (although we would both love to see David Lee get more playing time). What he meant was that we need players who know when to pass and when to shoot. Players who are longer on fundamentals than West 4th/Rucker ball flash.

Players who know what the triangle or four corners means. Or if they don't, know some variation.

It's amazing how little the players of the NBA know about actually playing the game of basketball. White men my age are deserting the NBA in droves and some folks it has to do with the Hip-Hop dress and attitude. Bullshit. Hip-Hop hasn't hurt the NFL. It has more to do with the product being awful. The league is getting younger and younger. And as a result, many of the fundamentals that were being taught in college are lost on these kids.

It really makes you realize that we were in the midst of a golden age of basketball in the 80's and 90's.

But I digress. My angst is directed at the Knicks. Not the league as a whole.

Now I'm hearing that we're possibly making a trade for Steve Francis. On paper, Star-bury and Stevie Franchise on the same team would be a fantasy league player's dream. In reality, it's the equivalent of a School Bus full of kids hitting a brick wall.

Larry will deserve a raise if he manages to work that one out if it out.

And Brown's not blameless in this whole affair. I understand wanting players who can play your style. But what about adjusting to the talent you have and playing to their strengths instead of their weakenesses. No roster is perfect and I understand there are a lot of flawed players here. But this team should have more than 15 wins (they beat the Raptors tonight, yay!!). Don't forget, this is the man that sat Amare, Carmelo and Lebron on the bench for much of the Olympics while we struggled to get a bronze medal. I don't want to hear about the fact that we didn't have a pure jumpshooter like Michael Redd there. Any team with those three along with Duncan, AI, Stephon and company should take home nothing less than gold. Brown may be a great coach, but he's not perfect. Otherwise he wouldn't have been run out of town everywhere he's gone.

What a horrible time, to tell myself that I'm cutting back on the booze....

Super Bowl And My Weekend In Sports

2006-02-07T19:30:00.000-08:00

The only thing I knew going into last weekend was this...I knew where I wouldn't be watching the Super Bowl.

As obnoxious as the Steeler Mob in Blondies have gotten over the last couple of years, I can't imagine what they would be like during the game.

I mean think about it...what have they had to brag about for the last 25 years? 23 if you want to get technical since that's when Bradshaw retired. Mark Malone? Bam Morris? Natrone Means and Stan Humphries bitchslapping them in the 1995 AFC Championship game? Neil O'Donnell playing catch with Larry Brown? Bubby Brister? Tommy Maddox? Slash?

As competitive as the Steelers have been in the Cowher Era, they still only have one Super Bowl appearance to show for it. And four home losses in AFC title games.

That had to burn in the crawl of every fan of the Black and Gold. In my humble opinion, as great as a World Series, NBA title or any other championship might be....the sweetest moment is when your team finally wins the Super Bowl.

When the Giants won in 1987, I must have watched that game on tape everyday for about a month. The fact that my two best friends (Cowboys and Redskins fans) were there watching the game with me, made the moment even sweeter.

Say what you want about Steeler fans, they're a proud, loyal group. So it had to kill them to watch Dallas, The Niners and more recently the Patriots take their places as the IT team for the moment. I know it drove me nuts.

But you knew that all it would take was for them to get back to the big game, for the hype machine to start to fire up again. Like it or not, the Steelers are one of the league's glamour frachises (Never thought I'd use glamour and Pittsburgh in the same sentence...) and the NFL, the league that markets their history better than any other, was foaming at the mouth at the possibility of getting two weeks of Steeler spin. Two weeks of Terrible Towels, Swann acrobatics and Jerome Bettis. Two weeks of Chuck Noll and Super Chin Cowher. Two weeks of Terry Bradshaw and Big Ben. With the history Pittsburgh's had since 1969, you'd be crazy not to spin this like a top.

And the pundits didn't disappoint, I stopped reading most of the stuff after the first couple of days. The writers ceased being interesting. I don't mind spin, but too much makes me dizzy.

If the best you can come up with is Jerome Bettis, Jerramy Stevens and Joey Porter...then you no longer deserve my attention.

But apparently the spin worked, because this is what happened....

NEW YORK (AP) An estimated 90.7 million people watched the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Seattle Seahawks for their fifth Super Bowl championship Sunday, the largest Super Bowl audience since 1996.

This must drive Pats fans nuts. They win three out of four titles but they can't begin to create the national buzz that teams like the Steelers, Cowboys or Raiders can. That's the difference between having a nice regional following and having a national fan base for over 30 years. Even if you're playing a blah team like Seattle, people will still watch. Can imagine if they played the Giants? (Ugh..it hurts just to write that) It would have topped 100 million easy.

That's why when the NFL talks about parity, they're talking out of both sides of their mouth. Yeah, it's important that you have a system in place where everyone has a chance to compete. But do you really think they or their television partners wanted to see a Carolina-Denver final? Without John Elway? It might have been a great game, but you would have been walking into a ratings abyss.

As much as the league likes to promote this "League/Team" first atttitude, they understand that stars and glamour put asses in the seats. And that's what you get when you have teams like Dallas, Oakland and Pittsburgh in the game. A built-in fanbase that doesn't have to be manufactured.

As for the game itself....I keep hearing about the horrible officiating. And they're correct, it was awful. But what did you expect? The officiating has been awful all year!!! Seattle needs to pipe down about the calls, because they were beneficiaries of bad calls all year. The Giants game as well as several others.

Should the five Seahawks fans in the country be pissed off about losing a game where they clearly outplayed the competition? Absolutely. But the Steelers made the plays when they had to while the Seahawks dropped pass after perfect Hasselbeck pass. They had plenty of opportunities and squandered most of them. Holmgren can call out the refs as much as he wants, it wasn't the line-judge's fault that Stevens hands couldn't match his mouth.

It's already starting though with the obnoxious Steelers fans. I go to Blondies after game. I congratulate the fans that I know. Fans who deserve to feel the joy of a Super Bowl win. But as I'm doing that, there's a couple of midgets who are sizing me up like they want to do something because I'm wearing a jersey they can't identify (Auburn Bo Jackson jersey in case you were wondering). It never ends. I just found out the other day that Blondies is listed as a Steelers bar on some of the national fan websites. Oh joy. Looks like I'll have to find a new bar for next season.

Big Ben played like a 23 year old playing in the biggest game in his life. But he made enough plays to win. And that's all that matters. Gaudy stats are nice. But what would you rather have? Dan Marino's 60,000 passing yards and 400 TDs? Or Troy Aikman's three rings?

Everyone's been writing that this is going to put more pressure on Eli. Really? You mean other than the fact that he's the son of a college legend and the brother of this generation's Marino? Or the fact that he's the QB for the New York Friggin Giants?

This kid has been handling pressure and came out smelling like a rose. Despite Big Ben's coming out party, I don't think it's going affect Eli one bit. The Steelers have been a championship caliber team for the last several years. Solid defense, skill players on offense, good offensive line and a battle-tested coach. All they needed was a competent QB who wouldn't lose games for them. They finally have that. Will Ben become Elway or Montana? A QB with the gaudy stats and the rings? Or Troy Aikman and Bob Griese? A QB with modest stats, great running game and W's. Only time will tell. But I'll tell you this, whatever Eli does, Pittsburgh's success or failure in the coming years will have nothing to do with it.

Staying on football, I like the writers choices this year for the Hall of Fame. White and Aikman were no-brainers, but I like the choices of Moon, Carson and Madden. Carson and Madden were long overdue choices. Harry Carson along with Mike Singletary was the dominant middle linebacker of his era. What took the writers so long one can only speculate. I've heard rumors about Carson burning the wrong bridges during his career. But that's another blog for another time. I can't understand why it took so long for Madden to get the call. He won over 100 games in 10 years and a Super Bowl. Is it the shadow of Al Davis and the fact that Tom Flores won two titles after Madden retired? Is it that he only coached 10 years and isn't know for any new innovations in the game like Landry, Walsh and Brown? Who knows.

I was actually surprised Moon got in on the first ballot. I was sure they'd make him wait a couple of years. Despite his gaudy NFL stats and the fact that he's the most prolific QB in the history of professional football, I thought his lack of playoff success would be held against him. Mike and MadDog said yesterday that if you wanted to put him in as a pioneer for the modern Black QB, fine, you can't put him in on just performance because he falls short.

Garbage. If you hold that against him, then you have to hold it against Sonny Jurgensen, Dan Fouts, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Fran Tarkenton, YA Title and others. I don't know what what world nine pro bowls, five years with 4,000 yards or more passing, 290 TDs and nearly 50,000 yards passing doesn't get you a trip to Canton. I guess Peyton's gonna be SOL huh?

It's silly comments like that that drive former players like Emmitt Smith crazy. He went on a rant this week that writers shouldn't be the only ones who judge who gets in the Hall. He's angry that his teammate Michael Irvin hasn't gotten call and that it took Rayfield Wright over 20 years to get his. He thinks Hall members along with fans should have a voice along with the writers.

It will never happen but Smith does have a point. There are way too many agendas where the sports writers are concerned. Old beefs that comes into play when the votes are tabulated. I don't know if getting the fans would accomplish, because it then becomes a popularity contest. But I think giving members of the Hall a vote could be a good idea. They might not have liked a guy, but if they respected him, they'll probably vote for him. More on that in another blog...

I went to another Nets game on Saturday. I watched Vince Carter break Dwayne Wade down like Will Hunting and calculus. The Nets won pretty easily. I've said this before and I'll say it again. If the Nets played in the city, they'd sell out every night. They need some frontcourt scoring and defense, but this team is very entertaining and figures to be competitive for a couple of years. I'm a Knicks fan who bleeds blue and orange. But I will have tickets in Brooklyn once Ratner and company move east. It's sort of sad that this team can't sell out a Saturday matinee against one of the best teams in the East.

More later...

Some Things To Chew On From The Last Week....

2006-01-18T00:46:00.000-08:00

My liver is a Steelers fan.

It's rejoicing because the Steelers were able to do what AA or everyone else has failed to over the last two years.

Keep me out of Blondies on NFL Playoff Sunday.

After late nights of drinking on Friday and Saturday at my favorite watering hole, I had told several friends of mine that I planned to complete the drunken trifecta on Sunday.

Until I realized who was playing in the first game. Steelers At Colts.

Growing up in New York, I was a huge fan of the Steel Curtain teams of the 70's. I even owned a Steelers helmet. With the Giants stinking up the joint in the seventies, the Steelers were my adopted team.

That was before I actually had met any Steelers fans from Pittsburgh.

There is where I experienced my first sports conundrum. How can you like a team and hate its fanbase?

This is what I deal with when I watch the Steelers play on Sundays.

I like their coach. I like their QB, Big Ben. Hines Ward is one of my favorites among active players. I even like the Bus, although I hate his alma mater Notre Dame. Polamalu is a Trojan so I'm definitely a fan. I love the way the team plays the game.

But I despise the fanbase. The mob mentality. The sheer magnitude of their ignorance of the rules of the game. The lack of decorum. The bluster. As bad as Eagles fans only worse. They actually have four Super Bowls to brag about. Doesn't matter that the last one was before many of their fans were able to wipe their ass. It's still theirs.

I was at Blondies when Carson Palmer's knee exploded after a late hit. I had to listen to the assholes behind me cheer as he was carted off the field. Considering the fact that 1)I'm a USC fan and 2)I was in a foul mood after my Giants got raped by the Panthers, that I'm shocked that I was able to keep myself from making the troglodytes eat glass. I was so angry watching that game that all I saw was red for a full two hours after the game.

That weekend made me realize that if I keep courting trouble, it's going to find me in spades. And I've been very careful about tempting the fates over the years.

So I decided to forego Blondies until either the end of the playoffs or the Steelers get knocked out. Whichever comes first.

It's as if my liver was waving a Terrible Towel just to get my attention. All I know is this....whatever money, it's wagered in Vegas....I want half! Otherwise is cirrhosis city from here on in. I'll make Nicholas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas look like Andrew Volstead.

You'd think man whose current run of success in the NFL, started after one of the worst call in the history of professional sports wouldn't be the one who whined after a couple of questionable calls went against them in a playoff game...right?

I guess Bill Bellicheck didn't get the keep your mouth shut memo.

The Tuck Rule doesn't happen...chances are we're talking about the Raiders winning two straight Super Bowls instead of the Pats. Because Gruden never leaves Oakland. He probably beats the Rams. Never gets to share all of his trade secrets about the Silver and Black to Sapp, Brooks & company and he probably beats them as well. Brady and Bill are also-rans. Think Peyton and Dungy Northeast.

But because of the Tuck Rule, Brady becomes the NFL's poster boy, Bill becomes this generation's Lombardi and the Raiders get Norv Turner and Kerry Collins. Doesn't seem fair does it?

But I guess in forgetting his Lucky Bastard roots, Bill decided to rip the officiating in his loss to Denver on Saturday.

Now I can see why Jets fans despise this man. He shows zero personality most of the time and when does come out of his shell...he's a spiteful, little troll.

Here's hoping he has more to be pissed about in the next few years.

I only have one thing to say about the Colts and their loss to Blitzburgh.

