HERE'S HOW IT IS TODAY

OK. So I'm rooting for Chad Pennington today. For one lonely NFL week out of my 30 years on this earth, I'm rooting against the Jets. Strangely, that means I'm rooting for the team I've had a burning hatred for every other year - the Miami Dolphins.

Now, with the strong winds in Buffalo today, anything could happen, and the Bills might beat the Patriots...and if that happens, and a Jets win puts them into the playoffs as a division champ, maybe I'll root for the Jets. But I can't say right now - I need to see what I decide when and if that situation presents itself.

I'm less angry with the Jets now than I was a week ago. I'm very angry, though, with Jets fans. That's much of the reason I want Pennington to win on the Jets' home field, to stick it to the people who cheered when he was hurt a year ago. And that's part of the reason I'm not going to be there - first of all because I'm not going through that hassle of attending a Jets game in New Jersey with zero parking for a team that will most likely lose (though I will do it next week for the playoffs if they win the division), but mostly because I don't want to be around more people booing Pennington.

A COUPLE OF OTHER THINGS:
-I apologize for the lack of images the past few days - I'm not at the home computer, so I'm going sans pictures.

-I thought it was funny the other day that the Southern Bureau suggested I root for the Panthers. Funny because here I am this week rooting for the Dolphins, who the Southern Bureau, if he rooted for any NFL team his entire life it was Miami, and he's suggesting I go to Carolina. For the record, I'm not looking for a new team. But I do enjoy occasionally rooting for Carolina anyway.

-I'm actually rooting against them today, now that I bring it up, because I want Atlanta to win the NFC South. One of my favorite stats in sports right now is that the team that finishes last in the NFC South one year wins the division the following year. And if Atlanta wins and Carolina loses, that will happen again.

Enjoy the final regular season week of the 2008 NFL season. And good luck, Chad Pennington.

TOP TEN STORIES OF 2008

All around the blogging world this time of year you see the rundown of the top stories of the year. Only rarely do the stories that have an impact on my life come up. So, my space, my place to put my stories - here are the top 10 stories (in reverse order) of 2008 from '200 Miles From the Citi', with a link to my initial reaction, and some reasoning:

(#11 - Just missed the countdown - Mets Fire Willie Randolph. The way they did it was really the story, not so much that they did it. Meanwhile, that whole thing seems like a lifetime ago, let alone that it happened this past year.)

#10 - GARY CARTER
A year ago I dubbed 2008 ('08) the year of Gary Carter, who wore number 8. He certainly kept himself in the news. On January 2nd I wrote about his appointment as manager of the Orange County Flyers - a return to his hometown (or close to it). He proceeded to win a championship with Orange County, then he took a job managing the Long Island Ducks, returning to my hometown (or close to it). I suspect we'll be hearing some more from the Hall of Famer in 2009.

#9 - PHILLIES WIN WORLD SERIES
This is probably on a number of year-end highlight countdowns, but it probably doesn't sting as bad on some of the other ones. I actually ended up wanting the Phillies to win (kind of), though I picked against them. I certainly didn't enjoy it when they ended up winning.

#8 - GIANTS END PATRIOTS' UNBEATEN SEASON
The 2008 playoffs were weird for a Jets fan - the Giants got hot, and the Patriots were riding their perfect season...two teams Jets fans don't necessarily love to see be successful. But I've never had a hard time rooting for the Giants, and I like Eli Manning. I picked the Giants to win, which put me in a minority...and I probably did so more with heart than head. When they won, I wasn't as shocked as most, but I was relieved. I haven't written about this much, but it's funny that when the Jets were good this year, the Giants were still much better. The teams I root for always have trouble getting the whole city behind them.

#7 - HELLO, JOHAN SANTANA
You might think I'm ranking this pretty low, but I think it belongs at number 7. Santana could only pitch once every five days, and clearly the move didn't bring about a championship. Still, it was a huge deal - and I was taken by surprise when it happened. Santana had a great season individually, and was fun to watch, but the Mets fell short, so this ended up being kind of bittersweet.

#6 - GOOD-BYE, CHAD
Had you asked me a year ago at this time, I would have told you that I didn't expect Chad Pennington to be back with the Jets for the 2008 season....thought it became more and more likely that he would as the off-season progressed. It wasn't until early August that things fell into place with Brett Favre and Pennington was let go. Of course, the disappointing thing about this story was that he had to go to the Dolphins, and I was forced to root for Miami in a season in which they were right behind the Jets in the standings all season long...until the final week, when they were atop the standings. In retrospect, this might have been the first time since Gary Carter that a favorite athlete of mine left my favorite team with some years left in the tank and I had to root for them in another uniform.

#5 - SHEA'S FINAL DAYS
Early in the season it seemed like the Mets would make the final year at Shea Stadium a waste of everyone's time, a disappointment. Then they made their run and it looked like some of the old magic was back, until the ghosts of 2007 came out. And in the end, Shea closed its doors to a disappointing season. But 2008 still allowed for a year of reflections and memories of a place that I'll miss.

#4 - THE JETS' 2008 SEASON
It's still not over, but the off-season moves, and the cherry on top - Brett Favre - came together to make 2008 a mostly successful season. Something I saw coming just as the 2007 season was coming to its conclusion, I might add. Of course, that NFC West thing didn't work out quite as well as I had hoped....but let's remember - the Jets "backed in" to the playoffs in 2004 when they lost to St. Louis on the final day of the season, but got the help they needed. Maybe they'll get the repeat situation in 2008 - they need to win, coupled with either a Patriots loss or a Ravens loss (I'm not necessarily rooting for them...but I will root for them if they end up in the playoffs).

#3 - JETS ACQUIRE BRETT FAVRE
One of my all-time favorite football players comes to my favorite team. There were mixed feelings about how everything went down, and the fact that it meant saying goodbye to Pennington, but it was a very exciting time, turning around my otherwise lackluster feelings toward the start of the football season.

#2 - THE LAST PLAY AT SHEA
Had it not been for the birth of my second child, this would have easily been the highlight of 2008 for me. My brother got the tickets, and my last visit to Shea was a memorable one. Not only was it a special moment as a fan of both the Mets and Billy Joel, it was the best concert I've been to, capped off by a dramatic appearance by Paul McCartney. I guess, all told, I'd rather have my last event at Shea have been a playoff game, but this was a tremendous night, great memories, and it far exceeded my expectations. A playoff game could have ended with disappointment.

