Wow, let’s face it.  Five games into the 2016-17 NFL season and we basically have 2 unwatchable teams in New York.  SU is struggling.  Lifelong NFL fan and I can pretty much watch any sports event on TV.  But I am not being entertained by the NFL this season and especially the NY teams.  The Jets should be better than they are – especially given their defense but they come up short week after week.  The Giants just don’t have the personnel and that’s on the GM.  The defense can’t get off the field on 3rd down and OBJ is just a distraction on offense.

Even the other games that I have watched this season are yawners.  I know the NFL’s ratings are down so far this year – not sure if that’s a blip or not.  But I find myself looking forward to the start of the NBA season and college basketball more and more.

Speaking of the NBA, Jeremy Lin’s Brooklyn debut on Thursday night featured 21 points in 15 minutes.  This will be SU’s new adopted team for the season.  The roster is Development League quality – and that is almost an insult to any D-League team.  But Lin will run the show and it’s refreshing to watch a pass first point guard who wants to get everyone involved.  SU checked on line and there are still seats available on the Nets bandwagon – you can even upgrade to extra legroom for no extra charge as there is no one on the bus.  I am sure he will be dissed by all of the other NBA players (See Jarrett Jack’s tweet when Lin’s 3-year, $36 million deal was announced and Jack was cut: “Hahahahahahaha.”)  But Lin has paid his dues playing with James Harden and Kobe which run counter to his team-first roots.  Good for him and good for SU.

The baseball playoffs have been equally dull.  I suspect the Red Sox will make a run here and force a game 5 vs. Cleveland and that once the Cubs move on, interest will pick up.

Finally, watching Michigan’s 78-0 throttling of Rutgers over the weekend makes you wonder if Rutgers should be in the Big 10.  It’s not fair to the players and they are years away from being competitive.  Michigan only threw 2 passes in the 2nd half and just kept running the ball.  It appeared that Rutgers’ defense quit and that’s hard to watch.

First, SU wishes a happy and healthy new year to its intergalactic Jewish subscribers.  We start with Wild Card week and SU believes it’s always good to first re-visit the preseason predictions to see how things are playing out.  Here is what SU said back in early April:

“Let’s start with the National League.  SU can barely find room on the Mets’ bandwagon.  Way too crowded and everyone is picking them to win the NL East.  SU is not so sure.  Some teams play better under the radar and have a harder time coping with expectations.  On paper, the young pitchers have more experience under their belts and the young hitters should be that much better.  But….sometimes young players take a step back before they are ready to make the big step forward.  SU believes the Nationals will be a worthy adversary in the East but of course, having Stephen Drew on the roster will ultimately bring them down.  He is a difference maker.  The Mets will win the East but it will go into September and be closer than you think.

Lots of love out there for the Cubs to take the next step and win it all.  SU will agree on that one but the SF Giants win their world championships in the even years and last time I checked, it’s 2016.  Giants win the West, Cubs in the Central and the Nationals and Cardinals take the wild cards.

In the American League, the AL East is a toss-up.  Many predict the Toronto Blue Jays will win the division and the World Series this year.  SU disagrees.  The Jose Bautista contract will become a bigger and bigger distraction as the season unfolds and if any of their starters goes down, they are just a good hitting team with limited pitching.  They may win the East but they won’t make it to the World Series.  Btw, former Yankee phenom Jesus Montero is now in their farm system.  How the mighty have fallen.

The Yankees will contend but YES ratings will be way down along with attendance.  This roster is a snoozefest.  All 5 starters will find their way to the DL during the course of the year.  Texeiria is in his walk year (and he will walk with Greg Bird ready to assume 1st base next season) and he should be motivated for that reason.  Expect harder outs into the shift this year as opposed to softer outs in the past.  Castro will be a guy to watch along with Hicks in the outfield.  He is going to take at bats away from both Ellsbury and Gardner.  The Yankees will make one of the Wild Cards.  The Royals are still in good shape but getting to the World Series 3 years in a row is very hard.  Texas wins the West and the Royals and  Yankees are the Wild Cards. Watch out for Detroit to make a comeback this year and get to the World Series where they lose to the Giants in 6 games.”

