2017 ALDS Preview

Now the fun really begins. The dust has settled on the regular season and wild card games and we get into divisional round play. Its the American League Divisional Round and we have four teams left standing. After a year of setting such high benchmarks, the Cleveland Indians start their mission in defense of the American League Pennant. They've got some pretty tough competition this year, in the form of not only the New York Yankees, but Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox as well. All four teams are now fighting for the right to represent the American League in the biggest stage in all of baseball. The march begins today. Lets not waste any more time and get right down to business. Here's a preview of the ALDS!

First up, we have the American League Central winners the Cleveland Indians playing host to the Wild Card Winning New York Yankees. The Yankees come into this series after finishing 2nd in the American League East with a 91-71 record, and having beat the Minnesota Twins in the Wild Card Game. This marks the first appearance for the Yankees in the Divisional Round since 2012.  As a matter of fact, since 1995 the Yankees have failed to make it to the divisional round only five times. New York is 223-155 lifetime in the playoffs and are starting the drive for their 28th World Championship. As for the Cleveland Indians, they are the defending American League Champions. They got to the playoffs this year by winning the American League Central for the 2nd year in a row, finishing this season with a 102-60 record. This marks the 13th playoff appearance in Indians history and just the 8th appearance in the ALDS. Cleveland is 10-10 lifetime in the playoffs. this marks just the 4th meeting all time in the playoffs between the two teams, with Cleveland winning two of the last three meetings. During the regular season, Cleveland won five of the seven meetings.

Here are the dates and times for every game in this series:
October 5 New York Yankees @ Cleveland Indians Progressive Field 7:30 PM
October 6 New York Yankees @ Cleveland Indians Progressive Field 5:00 PM
October 8 Cleveland Indians @ New York Yankees Yankee Stadium 7:30 PM
October 9† Cleveland Indians @ New York Yankees Yankee Stadium -
October 11† New York Yankees @ Cleveland Indians Progressive Field -

There's a lot riding on the Indians shoulders going into this series. They are coming off a year in which they won 102 games, only the 3rd time in the history of the franchise they've won over 100 games in a year. The last two times resulted in World Series trips, a 1954 loss to the Giants and a 1995 loss to the Braves. This could be the year the Tribe make the turn. And it starts with this series against the Yankees. this year, Cleveland scored 254 more runs then they allowed, which should go to prove that winning 102 games was no fluke. when it comes to pitching, the Indians are loaded at the top, being led by Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco, who are arguably the AL's two best starters in the second half. If dealing with them two wasn't bad enough, you also have to worry about Trevor Bauer, who's no slouch in his own right. Lets not forget about the Tribe's offense, which has some pretty good boppers in their lineup. Jay Bruce had a solid season split between the Mets and the Tribe, managing to club 36 home runs and drive in 101 runs. Edwin Encarnacion lead the club with 38 homers and 104 RBI. Francisco Lindor, Jason Kipnis, Carlos Santana, they all have good numbers this year and all have the experience from being with this club last year and knowing what a deep playoff run is like. They want to get back to having another run this year.

Lets face facts, the opponents for the Tribe are no slouch in the New York Yankees. This is a club that blasted more home runs then any other team in baseball, led by the 52 from Aaron Judge. They also got major contribution from Gary Sanchez who belted 33 homers, the only other Bronx Bomber to hit more than 30. Shortstop Didi Gregorius also contributed, driving in 87 runs, the only other Yankee, along with Sanchez and Judge, to drive in more then 80 runs. This offense has some experience mixed in with this youth group. Brett Gardner has been here before with this team and knows what it takes to get the job done in the playoffs. So too does Jacoby Ellsbury and Todd Fraiser. have the same experiences. Plus they have a pretty good pitching staff to contend with. You have solid starters the first two games with Sony Grey and CC Sabathia, but there's nothing announced yet for game three of the series. What the Yankees do have going for them is one of the very best bullpens in all of baseball, which was put on full display Tuesday night against Minnesota. Once the Yankees get a lead in a game its almost lights out when they turn things over to the Pen.

Now here comes the interesting part of trying to pick. The Yankees have been dominant at the Stadium, but aren't nearly as good on the road. Cleveland had a near identical split, but they were a slightly better road team. Cleveland has the more balanced offensive attack and by far the better starting pitching. Its going to be an entertaining series, of this I have no doubt. I Just feel that right now, the Indians have the horses to get the job done in the big time.

Pick: Indians in 4!

