Cue Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner.  And…. action!  All eyes will be on Chicago tonight as the NFL once again dominates the off-season.  It’s amazing how much programming ESPN devotes to the NFL during the off season.  The NFL continues to be the dominant sports in America.  SU does not claim to be an expert on all of these picks in what is truly a meat market type of process where these athletes are measured and tested every which way.  But I would say buyer beware when it comes to Jameis Winston.  He may be the most gifted athletically of the quarterbacks but we have see this act before over the years.  The SU litmus test is does he berate his teammates on the sidelines when things are going badly?  I saw this with Geno Smith at West Virginia – big turn-off.  And I have seen it with Jameis Winston.  Combine that with the more important signs of theft from the supermarket, possible sexual assault and shouting inappropriate remarks in the student union and you are asking for trouble.  But I am sure he will go #1 or #2 in this draft.

A-Rod is heading into Travis Hafner and Vernon Wells territory.  He has teased us with flashes of high performance and is now quickly heading south.  SU’s view: he is pressing over passing Willie Mays for the homerun record.  This happened to him earlier in his career when he was going for numbers 500 and 600 with some chemical assistance.  Now that he is aided only by adrenaline, it’s probably even harder for him.  SU predicts once he gets the dinger he will go on another hot streak.  The Wells/Hafner analogy is not in play… yet.

Florida coach Billy Donovan heading to OKC.  SU says he’s a good hire and a much smarter play than going after someone like John Calipari.  He may also help them keep Durant after next season.

Rangers – Caps!!!  SU once again asks the intergalactic subscriber base to weigh in here with some commentary.  Easy series against a familiar opponent?  Can you keep winning low scoring games that are decided by 1 goal?  Or do things even out at some point?

It’s been almost 2 weeks and the NBA is still in the first round of the playoffs.  They do this every year and it really causes fans to lose interest after a while.  Clippers vs. Spurs in game 6 is another must see game.  Some say that the Spurs are the Warriors’ kryptonite – that is the match up that Golden State wants no part of.  But we are a ways away from that although Memphis will have a hard time matching the scoring power of the Warriors without Conley at point guard in the next round.

Finally, SU is very excited about Michigan’s basketball prospects for next season.  Caris LeVert is returning and they are in the running for a couple of top high school prospects along with the big boys of college basketball.  Michigan hoops has helped SU get through the winter months as John Beilein coaches the right way and allows the basketball purists to enjoy the game vs. other teams which basically throw up shots and go after offensive rebounds (unwatchable).

Some are clamoring for SU jump on the Yankees’ band wagon and stop with the negativity.  It’s been a surprisingly good April for the team and their offense is right up there with the league leaders.  Long-time SU subscriber A. Grossman shares his thoughts:

“Time to review and possibly change your opinion on watching the NY Yankees. They have been hitting the long ball again with some regularity. They aren’t striking out too much. If they can show a bit more patience that would help, however there are more and more flame throwers averaging in the upper 90’s now-a-days it almost changes the game plan of trying to get into the bullpen… as the underbelly part of the opposing team. The Yanks appear stronger and more consistent in the 7th thru 9th innings. With some timely hitting and maybe like the Mets a different offensive hero every night along with our pitching staff just maybe they do obtain W’s in the mid to upper 80’s. One thing Girardi is great at is maximizing potential in his bullpen. If we only had Cano or someone like him and we’d be favorites in the east. It’s that close amongst all the teams in this division.”

Good points here – and I especially liked the use of “amongst” in the last sentence.  Girardi is an underrated manager and is masterful in how he uses his relievers and keeps them fresh.  SU is almost ready to start going “glass half full” but I am concerned about how so much of the offense continues to be homerun generated.  But I am willing to consider making my reservation somewhere in the back of the wagon.

Looks like Kevin Love is out for the entire playoffs.  Big blow to the Cavs although they do have Shawn Marion on the bench who is a playoff veteran.  Time to dust him off and put him in there.  Mike Miller can take JR Smith’s spot in games 1 and 2.  There is some depth on that roster and now is the time to use it.

Rangers – Capitals in round 2.  Apparently, they have played each other something like 4 times in the last 5-6 years in the playoffs.  No secrets here.  Sports talk radio feels it will be a routine victory for the Blue Shirts as they move on.

