So it’s Wednesday morning and it’s just another routine day – I’m tooling around my house on my Hoveround like always, making myself one of those healthy breakfast shakes made of Lucky Charms, chocolate milk and a half dozen Yodels, when I suddenly realize it’s one of our great holidays – St. Patrick’s Day. With drinking, and uh, even more drinking, what’s not to like? Everybody grabs a pint of Guinness or a green beer, sings “Dirty Old Town,” wears their “Kiss me I’m Irish” shirt and at least pretends to be of Gaelic persuasion. I, on the other hand, am German, so I throw on my “Don’t kiss me I’m German – that would be inefficient, emotional and unsanitary” T-shirt, and head off to work. I’m not the only one around these parts who wears a variation on the “Kiss me I’m Irish” shirt, though; here are some like-themed T-shirts seen worn by local athletes past and present on St. Patty’s Day:

“Kiss me – I’m not Irish, but there’s a 98% chance you’ll end up pregnant” – Antonio Cromartie

“I’m Derek Jeter; you’ll kiss me when I tell you to kiss me” – Derek Jeter

“Kiss me, but you’ll have to wait until I’m finished making out with myself in the mirror” – Alex Rodriguez

“I’m Keith Hernandez; I won the 1979 MVP; I can kiss anybody I want” – Keith Hernandez

“Kiss me, I’m thin now and don’t have those old barbecue sauce stains on my face anymore” – Rex Ryan

“Kiss me and you’ll get the best fist pump of your life” – Joba Chamberlain

“Kiss me but don’t smudge my goggles” – Frankie Rodriguez

“Kiss me I’m Irish – really, I am, I’ll even introduce you to the Dropkick Murphys” – Daniel Murphy

“Um, yeah, ya know, ok, kiss me, know what I’m sayin’?” – Omar Minaya

“Holy Cow! She kissed me, White! Can you believe that?! I’m not even Irish, I’m Italian. Anybody who wants to kiss me must be a huckleberry! I hope Cora doesn’t find out about this. Unbelievable!” – Phil Rizzuto

“Kiss me – oh come on, I’m not that creepy, am I?” – John Sterling

“Kiss me, Roger Clemens, oh please God, let him kiss me” – Suzyn Waldman

“Kiss me . . . oh, my knee!” – Tracy McGrady

“Kiss me . . . oh my knee!” – Rick DiPietro

“Kiss me . . . oh my knee! – Carlos Beltran

“Kiss me – and then get in the truck” – Stephon Marbury

“Kiss me, no really, I’ll kiss anybody, come on, I mean it” – Steve Phillips

“I already kissed her” – Sean Avery

“Don’t even think about it” – John Tortorella

Here are the top stories in the world of New York sports this past week:

There’s Only One LT: The Jets signed LaDainian Tomlinson to a two-year contract to replace Thomas Jones. Shouldn’t they have just re-signed Jones? He’s actually more durable and more productive than the former Charger these days. But maybe Tomlinson will work out better as a backup and third-down option. The real controversy, though, involves his stolen nickname. There’s only one LT around here, and we all know that’s Lawrence Taylor. So Tomlinson better start coming up with ideas for a new nickname, because the real LT can eat shrimps like him for breakfast.

Port St. Lucie Roundup: What do you know − Oliver Perez pitched eight innings this week and only gave up two runs. Does that mean there’s a glimmer of hope for him yet? Johan Santana bounced back in his second outing of the spring, to throw four shutout innings. Mike Pelfrey also pitched four quality innings, while mainly using his secondary pitches. John Maine, though, showed his Kevin McReynolds−like passion by admitting he “wasn’t into it” when he came into a game in relief and got lit up. Jon Niese and Fernando Nieve haven’t really impressed anybody so far in the battle for the fifth spot, but Rod Barajas would disagree with that assessment, as he compared Niese to Cliff Lee and Jon Lester. We’ll settle for an Al Jackson comparison and a healthy season. But is Hisanori Takahashi squeezing his way into the fifth-starter conversation? Frankie Rodriguez made his spring debut on Monday and blew the Cardinals hitters away on seven pitches. The Jenrry Mejia debate is heating up as he continues to shine. And Angel Pagan got us all excited for the season when he provided some fireworks with a walk-off two-run homer on Monday.

