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Football, Basketball, Baseball, you name it we got
it tonight, and of course Jeremy Lin is still hot
so let's talk about him some more as well.
Join me today at 6PM eastern and let's talk about
it all. See you then!


Tweet Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis

Guilty Or Not, Ryan Braun Is Dirty And Knows It !

Matt Slocum - ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ryan Braun and his "people" can spin it any way they
want, and throw anyone under the bus that they wish,
but the fact remains the same, he is dirty.

Braun may not have the GIANT goalie mask size head
that Barry Bonds had, the MUSCULAR guns on his arms
that Mark McGwire did, or even the TEMPESTUOUS bad
temper that Roger Clemens had/has, but the test he
took on that Oct 1st Saturday night last fall came
back with the highest ever recorded levels of
testosterone in any such test, and that's a fact
that Braun and his people have yet to dispute with
any validity. The sample wasn't tampered with,
and Braun's initial defense which has yet to be made
public had nothing to do with this technicality, and
yet he walks away with the MVP, and no need to serve
a 50 game suspension he deserves. It's a bush league
move by Braun to volunteer a retest months later when
we know full well that all this junk is well out of
his system by now. I do wonder however if testing one
of his long strands of hair is allowed under the drug
testing under the agreement by the Union and MLB, and
if so if he would be so quick to volunteer a retest
then.

Nothing I've written here is NEW, but it is worth
repeating over and over again. Ryan Braun cheated,
and though I should no longer and can no longer be
surprised by such acts of deception by athletes, I
am still disappointed by it, and you should be too.
It will be interesting to see his numbers this year,
don't you agree?

Next question should be why is Manny Ramirez only
going to serve a 50 game suspension when it should be
a 100 for a second offense. Shame, Shame!

Tweet Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis

Ranting With Rizzo Podcast For 2-25-12

Saturdays "Ranting with Rizzo" podcast is now
available and ready to go. Have a listen here
or download it and take it with you.
Enjoy the Show !




Tweet Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis

Can These NY Jets Still Be Taken Seriously ?

William Perlman/US Presswire

It may sound like a silly question to some, but it is
certainly one worth asking. Volatility is very quickly
becoming a part of the identity of these New York Jets,
and just when it seemed like everyone wanted to play
for Head Coach Rex Ryan, there seems to be a bit of
discord in the undercarriage. This loosey goosey bunch
may have been given a little too much freedom, and
just the the Boston Red Sox had their beer taken away
this year, the Jets may have to be reigned in a little
as well.

Today's news that linebacker Bart Scott was given
permission to seek a trade was just one more thing that
made me wonder if this ship is going to look a little
like the "Costa Concordia" by season's end, and if a
new captain is going to be at it's helm next year.

The Jets ended the season with the their offensive
captain, Santonio Holmes hating his quarterback, and
all but sulking on the bench as the tried to salvage
one last win in hopes that they could qualify for the
playoffs. When they had a chance to support their
QB and not pick up an option on Holmes' contract they
stuttered and did nothing. Later on in the offseason
when asked about Peyton Manning they once again showed
their #1 QB zero support, and have since done nothing
to squelch any rumors that they might be interested.
Though it's easy to say that just about any team would
do that if they had a chance to get Manning, I would
point out that his own team may not want him.

That leads me to today, and the news that one of Rex's
guys, Bart "Can't Wait!" Scott has been given permission
to seek a trade, with THREE years still left on his deal.
Why sign someone to that kind of deal if you don't think
he's gonna be here for the duration? Truth is the Jets
thought he would be here for the full contract or so, but
something has obviously changed, and not just with Scott,
but all of Rex's guys. Throw into this mix the fact that
ex-jailbird Plaxico Burris has no desire to return to the
team because of their lack of discipline. Did you ever
think you would hear anything that crazy tied to Plaxico
Burris?

I initially wanted to say that this was a Rex Ryan issue,
and make no mistake that he shares quite a bit of the blame
here, but I'm afraid that if this ship sinks in the upcoming
season GM Mike Tannenbaum may be looking for a job as well,
and it wouldn't be unfair to say that he is just as much at
fault as anyone associated to the team, maybe more.

Tweet Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis

Mad Stork Sports Podcast For 2-15-12

Miss the show?, well here it is. The podcast from
Wednesday night, and Linsanity is still a major
but once again not the only thing on the agenda.
Here's a chance to catch what you may have missed.
Enjoy !