#1 - METS MISS PLAYOFFS (AGAIN)
I hate to end on a down note, but this was definitely the defining moment of 2008 at '200 Miles From the Citi'. I don't spend my summer writing about the Mets expecting them to fall short come September. But that's what's happened two years running now. And I don't think my expectations for 2009 are going to get too high. A year ago, on New Year's, I wrote this:

I'm not here to offer predictions for the baseball season - it's too early for that. I will say that 2008 is looking to me like a must-win season for the Mets. If they don't win this year, I think it might be a while. If they do win this year, I think they might be able to defend a title in their new park.

They didn't win in 2008. I don't think I'm going to argue with myself. I'm afraid I may have been right.

WEEK 16 LIVE BLOG

11:48am - I've just decided the conditions today are right for a live blog. There are some interesting situations in today's Jets game (a 4 o'clock start...ugh) - Brett Favre vs. Mike Holmgren, Thomas Jones vs. Julius Jones - and then there's the looming playoff situation. The Jets will be playing in snowy conditions in Seattle, most likely, and the Patriots will be doing the same against the Cardinals in Foxboro. And I hear it will be extremely cold in Kansas City where the Chiefs will be hosting the Dolphins. So it will be an eventful day. I'll watch it all. And I'll write about it. After I get in from my first round of shoveling for the day.

12:10pm - Wow. That's a lot of snow. There's going to be a lot more shoveling today than I thought. Maybe I'll give you a picture later.

I'll set another scene here without a picture...but I'll still paint the image for you. All season I had been wearing a Jets t-shirt with my Jets fleece pants on Sundays for Jets games. After the two losses to San Francisco and Denver, though, I was going to switch things up, and with guests coming over last week I wasn't going to wear the fleece pants anyway. So I went with the t-shirt, jeans, and a Jets hat. That worked out, barely. I'm sticking with that outfit today - hopefully it's still lucky. I can't invite the guests back - they're back in New York. I've also been wearing my Jets sweatshirt for shoveling, so if things aren't going so well maybe I'll switch to that in the second half.

12:25pm - Here's your almost-live picture of the snow, still falling heavily:
Should be similar conditions for the Patriots-Cardinals game...at least the start of it. I think by the end of the game this will be freezing rain and everything will ice over.

1:15pm - I've fed the baby, so at least I'm not totally neglecting my parental duties today. And so much for the Jets getting any help - the Patriots are already up 7-0, and it took the Dolphins all of 18 seconds to go up 7-0 versus the Chiefs. They followed quickly with a turnover, then they had a turnover negated by a penalty. The Cardinals look terrible in the snow...looks like the Jets are going to just have to win their final two games no matter what.

1:41pm - Kansas City is showing signs of life. But to be honest, I don't think any of that matters. The Jets can't clinch this week. So I guess it'll look nice if the Jets are 10-5 while the Pats and Dolphins are 9-6, but the truth of the matter is the Jets need to win their final two games. Period. It doesn't matter what happens with the Dolphins and Patriots.

2:00pm - So a Dolphins win hurts the Patriots, does nothing for the Jets. A Dolphins loss helps the Patriots, does nothing for the Jets. What a weird week.

2:33pm - Update on the wardrobe - I'm really cold in just a t-shirt, so I'm going with the sweatshirt. Hope I don't cost the Jets a win.

Here's something good I just thought of - it's going to be bad weather in Seattle, but Brett Favre played his entire career in Green Bay, so he's got to be unaffected by it, no?

2:45pm - Out to shovel the next foot of snow that's fallen since I last shoveled three hours ago.

3:18pm - I hope the Jets are seeing what the Patriots are doing to the Cardinals (similar to what the Jets did to Arizona the last time I live-blogged, incidentally), and go out and do the same thing to the Seahawks in about an hour. There's no reason the Jets should lose today.

3:55pm - I am enjoying this Dolphins-Chiefs game. And I think since the Jets control their fate by playing the Dolphins next week, I'd rather see the Dolphins win, putting the Patriots in the tougher spot. And I need a fantasy touchdown from Ronnie Brown. So go Miami!

4:16pm - The Jets got three on their opening drive. Came close to getting a touchdown...but I'm encouraged by how they've moved the ball. The thing that scares me is that the Jets have done that on opening drives most of the season, then they go flat. So they need to keep it up.

The weather in Seattle, by the way, doesn't look all that terrible.

4:30pm - The weather is getting worse. That Seattle crowd is loud, even when the Seahawks are terrible. Good for them.

4:37pm - Through one quarter, 3-0, Jets. And I'm not feeling any less nervous.

5:01pm - My daughter may be a lucky charm. Twice I've had her yell 'Defense' at the TV, and twice it's resulted in the Seahawks fumbling (the last two drives). This last fumble came inside the 5. I will definitely be using this to my advantage.

5:22pm - I'm so friggin' angry. 7-3 Seahawks at halftime. The Jets haven't been able to move the ball since the opening drive. And the Seahawks are moving the ball pretty well. This game scares me a lot.

5:44pm - Another round of shoveling under my belt. Haven't even begun to try to dig out the cars (still coming down pretty steadily, by the way). This will be good therapy after the game, though - win or lose. I will need a distraction from the way the Jets make me crazy.

6:05pm - It's the end of the 3rd quarter, Seahawks up 10-3. I feel like I'm going to throw up...and now it's time for dinner.

6:19pm - A delay of game on a field goal...the Jets are lucky to still be down 7 right now with the ball. But they need a touchdown on this drive.

6:24pm - 6:48 to go in the game, and the Seahawks are playing like they're trying to wrap up a playoff spot. The Jets look awful. Like they have the past month. I'm so disappointed.

6:32pm - This is it - 3:06 left, the Jets have it at about their own 10. If the Jets don't get a touchdown, they can kiss their playoff hopes goodbye. And I just might root for Chad Pennington to beat them and make the playoffs next week.

6:37pm - It's not fun being a Jets fan. Disappointment after disappointment. I hope Pennington embarrasses them next week.

NO MORE CUSHION

It doesn't matter who the head coach is, it doesn't matter who the quarterback is. It doesn't matter, really, who any of the players are. Year in and year out, the Jets are so frustrating to root for.

They looked like they were sleepwalking out in San Francisco on Sunday...not a good sign considering they have a similar trip to Seattle coming up in two weeks. (And that Seattle game looms threateningly [as do all of the Jets' remaining games], because I thought they'd beat either the Patriots or the Jets. They barely didn't beat New England, so I don't think that bodes too well for the Jets. Seattle is just a tough place to play...I don't know that both New England and the Jets go there and win. Uh-oh.)

As I mentioned last week, I have a bad feeling about all of the Jets' remaining games. And with Sunday's game a 4 o'clock start, I had too much time to dread the game. And I got to reading and thinking. And in the Sunday paper it said the game was the first for the Jets at San Francisco since 1998. And I remember that game like it was yesterday. It was the season opener - Glenn Foley was quarterback for that game and one more before he got injured and lost the job to Vinny Testaverde. It was a shootout - tied at 30 going into overtime. I think Foley threw for 400 yards.

