Big Spending Spree Almost Can Be a Bust for Jets

After a dismal 4-12 season last year, the Jets immediately dove right into free agency and looked at every way possible to improve their team. It started with signing Left Guard, Alan Faneca, and proceeded all the way through August when they pulled off an unlikely trade of obtaining future Hall of Famer, Brett Favre. Favre had the Jets fan base believing because it had the most preseason buzz since Bill Parcells became head coach in 1997. Immediately, Favre made the Jets instant contenders and combined with all of the other off-season upgrades it looked like the Jets would be in good shape. The amount of Jets jerseys, including Favre's, were bought and sold out in a hurry. From a marketing standpoint, this put the Jets back on the map. The 8-3 start definitely helped because every one was talking about a possible Jets-Giants Superbowl in Tampa this February. After the last two weeks the Jets have been brought back down to earth and there are grumblings as people think Favre is washed up. If the Jets don't advance to the playoffs this whole season can be labeled a bust and all the money that was well spent, well wouldn't be really at all. The season is coming down to the wire and plenty of eyes will be scrutinizing how the Jets will handle them selves in this stretch run. If only the preseason marketing tactics can pay off for the high expectation for the hopefully not "same old Jets."

Tiger Woods' Deal Is At An End

Despite the fact that Tiger Woods has one year left on his contract with GM, they are cutting him loose after nine years. This move was made in order to cut cash and survive in this bad economy so GM can still have a future. After seeing Woods have the Buick logo on his bag, it will have to be something else in the future as his sponsor. In a way this comes at a good time because Woods was looking into spending time with his second child on the way so GM is going to be hurt that much without him. The endorsement deal was believed to be worth about $7 million dollars per year. The awareness of their product, especially Buick, can be attributed to Woods. He was supposed to bring a youthful enthusiasm to a car generally older people drive. This in turn drove up revenue for their sales but for now GM will be looking within in order to get by in one of its worst quarters ever. Even thought it was almost the right time to cut Tiger loose, especially with him away from the course, GM must figure out a way to break even instead of going under because they have bigger decisions up ahead of them.

British Government Bails Out Olympic Sport

About a week and a half ago, the British government decided to cover more than a third of funding that fell short for their country's Olympic sports for the 2012 games that happen to be in London. Olympic officials say that the global financial crisis is the reason for the government to cover them. The sports that will be affected by this are basketball, volleyball and handball which might be in trouble come 2012. Private business' were supposed to front $150 million but fell short due to the economic downturn. People are also pointing to the fact that since the Olympic games in Beijing this past the summer, economics have gone down the drain since then tremendously. Now the Olympic Committee in London has to take a detailed look into which sports they're better off without because it looks like they might have to trim some sports from their teams. The players who belong to teams that aren't as good or that do not get as much acclaim, will suffer greatly and won't have anything to do in the 2012 Olympics.

Honda Withdraws Sponsorship

Last week, Honda had announced that they wouldn't be a sponsor for Formula 1 racing in 2009. This might cause a ripple effect through Formula 1 because they are losing one of their big sponsors. Honda is trying to focus more on making and selling cars instead of racing them. This also reflects the downturn and struggling auto companies such as G.M which is seeking a bailout from the government. This isn't only the big change the Honda is going through. Honda is also cutting 760 temporary workers from four plants because of similiar situations in the United States. Across the board different sponsors are pulling out from their respective sports, hopefully the economy will turn around so different leagues won't take drastic measures.

NFL headquarters laying off employees

This past week, NFL Comissioner, Roger Goodell, released a statement that the NFL will be cutting about 10 percent of its staff because of economic downturn. Even though the league makes billions off of sellout crowds, merchandise, etc. Goodell feels as if this is the path that the league must follow. The places that employees will lose their jobs from will be in New York City, New Jersey, And Los Angeles. The NFL is called the richest sport but, it is follwing other leagues by having layoffs thinking that this is for the best. In relation to this, the NFL has announced that they are reducing playoff tickets by about 10 percent lower than it was last year. This move for the fan whose team makes the playoffs is great because then he can save a few bucks. For me, a season ticket holder for the New York Jets, would be great if they hold a game because tickets are exorbitant as it is and the lower prices would be welcomed. The league is looking to lower costs while making themselves as a whole, more efficient. The New England Patriots were orginially supposed to play a preseason game in China, where they have an on-site operation but, decided to close up shop. Since that occured they cancelled the game because of belt tightening due to the economy. This only seems to be the beginning of the scaling back of the teams and the leagues throughout the country while the economy is low.

