Random thoughts this Saturday morning.......

I almost want to commend the Giants for wanting to beat the Patriots tonight. Having said that, regardless of the outcome, I still say Coughlin's an idiot if he plays his starters for more than a quarter or 2.

The Islanders better hope Rick DiPietro's knee injury isn't that serious. They go nowhere without him.

Tough offseason for the Yankees. First the Mitchell Report smears them and some of their recent championships, now Jim Leyritz gets arrested for DUI and will be tried for vehicular manslaughter. Looks like they're going "down with the King."

I'm thinking of stealing the "Just Shut Up" award from Mike and Mike for one week and give it to Brandon Jacobs. He knocked Giants fans earlier this week for selling their tickets to Patriots fans for tonight's games. Here's a thought for athletes in this city: Even if you're probably right, never, ever knock and alienate your team's fans. You will never live it down.

The Rangers need to make some sort of trade to bring in new blood and inject some life into the offense. Getting Vyborny from Columbus would be a mistake. He's underachieving like the rest of the Rangers and trading a 20-something underachiever for a 30-something underachiever with little or no playoff experience make zero sense.

All quiet in Flushing. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Omar's waiting for Livan Hernandez to drop his salary demands so he can sign him. I hope Omar realizes that he needs Livan more than he thinks.

After the Jets fire Mangini next season, I wonder if he's going to call Belichick for a coordinator's job. And if he does, will Belichick forgive Mangini for selling him out in the spygate scandal? Doubtful on both parts.

No interest in the college bowl season so far........

Interesting move by the Islanders to sign Okposo. When was the last time a kid left college in mid-semester to join his pro-team? More than anything, I think it shows poor character on the part of the kid. At least wait till the college season's over.

Don't look now, but the Rangers have dropped to 8th in the conference. What happened to the stifling defense they had in November? Too often Lundqvist is being hung out to dry.

FIRE ISIAH!!!

A Tragedy in the Making

If Tom Coughlin does what I think he's about to do, then I think he is a complete moron. Not that I had a very high opinion of him prior to his decision to play his starters against the Patriots on Sunday, but this really lowers the boom.

The Giants have nothing to play for. So what if the Patriots win the game and make history. No one else could beat them. This Patriots teams will go down as the best ever, probably in any sport. Playing his starters for more than 1 quarter means Coughlin is merely letting his ego get in the way of his ability to make sound and responsible decisions for his football team.

Now if Coughlin's plan is to give his boys time to work on somethings and treat it as a scrimmage, then I would give my blessing.... as long as they were on the bench by the 2nd quarter. We all know Eli could use as much practice as he can get. But if Coughlin plans to play his starters the entire game then he's asking for trouble. Murphy's Law says someone important will get hurt and it will cost them in the first round of the playoffs.

News flash Tom: Another one and done in the playoffs and you're done.

FIRE ISIAH!!!

I love Jessica Simpson

Why, you ask? It's because anyone that is going to be able to take any of Tony Romo's attention away from football can't be bad in my eyes. Don't get me wrong, she also gorgeous, rich and kind of dumb in a cute way too. But for the purposes of this conversation, I have to stick with the fact that she's merely a distraction of Tony Romo at this point. One day i'll create some space in this blog to talk about women none of us will ever have, but for now, the conversation stays with Tony Romo.

You gotta love the beautiful starlets that attract the attention of the ulti-jocks. Paris Hilton had Brian Urlacher's eye for a while but I think he smartened up fast enough to see that no woman (regardless of hotness) is worth the distraction and Paris was heading down the wrong path. Hilary Duff has latched on to Mike Comrie of the Islanders. But lucky for the Islanders, Hilary Duff can't make him any worse than he already is.

And now Jessica Simpson has Tony Romo. He definitely upgraded when he dumped Carrie Underwood and hooked up with Jessica. But let's face it, she can only be a distraction. And besides the few moments of additional limelight she gets with this, it can't end good for her. Romo is the toast of Texas and the Cowboy Nation. Once they break up, she's going to now be the ex and people won't like her. It's kind of like when Paul McCartney breaks up with a girl. Unless you're going to be the next Linda McCartney, it won't end well for the girl. (Now don't get me wrong, i'm not comparing Romo to the Beattle, but those rabid Texas folk might)

So if Jessica can mezmerize him into botching a few plays or forgetting his check downs, then I am a Simpson fan. I just want her to cause enough havoc in his mind for him to make that one critical mistake that will cost his team a chance at the Super Bowl and a date with the Patriots. My reasons are simple. First, I hate Romo and the Cowboys and everything they stand for. Secondly, wouldn't it be great to see Brett Favre go to the Super Bowl and do the impossible by beating the almight Patriots in his last season? Talk about a story book ending! Hollywood can't make this stuff up.

So my suggestion to Jessica is this. Once they Cowboys lose and are out of the playoffs, walk away from Romo. But let it come out that he dumped you so people in Texas don't hate you. Then, pose in Playboy because i'm dying to see you naked.

Thanks for reading, and remember: FIRE ISIAH!

Dear Santa.......

It's time we send our wish lists to the man at the North Pole. At this point, my teams are going to need all the help they can get if they're going to amount to anything in 2008. If this doesn't work, I'll have to resort to lighting candles and praying. Maybe I should try to get Father Carmine to issue a blessing like the one he gave to Rocky Balboa in "Rocky".
Either way, here goes.......

1. The Rangers need defense. Go figure, once the offense starts coming together, the defense disappears. I think we've all seen that Lundqvist is a world class goalie, maybe the best on the planet, but hockey's a team sport and he can't do it all alone. I would prefer not to deal any of the defensive gems they have on the roster or in the system, but I would love to see them get a shut-down type defenseman. Someone with a mean streak who won't let an opposing player pitch a tent in front of Lundqvist all game.

2. The Giants need more consistency. Especially from Eli. We all the know the defense is the strength of the team, but even they have been erradic of late. Coughlin needs to summons up the spirit of Jimmy Hoffa and whatever other ghosts might lurk in the Meadowlands and make sure he can protect the Giants because they'll need all the help they can get. Please make the offense somewhat potent. I'm not asking for Eli to be Peyton, but at be a Manning. And the defense needs to revive themselves and play like they did during that 6 game winning streak that feels like it was 100 years ago.

