JETS SIGN PLAX

The Jets have signed Plaxico Burress to a one year fully guaranteed contract. This move pretty much solidifies the receiving corps and we've certainly seen the last of Braylon Edwards. I'm not sure how to feel about this move, one on hand Plax is a big time receiver with big play ability, on the other hand he's been in the joint for two years so what's to say he knows how to still play, I mean that's a lot of money to give a guy who we haven't seen outside of his jumpsuit since '08. But then again, with Holmes, Plax, and J-Co, this is an above average unit. But one thing that goes unnoticed here is Braylon was a spectacular blocker on the outside, probably second best in the league behind Hines Ward, this can't be under-played, Plax better be ready to be physical when the Jets run the rock 60% of the time. But if he does for the Jets what he did for the Giants in '07, I think I can live with it. Hey did you hear about the new Plaxico Burress cocktail? It's just one very expensive shot! Badadaoomche.

P.S. Jets are close to re-signing Cromartie, I'm sure they'll pay through the nose because they put themselves in a helluva bad bargaining position after whiffing on Asomugha.
 -  Tone

See You Later, Osi

Osi Umenyiora has some set.

Thinking he can hold out on the remaining two years of his contract when the New York Football Giants have as much firepower at defensive end as they do seems ludacris to me.

The remaining $8 million over two years may not be worthy of his talent, but in a year where every team (including the Giants) seems strapped for cash, Osi picked a bad year to prolong his own personal lockout from the G-Men.

Combine that with the fact that the Giants already have great defensive ends in Justin Tuck, Mathias Kiwanuka and 2010 first round pick Jason Pierre-Paul, and I can't find a compelling reason to expand and extend the contract of a nine year veteran with knee problems.

If I'm the Giants, my focus is on five positions. Linebacker, running back, offensive line, wide receiver and tight end, in that order.

As you can see, I left out defensive line. If I'm Jerry Reese and John Mara, Osi Umenyiora is the least of my concerns. For all I care he can go sit on a warm sandy beach and sip fruity cocktails with little pink straw hats.

LB, RB, OL, WR, TE.

JPP's rookie highlights vs. Jacksonville. Can't wait for football season...

- Dick

NO ASO

Jets according to many sources are out on Nnamdi Asomugha, so thanks Assso for wasting everyone's time for 2 days I really appreciate it man. Douche. Good luck against Nicks and the rest of the NFC east. On to Cro and co. if they'll even come back, worse thing Jets could've done is waste 48 hours making the other FA's feel slighted and now have to come back and say, "hey we want you back." That's what makes this worse.

 

Someone remind me again please how many super bowl's the Eagles have won? Oh that's right ZERO, what makes you think this trend won't continue. 

- Tone

Jets Release Mark Brunell

As per the New York Jets, they have released veteran QB Mark Brunell, sad day for Dirty Sanchez. More info to come on other impending moves shortly.
P.S. Mark Brunell will likely be resigned on the cheap after Aso "situation" is resolved.

RIP Hideki

I was truly upset when I heard that former Yankee pitcher Hideki Irabu took his own life today. From the beginning til the end, it always seemed like Hideki couldn't overcome the challenges that faced him. Were expectations too high? Of course they were. Was he treated unfairly by the New York media and Yankee fan base when he didn't meet the godly expectations bestowed upon him? Of course he was.

It's just sad that in today's society, when most people hear that Hideki Irabu killed himself, they are reminded of his inability to perform while in the pinstripes. Forget what kind of a person he was in the clubhouse or at home with his family. Because of the way he underperformed on the mound, in America he was always be recognized as an underachiever.

Ever since he was called a "Fat Toad" by owner George Steinbrenner, his destiny was sealed and his fate decided. I just hope that he has now found a place where his mind is free and his expectiations leveled.

RIP Hideki...

Bush's and Ocho's and Stomper's Oh My!

