By Eddie Mayrose
Giants Lost in the Shuffle
With the Jets off to a stunning 2-0 start, much of the sports discussion in New York 
has become different versions of, “Everything you always wanted to know about Rex but were afraid to ask.” Unfortunately, the media frenzy surrounding Gang Green’s unexpected success under its fiery, new Head Coach has pushed an even better story off of the back pages.
In the August 31st edition of Sports Illustrated, Giants’ GM Jerry Reese discussed how the team’s Wide Receiver position would be impacted by the loss of Plaxico Burress and the organization’s decision not to trade for an established veteran. “We love developing our own guys and we feel like we have quality receivers to get the job done”, he said at the time. Reese looked very smart Sunday night as Mario Manningham and Steve Smith each pulled in ten balls for over 100 yards and a touchdown in the Giants big win over Dallas.
The thing is, Reese’s quote was just a different take on similar statements he’s made regarding Head Coach Tom Coughlin, QB Eli Manning and an untested Offensive Line over the course of the last few years. Under Reese, the Giants have established themselves as a consistently competitive team simply by sticking to their guns; making sound evaluations and then supporting them when things get tough. So far, it’s produced four straight playoff appearances and a Super Bowl. So, enjoy the excitement of the Meadowlands’ other tenants. The Giants actually prefer that you do. But don’t lose sight of the fact that consistency beats occasional success every day of the week.
Jets’ Fast Start Fools Even Most Loyal Followers
Cheap Seater and Jets season ticket holder Lou Ricciardi, who would have opted to start Kellen Clemens over Mark Sanchez because of what he expected to be a disastrous start, chimed in this week on the euphoria sweeping Jets’ nation. “I can’t believe how wrong I was but I hope they continue to prove me incorrect all year” said Ricciardi. “I’ve had season tickets for twenty years and I’ve never heard the Meadowlands that loud.”
We’ve seen this kind of quick turnaround under a new head coach before. In his first season, Herm Edwards won the AFC East only to oversee three ensuing flops while Eric Mangini was dubbed “Man-Genius” after his first year netted a 10-6 record and a playoff appearance. It seems a little different with Ryan, though, if only because he’s recognized that the first thing that needs to be changed is the team’s attitude. He’s imposed his attack mentality on his defensive charges and fired up the fans in the process. That he rubbed one in the face of archrival Bill Bellichick is even better. But, after all of the phone calls to ticket holders and pregame speeches, this is still a team with a rookie QB that has struggled in December throughout its history. If Ryan and Sanchez can finish the season the way they’ve started it, the Jets may finally have themselves a winner.
On The Joba Training
Now that Phil Hughes has firmly established himself as a reliable eighth inning reliever, the Yankees have no alternative but to use Joba Chamberlain as their fourth starter in the postseason. With that in mind, it’s probably a good idea to get Chamberlain some more work; as his latest outing in Seattle clearly indicates that the Joba Rules put in place to limit his innings are also limiting his effectiveness.
Shooting Guard
Apparently misunderstanding his coach’s instructions to “drive and shoot”, Cleveland Cavs’ guard DeLonte West was arrested last week for carrying two unlicensed handguns and a shotgun while riding his motorcycle. After two years of passing the ball to LeBron James, seems like West finally decided it was his turn to take a shot.
Sore Loser
When Bill Bellichick offers his dead fish handshake to an opposing head coach after a game, he looks like a jerk. But when he brushes off a rookie quarterback who goes out of his way to shake his hand, as Mark Sanchez did on Sunday, he deserves a smack.
Manuel Labor
A few weeks ago, I wrote in this space that it was impossible to hold manager Jerry Manuel accountable for the Mets’ terrible record because of the team’s extensive injury list. However, after watching how his undermanned charges have begun to phone in the balance of the season, I’m wondering if Manuel has actually lost his squad. Bad is one thing. Apathetic is inexcusable.
Fans Enjoying Last Hurrah?
Lost in the euphoria of the Jets upset of New England in their home opener was the fact that many of the fans that made up the most raucous crowd I’ve ever heard at a Jets’ game will probably not be there next season because they can’t afford the Personal Seat Licensing fees. And, it may be a more difficult transition than they think, as local TV blackouts of home games loom if the Jets can’t fill those seats.
Out of Timeouts
Though it’s completely understandable that a coach would want to use a timeout to freeze the opposing kicker before a last second field goal attempt, someone needs to explain to me how it’s more effective when it’s called at the last possible second. We see this nonsense every week; most recently on Sunday night in Dallas. The kick goes through, the winners start to celebrate and the line judge comes running in to wave the whole thing off. It’s something that the NFL needs to address before a player is injured on one of these non-plays.
Redskins Rookie Opens Mouth, Inserts Foot
Sunday night, after the Redskins stumbled through a 9-7 win over the hapless Rams in a game that left the hometown fans dissatisfied, Skins’ rookie line backer Robert Henson, listed by Washington as inactive for the first two games of the season, shared this little missive on his Twitter account. “All you fake half hearted Skins fan can .. I won’t go there but I dislike you very strongly, don’t come to Fed Ex to boo dim wits!!” “The question is who are you to say you know what’s best for the team and you work 9 to 5 at Mcdonalds.”
Ignore for a second the obvious flaw in his thinking that anyone working 9 to 5 at McDonald’s could even afford the absurd cost of a Redskins’ game ticket. Focus instead on the ironic point that, after leaving TCU without a degree and no real indication from the Skins that he has a future in the league, Henson may very well become the biggest employee at his own local McDonald’s. That is, if the fast food giant deems him a qualified applicant.
list of 104 players that tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003, we’ve found out just how Big Papi got that way and that, oops, Manny’s positive test in May wasn’t a one-time thing. Now, while I still don’t care what any of these cheats put in their bodies and I’m not up in arms about the integrity of Major League Baseball’s record book, there are some disturbing aspects about this revelation that make it different than the others. In Ortiz and Ramirez, we may, finally, have an indication that, despite their denials, MLB and its owners were aware of the widespread use of PED’s.