Phils/Yanks... Enjoy, Mets Fans!

Mets fans thought about it before the playoffs even started. They feared it once the Championship Series started. With the World Series now upon us, they face it...

The hated Philadelphia Phillies will play the hated New York Yankees for baseball's championship. Some fans of the orange and blue have deemed it the 'baseball apocalypse.' Some fans may choose not to watch the series. Some may tune in and not enjoy it. Heck, some wackos may just root for injuries.

I disagree with all three of these strategies. The Phillies and Yankees may be two main rivals of the Mets, but there is a good guy in this series. There is a team for Met fans can (and should) support. There is a team that Mets fans may not be happy with them winning, but should be accepting of them winning.

The Philadelphia Phillies.

Yes, yes, I know. 2007. And 2008. Jimmy Rollins declaring them the team to beat. Cole Hamels labeling the Mets as chokers. Ryan Howard's body mass. Jayson Werth's alarming resemblance to WWE wrestler Edge. Shane Victorino's...well, everything about Shane Victorino.

I have hereby acknowledged all those things. But let's get real here. Those things came into play shortly before the '07 season...about 2 and a half years ago. Since then, the Phillies (and their fans) have often marched into Shea/Citi and walked all over the Mets and their fans. This rivalry, though still expanding, started just two and a half years ago. Before that, it was the Mets/Braves rivalry. Some day, it may be the Mets/Marlins rivalry. Not every division can have a Yankees/Red Sox-esque slugfest year after year. Things often change between the five teams.

One feud that never changes is Yankees/Mets. For every championship the Mets have won, the Yankees have celebrated 13. Any Mets fans born after November 1986 have never experienced a title. Yankees fans born before October 1996 have already seen 4 in their lifetime. Say what you wish about the Yankees' payroll or how many of their players were on the Mitchell Report, but these things truly are supplementary as to why the Yankees should never be rooted for.

It's their fans. Personally, I noticed this phenomenon in the late 1990's when interleague play began. I would be lucky enough to go with my family to one, maybe two, Subway Series games at Shea Stadium. By some divine anti-miracle, we would always find a way to be in the same sections as the 'Bleacher Creatures' that invaded the stadium. As a young teenager, it blew my mind how 40, perhaps 50 people could all get seats next to each other. There they were, cowbells, middle fingers, Mr. Met dolls literally hanging (by the throat) from the stadium ceiling above them.

It wasn't difficult to dislike these people. Sure, they were loud. They were dedicated. But it went beyond that. It was almost as if they weren't there to cheer for the Yankees, but were instead there to take the proverbial dump on Mets fans. The Mets would always have the inferior team, so it was mostly a glorious day at Shea for them. If the Mets would get a hit or, heaven forbid, take the lead in the game, they would simply point to their huge lead in the AL East that season or their boatload of championships.

And they are correct. There is no denying that being a Yankee fan is the easiest job in the sports world. They get whatever free agent they feel like purchasing. If they get criticized, they point to their dozens of championships. They are either the first or second favorite team nearly everywhere in the country. Everyone likes a winner.

But don't fall into this trap, Mets fans. Maybe you haven't had a profound experience with the Yankees/their fans. But it's real. Yes the Phillies have been a royal pain, but I think they are so hated because they are everything the Mets have wanted to be. Howard was our Delgado. Rollins is Reyes. Utley is Wright. Werth is Beltran. Ibanez is a free agent the Mets let get away. Yes, they talk. But the Mets don't have the tightest lips, either.

Here's one last argument. Lets say you're a kid on the school yard. Your entire life, a bigger, older (richer) bully has kicked you in the groin everyday for years. You try to fight it and deny it, but it's happened all your life. You can't help it. Now imagine the past few years, that bully has laid off a little bit, and a new punk has come and for the last few years, gives you a little slap in the face from time to time. If a time came when those two bullies got into a brouhaha and you had to pick a side, which way are you swaying? For me, those years of the bully's torment were a lot worse than the current annoyance of the other guy.

