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Showing posts from January, 2011

Martin Luther King III has a dream to own the Mets

Martin Luther King III the son of the famed Civil Rights Leader is scheudled to come to New York this week to meet with Fred and Jeff Wilpon to discuss the particulars about owning 25 percent of the Mets franchise. It's not like King III is short on money. He not only owns the King Center in Atlanta, which hosts the NBA's Hawks and NHL's Thrashers, but has a big group, including former Met Ed Kranepool, son of former Met, Donn Clendenon Jr., as well as several TV executives. It is not know whether King has any baseball knowledge or front office experience, but he definately wants in, and according to the New York Post, he wants 50%. That might be a tough pill for the Wilpons to swallow, but at somepoint they have to come realize that they can't afford this franchise. The Wilpons have been strapped for cash for the past two years because of the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme, and now that they are being taken to court, because they made-off with some extra dough during the ...

Wilpons' prepared to sell part of New York Mets franchise

Met fans may soon get their wish. Fred and son Jeff Wilpon announced Friday that they are considering selling off 20-25 % of their team in light of a lawsuit that claims the Wilpons made money in the Bernie Madoff scandal two years ago. Rumors were that the Wilpons lost over $400 million in the scandal and furnished the main reason why the team had to cut its losses and not spend much the past two seasons. However, the lawsuit indicates the Mets made $48 million on the Ponzi scheme, and that the Mets invested $523 million, then withdrew $571 million in accounts. If the Wilpons sell, it will be a great day for Mets fans. For far too long, Mets fans have watched the Mets front office purchase only the cheapest of players, as well as throw money at utter trash, i.e. Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo. This off-season, the Mets have done very little in spending to improve a team that looks destined for a second straight year of failure. Nonetheless, consider a 25 % investment into the Wilpon...

TennesseeTitans release coach Jeff Fisher from contract

In a late, surprising move, the Tennessee Titans have released coach Jeff Fisher from his contract, ending the run of the longest tenured coach in the NFL. Fisher spent 17 years in Tennessee, starting out as a interim head coach in 1994 when the team still played in Houston, Texas and was known as the Oilers. Fisher has seen some incredible highs and lows as coach of the Oilers/Titans. He oversaw the team's move to Tennessee, led the Titans to their only Super Bowl appearance in 1999, and moved the team to the postseason six times. He compiled a 142-120 record in Tennessee; however, the end of Fisher's career leaves a bitter taste. It all began with the benching of quarterback Vince Young, who suffered a season-ending hand injury in November. The quarterback had a fit on the field, reportedly tossing his shoulder pads into the stands. Young and Fisher got into an argument, and the former Texas star was pronounced done for the year by Fisher. From that time forward, Fisher dec...

Antonio Cromartie rips into players union and NFL

Jets safety Antonio Cromartie, who is scheduled to be a free agent, March 3, ripped into the NFL and the NFLPA for not getting a agreement signed on the new collective bargining agreement. "To me, you need to stop bitching about it," the cornerback said. "And if you wanna say you're gonna get into a room and meet and greet, and say you're gonna do what you need to do, then do it. Don't just talk about it. "So to tell you the truth they need to get their damn minds together and get this [expletive] done. Stop bitching about money. Money ain't nothing. Money can be here and gone. Us players, we want to go out and play football. It's something we've been doing and we love it and enjoy it. It's our livelihood," he added. The Jets have 16 free agents this year, and the team is in limbo wanting to sign some of their key free agents like Cromartie, Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes, but if the NFL and the players association go on strike,...

Jets front office has a lot of decisions to make this off-season

If you are Mike Tannenbaum you have a lot of work to do in the next four months before mandatory mini-camps open up in June. The Jets are loaded with a bunch of big named free-agents that they have to either re-sign or part ways from. Decisions that will go a long way in determining the future of this franchise for the next year and possibly years to come. List of Jets free agents ! Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes, Shaun Ellis, Eric Smith, Brad Smith, and David Harris highlight 16 Jets who are either restricted or unrestricted free agents this year. Free agency usually doesn't hit full swing until March, and with the NFL Players Union set to strike in March over the new CBA, who knows what kind of leverage Tannenbaum and other GM's will have this year. Clearly the Jets have to find a way to keep Edwards and Holmes. Both are big play number one type wide receivers. Both will be asking for a lot of money. Can the Jets keep these two together, or can they only keep one? That is t...

