Atlanta over St Louis, W
New England over Buffalo, W
Kansas City over Cincinnati, L
Green Bay over Detroit, W
Indianapolis over Tennessee, W
NY Giants over Minnesota, L
New Orleans over Carolina, L
Pittsburgh over Cleveland, W
Tampa Bay over Oakland, L
Houston over Chicago, W
Washington over San Fransisco, L
Baltimore over Jacksonville, W
Miami over NY Jets, W Too bad many of these Jets fans are also Mets fans!
Philadelphia over Dallas, W Romo's mistake was moving Jessica into the pad. Phillie is a tough playoff opponent while they are peakin!
Arizona over Seattle, W
San Diego over Denver, W
Week Record: 11-5
Season Record: 142-86
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
NFL Week 17 Picks: NY Jets- OUT
Atlanta over St Louis
New England over Buffalo
Kansas City over Cincinnati
Green Bay over Detroit- Detroit is too terrible to pick them to avoid a winless season.
Indianapolis over Tennessee- Great game, but I think Indy will take it on the arm of Eli's big brother.
NY Giants over Minnesota- The Big Blue will get their rest in for Jacobs and others, but the starters will play long enough to win this one.
New Orleans over Carolina
Pittsburgh over Cleveland
Tampa Bay over Oakland
Houston over Chicago
Washington over San Fransisco
Baltimore over Jacksonville
Miami over NY Jets- Pennington will stick it to the Jets, secure the division and complete the Dolphin's monumental turnaround after a 1-15 season last year. I'd pick the Jets here, but Favre's press conferences this week have all revolved around his pending retirement. Don't think his teammates feel like they're retiring, too? The biggest game of the season for the Jets is just days away, with a playoff berth on the line, and Brett Favre is all about his retirement and none about winning this game. All indications are that Favre has hung it up for this season, and hopefully he's done for good this time. A great Quarterback that is going out on a poor note.
Philadelphia over Dallas- A huge battle, but I can see Phillie pulling this one out at home. It really will be bitter sweet, because a playoff berth may keep the Eagles from saying adios to McNabb, as they need to do.
Arizona over Seattle
San Diego over Denver- The SanDogs will take the division after all.
New England over Buffalo
Kansas City over Cincinnati
Green Bay over Detroit- Detroit is too terrible to pick them to avoid a winless season.
Indianapolis over Tennessee- Great game, but I think Indy will take it on the arm of Eli's big brother.
NY Giants over Minnesota- The Big Blue will get their rest in for Jacobs and others, but the starters will play long enough to win this one.
New Orleans over Carolina
Pittsburgh over Cleveland
Tampa Bay over Oakland
Houston over Chicago
Washington over San Fransisco
Baltimore over Jacksonville
Miami over NY Jets- Pennington will stick it to the Jets, secure the division and complete the Dolphin's monumental turnaround after a 1-15 season last year. I'd pick the Jets here, but Favre's press conferences this week have all revolved around his pending retirement. Don't think his teammates feel like they're retiring, too? The biggest game of the season for the Jets is just days away, with a playoff berth on the line, and Brett Favre is all about his retirement and none about winning this game. All indications are that Favre has hung it up for this season, and hopefully he's done for good this time. A great Quarterback that is going out on a poor note.
Philadelphia over Dallas- A huge battle, but I can see Phillie pulling this one out at home. It really will be bitter sweet, because a playoff berth may keep the Eagles from saying adios to McNabb, as they need to do.
Arizona over Seattle
San Diego over Denver- The SanDogs will take the division after all.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Sports Roundup: The Yanks, Mets, Giants and Jets- and Rangers
As much as I'd love to slam the Yankees for $420 million on three players in the middle of a recession, I can't argue that their pickup of Mark Texiera was a perfect move.
Texiera, only 28, is a perfect fit for the middle of the Yankees lineup and he's a guy that will hit in the postseason, unlike the (in)famous Yankee third baseman who is better known for extra curricular dalliances with Madonna than for postseason heroics.
I still don't like the long pitching deals, but the Yanks went the home-grown route last year and it backfired on them, so they have resorted to doing what the Yankees do best- spending money. By adding Sabathia, Burnett and Texiera to the holdover Yankees, a trip to the postseason is a certainty, barring injury, and a trip to the World Series is expected.
The only downside to this deal is that it makes the Nick Swisher trade look irrelevant. Swisher did not come to New York to ride the bench, so something has got to give. The Yanks need to pull a trade that sends either Melky Cabrera, Xavier Nady or even Swisher himself somewhere else or someone will not be a happy camper going into the season.
I don't like the market differential between large and small market clubs in Major League Baseball, but this deal made too much sense for the Yanks to pass up. And, as an added bonus, they stuck it to Boston in process.
Have no doubt- the Yankees will be the most hated team in baseball next season, and now they just may be the best.
With Texiera signed the Yanks will have no interest in signing Manny Ramirez, but Manny to the Mets makes perfect sense right now. The Mets need another bat and an outfielder and Manny fills both of those needs, and it would be a perfect response to Philadelphia signing Raul Ibanez a couple of weeks ago.
The revamped bullpen is great, but the Mets need Manny's bat just as much. Delgado cannot be expected to perform as he did last summer and the Mets need more than a Tatis/Murphy platoon in left if they want to make it deep into the playoffs.
There's too many reasons why the Mets should go for Manny right now and too few reasons why they shouldn't.
Minaya is flush with taxpayer cash right now since the Citi deal is still in place, so there will be nothing more satisfying than knowing that the taxpayers of Philadelphia will be helping the Mets bring Manny Ramirez to Flushing, Queens.
Ain't it ironic?
COMPLETE MLB COVERAGE ON SIRIUS XM, DON'T MISS A PITCH DURING THE 2009 SEASON!
I don't understand blackouts on the Sports Channels. I have SNY on Direct TV, but all the NY Sports that I want to watch are blacked out. I can't even watch a Mets Classic ballgame from 1986 because it is blacked out. The Knicks and Rangers games? All blacked out. I don't get it and I think it is ludicrous.
Finally, tonight I got to watch the Rangers play the Capitals since it was on the Comcast Sports Channels, which is not blacked out. As excited as I was to finally catch a Rangers game, I wish they would have blacked out the last half of the match when they blew a four point lead and ended up losing 5-4 in overtime.
As a displaced Mets fan, maybe its good that they black out my sporting events. Rangers fans can blame me for the team blowing it today- Its the only game I've watched this season, and today they looked an awful lot like the Mets.
The debate of the day: Sunday's Giants game against Minnesota means nothing to the Giants, so does Coughlin sit his starters or does he play the team all out as he did last year against the undefeated Patriots?
There's no doubt that he made the correct call last year, as the Giants near-win against the Pats propelled them to the Superbowl where they won the rematch.
This year is a completely different situation, and I can see the arguement for playing all out just as easily as I can see the arguement for sitting the starters.
In my opinion, Jacobs sits. Period. Jacobs is the key to the Giants offense and he is the one guy that you cannot afford to lose, aside from Eli Manning, and he's been banged up.
Everyone else should start, but Coughlin can start pulling them out about midway through the second quarter.
This Giants team knows who they are and who they can beat, its more important for them to be healthy this year. A loss to Minnesota will mean nothing to them, but a loss of Jacobs for a postseason game would devastate them.
There's been a lot of talk this week that Eric Mangini should get the boot if the Jets fail to make the playoffs, but the real scapegoat needs to be Favre. The experiment has failed and the future Hall of Fame Quarterback has failed to do what the Jets wanted him to do.
You can't blame Mangini for the fact that Favre has his head more involved in creating another offseason retirement (or not) fiasco than he does in winning football games. That attitude from a legendary Quarterback will rub off on the rest of the team, regardless of the stature of the head coach.
I heard a Sports radio host today, maybe Colin Cowherd, state that the Jets were not expected to beat New England or Tennesse, so their record of 10-6 (if they win Sunday) is right in line with where they should be. Wrong. Once Tom Brady was lost for the season, the Jets were supposed to roll with upper class of the Conference. That's why they brought in Favre.
There's no excuse for going 0-4 against San Diego, Oakland, San Fransisco and Seattle. Absolutely no excuse. You can blame Mangini for not setting the proper mindset of the team, but its the legendary Quarterback that these guys look to for leadership in the locker room, and it just so happens that the legendary Quarterback was busy wondering how he can make the upcoming offseason all about himself- again.
Mangini gets another chance, but Favre is out next year.
The Farve era failed.
Texiera, only 28, is a perfect fit for the middle of the Yankees lineup and he's a guy that will hit in the postseason, unlike the (in)famous Yankee third baseman who is better known for extra curricular dalliances with Madonna than for postseason heroics.
