The Mets are coming into spring training refreshed, confident and basking in the glow of the warm Florida sun. In fact they’re so confident they’re talking about playing in the World Series. They haven’t declared themselves the team to beat yet, though, but there’s still plenty of time left for that. Having confidence and setting [...]
Baseball season is right around the corner (hey, three weeks is like four days when you’re my age, so twentysomething days is “right around the corner” to me), and after all the snow this winter, I’m ready. But here comes one of those “the old days were better” ramblings – they don’t call me Old Man Freier in my neighborhood for nothing (actually they pretty much just ignore me because I start every sentence with “Back in my day”). I was recently watching part of game five of the 1976 Yankees-Royals LCS that YES always seems to show and an episode of The Bronx Is Burning on MSG (the one about the 1977 LCS, which intersperses real highlights from the series), and it’s safe to say that baseball has changed since then. It may not have been better, but it was different. It’s lost a lot of its toughness and boys-will-be-boys attitude. In the 1976 game, the first pitch thrown by Grant Jackson right after George Brett …
Drafted 2nd round (Oklahoma) by the Cleveland Browns
The Jets signed FS Brodney Pool to a one year, $1.3 million dollar contract. Trading Kerry Rhodes has created a hole at safety. Pool will be competing with Eric Smith and James Ihedigbo for the starting spot along side Jim Leonhard.
Pool started 10 games games for the Browns last season and finished with 50 tackles and 4 sacks. He missed the Browns final five games last season after sustaining a concussion. Their has been mixed reports on bow many concussions he has had in the past but his agent says ” he is healthy and ready to go”.
Pool holds the Browns franchise record with a 100 yard interception TD against the Ravens in 07. The five-year players has 11 interceptions and 35 pass defensed in his career.
I’ve come here to laugh with the Mets, not at them. Or to laugh with them and not angst over them. Or just to laugh. Please God, let me laugh. The season hasn’t even started yet and I pretty much want to kill myself already. After all of last year’s injuries, this spring the Mets have given us the Great Carlos Beltran Knee Fiasco, Frankie Rodriguez’s pink eye, Kelvim Escobar’s sore shoulder and now Jose Reyes’ overactive thyroid, which we’ve just learned will take two to eight weeks (years?) to stabilize before he can resume baseball activities, which means he’ll most likely miss opening day. There have also been the usual miscommunications and misdiagnoses. And Reyes and Beltran are linked to a doctor in Canada who’s doling out HGH. How frustrated and angry can one fan base get? Don’t you have to laugh? Maybe I’m being desperate here and ignoring reality, but isn’t it easier that way (ignoring reality is how I usually deal with things in …
Todd McShay has USC Safety Taylor Mays going 21 to the Bengals and the Jets selecting Penn State defensive end Jared Odrick
Mel Kiper has the Jets selecting Mays, which is surprising considering his strong combine and other teams that have safety needs.
Who is Jared Odrick?
“Odrick has a good combination of size and strength. He is more of a run-stopper with power to hold the point but needs to utilize his hands more consistently to separate to the ball. Odrick shows power to collapse the pocket as a pass rusher but again needs to expand his pass rush package with more moves and counters to contribute at the next level. He feels pad pressure well and constricts running lanes effectively. He has some limitations (lateral agility and speed) but plays with a good motor and often wins with effort. Odrick could be considered a versatile prospect as an end in a 3-4 front or tackle in 4-3 schemes. Odrick has upside if he can improve his overall …
We all know about the great athletes in New York sports history – Babe Ruth, Tom Seaver, Lawrence Taylor, Joe Namath, Mark Messier, Walt Frazier – and even the busts – Ed Whitson, Mo Vaughn, Roberto Alomar, Stephon Marbury, Scott Gomez. But what about the slightly-to-highly-above-average athlete? The kind-of-great but not all-timer? They may not have been Hall-of-Famers, but they were All-Stars, fan favorites, cogs on a championship team or maybe even just pretty darn good. They’re the little brother that didn’t hog all the attention. But they’re certainly worth talking about and remembering. So when do they get their due? Well, now they will. Here is a series of the not-quite-legendary in New York sports history.
In the late 1960s and early ’70s, the Mets were in the habit of trading away their young talent for, well, basically nothing. Amos Otis for Joe Foy. Nolan Ryan (and a few others) for Jim Fregosi. And they did it again when they sent Ken Singleton to Montreal (with Mike Jorgensen and Tim Foli). But this time, they …
Kansas City signed Thomas Jones to a two-year deal after the Jets released him. New York did not want to pay him the roster bonus he was due. The team should have kept him considering he has rushed for 2700 yards with 27 touchdowns the past two seasons. However, he was due a $3 million roster bonus on top of a $2.8 million base salary and Jones did not want to take a pay cut. “Jones ranks second only to LaDainian Tomlinson, who also was cut by his team, in yards rushing since 2005″.
