The Reason Louisville and Pitt Won't Win The Big Dance!

It is quite simple. Louisville in the second round and Pitt in both rounds one their games because of superior athleticism. Both teams were outplayed, out-coached and for the first 75 to 85% of the games out scored; however, when a team simply has FAR better athletes, opponents get very worn down.

When a team sneaks by into weekend #2, with better athletes in the competition, lousy performances are not going to cut it.

If the Cardinals and Panthers don't play substantially better this weekend, they will be cooked.

Louisville will probably make it past Arizona, but watch out. I give Pitt basically no chance to win.

Yaros

Wow!

I went to the Stadium Monday.

I walked all around. A friendly guard at the bleacher entrance (under the el) whom I engaged in conversation suggested I go to the lobby (on 164th and Jerome) and ask to be taken to my seats.

Sure enough, the security people obligingly called up to the tickets department. An employee of that department named Andy came down and told me that if I had called, I would have been told “No” but since I was there he would take me up. He even waited for my son to arrive and park. We signed the safety waiver (the Stadium is not finished) and put hard hats on. The new stadium is lovely. Our seats up above the plate have more room than our old ones, are comfortable and have cup holders. There looked to be numerous bathrooms for both genders. The eerie thing about the field, which was the best thing about the old stadium, is that it still looks the same. Everything is still the same down there.

I think we are going to enjoy this. That is, when the tickets finally arrive. I called Friday and was told they won’t come until March 31st or thereabouts. That is awfully close to the workout day on Thursday April 2nd.

Henry Frisch

The Sweepstakes For Cutler!

Cutler may be the new Brett Favre! He has guts, really runs the show and throws plenty of TDs and INTs!

There are more than a couple of teams interested in the guy and I expect the Broncos will ask for a first rounder in return. With the high QB salaries these days, not much more than that will be likely. Maybe a first and third rounder if there is a bidding war.

Should the Jets put in an offer?

I think first round picks are not as sure a thing as Cutler and he is a far more long term solution that Favre was last year. The Jets should put in that offer because the odds of Ratliff being the answer are slim.

I think an ideal choice for the Jets would be a guy who does not throw alot of picks because the Jets have a power running game and don't need a big time passer (they have no one to catch the deap ball anyway). Problem is that there is no one like that on the market unless the Jets get Jeff Garcia. All I ask is that it is someone specific by the time camp starts. I don't need a QB learning the playbook during the regular season!

Yaros

Big Man Who Plays Little!

There was always that guy on the local biddy basketball squad that was really tall but just plain sucked. Welcome to the world of Vince Carter, Brook Lopez and Devin Harris. That awkward dude is Yi Jianlian. The guy is shooting an awful 23% from 3 since his return from injury and a poor 39% from the field. Additionally, his defense is abominable and he is a very limited rebounder and passer.

There is some upside because he is tall and long, but talk about a bust!

And he is not 21 like his "birth certificate" from China says!

Yaros

Just A Bad Loss!

The Nets are what we thought they would be (that was a quote in the name of Dennis Green). Or, maybe they are a bit better than that. Either way, they are going to have lousy losses like they did tonight against the worst defensive team I have ever seen. There is a point that is beyond the level of trying, the Warriors just don't bother on D. They just wait to take the ball out of bounds. It is kind of funny.

Lopez has been playing well and will finish 3rd in the ROY voting behind Rose and Mayo. Devin Harris should be the most improved player. This team certainly has a future and perhaps even a present, but it will be up and down for a while.

Yaros

Desperate Mets!

The Mets are desperate for ticket sales. The team is sending out a constant barrage of emails to heads of groups that went to games last year. The daily emails are a clear sign that the Mets are having serious trouble selling seats (even cheap seats). With the Wall Street Journal explaining that the market could go all the way down to $5,000, the future looks grim for Citi ticket salesmen.

Yaros

A-Rod Is Needed - Don't Forget That!

Whether he is juicing on HGH or not, A-Rod is supposed to be starting at third base for the New York Yankees. Whatever cheating A-Rod got caught for, the bottom line is that he is not going to get caught for whatever he is doing now. That being said, the Yankees need the guy to hit 40 homers and drive in 120.

Everyone does HGH. That does not make this form of juicing up right or fair; however, let's not forget that A-Rod is not the only one. I do assume that he uses the stuff because there is no test and therefore no reason for him to not use it. To some players, the incentive to not use HGH is the purity of the game. Clearly, A-Rod does not have this incentive in mind and likely shoots HGH into his butt on a regular basis.

Should A-Rod have surgery? I say wait if the hip doesn't hurt. My guess is that the hip is not painful because A-Rod only noticed the injury once the cyst developed. Chase Utley played through it last year, and A-Rod can have surgery the day after the World Series ends.

Yaros

Jets D' Looking Better!

The more guys a team brings in, the harder it is to gel as a unit. The one caveat to that statement is when those guys can help the other players learn a new defense. Bart Scott and Jim Leonhard both have signed with Jets and have the experience of playing in Rex Ryan's defensive scheme.

That being said, the defense clearly is heavily dependent on Kris Jenkins. If Jenkins can throw his body in front of blockers like he did early last season, the Jets could be really good on D, if he struggles, the D will as a unit.

Offensively, a decent QB is needed. A star is not needed to win in the NFL. The Jets have a very strong running game and a solid O' line, with a mistake-free and low risk QB with the ability to occasionally stretch the field (the anti-Favre) the Jets can go a long way. Is Brett Ratliff that guy? I doubt it!

Yaros