What the Mets Must Change to Succeed

Mets’ fans can certainly be forgiven for thinking the team’s owners and management don’t really care one way or another about success. Coming off another disappointing season in 2013, where they ended up 22 games out of first in the NL East and were out of contention by the end of April, it’s amazing that anyone even showed up to the ballpark.

The Mets inflicted pain in fans’ wallets and on their eyes. Ticket prices were high, and when wannabe attendees factored in the costs of parking and food, they cringed. It’s hard enough to scrounge up the dough for first-class entertainment, so why waste hard-earned money on a second-class team? Stay-at-home fans weren’t talking about sparkling defense and pitcher-pounding offense. They were instead talking about ownership obsessed with mindless money ball and a GM who says “prospect” so often you’d think the Mets had one.

If—and that’s a very strong if— the Mets can turn this team around and become contenders, they should start by flipping young talent like Noah Syndergaard, Wilmer Flores, Juan Lagares, and maybe even Travis d’Arnaud for proven players like Matt Kemp, Giancarlo Stanton, or Carlos Gonzalez. Then they should make a big splash in the free-agent pool by luring Jacoby Ellsbury, Robinson Cano, Chase Utley, Carlos Beltran, Shin Soo-Choo, or Brian McCann to Flushing. A veteran first baseman like James Loney will fill hole, and then the pitching leaks can be plugged up with arms attached to hurlers like Chris Capuano, Chris Carpenter, Tim Hudson, A.J. Burnett, Erving Santana, Matt Garza, Dan Haren, and Josh Johnson. Note that when I say “veteran,” I don’t mean players born before 1973!

Shoring up the team with at least six new position players, some solid veteran arms, and a non-volatile bullpen will have an immediate benefit. The moves will show disenchanted Mets’ fans that they’ll have something more to cheer about than designer tacos if they show up at the stadium. 

Is there a such thing as too much football?

If you're like me you love football, are in a committed relationship with your Red Zone, have multiple fantasy teams, and put a small amount of money (really, just $20) on a pick-em league just so you can bitch about everyone else's team just as much as your own.

Yes, football is the only time of the week I'm not severely depressed about being an unemployed recent college graduate but it also leads a lot of yelling at the TV, some cheerful, some sad, some neutral (it's just fun to yell at the TV sometimes) but is this all taking the fun out football?

Each week I take a bunch of guys who are insanely gifted athletes and slot them into different positions on a fantasy team and each week one ends up disappointing me because he didn't see the ball enough. Sometimes his team wins, sometimes they don't but that player still gets harassed on Twitter (not by me though). So it begs the question, is all of this worth it? If like the old days (and by old days I mean like 3 years ago before Red Zone and possibly about 10 years ago before I was aware of fantasy sports) you would watch your team at 1 or 4, possibly get a game on the other channel at the other time, and get Sunday and Monday night football was that more enjoyable? There was no being upset because Texans are no longer trustworthy as a pick, or anger because the Colts spent a first round pick on a great young RB and are playing Donald freaking Jones instead. There was just your love for your team and getting to enjoy some great national games.

These types of leagues also force you to root for guys you wouldn't normally like to root for. For instance as a Jets fan I might have Tom Brady on a fantasy team (though I really try hard not to) and enjoy his fantasy output but still get mad when the Patriots win. And some folks might even root for a guy on their fantasy team to do well against their own team (I'm not one of those people but they exist) and it's becoming a giant hypocritical vortex in a way... who can I root for and still feel good about myself and who do I need to root for because I refuse to lose?

It now also gives meaning to those games you never thought you would care about before.. "what's going on in that 1 o clock Jags Titans game" is now something that people utter, even in Jacksonville and Tennessee whereas if this was 10-15 years ago people might not even realize it ever happened.

And really, at the end only one person is left at the top of the fantasy football summit, they're the only winner, the rest are just sorry losers who wasted their whole fall/winter obsessing over something that left them alone and cold, high and dry, and with an empty feeling for another 7 months.

But to answer the question, is it worth it? Is all this losing, and frustration and anger about super teams being formed, and stars not living up to their expectations, and rooting for a bunch of assh*les really worth using up your entire Sunday over?! Well...probably not but it's better then dwelling on your own thoughts and the 8 straight hours of commercial free football is just so wonderful with it's quad boxes and octoboxes that really at the end of the day we will always be moths drawn to the light of the NFL and the fantasy leagues and the pick-em leagues because we just can't stop ourselves from it because, just like real football, when you finally win that fantasy league and all your hard work paid off as the head coach of some poorly named fantasy team you can call yourself a champion, and only a few select people in this world can ever call themselves a champion

You're Welcome, Mexico!

