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Welcome to our blog on all things sports inside and outside of the New York City Tri State Area - New York Yankees
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Brooklyn Cyclones, MLB, NHL, NSL, NFL, NBA! Well, no NASCAR.
MLB: Lackey to Red Sox, Halladay to Phillies, Lee to Mariners
What was grandly billed as a 'Day of Days' by SI.com (seriously, don't compare baseball trades to D-Day. Ever. Get a life.) saw a major trade and a big signing: John Lackey was signed by the Red Sox for an ill advised 5 years and the Toronto Blue Jays finally traded Roy Halladay to Phillies, who sent Cliff 'the only reason the Phillies were in the World Series as long as they were' Lee to Mariners. The Phillies-Blue Jays-Mariners deal actually works out pretty good for the Yankees and the American League in general: when we heard that Halladay was going to the Phillies, we quaked in fear about the Yankees facing them again in the 2010 World Series and the Yankees getting whacked by the one-two combination of Lee and Halladay, but that fear has been put to rest. The Mariners might be pretty serious this year; the additional of Lee is a nice upgrade for them, and recent acquisitions by the Mariners lead us to believe that they think they are a win now team. The Boston Red Sox signing of John Lackey gives their rotation a huge upgrade and perhaps the best rotation in baseball and we are making them our favorites for the 2010 World Series winners, especially if they acquire one more bat. We do think the Red Sox gave Lackey one year too many on his deal, but he is a tough, gritty player, so it might not be as bad as we are projecting.
The Knicks and Nets are stinking up the joint
The New York Knicks and The New Jersey Nets are a collective 1-17. That's so incredible, we want to say it again. Both New York City Tri State Area teams combine for 1 win in 17 tries so far in the 2009 - 2010 season. Hats off to the Knicks for their might win. We knew the Knicks wanted to clear cap room this year and they were going to tank the season, but this is insanity. We're not going to watch the Knicks. We know the Nets traded everybody away, but they are hopeful about their draft picks... yeah, we're not watching the Nets. This is absurd. Isn't the salary cap supposed to keep teams from being this crappy? Or is the salary cap the cause of all this? It does seem to be, at least in the Knicks case, as they try to clear room to sign some big players next off season, during perhaps the biggest free agent event EVER. But who would want to play for one of these ridiculous teams? Does the NBA have a salary floor as well as ceiling? If not, they need one. Wake us up when next season starts.
MLB Playoffs Schedule - too many off days?
It felt like we had to wait forever for the ALCS to start this year. It was frustrating, but CC Sabathia's performance made it worth the wait. In case you didn't realize it, there are more off days in the post season schedule than there used to be - its not just your imagination or because the Yankees and Angels swept their first round opponents, the Twins and Red Sox, respectively. We got the following from an AP article:
Starting in 2007, MLB added four extra days off: one between the end of the regular season and the post season openers, one between Games 4 and 5 of the division series, one between Games 4 and 5 of the league championship series and one between the LCS and World Series. Fox wanted the change to avoid having the World Series open on a Saturday, usually the lowest-rated night of the week.
Because of the extra off days, the World Series is scheduled to end in November for the first time. In 2001, Game 7 wasn't until Nov. 4, but that was because the 9-11 terrorist attacks delayed the entire post season for one week beyond its original schedule.
[source]
The first problem seems to be keeping the World Series from starting on a Saturday - that seems easy enough; just change the first day of the season or the first day after the All Star break... some simple change to when Spring Training starts or when the regular season starts seems like the easiest way to fix this problem rather than adding a zillion more off days than originally was intended. We can understand they want to avoid low ratings by playing on a Saturday, but, it is the World Series, after all... and game 6 of the ALCS was scheduled on a Saturday... maybe more viewers are likely to skip game 1 because less is at stake than in a game 6...
The second point about the World Series being scheduled to end in November is because of the World Baseball Classic, not necessarily the off days. This year's regular season started late and ended early. The Yankees played 3 regular season games in October this year - that doesn't usually happen, does it? We do agree there are too many off days, and we have a solution: don't broadcast the games on FOX. Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are annoying, although they are less bias this year against the Yankees for some reason. In game 6 of the ALCS, they pointed out that when you add 2 walks from one team together and 3 walks from the other team together, you get a total of 5 walks in the game. That's genius, fellas - bet that took you the entire commercial break to complete those calculations.
MLB League Championship Series
ALCS: New York Yankees in 5
The Yankees and Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim (or whatever they're calling themselves these days) are pretty evenly matched. The Angels are sporting their best lineup ever and are fairly evenly matched with the Yankees, although the Yankees probably have more power and the Angels have more speed. We think both teams match up pretty evenly in terms of starting pitchers, but the Yankees bullpen is much better than the Angels. We think the Yankees will use a 3 man rotation and take games 1 and 2 in New York, lose game 3 and steal away game 4 in Anaheim and head back home for the win in game 5 and off to the world series
However...
ALCS: (1 game canceled for rain) Yankees in 6
If a game is canceled due to rain, we think the Yankees will have no choice but to use a 4 man starting pitching rotation. They could still steal a win in games 3 or 4 in Anaheim, but its less likely with Chad Guidan on the hill for game 4.
NLCS: Los Angeles Dodgers in 5
We think that these games are won in the bullpen and the Dodgers have a much better bullpen than the Philadelphia Philies. We think it's that simple! The Philies are gritty, though, and will manage to eek out one win at home.