The other matchup in the American League pits the American League West winning Houston Astros going up against the American League East winning Boston Red Sox. Boston has won the American League East for the 2nd year in a row and 3rd time in the last five years, finishing the regular season with a 93-69 record, the same exact record they had a season ago. this now marks the 23rd playoff appearance for the Sox, having won eight World Series. Boston is 90-80 all time in the playoffs. As for the Astros, they won the American League West with a 101-61 record, giving them their 8th total division title, 4th in the Western Division (all prior titles had been won in the National League). This marks the 11th playoff appearance for the Astros, a team who has won four total playoff series and lost in their lone World Series in 2005. Houston is 4-10 lifetime in the post season. This marks the first ever playoff meeting between the two clubs.  The two teams split the two meetings

Here are the dates and times for every game in this series:
October 5 Boston Red Sox @ Houston Astros Minute Maid Park 4:00 PM
October 6 Boston Red Sox @ Houston Astros Minute Maid Park 2:00 PM
October 8 Houston Astros @ Boston Red Sox Fenway Park 2:30 PM
October 9† Houston Astros @ Boston Red Sox Fenway Park
October 11† Boston Red Sox @ Houston Astros Minute Maid Park

This is going to be a bit of a change of pace for the Red Sox going into this series. Last year, nothing went right for Boston as they were swept right out of the playoffs by the Indians. This year, the Sox had to rely on speed and clutch hitting. Rookie Andrew Benintendi had himself a fine year, driving in 90 runs. Mookie Betts lead the way with 24 homers and 102 RBI. Both of those guys had over 20 steals on the year. The one thing though, that seems to be hanging around the Red Sox is they are missing that one big weapon. They had it last year in David Ortiz, but he's now retired. Starting pitching in Boston has more then held up its end of the bargin in the regular season. Drew Pomeranz, Rick Porcello and Chris Sale all hit double digits in wins and Sale looks to be a front runner for the Cy Young in the American League this season.

Going up against them is the best hitting team in the American League, led by Jose Altuve. He had a fantastic year, collecting 204 hits, 24 home runs and 81 RBI. Then you got Marwin González who lead the team in home runs and RBI. George Springer lead the team with 34 Homers. It was a very balanced attack in Houston, which is why they won over 100 games and finished with the 2nd best record in the American League. Then we have the Astros pitching staff. Manager A J Hinch may favor fly-ball heavy options like Collin McHugh and Brad Peacock for the latter games of the series over grounder-inducing choices Lance McCullers and Charlie Morton. And when you have a guy like Just Verlander at the top of the rotation for the playoffs and Dallas Keuchel right behind him. This Houston team is very balanced.

The Red Sox aren't equipped to win an offensive shootout with Houston. While the Astros bullpen comes with questions, they have the starters to ensure one never breaks out. The Justin Verlander-Dallas Keuchel duo is just as good as Sale-Pomeranz. If not better. Boston will make it a good series, but at the end of the day, the better team comes out on top.

Pick: Astros in 5!

(All Predictions made BEFORE start of Series)

Best And Worst Of NFL Week Four

Well here we now sit a quarter of the way through the season in the National Football League. There's only one unbeaten team still left standing and that is the Kansas City Chiefs. The AFC East has been turned on its head with the Bills leading the charge at 3-1, while the Patriots sit in the middle of the pack at 2-2. The Jets won a second straight game, while the Titans, who had to battle injuries in this game, got blown out by Houston. It was just one of those weeks around the league where you kind of go, what just happened? Every year we get one or two of those weeks during the season. Well with that being said, here's some of the best and worst from week four in the NFL.

Best:
New York Jets Running Game
Its been an interesting first quarter of the season for the Jets, to say the least. They got beat the first two games, then come back to win the next two, including an overtime thriller against a very inconsistent Jacksonville team. The Jets did a little of everything on Sunday, driving Blake Bortles crazy, the quarterback play of Josh McCown went pretty well. But the biggest step forward of the day was the play of the running game, between Elijah McGuire and Bilal Powell. McGuire broke off a 69 yard run for a score and finished the day with 10 carries for 95 yards. Not to be outdone, Powell scored on a 75 yard run, untouched mind you, to get the Jets on the board, and he finished with 21 carries for 163 yards and that touchdown. Powell's 163 was the best numbers by any back in the league this week.  Here's hoping they do it again next week against Cleveland.

