Mets Take Season Series From Yankees

To avoid a sweep and because it's the Yankees, this game was obviously a must win. The big question here is which way will Oliver Perez go after this terrific start? That strikeout of A-Rod in the 4th or 5th was classic by the way.

Johan Santana Has A 3.01 ERA

Seriously if I thought Johan Santana was a bust, I'd have no problem say so. And yes, giving up a grand slam to an American League pitcher is embarrassing. but he's right when he says that he's kept his team in just about every game this year and the facts are that the Mets have provided little scoring production for Johan in most of his starts. Barry Zito is a bust, Johan Santana is not. His critics need to lay off.

Jay-Z Looking To Buy Into Yankees

Now this would be something else in its entirety:

He has previously been linked to a deal with London soccer team Arsenal Football Club, and while Jay-Z admits the rumors were true, negotiations fell through in 2005.

And now the star has a new sporting interest, he's in the midst of talks to buy shares in the Yankees.

He tells London's Time Out magazine, "I had invested in the Nets, and they (Arsenal bosses) asked me if I was interested in investing. But I get that from time to time.

"Someone told me yesterday that someone else had a piece of the New York Yankees, 'We wanna talk to you, yadda yadda yadda.' I mean, I love the Yankees so I'm in the middle of following that through, but sometimes it comes to be nothing.

"That (Arsenal) was one of the times it came to nothing."

Personally, I just don't think Hank Steinbrenner's ego would allow it.

Mets Salvage Series Against Mariners

First, let me say that I have much more respect for Bob Watson after he suspended Brian Runge today for bumping into Jerry Manual and baiting Carlos Beltran the way he did Tuesday. Secondly, tho' he's done nothing to warrant staying, I wouldn't take Oliver Perez out of the rotation just yet, it's still too early and what with the Phillies still playing losing ball, there's no need to panic. Lastly, what exactly does picking up Andy Phillips mean? The beginning of Phillips/Delgado platoon? And yeah, that was one disappointing series, now we need to take our frustrations out on the Yankees.

Mets Take Two Out Of Three From Rockies

I'm past the Willie stuff, it's played out already and it's time to move on. The goal is to continue winning series' and that's what the Mets are doing what with 3 series wins in a row highly benefited by the Phillies coming back down to earth. And yes the Mariners are bad, but I'm not even asking for a sweep, just another series win and the rest will take care of itself.

Derek Jeter The Most Overrated? Oh, Please

Listen, I'm a Mets fan so it'd be easy to express some glee towards the news that Derek Jeter has, for the second time in two years, been voted by his peers as SI's Most Overrated Player. Yet, besides being a Mets fan, I'm also a realist. So not only do know jealousy and envy when I see it (after all, how many of the same yahoos who voted Jeter Most Overrated wouldn't trade places with the starting shortstop of the New York Yankees in a millisecond?), but I've seen Derek Jeter up close enough times to know what a clutch performer he is, how he only cares about winning, that he always gives 110%, that he should've won the MVP in 2006, that's a deserved 8-time All-Star and that he's on his way to the Hall of Fame whenever he decides to call it quits. In other words, the facts on Jeter speak for themselves so baseball players need to stop with the hating already.

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Basketball season is over, baseball hasn’t even reached the halfway mark, so you just know that with NFL training camps now open, it’s the upcoming football season that’s mostly on your mind. And besides holding your breathe worrying about their favorite player suffering some season-ending injury, football fans can’t wait for the season to begin because that's where the real fun starts. I know for me it’ll be particularly interesting to see how the Jets are going to do this season what with all the changes they made during the off-season.

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The World Champion Boston Celtics

Thank You Doc, Paul, KG, Ray and the rest of the Celts for shutting Kobe down, keeping Phil from going ahead of Red Auerbach and proving to the world that superior defense can win you an NBA championship. Bottom line, the better team won and that's the way it should be.

Mets Finally Fire Willie Randolph

I've never really been a fan of the Wilpon's. As owners of my team they've got little to show for their running the show and it was always my understanding that Nelson Doubleday (when he co-owned the Mets) deserved much more credit then Fred did for the '86 world championship squad.

Either way one can certainly argue that Willie Randolph should've gotten fired for last season's historic collapse alone. So Willie knew that he had to get off to a good start this year in order to keep his job, but for the most part I liked Willie and thought that he at least deserved the full year to get the team back in the playoffs. Carlos Delgado being a flop, Moises Alou forever on the DL and the bullpen being inconsistent certainly aren't Willie's fault.

To me, Willie lost his job for a few reasons besides the team not getting off to a good start: not getting thrown out at Yankee Stadium on that Delgado home-run that wasn't (another reminder of Willie's lack of fire and passion), the controversial comments about race he made a month ago (you don't do that to the first team to give you a chance to manage) and the fact that players just didn't go out of their way for him. I like Willie and I hope he gets another chance to manage someday. As for the Mets? They still need to make a big trade no matter whose managing the team, the lackluster play has just been going on for too long now.

Tiger Woods Is Simply The Best

Great U.S. Open esp. for a guy with a bad knee. Tiger proves again that he's the best at his sport, by far. And hey, he was even nice enough to give Rocco Mediate a moment in the sun.

