SU is not one to follow the hype leading up to the Super Bowl.  Let’s face it: it’s the silly season where hundreds of media people are grasping at anything to make it a story.  The Cam Newton drama of last week provided some good copy.  SU’s take on Cam: great player and having a great year.  Loves the attention and does everything he can to make sure the camera is on him all the time.  Even when he talks, any attempt to talk about the “team” is forced.  He is much more comfortable saying “me” than “we” (literally).  Does this make him a bad guy?  Is everyone up in arms because he is Black?

SU says get over it.  If Odell Beckham Jr. was here for the Giants, it would be no different.  There are a ton of players out there who are about themselves first and love the spotlight.  The NFL culture promotes this type of behavior and many step up to fill that role.  I choose not to listen to it and frankly, I don’t like it.  SU says act like you’ve been there before when you score a touchdown.  Low key is cool to me, not jumping into the stands and running up and down the sidelines by the stands drawing attention to yourself.  I am sure the Panther fans love him and a lot of others hate him.  It shouldn’t be a race issue – it’s the NFL culture.  Hey, if Donald Trump was an NFL player, don’t you think he would be doing the same thing?  Time to move on.

As for the game, SU says Denver will win 23 – 21.  They need to keep the score down as Peyton Manning can only have so much scotchtape applied to his body and still be able to throw the ball.  Denver will score once on defense in this game, and will win on a late field goal.  SU also predicts that Brock Osweiler will play a key role in the 2nd half and will play the last quarter and a half.  Manning will either be injured or ineffective and Osweiler will make the difference in the 2nd half and down the stretch.

A couple of other thoughts today:

• SU is a big Novak Djokovic fan and what he did last year and now in winning the Australian Open is really over the top.  This is the golden era of men’s tennis with so many great players.  For him to be dominating the game as he is now puts him in the conversation of Greatest of All Time.  SU will enjoy his run.
• SU caught the Michigan – Penn State day-night doubleheader at MSG on Saturday for basketball and hockey.  This was a great day and reinforces why I like college sports more than the pros.  It’s just a better atmosphere.  What could be more fun that spending a day watching games?  SU was joined by many members of the SU intergalactic subscriber base including L. Levine, B. Levine, S. Levine, S. Fink, J. Silver, J. Zaro, A. Cohen, A. Rosenberg, K. Rosenzweig, E. and M. Rifkin, and S. Taylor and his wife.  Truly a who’s who at the Garden.
• Finally, bad news for Yankee fans as Greg Byrd goes down with shoulder surgery and will miss the season.  True, he would have spent much of the year in the minors anyway but SU likes the young guys and will now have to watch the older version of the Yankees slog through another boring season.

OK, time for you all to step up with your Super Bowl score predictions and be counted.  SU will give props to whoever comes the closest come Monday.  Time to weigh in!

So, here is a question for the Super Bowl.  All signs appear to indicate that Peyton Manning will be calling it quits after the Super Bowl.  Let’s face it: he is running on fumes at this point and has become a “game manager” type of QB vs. a real game changer.  We all saw what happened a couple of years ago in the Meadowlands against Seattle and he was coming off a strong year back then.

Let’s suppose this year’s Super Bowl is reasonably close in the 3rd quarter but Manning is really struggling.  Does Gary Kubiak give him the hook and bring in the QB of the future in Brock Osweiler?  Or does he say that Manning has earned the chance to go out on his terms and maybe there is still some magic left in that arm?

SU says that very few NFL players ride off into the sunset.  It just rarely works out that way.  Actually, John Elway walked away after a championship (I believe) but the more typical scenario is watching players with diminished skills tail off (Brett Favre, Dan Marino).  Peyton says all the right things and is a team guy first.  But he has a lot of pride and will want to finish what he started.  It may become a moot point if the game is a blowout in Carolina’s favor.  We all know many Super Bowls go that way and no one is hotter than Cam Newton and the Panthers.  SU says you need to win the game and Kubiak needs to make sure Osweiler is ready to relieve.  He can’t worry about the 2nd guessing and it may be that a more mobile, faster and agile QB is needed to give the Broncos a chance.

What say you?

