The Biggest to Date

It may not be Yankees-Red Sox just yet, but the New York Jets vs New England Patriots rivalry continues to make its case as one of the best in sports.

In the latest chapter, the two AFC East counterparts square off in arguably the most anticipated Monday Night Football game of the past five years. Both teams sport a 9-2 record, the best record in not only the AFC, but the entire NFL. Not since the 10-1 New York Giants visited the 10-1 San Francisco 49ers late in the 1990 season has Monday Night Football featured two teams with such outstanding records.

Over the past 15 years, there has been no shortage of memorable moments on and off the field between the Jets and Patriots.

-After leading the Patriots to Super Bowl XXXI, Bill Parcells left New England to become the Head Coach of the Jets.

-In one of the best off season signings of all time, the Jets signed restricted free agent Curtis Martin away from New England. Martin would go on to become the fourth all time leading rusher in NFL history.

-Only one day after taking the job, Bill Belichick resigned as head coach of the Jets, instead deciding to become coach of the New England Patriots.

-In week 2 of the 2001 season it was Jets linebacker Mo Lewis who delivered the crushing hit on Drew Bledsoe that gave Tom Brady his chance to see the field.

-In week 10 of the 2006 season, Eric Mangini made his return to New England. The Jets defeated the Patriots 17-14. It remains the last time Tom Brady lost a regular season home game.

-Later in the 2006 season, in the only playoff meeting between the two teams, it was the Patriots who got the last laugh, defeating the Jets 37-16.

-After a 38-14 Patriots victory in week 1 of the 2007 season, the Jets caught New England violating league rules by video taping signals. The controversy is still a big story to this day.

Since Rex Ryan has taken over, his Jets own a 2-1 advantage in the rivalry. After the Patriots had won eight in a row at the Meadowlands, Ryan's Jets have won the last two matchups in their home stadium. The only matchup in New England resulted in a Mark Sanchez meltdown (four interceptions, one lost fumble) and a 31-14 Patriot victory. Though the Patriots won the AFC East last season, it was the Jets who made the most noise, advancing to the AFC Conference Championship game.

Going into this season, the Jets were the hot ticket and trendy Super Bowl pick. Though the Jets had not won the division since 2002, the experts predicted this would finally be the year in which the Jets overcame New England to seize control of the AFC East. That may still very well be the case, but they must get through the Patriots on Monday Night to do so.

These two teams could not be more opposite. The Jets are arrogant, cocky, and loud while the Patriots are quiet, confident, and determined. Rex Ryan has already changed the "Patriot-like" culture created by his predecessor Eric Mangini. If Rex wants to truly make his mark then his Jets will need to win this game and ultimately win the division crown.

Though the rivalry was overwhelmingly in New England's favor before 2008, winning 11 out of 12 against the Jets, the tide has turned lately, with the Jets winning 3 out of the last 4 meetings between the two. This Monday Night game is eerily similar to the Thursday Night matchup between the 6-3 Jets and 6-3 Patriots in New England in week 11 of the 2008 NFL season. First place was on the line and the Jets pulled out a memorable 34-31 overtime victory. However, Brett Favre and Matt Cassell were the quarterbacks that night, not Mark Sanchez and Tom Brady. Oh and Eric Mangini was still the coach, not Rex Ryan.

This Monday Night, one of the game's best rivalries will install a new chapter into its storied history. With the amount of buildup and hype, it has the chance to be most memorable game ever between the two.

A Star Is Born

Jets fans have watched Jim Kelly lead the Bills, Dan Marino lead the Dolphins, and Tom Brady lead the Patriots, all the while waiting for their own franchise quarterback. The wait is officially over.

In a Super Bowl or bust season, facing enormous pressure, and constantly being referred to as the "weak link", Mark Sanchez has quickly become not only an adequate starting quarterback, he has become a star in the making.

However, should we really be surprised? We should have seen the signs as to what kind of quarterback he could be.

