Kobe Out of Control

With the NBA season now a few days into the season, once again, Kobe Bryant is the center of attention. Kobe keeps saying that he just wants to win, as are all of the superstars today. However Bryants actions have never displayed this, and anyone who believes it now is just crazy. If Kobe was so dead set on winning, then why are him and Shaq no longer on the same team. With the two players in LA together, the Lakers won 3 straight championships. However, Kobe really likes to be THE guy, and sharing the spotlight with Shaq was just not good enough for Kobe. After kicking Shaquille O'neal out the door, Bryant basically sent Phil Jackson into an early retirement for a year, before coming back to the Lakers. Now the next part of the Kobe saga is where, he is not only looking to be traded to the Bulls, but he is now dictating who he wants to be traded for. Despite Bryant already coming out and saying that he wants to be traded to the Bulls, but now he is saying that he would veto any trade to the Bulls which would include the Lakers receiving Luol Deng. Since when do players think they can just demand what they want and just assume that management is going to let them get away with it. For any of these superstars that have already made enough money to take care of their families for generations can easily prove that their main motivation is to win by simply taking a huge pay cut. If for instance, you already have fifty million dollars in five years of work, why not ask for twenty five million for the next five years. This will give your team twenty five million dollars by which they could bring in more players.

Paul Blackborow

Game 1 in the Books

Game 1 Recap

Good morning and if you stayed up for the entire game, I didn’t 1130 I was gone, wipe the sleeps out of your eyes and start up another pot of coffee.

So game 1 goes to the Red Sox and if there was any concern the Red Sox may stumble out of the gate those fears was calmed within in the first 10 minutes. First, Josh Beckett was once again the ace and amazing. Last night his first inning performance was one for the record books becoming the first person since Juan Guzman in 1993 to strike out the side in the first inning of a World Series game. Then the Sox went to work, led by the new young star, Dustin Pedroia who just got it over the green monster and the offense was ready to roll on a wet night at Fenway. And roll it did, putting up 13 runs, including blowing the doors off game 1 with a 7 run 5^th inning. Oh by the way the 13 runs scored is also a World Series record, so do we crown the Sox?

Not quite so fast. The Rockies clearly stumbled out of the gate. Do you blame the 8 days off or was it good pitching? In this situation I think you need to give Josh Beckett the credit here. Once again Beckett continues to shine and dominate in the post-season. Beckett in 2007 has been the complete opposite of 2006. Last year he was continuously bit by the long ball and his inability to throw strikes and keep guys off base. If you look back at 2006, Beckett’s main problems came when he would give up homeruns, but with all the walks they were usually 2 or 3-run home-runs and not of the harmless solo variety. In 2007 Red Sox nation is seeing why Beckett is the ace of the staff that so many teams want. He is clearly pitching with high confidence, whether he’s throwing the fastball by the hitter, or painting the corners so precisely and snapping over the off-speed. Beckett is in complete control. Just look at his post-season numbers following last nights performance where he allowed six hits in seven innings, struck out nine and walked one. He has now improved to a record of 4-0 with a 1.20 ERA in the postseason. Also with the offensive help Beckett was once again to throw under 100 pitches which could make him available for a game 4 if needed.

However, on the other end the Rockies for the first time in a long time looked flat. They appeared to be very anxious at the plate, swinging early in the counts and not working pitch counts. Going into the series I said the key for the Rockies is to split in Boston and I am still confident they can do that. Game 1 is over and done with so the Rockies must now turn the page and get back to playing Rockie baseball. The key for game 2 is to work the pitch count. Curt Schilling has been good this post-season but to me on Saturday night it looked like the Indians got themselves out more then Schilling got the Indians out. Meanwhile Ubaldo Jimenez will make the biggest start of his career. He will have the tough task of having to navigate his way through a red hot Red Sox lineup, which frankly right now looks unstoppable. In his first 2 post-season outings he was able to Stifle the Phillies and Diamondbacks for 5+ innings, and tonight the Rockies need that and maybe a bit more. With Jeff Francis struggling Clint Hurdle had to go through his bullpen much more then he would have liked in Game 1. Hurdle needs Jimenez to give the start of his life but he also needs the Rockies offense to wake up, before its too late.