Tampa Roundup: CC Sabathia performed better than his previous two outings (4.1 IP, three runs, three hits), as his mechanics are starting to fall into place. Andy Pettitte and Chan Ho Park made their first appearances of the spring this week. As for the battle for the fifth spot in the rotation, is dark-horse Alfredo Aceves taking the lead? Joba Chamberlain has pretty much stunk but pitched better on Wednesday, while Phil Hughes has been excellent but not as good as Aceves, who has 0.90 ERA this spring (though it’s only spring training of course, so take all the stats with a grain of salt). A bullpen of Mariano Rivera (who made his spring debut on Tuesday), Chamberlain and Hughes doesn’t look too bad, though.

Now They Start Winning: The Islanders upset the Devils, 4-2, on Saturday, defeated the Maple Leafs, 4-1, on Sunday and kicked Vancouver’s butts, 5-2, on Tuesday for their first winning streak in two months. John Tavares broke out of a slump in a big way, with two goals and three assists vs. the Canucks. They’re out of the playoff picture so it’s all about the kids now for the Isles. But shouldn’t it always be about the kids? For I believe the children are our future, teach them well and let them lead the way, show them all the beauty they possess inside, give them a sense of pride, to make it easier, let the children’s laughter remind us how it used to be . . . because the greatest gift of all is happening to me (well, it’s happening to Scott Gordon).

Now They Start Winning (Sort of): The Knicks went 2-1 this week. They killed Dallas, 128-94, on Saturday night ending the Mavs’ 13-game winning streak and getting revenge in the process for the 50-point beat down that occurred the last time these two teams met. As the saying goes, revenge is a dish best served in Texas with a biscuit and a side of mac ’n’ cheese. This week’s point guard (and maybe for longer – “This time, we mean it”) Toney Douglas was the star, with 21 points, eight assists and no turnovers. He did it again on Monday, leading the Knicks to a win over Philly, with 20 points and seven assists. And just as importantly as his offensive contributions, he plays defense. But St. Patrick’s Day was a Boston massacre for the Knicks, as the Celtics stomped them, and then the ghost of Red Auerbach blew cigar smoke in their faces for good measure.

Now They Start Winning (and Then They Start Losing): The Rangers won their first two games of the week, and then lost their last two. They beat Atlanta, 5-2, on Friday with help from their usually non-productive power play. They whipped Philly, 3-1, with Sean Avery leading the way by being Sean Avery. Poor Daniel Carcillo was pretty much ignored all night, but the not-so-great-fighter Brandon Dubinsky gave Mike Richards a beating. That’s something you don’t see every day – the Rangers acting tougher than the Flyers. Of course, the Rangers couldn’t find any consistency and were beaten in every aspect of the game by Montreal, and Henrik Lundqvist had a rare bad outing against St. Louis, which means only one thing for this team − a loss.

They Never Stopped Wining: After losing to the Islanders earlier in the week, the Devils beat Boston, 3-2, on Monday to clinch their 18^th straight winning season (they also defeated Pittsburgh for a season sweep of their division rivals and lost in a shootout to Toronto). It’s the longest active streak in sports (unless you count the Mean Machine in The Longest Yard, because every time that movie’s on, they always seem to beat the prison guards, year after year after year). The all-time record is held by the Montreal Canadiens, who had 32 consecutive winning seasons, from 1951-’52 to ’82-’83. As soon as the season ended, the ’83-’84 team, which went 35-40-5, were all lined up on the ice in the old Montreal Forum, blindfolded,  then shot and killed. They take their hockey seriously up there in Canada.

They Can’t Stop Losing: The Nets went 0-4 this week. No need for details.

R.I.P. Peter Graves: This week’s post is dedicated to actor Peter Graves, who passed away a few days ago at the age of 83. Sure, he had a long and illustrious career, but he’ll forever be remembered for one line: “You ever seen a grown man naked?”

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.

Buck Williams was Mr. Net, Mr. Rebound and Mr. Class. Julius Erving may have been the most talented player the Nets have ever had, but Williams was the best NBA player the franchise has known. In order to afford the fee to enter the NBA, the Nets had to sell Dr. J to Philadelphia. It was a classic Catch-22 situation. And the team suffered for it. They had five straight losing seasons in their first five years in the league (though they did squeak into the playoffs one year), but that finally changed when Williams arrived in New Jersey. Known for his relentless rebounding, he was also a proficient and accurate scorer. Williams was an all-around great player, who was the leader of the Nets in one of their few successful eras, in the first half of the 1980s. After three years at the University of Maryland (and a berth on the 1980 Olympic squad – but because of the boycott, the team didn’t get a chance to play), the Nets nabbed him with the third overall pick in the 1981 draft.