SU was very surprised to see this announcement today from WFAN’s Mike Francesa as reported on yahoo.com:

“Popular sports talk radio personality Mike Francesa is set to depart New York’s WFAN at the end of next year.

“I’m not saying I’m leaving the business. I’m leaving Monday to Friday, five and a half hours, F-A-N,” Francesa told Katie Nolan on “Garbage Time.” “I am not saying I’m not going to work again. I’m not saying I’m not going to do anything ever again. What I’m saying is, that part of my life, at the end of ’17, that is ending.”

His departure will mark the end of a 30-year run with WFAN, which he joined in 1987, the station’s inaugural year of operations.

In September, the relationship Francesa had with Fox Sports 1 to simulcast his radio show ended after barely a year, during which the host later said, “I take all the blame, it’s my fault, I made the mistake and it was my error in judgement, no one else’s.” Francesa was referring to his decision to move the show from YES Network to Fox Sports 1, which he described as “trying to put a square peg in a round hole.”

Francesa’s relationship with the brass at CBS Radio, owner of WFAN, has been similarly embattled, saying in April that his relationship with the network has “never been worse.” He told Nolan that the fraying tensions led to a discussion about a pre-emptive exit from his contract that never materialized.  “They never offered me a reasonable way out,” the ex-“Mike and the Mad Dog” co-host said.”

While he is arrogant, pompous and dismissive (maybe he should run for President?), SU has learned to enjoy Francesa over the years.  No one, and I mean no one, can talk in triplicate the way Big Mike can whether it’s asking a question in the same way 3 times or cutting off a caller and saying the same thing again and again and again.  This is true art form.  I will miss him.  Could a reunion with Mad Dog be in the offing for 2018?  SU says he is more likely to cut back on the hours and do more feature types of things.  End of an era.

Perhaps Michael Kay on ESPN Radio will use this as an opportunity to jettison Don La Greca and go back to his original format where he was the sole talker.  He has become umlistenable with his co-hosts.  He now has 2 years to fix it.

The NBA season has reached the mid-way point, college football is behind us, we are down to the final four for the NFL playoffs and pitchers and catchers report in just a few weeks.  It’s time for SU to change its mindset and gear up for the next few months.  A few thoughts this morning:

• The NFL got its dream match-up between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.  Following this year’s playoffs really hammers home just how violent football is and how hard it is to keep your play-makers on the field.  A lot of a team’s success comes down to injuries – plain and simple.  You can have depth but at some point you do need to have good players to put out there.  Look at Green Bay.  Aaron Rodgers showed his greatness by keeping the Packers in the game with 3rd string receivers and a truly remarkable Hail Mary pass.  I like the way Green Bay keeps its receivers in the field of play and then has them back into the end zone for the jump ball.  It’s almost like boxing out in basketball – gives you a better shot of pulling these down.
• SU believes that Carson Palmer is the type of player who is always going to throw that one (or sometimes two) dumb pass in a huge spot.  He’s had a great year but you just can’t count on him.  Cam Newton is ready to take that next step.  Good Conference finals for the NFL.  Rare to see the top 4 teams advance.
• This is a great year for college hoops.  There are no dominant teams and the tournament should be wide open.  Given the departure of players to the NBA after their freshman year, it makes it tough for the top schools to meld their teams until late in the season.  There is no way to know just how good Duke, UNC, Kansas, Kentucky, etc will be come March at this point.  SU says that makes the sport that much more interesting and fun to follow.
• The Australian Open is underway and there are fresh reports of match fixing coming from the BBC involving players in the top 50 of the men’s game.  No names have been mentioned but there is lots of buzz Down Under.  SU can’t picture any of the top players being involved but if you are a fringe player and someone offers you $100k, it has to be tempting.  We know cheating and game fixing are rampant in soccer.  We should not be naive that it can’t happen in other sports.  And no, Peyton Manning and his wife have not been mentioned in this latest story.
• Finally, Cespedes is still out there, Met fans.  It’s time for ownership to swoop in with a 3-year deal that overpays for him.  SU says stay away from the 7-year, $200 million type contract but go for 3 years at $75 million and take your chances.

