Addressing the Rick Nash to Broadway Rumors

When the casual hockey fan hears a rumor that their favorite team is in the market to trade for a top-tier player, the immediate reaction is: go get him! Of course you want nothing but the best players wearing your team's sweater....everyone does.

Rumors surfaced a few weeks ago that the New York Rangers could possibly be in the market for Columbus Blue Jackets 5-time All-Star and 2-time 40-goal scorer, left wing Rick Nash. I've always been a Nash fan so this especially perked my ears.

So instead of a rapid reaction and social network posts (which some of you have known to see from me), I did a bit of research. I went to one of my favorite hockey websites, capgeek.com, to check out what Nash's contract status is.

I knew Nash had received a large contract a few years back to keep the face-of-the-franchise in Columbus....a franchise that has struggled since it's inaugural season in 2000-01 (I'm still trying to figure out, of all places, the NHL settled on Columbus for a professional hockey team). Nash has a cap hit of a whopping $7.8M through the 2017-18 season.

The big rumor I saw came in yesterday's edition of the New York Post (it's the Post, I know). The rumor, reported by Larry Brooks, was the Rangers sending Brandon Dubinsky, top prospect Chris Kreider, and a first-round pick to Columbus. If this trade were to go through, it'd be a fair deal for a the 27-year old winger.

However, and this is a big however, the Rangers are easily the best team in the NHL's Eastern Conference. They have a solid core of young talent, including the (slim) potential of Kreider joining the team in time for the playoffs. They have a $6.7M cap hit with Brad Richards through 2019-20, a $7.5M cap hit with Marian Gaborik through 2013-14 and nearly a $7M cap hit with the best goaltender in the NHL, Henrik Lundqvist, through the same year.

Wojtek Wolski's cap hit of $3.8M does come off the books at the end of the season as he's set to become a restricted free agent. Don't look for the Rangers to retain him. But after next season Derek Stepan, Ryan McDonagh, Carl Hagelin's entry level contracts all expire and they become restricted free agents as well and they need to be retained.

For the Rangers to add Nash at that price in the current financial status the team is in would be irresponsible. Of course I'd love to have Nash on this team....he's an overall great player, but what the Rangers have here is something special. They have a team fully committed to their coach John Tortorella and they play a full 60 minutes every night. They're aggressiveness on the forecheck, backcheck, and in the neutral zone is something to truly admire.

With that said, the Rangers should add another scorer to their team. Perhaps Ducks winger Bobby Ryan, who the Rangers were rumored to trade for just a couple months back, is available. Another name surfaced recently with the Rangers is Hurricanes winger Tuomo Ruutu, who recently suffered the dreaded upper body injury. Buffalo winger Brad Boyes could also be an optoin, but it's certainly less attractive.

Whichever way the Rangers look like after the February 27 trade deadline, there is great excitement around this hockey club. They have a legitimate chance of bringing the Stanley Cup back to New York City.

My Philly Fan Experience at Rangers vs Flyers

As many of you know, I was fortunate enough to attend the 2012 Winter Classic back on January 2 at the beautiful Citizens Bank Park. I expected to see many New York Rangers in attendance due to the magnitude of the event. This was the first time the Rangers played in a Winter Classic and it was only a straight shot down the New Jersey Turnpike to Philadelphia.

I felt as if I wasn't going to feel too much of a wrath from the Philly faithful and I really didn't. While I was tailgating, I got the usual blabber from fans of the Philadelphia Flyers but nothing terribly brash. In fact, the rudest comment I received while I was in the ballpark was as I was barking at Scott Hartnell was "way to keep it classy, New York." Class? Someone from Philly is talking about class? That was hysterical.

Then outside in the parking lot, one proud Philadelphian told me he hoped I died in a car crash on the way home. Way to keep it classy, Philly.

The next day the video of Flyers fans pummeling....and I mean pummeling....a Rangers fan outside of Geno's Steaks after the game (who was a serving police officer and Iraqi veteran). It was one of the most gutless acts I've ever seen performed. At the time, I didn't know if I would ever set foot at a Philly sports event again.

A couple weeks had passed and I was offered a ticket to Saturday's Rangers/Flyers matchup. I immediately told myself, yes, I'm going. I figured Philly fans had learned to tone it down and nothing would happen to me phyiscally, and I was right, for the most part.