Jets fall short yet again in AFC Title Game

Steelers 24 Jets 19 For the second straight year the Jets are left pondering what could have been . After watching the Pittsburgh Steelers run all over them for 24 unanswered points in the first half, the Jets tried valiantly to come from behind, but it was just not enough as Gang Green fell 24-19 in the AFC title game. For a whole half the Jets slept-walked, and as a result it cost them dearly. At one point in the second quarter, the Steelers had out-gained the Jets 131-1 on the ground, and New York had the football for only 8:56 in the entire first half. The tone was set early when Pittsburgh drove down the field on their opening drive of the first quarter, eating up nearly 10 minutes on the clock, as Rashard Mendenhall scored the go ahead touchdown. Yet, the Jets had a chance. Mark Sanchez's 45 yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes to cut the deficit to 24-10 early in the third quarter, gave the Jets a spark. The Jets got another safety on the Steelers sacking Ben Roethlisberg...

AFC Championship game Preview: Jets @ Steelers

New York Jets (13-5) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (13-4) Five weeks ago when the Jets beat the Steelers 22-17 in Pittsburgh, Rex Ryan told his players to "make their mark" because he had a "feeling they would be back." Well after an impressive and stunning 28-21 victory over the New England Patriots a week ago, the Jets are back in the AFC title game for the second straight season. Many are hoping and even expecting Gang Green to end their long Super Bowl drought with another victory in Pittsburgh on Sunday, however this game should be much different than the last one. For starter Troy Polomalu will play this game for Pittsburgh. The hard hitting safety didn't play in the last Jets game , and it will be important for Gang Green to keep an eye on him, because he has a propensity to blitz and strip quarterbacks of the football, a la his hit on Joe Flacco earlier in the season. For the Jets to win this game, Mark Sanchez, who was terrific against the Patriots, will have...

NFC Championship game preview: Packers @ Bears

Green Bay Packers (12-6) @ Chicago Bears (12-5) - Line: Packers (-3 1/2) No team has been hotter of late than the Green Bay Packers. Their run really started in Foxboro Massachusetts in December, a game that Aaron Rodgers didn't play in because of a concussion. In that contest against the Patriots, the Packers beat up the Pats for most of the evening, even holding a couple of leads in the game. Trailing 31-27 late in the fourth, back-up Matt Flynn engineered a drive deep into the Pats territo ry, before New England turned around the Packers in the waning seconds at the 10 yard line. Even though it was a lose it was impressive. Since that time the Pack has been rolling. Aaron Rodgers returned the next week and toruched the Giants for four touchdowns in a 45-17 victory. Then he threw a touchdown in a 10-3 victory over the Bears just to get to the postseason. More on that game in a minute. A victory over a beaten up Michael Vick and the Eagles, and a dominating 48-21 victory over the ...

Nets nix Carlmelo Anthony deal a big mistake

On Wednesday the New Jersey Nets front office made their intentions be known that they are fed up with pursuing Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony . For months the Nets have tangoed with Denver on a possible trade that would send the superstar to New Jersey, but they could never come to terms on a deal. For his part Anthony tried to deny rumors that he was going there, raising speculation that he would prefer to go to the Knicks instead. "I'm not happy with the way ... this deal has gone until now," Russian owner Mikhail Prokhorov said. "It has taken too long. It has been played out in public and it certainly has taken a toll on the players and I believe that it has cost us several games. I think management did a great job, but there comes a time when the price is simply too expensive. I'm instructing our team to walk away from the deal." "It's my decision," said Prokhorov, who said the Nets were given permission to speak with Anthony but neve...

