Syracuse Shocks The World

This will go down in the books as one of the biggest upsets in the tournament. This was an Orange team that was a bubble team going into the tournament. I mean look at the way the season started. By early January, Syracuse had started the year off going 0-4 in ACC play, and were sitting at 10-7. They lost their last three games of the year, including an opening round loss of the ACC Tournament to Pitt. Now here they sit heading to the final four on the strength of a 68-62 win over the top seeded Virginia. How did that happen?

Malachi Richardson was a big reason for that. He scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half, helping the Orange overcome a 16 point deficit to beat the top seeded Cavaliers of Virginia. What makes this so impressive, where Syracuse will be playing next week, is that Syracuse was down by 16 at the start of the second half, overcame it, pulled out the win and became the first 10 seed to make it to the Final Four. Syracuse became just the fourth double-digit seed to accomplish the feat. It's the lowest-seeded team to reach the national semifinals since VCU, who was an 11 seed, did it in 2011. Syracuse trailed 54-39 before it ripped off 25 of the next 29 points, including 15 in a row. Virginia had no answer for Syracuse at all in the 2nd half. One of the biggest plays made in this game was the move made by Richardson late. He hit a driving layup made it 59-58 Orange with 5:47 remaining in the ballgame, giving Cuse their first lead since early in the first half. After London Perrantes missed a long 3, Richardson connected from deep and jogged up the court with a huge grin and Texas in his sights as the crowd roared. Tyler Lydon came off the bench with 11 points. It helped out the three Orange starters who hit in double digits. Richardson lead the way with 23, followed by Michael Gbinije, who had 11, and Tyler Roberson who had ten.

London Perrantes scored 15 of his 18 points in the first half for Virginia, which blew a 16-point lead in the second half. Malcolm Brogdon, the ACC player of the year, had 12 points on 2-of-14 shooting in the final game of his Cavaliers career. Anthony Gill was the only other Cavalier starter to hit double digits in points, as he finished the day with 10 points. Mike Tobey came off the bench to deliver 10 points for Virginia. Virginia had a lead and had a game in hand, all they had to do was play the same way and they had the ticket to Houston punched. That didn't happen. Syracuse came back and out flying and Virginia had no answer for it at all.

Some will say that Syracuse won the game, they did clearly by the score. I will go on to say that Virginia lost the game. Plain and simple the Cavaliers blew this one bigtime. Syracuse used a 2-3 zone and Virginia had no answer for it in the 2nd half. That Orange defense wore down Virginia, who shot only 35.7 percent in the second half. I mean come on, your a number one seed in your bracket, you had been dominating the game in the opening half, managing to hold Syracuse to 21 first half points. Syracuse then doubled its offensive output in the 2nd half and Virginia had no answer for it at all. Virginia had trouble hanging onto the basketball in this game, turning it over 13 times. Those turnovers lead to 15 points for the Orange. Virginia had a good year, there's no denying that, but it ends with a very sour taste in their mouth. Syracuse made the adjustment on defense, but Virginia's inability to effectively switch up its offense ended up killing them in the end. Cuse saw what was going on, made their changes and it worked out for them, Virginia couldn't do that. Thus it will go down as one of the greatest meltdowns in all of college basketball history.

The Orange were among the last teams to get into the NCAA tournament after a rough closing stretch, but slipped in as a 10 seed before storming to its first Final Four since 2013 and No. 6 overall. It comes at the end of a challenging season for coach Jim Boeheim, who was suspended for nine games as the result of an NCAA investigation.

Duke's Newest Villian?

Duke University Basketball, better known as the Duke Blue Devils, have been around since 1906. In the history of the program, they have won five national titles, been a runner up six times, made the final four 18 times, have won the ACC Torunament 41 times and won the ACC regular season title 24 times. 36 players have been chosen as All Americans 60 times. It's safe to say that the Duke Basketball program has been quite good for a long time now. With that success rate, your sure to have a few villains along the way.

What defines a villain in college basketball? A college basketball villain has one of two qualities (Bleacher Report):
1. A significant portion of the college basketball viewing public roots for that person or group to fail.
2. That person or group does or represents something that creates considerable ill will toward that person or group.

As a team, Duke does that with how good a school they are in Men's Basketball. There's more to it than that. Four players come to mind, that have played for the Blue Devils, that are thought of as Villains. J.J. Reddick, Greg Paulus, Christian Laettner and the newest name on the list, Grayson Allen. Reddick and Paulus are different molds for villains than Laettner and Allen.

J.J. Reddick will go down in history as the greatest 3-point shooter to ever attend the school. He set the ACC records for most career points and most career points in the ACC Torunament. That tournament points record was subsequently broken by UNC's Tyler Hansbrough in 2009. Reddick also set several Duke records, including most points in a single season, and is currently the all-time leading scorer for the school. What made Reddick so hated around the country was he could hit the big shot in the big spot when it was needed. He hasn't quite done that to date in the NBA, but he was on his game in college. Being arrogant as a freshman contributed to his image, and being one of the nation's best players (he won several national player of the year awards in 2006) focused attention on him. Reddick was also resented a lot because he was hitting big shots on National TV all the time because Duke was so good they were on National TV a lot.

Then, you have Greg Paulus. He picked up right where J.J. Reddick left off. To be fair, Paulus was nowhere near as lethal a shooter as Reddick was during his career. But still he was not only a good shooter, but he had a bit of a cocky attitude as well. Paulus had an outstanding freshman year. His 187 assists ranked third behind Bobby Hurley (288 in 1990) and Jay Williams (220 in 2000) among the freshman assist leaders in Duke history. His Sophomore and Junior years were just as productive, his scoring numbers went up, while his assist totals leveled off. He, like Reddick, had a bit of a cocky attitude and was able to back it up with his play.

