RIP, Andrew Martin

The beginning of my weekend was hit with the knowledge of the untimely death of Andrew Martin, who competed as Test in the WWF/WWE four days shy of his 34th birthday. For the past decade there have been too many former and current wrestlers who passed away while just in their 40s. Too many good human beings have caved under pressure to get to - and especially stay at - the top of a profession ripe with drug and PED abuse, replete with politics and the circus animal-like treatment without the benefit of a union. Many have campaigned for the sports entertainment industry to establish a union for its peformers. Sadly, that will never happen.

Test debuted in the WWF in 1998 and within a year found himself in a major storyline as the love interest, and later the fiancee, of Stephanie McMahon. Once that ran its course, Test and Albert (Matt Bloom) became a tag team called T&A managed by a sultry newcomer named Trish Stratus. Over the years, Martin would hold the WWF tag-team, European, Hardcore and Intercontinental titles, but despite looking outstanding in spurts would flame out and never took that final step to be recognized as one the company's elite.

Martin's role as one-half of T&A was gaining steam by the time I started with the WWF in 2000. I didn't know him as well as some of the other wrestlers, but recall a conversation backstage at Madison Square Garden while he was getting a massage. The day before the Rangers were clobbered 6-1 by the Detroit Red Wings in the same building. A lot of the wrestlers, namely Chris Jericho, Edge and Christian, were huge hockey fans.

Christian and I were having an extended conversation about the NHL and the Rangers' woes within ear shot of Martin. Although he was the recipient of deep soft tissue manipulation courtesy of an attractive young lady, Martin turned his head to the left and looked over his shoulder towards me with a smile, and softly said, "Those Rangers have big problems, don't they?"

A simple story, for sure, but one that's resonated since yesterday afternoon. I didn't know Andrew Martin well, nor did I speak with him after that day, but he was a small part of my life and one who I'll never forget. It's a damn shame that after Martin will be honored and remembered with respect and dignity, the "show" will go on without anyone reflecting that the system continues to be broken. Alas, nobody will do something about it, and that's sad and a damn shame.

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The Rangers have concluded a 4-1 win over the Flyers as I write this, a nice bounce-back win from yesterday's loss in Philadelphia and are now in a three-way tie for fifth place (80 points) in the Eastern Conference with Montreal and Pittsburgh. I hated the firing of Tom Renney, but this has been a much different team under John Tortorella. Scoring has been up, ditto accountability and a stronger sense of urgency. This week features a showdown Tuesday night in Montreal and another critical game at MSG Saturday night against Buffalo (three points out of eighth place as of this writing). In a race this tight all you concern yourself with is winning and everything else will take care of itself.

Two other reasons behind the Rangers' turnaround: Nik Antropov and Sean Avery. Antropov is 3-2-5 in six games since being acquired from the Maple Leafs. Avery scored twice today and is 4-1-5 in his six games while showing the fire and passion missing from this team for much of the winter. It's amazing how much of a difference Avery is to the Rangers and only the Rangers.

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The Yankees are three weeks from Opening Day April 6 in Baltimore. I've been tracking the team daily on the YES Blog and my colleague, Joe Auriemma will be in Tampa from March 18-28 with exclusive insight and videos leading up to Grand Opening of the new Yankee Stadium on April 3. My first chance to see the building will be the week of the 30th when I pick up my season credential. From there it's a Yankees workout on April 2 and the unveiling the next night. I'll be keeping both a written and pictorial diary, and well as the latest team news and notes, on the YES Blog. That's when the fun starts!

Monday talk

Alex Rodriguez had successful surgery this morning and specialist Dr. Marc Philippon was extremely happy. Under the care of one of the best in his field, combined with A-Rod's tremendous condition and work ethic, Rodriguez should make it back by May and be a big part of the Yankees' fortunes. He'll have a more invasive procedure after the season, but that's for November and he's already been proclaimed ready for Spring Training 2010. The 2 Live Stews from Sports Radio 790 in Atlanta had me on this afternoon to discuss A-Rod, the World Baseball Classic and CC Sabathia, who I wrote last week is the key to the Yankees' chances in 2009.

It was assumed that it would be Rampage Jackson vs. Rashad Evans at UFC 98 following Jackson's victory over Keith Jardine Saturday night, but not so fast. The Junkie crew was all over Dana White's contention that Lyoto Machida still could end up getting a shot at Evans' light-heavyweight title. May and UFC 98 would be Rampage's third fight in five months and White wants to ensure he'd be 100 percent.

To me this makes sense. Give "The Dragon" the shot he deserves and let Rampage fight the winner. Then again, the heat between Rampage and Sugar Rashad after the Jardine fight was priceless. Machida may spoil those plans, but if he doesn't you're talking about month's worth of promotion and hype for what Jackson called "Black on Black!"

Meanwhile, Frank Mir's knee surgery moved his fight against Brock Lesnar to UFC 100 on July 11. The UFC's 100th event should be headlined by a heavyweight title fight.

Back to attack

Back to blogging, at least other things besides Yankees, after a five-day period that hearkened memories of Eugene Levy's line in Splash: "What a week I'm having!"

Monday March 2: The tri-state area gets crushed with 14-plus inches of snow. Yours truly broke his back for nearly three hours shoveling the two feet that was on my driveway thanks to the crosswinds. All part of the wonderful world of winter.

Tuesday March 3: I'm tortured by a wind chill that felt below zero while making my way to work to find out Alex Rodriguez is in the news - again. This time it was due to a cyst on his right hip. Since it's A-Rod, we learn there is much more to this story.