So don't be put off, Mets fans. A great series awaits between clearly, the two best teams. And you have a team to support. Please don't order Phillies hats and jerseys online or anything. But don't feel like Benedict Arnold if there's a glimmer of happiness inside when Howard takes Burnett deep or Lidge strikes out A-Rod in the ninth inning. In the end, fans of the Phillies and Yankees couldn't care less who we root for. In the 2010 season, they will still hate the Mets and their fans whether they win or lose.

But as Rick Reilly once said, "Rooting for the Yankees takes all the courage, imagination, conviction and baseball intelligence of Spam. It's like rooting for Brad Pitt to get the girl or for Bill Gates to hit Scratch 'n' Win."

I couldn't put it any better myself. Enjoy this World Series, and root, root, root for the Phighting Phils. And who knows? If the Mets win the NL East in 2010, it will feel that much better taking down the Champs.

...And with the Mets' luck this year, expect the Yankees to win in 4.

Oh, The NBA is Starting!

Disclaimer: Out of the 4 major sports, the National Basketball Association is the league I follow the least. I will not fraudulently try to paint myself as an NBA guru. To make my point perfectly clear, you all should be told that my favorite basketball player of all time is Salim Stoudamire. Before I do the quick standings/playoff predictions, I'm going to challenge myself with a little game...

My favorite team has been and always will be the New York Knicks. As I sit here now, I have not looked at ESPN or anyone else's NBA preview yet. I am going to try to name the starting roster and bench players for these Knicks...we'll see how I do.

G- Nate Robinson
G- Chris Duhon
F- David Lee
F- Jared Jeffries
C- Eddy Curry
Bench: Darko Milicik, Danillo Galinari...uh. Yeah

That's all I had. Fast forward 4 minutes. After carefully inspecting ESPN's projected depth chart for the Knickerbockers...well, I didn't do so hot. I had Duhon and Jeffries correct, and David Lee kind of correct, because he actually plays Center. Eddy Curry was the fourth Center on the depth chart...presumable because he tried to eat a toaster.

The other starters are Al Harrington (really shoulda knew that one) and Wilson Chandler at guard. Nate is behind Duhon. Darko and Danillo are indeed on the bench, but I missed reserves such as Larry Hughes, Toney Douglas, and newcomer Jordan Hill.

Ok? So it's all out in the open. This 'preview' is simply for fun purposes. It was demanded by few (only Terrence Regan) but will hopefully be enjoyed my many. So here it is, the Reilly Sports Blog's 2009-2010 NBA Preview! Use your imagination on this one.

East

Atlantic Division
1. Boston Celtics (1)
2. Toronto Raptors (4)
3. New York Knicks (8)
4. Philadephia 76ers
5. New Jersey Nets

Central Division
1. Cleveland Cavs (2)
2. Detroit Pistons (6)
3. Chicago Bulls (7)
4. Indiana Pacers
5. Milwaukee Buccaneers

Southeast Division
1. Orlando Magic (3)
2. Atlanta Hawks (5)
3. Washington Wizards
4. Miami Heat
5. Charlotte Bobcats

West

Southwest Division
1. Dallas Mavericks (3)
2. San Antonio Spurs (4)
3. New Orleans Hornets (6)
4. Houston Rockets
5. Memphis Grizzlies

Northwest Division
1. Portland Trailblazers (2)
2. Denver Nuggets (5)
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
4. Utah Jazz
5. Minnesota Timberwolves

Pacific Division
1. Los Angeles Lakers (1)
2. Los Angeles Clippers (7)
3. Phoenix Suns (8)
4. Golden State Warriors
5. Sacramento Kings

PLAYOFFS
Rd. 1
Celtics over Knicks
Cavs over Bulls
Pistons over Magic
Hawks over Raptors

Rd. 2
Celtics over Pistons
Cavs over Hawks

East Final
Cavs over Celtics

Rd. 1
Lakers over Suns
Trailblazers over Clippers
Hornets over Mavericks
Spurs over Nuggets

Rd. 2
Lakers over Hornets
Trailblazers over Spurs

West Final
Trailblazers over Lakers

NBA Finals
Trailblazers over Cavs in 5

**I know the Milwaukee franchise is indeed the Bucks, not the Buccaneers. Just wanted to see if anyone would glance over that and be astonished about how little I know about basketball. I'm not that bad.