And how can we forget about the top of the list of villains at Duke, Christian Laettner. It was a role he relished in. What made Laettner so hated was not only the big shots he hit, but the plays away from the ball he was noted for. The numbers only tell one side of the story. For his career, Laettner averaged 16.6 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while making almost half of his three-pointers. He averaged 21.5 points per game his senior season, garnering every major national player of the year award. His career is widely regarded among the best in college history, and he is enshrined in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He holds the records for the NCAA Tournament for most points scored at 407, most free throws made at 142, most free throw attempts at 167, most games won at 21 and most games played at 23.

Laettner's iconic moment was the last-second shot he made to beat Kentucky in the 1992 NCAA semifinals. Then there was the other moments. Case in point: Earlier in that 1992 semifinal game against Kentucky, Laettner had intentionally stepped on the chest of fallen Kentucky player Aminu Timberlake under the basket. He later apologized for it, but it helped cement his legacy as a villain in the sport of College Basketball. Laettner was widely reviled by opposing fans throughout his career, to the extent that more than 20 years after graduating from Duke, he was voted the most hated college basketball player in history in an ESPN online poll. This led to ESPN's creation of the 30 for 30 documentary I Hate Christian Laettner that explored five factors for this widespread and persistent hatred: privilege, race, bullying, greatness, and physical appearance. So yeah, even now twenty years later, he's still the most hated man in College Hoops.

In today's game, Grayson Allen has taken on the Laettner mold of being the villain in College Hoops, to a degree. He's a good basketball player, just look at his offensive numbers. During the 2015-2016 season, Allen has been one of the best offensive players in the ACC, averaging 21 points per game and shooting 43% from three-point range. As good as an offensive talent as this kid is, he's also received national attention for intentionally tripping Louisville's Raymond Spalding in their first meeting of the season. This planted the seed that he could be the next coming of Laettner. Now look at the second game against Louisville that season. He got elbowed in the head while scuffling for a ball on the ground and later received a technical and ejection for yelling at a referee following his fifth foul on a charge call. Fast forward to February 26, when Allen received a reprimand from the ACC for his second tripping incident in less than a month. On February 25th of this year, in the closing seconds of a 15-point win against FSU, Allen tripped FSU's Xavier Rathan Mayes.

He still has the time to possibly make an impact with his scoring prowless, so that is still an open window. His attitude does remind you a lot of Christian Laettner. Looks like Duke has its newest bad boy!

Ship Sinking For Islanders?

This time last year, as a fan of the New York Islanders, I had a lot of confidence in my team. Last year, at this time, after the 71st game, the Islanders sat at a record of 43–24–4, which was good for 90 points. Things were flying high. Everybody was playing good, the young guns were scoring, things were going good for the Blue and Orange. Now, after the 71st game of the 2015-16 season, things don't look as swell as last year. This time, the Islanders sit at 38–24–9, good for 85 points. That puts the team at 4th in the division and sitting in the top wild card spot. The team that beat them last night, the Philadelphia Flyers, are just three points back. The last two weeks for the team haven't been very good for the team, leaving one to wonder if they will even hang on to make the playoffs.

Just two weeks ago, the Islanders were sitting pretty, holding down the 2nd spot in the Metropolitan Division, behind only the Washington Capitals. Since then, the wheels have fallen off at an alarming rate. Jaroslav Halak getting hurt has been a factor, lets not forget about that. No disrespect to Thomas Greiss, who has done a solid job trying to pick up the slack with Halak hurt. Both goalies have been doing a good job to bail the team out, because lets face facts, the team hasn't really been showing up the last two weeks. Ever since that Rangers game on March 6th, the Islanders have not once played a complete sixty minute hockey game. They got a little bit lucky against Pittsburgh on March 8th and very lucky showing up for the final ten minutes in the win over the Panthers on March 14th. That has been it. They've now lost four straight games, and are in danger of missing the playoffs alltogether, with ten games remaining on the schedule.

It should be noted that John Tavares hasn't scored a goal in six straight games, and as a team the Islanders have scored just five goals in the last five games. That can't happen in crunch time. Some observers have said that the team is just having no "puck luck" right now. Some feel that the team isn't getting the right breaks. Well, news flash here people, that's all on the players. They aren't showing up at all. Don't believe me? Just watch them play, and look no further than last night against the Flyers. Sure they fired 24 shots on net, only getting the one goal off the stick of Kyle Okposo. But the best quality chance was the breakaway in the first by Nikolay Kulemin. Philadelphia outplayed them the entire game, from start to finish. The Isles had a handful of quality scoring chances all night.

Not only during the Flyer game, but the losses to Dallas, Nashville and a shootout loss to the Penguins, the Islanders look like they're just standing still in their defensive end. And when they do manage to go on the attack all they do is skate around and try and force an open look and try and make the big play. They don't have to do that just start firing the puck on net and crash the cage. Its easier said than done I know. Still it has to be done. But wait, there's more.

The Islanders haven't had a solid, set, top line all year long. Tavares is their number one center, there's no denying that fact. But he has had a revolving door of wingers all year. Head Coach Jack Capuano has spent way too much time mixing his lines up and its making me sick. Just stick Kyle on one side and Brock Nelson on the other and leave it at that. Then for the 2nd line go back to the F Lee Bailey line (Frans Nielsen, Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson), because that line worked well together for a stretch. This team is starting to rely way too much on role players going above and beyond the call of duty. Every player on this team should have a role and play to that role, and its not there right now. All great hockey teams have roles for their players, and they play them to the best of their ability. That's why teams like the Kings and Blackhawks are so good year in  and year out. The Islanders and their staff don't really knnow how to do that at the moment with the team they have.

