Random Rumblings: Pressure is on for Favre

• It seems like every time Brett Favre’s name is brought up, we hear about how regular and easy to relate to he is. But for the NFL’s everyman, New York might be the one spot where is he different than just about every man.
  
  New Yorkers don’t lace up their cowboy boots and wear their Wranglers out to a ball game the way folks in other parts of this country might. And they definitely do not fall in love with athletes who look like “they are just having fun out there,” the phrase most often used to describe the Jets new quarterback.
  
  Ask Alex Rodriguez. Results are all that matters.
  
  Unlike ARod, Favre is alreafy recognized as a winner, but he also has a much smaller window to prove himself to fans in New York. Two years, tops. That’s why it won’t be too surprising if, after a couple of poor games from the old gun slinger, Jets fans start turning on Favre the way the crowds in Green Bay will undoubtedly turn on Aaron Rodgers.
  
  
• Only two weeks ago, I called Manny Ramirez the greediest athlete in the history of sports for complaining about his contract situation with his team in a playoff race.
  
  While I stand by that thought, I do think that the Red Sox were wrong for not a) offering Manny a contract extension earlier this season or b) telling him that his option would not be picked up at the end of the season.
  
  Anyone on the Sox side will tell you that the team is by no means obligated to do such a thing, but considering all that Manny did do for the organization, it would have been the right move.
  
  
• Two issues I had while watching Team USA defeat China in basketball this morning:
  
  1) Does LeBron James really need to make that silly “who me?” face every time a whistle gets blown? It’s reminds me so much of ARod.
  
  2) In the first half, commentators Doug Collins and Mike Breen went off about how bad the referees were in international basketball after one official called a palming violation on a Chinese guard. The truth is, just before the call, I said to myself, “it’s really looks like he’s palming the ball.”
  
  
• C.C. Sabathia should be the National League Cy Young.
  
  
• Memo to the Yankees: It’s difficult to change your setup man constantly over the course of a season and still remain successful. Yes, the Yanks had to put Joba in the rotation but they didn’t have to trade Kyle Farnsworth.
  
  Now they’re paying for it.
  
  
• Congratulations to Sacha Kljestan, who scored for Team USA on a pass from Freddy Adu this morning against the Netherlands. The first sports article that I ever wrote was during my freshman year at Seton Hall and the topic was Sacha and his brother Gordon. It’s nice to see a classy guy succeed.

Click here to read the rest of this entry >>

Small Ball
Pretty funny: The New Haven Register’s UConn football beat writer Chip Malafronte shares some of his wacky interviews. (Via Sox and Dawgs)

Click here to read the rest of this entry >>

Computer issues...

Hey kids, somehow my ACER laptop crashed and I'm waiting for the recovery disc to be sent. Sorry for the lack of updates. Everything should be taken care of by next week.

Have a great weekend.

Click here to read the rest of this entry >>

It will be difficult to accept losing Manny for losing Bay

Given the amount of protection he’ll have in his new lineup, Jason Bay could very well thrive in Boston. But as a friend told me shortly after the Red Sox dealt one of the five greatest right handed hitters in history, “it’s just hard to welcome in losing players.”

And until he proves otherwise, Bay is just that. The guy has played very few meaningful baseball games throughout his entire life unless you count the World Baseball Classic a few years ago. Before that, it was the Little League World Series and I’m sorry, Williamsport in August just isn’t Yankee Stadium in October.

It will be hard enough coming over from a place where 90 losses is routine and replacing a guy who helped transform the Red Sox into a model franchise, but what makes it worse is that Bay comes to Boston knowing that everyone agrees that the Yankees, Angels and White Sox all got better this week, while the Red Sox got worse.

Of course that may not be completely true. Some will argue that, given everything that has happened, Bay is better for the Red Sox than Manny Ramirez. And when another friend asked how much of a difference protection in a lineup makes, my simple answer was this: It’s the difference between you knowing who Jason Bay is and not knowing who he is.

Unfortunately, that losing stigma just seems to stick out more than anything right now. It’s likely he’ll face similar backlash to what J.D. Drew dealt with all of last season. Of course, Drew responded with an excellent post season that led to a World Series ring.

And winning is all it comes down to in places like Boston. Just ask Drew. Just ask Paul Pierce. Bay might not hit like Manny, but he better win like him.

Click here to read the rest of this entry >>

Small Ball
My pick to win the American League made no moves at the deadline. At least they weren’t sellers.

Get betting odds at the world’s best online sportsbook

Click here to read the rest of this entry >>