A True Test

                                                         

The bye has come and gone and the second half of the Giants season begins in the bright lights of Monday Night Football.  Sitting at a less than desirable 3-4 and coming off two tumultuous losses to division rivals, there is no question that a sense of urgency is starting to set in for Big Blue. However, it will not get any easier, the next 4 weeks will be the ultimate test of the team’s character and resolve as they face the Colts, Seahawks, 49ers, and Cowboys successively.  These will be very tough games where the Giants will have to bring an A effort, or suffer the same demoralization that was felt in both Philadelphia and Dallas.  Great teams always find a way to answer the challenge when it is placed upon them, but it will take excellence in execution to see it through.  Here are some of the elements that the Giants must work on:

Run the ball effectively - Since Rashad Jennings went down, the Giants running game has been non-existent.  The rushing attack looks more like the one Giants fans have been all to accustomed to seeing

Attack more on defense - If one thing was shown on Monday night by Washington, it was that going on the attack is still an effective form of defense.  The Giants have allowed too many quarterbacks to sit in a spacious pocket and pick them apart.  They must lose the conservatism and take more chances instead of relying on a worn down front line that has not done much thus far

Better offensive line play- Despite not yielding a sack against the Cowboys, the offensive line has looked out of sync in recent weeks.  This was compounded by the dismal performance it displayed against the Eagles, where Manning was sacked 8 times and knocked down on numerous occasions.  It is here where the running game must take shape, which will lighten the load for Eli and make the games more manageable on offense.

Quicken the offensive pace - The Giants saw success in a faster paced offense in week 7 and should look to it more often.  McAdoo’s new schemes are designed to produce points quickly and efficiently and with their personnel, it can work to their advantage. 

It will be a most interesting stretch that could decide the fate of the season, so it is imperative the Giants do all of this and more if they want to come out of it with a new found confidence in themselves.

Moving in the Right Direction

                     

The New York Giants season began with much uncertainty as the new look offense and revamped defense stumbled out of the gate.  The Monday night drumming at the hands of the Lions and the lackluster performance against a Cardinals team playing without starting QB Carson Palmer had Giants fans seeing deja vu with another 0-6 start on the horizon. Thankfully, despite the early hardships the team has rallied for 3 wins over the Texans, Falcons, and an impressive win over the Washington Redskins.  Eli Manning has looked much more comfortable in Ben McAdoo’s offense, finding a rhythm with his receivers and limiting the turnovers that have often plagued him in his 11 years as a professional.  The short win streak has not only alleviated any worries the any may have had about the team, it has also placed them in the thick of the tightly contested NFC East division race. 

As the week 8 bye approaches, the Giants will take on two of their most heated NFC rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys. The high magnitude of these games are surely to ramp things up as the team would love nothing more than to seize control of the division before their week off.  As with any road games it will certainly be a nose to the grindstone atmosphere and nothing will come easy.  However, the new found confidence of the offense and a revitalized defense that may bend but not break, The Giants will see this as not a test, but an opportunity.

Same Problems Different Season

It has been quite an adventure for the Yankees roster this season as week by week they are fighting for playoff position and the jury bug at the same time.  Last season the team battled significant injuries to key players.  Despite the valiant fight they put up, the loses proved to be too much and ultimately was their undoing.  The Yankees hoped that this would not be the case this year as the reloaded roster had the team primed and ready for a championship run.  However, in the immortal words of Yogi Berra "it's deja vu all over again"  The team finds themselves missing 4 of their starting pitchers they began the season with including C.C. Sanathia, Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda, and Japanese import Masahiro Tanaka who went down in early July with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament. There is talk that Tanaka will be able to return to the mound before seasons end, but this very injury has already claimed the seasons of Nova and 22 other pitchers around the big leagues. Leaving many to doubt this is a possibility.

