An Unfamiliar Outlook

Well it's that time of year again and we've all heard the phrase "Hope Springs Eternal " and for Yankee fans who are used to good things that phrase  truly falls on deaf ears. The Yankees fell on hard times following the 1964 World Series with the Cardinals and again in 1981 after the loss to the Dodgers; but since 1996 it's been one hell of a ride. Maybe this year is the pay back. There's no question the Yankees  are not the same team they have been for the last decade. This Yankee team maybe the weakest opening day lineup they have ever had.
     There are many reasons for this. Obviously one reason is the obscene amount of injuries they have had to their star players, but there are other reasons as well. The Yankees have decided to go on an austerity kick. There are actually solid reasons for this strategy, not the least of which would put $50,000,000 dollars in their pockets if their budgets stays at $189,000,000 dollars or less for the next 2 years..not to mention the luxury tax they won't have to pay for spending all that extra money. In addition their farm system has failed to produce any significant players for easily more than a decade. What happened to the killer B' s, then add in the trade of Jose Montero for an injured overweight Pineda, just to name few. Other teams manage to develop good young players just ask Tampa Bay or Washington or Oakland. The Yankees have been used to filling  their holes by paying lucrative contracts to establish stars. That continues to work only if you continue to spend. Eventually something's gotta give which is what the Yankees are experiencing now. Unfortunately all of these factors have come together to create the perfect storm for the Yankees. It will be a very difficu
lt year for the Yankee organization who very possibly will miss the playoffs this season. Fortunately for the Yankees they represent the biggest and best brand in all of sports. This is not an opinion it's a fact. The Yankees are worth over $2.3 billion dollars.. the closest franchise to them is the Dodgers @ $1.6 billion..As Annie in Bull Durham said.." you can look it up"...  As I said the Yankees will have a difficult time making the playoffs this year and may have some lean years ahead while they rebuild their team  but nobody's going to have to hold a Charity Event for them..

Out of Bounds

No sport is more strictly governed by rules and regulations than the sport of golf. Because of that it's totally hypocritical and dysfunctional that the PGA has not ruled on VJ Sings admitted use of ( Deer Antler ) spray..It has been roughly 6 weeks since his disclosure  Enough time to investigate anything much less someone who has already admitted using the spray. The PGA has remained mysteriously silent after promising a speedy resolution to this violation. They constantly talk about the integrity of their sport,  and have proved that nobody is above rules with their constant stroke penalty enforcement for rules violations on the course, tee time DQ's, etc. But so far VJ is skating. Why? Maybe they really don't believe in their drug policy , or don't know how to enforce it. Maybe VJ 's too big to fail (not). Whatever the reason the tour is running scared and proving they do not have the conviction of their rules . Whether they give him a pass or fine or suspend him they need to make a decision for the integrity of the game..To allow him to continue to play with no formal statement or explanation from the PGA OF AMERICA... It's more than a penalty shot... It's out of bounds.

Border Wars

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Every sport has it’s special rivalries and big games, sometimes the sport itself is identified by it's match ups and final results. Red Sox-Yankees, Cardinals -Cubs, Giants-Cowboys, Celtics-Lakers, Palmer-Nicklaus. Federer-Nadal, etc. In a sport always struggling for attention and clearly not the main attraction for the majority of the sporting world, there is still a matchup that compares to all the rest, and thank goodness for that, the other sports have their rivalries, this sport has it's Border Wars...The best thing that could have happened for the NHL lies ahead of us Rangers vs Devils. I probably could just leave it at that but who can resist. Forget all the previous match ups and 7^th game heroics, forget all the stars that have done the dance already Messier, Gretzky, Graves, Danyko, Broduer, and so on. Forget that the Devils won cups when the Rangers were a struggling franchise, and still didn't really compare to the Broadway Blues. Forget everything. What makes this so dramatic is that these Teams really don't like each other, because these teams are neighbors at perpetual war, because New York and New Jersey really are different. Maybe instead of the new Series Hatfields and McCoy’s the network should just show the Rangers and Devils. Any way you slice it is as Charles Dickens said “it will be the best of times and the worst of times for all the fans on both sides . Lace em up boys....