Jeter announced SI's Sportsman of the Year

Derek Jeter is the first Yankee to be presented Sports Illustrated's highly coveted Sportsman of the Year award. Jeter has been overlooked for the MVP award too many years in his career including this year in my opinion, but if there was one award that should have been a complete certainty, it was this one. Derek Jeter has remained one of the classiest players in all of sports to put on a uniform. The Yankee captain has always kept it real in interviews, on and off the field. You never hear about Jeter running into trouble late Saturday night. I'm sure Jete goes out just as much as all of us, and I'm sure he does his fair share of partying, especially after a 3-5, 4 rbi performance, however he is responsible. He does not let anything affect his play on the field. Injuries are no set back for Mr. Jeter. Jeter will never make an excuse about anything which is something you really want in a player performing in any sport. Excuses make a guy look soft. Jeter not only doesn't give excuses, he often never owns up to injuries, flat out. It takes a lot of pressure to get it out of him.

In today's day and age, athletes are always running into trouble because they are young, wild men, with a whole lot of testosterone, and a whole lot of bankroll. I guarantee that if i was in that position I would not be Saint Michael, however I'd do my best to do a better job than some of these thugs. With Tiger Woods being in the soup he is in at this point and time, its more than fitting that Sports Illustrated announced Jeter for this prestigious award. Now that Woods and TMZ have been used in the same sentence, I believe that Derek Jeter and Peyton Manning are hands down, the two classiest and most dominant athletes I have seen in my lifetime. I am so proud and satisfied that I have gotten to grow up and watch greatness. I got to see how their careers have come from rookies to veterans, and from a great players, to legends.

Don't Thank the Giants

The New York football Giants were lit up in all aspects Thanksgiving night. It was quite possibly the worst they have looked in years. New York was not able to score an offensive touchdown, nor were they able to stop the run. Knowshon Moreno, the stud out of Middletown South's high school had his way with the Giants' defense, or lack there of one. He only rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown on 19 touches, however he was the catalyst in carrying Denver down the field. 26-6 was the final score in this drumming. The offense did not do much to help matters making sure that Denver controlled the ball and the field position. Brandon Jacobs has really fallen off, and this game displayed what Giants' fans have been seeing pretty much all year. The game was a health hazard. It made the food we all ate digest poorly.

The thing about this year's Giants is that they have been playing such uncharacteristic football. They have gone away from everything that made them successful in years past. The new Giants love giving up huge chunks of yardage via ground and via air. The new Giants also enjoy committing inexcusable penalties. This is something that a Tom Coughlin coached team should never do, and it should never be a repeating problem.

However it is a repeating problem, and that's why the Giants are where they are. The Giants are 6-5 and somehow still in the hunt for the wildcard, and are 2 games behind the first place Dallas Cowboys. Playoffs should be an afterthought until the Giants can make a consistent improvement. No matter the outcome, the Giants must learn how to run the ball again, stop the run, and play mistake-free football. Mistake-free football as in don't hit a player helmet to helmet for no reason etcetera. At least they have several wins under there belt unlike an NBA franchise that is also established in New Jersey, for now.

FE, FI, FO, FUM...

The New York Giants got it done today, but not before blowing a 14-point 4th quarter lead. The Giants would need overtime to get the job done against the, now struggling Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons were without their stud tailback Michael Turner or their 3rd down back Jerius Norwood. Jason Snelling didn't quite fill the void only rushing for 76 on 25 touches. He did manage to score 2 touchdowns, but the dirty work was done by Matty Ice and Tony Gonzalez.

The Giants did not have the day they wished for with their running game. Jacobs, nor the injured Ahmad Bradshaw did not get anything going, and 3rd-string back Danny Ware only saw 2 carries for 15 yards. Eli Manning decided to light it up throwing for 384 yards and 3 touchdowns, 2 of them being to tight end Kevin Boss. The New York football Giants sat back fat and happy after gaining a 14 point cushion in the 4th quarter and watched Matt Ryan march his team down the field quickly. The Giants seem to fall in love with the prevent defense when they have a lead in the 4th quarter. All it has done for them is give up touchdowns, and it allows teams to get back into the game. On the last play of a game with a hail mary in the works might be the time to use that defensive package, not the entire quarter, c'mon son! Bottom line, the Giants escaped with something they had not seen in 42 days, a victory!