Tweet Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis

Knicks Win With Lin Raise Expectations vs Heat

Reuters/Adam Hunger

Tonight's game vs the Miami Heat is not going to mean
too much in the standings unless the Knicks are going
to come all the way back and win the entire Atlantic
division and take the #1 seed, but if you take the
temperature of the fans right now, you would think
that it's the 7th game of the NBA Finals.

The Knicks had a nice win against a quality opponent
in the Atlanta Hawks last night, but with Joe Johnson
out of the lineup life was a little easier, and so
was the game. Since the arrival of Jeremy Lin into
the starting five the Knicks have had a few good wins
against quality opponents like the Lakers, Hawks, and
the defending NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks, but they
have also had a couple of clunkers against teams like
the Nets, and the Hornets. The quality wins have been
all at home, and the losses have shown that when teams
make a real effort to defend Lin, they can cause the
Knicks some difficulties. The Hornets were the first
to get some film on him, and in turn made it hard for
New York to run it's offense.

Make no mistake, tonight is going to be one to watch,
but please don't think for a minute that LeBron and
Wade have been under a rock this entire time either.
They know what's going on, and just like the NJ Nets
Deron Williams made a point of saving his best game
of the season so far for Jeremy and the New York fans,
don't expect James, and Wade to let Jeremy Lin waltz
into their home and make a name for himself on their
backs. I won't sit here and tell you that Lin isn't
up to the task, but I can assure you that he and his
teammates are going to have to earn this quality road
win, in what is likely to be the first of many tests
in the Jeremy Lin era.

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NY Mets Get Ready For Another Season Of Folly

(Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Mets Terry Collins is without question one of the
brighter beacons of hope the Mets have right now.
He talks a good game, has some nice young players
on the roster, and they do indeed love playing for
him, but as much as I am a firm believer that a
positive attitude is a must, I'm just not buying
the fact that the Mets are gonna make some noise
this season. They made noise last season for
about 65% of the season, and it was great, but I
can't see them doing any better than that, so
anything less is just a little disappointing.

I won't go over a laundry list of things that they
need to do, change, or you can expect, but I will
tell you that there are a couple of things that
aren't very favorable.

The most obvious of all is ownership. I am not
going to sit here at tell you that I hope they
sell, lose, or are forced to sell the franchise,
I just can't do that, it's not one of my things,
but the Wilpons and their financial problems are
going to be a crutch on this team all year long,
and until they get their affairs in order going
forward.

The second thing that bugs me is that their best
player is being dangled at us, as if a carrot stick
in front of a carriage horse. This time last year
we heard that there was a possibility that Johan
Santana "could" be back in July, then August, then
maybe a start or two in September, perhaps just a
rehab start, but nothing, A few weeks ago the word
was that he "should" be back in time for the start
of the season. What do you mean should?! What the
heck was all this garbage you've been feeding us all
this time then? Setbacks? OK, now he will be back
in time for opening day, but you hope you can get 25
to 28 starts from him. Good Luck with that is what
I have to say.

Then theirs payroll, and though this may sound like
the first gripe, but it isn't necessarily the same.
The thing here is that owners can choose to spend
what they want, money problems or not, and the Mets
have chosen to cut payroll by about $20-30Mil this
season, and there is just no way that by doing this,
that they have improved the team. No Beltran, No
Reyes, No added free agents to help pick up the
slack, and four teams in your division that all
improved. The Wilpons will actually save more since
they will no longer have to pay an extra $18Mil to
Oliver Perez, and Luis Castillo this year.

The last one might be the biggest head scratcher of
all, Jeremy Lin. Yes you read right, Jeremy Lin!
Terry Collins wants us to understand that they may
have a Jeremy Lin of their own, and though he doesn't
know who that is yet, it is just as likely to happen
to the Mets as it is to the Knicks. OK, since no one
can honestly say that they saw how big Victor Cruz was
gonna be for the Giants, and Jeremy Lin was gonna be
for the Knicks, maybe Ruben Tejada, Andres Torres or
some yet to be mentioned player will be the that guy
for Terry Collins and the Mets, but I won't hang my
hat on that either.

I like Terry Collins, and I believe that they will be
very fun to watch at times as well as very frustrating.
I also believe that we all need to step back and learn
from the departure of one of the great New York Mets in
their history, Gary Carter. Carter played hard, had fun,
and always smiled, and now that he's no longer with us
we can appreciate that it's just a game, no matter how
wrapped we get in it, it's just a game.

Tweet Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis

New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets Should Be In Philadelphia 76er's Position In The Standings, So Why Aren't They?

