He Has the Cano-Do Attitude

By Tony Mangia

AL EAST TIGHTENS UP

A week ago, baseball fans---including me---were hoisting the Tampa Bay Rays on their shoulders and proclaiming them the best team in baseball. Young, fast, and with good starting pitching. They could possibly win 120 games. Yankee fans were left scratching their heads after after dropping 5 0f 7 against the Rays, Red Sox and Mets. They looked old and tired. Nobody, including old reliable Derek Jeter, was picking up the slack. Then, two things happened--the schedule and Robinson Cano.

Two old Yankee ego-boosters--the Minnesota Twins, who dropped 2 of 3 in their new stadium, and Cleveland Indians who arrived at Yankee Stadium and gave the home team another lift. Nothing lets off more steam than wins against your favorite punching bags. The upcoming timetable includes the cellar-dwelling Baltimore Orioles, twice, and the pitiful Houston Astros. Ten of the next thirteen games are against losing clubs. Only Sybil-personality Toronto has a winning record but they are, of course, the Blue Jays.

Seven days and everything has tightened up in the AL East--arguably the best division in the majors. Boston has a little hot-streak going while the Rays have cooled. Only 5 1/2 games separate all four teams. It's going to be a long, hot ride this summer.

ROBINSON CANO LIVING UP TO ALL THE HYPE

Yankee second baseman, Robinson Cano, is smoking up the place. He opened up the week with a grand slam against the Indians and continued a torrid hitting spree. Check out these stats: second in the league in batting .362, fourth in runs scored with 36, 37 RBIs and tops with 71 hits. He also leads the Yanks with 10 home runs and a muscular .607 slugging percentage. Cano had always seemed to squander his natural abilities in the past. He is , sometimes, one of the most complete players in the game. He has the skills to be the best second baseman in the majors, but has always frustrated purists with his immature attitude and major hitting lapses. Cano's play in the field this year has been exemplary. He looks like a Gold-Glover and seems comfortable as the team's slugger---until A-Rod and Teixeira get their mojos back. Right now, he only knock on Robbie is his base running. He still stands around admiring a hit one minute and, in the next, over runs a base. Cano could finally fulfill the Hall-of-Fame credentials he seemed destined to a couple of seasons ago. He looks like he is really enjoying the game, too.

CORE FOUR ENCORE

So much for the pundits predicting Jeter's demise after he got some timely hits in the week gone by and boosted his average to a more Jeteresque .297 . The same goes for Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera. Rivera has a relatively low 10 saves this year, but last week picked up three---including two in one day against the Twins. Catcher, Jorge Posada looks like he's ready to return after two weeks on the DL. He says the walking boot he had been sporting was removed and, after a short rehabilitation stint in the minors, he'll be ready for the Blue Jays series.

COMIC RELIEF

The Yank's starters---Pettitte, Phil Hughes and A.J. Burnett--have been spectacular so far. They are a combined 18-4 with a 2.86 ERA. C.C. Sabathia still struggles and Javier Vasquez is only worth his snuff against NL teams. So that means he's good for what---3 wins this season? The real problem continues to be the bullpen. Joba Chamberlain continues to disappoint and Dave Robertson's great stuff of last season is junk this year. Pitching coach Dave Eiland says C.C. has corrected the throwing problem and it was just poor pitch selection. Is Chamberlain the most hot-and-cold pitcher in the bigs? I guess "The Joba Rules" haven't panned out as planned.

Red Storm Rising

It was a good week for St. John's University. Basketball coach Steve Lavin has already gotten a commitment from California high school hoops stud, Dwayne Polee and has surprised the experts by attracting the interest of other west coast blue-chippers . The team has announced it will open the season in The Great Alaska Shootout. The prestigious early season tournament will be a great gauge how far the Red Storm's veteran team will go in the upcoming season.

The Red Storm baseball team won the Big East Tournament by sweeping #10 Louisville, twice, and #18 Connecticut in the final to get an automatic bid for the NCAA tournament. The Johnnies (40-17) have been streaking the past few weeks and should make a good run for the regionals. Freshman pitcher, Kyle Hansen (younger brother of Pittsburgh Pirate, Craig) was awarded the Jack Kaiser Award for the tournament's most outstanding player. It marks a record sixth conference tournament baseball title for St. John's.

Ex-St. John's star, Ron Artest, made the biggest three-point shot since he drained two against Duke to end Blue Devils home court winning streak (against non-conference opponents) at Cameron in 2001. Artest owned the Dukies in the final minutes of that game. The other night, Artest hit a last second trey to win the pivotal game five against the Phoenix Suns. The L.A. Lakers went on to win the series in the next game. In true Artest style, his timing wasn't as good the the next day, and he showed up late for the Lakers practice.

Congrats to another ex-Redmen basketball star, Walter Berry, and now---college graduate. The 1986 National Player of the Year received a baccalaureate degree from the university on Friday---27 years after his freshman year.