Economy Affecting the AFL

The economy may be hurting many people throughout the country, but in this case an entire league may be in trouble due to the recession. The Arena Football League is looking towards cancelling their 2009 season in order to become more efficient. Even though the decision is not official yet, he told the LA Times that he was pretty optimistic about the vote to cancel the upcoming season would be approved. One of the efforts the union is trying to make in order to save their season is cutting the leagues salary cap from $ 2 million to $1.4 million. If this is the case and the players are willing to do this in order to keep playing then by all means they should consider this option. One of the more higher paid players, Ahmad Hawkins, has said that he was one of the players who backed the idea of a league wide pay cut in order to keep playing the season. "I'm one of the top-paid guys and I was the first one to say I'd take a pay cut, e agreed to take the salary cap lower. The players want to do anything we can to play this season " Hawkins said. If this is the route that they want to take and they want to keep playing then they must all come to agreement and vote as soon as possible. If a pay cut is the only way to go, then they must bite the bullet for this season and do what's best for them and the league.

Knicks Playing Out Economy

The New York Knicks by no means are in an economic crunch or crises. Their owners who also own Cablevision have no worries about losing money because they will continue to collect monthly cable bills as well as their "Optimium Triple Play" bills from their many customers. It's interesting to note the fact that the Knicks are trying to shed a lot of their salary and get under the cap by the 2010 season. The players who are considered "dead weight" are all but almost gone and they're looking towards the future right now. Ironically while the economy is in the trash they are getting rid of bad contracts and they are willing to add contracts in a few years when the economy will possibly be back to normal again. By then the Knicks will have saved plenty of money and will be looking to spend more at the right time. This also seems to be the route most people are taking now by hording money and wait out the recession until better says are upon us. This subtle idea caught me by surprise one time when I was flipping through the channels and I saw some of their game. This might not be the real reason for the Knicks to be getting rid of their long term contracts, but it's just a thought.

Yank's Dive Right into Sabathia Pool

The New York Yankees have finally reached an agreement with CC Sabathia, after weeks of speculation and waiting to see if he'd accept the offer. The Yankees missed the playoffs this past season for the first time in 15 years and they needed some new faces to make fans forget those eroding pieces who failed to deliver this past year. The Yankees standpoint this year has been completely different then from that in years past. They had to show CC that they are ready to move on and start pulling in World Series especially with the plenty of offers that Sabathia was receiving from other teams. The economy is not affecting the Yankees spending especially with them looking to add more free agents which will cost a lot more dollars. The Yankees figure to be players for a first baseman, and the are in the hunt for Mark Texiera. He will most likely cost over $100 million further explaining that the Yankees have no limit. Being part of the big market and on the back cover of all the sports papers will make a team like this spend the big bucks.

The Dawn of Free Agency

Free agency has just begun and both New York teams figure to be big players especially being from the big market. With the Mets signing of Fransisco Rodriguez, they're trying to show the fans that they are still in win-now mode and that they're looking to rebuild the bullpen on the fly. Omar Minaya did a good job and waiting patiently while no other team made an offer to Rodriguez. By doing this, Minaya didn't have to spend as much as the Wilpon's money as originally thought which for him is definitely a plus in this economic crunch. Rodriguez's original price was going to be around the 5 year $75 million range but was obviously brought down to a more attainable level. The Mets marketed their pitch to Rodriguez in a decent manner because both sides seemed to be fit for each other once they lost Billy Wagner for the season. The fact that the Mets were able to save a lot of money by holding off on a deal with Rodriguez enables them to search for another bona fide closer as a setup man or perhaps another starter. The Mets also marketed to Rodriguez that they have a good chance of winning with him despite the last two collapses. Rodriguez is coming off one of the best seasons a closer has ever had so only time will tell if they made the right move.