The North Carolina native was a success right out of the gate. With Williams on the team, the Nets won 20 more games than the previous season and he led them to their second-ever NBA playoff appearance. He won the Rookie of the Year award, and was the first player to represent the Nets in the NBA All-Star game. The next season, he made the All-Star team again, the Nets made the playoffs again (they would make the postseason in Williams’ first five seasons) and Buck was named to the All-NBA second team. The highlight of the 1983-’84 campaign came in the first round of the playoffs, when the Nets upset the defending champion 76ers, three games to two. It was the only time the Nets would get past the initial round until the Jason Kidd years.

Williams played a total of eight seasons with the Nets. He was in the top three in league rebounding for six of those years. He made three All-Star teams. He led the league in offensive rebounding in 1983-’84. He made the All-Defense second team in 1988. In his first six years with the team, he only missed one game (due to a suspension), never averaged less than 12 rebounds and usually averaged between 15 to 18 points per game. His Net career ended when he was traded to Portland after the 1989 season for Sam Bowie and a draft pick (which turned into Mookie Blaylock). He went to two NBA Finals with the Trailblazers, twice led the league in field-goal percentage, made the NBA’s All-Defense team twice and the All-Defense second team once while in Portland. He finished his career as a solid backup for a season and a half with the Knicks, retiring in January of 1999.

Williams played 17 seasons in the NBA. He’s only one of seven players in NBA history to score more than 16,000 points while grabbing over 13,000 rebounds. He’s 10^th on the league’s all-time rebounding list. He served as the president of the NBA Players Association from 1994 to ’97. And he had his #52 retired by the Nets. Williams was a rebounding machine, and was one of the best power forwards of his era. He was popular. He was likable. He was dignified. He was an outstanding basketball player. And it’s impossible to say a bad word about Buck Williams.

(Click on the names to read the other bios in the series: Steve Vickers, John Olerud, Al Toon, Brad Van Pelt, Dick Barnett, Mickey Rivers, Butch Goring/Ron Duguay/Ken Daneyko and Rusty Staub.)

Are the Rangers about to embark on their signature successful homestretch run in order to sneak into the playoffs? They’re in do-or-die territory, in ninth place in the conference, but they always seem to be in this position, at least the last few years they have been. Why? Probably because they don’t put in a consistent effort and they’re offensively and defensively challenged. Their five-year streak of making the playoffs is in jeopardy, just like their four-year streak was last year (and three-year streak the season before . . ). They’ve now won two in a row, though, and are 5-2-2 in their last nine games.

They easily whipped Atlanta, 5-2, on Friday night. Their number-one line (for this week) starred, with Vinny Prospal scoring two goals with an assist, and Marian Gaborik netting one and picking up two assists. Michael Del Zotto scored his first goal in a long time, and Henrik Lundqvist was his usual self. In his last 10 games, he’s only allowed more than two goals twice. And the power play was productive. If the players actually move around instead of standing in the same spot, it gives them a better chance to score – what a strange, new concept. Lundqvist plus scoring with the man advantage can cover up a lot of mistakes.

On Sunday, the game everybody’s been waiting for took place, and the Rangers played one of their best games of the year. There were no Daniel Carcillo−related incidents (though Brandon Dubinsky surprisingly pummeled Mike Richards), but the best revenge is to win the game and do it with a thump, and that’s what the Blueshirts did. After being a healthy scratch for the Atlanta game, Sean Avery had one of his few Sean Avery−like games of the year (see game vs. Dallas, January 6). He scored twice, and goaded the Flyers into taking some bad penalties. He was the one playing smart hockey for a change. Michal Rozsival scored a power-play goal – see what happens when the point man rips off a shot that actually is on goal and isn’t one of those weak wristers they usually employ that also usually goes wide of the net.

