Uh, hello, anyone working this weekend in Yankeeland? Kluber staying in the division with the Rays. This is not good…

Not many people were giving Michigan much of a chance this week vs. Ohio State as the Buckeyes had the #1 offense in the country. SU would have been happy with a respectable performance to be honest. Jim Harbaugh has not done well vs. the top 10 teams in his tenure at Michigan but you have to give him credit this year. He brought in a team of young assistant coaches and he has loosened the reins. The team plays with more enthusiasm than in past years and the seniors have provided great leadership. Even after losing a heartbreaker to Michigan State late, the team held together and were dominant yesterday.

Ohio State still threw for close to 400 yards as they have 3 NFL caliber wide receivers but Michigan beat them down with the running game from the start. Harbaugh also opened the playbook a bit more with some gadget type plays although they still run the 3rd and 1 hurry up to the line of scrimmage running play which has a season success rate of .05%. Michigan had a lot of recruits at the game and that can only help looking ahead to next year. Go Blue.

The college football championship is now wide open with blue bloods like Ohio State, Clemson and Oklahoma out of the picture, and Alabama looking very vulnerable. after eking out a win late vs. Auburn. SU says it’s good for the sport and the upsets are always fun as well. Georgia has a crazy good defense this year – only gave up 8 offensive touchdowns all season which is nuts.

The Mets have been busy with some good free agent signings. SU likes the way that they struck quickly – even without a manager in place. As expected, Steve Cohen is not afraid to spend his money and he needs to show some wins with free agent signings to entice others to join the fold. The Yankees have been quiet but that won’t last. SU is interested in seeing if they decide to over spend on a shortstop or take the smarter route and fill in other needs – such as speed and on base percentage. Still waiting to be impressed.

So, the Yankees continue to either trade or designate for assignment (DFA) any players that SU happens to like on the roster. First, it was Kenny Allen and the shortstop Velazquez who were traded a couple of weeks ago. OK, I get that as they were not key pieces going into 2022, and they have some top prospects at shortstop in the lower minors.

Then, on Friday, we learned that Clint Frazier (good), Odor (extra good) and Tyler Wade (bad) were being DFA’d. Now, Wade has shown in his time with the Yankees that he cannot hit a fastball – we get that. But he finally in 2021 showed signs of productivity for stretches and he filled in a number of holes. Plus, he is one of probably 2 players on the roster who can actually run from 1st to 3rd on a single. SU predicts that he will prosper for some National League team that likes to use the full roster, and you will hear from him again.

The Yankees did hire the Mets’ former manager, Luis Rojas, to be their new 3rd base coach. Interesting move. Boone seems to like him a lot and truth be told, he can only have a better year than Phil Nevin did in 2021 given how many Yankees were thrown out at home plate. I don’t think Nevin ever figured out just how slowly Giancarlo Stanton was running on the base paths. He used the sun dial instead of a stop watch to time that.

Houston shortstop, Carlos Correa, has gone on record dissing Derek Jeter’s gold gloves at shortstop based on the stats. Not a winning move if he wanted to come to the Yankees or at least use them for leverage in his negotiations with some other team. For SU, I don’t want one of the Astros’ cheaters on the team. We had to endure Roger Clemens – isn’t that enough?

With Aaron Hicks returning, it’s hard to know what Cashman sees in the outfield. You know he will get hurt again in 2022 plus he is just another swing for the fences guy like his neighbor in left, Joey Gallo. As a fan, you want to look forward to next year but my requirement is getting younger, faster, more athletic and quite frankly — interesting and exciting. I will wait and hope.

The Mets have hired Billy Eppler – from the Cashman tree – as the new GM. SU thinks that is a good move given that no-one else seemed to be interested which is surprising. You have an owner ready to spend money and while he likes to tweet, he’s not as bad as some others in the sport. How is this not an attractive position for someone?

Ohtani making noise that if the Angels don’t win, he may not want to stick around. I’m sorry: wasn’t the point to be closer to Japan? Now you care about winning? Should have been a Yankee. Enjoy .500 success.

SU continues to enjoy the Red Zone channel. Who knew what I was missing? No need to ever watch a full Giants or Jets game again.

Michigan basketball took it on the chin last night vs. Arizona. They have 3 McDonald’s All-Americans in the freshman class but as we see, going from high school to the college level is not always a smooth transition. However, SU is patient and I always enjoy the journey of watching a team evolve and develop over a season as kids figure things out. On the other hand, not sure who can make a 3-pointer on that team so there is that.