The Jets backed up the Niners in OT, before Garrison Hearst ripped off the longest overtime touchdown run in history - what was it, 96 yards? So thinking about that made me feel even worse about this game, even though there's really no connection at all.

The past two weeks have just been terrible. Bad penalties (Eric Barton last week against Denver...he's in my doghouse. I still hold a playoff 4th down roughing the passer penalty against San Diego against him.). This week Kris Jenkins jumped offsides on a 4th and 1. That's something the Niners should be doing against Brett Favre - not the Jets against Shaun Hill.

And what the Jets have done is stretch themselves to the limit of this tiebreaker they own. With the Patriots and Dolphins winning, the three teams sit at 8-5. The Jets, by virtue of their division record, have the advantage over both teams.

But all that does is put them at the top of the standings for now. The reality is, the Jets have no wiggle room. They control their own destiny, but they have to take advantage, and the only way to do that is to win their final three games. They can't rely on external help - they just have to win.

I can't believe I even mentioned the possibility of a first-round bye. The Jets are starting to look like they'll need to win three playoff games if they are going to make it to the Super Bowl....if they make the playoffs at all.

NFL WEEK 12 RECAP

Another week in the books, and another quick turnaround, with Week 13 starting on Thursday:

BEST GAME OF WEEK 12: I'm not sure there was a best game in Week 12 - the Colts and Chargers might have been the best of the bunch. Giants-Cardinals was good, too - and would have been better had the Cardinals guy caught the onside kick. And Patriots-Dolphins was pretty good...but this week was a bit short on a best game.

BEST PERFORMANCE WEEK 12: You'd think there would be a clear cut favorite in a week where two teams scored 50+ points, but I'll go with the guy whose team scored 48. Matt Cassel threw for 400 yards for the second straight week (415), had three touchdowns versus 1 interception, and also rushed for a TD. He's creating quite a payday for himself for next year.

WORST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 12: More candidates here than, say, the best game of the week. While I'd like to give it to the Eagles' offense for not being able to tackle Ed Reed (whose record-setting 108-yard interception return was not only bogus because he should have been tackled but which also gave my fantasy opponent a 5-point win rather than a 1-point win for me, costing me any shot at the playoffs...whew, it felt good to get that off my chest), there are other more deserving candidates. Such as the entire Rams team, who never showed up to play the Bears, or the Jaguars, who were down 14-0 before I even had the remote in my hand. But for individual performance, I'll go with Brady Quinn, who went 8-for-18 with just 94 yards and 2 interceptions, losing a winnable game.

BEST GAME IN WEEK 13: Steelers-Patriots is intriguing to get another guage of where those two teams are at, especially from the standpoint of a Jets fan. But I think of all the NFL games, Carolina-Green Bay is an interesting NFC matchup, as well as Giants-Redskins. The Giants are amazing each week - a division matchup is a good test for them and this is also a huge measuring stick for Washington.

BEST PERFORMANCE PREDICTED IN WEEK 13: I'm going way out on a limb here, and I'm going to serve up a Thanksgiving surprise. Something in my gut (I always listen to my gut when Thanksgiving rolls around) tells me Detroit is going to play Tennessee tough on Thursday. And I think I'm going to pick them to win. They're desperate to get a win, this is their annual show-off game, and they're not going to want to embarrass themselves. Plus, they started out strong against Tampa Bay on Sunday before folding. Maybe this week they play a full game. It's a tall order against Tennessee, but I bet there's a letdown for them after they lost their first game. So I'm going to say Lions 27, Titans 24, as the best performance in Week 13.
-Last Week: I said Tony Romo for 303 yards and 2 touchdowns. He had 341 yards and 3 touchdowns. Usually I overestimate, this time I was under. But I was right about him having a big bounceback week, so I'll take credit there.

REFLECTIONS ON WEEK 12

This is not to be confused with the recap of Week 12, which will come tomorrow. But rather, it's a quick touch-base, based on what I wrote last week, about the teams the Jets (and Jets fans) need to worry about.

Titans: Well, the Titans just aren't very good. They're good, but they're not your typical 10-0 type of team. They're kind of like the Jaguars have been the past couple of years, where you see them in the playoffs, and you wonder how they went 12-4...a solid team, but they're not going to win the Super Bowl. Not sure they'll win a playoff game. They might still get the number-one seed in the AFC, though.

Steelers: The Steelers have a tiebreaker over the Jets, so they're still the number two seed right now. And they're kind of up and down - because their quarterback is so up and down. They're the playoff-tried team that probably poses the biggest threat to the Jets the rest of the way (assuming, as I will throughout this entry, that the Jets do what they need to do).

Broncos: I'll still worry about them until I see the Jets beat them next Sunday with my own two eyes (the Jets do not have a history of success against Denver), but I'm not too scared of them. I wrote about them earlier in the year as having one of the seemingly easier schedules in the league, and they haven't done much better than .500 with that schedule. So I think that pretty much sums things up about the Broncos.

Ravens: Until proven otherwise, I'm going to maintain that the Ravens' big win was more a reflection of the disaster that the Eagles have become than an accurate portrait of Baltimore. I think the Ravens are more the team that led 10-7 at the half (good, but not great), than the team that outscored their opponent 26-0 in the second half. But that win has them sitting pretty this week.

Patriots/Dolphins: A big win for New England, beating Miami. The Patriots also helped out the Jets by handing the Dolphins their second division loss. The Patriots moved themselves a notch ahead of Miami, but that can change back next week.

Colts: I think the Colts may have finished off San Diego Sunday night, and they're certainly playing themselves back into contention the past couple of weeks. Still, they're not looking like they used to look.

Bills: The Bills won a game they had to have, but they might have sealed their fate by losing to Cleveland last week.

RIP: Jaguars, Chargers: The Chargers, sadly, might still have a shot at their division, but I think they're done. The Jaguars are no longer a team to worry about - just playing out the string of a very disappointing season.

CONTROLLING THEIR DESTINY

I've been talking a lot about how the Jets can get their first-round bye, and I've also been trying to temper my enthusiasm, because we are still talking about the Jets here.

But every way I look at it the news is good.

Even with the Jets travelling to Tennessee to play the 10-0 Titans.

And this is the story of why you want to be in a spot where you can control your own destiny, and not have to rely on help.

If the Jets take care of business in December (2 away vs. the NFC West, 2 home vs. Buffalo and Miami), especially in the division games, they won't have to worry about much else.

They are 3-1 in the division right now, with their only loss coming to New England. The Patriots are 2-2 in the division, losing to the Dolphins and Jets. And the Bills, even if their Monday night loss to Cleveland didn't cripple them, are still on the outside looking in because of their 0-3 division record.

