Belmont Park Is Happening

Rejoice Islanders fans! It's going to happen. The announcement came down earlier this afternoon. Belmont Park will be the home of the New York Islanders!

The news came down Thursday during the Empire State Development meeting, when the board unanimously approved the decision to move forward to build a 19,000-seat arena at Belmont Park. The arena will cost an estimated $1.3 billion. The Islanders remain confident in being on schedule in order to open up their new arena for the 2020-21 season. According to Newsday's Jim Baumbach, the Franchise Oversight Board still needs to approve the plan. Lawsuits could also arise at any moment in an attempt to thwart the project. If everything goes in the Islanders' way, a groundbreaking ceremony could soon be on the way to commemorate the historic moment.

Once the plans come together and they finally break ground, that will be an event that will be a sight for sore eyes for Islanders fans to get the franchise back on stable ground here where they belong.And this could be huge for the Islanders for a number of reasons.

First and foremost it gives them a stable place to play in an actually arena built for hockey. No disrespect to Barclays center but I've said this all the time, it's not and has never been a hockey rink. I'm glad the Islanders were able to set up shop there. But since the fact that Barclays isn't built for hockey, and the fact that the Isles have to split time between there and Nassau Coliseum until Belmont is build, makes it hard, in my mind, to attract free agents. Some guys might not want to play here right now because of Barclays and bouncing around between rinks.

Now that Islanders fans know that the building has been approved, I think I can speak for some, if not most, when i say it will be so nice to get into a barn of our very own. We will rock the place as loud as we did the old Coliseum during the glory years.


YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!

Things Heating Up In Queens

Who would have thought, a little over a month ago, that the New York Mets would be doing what they're doing. It's so close you can almost taste it. When we hit the All Star Break, the Mets looked dead in the water for a playoff spot. Now here we sit, the Mets are just a game back of the final Wild Card Spot, with a little less than two months to go in the regular season. Could it be possible? Can the Mets pull it off and make the Playoffs?

If the past two plus weeks are any indication, it is a distinct possibility. In the 2nd half of the season, the Mets have already had three winning streaks, a four game stretch (July 13-17), a seven game streak (July 25th-August 1st) and are now riding a six game winning streak after today's victory over the Marlins. And they been doing it against teams that, in reality, they should be beating. The big surprise was a pair of wins over the AL Central leading Twins in Minnesota in the middle of July. What's been behind the turnaround for the Mets in the second half?

They've been getting plenty of contributions. One downside, I hate to bring it up, is Pete Alonso, who's been struggling at the plate in the 2nd half. Alonso is hitting just .189 since the all-star break. Yes he does have seven dingers and 15 RBI, but I've been saying this for a while now, the home run derby I feel threw him off. He's been fighting the ball since the break instead of just letting the game come to him. Then there's the case of Robinson Cano, who a part of me feels bad for. Since the Break, Cano was hitting .289 with six homers and 14 driven in and with the way he was swinging the bat, it looked like Mets fans were finally getting the Cano that had earned that large contract. Then he got hurt, tearing his hamstring, that's causing him to miss six weeks. Cano and Alsonso's play as of late proves why the eye test in baseball can tell so much more than just reading the box score.

With Cano out and Alonso starting to slump, other guys are starting to step their play up at the right time. Both JD Davis and Amed Rosario have been hitting the cover off the ball since the break, both hitting well over .300. Rosario has smacked 32 hits since the break, the most on the Mets in that time frame. Then you have Michael Conforto, who's been coming along with the power stroke. He's smacked nine dinngers and driven in twenty since the break.

It's not just the hitting keeping New York in the race, the pitching staff has found its footing. New York has the lowest pen ERA at 2.75 since the break. And to help the cause even more is the fact that the starters are showing what we Mets fans have known all along, just how good they really are. Jake has won three of his five starts and has an ERA just above one, looking like he did last year when he won his Cy Young Award. Noah, who had been thrown out there in trade rumors, has come around in his last couple starts. going 2-1 with a 1.78 ERA and looking like the guy the Mets first traded for. Sure, Edwin Diaz has had his struggles, he's had that problem most of the year. Seth Lugo is starting to emerge as a guy who could help take some of that pressure off Diaz in close games late.