The Orioles are playing the White Sox tomorrow with no fans in the stands due to the unrest in Baltimore.  Brandon McCarthy, who pitched for the Yankees last year and was allowed to leave as a free agent, will need Tommy John surgery.  SU has been hard on Cashman but he clearly made the right call on this one.

SU caught the end of the Hawks – Nets game last night.  I must say that after watching the Hawks down the stretch you wonder how they won 60 games this year?  I believe Atlanta will right the ship and win in 6.  They are better than how they are playing so far in this series.

Finally, apparently the Yankees owe A-Rod $6 million for passing Willie Mays and will owe another $6 million in luxury tax money to MLB.  Ha ha ha.

For the sports fan, this is a fun time of year.  Baseball is underway and we can start to over-react to whoever is hot or slumping.  And we have the NBA playoffs and of course, the NHL playoffs which several of you are following in earnest for your local Ranger and Islander teams.  SU has a few thoughts this afternoon:

JR Smith: you gotta love JR.  He already knows that Kevin Love is likely out for several games with the shoulder injury and his team is up 3-0 and leading in game 4.  Hmmm, feels like a good time to throw a cheap shot and get ejected and likely suspended for game 1 of the next series.  SU is a JR Smith fan but that was a selfish move.  You fight all year for home court advantage and now they could easily lose that in game 1 of the Bulls series coming up.

Iman Shumpert: he played great yesterday and SU was proud of his defense and timely scoring.  He is thriving in the Cavs’ system.  Great pick-up for Cleveland as was Mozgov who is also playing very well.  SU has been reduced to rooting for ex-Knicks as they are much more talented than the current crop of players.

As predicted, the Clippers bounced back in a critical game 4 against the Spurs. Great game.  It’s a shame that this is a first round series.

SU cannot wait for A-Rod to tie and then pass Willie Mays.  The ESPN announcers were going on and on how failing to resolve the $6 million bonus issue was going to ruin A-Rod and the team.  Curt Schilling suggested that the Yankees and A-Rod agree that the team will just donate the $6 million to charity.  Er, right.  That will definitely happen.  A-Rod will tie the record this week and his teammates will pour out of the dugout to congratulate him.  The fans will clap politely but this will not be a Derek Jeter/Mariano type of event.  This will not tear apart the team as A-Rod continues to be on his best behavior.

SU likes the Mets.  Hustling bunch of no-names who play hard and are having fun.  SU subscriber S. Goldman said it well in his comment from Sunday: “We also learned that the Mets are scrappy and more fun to watch than in recent years but that they will not win 115 games.”  But they have built a nice lead over the Nationals and as they get healthy, we will see how they stabilize record-wise.

The Yankees have put together what may be the tallest pitching staff in the history of baseball.  Long-time SU subscriber J. Levine passed along this interesting read from the Wall Street Journal.

http://on.wsj.com/1FkRnpJ

Final thought: SU is not ready to throw in the towel on Carlos Beltran.  He has been too good for too long and he is not ready to become Vernon Wells and Travis Hafner.  SU says give him another 2 weeks and see if he can figure it out.

Keep the comments coming.  We are building some momentum with the blog.  Still waiting for the first under 40-year old SU subscriber to post one!

SU used to think no one was worse than Al Leiter and his overly technical analysis of every pitch.  But Curt Schilling takes this to a new level.  Please make him stop!  Bring back Joe Morgan!

The Mets and Yankees have split the first 2 games of the Subway Series and as we all know, starting pitching rules.  On Friday night, Yankee fans saw what Michael Pineda can do when he is on.  SU expects that type of performance to continue as the weather gets warmer.  Matt Harvey picked up the Mets after their 11-game streak was stopped and while he did not have no-hitter quality stuff as SU had predicted, he was dominant.  The Mets are a scrappy team with hitters up and down the line up – none of whom are necessarily All-Star caliber although Duda could get there – but they make contact and get on base.  SU would expect them to take the rubber game tonight facing Eovaldi who they must have seen a bunch of times while he was on the Marlins.

CC Sabathia is now 0-4 and I think we know what we have here.  A “solid” start for him this year will be 6 innings, 4-5 runs, a couple of homeruns and comments about needing to spot his change up better.  Read and repeat 30 times.  Girardi will say he’s an “innings eater” and “he’s our best option.”  When you are a .500 team, you roll these guys out there every 5 days (and when you owe him another $45 million in salary).