Wednesday March 4: ESPNdeportes reports A-Rod needs surgery and could be out six-to-10 weeks, causing yet another uproar in both YES and Yankeeland. Later in the day we learn it may not be as bad at it seems. Even when it's not his fault, just when you think you have the answers, A-Rod changes the questions. Within A-Rod hell, the Rangers make two trades before the NHL deadline, acquiring Nik Antropov and Derek Morris.

Thursday March 5: Honestly it's a blur.

Friday March 6: Beating a tight deadline, I file my story for MMA Junkie on Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Over the weekend, Jackson defeats Keith Jardine by decision and all parties decide A-Rod will have the surgery, a less invasive procedure that if everything goes right should have him back by May. The rest of the surgery will take place in the offseason.

Spring games begin, WEC 39, Blame Sather

While I work I devoted most of my time to my new pet project, The YES Blog. I've been happy with the contributions of my colleagues, Joe and Glenn, reader comments and the MLBlog community. The Yankees have played only three spring games and excitement is on the rise. Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy looked good in their debuts, Brett Gardner has taken an early lead over Melky Cabrera in the competition for center field, and Nick Swisher has made a great first impression with both his patience at the plate and vibrant personality.

It seems like every week there's a MMA show either on Spike, Versus or Pay-Per-View. Diego Sanchez showcased his stuff on Spike last Saturday and on Sunday Mike Brown defends the WEC Featherweight title against Leonard Garcia. Many people still no little, if anything, about Brown even after he shocked Urijah Faber in November. There is a lot to know, and especially like, about Brown. And Faber, despite his rock star status, is extremely down to earth. Here's hoping these two meet again with the title again on the line.

My next assignment should be very interesting: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. He fights Keith Jardine a week from tomorrow at UFC 96 in Columbus. If Rampage wins, he's lined up to take back the light-heavyweight title from Rashad Evans, who took it from the man who took it from Rampage, Forrest Griffin. Should Jardine win Lyoto Machida gets the title shot. Also fighting is Ohio native Matt Hamill, who takes on Mark Munoz. I've remained in touch with Hamill's camp since penning the Matt Hamill: RAW series for Junkie. Trust me when I tell you life under trainer Duff Holmes gets harder every day.

Tom Renney was fired on Monday. His replacement, John Tortorella, is a good choice and a good coach who won a Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004. Alas, he was Rangers property four years earlier before Glen Sather decided he wasn't worth keeping and hired Ron Low - and then Bryan Trottier. Sather has completely lost touch with today's game and the mess the Rangers have become is on his hands. The Rangers are 0-2 under Torts with two regulation goals. Yes Slats. It's Renney's fault and not yours.

Diego's dominance

Diego Sanchez made a seamless transition from welterweight to lightweight, you think? Sanchez dominated Joe Stevenson for three rounds Saturday in London to position himself into the division's championship division. His management team is working on getting me an exclusive for Junkie this week. I also hope to catch up with Josh Koscheck, whose UFC status is now tenuous after his controversial KO loss to Paulo Thiago. Koscheck and the fans in London were furious over what they perceived as a premature stoppage; UFC commentator Joe Rogan disagreed. It'll be interesting to see if the outspoken Koscheck is still steaming over this.

Also on tap is Mike Brown's first defense of the WEC Featherweight title Sunday night against Leonard Garcia, and his first right since shocking Urijah Faber in November. Junkie ran a poll on February 14 in which less than 10 percent thought Brown wouldn't last the year as champion. I am amazed he's being treated like another Buster Douglas. Brown took advantage of  a rare Faber mistake and caught him flush with a right cross. A win over a good fighter in Garcia and it'll be interesting to see if he gets a rematch with Faber or tackles a deep division. Lots of interesting topics to explore here.

Thanks to everyone who checked out the new YES Blog. I've been keeping tabs on the Yankees and their routine down in Tampa, with my colleagues Joey and Glenn soon to follow. It'll be read and react until the team makes its way up north and into the brand new Yankee Stadium, and that will be when the real fun will begin.

The YES Blog

The YES Blog is here! Me and my YESNetwork.com colleagues, Joe Auriemma and Glenn Giangrande, will be sharing in-depth analysis of the Yankees, as well as quick posts and photos of events in and around George M. Steinbrenner Field and the new Yankee Stadium thoughout the season. When the doors to the palatial palace open April 1 with an exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs, I'll be relaunching my on-line diary complete with photos and observations of the vibe on and off the field. Log on and let us know what you think!

There's plenty of stuff happening in Tampa, Fla., already — and I'm not talking about Alex Rodriguez. While the YES Blog will carry most of my Yankees takes, I'll be linking them on this space as well along with my continuing coverage of Mixed Martial Arts and other special projects.

Speaking of MMA, lots of excitement surrounding Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Stevenson Saturday in London. Pay particular attention to the profound comments of Sanchez's trainer, Saulo Ribeiro.

And that's that

Yeah, right. Alex Rodriguez at times came across like a fool. Others he showed how sorry he was and especially expressed remorse to his fans and teammates. Against my best wishes, this topic will not go away, but this week I'll have a reaction: the fact that 25 guys, including A-Rod, play this game called baseball. And because the game of baseball is not at fault, there are reasons to get excited about team that few have talked about thanks to A-Rod. For example, I've seen one or two articles on Chien-Ming Wang, a two-time 19-game winner coming back from a torn tendon in his foot that short-circuited his season last June. In this rotation, depending on your point of view, he's the Yankees' second or third starter.

MMA Junkie has started its coverage of UFC 95 with features on Troy Mandaloniz and Evan Dunham, and my piece on Chael Sonnen. Sonnen is easily misunderstood. Think of him as your mischevious kid brother who will not leave you alone. He'll poke and prod you, and get you riled up, but he means no real harm. That's Sonnen. His views are rather peculiar and with his experience stands a decent shot at defeating Demian Maia in London.