6-2. Wins at South Florida, West Virginia, and Cincinnati. I can finally say Syracuse is a good football team. They have arrived. “Syracuse football” is no longer synonymous with “sucks.” Time to be taken seriously after today’s 31-7 win over Cincy. This is a real football team. True wins. No messing around with Syracuse. It’s raining Orange on Halloween.
Leave them in the dust.
“Nothing is really perfect but this was a beautiful ending,” new coach Avery Johnson said. ” If this was a movie, for a team coming out of a situation we were coming out of, for a new team coming together, it’s a beautiful ending.”
What have the Nets become? Winners, I guess. Thanks Avery, for such a moving quote. Regardless, the Nets won their opener tonight. Does that mean they’ll win win their next game? No. But they won tonight, and that means something. A win is a win. No 0-18 start to the season. New beginnings we have going on in Jersey. New beginnings, my friends. Ain’t that beautiful.
What’s your rooting interest in the World Series? What, the World Series is about to start? Yes, it is. And I think I know who to root for. Here are our choices: the Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants. The Texas Rangers were once the second incarnation of the Washington Senators, while the Giants were once famously located in New York. But that was a long time ago. I have no ties to either team. The closest I come to either team are my San Francisco Giants sweatpants. But I’ll be rooting for the Giants. They did beat the Phillies, they are the National League team, and they did carry the NL torch (with the Dodgers) for New York before the Mets arrived. The good thing about this series is that a fresh team will win it. No Yankees. No Phillies. Just the Giants or Rangers. So without further adieu, play ball. For New Yorkers, Washingtonians, San Franciscans and Texans.
Matt Moore. Jay Cutler. Todd Collins. Shaun Hill. Tony Romo. Man, do the G-Men knock these QB’s out. Five down, 11 to go? I think so. After tonight’s win at Dallas, in which the Giants improved to 5-2, tied for best record in the NFC (take that), they have just as many wins as quarterbacks they have knocked out of games due to pure, physical, brutality. This is Giants football. They started 1-2, yeah? Who gives a crap. Isn’t the saying it doesn’t matter how you start, but how you finish? They were even down 20-7 in tonight’s game. I wasn’t worried. Eli Manning (minus his three interceptions) was at his best. Hakeem Nicks and Ahmad Bradhsaw (minus his fumble) were at their best. The defense was amazing, as expected. They finally have the fear instilled back in every quarterback in the league. What other team has knocked out two QBs in one game? That’s what I thought. Some teams don’t even have two QBs on their team. As I said before, that’s simply New York Giants football. The best. Simply the best. Plain and simple. Next week’s a bye. QBs can rest. But next on the list: Seahawks. Matt Hasselbeck…you better start ducking for cover. Now.
I’ve subscribed to Sports Illustrated since 2004 and ESPN the Magazine since about 2005. For the most part, I haven’t missed an issue, minus a few from when I had to renew subscriptions. Last week, I found out my ESPN subscription ended. And I didn’t renew it. Not because I don’t like it. But because I simply don’t have time to read both it and SI. Basically, I chose SI over ESPN. Immediately after that choice, I see ESPN the Magazine come out with a ridiculously awesome issue for their NBA Preview–a Marvel comics issue. I don’t like comics, but this issue was visually awesome, compared to SI’s mundane Thunder cover. ESPN Mag has always been flashy. They usually have more little knick knacks in their issues instead of the large articles, which I like. They appeal to the younger generation. But in my opinion, SI has writing like no other. For those who say SI is getting behind the young ESPN, I say no way. I saw a high pile of Sports Illustrateds in my dorm. Sometimes ESPN can be more fun to read. I have always preferred the little things over the big articles. But when it came down to which magazine I can devote time to read, SI won out. I love them both, and I’m kind of wishing I had time to read ESPN’s ridiculous artsy issues, but SI delivers what I need. Sports. And that’s enough.
Six days until the season starts. Six days until the Nets see what kind of team they have. Six days until the memory of last season is erased. Basketball season has arrived! You see, basketball is my favorite sport to watch. As much as I love baseball and football, basketball is where my love for sports began. And this season will be my 10th season watching the Nets. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long. And since this is my 10th season as a Nets fan, I don’t want to be embarrassed to say my favorite team is the Nets. I want this team to be like the team that I started watching 10 seasons ago. A championship-caliber team. So, with that being said, I’ve decided to share my 10 favorite Nets during these past 10 seasons.
1. Jason Kidd- Duh. No-brainer here. He’s still under-appreciated. People say he’s old, can’t move. Well those people are dumb. They must not understand the game of basketball. It’s not all about scoring points. If you can create them, then you’re really a special player. And Kidd did just that during his time with the Nets.
2. Kenyon Martin- Oh, K-Mart. One of my favorites. I mostly remember him being on the receiving end of all those alley-oops during the glory days of 2001-2003. But he was fierce too.
3. Richard Jefferson- The third member of the trio. But he was also with the team the longest. He went from rookie to star of the team until he was traded. RJ was a solid player.
