Yankees Game 4 Recap

JJ Hardy came up big with a go-ahead RBI double in the top of the 13th

Well tonight was the other scenario that could have happened last night. The Orioles win a well-pitched extra inning ball game to even the series at 2-2 and force a Game 5 tomorrow in New York. Girardi's pinch hitting tactics did not pan out tonight, and the Yankees only managed to score 1 run in 13 innings.

With a 2-1 victory for the Orioles in 13 innings, the Ibanez homer means that much more to the Yankees, who should be eliminated right now. If Ibanez doesn't play savior then hero, the Orioles win two one run games and are comfortably sitting in the Championship Series.

Phil Hughes pitched a great ballgame going 6.2 innings and giving up only 1 run on a homer to Nate McLouth in the 5th inning. The run support was simply not there again. The offense is non-exsistent and it is very concerning. The lone run came on an RBI groundout for crying out loud.

On top of all of this, the home run ball is just not in the cards. Sure Ibanez hit two last night and Martin hit one in the 9th in Game 1, but the Yankees are a team built around home runs. If you put together a good performance on the mound and keep the Yanks in the yard, you will win.

This is why as these tense low-hit and low-run games roll on with 1-1 and 2-2 scores, the game actually favors the Orioles. They have been winning all year in these types of games and are built to manufacture a few runs and then hold their opponent.

The good news is that this is not the end and we have CC Sabathia on the bump for us tomorrow. CC will need to be dominant because we know his hitters will not back him up. The proof is in the pudding, the Yanks have only scored 6 runs before the 9th inning in this series. They have more in the 9th and on with 7 runs during that period!

A miracle will not always be there to bail them out. Tomorrow they need to come out and take the game from the Orioles. Put crooked numbers on the board and have CC shut them down. It's plain and simple, if they don't hit tomorrow, their season will end.

One Last Thing: Girardi needs to stop making the moves now. I know I said I would lay off the guy, but come on. You caught lightning in a bottle once by pinch hitting for A-Rod, it was a great call, yet highly unlikely. You don't make the same move the following night like he did in the 13th. Hopefully Girardi can pull the right strings tomorrow, we're going to need it.

Yankees Game 4 Preview

The job is not completed. The Yankees aren't in the Championship Series, it is still the Divisional Round. The Yankees still need to get a win either tonight or tomorrow, to push them through to the next round. Yes last night was an emotional come from behind thriller that looks to have shifted the momentum of the series back to New York, but the team still needs one more win.

Phil Hughes will get the ball tonight for the Yanks as he will try to pitch his team back to the ALCS for the first time since 2010. Joe Saunders will go for the Orioles, and unlike their last two pitchers, Saunders has playoff experience from his time with the Angels and Diamondbacks.

Here are a few keys to tonight's game.

Run Support
The Yankees will need to score some runs tonight with Hughes on the mound who gave up the second most home runs in the league this year with 35. New York hasn't exactly lit up the scoreboards this series scoring only 6 runs before the 9th inning during this series. (They scored 5 in the 9th in Game 1 and 2 in the 9th and extra innings yesterday in Game 3.)

Hughes did win his last start against the Orioles in Baltimore on September 7th giving up only two earned runs on six hits in 6 innings.

Shaking up the Lineup
After the gutsiest call of the century yesterday, manager Joe Girardi has a few more moves up his sleeve. Tonight Girardi has bumped the struggling Alex Rodriguez to the 5 spot and pushed Mark Teixeira up to the vacancy left by A-Rod in the 3 slot. This moves Nick Swisher out of the 5 hole and down the 6th place in the order. A-Rod may be forced to come up with a big hit tonight as he is Robinson Cano's insurance. Orioles manager Buck Showalter will be sure to walk Cano at least once, to see if A-Rod can pull through.

One more lineup move for the Yanks is Derek Jeter will be DH'ing tonight due to a bruised foot that he suffered in the first inning of last night's game. Jeter is a gamer so don't expect this to hold him back, but it does force Girardi to have to play Jayson Nix at shortstop tonight. Nix gets the advantage over Eduardo Nunez, whose glove has been a liability during his time in the majors.

No Raul?
After providing the heroics in last night's game twice, it wasn't enough to earn a start tonight for Raul Ibanez who is not in the Yankee lineup. Many fans will probably be upset with the decision and question it, but after giving it some thought I have one question. Do you really want to get rid of one of your top weapons? Having Ibanez off the bench gives the Yankees a legitimate pinch hitting option that will haunt every decision a manager makes down the stretch. Ibanez is a luxury that the Yankees should save for the later innings and simply substitute him in a big spot if needed.

Why mess with what works? It's like in the NBA with guys like James Harden of the Thunder and Jason Terry and Lamar Odom back when they were the top 6th men in the league. It makes no sense starting these guys and taking away from the spark that they are capable of providing. Ibanez is comfortable coming off the bench, clearly, hitting 2 pinch hit home runs in the past two weeks, along with another in the 12th last night.

First pitch is about twenty minutes away on TBS and as always GO YANKEES!!!!!

Yankees Game 3 Recap

Raul Ibanez might have just saved the Yankees season

Wow. I am absolutely speechless. Raul Ibanez just saved the Yankees season...again. Despite sitting on the bench for 8 and 1/2 innings, he still was more than ready to come through for the Yankees when his number was called, twice!

The Yankees took a 2-1 series lead after Raul Ibanez hit a game tying pinch hit home run in the bottom of the 9th inning. Ibanez later hit a game winning home run in his next at bat in the bottom of the 12th inning giving his team a 3-2 victory and more importantly, the series lead.

The Yankees had absolutely no business winning that game even though starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda gave up only 2 runs over a strong 8.1 innings. Orioles pitcher Miguel Gonzalez simply out-dueled him. Gonzalez gave up 1 run in 7 innings of work, striking out 8 and was untouchable throughout the entire game. Everything was going smoothly until often reliable Orioles closer Jim Johnson failed to get the job done for a second time.

The turning point in this game was obviously when Ibanez hit his first home run of the game in the bottom of the 9th. Besides Derek Jeter and Russell Martin, it seemed as if the rest of the Yankee lineup was sleepwalking through the game. This was until manager Joe Girardi, whom I have knocked and bashed for years, made the managerial move of the century pinch hitting Raul Ibanez, for the team's three hitter and multimillion dollar man, Alex Rodriguez.

This was a move that many Yankee fans would have done just to spite A-Rod, who seems to fear the big moment, but nobody would actually be crazy enough to do. If Ibanez doesn't hit a home run, the consequences are enormous. You then have hurt egos, upper management questioning the move, and most importantly, it would have emphasized just how desperate the team was.