Former NFL players high risk for memory-related diseases
The New York Times has an article by ALAN SCHWARZ stating that an NFL commissioned study reveals NFL players who played at least four years (players who played less were not included int the study) are at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease or similar memory-related diseases, especially men between the ages of 30 through 49, who are presumably diagnosed with some type of memory related disease at a rate 19 times higher than the national average for men in that age group.
This isn't really shocking; you can probably remember moments in your youth of sheer terror while playing or watching pee wee or high school football when a child received a big hit or a concussion. Despite all the pads and precautions, football is a dangerous game - we know this. The question is, what can we do to make it safer? We propose lighter weight limits. We speculate that if players weigh less, they'll create less force and therefor not hit as hard. We think this would reduce injuries of all types (the New York Giants already have several injuries to their team) and thus keep players on the field, increasing their earning potential and entertaining their fans, not to mention staying healthy and enjoying a better quality of life. Maybe a new helmet, like the model that's just come out for MLB players could be the answer. One thing is for sure - the NFL needs to come up with a solution to its injury problem - fast.
MLB Notes
The Colorado Rockies are assembling a Yankees all star team... from 2004. (and we all remember how well things turned out for the 101 win Yankees in October of 2004). The Rockies now have Jason Giambi coming off their bench, and he's doing a pretty good job for them, too. Jose Conteras will make his Rockies debut in the next few weeks. Ah, the National League - breathing new life into the dead. FYI, Giambi was released by the Oakland Athletics earlier in the season, and Conteras... was he traded? Released? Can't remember, don't care enough to check... it's the NL, right? and the idea that additions like this (while they do make the team better) are going to help the Rockies get passed clubs like the Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers or St. Louis Cardinals is pretty ridiculous.
Predictions for the MLB playoffs at the halfway point.
Now that the Phillies have added Cliff Lee, they're out of the Halladay hunt... The Yankees could offer Phil Hughes, Austin Jackson and other prospects. The Red Sox also need a short stop - Nick Green isn't that good.
AL EAST
Yankees - 96 - 66 (including tonight, yankees have 62 games left; we have them going 5 games over .500 for the rest of the yr - 96 wins is totally do -able! unless they get Halladay, then all bets are off!)
Red Sox - 94 - 68 (WILD CARD) (Red Sox need a bit more offense and, like most teams, another starter unless they get Halladay, then all bets are off!)
Rays - 93 - 69 (too bad for them their April sucked)
Jays - under .500
Orioles - under .500
AL CENTRAL
Tigers/White Sox/Twins - in any order, no idea... Twins probably have smallest chance to win division
Indians & Royals - under .500
AL West
Angels - 95 - 67 (would have been better if they didn't have injuries and that pitcher that was killed)
Rangers - 93 - 69 (these guys are good, watch out for them next year)
Mariners - maybe over .500
As - under .500
NL EAST
Phillies - they have an AL position player lineup with an NL pitching staff... now that htey added Lee, they are poised for a repeat
Marlins, Braves, Mets - probably all will be right around .500, no threat to the Phillies
Nationals - waste of TIME!
NL CENTRAL
Cardinals - they have the tools, they have the talent and they've done it before
Cubs - they have the tools, they have the talent and they'll find a way to mess it up
Astros, Brewers - around.500
Reds, Pirates - under .500
NL WEST
Dodgers - Manny has changed the face of that franchise. You have to wonder if Joe Torre is burning through relievers or if pinch hitting for the pitcher has taken that skill out of his arsenal...
Giants - they've got the pitching, but they play in a HUGE PARK. They might beat out the cubs for the Wild Card
Rockies - they are hot, but we don't believe in them
Diamondbacks - like the Cubs, we can't figure them out
Padres - they suck, but not as bad as the Nationals
PLAYOFFS
AL Division
Yankees vs [central division winner] - Yankees
Red Sox vs Angels - Red Sox
AL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
Red Sox vs Yankees - have to pick Yankees because they'll have Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlin in the bullpen. This could be a battle to the death like 03 and 04. Can Lester handle it? Can CC?
PLAYOFFS
skip the divisoin and lets get down to it - Phillies vs LA!
Phillies win
WS:
Phillies vs Yankees - Yankees
Tampa Bay Rays really shine
If you haven't seen the Tampa Bay Rays play much this year, you're not alone, but we've been following them in the standings and we have to say, we're impressed. After a very slow start, the Rays have climbed all the way back to contention with a 51 and 42 record. They have a very nice team and it'll be tough for them to get into the playoffs, but bravo to them. They'll be pesky to the elite teams down the stretch; it's too bad they're in the AL East, otherwise, they'd have a much better chance of getting back to the playoffs. [july 2009]
Erin Andrews filmed nude, the most boring story of all time
OK, first off, if you know who Erin Andrews is, then you're ahead of the game, because we had to look it up after sports media exploded with the story yesterday. Its easy to understand that they're up in arms about an attach against one of their own, but seriously, we never heard of Erin Andrews before and we doubt we will again... until she poses for Playboy. In any case, this is such a total yawn. We assure you, the person responsible will be caught eventually and hopefully, this snooze fest will be over. The most disappointing part of the entire episode is we don't think she's that attractive. We viewed a sampling of her using Google image search, and we're not impressed. The way media reacted, you would have thought she was Cleopatra or something; but, it's probably fair to say that she's attractive... for a sports journalist. ESPN is pissed at the NY Post for showing photos! [JULY 2009]
Sammy Sosa failed 2003 PED test? Shocking!
