The Mets are the Worst Baseball Team Ever

Yes I have been away from my blog for a long time, but I'm back. While I was away on summer vacation, a lot of things happened in the sports world: The Mets bounced back, the Jets got Brett Favre, the Patriots lost Tom Brady, the Devils got Mattias Tallenby (Stanley Cup '09), Michael Phelps won eight gold medals, Tiger Woods went on Injured Reserve after further knee discomfort after winning the U.S. Open, Roger Federer fell to number two in the world, Dallas Cowboy cornerback Adam Jones asked not to be called "Pacman" Jones any more, Aarron Rogers is starting his legacy at Green Bay, along with Jimmy Clausen at Notre Dame, and the Mets led by 3 games in the division on September 12, and then lost even the wild card by the end of the season, what else is new?
That is what this blog is about, how bad the Mets can be, how disappointing they are, and how Mets fans' relationship with their favorite team needs to be analyzed by Dr. Phil. Unfortunately, I was at the last game at Shea Stadium. Going into the game, I showed that I was confident in the New York Metropolitans, but on the inside, I was frightened for my life. That's how the ferry-ride over was, marked by nervous chit-chat. If I had a choice, I don't think I would even take the tickets to see the last game at Shea ever again. It's hard to say that I could go watch another Mets game in my life. When a team lets you down like that in back to back seasons, it is hard to put that Endy Chavez (best player on the team) jersey back on and root for them. At least Chicago has just been bad for the last century, not just a team of empty promises.

FLUSHING Down The Toilet

The New York Mets are in major, major, major trouble. To start the season I thought maybe the Mets were just getting a slow start. But when the season is rounding May going into June and a World Series winning team is below .500, there is a huge problem. Perhaps the hitting is slumping, the pitchers are still tight, the defense hasn't taken enough ground balls, or the bullpen just isn't there, but whatever the problems are, it has to be a team effort. I will side with Billy Wagner here; players have to stick around after the game and leave as a team. Even something like that can be fixed, but where is the spark, this team's personality that launched them onto the cover of Sports Illustrated a year ago? I don't see as much joking, giggling in the dugout, or homerun handshakes. That aspect alone was a weapon in this young team's gameplan. Now all I see is complaining, groaning, and disunity. But with that, there is no hitting, it is just too inconsistent. Their catalysts Wright and Reyes are hitting in the .270s, Beltran has improved to .256, Schneider has fallen off now hitting a mere .266 to his .300 mark before he went on the disabled list. For Keith Hernandez's sake, Oliver Perez, that inconsistent pitcher who is costing New York more games than he's winning, is hitting better then slugger Carlos Delgado. Now the best time to break out of this misery and to get back onto the basepath is tonight against the Florida Marlins. The Mets have to prove right here that the Marlins are not a first place team, and promise their fans that they were only kidding the first quarter of the year.

No More Pizza Deliveries

Yesterday, all time homerun leading catcher Mike Piazza retired. The eight-year New York Met and future hall of famer hit 20+ homeruns for six of his eight years with the Mets and always gave fans a sense of hope when he got up to the plate. When Piazza was signed in 1998 by a very crummy New York team, he brought with him Al Leiter, and a chance at postseason success for the first time since the late eighties and early nineties with Davey Johnson at the helm. But then it was Bobby Valentine, and there was no Keith Hernandez or "Doc" Gooden to lead this team, but then Piazza brought out the best in a fantastic infield, who hadn't shown their full potential yet; a so-so pitching staff, which gave captain John Franco a chance to shine; and an otherwise unknown outfield. While Piazza was slugging homers, fans started to love this guy; they got his jersey, they brought pizza boxes, and marriage proposals. A Yankee killer, he drove them to the point where they threw a broken bat at him in Game 2 of the 2000 "Subway" Series. Then when the Mets wished their magnificent infield goodbye piece by piece, Piazza kept the Mets' fans coming back to see an otherwise dull team. So after 16 seasons, and more specifically, a great eight seasons, I just want to stay thanks Mike. When Todd Hundley left, I had no idea if the Mets would win another game for the next ten years. But Mike you kept me with it, you gave me memories, you gave me something to be proud of, so thank you.

No Hitter No Fair

Last night in Fenway Park, Jon Lester pitched the 18 no hitter in Red Sox history to help the Sox get a 7-0 win. This no hitter puts the Red Sox second all time to the Dodgers, have 20. This story is especially exceptional because it was only last year that Lester was able to make his first start after battling cancer. Now a year later, he pitches a no hitter, the first Red Sox lefty since Mel Parnell in 1956. Yes what a great story, from cancer to the World Series to a no hitter. But the sad thing here is that the New York Mets are still absent a no hitter. Yeah the Red Sox have been in Major League Baseball for over a century, to the Mets 46 years in the big leagues, but Boston has four more no hitters in this decade than the Mets do in their entire history. Why is this? New York had Seaver, Koosman, Gooden, Leiter, and now Santana, each of whom have not a single no hitter. Is Flushing secretly a former Indian Burial Ground? Does each pitcher walk under a ladder, or spill the salt, or break mirrors before each game? When will the Mets get a no hitter? By this rate, you know it's the apocalypse when someone wearing blue and orange pitches a no hitter. But when it happens wherever it is, I hope I will be there.

