Alex Rodriguez or Mark Sanchez: who gets it worse?

Earlier this year I blogged about how Tony Romo and Andy Roddick get crushed by the media because of their inability to walk on water. The criticism of Romo has not relented as his Cowboys are a mediocre 2-2 and have had two very bad lossess to Seattle and Chicago. Roddick retired. Nothing left to say about him. Mark Sancez and Alex Rodriguez play in the media capital of the world and every move they make is scrutinized. No matter the excuse or justification surrounding what they have done or not done, the New York media absolutely destroys them. The problem i have with it written or said about both men is that they have been both set up to fail or have put themselves in situations where they have no one to blame for their failures. Let me elaborate...

Alex Rodriguez has been linked to two players his entire career. Derek Jeter and Nomar Garciaparra played the same position that Alex did and they were supposed to revolutionize the position both offensively and defensively. They have done just that. The difference between the three is that Derek Jeter is a 5 time World champ, has 3000 plus hits and generally recognized as this generations greatest leader of men. Nomar's career was interrupted several times because of injuries. He could have been apart of the Red Sox teams that won two world titles. His trade to the Cubs, then Dodgers, marred what could have been a Hall of Fame career. What Alex does not possess that the other two seem to have is likability. He has been critcized from day one because he not as "quiet" as Jeter or Nomar. He was teamed with Ken Griffey Jr. and never seemed to learn the importance of being simply just being seen and not heard will give you longevity in this league. people critcize him because he signed the largest sports contract in American sports. He is getting paid 24 million dollars and is only hitting .179 in his most recent two post seasons. He has not hit homeruns or driven in runs like he was paid to do and people question his commitment and even if his gaudy career number were a by product of steroid use. Last night, the word is that Alex cannot hit a fastball anymore. I can understand a fastball going 97-100 miles an hour, but 89, 90, 91? If the Yankees could trade him he would have been gone years ago. He has had only one stellar post season and that was in 2009. There is nothing the Yankees can do other than move him down in the lineup or flat out buy him out. Alex has brought most of his critcism on himself. He has been quoted in books and magazine articles criticizing Jeter. These next few games will be interestin to say the least.

Mr. Sanchez is a completely different story because he has not come to New York telling the world that he is the greatest thing since butter pecan ice cream. Sanchez's problem is simply the Jets failed him. They give him receivers and then they take them away. He had Braylon Edwards for a season. He had Plaxico Burress for a season. They Jets brass got rid of both of them. His go to guys Dustin Keller is oft injured and Santonio Holmes is the most overrated number 1 receivers in the game. He had a good Super Bowl because the Cardinals were focused on stopping Hines Ward. He made the catch for the ages and hasn't produced since. NOt only do the Jets take away his weapons, they bring in a lockerroom divider in Tim Tebow. Tebow stands there and says all of the politically correct things to say and gains the respect of half the locker room. Last year in Denver he took a mediocre Denver Bronco team to the second round of the playoffs. He is not better than Sanchez, but different. I can complete more passes than Tebow, but Tebow just finds a way to just win. Maybe the defense knows that they have really buckle down and play hard to stay in the game because if there is 2 minutes on the clock and they have a chance Tebow can win the game. Sanchez spoiled Jet fans by leading the Jets to the championship game in his first two years. In both games, the Jets literally were one good half from winning. They dominated the first half against the Colts and dominated the second half against the Steelers. Sanchez last night played as hard and determined a game as i ever seen him play. He did not allow Mr. Foster to run for 152 yards. He did not create the confusion on the sidelines which forced the Jets to burn important timeouts. Give the man a break and give him some talent to throw to. If he does not produce with the talent given him, then by all means bring in Tebow. He is going to need therapy...

Winning will quiet everyone in both Alex's case and Sanchez's..The Yankees must get to the next round. The Jets better beat the Colts this weekend. The world is watching...

I am tired of..