I still don't like the long pitching deals, but the Yanks went the home-grown route last year and it backfired on them, so they have resorted to doing what the Yankees do best- spending money. By adding Sabathia, Burnett and Texiera to the holdover Yankees, a trip to the postseason is a certainty, barring injury, and a trip to the World Series is expected.
The only downside to this deal is that it makes the Nick Swisher trade look irrelevant. Swisher did not come to New York to ride the bench, so something has got to give. The Yanks need to pull a trade that sends either Melky Cabrera, Xavier Nady or even Swisher himself somewhere else or someone will not be a happy camper going into the season.
I don't like the market differential between large and small market clubs in Major League Baseball, but this deal made too much sense for the Yanks to pass up. And, as an added bonus, they stuck it to Boston in process.
Have no doubt- the Yankees will be the most hated team in baseball next season, and now they just may be the best.
With Texiera signed the Yanks will have no interest in signing Manny Ramirez, but Manny to the Mets makes perfect sense right now. The Mets need another bat and an outfielder and Manny fills both of those needs, and it would be a perfect response to Philadelphia signing Raul Ibanez a couple of weeks ago.
The revamped bullpen is great, but the Mets need Manny's bat just as much. Delgado cannot be expected to perform as he did last summer and the Mets need more than a Tatis/Murphy platoon in left if they want to make it deep into the playoffs.
There's too many reasons why the Mets should go for Manny right now and too few reasons why they shouldn't.
Minaya is flush with taxpayer cash right now since the Citi deal is still in place, so there will be nothing more satisfying than knowing that the taxpayers of Philadelphia will be helping the Mets bring Manny Ramirez to Flushing, Queens.
Ain't it ironic?
COMPLETE MLB COVERAGE ON SIRIUS XM, DON'T MISS A PITCH DURING THE 2009 SEASON!
I don't understand blackouts on the Sports Channels. I have SNY on Direct TV, but all the NY Sports that I want to watch are blacked out. I can't even watch a Mets Classic ballgame from 1986 because it is blacked out. The Knicks and Rangers games? All blacked out. I don't get it and I think it is ludicrous.
Finally, tonight I got to watch the Rangers play the Capitals since it was on the Comcast Sports Channels, which is not blacked out. As excited as I was to finally catch a Rangers game, I wish they would have blacked out the last half of the match when they blew a four point lead and ended up losing 5-4 in overtime.
As a displaced Mets fan, maybe its good that they black out my sporting events. Rangers fans can blame me for the team blowing it today- Its the only game I've watched this season, and today they looked an awful lot like the Mets.
The debate of the day: Sunday's Giants game against Minnesota means nothing to the Giants, so does Coughlin sit his starters or does he play the team all out as he did last year against the undefeated Patriots?
There's no doubt that he made the correct call last year, as the Giants near-win against the Pats propelled them to the Superbowl where they won the rematch.
This year is a completely different situation, and I can see the arguement for playing all out just as easily as I can see the arguement for sitting the starters.
In my opinion, Jacobs sits. Period. Jacobs is the key to the Giants offense and he is the one guy that you cannot afford to lose, aside from Eli Manning, and he's been banged up.
Everyone else should start, but Coughlin can start pulling them out about midway through the second quarter.
This Giants team knows who they are and who they can beat, its more important for them to be healthy this year. A loss to Minnesota will mean nothing to them, but a loss of Jacobs for a postseason game would devastate them.
There's been a lot of talk this week that Eric Mangini should get the boot if the Jets fail to make the playoffs, but the real scapegoat needs to be Favre. The experiment has failed and the future Hall of Fame Quarterback has failed to do what the Jets wanted him to do.
You can't blame Mangini for the fact that Favre has his head more involved in creating another offseason retirement (or not) fiasco than he does in winning football games. That attitude from a legendary Quarterback will rub off on the rest of the team, regardless of the stature of the head coach.
I heard a Sports radio host today, maybe Colin Cowherd, state that the Jets were not expected to beat New England or Tennesse, so their record of 10-6 (if they win Sunday) is right in line with where they should be. Wrong. Once Tom Brady was lost for the season, the Jets were supposed to roll with upper class of the Conference. That's why they brought in Favre.
There's no excuse for going 0-4 against San Diego, Oakland, San Fransisco and Seattle. Absolutely no excuse. You can blame Mangini for not setting the proper mindset of the team, but its the legendary Quarterback that these guys look to for leadership in the locker room, and it just so happens that the legendary Quarterback was busy wondering how he can make the upcoming offseason all about himself- again.
Mangini gets another chance, but Favre is out next year.
The Farve era failed.
Baseball Hot Stove; Mets Should Sign Fuentes, too!
I'd like to see the Mets sign Brian Fuentes. It sounds crazy, but the Mets need another lefty in the pen to compliment Pedro Feliciano, and the price tag for Fuentes is on the decline with each day that he is not signed.
He'd give the Mets great closer insurance, although they'd already have K-Rod and JJ Putz in line before him, and the bullpen that has been a detriment would suddenly become baseball's best.
Starting pitching is Minaya's priority right now, but hopefully he's got Fuentes on the radar. Its not every season that the closer market would allow a team to go into the off season looking for one closer only to come back with three.
Scott Boras needs to go. When an agent can singlehandedly stagnate baseball's off season until his guys are signed, then that agent has too much power. The economy is preventing teams from throwing too much money around, but part of it also has to do with the teams just getting tired of Boras' antics. Every day that goes by that Mark Texiera is not signed, makes both of them look pretty week- moaning over 10-20 million bucks when the average American won't be able to afford a hot dog at the stadium next year.
He'd give the Mets great closer insurance, although they'd already have K-Rod and JJ Putz in line before him, and the bullpen that has been a detriment would suddenly become baseball's best.
Starting pitching is Minaya's priority right now, but hopefully he's got Fuentes on the radar. Its not every season that the closer market would allow a team to go into the off season looking for one closer only to come back with three.
Scott Boras needs to go. When an agent can singlehandedly stagnate baseball's off season until his guys are signed, then that agent has too much power. The economy is preventing teams from throwing too much money around, but part of it also has to do with the teams just getting tired of Boras' antics. Every day that goes by that Mark Texiera is not signed, makes both of them look pretty week- moaning over 10-20 million bucks when the average American won't be able to afford a hot dog at the stadium next year.
Week 16 NFL Roundup, VFC's Picks
Indianapolis over Jacksonville, W
Baltimore over Dallas, W
Cleveland over Cincinnati, L
New Orleans over Detroit, W
Pittsburgh over Tennessee, L
Miami over Kansas City, W
San Fransisco over St Louis, W
New England over Arizona, W
San Diego over Tampa Bay, W
New York Jets over Seattle, L
Houston over Oakland, L
Denver over Buffalo, L
Washington over Philadelphia, W
Atlanta over Minnesota, W
NY Giants over Carolina, W
Chicago over Green Bay, W
Week Record: 11-5
Season Record:142-86
Baltimore over Dallas, W
Cleveland over Cincinnati, L
New Orleans over Detroit, W
Pittsburgh over Tennessee, L
Miami over Kansas City, W
San Fransisco over St Louis, W
New England over Arizona, W
San Diego over Tampa Bay, W
New York Jets over Seattle, L
Houston over Oakland, L
Denver over Buffalo, L
Washington over Philadelphia, W
Atlanta over Minnesota, W
NY Giants over Carolina, W
Chicago over Green Bay, W
Week Record: 11-5
Season Record:142-86
Sunday, December 21, 2008
What a Game at the Meadowlands! Giants Come Up Big, But What About the Jets?
Earth and Wind sure brought some fire to a cold night at the Meadowlands! Derrick Ward rushed for 215 yards and Brandon Jacobs added an additional 87 that put the Giants at over 300 rushing yards for the game.
It is Brandon Jacobs, not Plaxico Burress, that makes the whole team better when he is in the lineup. From the very get go, even when the Giants fell behind, the entire team looked better having Jacobs crashing through the Carolina defense. Jacobs didn't break for any big gains, but Ward had quite a few big runs after the D was softened up by the thundering Jacobs.
Most importantly, after a couple of disappointing losses the Giants showed that they will still win the big game- when they have to. These were the Superbowl Champs playing tonight, not the distracted bunch of the last two weeks.
The Big Blue defense looked soft early, but they came on strong when it mattered most, holding the Panthers at their own five yard line late in the game.
What a game this was, truly a playoff atmosphere with so much on the line. A loss here would have been a momentum killer for the Giants (not that they had much of that the last two weeks), but the win gives them home field the rest of the way.