Before Peyton throws his O-Line under bus...he should look at the tape where he's doing his Nicholas Brothers imitation in the pocket.

Happy feet? Those mugs were downright joyous the way they were tapping. I thought he was auditioning for Bring In The Noise, Bring In The Funk.

Mad Dog asked Mike the other day if it's fair to look at his failures against Florida.

I have only one thing to say that. The year after Peyton graduated, Tee Martin took that same team and not only beat the Gators. He won the National title.

I'll let you smart folks come to your own conclusions.

I hear Peyton means Bridesmaid in Gaelic.

Jets fans are excited that they got Pats leftovers to coach their team. How the mighty have fallen.

Then again, these are the Jets. Mighty and New York Jets should never be used in the same sentence.

I wish the 12 year old luck. He's probably an improvement over Herman Edwards.

Gotta give Mr "Miracle At The Meadowlands" credit though. He knows the game. He's a born hustler. How else can you explain a mediocre coach who just experienced a 4-12 season...getting a better job in a better situation?

Jets fans are upset that all they got was fourth round pick. Shoot. I wouldn't have given up a bottle of Mr Pibb and Red Vines for Herman Edwards. He's a mediocre coach at best. He'll never make your team better. If you give him a 10-6 team, if everything goes right, they'll go 10-6. They'll never 12-4 or 13-3. He'll never give you that extra edge that could mean the difference between a division title and a wildcard. He's playing Uno, while guys like the two Bills, Joe Gibbs and others are playing Bobby Fisher-Level Chess. It's like the other team having Omar Bradley or Patton and you have John Kerry or John McCain. Your guys are nice and have some experience....the other guys have classes taught about them and what they do.

Chiefs fans will find out soon enough. If Mangini turns out to be the real thing, Jets fans, you should send him a thank you card.

The Orioles have to be the worst run organization in the all of sports.

Not only do they give up a 30 year old stud left-handed closer to a division rival, they replace Raphael Palmiero with Kevin Millar at first base.

Kevin Millar.

Kevin Millar!

Did Orioles brass actually watch any of their 19 games with the Red Sox. Here's right-handed pull hitter playing in right-handed pull-hitter paradise...and he still sucked!!!!

As a Yankee fan, I just wish the Jays and the Sox were as stupid as the Orioles. Although I'm starting to have my doubts about the Lucchino-run Sox.

Maybe he's drinking that Baltimore Bay juice....

False Advertising

2006-01-10T23:50:00.000-08:00

Ok I'm back. I'm calm, cool and collected. I can blog again.

But I'm still pissed off about Sunday.

It was like going to a movie and expecting to see the Natural, Remember the Titans or North Dallas Forty. And instead being forced to watch Brokeback Mountain or the Hours. Just utterly depressing.

In the upcoming draft, if we draft anything other than a linebacker or defensive back in first few rounds, then I don't know what Ernie Acorsi is thinking. We need depth at both positions, because bringing guys in off the street just ain't cutting it.

Nick Griesen says he's filing for free agency because he wants to start somewhere. After DeShaun Foster made him his personal bitch for four quarters, anyone who wants to sign this stiff as a starter must have whips and chains in their bedroom. The Marquis De Sade's (or his great, great grandson's) number must be on their speed dial. I lost count how many times he was at the point of attack either at the line of scrimmage or behind it. But instead of making the tackle, he either got his ankles broken or trucked by Foster. Tony Dorsett or Earl Campbell....the Window or the Stairs...your choice, Nick.

Have fun getting your ankles broken on the Lions. Matt Millen will be retarded enough to sign you.

On paper, a starting linebacker corps of Antonio Pierce, Barett Green and Carlos Emmons is pretty good. Now if only we can get them all on the field together. Emmons will be 34 next year, so Pierce and Green have to be anchors next season. And that's no guarantee when you consider Green and Coughlin weren't exactly bossom buddies last year. I like Pierce and I love the energy he brings to his team. We have to draft smart and get some LB's in here. Ballhawks who can tackle.

As for the DBs, I think Corey Webster and Gibril Wilson are going to be players. But I think we either need to draft or look at free agency to fill in the gaps. Will Allen has to go. He's an ok cover guy, but he has hands of stone. But I'll throw up in my mouth, if I think of all the INTs he's dropped over the years. And worse, the times where the defense gives up a big gain right after his drop. Will Peterson, too. His injury makes it easier to jettison his ass.

The offense needs to take a long look in the mirror as well. Eli's taken a beating the last few weeks to be sure. Tiki needed to look at the tape before he threw the coaches under the bus. Superior coaching was only part of it. Great teams and players make plays even when the opposition knows what's coming. They enforce their will onto the situation and make something of nothing. The Panthers did that all day long. Running draws on third and long and getting the first down? That's not play-calling. That's determination and superior execution. All the coaches can do is prepare the players and call the plays. They can't suit up and play for them.

I hope the offense does get become a little more sophisticated as Eli becomes more comfortable. But even with a green QB at the helm, the Giants had more than enough to beat the Panthers. At the very least make it competitive.

The exact opposite of the last two years happened this season. Instead of injuries in the beginning and the middle of the season, they all happened at the end this time. And usually in the NFL, the healthy teams go deep into January. Look at the Pats, they got everyone in back in time for their playoff run. Their coach and QB kept them afloat until the reinforcements arrived.

I'm not going to go as far as MadDog Russo and say that this loss eliminates everything we've accomplished this year. It's an awful loss. But when you consider how far they've come since training camp. I'm excited about the future. We have a nucleus to build around on both sides of the ball. The Giants are relevant again and we have this team to thank for that.

But until then...here are the jokes....deal with it boys...

Q. What do you call 47 millionaires around a TV watching the Super Bowl?

A. The New York Giants

Q. What do the New York Giants and Billy Graham have in common?

A. They both can make 70,000 people stand up and yell "Jesus Christ."

Q. How do you keep a New York Giant out of your yard?

A. Put up goal posts.

Q. Where do you go in New Jersey in case of a tornado?

A. To Giant's Stadium - they never get a touchdown there!

Q. What do you call a New York Giant with a Super Bowl ring?

A. A thief

Q. What's the difference between the Giants and a dollar bill?

A. You can still get four quarters out of a dollar bill.

Q. How many New York Giants does it take to win a Super Bowl?

A. Nobody knows, and we may never find out.

Q. What do the New York Giants and possums have in common?

A. Both play dead at home and get killed on the road.

Growing up, I've always been wary of preachers and evangelists. Maybe it's been the pagan or the iconoclast in me, but all that preaching, fire and brimstone, rah-rah stuff has always made me uneasy.

That's why despite personally liking Herman Edwards (despite the Miracle in the Meadowlands), I've always been put off with all the Elmer Gantry-esque showings during his press conferences.

Those performances made folks forget the most important fact about the former Jets coach. He was an average coach who delegated the x's and o's because that wasn't his strong suit. And when things went bad, he never shouldered the blame. So it's not surprising that despite going 4-12 during a injury filled campaign, he had the gall to ask for an extension and raise.

I understand Herm was one of the lowest paid head coaches in the league....living in the county with the highest property taxes in the country (Nassau County). But he signed the contract, nobody forced him to do it. As badly as the Jets have handled this thing, Herm is equally to blame.

The big losers in all this? The Chiefs. They get an average coach who will not get them back to the Big Dance.

The Jets? They better think long hard on who they choose because the wrong choice could set this team back a decade. You could be looking at the New York Bungals if they don't pick the right man to captain this ship.

Narnija.....Crazy Delicious

2006-01-07T03:56:00.000-08:00

The next time that I have some time to kill before a party...don't see a movie that 1)kids and their parents will probably see and 2)was spoofed on SNL and the Internet.

Made the mistake the of seeing The Chronicles of Narnija tonight before going to a friend birthday party. Bad mistake.

It was a good movie, but I couldn't take it seriously. Between the kids yelling and screaming throughout the flick and the Lazy Sunday SNL spoof, I was too through.

If I wasn't wishing harm on some poor kid and his parents, I was thinking that Mr Pibb + Red Vines = Crazy Delicious.

Almost makes someone want to see Brokeback Mountain....NOT!!!!

What A Way To Start Off The New Year!!

2006-01-06T18:00:00.000-08:00

No Victory Crip Walks for Snoop and USC.

I wish I could tell you that I wasn't pissed that the Men of Troy lost to UT Wednesday night. But you know that I'd lying through my teeth. The fact that I was watching a game and a performance for the ages didn't diminish my anger at the fact that USC should have won this game by two touchdowns.

I didn't need anyone to tell me that it was going to be a tough closely contested game. I'd seen enough of Texas this year to know that they were capable of beating anyone this side of the NFL and that Vince Young was an absolute monster.

What I didn't know was that Vince was going to go from college monster to the College Gridiron's version of Zeus. His performance has to be considered one of the five greatest performances in a championship game. In any sport. Unbelievable.

If this kid doesn't come out this year, he's a fool. His stock can't get any higher than it is now. The Stay In School lobby needs to shut up on this one. This is a no-brainer. Education is important for a person long-term growth as a human being. But one of the reasons, as a friend pointed out to me after the game, you go to college is to get a job and make money. Riddle me this, Batman....what is Vince Young going to learn in his last year of school that's going enable him to earn a $10 million signing bonus and a huge endorsement deal without actually ever playing a down in the NFL?

If he wants go back for his degree later, nothing's stopping him. But the cheddar is there for him right now and he needs take advantage of it. He's climbed the mountain and slayed the dragon. There's nothing left for him to prove.

That being said, USC could have prevented all the pain and suffering that Trojan nation felt Wednesday night. They were killing the Texas defense softly all game with screens, intermediate pass paterns and a large dose of Lendale White. Texas kept Reggie Bush from going Playstation on them. But Leinart had so many options, the Longhorns couldn't cope. All they could hope for was for was Carroll to get impatient for the home run ball and force a mistake.

The football gods were in a generous mood. Not only did USC fail on fourth down conversion on the 15 yard line in the first, they get Reggie Bush's brainlock when he fumbled a lateral attempt at the end of a long pass play that would have put them in scoring position and a Matt Leinart interception in the endzone in the second quarter.

Each situation, the USC offense was in control of the game. All they had to do was continue to take what the defense was giving them and move down the field. Instead they got impatient and went for the kill prematurely. They left anywhere from nine to 17 points on the board by drifting away from the gameplan.

They sort of reminded me of the Yankees in 2004 and 2005 in the playoffs. Always going for the homerun when a single or a double to the opposite field would do the trick. Take what the defense gives you. It's not as dramatic as a shot to the head or a sword to the gut. But eventually your opponent will bleed to death. John McEnroe and 1998 Yankees were the masters of this.

I can't get angry at the fourth and two attempt at the end of the attempt. Pete knew that whoever had the ball last was probably going to win. He wanted to take the game out of his defense's hands. Young had them his plaything all game and he didn't want to risk it. I question the decisions that put his team in that situation in the first place. If he was a little more patient and Bush didn't try to hot dog earlier, they would have the game by at least two touchdowns.

The defensive back who called the timeout at the end because they weren't ready for the two point conversion should be thrown under a bus.

So kudos to Texas and Mack Brown. They won fair and square. They were good enough to get it done. But I agree with Matt Leinart, I don't think that the better team won.

Playoffs ?!?! Playoffs?!?!?

So the G-Men will make their playoff appearance in three years when they face off against Carolina on Sunday. I like Carolina. Was a big fan of John Fox when he was here. Julius Peppers and Steve Smith are two of my favorite players in the league. If they win Sunday, I could totally see them running the table to the Super Bowl where they will be dispatched by the Colts.

That being said, they're not winning Sunday.

I think the Giants are the better team. They're more balanced offensively, their offensive line is healthy and I think they'll get enough of a push from their defensive line to make Jake Delhomme uncomfortable.

People keep talking about how Jake's experience. What I see is a QB who relies way too much on one player. Something a good defensive coaching staff can use to their advantage. Smith had more receptions, yards and touchdowns than rest of the other Panther receivers and tight ends had combined. I think the Giants will find a way to limit Smith's touches and force the other players to make plays. The Giants will also control clock with a mix of underneath passing routes and a good dose of Tiki on the side.

Final Score Giants 24, Panthers 14

My other picks..Steelers over the Bengals 22-17, Pats over the Jags 17-14, Bucs over the Skins 20-10.

Revenge Of The Stiff

2005-12-31T05:20:00.000-08:00

Darth Doofus is more like it...From the NY Post earlier this week....

I like Kerry Collins. Ever since his days at Penn State and his days with Panthers. When the Giants picked him up in 1999, I thought it was a shrewd move by Big Blue's brass to snag him. Danny Kannel and Dave Brown didn't have arms to make this team a playoff contender so picking up Collins despite the baggage was the way to go.

And he did a good job, he took us to playoffs twice and the Super Bowl once. Not bad for a former drunk.

But Ernie Acorsi and everyone who watched this team regularly knew that that was as far as Kerry was going to take them. He's fine as long his line holds up their protection. But his inability to improvise and check off his targets was what kept him from becoming one of the elite quarterbacks in the game. Guys like Kerry, Drew Bledsoe and Vinnie Testaverde are the sort of players who put up sick gaudy career numbers, but no rings to show for it. Some of it you can put on inferior teams. But most of it you have put on their inability to make plays with something other than their arms. Not to say that you have to be Vick or Elway or McNabb. You just have to buy yourself just enough time so that you or one of your teammates can make a play. Marino was great at that. So was Favre. Montana and Young were masters.

