Just End The Season

This game was real throwback to the 6-3 Colts/Jets games of yore.

Pure #fail with both teams competing to regurgitate the win.  The Jets succeeding by committing 5 turnovers.

I could rant and rave about the fact that Ryan needs to go.  That new offensive personnel is needed.  That this team's character deficiencies cannot be surmounted by the reasonable defensive talent they've assembled.

But why bother?  I said it a year ago.  Hell, any Jets fan with eyes said it a year ago, when star players were quitting on the field with the playoffs still in reach.

The only thing we've really learned this year, beyond a shadow of a doubt, is that Sanchez is not and will never be the answer at QB.  It's too bad.  He's a good guy.  But he's done.  Let's start McElroy the last two, to see if he can be a serviceable backup going forward, and bring in a new playcaller next year.

The Day the Big East died

The 7 B-ball only Catholic schools have voted to kill or leave the Big East.  The league will be disbanded, and those 7 schools will together re-form a new conference that, per NCAA rules, will maintain its automatic bid to the Big Dance.  I would guess they will seek to selectively add some schools from other conferences, probably the A-10.  Butler, Xavier, U Mass, VCU, Dayton and St. Louis seem to be possibles.  My guess--and it is only that--is that they are very selective and add only Xavier to get to an 8 team conference.

What the football schools (Conn, USF, Cincinnati) and the incoming schools like Houston, UCF, Temple, SMU, Memphis and Tulane are supposed to do now, I have no idea.  Maybe they will stick together as a group of 9.  Adding the 4 incoming "football only" schools--Navy, San Diego State, East Carolina, and Boise--gets them to 13.  Enough to qualify for a championship football game and the money that comes with it.  So maybe those 13 will just stick it out despite seeming to have no natural rivalries, geographic consistency, or other common elements between them.

Truth be told, I don't really care what happens to the football schools (although Duke could end up with them if the ACC is poached to death).   What's important here is what the 7 are doing.

This is a brilliant, visionary move by the Catholic schools.  They are forgoing football revenue, which flies in the face of the new math of collegiate athletic economics.  In the place of a massive 12-16 team superconference, they will likely be returning to a more manageable 8-10 team conference.  A conference where there can be a double-round-robin schedule, which will enable a superior regular season product.  From a basketball standpoint, these teams are well matched.  The schools are sensibly combined from a geography standpoint.  There is a cultural commonality to big city northern schools.  They are all big-time basketball programs.   Where all the other conferences are trying to out "big" each other for football revenue, this group of 7 schools have just positioned themselves as the premier basketball conference in the country, playing by a different set of rules than the rest of the money-chasing gridiron guys.

The superconferences are the product of accountants.  This league will provide a product that pleases someone else--the customer.

Old Big East looking to "kick out" new Big East?

And get back to a non-football, power bball conference.

Link.

Here's the money quote:

At issue is whether the Big East basketball-only schools have the power to dissolve the league, and retain all the assets and brand name. A source with knowledge of the situation said that until July 1, the seven have the majority votes and the necessary three-fourths to have controlling power. There are only three remaining football members -- Connecticut, Cincinnati and South Florida.

But a number of sources couldn't confirm whether Temple, which is a football-only member this season, has a controlling vote. One Big East source said Temple has a vote on football issues but wasn't sure whether the Owls could use that vote for membership. If the Owls could, Temple likely would be the fourth vote preventing any dissolving of the league.

The move would also disassociate the traditional Big East teams from the yet-to-join-but-admitted merry band of misfits:  "Memphis, Tulane, Central Florida, SMU and Houston, and football-only member East Carolina."

So...apparently, the remaining (real) Big East schools want to go back to what they do well, and stop cobbling together crap.  Makes sense.   Only wish they had the foresight to see the wisdom of this path earlier. 

Can't quite figure it out...

There seems to be a jersey missing in the '83 grouping in this discussion about best QB class of all time...

More Conference Realignment

I'm gonna take a WAG as to where this goes next.  Hint--ACC, not Big 12, is next to go down:


1) UNC, UVA to B1G
2) Virginia Tech and NC State to SEC
3) FSU, Clemson, G Tech, Miami, Louisville and (last shoe to drop--when new league has replaced NCAA) ND to Big 12

ACC remnant: Duke, Wake, Cuse, Pitt, BC
They probably raid for: Temple, Conn, Navy

Cuse
BC
Conn
Temple
Pitt
Navy
Wake
Duke

Back to an 8 team league, double round robin format.  Hoops fans rejoice at the schedule, cry for the diminished competition.  Football-wise, clearly this becomes a level below a power conference, on par with the Mountain West, and just a notch above C USA.

Jets schedule

Well, at 4-6, I have to be fair, the Jets have exceeded my pitiful expectations.

