"I'm here to help the Jets win."

Brett Favre, August 8, 2008

When ESPN's Favorite Personality uttered those fateful words, he had just been traded from the Green Bay Packers to the New York Jets. All of Gotham was abuzz.

But little did anyone realize exactly HOW Favre could help the Jets win - then and now.

Favre led the Jets to an 8-3 start in the 2008 season. But when Favre selfishly put his NFL consecutive game streak ahead of his new team by hiding a shoulder injury, the Jets crash-landed with a 1-4 finish and missed the playoffs. Packer fans were thrilled with their change of fortune, as Aaron Rodgers filled the void by becoming a standout QB in his own right. And the draft pick the Jets "traded" brought LB Clay Matthews to Green Bay, who is quickly becoming a defensive star for the Pack. Addition by subtraction: Favre Style.

Favre has helped the Jets to success as well. The Jets fired head coach Eric Mangenius, who was responsible for allowing the "Favre Over Team" mantra to destroy the Jets 2008 season. Rex Ryan stormed into New Jersey and led the Jets to the AFC Conference Championship game in 2009, with rookie QB Mark Sanchez. Favre escaped to Minnesota where he led the Vikings to the NFC Conference Championship game - and added yet another big-game interception meltdown loss to his Hall of Fame credentials.

Despite all of his glowing accolades and personal achievements, Favre's last decade has included SIX playoff meltdowns. The first occured on January 20, 2002 when the Packers suffered an infamous 45-17 NFC divisional playoff loss to the St. Louis Rams. For Favre it was a great day - he threw for 281 yards and five touchdowns. Unfortunately for the Packers, three of his TD passes were caught by Rams defenders. The "Greatest Quaterback Ever" tied a playoff record by throwing six interceptions in the game.

The following season, the division-winning Packers suffered their first ever home playoff loss to the Atlanta Falcons 27-7. Favre threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, adding a meaningless fourth quarter touchdown to prevent an embarrassing home shutout.

January 11, 2004 is better known in Philadelphia as "4th-and-26", but Donovan McNabb's historic completion only tied the game at 17 at the end of regulation. The Eagles won the overtime toss, but needed Favre's help to drive to victory. After failing to score on the first drive, Favre connected with Brian Dawkins for his first and only completion of the overtime period. Three plays later a field goal propelled the Eagles into the NFC Championship Game.

After losing twice to the Packers during the 2004-05 regular season, the Vikings posted a 17-0 lead in the Wild Card playoff matchup of January 9, 2005. Closing the gap to 17-10, Favre's fourth interception of the first half was returned deep into Packer territory, leading to another Vikings touchdown. After the ensuing kickoff, the Packers drove to Minnesota 8-yard line, but while scrambling around looking for an open receiver, Favre threw an illegal forward pass instead of easily running for a first down. The division winning Packers eventually lost 31-17 to the Wild Card Vikings.

Favre's final "Packer" meltdown is near and dear to New York Giants fans: January 20, 2008. Big Blue travelled to Green Bay for the NFC Championship, tying the Packers at 20. The Packers won the overtime coin toss and received the ball. On the second play from scrimmage, Favre found the Giants' Corey Webster wide open, which set up the Giants game-winning field goal and 23-20 victory.

New Orleans fans will be forever grateful for Favre's efforts in last year's NFC Championship. His late fourth quarter interception prevented the Vikings from kicking a potential game-winning field goal and the teams headed into the overtime period tied at 28. The Saints did not need any further help from Favre, winning on the first drive of sudden death on their way to their first Super Bowl victory in team history. Speaking of history, Favre's two picks in the game broke the all-time individual postseason record for interceptions thrown.

This Monday, the "Greatest Quarterback Ever" returns to New Jersey. Favre hopes the recent addition of Randy Moss to the Vikings roster will turn around a dismal Vikings start, while the Jets look to convince football fans that they are for real. What is shaping up to be one of the biggest Monday Night Football games ever has Jets fans hoping Favre's selfishness and poor decision making will propel the Jets to victory. His track record proves that in big games he IS the man - so long as you're rooting for the team he is playing, not the team he is leading.

