Nice start to league play for the Johnnies

Beating Thuggins' squad down in Morgantown by 10. A quick look a the box score is startling: SJU shot over 60% from the floor (all from inside apparently, as the Storm only attempted 6 threes), and killed WVU on the glass. That's feeding Thuggins his own meds.

Rex on the Jets D

Courtesy of the Post:

Rex Ryan will handle his defensive crisis the same way he handled Mark Sanchez a few weeks ago when Sanchez was struggling mightily. He's ordering the defensive players to go back to basics, concentrate on fundamentals so they can stop someone -- something they've had big-time problems doing of late...

"We talked fundamentals and his technique. We really focused on it and he got better. Now, he's looked like a different quarterback these last couple of weeks. That's what you have to do [with the defense]. There are no excuses. We need to get back to who our defense is, we need to practice. We're going to go back to individual drills [and] fundamental drills and really hone that in."

Sandwiched around the 22-17 win in Pittsburgh, the Jets defense allowed 45 points to the Patriots and 38 to the Bears Sunday. This has become a serious source of concern and embarrassment for Ryan.

Ryan, who prides himself on his defenses and constantly boasts about how no defense of his has ever been ranked worse than sixth in the NFL at the end of a season, conceded taking this tact "is kind of unusual at this time of year."

But desperate times call for desperate measures. The Jets defense, which couldn't stop the run and was carved by Bears QB Jay Cutler for three touchdown passes in the third quarter, is lost right now.

Playoff scenarios

Jets are the 6 seed, with an outside shot at the 5. To get the five (and make Pittsburgh the 6), all of the following need to happen:

1) Jets beat Bills
2) Ravens beat Bengals (@ Baltimore)
3) Steelers lose to the Browns (@ Cleveland)

There is a big difference between 5 and 6 seed--especially if the Jets win the opening game of the playoffs, and the 6 seed beats the 3 (pretty possible if 6 is Pitt and 3 is KC).

In this case, in the 2nd round, Jets would go to Baltimore and Pitt would go to NE, instead of Jetties having to play NE in round 2.

Pretty unlikely though. More likely Jets path: through KC, through NE, and then through Pitt/Balt/Indy.

Win percentages (IMHO): Jets @ KC 40/60. Jets @ NE: 20/80. I'll stop there.

This just in...

The Lions are good.

Win and They're In

Well, that was the idea anyway for the J-E-T-S today. Didn't quite work out like that as apparently the D decided not to show up (excluding a Lowery pick six).

Jets still clinched a wild card spot though due to Jacksonville loss and can make their plans for the playoffs. Somehow not as satisfying to make the playoffs on someone else's loss when you could've gotten in with your own win, though.

Going from 9-2 to possibly ending 10-6 (although I imagine we'll beat the Bills to hit 11-5) is underwhelming. Going 1-4 or 2-3 to end the season is not really the strong showing you'd like heading into the playoffs. As a wise man once said, fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life; and ending the season 1-4 is no way to close things out.

Playoffs reset the clock to 0-0 though and if Jets get it together they could make another run this year. Both O and D need to seriously sharpen up their game though.

Can't Wait

Psyched to see what gags the Jets try to pull out of their hats this week.
As much of a d-bag as Belichek is, at least he's smart enough to keep his cheating behind the scenes and not get caught on national tv in the middle of a game...and when the Pats cheat, they also manage to win the game.

More Mets Wisdom

courtesy of Beetz

Life as a Mets Fan

Phils to pwn forever

Halladay
Lee
Oswalt
Hamels

Wow.

AFC playoff predictions

1. Pats 14-2
2. Steelers 13-3
3. San Diego 10-6
4. Indy 10-6 (i think they get tiebreak over 10-6 Jax, but cant tell)
5. Ravens 11-5
6. Jets 11-5

I believe seeding goes divisional and then WCs, not by record, correct?

