Sabathia returns to Yankees with new contract

Well the Yankees didn't have to wait long for CC Sabathia to sign on the dotted line.

A day after filing for free agency the Yankees and Sabathia agreed to a brand new five year extension worth $122 million. In short Sabathia gets an additional $30 million on his old deal.

Sabathia and his family have grown attached to the area over the past few seasons; this coming from a guy who once wanted to move to the west coast after his deal with the Brewers concluded in 2008.

Sabathia will return as the team's ace, and now New York will look to bolster a rotation that is shaky at best. Notable free agents include C.J. Wilson (who had a horrible playoffs with the Rangers), Roy Oswalt, and Mark Burlehe. Burlehe is probably the safest bet of the bunch, a reliable left-handed veteran with post season success. As good as Oswalt was, he's not what he used to be, and will probably remain a Philadelphia Phillie.

CC Sabathia will become a free agent

The Yankees could be without an ace very soon.

CC Sabathia, the Bronx Bombers only decent pitcher during the 2011 regular season has opted out of his contract with New York, as many expected he would, as the story broke on Sports Illustrated earlier tonight.

Sabathia who had four years and $92 million left on his former contract wants more money and years, however with severe weight problems one can wonder if the Yankees, or anyone else for that matter would be willing to give CC more than he is worth.

Sabathia was the Yankees only reliable pitcher; an ace among some pretty lousy and mediocre pitchers, Sabathia won 19 games for the Yankees this past season. However the big concern for Sabathia was his weight. He came into the 2011 sesaon weighing in at 290 lbs, but ballooned well over 300 lbs by mid season.

If Sabathia can't get control of his weight he will become more of a headache later in his career.

The Rangers have been rumored as a team that will go hard after Sabathia this off-season. If the Yankees should lose CC, there are not a lot of viable options out there. C.J. Wilson is the only top pitcher on the market other than CC, and Wilson is coming off a hideous post season with the Rangers.

Expect the Yankees to eventually sign Sabathia, but the pitcher will be very disapointed in the market for his services.

Giants stink it up, but still beat hapless Dolphins

GIANTS 20
DOLPHINS 17

No matter how the Giants try to spin this one, they cannot be proud of the way they played in their 20-17 victory over the winless Miami Dolphins. For three quarters the Giants couldn't get out of their own way against Miami as the Dolphins held a 17-10 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Giants were sloppy. They couldn't tackle anybody, allowing Reggie Bush to rush for 103 yards on only 15 carries, permitting Miami to convert four straight third downs at one point in the game, and even letting Matt Moore look like Dan Marino for a better part of the first half.

The Dolphins came out of the gates with a huge burst of energy, something that caught the Giants off guard for a better part of the afternoon. On their opening drive Miami drove it down the Giants throats with an 11 play 66 yard drive, culminating in a one yard touchdown by Steve Slaton to give Miami the early 7-0 lead.

The Giants had no answer for the Dolphins. On their ensuing drive, New York committed two penalties that killed their chances of tying the game, forcing the Giants to settle for a field goal.

In turn, the Dolphins stuck it to the Giants again! Moore's shifty 11 yard run, and Reggie Bush's 35 yard scamper helped set up Miami at the Giants three yard line. On fourth and goal, Moore took it himself on the naked bootleg to give Miami a 14-3 lead.

Then, and only then, did the Giants wake up offensively. They spent much of their time throwing the ball all over the park resulting in dreary incompletions, and asking Kevin Gillbride to run the football; heaven forbid should the Giants actually run the football!

Eli Manning, who was having a rather poor afternoon, started to get enough time in the pocket to make decisions and picked apart the Dolphins secondary for eight completions in nine attempts to end the first half, leading the Giants on a desperate 84 yard drive that culminated in a seven yard touchdown to Mario Manningham, cutting the Dolphins lead to four.

But, the Dolphins continued to eat up yardage. On their opening drive of the third quarter, Reggie Bush took over with bursts of 28 yards and 13 yards respectively to put Miami in field goal range. For Bush, it was his second career 100 yard day; in fact, both of those efforts came against the Giants.

Fortunately for Big Blue, the Dolphins stalled and were forced to kick a field goal, but the Dolphins were still up 17-10.

Matt Moore, who looked so good at the start of this game, couldn't handle the pressure of the Giants defense down the stretch. He completed three of nine passes in the second half and was sacked four times. The Dolphins offense completely stalled in the fourth quarter, while the Giants offense kicked it up a notch, thanks to the great protection by the G-Men's offensive line.

Manning's 26 yard pass to Victor Cruz on third and nine put the ball at the Dolphins 47 yard line. Later in the drive, Manning hit Jake Ballard for 22 yards to the Dolphins 18. Eventually, the Giants momentum sputtered, and New York once again had to settle for a field goal, but the tables had turned.

After a Miami three and out, Manning drove the Giants down the field for the go-ahead score. He had all the time in the world to find Hakeem Nicks for 17 and then was given a week to find Victor Cruz in the corner of the end zone for a 25 yard touchdown, giving the Giants the lead.

Now out front, the Giants defense pinned their ears back and harassed Moore, sacking him three times in the final drive, and picking him off to ice the game in favor of Big Blue.

