A GIANT Win

The Giants had a rude welcoming for the Cowboys to their new $1.15 billion home digs, beating them last night 33-31 on a field goal as time expired. The win was a big one for the Giants for a number of different reasons:

1. Let's hear it for this passing attack. Although the Cowboys secondary is not good, all we heard all preseason is "how are the Giants going to replace Plaxico Burress?" Well Mario Manningham (10 catches for 150 yards and a TD) looks like a good candidate. He and Steve Smith (10 catches for 134 yards and a TD) are turning into Manning's favorite go-to guys. You can't get overly excited about one game (look what happened when we tried that with Hixon last season), but they torched the Cowboys.
   
2. They are now 2-0 in the division and hitting the soft part of their schedule. Their next 3 games are against Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Oakland. They should win all three. There will be a tendency to look ahead to the rest of their schedule (pretty brutal), but if they can get 5 wins and 3 road games out of the way by mid-October, they're looking pretty damn good.
3. They won despite injuries. Chris Canty and the entire secondary (it seemed) were out. Justin Tuck (injured on a "bush league" play) and Hixon left early. Danny Ware was out. The secondary that did play were playing hurt. They have a few weeks to get the whole team healthy for a brutal 4-week, pre-bye run against New Orleans, Arizona, Philadelphia and San Diego.
4. Eli Manning (25 for 38, 330) led yet another 4th quarter comeback drive. He's getting very good at those. He's calm and collective. Even after a 1st down holding on the final drive knocking them back 10 yards, he never panicked. He also has been very good at limiting mistakes. Look at what happened to Tony Romo when he tried to force the ball in. Eli rarely tries to do that. Now he gets to go up against a Tampa Bay defense which has allowed 564 yards and five TDs through the air in the first two weeks.
5. This team can still play much better. They've had little to no run game the first two weeks. The run defense is still shotty. They haven't gotten as much pressure on the QB as they would like (they had no sacks in this game).
6. They won despite a less-than stellar run attack. That can't be overstated. This team ran over everyone last year but has been able to find ways to win games in other ways so far this year when the run hasn't always worked. I think that they'll get their run game on track, but I think that knowing they can win in other ways will help them be confident down the road.
   
7. The fluke plays are going their way. That's a good sign for a team that has been burned by some of those recently. If there was ever a play that made you confident your team was going to win the game somehow, the ridiculous INT off of Jason Witten's shoe was just that.
8. They beat Dallas on the road. They ruined the Cowboys' housewarming party (picture via ESPN). That's a big win.

You can't get too excited because they do have a lot of injuries and lot of problems to fix...but this is a great start for Big Blue in the 2009-10 NFL season.

(Side Note: I've meant to write this for a while, but I was sad to learn that the Giants LoHud blog and Ernie Palladino are going to no longer be a part of LoHud. With Peter Abraham announcing his leaving this week, this is a huge week of losses for the LoHud blogs. Those two were some of the best sports blogs out there. No matter how many amateurs such as myself write blogs, nothing will compare to what the professionals with the inside access have to report. It's a sad part of the economy and the state of the newspaper business, but I'll miss Ernie)

Not a Good Way To Start a New Year

L'Shana Tova to all our Jewish readers. I saw there was a sign behind home plate at the Yankees game last night wishing everyone in Seattle the same but I figured I'd add my wishes.

Last night's game, however, did not end well for the Yankees. Mariano Rivera blew his first save after 36 straight conversions. Rivera got two easy outs with a one-run lead but allowed a double and then a two-run home run by Ichiro.

(Side Note: For those panicking about Rivera blowing a save, know this: let him blow it now and get it out of his system. Besides Brad Lidge last season, no one who goes into the playoffs with save streaks seems to make it out of it alive. Better he blow it now than Game 7 of the ALCS vs. the Red Sox.)

I have to disagree with Peter Abraham who says that Joe Girardi made the right decision not to walk Ichiro in the 9th. Ichiro has more hits than anyone over the past decade, has set the record for hits in a season and has set the record for consecutive 200-hit seasons all to start his career. There's a runner on second. Most of the time, you don't want to put the winning run on base when that person is as fast as Ichiro. And I know that Mo doesn't like to issue intentional walks...