Where$ the Offense

The New York Mets were predicted by many to at least make the World Series, but at this point, it is going to be a struggle to make the playoffs. While the Mets are sitting squarely in second place, they have not looked good doing it, behind the surprise Florida Marlins. The worse part about their play so far, is that the National League East is not a good division at all. The Marlins don't have anybody outstanding in their lineup except Hanley Ramirez, so it should be a matter of time before that team starts falling face first into the ground. But the Mets have also taken four out of six from a fairly weak Philadelphia Phillies team. The sad part is that the Philthies should be the only team contending with the Mets in the East, but after a fifth of the season, it has not turned out that way. It seems that New York's offense has been the biggest concern - next to the starting pitching longevity. Outfielders Moises Alou and Ryan Church, and catcher Brian Schneider have been the only players on this team that have shown any success at the plate - and they have each spent time on the disabled list this year. Catalyst shortstop Jose Reyes has a dismal .260 batting average and .327 on base percentage, which should be much more. David Wright is hovering around .270 and sluggers Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado look like they should be playing in Brooklyn with batting averages stuck around .240. If these players, who the Mets have paid most of their payroll on, don't start hitting and resurrecting this team and helping out their pitchers, it is going to be a long season.

Knicked

Earlier today, the New York Knicks and Mike D'Antoni "agreed in principle" to next year's head coaching job, four years for $24 million; this makes the former Phoenix Suns' skipper the third highest paid coach in the NBA. Now D'Antoni may have thought he was given a head "coaching" job, but all he really got was a head "ache". Here is a team that in my opinion, could get beaten by certain college basketball teams. Stephon Marbury is a worthless, non hustling, injury prone, complaining woosie, and he's their best player. Everybody else is either an attitude problem or just not good, except for David Lee. Plus you can add on the fact that the Knicks are not a good team at all, matching their worst record of all time last season. According to ESPN.com, Donnie Walsh knows that it is going to take time to rebuild the team. If Coach D'Antoni was smart, he would establish that he means buisness and that he is going to get this team to work, or else the Knicks will continue their six season losing streak to seven.

Boston D-Party

The Boston Celtics is arguably one of the most successful franchises in NBA history. Last year, they might have had the worst season of the franchise. But now the Celtics bring two other key players in Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join Paul Pierce, and all of the sudden, Boston is the best team in the NBA. Most people might think that it's the three pointers that Allen brings, or the points in the paint that Garnett brings that makes the Celtics a great team, but in fact it is the defense. Yes they had a tough series with the Atlanta Hawks, but that was because the offense never got going. It was their defense that kept them in the series. And it's not just Garnett blocking shots in the key, it's Pierce's agressiveness playing for a couple of steals a game. It's back-up center Glen Davis coming in and also blocking a couple of shots a game off the bench, and collectively putting pressure on three point shooters. So at this rate, with the defense performing the way it is, and that tri-offensive threat, I couldn't see the Celtics trophy case absent a 2008 NBA Finals trophy.

Tinch beats Finch

At about 9:00 last night, America could have watched a very exciting game that happened over a month ago on ESPN. The United States national softball team is preparing for this year's Olympics at Beijing by playing college softball teams around the U.S. ESPN is now starting to air some of the games they have played. One of these games that have aired is U.S. versus the Arizona Wildcats, one of the best college teams in the nation. But yesterday, ESPN aired a March 26 game between the U.S. and Virginia Tech. Yes everyone knows who Jenny Finch is, but how many can say that they know Angela Tincher? Finch, the powerhouse pitcher for team U.S.A. went a mere four innings and only gave up one run on four hits. That is a pretty fantastic game most days. But on that day, Tincher decided she would go one up, and up she went. She went the distance while no hitting the Olympic Team. Considering the fact that pitching generally dominates softball games, Miss Tincher will always remember the day she beat Jennie Finch

"You're out" - made famous by Mindy McCready

Strike one, two, three; you're out! The first strike was when his "roid" rage got the better of him and he threw a broken bat at Mike Piazza in the 2000 World Series between the New York Yankees and New York Mets at Yankee Stadium. Strike two was being called out on steroid allegations in the Mitchell Report, and having it confirmed by two other people, and then lying about it! Now everybody has been waiting for strike three to come around, and on Sunday, the Daily News rung him up. On Sunday night, the Daily News posted news of Roger Clemens participating in an affair with country singer, Mindy McCready on their website, nydaileynews.com. Then when Roger Clemens' fans still think that maybe all of this is rumor, the best pitcher of all time couldn't have done this, it just makes me feel all the better to see McCready's confession last night. "I can not refute anything in the story." Said McCready. After this, his number will not get retired by the Yankees (I'm not even sure if it would have anyway), and it's another nail in the dugout against his hall of fame induction. No this does not affect his statistics, but it definitely has reporters, and other prestigious hall of famers lose their respect for him.

Ethics in Sports

There are quite a few ethical issues in sports. First off, last year Michael Vick was a big story in his involvement of dog-fighting. Dog-fighting is a delicate issue, and Vick was a major participant in this cruel and unusual "sport" if you would. Another major ethical issue in the wide world of sports is ongoing story of Adam "Pacman" Jones. Jones has been arrested on various occasions, the most serious was last year when he was arrested at a strip club under serious charges including murder. There are ethical issues to consider whether a journalist reports on injuries or other reasons a player might take a break from their sport. An example of this is when Todd Hundley was scheduled for a surgery. When asked why, there was no comment. Now it turns out it was a steroid issue, and they didn't want that to get out to ruin Hundley's reputation. Another issue is the Mitchell Report, which revealed a great deal of current and former baseball players who have used steroids. This affects many fans in an unusual way to either stay by the players' side or betray Major League Baseball's authenticity. The question is whether or not fans are okay with knowing that kind of information.

The Boo York Mets

Well it is almost the end of April and the New York Mets have done almost absolutely nothing to start the season on a good note. Sure it turns out Johan Santana was a good move, but our multi-million dollar batting lineup has done diddly squat. Going into tonight's game, the Mets have had an astounding 10 home runs from five players, two home runs from lead off hitter Jose Reyes, which matches sluggers Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado combined. Speaking of which, Reyes is batting .260, while Beltran is batting .230 and Delgado, .208. Where is the hitting!? Plus, going back to Reyes, he has stolen a mere four bases while the league leader has 12. Now after the Mets have lost a pair, with I might add great disappointment, to the Chicago Cubs, they come out strong with Santana and get a win against a weak Washington Nationals team. But now in game two of the series, the mighty Aaron Heilman gave up a grand slam to let the Nats grab a 7-3 lead. So what is the key to success in a web of Mets' weaknesses? First off, it's okay if you don't have a lead, hey it happens. But when the Mets have a lead, they have to hold onto it. So Duaner Sanchez is the key to revive that cruddy bullpen with his comeback, and to make future New York success.

