Behind The Bag

I've Moved

2008-12-02T16:41:00.001-05:00

To the two people out there who read this blog, I've moved on to http://anewyorkstateofmind.wordpress.com.

The Mike Singletary Rant

2008-10-29T19:18:00.003-04:00

This is classic. Much respect to the Minister of Defense.

Jets 28, Chiels 24

2008-10-26T16:35:00.003-04:00

Of course, this game never should've been close because the Chiefs are that bad and all the blame for that goes to Bret Favre and his 3 picks. Great games by Leon Washington and Laveraneus Coles, but the "Bad Bret Favre" has been showing up a little too much to my liking this season.

Raiders 16, Jets 13

2008-10-19T21:44:00.004-04:00

Bottom line, after a great comeback, Favre and the Jets had four chances to win this damn game in overtime and didn't come close to getting decent yardage for even a field-goal attempt. Bad loss, really bad.

Does This Seem Familiar?

2008-10-17T15:44:00.004-04:00

Yes, I understand that after the miracle they pulled in the 2004 ALCS the Boston Red Sox should never be counted out. But still. Down 7-0? Going into the bottom of the 7th? Unbelievable.

Larry Johnson Is A Coward

2008-10-14T17:11:00.003-04:00

Third time arrested for assaulting a woman? That's a straight-up punk who shouldn't be allowed to put on an NFL jersey again. Can't believe Herm Edwards would allow a guy like this to play on his team:

Kansas City running back Larry Johnson has been charged with assault, his third such brush with the law since he joined the Chiefs.
Johnson, 28, was charged with a similar assault for allegedly pushing a woman at a Kansas City nightclub on February 24.
The National Football League player is scheduled to appear in court on December 3 and faces a maximum jail term of six months and a 500-dollar fine.
The 26-year-old complainant accused Johnson of pushing the left side of her head with an open hand and saying "don't touch me" as he passed them in a crowd.
Johnson faced a similar situation in 2005 when a woman accused him of pushing her to the ground at a Kansas City bar. That charge was dropped when the woman failed to appear in court.
In 2003, Johnson agreed to a domestic violence diversion program after he was charged with felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor domestic battery for allegedly waving a gun during a dispute with a former girlfriend.

Cowboys Can't Win With Wade Phillips

2008-10-13T16:19:00.003-04:00

Of course, I'm not blaming Phillips for Tony Romo being out a month with a broken finger and considering that the Giants went on to win the Super Bowl, it's hard to fault Phillips anymore for his team's home playoff loss last season, but there's still something about Wade Phillips that just speaks to his inability to get the most out of team. I saw it for years when he coached the Bills as they choked in every single big game and his vanilla personality just doesn't seem to inspire people. How the Cowboys do in Romo's absense will be a true reflection on Phillips' ability to coach.

Anybody But The Phillies

2008-10-11T17:14:00.002-04:00

Really now, I thought after they put a through whipping on the Cubs and with Rafael Furcal back, the Dodgers would take out the Phillies in 5, at the most 6. But now with the Phils taking the first two games and nobody hitting besides Manny Ramirez, I'm starting to wonder if L.A. can even get a game. Bottom line, Joe Torre needs to wake his team up and fast, starting tomorrow against Jamie Moyer or else this series will be over before it started. And I'll have to look forward to a sad baseball season get even worse with the Phillies in the World Series.

Pacman Jones Punches Out Bodyguard

2008-10-09T13:54:00.002-04:00

To think this latest incident happened on the same day Commissioner Goodell said that he was "rooting" for him:

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam "Pacman" Jones was involved in a fight with one of his bodyguards, according to Dallas police, the night before attending a previously scheduled team meeting with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
No one was arrested and no one will be charged in connection with the fight late Tuesday night at The Joule, an upscale downtown Dallas hotel.
Jones missed all of last season for Tennessee while serving an NFL suspension for off-field incidents. Goodell fully reinstated the cornerback, acquired by Dallas in a trade in April, just before the season opener.
Before meeting with the Cowboys on Wednesday, Goodell said to reporters in San Antonio: "Adam knows how much emphasis I put on making sure that he makes good choices going forward, that he avoids situations where he can reflect poorly on himself, the Cowboys or the NFL. So far he seems to have been able to do that very effectively."

Hmmm.....turns out the bodyguard has "chosen" not to press charges. Yeah, right. Can anyone say bribery?

Kimbo Slice Gets Knocked The F-ck Out!

2008-10-06T19:39:00.002-04:00

Looks like he went down on purpose to me. More here.

Mets Should've Fired Omar Minaya, Kept Jerry Manuel

2008-10-04T18:33:00.004-04:00

I like Jerry Manuel too (who doesn't?) despite the fact that he too was also a part of the two biggest collapses in Mets history. I knew it was a longshot, but I wanted the Wilpons to fire Omar Minaya and keep Manuel. Omar doing nothing to help the Mets horrible bullpen this year is the biggest reason why the Mets aren't in the playoffs, thus, giving him a 4-year deal was yet another asinine move by the Mets owners. But I'm glad that Jerry Manuel will be back, he deserves a chance to put his own stamp on this team.