You know what I am tired of in sports is hyperbole Monday or overreaction Tuesday. I listen to sports radio shows or talking hairdo shows on a daily basis and you would swear that the broadcasters are personally invested in each team and player around the leagues.  This past 10 months in sports we have heard every comment one can make about Tony Romo, Mark Sanchez, Jay Cutler, Albert Pujols, Lebron James,Tim Tebow, just to name a few. I am so tired hear about these men.  I am tired of hearing radio hosts say that they don't buy into the hyperbole Monday or Overreaction syndrome of sports and then they do. Dan Patrick started this kick about Peyton Manning's arm strength is not what it should be.  Manning apparently cannot complete passes over 20 yards and that teams should just jam his receivers and dare the Broncos to beat them deep.  Even though this season Manning is averaging over 280 yards a game passing, something is still wrong with his arm.. Even though last week against the Raiders he was 30-38 for 338 yards something is still wrong with Mannings arm. The two losses against Atlanta and Houston( who are both unbeaten still) Manning played poorly in the first half but rallied his team back to have a chance to win each game and someone says something is still wrong with his arm. 
Then there is Mark Sanchez. Everyone criticized ESPN for all of this extra coverage of the New York Jets. Mark Sanchez is going to need therapy soon if he is not already in therapy.  The Jets have played Pittsburgh, San Fransisco, Miami, and Buffalo.  The first two teams are defensive machines that beat up every quarterback. San Fransisco has wins against Green Bay and Detroit who have two qb's that threw for a combined 9700 yards last year.  The Niners made them look foolish. Sancez is being set up to fail because the most important thing to the Jets is to be "Paper Champions" and get headlines instead of victories.  I can say this because they did nothing to improve their team on either side of the ball.  they brought in no weapons to help Sanchez.  They brought in Tebow to create problems for the team. i am tired of hearing about Tebow and quarterback controversies especially in New York. This is not Denver.  There is a quarterback in the division named Tom Brady who knows how to win games. There is no Carson Palmer, Matt Cassell or Phillip Rivers lurking in this division who all under achieve. The controversy is bad for football because it takes away from the good things that happening around the NFL.  Matt Ryan has been phenomenal.  Arizona is getting a redemptive performance from Kevin Kolb. Rookie quarterbacks are playing at a level that no one has ever seen. Sanchez deserves to be treated with much more respect than he gets.  He has no one to throw too.  Keller is always hurt. Holmes is a overrated diva. He has no running game.  Shon Greene was supposed to inherit the throw and he has disappointed.  I am tired of people blaming the wrong person.  Watch the games and learn something about them before you pinpoint the problems. 
Tony Romo on Monday night was 31-43 which is over 60 percetnt completeion ratio and Joe Theisman and the rest of America blames him for the loss.  Yes he threw 5 picks. How many balls did Dez Bryant drop that would have kept drives alive? I am tired of hearing about Romo did not do this or Romo did not do that.  How about the balls that Austin dropped? Dallas is 2-2 and tied with the Giants and the Redskins.  Mike Vick has 9 turnoversand the Eagles are in first place. The Eagle fans want to get rid of him too. The  Cowboys come back from their bye week with a game against the Ravens.  The Jets play Houston on Monday.   I cant believe that I am defending the Jets and the Cowboys.  I must be really tired..

What a weekend of sports..

