Archive for September, 2009

Nate Robinson is close to signing a one-year deal with the Knicks that exceeds the $2.9 million qualifying offer. Nate’s deal would be incentive-laden. According to the sources of Alan Hahn from Newsday, Nate didn’t want to play anywhere else.

David Lee, who has been reported to be close to re-signing with the Knicks several times, is also said to be close to signing a one-year deal but there are conflicting reports saying Lee’s agent implied he his not confident a deal will get done, this according to the New York Post.

For the first time since 2004, the Yankees have won a series in Anaheim. AJ Burnett was key in the Yankees 3-2 rubber match win. Burnett’s success in his last two starts gives hope that he is heading in the right direction. AJ struck out 11 batters in 5.2 innings to earn his 12th win of the season. Burnett pitched well in his prior outing also, getting a no decision in a Yankee loss to the Mariners while giving up one run in seven innings.

Burnett may be turning the page and he couldn’t have picked a better time. If he can sustain this in his last starts of the season then he should be able to carry it into the postseason. The Yankees will be counting on Burnett to pitch well for them in the October.

After missing the playoffs for the first time last year since the strike-shortened 1994 season, the Yankees are back in the playoffs. The Yankees are the first team to officially make the playoffs after beating the Angels 6-5. The Yankees still want to win the east and want to have baseball’s best record in order to obtain home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

About a month ago the Yankees looked unstoppable. Now they look beatable. The Yankees’ postseason success will hinge on the arms of Burnett and Pettitte as long as the offense doesn’t totally shut down as we’ve seen happen in prior postseasons. Sabathia can’t pitch every game. Someone else has to step up.

The offense will be fine. I don’t have any doubts they will put up runs in October. The Yankees luck out that they won’t play the Angels or Sox in the ALDS because if they don’t get good starting pitching in the best-of-five series then they’ll be going home early. They will be able to slip by the Tigers or Twins with mediocre starting pitching as long as Sabathia doesn’t get beat.

Just a few weeks ago Bruce Ratner released the design for Atlantic Yards, the project in Brooklyn that would host the Nets along with high-rise housing and other facilities. Now Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia’s richest man, may aid in the Nets’ move to Brooklyn. The Russian billionaire would takeover the Nets and give them the finances needed to build the Atlantic Yards project and make the move to Brooklyn.

Prokhorov has confirmed interest in the Nets and has sent out a proposal to existing Nets shareholders. Prokhorov would give the Nets the financial assets needed to make the move to Brooklyn but there are still other obstacles that would need to be hurdled in order for the Nets to make the move.

Can we crown the Jets’ defense as elite two weeks into the season? Consider that the Jets’ defense hasn’t given up a touchdown in two games and their foes were the Texans and Patriots. The Texans were hyped throughout the off-season and were a trendy pick to make the playoffs. After the Jets dismantled them people brushed the Texans off as over-hyped. In week two, the Texans’ offense put up big numbers beating the Titans, who held the best record in the AFC last season. As for the Patriots, they have a load of weapons on offense. Their offense broke several records two years ago when they went a perfect 16-0 in the regular season but lost to the Giants in the Super Bowl. After the Jets beat the Patriots people called Brady “rusty” from not playing last year and also made the excuse that Wes Welker didn’t play in the game.

The Texans aren’t over-hyped. The are a good football team with a solid offense. Credit the Jets’ defense.

Tom Brady is not “rusty”. He’s had almost two months to get the rust out and he didn’t look rusty on the final drive against the Bills last week. Credit the Jets’ defense.

As Rex Ryan put it Monday during an interview on the Michael Kay show, who else do the Jets have to beat to be considered elite? The Jets’ defense deserves more credit and deserves gaining the status of elite. Rex Ryan has made the Jets’ defense elite and the players believe in his aggressive system and feed off his energy. Credit the Jets’ defense and don’t make excuses for their opponents because the Rex’s defense is elite.

One win. That’s all the Yankees need to secure a playoff spot. The Yanks have hit a tough patch but still find themselves with a firm lead over Boston in the AL East. The red hot Red Sox come to the Bronx for a three-game series this weekend and the AL East race can become very interesting depending on how the series goes. The Yankees have to take on the pesky Angels for three games leading up to the Boston series giving the Yankees a tough six game stretch, not to mention they have began to sputter winning only four of their last nine games against less than stellar opponents.

The Yankees have a tough task ahead of them the next six games. The Angels and Red Sox are playoff teams and although the Yankees only need to win one game to be sure of going to the playoffs, they need to find some consistency and get some momentum heading into October. What better way to gain steam heading into the playoffs than beating two playoff teams?

I’d like to see the Yankees put it all out there against the Angels and Red Sox and take a commanding division lead and be able to take it easy in the final games when they play Kansas City and Tampa Bay. The Yankees’ playoff success will hinge on how well they play in the next six games and will also hinge on their pitching. Other than Sabathia, there is nobody else who is a sure thing on the Yankees starting staff.

49ers first round pick Michael Crabtree has threatened to sit out the 2009 season because of a contract dispute and the Jets are being accused of contacting his agent. Crabtree was selected 10th overall by the 49ers and would re-enter the 2010 draft if he remainsinsigned. It has been confirmed that the 49ers have filed tampering charges against the Jets.

The Jets are being accused of talking to Crabtree’s agent about obtaining his rights from the 49ers or drafting him in 2010. Crabtree was high on the Jets’ board in 2009. Neither Jets coach Rex Ryan nor 49ers coach Mike Singletary gave any details about the situation but both said the NFL is investigating the claim.

By rule, Crabtree had to be signed by August 14 in order to be traded this season and if he isn’t signed by November 17 then he must sit out the entire season.

It was everything we expected Sunday night when the Giants and Cowboys went to battle to open up Jerry Jones’ new stadium in Arlington; Tough, physical and exciting football. It was anything but pretty but the Giants’ Lawrence Tynes kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired to propel the Giants over the Cowboys 33-31.

The hit on the Giants has been they don’t have a number one receiver on their roster but on Sunday night they had two players who put up number one receiver type numbers. Mario Manningham caught 10 balls for 150 yards and a touchdown and Steve Smith caught 10 balls for 134 yards and a touchdown.

Eli Manning put up big numbers (25/38 330 yards 2 TD’s) while Tony Romo looked like a mediocre quarterback (13/29 127 yards 1 TD 3 INT’s). The Cowboys had a better game on the ground but Romo’s ineffectiveness and turnovers proved costly in the end.