People tend to forget the 1998 home run race between Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire. It was a simpler time when the fans called things for what they were. It was easy to figure out, especially for New York City baseball fans. In 1961, Roger Maris broke Babe Ruth's single season home run record of 60 runs by hitting 1 more home run than the Babe had in 1927. Just 1. Maris did have about 8 extra games to play in and an expanded league that , but Ruth never played at night and certainly didn't have the travel that 1961 baseball had, so we're willing to say it evens out and Roger Maris won the record fair and square.
So, in 1968, the pitching mound was lowered 5 inches, which decreased the velocity of the pitched baseball and therefore made it easier to hit. Still, no one broke the record until 1998. Ruth held his record from 1927 to 1961 and his record was broken by only 1 home run. We could also talk about how the designated hitter made things tougher on pitchers in the American League, yet McGuire and Sosa were both on National League teams in 1998. McGuire didn't just hit 62 home runs in 1998, he went on to bash for a total of 70. Barry Bonds hit 73 in 2001. So, what happened between 1968 and 1997, with a lowered pitching mound that one would think would have served up the record to somebody, maybe like, say, Hank Aaron? But no, not until 1998 was the record broken, chased by two guys and the winner had arms like most peoples thighs. So is it shocking that the AP and others are reporting that Sammy Sosa failed the 2003 drug test? No, not at all. Everyone knew in 1998, but MLB didn't care because the strike had damaged revenues and the press didn't care because when there is no baseball to write about, talk about, speculate about, they don't get paid, and everyone loved to check in on the home run race. It's not that fans didn't know, they just didn't care. They still don't. Just because congress got involved doesn't mean people were writing their senators and demanding justice, because they weren't. Fact is, President George W. Bush was a big baseball fan, and the steroid issue was seen as a great distraction from other failed policies, kind of like when he announced that NASA was returning man to the moon. So yeah, we're sure Sosa did it. And we don't care. We knew he did it 11 years ago, and we barely cared then. When the Yankees signed Jason Giambi, Yankees bleacher fans were booing him roundly and shouting "Steroids!" at him. We knew then. We know now. We still don't care. Maybe if you blew this story up in 1998, we might have lined up next to you and shook our fingers, but a decade is a bit too late for that. Why don't you guys go cover what the players are posting at Twitter, let us know if we should be concerned about that in 10 years time?
NBA and NHL Finals
The NBA and NHL Finals gave reinforcement for haters as the teams that everyone loves to rip on won victories in their respective finals. The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Orlando Magic for a 4-1 series victory, inspiring the usual celebration/rioting in LA that we've all come to expect from a Lakers championship and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Detroit Red Wings to bring victory to the biggest winer in sports, Sidney Crosby. Oh well; the seemingly never ending finals season is finally over, so we can take some solace in that, even if the teams you hate won championships this year. And if you're New York City tri state area hockey and/or basketball fans, oh well - none of our teams were going to win anything this year, anyway!
Reaction to Balance of power shifts to Red Sox by Ted Keith
Check out Ted Keith's article in SI here. First off, nice pic, Ted! But Ted didn't go deep enough in his analysis and he wrote his piece BEFORE the last game of the series. Ted just didn't analyze pitching, and pitching is the reason why the Red Sox are 8-0 against the Yankees this season. In game 1, Mariano Rivera blew a save at Fenway; we still don't think he's all the way back yet from shoulder surgery and right now, Jonathan Papelbon is the better closer. In game two, both Josh Beckett and AJ Burnett were terrible, but the Red Sox bullpen is much better than the Yankees, so they won the slug fest. Game 3 of both Fenway series were pretty similar, and the team with the better pitching won. During the two games at Yankee stadium, the Yankees were in a terrible place, giving bad performances by their starters, including the game Joba Chamberlin struck out 12, when he got roughed up in the first inning. Phil Hughes only had two good starts while he was in the rotation. Wang is obviously still not all the way back from his injury and Burnett was terrible in both his starts against the Red Sox. So the Yankees starting pitchers put them in a position to win two games - the first one on Friday night in April when Rivera blew the save and the last one on Thursday night at Fenway when Joe Girardi didn't trust his bullpen and sent CC Sabathia out there for the 8th inning. One thing Yankee fans do have to look forward to is that the Yankees have a lot of games left at home against the Red Sox and maybe they'll have Brian Bruney and Damaso Marte back by then so their bullpen won't be so terrible. But pitching wins ball games and the Red Sox have better pitching than the Yankees. Check out the ERA in the SI table.
AL East 2009 predictions
We believe the AL East will play out as follows:
While we think the Yankees are much improved and their best baseball is still ahead of them, we think the Red Sox will win the AL East with around 96 wins with the Yankees in 2nd and capturing the wild card. We like Tampa Bay, but we think they have dug themselves too big a hole as they are under .500 at this point in early June and that is just too big a margin in the rough and tumble AL East. We think they have a winning streak in their bones, but the Rays just don't look like they can over come their injury concerns. [June 2009]
Quick Notes - Toronto Blue Jays
Check out the Toronto Blue Jay's schedule up until the All Star Break. If they are still in first place by then, we'll give them a big wet kiss - tongue, no tongue, their choice.
Reactions to Manny Ramirez
As you've heard by now, Manny Ramirez has tested positive for something on MLB's banned substance list and been suspended for 50 games. So, on some level, Jose Canseco has been vindicated again. Apparently, the substance was not a steroid, but a fertility drug that is often used to mask PED use. MLB has a policy called 'Theraputic Use Exemptions' which says you can take something on the banned substance list, you just need prior approval. Ramirez didn't get a TUE, so he was suspended; he did, however, point out in his statement that he's taken many drug tests in recent years since MLB established its PED policy and passed them all. Ramirez had the right to appeal, but he declined.