Worst:
Tennessee Titans
It happens in the NFL once in a while, every team has it. So you have a bad week. Sometimes a bad game can even get away from you on that rare occasion. But I don't think anybody expected it to be this bad of a week. Tennessee got blown out by Houston this week in a 57-14 drubbimg. It was a way of Houston showing that they are still the team to beat in the AFC South. now you have to give credit where its due, the Titans have done a little better to try and improve the football team. And it has shown flashes that they are on the rise. They got put back in there place in a rude way by Houston. And to try and make matters worse, Marcus Mariota suffer a hamstring injury that he’ll get an MRI on. If Mariota misses time, the Titans aren’t going to win much with Matt Cassel. It doesn't look good for the Titans.

Best:
Le'Veon Bell, Running Back Pittsburgh Steelers
There had been some question marks about the play of Le'Veon Bell, as his holdout from camp kept him from getting in game shape. It showed over his first couple of starts this season. This week, in the Steelers 26-9 win over the Ravens, Bell went off. He proved to the rest of the football world that he was back in game shape. He had 42 receiving yards on four catches and carried the ball 35 times for 144 yards and scored twice. Those 186 yards of total offense really carried the team, because Antonio Brow was held to 34 yards (and a sideline hissy fit) and Big Ben managed to throw for 216 yards. So it really had to be all on Bell and he showed that he had no problem picking up the slack and taking over the game, something he's done so well in the past.

Worst:
Danny Trevathan, Linebacker Chicago Bears
He's not a dirty player, and hasn't been over the course of his career. At least not to the same level as some of his other defensive peers. Trevathan had a nasty looking helmet-to-helmet hit on Davante Adams Thursday night, which is totally unacceptable and has no place in today’s NFL. It caused an injury to Adams and could cost him to miss some playing time possibly. Trevathan got a two game suspension at first from the NFL, but now it appears it has been knocked down to one. It was a bone headed play and its the type of play that the league is trying to corral and take out of the sport. Its been tough on defensive players to try to adjust to and Trevathan hadn't quite got the memo yet.

Best:
Cam Newton, Quarterback Carolina Panthers
Over the first few weeks of the season, Cam Newton didn't really look like himself. But he manged to find a way to pull it all together on Sunday, helping lead the Panthers to a surprise 33-30 win over the Patriots. He started out shaky, having one of his passes early on picked off by Malcolm Butler. newton finally found a handle on the ball and was able to help lead Carolina to victory. He finished the day going 22 of 29 for 316 yards, three touchdowns and a pick. Those yards totals were good enough for fourth best in the league this week by a quarterback. It was the first time this year that it really seemed that the former MVP had really gotten into a groove. I think he needed a game like this to get his game back, because it came at the expense of the weakest defense in the league. Now the question is, can he keep it going next week.

Worst:
Matt Ryan, Quarterback Atlanta Falcons
You almost kind of had a feeling the wheels were going to fall off for Atlanta at some point, but I think few were expecting it to happen against Buffalo. A lot of credit has to go to the Bills for playing as well as they did down in Hot Lanta. But some of the blame has to fall on Matt Ryan. He threw two interceptions and lost a fumble while going 24 of 42 for 242 yards. The three turnovers turned out to be quite costly. All of them occurred in the second half and they all turned into points for Buffalo. It was just a terrible performance by one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, who doesn’t usually have these types of games, especially at home. Hopefully he can rebound fast and get Atlanta back on track.

Best:
New Orleans Saints Defense
Its strange to really say that the Saints have had a defense that has looked good over the last couple of weeks. Well it has actually happened. First, look at what they did to Carolina last week. They just made the Panthers look uncomfortable and like he was never really set in what he wanted to do. Then this week, they do the same thing to Jay Cutler and pitch a shutout in a 20-0 win over the Dolphins in London. There's some talent on that Saints defense. Cameron Jordan is a fantastic end to watch play, with his speed and maneuverability. Cornerback Marshon Lattimore has been living up to the ability of being made a first round pick. Guys like linebacker A.J. Klein and cornerback Ken Crawley are playing hard and made plays Sunday. It’s hard to believe the Saints can keep this up all season, but they have to be thrilled to see some hope from a unit that has been a debacle for years.

Worst:
Los Angeles Chargers
I almost feel like the Chargers may be a tad cursed. Its bad enough that the Chargers are now 0-4, following their 26-24 loss to the Eagles at home on Sunday. That's not even the worse part. What's worse is how empty and outnumbered the Chargers are in their own stadium. See as things are set up right now, they are supposed to get a new stadium to share with the Rams, but that won't be ready until 2020. Right now, the Chargers are playing in a soccer stadium that holds 27,000, but the Chargers consider a crowd of 25,374 to be a sellout, because they appear to be using tarps to reduce the stadium’s seating. It sometimes happens when unsold seats need to get covered up. A team hasn't played in this small a stadium since the Packers moved into Lambeau Field in 1957. Oh and the Chargers say that the seats don't look empty. Don't know exactly what your watching but trust me they are. And yeah the crowd also sounded like mostly Eagles fans as well so don't give me that. The team sucks and the stadium isn't selling. The Chargers need help.