Ryan Strome, Anders Lee and Brock Nelson, the core of young players who general manager Garth Snow still believe are talented enough to not go out and add a veteran presence up front following last season’s playoff disappointment, have combined for just 43 goals. Nelson has 23 of them, but only three in the last 21 games he’s played. The disappearing act by the Isles’ offense is the same problem they had last season. Down the stretch last year, the Isles struggled through a 1-6-1 stretch that featured just 12 goals. Though they ended up with 101 points, the best point total they had put up in 30 years, they faltered again in the regular season’s final days and ended up losing the divisional tiebreaker to Washington and finishing third. Then, in their first-round playoff series against the Capitals, the Isles were forced to play Game 7 at Washington instead of at what likely would have been a blood-thirsty Nassau Coliseum.

The way things are going right now for the Isles, they may not even get that far and could miss the playoffs altogether. This team had sky high expectations and are not even close to meeting them. Some of the blame should fall on management for getting in players who could have helped this team win right now. But since that didn't happen, the blame falls now on the guys on the ice who aren't getting it done. If they don't start showing up and giving a full sixty minute effort every night the rest of the way, this could go down as one of the greatest choke jobs in the history of hockey.

Crazy Start To March Madness

They don't call it March Madness for nothing. Every year, the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is one of the hardest things in all of sports to be able to predict. Nobody knows what can happen from year to year This year, the tournament has been crazy, with teams pulling games out of the fire like you've never seen before. There were buzzer-beaters and beards, historic wins and never-before-seen losses, and so many upsets early that it was hard to tell, in some cases, which teams were the favorites and which were the underdogs. Just a taste of what has already happened. You got Middle Tennessee knocking off Michigan State. Then Yale takes down Baylor. Hawaii upsets California. Little Rock sends Purdue packing. That's just some of the fun stuff that has gone down to start the madness.

Look at what has gone down so far in the tourney. All four of the number one seeds, North Carolina, Oregon, Kansas and Virginia, are still alive in the big dance. Both Kansas and North Carolina have been winning by double digits, which shows how good they are (or how inferior their competition has been depending on how you look at it). This is the first time in four years that all four number one seeds have advanced to the sweet sixteen. More on the top seeds in a moment.

There have been some big upsets. None bigger, in my mind, than Michigan State getting bounced by Middle Tennessee, who pulled off the 90-81 win. I had the Spartans going to the National Title game, but they blew it, losing by nine to Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders had ever one of their starters hit in double digits. Michigan State looked like they had trouble keeping up. The luck ran out for the Blue Raiders in the next round, as they were taken down by Syracuse. What happened was the Blue Raiders had all their luck run out, they couldn't really hit shots to save their lives against the Orange. Every starter hit double digits against the Spartans, but only one (that being Darnell Harris), did it against Cuse.

Then we have Steven F Austin not only knock off West Virginia, but they did it by 14 points. Thomas Walkup, and that impressive beard of his, dropped 33 points, which powered the 14th-seeded. Stephen F. Austin faced down West Virginia's full-court press with some of its own in-your-face defense, pulling off a rugged, 70-56 first-round upset of the third-seeded Mountaineers in the NCAA tournament. this was a physical game for both sides and West Virginia had a little trouble handling it. The run ran out in the next round as they were clipped, in a very entertaining basketball game, by Notre Dame.

Those were just the two biggest upsets of this point in the tournaments. Then there was Northern Iowa beating Texas, and Gonzaga blasting Utah. So that handles the big upsets. So now the sixteen teams that are left standing are: North Carolina, Indiana, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Kansas, Maryland, Wisconsin, Villanova, Miami, Oregon, Duke, Syracuse, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Virginia, Texas A&M and Oklahoma.

I have a little more confidence in North Carolina and Kentucky than I do the other number one seeds in Virginia and Oregon. The reason being is because UNC and Kentucky both handled their first two opponents with ease, while the 2nd round matchups were a little tougher on Virginia and Oregon (Virginia only beat Butler by eight, while Oregon only beat Saint Joe's by five). Regardless, they are are still here and standing, the first time that's happened since the 2012 tournament. Out of the four top seeds, three of the four are now favored to win their regions. North Carolina, Virginia and Kansas are the heavy favorites right now, but Oklahoma is favored over Oregon in that region. From all I've seen the last few games, I'm more inclined to agree. Reason being is Oklahoma will outplay Oregon in the Elite Eight.

Having the best representation in the sweet sixteen is the ACC. They have six teams left in the dance, Duke North Carolina, Syracuse, Miami, Virgina, and Notre Dame. But what is most interesting here is that the ACC got six schools into the Sweet 16 without anybody having to beat a top-six seed to get there. For North Carolina and Virginia, such was the result of being the top seeds in their regions. But the other four schools, that being Miami, Duke, Notre Dame and Syracuse, they managed to avoid top-six seeds on their way to the Sweet 16 thanks to upsets, at least according to the seed line, in their four-team groups. So hey got lucky in that regards.

Here's a few more interesting stats to throw at you for the sweet sixteen. There are eight coaches that are left, out of the sixteen, that have made it to final fours in the past. Those eight coaches are: Mike Krzyzewski of Duke (12 Final Fours), Roy Williams of North Carolina (7 Final Fours), Jim Boeheim of Syracuse (4 Final Fours), Bill Self of Kansas (2 Final Fours), Tom Crean of Indiana (1 Final Four), Lon Kruger of Oklahoma (1 Final Four), Jim Larranaga of Miami (1 Final Four) and Jay Wright of Villanova (1 Final Four). As you can tell, there is plenty of experience on the benches in the sweet sixteen.

