Howdy...

It's been a week since I've last spoken to you.

The week consisted of baseball's Winter Meetings, where you are utterly lost if you can't tell the difference between Scott Boras and Jeff Borris.

Oddly enough, not that Mets-much happened.

We're the first organization with two players named Ambiorix, as Concepcion and Burgos have now given us that accolade.

And, even closing in on Christmas, we lost Jesus [Flores] to the Nationals in the Rule V draft.

Aside from that, though, this week for the Mets has been nothing more than Buzz. Harden and Haren and Zito and Zito and Zito.

And Zito. Who really cares? I find the buzz intriguing, but nothing really happened. There's nothing behind the rumors.

And so, I had left you this week. The Rangers played twice. One of them was the most embarrassing game possible. The other, well, was slightly more palatable.

The Jets played. They romped.

Here's what I'll promise you::
-Rangers over Senators today
-Mets hang on to Milledge, Pelfrey, Humber, and Heilman, ink Zito on December 22.
-Jets crush Bills on Sunday
-A review of Peter Handrinos' The Best New York Sports Arguments: The 100 Most Controversial, Debatable Questions for Die-Hard New York Fans by Wednesday.

See you then. Period.

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A Few Notes

EDIT: (4:30 PM) AP is reporting that Tom Glavine will remain a New York Met for 1 year, $10.5MM, with a Mets teleconference scheduled for 4:50.

Adam Rubin's Daily News blog says the deal is 1 year, $11MM.

ESPNNEWS (via Metsblog) is reporting that the deal contains an option for 2008.

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Metsblog posted a story today about the likelihood of a Manny Ramirez for Jake Peavy trade.

I spoke to a reputable inside source on Red Sox matters who indicated that Towers and Epstein are such good friends, the rumor was planted by San Diego with Edes to leverage the Giants potentially for Matt Cain or the Angels for Ervin Santana in a swap. He also indicated that the Padres have little to no interest in actually obtaining Ramirez.

Presumably, the San Diego cash will instead be used to bring in Schmidt or Zito to complement Jake Peavy, with Dave Roberts potentially being re-signed to play in their outfield.

Other reports today indicated that the Red Sox are moving closer to keeping Ramirez, which would leave them with a glut of outfielders should J.D. Drew finalize the 4-year, $56MM deal we hear so much about. That would probably mean the end of Trot Nixon's time in Boston and put Wily Mo Peña on the block.

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As for whether or not the Mets will offer Tom Glavine arbitration, I'm inclined to think that the Mets will refrain from doing so. Glavine has continually expressed indecision in the process, and the reason why the Mets didn't pick up his option was solely because the lefty was waffling. One would assume that the Mets, incredibly classy throughout what is quickly becoming an ordeal, would keep with their pattern and not offer arbitration.

That would be consistent with Jon Heyman's reporting at SI.com.

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Sabres and Rangers tonight at HSBC. Eight o'clock is your start time. Wear something warm.

Weekesy's in goal, and rookie Ryan Callahan could be making his first NHL start in place of Jason Ward, while serving as a compliment to Ryan Hollweg and Colton Orr.

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The Last of the Old Guard

Omar Minaya has really put his stamp on this team.

It's worth noting that, with the exception of internal products Jose Reyes and David Wright (who were in fact drafted/signed when Minaya was still on Steve Phillips' staff) and a few other potential 2007 Mets (like Milledge, Humber, Bannister and Soler), this team is all Omar Minaya.

That has been made even more apparent by the likely departures of Tom Glavine and Cliff Floyd, both of whom were signed by Steve Phillips before the 2003 season.

This was our time, we were told, and it wasn't unreasonable to believe that Glavine could continue the stellar output he's shown for his entire career. And Floyd, despite some injury problems, was an excellent combination of power and speed.

However, the ensuing season was one of the ugliest in recent memory. Glavine slogged along to the tune of a 4.52 ERA, with Jeff Duncan (yes, you read that right) logging more innings than any other Met in centerfield.