Watching the Angels starting pitcher get rocked by the Red Sox on the MLB Network last night, I couldn't help but think that it's time to debunk one of the biggest myths and rants about the Mets organization:

How could the Mets trade away a "stud" like Scott Kazmir?

Simply put, I've been saying from day one that Kazmir is one of the most over-hyped Mets farmhands EVER. And the "career" he has had so far is EXACTLY what I thought his best-case scenario was - an oft-injured, what-if pitcher. I'm not a professional major league scout nor talent evaluator, but I think it's fairly logical that a petite lefty fresh out of high school that throws close to one hundred miles an hour has a definite "shelf life" to perform at that level. A Met writer "in the know" told me during the height of the Kazmir frenzy that he was the second-coming of Sandy Koufax or Billy Wagner. I countered that the Mets would be lucky if he ever became Mike Hampton. Your honor, I rest my case.

On July 30, 2004 - the day Kazmir was traded to the Rays - I told every Met fan who would listen what a great job the Mets organization did in getting a quality return for him. Of course, I was laughed at by all. To remind everyone, at the time of the trade Bartolome Fortunato was a fireballing bullpen stud who was on the mend from surgery. And I took the former Mets pitching coach at his word that he needed less than an hour to "fix" Victor Zambrano. None of us could know that the physical condition of both pitchers - since the Rays LIED about them. Major League Baseball reacted immediatlely after the trade by changing the medical disclosure rules between clubs - call it the "Zambrano/Fortunato" rule if you'd like. The reality is that on paper, the trade was solid, despite what any "scribe" or "fan" thought then - and now.

So here we are eight baseball seasons after Kazmir's high school graduation, and his meteoric rise to the Major League level in less than two years. As of today, his 59 major league wins put him 11 games over .500 in his big league career. He's pitched 896 innings, striking out 922 and walking just 408. Yes, he's had flashes of brilliance - but he's also had extended stints on the DL with shoulder and elbow problems. Not hard to figure out for a player "listed" as six feet tall and 175 pounds. Until they attach a bionic implant below where his left shoulder currently is - I think it's safe to say we've seen his best.

I was in attendance at Kazmir's first professional game in Coney Island, and his career could have possibly ended that night. After uncorking a wild pitch, he strolled towards the plate and cluelessy "hung around" as the catcher attempted to come up with the ball near the backstop. Meanwhile, a baserunner flew down down the line - spikes glistening in the fading sunlight. When asked after the game what he was doing anywhere near home plate, Kazmir mumbled a comment of never having had a runner on third base to that point of his career. It was that moment that when I realized he was a "thrower" and that becoming a "pitcher" was still ahead of him. I can only surmise that Mr. Peterson and the pitching instructors employed by the Mets came to that same conclusion, and decided that the his lack of physical assets coupled with his limited baseball smarts made him expendable.

The perception that things would have been different had he not been traded to the Rays - and instead been holding down a spot every five days in the Mets rotation all these years is baseless. Perhaps that theory held true for Nolan Ryan, who also was a hard-throwing Mets farmhand. Arguably, the Mets gave up on Ryan too early when they traded him to the Angels for veteran Jim Fregosi. Comparing Ryan to Kazmir now is a pipe dream.

The reality of Scott Kazmir is that he is a 10 win, 150 inning lefty who strikes more batters than gives up hits. The Mets have a guy JUST LIKE THAT on their roster right now. His name is Oliver Perez, and you can look it up.