That would leave the Jets going through, in order, SD, Pitt, and New England (or Indy/Baltimore) to go the SuperBowl. SD will be hot, and looking for revenge from last year. I honestly think we pull the upset and lose in Pitt. The most optimistic, crack pipe smoking possibility, is that Baltimore takes out Indy and N.E., and the Jets play an improbable all W.C. Championship in Baltimore, a rematch of our week 1 squeaker. I think Ravens and Colts both matchup better against NE then any other team in the league, so N.E. can't be too happy if it plays out the way I'm figuring. Tho theyre not too worried about anyone

In reality, I'd be happy with Sanchez having a good game or two in the cold to build on, conitniue making progress, and knowing that QBs usually make a big leap in the league between yrs 2 and 3. Bring back Holmes, add a pass rushing DE and go get a stud NT, and this team could well make noise next year. However, the Pats will continue to pwn for the forseeable future unless someone cuts off Brad's hair.

And now for a little baseball news

Red Sox get Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford (sorry DC, the dream is dead), and the Mets get.......another steaming pile of nothing.

Not so quotable

“Well, they are going to find out if we are a great team or not, I can tell you that much.”

-Rex Ryan on the Jets/Pats game

Through one half the answer has been pretty clear.

Coming up next...

An absolute monster of a game in 2 weeks on MNF, Dec. 6. Jets vs. Pats for AFC East. I was hoping the Colts would've shown more today and taken down the Hatriots - we really could've used that loss in their schedule. But Manning looked off all game, and Pats scored too much too early to overcome.

In other news, Mets apparently selected Terry Collins as manager.

"The Catch"

Can't say enough good things about Cotchery laying out for a must-have 3rd-and-10 after having torn his groin. The Post tries. Even without the injury it was a ridiculous catch.

Nice writeup in the Post about Lavin & the Johnnies

Check it here.

Stupid Kicker Tricks

Always funny.

Hallelujah!!

Read the good news here.

W

Offense looked hideous again (Sanchez specifically) until the last 2 minutes, but they got the W and that's all that matters in this league.

That, and the Patsies getting rolled like a cheap cigar. Man-genius. And just like that, order is restored in the AFC East.

FYI: Top 50 FA List

Here.

Moss

Florio of PFT predicts Jets will make a strong play for Moss. I disagree, and if they do, I don't think it's a good fit.

Florio's first line of reasoning is that the Jets will make the move for defensive purposes, to keep Moss from going back to the Pats. Why? The Jets have won 3 of their last 4 matchups with the Pats with Randy Moss. Moss is not the player on the Pats who poses the biggest threat to the Jets. Also, why would the Pats have released Moss in the first place if they're going to pick him up now? Nothing has changed, and they've continued to win without him.

Second, anyone who's watched Moss over the last few years knows his only value is as a deep threat on fly patterns. He puts in ZERO effort on any other route, especially quick slants over the middle where we could really use some presence. Given that Sanchez has yet to demonstrate that he has an accurate deep arm, I think Moss' value to the Jets is almost nil, especially when you consider we already have a big strong receiver in Edwards who has been tremendous this year.

The only reason to get him would be to block the Fish from getting him, but to me this is not enough of a reason. Granted that Henne / Marshall / Moss would be a potent combo, but we've got the secondary equal to covering it.

Talk about dodging a bullet

Remember when the Jetties were considering trading for Jay Cutler, but instead opted to draft Sanchez? Getting Cutler seemed like the "safe play" at the time--a guy who'd already made a Pro-Bowl.

Look at where he is now. The next Jeff George.

Trading for Cutler would have set the franchise back irreparably. It's amazing how 50/50 decisions can alter the fate of multiple franchises.

Meet the new boss...

...same as the old boss:

Alderson graduated from Dartmouth College in 1969 and Harvard Law School in 1976. He served four years in the United States Marine Corps as an infantry officer, including a tour in Vietnam.

Sounds like he's cut from the same cloth as Omar. ; )

Random thoughts

It's been about 4 or 5 months since I've really watched baseball. Man did Ryan Howard drop a ton of weight.

Can't wait to see Philthies and Jankees out of the playoffs.

Johnnies will be a top 15 team within 2-3 seasons.

Jets can go on a roll after the bye, but have a tough 3 game stretch near the end of the season (Pats - Fins - Steelers). Revis not keeping himself in shape during his bogus holdout is really annoying me. His selfishness is hurting the team and defensive schemes; he has gotten beat for easy TDs in almost every game. Braylon is having a big season and seems very focused on the field.

This Just In

J-E-T-S Jets Jets JETS

Now, if the Ravens beat the Pats Sunday, we'll have an even stronger lead in AFC East.

Intriguing...

