Giants at 4-2

After the Giants beat the rival, Dallas Cowboys 36-22 Monday night, they moved themselves into sole possession of first place in the extremely tough NFC East. Already 3-0 in the division, they Giants have made it through the toughest part of their schedule at a strong 4-2. On the heels of the announcement that their MVP candidate, Tiki Barber, will be retiring at season’s end, the Giants came out on national television and dominated their long time rival, Dallas Cowboys.
The Giants have put themselves in prime position to win their second consecutive division title. In what was believed to be the toughest division in the NFL, the Giants have already defeated every team in that division. The Eagles, who have lost many games on the final play of the game including to the Giants in Week 2, are currently a half game behind the Giants in the division. With the Redskins and Cowboys seemingly on the decline, the Giants look like they will be in a two way race for the division with the Giants.
Although the Giants lost LaVar Arrington for the season to a torn Achilles’ injury, their pass rush remains strong with Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan at the Defensive Ends. Their quarterback, Eli Manning, is maturing with every game, and their receivers remain solid. Of course, running back, Tiki Barber, will do what he does, and Brandon Jacobs is developing with every carry. The Giants look as if they will continue on to a key NFC match up with the Chicago Bears on Nov 12 at 8:15. p.m. Hopefully, the Giants will be able to continue their early season intensity and win another division title.

Mets Win NLDS

Well, who would have thought that the New York Mets would have been the New York baseball team to sweep their divisional series? Not many people after El Duque went down before a pitch was thrown in this series, but the Mets rode their bullpen and the arm of Tom Glavine to a sweep in the NLDS over the Dodgers.
However, on the other side of town, the Yankees began their series with a bang as they overpowered Tigers pitching in Game 1 to an 8-4 victory. But from that point, everything went downhill for the Bronx Bombers. They lost Game 2 4-3, which was the turning point of the series. Then when they went to Detroit, it was never a contest between these two teams. The Tigers overpowered and out pitched the Yankees to two wins at home to win the series and earn one of the greatest postseason upset in recent memory.
The Mets still await the winner of the Cardinals-Padres series, which the Cardinals lead 2-1 heading into Game 4. The Yankees will now go home and wonder what changes will be made by George Steinbrenner. Will Joe Torre return as manager? Will Alex Rodriguez remain a Yankee after his abysmal performances throughout his postseason career with the Yankees? The Mets are now the ones with certainty on their side. Wow, how the tables have turned in the matter of only a week.

Mets Clinch NL East

The Mets have finally clinched the National League East Division. The inevitable finally became a reality on Monday night when the Mets defeated the Marlins 4-0 in Shea Stadium beginning hopefully the first of four celebrations to come this year. After losing three straight in Pittsburgh, the Mets were able to clinch in front of the hometown crowd, which provided the spark needed to clinch.
With this win, they finally ended the 14-year reign of the Atlanta Braves over the NL East. As they enter the playoffs, it still seems that there is no other team in the National League that can match up to their powerful lineup and experienced starting pitching. This has been the same old story for this team since June when they really showed what they were made of with an 8-1 West Coast road trip.
As the playoffs quickly approach, the Mets will have to continually deal with questions regarding the experienced yet old starting pitching. Pedro Martinez was a shell of himself in his last start on Friday night. After he was pulled from the game, Martinez showed a great amount of emotion as he had to be consoled by Mets’ manager Willie Randolph. Tom Glavine will also have to return to the form he had during the first half of the season. All these questions and more will be on the minds of Mets fans throughout the next two weeks and hopefully deep into October.