But a single in that situation ties the game. The rest of the Mariners' lineup is atrocious. Ichiro had been hitting great in the game but made two huge baserunning mistakes that you knew he needed to make up for somehow. You need to walk him in that situation. Put him on base. Let someone else beat you. Normally I'm not a fan of intentional walks at all, but this was one situation that seemed to dictate it.

A Look at the NFL Spreads: Week 2

As I promised, here are my NFL picks for week two (home team=CAPS, my pick=bold, best bet=italics, suicide pick=large font):

FAVORITE	PTS	UNDERDOG
Patriots	7	JETS
COWBOYS	3	Giants
CHIEFS	4	Raiders
TITANS	7	Texans
PACKERS	9	Bengals
Vikings	10	LIONS
EAGLES	PK	Saints
FALCONS	6 1/2	Panthers
REDSKINS	10	Rams
JAGUARS	3 1/2	Cards
49ERS	1 1/2	Seahawks
BILLS	5	Bucs
BRONCOS	3	Browns
CHARGERS	5	Ravens
Steelers	3	BEARS
Colts	3	DOLPHINS

A few explanations:

• The Jets and Ravens were my best bets this week. Why? Because even if they lose, I still think they'll cover the spread. The Patriots are a banged up team on defense. The Chargers are the best in the AFC West...but what does that truly say about them? Meanwhile, you have a very confident Jets team with an excellent defense and a Ravens team with not only a great defense, but now a great offensive combination with Joe Flacco and Ray Rice.

• Then I called my dad before sending the picks and he said "definitely San Diego". So while I didn't change it, I did change my best bet. I like the Colts against a so-so Miami team. I think the Dolphins will be good again this year, just not sure if they are quite on par with last year's team. I just couldn't pick the Ravens as a best bet when my dad sounded so sure the other way. He's been more destructive to my pick confidence than Michael Scott was to Andy Bernard's sexuality confidence on last night's The Office...but when dad says "definitely", I can't not listen.

• The Bears, Texans and Panthers all threw stink bombs in their first games...what makes me think they'll do better this time? Nothing.

• Saints/Eagles is a classic pick'em. And I'll usually take the home team. But with all the Eagles injuries and my hatred for the Eagles, I'm going with the Saints.
  

• Bucs/Bills is an awful game. I just pick the 5-point underdog when awful teams play each other.

• I think the Redskins will no-doubt beat a really bad Rams team...I'm just not sure they can score 11 more points. Do you? With that offense? With all their mistakes in Week 1, the Rams look like the team from The Replacements (right up to the point I'm waiting for an offensive lineman to puke sushi). But I think this one will be about a 6-7 point win. Unless they score on a few more fake field goals this week (still angry about that one)
  

• I never win picking for/against the Jags so I figured normally I'd pick the Jags playing at home against the Cards, who are West Coast team playing at 1 PM. But that's why I'm going against the Jags (trust me on this...it's all about karma).

• My suicide pick for the week was the Vikings. It could have been the Redskins or Packers...but do you really see Adrian Peterson losing to the Lions? Not even Brett Favre could make that happen.
  

• Lastly, I'll take my G-men on the road against the Cowboys. There were a ton of questions about Tony Romo, Wade Phillips, and the entire organization coming into Week 1. Did that win really help clear that all up? Really? The Giants have one of the best defenses in the NFL and wreak havoc on Tony Romo and his love life. I look for the Giants to go for 2-0 in the Big D.

We'll recap and see how I did after the weekend...

Back In Town and Some Bad News

Got back in town last night from a week in Richmond, VA. Did not realize how many Redskins fans there were down there but it was nice to rub in the Giants win. I was amazingly able to get 880 AM on the radio so I could hear the Yankees come back against Los Angeles. I was also in a bar when the Yankees/Blue Jays brawl broke out so I was able to see that. Pretty crazy.