Randy Moss possibly being traded to Vikes? If so, Jets would have to face him again this Monday night. I know Pats were almost certainly going to dump him at end of season, but I'm not sure what Vikes could offer them in return right now. Sure, they could get draft picks, but unless Pats get players on the field this season they will not win the AFC East. Their D stinks, and without the threat of Moss and loss of Faulk, their offense will also be limited.

2011 Mets

Well, with the firing of M&M there is a chance I could be reinvigorated about the 2011 Mets, depending on who they bring on. I can't really evaluate the situation any better than this article.

Of particular enjoyment:

The Mets need to be fumigated, stripped bare and built from the ground up. There is no patch job here.
Let's face it. Your team is filled with losers.
That's not harsh. Sadly, it's reality.
Plus, the culture is all wrong. There's something missing. Your team never had a real identity.

Another article basically said be honest with the fans, level that the team will need to be entirely rebuilt, and if you do it the right way people will support them along the way. The Mets do have some exciting young prospects--but I can only get excited about them if I believe the team is in capable hands and has a real future. Under the M&M regime there was no reason to get excited about any prospect since you knew the team was going nowhere.

Jets at Bills

In a nutshell, they did what they had to do. Physically manhandled a team that they should have manhandled, and as a result, took all the variables off the table.

Sanchez has zero INTs through 4 games, and the runnning game has been solid ever since week 1.

That said, this offense wasn't as bad as it looked against the Ravens, and it's not as good as it looked against the Bills.

They're still going to need the D to win some tight games if they want to be a great team. They were already going to be a good team anyway.

Looking forward to the Vikes and getting Santonio on the field.

Jerry to be fired; Omar to be demoted

These two don't even deserve a link. I'm just gonna leave it at that.

One for the home crowd

For all the Johnnies fans out there (and I think we all are, right?), I figured I'd throw in this vid of JaKarr Sampson, Lavin's first elite recruit, and a possible Burger Boy.

Big time get that might be the first of many dominoes to fall for the Storm:

The new engine under the hood

And in just a month or so, keep your eyes peeled for Mr. Irving, the #1 point guard among freshmen nationally (per Scout). Buckle up for the ride, he's at the beginning of a long pro career. He's the reason Duke will be going from a half-court offense to an up-tempo, jump the passing lanes, full court team like the Blue Devils of yore.

Aksed and Answered

Beware the Doctor's son, who just gave his verbal today:

Coming in 2011 to a 4 NCAA Championship Banner arena near you...

Da Coach.

I don't go in for any of this West Coast stuff.

Brats. And cheese. Maybe a little sauerkraut on the side.



Ditka is God. I'm seriously considering making him the patron saint of Occ Obs.

M.E.T.S.

Must End This Stupidity.

Barring some unusual move by the Mets in the offseason, this will be my last post about them for the year. (I'll of course now post exclusively about NFL here.)

As much as I've turned ripping on the Mets into a pastime, I realized yesterday how much I resent Wilpon/Minaya/Manuel and Co. I used to love the Mets and loved watching baseball; they were my favorite team and my favorite sport. But now I dislike the Mets and have no interest in baseball. Their hideous mismanagement of this team has completely turned me off from baseball. I find that to be very disappointing. I can only hope that completely new management is brought in during the offseason. I would really like to have a baseball team that I can believe in and root for again.

J-E-T-S

Here we go again, time for another NFL season. I'm excited, not just because of the way the Jets played last season, but because it means we can switch this site over to NFL and away from the Mutts.

I do have to say that not having Faneca and Feely are big, underrated losses. The Jets are built to have low-scoring games, decided by field goals. I just don't trust Folk. And of course losing Pace for the first 4 games, and Revis possibly for the season, makes things that much more questionable.

Nonetheless I am very excited for Jets football to get underway.

True or False?

Omar Minaya will the GM of the Mets next year.

I say false.

Quick question

How many more years of this Wilpon-Minaya-Manuel circus must we endure? Just wondering how much longer this overpaid sham of a team will be a waste of space in the NL East?

Looks like I made the right call...

...nearly 6 months ago in taking K-Rod off the list of things to like about the Mets.

I can just feel the excitement building in here...

That is all.

Pitchers

Well, I have to say I am pleasantly surprised at the season Pelfrey has put together so far. 8-1 with a 2.39 ERA, he has been dominant so far. Who knows how the rest of the season plays out, but if he keeps it up he will be well on his way to validating his top-10 draft pick status.