Lineup
Texas Rangers @ New York Yankees

04/16/10 7:05 PM EDT

Texas Rangers                   New York Yankees
Julio Borbon - CF               Derek Jeter - SS
Michael Young - 3B            Nick Johnson - DH
Josh Hamilton - LF            Mark Teixeira - 1B
Vladimir Guerrero - DH     Alex Rodriguez - 3B
Nelson Cruz - RF               Robinson Cano - 2B
Chris Davis - 2B                 Nick Swisher - RF
Joaquin Arias - 2B             Marcus Thames - LF
Taylor Teagarden - C        Curtis Granderson - CF
Elvis Andrus - SS               Francisco Cervelli - C

C.J. Wilson - LHP              CC Sabathia - LHP
(0-0, 0.00)                           (1-0, 3.46)

The Yankees have placed Chan Ho Park on the 15-day Disabled List, he's been replaced on the 25-man roster by LHP Boone Logan (wearing #48).

Despite another day of picture-perfect weather in the Bronx, the Yankees dropped their first home game of the season to the Angels, 5-3.

Joel Pineiro was fantastic for the Halos, picking up his first victory in his new red uniform. Pineiro went seven innings, giving up just one run on five hits. He struck out seven, including getting A-Rod three times, Nick Johnson twice and catching Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher looking one time each.

For the Yankees, Javier Vazquez's return to the Bronx and pinstripes was more reminiscent of his last outing of 2004 than of his Cy Young-caliber season last year with the Braves. He lasted just one out into the 6th inning, giving up four runs on six hits. "His command is not as good as we've seen it," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said afterwards. "As soon as he can get a win here, I think it will be best for all of us."

After spotting the Angels a 2-0 lead, Swisher got the Yankees on the scoreboard in the 5th inning with an RBI triple to left-center that scored Robinson Cano. After Vazquez departed, Alfredo Aceves gave up a run to put the Angels up 5-1. The Yankees scored two more runs in the 8th inning, but the comeback fell short when Jorge Posada struck out to end the rally. Fernando Rodney picked up his first save of the year as the Yankees went one-two-three in the 9th.

Connie James came to Long Island University four years ago fresh off of back-to-back girl's basketball state championships at Absegami High School. Ranked the top defender in New Jersey by the the Newark-Star Ledger, the Blackbirds hoped James' winning ways would help a talented team on the rise. Four years later, those predictions appeared to have been right on target as LIU hosts St. Francis (PA) in the Northeast Conference Championship Game tomorrow at 3pm on ESPNU.

"They probably figured I understood what it takes to win games," James said about being recruited to LIU. "The challenge is knowing that every game can be different."

In her freshman season, James made an immediate impact, starting 20 of 31 games as the Blackbirds recorded their first 20-win season in program history. LIU headed into the 2007 NEC Tournament as the top seed, another first. But a stunning, opening-round home loss to the eighth seed ended the NCAA tournament dream for James in her freshman season. And it was easy for most to overlook James' contributions, since classmate Valerie Nainima garnered every award the NEC had to offer.

A 24-8 record made it two 20-plus seasons in a row for the Blackbirds. In her sophomore season, James played in every game - starting all but one. Back-to-back 48 percent field goal shooting seasons for James paled in comparison to her 100-plus assist and rebounding efforts. The fourth-seeded Blackbirds hosted the first two rounds of the 2008 NEC Tournament. After winning the first two games, LIU headed to Pennsylvania for their first NEC Championship Game under head coach Stephanie Gaitley. The Blackbirds lost to Robert Morris 86-75 to end the season and end James' NCAA tournament dream for a second-straight year.

The borough of Brooklyn invented the term "Wait Until Next Year". But on LIU's campus, things didn't look that optimistic shortly after the season ended. As four key seniors prepared to graduate, Gaitley then Nainima also departed. With a new coaching staff and new teammates all around, it would have been easy for Connie James to give up as a rebuilding effort began around her. Despite a 9-20 NEC tournament-less junior season, James posted another 100-plus rebound and assist effort. And teammate Ashley Palmer became the second Blackbird in the James' era to garner NEC All-Rookie and the All-Conference Team accolades. There was hope, despite a ninth place NEC Preseason Coaches Poll prediction for the 2009-10 season. "The newcomers fit right in," James stated earlier this year. "This year, it felt really good."