But now I'm back in the city so great they named it twice. I came back last night to some bad news, however. Peter Abraham, one of my favorite bloggers and one of my best sources for all things Yankees, is leaving The Journal News to go write for the Boston Globe (yes, that means covering the Red Sox...double ouch).

One of the reasons I decided to start a sports blog was because of people like PeteAbe who I enjoyed reading, but wanted to add to the discussion with thoughts of my own. I wish him the best of luck in his new endeavor and hope that NYaT can fill a little bit of the gap left by his leaving.

Bronx Banter acknowledges that there will be a big lack of #1 Yankees coverage. Sliding Into Home wishes him luck in his endeavor. River Avenue Blues has a whole Peter Abraham appreciation thread. Rob Neyer gives his congratulations. It Is High, It Is Far, It Is...Caught calls him a traitor for leaving to cover the Red Sox. Pete says that finding a good replacement and keeping the LoHud Yankees Blog up and running at a high level is a top priority of the paper.

Trivia Tuesday (on a Wednesday)

Apologies for not getting this out sooner. In the spirit of the opening week of football NYaT has a football themed Trivia Tuesday.

With his touchdown pass to Mario Manningham this past Sunday, Eli Manning has now thrown for 99 regular season touchdowns in his Giants career. Only three other QBs have thrown more. Can you name them?

As always, try and get all three in one post

Good luck!

The First Major Injuries of the 2009 NFL Fantasy Season

With the NFL season's opening week nearly complete we already have two potential season changing injuries on our hands. (If not for the actual teams, certainly for Fantasy).

1) In an interview with the Chicago Tribune this morning Brian Urlacher indicated that his season may very well be over due to a dislocated wrist. This is certainly a blow to all those Fantasy owners who drafted high on the Bear's D. Without Urlacher in the middle expect teams to try and jam the ball down the Bear's throat.

2) Donovan McNabb has been ruled out of next Sundays hotly anticipated shootout with the New Orleans Saints. While you can probably expect McNabb back sooner than later - rib injuries can be very tricky, especially for a QB known for his solid mobility. If you were starting McNabb on your fantasy squad you probably want to look elsewhere, at least for the next three weeks or so.

Roger Federer could beat Chuck Norris in tennis

The US Open sort of got lost among the stories from college football Saturday, NFL Sunday, and MLB pennant races this past weekend. But tennis fans who actually watched yesterday's action were treated to this beauty from Roger Federer.

What strikes me about this shot -- aside from the ridiculous scale of difficulty -- was how hard he hit that ball. We have all seen between-the-legs shots before, but players typically use them out of necessity...there is no other angle to swing from, so they go between the legs just to get the ball over the net.

But Federer? He used it to blow a winner past Djokovic! I think the ball actually had topspin. Amazing.

A Look at NFL Spreads: Week 1

Not a good start for me picking the games. In the following weeks, I'll post my picks with the spreads, but this week was a bit hectic with the Thursday game.

And my picks wouldn't have helped you much anyways. I am 5-8 so far this week, thanks to some last second points in the Ravens and Giants games that tipped the scales.

My one surprise of the week: the Arizona Cardinals who did not look good in their NFC title defense. It probably shouldn't have been a surprise, but after I got killed picking against them last year, I couldn't pick against the Cards in Week 1 this year.

My suicide pick was the Ravens and the Chiefs made it a bit more interesting than it needed to be...but prevailed in the end.

FAVORITE	PTS	UNDERDOG
TEXANS	4 1/2	Jets
GIANTS	6 1/2	Redskins
FALCONS	4	Dolphins
RAVENS	13	Chiefs
Eagles	1	PANTHERS
BENGALS	4 1/2	Broncos
Vikings	4	BROWNS
COLTS	7	Jaguars
SAINTS	13	Lions
Cowboys	6	BUCS
CARDS	6 1/2	49ers
SEAHAWKS	8 1/2	Rams
PACKERS	3 1/2	Bears
PATRIOTS	10 1/2	Bills
Chargers	9 1/2	RAIDERS

How did you do in week 1? Stay tuned for Week 2's lines and my picks.

