GOODBYE TO HOLLYWOOD PARK

Last Saturday at Hollywood Park was the last time that I will see the inside of one of the oldest racetracks in this country. Hollywood Park was the first racetrack that I went to when I arrived in Los Angeles back in 1981. Over the years Hollywood Park and horse racing have lost its luster and finally the old race track could not make a profit. The last race was on Sunday December 22, 2013 and below is the results of the 11th at Hollywood.

11th race - Betfair Hollywood Park - Sunday, December 22, 2013
Off at: 6:11   Race Type: Starter Allowance			Video Race Replay
Age Restriction: Three Year Old and Upward
Purse: $50,000
Distance: One And One Sixteenth Miles On The Turf
Track Condition: Firm
Winning Time: 1:41.66
Pgm	Horse	Jockey	Win	Place	Show
5	Woodmans Luck	Corey S. Nakatani	13.60	5.80	4.60
11	Depreciable	Joseph Talamo		5.20	3.80
9	Danderek (GB)	Rafael Bejarano			3.20
Also ran: 8 - Mr. Candy Bar , 4 - Anythingscookin , 7 - So Elite , 12 - Insideondoutside , 6 - Soul Candy , 3 -Poshsky , 2 - Moonlit Meteor , 10 - Twin Six , 1 - Tommy Danzigger
Scratched horses: No Contingency  (Also-Eligible) , Buenos Dias (IRE)  (Also-Eligible)
Wager Type		Winning Numbers		Payoff
$1 Pick 3		8-8-5 (3 correct)		352.50
$0.50 Pick 4		8-8-4/8-5 (4 correct)		751.75
$2 Pick 6		1/10-9-8-8-4/8-5 (6 correct)		159,757.80
$2 Pick 6		1/10-9-8-8-4/8-5 (5 correct)		937.80
$2 Daily Double		8-5		41.00
$1 Exacta		5-11		43.60
$2 Quinella		5-11		38.20
$1 Superfecta		5-11-9-8		1,641.20
$1 Super High Five		5-11-9-8-4		10,435.60
$1 Trifecta		5-11-9		138.70
Winning Breeder: Mr. & Mrs. Larry Williams
Winning Owner: Wilson, Holly and David
Winning Trainer: Vladimir Cerin

Saturday was a reunion of sorts because many of the characters that have haunted Hollywood came together for the last weekend of this track. Below is view from my seat at Hollywood and the cast of characters have not arrived.

Sandman was in his usual spot and still giving out tips to the TVG announcers. Stu the Swim Coach  showed up and never lost a race (at least that is what he says but never shows his tickets) and he rooted against everybody's bets because he has 2 dollars on the chalk. All the stooges were there, Moe, Larry, Curly and Shemp. There were the same degenerates that will cash a big ticket for you and take a percentage. This turned into a pretty good argument halfway through the day when Sandman gave a percentage of his ticket to one of the ticket cashing degenerates. This degenerate felt he was getting short changed and Sandman got so frustrated and said, "I can't believe I'm arguing with you over my money." Mush even stopped by to explain to the masses that he is probably going to give up going to the track since Hollywood is closing. When I left for the day and said goodbye to Sandman and the other characters, I realized that the curtain has come down on an era that I will never see again. Who knows if all of these characters will be in the same spot at Santa Anita or Los Alamitos. Big question is if these same characters will even go to Santa Anita or Los Alamitos

Some of the characters

Never a dull moment

Mush

Sandman directing a Stooge

During a break in my betting, I took a walk around the track to take a last glimpse of the place. I found an area that had been closed for many years and I decided that I was going to take a look around. What are they going to do, kick me out and never let me come back?  

These areas were at one time filled with people making bets at windows with real people and watching the simulcasts on tiny tube televisions 

This track became the casualty after two companies made their money and moved on. This track's closing will leave a hole on the national racing scene as well as in Los Angeles.