Now the road to the Superbowl runs through the Meadowlands (soverein territory of New York City for all of those that claim they play in Jersey).
True to form, the Giants came up big when they had to, and that's what its all about.
DON'T MISS A SECOND OF THE NFL PLAYOFFS ON SIRIUS XM!
Meanwhile, in Seattle, Brett Favre must have beenpondering his retirement (again) because he definitely was not pondering Playoff Football today.
The Jets brought in the future Hall of Famer to win these late season games and lead the team to the playoffs, and a late season loss to a Seattle team that's been horrendous is embarrassing.
There's no doubt that Favre does not regret coming back this year, but he must be content to just be playing football knowing that no matter what happens with the Jets, he's left a legacy behind and he's got his rings.
Favre will always be one of the greatest, but he's let his ego take over and his arm can't keep up. There was no reason for him to bring up his possible retirement last week. He's trying to make it all about him when there is a football team, for which he plays, that is looking at him to lead them to the playoffs.
We all know Favre loves to play this retirement thing year in and year out, but his head needs to be on the playoffs. If he blows that game next week against the Dolphins, Favre's big, dramatic comeback season will be looked at as a failure.
A few weeks ago there was lots of talk about an all New York Superbowl, and I admitted that I was wrong for doubting his comeback, but after a few disgraceful losses, we wonder if the Jets will even make the playoffs.
Not the kind of finish that we'd expect from a Hall of Fame Quarterback that bullied himself back into the league this season.
His ego has his mind on another retirement and not on football, and his ego just might cost quite a few people their jobs if they don't make the playoffs.
Its easy for VFC to sit on the red couch and second guess everything, but I have a feeling that if Favre had his head more on the games than on whether he's going to retire again, the Jets would have won at least one game against these lousy teams.
Way to go, Brett, its all about you again.
Miami Dolphins- from 1-15 to leader of their division. Wow. I'm not sure anyone predicted this turnaround.
The Dallas defense was an embarrassment for the Texas Stadium finale. Two late Baltimore rushing touchdowns on two plays? The home crowd deserved more than that. A great game that Baltimore definitely deserved to win.
How as Reggie Brown not standing 12 inches further back when he caught McNabb's pass? That would have put him in the end zone. Too bad we can't blame that one on McNabb not knowing the rules.
It is Brandon Jacobs, not Plaxico Burress, that makes the whole team better when he is in the lineup. From the very get go, even when the Giants fell behind, the entire team looked better having Jacobs crashing through the Carolina defense. Jacobs didn't break for any big gains, but Ward had quite a few big runs after the D was softened up by the thundering Jacobs.
Most importantly, after a couple of disappointing losses the Giants showed that they will still win the big game- when they have to. These were the Superbowl Champs playing tonight, not the distracted bunch of the last two weeks.
The Big Blue defense looked soft early, but they came on strong when it mattered most, holding the Panthers at their own five yard line late in the game.
What a game this was, truly a playoff atmosphere with so much on the line. A loss here would have been a momentum killer for the Giants (not that they had much of that the last two weeks), but the win gives them home field the rest of the way.
Now the road to the Superbowl runs through the Meadowlands (soverein territory of New York City for all of those that claim they play in Jersey).
True to form, the Giants came up big when they had to, and that's what its all about.
DON'T MISS A SECOND OF THE NFL PLAYOFFS ON SIRIUS XM!
Meanwhile, in Seattle, Brett Favre must have beenpondering his retirement (again) because he definitely was not pondering Playoff Football today.
The Jets brought in the future Hall of Famer to win these late season games and lead the team to the playoffs, and a late season loss to a Seattle team that's been horrendous is embarrassing.
There's no doubt that Favre does not regret coming back this year, but he must be content to just be playing football knowing that no matter what happens with the Jets, he's left a legacy behind and he's got his rings.
Favre will always be one of the greatest, but he's let his ego take over and his arm can't keep up. There was no reason for him to bring up his possible retirement last week. He's trying to make it all about him when there is a football team, for which he plays, that is looking at him to lead them to the playoffs.
We all know Favre loves to play this retirement thing year in and year out, but his head needs to be on the playoffs. If he blows that game next week against the Dolphins, Favre's big, dramatic comeback season will be looked at as a failure.
A few weeks ago there was lots of talk about an all New York Superbowl, and I admitted that I was wrong for doubting his comeback, but after a few disgraceful losses, we wonder if the Jets will even make the playoffs.
Not the kind of finish that we'd expect from a Hall of Fame Quarterback that bullied himself back into the league this season.
His ego has his mind on another retirement and not on football, and his ego just might cost quite a few people their jobs if they don't make the playoffs.
Its easy for VFC to sit on the red couch and second guess everything, but I have a feeling that if Favre had his head more on the games than on whether he's going to retire again, the Jets would have won at least one game against these lousy teams.
Way to go, Brett, its all about you again.
Miami Dolphins- from 1-15 to leader of their division. Wow. I'm not sure anyone predicted this turnaround.
The Dallas defense was an embarrassment for the Texas Stadium finale. Two late Baltimore rushing touchdowns on two plays? The home crowd deserved more than that. A great game that Baltimore definitely deserved to win.
How as Reggie Brown not standing 12 inches further back when he caught McNabb's pass? That would have put him in the end zone. Too bad we can't blame that one on McNabb not knowing the rules.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
VFC's NFL Picks for Week 16; Giants Fight for the #1 Seed and Favre Makes it All About Him- Again
The Giants go into this Carolina game with the number one seed on the line. "Who wants it more?" will be the mantra. All season long the Giants have played with a chip on their shoulder because they never felt that they got the respect that went with a Superbowl Championship.
Now it gets tricky, because they after an 11-1 start, they got their respect by being labelled the best team in the NFL and were the Superbowl favorites for weeks. The Giants will also send six to the Pro Bowl, so the Big Blue has the respect that they were looking for.
The danger is that now that they have their respect, the Giants will lose their edge; lose that chip on the shoulder that got them so far this season.
The Giants lost two tough games against division opponents that were fighting for their Playoff lives- after losing Plax and with a Jacobs injury on top of that. This week they will be fighting for a number one seed in the Playoffs and they'll be looking for momentum.
With a loss, the Big Blue momentum will spiral downward. A win, however, changes everything- momentum will again be in the team's favor and they'll be given a chance to heal up before their first playoff game.
Whether Jacobs plays or not, this game will not be won without a strong performance from Eli.
Brett Favre has to make it all about him, doesn't he? The Jets are on the verge of making the Playoffs yet their level of play the last three weeks has been far from Playoff caliber, and that includes the play of the future Hall of Famer.
This week Favre commented on whether or not he will play again next season. Favre needs to have his mind on winning THIS season, he needs to be concerned with taking his team to the Playoffs now, not being distracted with what he'll be doing next season.
The Jets gave up a lot to get Favre for one season, and Favre just showed us that win or lose, Favre is in it for Favre, not the Jets- just like he wasn't really in it for the Green Bay Packers.
It's all about him.
THE PICKS:
Indianapolis over Jacksonville
Baltimore over Dallas- Great matchup. Dallas is fired up, but Baltimore will be more fired up for this big game after last weeks controversial call.
Cleveland over Cincinnati- Does anyone care about this game?
New Orleans over Detroit
Pittsburgh over Tennessee- 2 L in a row for big T.
Miami over Kansas City- Miami's amazing turnaround continues with a win against KC. This team continues to make Parcells and Pennington look good.
San Fransisco over St Louis
New England over Arizona
San Diego over Tampa Bay- LT will finally have an LT-like game.
New York Jets over Seattle- I'm tempted to pick Seattle here.
Houston over Oakland
Denver over Buffalo
Washington over Philadelphia- Washington will bounce back and Phillie's hot streak will end.
Atlanta over Minnesota
NY Giants over Carolina- This game goes to who wants that number one seed more.
Chicago over Green Bay
Now it gets tricky, because they after an 11-1 start, they got their respect by being labelled the best team in the NFL and were the Superbowl favorites for weeks. The Giants will also send six to the Pro Bowl, so the Big Blue has the respect that they were looking for.
The danger is that now that they have their respect, the Giants will lose their edge; lose that chip on the shoulder that got them so far this season.
The Giants lost two tough games against division opponents that were fighting for their Playoff lives- after losing Plax and with a Jacobs injury on top of that. This week they will be fighting for a number one seed in the Playoffs and they'll be looking for momentum.
With a loss, the Big Blue momentum will spiral downward. A win, however, changes everything- momentum will again be in the team's favor and they'll be given a chance to heal up before their first playoff game.