When the Tournament started, I had North Carolina beating Michigan State and Kansas beating Oklahoma. Now its known that one of those (Michigan State) won't be there. But my title game was thrown off as I had Michigan State losing to the champs Kentucky. With everything that's gone down so far, I can still see another possible upset taking place.

With all those stats thrown at you, I know its a lot to handle, we can see the finish line in the big dance. There still a lot of basketball left to be played and we can determine the best in the game in two weeks. This last two weeks is going to be a lot of fun to watch.

Have The Yankees Lost Their Luster?

Could it be possible? One of the greatest and most successful franchises in all of professional sports have lost their luster? According to Sports Writer Jason Keidel (WFAN Columnist may have a valid point here), the New York Yankees could be losing their touch. This is a team that has won 27 World Championships, more than an other team in pro sports. The Montreal Canadiens are the only other franchise in sports that have anything close to that many titles (the team has won the Stanley Cup 24 times). Over the last few years, however, its seems as if the New York Yankees has lost some of its luster.

Jason Keidel, who covers the Yankees and baseball for WFAN, wrote a column the other day saying how he feels that the Yankees have lost some of their luster as a franchise. He may have an argument. To read his article, just check it out here.here.

So you can read the article for yourself. The way I look at it Keidel brings up many valid points. Right now, in the New York Baseball Scene, the Mets are the talk of the town not the Yankees. People really wanna come to town and see the Blue and Orange rather than the Black and White. With good reason, because the future is a little bit brighter in Queens than it is the Bronx. Nobody is ever going to dispute how good this team is and its history. But the times have changed. The Mets have taken over being THE team in New York right now. Being the defending National League Champions has a lot to do with it, sure.

As far as the Yankees go, they have lack some of that luster you've seen in the past. Lets look at this as a point of comparison. The St. Louis Cardinals are the only other team in Major League Baseball to win multiple World Series Titles (they have 11). St. Louis always finds a way to come out near the top of the NL Central almost every single year, which is something that the Yankees used to be able to do. St. Louis wins with a fraction of the Yankees’ budget, spending $80 million less for more wins. The Cardinals are a montage of harmony, a Rockwellian postcard from the heartland, where they make beer, grow corn and build baseball titans.

What that means is the Cards can sustain a model of excellence and don't have to spend a ton of money to do it. That used to be the way things worked in the Bronx. Now its not there. Now the Yankees currently have a roster full of aging stars who are injury prone and starting to get past their prime. I mean, look at the roster. Outside of Dellin Betances and Greg Bird (when he's healthy) name me one guy who's a regular on this roster who's home grown? It's hard, right? That's my point. I've been saying this for a long time now in that the New York Yankees are more interested at the moment in getting star power than winning titles. Derek Jeter was the last of the core home grown talent to leave the game. Nobody has REALLY come up to be able to fill in that hole. Instead the team tries to fill that gap by brining in established stars.

Now it's getting tougher to even do that. Not really winning (the last title was 2009) or being really a relevant threat in the American League, is making it tougher on the Bombers. They are getting older and its getting harder to draw in free agents. They had been feared for a long time, and now they aren't. Toronto is way more feared in the AL East. Nobody wants to model their game after the Bombers anymore. They have been winners for a long time now. But they aren't the gold standard anymore. They aren't interesting anymore.

It's Time To Go Dancing

If your a fan of College Basketball, your favorite time of the year has finally arrived. March Madness has come around, its time to figure out who really is the best of the best in the College Basketball World for the 2015-16 season. Every year, a team can pull an upset and make a magic run or two. Its bound to happen. At least once a tournament, you can get an upset somewhere along the line. You just never know, which is what makes the big dance so much fun. With that being said, lets take a look at some stats about the tournament and how this year's big dance could possibly play out.

To start it off, we need to get from 68 to 64 teams, so there are your four play in games. Those four games are as follows:

#11 Vanderbilt takes on #11 Wichita St. Winner plays #6 Arizona
#16 Holy Cross takes on #16 Southern University. Winner Plays #1 Oregon.
#16 Fairleigh Dickinson takes on #16 Florida Gulf Coast. Winner plays #1 North Carolina
#11 Tulsa takes on #11 Michigan. Winners plays #6 Notre Dame

Headinag into the tournament, it is good to be a #1 seed, at least in the opening round. Top Seeds in the tournament are undefeated at 120-0 against the #16 seeds, so Kansas, Oregon, North Carolina and Virgina are locks to more on to the round of 32. After that who knows. Since 1979 there has only been one time that all the #1 seeds have made the final four, which was in 2008 when Kansas (National Champions), Memphis, North Carolina, and UCLA all had a shot at the title. Anybody who has earned a top seed in a region has had the best chances at a title. The lowest seed to ever walk away with a title was a #8 seed, which was Villanova in 1985. A six seed has two National Titles, that being North Carolina State in 1983 and Kansas in 1988. Every other title that has been won has come from either a one, two, three of four seed.

Teams that have low seeds don't have much of a chance going deep in the tournament.  The 8th seed is the lowest to ever claim a title. A sixteen has never moved on, so you can pretty much rule that out. A fifteen seed has gotten as far as the sweet sixteen, that being Florida Gulf Coast in 2013. Cleveland State in 1986 and Chattanooga in 1997 are the highest that a 14 seed has ever gotten, they both went to the sweet sixteen. As for a 13th seed, they too have gone as far as the sweet sixteen. Those teams were: Richmond (1988), Valparaiso (1998), Oklahoma (1999), Bradley (2006), Ohio (2012)and La Salle (2013). The farthest that a "low" seed has ever gotten has been the final four. It's happened four times: the #9 seed Wichita State made the final four in 2013, and three times we've seen a #11 seed make it to the final four: LSU in 1986, George Mason in 2006 and VCU in 2011.

