Same Stadium, New Team

Yesterday, the Yankees welcomed Japanese RF Ichiro Suzuki.  After playing his whole career with the Seattle Mariners, Ichiro became tired of losing.  He approached the Seattle management and asked to be traded to the New York Yankees.  He told reporters he did this because he wanted Seattle to plan for the future.  Seattle, in return, received two minor pitchers in the Yankees system.

After quickly cleaning out his locker room, Ichiro claimed his Yankees jersey.  Wanting to start fresh, Ichiro chose number 31 instead of his normal 51.  Also he did not want to take Bernie Williams' old number (51). 

The veteran RF started his Yankee debut with a single and stolen base in his first plate appearance.  He finished the day 1 for 4 but the Yankees came away with the win.

I have heard mixed reviews of this trade.  Many believe both teams got a good deal.  I believe both teams did.  The Yankees are not looking for the Ichiro of old (although they would love it).  The just want Ichiro to play every once and awhile and get on base as much as possible.  As of now, Ichiro is the Yankees 8th batter.  Not to bad to have Ichiro in the number 8 spot.  With Gardner out for the year and Swisher coming back in a few days, Ichiro will play mostly LF and hit in the bottom of the order.

Rick Nash to the Rangers

The Columbus Blue Jackets have reportedly traded Rick Nash to the New York Rangers for Brandon Dubinksy, Tim Erixson, Artem Anisimov and a 1st rounder.  Everyone was awaiting a Rick Nash trade after he made it relevant that he wanted out of Columbus and wanted to be either a Ranger or a Detroit Red Wing.  The Rangers were in desperate need for a consistant scorer.  Especially with Marian Gaborik about to start the 2012-13 season injured. 

With Nash in a Rangers Sweater, the Blueshirts become much more intimidating.  With a scorer like Nash, a defense who is known for blocking shots and a Goaltender who is arguably the best in the league, the Rangers have to be one of the favorites for the cup especially with a great regular season last year.

Now the Rangers gave up 3 players and a pick for just Rick Nash.  Anisimov is a good player but he is nothing more than a 3rd liner.  Dubinsky has been good for the Rangers but his lack of scoring and injuries have been a concern.  Erixson is not really anything special and the Rangers are more than happy to get rid of him.

In all honesty, Glen Sather (Rangers GM) has royally screwed the Columbus Blue Jackets.  3 3rd/4th line players and a draft pick for a great scorer.  Its pathetic that Scott Howson even considered this when he originally wanted Kreider, McDonaugh or Stepan.  No complaints here!  It is also believed that Sather will try and reel in Coyotes vet Shane Doan.  With the Nash addition, Doan might be more open to this idea.

This just gets me more excited for Hockey Season!

Welcome to New York Rick Nash!

We Are Back!

After about a 5 month break, Rocco's Modern Sports is back (until I get lazy again). So much has gone on in the world of sports. The NBA, NHL, and NCAA Basketball has crowned champions. The MLB All-Star Game just took place. And the 2012 London Olympics are starting in a few days.


Stay tuned for posts on the latest news in sports!

You Can't Spell "ELITE" Without ELI

For the second time in Eli Manning's career, he was named Super Bowl MVP.  He had the best season of his career.  He set a NFL record for touchdowns in the 4th Qtr. He also led the NFL in 4th Qtr. game winning drives.  Eli Manning capped his season with a game winning 4th Qtr. drive to beat the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.

Before the start of this season, Eli stated that he though he ranked among the best quarterbacks in the league. He thought he was an Elite quarterback.  The media went nuts.  They turned it around on him and made it seem like he thinks he is better than everyone else.  All he meant was that he "believes" he is a Elite quarterback.  He definitely proved that he is one of the best.  

Now the talk is where does he rank among the rest of the Elite quarterbacks.  He is being compared to his brother Peyton.  Eli now has one more Super Bowl win than his brother Peyton.  Eli has the more Super Bowl wins than Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers.  He trails Tom Brady by one, but he has beaten Brady twice in the Super Bowl.  

When Eli first came into the league myself and many of Giants fans weren't sold with Eli.  Many of us wanted Philip Rivers back.  After beaten Brady in the Super Bowl for the first time, I was sold.  Ever since then I haven't doubted Eli's play.  I have been doubting the Offensive Coordinator Kevin Gilbride ever since he started.  I couldn't be happier with the play of Eli Manning.  I'd take Eli over every other quarterback in the league.  With his confidence and calm attitude, Eli is one of the best in the clutch.  With that here is where I think Eli Manning ranks among the rest of the NFL QBs.