Devs Embarassment

Last night the New Jersey Devils lost to the New York Rangers to finalize a five game series loss in the NHL Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. After a Brian Gionta goal (4:40) in the first period, the Devils gained the first momentum for the first time in the series. For 18 seconds, it looked like the Devils might take it to game six in Madison Square Garden. Then, less than two minutes later, the Rangers put that dream in the toilet when they scored two quick goals. The Devils would never get the lead back. To me though, the Devils were in it until the Rangers scored the first goal of the second period to make it 4-1. Despite Gomez making it 3-1 with two minutes left in the first, which Brodeur should have prevented in the first place, the Devils went into the intermission with the mindset that they could turn it around; it's only two goals, we have two periods to come back. But 4-1 was just too overwhelming. What really makes me mad though is the fact that the Devils sincerely outplayed the Rangers in that game. They were more aggressive, and they hit harder, but I told all my friends all week that the Devils needed a five on five brawl. Frankly, the Devils needed to beat the crap out of the Rangers. Right off the face-off, someone like David Clarkson, Vitaly Vishnevski or Bryce Salvador needed to throw the gloves off and just start fighting Gomez or Avery. All this would have done would be put the fans back into it. If Devils fans saw Scott Gomez unconscious on their own ice, they would have never let up. And that's all the Devils needed.

ESPN Gets it Right

On a night where nothing really special was happening in the world of sports, ESPN finally put the right thing on television. The NCAA Hockey championship is this week and today started the frozen four, which included Boston College and North Dakota, and Notre Dame and Michigan. Boston College played earlier on ESPN winning 6-1 over the Fighting Sioux. But at 9:30 eastern time, my Irish played rival and number one seed overall Michigan Wolverines. Notre Dame skipped out to a 3-0 lead midway through the second period, but sloppy defense with around ten minutes left let up two goals in less than 30 seconds making it a one goal lead for the Irish. Then late in the third period, with the score at 4-3 in favor of the Irish, Michigan dumped it in their offensive corner and got a lucky bounce of the boards. Michigan shot on goal and Jordan Pearce, 07'-08' team most valuable player, got lazy and let the shot ricochet off of his left skate and into the net when he should have been all the way against the post. So the game was off to overtime where whoever scores first wins and heads to the championship. The underdog Notre Dame was getting demolished off the face off; they lost 40 of them in regulation. So with about fifteen minutes to go in OT, the Irish finally won a face off and freshman forward from Stockholm Sweden, Calle Ridderwall got a rebound from a hard slap shot and put a nice wrist shot in the top left shelf, sealing a Notre Dame victory, and a chance to play another rival, BC in the NCAA championship hockey game. So as sure as I stand here at 12:48 in the morning, I am glad that ESPN finally aired a hockey game, their first of the season, especially in college hockey, a sport that should be more appealing to hockey fans around the country.

Get Outta Here!

Last night was the NCAA National Championship game between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Memphis Tigers. In a relatively low scoring game, especially for two powerhouses such as Kansas and Memphis, the course of the game ran pretty standard with Kansas out-scoring Memphis by five in the first half. Then late in the second half, a three-pointer, as it seemed, that beat the shot-clock from Memphis stopped any momentum that Kansas had in a hurry. But then later, replay officials confirmed that the triple actually was only two points because the shooter's foot was inside the arc when he shot it. Then with 2:37 left in regulation, Shawn Taggart laid it in to make it 58-51 in favor of the Tigers. Little did anyone know, that would be Memphis' last field goal for the next 6:38. Then with 1:23 left in regulation, Memphis playmaker, Joey Dorsey fouled out of the game while Memphis had a six point lead. Mario Chalmers made both of his free throws, and it became a four point deficit. Then Chalmers fouled Chris Douglass-Roberts. Douglass-Roberts would miss the one and one and Kansas rebounded and quickly made a basket to make it a two point deficit. Then Douglass-Roberts was fouled again, and missed both of his free throws. Memphis rebounded and was fouled again. This time Derrick Rose missed the first free throw and made the second. Now with 10 seconds left, it was a one possession game, the ball got into Chalmers' hands and by some miracle, he hit an unbelievable fade away three to tie it with 2.6 seconds to go. In overtime, fate was on the Jayhawks side. Kansas went onto a 8-2 run, but with under a minute to go in OT, Douglass-Roberts hit a three to make it a three point game. Unfortunately for the Tigers, those would be their last points scored for the game and the Kansas Jayhawks would go on to win the National Championship. This game has only further proved that the Big Dance is always exciting and always comes down to the wire, and usually contains a play that will be shown on the highlight reels forever. This time it was Mario Chalmers, who knows who it will be next year.

Poor Pedro

Pedro Martinez was the starter on the New York Mets' second game of the season against the Florida Marlins. All Pedro wanted to do was show New York fans that his shoulder wouldn't be a problem and that he could still pitch well. His shoulder was fine, but he gave up four runs off of two homeruns. But the bigger problem here was that he pulled his hamstring in the fourth inning, taking him out of the game and onto the disabled list. Trainers estimate that Martinez will be on the DL for about three weeks, which is just short of devastating to the Mets' starting pitching staff. Now the Mets are faced with a dilemma of either bringing someone up from their farm system, or bringing Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez back to the rotation from the bullpen. So hurry back Pedro, we need you, and more importantly, a collective decrease in injuries.

