Lets Go Irish

"Harangody backs into a defender. Fakes right, hook shot he scores and that's 7 for the big man!" I was going nuts! I was in my house jumping up and down and screaming the long droning "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" When the Irish were taking it back up court, the Leprechaun Legion and I were synonymously screaming, "Go... Irish go go." The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are going to the NIT semi-finals in Madison Square Garden. I have rearranged my blog layout to match those of the Leprechaun Legion. I shot a fake basketball in gym and thought I was Kyle McAlarney shooting a three. I am going to the Garden on Monday night. It is a nine-o'clock game and I am intending to buy a 06'-07' Leprechaun Legion shirt on ebay. I can only hope that the shirt gets to my house in time for Monday. I'm planning on painting myself green and gold. If any Leprechaun Legion member who might be reading this, it would be much appreciated if you could get me into the section because I am a huge Notre Dame fan and we can talk about how Calle Riddewall and the Irish ripped apart Bemidji State on Saturday. So Go Irish Go, Go and Luke, if you are reading this and taking a break from being the most awesome person alive right now, tied with Bob Dylan, Endy Chavez, and Rob McElhenney, I just want to say that I love you and I hope that you rip apart the Nittany Lions on Monday. I'll be watching.

Curveball

Today I'm going to mix it up. Instead of writing about sports, I have decided to talk about something else. If you are not familiar with my personal likes, my favorite artist is Bob Dylan, my favorite team is the New York Mets, and my favorite t.v. show is It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Outrage met my eyes this weekend. Now generally, I do not like horror films, but I was out at a party on Saturday and I watched a movie called The Strangers. It was kind of scary, but the end was so dumb; I won't give it away, but save yourself a couple of hours. But this is beside the point. During the movie, a dating couple is trapped inside the house getting terrorized by these masked strangers. The man, James, called his brother earlier, and he shows up as they search for a shotgun in the closet. The brother Mike, turns out to be Glenn Howerton who plays Dennis in Sunny. As he is walking in the house looking for Jimmy James, I am flipping out, saying "Oh my god it's Dennis! From It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia!" So while I'm going crazy rambling about the show, the stupid writers had him killed after a mere 30 seconds on camera! I was furious. "How could they kill Dennis?!" And I continued to ruin the movie for everyone.

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.