So, this begs the question, why did he decline to appeal if he was really taking this drug because of a fertility issue? Would he rather miss 50 games and about $7 million dollars? That seems unlikely. Ramirez is a guy with a perfect swing and great plate presence, and he's not huge, so we never suspected him. Canseco did, and we used to think he suspected everybody, but now we can see that he's picked all the right guys. So we don't believe Ramirez and we think he was cycling the sweet PEDs. Can't say we're surprised, except by Ramirez's stupidity - haven't enough people been caught that players will realize the party's over? Guess not.
MLB GAMEDAY
You're going to see some weird stuff on the new version of MLB gameday with new players, especially at the beginning of the year. But, the new features are pretty cool. Read more...
2009 World Series predictions
If it doesn't go without saying, we'll go ahead and say it: we're picking the Yankees to win the World Series in 2009. Why? It's simple - pitching, pitching, pitching. The Yankees starting rotation (as currently configured) features four starters with plus fastballs (over 91 MPH) and Andy Pettitte, who can be pretty crafty and is left handed, after all. CC Sabathia, Chien-Ming Wang, AJ Burnett and Joba Chamberlin all have filthy stuff,and they can all dial it up there - a lethal combination. The Yankees bullpen is also looking pretty stacked. Mariano Rivera is still the gold standard - we don't think the shoulder surgery will effect him at all. We know he struggled in tied games last year, but we're not worried about that, either. We think Brian Bruney will emerge as the setup man, he has great stuff and we think he could close - that's how highly we think of him! We also like the plus stuff from Jose Veras, the excellant change up of Edwar Ramirez, the left handed option in Damaso Marte (thanks, Pittsburgh - the most one sided trade EVER!) and Dan Giese as the long man, not to mention added depth from David Robertson and Phil Coke. We don't expect the Yankees to give up many leads this year after the starter comes out of the game.
We could go on and on about the position players, about how the Yankees outfield defense is improved a bit, how big a deal Mark Teixeira is at the corner, how Robinson Cano will have a breakout season with the bat... but why bother? We just said the other team won't score any runs, and you know these guys are good for a few runs, so we'll leave it at that.
Japan repeats as World Baseball Classic champions
Yes, the excitement never stopped for both of you who watched the World Baseball Classic. The Dominican Republic's early exit was especially disappointing, but not surprising if you watched them play at all. The Japanese and Korean teams were definitely taking this much more seriously than everyone else; the Americans took it seriously, much more seriously than last time, but USA seemed to lack intensity at times. USA did battle a number of injuries and a poor pitching performance bounced them out of the tournament and sent Derek Jeter and David Wright back to their respective spring trainings. So, the question is, how do you get Americans and MLB players interested in this tournament? Simple - have it in November in warm weather cities. The Marlins are getting a new stadium (and will be renamed the Miami Marlins) which will be ready for the next tournament, so that's a good spot. This way, fans whose team didn't make the playoffs can have something else to look forward to and MLB players will be in shape and not have to worry about the coming season and if they get hurt, they have a decent amount of time to recover. That's where its at, Mr. Selig - give them one week off after the World Series, maybe another week to practice, then get your tournament on! Or don't... we don't really care either way.
Oh yeah, we did do predictions for the tournament, but we were on vacation and never got them posted - we wanted Puerto Rico to win because Bernie Williams was playing for their team, but we picked USA to win it all - too bad they had so many injuries and pitched poorly when it mattered most. Oh well.
Bernie Williams incident
Bernie Williams has been accused of damaging a reporter's camera and hitting her in the face at a bar in Puerto Rico. It sounds like Williams was invited to jam there with another local musician and the reporter began taking pictures until Williams took the camera away from her. Someone at the bar said Williams might have hit her with his elbow at some point. The reporter apparently asked Williams to return her camera and give her $300, which he did, and then she filed the complaint against Williams. That's all we've been able to dig up, but, given this incident involves a member of the press, we're giving Williams the benefit of the doubt. It sounds a little strange that a reporter would follow someone to a club and watch him perform until 2:30 in the morning and then an incident like the one the complaint states occurred, as if Williams just suddenly lost his mind, which seems highly unlikely, given Williams history of actions when under intense pressure and his presence in the public eye for over 15 years. But, we'll have to wait and see what happens. It seems that more facts are rolling in, and the more that do, the better Williams looks - we hope so, he's our FAVORITE PLAYER EVER!
Manny Ramirez signs with Dodgers
Uhm, ok - the offer Manny Ramirez rejected in February was almost identical to the one he accepted; funny a difference the date on the calendar and complete lack of suitors can make, isn't it? So Manny has finally gone back to where we all knew he was going to any way and you know what? That's just super. But, it's always fun to see super agent Scott Boras take his medicine, as he seemed to believe that Manny Ramirez was going to get a four year deal for around $100 million. Now, we readily agree that Manny is one of the great right handed hitters to ever play baseball, but realistically, he's 37 years old and he's a tremendous pain the posterior. His exit from the Boston Red Sox organization was wide receiver like and that's hard to forget, so you have to wonder what he does to a clubhouse over a long season that baseball players endure. Oh well, let Joe Torre deal with it - it'll give him more material for another book!