And believe it or not, for Jets fans, it will end up being better for the Jets if the Patriots beat the Dolphins on Sunday, bringing the Dolphins' division record to 2-2. Because even if the Jets lose to the Titans, and they fall into a tie with the Patriots for the division lead, the Jets own the tiebreaker. And they will, right up until the end of the season.

And the Patriots have the tougher schedule the rest of the way...so it probably wouldn't be a tie for long.

But it's nice to know that even if they match the Jets down the stretch - they won't be able to pass them.

NFL WEEK 11 RECAP

I have a sneaking suspicion that the Browns-Bills tilt tonight will not factor in to this week's recap as one of the best of Week 11 of the NFL season. So I'm going to go ahead and do the recap without waiting for that game to finish:

BEST GAME OF WEEK 11: We go back to Thursday night for the best of the week - it never got better in Week 11 than the Jets-Patriots, and there might not be a better game all season. It should have been a blowout, so that's a strike against the Jets, but factor in the comeback by the Patriots, the last-second touchdown, and then the overtime win, and it's got all the elements of a great game.

BEST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 11: Kurt Warner has been putting up some sick numbers this year - Sunday he led the Cardinals to a win in Seattle, throwing for 395 yards on 32-44 passing. He had 1 touchdown and an interception. His receivers had great games, too - Larry Fitzgerald had 151 yards and Anquan Boldin had 186, but it all starts with Warner getting them the ball.

WORST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 11: I would say the Eagles in general, and maybe Donovan McNabb specifically. Sure, they didn't lose, so it could be worse, I guess, but a tie against the Bengals is pretty bad. McNabb's numbers were not good - three interceptions, and he was missing receivers all over the field as he threw 30 incompletions. The Eagles blew a chance to keep pace with other teams taking care of what they needed to do...and not to mention they messed things up for newspapers that had saved space in their sports pages by not printing the 'tie' column.

And then today it comes out that McNabb and a bunch of other Eagles didn't know that NFL games could end in ties. I hate when I know more about the rules of the game than the people who get paid to play the games.

BEST GAME IN WEEK 12: Since the Jets are now among the best in the league (at least for another week), my bias is going to start factoring in here - but no matter what, I think Jets-Titans is the best game in the coming week. There are other interesting ones - Dolphins-Patriots, Giants-Cardinals, Colts-Chargers - but I do think New York-Tennessee is the best.

BEST PERFORMANCE PREDICTED IN WEEK 12: Tony Romo kept it together in Washington Sunday night in his return, getting a win for Dallas against the Redskins. I think next week he regains stellar form - 303 yards passing, 2 TD - against the 49ers at home.
-Last Week: I was all wrong about the Philly defense. They didn't get a shutout (the 13-13 tie). They had 8 sacks, 0 interceptions, and a fumble recovered. I had called for at least 5 sacks, a 'couple of' turnovers, and one returned for a touchdown. One out of three there.

WHAT TO DO WITH A JETS-LESS SUNDAY

Despite the fears that have been ingrained in every Jets fan as the season winds down (like the teams that are headed for the playoffs only to have the season veer into high draft pick territory...1993 comes to mind) I have one eye firmly on the playoffs this year.

And as such, with a Sunday where I could devote much more of my attention to other teams around the league, since the Jets played on Thursday, I present to you my thoughts on who Jets fans need to worry about for the remainder of the season.

Tennessee: Their win today lifted them to 10-0 - so they will be undefeated when the Jets go to Tennessee next weekend. If Tennessee wins, there's no one the rest of the way who is too tough on their schedule- they might go undefeated the rest of the way. At the very least, they will lock up the number one seed in the AFC by beating the Jets. If the Jets go in there and beat Tennessee (and then take care of business in the rest of their fairly tough schedule - which is no given), I think they have a hold on the number two seed in the AFC. (Goes without saying even if the Titans lose to the Jets, they still have a pretty strong lock on the number one seed.)

Pittsburgh: Boy are they streaky. But by beating San Diego, unimpressive as they looked on offense, I think they present the biggest challenge to the bye week for the Jets (again - last time I'll say it - we're going under the assumption here that the Jets at least win 3 of their final 4 games at San Fran and Seattle and home versus Buffalo and Miami).

Denver: The Jets also have a game against Denver, which doesn't worry me as much as it did at the beginning of the year. I have a suspicion, not having had a look at other games that week, that this will be flexed to the Sunday night 8pm spot, so it'll be in the national spotlight. But I think regardless the AFC West winner is destined for the number four seed in the AFC.

Then there's the wild card:

There are 4 teams in the wild card hunt right now at 6-4 (could be five with Buffalo playing Monday night) - New England, Indianapolis, Miami, and Baltimore. I think one of those teams isn't even in contention for much longer, and since you can't bet against New England and Indy, it's between Miami and Baltimore. I think Miami hangs around this year, and Baltimore fades. So watch those three teams (but don't sleep on the Ravens yet).

There are also the Jaguars and the Chargers at 4-6 - one of them will likely be a non-factor in the next couple of weeks, and one will give the teams at 6-4 a bit of a run. I'm not sure which one, since they've both been such underachievers. But I'm sure they'll put up a fight.

I know it sounds like I'm talking big with the Jets only having a one-game lead over everyone else in the division, and this could all change in a week. Believe me - I'm a Jets fan - I know how fragile this is. But that's the whole point here - we need to account for every possible scenario to make sure the Jets don't fall out of contention. And as noted above, there are quite a few teams to watch every Sunday whose outcomes will affect the Jets. On Sunday, the Jets only picked up a game on the Ravens as teams with winning records all kept up the pace.

And next Sunday, the Patriots play the Dolphins. If the Jets lose to Tennessee, one of those teams will be back in a tie for first place in the division.

It's enough to give me a weekly headache.

HALF AND HALF

The second-half Jets nearly ruined my night.

The first-half Jets were awesome. They were driving the ball up and down the field, scoring seemingly at will, making it look like another easy win. The first-half Jets were the full-game Jets from the St. Louis game - and the way they were playing, 47 points didn't necessarily look out of the question.

But then the second-half Jets showed up.

And they came early - allowing the Patriots to get on the board one more time before the half - just like the Tom Brady Patriots did so well - keeping a cold crowd in the stadium and in the game - changing the minds, I'm sure, of those who were about to leave at halftime to beat the traffic, giving them hope that the second half might be more of a game.

The second-half Jets made sure that was the case.

They lost all aggressiveness on offense. Not the Brett Favre type of aggressiveness that results in turnovers, but the aggressiveness where you say, "I'm going to go out and score on you", and then you go and score on the other team. That was the first-half Jets' attitude, and it worked well. The second-half Jets, taking a page out of the Herman Edwards playbook, sat on the ball, didn't go for the jugular, and nearly paid the price.