You all might remember that as the year where the team was disbanded midseason, how in a span of two weeks, Burnitz, Alomar, Rey Sanchez, Benitez and Graeme Lloyd (remember him) all found new homes. They truly were the dark ages.

And the season saw uglier things as well, with Mike Piazza falling victim to a freak muscle tear, and a bunch of washed up utility men were there to see the whole thing, like Joe DePastino, Jay Bell, and Mike Glavine. He might have been there just as a favor to Tom.

Floyd, however, had a Met career cut far too short by injuries. I always praised the guy for his hustle and his grind, even when Achilles tendons were getting the best of him. I can't really argue about whether or not he delivered what we were looking for in the contract, given that he only had one really productive season.

Glavine, though, was something you'd like to forget during that first year. Regrettably, everyone remembers the 15-2 home opener loss to the Cubs, where Glavine threw an impressive 3 2/3 innings of 8-hit, 5-run ball. The game was made a hint uglier by Mike Bacsik's two innings of work, where he allowed nine runs, including two homers to Corey Patterson.

The rest of the season wasn't much better for Tom Terrific, as he really failed to look like that impressive ace we were hunting for. If he leaves (Floyd and Trax are essentially gone anyway), I hope you are aware of who becomes the longest-tenured Met. Yes, kids, it's Pedro Feliciano.

But if you look at the fact that Feliciano threw in Japan for 2005, your longest tenured Met is Jose Reyes. That's right-- all twenty-three years of him. I think that says something about Minaya's reign, and that he is constantly changing the team, leaving only the young and great athletes to remain part of the core.

This offseason, pending Tom Glavine's choice between money/no-trade clauses and his kids, your Mets will lose two players, and with them the memories of the failed season in 2003 are swept out the door.

With Glavine we also might lose the traditional tension that came with his signing. We'd forget the notion about whether he's a true Brave or a Met, or whether or not he actually called John Schuerholz panicked about joining the Flushing squad.

I'm not sure it's time to say good riddance, but for the Mets, the notions of seasons long ago played will be no more, which is nothing to argue about.

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Coming on Saturday: Rangers wrapup, Jets/Packers preview, and maybe a little bit more about Tom Glavine?

Crosstown Rivals is sponsored by JustGreatTickets.com, your home for Chicago White Sox Tickets.

Back, but briefly

Sorry for the recent lack of activity.

My best guess is that I'll be back to cover the Glavine signing.

Also, expect in the next four weeks:
-Book Reviews
-Prospect Coverage
-Transaction Reactions

and nonetheless your elite Rangers and Jets coverage.

Here at crosstown rivals, we're unimpressed by Adrian Jones' blood alcohol level.

Thanks again.

Crosstown Rivals is sponsored by JustGreatTickets.com, your home for Chicago White Sox Tickets.

A Tale of Two Gardeners

Did anyone see the Rangers game last night? If you made a conscious effort to tune in, you probably saw more of the game than I did, despite the fact that I had eagerly been anticipating going to this game. Blame it on the hell that is I-95 traffic. I took this picture, on your right, by the way. Hah.

But from what I saw, the Rangers looked good. The best part of their success was that played a throwback style (to um, last year), rather than the haphazard low-effort, sloppy defense output we've come to expect this year

Last year, their play was crisp and urgent, and the stellar play of King Henrik (who was exactly that Tuesday night) vaulted the Blueshirts to the head of the pack, at least until the end of the season. That hangover (sorry, Sandis, for the poor word choice) has plagued the Rangers to a certain extent all of this season, as they are tied for first with New Jersey in the Atlantic, with New Jersey having a few games to spare.

The fact that the Rangers are tied for first in the Atlantic Division, where the record of the first-place team is just as bad or even worse as that of any other division leader, is not exactly something to write home about. But Tuesday's game was. Shanahan and Jagr were both very impressive, and the sloppy and excessively penalized play of Saturday night was nowhere to be found.

It is nice to see that the Rangers are at least trying to rectify things, and Henrik's near shutout on Sunday plus an actual shutout on Tuesday bode well for this team's future. I predict a first place finish in the Atlantic Division, but, regrettably, I know that Gomez, Brodeur, Elias and Co. will have quite a bit to say about that.