Acorsi saw in Eli Manning that ability. Yeah, he had the raw talent and the arm. But he also saw that something extra. He saw a QB who played in arguably the best conference in College Football with vastly inferior teams. Yet he found a way to keep them competitive. He even took them to a Bowl game his senior year. He was also working in Baltimore when the Colts traded away the rights to John Elway and he swore that if he ever had a chance at a franchise quarterback in thr draft....that he wouldn't pass it up. Even if it means you struggle for a year or two, his upside is worth the risk.

Buh-bye Kerry, Hello Eli.

It's paid off. Despite Eli's shaky second half, the Giants are on the verge of winning their first division title in five years. They are second in the NFC (fifth overall in the league) in scoring, something that they always struggled to do under Collins.

The Raiders? They're arguably the worst team in the league right now. It's not all on Kerry's shoulders. Norv Turner is a horrible head coach. Still a team with Randy Moss, Jerry Porter, Lamont Jordan and company should be better than 4-11.

If Kerry is actually able to wake his comatose team up and rally them to victory, it would rank as one of his greatest triumphs. It would also mean that this would be my last blog ever because I will drink myself to death in protest (Something that might happen anyway...not in protest at least).

So while Kerry might not have liked the move. He can't honestly say that it was the wrong one. Does anyone honestly think we would be in this position with Kerry Collins as our QB right now?

Didn't think so.

Spare Linebackers Anyone?

2005-12-27T02:02:00.000-08:00

You know it's bad when you're bringing guys off the street a week before playoffs start.....From ESPN....

For the second time in two days, and the third time in less than a week, the New York Giants have made a roster move to address the team's injury-ravaged linebacker corps.

The Giants on Tuesday added seventh-year veteran Jay Foreman, who has played both inside and outside linebacker during his career, signing him to what is believed to be a one-year contract. On Monday, the Giants signed Kevin Lewis, who started 16 games for them in 2004. Last week, the team signed veteran Roman Phifer.

To accommodate the signing of Foreman, who was released by the Houston Texans and Oakland Raiders this summer and has not played in the league this year, the club placed Carlos Emmons on injured reserve. A 10-year veteran, Emmons had played in just nine games this season, missing four of the last eight outings, and was plagued by a series of injuries, the most recent a strained pectoral muscle.

On Monday, the Giants placed Chase Blackburn on injured reserve to create a roster spot for Lewis. Blackburn had started the last two games at middle linebacker but suffered a neck injury in a loss Saturday to the Washington Redskins.

The Giants also placed reserve tailback Derrick Ward on injured reserve Tuesday and signed veteran free agent Mike Cloud. A seven-year veteran, Cloud played with the Giants in 2004, and carried 21 times for 90 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games. He had two different stints with the New England Patriots earlier this season, appearing in six games, rushing for 59 yards on 23 attempts.

The linebacker corps has been especially hit hard by injuries, arguably the most serious of which is the high ankle sprain from which Antonio Pierce is still trying to recover. A terrific unrestricted free agent addition in the offseason, Pierce made a profound impact on the New York defense from his middle linebacker spot before suffering the ankle injury. The team, which has clinched at least a wild-card berth and will win the NFC East with a victory at Oakland this week, is holding out hope Pierce can return for the playoffs.

Clearly, though, having to undertake such a far-reaching makeover of the linebacker corps in the past week is not ideal.

Foreman, 29, played the last three seasons with the Texans, who released him for salary cap considerations. In those three seasons, he averaged 118.3 tackles. For his career, the former Nebraska star, who began his NFL tour with the Buffalo Bills in 1999, has played in 81 games and registered 521 tackles, 4½ sacks and 14 passes defensed.

A solid defender versus the run, Foreman is a smart, versatile player who will quickly have to get up to speed with the Giants' scheme. Of the two linebackers signed in the last two days, Lewis is probably the more likely to play at Oakland on Saturday, because of his familiarity with the defense.

Foreman sounds like a good player. My question is, if he was so good, why didn't he pick up a job before now? This is a guy that got cut by the Raiders and Texans, hardly defensive juggernauts. I remember Kevin Lewis from his first go around here. He hardly invoked memories of Harry Carson and Pepper Johnson. Are they better alternatives than what we have out there now?

Apparently, Emmons is none too happy about being put on the IR. I have to agree with him on this one. Not on him being deactivated, but in the way it was handled. It's the coaches' perogative on who's active and who's not, but Coughlin should have let him know about it as soon he made the decision. Emmons deserved that much.

I've mentioned in the past that even before all the injuries that this might be worst linebacker corps the Giants have fielded in over 20 years. The only standout in the group was Antonio Pierce, who's hobbling around on crutches.

The lack of a first round pick limited what we could do in the draft last year. Our Swiss Cheese secondary needed even more mending than our linebacking corps. So I understood the logic of drafting Corey Webster. But this draft, the first priority has to be replenishing our linebacking corps. We've finally got a defensive line worth mentioning. Joseph has been practicing this week so we'll be at full strength up front. Even with Lamont Jordan possibly sitting out, we need them to get good push up front to stuff the run and put Kerry Collins on his ass.

I'm going to be watching the game at a rabid Raiders fan's house on New Years Eve. I might get stabbed in the neck for all the smack I'll be dishing out...but it'll be worth it for a division title.

You Knew They Wouldn't Die Easy

2005-12-12T08:18:00.000-08:00

But finally, we can say it...THE EAGLES ARE DEAD!!

I'm so glad I stayed home for this one. I was invited by some friends to watch the game at Blondies Sunday, but decided to stay home because 1)I have a hard time looking at myself in the mirror without a shirt...the cross-trainer awaits...and 2)I don't have a DVR (a Christmas present to myself perhaps) and I didn't want to miss another episode of the West Wing. So I stayed home and watched from my disheveled apartment.

You knew Eli Manning was going to go through some more growing pains. I just wish he didn't have go through it during a playoff run. I understand that he's actually ahead of the curve when you compare him to other QB's who have started 20 games in their career. I understand that everyone picked the Giants to finish 8-8 and that all of this is gravy.

But when you look at the teams around the NFL and you look at the Giants, you realize that there's not much that separates them. The only thing that separates the Seahawks, the Panthers, the Colts and others is consistent play from their QB. That the Giants could easily be 11-2, if not for a few gaffs from young Eli.

I understand that Manning has won quite a few games as well. But the last few weeks, Eli has been exposed for the young Padouwan he is. A Jedi he is not. He's incredibly talented and shows flashes of brilliance at times. But he makes his fair share of mistakes as well.

Thankfully, Big Blue's defense remembered who they were playing in overtime and put a stop to the madness.

Now we have to look forward to a very pissed off Chiefs team on Saturday. Who are spit the bit against the Cowboys yesterday.

Oh joy....I can't wait. Hopefully, Eli is more Palpatine and less Obi-Wan in a couple of days.

Brian Kilmeade Is An Idiot

2005-12-12T07:47:00.000-08:00

Don't ask me why I'm watching this horrible show Fox And Friends...it was on and the female anchors are hot....anyway, this idiot just said the Pats are the team that can beat the Colts.

Why? Because they blew the horrible Bills out 35-7? The same team that gave up 21-0 lead to the Dolphins last week?

People always ask why I don't work in sports. The first reason is that I like being a fan. The other reason is that I don't want work with idiots like this (Although this idiot works in news.)

He was also complaining about his fantasy team. Hey jackass, maybe your team wouldn't suck if you actually watched all the games instead of just reading the box scores.

I'm not bitter...really I'm not....

Jets-Raiders...The Reason I Watch Games At Blondies

2005-12-12T07:37:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine invited me to this game on Saturday. I had to turn him down because I had to run some errands on Sunday morning and wouldn't be able to make it.

I also decided to pass on going to Blondies Sunday to give me my liver and wallet a rest.

I was quickly reminded why I watch games at a bar in the first place. And why I curse my landlord for not allowing me to put a dish on the side of my building so I can get the NFL Sunday ticket.

What a mess. My buddy Arnie called me from the game half in the bag from the tailgate. That's the only way you can watch the Jets live these days. He said that if this were a Shakespeare play, it would be called a Comedy of Errors.

I disagree. That play was intentionally maddening. This was more like a badly choreographed porn flick.

The sad thing about the win was that Jets fans couldn't even enjoy it. With Houston and San Francisco's losses yesterday, the Jets are winning their way out of the Leinart/Bush sweepstakes.

How I wished I owned a liquor store in New York or New Jersey right now....I'd make a killing....

The Myth About Misery

2005-12-01T18:15:00.000-08:00

Most cliches are cliches because they're true. But I can think of one that needs to be debunked.

Misery loves company.

People who are miserable don't want company. They don't want someone who can share and wallow in their unhappiness. When my buddy who's an Eagles fan had to watch his team lose to my Giants last week. It didn't make him feel any better that the Redskins suffered a similar fate. We had to feed him Bloody Marys and shots intravenously just to keep him from offing himself.

Did I feel any better watching the Jets lose in person after watching the Giants horrible loss in Seattle? Hell no!

Do you know why? Because miserable people don't love company unless they're about to get laid. Miserable people want one thing....Not to be miserable!!!

Last Sunday's game was tough to take if you're a Giants fan. Big Blue thoroughly outplayed Seattle despite the 16 penalties (10 false starts? That's some ticky tack flag throwing). This is one of those games where you don't know who to be angry at. Feeley is clearly the goat missing three game winning field goals. But I have serious problems with the play calling in the last minute of regulation. A little under a minute and you have time to run at least two or three more plays to either put the ball in the endzone or make the FGA a chipshot. Instead, they run the ball in the middle of the field and let the clock run down.

I understand that an NFL kicker is expected to make a 38 yarder, but you can't assume anything on the road. I believe they should tried to run a pass play to get the ball either in the endzone to remove all doubt or to make the FGA a proverbial extra point. Why not go for the jugular instead of winding down the clock and playing it safe?

That's what drives me nuts about this Giants offense. Potentially, they could be almost as lethal big brother Peyton's crew in Indy. But they tend to stall because of stupid penalties, dropped passes, missed read by Eli and bad play-calling. Filip Bondy in the Daily News in a column Thursday suggested that the Giants should have Eli work out of the hurry-up more often. His premise is that since the Giants since respond so well in the fourth quarter when they have to score...that it might be a good idea to put Manning and company in a hurry-up sense to heighten the sense of urgency and keep the defenses off balance.

I think it's a good idea. If you can work it in from time to time, I think you could keep defenses honest enough to move the ball down the field and force them into mistakes. I've complaining all year about the fact that the coaching staff is too predictable in their play-calling. I think it works because they have superior personnel in the skill positions who make plays. But with a second year QB, why not mix it up a little instead of running the same plays the defense can zone in on?

Dallas is a very good team. But they're very beatable. They have shown an inability to put good teams away when they have them on the ropes. The Giants need to kick them in the teeth early and put them out of their misery early. If the Giants let Dallas hang around, they're asking for trouble.

Darth Marc and Metstradamus On Neutral Ground...Giants Stadium

Because of my fondness for the Jets, their fans and their tailgates (gotta love watching porn, eating burgers and drinking beer while watching football , Metstradamus and I put a cessation on our hostilities last week to watch Gang Green play the Aint's at Giants Stadium.

I can confirm that Metstradamus had nothing to do with this though....

FBN--Jets-Restroom Stabbing,0180
^NY man charged in bathroom stabbing at Jets game
^Eds: Moving on state news and sports lines.
^hacwpeb
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) A New York man has been charged with stabbing a fellow Jets fan during their team's home loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Thomas J. Conwell, 21, of Brooklyn, was charged with aggravated assault, accused of stabbing Shawn Hundley, 19, of Roselle after the two exchanged words while using urinals in a Giants Stadium rest room on Sunday.
State police said Conwell began taunting Hundley, who was wearing a Jets jersey with the name and number of injured quarterback Chad Pennington. Conwell then took out a 3-inch folding knife and stabbed Hundley in the face, neck and ears, authorities said. A bystander who tried to break up the fight, Henry Finnila, 24, of Freehold, also was stabbed in the head and neck.
Hundley was treated at the scene by medical personnel. Finnila was treated at Hackensack University Medical Center and released.
Conwell was being held at the Bergen County Jail on $25,000 bail.
His arrest was the most serious of nine made by police at the stadium Sunday night.
The Jets lost 21-19.

Wow, they seem to the Pennington injury pretty seriously in Jets land.

As proof positive about my theory about misery, the Jets fans that I ran into could care less if the Giants won or lost. As a matter of fact, there were quite a few of them who were rooting for Big Blue.

Most fans are more concerned about whether or not their team wins as opposed to whether someone else loses.

Unless of course, you're a Mets fan...where hating the Yankees more than loving the Mets is part of the fan charter.

Big Blue Heaven Or Hell...Die Eagles Die...On The Road To Misery...