OK, as always, a mixed back with SU on the predictions but nothing ventured, nothing gained.  Jayson Stark of espn.com says a number of MLB executives are feeling the love for the Red Sox to go all the way given their line up and under-rated pitching staff.  However, most of the experts are looking for the Cubs to end their streak.  SU says if Toronto beats the Orioles, check out the Texas-Toronto first round series – these teams truly hate each other and there is bad blood from last year’s series and the fight between Odor and Bautista this year.  Bad blood is good for baseball and a welcome change from the hugfests that we often see.

In the NL, the Mets – Giants wild card game with their aces rested is must see tv.  Games like this always come down to the bullpens and SU believes the Mets should have the advantage there.  But neither team is getting past the Cubs I suspect this year.  A Boston – Cubs World Series would generate big ratings but these things rarely work out that way.  SU hates the Red Sox but they are the best of the relatively weaker AL teams.  Cubs over the Red Sox in the World Series.  Your thoughts?

Glad to see Robinson Cano fail to make the post-season again in Seattle.  Take the money and rest in October – it’s a way of life.

SU caught a fair amount of the Ryder Cup this weekend.  It was good stuff for golf.  The fans in Minnesota were very into it and were not your usual golf gallery.  The European players took a fair amount of abuse but for SU, golf could sure use more of this.  It was good to see the Americans finally win one.

The Jets are who they are at 1-3 and the Giants are likely to get blown out tonight in Minnesota.  NY football will be lucky to produce a team over .500 this season but hey, we are generally used to that.

I don’t know if you saw the recent Sports Illustrated story on the Paralympics from Rio.  It’s not a highly covered event – especially coming on the heels of the regular Olympics.  Some of the pictures are truly impressive and speak volumes about the courage of what these athletes are able to accomplish despite their disabilities.  SU is always amazed at how people navigate Manhattan with their disabilities – they are real heroes and people who should be admired for what they live with and have to overcome.  I hope the US gold medalists from the Paralympics are also invited to the White House for an audience with the President.  Check out these pictures:

Long-time SU subscriber A. Grossman weighed in today on the retirement of Mark Texeiria:

“BACK TO BASICS
 Thanks for the memories Tex but its now time we go back to our 1996-1999 way of winning which is:  Patience at the plate, going with the pitch and not swinging for the fences. Our  home runs will come, but contact hitting and not swinging at so many ridiculous pitches will  get our team’s average back up above 260. More runners on base means more opportunities to score runs including more runs coming in on a homer. Getting another big time closer and toss in a couple of solid seasoned starters to balance all the newbies and I’ll see you at the stadium in October.”

SU agrees: 2017 is going to be a fun year in the Bronx.  It’s fine to lament some of the trades of the top relievers as SU  subscriber S. Goldman did this week in his comments.  It’s true that not every prospect will make it to Yankee Stadium.  But you can also trade them for more experienced players to fill certain holes and I will enjoy following their progression in the minor leagues the next couple of years.  The Yankees have some young starters that are pretty decent and I am already pumped about next year.

Did you notice that since SU applauded Chase Headley achieving 50 rbis for the season, he hasn’t had one more rbi?  He truly is mediocre and should be priority #1 for Cashman in the off-season.  He needs to go.  I know Ellsbury is locked in for the next 17 years at $22 million a year but that is such a bad contract.  SU says eat the money and move him to any team.

The playoffs are here this weekend for the Mets, Giants and Cardinals.  Game on – it will be fun to see how this unfolds.

Finally, long-time SU subscriber and Michigan alum S. Levine passed this article along from the Wall Street Journal.  I got a chuckle out of this:

Michigan’s Formal Rebuttal to Jason Gay

The Wolverines of the Wall Street Journal respond to Mr. Gay’s column on America’s finest university

PHOTO: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Sept. 30, 2016 10:27 a.m. ET

University of Michigan graduates working at the Wall Street Journal were the subject of a Thursday column in the newspaper by sportswriter Jason Gay, who attended the University of Wisconsin Madison.

The column bemoaned the rise of Michigan’s No. 4-ranked football team; poked fun at its coach, the future supreme court justice Jim Harbaugh; and described us—the Journal’s hardworking Michigan people—as insufferable elitists.

Or so we’re told. We were too busy to read it.