Alas, MSG's other inhabitants (and the tenant with MSG TV precedence) have played a horrendous game tonight, and nearly lost by less than fifteen, in spite of the fact that the Minnesota T-Wolves (who were 3-6 and in last place in their divison going into tonight's game) led by 17 at the end of the first quarter.

I grant that I don't know all that much about basketball, but when it seems as though most of your television advertising space is devoted to telling people to come to the games, despite the fact that the Knicks play in the biggest market in the nation, it's safe to say that your team is in trouble.

The team is utterly horrendous this season. Their 4-9 record projects to about 25 wins (and 57 losses) over the course of the NBA's 82-game season, which would actually be a two-game improvement over the previous season. I guess there's some silver lining in that.

It's actually funny to listen to these guys (Gus Johnson and Walt Frazier tonight) try and not say anything horribly negative about this team, or try and highlight only the least negative aspects of this squad. I would like to note that my ex co-blogger forecasted a playoff season for these Knicks. Instead, you'll be lucky to see thirty wins.

I think this is what makes me just dislike pro basketball... the game seems horribly uninspired, with chumps in cornrows jogging up and down the floor, missing free throws and making sloppy passes. I also dislike Bill Simmons, so, yeah.

Cablevision needs to put forth more Rangers coverage and realize that people honestly don't give a damn about pro basketball, especially the brand put forth by Isiah and his Knicks. Put anything on instead. I don't care. Have a show where professional Ranger shill Bobby Granger fights Colton Orr for two hours. I'd watch that rather than the Knicks.

Maybe they should take the games off television entirely, resurrect Orson Welles, and broadcast the games over the radio as though the Knicks are winning them all. Given the money they're spending on contracts of ex-Knicks Allan Houston, Shandon Anderson, Jalen Rose, Maurice Taylor, and Jerome Williams, they could probably afford such a plan.

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I'm pretty sure that this free agent market is actually a figment of my imagination. Soriano getting the huge contract is even not as loony as the deals handed out to Juan Pierre and Gary Matthews, Jr. If I declared myself a free agent, the Cubs would probably offer me a nine-year deal. I'd be represented by Scott Boras, though, so I'd hold out for 11 years.

I can't decide which is a worse deal. I'm probably leaning towards the Pierre contract, because he has shown a great deal of regression since his 2003-2004 progress. He's not a horribly valuable player, granted, and his status as an average defensive outfielder probably means that he can't be a full-time centerfielder, since he can't hit.

Matthews, Jr. at least had a 7.1 WARP3 this season, in his first full season of playing time.

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Even though my feelings on Yankees SS/God Derek Jeter are well-known (save for one April Fool's Day prank), I'm not terribly vindicated with the fact that he didn't win the MVP.

He, like his NL counterpart in running-up Albert Pujols, was victim to someone with gaudier HR/RBI numbers. And since RBI is a statistic thoroughly dependent on the number of opportunities one has with men on base, it's not altogether that hard to discount it mathematically.

Morneau, though, was still a credible candidate. It's just funny to hear Windbag and Loudmouth on the WFAN drive time talk about how Jeter was utterly robbed, while they talk about his intangibles, clutch, and leadership. Why don't they just reference VORP? For once, his statistics were actually called the league's best by these evil statheads and their computers.

Instead, they then talk about how he did a poor job leading Alex Rodriguez. Well, if his candidacy is based on leadership, why do they say he should be the MVP? Presumably, someone didn't screw up leading their team to the extent that pundits blame it for the demise of a superstar. Ugh.

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A Disappointing Weekend

I wasn't really inclined, especially after Ohio State beat Michigan, to call this a disappointing weekend for me. I expressed some favor for the Buckeyes, and that game had been preceded by Yale beating Harvard, which made me smile.

But it was downhill for the most part from there.

Moises Alou might become a Met, which scares me. My favorite son, Firstings, is almost a lock to be sent packing if the Mets acquire Alou. Did you know he pees on his hands? HE PEES ON HIS HANDS, people. My biggest objection, actually, to the Alou acquisition is the possibility of a two-year deal for the aging OF.