Now, to revisit an earlier discussion, let's compare Folly Perez to D. Lowe. Perez: 0-3 with 6.28 ERA and now mercifully on DL. Lowe: 8-4 with 4.44 ERA and 1.39 WHIP. Now, I will grant that Lowe is not quite as good as I would have hoped, and at $15 M/yr is overpriced. But, he's not necessarily that overpriced, and the Mets would certainly benefit from having him in the rotation instead of Ollie at $12 M/yr.

J-E-T-$?

Woody Johnson is getting perilously close to sinking his team and replacing Wilpon/Minaya as the most inept manager. The Jets' unwillingness to spend money in a cap-free year could result in dramatic steps backward, just as they were starting to move forward.

Not to mention, the reason you can't sell your PSLs is the same reason the Yankees and Mets couldn't sell out their season ticket packages at first: your costs are too high.

I would be ALL over this...

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/06/millwood-wigginton-open-to-playing-for-mets.html

Give It Up

I'm happy to give credit where it's due, and blanking the Philthies in 3 straight games is a ridiculous feat. Talk about a huge F U.

The Maine Event

Well, I called this a few months ago, but I deserve about as much credit for that as I would for calling that the sun will rise tomorrow. Maine has rotator cuff tendinitis and will miss time. Shocker.

Rex Isn't Just Fat--He's Stupid, Too...

Slick move, Ryan--all you do is harp on how awesome Revis is (not arguing this point--dude is top-tier) and that he's the greatest defensive player in the game and that he's the key to everything you do on defense and without him your defense would be nothing.

You didn't think his agent might possibly be listening to this?

So now, Revis wants a monster renegotiation of his deal that will cost the Jets an arm and a leg to keep him happy and playing.

Nice one--guess they'll have to cut back your Krispy Kreme budget to get the extra $$$'s...although if he could cut them out the Jets could build their own stadium with the savings and not have to live in the shoadow of the G-men.

Boom Goes the Sucka-Mets

And there it is. With their 5th loss in a row, they have managed to drop back into last place, confirming what we all (except for Wilpon + Minaya + Manuel) knew to be true. For every Mets winning streak, they will have an equally ugly losing streak and ultimately go nowhere.

Wait, I know. If only we get Beltran back, then I'm sure that's the only missing piece that will suddenly make this team a WS contender. I can't wait.

Causation or Correlation?

The WSJ has an interesting article up today highlighting some of the statistical differences between Mets Fans and Yankee Fans (males only). While they found no statistically significant differences in terms of income, they did make a couple of startling discoveries:

Mets fans were more than twice as likely to be gun owners.

Mets fans were much more likely than Yankess fans to drink beer, and twice as many Yankee fans abstain from alcohol altogther.

And that was before they screened out the statistical outliers (Caribou Express).

They are who we thought they were, part 2

Indeed, just like last year and the year before that and the year before that, the Mets will rip off a bunch of wins in a row, and then puke it all right back.

Mets-phils

Big inning for santana here, bottom of the 4th. We just tacked on another 2 runs in top 4th, and santana now faces the heart of philthies order. Hopefully he's treating this like a playoff game and we'll see what he can do. I was certainly disappointed with his effort in the bottom of the 1st after we jumped out to a quick lead.

Not a good start, utley tagged a double into the corner... Let's see if he can set down the big man... indeed, got him to fly out to deep left. Very close to a 2-run jobbie though.

Interlude

A little jetties action. Looks like McKnight has a bit of legwork to match Leon Washington's skills, to say the least:

While fellow highly-touted draft pick Joe McKnight has stumbled mightily out of the gate, vomiting during practice for the second day in a row while dropping four more passes...

Two Questions for D.C.:

1) Where are you?

2) Is there still room on the wagon?

Early returns from the farm

So with Ollie Perez destined for the minors, I started scanning the AAA roster to see who might be available to take over the 5 slot.

Early answer: Dillon Gee.

After rehabbing a torn labrum last season, he's returned to prior form this year. A WHIP under 1.0, a 3-0 record and sub 3.00 ERA at AAA.

That's About Right

Well, in the famous words of Vince Vaughn, I guess I'm the asshole. I should've agreed with Pelf almost 3 months ago that questions by the fans about the rotation were ridiculous. Of course, the Mets have had leads in April before as well, we'll see where we are in September.