If the Rockies come back to Coors down 2, the party might be over and for that matter and may be just beginning back in Boston. Game 2 is tonight, so get the coffee going again, its going to be another late night. .

Enjoy the game.
Jason Deger

Time for the Future

With the New York Jets at 1-6 for the season, it is time for coach Eric Mangini to test the future. The normally reliable Chad Pennington has struggled mightily during the course of the season. The AFC is by far the better conference, and there is a good chance the Jets would need to go undefeated the rest of the way just to secure a playoff berth. With a schedule that still includes games at Dallas and New England as well as a home game against Pittsburgh. Over the course of Penningtons career he has been a very smart quarterback. Even with a weak arm, he still has been able to get the job done. However, this season he has been throwing picks in key situations, and has just struggled in leading the offense. The Jets have some solid receivers in Coles and Cotchery who will never be confused for headaches like Terrell Owens, but they are definitely good enough to help lead the team. It is now time to look to the future. The Jets have Kellen Clemens waiting in the wings, and it is time to see if he is really the future of the franchise. Clemens is now in his second season and in his first start against the Ravens, definitely showed some potential. With a lost season already, Mangini would be very smart not to waste a second season in the event that Clemens is not the quarterback they thought he was. It has nothing to do with Pennington as a person but if the Jets are going to rebound from this season, unfortunately Pennington will not be the guy to lead them.

Is it time for Joe to go?

George Steinbrenner should fire Joe Torre after this latest meltdown. He should not be fired because of this one series, but rather because of his whole body of work since the 2001 season. Since leading the Yankees to three world series in his first four seasons, he has gone the last six years without winning a World Series. Despite appearing twice in the World Series, Torre has bowed out in the playoffs to less talented teams every one of those years minus the 2001 World Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Yankees overacheived in that series losing in the ninth inning of game 7.
In 2002 the Yankees were beaten and out pitched by the wild card Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Despite winning 103 games in the regular season, and finishing 8-2 down the stretch, the Yankees could not figure out the Angels. In the four game series which Anaheim won 3-1 the Yankees pitching let up 31 runs. Although Anaheim was not dominant on the mound, their offense carried them to the victory, and would wind up winning the world series.
In 2003 the Yankees were beaten by the National League wild card Florida Marlins who were led by ace Josh Beckett. In game 6, with the Yankees best on the mound at home, Andy Pettitte was outdueled by the Marlins youngster 2-0. Beckett was sensational in the series, but the Marlins were not the most talented team in the series. It was a pitching dominated series with the Yankees averaging just under 3 runs against per game, while Florida let up 3.5 runs per game.
In 2004 the Yankees won the AL East and would take on the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS. This was one of the biggest blown opportunities as the Yankees went up 3 games to none in the best of seven series. In the third game, the Yankees dominated Boston pitching winning the game 19-8. However the Yankees would lose the next three games, all pretty close to send the series to a seventh game. In game 7 Kevin Brown was sent to the mound, and was absolutely awful. The Yankees ended up losing the game 10-3.
In 2005 the Yankees faced their biggest nemesis of the Torre era the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and were beaten in five games. The Yankees were down 2-1 in the series after winning the first game in Anaheim. With the Yankees on the brink of elimination the team was able to come back from a 2-0 defecit winning the game 3-2. In the decisive game though, Torre's Yankees would once again fall short 5-3 in the game.
In 2006 the Yankees for the second straight year would fall short of advancing past the divisional round. This year they would face the Detroit Tigers who had not appeared in the playoffs since the 1987 season. The Yankees won the first game 8-4. However over the next three games the Yankees would struggle to score over the next three games. In the second game the Yankees took a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning, before falling 4-3 in the game. Game 3 the Yankees would be shutout by Kenny Rogers losing the game 6-0. The Yankees collapse was completed in the fourth game where they fell behind 8-0 in the sixth inning. The Yankees would snap their streak of 17 innings without a run scored in the seventh inning. The Yankees would lose the game 8-3.
This year the Yankees beat the Indians in all 6 meetings during the regular season, but are unable to win more then one game in the series. The Indians lose the first two games at Cleveland 12-3 and 2-1. In the third game, the Yankees survive off the bat of Johnny Damon and the huge relief effort of Phil Hughes after Clemens leaves the game early. With the Yankees given a second life, Wang would surrender that to Grady Sizemore as the first batter of the game. The Yankees fell 6-4 after Wang let up 4 runs over one plus innings.
With three straight lackluster performances by Torre's teams in the playoffs, maybe it is not the players as much as it is the manager. With the Yankees having quite a bit of young pitching talent, and Torre having a reputation of over using pitchers, maybe now is the time that the manager gets changed. My top choice would be to see Joe Girardi as manager. How can you pass up on a manager who led the Florida Marlins last season late in to the playoffs race. I expect though that the job will be handed to Joe Torre's bench coach Don Mattingly. As a big fan of Donnie Baseball, I would hate to see him fail if it is him who takes over the reins.