Are you kidding me Bill Belichick, trying to counter Gang Green's solid offseason plans with your Three-ring circus reaches? Albert Haynesworth and Chad Ochocinco are now New England Patriots and I couldn't be more thrilled about it. First off how do you think Bill will handle Haynesworth intentionally stomping on an opposing player's unprotected head while defenseless on the ground? I don't think Mr. Button-up Belicheat will approve.

And how do you think Belichick will handle Albert's constant questioning of the coaching staff and subsequent refusals to play in certain schemes. I guess, not well. Yeah, a lot of football players have issues, but the biggest insult that you can give one is that they don't play hard or hard for the team, and Mr. Haynesworth does not. Does this sound like a Belichick kind of guy, I think not, but good luck reigning in this lazy waste of cash.
     Secondly Mr. Belichick great job getting Ochocinco, I'm not sure if you've heard but it's not 2003 bud. Have you watched Chad lately, he's a shell of his former self. I happen to like Chad and his antics because they're mostly harmless and mostly humorous. However, I doubt the coach who denies his players access to the media on certain occasions (see: Bruschi's Pats Media Rules), and requires players to remain in a fake shell, will embrace Ocho's constant tweets, constant video logs, and lovely endzone celebrations. It's so obvious that Belichick is grasping for straws here because these moves go completely against his philosophy, chalk up another win, a mental victory for Mr. T and Sexy Rexy.

P.S. Reggie Bush is not a very good ball player, although he will help the Fins, nothing scary about this at all.

Peace Out B to the Rad

Listen, we all knew this was coming, as I said in an earlier post, there's no way Brad Smith is returning to the Jets with the proposed big-time moves Mr. T is attempting. Unfortunately fans of the green and white will have to see Brad Smith twice a year because he has signed a 4 year deal worth $15 million with the Buffalo Bills. All week it looked like he was going to go to Chicago but it seems Buffalo came in at the last minute. Good for him, as he will get plenty of opportunity in Buffalo as one of their only real play-makers. Brad Smith was one of my favorite players of the last decade and who can forget his epic one-shoed return against the Bengals on Thanksgiving, and numerous big kick returns throughout his career, he will be missed, but so goes the business.
P.S. It seems as if the Jets and Texans are the two front runners for Aso, more to come when it's available.
Au Revoir Brad

John C. Kelly Legends Softball Tournament

For those of you that live in the Dobbs Ferry/Westchester, NY area there is a good cause to turn your attention to this coming weekend. The John Kelly Legends Softball tournament at Gould Park in Dobbs Ferry, NY, all proceeds go to the International OCD foundation. The tournament goes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday July 30th. In memory of a good friend.
For Further Details:
http://jcklegendstournament.bbnow.org/

BELTRAN FINALLY TRADED

Mind bottling, so many things going on right now. It's not official yet but Joel Sherman is reporting the Mets are very close to trading Beltran to the San Francisco Giants for Minor League Pitcher Zach Wheeler. Wheeler, I mentioned in a previous post, was the piece I wanted because he's got a huge upside. So if this goes through it's a boomshakalaka for the Mets. It's been real Carlos, hope you don't have to awkwardly sit in the dugout in Cincy tonight.

Have Umpires Completely Lost it?

I know this happened last night and has been all over ESPN today but I have to comment on the ridiculous ending to the Pirates - Braves game from last night. If you didn't see it you're an idiot, but it ended in the 19th inning after something like 6 hours and 45 minutes with a play at the plate. Men were on 2nd and 3rd and some dude from the Braves hit a groundball to short, shortstop threw it home and the catcher tagged out the runner. I mean this wasn't a ball, plate, runner, all at the same time classic play at the plate. This dude Lugo, who I haven't seen since 1999, was approximately 10 feet from the plate when tagged out, he barely decided to slide. The guy even got up with his head down, like "damn that was pathetic I'm out, let's go to the 20th". But no he was called safe. Take a look for yourself...

