A Happy Hanukkah to all.  The Final Four are set for college football and SU has no complaints with these selections.  Is Ohio State better than some or all of these teams?  Probably, but they earned their way out of the games.  Michigan State had a bunch of close wins including the improbable one over Michigan but they did beat the two finalists from last year’s football championship series (Oregon and Ohio State).  SU sees Alabama winning it all although they are not the usual powerhouse on offense that we have seen in past years.  Long-time SU subscriber T. Potter passed along this interesting note over the weekend: “Texas (5-7) has more top 15 wins this season than Ohio State, Alabama, Iowa and North Carolina — combined.”  Of course, they also lost to some horrible teams along the way but certainly an oddity in this unusual season.

The Giants found a new and refreshing way to lose yesterday.  Tom Coughlin clearly has zero confidence in his defense and went for the touchdown in the 4th quarter already up by 10 points.  Surely, 13 points is a big enough lead against a Ryan Fitzpatrick-led offense, right?  But he put up nearly 400 yards passing yesterday and the Giants collapsed yet again.  Their offensive line is in shambles and at this point, they are not even close to a playoff caliber team.  I don’t think Coughlin is coaching his normal way this year given how bad the defense is.  He will likely go but GM Jerry Reese should be right behind him as he has done nothing with this roster for 3 years now.

The Pittsburgh Steelers continue to excel on offense and they will be a scary match-up in the playoffs in the AFC.  The Pats are missing all of their skill players and at some point, you just can’t continue to plug in players even as good as Brady is.  They have now lost the top seed and won’t have the championship game in Foxboro.  The Bengals will likely have that game but Dalton is no world beater.  Carolina is rolling towards a perfect season but SU is not sold on Cam Newton.  Plus he is throwing to Ted Ginn who must hold the all-time record for dropped passes.

Baseball’s winter meetings are starting in Nashville and there continue to be all kinds of rumors about Andrew Miller being traded by the Yankees.  SU does not understand this.  Their margin for error was so small last year in winning 87 games.  They were as perfect as you could be between Betances and Miller.  If you deal Miller, his replacement won’t put up those types of numbers.  Given the absence of any other moves at least to date, this will be another dismal year in the Bronx.  It appears that Hal and Cashman are aiming for 2017 when a lot of money comes off the books.  Til then, the Yankees will be “must-not see tv” for another year.  And to long-time subscriber Evan’s point from Friday, in a free market system, the fans will stay away in 2016 and the YES Network ratings will tumble even further.  SU agrees that they can charge what they want for tickets and hot dogs but the Yankees have reached a critical point now.

Brian Cashman continues to speak very bluntly and SU loved this comment from yesterday.  Asked about Ellsbury’s benching in the Wild Card game, Cashman said “He had earned not playing that game.  Compared to the other options we had … he just played the worst out of the crew we had, so, it’s why he didn’t play.”  Exactly.

For those of you that are paying attention, there were some good comments in response to yesterday’s SU posting.

• Always nice to once in a while see that some members of the SU intergalactic subscriber base actually agree with me (thank you T. Potter).  Regarding the college football playoffs, I am not sold on Clemson and would have no  problem seeing them out of the mix if they lose to UNC tomorrow.  I actually feel that Ohio State could run the table just as they did last year if given the chance.  Their roster is stacked and the truth is that they have under-achieved all year.  The post-game comments after the Michigan State loss may have finally awakened them but alas, could be too late.  I agree that Stanford should not be in the mix.  Prediction: Alabama is the last man standing.
• I don’t think that Daniel Murphy is going to set any records with his free agent contract.  While someone will likely overpay in years and money, I think he will land in the 4 years, $48 million range.
• While David Price can opt out after 3 years, it’s hard to see why he would want to do that unless the Red Sox go into the tank or if the fans hate him which is unlikely as Price is a good dude.  But that is just a bad contract and the rest of their staff as it stands today is not scaring anyone.  It will now be interesting to see what Scott Greienke commands.
• Pete, I think in the big market cities, any price increase in tickets or beer/hot dogs are no longer noticeable.  At some point, it’s just a rounding on an already ridiculous price point.  I can see how in Atlanta it would be more of an issue.  But you have a new stadium on the way so your day will be coming shortly.
• Finally, I agree with A. Grossman that the Red Sox have a lot of holes to fill to get back to the top of the division.  Even though Toronto is directly weakened with the Price signing and the Orioles are in decline, Boston is still not there on paper or in reality.

Don’t get caught napping on Brian Cashman.  He is the master of misdirection and he keeps talking fiscal responsiblity and his “process” whatever that is.  SU predicts at least 2 major moves – not necessarily big dollar investments – but via trades as he knows what he is giving Girardi is not even 90 wins worth.  This is NY: home of the $29 2 hot dogs and a beer combo.  We expect more.