Now is really the test of the schedule for the Mets. They have three this weekend with the Nats at home before going to Atlanta for three. That road trip continues with three in Kansas City, which in theory should be easier. Then they return home to Play Cleveland, Atlanta and the Cubs heading into Labor Day Weekend.

The next couple of weeks will be a real big test for the Mets and they are going to need a little help to be able to make the playoffs/ But if the last two weeks have been any indication, this is going to be a lot of fun going down the stretch.

Amir Garrett vs. The Pirates

I went to a boxing match and a baseball game broke out. That's at least what it looked like in the 9th inning in Cincinnati last night. The Reds were getting the doors blown off them on their home field in Monday night's game against the division rival Pittsburgh Pirates, when things got ugly real quick.

Don't believe me, see for yourself:


You don't see this everyday. There's a lot to look at coming out of this mass hysteria Tuesday night.

First is the obvious and Amir Garrett taking matters into his own hands. He was unhappy with the night was going, which I totally get. He heard the Pirates players running their mouth from the dugout and thought it would be a good idea to charge them. He held his own OK till he finally got backup from some of his teammates. Its like what happened back in April when Puig (more on him in a minute) decide to do the same thing after a home run. So Garrett gets the whole thing going.

Then there's thew Reds manager. David Bell is an idiot for running out of the clubhouse after being ejected earlier in the night. And for the record I'd have loved to have seen Clint Hurdle throw punches back at Bell for being an idiot. To make matters worse for David Bell, he's facing a pretty lengthy suspension for coming back onto the field after being ejected. I'd like to see if Clint Hurdle, at age 62, would have been able to get some good shots in. A guy can dream can't he.

Then we have Yasil Puig, who is already on his way out the door in Cincinnati anyway, having been traded to the Indians earlier in the day. He wasn't making many friends in Cincy on his way out. He kicks dust up again after the fight had calmed down by charging a couple of Pirates players after things calmed down. There's no denying the fact that Puig is a good ballplayer, but I've said this a few times, the guy is too much of a hot head for his own good. So this just made things worse. And it all started earlier in the evening.

It all started when Pittsburgh’s Keone Kela threw up and in to Derek Dietrich in the seventh. After the inning, first baseman Joey Votto walked toward the Pirates dugout and exchanged words with Kela, but plate umpire Larry Vanover got in front of Votto. In April, Dietrich admired one of his homers at PNC Park, leading to a benches-clearing clash. So this was just a renewal of hostilities. The Reds are still somewhat in contention for the division race, as they are only seven games back of first, and sit just six games under .500. The Pirates are eleven back and haven't hit the 50 win mark at the time of this writing.

So there's some bad blood brewing and I can't wait to see where not only this rivalry, but this divisional races, goes from here as the summer moves along.

NFL Training Camp Storylines

The time has arrived. NFL teams are gathering again for the start of a brand new season. By this weekend, all 32 teams will have opened their camps, officially getting football going on the field for the 2019 season. There have been some big changes that have been made around the NFL this offseason, which creates some new and interesting dynamics around camps. So lets take a look at it right now. Here's some training camp stories to watch, both league wide and involving the locals.

Familiar Faces in New Places:
One we will get to in a little while (Bell with the Jets), but there are still some big names that moved in the offseason and its going to be interesting to see how well they mesh with their new teams. Two thirds of the Killer B's are gone in Pittsburgh, as Bell is in New York, while Antonio Brown is now a Raider. I really wanna see how well AB handles dealing with Chucky on the Oakland sidelines. And he's not the only bigtime wide out that went on the move. The Giants got rid of Odell Beckham jr to the Browns in a huge move. Of course, Odell can't stop running his mouth about the problems with the Giants, so I can't wait to see if the Browns can even attempt to get him to change his dumpy attitude. Then there was the big QB move with Joe Flacco getting outted in Baltimore and heading to Denver.