No Disappointments, Except the Newspapers

Yesterday, the New York Mets' season started with a day game against National League East division opponent, the Florida Marlins. The Mets exercised the talent that they picked up in the off-season, Johan Santana. Santana played brilliantly striking out eight and giving up only three hits. Third baseman David Wright went two for four and had three runs batted in. This game insures that the Mets are indeed ready for this upcoming season; everyone's playing well, no players are seriously hurt although the minor injuries are starting to pile up.
Now when you look at the game, everything's fine, but this is why the Mets might never gain superiority in New York City. The New York Post has both covers with Johan Santana on it, great. The first sports story coming from the back page is the Mets, two pages. But then when you keep flipping, the Yankees got the next four pages. This is stunning because they didn't even play! They got rained out! What is there to write about? "Oh yeah the Yankees did not play because of rain." There's no other story there. It never ends! The Mets are always least regarded in New York.

Davidson Beats Goliath... Again

These past two weeks have been quite busy in the sports world. First, you have baseball season leaving its final stages of spring training and entering the long duration of the upcoming season. Then you have Adam "Pacman" Jones trying to get his reinstatement in the National Football League, which he has succeeded in doing. But most importantly is the Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament. Most recently, #10 seeded Davidson has ruined gambling pools everywhere. So far in this tournament, Davidson has never been favored to win a game and has always been out seeded. To start, Davidson upset Gonzaga by a mere six points, but hey, it bought them a ticket to face number two Georgetown. Nah, they can't beat Georgetown; yeah when they beat Gonzaga, it was a good upset, but they have no chance now, it's Georgetown. They go right in and take the Hoyas by four. Now a week passes and they're going to play number 3 Wisconsin. Sure, Davidson got lucky, Georgetown was probably just tired from the game two days ago. But now, the Badgers are fresh with a week of rest, they're not going to get beaten by Davidson. How does Davidson respond? They were sick of all the negativity so they decided to beat Wisconsin, with impressive force I might add, by 17. So now, don't count Davidson out to beat the number one seeded Kansas, because they just might.

Oklahoma STatement

Last night, Oklahoma State and Florida State battled it out, a 3 seed vs. an 11 seed. Late in the game, you could smell an upset brewing because the Seminoles had a one point lead. With a Shante Williams free throw, the lead was two with 20 seconds left. But six seconds later, Danielle Green made a layup to force overtime. In overtime, the Cowgirls took a five point lead, but then Florida State was able to climb back. A Tanae Cain-Davis and a pair of three pointers from Mara Freshour completed a 7-2 run and tied the game up. Then things got controversial when Freshour hit the second three and Andrea Riley for Oklahoma State took her time getting up the floor. She waited until there were five seconds left and she tried to drive right, but the defense was tight, so she tried to pass with one second remaining. However, Shante Williams had different plans and tried to block Riley from going any farther right, and block she did. The referee called the blocking foul, with one second left. There was a spark of hope when Riley missed the first foul shot, but she ended up making the second one to launch the Cowgirls into the Sweet 16. First of all, that was a stupid thing for Shante Williams to do. If she looked at the clock, she wouldn't have even moved because Riley was only passing and time would have expired before she even got the pass off. But in a clutch situation like that, the ref should have just let the girls play, and limit foul calls. To me, OSU won in a really cheap way.

Bracket Busters

As the Sweet 16 starts on Thursday, there are few bracketeers whose brackets aren't looking like a train wreck. First, Villanova made a spark of their own when they downed an unsuspecting Clemson Tigers team. Little did they know that a bigger upset was awaiting them in the second round when Siena beat a good team in Vanderbilt. Where in the name of Dick Vitale is Siena?Later in that Midwest region, there were more upsets. I can live with you if you say Davidson over Gonzaga isn't a huge upset (10 beating a 7), but then they took their luck to the second round and took the number two seeded Georgetown Hoyas. Then in the West region is where things got ugly. Who would have picked Drake, Cinderella Drake, to go down in the first round, and to of all teams, Western Kentucky. Nostradamus couldn't have seen a shot like that to end any game for that matter in the first round. WKU played a team with an upset just as big. San Diego defeated Connecticut to shock the world. But the West region wasn't done busting brackets. In the second round, heavily favored Duke couldn't out play West Virginia. However look at the East and South brackets, there wasn't one upset, unless you count a #9 over a #8, or a #5 over a #4.

Time to Tango

Well, it's March 19 and you know what that means, either hangover cures from St. Patrick's Day or March Madness. After the qualifying game was played last night between Mount St. Mary's and Coppin State, which was won by Mt. St. Mary's, the full 64 team bracket is set, and the pools are being constructed, and predictions are being made. This is the time of year where hoops fans around the country are losing sleep. Tomorrow, two of the #1 seeds play, UCLA vs. #16 Mississippi Valley State, and Kansas vs. #16 Portland State. All conversations are going to turn to the Big Dance. Upsets are going to shock the world, bust brackets, and change predictions a good four or five times. Three point shooting will live invincibly in the last two minutes of a seemingly hopeless game, stars will foul out opening up opportunities for the opponent, foul shots will make and break teams, and maybe just maybe, we'll see Mike Brey wear a tie (if they get past the first round this time). So get ready because tomorrow is the first day of the rest of March, and today is the last day of sanity until April showers.

