A couple of things to touch on for this week in sports...........................
Okay, here it is. I am a Giants fan. I always have been. I remember that Bills/Giants Superbowl like it was yesterday. I remember Whitney Houston and her amazing rendition of the Star Spangled Banner (back before Whintney became the original strung out, rehab diva). I remember David Megget and OJ Anderson combining to make one of the great running tandems in Super Bowl history. I remember the Giants starting the third quarter on a historic drive that ate up 10 minutes and eventually gave them the lead. I remember Thurman Thomas breaking a run in the fourth, out of no where, that seemed to signifiy the Giants finally gasp. I remember Hostetler leading the team down the field for the go ahead score and, of course, I remember wide right.
I love the Giants, and like most NY fans, I have really grown to enjoy this Giant's team. It seems as if, in the blink of an eye, this team went from a group of overpriced prima donnas who always found a way to lose to the better team to a blue collar team or classy veterans and talented young players that make up a core group of players I can see myself getting behind for a lot of years to come.
Having said that, I am pretty sure they are gonna lose on Sunday.
Can I make a case for them winning this game? Damn straight I can. First, they have already played the Giants, meaning that any intimidation factor will be gone when they meet on Sunday. The Giants aren't gonna be surprised by the Pats speed or their schemes or their size or their aggressive nature. They aren't gonna be scared of the Pats, even if the team gets up on them early. The Giants might lose, but they aren't gonna lose because of fear. They legitimately believe they SHOULD have beaten the Pats in week 17. That's a good confidence to have.
Also, the teams that have given the Pats the most trouble over the last few weeks have been physical, aggressive teams that take the action right to them. The Giants fit that description to a tee. They blitz, they hit, they tackle, they play to, and sometimes even past, the whistle. The Pats don't love getting hit, and it has, from time to time, forced them into making some mistakes. It could again on Sunday.
Then you have the odds factor. For the past month, most teams have had a chance to beat the Pats in the fourther quarter. Let's face it, there are only so many times you can let good teams hang around till the final quarter of a game until it will come back to bite you. The Pats defense is old, the team is 18-0, meaning they have had a bullseye on their backs for months now, and playing under that kind of strain has to take its toll.
That's the case for the Giants.
In reality? I think the Giants lose this game 35-24, with the final score not really indicating how one-sided the contest truly was. I can break down all the reasons why, but it comes down to one simple fact for me: when a great player (Tom Brady) and a great coach (Bill Belichick) bring the BEST team they have had to the big game or championship series, they usually win that game. Look at the '98 Yankees, the '86 Celtics, the '84 49ers, and the list can go on and on. When the great coach, combined with the great player/team, make it to the championship level, they usually take care of business.
Okay, here it is. I am a Giants fan. I always have been. I remember that Bills/Giants Superbowl like it was yesterday. I remember Whitney Houston and her amazing rendition of the Star Spangled Banner (back before Whintney became the original strung out, rehab diva). I remember David Megget and OJ Anderson combining to make one of the great running tandems in Super Bowl history. I remember the Giants starting the third quarter on a historic drive that ate up 10 minutes and eventually gave them the lead. I remember Thurman Thomas breaking a run in the fourth, out of no where, that seemed to signifiy the Giants finally gasp. I remember Hostetler leading the team down the field for the go ahead score and, of course, I remember wide right.
I love the Giants, and like most NY fans, I have really grown to enjoy this Giant's team. It seems as if, in the blink of an eye, this team went from a group of overpriced prima donnas who always found a way to lose to the better team to a blue collar team or classy veterans and talented young players that make up a core group of players I can see myself getting behind for a lot of years to come.
Having said that, I am pretty sure they are gonna lose on Sunday.
Can I make a case for them winning this game? Damn straight I can. First, they have already played the Giants, meaning that any intimidation factor will be gone when they meet on Sunday. The Giants aren't gonna be surprised by the Pats speed or their schemes or their size or their aggressive nature. They aren't gonna be scared of the Pats, even if the team gets up on them early. The Giants might lose, but they aren't gonna lose because of fear. They legitimately believe they SHOULD have beaten the Pats in week 17. That's a good confidence to have.
Also, the teams that have given the Pats the most trouble over the last few weeks have been physical, aggressive teams that take the action right to them. The Giants fit that description to a tee. They blitz, they hit, they tackle, they play to, and sometimes even past, the whistle. The Pats don't love getting hit, and it has, from time to time, forced them into making some mistakes. It could again on Sunday.