Finally, SU checked out Stephan Curry the other night on the NBA League Pass (worth the investment Knick fans as there is good basketball being played in other cities).  28 points in the 3rd quarter alone and something like 21 consecutive points for his team.  What a shooter.  How youngsters are not studying his shooting form (and if you watch college basketball, you know that 95% of them are NOT) is beyond me.  True, he has Dell Curry genes to work with but his motion is simple and effortless.  And, he passes the ball and wait, get this, moves without the ball.  What a concept!  The Warriors are a lot of fun to watch.

It’s good to see that MLB owners are no longer giving ridiculous free agent contracts to older pitchers (not).  David Price, he of the woeful post-season won/loss record, just got a $217 million, 7-year deal from the Red Sox.  He will be 37 years old at the end of his contract.  You don’t even want to do the math.  Think of it this way: if he stays healthy all year, that is $1 million per start assuming 31 starts for the regular season.

SU was relieved to learn that the Yankees were apparently not involved in the bidding.  They are trying to get younger and after the next couple of seasons, will have a lot of money coming off the books.  As I have said many times, it’s time to field a more interesting team and for the fan base, that means getting younger.  Brian Cashman seems to be on the right path now.  Until he’s not.

SU reaction to the Kobe Bryant retirement announcement: great scorer; me-first player; never afraid to take the final shot (and miss it); got his rings; and is a possible rapist.  I don’t feel he will receive the type of affection that a Derek Jeter received or what a Big Papi will get in 2016.  I admire his competitiveness but his selfishness outweighs that.  Clearly sees his skills are eroding.  Note to Kobe: please don’t come back next year with the Knicks.

Should Johnny Manziel be starting for the Browns this week?  SU has been surprised by how many people feel he should be (but not his coach).  SU asks at what point do you punish a player and make it stick?  Why is it necessary to always roll over?  SU said from the beginning pre-draft that he was a Ryan Lief type of QB.  Buyer beware.  Not a good guy.  But given his persona, Cleveland will not be his final stop in the NFL.  There just aren’t enough good quarterbacks out there and some owner/GM will always be willing to take a flyer on him.

The Giants continue to make life difficult for themselves and their fans this year.  In addition to blowing several games earlier in the year due to poor clock management and some questionable play calls, they had a chance yesterday to grab control of the NFC East.  SU had its doubts as the Giants have played poorly coming out of the bye week for about the last 400 hundred years.  They were truly unwatchable yesterday until late in the 4th quarter.  Then, when just needing to make a stop on 3rd down, of course they couldn’t and you end up with a well-earned loss.  Truth be told, they are not a good team but Eli is having a great season running a hurry-up style offense where he can change plays at the line of scrimmage – something SU has been pushing for several years.  Kevin Gilbride held him down for a number of years but he has thrived this season despite having little running game and a revolving door in the offensive line.  They still have a shot at the division as 8 wins may very well be enough.

This week’s Jets-Giants match-up is now a huge game for both teams who are on the bubble for the playoffs.  We will unlikely see any big hugs at Met Life Stadium come this Sunday.  Is it just me or does it seem wrong that Carmelo Anthony had Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh over for  Thanksgiving dinner when he would be facing them in a game the next night?  Did Bernard King have Larry Bird over for dinner?  Was Bill Russell welcome at Willis Reed’s house?  Is it just the fans who care nowadays about winning and rivalries?  SU believes that professional athletes all belong to the same fraternity in this era and there is too much Big Papi-like hugging going on.  The exception is the NFL where the level of spearing and head-hunting is scary.

The Patriots finally went down to defeat as Brady continues to lose all of his offensive weapons.  SU does not believe they will come out of the AFC for the Super Bowl as you have to wonder who will still be standing on that roster come January.  While it’s not obvious who might beat them in Foxboro (long-time SU subscriber J. Gross is putting his money on the Pittsburgh Steelers who are great on offense but give up a lot of big plays on defense), you have to think even Tom Brady needs a few of his receivers to still be healthy to get to the Super Bowl.

On the college front, all of a sudden, there is a clear path to a final 4 of Alabama, Clemson, Michigan State/Iowa and Oklahoma.  You would have to think that Ohio State belongs in that group but they will likely pay the price of just playing a bad game last week in the rain at home.  Going to the 4-game playoff system is a major improvement and college football continues to be a lot of fun to watch – especially late in games where no lead is safe.  Of course, if North Carolina beats Clemson or if Alabama is upset by Florida, chaos will reign.

SU was reading some additional articles about Robinson Cano and his season in Seattle.  Check out these comments from recently fired Seattle first base coach Andy Van Slyke:

“Robinson Cano was the single worst third-place, everyday player I’ve ever seen… for the first half of a Major League Baseball season,” the former Mariners’ first-base coach said in a radio interview. “He couldn’t drive home Miss Daisy if he tried. Couldn’t do it. He couldn’t get a hit when it mattered. He played the worst defense I’ve ever seen at second. I mean, I’m talking about the worst defensive second baseman ever, I’ve ever seen in 20 years in the big leagues.”