Antrel Rolle rips into Tom Couglin, wants to play for Rex Ryan

The New York Giants haven't played a game in 16 days, and already it is starting to turn into a very interesting off season. Safeties Kenny Phillips and Antrel Rolle took the time on Miami's WQAM, the Sid Rosenberg Show, to rip into coach Tom Coughlin while promoting the idea of playing for the New York Jets instead. "I think their chemistry might be better than ours." Rolle said. "I think they have a lot more fun than we have ... At the end of the day, yeah, we're professional athletes, we get paid a lot of money to do what we do but we're all human. No one is a robot at this level. We do have feelings, we like to have fun." "People want to talk about Rex Ryan and this, that and the other, that team is going to war for him," Rolle added. "They would die for him." Phillips then added more gas to the fire with these statements: "I would love to play for a guy like Rex," Phillips told Rosenberg. "He goes to bat for ...

Mets sign former Padre pitcher Chris Young

The Mets continue to stock pile on steady pitching. A couple weeks ago they signed former Brewer lefty Chris Capuano to a contract. Now they have signed former Padre Chris Young to a deal. Young used to be a staff ace for the Padres, going 11-5 with a 3.46 ERA and 164 strikeouts in 2006 for San Diego. However injuries robbed Young of his gifts the last three seasons, as he completely fell off the map. It's a no risk move for the Mets who desperately need pitching. Maybe they got something here.

Jets defeat Patritos, head back to AFC Title game

JETS 28 PATRIOTS 21 The critics can now eat crow -- at least for one week. There was a lot of criticism about the Jets yapping before their divisional playoff game against the Patriots, but the Jets walked the walked as the beat the Patriots 28-21 , Sunday to advance to the AFC title game for the second straight year. Things didn't look good early. After the Jets' linebacker David Harris picked off a Tom Brady pass and ran back to the Pats 10 yard line, the Jets screwed up a potentially crushing blow failing to move the football, and then watched kicker Nick Folk miss yet again another easy field goal. In the second quarter the Jets started to turn things around. Mark Sanchez hit Braylon Edwards on a rope down the sidelines for a 37 yard gain to spot the ball at the New England 8. Two plays later, Sanchez hit LaDainian Tomlinson for the touchdown to give the Jets a 7-3 lead. From there the Jets D did the job. They flustered Brady all night long, hitting him, rushing him and for...

Yankees ink Soriano to set up Rivera

The Yankees bullpen is starting to turn into the best in baseball. The Yankees finalized a deal with former Tampa Bay Rays closer Rafael Soriano on a three year $35 million deal to be the set up man to Mariano Rivera this season. Soriano has a buyout at the end of this year, if he wants to go somewhere else to be a closer. However it would behoove the Yankees to keep Soriano around for a while. Soriano could be the closer in waiting, because you never know when Rivera, 42, will begin to show his age. Soriano will now join former Met lefty Pedro Feliciano in the Yankee bullpen. The Yankees can feature Feliciano, Joba Chamberlain, Soriano and Rivera in that order -- pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good.

Nets nearing blockbuster trade for Carmelo Anthony

The Nets are 10-27, 18.5 games behind the first place Boston Celtics. On the surface there is little hope for New Jersey to even get back into playoff contention this year, but don't tell that to the Nets front office. Obviously they believe. The Nets are nearing a three team trade that will bring the franchise Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups from the Denver Nuggets, and Richard "Rip" Hamilton from the Detroit Pistons. It will re-unite Billips and Hamilton who were part of the Pistons NBA Finals runs in the early 2000's. It's a terrific move if the Nets make it. Yes, the lose youngsters in Devin Harris and Derrik Favors, but if they can get these proven winners, and keep them, they will suddenly povalt themselves into contention for the eighth playoff seed.

Nick Folk kicks Jets to New England, beats Manning & Colts

JETS 17 COLTS 16 Rex Ryan said it was personal. He wanted desperately to beat Peyton Manning in a game, playoffs or regular season, having lost to him five times. Tonight in a game that combined some gritty play by the Jets offensive line and running game, combined with a bend but don't break play by the defense, and some really bizarre decisions by the Colts coaches, led to the Jets victory in the wild card round. Now the Jets head back to New England where they got pasted 45-3 over a month ago. Quarterback Mark Sanchez was not good. Even though he hit some big passes in the second half like the 18 yard pass to Braylon Edwards to set up the Nick Folk field goal with just 19 seconds to go, he played unevenly. He overthrew his receivers, threw a huge interception in the first half that killed a potential scoring drive, and was erratic all day completing 18 of 31 for 189 yards. Trailing the Colts 7-0, the Jets came out in the second half with a purpose to pound the football. with Sh...