3. The Mets need pitching.....BAD! This request is a blanket statement that covers the bullpen and the rotation. Please make Omar Minaya know something we don't and have something up his sleeve because right now my faith is not strong with the crew we've got right now. I can't be anymore specific than to simply say the Mets need pitching. Oh yeah, and a bench too.

4. Make the Yankees suck. Of course I'm a Mets fan and always want to see the Yankees struggle just to shut up all the smug Yankees fan out there, but this year is different. Joe Torre was treated poorly and it would be nice to show the Steinbrenner family that they made a mistake in letting him. So, for the sake of a classy guy (who by the way was a Met a long time before he was ever a Yankee), I would love to see the Yankees not make the playoffs and show the Steinbrenners that Torre did in fact do good for that organization.

5. FIRE ISIAH!

The Best Coach in NY

Newsday had an article about the best coach in NY the other day. Shockingly, the coach they chose was none other than Tom Coughlin. When I read it, I almost fell off my chair and started laughing. How can a respectable newspaper think Coughlin is the best coach in NY?

Then I started to think about it a little more. Look at who he's up against. Joe Torre is in LA, and Joe Girardi hasn't even started yet. Willie Randolph barely kept his job after the worst collapse in regular season history, Eric Mangini stinks as bad as his team does, Ted Nolan's not doing anything spectacular and Isiah Thomas is, well, do I need to go there?

That leaves Coughlin and Tom Renney of the Rangers. My first thought was to go with Renney. After nearly 10 years of misery, Renney lifted the once proud Rangers team out of the NHL doldrums and brought them back to respectability. The team is a winner again, the Garden sells out every night and he even managed to win a playoff series last year.

Coughlin on the other hand has made the playoffs the last 3 years depsite the fact that they regularly crumble at the end of each season. You can't knock a guy for making the playoffs, can you? Oh wait, you can if you're George Steinbrenner.

So after reading this article, I really started to think about it. At first I thought it was a joke that the winner was Coughlin. Then it dawned on me, Coughlin is the man.

But that's not where the realization ends. The more telling thing about this article is that there really are no legendary coaches in NY anymore. Gone are the days of Bill Parcells, Red Holzman, Mike Keenan, Joe Torre, John McGraw, Casey Stengel and dare I say, Al Arbour. Today, we are stuck with Isiah Thomas.

Now putting Isiah Thomas in the same category as Coughlin, Mangini, Randolph and the rest of the bunch is not flattering to those men at all because Isiah is a mess. He's the worst thing any team could possibly have. He makes Knicks fans long for the days of Scott Layden again, and some of us remember how bad those days were.

My point is, we need another Pat Riley or Miller Huggins around here. Girardi and Renney probably have the best shot at winning a championship than the other coaches in NY. But in the case of Girardi, no matter what he does, he will never be Torre so maybe Renney has the best shot at achieving some degree of immortality amongst the NY coaching ranks.

No matter what happens, THE KNICKS MUST FIRE ISIAH!!!!

The Giants are a mess!!!

I've been watching the Giants for as long as I can remember and one of the things that sticks out the most is the weather conditions in Giants stadium as the season progresses. Anyone who knows anything about the Giants knows that Giants Stadium is one of the hardest places to play late in the season. It's not because of snow or rain or even crowd noise. It's because of the wind.

Now, having said that, why would the coach engineer a game plan to throw the ball 52 times? I don't want to hear the excuse that it was because they were behind. Even when the game was close, they were still throwing the ball too much.

If someone told me before the game that the Eli was going pass 52 times in one game, I would have told you that they lost the game. Anyone can see that coming.

And now with Shockey out for the season all he has to look forward to is his New Years Eve party because if the Giants are playing like this, they may not make the playoffs. And if they do make the playoffs, it will definitely be a 1 and done.

The Mitchell Report Legitimized?

Andy Pettitte confirmed what was in the Mitchell Report. The report said Pettitte took HGH for 2 days when he was rehabbing an injury in 2002 and Pettitte confirmed that.

You have to think that after all the scrutiny the report got after its release, this revelation comes close to legitimizing the report. There was a lot of "he said, she said" going on in the report but when one of the accused comes out and confirms the allegations against him, you have to wonder what else is true.

The interesting thing about this is that Pettitte's best friend is Roger Clemens, the biggest name to surface in the report. And Clemens has made it very clear that he denies the allegations of his involvement in using steroids. But when Pettitte confirmed that what was said about him is true, you have to think that if Mitchell was right about Pettitte, he was probably right about Clemens too.

Sorry Roger, no Hall for you!

Chris Simon has to go......

No sport is perfect. I think Senator George Mitchell made that abundantly clear this past week.

When it comes to hockey, i'm as big a fan as anyone. Anyone reading this knows i'm a huge Rangers fan so my point of view might be biased but I will try to be as impartial as I can despite the fact that I despise the Islanders and most of their fans. (not including some local friends and even one upstate friend and a family member or two)

Let's face it, baseball's problem is steroids. Football's problem is off the field bahaviors and hockey's problem is in-game violence. Last season we saw Chris Simon cross-check Ryan Hollweg of my beloved Rangers across the neck and nearly decapitate him. For that offense, Simon was given a 25 game suspension. Last night, Simon tripped a Penguin along the boards and when the player fell, he stomped on his foot with the bottom of his skate. When you watch the replay, you can see that this was not a moment in the game where he might have gotten caught up. This act was completely pre-meditated and utterly deplorable.

I can't see how any person, Ranger fan, Islander fan, Penguin fan, or anyone for that matter can think this should not warrant a significant suspension. Very rarely does a player get thrown out of game for committing such a violent offense. In fact, most players go their entire careers without ever getting thrown out of a game but it's seems like Simon is making it a regular thing.

If Gary Bettman wants to try to improve the game and make it more marketable, he needs to first eliminate these types of offenses. Bettman needs to instruct Colin Campbell, the NHL disciplinarian, to throw the book at Simon....once again. Only once players start realizing that these acts won't be tolerated will they start thinking twice before they commit them. But in order for that to happen, Bettman, Campbell and the NHL need to strike the fear of God into the players.