Nothing Worse Than Being A Cubs Fan

2008-10-02T02:39:00.004-04:00

Every time I think about how hard and torturous it is to be a Mets fan, I lose sight of a far worse fate: being a Cubs fan. I mean, can you imagine 100 years without a championship for your favorite team? And all the bad luck (from the infamous black cat game in '69 to losing to the Padres in the '84 NLCS after being up 2-0 to Steve Bartman) that this sad (but very popular) franchise has had to endure over the years? Now the Cubs are the favorites to represent the NL in the World Series this year and they're already down 1-0 to a Dodger team that's really good, esp. with Manny Ramirez on it. Oh well.

Mets Give Omar A 4-Year Extension

2008-09-24T02:08:00.003-04:00

I heard about this tonight on ESPN, if it's true they can't be serious:

General manager Omar Minaya and the Mets have agreed on a four-year contract extension, SI.com has confirmed. An official announcement is not expected until after the season.

Minaya's several high-profile acquisitions have built the Mets into a perennial contender in the National League, and while the timing of the news is a little unusual in that the Mets are struggling in September for a second straight season, an extension was expected all along based on the club's overall improvement during his tenure. He also enjoys an excellent working relationship with the Wilpon family, which owns the Mets.

Unbelievable! And yet another example of why the Wilpons should sell the team. The Mets are on the verge of collapsing for the second straight season and ownership is busy working on an extension for a GM who stood by and did NOTHING to fix his team's most blatant problem. God, where is Nelson Doubleday when you need him?

Memories Of Yankee Stadium

2008-09-21T16:56:00.004-04:00

I'm no Yankee fan, but being an NYC native I've probably been to Yankee Stadium about 10 times in my life (thru invites from friends, free tickets, etc), the last being 2007 where I had the good fortune to watch Alex Rodriguez hit two home-runs. Honestly, i have nothing bad to say about The House That Ruth Built on the day the Yanks are playing their last game there today. It's a beautiful park, the fans are great and yes, there is a mystique to being there. The Yankees clearly don't need a new park (esp. when you remember that this one was remodeled for two years in the 70's), but the team is no longer winning on the field and in these tense financial times, you gotta make $$$ any way you can get it I guess. Lastly, I'd say that my best memory of Yankee Stadium was getting to see my favorite player of all-time, Don Mattingly, play in person.

Jerry Manuel's Mistake

2008-09-17T02:09:00.003-04:00

The Mets are falling fast and everyone is rightfully talking deja vu. But again, if the Mets don't make the playoffs Omar Minaya needs to be fired mostly for failing to address his team's most dire need: bullpen help. I'm sick and tired of people like Mike Francesa covering for Omar's ass with his "well it's tough to get a reliever", "know one was out there" BS. If the Mets had Brian Cashman or Theo Epstein as GM, I guarantee that either one would've done better than bringing in a 1-7 pitcher with a 6+ ERA from a last place team (no offense to Luis Ayala whose done a pretty decent job, but you get my drift). And yes there were guys out there like ex-Met Chad Bradford (picked up by Tampa Bay) and the A's Huston Street (considering that the A's have tossing out pitchers like wet rags this year, I don't see how the Mets just couldn't get Street before the trade deadline). Either one would've helped this team immensely, but if as I suspect Omar didn't want to let go of his personal "super prospect" Fernando Martinez (who's so good that he wasn't even promoted to the big leagues with the rest of the September call-ups), it just shows you another reason why overall Omar has been a failure as a GM.

Besides all that Jerry Manuel isn't helping his case by refusing to let Luis Castillo bat second in the line-up, where he's a much better fit than 7th. Castillo is a proven hitter, high OBP guy, a veteran and a winner. Ryan Church hasn't been himself since May, he should be batting 6th or 7th. Judging from Castillo getting benched for Argenis Reyes today, you definitely get the feeling that there's something personal going on between Castillo and Manuel, but now not the time for that stuff, Manuel needs to concentrate on doing what's best for the team and batting Castillo down in the order is not it.

Braves 7, Mets 4

2008-09-14T18:08:00.003-04:00

Yeah, chalk this one up to "One of the Worst Loses of the Season". Ayala clearly didn't have it and of course it comes against the Braves, still shooting us in the foot after all these years. I guess the only good thing to come out of this is that even of the Phillies sweep the pathetic Brewers today, we'll still be one up in the division and one out of the wild-card. But I want the division, dammit!

On Tom Brady Being Out For The Season....

2008-09-12T15:52:00.003-04:00

If you're a Jets fan like I am, you'd have to be an idiot not to be excited about the league's premiere QB (a guy who your team has the misfortune of having to face twice a year and who beats the crap out of you just about every time you play him) being out for the season. That said, I'm not going to get to go crazy and make this upcoming game against the Pats any more than what it is: Game 2. In other words, even if the Jets lose this Sunday, they're still 1-1 and the season will not be over no matter what the media thinks. Of course, the idea of losing to a QB who hasn't started a game since high-school will be a little embarrassing.

On Billy Wagner's Injury...