True, they have played terrible football, showed little in the way of camaraderie, and have been, by all accounts, little more than a traveling circus act. Yet, by hook or by crook, they've managed to get 4 W's.

They get the Pats this week. And then things get interesting. The Jets play their last 5 games against teams with losing records. Given they're only 2 games behind the WC teams, could they conceivably hang around the playoff picture for a few more weeks? It's hard to believe, but not its not impossible at this point. Needless to say, I won't be making any large wagers.

ND Number 1!

Back where they belong!

Now just don't choke to USC and you are on your way to national championship!!

Maybe even the first-ever Heisman for a pure defensive player.

A look back at some great Jet moments

Fire Rex, Hire Payton

(NT)

Some New Wu from Rae the Chef...

Click here to go to WU on Fallon. Click here to go to RZA with Black Keys from Iron Fists.

San-chews

No one has worse peripheral vision than Sanchez.  Also, his unwillingness to throw the ball away is absurd.  Reminds me of Bledsoe with the pats.

After Ibanez's PH HR for A-Rod, I've got just one question

ht on pic: Raekwon

MNF

The 2-2 Jetties take on the undefeated Texans tomorrow night.

Jets are minus Revis, Holmes, Keller, Hill and Pouha.

It goes without saying I like those odds.

It's that time of year

It’s time for the Jets to break glass in event of emergency. And that has brought them to cornerback Aaron Berry.

Berry, a former Lion whose very bad year began with playing the “broke and miserable” card on Twitter against fans criticizing him and the rest of his team for getting toasted in New Orleans and continued with a pair of offseason arrests and a three-game suspension, has agreed to terms with the Jets, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Replacement refs have been replaced

And I, for one, will miss them.  There was an element of chance that just made things interesting.  Just because you saw an interception didn't mean it was an interception.  You never knew what was hiding behind curtain #2.  It's almost like the NFL turned into The Running Man for a bit there.

Looks like an INT for Jennings....  OH! That chainsaw just cut him in half!  Remember:  a pass is not incomplete when resting on body parts.  They can still run with that ball...

Kyrie!

Tom Haberstroh from ESPN, on how frickin' awesome KI is:

FROM GREAT TO SUPERSTAR IN 2012

Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers

[+] Enlarge

Kent Smith/Getty ImagesKyrie Irving was a model of efficiency during a spectacular rookie season.

You could make the argument that no NBA player has ever been this good this young. It's almost impossible to exceed expectations as a No. 1 overall pick, but Irving managed to do that as a rookie for the rebuilding Cavaliers team. Irving averaged 18.5 points, 5.4 assists and 3.7 rebounds last season while shooting incredibly efficient from deep (39.9 percent on threes) and at the free throw line (87.2 percent).

All in all, Irving registered a 21.4 player efficiency rating and dominated crunch time. These numbers are impressive on their own, but they become staggering when you consider that a) he was a teenager last season and b) he barely played 30 minutes a game.

It's the best PER we've seen from a 19-year-old in NBA history -- better than the likes of LeBron James, Tracy McGrady and Kobe Bryant when they entered the league. Irving's minute count is especially important to note because there's little chance that Irving will have a governor on his playing time like he did in his rookie season. Because the Cavs were ultraconservative with his minutes on the floor, Irving's numbers may come off as a little lower than those of a bona fide star. However, this is a guy who averaged 21.8 points, 6.4 assists and 4.4 rebounds when we translate his stat line to a per-36 minute level.

Jeter ties Gehrig

For most career 200 hit seasons as a Yankee, with 8.   Just remarkable.  Anytime your name ends up next to Gehrig's in a baseball-related context, it's something special.

And btw, SHK, this last bit of news has finally tipped the scale, IMO.  We argued about in 1994, but now the verdict is in.   You were right.  Jeter has more promise than Ordonez.

Don't ever say I'm too hard-headed to admit when I'm wrong.

Winslow to Pats

Hmmm... can't imagine any other team that could have used a really good pass catching TE in place of an injured #1 TE. The Pats are bringing him in to replace their #2 TE, so arguably he could've counted on more touches with the Jets.

Then again, I'm sure the Jets had good reason not to pursue him. If one thing was clear in the loss to the Steelers, it's that Cumberland looks prepared to make the jump to being a prime-time player.

Just smh, really.

Of course, maybe T reached out to Winslow. I should give him the benefit of the doubt. Because if Winslow had the option of joining the Pats or the Jets' blazing dumpster fire, well.... Which would you pick?

20 for Dickey?

Who thinks he'll get there? He's at 18 with 4 starts left. Seems like he gets about 1.5 runs per start over the last month...

