My Two Cents Worth III

As far as I'm concerned this year's NBA playoffs are very similar to College Football's Bowl games. While an individual series may have some excitement and drama, there are only two teams who have a chance at winning a championship. If the Lakers and Cavaliers are not there when the conferences are decided it will be a major upset.

Give the Jets and Mike Tannenbaum credit for getting Mark Sanchez. They wanted Sanchez from the start, and had the conviction to do whatever it takes to bring him in. Now, they have to hope they turn out to be right about the Q.B. or Tannenbaum will be looking for a job.

I'm a bit disappointed that the Giants didn't end up with Anquan Boldin. I hope the reason they didn't pull the trigger has to do with the salary cap and not the Draft picks. Receiver is the only glaring weakness on the team, a third round pick wouldn't mean a whole lot for a team with that much talent.

With that said the first pick of WR Hakeem Nicks is a good one. Eli Manning is not exactly the most accurate thrower, and needs someone who can catch the ball even if it's not between the numbers. Hicks has huge hands - glove size of 4XL - so he can reach out and catch anything in the vicinity.

Apparently the Mets' issues from last year had nothing to do with the Manager or Stadium. As a club they still can't hit with runners-in-scoring position, and the starting rotation has one reliable pitcher in Johan Santana.

There have been an unusual amount of home runs hit to right field in the new Yankees stadium, and many people have been screaming and yelling "how could the Yankees let this happen." Will everyone please calm down. Number one we only have a week to judge by. Two if it is a long term issue don't you think the team will do something to cut down on the wind in that direction. What does need to be fixed is the fact that the fans sit right up on the wall and can easily interfere with a ball still in play.

As far as the Yankees on the field are concerned, the team will go as far as the pitching carries them - A-Rod or no A-Rod. Both the starting and relief pitching have been terribly inconsistent. Brian Bruney going on the DL is going to hurt. And no, there is still no reason to be worried about Mariano.

The Devils and Hurricanes are going to Game 7 which is exactly where the series belongs. It has been such an even match-up and both goalies have been so good, it would have been a shame had this series not gone the distance.

However, Game 7 is not where the Rangers should be. With a 3 games to 1 lead, the team has been flat for games five and six. This has been a one man team all year, if Henrik Lundqvist is on top of his game there is a chance otherwise it is all but an automatic L.

Is John Tortorella the epitome of do what I say not what I do? Torts benches Sean Avery for Friday night's game for being undisciplined, sure enough in the third period of that game the coach squirts a fan with water and then throws a bottle into the stands. The NHL suspended him for game 6 and rightly so, no league can afford its players, coaches etc. to interact with fans that way. We have all seen what happens when it gets out of hand.

My two cents worth

I hope you got a kick out of the A-Rod press conference, just like I did. Some of the comments were just laughable, he says he had the stuff brought in from the Dominican, was afraid to ask anyone about them, yet he wasn't sure if what he was doing was wrong. Here's a clue Alex, if they don't sell it in this country, and you have to inject it, you might want to ask.

The way the Knicks are celebrating Nate Robinson winning the Slam Dunk Contest, is against everything New York sports is supposed to be about.

With the NBA trade deadline up coming, there has been a lot of trade talk surrounding Vince Carter. Carter is having his best season in some time, both in terms of production on the court, and in his leadership of the young players on the team. The Spurs have been mentioned as a possible destination, as well as several other teams who are thought to be a player away. Although it would probably end the Nets playoff hopes for this year, for the right package of expiring contracts, young talent or draft picks, it would be worth it, being that they are probably a year or two and a big free agent signing away from contending for a championship anyways.

Within the next 24 hours Tom Renney's future as Rangers head coach will be decided, a loss to the lowly Islanders will seal his fate. To be fair it's not all his fault, the team is missing a legitimate scorer, but with the guys they do have there is no excuse for being last in the NHL in goals-per-game. Their power play had gotten so bad, that as one caller on WFAN said "you wish they could decline the penalty".

The Devils are just unbelievable, they lose their first ballot Hall of Fame goalie, Marty Brodeur, early in the season and everyone thinks the season is over for them. Well, Marty is back at practice and far from the season being over, New Jersey is solidly atop the Atlantic Division and tied for second in the Eastern Conference. Goalie Scott Clemmensen has played like an all-star since he got the starting job, while Zach Parise and Patrik Elias have provided the scoring, they are 5th and 6th in the NHL in points and Parise is tied for second in the league in goals. The Devils just get it right.

The Mets ought to make an offer to Orlando Hudson and see what happens, I understand they believe Luis Castillo is their resurrection project, but let's be honest, with his knee's, even the Mets know that's unlikely, and Hudson batted 60 points higher than Castillo last year. And if Castillo shows there is still something left in the tank, how bad can it be to have a 3 time Gold Glove winner as a defensive replacement, and a .305 hitter, just this past year, coming off the bench. With the bottom of the line-up shaping to be as awful as it gets, they could use someone who can get on base as a pinch hitter.

With our economy in need of help so urgently, why would you pass a bill for Government spending. Both Liberals and Conservatives regularly complain about the inefficiency and red tape of Government agency's, so how is this bill going to help the economy now. On the other hand, a couple of immediate tax cuts, take very little time to spend. How many people who were struggling to pay the mortgage would all of a sudden start making the payments, and those who were doing okay before, now with some extra cash at hand, might go out to dinner and help the restaurant owner pay his bills. Foreclosures would go down, Banks would stabilize and the small business owner would pay down his debt, all instantly, with no red tape necessary.