2008-09-09T18:29:00.002-04:00

No disrespect to him, but for the Mets I honestly feel that they're better off without Billy Wagner. Wagner blew some incredible games this season, he's never done well in the clutch (including the playoffs) and so far, Luis Ayala has done a pretty decent job. Yes, the bullpen is still the Mets biggest weakness, but besides Aaron Heilmann, I really feel that they're going to step it up down the stretch. As for Wagner, he'll get better soon enough and maybe he'll be able to pitch again sometime for somebody, but ever since he came to the team and disrespected Mariano Rivera by continuing to use the same entrance song, I've found him hard to like.

Game 1: Jets 20, Dolphins 14

2008-09-07T20:50:00.003-04:00

I know that all of the attention today was on Favre, but to me the story of the day was the defense and bad coaching by Eric Mangini. Not using your punter for an extra point after the second TD in the first half? Bad move. Not trying to go for points on the last drive before the half? Bad move. And there were plenty I can't recall now that hopefully the media will catch in tomorrow's papers. Great game by Dwight Lowery tho who certainly deserved the game ball.

Even Stephon Marbury's Cousin Thinks He's Selfish

2008-09-06T12:12:00.000-04:00

Well look at this, one of Marbury's fam confirms what I've been saying for years:

Stephon Marbury has carried the stigma of being a selfish player for the majority of his 12-year NBA career.
Now, his older cousin is saying Marbury is even more self-centered off the court and is dishing details on the Knicks point guard in his autobiography, "The Beautiful Struggle," the Daily News has learned.

The book, due out in late September from Xlibris Publishing, has former NBA pro and current overseas player Jamel Thomas alleging that Marbury ruined a potential deal for him with the Minnesota Timberwolves. In it, Thomas includes a conversation that he allegedly had with Kevin Garnett, in which Garnett tells him how Marbury's presence on the team spoiled his cousin's chances of signing with Minnesota.

"Stephon's selfish - It's just the way he is," Thomas told The News. "He never put himself out there at all to help me. He left me out to dry. Too many false promises. I still love him, but he's selfish."

See what I'm talking about? Called out by your own cousin. Can the Knicks please trade or waive this cancer before he makes them worse (granted, that'd be hard to do after last season, but you get the point).

Patrick Ewing Goes In The Hall of Fame Today

2008-09-05T13:18:00.004-04:00

He wasn't immortal. He was rarely dominant. MJ always had his number. He never had a great No. 2 and he never won a championship, but when you think about the mess the Knicks have been in since he left, you can appreciate the sustained excellence Patrick Ewing brought to the court year after year. For that he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.

Carlos Delgado For MVP

2008-09-04T18:24:00.002-04:00

This is my second time saying this, but really is there anyone in the National League whose made more of a difference to his team than Delgado? The MVP isn't about who has the best stats, it's about who's delivered the most when it counts. Today, the Mets are in first place because of Carlos Delgado.

Mets Take Series From Marlins

2008-08-31T17:40:00.002-04:00

The Beltran grand slam was probably the biggest of his Mets career and yeah, that comeback shocked even me. Yesterday's loss was just horrible and showed once again why after this season the Mets just need to let Aaron Heilman go be a starter somewhere. Today, Pedro pitched well, Reyes got a key hit and hopefully we'll be back up 2 by the time the day is over.

You Can Call Him Chad Javon Ocho Cinco Now

2008-08-30T19:22:00.003-04:00

Some people will do anything for attention and the man formerly known as Chad Johnson is certainly one if them:

Maybe receiver Chad Johnson can go by the name that his head coach hates.
The Cincinnati Bengals receiver has legally changed his name to Chad Javon Ocho Cinco in Broward County, Fla., a switch that became official this week, according to several media reports. Johnson, who lives in Miami, didn’t return a message left on his cell phone Friday night.

“It’s something I don’t think anyone has ever done before,” he told the team’s Web site. “Have I ever had a reason for why I do what I do? I’m having fun.”

Two years ago, Johnson gave himself the moniker—a reference in Spanish to his No. 85—and put it on the back of his uniform before a game. Quarterback Carson Palmer ripped it off before the kickoff. After the season, coach Marvin Lewis—who dislikes Johnson’s attention-getting stunts—referred to the receiver as “Ocho Psycho.”

Bengals spokesman Jack Brennan said the Bengals had no comment on the matter.

Personally, I like "Ocho Psycho" a lot better.

Michael Strahan Chooses To Stay Retired

2008-08-27T14:10:00.003-04:00

Michael Strahan proves that sometimes it's really not about the money:

The seven-time Pro Bowler decided to stay retired after seriously considering a request by the Super Bowl champion New York Giants to return to the team in the wake of a season-ending injury to fellow star defensive end Osi Umenyiora.
"He was very close to returning, but the great part about Michael is that he takes his time to think about things and he is very thorough," Tony Agnone said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday night. "You can get excited about coming back and running through the tunnel one more time."
Agnone said that Strahan struggled deciding whether he could give 100 percent mentally.
"In the end, he felt he could not get back to where he was," Agnone said.

Strahan could've gotten like $5million more than his new gig as an NFL analyst at FOX pays him year if he'd chosen to come back, so it had to be tempting. But going out on top, age and common sense obviously reigned him in. And that's a good thing.