Followers of baseball know that fired coaches and managers usually don’t throw players under the bus like this as they are angling to be hired for another job in the future and you start to limit possible destinations if one of these players is on the roster of that potential new team.  There are stories floating around today about a possible Ellsbury for Cano trade but for the Yankees, the math doesn’t work given the 10-year Cano deal which has 8 years remaining.  You wonder if some GM will bail out Seattle on his contract.  You also wonder how Cano’s numbers will continue to deteriorate playing in a big stadium in cool, damp weather for much of the year.  The Yankees had offered 7 years and $175 million which was more than fair and probably still too long a contract.  Note to Jay-Zee: it’s not always about the money and how much is enough?

The Yankees need to not engage here.  Plus there are always the LA Dodgers who are more than happy to pick up a ridiculous contract.

I know: this is shocking news!  Shocking, I say.  Who would ever have expected this to happen after Cano left for the big money and joined a losing team?

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/11/23/robinson-cano-mariners-yankees/

The Yankees apparently feel they need an upgrade at 2nd base.  SU predicted 2 years ago that he would be back with the Yankees in a few years.  If Seattle agrees to pay half his salary for the remainder of the contract, does Cashman bite on this?

Tell the truth.  On draft night, did anyone really feel like Porzingis would turn into a franchise, stud player?  He has made the Knicks relevant again.  SU didn’t see the game Saturday night but in addition to the 7 blocked shots, did you catch the running hook shot?  Let’s compare this to most of the big men coming out of college today who have no jump shot and at most some type of jump hook.  After all their years of playing, all they can do is dunk and throw up some type of jump hook.  Porzingis can shoot the three, has a mid-range jumper and can put the ball on the floor.  And he plays defense.

Of course, now you need him to stay healthy and you need Derek Fisher to keep him on the floor in the 4th quarter.  Carmelo Anthony is being the good teammate so far and is saying all the right things.  But SU predicts the day is coming when he will not be so happy allowing Porzingis to have the spotlight at MSG.  Luckily, the team cleared out some of the knuckleheads like JR Smith who would only have made that situation worse.  This roster has mostly good guys who will put team first over ego.  SU is tuning in again to the Knicks just to see Porzingis.  Build around him and keep going younger.

SU loved the Ohio State meltdown by some key players after their loss to Michigan State.  Always good to see how players and coaches deal with losing.  SU will be interested to see how Urban Meyer deals with his star running back, Elliott, who openly questioned the play calling after the game.  Unfortunately for Meyer, he was right – the play calling was ultra-conservative and Ohio State was basically playing not to lose against an under-manned Michigan State team in bad weather conditions.  Michigan State is not good but they now have a path to the final 4 playoff.

SU prediction: Urban Meyer is going to be heavily wooed by the NFL in the off-season to take one of several open head coaching slots.  You wonder how much he will be tempted if this episode leaves a bad taste in his mouth?  I say he goes.

No doubt, few of you watched Novak Djokovic complete one of the most dominant seasons ever in men’s tennis history by winning the ATP Championship season ending event.  Consider these stats:

• record of 82 – 6 for the season
• reached the finals of every tournament he played since early January
• won 3 majors and lost in the finals of the French
• won 11 tournaments in total
• $20 million in prize money
• something like 33 – 5 vs. the top 10 players

He gets SU’s vote for SI Athlete of the Year and if they give it to Serena, that is just wrong.

Finally, lots of Brett Gardner trade rumors with the latest being Gardner to the Cubs for Starling Castro to play 2nd base.  Say what?  Give Refsnyder a chance or platoon him with Ackley and save some money.  If you are going to move Gardner, at least get a starting pitcher out of it.  Hopefully, this is just a New York Post inspired rumor with no legs.

SU caught a little college hoops action last night as Michigan opened its season against Elon College on ESPN3 (just watching ESPN3 was a major development for SU).  John Beilein’s teams always play a team first style with lots of passing and cutting – must see tv after watching too many NBA games.  But what caught my attention was the 30-second shot clock for the men’s game being introduced this year.  What a positive development!  More possessions and no more walking the ball up the court (SU pet peeve).  Push the ball and run your offense.  Why limit yourself to fewer seconds to try and score?

No doubt the 30-second clock will make it harder for lesser teams to slow the game down try and to limit possessions.  We have known for a long time that 35 seconds was way too long for mens’ teams.  Long overdue.