Whether Jacobs plays or not, this game will not be won without a strong performance from Eli.
Brett Favre has to make it all about him, doesn't he? The Jets are on the verge of making the Playoffs yet their level of play the last three weeks has been far from Playoff caliber, and that includes the play of the future Hall of Famer.
This week Favre commented on whether or not he will play again next season. Favre needs to have his mind on winning THIS season, he needs to be concerned with taking his team to the Playoffs now, not being distracted with what he'll be doing next season.
The Jets gave up a lot to get Favre for one season, and Favre just showed us that win or lose, Favre is in it for Favre, not the Jets- just like he wasn't really in it for the Green Bay Packers.
It's all about him.
THE PICKS:
Indianapolis over Jacksonville
Baltimore over Dallas- Great matchup. Dallas is fired up, but Baltimore will be more fired up for this big game after last weeks controversial call.
Cleveland over Cincinnati- Does anyone care about this game?
New Orleans over Detroit
Pittsburgh over Tennessee- 2 L in a row for big T.
Miami over Kansas City- Miami's amazing turnaround continues with a win against KC. This team continues to make Parcells and Pennington look good.
San Fransisco over St Louis
New England over Arizona
San Diego over Tampa Bay- LT will finally have an LT-like game.
New York Jets over Seattle- I'm tempted to pick Seattle here.
Houston over Oakland
Denver over Buffalo
Washington over Philadelphia- Washington will bounce back and Phillie's hot streak will end.
Atlanta over Minnesota
NY Giants over Carolina- This game goes to who wants that number one seed more.
Chicago over Green Bay
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Week 15 NFL Roundup
New Orleans over Chicago, L
Atlanta over Tampa Bay, W
Cincinnati over Washington, L, Washington's free fall is in full effect.
Seattle over St Louis, W
Miami over San Fransisco, W
NY Jets over Buffalo, W
Indianapolis over Detroit, W
San Diego over Kansas City, W
Green Bay over Jacksonville, L
Houston over Tennessee, W
Arizona over Minnesota, L
Carolina over Denver, W
Pittsburgh over Baltimore, W
New England over Oakland, W
NY Giants over Dallas, L, Big Blue is in desperate need of Jacobs.
Philadelphia over Cleveland, W, Forget Dallas, Phillie is looking HOT right now.
Week Record: 11-5
Season Record: 131-81
Atlanta over Tampa Bay, W
Cincinnati over Washington, L, Washington's free fall is in full effect.
Seattle over St Louis, W
Miami over San Fransisco, W
NY Jets over Buffalo, W
Indianapolis over Detroit, W
San Diego over Kansas City, W
Green Bay over Jacksonville, L
Houston over Tennessee, W
Arizona over Minnesota, L
Carolina over Denver, W
Pittsburgh over Baltimore, W
New England over Oakland, W
NY Giants over Dallas, L, Big Blue is in desperate need of Jacobs.
Philadelphia over Cleveland, W, Forget Dallas, Phillie is looking HOT right now.
Week Record: 11-5
Season Record: 131-81
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Sports Notes of the Day; Pierce, Yanks, AJ, CC, Ibanez and Bullpen
Pierce got burned by Jason Whitten leading to another Dallas TD. If Pierce is feeling the pressure of the Plaxico mess, it may be rubbing off on the rest of the defense. He is a Captain, after all.
How is it that Santana Moss of the Redskins can afford a 15 yard penalty for showboating after catching a touchdown pass when the 'Skins' have been in a month-long freefall and his TD didn't even come close to giving the Redskins a win? Maybe I'm out of touch, but I thought you had to be good to showboat. Had that TD put the 'Skins ahead or close, then maybe I could understand, but that wasn't the case. It was just a demonstration of a me-first athlete having no disregard for the state of his team.
The Yankee management has gone insane by throwing the kind of money at AJ and CC, a couple of guys that will probably see the DL 5 or 6 times EACH during their tenure with the Yanks. The Yanks should consider themselves lucky if they get 6 solid seasons (combined) out of those two guys, but I don't see that happening. CC is too fat (a la 'El Sid' Fernandez, who had 2 or 3 dominant seasons before his weight took over and he opened up a hamburger stand somewhere in Hawaii, and AJ is always hurt, except for when he is in a contract year. NY fans are not as forgiving as Toronto fans. One trip to the DL too many and he'll receive Carl Pavano treatment in the Big City.
Phillie was a good Phit for Raul Ibanez. I think we've seen the best that Ibanez has to offer and he'll be on a decline now, but the short fence in Phillie will keep Ibanez relavent for at least a year longer, in the same way that Geoff Jenkins remained relavent. How many lefties will Phillie have in their lineup now?
Adios, Scott Schoenweis. You'll be missed in NY (only by opposing batting orders).
Adios, Aaron Heilman, you'll be missed in NY (only by opposing batting orders), but you deserved a shot in the rotation. It's VFC's opinion that Heilman will re-emerge as a solid starter for another team at some point in his career.
How is it that Santana Moss of the Redskins can afford a 15 yard penalty for showboating after catching a touchdown pass when the 'Skins' have been in a month-long freefall and his TD didn't even come close to giving the Redskins a win? Maybe I'm out of touch, but I thought you had to be good to showboat. Had that TD put the 'Skins ahead or close, then maybe I could understand, but that wasn't the case. It was just a demonstration of a me-first athlete having no disregard for the state of his team.
The Yankee management has gone insane by throwing the kind of money at AJ and CC, a couple of guys that will probably see the DL 5 or 6 times EACH during their tenure with the Yanks. The Yanks should consider themselves lucky if they get 6 solid seasons (combined) out of those two guys, but I don't see that happening. CC is too fat (a la 'El Sid' Fernandez, who had 2 or 3 dominant seasons before his weight took over and he opened up a hamburger stand somewhere in Hawaii, and AJ is always hurt, except for when he is in a contract year. NY fans are not as forgiving as Toronto fans. One trip to the DL too many and he'll receive Carl Pavano treatment in the Big City.
Phillie was a good Phit for Raul Ibanez. I think we've seen the best that Ibanez has to offer and he'll be on a decline now, but the short fence in Phillie will keep Ibanez relavent for at least a year longer, in the same way that Geoff Jenkins remained relavent. How many lefties will Phillie have in their lineup now?
Adios, Scott Schoenweis. You'll be missed in NY (only by opposing batting orders).
Adios, Aaron Heilman, you'll be missed in NY (only by opposing batting orders), but you deserved a shot in the rotation. It's VFC's opinion that Heilman will re-emerge as a solid starter for another team at some point in his career.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Baseball News; Mets Get K-Rod and Putz, Yanks are Crazy for CC
I've got to hand it to Omar Minaya. Replacing Aaron Heilman and Joe Smith with K-Rod and JJ Putz is nothing short of a baseball coup. I wasn't impressed with the K-Rod deal on its own, although Minaya got him for way below what the record-setting closer probably thought he was worth, but the Mets should have no trouble closing out games in 2009 with Putz joining him in the bullpen .
Scott Schoeneweis still needs to go, but this bullpen will not be taken lightly by opposing offenses looking for late inning comebacks and NY Mets collapses. The obvious anchors are K-Rod and Putz, but Stokes, Feliciano and possibly Kunz should all perform better knowing that the pressure will be off next year.
Sean Green, also acquired in the Putz deal, is still fairly young and arrives at Citi Field loaded with potential. The team will miss the defense and speed of Endy Chavez, but Reed will prove to be a solid defensive replacement in the late innings and Putz will more than make up for the loss of Chavez. The only thing to watch from Putz is how he handles being demoted to the eighth inning. Sometimes these closers don't like pitching setup. Of course, the 8th inning in New York is light years above closing in Seattle.
I'm confident that Minaya has made the bullpen significantly better. While he's on the lookout for another starter, Minaya should not ignore some offensive needs. First, there's no way that Delgado repeats his numbers from last year. Mets' MVP of 2008 or not, he'll be hitting sixth or seventh for much of next season. Luis Castillo is a non-player and the Mets were terrible in the clutch late last season. Another solid bat is needed in the lineup just as much as another starting pitcher.
Give Minaya his due; what started as a cold winter turned hot in a matter of days and the Mets may now boast one of the best bullpens in baseball.
