Wang To Miss A Month

The Yankees will be without number one starter Chien Ming-Wang for about a month according to statements made by GM Brian Cashman. Their Taiwanese ace tweaked his hamstring while running during a spring training workout a couple days ago. Young pitchers Jeff Karstens and Darrell Rasner are expected to fill the "short-term" void. Karstens has had a terrific spring and was believed to be in serious competition with Kei Igawa for the final spot in the rotation. It's likely that he's the front-runner. The injury also opens the door for Andy Pettitte to take the mound on opening day. He's been sidelined with back spasms, but both he and Cash seem optimistic the veteran lefty will be ready by April 2.

Eli Engaged

A month and a half ago Peyton Manning made big news when he finally got his ring. Now his kid brother is in the news for giving one out. The fourth year QB proposed to his long time girlfriend Abby Crews, a girl he's been dating since their days at Ole Miss. With older brother in town to host SNL, Eli popped the question he's been waiting to ask for months according to family friends. Hopefully his brightened personal future will translate in to greater success on the football field.

In March Madness action two games have gone final, and two more higher seeds have moved on. Kansas and Memphis won tight games to advance to the Elite Eight. The number one Jayhawks survived a close battle with Southern Illinois despite a pace that favored the Salukis. As for Memphis, an unlikely missed layup by Acie Law IV with A&M up one opened the door for the clinching free throws. With A&M eliminated, my brackets have been officially busted. Like this country, I placed my faith in Texas (with UT and A&M) and have been sorely let down.

Giants on Verge of First Move

Shortly after publishing an entry yesterday, reports surfaced that the Giants had reached an agreement with restricted free agent FB Vonta Leach. The Texans have a week to match the offer, but if they don't, would receive no compensation for his departure. Since Leach went undrafted and the Texans tendered him at the lowest level, the Giants can essentially acquire him as an unrestricted free agent. The only hook is that the Texans have the one-week window to match. Leach is regarded as a terrific, power-run blocker. With the RB tandem of Brandon Jacobs and Reuben Droughns, that is exactly the type of football the Giants will look to play. In that regard, the signing makes sense. But a fullback, with all of their needs? It doesn't seem like Reese has attacked the free agency period with a clear plan.

This offseason the Giants have said goodbye to their all-time leading rusher, two offensive tackles, two outside linebackers, a wide receiver, a cornerback, a kicker, and kick returner. They've filled those holes with one running back, and potentially his lead blocker. I'm a firm believer in building through the draft, but it's only 7 rounds long. With the free agent pool dried up, there don't seem to be many moves Big Blue can make. It appears the Giants will take a step backwards in 2007.

Tourney, Giants, and More

I've been MIA the past week, but my commentary from March Madness can be found at http://mvn.com/ncaa-syracuse. Opening weekend featured some thrilling overtime games, but most of the higher seeds have survived. In other words, the people who know the least about college basketball are probably winning your office pool. My brackets were busted when the rest of the Texas Longhorns decided not to help out freshman sensation Kevin Durant. While he put together one of the finest seasons ever for a freshman, he can't compete with '03 Melo without that national championship.

With the sport's world transfixed on the Big Dance, there's not too much for NY sports fans to get excited about. The Giants are one of six teams in the NFL not to have signed a free agent and the Yankees are playing well but it's only spring training. On brighter notes, the Knicks and Rangers have played themselves in to playoff position. The Knicks thoroughly dismantled divison leading Toronto at the Garden yesterday and received a huge boost from rookie Renaldo Balkman.

Just a few hours after the Knicks win, the Garden hosted the city basketball championship. The game was broadcast on MSG and I tuned in to check out sophomore sensation Lance Stephenson. Stephenson plays for the Lincoln Railsplitters, the same high school team that made Sebastian Telfair a NYC legend, and many think the sophomore is the next Coney Island great. He did not disappoint, showing off great range and an ability to score in many ways. The biggest knock is his attitude. He showed no defensive intensity and looked very unhappy when he didn't get touches on the offensive end. In short, in many ways he showed that he's still a young kid. Lincoln dominated Boys and Girls High School to take home the city title, their fifth in six years. Remember the name though. Lance Stephenson will be playing elite D-I ball in a couple years.