Paul Blackborow

NHL Needs new man running the show

For those of you who may have missed the memo, or if you just happen to live in North America, you may have missed the opening of the 2007-08 hockey season. Commissioner Gary Bettman decided that the English may be a good market to go after, despite the fact that are plenty of other countries who would've loved to see a game.
Why do all of these commissioners think we need to go and globalize their sports? When English football (soccer) teams come over here to showcase there game, they do not count these towards the standings. These games are played merely to bring attention to the game, but they are not cheating their loyal fans from seeing one less regular season game. Right now the NHL is aching for ratings, as proven by the fact that hardly anyone knew the games were going on. So why go ahead and take away some games from the fans who do support you. I do not see Australian Rules football teams coming over here for their regular season games.
With the ratings being as low as they have, why does the NHL have a deal with a provider like Versus, where people either don't have, or don't even know its on. The NHL by far has the best playoffs of any sports.
If Bettman is going to remain the commissioner of hockey, then the game may get a higher and higher cap, as it has recently, but eventually if everyone just forgets about it totally, what will happen to the game. Well hopefully they will start up an English league after the little taste of the game that they have recieved.

Paul Blackborow

MLB First Round Predictions

NL
Philadelphia vs. Colorado-The best series of the bunch. The Colorado Rockies went on a tear to end the season, and with a wild victory on Monday night, defeating the Padres for the final playoff spot. Philadelphia meanwhile came from a long way back and just edged out the New York Mets. This is a matchup that we can see for quite some time with both teams having quite a bit of young talent. This year though, I think it will be Philadelphia behind the play of Ryan Howard. With the season on the line, Howard was playing his best ball late, and I see that continuing. Phillies win the series in 5 games.

Arizona vs. Chicago-Despite playing in 162 games I am still not sold on this Arizona team. How can a team that has been outscored by as much as they have still win in such a competitive division. I am still going to have to go with the Cubbies on this one. Look for the Cubs to take the series in five games.

AL
Boston vs. LA-Anaheim-California- Anaheim has always struggled in Fenway and against the Angels. However I do feel that this year the Angels will be able to beat the Red Sox. The Angels are one of the money ball teams, and if they can get their players on base, they will be able to give the Red Sox some problems. The series is going to be Anaheim in 5 games.

New York vs. Cleveland- The Yankees experience is going to be what gets them through in this series. Despite the Indians having the better pitching in this series, they Yankees have the experience and is great at wearing down pitchers. Yankees will win the series in 4 games.

Paul Blackborow

Fantasy (NCAA) Football 2007

So with all of the hoopla surrounding the start of both college and professional football, I wanted to take a minute to say a few words about fantasy football. No, not in the traditional sense, but in the sense that a no-name team can fantasize about beating a perennial power-house.

Wait, what? Appalachian State beat Michigan? No way. The small school in nowhere North Carolina beat a Michigan team that was in the preseason top 10 in every poll? How’d THAT happen? Hmmm, I guess it’s true about any given Saturday.