As for the Yankees, they are absolutely nuts to be throwing that kind of money around on an overweight pitcher in the middle of the recession. The Yankees have asked the NY City taxpayers to pick up much of the cost for the new Yankee Stadium, and at the same time they will have to pay more in metro fees to get to the ballgames. In the midst of a recession where the taxpayer is already bailing out the richest team in Baseball by paying for the stadium, the Yanks throw 161 million dollars for a seven year contract. First of all, CC is no Johan Santana, and secondly, big and fat pitchers never stay effective for any significant length of time before breaking down. Sid Fernandez had his years before leaving the mound for hamburgers, and CC will be no different. At the end of year three the Yanks may be begging CC to opt for free agency, as his contract allows.
Its a bad sign that the Yankees are willing to throw that money around in the midst of a recession. And its even worse for the smaller markets teams that the Yankees set the price for pitching outrageously high for the rest of the off season.
The saddest thing is that 160 million dollars later, the Yanks still have a long way to go this off season.
Scott Schoeneweis still needs to go, but this bullpen will not be taken lightly by opposing offenses looking for late inning comebacks and NY Mets collapses. The obvious anchors are K-Rod and Putz, but Stokes, Feliciano and possibly Kunz should all perform better knowing that the pressure will be off next year.
Sean Green, also acquired in the Putz deal, is still fairly young and arrives at Citi Field loaded with potential. The team will miss the defense and speed of Endy Chavez, but Reed will prove to be a solid defensive replacement in the late innings and Putz will more than make up for the loss of Chavez. The only thing to watch from Putz is how he handles being demoted to the eighth inning. Sometimes these closers don't like pitching setup. Of course, the 8th inning in New York is light years above closing in Seattle.
I'm confident that Minaya has made the bullpen significantly better. While he's on the lookout for another starter, Minaya should not ignore some offensive needs. First, there's no way that Delgado repeats his numbers from last year. Mets' MVP of 2008 or not, he'll be hitting sixth or seventh for much of next season. Luis Castillo is a non-player and the Mets were terrible in the clutch late last season. Another solid bat is needed in the lineup just as much as another starting pitcher.
Give Minaya his due; what started as a cold winter turned hot in a matter of days and the Mets may now boast one of the best bullpens in baseball.
As for the Yankees, they are absolutely nuts to be throwing that kind of money around on an overweight pitcher in the middle of the recession. The Yankees have asked the NY City taxpayers to pick up much of the cost for the new Yankee Stadium, and at the same time they will have to pay more in metro fees to get to the ballgames. In the midst of a recession where the taxpayer is already bailing out the richest team in Baseball by paying for the stadium, the Yanks throw 161 million dollars for a seven year contract. First of all, CC is no Johan Santana, and secondly, big and fat pitchers never stay effective for any significant length of time before breaking down. Sid Fernandez had his years before leaving the mound for hamburgers, and CC will be no different. At the end of year three the Yanks may be begging CC to opt for free agency, as his contract allows.
Its a bad sign that the Yankees are willing to throw that money around in the midst of a recession. And its even worse for the smaller markets teams that the Yankees set the price for pitching outrageously high for the rest of the off season.
The saddest thing is that 160 million dollars later, the Yanks still have a long way to go this off season.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Week 15 Football Picks; Rebounds by the Giants and Jets are in the Works
New Orleans over Chicago
Atlanta over Tampa Bay
Cincinnati over Washington- After early season success, the 'Skins are in a serious freefall, and Clinton Portis' recent outburst aimed at Zorn will not do much to right this sinking ship.
Seattle over St Louis- Do they really need to play this game?
Miami over San Fransisco
NY Jets over Buffalo- The Jets need a rebound win at home against Buffalo.
Indianopolis over Detroit
San Diego over Kansas City
Green Bay over Jacksonville- Its hard to tell which GB or Jax team will show up on any given week.
Houston over Tennessee- Upset in the works.
Arizona over Minnesota
Carolina over Denver
Pittsburgh over Baltimore- This should be a great game.
New England over Oakland
NY Giants over Dallas- Big Blue will get back on track after a loss to Phillie. Having another week behind the Plaxico drama doesn't hurt. Jacobs' injury being more serious than originally suspected or a complacent Giants team that has already won the division could make this one tough.
Philadelphia over Cleveland.
Atlanta over Tampa Bay
Cincinnati over Washington- After early season success, the 'Skins are in a serious freefall, and Clinton Portis' recent outburst aimed at Zorn will not do much to right this sinking ship.
Seattle over St Louis- Do they really need to play this game?
Miami over San Fransisco
NY Jets over Buffalo- The Jets need a rebound win at home against Buffalo.
Indianopolis over Detroit
San Diego over Kansas City
Green Bay over Jacksonville- Its hard to tell which GB or Jax team will show up on any given week.
Houston over Tennessee- Upset in the works.
Arizona over Minnesota
Carolina over Denver
Pittsburgh over Baltimore- This should be a great game.
New England over Oakland
NY Giants over Dallas- Big Blue will get back on track after a loss to Phillie. Having another week behind the Plaxico drama doesn't hurt. Jacobs' injury being more serious than originally suspected or a complacent Giants team that has already won the division could make this one tough.
Philadelphia over Cleveland.
Recent Sports Highlights; Mets Sign K-Rod, LFC in First, Navy Beats Army
Some recent highlights from the World of Sports:
The Mets signed closer Francisco Rodriguez to three year deal that will turn into four years if he stays healthy.
Although K-Rod just set the record for Saves in a season, his velocity has been on the decline and he's been limited to just one inning per appearance. The Mets' closer situation is now resolved, but I'd love to see them sign another closer to pitch the eighth inning and add late-inning insurance should K-Rod get hurt or falter as the ninth-inning guy.
Kerry Wood would be a great pickup, but neither he nor K-Rod will be satisfied pitching the eighth, but Chad Cordero, Houston Street or Brian Fuentes may fill that role. My bet is that Minaya finds a way to bring Street to Citi Field.
The bullpen is starting to take shape in New York Metsland, but hopefully the next piece of news is a deal that sends Luis Castillo out of town so that the Mets can bring in Orlando Hudson or even Rafael Furcal to fill in at second.
Its also been reported that Omar Minaya has interest in bringing back Pedro Martinez. In my opinion, that would be a mistake. With Pedro's declining stuff and propensity for injury, he'd add little stability to the back end of the rotation.
There's enough quality pitching on the free agent market that Omar should be able to bring in a quality starter for a discounted price, however, that does not mean overpaying for Lowe in a bidding war with Boston and the Yankees.
With a 3-1 win against PSV claimed the top spot in the UEFA Champions League Group D.
LFC is also sitting at the top of the English Premier League with 37 points, one point on top of Chelsea and a full six points up on Manchester United.
Liverpool is a nice turnaround story after the club's American owners nearly got run out of town after last season.
Once again Navy proved its dominance over Army with a decisive 34-zip win in the Army-Navy game.
Nice.
The Mets signed closer Francisco Rodriguez to three year deal that will turn into four years if he stays healthy.
Although K-Rod just set the record for Saves in a season, his velocity has been on the decline and he's been limited to just one inning per appearance. The Mets' closer situation is now resolved, but I'd love to see them sign another closer to pitch the eighth inning and add late-inning insurance should K-Rod get hurt or falter as the ninth-inning guy.
Kerry Wood would be a great pickup, but neither he nor K-Rod will be satisfied pitching the eighth, but Chad Cordero, Houston Street or Brian Fuentes may fill that role. My bet is that Minaya finds a way to bring Street to Citi Field.
The bullpen is starting to take shape in New York Metsland, but hopefully the next piece of news is a deal that sends Luis Castillo out of town so that the Mets can bring in Orlando Hudson or even Rafael Furcal to fill in at second.
Its also been reported that Omar Minaya has interest in bringing back Pedro Martinez. In my opinion, that would be a mistake. With Pedro's declining stuff and propensity for injury, he'd add little stability to the back end of the rotation.
There's enough quality pitching on the free agent market that Omar should be able to bring in a quality starter for a discounted price, however, that does not mean overpaying for Lowe in a bidding war with Boston and the Yankees.
With a 3-1 win against PSV claimed the top spot in the UEFA Champions League Group D.
LFC is also sitting at the top of the English Premier League with 37 points, one point on top of Chelsea and a full six points up on Manchester United.
Liverpool is a nice turnaround story after the club's American owners nearly got run out of town after last season.
Once again Navy proved its dominance over Army with a decisive 34-zip win in the Army-Navy game.
Nice.
Week 14 Roundup; Giants, Jets Both Lose
Its never good to see your team lose, but if the Giants were going to lose a game, this week against Philadelphia was the game to lose. Thanks to a late comeback by Pittsburgh against Dallas, the losing Giants still managed to clinch the division. In VFC's opinion, this loss will be good for the Giants because it won't allow them to coast into the playoffs on cruise control (hopefully) and should fire them up for the big game in Dallas next weekend.