Like my weekday softball league umpires are making bang-bang calls and these MLB umps are supposed to be the cream of the crop. I thought I saw it all when Jim Joyce blew the perfect game last year, but this year trumps it all, awful call after awful call, throwing out managers before they even make their way out on the field. These umps absolutely do not get it. I say clean house like during the umpire strike, just promote the AAA guys, new blood. Please before someone goes Wally Backman on these guys and delays the game one hour.

Aso Update

UPDATE: The Jets and Santonio Holmes have come to an agreement. (as per Jenny Vrentas). Adam Schein, who looks like a cartoon character, said the deal is $24 million over 5 guaranteed, although the cap hit will certainly be more than $5 mill per. One down a few more to go! Next, Aso/Cro, honestly I'm happy with either one and Aso seems more unlikely now. And please call Shaun Ellis for pete's sake.



Michael Lombardi, who is a pretty reliable source, tweeted today:
    "I keep hearing from well placed relible [sic] NFL sources that this Jet talk and Nnamdi Asomugha is serious and I mean serious."
Well that pretty much explains itself, B T dubs if this somehow happens the Jets can forget about getting a 2nd WR to replace Braylon. They also seem to be parting ways with nickel back Drew Coleman who had a very solid season for them last year. This is a big loss but Drew can be replaced by a free agent like Drayton Florence who has a similar skill set at age 31.
More to come later in the day... 

CC Continues to Deal

CC Sabathia earned another win for the New York Yankees yesterday to move his league leading total to 15. At 15-5 with a 2.56 ERA, CC is proving his point as a candidate for the Cy Young Award. More impressive than his season total is what he has been able to accomplish over the past ten starts.

CC is 9-1 over his last ten starts. He has also given up a minuscule five runs over his last 54.1 innings pitched. That's less than one run per nine innings. To be honest, those numbers are simply out of this world.

Without CC, the Yankees would not be in contention for the AL East crown. With CC, the Yankees are two games behind the AL East leading Boston Red Sox.

With a 6.5 game lead in the Wild Card, it's safe to say that as long as this train doesn't completely derail from the track, the Yankees will be alive and well in September and October. And with all the pitching concerns they will undoubtedly have going into the playoffs, at least one thing will be certain.

CC Sabathia will be leading the way.

GO TIME.

Ok. Things are moving fast, real fast. So I'm just going to quickly recap today's events in Jets Land as far as I know.

First things first I was completely confident Right Tackle Damien Woody would be back for one more year after being released shortly after last season. He repeatedly has stated it's Jets or retirement and the Jets want him back so ipso facto he'd be back. However, OL Wayne Hunter who played in place of big Wood in some spots last season has re-signed. So as of now I expect them to make a run at Big wood only at a small price as an insurance policy. Very disappointing.

According to reports from Jets beat reporters Manish Mehta and Rich Cimini along with Jetsblog the Jets have reached out to S Eric Smith, WR Santonio Holmes, CB Antonio Cromartie and CB Nnamdi Asomugha. Boom! Aso, insane, I'm moist thinking about it. But let's not get ahead of ourselves, hopefully something with materialize within the next few days regarding Aso. Anywho, what's most surprising here is no word of Braylon Edwards. Yeah, it's just day one but it just goes to show where they rank Bray in their list of important UFA's. So are they perhaps banking on a 2nd tier #2 further down the line?
    To me it seems like they're going all out on Holmes (which is the right thing to do) and then trying to shore up their 2nd corner spot while keeping an eye out/doing their due diligence on Asomugha. Solid so far Mr. T.
Buttttttt,   Big time negative here Trader Mike: No word on what their stance is on Shaun Ellis. This guy single-handedly stopped  the run for the Jets last year/the last 10 seasons, and I fear without re-signing this guy their run D will suffer big time. He's clearly irreplaceable right now with the inexperience of 2011 D-Line Draftees Wilkerson and Ellis.
Anyway this is just day 1, more to come tomorrow.