While the Giants came up short against the Pats on Sunday, SU was impressed how Tom Coughlin gets his teams to compete despite all the injuries.  Over the years, he has never used injuries as an excuse.  It’s always “next man up” with him.  If not for his safety’s inability to pretty much fair catch a duck thrown by Brady in the last 2 minutes, the Giants win that game.  Edelman’s injury will be huge for New England coming on top of the Lewis injury last week.  They are still the best team out there but everyone else just got a lot closer.  The Giants have a million holes but Eli is having his best year and no one will want to play them should they make the playoffs.  They have lost some killer games this year but appear to be very resilient.

The college football season is coming down the home stretch and the one thing we know is that there is no sure fire, dominant team this year.  It should be a fun playoff and bowl season with any number of teams in the mix.  Right now, it would be hard to bet against Alabama but a lot of football to be played.

Finally, for those Tennis Channel viewers out there (we are having a meeting in a phone booth next week), check out the ATP Men’s end of year tournament in London this week.  Some great match-ups.  SU says if Djokovic wins out, he should be in the conversation for SI Athlete of the Year.  His record against the top 10 players this year is something like 27-4, 3 grand slam titles and lost in the finals of the French.  He is deserving.

Brian Cashman has wasted little time as he starts to tinker with the Yankees roster.  If I were him, I would focus on the following:

• The 2015 team was historically boring.  Really.  The Stadium was dead, the team was dead and the ratings were way down.
• The Chase Headley signing was a big mistake.  The Ellsbury signing was a bigger mistake.  Headley can be moved.  Surely there is some GM that admires Cashman and thinks there was some gold in Headley based on his one big season when he clearly spent extra time in the weight room to hit 30 homeruns.  But Ellsbury is going to be a Yankee for life.  He will show some flashes of greatness during his hot streaks which will be followed by the freak injury and then the long ramp-up period to get back to some level of normalcy.  110 games a year, .280 batting average and low power numbers.  Not bad for $22 million a year.
• SU liked John Ryan Murphy.  They needed a right-handed bat and he had some pop.  McCann is the kind of player that will wear down over time now and he was running on fumes in September.  But some say this guy Hicks from Minnesota can hit and is starting to figure things out.  SU likes to root for the youngsters and is ok with this move.  Plus, we can now find out if Gary Sanchez, their top catching prospect who has maturity issues, is the real deal.  SU says worth the risk – good move and let’s see.
• Is Brett Gardner the next to go?  SU has never been a huge fan although he is a gritty player, shows up every day and gives his all.  Another guy who runs hot and cold.  If you can use him to get a younger pitcher, probably worth exploring the trade market.
• The Yankees have 2 more years of CC and A-Rod (or is it 17 for A-Rod?) and Tex is finally down to his last year.  SU will be very upset if Greg Byrd starts the year in the minor leagues.  But that may very well happen.

Bottom line: we are probably 1 year away from a major revamp of the roster.  Look for more zzzzzz in the Bronx in 2016.

SU was pumped by Jeremy Lin’s performance last night.  He played the last quarter and a half of the game (what a concept! Go with the hot hand instead of conforming to the typical player rotations.  Coaching creativity!) and played great at both ends of the court.  It’s why Charlotte is SU’s team for 2015-16.  Of course, I was rooting hard for Porzingis and he was oh, so close on that last shot.  By the way, that was a very quick NBA officiating replay over-rule.  That was not obvious at all and to me, it was too hard to over-rule.  But the refs had given the Knicks a break the night before and there was no way they were going to double-down.

SU anti-moral compass Stephen A. Smith (right up there with the New York Times’ William Rhoden) went on a rant the other day that the Knicks should absolutely not trade Carmelo.  This reinforces my thinking that they should do it.  Tell the truth: wouldn’t it be so much more fun to see them featuring Porzingis down the stretch of a close game (and paging Derek Fisher: can you please put him on the court?) than watching Melo do his jab stab thing?  If you are going to be a .500 team at best, play the youngsters and showcase something new.

Jets – Bills tonight.  The NFL should do away with Thursday night football.  The teams are ill-prepared to play these games – especially on defense.  We don’t need NFL games 7 days a week.  Time to reset on that.

SU was actually going to say that the Knicks were “once again” watchable but I couldn’t remember when that was so I changed it (I feel like the NY Post now).  I like the kid Porzingis – he has skills, put on a lot of weight just since July (no doubt hanging with Jason Giambi) and can play both ends.  Of course, he has a lot to learn but much better than I thought he would be.  I also like watching the 2nd unit – they play hard, push the ball and run the court.

Now would be the PERFECT time to move Melo’s contract for an expiring contract.  Get young and push the ball.  Have you watched Golden State and the Clippers?  It’s like a whole new game out there.  Be athletic and take advantage of your speed.  The reason the Knicks do not run is because Melo is slow and doesn’t want to run.  It’s been that way for years.  No reason the Knicks can’t be like those West coast teams and must see tv.  The 2nd unit has that capability and they get after it.  Let them play 25 minutes a game.

There is hope!  But Phil needs to make the brave move.