Duke is the defending National Champions, having won their 5th title in school history last year. They still trail the all time king, UCLA who has eleven titles. For this year's big dance two teams are making their debut, Stony Brook and Cal State Bakersfield. Some teams that are invited to the dance I feel don't belong here. I mean that their should be a benchmark to make it to the dance. For example. teams like Vanderbilt (19-13 at large), Oregon State (19-12 at large), Holy Cross (14-19 Auto but under 500), Fairleigh Dickinson (18-19 Auto but under 500), Texas Tech (19-12 at large), Syracuse (19-14 at large). How is it that teams under 20 wins get into the tournament?

I can name at least five teams that should be in. See I feel that teams should get in if you hit at least the 20 win mark. I know about the automatic bids for winning conference and that's fine. But some of the at large bid that don't have 20 wins is a bit much. Case in point how is it that Monmouth, a mid-major team with 27 wins not get the cut? Monmouth played 17 road games and 23 games away from home. That led to victories against Notre Dame and USC. Then there's Saint Mary's, a 27-5 school who won the West Coast Conference regular-season title, beating Gonzaga twice in the process. Sadly they couldn't beat Gonzaga in the conference title game. Oh and there's San Diego State, a 25-6 school that lost in the Mountain West tournament final to Fresno State and paid the price with an NCAA omission, the first time in six years. The last time San Diego State missed the cut in 2009, they went to the semifinals of the NIT.

There's a lot to get excited about. Some teams belong here, while others leave you scratching your head. The big dance always  Who is going to walk away champions? Who's going to pull off the biggest upset? We'll find out over the course of the next couple of weeks!

Two Opposing Views On Baseball

Oh its fun debating things about the world of sports isn't it? Baseball is no different. Everybody has opinions on the game and how it should be played. Some guys like the way the game has been structured, while others feel that there isn't enough fun and emotion being shown in the game. You know things are getting heated when Bryce Harper and Goose Gossage are weighing in on the issue. Goose thinks the game has become a disgrace, while Harper feels there isn't enough fun in the game anymore.

Here's the quote from Goose Gossage. This was told by Goose, according to ESPN:

"Bautista is a f---ing disgrace to the game," Gossage told ESPN. "He's embarrassing to all the Latin players, whoever played before him. Throwing his bat and acting like a fool, like all those guys in Toronto. [Yoenis] Cespedes, same thing. It is a joke. The game is becoming a freaking joke because of the nerds who are running it. I'll tell you what has happened, these guys played rotisserie baseball at Harvard or wherever the f--- they went, and they thought they figured the f---ing game out. They don't know s---.A bunch of f---ing nerds running the game. You can't slide into second base. You can't take out the f---ing catcher because [Buster] Posey was in the wrong position and they are going to change all the rules. You can't pitch inside anymore. I'd like to knock some of these f---ers on their ass and see how they would do against pitchers in the old days. Ryan Braun is a f---ing steroid user. He gets a standing ovation on Opening Day in Milwaukee. How do you explain that to your kid after throwing people under the bus and lying through his f---ing teeth? They don't have anyone passing the f---ing torch to these people. If I had acted like that, you don't go in that f---ing dugout. There are going to be 20 f---ing guys waiting for you."

Goose was making the comments about Jose Bautista and his bat flip antics during the playoffs. He went out and took shots at the establishment in the game today. There's a lot to look at here from Goose's point of view, but we'll get into that in a little while.

Now here's the viewpoint from the other end of the spectrum. Bryce Harper had made comments on the game of baseball today, and here's what he had to say:

“Baseball’s tired. It’s a tired sport, because you can’t express yourself. You can’t do what people in other sports do. I’m not saying baseball is, you know, boring or anything like that, but it’s the excitement of the young guys who are coming into the game now who have flair. If that’s Matt Harvey or Jacob deGrom or Manny Machado or Joc Pederson or Andrew McCutchen or Yasiel Puig—there’s so many guys in the game now who are so much fun. Jose Fernandez is a great example. Jose Fernandez will strike you out and stare you down into the dugout and pump his fist. And if you hit a homer and pimp it? He doesn’t care. Because you got him. That’s part of the game. It’s not the old feeling—hoorah ... if you pimp a homer, I’m going to hit you right in the teeth. No. If a guy pimps a homer for a game-winning shot ... I mean—sorry. Look at those players—Steph Curry, LeBron James. It’s exciting to see those players in those sports. Cam Newton—I love the way Cam goes about it. He smiles, he laughs. It’s that flair. The dramatic.”

As far as these two points of view go, I can see both sides of the argument. Looking from Goose perspective, he does have something to rant about. Players are getting hurt because they have been out of positions at times. Yes the game is changing its rules he is right about that. But at the same time, he needs to realize that the game has changed a lot since he toed the rubber at the old Yankee Stadium. He does have an argument that its getting tougher for a pitcher to go inside on a hitter, I'll agree with him on that.  He has an argument about Ryan Braun, who did cheat the year he won MVP. He did overstep his bounds in some of his arguments. Posey was an accident and they had to try and save catchers from getting run over. Same thing too with guys sliding into 2nd base. You need to be able to try and protect your fielders. Over time, players are going to adapt quickly and play without a problem with the new rules. Its going to take time for everybody to get used to it, sure. Any good baseball player, or athlete for that matter, should be able to adapt to the changing rules and will be just fine.