What the NEC coaches failed to predict was that Blackbirds second-year head coach Gail Striegler could crunch a "rebuilding" plan into less than two seasons. LIU breezed through the regular season with a 20-9 record, earning the second seed for the 2010 NEC Tournament. Two wins later, they find themselves hosting the NEC Championship Game. And James' efforts might be the most unheralded of all.

James will end her career at Long Island University as a 1,000 point scorer and second all-time in assists. The 5'8" guard will also end her career ninth place all-time in program history with 705-plus rebounds. Although she will  finish her career without any All-Conference or Player of the Year awards, James is the only player to be a part of all three 20-win seasons in LIU history. A NCAA Tournament appearance would be the most fitting reward of all.

"The NEC is great basketball. Those that don't get to see it
don't know what they're missing"

Jim Ferry - Head Coach
Long Island University

Coach Ferry's comments should be taken to heart by all NYC hoops fans. Simply saying "NO" to the awful basketball played by the local NBA teams and saying "YES" to the inspired and exciting basketball played by local NEC teams is definitely an option. Especially in March.

Coach Ferry's Blackbirds defeated the Knights of Fairleigh Dickinson 63-61 in the quarterfinal round of the Northeast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament on Thursday night. These teams last met in Brooklyn exactly fourteen days ago, in a game that never led anyone to believe tonight's matchup would have been this intense. Don't worry - that February game was still a better basketball viewing investment than the NBA most days.

First-year head coach Greg Vetrone had his FDU team firing on all cylinders from tonight's opening tip. Compared to the chess-like viewing expectation of "pro-game" opening minutes, the Knights raced to a 13-1 lead before the first media timeout. "We had too much energy," said Brooklyn native and LIU senior guard Jaytornah Wisseh afterwards. "After the first couple of minutes, it became a regular basketball game."

The Blackbirds slowly erased the early deficit as a Kenny Onyechi putback gave LIU their first lead of the game, 21-20. For the remaining eight minutes of the first half, neither team could manage more than a five-point lead, as Wisseh's jumper at the one-minute mark tied the game at 32. The Knights shot 44 percent from the floor in the first half, while the Blackbirds recovered from their 0-for-7 start to shoot 32 percent. Both teams combined for just 11 turnovers and amassed a total of 42 rebounds in a hard-fought effort on both side of the court and the basketball. Freshman swingman Jamal Olasewere pulled down eight defensive boards, on his way to double-digit rebounds at halftime.

FDU could not re-kindle their early game pace to start the second half, as neither team could claw ahead by more than three points for the first nine minutes. An NBA-three by Sean Baptiste gave FDU a five-point lead with just over ten minutes remaining, but jumpers by Olasewere and David Hicks closed the gap to one. With the Knights defense effectively shutting down Wisseh, the Blackbirds were forced to look elsewhere for offense and 6'1" guard Michael Culpo rose to the challenge.

His back-to-back three-pointers swung a five-point lead in the direction of LIU. "I felt comfortable, and shot real good in warm-ups," Culpo commented on his five field goals that all came from behind the arc.

After a pair of free throws put the Blackbirds up by seven, Terence Grier started a 10-4 run to close the gap to just a point at the four-minute mark.  Wisseh converted one free throw, only to have Grier drive the paint and tie the game at 61 with just over two-minutes remaining. Seconds later, Culpo fed Onyechi in the paint to account for the final points of the game. The teams combined for seven missed shots for the final 90 seconds, as every loose ball and rebound were contested with the effort worthy of an elimination game.

Fourth-seeded LIU heads to Hamden, CT to face the top seeded Quinnipiac Bobcats in their semifinal matchup. "We gave them a good game up there," Wisseh commented on the Blackbirds last trip north - a game in which the Blackbirds out-rebounded the Bobcats, the only time it's occurred this season.