After the Patriots tied it, the first-half Jets showed up again, drove down the field, and took the lead again. But they left too much time on the clock, and the second-half defense still was on the field, allowing the Patriots to score with a second left. That defense gave up way too many yards in way too short an amount of time, and it's probably a good thing the Jets won the overtime coin toss.

Because by that point, the first-half Jets offense was back. The defense was not.

The Jets are all alone in first place in the AFC East because of what they did in the first half Thursday night. The first half of that game showed the Jets can hang with anyone come the post-season. The second half showed their playoff stay could be short-lived.

If the first-half Jets stick around for the second half of this season, they'll have themselves a first-round bye come January. And maybe even a berth in the Super Bowl.

IT WOOD BE NICE...AT LEAST IT MIGHT

Far be it (that should be one word - 'farbeit', like nevertheless) from me to declare the Jets-Patriots game over. Sure, it looks good at halftime (looked better a minute before the half...and looks even better a minute into the second half), but I'm not going to address that right now.

I want to quickly comment on the baseball moves today, because at midnight the free-agent frenzy begins, and the moves happening already affect the Mets.

First of all, I wish the Mets had been a factor in the Matt Holliday talks. But maybe they're biding their time there - Holliday's a free agent next year, and maybe the A's flip him mid-year. Maybe the Mets get involved then.

Secondly, I feel like the Yankees stole Nick Swisher. I'm not sure he's the missing piece for them, but I feel like they didn't give up much in Wilson Betemit. I bring that up not so much because it's an earth-shattering deal, but more because there's a lot happening - I'm sure the Mets are going to be involved in some moves pretty soon.

The one that affects the Mets most is the Kevin Gregg to the Cubs deal. First of all, it involves the Marlins. And from what I heard (a brief hear, but I heard it), the Marlins got themselves a good Cubs pitching prospect in return. But more than that, the acquisition of Gregg means the Cubs won't be bringing back Kerry Wood.

And I think he might be a good fit with the Mets.

The Mets need a closer. I've talked about this before, but whoever they get will most likely be disappointing - that's just been a tough position for them to fill lately. They're not going to get a 2008 Brad Lidge-Phillies type of year from anyone, I'm afraid. But they might as well take a shot at Wood. If I'm negotiating for the Mets, I'm trying to get him a bit cheaper because of his injury history. And no matter what, he'll probably turn out to be a bigger bargain than the likes of Francisco Rodriguez.

In the coming weeks, I'll lay out my off-season wish list for the Mets. But right now, I think I'm filling that closer position with "Kerry Wood". If he doesn't fit the bill talent-wise for the Mets, he's almost a lock to fit the bill in the disappointment department.

CAN'T WAIT UNTIL THURSDAY NIGHT

I'm getting my butt kicked in fantasy football today, but the real football is making the fantasy football take a back seat.

By the end of Thursday night the Jets could have first place in the AFC East to themselves.

The Bills have taken two back-to-back hits in the division - I have a feeling it's the Dolphins who are going to be the third horse in the party, and the Bills are no longer a worry. And the Jets have their home games remaining against Buffalo and Miami.

But Thursday night it's the Patriots - and the Jets are coming off a huge confidence-builder, crushing the Rams today, 47-3.

This was your textbook "trap" game - the Jets could have been caught looking ahead to Thursday's matchup with New England and laid an egg against a lesser St. Louis team. But they didn't.

And here are the positives heading into the Patriots game on Thursday night:

1) It hasn't been great owning him in a fantasy league, but Brett Favre has played two solid real (read: not fantasy) football games in a row. He's kept mistakes to a minimum and been a big reason why the Jets have beaten the Bills and Rams.

2) The defense has been playing better and better. The fact that they are scoring on returns for touchdowns has been icing on the cake - they have been suffocating lately.

3) The last time the Jets played New England they hung with the Patriots, but they let Matt Cassel beat them. Part of that, I think, is that they didn't know what to expect. Now there's lots of film on Cassel and the Jets can be better prepared for him.

4) For the first time in five or so years it seems like the Jets are ready to take a situation they are in by the horns - and know that doing it in Foxboro will send a message.

The message comes on Thursday night - and the end result will tell whether the Jets will be playing in January as a division champion or a wild card....or not at all.

HAPPY TIMES ARE HERE AGAIN

It's November. There was frost on my car this morning when I got up to go to work. A lot of frost. It was dark at 4:45pm.

But I don't care about any of that.

Why? I hear you ask.

Because we're halfway through the NFL season. Things are starting to develop.

Thursday night games start this week and take us right through the end of the season.

And the Jets are in a 3-way tie for first place in the AFC East with full control over their destiny.

That ensures that the next two months will zip by.

And as much as I wrote yesterday about the Jets having shot themselves in the foot by losing to San Diego and Oakland, thanks to the way things have shaken out elsewhere, they're actually sitting very pretty - even when you look at the wild card.

Sunday brings the Rams...then a Thursday nighter against the Patriots.

It may be November cold, but things are just warming up with the Jets.

BIGGEST GAME OF THE YEAR

If the Jets win today, they'll live to have another 'biggest game of the year'. If they lose, they'll play out the string of a meaningless season. And they have no one to blame but themselves.

Had the Jets beaten the Chargers, as most other good teams seem to be doing, or the Raiders, as everyone else is doing, they wouldn't be in such dire straits today. But they lost both of those games, leaving themselves no leeway in this division game.

The Jets will have no shot at winning a wild card spot when it comes to tiebreakers - as it most likely will, the way the AFC is shaping up. (Although, if they lose on Sunday, I'll undoubtedly start figuring out the scenarios they need to survive.) So it's all about the division, and with a loss already to the Patriots, the Jets need to beat the Bills twice (and later, the Patriots and Dolphins another time each).

They're also looking for help tonight. Hopefully a few hours after the Jets beat the Bills, the undermanned Colts can beat the undermanned Pats, and create a 3-way tie atop the AFC East at 5-3.

And then it'll be a whole new season, halfway through.

Or the end of the season. With half a season left.

NFL WEEK 3 RECAP

First, a word on the Jets. They play the Chargers tonight, out in San Diego, where they have had an inordinate amount of success in recent years - winning games you might not have expected them to (the blowout win that started the Jets' streak under Pennington in 2002 and the playoff win in 2004 come to mind).

I don't know that the Jets will have that same kind of success under Favre. But I do know that a Jets win will bury San Diego at 0-3 in a very tough AFC. And that would be awesome.

