Knicks Deal Porzingis Ending A Wild, Twisted Era

And so ends another bizarre era in Knicks basketball history. Perhaps the weirdest.

Kristaps Porzingis, once the apple of the Knicks eye, the key cog to the their future, the 7-foot-3 Latvian was dealt to the Dallas Mavericks along with Tim Hardaway Jr. and Courtney Lee. For the Knicks and Porzingis was was as much about turning the page than anything else.

Porzingis was always unhappy in New York. A couple years ago he publicly complained about life under the Phil Jackson regime; and reports on Thursday indicated that Porzingis still was not happy with the Knicks, even with a new regime in place.

For a player who has spent the past year on injured reserve as he heals from ACL surgery, he really had no ground to stand on to complain about his place in the organization. The hope was that Porzingis would be the center piece to attract a major free agent talent this summer. Now those plans change.

The 23-year old Porzingis wanted no part of the future of the Knicks. He'll instead head to Dallas where he will be perceived as the next Dirk Nowitzki. Too bad Dallas doesn't realize that Porzingis is not nearly as good or consistent as he was at that age.

All eyes now turn to the Knicks, who at the moment, still own a lottery draft pick in the 2019 draft that could end up leading to Duke power forward Zion Williamson. Even if the Knicks were so lucky to draft Williamson in the draft, who is to say that any prime free agent is going to come here.

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving headline the 2019 free agent class. Both guys want to end up places that can win and win now. Are the Knicks, who stand at 10-40 and just traded away its top asset considered a draw? Were they even considered an attractive site before the Porzingis trade?

Those answers are easy.

 No and No.

The cultural stench that surrounds the Knicks has kept free agents from signing at Madison Square Garden going on two decades. It's hard enough to play in New York. It's even worse when the team you play for in New York is run by incompetents.

Still if the Knicks can convince someone, anyone of an All-Star caliber to come here in the summer it will be a victory of shorts.

Getting rid of Porzingis is the least of the Knicks worries. The greater concern is can they, and will they be able to sell New York to top free agents.

Mets Might Be Done Spending This Offseason

In an offseason where it seems that just about every team is refusing to pony up on boatloads of cash on top free agents like Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, in Queens it is business as usual.

Because when it comes to the Mets it’s almost always about dollars and cents.

During a luncheon this week with Mets beat reporters at Citi Field, Mets COO Jeff Wilpon threw water on the idea they would jump into the mix for one of the prized free agents by saying the Mets already have a $30 million player in Yoenis Cespedes.

The same Yoenis Cespedes who is going to be out for more than half of the 2019 season as he recovers from heel surgery.  The same Yoenis Cespedes whom the Mets could recoup as much as a reported $7 million from in insurance should he be out through the All-Star Break.

“I don’t know how many teams have two  $30 million players,” Wilpon said.

Well, it is true; there aren’t a lot of teams with multiple $30 million players.

But the facts are there a lot of teams willing to spend close to that amount on multiple impact players. The Angels are paying Mike Trout $33 million and Albert Puljos $28 million this season.

The Red Sox are paying David Price $31 million, J.D. Martinez $24 million, Rick Porcello $21 million, and Mookie Betts $20 million this season.

The Cubs are paying four guys over $20 million this year, and they are still in arbitration years on Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo.

The Yankees are paying $26 million to Giancarlo Stanton and $22 million to Mashairo Tanaka, and they will eventually pay about that much for Aaron Judge and Luis Severino at some point in the near future.

The Mets? Well they have $29 million invested in a player who was great for them four years ago in Cespedes, and $19 million for a 36-year old Robinson Cano who will lace it up in Mets blue and orange for the first time in mid-February.

It’s just part of what we have come to expect from the Mets in the post-Madoff era. Expect little.

Even General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen who gloated when he first arrive that there isn’t a free agent the Mets wouldn’t consider and that the Mets are the “favorites” in the NL East has toned down the rhetoric.

In the same press conference this week he is quoted as saying, “We never looked at this off-season as having one player in mind or looking a this off-season to make one significant investment. The goal from the beginning was trying to address all our needs in the most efficient way that we could.”

This is what should bother Mets fans. Not that the team hasn’t signed Harper or Machado, but they have shown no inclination to even consider it. And this is a team that has money, and is the beneficiary of insurance not only on the Cespedes deal, but on David Wright’s contract.