Thank You Terry

For a guy who was considered to be a transitional manager, I'd say he did a pretty good job running this baseball team. Think back for a second here. It was fall of 2010, the Mets were looking for a new manager, as Jerry Manuel had just be let go as manager and the Mets finished 79-83. They were stuck with stuff like the Jason Bay contract and had little hope of adding reinforcements due to its financial dire straits. Now they had three guys who they were looking at to manage the team. Wally Backman and Chip Hale were two of the three choices. But they decided to go with Terry Collins, a guy who hadn’t managed in 12 years and had never been to the postseason as a skipper. The decision left a few scratching their head, but here we sit, seven years later, and I think he left a pretty good impact on this Mets organization.

Terry has spent seven seasons running the Mets team as manager, the only 3rd guy, along with Bobby Valentine and Davey Johnson, as the only ones to manage the team for that long. As a matter of fact, those three guys are the only three to have won 500 or more games as Mets manager. Valentine won 536 games, Collins 551 games and Johnson is the all time leader at 595. Looking at the numbers, in Mets history, Collins is the only manager in the top five for the team to have a winning percentage under .500. Terry finished his run with a 551-583 record leading the Blue and Orange.His first four years on the job were a little underwhelming, with the Mets winning 77, 74, 74 and 79 wins. The 79 win season saw the Mets climb all the way to 2nd place in the division.

He started showing signs of being the right man for the job in 2012, when he had plenty of talent and the Mets got off to a hot start before fading at the end of the season. He proved that with some actual talent, he just might be the right man to steer the ship. Pieces started coming into place in 2014 when the young arms were there. 2015 is when it really all came together for Terry. Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Yoenis Cespedes finally arrived, and the Mets got hot and took off at the right time. But wait, he wasn't done there. 2016 was really Terry's best work at running this baseball team.

Just look at some of what this team has had to deal with the last two years. Last season, it was Matt Harvey, David Wright, Cespedes, Lucas Duda, Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler, deGrom, Neil Walker, and Juan Lagares. This year it was Harvey, Wright, Cespedes, Matz and Wheeler again, but also Syndergaard, Michael Conforto, Jeurys Familia, Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo, Wilmer Flores, Brandon Nimmo and T.J. Rivera. But what Terry managed to do with this Mets team in 2016, was nothing short of amazing. He some how managed to keep the team within striking distance all year. Then when Cespedes back into the lineup, the Mets managed to won 27 of their final 40 games to earn the top wild-card spot in the National League.

Sure there were times during his run as Mets skipper where I was left scratching my head with some of the decisions he made managing the team. But hey what fans don't react that way with some of their teams right. He had a rough go of it his first few years with the club, followed by two outstanding season managing the team, which included a division title and World Series visit. This year, injuries were just too much for the club to overcome. Still with all that being said, I'd say it was a pretty solid run here in New York.

So thanks Terry for all you did as skipper for this team. Best of luck in the future!

Best And Worst Of NFL Week Three

Week three is now in the books in the NFL. There was a lot of stuff going on around the game this week too. The league made a big statement during the National Anthems, in both the United States and in London, following the comments from President Trump. Those events alone, gave us more drama then we care to take for one weekend. Once all that mess was done with, the action got underway. What a weekend it was too. Crazy finishes, huge upsets and uncharacteristic performances by some of the game’s best players were on the menu. We also witnessed one of the game’s all-time greats putting on a show that we won’t soon forget. Here's some of the best and worst performances from week three in the National Football League.

Best:
Jake Elliott, Kicker Philadelphia Eagles
It was a pretty big collapse that almost was for the Eagles. They had a 14-0 lead over the Giants and kept them quite for three quarters. Then Odell struck for a pair of scores and Eli hit Sheppard for a 77 yarder to give the Giants a lead. Wentz threw a touchdown pass to tie the game. After each team traded field goals, Jake Elliott took over. Doug Pederson made a gutsy decision to let Elliott attempt a franchise record 61-yard field goal to win it with time expiring. Like a dream, the ball went through the uprights to give the Eagles a huge win over the Giants, who fell to 0-3 on the season. It was the 5th time that a kicker had hit one from 61 yards out, the 10th longest kick ever. It was still three yards shy of Matt Prater's 64 yarder in 2013. Still, for a rookie to hit one from that far in this big a game, against a division rival, still a very big moment and a huge kick. Good one ya Jake.