Luckily, since the baby was born this weekend, I do not have to worry about waking up for school tomorrow...so I'm up for the entire Monday Night football game. And the Mets-Cubs, of much more immediate importance (the rest of the week will focus on the Mets). Here's my Week 3 recap:

BEST GAME OF WEEK 3: OK - I didn't see all of the football games on Sunday, with the new baby and all. I did see a lot, just not my usual hectic watching of many channels at once (I had guests, and we watched most of the Giants and most of the Mets games. The channel-flipping isn't for everyone.). But the best of Week 3 just might have been Jacksonville beating Indianapolis on a last-second field goal, 23-21. The Colts looked much better Sunday than they had, especially in the second half, and Jacksonville looked impressive marching down to the win. To be honest, there were a lot of close games on Sunday, but none that were great. I think this was the best of those.

BEST PERFORMANCE IN WEEK 3: I think this would have to be the Miami Dolphins. First of all, they said all week they were going to attack the first-time starter, Matt Cassel, then they came out and did it. The Jets' defense sat back and waited for him to beat them. The Dolphins went out and got him. Good for them. But even more than that, they used a creative offensive game plan to put up some points, and then they blew the Patriots out. If the Dolphins had been that creative on offense against the Jets in Week 1, they would have blown the Jets out too. Chad Pennington managed the game well, but it was Ronnie Brown who torched the Patriots' defense, and shares the credit with the Miami defense for the upset win.

WORST PERFORMANCE IN WEEK 3: Again, a lot of close games in Week 3 - and a lot of them shouldn't have been close. But I think the worst performance was the Pittsburgh offense against the Eagles. You have to give the Eagles' defense credit, because they put up some great numbers (2 forced fumbles, one interception, 9 sacks). But Ben Roethlisberger looked like the bad-decision-making Roethlisberger of a couple of years ago instead of the one who put up impressive numbers last year, and Willie Parker ran for just 20 yards. All they managed was 6 points on two field goals. The Steelers should never be the team that scores the lowest amount of points in the NFL in a given week...but they were in Week 3.

BEST GAME IN WEEK 4: Bye weeks start next week, so there's a smaller schedule...and nothing is jumping out at me in a huge way...but I'm thinking I'll keep an eye on Minnesota at Tennessee. The Titans are 3-0. The Vikings are lucky to be 1-2 - the Panthers looked bad on Sunday, and sort of handed the Vikings one. The Vikings were everyone's (except me) favorite dark horse entering the season, and now Gus Frerotte is their quarterback. A win and everyone's back on their bandwagon. The Titans now have Kerry Collins instead of Vince Young, and a 4-0 start would put some distance between them and second place. Tennessee is a tough place to play. I bet the Titans win. Also, the Bills should go to 4-0 in St. Louis.

BEST PERFORMANCE PREDICTED IN WEEK 4: Carolina, as I mentioned above, looked bad against Minnesota. Jake Delhomme was 17-29 for 191 yards. I think he and the Panthers rebound in a blowout of Atlanta, in Carolina. I'll go with 265 yards and four passing touchdowns for Delhomme in a 38-13 win.
-Last Week: I gave you Eli Manning for 320 yards and 3 TD's. I also went extra and gave you the Giants, Bills and Patriots going to 3-0. I should have stayed away from New England...and the Bills and Giants games were much closer than I expected. Manning was good, but his receivers didn't have the days I though they would - he had just 1 touchdown and 289 yards.

NFL WEEK 2 RECAP

I think I might pride myself on being the last recap of the week in the NFL. Here it is, Tuesday night, and I'm just getting to it. It allows for plenty of reflection, so I've got that in my corner.

Different than last week, I'm going to start with the Jets. That was disappointing. I'm taking nothing away from the Patriots, because their defense played very well, and a win's a win...but that was a game the Jets should have won.

The Patriots came out looking like a team unsure of itself after losing their star...and the Jets gave them time to figure themselves out. They practically administered CPR by marching down the field and promptly missing a chip shot field goal. (Wonder why Jay Feely was available in Week 2 of the NFL season? Wonder no more.)

The kicking game as a whole was awful - so it's only slightly surprising that there is a report right now that the Jets waived punter Ben Graham. Graham gave the Patriots excellent field position all day - another way the Jets handed the game to New England.

And the offense looked lackadaisacal. After that opening drive, they just didn't move the ball (again, credit New England's defense there). Just a frustrating game to watch overall - and the frustration was amplified by the Mets' disturbing loss right around kickoff.

The afternoon definitely took my excitement over the football season down a notch...but only a notch. There was a lot going on elsewhere:

BEST GAME OF WEEK 2: Well, since we're doing this on a Tuesday, we should include the Monday night game, because it definitely was the best. Philadelphia and Dallas scored on each other at will. I didn't stay up for the whole game - I went to sleep shortly after the half - but I had a feeling that when I woke up the score would be drastically different. It was - Dallas came back to win.

One thought on this game, though - after DeSean Jackson pulled that idiotic move, dropping the ball on the one-yard-line to celebrate - Andy Reid should have benched him. What other way is there to discourage that idiocy? I would have benched him, and made him realize how responsible he was for the loss. This is why players get away with so much - there's no discipline. I don't know what went on behind closed doors - but I suspect not enough.

BEST PERFORMANCE WEEK 2: A few to choose from - Jay Cutler and Philip Rivers both lit it up in Denver, but Aaron Rodgers had another great week, throwing for 3 touchdowns and 328 yards (0 interceptions) in a 48-25 win over the Lions. Coming out of the gates like this has probably only put more pressure on him - but he's a good quarterback. He looked good last year when he came on a couple of times in relief of Favre - the Packers didn't miss a step then, and they're not missing one now. I'm thinking, though, that in my pre-season predictions, I undervalued Green Bay.

WORST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 2: I like Ed Hochuli. He's one of those high-profile referees who doesn't really try to steal the show...he calls a good game usually. He's better known because he's a good ref than for anything else. But he dropped the ball on Sunday. Jay Cutler clearly fumbled in front of him and he missed it. But that's where the story should end.

He did the right thing with the 'inadvertant whistle' ruling. There's not much more that you can do in that situation. The inadvertant whistle ruling is that things can't change drastically because once the whistle blows, some players stop playing, and others saw what should have been called and play through the whistle. I don't know what can change in the offseason if the NFL indeed looks at the rule.

And here's something that hasn't been mentioned at all - the whole DeSean Jackson thing was an inadvertant whistle too. The ball was down, the Cowboys could have recovered it, but the Eagles would have still gotten the ball on the 1 because the play was "dead". So where's the anger in Dallas over that inadvertant whistle?

