Bobcat Sports Best of 2010

2010 was quite the memorable year for sports in the small town by the Hocking. Basketball made a remarkable run, volleyball continued its tradition of excellence and numerous athletes and sports racked up accolades. You won't see anything to do with Rufus or Brutus on this list but you will see ten of Ohio's best sports moments from the year that has been.

1. Ohio beats Georgetown
14 over 3. Not even the biggest of diehards expected this. Ohio shot the lights out in Providence, convincingly pulling the first round's biggest upset, beating the Hoyas 97-83 - and earning a spot on the front of USA Today. The magical March run ended in the second round with a loss to 6-seed Tennessee.



2. The Bobcats are going dancing!
A 9th seed going into the MAC Tournament, Ohio almost didn't even make it to Cleveland. With the first round at campus sites, the Bobcats traveled to Ball State and squeaked out an overtime win. Then they went to the Q and knocked off higher seed after higher seed. First, top seed Kent State, then fourth-seed Miami and three-seed Akron in the title game. It was Armon Bassett who punctuated the overtime classic win over the Zips with a jam. He earned Tournament MVP honors, his 116 points the most in Tournament history.



3. Three-peat!
One team you can always count on in Athens is volleyball. For seven straight years, they had reached the NCAA Tournament. In the 2010 regular season, the Bobcats did not seem to be quite as dominant. They won the MAC East but their 10-6 conference record was no better than four MAC West squads. But come MAC Tournament time, it was business as usual. The Bobcats swept all of their opponents and avenged an October loss to Northern Illinois to capture its third straight MAC Tournament Championship and eighth straight NCAA Tournament berth. There, the season ended in the second round with a narrow five-set defeat at the hands of #12 Duke.

4. Freeman's three shoots down Redhawks
2010's Battle of the Bricks in Athens produced a classic final minute duel. Kenny Hayes put Miami on top 67-66 with nine seconds left. Then the Bobcats stormed down the court and Tommy Freeman nailed the game-winning three with .6 seconds to go. Fans rush the court, insanity ensues and Charlie Coles could only be left to wonder, again, what happened?



5. Bushby beats Buffalo at buzzer
On Senior Day, Jennifer Bushby capped her Convo career with quite a parting shot. With the game tied at 58 and just seconds remaining, Bushby knocked down the game-winner, finishing her day with 21 points. Earlier in the season, she joined select company, reaching 1,000 career points.

6. Historic Homecoming
It was never much of a contest as Ohio handled winless Akron. But those in attendance did witness a couple milestones. Terrence McCrae broke Ohio's all-time TD reception record and Boo Jackson tied the TD pass record. Two weeks later, fittingly on Halloween, Boo notched his 30th career TD pass to break it.



7. Herman heads to China
Ellen Herman's name is plastered throughout the Ohio volleyball history books. Now, she's looking to do the same- in U.S. volleyball. Herman played on the United States Women's National Volleyball Training Team in an exhibition in Guangzhou. In 2009, the outside hitter Herman was selected to be part of the U.S. A2 team.

8. Price a Patriot
For the third consecutive year, a Bobcat was taken in the NFL Draft. Last year, Michael Mitchell went in the 2nd round to Oakland. The year before it was Landon Cohen, a 7th-round selection of the Lions. In the 2010 Draft, the Patriots selected Taylor Price in the third round, 90th overall.



9. Lindsey finishes 6th at NCAA Championships
Germane Lindsey finished off a strong season in the 141 lb. weight class with an All-American distinction. On his way to the 6th place finish among the nation's best, Lindsey defeated #3 Michael Thorn from Minnesota and #11 Christopher Diaz from Virginia Tech. Lindsey got a third place finish at the MAC Tournament.

10. 4OT and 40
You might not expect to find a mid-December out-of-conference game between two teams just over .500 on a list of the year's best. This wasn't your typical one of those though. The Bobcats came back from down 10 against St. Bonaventure to force overtime- then a second, third and fourth. DJ Cooper scored a career-high 43 points but Andrew Nicholson topped that with 44 to lead the Bonnies to a 112-107, 4OT win, in the longest game in both programs' histories.

With Giant nightmare comes new opportunity

 
Nightmares can be hard to forget. They chill you so bad you wake up from a deep sleep. 

 

It was the Giants who seemed to be in a coma when the Eagles struck a blow more painful than any knife the subconscious could wield. 

 

The final seven minutes of Sunday’s comeback- or collapse, however, you want to look at it- were disastrous, dreadful, demoralizing. More than a few adjectives beginning with the letter D can be used to describe it. But there’s one that shouldn’t be used to describe the Giants- dead. 

 

They sure did look it when Matt Dodge inexplicably booted a line drive punt to DeSean Jackson, who dodged Giants defenders on the way to capping an improbable final minute stretch. It was the Giants who had the rug pulled out from under them, micro and macro speaking. In the moment, it was a game they signed and sealed but didn’t deliver. Big picture, they went from taking control of the NFC East and on the way to a first round bye to having to fight just to get into the playoffs.

That said- the Giants are still in control. The NFL is a week to week league, especially in this parity-filled season. Last week, the Jets looked down and out. Now, they’re back in control after going on the road and taking down a top team.

The Jets returned to a city, Pittsburgh, for the first time since a memorable playoff experience. This week, the Giants do the same- except their memories are good ones. Just like the Jets’ previous trip to Pittsburgh, the Giants were the big underdogs in their last visit to Lambeau. 

 

That was the 2007 NFC Championship Game. Remember? Temperatures so cold Tom Coughlin was looking like Lady Elaine, Brett Favre trying to continue a magical season in what we thought may be the final games of his career. No one gave the Giants a chance.

They faced adversity. Lawrence Tynes missed two fourth quarter fields goals, one at the end of regulation, that would have been game-winners. But unlike Brien against the Steelers, Tynes got a third try- and it was a charm. The Giants pulled the upset and were on their way to Arizona, where they would pull an even bigger one in Super Bowl XLII.

Now, it’s up to them if they want to take the reigns. A win against Green Bay and they’re back in, clinched. It’s that easy. They won’t be a two seed and they’ll have to go through three road playoff games to get to the Super Bowl but they did that last time they earned the title.

All the doom and gloom is presumptuous. It happened last week with the Jets and now the shoe’s been put on the other New York team’s foot. A win this week and the Giants can forget the Philly debacle. They can even lose and still get in with a win next week over Washington and some help.

It’s time for the Giants to wake up and move on. Forget the nightmare. One can be hard to shake but you can’t have another unless you fall back asleep.

There's Something About Pittsburgh

It was a game no one thought they had a chance in. They were the overwhelming underdog, a team holding onto life, heading to Heinz Field to face an imposing Steelers team led by its defense.

Sound familiar?