As was reported earlier this month by Kevin Davidoff of the NY Post, Wright’s original salary for 2019 was $15 million, but upon his retirement he was able negotiate that figure down to $9 million. The remaining $6 million is deferred with interest.

Add the contracts of Cano, Edwin Diaz, Jeurys Familia, Jed Lowrie, and Justin Wilson, and the arbitration of $17 million for Jacob deGrom and $6 million for Noah Syndergaard, and the Mets payroll is a little north of $157 million, with $142 million committed to active salary.

The so-called luxury tax threshold in MLB this year is $206 million, so it’s not like the Mets couldn’t make another move or two. They just don’t want to, at least not one that will break the bank.

While the Mets have made moves this offseason, none of them feel like it will catapult the squad into contender status in a division where the Braves and Phillies are simply better. And there is still a chance that Machado and Harper could end up in the NL East with either the Phillies or Nationals.

While the slow free agency this off-season is a sign that we are heading for a work stoppage, perhaps as soon as 2022 in Major League Baseball, when it comes to the Mets it feels like we have seen this movie before.

Perhaps the Wilpons are still licking their wounds from the lessons learned by spending big on guys like Johan Santana, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado a decade ago. Or maybe they are just going with the trend in the sport right now, which is don’t commit more than you have to.

Oh by the way, Bobby Bonilla is due $1.2 million and Bret Saberhagen $250,000 from the Mets this year. Meet the Mets.

Enter Sandman: Mariano Rivera is Now a Hall of Famer

The greatest closer in the history of the game is officially heading to Cooperstown. Mariano Rivera became the first player to ever be elected into the Hall of Fame unanimously. The only player to come close to receiving 100 percent of the vote in baseball history was Ken Griffey Jr., two years ago.

Beginning his career as a struggling starting pitcher in 1995, Rivera moved into the Yankee bullpen in 1996 and never looked back. In '96 he was the set-up man to John Wetland on the Yankees World Series championship team. By 1997 he became the Bombers closer - a job he would hold for the next 15 years, transforming into the greatest and most dominate closer in the history of the game.

Coming into each outing to the strings and guitar of Metallica's Enter Sandman, you knew the game was over. Over his 19-year career, Rivera would amass 652 saves, a 2.21 ERA and WHIP of 1.00. His dominance wasn't just reserved for the regular season of course. In the playoffs Rivera nailed down 42 games, while posting an ERA of 0.42.  Nobody did it better than Rivera who was the key to five World Series championships and a key cog in the Yankees vaunted "Core Four."

Joining Rivera will be his old teammate Mike Mussina.  Mussina split his time with the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees, winning 270 games, while recording 2813 strikeouts. While he wasn't a flame thrower like his peers, he managed to use guile and smarts to out-smart some of the games toughest hitters at the peak of the steroid era.

It will be interesting to see which hat Mussina selects. While he had his most individual success with the Orioles, he spent the final eight years of his career in the Bronx, and won 20 games in a season for  the first and only time in his career as a Yankee.

Joining the two Yankees in Cooperstown will be former Blue Jays and Phillies ace Roy Halladay, who tragically passed away last year. Former Seattle Mariners Designated Hitter Edgar Martinez rounds out the group.

Losing out on the ballot were steroid users Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds. Both received under 60 percent of the vote. To get into the Hall, a player must receiver 75 percent of the vote. Neither player is close to that threshold. Eventually Bonds and Clemens may get it in, but their years of eligibility are winding down. Both players were embroiled in the steroid scandal, and both committed perjury by lying about it. While a lot of writers puffed their chests that they would vote Clemens and Bonds into the Hall, clearly the majority does not feel either is deserving at this point.

Controversial Day Sets Up Patriots-Rams Super Bowl

RAMS 26 - SAINTS 23 - OT
PATRIOTS 37 - CHIEFS 31 - OT 

Welcome to another year of a Super Bowl that nobody wanted.

Sunday's conference championship games proved to be two of the most controversial in the history of the league as the both the Patriots and Rams advance to Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta.

The Rams place in the game has come under intense scrutiny due to a horrible non-call on Rams corner Nickell Robey Coleman for slamming Saints receiver Tommy Lee Lewis as a pass by quarterback Drew Brees was coming in his direction on third and 10 at the Rams' 13-yard line.