[March 2009]
Manny Ramirez rejects Dodgers latest offer
While Manny Ramirez continues to make the right business decisions, he keeps making the wrong baseball decision. Yes, we understand now that Manny refused the new 2 year $45 million offer because the money was deferred, and we understand that its a poor business decision to accept a deal under those conditions, but this isn't helping his baseball situation. While baseball is flush with cash from the 2008 season's unprecedented revenues, owners and GMs alike our hedging their bets and not spending as much - not to mention Manny is a major pain in the backside even when he's relatively happy. People haven't forgotten about his ugly exit from Boston and it's getting pretty close to the time when the Dodgers will be ready to move on without him - and then what? We don't think anyone else is interested. But you never know - he'd make a fine American League DH! [February 2009]
Giants sign to Brandon Jacobs to 4 year deal
The Giants have signed Brandon Jacobs to a 4 year deal worth $25 million. By baseball standards, its not a lot of money, but by normal people standards, its crazy money, and by 2009 standards it's insane in the damn membrane money. But, such is the rewards for successful entertainers! Read more... or check out more from our Giants Blog
A Salary Cap is NOT Coming to Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball will never have a salary cap, no matter what Boston Red Sox owner John Henry says. See, Henry doesn't seem to understand that the Red Sox are one of the haves, like the Yankees; these are two teams that have money, pure and simple. What most people don't understand is that a salary cap, or maximum payroll limit, would also mean a salary minimum. If you run the numbers, you'll see several teams are under what the salary minimum would be based on 2008 season salary numbers. Although teams like the Yankees and Red Sox are rich, teams like the Florida Marlins are not - and they can't afford the minimum payroll. The team would become unprofitable, or less profitable, and the owners would fold like Superman on laundry day. That's all there is to it - and the current economic conditions aren't helping any, that's for sure. [February 2009]
Baseball's Steroid Controversy is a Joke
Sure, we're totally sick of the conversation about steroids in baseball, but that's not what makes it a pathetic joke; it's really the lack of adequate testing for all performance enhancing drugs. Sure, they're testing for steroids, but they're not testing for human growth hormone. So, who cares if ARod confessed that he used steroids in his three seasons with the Texas Rangers? Who cares if 103 other players also tested positive? All of them and any other players could be using human growth hormone right now, so who cares? Do you care that previous generations were hopped up on speed? Does that make them cleaner than Mark McQuire, who used PEDs to acquire bulk as opposed to another player who took amphetamines? Professional sports (and we do mean all professional sports) will never be clean because its the nature of competition: somebody is always going to be willing to exploit an edge, regardless of the consequences.
Prediction comes to pass as Steelers win Super Bowl
Since we picked so poorly in the MLB playoffs, it's nice to finally get one right and see the Pittsburgh Steelers crowned Super Bowl champions. Sure, we like Kurt Warner, but what ya gonna do? Somebody had to win, and somebody had to lose. Was there some tough calls in the game? Sure; it's football, there always are. Could they of at least reviewed that Warner fumble? Guess not.
We'll have to argue again that this was a case of the better defense winning the day, and we'll say this over and over again in all sports: defense wins championships. Now, we're ready to agree that giving up 23 points isn't exactly a stellar defensive performance, but we do think its worth noting that the Arizona Cardinals offense is over rated and the Pittsburgh Steelers is underrated. Maybe Super Bowl XLIII will do something to lessen the criticism we've heard heaped on Ben Roethlisberger and provide further fodder for the hall of fame case of Kurt Warner. Roethlisberger scrambled all day long and made passes when he had to, while Warner continued to solidify his workman's reputation. Whatever play you liked the best, be it ruffing the holder or punching someone on the other team and then throwing them to the ground in a steroid induced rage, Super Bowl XLIII had something for everyone, and a good time was had by all.
Prediction: Steelers will win Super Bowl
We just want to go on record a few hours before the game with our prediction - the Pittsburgh Steelers will win the super bowl for one simple reason, one fundamental truth, if you will, of sports. We know that the Cardinals have been on a great run and have a fairly dynamic offense, but in our minds, defense wins championships. The Steelers have one of the elite defenses in the league, and we just don't see the Cardinals overcoming that. We think its that simple. A good quarterback counts for something, but its pretty hard to beat what you can't score against.
ESPN searches for fattest Yankee
We kid you not, folks - ESPN's Page 2 is running an article on which Yankee had the most pin stripes on their uniform. Seriously. Paul Lukas wrote the article. We're not kidding. Somebody thought that ESPN users would be interested in this. Now, we know Page 2 is supposed to be hilarious, and we know Peter Gammons isn't the only Red Sox fan at ESPN, but come on... Does anyone really read this stuff? Read more...
Bernie Williams to play Winter Ball, WBC
Our beloved former Yankee Bernie Williams will be playing Winter Ball in Puerto Rico for the Carolina Giants in preparation for playing with the Puerto Ricon team team in next spring's World Baseball Classic.
On the one hand, this is great news! We love the idea of seeing Bernie in action again and will definitely root for the Puerto Ricon team in the WBC next spring. Read more...
World Series 2008 Prediction: Rays over Phillies in 5 games
The prognosticators here at MyTriState.us would like to go on record before the first pitch of game 1 and declare that the Tampa Bay Rays will win their first world series title in franchise history over the Philadelphia Phillies in five games.
There is one simple reason... Read more...
Daily Show Examines Olympic Controversies
This video is so good, we had to make sure ya'll saw it. Read more...
Sleeping through the Olympics 2008 Beijing
Frankly, we can't recall an event we looked forward to with less enthusiasim than the 2008 Summer Olympics in
Beijing, China. Read more...
Tiger Woods wins the 2008 US Open
There was some speculation that Tiger Woods' knee only seemed to hurt when he hit a bad shot, but the season ending knee surgery seems to have quieted that. Read more...
MLB policy grants amnesty for Mitchell Report players
MLB's new drug policy follows Sen Mitchell's advice and isn't going to punish those listed in the Mitchell report.