All of this doesn't matter now. Ibanez has cemented his name into Yankee immortality, at least in my lifetime. This is right up there with Aaron Boone's wild walk-off to send the Yankees to the World Series back in 2003. Joe Girardi probably has earned an extension, and most importantly, the team is one game away from the American League Championship Series.

One Last Thing: Derek Jeter was removed from the game after his at-bat in the bottom of the 8th due to an agitated bone bruise on the top of his foot. This occurred during his first at-bat and Jeter toughed it out for most of the game hitting a single and an RBI triple. He was seen limping around almost the entire time and is day-to-day. Girardi said he hopes Jeter will play tomorrow, and if his past is any indication for next game, Jeter will play. 

Tomorrow's pitching matchup will be Phil Hughes for the Yankees and Joe Saunders for the Orioles. Saunders earned the win in the wild card play-in over the Texas Rangers last Friday. The first pitch will come at around 7:37 PM ET on TBS in the Bronx.

Knicks: Thoughts, Concerns, Difficulties

Make it work, ladies.

I think I have cemented my reputation as the most pessimistic on this little project. Rightfully so, I root for the Jets, who always let me down. The Mets always let me down and of course, the Knicks, who, you guessed it, always let me down.

I have zero faith in humanity or New York sports, how the two are related is pretty clear. Changing alliances is out of the question because, as Boy Meets World taught us, no one likes a flip flopper, no one. So I'm stuck with the teams I picked as a young, idiotic child. My parents didn't have the foresight to steer me elsewhere, but hey, they don't know anything about sports so its not all their fault.

Alright so let's move on to my most devastating team of the trio, the Knicks. I actually spent most of my childhood crying over tough Knick losses, probably why I break things now. Basketball is my favorite sport and the Knicks almost ruin that for me yearly, but this year, could it be different? Some nice moves in the offseason, particularly 'Sheed because we need some grit and some trash talking, he may be 38 but the Ball Don't Lie, folks. We also now have to be the oldest team in the league by a good 5 years, J Kidd, Camby for another go around and now 'Sheed. I think Mike Woodson is a good coach and can make this club a strong playoff contender.

There are no more excuses now, they've been together for a season, are in the middle of a full preseason, they have to perform. JR has to be ignorant for most of the season, otherwise Melo is going to be taking 35 shots a game. Stat has to turn the engine up, remove the glass from his hand and start being the Amar'e from Phoenix that we thought we signed for 5 year, 100 mill. Ray Felton is chubby and we need Shump back ASAP, our best perimeter defender and a great athelete.

Steven P. Novak is a sharp shooter for sure and he can change games, along with JR, we have two legit dangerous 3 point threats. J Kidd can stroke it from time to time, but he's there to pass and keep Melo from crying to the media. Pablo Prigioni, not much to say, he's an Argentine, maybe he knows Leo Messi. Anyways, the Knicks season kicks off with the Brooklyn Jay-Z's so we need to assert our dominance over the city early otherwise it's all down hill from here.

Ps. Ray Felton is fat, says he lost 100 pounds, so he's down to like 250, he's not Escalade from "And 1" (RIP). Also, Felton says he's one of the best point guards in the league, yeah let's hope so bro.

Pps. Hope John Shurna gets some burn, funky shot, but its wet and he's a white dude, need some vanilla to go with Novak after we lost Jorts last year. Go Wildcats.

Yankees Game 3 Preview

Tonight's Lineup

With the series between the Yankees and Orioles tied at 1-1, tonight is a must win for the Bronx Bombers. The pitching matchup for tonight's game will be Yankee Hiroki Kuroda (16-11 3.32 ERA) vs rookie Oriole Miguel Gonzalez (9-4 3.25 ERA). Whoever comes out on top tonight will set themselves up with two chances to put away their opponents, so tonight's game is paramount in winning this series. Here are a few keys to tonight's game.

Power Struggle
Through two games of this series so far the Yankees, who led the entire MLB in home runs with 245 of them during the regular season, have hit just one off the bat of catcher Russell Martin in the 9th inning of Game 1. The Orioles are no stranger to the long ball as well, as they finished second in the entire MLB in home runs with 214, but they have yet to hit one in this series.


The "small ball" game plan of manufacturing runs though singles, sacrifices, and stolen bases should play less of a role tonight in the hitter friendly Yankee Stadium. Whoever uses the home run to their advantage better, whether it be at a timely moment, with men on base, or both, will walk away with the victory tonight.

A-Rod This, A-Rod That....What About Everyone Else?
Yankee third baseman and three-hitter Alex Rodriguez has struggled in the first two games going just 1-9 (.111 AVG) with one single and five strikeouts. The three-hitter is right smack in the middle of the lineup and is a spot in the order that needs to generate runs and even though A-Rod isn't producing, manager Joe Girardi will stick with his guns tonight and leave him in the three hole.

Despite A-Rod having a tough series, it is hard to single him out when everyone around him is having a lackluster time at the plate as well. Curtis Granderson, Nick Swisher, and Russell Martin are a combined 3-19 (.158) and without A-Rod and this group of guys producing it will be very hard to win ballgames. All four must step up in order to get a win tonight.

Bullpen?
So far the Yankees starting pitching has gone at least seven innings in each of their two outings, meaning that the bullpen is more than rested for these next three games. In fact, David Robertson was called on in both games to get the remaining outs and has pitched 1.1 innings thus far. This means guys like Joba Chamberlain and Rafael Soriano have yet to throw even one pitch.

The extra rest may be a curse since these guys haven't faced live batters in about a week now, but with Soriano and Chamberlain, guys with live fastballs when rested, the time off should only help.

One Last Thing: First pitch tonight will be at 7:37 PM ET on TBS, GO YANKEES!!!!!

Yankees Game 2 Recap

Rookie Wei-Yin Chen shut down the powerful Yankee lineup

That was a tough one to swallow tonight as the Orioles took home a 3-2 victory that they deserved every bit of. Rookie Wei-Yin Chen pitched an absolute gem, against one of the top lineups in the league, despite it being his first career playoff game. Andy Pettitte countered the rook as best he could, but his 7+ innings of 3 run baseball just simply wasn't enough tonight.

There aren't many things that the Yankees can take away from the game tonight, besides the performance of Pettitte, and reliever David Robertson who shut the door in the 8th when his number was called. They didn't string hits together, kicked the ball around in the field, and had Pettitte bail them out all night, until a seeing-eye single off the bat of Orioles first baseman Mark Reynolds snuck by Robinson Cano to give the Orioles their 3rd and deciding run.