BTW, Fredo, doesn't that Vaughn clip from Swingers seem familiar? I can't quite place it, although I'm thinking some steak and some eggs would be delicious.

Hey Beetz

Got any ponies you like at the track?

The season is turnin around. He's in the line up today. Yes its true. VANILLA IKE is here. Ike Ike Baby. All our troubles are over.

Good call there. Metties are 8 of 9 with Ike on board. Can you say "Buffalo Bisons" Murphy?

Joel Sherman takes on SHK

Well, SHK, the gauntlet has been laid down:

Obviously, the Mets’ signing of Oliver Perez has not worked out. But it should be kept in mind that the other pitcher the Mets were weighing at the time was Derek Lowe. The Mets refused to give more than a three-year offer for Lowe, who instead signed with Atlanta for four years at $60 million. The Mets heard familiar refrains about being cheap and ending up with at three years at $36 million because of that.

But since becoming a Brave, Lowe has shown signs of decline with his 37th birthday approaching in June. He has a good record with Atlanta at 18-11. But his ERA in his 38 Braves starts is 4.73, and opponents have hit .298 with a .356 on-base percentage and a .444 slugging percentage.

Well played Mauer

These "MLB The Show" commercials are always classic, and this is no exception.

Mets and Jets

Mets seem to have figured some things out for now. Nice to see, hopefully they end up being less streaky than last year and don't give it all back.

Not sure about all these Jets moves in the offseason. I like several of them, but I am a little concerned about team chemistry. It's tough to bring that many new starters onto a team at once, especially when a lot of locker room favorites (TJ, Leon, Faneca) are gone. Add in the spotlight of HBO's Hard Knocks on them all summer, and they are really going to need all of Rex's chemistry to keep them intact and performing well. So long as Rex and his coaches maintain discipline and focus I think it could work out incredibly well, but they will need to actively stay on top of things.

IDK if you guys ever post on team boards,

but it can get nasty between rivals. However, there is the occasional poster who is such a j-hole it demands to be called out. Why not do it full force? Here's some dude absolutely pwning a tarhole who was posting on Inside Carolina:

Does that guy do crack? I read my first IC thread tonight (and last) about Singler, he was on it, and...I mean...is that one of their "insiders"? I wouldn't want that guy mowing my lawn. Lock the ****ing door. Dude is probably so loaded he's doing the Exorcist spider-walk down his stairs right now between eating glue and stealing pennies from his passed-out mom to throw at the Count Chockula ghost he keeps seeing behind his trailer.

Where the **** do these guys come from over there? Are they all on the internet in a northern Montana commune, wearing tinfoil hats, taking breaks between "whiffer" hits and goat-mounting so that they can get on the internet? Good God.

THEY ARE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE.

That is all.

Rewind

Some classic quotables in anticipation of the 2010 season:

[Fredo] This season is shaping up to be a dung pile of the highest magnitude.

[Beetz] M.....E.....T.....S..... Are Jokes Jokes Jokes.

[DC, in response to SHK's list of 8 things he likes about the Mets] I like a lot more about this team than SHK does but much of that is blind devotion and the remainder is hearty optimism.

[Fredo, in response to DC's optimism] That said, if the Metties exceed expectations, you [DC] can feel good about being a true fan. In the meantime, SHK and I can feel good about insulating out emotions from the likely suckitude. And if they manage to work their way into pennant race, I'm sure I'll be able to rationalize my way back on the bandwagon.

[SHK, in further response] I would be very happy if the usual suckfest that is the Mets season doesn't appear this year, and they actually played up to expectations. Seeing them return to the playoffs would be exciting.

But I simply have to play the odds here, and the odds say that this starting rotation and lineup aren't going to be good enough or healthy enough to get it done.

So far

Sadly, things with Mejia are working out as I figured.

Nice Guys Do Finish First

Congrats to Phil Mickelson for winning the Masters.

This Dude Rules!

Gotta give him props for honesty...

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Uh huh

4 of the last 20 N.C.s to Duke.
5 of the last 10 to the ACC.

Order. Has. Been. Restored.

Play Ball!

Mets season is officially underway. Up 6-1 in the 7th now, should be good for their first W.

In other great news, the Jankees choked it big time last night. I hate the BloSox, but I'll take a choke from the Spankees anytime.

