The dream is over. This year’s version of the J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets certainly doesn’t look like “the same old Jets,” though. They’re more like the 1973 Ya Gotta Believe Mets, arriving out of nowhere to come oh-so-close to a championship. They’re a team we’ll look back on with positive feelings and one worth celebrating. They went further than anyone imagined, and have a future that certainly looks bright, with a successful coach and franchise quarterback in place (though Mark Sanchez now needs surgery on one knee and will be rehabbing the other – maybe he really is the reincarnation of Joe Namath). The whole weekend was pretty much a nightmare for New York sports, though: the Rangers were embarrassed by Montreal on Saturday night, 6-0, the Knicks were humiliated by Dallas, 128-78, the Nets lost to Utah, 116-83, the Islanders lost to New Jersey (ok, one local team won, but one of them had to) and, of course, the Jets were knocked out of playoffs.

Unfortunately, I can think …

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.

On December 20th, 1996, John Olerud was traded to the Mets for Robert Person. It was one of the greatest trades in franchise history (New York’s, not Toronto’s). The big first baseman was cool and calm, had a sweet, graceful swing and rode the 7 train to Shea (and refrained from …

I’m not a Jets fan, but Rex Ryan has everyone in this city so inspired and pumped up, even I’d run through a wall for him. In fact, I tried to do just that. Unfortunately, I slipped on a bag of Funyuns and flew through the plate-glass window in my living room. Now I have cuts and bruises all over my face and body, one of my ears was sliced off, my wife is furious at me and it’s really, really cold in our living room. Ryan’s infectious motivating style is being packaged into a new self-help, confidence-building program, with books and DVDS – The Rex Ryan Method: Swaggering, Boasting and Eating Your Way to a Newer, More Confident You. Here are his three top keys to turning yourself into a more successful person:

       1. Declare yourself the favorite in any situation; and then make yourself a nice, big sandwich.

       2. Declare that you will be invited to the White House and meet the President; he will …

Confidence. The Jets have it. In fact, the Jets are so confident after whooping Cincinnati’s butt on Saturday, that Rex Ryan feels his team should not only be the favorite in the Super Bowl but also in the NBA playoffs. The first-year coach has his players believing that they can accomplish anything. He’s dispatched Dustin Keller to solve the Jay Leno/Conan O’Brien conundrum. The offensive line is drafting a health-care bill that will make everyone happy. And Bart Scott will be stepping in to replace Simon Cowell on American Idol. To paraphrase Yogi Berra: Sports are 90% mental, the other half is physical. And the Jets are not having any problems with the mental aspect of the game right now (nor the physical side either). Some feel there may be a little too much braggadocio in Jet land, but so far it’s working. Sitting at the other end of the confidence meter is the Nets. They do nothing but lose, and can’t even sniff a victory. Do …

The calendar says it’s 2010, but for the Mets 2009 keeps on rolling along. To the surprise of the Mets (or maybe not), Carlos Beltran had knee surgery yesterday. He may not be able to resume baseball activities for up to 12 weeks. I’m no math whiz, but 12 weeks is about three months, which puts us into April. And only then can he start running, hitting and not sliding, so it looks like his return to the lineup wouldn’t be until May. But like last season, I’ll believe he’ll be back when I actually see him on the field.

And since this is the Mets we’re talking about, this news comes with controversy. Beltran’s agent, the always honest Scott Boras, claims, “This was necessary surgery, necessary surgery to work.” But the Mets feel it was done without their permission, though they were kept abreast of the center fielder’s condition since the end of last season, and they are even threatening to take some sort of action with …

The great David Wright power outage of aught-nine has a precedent in New York baseball history. From 1969 to 1973, Bobby Murcer hit 26, 23, 25, 33 and 22 home runs. The next season, the Yankees temporarily moved to Shea Stadium while Yankee Stadium was being renovated, and the 28-year-old sunk to 10 homers. In the four seasons before 2009, Wright blasted 27, 26, 30 and 33 long balls. In ’09, the Mets moved into shiny new Citi Field, and the 26-year-old could also only muster 10 dingers for the season. Both players were in their prime. Neither were/are considered home run bashers in the true sense of the word, with both being more all-around hitters who also happen to hit for power. But both players saw their home run totals drop dramatically after moving into a new stadium.