Tender, strong and true / Proudly in the heavens / Gleam thy gold and blue

Link

UPDATE:

Link 2, with a guess as to when full football membership will follow.

If you are going to fight from a lower row...

You better swing for the mid-section...

Mets

Fredo suggests the mets season isn't in the toilet yet.

Mike Francesca thinks otherwise. Epic rant.

Rasheed Sulaimon 2012 Summer EliteMixtape; Duke Incoming Freshman!

This kid looks like he's gonna be special:

Continuing with SHK's thoughts

Well, SHK, you missed out on the conversation that Caribou, ManBeast and myself had at the cigar lounge the other night.  You also missed out on the cigars and Knob Creek, but not much I can do about that...

We covered most of your points and some others as well.

Let's start on points of agreement:

1) "The debacle that lies ahead."  Check.

I referred to it as the "4-12 trainwreck in the windshield."

2) "Wayne Hunter. Disaster".

Not much to add, except the fact that the whole premise of our offense is that our O line can dominate game in game out.  And our starting RT sucks.

Points of modified disagreement:

1) Sparano -- I'm not fawning over the guy, but lets face it, he did a decent job with just about ZERO talent on that team's offense (but I'd prefer to get D.C.'s commentary on Sparano, having watched him more closely).  Come to think of it, coaching the Fins, who haven't had a QB in years, was pretty good prep for this job.  But more importantly, I'm glad Sparano's there because it's like holding a lotto ticket.  If the right #s come up, maybe Ryan will be fired and a new HC is already waiting in the wings.  Dollar and a dream.

2) Which brings me to Ryan-- Ever since he came in puffing up his player's egos, and convincing Mr. T that he could turn around the bad apples of the NFL (where the average apple is pretty bad to begin with), you were kind of waiting for the implosion.  You got it down the stretch last season.

The complete meltdown against Big Blue, and then star players quitting mid-game with the season on the line.  But once Ryan admitted he didn't know Holmes had been benched, the gig was up.  This guy not only doesn't have control of his players, he doesn't even know what's happening on the field.  The team's core players not only lacked chemistry, they demonstrated they outright don't like each other, and won't play for each other.  The writing was on the wall that Ryan had lost this team completely-- both from a "vision" standpoint (where we're headed as a unit) and from a day-to-day managerial standpoint.  I argued at the end of last season he needed to go, and you guys know I'm not quick to pin failure on managers/coaches.

Predictably, this preseason is off to a circus start, with fights, and loudmouths saying loudmouth things.  So Rex holds his big presser, "we've got that out our system, I'm not going to have anymore of that." " Next day, more brawls.  Lollers.  HE. HAS. LOST. THIS. TEAM.

Completely.

I like how happy Rex is we're returning to "ground and pound" offense-- let's play smashmouth football in a league where the winningest teams always throw 60% of the time.

I'll throw this out there as an upfront challenge-- I don't want to hear people slamming the OC bcause we run 2/3 of the time, including on 2nd and 12 and 3rd & 7.  Sparano was brought in EXACTLY BECAUSE Rex (with T's consent) wants that kind of offense.   They hired him and told him to ground & pound.  And he will.  Give him credit for being a good employee.

3) Mr. T

He bought a lot of goodwill in my book when he came in with Mangini and built this team up via the draft, and especially his mid round picks where he focused on character guys.  Shonne Green, Matt Slauson, Eric Smith, Brad Smith were all character guys that he grabbed in the middle rounds--worker bees who not only produced (to greater or lesser degrees) on the field, but set a tone in terms of work ethic.

Of course, he also had many good early round cornerstone picks: Mangold, Brick, Revis, David Harris, Keller, etc.

But the goodwill is fading fast.  He's clearly altered his approach with Rex.  I'm fine with flexing to meet the coach's system, but when you're drafting or signing guys like Plaxico, Coples, Kenrick Ellis, Santonio and Cromartie, you're sending a message to your team that a "me-first" attitude is OK--maybe even rewarded.  That's a cancer that's very hard to cut out once it starts spreading.  And the Jets are like Stage 4 right now.

By the end of last season, it was clear Rex had to go, and T was either too blind to see it, or Woody just likes having the circus in town.  T must get some of the blame for the impending disaster.  Even if it doesn't cost him his job, I hope he learns from the error of his ways and returns to his earlier draft approach.

4) Santonio - There was a choice to pick Holmes over Braylon, but he wasn't chosen OVER Brad Smith or Cotchery.  The decision to let those two go were independent bad choices, so let's not muddy the water.

It's tough to say T was wrong in resigning Holmes, b/c Braylon's played about 3 downs of football since he left the Jets, and Holmes had multiple game winning catches the previous season.  Santonio has proven he's a gamer in big spots, but has now also proven he'll sulk and quit if he's not getting enough touches.