-Hes the kind of quarterback who outplays Tom Brady in only his 2nd career start, leading the Jets to a 16-9 victory over Belichek and the Patriots. The first Jets win home victory over New England since 2000.

-Hes the kind of quarterback who completes 80% of his passes in his 1st career road playoff game in freezing temperatures in Cincinnati.

-Hes the kind of quarterback who scrambles and keeps the play alive on 3rd and goal in San Diego, throwing a touchdown pass to give the Jets the lead in the 4th quarter, orchestrating the biggest upset of the 2009 NFL season.

-Hes the kind of quarterback who throws a picture perfect 80 yard touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards on the road in the AFC Championship game with Dwight Freeney breathing down his neck.

Despite these outstanding moments from his rookie season, Sanchez has continually been scrutinized and ridiculed. His rookie season was far from perfect but it was not nearly as poor as people made it out to be. Of his 20 interceptions in 2009, 15 came in 5 games, meaning in the other 10 games he only threw 5. Not trying to paint him as an MVP, but he played well for a rookie in every two out of three games.

On the biggest stage in the postseason, he became only the second rookie quarterback in NFL history to win two playoff games. His QB Rating of 92.7 through three playoff games is the highest ever for any rookie quarterback in the postseason. All in all, no rookie quarterback has ever had a better postseason than the one Mark Sanchez had in 2009.

In his second season, Sanchez has build on his rookie performance and improved in ways that even the most optimistic Jets fan could not have imagined. The Jets are currently the number one seed in the highly competitive AFC and they owe it all to their 24 year old quarterback.

The running game and defense have not equalized, or even come close, to their 2009 form. The onus has fallen back on Sanchez and he has delivered time and time again. Whether it be a 4th and 6 with the game on the line in Denver, a 10 point deficit with less then 3 minutes left in Detroit, tied at 20 with 24 seconds left in overtime in Cleveland, or down 4 with 55 seconds left and no timeouts while being 72 yards away from pay dirt, Sanchez has come through in the clutch.

There is no doubt that up until this point Sanchez has been the best player on the 2010 Jets. Without his stellar play the team could easily find itself at 4-6 or worse. He only started 16 games at USC but his two biggest performances came in the two biggest games of his college career against Ohio State and Penn State. The recipe for his heroics has been present before he became an NFL quarterback.

Whatever the "it" factor is, Mark Sanchez certainly has it. In a league where offenses and quarterbacks continue to dominate, the New York Jets finally have their man.

Mind Games Not Working In D.C

Maybe we owe Albert Haynesworth an apology after all.

Only two months after America was forced to watch the Mike Shanahan-Albert Haynesworth soap opera play out in D.C, Donovan McNabb has become the latest victim of the head coach's ridiculous mind games and antics.

Down six with close to two minutes to play, Shanahan benched his "franchise" quarterback and replaced him with backup Rex Grossman---yes that Rex Grossman, with the game on the line. Up until that point, McNabb had a respectable stat line, 17-30 for 210 yards 1 TD 1 Int and 4 carries for 45 yards, and led the Redskins offense to 25 points.

McNabb's performance on the field hardly seemed worthy of a benching but Shanahan saw otherwise. In an effort to justify his actions, Shanahan has come out with new answers seemingly every hour, each one being more ridiculous then the one before it. It started with McNabb not being knowledgeable of the team's two minute offense, proceeded to McNabb needing to rest an injured hamstring, then evolved into McNabb not having enough cardiovascular health to keep up the tempo in a two minute drill.

In regards to not being ready for a two minute drill, Donovan has been a Redskin since April 4th and has been in the league for 12 years, certainly enough time to know what to do. He was also able to bust off a 36 yard run in Sunday's game so the injured hamstring and cardiovascular health seem to be ok. See a trend here? The excuses are ludacris.