Hollywood Park was bought by Churchill Downs in an attempt to lay a claim by expanding nationally. After six years of owning the track, Churchill Downs became frustrated with the State of California and it's inability to expand casino gambling beyond the Native Indians and it sold the track. In 2005 Churchill Downs sold the track to Bay Meadows Land Company and made a $120 million dollar profit. Bay Meadows was also hoping on getting slot machines through the California legislatures and that failed miserably. Bay Meadows wanted out but the real estate market collapsed, so they held on. In 2013, the real estate market improved and Bay Meadows Land Company cashed in and that was all for Hollywood Park.

Hollywood Park opened it's doors on June 10, 1938 and was a success after one year. It's stakes program attracted some of the nations biggest names. The $50,000.00 Hollywood Gold Cup was won by Seabiscuit.  Hollywood Park grew to be a national leader in both attendance and handle. The question now is which tracks will pick up more than the three dozen graded stakes races that Hollywood hosted.

Hollywood Park has become a race track that mirrored it's surroundings of Inglewood California. Across the parking lot you can see what is left of the Fabulous Forum, the home of the Lakers and the Kings but those two teams have moved to a better area with a better home. Inglewood is a blighted, tired and rundown city and that is exactly what the inside of Hollywood Park started to look like over the last number of years.

As I walked to my car, I looked back one more time and looked at the track that introduced me to California Horse Racing and all I could say was thank you for a real good time.

SQUARE PEG IN A ROUND HOLE

Just the sight of Lundquist being pulled from a game makes you wonder, "How did they get this bad?" It's a simple answer.

Last season they had a defensive minded coach and they traded away offensive style players so as to fit the game plan.  The team decides to fire the coach and get an offensive minded coach. Now you are left with defensive oriented players trying to work in an offensive style system. When the dust settles on this idea, you are left with the 2013-2014 New York Rangers.

Alain Vigneault pointed out that he is not quite sure the Rangers have the personnel to play an offensive-oriented game. Even the coach sees the problem and if he is going to succeed with this team he has to put a system into place that fits his personnel.

LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL CHAMPS

Congratulations to my high school in winning the 2013 PSAL Football Championship. The Railsplitters of Lincoln High School have won their second PSAL Championship in the last three years.

LET'S STOP KIDDing OURSELVES

Tonight the Nets take on the Boston Celtics. At this point of the season we all thought that it would be the Nets in first place and the Celtics as the also ran. Little did we know that the entire Atlantic Conference would be under .500.

Kidd has to go. I know that Kidd is dealing with a team that is extremely banged up but I do believe that he is in way over his head.

Since I have tried to install a new head coach for the Jets, here is my pick(s) for the coaching position of the Nets. My nod goes to either of the Van Gundy brothers. Jeff Van Gundy would bring a defensive philosophy to the Nets. This would be a major change from the "I have no clue" philosophy of Kidd. Jeff Van Gundy is well respected and I think he would be a perfect fit for Garnett and Pierce. Stan Van Gundy has been successful wherever he has coached and I think he could really turn this team around.

Last year Avery Johnson was axed before everything went south. Prokhorov needs to do something before the entire season is sunk.

AX REX AND MAKE BEVELL NEXT

When this season ends the Jets need to get rid of Rex Ryan and hire Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell as the new head coach. Ryan has always thought of himself as a defensive genius and he is very good on that side of the ball but his teams offense has been atrocious throughout his tenure. Let's look at some stats.

Percentage of passes completed since 2009 - 55% - lowest in the league.
Fewest yards by a leading receiver for any team through 12 games since 1986 - 347 for Jeremy Kerley
Current ranking for points scored, point differential and turnovers - 31st
Passer rating is 68.1 since 2009 - lowest in the league
13,959 passing yards since the start of the 2009 season - fewest in the league

Those are the highlights and someone has to answer for that and that person is the head coach, period.