Steinbrenner Yankeeography Well Done, Very Funny

I just finished watching YES Yankeeography on George Steinbrenner. I was interested to seeing it, especially after writing a post this past week about the man and wanting to see what the Yankees and other had to say. Overall, I think it was a job well-done. The best part about it, I think, was some of the humorous George Steinbrenner anecdotes. The Boss was a pretty funny guy and I definitely laughed quite a few times at the various quotes they reproduced. The best one was from Lou Piniella:

I didn't know Mr. Steinbrenner at all. I had just been traded there. I was just joking around. I said (to Steinbrenner), 'Our Lord Jesus Christ had long hair, and things seemed to work out for him.' He didn't say a word. He said, 'Come with me.' We walked across the street to the Ft. Lauderdale swimming pool and he said, 'If you can walk on water, you can wear your hair any way you want.'

I think that they could have spent a little more time speaking about some of bad parts of Steinbrenner (the suspensions and his contentious relationships), but this is his network and they weren't going to throw the old man under the bus. I rather hear about his charitable work too, especially the story of how Ray Negron got his job (let's just say he was a little bit of a juvenile delinquent before The Boss got a hold of him)

Speaking of the old man, it was sad to see how much he's really deteriorated the past few years. They had some interviews with him in the early 2000s and he looked quite with it and was funny and clear thinking. It's sad to think he's slipped so much that he refuses to make many public appearances.

But it made me appreciate even more what he's done for the Yankees and knowing they'd never be where they are right now (the team, the ballpark, the recent history) had it not been for George Michael Steinbrenner III.

Simply Jeterian

Since he tied Lou Gehrig for most hits in Yankees history, Derek Jeter has received praise from many circles.

• From Peter Abraham: “I’m very happy for him,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said. “He carries himself in a manner that’s worthy of passing Gehrig.”
• From Buster Olney:

Derek Jeter has made it hard to hate the Yankees, writes Dan Bickley. From the story, Arizona general manager Josh Byrnes: "To me, he's the best player of his generation. He's the best example of his generation that we can present to our younger players."

Jim Leyland says, as mentioned within this Tom Gage piece, that he thinks the attention to Jeter's achievement is well-deserved: "It means health, longevity and extraordinary talent. It will get a lot of play and should. If you had to pick one representative for baseball over the last 15 years, it would be Jeter -- not only as a player, but as a person. … If you picked an athlete from each sport to go visit the Pope, he's the one I'd pick for baseball."

• Tyler Kepner on Jeter breaking the record
• MLB.com has some more reaction from around the league
  
• The New York Post says that Jeter lit up the house he built
• The New York Times looks at how Lou Gehrig was described in the New Yorker 80 years ago
• So, naturally, The New Yorker has a profile now on Derek Jeter and why he's so like--and dreading the end (H/T Baseball Musings)
• Rob Neyer "plays the Jeter game" and tries to rank him among the Yankees greats
• In other Derek Jeter news, he took out Minka Kelly in public The Big Lead reports

Let's see who Jeter has done the most damage against:

Jeter's most hits vs a pitcher:

1. Tim Wakefield - 31
2. Sidney Ponson - 29
3. Rodrigo Lopez - 26
4. Pedro Martinez -22
5. Jamie Moyer - 22

Jeter's most HR vs an opponent:

1. Boston - 23
2. Baltimore - 22
3. Texas - 21
4. Tampa Bay - 19
5. Seattle/Toronto - 17

Jeter's most HR vs a pitcher:

1. Sidney Ponson - 5
2. Rodrigo Lopez - 4
3. David Wells - 4
4. Many tied at 3

A few other facts from Derek's 223 career regular home runs from Baseball-Reference:

• He has 22 lead-off home runs
• He only has one walk-off home run
• He also only has one inside-the-park home run which came in his first season
• The other thing he only has one of? Grandslam. I was there to see it on Father's Day in 2005 against the Cubs

But here's a great stat: 57% of Derek Jeter's home runs have either tied the game of given his team the lead and only 16.5% have been hit when the difference was four runs or greater.