The best way to hurt the players is to take away their livelihood. How would Roger Goodell handle something like this? My guess is that he would suspend Simon for the remainder of the season without pay (based on this act and previous infractions) and make Simon apply for re-instatement next season. I think that's a good start.

Roger Goodell for President!!!!!

Suddenly, I'm an A-Rod fan

Don't worry, i'm not about to go out and buy pinstripes or anything. I'm still dedicated to those loveable heartbreakers in Flushing that always seem to let me down each year. But of there is one positive that comes out of this whole Mitchell thing is that A-Rod wasn't on the list.

Dare I say that A-Rod, of all people, can save baseball? The most coveted record in all of sports is the career home run record. Too bad Barry Bonds holds the record. But there's a revolution happening in the Bronx and it's only a matter of time before A-Rod is king.

Since A-Rod's name wasn't on the Mitchell Report, even a devout Yankee hater like me has to root for A-Rod to break Bonds's record and inject a little more legitimacy back into the game. Even if he's a jerk, cheats on his wife and is a bad teammate, you can't help but think "at least he's not a cheater".

So I say "Go A-Rod" but I also say "Down with the Yankees". Hopefully A-Rod breaks the record without helping the Yankees do anything of significance.

Maybe I need to reiterate something here. First off, I said that it SEEMED like half the players mentioned in the report were Yankees (please see 2nd paragraph). Next, the point I was making about Francessa and Kay is that because of their well known allegiances to the Yankees, their criticism of the report must be taken with a grain of salt. Once a number of Yankees appeared in the report, anyone could have predicted that they would criticize it. The question we have to ask ourselves is is this criticism due to inherant flaws in the report or because it smears the Yankees? I believe that even if the report was flawless, they would still have the same things to say because of their allegiances to the Yankees.

Optimism in Flushing

I have this odd sense of optimism about the Mets next year. Maybe it's because the list of names on the Mitchell Report seemed to be half Yankees. Who knows?

But thinking about how the Mets are shaping up for next year makes think that things aren't as bad as they might seem. Of course the team they have lined up looks too similar to the one that chiked last year, but maybe it's a good thing. Maybe these guys will have that fire within them to right a wrong.

The key is going to be the pitching. Pedro needs to be Pedro. Maine and Perez need to repeat 2007's successes with a little more consistency. El Duque has to stay healthy and Omar needs to get El Duque's brother Livan. When needed Pelfrey and Humber have to fill and and Omar needs to rebuild the bullpen around the key guys like Feliciano, Heilman and Wagner.

There's a lot of "ifs" in this thought but it's possible. We all know these guys can hit and play defense. Delgado needs to earn his paycheck this year and if he does, these guys might surprise you. It's so easy to be really down on the Mets going into next year, but you need to focus on the positives of the team.

I still say the biggest move they should have made this offseason was getting rid of Willie Randolph.

I'm baaaaack!

Sorry for my absense. What can I say, I got lazy. But we have a lot to catch up on.

Baseball's a mess. I was listening to Michael Kay on ESPN radio on my drive home and predictably, he is trying to minimize the importance or impact of the Mitchell Report. Can you blame the guy when it seemed like 50% of the names listed were at one time Yankees? You have to give him credit, he's a company man.

Kay made 2 points that I thought were ridiculous. The first was why weren't McGwire an Sosa on the report. The simple answer is that no one named them or that there wasn't enough evidence to add their names. The report was full of people that Mitchell was able to gather evidence against. The last thing Senator Mitchell wants to do is risk his reputation or the validity of the report by implicating someone if he can't back it up. We're talking about a guy who has helped negotiate treaties. He knows what he's doing.

The second point Kay made that was bogus is why weren't Palmeiro and Mota included? Duh! We already know about them. They're old news. Another goal of this report was to identify previously unknown steroid users.

For once can I hear a Yankees fan just admit that they cheated? Tuesday night on my drive home Mike Francessa said that if Piazza and Clemens were on the report it would almost certainly exclude them from the Hall of Fame. I haven't heard him since the report was released but i'm sure he's finding a way to retract that statement and imply that Clemens still deserves the nod. Let me guess, he'll play the "he hasn't been convicted of anything" card.

I'm tired of hearing these lowsy guys. But that's a post for another day.

So I offer my thoughts on the Mitchell report by saying this: As an American, I feel cheated. This is our game and they put the integrity of it in question. Shame on them all. I hope they all get what they deserve.

The Clock Is Ticking For Eli

You have to wonder how much longer the Giants are going to be able to see if Eli Manning ever develops into the QB they thought they were drafting. At some point he is going to have to flourish for more than a game or Jerry Reese is going to have to force a change at QB. My guess is that the time is coming for change because I think we all know that Eli won't be Peyton.

I think Giants fans can live with Eli if he was more consistent. The unfortunate thing is that he can look great one game and the next game look downright awful. Last week against the Vikings is the prime example of how bad he can look at times. He threw 3 picks that were returned for TDs in one game. Most QBs don't have that many in a season!

There has to be a reason why Eli has been so bad. Is it his personality? His skill level? Is it the gameplan? I think you can't just single out one reason and call that his downfall. There is a combination of factors that play into why he cannot live up to expectations starting with the fact that the expectations are too high. When your brother is in the middle of a career that will have him go down as the best of all time, you have to think he feels pressure to be that good. His leaderships skills have been questioned since he was made the starter. Being chosen #1 overall and then refusing to play for the team that picked you and forcing a trade can add pressure. And lastly, I don't think the Giants coaches have done a particularly good job of putting Eli in a comfortable scheme. Let the kid play the entire game running a no huddle offense so you take the thinking element out of his hands. I bet we would see a better performance.

Either way, something has to go give. If we don't see Eli improve significantly and become more consistent, you will see another QB under center pretty soon. My guess is that if a coaching change is made after this season and Eli struggles early in the season, we can see a new QB.

How Much Is Too Much For Johan Santana?