Darrell Bevell has worked with Idzik in Seattle. Bevell has worked with Brett Favre in Green Bay, he has developed Russell Wilson and he has put Seattle's offense on the top of the list with 340 points scored to date. The Jets have had four consecutive defensive minded head coaches and you can see where that has got them. Time to try something different and that's a head coach that has a knowledge of the offensive side of the ball.

Today the Jets play the Raiders and let's see if they can muster more than 3 points.

TWO MILESTONES AND THAT'S IT

Last night in Minnesota, Andy Pettitte struck out his 1958th batter as a New York Yankee. He has passed the Chairman of the Board, Whitey Ford to become #1 on the all time Yankees list. This same evening, Joe Girardi managed a baseball team to his 600th win. Congrats to both.

This season has seen four of five of the Yankees best hitters on the disabled list, Jeter, Granderson, Teixeira and A-Rod. This has caused the Yankees to become a stagnant offense. They have a team batting average of .239, which puts them at 14th place in the American League. Their slugging percentage is .379, also 14th place and they are 12th in runs scored.

These were not glaring issues at the start of the season because the Yankees pitching staff was holding up. The pitching carried them to a 30-18 record on May 25th. Since then, the pitching staff has been inconsistent. Phelps, Hughes, CC and Pettitte have been struggling. Hiroki Kuroda, has been their most dependable starter but in his last seven starts he has been 1-3 with a 3.86 ERA.

Things don't look great for the second half. Even if Jeter, Granderson and A-Rod come back, I don't think that it will be enough to save them.

Let's enjoy watching Mo's last year in pinstripes and not worry about where they are in the standings.

IT JUST MAKES THEM BETTER

The Brooklyn Nets have become a better team with the addition of Garnett and Pierce. The Nets have become older but they have gotten better. Garnett is great at setting picks, Pierce is good at the pick and roll and Lopez is a great scorer from the middle. Add Williams who will get 15 assists a game and one of the most clutch players in the league in Joe Johnson. On the defensive side of the ball, Garnett makes Lopez a better defender and also the team as a whole. Garnett brings an intangible to the team and that is a winning attitude. The downside of this line-up is that they will not be able to keep up with a running team during the season. This has become a grind it out team.

The starting line-up is going to be fun to watch, Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, KG, Paul Pierce and Brook Lopez. Right now the bench can become an issue. Their glaring whole is an athletic guard coming off the bench. Another spot that is a question mark is Jason Kidd. Question to ponder is, would the Nets have hired Jason Kidd if they already had KG and Pierce or would of they went for a proven coach? The one thing that they did do was hire Lawrence Frank as an assistant.

The summer is not over and word is that the Nets are looking to bring Jason Collins back. They definitely can use him coming off the bench. With this line-up, I'm looking forward to the start of the season.

BARCA NEEDS TO SIGN THIAGO ALCANTARA

Yesterday in the European Under 21 Championships, Thiago Alcantara scored a hat trick in Spain's 4-2 victory over Italy. This is one of the reasons that Barca needs to re-sign Alcantara and not allow him to sign with Manchester United of the Premier League.

Alcantara only made 15 starts last year for Barca. He is competing with Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez for a spot at center midfield. Alcantara is an important piece to the future Barca team.

Alcantara has shown that he can dictate play at center, he can distribute the ball, he's a great tackler and he is fast enough to get past a defender. He has also shown that he has the ability to score. If Barca re-signs Alcantara they will be getting a quality midfielder like Cesc Fabregas or Frank Lampard.

MATTINGLY THE MUSH

Donnie Baseball is returning to Yankee Stadium for the first time since he left the club as a coach in 2007. Today he is returning as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team that has not visited the Stadium since the 1981 World Series.

Mattingly was one of my favorite Yankees so what I am about to write is not because I don't like Mattingly but an eerie coincidence that can only happen to a Mush. In my mind Mattingly is a Mush.

Let's go down the road to Mushness. In 1981, the Yankees lost to the Dodgers in the World Series. In 1982 Don Mattingly was called up to the Majors and stayed until 1995. During that time span, the Yankees did not go to the World Series, the longest draught in Yankee history. Mattingly retired in 1995 and in 1996 the Yankees go on a run of World Series.

