Jets Capitalize on Pats' Miscues

Bill Belichick did some unconventional things today that cost the Patriots the game today.  First, he won the coin toss and decided to defer the ball.  The Patriots offense has been unstoppable all season, especially in Foxboro, having put up 45 points on the Jets just a few weeks ago.  If you're Belichick, why would you not put your offense on the field right away and score first?  Second, Belichick decided to fake punt down seven to three with a minute left in the first half knowing that he would get the ball to start the second half.  That play made little to no sense, as it wasn't worth the risk of not making the first down and giving the Jets great field position to put more points on the board before the end of the first half. That's exactly what the Jets did, as Sanchez capitalized on the Patriots late Christmas gift with a fifteen yard touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards.   Third, the Patriots went for a two point conversation way too early in the game, down 19 - 9 with thirteen seconds left in the third quarter. Even Phil Simms thought it was too soon to go for two points, as there was still an entire quarter left to play. Fourth, the Patriots first drive of the fourth quarter took almost eight minutes, as they ran it eight times and got zero points.  There was no sense of urgency or tempo to Brady's offense on that extended drive, which ate up too much clock to come away with no points.  Fifth, the Patriots second drive of the fourth quarter was mismanaged, as the the Pats needed to get that field goal kick off before the two minute warning to preserve precious time.  Finally, Bill Belichick needs to stop wearing those ridiculous hoodies in freezing cold temperatures. It doesn't make him look tough, it only makes him look like a college student pulling all-nighters. Maybe if he dressed a little warmer, he would have made better decisions that put his team in a better position to win on Sunday.

Soriano bolsters the Yankees in More Ways than One

The Yankees signing of Rafael Soriano for 3 years and $35 million to be the setup man for Mariano Rivera  provides the Yankees with a nice cushion going into this season.  First, Soriano provides some insurance if Mariano begins to show his age and ends up on the DL for any extended amount of time this season.  Second, and most importantly, it allows the Yankees to package Joba Chamberlain for a starting pitcher, which is exactly what the Yankees desperately need.  Let's face it, Joba is a better act than he is a pitcher, and he has never put up numbers in a season similar to Soriano's 45 saves ad 1.73 ERA.  Since money has never been issue for the Yankees, this acquisition provides Cashman with some flexibility to now use Joba as a trading chip to acquire a premier starting pitcher.

Hearing Crickets

In my short time blogging, I've already received criticism from a few naysayers out there who decided to come out of the woodwork. Now, you're always going to have people who are supportive of your activities and hobbies, and then you are going to have some people who feel the need to pull you down when they see you having too much fun.

Without naming any names, one naysayer, let's call him Scottie Bravels for argument's sake, took a stab at Slick by saying that Al Leiter has more career hits than this blog.  Scottie Bravels, who may or may not look like the person depicted in the above photograph, went even further in his criticism by predicting that Jorge Toca's major league career will last longer than Slick's blog.

Well, you can't listen to your critics in life.  Maybe Scottie's family should have left him on the side of the road in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Or judging by the smirk on his face, maybe Scottie never received the message from the Woolworth's employee who scolded him as a child by telling him that "this is not a laughing matter."

Trash Talk is Infectious with Gang Green

Antonio Cromartie must think that he is shutdown corner, as he went out of his way to curse out Tom Brady going into this weekend's game. Maybe, he realized that regardless of how much trash he talked this week leading up to the game, he was going to get thrown at by Tom Brady, especially when you consider that opposing quarterbacks stay away from Darelle Revis as if he has a disease.  So, Cromartie will see plenty of attention on Sunday.  Hopefully, he can back up all the smack he talks during the week with his play on Sunday.  Unfortunately for Cromartie, he will have plenty of time to memorize the name of his children after Sunday, as he will spend the evening chasing Wes Walker into the back of the endzone. Tom Brady is a former third stringer who has made himself into one best quarterbacks to ever play the game.  A little trash talk from Antonio Cromartie isn't going to throw him off his game. The only positive from the garbage coming out of Cromatie's mouth is that we no longer have to hear about Rex Ryan's wife's feet.

Has the Fairytale Come to an End?

Can Ted Williams get it together?  The man with the golden voice couldn't handle his five seconds of fame for a second time in his life, and finds himself in rehab.  I understand that an hour chatting with Dr. Phil would make anyone want to grab a drink, but we all hoped that Ted was on the road to recovery. Everybody loved his story from Matt Lauer of the Today Show to Dan Gilbert, owner of the Cavs, who finally seemed like he rebounded from his public breakup with LeBron James.

The real hero in the Williams story is his ex-wife, who had to raise four daughters alone, including one child that the former deejay had with another female drug addict.  Hopefully, Williams can get his act together and bring some star attraction back to Cleveland following the departure of LeBron James.

Tip of the Cap to BobbyBo

Bobby Bonilla did not need a financial advisor like Lenny Dykstra to know he was making a good deal when he signed a deferred buyout that will pay him approximately $1.2 million per year for the next 25 years. Beginning this July, the player known simply as BobbyBo will be back on the Mets payroll.  The deal Bonilla signed to be banished from the Mets made him one of the first big leaguers to negotiate his own multimillion dollar pension. He might be a malcontent, but apparently he's not stupid when it comes to finances.

As this WSJ article points out, Bonilla's contact has a precedent, as the Mets offered a similar deal to Bret Saberhagen. But Bret's 25 year deal only totaled $250,000 per year, which now looks like chump change compared to the bank that Bonilla will be making until he is 74 years old. Clearly, all the card playing that BobbyBo was known to do in the clubhouse made him a little better with numbers than Saberhagan.