Buyer beware, Johan Santana is looking to break the bank. And why shouldn't he? The man has easily been the best pitcher in baseball over the past 4 years. But as teams line up to trade away top prospects to acquire him and then shell out a ridiculous amount of money to keep him, you have to wonder how much is too much.

Consider the fact that the Twins are going to be asking for a young blue chip prospect that they can plug into CF and at least 1 or 2 strong pitching prospects they can add to their roster immediately or in the near future. You have to think that as the number of potential suitors grows, the potential price will get higher as well.

The first question we have to wait to be answered is: When are the Twins going to make this deal? Apparently they are open to talks now but that doesn't mean they are going to make the deal now. It would probably be in the Twins' best interest to trade Santana before the season starts because his value may go down since there is less time the team who acquires Santana is guaranteed with him on their roster.

And once Santana is acquired, there is nothing preventing him from testing the free agent waters. As the best pitcher to hit the market in the last few years, he would be foolish if he signed an extension before he had a chance to gauge his value on the open market, unless 2008 is another sub par year.

Since Santana is a big name, you would automatically know the Yankees have interest. What makes this situation different is that this time they have bargaining chips to satisfy the seller. In years past, the Yankees showed interest in big stars but usually had to wait for them to become free agents because they didn't have the prospects the other teams coveted. But with Chamberlain, Cano, Cabrera, Kennedy and a host of others, the Yankees finally have what it takes to get their man. We will have to wiat and see if Cashman sticks to his guns and holds on to those prospects or if temptation will be too great and he cashed them in for Santana.

And with the Yankees making their "pitch", you have to know the Mets aren't going to just step aside. They too have players they feel to land Santana, but let's face it, the Twins GM is going to be judge of that. They have to make just about everyone available on this one with the exception of Reyes and Wright. Pelfrey, Heilman, Humber, Gomez, Milledge. The list can go on and on. Omar should just send a list of every player in their organization with Reyes and Wright's names blacked out and tell them to take any 3.

And once the acquisition is final, you have to wonder what the extension is going to cost. If a team gives up their best prospects to get Santana and he decides to test free agency, that team is forced to spend more thant what they would normally want only because they already have so much invested. You've given up so much talent to get Santana, you can't let him go over a few million so just give it to him.

Since we've already seen Santana turn down $80M over 4 years, you know he won't come cheap. That's a pretty bold move on Santana's part since last seaon was his worst in he last 4 or 5 seasons. He went 15-13 with a 3.33 ERA. Was this an off year or a sign of things to come? We'll only know in time, but if you're buying, you better beware.

It Could Be A Long Summer

In baseball, an active winter usually results in an exciting summer. When the hot stove heats up and players start changing addresses, you know that the summer is going to be interesting, if nothing else. Well this winter, it seems like the pilot light in the stove went out.

So far the Yankees (go figure) have made the most news by letting Joe Torre go and ending the A-Rod soap opera by re-signing him. To this point, there have been no blockbuster deals and there won't be any huge free agent signings because there just aren't any big names out there. It's looking like the Jon Garland deal that sent him to the Angels could be the biggest deal of the winter.

But with the lack of activity this winter, we should see a very out-of-the-ordinary summer in NY. Unfortunately, I don't think Mr. Steinbrenner and Mr. Wilpon are going to be happy with the results.

Unless something drastic changes for both the Mets and Yankees, I don't think you can expect either team to have much success this season. The Mets certainly haven't done much to improve. Johnny Estrada is hardly the upgrade at catcher they were looking for and the rest of the team is almost the same as the group that blew a big lead in September. Unless Omar Minaya is able to pull off a big trade and drop some dead weight (ie: Delgado, El Duque and the entire bullpen), let's start talking about the wild card.

At this point, I would welcome any trade that doesn't involve Wright or Reyes. At least it's an attempt to avoid the same disappointing fate. But sitting back and hoping to get better results from the same group is not a good plan. Omar, hope is not a strategy!

As for the Yankees, they are actually making some changes. It looks like they finally realized that Roger Clemens isn't Roger Clemens anymore. They signed Posada, Rivera and the forementioned A-Rod. But they still have a lot of holes, most notably in the pitching department. They're going to be going with a few rookies in the rotation, they are still stuck with Giambi and who knows what to expect from this coaching staff?

I hate admitting this but you have to give the Yankees credit for at least trying to make progress this offseason. The Mets have done nothing but lower expectations for themselves and disappoint their fan base. I'll be the first to say it: Red Sox in 2008. This is what we'll be faced with unless Cashman and Minaya do something.

As a Mets fan, I hope I am wrong and that they make some big moves to improve. As a Yankees hater, I hope I am right and they are terrible in 2008.

But this is why they play the games.

Dolan, What Are You Waiting For?

Sometimes the right thing to do is the hard thing to do. For Tom Dolan, that's not the case, at least not when it comes to the fate of Isiah Thomas. When it comes to the Knicks, the hard thing is letting the coach and team president keep his job. You have to wonder, maybe Marbury isn't the only one in the organization who can blackmail someone because I don't see a logical reason Dolan hasn't fired Thomas yet.

When your fans start chanting to have your head coach and team president fired, you know you're in a bad situation. The right thing to do would be to pull the trigger and fire Thomas. Bring in someone who has more character and won't make more headlines for his off-the-court behavior than what his team does on the court.

There are 2 things you have to consider before Thomas gets fired. Are you ok with eating the remainder of his contract? If you're Dolan, you have only yourself to blame for that because you gave him an extension before the season ended. You should have waited to see how the season would play out and determine an extension based on the entire season. Chances are, no extension would have been granted.

The second thing is the appeal of the sexual harassment suit. For the Knicks, the fear is that if you fire Thomas, you're admitting he did something wrong and hurting your chances at winning the appeal. I think we're at a stage in the season that firing Thomas can be justified and not associated with the lawsuit.

In a nutshell, he hasn't done a good job. The players are turning on him and the fans dislike him. If he was able win with these conditions, I could understand keeping him around but he's not winning either.

Dolan, what's the hold up?