Is Michigan just overrated or Appalachian State underrated? You know what? Who cares. App State beat Michigan on so many levels. A close game would’ve been a victory for them yet alone an outright win. If this doesn’t open up the floodgates for a playoff or for giving smaller schools more of an opportunity to play the larger ones, I don’t know what is.

This should be a wake up call for the almighty leaders of the NCAA Football. If you thought Boise State’s big win last year was enough, you were apparently wrong. Years from now we will be discussing Appalachian State’s improbable win at The Big House; however, I will probably be wrong. This will not be enough to change the mentality of the powers that be. The only thing that will be are the dollars.

Are you ready for some Football?!?!?!?!?!

By Andrew Bernstein

NFL Predictions

As the 2007 NFL season is set to kickoff, it is time to make the Super Bowl prediction. Of the two conferences, the tougher of the two will be the AFC where there are a number of talented teams. AFC champion and representing the AFC in the Super Bowl will be the San Diego Chargers. With LT in the backfield and Phillip Rivers now a year older, I think this team is poised to live up to their high expectations. The Chargers will beat the Patriots in the AFC championship game 24-14. The NFC meanwhile does not rank anywhere near the AFC. The New Orleans Saints will come out of the NFC Championship game with a 34-20 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Saints, last years surprise team certainly has the offensive firepower, but the main question they will be trying to find out during the season is if they have the defense that will be able to carry them to victory.
In the Super Bowl matchup, San Diego behind the running game of LT is going to win the Super Bowl 34-24. The Chargers defense is the better of the two and will be the difference in the game.

Spurrier Clueless

South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Steve Spurrier is angered by his school not allowing two players to play at the University despite them being declared eligible by the NCAA. However, I am sure that there are plenty of other students who have even higher test scores and grades then these two players who were not admitted to the school. Why is Spurrier not up arms about these non athletes not being allowed to be admitted to the school. Just because Spurrier goes out and recruit players to come to the school, does not mean that they should be able to be held to a lower standard then other students. Spurrier is under contract through the 2012 season, but with the recent coaching conduct in sports, that clearly means nothing now.

Goodell trying to clean up the NFL?

With the 2007 football season set to begin, its time to applaud Commissioner Goodell for his consistent message to the players that he will not tolerate misbehavior regardless of the talent level. In just his second season as Commissioner Goodell has made quite a statement by suspending "Pacman" Jones for the entire 2007 season. Goodell really let the players know how serious he was when he told Michael Vick not to show up to training camp until after they can conduct an internal investigation. Meanwhile, what Goodell should be telling him is to take off the year so you can get your life together and then we'll discuss it. There is of course still time for Goodell to say that, and would no doubt be contested by the NFLPA. Goodell has not wavered on the Pacman Jones situation at all though where he has just barred Jones from participating in training camp during his one year suspension. The Michael Vick situation will show just how serious Goodell is, but with some of the other decisions he has made, he is well on his way to trying to bring some dignity to the NFL. Maybe when he gets the Vick situation settled, I think NBA Commissioner David Stern could use some help trying to turn around that disaster of a league as well.

Paul Blackborow

NFL needs to promote the Good Guys

With New York Jets Running Back Curtis Martin set to announce his retirement, and New York Giants Running Back already announcing his, the NFL has let two of the great players and personalities slip by. With the NFL preferring to market players such as Terrell Owens, Ray Lewis and Michael Vick, the good guys in the league are able to go under the radar. Curtis Martin despite finishing his career fourth in league history in rushing yards, never seems to be compared to the likes of the top three. Martin will definitely be selected to the NFL Hall of Fame in his first chance. Barber meanwhile, without quite the resume of Curtis Martin, is on the outside looking in for the Hall of Fame. No question he's been Hall of Fame worthy the last five seasons putting up no less then 1216 yards during that time. With his second career as in broadcasting, Barber has shown that he is more then just a talented football player. With his experience in the broadcasting field starting before his career was over, Barber would've been a perfect candidate for the NFL to use in their marketing campaigns. He will still be working with the NFL as a broadcaster for Sunday Night Football, and the NFL would be missing out, if they did not start promoting him now. Fans are tired of the players that are just love reading their names in the paper for anything and everything. It's time for the NFL to show the country that there are some really good guys in the NFL. With the 2007 training camp set to begin, I look forward to hearing a lot less from Michael Vick, and hope the NFL can instead focus on the LaDainian Tomlinson's of the game. But with the recent track record of the NFL, I expect that this will not be the case.