1. Drew Brees

2. Aaron Rodgers

3. Tom Brady

4. Eli Manning

5.Peyton Mannning

Eli has proved so many people wrong, and has definitely earned an Elite status.  With two Super Bowl wins and two Super Bowl MVP's, Manning has secured a spot in the Hall of Fame.  Along with the Lombardi trophy and MVP trophy, Eli can ride away in a awesome new Chevrolet Corvette.  

Let's see if you agree with my ranking of Elite Quarterbacks.  The poll for this week is where you think Eli Manning ranks among the rest of the NFL's best.  Let me know where you think he should rank!

New York Giants Are Super Bowl Champions!

It's Deja Blue! The New York Giants win Super Bowl XLVI 21-17 over the New England Patriots. The main talk coming into this game was of the 2007-2008 Super Bowl where these two teams met. The Giants bested the Patriots in that game, ruining the Patriots "perfect" season. This year, the game played out in a similar fashion. The was another miraculous catch made by a Giants player. Mario Manningham made a great catch down the sideline with just over three minutes left in the game. Although it was not as incredible as David Tyree's in the '08 Super Bowl, this catch turned out to be the game changer.

The Patriots had several chances to put the game away and also made many mistakes.  First play from scrimmage for the Pats, Brady committed a safety, giving the Giants two points.  Later, Brady could not connect with Wes Welker in the 4th Qtr. That play would have put the ball on the Giants 20 yard line and most likely ended the game. Brady threw it too high, but Wes Welker is one of the best in the league and makes that catch 9 out of 10 times.  With all that said, Eli Manning still had to bring his team down the field with a little over three minutes left. That is exactly what he did.

Coming into this season, I would never have believed the Giants and Patriots would have been playing each other. After losing to the Redskins in Week 15, I lost a lot of confidence in my G-Men. That loss made them 7-7. The Giants went on to beat the Jets and the Cowboys to win the East. Then they took down the Falcons, Packers and 49ers, all of which had better records. After winning Super Bowl XLVI, the Giants became the first NFL team in history to go 9-7 and win a Super Bowl. This just goes to show you how great sports are. Nothing is ever predictable.

Eli Manning was named Super Bowl MVP for the second time in his career. I truly believe that the Giants would not have made the playoffs this year if it wasn't for Eli. He received a lot of criticism for he comment about being an "elite" QB. He sure did prove it. He had the most 4th Qtr. comebacks this year. He broke and holds the record for the most 4th Qtr. touchdowns in a season. Eli Manning is perfect on the road in the playoffs. He is truly a Road Warrior. Is Eli better than his big brother Peyton? Is he better than Tom Brady? I am not sure about these but What I do know is Eli Manning is an Elite Quarterback.

Overall, the game was exactly what everyone hoped for. It was a hard fought battle that went back and forth. Of course, I am a little biased because my team won, but this truly was a great game. I honestly thought the Patriots had the win. They drove down the field so easily. However, when Welker dropped that last pass, I knew we had a shot.  Manningham made the play of the game down the sideline.  Eli came through in the clutch like he did so many times this year.

It's a great day to be a Giants fan. They fought the whole year for this moment. They proved so many people wrong. The ticker tape parade is scheduled for Tuesday in the city. I am proud to be a Giants fan. In the words or Brandon Jacobs on the Patriots legacy, "We decapitated them!" Go G-MEN!

THREE DAYS UNTIL THE SUPER BOWL!

I don't know about all of you, but I am extremely excited for Super Bowl 46. Last weekend was awful. I did not spend one minute of my Sunday watching the Pro Bowl. Luckily the NHL All Star game was on. It took my mind off of football for 3 hours.

This week has been so hard waiting for Sunday to come. Each class I am in drags longer than it usually does. I turn on ESPN to find out about my Giants and all I hear about is Peyton Manning, Rob Gronkowski, LeBron James and still, I have no idea why, Tim Tebow! SHOW ME MY GIANTS! It's all good though, I like the Giants being the underdogs. That's how we roll.



Steve Weatherword will help us get through the rest of the week with his memorable NFC Championship celebration. GO GIANTS!

Did You See That?!

ESPN loves to show dunks and alley-oops on their Top Ten segment.  To be honest, they are getting pretty boring.  However, after seeing this dunk, I wanted to see more like it.  Markel Brown got ridiculously high for this dunk.  The refs gave him a technical foul for talking some trash to the defender that he embarrassed on his way to the basket.  Because he received a technical earlier in the game, Markel was thrown out of the game.  I am usually not for trash talk, but if you completely embarrass a guy like this, you should be allowed to talk some trash whenever you want. 

I think the best part of the video was the reaction of the crowd and the announcers. That is what makes College Basketball so great.  At an NBA game, you don’t see the fans get this excited over a dunk.  The college kids went crazy after Brown threw it down.  I haven’t seen a dunk better this year.