The Rangers have been playing with desperation and urgency the past few games, and they’re going to have to keep it up for the last 13 if they want to make the playoffs. They have games with Montreal and the Bruins coming up this week, along with ones vs. Tampa Bay and Philly during this last stretch, so they can help themselves by beating the teams they’re contending with. Now the real question: Do we even want the Rangers to make the playoffs? If they squeeze in, will it give them (read: Glen Sather) a false sense of success, since they really haven’t been that good this season? They’ll most likely just get stomped by Washington in the first round anyway; sure, you never know what can happen, but even taking them to seven games last year was pure luck. And if the Rangers don’t make the playoffs, they’ll be in a better draft position. But, on the other hand, I always want my team to win – every game (in spite of the fact that they’re owned by James Dolan and run by Sather). So, I’ll be rooting for the homestretch Rangers to do it once again, and make the postseason for the fifth consecutive year. But do the Rangers themselves want it enough?

Week 21 (March 15-21) Teams playing four games: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, Golden State, Houston, Indiana, L.A. Lakers, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Antonio, Utah, Washington Teams playing three games: L.A. Clippers, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Sacramento, Toronto Teams playing two games: Dallas, Orlando, Portland

Toney Douglas (Knicks)- The last time Douglas started was on November 18th. Last Saturday he started and scored 21 points in helping the Knicks defeat the Mavs. He has played in at least 22 minutes the past four games and has 7 three-pointers in this span.

Jannero Pargo (Bulls)- Pargo started his first game of the season due to a wrist injury suffered to Derrick Rose. Pargo, scored a season high 20 points with 4 assists and 2 three-pointers. Rose should return tomorrow vs. the Grizziles.

Johan Petro (Nuggets)- Petro has started four straight games because of the injury to Keynon Martin. He is averaging 5.8 points, 7.8 rebounds .8 blocks as a starter.

Honorable mention: James Johnson (Bulls)

I thought if I just make it through the winter and finally get done with all that shoveling, the warmth of spring and the start of baseball will ease the pain and make the North Pole−like blizzards a distant memory, and it will be smooth sailing from there on out. But apparently I’m the Mets of people (or is it the Mets personified?) – they thought last year’s injury nightmare was behind them only to have it all start over again this spring, and I had that “here we go again” feeling, too. As soon as I dug myself out of the snow (and thought, “It can’t get any worse than this, can it?”), I had to spend a boatload of money (that I don’t even have) to get my broken-down, good-for-nothing car fixed (twice), and then Saturday’s hurricane hit, and my basement was submerged (I think I found Nemo) and much of the siding on my house was ripped off in the gale-force winds. Let’s face it, if the Mets had a basement it would have flooded, too. And their house would have been ripped to shreds. And a fallen tree would have crushed their car. But as I was mopping and bailing for about 10 straight hours, I popped open a can of beer and threw on some music – Otis Redding, Johnny Cash, the Beatles, the Killers – and I turned into Mr. Brightside (though I don’t think that song is about one’s house being ruined in a storm). And I still had my power and my next-door neighbor’s tree that fell over didn’t crash into my house (or his). So at least I had that going for me.

And so I’ll be Mr. Brightside concerning the Mets today, too. Down in sunny Florida on Saturday, Oliver Perez threw four no-hit innings. Sure, he can pitch two innings and let up eight runs just as easily as he can pitch eight innings and let up two runs in any given week, but let’s stay positive and feel good about his last outing. Maybe he’ll actually turn a corner in his career and be a consistent, quality starter (ok, that may be taking things too far). The next day, ace Johan Santana threw four shutout innings of his own. As long he’s not injured, you don’t really have to worry about him getting hit hard in spring training, but getting good results is better than getting hammered. And he seems to be able to throw all of his pitches effectively now, after last season’s arm problems limited his arsenal. Newcomer Hisanori Takahashi has not allowed a run all spring and could find himself as the long man in the bullpen (note to self: Do not call him a Japanese import). Kiko Calera recently made his spring debut, and Frankie Rodriguez is scheduled to pitch today. Jenrry Mejia is giving Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya something to think about. But we won’t mention John Maine and Mike Pelfrey today.

On the offensive side, David Wright has hit three home runs so far this spring. That’s not exactly overwhelming, but imagine if he had gone homerless for all of March – that would be weighing on him during his every waking hour, and he’d turn into a head case. Jason Bay and Daniel Murphy banged out homers over the weekend. A few pieces of the team’s future – Ike Davis and Fernando Martinez – are hitting like crazy in the preseason. And six out of the eight starting position players are healthy. For the Mets that’s saying a lot. They’re still only on their backup shortstop, not fourth stringer like last year.