New Guns in Town:
So not only do we have big names switching tams,we got the new rookie class coming into the league as well. The era of Kyler Murray and new coach Kliff Kingsbury running ship in Arizona could make for a fun experience for the Cards. Murray has a lot riding on his arm, trying to get the Cards back in shape and on the winning path. So too does Kingsbury who's taking over a Cards team that hasn't hit double digits in wins since 2015 and won just three games last year. Being a first year head coach is tough, so doing it with this organization is going to be tougher. He's not the only one as Green Bay (Matt LaFleur), Cincinnati (Zac Taylor), Cleveland (Freddie Kitchens), Miami (Brian Flores) and Denver (Vic Fangio) are all breaking in first year head coaches. Going to be interesting to see how the players react to them as camp wears along.

Now onto the locals.

Giants
How will the rookies perform?
The Giants had three first round picks in this year's draft. Dexter Lawrence went 17th, while Deandre Baker was taken 30th. Both guys are going to have to prove their worth on the defensive side of the ball. The big story, of course, is how well Daniel Jones does. The Duke QB, taken 6th overall, has some might big shoes to try and fill once Eli Manning does call it a career. There's little doubt that Eli's going to get the bulk of the playing time this season, but depending on how well Jones does in camp will determine how much playing time he will see this season. His progression during camp is going to be key.

How quick can the new veterans catch up?
On the offensive side of the football, the line had been one of its biggest problems. Adding a guy like Kevin Zeitler could help bolster the team and maybe, just maybe, finally give Eli the protection he needs to be able to run his offense. Once Eli does get rid of the ball, he needs people to throw to. With Odell gone, Golden Tate was brought in to help Sterling Sheppard and be the go to guy in this offense. Golden still has the ability to be a 1,00+ yard receiver, but adjusting to this new offense and having Eli throwing to him could make things difficult. Oh and it wasn't just the offense that's added veteran leadership to this team. Both Jabrill Peppers and Antoine Bethea we're brought in on defense and Landon Collins is no longer here. Both Peppers and Betha have to prove that they can not only still go in this league, but help the Giants win.

Key Questions to answer during camp:
By the time camp breaks and we start the regular season in the beginning of September, hopefully a few of these questions can be answered.

Who will provide consistent pass rush on the perimeter and in the interior?
Someone needs to step up. How quickly will a young secondary develop and become high-quality NFL players?
Who will be able to consistently stretch the field?
Who’s the deep threat for Eli Manning?
Who will be the third down linebacker next to Alec Ogletree?
Who will win the third wide receiver spot?

Jets:
Can Sam Darnold take that next step?
Lets put it like this, it was a good year for Sam Darnold as a rookie, but he didn't set the world on fire. He played better down the stretch but it was a learning curve for Darnold. Now, in year two, he has a better understanding of the competition at this level. It also helps that he has an offensive minded coach, and a quarterback wisper, in Adam Gase, to teach him how to play at this level. He can only really go up from here and I'm really interested to see how his game will grow and mature as the summer months move along.

How's Le'Von Bell going to produce?
This is the biggest question mark for me as the season and camp go along. He sat out all of last season with the contract dispute, what kind of game shape is he even in heading into camp? Who knows. At one point, he was considered the best all around running back in the game. That was before the contract dispute. He missed a year and now who knows what form of Bell we're going to get. i hope its the old one, because he was kinda good at what he did on the gridiron

Can Jets get some edge rushing production? 
The Jets haven’t had an elite edge rusher since John Abraham left town after the 2005 season. And they still don’t have one. The Jets are counting on their pressure up the middle, with Leonard Williams and Quinnen Williams, to free up pass rushing opportunities for edge guys Jordan Jenkins, Brandon Copeland, and Jachai Polite (a project rookie who will have to fight for playing time in camp).