The Yankees have done all they could to compensate for the losses, acquiring Brandon McCarthy from the Arizona Diamondbacks, calling up pitching prospects Shane Greene and Chase Whitley, as well as claiming Esmil Rogers and Chris Capuano.  Replacing starting pitching is very tough and often times does not work out.  That is probably why the Yankees did not pull the trigger on a trade with the Chicago White Sox that would have brought them lefty John Danks, who certainly would have been a major upgrade for the pieced together rotation.  In years past the Yankees would have made a big splash dive into the trade market looking for any top line player to help out; but they seemed content to make smaller sensible moves rather than the gaudy headliner.  Injuries are part of any sport and every team the goes through them knows difficult it is press through a season minus a comrade.  No one knows how this season of injuries will play out, but it surely looks to be another grind to the finish

Fixing Sabathia

It is the topic that has not gone away since last season. The question that the Yankee universe ponders after every 5th day....What is wrong with C.C. Sabathia?  Since putting up the worst numbers of his 13 year career in 2013, it has not gotten much better.  It is hard to believe that many fans are pressing the panic button with a pitcher of his caliber, but with a earned run average of over 5 in 8 starts, it is safe to say the doubts in the fans minds are legitimately supported.  Sabathia first came to the Bronx with a wall of fire behind him, he was arguably the best pitcher in the game and the prized possession of free agency. The Yankees showered him with a very substantial contract and the return on their investment was nearly instantaneous.  He posted 3 consecutive 19+ win seasons, finished second in the voting for the Cy Young Award in 2010 and helped the team capture a 27th world championship.  Sabathia was everything the Yankees had hoped he would be and then some.  Many believed his continued success would allow him make a run at the 300 win club.  However, those sentiments are now a distant memory as fans, analysts, and the New York media are bombarding the beleaguered and deteriorating star pitcher.


This has happened to the Yankees before with several pitcher they counted on to be good.  The likes of Javier Vasquez, A.J. Burnett, Ian Kennedy, Randy Johnson, and most recently Phil Hughes all heard many high praises for their ability, only to see that ability wilt away with for seemingly no reason at all.  While many blame them for not having the toughness to handle the big lights of the greatest city,  Blame can also be placed on the organization itself.  A few of the aforementioned pitchers got much better as soon as they left New York.  Many say it was because the heavy weight of the pinstripes was lifted off of them. Others say subtle changes in their pitching mechanics missed by the Yankees coaching staff attributed to this rise in success.  Unfortunately for the Yankees these outlooks became fact with both Burnett and Kennedy.  Each of whom posted better numbers with new teams than they had with the Yankees.  Sabathia still has time left to salvage what could become two lost seasons.  However, to get their he will need to get back the belief that he is still an effective pitcher and he cannot do it alone.  The team must not allow his problems to fester like all of the others. after all the do have $23 million invested in him over the next 3 year and it would be a shame to see that kind of money yet again go to waste. 

Same Old Knicks

Last night the inevitable happened, the New York Knicks were eliminated from playoff contention.  This brought an end to their 3 consecutive playoff appearances, their longest in a decade.  Though they did not give the fans much more than a single series win, it was nice to see the long beleaguered basketball team get into the fold.  However, it seems the old adage is taking ring true yet again "The more things change, the more they stay the same."  The team doomed to this fate from the very moment they endured a debilitating 9 game skid from early to mid-November and try as they would they never found themselves again.  Several increments of 3, 4, and 5 game losing streaks would follow, all of which added up, making it that much more difficult to climb the playoff ladder.  Some may ask what went wrong, but in actuality that should say is, what didn't.

The Knicks were one of the worst defensive teams in the league, especially against teams with great guards. They also never found consistent continuity offense, often looking discombobulated and desperate.  When you put those together, you certainly do not get a playoff contender, instead what you do get is a team that has no sense of who they are.  All season long head coach Mike Woodson and the players talked of everything but the reality that they were not good enough to consider themselves amidst the league’s elite.  Sure there were signs of good things when they defeated playoff bound teams such as the Heat, Pacers, Warriors, and even the Spurs, but it would amount to nothing as they suffered loss after loss to teams that great teams that many felt they should handle, the far too prevalent flaws reared their ugly heads many times, more than I am sure the Knicks would like to admit.  In addition, there was also a lack of leadership and accountability from Woodson whom at many times seemed as if he was oblivious to what was happening.  His constant mismanagement of the roster and favoritism of certain players and their style of play ran a muck this season and did more harm than good.  One of the more troubling issues was his bedeviling allowance of isolation basketball hat did nothing but ruin the flow of the game and make the Knicks very vulnerable on offense.  It is clear a change needs to be made, whether or not that happens will be up to Phil Jackson and what he feels is best. 