Paul Blackborow

Will Beckham bring soccer to US?

With David Beckham starting his career with the Los Angeles Galaxy this past week, unfortunately I don't think his presence will be enough to bring the game across the pond. In the 1970's the New York Cosmos had brought Pele over, and as good a player as Beckham is, he is no Pele. Despite the presence of Pele, the game did not take off in the US. I do not see the game taking off in the country until we are able to produce an American player with the caliber of a Pele or a Beckham. In the short run there is no doubt though that Beckhams presence in the MLS will be huge for the league as there will definitely be some people who will check out the Galaxy's games just to see Beckham play. Beckham will be a star in the league and teaming up with Donovan probably makes them the favorites to win the MLS Cup despite the team being in second to last. Beckham is the type of player that can turn a team around by making his teammates better. As a soccer fan who has been hoping that the US can create a competitive league, I hope that Beckham can really help the league. However if the greatest player ever can not help with some other big name stars trying to help him, I think it may be unrealistic to ask David Beckham to do it on his own.

Paul Blackborow

MLB Awards predictions

With the baseball season now past the halfway point here is a good time to reflect on the regular season award winners.
Playoffs:
AL East-Yankees
AL Central-Tigers
AL West-Angels
AL Wildcard-Red Sox
NL East-Mets
NL Central-Brewers (by default)
NL West-Padres
NL Wildcard-Phillies

AL Champion-Tigers
NL Champion-Padres
I think the world series is going to be a great series, but in the end, with the 1-2 pitching of Jake Peavey and Chris Young, I think the Padres will take the series in six games.

AL Cy Young-Johan Santana
NL Cy Young-Jake Peavey
AL MVP-Alex Rodriguez
NL MVP-Prince Fielder
AL Rookie of the Year-Delmon Young
NL Rookie of the Year-Ryan Braun
AL Manager of the Year-Eric Wedge Cleveland Indians
NL Manager of the Year-Ned Yost Milwaukee Brewers

Paul Blackborow

NFL needs to get rid of Vick

If Commissioner Goodell wants to be taken seriously as a disciplinarian who is trying to clean up the image of the NFL then he must get rid of Michael Vick. He has already started the clean up process with suspension of Pacman Jones for the 2007 season, but if he wants to show all the superstars that he means business, then Vick should be out too. What Vick did was completely intolerable for anybody to do, and if this had been most other people, they would've already been fired. The Falcons quarterback has already made plenty of mistakes lately from giving the fans the finger to the water bottle accident in the Miami Airport. If this happened in a normal 9-5 job, you would be gone before this went to trial. Vick should be suspended without pay til the conclusion of the trial, and if found guilty should be given a life time ban. Any thing short of that and Goodell will just be sending a message to the rest of the league that the superstars can still get away with anything they want. Fans are tired of seeing athletes that think they are above the law, and what better way to show the fans and the league that he is serious by booting one of the leagues superstars, and putting the rest of the league on notice.

Paul Blackborow

Roger Federer vs. Tiger Woods?

If you are an opponent of one of these future hall of famers are you more scared to play? I'm scared to play Tiger because of the talent he is, but i'm terrified of playing Roger Federer. As good as Tiger has been, any golf event there is, there are several others who people are talking about as possible winners. In tennis, with the exception of playing on clay, there is no one else brought up. There is talk of who will reach the finals, to see the trophy presentation up close and personal.
If you go based on Grand Slam Championships, since 2005 Tiger has won four major championships. Those are numbers of a legend, no question about that. But during that same span, Federer has won six grand slams, finished second in two, and made the semi finals of two more. The two grand slam events that Federer has left he has won four straight times and three straight times respectively.
Yet for all that Federer has done in his career, why is Roger Federer not more of a house hold name then Tiger is?