Murcer tailored his swing to old original Yankee Stadium and that inviting short right-field porch, and was one of the best outfielders in the American League in the first …

We’re only one week into 2010 and I’m already dropping the ball on my resolutions. In the past I’ve been more successful, such as the year I resolved to quit smoking cigarettes. I used one of those quit-smoking programs, with the patches and the gum and the whole nine yards. Unfortunately, the side effects included nausea, dizziness, vomiting, disorientation, hallucinations, agitation, hostility, amnesia, blindness, a hacking cough, lung cancer, throat cancer, the sudden loss of one’s extremities, and addiction to cigarettes, chewing tobacco and cigars. Sure, now I can’t see, I’m always falling down, I have no idea who I am, I have a hole in my throat and I’m constantly having hallucinations that Art Howe is standing beside me trying to sell me a time-share, but at least I don’t smoke anymore. This year I decided to stop being so humble, demur and shy and to play up my strengths, which means wearing more tank top shirts to show off my impressive shoulder and back hair and to stop hiding my disgustingly smelly feet, …

Jason Bay is officially a Met. He passed his physical, had his press conference and is now the new left fielder for the Amazin’s. He’ll essentially replace Carlos Delgado in the middle of the order (or will he? Please tell me Delgado will not be back; he needs to make his “clubhouse presence” present in another clubhouse). The Mets need all the infusion of new blood they can get – in the clubhouse and on the field. And they need a home run hitter in the middle of the order, and Bay hits home runs. So what’s not to like?

It took awhile to finally dot the i’s and cross the t’s, but Omar Minaya waited out Bay’s nonexistent bidding war and the “mystery” teams that were never really out there and signed the outfielder to a pretty reasonable contract. Boston was the only team that had an offer on the table, so Minaya had to better that one, but he didn’t blow it out of …

Overvalued picks

Joey Votto (Round 2): Despite missing 31 games last season Votto hit .322 with 25 homers and 84 rbi. Votto has the potential for a .320-30-100 season but so does Justin Morneau or Kevin Youkilis who each went in Round 4. Kendry Morales went in went in Round 5 and Billy Butler in round 8 shows one the depth at this position.

“Of players who were eligible at first base last season, there were 12 players with at least 30 home runs.  Of those players, there were six who posted a batting average of at least .292.”

Aramis Ramirez (Round 4): Ramirez played in 82 games last season which was his lowest since 2003 (63 games). His homeruns have decreased each year since 2006. He suffered a right shoulder injury which caused him to miss two months last season. A-Ram seems like a nice candidate to have a rebound season but I would pass. Chone Figgins went in Round 6 and Michael Young went in round 8.

Stephen Drew (Round 7)- Drew disappointed last season after a …

Undervalued picks:

Round 3: Justin Upton

Player A: 159 games, 606 at bats, .297, 26 homers, 101 rbi, 97 runs, 34 steals

Player B: 138 games, 526 at bats, .300, 26, homers, 86 rbi, 84 runs, 20 steals

Player A is Matt Kemp who went 6th overall (1st round) and player B is Upton who was the last pick in the 3rd round. Upton missed games last year because he was placed on the DL with a right oblique strain. He is only going to get better next season and why not draft someone two rounds later when the numbers are similar.

Round 5: Kendry Morales

Morales had a breakthrough year last year batting .306 with 34 homers, 108 RBI and 86 runs. He hit .330 with 19 homers and 59 RBI after the All-Star Break. Even though he struggled in the post-season his ranking next year  should not be effected. 1st baseman Joey Votto was drafted in the second round and his numbers should be around what Morales does this upcoming season.

Round 6: Carlos Lee

Lee is one of the most …

Christmas is all about comebacks and overcoming adversity against all odds. Ok, it’s really nothing about comebacks and overcoming adversity against all odds but is about love, peace on earth, goodwill toward men, opening presents, then drinking all day long and passing out underneath the tree as an ornament falls and pierces one of your eyeballs, sending you screaming down the street bloody, naked and in horrifying pain. Ah, Christmas. One of the brightest, heartwarming stories of the week, though, is Jonathan Bender’s return to the world of basketball after not playing a game in four years. And on top of it all, he’s been productive. The Knicks, too, are on the comeback trail after starting out at 1-9. Bender’s return after a long absence brings to mind other great comebacks. So, without further ado, here’s a random list of notable returns over the decades (and even centuries).

Gordie Howe retired after the 1971 season, then came back in 1973-’74 to play with his sons, Mark and Marty, lasting …

On Saturday night I was flipping between another Rangers loss and the Christmas classic It’s a Wonderful Life. Of course you can’t help but wonder, “What if George Bailey’s situation happened to me?” What if I were able to see the consequences of never being born? That thought lasted about a minute and a half, because everybody’s life would surely be better. My wife would have been able to marry a more successful, rich, interesting, well-rounded man instead of someone who has nothing but a monkey shooting a slap shot, a couple of empty beer cans and some old Rusty Staub highlights filling up his head. My daughter would have a normal father, one who doesn’t constantly quiz her on the proper French Canadian–accented way of saying the names Guy Lafleur and Gilbert Perrault. And nobody else’s life would be affected one way or the other.

But on that subject, what if, more importantly, James Dolan had never been born? The Isiah Thomas era would never have happened. …