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The Youk era ended yesterday in a splash of agate. The Retrieval Empire announced that he will undergo back surgery and be out 10-12 weeks. That puts him returning in September, along with half the population of Scranton. By then, we will either have solved our 3B dilemma, or it won't matter.What possessed us to think you could take the most hated Redsock, shave him and suddenly change him into a Yankee? Apparently, Cashman thought Youkilis was Eliza Doolittle, and that with some Gillette Foamy and fancy new duds, the street urchin could be taught to walk and talk like a real gentleman, and even fool the AL East. But all anyone saw when Youkilis wandered to the plate was a Redsock goon in a Yankee uniform. He was no Audrey Hepburn. Kristie Alley, maybe. Alphonso never accepted him. And Youk never had a transitional, walk-off moment, when he wins the game and becomes a part of Yankee lore. Now, he is gone. Some things were never meant to be. We should ponder that today, when we watch the ever-troubled Don Mattingly manage the wrong team.

Justin Pugh - © USA TODAY Sports Images Pugh Says He Will Work at Right Tackle and Left Guard: OL Justin Pugh told the Asbury Park Press that he will be working at both right tackle and left guard when the Giants begin training camp practices on July 27. “Now, I’ve got to get in there and learn the playbook, and know what everybody’s supposed to do,” Pugh said. “I’ve talked the talk. Now, I’ve got to walk the walk.” Article on WR Victor Cruz: NFL Agent: Cruz’s Only Option to Sign Giants Deal by Paul Schwartz of The New York Post InsideFootball.com Player Q&As: Q&As with the following players are available at InsideFootball.com: WR Rueben Randle CB Prince Amukamara Star-Ledger Q&A With P Steve Weatherford: Giants Summer Questionnaire: Punter Steve Weatherford by Dave Hutchinson of The Star-Ledger Article on Last Week’s Mini-Camp: Who Impressed at Mini Camp? by Giants.com 2013 Position Preview – Quarterbacks: A video previewing the Giants’ quarterback position heading into training camp is available at Giants.com.

I received both of my 2013 All Star Game Jerseys today.Here’s what the National League jersey front looks like. It’s more textured then the Mets BPs.Here are is theI noticed something about the material. It’s different then then the Mets BP jersey.Here is the secondary ASG logo. Also both jerseys have the same patch the Mets Unis have.Oh yeah both MLB logos on the back of the jerseys are rubberThe post @mediagoon’s 2013 All Star Jerseys appeared first on The Mets Police.Related posts:2013 NL and AL MLB All Star Game Jerseys on SaleIt’s possible the 2013 All Star Game uniform set is the ugliest of all timeThe All Star Game Futures Game Jerseys

This is going to come as a surprise to those of you who haven't had a chance to talk to me; I get accused of having a very sarcastic attitude. I am not sure where I get that label from because these days I am beginning to believe if it isn't listed on a Twitter or Facebook profile then it can't be true. I do plead guilty to being a firm believer of Bill Engvall's "Here's your sign" rules for stupid people though. Stupid people should have to wear signs that just say, "I'm Stupid". That way you wouldn't rely on them, would you? You wouldn't ask them anything. It would be like, "Excuse me...oops, never mind. I didn't see your sign." 1) It's like before my wife and I moved. Our house was full of boxes and there was a U-Haul truck in our driveway. My friend comes over and says "Hey, you moving?" "Nope. We just pack our stuff up once or twice a week to see how many boxes it takes. Here's your sign." 2) A couple of months ago I went fishing with a buddy of mine. We pulled his boat into the dock, I lifted up this big 'ol stringer of bass and this idiot on the dock goes, "Hey, y'all catch all them fish?" "Nope -Talked 'em into giving up. Here's your sign." 3) I was watching one of those animal shows on the Discovery Channel. There was a guy inventing a shark bite suit. And there's only one way to test it. "Alright Jimmy, you got that shark suit on, it looks good... They want you to jump into this pool of sharks, and you tell us if it hurts when they bite you." "Well, all right, but hold my sign. I don't wanna lose it." 4) Last time I had a flat tire, I pulled my truck into one of those side-of-the-road gas stations. The attendant walks out, looks at my truck, looks at me, and asked, "Tire go flat?" I couldn't resist so I said, "Nope. I was driving around and those other three just swelled right up on me. Here's your sign." 5) We were trying to sell our car about a year ago. A guy came over to the house and drove the car around for about 45 minutes. We get back to the house, he gets out of the car, reaches down and grabs the exhaust pipe, then says, "Dang that's hot!" See! If he'd been wearing his sign, I could have stopped him before we took that drive! 6) Then there was the guy with the 18-wheeler... Wouldn't ya know he misjudged the height of the overpass... The truck got stuck and he couldn't get it out no matter how he tried. He radioed in for help and eventually a local cop shows up to take the report. He went through his basic questioning.. ok.. no problem. The guy thought, "He can't say it, he's a paid official..." He thought sure he was clear of needing a sign... until the cop asked "So.. is your truck stuck?" The guy couldn't help himself! He looked at the cop, looked back at the rig and then back at the cop and said "No I was delivering this overpass and my truck stalled... here's your sign." 7) One day I locked my keys in my car and as I was standing there with a coat hangar halfway thru the top of my window, a guy walks up and says," Lock yer keys in the car?" Without missin a beat I said, "Nope, Just washed it and was hanging it up to dry." I bring this up because there are just times when I truly wonder about people especially those who call themselves "insiders" or "experts." Seriously if you have to put it on your own profile then that should be the warning sign for those who make the mistake of trying to have a conversation with you. It is like those who when a coach is hired that they think he is also going to be the general manager too. Unless he is actually hired for that job then that should be your first clue that no he will not be making the trades or selecting who they pick in the draft. Now 90% of you I don't need to say this to so I apologize for this but for the other 10%, read this closely. The General Manager is not hiring the coach so he can also do his job as well. I would love to see whoever the Rangers actually do hire to be the next coach to walk into Glen Sather'

