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Showing posts from October, 2014

Bumgarner Dominates in Relief as Giants Win World Series

GIANTS 3 ROYALS 2 SF wins series 4-3 In a postseason where the Kansas City Royals made history going from rags to riches, it was Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants who pushed their way to the top of the mountain and chiseled their names into history forevermore. Bumgarner was fantastic. The Giants unwavering. After falling to the Royals 10-0 in Game 6, the Giants stared at an uncertain script in Game 7. The stats and momentum all pointed in Kansas City's favor. No road team had won a World Series after losing Game 6 since the 1975 Cincinnati Reds. Home teams had won the previous nine Game 7's in World Series history, and the last time the Giants played in a World Series Game 7, the Angles cruised 4-1 to cap off a comeback in the 2002 Fall Classic. Plus this series was feeling a lot like the 1985 series, where the Royals erased a 3-2 series deficit to win it all in Games 6 and 7, topping their rivals from down I-70, the St. Louis Cardinals. So many ghosts...

Cubs Sign Joe Madden as next Manager

The Chicago Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908; 114 years of nothing but pure misery. Chicago may finally be ready to take a step toward ending that long drought after signing Joe Maddon as their new manager beginning in 2015. Hours before Game 7 of the World Series was about to begin between the Royals and Giants, CBS' Jon Hayman reported that the Cubs were on the verge of getting their man. Former Cubs manager Rick Renteria was aware that the Chicago front office led by Theo Epstein, was in the process of replacing the second year manager with arguably the best managers in the game. Renteria is guaranteed the next two years of his contract, whether he serves another role in the organization is to be determined. Now it is all but official. " The Cubs and agent Alan Nero denied that a deal is done, but people familiar with the dealings say that it is certain to be completed in coming days, and that Maddon would indeed be the next Cubs manager. The contra...

Geno Smith and Rex Ryan's Jet Careers in Flames After Buffalo Stampede

BILLS 43 JETS 23 Geno Smith should never throw another pass for the New York Jets ever again. Correction, he should never suit up for the Jets ever again. And Rex Ryan should never be allowed to coach the Jets again either. The Jets not only imploded on Sunday afternoon at the Meadowlands, they went up in flames in a mushroom cloud that should have only one consequence: Woody Johnson forgets his edict that he won't fire anyone in-season, and go Donald Trump on Rex Ryan and company and fire them. This brand of foolery is over, it is time to get answers to long held questions.  One thing is certain, there is no doubt now about Geno Smith, at least to those who still wanted to believe he had something good in him. Geno Smith has nothing good in him. He stinks. He's a bust draft day quarterback like Mark Sanchez was before him, and will join the long line of draft day bust quarterbacks in NFL history. Geno Smith etched his name in the infamy stone when he came and played...

Joe Maddon Leaves Tampa Bay, What's Next?

Joe Maddon is considered by many to be one of baseball's best managers. A winner of 781 games in 11 years in Tampa Bay, turning a downtrodden expansion team into a postseason contender, Maddon parted ways from the Rays after opting out of his contract. The Rays tried to keep Maddon around with a third contract extension in his tenure with the club, but the skipper said no thank you. Perhaps Maddon sees the writing on the wall. Tampa Bay won 77 games this year, a disappointment in his eyes; he watched the team trade his ace, David Price to the Tigers for virtually nothing, and saw his friend and co-worker, Andrew Friedman leave his post as Rays Executive Vice President to become the GM of the LA Dodgers. So now rumors and speculation are going to run rampant. It's not often that a manager with 781 wins under his belt and six 90-win seasons just walks around looking for a job. Maddon will have plenty of decisions to make. He could either sign with a team now, or wait un...

