The False Truth

Being a sports fan is a constant challenge and a relationship that can be a love affair or drive someone crazy. If you are a Met fan this dichotomy is always in play. Let's be clear about the New York Mets, they are clearly a very poorly run franchise, they are a big market team that never seems willing to dig into their pockets to provide talent on the field or for the fans. The front office doesn't seem to have a plan in place or a direction that is consistent for winning over time. They ask their fans to be loyal which they are even when the results on the field are never positive for very long. Met fans are constantly waiting for their next minor leaguer to be a star or the next win streak however short it may be. Last year their season revolved around RA Dicky, this year this season so far has revolved around Matt Harvey and the sweep of the Yankees. It was a wonderful weekend for the Mets as they established themselves as a real team at least for 4 days against the Yankees. Then, unfortunately, they went to Miami and got swept by the worst team in baseball, once again reminding Met fans of the reality of their team. For the Mets 50+ years of existence and the overall winning % is .478. and therein lies the rub. Met fans level of expectation is never high enough or demanding enough. Unfortunately over the years their season revolves around a couple of good players, one good week, one big series win over the season and that seems to be enough to placate the owners and many of their fans. It's not that their fans don't want more they just don't expect it because of the history of the team and it's front office. The bar is raised too low and the Mets are given a pass by the media, the newspapers and everyone else who does not demand this large market franchise with deep pockets provide a better product for the fans. If this was the Red Sox or the Yankees or the Dodgers or even the Cubs there would be revolution in the streets, but the local media and other major outlets never criticize the Mets for there ineptness. What other franchise with their own cable network would have the nerve to provide as bad a product as the Mets do on a nightly basis? Met fans, and God bless them, are always sold the idea that next year will be better and it never is. After coming off a terrible year in 2012 the Mets off season plans and subsequent talent acquisition amounted to nothing. But that's okay because they don't have to answer questions to the general public about their unwillingness to try and improve the team. Maybe the owners really do care, but if you continue to show a total lack of effort to improve your product you either don't care or you're clueless about how to do it, either way you are selling a flea circus to the public and asking them to care.
Mets fans deserve better.

The Need For Change

As a life long Ranger fan it was very difficult to watch the slow death the Rangers experienced at the hands of the Boston Bruins. There are many questions surrounding the Rangers moving forward. Maybe they just weren't good enough to advance past the Bruins or maybe their mistakes finally caught up to them against a better team then Washington. Staal and Clowe being out certainty didn't help. And of course their power play speaks for itself. Obviously these are some of the issues that jump out at you, but I think the problems go deeper. I think the issues with this team are also systematic and have to fall on the doorstep of the head coach John Tortorella.  He is a taxing coach to play for and his system leaves virtually no room for error. His defense minded strategies leave his goalie alone and a target for teams to virtually tee off on while his other players try to block shots and defend the shooting lanes. This might be viable at the end of the game while trying to protect a lead but as a game in game out strategy it puts tremendous pressure on the goalie and exhausts the defense. It can win games but never allows your team to get a big lead and close out games early by scoring multiple goals. His team's margin for error is virtually non-existent. Maybe that's the reason John Tortorella has never won a playoff series in less than seven games. Good teams have the ability to step up the level of play and distance themselves during the course of the game so that they have some breathing room , and  can make a mistake without  it costing  them the game. Tortorella's conservative restrictive game also limits his more creative players, Gabrek, Richards, Nash, etc. The Rangers pay huge money for these players and then they are forced to fit into a system that limits their creativity and therefore their ability to score. Once again systematic limitations. Their power play is also systematically inept , they try to shoot from the point, other teams get better angles and more open ice moving side to side and not front to back. Teams know how to defend the Rangers because their power play is unimaginative. How can a coach go this far into a season and fail at this aspect of the game and not make adjustments. That is one of John Tortorella's problems, he is also arrogant stubborn and spiteful... His teams play hard for him but I'm not sure whether it's out of respect or fear. I find it interesting that John Tortorella  has problems coaching the biggest stars on the team, maybe it's not their problem maybe it's his, or more to the point his system. Great coaches succeed overtime because of their ability to adjust to game situations and change their philosophies based on their talent and depth. Tortorella has left a path of destruction in his wake. He has a resume, Conference Finals last year Final 8 this year, a past Stanley Cup championship in Tampa. But it's always with a price. In addition, he is poisonous to the media as well, why? The biggest problem now is the best player on the team King Henrik doesn't seem to want to play for him or the Ranger's anymore, maybe it's because they are too systematically challenged !!!

An Important Non-Event

Jason Collins did it, he "came out " and in doing so dragged the professional Sports community (kicking and Screaming) into the 21st Century. Thank you Jason . Thank G-d that's finally over. For many of us in the world this is no big deal , long over due , and a great step forward for human decency and equality..Collins should be respected and congratulated and the world should just move on. Unfortunately there still lots of Neanderthals and bigots still in the world. Their continued ignorance will become apparent but hopefully not affect the progress our society is making regarding this issue.The ironic part of this is that there are still many gays existing in locker rooms and have been all along , so their existence  in locker rooms has already been a non event. It's like sports writers saying they won't vote for steroid users for the Hall of Fame. Of course they will , they just won't know it because the player wasn't outed. Our society is complex and varied , we can split the atom. , send data around the world in mili seconds , put up with Dictators , ignore wars , etc. Maybe its time we put being Gay in its proper place , as a non event.

Our Heroes Last Forever

In this day and age the word " Hero " is a word that should be carefully used. Heroess can come in all shapes and sizes and can be found in all arenas of life. People's hero's are different for different people, they can be a teacher, a soldier, a father, mother, brother or sister, just to name a few. Every crisis we deal with as a Society always identifies new ones. One of our great escapes as a Society is sports, and there are hero's there as well. Where ever they are found hero's all fit the same definition. Simply put,  they go the extra mile, they make the great sacrifice for the greater good. Our hero's in sports are a reference point " for all that is good and can be again " ( Field of Dreams ), their deeds stay with us forever. Some athletes are embraced by everyone no matter who there home team is, Michael Jordan, Lou Gehrig, Jim Brown, Arnold Palmer, etc. Please add to that list Derek Jeter. No one is respected more by friend or foe than Derek Jeter. The biggest Sawx fan I know likes DJ. It's hard not to, no one sets a standard higher than Jeter on how to play the game, how to handle the press, how to respect your opponent, and how to carry yourself both professionally and personally. But his biggest and best character trait is his commitment to the greater good, his team, his organization, and to winning in general. He doesn't know the word I he only knows the word we. All throughout his career he has been known as someone who will sacrifice anything and do whatever it takes to win. That's why Derek Jeter is in his current situation, he played on a bad ankle he should have been healing for the future. There's no question he was putting his career at risk knowing his ankle at the very least was terribly fragile and at the very worst fractured, but he did what heroes always do, they sacrifice themselves for the greater good and unfortunately he's paying the price for that now. Jeter had an opportunity to possibly set all time records in baseball history for hits and other statistics, but that meant nothing to him, sacrificing to help his team win did. His Hall of Fame career speaks for itself, the sad thing is, his career will be shortened, but as Hero's so often do they save their best for last. Let's hope there is a last hurrah.  Here's to our hero's ...

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....