2005-11-19T21:50:00.000-08:00

It didn't take long for Wellington Mara to wreak havoc in heaven with the football gods...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Donovan McNabb is unlikely to play in Philadelphia's game against the New York Giants on Sunday because of a groin injury.
``I wouldn't bet on it,'' Eagles coach Andy Reid said Tuesday when asked if McNabb could start. ``He doesn't look good today.''
McNabb injured his groin while trying to tackle Dallas' Roy Williams after throwing an interception. Williams returned the pick 46 yards for a touchdown with 2:43 left to lead the Cowboys to a 21-20 comeback victory over the Eagles on Monday night.
Reid said McNabb had an MRI on Tuesday morning, and was waiting to see a specialist. If McNabb doesn't play, Mike McMahon probably would start over Koy Detmer against the Giants.
McMahon, listed as the third-string quarterback, played the last series against Dallas, and drove the Eagles to the Cowboys 42 before David Akers missed a 60-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds.

Maybe Duke Mara can get a little help from Bob Tisch, who joined him this week after a long bout with brain cancer this week. I agree with Jason Whitlock. He said that Coughlin and Eli are starting believe their press clippings. A quarterback's best friend is a good running game and you have one of the best all-around running backs in the league on your team in Tiki Barber. With a QB who just finished his first full season as a starter, why are you throwing the ball so damn much?

Yes, the Giants have potentially, the most explosive offense in the history of the franchise. They have more weapons in the skill positions on the passing offense than any Giants team in recent memory. But if you're going to win out in the winter, you have to have a running game and the Giants have the potential to be lethal on the ground as well. I would love to see Coughlin and Hufnagel find a way to use Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward to spell Tiki and to keep defense honest. Doing that would create more opportunities for Manning and company in the passing game.

I know Manning is still going through some growing pains. But a good coach is supposed to put his team in the best position to win. And there are too many weapons and options for this offense to be as inconsistent as it's been against inferior competition. Whatever problems the Eagles might have, they're still dangerous. They still have enough to make life difficult for Big Blue.

Speaking of the Eagles, with the death of Bob Tisch this week, I couldn't even enjoy their Monday night debacle, Donovan being out for the season and all the Terrell Ownens drama. However the guys at Gridiron fans did a great job of showing how absurd the whole situation is.

Does T.O realize how money this stunt has cost him in the long run? Chances are, every deal he gets from here on in will be incentive laden and on a yearly basis. Meaning if he gets hurt or has an off year, he's screwed. And he's 32, so how many years do you think he can maintain his all-pro form? Two? Three? Four, maybe? Only time will tell. Even if the arbitrator rules that the Eagles have to release him if they're not going to play him, who's going to take a chance on him for the stretch run? Even if he was model citizen, he'd have to learn a new system and get a feel for his new QB. Difficult circuumstances even under a optimium situation.

And Donovan McNabb's rep has taken a bit of hit in this mess. He handled the whole thing with class, but he had a chance to be a big hero two weeks in a row. What does he do? He throws big picks that finish off the Birds. You can't blame T.O for that pick to Roy Williams, Donnie.

The Giants need to come out strong early and punch the Eagles in the mouth. Don't give them a chance to breath. Never let them think they have a chance to win. Don't let them hang around. If you let this team think they have a chance, Mike McMahon could pull off a miracle.

Final: Giants, 24 Eagles, 10

Never Let A Chicken Hawk Do An Eagles Job...

2005-11-15T01:06:00.000-08:00

They outplayed the Cowboys and still lost. The Eagles are done and I can't even enjoy it because the Cowboys are tied for first place. Hopefully, Big Blue can deliver the knockout blow to their season on Sunday.

I know Donovan couldn't finish the game. But I won't believe that he's sitting out next week until I see him in street clothes at 1pm. I actually want him to play since we haven't beaten him in like four years.

Oh and the Knicks are 2-5 now. Here we come baby!!

Lucky In Fantasy, Unlucky In Fandom

2005-11-15T00:20:00.000-08:00

Figures. The one week I win all of my fantasy leagues, the Giants lose badly, the Knicks start the season 1-5 and the Jets are well...the Jets. Even when I win, I lose.

I'm a huge Giants fan, but I never bought into this Giants Super Bowl bandwagon that the writers and talking head have started since the Giants beat the Redskins a couple of weeks ago. For a couple of reasons. One, I never thought the Redskins were that good. Any team with Mark Brunnell as their starting QB is one hit away from Jetsville. Yeah, he's been impressive. But he reminds of something Phil Simms used to say a couple of years after he retired. He said that he could still make all of the throws, but he couldn't take the hits. I'm not convinced that he can take the beating of a full season anymore. And if he falls, so goes the Squaws.

The other thing is that I don't think the Giants are that good. Not yet. They have the skill players, the defense is shaping up and Eli has the makings of a star. But he's in his 16th game as a starter and he's still very inconsistent. Yesterday was a perfect example. He made a very ordinary defense look like the second coming of the '99 Ravens. Until he gets more comfortable throwing to his secondary targets like Toomer and Carter, he's not going to be able to keep defense honest. Toomer was a perennial 1,000 yard receiver. Tim Carter is the fastest guy on the team. It's not as if he's throwing to two rookies. When he completely comfortable with going to them, the offense will become consistent. It's pretty good right now with all the blips. If he can show defenses that he's willing to look at someone other than Plaxico and Burress, with Barber running the ball, they'll be unstoppable. As good as any offense in the league.

The defense has finally shaped up to what folks thought it would be so if the offense can start to sustain drives, it means that the defense is on the field less. And when they are on the field, they can tee off on the opposing offenses. I really like this team. And I think that they can win the division. But if they want to beat Atlanta or Carolina, they're going to have to be able mix it up on offense. Neither of these defenses are world-beaters. But they're solid enough. They're sure as hell better than Minnesota and you saw what happened on Sunday.

The Giants loss, combined with the Monday night game between Philly and Dallas, did create a very funny moment at Blondies Sunday night. Giants fans, Cowboys fans and Eagles fans all rooting for Tampa Bay. Why? Because Tampa was playing Washington and if the Squaws won, they would be in first place. So when Alstott ran the two point conversion in to win the game 36-35, We practically put one Bucs fan in the bar on our shoulders and carried him out of bar. Very funny moment.

I was also rooting for Tampa because of Chris Simms. Ironically, I was wearing a Phil Simms jersey Sunday and while it did nothing to help Big Blue, I was glad if it helped out his son. This kid has world of talent. More than his dad even. Hopefully he gets a chance to succeed or fail in Tampa. If this was his coming out party, it was some announcement to the world.

Now I'm forced to root for the Eagles tonight. Ugh. This is how disgusted the whole T.O thing has become to me. It's made the Eagles a team worth rooting for. Almost.

I think Dallas is the most dangerous team to the Giants hopes because of their balance. But Philly scares me. Yeah, they're weaker without T.O. But they're the champs. And until someone knocks them out, they're dangerous. If they beat Dallas tonight. The Giants have to kill any momentum they have by punching them in the mouth hard when they face off next weekend. Jump on their bones and crush them at outset. You don't want a team like that getting any sort momentum in the stretch run. It might not take them to the Super Bowl, but it could take them to wildcard berth or a division title.

As for the Jets. The only thing that they're worth for is to see what Joe Benigno is going to rant about on Monday mornings. They're becoming non-competitive with that offense. That game was winnable if you had a decent QB. Bollinger is a Arena QB at best. This guy has no business starting in the NFL. It's not all on him. But you need someone who at least gives you a fighting chance. Vinny can't do it anymore. If Fiedler was there they probably could have pulled it out. But he's not, so the point is moot.

I do agree with Benigno on this point. No more excuses for Herm and Bradway. Yeah, you're 2-6, but you have to show some guts and stop playing so conservative. You have nothing lose. Go for it! At the end of the first half, they have the ball with two timeouts and about 40 plus seconds. They're down 10-3. What do they do? They run the ball and let clock run out!

All this talk about playing to win the game. They play not to lose now. He would take risks a couple of years ago. But they were stupid risks. Option passes by Lamont Jordan. Silly gimmick plays instead of smart calculated risk. They're a joke.

I like Herm but he's not the guy to lead you to the promised land. This was a winnable game and he refused to go for the jugular. If you fail, fine, but go out guns a blazing. He'll probably keep his job. But I wouldn't shed a tear if he got whacked at the end of the season.

Benigno mentioned something about Vermeil retiring and Herm taking over in KC. Bad move, Dick. Herm's a great guy and great motivational speaker. But he's not a pro head coach. I hate saying this about the brother. But it's true. His team never surpass expectations. They either meet them or fall short. A good coach should be able to make a good team better. Not meet the status quo.

I wonder if Al Groh is available?

Eddie Guerrero-R.I.P

2005-11-14T21:21:00.000-08:00

Gotta admit that the beginning of RAW choked me up tonight. It broke my heart to hear the news about Eddie G. I don't usually post about wrestling since it's staged and all. But I had to do something for his passing. Great performer. He will be missed.

Memoirs Of A Sportsaholic

2005-11-13T02:32:00.000-08:00

Hello. My name is Darth Marc and I'm a sportsaholic. I thought that once that baseball was over that I'd get my life. Little did I know that my life wasn't mine to have. That I was an indentured servant to sports. So when I was approached by my Jets tailgate buddy Andy about getting a six game package with the New Jersey Nets this year (I could pick any six games I wanted and I got opening night for half price as a seventh game)for some reason I couldn't resist.

Now you might ask, why did a lifelong Knicks fan get season ticket package to the Nets? With the Knicks struggling to get sellouts now, why hadn't I bought a Knicks season package? Had he changed teams before the season started? The answer is no, I haven't become a Nets fan. And I would have loved to have gotten a Knicks package, but the smallest plan they were offering was 14 games and it was still too expensive for me. I'm a junkie, but you can't get a fix without loot. The Nets are the only team to allow you to pick the games you want. They have a fun team to watch and it gives me the opportunity to see some of the teams and players that I want live when they come to Jersey (Including the Knicks). And while I was annoyed by some of the remarks that the Nets have made about the Knicks over the years, they are a team worth rooting for (as long as they're not playing NYK) and if nothing else I would be entertained.

So I took my old friend and fellow basketball junkie Clay to the game. He works in Jersey so I told him that I'd take the bus over to the Continental Airlines Arena. I've taken the bus for Giants games so I figured that it would be an easy trek. It was easy. But depressing. Waiting on that line for the bus was one of the most depressing feelings I've had in a while. I don't know why. It could be something about Port Authority and waiting on line like you're on a welfare cheese line or the bleak atmosphere of the terminal in general. But outside of the occasional Sunday bus trip for a Giants/Jets game, I can't imagine anyone doing this for 20, 30, 40 games. Thank god Clay offered me a lift home.

It was a good game. The Nets controlled much of the first half, but Michael Redd, TJ Ford and Mo Williams took over in the second half. Redd, in particular. He started lighting Richard Jefferson up. When RJ got ejected for tussling with Mo Williams, Redd made Jason Kidd his personal bitch. He showed me why there was such a fuss over him being left off the 2004 Olympic team. He's a beast. The Nets lose opening night.

But worse, there were about 5,000 empty seats, when the Nets announced a sellout!! Pathetic.

I made a return trip to the Continental Airlines Arena last Saturday, to watch the Nets play the Bulls. This time, however, instead of taking the bus, I have a car I rented to run some errands. I also have Imperial Vixen Erica riding shotgun with me for the trek to the Meadowlands.

Before the game, Erica warned me that it was her first pro basketball game and that she didn't know much about the sport. I won't lie, that did concern me a bit. And I normally avoid taking neophytyes to a game because of all the stupid questions that usually follow. But she follows baseball and football pretty well. And basketball is far easier to follow than either of those so I figure that she was worth the risk. I gave her a quick crash before the game started and she was able to follow the game for the most part without too many girl questions.

She got to see a good game. The Nets pulled it out in the last second when Jason Kidd rebounded a missed free throw, drove it the length of the court before passing it to Jefferson who laid it up and got fouled for the three point play. The Nets won 100-99.

My third visit to the swamp for the week was a forgettable one. Not even a great tailgate could put a smile on the faces of my Jet buddies after Gang Green lost to the Chargers 31-26. It was the worst sort of the lost. The Jets were totally outplayed in the first half with LT making the game his personal highlight reel. Then, when Vinnie gets hurt, Brooks Bollinger comes into the game and brings the Jets back. The Jets have a chance to win in the closing seconds, with four chances on the goalline. What happens? Maybe the worst sequence of goalline playcalling that I've ever witnessed. The Jets turn the ball over on downs and the Bolts win.

No rant that I could write on this blog could do such a awful moment justice. If you want to hear a master ranter at work click onto WFAN's page for Joe Benigno and listen to his rant on the November 7th.

The one real downer (outside of the loss)was a near altercation that I had with a guy sitting in the same row as me and my buddy Yankee Mark, who sat with me. Two guys, who sat in the middle of the row, must have gotten up two or three times in the first half to got to the bathroom. Because Mark and I sat at the end, we had to keep getting up so they could get by. After the second or third time, I tease the guys about it, saying they have little bladders if they have keep going to the john. One guy takes in stride and smiles about it. The other gives me a dirty look and says "How did you get those seats?(Lower Level, Behind the End Zone)Scalpers?"

