After Chris Bosh injured himself in Game 1, many pundits were ready to put the fork in the Miami Heat. Following their Game 3 loss and subsequent 2-1 series deficit, many were starting to twist the fork. However, the duo of LeBron James and Dwayne Wade scored a million points collectively in Game 4, knotting the series at two-a-piece. Last night, we saw the greatness of James and Wade as the Heat comfortably rode to a Game 5 victory. With Danny Granger and David West injured, this series is in the bag and Miami fans can thank Eric Spolestra for making this one change…
Browsing Posts published by Matthew Vereb
As they entered the post-season, the Devils had only two goals in mind–winning the Stanley Cup and building a case to keep star winger, Zach Parise.
Parise, 27, will enter the open market as an unrestricted free agent this off-season. In 502 career games with the Devils, Parise has tallied 410 points including 194 goals. During Monday’s Game 4, Parise made his presence felt, netting two goals and adding another assist. These three points were Parise’s first points of this Eastern Conference Finals. His Eastern Conference Finals opponent, the NY Rangers, have never been shy about chasing and signing free agents. In recent memory, the Rangers have inked forwards, Brad Richards and Marion Gaborik. With some cap flexibility heading into next season, will the Rangers sign the talented left wing?
The New York Knicks left the playoffs in a New York minute, leaving New York basketball fans without a team to pull for. While Knickbocker faithful won’t rally behind the Boston Celtics or Miami Heat, another team is quietly playing the best basketball since the 2000-2001 Los Angeles Lakers. And no, it isn’t the Oklahoma City Thunder.
When Ozzie Guillen opens his mouth, nobody knows what’s going to come out. And that has made the manager of the Miami Marlins endlessly entertaining to legions of baseball fans. In language that is often as profane as it is colorful, he will lash out not only at his team’s opponents but also at his own players, reporters, fans, and most of all, himself. He is always getting himself in hot water, and he loves every minute of it.
Yet for all the antics and controversy, Guillen is also one of the game’s best managers—a World Series champion and a perennial contender. This book opens the door on the secrets to his success.
Ozzie’s School of Management distills the ten commandments of managing, Guillen-style, which means no-holds-barred and leave your squeamishness at the door. The Chicago Sun-Times sports columnist Rick Morrissey, who built a strong rapport with Guillen during his eight years with the Chicago White Sox, takes us on a rollicking ride through Ozzie’s world, shining a light on his sharp intellect, organizational insights, and changing moods, and showing that the most important part of managing occurs before the first pitch and after the last out.
Great book highlighting the controversial Ozzie Guillen. Can’t think of another manager in sports quite like Ozzie. This book releases on Tuesday, May 22nd. Pick it up!
Andy Pettitte absolutely delivered tonight during the Yanks’ 4-0 win over the Cincy Reds. Andy turned back the clock as he threw eight shutout innings and recorded his 241st career win. Andy’s cutter was sharp as he recorded eight strikeouts in his first five frames. Andy’s final line (8 IPs, 4 Hs, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 Ks) was easily the best performance by a Yankee SP this season.
Side Note: I hate Interleague play, but Yankee fans need to see the Game’s best talent on display. Reds’ first baseman, Joey Votto, is one of the game’s best young talents. This is likely the only time we’ll see Votto in his prime at Yankee Stadium. Enjoy watching him play this weekend.
Sometimes, you just have to scratch your head and wonder why. Delta Airlines, the official airline of the Rangers, will fly 80 Ranger fans from Laguardia to Newark Liberty before Game 3. The flight will last approximately 17 minutes. The selected fans will fly for free.
A few things about this promotion. First off all, the train ride from NY Penn Station to Newark Penn Station takes about 17 minutes. From there, fans can take about a five minute walk to The Rock. Instead, Delta wants to fly these fans to Newark Liberty? Isn’t there some sort of law about low flying planes in the NY Metro area? Plus, the fans taking this flight will need to take the train from Newark Liberty to Newark Penn Station. Can’t avoid the good old NJ Transit.
Why would any fan want to do this? Not only will they need to go through security, but they’ll have to get on the train anyway. I guess Delta really want some press, but this is honestly one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. Based on the stupidity of this promotion, I hope the Devils win Game 3.
NJ.com—“After a few meetings, Tiffany came up with several different options that they showed us and you kind of picked from there,” quarterback Eli Manning said in the press release the team sent out this morning. “We wanted it to be little different than the last ring.”
That ring was a “10-table” monstrosity that had no colored stones. This year’s ring is also white gold but more rounded and has blue sapphires on the top around the “NY” logo and four Lombardi Trohies to represent the four the franchise has won.
“The blue makes it a little different,” Manning said. “We wanted some blue – the Giants are Big Blue. We definitely wanted to get a little blue to spark it up a little bit.”