Mark Texieira is up to .254 and is red hot which is unusual for him in April.  SU does not see that lasting but he can carry the team for a while.  A-Rod is down to .250.  The team will soon converge on a team batting average for the season of .243 which feels about right.

Eduardo Nunez on the Twins is 6 for 10 playing once a week with 3 doubles.  He was once considered to be the future shortstop for the Yankees and he could no doubt be had for almost nothing.  Surely, his fielding is no worse than Didi Gregorius.  SU says bring back this long-time SU fave and put him in at shortstop (of course, will never happen as that would require Cashman admitting he made a mistake in moving him last year).

Not much drama in the first round of the NBA playoffs but that will change in the next round with much better match ups.  But don’t lose sight of the Clippers and Spurs just yet.  If LA can figure out a way today, that series is back at 2-2 and they would regain home court.

SU caught much of the Cavs – Celtics game last night.  As mentioned before, SU is firmly behind the Cavaliers in the playoffs given their New York Knicks’ lineage with Shumpert, JR Smith and Mosgov on the roster.  Plus, they play a high octane offensive style and everyone on that team can shoot.  Last night, I was surprised by how much LeBron James complains after every foul call.  Now, I am not saying that he doesn’t have a legitimate beef with the call but when he is driving to the hoop and gets hit with no call, as play moves back down the other way, he is always left standing under his basket jawing with the refs and not getting back on defense.  This happens a lot.  Plus, it then becomes acceptable for other Cleveland players to do the same thing.  Kevin Love does it too although at least he runs back down while flailing his arms.

LeBron initiates a lot of contact on his drives to the basket just like James Harden and certainly gets his share of calls.  But he needs to get over it and hustle back down the court to play defense.  He is a true superstar and this just looks bad.  It also sets a bad example to younger players watching.  Let the coach deal with the refs.  By the way, last night the refs let the Celtics basically maul Mosgov and Love on every rebound.  I don’t ever recall seeing that many jump balls on rebounds like that.  In the playoffs, the NBA refs call the games totally differently depending on where it’s played.  Been that way for years.

SU is ready for the Subway Series.  This is the first time in years that both teams are competitive and it should be a fun weekend.  SU predicts the Mets will take 2 out of 3 at a minimum and could actually sweep.  However, when you have won that many games in a row, the baseball gods start to take note and some bloop hit or call doesn’t go your way to stop the streak.  If Matt Harvey is in fact starting on Saturday, SU is calling for the no hitter.  Let the games begin.

Don’t look now but if the Yankees win today with Tanaka pitching in Detroit, both the Yankees and Mets will be in first place for the Subway Series.  Who wouldda thunk it?  The Mets’ streak is alive despite the injuries and they are getting late, timely hitting and solid relief pitching.  They are also lining up DeGrom, Harvey and Niese this weekend.  It’s only April, but the Mets have a chance for the sweep here.  SU is not sold on the Yankees’ recent offensive surge in Detroit although it appears Beltran is coming out of his funk finally.  A-Rod has cooled as expected.  Time will tell if he is doing a Vernon Wells this year and will disappear the rest of the season or if he has some staying power.  He is clearly up there guessing on pitches and the League is making the adjustment by giving him a steady diet of slow stuff.  SU Alert: Harvey could be unhittable on Saturday.

Rajon Rondo apparently banished by Dallas for the remainder of the playoffs although the party line is bad back.  Buyer beware as he is a free agent.  Phil Jackson won’t bring him to NY to make Melo happy – will he?  Although, that would be entertaining as dysfunctional players like Rondo are always even better in a major market city.  As Portland implodes, you wonder if LaMarcus Aldridge would consider NY as a destination?  He commands a double team on offense and would likely benefit someone like Melo.

Rafa Nadal just lost in the 2nd round in Barcelona on clay to Fabio Fognini.  Wow, how the mighty have fallen.  As players enter their declining years, SU believes they lose their nerve a bit on big points.  This happened to Federer for a couple of years although he has done better of late.  When they are younger, they are invincible.  As they age, nerves come into play more.

