As I sit down to write my column with the television tuned to the Knicks versus Phoenix, I am confronted with a dilemma.
What to write?
There’s so much going on. The Giants are coming off a disconcerting loss to the Cowboys. It’s not so much that the Giants have lost two straight games, but the manner in which they have lost them. They haven’t scored a meaningful offensive touchdown in either game. And while the Plaxico Burress incident may have been a distraction, few people, if any, thought the loss of Burress on the football field was much of a story. After all, the Giants were 11-1, steamrolling the league and Burress hadn’t caught a pass in the two wins before he was suspended. Burress had 35 receptions this year, but 10 were in the first game.
But what so many pundits overlooked was what Burress’ presence did for the running game. Now teams are able to stack the line with an extra defender since they no longer have to worry about Burress’ explosive potential downfield. Nobody is going to be double-teaming Domenik Hixon anytime soon. (Incidentally, these ideas are not my own. A young man named I know named Greg Samuels mentioned them to me before the loss to the Eagles. Thanks, Greg.)
How about the Jets, who are coming off a win that should have been a loss that early on looked like an easy win? Thankfully for Gang Green, Bills head coach Dick Jauron appears to be a Jets fan. The miracle victory in which Abram Elam’s sack caused a J.P. Losman fumble on an inexplicable play-action pass attempt (reminiscent of the infamous Joe Pisarcik fumble against at the Meadowlands 30 years ago) masks some deeper problems for the Jets. The first is that this team, in the thick of a playoff hunt, should not be blowing leads to squads like Buffalo, which have nothing to play for. The second is that Sunday was the third consecutive pedestrian game for Old Man Brett Favre, who might be running out of gas after he and his team peaked during that scintillating effort against Tennessee a month ago.
How about the baseball hot stove? I could write about that. The Yankees just spent more than $240 million for two-fifths of their starting rotation for 2009 (Hello C.C. and A.J.). And they’re not done yet. With Andy Pettitte waffling on the Yanks’ $10 million offer, N.Y. could look to Ben Sheets or maybe even turn their attention to the offense, which sputtered badly last year in big spots. And while a full year from Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui would help, the Yankees are also lacking another big bopper to provide protection for their temperamental superstar Alex Rodriguez. Don’t be shocked if that protection comes in the form of Bronx native Manny Ramirez. One note: trading Robinson Cano right now would be a big mistake. Expect Cano to break out next season and become a reliable middle-of-the-order bat.
What about the Mets? They pulled off a couple of stellar deals of their own, including signing one of the best closers in the game to a relatively cheap, three-year, $37.5 million deal. I’m waiting for the first time somebody calls up sports radio and complains about K-Rod showing up his opponents and makes a comparison to Joba Chamberlain. Perhaps even more impressive than signing K-Rod was the trade the Mets pulled off for J.J. Putz, who instantly becomes the best setup man in baseball. Putz had an injury-plagued season last year in Seattle but could easily be the closer for a premier team. The only question now is whether Putz can accept a subordinate role.
How ‘bout them Knicks? The D’Antonis are suddenly relevant again. Despite the trades of their two leading scorers last month (incidentally, Al Harrington was the best all-around player in the trade), the Knicks have taken to Mike D’Antoni’s system and now play hard every night. That’s no small feat for a squad that often quit on games under Isiah Thomas. I just got finished watching the Knicks battle Phoenix in a gutsy 111-103 loss, a game in which they missed 32 three-pointers, fell behind by 17 in the first quarter, 15 in the third and 12 in the fourth and still almost stole the game. It may be debated whether D’Antoni’s system can win in the playoffs. But it clearly allows good athletes to make the most of their skills. And because those athletes enjoy playing in the system, they’ll run through a wall for D’Antoni. The new head coach may not have a defense-first philosophy. But the Knicks are already better on that end of the floor than they used to be because they’re more active and aggressive now. And they care.
Anyway, those are all the topics on which I could write my column. It’s a very busy time in the sports world and with Christmas almost here, the Super Bowl, the NCAA Tournament and the start of the baseball season are just around the corner as well. I guess I’ll have to think about it and get back to you when I decide what to write about. In any event, 2008 was a good year – at least the Red Sox didn’t win another World Series – and with the Yankees buying everybody in sight and the Knicks on the rebound, 2009 promises to be even better.
Happy holidays!