Monday Mash- Week 7

Welcome back to the show. I apologize for the hastily-styled picks section yesterday...I only had mere minutes to get them in before the 1 pm kickoffs. The Steelers/Vikings game was pretty solid at 1 pm, but it was starting at 4pm when New York sports fans were glued to their sets. The (much needed, mentally stabilizing) Jets-Raiders game was over before it started, and that led right up to Angels-Yankees as well as Giants/Cardinals. Big Blue came up short, but the Yanks are going to the World Series for the first time since 2003. I will do a write-up/World Series preview tomorrow, but the Monday Mash as always will be dedicated to football. Here was my favorite stuff of week 7:

The Montauk BeverageWorks Delicious Performance of the Week:
Shonn Greene, Jets. Wudduya say, rookie? Thomas Jones started this game off with a touchdown, but it was Greene's day. Nineteen carries for 144 and 2 touchdowns. Can you say fantasy football waiver wire?? Greene's contributions gives Gang Green and their fans some peace of mind because...

• After losing Kris Jenkins last week, Jets runner Leon Washington broke his leg yesterday and is also gone for the season. Jenkins may not have been the flashiest, but he was the most important player on the D. Leon is without a doubt the flashiest and the most important player on the team (running, catching, kick returning, everything.) Sure, the 38-0 win was super, but the loss of Leon makes yesterday a real downer in the end. The Jets' most important individual offensive and defensive players are now gone. First test: next week against the Miami team that embarassed the Jets earlier this season. Let's get to work, Rex.
• The Giants should really send some kind of fruit basket to the Yankees. The baseball game overshadowed the real dud laid by Big Blue at home. The Cardinals came in as a real feast-or-famine team, and they controlled the game from the start. So from out of nowhere, it's the Giants that have lost two straight as their meaty divisional lead has dwindled. Lots of questions will be answered when they travel to Philadelphia next week.
• Speaking of the Jets and Giants games, the Reilly Sports Blog's NFL picks came back with a fury this week. Chargers and Jets cover as favorites while the Cardinals come up big as the underdogs. Houston busted the blog's collective balls by letting the 49ers back in for a miracle push. Favre's bed-wetting display at the end of the game made the Perfiction a failure. But we will take 3-1-1. We can take that.
• A dirty little secret from week 7: besides HOU/SF, MIN/PIT, and NYG/ARI, there were NO COMPETITIVE GAMES. The games I just listed were the only ones decided by 10 points or less. The Texans-Niners was the only one decided by less than a touchdown. On the other side of the coin, there were six (6) games that were won by 28 points or more. That is utterly absurd. The talent gap between good and woeful is greater than ever. It was really reflected this week. This season, pick underdogs with extreme caution, no matter the spread.
• Miles Austin gives Tony Romo the love and security that Jessica evidently could not. 170 yards and 2 scored for Miles, as Tony doesn't throw a pick and at least for this week, keeps the critics and their pitchforks at bay.
• The Bills are a very respectable 3-4. I thought Carolina would dismantle them since QB Trent Edwards was out. But Buffalo has an extremely unique ability. They seem to know they are low on talent, but manage to drag their opponents right down to their crappy level as well. It's uncanny. The last 3 weeks: losing 6-3 to Cleveland in a game that was rated NC-17 for disturbing images, beating the Jets in overtime because Sanchez throws them 5 picks, and taking down a Panthers team that went 12-4 last year by a score of 20-9. I'm never picking for them or against them for the rest of the year. They are too weirdly freightening.
• Keeping things in the AFC East, the Saints/Dolphins had a final score that was...well, deceiving. The Dolphins light-sped out to a 21 point lead over the New Orleans team that dominated the Giants start-to-finish last week. Drew Brees throws 3 picks for a rating below 60, but runs for 2 TD's. Such a bizarre game, and you get the feeling every single Dolphins game the rest of the way will be among the most entertaining of the week.
• The Broncos are resting on their bye with 6-0 record and a 3-game lead in the division. Jay Cutler is in now in 3rd place after losing to the Bengals by 35 points. Just saying...
  