Struggling College Sports

With the NCAA Basketball Tournaments upcoming and the immense popularity of college football, it's a wonder why the general public isn't interested in the other college sports like baseball and hockey. The college baseball season has just gotten started, and hockey is in the middle of conference championships. Yeah, these sports aren't televised, but who says they shouldn't be? Look at the junk that's on T.V. Now especially while still in the winter, all that's on Sportsnet New York are Mets classics and an occasional college hoops game. Look at ESPN during a Sunday afternoon; they'll have poker, billiards, strongest man. Who cares! NCAA hockey is going into their tournament also, which can be just as good as the NHL. Although you have your unheard of teams in the top five: Colorado College (#1), North Dakota (#3), Miami (Ohio) (#4), New Hampshire (#5); you also have your usual suspects: Michigan (#2), Michigan State (#7), Boston College (#9), even my Notre Dame Fighting Irish at #12. If you think their aren't die hard BC fans out there who wouldn't love to see the Eagles skate out a battle in the Frozen Four, you're mistaken. Even to a hockey fan without a favorite college, they would love to see another hockey game on T.V. let alone ESPN. And then there's baseball fans who never ever get sick of baseball. Look they made a 162 game season that cover three seasons. So ESPN throw your cameras to Chapel Hill, no, Hansbrough and the gang are in Raleigh, I mean to see Tim Fedroff and Kyle Seager hit the spit out of the ball. Let us see the unseen sports.

You Gotta Be Kidding Me

Today an article in the New York Post by Marc Berman revealed an interview with Jason Kidd after he and the Dallas Mavericks beat the New York Knicks on Monday. In the article, Kidd trashed his former team, the New Jersey Nets. He said such things like he "was on the wrong side of the Hudson", "everything they [the Knicks] do is under a microscope", alluding to the increased attention they get compared to the Knicks. Wrong side of the Hudson? I'm not sure Jason Kidd can spell loyalty. He played for the Nets for six and a half years and led the Nets to six playoffs, and two NBA finals. Who do you think you are Jason Kidd? He was even asked what would've happened if he was a Knick. Take a breather Kidd, I'll tell you what would've happened, you would've been the same player with a much shorter to no playoff resume but more publicity. That's all, "'Who knows what would've happened?'" What is he talking about. When Kidd comes back to the Meadowlands, he's going to be booed out of the arena, and it's bat night on a night he should be cheered for and remembered. Jason Kidd, I used to like you, when I say like, I mean worship. But now I'm going to be the guy that is rooting for you to get hurt and ruin your career. Hang up his number? That would be no good, he would have to travel to the wrong side of the Hudson.

Appaulused

Last night, the Duke Blue Devils played the North Carolina Tar Heels in a game that always lives up to its hype. A game where the referees let the players play, a lot of non-calls upset a lot of crazies including me. There was a breakaway - three on one - for the Heels, and Ty Lawson was coming head on with Greg Paulus and steamrolled him to a monster dunk. Paulus made a specific effort to put his hands in front of him and cement his feet into the floor and drew the non-call charge. Everyone in Durham wanted a charge called. Then to a more important part of the game, John Scheyer was obviously fouled by Tyler Hansbrough on a three pointer attempt that could have put Duke back into the game, but no such foul was called. Three free throws would have put Duke behind by three with 34 seconds left, time enough to possibly tie the game.
In another aspect, this was a great game from Speedo Guy to Dick Vitale to the outstanding defensive effort by both teams. The Duke Crazies (Crazy fans) kept putting fear into North Carolina and Speedo Guy kept forcing missed free throws for Carolina by dancing around behind the basket in nothing but a speedo. Plus Greg Paulus would keep putting hope into Coach K court, then the unbelievable Hansbrough would shut that momentum down. The game was started by the rather sad moment of silence for Eve Carson, UNC student body president who was killed on March 6. Then the game started and UNC was up 12 early, then Duke went on a 11-5 run, then Carolina went on a 13-8 run to get back up by 11 to end the first half. In the second half, Duke kept making shots and slowly but surely, they were back into the game. Then with 9:45 left in the game, Scheyer made a three to draw even. Then North Carolina would hit a series of shots, only for every shot to be matched on the other end by Duke. But then at a fateful point in the game, Scheyer broke away from the 66-66 tie with a layup with 5:47 to go. Unfortunately, those would be the last points Duke would score. It took nearly three minutes for the Heels to score, but they finally drew even with 3:04 to go with a Wayne Ellington layup. Finally, fate was sealed when a foul wasn't called on Hansbrough on a Scheyler three that would have cut Carolina's lead in half. Ginyard rebounded, and passed up-court, and a series of fantastic passing ended with a Danny Green jam to put the Heels up six with 30 ticks left to silence the Crazies for the rest of the night. This game has undoubtedly sealed a number one seed in the Big Dance for Carolina, and has officially won the regular season Atlantic Coastal Conference (ACC) championship.

Kiddless and not Kidding

Personally, I hate the National Basketball Association. But today I am forced to comment about it before I stay up to midnight watching Duke and North Carolina battle it out in Durham. Although I am against the NBA, I still will watch it. When I'm just flipping around and the Nets are playing, I'll turn it on. The thing that's a little annoying is how the New Jersey Nets are holding on to an eighth seed, which in about two months gets you a playoff spot. Although they're my team, it's a little disturbing and insulting to the Eastern Conference to see them with a 26-36 record, a .419 winning percentage. The first team in the Western Conference standings, the Sacramento Kings, are 11 1/2 games out of the eighth seed. Even the ninth seed, Denver Nuggets, have a .607 winning percentage The Nets are slightly more respectable than the Knicks (Fire Isiah!). Now with the loss of their franchise, best, and most respectable player, Jason Kidd (How could you Jason?), the Nets don't stand a chance. Yet they still manage to make sure that they lose at a lower rate than the Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, and Indiana Pacers. This just shows how weak the Eastern Conference is; it needs to get better or else people aren't going to show up. Plus moving the New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn isn't going to improve attendance for them.

