tonytalkssports My Take on Sports, particularly the Yankees, Maple Leafs and Browns

Tuesday’s Thoughts

While wondering when did the Yankees turn into the Mets, here is what I'm thinking about this morning:

* Last week was a sad day in the sports world with the death of 28 year old Derek Boogaard and the announcement that Harmon Killebrew was entering hospice.  Killebrew was an awesome power hitter back in the day forming a dangerous duo for the Minnesota Twins back in the 60's with Tony Oliva.  Killebrew wasn't that tall and certainly didn't have a body builders physique but his arms were huge and he had tremendous power.  Classy till the very end.      Anytime a young athlete dies its sad and usually leads to speculation as to why.  It's unfortunate that some are using Boogaard's death to start up the band for the banning of fighting in the NHL.  Boogaard suffered a concussion back in December as a result of a fight and never played again.  Very sad.

* So happy that the Bulls took Game 1 of their series with the Dream Team.  Here's hoping that they can keep it up.

* The NHL playoffs resumed with Vancouver and Tampa Bay scoring Game 1 victories.  The Lightning have more offensive fire power than the Bruins and I think will come out on top in this series.  The Sharks blew a 2-1 lead in the third period which seems to be a perplexing pattern.  This series will go seven games and unfortunately I think the Canucks will win.

* The streak is now 6 games and losing 10 out of their last 13.  Last night the Yankees blew a 5-1 lead to fall to the Rays 6-5.  AJ Burnett reverted to 2010 blowing up in the 6th inning.  If this becomes a pattern with Burnett, look out!!!

* The obvious discord between Yankee management and Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada is outright ridiculous.  It was Yankee management that gave Posada a four year contract.  No one twisted their arm but for the fact that they couldn't take it if the Mets signed him and they needed damage control after their break up with Joe Torre.  With respect to Jeter, in reading his comments there was really nothing for the China Dolls in Yankee management to get their shorts in a knot over.  Instead of moving on, they needed to keep this front and center.  Maybe the reason for this is to mask the total failure of Cashman and company in fielding a team worth $200 million being beaten down by the low spending Royals and Rays.

* Joe Girardi is saying all the right things about believing in his guys, everyone goes through this during a season, blah, blah, blah, blah.  I'm waiting to hear the classic, "the sun will come up tomorrow..."line that was used quite a bit when Torre was manager.  Unfortunately, Girardi is not Torre.  I have a feeling if Torre was manager this whole thing would not have spun out of control.  However, tough guy Cashman is the new Marshall Dillon and he's not taking any guff from anybody, even if they are 5 time champions.

* I wonder if since the Yankee brass is so pissed off at Jeter whether or not there will be any big ceremony when the Captain cracks the 3,000 hit mark, becoming the first Yankee to do it.  Think about that for a moment.  A team with the likes of Ruth, Gehrig, Di Maggio, Mantle, etc. has never had a player get 3,000 hits.  That will change this summer.  If I had to bet, they'll do something so they can make a boat load of money off of Jeter's accomplishment.

* Will the Yankeeographies on Jeter and Posada be forever banned.

* The NFL owners have been victorious as the 8th Circuit Court is putting a freeze on the injunction of a stay and as a result the lock out is back on.  You know what I hope they don't play a single down and lose a ton of money.

* It's looking like the Atlanta Thrashers could be moving to Winnipeg.  While I have no problem with Canada getting another team, I question why the NHL has gone out of their way to subsidize the Phoenix Coyotes to keep them in Glendale while they are sitting idly by with the Thrashers.  Don't get me wrong, I didn't think Atlanta deserved another team after losing the Flames many years ago.  But why the inconsistency.  Gary Bettman: another super genius running a sports league (Goodell, Stern and Selig other geniuses in their own minds).

* And finally, how long will it take before the Yankees make a move, Hank Steinbrenner erupts and Joe Girardi takes the fall for Brian Cashman's ineptness???