The Yankees 9 hits should have been enough to put more than 2 runs on the board but Chen and the Orioles bullpen were up to the task tonight. The Yankees never ran themselves out of innings but they did strand 10 people on base. Including the 4th inning when they had 1 out and the bases loaded, and failed twice to get a run across. The lone big hit came by Derek Jeter in the 7th, when he knocked in Eduardo Nunez to get the Yanks to within 1 run. An opportunity never presented itself again and that was the game.

One situation that really bothered me and I would like to highlight, was in the top of the 8th inning after Mark Teixeira roped a leadoff single into left. The hit would have been a double if anyone else hit it, but Teixeira obeyed his orders tonight in not pushing himself on the base paths with a bum calf. That is totally fine with me, what I didn't like was the approach manager Joe Girardi took in this situation. You have the potential tying run on first with 1 out and you don't bring in a pinch runner for a guy who can't run?

In a 3-2 game with only 6 outs left to play with, you should try and make something happen for your team. I would have put speedster Brett Gardner in, just to bother the pitcher. Who cares if you lose Teixeira's bat, you can't worry about that if you never tie the game. After that, I would have let the hot Russell Martin swing freely and if Gardner still hadn't advanced, I would have either put on a hit and run with Curtis Granderson, or even bunted him. This way at least there is a guy on second with 2 outs and Girardi could have brought in Raul Ibanez to pinch hit for Nunez to try and tie the game.

It's easy for me to look back and say this now, but that was the last batter to get on base, and even though the Yanks got to closer Jim Johnson last night, he still led the league in saves for a reason. They should have tried to jump on the other bullpen guys and made the Orioles make some plays. They had made 2 errors already at that point, and who knows if they field the ball cleanly or make an errant throw.

One Last Thing: The Yankees still travel back home with home field advantage since they get the final 3 games. They need to win 2 of these and their first opportunity will come Wednesday night with Hiroki Kuroda on the mound against another rookie in Miguel Gonzalez. The home crowd will need to be ready to go, because the Orioles crowd did a fantastic job providing the team with a hectic environment.

PS: Ichiro's slide was the coolest thing I have ever witnessed in a baseball game in my entire life.

Good Lord

I hate him..but I love him.

Well that's it for me, you can peel me off the pavement after I land from the roof. I don't think I've ever wanted a game more than tonight, and of course I get my heart ripped out almost immediately. We still can't run the ball, our line is legit terrible, and we have a bunch of no name wideouts who don't know the plays, it's a mess.

I can't really hate on Sanchez tonight, he made some good throws and got really unlucky there a few times. And oh man I hate John Gruden more than Hitler right now. The guy literally wants to marry JJ Watt and Wade Phillips along with half of the NFL. The Jets actually need to get their shiite squared otherwise it's hasta la vista, auf wiedersehen, season, Sanchez and Rex over.

All the media is against the Jets and for a good reason, they're not likable, but tonight they actually showed some grit and then the rug was pulled right out from underneath everyone. I'm too angry to even think right now, but I hope to God something happens better next week. Absolute torture watching the Jets.

Ps. Arian Foster is a fantasy nut and helped me beat nasm30. That's about the high point of my night right now. If JJ Watt walked into my house, at this very moment, I'd torture him Brian Mills style in Taken.

Pps. Tebow is not good..end of story.

Yankees Game 2 Preview

With the muggy northeastern weather still in the forecast, tonight's Game 2 between the Yankees and Orioles is being delayed. The first pitch should take place around 8:45 PM ET. The Yankees come into this contest up 1-0 in the series after their impressive 7-2 victory last night.

The Yanks need to build off of that win against the inexperienced Orioles in particular, because the thought of having to sweep the Yankees in the Bronx is not what the Orioles had in mind heading into this series. This makes tonight's game equally as important for New York because they would really have the upper hand, so here are a few keys for Game 2.

Andy Pettitte in the Playoffs
Pettitte has pitched his best games of his career during the postseason throughout his career. He holds the MLB record for most wins in the playoffs with 19 and tonight he will be looking to add to that record against the Orioles. If he can be the Pettitte of old, the Yankees will definitely have many chances to win.

This still will only be Pettitte's fourth start since returning from the disabled list with a broken ankle. Although he hasn't gone more than 6 innings in that span, that is all the Yanks will ask for tonight, especially with their entire bullpen on full rest after CC Sabathia's performance last night. Pettitte is 2-1 with a 1.62 ERA. (In the playoffs Pettitte is 19-10 with a 3.83 ERA in 42 starts)

Hits with Runners in Scoring Position
Neither team did a good job with players in scoring position last night. Aside from a 2-run single by Orioles right fielder and an RBI single by Mark Teixeira, no one else capitalized in big spots until the Yankees basically batted around in the 9th.

Timely hitting will be very key tonight, this is especially important for the Yanks because they are facing Wei-Yin Chen in his first career postseason start. If they can string a bunch of hits together in an inning, and hang a crooked number on the board, it will break Chen's confidence and Pettitte will have a nice cushion to work with.

Don't Run Yourself out of an Inning
Twice the Yankees killed themselves by bad mistakes on the base paths last night and that simply can't happen tonight. It is better to take what you can get early in the game and have faith in the guys behind you to knock you in.

In the first inning, after a beautiful opposite field RBI double by Yankees outfielder Ichiro Suzuki to get the team out to a 1-0 lead, Ichiro got thrown out trying to steal third early in Alex Rodriguez's at-bat. This essentially killed any chance of a rally, having nobody on and 1 out as opposed to no one out and a runner on second with Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, and Nick Swisher coming up.

Later in the 4th inning with runners on 1st and 2nd and 1 out, Yanks first baseman Mark Teixeira hit a monstrous shot off the top of the right field wall. Teixeira had been advised not to exert himself on the base paths too much since he is fresh off a nagging calf injury. Instead of just taking a single and setting the team up with 1st and 3rd and 1 out, Teixeira tried to leg out a double instead and was thrown out by 3 steps.

If the Yanks can take what they get, and just pass the baton to the next hitter, then capitalize with runners in scoring position, they will win tonight. No mistakes on the base paths and timely hitting along with Pettitte on the mound in October is a formula for victory. Go Yanks!

Yankees Game 1 Recap

Russell Martin broke a 2-2 tie in the 9th with a big solo home run

The Yankees upended the Orioles in Baltimore tonight 7-2 to take a 1-0 lead in this best-of-5 series. The game was closer than most Yankee fans would have liked it to have been, but the way in which the Yankees won has to have fans and the team feeling better about themselves. They won with stellar pitching, timely hitting, and saved their bullpen.

The stellar pitching is all in regard to the dominant performance CC Sabathia displayed throughout the entire game and I mean literally the whole game. Sabathia pitched 8 2/3 innings surrendering only 2 runs on 8 hits and 7 strikeouts, while throwing 120 pitches.