Spring Waning

From ESPN:

Pelfrey is 0-3 with a 7.97 ERA in five spring starts. He has allowed eight home runs in 20 1/3 Grapefruit League innings.

Perez is 0-1 with an 8.66 ERA in 17 2/3 innings spanning five starts. His velocity registered only 86 mph to 88 mph Tuesday against the Cardinals.

That's gonna leave a mark.

Projected rotation is now Santana, Maine, Niese, Pelf, then Perez.

St. John's hires Lavin

I have to hand it to the AD--this was a good hire. Not a grand slam home run, but a solid double. And especially given how the hiring search was going, it looked like they were going to be lucky just to make contact.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of good coaches out there. Probably some guys coaching in the America East Conference or Patriot League with even better in-game management, as X's and O's guys.

But Lavin brings some cache.

U. C. L. A. That is as big as it gets in college hoops, and a guy who had some success over there is now coaching the Johnnies. 5 sweet sixteens and 6 NCAA tourneys in 7 years is nothing to sneeze at. The lofty expectations in Westwood may have cost Lavin his job b/c he did a very good, but not exceptional job, in his 7 years there. But that was a decade ago. Lavin was 32 when he began at UCLA. At 45, he's had the benefit of much more life experience, and plenty of time picking the brains of the many basketball coaches he's worked with and analyzed during his time at ESPN.

Lavin is a great age to take over a program at 45. He has 15-25 of coaching in him if his heart is in it. He has the name recognition to bring in big time recruits (twice while at UCLA he brought in the top class in the nation). He'll just be hitting his stride at St. John's as Boeheim and Calhoun are calling it quits. There will be more room at the top of the Big East for the program with the acumen to grab it.

St. John's still faces a lot of challenges: recruiting top shelf talent to come to a commuter school that is on an unimpressive campus in a semi-urban envirornment, facilities that are not top shelf, convincing pampered elite recruits that they should play second fiddle in New York instead of being worshipped (and serviced by coeds) in places like Chapel Hill, Lawrence, Storrs, and Lexington.

I don't know if those challenges can be overcome. But there was no one on the table, including those who turned the job down (Hewitt and Greenberg), who I think are better suited to the task at hand.

Not too long ago, not too far away.

The Bob Huggins I remember.

Big East squeezes one into the FF

WVU turned an upset against UK, helped by Kentucky missing its first 20 straight three point attempts. And that was with WVU choosing to play a 1-3-1 and leaving UK plenty of open looks, challenging them to hit a few shots. UK wasn't up to the challenge.

Should Duke manage to get by Baylor (a pick 'em game at best, with their two big guys and massive backcourt speed), WVU projects much more favorable for Duke than UK would have (line will probably be Duke -1, I would guess; UK would've been UK -4). I put Duke/WVA as a 50/50 game, Duke/UK would've been 35/65.

The door is open for Duke, but as we've already seen with three 1-seeds failing to get out of their regions, there is a lot of parity in the NCAA this year. Two 5 seeds (or a 6, if it's TN) will make the FF. That pretty much speaks for itself.

As far as the Big East goes, Huggins saved a little face for the conference tonight, and invalidated my B.E.- baiting "zero teams in the FF" talk. Unfortunately, it doesn't change the fact that conference was revealed as no better than the other power conferences. In a year when the tournament committee blessed them with 3 teams as a #1 or #2 (e.g.-projected as Elite Eight teams), only one made it that far. They had 5 teams seeded 1-4 (sweet sixteen projections), and only 2 justified the seeding. And the nature of the early round losses--both the level of the opposition and the magnitude of defeats-were ridonk (here's looking at u G'Town). It was a total flameout for the B.E., and the seeding committee has a little egg on their face. WVU holds the only hope for getting people to forget all of the terrible losses by teams that had been clearly overseeded--and that is for the boys from Morgantown to win it all. Anything else won't do.

Down goes 'Cuse

Leaving just one. WVU seems to have this game in hand (against a 12 seed, I'd hope so. Then again, see GTown).