• How did the Bucs intercept Tom Brady twice? Was he paid by the US embassy to give Bucs fans in London a reason to cheer?
• Monday Night Football features the NFC East tonight, Redskins-Eagles. Washington is playing to save their season as the Eagles try to keep the 2-loss pace of the Giants and Cowboys. If Oakland didn't beat the Eagles last week (biggest mystery of NFL '09 thusfar,) I would give the Skins a chance. But Philly is now angry and eager to keep the city amped with the Phillies in the World Series. Eagles 27, Redskins 14. Enjoy the game.
  

Sunday Smash- Week 7

All business. Just cover, baby. Home teams are in bold.

1. Chargers (-6) over Chiefs
The fact that San Diego is only favored by 6 is a testament of how poorly their season has gone so far. If they play up to half their talent level, this is a double-digit victory. If they don't cover or heaven forbid, lose outright, I officially give up on the Super Bowl prediction for them. Now's the time.

2. Texans (-3) over 49ers
Houston quarterback Matt Schaub leads the league with 14 touchdowns. Whoa. For the benefit of my fantasy team, maybe Steve Slaton and the running game catch up with his production. I have not hopped on with the Niners yet. If they win today, that will certainly start to change.

3. Cardinals (+8) over Giants
I know for certain the Giants are a better team. But Arizona always has the best player on the field with Larry Fitzgerald. Sunday night, prime time...It might be a playground for him out there tonight. Both teams put up at least 3 touchdowns, and it comes down to the wire. This game doesn't deserve one of the bigger lines of the week.

4. Jets (-7) over Raiders
For the love of God. Please.

Upset Perfiction of the Week

5. Vikings (+6) over Steelers
Minnesota is undefeated and getting almost a touchdown. Yes, please. Vikings win outright, because hey, "That guy's just having fun out there. He's a freakin' kid out there."

BONUS UPSET PERFICTION OF THE (DAY)

Angels (+160) over Yankees
Booyah.

Enjoy the games everyone!

Down Comes the Sky

Let's start this by making one thing abundantly clear: the New York Jets are 3-3. Out of 16, there are just five teams in the AFC with a better winning percentage. If the playoffs started this very second, they would be tied for the final spot.

Now that those facts are abundantly clear, we can begin.

The Jets are in complete and utter turmoil. Sunday, Mark Sanchez threw five interceptions. The special teams threw another pick on a botched field goal. With Jerricho Cotchery out, no receiver besides newcomer Braylon Edwards even showed up. The defense, though decent, lost their most important player (Kris Jenkins) for the season. Yes, they ran for over 300 yards. But to accomplish that and still lose the game takes a disaster of epic proportions. We are through week 6 now, and the good teams and bad teams are starting to separate. The two teams I see with the most deceiving records are the 3-3 Ravens (way better than that) and the 3-3 Jets (far more vulnerable than that.)

So what's happened the past 3 weeks? Well, Sanchez had his 'rookie game' in New Orleans (which, by the way, looks like a brilliant performance after what we saw this week.) Rex Ryan and the defense were caught woefully unprepared for the Wildcat in week 2. And on Sunday afternoon, Sanchez played like a rookie that doesn't belong anywhere near the field. It was a performance that absolutely terrifies the fans for the future. Throwing in windy, bitter Giants stadium after October is no ordinary task. After one game, Sanchez demonstrated that he is not yet up to that task.