At no point were the Orioles hitters comfortable stepping into the box against Sabathia. They rarely had good at-bats, rarely going forcing CC to throw more than 3 or 4 pitches. They were able to string a few hits together in the 2nd inning to jump out to a 2-1 lead, but after that Sabathia buckled down and limited any other opportunities.

The biggest spot in this game for Sabathia was during the bottom of the 8th inning, after Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy started the inning with a lead-off double. Manager Joe Girardi, who often has a short leash with his pitchers when the game gets into the later innings, stuck with his workhorse and it payed off. Sabathia attacked the middle of the order, striking out Adam Jones, getting Matt Wieters to foul out, and forcing the Yankee killer Mark Reynolds to groundout, stranding Hardy at second.

The timely hitting finally picked up Sabathia in the top of the 9th when lights out Orioles closer Jim Johnson allowed 5 runs to seal the game. Russell Martin, provided the big blow with his big time solo home run to break the tie and start a rally to lead off the inning. 8 Yankee batters came to the plate in the 9th including a two-run double by Robinson Cano putting the nail in the coffin.

Perhaps the best thing besides being up 1-0 in the series was that virtually no bullpen arms were used. Sabathia gave the Yanks 8 2/3 strong innings, with the reliable David Robertson striking out the final batter. This is huge, especially since tomorrow's starter Andy Pettitte hasn't pitched past the 6th inning since returning to the Yankees rotation. Baltimore on the other hand, used 5 guys out of the bullpen, including their closer. This is a huge advantage for the Yanks.

One Last Thing: Game 2 of the series will be tomorrow night at 8:07 PM ET in Baltimore, with Pettitte on the mound, as I mentioned earlier, and 27-year-old rookie Wei-Yin Chen for the Orioles. The game will be on TBS once again, and if the Yankees can find a way to win tomorrow, they will have 3 chances to advance to the American League Championship Series at home in the Bronx.

Yankees Game 1 Preview

Funny how things work sometimes. The Yankees had to work hard to fend off the pesky Orioles all throughout September to win the American League East and now who are they facing to keep their season alive? That's right, those same pesky Orioles that knocked off the two-time defending AL Champion Texas Rangers. It all starts tonight in Baltimore at 6:07 ET on TBS and here are a few things to look for in Game 1.

CC Sabathia vs. Jason Hammel
This is the pitching matchup for tonight's game featuring the Yankees workhorse in Sabathia who went 0-2 against the O's this year and Hammel for the Orioles who beat the New York 1 out of 3 times. This matchup does favor the Yankees however because Hammel has only appeared in 1 postseason game with the Rockies in 2009, and Sabathia will be starting his 16th career playoff game, and 5-1 with the Yankees.

The Yanks need to jump on Hammel early and capitalize when they have runners in scoring position to put down the young and inexperienced Oriole team right away. Sabathia, on the other hand, needs to do exactly the opposite. He needs to dominate the early innings to limit any hope early on.

Mark Reynolds vs. Robinson Cano
Mark Reynolds absolutely killed the Yankees this year with the long ball. Reynolds hit 7 home runs with 14 RBI's while hitting .294. His numbers for the year were 23 homers, 69 RBI's, and batting .221, so obviously you can see Reynolds rises to the occasion against the Yankees.

Cano is the hottest hitter in baseball, plain and simple. He is batting .615 (24-39) since September 25th with 3 homers, 7 doubles, and 14 RBI's. Cano will need to get big hits for the Yankees when he is presented with an opportunity because Orioles manager Buck Showalter will limit those opportunities for Cano any way he can. Nick Swisher, who is batting 5th tonight and behind Cano for the Yanks will also need to prove that he can hit and protect Cano. If not, Cano will get intentionally walked countless times.

Yankees in Baltimore
For some reason the MLB decided it would fair if the worse teams received home field for the first 2 games of the Divisional Series and the team with the better record would get home field for the last 3 games of the series. This means New York still technically has home field advantage because if the series goes all 5 games the Yankees will host 3 of them.

That being said, it is very likely that the series does not go that far and those first two games are very crucial. The set-up should be 2-2-1 like every other year instead of this year's format which is tailored for first round upsets.

Despite this rule making me furious, the Yankees still were better in Baltimore against the Orioles than at home in New York. They went 6-3 in Baltimore, as opposed to 3-6 at home. Still, the Orioles haven't made the playoffs in 14 seasons, you have to imagine the city is excited and will create a hectic environment tonight.

Something will have to give, and I'm expecting nothing less than a classic gritty October playoff baseball game. Go Yankees!

Giants Game 5 Recap - "The Shootout"

Bradshaw's huge day helped the Giants come away with a big win

If you would have told me that the Giants would have been losing to the Cleveland Browns 14-0 just 5 minutes into the game, I would have laughed and thought you were crazy. However, that is exactly what happened.

After receiving the opening kickoff, the Giants first play from scrimmage was a fumble by running back Ahmad Bradshaw that the Browns quickly turned into a touchdown. Next possession by the Browns resulted in a 62 yard passing touchdown and boom it was 14-0.

Either way, the Giants ended up coming away with a 41-27 victory improving their record to 3-2. There were many key players that stepped up in this game and I just want to highlight them really quickly.

Stevie Brown got thrown into the fire this week with the injury of Giants safety Kenny Phillips went down with a knee injury against the Eagles. Brown rose to occasion providing the Giants with the turning points of the game through turnovers. The tired Giants defense was getting destroyed by Trent Richardson and the Cleveland ground game until Stevie Brown picked off a pass that led to a touchdown. Next on the ensuing kickoff, Brown recovered another fumble which led to another touchdown and the Giants never trailed again.

Victor Cruz was huge in the red zone today, with 5 catches for 50 yards and 3 touchdowns. Cruz made the Browns secondary look silly more than once, catching all of his TD's without a defender in sight. Eli Manning returned to his old self adding 259 yards to his 3 TD's and he made good throw after good throw into many tight windows. Manning also made sure to share the wealth. Reuben Randle (6 catches 82 yards), Domenik Hixon (5 catches 55 yards), and Cruz as I mentioned before all had 5+ catches for 50+ yards which is huge without stud wideout Hakeem Nicks who missed his fourth of five games.

Finally, the player of the game was Ahmad Bradshaw. Although he did have a costly turnover early in the game, Bradshaw held himself accountable and exploded for 200 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries. The usually nonexistent run game kept the Browns at bay all game, which allowed Manning to exploit them with the play action for big plays. 

