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.