The Chad Pennington era is over.  And while it didn’t result in a Super Bowl victory, Pennington had the best run by a Jets signal caller since Joe Namath. He was better than Ken O’Brien, better than Boomer, better than Vinny, and a million times better than Bubby Brister. Some Jets fans with short memories will paint Pennington as an injury-prone passer with a weak arm. Fair enough; there is some truth to that. But let’s not forget that the nine-year veteran from Marshall is the Jets all time leader in post-season yards and touchdowns. Or the 8-4 record he posted as a starter when he replaced Vinny Testeverde in 2002. Or the 41 points he helped orchestrate in beating the Colts in the playoffs that same year. Or the 47-yard bomb to Santana Moss in a playoff win in San Diego. And save for a few rare blow ups with the media, Chad handled the pressure of being a quarterback in New York with class and dignity.

Today is a good day for the Jets fans. …

Thoughts while struggling through an afternoon meeting…who thinks late afternoon meetings are a good for anybody?
Why can’t the Jets trade for Favre and then ship him to the Vikings?  I’m sure Packers’ GM Ted  Thompson would ask any team that he makes a deal with to not turn around and trade Favre to Chicago or Minnesota but really, who cares about Ted Thompson’s feelings? 
The only way Kellen Clemens beats out Chad Pennington is due to injury.  Of course, Chad tends to get hurt.
I’m trying to come up with a New York scenario that would get a half of the attention that the Brett Favre situation is getting.  The best I could come up with is if Derek Jeter retired, changed his mind and Joe …

The focus at Jets training camp has been the battle between Chad Pennington, Kellen Clemens and Brett Favre’s ghost for the starting quarterback spot. The reasons behind the quarterback competition (and trying to acquire Favre) are obvious. Clemens and Pennington combined for 15 touchdowns and 19 interceptions last season, the offense averaged 16 points a game and most importantly, the team posted a 4-12 record.   With numbers like those, the quarterback position is going to be scrutinized.  But, when you finish a NFL season with 4 wins, it means your team has plenty of holes. The Jets are no different.
As bad as the Jets quarterback play was, their offensive line was worse.  The Jets rushed for a paltry 3.8 yards per carry and gave up 53 sacks.  General manager Mike Tannenbaum addressed the woeful line, signing  Pro-Bowl left guard Alan Faneca and veteran offensive lineman Damien Woody, who is expected to play right tackle.  Are those players upgrades over the revolving door of left guards and right tackles that played last …

New York City just came out of a five day heat wave, the Yankees head to Boston for a showdown series, the Mets are battling the Phillies for first place and the Olympics are around the corner. Is it really time for football?

Yes boys and girls, NFL training camps open this week. Two-a-days, quarterback battles, rookie holdouts and more Brett Favre talk than you can shake the proverbial stick at. But in New York the football focus is on the New York Giants. They are some how in possession of the Vince Lombardi trophy. Yup, it really did happen. So while Eli Manning, Tom Coughlin, and company are playing with house money going into this season-not even the most die hard fan thought the Giants had a Superbowl run in them last season-expectations have been raised. Throw in the Jeremy Shockey trade, Michael Strahan’s retirement and an absolutely loaded NFC East and it’s clear that the Giants need a productive training camp to have a successful season.  …

According to Jay Glazer at Foxsports.com, The New York Giants have traded Jeremy Shockey to the New Orleans Saints for a second- and fifth-round pick.
Many Giants’ fans will say ”good riddance” to trading the player who has caught more passes than any other tight end in franchise history, and I agree with them.  Usually, I’m not a fan of giving up proven talent for potential, but Shockey, with his words and actions in the spring, along with his declining numbers, left the Giants no choice but to trade him. 
Early in his career Shockey brought an element to the Giants offense they never had.  His ability to control the middle of the field along with his swagger was a key factor in the Giants’ resurgence. But for the last few seasons having him on the team for a Giant fan was like defending the uncle that drinks a little too much during family …

5. In a typical Evil Empire move, the Yankees invite Willie Randolph as a guest to the All-Star Game.
4. The Boss makes an appearance. Love him or hate him, George Steinbrenner is a legendary New York sports figure. It was cool to see him back at Yankee Stadium.
3. Local rivals accidentally stir the pot. Chase Utley drops an F bomb. Jonathan Papelbon kind of, sort of, thought he should be the American League closer. If these two played for the San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals respectively, it wouldn’t be a big deal. But they don’t, so of course these are earth shattering events in New York. By the way …

A few New York baseball thoughts while cursing the mythical “sick passenger” on the F train…
It was great of Billy Wagner to let us know (via an article by ESPN.com writer Jason Stark) what the root of the New York Mets’ problems were earlier this season:

“I don’t want to bash Willie, because I liked him, Billy Wagner said. “But before, it was more of The Yankee Way. It wasn’t The Mets Way. There was no facial hair. You could never have music in the clubhouse. You couldn’t have kids around. Believe it or not, some of us in here actually like kids.”

So it was the lack of facial hair and children in the clubhouse. Of course!! And I thought the problem was lack of production from the middle of the line-up. Silly me. …

While I watched Billy Wagner once again take years off of the lives of New York Mets fans everywhere when he blew a save recently against the Phillies, it hit me that the feeling of angst I had was way too familiar. It’s one of the worst feelings a baseball fan could have, that feeling that no lead is ever safe. Unfortunately, Mets fans know this feeling very well.
In my lifetime as a Mets fan (established in 1984), they have never had a bullpen stopper. Have they had closers? Definitely. They’ve had a few players who were very good at collecting saves. Brooklyn native John Franco and his 276 saves as a Met is the first person that comes to mind. Jesse Orosco notched 107 saves while playing in Queens. Even the infamous Armando Benitez logged 160 saves for the Mets, good for second in franchise history. Of course statistics, especially the …

It’s safe to say that for the New York Mets’ players, fans and front office, the season to date has not gone according to plan. Expectations -like the payroll- are very high and the vision Mets supporters had in the spring has not matched the reality of the present. The preferred blueprint would have included among other things: a healthy Moises Alou batting in the middle of the line-up and driving in runs, Aaron Heilman returning to his 2006 form and teaming up with Duaner Sanchez to dominate the 7th and 8th innings, Luis Castillo providing steady defense at second base and Ryan Church adding depth and pop to the bottom of the batting order.

Well, that blueprint has gone up in flames.

While hovering around .500 for what seems like forever, the Mets have, out of necessity changed course. For better or worse, the Mets hopes now hinge on a group of role players now asked to do more …

The agent for former Chicago Bulls guard Chris Duhon confirmed that the 4 year pro has reached a verbal agreement with the New York Knicks. While it is believed that the Orlando Magic offered Duhon a more lucrative deal, the chance to become a starter swayed him to join the Knicks. Because the Knicks are over the salary cap, to sign Duhon the Knicks used their mid-level exception which, according to NBA.com, is valued at about $5.4 million this season.

Before Knicks fans get too excited, remember that Duhon is not a franchise changing point guard. Assuming he becomes the Knicks starting point guard, he’s probably the fourth best lead guard in the Atlantic Division behind Devin Harris, Rajon Rando and Andre Miller. He lacks quickness, cannot create plays for his teammates on his own, and is an inconsistant outside shooter.

However, Duhon is the only guard on the roster (outside of …