(Not) Nice Knowing You Tom

Tom Glavine signed with the Atlanta Braves. Gee, there's a shock. He never wanted to leave there in the first place. John Schuerholz told us all that when he wrote in his book how Glavine begged to take him back the night before he signed with the Mets in 2003.

Glavine was 61-56 as a Met. His best season was 2006 and that was only one that remotely resembled the pitcher the Mets were expecting to be getting when they originally signed Glavine.

Hind sight is always 20-20, so it's easy for me to sit here and say that he was very average over his 5 years at Shea. The best thing he did for the Mets was eat up innings, which is great if you're the #4 or #5 starter on a team. But Glavine was brought in to be a big game pitcher and help the Mets finally beat the Barves. Ironically, he could not have been more opposite of those expectations.

The Braves were the one team he just couldn't beat. Maybe it's because his heart was always with them and not with the team that was shelling out millions of dollars to him. He never won really big games for the Mets and when all the chips were on the table, we should have seen that debacle against Florida coming. The funny thing is that Glavine had a good career in the post season for the Braves. Interesting.

I'm not saying that he tried to lose, but I am saying that his heart wasn't in it when he was a Met. All he wanted was to go back to the team that turned their backs on him. You would think that since the Mets practically rolled out the red carpet for him every game he started that he would have given a little more. They always say you want what you can't have.

So here is a certain hall of famer going back to Atlanta with his tail between his legs. In my eyes, his left his dignity on the mound at Shea when Willie finally pulled him after 2/3 of an inning in the biggest game of the season.

Can't wait to see your first start against the Mets at Shea next Tommy-boy!

Put Up Or Shut Up For Omar

As a Mets fan, this winter could be a cold and long one. Right now all I hear Omar Minaya talking about is having to make a trade to bolster the team responsible for the second worst collapse in baseball history (I still feel the Yankees blowing a 3-0 lead to the Red Sox in the ALCS is #1). The free agent market is not all that appealing unless you're looking for a high priced castaway. All the good players were signed by the Yankees already.

If you're going to hang your 2008 hopes on your ability to make a trade for a front line starter and get a starting catcher, then we're in some trouble. Omar has a great track record for stealing some gems in deals. (ie: John Maine and Oliver Perez) But he's not playing with a particulary strong hand right now. The Mets farm system is depleted and their "trade-able" chips on the roster may not be so appealing to anther team. Who in their right mind wants Carlos Delgado right now? Not me!!

Here's my solution: You already signed your starting catcher when you gave Ramon Castro a two year multi-million dollar deal. We all know he refuses to play unless he 100% so it's a good idea to have a strong backup in place but Castro has shown he's got the ability. Why not give him a shot as your #1? And if a front line starter is what you're looking for, look no further than your bullpen. Aaron heilman is wasting away in the bullpen and begging to be put into the rotation. And Minaya seems to be the only GM in baseball who wouldn't give him a shot as a starter. Now you have Pedro, Perez, Maine and Heilman as your top 4 starters. Go out and get a decent #5 to try to replace some of the 200.1 innings Tom Glavine is taking with him to Atlanta (I'll get to that later).

Now you can keep the "gems" you have in the minors. All you need to do is replace Heilman in the bullpen and I hear Duaner Sanchez can help with that. But if you decide to overhaul the entire bullpen, I wouldn't oppose that either because they all had their struggles and who knows if Sanchez will ever be the guy he was in 2006?

The most pressing issue should be making a deal with Luis Castillo. He showed he can be great in the #2 slot in the batting order and since Paul LoDuca is apparently not coming back, you're going to need a guy who can get on base and advance a runner.

Once that is done, look to put together a package with Anderson Hernandez, Mike Pelfrey and Aaron Heilman (if you're still not convinced he can be a starter) for the starter you're going to need. But if you do trade any combination of those guys, you better come back with more than a #5 starter.

A Valuable Lesson The Rangers Have Learned

When the Rangers season started against the Florida Panthers, things looked good. Real good. Even though the first two periods didn't go so well, they turned it on in the third when they had to and won the game. But that was about as good as it got for a few weeks. They only won one out of their next seven games and things looked bleak because they couldn't put the puck in the net.

But I think this was all a good lesson for them to learn. Going into the season, all the so-called experts said the Rangers would be a good team but they needed to upgrade their defense if they were going to be considered a real Stanley Cup contender.

It's funny how things work out. Here we are, a quarter of the way through the season, and the Rangers are the stingiest defensive team in the league and Lundqvist has been unbeatable at times. The defense that was supposed to be the weak link not only have been outstanding in their own zone, but excellent in the offensive zone too. Look at what they did last night. The team wins another close game and the defensemen score all four goals for the Rangers, including Jason Strudwick's game winner in overtime.

So when they were struggling to score and playing a lot of 1-0, 2-1 games, they were learning how to win close games. Lundqvist was winning games all on his own and the defense was clamping down when they had to. The entire team developed composure and poise early in the season and I think this is going to pay huge dividends for the team come May and June. If you refer back to teams that dominate the regular season and falter in the playoffs, you will typically see teams that don't know how to win close games. They fold under pressure and make mistakes when they can't afford them. This one one of the reasons why President's Trophy winning teams are hardly a lock to win the Stanley Cup that same year.

We don't know how the season is going to play itself out. But when you look at what the Rangers are turning into, you have to love what you see if you're a Rangers fan. Not only for what they are doing this season, but what they can be in years to come. With youth like Lundqvist (25), Tyutin (24), Giardi (23), Staal (20) already earning their keeps, they also have blue chip prospects like Bobby Sanguinetti and Mike Sauer getting ready to make the team in the next two or three years.

Let's just hope the Rangers can find the same gems for the offense too. With Jagr finally showing his age and Shanahan not having a whole lot left in the tank, we have to hope that the next generation of Rangers scorers won't be too far away.

Scott Boras: Genius or Idiot?

When all the dust finally settles, Scott Boras made a huge miscalculation in his quest to get A-Rod another huge deal. The good thing for Boras is that this mistake still got his client another $200,000,000.

