Justin Block Video #4

Justin Block Video #3

Justin Block Video #2

Being A Mets, Jets, and Islanders Fan Isn’t Easy

With another horrid season for the Mets coming to an end, one can’t help but think, what horrible inhumane crime did I commit in a past life to be forced to endure the torture of being a Mets, Jets, and Islanders fan? I was born in 1991 (which makes me 18 years old) and in these 18 years I have seen nothing but disappointment, collapse, despair and arch rivals winning world championships.

I will begin with baseball, our cross town rivals, the New York Yankees, are the best sports franchise of all time. They have played in 39 World Series’ and have won 26 of the 39. Comparing the Yankees to the Mets, who have played in a whopping four World Series, and have won a grand total of two championships, is no comparison. During the last two seasons New York Mets fans have watched their team collapse epically and give two division titles to the hated Philadelphia Phillies. Last season, Philadelphia took advantage of the opportunity and won their second World Series to tie the Mets. This season, plagued by injuries and poor fundamentals, the Mets have watched a promising season turn into rubbish. They are now in fourth place (11.5 GB) behind Philly. If the Mets are not in first place by the All Star Break of next season, expect mass firings to occur.

Next I will turn to Football; The New York Jets have not been in, nor won a Super Bowl since 1969. That’s 40 years; 40 years of torment and misery. To make matters worse, the New England Patriots are one of the best football dynasties ever, and two years ago they went undefeated until the Super Bowl where they lost to our other rival, the New York Giants. Both the Giants and the Patriots have won three Super Bowls each since we last won 1. Although the past has not been great, the future looks bright as the Jets just drafted their quarterback of the future, Mark Sanchez, in this year’s entry draft. They also hired a new coach, Rex Ryan, who will bring a defensive mentality to a team that desperately needs one. When all is said and done, out of these three teams (Jets, Mets, Islanders), the Jets look like they have the best chance to win a championship in the near future.

Last, but certainly not least, the New York Islanders. The Islanders were the best NHL team in the 1980’s. They had won four Stanley Cups in a row (1980-1983), and things were looking great. Then I was born. Since 1991, the Islanders have been the perennial laughing stock of the NHL. They have made the playoffs only a handful of times and are in the midst of a rebuilding process for the last five years. The Islanders have promise though as they drafted John Tavares, with the number one pick in this year’s NHL entry draft. All fans hope that Tavares will lead them back to the glory days of the early 80’s and only time will tell.

Now you know what it has been like for the last 18 years of being an Islanders, Mets, and Jets fan. Although there is hope for the future with all three teams it’s hard to be optimistic after cheering for these teams for the past two decades and seeing how badly all three could be. One day the streak will end and when it does me and any other fans of any of these teams will be ready and enjoy winning because we have never truly felt what winning feels like.

Josh Jakers

NYchalktalk.com

New York Jets Training Camp Update

One year after suffering a “Mets Collapse”, and handing the AFC East on a platter to the Miami Dolphins, (yes the Miami Dolphins); the New York Jets are looking to improve on a disappointing 08-09 season in one of the toughest divisions in all of football.

Not only did the Jets make some important player signings in the 2009 off-season, but they also acquired a new head coach. This man is, Rex Ryan, the former defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens. His goal is to lead the Jets into the playoffs and beyond during the upcoming season. Ryan is known around the league for one thing, DEFENSE.

Rex got some help in the off-season as the Jets acquired multiple key pieces on the offense and defense. On the defensive side of the ball, the Jets signed CB Donald Strickland, ILB Bart Scott, S Jim Leonhard and DE Marques Douglas. They also received Lito Sheppard of the Eagles for merely a fifth round pick. The Jets also re-signed SS Abram Elam, CB Ahmad Carroll and K Jay Feely.

On the offense, Brett Favre ended his distraction with the Jets early this year by announcing his retirement. After that diversion was over, the Jets wasted no time getting a quarterback when they drafted Mark Sanchez. According to analysts he was the second rated quarterback in this years NFL draft. The Jets picked him with the fifth overall pick, this proved to be excellent value. Also, yet low key, the Jets re-signed FB Tony Richardson. Although the Jets picked Sanchez in the first round, Rex Ryan has not announced whether Sanchez will start the season as the quarterback. The other option is the more experienced, Kellen Clemens. The starter should be announced after the third week of the preseason, if everything goes as planned. Many Jets fans, including myself are looking forward to what could be a very successful season with a lights out defense and a maturing offense.

Be sure to tune in to Daniel and I as we talk about the Jets, Giants, and all things NY sports on our weekly radio show.