Because this column seems to have painted a distorted picture, we would like to set the record straight by employing a device that is near and dear to Mr. Gay’s heart—a list.

Here are 19 thoughts that have crossed the minds of the Wall Street Journal’s Michigan graduates over the last 24 hours:

1. Solving the world’s problems is hard work. Sometimes we wish we’d gone to a school where people drink beer for breakfast.
2. Sadly, Michigan has never felt the need to have a mascot. But if we did, it would probably be a pants-less rodent in a turtleneck sweater. Oh wait, that’s taken.
3. Coach Harbaugh was smart to ditch the pleats. Flat-front khakis are much more flattering on him. They’re also perfect for antiquing.

4. Michigan’s No. 24 ranking in the recent Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education college rankings was a robbery, if you ask us—even if it was the best finish for any public university.
5. Wow, these rankings just keep going and going. Look at No. 67!
6. Jason Gay… Wait a minute—isn’t he the guy who wrote that column about the squirrel attorney?
7. Why do alumni of some public research universities in the Midwest keep prattling on about the ‘elitism’ of other public research universities in the Midwest? Haven’t these people visited the East Coast?
8. Ann Arbor was recently named America’s best college town. Madison’s finest hour came in 1986 when it served as the backdrop for the Hollywood classic Back to School, which earned Rodney Dangerfield six Academy Awards.

The greatest moment in Wisconsin sports history.

9. Michigan has a tight end named Jake Butt and a defensive end named Taco Charlton. These are not jokes. They are miracles.
10. Michigan is the winningest college football program in history. Wisconsin also has a glorious legacy of football success. (Go Packers!)
11. We’re glad the team we are playing has a handy “W” on its helmet—otherwise we wouldn’t know who they were. Also nice to see people are still using fonts from 1991.
12. When it comes to the best place in America to buy cheese—OK, let’s all agree there’s absolutely no contest. It’s Zingerman’s.

13. Appalachian State has become one of the best teams in the Sun Belt, winning 11 games last year and recently taking No. 11 Tennessee to overtime. We put that program on the map!
14. SORRY JASON, I’M HAVING A HARD TIME FINISHING YOUR COLUMN—THERE ARE 115,109 PEOPLE HERE AND THEY’RE ALL SCREAMING.
15. This week NASA hired a Michigan aerospace professor to lead its effort to figure out the origins of life and the universe. Kind of a lateral move.
16. Michigan has already won college football’s real national championship, which is measured by an algorithm that gives extra weight to glowing New Yorker articles.
17. Jason Gay’s columns would be a lot better if James Earl Jones(Michigan class of 1955) read them aloud. While former Michigan student Madonna sang background vocals and Tom Brady dancedalong.
18. And they were written by Arthur Miller, who also went to Michigan.
19. Wait, who is Michigan playing this weekend?

SU (regrettably) just finished watching 3 and a half hours of the Giants – Redskins game this afternoon.  For the last few years under Tom Coughlin, the Giants were very undisciplined and sloppy and this year’s edition is just no different.  You knew they were going to lose this game in the 4th quarter but it was truly torture to watch this brand of football – especially on defense.  So many stupid plays – late hits especially – to keep drives alive and nullify big gains.  The center was ejected for 2 unsportsmanlike behavior penalties – you never see that.  Beckham can barely contain himself with all of his histrionics.  Washington stinks but to be honest, the Giants are not much better.  I think they punted once the whole game and consistently drove down the field with many 3rd down conversions.  The NFC East is not a good division so the Giants might still come away with the title but it is painful to watch a game like today’s.

As the Giants were blowing their game, the Yankees were simultaneously losing a 9th inning lead.  The good news is that they scored 3 runs today in a major offensive outburst.  Even Chase Headley had a bloop single.  But they took the lead in the top of the 9th and then the combination of Betances and Clippard gave it up in the bottom of the inning.  You have to wonder if Betances is gassed from so many innings or if he doesn’t have what it takes to close games.  Definitely something to consider in the winter.

Final thought: the NFL is great and the players are obviously top shelf.  But I continue to enjoy college football more.  There is just too much posturing and posing in the NFL.  I guess the college coaches can maintain some hold over this behavior plus it’s a penalty in college football to do all that.  But at some point, SU says, and has said for years, “act like you’ve been there before.”  It’s not too much to ask.  Reserve the major celebrations for major events – not for breaking up a short pass or making a tackle.  Enough.