The only thing worse then a dumb mistake is a dumb mistake that is followed up with pathetic excuses. Though the Redskins may feel they have underachieved with a 4-4 record, without #5 they may very well be winless. The team has one of the worst offensive lines in football, no running backs worth mentioning, and a wide receiving core that featured the ancient Joey Galloway as a starter for five games. Oh and not to mention, the defense is ranked 31st against the pass and 20th against the run. All in all, the team stinks and McNabb is one of the few bright spots.

Back in August, Albert Haynesworth dealt with benchings and embarrassments at the hands of Shanahan and McNabb has followed suit. Apparently Mike Shanahan has decided he is going to make an example of the team's most important player in McNabb and arguably the team's best player, Haynesworth. For a coach who has won exactly ONE playoff game since 1999 to be so arrogant and manipulative isn't just off-base, its outrageous.

Luckily for Donovan, however, his contract is up at the end of the season and he will have the freedom to go where he chooses. Washington has not made worthwhile efforts to resign the future Hall of Fame quarterback, and with this latest maneuver it appears the writing is on the wall.

Hey Donovan, maybe Philadelphia wasn't so bad after all?

2010-2011 NBA Season preview

Lets face it, the 2010-2011 NBA season might very well be the most anticipated season in the game's history. The Lakers are going for a three peat, Boston is geared up for one last run, Oklahoma City is attempting to take the next step forward and assert itself as an NBA powerhouse, oh and the Miami Heat could be interesting.

Though the NBA is lacking in parity and there are not many legit title contenders, the potential playoff matches in April, May, and June could be some of the best in league history. Here is a look at each team's chances in each division

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics (3)

Philadelphia 76ers (7)

New York Knicks (8)

New Jersey Nets

Toronto Raptors

-The Celtics should win this division relatively easily as none of the other competitors are in Boston's class. The Knicks, Sixers, and Nets should battle it out for the last few playoff spots in the weaker eastern conference. With Amar'e Stoudemire, there will be many nights in which the Knicks will have the best player on the floor. Philadelphia is a potential surprise team in East that will be featuring promising number two overall pick Evan Turner. New Jersey, under Avery Johnson, should be one of the more interesting teams in the league. Keeping Devin Harris and Brook Lopez healthy and on the the floor together is paramount. Toronto is in full stage rebuilding mode after losing Bosh and Turkoglu over the off season.

Central Division

Chicago Bulls (4)

Milwaukee Bucks (5)

Indiana Pacers

Cleveland Cavaliers

Detroit Pistons

-With Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, and Luol Deng running the show, Chicago should be able to separate themselves from the pack in the weak Central Division. The Bucks will continue to improve after their surprising 09-10 season and will be even tougher should Andrew Bogut be healthy for the postseason. Indiana, Cleveland, and Detroit will battle it out to see which team can avoid the cellar of the division.

Southeast Division

Miami Heat (1)

Orlando Magic (2)

Atlanta Hawks (6)

Washington Wizards

Charlotte Bobcats

-Featuring Florida powerhouses Miami and Orlando, the Southeast Division will be one of the most intense in the NBA. Orlando is one of the few teams in the East that can give the Heat a run for the number one seed in the conference. Atlanta was able to resign Joe Johnson but are bringing back almost the same team as last year. Expect them to be a mid-level team in the Eastern Conference that gets bounced in the first round of the playoffs by one of the big boys. Washington should be interesting with John Wall and Gilbert Arenas on the floor together. Wall is a potential rookie of the year and Arenas will be trying to resurrect his career. Expect Charlotte to take a step back after reaching the playoffs a season ago.

Western Conference

Northwest Division

Oklahoma City Thunder (2)

Portland Trail Blazers (4)

Utah Jazz (8)

Denver Nuggets

Minnesota Timberwolves

-Everyone is expecting Oklahoma City to join the NBA's elite this season. Kevin Durant appears to be the front runner for the MVP award and should lead the Thunder to more then 50 wins, their total from a year ago. If Portland can stay healthy, they should be able to make some noise in the Western Conference and could challenge the Thunder for the division title. Utah is going to miss Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver but Deron Williams is good enough to carry the team to a playoff spot. Denver is a team in shambles right now and will most likely be without Carmelo Anthony by December. Minnesota has plenty of young, promising players but the division is far too tough for them to reach even 20 wins.