Mets hope ex-Yankee Kevin Long can make Mets hit

Well the Mets made a move this off-season. Yes, pop the champagne bottles, take a picture of it and cherish it, because knowing the Mets they won't make too many more moves between now and February. The Mets hired ex-Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long to revive their stagnate offense that ranked 28th in MLB in batting average and 21st in the league in runs scored. While Lucas Duda had a break out year with the power, 30 homers, and Daniel Murphy was an All Star at second base, the Mets really never hit consistently well in 2014. In fact, they haven't hit consistently well at all the past five years. Long spent eight years with the Yankees, but he was working with a lot of top flight hitters like Derek Jeter, Mark Teixiera, and even Alex Rodriguez. Hitting coaches are not the "Be-All or End-All" when it comes to putting together a baseball team. Either the hitters on the team have the talent or they don't. Long was fired this year after the Yankees offense wa...

Peyton Manning Sets Touchdown Record

Congratulations to Peyton Manning for becoming the NFL's all time passing touchdown leader. Manning has done it with a true passion for the game and total class. Well deserved to the best quarterback in the sport.

Giant load of trouble after Big Blue loss to Dallas

COWBOYS 31 GIANTS 21 Now, the New York Giants are behind the proverbial eight ball. It was just two weeks ago at 3-2 the Giants looked like a team that had revived its season after a hideous 0-2 start with convincing wins over Houston, Washington and Atlanta. Two weeks later the Giants have two losses to the top two teams in the NFC East, if not the top two teams in all the NFC. The Giants were barely competitive against the Cowboys. They hurt themselves with penalties, drops and really, really bad defense in their 31-21 loss in Big D. Big Blue had no answer for Cowboys back-up tight end Gavin Escobar, who had two touchdowns, and even less answers for running back DeMarco Murray who gashed the Giants for 128 yards and a score. It was an overall bad late afternoon for the Giants, who were badly exposed up front on both sides of the football. In the second quarter it was looking good for the Giants. After Dallas was called for pass interference on a fourth and one at the Cowbo...

Jets Acquire Percy Harvin from Seahawks in Stunning Move

It might be too little too late, but the Jets felt inclined to pull off one of the most shocking deals in the NFL in a couple of seasons when they acquired Percy Harvin from the Seattle Seahawks for a conditional pick, that as it turns out, is a fourth rounder in 2015 that could become a second round pick depending on performance. So in essence the Jets gave up little for a guy who, according to multiple reports, has an anger management problem. (More on that in a moment). Talentwise the Jets get a player who has a tremendous amount of speed, is an excellent slot receiver, and a return specialist who can make big plays on special teams. There is no questioning his talent, which was also on display in the Super Bowl when he returned a punt for a touchdown. However, Harvin is statistically having one of his worst seasons of his career. Only 133 yards on 22 catches, and has only played in 38 snaps in games this season. Harvin went from being a focal point in the Seahawks offense to ...

Jets Tricks! Mistakes cost Gang Green chance to take down Patriots

PATRIOTS 27 JETS 25 When a team lacks the necessary talent to make game changing plays on defense; when the team's punter can't punt the football accurately in a big spot, and when the quarterback can't make plays in big spots, and can't be trusted with the football other times, it will somehow lead to a loss. That is exactly what happened to the Jets Thursday night in New England. They did a lot of things right against the Patriots. The ran the ball at will against a very soft Patriots defense; kept Tom Brady on the sideline for most of the night, but when it mattered, the Jets couldn't keep from shooting themselves in the foot. Of the seven games the Jets played this year, this was their best performance. And their most excruciating. To their credit the Jets should have won this game. They should be 2-5 Friday morning, not 1-6, but shoulda, coulda, woulda never leads to anything. Let's start with the defense, which was bad, really bad. Not even 2:30...

Victor Cruz suffers knee injury as Giants lose to Eagles

EAGLES 27 GIANTS 0 Tonight was supposed to be the night that New York Giant would make a big statement in the NFC East that they are ready to play with the big boys. Instead the Giants went limp, as the Eagles did exactly what they planned to do, and that was dominate the New York Giants. Dominate they did, to the tune of 27-0. Yet, by the third quarter all of the Giants attention went from the game to their star wide receiver, Victor Cruz. Cruz attempted to make a diving catch in the end zone on fourth and goal with the Giants trying to get back into the game down 20-0. As the ball fell past Cruz's outstretched left hand, his right hand went directed to his knee which torqued while he was in mid air.  Cruz fell into a heap in the back corner of the endzone, his hands clutching his right knee in agony. Just from seeing the play it looked bad -- the thought of a ACL tear seemed like the possible diagnosis. Instead it was later reported that Cruz tore his Patella Tendon. But...