Tonight the United States Men's National Soccer Team beat Panama 3-2 in Panama to keep Mexico's hopes of reaching the World Cup Final alive. Yes it ruined Panama's dreams, but quite frankly if you couldn't beat the American B team with a 1 goal lead in stoppage time you didn't deserve to go anyway Panama. Mexico, like all good football teams that wear green, limped into this playoff through the backdoor and sparked by this will probably find a way to defeat New Zealand (which blogger doesn't think is a real word apparently?); and though I can't personally say I will be rooting for them (because I won't be) I can say that you're welcome, Mexico, but now you owe us!

In exchange for keeping you in the World Cup hunt Mexico now must allow for "Taco Tuesday" to be every single day of the week. That's right, Monday is now "Taco Tuesday", Wednesday, nope, not "hump day" but "Taco Tuesday" and on and on. Next, we would like a lifetime supply of Sombrero's shipped to America and the ability to co-use the word "siesta" as well as take them regularly during work days. Lastly we would like to ask you to stop naming your sports teams racist things like "Redskins" because it's really offending the natives who allowed for this country to have a soccer team in the first place.

Let's also not forget the type of financial impact missing the World Cup would have on a country like Mexico. According to Leon Krauze, a writer for Bloomberg  “If it doesn't [Mexico] make it to the World Cup, everything related to it will devaluate. Losses could be upwards of $600 million.” 

This type of financial loss would have been (and still could be) detrimental to Mexico and really drag down on them for years to come. It's almost amazing how a sports can carry a country so mightily...

But not to rain on their parade, go enjoy your playoff with New Zealand (still not a word according to Blogger), you deserve it!

P.S. check this video out -

Really cool stuff, they really are grateful and you can't knock that.

America can just sit back relax and tell this Mexico for a while now "Some day, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me. But until that day, consider this justice a gift on my daughter's wedding day."

Minus the whole daughters wedding day thing...but you know, you get what I mean.

Point, Counterpoint: Responding to the Redskins Name Controversy

So I've been trying to avoid this argument all together, but as it drags on I just can't anymore. The reason why I decided to write this post is anger. It's literally pissing me off. As I read Sam's awesome article (check it out if you haven't yet) about the quasi-rant that famous Commackian Bob Costas went on during the halftime show for the Sunday night Redskins-Cowboys tilt, and the hyperbolic, over-dramatized comments that followed from anonymous internet posters, I could actually feel anger building inside me. Not anger directed towards Sam, who was simply pointing out how awful people are, based on their ridiculous comments, while not picking a side in the debate. It wasn't even anger towards those insane commenters. I felt myself getting angry at this debate itself. Why, you ask? Well I'll make it clear for you:

It is 100%, completely and totally POINTLESS, USELESS and UNNECESSARY!

Look, full disclosure, I'm a die hard Washington Redskins fan. Could that make me biased? Sure. Do I want the team name to change? Absolutely not. But that's not what I'm getting at. What I'm getting at, is that it's a moot point, and a useless debate. A survey conducted by the National Annenberg Election Survey in 2004 revealed that 90%, yes NINETY PERCENT of Native Americans did not find the term "Redskins" offensive. And, in fact, their are many Native American schools that use "Redskins" for the name of their teams. So clearly, this group that should be so terribly offended, according to those arguing against the name, doesn't actually seem to have any issue with it.

So why are we debating? If you ask me, I believe it's because people always need to have something to bitch about. Americans always need to be able to whine and complain in order to draw attention. That's why you see stuck up, self-loving individuals (see: Costas, Bob), corrupt BS artists who are only looking for some extra support by focusing on a meaningless debate rather than the endless pile of alarmingly scary issues facing this country (see: Politicians) and potentially insane "street protesters" arguing about a football team name all day, every day. 

The name is not changing. Dan Snyder has said it countless times. 

"We'll never change the name. It's simple. NEVER -- you can use caps."

No matter what Bob Costas, or that random politician ignoring his actual duties, or that crazy guy breaking into the Redskins owners meetings hurling flyers demanding a name change say, the NFL franchise located in Washington is, and will continue to be, the Washington Redskins. So please, PLEASE for everyone's sake, can you protesters please move on. Don't worry, I'm sure soon enough there will be some new, trendy, pointless debate for you to toss your unqualified opinion into, and then I can write this blog again!

NFL roundup for week 6

What did we learn in week 6 of the NFL? Well first of all, all of us at 5G 1B send our condolences and prayers to Adrian Peterson and his family. I'm not sure how he managed to stay on that field on Sunday, but G-D bless him.

Getting back to the sport it's getting more and more obvious each week that other than baseball it's the most painfully slow sport on the planet and we love it, and the cliches of any given Sunday almost proved to be true!

