SU caught the end of the Mets’ game with the Nationals last night.  Their 6-run rally to tie the game with 2 outs and 1 man on was impressive.  As long-time SU subscriber A. Grossman likes to say, they have the “karma” this year.  Their dugout is alive, guys are coming through over and over again, and they are just a likeable bunch.  Even the 4 days of Scott Boras and Matt Harvey were not enough to put a damper on their drive for the division title.  SU says they will be selling out Citifield come the next homestand.

Contrast that with the Yankees who are in the middle of a tight division race with the Blue Jays but are only drawing around 30,000 now on this homestand.  The reason is that it’s not an exciting team and the fans are just not 100% invested.  As the pitching staff breaks down in September, it’s becoming more likely that CC Sabathia might end up pitching a playoff game (perish the thought).  SU has been predicting that the Mets will become the focal point in NY and it’s happening.  Good for them.

Don’t know if you caught any of the ESPN story on Spygate with the Patriots and just what went on there.  New England is denying it all but consider this from the ESPN story:

“According to ESPN, the Patriots secretly filmed 40 games between 2001 and 2007 and built a library of their opponents’ signals. They then stole those signals during games and called plays to take advantage of what was coming. The program was carried out in secret, with the employees disguising themselves as NFL or “Kraft Production” cameramen to film opposing coaches.

Here are the most damning allegations:

• The Patriots would send an employee into the visiting locker room to steal their play sheets during pre-game warmups.
• They would have someone “rummage through the visiting team hotel for playbooks or scouting reports.”
• They made their employees wear disguises, like shirts that said Kraft Productions, while they secretly filmed opposing coaches. They were also “provided with excuses for what to tell NFL security if asked what they were doing.”
• Sources with three different teams that lost to the Patriots in the Super Bowl (the Eagles, Panthers, and Rams) think they spied on them and knew what plays were coming during the Super Bowl.
• Former Rams coach Mike Martz claims a Pats assistant coach told him he knew which plays St. Louis were going to run in the red zone in the 2001 Super Bowl, and that, “A little birdie told us.”
• The Patriots had “a library of scouting material containing videotapes” in a secret room that only Bill Belichick could access.
• They had a practice of “scrambling and jamming” their opponents’ radio equipment so the coaches couldn’t communicate with the quarterbacks.
• A former Patriots assistant coach told ESPN, “It got out of control.”

According to Van Natta Jr. and Wickersham, the feeling around the league is that the Patriots got off easy on Spygate, with the NFL brushing the details of the scandal under the rug. The league’s recent attempt to hammer the Pats for Deflategate, many believe, was a direct response to the impression from other teams that New England got away with a robust cheating program in 2007.”

Clearly, this was a much more serious situation than deflating some footballs.  It’s also why former Hall of Fame Coach Don Shula call Bellichek “Belli-cheat.”

We approach the best time of the sports year: baseball’s pennant races reach their peak; the US Open is in full swing (although players are dropping left and right); and of course, both the college football and NFL seasons are upon us.  SU was pumped for the debut of Jim Harbaugh last night and Michigan out west against a good Utah team.  It certainly seemed like deja vu with the defense wearing down as it tried to keep Michigan in the game.  Combined with a QB that turns the ball over, I can’t say I feel very different from last year.  But as SU ages, I have become a more patient fan and will ride it out in this transition year.  I expect Harbaugh’s team to get better each week and while the overall record may not impress, there may be a surprise or two come November.

Speaking of patience, you have to chuckle about how all the sports writers are saying now that the Yankees are being rewarded for sticking with Stephen Drew who has had a couple of hot weeks.  So, just to be clear, it’s ok to hit .160 last year and .190 for most of this year, and if you throw in 2 hot weeks and hit a couple of homeruns, all is forgiven and hey, why don’t we give you a Robinson Cano like, 10-year contract to boot?  As a Yankee fan, I am thrilled to see him finally hit a little but let’s face the facts: he has been miserable and if he reverts back to form the rest of the way, it’s not acceptable.  We will see now if the Yankees have what it takes without Texeiria.  SU is done making predictions with this team as every time I bury this group, they go out and win 4 in a row (as SU subscriber M. Levine has pointed out).

It was interesting to follow the Yankee-Red Sox game on Wednesday afternoon on Twitter.  The writers and announcers were killing Girardi for bringing in Betances and Miller with a 6-run lead late in the game as Boston was rallying.  I don’t know what game they were watching but the Yankee rookie relievers were walking the ballpark and giving up doubles off the wall.  Betances came in with the bases loaded and a 13-7 score.  Who cares if it’s a save or a hold statistically?  You are trying to win the game.  It’s also interesting to see how Michael Kay is following Twitter during his broadcasts and picks up on comments from various people.  SU is a Kay fan but he was wrong to criticize Girardi in that game.  If they lost that game with a 12-1 lead, that would have been a killer.

Tom Brady has been saved by Judge Berman.  The ruling doesn’t address his guilt or innocence but rather it’s more procedural and about due process.  SU doesn’t really care.  We know he did it but as I have said from the beginning, it’s just not a big deal.  Enough of the integrity of the game talk.  Let’s move on and play football and making sure that the players’ socks are the proper height and no skin is showing between their socks and their pants.  Now there is integrity!  To me, ball inflation is like pine tar on a bat (see George Brett and Goose Gossage in 1983).