Based on tonight's effort - it's hard to imagine anything other option in the NEC Men's Basketball Tournament.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/breaking/sports_breaking/20100112_Chestnut_Hill_Academy_football_coach_dies.html

Long time women's college basketball referee Jack Plunkett passed away yesterday in a suburban Philadelphia hospital. From what I've been able to gather from varous sources, Plunkett suffered a freak injury a few weeks ago and was recovering from surgery.

Over the years, Plunkett refereed many women's NCAA D1 basketball games, including last year's Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship Tournament in Albany, NY. I'm sure many people can relate to the feeling one has when looking to find out WHO the referees are going to before a game you are about to watch. For many years, when I saw Jack Plunkett enter the gym, I knew things were going to be "OK".

My condolences go out to his wife and family. He will be missed by many.

Behind the stellar play of Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week Angela Pace, Robert Morris (9-6, 4-0 NEC) swept through Brooklyn this past weekend to defeat Long Island 76-65 and St. Francis (NY) 64-43. Pace led the way against the previously NEC unbeaten Blackbirds with a double-double (19 points/16 rebounds), then followed it up with a 24 point, 12 assist performance against the Terriers. The senior guard committed just one turnover in both games. Robert Morris returns home to face Fairleigh Dickinson (5-9, 1-2 NEC) at 5pm on Thursday and Monmouth (6-9, 1-3 NEC) at 4pm on Saturday. Their next win will be the 600th career victory for head coach Sal Buscaglia.

Sacred Heart (11-4, 4-0 NEC) started the New Year by winning three straight NEC games at home. After defeating Monmouth by 15 points, the Pioneers finished up with a 69-54 victory over Wagner on Thursday and a 67-56 win over Mount St. Mary's on Saturday. Junior Maggie Cosgrove torched the Mount with a career-high seven three-pointers to continue her place atop all of D1, shooting 40-75 (.533) from three-point land so far this season. Sacred Heart hits the road this week with a short jaunt around New England, heading to Bryant (4-10, 2-2 NEC) on Thursday at 5pm, and then to Central Connecticut State (5-9, 2-2 NEC) on Saturday at 1pm.

Last Monday night, Columbia University came within three points of leaving the Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh with a victory over NC State. In that game, junior Judie Lomax grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds for the Lions highest single-game rebounding total in 12 seasons.

It took just one week for the Lions next 20-rebound effort, as Lomax pulled down 23 rebounds to set the Columbia single-game record on the way to a 68-56 victory over St. Francis (NY) in Brooklyn Heights. Her 22 points also led all scorers as Columbia (9-5) finished its non-conference schedule with a perfect 6-0 record against Northeast Conference teams. St. Francis (1-14, 0-4 NEC) dropped its sixth straight game.

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Two of the three remaining undefeated teams in Northeast Conference play are ready to do battle in Brooklyn.

Robert Morris (7-6, 2-0 NEC) faces Long Island (8-5, 2-0 NEC) Thursday at 5:00pm. The Blackbirds return for their first home game in 25 days, after finishing in third place at the Tulane DoubleTree Classic in New Orleans last week. The Colonials hit the road after splitting their last four games at home, including three straight games decided by a point.

Offensively, Long Island is leading the NEC at a 69.3 ppg clip and appears to be poised to continue the pace. Sophomore Kiara Evans broke the LIU single-game assist record last Tuesday, dishing out 15 in the Blackbirds 83-62 win over North Dakota. Classmate Ashley Palmer recorded a season-high 25 points in the game on her way to being selected to the All-Tournament team, and senior Heidi Mothershead landed a career-high five three-pointers.

For Robert Morris, senior Angela Pace leads the offensive efforts - reaching double-digits in every game so far this season. On Sunday, junior Kristine Silaraja recorded 23 points in the Colonials 82-52 win over Mount St. Mary's, while Pace and freshman Vega Gimeno-Martinez each added 10 points.

After rebuilding seasons for both teams last year, the Colonials and Blackbirds appear to be on pace for the Northeast Conference Tournament where they met in the championship game two seasons ago. Also unbeaten Sacred Heart (9-4, 2-0 NEC) hosts Wagner on Thursday.