Valentine's Views on Sports

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Re-launch, with a new plan
2008-04-16 13:45:00
It's been a while since I've posted here, but I'm going to re-launch with a slightly different idea.What you are going to find here going forward are summaries of my posts at Big Blue View, where I write about the New York Giants, and Bugs and Cranks, where I cover the New York Yankees.You will also find commentary about -- and links to -- items of interest regarding all of New York's teams. I will stray into other topics occasionally, but I will try to keep the focus almost entirely on New York.I hope to model what I do here after Dan Shanoff, the extraordinary blogger who writes for many fine sites. That doesn't mean I will copy his 'Quickie' idea, but it does mean I will use this site as a jumping off point for many of the full posts I am doing in other places.So, let's get started.What am I saying today?Well, when it comes to the Yankees Curt Schilling is talking about them again. More specifically, he's talking about how playing for them is "not an option." We agree. ...
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Kudos & Wet Willies, Coach K edition
2008-03-03 13:08:00
Kudos to ... Mike Krzyzewski. The Duke coach reached 800 career victories Saturday when the Blue Devils defeated NC State, 87-86. Only Adolph rupp and Dean Smith reached 800 victories faster.John Henry. The Red Sox owner showed a sense of humor, responding to Hank Steinbrenner's bashing of Red Sox Nation by calling it "a bunch of [expletive]," by "inducting" Hank into the Nation.Lou Piniella. The Cubs' manager didn't take kindly to Jason Marquis saying he didn't want to be a Cub if he wasn't in the starting rotation. ""He can go somewhere else right now if he wants," was Sweet Lou's response. Good for him.Ernie Els. The former No. 1 player in the world earned his first PGA Tour victory since 2004 Sunday, beating Luke Donald by one shot in The Honda Classic.Kobe Bryant. Dropped 52 on Dallas Sunday in a 108-104 overtime victory by the Lakers. No matter how the Mavericks defended him Kobe was unstoppable. Bryant is playing like a guy who sees that his team has a shot at its first...
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'Kudos & Wet Willies'
2008-02-17 12:33:00
With two sites to maintain daily and a full-time job I won't be here often. But, 'Kudos & Wet Willies' is one of my favorite things, and I will try to have one here every Sunday. So, be sure and stop by.So, let's get on with this week's honors.Kudos to ...Marisa Miller. The hottest current swimsuit model out there landed on the cover of SI's swimsuit issue. Oh, and her conversation with David Letterman about body painting and being completely shaved is priceless.Andy Pettitte. Say what you want about Pettitte, he seems to be the only one who came through last week's Congressional hearings with any credibility. It had to hurt him to tell the truth about his friend Roger Clemens, and had to hurt even more to listen to Clemens try to save himself by discrediting him.An unknown Yankee clubhouse attendant. This story about his treatment of Carl Pavano at Spring Training made me laugh, and sums up my feelings about the $40 million waste.NBA Slam Dunk Contest. This event is a ba...

A Valentine's Day wish list
2008-02-14 13:46:00
Yeah, yeah, enough already. My last name is Valentine and I've spent my life listening to your Valentine's Day jokes. You can't bug me with 'em, so don't bother.Anyway, since this is my day I thought I would drop by with a sports-related list of things I would like for today.I would like to know who the idiot was who gave a bit player Devean George a no-trade clause. That's a move that might cost the Dallas Mavericks Jason Kidd. That's real smart.I would like to see Brian McNamee and Roger Clemens both discredited. McNamee is scum, and Clemens is blatantly making up his story as he goes along. Neither one of them is clean in this whole steroids mess.I would like a victory for the youth basketball team I coach. We haven't won a game in six weeks, and it sure would be nice.A job for Jim Fassel. Any job. He got screwed by Daniel Snyder and the Washington Redskins, but I'm already getting tired of listening to him whine about it.Laryngitis for Curt Schilling. And maybe a broken...