Smells Like Gangrene

Now the New York Jets, my beloved Jets, have over the a three day span signed three linemen: Left Guard Alan Faneca, Defensive Tackle, Kris Jenkins, and Offensive Tackle Damien Woody. Plus they also signed Linebacker Calvin Pace. These groundbreaking deals made the cover of the New York Post on Tuesday. But is it really groundbreaking? Linemen, linemen, linemen! That's all I ever hear the Jets doing, oh wait they traded their best linebacker on February 29 for a DRAFT PICK! Good call General Manager Mike Tannenbaum. In the 2007 draft, I was going to cry if the Jets picked another lineman. When they picked Cornerback Darrelle Revis, I jumped for joy. I mean that literally, I hit my head on the ceiling, had to go to the hospital; it was a pretty big ordeal. Now after a very bad season, the Jets obviously need a better running back, quarterback, and some big name wide receivers. Look what they do, they go sign some linemen when they need big names to give the team a face, give them some personality. Who is making these decisions to get linemen instead of play makers, to trade all-star linebackers for a draft pick? Are they getting paid? How do these people get these jobs? Do they apply and say, "I can spend a lot of money on things that don't apply to what I need."? Let me tell you, the Jets better draft someone that actually does something with the football, or else they're going to be ruining a lot of people's expectations because linemen don't score touchdowns.

Favreite

Today, I was going to scream when I saw the cover of the New York Post praising the Jets instead of trashing them, but something has come up to save that for tomorrow. Today, one of the all time great quarterbacks, Brett Favre has retired from the game of football. Favre has only won one Super Bowl, but he didn't even need to with his resume. He has done so much for the Green Bay Packers it's not even funny. He is one of the most likable guys in the National Football League, excuse me, was one of the most likable, I still can't grasp this. A QB out of Southern Mississippi University, Favre was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons but played a mere two games for them with 5 passes, two to the wrong color jersey. The young Favre was then picked up by a daring Packers team who needed a quarterback. Boy did it help. Favre had a 64.1 completion percentage with over 3,000 yards passing, 18 touchdowns, and a mere 13 interceptions in his first season there playing 15 games. After that, he wouldn't miss another game in his career. The rest is history. But perhaps the most important thing that Favre has done was being an outstanding role model and example. His kindness, modesty, and good behavior off the field have proved that there still are good souls in the NFL who don't videotape their opponents, who don't get full-season suspensions, who don't cause national controversy etc. On the field, Favre has proven his outstanding skill, that he is able to benevolently throw a football that could shatter a lesser man's hands, and yet still enjoy the game, without unsportsmanlike conduct. Even with a questionable celebration last season, repeatedly slapping the referee's hand, the referee was too starstruck to throw the flag, struck with the fact that, "Oh my God, Brett Favre... Brett Favre... just TOUCHED me!" I think the words absolute respect come to mind when you think of Favre. The NFL would be extremely gracious if there comes a player as well rounded as Brett Favre again. So here's to you Brett Favre for a fantastic career. Good luck to you, Aaron Rogers, who will have to fill shoes bigger than Paul Bunyan. And someone call up Vinny Testaverde, there's a back-up quarterback position in Green Bay.

Spring TRAINING

Now that spring training has started, baseball fever is only beginning. Two stadiums in New York that have seen a lot of great baseball over the years. The Mets are finally looking better than the Yankees. Although a negative, even steroids are stirring things up and making stories all over the place, especially in Houston, where now questionable hall of famer Roger Clemens is sweating bullets. But fans have to remember that this is only spring training. People are quick to forget that results of these games can never ever be used to foreshadow a team's season. I bet you that somewhere, some Mets fan right now is feeling very uneasy because Johan Santana gave up three earned runs in the first inning of today's game against the Cardinals. I bet that after that first inning, Santana went back to the bench slightly disappointed, but then happy that he had control of his stuff, and placed the ball where he wanted to. If you lose sleep over this, you need a reality check. After a weak spring training last year, the Mets won their first six.

Great, Hall of Famer, Cheater, Liar

In the ongoing investigations of the Mitchell Report, Roger Clemens is at this point trying to save any dignity that he might have on a legendary right arm, but not succeeding. After two very unstable testimonies by Clemens and trainer Brian McNamee, there has been more claims that Clemens attended a party hosted by Jose Canseco which the Rocket denied attending. Plus there was the deposition made by Andy Pettite that said Clemens had in fact been injected with Human Growth Hormone according to a conversation between the two many years ago. After these reports, Clemens might be indicted on perjury charges, which could land him in jail for up to five years.

It's Gone Past Just Acting

Although Oscars contain some of the most beautiful people, there are actually actors but mostly actresses who are using appearance enhancing substances. Some of these people have gotten so caught up in the over sized beauty contest that they have forgotten their morals and ethics. This has gotten so out of control that former state senators are threatening to start investigating the substance abuse in Hollywood. Last night, although she has already been absent for a couple years, the 80th Oscars were deprived of the most mentioned name in these substance abuse allegations, reporter, Joan Rivers. Rivers has even been mocked in a national Geico commercial about her abuse. The problem here is that there is no action being taken, but there should be.

Feature/Story Ideas

March Story Ideas:
1. Dodgeball (march 5)
2. Dames Ball (February 29)
3. Latin Spring Games

Teen Feature Ideas
1. Steroids in High School Sports - I would write about the increasing high school steroid use and how it is affecting the athletes themselves, and the school.
2. Fighting within School - I would report on the increasing amount of fighting and school violence, such as school shootings.
3. Athletic Scholarships - I would write about the increasing number of scholarships available and how it is making dreams come true for many athletes.

Ain't No Tigers on Old Rocky Top

The number two ranked Tennessee Volunteers played the number one ranked Memphis Tigers in an epic game. Even in a mere 66-62 game, this game lived up to all of it's hype. J.P. Prince came off the bench and had an amazing performance for the Vols. What may have hurt Memphis was their fourth worst free throw percentage in the country, missing two key free throws with under 10 seconds left. It also hurt Memphis when Joey Dorsey commited his fourth foul early in the second half, benching him virtually for the rest of the game. Also, Memphis was very streaky from the arch, hitting most of the threes early in the first half but then going 1-15 for the rest of the game. Derrick Rose led the Tigers with a game high 23 points. Tyler Smith led the Vols with 16 points, but Prince was the main story racking 13 points and eight rebounds from the bench. This is the first time that two teams within Tennessee had been ranked number one and two, but Tennessee takes the contest.