As far as Bryce Harper, he has a point too. Most players in the game of baseball don't show that much emotion. You get guys like Joey Bats, Joba Chamberlain when he was with the Yankees, and many others who celebrate after making a big play. It makes the game fun to watch to see the look of joy on a players face when they make a big play. It's dramatic flair when guys like Jose Bautista do the bat flip in the playoffs, that's awesome. At the same time though I can see the other side of the coin with the Bryce argument. I know players are going to be excited and happy when they make a big play, but can it be toned down a little bit. Don't get me wrong I have no problem with a guy celebrating a big play, but you have to know the situation a little better before celebrating. There's a difference between being confident and being cocky and some people need to know when to cross it and when not to. Its a hard thing to figure out I know, but it can be done.

So who's right in this situation, Bryce or Goose?

Where Does Peyton Rank Amongst Greatest?

Now the debate can get rocking and rolling. Peyton Manning hung the pads up yesterday, ending a stellar 18 year career in the National Football League. This story would have been more dramatic and heart wrenching had he retired right after winning the Super Bowl last month. But now that the decision has been made and he is going to be calling it a career today, it makes you take a look back at one of the greatest to ever play the game. A first ballot hall of famer, of that their is no doubt. He's set records left and right and will go down as one of the greatest to ever play the game. But this beg's the question, is he the greatest to ever play the game? Now there's no universal way to prove this list but we'll now try and make a strong case for it.

There's only one real knock that can ever be made against Peyton. His nine one-and-done playoff exits hurt his case. Sure he owns a 14-13 playoff record, but again those nine cases of one and done aren't exactly great. That's the only knock against Peyton. The rest of the career has been fantastic. This much is known. He is the greatest regular-season quarterback of all time. Of this there is no doubt. Manning won five MVP awards, same as the NBA's Michael Jordan. Brett Favre, Johnny Unitas and running back Jim Brown won the award three times. Widen the lens to include all sports, only the NHL's Wayne Gretzky (nine), MLB's Barry Bonds (seven), NBA's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six) and hockey's Gordie Howe (six) have more MVPs. He owns the career marks with 71,940 passing yards and 539 touchdown passes and regular season wins with 186 (200 if you include playoff victories). During the regular season, he holds the records for passing yards in a year with 5,477, touchdowns with 55 (2013) and a full list more that's too long to place here.

There's non debate at his numbers and how astronomical they really are. One of the big things that has been mentioned about Peyton during his career is how hard he works. Nobody is going to outwork Peyton Manning. Ever. So with all that being said about the guy, where does he rank among the all time greats. There are some guys who deserve honorable mention, guys like Steve Young, Terry Bradshaw, Warren Moon, Fran Tarkenton, Dan Fouts, Drew Brees. You can include guys to be put in the same breath as Peyton. Guys like Brady, Montana, Elway, Otto Graham Brett Farve, Dan Marino, Troy Akman, Johnny Unitas, Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach, and Jim Kelly. So now, with that being said, here's the way I break it down. I throw into account regular season success and numbers as well as post season success and championship rings. It's all taken into account. With that being said, here's the top five greatest QB's to ever play the game.

Honorable Mention
John Elway
This is basically saying he's #6 on my list of the greatest QB's ever. I loved Elway (except in 1999 in the AFC title game when the beat the Jets but that's another argument altogether). Taken with the top overall pick in the 1983 draft, he played his entire career for the team he now runs, the Denver Broncos. He finished his career with 51,475 pass yards and 300 career TD's. Elway is the only player to throw for over 3,000 yards and rush for over 200 yards in seven straight seasons (1985–91). He won two Super Bowls the last two years of his career, but one of the things that people remember most about Elway is "The Drive". It was January 11, 1987. Elway lead the Broncos on a last-ditch, five-minute, 15-play, 98-yard touchdown drive in the AFC Championship against the Cleveland Browns. It lead Denver to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, which set up the overtime winning field goal by Rich Karlis. It included six passes made (nine attempted), five rushes and an eight-yard sack. He was named the NFL Most Valuable Player and the AFC Offensive MVP.

#5. Dan Marino
Man did this guy drive me nuts as a Jets fan. He was taken in the same draft as Elway, but he went 27th overall. He spent his entire career with the Miami Dolphins, playing from 1983 to 1999. During Marino's career, the Dolphins were perennial playoff contenders, reaching the post-season in 10 of his 17 seasons. He was selected to play in nine Pro Bowls, seven of which came as a starter. He was named first- or second-team All-Pro eight times and earned All-AFC honors six times. Marino has won all three major individual awards: NFL MVP (1984); NFL Comeback Player of the Year (1994); and NFL Man of the Year (1998), which recognizes charitable work off the field. He will go down as the greatest QB the game has ever seen NOT to win a Super Bowl.

#4. Brett Farve
Nobody has thrown the word retirement around more than this guy. He had that world thrown around at least ten times before he finally hung the pads up in 2010. Some of the notable records that Farve held when he retired were. Most pass completions (6,300), Most pass attempts (10,169), Most pass interceptions (336), Most starts (298), Most wins (186, tied with Peyton Manning). He owns a number of team records, including having printed his name into almost every passing category in the annals of Green Bay Packers history. He is the holder of several firsts in NFL history, including the only quarterback to win three consecutive NFL most valuable player awards and the only quarterback to win a playoff game over age 40. He also has a SuperBowl ring on his finger, leading the Packers over the New England Patriots in SuperBowl 31.

#3. Peyton Manning
Still my all time favorite Quarterback. Has almost every major passing record in the book. All that can been said about Peyton is listed above.

