Rex Ryan’s Gives Middle Finger to Miami Crowd

Jets head coach Rex Ryan flipped off a Miami crowd at an MMA fight Saturday night. A person with a camera phone caught Ryan giving the bird to the crowd. 

Ryan told the Miami faithful,”I’d like to thank everybody here in Miami. I know they love me. I want to just tell everybody in Miami, hey, we’re coming to beat you twice next year.”

An apologetic Ryan called the act “stupid and inappropriate.” 

Preseason, postseason, offseason… will there be any time Ryan shuts his mouth? It doesn’t seem so.

Jared Jeffries’ Defense Can Help Contending Teams

Jared Jeffries’ defense is hard to ignore and my thinking is the Knicks may be able to trade him to a contending team that is looking to add a defensive presence to their roster. The team would most likely have to be a team that isn’t looking to sign one of the NBA’s top free agents this summer because teams that are going to be in hot pursuit of big names won’t want to take on Jeffries’ contract. They’ll want as much cap flexibility as possible. 

Teams that could use Jeffries’ services are the Spurs, Hornets, and there could just as well be others (my assumptions). Maybe even the young Grizzlies could use Jeffries.

Knick fans know that Jeffries plays really well on defense. He works hard and the Knicks use him to guard several different players. Jeffries could help a defensive-minded team or even an offensive team looking to add a little defense down the stretch. They’ll have to act quickly, however, because the NBA trade deadline is less than three weeks away.

If the Knicks receive an offer of an expiring contract for Jeffries, they’ll be inclined to make that trade. Donnie Walsh would be thrilled to receive such an offer. Walsh shouldn’t wait for teams to come to him though. He should be making phone calls to them (which I’m sure he’s doing already). The Knicks are falling out of contention quickly and they need to make up their minds before the February 18 trade deadline whether they want to add a piece to make this team better or diligently try to trade the contracts of Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries in return for expiring contracts.

Damon Turned Down Yankees Offer

Johnny Damon and his agent, Scott Boras, turned down an offer from the Yankees one week and the following week the Yankees added Randy Winn to their roster in a one-year deal worth $2 million. The deal the Yankees offered Damon was one-year for $6 million. 

Where does Damon think he’ll get more money than that?

I wonder if Damon was on board with the Yankees offer and Boras talked him into declining the offer in hopes the Yankees would counter with something higher. Then the Yankees signed Randy Winn and Damon’s return flew out the window. Boras has really underestimated the Yankees desire to keep their payroll down. 

I’m not sure if anybody will offer Damon a contract worth more than $6 million for one year. If the Yankees are willing to give you $6 million, what team will go higher? We are fastly approaching spring training and team needs are diminishing.

There sits Johnny, all alone, with nobody to talk to.

Teams that have been rumored to have interest in Damon include the A’s, Rays, and Jays.

Mock Drafters; The Average Joe Doesn’t Know

Mock drafting; It’s an inexact science. There is so much involved and so many variables in simulating player choices by professional sports teams. Experts aren’t going to get their entire mock draft choices correct. They’re lucky to get half of the first round correct and the percentage decreases drastically as the rounds proceed. They are going to go through six… eight… ten revisions before the day of the draft. But they worked hard to create their mock draft. They didn’t read other mock drafts and make changes to them and called it their own. They made there’s from scratch. They put the time in and they are so called “experts” for a reason.

I never understood how the Average Joe Schmo off the street received the ability to create a mock draft. If experts and scouts never created a mock draft first, the Average Joe wouldn’t do too well creating his own. If the Average Joe had to create a mock draft on his own without watching film, going to workouts, talking to scouts and doing other various activities with college players, they wouldn’t be able to create a respectable mock draft.

Mock drafts can be created in fun, but the line is drawn when the average fans thinks they know more than the experts. I read a mock draft created by an normal fan recently and after he wrote the first round picks he ended the article with, “I had more picks correct than Todd McShay (of ESPN) did last year.”

That’s when the respect of that person’s mock draft flew out the window.

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New York Giants First Round Picks 2010 Mock Draft

Here are some expert predictions of who the Giants will choose with the 15th overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft coming in April.

Note: These mock drafts are bound to change as we get closer to draft day. (I’ll keep updating and adding as we go along)

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. – Carlos Dunlap, DE, Florida
Sports Illustrated’s Don Banks – Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, USF
NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks – Brandon Spikes, ILB, Florida
CBS Sports’ Rob Rang – Sergio Kindle, OLB, Texas
CBS Sports’ Chad Reuter – Rolando McClain, LB, Alabama
Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager- Taylor Mays, S, USC
NBC Sports’ Evan Silva – Taylor Mays, S, USC

New York Jets First Round Picks 2010 Mock Draft

Here are some expert predictions of who the Jets will choose with the 29th overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft coming in April.