In 2004, Joe Torre hires the Mush to become a coach. Remember the Yankees were in the 2003 World Series against the Marlins and the Mush was nowhere near that team. The Mush stays until 2007 and leaves to join Torre in Los Angeles. During the Mush's stint as a coach, the Yankees don't go to the World Series. Miraculously, the Yankees appear in the World Series in 2009 and once again, the Mush was not on the team.

We have all noticed that the Dodgers are in last place and that they are playing some bad baseball. They had such high aspirations going into this season. The owners have spent money for players, they have the best starting pitcher in Kershaw, they made some good trades and now with Puig, this team should be rolling but what the owners have not looked at is the Mush. In order for their ship to sail in the right direction, the Mush must go!!!!!!

WELCOME ALAIN VIGNEAULT

Alain Vigneault is expected to be announced as the new coach of the New York Rangers. This is good for the Rangers anemic offense.

Vigneault had seven successful years behind the bench of the Vancouver Canucks. He lead them to two Presidents Trophies and a Stanley Cup Finals. His coaching style stresses offense and puck possession. He is an easy going guy who takes his player's mistakes in stride.

He has proven that he can adapt as a coach. Vigneault played a trapping style when he was with the Canadiens. Vigneault fits a style to his players and not the other way around. That is completely refreshing to see in a coach.

The Rangers are built around King Henrik. Vigneault has Rick Nash and the untapped scoring potential of Ryan McDonough, Dan Girardi and the rest of the Rangers defense. Vigneault took the Sedin twins and made them better players and he took the Canucks defenseman and made them scorers.

Maybe now with Vigneault behind the bench, Carl Hagelin won't "stink" on the power play as Torterella pointed out to Rangers fans.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EBBETS FIELD

Today would of been the 100th Anniversary of the opening of Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. In 1913, the Brooklyn Superbas (pre-Dodgers) lost to Philadelphia 1-0 in front of a crowd of 10,000. Had Ebbets Field remained, it's 100th birthday would of been between two other ballparks, Fenway and Wrigley.

There are many reminders of Ebbets Field. Citi-Field had been constructed in Ebbets' likeness. The Mets owner Fred Wilpon went to Lafeyette High School in Brooklyn. His classmate and good friend just happens to be Sandy Koufax. The Brooklyn Nets placed a flagpole from Ebbets in front of the Barclay Center. The Barclays Center was built on the exact site where O'Malley wanted to put a new stadium for the Dodgers before he moved them to Los Angeles.

The Nets honored the 100th anniversary of Ebbets Field by displaying the 1955 Championship Flag on the court prior to their game against the Philadelphia 76ers. How ironic on the 100th Anniversary a Brooklyn team is playing a Philadelphia team, only this time Brooklyn prevailed.

The blueprints for Ebbets Field are stored in an archive in Manhattan. These blueprints helped the movie people in getting Ebbets Field correct for the upcoming movie 42.

Vin Scully, who has been broadcasting the Dodgers since 1950 tells a story of how intimate Ebbets Field was, "Because every day you would see the same people in the box seats. They'd wave up, they'd say hello. Hilda Chester, who once hollered at me that she loved me, which embarrassed me and I lowered my head. Hilda hollered up at me and said. "Look at me when I'm talking to you." It must of been a great place to see a ball game.

Ebbets Field did not stand much longer after the Dodgers left but it has taken on an afterlife that no extinct ballpark has ever done.

ROAD TO THE DERBY

The Wood Memorial and the Santa Anita Derby are two of the bigger prep races for The Derby. The Wood Memorial being run at Aqueduct in NYC and the Santa Anita being run at the Great Race Place.

The Wood Memorial has Todd Pletcher's trained horse Verrazano, who is going off as the 4-5 favorite. This three year old has been touted as the big name in The Derby. If he performs well in The Wood, he will definitely be the odds on favorite come May 4th.

