Knicks win streak hits 3 as Jeremy Lin continues to shine

The first time could be luck, the second time could be a trend but after a third straight game in which Jeremy Lin has shined, you can tell that he is the real deal.

Lin had 23 points and a career high 10 assists as the New York Knicks defeated the Washington Wizards 107-93 at the Verizon Center on Wednesday Night. 

This was the first start on the road for Lin, and he was surprised to receiver a warm ovation from the fans when during his introduction before the game. The fans in Washington continued to give him support after every made basket and even began chanting his name at the end of the game.

"Like I said after the last game, I wouldn't have imagined this” said Lin after the roller coaster ride of the past week.  “Thanks for them for coming out and they came out strong for the Knicks tonight. We had a lot of energy that came from them.”

Lin has been the talk of the town in the Asian-American community and tonight showed the support they have for him as there was multiple signs with his name and even some Taiwanese flags spread throughout the arena.

Lin has raised the level of play for the Knicks and his play making ability has helped Steve Novak burst onto the scene after being buried on the Knicks bench. Novak had 19 points on Wednesday and was 5-9 from downtown. 

Another playing thriving from the play of Jeremy Lin is Tyson Chandler. Chandler was involved in a boatload of pick and roll plays on Wednesday and finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds, two points shy of his career high.

No one has been more excited about the play of Jeremy Lin than Coach Mike D’Antoni. Many have been clamoring for D’Antoni’s job after he has struggled integrating Carmelo Anthony into the offense. The Knicks have struggled running D’Antoni’s offense without a true point guard, and Lin has come on the scene right in the Knick of time(pun intended). 

"I think it's for real," Coach D'Antoni said. "The things that are real are his vision, which won't change; his speed, which won't change; his knowledge of the game, which won't change. I think it can only get better."

After two hot shooting games, the Knicks shot just 25 percent from the field in the first quarter and were trailing 23-17. Lin got into foul trouble and had to sit the final four minutes of the first quarter. The Knicks outscored the Wizards 35-23 in the second quarter, thanks to Steve Novak who was on fire connecting on four 3-pointers to give the Knicks a 52-46 halftime lead.

Washington went on a 10-2 run to begin the third quarter before Lin took over. He made play after play in the third and scored 12 points to put the Knicks ahead 77-68 entering the fourth. 

The closest the Wizards got in the fourth was five points at 79-72, but strong play from Lin and rookie Iman Shumpert , who had 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, helped the Knicks pull out their third victory in as many games, and kept the Linsanity going.

Talk is Cheap

Coming into this season, the New York Jets went to back to back AFC Championship games. The Giants have struggled in the regular and post season after winning Super Bowl XLII, and the tide was starting to turn in the Jets favor as to which team runs New York, or so they thought.

The Jets and Rex Ryan ran their mouth earlier in the season stating that they were not the Giants' little brother anymore, especially after not having to play anymore in Giants Stadium. They talked a lot of trash leading into the week 16 matchup, in which the Jets were the "home team" at MetLife Stadium, and even covered up the Giants' Super Bowl banners that were in the stadium. After the Giants defeated the Jets thanks to a 99 yard TD reception by Victor Cruz, the fates of each team seemed to change. The Jets went on to miss the playoffs, where as the Giants went on a mystical run that saw that crowned Super Bowl XLVI champions.

During the Super Bowl celebration at MetLife stadium yesterday, Giants' defensive end Justin Tuck was sure to put in his own two words after the Giants walked the walk.

"The last time we did this, it was in Giants Stadium," Tuck told a crowd of approximately 40-to-45,000 fans at the team’s Super Bowl XLVI championship rally at its home stadium. "And I am sure you know where I am going to go with this. Now we are in MetLife Stadium. It's MetLife Stadium.

"But for one thing you can be sure of -- of whose house it is.”

And so the feud continues between two teams that share a City and a beautiful new stadium.  After the Jets talked the talk for the entire season, the Giants, in true Big Blue fashion, walked the walk, and kept their season motto true to the end, FINISH!

In Davis We Trust (Or at Least Hope)

Knicks' point guard Baron Davis practiced with the team on Monday for the first time since being acquired in mid December. This was the first time Davis has seen the court in nine months as he has been recovering from a herniated disk in his back. Coach Mike D'Antoni and the Knicks are in desperate need of a spark at the point guard position. The Knicks' offense has struggled without a true point guard to run the D'Antoni offense. With great scorers like Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire on the team, many thought that defense, not offense, would be the side of the ball that was struggling. The offense has looked stagnant with Anthony playing the point-forward position after D'Antoni tried to run the offense through combo guards Toney Douglas and rookie Iman Shumpert. The Knicks lead the league in isolation plays so far this season, and fans have become restless and have even booed Carmelo Anthony when he runs the offense by holding the ball at the elbow for 10 seconds, as he shimmy and shakes followed by hoisting up a brick. In fairness Anthony has been bothered by injuries, particular to his non shooting hand and wrist but the lack of a true point guard is the main reason for his and his teammates struggles.