Plax Back to the G-Men?

Some Say Why...I Say Why Not.

As much as it kills me to hear that Shaun O'Hara and Rich Seubert won't be back anchoring the O-Line for Big Blue this year, I am that much more excited about the prospect of Plax coming back to the G-Men. I just hope Tom Coughlin and the Mara family didn't burn too many bridges with Plax since his infamous "incident".

Although it would be a big distraction to have him back and the likelihood that he is flat out washed up is relatively high at age 34, the slight chance that he could return to his pre-self-inflicting gunshot wounding, Superbowl game winning, six foot, six inch self is enough to convince me to take a shot. Also, I just know if another team like the Eagles get him, Plax will inevitably torch us for years to come.

So while Eli may not have any time in the pocket with 2/5 of his offensive line gone, at least we can still rely on that slant and go off the back foot to a 6'6 goomba in the back of the end zone.

G-Men...Do It

Thank You Baby Jesus!

     Well obviously you've all heard, the lockout is over. Yay Football is back! I have to admit it's ruhl ruhl tough to keep focus when all you have to watch is a miserable baseball team just waiting to trade its best players. But fear no more, because the best sport in all of sports has returned. The next two to three weeks are going to be crazier than big ben's bachelor party. So I'm going to give you my list of must-do's of the off-season when it comes to Mr. T and the New York Jets:

1. Re-sign Shaun Ellis. This may come as a surprise because he's about 40, but he's the longest tenured Jet and an anchor to the shaky defensive line. Big Katt always steps up in huge spots and is a leader on the front. Especially with the lockout Ellis is an extremely valuable vet with knowledge of the system who can mentor the rookies and provide added depth along with perhaps Jason Taylor and/or Trevor Price.

2. Sign 2 of the the 3 "skill" guys. It's too tall an order cap-wise to re-sign Holmes, Edwards, and Cromartie. I want Santonio Holmes and Antonio "Baby's Daddy" Cromartie back in the green and white. First of all the Jets can't afford to lose Cromartie because the drop-off from him to 2nd year player Kyle Wilson or even veteran Drew Coleman (assuming he's re-signed) is far too significant. And we all know Rex's defense is completely reliant on stellar cornerback play - so why weaken a vital area to remain status quo at another. And if I have to choose a WR I'm taking the game-changer Holmes. I love Edwards, he's been great in NY but I feel his skill-set is far more replaceable than the other two.

3. Lock up the "little guys." The Jets need to bring back one of the two safeties between Ihedigbo and Eric Smith. My preference is James Ihedigbo because their skill set is similar (great run stoppers, below average in coverage) and Ihedigbo is a stellar special teams player. Re-sign Digs. Also lock up either Robert Turner or Wayne Hunter to provide OL depth. Which brings me to...

4. Get Woody back. The Jets released veteran right tackle Damien Woody after last season with the hope that they can re-sign him under a lesser contract. This is a great idea as Vlad Ducasse has not shown he is ready to take the reigns and Wayne Hunter may not be back. Damien has alluded to the fact that he loves Rex and playing for the Jets and may give them a discount to come back. Get it done.

5. Finally let Brad Smith walk. It pains me to say this because I'm a huge Brad Smith fan, but the money he will demand is not worth it and can be allocated elsewhere. Brad Smith is a top 3 return guy in the AFC and his intangibles on offense and special teams are significant, however, in order to re-sign many of our other players (Pool, Digs, Woody, T-Rich, etc) it's necessary to let Brad go. The Jets drafted Jeremy Kerley who has a similar skill-set, along with both McKnights who can be useful in the return game and on Special Teams.

This sums up just a small amount of work that needs to be done over the next couple weeks. I'm sure Mr. T has his plan and back-up plans all set up ready to go, let's hope he makes the right decisions.