Pacific Division

Los Angeles Lakers (1)

Los Angeles Clippers

Phoenix Suns

Golden State Warriors

Sacramento Kings

-The Lakers should be able to dominate the weakest division in the Western Conference. The Clippers, led by former number one overall pick Blake Griffin, should be playing meaningful games as they battle for a playoff spot late in the season but will come up just short. Steve Nash has already predicted no playoffs for the Suns so obviously he believes they will miss Amar'e Stoudemire. Golden State and Sacramento have plenty of young, talented players but are still a year or two away from truly competing. Watch out for DeMarcus Cousins in the Rookie of the Year award.

Southwest Division

San Antonio Spurs (3)

Dallas Mavericks (5)

Houston Rockets (6)

New Orleans Hornets (7)

Memphis Grizzlies

-The Spurs look to be one of the few teams in the West that could challenge the Lakers. With Parker, Duncan, Ginobli, Jefferson, and Hill, the Spurs are set up for one last title run. The window of opportunity could be closing for the Mavericks, but Dirk and company should still put up a fight against San Antonio. Expect the Rockets and Hornets to have bounce back years with Yao Ming and Chris Paul back in the fold. Though they have a talented roster, the Grizzlies are quite possibly the NBA's unluckiest team when you consider what they are up against in their division.

Back From the Dead

Only two weeks ago, the New York Giants were a New York Nightmare. After an embarrassing 19 point home loss to the Tennessee Titans, the coach had lost control, the players wanted the coach gone, the star running back wanted out, and the defense had reverted back to its late 2009 form.

Since then however, the team has pulled off back to back wins against the previously 3-0 Chicago Bears and 3-1 Houston Texans. In both games, the Giants were successful in all three phases, which led to double digit victories. The once defunct, fumbling prone running game has come alive with Ahmad Bradshaw currently being 3rd in the NFL in rushing yards. Hakeem Nicks is quickly becoming one of the games best wide receivers, having hauled in a league leading 6 touchdowns. The offense, which once relied solely on Eli Manning, has become one of the NFL's best. Most of these accomplishments have come without star center Shaun O'Hara, who has missed the past three games with an ankle injury.

Perhaps the greatest turnaround, however, has been the defense. After being shredded by Peyton Manning and Chris Johnson in weeks 2 and 3, new defensive coordinator Perry Fewell has led a comeback of Steve Spagnuolo like proportions. The defense is currently ranked 1st in the NFL against the pass and 9th against the run. Star pass rushers Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, and Mathias Kiwanuka have combined for 14 sacks, applying overwhelming pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

Are the Giants one of the NFL's elite? Certainly not right now. However, in the NFC there are no elite teams. Before the season, everyone pegged the Saints, Packers, Vikings, and Cowboys as the Super Bowl favorites, yet, those teams have a combined 8-10 record.

The NFC East is currently wide open as three teams sit atop the division at at 3-2. The Giants are in the best position to be alone in first place come Monday morning. This weekend the Giants have a home date with the 1-4 Detroit Lions (Calvin Johnson may miss the game), while the Michael Vick-less Eagles play host to the 4-1 Atlanta Falcons, and the Redskins welcome Peyton Manning and the Colts.

As always, it appears there was a bit of overreaction after the Giants 1-2 start. The NFL is a league of ups and downs and the Giants appear to have left their lowest lows in the past. Their resurgence has come as fast as a New York minute.

Put Him On His Back

Monday night will offer Jets fans the closure they have long desired in the Brett Favre saga.

Since he jogged off the field after an embarrassing 24-17 loss to the Dolphins on December 28, 2008, Favre has been an afterthought in Jets history. His arrival was one of the biggest stories in the history of New York sports and his selfish departure left much to be desired.