BEST GAME IN WEEK 3: I don't want to sound like a homer, but it's the Jets again. Monday night, Jets-Chargers in San Diego. The Jets' recent success in San Diego was with Chad Pennington at quarterback, so I'm not sure they still have the ability to win there. It's even tougher with the Chargers 0-2, coming off two very very difficult losses (last-second to the Panthers and then the Denver game last week). I'm hoping the Jets can win - but they need to improve on last week's performance. One thing seems for sure - the Jets should be able to put up some points on San Diego - they haven't looked like they can stop anyone.

BEST PERFORMANCE PREDICTED IN WEEK 3: Eli Manning and the Giants will go to 3-0 against Cincinnati. I bet Manning throws for 320 yards, with 3 TD's. Also going to 3-0 - Buffalo hosting Oakland, the Patriots hosting Miami, and either the Packers or Cowboys (OK, one of them has to - they're playing each other).
Last Week - I gave you Adrian Peterson for 150 yards, 2 scores, and a long one - 75 yards, I said. His long was just 29 yards, but he did have 160 yards. Like his teammates, he couldn't find the end zone.
-By the way - enough of the Vikings talk already. They're 0-2, they couldn't score on the Colts, and they let the Colts back into a game they had no business being in. That's not a team that should be favored to win anything.

WHAT A DAY!

Wow, did it feel good to have a full day of NFL Football. All that other stuff I wrote about on Sunday as taking place took a back seat to the football games. That was fun. Some good games, too. Here's my weekly recap:

BEST GAME OF WEEK 1: It might not have been the best game overall, and I certainly didn't watch the whole thing, but I saw the final couple of minutes of the Panthers-Chargers game, and I think it gets the award.

As you saw in my picks, I'm a believer in Carolina this year. I just didn't think they'd come out and win this game, in Week 1, in San Diego, without Steve Smith. But they did. It can only get better for them.

Also, on their final drive, they looked great, but when it got to fourth down, I didn't think they'd get it in the end zone. Just a great pass from Delhomme, a great catch, and a tough loss for the Chargers. No sympathy from me, though...and I'm sure no sympathy from Patriots fans.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT OF WEEK 1: This disappointment part won't appear every week, but I mentioned Patriots fans, so I had to mention Tom Brady. That's really too bad. I don't wish injury on anyone - let's get that out of the way first. I hope this doesn't come out sounding wrong in writing, but I also don't feel bad for the Patriots or their fans. Brady has seemed invincible for so long that it was incredible to see him limping off the field. I couldn't believe it. And it's really too bad. As I've said many times before, he's hard not to like. I'm sure the Patriots will be fine, and win their share of games without Brady...but they won't win it all. He's just too important to them. And now Patriots fans will get a taste of what it's been like to root for the Jets, with replacement quarterbacks, for much of the past few years.

BEST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 1: For a team, it's got to be the Falcons, because no one expected what they did. But for an individual player, it's got to be Michael Turner, going for 220 yards and 2 touchdowns as the feature back for those Falcons. Turner was great backing up LaDainian Tomlinson, and you had every reason to believe he was going to put up good numbers for Atlanta. But with their question marks everywhere else, it's fair to have not expected that much that soon. I wonder if they'll keep that up and become that surprise team out of the NFC South that comes out of nowhere to make it deep into the playoffs....

WORST PERFORMANCE OF WEEK 1: The Colts looked pretty sorry Sunday night, huh? I mean, the Bears played pretty well, but the Colts looked like they finally lost that step that you've been expecting them to lose the past couple of years. It could just be rustiness, with Peyton Manning coming back from surgery. But I'm not so sure...that looked like the Colts could be in for a long season.

BEST GAME IN WEEK 2: The Jets-Patriots game was on the schedule for so long looking like a measuring stick game for the Jets - just how good would they be? Now, it's a measuring stick game for Matt Cassel - sure, he beat the Chiefs....but can he win a divisional game?

There are a couple of other games to watch for - next Monday night, with the Eagles against the Cowboys, and Sunday night, where the Browns play the Steelers. The Steelers looked so good, and the Browns looked so bad in Week 1. If the Browns put up another stinker, people will be bailing from that bandwagon in droves.

BEST PERFORMANCE PREDICTED WEEK 2: Perhaps this is wishful thinking from a desperate (after one week) fantasy owner, but based on what I saw from Matt Forte on Sunday night, I think Adrian Peterson will slice up the Colts in Week 2. I'm going to say 150 yards, two scores, and at least one long one - maybe a 75-yarder.

A WORD ON THE JETS: I need to comment on the Jets-Dolphins game. That was the most entertaining Jets game I've seen in at least four years. Even the long stretches where nothing was happening were interesting.

Brett Favre is the reason why. He set the tone by going long for Cotchery early on, made a smart play on the fourth down toss up to the goal line that ended up being a Stuckey touchdown, and didn't make any mistakes.

Even the good though, comes with the feeling that there still might be some "Same Ol' Jets" mixed in...The ending of that game was torturous. While it was hard to be terribly disappointed because Chad Pennington looked so good in leading the Dolphins back, the Jets sat on the lead in typical "Take this game and win it" fashion.

Still, they won. And their chances of getting to 2-0 are looking a lot brighter.

GOING OUT ON A LIMB

Here are some predictions that didn't really fit in with my final 2008 standings:

-The Giants will not repeat as Super Bowl champions.

-The Patriots will not win the Super Bowl.

-There's a lot of talk about the Vikings. They won't make the playoffs. You just have to view a team like that as 'in trouble' when you see that they cut someone like Brooks Bollinger and you think...that's not a good move. I guess I don't believe in Tavaris Jackson and Gus Frerotte. And here's a telling remark - I don't believe very much in Bollinger either - that's just how much the Vikings are in rough shape at QB.

-The NFC is weak, so I think this one is me going out on a limb, but I'm not buying into all of this Saints hype either. I don't know why - they seem to have a good team. But I'm saying they won't make the playoffs.

And to answer the Southern Bureau's question, here's my quick breakdown of the Jets schedule (remember, I did write that everything there should be considered with a plus/minus two wins...but I'll stand by 12 wins for the Jets):

Week 1: @ Miami - W
Week 2: vs. NE - W
Week 3: @ SD - L (or a loss in Week 2, win in Week 3 - I think the Jets will one at least one of these games)
Week 4: vs ARI - W
Week 5: (BYE)
Week 6: vs CIN - W
Week 7: @ OAK - W
Week 8: vs KC - W
Week 9: @ BUF - L
Week 10: vs STL - W
Week 11: @NE - L (the Jets split with New England this year - it wouldn't shock me if they lost week 2 and won this one)
Week 12: @TEN - W (tough...but I think the Jets will be the better team)
Week 13: vs DEN - L
Week 14: @SF - W
Week 15: vs BUF - W (probably splitting with Buffalo this year)
Week 16: @SEA - W (another tough but winnable game)
Week 17: vs MIA - W

I know 12 wins is a lot - but that's a schedule that can produce 12 wins. And listen, I'm a Jets fan - I've been disappointed many times before. They don't usually get 12 wins when they should. But maybe this year will be different.