Then you have the odds factor. For the past month, most teams have had a chance to beat the Pats in the fourther quarter. Let's face it, there are only so many times you can let good teams hang around till the final quarter of a game until it will come back to bite you. The Pats defense is old, the team is 18-0, meaning they have had a bullseye on their backs for months now, and playing under that kind of strain has to take its toll.
That's the case for the Giants.
In reality? I think the Giants lose this game 35-24, with the final score not really indicating how one-sided the contest truly was. I can break down all the reasons why, but it comes down to one simple fact for me: when a great player (Tom Brady) and a great coach (Bill Belichick) bring the BEST team they have had to the big game or championship series, they usually win that game. Look at the '98 Yankees, the '86 Celtics, the '84 49ers, and the list can go on and on. When the great coach, combined with the great player/team, make it to the championship level, they usually take care of business.
Is it that simple? For me, it really is. The Giants are fighting an all time team here, the final piece to perhaps the last true dynasty we are going to see in professional football in a long, long time, and it is hard for me to believe the Giants are going to stand in their way of putting a stamp on the season on Sunday.
Now, back to baseball...................
Johan Santana, see you at Shea this year.
First, let me just say cudos to Omar Minaya. He read this situation perfectly. He waited until the Red Sox and Yankees were really pretty much out of it, knowing he couldn't compete with either of those teams if they were truly interested in trading with the Twins. He stuck to his guns and didn't let the Twins bully him into giving up the prospect he coveted, believeing that, at the end of the day, unless the Twinkies wanted to be left holding the bag, they would have to deal with the Mets.
When you look at the deal, it is truly astounding considering how onesided it is. Carlos Gomez is a nice player, a Mmelky Cabrera if you will. He could start for my team any day of the week. He has intangibles you love, and I believe he is one of those players where the stats don't truly tell the whole story. However, you don't make a guy like that the centerpiece of a deal for the best pitcher in all of baseball. The Mets just landed their ace; a young lefty with nasty stuff who has shown no durability issues whatsoever (I don't buy the rumblings that he was hurt last year at the end of the year, accounting for his bad end of the season stats. First, the guy was obviously pissed about the Luis Castillo deal, he felt as if the organization was throwing in the towel, and he just phoned it in the second half. If he HAD been injured, or if he were experiencing dead arm issues, don't you think he would have hung them up for the season? He was on a walk year, he was playing for a team that was already out of it, and he had already expressed his desire to leave. What, exactly, would have been his purpose for going out there every fifth day and pitching if he were hurt? He could have rested towards the end of the season and NEVER had it effect his worth on open market). But what's even better than landing your ace? How about landing your ace AND retaining the position player (Franklin Martinez) and the pitcher (Mike Pelfrey) you wanted to keep at almost all costs. That, my friends, is a swindle.
But the real story here is the Twins GM, Bill Smith, a rookie who just made one of the worst trades in baseball history. In his efforts to get the best possible deal, he was forced into making the worst deal he possibly could. This is the Jim Bowden school of trading. Try so hard to make the deal one-sided on your end, you get nothing in return. Smith had the opportunity on Dec. 2 to get Phil Hughes, Melky Cabrera, and two pretty good prospects from the Yanks and he came back and demanded Ian Kennedy as well. After being rejected by the Yanks, he could have traded Santana to the Red Sox for one of two deals: one centered around John Lester, one centered around Jacob Ellsbury. All three of those options were far superior to what the Mets just sent the Twins way. Smith read the market wrong, believing that, since he owned the biggest pitcher in baseball, he would eventually get everything and ANYTHING he wanted for him. He seemingly believed that the Yanks and Sox would make their next battle in their baseball cold war on his front door, and the prospects would begin to fly once both of those teams began to compete for the lefty's services. The problem was, the Sox had already WON a world series, have arguably the best big game pitcher in the sport in Josh Beckett (only in his late 20's himself), a very good #2 starter in Dice K, who they believe will take a step forward this year rather than back, a veteran coming back in Schilling, and then two terrific young pitching prospects in John Lester and Clay Buckholtz. The Sox, rightfully so, decided that they didn't NEED Santana to make their team complete. They simply wanted to drive up the price on him for the Yanks. The Yanks? Well, I will be arguing for a long time on this