The 2008 New York Jets are most certainly the most disappointing team in the history of the franchise. After beginning 8-3 and lighting the world on fire, Favre stumbled down the stretch, throwing 2 touchdowns compared to 9 interceptions, which culminated in a 1-4 finish and no postseason. The Jets finished behind the Tom Brady-less Patriots and the Chad Pennington-led Dolphins. The entire "Brett the Jet" project could not have ended any worse.

It has been well documented that Favre played the last month of the season with a supposed "bum shoulder." He was hurt and chose not to tell the team. He refused to allow his consecutive starts steak to be broken and his selfishness cost the Jets a spot in the playoffs. Rather then think about what is in the best interest of the team, Favre did his usual routine, making it all about himself. Contrary to popular belief, many of Favre's late season interceptions were the result of bonehead decisions, not an injured arm. After going back and rewatching the game highlights, one can see that Favre's decisions to throw the ball into double/triple coverage caused the interceptions, not an injured wing.

During the 2009 season, Favre told the media that the Jets refused to place him on the injury list. Again, the team did not know Favre was hurt. This cost the Jets $125,000 dollars in fines. Thanks Brett.

Favre never embraced New York. Though he knew the Packers would never trade him to the division rival Vikings, his dreams of playing in Minnesota disallowed him to be open to playing for the Jets. The Jets gave him a chance when only 2 other teams would (Tampa Bay and Minnesota), they changed their offensive philosophy to make him happy, they gave up a high draft pick to acquired him, they allowed him to dishonor the team's dress code, yet their efforts were never fully appreciated.

Favre treated the Jets like a stepping stone. His lack of leadership late in the season showed he did not care about the team's future. He "retired" on February 11th, 2009 and claimed he would "never play in another NFL game" when talking to ESPN's Ed Werder. All the while he knew he would be going to Minnesota. The Jets, thinking Favre was truly finished, drafted Mark Sanchez in the 2009 NFL Draft. Two days later, Favre asked the Jets for his release so he could "retire as a Packer." Even after the Jets publicly stated that they would welcome Favre back, despite his disastrous finish, they still were not good enough. Rather then come back and give the Jets one more year, Favre was simply finishing the final stage of his grand scheme.

This Monday night, however, the Jets players and fans get one last chance to let Favre know how they feel. Many players spoke of their dislike for Favre during his time with the team. There were many reports of his reclusiveness, lack of leadership, selfishness, and special treatment. He never wanted, or tried, to be a Jet, and his teammates knew it.

Jets fans will rightfully boo the team's departed quarterback. Rex Ryan will add in a few extra blitzes and hopefully Favre will be knocked on his back. The Jets were always the afterthought in the Favre-Green Bay-Minnesota drama, and Monday night will allow New York to finally extract some revenge on "Good Ole Number 4."

ALDS and NLDS Predictions

National League

Phillies over Reds in 3 games
-Though Cincinnati had a great season, the majority of their damage came against the Cubs, Brewers, Astros, and Pirates. They did not have a winning record against any 1st or 2nd place teams. The Phillies have the offense to match the Reds and a much better rotation.

Giants over Braves in 5 games
-Though the Braves have a very strong 1-3, the Giants have an even stronger one. Lincecum bounced back after an awful August, while Cain and Sanchez have looked great lately as well. Without Chipper Jones, the Braves may not have enough offense to knock off the Giants top 3. This is the toughest series to predict

American League

Rays over Rangers in 5 games
-Texas deserves plenty of credit for making the playoffs for the 1st time since 1999. However, they are not ready to defeat the best team in the American League. Josh Hamilton is coming back from injury and Cliff Lee is the only sure thing in the Rangers rotation.

Yankees over Twins in 4 games
-The Yankees struggled mightily down the stretch, settling for the AL Wild Card. The Twins have lost the last 3 playoff series to the Yankees and will continue to be over matched. Look for Jeter, Pettite, and Rivera to each have their playoff magic at some point in the series.