Verrazano has had three starts as a three year old and he has gone 3 for 3. He has won all three races by a combined 27 lengths. I believe that his biggest competition in this race is going to be Vyjack, who has won his last four starts. I liked the move of putting Joel Rosario on this horse. Rosario is a great rider and he has a way of calming the horses down in big situation. Vyjack is 4-1 on the morning line. Post time is approximately 3:30 PM (PT).

Going across the country to the Great Race Place, a big scratch came in. Jerry Hollendorfer's trained Hear the Ghost has been scratched and will be out for at least four months. This means that Hear the Ghost will miss The Derby. Hear the Ghost was supposed to give Bob Baffert's trained Flashback some good competition. Besides Flashback, Bob Baffert has two other horses entered into this race, Power Broker and Super Ninety Nine. This is definitely going to fuel the feud between Baffert and Drug, I mean, Doug O'Neill.  Goldencents has been entered for the Santa Anita and let's see if O'Neill complains that Baffert is having his horses gang up on his one. This makes for an interesting side bar now that Hear the Ghost has been scratched. Depending on how this race plays out, all four of these horses can win this race. The Santa Anita Derby goes off at approximately 4:00 PM (PT)

NBS Sports Network is going to have these races live, they should be good races to watch, especially if you have interest in The Derby on May 4th.

OPENING DAY

Can the Yankees overcome an injury riddled roster? Can the Yankees deep pitching staff keep them close until some of the injured come back? Can the starting pitching perform as well as it did last year?

Today is going to be the last Opening Day for the great Mariano Rivera and the last Opening Day that the number 42 is going to be worn by any baseball player.

The Yankees will be taking on the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium to start the 2013 season. Their line-up is not what we are used to but it might be a line-up we have to get used to.

The starting line-up is this:

Brett Gardner - CF
Eduardo Nunez - SS
Robinson Cano - 2B
Kevin Youkalis - 1B
Vernon Wells - LF
Ben Francisco - DH
Ichiro - RF
Jayson Nix - 3B
Francisco Cervelli - C
C.C. Sabathia - P

Right now on Opening Day, everyone is in first place.

KINGS VS. CANUCKS

On Saturday afternoon I was lucky enough to attend the Kings vs. Canucks game at Staples Center. My cousins were able to secure seats four rows from the ice. They know that I am a big hockey fan so they asked me to go. When I found out that our seats were that close to the ice, I made sure that I took my camera in order to get some good pictures. I had two lenses, my standard lens and a zoom lens. I was told that the Staples Center would not allow you to bring in a camera with a lens over 3 1/2 inches long so my standard lens would have to do. As you can see in the above picture of Drew Doughty, this was how we were seeing the game.

I have been to many a hockey game in my life. I have seen the Rangers in Madison Square Garden, the Devils in what was then called the Brendan Byrne Arena in the Meadowlands, the hated NY Islanders in the Nassau Mausoleum, the Anaheim Ducks in the Honda Center and the Los Angeles Kings in the Forum and in the Staples Center. These seats were the best seats that I have had at any professional hockey game.

Hockey is an extremely fast game but being this close puts a whole new meaning on how fast it is. Most of these hockey players are basically linebackers on skates. They move so fast and their reactions are so quick, all while traveling on a sheet of ice. Sitting this close you can really feel the teeth rattling checks that are dished out. I can see why the concussion issue is a topic in hockey now. These players crash into the boards so hard that their heads can't help banging violently into the plexiglass.

Since we were sitting to the left of the goalie, I got a great perspective on Quick and Schneider's reactions to shots. Some of the shots came at them with such quickness and speed, it was amazing on how fast these two guys reacted.

The Kings ended up losing 1-0 but it was an exciting game. I left the Staples Center with a new found fondness for the game that I grew up watching and playing.