Hello sports fans my name is Richard Harris and boy did we have a huge weekend of outstanding sports.   Upsets in Tennis, college football, boxing, NFL, and the Nascar sprint cup has its eligible driversfor the cup.  When Roger Federer loses before the semi finals of a grand slam tournament something must be in the air.  Tomas Berdych can really hit the ball hard and he over powered Federer.  Andy Murray had an out of body experience in winning tournament.  He outlasted Novak Djokovic in five grinding sets.  Serena went from dominating to survival mode in oreder to steal the title from Azarenka. Azarenka had a 5-3 lead in the third set and could not put Serena away. Serena is still the gold standard no matter if she is not ranked number 1 or not. 
Some more stories.. Arkansas showed that as great as the SEC conference is, you still need your quarterback to win games.  Louisiana Monroe pulled off the first shocker of the season by physically beating up Arkansas' offensive line and then knocking out Tyler Wilson. UCLA, a home underdog, showed Nebraska that the Pac 12 can play physical football as well. The Pac 12 had two other impressive wins.  Oregon St. shut down Wisconsin 10-7 and the Arizona schools had good out of conference wins as well. The Pac 12 may have the best conference before the season is over. USC and Stanford Saturday. Savannah St. beat the spread because game was called due to weather. 55-0 would have been 110-0 if they played it out.
The NFL continues to show why they are the kings of sports.  A few shocking results as Washington stunned the Saints. Rg3 played like a seasoned pro and guided the Redskin offense to a 40-32 win.  He had no turnovers and managed the game like he had done it before.  Andrew Luck had to play the Bears defense and found his debut a bit more challenging.  All of the rookie qbs except Griffin lost and threw some bad picks. Weeden, Tanneyhill and Luck threw multiple picks that really hurt their team.  It is only week one so there will be greater days ahead for all of them. 
Peyton Manning looked sharp in his return to the NFL. He few hits but when the Broncos went to a hurry up offense they changed the complexion of the game.  Manning got into a groove and they handled the vaunted Steeler defense.  The Jets shocked the world by scoring 48 points and looked like a completely different team than we saw in pre-season.  Baltimore look stellar getting points from defense and Joe Flacco continuing to show why he is an elite qb. Ugly wins from Philadelphia and Detroit. A win is a win right? The Niners have that look in their eye that they have a special season brewing if they stay healthy.  They play amazing defense and have balance on offense.  Randy Moss scored a touchdown and they just don't miss field goals. A 63 yard field goal from 85 year old Fred Akers is still jaw dropping.  They confused the Packers who have no running game.  The game of the year could be New England and San Fransisco later on this year. My super bowl pick the Houston Texans looked sharp in destroying Miami.   Cannot wait for week 2..
Chad dawson went down in weight to fight Ward and got slapped around. He was knocked down 3 times and looked sluggish. He is a champion?  Not impressed at all by him.
Rory Mcilroy won for the fourth time this year.  He held off Tiger, Phil, and Lee Westwood.  He is peaking at the right time.  The Tour championship and Ryder cup are upon us over the next few weeks. The only reason why I am not gushing about this is that Vijay Singh did the same thing a few years ago and Tiger the next year regained his throne and place in the game. I expect next year he will do the same thing.
Congrats to Jeff Gordon for qualifying for the Sprint cup. Go get em boys..

The next two weakest divisions are...