Boras has made mistakes in the past but I don't think any were of this magnitude and on this level. He was expecting the Cubs, Dodgers, Angels, Mets, Giants and any other team with a shred of interest in A-Rod to fall over themselves to get a chance to sign his client. And why wouldn't he? That's what happened 7 years ago when A-Rod was last a free agent. Plus, when you look at some of the contracts being given now, you would think A-Rod would have a real shot at the $350,000,000 he was allegdly asking for to start the bidding.

But this time was different. For some reason, everyone was too scared to even put an offer sheet in front of A-Rod. And when Boras got a chance to start gauging his potential suitors, he realized he might have made a huge mistake when he advised his client to opt out of his contract.

What makes this so interesting is that we'll never know if this is how the story was supposed to go from the beginning. Scott Boras has a long reputation of being a manipulator so it wouldn't come as a shock if he had this planned all along. Why not ask for $350,000,000 and if worse comes to worse, we know the Yankees will not be able to resist the temptation of signing A-Rod for a "bargain deal" of $275,000,000. So what if he's not able to be in the room when A-Rod meets with the Steinbrenners. Boras is a master spin doctor and will be able to shrug off any potential ill effects potential or existing clients might have.

Maybe Boras will someday write a book and tell us how this whole thing was supposed to. But then again, if he does, can we believe whatever he writes? Probably not.

Tom Brady is Overrated!!!

That's right, I said it. And I will repeat it again: Tom Brady is overrated. There's a reason why the Patriots drafted him in the sixth round as the 199th pick in 2000. The reason is because he's not that good.

If you look at his gawdy numbers, you will probably think I am the crazy or just stupid. He has a 131.8 passer rating with 33 TDs and 4 Ints for crying out loud. But that's what you see on the surface. What people fail to realize is that he has this generation's greatest tactition calling the shots for him. Let's face it, Bill Belichick made Tom Brady.

Until this season, the Patriots won games and championships with their defense and overall team play. They are very well coached, have had one of the best offensive lines in the game for a while now and play very solid, fundamental football. Belichick has a knack of surprising his opponent with a game plan they would have never expected. One game he runs the no-huddle for 60 minutes and the next game he passes 75% of the time. You never know what to expect against the Patriots because of Belichick.

Before this season Brady has never passed for more than 28 TDs in a season and only passed for more than 3,800 yards once. His passer rating is very solid, but is that a reflection on him or a reflection on the game plan? The secret is Belichick's refusal to put Brady in a situation he can't handle or ask him to do something he can't do with confidence. Brady throws a lot of short passes and safe throws because that's what he's good at. He can throw the ball down field with some effectiveness but that's only after he gets in a rhythm. But ask him to make those tough throws into traffic or squeeze a ball into a spot. He can't do it, not with any consistency at least.

When you look at other QBs, Brady is among the best in the game. But after listening to sportstalk radio and watching ESPN, you'll hear them annoint Brady as the next Montana and call him one of the best ever. I think you can probably find a few QBs that are better from a fundamental standpoint. Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer and Ben Roethlisberger come to mind quickly as guys who have better skills than Brady. The difference between them and Brady is that Brady has Belichick and the rest don't.

I've never said that Brady wasn't a good QB, I'm just saying that he's overrated. If you put Brady on the Arizona Cardinals, do you think he will be the same guy? No way. If Belichick left the Patriots, Brady would become a very ordinary player.

Tom Brady will go to the Hall of Fame someday as a QB who won a bunch of Super Bowls and rightfully so. He has the innate ability to rise to the occassion and make a play when he has to. The only other guy in football history who had that talent was Montana so from that angle, the comparisons are very fair. But if you're going to compare the two from a talent and ability standpoint, Brady doesn't even belong in the conversation.

Can Joe Stick it to the Yankees?

You have to wonder how much Joe wanted to stay with the Yankees. He turned down an "insulting" offer of $5,000,000 plus incentives that could make him $8,000,000 a year for $13,000,000 over 3 years. But when you look at long term, he's getting a bigger commitment from the Dodgers than he was getting from the Yankees.

On his way out the door, he grabbed Don Mattingly and Larry Bowa and brought them with him to LA. When you look at the scenario as a whole, you have to feel good for him. Even as a Mets fan, you have to tip your hat to a classy guy who knew how to handle his players better than anyone I have ever seen.

And now he has a chance to stick it to the Boss. First he grabbed a few coaches and now he may be looking at a few players too. We all know A-Rod's name has surfaced just about everywhere. Even in Kansas City, but not because he would be a free agent signing, but because he would command a contract that is worth more than the Royals franchise. LA is one of the many places rumored to be a destination of A-Rod and for once, you can't blame him. As much as he hated the spotlight in NY, he seems like he would love the lime light of LA. Plus, other than NY, it's probably the only city in the US where he can have a little anonymity.

Now the rumors are surfacing that Torre is looking to make up for last season's PR nightmare with Bernie Williams by offering him a job with the Dodgers. This, more than an A-Rod signing would burn the Steinbrenner family because Bernie is one of their homegrown guys. Only Torre knows if there is any extra satisfaction in taking some of his old players with him to LA, but you have to think that either way, it will make The Boss' blood boil.

Posada's close to re-signing with the Yankees, but Rivera's still out there. If there is one guy that could pull off the ultimate steal, it would be Torre if he convinced Rivera to move west.

What about Brett?

There's a lot of talk that Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are the two best quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL and we are oh so fortunate to see them play at the same time. I have to agree that they are definitely among the very elite, but I don't know if we can so quickly annoint either one of them as the best ever. Consider the candidates:

Joe Montana: Two-time MVP, eight pro-bowls, four Super Bowl rings, three-time Super Bowl MVP. Eighth all-time in passing TDs and ninth all-time in passing yards.

Tom Brady: Three SB rings, two-time SB MVP, three pro bowls, not in top 20 in either passing TDs or passing yards.

Peyton Manning: Seven pro bowls, two MVPs, one SB MVP, one SB ring, eleventh in passing yards, tied for fifth in passing TDs.

John Elway: Two SB rings, one SB MVP, nine pro bowls, fourth in passing TDs, third in passing yards.

Dan Marino: No SB titles or MVPs, first all time in passing yards, second all time in passing TDs, nine pro bowls, one MVP.