#2. Tom Brady
I hate the guy so much, only because he plays for the New England Patriots and always finds a way to kill any hopes and dreams I have for my Jets. He entered the NFL as a sixth-round draft pick, and may currently have about 14,000 fewer passing yards than Manning, but he’s won twice as many championships (4) in six Super Bowl appearances with the New England Patriots. Tom Terrific shows up when it matters most. He's won the most playoff games, at 21. The guy is great. He may not have put up the astronomical numbers as guys like Peyton, Farve or Marino, but he still knows how to win and get it done when it matters most.

#1 Joe Montana
On the grandest stage of them all in the football world, nobody was any better than this man. Joe Montana led the San Francisco 49ers to four Super Bowls in his reign at quarterback. While Joe Cool was under center in those games, the 49ers never lost and he was named the Super Bowl MVP three times. The Hall of Fame QB was known for his come-from-behind wins. Montana led a fourth-quarter comeback against the Cowboys in the 1981 NFC Championship that was simply known as "The Catch" after finding Dwight Clark in the back of the end zone. Montana also led the Niners on a 92-yard drive with only 36 seconds left in Super Bowl XXIII. He finished his career with 40,551 passing yards and 273 touchdowns. He was great when the lights shined the brightest.

So do you agree with this list? Who's the greatest of them all?

Jaromir Jagr Keeps Defying The Odds

How does this man keep doing the things he's doing. Jaromir Jagr has been one of the top players in all of the hockey world for a very long time now. At 44 years old, playing in the NHL for 22 years (not including playing over in the KHL for three years), he still finds a way to create magic. He's currently tied for the Panthers lead in goals with 21 (Riley Smith also has 21) and he leads the team in points with 48. Last night in a game against the Colorado Avalanche, he picked up an assist, giving him 1,850 points. That total ties him with Gordie how for the 3rd most in the History of the National Hockey League.

Now let the debate begin. Who did it better, Gordie Howe or Jaromir Jagr? Both Howe and Jagr have collected 1,850 NHL points (with Jagr still going). Consider how incredible it is what Gordie Howe was able to do in the world of hockey. He wasn't called "Mr. Hockey" for nothing. Gordie scored his 1,850 points in 26 NHL seasons, and 508 in six seasons with the World Hockey Association. Howe won the Stanley Cup four times, won the Art Ross Trophy six times, won the Hart Trophy six times, and was a finalist on six other occasions. He was a First-Team All-Star 12 times and a Second-Team All-Star nine times. Howe was the original ageless wonder, kicking off his 40s in the 1968-69 season by joining Phil Esposito and Bobby Hull as the first players to finish a season with 100 points. Howe competed against the USSR in the 1974 Summit Series at age 46, led the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association with 96 points in 76 games at age 49, and outscored two-thirds of the NHL's forwards with 41 points at age 51 (NHL). That's playing the game on another level altogether.

Now there's Jagr. In 22 NHL seasons, Jagr won the Art Ross Trophy five times, the Hart Trophy once, and was a finalist on five other occasions. For two decades, from 1980-81 through 2000-01, Jagr was one of three players to win the Art Ross Trophy; Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux were the others. Jagr was a First-Team All-Star seven times, and a Second-Team All-Star once, this in a League that grew from 21 to 30 teams, so there's a lot more competition for those awards than when Howe played in a six-team NHL (NHL). Also the game is way different now then when Howe played. Hell its changed a lot more between now and when Jagr first broke into the league in October 1990.

Also Jagr spent playing three full years in the KHL over in Russia and spent time over three hockey lockouts playing over in Europe. Jagr's point totals would be even higher in the National Hockey League had he played in North America his entire pro career without ever leaving.

Still, its truly amazing that he is not only still going in the NHL today, he's still very productive. He's the Panthers leading scorer. Florida and Tampa Bay are tied atop the division. Just imagine the kind of numbers Jagr in his prime would be putting up today. He's still going strong and its a lot of fun to watch

NHL Trade Deadline Winners And Losers

Here we are again. It's the beginning of March and teams around the National Hockey League are gearing their lineups for the playoff push. There have been years past where we have seen bigger names moved. We've also seen years where there have been a number of trades made on the same day, some of which have involved big names being moved. This year's trade deadline around the league was a little bit light. Eric Staal got moved to Broadway. Chicago and Florida made a flurry of moves. Montreal and Toronto are basically throwing in the towel on the year. Most of the major deals were done the day before the deadline. Still there was enough to keep an eye on. There was way too much that happened to list here. So instead, we are going to go with some of the winners and losers that came out of the deadline.

Winners:

Chicago Blackhawks
Here's a team that has won three Cups in the last six years, they are the defending champions and look to be poised to take the title again this year. Going into the deadline, they were a point behind Dallas for the lead in the division. Now, they've added more pieces to the puzzle to help them get better. When the Blackhawks added Andrew Ladd, Dale Weise and Tomas Fleischmann over the weekend, it was christmas way early for Hawks fans. The NHL’s most accomplished playoff team landed two players who will make it even stronger in the postseason. Ladd, who by the way has that winning feeling with this team (being on the 2010 championship club) will play on the Blackhawks’ top line eventually with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa. Meanwhile, Weise and Fleischmann will be secondary scorers. Ladd and Weise were among the most committed hitters on their previous teams, meaning they can provide the snarl that the Blackhawks have been lacking. It doesn’t matter that the Blackhawks gave up a first-round pick and a good young player (Marko Dano) to land Ladd, and a second-round pick and Phillip Danault to acquire Weise. With three Stanley Cup titles on his resume, general manager Stan Bowman is playing with house money. You don’t have to sweat the future when you are winning today.