That was the story heading into 2005’s Divisional Playoff game between the Steelers and Jets. It was a Steelers team that was the AFC’s top seed, 15-1 and riding a 14-game win streak. It was a Jets team that squeaked by the Chargers in San Diego the week before on the leg of Doug Brien in overtime.

That leg of Doug Brien did not have the same fortune come that Saturday in the Steel City. You don’t have to tell any Jets fan old enough to remember that twice. On that day, the Jets’ offense did not reach pay dirt. Their two touchdowns came on defense, a Reggie Tongue interception return, and special teams, a Santana Moss punt return.

Then Brien made history- just not the way Jets fans had hoped. From hero to goat, Brien missed two field goals in the final two minutes for the first time in playoff history. Jeff Reed made a field goal in overtime and just like that, Gang Green’s season came to an end in the most agonizing of fashions.

Fast forward, nearly six years later...week 15, 2010 regular season. It’s not the playoffs but the story’s much the same. It’s a game no one outside the diehards thinks the Jets have a chance in. They’re the underdog coming off two miserable inter-division performances, facing a 10-3 Steelers team with a defense that will be without Troy Polamalu but has been shutting down opponents.

The Jets bring with them a kicker in Nick Folk who has not inspired much confidence lately. They bring an offense that has bluntly not scored lately. It’s been nine quarters and two entire games since Sanchez and company have passed the goal line. Perhaps the most glaring misstep came from former a Steeler, Santonio Holmes’ drop on a sure touchdown last week against Miami.

Sunday marks the first time the Jets return to the scene of that miserable evening that reinforced a cannot-do culture among their fan base. It marks a chance for a karmatic redemption of sorts. Fans had come to drop that Same Old Jets mentality after Rex Ryan led an AFC championship run, then a 9-2 start in 2010. But now those old insecurities are reemerging.

Everyone is picking against the Jets- and maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe it's a jolt of motivation a team that's looked near lifeless needs. The last time this was the story going into Pittsburgh they were one good boot from proving all the critics wrong and taking down the AFC powerhouse. Now a beleaguered squad has a chance to regain its swagger on a field full of nightmares past.

And hey, maybe karma is working in the Jets’ direction this time. I mean, Nick Folk has already had one three-miss game this season. The ghosts of Doug Brien past aren’t so cruel as to haunt another in green and white…right?

Jumping off a Cliff

 

He’s not coming.

In a seemingly apocalyptic moment, the Yankees did not get what they wanted. The star free agent didn’t choose them, didn’t choose the bigger money, brighter lights. It sure isn’t the winter of ’08 when C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeria chose the Bronx and the Bombers’ bombastic contracts.

Instead, Cliff Lee, the guy the Yankees made well known was their #1 target, chose someone else. He’ll be home (well, kind of) for Christmas. Philly isn’t Lee’s first home of course. That’s the perennial pitching pit stop in Northeast Ohio. But it is where he got his first chance to build his so-far staggering postseason legacy. 

The Yankees are those ceaseless rich kids on the block. It’s nearly Christmas time and they weren’t just hoping, but expecting, to get the gift on top of their wish list. Texas is the kid who asked for a pony when it doesn’t have a barn. The Phillies were the already pitching-spoiled one that waited patiently, was good all year and got their guy. The Yankees are the rich kid who will spend Christmas smarting over why they end up with a Carlos Zambrano or some other pitcher from the Island of Misfit Toys.

Usually most fans of other teams are devoid of sympathy for the Yankees. And most fans probably still will be. It’s hard to feel bad for a team that spends the most and has won the most in the game’s history. 

However, this isn’t the case of the Yankees begging for another toy they don’t need. This time, this rich kid actually needed the fancy toy. 

In the Bronx it’s all about championships. To get those you need cream of the crop pitching. The Yankees’ was not that last season. 

In the year of the pitcher, only C.C. Sabathia was consistently good, finishing the year 21-7 with a 3.18 ERA. No other Yankee starter finished in baseball’s top 50 in ERA. As a staff, the Yankees were just middle of the pack, 15^th in ERA. 

When it came playoff time, the Yankees’ stumbling point in past postseasons again proved deadly. It wasn’t just Cliff Lee that beat the Yankees in the ALCS. It was all of Texas’ pitching that was better. Along with Lee, C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis proved better than a rusty Andy Pettitte, maligned A.J. Burnett and fledgling Phil Hughes. 

Did the Yankees need Lee as badly as one of baseball’s perennial bottom feeders may have? Certainly not. C.C. Sabathia is a Cy Young winner and bona fide ace. Many in baseball can not even trot out one of those every fifth day. 

But for the Yankees’ prerogative, yes, Lee was a need. They can win without him. It’s not all about big names and big money. The Giants proved that last season. The Rays did win they reached the World Series three seasons ago. 

The road has gotten steeper now though. Not only did the Yankees fail to add a bona fide pitcher to join Sabathia, they are now facing a powerhouse rotation, albeit in the other league, along with a bolstered bunch of bats in Beantown. 

There’s no need to jump off a cliff…yet. The Yankees still have a powerhouse lineup and maybe new pitching coach Larry Rothschild can figure out A.J. Burnett’s troubles. The potential retirement of Andy Pettitte and limited available options on the pitching market are a real concern though. 

For now it’s Christmas come early in Philadelphia…and this time they should be thanking, not booing, Santa.

WhACked

I haven't written on this in awhile. I blame it on a very, very busy quarter. But it's break again- and there's not much more that riles me up or compels me to write than the BCS and end of college football season madness. It's that time again....

Stunner.

It’s another one of those. Sitting in front of the TV in a daze.

You try to process what you just saw. The gravity of what has just happened for the players on that field.

It’s that feeling you have as a fan, where there’s nothing you can say. You don’t yell or scream in frustration. You’re just shocked.

Last time it happened- Butler vs. Duke, Hayward’s missed heave at the buzzer. I’m not a Butler fan or a Boise State fan. But it is really hard not to root for the little guy. The one that the man wants to go down but just sticks around.

Boise’s been that little guy for a while in this BCS BS (and that stands for bowl system of course…). 

Year in, year out the BCS is consists of an in-crowd. Breaking into it is like being the middle class family trying to get into the yacht club. You might get in but to be fully accepted and at the top of the VIP list? Nearly impossible.

So, Boise and TCU made it in but tonight Boise spilled its drink all over the pristine premises. You’re out.

Be on watch TCU- LSU, Stanford, Wisconsin and all the other elites are waiting for you to find a banana peel on the floor to slip on.

For now, there’s just that shock again. You get pulled into an underdog’s run, their quest to beat the man. Then just like that you watch it all unravel. You don’t have to be a team’s fan to understand that feeling. At least not if you’ve ever known what it’s like to be the little guy…  

Is Sanchez the Sanchize?

