Last Week's Picks: I was 2-2 last week and 33-13 on the season.

This Week's Fearless Picks: 

The Patriots beat the visiting Chargers: This is already a tall mountain to climb, higher than Everest Base Camp that Steve and I plan to climb this later year (touch wood).  It will be even higher as the Chargers best players (Gates, Rivers, LT, etc.) are injured or out.  That said, I plan to root for the "San Diego Super Chargers".  This is a reference to the fight song from the great Charger teams of yesteryear.  The best game I ever watched on TV was the Chargers losing at the Dolphins in the early 1980s.  Kellen Winslow Sr. blocked a field goal, caught passes, and had to be carried off the field from exhaustion. 

The Giants lose at the Packers: This promises to be a classic in historic Lambeau Field.  From the weather reports this week, I thought I was watching the Weather Channel.

The Giants have to run the ball effectively to set up the pass.  Eli has to adjust to wearing a glove on his left and non throwing hand.

The game will probably come down to a slip or fall on a key play on the snowy and cold turf of Lambeau Field.  It maybe one of the banged up Giants defensive backs but life is rarely fair.

The Giants can win this game by blitzing Favre.  Speaking of the gunslinger, I am rooting for Favre to ride out into the sunset on his horse.        

I agree whole heartedly with Steve, football should be played outdoors (AND on grass -- not astroturf), baseball should have retractable roofs for rain delays (like Seattle -- note to Yankees and Mets).          
            
Posted by an excited Tank in Football Heaven.

The New York sports world lost Brian Leites over the holidays. He was never on the back page, he was never making headlines, but he did participate in every professional sporting event in the tri-state area over the last 25 years. He witnessed several World Series (even one won by the Mets!) and other great moments. Most likely if you have been to a Mets, Yankees, Jets, Giants, Devils, Knicks, Nets, Rangers, or Islanders game, you know him. He most likely sold you a hot dog or a beer.

Brian was a mentally challenged (I believe is the PC term) individual. He supported himself by working as a vendor at all of the sporting events with a smile and great attitude. I met him 20 years when I was 16 years old and stared working at Shea Stadium selling hot dogs. He put his arm around me when the Mets lost to the LA Dodgers in the 1988 NLCS and said "Wait 'till Next Year!" with his signature smile. Since I go to a ton of games, the Tank and I saw him quite often at games.

Unfortunately Brian took his own life over the holidays. He does not have much of a family, but the entire New York sports community is his family. So over this weekend, raise a glass in his memory. I'm sure he sold you several times over the years.

 

Posted by Steve in New York

I love watching football games in the snow. There is something magical about watching the snowflakes come on down and plowing the field to kick a winning field goal. Will the San Diego Chargers and New York Giants do well in the cold and potential snow in the forecast? It is something to consider. Green Bay and New England do gain an edge. Look for the Tank to factor this into his predictions tomorrow.

So the bottom line is that the NFL should not cover stadiums and MLB should.

Posted by Steve in New York

Maria Sharapova beat Lindsay Davenport 6-1, 6-3 Wednesday night to move into the 3rd round of the Australian Open against. Sharapova will play a fellow Russian: Elena Vesnina. Davenport was only five tournaments into a comeback after giving birth to a baby boy last June. Seven month old Jagger was in the stands to watch Mom play and "I thought I saw her little kid giving me dirty looks," Sharapova said.

Sharapova played a very disciplined match where she never faced a break point. Sharapova also broke for the fourth time when Davenport committed an unforced error on second match point. "Tell you the truth, I approached it like it's a final," said Sharapova. You probably don't get to see too many second rounds where you see two Grand Slams champions, former No. 1s playing against each other," she said later.

It was good to see Sharapova in good form and Davenport back on the courts.

 

Posted by Steve in New York

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Baseball commissioner Bud Selig and union leader Donald Fehr testify before the US Congress today about steroids and baseball and specifically the Mitchell report. This will be followed by players, including Roger Clemens, next month. I hope that Congress asks hard questions since I believe that Selig and Fehr are responsible for the crisis. After the strike ended the season in 1994, players came back bigger and started to hit home runs bringing the fans back to the stadium. I think Selig and Fehr looked the other way. Congress better get tough, they were lied to by Rafael Palmeiro, since Oliver North spent time in jail for lying to Congress, so should Rafael Palmeiro.

That brings me to Roger Clemens. Roger Clemens claims he is innocent. He taped a phone call with his McNamee (his accuser) last week and then went on 60 Minutes and held a press conference. McNamee told federal prosecutors and the Mitchell investigation that he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone, Clemens claims that he got a B12 shot from McNamee and that is it. If you have the best health insurance in the world and can see the best doctors in the world and your body is you career, are you going to trust a non-doctor to shoot you up with B12 in case you are feeling a little cold coming on? Please Roger, nobody but the Tank believes your story. (And even the Tank has his doubts.) I have no health insurance and I would never trust my personal trainer to inject anything into my body, and all I do is climb mountains for fun, not money.

