Here we go again. This week we’ll have another all-schmuck edition and just make it a team effort. The locals were the dregs again this week, going a combined 4-13-2. Other highlights: We had the Sean Avery vs. Martin Brodeur heavyweight bout of the century (Avery 1, Brodeur 0). Citi Field and Yankee Stadium III open for business tonight (well, Citi kind opened already with the St. Johns/Georgetown game). And Sports Illustrated has somewhat bizarrely picked the Mets to win the World Series. That’s really going out on a limb. Sure, they have a good team, but is the magazine aware of what happened to them the last two seasons? Now Carlos Beltran can declare, “Tell Jimmy Rollins we’re the team to jinx this year.” Throw another log on the fire – collapse, choke, jinx. I think Nostradamus picked the Mets to win the wild card this season back in 1555. He also predicted John Maine would round into shape, but Francisco Rodriguez would crack a rib during one of his post-save …

The local coaches were in the spotlight this week. Tom Renney was sent packing, with his opposite, John Tortarella, coming in to replace him. Joe Girardi is already on the hot seat before the season even starts. He took a page out of Tom Coughlin’s book by taking the Yankees to a pool hall to distract them from what a poor job he did last year. And Jerry Manuel is running his first spring training with the Mets, and is doing it his way, which means unconventionally and wackily. This week’s prize for the Hot Stove Player of the Week: A copy of Tom Renney’s upcoming book How I Made Petr Prucha a Healthy Scratch All Season Because of a $10 Bet With Perry Pearn.

Winner

Devin Harris: The Nets point guard made the shot of the year, when he threw in a buzzer beater at half court to beat Philadelphia on Monday (and wasn’t he fouled on his first attempt anyway?). He also had 39 points and eight assists in that …

There were only two sports played this week, but the New York area is blessed with five teams in those sports (though the words ‘blessed’ and ‘Islanders’ haven’t really gone together in 26 years or so). It’s been a roller-coaster week for the locals: The Knicks beat Boston but lost to the lowly Oklahoma City Supersonics. (Could they have picked a more craptastic name than Thunder? The move to OK had Jack Sikma rolling over in his grave – well, he’s not actually dead yet, but he rolled over in his sleep. Shawn Kemp was so distraught about the Supersonics leaving Seattle that he hasn’t fathered a child in four months.) The Rangers lost to Washington, beat Pittsburgh, then lost to Montreal. The Devils won two and then lost two. The Islanders and Nets were the only consistent teams – the Isles consistently bad (0-4) and the Nets good (3-1). Meanwhile, the Giants are getting ready for the throwdown in the Meadowlands against Philly, and the Jets are getting …

The end of the week is finally here. The Giants won again, but the Jets were a disappointment, holding off the New York-New York Super Bowl talk for now. The Nets are a surprising 9-8, the Knicks are a surprising 8-10, Stephon Marbury is surprisingly still here, Plaxico Burress is not-surprisingly gone and old friend Sean Avery surprised nobody with his “sloppy seconds” comment. He’s now on his fourth team in eight years. What does that make him? This week’s prize for the winner is a Glock, a gun permit, a holster and lessons at a shooting range.
Winner 
Devin Harris: Sure, he had a clunker (along with the whole team) on Wednesday vs. Washington (18 points, two assists), but he led the Nets to wins this week with dominating performances against Utah (34 points, six assists) on Friday and Phoenix (47 points, eight assists) on …

They loved the nightlife. They loved to boogie. They loved the ladies. They dressed with style. They had Fu Manchus. They had muttonchops. They were cooler than Fonzie. They were cooler than Coolio. They were cooler than LL Cool J. They were cooler than a pack of Kools. Here are the top 10 hippest, coolest New York sports dudes of the past 40 years.
10. Mike Piazza: The former catcher brought his mullet from LA to New York and turned the Mets into winners. Along the way he dated (and married) Playboy playmates, played the drums and appeared on Baywatch. He was California cool (even though he’s from Pennsylvania) and had the mustache to prove it.
9. Derek Jeter: The Yankees shortstop is going through Hollywood actresses like David Wells going through a bag of …

Here are the answers to yesterday’s quiz.
1. When the Nets first joined the ABA for the 1967-’68 season they were called the New Jersey Americans.
2. Kevin Loughery was the Nets coach when they joined the NBA in 1976.
3. Buck Williams has played in the most career games for the Nets, with 635.
4. Richard Jefferson has the second most career points for the Nets, with 8,507.
5. Jason Kidd has made the most career three-pointers, with 813.
6. The single-season points-per-game record is held by Rick Barry, who averaged 31.5 points in 1971-’72.
7. Second on the list for career assists with the Nets is Bill Melchionni, with 3,044….