Getty Images

Just because you're a Billionaire it doesn't mean your
the brightest bulb in the batch, and though I am not
necessarily accusing New Jersey Nets Owner Mikhail
Prokhorov of being a dummy, I do have one question I
would love to ask given the opportunity, Why did you
let Rod Thorn go?

The reason for this question is quite simple, and jumps
off the page for anyone that either roots for the Nets
or follows the NBA, the 76ers have been on the rise
ever since Thorn got their, and the Nets cannot say the
same. In June of 2000 Rod Thorn joined the Nets as
their head man and guided them to their only two NBA
Finals appearances, back to back, and even though they
were both losses, it was an impressive feat nonetheless.
He left during the offseason in 2010, and the Nets have
a record of 34-82 since, while the Sixers sit in first
in the Atlantic division this season, and have a record
of 61-53 in that same span which happens to coincide
with when Thorn took over in August of 2010.

What gives? You want Dwight Howard. You want to Deron
Williams to stay, and not leave via free agency.
What are you showing them and future free agents that
this is a team worth joining, besides money, and maybe
that right there is the answer, $MONEY$. I guess it may
not matter to some guys, but if you want a Championship
then it will take someone that can spend your money well,
and thus far Billy King hasn't shown he is capable of
shining Rod Thorn's shoes. It will also make it hard
for the Nets fan out there to stay optimistic, whoever
he is.


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A.J. Burnett Goes From Trash To Treasure In Pittsburgh

(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette)

Though I am not really sure who said it, it's something
that we have all heard before: "One Mans Trash Is Another
Man's Treasure", and that is exactly the case for the New
York Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates when it comes to
the trade of A.J. Burnett this past weekend.

N.Y. Yankee fans couldn't be happier as a whole to get
A.J. Burnett out of town, and many volunteered to drive
him to wherever he was going as a bonus to it all.
A.J. Had clearly worn out his welcome after having been
so underwhelming with a 34-35 record with a 4.79 ERA in
his three seasons with the Yankees. It's certainly not
what the fans or the Yankees were expecting after they
signed him to a 5 year deal for $82.5Mil in 2009.
The Yankees did win a World Series in that time, but the
numbers were enough to send most of them into therapy,
and that was unacceptable in that part of N.Y. Baseball.

Then comes the the part where A.J. is welcomed with open
arms and seen as "Treasure", and not "Trash" by the
Pittsburgh Pirates and most of their fans. Of course the
Pirates haven't won a World Series since 1979, are trying
to avoid a 20th consecutive losing season, and the Yankees
are willing to pay sixty percent of Burnett's remaining
$33Mil salary in order for the Pirates to take him off
their hands. There is no question that A.J. Burnett will
be an instant improvement to a Pirates team that had it's
moments last season, but wasn't able to retain any of it's
early season scucess. It's also likely that he will be
the instant ace for Clint Hurdle, but it does show how
clear that perception is everything.

This makes both fan bases happier if not necessarily elated,
and is truly likely to improve both teams. What else can
one ask for? It's not likely to hurt Burnett's career much
either, as has been noted many times, a change of scenery
is good, and maybe he can pull a Lin.

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Gary Carter Passes, But The Kid Will Never Die

Photo: Ray Stubblebine/Reuters

I remember the announcement like it was yesterday, and yes
some of the facts get a little blurry after 29 years, but
there was an announcement on Monday Night Football that
the New York Mets had made a blockbuster trade to acquire
Gary Carter form the Montreal Expos. Yes, you read right,
they announced it during a FOOTBALL game, so you knew it
was BIG news. So many feelings ran through me, because
one of my favorite Mets was being traded to Montreal in
the package, Hubie Brooks, but once I got over that part
of the process, all I could think is how good the Mets
were gonna be, and good they were.

The Mets only won one title with that group, and they
probably should have, and could have won more, but they
haven't won one since, so they obviously made the right
move. People will talk and say many things about Gary
Carter, like the rally he started against the Red Sox
in game six to stave off elimination, and eventually win
that game and the series, or that he never met a camera
or microphone he didn't like. What you will also find
though, is that just about every single thing you hear
will attach his smile to it, and his infectious energy.

Gary Carter wasn't my favorite Met, but maybe he should
have been. I was more of a Keith Hernandez fan, but that
doesn't matter today, because I miss him like many Mets
and baseball fans everywhere, and realize the the world
is just not as good a place without him in it.

R.I.P. Kid, you were one of a kind!


Tweet Don't Believe In Plays, Believe In Players - Al Davis