It was a pretty lame comeback, except for the inference. It was his punk-ass way of calling me nigger without actually doing it. How did that come to that assumption. His tone for one. You know it when you hear it. If you've ever been on the receiving end of a redneck who wants to call you a nigger, but know that he can't, so he says something else inferring it...you know the tone. Plus, why couldn't I be a season ticket owner? Maybe I sold my tickets or gave them away? And it was my second game in those seats this season. So it's not as if was my first game.

And more importantly why the hell would I scalp tickets for a 2-5 team? What kind of idiot would I be to pay over face value to see this team?

The only reason he said that was because he didn't think a black guy could be a season ticket holder. He just didn't have the guts to say it.

It's one thing to be a racist. Another to be a coward and an idiot. It's really sad to be all three. When he came back to the seats, he tried to diffuse the situation by saying to me jokingly "quit counting!" I said, that I was joking before, but since he wanted to be a fake tough guy, we can take this to another level. He was mum for the rest of the game.

The jackass and his friend didn't stay for the end of the game. They left at the end of the third quarter. Weak. Real weak.

I like the Jets, I really do. Their fans (except for that jackass) are a lot of fun for the most part. But thank god, I'm a Giants fan. I never thought I'd say that, particularly after the last couple of dreadful years. I was homicidal after last year's collapse coming right after the Yankees ALCS collapse to the Infidels. But barring a ridiculous wave of injuries this year, Big Blue should make the playoffs.
I got to Blondies just in time to see the end of their win versus the 49ers. That game had trap written all over it. Particularly with the Niners starting a friggin' rodeo star at QB. But despite some sloppy moments, the Giants pulled through with a 24-6 win. Hopefully they avoid another potential trap game tomorrow...this one against the Vikings.

After the game, I ran into some Eagles & Redskins buddies who were there to watch their game Sunday night. They start giving me grief for wearing a Jets Jersey (Wesley Walker #85). They asked me how I could wear a Jets jersey being a Giants fan. That I'm suppose to hate the Jets. I told them that, no I don't have to hate the Jets being a Giants fan. That I like the Jets since they were the first professional team that I ever saw in person (Jets/Pats, 1981 at Shea)and that I've always had a soft spot for the green. I also said that as long as I wasn't wearing the colors of a team I hated that I could wear anything I wanted. They didn't buy it.

I run into this a lot since I own over 20 sports jerseys of a variety of teams. People always ask me who I root for and how come I"'m wearing this when I'm a fan of that." Brothers and folks who understand Hip-Hop culture don't ask these stupid questions. But because I'm all about educating the masses, here's a list of the teams I root for and the teams that I hate. If you don't see a team on either list, then there's a chance that I might wear their colors. So don't be surprised.

Teams I root for:
Baseball
Yankees

Football
Giants
Jets (a distant second)

Basketball
Knicks
Nets (only because I have tickets. they're a very distant second)

Hockey
Rangers

College Football (by conference)
ACC-Miami
SEC-Florida
Big 12-Texas (no I'm not a front-runner...I've liked them ever since Mack Brown, who I covered at UNC, came there in 1997...that and the fact that Chris Simms is only the son of my favorite player ever)
Big East-Syracuse
Pac-10-USC (Since Marcus Allen in the early 80's, and Rodney Peete in late 80's)
Big 10-Michigan

College Basketball
Big East-St Johns (over everbody)
ACC-UNC
SEC-Kentucky
Big 12-Don't care
Pac-10-Don't care
Big 10-Michigan

TEAMS I HATE....

Baseball
Red Sox
Indians (No teams with Native American Mascots)
Mariners
Mets
Dodgers
Angels
A's
Marlins
Blue Jays
Cardinals
Braves (ditto)
Devil Rays
Orioles
D-Backs

Football
Cowboys
Eagles
Patriots
Redskins
49ers
Ravens
Dolphins (only out of respect to my Jet friends)
Chiefs (see above, although their colors are cool)

Basketball
Lakers
Celtics
Heat
Pacers
Bulls

Hockey
Flyers
Devils
Bruins (No Boston Teams ever!!!)

College
Notre Dame
Florida State
Georgia (Since I root for Florida in SEC)
Tennessee
DOOK
Indiana
Oklahoma
Kansas
Boston College
UMass (Dr. J is the ONLY exception)
Illinois

If you ever see me in any of these colors feel free to kill me...otherwise, shut the f--- Up!

There's a reason why I haven't brought up the Knicks 0-5 start up yet. I just don't have the energy to deal with them yet. I keep telling them that they're young and that they're still trying to figure out how to play under Larry Brown. But it's frustrating to watch them lose the way they have the past week and a half. Despite the rants by the pundits, this team has talent. I knew that they would start off slow. But damn, can we win one game before the month ends? Please.

More soon...I promise...

The Architect Leaves Infidel Nation

2005-11-01T23:25:00.000-08:00

Only because I love posting wire stories on my blog....

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein resigned Monday, surprising Boston and the baseball world just one year after he helped build the franchise's first World Series championship team since 1918.
The team said in a statement that Epstein will continue working for several days to assist in the transition and prepare for the offseason.
The Boston Herald, which first reported the news on its web site, said the Yale graduate has told associates that he may leave baseball, or at least take a year off.
The Dodgers, Phillies and Devil Rays have GM openings, but none has a $120 million payroll to match the one Epstein was given in Boston.
The 31-year-old Epstein was reportedly offered about $4.5 million for a three-year extension quadruple his previous salary. But it was still short of the $2.5 million a year the Red Sox offered Oakland's Billy Beane in 2002 before making Epstein the youngest GM in baseball history.
Although Epstein and team president Larry Lucchino haggled over the usual issues of salary and authority, the Herald said Epstein went through ``agonizing soul-searching'' about his relationship with his mentor. The Herald said a Sunday newspaper column contained inside information about their relationship, ``slanted too much in Lucchino's favor,'' and convinced Epstein there had been a breach of trust.

I don't care what anyone else says about this story...This was a total power play by Epstein that failed miserably. And what did you expect? Theo is a smart guy, but he's going against the most inside of insiders. He makes Dick Cheney look like the kid who's got his face plastered against the bakery window. On the outside looking in.

Lucchino is baseball's version of Leo McGarry. He was Bill Bradley's roommate at Princeton. Dated Dianne Sawyer. Was a congressional lawyer during the Watergate hearings along with Hillary Rodham Clinton. And helped broker the deal that enabled John Henry's group to buy the Boston Red Sox. When Billy Beane turned down the GM job, he smoothed the way for his apprentice, 28 year old Theo Epstein, to become the youngest GM in the history of the game.

Get the picture? Love him or hate him (I despise him), Lord Larry is a master of the game. The power game. Epstein knows baseball. He's a very good GM. But he's out of his league. Luchinno is involved in every aspect of the franchise. When the Red Sox are having press conferences about Fenway rennovation or buying hotels in the area. You don't see Theo leading the way. You see Larry. When Theo makes a major baseball decision, Larry is the one who signs off on it.

I don't doubt that Epstein was probably pissed off that Lucchino leaked information in Boston Globe column that skewered things to his favor. That he broke a confidence. That might have been the final straw in Theo's eyes. But that's the game that Larry blames. The hardest kind of hardball. Nothing personal, just business. When you mess around with people's power or money, the gloves come off. They're going to hit you. Hard. And when they hit you, just pray that they let you get up.

As good a GM as Epstein is, you can't tell me that with the Red Sox organization and resources behind them, that there aren't 10 GMs out there who could have done what he did. The Red Sox aren't the Twins or the A's. There's only one team out there that makes more money than Boston. And we know who they are. The car attendant could have brokered the Schilling deal. Everyone knows that you had to make that happen if you wanted to beat the Yankees. He had all the resources that a big market team brings to bear and didn't have to deal with half the BS that Cashman deals with.

That's why Brian was the perfect man for the Yankees job. He knows who the writes the checks and knows that he'll have to deal with George's wrath from time to time. But he knows how to manuever through the madness and now wields a significant amount of power and influence as a result. I don't think Theo ever learned how to deal with that. Something to think about for anyone who thinks that he would be the man to replace Cashman.

And don't think that Schilling or anyone else from the clubhouse mumbling about what happened will make any whit of difference to the Lucchino, Henry and company. This isn't Philly, Curt. Clubhouse politicians need not apply. The bosses put up with that idiot garbage because they were winning games and they're smart enough not to tip the apple cart. But they made it very clear that that wasn't image they wanted for their club. With their very short appearance in the postseason, I'd imagine that there'll be changes in the offing in Infidel Nation this winter.

The point of this post is that power only concedes to power. Larry had it, Theo didn't. Epstein made a play and got smacked down like the kid he is. Instead of just taking it like a man, he cried like a baby and took his toys home. He walked away from the best job he'll ever have because he didn't get his way. He could make more money and have more power at another gig. And it still won't ever be what he had in Boston. The Red Sox will hire another GM. One who will tend to the team and not threaten the power structure and continue to prosper.

A wise man once told me "Sometimes you have to eat shit and ask for seconds." Theo's going to wish he had a second helping.

NFL Notes

2005-11-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

What did the Vikings do to deserve all this bad luck? Was Bud Grant a pimp for underaged Guatamalan orphans or something?

An already dire situation got worse for the demoralized Minnesota Vikings with confirmation Monday that quarterback Daunte Culpepper will miss the rest of the season with a devastating injury to his right knee.
Culpepper, a three-time Pro Bowl pick coming off a career year whose effectiveness had fallen off dramatically this season, tore his anterior cruciate, medial collateral and posterior cruciate ligaments in Sunday's 38-13 loss at Carolina.
Once the swelling subsides, the 28-year-old Culpepper will have surgery and several months of arduous rehabilitation. An injury of this nature typically takes a year to recover,but at least right now the Vikings are optimistic about his status for 2006.
``Our expectations are he's going to be ready for the season,'' athletic trainer Chuck Barta said.

The camel's back is way past broke. That bastard is in traction, drinking its meals out of a straw right now. Culpepper's injury is just pile on right now. This team might not win another game. The fact that Mike Tice still has a job boggles the mind. He might be the worst coach in the NFL right now. The sad thing is that in that putrid division 9-7 or 8-8 could win it all. The Packers are a mess, and the Lions and Bears define the term mediocre football.

Comparable to the NFC Norse in its ineptitude is the AFC Least (I mean East). The Jets, Dolphins and Bills are mirror images of each other. They all have good defenses. They all have talent at the skill positions. They all have Pro Bowl caliber running backs. The one thing they all lack is a quarterback. That's what separates them from the Pats right now. If any of those teams had an average to above average QB, they'd run away with the division.

Kelly Holcomb should be ashamed of himself for throwing a four yard out on fourth and seven. He's got two quality receivers going against a patchwork secondary. If fourth down isn't the take a chance down the field against that group, then when is a good time? They should have won that game by two touchdowns. As good as Tom Brady is, he can't cover wideouts or defend the run. You already saw how the Pats were exposed when they played the Chargers, Panthers and Broncos. And none of those teams are in the Colts class.

I don't buy the whole "Pats are in the Peyton's head schill". The Pats beat the Colts because they were a better team. Period. This year, with the additions to the Colts defense, Tony Dungy finally has a "D" worthy of his teachings. People forget how bad the Bucs were until he came on the scene. This team is as balanced as any team we've seen in the last several years. They are going to blow the doors off the Pats on Monday night. I know Foxboro is a tough place to play and Manning's had his problems there. I know Bruschi has given that team an emotional boost. But the Colts are the better team right now. This is their year. They're going to get some major payback Monday night. If they don't, then they never will.

I'm as big a Giants fans as anyone. But how did these two wins elevate them to Super Bowl contenders? I like this team offensively. It has the potential to be best offensive team that we've ever had here. Eli has really come into his own and has become one of the top 10 QBs in football right now. But despite their performance against the fraudskins, I still have some real concerns with this defense and consistency of this team as a whole.

I have yet to see a game where the entire team is on all cylinders. The defense, special teams, passing game and running game. They've had three of four or two of four. But never four of four. And Eli still isn't as accurate a thrower as he can be. I think they're a definite playoff team if they win the next two games (at SF and the Vikes at home.)and they can definitely win the division. But I want to see if they can avoid these traditional trap games that they usually fall into this time of year before I annoint them as the next big thing. The last couple of years, these games come along and the Jints have fallen flat on their face and the season did soon after. Crawl before you walk.

Weekend Notes

2005-10-30T23:43:00.000-08:00

The Foreskins Exposed

A friend who's an Eagles fan and I were taking the other day. We don't agree on much. But we agreed on this. The Fraudskins were all smoke and mirrors. Their defense is solid. But with Portis banged up, any offense with Mark Brunnell leading the way was on borrowed time. We agreed that Washington was the weak sister of the division and it was only a matter of time before they were exposed as the frauds they are.

A 36-0 beating at the hands of the Giants good enough for you?

