Numba Two for Two Million

"Numba two ... Derek Jeter ... Numba two."

The introduction from Bob Sheppard still lives on in Yankee Stadium even though the great New York Yankee announcer passed away this summer. His iconic voice only rings around the stadium for Derek Jeter, though, and if the Yankees are smart it will keep ringing in 2011.

Jeter is getting older and his game isn't as great as it used to be. Despite his play, his demeanor in the locker room is more than a good enough reason to resign him. As part of the Yankees "Core Four" – consisting of Jeter, Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera – Jeter came up through the Yankees' farm system and has 15 years experience with them. As the team gets younger and younger, the Yankees will need a quality veteran presence, even if Jeter is close to 36.

His range is still there and his playoff performance was nothing to balk at. He can get on base, the problem is more that his teammates were leaving him there.

Money is no problem. The organization throws it around like it's lint in its pockets. So there's really nothing to discuss. Jeter is a historic Yankee, and more than that he's one even Yankee-haters can like. If the team loses Jeter they lose a good-playing, veteran shortstop and common link to the baseball world.

If the Yankees suddenly decide they don't have the money and they don't want Jeter to be a Yankee, I have the perfect solution. Send him down the subway to the Mets. They can put him at second base, round out the tight infield and get some good at-bats. The Mets are close to the top in salary, so Jeter could stay in New York and possibly make some good money. Win, win and definitely win.

Pen in Pennington

Are you kidding me right now? The Dolphins’ quarterback situation never ceases to disappoint me. I haven’t been happy since I was 7 and Dan Marino instituted the fake spike.

I’ll just put it right out there without anything fancy going on: Chad Henne is terrible. Ten interceptions and eight touchdowns through eight games is unacceptable. He has a 78.2 quarterback rating and can’t hit a receiver if the guy was standing there, alone, on the fifty yard line with absolutely no one around.

OK, so a bit dramatic. He can’t hit the receiver when there’s a dog barking to distract him.

I never wanted the Dolphins to take Henne in the first place. He wasn’t the best pick to make, and I had a problem that he was a few years older than the other potential stars. We need a long-term guy. A guy who’s job it is to throw touchdowns, not interceptions. Henne is supposed to be a really intelligent guy, but he can’t even remember what color his team is wearing. Oh, wait, my team isn’t wearing purple today? My bad.

Chad Pennington is a good quarterback; I liked him when he played for the Jets. And his completion percentage is stellar. He is the NFL’s all-time leader in completion percentage (minimum of 1,500 pass attempts) with 66.1. The difference between last year and this year is the receiving corps. Davone Bess is easily one of my favorite receivers right now. He’s no Hines Ward or Andre Johnson, but his ability to stick with the ball and bring it to the ground with him is what the Dolphins have commonly lacked. He only has three touchdowns this season, but that doesn’t speak to his potential. The Dolphins have 11 total, 8 thrown by Henne. Everyone knows about Brandon Marshall – he bolsters the offense as well.

Pennington, this is your chance. You’re arm’s been through a lot and I’m asking you, once more, to break out the cannon and get this team going again. Miami is great at doing two things: losing early, and coming back or winning early and dozing off. I want to be able to actually like my quarterback for once.

Check out The Stylus for more of Negley's Nook!

Hey guys,

Needless to say I haven't been updating nearly as much as I would have liked. Between writing and working for The College at Brockport's award winning newspaper, The Stylus, working for the Sports Information Director and keeping up with classes, I've been swamped with stuff to do.

But as the semester dies down and as we have a slight break between fall and winter sports here at campus, I'll definitely be updating this with my sports thoughts more often. I'll also include a weekly poll so you guys can get involved. In the mean time, here are some more sport thoughts to check out:

• ESPN is trying out a new brand marketed toward women. It's called espnW and it's seems quite ridiculous: http://bit.ly/aXcrIE
• There are just those people who drive you crazy on Sundays: http://bit.ly/bDgNpv
• I really have no words for the Mets ... well, I actually have a lot: http://bit.ly/akI4d0

And always check out thestylus.net for a weekly dive into Negley's Nook and to catch up on Brockport sports.