[New York Times] Column: Spurs’ Collapse Starts at the Top With Pop (Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:29:31 GMT) The sly smile on Erik Spoelstra’s lips said it all. If only this once, the Miami coach couldn’t wait to field questions.     [New York Times] 5 Things Learned From Game 6 of NBA Finals (Wed, 19 Jun [...]

(Editor’s note: Be aware, or beware, that our very special guest blogger is known for his creative negativity, and the colorful vocabulary with which he describes his beloved Rangers … you know, “bush-league” and “amateur-hour” and “clowns” etc.) “It Doesn’t Matter What Path” By Paulo Molina, aka “Miami Pimp” It was about a year ago that my masterpiece ( Well, toss me a beret and call me Nostradamus. The 2012-13 version of your heroes sharpened their blades, tightened their helmets, and draped their capes … but predictably managed to undermine their foreskaters. It did all start with a lot of promise, as clueless no-talents like Dubinsky, Anisimov, and Erixon were tossed aside for the second-coming-of-the-savior Nash. But like all promises with this team, the result was a broken dream. The squad sleepwalked through the season, often looking slow and disjointed as they littered the ice with giveaways, missed shots, and overall play so poor it warranted arrests for misdemeanor. Typical words like “amateur hour”, “bush league”, and “Mickey Mouse” grew stale fast as it became far too easy to attach the proverbial adjectives to underperforming clowns like the forgot-how-to-play Richards, the can’t-win-a-faceoff Stepan, and the overhyped-and-utterly-inadequate Boyle. They somehow managed to wake themselves and their legion of hopeless followers with tolerable play throughout the latter half of the season and in a torturous seven-game grind against the Ovechkin-abandoned Capitals. Lundqvist displayed his mettle by single-glovedly winning the first round, but eventually the dogs-breakfast-of-a-team ended the tease and was rightly mauled by the Bruins in what should have been a 3-and-out. The result was Sather doing what any logical GM would have in his position. Faced with either keeping a divisive brute or delving into coaching free agency, he lit up a stogie, sided with the always-en-vouge Avery, and “fired this CLOWN!” Now Croc Monsieur Alain Vigneault takes the helm. A man who has won exactly one fewer Cup than his predecessor, but who’ll be expected to reach the promise land before the biscuit even hits the ice. From day one, he’ll operate beneath the shadows of the Messiah, with every fan probing his every move … hopeful the players love him, perform for him, and play for his BS. Truth is, does any of it really matter? Tortorella or Vigneault. Richards or no Richards. The Kreider or regular Kreider. We shall toil with wishes and visions of a Cup-go-round at MSG, but know full well that no matter what path they take, these AHLers will assuredly underdeliver. It’s just a matter of when, not if, the team’s struck with the emblematic coup de grâce that arrives every spring. Which is why though we can’t be certain our friend Robert Frost ever sported a Rangers jersey, his infamous words resonate well: Two paths diverged over a frozen lake, And sorry they could not skate both And be one skater, long the New York Rangers stood And looked down one as far as they could To where it bent on the icy plane; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim Because it wasn’t as abrasive and wanted wear, Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that moment equally lay On surface no blade had hollowed thin. Oh, the New York Rangers tossed the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way They doubted if they should ever come back. So it stands to reason that I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere about a year hence; Two paths diverged over a lake, and the New York Rangers, They took the one less skated on, And that hasn’t made a heck of a difference.   From the gateway to Cuban sandwiches, shark-infested beaches, and abysmal drivers &

