NFL schedule will come out this month

It is established knowledge that the NFL schedule and draft will proceed as planned later this month.

As most know both the NFLPA and the NFL are engaged in a bitter anti-trust dispute, with the players claiming that their rights as employees have been violated by the lockout, while the owners, in turn, state that locking out employees in a labor dispute is not illegal, and that they cannot negotiate with a decertified party.

The two sides went to court earlier in the week, and Federal Judge Susan Nelson is deliberating the arguments over the next two weeks before a ruling. She could either lift the lockout meaning football will be played, or call for more negotiations and wait for the NLRB to decide whether the lockout is legal.

Chances are the lockout will remain and we could be looking at a court room drama for the next few months, that may bleed deep into the summer and early fall.

However, if, and that's a major IF, there is a season some rumors are starting to spew out about the NFL schedule. According to Pro Football Talk, the NFL will release the schedule in a few weeks as they always do.

And to top it off for New York fans, their is a rumor floating that the Jets and Giants will play each other on Opening Day, which just happens to be the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

Whether that's true or not remains to be seen. Last spring there were rumors the Jets would play either the Texans or Vikings on Thanksgiving, which of course didn't happen, the Jets played the Bengals that day.

A Jets/Giants opener would be quiet unique, since both teams only play each other in the regular season once every four years, and, usually see each other late in the season when they are scheduled to play one another.

Mets stun the Phillies and the Earth, sit in first place

METS 7

PHILLIES 1

I guess the world is coming to an end.

Not only are the Baltimore Orioles (4-0), the Kansas City Royals (4-1), Texas Rangers (without Cliff Lee) (5-0), and San Diego Padres (3-1) all in first place, but the Mets, that's right, the Mets (!) are in first place in the NL East!!

Time to overreact again Met fans and start clamoring about playoffs. Playoffs? Playoffs? We're talking ... playoffs!!?

The Mets stunned the Philadelphia Phillies with a 7-1 victory to improve to 3-1 on the season, and pigs can fly, too.

Chris Young, the former ace of the San Diego Padres, was marvelous in his first start with the Mets. Young went 5.1 innings scattering fives hits and one run, while walking four and striking out seven.

Watch out for Young, he's at the bottom of the Mets rotation, but he has ace-like stuff and could have a huge season this year. Fantasy owners be on watch!

As for the Mets offense, they teed off on the weakling of the Phillies Fantastic Four rotation, knocking around Cole Hamels for six runs in two and two-thirds innings. The Mets got it going in the third when Daivd Wright drove in Young and Jose Reyes with a two run double to make it 2-0.

Two batters later, Ike Davis drove in Wright for the game's fourth run, with a single to center, and Brad Emaus brought home Scott Hairston with an RBI single of his own. The Mets capped off the inning with Young who laced a single to right to drive in Davis, making it 6-0 Metropolitans.

Wright had the biggest evening with the bat, going 4-for-5 with two RBI. So will Met fans go from predicting total gloom to predicting ultimate success after this win? Probably, and if they win tonight against Joe Blanton, watch out.

Take it easy Mets nation; your team is still scraping for cash.

Yankees bullpen shows vulnerbility against Twins

TWINS 5
YANKEES 4

Everything was going according to the Yankees master plan.

CC Sabathia pitched seven brilliant innings, giving up only two hits and no runs, and his Yankees were staked to a 4-0 lead.

Mark Teixeria who has had a monster April, blasted his fourth homer of the year, and third three-run shot to give the Yankees an early 3-0 advantage.

Yet, the rest of the Yankees grand plan didn't work: the bullpen.

Rafael Soriano who has been intrusted with the eighth inning, blew up under the New York lights last night, giving up four runs in the eighth to blow up any chance of a clean Yankee win. First, Soriano walked David Valencia and Jim Thome to get into pretty, pretty, pretty big trouble. Darren Span followed with a sharp single to center to load em up, before Joe Mauer walked with the bases loaded to drive in the Twins first run.

Joe Girardi immediately pulled Soriano in favor of David Robertson, and Mr. Robertson just couldn't hold the lead. He gave up a bases clearing double to Delmon Young to tie the game.

The game went into extras, and it was the Twins and former league MVP who got it done. Mauer, who has been struggling so far this year, laced a single to right to drive in Span for the winning run.

Yankees lose. DAAAAAAAAAAAA Yankees lose.