Tourney Field Set With Some Glaring Omissions

The field of 65 teams competing in this year's March Madness was revealed on Sunday, but a lot of attention has been focused on several of the teams who were not selected. As you can tell from this entry on my Syracuse basketball blog, the Orange could take the honor of most slighted. Instead of dwelling on that, if we re-visit Sunday's entry, I accurately projected 31 of the 34 at large bids. To put that in perspective, ESPN's bracketologist pegged 32 of the 34. Not bad for my first stab. All further "bracket banter" will take place at the aforementioned Syracuse blog. Please feel free to visit and engage in some discussion via the comments section.

Just to offer a sneak peek, my early national Champion is the University of Florida. I know, not really going out on a limb by choosing the defending champion and overall number one seed, but they feature one of the most talented starting fives in recent NCAA history. Also, consider the last team to repeat as champions were the Duke Blue Devils of 1991-1992 that feautred one of the best collegiate tandems (Bob Hurley and Christian Laettner) of all time. With their balanced scoring and unparalleled front court, the Gators are certainly the team to beat.

Projecting the Field

With the CBS Selection Show just a few minutes away, I wanted to post my projected field. The 31 automatic bids have all been handed out, and there is sure to be plenty of controversy over the final 34. Below is my list for the 34 at-large teams (in no particular order):

Southern Illinois-MVC
Butler-Horizon
Wisconsin-Big 10
UVA- ACC
Virginia Tech-ACC
Duke-ACC
Boston College-ACC
Kentucky-SEC
Pitt-Big East
Louisville-Big East
Notre Dame-Big East
Marquette-Big East
Syracuse-Big East
Maryland-ACC
Texas A&M- Big 12
Michigan St- Big 10
UCLA- Pac-10
Washington St.- Pac-10
USC- Pac-10
Xavier- A-10
Tennessee- SEC
Vanderbilt- SEC
Texas- Big 12
Arizona- Pac-10
Nevada- WAC
Indiana- Big 10
BYU- MWC
Stanford-Pac-10
Drexel- Colonial
Purdue- Pac-10
Kansas St- Big 12
Old Dominion- Colonial
Georgia Tech-ACC

Apologies to:
Texas Tech- Very conflicted on this one. They have several huge victories, but the blowout loss to Kansas State in the Big 12 could have cost them a berth.
Florida St.- Like Texas Tech, several big wins. But they struggled a bit down the stretch and didn't advance far enough in the ACC tournament
Appalachian St.-Bowed out of the Southern Conference tourney early. Once considered a lock, played themselves out in their conference tournament.
Missouri St- Aside from their Wisconsin win, struggled against the RPI top 50. Didn't play well enough down the stretch.
Air Force- Early season darlings who even spent significant time in the top 25. Played terrible basketball down the stretch.
West Virginia-Played a weak Big East schedule and their signature win came against a Darren Collison-less UCLA team.
Oklahoma St-Like several other teams, started off hot but cooled down the stretch. Played well in the Big 12 tourney, but many thought they'd need to make the finals in order to be selected.
Arkansas-Run to the SEC title game not enough for the Razorbacks. Below .500 record in SEC will be downfall

Brackets are about to be announced, let's see how it turns out
Akron-

Giants Make First Move

The Giants finally got their feet wet in the 2007 offseason, but not through free agency. Big Blue sent oft-injured WR Tim Carter to the Browns for RB Reuben Droughns. With the departure of Tiki Barber, GM Jerry Reese has made RB a top priority for the offseason. After unsuccessfully entertaining Dominic Rhodes, Reese acquired Droughns who was on his way out of Cleveland regardless. After the Browns signed Jamal Lewis, and are likely to draft Adrian Peterson with the 3rd pick, there was no way they'd pick up the pick roster bonus Droughns was set to make. The trade marks the end of the Tim Carter experiment in New York. There were high hopes for the speedy wideout whom the Giants made their 2nd round selection in the 2002 draft. They envisioned Carter being able to stretch the field with his track star sprinting ability, but injuries and inconsistency characterized his tenure.