Note that he never quit when playing on the Steelers.  That's the difference when you're on a team with a good culture and a bad culture, and why a coach's impact has much more to do with building a culture of excellence than with the on-field choices we fans (read, arm chair offensive coordinators for 3 hrs a week) care about.

It's about setting expectations and getting guys to have their sights set on winning 365 days a year, working in the weight room, getting into camp, focusing, etc.   It's always the little things that aggregate up to winning squads.

So while I currently despise Santonio, the decision to keep him wasn't horrible, given the limited options and tight timeframe they were making those decisions.  With this group, the guy clearly doesn't work, and needs to go.  But then again--that's true of most of this team.  If Parcells came back, he'd turn over 80% of the roster and start over, because that's the only way to remove the "me first" tumor.

BOTTOM LINE: I'm not giving up on the Mets.  Riding them right until mathematical elimination in late September.  It's far more enjoyable than the s show, on the field and off, that the Rusty Propellers will be putting up over the next 5 weeks.

Moving on

With the mets season now all but in the toilet, and the jets having nothing but Super Bowl opportunity ahead of them (just on account of the season not having started yet), it's time for that time honored tradition of switching over to NFL talk.

With that in mind, the jets 26-3 visit to the woodshed is quite timely.

It allows me full opportunity to complain about: (a) the debacle that lies ahead this season with two sub-par QBs 'battling,' (b) keeping Holmes, but not Braylon, cotchery or brad smith, (c) tony sparano, and (d) anything else that comes to mind.

(d) just came to mind - Wayne hunter. Disaster.

I'll reserve judgment until we have a few games under our belts, but I will go on the record now saying I never thought the sparano pickup made any sense. Dolphins - offensive juggernauts?

The EPL in a nutshell

How did I end up in this shell?  How do I get out?

Just kidding...

Was reading on espn.com and this description of the EPL gave me lulz.

Part sporting competition, part outlandish soap opera, the EPL is the most watched league in the world. It's a kaleidoscopic collision of heroes, heels, haircuts and hard cash. Yet, bereft of the salary caps, revenue shares and drafts that bring parity to American sport, the league remains an anarchical entity in which results are guaranteed as much by the balance sheet as the team sheet.

The financial imbalance means that in reality, the league is not one competition but three loosely connected leagues within a league. There is "The Battle of the Champions League" waged among an elite band of sheiks, oligarchs and the beneficiaries of a recent New York Stock Exchange IPO; a "Race for Respectability" for the middling teams that lollop toward the consoling placebo of a Europa League place; and the "Race of Death" between the cellar dwellers who are forced to scrap it out to avoid the trapdoor of relegation like slaves at the Roman Colosseum.

I guess the good news for me is that the EPL is back. I can go back to rooting for the Gunners without really having any clue what's happening on the pitch.

Just a crazy idea

Everyone knows that the Mets are in desperate need of some quality late inning relievers.

So.... What makes a good late inning reliever?

In my mind, the first qualifications are mental.  Someone with tons of guts, unafraid to challenge hitters, and who can pound the strike zone.  While most fans think "flamethrower" when they think of late-inning guys, there are plenty of guys who were successful because they had the right mindset, even without throwing in the mid- to high-90s.  [Take this description from Wiki of a guy in the top 5 all time in saves:  "XXX was a traditional relief pitcher with a '90-mph fastball and a change-up that breaks away from a righthanded batter like a screwball.']

Mets have a starting pitcher who is practically the embodiment of the above traits.  Unfortunately, his arm appears shot and it would seem he can no longer throw 80, no less 100 pitches in a game.  It looks like his contract might be dead weight at this point, unless the Mets can find a way to use him effectively.

So what do you think... Johan to the pen?  The Mets' Eckersley project?

Did Gary Carter invent the term????

F_Bomb

Ike is OK

Raekwon asked me if I was concerned Ike was a bust in May or June.  I told him the guy had missed a year, and was still developing--he needed to get his timing and eye back.  I said he'd probably pick it up in the second half.  Looks like the kid 'll be alright.

Davis has had a bizarre season, one that seems almost unfathomable. Consider in his first 56 games through June 8, the Mets first baseman was hitting .158 with five homers, 21 RBIs and a .507 OPS — a full-season pace of 15 homers and 61 RBIs. About as bad as it gets.

But in 50 games since, he’s hitting .267 with 15 homers, 40 RBIs (a full-season pace of 49 homers and 130 RBIs) and a .907 OPS — production that would rank him among the NL’s best hitters.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/mets_hope_they_re_seeing_real_davis_XoZlCHYxAt0oQoWbUrn0AJ#ixzz23RBQy6N3