SB Nation User Blog: cjmulrain

Justin Tuck, softball star

cjmulrain — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 03:35:28 -0000

I'm watching the MLB Celebrity All-Star Softball game after the Home Run Derby (which seriously needs to be retooled...how did Josh Hamilton not win that thing?), and Justin Tuck is playing left field for one of the teams. He has made 2 pretty nice catches in the outfield, though I haven't seen him bat yet. Good to see that the guy's an all-around athlete.

By the way, sorry to tell most of you this, but for the small contingent of Giants/Mets fans on here: Tuck is wearing a Mets hat! He just officially became my favorite player now that Strahan's retired...

Ridiculous Rankings

cjmulrain — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:38:02 -0000

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/insider/news/story?id=3477622

For those of you who don't have insider access, it's a ranking of the 32 teams' run games. They rank the Giants 18, and here's their insight:

"Even though the Giants finished the 2007 season ranked fourth in run offense, that was based more on their commitment to run the football than their actual talent at the position. The best part about the Giants' run game is the physical play they get up front from the offensive line. The other solid aspect to the Giants' run game is depth at the position. Starter Brandon Jacobs is big, but not very physical. Derrick Ward saw extensive action before his injury and Ahmad Bradshaw adds a speed element. There is no premier player in New York, but the depth is good."

So basically, to paraphrase: "Even though the Giants had the 4th best rush attack in the regular season (and 3rd best Yards Per Carry) and rode that attack to the Super Bowl, they don't have any really famous backs or 1st round picks, so they suck."

Andre Woodson

cjmulrain — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 21:17:16 -0000

The Giants drafted Kentucky QB Andre Woodson in the 6th round. I think this could end up being the steal of the draft. There was a time during the college football season when there was a debate about who would be the top QB taken, Matt Ryan or Woodson. Now obviously Woodson had some flaws exposed over the course of the season, but the fact that we got him in the 6th round is incredible. He has all the physical tools, his main problem stems from a hitch in his delivery, although it didn't effect him much this year as he set an NCAA record for most consecutive passes thrown without an interception. He could turn into the long-term backup for Eli with potential to be a starter someday (either for us if something happens to Eli, or for someone else after we swindle a boatload of picks from some QB desperate team in a few years)

Overall I'm really happy with this draft. Manningham could be the deep threat we've been waiting for, Woodson could be the next Tom Brady (what? They were both drafted in the 6th round!), and Phillips is gonna be our starting safety. Don't know much about the other guys, but hopefully they'll be good too.

New Stadium

cjmulrain — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 17:33:25 -0000

On the Yahoo front page right now they have a feature about new "Super-Stadiums" being built within the next few years, and the new Giants Stadium is listed amongst the top-10 (along with New Yankee Stadium, Citi Field, and the MLS Red Bulls stadium being built...go NY/NJ!)

I was just wondering how everyone felt about the Giants (and Jets) getting a new stadium? Personally, I have mixed feelings: I think Giants Stadium has held up very well for a place built in the mid-70's, but the new stadium looks pretty impressive. I'm not thrilled about the PSL's, which are gonna force my uncle to downgrade from 8 season tickets on the 50 yard line (they've had them since the Yankee Stadium days) to likely only 2 seats that won't be anywhere near the 50. I do love the fact that there's gonna be a rail line directly to the stadium. So does anyone have any opinions?

Also, a question, it says on the website it will be ready for the 2010 season, I'm assuming that means there's still 2 seasons left in the current stadium, right? (Since this past season would be considered the 2007 season, even though the playoffs were in 2008?)

That OTHER New York team

cjmulrain — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:36:12 -0000

So it looks like the Jets have been having a busy offseason: Alan Faneca shores up the left side of their O-line, and they just signed former 1st-rounder Damien Woody as their right tackle, potentially giving them a very strong O-line. They have also made a few pickups on defense. Plus, they have the #6 pick in the draft (with some mock drafts having them taking McFadden.) Depending on the QB situation, I expect the Jets to have a bounce-back year next year and be a playoff-caliber team. Which brings me to the point of this post: I would LOVE to see a Jets-Giants Super Bowl. Remember how exciting the Subway Series was in 2000? Well, I think a Jets-Giants Super Bowl could be just as exciting, and maybe even more. Everyone talks about an all-Manning bowl, but I would much rather face the Jets (don't think I'm being greedy though, I don't care if the Giants end up playing the Oswego School for the Blind as long as it's a Super Bowl.)

Maybe it's because almost everyone in my family are Jets fans, but I've always had a soft-spot for them: I cheer them on unless they're playing the Giants. I've always been curious how the rest of Giants Nation feels about the j-e-t-s (which I have to admit is a much better cheer than anything we have.)

Poll

How do you feel about the Jets?

Super Bowl DVD

cjmulrain — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:33:14 -0000

So I had been starting to move on past the football season, getting excited for my favorite time of year (March Madness followed by Opening Day) when my Giants DVD came in the mail. Needless to say I'm now back to reliving this incredible season and the best day of my sports following life, and I couldn't be happier. It still gives me goosebumps thinking about that game.

Also, Tiki is interviewed in a special feature on Coughlin...what a d-bag.