At the moment, the mojo has just evaporated for gang green. The loss against Buffalo would have been bad enough with the Bills hitting the field goal at the end of regulation. It would have been quick, less painful, William Wallace-like. But the fans suffered through another 10+ minutes of overtime, which showed them over and over that something truly awful had overtaken the team. At the end, it had lasted nearly four hours, the Jets lost a huge part of their defense, their QB was nearly crying, and fans missed over 10 minutes of The Simpsons Halloween special that started at 8pm. Everyone was cranky. Until the Jets get back their mojo, the things that made them great for three weeks (pass rush, 3rd down efficiency, great special teams, etc.) they will continue to sputter.

But as football Yoda says, 'turmoil does not a season ruin.' There is time to get things turned around. Yesterday, the Jets played like a team that should be 1-5. But they are 3-3 because of some great efforts against Houston, Tennessee, and the Patriots. Those three victories count just as much as the three ugly, ugly losses. There are no style points here. Ask the Arizona Cardinals about how much style points they got last year during their 9-7 regular season. Things can happen.

But there is an incredible amount of work to do. It starts in Oakland on Sunday--the same lowly Raiders that beat the Eagles yesterday. Clearly, as the Jets now know, there are no real pushovers in the NFL.

Monday Mash- Week 6

Not the greatest weekend for New York football. Though losses are rarely encouraging, the defeats by the Giants and Jets were particularly worrisome. The Jets got outworked and embarrassed at home by an inferior Buffalo team without their starting quarterback. The Giants were never truly within striking distance as the Saints put up 7 touchdowns.

We'll take an extensive look at the Jets later in the week, so we'll focus on the Giants today. Maybe it was just me, but I had just one thought on my mind from the get-go: Wasn't this how Super Bowl XLII was supposed to be?? The record-setting, high flying Patriots offense ready to stomp on the Giants and complete their perfect season.

Yesterday, the G-Men looked like that big underdog ready to get smoked. Their pass rush, that manhandled and harassed Tom Brady into submission, let Drew Brees do absolutely whatever he wanted yesterday. And he was more than willing to accept, as Marques Colston, Lance Moore, and others ran wild in the Giants secondary. Maybe Mark Sanchez's debacle starting at 4pm looked so much worse because many fans saw Brees' mastery starting three hours earlier. Bottom line: both New York teams have a lot to do. But hard work at 5-1 is a lot more comfortable than hard work at 3-3. As far as the rest of week 6:

The Montauk BeverageWorks Delicious Performance of the Week:
Tom Brady, Patriots. Fair is far. 380 yards with 6 TD's before being pulled in the 3rd quarter. Pretty delicious.

• A big thank you to Brady for flushing my upset perfiction down the toilet. It's been a real up and down year for the upset of the week picks. Things looked great at the start, with the Niners over the Cards and Jets over the Pats. The things got rocky as the Chargers dismantled the Dolphins and the Niners modestly beat the Rams 35-0. After the Browns came through against Buffalo, the Titans couldn't quite cover the 10-point spread, going down valiently by the score of 59-0.
• Tommy was the posterboy for what was really a ridiculous week for NFL quarterbacks. Peyton Manning may have been on a bye, but look at these numbers! Eight guys going for 300 yards or more. The low point (besides Sanchez) can be found in the Pats-Titans box score. ESPN was required to put Vince Young (0-2, 0 yards) as the top passer. The reason? Kerry Collins passed for negative seven yards. Great job, Titans. Great pick, Conor.
• Speaking of the upset pick, who in the world saw that coming from Oakland? Just a week ago, the Eagles beat Tampa Bay 33-14, and the Raiders lost to the G-Men 44-7. Simple math tells us that....the Raiders don't allow a touchdown and go on to win?? Crazy.
• I beefed up the Redskins a lot yesterday, hoping they would beat the Chiefs handily. I started Campbell, Portis, and Moss. Therefore, I had all the bases covered and would get points on everything except Washington field goals. The result? Two field goals, Campbell pulled at halftime, Clean Sanchezes lose. Thanks, 'Skins.
• Game of the week has to go to Baltimore-Minnesota. It was pretty pedestrian until the 4th quarter, where all hell broke loose. Minnesota had it, then lost it, then had it, then should have lost it only to end up having it. Favre magic I suppose. But is his Jet-like swoon coming?
• Teams helping my preseason prediction for them: the Cardinals beating the Seahawks and the Rams losing a close one to the Jaguars (1-15 for St Louis lives on.)
• Broncos vs. Chargers tonight on Monday Night football. Unfortunately, the Bolts are my Super Bowl picks. Too soon to turn back now. Chargers 17, Broncos 13.
  