Carlos Beltran is already talking about resuming baseball activities, maybe in mid-April, and Jose Reyes doesn’t need surgery or even medication, only rest. Maybe they’ll both be back sometime in May when they’re scheduled to return. Does everything have to be the worst-case scenario for the Mets? Can’t some things just be routine? And with Reyes out we’ll get a look at youngster Ruben Tejada. Maybe he’ll give the team an unexpected spark and keep Alex Cora (with his limited range) on the bench, where he belongs. And did anybody really expect anything out of Kelvim Escobar? If he pitches any quality innings at all, it will be a bonus.

So as Igor once said in Young Frankenstein, “It could be worse. It could be raining.” Of course as soon as the words were out of his mouth it immediately started raining. But for today, I’ll dry out and look on the bright side.

” LaDainian Tomlinson, the eighth-leading rusher in NFL history with 12,490 yards, signed a two-year contract worth $5.1 million with an escalator to $5.6 million, ESPN reported first on Sunday. A league source told the Star Tribune the Vikings made a similar offer.”

Tomlinson decided to sign with New York because of the familiarity and the larger role he would have in the Jets offense. The Jets offense is run by former Chargers assistant Brian Schottenheimer. Thomas Jones is a year older than LT but has 600 fewer carries  and is coming off a 1400-yard season.

Even though he is a Hall-Of-Fame back his carries and rushing yards have declined each season since 06-07. His production has tailed off due to injuries and the Chargers shifting into a pass-first offense.

LT is coming off a year where he set career lows in carries (223), yards (730), yards per carry (3.3), receptions (20), receiving yards (154) and it was the second time since his rookie season he failed to record a receiving touchdown. Jones, did not want to pay-cut and the Jets did not want to pay him the roster bonus he was due. Jones would have made $5.8 million this season with the Jets.

If Leon Washington does not recover from his injury then LT will be the primary third down back. He also can leave the team because he is a restricted free agent.Tomlinson had 12 touchdowns last season, 11 of them came from 10 yards or less. Half of them were from the one yard line which shows he can still be an effective goal line back.

Shonn Greene is expected to carry a heavy workload going into his second season. Greene rushed for 304 yards in 3 post-season games and should learn a lot from the former Charger. Even though the Jets may be paying less for LT the combo of Jones-Greene has been very effective. Behind a top offensive line and run first mentality the Jets led the NFL with 172.2 rushing yards per game. Lets hope we are getting a steal and not a “washed up” running back.

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 hits his game-tying three-run homer in the top of the eighth is aimed right for John Mayberry’s head. It was clearly 100% intentional, but nobody batted an eye. Mayberry ducked out the way, but didn’t even look at Jackson, let alone stand and glare at him or shout at him. The announcers barely mentioned it – just that it was ball one. And there were no stupid umpire warnings, thank god. If that happened today, alarms would go off and the batter would run and hide until it was safe to come back on the field.

In the 1977 LCS, Graig Nettles broke up a double play by putting his shoulder down and running over Frank White, sending him to into oblivion. He made no effort to slide. Of course, the rules have changed since then, and players now have to at least pretend to slide. The rulebook was mainly rewritten because of what Royal Hal McRae did to Willie Randolph, when he body blocked him into left field. Second basemen were just waiting to get killed back then. Again, maybe that’s not better, but different. And then there was the famous fight between Nettles and Brett. Punches were thrown, bodies were slammed, Nettles even kicked Brett – but no one was thrown out of the game. Boys will be boys. There’s even a scene in the miniseries where Billy Martin/John Turturro stands on the top step of the dugout yelling expletives at Royals pitcher Larry Gura (I’m assuming that it’s based on a true incident). Can you imagine Joe Girardi cursing at John Lackey? Today’s players are so much more sensitive and fragile than the old-timers, with their taking offense to any pitch that comes near them, their body armor, pitch counts, delicately sliding around catchers, manicured hair, dancing and handshakes, the disappearance of bench jockeying, coddling by the union and owners, wearing batting helmets while running the bases – you get the picture. And they’re so much nicer to their enemies, with all the fraternizing that goes on. Sure, today’s spoiled players are more athletic, faster, bigger and stronger (wink, wink), but little by little, the game is turning into softball, with no contact, and god help you if you hurt anyone’s feelings. As the Hanson Brothers might have said: “Old-time baseball! Thurman Munson! Cookie Rojas! Lou Piniella!”