Jordan Poole is lighting it up for Golden State this year. Back-to-back 30+ point games. Golden State is once again must see TV. I have watched most of their games – that is fun basketball. On the other hand, the Knicks are searching for the right line-ups and SU says that you cannot base your offense on making 3-pointers in the NBA if you don’t have the shooters (I have done the research – the ball needs to go into the basket a certain percentage of the time). But they have some fun youngsters and Thibodeau has to figure out how to play the right guys and not destroy the confidence of players on the bench. Well, that is why he’s paid millions of dollars so get to work.

Finally, getting ready for Michigan – Ohio State this Saturday. On paper, it’s hard to see how Michigan can stay with the Buckeyes who have so many weapons on offense but as they say, play the game and let’s see what happens. I just hope the game does not come down to a Big Ten replay review of anything. There is no worse officiating in the country – and I am including Westchester County high school basketball here – than the Big Ten in either football or basketball. They never disappoint.

The Yankees just announced that the LA Dodgers have claimed Andrew Velazquez off waivers from the Yankees. It is officially the end of an era. For those of you not paying attention, Velazquez came up from the minors in the 2nd half of the season and flashed a great glove, speed and some switch-hitting ability. Of course, he played for the minimum salary.

SU had projected him as the everyday shortstop in 2022 as a way to save money (what!!??) and spend on others where there was a greater need. Clearly, Gleyber Torres was not the answer and you don’t need an overpaid player at every position. The Yankees have 2 top prospects at shortstop in the lower minors and they will be ready in 2023 at the earliest. So, why not let Velazquez be that guy? Nope. Now, we will see them pursue one of the many free agent shortstops as they go in big on salary and number of years. SU says not a good investment and the team has other needs.

The rumor is it will be Seager on the LA Dodgers who at least bats left-handed. But Velazquez was a nice NY kid with a great story. Sigh. It will be an interesting winter.

I can’t believe I am even saying this but YOUR NEW YORK KNICKS are one of the most entertaining NBA teams to watch this year. I mean think about it: who else do you want to watch? The Lakers and the Nets are loaded with current/ex-all stars but half of them will be hurt most games. Golden State will soon get Klay Thompson back and they are always a fun watch. I like watching the Heat to see Duncan Robinson and they play the game the right way. But so do the Knicks. They play hard, they’re young, they run and they play defense. True, they are a work-in-progress and still improving but have a lot of upside.

SU saw an interesting comment from Draymond Green over the weekend about officiating. Apparently, the NBA refs are no longer calling fouls on the drive and clutch type of plays that James Harden has made a living on for many years. You know what he does: he drives to the basket and latches onto the defender’s arm/hand with his off-ball hand to make it look like a foul. Or the fake 3-point shot and then lunging into the defender. That’s why he used to shoot 20 foul shots a game. But no more. New era. Thank goodness.

SU can’t say that I have been watching the World Series too much. Rooting for the Braves to beat the cheating Astros but not more than a few minutes a game. But I am gearing up for the off-season. Did you see that the Red Sox hitting coach is not returning? He was very effective for several years with their offense. Maybe the Yankees have offered him a lot of money to come to the Bronx? Just wondering. The Mets still don’t have a President of Baseball Operations or a manager.

Be sure to watch spring training next season for the Red Sox, Astros, Braves and Dodgers. How many pitchers will be having surgery? SU says the over/under is 9. Pitcher abuse is rampant in these playoff games. At what cost a World Series championship?

The College Football playoffs will be very interesting this year. Michigan State is all of a sudden in the mix after beating Michigan in an agonizing loss for Wolverine fans. SU says that Michigan State will get manhandled by Ohio State in the 2nd to last game on the road and then faces Penn State at home in the finale. They have a great running back but their defense is terrible. Props to the coach, Mel Tucker, but let’s see how the season plays out before crowning him best coach of all time. And by the way, his continued success will only make him more attractive to LSU and USC. He is someone to watch this off-season. SU does not see anyone beating Ohio State in the Big Ten. And when we get to December, will a 1-loss Alabama team be more deserving than Wake Forest? One would think so.

Finally, SU is not happy with Djokovic who may skip the Australian Open if they require all players to be vaccinated. Unclear if he is or not vaccinated. Only slightly more than half of professional tennis players are vaccinated. SU says get with the program please. Do your part. Or do the 14-day quarantine in Australia and don’t complain.