McShay's Mock Draft

cjmulrain — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 13:47:28 -0000

Ok, now that the season is over, it's time to start thinking a little bit about my favorite offseason event of any sport, the NFL Draft. I was checking out Todd McShay's Mock Draft on ESPN.com this morning, and check out his blurb about the Giants:

Giants - Keith Rivers, OLB, USC
The Giants are in need of an immediate and legitimate upgrade at linebacker, and Rivers is instinctive and athletic enough to contribute immediately on the weak side. They also could use a quick, explosive back who would complement current Giants power back Brandon Jacobs, so keep an eye on this selection.

That last sentence really pisses me off. Umm, Todd, did you watch any of the NFL playoffs, at all? Ever hear of Ahmad Bradshaw? Other than that though, I actually wouldn't mind seeing the Giants get Keith Rivers, a guy who should be a pretty good NFL linebacker. USC guys usually seem to do pretty well. The guy I originally wanted the Giants to target was Aqib Talib, the corner from Kansas, but due to their unfortunate success in the postseason they'll be picking way too late to pick him now. (I'm being facetious, of course).

Finally, all season long I wanted them to draft a QB in the third or fourth rounds, so that they'd have a) a decent backup in case Eli gets hurt, b) a backup plan in case Eli never turned into the QB we just saw over the past 5 weeks, and c) good trade leverage in 2 or 3 years if Eli developed and so did the backup (ala Matt Schaub). However, after this playoff run, it seems pretty obvious that Eli is the guy, and I doubt they'd draft another QB. That said, I still believe they need a good backup, because if Eli gets hurt, they are completely screwed...backups can be the difference between a playoff run or a 2-14 season. Because I doubt they'd draft anyone, I'd like to see them bring in a legit veteran backup QB, someone who is good enough to keep a team competitive, but who understands he's here to be a backup. I'm not really sure if there's any free agents out there who fit the description, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Any thoughts on what the Giants should do in the draft and free agency, leave some comments.

Why NY > Boston

cjmulrain — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 06:39:23 -0000

I love how Boston fans seem to think what they're sports teams are doing right now is so unprecedented, when NY has done the same thing quite a few times (only better.) Here's a decade-by-decade run down of New York Sports dominance. If you don't feel like reading the whole thing, scroll to the end and check out the coolest stat of all.

1920's: Giants and Yankees played each other 3 straight years in World Series; 1927-28, Yankees, Football Giants, and Rangers all win Championships

1930's: Yankees win in '32, Giants in '33, Yankees beat Giants back-to-back in '36-'37 and win again in '38 and '39. Football Giants win in '34 and '38, lose championship in '33, '35, and '39. Rangers win in '33 and lose championship in '32 and '37. At least 1 NY team appears in its sports championship every year from 1932-39.

1940's: '46 and '48 are the only years an NY team doesn't make a championship. Yanks win '41, '43, '47, '49, beating Giants in all but the '43 Series. Football Giants lose championship in '41, '44, and '46. Rangers win Stanley Cup in 1940.

1950's: The Glory Days. At least 1 NY team makes a championship every single year of the decade, with 2 or more NY teams playing in a championship 6 times, 3 teams playing 4 times. The city wins 9 titles and loses 12, but 5 of those were Subway Series

1960's: Hockey is non-existent, basketball only in the very last season ('69-'70), but baseball and football both good in the early 60's (Yankees/Giants - both played for titles in '61, '62, and '63) and 1969 (Mets/Jets).

1970's: Yankees played for 3 titles, won 2 in the late 70's. Mets lost 1973 WS. Knicks played for 3 titles, won 2 in the early 70's. Rangers lost 2 Stanley cups in '72 and '79. Fairly weak decade.

1980's: Isles dominated NHL in early 80's. Mets and Giants both won titles in '86. Yanks lost World Series in 1981 (negative points for losing to a team from PHILLY). Pretty disappointing decade.

1990's (+2000): Rangers win Stanley Cup in '94, Knicks lose championship same year. Giants win SB in '91. Yankees win 4 WS in 5 years, including 2000 vs. Mets. Mets also went to NLCS in '99. Jets went to AFC Championship in '99. Knicks lost NBA Championship in '99 as well. Giants lose Super Bowl in 2000.

2000's: Pretty brutal decade. Yanks lose Series in '01 and '03. Mets lose Game 7 of '06 NLCS. Giants in Super Bowl right now. Other than that, de nada. Boston has us beat right now. But as I think we can all see, historically: dominance, thy name is New York. The City has hit its worst period sportswise since the 1910's (and even then, the Giants made a few World Series), and most cities would KILL for 3 championship appearances in a decade (and we've still got 3 years left.) Basically, what I'm trying to say is: Screw Boston, New York Rules.

Of the 88 years between 1920 and 2008, at least one New York team played for a Championship in 63 years, with quite a few years in which more than one team was playing for a championship sprinkled in. The years without a NY team were:

'25,'30,'31,'45,'48,'65,'66,'67,'68,'71,'74,'75,'85,'88,'89,'90,'92,'93,'95,'97,'02,'04,'05,'06,'07