It's no secret that the Jets' string of quarterbacks since their single Super Bowl triumph leave a good deal to be desired.

No hall of famers and nary a pro bowler. Just look at the signal callers from Namath to Favre.

When you think of the AFC East since 1983, you think of legendary quarterbacks. The Dolphins had Marino, the Bills Kelly, the Patriots Brady, and the Colts Manning.

The Jets? O'Brien, Testaverde and Pennington top the list. Not quite Hall of Fame caliber.

Marino and Kelly could not get their respective teams the titles. Brady and Manning have captured that elusive crown. A franchise quarterback is no sure bet of a ring but history shows it sure does boost your odds. 

In year two of the Mark Sanchez era, Jets fans have reason to be optimistic that the Californian may be
'the guy.'

What personifies 'the guy?' Moxie. Clutch. Stability.

In season one, Sanchez had volatile ups and downs. He was the kid who aced his first test, experienced the approval of all his teachers, then crashed and burned come midterms. Everyone knew he had the potential to be the smartest kid in class. It was just a matter of if/when he would achieve it.

So, then came finals. And Sanchez put it all together following one of his worst performances of the season, a three interception mess in a week 15 loss to the Falcons. Ever since, Sanchez has become the star student.

The stats speak for themselves.
- Through week 15 of 2009: 12 TD, 20 INT
- Week 16 on: 11 TDs, 2 INT

That's straight A stuff.

In his past eight starts, he's thrown nearly as many touchdowns as he did in his first 13. The reigns were on Sanchez in week one of the 2010 season. The Jets struggled and scored just nine points. In weeks two and three, a passing attack was existent with Sanchez leading the way. The Jets won both, scoring 28 and 31 points.

Maybe, just maybe, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer has figured it out. Ground and Pound pounded to death into the ground is not a winning recipe. The Jets offense has looked at times dynamic, with LT darting through holes and Sanchez utilizing play actions to perfection. Dustin Keller is becoming the matchup nightmare that he was envisioned to be coming out of the draft. Braylon Edwards has been a threat on long balls and in the red zone.

Most importantly, Sanchez is confident and in control of the offense. In year two, he is making wise decisions.

It didn't get points. It didn't get yards or a reception. But perhaps the most telling play of Sanchez's maturation came in the fourth quarter. He hesitated a throw to a receiver in a sea of coverage and instead opted for a checkdown to LT. The pass was underthrown and fell incomplete. But the drive continued.

By not throwing picks, Sanchez has given himself a chance to hit receivers in stride with beautiful darts or perfectly placed lobs, like the two touchdowns he threw to Dustin Keller on the night.

He's also given Jets fans an optimism that they may be about to witness the development of something special. Not another team's 'guy' fake spiking or tearing through their secondary. No, their 'guy.'

The BCS House

In college, one of the basics to learn is how to crash a party. It’s not necessarily about people knowing you but you knowing enough people to finagle your way in. Once you give those one or two magic names and earn the respect of the guy at the door, you’re in. But it’s not always easy.

In college football, you also have to learn how to crash a party. And it’s just as hard, especially when you have the biggest frat on campus, BCS, telling you that you’re not allowed in. BCS only accepts the frat guys and pretty girls. It’s a party for the upper echelon, the Floridas, Alabamas, Ohio States of the world. The little guy has to get used to rejection and feeling slighted.

Every so often though that little guy lucks out and gets in, crashes the party. But that’s what makes it all the more sweeter when he gets his opportunity. Once he gets into the party, it’s all on him. He has to prove himself or it will be his last invite.

In 2007, Boise State was the freshman that got into the party, despite its social stature. And boy did it prove itself. He not only got there but ran the table, stole the beer and got the most attractive girl’s digits. He was the king of that night. Not Oklahoma, the cool Big XII guy that’s used to always getting his way.

Now as time has gone on, Boise State knows the party crashing lifestyle. The Broncos have to work so much harder than the big names to get into the BCS house. However, once they do, people start to realize that they’re just as cool as the powerhouses of the world, the supposed cool kids on the block. Ohio State may be the most jacked guy, with the nicest stadium and rabid following, but there’s something endearing about little Boise, with its blue turf, playing its games in a state from which most people could not name more than one city.

Monday night marks a moment of transition though for Boise- one that could forever impact its standing. Let’s just say it is opening night of hell week. Screw up tonight and your whole year is ruined. A loss to Virginia Tech and that’s it, the national championship talk will be silenced, no matter how good Kellen Moore, Austin Pettis and Chris Petersen are.

This first game sets the tone for the entire season. It’s the first impression. A bad one is a striking blow. BCS takes no prisoners, allows no mistakes if you’re not one of the chosen few with that superior status.

There’s no room for mistakes. A win against Virginia Tech keeps hope alive...for now. A loss in December to Utah State still shatters it. It’s not easy to become more than a party crasher at BCS if you’re the little guy that’s down to earth. It takes years of proving yourself.

That’s why Monday night’s game is so intriguing. It’s not just a good out-of-conference tilt. It’s a defining moment for Boise State’s program. Become one of the guys…until the next party crasher with bravado walks in and gets them kicked out. There’s no such thing as an open party at the BCS house.

I hate to be a pessimist but...

The Jets being a popular Super Bowl pick has me worried. ‘High expectations’ is not a phrase that often goes well together with the New York Jets. At the same time, there is a definite excitement going into the season- and reason for optimism. But the team’s deficiencies from last season cannot be forgotten. Here are the five keys that will determine whether the Super Bowl hype is real or if it will just be another season of unfulfilled expectations.

1. The Sophomore Slump

Mark Sanchez’s rookie season had its severe ups and downs. He had games were he looked very much like a rookie and others where he flashed those glimpses of why he was a top ten pick. You could even break it down even more and say he had series within each game where there were those ups and downs. This type of play should not be unexpected from a rookie quarterback. Sanchez really turned it on in the final weeks of the season and the playoffs. He made good decisions and his poise was one of the biggest reasons the Jets advanced as far as they did. So, media and fans left the 2009 season with those memories of Sanchez. However, the five interception game, and his inconsistencies also have to be remembered. Sanchez must control turnovers and further progress from his strong end of season play. Regression from that will hinder the Jets’ ability to be elite.

2. Empty Island

Darrelle Revis is the big question mark right now. Revis Island is not taking guests right now as Darrelle sits at home waiting for a lofty contract. Antonio Cromartie is a legitimate starting corner. Kyle Wilson is talented but only a rookie. The real problem with Revis’ absence comes in depth. Wilson goes from a third CB to starter. Corners such as Dwight Lowery and Drew Coleman all have increased playing time, which is not a good thing for a secondary whose last memory is of being torched by Peyton Manning. The Jets can still be good without Revis but again, his absence is something that keeps them from reaching that next echelon of elite.