Brett Favre: Eight pro bowls, three MVPs, one SB, first all-time in passing TDs, second all-time in passing yards.

So when you weigh all of these QBs, you can't discount the ageless wonder. Brady is the youngest and has the most modest numbers to date but his team success is only second to Montana. Super Joe had the best career from a team standpoint, with very good, but not excellent stats. Marino never won the big one, despite his personal stats. Manning will probably finish with the best personal stats and at least one SB ring. Elway was great, but not the greatest.

That leaves Favre. Consider the fact that he won three straight MVPS, won a SB ring and set tons of passing records with very little talent around him. Only Marino can say the same about the talent that was around him, and for him, the SB ring is a big issue. While Brady has not had stellar weapons around him, he has had Bill Belichick and that is enough to make a very average QB look superhuman. Would Tom Brady be "Tom Brady" if he played on the Arizona Cardinals? Doubtful.

But Brett Favre has had a lot of coaches and won a lot of games. Through all the years, what was his biggest weapon? It wasn't a RB or a WR. It was his arm and his gunslinger mentality.

So before you annoint the next guy as the best QB ever, don't forget Brett Favre. His personal numbers are better than anyone's and he's accomplished everything you can in the sport.

Omar, if you're listening........

One of the things I love most about my wife is that she takes my interests as her own. She adopted the Rangers as her team even though when we met the Rangers were the laughingstock of hockey and in the middle of one of their worst playoff droughts in team history. Then she became a Mets fan, even though it would have been a lot easier for her to adopt the Yankees as her team. And finally, she became a fan of the Giants. The Jets aren't all that attractive of an option either but most of her family are Jets fans so the natural thing would have been for her to go that route.

My point is that she stands behind me and my teams and roots for them when they're not the easiest team to root for. And this is what brings me to my point. I have layed a lot of ground work getting her to be a Mets fan. She's die hard. She can live through Carlos Beltran not swinging the bat in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the NLCS or seeing the team sign Guillermo Mota after he tested positive for steroids. She even survived the monumental collapse in September when it seemed like they had the division wrapped up.

But when she is posed with the thought of having to see her Mets flirt with signing A-Rod, and perhaps pull the trigger on the deal, it makes her loyalty flounder. For this, I am begging you Omar Minaya to reconsider. You have no idea how pleasant it is when your wife is a sports fan and understands your obsession.

One of my favorite pasttimes is coming home after work in the summer and watching the ballgame as I doze off at night. Because she's a fan, she lets me do that. Because she's a fan, she doesn't make me sit through mindless episodes of Desparate Housewives as I wonder what the score of the game is. She would be wondering too.

Omar, if you sign A-Rod, you will throw my entire universe out of whack. You will lose one fan and I will lose one of the great loves in my life, my annual summer fling with the Mets. Because of my wife's strong "discontent" for A-Rod, she will lose all interest in the Mets. My summers will consist of re-runs of Desperate Housewives and American Idol rather than watching David Wright go through one of his epic hitting streaks. I beg you to turn your attention to any other player. This is the one guy that will cost me as much as it will cost you.

Clash of the Titans

This one had nothing to do with the Tennessee Titans. Today was all about the Colts and Patriots.

How good is Tom Brady? I used to think he was just the product of a great scheme and a great coach. Put him on any other team and you'll see why he was the 199th pick in the draft. But man is he proving me wrong this year. The guy is as cool as they come in the biggest games. I guess when you win so much so early in your career, you can be like that. Just watching the guy walk to the line of scrimmage, you can't but think he's about to put a dagger through someone's heart. The guy plays the game with so much confidence it's truly amazing.

Having said that, I still think Peyton Manning is the better QB. Brady is a great leader, but Manning is the better QB because of his skills. Brady has "it". Manning does too, but Brady has more of it. But let me give Manning some love too. He's made everyone around him a superstar. Brady has done a lot but he's had more to work with. You can say that Manning did more with less. Think about some of those Colts teams that had no defense and were still winning more than they should have. The reason was Peyton Manning.

One great thing about these two is that their differences is what makes them so similar. As great as Brady and Manning are, they seem to go about their business differently. Again, this is coming from an average fan who sees each of them play only once or twice a year before the playoffs. From what I have seen, Manning is all about creating deception and out thinking the defense. It seems like Brady will tell you what he's about to do and dare to you to try and stop him. Either way, they end up with the same results: Victory!

As a kid I used to think how lucky I was to have been able to see Dan Marino, Joe Montana and John Elway all play in their primes. But when all is said and done, they won't have much, if anything on Brady and Manning.

Today's game between the Colts and Patriots was just another in a series of legendary games. There will be more to come in the future too, most likely starting with the AFC Championship game in January. I can't remember being so excited to see a game that didn't include the Giants.

What to do with Coach Coughlin

When last season ended, I was one of the many Giants fans calling for the team to fire Tom Coughlin. The team was going nowhere, the star running back was retiring because of the coach, and the franchise quarterback was not realizing his potential like we all desperately need him to.

It seemed like the logical and sensible thing to do would be to fire Tom Coughlin and make a run at a proven winner like Bill Cowher, Dennis Green, Jimmy Johnson or dare I mention, the Tuna. Why wouldn't one of these guys want to take over this team? Look at all the talent the Giants have. They have a ton of great players on both sides of the ball.

But it all meant nothing when new GM Jerry Reese went ahead and gave Coughlin a two year extension. There was no reason to keep a coach that the players have publicly complained about, blamed losses on and just all out dissed. At the same time, Reese had to look out and see who was available and interested and at the time, there were no real viable options. So at the end of the day, the lack of any decent replacement candidates is what saved Coughlin's job.

The Giants made no real significant offseason signings so with the loss of Tiki Barber, this talented yet disgruntled team was primed for a miserable year. But here we are, half way through the season and Big Blue is looking real good. After an awful first two games, they have been unbeatable in the last six weeks and are just a mere one game out of first place. The defense looks strong and Eli Manning seems like he's emerging as the leader and quarterback they sold their perverbial soul for.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, let's remember that we've been here before. A few times as a matter of fact. Under Coughlin the Giants have been notorious for having a good first half of the season and then choking in the second half of seasons. (No Mets references needed) This season might have a familiar ending. If you look at the remaining schedule, they have a very difficult home stretch. Combine that with their recent history and you have to think that the end of the season might come earlier than expected.