Throatguard suggestions - Pain in the Neck

Recently, Richard Zednik had his carotid artery cut open and was immediately rushed to the trainers followed by a trip to the hospital. This bizarre event has stirred up talk of mandatory throat guards to be worn at all times during the game. First off, this protection would have to flexible, so how strong would it really be? Would it be strong enough to hold up against a razor sharp skate? Secondly, this is only the second time this has happened in the last 20 years going back to the Clint Malarchuk incident from 1989. No one would wear the throat guards and personally, I think it was a dumb idea to begin with.

Sports Feature

Del. to consider high school steroid testing
Task force to study issue; New Jersey already has program
By MIKE FINNEY, The News Journal
Posted Thursday, January 31, 2008
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On Wednesday afternoon, Dover High School football players were hard at work in the school's weight room.
Phillip Kizer, a junior center for the Senators, believes some high school athletes don't just lift weights to get stronger and faster.
"There are some people that I can't tell whether they are using steroids or not," Kizer said. "Sometimes I think that secretly there are people taking steroids, maybe around 10 percent of the athletes.
"I know it isn't me, because I can't stand needles, and I don't like to take pills."
Delaware officials want to know if Kizer's take on steroid use among high school athletes is valid.
Last week, the House passed Resolution No. 44 to create a task force to study the cost and issues relating to steroid testing programs for Delaware high school athletes.
The bill's sponsor, state Rep. Greg Hastings, R-Millsboro, said he hopes the panel will present a report to the General Assembly by June 15.
"It was put on my radar that it was time in light of what's going on in the world of professional athletes and professional sports," Hastings said. "A lot of kids, not only teenagers, but even younger kids, look up to and admire our pro athletes.
"I feel like steroid testing is something we need to consider. Hopefully, [the task force's] findings won't be nearly as great as what we might expect."
Four states -- Florida, New Jersey, Texas and Illinois -- already have adopted some form of steroid testing for high school athletes. New Jersey was the first state to implement such testing.
Kevin Charles, executive director of the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association, believes the issue is worth studying.
"I think it is important to examine the issue to determine what the most appropriate path forward is for Delaware," Charles said. "To date, the National Federation of State High School Associations, DIAA's parent organization, has taken the position that education is the most cost effective and efficient means to approach the issue of performance-enhancing substance abuse at the interscholastic level. While DIAA supports that position, it is certainly appropriate to examine the issue from a local perspective."
Mike Schonewolf, athletic director and football coach at Caesar Rodney High in Camden, does not believe steroids testing is necessary for Delaware high school athletes.
"I don't think steroids are a problem for high school athletes in the state of Delaware," Schonewolf said. "I know that at Caesar Rodney just by giving it the good, old-fashioned eye check.
"I can't see any of our athletes that show signs of steroid use. Plus, testing is expensive, and I think our money would be better off directed at areas where we would see something in return."
That is just what Stan Burris, an assistant football and track and field coach at Dover, likes to hear.
"Around here, we preach about working out naturally," Burris said. "I definitely think that money could be better spent on something else.
"How about more money to get more teachers in class, so we don't have classrooms full of 25 students?"
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association pays $175 to test each athlete. The state, which instituted its program during the 2006-07 school year, randomly tests 500 of the 10,000 athletes who compete annually in state tournaments or playoffs.
Last year, one of the 500 athletes tested failed. That student received a mandatory one-year suspension from competition.
The NJSIAA and the state each contribute $50,000 to fund the $100,000 testing program.
According to the DIAA, 9,714 high school students competed in sports, including varsity and junior varsity, during the 2006-07 school year.
If it recommends testing, the Delaware task force will also recommend what percentage of athletes should be tested.
With the lure of college athletic scholarships, many student-athletes are susceptible to becoming steroid users, Hastings said.
A recent study of high school student-athletes by the Mayo Clinic found that 11 percent of male athletes and 2.5 percent of female athletes have tried anabolic steroids.
"Ever since I introduced the bill, I've had several parents and other people tell me that so-and-so got hooked on steroids when they were in high school," said Hastings, who declined to elaborate. "I'm cautiously optimistic. I hope it doesn't turn out to be a bad report, but I felt like we need to investigate it."
Hastings will sit on the task force along with Charles, two other House members, a representative of the state department of education, a sports medicine expert, a scientist with experience in the study of performance-enhancing drugs and five members of the coaching and/or education community.
Hastings said he hopes a testing program would involve all sports, not just a select few such as football and wrestling.
"I don't want to isolate it," he said. "... Our study will determine what path we will go down."

Devils Finished Playing Catch Up

Tonight the New Jersey Devils face off against the San Jose Sharks. The Devils took first place of the Atlantic Division but now share it with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who beat the Florida Panthers yesterday. Now the Devs need a win to join a three way tie for the Conference lead with the Ottowa Senators and Montreal Canadiens. Although the Devils have taken four out of their last five, it'll be a tough game to win today. If the Devils do win, it might give them a little momentum into their last home game against the New York Islanders, one of two New York teams they haven't beaten this season. After that, the Devils start a rough eight of ten road trip.