In the first period, trailing by one, the Flyers scored and tied the game up. I sat in my seat and didn't say a word. Until I felt a (maybe) three-year-old kid poke me in the side with a mini hockey stick. You're going to tell me a kid that young came up with that idea on his own? I did nothing. Whatever.

The Rangers scored five times and the only time I jumped up and yelled, was when Ryan Callahan (my favorite player in the league) netted his second career hat trick (both against the Flyers). I was yelled at to sit down. Again I did nothing. Whatever.

After the Rangers took a 5-2 lead in the third, the arena started to empty out. I tell you, it's a great feeling going into the home of the arch enemy and watching it empty after your team crushed theirs. As the clock ticked toward zero and I stood up and started clapping. The Philly bravado cursed down upon me and I think I felt a peanut hit me in the back. For a third time, I did nothing. Whatever.

I stepped outside Wells Fargo Center and heard a knock on the glass from the inside. I looked to my left and saw two extremely brave Flyers fans flipped me the bird. That's when I gave them the patented Derek Jeter fist pump.

Then two tremendous women who you can't wait to bring home to mom drove by in an SUV screaming "f**k you Ranger piece of s**t!" In return, a simple smile and wave.

Maybe these people are upset the Rangers have beaten them in seven straight games. Maybe these people assumed I went to a parade for the Super Bowl Champs last Tuesday when they're team was supposed to win the whole thing. Maybe these people are still bitter their beloved Phillies were beaten in six games by the New York Yankees in the 2009 World Series.

Or maybe these people know their city is inferior to mine.

Pump The Brakes On The Eli HOF Talk

BREAKING: the New York Giants won the Super Bowl. Alright quick! Everybody! Is Eli Manning a Hall of Fame quarterback?!

Can we stop with this already? We're not even 72 hours removed from him hoisting the Lombardi Trophy (again). Can we just embrace what we just saw and let it soak in? We've become such a rapid-reaction society with the whole digital media and nonstop, around-the-clock sports coverage that this has gotten out of hand.

I've tolerated the Eli HOF talk over the last few days, but I haven't been totally comfortable with it. At the beginning of the season, many Giants fans were ready to throw this guy to the dogs. His 2010 season was pretty ugly. He threw 25 interceptions, granted many of them were not on him. There were a painful amount of drops and tips by his own receivers (no, seriously, there were a lot).

Don't get me wrong, I love Eli Manning. I've always supported him and he's handled himself extraordinarily well in the toughest media market on the planet.

At the start of this past season, a reporter asked him if he was in Tom Brady's class and an "elite" quarterback. I didn't believe he was at the time, but he said he was. He was put in a no-win situation, so what do you expect him to do? I'd rather him say he was than to say he wasn't a good quarterback. He went out and backed up his words with the best season of his career and threw for nearly 5,000 yards and was flawless in the postseason in route to a second Super Bowl MVP.

I posed the question to a few of my Pittsburgh buddies last night about Ben Roethlisberger. I don't remember the whole world immediately saying he was a HOF QB after his second Super Bowl win, but according to them, it was there. One said: "nobody is a HOF'er midcareer. that's like watching half a movie & saying it's picture of the year." I couldn't have said it better myself. I mean, Eli's just turned 31 last month....he's got at least five or six years ahead of him.

In a story released today, Kurt Warner, a HOF in my book, said Eli isn't a HOF'er....yet. He said he needs a few more years like 2011 to be considered, which I can't argue with.

But why is this even a discussion right now? Can we all sit here and enjoy what we just saw? Why is winning a Super Bowl not enough right now? It's a monumental accomplishment that every Giants fan should be embracing and making the most of. Can Eli be a HOF'er? Sure, and I think Sunday's win helps build a very strong foundation. I just think we're all doing ourselves a disservice to the Super Bowl win to already start talking about Canton.

They Passed on the Tuna

The 2012 NFL Hall of Fame class was announced tonight. Chris Doleman, Cortez Kennedy, Willie Roaf, Dermontti Dawson, Jack Butler and Curtis Martin. There were a few notable omissions at the wide receiver position in Andre Reed, Tim Brown and Cris Carter (still can't believe Carter's not in). However, the most glaring omission to me: coach Bill Parcells.

Parcells is most likely the most respected head coach I've seen in my 27 years of existence. In his 22 seasons as a head coach, he had a losing record in just five. He went to three Super Bowls and won two of them with my beloved Giants.