The deal seems very low-risk, moderate reward for both teams. The Giants wanted a complimentary back to Brandon Jacobs, and Droughns is capable of handling a big work load. It would have been preferable to bring in a change of pace guy, especially with a smallish offensive line, but he's a quality back. Now that they brought in a veteran to share the load with Jacobs, hopefully they can start to turn their attention on their glaring defensive needs. For the Browns, Carter is a risk worth taking. If Carter could stay healthy, his ability to stretch the field could increase production from TE Kellen Winslow. They already have a solid starting WR duo of Joe Jurevicius and Braylon Edwards, and Carter's addition would offset the loss of Dennis Northcutt. Overall, not the blockbuster move Giants fans were looking for, but it's an upgrade with low risk involved. It's still puzzling why they've been passive in their pursuit of defensive help, but hopefully those answers will unfold in the next few weeks.

Giants Continue To Wait and See

It's a great time to be a mediocre athlete in professional sports. On the heels of a baseball offseason that heaped riches on back-end starting pitchers, the NFL free agency period has matched their absurdity. Deals in excess of $7 million a year are going to unproven offensive lineman, a cornerback who didn't even make this year's Pro Bowl became the richest defensive player in NFL history, and somehow the Redskins continue to be buyers on the market. The free agency period, just a week old, has been curious to say the least. From the Giants standpoint, one has to wonder why Jerry Reese continues to sit on his hands. On the record, there have been only two confirmed visits and one (Dominic Rhodes) has already signed with another team.

The only thing that Giants fans have learned about Reese is that he refuses to overpay. As a result, the Giants have lost K Jay Feely and almost said goodbye to Shaun O'Hara. Unfortunately, the market has been set by inflating players' values. Perhaps Reese should be commended for standing his ground, but I put this question out. Is it a bigger sin to overpay for talent or to not put your football team in a better position to win football games? I'd say the latter, and if he continues to let the roster dwindle, he's committing a far greater sin. With a long string of cuts and retirements, the Giants have been left with gaping holes that have yet to be remotely covered. In fairness, only a week has passed and there is plenty of time until training camp. Unfortunately, most of the talent worth having has been signed.

The most puzzling thing to me has been their focus on offense. The two visitors, Dominic Rhodes and Kevin Curtis, are skill position offensive players. A great way to improve the offense would be to field a defense that can get them on the field. Last year the defense couldn't stop a jay-vee team from converting a third down, which took away from offensive production. With two outside linebackers departed, and a third likely on his way out (Brandon Short), the Giants need to bring in some bodies. Cato June and Donnie Edwards have been prominent names on their radar, but it is also believed Ike Reese would like to make the Meadowlands his home. Reese is a solid special teams contributor and would give depth to the linebacking corps, but he's not the impact player the Giants need. As for getting the defense off the field on third downs? A lock down corner is necessary, but unfortunately unavailable unless the Broncos meet Dre Bly's trade demands. Even so, his likely landing spot is Washington. Many Giants fans have been on the Roderick Hood bandwagon, but it's tough to envision him as anything more than a nickel back. Departed GM Ernie Accorsi attempted to re-tool key areas (think Secondary) with second-tier players last season and it didn't work. It looks like Jerry Reese has been priced out of this market and doomed to repeat the shortcomings of his predecessor.