There was on person who saw the truth about this team much like all of the fans...Carmelo Anthony. He stated before the season began that he would be testing free agency and also saying that he was placing winning before anything else.  Now that he will miss the playoffs for the first time if his 11 year career one has to believe that he will be saying goodbye to the Big Apple this summer.  Perhaps this is the change that the Knicks need. Maybe they can finally get a good look at themselves and realize that they are far from what they want to be.  Only time will tell if it gets any better but for now New Yorkers will continue to berate and complain about the Knickerbockers, something they've grown quite accustom to.

Here We Go

Spring Training has come to an end and it is time for the real baseball season to kick off.  That's right ladies and gentleman Opening Day is upon us.  It is time to forget about the successes and failures of last year and put your best forward.  For the Yankees the goal is simple, raise a 28th championship banner and nothing else. reclaiming the top of the baseball mountain from the rival Boston Red Sox is the one and only priority.  The team is loaded with talent and should see a great deal of success this season, baring another disastrous year of injuries and underwhelming performances which plagued 2013.  It is sure to be a fun and emotional 162 games that includes the Derek Jeter career clock ticking down to its final days, bringing a trail of pinstriped tears with it for all who never though a year like this would come.  There are sure to be many moments to savor this year and hopefully it will end with a moment that will last through history, The captain raising the Commissioners Trophy one last time.

Getting Back on Track

2013 was a year to forget for all fans of professional athletics in New York City area as all of its teams did little or nothing for the 12 month period.  However, it seem that they has been listening to the harsh criticisms of the nation’s toughest fan base and are taking the necessary steps to improve their status amongst the people.  The Islanders are heading into a transition from the dilapidated Nassau Coliseum to the new confines of the Barclays Center, the current home of the recently emigrated Brooklyn Nets.  Hopefully it will allow the team to gather a new following and not to mention larger revenues. With their young roster and money to spend there could be some exciting hockey to look forward to in the near future.

The Yankees have undergone a facelift with the retirements of Yankee greats Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera, both significant losses to say the least. However, nothing has shaken the foundation of the Yankees more than the coming exit of team captain Derek Jeter, who announced that he will retire at seasons end. This has caused the team to seriously re-evaluate its future on a much grander scale. In response to all of this the Yankees dove deep into their very bloated pockets, spending $471 million in free agency to retool and forgoing their $189 million payroll plan. The list of those additions include Brian McCann, Carlos Beltran, Kelly Johnson, Brian Roberts, Matt Thornton, Japanese export Masahiro Tanaka, and former Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury.  Putting this kind of talent together has upped expectations in Yankee country, and the "Evil Empire" is poised to regain their rightful place atop the baseball world.

The New York Giants have undergone as similar makeover as the team did something most unprecedented, they spent money on young talent instead of trying to get value out of players who may never reach their potential.  After a season that saw the team begin 0-6, tying for the worst start in team history, coupled with missing the playoffs for the 4th time in five years it was clear changes had to be made.  The Giants long time offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride retired, allowing the team to bring in former Packers quarterbacks coach Ben McAdoo to spice things up.  This is a welcome change for many fans who felt the Giants offense had become predictable and boring.  The team then restructured the current contracts of Chris Snee and Steve Weatherford to free up cap space.  Unfortunately the Giants did endure loses of DE Justin Tuck, DT Linval Joseph, OL Kevin Boothe and WR Hakeen Nicks in order to give the team the edge it needed to get better.  The organization resigned veteran Linebacker Jon Beason who made a pretty big impact on the defense after being acquired in early October.  They also added former Ravens LB Jameel McClain to line up alongside Beason, shoring up what has been a very problematic area for a long time.  The other signing included OL John Jerry, S Quintin Demps, T Goeff Schwartz, RB Rashad Jennings, CB Walter Thurmond, CB Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, and the resigning of for WR Mario Manningham.  These moves have given loyal Giants fans renewed hope and optimism for next season which if all goes well could be a quite successful one.

As for the New York Knicks this season has been underwhelming at best.  After a 54 win season and division title last year, the team has tumbled backwards spending most of the year well under the .500 mark.  With team star and top scorer Carmelo Anthony announcing he will opt out of his current contract to explore free agency, the Knicks find themselves in a most urgent situation.  In order to bring forth a glimmer of hope and quell the ongoing negative sentiments, owner James Dolan hired legendary coach Phil Jackson as President of Basketball Operations.  Jackson will begin the daunting task of putting together a competitive and successful team that all New Yorkers can be proud to root for.  It will be up to him to make a plan that will reassure both the fans and the overbearing Dolan that the organization will be ready to make a great leap to the contender they have not been in over 15 years.