Next week, the Giants head to San Francisco setting up a rematch of last year's NFC Championship game against the 49ers. The run game will be very key against the 49ers if Bradshaw can have another game like today because the 49ers have the top run defense in the league. It should be another back and forth game like last year, but hopefully the Giants can carry over their offensive production from today and get Nicks back to earn a big W on the road.

Braves Game Controversy

Ok so obviously the sports world has been non-stop buzzing about the call that was made last night during the Braves and Cardinals game, and I just thought I'd give my take on it.

First of all for those of you who don't really know, this has basically been put in the rules of the game in order to prevent infielders from intentionally dropping the ball and turning a double play. However, the entire ruling is based solely on the umpire's judgement, with the ruling exactly stating that "the play is the umpire's judgment, and that the ball is catchable by an infielder with ordinary effort." Obviously this presents a very large gray area, especially with this particular play.

Breaking it down from the beginning, if you watch the infielder tracks backwards, and is clearly calling off the outfielder, saying that he's got it. Right there I tend to side with the ruling on the field and see it as an infield fly. However, I mentioned earlier there is a large gray area with this, and with the latter part of the written rule is where this play gets messy. 

First of all, and most importantly, I have to point out again the point of this rule is to prevent the cheap double play. In my mind, there is no way that you can intentionally let this one fall and get a double play out of it at all, meaning the rule is pointless in this instance. You are basically just giving the defense a free out. The second problem I have with this play is the "ordinary effort" part of the rule. I'm not really sure if you can categorize this as ordinary effort. Not to say that it seemed the shortstop was straining himself or even remotely struggling to get there, but just that this seems like a more routine play for the left fielder than anything. This leads me to think that this was a bad call. 

Could this call have changed the course of the game, and possibly the overall outcome? Probably, but it's unfair for people to complain about this too much, because the Braves had their chances and they didn't deliver. Also, the fact that the Braves protested this game, before it was even over, is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard. This game was by far the biggest of the season for the Braves, win or go home. Putting that kind of distraction in the environment for your players mid-game had to have been a killer for their morale. They probably ended up getting more caught up on the "what could have been" as opposed to focusing, and getting the big hit later when they needed it. Bad call, but just as bad of a job managing. Whatever the case it doesn't really matter to me, I just thought I'd way weigh in. Go Yankees.

P.S. Major, major conspiracy theory. Was this possibly a make up call for the blown call in Game 6 of the 1985 World Series? 27 years later the MLB is trying to make up for screwing the Cardinals out of the World Series victory, and does it by giving them this one here? Selig is only a phone call away. Think about it. 

MLB Playoff Divisional Series Predictions

The playoffs are now set with the conclusions of the two wild card play-ins, but not without controversy. The St. Louis Cardinals emerged out of the play-in game on the National League side, thanks to a questionable infield fly ruling by the umpires. There was also some eyebrows raised on the American League side when the Baltimore Orioles continued their improbable run over the two-time defending AL Champs.

Tonight, the real playoffs start. Back to micromanaging, high intensity, full series playoff baseball. Here are my predictions for this season's playoffs.

Oakland Athletics vs. Detroit Tigers

This series is a very interesting one. The Tigers on one side has some superstar names that lead their lineup and pitching staff in Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera, power hitting Prince Fielder, and arguably the best pitcher in the game Justin Verlander. On the other side, most people probably can't even name a starter for the A's, hitter or pitcher. The A's have flown under the radar all season and they finally overtook the Texas Rangers for the AL West to avoid the play-in game where anyone can win. The Rangers are now home watching after losing the division by one game and the wild card game.

My Take: Tigers in 5 The only reason they win is because Verlander will get a chance to pitch in 2 of the 5 games. This will be a lot closer of a series than people think, don't sleep on the A's.

Cincinnati Reds vs. San Francisco Giants

This will be the best pitched series out of any of the Divisional Rounds. The Giants obviously have a strong staff if Tim Lincecum is their number 3, but Matt Cain put together a very strong to earn the number 1 spot in the rotation and Madison Bumgarner really established himself as one of the top young arms in the league. The Reds don't get much credit for their rotation. Reds ace Johnny Cueto quietly put together a 19 win season and has a legitimate chance to win the Cy Young this year. Behind Cuteo, the Reds have Mat Latos who also quietly went 14-4, Homer Bailey who is fresh off his no-hitter, and Bronson Arroyo who always pitched well in big spots.

My Take: Giants in 4 If there is one thing I have learned this season, is that good pitching beats good hitting. The Reds have a clear advantage at the plate with guys like Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and company but the Giants have a rotation tailored to win a 5 game series.

New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles

Jeffrey Maier better be ready for this series

The Yankees and Orioles were separated by one game or tied in the AL East for basically all of September until the last game of the season, and now look who each side has to beat to keep their seasons going. Most people look at this series as a gift for the Yanks, it is compared to playing the Rangers, but the Orioles are no joke. They have proven doubters wrong all year, and manager Buck Showalter really has his guys believing that they can make some noise this October. I think the Yankees have an advantage here because not many Orioles have playoff experience and one thing a series shows is mistakes.

My Take: Yankees in 4 I'll give the Orioles one win here because the stupid format of this year's postseason. The Orioles will get to play the first two games at home and the Yankees get the last 3, technically giving the Yanks home field advantage because they are home for 3 out of 5, but games 4 and 5 are not guaranteed. The format should be 2 in New York, 2 in Baltimore, and the last one in NY, but hey what do I know.

Washington Nationals vs. St. Louis Cardinals

The new guys against the defending World Series champions. The Nationals had been bottom feeders in the NL East that was dominated by the Braves and Phillies for years. Not this year, the Nationals exploded onto the scene taking the whole league by storm winning 98 games and the best record in the entire league. That being said, the Nats shut down Stephen Strasburg, one of their aces, for the rest of the season for precautionary reasons. The Cardinals on the other hand, had to win the wild card game on the road and now they will get the first two home games like I mentioned about the Orioles above. A huge drawback from playing in that game was that they used their ace Kyle Lohse and he won't be available until game 4. Big names like Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter are still nice to
have on your side, but neither have been impressive since
Carpenter returned.

My Take: Nationals in 5 I can't see this series going anything less than 5 games. I absolutely love the Cardinals lineup. Love. I just think that with Lohse for only one game and Strasburg out too, that Nationals ace Gio Gonzalez pitching twice is a huge edge. Also, the electric crowd in Washington will help them in the last few games. Besides the Yanks, I am looking forward to this series.

We'll see how I do, and I'll make sure to give Championship Series predictions when the time comes. Enjoy the playoff baseball, it's the best brand of baseball out there.

Michael Phelps Being Michael Phelps

Is there anything this guy can't do? The guy is probably the greatest Olympian of all time, let alone the United States. He has 18 gold medals in many different swimming events. And despite alllllll of that, Phelps goes out and does stuff like this in his free time. Just hitting 160 foot putts like it's nobody's business.