Florida Panthers
This team has been surprising a lot of people this season. They are tied for the lead in the division (with Tampa Bay at the time of this writing) and have been playing great hockey. Florida has been looking to win the division for the 2nd time ever and is looking for getting out of the 1st round of the playoffs for only the 2nd time ever (last time was in 1996 when they went all the way to the Finals). So its been no secret that the Cats have been good this year. General manager Dale Tallon knew what he had to do and he went out and did it. Gerard Gallant’s boys had strong goaltending and solid defensive play. What it lacked was secondary scoring. That was addressed and then some. Florida went out and adeed Jiri Hudler and Teddy Purcell up front. Hudler adds flash and Purcell gives them a steady contributor. Tallon paid a reasonable price in both trades. They also went out and bulked up on the blue line by adding Jakub Kindl from Detroit. The moves sent an important message to the players and to the team’s fan base.

Anaheim Ducks
Here come those Ducks. For a team that was the best in the West last year, but they got off to a slow start to this season. Now, its not the case. No NHL team has been hotter over the past month, and the Ducks paid relatively little to further bolster their top-nine forward group. Getting Brandon Pirri from the Panthers cost them a mere sixth-rounder, and picking up Jamie McGinn from Buffalo cost them a 2016 third-round pick that becomes at 2017 second-rounder should the Ducks reach the conference final and if McGinn plays in more than half the Anaheim playoff games. Now, throw in the move they made in January, the team picking up David Perron from the Pens. Its a trade that really reinvigorated Anaheim. Pirri and McGinn are the kinds of players who occasionally flirt with top-six duty on mediocre teams but could be championship-caliber third- or fourth-liners. Best of all for GM Bob Murray, he avoided selling off one of his key restricted free agent defensemen. Yes, it will be hard to pay Hampus Lindholm and Sami Vatanen this summer, but that’s a problem for another day. The Ducks can contend for the Cup right now and need all their good young D-men. It would’ve been nice to make room for Shea Theodore in the lineup, as he’s ready, but defensive depth is a nice luxury in the post-season anyway. Maybe an injury forces him back up to the big club at some point. Anaheim is a good team that has gotten a little bit better.

Boston Bruins
Here's a team that's sitting comfortable in a wild card spot right now. Sometimes the best moves are the ones you don’t make. That is probably true for the Bruins, who decided not to trade Loui Eriksson, an unrestricted free agent this summer. They also acquired veteran defenseman John-Michael Liles (from the Carolina Hurricanes) and versatile forward Lee Stempniak (from the New Jersey Devils). The Bruins’ most pressing need was an all-around defenseman, and picking up Liles fits that description quite nicely. He also has played in more than 800 games, so he brings plenty of experience to the table, which could help the B's come the playoffs. General manager Don Sweeney gave up a third- and fifth-round pick plus prospect Anthony Camara. It’s a modest payment, considering what the Stars paid for Russell. Stempniak, meanwhile, can play a variety of roles. He is highly-competitive, and he should be a solid complementary player. Boston is going to be a team to watch out for come the end of the season and the playoffs.

Losers:

Brooks Laich (Toronto Maple Leafs)
I almost feel bad for the poor guy. You go from being a solid role player on the best team in the entire NHL, to being a big name on a crappy team in Toronto that's going to rebuild. He had been high-character leader on the Washington Capitals through lean times. He was there for 12 seasons. Then, with their best opportunity to win a Stanley Cup, he is traded to a rebuilding team in Toronto. It’s bad luck for a player with a reputation for being a good man. Sorry Brooks I really feel bad for you my man.

Jonathan Drouin (Tampa Bay Lightning)
He's been having a bit of a tough year. Drouin wasn't happy with the way things were looking in Tampa, so he decides to take a calculated risk. He goes and asks for a trade earlier in the season, and then decided to go home after playing a few games with Syracuse Crunch in the American Hockey League. General manager Steve Yzerman looked at his options, but he didn’t like the offers. Because Drouin is under contract through next season, Yzerman had the leverage and he used it. Now Drouin sits at home looking at the possibility that he won’t play the rest of the season. Had he played in Syracuse, Drouin would have had 20 scouts watching him every game. So basically by complaining about the way things have gone he has shot himself in the foot in regards to finding a potential buyer to take his services and will now sit in the minors doing nothing but watching.

Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver's out of playoff contention and had a chance to possibly try and make moves to build for the future. Look at what happened in Calgary. The Flames, like the Canucks, are out of the playoffs. Calgary traded Kris Russell, their best defenseman. He was sent to the Dallas Stars in exchange for Jyrki Jokipakka, Brett Pollock, and a conditional second round pick in the 2016 draft. If Calgary was able to get value for a guy like Russell, why couldn't Vancouver? Vancouver fans have to be disappointed that Canucks general manager Jim Benning couldn’t, or didn’t, move defenseman Dan Hamhuis. He is considered a better player than Russell. In fairness, Hamhuis held the cards because he had a no-trade clause. He didn’t want to go to the Eastern Conference, but he was OK with trades to the Stars or Blackhawks. Why couldn't a trade get done with them? The Canucks also didn’t move Radim Vrbata, who will also be an unrestricted free agent. The Canucks are eight points out of a playoff spot, and they are not considered close to being a contender. They added nothing for the future.

New York Islanders
This one pains me a little to put here on this list. But look at what's at stake here. This team is set to make the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row. They haven't won a round in the post season since 1993. Something has to change, but GM Garth Snow didn't see it that way. Don't get me wrong Snow has built a quality team, but it feels as if the Islanders could use a boost heading into the playoffs. No one wanted them to move their potential free agents, such as Kyle Okposo or Frans Nielsen. There was no consensus from their fan base about what the Islanders should do, but everyone wanted them to do something. They elected to only to make a minor deal by adding Shane Prince from the Ottawa Senators. The Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning were the only prime contenders in the Eastern Conference that didn't make a significant addition. They could have done so much to improve this team yet they didn't do a damn thing.