So i guess the next two "weakest divisions" by default are the NFC South and AFC east.  Both divisions are extremely top heavy and extremely weak at the bottom.  In the NFC South, the Saints and Falcons are coming off of playoff seasons that  ended in shocking performances.  The Falcons got smacked around by the Giants.  They scored 2 points and looked quite intimidated in Giant stadium.  The Saints went into San Francisco and played the way the normally play but could not stop the anemic offense of the Niners and allowed Alex Smith to drive 80 yards for a victory.  No one could have ever predicted that the niners would score 39 points in a game.  The AFC east is headlined by the Patriots.  They represented the AFC in the Super Bowl and fell shortto the New York Giants. They have a loaded offense but defense failed them last year. I think they ran into a team that simply has their number. The Giants defeated the Patriots during the season and ended their 20 game home winning streak on a fourth quarter drive. The Patriots need to just simply avoid the Giants and they would have several more championships. Lets analyze both divisions..
The AFC east has three quarterbacks trying to find themselves and Tom Brady.  The New York Jets play solid defense but cannot get a pass rush.  They try blitzing everyone but once the blitz gets picked up they are vulnerable except of course on Revis island.  On offense the Jets need to get back to running the ball and with the departure of L.T. they brought in Tim Tebow to bolster that attack.  He can run and he needs to work on his throwing.  The Jets have no receivers.  They have Dustin Keller who can play but he cannot be affective if the Jets core of receivers cannot get open.  The Jets talk alot and are media darlings for not doing anything.  They are the Kardashians of sports and it is time to show up, put up or quietly shut up...
The Buffalo Bills got off to a great start last year.  Then Ryan Fitzpatrick got a huge contract extension and then the Bills fell off a cliff.  They couldn't beat Alabama after week 5.  They have seriuos weapons on offense.  They can run the ball with jackson and Spiller.  Johnson is a star in the making.  They play probably in the worse play to play for a team that can pass the ball as well as they do.  Their defense thinks that this year their line is the best in football. The signed Mario Williams to give them the pass rush they need to cover up their weaknesses at linebacker and cornerback.  If they can stay healthy and confident,they have enough to compete for a wild card spot.
The Miami Dolphins just named Ryan Tannehill their starter for the season.  He has serious upside, but he has only play 19 games as a starting qb in college and he needs more class room time. Reggie Bush had his first season as a 1000 yard rusher. He is poised to prove that last year was not a fluke.  They just released Chad Johnson and traded away Brandon Marshall.  So who is Tanneyhill going to throw the ball to?  They have a solid tight end in Fasano but who else?  Defensively the Dolphins have a pulse. They can rush the passer quite well.  Cameron Wembley was a sweet surprise last year. They are starting a new with a new coach and coordinator.  They are a work in progress.  They will struggle this year some.
The Patriots needed defensive help and drafted 6 new defensive players.  they realize that they cannot win the big game with offense only.  If their offense does not get on the field then they are being wasted.  They still need a running game. Brady is Brady and he has made stars of both tight ends and Welker is in his final year with the Pats.  They have not given him a longterm deal which is a joke.  The Patriots improve on defense they could unbeaten in the regular season...
The NFC south has star potential all over the place.  The Tampa Bay Bucs flopped last year.  They have to regroup with a new coach in Schiano and get Freeman his confidence back.  Theyhave weapons on both sides of the ball and last year clearly the coach lost that team.  They have running backs and young talented receivers who can stretch the field.  The defense is fast and opportunistic.  They just don't know how to play yet.  This year they will improve some but Freeman has to healthy and play with the confidence of two years ago.
The Carolina Panthers has no where to go but up.  Cam Newton re-wrote the rookie record books with his play last year.  Steve Smith found the fountain of youth.  They ran the ball well and really are a couple of defenders away from being ready to compete for the division.  Newton still has a lot to learn and he must take care of his body this season because teams will be gunning for him.  Football cannot be this easy.  If they can run it better than they did last they could contend for a wild card.  Their defense has a lot of promise.  They just play in the division that youhave to be able to score points or you cannot compete.
The Atlanta Falcons need a defense to match their offense.  They can score with anyone.  They have great running backs and receivers and tight ends.  The Qb play is all pro level.  They need someone on the defense to make a play and get off the field on 3rd down.  They need better play calling and smart play calling.  They should be ashamed of themselves for what they did last year. They think that winning comes in the form of outscoring people.  They need to understandthat you have to make a stop once in a whlie or ball control to keep Brees or Rodgers off the field.  If the Falcons can figure that out, they could have a super season...
The Saints have the pressure of hosting the super bowl this year, a scandal that has rocked the league, and no head coach to guide them through.  Drew Brees set the NFL record for yards in a season last year and just got paid a beaucoup dollar contract.  They have the offense of the present but dont have a defense at all.  They bend but dont break. They can intercept any pass, cause thousands of fumbles, but always have at least 2 or 3 games that defy logic.. This season they have to prove that they are even more special than ever because they are being asked to coach themselves.. It should be wild..
The outlook this season.. New England:14-2, Buffalo:9-7, New York Jets 9-7, Miami 3-13
The outlook this season.. New Orleans: 13-3, Atlanta: 11-5, Carolina: 7-9, Tampa bay 5-11
The player to watch in the AFC east: Mark Sanchez. the jets go as far as he takes them
The player to watch in NFC south: Drew Brees The pressure is squarely on his shoulders.

The New York Jest.. I mean Jets..