Worst:
Baltimore Ravens
Boy are they glad they showed up in London. In the twenty two year history of the Baltimore Ravens, they have never lost a game by 37 points. They had also never played a game in London before this week. One may have had a major effect on the other. Jacksonville kicked the crap out of the Ravens on Sunday, blowing out the Ravens 44-6. No that's not a typo, that actually happened. Baltimore didn't gain a first down until late in the 2nd quarter. Joe Flacco was pulled in the game, after having a 12.0 passer rating and finishing with just 28 yards through the air. Baltimore turned the ball over three times, gained just 12 first downs and 186 total yards. The team’s vaunted defense, which had created 10 turnovers in the first two games, was helpless to stop Blake Bortles and his boys. Baltimore had better find their game in week four or they might be in trouble this season.

Best:
Stefon Diggs, Wide Receiver Minnesota Vikings
Talk about a hot receiver, you found one in Diggs. He was Case Keenum's favorite target this week. Diggs ran rough shot over the Vikings defense. Eight catches, two for scores and 173 yards receiving. No that's not a misprint, he snagged 173 receiving yards this week, the most by any wideout in the league in week three. Its the kind of day you'd love to have has a wide out every week. It may not happen all the time, but if you get it then take it and run with it.

Worst:
Cam Newton, Quarterback Carolina Panthers
It was a rough week for Carolina this week. They lost their best Tight End in Greg Olsen. Kelvin Benjamin, one of their top wide receivers, is dealing with that recurring knee injury that got to him last season. Newton had offseason shoulder surgery and barely played in the preseason. He had some setbacks in training camp, and he still doesn’t look right. The Panthers started 2-0, but Newton didn’t look great in either game. Against the Saints, Newton had 167 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. The first two quarterbacks who faced the Saints had 777 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions.Bad week for Carolina's QB this week.

Best:
Kareem Hunt, Running Back Kansas City Chiefs
Another week, another dominating game by the Kansas City rookie. This week's victim was the Los Angeles Chargers. Kansas City got the 24-10 win over the Chargers, and Hunt went off again. He had 17 carries for 172 yards and a touchdown. Hunt now has 401 rushing yards on the season, and has also caught nine passes for 137 yards, meaning he’s on pace to total 2,869 yards this season. Best yet, Hunt’s touchdown on Sunday was the game-sealing score. As the Chiefs attempted to run out the clock he busted through the line of scrimmage thanks to some stellar blocking and took off like a shot, going 69 yards for the score. This guy has been playing out of his mind over the first three games, at the rate he's going, Hunt could walk away with the offensive Rookie Of The Year almost hands down this year.

Worst:
Marcus Cooper, Cornerback Chicago Bears
This play conjured up images of Leon Lett with the Cowboys years ago. This game had to go to overtime, a game which the Bears won over Pittsburgh 23-17, but it didn't have to be. Marcus Cooper, I'm dying to know what he was thinking when he decided to stop in front of the goal line on a blocked field goal return. There was nobody in front of him but thousands of loyal Chicago Bears fans right at the end of the half. He stopped dead in his tracks on what could have been a touchdown, and helped the Bears climb out to a fantastic 10 point lead. Instead Chicago had to settle for a field goal. Pittsburgh stormed all the way back and set the game into overtime. Thanks to the heroics of Tarik Cohen and Jordan Howard, Chicago came away with a victory. But Cooper's mental laps almost cost his team a game.

Best:
Brandon Cooks, Wide Receiver New England Patriots
A big acquisition makes a bigtime impact on his team.. And it couldn't have come at a better time either. Cooks was the Patriots’ biggest offseason acquisition. They sent a first-round pick for the explosive receiver, a trade that I'm sure is paying off huge dividends for them right about now. He was a huge impact player for them in their 36-33 win on Sunday over the Texans. Cooks hauled in five catches for 131 yards and a fantastic game-winning score. Somehow he managed to snag the ball and keep the points of both his toes in bounds on the catch to give the Patriots the victory with time running out in the football game and New England down a score. Her has found a level of comfort with the New England QB and this is why they brought him into the mix.