New York will only have a couple days to prepare for the Denver Broncos on Thanksgiving night. The Broncos are mighty cold, like so cold to where if they were a Coors' Light, the mountains would be a vibrant bluish hue because they have lost 4 straight. The Giants must keep the pressure on because its just as big of a game for them as it is the opposition. Thanksgiving night at 7:30, November 26th, turn on your television set, (as long as the package is NFL Network is friendly) and get ready for Big Blue to help you digest that robust meal you just ate.

Keep Choppin'

How about the Rutgers Scarlet Knights? Rutgers came out of the gates firing on all cylinders against the Bulls. Right away the defense let their presence show, and kept it going throughout. Rutgers just chose to not let up. Tom Savage, Mohammed Sanu, super Joe Martinek and Tim Brown all performed largely on offense. Whether it was the wildcat, or a traditional formation, it worked. After beating a talented South Florida team 31-0, Rutgers has moved into the number 25 slot. Its a big shame that RU had to open with the juggernaut of a Cincinnati Bearcats team who just straight drummed them. Rutgers was without a quarterback and they were without an identity. Since then, Rutgers has only lossed one game and that being 24-17 to a now-top ten football program. If Rutgers had gotten to play Cincy and Pitt later on in the season, like now, when they have finally hit their stride, I do believe things would be different on this go-around. However what's done is done, and Rutgers can still finish strong with Louisville, Syracuse, and West Virginia at home to finish out. They have a good shot at going 10-2 overall and 5-2 in the conference. However any team can win or lose on any given week, so its important to not let up and keep choppin'. They don't need me to tell them that, Schiano has embedded that in their heads I'm sure.

Outside Yanks, Not-so-Empire State of Mind

What's good peoples? I've been a little under the weather the past couple days due to being around half a billion Yankee fans at the parade Friday, but the body knows how to recover. It looks like people in the New York area will need to savor the Yankee championship. Anytime you are out and you are getting at it, your excuse to party is 27, just keep yelling 27. I wouldn't plan on any of the other local times making too big a splash for being a champion contender. The Giants are without confidence and personnel, the Jets have a rookie quarterback with a first year coach and were highly overrated, the Nets have an organization does not care about the near future, and the Knicks are just waiting on LeBron James as are all 30 organizations. The Jets had a bye yesterday so they couldn't lose, however the Giants managed to.

Big Blue took a pretty heartbreaking defeat to the San Diego Chargers yesterday that in many ways could've been prevented. It was a back and forth ballgame that displayed why Philip Rivers and Eli Manning were swapped for one another 5 years ago. The defense for the G-Men wasn't as tragic as it had been the past several weeks, however they never made "the stop" when they needed it most. Terrell Thomas ended up making that stop with a big interception inside 3 and a half minutes and then gave a real valiant effort to finish it off but was stopped a couple yards of the endzone. The offense then went stagnant and just for good measure committed an inexcusable holding penalty on the first play. After this, the Giants played rather "not to lose" than "to win." Conservative football has been a Giants mindset for quite some time, but its a no-brainer that a touchdown wins the game and all a field goal does is invite a 1-point loss. Sure enough instead of going for the jugular, the Giants set themselves up for the loss indeed letting Rivers march right down the field in 2 minutes and 5 seconds. After all said and done, the Giants lost that game characteristically as compared to the losses against New Orleans and Philly where they gave up 40+. They gave up 21 points to a very talented offense, they got Jacobs going for the time he was on the field, however it went in the loss column.

The Giants normally hate their bye week, but this one is definitely needed. Injuries have been plaguing this team as well as defensive schemes. It would be a major help if cornerback Aaron Ross could get back on the field. He was not put on the PUP list even though he has not played a game this year. The man has been questionable since week 1. After getting some things together, the Giants can go out gunning for a quality Atlanta Falcons team at home and get some swagger back. The next test then 4 days later becomes the Denver Broncos, Thanksgiving Night, at Invesco Field. After these two challenges, the Giants have Dallas and Philly waiting in the wings. The Giants have been in some tailspins before and rebounded, ('07 Superbowl year) but they sure have their work cut out for them this year.