Read more...
The Yankees win a squeaker! Check out the MLB article (it's one of many - there must be 4 or 5 articles on last nights game) or our Yankees page for more.
Pedro Martinez injured in game 2
Well that didn't take too long, did it? Check out the MLB article or our Mets page for our Nostradamus like prophecies.
A number one starter has arrived! Check out the MLB article or our Mets page for more.
Congress hard at work - on the NFL, this time
We always think back to that wonderful quote from The Simpsons: "Those clowns in Congress did it again. What a bunch of clowns." Sigh. So true.
So what's congress worried about now, you ask? War in Iraq? Rising energy costs? Looming recession? Psh - try again. Let's go with New England Patriots "SpyGate" - it is an election year, after all, and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa, needs to get some ink. We did our best to get through the article without wretching.
You live in PA and this guy is your senator, send him a letter and tell him to stop being such a clown. Better yet, vote somebody else in at your next opportunity and show Washington that while we do love our football, we don't need government over site on who may or may not have cheated at sports. If he's got this kind of time on his hands, maybe he can come over the house this weekend and help us clean out the garage.
NY Giants 24, New England Patriots 21
That's how we see it. We all have heard how Plaxico Burress sees it and Tom Brady's reaction. See what the odds makers are saying here. Have a fun, safe Sunday and GO GIANTS!
Giants prove us wrong and it feels SO GOOD
We were wrong - we admit it. We predicted a first round elimination for the New York Giants all season wrong, and they made us look like idiots. And we love it.
The Giants gave the Bucs a fine beating and first quarter aside, we couldn't be happier. Head over to our New York Giants page for more.
Does the media know something or do they just hate Roger Clemens?
We read Fred Claire's article on MLB.com and we found it, in a word, shocking.
While our justice system does work on a system of something being proved guilty rather than innocent, our media system doesn't seem to. Read the first 6 paragraphs of Claire's article - we feel he's calling Clemens a liar. Finally, in paragraph 7, he finally gets around to: "Now let's get one thing straight: I'm not saying Roger Clemens has lied to the media about the use of performance-enhancing drugs." Claire's lawyer might advise him that he should have put that at the beginning of the article. He goes on to say, "I will say that he has done a very poor job of defending himself," which reiterates our point - with only hearsay and conjecture against Clemens, we refuse to come down on him. If someone could show us any hard evidence, we'll be first on line to fight for a seat on the 'Kill Roger' bandwagon. We suggest that everyone takes a proverbial chill pill and here's what both Clemens and McNammee say to congress. If congress will grant McNammee full immunity from any and all prosecution, we should get the truth.
Has public opinion after Clemens interview and press conference changed?
If you saw Roger Clemens on 60 Minutes or his press conference, you know one thing for sure: he's really angry.
We can understand where Clemens is coming from - he's saying he's innocent and he it seems clear that he doesn't want to deal with this nonsense to clear his name, but he feels he has no choice. It appears that McNammee's testimony is the only evidence against Clemens, and now you have to chose who you believe. Is it possible that McNammee was facing jail time for selling drugs (namely illegal steroids) and the federal prosecutors told him he better come up with some names? We think that's one possible scenario. Maybe he gave them Pettitte and they told him that wasn't enough, he's going to jail and he panicked. Maybe this is what McNammee is going to tell congress when both he and Clemens will testify. Anything less than McNammee at least insinuating that he lied about Clemens puts Clemens in a tough spot. If you haven't heard the tape of the McNammee and Clemens conversation, all we can really say is that it casted McNammee in a poor light, but didn't really vindicate Clemens in any real, meaningful way. When all is said and done, boils down to who you believe and we're here to say we believe Clemens. We haven't seen any real evidence not to do so, and anyone who's as angry as he about being falsely accused is either innocent or totally insane, and we're pretty sure Clemens isn't insane.
Clemens will swear he's innocent on Jan 6
We read on John MLB.com that Roger Clemens "60 Minutes" interview will dispute all accusations made by the Mitchell Report.
Clemens is doing what critics said he should do - shout from the highest mountain tops that he's innocent. Like the Starr Report before it, the Mitchell Report contains plenty of hearsay and innuendo, but little real proof - and you figure if someone really did do something, there's probably a paper trail or something somewhere... We'll probably never know if Mitchell's investigation was lazy or if Clemens was innocent.
SI's John Donavon needs to relax
We read John Donavon's column on SI.com and we are in agreement with nearly all of his comments except one.
Donovan writes: "With Cabrera now at third, and Edgar Renteria at short (via a trade with the Braves), the Tigers have a lineup to rival the Yankees. It's already better than Boston's."
Uhm, we don't agree.
We are simply not willing to put the likes of Mark Teixeira and Chipper Jones on the same level as ARod, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez or any of the other brilliant hitters that Boson and the Yankees can boast. And, lets not forget, the Mets and Nationals pitching was terrible last year - how many times did the Braves play those two teams - 30? And Edgar Renteria? Are you kidding? His average was great last year and he's a great defender, but he's a lead off man - not exactly going to be remembered as one of the game's premier average or OBP guys, either. The bottom line is that if you put the Braves in the AL East, they'd be battling with the Blue Jays for 3rd place come September.
Roger Clemens in the news
ESPN.com, SI.com and every other media outlet all have Roger Clemens articles up as his camp rallies to refute the claims of the Mitchell Report.
As we've mentioned previously, a lot of people in the media have been crying out for a response, and it seems as if Clemens is getting to it. You'll notice Clemens' lawyers hint at possible action against Mitchel and that they're hiring their own private investigators to dig up some information on his former trainer, McNammee. Clemens is also going on '60 Minutes' and will watch the show with reporters and then take their questions. Will that be enough to satisfy?