I'm now in the paradoxical spot of rooting against my own prediction. Much rather face WVU than UK in the FF, should Duke get there. Of course, you need paramedics after playing a Huggins team, but I'll take my chances with the ER instead of UK. That team is LOADED. 5 guys might leave early to go to pro??!!! (Wall/Bledsoe/Cousins/Orton/Patterson)

Hewitt turns down the Johnnies

This does not bode well for SJU. It's just impossible for them to come up with the cash to lure away the big money guys. Not when the taxpayers can easily support millions at these state schools.

If Pitino just wants to move and get a clean start, that would be great for SJU. He's one of the few with the cred to make a difference who is still enough of an old timer (and paesan) that the job still has some juice for him.

Other than that, I can't imagine who they'd get that's going to help them make a splash and change the aura so that they can land some recruits.

People on the FAN keep talking about Billy Donovan. Why the eff would Donovan even consider it?

Back to Metties

I can't really concentrate till MM is over, but:

1) Per today's NYP, Niese is taking the reins as the #5.

2) I caught an inning yesterday. It was the young phenom throwing in relief for his first back-to-back outing. This kid looks filthy. Don't know where he came from, but I love it.

Down goes Nova

Making the third Big East team to lose to a double-digit seed from a minor conference.

Wow

Didn't expect the Big Least flameout to come on day 1.

2 #6 seeds upset by 11s (ND & Marquette).

#2 seed and #3 seed from the B.E. combine to go -11 in points against a 14 and 15, and it obviously should've been worse as the fix was in for Nova.

Just to shed some light on how riculously poor Georgetown was, they Got. Blown. Out. By a team from the MAC. (Not the MAAC). And that team was the 9-seed. In the MAC tournament.

This is a flameout of legendary proportions.

Good start for Big Least in the NCAAs

One favorite up. One favorite down.

Notre Dame makes it 0-1 for the BEST CONFERENCE THAT HAS EVER PLAYED BASKETBALL.

Good start for the Big Least in the NIT,

The 6 seed from the ACC (NC St.) eliminates the 3 seed (USF) from the Big East.

And might U Conn survives its first round game, as the 3 point shot that would have defeated them rims out. And who nearly felled the giants from Storrs? Wait for it....

Northeastern.

Eagerly awaiting the giant Big Least flameout that is coming in the NCAAs. 8 teams in the tourney, and not a one will make the Final Four.

Quoteable

The Post on Ollie's spring debut:

The results were ugly -- as in five earned runs allowed on seven hits over three innings -- but Perez and the Mets called the left-hander's spring debut a success.

Six months removed from surgery to remove scar tissue from his right knee, Perez was back in game action for the first time, and the cynic would say already in midseason form.

Yes, yes I would.

2010

Chipper Jones gives his rundown on the Mets and what they need to do to be successful this season.

Manuel on J. Bay

"He doesn't seem as large -- I thought he would be a larger guy," Manuel said.

Yet another useless comment from Manuel. With this one statement Manuel has somehow managed to simultaneously insult his new star player, and expose his own lack of knowledge about players around the league.

Well played Jerry, well played.

Jose Jose Jose

Interesting idea Jerry.

Only two years too late.

Attitudes

Kernan says Mets attitudes appear much improved this year. If so, it would be a very positive first step. We'll see if it translates into anything.

One up, one down

Well, as I mentioned in the comments section below, I've got to drop K-rod from my list since he was playing ball with Chavez. However, I've found a replacement:

Mike Jacobs signed a minor league contract with the Mets on Wednesday, SI.com has confirmed. The deal pays $900,000 base if he's in the majors plus $1.15 million in incentives for possible total of $2.05 million.

His slipping BA is atrocious, to be sure, but he still has power and if he improves his average he could definitely make an impact. I liked what I saw from him his first year here, and the deal is cheap.

Great Success!

"There's going to be a lot of competition in camp. That's something we've been trying to do."

-Omar Minaya

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/real_competition_SG6FJyNrAVbeojeiEtfe9K#ixzz0fT5P4PyX

Keeping up with the Jonses

First, here.

Then, here.

Just to throw DC a curve

Here are 8 things I like about the Mets:

1. Santana
2. Wright
3. K-rod
4. Reyes*
5. Murphy
6. Escobar deal
7. Francoeur
8. Feliciano

*I'm disappointed that he hasn't progressed/matured as much as I would have expected by this point, particularly w.r.t. OBP, but there's no getting around the fact that he is an explosive, exciting player.

Pelfrey on the Rotation

According to the Post: If the season started today, the rotation would likely be Santana, Pelfrey, John Maine, Oliver Perez and Fernando Nieve.