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Shaq to Suns -- good move or bad?
2008-02-07 20:34:00
Shaquille O'Neal is now a Phoenix Sun. What do you think, good idea for Phoenix or a bad mistake by rookie GM Steve Kerr?Bringing the aging, slow, plodding O'Neal to the uptempo Suns is a huge gamble. In the end, though, I have no problem with the move by Phoenix.Just look at the NBA's Western Conference. You've got Utah, a Lakers team that just added Pau Gasol and will get Andrew Bynum back in a few weeks, Dallas, New Orleans and defending champion San Antonio.Yes, the Suns were good before they traded for O'Neal. Yes, they will miss the energy, defense and three-point shooting of Shawn Marion. Yes, there is no guarantee Phoenix has made itself any better. The reality is, though, before the trade the Suns weren't good enough to run the Western Conference gauntlet and get back to the NBA Finals. If O'Neal can be a reasonable facsimile of himself, which is the big question, now they might be.
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What I'm talking about today
2008-02-07 04:59:00
Over at my New York Yankees site today, we are debating whether the Yankees' 2004 collapse or the recent loss by the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl was a bigger deal. I think it's obvious -- 2004 was way more significant.At Big Blue View today, we are debating the merits of two vastly different Elisha's -- Elisha Nelson Manning and Elisha Cuthbert. We are also talking about the fact that Steve Spagnuolo will be staying on as New York Giants' defensive coordinator.Stop by those sites and join the debate. It's free!
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New site is all Yankees, all the time
2008-02-06 05:00:00
If you stop by this site frequently (honest, I know there are a few of you who actually do) you've noticed I haven't been here much lately.That, partially, is because I was busy posting Super Bowl material at Big Blue View, my New York Giants site.It is also because I have been given an opportunity to write about the New York Yankees on a regular basis for Bugs & Cranks, a fine baseball blog site filled with several good writers.I hope to build the same type of community at Bugs & Cranks that has developed at Big Blue View. So, if you're a fan of either of those teams you'll find my work at those two sites. Stop by and get in on the conversation.This site, by the way, will still be here. I don't anticipate updating it regularly, although I'll post here occasionally when I have something not related to the Yankees or Giants that I feel a need to post.Anyway, if you're a Yankees' fan or a Giants' fan come on by my other sites. We'd love to have you.
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'Kudos & Wet Willies'
2008-02-04 06:18:00
The New York Giants get the biggest kudos this week for knocking off New England and winning the Super Bowl. Here's a look at the full list of 'Kudos & Wet Willies' recipients.Kudos to ...The New York Giants. The Giants did what many thought was impossible Sunday, ending the New England Patriots' dreams of perfection and winning the Super Bowl, 17-14. There were many heroes for the Giants. Read more at Big Blue View.Tiger Woods. Victories in his first two tournaments of 2008, including the just completed Dubai Classic where he birdied his last two holes for the victory. Going back to last year, Woods has won four straight times. The way he is playing right now it's almost unfair how much better he is than everyone else.The New York Mets. They got Johan Santana, one of the game's premier pitchers, without giving up anything truly consequential. Yes, they will have to pay him $150 million for seven years, but Santana will probably pitch them to one or two World Series titles...

Berman goes boom!
2008-02-01 13:29:00
I have no idea when this took place, but it's a great rant. It's ESPN's Chris Berman like you've never seen him before. It's been making the Internet rounds, so you may have seen it, but I had to use it as a Friday Funny. Warning: Strong language, so be careful where you watch it.