Here's how the recap will look per week once the season is in full swing, probably appearing on Mondays, so the Monday night game won't really factor in:

BEST GAME OF THE WEEK JUST COMPLETED
BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK JUST COMPLETED
WORST PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK JUST COMPLETED
BEST GAME IN THE UPCOMING WEEK
BEST PERFORMANCE PREDICTED IN THE UPCOMING WEEK

JETS WEEK: DEFENSE

The Jets were not 4-12 last year because of their defense. They weren't a tremendous defense, but they were OK - it was the offense that was awful. In typical Jets fashion, they gave up a ton of yards, but not very many points. Let's look at the final 9 games of last year (the first 8 they did give up a lot of points):

-13-3 loss to Buffalo

-23-20 loss to Washington

-19-16 win over Pittsburgh

-Thanksgiving Day (the worst of the bunch) - 34-3 loss to Dallas

-40-13 win over Miami

-24-18 loss to Cleveland

-20-10 loss to New England (when the Patriots were supposed to score 70, remember?)

-10-6 loss to Tennessee

-13-10 win over Kansas City

That's not a bad defensive stretch, points-wise.

The Jets were 29th in the league against the run, though, and went about trying to fix that for this year. New to the defense are Kris Jenkins and Calvin Pace. I feel like most of the defensive players are guys who can play more than one position. Pace, for instance, is a linebacker who used to be a defensive end. So is linebacker Bryan Thomas. I get the impression there will be a lot of defensive looks and a lot of mixing and matching players in and out.

Kerry Rhodes and Darrelle Revis are exciting young players in the secondary. I like watching them play. And I wonder if this unit isn't finished yet - the Jets were interested in John Lynch before he went to training camp with the Patriots. Now, he's been cut, so I wonder what about him was not enticing to the Patriots, though they did say they'd consider calling him back later in the year. But if the Jets were interested before, wouldn't the fact that he spend training camp with the Patriots make him even more attractive now, if for no other reason than information? Just throwing that out there.

The big difference between the Jets this year and last year is that the offense will be putting up some points. So the defense, I guess, has more room for error. And that's assuming they're as good as last year. If they're better, the team will be improved on both ends of the ball.

ALL OVER THE PLACE

I have lots of things on my mind this morning - I'll throw them all at you here:

Let's start with the Tampa Bay Rays. As I've been saying for a while, they're not going anywhere. The Yankees have had a couple of pretty poor weeks, so they're looking like a long shot to overtake the Rays, and the Red Sox are now without Tim Wakefield, who will miss a couple of starts - it just seems like the stars aren't aligning for them this year. I'm not sure they will even hold onto their wild card lead...but that's another story for another day.

It makes sense with the Rays - they've had this young team that has been on the cusp for a few years - if they only had some pitching, people would say. Well, now their pitching is performing. But here's what I don't understand about Tampa Bay - I get that they have Scott Kazmir, James Shields, and Matt Garza, good pitchers all. But what has gotten into Edwin Jackson? This guy has been awful his entire career - first, as a reliever, with 23 appearances and a 5.45 ERA. Then last year in his first as a starter, 5-15 with a 5.76 ERA. This year he is now 9-7 with a 4.07 ERA. Has it just taken this many starts for him to be comfortable as a starter? Or is he having one of those flash-in-the-pan seasons? I mean, Kazmir had the good stretch earlier this season where he was dominant for 6 or 7 starts in a row, but Jackson has been way more consistent recently. I totally buy into the Rays this year...I just don't know what to think about Edwin Jackson.

Now the Mets - this is their week to make hay. They start this afternoon with a makeup day game against the Pirates at Shea, before hitting the road for the rest of the week - going to Washington then Pittsburgh (a wraparound series ending Monday). That has to be 6 wins. Has to be.

Pittsburgh has given the Mets trouble in recent years, which is why I'm not automatically throwing a 8-0 out there...and also, the bullpen is bound to blow a game this week.

So 6-2, 7-1 - that would allow the Mets to take over first place - especially while at the same time the Phillies are on a west coast swing and the Marlins will have their hands full with St. Louis and Chicago.

So Friday night I was kind of interested in the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. The Wife had it on, I sat for five minutes, and it bored me. I couldn't even tell you which part I was watching because it just didn't register in my head. I kept thinking, "I'd rather watch baseball." So I put on baseball, and didn't tune back in to the Olympics until the swimming Saturday night.

Now all I keep hearing is how wonderful/exhilarating/just plain cool the Opening Ceremonies were. How could this be? Wouldn't I have been able to tell if it was going to be exciting? Is it just that it got good towards the end (4 hours after I watched) when they lit the cauldron? And that the ending was so good that people forgot how torturous the rest of the show was (like women who give birth forget all the uncomfortable aspects and just remember the joyous parts)? Someone help me out here, please.

Finally, the Chad Pennington mystery is over - he's a member of the Miami Dolphins. This is kind of like the football gods screwing with me. I hate the Dolphins. Most of that is Dan Marino residue - I guess I really don't hate them anymore...I probably dislike the Patriots more these days - but I love seeing the Dolphins lose. The Patriots is more of a recent thing - for so long they were harmless, usually joining the Jets in awfulness year to year. But the Dolphins were rivals. And I hated them.
But now I'll be rooting for them 14 out of 16 games a year. I really hope Pennington wins with them, except when they play the Jets. And the cool thing about football is I can root for Pennington to do well against the Jets, you know, 14-20, 200 yards, and throw no touchdowns or interceptions. Maybe a bunch of dropped balls, so he's not even to blame when the Jets beat them, then he can do really well in the other games.

Miami is really the best-case scenario for Pennington - he'll play right away while teaching young quarterbacks at the same time.

In Jets camp, meanwhile, Laveranues Coles is apparently stewing about the loss of Pennington. Listen, I love that Coles is so attached to Pennington...but he's got to get over it and enjoy the fact that he will have a monster season running downfield for Favre bombs. And I think he will - he told the media last week that he just needed time to get over it.

Jerricho Cotchery took the opposite approach - I don't know if it was a veiled shot at Pennington or not (I'd like to lean towards 'not'), but he commented on how hard Favre threw. He said Vinny Testaverde threw hard, but Favre's ball was "definitely the hardest ball I've had thrown at me in a long time." Just realize, Jerricho, that the difference in the speed of Favre's throws compared with Pennington's is about the same as the difference in their accuracy at certain points in the game. I hope the receivers are ready for that.