Hall of Fame class

There's not a whole lot going on in sports right now its the middle of the week, football is not till the weekend, baseball hot stove will heat up with the winter meetings next week, basketball and hockey are early in their seasons.
Lets talk some baseball Hall of Fame balloting.  (P) Bert Blyleven and (2B) Roberto Alomar who should have gotten in last year are near locks for Cooperstown.  Also on the ballot this year are guys like Harold Baines, Juan Gonzalez , Edgar Martinez ,(still don't think the DH gets in) Tino Martinez, Don Mattingly, (I don't think he played long enough) Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire, (so writers will never vote for a steroid user) Rafael Palmiro, (hes in the same boat as McGwire) Tim Raines.  I don't think any of those people I just mentioned get in. Jeff Bagwell and Jack Morris are the other two who have a chance in my opinion.           

Playoff!

Can we please get a college football playoff.  These games to compete for this BCS system are fun, but will Boise State get a chance to play for the national championship.  Auburn already beat Alabama in the Iron bowl and Oregon is beating Arizona in their game, that's #1 and 2 who already won, Boise Stat plays Nevada in a couple minutes here but will it matter if the Broncos win.  in recent weeks the Broncos have not gained enough BCS points to jump TCU, also a non automatic qualifier.  If Boise wins will they get enough points to jump into the top two in the standings.  will playing #19 Nevada and winning be the boost they need to get in to the top twp which are currently being occupied by Auburn and Oregon two automatic qualifying schools.  Now it depends who you talk to as to whether a Boise State belongs in the national championship, but how would we ever know?...  It would be easier to figure this whole mess out with a play off, every other sport and collegiate athletic division has one why not Division 1 football.                  

a Knick of hope

I am not a huge basketball fan, due to the fact that the Knicks haven't been good for most of my life.  Yes the knicks were in the Finals in the late 90's but that was a strike shortened season.  The Knicks have had eight coaches since the year 2000 and none of them have been able to get the job done.  Many times this team has been a disaster to watch.  They finally hired a coach and General Manager who broke the team down.  The current Knicks team is close to .500 and is giving us hope early in the season.  

Jeter negoations

Personally I don't think this is a very big deal.  It didn't bother me that the Yankees didn't offer him arbitration because they're going to sign him anyway.  Now the media wants this to be a story and its not.  The Yankees started a 3 years and $40 mil, Jeter started at 5 and $100, I don't think it should be to hard for the two sides to meet somewhere in the middle and settle at something like 3 years maybe an option for a 4th and like $50 mil.  The negotiations may have just taken their first hit when Cashman said " We've encouraged him to test the market and see if there's something he would prefer other than this. If he can, fine. That's the way it works.", although those comments might have given this story some legs, I still believe it's a none issue.  The Yankees still fell their offer is the best and what Derek means to the organization.  Derek also knows what he means to the organization and he wouldn't want to go anywhere else.  A negotiation is always contentious and the never go a smoothly as people would like, but one way or the other he will play for them next season.      

Big Blue, Mash

The New York football Giants are now banged up in almost every position from center to wide receiver.  After last nights game the Giants lost another receiver Hakeem Nicks with an injury, they were already down Steve Smith.  The Giants offensive line is also in shambles C Shaun O'Hara and T David Diehl haven't played much all season, this being the Giants have been playing with a makeshift offensive line.  Being down receivers and players on the offensive line is not ideal, they've had to move people all over the place.  In addition to their injury problems they have a case of the drops.  If they are going to win some more games and make the playoffs they're going to have to fix their fumbling problem.  Coach Tom Coughlin has dealt with the injuries fine so far this season, but the fumbles and interceptions are a problem and it came back in last nights game.  Now last night even with the ball security problems they had their chances but they couldn't really contain Michael Vick who can not only beat you with his legs but can now beat you with his arm.  The Giants may have gotten a gift on the Bradshaw fumble that was overturned and Eli Manning has to slide feet first on that first down run, he is not a runner so he has to get down safely when he can.  If they don't fix especially the ball security issue, they won't be in the playoffs.  The NFC is not as bad as it once was and your going to need 9-10 wins to make the playoffs.  The Giants have three winnable games coming up, with Jacksonville, Washington, and Minnesota, before finishing up with Philly, Green Bay and Washington.  I think they'll be in the playoffs starting with getting back on the winning track this weekend.        