The entire Giants team looked to be playing at a notch below the level of play that they have demonstrated this season, and you've got to wonder if the Plaxico Burress and Antonio Pierce saga got to the team a little bit more than they let on. Whether it was the Plaxico situation or a demonstration of complacency, the Giants came back to earth this week and were reminded that they are not unbeatable.
I see the Giants rebounding next week in Dallas, but if Jacobs' knee injury is worse than expected and Pierce's head isn't completely concentrated on football, winning out could be difficult for the G-Men.
For the Jets, there is absolutely no excuse for the train wreck that they have become.
San Diego over Oakland, W
Jacksonville over Chicago, L
Minnesota over Detroit, W
Green Bay over Houston, L
Tennessee over Cleveland, W
Indianapolis over Cincinnatti, W
New Orleans over Atlanta, W
NY Giants over Phillie, L
Denver over Kansas City, W
Buffalo over Miami, L
NY Jets over San Fransisco, L
New England over Seattle, L
Arizona over St Louis, W
Pittsburgh over Dallas, W
Baltimore over Washington, W
Carolina over Tampa Bay, W
Week Record: 10-6
Overall: 120-76
The entire Giants team looked to be playing at a notch below the level of play that they have demonstrated this season, and you've got to wonder if the Plaxico Burress and Antonio Pierce saga got to the team a little bit more than they let on. Whether it was the Plaxico situation or a demonstration of complacency, the Giants came back to earth this week and were reminded that they are not unbeatable.
I see the Giants rebounding next week in Dallas, but if Jacobs' knee injury is worse than expected and Pierce's head isn't completely concentrated on football, winning out could be difficult for the G-Men.
For the Jets, there is absolutely no excuse for the train wreck that they have become.
San Diego over Oakland, W
Jacksonville over Chicago, L
Minnesota over Detroit, W
Green Bay over Houston, L
Tennessee over Cleveland, W
Indianapolis over Cincinnatti, W
New Orleans over Atlanta, W
NY Giants over Phillie, L
Denver over Kansas City, W
Buffalo over Miami, L
NY Jets over San Fransisco, L
New England over Seattle, L
Arizona over St Louis, W
Pittsburgh over Dallas, W
Baltimore over Washington, W
Carolina over Tampa Bay, W
Week Record: 10-6
Overall: 120-76
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Week 14 Picks, Updated...
After a few days of pondering, I'm changing my Dallas over Pittsburgh pick to Pittsburgh over Dallas. My reasons: Marion Barber is out, Dallas needed to be in full form to beat Pittsburgh at home. Dallas is not at full form, they're not battle-hardened after beating a couple of nobody teams lately and its freezing in Pittsburgh, but the Steelers are used to that. Dallas isn't.
San Diego over Oakland
Jacksonville over Chicago
Minnesota over Detroit
Green Bay over Houston
Tennessee over Cleveland
Indianapolis over Cincinnatti
New Orleans over Atlanta
NY Giants over Phillie
Denver over Kansas City
Buffalo over Miami
NY Jets over San Fransisco
New England over Seattle
Arizona over St Louis
Pittsburgh over Dallas
Baltimore over Washington
Carolina over Tampa Bay
VFC will miss all of you from Italy!
San Diego over Oakland
Jacksonville over Chicago
Minnesota over Detroit
Green Bay over Houston
Tennessee over Cleveland
Indianapolis over Cincinnatti
New Orleans over Atlanta
NY Giants over Phillie
Denver over Kansas City
Buffalo over Miami
NY Jets over San Fransisco
New England over Seattle
Arizona over St Louis
Pittsburgh over Dallas
Baltimore over Washington
Carolina over Tampa Bay
VFC will miss all of you from Italy!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
VFC's Football Picks for Week 14
VFC will be on the way to Italy when these games are going on, but here's the picks!
San Diego over Oakland
Jacksonville over Chicago
Minnesota over Detroit
Green Bay over Houston
Tennessee over Cleveland
Indianapolis over Cincinnatti
New Orleans over Atlanta
NY Giants over Phillie
Denver over Kansas City
Buffalo over Miami
NY Jets over San Fransisco
New England over Seattle
Arizona over St Louis
Dallas over Pittsburgh
Baltimore over Washington
Carolina over Tampa Bay
San Diego over Oakland
Jacksonville over Chicago
Minnesota over Detroit
Green Bay over Houston
Tennessee over Cleveland
Indianapolis over Cincinnatti
New Orleans over Atlanta
NY Giants over Phillie
Denver over Kansas City
Buffalo over Miami
NY Jets over San Fransisco
New England over Seattle
Arizona over St Louis
Dallas over Pittsburgh
Baltimore over Washington
Carolina over Tampa Bay
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Sports News and Notes; Plax, The Mets
Not only is Plaxico Burress set to lose the contract extension that he held out for before this season began, it also looks like a fired up New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will make sure that Plax sees a jail cell. It is not Bloomberg's place to dish out the punishment in this case, but the DA's office will be hesitant to make any plea deals knowing that the eyes of the Mayor will be focused on their every move.
The NY Giants have rid themselves of Plax and his baggage by suspending him for the last four games of the regular season and the Playoffs. It's a safe bet that Plax has played his last game as a NY Giant and if that's the case, it's also safe to assume that he just blew the entire contract extension that he whined his way into after his TD catch made the Giants Superbowl Champs.
Plax's excuse for carrying a loaded weapon that night, according to reports, was that he needed to protect himself from would-be thugs looking to rob him of his 'BLING'. Two trains of thought enter my mind after hearing this, 1) why not hire a bodyguard? and 2) Plax, don't wear so much 'Bling' that it makes you a target.
In most cases, 'Bling' is used to show people how much money you've got. 'Bling' doesn't necessarily make anyone look better or more fashionable, it just makes someone look rich. In Plax's effort to show the world, or at least the clientele at the LQ, that he is rich, he ended up costing himself nearly thirty million bucks and a trip to the slammer.
Plax was in a perfect position to set himself, his family, and his child up for life, but instead he let childish stupidity get in the way of a pretty good thing.
All he had to do was play football and behave.
Money buys a lot of things, but it obviously doesn't buy a brain.
Speaking of brains, or lack of them, its been reported that Mets GM Omar Minaya is looking to sign Bobby Abreu to play right field in Citi Field next season.
Abreu has great On Base numbers, but his power is dwindling and the Mets are fairly set in the outfield with Beltran, Church, Murphy and Tatis. Another bat wouldn't be a bad option out there, but the Mets biggest hole is at Second Base and at least a spot in the rotation.
Before he starts throwing money at the 36-year old Abreu, Minaya oughta get Orlando Hudson locked up, and get Luis Castillo a one-way Amtrack ticket out of town.
The NY Giants have rid themselves of Plax and his baggage by suspending him for the last four games of the regular season and the Playoffs. It's a safe bet that Plax has played his last game as a NY Giant and if that's the case, it's also safe to assume that he just blew the entire contract extension that he whined his way into after his TD catch made the Giants Superbowl Champs.
Plax's excuse for carrying a loaded weapon that night, according to reports, was that he needed to protect himself from would-be thugs looking to rob him of his 'BLING'. Two trains of thought enter my mind after hearing this, 1) why not hire a bodyguard? and 2) Plax, don't wear so much 'Bling' that it makes you a target.
In most cases, 'Bling' is used to show people how much money you've got. 'Bling' doesn't necessarily make anyone look better or more fashionable, it just makes someone look rich. In Plax's effort to show the world, or at least the clientele at the LQ, that he is rich, he ended up costing himself nearly thirty million bucks and a trip to the slammer.
Plax was in a perfect position to set himself, his family, and his child up for life, but instead he let childish stupidity get in the way of a pretty good thing.
All he had to do was play football and behave.
Money buys a lot of things, but it obviously doesn't buy a brain.
Speaking of brains, or lack of them, its been reported that Mets GM Omar Minaya is looking to sign Bobby Abreu to play right field in Citi Field next season.
Abreu has great On Base numbers, but his power is dwindling and the Mets are fairly set in the outfield with Beltran, Church, Murphy and Tatis. Another bat wouldn't be a bad option out there, but the Mets biggest hole is at Second Base and at least a spot in the rotation.
Before he starts throwing money at the 36-year old Abreu, Minaya oughta get Orlando Hudson locked up, and get Luis Castillo a one-way Amtrack ticket out of town.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Week 13 Roundup; Thanksgiving Day Games and More Plax
If this year's Turkey Day games have taught us anything, it's that the NFL needs to scrap tradition and give us some real games on Thanksgiving.