Josh Jakers

NYchalktalk.com

Should ______ Be In The Hall of Fame? This week- Gary Carter

Starting this week, I will be reviewing a different player that is in the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame that I think shouldn’t be there. Listen to what I have to say then post comments on whether you agree or disagree and I will respond. To start off, I will share my views on why the New York Mets catcher Gary Carter has lowered the Hall of Fame standard.

Currently, I am not in a position to vote for which players reach baseball immortality; however, if I was this is what I would be looking for. First and foremost a player must have excelled in the basic statistical categories, batting average, home runs and runs batted in. Some people feel that awards such as all-star games and MVP’s count just as heavily, but that is not practical. In my mind, an athlete of any sport must be judged by their on field performance, not by awards they have won based on a voting system. With that said, here is why Gary Carter does not fit the Hall of Fame player mold.

First, lets take a look at Gary Carter’s numbers; he batted a sub par .262 during his eighteen-year career. Already from the basic statistic of batting average Gary Carter doesn’t even look like an all star, let alone a hall of famer. Next, he hit 324 home runs and drove in 1,225 runs. These are decent power numbers but nothing earth shattering. Just looking at his numbers, Gary looks like an above average catcher but nothing out of this world.

In my mind, this is where Carter got some his votes, the awards. Gary Carter appeared in eleven all-star games, won a world series in 1986 with the Mets, won three gold gloves and five silver slugger awards. On the topic of all-star games, the FANS vote players into this game; therefore FAN favorites get in regardless of how they are doing statistically that season. For example, Josh Hamilton got in this year with absolutely horrible numbers. Next, Carter won a World Series with everyone’s favorite ‘86 Mets. In my opinion, big deal, there are many average players who have won a World Series, that isn’t the be all, end all to becoming a Hall of Famer. Finally, Mr. Carter won five silver slugger awards. For those of you who do not know, this is an award given out to a player of each position in both the American and National Leagues, so based on that, there are eighteen players winning this so called, “important award” each year. If the award was so special why are they giving it out to eighteen players?

Now that you seen the statistics and awards Gary Carter has won, here is the main reason why I think he is in the Hall of Fame. It is the fact that he played for the New York Mets and everyone knows when you play in New York you get the media along with it. The media either loves you or hates you, and they loved Gary Carter. To get elected into the Hall of Fame you must be approved by the Baseball Writers Association of America, otherwise known as, the media. In general, players that are in good standing with the media have a better shot at getting in to the hall. Think about it, if Barry Bonds treated reporters with respect he would have at least a small shot of getting into the Hall of Fame. Since Gary Carter had the media on his side he also had the fact that he played in New York. For some reason, playing in the big apple gives you a leg up in any dealings.

All in all, what’s done is done, but having Gary Carter a member of the “elite” baseball club does not make sense. Major League Baseball is known as a game of numbers, not awards so in my mind if your numbers don’t stack up, you don’t belong in.

Daniel Weberman
NYchalktalk.com

Justin Block Video

NYchalktalk.com is expanding like never before. Earlier this week Greg Visone joined the team and now, Justin Block. For those of you who do not know, Justin is a soccer expert. In the past I have written a few soccer articles, but he is the go to guy when it comes to the "beautiful game". To start off he will continue making his videos; however, in the future we may see a Justin Block article or two.

Daniel Weberman
NYchalktalk.com

New York Giants Training Camp Update

NYchalktalk.com would like to welcome our newest writer to the team, Greg Visone. He is a New Jersey native and a die hard Giants fan. Greg will be covering his team all season long to keep all of the NYchalktalk readers up to date with everything New York Giants. Be sure to listen for him on Daniel and Josh's weekly online radio show.

From the University of Albany in Albany, New York, I’m reporting live from Giants Training Camp, where Big Blue is preparing for the upcoming 2009 NFL Season. It has been a hectic first week here in Albany with issues stirring up on the field (position battles, offensive struggles, Coughlin tirades, etc.) and off (Pierce not getting indicted & Plaxico getting indicted, Eli’s new contract, injury worries, etc.). Over the next month, I will be your source for everything Giants leading into the upcoming season.

There was good news to start off training camp here in Albany with the news that defensive captain & middle line backer Antonio Pierce will not be indicted on charges in the Plaxico Burress case, despite openly admitting he helped Burress hide the unregistered weapon Burress used to shoot himself with in late November. Burress, on the other hand, has been charged by a grand jury representing the State of New York with one count of reckless endangerment and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. Pierce, while talking to the media this week, defended the concept of helping Burress out, stating that he does not regret what he did. This was good news for the Giants as Pierce is a pivotal leader on defense. With the problems this legal battle had on the team last season, Big Blue will be very fortunate not to be dealing with this problem again in 2009.