Shawn "The Grass Ain't So" Green and Moises really won't make for that much of an athletic outfield, no matter how fast Carlos Beltran can run in CF. The other negative is that the deal isn't the incentive-laden contract you would want for an injury-prone player going on 41. It looks like $9MM guaranteed annually over one year, with an option for 2008.

I don't exactly hate the signing (if it occurs), but the problem is that the quality of the investment (a hefty one at that) all hinges on whether or not a forty-year old corner outfielder (who hasn't played 140 games since '04) can remain healthy.

But Omar is planning on using the power of the platoon, given that having two bums in the corner spots will open up some time for the younger Firstings and athletic Chavez and Ben Johnson.

On some level, though, one must wonder whether this signing actually occured. We've been hearing a lot about it, from almost every NY-area media outlet, but didn't something like this happen (in fact, with Moises) after the 2004 season? I'll wait until we hear more official statements about the free-agent OF.

Saturday night made me want to shake Moises' hands. Not only did Cinderella story Rutgers take a loss (against friggin' Cincinnati), the Rangers played what was possibly the sloppiest and least inspired game of hockey ever played.

In a loss to the Penguins, they took what seemed to be about 150 penalties, and it just generally didn't seem like the team was hustling. The Rangers, this season, just don't look the same as they did last year. There's a bit of a drag in everyone's step, and the biggest problem seems to be inconsistent defense.

At least we have football on Sunday. On TV here was the Patriots' rout of Green Bay and the Jets-Bears game, which was incredibly close for the first half.

Then your man Eric Mangini made the brilliant decision to go for an onside kick, and since the Jets were getting destroyed in the game (your score was 0-0), it was obviously necessary to neutralize the Bears' advantage (once again, your score was 0-0, and the Bears had like 2 yards passing, and the game was only tied because of a C. Penn red zone INT and a bonehead overturning of a fumble recovery).

So, the Jets stunk it up in the second half, and were absolutely unable to wrap up this Bradley fellow. Nevertheless, this page will hand game balls out to the Jets pass rush, the Jets running game, and of course, Tim Dwight and Laveranues Coles. Boo to the pass protection and secondary.

At least I was able to seek solace in the 4-1 Rangers victory over Tampa Bay at the Garden last night, where Jaromir Jagr netted his 400th and the Rangers really made up for the poor play of prior nights. It also had a baseball-y feel, as Lightning coach John Tortorella was ejected from the game from tossing vulgarities at the refs.

I will be at Tuesday night's Rangers-Hurricanes showdown, so maybe I'll have something else to say then.

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Also, if you thought this was your grandmother's free agent market... you might be wrong. Former Blue Jay Justin Speier, a sidearming righty setup man, got 4 years, $18MM, when in fact he is just boosting what is already one of the strongest bullpens in the majors over there in LA of A.

And, uh, yeah. If you live in a cave, you might have even heard that a 31 year old outfielder who strikes out a ton and doesn't walk got eight years and $136MM.

It was, earlier in this offseason, pretty shocking to hear that Soriano wanted "Beltran money", given that when Beltran was a free agent he was younger and had an incredibly strong postseason to his credit, not to mention the reputation as a hard worker and a great athlete.

Soriano has none of that (save for the athleticism) and he got one more year than Beltran did at roughly the same yearly rate. Wow. That's all I can say.

And there are maybe a few more signings to rank on your ridiculous-o-meter.

SS Alex Gonzalez got 3 years, $14MM from the Reds.

1B Nomar Garciaparra, who was injured for a large chunk of last year, got 2 years, $18MM guaranteed to re-up with the Dodgers.

And Mike Stanton, yes Mike Friggin' Stanton, yes the former Met, got a two-year deal. He's like eighty. I think I'm going to go cry and wish I were left-handed.

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Screw you, Tom Glavine!

Even though I began to see him more and more as a Met and less and less as a Tomahawk Chopper over the past two years, Ken Rosenthal's recent column (at FoxSports.com) has caused me to change my mind a little about the venerable lefty.

I'm sick of his crap, his shtick, his whatever he's doing. It's unacceptable. Does it remind you of another lefty in the winter of 2004? He needed a bit too much time to think about whether or not he wanted to be a Met. And now, with Al Leiter throwing cutters in the Yankees broadcast booth, Tom Glavine is repeating the same old thing.

And maybe, it's a little bit different than Leiter. Leiter harangued Omar Minaya, on some level because he figured that his friendship with the Wilpons would give him precedence in decision-making over the new GM. Maybe it did with the Scott Kazmir trade, but Leiter's act was done the moment Minaya showed up in town.

Even though Leiter probably told Carlos Delgado not to play for the Mets, over a short span of two years Delgado mashed nearly 40 home runs wearing the orange and blue. Leiter, as I mentioned beforehand, is wearing a suit, taking in Michael Kay's spit rather than the aroma of a ballfield.

This brings me back to Glavine, who is using this whole "I have to hear what my family says" as a negotiation ploy. It's actually fairly simple. Glavine is hellbent on having the matter unresolved by the time the Mets have to choose whether or not to exercise their 1 year, $14MM ($16 MM if he's an All-Star) option on Glavine. And you know why that is, right?

If Glavine leverages the Mets into making a panic move, which he is trying to do with his shtick now, he will be able to extract far more money from that option than he will be able to on the open market. If he returns to Atlanta, which may actually be where he wants to pitch, Glavine's not going to get much more than 8 million for this year- if he's lucky.

Does anyone honestly believe that Glavine isn't trying to trick the Mets into exercising that option? I'm not saying such action is uncommon in the market place, but it is foolish to pass it off as Glavine being an earnest family man. The idea for him is to just load our heads with the idea that he's going to the Braves- so much so that we delude ourselves into keeping him at an unreasonable price.

This matter will become far more odd once Tuesday's option deadline passes and Glavine becomes a free agent. Ladies and gentlemen, we apparently brought this on ourselves.

So, who gives a crap? Let Glavine walk. Omar and Co. are in no mood to be extorted, and, accordingly, Glavine cannot behave like he is presently.

We'll keep ya posted...

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Transaction Reactions: November 14-15

So the Mets today acquired "Not That" Ben Johnson and Jon Adkins in exchange for two relievers, both who were the source of many useful vile puns.

I'm a little surprised by this move, to say the least, given that Minaya went looking for an outfielder who's very much Lastings Milledge-lite. The case for Johnson is made about his athleticism, and it's probably better doing that than waxing poetic about his .236/.324/.441 career line, spanning parts of the last two seasons with the Padres.

Johnson's track record, even as a hitter, though, is far from mediocre. In 472 AAA PA in 2005, Johnson mashed 25 HR. The case against him is mostly that he really hasn't shown that power in the big leagues, despite having parts of two seasons to show off his ability in San Diego.

And yes, he has come a long way since his time as a Canadian sprinter testing positive for stanazolol during the 1988 Summer Olympics. Glad I got that one out of the way.

I'm inclined to think that Johnson, despite his offensive transgressions, was probably the big piece of this deal, as opposed to Adkins, who was marginal this season for San Diego, but is considerably older than Johnson.

Adkins (who has that athletic look to him, no?) has pitched a bit for the White Sox, including a season in 2004 where he served up a whopping 13 HR in 62 innings of work, which translates to 1.88 HR/9, a number even worse than Steve Trachsel's rate this season.

Nevertheless, Adkins had something resembling a full season of work this year, and pitched okay. He did allow more than a hit per inning and his walk to strikeout rate (20:30) was Trachselesque. Adkins' WHIP, though, was a somewhat promising 1.38, which shows a stark improvement from his 2004 and 2005.

Bell and Ring aren't huge losses. Both of them had showed potential, and although the luster had somewhat faded from Heath Bell's star, I would have liked for Ring to be a part of the '07 pen. The breakout season of Pedro Feliciano, though, made Ring #2 on the team's LOOGY depth-chart.

It's also worth noting that both Bell and Ring are from the Southern California area, with the latter living in La Mesa.

On the whole, I'm not sure what to think of this trade. It conjures up memories of the Seo/Hammer for Sanchez/Schmoll trade, except that Minaya is dealing players of qualities less known than those of Seo and acquiring those with lower ceilings than Sanchez.

The biggest question, though, is about what this trade means for the Mets' outfield. Johnson is a right-handed bat who has traditionally played his best while in right field. Accordingly, there's a good chance that Minaya is using this move to try and build an elaborate OF platoon situation for 2007. A Chavez/Milledge platoon in LF and Green/Johnson platoon in RF seems very feasible come opening night in the STL.

I regrettably do have to confide in you guys, though, that I'm not terribly in favor of this move. Bell and Ring are expendable, sure, but Adkins will not break camp with the big club and Johnson won't do more than be an upgrade over Ricky Ledee/Eli Marrero.

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Other moves:

-The Mets re-signed RHSP Orlando "Hell Duckie" (maybe my Spanish is off there) Hernandez, for 2 years and $12MM.

It's difficult to remember whether or not I like this move. On one hand, El Duque was the Mets' most consistent starter down the stretch in 2006, but on another note, he is probably a card carrying member of the CAARP (that's Cuban AARP), which you enter into by your 93rd birthday.

In all seriousness, he is very old and has not logged many innings since the late 90s with the Yankees. I can't say that I see this move working out well for the Metropolitans. However, $12MM over two years is probably cheaper than getting Daisuke Matsuzaka to throw out the first pitch at a charity softball game.

-The Mets claimed RHRP Jason Standridge off waivers from the Reds.
I have really no reason to object to this move, so I won't. Risk-free, but don't expect Standridge to finally live up to his first-round pick status as a Met. If you want to get some history, though, on this former quarterback, check out this article on Adam Rubin's blog.

-The Red Sox paid $51.1 million to have lunch with Scott Boras in vain hopes of setting up a sushi stand at Fenway Park.

This move really doesn't make any sense to me, but I will pat myself on the back for saying that the Matsuzaka bid would be won by the Red Sox when the rest of the world said he would be a Ranger or a Yankee. Ignore the fact that I said it would be $12 million. I just don't understand- the Red Sox pack Fenway every night and already have the second-best worldwide brand awareness, behind some team in the Bronx. Stupid.

-The Cubs signed everyone who has ever played the game of baseball before.

Maybe it was actually just UTIL Mark DeRosa (for 3 years, $13MM) and C Henry Blanco (for 2 years), but I thought I might see some other action in the market.

-The Yankees re-signed RHSP Mike Mussina.

Oh, well.

-The Devil Rays won the posting bid for 3B Akinori Iwamura.

Iwamura suddenly requested to be trampled by Godzilla.

-And somebody who will spend next season in the Yankees' broadcast booth won Manager of the Year.

Excuse me while I vomit. Wait, so it wasn't Michael Kay?
I don't understand how Girardi won it, given the fact that he was undoubtedly handed a very talented but untested team and won about half of his games. I could do that. Watch me.

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How about the Rangers last night? Marcy Hossa, you made my day. Henrik's also really coming around, which should be music to the ears of every Ranger fan.

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A little note on the future of this blog:
-I'm going to work on redesigning the layout over Thanksgiving weekend, but I will be at my keyboard with whatever goes on regarding the Mets, Jets or Rangers.

Thanks much for your continued patronage.

Crosstown Rivals is sponsored by JustGreatTickets.com, your home for Chicago White Sox Tickets.

Some News

Well, that was an interesting weekend.

-The New York Jetropolitans defeated the New England Expatriates this weekend, pushing the Jetsies to one game behind the Pats in the AFC East, while snapping their streak of 60 games without consecutive losses.

-According to multiple papers, we will not be Stache-less this year, and possibly in 2008, as Jose Valentin has closed on a one-year deal with a vesting option. This should put a stop to whatever rumors circulate around this position, as Julio Lugo, Adam Kennedy, Alfonso Soriano, and Mark Loretta will inevitably staying away from Flushing.

-CitiField? Eh. I think the best part of this story is that our sister blog Hot Foot broke the news about the stadium simply by having ties on the construction site. It makes you wonder what the function of the Mass Media is.

-Mets 3B Coach Manny Acta will be introduced on Tuesday as the new manager of the Washington Nationals. On the whole, it's pretty funny that the Expos franchise dumped him after their 2004 season, and now, after a face-lift, they want him back.

-The Cubs re-signed the best free agent on the market, giving 5 years and $73MM to their star third baseman Aramis Ramirez. They also picked up two perennial intriguing options by re-upping righties Wade Miller and Kerry Wood to incentive-laden contracts.

-The Yankees were wheeling and dealing, pulling off a Sheff-to-the-Tigers deal, landing them talented (but elbow injury prone) righty pitching prospect Humberto Sanchez, and then nabbing righty reliever Chris Britton while dumping Jaret Wright's contract and some of the money attached with it on the Orioles.

-Finally, the baseball winter meetings are set to occur this week, with a lot of intriguing options on the trade market. Lastings Milledge's name will be mentioned in about 400 trade rumors, so pay close attention. I'll be here to break it down for you.

-And, hopefully, we will find out whether Buster Olney's made-up reporting (covered well recently by Mike's Mets) is at all close to the truth. Maybe, just maybe, Daisuke will be signed before I next write you.

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The Love Between A Man(gini) and his Mentor

As you all may or may not know, I was not all too thrilled with the hiring of Eric Mangini (shown here in his true colors//controversial statement alert!) as Jets head coach earlier this year. I would have preferred the Jets hiring that guy with the gray mullet who coordinates the defense over there in Oakland.

Maybe the Jets should have hired that former Vikings coach, Mike Tice, who proves that brain power is inversely proportional to head size. I don't really know if Mangini was a bad choice (only time will tell), but with a rookie OC, DC, and GM, it would have been pretty ridiculous to think that the Jets were on track for a credible season.

Supposedly, the same type of second-guessing was going on in Foxboro, Mass, as the legendary father of a convicted pot smoker that is Bill Belichick supposedly told Mangini not to take the Jets job. You folks probably haven't forgotten that Belichick quit the Jets job after a day before jumping ship to New England.

Now, the animosity is showing between the two, as the veteran coach conducted a speech where he utterly refused to acknowledge Mangini's name, and opted to give credit to rookie players who were virtually unknown rather than to the rookie coach who served in every possible capacity with Belichick.

And though this story line is probably the easiest to pick up on, you have the other threads, like the Boston (Foxboro) vs. New York City (East Rutherford, NJ) matchup. Of course, there's also the question of whether or not Chad Pennington will be in tip-top shape coming off the IR. Or at least, that's what seems to be the storyline every week.

Of course, though, the New York Times has to take a different angle, one that preferably keeps their bunch of stodgy intellectuals as far away from the football field as possible. Accordingly, they ran their second or third story in about a year on Laveranues Coles' history of being sexually abused by his stepfather at gunpoint when a preteen.

This story even went further than the last one did, tying it in with comedian Tyler Perry's similar history, and then his oddly successful films (Madea's Family Reunion, Diary of a Mad Black Woman), and finally his new friendship with Coles. While I think it's very important for Laveranues to be happy, can't we just focus on football, at least the weekend of what might be the defining game for the Jets this season?

So, now, we've got a rivalry between two Wesleyan-educated coaches and a traumatic history of parental sexual abuse on print.

Anyone want to talk about the fact that the Jets are ranked 30th in the league (out of 32 teams) in run defense? Or about the fact that they're ranked 31st in the league in total defense? I guess the fact that Justin Miller gets torched on every play doesn't bother you guys in the press.

I guess nobody feels like discussing Chad Pennington's abysmal play of late. So on we go.

Prediction: Jets 12, Patriots 24

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I'll probably be back with you sometime this weekend if there's anything on the Rangers to talk about, or maybe if there's stuff on Glavine (who declined his option and is now a free agent) or on Daisuke.

See you then.

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