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Seeral winners in Santana Sweepstakes
2008-01-30 04:24:00
So, Johan Santana will be a New York Met. The long, dreary Winter of Santana has finally come to an end. From this vantage point, this looks like the perfect ending -- everybody wins.The Mets win because, well, isn't it obvious? The Mets win because they get Santana, arguably baseball's best pitcher the past five seasons and an ace who is not yet 30 and likely has another 5-7 years of dominance remaining.MetsBlog puts it this way.As I had been saying, for me, this deal had to be done, if for no otherreason than it is becoming harder and harder to acquire an ace on the openmarket…so, if one became available by trade, who was attainable, the trigger hadto be pulled…especially if he comes at the cost of three pitchers, who the Metsbelieve will not be as good as Santana during the next few years.Santana wins because he will get paid exorbitantly -- something to the tune of six years, $150 million. He also wins because he goes to the National League, where will look even more domin...
More About: Winners , Sweepstakes

Can Tiger Woods be stopped?
2008-01-29 02:45:00
It may be a new calendar year. With his dominating victory in the season-opening Buick Invitational, though, Tiger Woods showed everyone nothing has changed on the PGA Tour.He is the best -- and second-best isn't even in the same zip code. So, the talk of a Grand Slam by Woods has already started.So, what can be done to stop Tiger? Here's a list of ideas.Make Tiger carry his own bags.Notify Woods whenever his baby daughter needs a diaper change, and require that he do it himself.Set up 'Tiger Tees.' Allow everyone else to play from 25-30 yards closer to the green.Hire the heckler from 'Happy Gilmore' to go around from hole to hole hurling insults at Tiger.Make him add two shots to his total for every round -- call it the 'Tiger Handicap.'Make him play left-handed.Since we already have him carrying his own bags, only let him carry half the number of clubs the rest of the players are allowed to have. See how brilliant he is then.Adjustable cups. When it is Tiger's turn to put...

Williams doing a slow burn
2008-01-28 15:27:00
Bern, Baby, Bern!That's John Sterling's home run call from days gone by when the ex-Yankee great was hitting home runs in pinstripes. It's appropriate to recall today, since burning is pretty much what Williams is doing these days when he thinks about the Yankees and Brian Cashman.Remember last spring, when Bernie wanted to play, and wanted a guaranteed contract to do so? All the Yankees offered him was a Spring Training invite and no guarantees.GM Brian Cashman re-opened this wound with comments a couple of nights ago. From Peter Abraham's LoHud Yankees Blog.Speaking at William Paterson University in New Jersey at an event with Theo Epstein, Cashman said Williams spent too much time with his music career “and that took away from his play” on the field.Cashman said Williams had a “terrible season” in 2005 and that former manager Joe Torre was wrong to play Williams as often as he did in 2006 because better players were available.Williams took offense to that.“I don’t...
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Snyder is making a mess
2008-01-27 15:08:00
What is Washington Redskins' owner Daniel Snyder doing?A few days ago, it looked Snyder was going to hire former New York Giants coach Jim Fassel to replace Joe Gibbs. Now, word out of Washington seems to be that the Redskins won't hire a coach until after the Super Bowl.Instead of hiring a head coach, Snyder has now fired defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, the other primary candidate to take over as head coach, and offensive coordinator Al Saunders. He has already hired Jim Zorn to lead the offense and promoted Greg Blache to run the defense.Say what?Maybe Fassel, desperate to get back into the coaching ranks, would still take the job with coordinators already in place. But, most coaches would run from that. Are you listening, Steve Spagnuolo?Here's the way Sportz Assassin, blogging for AOL Fanhouse, put his feelings about watching Snyder this week.This bothers me because I honestly thought that Danny Boy had grown up. I thought that Papa Gibbs had left a mark of class and di...
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This is patience? I don't think so
2008-01-26 14:19:00
Call it patience, the Steinbrenner way."I will be patient with the young pitchers and players. There's no question about that because I know how these players develop," Hank Steinbrenner said in an interview with Ronald Blum of the Associated Press. "But as far as missing the playoffs -- if we miss the playoffs by the end of this year, I don't know how patient I'll be. But it won't be against the players. It won't be a matter of that. It will be a matter of maybe certain people in the organization could have done something else."Yes, Brian Cashman that means you. Spring Training is three weeks away, and you are officially on the hot seat.Hank's message is clear, and it's one his father couldn't have delivered any better. It is obvious that Hank learned the Steinbrenner way well while training at the feet of the master.This is the team Cashman wanted. There is no Johan Santana. There is a stable of promising young pitchers the GM has wanted to protect and build around.The mes...