Sunday, as the G-Men were playing in memory of their patriarch Wellington Mara, provided the perfect backdrop for Joe Gibbs' gang to be embarrassed as the imposters they are. 36-0 doesn't really you a clear idea of how badly the Skins were dominated. Were it not for their defense who held the Giants out of the endzone several times and forced them to settle for field goals, this could have easily have been 56-0. Eli Manning had an off day, but Tiki Barber ran for over 200 yards and outgained the entire Washington offense for the afternoon. Mark Brunnell reminded of something Phil Simms once said a couple of years after he retired. He said that he could still make all the throws he used to. He just couldn't get hit. That's where Mark is in this stage of his career. If his protection holds up, he still has enough arm strength to get the ball down the field to Moss and company. But he can't withstand the beating an NFL QB has to take to be successful. And Strahan and Umenyiora proved that theory Sunday. They battered him all afternoon thanks in part to a secondary that remembered how to cover the receivers.

It was a great win for Big Blue that put them in first place. But it was only one win. The division is wide open and for the taking. As hard as it might be for the nay-sayers to believe, the Giants have as good a shot of winning the NFC East as anyone. Does anyone really believe that Bledsoe can get it done for Dallas? He's a disaster waiting to happen. The Eagles? Well read the next paragraph...

Filtha-Delphia

In the same conversation with my Iggles buddy, I told him after the win versus San Diego, that he can't be happy with what he saw. That it was only a matter of time before they got exposed. He agreed.

Thankfully, I didn't talk to him today.

The Eagles were taken back to the Woodshed by the Broncos today 49-21. And it should have been worse. The Broncos were up 28-0 late in the second quarter until the McNabb finally got them on the board. He was actually able to make a game of it for a little while, pulling within a touchdown. But the Broncos were able to hold on and wear them down and score three late touchdowns. Only McNabb and Owens were make this into some semblance of a competitive contest. The Broncos dominated every facet of the game and exposed the Eagles banged up defense and offense.

Speaking of McNabb, anyone who questions his courage is an idiot. This guy clearly should be on the shelf recovering from Sports Hernia surgery. Instead he puts the surgery on hold and soldiers on. He's not half the player he usually is. But he's still dangerous. Teams know that they can't run, so they dare the Eagles to throw, knowing that there are certain throws that he can't make. But he still finds a way to keep his team in the game. But the injury is clearly catching up to him. With their defense banged up, it's only a matter of time before this team completely falls apart. They got blown out by an average Cowboys team. Got a gift win versus San Diego and got their doors blown off by the Broncos. If Donovan was healthy, I'd have to say that they were the favorites. Now, It's the Giants and Cowboys division to lose.

I don't know what to make of the Broncos. World-beaters one week. Wife-beaters the next. If they could maintain any sort of consistency, with their running game and skill players, I'd have to make them the favorites to challenge the Colts for AFC dominance. But I don't know if any team with Jake Plummer as their QB can get past the second round of the playoffs. He's looked good so far but there's a lot of season left for him to revert back to his wishy-washy form.

Darth Visor Triumphs Again Knoxville

This was my guilty pleasure moment of the weekend. I've always been partial to the old ballcoach Steve Spurrier. He always good for a couple of great quotes each season. My favorite was when he was with Florida and he beat Manning and the Vols once again. When asked about spoiling Tennessee's season again, he said, "You can't spell Citrus without UT". Indicating that there's where the Vols were headed in January. Priceless. By beating Phil Fulmer again last night, Steve might guaranteed his team a bowl bid and jeopardized the Vols chances at one.

If you happen read my post from last Monday, you know I enjoyed the hell out of watching the Gamecocks win on Saturday....

Spurrier has now won in Knoxville with Duke, Florida and South Carolina. I don't know if he's a gambling man, but if he has some numbers to play in the Tennessee lottery....

Little Tuna Gets An Extension

After seven games, Charlie Weis got an 10 year extension from Notre Dame last week. Now I hate Notre Dame but I like Weis because he's a former Giant and Jet coach. I'm happy for him. But two things about this bug me. Does anyone think that this extension will keep Weis in South Bend if he wins a National Title or two and someone like the Jets or Giants come callling for him to come home? It gives him the financial security, yes. But the only reason he's not coaching in the pros is because noone offered him a job. If he puts Notre Dame back on the map, what could possibly keep him in Indiana? He's already shown that he can coach in the pros. I'd gather that the chance to coach in the big leagues would be too tempting to pass up.

And while he is a great coach, he hasn't shown that he can recruit yet. These are all Ty Willlingham's kids. It seems a little odd that they're giving this guy the store after seven games and he hasn't recruited one kid to the cause. I know he's one of them (Class of 78), but I still think race has something do with it. It's not Charlie's fault. But it still stinks. One of many reason that I'll never root for the Irish.

By the way, USC will be number one in BCS polls on Monday. Bank on it....

Who Are The Astros Going Blame Now? The Jet Stream?

2005-10-27T17:11:00.000-07:00

I take no pleasure in being right so often...but it's a helluva lot better than being wrong.

Congrats to the White Sox and the City of Chicago on their first title in 88 years. They were clearly the best team in baseball this year and deserved to win.

The one thing that I'm concerned about is something Imperial Council member Strong Island Rob brought up in an email today....

so the the pale hose sweep. after years of futility i wonder if we now can look forward to new episodes of queer eye starring konerko, pierzynski, etc., gillette commercials starring scott podsednik and lame movies from former SNL cast members who are pale hose fans. fingers crossed...

God I hope not. The 1986 Giants and Mets were the worst when it came to all the books and endorsements and appearances. The 2004 Red Sox were a close second. Now we'll have to endure a team that's suffered longer than anyone except the Cubs. Carl Everett on Queer Eye after saying being gay is wrong? I wouldn't mind watching that....

Carson: Carl, honey...We'll turn you into a Denzel lookalike!!!
Carl: Cool...Just don't touch me f&$%#t!

Now that's Must-See TV.

We keep hearing about how Chicago is Cubs town. I don't buy it. It's one thing when both teams stink. But what happens when one team breaks through? You already have some alleged Cubs fans who were "rooting" for the White Sox. How will the residents of Wrigleyville react to this? Will it become like a Yankees-Mets type hatred and someone will take on the persona of Cubstradamus to express North Side angst? Or will they jump off the Tribune bandwagon and venture to OzzieVille. I've always been suspicious of Cubs fans. Not the diehards like my buddy Brian who was too upset to talk about the Sox in World Series and was just thankful that he didn't have to see a White Sox-Cardinals Fall Classic. I'm talking about those folks who say they're Cubs fans but are rooting for White Sox "because it's Chicago, brah." Sickening.

And how many times are we going to hear that the Cubs are next to break their curse for the next year? I want to throw up...

We kept hearing from the Astros about how awesome their fans are. Please. If they were so great, Uribe doesn't come with that ball in the stands in the ninth inning. Someone smacks it away. That's way too important an out and fans who were on top of it would have never let him near that ball. Your team is fighting for their lives and you let their shortstop do a Jeter in the bottom of ninth inning? That never happens in Boston, New York or any Northeast city. Sure as hell doesn't happen at Wrigley or US Cellular. Ask Alou and Bartman.

More on Garner. I just realized that he could started Oswalt and Petitte in games 1 and 2 on normal rest and given Clemens' hammy a couple of days extra rest by starting him in game 3. This what I'm talking about when I say that a good manager puts his team in the best position to win. Your ace is 43 years old. Why not give him a little extra rest instead of sending him out there when you have more options? He can whine all he wants about the roof and his teams' awful hitting. He's as responsible for his team getting swept as anyone. I thought they would at least take a game or two from the Sox. It drives me nuts that all these recycled managers keep getting jobs but some guys can't a get sniff. Cito Gaston wins two titles but he can't get another gig. Whose wife did he nail that he can't get another managerial gig?

I hope that this shuts up all these National League fan/Baseball purists who think that the Senior Circuit is still the better league. The American League is the better league and has been for several years now. Even wihtout the DH, the lineups are better and pitching is more battle-tested because of it. I said before the playoffs started that any of the top five AL squads (including the Indians) would have beaten anyone in the NL. This proves it. Heck, had that fat bastard David Wells not bailed out on the Yankees in game 5 in 2003 and Mariano closed out the D-Backs in 2001, you would be talking about eight straight World Series instead of six of eight. The difference was slight a couple of years ago. It's huge now.

I was very very annoyed watching the Latino Legends ceremony. Not trying to take anything away from what these players have meant to the game. But they haven't done it for Blacks or Italians. Why do Latins get there own ceremony. And why is A-Rod on the team? He was born in NYC and grew up in Miami! Nomar wasn't eligible. Why was A-Rod? This team is a joke. Great players, all of them. But all this PC garbage is too much.

Roof 1, Astros 0

2005-10-26T13:47:00.000-07:00

Looks as if the Astros were on to something in their asking for Minute Maid's roof to be closed last night. Their roof is akin to Sampson's hair. Remove it and they're both as weak as a kitten with arthritis.

It's ironic that chief whiner Phil Garner was the one who helped do his team in. Ninth inning. First and Third situation. One out. You've got a scuffling rookie(Taveras) going up against one of the great postseason pitchers of this era (El Duque). You've got a switch-hitter who's a proven postseason performer. One who tied up the game the other day in the ninth for your team. El Duque struggles against lefties. How do you not pinch hit Vizcaino in that situation?

I've always thought that Garner was overrated as a manager. Before he got to Houston do you how many seasons over .500 that he's logged? One. His first when he was 92-70. He's been on borrowed time ever since. He's one of these guys that gets the reputation for being a great baseball mind even he's though accomplished absolutely nothing. He's given the benefit of the doubt because he's managed medium and small market teams. People I know who watch National League ball regularly are dumbfounded by some of the moves he makes. Now I see why. There's not much a manager can do with a bad team, but he sure can ruin a good one. Someone needs to just make sure he stays out of his teams way.

He kills his team for not hitting in that game in the postgame, but a manager is supposed to put his team in position to give them their best chance at a win. If he's going to kill his team for not hitting (and they were dreadful), he needs to take a hit for some of the horrible moves he's making.

The Astros are D-O-N-E. Unless Garcia phones it in, I can't see the Astros coming back from a loss like this. And please, don't bring up the 2004 Red Sox. The White Sox have much better pitching than the Yankees and are much fresher at this time of year thanks to the rotation's performance in the ALCS. This series is over after tonight.

And I'll have my life back.

Want Some Cheese With That Whine??

2005-10-25T18:22:00.000-07:00

I almost did a double take when I read that the Astros were whining about not being able to keep the roof closed for tonight's game. Thankfully, the MLB came to their senses. This hit wires a little while ago....

HOUSTON -- Major League Baseball ordered the roof open at Minute Maid Field for Game 3 of the World Series on Tuesday night, ignoring the wishes of the Houston Astros.

Jimmie Lee Solomon, executive vice president of baseball operations in the commissioner's office, made the announcement at Minute Maid Field about four hours before the scheduled first pitch. It was 71 degrees and the sky was cloudless when Solomon spoke.

"It's a beautiful day," Solomon said. "This is not unprecedented. It happened in 2001 down in Arizona. The roof was open all four games there."

The Astros like playing with the roof closed because, among other things, it increases the noise.

Solomon said the commissioner's office followed the Astros' regular-season guidelines, which call for the roof to be open when the temperature is under 80 degrees and there is no rain.

"I think it's a disregard to our fans, the comfort of our fans," Astros manager Phil Garner said.

Solomon said the roof is likely to be open for all games in Houston this week.

I can't believe the Astros have the balls to complain about this. How can you complain about having to play an outdoor game...outdoors?? To play the fall classic...in the fall!!!

If your fanbase is that weak that you have to close the roof to amplify the noise of the crowd, then you don't deserve to win. This team has never hosted a World Series. The idea that these guys are whining about the fact that their fans have to sit outside in 71 degree weather in October is mind-boggling. If they're real fans, they'll go through what the Chi-town fans went through on Sunday. Or what fans in the Northeast would have to endure over the years in October.

I was initially rooting for the Sox because I'm an American League guy. Now I want to see the Astros and their fans suffer....

The Giants' Giant Leaves Us

2005-10-25T16:46:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you all know about this....

^Wellington Mara, NFL's senior owner, dies at 89
^By DAVE GOLDBERG= ^AP Football Writer=
NEW YORK (AP) Wellington Mara of the New York Giants, one of the NFL's most influential owners for more than a half century and the last of the league's founding generation, died Tuesday. He was 89.
Mara, who was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997, died of cancer at his home in Rye, the team said.
``Wellington Mara is the face of not only the New York Giants but the NFL,'' Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey. ``He's a pioneer and the guy that everybody looks up to.''
Mara's influence went far beyond the Giants. He clearly was one of the most important figures in NFL history.
Perhaps his greatest contribution came in the early 1960s. He and brother Jack, owners of the biggest team in the biggest market, agreed to share television revenue on a leaguewide basis, dividing the huge amounts of money available in cities like New York with smaller markets from Pittsburgh to Green Bay.
Part of that agreement meant that the Giants ceded the right to sell their own games to television for a leaguewide contract, in those days with CBS. That concept of revenue sharing allowed the NFL to thrive and remains in place today.

You could argue that Mara was actually better for the NFL than he was for his own team. Could you imagine a big market owner in any sport today that would agree to share their tv revenue in the way that Mara did in the 60's. Mara understood that the future of the league's success was far more important than his team's short-term success.