blog whether the Yanks SHOULD have made this deal, but the fact is Smith totally misread the Bombers and their intentions. Instead of being willing to give up the farm to get Santana, the Yanks were hesitant from the beginning even at the notion of giving up just ONE of their coveted pitchers. There was a window where Smith could have had Phil Hughes, and once he missed that window, that was it. Smith didn't realize three very important things: Yankee GM Brian Cashman has a strange man-crush on EVERY prospect he has helped developed in the system over the last several years. He didn't want to give up Hughes for ANYONE and was fighting against a deal from the beginning. Hal Steinbrenner, the second half of the Fredo Brothers who have taken over the baseball operations in the Bronx, was obviously hesitant from the start at the idea of giving up so much money. Hal has come in with a definite idea of what a "budget" should look like, and while it appears there was a time Hal could have been on board in giving Johan a big contract, that time quickly passed. Finally, they obviously didn't read Hank Steinbrenner. Baby Boss has the last say over all things baseball with the Yanks, that's pretty obvious. Hal is the money, Hank is the diamond. When the deal was on the table for Hughes and Cabrera, it was Hank driving that deal to happen. But Hank has already shown himself to be erratic, sort of like his father. Hank made his offer, the offer was countered, Hank was insulted and pulled the Yanks out. Negotiating tactic? Perhaps. Hank may simply have been playing the game and the Twins simply ran out of time before Cash and Hal could convince Little Stein that the deal wasn't worth it. Or, Hank showed himself to be a throw back wanna be, where men make handshake agreements in back rooms and stick to them. Hank firmly believed the Yanks had made the best offer. When it was obvious the Twins wanted to create a bidding war between the Bombers and the Beantowners, Hank was insulted. There is an unpredictability with Hank, and the Twins were never counting on that uneven temper HURTING their chances for a trade.
If you're a Twins fan right now, you just saw the best pitcher in baseball walk out the door, with nothing coming back in. In my opinion, the Twins fanbase has been the most abused in the sport. They are good fans, they support their team, and with a terrible owner and now an inept front office, the only thing the Twinkie faithfil have to hang their hat on is a new stadium and the comfort in knowing their minor league scouts are still some of the best in the business in finding young talent. Here's to hoping someone uncovers a pitching diamond in the rough very soon for these fans so they can get over the disaster that was the last three months.
And how about a little basketball......................
Paul Gasol was traded to the Lakers for Kwame Brown, a rookie point guard, and two #1 draft picks. This is a pretty special deal for the Lakers. For now, Gasol will become the Laker's center, but when Bynum returns from injury, the Lakers will feature a starting five of Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Paul Gasol at power forward and Andrew Bynum at center. It also strengthens the teams bench by making current starter Luke Walton the first man off the bench. Not bad.
Too bad there weren't any moves like that to be made for the local teams.
And while we are on the subject of the local teams, two thoughts: One, if the Nets are smart they will trade BOTH Jason Kidd and Vince Carter away and amass some draft picks and perhaps a good player or two to build around. The big three days are over. Kidd wants out, Carter has obviously become a problem (and was never really a winning player anyway) and Jefferson is being stifled by the two sullen superstars. Trade these guys NOW. The Nets are a few years away from moving into their new home in Brooklyn. They have some nice young guys like Josh Boone and Antoine Wright already in house, and if they have a few good drafts, plus bring back a few good players, there's no reason why a smart organization like the Nets can't be back in the East in only a few years. Now is the time to blow it all up. If you have to bite the bullet on Kidd and take a lot less than what you would natually have, so be it. The object is to get these guys off the team.
As far as the Knicks? Lost cause. FIRE Isiah. TRADE Eddie Curry. MAKE SURE Stephon "Star" bury never plays for the team again. Try and trade Jamal Crawford. BLOW the whole thing, up, try and amass draft picks, ala the Nets, and build around a very good Zach Randolph, David Lee, Nate Robinson, and a few others. But the Knicks seem to be content with their 14 win season so far, as if their spunky, yet losing play means something in the grand scheme of things. One has to wonder whether James Dolan is simply letting Thomas play out the year and THEN will fire him, or if Dolan is so clueless that he actually still believes this team can be turned around by a man with only losing experience in the front office.
Perhaps LeBron wants to add a Knicks jersey to his Yankee's hat in a few years when he comes up for free agency?
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