Jones is coming off a career year where he rushed for 1402 yards and 14 touchdowns. However, the 331 regular season carries was the most of his 10-year career. Jones has rushed for at least 1100 yards in each of his past five seasons. His consistency can be credited due to his workout regimen but he is turning 32-years old in August. Also, the Jets boast one of the top offensive lines in the league …
Week 20 (March 8-14)
Teams playing four games: Boston, Charlotte, L.A. Clippers, Memphis, Miami, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, Toronto, Washington
Teams playing three games: Atlanta, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Indiana, Golden State, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City
Teams playing two games: Houston, L.A. Lakers, Phoenix
Reggie Williams (Warriors)- Williams signed a 10-day contract because of the lack of healthy bodies for the Warriors. He scored a career high 28 points yesterday against the Hornets. If Monta Ellis returns on Thursday, it lowers the value of Williams but he has a pedigree of scoring history. He the led nation in back to back years for VMI (28.1 in 06-07 and 27.8 in 07-08)
Sonny Weems (Raptors)- Weems has scored in double-figures in four of past five games. He scored a season high 20 points vs. the Knicks last Friday. In three games this month …
The Jets traded safety Kerry Rhodes to the Arizona Cardinals for a 4th (Rhodes was a former 4th round pick) round pick in this year’s draft and a 7th round pick in the 2011 draft. Rhodes has a 4 years left on his contract and a $2 million roster bonus due on Friday. This past season he recorded a career low 55 tackles and did not intercept a pass until Week 12.
Rhodes will be replacing Antrel Rolle, who signed with the Giants last week. The Cardinals other starting safety (Adrian Wilson) is the same height 6′3″. The team’s new defensive backs coach is Donnie Henderson, who was a former Jets assistant under Herman Edwards.
In his second season in the league Rhodes had 99 tackles, 5 sacks, 4 interceptions and 3 forced fumbles. However, his play has not been on the same level since his teammates have labeled him as “Hollywood” because of his off-the-field initiatives.
The Jets filled a need when they traded for cornerback Antonio Cromartie, However, they have a hole at safety because Eric …
The Knicks recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of their first championship, which got me to thinking – and yes, this is what I think about while cracking open my ninth beer of the night: New York-area teams have a seven-decade championship streak on the line this year. For the last seven decades (and eight out of nine) a New York team has played in a championship game when the year ends in a zero. Sometimes they lost, sometimes they won, but they reached the final game or series. Coincidence? Yeah, but so what? Let’s look back anyway.
The year 2000 was a bonanza. The Yankees and Mets squared off in the World Series, the Devils won the Stanley Cup and the Giants made it to the Super Bowl but lost to Baltimore (the game was played in 2001 but it was the 2000 season). In 1990, the Giants beat Buffalo in the Super Bowl (wide right!). The Islanders won the first of four consecutive Stanley Cups in 1980. …
“He has failed to appear in court twice for different traffic tickets and hasn’t paid $799 in traffic-related fines, causing the Department of Motor Vehicles to withhold his driver’s license application.”
“Cromartie has at least seven children with six different women in five states. All children are under 6.”
“He was also disciplined by coach Norv Turner for breaking team rules regarding tweeting from the team premises.”
Antionio Cromartie was traded to the Jets for a 2011 third-round draft choice that could turn into a second-rounder. He comes with baggage but he is 25 years old and led the NFL in interceptions (10) in 2007. He was also named to the Pro Bowl and All-Pro team that year. That season he returned a missed field 109 yards for a touchdown. Darrelle Revis was a Pro Bowler and All-Pro for the Jets last season. This combo can turn out to be one of the best combos in the NFL.
Cromartie replaces Lito Sheppard, who the Jets released because of his roster bonus. Besides his legal troubles he has battled injuries …
“Before his high school career ended he was the first player to attend the Adidas ABCD Camp in New Jersey three times, and won the MVP his final season, an award given out to the likes of Lebron James and Kobe Bryant.”
Bill Walker was a Top 10 high school recruit and made the EA Sports High School Boys Basketball team in 2006. He was also a teammate of current Memphis Grizzle and former first-round pick (3rd overall) O.J Mayo. He received interest from top programs such as Connecticut, Syracuse, Texas but elected to go to Kansas State.
Walker elected to go to Kansas State and averaged 16.1 (5th in the Big 12) points, 6.3 rebounds and shot 46% (10th in the Big 12) in his second season. He played alongside Michael Beasley who was drafted second overall in the 2008 draft.
His knee injuries affected his draft stock but the talent, athleticism and size had scouts compare him to Vince Carter. His leaping ability, strength and competitiveness would have made him a first-round pick …
We all know about the great athletes in New York sports history – Babe Ruth, Tom Seaver, Lawrence Taylor, Joe Namath, Mark Messier, Walt Frazier – and even the busts – Ed Whitson, Mo Vaughn, Roberto Alomar, Stephon Marbury, Scott Gomez. But what about the slightly-to-highly-above-average athlete? The kind-of-great but not all-timer? They may not have been Hall-of-Famers, but they were All-Stars, fan favorites, cogs on a championship team or maybe even just pretty darn good. They’re the little brother that didn’t hog all the attention. But they’re certainly worth talking about and remembering. So when do they get their due? Well, now they will. Here is a series of the not-quite-legendary in New York sports history.
The analysts on MSG’s Hockey Night Live, Butch Goring, Ron Duguay and Ken Daneyko, are three disparate personalities and were three completely different players, playing for different teams and playing different positions, but they all made their mark in New York sports history (ok, and New Jersey). From the gritty, down-to-earth Goring, to the flashy male-model-like Duguay, to tough-guy, …
Gia I think you are much more beautiful on the inside then you are on the outside. I would love to just have one opportunity to meet with you one to one for dinner. David […]
"The Knicks reported a 40 percent spike in on-site merchandise sales during Saturday’s game at Madison Square Garden — including more than 200 McGrady T-shirts and more than 100 McGrady jerseys. All for a player who might be here for just 39 games." So embarrassing. […]
Yep, now that T-Mac is ready, his knee blew up, and he is on the bench. Houston played that one great. But why did New York need a point guard? I don't understand? D'Antoni stated in November when Duhon was in a fog that he was sticking with him. He sure did, started him 50 games, but he had 24 points recently, but that was for the whole month of F […]
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