Thanksgiving Day Blunder

I'm sure most football fans in the country, if not all, know that are at least always two games on Thanksgiving. Both Detroit and Dallas host their annual games but more recently there has been an addition of a third game. This game hasn't gotten much publicity especially since it's played on the NFL network. Yes, that NFL network which has been blacked out to subscribers of Cablevision, Time Warner and Comcast. The game that was on this year, Cardinals vs. Eagles, doesn't really matter a whole lot to me, but it's entertainment when the family is over and I would have like to have seen some of the game. Unfortunately, we are Cablevision subscribers and are not able to view the game unless we all go out to a bar or something along those lines. The fact that one of the big events on Thanksgiving is sitting around watching football, but at the same time we're not able to see one of the games because of cable disputes. For the sake of the NFL Network as well as the cable companies, they need to try to resolve this issue because there is a lot of revenue being lost here.

NFL Network is cut out again

The Jets/Patriots game last Thursday, November 13th was blacked out in major markets especially the New England one. This happened because the cable companies could not reach an agreement regarding the provision of the NFL Network that is not available in those areas. It almost was blacked out in the New York area, but they came to a deal where the game would be broadcast in simulcast on channel 11 locally because none of the cable networks carry the channel. If the NFL Network does not try harder to get on these big cable markets where ratings will definitely soar to unforeseen sights. Cable companies as well should try to work out a deal because less people in those areas will switch out and remain with that company to have the channel. The thing that bothers me is how can they leave such a large market such as New York out where there are so many people and could be watching the channel. For the Jets game I would be out of luck if they didn't reach a deal because of the simulcast I would've been shut out. They should change something about the system.

Islanders new third jersey

The Islanders are once again trying desperately to link themselves to their past. Especially the dynasty years from 1980-1983. They're going with the retro look that is just more lighter and brighter blue with the orange and white stripes. According to the Newsday article written by Mark Herrmann, former players are glad the Islanders are trying to go back to their roots of the glory years. " I love it. I always thought this was a fabulous jersey, " said Bobby Nystrom. "It brought back a lot of good memories." This definitely will try to breath life into a desperate fanbase who will probably go out and buy some of these retro looking jerseys because it links the older fans to the good old days. This move definitely comes with more acclaim than the failed fisherman logo that was worn during the mid 90's. Even the current Islanders are excited about the new uniforms. "It is awesome, you see video of them winning Cups in these jerseys and you want to do the same thing, " said Josh Bailey. This gives fans all the more reason to go out and buy them.

Possible New Owner for the Steelers

After owning the team for years, the Pittsburgh Steelers were looking at the possibility of not being run by the Rooney family for the first time ever, I believe. One of the very few people who were interested in buying out the majority of the Steelers is billionare, Stan Druckenmiller. Druckenmiller, by the way offered an all-cash deal to but out their families shares of the team. Two of the Rooney brothers are mulling their options and are considering selling their shares of the team. However: it looks like the elder of the Rooney brothers, Dan, is considering buying their shares and owning the majority of the Steelers. From my perspective, I think it's good from a Steelers perspective to have the Rooney's run their operations because they're one of the originals who are still around. Many other owners from the time of the merger are long gone and almost forgotten. To have the Rooneys still in the picture, is good for Steelers and the rest of football as well.

The NFL DRAFT

This is the time of year that every fan looks forward to before players on their favorite teams must report for training camp. Fans always want to know which direction their team is heading when they draft a certain player based on need or because of his raw talent. This upcoming draft has the no.1 overall pick already signed to a contract, Chris Long OT, of the Miami Dolphins. The New York Jets sit at the sixth selection where they have a few options. They can take a game breaker from the offensive side of the ball in Darren McFadden, a running back from Arkansas, an elite pass rusher in Vernon Gholston, defensive end from Ohio State or quarterback Matt Ryan out of Boston College, who seems to be a wild card. For one reason or another I don't think the Jets should take a quarterback because they have a lot invested in Kellen Clemens especially since he hasn't had a full team to play in front of him yet. There are so many draft "guru's" like ESPN's Mel Kiper and the NFL Networks Mike Mayock who come up with all of these mock drafts and strategies that half the time aren't correct. One thinks that the Jets should go with McFadden, the other thinks they should stick with Gholston, and some others think they ought to trade down to get more picks. Whatever the Jets do and other teams for that matter, they may be looking to build their team that way by filling holes with each selection they have no matter what the "experts" say.

