Here are five things worth noting in week one

1) Carmelo Anthony is playing like the MVP: Melo leads the NBA in scoring with 37.7 points per game and has scored at least 40 points in two straight games. He also has attempted 41 free throws and averaging 7 rebounds per game. The Nuggets are 3-0 including wins over Utah and Portland. If he continues this all season he moves into the first round next season.

2) Gilbert Arenas is back: Arenas had a season high 31 points vs. the Nets on Halloween. He also shot 69% from the field and attempted 12 free throws. In three games this season he is averaging 28 points, 6.7 threes, 2.3 threes and 1 steal per game. He was drafted in the late second-early third in most drafts which looks like a steal now.

3) Trevor Ariza and Aaron Brooks are fantasy gold: Ariza scored a season high 33 points last Saturday and has made 11 three-pointers in three games. He is averaging 23.3 points, 1.7 steals in 38 minutes per …

It was a brutal week for the New York football teams, as the Giants got killed and the Jets fell to lowly Buffalo and lost Kris Jenkins for the rest of the season. Even the hockey teams mixed in some debacles with a few wins. And something bad probably happened to the Mets even though their season is long over.

But even after last night’s loss, the Yankees are sitting pretty, with a 3-2 lead in the series and heading back home. With a budget as high as our country’s deficit, the Yanks had two options this offseason: Use their money to cure the U.S. economy or buy a whole bunch of free agents. They chose the latter, and it’s working out just fine (well, for them). Unfortunately, the one aspect of the playoffs that has stood out the most is the atrocious umpiring. The horrible umpiring in this year’s postseason is unprecedented, but there are things out there that are actually worse, if you can believe it. …

It’s only three games into the season, but we’re already seeing differences between last year’s Rangers team and this season’s version. A (relatively) new coach and an overhauled roster will do that. Here are seven contrasts between the Tom Renney 2008-09 Blushirts and John Tortorella’s 2009-10 edition.
1. Only one minute and 24 seconds into Monday’s game against the Devils, Tortorella called a timeout and ripped his team a new one. And the players actually responded, by going out, working hard and winning the game. Renney would have politely implored his players to at least act like they were trying, and then been just as politely ignored, resulting in a 6-1 shellacking.
2. The safe, boring, sit-back-and-wait-for-bad-things-to-happen style of Renney is gone. And when the aggressive, all-hands-on-deck attacking mode that Tortorella favors isn’t working that night, the team is showing it can adapt, like they did in New Jersey, settling into a blue-collar battling approach.
3. The defensemen are scoring. Last year the D couldn’t score …

The Giants went into this game as heavy favorites, and won easily, 27-16, with most of Kansas City’s points coming in garbage time. The only way the Chiefs could have beaten the Giants was if they had Len Dawson, Otis Taylor, Ed Podolak, Curly Culp, Buck Buchanan and Jan Stenerud still playing.

The star of the game for New York was Steve Smith. He caught 11 passes for 134 yards and scored two touchdowns – and he barely played in the fourth quarter. And guess what? He now leads all NFL receivers in just about every major category. He’s #1 in receprions (34), #1 in yards (411), #1 in yards per game (102.8) and #1 in TD’s (4). He runs his routes with perfection and always seems to be open. He and Eli Manning have a great chemistry going. Best off all, he doesn’t suffer from the prima donna syndrome that most star receivers are afflicted with these days. I really don’t think Smith will be …

When we last saw the Jets, the comedy team of Eric Mangini and Brett Favre were sabotaging the season. Favre confessed that he had a torn biceps tendon, but he’s just covering up for his arm – it wasn’t torn, it was drunk. The team was even fined for the subterfuge. New and improved coach Rex Ryan gave a pregame speech to remember; it basically boiled down to this: Win on for Richard Todd. And win they did. The rookie coach even shed a tear after the game – it wasn’t because his team won, though, but instead the reason behind the crying was that he just found out that NBC cancelled My Name Is Earl to make room for Parks and Recreation. And when Ryan was about to present owner Woody Johnson with the game ball, Kanye West appeared out of nowhere, grabbed the ball and yelled out, “Weeb Ewbank is the greatest Jets coach in the world! In the world!”

Meanwhile, the Giants …

Derek Jeter started feeling the pressure to overtake Lou Gehrig as the Yankees’ all-time hits leader, but he came through as always (well, was he really never going to get a hit again?). Tonight he’ll attempt to pass the Hall-of-Fame first baseman and stand alone at the top of the heap. Here’s a list of other lesser-known Yankee records that will most likely never be broken:

Highest number of floozies and alcoholic beverages consumed in one night: 29, Babe Ruth (it’s unclear how many were drinks and how many were floozies).