~~Negley

Nation’s No. 4 is world’s No. 1

Technorati Tags: Jamie Dixon,Pittsburgh Panthers,college basketball,NBA,Pitt basketball

Brett Favre is under investigation for sending a Jets employee lewd photographs while he played for the team. The New York Jets made their own headlines by allegedly sexually harassing a female reporter. Tiger Woods crashed his SUV into a fire hydrant, and out spewed his hidden secret of mistresses in the double digits.

Jamie Dixon, coach of the Pittsburgh Panthers, pulled over on a busy highway in Pittsburgh to help the passengers of a car that was pinned up against the guardrail.

Point: Dixon.

It’s a sensational world. A world that is filled with humans who want to see others’ demise play out. Unfortunately, those associated with sports are often the ones who voluntarily fill this role.

Not a week goes by where the breaking news ticker at ESPN isn’t going off with news of an athlete driving under the influence or getting into a club brawl. There’s never a news ticker for an athlete or coach who did good for the world. An athlete/coach who did something like take time out of his day to pull a victim with a broken ankle out of a car on the side of the road.

Dixon has led Pittsburgh to many firsts. First Elite Eight appearance. First No. 1 ranking. First No 1. seed entering the NCAA tournament. He’s a phenomenal coach who stays out of the news because he is a phenomenal man.

Dixon found out earlier in the week that his squad was ranked fourth in the AP preseason polls and were favored to win the stacked Big East. That’s a pretty big deal. Most coaches would gain a bloated ego. An ego that would keep them from doing any physical work to help someone else.

Dixon could have called 911. He could have reported the accident while he drove on by. But he didn’t. He injured himself to help a fellow human being—a simple civilian as many athletes or coaches might think—feel safe and secure. Why is this such a rare phenomenon?

Plenty of players contribute to charities and start charities of their own. Plenty say they want to be good role models. But they make mistake after mistake and live life like everyone owes them something. In reality, that player owes those people because they are who made the player a star.

Dixon’s actions were a gleaming hope for the sporting world. Dixon himself is a gleaming hope. He conducts himself with class, generosity and honesty. He doesn’t serve as a stepping stone to NBA riches. He teaches his men how to play basketball and life the right way.

Under Dixon, Pittsburgh players consistently graduate. What Division I college athlete, especially at a premier program like Pittsburgh, graduates anymore? Dixon’s do. They also have consistently high scores on the NCAA Academic Progress Rate.

In high school, it wasn’t uncommon for star players to do something wrong and get away with it. The star quarterback may have failed his math test, but he’s the X in the formula for a winning team. So that F he got will gain some half ovals to make it look like a B.

In college, the trend continues onward if not gets worse. There’s no point in taking real classes when you take Intro to Dance and a few other easy classes to stay enrolled. It’s not like you’ll need the classes for your major—it’s not like you’ll be graduating.

In life, sport participants still get away with acts civilians may not. A DWI is waved away, a sexual harassment charge is swept under the turf.

It’s shake of a finger or a slap of the wrist. But not in Jamie Dixon’s world. Jamie Dixon showed once again that he’s a good human being in a profession where that seems to be rare. If only more athletes acted in his manner, people may not think so negatively of sports and the people who play and coach them.

Gang Green for Texas

As the NFL's training camp fast approaches it is that time to really think about where each team is going. It's also that time to make a pre-training camp Super Bowl prediction.

I've been well aware that the season is approaching, but until I got on the phone with a guy in the New York Jets front office, I hadn't really thought about the Super Bowl and what team was most likely to take home the Lombardi trophy. I was on the phone for almost 20 minutes talking Jets and I realized something that I hadn't before.

I definitely had the Jets atop my list of best teams. They have a phenomenal defense and the offense can put points on the board. Their coach, Rex Ryan, has done a great job of whipping his guys into shape and convincing them that they are, indeed, the best team in football. When I first heard some of his high jinx, I wasn't so sure it was the right thing. But last season proved that it may be just what these guys need.

On top of this, they have signed some key players in this offseason that will most definitely catapult them to the top. LaDainian Tomlinson. Antonio Cromartie. Jason Taylor. Santonio Holmes. I wrote it before and I'll write it again: the Jets blew everyone out of the water this offseason with their acquisitions and they weren't even in dire need to do it.