3. Choose wisely

The late season run left Jets fans forgetting about a lot of fundamental issues that plagued them throughout stretches of the season. One of them, an ongoing one for the past few seasons, is the playcalling of offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. Like his quarterback, Schottenheimer has had his good and bad moments. His tendency to get cutesy with play calls, like an uncalled for end around that kills a drive, is frustrating. The routes the wide receivers run often seem to intersect and do not spread the field. To be successful the Jets need to continually pound the ball and set up Sanchez for some big plays in the passing game. However, Schottenheimer must avoid being too conservative and strike the right balance between run and pass. The red zone is going to be especially important. Field goals do not cut it and the Jets have been settling for way too many through preseason.

4. Stay healthy

Calvin Pace is already injured and out four to six weeks. The preseason has left you wondering whether the Jets can handle any more injuries. The backups have not looked good when they have gotten a chance. If they have to step into starting roles, it will be a big cause for concern. The defense never really looked the same without Kris Jenkins last season. Remember how scary it was those first few weeks with him in the middle of the line? They will need him on the field for most, if not all, 16 games.

5. Recharged?

I really think LaDainian Tomlinson is the biggest X-factor on this Jets squad. He has looked really good in preseason and could do some damage running behind this offensive line. He no longer has to be ‘the guy’ with Shonn Greene there to take carries too. Tomlinson does not have all the pressure on him and I think he has something to prove. Another new addition, Santonio Holmes, could bring the Jets a deep receiving threat with speed they have been missing for many, many years.

The talent is there. I think Rex Ryan is the best coach the Jets have had in a long time. The Super Bowl could be possible. But there were plenty of reasons the Jets won only nine regular season games in 2009. They need to fix those problems if they want to take the next step in 2010.

Don't Budge, Woody!

Today ESPN New York's Ian O'Connor writes a piece urging Woody Johnson to just end the impasse with Darrelle Revis.

While that would be very nice and make every Jet fan sleep a lot easier at night, it is not the right move. In fact, it's a potentially disastrous one.

Here's O'Connor's full article with my retorts in bold:

Now the Jets have really made it in the Naked City. Now their owner can open his mouth in a faraway corner of New York, a country mile from Broadway, and say something more relevant than anything the Yankees and Red Sox would do over three and a half hours in the Bronx.

Sinatra was playing in Yankee Stadium after a four-game series ended in a split, ended with the Red Sox holding fast to the remains of their season, and Woody Johnson was swinging the heaviest lumber of the day in Cortland, N.Y., telling reporters and -- by extension -- Darrelle Revis that the cornerback can take his requested raise and stuff it.

Asked whether he was optimistic Revis would be signed before the start of the season, Johnson said, "The answer is no."

Johnson fired a warning shot over Revis' helmet, and he shouldn't have knocked himself out in the process. If he refuses to pay Revis, the owner will be doing something James Dolan dumb.

Comparing most owners to James Dolan is a vast hyperbole.

Don't do it, Woody. Don't follow Dolan and the Wilpons down a dark road to who knows where.

How can you compare Woody with an owner, Wilpon, in a sport where there is no salary cap? Completely different rules for play. There may not be a cap right now but there will be a lockout before the NFL remains an uncapped league.

Too many New York franchises are being hurt by too many unforced ownership errors, and this is Johnson's chance to pounce. His chance to take the marketplace by the throat by paying his best player and making the Jets strong enough to walk Rex Ryan's talk.

It's one thing to pay a player...and it's another when his demands are unreasonable.

Dolan made Isiah Thomas his most conspicuous free-agent grab. Fred Wilpon let another season die an unnecessary death by doing nothing before the trade deadline to resuscitate the Mets.

Johnson shouldn't make this some unholy trinity of metropolitan-area rich guys mismanaging their toys. Johnson needs to tell Mike Tannenbaum to offer whatever eight-figure salary will secure Revis' signature and then order the GM to fax in the papers faster than the cornerback can break on a pass in the flat.

This is an absolutely reckless attitude. Yes, Revis is an elite player but you cannot just fall to a player's whim. I'm getting tired of players thinking they can control owners and teams. They are the product but it does not mean they should dictate every aspect of negotiation. It was pitiful enough seeing NBA owners and GMs audition for LeBron, Wade and Bosh as if they were Simon, Randy and Paula.

And once Woody receives a contract awaiting his signature, he can summon the spirit of another Johnson, Keyshawn, and bark, "Just give me the damn ballpoint."

"Darrelle is the Jeter of the Jets," Tannenbaum has told one of Revis' agents, Neil Schwartz.

Is he really though? Do you really think Jeter would pull a stunt like this? As a consummate professional, I really doubt that Jeter would do anything to make himself a distraction to the team.

George Steinbrenner gave the Jeter of the Yankees $189 million way back when, and this winter Steinbrenner's children likely will offer their shortstop tens of millions in a brand-new deal, all of it fully guaranteed.

"The Jets still have not given us a proposal with one penny in it that's fully guaranteed," Schwartz said by phone. So the holdout rages on, and the agent confirmed Revis will miss the entire 2010 season if the Jets don't come to their senses, and fast.

"Darrelle will not play under the current contract," Schwartz said. "But he loves the Jets, loves his teammates, loves his head coach, loves New York City. He loves everything about being a Jet, but he's not happy with the contract."

Then....compromise? That's what people do when they are happy with their situation. You know, like the many people who do a job they love for less money because they love it. You can't have everything. Nick Mangold is an elite center. He would like a new contract too. But he's out on the practice field, mentoring Matt Slauson and Vlad Ducasse. Being unselfish, a characteristic we had thought of Revis. Mangold and even David Harris are just as deserving of pay raises as Revis.

Woody Johnson needs to make him happy.

Is Woody the rich dad and Darrelle the spoiled kid? 

His GM met with Revis' agents, Schwartz and Jon Feinsod, on Friday at a Roscoe, N.Y., diner, where they haggled a lot more over the contract than they did over the bill. The agents gave Tannenbaum a revised proposal they wanted Johnson to see for himself.

"We didn't want Mike to interpret it for Mr. Johnson," Schwartz said. "If Mr. Johnson didn't like the proposal, that's fine, but what didn't you like about it? Was it all garbage? ... We gave the Jets a very fair proposal, and we hope Mr. Johnson sat and read it and understood that we addressed a lot of his previous concerns in that proposal."

Revis is scheduled to earn $1 million this season, a complete joke of a wage in a sport that kills off its wounded with alarming ease. Nonguaranteed contracts are discarded as easily as a crushed Gatorade cup, and buyout packages often are smaller than a referee's whistle.

This is a contract he already held out for before his rookie season. He deserves more. But there is a middle ground between $1 million and $16 million a season.

