Lucie yesterday, and can you believe it, he was optimistic about the Mets chances in 2010.He must be new to the system. Something like that is almost laughable when it comes to the New York Mets.I think some time in the mid-70s the sitting mayor of New York made it illegal for the words “Mets” and “optimistic” to appear in the same sentence.“I obviously knew the performance record-wise last year wasn’t what people wanted, but I also understood there were a lot of injuries,” Bay said yesterday at training camp. He’s the motor the drives the second unit, and Phil Jackson’s choice to finish games, because the Lakers are most effective when he’s on the court.The Lakers are also most effective with him off the court He’s their glue guy The center of their pregame ritual Ron Artest’s best friend The most beloved Laker Lamar Odom has arrived He’s a winner A champion The right choice for the Lakers, and always has been.. Andy Reid coached teams have received a reputation for NOT doing this the past few years. I’m not excited that he’s still the coach, but I have to give credit when it’s due. As soon as the Babel transfer collapsed, the move was a no-goer.Bruce might have been tempted to sell had a realistic offer been lodged, but with Sunderland struggling in the league, keeping Jones was the smart move…for now, at least.Rating?7/10.  It is amazing just how consistent the Lions have been over the last two or three decades. It’s no wonder they only have one playoff win in 10 games played.I read this article about Lomas Brown on the Detroit Free Press web site. He’s quoted as saying when Darryl Rogers was head coach of the Lions in 1985, he was ”spaced out.”You remember Rogers, right? Here’s one of his now famous quotes “What does a guy have to do to get fired around here?” Not a surprising question when you consider his 18-40 record from 1985 to 1988.I had to laugh reading Brown’s recollection of just how spaced out Rogers was. Apparently, Rogers was more interested on how many pigeons were on top the Pontiac Silverdome rather than working on strategy for the upcoming game. Brown considers Rogers lunacy the epitome of what has gone wrong with the Lions since the 1980’s.Granted, Wayne Fontes came in and some tiny dude named Barry Sanders, which gave Lomas the chance to block for one of the greatest running backs ever to have played the game.Brown also recounted just how effective of a running back Barry was. If the offense was set with five lineman and the defense brought 6, Lomas knew that if the 5 lineman did their assignments, Barry could take care of the sixth. Some of the classic highlight films are of Sanders faking the jocks off of players in the open field.After reading the article and remembering what a great left tackle Brown was, I started to feel frustration again. The Lions had plenty to build on during the Sanders years but they failed to take the next step.Sanders was an outstanding running back, no question. But the playbook, for many years, consisted of run Barry run. Keep showing defenses the same thing and eventually, they will figure it out.Can you imagine what kind of seasons the Lions might have had if there had been a decent tight-end on the team? In the 10 years Barry played, the Lions had 14 tight ends for a collective 167 catches and 1,428 yards. Included on the roster were stellar names like Dave Little, Eugene Riley, Jimmie Johnson, Ron Hall, Pete Metzallars and my personal favorite, Pete Chryplewicz. Granted, David Sloan played in the latter years of the 90’s and even made the Pro-Bowl but by then, Barry had grown weary of Detroit’s non-commitment to winning.And that’s what it boils down to, doesn’t it? Outside of the 1990’s and some occasional spurts in previous decades and of course the last 10 years can anyone clearly state that the Lions were comitted to winning?As the self-appointed Master of the Obvious, I will state that last year’s 2-14 season was nothing to brag about. And yet, despite the dismal season, fans are finding reasons to believe in this team. Could it be we might finally have the quarterback the Lions have been seeking for decades? Both Barry Sanders  and ex-Lion head coach Steve Marucci  feel that Stafford can be the savior of the Lions, provided he gets the support he needs.Which is where the Lions have failed miserably over and over again. They did it with Billy Simms and Barry Sanders. Until Stafford was drafted, you could make a case of the Lions failing with Calvin Johnson. But Detriot has a great chance to make all those bad memories go away. I fully expect 2010, to be the year the Raiders stop mismanaging the running backs. He didn’t get the decision.Yes, starting pitchers went more than six or seven innings, and giving up three runs in six innings was not effective pitching.Two Home RunsDanny Cater, not known for his power, led off the White Sox 15th inning with a home run off Pete Mikkelsen.
 He makes his entire team better as players and he takes the blame for every loss with no haste towards any of his teammate. It?s all but certain that NOLA will go defense, and the defending champs could be getting a steal with Weatherspoon.. Five minutes for a penalty turn, the other 10 when BMW Oracle Racing caught up to Alinghi 15 minutes into the race and flew ahead at 23.5 knots.Essentially, USA-17 wanted to prove that it was “The Ultimate Sailing Machine.”It got its wish.While Alinghi performed a bit better in the second race by taking a lead between the start and the windward mark, they were penalized for heading inside the start box before the five-minute warning signal began.Coutts’s BMW Oracle Racing crew closed in, eventually took over at the mark, and never looked back.Powered by a superior wing weapon tri platform, USA-17 made a push to stretch towards the finish line after light winds forced them to make a gybe.By the time Alinghi crossed the line, they finished 5:26 behind the USA.Time-wise, these Swiss were Swiss cheese. left town which suggests that possibility is slim.If he could relieve the pressure on Noel Devine while providing a different kind of rushing attack, wouldn’t everyone win?I’m not saying make him the next Charles Woodson, but something along those lines would help WVU get the most out of its most intriguing commitment..
John?s is slowly fading away. Washington Coming off a win against California, the Huskies looked like they could compete with the Bears for the Pac-10 title. At age 34, he still has a good chance of upsetting the field and earning a medal.The Americans best medal chance for the men is in the doubles, where Brian Martin and Mark Grimmette bring a ton of experience to the task.The Luge event is a fast, dangerous event that is incredibly exciting to watch. He just hopes the NFL owners and coaches aren?t as shortsighted as he was. Brown was one of Dan LeFevour?s favorite targets and served double-duty for the 23rd-rankedChippewas.An early-entry prospect and possible mid-to-late round pick, he would have probably fared much higher if he returned for his final year.He?s been clocked in the low 4.4 range and was an outstanding return-specialist for the Chippewas. Peyton Manning may have a Super Bowl Trophy, but because of a bad decision in Super Bowl XLIV, he’ll also be remembered for an “almost.”The “almost” came in the form of a fourth quarter pick six to Tracy Porter. In 1987, Drexler was one of only three NBA players (Magic and Larry were the others) to top 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists.