1. 211. That is the average number of innings Zito gives you a year. Last year Glavine gave the Mets 198, el Duque 162, Pedro 132 and Maine 90. With the back end of the rotation not solidified yet and Pedro’s status in doubt you need to add someone dependable to the staff that can give you 200+ innings a year. Zito is your man.
2. 37. That is the average age of Glavine, el Duque and Pedro. Zito is 28. The Mets’ front of the rotation is filled with old guys who have won a Cy Young, pitched in the playoffs and can pitch on the NY stage. Then now need a young Cy Young winner with tremendous amount of playoff experience. Zito is your man.
3. 22. That is the amount of major league victories Scott Kazmir has. Mets fans are still irrationally bitter. Steve Philips did make that bad trade, but he was run out of town because of it. I was trying to enjoy the best Mets’ season in 18 years and my friends could only say all summer long “Imagine if Kazmir was on the team” like a broken record. When the Mets went into the playoffs with the bad news bears pitching rotation I actually started to think that maybe the psychos had a point. The Mets need a young stuff pitcher who can exercise the Kazmir ghost. Zito is your man.
4. 21. That is the number of years since the Mets won a world series. I have always said “Pitching wins pennants.” The Cardinals outlasted the Mets because their pitching shut down the Mets hitting. Zito is your man.
5. 0. The number of quality starters out on the market left. With Soup signed and Dontrelle in jail for DWI, Lastings Millage’s stock down, Zito is your man.

Posted by Steve in New York.

MLB

Tuesday, December 26, 2006 2:16:29 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Christmas came and went without the signing of Scott Boras' superstar free agent client, Barry Zito.  Mets fans like Steve, Linda, her Mom, and others will have to wait a little longer than hoped.
                                                      
Here's why: Boras is notorious at getting and maintaining leverage for his clients.  Just ask the Red Sox.  As their plane was going back to Boston, Boras was still negotiating Matsuzaka's terms with Red Sox GM Theo Epstein.  By the end of the negotiations, Epstein aged about ten years and looked as though he had seen a ghost.  He did, it was Scott Boras, the Ghost of Free Agent Greed.

Where Do We Go From Here: Expect Boras to tighten the screws even harder on the Mets, Rangers, and other Zito suitors.  That's his job and he does it better than anyone else in the world.

I don't even expect Zito to be signed by Old Calendar Christmas, January 7.  I expect Zito to be signed as close as possible to Pitchers and Catchers which is just after my least favorite "holiday", "Saint" Valentine's Day.  Expect more from the Tank as we get closer to February 14.
         
Anyway, enough about "Hallmark Holidays" and let's get down to the important stuff.  I give the Mets the edge for the following reasons:

(1) They are a contender as the Rangers are not quite there yet.  The Mets were one strike from the World Series and the Rangers didn't even make the playoffs.

(2) Zito will be reunited with his former pitching coach, Rick Peterson.  Shea Stadium is much more pitcher friendly than the Launching Pad at Arlington.

(3) Texas has an 11 percent state income tax edge as NY has 7 percent state and 4 percent local tax.  However, Zito will be able to up the difference in endorsements in the nation's biggest media market. 

Word to the wise Mets fan: Be patient and keep the faith.  Boras wants top dollar but he is not foolish enough to walk away from a "bad" deal that makes him and Zito millions.  If Omar Minaya makes a competitive offer, Zito will most likely sign with the Mets. 
                           
Posted by The Tank in NY.   

MLB

Tuesday, December 26, 2006 2:25:48 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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I hope everyone is enjoying this unseasonably warm (in NY) but great Holiday season.

If you love college football, this is the best week of the year.  There are so many bowl games sponsored by various companies.  Though not a marquee game like the upcoming BCS Champion Game on January 8, The Tank listened to Hawaii beat Arizona State 41-24 in the Hawaii Bowl on the radio last night before going to taking a three hour nap and going to work.  The Tank observes Julian/Old Calendar Eastern Orthodox Christmas on January 7 as there is a 13 day difference between the Calendars.  I am covering for my IT network colleagues who observe Gregorian/New Calendar Christmas.  The Internet and networking is 24/7/365-6 and if the network takes a nap (God Forbid), then we're in trouble regardless of if and when we observe Christmas. 

Merry Christmas! / Happy Hanukah! / Happy Kwanzaa! / Happy Ramadan! / Happy Winter Solstice! / Apologies to others' Holidays I may have forgotten!

Best wishes to you and yours for a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season!

Posted by The Tank in NY.

College Football

Monday, December 25, 2006 7:04:56 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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The Tank's old college buddy, Dino The Greek, sent him a welcome surprise e-mail about the opening night of the sixth installment of "Rocky" this past Wednesday, December 20.

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"Rocky Balboa AKA Rocky VI----phenomenal!!!!!

The ending was good.  This movie ended the sequel on a high note.  Thank God Sylvester Stallone made this movie or else the series would have ended on Rocky V. 

The Theater was packed.  People clapped screamed and cheered during the fight and clapped at the end of the movie.  The ending was not predictable but if you are a diehard fan of the Rocky movies it would have made sense.  Without spoiling the movie, contrary to rumors-Rocky did not die in this movie after the fight.  Sylvester Stallone made this movie for the diehard fan of Rocky movies.  Original music, fight match scene, training scene.  Same type of beginning except and thank God for this they did not do a replay of what happened during the previous movie because Rocky V did not have much.

If you are a Rocky fan this is a must."

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The Tank Reflects on Dino's Review: I usually don't see movies opening weekend but Dino's review compelled me to watch it.  I wrote notes but won't ruin it for you.  As clips from previous movies showed, I reflected on priceless memories of watching previous "Rocky" installments with friends and family.  Probably the most memorable was my then 11 year old brother and I (12 at the time) cheering on the Hulkster as "Thunderlips" in "Rocky II".  This is the only time I didn't cheer for Rocky.  The 17 year old usher tried to keep us quiet but we glared at him and he took his flashlight and quickly retreated to the back of the theater.

The magic of the "Rocky" movies is to fight back when you feel down and out.  To quote the Philadelphia Poet, "It's not how hard you've been hit by life, it's how hard you hit back!"  

Posted by The Tank fighting the good fight with guest review from Dino The Greek in NY. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Movies | Boxing

Sunday, December 24, 2006 4:15:43 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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This past week marked the third anniversary (observance in mourning for most) of Isiah Thomas' reign with the Knicks.  Though exciting at times, it has been a painful most of the time as Zeke has taken on huge expiring contracts of "stars" past their prime.  The list is too long for me to write and you to read as the Knicks are paying $62 million to five players not even on the roster anymore.

Since Mr. Dolan has given Isiah through the rest of the season to make progress, the Tank is forced to use reverse psychology to uplift himself and others.  For instance, who could be worse than Isiah?  The Tank thought long and hard and lost lots of sleep.  The nominees are:

(1) Detroit Lions President Matt Millen.  Like Isiah, Matt was a great player but a lousy executive.  Though a different sport, the Lions are even worse than the Knicks.  Is Matt blackmailing Lions ownership into keeping his job?  Is the Lions ownership too cheap to buy out his contract?

(2) Past and current Tampa D-Rays ownership.  While crying that they can't be competitive, past and current owners Vince Namoli and Bruce Sternberg, respectively, are gladly taking the Yankees luxury tax money but NOT reinvesting it in their team.  D-Rays fans like Buffalo Robert and Detroit Dale are furious.

(3) Current Florida Marlins owner Jeffrey H. Loria.  Mr. Loria is a NY art dealer who made a killing when he sold the Expos to MLB and then bought the Marlins to Mr. John Henry who went on to buy the Red.  The Marlins payroll is slightly lower than the D-Rays.  What about the luxury tax money Mr. Loria is pocketing?  Can't Mr. Loria sell anymore art at his NY gallery to pay his players more?

Remember, if you are ever down and out as a sports fan, there is someone worse off than you.

Posted by the Tank in NY.

NBA

Saturday, December 23, 2006 4:03:38 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Watch the video here. Since Google purchased YouTube, they are pulling videos posted by those with footage from ESPN, MSG, etc. by those who don't own the ESPN, MSG, etc. copyrights. However, the SATT footage was shot on the Tank's Canon digital camera-and we own that copyright. :)

If you want to complain about the video not being still, write a letter to Canon.

NBA

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 5:14:24 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Moments after the Knicks-Nuggets Brawl, PermaGuest Jack e-mailed Steve and myself.  His thoughts were so insightful that I asked him to write a guest column.  His comments are as follows:

Now as you may or may not know I'm not a big basketball fan, though Michelle is getting me into College ball.  But that said, I do pay attention in the cursory sense.  But you just don't really need to follow the NBA to be disgusted with this latest fiasco.  To summarize from what I've read and heard in the news, the Knicks were losing pretty badly yet again, and because the Nuggets had their Starters on the court with 1:15 left and a 19-point lead.  So what?  Yeah, maybe that's a bit overkill, but so what?  Should they have sat them and given the Knicks a chance to come back and win?  Um No.  Last I checked, this was not a friendly neighborhood game (though an argument can be made for the lack of those too), but a Professional Game, between two Professional teams who are PAID to win.  Not lose.

What's even more disgusting than the lack of good sportsmanship and professionalism shown by the Knicks was that of their Head Coach, Isiah Thomas.  I quote the comments he said he made to Denver's Carmelo Anthony from the SportsIllustrated.com article I emailed you yesterday.  "I just said to him, 'You know, you're up 20, you're up 19 with a minute and half to go, you and (Marcus) Camby really shouldn't be in the game right now,"'  Thomas said.  "We had surrendered, those guys shouldn't even be in the game at that point in time." 