P.S. - Giants offseason to-do list coming soon Courtesy of Dick

Get Me Nnamdi

RT @Just_Nehpets: Where are the most likely places you see Nnamdi ends up? … Guesswork: Dall, Phil, Hou, NYJ longshot. Hear he wants Jets. 

 - Peter King's Twitter via TheJetsBlog.com


   Yes you read that correctly. Preach Mr. King. Can you imagine a Revis - Asomugha CB tandem? Yeah it's a looooong shot but only for properly fitting Nnamdi under the cap. But if he wants to form the best secondary in NFL history and have a legitimate shot at the Super Bowl he'll sacrifice a few dollars to make it happen. Wishful thinking I know but it gets me all worked up thinking about it. Opposing teams might as well revert to a wildcat formation all the time because a quarterback would be useless. Trader Mike make it happen!

I asked @Mark_Sanchez what he needs to do to take his game to the next level. - Tvider

I (Jim Rome) asked @Mark_Sanchez what he needs to do to take his game to the next level. - Tvider

Four More Years!

Brandon "Doooooooob" Dubinsky and the New York Rangers agreed to a 4-year deal today that will earn the Rangers forward 4.2 million dollars per season. While this is big news, it is just the latest addition in a string of players the Rangers have signed or re-signed that "Just get it". From a scorer in Brad Richards, to an enforcer in Mike Rupp, to a fan favorite in Dubinsky, the Rangers have filled a need in each of these signings.

New York loves a scorer like Richards to go with guys like Marian Gaborik.

New York loves an enforcer like Rupp to go along with guys like Brandon Prust.

And lastly New York loves a hard-working, talented young player like Brandon Dubinsky to go along with guys like Ryan Callahan.

The only problem in this equation is that Callahan has not been re-signed for next year.

So Rangers, you've made all the right moves up to this point. Do the right thing, "pay the man his money" and sign Mr. Callahan.

Cue the hockey fight!

WOW...WAKE ME UP WHEN THERE'S FOOTBALL

       I feel like I'm not alone here when I say that I'm beyond sick and tired of CBA updates and that little piece of garbage Adam Schefter saying the same dumb shit every 3 hours. Please how about no more NFL updates until I see Bart Scott out on the field being a straight manchild. Can anyone take Chris Mortenson standing there with his ridiculous smile in front of a random building telling us 'well it could be Friday, but it might be in 3 weeks'. Ugh save it Sigfreid. I feel like I'm watching the Casey Anthony trial, slow as molasses.

Now this always cheers me up...
Here we go Tom!!

END OF AN "ERA"

     Unless something earth-shattering occurs like I find a job or become tall and handsome, today will be Carlos Beltran's last day playing at Citi Field. As I write this the Mets are getting spanked around by Jake F-in Westbrook so it's all pretty anti-climatic. However, I have to admit I'm going to miss Beltran's absolutely ridiculous at-bat music that he has kept the same for seven years. Who keeps the same entrance song for 7 years? It is catchy though, Cue the latin music!....

PS - I'm also going to miss your giant mole, hey Carlos get that thing an agent, it's got a mind of its own.

ANGEL GETS IT!

    Waaahh J-Bay your hammy, I'm so going to miss your .200 BA and like negative homeruns. Here's to the real Angel in the outfield...taste it La Russa. B t dubs, I love the flip of the bat and the rubbing it in by Pagan, the Mets aren't going anywhere so who cares do the merengue around the bases whats the difference? I'd personally do the Bernie around the bases if I ever hit a walk-off even though I know I'm guaranteed to get a 99 mph fastball to the dome next at-bat, it'd be so worth it. Take us home fellas.........

The Tiger Woods Debacle Continues

In the latest episode of the soap opera that is Tiger Woods' life, Woods fired Steve Williams, his long-time caddy, after twelve years of loyal service. It begs one to ask "When will this horror movie end?".

No time soon, I believe.