Sunday Smash- Week 6

Hello there and welcome back everyone. Like you, I am a tad sleepy while getting ready for this football Sunday. The Yankee/Angel game ended shortly after 1 am, and I had to sneak in an episode of Dexter on demand before retiring to sleep. Not much I can say about the game...only that I thought the kind of baseball Anaheim played last night was over back when the Mets season ended. Both teams put the game on a platter for one another, but in the end it was the Angels giving the Yanks "an offer they couldn't refuse."

Ok, over to the Smash. Honestly, there is a slew of crappy, crappy games today. There is a peculiar amount of bad team vs. bad team or solid team vs. bad team. But the goal here is to pick 5 games. And although the picks have left much to be desired, we will never ever forever stop trying. So we've got five games that we have sufficient confidence in. Home teams are in bold. Just cover, baby.

1. Saints (-3) over Giants
I know, I never learn. What can I say? I picked the Bucs and Raiders over the Giants due to preposterous spreads, and the Giants covered about 30 seconds into each game. Now arguably the best team in the NFL is getting 3 points and I say no? Well I picked the Saints to win the freakin' Super Bowl before the season, and it wouldn't say too much about my fortitude to pick them to lose at home now. Marques Colston goes for 130 and 2 scores, making the difference.

2. Bills (+10) over Jets
Yep, I have picked the Jets every. single. week so far. It hasn't gotten me too far. But in this man's opinion, it's both the Bills and the weather (+10) over the Jets. The Jets have been sneaky-bad at running the ball this year, Mark Sanchez's follies handling the ball may be magnified by the conditions. The Jets won't lose. They can't dig that kind of divisional hole against a team this bad. But 10 is a little high due to said weather and shaky performances lately.

3. Ravens (+3) over Vikings
If the Ravens were to beat Cincinnati last week, there's no way I pick them in this one. But plain and simple, I just can't see the Ravens being 3-3 and the Vikings being 6-0 after this week. 4-2 and 5-1 sound a lot more sensible. They will force Favre into a couple of mistakes today.

4. Redskins (-6) over Chiefs
This is a pick near and dear to my heart. Clean Sanchez is a paltry 2-3 and must bounce back in the money fantasy league. Tony Romo is on a bye (probably a good thing) so operation Washington is in effect. I had Clinton Portis and Santana Moss all season, but the buzzsaw Jason Campbell is officially a fantasy league starter this week. I may be the only one...but I wasn't putting it on Kyle Orton on Monday night. If the Redskins don't cover, there's no way my team wins. Might as well pick them here. Get it done, 'Skins. You will be rewarded handsomely.

Upset Perfiction of the Week

5. Titans (+10) over Patriots
Please see pick #2. This is a 10 point spread, and the weather in Foxboro is the same as the weather in Jersey. We'll see what happens, but I'm a man that believes in weather. And call them a different team, but the fact still is that Tennessee was 13-3 last year, and they're getting 10 today. Perfect candidate for the Upset Perfiction.