Note: These mock drafts are bound to change as we get closer to draft day. (I’ll keep updating and adding as we go along)

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. – Golden Tate, WR, Notre Dame
Sports Illustrated’s Don Banks – Damian Williams, WR, USC
NFL.com’s Bucky Brooks – Damian Williams, WR, USC
CBS Sports’ Rob Rang – Damian Williams, WR, USC
CBS Sports’ Chad Reuter – Golden Tate, WR, Notre Dame
Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager – Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State
NBC Sports’ Evan Silva – Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State

Knicks Trade Rumors 2010

The February 18 NBA trade deadline is approaching and Knicks president Donnie Walsh doesn’t plan on making a move unless he is sure it will help his club.

The New York Post says that Walsh “secretly admits” his acquisitions of Larry Hughes and Chris Wilcox last season “backfired”. Walsh doesn’t think it is urgent the Knicks acquire somebody.

“I wouldn’t think I have to make a move,” Walsh told the Post. “It isn’t like I woke up and [said], ‘Oh my god, I have to do something now.’”

If Walsh does make a move, it will be for a player with an expiring contract. Walsh will not acquire a player with a contract that extends beyond this season. He wants as much cap flexibility as possible for the summer’s free agent class.

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Jets 2010 Needs

The New York Jets had a great run in 2009 with a rookie quarterback and rookie head coach (although Rex’s defensive scheme says nothing “rookie” about it) and it ended a win short of the Super Bowl. Gang Green has a bunch of young players to build around, but they also have some holes to fill. Look for them to add depth or upgrade at the following positions:

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Kerry Rhodes Wants to Stay with Jets

Everybody has been speculating about what the Jets are going to do with Kerry Rhodes and whether Rhodes even wants to be here. Rhodes cleared up the air Wednesday and came out on SNY and said he wants to remain with the team. 

On SNY’s show “Wheelhouse” Rhodes said, “There is going to be a little bit of talk between us in the next couple of weeks but I want to be here and the team wants me here.”

If that’s the case then the Jets have one less need they have to address this offseason. They already need to fill voids at the cornerback position. Having Rhodes be committed to the team could be good for both sides.

After Rhodes was benched during the middle of the season many people thought he would want to be traded this offseason. He ended that talk Wednesday.

“To be honest, I really do want to be here. This is where I want to be, this is New York,” Rhodes said. “This is the team that gave me my first shot. I mean, a fourth-rounder. A lot of people passed up on me coming out but they gave me the shot. They gave me the big contract here. So I want to be here and all the fans know I want to be here. I’m just letting the fans know I do want to be here. I want to end my career here, end my career as a Jet.”

What’s better to know is that the feelings are mutual. The Jets want Rhodes to stay too.

“He (Rex) wants me to be here and the organziation wants me to be here,” Rhodes said. “So it’s a little bit of me humbling myself and talking to Rex some more and seeing what happens from there.”

Rhodes is due a $2 million roster bonus in March.

Tracy McGrady Trade Rumors, Knicks

UPDATE: According to Yahoo! sports, the Knicks are discussing a possible three-team trade that would send Tracy McGrady to the Knicks. 

Weeks ago it didn’t seem as though the Knicks were going to pursue a trade for Tracy McGrady of the Rockets. One reporter even called a possible trade for T-Mac “Dead”. Now it seems as though the Knicks are rekindling the idea. 

On January 26th, Marc Berman of the New York Post wrote:

“Houston’s Tracy McGrady should be traded at the deadline and perhaps Chicago’s Tyrus Thomas, too. Both are squarely on Walsh’s radar. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey only has interest in a Knicks’ package if either rookie Jordan Hill or Chandler are part of it.”

One source thinks the Rockets would except a package around rookie Toney Douglas too. 

Hill, yes. Douglas, yes. Chandler, no. Wilson Chandler is a guy that could be a core part of the Knicks for years. We haven’t seen enough of Jordan Hill yet, but what we have seen hasn’t been impressive. Douglas has had some bright spots, but has been inconsistent. 

McGrady is set to become a free agent after this season. If the Rockets are willing to accept a package of Jordan Hill, Jared Jeffries or Eddy Curry, plus an expiring contract, the Knicks should jump on it and run like they just stole something because it will be tough to persuade them into taking Jeffries or Curry  - tough and extremely unlikely. 

The most likely trade scenario is one of the players the Rockets allegedly want (Hill, Douglas or Chandler) plus expiring contracts.