"Order is Restored in the Universe"

Game 6 was all about destiny. The New York Yankees controlled this affair early on and never looked back. It took the fans a little bit of time to get going however. I was pretty irate, saying things like "wake up New York!," "who smells 27?" and "88 doesn't hurt Pedro," among other things dealing with his pitch count. One cannot say enough about Hideki Matsui's first at-bat. The 4 other rbi's were extravagant, but to work the count like Matsui did in his first one and make Pedro Martinez come to him and groove one was sensational. This gave the Yanks all of the momentum, and a reason for the fans to get loud. Philadelphia was able to steal a run back in the top half of the 3rd inning thanks to a Carlos Ruiz triple which took an unorthodox carom of the top of the wall. Ruiz who led the Phillies in playoff batting average, then scored via sac-fly by Jimmy Rollins. That would be the closest the Phillies would ever come to the Bombers. Andy Pettitte continued to prove why he is one of the best big-game pitchers of this generation. This guy was pitching at 37 years old on 3 days rest and just going straight at hitters. After a solid opposite field 2-run-homer off the bat of Ryan Howard, Pettitte got the hook, only to receive an emotional standing ovation. Joba Chamberlain then came in to pitch pretty well. With 2 on and 2 out, the Yanks decided to take the lefty-lefty match-up with Damaso Marte against the German gay porn industries' very own Chase Utley. You can't say enough about what Damaso Marte has down down the stretch, getting a big strike out of Utley last night. Once the great Rivera came into the game, every Yankee fan in the house that George built could taste 27. When the inevitable final out came as Shane Victorino hit a chopping ground ball into the glove of Robinson Cano, you can bet tears streamed down my face. Its been a storybook year, and it was great to do it for the boss!

The Yanks have some things to think about this off-season dealing with personnel. The three main concerns (contract-wise) include the likes of Johnny "ice water in his veins" Damon, Hideki "World Series MVP" Matsui, and Andy "veteran leadership and heart" Pettitte. It will be interesting to see if the Yanks go by the "rather get rid of a player one year too early than one year too late" mindset, or the "let's keep this nucleus" mindset. We'll also have to see how Pettitte feels about pitching another long season, he might not mind enjoying riding off into the sunset after a beautifully pitched season at his age and a World Series championship, one for the thumb. Other things the Yanks will decide on include the status of Joba Chamberlain being a starter or reliever, and making the same transition for Phil Hughes as well. I don't think the Yankees will do too much outside of the organization via trades or free agency. They have the best team in the league and are a serious threat to repeat if they can just get things within their own roster straight. The Yanks might go after a starter and a reliever, but outside of that, the Yanks will not likely have as busy of an off-season as they did last year.

World Series Clincher?

This is in fact, my first career blog, the debut if you will. Being that game 6 of the 2009 World Series is tonight, this is a pretty appropriate day I do believe. The Yanks have had some kind of season, ups and downs all over the place. Starting with the rough off-season for Alex Rodriguez, the slow start for Teixeira, the 0-8 hole they had themselves with Boston, and then reversing all of that. Alex came back a new man with a new mindset, Tex got out of his funk with the protection of A-Rod, and finishing the season 9-9 against Boston with a division title. With a win tonight, they won't just be up, they will be in the on top of the world. It has been an 8 year hiatus since their last time hoisting the most important trophy in baseball. For Yankee fans, 8 years is a hot minute. People have gone to the measures to say that the Yankees are cursed. Yes, they blew a 3-0 stanglehold lead to the dreaded Red Sox in '04, however the Yanks are on the brink of shutting this whole thing down.

With a bit of a desperation move by Girardi, the Yanks have themselves throwing Pettitte on 3 days rest, something which he has not done in 4 years. This is following a rather sub-par performance by their second ace, A.J. Burnett. Yankee fans have seemed a bit shaky thinking about the possibility of Andrew Eugene Pettitte doing something similar. Having all of these high-priced and prestigious arms throw on short rest after a season of high-octane baseball and serious innings, this might not be the safest way to protect pitchers. One has to think about the future of these guys, however its all about the mission-27. All in all, the Yanks are glad to be back in NYC. In front of the spirit of the most passionate baseball fans in the world, and facing "the most influential player" to ever step in Yankee Stadium, the Yanks have some things going for them. A much-needed Matsui will be back in the lineup thanks to the DH. Teixeira is due to break out, as well as a couple of other players. Pettitte will make due and pitch 6 quality innings while pitching around an unconscious Chase Utley. Then Joba, Hughes, and Mo will in fact do their j-o-b in relief. As i predicted after game 1 of the series, the Yanks will do this in 6, with your's truly in attendance.