Save some for the rest of us Mike. We get that you're really talented at everything you do. Phelps actually strikes me as that guy who will make a return to the Olympics after not even training and win a few gold medals because he doesn't like the number 18. Well played Phelps. Well played.

PS: How unimpressed are these Scottish commentators? The guy is in the middle of a 50 yard putt, half of a freaking football field, and all the announcer can talk about is how is handicap is high and "he's learned the art for an American." I'm actually glad the putt went in, so that guy shuts his stupid face. Amercia-1 Scotland-0

MLB Regular Season Over

Cain was Perfect in 2012

What a long and strange season it has been for Major League Baseball. We have seen the entire culture of the game change over the past few seasons, transforming from a league filled with power hitters and high scoring games, to a more old school pitchers league. We have seen 7 no hitters  this season, and five closers with over 40 saves. Craig Kimbrel of the Atlanta Braves has had what most experts are calling the greatest season a closer has ever had. He posted 42 saves, while blowing only 3, and holding down a 1.01 ERA while fanning 116 batters, and may end up winning the NL Cy Young award in the end.

We saw rookies Mike Trout, and Bryce Harper take the league and the world by storm, restoring hope to Washington and bringing something new to love in Anaheim. Trout had probably the best season of any rookie ever, and is probably still the favorite to win the AL MVP. The both of them hit for over 20 home runs, with Trout hitting the 30 mark. The scary thing is that the both of these guys are just getting started, and that we as fans can expect bigger and better things from them in the near future.

I Hate Everything About You

We saw epic collapses of teams like the Pirates and Dodgers, and teams that never really got going in the first place like the Red Sox. As a result Bobby Valentine, aka Satin, is out of a job and the Red Sox are spiraling in the wrong direction. The powerhouse AL East is shifting now to feature the Yankees, Rays, and the surprisingly talented Orioles, a  team that has made the playoffs for the first time in a decade.  The Red Sox, considered by many at the start of the season as the most talented team in the league, have now gutted their roster and seem to be in rebuilding mode. Which is the exact thing every Yankee fan has wanted to hear since their birth.


Most importantly we saw Miguel Cabrera become the first triple crown winner since 1967, and I feel like it kind of snuck up on us. It wasn't really until the last month of the season that people started to notice that this could happen. Cabrera will now be cemented in history as one of the all time great hitters, winning probably the most coveted individual accolade for a hitter that the MLB has to offer. Yet, people still debate who the AL's most valuable player should be.

All in all, this has been one wild and awesome MLB regular season, and I expect nothing less in the postseason.

Go Yankees.

Top 5 Sportscenter Anchors

Sportscenter is probably the defining show of my generation. It's on every single day, 6am-1pm, and then starts up again at 6 that night. I can't tell you how many Saturday mornings I've sat through the same Sportscenter about 4 times and had absolutely no problem with it. The only thing I look for on Sportscenter are the good anchors, not Jay Crawford, dude was on Cold Pizza which had so much potential but flopped like Prometheus. Anyways it's been a while, so here's the Top 5 Sportscenter Anchors, not just present day guys, going back and forth.

5. Dan Patrick
Dan Patrick, what a legend. Stars in movies, reports the sports news, and had great hair. He did have a big falling out with ESPN and now is on NESN with some whack ass radio show, but he was the man back in the hey day of Sportscenter.






4. Kenny Mayne

Easily the funniest anchor to ever grace the Sportscenter stage.
Absolutely great This Is Sportscenter commercials and his Web Series is also hysterical. Aaaand he was always the stud of the celebrity softball game, especially with the hat mic.







3. Stuart Scott
Go heels.. but not really. Stu's eye and catch phrases are just always spot on. "As cool as the other side of the pillow," and "boo yah!" are staples of the american lexicon now because of SS. He too is a great commercial guy, only draw back is that he openly roots for UNC who are just the worst people ever.







2. Rich Eisen
Loved Eisen, I mean loved. My total favorite back in the day, him and John Anderson were like the dream team of Sportscenter anchors. Silly white dudes just dropping pop culture references and taking names. I was devastated when he left for NFL Network, but ya move on.







1. Scott Van Pelt

Gotta be SVP, just suave, international man of leisure. Number One in the Hood, G is without question the greatest top 10 saying there is, bar none. Does the golf tourneys, and has a great radio show. Just the man and this video, tremendous stuff. He should be in the movies and he's also an accomplished Tweeter, expect big things from SVP in the future.




Honorable Mentions: Neil Everett, Jay Harris, Bob Ley.

Not Berman, just ran his course and now hes done, but yet he still gets camera time.

Miguel Cabrera Wins the Triple Crown

There are some accomplishments in sports, that come around once in a blue moon, but when they do occur, you have to simply sit back and acknowledge it. On Wednesday night, Detroit Tiger 3rd baseman Miguel Cabrera achieved one of those rare accomplishments, the Triple Crown.

The Triple Crown is when you lead the league in batting average, home runs, and RBIs for an entire season. With a .330 average, 44 home runs, and 139 RBIs, Cabrera led the American league in each category through tonight's final game making him the first to win the Triple Crown since 1967 when Red Sox outfielder Carl Yastrzemski did it.

It took 45 years for this feat to happen and who knows when it will ever happen again. As a fan of sports you have to marvel at the fact that this achievement spans over 6 months, in 162 games. As a player, in order to accomplish this feat, you have to be on your game each and every night. You need to have a team that gets on base. And finally you need to have power. Not to mention again you have to be very, very consistent.

With all of the talk around the AL MVP race between Cabrera and Angels rookie outfielder Mike Trout (.326 avg/ 30 HRs/ 182 hits/ 129 runs/ 49 SBs) I really think you need to consider what Cabrera did this year. Sure, Trout has a higher WAR, which is becoming a much more important stat when it comes time to vote, but the Triple Crown is unfathomable for players at the beginning of the season.

Many people argue that the stats that go along with the Triple Crown are just 3 random categories picked and that if you picked 3 other categories, Trout would lead them instead of Cabrera. These same people also say that if Cabrera wins, this means that speed and defense are virtually unimportant. To this argument I simply say how rare is this feat that Miguel Cabrera accomplished. It took 45 years for another one. These are major offensive categories, and it isn't like Cabrera is around the top for them. No, he leads them all. The most in the entire American League in each category.

One Last Thing: Getting away from the MVP debate and focusing back on the Triple Crown, hats off to Cabrera. The guy had all of America watching him throughout the entire month of September and he still managed to get it done. I'm so thankful that he achieved this goal because as an avid fan of sports, I love witnessing these types of moments in sports history.