Worst:
Trevor Siemian, Quarterback Denver Broncos
Siemian had started off the year like a house of fire, throwing six touchdown passes to start off the season. Both of those games took place at home. Week three rolled around and Denver took their show on the road to Buffalo. It didn't end quite as well for the Broncos, as Buffalo walked away with a 23-16 win. Siemian came back down to earth a little bit on Sunday. The Bills forced the third-year quarterback into two bad interceptions, the second being even worse than the first and both occurring while the game was still winnable in the fourth quarter. He was awful against pressure and will have plenty to fix this upcoming week of practice as he prepares for a date with the Oakland Raiders. Here's hoping it was just a blip on the screen and things will be back on track next week in a tough divisional matchup.

Best:
Washington Redskins Defense
After getting roughed up by the Eagles in the season opener, the Redskins have responded quite nicely the last couple of weeks. Washington pulled out a 27-10 win over the Raiders on Sunday night, and the defense was a MAJOR reason for the Skins victory. Rookie Jonathan Allen was a monster in the middle against Oakland’s talented interior line. Josh Norman, D.J. Swearinger and Co. have really stepped up their level of play on the back end as well. Derek Carr was frustrated all night long. Michael Crabtree was injured in the game after taking a big hit. In total, Oakland gained just 128 yards, converted just seven first downs and turned the ball over three times. That, folks, is domination on a whole different level. If the Redskins can keep this pace up for the rest of the way, or something like it, then there is a very real possibility that Washington could be playing meaningful football late in the season, maybe even beyond.

Worst:
Carolina Panthers Defense
Its a funny game sometimes. Carolina, who is known for having one of the more imposing defenses in all of the league, sure didn't look like it against the Saints on Sunday. New Orleans came away with a 34-14 win. This was supposed to be the first big test game of the season for Carolina's defense this year, and they failed it. Drew Brees missed on just seven of his 29 attempts, passing for 220 yards and three touchdowns. The Saints averaged 5.5 yards on the ground as their offensive line pushed Carolina’s vaunted defensive front around all game long. That's called getting smacked around in a big way. This team was supposed to be one of the more dominate defenses in all of thje league. They better start playing like it if Carolina wants to have a shot at the playoffs.

Carmelo Anthony Knicks Legacy

There's been a lot of crazy things that have been going on in the sports world this past weekend. One of the big stories that came out from this past weekend was the end of an era with Knicks Basketball. Saturday afternoon, the Knicks agreed to trade Anthony, a 10-time NBA All-Star and one of the league’s great offensive players, to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott and a second-round draft pick, according to a league official briefed on the negotiations. It comes down before the start of training camp and gives Melo a chance to play with two pretty good players in Russell Westbrook and Paul George.

This move comes after a very interesting summer for the Knicks. First, the team fired Phil Jackson after a disastrous tenure as team president and hired Scott Perry as the new general manager. Now there's this, which is closing the book on Carmelo's seven and a half year stretch with the Knicks. February 22nd, 2011 was the date that brought Melo and Chauncey Billups to New York in a three team trade that involved the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves. The deal was a controversial one that the Knicks’ owner, James Dolan, approved over the objections of Donnie Walsh, who was then the team president. Walsh did not want to surrender so many players to acquire Anthony when the Knicks could have simply waited a few more months and tried to sign him as a free agent. But Dolan being Dolan, he had to grab the headline and pulled the trigger on the deal.

When Melo got traded to New York, there was a lot of hype around him, and for good reason. Not only was he one of the premier players in all of the NBA, but it was kind of like the local boy coming home, as Melo is a Brooklyn boy. During his six and a half seasons in New York, Carmelo played in 412 games in the Orange and Blue. In that time, he was averaging 24.7 points, 7 rebounds and 3.2 assists while shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 36.9 percent from 3-point range. There were some big nights for Melo in a Knicks jersey. He won the NBA scoring crown in 2012-13, lead the league with 28.7 points per game, finishing third overall in MVP voting. On January 24th, 2014 against the Bobcats, Melo broke Bernard King’s franchise record and the Garden record for points in a game, going 23-for-35 from the field, while dropping 62 points. Then, on November 2nd of that year, against that same Bobcats team, Anthony joined an elite club that included just 39 other players at the time, to score 20,000 career points. Carmelo is one of the eight members who still are active. And he did help lead the Knicks to three straight playoff appearances, including a second round appearance in 2013.

While he had some good moments, there were also bad ones associated with Carmelo. There was having season ending knee surgery after playing in the 2015 All Star Game. During that time he was hurt, in his tenure with the Knicks, that Jeremy Lin got plenty of playing time. Lin took full advantage of it and was making a lot of noise in the local papers. Carmelo wasn't happy with it. Anthony reportedly wasn’t eager to play second fiddle to the guard, which may explain why Lin wasn't brought back. Some claim that Melo is the reason that Mike D’Antoni resigned as head coach. According to one story, Melo gave Knicks’ brass an ultimatum, either he goes or I go. Clearly Melo stayed. The biggest stink with Melo came three years ago. Anthony got a $124 million extension over five years in 2014. He continued to put up big numbers year after year, but the Knicks became the laughingstock of the league. Add in the no-trade clause that made dealing him much more difficult, and this turned into a total disaster for the Knicks’ front office.