Jets Steal Jones

Michael Smith of ESPN is reporting that the Bears and Jets have reached an agreement that would send Thomas Jones to New York. The deal would also involve the teams swapping their second round picks. It's hard to rationalize this one from Chicago's standpoint. Jones had vocalized his displeasure with his contract and the Bears are notorious for being cheap. After the Super Bowl it became apparent he'd be available for trade, but this seems to be a steal for the Jets. Even so, they gave up a 1300 yard rusher to simply move up to the top of the second round. It's hard to imagine they couldn't have gotten a better package for Jones.

Now I'm certainly the furthest thing from a Jets sympathizer, but this is a brilliant move. They did not have to sacrifice any draft choices, and received a former top 10 selection in exchange for dropping 26 picks in the second round. Not only that, he's been incredibly productive for the past several seasons. If you throw in the extension they recently gave Jerrico Cotchery, the offense will be a force. Thomas Jones is the every down back they desperately needed, and it will allow Leon Washington to serve as the change of pace back. It will also take a lot of pressure off Chad Pennington, who amazingly continues to get the job done despite having no arm strength. The Jets got an absolute steal which should allow them to threaten the Patriots reign at the top of the AFC East.

Igawa Shaky in Debut

Japanese import Kei Igawa, slated to be the Yankees fourth or fifth starter, had mixed results in his first action of the spring against the Tigers. In a little over an inning, Igawa walked three batters and gave up a couple of runs. On the bright side, he countered his lack of control with three strikeouts. The former Japanese strikeout leader struggled to spot his fastball, but demonstrated that his 0ff-speed stuff will certainly be dangerous to major league hitters. It can't be stressed enough that spring training is not a true indicator of success. Many pitchers will struggle with control, as we've seen with Igawa and Hughes. Also, it's important to take in to account that Igawa has had very little time to work with catcher Jorge Posada. As they gain familiarity, Posada will be able to put his pitcher in to better situations. There were a few pitches today where they didn't seem to be on the right page. That should fade with time. The Yankees will also benefit by having Hideki Matsui to consult on the field if problems arise. Posada has already suggested that he will bring Matsui in for mound meetings if he feels the situation calls for it.

Both teams played many of their starters, but the real fireworks came from a couple of young guys. Down a run with two outs in the ninth inning, Josh Phelps roped a single in to left field to set up Bronson Sardinha's walk-off homerun. Phelps will battle Andy Phillips all spring to be the right handed batter in the first base platoon with Doug Mientkiewicz. Sardinha has been limited to September call-up work and will almost certainly be headed to Triple A Scranton. Since wins and losses are basically irrelevant in spring training, the nicest part of the walk-off homerun was the celebration afterwards. The Yankees are known as an uptight, business-first group. Centerfielder Johnny Damon has infused some energy, but for the most part, displays of emotion are rare. Sardinha was greeted at home plate by the usual array of exuberant teammates you would expect from a mid-season walk-off victory. This may seem to be an insignificant observation, but the youthful Tigers taught the Yankees an important lesson in last season's playoffs. They came out and stole the series by playing with intense passion. If the Yankees can not find ways to get up for big games, they'll continue their World Series drought. Hopefully today's display is a sign of things to come.

Upon Further Review, Teams Making Moves

A couple of hours ago it seemed as though teams were in no hurry to upgrade. As the day has progressed, teams have started to announce some major signings. Leading the way have been a few offensive lineman cashing in to the tune of over 7 million per season. The Browns will pay OT Eric Steinbach $49.5 million over seven years, a package that is worth $500,000 more over the duration than the seven years the Bills locked up Derrick Dockery for. In Atlanta, the Falcons upgraded their backfield by agreeing to terms with FB Ovie Mughelli.

Reports are surfacing on profootballtalk.com that Nate Clements will become the highest paid defensive player in NFL history. It is believed that the 49ERS have offered the former Bills conerback an eight year deal worth $80 million dollars. Elsewhere on the cornerback front, rumors are circulating that Fred Smoot will re-join the Washington Redskins. On a side note, how the hell are the Redskins always buyers in the market? They're the likely landing spot for top MLB free agent London Fletcher-Baker and in the running for others. While they have been unsuccessful in their past shopping sprees, it's still amazing they can afford to splurge every offseason. If both Smoot and Clements are indeed off the market, there's very little to get excited about with the remaining crop.