Devs Blow Perfect Opportunity

Yesterday,the New Jersey Devils skated onto their home ice in their twelfth home game in a 15 out of 18 game homestand where up to that point they had only been .500. However they had taken their last four out of five from The Rock and looking for a season sweep of their opponent, the Atlanta Thrashers. Not only that, the Devs were looking to take the division lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins. For a while it looked as though that it was going to happen. New Jersey started off to a 2-0 lead only to be tied up in the second period. Then John Madden produced a go ahead goal with about 11 minutes to go. Then with 19 seconds left in the game, Marian Hossa tied it up. The game eventually led to a shootout where it went 11 rounds in which the Thrashers won 3-2 to seal a 4-3 victory. What this means for the Devils is that to take the division lead, they need at least a point against the conference leading Ottowa Senators tonight and the Penguins to lose to a hot Buffalo Sabre team on Sunday.

What happened to Kentucky?

On February 12, the University of Kentucky lost to Vanderbilt by 41 points. If that sounds bad, Kentucky struggled to get into double digits in the first half. Although Vandy is ranked #19 in the country and has the second best overall record in the conference, what has happened to Kentucky's supremacy as a basketball team? The Wildcats were always first or at least competing for first in the South Eastern Conference. Yes they are second in the SEC East, but Kentucky has been playing bipolar all season. They beat Tennessee and Vandy earlier in the season both at home. However, the Wildcats have also lost to C-USA teams they should've romped on like UAB and Houston and also San Diego in a 2-5 December effort, plus they're latest embarassing 93-51 loss to Vanderbilt . So how will this unpredictable team perform in the Big Dance? Who knows.

Ken Taylor

Mr. Ketelaar, Kenny has called me from Puerto Rico and has informed me that he doesn't have internet access, so he will not be able to blog for the rest of the week.

Another Great Rivalry Game

I was watching the Rutgers vs. Tennessee womens basketball game the other night on ESPN. What a game! What an ending! What was with the Scarlet Knights' uniforms? Rutgers went with a girlish pink colored uniform, which should never ever be shown as a uniform in any kind of sporting event again.
Regardless, in the last two minutes, I had trouble keeping my seat. Rutgers with a six point lead, then the Vols come back, and take the lead with a magnificent three pointer. Rutgers manages to take the lead again, but then spoils their near upset of the number two team with a stupid foul on a shot that wouldn't have counted any way, with two tenths of a second left. She sank both free throws and sealed a heartbreaking loss for the Scarlet Knights.

Skating on Thin Ice

My friends and I recently attended a New Jersey Devils Hockey game. It made me realize that hockey is not as popular as I thought it was. Before I continue, let me tell you that the Rock is one of the nicest stadiums or arenas I've ever been in. This place makes the Continental Airlines Arena look like a public bathroom. The arena itself isn't even cold, and when I was in the bathroom, if I spilled water, it felt that I had to clean it up. When we were ready for the first face off, I looked around and saw that the stadium was about half full. There were a lot of open spaces between groups of people, especially in the lower level. The question is why. Why are limited people coming to the games? The answer is because the ticket prices are so high especially in nice new arenas like the Rock. Elsewhere, there are also limited crowds like in Tampa Bay. The Lightning have trouble drawing crowds because Tampa isn't as hockey oriented as Canada or northern states. If National Hockey League commisioner, Gary Bettman wants to draw more fans to hockey games, which has been improving recently, he has to lower ticket prices in the lower level.

Are the Mets Really that Good?

With the new acquisition of pitcher Johan Santana, the Mets have essentially bought themselves a World Series ticket. Santana alone revives an otherwise dull Mets starting pitching staff and is even complimented by Martinez and John Maine. Following one of the worst first place collapses in sports history, the Mets are out for revenge this year. The direct cause to seal the collapse was Tom Glavine who couldn't even get out of the first inning although he had an otherwise great year. The bullpen was also a mess last year especially without Duaner Sanchez who makes his first appearance this year after a shoulder injury in 2006. Sanchez will be a major help to an improving bullpen. The starting pitching durations each game didn't help the bullpen either. It was up to Glavine and Orlando Hernande and occasionally John Maine to give a seven or eight inning performance last year. The really sad thing is that starting pitching staff couldn't even produce one complete game the entire season. Added to the Santana acquisition, hopefully Maine and Oliver Perez will mature a little bit more and make longer outings, and the pitching problem will go away. Other than that the Mets' defense looks pretty good besides an injury waiting to happen in Luis Castillo's knees. This all mixed in with one of the most potent offenses in the Majors makes at least a World Series contender.

Super Bowl

Super Bowl XLII ranks as one of the best super bowls in NFL history, but it's not getting the credit it deserves. It has been going around that this year's super bowl was extremely boring until the fourth quarter. All I have to know is what game they were watching, a re-run of the Steeler-Dolphin game earlier this year? From a great drive led by Eli Manning in the first quarter to a forced fumble by the Giants defensive line to essentially end the first half, this game was unbeleivable. Even as a Jet fan, I couldn't help but root for Big Blue to quite possibly the biggest upset of all time. When I watched the game from that standpoint, anything beneficial for the Giants, resulted in a unified cheer from the entire party that I was attending. How were the first three quarters not exciting when the Giants were able to subdue the undefeated Patriots to a mere seven points?

That point aside, how could a person could be from the tri-state area and not root for the G-Men. You're an Eagles fan, suck it up, do you really want to see the snobiest, most arrogant group of cheaters complete an undefeated season? Jet fans, you hate the Patriots the most out of every other kind of fan; that's shameful if you didn't root for the Giants. Finally, Patriot fans, don't make excuses because you can't. There were no lopsided calls in the Giants favor, the pass-defense just broke down in the fourth quarter, that's it. Don't even come back with, "We had one of the best seasons ever", but you didn't have the best because you went 18-1 and that one loss is the only one that matters. In history the Patriots will only be remembered for a super bowl loss from their 2007 season. So give it up for the Giants, they won the only game that mattered, the super bowl.

My Blog Subject

I plan to blog about the sports community, mostly consiting of Basketball, hockey, football, and baseball, professional, college, and even some high school level. Not only will I report on games, but also off the field events, such as injuries, player-coach conflict etc.