In Baron Davis coach D'Antoni, as well as Knicks' fans see a band-aid that can help patch up the offense and make this team into the championship contender that many deemed it would be at the start of the season. Their view is very optimistic and they hope they get the Baron Davis that is an all star point guard and not the one who has struggled in the past couple of years dealing with injuries. The Knicks' season and possibly coach D'Antoni's job will rely on how well Davis performs when he eventually gets into some game action. He is sure to struggle in his first couple of games, having to get acclimated with the Knicks' offense, as well as his teammates. Only time will tell if this glimmer of hope will provide a light at the end of the tunnel.

Did Nelson Cruz Cost the Rangers the World Series?

Game 6. 9th Inning. 3-2 series lead. 7-5 lead in the game. 2 outs, 2 strikes, 2 men on.

This is the setting for Nelson Cruz's blunder from Thursday night. The Cardinals were down to their final strike as David Freese, who has had a hell of postseason, swings and hits a line drive to deep right field. Cruz, who is playing right field, is in a no doubles depth, playing deeper than usual.

Cruz starts back and takes a nonchalant approach as it seems to be a routine fly ball. He gets about 3 or 4 feet from the wall and does a half leap and completely misses the ball. The ball actually wasn't over his head, it hit the wall about halfway up on the right side of Cruz.  His approach and jump makes it seem that he was scared of the wall.

Being an outfielder myself, you are taught as a little leaguer to sprint back, find the wall first, and then find the ball. Sometimes this can be more difficult than usual depending on positioning and the speed of the ball. Cruz completely misplayed the ball, and although his team didn't lose directly because of the play, he had a chance to end the series with a fairly routine catch.YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO MAKE THE GAME ENDING CATCH IN THE WORLD SERIES! GIVE MAXIMUM EFFORT AND BANG INTO THE PADDED WALL IF YOU HAVE TO!

As you know the Cardinals go on to win the game in the 11th inning off another big hit by David Freese. Game 7 is tonight, and Cruz better show up and the Rangers better win or he might just be the next Bill Buckner.


 Here's the play if you haven't seen it:

Win-Loss Game: Giants Edition

The Giants get off to another hot start, but the tough schedule late in the season sees them struggling to take the division, and has them fighting for their playoff lives through a wild card berth. Of course this is just a quick glance at the schedule, and there are an infinite number of variables that can effect the outcome of games, but this is how the season will go in my eyes.

Week	Date	Opponent
1	Sun, Sep 11	@ Washington Redskins	4:15 pm		FOX				WIN	(1-0)
2	Mon, Sep 19	vs St. Louis Rams	8:30 pm		ESPN				WIN	(2-0)
3	Sun, Sep 25	@ Philadelphia Eagles	1:00 pm		FOX				LOSS	(2-1)
4	Sun, Oct 2	@ Arizona Cardinals	4:05 pm		FOX				WIN	(3-1)
5	Sun, Oct 9	vs Seattle Seahawks	1:00 pm		FOX				WIN	(4-1)
6	Sun, Oct 16	vs Buffalo Bills	1:00 pm		CBS				WIN	(5-1)
7	Bye
8	Sun, Oct 30	vs Miami Dolphins	1:00 pm		CBS				WIN	(6-1)
9	Sun, Nov 6	@ New England Patriots	4:15 pm		FOX				LOSS	(6-2)
10	Sun, Nov 13	@ San Francisco 49ers	4:15 pm		FOX				WIN	(7-2)
11	Sun, Nov 20	vs Philadelphia Eagles	8:20 pm		NBC				LOSS	(7-3)
12	Mon, Nov 28	@ New Orleans Saints	8:30 pm		ESPN				LOSS	(7-4)
13	Sun, Dec 4	vs Green Bay Packers	4:15 pm		FOX				LOSS	(7-5)
14	Sun, Dec 11	@ Dallas Cowboys	8:20 pm		NBC				WIN	(8-5)
15	Sun, Dec 18	vs Washington Redskins	1:00 pm		FOX				WIN	(9-5)
16	Sat, Dec 24	@ New York Jets	1:00 pm		FOX				LOSS	(9-6)
17	Sun, Jan 1	vs Dallas Cowboys	1:00 pm		FOX				LOSS	(9-7)

2011-2012 English Premier League

Let the games begin! This weekend was the start of the 2011-2012 season for the English Premier League. Each of the 20 Premier League teams will play 38 games, for a total of 380 games to be played throughout the season.

Reigning EPL Champions, and 2011-2012 favorites, Manchester United, started off on the right foot with a 2-1 road win vs West Bromwich Albion. ManU narrowly escaped an opening week tie due to an own goal late in the match, when a cross by Ashley Young was deflected into the net by West Brom defenseman Steven Reid. ManU also survived some shaky play by their new 20 year old goalkeeper David De Gea. De Gea will have big shoes to fill in place of former keeper Edwin Van Der Sar who had retired after the end of last season. If the Reds want to repeat as champs, they will surely need some solid play from their young unproven keeper.