Yes, Revis signed that contract, one the Jets acknowledge he's outplayed. But Thomas Jones and Alan Faneca and Pete Kendall signed their contracts, too, until the Jets decided they didn't like the way their numbers added up.

Never mind Leon Washington and the deal he was ready to get until he went and ruined his leg.

"Look at the Leon situation," Revis told ESPNNewYork.com in June. "They were working on his contract, and he broke his leg and missed the season, and now he has no stability, no comfort zone, no anything."

Revis also had heard the Derek Jeter line from Jets management, heard how much the organization appreciated his dignity and class.

"And the thing I'm so frustrated by," he said then, "is they sit here and tell me this to my face. But then they don't want to value me or honor me for that."

But if he really exemplified dignity and class, wouldn't he be in Cortland right now like Mangold? It's one thing to be told it and believe it. It's another to actually exhibit it. Revis is doing the former, not the latter.

Ryan already is on record predicting that Revis will be a Jet for life, that the cornerback could blow past Joe Willie Namath as the greatest Jet of them all. The coach has set the market with his mouth, and Revis has set the market with his feet and hands.

But the Jets simply don't want to pay what the market will bear. "My impression is no progress," Johnson said. "That's the way Mike characterized it to me was no movement whatsoever."

It's time for some movement, and for Johnson to assume the role of Mariano Rivera if Tannenbaum can't close the deal.

The Jets must confront the cold, hard truth: If Oakland's Nnamdi Asomugha has a deal averaging $15.1 million a pop, a superior player such as Revis has every right to ask for a superior wage.

NO, NO, NO. This is the statement I could not disagree with more in this article. Just because one crazy owner (the craziest of them all), Al Davis, sets a ridiculous plateau for top corners, it does not mean the rest of the market needs to follow. Asomugha is an elite corner but that is a LOT of money. It is the type of contract that can completely destroy a team's ability to sign other key players under a cap. You cannot let one owner's lunacy dictate your own franchise's sanity. Woody Johnson has to know that.

There's likely a compromise to be reached slightly south of that figure, something like the midpoint between the Jets' Cortland camp and the diner in Roscoe. Woody Johnson needs to find it. And he needs to run a 4.3 40 on the way there.

Now, O'Connor advocates a middle ground, after writing a whole article saying how Woody needs to pay him whatever he wants. A one sentence backtrack. As much as I love Darrelle Revis and know what a game changer he is, signing him to a bloated contract is not worth the repercussions. If you're gonna give in to Revis and pay him whatever he wants, what kind of message does that send to Mangold or Harris when it's time to negotiate with them?

Revis is acting like the spoiled kid, "taking a stand" by sitting in his room while everyone else plays outside because he didn't get what he wants. But what he needs to realize is that life goes on without you. While you sit in your room, thinking you're "showing them," they're really just learning to live without you. 

Right now the Jets still have the power. Revis is under a three-year contract. He would be very dumb to waste away his prime waiting for more money. Woody has the leverage. The Jets can go on without Revis. Antonio Cromarite is a former Pro Bowler and Kyle Wilson a first round pick. But right now, Revis needs the Jets. For both parties' sake, you hope he will realize that. If not, he will be doing a disservice to both.

The Boy Who Cried Retirement

Brett Favre is always lauded for the "boyish" attitude with which he plays the game. You know, that good 'ole gun slinging, shovel passing reckless abandon, the type that leads to moments like this. So with his recent retirement talk I have written a modern adaptation of a classic fable that fits him all too well. I call it 'The Boy Who Cried Retirement.'

There was once a boyish quarterback who was bored and decided to throw the pigskin around with a bunch of high school kids each summer. To amuse himself, he would cry out to the media, "I'm retiring! I'm retiring!"

The media came running to his story, putting out montages and mourning his retirement. But when they got to the end of training camp, the fans  found out he had lied. The boy laughed as he had missed all of training camp and still been on TV for five weeks straight!

Later, the boyish quarterback again called out "I'm retiring! I'm retiring!" To his naughty delight, he again watched the media run to his ego and stroke it some more, reporting his story on all platforms.

When the fans saw that he wasn't really retiring when he claimed he was, they grew tired of the act and said "Save your retirement talk for when you're ACTUALLY retiring!
   
But the boyish quarterback just laughed and came back for another season, watching the nauseated fans in delight.

Later (summer 2010) he was ACTUALLY retiring (or so reports say). Once again, he screamed out "I'm retiring! I'm retiring!"

But the fans thought he was just trying to get out of training camp again, so they paid the boyish quarterback's claim little attention.

By day's end, the fans wondered why the boy hadn't held a press conference yet announcing his plans. The media went to find him. He was weeping on a tractor outside his Mississippi home.

"I really am retiring. All the reports said it. Why didn't anyone believe me?" he said.

An old coach tried to comfort the boyish quarterback as they walked back to his abode.

"We'll help you look for your lost pride in the morning," he said, putting his arm around the fortysomething-year-old man. "Nobody believes a liar, not even when he's telling the truth! BOOM!"


- Inspired by Aesop's "The Boy Who Cried Wolf"

A Model of Consistency

15 starting pitchers with ERAs currently under 3 and five no-hitters. 2010 certainly has proven to be the year of the pitcher.

Josh Johnson, Ubaldo Jimenez, David Price and Roy Halladay are just a few of the big names getting a lot of attention- and rightfully so.

But there's one guy who's not a starter, who's just carrying out business as usual in 2010. He's not a 22-year old phenom flame thrower whose every outing is scrutinized. He's 40 years old. He pitches one inning an outing and does it without too much pub. His ERA is not just below 3 or 2- it's below 1. He's fought through lingering injuries this season, so much so that he had to skip the All-Star Game.

If you haven't figured it out by now, the guy I'm talking about is Mariano Rivera. A model of consistency in a role that can be very volatile. There are more Eric Gagnes and Armando Benitezes than Riveras. Guys who are electric for a season or two than fade into irrelevancy.

As I watched Mariano Rivera last night on the mound in a tense divisional game with the Rays, a random sense of appreciation swept through me. In the top half of the ninth, Robinson Cano blasted a home run to give the Yankees a one-run lead. Then, the bottom of the ninth came around and there was a sense of calm. Rivera on the mound and immediately starting off with two straight strikes. He did give up a broken bat single to Willie Aybar but that was the night's only blip.




Yankees fans have been spoiled by Rivera. For 15 years, there has been no sense of panic, no closer-by-committee, no fear that your closer could implode at any moment. Since 1996, Rivera's "down" year was 2007 when he had his highest ERA as closer, 3.15. Or maybe his "down" year was 2002, following probably his most infamous moment, Luis Gonzalez's game-winning hit in the 2001 World Series. After that game, some thought Rivera was done. In 2002, he was on the disabled list three times and pitched just 46 innings, the lowest of his career.