The Jags, Titans, Raiders, and Bills all had great chances to send shockwaves through the league but all came up short (however Jacksonville did cover so that absolutely counts for something in betting cirlces!). The Jags went into the half down 14-12 and it could have been 14-14 sans a missed 2 point conversion. The Broncos didn't look all that great and yet still finished them off 35-19. The Titans gave the Seahawks a real run for their money up in Seattle which is one of the toughest places to play but just came up short, the Raiders kept it close for a little while in KC but didn't have enough in the end and the Bills backup QB Thad Lewis through a touchdown with only seconds remaining to send the game to OT but the Bengals found a way to get the win in OT.

The remaining unbeaten's in the NFL after week 6 are only AFC West division rivals Kansas City and Denver. New Orleans fell from those ranks thanks to a last second touchdown from Tom Brady in New England.

The remaining teams without a win in the NFL after week 6 are Jacksonville, the New York Football Giants, and Tampa Bay.

This weeks biggest surprise and biggest letdown both came from the Monday night game for me. I was very disappointed in the Colts after beating both Seattle and San Fran (at Candlestick) and going up against a team in San Diego missing 2 veterans on the defensive line it looked like it would be a high scoring game and one that Indy should have had and the fact that they put up nothing more than 3 field goals and still choose to ignore Trent Richardson is deeply disappointing. But on the flip side well done to the San Diego defense who has basically been being carried by Rivers all season long and they got a well deserved victory to back him up on Monday Night.

Week 7 games to look out for - Cowboys vs. Eagles in Philly in the battle for first place in the weak NFC East. Patriots vs. Jets, Jets trying to climb out of a 2 game hole in AFC East. And finally Broncos vs. Colts. The return of Peyton Manning to Indianapolis. Need I say more?

What is wrong with people?

So if you haven't seen it yet, Bob Costas spent his half time speech during the Cowboys - Redskins games telling everyone why he believes the Redskins is a slur and the name should be changed. I'm not writing this blog to agree or disagree with Bob Costas on the matter but to wonder what the hell is wrong with the people who do disagree with him.

http://deadspin.com/bob-costas-says-redskins-is-an-insult-a-slur-1444781733?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_facebook&utm_source=deadspin_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow This is the link to the story if you wish to read up on it yourself, but some of the comments people have been writing are really really ugly. Here's an example of a few to show you what runs through the minds of some really messed up people: "Hear that? That's the thunder of scared white people stampeding over themselves to trash "political correctness" because they feel threatened by the fact that they're losing more and more avenues by which to marginalize minorities" 
"How about americans stop being pussies over everything and find real shit to fight over, like the economy."

" Funny how Costas didn't mention the fact we celebrate Columbus today who killed and enslaved millions of Native Americans...but that's not offensive right??"

"Hearing some jackwagon's political views are the best part of watching football! Maybe we could get Costas and Olbermann to take on a tag team duo of George Clooney and Tim Robbins in some sort of athletic circle jerk!"

" Most of the people upset with the name are white liberals. Which proves my point that if there is one thing white people love to do, it's to be offended on behalf of a minority that doesn't really care."

But my very personal favorite is this one.... "Get over yourself,its not meant in hate!!go pick on the "white"house!same dumb made up crap.what about"dime"ooh,I'm not worth a dime,so now I find that word hateful.the word costas,now causes me trauma."

This person is absolutely right. The "white house" is racist. That house doesn't deserve to be called out based on the color of its skin. WHAT IS WRONG WITH WASHINGTON?! 

But seriously, I'd just like to apologize for the sake of all man kind.... There are some really big idiots in this world.

                                                                       *** UPDATE ***

Bob Costas is also kind of an assh*le so if you do read that blog and see people ripping on Costas, don't be offended on his part. It takes a lot for someone to make Costas look sympathetic, which he does in this case, but the guy pretends to be from St. Louis, so don't give him too much credit. 

It's the Most Wonderful Time of The Year! NHL Previews and Predictions

Few seasons bring as much excitement as the fall. Leaves are changing, pumpkin spice lattes blah blah blah. That's a load of crap. What really brings excitement? The start of the coolest game on earth (throwback!): NHL hockey! Coming off of last years frustrating lockout and subsequent 48-game shortened season (which seemed to fly by in no time), hockey fans are more then ready for a full, 82 game campaign, offering much more stick and puck to enjoy. So without further adieu, I offer you the 5G1B NHL season guide. We'll discuss rule changes, introduce the new divisions after realignment, and make some predictions for the coming year.

Rule changes

There are quite a few rule changes, so let's delve into some of the more important ones:

1: Smaller Leg Pads for Goalies

In an effort to increase scoring (again), the NHL has decided to shrink goalie's leg pads by a few inches (exact amount depends on goalies height). This is seemingly a small and ineffective change, but a total of 26 goals in last night's first 3 games of the season might suggest otherwise.