Larry's Blog: Is Walsh the Answer

Larry's Blog: Is Walsh the Answer
http://www.nba.com/knicks/news/walsh_080402_announcement.html

Is Walsh the Answer

Last week the New York Knickerbockers hired former Indiana Pacers president, Donnie Walsh to be in charge of all basketball operations and in hope of finally getting on the right track towards being an elite team again. Walsh takes over a mess of an organization that has had four coaches while Isiah Thomas was calling the shots for the Knicks. With the hiring of Walsh the Knicks are looking to have some stability in the front office and are also hoping to get under the salary cap without taking on any ridiculous contracts. Walsh has an interesting situation with his head coach because he's pretty much handcuffed with the situation. Should he fire Thomas after the season? Well, for most New Yorkers and Knicks fans alike, they would love to see Thomas to be shown the door, but on the other hand he signed a four year extension last year so once again the Knicks would have to eat the remaining year and money that is owed to him. Once Walsh decides to either get rid of Thomas or to find a fresh face to coach the team, he has to realize these bunch of players aren't going to take him anywhere. He must let them play out their existing contracts or hope that some team would be willing to take pity and take any of those worthless players in. One Walsh figueres out what to do with the players and personnel and he lays down the blueprint for success, it is going to be up to him on whether or not he could clean up arguably the biggest mess in NBA history.

After Clinching, The Rangers Look to go on a Cup Run

Last night the New York Rangers finally clinched a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference after waiting almost the entire season until there were three games left to play. The Rangers can go as high as the 4th seed with two games to play which would mean they would have home ice advantage to open the playoffs for the first time since 1996. It looks like the their top players are coming into form for the stretch run like, Jaromir Jagr, who probably is the most important player on the team. According to some players, if he's playing well and is at his A game, then the team as a whole responds by skating faster and playing harder. It is vital for him to be playing at his best because if he wins the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP then he will automatically be signed for next year because of a clause in his existing contract. Also at the center of this is goalie, Henrik Lundvist,who remains to look sharp as the team prepares to make its third straight playoff appearance. The veterans and youth seem to be clicking and are looking forward to their playoff tune-ups and perhaps the finale against the Devils in New Jersey on Sunday will be a preview of a possible first round match up between the two teams. If the Rangers can keep this high energy going through the playoffs then they might be able to accomplish those lofty goals that they for themselves earlier this season.

The Eve of Destruction, aka Baseball Season

It's the final weekend before the baseball season starts and many fans are nervous to see where there team will end up in a few months. Most fans from New York who root for the Mets and Yankees respectively, envision an October in which their team will be playing meaningful games. Many fans also play fantasy baseball which in my opinion is ruining the sport because a lot of people start to tolerate their rival teams superstars because they happen to be on their fantasy team. The start of baseball season usually brings a fresh beginning and a hint of optimism among teams that aren't supposed to be in the playoff hunt as the season winds down. Usually fans pack the stadiums on opening day to catch an early glimpse on what their team or teams will look like as the season progresses. The Mets look to rebound after their awful collapse at seasons end and hope to be representing the National League in the World Series in October. As for the Yankees, they have a new manager in Joe Girardi, their catcher once upon a time. He looks to being back the success that he had as a player and translate it to victories as the manager in hopes of catching the Red Sox. Whatever the outcome of the season is, it will be the last season that we will see baseball at Shea and the current Yankee Stadium because both teams are moving their operations across the street to new facilities and nicer confines. Both stadiums will be sorely missed.

Rangers Can Start Thinking Cup

The New York Rangers recent surge in the past few weeks have allowed players and fans alike to start dreaming big. In the Eastern Conference in which they play in, there has been much parity and not one single team has come out to take a tight grasp on a lead. The Pittsburgh Penguins for example, made a huge splash at the trading deadline, acquiring Marian Hossa from Atlanta but still haven't come away as the front runner in the conference despite the fact that they have the most points in the East going into Friday. The Rangers though, have reeled off eight wins in their past 11 games and have also recorded at least one point in all of those games dating back to February 9th. Since that defeat of of the Flyers, the Rangers have been the hottest team in the conference and currently sit in sole possession of 6th place and remain in striking distance of overtaking a few more teams on their way to closing out the season. With a surge like this, the Rangers can use this as momentum going into the playoffs to be the favorite in the East and possibly emerge as the conference's representative in the Stanley Cup Finals. So why do I think the Rangers can possibly think that they can bring the Stanley Cup back home to New York this spring? Well for one reason, there offense is finally clicking after about two months of futility, their power play and penalty kill is solid as of the moment and that their prized free agents of Scott Gomez, and Chris Drury, are finally playing comfortably. Those acquisitions were key in the off season and they should provide intangibles and experience to a Rangers roster that appears ready for a long post-season run.