EAT RIGHT. GET LOTS OF SLEEP. DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS. AND GO LIKE HELL

To all my Jewish friends, Happy Passover!!!!! During the Seder, the four questions are asked. The first of the four questions is , "Why is this night different from all other nights?" and to really impress you, here it is in Hebrew (phonetically), Ma nishtanah halailah hazeh mikol haleilot? Well I'll tell you why this night is different from all other nights. It is because I am at the halfway point of my triathlon training!!!!

I have done a number of things in my life that I have looked back on and said, "That was fun but what made you want to do that?"

I was a disc jockey at Pace University in NYC, I was an ice hockey goalie and during one tournament I asked Gordie Howe to take a slap shot because I wanted to see what that looked like and he did. I stopped the shot, not because I saw it but because my shoulder just got in the way...boy did that hurt. I played in a pick-up ice hockey game with Marcel Dionne and Charlie Simmer, I played football and I have played rugby for Cal State Long Beach and I have run two NY Marathons. There have been other shenanigans that I have gotten into over the years, either on purpose or just by luck.

This triathlon training came about because of my workout partners and real good friends. My two workout partners are co-workers and stand-outs in our departments Women's Flag Football Team. Since I was one of the coaches, we became real good friends and training partners. We have done all kinds of workouts and they said to me, "You should try a triathlon, you would do fine." I said let me think about it.

I thought about it and the first thing that came to my mind was that I had not run any long distances since my third knee surgery nearly 10 years ago. I said that I would give a definite yes when I see how my knee holds up to some long runs. The other thing that was gnawing at me was the fact that one of the legs is a swim and the last time that I swam any distances was during the Carter administration. Really, it was the late 70s.

My workout partners kept telling me that I was making too much of it and I finally just said yes. I have been doing laps in the pool and I was pleasantly surprised that I had a lot more swimming stamina than I thought. I have been on the road for distance runs and my knee has held up, granted my times are a bit slower than when I was running marathons but I can live with it. My biking is probably going to be my strong event.

Needless to say, I am having fun training for this. The triathlon will be a few weeks after my 51st birthday, so that in itself will be an accomplishment. The other highlight will be that the triathlon is being run at my Alma mater Cal State Long Beach.

The triathlon is April 21st and I am very excited about it.

PEAK INTO THE YANKEES FUTURE

The starting line-up on Opening Day in 1989 for the Yankees was

Rickey Henderson - LF (who would be traded later in the season for Luis Palonia)
Steve Sax - 2B
Tom Brookens - DH
Steve Balboni - 1B (filling in for injured Don Mattingly)
Gary Ward - LF
Mike Pagliarulo - 3B
Don Slaught - C
Alvaro Espinoza - SS (hard not to see Jeter's name not penciled in at short)
Roberto Kelly - CF

And the starting pitcher was Tommy John.

The reason I bring this 1989 team up is because the Yankees can start to look like this through it's rebuilding process. The Yankees appear to be sticking to their guns and not spending money to replace the injured. The only player they have went out and grabbed is Kevin Youkalis. He is not the Youkalis of years past but he still is a solid ballplayer.

The Yankees are injured and old but management is not opening up the checkbook. They are going the route of, "let's see what we got." The Yankees have done this a number of times and with success, to name a few, Derek Jeter (who took over for Tony Fernandez in spring training because of an injury), Bernie Williams, Andy Petitte, Mariano Rivera and the latest one is Robinson Cano.

After some great years as a team you have to rebuild. The Yankees have done this twice in my lifetime. The Yankees of the 1970s, retooled with homegrown talent, Ron Guidry, Roy White, Thurman Munson, smart trades for Chris Chambliss, Graig Nettles and the all-time steal Willie Randolph. They then filled in the gaps with some good free agents, Catfish Hunter, Reggie Jackson and Goose Gossage. After that run, the Yankees fell on hard times because of poor management of baseball operations and they ended up with a starting line-up that looked like the one above.

The Yankees then worked from within and brought up Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Andy Petitte, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada. They made some good trades that brought over Paul O'Neal, Tino Martinez, Jeff Nelson and Scott Brosius. They brought in free agents, David Cone, David Wells and Roger Clemons.