The sly smile on Erik Spoelstra's lips said it all. If only this once, the Miami coach couldn't wait to field questions.

Five things to learn from the Miami Heat's 103-100 overtime win over the San Antonio Spurs in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night:

Ray Allen has made more three pointers than any player in the NBA but with five seconds left and his team three points down on Tuesday, he had not made a single one in the crucial Game Six of the NBA Finals.

All in all, we can agree, Super Tuesday went pretty well. Matt Harvey, facing the odd circumstance of his start being the undercard, reminded us who’s the ace around here, absolutely dismantling the Braves with everything in his arsenal. And if you didn’t see it coming, you weren’t paying attention — just ask Jason Heyward, who heard a 101 MPH fastball go by in the first inning and no doubt knew he and his teammates were in for a tough day. Harvey made his monthly run at a no-hitter, which came unraveled on a flukey play in the seventh that was part Harvey’s fault, part Lucas Duda’s and part just bad luck. He then tired in the tropical heat, and some bad defense and relief left him with a pitching line — 3 ER over 7 IP — that in no way reflected how ridiculously dominant he was. The nightcap was the debut of Zack Wheeler, our first ’90s-born Met, and he looked pretty much like a young power pitcher making his first big-league start typically looks — he was impressive and he was also wild, struggling to control his breaking stuff. But we can chalk some of that up to inexperience and some of it to nerves — Wheeler grew up just a short trip from Atlanta, where he was a Braves fan until remaking that part of his biography with a bit of fan-ambassador sleight of hand. Emily said Wheeler reminded her a bit of Dennis Cook, the half-deaf, all-irascible reliever of a previous era, and I see that — Wheeler could easily play the younger Cook in some kind of origin story, down to the silly chin hair. His final line — 6 IP, 0 ER, 4 H — looked better than Harvey’s but wasn’t, but I mean that by way of observation, not dismissal. Though Wheeler’s complementary pitches weren’t much in evidence, his fastball sure was — it sat between 96 and 98, which is a helluva place to sit, and had befuddling natural movement on top of that. Furthermore, Wheeler’s long, lanky delivery looks efficient, repeatable and mechanically sound. Wheeler got away with a few sliders that didn’t do what they were supposed to, but that’s a privilege that comes with being a power pitcher with a thunderbolt fastball. Wheeler looked like he was getting a typical Mets baptism, receiving handshakes in the dugout with the score still knotted at zero. But before Scott Atchison could provisionally take over (he did something bad to his groin during warmups and yielded to Brandon Lyon), Josh Satin singled and Anthony Recker bashed a Paul Maholm pitch over the center-field fence. Suddenly Wheeler was up 2-0 and in line for the win, which became all but assured when the Braves started walking people and kicking the ball around the stadium, highlighted by one farcical sequence in which they all but carried Marlon Byrd around the bases. Wheeler walked off a 6-1 winner, receiving a beer shower by way of initiation, and a very successful day had come to an end. (Plus David Wright collected his 1,500th career hit. He’s 30 years old. We should all do the math, think about Cooperstown — and appreciate him more.) Given this season’s rather sparse delights, it would be a kindness to stop right here. The Mets swept the Braves for the first time in Atlanta since ’87, and Wheeler won despite the worrisome presence of Chipper Jones himself next to his parents in the stands. No really, they did and he did. And it was awesome. But I can’t help remembering that the Mets played not two games against the Braves over the course of 24 hours, but three. And in that first game Dillon Gee was as dominant, in his own way, as the prodigies celebrated hours later. Only Gee missed his location on a slider to Freddie Freeman with one on and one out in the ninth and the Mets up 1-0. It was Gee’s 101st pitch and his last — he was last seen trudging across the third-base line as Freeman prepared to vanish into the mob of happy Braves awaitin