Rex Ryan Wants Jets to be like Yankees

Rex Ryan has had a lot to say this week. First he said that he wanted to beat Peyton Manning badly, then said that Tom Brady isn't as good a student of the game as Manning is, now he is making comparisons to the Yankees. Ryan said: "The Yankees are the most-loved team in baseball [by their fans] and the most-hated by everybody [else]. Now that would be ideal. We're short about 26 championships, but that's going to take a few years to catch up," the coach said with a chuckle. "Now, that's what you want. ... If people love you and feel good about you and all that, they want to schedule you for homecoming because they can beat you every time. We want to be a team that is respected. You might dislike us and all that kind of stuff, but we want you to respect us." If Ryan and the Jets want respect they better earn it. The Jets have talked a lot about how good they think they are, and how they believe they are ready to be a Super Bowl champ. Now they have ...

Tom Couglin tells critics to kiss his a**

Tom Coughlin finally has some harsh words for those who want to see him get fired. In Coughlin's post game speech to his players after a 17-14 victory over Washington, Coughlin said this: "Hey, from the bottom of my heart and everybody's, we have a 10-6 season! A 10-win season in the NFL, OK? And they can kiss my ass, OK? They can line up and kiss my ass . It's not an easy thing to do." A player is then heard saying, "Can we quote you on that, coach?" Coughlin replied: "You can quote me on a lot more than that. The priest is here or I'd say a few more things." You can understand how Coughlin feels after hearing rumors that he would be fired, and that Bill Cowher would interested in taking his job. The Giants as we know choked down the stretch.

Jets talking and preping for rematch with Colts

As seen on Bleacher Report.com via Michael Cohen's Bleacher home page. When the New York Jets got word that the Kansas City Chiefs were getting upended by the Oakland Raiders, 31-10, they couldn't be very happy. Rex Ryan said during his press conference that the Jets had been preparing for a Saturday night game, his way of saying boastfully that the Jets were expecting the Indianapolis Colts the entire time. Sure Rex. Ryan then added, "I think we are the best team in the playoffs." Good luck trying to do that against the Colts, Patriots and Steelers, three teams that have been to eight Super Bowls in the last 10 years, winning six of them. Lets face it, the Jets didn't want to face the Colts in the first round. ... To read the rest of the story Click on the LINK !

Sexual Harrassment Suit Filed Against Brett Favre & Jets

The Jets just can't stay out of the news, and it really isn't their fault. No it has nothing to do with Ines Sainz, nor Rex Ryan's foot fetish. It has nothing to do with Ryan's Jets at all, but the with Brett Favre. As most know, when Favre was the quarterback of the Jets in 2008, he was accused by Jenn Sterger of sending pornographic photos of his private areas, as well as sending sexually explicit text messages to the former Jets employee. Christina Scavo and Shannon O'Toole were massage therapists for the Jets, and both say Favre made his move in the summer of 2008, after the pair had been working at the Jets training camp on Long Island. "Brett here," the text to a third unidentified masseuse began. "[Y]ou and crissy want t o get together im all alone [sic]." ( NEW YORK POST ) Scavo told her husband about the texts, and he called the Packers legend and "requested that he stop soliciting his wife for 'bad intentions' or to get tog...

SATIRE: Brett Favre Discusses Career, Scandals, and Football

Brett Favre was benched in the Vikings final regular season game, a 20-13 lose to the Detroit Lions. Many expect that this is finally the end of Brett Favre's career, a career that has been full of incredible highs, incredible lows and some pretty bizarre moments. Favre is the example of the everyman -- a guy so average and typical of most people, who has made his series of mistakes in life, but one who's incredible athletic gifts make it hard for the rest of us to accept his truly mortal status. Favre's career will culminate in Canton in six years -- hopefully by then we can remember Favre for the guy who won a Super Bowl in Green Bay, and gave football fans across America a hero they could root for, before this very bizarre three year period that proved to be the public relations meltdown for Favre's brilliant career. Lets head down to our roving reporter, who took some time to speak with Favre about his career and football future. RR: Ok, Michael we got Brett here si...