The Yankees are in that position again and they need to look within to see what they have. They need to see what they can get with some smart trades and then they need to fill in the blanks with free agents. If Cashman and his crew can not use this baseball model then the Yankees need to get a new crew who can follow this plan.

CUBAN BASEBALL IN THE WBC

The Cuban baseball team has named it's final roster for the World Baseball Classic. The Cuban national team starts the tournament March 2-6 in a pool with Japan, China and Brazil. The Cuban team brings with them two veterans, infielder Yulieski Gourriel and outfielder Frederich Cepeda. These two make up a pretty good line-up despite losing two good players, Yoenis Cespedes and Aroldis Chapman, who are now playing in the U.S.

The player to watch on the Cuban team is Alfredo Despaigne, who is a 5'9", 176 pound power hitter. Despaigne is an outfielder for Granma of the Cuban Serie Nacional. Another power hitter is Cienfuegos' 6'3" 240 pound first baseman Jose Dariel Abreu. He was the league MVP in 2010-11.

Cuba has a young 22 year old shortstop, Barbaro Arrebarruena, who is a great defender (MLB take note).  The Cubans have a 23 year old hard throwing right-hander, Freddy Alvarez, compliments 32 year old Yulieski Gonzalez to form a decent one-two punch in the pitching. Pitching has been Cuba's weak point in past international play.

Cuba has not fared well in recent international play but they seem to have a real good team for this World Baseball Classic.

The highlight of this team has to be the Cuban manager, Victor Mesa. He is worth the price of admission. He can make Billy Martin, Earl Weaver and Lou Piniella blush with some of his arguments and antics with the umpires. During the Havana-Mantanza's play-off game that we attended, Mesa got so aggravated with his pitcher, he came bolting out of the Matanza's dugout and basically yanked the ball from the pitcher and screamed at him to be gone. Besides his animation as a manager, Mesa is a baseball icon in Cuba.

I was impressed with the talent of the players in the playoff game that we attended and I am looking forward to seeing the talent for the national team.

The Cubans are such a passionate people, watch when one of the Havana Industriales' gets plunked in the back. The shenanigans go on for a while.

FAN FAVORITE RUPP, GONE

Mike Rupp was a fan favorite at the Garden but he has become the first casualty in the first shake-up of the season for the Rangers.

The Rangers traded Rupp to the Minnesota Wild for Darroll Powe and Nick Palmieri.

The Rangers needed another forward and Powe fits the bill. With Callahan out with a dislocated shoulder, the Rangers needed more help than Rupp was able to give. Palmieri will be assigned to Connecticut in the AHL.

On Tuesday, we get to see the first game between the Rangers and the Devils. Always fun and excitement when they meet.

HAFNER AND RIVERA SIGN DEALS

Travis Hafner signed a one year deal with the Yankees on Friday. He is basically the new Ibanez except he can't play the outfield. He has had a good number of injuries over the last five years so I do believe we will not be seeing too much of him this year. His only saving grace is the fact that he will only be used against right handers.

Juan Rivera has signed a minor league deal. We might see him on opening day due to the unpredictable state of the roster.

The Yankees signed a young Dominican catcher, Gary Sanchez, who will be in the minors for a couple of years. He looks like he can hit and he has a real good arm behind the plate. If Austin Romine doesn't ever pan out then the next look has got to go to Sanchez.

Michael Pineda is throwing from a short mound right now but I think Pineda will not be seen until late this season, if at all. Big question for him is how his shoulder will fair after the surgery. If he has lost his speed on his fastball then Pineda is not the number 2 starter that the Yankees traded for. Right now anything you get from Pineda is a plus.

The WBC starts in March. I am looking forward to watching the Cuban baseball team play. Their first game is March 4 against China.

NO CONFIDENCE IN THE JETS

I have been waiting to comment on the state of the Jets and after some moves that the team has made, I am going to weigh in.