A Knight’s Tale

Why can’t more coaches be like Bobby Knight? Not with the strangling players or throwing chairs, well maybe throwing chairs. Seriously though, how many college coaches are trustworthy for incoming students? Aside from college baseball because there isn’t as much movement, football and basketball coaches change zip codes almost as often as players change their jocks.
This whole Billy Donovan situation is a complete disaster. He’s offered his “dream” job in Kentucky but turns it down to stay. Claims to be intrigued by the NBA so “talks” to several people about head coach openings. He’s then offered a job, near his house, for an insane amount of money, signs the contract, has his press conference then sleeps on it and decides he wishes he was back in Florida. Meanwhile, Florida’s about to offer his job to someone else as the Athletic Director checks his voicemail. Now Donovan is on his way back to Florida, but what kids should trust him? How can he walk into a house while recruiting claiming that he will be there for the duration of said students tenure at Florida? Who in their right mind would believe him?
This is mainly directed towards those borderline athletes that won’t necessarily jump to the NBA after their first year.
This is for the students who need the coaching and the discipline that they learn in college. There’s only a handful, and a small handful of coaches out there that you know will be where they are for the long run. Bobby Knight is one of them. Coach K’s another. Jim Boeheim at the ‘Cuse.
The NCAA needs to act for the students that are being neglected. Since there are no unions, the NCAA needs to help the athletes that are being hurt by coaches opportunities.

Andrew Bernstein

Favorite Sports Moments

Recently I was trying to think as a sports fan of what my top favorite sports periods were as fan of particular teams. I came to the conclusion that usually the most satisfying part of rooting for a team is not necessarily them winning the championship but when they exceed my wildest expectations. Of course two of my top 5 teams did win championships.
#5 Spring 1994- As a New York sports fan, this was one of my favorite time periods with the New York Rangers winning the Stanley Cup, and the New York Knicks making it to the NBA Championship. The Knicks lost the championship game in a seven game series to the Houston Rockets.
#4 1996 Yankees- The Yankees struggled all throughout the 1980s and were a far cry from the late 70s teams that won two championships. 1994 started the turn around, but was cut short due to the strike. With the Yankees trailing the Atlanta Braves 2-0 and facing a huge defecit in game 3, everyone counted the Yankees out, but with one swing of the bat by Jim Leyritz, the Yankees would come back to take game 3 and Games 4-6 as well.
#3 1998 New York Jets- With Vinny Testaverde running the show, Vinny and the Jets finish the regular season at 12-4 and make it all the way to the 1999 AFC championship game. As a long time Jets fan, this was the closest I have been able to see Gang Green to a Super Bowl.
#2 2007 New York Jets- With all the experts predicting the Jets will get four wins, new head coach Eric Mangini makes the team believe in themselves. The team finishes the season at 10-6 and makes the playoffs coming off an embarrassing 4-12 season behind New Kansas City Chiefs Head Coach Herman Edwards. Chad Pennington finishes his first full season as quarterback, and helps lead a team without a running game to the playoffs.
#1 2002 World Cup- The US mens team reaches the quarterfinals of the World Cup and proves it can play with some of the top teams. The US outplays Germany in the Quarterfinal match, but is unable to finish any of their opportunities, and fall 1-0.

UFL--Can it coexist with the NFL?