Notre Dame Aqueaks By Against Georgia Tech

After the final whistle blew in Tempe, AZ ending the 2006 Fiesta Bowl, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were completely focused on proving that they were a much better team than the one that was dominated by Ohio State. Throughout the off season, there was a great amount of hype surrounding the Irish. The ‘pollsters’ put them at #2 and #3 in the Coaches’ and AP Preseason Polls respectively. College football experts made star quarterback Brady Quinn the early favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. All signs pointed towards a return to glory for the storied Notre Dame football program which has been down in recent years.
All the hype meant nothing as Notre Dame kicked off its season in Atlanta against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Saturday night. The Irish were supposed to have an easy time disposing of the inferior Yellow Jackets on the national stage on their way to a huge showdown with Penn State next week. Georgia Tech did not cooperate.
From the opening kickoff, it was clear to everyone, including the Irish, that they were going to be in for a tough battle all night. Georgia Tech jumped out to a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter with a touchdown pass to their star receiver Calvin Johnson. The Irish were being dominated throughout the entire first half until their final drive of the half. During this drive, they were finally able to move the ball downfield against the Georgia Tech defense eventually leading to a five yard touchdown run by Brady Quinn to put the Irish within three at 10-7 at the half.
Head Coach Charlie Weiss and the Irish came out of the locker rooms determined to focus on the run with Junior running back Darius Walker. Through this new offensive philosophy and a much improved defensive unit, the Irish were able to squash the Yellow Jackets’ upset bid and returned home to South Bend with a win.
The schedule for the Irish only gets tougher over the next three weeks as they host Penn State and Michigan and go on the road to Michigan State. Charlie Weiss will have to prepare his team even more than his usual rigorous expectations usually allow. Questions are abound in college football circles concerning Notre Dame’s ability to get through these next three tests successfully considering their last performance against the weakest of the first four opponents.
The Irish will look to keep these critics quiet as they face-off against another classic college football powerhouse when legendary coach Joe Paterno and the Penn State Nittany Lions come into Notre Dame Stadium this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Will Notre Dame continue on their way to their first national championship since 1988, or will all the hype fall flat with a disappointing loss in only the second game of the season? This and more will be on the minds of 80,000 strong as they all cheer in unison, “Go Irish!!”

Mets Sweep Cards

This week the Mets have proven their dominance over the rest of the National League with a sweep of the second best team in the NL, the St. Louis Cardinals. With Carlos Beltran getting the series off to a bang with a walk-off homer in Tuesday night’s game. The Mets continued their dominance over the slumping Cardinals with 10-8 and 6-2 wins on Wednesday and Thursday nights respectively. With this series sweep the Mets have left no doubt in anyone’s mind that they should be the eventual National League representative in the World Series.
The Mets’ also improved their standing for a title with the acquisitions of Shawn Green and Guillermo Mota during the week. Mota will add some depth to the Mets’ bullpen for the postseason, and Shawn Green will solve the outfield problem that the Mets have had since the trade deadline. Green will add even more pop to a potent Mets lineup which will be critical for the Mets when they go up against the seemingly superior AL in the World Seires.

Tiger Dominates PGA Championship

With his twelfth major championship, Tiger Woods now has Jack Nicklaus directly in his sight as far as major championships go. He has quickly put to rest any comparisons with him and rival Phil Mickelson with two consecutive major victories to end the 2006 season. He has returned to the same dominant form he had in 2000 and 2001 when he completed the “Tiger Slam” winning four consecutive majors. Every opponent seems to fall to the side when Tiger is in the mix. Today, nobody could even muster anything below par to really challenge Tiger’s lead which he achieved after the first hole. There is now no doubt in anybody’s mind who is the best golfer right now, and he will unquestionably go down as the greatest golfer in the history of the sport.

Mike Piazza Make Return To Shea Stadium

When Mike Piazza made his return to Shea Stadium last night, the Mets’ faithful did as they should have, greeting him with multiple standing ovations. The impact that he had on the Mets franchise will forever be felt by all Mets fans. Not only did he lead them, to them to a World Series in 2000, but he also lifted New York’s spirits with his home run against the Braves after 9-11. He carried the Mets for all the years that he was in a Mets’ uniform, and for that, I and all Mets fans will be forever grateful.
Last night, Piazza seemed to be surprised by the outpouring of support that he received from the Shea crowd. From the moment he stepped out of the dugout fans chanted his name and showered him with applause at every opportunity. As he stepped into the plate for the first time, you could see that his emotions were beginning to get the best of him as his eyes began to tear up. All the records he set and games he won with the Mets will always live on in my memories. Anything less than what Piazza received from the fans last night would have been an injustice, and he is due to receive more of the same when he enters the Hall of Fame.