How 'bout them Cowboys! Week 6 Rapid Reaction

The Dallas Cowboys made the loudest statement in week 6 with their shocking 30-23 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle. While the score indicated a close game, in retrospect, it was a Dallas blowout on the stat sheet. After falling behind 10-0 the Seahawks, the Cowboys fought back, tied the game at ten, and took the lead before the half on a Tony Romo touchdown pass to Jason Witten. The only reason Seattle was even in this game had to do with a muffed punt by the Cowboys that gave the Seahawks the football at the Dallas 14. Seattle would eventually score on Russell Wilson's 9-yard scamper, but that was it. The Cowboys held the Seahawks offense in check all night, forcing two long field goals in the second half, and allowing only 206 yards of offense. Meanwhile, Tony Romo who has taken so much heat in his career for not coming up in the clutch, did so with the game on the line in the fourth quarter. On a third and 20 at the Dallas 31-yard line, Romo connected on a sl...

Broncos take it easy in win over laughable Jets

BRONCOS 31 JETS 17 The only way the Jets were going to have a shot at winning their game against the Denver Broncos was if Denver didn't take the Jets seriously, and allowed New York to make big plays to win. Guess, what? Denver didn't take the Jets seriously at all, but still managed to defeat the Jets, because ... the Jets are the Jets. A surprisingly conservative game plan by Denver saw the Broncos concentrate more on pounding the rock with the ground game rather than let Peyton Manning carve up one of the worst secondary's in football. It almost backfired on them. After Peyton Manning hit Demaryius Thomas on an explosive 54 yard pass to open the game, Denver's offense went into a shell, as they ended up settling for a field goal on their first possession, and allowed the Jets to get their footing defensively. The Jets defense put a lot of pressure on Manning in the first quarter-plus of the game. They sacked him twice, hurried him over a half-dozen times,...

Rex Ryan apologizes to Jets fans as NY destroyed 31-0 by Chargers

CHARGERS 31 JETS 0 It's starting to feel a lot like 1996. Sure the Jets have had their handful of losing seasons here and there since that time, but 1996 was the last time the Jets played as pathetically as they are playing now. That year they were 1-15, and Rich Kotite was canned after two seasons as head coach. On Sunday, after the Jets were plastered by the Chargers 31-0, Rex Ryan offered up a Kotite-esq quote that makes you wonder how much time he has left as the HC of the NYJ, when he went up to the podium and said: "First I want to apologize to our fans ... those that are left." That cynical and stubborn declaration encompasses the obvious: the Jets are done in 2014, and Rex Ryan and crew are not that far behind. Ryan then added after his morose apology:  " This is on one person and that's it. It's certainly not on a quarterback and one individual that way. It's on me. Clearly got outcoached. I thought we had a good plan going in and...

Giant 4th Quarter comeback lift Big Blue to win over Falcons

GIANTS 30 FALCONS 20 For two and a half quarters the New York Giants played with a certain malaise a horrific loss would likely entail. They were down 20-10; watched the Atlanta Falcons take full advantage of their mistakes, and couldn't do much offensively against one of the NFL's worst defenses. With an upcoming match-up against the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday, the Giants were putting forth the kind of effort that made this day look every bit like a trap game. Little did anyone know that the trap was intended for Atlanta instead. The Giants offense suddenly found life late in the third quarter, with both the game and arguably their season hanging in the balance. At 2-2, the Giants knew that falling to 2-3 had the potential for a cataclysmic disaster, especially after a two game winning streak brought life back to their season. Trailing 20-10, with the football at their own 29, Eli Manning heaved a pass down field to Odell Beckham Jr. who got interfered with by ...