So that's just some of what we can look forward to over the course of training camp this summer.

Raw Reunion Roster

Monday night on USA Network is supposed to be a big night for WWE. Monday night from Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay, World Wrestling Entertainment is getting together a huge collection of past superstars for a Raw Reunion. From what I;'m getting, this is a way for WWE to draw their audience back in to watch their programming again.

Below is the full list that's been announced to appear on Raw from Tampa tomorrow night:

Triple H
Melina
Jillian Hall
Eve Torres
Jonathan Coachman
Kaitlyn
Alicia Fox
Candice Michelle
Steve Austin
Hulk Hogan
Ric Flair
Shawn Michaels
Razor Ramon
Kevin Nash / Diesel
Kurt Angle
Sgt. Slaughter
Christian
Ted DiBiase
Eric Bischoff
The Boogeyman
Jimmy Hart
The Hurricane
Santino Marella
Jerry Lawler
D-Von Dudley
Booker T
X-Pac
Mark Henry
Mick Foley
Pat Patterson
Gerald Brisco
Lilian Garcia
Alundra Blayze
Kelly Kelly
Rikishi
Ron Simmons
The Godfather
Road Dogg
Sid

Some of the names on this list is pretty cool to see not going to lie. I know there's only three hours to be able to fill, but there's a couple of problems with this idea. First off, there's three big names from history that are absent: Trish Stratus, Lita and Bret Hart. All absent. Not sure why none of them are there, but I'm sure there's a good reason.

Also, this feels kind of random for having a reunion such as this. Don't get me wrong this seems like a cool concept, but it feels like it was just thrown together. It would make it more special if Raw was normally two hours. The three hour Raw's that have been going on regularly, I know have been done for sponsor build I get it. But still, when Raw would go to three hours it would feel more special.

As for doing it now, that's even more random. If this was say done after either Wrestlemania, or even, since we're in the middle of summer, wait till the Raw after Summerslam. That would have made perfect sense.

Part of the reason I think WWE is doing this is because the product has flat out sucked as of late. The only good thing from last week's Raw was the debut of the Fiend, Bray Wyatt's new character. That's it. What made me want to watch WWE when i was growing up was not only good wrestling in the ring, but great storytelling and less annoying characters. now it seems like WWE's writing staff is trying to force stuff on the fans instead of letting it happen naturally. Maybe I'm not looking at this deep enough, but I call it like I see it.

Still, here's hoping there's at least something entertaining coming out of this reunion tomorrow night~

Since When Did d'Arnud Have Power?

It was one of those games that, as a baseball player, you could only dream of having. Hitting a home run in a Major League Baseball game is accomplishment enough. Hitting three in a game, doesn't happen very often. And for a guy like Travis d'Arnud, it must have felt better than it would for most other baseball players.

Its been a rough go of it for d'Arnud this year, who's now on his third team this season. he started with the Mets, was designated for assignment. Played one game in a Dodgers uniform before landing with the Rays. He's nopw played 40 games in Tampa and seemd to find his footing. Look no further than Monday's performance, clubbing three home runs and driving in all five runs in a 5-4 win.

For a guy who's had the career he's had, it must have been like a weight off his shoulders.

Lets face facts, he's been a little average at best as a Major League catcher. He's a .245 lifetime hitter and has never hit about .250 in a season in which he's played more than 100 games. He's been riddled with injuries during his career and can't stay put behind the plate. When the Mets got him from the Blue Jays, he was supposed to be the prize player in the R.A Dickey trade, but it just never really worked out for him in New York. Now I'm not saying he was supposed to be the next really great hitting catcher, but he was supposed to be good enough.