“Guys got hurt. I had a bad year, but guys are healthy now and I’m going to bounce back and have a good year. It’s amazing to me how big of a question there is about the rotation [by fans]. I hear about it and I just laugh.”

It's amazing that the fans have questions? Really? After Santana you've got Pelf, whose best season was 3.72 ERA with 110 Ks and a 13-11 record. All other seasons have been ERA > 5. Then you've got Maine, who never seems to be able to physically make it through a full season, and loses focus starting in the 4th inning of every game. As for Perez I can't even comment. Last you've got Niese, an interesting prospect but completely unproven.

Why would the fans have confidence in this rotation?

Beltran

Shocker, Beltran is pissed at the Mets and will likely put himself first, and the team a distant second. So for all the excitement generated about how good Reyes is looking, this should dampen that enthusiasm about the Mets chances this year.

When might Carlos Beltran get on a major league field? Beltran is furious with the Mets and how they have publicly handled his surgery. He wonders if he should have been playing last year (in other words, was he properly diagnosed?). More important, he pushed to initially play in pain and then rush back in a lost season.

The Mets probably should not expect Beltran to prioritize the team this time around. He turns 33 in April. His contract walk year is 2011. So I expect that Beltran will take care of No. 1 and make sure he does not do anything to hurt himself for a 2011 salary-drive season.

Bio

First official bio of Say Hey Kid will be published in February, looks to be very interesting. Will have to pick it up, sounds like a great read.

Minaya

Ken Rosenthal lays into the whole Mets organization, including Minaya, but also ownership. Echoes many of our complaints here.

J-E-T-S

Well, unfortunately it had to come to an end, but I'm very pleased with what I saw from the Jets this season under Ryan. As young as this team is, they have a lot of good years ahead of them, and I look forward to supplanting the Patsies. Sanchez and Greene have huge upsides and great rookie seasons to start from.

Looking to next year, the only two areas that I think could use help are the secondary and a true pass-rushing lineman. While Revis is lights out, his value is slightly diminished by the fact that the rest of the secondary is questionable. I grew weary of watching the rest of the guys get burned any time we played against a good QB. Either a better CB or safety is in order.

Fredo, what do you think of trying to trade Kris Jenkins? I don't think Pouha is so much of a step down that it's worth keeping Jenkins if we can get something good in return (player or draft picks). Jenkins can't have more than one good season left in him anyway.

Bay's knees shot?

According to Gammons, the Sox only wanted to offer Bay 2 years because of concerns about the health of both of his knees. Gammons suggested the Sox doctors are the best in any sport. One thing I don't need Gammons to tell me is where I'd rank the Mets doctors.

The Ball State softball continued to play this weekend,

and they were hoping to continue off of their straight three-out-of-four losses.

Are you effing with me?

This is the worst joke (if only) I've ever seen. Kid obviously had a huge heart and dies playing basketball? I've never heard of such a thing.

Beltran has surgery; will miss start of season.

I hate to blow up your worldview, SHK, but here's the news. Read it and weep:

The team said Beltran is expected to resume baseball activities in 12 weeks, a timetable that likely would keep him out for most of April -- maybe longer.

New York's first official workout for pitchers and catchers is a little more than five weeks away, on Feb. 20. The Mets open the season April 5 against Florida.

Apparently there is some controversy about whether Beltran should have had the surgery at all:

A person with knowledge of the situation said Beltran did not obtain advance written consent from the club to have the surgery, which was performed by his personal physician, Dr. Richard Steadman, in Colorado. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Mets didn't discuss the matter publicly.

Beltran's agent, Scott Boras, said the guarantee language in the slugger's contract requires advance written permission only for elective operations.

"This was necessary surgery, necessary surgery to work," Boras told The Associated Press.

The Mets might claim that the operation was elective.

Hey Fredo

Here's your Leon Washington update:

Injured Jets running back Leon Washington says his broken right leg is healing ahead of schedule and he expects to be on the field for next season's opening game.

A Pro Bowl selection as a kick returner last season, Washington said Tuesday that doctors have told him he is two months ahead of a normal recovery. He expects to be off crutches next week.

Bad News for Quaker Fans...

if you put down a few greenbacks on Penn @ Duke, and +58 on the spread...
you lost.