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Sunday, January 31, 2010

News and Notes 01/31/2010



Mark your calendar for an upcoming event. Now that Kim has officially joined "The Tribe" we are going to use that occasion to renew our wedding vows in a "Jewish" ceremony on Thursday May 27th at 6:00PM at Temple Beth Shalom here in Las Vegas. If you can get to Vegas, you're invited.

The biggest game of the college basketball season west of the Mississippi River takes place this coming Saturday Feb 6th at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas Nevada. 10th ranked BYU the leader in the Mountain West Conference, 20-2 (5-1) heads to Sin City to face once ranked UNLV 16-4 (5-2). The Cougars squeaked out a four point win against the Rebels at the Mariott Center earlier this month. I will be there for sure.

College Basketball has to be the most exciting spectator sport on college campuses throughout the US. The game in Manhattan, Kansas last night between in state rivals Kansas vs. Kansas State was a thrill a minute as the second ranked Jayhawks finally overcame the Kansas State Wildcats in overtime. Looked for Kansas to be king of the polls this week.

Their stay at number one may not be long though as Syracuse and Villanova are poised for a run to the top. All of this rankings stuff really has no meaning as the National Championship is not decided by the polls but the play on the floor.

This year the Mountain West Conference is clearly superior to the Pac Ten but will they get any more invites from the old line at the NCAA?

How about those Jets. They surprised the entire NFL in making it all the way to the AFC Title Game only to come up 30 minutes short of their first Super Bowl appearance in 41 years. Was it a fluke? or will they be even better next year? Your comments are welcome.

Mark Sanchez, the quarterback who Pete Carroll said came out of college to early surely could have used him at USC this year. About to be sanctioned by the NCAA, Carroll jumped ship to accept the head coaching position available in Seattle. Pete has been in the NFL before and he was out of his league. How many games will the Seahawks win in 2010? My guess five.

Super Bowl Sunday, one week from today, provides an intriguing match up with the Saints and the entire population of the bayou against the surgical precision of Dr. Manning and his air attack. If defense is supposed to win championships the smart money will be on the Colts but how much does emotion really play in a game of this nature? I believe the Colts will win in a shootout similar to the NFC Championship game and as I usually root for the AFC representative because of my allegiance to the Jets, this year I will make a exception.

If any team was ever called an underdog, New Orleans fills the bill. This ravaged city still feeling the effects of Katrina needs a shot in the arm so the rest of the country doesn't forget the tragedy of the devastation there. With most Americans digging deep into the pockets to help rebuild Haiti, New Orleans, still depressed, sits out their with nothing but hope for a football team to provide a lift so richly deserved.

I'm not a big NBA fan. I watch the playoffs and being a lifelong Knicks fan doesn't make my fan hood an easy task. The NBA is seen by many of us a gang of thugs. That's not fair since the vast majority of players are college graduates and really good guys. Those few, the brawlers and the gun toting criminal types certainly don't enhance the image. With outstanding players like Kobe, LeBron and Dwayne Wade it really disturbs me when LeBron makes a commercial with gun references in it.

Three weeks until pitchers and catchers report to Florida and Arizona for the annual spring training routine where every Major League team starts their quest for a world title. Unfortunately, as always, there a more than a few teams that have absolutely no shot whatsoever to get to the World Series.

What's needed is not a Salary Cap but a Salary floor. In an article I wrote last spring for the Bleacher Report, I suggested that each team, has a salary floor. Let's start it at 80 million. If the payroll does not exceed that number the owner must be told he will lose his ownership and his franchise will be run by Major League baseball until an owner who will spend that money is found. Keep in mind, in this day of Baseball revenue sharing each team has the ability to put a quality product on the field. Their fans deserve nothing less.

Can we just get past the issue of steroids? Frankly I could care less about who did what or when. For 140 years every player to play this game has looked for a competitive edge. We only know a fraction of what really goes on behind closed doors so lets just get on with the game.

The NHL. What do I know about hockey? Great spectator sport,lousy watch on TV. Unless something monumental happens in this sport, you're not going to see much written here.

So that's it for week one of news and notes. Hope you enjoy and once again comments will be appreciated and answered as soon as I get them.

Have a great week.

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