If Clemens isn't innocent, we're inclined to think he's totally bonkers or he knows there is no evidence other than McNammee's testimony and the PIs are coming up with something to ruin his credibility for (when/if they) go to court. In either case, we think these things will go a long way in bringing some public opinion back onto Clemens side, particularly if they are able to smear McNammee. But, we can't blame him; McNammee smeared him first. Allegedly.
Perhaps that's why the entire situation with baseball and PEDs is so amusing - sports don't really matter, so why waste so much time and effort? We turn to the sports page for a distraction and we don't want any reality creeping in. Whether Clemens or Bonds or anyone else (and it's probably not fair to say Clemens and Bonds in the same sentence) does or doesn't get into the fall of fame, does it really matter? Not to us.
Clemens issues video denial
We read an article on Yahoo! Sports that details the current situation and video links regarding Roger Clemens' second denial of the Mitchel Report allegations.
We've heard a lot of talk about this and we've been a bit surprised by the reaction, ranging from Curt Schilling's blog 38Pitches.com, to local talk radio shows on WFAN and the growing soap opera/tabloid network that ESPN.com has become. We haven't had a chance to read the full Mitchel Report, but our understanding is based on the following three things: 1. Brian McNamee spoke to the Mitchell investigation and didn't say anything of note; 2. the Justice Department, in some capacity, spoke to McNamme and the phrase 'jail time' was used; 3. McNamme informed on Clemens and Pettite.
Hm. Doesn't sound like a real credible witness to us. So, we haven't read the entire report, but if this man's testimony is all they have, that doesn't sound like much, and some pretty serious things are being thrown around, to the tune of repealing awards and strapping people to lie detectors (again, not considered reliable in a court of law). Many critics have said that if Clemens is innocent, he should shout it from the highest mountain. It's taken him a while, but there are hardly any mountains taller than 60 minutes and YouTube. Whether Clemens did it or not, we haven't heard or seen anything that gives us enough evidence to convict him in our own opinions. But it seems like the public and the media have spoken: he did it. And no matter what comes of any further investigation or proceedings, his name will never be clean again.
TriState basketball is woeful
We took a look at the NBA standings today on ESPN.com and it made us sad.
Take a look: the Nets, Knicks and 76ers are all under .500 and showing little signs of life. True, it does seem as though good records in the NBA are few and far between, but the Atlantic division has become Losers 'R Us. Nothing to celebrate here and football isn't much better... guess we'll have to wait till spring for something to get excited about.
Giants lose game and Shockey
The Daily News has an article posted, but those are the highlights: no win, no Shockey.
A second Giants member has a 200+ lb man roll over his leg and it breaks in the same season and still, no one takes our idea of weight limits seriously. Oh well. We consider Shockey to be the only dependable receiver on the team (who didn't get the ball enough), and now he's out for the rest of the year. Another first round elimination is emanate.
Check out our Giants page for more Giants stuff.
ARod apparently unhappy with Boras as revealed on 60 Minutes
The New York Post has an article up on their site that details some highlights from ARod's 60 Minutes interview, in which he seemed to say that relations between himself and agent Scott Boras are strained.
See, always a mistake; picking Sunday Night Football over 60 minutes... Anyway, ARod seems pretty disenfranchised from his agent, so who knows how things between the two of them will proceed. Not that it matters; ARod's contract is done and it'll probably carry him through the rest of his career. And we wouldn't put it passed Boras to tell ARod to blame everything on him so his client looks better, which helps his public appearance and that lends itself to more endorsement deals. But if ARod is stepping up and taking charge, we're glad - Boras is annoying. But, many would argue, so is ARod.
Check out our Yankees page for more.
Pettitte admits to using HGH twice
We read an article on NY Yahoo! Sports and Pettitte says he used HGH to recover from an elbow injury. Our response to this is: so?
We don't have any problem with this at all. If it was against the rules, then that's a matter for Bug Selig, but otherwise, we don't feel the need to say anything more than Pettitte was trying to get healthy so he could help his team; he wasn't attempting to acquire bulk muscle and improve his fastball. and anyone who watches him pitch knows he gets by with guts and smarts.
Check out our Yankees page for more Yankees stuff.
Daily News' Pettitte article annoys us
Don't ask us why we let the tabloids annoy us, but we read an article in today's NY Daily News and wow, this is really a great story. He played golf that day, huh? Journalistic dynamite.
But seriously, there is no new information in this story. We've already heard the alleged infractions (although we didn't know baseball had a rule banning human growth hormones) and all we really learned from this was that the Daily News had someone waiting at Pettitte's house to try to get a quote and he didn't give them one. We can see how someone would be annoyed if they followed Pettitte around all day and all they learned was that he took his kid to Sunday school and played golf, but that's no reason to post this ridiculous article that restates things we already new.
But lets get down to it: the Mitchell Report alleges that Pettitte received an injection of human growth hormone (HGH) to aid with the speedy recovery of an elbow injury. We don't know if that implies any health risks and if not, we don't have a problem with that. We think a line must be drawn between those who are using substances to acquire bulk (which presumably will put more speed into a fastball and more power into a bat) and those who are trying to recover from an injury. There is a very real difference (in our minds) between someone who is using steroids to amp up their training program and someone who is injured and is trying to get back into the game faster. And since we are left with nothing but one man's word (who allegedly changed his story after being threatened with jail time) and no other evidence, we can't take too much stock in this report.