Ok, the boring sermon is over, and now back to 2010. Here are the top stories in the world of New York sports this past week:

Comings and Goings: The NFL free-agent frenzy has begun. Say good-bye to Thomas Jones (Chiefs), Kerry Rhodes (Cardinals), David Carr (49ers) and Fred Robbins (Rams), and say hello to Antrel Rolle, Jim Sorgi, Brodney Pool and Antonio Cromartie. The Jets kindly gave $500,000 up front to their new cornerback so he can clear up the many, many, many (many) paternity issues he has going. He’s the Brady Bunch, Eight Is Enough, With Six You Get Eggroll, Yours, Mine and Ours and My Three Sons all rolled into one.

The Week in Port St. Lucie: Thyroids, pink eye, sore shoulders, pitchers getting hit in the knee with line drives, Oliver Perez getting hammered, front office miscommunications and buffoonery – it’s just another routine week for the Mets. John Maine had a promising outing, though when healthy, he’s usually good, while Perez and Mike Pelfrey were lit up. Any bad performance by one of those guys and we’re in “the sky is falling” territory, but with Johan Santana it’s all about how he feels. Statistically, his first start didn’t go so well (1.2 innings pitched, four runs, six hits, one K, one BB), but as long as he’s healthy, who cares? Frankie Rodriguez is back in camp after suffering from pink eye and the slings and arrows of Goose Gossage calling him a clown (I’m not sure which is worse). Clowns everywhere will come out of the woodwork to criticize Gossage because the Hall-of-Fame reliever used the word “clown” in a derogatory manner. We’re only days away from a press conference/formal apology from the former Yankee great: “I apologize to any clowns I may have offended. I regret my choice of words. I should said ‘bonehead’ instead.” And because the Mets can’t seem to pull off the simplest of tasks, for a few days we had Thyroid-Gate, starring Jose Reyes’ overactive thyroid (“It’s not overactive!” “Yes it is!”). Of course, now he’ll be out for weeks or even months before he can resume any kind of baseball activity. But kids Jenrry Meija and Ike Davis along with not-so-young Chris Carter keep on impressing everybody – so they have that going for them.

The Week in Tampa: The Phil Hughes/Joba Chamberlain duel began this past week, and the verdict so far: Hughes pretty good, Joba very bad (27.05 ERA). Francisco Cervelli was drilled in the melon and got a concussion on Saturday. Thankfully, he seems to be doing fine now. And speaking of doing fine, Nick Johnson’s back on the field and homered twice on Tuesday. CC Sabathia looked a lot like Santana on Tuesday, when he went 2.2 innings and let in five runs on seven hits. Meanwhile, the Alex Rodriguez/Dr. Tony Galea controversy continues. The shady doctor treated A-Rod without permission from the Yankees, and now, unlike Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran, he’s refusing to come clean on what went on. The feds may be twisting his arm, but if he’s not guilty of anything then just say so. Of course, A-Rod can’t trust himself to not stick his own foot in his mouth. He’s walking around camp muttering advice to himself, “Don’t say anything stupid. Just pretend you’re somebody else.”

The Race for the Worst: The Nets beat the Knicks this week but they’re still in a race against time for the worst record ever. If they win three more games, will the 1972-’73 Philadelphia 76ers pop the champagne and celebrate like the ’72 Miami Dolphins? The worst record in Nets franchise history is 17-65, by the way. The 1989-’90 team, coached by Bill Fitch, set that mark. Dennis Hopson was their leading scorer (15.8), while Sam Bowie was their top rebounder (10.1 per game). That pretty much says it all. Other players on that team: Chris Morris, Mookie Blaylock, Roy Hinson, Purvis Short, Lester Conner, Charles Shackleford, Chris Dudley, Derrick Gervin, and even Anthony Mason and Rick Carlisle. Looking to the future, though, there was a groundbreaking ceremony yesterday in Brooklyn for the team’s new arena, with Jay-Z and other luminaries grabbing a shovel. But there was no sign of Joe Barry Carroll.