SU made its 2nd Citifield appearance last night for the year with long-time SU subscriber E. Steele.  Note this is 2 more appearances than I have made at Yankee Stadium in 2016 which is a reflection of how boring the Yankees are and that Chase Headley and Jacoby Ellsbury are everyday players.  And I am not even mentioning that Brian McCann is a human pop up machine to right field and that the retiring Mark Texeiria’s at bats have created a brown patch in short right field where all of his ground balls to the 2nd baseman go.  But I digress.  SU is not a true Met fan but I find myself rooting them more the last few years.  A few comments:

• We sat 11 rows behind the Phillies’ dugout for $46 on StubHub (plus service fee).  At Yankee Stadium, you are talking about $200 tickets for seats that border the moat section also known as the Legends seats.  I don’t think I have sat this close to the field for a game in the last 20 years.  So many foul balls in that section.
• Excellent food selection in the outfield food court area and nice wide walking concourses.
• Citifield has a nice feel to it – more like a ballpark than Yankee Stadium where the stands are well back from the playing field creating a dead atmosphere for most of the time (of course, much of that is due to the product on the field and the fact that Chase Headley and Jacoby Ellsbury are regular players – have I mentioned that lately?).
• The Mets had TJ Rivera, 2nd baseman, batting clean-up.  Hmm.  Not exactly scaring the other team offensively.
• Full disclosure, SU left in the 8th inning and missed the game tying Reyes homerun in the bottom of the 9th (but I did hear it on the radio) and the game winner by Cabrera in the 11th.  The crowd was into it with their hopes rising and falling in a see-saw type game in a pennant race.  And 36,000 for a Thursday night was impressive.
• SU is certainly not abandoning the Yankees and becoming a Met fan but I was very impressed with the customer experience.  Props to the Mets.

Meanwhile, back in the Bronx, there is a steady drumbeat of support for Gary Sanchez to be considered for AL Rookie of the Year.  Long-time SU subscriber P. Friedman is on the case and it’s compelling.  I have not done the research to see if there are other more worthy candidates who have been doing it all year which to be honest would be my preference for the award.  But what Sanchez is doing has never been done before.  My hope is that he is able to pass Chase Headley for rbis before the end of the season (I think it’s 38 vs. 51 at the moment).

SU is very excited about the Yankees youth movement and the prospects for fielding a really young team in 2017.  I am still a little concerned that Cashman will feel the need to sprinkle in more veterans but we have been down that road the last 4-5 seasons.

The Yankees had defied the odds and made a race for both the wild card and the division title as they began a 4-game series with Boston last Thursday.  They had a 5-1 lead late and then Dellin Betances had a complete meltdown in the 9th inning as the Yankees went down 7-5 to start a 4-game sweep in Beantown.  They led in 3 of the 4 games.  Long-time Yankee fans will recall when Dave Righetti closed for the Yankees in the 1980s.  Whenever that team went on a mini-roll, Righetti would come in late and blow a seemingly safe lead that inevitably led to a 4- or 5-game losing streak.  Those teams had lots of scoring power but limited pitching.  Rags had so many bad blown saves – the team could never get over the hump.

This is what Thursday’s blown save reminded me of – the team took a major body blow and just doesn’t have the offense to overcome a leaky bullpen.  SU has no problem with the sweep or the effort.  Girardi had mixed and matched his corps of young relievers as best he could but there was so little margin for error.  His starters only go 5-6 innings and this is what happens.  SU can live with this – help is on the way in the minors.  The team made a great run fueled by Gary Sanchez and of course, Chase Headley hitting the 50-rbi milestone over the weekend.  Many say I am hard on Headley but honestly, he plays every day at a power hitting position and 50 rbis is an embarrassment.  Now that they are out of it, SU says play Austin and the others every day and roll Texeiria out for his retirement day the last week of the season so he can ground to 2nd base in short right field one more time.