SU has claimed a spot on the Knicks’ bandwagon.  Actually, there was plenty of room – didn’t have to climb over anyone.  I tuned in Sunday night as well as Friday.  There is an entirely different vibe this year.  Porzingis and Afflalo have made a huge difference in being unselfish and playing in the flow of the offense.  Robin Lopez does what he does – and will not stray from that.  The bench guys bring energy.  And, in a departure from my normal hating on Melo, he is playing very differently.

On Sunday night, he was bounding, driving and dishing and — wait for it — playing defense.  Announcer Mike Breen said that Melo was actually a good defender – something we all knew for the last 13 years but never got to see.  Something has clicked in his head and he is now willing to spend energy on defense as well.  Funny: I thought that was part of the $24 million contract but I guess that was optional.  The NBA: gotta love it.  Playing defense is optional but appreciated.  In any event, he is now playing both ends and you can see it has a big impact on his teammates.

Much of this will depend on the health  of Porzingis.  But for now, SU will enjoy it.  He is fun to watch and shows some new aspect of his game each night.  This is an interesting team.  There, I said it.

SU’s preseason Super Bowl prediction of Green Bay over Denver is still in play as Aaron Rodgers appears to have found the magic again.  No doubt getting engaged to Olivia Munn has also provided a spark.  Vegas likes Arizona but SU doesn’t see it.  Plus where is the love for Carolina?  Carson Palmer has a little Ryan Fitzpatrick in him – a turnover waiting to happen in a big spot.  Should be a good match up this weekend in the desert.

I must admit that I do not get caught up in the Baseball Hall of Fame voting.  It’s good material for sports talk radio debates (or in the case of Mike Francesa sports talk radio monologues) but the whole voting process is a little inexact and there has always been a considerable amount of judgment applied in the individual voting.  Griffey was a no-brainer – one of the top players in his era and would have likely shattered all the records if his body had held up.  The perception is that he was “clean” along the lines of Derek Jeter.

Mike Piazza was the top offensive catcher and statistically, you can’t argue whether he belongs.  There have always been whispers about PED use with him – see “backne” issues and his elusive and vague answers about whether he ever used them.  I mean hitting 450-foot homeruns to the opposite field flat-footed with no stride is unusual.  But as is the case with most of these guys, there is no smoking gun.

It does seem like players such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are starting to pick up more votes now from the baseball writers.  Again, there are no clear guidelines on whether suspected PED users should get in or not.  Neither of them failed a drug test and while there are lots of stories out there, nothing has officially “stuck.”  From SU’s standpoint, I would keep them out but I believe over time, we will start to see these players admitted to the HOF.

SU believes that Derek Jeter can now play a valuable role here through his Players’ Tribune web site.  Let the players sign on to a letter of admission on the Players’ Tribune site, in their own words, and as a group confess to what they did.  Once and for all, case closed.  Pick a date when it’s published and get them all to sign.

A question for the intergalactic SU fan base: If Bonds and Clemens eventually get in, will we ever see A-Rod in there?  His numbers are as good or better than anyone’s for his position.  He was certainly much clumsier about his cheating.  From my perspective, in terms of who did what, he falls in the same category as Bonds and Clemens and for that matter, David Ortiz.  No clear factual evidence but lots of circumstantial evidence.  The question becomes where do you draw the line?

SU actually watched a good part of last night’s Knick games.  Truth be told, the TV was on during that time but I slept through a good portion of the 1st half.  I mean it’s not that compelling.  But in the first 5 minutes of the 3rd quarter, the ball was moving all over the place, Melo was actually driving and dishing (repeat: Melo was actually driving and dishing) and they had 8 assists in 5 minutes!  The lead ballooned to 15 points and they were in control until early in the 4th quarter.

Then, the offense switched back to isolation play.  And for the final 4 minutes, it stuck in Melo’s hands.  Even Clyde Frazier took time out from his “swishing and dishing” nonsense to comment on how the ball was no longer moving.  It was back to isolation offense similar to what we have seen for the past 5 years since Anthony was traded to the Knicks.  SU kept looking for Mike Woodson – surely he must have left the LA Clippers bench for a game and wanted to see his isolation offense in all its glory again in NY.  The Knicks hung on in the last couple of minutes as Calderon made a couple of plays with and without the ball.