Not Much Better: The woeful Knicks lost to the Nets, and missed all of their three pointers along the way. They did beat Atlanta by one point, though, to try and regain some dignity. But their loss on Wednesday to San Antonio clinched their ninth straight losing season, setting a franchise record (they had eight consecutive losing seasons from 1959-’60 to ’66-’67). Thanks James Dolan. Now please just go away.

Momentum Changer: So, an aging, balding drunk who’s kind of a jerk walks into a bar (this sounds like the beginning of a joke, doesn’t it? But it’s just what I did on Sunday night), and at that same moment Brandon Dubinsky scores the tying goal against Buffalo. But before I even had a bottle of beer in my hand, the Sabres scored in overtime to beat the Rangers. And just like that, another point gets away from them. Even the usually reliable Henrik Lundqvist/Martin Brodeur matchup let them down, when the Devils crushed the Blueshirts in a sloppily played game by both teams. Points are quickly slipping away. Is this the beginning of the end for the Rangers (or did that happen on opening day?) and the beginning of a turnaround for New Jersey, who hadn’t been winning consistently in a few months? It’s getting late fast for the Rangers. And it’s all over for the Islanders, as they lost all three of their games this week.

Who is Brodney Pool:

6″2/210

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. There have been mixed reports on how many concussions he has suffered 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 my life anyway).

So let’s enjoy the Mets’ shenanigans instead of being enraged by them. We have enough to be angry with as it is, what with unemployment, cab drivers trying to run us over while crossing the streets of New York, the cost of my monthly New Jersey Transit train pass going up 25% while their service gets continuously worse, and the tragic and untimely death of Corey Haim. So what’s an overactive thyroid here or a case of pink eye there? Besides all the injuries, there are some other amusing aspects to the Mets that can keep us occupied. Luis Castillo’s still on the team. That’s kind of funny. Jerry Manuel’s always laughing (and I mean always) so something must be humorous somewhere around Queens and Port St. Lucie (and look how much fun he’s having in the picture above). Omar Minaya still runs the team? We can all laugh at his Abbott and Costello−like press conferences. The Wilpons are going to own the team until they stop making Wilpons? You have to cackle at that, don’t you? Front office buffoonery? A shaky starting rotation? No setup man? So what? It’s more entertaining this way.

There’s one thing you can say about the Mets. They’re not dull. And at least they have the best announcers in baseball, so their broadcasts are always watchable. Do you really want boring old competency? On-the-ball owners and a sane general manager? A manager who always makes the right moves? What kind of fun is that? Players who know how to touch all the bases? And know how to slide and catch pop-ups? How does that build character? How is that any fun?

So let’s just kick back and enjoy the entertaining world that the New York Mets provide for us. “It can only happen to the Mets” should be trademarked by the franchise. Hey, maybe they’ll surprise us all and even win a few games. But if I wanted baseball to be a source of enjoyment and relaxation, while feeling like a winner, and not one of anger, bitterness and betrayal, I wouldn’t be a Mets fan, would I?

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/draft10/insider/news/story?id=4968544

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 technique at the next level.”

Odrick had 7 sacks and 11 tackles for loss in his senior season. He would provide depth to the line and learn under Kris Jenkins who missed 10 games last season due to injury. He is 6′5″/304 pounds and had unofficial times of 4.98 and 5.04 in the 40. He is considered one of the top 5 defensive tackles in the upcoming draft.

Taylor Mays

“Mays has an outstanding combination of size, strength and athleticism for the safety position. He possesses excellent speed, quickness and burst for his size, which makes him a versatile player who could fit in several different schemes. He has good instincts to attack the alley as a run defender and can make plays in the passing game as a deep safety. He tends to be too aggressive with the ball in the air, trying to make the big hit instead of making a play on the ball. He can be inconsistent with his angles and technique but relies on his great athleticism to recover and make the play. Mays will be highly coveted in this year’s draft if concerns about his overall mental makeup are answered.”

Even though he is built like a linebacker 6″3/231, Mays had the fastest 40 at of all defensive backs (4.43). Out of safeties he had the second most bench reps (24) and second highest vertical (41). His strong combine made me think his stock has risen quite a bit and he would be selected in the top 25. If he is there at 29 the Jets should select him. I would not be surprised if they trade up to select Mays since they have a hole at safety after trading Kerry Rhodes.