For as good as Carmelo has been in his time with the Knicks, he's also had a few moments that he'd like to forget. Its been a perfect storm with him during his time here in New York. Now that storm is done with, and he can kind of try and hit restart in Oklahoma City. For the record, it won't take long for Melo to face his old team. The Knicks play the Thunder October 19th, their season opener.

Best And Worst Of NFL Week Two

We've already hit the 2nd week of the National Football League season and a few things are a starting to take shape around this league. For one, there aren't few good teams in this league this year. The AFC West and NFC South are stacked divisions and are going to be very tough teams and divisions to beat this year. There was a lot going on this week in the league. DeShaun Watson got his first win as a starter in the NFL, Jay Cutler got back into the win column with Miami as well. The Jets still suck, so do the Panthers ability to protect Cam Newton. Dallas got smocked badly by the Broncos, as did Green Bay in a return trip to Atlanta. So with that being said, here's some more of the best and worst from week two in the NFL.

Best:
Tom Brady, Quarterback New England Patriots
Yes, folks, Tom Brady still has it at 40 years old. He not only had a big day on the field, but also proved he was very convincing to the officials, in a legal way. First, lets look at his campaigning. He threw a pick late in the ball game, but it was called back for 12 men on the field for the Saints defense. He only threw the pick because he knew the Saints had too many defenders on the field, which he was proven right. He also got the refs to overturn an offensive pass interference call because of a pick that Chris Hogan threw, which was proven to be a legal play. Brady showed that he really does understand the game of football, which is why he's still playing at this high a level even at the age of forty. He put up the best numbers of any quarterback in the league this week, going 30 of 39 for 447 yards, three touchdowns and a 139.6 passer rating, all tops in the league in week two. Hate all you want, the guy still has it.

Worst:
Youngshoe Koo, Kicker Los Angeles Chargers
Weird to see a placekicker at this point on the list right? Well after what he's done the last two weeks, he deserves to be here. For the second week in a row, the Chargers had a chance to win a game, or at the very least force overtime. Last week against Denver, Koo got iced by Vance Joseph and botched his 44-yard field goal, his ow kick that was blocked. Then on Sunday he had an opportunity to redeem himself and could not do it. The Chargers drove down the field in the final minute of the fourth quarter, putting the ball on the Miami Dolphins’ 26-yard line. He pushed the 44-yard attempt wide right for the second time on Sunday. As a result, Miami walked away with a win it really did not deserve. Philip Rivers had himself a solid day and he helped Antonio Gates break an NFL record in the process. But because their kicker missed two chip shots on Sunday, the Chargers are 0-2 to start the season.

Best:
J.J Nelson, Wide Receiver Arizona Cardinals
If you watched Cardinals-Colts on Sunday, I am so sorry for you. It was an ugly football game. The one player who really stood out in this game, for either team, was Cardinals wide out JJ Nelson. Arizona walked away 16-13 win, and he had himself a big day. After being quiet in the opener, catching five passes for 120 yards. Not a bad day when you can average 24 yards a reception. He also hauled in the game’s only touchdown through the air, whichi was a 45-yard bomb from Carson Palmer. That score sparked the beginning of Arizona’s comeback, which the Cardinals completed in overtime following a Jacoby Brissett interception. Nelson showed the rest of the league, at least for one week, that he can hang with the best in the game.

Worst:
Ezekiel Elliot, Running Back Dallas Cowboys
Lets keep this strictly to the playing field shall we. When it comes right down to it, Zek Elliot is one of the top young running backs in all of professional football. He has all the talent in the world to be one of the very best in the business today. He just didn't exactly look like it in week two. In the Cowboys 42-17 blowout loss to the Broncos, Elliot was held to just 8 yards on 9 carries. That's the lowest total of his NFL career. Taking nothing away from the Broncos defense, which is one of the best in all of football, but Zek had a bad week this week. You know its a rough go of it for the Cowboys star back if Tom Brady had more rushing yards this week then he did, which is really saying something about how good a job Denver did./ Its a major drop off from his 124 yard performance in week one.