Meanwhile, the Mets are down to one of their ace pitchers – boy, that happened in a hurry.  But you have to get them a lot of credit for gaining a lock on a wild card slot despite a depleted roster.  The Cubs are looking very pretty in the National League as other than the Nationals, most other teams are limping in to the playoffs.  In the AL, the Red Sox are peaking at the right time – that is some offensive line up.  SU will be glad to see Big Papi go – I have had enough of the styling homeruns.

The Giants are 2-0 and are winning close games – what a change from years past.  It’s still too early to get excited but 2-0 is 2-0.  The Jets are putting points on the board but their defense needs to show up soon.

College football is wide open this year and you have to love how the games are so high scoring.  SU cannot get enough of it.  No lead is safe.

Busy sports weekend.  Here is what’s top-of-mind for SU:

• You can’t win ’em all.  The Yankees took 3 of 4 from Tampa Bay and you would have signed up for that at the start of the series.  Sure, would have been great to sweep but remember, the Yankees still play to a negative runs differential for the whole season.  Their margin for error has always been small.  Girardi deserves a tremendous amount of credit for mixing and matching his line-up.  He has created competition for playing time which has been the key to this run.
• The next week will tell the story for the Yankees.  3 with the 1st place Dodgers and then 4 with first-place Boston up at Fenway.  Tyler Austin needs to play and Aaron Judge should be platooned.  His confidence level must be slipping by now.
• The Mets are taking care of business with an easy, easy schedule.  They will be dangerous once again come October.  Credit to Terry Collins for keeping his team steady as she goes.
• The Jets blew an opportunity to start out well this year at home – especially with New England’s surprising win in Arizona who many are predicting will win the Super Bowl.
• Conversely, SU was shocked that the Giants won in Dallas facing a rookie QB.  That is just the type of game that they always lose.  That has to be a positive sign as they have lost just this type of game for about the last 5 years.  The defense is clearly a work-in-progress but the offense should just get better.
• SU watched the whole US Open finals yesterday.  Very good match with some interesting twists and turns.  I think Djokovic is losing a little bit of his nerve now.  When he was trying to break through Nadal and Federer, he would often take some risks in big moments.  Now that he is on top, he’s a bit more defensive.  It’s subtle but you wonder if he will become like Federer who once he hit 30, started to lose that nerve a bit in the finals matches.  Djokovic has had some stuff going on which we don’t know fully both personally and physically.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out in 2017.  Wawrinka is a good guy who had paid his dues and has an amazing records in finals.  However, he doesn’t get to that many and can be streaky.  But he is fun to watch and does not get cheated on his swing.
• SU has been surprised at how many of the early season college football match-ups against the lesser teams have been close or have ended in upsets.  Central Michigan beating Oklahoma State is huge and Nichols State almost beat Georgia.  It’s good for the sport.  SU would still prefer to see better match-ups early in the season but understands that most powerhouses will shy away from that.  No team wants to be out there on its own playing a tougher schedule which will haunt them come Bowl time if they lose one.

So, Met fans: are you feeling confident?  And Yankee fans: are there moral victories for just playing meaningful games in September?

OK, it doesn’t always have to be about the Yankees.  SU has been following the US Open pretty closely – more so on the men’s side.  A few observations:

• Andy Murray is a great player and is on a roll having won Wimbledon and the Olympics.  However, if you watch him, he is constantly chatting with his coaches and family in the players’ box and is always yelling at them to “get up!” and cheer for him.  SU finds this to be very strange.  It shows a bit of insecurity for such a great player.  The funniest is Ivan Lendl who looks like he was carted out of a museum and shows no movement facially at all.
• My man Djokovic has had 3 opponents either default before the match or during the match in this tournament.  Crazy.  But he is not healthy and does not like playing on the really hot days.  I can only imagine that Ashe Stadium will be suffocating tomorrow in 95 degree heat – not good conditions for the Djoker.  I am a little worried about this semi-final.
• Nishikori played great yesterday vs. Murray but is not a big dude and will be hurting tomorrow vs. Wawrinka.  I think Stan the Man will take him.

I will go with Djokovic over Wawrinka in the finals on Sunday evening.

Meanwhile, the Yankees and Mets are on fire.  As predicted by SU, the Mets had one final run in them and are taking advantage of an easy schedule to finally catch the Cardinals for the 2nd wild card spot.  Given how the Giants are slumping, they probably have a shot at the 1st wild card.  You have to give Terry Collins credit for staying calm during that down period.