NFL free agency looms

At 12:01 am today opened up the gates for all unrestricted free agents to hit the open market in hopes of getting a long term deal with a new team and a lot of guaranteed money. Some teams have a lot of money under the cap to spend while others have to sit and wait it out until June when players are released and can get them for at a cheaper price. The Jets for a example have a lot of salary cap room and figure to be big players in the free agency sweepstakes. They already have made a big splash so far by trading disgruntled linebacker Jonathon Vilma to New Orleans and receiving defensive tackle Kris Jenkins from the Panthers. There are plenty of other free agents the Jets are targeting such as cornerback Asante Samuel and guard Alan Faneca. Samuel and Jets coach Eric Mangini have a history dating back a few years when they were with the Patriots together. Mangini spent time with Samuel because he was their defensive backs coach before coming to the Jets. Faneca is targeted by the Jets especially because of teir miscalculated move regarding Pete Kendall shipping him to the Redskins last summer. Faneca would fit in perfectly for the Jets offensive line to help mentor their players. The Jets also are looking to ship their undersized defensive tackle, Dewayne Robertson, who has been playing out of position in the 3-4 system the last two years. Only time will tell regarding how the free agency pool turns out to be and if all of that money is well spent.

Put A Halt on the Handshakes for Reyes

After trying to pinpoint one of the biggest collapses in baseball history, Jose Reyes went back to the drawing board to see what exactly went wrong as the Mets stumbled towards the finish line last season. Reyes came to the conclusion that his showboating and on-the-field antics cost his team a playoff spot. The more he kept it up, the more opposing teams took it out on the Mets by retaliating against them. "I'm not even thinking about that. No more handshakes. People kept saying we got teams fired up when we did our handshakes, so now I want to focus more on baseball." This is showing maturity by Reyes who seemed to lack that his first few seasons in the big leagues. If Reyes and the Mets can put the collapse behind them, theres no telling what kind of damage they can do on the rest of the league.

Locking up Lundqvist

After months of speculation about a long-term contract extension the Rangers and goalie Henrik Lundqvist last Wednesday. It was important for the Rangers to sign Lundqvist to a long-term deal because he has played a vital role in their success the last 3 seasons since making the roster out of camp. Lundqvist and agent Don Meehan were working diligently trying to strike a deal with Rangers GM Glen Sather since December. They didn't want it to get to the point where Lundqvist finished the season without a contract in place. This contract stabilizes the Rangers at goaltender until after Lundqvist's 30th brithday. The move was much needed for the team especially because it could rejuvinate Lundqvist, which is important for the stretch for the playoffs. The Rangers are in the middle of the mix here in the Eastern Conference, with a clear head for Henrik Lunqvist and a few players coming back from injury, this can perhaps impel them to the playoffs and possibly even further.

The erratic play of the New York Rangers

The New York Rangers had high expectations for the 2007-08 season, but instead have struggled throughout most of the season dealing with injuries and inconsistency. We're now more than halfway through the season and the Rangers are clinging to the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference which would just be good enough to make the playoffs if the season were to end today. The frustration has mounted within the team itself. This was evident when two players had an on-ice altercation during practice on Wednesday involving right winger Sean Avery and defenseman Marek Malik. A few players responded positively to the fight by saying that it lit a fire under the team. Defenseman Jason Strudwick said "I think it's a good thing. I've personally been in lots of fights in practice- not since I've been a Ranger. But it's two intense guys and it shows the boys are ready." This definitely has to be a wakeup call to the Rangers. If they're to be one of the eight teams going to go to the playoffs then they must drop the erratic play and string some wins together. It all started with goalie Henrik Lundvist, who let up easy goals after showing promise in the beginning of the season. The team shortly followed his downward trend. Lundqvist must play at a higher level if he's going to take the Rangers deep in the playoffs and possibly to a Stanley Cup Championship so they can meet their high expectations that were set at the start of the season.