The Mets are riding high with their current win streak but you have to figure the rash of recent injuries is going to take their toll.  It’s actually good news for the Yankees who play an early season Subway Series with the Mets this weekend at the Stadium.  So much of baseball is when you play another team.  The Yankees swept the Rays over the weekend but Tampa Bay has about 11 regulars on the DL.  It was like playing a minor league team.  Now they are playing the big boys on the road in Detroit and in the cold.  Carlos Beltran’s swing appears to be about 25 mph slower if the temperature is below 50 degrees.  Last year, he was hurt and he gutted it out all year.  This year he is supposedly healthy but he is really struggling.

SU got a kick out of Joba Chamberlain’s celebration in the 8th inning after getting Ellsbury to hit a rocket to the 2nd baseman for an inning ending DP.  The ball was smoked.  Joba also looks about 40 pounds heavier than when he was with the Yankees.  Good to have him gone from NY.  These next 6 games will be very telling for the Yankees.  They avoid Shane Greene in Detroit but see Matt Harvey this weekend.  SU says could be a no hitter alert that day.

Anthony Davis on the Pelicans is the real deal.  He is everywhere on defense and has really stepped up his offensive game.  SU says over the next 3-5 years, he will be in the top 3 players in the league if not at the top.  He is worth staying up late to take a peek.

Finally, what is with the Portland Trailblazers and their laminated sign in the locker-room that said “We don’t lose to Spanish players?”  It’s one thing for someone to scribble it on the white board; it’s another to have the team make up the sign which means the coaches and management were probably aware of it.  Bad message at any level.  Imagine if they were playing a team with Jeremy Lin on it – what would that sign say?  SU note to Portland: the NBA is now an international league and some of the best players come from other countries.  You may not want to offend the global fan base and where do you draw the line?

If you have been watching the Yankee telecasts, there is barely any mention of A-Rod being only a couple of homeruns behind Willie Mays.  That is because the Yankees are refusing to pay him $6 million as they previously agreed to for important homerun milestones.  Their position is that given his PED usage and suspension, they no longer have the opportunity to market him when he reaches these numbers.

So, what happens if A-Rod does this on the next homestand?  Do they even post the milestone on the centerfield Jumbotron?  And if they continue to contest the $6 million, will that put A-Rod into a funk that shows in his performance?  Do you risk having your only legitimate hitter lose concentration and the good vibe he has this season?

SU says pay him the $6 million and call it a day.  It’s a rounding on his ridiculous contract that the team gave him.  The Yankees need A-Rod to be happy and focused.  Move on and worry about your other players hitting above the Mendoza Line.

SU has been in A-Rod’s corner right from the start of spring training and you have to give him credit for what he has accomplished so far this season.  He has done and said all the right things.  Last night, his first homerun goes 471 feet and the next one is a 400-foot bullet down the line.  To top it off, he gets a 2-out single to drive in the winning run.  He is locked in.  Will it last?  Of course not.  Especially when he is hitting in front of Stephen Drew (now that is how you protect your best hitter!).  SU advice to Joe Girardi: put him in at clean-up and build the rest of your line up around him.  Truth be told, you could pull the names out of a hat – they are all basically hitting below .200 with no power.  SU will remain interested for the next few weeks until the Yankees fall off the radar which given their starters going 5 innings a game is going to be soon.  Last night, the rest of the line up had 2 hits including Stephen Drew’s 3rd homer of the year to go along with his .165 average.  It is beyond boring and if A-Rod goes down with an injury, there is no reason to watch until Cashman goes the Knick route and tanks the season.  We are a few weeks away from that.

Mets streak reaches 6 against a struggling Miami team.  39,000 fans on a Friday night in Queens.  The Mets faithful are feeling it — this is a good story.

For the 12 people that watch the Tennis Channel along with SU, Djokovic beat Nadal in straight sets in the semi-finals of Monte Carlo today.  It’s time to include Djokovic in the conversation of best of all time.  Clearly, Federer and Nadal are at a higher level career-wise but since 2011, Novack is right there.  To be the #1 ranked player 3 of the last 4 years in this era of incredibly high quality play is impressive.  When all is said and done, his record will speak for itself.

Finally, Jordan Speith gives SU a reason to check in on the PGA TOUR today to see if he can follow up his Masters’ title with another win.  He is in contention after shooting a 62 yesterday.  SU likes that he played a tournament the following week – be the man.  Hey, you’re 21 – do you really need to rest?