This means one of two things for the Giants. They can attempt the piece-meal solution to the secondary that Accorsi adopted with little success last season or hopefully turn their attention to other needs. If they do decide to bring in a few lesser pieces, there is a strong feeling that Eagles CB Roderick Hood would be an option. Personally, the Giants need to bring in a top notch corner whether it was a Clements type in free agency or an early draft pick. Trying to bring in a series of nickel-back types won't have the impact they need on the outsides. Free agent RB Dominic Rhodes was in town today, but a complimentary running back should be less of a priority than a LB or CB. Unlike other running backs, he's content being one part of a two pronged attack. That is a big plus considering how many egos the Giants currently have on their offense.

Free Agency Period Starts Slow

With a flurry of activity yesterday, people were anticipating active general managers during today's first day of free agency. Instead, not many signings were made. The biggest news of the day surrounds the potential retirement of Jake Plummer. After the Broncos announced they had reached a deal to send the veteran QB to Tampa Bay, Plummer responded by saying he'd rather retire than switch cities. If he had agreed to go, it would have marked the second big trade in consecutive days. The Lions and Broncos agreed to a deal yesterday that sent coveted cornerback Dre Bly to Denver. In exchange, the Lions received Tatum Bell, George Foster, and a late round draft pick.

Although no signings have been made, early indications are that the 49ERS will be the most aggressive shoppers. Reports have surfaced that they are leading candidates to land CB Nate Clements and LB Adalius Thomas, perhaps the two most sought after free agents. It is likely they will land at least one of the defensive standouts. The bigger news has been the massive league wide cuts. Yesterday the Steelers cut ties with LB Joey Porter and the Saints with Joe Horn. Teams around the league kept trimming their rosters today, which should strengthen a "weak" free agent class. Hopefully the activity will pick up in the next few days.

Damon Jump Starts Spring Training

Johnny Damon didn't waste any time bringing excitement to Legends Field this spring. On the first pitch Twins starter Carlos Silva threw, Damon homered to right field to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Coming off a career high 24 homeruns a season ago, the Yankees lead off man showed the long ball will continue to be in his repertoire. The following inning Jason Giambi took a Silva pitch over the right centerfield wall as the Yankees piled on five runs in the first two innings. Cather Jorge Posada and second baseman Robinson Cano also notched RBI in the early innings.

The Yankees also have to be encouraged by the outing of Chien Ming-Wang. He worked two efficient innings and five of the six batters he faced grounded out. For the next inning and a third, the future of the Yankee rotation Phil Hughes showed shaky control. There's no doubt this kid will be special, but his first outing of the spring featured more walks than strikeouts (two to one). Out of his 34 pitches, only 18 were thrown in the strike zone. Hughes hung a curve to Michael Cuddyer that he ripped in to the left centerfield gap for a double. On a positive note, he ended his day by striking out reigning AL MVP Justin Morneau. The players have had rave reviews about the young righthander during team workouts, so there's no reason for concern. During Spring Training games pitchers will often be victimized because they're not throwing their full arsenal. It's more like a glorified bullpen session, so their performances are basically rendered irrelevant. YES network commentators raved about Hughes' compact delivery and it did look eerily reminiscent of Roger Clemens motion. Everyone should hold off on the "Baby Rocket" monikers, but it's exciting to have a player of his caliber waiting in the wings.

Right now the Yankees are holding to a 5-1 lead, the lone run charged to Hughes as Cuddyer came around to score later in the inning. Newly acquired Ross Ohlendorf (in the Randy Johnson deal) is on the mound and features a hard sinking fastball a la Chien Ming Wang. The Yanks have received some tremendous defense, including a sliding catch by Hideki Matsui. It's nice to see that the devastating wrist injury he suffered last season has not intimidated him.