 

Another favorite to win the EPL, Chelsea, got off to a slow start in a road game against Stoke City. Chelsea played well, dominating the game for most of the time, but failed to put the ball in the net. The game finished in a 0-0 tie. Last seasons big name acquisition, Fernando Torres, played well in the first game of the season. This is in comparison to last season when Torres struggled after being transferred over from Liverpool in February. He's still not in top form, but Sunday's game was definitely a step in the right direction.

 

Other top contenders, Liverpool and Arsenal both failed to impress as they both came away with ties on Saturday. Liverpool had a 1-0  lead against Sunderland until the 58th minute when Seb Larson scored on a beautiful volley to make it 1-1.  Arsenal played Necastle, and got into a heated battle around the 73rd minute after the game started to get out of hand. Arsenal's Gervinho clearly dove in the box trying to draw a penalty after a failed to score. Newcastle's  Joey Barton took exception to the play and physically confronted Gervinho by grabbing him. The two then exchanged words and then Barton went down acting as if he’d been punched. This incident escalated out of hand and had players from both teams confronting each other. The referee gave  Gervinho, the Arsenal striker a red card, and decided to give Joey Barton yellow card for his involvement.

 

Top 3 finisher Manchester City is set to face off against Swansea City who is the first Welsh team to play in the EPL division since its formation in 1992. They are sure to have there hands full with Manchester City who finished the 2010-2011 season in 3rd which was their highest finish ever. With rumors swirling around their star forward Carlos Tevez, will Man City be able to come out with a victory? We shall see at 3pm.

Say it ain't so, Mo: Is Mariano Rivera on the Decline?

How does a guy have a 17+ year Hall of Fame career by throwing only one pitch? Easy. That pitch has to be really, really, really good.

New York Yankees closer Mariano Rivera has been terrifying hitters throughout his whole career with his magnificent cut fastball. Mariano consistently throws the pitch in the low 90 mph range, usually 89-92 mph.

Now there are many big leaguers who throw in the mid to high 90's, who have had no where near the success that Mo has had (see Kyle Farnsworth). But it's not the velocity that makes Mo's cutter so special, it's that late movement and the consistent pin point accuracy that he has shown throughout his career. Wherever the catcher puts the target, that's where his pitch goes.

Mariano's lack of consistent accuracy is what has had him struggling in recent outings. Now every time he has a couple of bad outings, critics want to announce that he is on the decline (rightfully so, considering he is 41 years old and has to come back down to earth at some time).   He'll usually bounce back and have some crazy scoreless inning streak or a long stretch where he doesn't blow a save. The streaks usually shut everyone up for a little while, until he blows a save against the rival Red Sox in a late season situation.

Rivera has struggled in his last two outings, in which he blew a save against the Red Sox on Sunday Night Baseball, and gave up a two run home  run (his second of the year) to former Yankee Bobby Abreu in the top of the 9th inning in a tie game against the Angels. When interviewed after the Angels game, Rivera said the pitch he threw to Abreu "just didn't cut."

Rivera's cutter hasn't been as sharp as it has been in previous seasons. Just look at the batting average for left handed batters in the past 4 seasons. In 2008, LHB were hitting .147. In 2009, they were hitting .182. In 2010, the number increased again to .214. This season, left handed batters are hitting .267 including last night (2-3).

Rivera also has been struggling putting away batters with 2 strikes on them. He already has given up almost double the amount of hits in favorable two-strike counts (0-2, 1-2, 2-2) this season, 16 hits, as he did last season,  9 hits.

Mariano, at 41 years of age, is still considered one of the best closers in baseball, but his numbers have slowly declined in recent years, showing his human side. It will be a sad sight in New York when Mariano has to step down. The Yankees are going to have some HUGE shoes to fill when that day comes.  Of course no one expects him to pitch forever, but lets hope he can find his accuracy and finish his career with the precision and perfection that he has shown throughout his storied career. Until that day, enjoy watching one of the greatest pitchers of all time.

Giants 1st Round Pick Injured In Practice

After being the last 1st rounder to sign with his respective team, Giants' rookie cornerback Prince Amukamara fractured a bone in his left foot in just his second practice with the team on Saturday. Amukamara fractured the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot while performing a press coverage drill against wide receiver Duke Calhoun. The cornerback will have surgery to repair the injury and is expected to miss about two months.

This is the second injury to occur in the Giants defensive backfield in the past week, as cornerback Bruce Johnson ruptured his Achilles on Thursday and since has been released by the team. The Giants will now be thin at the position behind starters Corey Webster and Terrell Thomas, and reserve Aaron Ross.

This is just another blow in a tumultuous offseason where the Giants have been relatively quiet as both their in town rival Jets, and their division rival Eagles have been pro active by adding free agents to bolster their already proven rosters.

The Giants failed to add WR Plaxico Burress who was recently released from prison, and also saw their standout tight end Kevin Boss sign with the Oakland Raiders. With the usually reliable Steve Smith coming off major surgery, the Giants receiving core also lacks depth behind studs Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham.

Giants fans can't be happy with the way the offseason has gone with the injuries, lack of free agent signings, and the ongoing contract disputes with Osi Umenyora. As a Giants fan myself, I try to have faith in General Manager Jerry Reese as he has done well in the past, but this season already seems like it's going to be a long one for Big Blue.