Yanks Slaughter Sox to Win AL East

Well everything is set in stone now, the Yankees finish the year at a stellar 95-67, top of the American League and 3rd in the entire MLB behind the Nationals and Reds. Yet, after all of the scenario talk and scoreboard watching, it all ended up being for nothing as the Yanks did what they had to do.

The Yanks set out on Monday with one thing in mind, and that was to sweep the Red Sox and automatically lock up the American League East. Even if the Yankees had lost, they still would have won the AL East but the Athletics would have locked up the top spot.

One drawback for earning the #1 seed is that the Yanks don't know who they will play yet. This is because there is an extra wild card team this season who will play the top wild card seed in a one game playoff in order to advance to the Divisional Series. Also, the two time defending American League Pennant winners, the Texas Rangers, are playing in that game which means the Yankees have a 50% chance of facing them in the first round. On the other side, the Orioles will be battling the Rangers in Texas for a chance to play the Yankees come Sunday.


One Last Thing: The Athletics locked up the 2 seed in the AL and the Detroit Tigers secured the 3 seed. The National League is also set with the Nationals winning the 1 seed waiting for a winner of the wild card round between the Atlanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Reds earned the 2 seed and they will face the San Francisco Giants who earned the 3 seed.

Athletics Beat Rangers 12-5 to Win the West

In the first final of the controversial ending to the 2012 MLB season the Athletics capped off an improbable run to leap frog the Rangers who had a 2 game lead in the division as of Monday. With the sweep of the Rangers, the Athletics avoid the dreaded one game wild card playoff game and have assured themselves either the 1 or the 2 seed.

The Rangers on the other hand, will head to that playoff game Friday night, but a lot is still on the line in the Yankees vs Red Sox and Orioles vs Rays games. Both games have 7:00 start times and when they finish the playoff picture will become a lot clearer.

As of now these are the lone scenarios remaining:

* - if one game playoff Thursday is forced between Yankees and Orioles it will take place in Baltimore

Yankees and Orioles Win:

1 seed: Yankees
Wild Cards: Rangers at Orioles

2 seed: Athletics
3 seed: Tigers

Yankees and Rays Win:

1 seed: Yankees
Wild Cards: Orioles at Rangers

2 seed: Athletics
3 seed: Tigers

Red Sox and Orioles Win (but Yanks beat Orioles in one game playoff Thursday*):

1 seed: Athletics
Wild Cards: Rangers at Orioles

2 seed: Yankees
3 seed: Tigers

Red Sox and Orioles Win (but Orioles beat Yanks in one game playoff Thursday*):

1 seed: Athletics
Wild Cards: Rangers at Yankees

2 seed: Orioles
3 seed: Tigers

Red Sox and Rays Win:

1 seed: Yankees
Wild Cards: Orioles at Rangers

2 seed: Athletics
3 seed: Tigers

Let's go Yankees!!!!!!

Sheed Officially Signs With Knicks

Wallace seems to be going with a kind of homeless look, interesting. 

Most people have been saying that they don't know how they feel about this move, but I know how I feel...I love it!

Rasheed Wallace brings toughness and championship experience to what some may argue is an ancient roster. Wallace is currently 38 years old and if you combine that with Jason Kidd (39), Kurt Thomas (39), Marcus Camby (38) and Pablo Prigioni (35), they may have a point.

I don't se this as a negative thing as Kidd and Wallace bring in a "know how to win" factor and Camby is still a top tier interior defender and rebounder in the league. These veterans complimented by a wealth of younger talent in Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire, Tyson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith, Ronnie Brewer, and Steve Novak make a stout contender in the Eastern Conference.

As long as everyone on the team invests in a win now attitude, which is way harder than it seems with all of these egos, the team will be successful. I think that Felton will help Anthony and Stoudemire coexist and make sure everyone gets their shots. Couple that with defensive prowlers Chandler, Camby, Shumpert, and Brewer. And finally add in some bench firepower with Novak and Smith who can get double digit points on any given night, and you have yourself a scary and deep team.

One Last Thing: Injuries will also be very key to the Knicks season this year. With Brewer and Shumpert already recovering from offseason surgeries, and Stoudmire with his shaky past with injuries, not to mention all of the older bodies, injuries can easily derail this season. Hopefully this doesn't happen and head coach Mike Woodson gets these guys to play how to their potential

PS: If Wallace, Chandler, and Stoudemire don't combine for 65 technicals this season, they might as well not even play.

American League Playoff Scenarios

For all of you Yankee fans out there, you already know about how big of a game tonight is against the Boston Red Sox. If the Yanks win, they automatically win the American League East and are awarded the number one overall seed for the American League. That is a pretty simple situation, win and you earn everything you set out for in the beginning of the season. Unfortunately, that is not the only result that can happen tonight, so here are all of the possible scenarios.

The 4 teams that are still unsure who and where they are playing are the Yankees, Baltimore Orioles (vs Rays), Texas Rangers (vs A's) and Oakland Athletics (vs Rangers). The Detroit Tigers are already locked in at the 3rd seed, and they will face the 2 seed. Their position cannot change. The 1 seed will play the winner of the one game wild card playoff game.
















* - if one game playoff Thursday is forced between Yankees and Orioles it will take place in Baltimore

Yankees, Rangers, and Orioles Win:

1 seed: Yankees
Wild Cards: Athletics at Orioles

2 seed: Rangers
3 seed: Tigers

Yankees, Rangers, and Rays Win:

1 seed: Yankees
Wild Cards: Orioles at Athletics

2 seed: Rangers
3 seed: Tigers

Yankees, Athletics, and Orioles Win:

1 seed: Yankees
Wild Cards: Rangers at Orioles

2 seed: Athletics
3 seed: Tigers

Yankees, Athletics, and Rays Win:

1 seed: Yankees
Wild Cards: Orioles at Rangers

2 seed: Athletics
3 seed: Tigers

Red Sox, Rangers, and Orioles Win (but Yanks beat Orioles in one game playoff Thursday*):

1 seed: Yankees
Wild Cards: Athletics at Orioles

2 seed: Rangers
3 seed: Tigers

Red Sox, Rangers, and Orioles Win (but Orioles beat Yanks in one game playoff Thursday*):

1 seed: Rangers
Wild Cards: Athletics at Yankees

2 seed: Orioles
3 seed: Tigers

Red Sox, Rangers, and Rays Win:

1 seed: Yankees
Wild Cards: Orioles at Athletics

2 seed: Rangers
3 seed: Tigers

Red Sox, Athletics, and Orioles Win (but Yanks beat Orioles in one game playoff Thursday*):

1 seed: Athletics
Wild Cards: Rangers at Orioles

2 seed: Yankees
3 seed: Tigers

Red Sox, Athletics and Orioles Win (but Orioles beat Yanks in one game playoff Thursday*):

1 seed: Athletics
Wild Cards: Rangers at Yankees

2 seed: Orioles
3 seed: Tigers

Red Sox, Athletics, and Rays Win:

1 seed: Yankees
Wild Cards: Orioles at Rangers

2 seed: Athletics
3 seed: Tigers

Hopefully this helps you guys follow along through all of the action tonight!!!!!