2: Hybrid Icing

This one is a little tricky to explain, but essentially icing will now be more of a judgement call. Players will race down to touch up or negate an icing, however, the ref will deem whether to call an icing or negate it based upon which player crosses an imaginary line extending across the face-off dots in that zone. It will essentially be a race to the dots with a linesmans judgement call, rather than a race to the end boards. From a safety standpoint this is a very smart idea, as it will give players much more space to stop or brace themselves and will surely dwindle the large number of awful injuries that have occurred as players tangle up and smash into the end boards while trying to touch up or negate an icing (see: Joni Pitkanen). However, there is some grey area as to how well this rule can and will be called by officials, so for now, the jury is out.

3: Smaller Nets (depth-wise)

Again, in an effort to increase scoring (see a pattern here?) the NHL has altered the size if the nets, by esentially removing the wide extended area on the side of the nets, and bringing the back of the net in. This will provide more space behind the net for players to maneuver and make passes. Here's a picture showing the difference:

4: No Fighting

Okay, that's not literally the rule, but it's certainly what the NHL is trying to accomplish. There is a new rule that states that if you take your helmet off during a fight, you get an extra 2-minute penalty. Understandable, considering the dangers of head injuries should a helmet-less head hit the ice. However, the mandatory use of visors is also being grandfathered in to the NHL. So as more and more players are forced into using visors, fighters will either have to 

a) accept their extra 2-minute pentacle for removing their helmet,

b) punch a visor and probably injure their hand, or 

c) just not fight.

Pretty crappy situation for a fan of fighting in the game of hockey.

Realignment

The NHL took the hard way yet again in attempting to realign the league (mainly to get Winnipeg out of the Southeast division). Would simply switching Winnipeg into the Central division and either Columbus, Detroit or even Nashville into the Southeast division have made sense? Sure! Would the NHL ever do something so logical and simple? No friggin way! So here's the new setup for this year:

Division A is called the "Pacific Division"

Division B is the "Central Division"

Division C is the "Atlantic Division"

Division D is the "Metropolitan Divison"

PREDICTION TIME!

We've all made our predictions on which teams will make the playoffs, Stanley Cup Finals matchup and winner, Hart, Vezina, Norris and Calder Trophy recipients, and one BOLD prediction. So here it goes:

* = conference winner 

Brandon:

East

Metro: Pitt*, NYR, Wash

Atlantic: Bos, Ott, Mtl

Wild Card: Det, Cbj

West

Central: Chi*, Stl, Dal

Pacific: LA, Edm, Phx

Wild Card: SJ, Ana

Cup finals: Blues over Penguins

Hart: Jonathan Towes

Norris: Erik Karlsson

Vezina: Henrik Lundqvist

Calder: Valeri Nichushkin

BOLD Prediction: Taylor Hall finishes top 7 in the league in scoring and the Oilers finish top 3 in the Pacific Division.

Dave "Davy Glide" 

East

Metro: Pitt*, NYR, Wash

Atlantic: Bos, Det, Ott

Wild Card: NYI, Tor

West

Central: Chi*, Minn, Stl

Pacific: SJ, Van, LA

Wild Card: Wpg, Ana

Cup finals: Sharks over Penguins

Hart: John Tavares

Norris: Keith Yandle

Vezina: Craig Anderson 

Calder: Aleksander Barkov

BOLD Prediction: Islanders make the playoffs and win a series.

Sam "Sammer"

East

Metro: Pitt*, NYR, NYI

Atlantic: Det, Bos, Ott

Wild Card: Mtl, Cbj

West

Central: Chi*, Nsh, Stl

Pacific: Ana, Van, SJ

Wild Card: Minn, Phx

Cup finals: Rangers over Wild

Hart: Sidney Crosby

Norris: Shea Webber

Vezina: Henrik Lundqvist

Calder: Seth Jones

BOLD Prediction: Capitals miss the playoffs.

Jonathan

East

Metro: Pitt*, NYR, Wash

Atlantic: Bos, Det, Mtl

Wild Card: Ott, Tor

West

Central: Chi, Nsh, Stl

Pacific: LA*, Ana, Van

Wild Card: SJ, Edm

Cup finals: Red Wings over Blackhawks

Hart: Evgeni Malkin

Norris: Ryan McDonagh

Vezina: Henrik Lundqvist

Calder: Seth Jones

BOLD Prediction: Islanders finish last in the East.

So that's it, you're now set for the NHL season. Happy hockey!!!!

(Editors Note: Davy Glide also thinks Lindsay: James Neal, Masterson: George Parros, Selke: Ryan Callahan, Jennings: Craig Anderson, King Clancy: Jack Johnson, Rocket Richard: John Tavaras, General Manager: Jim Nill, and the most important Steven Mcdonald extra effort: Dab Girardi.)