Baseball: It is a busy time for sports, especially since December is prime baseball trade season. For instance, the Yanks might just unload Randy Johnson. Along with getting Andy Pettite back, one might even say that they actually did some good -- even keeping some of the old weight. The Mets' major goal was to obtain Barry Zito, the remaining original ace of the original trio over at Oakland. This appeared to many, including myself, as a done deal -- just a matter of finding out how much to pay the guy.
Not quite -- he went over to the Giants via a ridiculous contract, surely years-wise. This allows him to stay in the area, have a seven year contract (too long for the Mets, six being a stretch), and having lots of money to spend in the process. Meanwhile, the Mets have to look elsewhere -- there are a few pretty good starters out there, more #3 quality really, though a few might be sort of a journeyman Zito, who deep down is not that good anyway. This is why all that money/years was ridiculous, except that this is the year where some have been overpaid. With Pedro hurt, the Mets really need another dependable starter, especially if Steve leaves.
Football: First off, this is college bowl season. Not a big fan, though since it has been going on since before Xmas, it does provide some constant (especially with repeats) filler if I need something to watch. Yesterday had some close games, though the Clemson one was a bit artificial since they were down eight with less than a minute left (thanks to two missed field goals and an extra point to boot). Rutgers (a triple OT loss away from a better contest) joined many more mismatches, luckily being on the right end of one. Some are on the new NFL Network -- one of the few benefits of having Dish Network.
Suffice to say, there is not enough football for a 24hr channel, especially since they don't really have football themed movies or special "average guy" stuff like some guys talking fantasy stuff or something. After all, even check some of the stuff on ESPN and other sports channels, including MSG? Not that women's volleyball is exactly unappreciated, but still ... spelling? Meanwhile, Week 17 has a good amount of games with playoff implications, especially for the Jets ... and why not? Their schedule simply was not too difficult, even in the more competitive AFC. Hey, I predicted that nine games was possible. What's one more? Meanwhile, yes, the Giants are not dead yet. I might not even get a chance to see the final game ... which would not necessarily kill them even with a loss.
But, enough whining about the presence of a couple bad teams in the playoffs. This is what happens when you have a lot of slots, plus there really isn't an undeserving AFC team in the mix. Plus, the fact a couple are on the cusp is not unfair either, since the two that will not get there were hit/miss teams as well. IOW, they were great at times, bad at others -- they do not "deserve" anything. I would say this even if the Jets were among those that lost out. This leaves the NFC. A division leader is weak (Seattle), but that happens. The first wild card is either Dallas or the Eagles -- both deserve a shot. This leaves the second wild card, which will be a mediocre team. Do we want the slot to go to the AFC or something? No, it turned out pretty good. It's good to have things to play for (including seeding) to the very end.
Other: Don't look now, the Knicks are close to the top of their lousy division. With low expectations, very low, that mess of a team might just have a chance to consider themselves a success. You know, that meaning not a total failure. I honestly don't care about hockey, but the regional teams apparently are doing pretty well. Still, games are on -- very busy season.