lucky or good (NYJ)

Let me start by saying that I am not a Jets fan.  Are the New York Jets lucky or good.  I have watched a bunch of Jets games which could have gone either way.  When I've turned on Jets games, I was expecting to be watching a more mature version of what I saw last year.  But its different the offense seems to have taken a step or two forward with the evolution of Mark Sanchez.  but at the same time their offense is better then a year ago, their defense has gone the other way.  if you just look at their defense, they are a totally different team, where have the constant of blitzes gone.  I believe the rest of the league has caught up to Rex Ryan and his blitzing schemes which are few and far between this season.  I have watched a handful of Jets games in which they have let the opposition come back in the 4th quarter and their offense has had to come and bail them out.  Is this luck or talent?  I do not believe the New York Jets are as good as their record.  the Jets have gotten a few gifts at the end of games and against the elite competition that will hurt.  The Jets games coming up against the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots will be very telling.  Against that type of elite competition if you give up a fourth quarter lead your probably not coming back.                 

football in baseball venues

This is a nice idea in theory, but not always practical.  I watched both of these games today.  Northwestern and Illinois at the famed Wrigley Field started the week as a mess but turned out fine today.  I heard that according to the NCAA there has to be at least six feet between the back of the end zone and a wall for it to be safe for play, if this was the case the plan to put a football game at Wrigley Field should have been revised or scraped altogether.  All of the offensive plays in this game had to be directed in the same direction due to the fact that the one end zone was less then six inches from the brick outfield wall, the brick wall was padded but its still brick and was therefore ruled unsafe by the teams and the Big Ten Conference.  As soon as this plan was proposed or when the pictures of this fie;d were taken on Monday the NCAA and/or the Big Ten Conference should have stepped up and realized their flaw.  While football at Wrigley was just weird football at Yankee Stadium was magical. There were no flaws with this field and it was Notre Dame and Army two schools with great tradition and pride.  You had the Corp of Cadets descending upon the Big Apple and marching into 'The House That George Built" with all the Yankee Stadium tradition and Notre Dame donning their green jerseys which they only wear on special occasions.  This was a great night of college football in New York which is not a great college football town. 

Jeter contract negoations

Derek Jeter is one of the few immortal Yankees, he has to and will finish his career as a Yankee.  Derek will go down in history with the Ruth's, DiMaggio, Gehrig, Yogi, and Ford and his Yankee career will grow further, next spring when he becomes the first Yankee to ever reach 3,000 hits.  Derek needs his next contract, it should be a slam dunk but as with all negotiations there will be some back and forth.  Part of the reason people are talking about this is because people want these negations to be public.  They shouldn't be public until the final numbers are hashed out.  I not saying give him whatever he wants but be reasonable he means more to the New York Yankees then Any other franchise.  Be respectful of him and all he's done for New York and yes he is getting older and will change positions at some point, but your singing him to this contract right now as a shortstop. His contract is probably going be for 3 or 4 years at 18-24 Million.  After next season when Posada is retired you come to Jeter and present him with two options he can move to third and A-Rod becomes our DH, or move to left field.        

State of the NFL

More than ever the NFL is becoming a win now league.  show me the great team out there, they all seem to have their flaws.  The New York Jets are a perfect example, they are not as good as their record would indicate.  The Jets barely escaped a couple times.  The top teams in the AFC would have to be the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts.  The NFC is probably a little more wide open with what were supposed to be the best teams in the beginning of the year falling, flat on their face.  The Green Bay Packers have had injuries everywhere.  The Minnesota Vikings who started the year desperate, with going down to Mississippi to get the ageless Brett Favre can't get their offense going and made a huge mistake with Randy Moss.  The Dallas Cowboys Just can't get out of their own way, too many turnovers, and penalties with a lack of discipline and defense won't get it done.  In my opinion the beat team in the NFC is the New York Giants who have gotten the defense back in recent weeks, cured their penalty problem, the Giants are starting to resemble their Super Bowl winning team of 2007.
Tim's Power rankings
1.  Indianapolis Colts- you have to stop Peyton Manning       
2.  New York Giants-  keep the offense hearty and keep playing defense
3.  Pittsburgh Steelers - big Ben's back see what you can do   
4.  Tennessee Titans- they can run the ball lets see what they do with Randy Moss
5.  New Orleans Saints- get over that post Super Bowl hangover.