Now It's Known as U Con

The NCAA has slammed the University of Connecticut basketball program with eight major violations and specifically cited coach Jim Calhoun by claiming he "failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance." I'm not sure what that means but anyone who follows college basketball must be shaking their heads and asking, "What took so long?"

The Huskies have two NCAA championship banners hanging in their gym won before the current allegations between 2005-09. The violations center around calls and text messages to recruits. Big East coaches, in the past, have accused Calhoun of sending third-tier coaches or assistants to hype UConn to already verbally-committed recruits---a violation. I remember Calhoun giving players "season-long" suspensions for breaking team rules and criminal laws, only to quietly reinstate the offender just in time for the opening of the Big East schedule.

Calhoun is a Big East bully, with a five-year, $13 million contract, who always boasts his teams bring $12 million annually into the school. Funny, he never mentions the 30% graduation mark of his players.

JERSEY SCORE

Three years, seven months and 27 days until Super Bowl XLVIII in the Meadowlands. The temperature over/under is 34 1/2 degrees. Snow? 6/1 odds. Global warming is a handicap. I like the Florida organizers who claim the awarding of the game to Jersey was fixed. Yeah, everything and everyone in the Garden State is like The Sopranos.

Just wondering who the half-time act will be? Jersey boys, Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi will probably battle it out with Wyckoff's own favorite-sons, the Jonas Brothers. What about the cast of Jersey Boys? The opening act could be Coolio, Ice-Cube and Ice-T or or Foreigner singing "Cold as Ice." Wait, instead of half-time musicians, what about Ice Capades? Won't need a rink---just use the frozen turf. Better yet, the NHL could have their All-Star game. This way people will actually watch it. I'm thinking big. What about a Frank Sinatra tribute or, maybe, a Jimmy Hoffa extravaganza. Give each spectator a commemorative shovel to dig around the old stadium's fifty-yard line. Come to think about it, maybe the fix WAS in.

"Now boys, don't get caught watchin' the paint dry!"

Filmdom lost a real legend over the weekend, Dennis Hopper, 74. His career spanned six decades and, in that time, has any actor had a part in more groundbreaking films than Hopper? Rebel Without a Cause, Easy Rider, Apocalypse Now and as the nitrous oxide huffer, Frank Booth in Blue Velvet. The list goes on: Cool Hand Luke, True Romance...Sports fans will remember Hopper as the town drunk turned assistant coach, Wilbur "Shooter" Flatch in the fact-based film, Hoosiers.

Based on an underdog Indiana High school team that won the 1954 state championship, Hoosiers is regularly listed on critics top sports films of all time. Hopper got his second Oscar nomination for the role of Shooter. It's sad to say that, with all the cookie-cutter, pretty-boy actors of today, it will be hard to find a actor who can play strange as well as Dennis Hopper did. R.I.P.

EMPTY NEST SYNDROME

By Tony Mangia

WHAT TO DO WITH DEREK JETER?

Only a quarter of the 2010 season has passed and media skeptics have started to swarm all over New York Yankee Derek Jeter's slump like Lindsey Lohan at a swag bag table. Even the most loyal Jeter fan has to be concerned about the anemic batting average, his left-side fielding, and how all this plays into his contract year. A four or five year contract for a 36 year-old shortstop, on the downside, has to already be on GM Brian Cashman and the Steinbrenner family's mind. How do the Yankees handle New York's favorite son?

Television analysts talk about future Jeter like he will become a 37 year-old unemployed son--- living in the basement, not paying rent and driving up the grocery bills. In other words, they claim the future Hall-of Famer will become a burden and take up a spot in the line-up, not produce and eat away salary space. At this moment, Derek Jeter is leading all vote getters in the MLB All Star balloting and is on pace to end the season with 36 doubles, 16 home runs and 100 RBIs. Down season?! How many other shortstops will be able to say that?

Jeter entered this season knowing that the Yankees brass never negotiates during a contract. He never whined, made excuses or went to the media through his agent. Jeter's expressions, manners and comments belie the fact that he is off to a slow start at the beginning of a contract season. Imagine players like Gary Sheffield or Manny Ramirez not moping, complaining or dogging it under the same circumstances? I still hear Shef, and I don't even know if he still plays.

Yankee fans knew this day would come; only not when Jeter was slumping. All along, he has done it all with an abundance of class. He accepted A-Rod and his shenanigans along with the media glare. Heck, Randy Johnson only lasted one day before he got into pushing match with the paparazzi. In 15 seasons, you've never seen Jeter sitting in the dugout. He's always standing at the rail, one leg up, scoping out the action on the turf. After a big hit, he's the first over the rail to high-five a score.