More good news came for the Giants this week when Eli Manning agreed to a six-year contract extension with Big Blue worth approximately $97.5 million ($35 million guaranteed). This makes him the highest-paid player in the NFL ($15.3 million per year annually).While he certainly doesn’t deserve that kind of money as a second-tier quarterback, he is still a Super Bowl MVP and the face of a franchise. The Giants needed to lock him up since this is the last year of his contract. While I would have liked to see him earn the contract this year with a solid performance, despite having sub par receivers, I’m glad the Giants have completed the deal prior to the ’09 season as the saga will not cause any distractions in the locker room once the season begins.

In other news here at Albany, practices are in full swing and many position battles have gotten underway. While some position battles are rather high-end (e.g. wide receiver), others are subtle but in some cases extremely heated and potentially very important (e.g. backup quarterback) if a starter happens to go down during the year.

Here is a look at some of the position battles to look into during training camp:

Wide Receiver: At receiver last season, Eli had three very reliable targets in Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, and Steve Smith. This year, Plaxico is facing four years in prison and Toomer is in Kansas City. However, the Giants have nine potential targets in camp this year fighting for six or seven receiver slots on the depth chart. Among these possible targets for Eli are Steve Smith, Domenik Hixon, Mario Manningham, Sinorice Moss, David Tyree, Derek Hagan, Micah Rucker, Hakeem Nicks (rookie), and Ramses Barden (rookie). I project that Smith and Hixon are going to be the starters this season early on, but don’t be surprised if Nicks, Barden, Manningham, or Moss takes over for Hixon at some point during the year due to skill in the slot position (yes, I project Smith, Hixon, Nicks, Manningham, Barden, and Moss to get the six slots). Also, expect Tyree, Hagan, or Rucker to get a spot on the practice squad in case Moss goes down during the year (yes, I am predicting Sinorice to get injured during the year).

2nd/3rd Running Back: Behind Jacobs, there is going to be a fight for carries between Ahmad Bradshaw, Danny Ware, and rookie, Andre Brown. They all are getting their fair share of carries so far in camp, but expect all three to make the team and contribute somewhat this season. The favorite for the true backup role has to be Bradshaw, but don’t be too surprised if Ware or Brown gets carries this year as the third back. While it won’t be Earth, Wind, and Fire (like last year), don’t be surprised if three running backs come out and perform like they did last year.

Backup Center: Just a quick word of advice for Giants fans reading this: pray that this offensive line does not get injured at all this year, because there are not many dependable backups on the roster. One good example so far of an ugly position battle is at backup Center, where Adam Koets and Kevin Boothe continue fumbling snaps during training camp. In my opinion, whoever fumbles fewer snaps at the end of camp is going to be O’Hara’s backup. It’s really bad for me to think about what would happen if O’Hara got injured right now, because it’s a nightmare imagining one of these two taking snaps for the Giants during a game.

Backup Quarterback: While Eli has the starting position all wrapped up, there is going to be an interesting battle between Andre Woodson and rookie Rhett Bomar for the third quarterback position on the depth chart. While the Giants kept only two quarterbacks on the depth chart last season (Manning & Carr), expect them to keep a third this time around just in case. This will be a very heated battle and an intriguing one to keep an eye on throughout training camp.

On the field so far, the secondary has dominated throughout camp, with many interceptions and defensive swats against all quarterbacks on the Giants roster. While the secondary has done an outstanding job early in camp, the offense has clearly struggled to a certain extent as well. Giants head coach Tom Coughlin is clearly unhappy with the offensive performance he is seeing, and many of his trademark tirades are springing up on the practice field. His frustration is rather clear-cut, reminding fans of the days before the Super Bowl Championship, when Coughlin was always short-tempered and angry with his players. However, the message he is sending to the offense is clear: perform well, the team wins; perform poorly, the team struggles (similar to last season).

A few key injuries to point out in camp are those of defensive end Justin Tuck (foot), left guard Rich Seubert (shoulder), defensive tackle Fred Robbins (knee, Physically Unable to Perform list), defensive tackle Rocky Bernard (shoulder/hamstring, Non-Football Injury list), and linebacker Michael Boley (hip, PUP). Tuck is on a one-a-day schedule so far during camp, but this is only to rest his foot for the regular season. Seubert is also just receiving rest for the upcoming season.

With the first preseason game for the Giants only ten days away (Monday Night Football at home against Carolina, 8/17), it appears that we’re just warming up here in Albany at Giants Training Camp.

Greg Visone

NYchalktalk.com