An interesting caveat to the Bonilla deal was that the deferred payments were based on an expected interest rate of 8% that Freddy Wilpon was eager to lock in. I guess I would lock that rate in too if I was generating 25% returns every year from Bernie Madoff.

Vick's Decision Making Cost the Eagles

Michael Vick did his best Brett Favre impression in the Eagles 21-16 loss to the Packers, losing on an interception in the end zone with thirty-three seconds left.  Not only did he toss the ball up for grabs like a gun slinger, but he sounded like Favre after the game, saying "It's not the way I wanted to go out, but I went down swinging." Vick may have went down swinging, but he should have been smarter and moved the ball more prudently into the red zone.  Instead, Vick got "greedy," as he put it, and it cost his team a chance to advance. One of Vick's greatest attributes is his ability to make athletic plays on the fly.  Unfortunately, that attribute led to his downfall on Sunday.

Caldwell's Gaffe Cost the Colts

Despite the fact that the Colts were fortunate just to make the playoffs this year, it is always surprising to see a Peyton Manning led team bow out of the playoffs early. The script seemed a little strange, as you got the impression that Adam Vinatieri's 50 yard boot with fifty-three seconds left on the clock was supposed to add to his collection of late game heroics and provide Peyton Manning with another game winning drive. But, coach Jim Caldwell's brain fart - calling a timeout on the Jets final drive with 36 seconds left and the ball on the Indianapolis 34 yard line - cost the Colts the game.

I have no idea what he could possibly have been thinking calling a timeout at that point in the game. Did he confuse Mark Sanchez for Joe Namath? Caldwell explained after the game that he wanted to make sure that the Jets couldn't take the clock down, forcing the Jets to snap the ball as many times as they could. But, his logic doesn't make much sense. Simply put, you cannot give a second year quarterback more time to collect his thoughts on a game's final drive, and more time for his offensive coordinator to devise a series of plays. The clock was working in the Colts favor at that point in game until Caldwell decided to help out the Jets offense.

If you still think that Caldwell's decision was not that questionable, just take a look at the reaction of Peyton Manning on the sidelines.  He was as dumbfounded by his head coach's decision to call a timeout as the 63,000 fans in Lucas Oil Stadium and the announcers, Phil Simms and Jim Nantz, in the booth.  Caldwell's poor timeout call capped off a night in which he was out-coached by Rex Ryan on the opposite sidelines.  Rex Ryan's defense was playing a cat and mouse game all evening with Peyton Manning. The Jets were putting only 5 men in the box on third down, especially in the second half, forcing Peyton Manning to audible to a run play. The Colts had a 3rd and 9 in the third period and ran the ball with Joseph Addai, as a result of the Jets showing a light box with Eric Smith brought down from his safety position. The Colts also had a 3rd and 7 in the fourth period and Peyton decided to run the ball with Dominic Rhodes.  Any time that the Colts decided to run the ball instead of pass it was a mini victory for the Jets within the game. Now, the Jets will go from facing one hall of fame quarterback last week to another one this week in Foxboro.

    

Spurs Sputter Against the Knicks

Wilson Chandler's emergence as a key third option on offense has helped the Knicks renaissance this season. The Knicks took care of business last night against the San Antonio Spurs, owner of the NBA's best record at 29-5, earning the best win of the Mike D'Antoni era.  The Spurs, renowned for their defense, could not stop the Knicks' high octane offense. The Knicks were able to control the tempo all night, playing an uptempo style that suits D'Antoni's system. Popovich and the Spurs have historically dominated D'Antoni's teams in the playoffs, but D'Antoni's was never able to get up and down for 48 minutes, like the Knicks did tonight, when he coached the Suns in the postseason against San Antonio.

In a strange move, Popovich pulled Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker with three minutes remaining and the Spurs down a manageable ten points. But, the Knicks were playing with so much energy and passion that it wouldn't have mattered whether he stayed with his big three players. Instead, Popovich decided to pack his bags, rest his stars, and live to fight another day against Boston tonight.

The Knicks now face a tough west coast trip with games against LA, Utah, and Portland. It will be a great test for the Knicks to see how they size up against the elite teams in the Western Conference.

Brett Favre Retires Amidst Controversy

Brett Favre and his old team, the New York Jets, got slapped with two additional lawsuits of sexual harassment. This time the lawsuits came from two team massage therapists, who claimed that Brett the Jet sent them sexually harassing text messages and voicemails. At least we now know why Brett was contemplating retirement these past few seasons - he knew it was only a matter of time before all this information leaked out.

The problem is that Brett would not have been sexting women at 40 something years old, like Tiger Woods, if these type of lines did not work for him in the past.  Unfortunately for Brett, the women in the New York City metropolitan area must not dig his Wrangler jeans the way the women in Green Bay, Wisconsin did.

But,  in all seriousness, an athlete of Favre's stature could not have ended his career in a worse way - on the sidelines with the discussion revolving around his racy text messages rather than his play on the gridiron. He not only lost his consecutive games played streak, but he also lost his squeaky clean image.  If only he could have gone out on a high note like John Elway instead of trying to hang on too long because he couldn't step away from the game.

The only positive from all this drama is that Brett will actually ride off into the sunset and we no longer have to listen to the "will he or won't he retire" talk on ESPN. Given ESPN's love affair with Favre, we fortunately won't have to hear much about his sexual harassment scandal either.