Happy Monday everyone, here's my Top 5 for August 1, 2011 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
- Peyton Manning's new five-year, $90 million deal with Indianapolis matches Tom Brady's $18 million per year in New England. Sounds fair.
- Ex-con Plaxico Burress signs with the Jets.
- The baseball trade deadline has come and gone. You know the world is topsy turvy when the Pittsburgh Pirates are making deals and the Yankees aren't.
- When Serena Williams won a tennis tournament yesterday at Stanford, she became the first U.S. woman to win a tournament on American soil in three years.
- Who is the world's best young athlete? Maybe its Taiwanese golfer Yani Tseng. She won the Women's British Open for the second straight year. At the age of 22, she's the youngest golfer, man or woman, to win five major titles.
2. J-E-T-S
Jets coach Rex Ryan takes a backseat to nobody, when it comes to yapping. He's already said "we're the big brother" when it comes to football teams in New York. And now he's got more ammunition. After signing Plaxico Burress the Jets have again served notice that they're going to be the team making the most noise in the Meadowlands. It may not translate to the most wins, but hey, isn't football an entertainment business?
3. The Big Sn-apple
Yankee fans were all set to welcome pitcher Cliff Lee before the Philadelphia Phillies came out of nowhere. And now Jets fans were all excited about Nmandi Asomugha. That was the before the Philadelphia Eagles arose and snatched the free agent prize. Both Lee and Asomugha supposedly turned down more money from the New York teams. What, they didn't want to play on Broadway? It's a good thing we New Yorkers have such a great self image, or else Philadelphia would really start to piss us off.
4. Election Day
They say all politics is local. We know, for the most part, sports is. So what happens when both worlds mix? They hold a special vote to build a new stadium. That's what's happening today on Long Island. Taxpayers are being asked to approve a $400-million bond issue for a new Coliseum for the Islanders, with a minor league baseball stadium thrown in. As a Long Island resident who took his kids to the Islanders Stanley Cup parades 30 years ago, I have a fond feeling for the Islanders. By the same token, is this really the time to help a private team try to make it in a sports world that has grown too fast for a team like the Islanders to keep pace? Sure for old time's sake it would be great. But those times, I'm afraid, are long gone.
5. What About Horace Clark?
Quinnipiac University asked fans to name the greatest Yankee. Babe Ruth and Derek Jeter wound up in a tie. The Babe and Derek easily beat out Joe D. and the Mick and several other big name Yankees. I guess we need to educate young baseball fans what Babe Ruth meant to the Yankees. Then again, 52% of those asked, said they weren't interested in following Major League Baseball. Maybe try polling sports fans next time?
Happy Birthday: Former Met (and 5 other teams in a 14 year career) Gregg Jefferies. 44.
Bonus Birthday: One of the "Cosby Kids," Tempestt Bledsoe. 38.
Today in Sports: Pete Rose's 44-game hitting streak comes to an end. It's the longest in modern National League history. 1978.
Bonus Event: John McEnroe marries actress Tatum O'Neal.They divorced three kids and eight years later. 1986.
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