SU asks these questions:

• Did Melo decide to no longer share the ball on his own?
• Did Derek Fisher decide to revert to an isolation type offense?
• Do questions 1 and 2 even matter?

While it’s a players’ league, you need the coach to have his players carry out what he wants.  Either Fisher can’t control Anthony in those situations or he is exercising poor judgment and moving away from what got him the lead.  Either way, it’s wrong.

SU is a simple guy and asks this question: Aren’t there analytics that show offensive efficiency when the ball moves on offense vs. isolation style of play?   Isn’t this a no-brainer?  I know isolation play makes coaching offense so much easier but it cannot be the most productive and efficient style of play.  In a world of data analytics, what is the answer?

Those of us that closely follow the sports world know that all coaches and managers eventually get fired.  Sure, there are some exceptions where guys go out on top – see John Wooden, Dean Smith, Red Aurebach.  But in more recent times, this is the exception.  Even Joe Torre with his remarkable run with the Yankees went out after the 2007 season when he lost in the playoffs.

Tom Coughlin had a great run with the Giants for 12 years.  He won two Super Bowls and clearly cared about winning and losing.  But the reality is that ownership allowed him some extra years to turn things around and he failed to get the team back to the playoffs or even have a winning record.  It’s funny though: this year’s team may have been his least talented group but he had them in position to win a number of games late in the 4th quarter.  The problem was that his coaching contributed to a number of those losses.  So it goes.  He was allowed to resign and will be remembered as one of the Giants’ best coaches in their history.

SU does not understand how General Manager Jerry Reese is still there.  He has put together a really bad roster for several years now.  Other than Eli Manning and Beckham, none of their other players likely starts for most NFL teams.  I will be surprised if he makes it through but the Giants’ ownership is pretty loyal to its staff and he just may.

No doubt Ray Handley is chomping at the bit for another shot at the helm.  There are lots of good young assistants who deserve a shot at a top position.  SU hopes that the Giants at least retain McAdoo as the offensive coordinator given how Eli Manning has thrived in his system this season.

Meanwhile, the Jets laid a major egg on Sunday and Ryan Fitzpatrick reverted to form.  You have to figure he will be brought back next season given his strong overall numbers for the season and how few good quarterbacks are around now in the NFL.  Surely you don’t want to rely on Geno Smith for next season.

SU went back into the archives to check on the preseason Super Bowl prediction.  It was Green Bay over Denver.  OK, you say, Green Bay has no shot but Denver is the #1 seed and could make a run with a rejuevenated Peyton Manning.  I also saw that Sports Illustrated had the Baltimore Ravens winning it all.  Nuff said.  It’s  all a crapshoot.

Anyone care to make a Super Bowl match-up forecast?

From the category of “When Will People Learn” comes this  news flash this morning:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14464136/stephen-drew-washington-nationals-agree-one-year-deal

How is this possible?  If he hit .220 last season, Drew may have been able to get an $8 million contract plus incentives.  He must be kicking himself now.  SU says if he hits .160 this year, some team will come back with the 3-year long-term deal next sesason.  The bar for Stephen Drew is just lower than it is for anyone else.  Buyer beware.

SU caught last night’s UConn women’s basketball game vs. Maryland at MSG with long-time subscriber M. Levine.  It’s important to periodically see how basketball is supposed to be played by watching a true team in action.  Every player touches the ball on each possession.  There are back door cuts, high/low plays to score underneath and full-court pressing defense.  Sure, they turned it over a lot last night but this is the game that I like to watch.  No isolation plays, no jab stepping for 15 seconds, no walking the ball up the court and no dogging it getting back on defense.  Yes, fans, there is still real basketball being played out there – in Golden State, San Antonio, Michigan (see John Beilein’s style of play) and a few other places.  There is hope.

SU thought this was an interesting perspective on the Chapman trade and how a suspension helps the Yankees in multiple ways.  Worth a few minutes to check it out here:

http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2015/12/why_a_lengthy_suspension_for_aroldis_chapman_could.html#incart_most-readsports