First of all, we have to start with the team as a whole and basically they are awful. From top to bottom they are a terrible team. We can sit and delve into the reasons on why they are a terrible team and how the development of their young players has stalled but the bottom line is that the Jets need to move forward. They have become another of many teams that has to rebuild.

The Jets are in a position to trade some of their individual stars like Revis. As much as I like Revis, the Jets need to get some high level picks for the talented Revis. One Revis will not turn this team around but numerous picks can start the rebuilding process. Just look at what Dallas did when it got rid of Herchel Walker and got a landslide of young talent.

Sounds like a decent start but this takes us to management and the so-called player personnel. The Jets are completely awful there too. Yes, even after they have hired a new GM, a new Offensive Coordinator and a new QB coach. The Jets franchise being who they are and who they have hired and by retaining Ryan gives me a semblance of absolute no confidence.

How do you fire your GM because of his incompetence in evaluating football talent but you keep your head coach? The Jets threw away one of their smelly shoes but not the pair which basically means that the room is still going to be smelly.

It will be a while before the Jets are relevant and I expect the season ahead to be more of the same.

BROOK LOPEZ, ALL-STAR

Congratulations go to Brook Lopez after he was named as a reserve on the Eastern Conference All-Star  team. He becomes the only Net to be named to the All-Star team.

Lopez will be replacing Rajon Rondo, who is out for the season with a torn ACL. Lopez who is averaging 18.6 points was passed over by the fans and the coaches while front court players with less offensive punch were being picked. (Garnett, Bosch, Noah and Chandler)

A-FRAUD

We can go round and round with this whole Rodriquez steroid mess. The man is a complete liar and I can not understand how the Yankees can waiver on if they can void his contract.

He lied to his bosses, he lied to his team and he lied to the city of New York and it's fans. Enough already. He conned the Yankees out of the most exuberant salary ever given to a baseball player and the Yankees should be ashamed of themselves but if they allow him to continue to be employed, then the Yankees deserve everything they get.

If Steinbrenner was still alive, he would of already tore up A-Fraud's contract and would of sued him for being such an asshole. A-Fraud must go if the Yankees organization wants to save any sort of face.

HORSE RACING NEWS

At Santa Anita Racetrack on Saturday, Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens, rode 5-1 Branding to a 2 1/2 length win. This was Gary Stevens' third mount after he came out of a seven year retirement.

Gary Stevens has won three Kentucky Derby races and eight Breeder Cup races. He retired with 4,888 wins and this is his first win after he came out of retirement on January 6, 2013.

Besides riding in his assigned races, Gary Stevens will also being doing analysis for HRTV and NBC.

The Road to the Kentucky Derby will now be determined by a point system in qualifying prep races. The idea behind this is to gain more interest leading up to the Derby. The system is similar to a regular season, then a playoff and then the Derby.

Churchill Downs has selected 36 races this year to lead up to the Derby. These races are divided into four phases. The first phase is called the Kentucky Derby Prep Season, spanning stakes races from late September to February. These races will have a point system of 10-4-2-1 for the top four finishers in each race.

After these races the Kentucky Derby Championship races will be held. This will be the more traditional prep races and will have a 50-20-10-5 point system. After these races, phase three will consist of the biggest races leading up to the Derby, the Florida Derby, the Wood Memorial, Santa Anita Derby, the Arkansas Derby, Blue Grass Stakes, the Louisiana Derby and the UAE Derby in Dubai. These races will have a 100-40-20-10 point system. The last phase is a wild card phase, two races right before the Derby that can put a horse on the bubble to qualify for one of the 20 post positions.

As of today Goldencents, trained by Doug O'Neill, is leading with 24 points. Todd Pletchers horse, Shanghai Bobby, is in second with 20 points.

The next race is the Lecomte on January 19, 2013 at the Fair Grounds in Louisiana.

BARCA ON 60 MINUTES

Interesting piece on Barcelona FC on 60 minutes. Will Messi be named Player of the Year today?