In a year where pass interference has been called way too often, the officials ate the whistle and did flag Robey-Coleman with a personal foul. Had that happened, the Saints would have had a new set of downs at around the five yard line. They might have scored to take a 27-20 lead, but that is just assumption at this point.

As is the theory that the call blew the Saints chances to win. Yes, the call impacted the game, and the officials screwed up big time in a big spot. But it was not like the Saints didn't have chances to put the game away themselves.

Two plays prior to the "non-call," the Saints decided to throw the football on first and ten, instead of running it. The play resulted in an incompletion. The Saints probably should have run it here with Alvin Kamara, one of the game's best backs, and gained a couple of yards. If that happened, there is a chance the third down play never happens. The Rams would be forced the call a time out, and the Saints could play the clock for the win. They failed in that regard.

And let us not forget, after the horrible non-call, the Saints still took a 23-20 lead on a Will Lutz field goal. All New Orleans needed was a stop by their defense and the game would be over, and nobody would talk about the missed call again.

As fate would have it, the Rams marched down field thanks to a couple of huge throws by Jared Goff to position the Rams for the game tying field goal to force overtime.

In OT, the Saints, once again had an opportunity to determine their own fate, and once again they blew it. New Orleans got the football first, was the beneficiary of a pass interference penalty that moved the ball to the 40, and still Drew Brees would throw an interception.

All the Rams needed to do was position themselves for the field goal, which they did as Greg Zureline nailed a 57-yarder to send Los Angeles to the Super Bowl.

Yet, all the talk now is about the blow call. The question is what impact will that non-call have? Will will see instant replay now for penalties?  In a sport where officiating has been horrible. The Saints-Rams NFC title will tip the scales.

As far as the AFC title game, once again Tom Brady and the Patriots defy the odds and make their way to another Super Bowl. This will be Brady and Bill Belichick's ninth trip to the big game since 2001, and ironically it comes against the Rams, the team they beat to win their first Super Bowl back in 2001.

Even this game wasn't without its own share of tense moments and controversy.

There was the non-fumble by Julian Edleman on a punt, where it looked like the ball bounced off both of his thumbs that the Chiefs recovered. The officials decided that the ball never touched Edleman.

Yet, unlike the Saints, the Chiefs were able to overcome the call when Brady was picked off by Donald Sorenson with 8:06 to go in the game and the Pats up 17-14. Two plays later, Patrick Mahomes found Damien Williams from 23-yards out to give the Chiefs a 21-17 lead.

But, Brady wouldn't relent. He marched the Patriots 75-yards on 10-plays, which included a controversial catch by Chris Hogan where it appeared that ball slipped out of his hands. The referees said Hogan had possession. The call kept the drive alive for New England. The Patriots would find pay dirt on Sony Michel's 10-yards run to put New England up 24-21 with 3:32 to go.

Back came the Chiefs as Mahomes found Sammy Watkins for a 38-yard completion down the sideline to the Patriots two-yard line. On the next play Damien Williams scored to give the Chiefs a 28-24 lead, but there was too much time on the clock. The Chiefs should have eaten clock at this point and didn't do it.

But that wasn't the worst of it for the Chiefs. On third and ten from the Kansas City 34-yard line, the Chiefs had the game won when Charvarius Ward stepped in front of a Brady pass and picked it off. With 0:54 to go the game was over.

But it wasn't.

Dee Ford was called off-sides for the Chiefs. The interception was nullified and the Patriots drive stayed alive. As we all know, never give Tom Brady a second chance.

Brady found Rob Gronkowski from 25-yards out to move the ball to the goalline, before Rex Burkhead burst through for the go-ahead score.

While the Chiefs would tie the game at 31 to force overtime, the penalty on Dee Ford cost the Chiefs a trip to the Super Bowl.

In OT, the Patriots won the toss and pounded an exhausted Chiefs defense. Brady picked apart the Chiefs secondary like a surgeon, and Burkhead finished it off with the winning score to send the Patriots to a third straight Super Bowl.

Yankees Sign Ottavino as Bombers Keep Making Smart Moves

While many Yankees fans are complaining about the team not going hard after Manny Machado, the Bronx Bombers beefed up their bullpen with former Colorado Rockies reliever Adam Ottavino. 

Ottavino signed an three-year deal that will pay him $27 million, as he joins Zach Britton as the other free agent addition to the bullpen this offseason. Now the Yankees are looking at the prospect of having Ottavino and Britton join Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman in what could be one of baseball's best bullpen's. 