Mara along with George Halas is also a big reason why the Green Bay Packers still exist. When the Packers were on the beginning of their incredible roll in the sixties, there was a brief moment in time where Mara could have brought Vince Lombardi back to the Giants. Halas convinced him that if he took Lombardi, that the Packer franchise would have crumbled. Noone tortured the Bears and the Giants more on the field at that time than Lombardi. But they put the league's needs ahead of their individual franchises.

You had that sad sack period from the mid sixties to late seventies where the game seemed to pass the Maras by. Landry was playing Chess and the Giants were playing Connect Four. But after the Piscarcik/Herm Edwards Miracle of the Meadowlands play in 1978, Mara had enough and along with Pete Rozelle, brought in George Young to be the GM. The rest is history for Giants fans.

As a Giants fan would you have liked him to be a little more fiery in putting a quality product on the field? Absolutely. Mara seemed content at times if the team had meaningful games in December. Not if they could win a Super Bowl. But being a Yankees fan and all the drama that goes with it, it was great having such calm steady presence running the G-Men.

Mara was truly a giant(no pun intended)figure in the history of American sports. He will be missed.

There's A New Sheriff In Town..And His Name Is Vince Young

2005-10-24T23:31:00.000-07:00

This hit the AP wires earlier today...

Texas is No. 1 in Bowl Championship Series standings.
The Longhorns slipped past Southern California into first place Monday by virtue of a stellar showing in the BCS computer rankings.
Texas, which was second last week, has a BCS average of .9763. Now second-place USC grades out at .9756.
The top two teams in the final standings play in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 4 for the BCS title.
The Trojans are No. 1 in both the USA Today coaches' poll and the Harris Interactive poll, which make up two-thirds of the team's BCS grade. A compilation of six computer rankings account for the other third, with the highest and lowest ranking for each team being dropped.
While the two-time defending national champion Trojans hold a comfortable lead in the polls, the computers love Texas. The Longhorns were the top team in five of the computer rankings and second in the other.
Virginia Tech is still in third, but even farther back than last week. The Hokies have a BCS average of .9162, leaving them .0592 behind the Trojans. They were .0524 out of second place last week.
Georgia (.8679) and Alabama (.8513) are next, holding their spots from last week. UCLA (.7384) moved up three places to sixth, putting the nation's six unbeaten teams at the front of the BCS standings.
Miami (.7114), LSU (.7065), Penn State (.6450) and Florida State (.5735) round out the top 10.

I'm a Trojans fan but I can't disagree with the rankings. Their strength of schedule is about equal, but the way Texas has been rolling up the W's the last month, taking the everyone to the woodshed and beating them with in the head with an aluminum bat Goodfellas style...it's kind of hard to argue with them overtaking USC in the BCS polls. USC has been winning, but they've scuffling a bit in nearly all their games. I think they'll run the table and get to the Rose Bowl, but I can't get around the fact that their defense has shown more holes than Swiss Cheese. Texas deserves to be number one right now.

I never thought I'd say this at the beginning of the season. But I think that Texas has a great chance of winning it all. They're the equal of USC in talent and they're better defensively right now. The only concern I have with the Longhorns is Mack Brown. He's still got to prove that he's a big-game coach. I'm not convinced. Yet.

It should be a fun winter....

Scott Podsednik???

2005-10-24T01:34:00.000-07:00

How does Brad Lidge let someone that hit no dingers in 500 plus appearances in the regular season take him deep?

That's horrible. Worse than horrible, if that's possible.

Houston's done. This series doesn't come back to Chicago. I don't care if it's only 2-0 and the Astros are going home. Garcia and Rowland finish this off this week. You can't lose a game like this and expect come back. Not the way the Astros hit. If this was the Red Sox or Yankees, maybe. They have the offense to do it. But it's a feat when Houston scores 6 runs. I don't care if Jenks is a rookie, they don't do that again against him. Not the way he throws. And definitely not after Scotty P picked him up. Maybe if they lose the game in extra innings, Jenks' psyche could have been frazzled. But he just got a "Get out a jail free" card. Houston finished.

Another horrible call by the umps tonight with Jermaine Dye phantom HBP. Not surprised. Especially after reading this article by Bill Madden in Sunday's Daily News. Bud Selig has to do something about these horrible umps if he wants people to continue to take the game seriously. The idea that these clowns are umping a World Series is a complete crock. And it's getting worse every season.

Scotty P? Wow.....

We Have A Quarterback!!!

2005-10-24T01:20:00.000-07:00

That's what a fan told me after today's incredible win over the Giants. That's the voicemail message a buddy left for me after the game. That was the general feeling of Giants fans as we left the stadium last night. It's a feeling Giants fans haven't felt since Phil Simms was cut after the 1993 season. The feeling that you always have a chance at the end of the game no matter how badly your team has been outplayed in the game. The feeling that, if your team has the ball last, you'll pull it out.

We have a quarterback.

And it's a good thing that Eli bailed out the defense because Giants Stadium was about round up the defense and hang them by their toenails on an overpass on the Jersey Turnpike. The Giants were thoroughly outplayed for three and a half quarters. The 23-10 score wasn't indicative of how the Broncos were taking the Giants lunch money and making them watch as they made out with their girlfriends.

That was until Eli made his move in the fourth quarter. He drove the Giants 65 yards to cut the Denver lead to 23-17. The defense, realizing that they had a QB that could win this thing, finally developed a spine and picked up Eli after he was intercepted by Champ Bailey. The Broncos had to punt after a quick three and out and that gave the G-Men the ball on the 17 yard line.

That's when Eli made the league take notice.

He drove Big Blue down the field and with five ticks on the clock, backpedaled/rolled out and calmly threw a TD pass to Amani Toomer to win the game.

Giants fans, who look forward to their own version of the Trail Of Tears when they try and exodus the stadium after every home game, cried tears of joy as they left the swamp Sunday evening. Hugging and high-fiving anyone wearing Big Blue.

Broncos fans left wondering what football gods did they offend to be forced to be subjected to a loss like that one.

That's what franchise QB's do for a team and a franchise. No matter how flawed your team is, you always think you have a chance to win as long as he's back under center.
Look at some of the mediocre teams that Dan Marino and John Elway took to the playoffs over the years. Look at what Tom Brady is doing with the Pats. His tailback is banged up, his defense is so awful that they're expecting a guy who had a stroke in February to give them a boost. Yet he's keeping this team afloat. The Giants defense is even worse than their numbers suggest. If not for the turnovers they forced, this team would probably have given up 40 points a game. But Manning and his boys find a way to get it done at the end.

I'm not comparing Eli yet any of the aforementioned QBs. But he's giving Giants the same sort of hope that those QBs teams/fans had over the years. He's giving us what we hope will be commonplace in future. I don't know how good this kid will be. But I know that, barring any future injuries, this kid has a chance to keep the Giants relevant for a long time to come.

We have a quarterback!!!!

Bluegrass Grows In Hell

2005-10-24T00:30:00.000-07:00

I felt like Tim Robbins in Jacob's Ladder Saturday. I'm dead but I just don't know it. But after going to Blondies East to watch the Texas-Texas Tech game with my friend Darth Chuck, I finally figured out that not only am I deceased, I'm in hell paying for my multitude of sins.

I rarely venture to the East Side of Manhattan for a couple of reasons. The first is that my job is on the West Side and my subway train takes me to down 7th avenue. The other is that upper East Side feels like one big Friends episode. Every one is white and pretty. No black folks allowed. So after a hour and a half trek to the East Side (Subway construction delays, having racist dogs bark at me while I walk down the street, I finally get to my destination.

I'm wearing a Mitchell & Ness Doug Williams Tampa Bay Bucs Jersey, figuring that wearing a pro jersey like that won't offend any of the college populance at the bar. While I didn't offend anyone, I had no idea that Blondies East is where the NYC Tennessee Alumni association watch their games. Because of the Buc orange, they think that I'm one of them. A little horrifying since I've been partial to the Gators (my SEC team) for about 15 years.

This is where I realized that I was in hell. It was 0-0 at the half and the bartender Kenny (a tip whore like most of his brethren) decides to play the Tennessee fight song "Rocky Top". For those of you that have never heard it, don't click on that link unless you're a masochist. But it's a bluegrass song that become the state's official song.

Apparently the original recorded version wasn't good enough for these hillbillies. Because someone decided to make not one, not two, but three remix version of this godawful song. And the tipwhore Kenny decides to play all three version during halftime!!! These hillbillies were clapping and yee-hawing while all three version of this horrible song played. I felt more uncomfortable than a brother who got caught doing the Grand Wizard's daughter at a Klan rally.

My buddy Darth Chuck was in his own hell watching alma mater Texas Tech, toss Texas' salad as Vince Young strikes his best Heisman pose at the Raiders expense. So I call my buddy Grand Moff Peter, a Florida alum and Gator lover, to let him know where I was buried and to make sure to send my mom flowers. He laughs and tells to hoist one with Satan and to knock out a couple of toothless Vol bastards while I'm there.

Satan must be a Vol hater because he took mercy on my soul. When the Vols fumbled into the endzone for a Tide touchback and Croyle marched 'Bama down the field for the winning field goal...it took every bit of willpower that Chuck and I could muster not to laugh uncontrollably. The silence was deafening. Then you heard a couple of "Fuck!'s " in the crowd and hands bashing the tables. We told Kenny that he better make sure they pay their tabs before the mass exodus out the door begins.

We finally lost it when we saw one guy with one Tide pom-pom in the corner waving it as his Vol girlfriend looked at him with disgust.

Seems like the devil does have a sense of humor....

Manny Turns Down The Mollies

2005-10-21T17:54:00.000-07:00

It looks like the Mollies of Flushing will have to find another Jake Ryan this winter. From the ESPN website....

The Red Sox did throw out the idea of a Manny Ramirez-Carlos Beltran deal in July, but it was on the weekend of the trading deadline after Ramirez had asked to be traded.

The Mets rejected the idea, and GMs Omar Minaya and Theo Epstein tried to construct two-, three-, and four-way deals -- none of which worked. "The ironic thing is that by the end of the weekend, Manny said he would not go to the Mets," says Ramirez's agent Greg Genske of Legacy Sports Group. "I know people have speculated about Pedro [Martinez] and his influence, but Manny does not want to be traded to the Mets."

And, anyway, the Red Sox say they have not offered the superstar outfielder to the Mets -- or anyone -- as of now. Genske plans to meet with Boston owner John Henry next week in Florida, and after that meeting some determination will be made on whether Ramirez will repeat his July request to be traded, or the team will see what it can get on the market, with the knowledge that as a 10-5 player, Ramirez can veto any deal.

If Ramirez does request to be traded, Genske says "his preference would be Anaheim. He also still loves Cleveland, and would go back there." Another possibility would be Arizona, if Boston would take some of the contracts the Diamondbacks are trying to move, including Troy Glaus and Luis Gonzalez. Texas was in play at the deadline.

The problem is that if the Red Sox baseball operations had their way, the only way Ramirez would be traded is if they could restock themselves with a young corner outfielder, a center fielder and pitching. Their feeling is that with so much money floating around the industry and so few quality free agents, Ramirez's contract -- three years remaining at a present-day value of slightly more than $17 million -- will not be that bad come spring training. Also, while Ramirez is unpredictable and sometimes had hustle lapses, he has played 150 or more games three straight seasons, bettered in Red Sox history by only Frank Malzone (7), Carl Yastrzemski (5), Jim Rice and Dwight Evans (4 each).

This wouldn't have been a horrible trade for the Red Sox. You get a switch-hitting gold-glove caliber centerfielder who hits for power and steals bases. Beltran could become a real force in that park. Damon is an offensive force at the top of any lineup. He takes a lot of pitches, hit over .300, steals some bases and has some pop. But he's going to 32 in November. He's only an average defender with a poor arm. The infidels could have gotten a player with a tremendous upside that would have immediately improved their defense up the middle. And he wouldn't have to be the focal point of the offense. Ortiz is. You could bat him front of Big Papi and he could wreak havoc. I don't if he'll put the fear of god into lineups that Manny does now. But he could potentially thrive in that park if he could deal with the press and the tough fans.

For the Mets, I'm not sure it would have been as good a deal. Yeah you get the big bopper you need in the middle of your lineup. But you have all the stuff that comes with it. I wonder how Manny being Manny would go over in Mollyville. You add the fact that Manny will be 34 next year, hitting in one of the better pitching parks in baseball...I'm not sure if that trade makes as much sense for the Mets. I know they've pining for Manny, but there are too many ifs involved whenever he's thrown into a conversation involving a trade.

Manny's not going anywhere. Epstein not doing the deal unless he gets equal value. And how do you get equal value for one of the best hitters of his generation? Everyone is trying to shed salary these days and I don't know if there's a fit out there for Boston. Is Anaheim willing to trade away half their farm system and add $17 million of salary? I don't think so.

It looks like the Mollies are going to have to find another way to add some pop to their lineup.

Ryne Sandberg Is On Crack

2005-10-20T23:15:00.000-07:00

Clearly he must have been sucking the glass dick when he wrote this little ditty.