Rivera missed the first month of the 2003 season and again, there were calls that he was done. But again, he proved the doubters wrong. And he had one of his most triumphant moments in the biggest spot, game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, pitching three scoreless inning to get the win and the series' MVP honor.

His tale is one not only of consistency but resiliency. Time and time again, he has emerged more dominant when those doubters started to come out of the wood work. Last season, the seven home runs he allowed were "cause for concern." I'll admit there was some shock on that May night in 2009, when Rivera gave up back-to-back ninth inning home runs to Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria in the Bronx. With any other team's closer, you would be mad, fuming that the game was blown. With Rivera, you're just left mouth agape.

It's that sense of calm that Rivera has fostered in this ninth inning role for a decade and a half that leaves you so shocked when he has a misstep. Ever since he took that mantle from John Wetteland in 1996, Yankees fans have been treated to one of the greatest in the sport. Say what you will about the importance of the closer, besides Derek Jeter, who has been more important to the franchise in the past two decades than Rivera?

Funny enough, the image for which many will remember Rivera, which is seared into the minds of Yankees fans, is his worst, that November night in the desert when it all fell apart under the brightest lights. It's tough to say that is not Rivera's defining image. Ironic, huh?

But maybe the reason that image stands out so much is because of the sheer shock of it. It's easier to remember the cataclysmic than the one-two-three nights that have become merely routine. Rivera doesn't make himself the centerpiece of the moment. He gets the save and Frank plays. When he retires, that clip of Gonzalez's hit will still play in Rivera montages. But the indelible image I will always have of him will be the simple one like last night, him recording the final out and walking off the mound to share a word with his catcher. Nothing out of the ordinary for a pitcher who should be remembered as one of the extraordinary.

T.O.= bad romance

Today's early reports said the Jets had 'reached out' to wide receiver Terrell Owens. I could not be happier they did not take his hand in marriage.

This offseason the Jets have already added two stars of the past decade, LaDainian Tomlinson and Jason Taylor. The two bring big name appeal but more notably declining stat lines.

The Jets will hope those two revert back to their glory days- or at least something close to them. But what they didn't need now is another thirty-something whose name proceeds his game of late. Yes, that's you, T.O.

There's a reason why very few teams were rushing to sign the 36-year-old Owens. Actually, there's more than one.  After a happy honeymoon, Owens almost always finds some cause for annulment. In San Francisco, it was Jeff Garcia. In Philadelphia, it was Donovan McNabb. In Dallas, it was Jerry Jones.

It's not just the attitude though. Sometimes you can put up with an ego for immense production. But Owens' production is on the decline. After having one of his best seasons in 2007, his numbers have gone down in each of the past two. In 2008, they were still strong, 69 receptions, 1,052 yards, 10 TD.

Not so much in 2009. Owens reached the end zone just five times to go along with 829 yards and 55 receptions. Maybe it was just the environment. There is no doubt that playing with one of the worst offensive units and the duo of Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick did nothing to help Owens. But he did not do much to raise their games either.

Most great players eventually go into decline. Owens has had a great career. There's no shame in saying that he may not be the same player now at 36. For the Bengals, it may be worth the risk to see if he can recapture his glory, just like the Jets hope Taylor and Tomlinson will.

The team to take that risk is rightfully not the Jets, one that already traded for Santonio Holmes this offseason and Braylon Edwards during the 2009 campaign. In fact, Owens might not have even been the third best receiver on this Jets team that also has Jerricho Cotchery.

Holmes will be out for the season's first four weeks. But when he comes back, Owens would be what, the fourth receiver? On a team that prides itself on running the ball?

It didn't make sense- for either party. For Owens, it was a distinct possibility to fall further into on-the-field anonymity. For the Jets, it would have been overkill.

No T.O. on 'Hard Knocks' now but instead it's two 'reality stars' in the fall's newest drama...a 16 episode order to see if T.O. will be....'Ochocinco's (and the Bengals') Ultimate Catch.' Eat your heart out, VH1.

When Fear Dictates

In two incidents on vastly different scales but with similar outcomes, the power and influence of fear has come about in the decision making process.

Three days ago, the Huntington School Board voted to shutdown Jack Abrams Intermediate School due to shootings and violence in the area.

A few days ago, it was decided that some journalism classmates and friends from OU would no longer be going on a month long trip to Uganda.

Now, the magnitude of violence upon which each decision was based is surely greatly different. The OU trip was canceled because of a terrorist attack that happened just over a week earlier in the country, when al-Shabab insurgents took innocent lives of those gathered to watch the World Cup final.

While Uganda has experienced relative peace in the years since the Juba talks, you cannot fault the decision to cancel this trip. It is just unfortunate timing for those who were planning on going. That said, there is a real risk. Terrorist attacks do not happen everyday. But to be in a third world country, which was just attacked, for a month is risky.

Now, to a local level. The closing of Jack Abrams Intermediate due to area violence. Unlike the incident in Uganda, the violence in the Huntington Station area has been going on for years, not affecting the children at the intermediate school. I went to school there a a decade ago and it was not the safest area. It was not rare to be on the playground and see a condom beside a Pringles can as a fourth grader. But school went on. I still remember many of my teachers and experiences from the three years I spent there relatively fondly.

So, there have been a few shootings in the area now in the past few weeks. The final straw in this process came with the shooting death of a 16-year-old, which occurred around 1:25 A.M, the wee hours of a Sunday morning. Yes, these violent incidents are a problem and yes, there has been a proliferation with four between July 4th and July 13th. But the violence has not had any relation to the day-to-day activities at the school. Are the perpetrators really dumb enough to have a shootout near a now heavily policed school in broad daylight? I highly doubt it.

This is an instance of the School Board showing cowardice, running away from the problem rather than working to address it. There's always an easy way out. It may look more appealing. But in the long term it usually doesn't solve the problem. Sometimes it only makes it worse or, even leads to new ones.

So now what? Supposed safety in favor of: more overcrowded classes, less resources with students jammed into fewer schools. Dilution as a result of fear. And forget this community that has been plagued by violence. Let's scamper away now and take away one of the few positive foundations of the area. Except there's the suggestion of an...alternative school down the line. What does this say to the community? The area is not good enough to school mainstream students but those who may choose alternative school can handle it.  

Fear is a sentiment to be taken seriously. In some cases (the Uganda trip), its ramifications are warranted. In others (Jack Abrams Intermediate), fear leads to even more dangerous overreactions than the supposed danger that caused it in the first place.

The Fallout

As the three guys, 25, 26, and 28 years old, sat in the midst of the party at American Airlines Arena, they looked like a bunch of 18-year-olds.

They didn't just get an invite to their first college party.

They were the main attraction.