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Friday Funnies
2008-01-25 15:12:00
A little cheating here, but 'Friday Funnies ' is devoted to items that folks have submitted to me over at Big Blue View.This is an awesome take on the end of the Cowboys' season. I do apologize if you're offended by the Hitler ripoff, but this is pretty funny.This one has also appeared over at Big Blue View.

LeBron James sending the Knicks a signal?
2008-01-25 14:33:00
Is LeBron James sending the New York Knicks a signal with his new line of Yankee-inspired sneakers?Maybe.James can't be a free agent until after the 2009-2010 season, but he's never hidden his love for the Big Apple. Remember the Yankee hat he wore during last season's baseball playoffs in his hometown of Cleveland?Maybe LeBron is just trying to sell shoes. Then again, maybe not.Maybe he's really trying to tell the Knicks he's available -- should they put themselves in position to go after him.“LeBron has a great appreciation for New York City itself,” Nike spokesman Kejuan Wilkins told MSNBC, “and this is just another tie.”Either way, I sure would like to get my hands on a pair of those sneakers. But, it's probably more likely that I'll be able to afford those $7.99 Starburys.
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Plenty of Giants' coverage at Big Blue View
2008-01-24 20:30:00
Over at Big Blue View today you can find plenty of stuff to read about the New York Giants ' upcoming appearance in Super Bowl XLII.There's a rant about Osi Umenyiora, a Q&A with beat writer Ernie Palladino of the Journal News and a YouTube clip of Lawrence Tynes' appearance on David Letterman.Check it out, and sign up for a free account to join the discussion.
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A treat for Giants' fans at Big Blue View
2008-01-23 17:21:00
Be sure to stop by Big Blue View , my New York Giants ' site, for a Q&A with Star-Ledger Giants' reporter Mike Garafolo.If you don't already have an account at Big Blue View, sign up for one. It's free and it enables you to join in the discussion as we look forward to the Giants and New England Patriots meeting in Super Bowl XLII.
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Knicks still a soap opera
2008-01-23 13:10:00
We haven't checked in with an episode of 'As The Knicks Turn' in a while, so let's do that. There's a lot to catch up on, so this will seem like the Readers' Digest version.Let's start with the newest news, which would involve former coach Larry Brown. Seems Brown thinks Madison Square Garden Chairman James Dolan had people spying on Brown while he was Knicks' coach."Imagine when you get to work, they don't talk to you," he said. "They had security people standing close to me in press conferences, and spies throughout the arena."Maybe Brown, a vagabond who butted heads with GM Isiah Thomas, imagined all of this. Then again, maybe it's not so ridiculous.After all, fans have been arrested for selling 'Fire Isiah' T-shirts outside the Garden this year. Others have been ejected from the Garden for holding up 'Fire Isiah' signs.Now comes word that there was an altercation Monday between beat reporters trying to interview a fan who was being ejected for yelling at Thomas dur...
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Young pitchers -- use at your own risk
2008-01-22 13:39:00
If you are a New York Yankees' fan -- or a fan of any baseball team with a young pitching phenom -- you have to stop by Peter Abraham's fantastic LoHud Yankees Blog.There, a guest post from Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus describes in painstaking detail why the Yankees would be taking an immense risk with the futures of Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy if any or all of them spends most of the 2008 season in New York's starting rotation.Here's a snippet of Carroll's piece.With Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, and Joba Chamberlain all likely to see increases, their handling will be one of the key tasks facing Joe Girardi, who it should be noted was responsible for two of the injured players (Sanchez and Scott Olson) from the Verducci list. Hughes was limited by injury to just 72 innings. The 100 inning threshhold is a minimum expectation for the Yankees No. 3, making him a very high risk player for the future, especially when he starts the season at age 21. The usage of...
