Tuesday, November 10, 2009

There's the Yankees and, well ....

The afterglow of the Yankees' 27th World Championship will last awhile. That's good for Yankees fans - and newspapers, who will now feast on the misery that's the rest of New York sports.

The Devils and Rangers are exceptions, and though they're an afterthought at the moment, the Islanders have been surprisingly competitive - and they have John Tavares; the hyped first-overall pick is tied for the team lead in scoring.

Tops on the tabloids' radar, however, are the following teams, each in currently in a state ranging from sad to pathetic.

Giants: Losers of four straight after a 5-0 start and currently outside of the playoff bubble. As a fan watching them give away a game to the Chargers was the first in a long time I've been so disgusted with them.

Jets: 4-4 after a 3-0 start. Their 1-3 slide includes two galling losses to the Dolphins and an inexcusable setback to the Bills. Rex Ryan's bravado is refreshing, but if it's not backed up he's left to look like a fool.

Knicks & Nets: Whoa boy. The Nets are 0-7 and the teams are a combined 1-14. Everyone knew this would be a transition season at Madison Square Garden and the Swamp, but these teams' performances have been hideous. Nobody, not LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, will want to play for bad teams that barely compete. That's the vibe on both sides at the moment. It's been like shrugging their shoulders and saying we'll get 'em next year.

Unless the Giants and Jets get it together, and the Rangers can weather their current injury storm, brace for a long winter. Here's hoping native and fellow Long Islander Phil Baroni can make a triumphant return to the UFC against Amir Sadollah at UFC 106.

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Junkie published my feature on Miguel Torres and how training with Miguel Cotto is helping him recover from his shocking loss to Brian Bowles. More and more MMA fighters are learning from boxers and their training techniques, and the relationship is getting stronger. Howard Davis Jr. works with Mike Brown, Thiago Alves, Thiago Silva and Kimbo Slice (the best move for Kimbo right now) at American Top Team. Famous boxing trainer Freddie Roach has worked with a ton of them, including a session where Michael Moorer watched Frankie Edgar's footwork. I have more about that story in the new TapouT/MMA Worldwide magazine coming out later this month.

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