4. Vince Carter- I used to be bitter towards VC because he broke up the aforementioned trio. He came in after K-Mart left and couldn’t do what the previous trio could—lead the Nets to an Eastern Conference crown. But I grew to appreciate VC and all he did during his few seasons in Jersey.
5. Kerry Kittles- This guy gets no credit for the Nets’ run. But he was a great role player. A necessary starter, who began with the Nets way back in ’96.
6. Jason Collins- Clearly I’m biased towards the ’01-’03 guys. After all, they had the most success. Collins didn’t score much. In fact, he really didn’t do much of anything tangible on the stats sheet. But he was a defensive presence, and that is what made him so consistent.
7. Brook Lopez- Wow! There’s actually a current player on this list! Lopez is only entering his third season as a Net, but he deserves this spot. He has such a commitment to our current sucky team, and goes hard every game. He’s exactly what the Nets need now.
8. Devin Harris- Mr. Harris, I don’t hate you for replacing Jason Kidd. Because you didn’t. Kidd moved on, and you started on your own here. Your first season, you led us to respectability when we were predicted to stink. Just play more like that player than the one who played like last season, and you and the Nets will be fine.
9. Keith Van Horn- He only played on the Nets for one of my seasons. But he’s still worthy. High socks. Shooting the threes. Yeah, that’s appreciated.
10. This last spot is a tough one. I could give it to oldies like Lucious Harris, Rodney Rogers, Todd McCullough, Anthony Johnson. But I’m going to give it to a player that I never watched as a Net. I knew him more as a Sun or a Knick. But I am forever grateful to him. Stephon Marbury, step on up. You are the man. The best move you ever made for the Nets- bringing J-Kidd to the Meadowlands. Well done, friend. Hope China’s treating you well.
So there you have it. My favorites. Nostalgia is setting in. I hope I’m not let down this season. With Harris, Lopez, rook Favors, free agent Outlaw, I expect more than 12 wins. Don’t let me down Nets. Because I haven’t let you down.
Ohio State. Yankees. Phillies. Syracuse. Okay, maybe not Syracuse. But on Saturday all of these teams lost. Ohio State, who in my opinion was not even worthy of the No.1 spot after Alabama lost last weekend, lost to Wisconsin. The Phillies and perfectionist Roy Halladay lost. So did the Yankees. And then we come to Syracuse. For some reason, because Syracuse beat USF last weekend, everyone thought that they were pretty good. I guess people forgot about their blowout loss to a 2-3 Washington team. Yes, they are better than last year. But not better than Pitt, even if Pitt was 2-3 going into the game. Hail to the underdogs.
Courtesy Wash Post
The Washington Wizards are my second favorite NBA team. And before last season, Gilbert Arenas was my favorite player on that team. He could score at anytime and his personality was hard to beat. Sure, he had been battling injuries, but I figured he would re-emerge as the player that I think all Wizards fans learned to love. We would never dislike him. Now, my opinion is slightly changed. Last year there was the gun incident which didn’t bother me too much. But last night Gilbert faked a knee injury in a pre-season game. That is enough. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think it’s time for the Wizards to dump Gilbert. His good years with the Wiz have passed. It’s John Wall’s team now, and having Gilbert aboard will be detrimental. If they trade him they will lose his talent. But I think he is extra weight for the team right now. It is time for the Wizards to let go. Their glory years with Gilbert have passed. The bubble, that big one that Gilbert had in his mouth when he was featured in Sports Illustrated a few years back, has popped. Time to say bye.
Am I surprised that Alabama lost to South Carolina just one week after manhandling Florida? No. Sure, they looked invincible against Florida, but this happens all the time. A team looks good, but loses. Happened to Florida last year. And for Ohio State, the new No. 1, it will probably happen to them too. A team that isn’t getting all the attention will come out of nowhere and surprise us. So is South Carolina a good team? Not better than Alabama, even if they beat them. But now we know that ‘Bama isn’t invincible. And neither is USF because Syracuse beat them! Huge win for Syracuse. Of course we still can’t compete with the Big Ten, Pac 10, and SEC guys, but we are improving. They actually beat a decent team, although USF looked bad throughout much of the game. If SU can beat Pitt next week, then we can talk.
The Mets’ season ended today. Just found that out. Nothing worthwhile to discuss. Oh, except for the fact that their manager and General Manager are probably goners. And they lost today. Another disappointing season in the books. Sound familiar? Yeah, thought so. The Mets were a mess this season. Like the past few years. Whatever magic they managed in the early part of the summer vanished, and we were left with a mess. Unacceptable, especially with the roster. Now serious overhaul is happening with management. Maybe the culture can finally change. Because Omar Minaya, you were great when you brought in the big names. Pedro. Beltran. K-Rod. Wagner. Delgado. Bay. Francoeur. LoDuca. Santana. But half those guys were busts. 2006 was great, but it’s all been downhill since. I feel like I’ve written this before. Oh, wait, it’s because of have. It’s like deja vu all over again with the Mets, isn’t it?
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