Wade, Bosh, and James have acted like kids all along. They were like three high school kids, gallivanting and eating up all the attention that the adults were willing to feed them. They did their best to keep the spotlight on them, posting pictures of themselves, like this one, like teenage girls taking a million Photo Booth shots on their new Macbook and uploading them to Facebook.

And so in the end, it turned into what in essence was similar to a bunch of high school kids making a college decision. The two best friends, Dwayne and Chris, decided they really wanted to go to school together. But while they had made the decision, their other best friend, LeBron, was away at camp.

They tried to convince him to go away for school. He wasn't sure. He had grown up in his hometown. All his best friends were there. He was most popular in high school, and even called the King...of Homecoming and Prom.

But his best friends were never a good influence on him. For years, they told him he had to get out of his little town. Move on to bigger things, where he could have more than just love and adoration.

It all started when they took a trip to China and had the perfect time together. Some said they decided then that they had to go to college together. It would be just like the trip to China! 

So, finally, after months and months, LeBron made his decision.

He tried to be a good guy about it but all his friends saw him as a traitor, leaving them behind and only caring about himself in the process. He chose them over us. They untagged him in all their Facebook pictures, burned all of his clothes he had left at their houses. The school's principal even sent out a letter saying he quit on all of them.

In the end, that's what this really is. Three best friends deciding to go to the party school in South Beach. It's James taking the easy way out, going to school with two of his best friends, so he won't have to do all the work alone, so that they'll help him write his papers and get good grades.

It's three men well into their twenties acting like 18-year-olds. They're the kids who leave high school acting as if they're the coolest, saying that their choice was the best and they will do better than everyone else. But when they go to college, they're the three kids that walk around together with an air of arrogance, the ones everyone can't stand.

It's James throwing away all of the friendships he had made over the course of seven years. But you know what's funny, sometimes the kid that was "Mr. Everything" in high school, doesn't do so well in college. Sometimes he even ends up needing to go home.

Well, James can't go home now.

Cleveland won't have him back. But maybe, one day, he'll realize he made a mistake. That those "best friends" weren't as good of friends as he thought. That those good grades he got by having them write the last page of his paper or take every class with him, wouldn't be as fulfilling as doing it by himself.

James' fans called themselves 'Witnesses.' Now all he can do is 'witness' the fallout from his decision.

Ohio's response to 'The Decision'

What is there to say? Since I go to school in Ohio, here's a sampling of Facebook statuses (some censored) from Cleveland fans and Ohio natives following the worst made-for-TV event since the latest Bachelorette reunion special.

 -----------------------------------------------------------------

chalk up another heartbreak... still love my cavs

LeBron... You just murdered Cleveland.. Have fun in Miami. I hate knowing that you live 5 minutes away from me and know that you just destroyed something good

 lebron james = the new art modell

 wow. thanks a lot lebron. i hope your plane crashes on your way to Miami.

Cleveland sports is over...

R.I.P. Cleveland

Cant blame him...

My little brother is now my best chance at winning a championship... even if it is little league

F*** LEBRON!

Why would Lebron want to stay when most of Cleveland doesn't even want to stay?

dang. people don't get this animated when their good friends take a new job in a new city. besides, it's not like any of you even met the guy. it's a little game, and the sun is probably gonna rise tomorrow... just not on cleveland. BUT HEY, AT LEAST HE DIDN'T GO TO NEW YORK!

Congrats LeBron...for stabbing all us Cleveland fans in the back..F*** you, u r a big attention whore and need to stop being a lazy a** mother f***er...Dan Gilbert you are the man

Tobetray someone is one thing to betray an entire city and state is an
act of self-absorbed cowardice. I am a witness to a TRAITOR

Cleveland fan since birth. No self-centered person who shows up an entire city will change that. At some point, Cleveland will have its day.

PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS DAN GILBERT

 -----------------------------------------------

A little bit of perspective, a decent amount of sadness and a LOT of anger. As much as I wanted LeBron to come to NY, you can't help but feel for the Cleveland fans. He couldn't just hold a press conference in the new city like every other player does. He milked this for everything it was worth and made himself into the spectacle. And he took the easy way out. He didn't try to bring a title to a championship-starved city with passionate fans (Cleveland, New York) or one with a real solid TEAM with a young core (Chicago). He has now become hated by those cities' fans and many more.

He made the move that will give him no chance of being up there with Jordan or Kobe. And he did have a chance to be in that breath. With Wade AND Bosh, he will never be THE guy. It's one thing to win a championship with very good role players around you (Jordan). It's another to orchestrate a move to sign with two fellow free agent superstars to do it.  More to come on this soon.

The Circus is Leaving Town

...or maybe it's just arriving.

Tomorrow night at 9pm, LeBron James makes the decision all the world has awaited for months and months. It is only fitting that we lucky viewers are spoiled with a one-hour special to commemorate this monumental event.

All sarcasm aside, this is a pretty big deal. Yes, this whole process has been ridiculous. Yes, NBA free agency has become a glorified form of college recruiting, except these guys are too old for this (and are getting big paydays no matter what). Yes, LeBron, Wade and Bosh have made themselves look like clowns at the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey, posting incessant Twitter updates, pictures and now the final straw, this LeBron primetime special.

But as much as the media, the players, the teams and owners have created a circus out of this, you can't tell me you're not at least a little curious where this guy is going. Sure, he hasn't won a championship yet. That said, he is the league MVP and his decision will completely change one team's fortune.

As much as LeBron has reaffirmed for me how much of an attention seeker he is and that it is all really about him, I can't say I don't want him to come to my team. And it's not really about him, it's more about my selfish desires. As a Knicks fan, the past decade has been one really long wait which has yet to reap any benefit. Ever since the 1999 Finals and Patrick Ewing's departure, it has been a long, painful waiting game.

Back in the early 2000s, it was waiting for Allan Houston's $100 million dollar contract to come off the books. I remember looking forward to 2007, when the Knicks would finally have cap freedom. When that team of players more broken down then the toys exiled to the tots at Sunnyside daycare would finally be sent to the dumpster. Can you believe that Allan Houston, Shandon Anderson, Jerome Williams, Maurice Taylor and Jalen Rose made more than $60 million in the 2006 season?

It takes too long to list and subsequently explain the disastrous tenures of two of the worst GMs in NBA history, Scott Layden and Isiah Thomas. From 2000 to 2008, these two absolutely buried a team that had been a perennial playoff contender. New York became the dumping ground for players who didn't deserve the money they were making. Layden pulled in most of the names from the earlier group and Isiah did his best to outdo his predecessor putting together this backcourt for the 2006-7 season: Houston (retired): $20M, Stephon Marbury: $18M, Rose: $16M, Steve Francis: $15M and Crawford: $7M. Oh, but Isiah brought in some big-time big men, Eddy Curry through trade and Jerome James through a five-year, $30-million deal more bloated than Curry's waistline.