HANK IS NOT GEORGE

Jeter's relationship with George Steinbrenner is that of father and son. He still calls "The Boss," Mister Steinbrenner. Hank is like Jeter's older stepbrother. The younger boss doesn't have the emotional ties to Jeter that the old man does---but business is business and George is basically out of the picture. Nobody wants to keep Jeter for old times sake, ala Seattle, who brought back a broken down Ken Griffey Jr.. Nobody wants to remember The Captain hobbling to first base like Yankee great Mickey Mantle in his final seasons or just plain fall down like 41 year-old Willie Mays in the 1973 World Series. Even the staunchest Jeter-hater will never find enough flaws to see him fail miserably. Jeter doesn't have the physical, financial or personal afflictions to allow him fall down like those other greats.

WHAT IS JETER WORTH?

Do they sign Jeter to four or five years? Does he get a pay cut? Is he limited to the DH role? Is Jeter valuable to any other club? Would the face of the Yankees take a pay cut just to stay in New York? The Yankee brass must make a decision--and I'm pretty sure they know what they want to do but, because of team protocol, they can't make anything public yet. Derek Jeter's value goes past Elias statistics and Bill James' fantasy blather.

The thought of Jeter in another uniform would kill most Yankee fans. I'm sure they would rather an eternity of listening to the innocuous "Empire State of Mind" by Jay-Z---no, that's too cruel...maybe some simple water boarding---instead of envisioning their shortstop making "The Dive" or "The Flip" in anything but pinstripes.

Button Up Your Overcoat

Super Bowl Awarded to Swamps of Jersey

Am I the only New Yorker who isn't excited about the 2014 Super Bowl coming to New Jersey? That's right, Jersey! Thanks a lot Tampa, for using Dick Vitale in your promotion video. Is that the only celebrity you could get? We probably secured the bid after his third "Ba-beee!" While optimistic (really optimistic) local fans conjure up visions of a Giants/Jets scenario, New Yorkers who aren't delusional know this will be a pain in the ass.

I'm all for cold weather games but, NIMBY! The game will overload the city with one of two things we already have an abundance of---tourists. Hipsters are the other scourge. Hipsters, for the uninitiated are those twenty-something roaming the Lower East Side into Bushwick. You've seen their uniform--- canvas high tops, quirky Tee-shirts, forearm tats, I-pods in their ears and messenger bags slung over their shoulders. Don't forget the hats that look like the kind Swiss mountaineers wear. Go to any "dive" bar and you'll see herds of them swilling PBR's between talking about their band's new song. It looks like a Yodelers convention. Whew...glad I got that out of my system.

Tourists, on the other hand, roam our streets four across, arm-in-arm---like something is going to swoop down and take on away. Their lazy strolling, looking up and pointing tends to slow the locals down. Now imagine, in February, another 150 thousand crowding our streets, even more, with their huge, puffy, down-comforter coats. Sleeping bags with sleeves.

LOW-FAT CITY

It also means making the city look more like the Mall of America than the urban dwelling it should be. Mayor Bloomberg (the Patriots fan) lauded the Giants and Jets for their efforts in securing the game. Translated, this means he can put in more pedestrian malls and attract the few franchise restaurants we don't already have. Then, he can force them to use non-saturated fats, stop using salt and put up calorie charts so we're all healthy, if not happy. Oh yeah, there will probably be a excess tax on sugar drinks, sodas and juices by then.

I know a lot has been made of numbers since New Jersey/York got the big game. Temperatures, inches of snow, Rex Ryan's waist line, but the real numbers are in dollars. How about 1.7 billion to build an unnamed facility without a retractable roof? During game week, extra soldiers, cops and agents will dip into New York's Homeland Security fund while the city keeps extra salt and snow trucks warmed up---just in case of the big blizzard---and diverts money from fire and police budgets to make sure everyone can freeze their buns at GIANTS Stadium!

New Yorkers who think it will be easier to see a Super Bowl live will be shocked to find out the NFL sells less than 1,000 tickets to each team's season-ticket holders. Their only hope is for an 18 inch snowfall on Friday. The airports will close and all those extra tickets will be given away to fill the stands. Even the Mayor of East Rutherford (the city where GIANTS stadium sits) will get in.

IN THE YEAR 2014

Let me set the scenario at Super Bowl XLVIII, in "Trump's The Apprentice and Miss America Stadium", for Giants and Jets fans in the land of make believe. Rex Ryan now weighs 87 pounds. He needs a brace to support his giant head. Mark Sanchez now works on a sit-com produced by George Lopez. Eli Manning hasn't been seen since 2010 after someone gave him the wrong directions to the new stadium. Tom Coughlin's face got so red he blew up and Justin Tuck is still auditioning for Tiki Barber's "job" on The Today Show. The Player's Union is on strike. Replacement Giants beat replacement Jets on a freak 70 degree day. Finally, New Yorkers, and the rest of America, had to watch the game on Pay-Per-View.