SU noted Seth’s comment from earlier in the week that the Yankees would be in a better position now if they had held on to Andrew Miller.  I get that but I am much more interested in what the future may hold with the prospects than if they make the wild card this year or not.  I want a new “core 4” to root for and the youngsters are so much more interesting than the Headleys, Ellsburys, etc.  You had to like Severino touching 99 mph last night as he is channeling his inner Phil Hughes in the bullpen.  It’s amazing how starters can throw that much faster in a relief role.  SU is paying attention and is excited – playoffs or no playoffs.

You have to give the Mets a lot of credit: still right in the wild card mix despite the rash of injuries to their starting pitchers.  Colon has been a rock despite throwing 86 mph and mostly fastballs.  It shows that you can be effective without throwing 95 mph.  Greg Maddox made a career of this by changing speeds and moving the ball in and out and up and down.

The Yankees are hanging around but their chances according to the folks that track probabilities for making the playoffs seem to hover around 5%.  But at least their youngsters are playing in meaningful games in September.  Aaron Judge is putting up scary strikeout numbers – he strikes out 50% of his at bats.  Over a 600 at bat season, that is 300 strikeouts.  But SU says it’s good that they keep running him out there.  They may want to platoon him against lefties until he gets his confidence back.  Give Refsnyder some at bats as he is a hot hitter.  Tyler Austin is coming along – had 2 doubles yesterday.  I have low expectations for this team – just want to see the young guys out there.

Jacoby Ellsbury actually hit a homerun yesterday – shocking.  Gardner has a low average but his on base percentage is close to .350.  Chase Headley is sprinting towards 50 rbis.  SU suspects they will throw the ball out of play when he hits that milestone.

Uneven US Open so far.  On the men’s side, there is still a large gap between the Big Four players and the next generation.  Murray killed Dimitrov last night – it was actually embarrassing to watch.  But this young Frenchman, Pouille, was electric in beating Nadal – great points in the last set.  He could be the real deal.  The Americans even have some teenagers who are starting to show potential – that would be nice although SU just does not focus on the US when it comes to tennis.  I am a big time Djokovic fan.  He is ailing physically but a final with Murray would be good stuff.  The men’s quarterfinals are all great matches.  SU is not as interested on the women’s side.  It’s kind of Serena and everyone else and I don’t really like her.

Finally, great start to the college football season.  Big upsets for Wisconsin over LSU, Texas over Notre Dame not to mention Oklahoma going down to Houston.  SU much prefers the higher quality match ups in September vs. some of the cupcake U teams that we usually see.  High scoring games and many plays that you will never see in the NFL.

SU’s fearless NFL predictions to come later this week.  The research team is running various predictive models as we speak.

SU has noted the very positive comments from the last posting from Yankee fans.  Taking 2 out of 3 from both the Orioles and Royals is cause for optimism.  SU has been accused of being overly negative with this team all year.  Is a wild card spot in reach?

I must admit I have been impressed by the team’s fortitude these last few games.  They are still anemic with RISP but the bullpen has come through the last couple of games.  I will stick with my assessment but must say that I stayed up until 12:30 am last night to watch the end of the game.  I also look forward to the at bats of Sanchez, Judge, Austin and Didi.  On the other hand, I do not understand why Texeiria is the clean-up hitter and would prefer that he never play again this season.  Slugger Headley even hit the ball hard last night.

The offense has perked up.  Can the pitching hold together?  I still don’t see it happening but these games matter and that’s all you can ask for.

Meanwhile, over in Flushing, Neil Walker is going to (apparently) need season-ending back surgery.  That is a huge blow to the Mets as he has been solid all year.  Sometimes the injuries are too much to overcome and that may be the case this year.  On the other hand, no one is running away with the wild card – at least not yet.  It’s not Terry Collins’ fault.

SU is off to the US Open today to check out the roof.  The noise level in Ashe Stadium at night is very loud as the roof, even when open, seems to keep the sound in.  It will be interesting to see how the players adapt and also how loud it gets when we reach the semis and finals.  It could get pretty raucous depending on who’s playing.  I don’t have a problem with the noise – sports shouldn’t be played in a library.