So where does this all leave Coughlin? Unless the Giants are able to make it to the NFC Championship game, you have to think Reese is going to make a coaching change. There are going to be too many good coaching options available for him not to. My prediction is that Coughlin is going to have to win at least one or two playoff games to keep his job. And even if he is able to do that, if the players still aren't happy with him, a move might still happen. You can say that Tiki Barber only became a pro-bowler and border line hall of famer because of what Tom Coughlin did for him. At the same time, you can say that Coughlin is at least partially responsible for some of Eli's early struggles.

We're going to have to wait and see how the rest of the season plays out, but if history is any indicator, it can get ugly for Coughlin. The coach seems to have won back a lot of his players, but let's how rosey things are in December when they have lost three in a row and are in a must win situation to make the playoffs.

Saturday Night Hockey

With all three local teams in action, you get a taste of how things have become. First, you have the Islanders. The once proud franchise of the early 80's tried to turn back the clock and give their legendary head coach Al Arbour a chance to coach his 1,500th game. They were successful in granting this kind gesture to Arbour, but in doing so, they also managed to make a side show of the sport.

Since the end of their dynasty, they have invented new ways to try to demise the game and sport. Remember when con man John Spanos tried to buy the team? Then Charles Wang takes over and hands the reigns to Mike Milbury who trades away a wealth of talent capable of creating another dynasty. And who can forget when Wang tinkered with the idea of putting a sumo wrestler in goal for the team? I can't leave out the time when they decided to make their backup goalie the new GM and he inturn decides to give goalie Rick DiPietro a 15 year contract. Granted, he is the face of the franchise and a darn good goalie, but 15 years for crying out loud? I'm not even going to get into the Chris Simon slashing incident.

Then you have the Devils. Lou Lamoriello has made them the prototype franchise in hockey. Up until this season, the last 12 years have been very good to the folks out of the Garden State. Not only have they outplayed the rest of the league, they out-managed the league, out-scouted the league and even out coached the league. Perhaps the one issue they have had in Lou's run is the fact that he keeps firing good coaches at odd times, like a few days before the playoffs. Memo to Lou: If you want to coach too, then do it. But make your mind once and for all.

In the middle of the Devils success has been Martin Brodeur. When all is said and done, he will probably go down as the greatest goalie of all time, and rightfully so. But the one thing I can't seem to get over is the fact that he has become Cameron Diaz on hockey skates. Think about the similarities: They are both great to watch, they both have a flare for the dramatic and they both can look awfully silly at times. As great as he is, I can't respect a guy who flails his arms and throws himself all over the ice if an opponent comes near his crease. Marty, hockey's a rough sport. Take the hit like a man and focus on stopping the puck.

Then comes my beloved Rangers. Since i'm really just getting warmed up to this whole blogging thing, i'm not going to get crazy about them too soon. But after the 1994 season where they hoisted the cup and the sport to new heights, they saw a period of competitive teams in the mid-90's. Then came the dark ages, the period that lasted from the 1997-98 season through the lock out where they failed to make the playoffs in any season. But they emerged from the lockout a new team and Sather, who probably should have been fired after he traded Brian Leetch, has finally been able to live up to his billing. In case you forgot, Sather is the guy who as GM of the Oilers was quoted as saying that if he had the Rangers payroll he would win the cup every season. So far, he hasn't lived up to that promise yet but some of us are still hopeful.

Now, with Henrik Lundqvist in goal, they are ready for anyone. For the first tome in a long time, the Rangers are poised at making a run. The season has started slow, but the defense, which everyone thought would be the weak link for this team, has really held it together. Once the offense is able to click like we all expect it will, look out.

The A-Rod Situation

I consider myself a pretty big Mets fan and after seeing the second worst collapse in baseball history (I still think the Yankees blowing a 3-0 lead in the ALCS to the Red Sox is the worst!), you have to think they are in need of some change. Picking up Alou's option is a good move. I would love to see them move Delgado and get a number 3 or 4 starter via free agency. Should they re-sign LoDuca or make a play for Posada? We can debate that all day.

But the one move I would have definitely say they SHOULD NOT make is signing A-Rod. I don't care if he is willing to give a sentimental discount to the team he rooted for as a kid. Like Peter Gammons put it as the Red Sox were winning thw World Series, A-Rod is not a winner. He's a great player with all the right physical tools. But he is missing one element that is very important and that is character. Jeter has it, Messier had it, Tom Brady has it. A-Rod doesn't and no matter how much a team pays him, it's not something he will ever be able to buy either.

For all his gawdy stats and monster home runs, he is lacking the one thing that makes certain players legendary. Deciding to announce that he will opt out of his contract and become a free agent during the deciding game of the World Series is proof. It also shows he has no respect for the game.

No matter how many home runs he may hit at CitiField or how many RBI he may have as a Met, it won't be worth the disruption that will inevitably follow him. Shame on the Mets for not learning their lesson when they tried to get Reyes to move to second base for Kaz Matsui. Asking David Wright to move to second base or first base would be a huge error in judgement and probably ruin aruguably their best and most marketable player.

The Knicks Have Tipped Off

The debacle we call the NY Knicks has kicked off it's season. I think the most interesting thing about this season is going to be how they react to Isiah Thomas's offseason troubles. At some point you have to wonder how much Jim Dolan is going to allow Thomas to drag his team down even more.

Thomas is smart enough to know that winning resolves all problems but I don't think he realizes that some problems prevent winning. His off-the-court antics have created so many issues for the Knicks in and out of the court room that this team might be beyond repair. I think they will challenge for a playoff spot right up until the end of the season before the fade away.

After saying all this, I hope I am wrong. I was actually a pretty big fan back in the days of Ewing, Oakley and Starks but after seeing the team turn into a three ring circus, I lost interest. Maybe the cast of David Lee and Jamal Crawford can bring back some of the excitement.