YOU SURRENDERED?!  At what point?  The half?!  Yeah I know, you feel like you have no chance with that little time left to come back, but you keep going.  I know it's not the same, but this season in my dart league, we got bumped up a division and been losing.  Every Leg (game) counts as 1 point.  And we've played every game with all our heart and tried our best, but we're playing in a tougher division and it's to be expected.  The score doesn't really reflect the overall effort.  And we were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs (first time in 4 seasons!) a couple of weeks ago but we are still playing every single game of every single match like we need it. 

How much do you want to bet this will somehow be tied back to Larry Brown, who is the scapegoat for all the wrong the Knicks have done last season and this.  Oh wait!  He already is being blamed, since he's good friends with Nuggets head coach George Karl!  Honestly what I think it comes down to, is that they had this all planned out.  They brought Larry Brown back and set him up for failure by not putting the full faith of the organization behind him during the past season.  This, in my opinion, was done in order to bring Isiah "The Megalomaniac" Thomas back to the court.  The man is an embarrassment.  Remember the sexual harassment and hostile work environment claims made against him in the past?  How much do you want to bet there was a good deal of truth to it? 

All I can say is that these "professionals" and I use this term loosely, have disgraced themselves.  Their respective organizations and the sport.  This could all segue right into a whole other topic.  The "Thug Attitude" which is prevalent in the NBA and to an extent the NFL (wanna talk about T.O. spitting on Falcons Cornerback DeAngelo Hall?).  The NBA has way too many High Schoolers given HUGE Monetary contracts acting like babies.  I think the penalties should be very heavy.

Written by PermaGuest Jack and Posted by the Tank in NY.

NBA

Monday, December 18, 2006 5:38:08 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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The Tank had prepared a post for Saturday night's Knicks-Nuggets game.  However, the fight at the end of the game changed everything. 

Though the Knicks lost, the game wasn't all fisticuffs and had some bright spots and I wanted to share them with you.
                                      
As my friend PG and I walked into the Garden, we saw two young ladies buying jerseys including a Stephon Marbury.  The Tank asked PG: "Who would buy a Stephon Marbury jersey?  Is this young person being setup for a life of disappointment?  Should the Tank intervene and advise her to
buy another jersey of someone who plays hard every night like Nate Robinson or Derek Lee?"
                                                      
PG replied: "She probably a tourist."
                     
The Tank: "OK, let's get our tickets."

I walk up to the Will Call line and the attendant asks, "Annie or the Knicks?".  Annie is playing at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden.
                
The Tank: "The Knicks."

Attendant: "You have to go to the other line."
                
The Tank: "Ugh, darn it!"
                                  
Anyway, why are there so many people in the Will Call lines?  The Knicks were just routed the night before by the Pacers.  It didn't make any sense.  The Tank asked the next attendant "Why did so many people walkup?"

Attendant: "Tourists."
                     
PG was right.  The Tank won't tell the tourists that he bought the $60.50 tickets online for $20 each through a special offer (i.e. the Knicks were desperate for fans at any price) on Saturday morning as to not provoke an international incident.                               
              
Time for the starting line-ups and tip-off.  The Tank went to grab something to eat and walked by the season ticket table.  The first man gave me some schedules and card.  The second man encouraged me to bring a group.  The Tank thought about organizing a Church group for a charity
event.  Maybe our group prayers would help the Knicks; the way the season is going, it couldn't hurt.  If the Knicks continue to go down the tubes, we'll at least have a priest to serve the Last Rites. 
                                            
PG and The Tank sat in front a young family.  The 10 and 12 year old kids were brutal.  They were heckling the referees and players.  No one escaped their wrath.  "Marbury's a bum!".  "Nate sucks!".  "Fire Isiah!".  "The ref is blind!".  Other comments are unprintable.
                                   
Though sarcastic, the Tank is afraid for the future of our fellow young fans.  So young, so jaded and they are not even teenagers yet. 

The Knicks actually started decently.  However, Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets took over and had a 26 point lead before the Knicks.  The crowd booed.  The Knicks then went on a 15-3 run and the crowd started to rally behind the Knicks.  Carmelo and the Nuggets buried the Knicks.
                                          
Too little, too late.  In the words of the great Paul Harvey, "you know the rest of the story." 
            
Where Do We Go From Here: I am not crazy about Isiah as Knicks Coach.  Unless there is a change of ownership, we don't have much choice given Mr. Dolan's vote of confidence in Isiah earlier this week.  This is highly unlikely as the Garden is a printing press and I don't see the Dolans giving it up.                     

You're comments are welcome.  Until then, please light a candle for the Knicks.
                
If you do watch a Knicks game, the action in between the basketball and brawls is entertaining as the Knicks City Dancers, the City Kids, and the Extreme Team performed well.    

Posted by the Tank in NY.

NBA

Sunday, December 17, 2006 11:42:22 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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