Sports

Congratulations, Dallas. You won the NFC East by default. No one else really wants it.

The Giants, up 21-0 entering the fourth quarter, did everything they could to give the game away. Missed tackles, players giving up on plays before they're blown dead, late hits out of bounds, interceptions on balls that should have been thrown away. Twice the Giants were in position to end Titans' drives and seal the game but instead gave them another chance. Both times the Titans went on to score touchdowns and continue their comeback. Final score - Titans 24, Giants 21.

I'm going to have to find something else to do on Sundays because this team is just too frustrating to watch.

The New York Giants might be a decent football team if they'd start playing before the third quarter. They have been outscored 34-7 in the first quarter and 78-29 in the first half. In contrast, they have outscored their opponent 95-31 in the second half - 67-10 in the fourth quarter.

I don't think they'll go too far, though, with Eli Manning at quarterback. He hasn't impressed me at all since he joined the team. They're only where they are because of players like Tiki Barber, Plexico Burress and Jeremy Shockey.

The defense finally had a half-way decent outing yesterday. I was about to turn off the set after the 90 yard touchdown run but they seemed to rededicate themselves after that. Except for a few occassions, they kept Vick in the pocket and didn't let him run. That limited his options.

Another bright spot yesterday was the small number of penalties. There were only 5 penalties against the Giants for 45 yards. That would have been 4 for 30 except for a stupid late hit on Vick out of bounds after the game was already decided. Bonehead plays like that don't help.

The Giants may suck again this year but it looks like Rutgers is going to have a pretty good season.  They're ranked (as opposed to the Giants who are rank) for the first time since 1976 - 30 years.  Rutgers has had an easy schedule to start the season but they haven't overlooked these easier games.  They came out ready to play and it shows in the results.  Looks like coach Schiano is finally getting results.

The Scarlet Knights will play 7 of their last eight games against divisional opponents starting next week so things are about to get a bit tougher.  I think they can win at least four of those and get themselves a bowl game again this year.

After showing signs of brilliance last week, the Giants ought to be ashamed to show their faces in this state again after this week's performance. Down 21-0 after 10 minutes, 35-3 at the half, and they just gave up another touchdown with four minutes left in the third. This team is showing just how lucky they got last year to win the division. Well, at least I'll save a little electricity this year by shutting games off early.

Update: I can't believe the announcer on this game.  The Giants get a couple of late turnovers and turn them into touchdowns.  Now they're down 42-24 and Buck is saying the Giants are back in the game!  They're still down by 18 with nine minutes to go!  They got lucky last week when Philadelphia went into energy conservation mode.  I don't think  Seattle will do the same thing.  Coming back from a 17 point deficit is one thing.  A 39 point deficit - the Giants just don't have it in them.

I'm really getting tired of seeing Barry Bonds' face in the news all the time.  He's having a horrible year so far but it seems everybody's obsessed with him anyway just because he's inching up on one of the game's greatest records.

Every time I go to Yahoo! Sports MLB page, there's a headline along the lines of "Bonds didn't hit #714 again".  Now that he finally got it, we'll be seeing "Bonds didn't hit #715 again" until he passes Ruth.  Can't we just wait until he breaks it?  Why are we reporting non-news?

There are 30 teams in this league with 700+ other players.  There has to be more out there that's worth reporting than Bonds failure to hit another one.

Some good news on the hockey front today.

1. Dish Network and OLN reach an agreement. OLN and hockey games outside the local market return to Dish Network.
2. The Flyers aren't looking much better than the Rangers.
3. The Rangers won't lose tonight.

With OLN returning to Dish Network, I'll be able to watch more than just the local games. Until tonight, that meant I could watch the Devils-Rangers series and whatever they decide to show on NBC. Now I should be able to sit down and watch hockey on the off-nights for the Devils-Rangers series.

I was just flipping through the channels looking for something to watch when I stumbled across OLN. A Google search located the article above. I'm now watching Ottawa regain home-ice advantage in their series against Tampa Bay with a 5-1 lead after two.

I was pleasantly surprised by the season the Rangers had this year. They haven't been easy to watch the past few years and having them on top of their division the whole season was nice. I was looking forward to the playoffs until the last two weeks of the season.