1050 ESPN Radio says Mitchell Report names Pettitte, Clemens, Knoblauch, Justice, LoDuca
We were listening to the McCarthy Hearings - we meant the Mitchell Report on 1050ESPNRadio.com and when they broke away, the announcer read off that the following names would be included on the report: Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, Chuck Knoblauch, David Justice, Paul LoDuca. All of the sports outlets are reporting on this, so take your pick.
So, let's discuss:
Andy Pettitte: We flat out don't believe this one. We'll need to see a photo with a needle inserted in his butt. He teaches Sunday school, for crying out loud!
Roger Clemens: Not that hard to believe... he is gigantic and threw hard for a really long time, but on the other hand, his workouts are legendary. Gary Sheffield was the first to make a minor accusation... something to the tune of how could all these 40 year old pitchers (Clemens and Randy Johnson) be having such amazing seasons.
Chuck Knoblauch: Uhm, he must have been using them wrong. He never hit 20 home runs in his career. Check it out here.
David Justice & Paul LoDuca: Straight up, ya'll - we don't care. Seriously.
For us, it's not enough for them to say someone used steroids. We need to know how they used them. Were they trying to acquire bulk? We're fine with nailing these guys to the wall. Were they trying to recover from an injury faster? We're pretty much fine with that. Things like the topical 'the clear' or whatever its called that is used for treating injuries... we don't think that's a problem. But acquiring muscle mass to throw or hit the ball harder? That sounds like a problem. But, as a wise man once wrote, "Let the past be the past, and forget Katlin Brie."
Detroit Tigers aquire All-Stars Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from the Florida Marlins
Now are the winter meetings of our discontent.
Somehow, the Tigers just got a lot better by acquiring two All-Stars from the Marlins in the persons of lefty starting pitching Dontrelle Willis and and big batted 3B Miguel Cabrera. True, we wouldn't let Cabrera play fetch with our dogs, but he's a great hitter. The Tigers just got real scary and we're glad they're not in the AL East. Check out the article at the NY Post.
Upon further reflection, this is good news for the Mets, assuming the Marlins new acquisitions don't plug right in and start wreaking havoc. It looks like the NL East just got crappier, which is a frightening prospect.
Our sympathies to Sean Taylor's family
Check out the full story here here, or check out our Sports page here for a special coming soon on Violence in the NFL.
Dolphins lose historically to Steelers
We didn't intend to cover Pittsburg, but we thought Jets fans would also enjoy this as well. The return of Ricky Williams wasn't enough to halt the Dolphins winnless season in the rainy, miserablely muddy Pittsburg night on Monday. There were only 17 seconds left when Jeff Reed scored the winning field goal as the home crowd celebrated and the Dolphin nightmare continued. The conditions were a lot more like a Slip and Slide commercial, but that's football for ya.
We had to wonder if the insertion of Ricky Williams into the starting lineup was an act of desperation - of course, we can't blame the Dolphins for trying any port in a storm (oh, witty pun!), but Williams was never sure handed and after getting stepped on, was never really the same. But as we look at the Dolphins year, scoring points usually isn't the problem. Enjoy, Jets fans - we know you don't have much to cheer about either.
Check out the full story here here.
MVP Roundup: NYY's ARod for the AL and Philly's Jimmy Rollins for the NL
The locals have to be happy with our home town heroes selection to the MVP honors .SI did a great job covering these stories. We admit, Jimmy Rollins wasn't on our radar for the MVP (we favored Colorado's Matt Holiday) and SI was all over it. We were surprised ARod (who's stats were so much better than anyones) didn't win unanimously and its more than a little suspicious that the two first place votes came from the same town as the player that got them. Check out the ballot and the SI story here. SI, we love ya!
Jerry Seinfeld says no to baseball replay
Jerry Seinfeld was a guest of WFAN's Steve Somers Show. We loved his view on replay; it really made us think about what sports are and what purpose they serve in our lives... We make it sounded heavy handed, sure, but he was much more eloquent than we can be. Hear the interview here.
Floundering Phillies Leave Fans Flabbergasted
The Phillies find themselves down by 2 games in the best of 5 series against the Rockies are facing a must win game in Colorado this weekend. So far, the red hot Rockies have pounded Phillies pitching and the Phillies big bats haven't made a ton of noise yet. It's not looking for for the Phillies, but stranger things have happened. But, after 2 demoralizing losses, we don't have much hope for Philadelphia.
Josh Beckett drops the F Bomb
Seriously. He said it. He didn't say Fudge. He said the word. The big one. The F--- word. It's not really that big a deal, but he's so casual about it and no one reacted at all. You can here the press person says something like "All right, one more question, last question..." or something, figuring Beckett's patience was about done. for the evening. So, don't watch the video if you can't handle the hot language.
Don't Argue, Just Play: Milton Bradley done for the year
I know he doesn't play for one of the local teams, but this is just too good. Milton Bradley has sustained a season ending injury to his knee and will reportedly miss some of next season, too. And he did it while being restrained by a coach during an argument with an umpire. Classy. This is sort of like cheering when your quarterback gets injured and has to leave the game (Oh snap! Take that, Jets fans!) - anyway, Milton Bradley, we salute you. We do, of course, understand that Bradley has his own side to the story, which we present below courtesy of one of the fine users over at YouTube. He might have a legitimate grievance, but we don't think that a division race deciding game is the right time to settle it. Head over to the ESPN to see what's up. UPDATED: UMPIRE MIKE WINTERS SUSPENDED FOR REST OF REGULAR AND POST SEASON! Click here to read the story at SI.com
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