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'Kudos & Wet Willies, Super Bowl edition
2008-01-21 15:43:00
It's time for our weekly 'Kudos & Wet Willies,' praising the best performances of the week and heaping scorn on the worst.Kudos to ...The New York Giants: Completed an unlikely run to the Super Bowl , defeating Green Bay in overtime Sunday, 23-20. Eli Manning appears to be all grown up. For full Giants' coverage, see Big Blue View.The Maryland Terrapins: I have to throw out kudos to my alma mater for knocking off top-ranked North Carolina Friday night. Making it even sweeter, the victory came in Chapel Hill.The New England Patriots: Continued their march toward history Sunday, dispatching San Diego, 21-12, to reach the Super Bowl. One more victory and the Patriots become the first 19-0 team in league history. It's easy to hate them, but you have to give them credit for this accomplishment.Wet Willies to ...James Dolan: The Knicks chairman has an honorary place on the weekly 'Wet Willie' list as long as Isiah Thomas remains with the Knicks. Maybe this week the 'Wet Willie...
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How the Giants and Chargers can wreck the party
2008-01-20 14:19:00
Can the New York Giants and San Diego Chargers ruin FOX's perfect Super Bowl party?FOX will broadcast the Super Bowl in two weeks, and everybody knows their dream matchup is Tom Brady's undefeated New England Patriots against the legendary Brett Favre's Green Bay Packers.Philip Rivers vs. Eli Manning? Nice story in San Diego and New York, but FOX and the rest of the country aren't interested.The Chargers and Giants are heavy underdogs today, so FOX execs probably don't have much to worry about. But, anything is possible.What the Giants must doPlay even dirtier than usual. After all, the whole world knows you're a dirty, cheating team because two-time dirtiest player in the league Rodney Harrison said so, and he should know. So, yeah, do stuff like hit the old guy Favre hard, intercept a couple of his passes, make the Packers try to tackle Brandon Jacobs and, you know, block them when Eli goes to pass. Oh, and throw in a little trash talk, too. Remind that Ryan Grant guy that h...
More About: Party , The Party , Wreck

Giants' fans, come to Big Blue View
2008-01-19 18:35:00
Don't forget to stop by Big Blue View , my New York Giants blog, to check out all the latest news and conversation about the Giants' NFC Championship Game Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.
More About: Fans , Big Blue

'Friday Funnies,' Cowboys edition
2008-01-18 12:29:00
You won't find these funny if you're a Dallas Cowboys ' fan. I, however, am a New York Giants fan and I find both of these hilarious.Then, of course, there is this one -- which also ran earlier in the week over at Big Blue View.
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Another parent behaving badly
2008-01-17 21:27:00
This one definitely falls into the 'parents acting like idiots' category. Or, how to teach your son to hate sports.From USA Today:Upset that his 7-year-old son wouldn't wear a Green Bay Packers jersey during the team's playoff victory Saturday, a man restrained the boy for an hour with tape and taped the jersey onto him.Mathew Kowald was cited for disorderly conduct in connection with the incident. Kowald's wife filed a restraining order Wednesday, so Kowald will not be able to have contact with his family.That is most definitely not the type of father-son bonding you usually associate with sporting events.
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Knicks can't do anything right
2008-01-17 13:06:00
What do the New York Knicks think they're doing?Just when there were reports that James Dolan had finally come to his senses and decided to rid the Knicks of Isiah Thomas, the team started to win games.Wednesday night's 111-105 victory over New Jersey was the third straight for the 12-26 Knicks.Why guys? Why now? Just when something really good was about to happen for the franchise and the fans -- the jettisoning of Thomas -- you had to go and delay the inevitable by winning some games.That's really rotten timing.Maybe, though, something good has already happened to the Knicks. The winning streak has coincided with Stephon Marbury's absence from the lineup. Marbury, the moody point guard, has missed the last three games and may need surgery on his injured left ankle.Marbury has made a career out of leaving teams (the Nets and Suns) and then having them improve. Maybe his absence is having the same effect on his current team.Memo to the Knicks' players: Guys, stop winning. Play...