Since the game Monday, he's come back down to earth. And a small part of me does feel bad for Travis, he's never really been able to get his career on track. He's a nice enough guy, but injuries have cost him over the start of his career in the biggs.

To make this situation more interesting, I heard sports fans calling into talk radio the day after Travis went off saying that it was a mistake that the Mets let him go. I disagree. There's a couple of names that come to mind right away that you could point at, right now, and say that was a mistake letting them go. Justin Turner and Daniel Murphy are the top two that right away come to mind as mistakes made by the Mets in letting them go. I'm sorry, but letting Travis go was a great thing for the Mets, he wasn't getting it done when they needed him to and couldn't stay on the field.

He had one hell of a night from the leadoff spot against the Yanks, and I'd like to see him keep it going for his own sake. If he can stay healthy, maybe we can see a glimpse of what he was meant to be in the Majors. But for now, his performance on Monday will have to do

Could Verlander Have An Argument?

Over the past number of years in Major League Baseball, there has been a rise in the number of home runs being hit around the league. At the pace that things are going right now, baseball will have a record for most in a season when all is said and done. Funny thing is, we're getting a differing opinion of what's going on with the baseballs. Baseball says nothings wrong. Justin Verlander, star pitcher for the Houston Astros, as other ideas.

"It's a f------ joke," Verlander told ESPN. "Major League Baseball's turning this game into a joke. They own Rawlings, and you've got Manfred up here saying it might be the way they center the pill. They own the f------ company. If any other $40 billion company bought out a $400 million company and the product changed dramatically, it's not a guess as to what happened. We all know what happened. Manfred the first time he came in, what'd he say? He said we want more offense. All of a sudden he comes in, the balls are juiced? It's not coincidence. We're not idiots."

So, naturally, baseball had to respond. And they did.

"Baseball has done nothing, given no direction for an alteration in the baseball," Manfred told reporters Tuesday. "The flaw in logic is that baseball wants more home runs. If you sat in owners meetings and listen to people on how the game is played, that is not a sentiment among the owners for whom I work." Manfred also said "there is no evidence from scientists that the ball is harder" but acknowledged that "the drag of the baseball is less."

The numbers are eye popping. By ESPN’s math, players hit 3,691 homers in the first half of the season and are on pace to hit 6,668 total this season, which would demolish the previous record of 6,105 in 2017. The phenomenon has also been observed in the Triple-A leagues, which are using MLB baseballs for the first time this year (Yahoo Sports).

Verlander may have a valid argument. It seems like balls are leaving the yard at an alarming rate. Some could look at it as sour grapes considering that Verlander has given up the most home runs of any pitcher in baseball during the first half, a grand total of 26. But Verlander isn't the only one complaining. Masahiro Tanaka, CC Sabathia, Marcus Stroman, Jacob deGrom and others have also voiced their concern about what appear to be changes with the baseballs. These guys should know better than anybody else as to whether or not something is different, they handle the ball more than anybody else on the field, they do it on every single play.

From baseball's perspective, they want to try and get a rise in scoring. Pitchers are throwing a lot harder, the game has changed so much over the last decade plus. So it wouldn't shock me that baseball would be doing something like this. They're trying to speed the game up, so why not try and increase scoring right? How about this for a novel idea. Instead of trying to hit towering home runs, just swing and make contact? That can put runs on the board all the same, in my book.Verlander might have an argument over the ball being tampered with. Major League Baseball did buy the company that makes the balls used during games. Something isn't right here. Of course, baseball is going to deny it, but the fact that it's not just Verlander coming out with this argument means somethings up. It might be a case of pitchers trying to get into hitters heads, but at the same time it could be a legit complaint on the part of the pitchers.

Sure, watching balls fly out of the park is fun to watch, but baseball is so much more than that. Its about being able ti hit to all fields,  To go the other way. Sure the power hitters are nice, but watching guys like Ken Griffey Jr and Tony Gwynn hit back in the day was as much fun as watching guys club home runs out of the park.