Mets Take Series From Texas Rangers

It's kind of weird playing the Texas Rangers, but then I've never been a fan of interleague play to begin with. Either way, most impressive today was Pedro Martinez finally making a real quality start and Willie's gutsy move to pinch-hit for him with a guy who hadn't gotten a hit in 9 years.

Ray Allen Has Stepped It Up

Bottom line is this, the Lakers just aren't as good as people thought as the Nuggets, Jazz and Spurs never really tested them in the playoffs. Plus, the Celtics have 2.5 Hall of Famers on their starting roster, play the best defense in the league and have a superior bench. Any wonder why Boston is up 3-1? That was still one hell of a comeback last night tho.

Wrong Time For Billy Wagner To Implore

Seriously, his third straight blown save at a time when his team is in desperate need of a win? It just doesn't make any sense.

Andruw Jones Gets My Vote For Biggest Bust

I like Jon Heyman's No-Star Team which highlights the biggest busts in baseball so far this year, but my vote goes to Andruw Jones (.165, 2, 7) esp. considering that the Dodgers are paying him $18mil a year. Barry Zito is obviously a close second tho.

Mets In Danger Of Getting Swept By Padres

If the Mets don't make the playoffs this year then Willie Randolph deserves to be fired. It's just beyond perplexing that every time you think that the Mets are going to go on a run, they spit in your face and go back to playing lackluster baseball:

The Mets scored only one run for the third straight game Saturday night, and not coincidentally, they lost their third in a row, all by the same demoralizing score of 2-1.

This time, though, their offensive futility stretched into extra innings, into the 10th, when Scott Hairston blasted a leadoff homer off Pedro Feliciano.

I've been saying it all year: the Mets need a trade. Badly. Package Delgado, Heilman and a minor leaguer to an AL team and see if anybody is willing to take the bait. Scoring one run per game against the lowly Padres is pathetic, but the Mets have been playing like this for over a year now. And the guy who you know could've made a difference in this series, Moises Alou, is constantly on the DL. The manager should be angry, but when does he ever get angry at his team?

Big Brown Finishes Dead Last In Belmont Stakes

The more the true "Test of Champions" foils a chance at a Triple Crown, the more legendary the Belmont Stakes should become. I mean, a horse as invincible-looking as Big Brown finishing last here? That's literally unheard of. Bottom line, it'll be easy to pick on that arrogant prick of a trainer, but so many so-called horse racing "experts" picked Big Brown to win easily too. I mean, you had great horses like Spectacular Bid and Smarty Jones fail at the Belmont in their bids to win the Triple Crown. When will people learn and give the Belmont Stakes the respect it deserves?

Boston Beats L.A. In Opener

Great first game from all the highlights I saw. It's amazing that so many people are picking the Lakers to win thing when you consider how great the Celtics have been at home. By the way, I loved Paul Pierce's will and determination last night, but the Willis Reed interpretation was a little overboard.

Ray Allen Will Be The Key To A Celtics Victory

That's how I feel. Although he may be not saying much about it publicly, any real NBA fan knows that Allen and Kobe have a longtime feud going, that's why the Allen/Bryant match-up will be the key here. Will Ray step it so he can that first ring or will he wallow in the big, Kobe spotlight? We'll have to wait and see. In the meantime I predict Boston in 6.

Mets Take Series From Giants

This is what we need to keep doing: winning series, esp. what with Chase Utley and the Phillies looking to take off. Pedro had a good outing. Willie should platoon Ramon Castro and Brian Schneider (who has a ludicrous 4 extra-base hits), but he won't. Jose Reyes is hitting, but playing awful defense and Carlos Beltran is getting some big hits. One thing tho, when Moises Alou comes back, Willie should platoon him with a combo of Andy Chavez and Fernando Tatis. I'm tired of Alou's visits to the DL. Now we have to take 3 outta four from the woeful Padres.

Pedro Makes Huge Start Tonight

2006 proved that the Mets need a healthy and effective Pedro Martinez to have any chance of winning a world championship. Well, now's the time for Pedro to step up and prove that he's still got a little something left in his tank. No more excuses and if he gets injured again, maybe he should just retire and be done. He's facing a Giants team that can't hit tonight so would 6 innings, no more than 3 runs allowed be too much to ask for? I don't think so.

Mets Take 3 Outta 4 From Dodgers

OK, things are looking really good after the whole Willie controversy, but let's not get carried away here because we're still 3.5 games out of first place have some problems that need to be worked out if we're seriously going to contend this year. First, the Mets need to show some guts and send Aaron Heilman down to the minors if they're not going to trade him. Heilman has been horrible all year, gives up way too many HR's and keeps costing us games. Secondly, the Mets have to be really careful with Ryan Church whose suffered two concussions of late and still isn't 100%--give the hot-hitting Fernando Tatis more playing time till Church is 110%. Lastly, there's Pedro Martinez, who I don't care how good he says he's feeling, seems to always end up injured. We need Pedro to win for sure, but the Mets have to be extra careful how they deal with him for the rest of the year. Personally, I wouldn't let him go any more than 5 innings from now on till the playoffs. In the meantime, Wright and Reyes are hitting, Carlos Beltran is getting clutch hits. the bullpen (except Heilman) looks great and the bench is making a name for themselves. Good.