The Knicks not only became absolutely irrelevant. They became the joke of the NBA. I am a big jersey guy. The last Knicks jersey I am willing to display is my Patrick Ewing one. The only other one I have from the past decade is Latrell Sprewell's #8 I got as a gift. That's now in jersey purgatory in my closet.

So, this is a taste of what it has been like to be a Knicks fan for the past decade. With Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni coming in, there was a glimmer of hope and another imposed wait, summer of 2010. Now it's here. All of this misery has led up to tomorrow night.

Amar'e Stoudemire's signing was a good first part. But what is Buzz Lightyear without Woody? LeBron is the cool toy on the block. The one that garners the most attention and everyone waits for to rescue them.

If LeBron does choose NY, there will be thousands of new Knicks fans. It will be obnoxious and maddening. But the diehard Knicks fans who have been through this decade know what tomorrow night means. The last really good thing to happen to this franchise was when the lottery balls worked in its favor and it got Patrick Ewing. That was 1985. Since then, there's been Reggie, MJ, John Starks' nightmarish game seven, Hakeem, Robinson and Duncan, James Dolan, Layden, Isiah, and on and on and on.

So, I'm looking forward to tomorrow night. This one guy can change this franchise's future. I can picture the Garden being electric again. Or him back in Cleveland, or even worse in Chicago or Miami. All we can do now is sit and wait. 24 hours seems like a lot but Knicks fans can handle a wait, just no more shattered hopes.

Oh my...Ghana

At the 121st minute of Ghana and Uruguay's marathon quarterfinal, Asamoah Gyan had a chance to win the game outright. Everyone in the stadium, watching on TV,  knew it would be extra time's final kick. Make it inside the 8 yard wide, 8 foot tall net and win. Miss and let down not only your country but the entire continent of Africa, of which your country is its last hope.

If we can compare Ghana to the Buffalo Bills for a minute, Gyan was Scott Norwood and 'Wide Right' was 'Just High.'

It was a final act of drama in an extra time that plodded along slowly with few scoring chances. That is until Ghana's free kick in the game's final moments. Multiple tries at the net, protagonist Ghana thwarted by the Uruguayan antagonist Luis Suarez' handball.

But as is necessary in every good drama, the antagonist set up the most compelling moment. Suarez' desperation stop gave his country hope, saving a goal. It also gave protagonist Ghana a chance to have the storybook ending. One shot for a spot in the semis.

It was not to be a happy romantic comedy that predictably ends with smiles upon the protagonists' faces and everyone crying tears of joy. Instead, Gyan missed the game-winning penalty kick.

Minutes later, he made a penalty kick in the shootout. But it was no longer a golden goal. Uruguay won the penalty kicks 4-2. No storybook ending for the home continent's final fleeting hope. For the first time, you could hear something besides the roar of vuvuzelas at this World Cup. It was a chorus of boos from the African crowd.

Tears, devastation on the Ghanaian faces. The patented empty feeling that sits in your stomach, sitting and staring at their loss. Some say it's 'just a game.' But in the World Cup, it's not just a game. It's four years worth of work, four more years to wait, the pride of a nation, of a continent. For Ghana and it's African faithful, it will be four years to dwell on what could have been.

Scott Norwood was a good kicker. At the time of the Super Bowl miss, he was Buffalo's all-time leading scorer. He even followed up 'Wide Right' with big kicks in the next postseason. Asamoah Gyan is a good player. He scored the winning goal against the U.S.

But sometimes it's hard to remember the good when the misstep is so deflating. Norwood is always remembered for that infamous 'Wide Right' moment. Time will only tell if Gyan is remembered for more than being a crossbar's width away from African history.

The Chase

The old cliche says 'the thrill of the chase is always better than the catch.'

In South Africa, the U.S. soccer team was that guy you couldn't help but root for, chasing after the girl of his dreams, the one he had never gotten before and no one thought he could. It all starts against England. He proves he has some game. The big man on campus slips up and gives him a chance.

Against Slovenia, he thinks he's defeated, that she doesn't really like him. But he doesn't give up. He showers her with unexpected gifts until he gets to go on the first date that to his detriment is ruined by an annoying friend.

Then, it all comes down to Algeria. It's do or die. He knows he has to make a move or she'll forever forget him, and he'll be relegated to the back of the line, behind Jock A and B. So, he continues to chase, knowing this is it. Heart beating, he misses some chances, but in his last gasp of desperation, it happens. He defies his doubters. He kisses the girl, in that cliche movie scene, seemingly perfect moment.

He's ecstatic, goes home and cries tears of joy. Maybe he has finally made his mark. It feels like ultimate victory. But then, there's the day after...

They pass by each other crossing the green and all her friends laugh. Shoot, maybe he wasn't as cool as he thought.

Later on, she's by herself. They exchange a smile and a glimmer of hope radiates through him again. It's not over. But he still has to make a move. He can't just sit back and wait now. Summer's near and the school year is almost over.

She has some extra time after class and they talk. She abruptly tells him, 'no.' He doesn't want to believe it. Keeps searching for answers 'til the very last second, when she says 'I have to go now. You're a nice guy though.'

The nice guy had his moment. But he still didn't get the girl. He'll never forget the feeling of jubilation, when he was on top of the world, when everyone was watching and talking about him.

He'll always wonder what could have been. If he spoiled the best chance he may have ever had. It was almost all chase, very little catch. But boy, was the chase a thrill.

On the Fringe

It's not too often you hear Americans talking about soccer and tennis...let alone both on the same day.


Today, they provided Americans with captivating sagas, with two of their own involved.


It took 91 minutes for Landon Donovan to net a dramatic goal and finally break through for the U.S. soccer team in dire straits.


It took 10 hours for American John Isner and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut to reach 59 all in the fifth set at Wimbledon. Yes, that's right, 59-59. It looks more like the end of third quarter score of a 2005 Spurs/Pistons game than of a set in tennis. The previous record for most games in a match: 112. These two have played more games, 118, in just this fifth set. They've eclipsed the previous record for longest match by more than three hours. And they haven't even decided a winner yet.




They'll continue on tomorrow. The U.S. soccer team will continue on to the round of 16 to face Ghana.

And today both sports moved from the fringe of America's cultural gravitas to the fore front. Contrary to popular belief, Americans don't hate soccer. They don't hate tennis. There just needs to be that compelling pull to draw widespread interest.

It's June 23rd and we're not talking about one of the big four. We're talking about a couple of the ugly stepsisters. But beware soccer and tennis...the clock could strike twelve at any minute. Brett Favre is due to throw a football around at a high school, a perfect game could spring to fruition at any time, July 1st is looming and goodness knows LeBron James is going to get more invites to citywide parties than my sister to graduation parties.