American League MVP Debate

So I've been looking over at ESPN's baseball analysis for the past few days, and how there will inevitably be a big debate in the coming week about who should win the American League MVP. On the one hand you have Mike Trout, the Angels rookie phenom who is pretty much taking the entire league by storm. Trout will most likely become one of the best players in the league for the next decade or so.

On the other side of the debate you have Miguel Cabrera, who leads all three triple crown categories with two games left in the season. Yes. You heard that right. Miguel Cabrera is two games away from being the first triple crown winner since Red Sox outfielder Carl Yastrzemski did it back in 1967.

Right there this debate stops for me. Cabrera has to win the MVP provided he wins the triple crown. Even with that achievement aside, Cabrera still leads the AL in almost every category. What aspect has Trout really been that much better in? Just look at the numbers.

Trout: .325/ 30 Homeruns/ 83 RBI's/ .398 OBP

Cabrera: .329/ 44 Homeruns/ 137 RBI's/ .393 OBP

Ok so Trout has a slight advantage in OBP, but who cares? Cabrera's fourteen extra home runs and fifty-four RBI's has to make up for that right? Right? 

Some people would argue that the Angels wouldn't have had a shot at the playoffs without Trout. That may be true, but can you honestly tell me the Tigers would have made it themselves without Cabrera? The guy is killing it, and the Tigers had been trailing the White Sox for almost the entire year. Without the insane second half production from Cabrera, there is no doubt in my mind they would be sitting at home come mid-October, and not fighting for a World Series title.

Despite all of this ,ESPN still projects Trout to win the MVP award, while simultaneously predicting Cabrera to hold on and win the triple crown. If I had to predict what was going to happen, I would say I think it's going to be just that, even though I don't agree with it. Don't get me wrong, Trout is fantastic, and any other season he probably would have easily won the MVP, but not this year. I just wouldn't feel right about giving him that trophy while the first triple crown winner in fifty-five years watches. Plus, the Angels didn't even make the playoffs!

Battle for the Division

Mark Texieira Hopes to Provide a Spark in his Return Tonight

Throw out the first 159 games. It is now a 3 game season for the New York Yankees, who head home tonight to face off against the rival Boston Red Sox. The Yanks are back in the Bronx, currently tied with the Baltimore Orioles for the division lead with only these last 3 games remaining and both teams have a legitimate chance to take the division.

Even though both teams have already clinched playoff berths, winning the division has an added weight this season. This is because the MLB decided to add one wild card team to the playoffs this season and those two wild cards are not guaranteed a spot in the Divisional Series. Instead, the added wild card team will battle the first place wild card team in a one game playoff to advance into the normal 5-game first round.

If the Yankees and Orioles are still tied in 3 days, the two teams will have a one game playoff themselves Thursday in Baltimore. The winner of this game would be crowned division champion and advance to the American League Divisional Series, and the loser dropping into the wild card playoff game on Friday.

The Orioles will be in Tampa Bay to close out the season against the pesky Rays, so for the next few days Yankee fans will be rooting for wins for the Yanks while also "scoreboard watching" that series. The Yankees will be rooting for the Rays to at least take one from the Orioles because in a one game playoff anything can happen, and your playoff hopes will come to an end very prematurely.

One Last Thing: The Red Sox are beat up and probably just want this season to be over. The Yankees need to take advantage of this a pounce on them early in each game, crushing any hopes they have. Also, the Rays are not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, and if last year is any indication about how wild a season can finish, so they will play their hearts out for at least tonight. CC needs to step up and get the Yanks a W tonight, it may clinch the division in the end.

Giants Game 4 Recap-"The Disappointment"

Disappointed, as he should be.

Tonight was a tough one to swallow for the Giants. They repeatedly shot themselves in the foot time and time again, but that being said, I will not take anything away from the Philadelphia Eagles. They played a complete game and ended up coming out on top 19-17. The Eagles defense really surprised me tonight and gave Eli a very tough time.

There were a few keys to this game, the first came on the first play of the 4th quarter. The Giants had just picked up a big first down on a 4th-and-1 completion to Victor Cruz for a big gain down to the Eagles 10 to end the 3rd. The following play, Giants quarterback Eli Manning took a shot to the end zone and Eagles corner Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie undercut a fade route for a backbreaking interception. This play totally took the wind out of the Giants sails because at the time they were only down 13-10. The costly pick resulted in New York not getting any points out of the drive, which would have changed the game entirely.

A second key to this game is related to the first, and that was that Eli Manning showed that he was actually human tonight. Everyone who follows the NFL knows it is no secret that Eli shines brightest in the biggest moments. Tonight, that was not the case. Eli made many ill advised decisions that ended up costing the Giants a win.

A large part of this was due to the Eagles stifling defense, but Manning had more than one chance to win this game, specifically at the very end. After receiving a gift of a pass interference call to keep the would-be game winning drive alive, Eli decided to take a shot down the sidelines to wideout Ramses Barden. This simply should have never happened. The clock was on the Giants side, and they were in field goal range. They could have used one or two of their next plays to run the clock down and get into a more comfortable position for kicker Lawrence Tynes to win the game.

We saw how the story really went, as Barden was called for an offensive pass interference that took the Giants out of field goal range. To make matters even worse, on 2nd down on the Philly 36 with 20 seconds left, Eli took another shot downfield. All we needed were some guaranteed yards to get back into field goal range. A quick hitter, or even a draw play. Manning was not fully aware of the situation. With no time outs, you only get two plays before the field goal because if you catch the ball in bounds on 2nd down, 3rd down is used to spike the ball. This mismanagement resulted in no gain and Tynes didn't have enough leg to knock down a 54 yarder.

One Last Thing: The final key to the game was Eagles quarterback Michael Vick finally took care of the football. Vick came into tonight's game with 8 turnovers in 3 games. He didn't have any tonight, and put his football team in a position to win the game. The Eagles defense then rose to the occasion and backed up Vick to get a team victory.

Next week, the Giants head back home to face off against the Cleveland Browns who have looked horrible at times on offense. New York simply cannot lose that game and also, even though I gave the Eagles praise tonight, I just want to make clear that I absolutely hate them.