See how much you know about the history of the tri-state area’s other basketball team. They’ve played in Long Island, New Jersey and (soon?) Brooklyn. Look out, Connecticut, it’ll be your turn in 10 or 20 years. The answers will be posted tomorrow.
1. When the Nets first joined the ABA, what was their name?
2. Who was the Nets coach when they joined the NBA?
3. Who has played in the most career games for the Nets?
4. Buck Williams has the most career points for the Nets. Who is second?
5. Who has made the most career three-pointers for the Nets?
6. Who holds the single-season points-per-game record for the franchise?
7. Jason …

New York has had its share of great announcers, goofy announcers, pro’s pro announcers and just plain bad announcers. For this list I’m going to use the late ’60s/early ’70s as the cutoff date. Mel Allen and Red Barber were legends, but they weren’t my legends. I’ve also cheated. In some cases I’ve listed announcing teams and in others, just an individual. So here is my top-10 best announcers/teams of the last 40 years. And no, you won’t find Suzyn Waldman, John Sterling or Fran Healy on this list.
10. Jim Kaat: The 16-time Gold Glove winner and three-time All-Star pitcher was stuck in a booth with a hodgepodge of Yankee shills from 1994–2006 (and a one-year stint in 1986). Always classy, he stood out by telling it like it is, and had a humble, non-shtick way about him.
9. Mike Breen: New York native Breen …

Forest City Ratner Company, the organization responsible for building the New Jersey Nets new arena said Monday, that the team’s new home in Brooklyn, may not be ready for the 2010-2011 season. It has been delayed several times, as recently as January. The arena will no longer feature a green roof, and the intial design will be very different.
Bruce Ratner owns the commercial real estate agency building the arena, and is also the principal owner of the Nets. He has owned the team for four seasons and plans to move the franchise to Brooklyn, which has not had a pro team since the Dodgers left in 1957. The Nets have been playing their home games at the Izod Center in the Meadowlands sports complex since 1981. The Nets drew an average of 15,656 fans per game which ranked 21st in the NBA last season. By moving to Brooklyn, Ratner hopes to draw more fans from NYC …

When it comes to our sports heroes, does it matter what they’re doing in their personal lives as long as they’re performing well on the court, field, or rink? There are always rumors regarding contracts and salaries and possible trades, but I prefer to take my sports with as little celebrity-esque gossip as possible.

It seems to me, as a New York sports fan, I can’t get away from the news regarding our greatest players’ personal lives. For starters, there’s the uproar of Yankee Alex Rodriguez’s mega-divorce this summer, not to mention all the news-mania in this steroid-era of major league baseball (I’m looking at you, Roger Clemens!). Then last year when the Giants made the playoffs, every time I opened the Post or the Daily News I’d see something about Eli Manning and his girlfriend-turned-fiancee. And even though football season is long over, I can’t get away from Patriot Tom Brady and Giselle Bündchen. Then in 2007 there was former …

According to the New York Post and ESPN.com, the Nets are trading point guard Marcus Williams to the Golden State Warriors for a future first-round draft pick. The pick is lottery-protected for 2011, so the Nets get it if the Warriors reach the playoffs. It is also protected in 2012 and 2013. If the pick is not used by 2013, the Nets get second-round picks in 2013 and 2015.
This was a nice pick-up for the Dubs, who desperately needed to add depth at the point. And this move should be a good thing for Williams, too, as he seemed to need a change of scenery after a couple of injury-riddled seasons to start his NBA career.
The writing was on the wall for Marcus when the Nets picked up Keyon Dooling in a sign-and-trade on Monday. While Dooling, 28, is a solid pro, he is a streaky scorer who seems destined to be a career back-up. Williams, …

Forget the fact that LeBron James said he always plays well at Madison Square Garden, the Mecca of basketball arenas. And ignore the remark about Brooklyn being his favorite borough. You can even throw out LeBron’s friendship with Jay-Z, part-owner of the Nets.
Yes, LeBron would love to play in a big market come 2010 – he is expected to opt out of his $17 million player option for the 2010-11 season – but his decision is going to come down to two things. The first will be which team can give him a max contract. The second, and most important item, is which team will give him the best chance of winning multiple NBA championships. Yeah, Bron-Bron loves the spotlight, but he’s also driven to win, as was evident in the Cavs’ last two playoff runs.
Both the Knicks and soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets are working to create the cap …