Best:
Washington Redskins Running Game
Last week, the Washington run game couldn't get a whole lot going against the Eagles, running the ball 13 times for a mere 34 yards. This week was a totally different story. Washington, thanks to Samaje Perine, Rob Kelley and Chris Thompson ran over, around and through the vaunted defensive front of the Los Angeles Rams. With those three guys taking the carries, Washington finished with 229 yards and two touchdowns, averaging nearly six yards per carry in the big road win. Yes, the Redskins do have a running attack, something you need to pull off wins in this league. Everybody likes the passing game, which is a good gameplan, but Washington used the run attack to balance it out and it worked well in the 27-20 win/

Worst:
New York Jets Defense
It was no secret going into this season that the New York Jets were going to suck this year, but I never expected something like this to happen at all. The offense, most thought, would be the biggest weak spot on this team, not the defense. But, alas, it has been the defense that has been chocking as of late. Here's some of the numbers on the Jets defense. Sunday against the Raiders: 0 sacks, 0 QB hits, 0 turnovers, 1 pass defended, 4 tackles for loss, and 6 touchdowns allowed. Oh and here's more info for you. On 28 Raiders passes, the Jets managed zero QB hurries and one pass defended. The two things you are supposed to do on defense is put pressure on the QB and guard the receivers. The Jets failed to be able to do either of that.

Best:
DeShaun Watson, Quarterback Houston Texans
Welcome to the NFL DeShaun Watson. The rookie QB had himself a big debut in his first NFL Start, leading the Texans to a 13-9 win over the Bengals. In the passing game, Watson went 15 of 24 for 125 yards. He didn't throw a touchdown and was sacked three times, which are average numbers at best. But he did have himself a memorable play, adding an electrifying 49-yard scramble for the game's only touchdown. He got himself a win in the NFL, showing that, for one week at least, he helped get the Texans back on the right track.

Worst:
Andy Dalton, Quarterback Cincinnati Bengals
I really feel bad for Andy Dalton over the start of the season. He's thrown more picks (4) then he has touchdowns (0) so far this season. And while he wasn't a total now show this week, he still isn't hitting his groove yet. He went 20 of 35 passes for 224 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions in Thursday's 13-9 loss to the Texans. He also gained five yards on two rushes. While he didn't look anywhere near as ineffective as in the opener, Dalton and the entire offense came up small for the second consecutive week at home. He's showing some signs of improvement by spreading the ball around, but he needs to get it figured out and soon, otherwise this could end really badly for the Bengals this year

Hockey Returns Home

After two and a half years, the New York Islanders played a home game at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Lets not get ahead of ourselves here folks, its only a preseason game. They are not set to play regular season games at the old barn anytime soon. That being said, it gave the fans who still live out on Long Island a reason to cheer and celebrate hockey again after the team has shipped out to Brooklyn. Thanks to the heroics of John Tavares, the Islanders skated away with a 3-2 overtime win.

It was the first game at the Nassau Coliseum since April 25, 2015, in a 3-1 victory over Washington in Game 6 of the first round of the playoffs. They were eliminated in a Game 7 loss two days later, and began playing at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center the following season.The fans greeted the team with a strong ovation when the Islanders took the ice for pregame warmups about 35 minutes before the game, and roared when they came back out for introductions shortly before puck drop. The cheers continued while a video on the scoreboard showed the team’s four championship banners and highlights of Stanley Cup wins. Between the closing of the barn in 2015 and Sunday afternoon, the arena was renovated with a capacity of about 13,900 for hockey, less than both the 16,170 it had previously and the 15,795 currently at Barclays Center.

Since the Islanders have moved to Barclays Center, they have an opt out clause in the contract with the arena. Currently, the lease between the Islanders and the Barclay Center has an opt-out clause with a January deadline that either side can exercise. If the Islanders choose to leave, they can do so as early as after the upcoming season, while either side can terminate the deal effective at the end of the 2018-19 season. There is a possibility, should the Islanders leave Barclays Center, would be the possibility of building a new arena either at Belmont Park or near Citi Field in Queens. There may still be an outside chance that the Coliseum will once again host NHL regular season hockey, but that seems like a long shot.

If the preseason game against the Flyers taught us anything, it showed that there is still plenty of fan support for hockey on Long Island. The volume and the energy that the crowd was able to generate in the old building was just like the days of old at the Coliseum.  There is no doubt that the fanbase craves the Islanders to be back at the old barn, the place where so much history was created. The fans want it to happen, they showed that in full force this past Sunday. It still has magic in it folks, get the team back where it belongs at the Nassau Coliseum. The house is ready, lets open the door wide and bring them back in where they should have been playing this whole entire time.