Really Ottavino is a no-brainer for the Yankees. 

For starters he is a New York native, so pitching close to home is a huge boon for the 33-year old from Brooklyn. 

More importantly, he is coming off the best season of his career. In 2018, Ottavino gave up only 21 earned runs in 77.2 innings of work, walking 36 and striking out 112. His efforts were good enough for a microscopic WHIP of 0.99 and an ERA of 2.43. And this coming from a guy who pitched at least half of those games in Coors Field. 

In fact over the last three seasons, Ottavino's numbers at home in Coors Field were quiet impressive. From 2016 to 2018, he had a 3.60 ERA in 83 games at Coors Field with a .195 opponents batting average. 

Now picture this veteran right-hander in the Yankee bullpen, and it is hard not to imagine the Yankees having a formidable foursome at the backend. 

Are the Yankees done? Well in this incredibly slow free agent market, they are not. The Yankees need and should add a starting pitcher. There are rumors the Yankees could be close to dealing Sonny Gray before Spring Training. 

Forget about Machado or Bryce Harper at this point. Both players are asking for $250 million-plus, an area the Yankees don't want to go in for a few simple reasons. 1) They are already paying Giancarlo Stanton $225 million over the next nine seasons. 2) Aaron Judge, Luis Severino and Gary Sanchez are all going to be looking to get paid within the next two to three seasons and 3) the Yankees really don't need Machado. The Yankees won 100 games with Miguel Andujar at third, and with the addition of another former Rockie, in second baseman DJ LeMahieu who has been a solid infield bat his entire career. 4) At some point this season Didi Gregorius is coming back. 

There is an argument to bring in Harper. The Yankees need a left-handed bat, they are too right-handed in the lineup. Harper would check off that box. In addition he could play either the outfield or first base, and the Yankees have questions at both positions. 

Jets Blew It in Pursuit of McCarthy over Staff Issues

More revelations are coming out about the three-ring circus that was the Jets coaching search that produced Adam Gase as head coach.

According to Jason LaConfora of CBS Sports, the reason the Jets didn't hire former Packers coach Mike McCarthy was because McCarthy was not pleased with the front office structure of the Jets, and wanted more say on his staff.

"McCarthy harbored some concerns about the structure and composition of the Jets front office, sources said, though he did have a productive interview with ownership and team officials.

"However, as the Jets began deeper conversations with their finalists for the job, it became clear he was not going to mesh with their direction.

"Specifically, sources said, the Jets asked to see a list of a potential coaching staff so that they could peruse and consider the options. McCarthy complied with the request but began to have reservations about the process at this point, sources said, and was unsure if this would in fact be a match."

So there you go, more evidence of the incompetence of the Jets front office.  The Jets had a grand opportunity to hire a Super Bowl winning coach to lead their franchise, but instead a power hungry front office led by GM Mike Maccagnan, and backed by CEO Christopher Johnson chased McCarthy away.

But McCarthy wasn't the only one turned off by the Jets power structure. Matt Rhule, who had really no business being considered for the head job, was deep in talks and it appeared he was going to be named head coach, when talks fell apart over staffing.

Rhule has since blasted the Jets on various radio programs back in Texas.

Now the Jets are stuck with a coach who is known as a megalomaniac, a man who can't related to players or people in Adam Gase.  Like I wrote before, it's going to be a nightmarish time for the Jets. What else is new.

Jets Hire Adam Gase, Turn Coaching Search into Sideshow

Leave it to the New York Jets to find a way to foul this up.

This was supposed to be easy, a no brainer. Mike McCarthy was the obvious choice to be the Jets new head coach moving forward in 2019 and beyond.

While some said his offensive strategy was stale, you couldn’t argue that a man with 125 wins as a head coach, eight division titles and a Super Bowl ring would not be a good hire. In fact, the Jets should have begged him to take the job.

Everything was right there in front of the Jets, especially after McCarthy’s people sent out word on social media that he wanted the Jets job. That should have been enough to end this silly search.

Instead the Jets turned a two week coaching search into a three-ring circus leaving fans spinning their heads 360 degrees like the Exorcist. The only thing missing is barfing green pea soup. Then again, maybe an exorcism is what this franchise needs right about now.