I looked at their remaining schedule compared to the Flyers and Devils. I figured if the Rangers could win the games they should win (Penguins and Islanders) and one of the other games (Flyers, Devils, Senators), they'd lock up the division. Then they decided to stop playing hockey and start watching games from the penalty box.

I haven't been able to sit through any of the Rangers' last six games. They're off to a similar start tonight having given up a short-handed goal and the Devils just scored again. Too bad it's the only game on because I don't think I'll be able to watch all of this one, either.

The next worst team, Atlantic City, averaged over 2000 per game but there are rumors floating that they, too, may wish to jump to a league that plays a short schedule. Bridgeport has been in trouble, too, and has new ownership.

I have enjoyed the games I've seen in this league. I've been to several Somerset Patriots games and have also been to games at Newark and Camden. I'd be very depressed if the league were to start falling apart. There are plans to add teams in York, PA possibly next year (2007) to replace the Road Warriors and also a team in Bergen County as soon as they manage to find themselves a stadium.

There's more Atlantic League news here or on their web site.

I was wondering why I couldn't find the Outdoor Living Network (OLN) on Dish lately. Channel 151 has just disappeared from the lineup.

A Google search turned up this information. Oh, well, so much for being able to watch more hockey games.

I don't understand this.  The Rangers are playing but I can't follow the game live anywhere.  It's not on TV until 11:00pm on OLN.  It's also not on the radio.  The best I can do is a 30 second refresh of the official scorecard at www.nhl.com.

I thought the NHL wanted to win back the fans but the local team isn't accessible except on tape delay.  What's wrong with this picture?

Did anyone but the diehards notice it was gone?

Although NHL hockey returns tonight, you probably won't recognize it.

So none of the players seem to be on the same team where we left them. But then again, the entire league isn't on the same television network. Instead, you'll see the games after "Survivor" reruns on a cable station that is supposed to feature things from the outdoors.

Mark Messier and a bunch of other stars are gone, but Wayne Gretzky is back, only as a coach. Everyone is claiming this Sidney Crosby kid, who has finally arrived in Pittsburgh, is the next Great One if not the next Mario, who is somehow still playing.

Miami still has a team, as does Atlanta, although I am not sure many people in either town are aware of this.

Winnipeg and Quebec still don't have teams (and their citizens are acutely aware), although the league now has an economic system that would have saved them if only Gary Bettman (who, sadly, is still here) hadn't gotten conned so badly back in the early 1990s that the ice had to melt for 16 long months.

This article reflects my sentiments pretty well. I'm glad to see the sport back but I'm not sure anything was gained by anyone for taking a year off. None of the teams will be recognizable having given up their biggest stars in attempts to get under the salary cap. Even the game itself may not be recognizable with a few major rules changes.

Someone joked on the radio this morning that there were rules changes regarding fighting. During fights, players would now be allowed to use knives, nunchucks, and brass knuckles.

If and when the NHL (No Hockey Lately) resumes play, they are likely to institute rules changes to open up the game a bit and attract fans. Buffalo has proposed new rounded goal nets.

If the NHL was worried about the fans, they would have been meeting last summer and fall to get a new CBA adopted rather than waiting for Santa Claus to deliver one. In my opinion, adopting larger or odd shaped nets isn't going to make the game better. What gets me out of my seat is an odd-man rush or nice passing plays to move the puck up ice. Scoring is just the result of good offensive play but the rush would be just as exciting whether the puck finds the net or not. If you want to make the game more exciting, don't just increase scoring -- All-Star games have lots of scoring but not necessarily a lot of excitement. Create rules that open up the ice and allow the offensive players to thrive. If that is done, the goals will come and they'll be more exciting that way.

What would Donald Trump have to say to Bob Goodenough and Gary Betteman?

But seriously, let's hope they don't take the summer off and start talking again in September (or later!). This whole thing has been pitiful. There was no conversation over the summer even though everyone knew a lockout was coming. There was little or no talk at the time of the lockout. They didn't bother getting together for three months after the lockout started. There was little talk between then and the deadline two months later. Were these guys waiting for Santa Claus to deliver an agreement? They both deserve to go.