As Tiger continues to play inconsistent golf, back out of majors and fire his coach and caddie, his American fans will continue to dwell on what could have been. Some are looking to find a replacement for Tiger, someone who can come in and fill the gap left by the world's greatest golfer. Can Phil Mickelson provide that? Doubtful. Dustin Johnson? Probably not.

In the end there is only one man who can bring back the excitement of golf to the American people. So from one golfer to another, please wake up Tiger.

Glory Days...

KRIS JENKINS HAS RETIRED

     As per TheJetsblog.com via Kris Jenkins' facebook page, he has announced his retirement from the NFL today. Jenkins said on his facebook page:

     "Wanted to let you know that I have loved the support and respect that you all have given me throughout my career. But it is time for the torch to be passed to the younger players. I am going to hang up the cleats! The mind is always willing to play but the body deserves the rest. Thank you for the opportunties to play in Carolina and New York."

   Big Jenks you were a force to be reckoned with when you were healthy. It's too bad that no human knees can support your massiveness anymore. I met Jenks once in the stands at the meadowlands when he was sitting with his family during the Green Bay - Jets game and let me tell you, dude's leg was the exact same size as me. I'm sure we'll see Jenks on TV somewhere soon cause he's an outgoing guy. Best of luck K Jenks.

Knicks To Open Up 2011-2012 At Home Against The Miami Heat

And now please welcome...Your New York Knicks! With all this lockout bologna flying around the NBA it's great to hear some positive news about the upcoming season. In the words of Bard Scott, I "Cant wait" for this epic match-up between what should be two of the top teams in the East. Sprinkle a little MSG and Spike Lee on top and you've got yourself a legendary opening night.

For the diehards, a little video to get your blood flowing:

LEBRON'S STILL A DOUCHE

   Way to go man, spit in Cleveland's face then try to come back and pretend it's all ok. James definitely paid all these little people to come into this rinky dink gym and cheer for him, to reinforce his ego - if this was open to the public some crazy bum would have tried to set him on fire. Great slo-mo shots ya herb.

IKE, STOP BEING A WEINER

     Can you believe it? Ike Davis out for the year after a minor collision on the infield - in EARLY MAY! I totally believe it. I made a joke when it happened to my father, "hey watch he'll be out all year". I laughed but then got sad cause I knew I was probably right. Welp, low and behold, bang, out for the year. You can't make this up. My grandmother would have walked away from that baby-sized collision without a limp and this professional athlete is in a wheelchair for six months. Another bright day for the Mets!

PS - Who's got it better than professional baseball players? These guys are all like glass, they get injured if the infield isn't watered the right way or the grass is too long, and they all still get to relax and get paid with their guaranteed contracts. Godspeed Ike.

BYE BYE BELTRAN!?

    So obviously the Metsies have blown their load so-to-speak, one game under the .500 mark and slowly declining as their wild-card deficit grows and grows. So now is the time to start moving pieces right? Beltran, a Met since 2005, is the most note-worthy Met on the block and is all but guaranteed to be a goner by the 31st deadline. Among the squads interested: Yanks, Giants, Red Sox, Braves, Tigers, Filthies. In Beltran's case I don't care where the hell he goes, he's a great player when healthy but I refuse to believe he's not a selfish player if the only time he is 100% healthy is in his contract years (2004 and 2011).
  
    With that said, I want Dominic Brown from the Filthies. I don't want 2 mid-level prospects that always in the Mets case amount to nothing. Give me one top guy and I'm good to go. And that is either Dominic Brown (he's 23) or Zack Wheeler the 21 year old right hander from the Giants. This kid's a stud with unreal stuff and mid to top of the rotation talent. Get it done Sandy, top prospect or nothing, Beltran's tearing it up, take advantage now. Focker, out.

Dick N Tone on The Phone is Back Tonight!

Stop by tonight, July 18th at 11pm as our show will be broadcasting live from Tony's Basement. If you would like to chat during our program, our live call-in number is (323) 580-5736.

Click on the link below for live audio:

'Dick N Tone on The Phone' Weekly Radio Show