Oh Happy Day! Knicks clinch playoff berth

KNICKS 123
HAWKS 107

For the first time since 2003 the New York Knicks are heading to the postseason; and in many ways for the first time since 2000 are the Knicks sending a legit contender into the playoffs.

Sure the Knicks (38-38) have seen a lot of ups and downs since they acquired Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billips in February, but the Knicks have been on the move in a upward direction, thanks to the hard work of GM Donnie Walsh.

Three years ago, Walsh was given the task of cleaning up Isiah Thomas' mess from bad PR to bad contracts, Walsh dealt with it, and has put the Knicks in a position to be a playoff contender for years to come.

On Sunday night, all the Knicks had to do was beat the dreadful Cleveland Cavs, and in typical Knicks fashion, they played no defense whatsoever, as J.J. Hickson scored 23 points, and Baron Davis scored 22 for the Cavs in the defeat.

The Knicks were led by Billups 28 points, as well as 22 from Anthony and 25 more from Amare Stoudemire. The Knicks Big Three will be the key to any successful playoff run they have this year, and they will be tested from the get-go, when they will likely match-up against the more well known Big Three of the Miami Heat in the first round.

The Knicks held their own against LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh this season, splitting the four games with the Heat, including an impressive 91-86 victory in Miami on Academy Awards night.

The Knicks will probably perfer the Heat, who have a propensity to come up small in big moments. Drawing the Boston Celtics would be like doomsday for the '10-'11 Knicks, who have yet to beat the Celtics, who have been to two of the last three NBA Finals.

Mockery of Mets hits a new level

Apparently just about everyone had the same idea Friday night, when John Buck blasted a grand slam off of Mike Pelfrey in the fourth inning of Florida's 6-2 victory on Opening Night.

When Buck parked the homer into the right field stands at Sun Life Stadium, any Met fan would probably think of the old Family Guy routine, when Baby Stewie is sitting at Shea Stadium, listening to the announcer saying: "It's opening day, here's the first pitch...(crack of the bat)...and the season is over."

Well, apparently, an employee, or now currently former employee, of SNY played the voice over of the clip on top of the final pitch of the Mets meltdown. Apparently the Mets, who have no sense of humor, who called it "Insulting." Here is the Video!

Really? Is that insulting, or the fact that the Mets have lied to their fans about their financies to the point of bankruptcy, and impending $1 billion lawsuit from Irvin Picard, the trustee in the Bernie Madoff scam.

Time for the Mets brass to lighten up, because it was funny. Watch the Family Guy clip AGAIN!!

Mets open season in Met-like fashion...with a loss

MARLINS 6 METS 2

Well it looks like the 2011 season is indeed over before it ever started, as the Metropolitans fell to the Florida Marlins in Miami 5-2, Friday night.

The bankrupt baseball team looked listless in the heat of the Miami sun, as Marlins ace, Josh Johnson, opened the game with six no-hit innings before yeilding two Mets runs in the seventh.

As for Mike Pelfrey, he held his own for three innings until the fourth. Walks to Mike Stanton and Logan Morrison and a double by Gabby Sanchez was followed by a grand slam home run by catcher John Buck.

Just like that, the season is over! Here is actual footage of the John Buck home run and reaction of Met fans around the world! WATCH!

Morrison would added a solo shot in the eighth to extend the Marlins lead to 6-2, but, alas, this opener was an example of the fears that Met fans had entering the season. Their offense looked listless, the pitching pitiful, and in the end the Mets produced what amounted to a forgettable season opener. There are more to come. 161 games left to go, folks.

What a surprise, Chad Pennington gets injured again

Even with the NFL under total lock out, Chad Pennington still found a way to hurt himself.

The former brittle Jets quarterback tore his ACL while playing a pick-up basketball game in Miami. He is to undergo surgery this week to repair the tore ligament.

For Pennington it's just one in a long line of health related issues. From tore shoulders, broken wrists, another broken shoulder, followed by another broken shoulder, Pennington could never stay on the field.

While a Jet, he spent more time waving a towel on the sidelines then actually playing football for Gang Green.

The Jets grew so tired of him, that they traded him to Miami, after the Jets acquired Brett Favre in 2008. That blew up in the Jets face, as Pennington led Miami to the AFC title in '08.

It didn't take Miami long to find a new starter in Chad Henne after Pennington suffered a season-ending injury in week three of 2009. Then in 2010, Pennington was injured again after one snap.

Some say Pennington was full of class, others would say he was just full of it, and an ultimate loser; he should stop trying to play sports and retire.