Sports
In Briefs: Super Bowl Predictions
JASON CLINKSCALES: I’m not big on posting scores, but since this is the proverbial gun-to-head scenario, I’ll say Indy 31 – NO 24.
HOWARD MEGDAL: Colts 38, Saints 10
CHRIS PUMMER: Saints 126, Colts -7
Future of the Jets
CHRIS PUMMER: It’s too early to put Tannenbaum and Ryan in the same class as Parcells, Belichick, Shannahan or Cowher. But they’re off to a good start. Now instead of being defined by the culture of past Jets failures, they need to establish their own culture of success.
JASON CLINKSCALES: Optimism is very high on the future of the New York Jets and why the heck not? They possess the best defense in the NFL, a superb offensive line, bigger wide receivers, an overlooked running game and a young quarterback on the rise. So while it’s hard not to believe that Gang Green will be a contender for years to come… well, these are the Jets.
The Carlos Ruiz Contract
CHRIS PUMMER: If Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has prized nothing else this offseason, it has been cost certainty over the next two to four years.
HOWARD MEGDAL: It isn’t that I think the Carlos Ruiz signing will ruin the Phillies. I just think it is a move that, in the name of cost-certainty, keeps the position quite mediocre.
Mark Sanchez: The Great Latino Hope?
JASON CLINKSCALES: When Mark Sanchez got drafted by the New York Jets last April, advertising and publicity analysts immediate salivated over his prospects. They were less interested in his prospects on the field, rather than endorsement and sponsorship opportunities if he essentially becomes the Mexican-American version of Joe Willie Namath.
Yet, despite admirable performances in three postseason games, the suggestion that he will be the one that takes the NFL into apparent unchartered territory with the Latino populous has a bit of problem; Sanchez has to win and win beautifully.
Mets, Molina and Matthews
CHRIS PUMMER: Neither letting Bengie Molina slip away or throwing a few buck to the Angels for Gary Matthews Jr. is an awful decision in isolation. But when you add those moves together, what does it say about how the Mets spend money?
HOWARD MEGDAL: Chris Pummer, you live in a Bobby Kennedy Mets World, where you ask why not, rather than the reality-based Mets world, where I ask how to minimize paralyzing errors. In that world, Bengie Molina was a mistake.
Olympics Preview
AKIE BERMISS: People hate the Olympics. I’m not sure why. I know its really boring and there are (usually) no gunfights, or stabbings, or explosions.
TED BERG: This is a drum I’ve been beating a long time: The Olympics suck.
Curtis Joseph
JASON CLINKSCALES: As a slightly-above-casual puckhead, my knowledge of the now-retired Curtis Joseph is limited to a few highlight saves, youthful postseason highs and age-accelerating postseason lows. Joseph’s name doesn’t sing to the uninitiated like Patrick Roy or Martin Brodeur since there wasn’t flair to his style and he didn’t stick with one franchise for the duration of his career. In fact, he was the NHL’s version of Mark Jackson, a steady hand on some bad teams, yet for the elite teams, he fell short of the ultimate prize.
CHRIS PUMMER: After etching his name into the record books, if not the Stanley Cup, Joseph should eventually make it to the Hall of Fame.
Chris Johnson: 2,000 Yards
JASON CLINKSCALES: Chris Johnson is the best player in the NFL today. Now, whether you believe this to be true or not depends on which teams the national media shoves down your throat any given Sunday. What you should believe to be absolute truth is that at season’s end, the country should have watched history happen before our eyes.
Six men have reached the seemingly unreachable, yet unfairly, Johnson received the least attention for it.
CHRIS PUMMER: Jason is right, Chris Johnson should be getting more attention for being just the sixth player to ever reach the 2,000 yard plateau. But he’s not, and I blame Jamal Lewis.
Bigger Snub: Alomar or Blyleven?
HOWARD MEGDAL: There were many people on the 2010 Hall of Fame ballot I think belong in the HOF. Barry Larkin should be an easy one, with a 116 OPS+ and terrific defense at shortstop. Alan Trammell for similar reasons. Tim Raines for a long career that only pales in comparison to Rickey Henderson. And as Rich Lederer has taught us, Bert Blyleven is a Hall of Famer as well.
None of these oversights were as egrigious as Roberto Alomar, perhaps a top-five second baseman all-time. He’s a Hall of Famer with room to spare.
DAVE TOMAR:only Nolan Ryan ranks above Blyleven in strikeouts, wins and shutouts. I’ll state this again so it sinks in that this guy only has two years of HOF eligibility left. Only Nolan Ryan, who was inducted with a 98.79% vote in his first year of eligibility, has more wins, strikeouts and shutouts than Bert Blyleven.
The Pujols Paradox
CHRIS PUMMER: Albert Pujols is great. So great that the Cardinals really have no choice but to try everything within reason to keep their homegrown star and surefire Hall of Famer. Just understand the uneasiness and discomfort that settles in their stomachs when writing the check.
HOWARD MEGDAL: I happen to believe the Cardinals will never have cause to regret signing Albert Pujols to a contract matching Alex Rodriguez’s 10-year, $300 million deal.