Tom Couglin to return in 2011

Giants owner John Mara endorsed coach Tom Couglin after the Giants 17-14 victory over the Redskins Sunday night in Washington. The Giants were eliminated from the playoffs during the victory, by the Green Bay Packers who beat the Chicago Bears 10-3. "I believe in this guy," Mara said. "I believe in this guy, I believe in stability, and you can't build anything if you're constantly making changes and firing people, and that's just not our culture; it's just not what we believe in. And we think this guy - we know this guy is a good coach, and we want him to lead us into next season." Mara added that Coughlin was safe even if the Giants lost to the Redskins, telling reporters he had a meeting with Couglin last week, and told him to not believe anything he read in the papers and online.

2011 NFL Opponents Set

With the end of the season, the 2011 opponents are immediately released to the public. As most know, the schedules are not finalized until mid April. For Giant fans, they are looking forward to this already. For the Jets, their only concern right now is Indianapolis and the AFC Wild Card, but lets just look briefly ahead for a moment. NYG opponents: Home: Dallas, Philadelphia, Washington, Buffalo, Miami, St. Louis, Seattle, Green Bay. Road: Dallas, Philadelphia, Washington, New England, NY Jets, Arizona, San Francisco, New Orleans. NYJ: Home: Buffalo, Miami, New England, Jacksonville, Kansas City, San Diego, Dallas, NY Giants. Road: Buffalo, Miami, New England, Baltimore, Denver, Oakland, Philadelphia, Washington.

Green Bay Packers Elimiate Giants From Playoffs

PACKERS 10 BEARS 3 The Green Bay Packers have eliminated the New York Giants from the playoffs with a 10-3 victory over the Chicago Bears to clinch the wild card playoff. The Giants hold a 17-14 lead in Washington, but it will not matter, because the Giants season will end in bitter disappointment in the nation's capital tonight. With the Bears driving for the tying touchdown, Nick Collins picked off Jay Cutler to seal the deal for the cheese heads with :26 seconds to go. The Packers will travel to Philadelphia next week.

Jets to draw Colts in playoffs

It is beginning to look more and more likely that the Jets will play the Colts next week in the playoffs. The Jacksonville Jaguars lost to the Houston Texans 34-17, to give the Colts the division title, even though the Colts were tied with the Titans at 20 with 2:30 minutes to go in regulation. The Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Oakland Raiders 31-10, meaning that if the Colts can find a way to beat the Titans, the Jets will visit Indianapolis, since the Colts would be the three seed. The Colts defeated the Titans 23-20 on Adam Vinateri's winning 43-yard field goal to give the Colts the win and the three seed. Who is the best match-up for the Jets? Would you believe Kansas City? The Chiefs have the ninth ranked offense and number one rushing attack, but have zero playoff experience. They might be rip for the picking by a veteran football team like the Jets, who could take advantage of their inexperience. The Jets struggled against the Colts in the AFC title game, as Peyton Manning ...

Jets Reserves Stomp on Bills

JETS 38 BILLS 7 It wasn't what you would call a great prep. for the playoffs, but the Jets reserves got the job done against the lowly Buffalo Bills, winning the game 38-7 to get the Jets to 11-5. It is the best regular season record the Jets have had since 1998 when they went 12-4. In his post game press conference, Rex Ryan tried to sell that the victory gave the team some added momentum for the playoffs, and that quarterback Mark Sanchez is now in a grove. Ummm, coach, how could your starting quarterback be in a groove when he didn't even throw a pass? And how can this be a momentum shift, when the entire first string didn't even play after the first quarter? Mark Brunell did just enough in relief of Sanchez. He was 6-of-12 for 110 yards and two touchdowns, highlighted by a nice 52 yard TD to Braylon Edwards in the third quarter to give the Jets a 24-7 lead. Kellen Clemens came in relief of Brunell, and did well, running for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to extend t...