With a new football league on the way, how successful will the United Football League be? The goal for the owners of the league is to have it compete with the NFL. This goal on the surface seems like a lot to expect. The NFL has been the best run league for quite some time in the United States, and this does not seem to change any time soon as it is getting more and more popular.
The UFL has already lined up Dallas Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban as one of the owners in the league, and hope that his presence as an owner will be able to bring other prominent owners to the league. With the Mavericks, Cuban has already shown that he has a win at all costs, and there is no doubt that he will do anything he can to make the league succeed. With the salary cap, the UFL believes that they will be able to pay some of the rookies who were drafted later more then the NFL would be able to offer. If the league is able to find these diamonds in the rough such as Tom Brady who was taken in the sixth round, the league will definitely be able to be more competitive to the NFL then leagues like the XFL. The league is scheduled to begin in August of 2008, but will not be attempting to take away viewers from the NFL as the plans are for the games to be played on Friday nights.
I am hoping that this league will succeed as I can never get enough sports. When the league kicks off, I will definitely be paying attention. With the league though playing on Friday nights during the football season, the UFL is going to have its work cut out for itself. With some great marketing and savy business moves, I dont see why the UFL can't be successful.
Paul Blackborow

Roger Clemens-A Waste of $28 Million

With June on its way and the Yankees 14.5 games behind Boston, the Yankees await the arrival of the Rocket Roger Clemens. Clemens is scheduled to take the hill for the Yankees for the first time this season against the Chicago White Sox on June 4th. With the season now 50 games in what exactly will Roger Clemens do for the Yankees? With Clemens experience and competitive fight, he will definitely be a solid acquisition to a pitching staff which has been prone to injuries. With the Yankees having to rely on quite a few rookies this season, Clemens leadership will help these players mature. In fact for a rookie with the talent of Phillip Hughes, this is a perfect situation for the rookie. Clemens strong work ethic and willingness to take pitchers such as Andy Pettitte in his first stop in New York, Hughes should be taking in everything he can from Clemens.
The Yankees main struggles though have not been on the pitching side lately, but rather on the offense. Players like Bobby Abreu, Robinson Cano, Melky Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz have had the toughest start to the season. Abreu who is a career .300 hitter, is in a season long slump that has his average at .233. Last season after joining the Yankees, Abreu hit .330 for the team. Cano, Cabrera and Mientkiewicz are all hitting well under their averages from last season as well.
Clemens can look no further then his best friend and former Yankees and Astros teammate Andy Pettitte who has been hurt the worst by the lack of run support. In 11 games started this season, Pettitte has a record of 3-4 despite a very impressive 2.51 ERA. Over his last five starts Pettitte has pitched atleast 7 innings while allowing no more then three runs in any of those games.
The Yankees throwing $28 million dollars towards Clemens improves the Yankees pitching, but without improving the hitting, the Yankees are going to just fade further behind the Red Sox. This situation is very similar to the Texas Rangers signing Alex Rodriguez after the 2000 season, despite the pitching staffs struggles. By the 4th of July, the Yankees may look to try and trade Clemens back to the Astros unless the offense decides up between now and then.
Paul Blackborow

Fantasy Sports-Good or Bad for Sports?

With the huge rise of popularity in sports, there has been a lot of debate over whether fantasy sports is good or bad for sports. Some of fantasy sports detractors say that it takes loyalty out of the game. To some extent I do believe that this can challenge peoples loyalties to a particular team. Although people who really have loyalty to a team will keep their teams best interest in mind. The fan who just likes to watch the sport, will now have a rooting interest in all of the games.

The biggest thing that fantasy sports leads to is more knowledgeable sports fans. With the popularity of fantasy sports, people are doing more research on players and teams, which leads to the knowledge of the casual sports fans to go up. In general when picking a fantasy team there are a bunch of factors that go into your decision. If a player is going to be a great fantasy player, they need to make sure they put time into their decisions. Just like the athletes themselves needing to practice to stay at the top of their game, the fantasy sports player needs to stay on top of their research otherwise the final piece of the puzzle may slip to another team.

I may never get to be the GM of a professional sports franchise, but with fantasy sports I get to feel like I am. With different types of leagues, the games are becoming even more realistic. With keeper leagues, players are even more like GMs making key decisions from year to year on which players will help them not only for this year, but for years down the road as well.

With the rise of fantasy sports, it is a great way to follow sports, while showing off your competitive side as well. With people being able to start their own leagues between friends, it is a great way for friends to interact. With the rise of popularity in the game, I believe that despite purists worst fear, fantasy sports are here to stay.

Paul Blackborow