Proof positive that players definitely see the world differently from fans. Can you imagine a real Cubs fan ever suggesting such foolishness? Or a Mets fan telling his brethren to root for the Yankees because they'll return the favor someday?

I think even my infidel enemies will agree with me on this...Our wars ends when all wars end. And we wouldn't have it any other way. We might be friends, lovers, brothers and sisters off the field. While the game is on...we make the Hatfields and McCoys look like Will and Grace. The Israelis and Palestinians have to go to Camp David once every generation to hash things out because of all the you know...the dead bodies. Because this is a relatively bloodless feud between baseball fans, our hatred can carry on for generations without interference.

I enjoy hating the Red Sox, Mets and Indians. Their fan bases are defined by their hatred of the Yankees. It's ingrained in our collective DNA. I know people who won't date someone who supports the enemy of their beloved. Wives and husbands who can't watch an important game together that involves their teams. Parents that argue over which team the child is going to root for as passionately as what religion they'll be raised in or what schools they should attend.

People take this shit seriously. And I hate it when ignorant players who were only involved in the rivalry because they were paid to try to tell fans how to think and feel and worse...who they should root for.

Shut up Ryne. If we didn't take this shit as seriously as we do, you wouldn't be a millionaire several times over. It might be pathological, but it's our pathology.

Because I'm a American League guy, I'm pulling for the Chi-Sox. But one of my favorite writers on ESPN 2, Scoop Jackson wrote an article that should make everyone who's trying to find a side in this fight to consider the South Side this October.

Imagine if the Chi-Sox had guys like this writing their story for them for the last 80 years. Maybe we wouldn't have heard the incessant whining we heard from Infidel Nation since 1918.

If I have to hear about how the Chi-Sox and Astros "play the game right way" and that they play "NL ball", I'm going to puke. You know what the right way to play the game is? Whatever style that wins. Since when did doing the little things become the NL way? Billy Martin practiced that style of baseball and didn't he spend majority of his career in the American League. Can't the same be said about Lou Piniella? Didn't Rickey Henderson steal 130 bases with the Oakland A's? An American League team? When did playing solid fundamental baseball become a National League thing?

Granted, the introduction of the DH in 1973 did put a premium on power in the American League. But it's not as if the American League abandoned fundamentals when pitchers started hitting. At least the good teams didn't.

The teams that win have balanced lineups. If you're going to be 80's Cardinals, you better be able to pitch and catch every thing in your direction. Because your margin for error is a lot less than someone who has a couple of boppers. Each time those Cards lost, they lost to teams with balanced lineups and solid pitching. Steal all the bases you want. Sac bunt till your fingers bleed. At some point, you have to get a hit.

Granted, their is a little more strategy involved in NL games because the pitcher hits. But I've yet to see an AL manager get so outmanaged in a World Series or interleague game because of his inability to deal with pitchers hitting.

Despite what the baseball purists want to say, there is no one right way to play the game. If you're talking about cheating, that's one thing. But if you're talking about styles of play, that's something else. The bottom line is this, you can steal as many bases, hit as many home runs, suicide squeeze till you're blue in the face. If you can't pitch and play solid defense behind your pitcher, none of it matters.

The Astros and Chi-Sox are playing in the big dance because of the way they pitch. As far as I'm concerned, that's the only "right way to play the game" argument that matters.

Told You So....

2005-10-20T00:41:00.000-07:00

Chris Russo is an idiot.

It's amazing what you can observe by watching.

I wish that I could say that I hate being right...but I don't. Now here's another ditty you can put in the bank....White Sox win in no more than six games. Their bullpen is rested and so are their starters. Their bullpen is deeper and they're better offensively. They're just a better team right now and they have the home field advantage.

Mayor Daley had to call for peace in the city when the Sox made it because Cubs fans were pissed. He better call in the National Guard when his beloved Sox win it all.

Imperial Diamond Notes

2005-10-19T18:49:00.000-07:00

Why is everyone so quick to write off the Astros after Monday night?

Everyone is assuming that Houston is dead after the spirit of Donny Moore temporarily possessed Brad Lidge? Sorry, but as awful as that loss was I still think Houston is going to pull it out tonight for a couple of reasons. The first is the fact that they have Oswalt going for them tonight. Oswalt has been a money postseason performer the last couple of years. The other is I've never been that impressed by Mark Mulder. He might be the most talented of the big three out of Oakland, but he's never impressed me as a bigtime clutch performer. Add to that the LaRussa factor (the ability of a manager to overmanage himself out of an orgasm if he was in bed with Jenna Jameson) and you have the recipe for a Houston World Series appearance.

The other thing is that this doesn't feel like another Angels/Yankee-esque collapse. I remember that 1986 ALCS and you felt the shovel to collective solar plexus of the team and its fans. You knew they were done. Last year ALCS, the Yankees played with a stick up their ass the second Mo gave up that single to Bill Mueller. And when they lost game 5, you didn't completely lose faith but you knew it wasn't looking good. When game 7 came around, I wouldn't have admitted it at the time, but there was a sense of inevitability that this wasn't going to end well and you were planning your escape routes out of the Stadium. Monday night was different. It felt like just another bad loss. Not a bone-crushing momentum turning moment. And it wasn't as if it was a nobody like Dave Henderson who beat Lidge. It was the best young hitter in baseball, probable NL MVP and a future hall of famer.

So before everyone tells Lidge's girlfriend to hide his gun and get a restraining order for fear of Donnie the UnFriendly Ghost possessing her man again...I think we all need to take a deep breath and remember that this is 2005 not 1986.

How miserable do you think Cubs fans are going to feel about the White Sox winning the World Series? I mean real Cubs fans. Not the happy drunks who go to Wrigley once every blue moon and could care less if the team wins or loses. I'm talking about the diehards. The ones who still hate the Mets because of 1969. The ones who wanted to kill Steve Bartman and Alex Gonzalez. The ones who would be in their own personal baseball hell if they had to watch the Cardinals and White Sox in the World Series.

A buddy of mine who's a diehard was in my office on Monday. He's dreading the fact that it might happen. Just dreading it. As he should. When you're a diehard, you should be miserable when your crosstown rival and division nemesis prosper. Being a real fan is about two things, love and hate. Unconditional Love for your squad. Unconditional hate for your rivals. You're not supposed to jump on some Chicago bandwagon and say "I got love for Chi-town, man. So I'm rooting for the Sox even though I'm a Cubs fan." Screw that.

I love NYC. I'm a New Yorker born and bred. But I'm never rooting for the Mets. Ever. In 1999, when the Mets lost to Atlanta on a bases loaded walk to Andruw Jones by Kenny Rogers....I giggled my ass off. I loved the fact that there were Mets fans all over the country who dying at that moment. Old Mets fans who probably would die without seeing their team win again. Young ones who were scarred for life after watching that and the 2000 Subway Series. A thing of beauty for a Yankees fan. The only thing better is seeing New England scumbags suffer when the Red Sox lose. I read every blog, every Boston Website to revel in their misery. Even though the Yankees lost, I get a certain sense of satisfaction out of knowing that Mets fans had to stop writing about their team when the season ended. That they could only revel in the misery of others because their team won't provide them any joy of their own.

I was thinking of an analogy to describe Mets fans. With the way they dog A-Rod after salivating over him five years ago, it kind of reminds me of the guy who is love with this girl but doesn't have the balls to talk to her even though she's made it known to him that she thinks he's cute. A-Rod grew up a Mets fan and said that he'd love to play in Queens. But Steve Phillips cut any pursuit of him short by saying that he didn't want a clubhouse plus one and a bunch of other nonsense that the Mets used to cover up the fact that they were too cheap to get in the game. Now A-Rod is with the All-American football player(the Yankees) and the Mets are with the baseball equivalent of Marcie from the Peanuts (Beltran).

Mets fans are worse than Molly Ringwald in Sixteen Candles pining over Jake Ryan when they sweat a player. It was A-Rod a few years ago. Last year it was Beltran. Now its Manny. We should call them New York Mollies instead of the Mets. Hey, that's not a bad idea....

Let's go Mets Go!!!!

Football Notes

2005-10-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

Luke, would you calm down please? Yes, I'm a Giants fan, but I had nothing to do with what happened to the Jets Quarterbacks!! Why would I jinx Pennington and Fiedler and not McNabb? It had to be Darth Shula...it had to be!!! Now would you come on down from there, please? At least Vinnie will start this week.... Luke, don't jump...Luke? Luke?

What do you if you're the New York Jets? You think your franchise QB is back from shoulder surgery, but just in case, you sign a very solid backup in Jay Fiedler. And what happens? You lose both in a span of five minutes! In just a couple of weeks, you go from being one of the teams to beat in the AFC to the team most likely to pick Matt Leinart in next year's draft. I've heard long time Jet fans like WFAN's Joe Benigno talk about the Jets being cursed. Now I'm starting to believe them.....

Sunday's game versus the Ravens showed that Brooks Bollinger clearly isn't the answer. How did this guy get drafted as a quarterback? He can't throw!! The Ravens defense is pretty good. But when you know a guy can't throw more 20 yards down the field, even the worst defense is going to look like the Steel Curtain. Benigno is killing Curtis Martin, screaming about how Lamont Jordan has in Oakland... saying that Martin is done. But it doesn't hurt Jordan's situation that he has Collins Moss and Porter to spread the field for him. And he's forgetting the fact when you have a QB that can't make the most basic throws (Bollinger), you can put eight in the box and key in on the run. No back can deal with that. Not even a hall of famer. Add the fact that the Offensive line isn't as good as it's been in years past, and you have a formula for a 2-14 record.

There was a rumor going around about the Jets possibly trading Jonathan Vilma for Phillip Rivers. Every Jets fan I talked to about to was vehemently against this trade. I'm not so sure about that. I know Vilma is an excellent linebacker and Rivers has played much in two years. But I don't think it's as far fetched as some make it out to be. As good as Vilma is (and he's very good), if you have a chance to get a franchise QB, you have to do it. Many scouts thought that Rivers was as good as Manning or Roethlisberger in last year's draft. The only reason he's not starting already is because Drew Brees decided to his best Joe Montana imitation and the Giants who drafted him used him as trade bait to get Manning. Giants GM Ernie Acorsi was very high on him and had no problem keeping him if the Eli deal fell through.

Acorsi's point was that franchise QBs only come around once every 10 years or so. And if you have an opportunity to acquire one, you have to jump on it. It's the reason the Chargers were willing to jettison only after a couple of years. It's the reason Kerry Collins became a ex-Giant as soon as Manning became available. It's not because Kerry or Drew weren't good pros. But their teams determined that they would only be able to go so far with them at the helm. Collins still has a cannon for an arm, but he's not able to check off after the first option is covered as well as a 10 year veteran should. Brees for whatever reason was never a Marty guy but considering that Schottenheimer is an idiot, I wouldn't take anything he does seriously.

My point is that with Pennington possibly being finished, you have to explore your options. And if Rivers is out there, then you have to at least consider it. Unless you're willing to tank the season and go after Leinart, he might be the best long term option available. These stop-gap moves are fine for a couple of games, but unless you have a stiffling defense, you're only going as far as your QB takes you. The Jets defense is very good, but look the teams they've had to play in the last couple of weeks. Outside of Kansas City, none of these teams are exactly world-beaters on offense. When they have to face teams like San Diego, with their offense stagnant, you could see some playstation scores put up against them in the next few weeks.

So as attached as the Jets are to Vilma, if the Chargers are willing to deal Rivers...they should seriously listen. You can draft another top flight LB in the first few rounds. Franchise QBs are much tougher to come by.

Speaking of franchise QBs, I think we're seeing a coming of age for Eli Manning. Yes, he's put up numbers against two very awful defenses. But that doesn't mean that it's a fluke. He's playing behind a much improved offensive line and he has some absolutely lethal weapons at his disposal. He's already developed a repoire with Burress and Shockey. Once he gets a feel for Amani Toomer and speedsters Tim Carter and David Tyree, it could be off to the races for the Giants. Add Tiki Barber and rookie Brandon Jacobs in the backfield, it's going to be tough to key in on just the pass with Big Blue. I just wish that Coughlin and the coaching staff would find way to work Jacobs into schemes outside of short yardage. By doing that, you can keep defenses honest because they have to honor the run while he's in there. You've got the horses, Tom. Now use some imagination with them.

It could be a long year for the Patriots defense. Losing Ty Law, Tedy Bruschi and Ted Johnson is bad enough. Now they've lost Poole and Harrison for the year. Unless their front seven applies more pressure against up front, you could see more 41-17 blowouts in their future. I, for one, can't wait.

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

2005-09-29T16:37:00.000-07:00

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

2005-09-27T15:58:00.000-07:00

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

2005-09-23T17:50:00.000-07:00

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

2005-09-20T18:02:00.000-07:00

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

2005-09-17T19:27:00.000-07:00

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

2005-09-14T16:19:00.000-07:00

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

2005-09-13T18:36:00.000-07:00

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

2005-09-12T20:36:00.000-07:00

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

2005-09-11T10:27:00.000-07:00

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

2005-09-11T01:38:00.000-07:00

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!!!!!

2005-09-10T19:18:00.000-07:00

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.