Sorry Roger, it does not add up.  Plus storming out of your own press conference saying you don't need to prove anything, don't need the hall of fame and can't wait to get out of baseball to avoid the press is not going to help. Andy Pettette confessed, McNamee injected him, time for you to do the same.

Posted by Steve, Waiting for Roger to Come Clean

One thing you need to know about Steve and the Tank, we like underdogs. (This explains why Steve roots for the "subpar" (in his sister's words) teams: The Mets, Jets, etc.)

It was a great weekend for the underdogs, the Giants sneaked past the Cowboys (and TO cried like a baby) and the Chargers stunned the world by beating the Colts.

Steve will be rooting for the Giants against Green Bay (and Steve never roots for the Giants) and the Chargers against the Death Star from New England.

A Giants-Chargers Super Bowl? That would be great for the game, great for the fans, and great for the world. It would be even better if the Chargers win, since we would like to see Eli beaten by the team he shunned and would not play for.

Posted by Steve in New York

The rumor mill was running the last few days saying that the Mets will make a trade a good chunk of their farm system to the the Minnesota Twins for Johan Santana. Rumored to be in play are outfielders Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez, and pitchers Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra.

Omar has said in the past that he wouldn't include both Gomez and Martinez in the same deal. Looks like things have changed. If Omar included both Gomez and Martinez and all three pitchers, it would basically wipe out the farm system. This is on top of having to sign Santana to at least a $100 million deal. Is Omar crazy?

In a word: NO! Omar needs to make the fans forget 2007. The Mets need a legitimate shot to win in 2008 and a good team when they move into the new stadium in 2009. The offence is more than enough, what the Mets need is a stopper, an ace. Someone who can win 3 games in a 7 game series.

The Mets would be giving up a lot, but it would make them a very serious contender to win in 2008 and 2009. Without a solid 20 game winning starter the Mets are fooling themselves, as they were in 2007 and 2006.

Let's explore the deal and what it means.

First signing Santana. Omar of course will not make the trade if a deal is not possible with Santana. That is just money. The Mets have a lot of it from SNY, 20% ticket increase, and freeing up the contracts of Glavine in 2008 and Delgado in 2009. Wright and Reyes are comparative bargains, only Beltran stands out as a high salary. Santana will push the Mets closer to the payroll luxury tax, but Omar can get creative.

Gomez and Martinez. Both a Reyes in training. Both under 20 years old. Figure statistically one will grow into a rock star in 3-4 years. There will be a hole in the outfield when Alou retires, but Endy Chavez is a good everyday candidate and only 30 years old. Free agents or trades can fill the other hole when Church flames out.

Pitching. If Santana is signed, let's look at the staff and their age on Open Day 2008:

Johan Santana: 29 years old

John Maine: 26 years old

Oliver Perez: 26 years old

Mike Pelfrey: 24 years old

Pedro Martinez: 36 years old

That is a very young rotation! Your top end of the rotation (1-2-3) will give you over 50 wins a year until 2011. Giving up some pitching prospects is actually ok as long as you can replace Pedro in 2009 via a trade or free agency and potentially Pelfrey if he does not deliver. Since Pedro and Pelfrey are the back end of the rotation, replacing them are cheap and easy.

If Omar makes this trade, he can then look for one more bullpen arm and call it a successful winter. The rest is up to Willie and the players.

Posted by Steve in New York

Last Week's Record: A perfect 4-0, touch wood.  I am 31-11 including the regular season.

This Week's Fearless Picks:  Sorry for the delay but I've been busy this week.

The Seahawks lose at the Packers.  Snow showers are forecasted at Lambeau Field.

The Patriots hold off the strong Jaguars.  The Boston Sports Apocalypse unfortunately continues for another week.
                  
The Chargers lose at the Colts.  LT is on turf but Marvin Harrison is back.  Expect the crowd in the RCA Dome to be loud.

The Giants lose to the Cowboys this season in the Jessica Simpson Bowl.  How healthy is Terrell Owens' ankle?  How rusty is Terry Glenn?  How does the banged up Giants secondary respond?  Say what you want about TO, he is a gamer, especially playing on a broken ankle for the Eagles in the Super Bowl a couple of years ago against the Patriots.                    
    
If the Giants do win, I will look forward to my buddy and Giants fan extraordinaire Eddie Trunk playing at least part of a Jessica Simpson song as part of his promise on his hard rock and heavy metal show next Friday night on Q104.3.  Will Ed's sometime co-host "Metal Mike" Piazza stop by the studios next week to witness the madness? 
          
Posted by The Tank in NY.