The Return

New York Sports in the Holiday Season

After a few month hiatus, I have decided to make a long overdue return performance in lieu of all the sports fun over the past few days and weeks.

It's been exactly 9 weeks since my last real posting. The day after the debacle that ended the collapse. I tried to keep it going the week after with some half hearted Giants blogging but I really just needed a break.

In the past few weeks, I have started to get many requests for a blog update, so with that, I give you Cooper's team-by-team thoughts on the the NY Sports Scene....

Let's start it off with the pigskin.

The New York Giants
Say what you want about Eli, we are 9-4. NINE and four. Go back to the "experts" picks prior to this season and show me anyone who had them in the playoffs, let alone tied for the 3rd best record in the conference and 5th best in all of the NFL.

Let me stop here for a second and tell you all that my good friend Larry Goldberg picked the Giants to go 11-5. He picked this VERY early in the offseason and stuck with it through everything. He swore by the schedule and especially by the run game, by Reese, by Eli and by one Brandon Jacobs. And while he may have been off about Jacobs' season yardage, NOBODY knew that Derrick Ward would emerge as such a force during the season or that BJ would be such a, um, well, ya know, his prediction looks pretty damn good right now. Hats off my friend. I never doubted ya for a second. OK, that is a lie. I told him he was crazy about 50 times and after we started off 0-2, let's just say I was talking to Larry a lot in a not so complimentary way.

Anyway, we are 9-4. In a way, I already feel like people will look at this season and say if we don't win a playoff game, it's a failure. But those are the same people that had Coughlin fired after the Tiki retirement game in Philly and were bashing Reese all offseason for not doing enough (just checking but can is the left tackle still a problem? Is Kavika Mitchell a crappy LB signing? Were you not disappointed to lose Kiwanukah for the year? How's Luke doing down there in Tampa?). The reality is we have won 6 road games in a row (The first Giants team since 1962 to do that) and will go on the road in the playoffs for the second straight season. If we go to Tampa (say hi to Luke) and win, people will say great! Eli got is first win, he is finally on his way. If we lose, they will want Coughlin fired and call for Eli's head yet again and call the season a failire. We are now going to be expected to win on the road in the playoffs and that, for me, is never a good position to be in. That said, it's been a helluva season to date and with two 8:00 home games left, a lot of cold weather ahead of us.


A few comments on yesterday's game...

Anyone out there that thinks this is a better team on the field without Tiki is not watching the same games I am. Jacobs really needs a lesson on holding onto the damn ball (ditto D. Ward last week). Can't TC give them the same speech he gave Tiki when he came to town? It's definitely a closer and more complete team without Tiki in the locker room but on the field...no way!

How bout that Kavika Mitchell?!

Gutsy performance by Pierce. Really played like a GIANT.

Plaxico is a special player. Really didn't think he had that kinda game in him.

2 games in a row Coughlin has given the ball back to the other team with under 2 minutes to play and both times the defense has won the game. Hats off to Spags and his boys for doing so.

THAT SAID. What is with the pansy ass play calling on offense late in these 2 games?!?! Get the ball back with just under 2 minutes to play and run BJ 3 times for 9 yards and punt so the Eagles get a chance against 2 rookies safties and the moronic prevent D. Great playcalling Gilbride.

We got very lucky that goal post was there, didn't we?


The New York Jets

I really don't have much to say here.

Maybe just a few questions

Is he a Man or a Mangenius? Just wanted to make sure.

Was Thomas Jones still a great trade?

Is it me or are all Jets number 1 picks since like 2002 busts?

Will this team show up next week with any pride for their coach or will they be a part of ass kicking history?

Onto the Hot Stove...(I will try to keep it short)

THE New York Mets

Milledge: I have had a lot of time to think about this one and while I think it made us a better team for 2008, I was an LMillz fan and will really regret giving him up if he finally matures in Washington. That said, putting Lastings Milledge in the same outfield as Eiljah Dukes could go down as one of the all time greatest or all time craziest calls in recent baseball history.

Schneider & Church: Schneider will become a fan favorite. He is a just a baseball player. He will knock in as many runs in key spots as LoDuca has and will play MUCH better defense. Will he knock the ball off the end of his bat into the OF for singles all the time? No. He will ground into more DPs than you and I will like but he will be a positive. (Estrada will not be on the team by the way..he will be non-tendered). Here is my statement about Ryan Church. He is a younger, slightly more athletic Shawn Green. And not the Shawn Green of the 01 & 02 Dodgers but rather the Shawn Green of last season. Is that a bad thing? I don't think so but I do think we need another bat somewhere on this club.

Essentially Church replaces Green which is a wash. Schneider replaces LoDuca. An offensive downgrade (depending on how much PT Castro gets) but a defensive upgrade. The rest of the team is the same exact thing (Wright, Reyes, Castillo & Delgado in the IF, Alou, Beltran in the OF. Marlon, Easley, Gotay, Chavez and Castro are the bench). I think they need a right handed 1B/OF who has some pop that can play against lefties in place of Church and can back up Delgado/Alou when they are out injured (sorry, it's happening). Really wish I had someone to throw out to you guys that I like who is a free agent but I just don't. Maybe they give Gomez the chance in the OF? I don't see him developing enough as a hitter to carry that much of a load yet. Speaking of Gomez....

Johan?!?! Not sure if I believe what I have been reading but if we have to give up 5-6 young guys to bring him in, I do it in a heart beat. He would instantly make us the team to beat in the NL (damn does the NL suck compared to the AL these days!) for years to come. I don't want to get carried away about this cause these rumors can make you crazy.

So far Omar gets a C. Much work to do.

New York Yankees
They have spent FOUR HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS on the following 5 players (age in parentheses): Alex Rodriguez (32), Jorge Posada (36), Mariano Rivera (38), Andy Pettitte (35) and Bobby Abreu (34). In every single one of these deals, the Yankees bid against no other team. Yes, there were rumors that the Mets wanted Jorge but aside from that, no bid was made or allowed to be made on these 5 players. Yet, this team decided to commit $400 million on their own players who haven't won a playoff series since 2004.

So clearly, from this spending behavior and age of the players, you would think this club is a "win now" team, right? Well, ya see, they have this new owner named Hank and oh boy is he a hoot. Hank decided to give the $400 million but now is listening to Brian Cashman and holding on to his 3 pitching prospects instead of going out and getting a 29-year old Johan Santana, the best pitcher on the planet.

The Yankees are about to sign Latroy Hawkins to replace the departed Jose Vizcaino and this is what Cash calls rebuilding the pen.

Who the hell knows what is going on in the Bronx. All I know is they did a great job getting these kids hyped up enough to become big names and now they won't use them to go get the biggest name of them all. Weird team these days.

The other sports..

New York Rangers
GREAT OT win today against the Devils! Shanny!! The King really is fun. Too bad Goldberg and I went on Monday and sat in row A and they got shutout and Henrick looked like crap. Today was a good one. Marty is still amazing but we are 4-0 against them this year. That is great.

New York Knicks
I don't know anything about this sport at all but I do read the papers and this team makes the Jets look like winners. Isiah makes Herm Edwards look like a great coach. James Dolan makes Al Davis look like a genius owner. I feel bad for you Knicks fans out there.

College football
I have been bashing this minor league sport for years so it does feel like a bit triumphant when a season like this one rolls around. Calling a team "National Champions" this season goes beyond comical into a whole new stratosphere of stupidity. Everyone sucks! They can make up 30 stupid bowl game names and give all the money they want to these schools for making it to these bowls but this sport will always be sham until they create some type of playoff format.

OK..that is all I got for you guys...

It's good to be back!