Most times teammates swapped wives: once, Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich

Most hits by a Yankee backup catcher in 1966: 47, Jake Gibbs (this is one record that will never be broken)

Most times a player sat in a cake while pantless: 11, Sparky Lyle

Most times a Yankee manager was referred to as “Stump”: 1,342, oddly enough it wasn’t Stump Merrill but Ralph Houk

Most times a player had to clean George Steinbrenner’s pool to stay on his good side: seven, Steve Howe

In other …

I can read you know. I’ve seen all those hurtful and hateful things written about me all over the Internet. Yes, I know, I’m big. I’m oversized. I’m comically gigantic. But I can’t help it, I was made that way. Don’t blame me. And please, don’t take it out on my poor friend, David Wright. It’s not his fault. He got beaned by a 94-mile-an-hour heater right in the melon. And it hurt. It really, really hurt. Of course, he looks absolutely ridiculous, but if you’re going to laugh at anybody, laugh at me. Or laugh at Ryan Dempster. He was the first player to wear a similar model to myself. But it’s easier to laugh at a Met, isn’t it?

Can’t you see my positive qualities? I have a cool name – the s100. It kind of sounds like a rocket ship. Or a monster truck. Those are nothing to laugh at. And you want protection? I can give it to you. Not only can I safeguard a …

Johan Santana was the 20th player the Mets have put on the disabled list this season, which puts the them in first place, passing the Reds. The team quickly organized a celebration and reunion that surpassed their recent 1969 Miracle Mets festivities. Even though last night’s game was played in Florida, the Mets snuck onto the field and staged a pre-game reunion to celebrate some of the greatest injuries in franchise history.

Jim Fregosi was the first player paraded out. To add insult to injury to the Nolan Ryan trade disaster, Fregosi broke his thumb fielding ground balls in spring training, ensuring his career with the Mets would be forgettable. Don Hahn and George Theodore were next, representing the collision of ‘73. Carlos Beltran and Mike Cameron were right behind them, honoring the collision of ‘05. And there was Felix Millan, who was body slammed to the ground by Pirate Ed Ott, ending the second baseman’s major league career. As a tribute to Met head injuries, Mike Piazza and Jon …

Last night I had a dream that the Mets were trying to win a game with this lineup: Cory Sullivan, Luis Castillo, Fernando Tatis, Daniel Murphy, Jeff Francoeur, Jeremy Reed, Alex Cora and Brian Schneider, and Murphy, who’s the first baseman, didn’t cover first on a play, the offense couldn’t score any runs, the pitchers couldn’t get anybody out, their All-Star closer was blowing saves by giving up grand slams, the defense was making errors left and right, the players were making mental mistakes and starting to mail the season in, Anderson Hernandez was back on the team and starting at shortstop replacing guys named Wilson Valdez and Angel Berroa, they went 2-5 on their road trip, just about every good starter and backup they could scrounge up was on the DL and even some of those guys were having setbacks. What, you mean that wasn’t all a dream? That was just a typical week for the Mets these days? Ay caramba! Our friends at GlobalSportsFraternity.com have come up with …

The .500-or-bust beards are being shaved off one by one. They’ve gone 2-6 since the “easy” part of their schedule commenced, which was going to springboard them into the wild card race. And their relievers are giving up grand slams left and right to lose games. This is the first time in five years that the Mets won’t be in contention the last two months of the season. So why bother watching? Well, here are 10 reasons to stay glued to the TV when the New York Mets are playing.

1. Daniel Murphy: The Mets are going to need a first baseman next season, and Murphy’s finally found a position that he can play and play well. And it happens to be first base. If he’s going to be the first baseman of the future, the team will need to find a power-hitting left fielder (Matt Holliday?) because even though he’s hitting cleanup right now, he’s no cleanup hitter. He’s been struggling at the plate this season after his …

While watching the Mets this past weekend, I spent every game looking for a sign from God – well, maybe not God, but at least from Tug McGraw. I was looking for anything – no matter how little – to show me that there may be a miracle coming the last two months of the season for the Metsies. I looked on the field, in the batter’s box, on the pitcher’s mound, in the dugout, under my TV – everywhere and anywhere.

And on Friday, I thought I had it. After Angel Berroa grounded out on the first pitch he saw pinch-hitting with the bases loaded (I think the ball actually bounced in the dirt – it was a good pitch to hit if he were playing cricket) and Sean Green’s wild pitch cancelled out Daniel Murphy’s slick double play, Arizona third baseman Mark Reynolds dropped an easy pop-up with one out in the bottom of the ninth. That was it! The Mets are going to …

Couldn’t the Mets have just sent out a press release stating that they fired VP of Player Development Tony Bernazard? Maybe they could have marched out Jay Horwitz to read it. No questions, please. Or Ron Swoboda could have held court, regaling the media with stories of the ‘69 Mets and finished with: “Oh, by the way, the Mets have fired Tony Bernazard.” Even having Mr. Met come out with cue cards (THE METS . . . HAVE FIRED . . . TONY BERNAZARD) followed by the Pepsi Party Patrol shooting T-shirts into the rows of reporters would have been better than what happened. Haven’t Fred and Jeff Wilpon seen Omar Minaya speak in front of an audience before?

The Mets can’t even make something as routine as a press conference routine. Who holds a press conference announcing  a behind-the-scenes executive’s firing anyway? A GM’s? Yes. A manager’s? Yes. But VP of Player Development? No. When Minaya started attacking the Daily News’ Adam Rubin, I wanted to jump into …