Around 3 p.m. ET, as teams like the Cardinals, Bucs, Broncos, and Browns had all settled on head coaches, the rumors started flying that the Jets were changing course away from McCarthy and would hire Baylor head coach Matt Rhule.

Fans stormed on social media and talk radio, aghast at what they heard. The Jets were seriously considering hiring a coach who was 8-17 in two years at Baylor? It sure sounded like it.

Even Mike Francesa speculated that something must have gone wrong with McCarthy, suggesting there was some kind of power struggle with GM Mike Maccagnan or somebody inside the Jets – perhaps over coaching staff.

Either way it looked like the Jets were going to take Rhule over McCarthy – a decision that would not sit with a strong majority of the fan base.

Then, things changed.

By 8 p.m. Ian Rapoport reported that Rhule had informed his coaches at Baylor that he was staying at the University and would resume recruiting. He would no longer be considered for the Jets job.

Why? Because he couldn’t agree on a coaching staff with Maccagnan and VP of Player Personnel Brian Heimerdinger. Rhule wanted his own guys on the staff. Maccagagnan wanted Rhule to work with a staff HE would put together.

It has now led us to this. Adam Gase, owner of a 23-25 record with the Miami Dolphins. The same man Dolphins’ players hated and couldn’t wait to see get fired. The same man who had clashes with the South Florida media on a regular basis, would now be the HC of the NYJ.

Somewhere in Gillette Stadium Bill Belichick is laughing his ass off as he prepares for the Chargers.

What a farce. What a sideshow. But it’s so typical Jets.

When the Jets began their search, Jets CEO Christopher Johnson cryptically said that the next coach would not be allowed to have any personnel power. That turned out to be more than a hint.

The Jets are Maccagnan’s team. A guy who has put together suspect drafts and made even more suspect free agent signings in his first four seasons as General Manager, just bagged the most unpopular coach on the market to be his guy.

Oh, and he is in charge of $100 million in salary cap space. Good luck getting guys to come here to play.

By screwing up the McCarthy hire, then hiring and screwing up the Rhule hire, and ultimately hiring Gase, Maccagnan should be firmly in the hot seat.

Woody Johnson you awake there in Merry ‘ole England?

Jets Complete Interview With Mike McCarthy

The New York Jets have completed their interview with former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy.

The long awaited meeting between the Jets front office and McCarthy took place Saturday afternoon, although details about how long the meeting went and whether the Jets will bring him back for a second interview is not known.

The interview with McCarthy wasn’t really expected until later this upcoming week, so it is interesting that the two sides bumped up their talk to today. McCarthy is now the third person to formally interview for the job joining Chiefs Offensive Coordinator Eric Bienemy and former Dolphins Coach Adam Gase.

The Jets are still expected to interview Cowboys Defensive Back’s Coach Kris Richard on Sunday and former Buccaneers Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken sometime next week.

In the eyes of most Jets fans, McCarthy would be the desired choice.

McCarthy spent 13 seasons as Packers head coach, posting a record of 125-77-1 with a Super Bowl title in 2010. He has a reputation of working with quarterbacks, and found a way to make things work with quarterback divas like Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers for much of his tenure in Green Bay.

While McCarthy has been criticized of late for his decaying relationship with Rodgers in 2018, and that he isn’t the innovative mind that we see across the NFL landscape right now, McCarthy’s Packers were ranked in the Top-10 in offense in nine of his 13 seasons. When he had the horses, McCarthy’s Packers would light opponents up on a weekly basis.

Many view the Jets job as one requiring an adult in the room, especially with a power structure where the head coach reports directly to the owner. At 55-years old and having been involved in the NFL for over 25 years in different capacities, McCarthy has the experience needed to make things work in New York, should he choose to come here.

With Sam Darnold, Jamal Adams and Chris Herndon in the fold, and $100 million of money available to spend, the Jets job should be very attractive to McCarthy.

At the same time, he will have plenty of suitors, especially in Cleveland. The Browns are the “favorite” to land McCarthy because of General Manager John Dorsey who worked in the Packers organization for 23 years from 1991-2012. There is a lot of familiarity there.

The old saying ‘it’s about who you know’ defiantly applies to the Browns job with regard to McCarthy.

Not to mention, McCarthy, a native of Western Pennsylvania may prefer being close to home.

The Jets have to convince him that he can be that “freaking legend” if he comes to New York and wins here with a team that he can mold in his own image.

The waiting game only continues as the Jets proceed with the interview process.