The Big Tuna revolutionized the Giants franchise in the mid-1980's (yes, with the help of a couple Hall of Fame linebackers and a stud QB). It's also very easy to say he built the foundation of the tremendous success of the New England Patriots with Drew Bledsoe (but if Mo Lewis hadn't knocked out Bledsoe then would we ever had known who Tom Brady was?).

He's atop one of the most impressive coaching tree in the history of the NFL. Let's start with the two coaches playing in Super Bowl XLVI: Tom Coughlin and Bill Belichick, who were both on his Super Bowl XXV winning staff along with Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel. Super Bowl winning head coach Sean Payton was on his staff in Dallas as well.

While I'm still upset he "retired" following his second Super Bowl victory with the Giants, if it wasn't for him, the Giants may have continued to be a laughing stock throughout the 1980's and may not be what they are today. He is no doubt a Hall of Fame coach and hopefully is elected in 2013.

Hello, Mets? Are you there?

DISCLAIMER: I am not a Mets fan. I am a Yankees fan. A diehard Yankees fan. I do not have any ill feelings toward the Mets. In fact, I think it's great for this amazing city of ours when they and the Yankees are both playing good baseball. But since this blog is going to be about the sports teams of New York, there will be the occasional post regarding the Mets, Jets, and Islanders (until the Isles move to Kansas City).

It's been an awfully quiet offseason for New York's lowly Mets. It's been so quiet, I feel compelled to write about them because a serviceable starting pitcher signed with a team in their division today.

Earlier today, Edwin Jackson agreed to a one-year contract with the Washington Nationals. Jackson, coming off a World Series victory with the St. Louis Cardinals, has been solid for most of his career.

Is Jackson an ace? No. But he certainly would have bolstered the Mets questionable rotation. I call them questionable even with a healthy Johan Santana. Dillon Gee has potential, Mike Pelfrey has been a disappointment, Jonathon Niese is OK, and R.A. Dickey is busy climbing mountains.

Think about it, have you heard the Mets involved in any rumor this offseason? In all seriousness, have they? Hell, the biggest news the Mets have made this offseason is shortening the fences at Citi Field. They haven't been rumored to get one single player to improve that team. I mean, just look at the team they're going into 2012 with.

Infield: Ike Davis was injured last season, but he'll be very productive. Daniel Murphy is a defensive disaster. They have a young prospect in Ruben Tejada at short. And a lame duck David Wright at third. I'm guessing they're going to trade Wright at some point this season. I mean, they had to learn from the Jose Reyes blunder, right? Every baseball fan in America, aside from a few very loyal Mets fans, knew Reyes was as good as gone at the end of 2011. So why not get something in return for him? The bigger question with Wright is, no one knows if he's staying or leaving after 2012.

Outfield: Lucas Duda in right who showed he can hit when he was given the time. Andres Torres in center and that biggest New York bust since A.J. Burnett in Jason Bay in left.

Bullpen: hey wait a second, I found two moves the Mets made this offseason! They added Jon Rauch and Frank Francisco, which helps solidify the back end of the bullpen. Ramon Ramirez, Bobby Parnell, Pedro Beato, Tim Byrdak, Manny Acosta, D.J. Carrasco, Josh Stinson and Chris Schwinden. Who?

Since when did a team in the biggest market in the country become such a small market team? This just isn't right.

And I give credit to the Mets fans. They're arguably the most loyal fan base in baseball. You can say the Yanks, Boston, St. Louis, Chicago fans are loyal, but the Mets fans are just as, if not more, loyal. They may not always fill the ballpark, but you walk around New York and you can see and feel the presence and the passion. The Mets fan bleeds Mets blue. They don't deserve this. Not in the slightest.

On top of that, they have to deal with the Yankees everyday. Boy, do I feel bad for you guys. But I respect you for sticking with that team in the thick and thin.

One example of their passion has been through recent hashtags on Twitter. They've been making fun of their ballclub on the social network and I have to say, they've been utterly hilarious. Today's hashtag was #MetsRejectedPromotionDates. Take a minute to read a few of those.

The Wilpons need to sell this team to someone who can restore the pride this organization once had. They have not tried at one point this offseason to improve the roster. They've sat their and watched every other team improve while they have done nothing.