What I hadn't realized before this phone call is that there isn't a surefire team to rival the Jets. Pittsburgh is out; Ben Roethlisberger is on suspension, right tackled Willie Colon looks to miss the season, star wideout Holmes is gone. There are just too many questions around the Steelers right now. The Indianapolis Colts are on the slide, they're out. The Patriots are falling form prominence too. Baltimore could rival the Jets; their defense is easily second best if we're putting the Jets at the top and the Ravens offense was bolstered by Anquan Boldin.
Hands down though, no one is at the Jets level right now. I had the Jets taking the AFC East and going deep into the playoffs. But now that I really sit down and think about it, they're my Super Bowl pick right now too. As of this exact moment, who is going to take them off of their thrown? Who is going to be able to crack that Rex Ryan defense? There is no offense that can do so. In the entire league, I would give props to the Minnesota Vikings if Brett Favre returns to have the sole chance at taking the Jets down.

The only way the Jets will fall is if they all crack down by the end of the season. If they decide to stop fighting, all is lost. But as I'm told, they're working really hard for this. They're putting in they're all every single day they're on that field. So I hope my inside information is right. Because I've just placed the New York Jets as my pre-training camp Super Bowl pick.

Who changed the rules?!

Wow, almost another perfect game. It would have been the third of this young season (it's only June 3rd if you've lost track). But, alas, no perfect game here. Detroit Tiger's pitcher Almando Galarraga's was called off on account of some new rules I seem to be unaware of.

See, the way I've always played is that when the ball is in your glove and you put your foot on first base before the runner gets there, the runner is out. At least, that's the way I've played for the last 19 years. We even use that rule in my Adult Recreation Softball League, where there are plenty of ridiculous rules and regulations that no one agrees with. We have a second home base specifically for runners, and a line to stand behind in the outfield for female batters. Insane much? Yeah, I think so.

But even our insane league still uses the basic rules of baseball. The defense steps on the base with the ball in his glove, and sorry batter, but you my friend are out. And in this instance, it's out number 27: game over. Galarraga gets his (rightful) perfect game and is forever commemorated in the record books. There's a "Happily Ever After," the back cover is closed and the light is turned off on the nighttime story.

Joe Joyce was the umpire that incorrectly called the runner safe. He immediately went into the clubhouse and rewatched the play. He got it wrong. He knows it. He feels awful, downright atrocious that he stole a perfect game from a young man. His anger built while talking about it. I give him props. What umpire admits he got a call wrong? No one ever says "wow, I screwed up there." Maybe they do at home with their significant others, but no umpire goes on tape and admits to a nation of screaming baseball fans that he was in fact terribly mistaken. Joyce, I commend you.

Doesn't make it right though, as much as Joyce wishes everything were. Commisioner Bud Selig refuses to overturn the call and give Galarraga the perfect game. Shame on you, Selig. This young man did something so rare in sports, something so, well, perfect. He deserves to have his name go under the title "Perfect games pitched." But it unfortunately won't. The story ends there, and the lights go out. But this bedtime story doesn't end with a simple ending that leaves you with a smile as you fade off to sleep. No, it leaves you confused and wondering why perfection was unfairly stolen. And that won't help put you to sleep at all...

icare about the ipod…except not really

Okay, for all who DON’T know because apparently it is such big news, recently acquired New York Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes disrupted a flight today…with an ipod.

Personally, this is the most ridiculous piece of breaking news I have ever seen. And as I’ve previously stated, I watched Brett Favre, his wife and Vikings head coach Brad Childress drive to Vikings’ training camp last August. The video feed was from a helicopter and followed a black SUV down a highway. Yeah, I know ridiculous breaking news.

This afternoon I got an ESPN Alert saying that Holmes, traded to the Jets from Pittsburgh because of his troubling behavior, refused to turn off his ipod and created a disturbance on a plane to Pittsburgh from Newark Liberty International Airport. Really? Really?

Sports news is getting ridiculous. A refusal to turn off an ipod has turned into the biggest news of the day. Should he have just turned it off? Of course. Should the media have jumped on the story and blown it so out of proportion that Jets coach Rex Ryan has to have a press conference? Absolutely not.

ESPN, I don’t know if you’re just bored or if you really think this kind of stuff is news, but you should really rethink you’re idea of what the media does. Information is valuable—but not when some football player doesn’t turn off an ipod. I’m almost ashamed to say I watch ESPN, read ESPN and receive ESPN news alerts. Almost.

On a side note, as well as learning to turn off your ipod, Holmes you should really learn to keep clothes on if you’re putting pictures on the web. Absolutely no one wants to see that. No. One.