The Arizona-Phillie game was a good matchup, but the other two games should not have even been on TV, in any market, let alone have a national Turkey Day audience. I watched a combined five minutes of those two games.
If the NFL is going to bother airing games on Thanksgiving, more thought needs to be put into making sure that they air Football games and not the cheeseball games we got this year.
It's no surprise that Plax decided to plead guilty today regarding his latest act of idiocy, but it will be a surprise (to me, at least), if Plax ever again plays a game for the Giants.
The 'Mad Dog' Chris Russo had Plaxico pegged during his Mad Dog Unleashed Sirius XM radio show today. Russo reminded us of a few Plaxico quotes from earlier in the season after he missed a practice in order to "take his son to school". Plax also said, at that time, that his number one job is to take care of his kid. Russo, after recounting the past Plaxico quotes, then wondered, as we all should, why this self-proclaimed father of the year was out at a NY nightclub (with a bad hammie, nonetheless) with a loaded handgun at 2 AM. Not the actions of a father of the year candidate.
Plax does not understand the magnitude of his actions, reportedly laughing this incident off, and probably will never get it.
He needs to see the door, and he needs to go. The Giants shouldn't pay this guy another dime. It's a dam shame because the Giants, in all probability, could not have made it to the Superbowl without him last season.
In a comical display of 'Oh Crap', his agent was on air during Monday Night Football pathetically kissing the booties of the Giants management. It's still funny to hear the guy say that we shouldn't let this 'isolated incident' ruin a life. This was no isolated incident, Plax has been trouble all season long, and Plax's life won't be ruined unless he ruins it himself.
THE RESULTS:
Tennessee over Detroit, W
Dallas over Seattle, W
Philadelphia over Arizona, W
Buffalo over San Fransisco, L Is it possible to be more inconsistent than Buffalo?
Baltimore over Cincinnati, W
Indianapolis over Cleveland, W
Green Bay over Carolina, L
Miami over St Louis, W
New Orleans over Tampa Bay, L
New York Giants over Washington, W
San Diego over Atlanta, L
Pittsburgh over New England, W
NY Jets over Denver, L
Oakland over Kansas City, L
Minnesota over Chicago, W
Houston over Jacksonville, W
Week Record: 9-6
Overall: 110-70
The Arizona-Phillie game was a good matchup, but the other two games should not have even been on TV, in any market, let alone have a national Turkey Day audience. I watched a combined five minutes of those two games.
If the NFL is going to bother airing games on Thanksgiving, more thought needs to be put into making sure that they air Football games and not the cheeseball games we got this year.
It's no surprise that Plax decided to plead guilty today regarding his latest act of idiocy, but it will be a surprise (to me, at least), if Plax ever again plays a game for the Giants.
The 'Mad Dog' Chris Russo had Plaxico pegged during his Mad Dog Unleashed Sirius XM radio show today. Russo reminded us of a few Plaxico quotes from earlier in the season after he missed a practice in order to "take his son to school". Plax also said, at that time, that his number one job is to take care of his kid. Russo, after recounting the past Plaxico quotes, then wondered, as we all should, why this self-proclaimed father of the year was out at a NY nightclub (with a bad hammie, nonetheless) with a loaded handgun at 2 AM. Not the actions of a father of the year candidate.
Plax does not understand the magnitude of his actions, reportedly laughing this incident off, and probably will never get it.
He needs to see the door, and he needs to go. The Giants shouldn't pay this guy another dime. It's a dam shame because the Giants, in all probability, could not have made it to the Superbowl without him last season.
In a comical display of 'Oh Crap', his agent was on air during Monday Night Football pathetically kissing the booties of the Giants management. It's still funny to hear the guy say that we shouldn't let this 'isolated incident' ruin a life. This was no isolated incident, Plax has been trouble all season long, and Plax's life won't be ruined unless he ruins it himself.
THE RESULTS:
Tennessee over Detroit, W
Dallas over Seattle, W
Philadelphia over Arizona, W
Buffalo over San Fransisco, L Is it possible to be more inconsistent than Buffalo?
Baltimore over Cincinnati, W
Indianapolis over Cleveland, W
Green Bay over Carolina, L
Miami over St Louis, W
New Orleans over Tampa Bay, L
New York Giants over Washington, W
San Diego over Atlanta, L
Pittsburgh over New England, W
NY Jets over Denver, L
Oakland over Kansas City, L
Minnesota over Chicago, W
Houston over Jacksonville, W
Week Record: 9-6
Overall: 110-70
VFC's Christmas Gift Ideas, Holiday Sales and Discounts!
MORE HOLIDAY SALES AND DEALS
Take advantage of the deep discounts that this Holiday Season, because of the recession, is bringing us.
Aside from the great sales and savings, most online vendors are offering free shipping.
Here's a few gift ideas for you online shoppers:
DAVID'S COOKIES. You can never go wrong sending out a Christmas sweets as an inexpensive gift choice. David's offers Gift baskets and boxes of most of your holiday favorites including cakes, cookies, brownies, truffles and more.
Sweets are always a holiday favorite, and David's is offering free shipping through the New Year.
APPETIZERS TO GO
Sticking with the food theme (food is always a great way to warm the heart around the holidays), Appetizers To Go can make your life a lot easier while planning for parties and holiday festivities. The appetizers offered on the web site are seemingly endless and delicious, and the company is offering a 20% discount on most goods due to the economy. VFC will be digging in around the holidays, that's a given.
JUST BECAUSE BASKETS
Although Christmas in not 'Just Because', this company offers you the opportunity to handpick specific items to create a personalized gift basket for your friends or loved ones. You put together the gift basket with a few online clicks, and they do the rest of the work. 'Just Because Baskets' is offering a variety of holiday discounts, including 10% off your first purchase or a blanket 5% discount. You'll also receive free shipping on select baskets.
SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO
SatRad is neat new fad, offering dozens of commercial free music channel, but more importantly, its the Sports packages why the 12.99/month subscription is well worth the price. Sirius XM offers complete-game live airings of all the major sports (NFL, MLB, NBA, etc), including some English Premier League Soccer coverage.
Most of the SatRad devices can also be used as MP3 players and media storage devices and also allow you the option of one-click recording a song that is playing on the airwaves.
Aside from the immense Sports selection and huge variety of commercial free music, Sirius XM features Howard Stern, Oprah, Playboy Radio, the Mad Dog Chris Russo and much more. A great gift for anyone, but especially the sports lover, in my opinion.
THE WINE MESSENGER
Give the gift of wine without having to hassle with the packaging, packing and sending. You select the wine that you want to send at The Wine messenger, and they do all the rest.
Good wine is always a perfect gift. The Wine Messenger is offering various holiday discounts.
AMAZON.COM
You can't go wrong shopping at Amazon.com.
Amazon offers everything, from books and movies to toys and electronics. If there's any doubt as to what to buy, just send an Amazon gift card as a gift!
GIGA GOLF
If you're shopping for that golfer in your life, you can't go wrong with Giga Golf. Giga Golf offers all sorts of Golfing accessories and they're also offering various holiday discounts. Make your Christmas shopping for the Golf fan easy by shopping at Giga Golf.
WIREFLY
Wirefly has absolutely the best online discounts for cell phones, cell phone accessories and other electronics.
The heavily discounted Blackberry Bold Smartphone is just one of many amazing holiday deals that you'll find at Wirefly.
Among the other bargain deals that you'll find at Wirefly: a FREE Motorola Krave flip phone (with the purchase of a new Verizon contract) and the heavily discounted Sprint Instinct or Verizon LG EnV.
Browse Wirefly for more discounts and deals on cell phones, cell phone plans and cell phone accessories!
DIAMONDS INTERNATIONAL
If you want to give the gift of fine jewelery, take advantage of Diamonds International discounted holiday prices!
Whether its earings, necklaces, bracelets or rings, Dimaonds International has the deal for you.
In light of the economic recession, Diamonds International is now offering 20% discounts for holiday shoppers. Take advantage of those holiday discounts if you're in the hunt for Diamond discounts!
Just a few gift ideas for now.
VFC is always on the hunt for holiday sales and discounts, and i'll post more as I find them!
MORE HOLIDAY DISCOUNTS AND SALES
Take advantage of the deep discounts that this Holiday Season, because of the recession, is bringing us.
Aside from the great sales and savings, most online vendors are offering free shipping.
Here's a few gift ideas for you online shoppers:
DAVID'S COOKIES. You can never go wrong sending out a Christmas sweets as an inexpensive gift choice. David's offers Gift baskets and boxes of most of your holiday favorites including cakes, cookies, brownies, truffles and more.