The lower palm of the shanks includes the years of the four Super Bowl seasons: 1986, 1990, 2007 and 2011.
“We wanted it to represent the four trophies and have that feeling that you made the best ring that you could have made,” Tuck said. “I think we captured that.”
A feature of the ring that hadn’t been revealed until today is the engraving of “Finish” and “All In” on the inside of the ring. Those were key phrases the team repeatedly uttered last season – the first a mantra Coughlin introduced in training camp and the second the words of Union City’s Gian-Paul Gonzalez, who brought the poker phrase to the players late in the season to inspire them.
“We wanted to get a few things that were significant to this season – (including) ‘Finish’ on the inside,” Manning said. “Things like that make the ring special.”
Bling bling, indeed. Time to go get another one.
The Mets let one franchise player walk away this off-season..they aren’t prepared to let that happen again. The Mets are prepared to offer David Wright a long-term contract this season. The Mets hold a $16 million club option for the 2013 season, but don’t expect that to get in the way of the Mets hope to lock up their cornerstone player. If the Mets can’t sign Wright before next season, they’ll likely start to entertain trade offers.
Make no mistake–the Mets should (and likely will) lock up Wright. Wright has been with the Mets through their ups and downs. He has endured late season collapses, dealt with the dimensions at Citi, handled off-field issues with ownership, and most importantly, never shied away from the media. Wright has always been willing to sit at his locker and answer the hard questions while his team mates looked the other way. Wright has never been one to make excuses for his (or the team’s) poor performance. The Mets and their fans can’t ask for anything more.
On the field, Wright has gotten off to a fast start this season, hitting an impressive .398 with four home runs, 21 RBIs, and a ridiculous .498 on-base percentage. The 20-15 Mets have surprised many people and Wright is at the forefront of his team’s fast start. While it’s ultimately his decision to stay with the Mets or test free agency, a Ryan Zimmerman-type of extension should get the deal done. The Mets owe it to their fans and David himself to lock him up. Wright has always been a stand up guy and the Mets should do the right thing and make him a Met for life.
The Rangers landed a convincing first punch in their Eastern Conference Finals showdown. The Rangers blanked their rivals, 3-0 behind goals from Dan Girardi, Chris Kreider, and an empty net special from Artem Anisimov. Henrik Lundqvist bested Marty Brodeur in the battle of the goalies. The Rangers out shot the Devs, 28-21, holding the Devils to just four shots in the third period. The Rangers have won with stifling third period defense thus far so expect that to continue.
We all know that this series will come down to goal tending and defensive play. The Rangers have superior talent in both facets and should advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1994.
Nothing makes me more irate than listening to professional athletes complain about money and their contract statuses. Hate it.
While most of their careers are short, the money made sets them up for life. Given Osi Umenyiora’s current situation and subsequent complains, he’s no exception. Umenyiora is in the final year of a seven-year, $41.25 million contract. All things considered, Osi has been very productive. Osi has won two Super Bowls and collected 61 sacks over his first six years of the deal. However, Osi only appeared in nine games last year, leaving many questions about his durability and his age.
Dating back to last summer, Osi has been very public with his comments regarding his contract status. After complaining about the lack of an extension, Osi failed to appear for the start of training camp. After showing up a few days later, Osi had arthosopic knee surgery and missed half of the regular season. Osi and Jerry Reese have had an ongoing public spat about the details of his contract. Reese claims that multiple extensions have been presented to Osi, but Osi has scoffed at the offers.
More recently, Osi has joined Twitter and hasn’t been too shy with his tweets. Osi has commented on Junior Seau’s death, claimed that he too will end up in critical condition after football, and even wished LeSean McCoy a ‘Happy Mother’s Day’. Big words for a guy that has disappeared during both Giant playoff runs. (Only two sacks in the six critical playoff games during 2008, 2011).
The Giant Way has always been to handle these issues in a private fashion. Other notable players (not named Brandon Jacobs) have handled contract issues behind closed doors. The Giants can’t like all of this negative publicity.
Cutting, trading, or releasing Osi simply isn’t an option. The NFL Draft came and went and Osi is still a member of the Giants. Plus, the Giants have no incentive to release him and let one of their rivals pick him up. Given the injury to Terrell Suggs, the Ravens may be interested in trading for him, but unless they cough up a first rounder, he’s not going anywhere.
Going forward, the Giants have no reason to offer him an extension. Justin Tuck, JPP, Victor Cruz, and Hakeem Nicks will all need new deals in the near future. The Giants are clearly trying to get younger and Osi just isn’t a part of that plan. If anything, Osi needs to shut up and focus on this season. Post a big season and then hit free agency. Osi is the Giants’ third best defensive end, which is never a bad thing. However, his long-term future with Big Blue appears bleak.
