Tuesday, January 17, 2012

2012: The Year I Stopped Caring About Sports?

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I never imagined I'd write such a blasphemous title, but it may very well be true. I just don't care too much about sports right now. Maybe I'm just fed up.

I can't stand the people who are calling for the end of the Rex Ryan/Mark Sanchez Era after one mediocre, 8-8 season. I've been watching the Jets for over 20 years and we've been to three AFC Championship games during that time span -- two of those appearances came within the three seasons of the Ryan/Sanchez regime. Can fans stop overreacting and have a little patience?

I don't think Ryan is a football mastermind, and I don't think Sanchez is a superstar quarterback in the making, but I do know the duo has won a respectable amount of tough, gritty games in the past three years. I'm more than willing to give them a couple more seasons to work things out, and hopefully get us headed back to championship caliber football.

The rest of the Jets fans don't seem to be into that.

Meanwhile, Santonio Holmes is a punk and Plaxico Burress is old and slow. The Jets need to replace their entire receiving corps with the exception of slot man Jeremy Kerley

In the end, the annoying, impatient Jets fans make me not care much at all. Find some perspective, people.

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Then there's my crappy Mets. The Jets have brutally impatient fans and players who throw each other under the bus, and the Mets have no money and a professional liar as a GM.

Sandy Alderson knows what he's doing as a general manager, make no mistake about that; unfortunately that description includes his ability to deceive fans with tricky lingo and empty promises. Last week there was a report that an anonymous Met said Alderson's "turning New York into Oakland," and that certainly seems to be the case. I'm not blaming Alderson for the lack of pizzazz on our current Mets roster -- I know I can blame the Wilpons for their financial failures -- but Sandy never gives it to us straight. He never comes out and says, "We have no chance to be a player in the races for any of the major free agents, at any position."

I wish he would just put us out of our collective miseries. Just tell we poor Mets fans that we have absolutely no shot to win for a long, long time because of a complete and utter financial disaster. 
That way I won't have to watch the games. I don't think I'll watch much anyway this upcoming season. 

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Let's not forget about my poor, lowly New Jersey Nets.

Last season GM Billy King pulled off an impact deal that netted franchise PG Deron Williams, but now the guy can't really make a shot. He was shooting around 45-46% FG for his impressive career in Utah, then he comes to the swamp and consistently shoots around 37%. Go figure.

This offseason it seemed like we had a legitimate shot to pair all-world center Dwight Howard with D-Will, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. The package that featured C Brook Lopez and two first-round picks wasn't enough to seal the deal prior to the season, and once the season was ready to get under way, Lopez went down with a devastating foot injury. Even if he returns sometime during the second half, the Magic aren't going to want damaged goods in exchange for (in my opinion) the best two-way player in the NBA.

Not only will we not get Dwight, but we'll also lose Deron at the deadline or after the season. He'll sign elsewhere and shoot 46% again. Yay.

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I know it's bad when the Islanders are my favorite team to watch.

The Islanders are, and have been, one of the worst teams in the NHL for quite some time now. And yet, in the past few months I've preferred watching them over the Jets, Nets and Knicks.

Why? I don't know. Generally speaking I much prefer basketball and football to hockey, but at least the Islanders have some young, hungry players who have pride in their profession.

John Tavares is easily my favorite local athlete these days because he's an extremely hard worker who is also immensely talented. He doesn't simply sit on his talent to see how far his natural ability can take him, instead he busts his ass and develops his all-around game on a nightly basis. Not to mention the fact that he's the textbook definition of a team player. I think the concept of "team play" is most important in hockey and basketball, so Tavares' unselfish style suits his sport of choice. Things haven't gone according to plan this season (many projected the young Islanders as a breakout team on the rise), but I do believe this group will reach its potential within the next few years.

P.A. Parenteau is an excellent distributor, Matt Moulson is a legitimate finisher, Kyle Okposo has all-around ability, Michael Grabner possesses blinding speed, Nino Niederreiter is considered one of the top prospects in the game, Ryan Strome is on the way, and Travis Hamonic and Milan Jurcina are a pair of promising defensemen.

Still, I don't have the natural love of hockey that I have for both baseball and basketball. Eh, I don't feel like rambling anymore. You get the idea. My teams suck and I've had enough of it. I have better things to do with my time. Hopefully. 

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