Sweets are always a holiday favorite, and David's is offering free shipping through the New Year.
APPETIZERS TO GO
Sticking with the food theme (food is always a great way to warm the heart around the holidays), Appetizers To Go can make your life a lot easier while planning for parties and holiday festivities. The appetizers offered on the web site are seemingly endless and delicious, and the company is offering a 20% discount on most goods due to the economy. VFC will be digging in around the holidays, that's a given.
JUST BECAUSE BASKETS
Although Christmas in not 'Just Because', this company offers you the opportunity to handpick specific items to create a personalized gift basket for your friends or loved ones. You put together the gift basket with a few online clicks, and they do the rest of the work. 'Just Because Baskets' is offering a variety of holiday discounts, including 10% off your first purchase or a blanket 5% discount. You'll also receive free shipping on select baskets.
SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO
SatRad is neat new fad, offering dozens of commercial free music channel, but more importantly, its the Sports packages why the 12.99/month subscription is well worth the price. Sirius XM offers complete-game live airings of all the major sports (NFL, MLB, NBA, etc), including some English Premier League Soccer coverage.
Most of the SatRad devices can also be used as MP3 players and media storage devices and also allow you the option of one-click recording a song that is playing on the airwaves.
Aside from the immense Sports selection and huge variety of commercial free music, Sirius XM features Howard Stern, Oprah, Playboy Radio, the Mad Dog Chris Russo and much more. A great gift for anyone, but especially the sports lover, in my opinion.
THE WINE MESSENGER
Give the gift of wine without having to hassle with the packaging, packing and sending. You select the wine that you want to send at The Wine messenger, and they do all the rest.
Good wine is always a perfect gift. The Wine Messenger is offering various holiday discounts.
AMAZON.COM
You can't go wrong shopping at Amazon.com.
Amazon offers everything, from books and movies to toys and electronics. If there's any doubt as to what to buy, just send an Amazon gift card as a gift!
GIGA GOLF
If you're shopping for that golfer in your life, you can't go wrong with Giga Golf. Giga Golf offers all sorts of Golfing accessories and they're also offering various holiday discounts. Make your Christmas shopping for the Golf fan easy by shopping at Giga Golf.
WIREFLY
Wirefly has absolutely the best online discounts for cell phones, cell phone accessories and other electronics.
The heavily discounted Blackberry Bold Smartphone is just one of many amazing holiday deals that you'll find at Wirefly.
Among the other bargain deals that you'll find at Wirefly: a FREE Motorola Krave flip phone (with the purchase of a new Verizon contract) and the heavily discounted Sprint Instinct or Verizon LG EnV.
Browse Wirefly for more discounts and deals on cell phones, cell phone plans and cell phone accessories!
DIAMONDS INTERNATIONAL
If you want to give the gift of fine jewelery, take advantage of Diamonds International discounted holiday prices!
Whether its earings, necklaces, bracelets or rings, Dimaonds International has the deal for you.
In light of the economic recession, Diamonds International is now offering 20% discounts for holiday shoppers. Take advantage of those holiday discounts if you're in the hunt for Diamond discounts!
Just a few gift ideas for now.
VFC is always on the hunt for holiday sales and discounts, and i'll post more as I find them!
MORE HOLIDAY DISCOUNTS AND SALES
Sports Weekend Roundup; Plaxico, Brady, Cassel and the Cowboys
Its time for the Giants to cut ties with Plaxico Burress. After his latest act of stupidity, shooting himself in the leg while partying at a New York City nightclub, Plax has possibly played his last game as a NY Giant.
Since earlier in the season when Plax demonstrated that he plays by the 'Me First' mantra, the Giants have demonstrated that they really don't need him on the football field to win games. Steve Smith, Domenik Hixon and Kevin Boss have all stepped up in Plax's virtual absence, and Amani Toomer is quietly having another big year for the G-men. Meanwhile, the Running Back trio of Jacobs, Ward and Bradshaw are wearing down opposing defenses and the Giants are leading the NFL in scoring. All this is taking place, for the most part, without Plax.
The Giants may not have made it to the big game without him last year, but this year is another story and Plax has let himself get bigger than the team. Personalities like his have the potential to bring down a team just as easily as an over the shoulder catch, such as Plax's, could win a Superbowl.
Plax needs to own up to the new contract that he whined his way into by acting like an adult and by acting responsibly, two things that he's demonstrated that he's not capable of doing.
Where I come from, if you're not healthy enough to do your job, then you shouldn't be out partying in nightclubs. How do you justify gallivanting from club to club, enjoying the NYC nightlife when you can't even uniform up the next day and help your team win? You can't justify it.
There's one thing that is now definitely justified- handing Plaxico a ticket out of town.
The Giants will go on winning without him.
Enough with the talk that Matt Cassel can replace Tom Brady in New England. Ya gotta love the Sports media, a couple of good games out of Cassel and they're ready to run Tom Brady out of town.
There's talk of franchise tagging Cassel and trading Brady for a few draft picks. Although Cassel has shown he's more ready than a lot of people gave him credit for, he's no Tom Brady and he never will be. Not even close. Brady, single-handedly, elevates his football team, and the Patriots would surely be playoff bound this year if Brady was at the helm. In fact, the Pats, with Brady, were picked my many to win the Superbowl this season while the Brady-less Pats are solid, yet still a team full of question marks and holes.
Granted, I wasn't listening to the Sports media in Boston during my weekend in NYC, but there's been a lot of talk about the Pats moving on without Brady from around the country.
I know the Sports media is all about ratings and speculation, but any talk of Cassel replacing Brady in Boston is just plain stupid.
It's also funny how everyone has jumped on the Dallas Cowboys bandwagon. There's no doubt that they are rebounding in a big way since Romo came back, but a win against the Seattle Seahawks is by no means anything to get excited about. Listening to the media jump on the Cowboys after Sundays win is just as laughable as the media talking about the Pats going with Cassel over Brady.
Give me a break.
If the Cowboys can go to Pittsburgh next week and win, then we'll talk. Until then they're just another football team in the tough NFC East that lost to the Giants.
Since earlier in the season when Plax demonstrated that he plays by the 'Me First' mantra, the Giants have demonstrated that they really don't need him on the football field to win games. Steve Smith, Domenik Hixon and Kevin Boss have all stepped up in Plax's virtual absence, and Amani Toomer is quietly having another big year for the G-men. Meanwhile, the Running Back trio of Jacobs, Ward and Bradshaw are wearing down opposing defenses and the Giants are leading the NFL in scoring. All this is taking place, for the most part, without Plax.
The Giants may not have made it to the big game without him last year, but this year is another story and Plax has let himself get bigger than the team. Personalities like his have the potential to bring down a team just as easily as an over the shoulder catch, such as Plax's, could win a Superbowl.
Plax needs to own up to the new contract that he whined his way into by acting like an adult and by acting responsibly, two things that he's demonstrated that he's not capable of doing.
Where I come from, if you're not healthy enough to do your job, then you shouldn't be out partying in nightclubs. How do you justify gallivanting from club to club, enjoying the NYC nightlife when you can't even uniform up the next day and help your team win? You can't justify it.
There's one thing that is now definitely justified- handing Plaxico a ticket out of town.
The Giants will go on winning without him.
Enough with the talk that Matt Cassel can replace Tom Brady in New England. Ya gotta love the Sports media, a couple of good games out of Cassel and they're ready to run Tom Brady out of town.
There's talk of franchise tagging Cassel and trading Brady for a few draft picks. Although Cassel has shown he's more ready than a lot of people gave him credit for, he's no Tom Brady and he never will be. Not even close. Brady, single-handedly, elevates his football team, and the Patriots would surely be playoff bound this year if Brady was at the helm. In fact, the Pats, with Brady, were picked my many to win the Superbowl this season while the Brady-less Pats are solid, yet still a team full of question marks and holes.
Granted, I wasn't listening to the Sports media in Boston during my weekend in NYC, but there's been a lot of talk about the Pats moving on without Brady from around the country.
I know the Sports media is all about ratings and speculation, but any talk of Cassel replacing Brady in Boston is just plain stupid.
It's also funny how everyone has jumped on the Dallas Cowboys bandwagon. There's no doubt that they are rebounding in a big way since Romo came back, but a win against the Seattle Seahawks is by no means anything to get excited about. Listening to the media jump on the Cowboys after Sundays win is just as laughable as the media talking about the Pats going with Cassel over Brady.
Give me a break.
If the Cowboys can go to Pittsburgh next week and win, then we'll talk. Until then they're just another football team in the tough NFC East that lost to the Giants.
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