Wednesday afternoon link dump
2008-01-16 21:06:00
Here is a Wednesday afternoon link dump for your enjoyment.Sports fans all think they can be coaches or general managers, or would love to work for their favorite teams somehow. You might not want this job, though. 'Kudos' to SI.com's 'Hot Clicks' for digging this one up.Tony Sparano is leaving Dallas to be Miami's head coach. Cowboys' offensive coordinator Jason Garrett has been offered the top jobs in Atlanta and Baltimore. Things are getting ugly in a hurry in Dallas.It looks like Tony Dungy might be leaving the Indianapolis Colts.ESPN's Buster Olney says the Twins should forget all the trade talk and just keep Johan Santana.Time for Congress to butt out. Bugs & Cranks
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'Kudos & Wet Willies,' t-shirt edition
2007-10-22 12:55:00
It's time for this week's edition of 'Kudos & Wet Willies,' where we honor the best performers of the past week and show our disgust with the worst.Kudos to ...Jessica Sheahon and Haley Wenthe. These are the two Salina, Kansas Central High students who wore the t-shirts shown at right to raise awareness for breast cancer. The pair's prudish administrators banned the shirts, but that's probably gotten more attention and raised more money than anything else could have. BTW, I find nothing wrong with these shirts at all. My wife, who works in a school, does. Buy one here.The New York Giants. After an 0-2 start, the Giants have reeled off five straight victories. They completely dominated the San Francisco 49ers yesterday. Right now, you would have to say the Giants are one of the three best teams in the NFC, along with Dallas and Green Bay.Joe Torre. Insulted by a disingenous one-year offer to remain, Torre walked away from the New York Yankees. This 'kudos' is for a terrif...
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Not again!
2007-10-21 05:19:00
As I write this, the Boston Red Sox are pounding the snot out of the Cleveland Indians and are about to tie the American League Championship Series, 3-3.Shit! Here we go again with the Red Sox. It's 2004 all over again. The Red Sox, seemingly dead and buried, are in the process of rising from a 3-1 deficit. Only the hapless victims are being played by the Indians this time instead of the New York Yankees.Shit, shit, shit! I can't take this again. I can't take another friggin' historic Red Sox comeback. And I most certainly can't take another Boston World Series title.C'mon, Indians! Do us Yankee fans a favor and win Sunday night. We have enough issues right now without another freakin' Red Sox title to throw in our faces.technorati tags: Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, Baseball

'Greek' says
2007-10-21 01:16:00
Success in making picks, like success in the NFL is fleeting. After making a triumphant return to respectability I am back in the land of average. This week I offer my first conditional pick of the year. I will not back a Kerry Collins led team, as I'm sure many of you here will attest to. So Tennessee gets the nod, only if Vince Young starts. Other than that, there are no qualifiers this week as I strive to make picks better than those of a monkey throwing its own feces at a dart board. Enjoy. Arizona (+9) at WashingtonAtlanta at New Orleans (-8)Baltimore at Buffalo (+3)Minnesota at Dallas (-9.5)New England at Miami (+16.5)San Francisco (+9) at NY GiantsTampa Bay (+2) at DetroitTennessee at Houston (+1) (only if Vince Young is out)Kansas City at Oakland (+3)NY Jets (+6) at CincinnatiChicago (+4) at PhiladelphiaSt. Louis at Seattle (-8)Pittsburgh at Denver (+3.5)Indianapolis at Jacksonville (+3) Last week: 5-6-2Season: 33-47-10
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