I usually root for all New York area teams in all sports.  I watch the Yankees, even though I am a Met fan.. I watch the Islanders and Devils even though I love the Rangers.. I watch even the Nets even though I bleed orange, blue and white for my Knicks.  I would much rather watch the Buffalo Bills than root for the New York Jets.  The Jets make me sick. I am absolutely floored with all of the media hype that surrounds this team.  This team won a Super Bowl in 1969 and has not been to one since.  They have been in four AFC championship games and have not been able to play two successful halves of football.  They could have easily defeated Miami in the 80's but let A.J. Duhe dominate them in that game.  They dominated Denver in the first half but Vinny ran out of gas in the second half.  They confused the Colts offense in the first half and ran all over their defense but could not stop Peyton in the second half.  They looked scared in the first half against the Steelers but in the second half regrouped enough to win the game but could not get off the field on the Steelers final drive. They talk more s*** than any team that has not won a damn thing.  Their coach is brash, comical, innovative and a"Ryan".   They play great defense at times and if they did not have to face Tom Brady twice a year, they probably would have the statistical number 1 ranked defense in the league.  Last year they finished 5th in defense I believe and they live and die by a blitz scheme that either makes Ryan look like a genius or a fool.  They have no pass rush so they whatever they can to get the quarterback.  Darrell Revis is a superstar, but most teams make him a non-factor in games. 
Why do I call them the Jests?  We live in an age of sports where when you hear the players speak all they talk about is winning the ring.  Players very rarely talk about themselves, especially those who have not won anything.  Except maybe during a contract dispute or if a player is Terrell Owens, you usually never hear so much about players who haven't accomplished anything.   Everyday and I mean EVERYDAY, there is a news story about teh Jets.  Whether it is Tim Tebow running with his shirt off in the rain, Rex Ryan losing 108lbs., whether it is Sanchez throwing better than Tebow, Revis hurting his groin, Mangold's sister going to the Olympics as a weightlifter, the jets the jets, the jets... I am having system overload about a team that was 8-8 last year.  They lost to the Giants last year when Victor Cruz scored on that beautiful 99yard pitch and catch from Eli.  They did not even make the playoffs and most people this year dont think they will either.  Look at the AFC. 
The Patriots will win the East.  Houston will win the South. Baltimore or Pittsburgh will win the North.  Denver is the trendy pick out West.  So that means the Jets have on spot to win.  The must beat San Diego, Oakland, Cincinnati, Tennessee, Kansas City who gets eveyone back from a team that went to the playoffs when they were healthy, for the last spot.  Are they more newsworthy than the ten teams I have already mentioned?  I can understand the over coverage of the Denver Broncos.  They just signed Peyton Mnning to a long term deal and he is of course Peyton Manning.  I can understand all of the coverage of the Saints.  They have no head coach. Have several lawsuits pending against the league, players suspended, coaches suspended, Brees contract and subsequent comments about comissioner, Super Bowl being held in New Orleans. Just to name a few.. But the Jets?  The coach says everyday that Sanchez is his guy. New York fans are not like other city fans.  We recognize if a player can play or whether or not he is hype, or garbage.  Giant fans had a dilemma when the battle was between Simms and Hoss.. Both got a ring and the ring Hoss got was impart due to the season that Simms had created.  Jet fans will not clamour for Tebow if Sanchez is struggling because they already know that Sanchez is a better quarterback.  They have nothing worthy to debate because they are not going anywhere!!!
Yes I respect that the Jest have been to the AFC title game 2 of the last three years and have amazed us with creative ways in which they have won games against pretty good teams.  They have some good players, but need to concentrate on better locker room comraderie than being on Sportscenter talking about Super Bowls.  Dont you remember Santonio Holmes melt down last year when this team needed him in a big moment and game? I know that the best part for some are the characters that in the league.  Usually we are touting them for their humor or candor because they have done something on the field worth noticing.  Win something first Jest fans and then I will call you by your real name. I am sick that i had to take the time out to write this blog about them..