Happily leaving 2012 behind (at least when it comes to NY sports)

What a thoroughly disappointing and anti-climactic years for New York sports. We should probably call it the Year of the Letdown. This sports fan is worn out from all the stomping my heart went through as I supported teams who obviously didn't want to win as badly as I wanted them to win. It can be discouraging and sad when you have more intensity and heart than the players who are actually PAID to have, you know, intensity and heart.

2012 started off great, sports-wise. The New York Giants once again lorded over the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl. A New York victory is always sweet, but sticking it to Tom Brady is always sweeter.

Alas, Super Bowl XLVI was technically part of the 2011 NFL season. Whether or not you think it counts for 2012, it was all down hill from there.

The New York Rangers actually finished first in the NHL Eastern Conference to make it to the Stanley Cup playoffs this past spring - woo hoo! A reason to actually watch hockey and maybe finally learn what this game is all about. They made it all the way to the conference finals - one step short of the Stanley Cup Finals - only to be eliminated by the New Jersey Devils. ::Sigh:: Guess this fan girl won't be becoming a hockey fan anytime soon (especially since the NHL lockout that occurred over the off season has kept hockey fans in a permanent off season for the 2012-2013 non-season.)

The New York Mets turned in a now-typical disappointing season. I don't even know where they fell in the final standings. The Yankees showed some signs of life, taking advantage of a less-than lackluster Red Sox team and winning, yet again, the American League East. I even went to more Yankee games this year than I have in forever - four or five I think - and as it turns out, I was bringing my daughter (and future female sports fan!) in utero to several of those games...but alas, even though the Yanks won the AL East, just as they do every year, they rolled over and played dead, as they do every year, once they faced the Tigers in the ALCS. It was beyond disappointing to watch - it was excruciating. And it didn't make me feel any better that the Tigers then rolled over and played dead in the World Series. That just made for a totally boring series.

The U.S. women's gymnastic team was a bright spot in the Summer Olympics that was otherwise eh. I don't think I even watched more than a few hours of it. It just lacked the same excitement and intensity of the last Summer Olympics and Michael Phelps' win after win after win. 

The New Jersey Nets came to Brooklyn this year - that was somewhat exciting. After years of lackluster Knicks playing, I had another team I could root for! Maybe I could start watching basketball again! And then, as it turns out, the Knicks actually got good this year! The Knicks are in first place! And guess what? Even though the Nets have had an uneven season so far, they're in second place. Do I see a glimmer of hope? Maybe. But it IS the Year of the Letdown, so I'll keep my cautious optimism at bay until we're further along in the season.

Which brings us back to football. If you're regular readers of mine. You already know how I feel about the Jets. If not, you can read about it here. They were eliminated weeks ago from the post season. The Giants FINALLY showed some intensity and heart in yesterday's final week game (albeit against the down-and-out Eagles) but it was too little, too late. You can't play three of the last four weeks of the season as if you're a Pee Wee league team, you can't hand over control of your post season destiny to three other teams when you had it squarely in your own hands, and expect to make the playoffs. So even though their victory yesterday was a blowout, the defending Super Bowl champs won't even see any postseason play.

Such is the Year of the Letdown.

New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, you are my only hope!!!!

Tebow Time over in New York? (Psst...it never started)

So word on the street - and by street, I mean everywhere - is that Tim Tebow won't be returning to the New York Jets next season.

First of all, why is this news?

Why would the Jets want him back? They never used him. (Case in point, when they decided to bench Mark Sanchez in this upcoming Sunday's game, they leap-frogged over Tebow to third string QB Greg McElroy to start).

Why would Tebow want to come back? They never used him.

This acquisition never made sense to me. Yes, Sanchez struggled, and yes, Tebow struggled while in Denver, but what team with a big name starting QB (Jets & Sanchez) acquires another big name starting QB (Tebow) without getting rid of the first?

Sure, there were intriguing possibilities before the season started - with 2 QBs, the Jets could maybe run a more effective Wildcat. With 2 QBs on the field at one time, it could add great versatility to the team's offense. But did any of these possibilities pan out? Nope. Tebow spent much of the season on the bench. The Jets would bring Tebow in for one play, essentially cooling off whatever groove Sanchez had managed to get into with his offense, and then bring Sanchez back in immediately, effectively keeping Tebow from getting into any kind of groove. It was a recipe for disaster from the start. The Jets basically shot themselves in the foot before the season even started by making this move.

Tebow is a good quarterback. Sanchez...was...a good quarterback. But Tebow is young and needs playing time to mature and gain experience in order to get better. Sanchez, somehow, has regressed in recent years after an initial promising few seasons...maybe instead of inspiring Sanchez to play better and retain his starting position, bringing Tebow to the team was a great blow that threw him even more off his game. In any case, the way the Jets played this year, its obvious that they don't look to Sanchez as their leader. And a great QB has to be a leader.

So I don't know what's in store for next season - to be honest, I'm a Giants fan, so I'm still stuck on this season, hoping this year's hodgepodge, uneven team can win their next two games and make it to the playoffs - but I'd say its in both Tebow and the Jet's favor for him to end up somewhere else.

Two more weeks left in the regular season - how are your teams' postseason prospects shaping up?

Sports commercials that make me laugh right now

After a rough week for New York football teams, with the Jets being eliminated (rightfully so - sorry Dad!) from postseason play and the Giants continuing to play what is just a super uneven season devoid of any kind of passion, I'm in need of a good laugh, so here are two of my favorite sports-themed commercials right now:

Tony Romo passes Troy Aikman for the Dallas Cowboys lead in TD passes, but what does that mean?

This is going to be a short post just fyi. In last night's game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Tony Romo became the Cowboys franchise leader in touchdown passes, surpassing Cowboys legend Troy Aikman.

I am a well documented un-fan of Romo and the Cowboys. I'm not a hater. I'm just saying, let's call a spade a spade. The Cowboys might've been a great team, Aikman might've been a great player, but the Cowboys of today are not the same great team - they're an ordinary team and Romo is an ordinary quarterback. He's not a bad quarterback. He's not even a mediocre quarterback. But is he a great quarterback? The Cowboys might make it to the playoffs every year, but so do half the teams in the NFL.

Troy Aikman led the Cowboys to not one, not two, but three Super Bowl victories. How many victories does Romo have under his belt?

So, for Romo to have more TD passes than Aikman makes me wonder - is Romo playing against better teams than Aikman was? He has more TD passes but fewer wins - or at least, fewer championships, and really, that's the golden ring to all these owners/coaches/players. Or is it just that statistics are, as I've always suspected, for the most part, completely meaningless?

Thoughts?