Even though the Giants won this game, they didn't play well. They looked awful against possibly the worst football team in the NFL. The offense was anemic at times, as New York continues to rely too much on the passing game. Defensively, the Giants give up chunks of yards and points like a sieve; they are embarassing to watch, and this is a team that leads the NFL in sacks with 26, but they can't tackle people in space and are terrible in coverage.

The Giants now embark on a brutal nine game stretch that begins with the New England Patriots next Sunday in a rematch of Super Bowl XLII. After that, the Giants have games against the 49ers, Eagles, Saints, Packers, Cowboys, Redskins, Jets, and Cowboys once again. If the Giants continue to play sloppy football like today don't expect to see the Giants in the win again column for a very long time.

Cardinals stomp out Rangers, win World Series

CARDINALS 6
RANGERS 2
STL wins 4-3

The 2011 St. Louis Cardinals are the epitome of the old saying "it 'aint over 'till the fat lady sings." Throughout the course of this season, the Cardinals have found ways to perceiver in the most perilous of times, and now find themselves as the world champions of professional baseball in the United States.

They trailed the Atlanta Braves by 10 games for the wild card, erasing that deficit over the month of September to capture the playoff spot. Then they outlasted the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS, and beat up their rivals the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS to get to this World Series. Down three games to two, and facing elimination the Cardinals came back to beat the Texas Rangers in game six, coming back twice on their final strike to force ties in a game St. Louis eventually won 10-9.

So it was fitting that the Cardinals did away with the Rangers in easy fashion on Friday night to capture the franchise's 11th World Series title, and second title in five years.

Game seven felt more like a coronation of a true world champion after the heroics the Cardinals pulled on Thursday night in game six. Even though the Rangers grabbed an early 2-0 lead in game seven, they played the game like a team waiting for the shoe the drop. Once the Cardinals came back to tie the game on David Freese's double, which scored Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman to tie it at two, the series was, for all intents and purposes, over.

In the third inning, it was the Cardinals other young star, Allen Craig who put the cap on what has been a great series for himself, as he cracked a solo shot to right to give the Cards a 3-2 advantage. Craig had a huge World Series, and even though David Freese deservedly won the series MVP, Craig hit .286 with two homers and four RBI over the seven game set.

In the fifth the Cardinals tacked on in a big way as Scott Feldman imploded in relief of Matt Harrison. He walked Craig, hit Pujols and walked Freese intentionally to load the bases. Yadier Molina ran the count to 3-0, before Feldman came back with two strikes, but couldn't get his fastball over on the sixth pitch of the at bat, as Molina walked to score a runner. Feldman was removed after the walk for C.J. Wilson, who didn't do himself any favors when he hit Rafeal Furcal with a pitch to drive another runner in to make it 5-2.

From that point the party was on in St. Louis. Chris Carpenter was masterful. Six strong innings, surrendering two runs on six hits with five strikeout. The Cardinals bullpen was brilliant. The combination of Arthur Rhodes, Octavio Dotel, Lance Lynn, and Jason Motte didn't give up a hit in three innings of relief; in fact Lynn's eighth inning looked effortless.

Finally in the ninth, Motte got David Murphy to fly out to Allen Craig in left to clinch the title.

The victory concluded an incredible baseball season for the St. Louis Cardinals, and with the way this team is built, it will be hard to bet against them in 2012. If they can re-sign Albert Pujols, and combine him again with veterans like Matt Holliday and Lance Berkman, and budding super stars in Craig and Freese the Cards will have a lethal line-up next season. The big addition to St. Louis next season will come from within when the get Adam Wainwright back from Tommy Johns' surgery -- a starter they didn't have this year, a year they won it all.

So congratulations to the St. Louis Cardinals, deserving champions of baseball.

Open Mike, Halloween Edition 2011

On this edition of Open Mike, host Michael Cohen talks about the classic that was Game Six of the 2011 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers.

Sure the Yankees and Mets are out of it, but if you are a baseball fan, you most likely watched what will be remembered as the Greatest World Series Game EVER! (Or at least since Game Six of the 1986 Mets World Series anyway...).

Michael welcomes back Karen Vankat, host of the Warning Track to go over the World Series and look ahead to the series finale, Game Seven.

Michael also breaks down the Giants match-up with the Miami Dolphins as Big Blue looks to avoid a frieght on Mischief Night. Listen at the LINK HERE!

Freese propels incredible Cardinals comeback in game six of World Series

CARDINALS 10
RANGERS 9
Series tied 3-3

It will be remembered as the greatest World Series game, probably ever. Chalk this one right up their with Kirby Puckett's late heroics in the 1991 World Series. Put it up there with Mookie Wilson's ground ball down the first base line underneath the outstretched glove of Bill Buckner in game six of the 1986 Fall Classic.

Yes, game six of the 2011 World Series, may have eclipsed them all with the kind of effort both the Texas Rangers and St. Louis Cardinals displayed in 11 back-and-forth innings, as St. Louis averted death, twice, to comeback and beat the Rangers 10-9 last night.

For the Texas Rangers they were this close to winning the World Series, in fact, they were this close TWICE! In the ninth and tenth innings, the Rangers held a two run lead on the Cardinals, and had St. Louis down to their final strike, only to blow it twice. For a franchise that has waited 50 years to win their first World Series, this has to be one of the most devastating losses in Rangers history, one they will never forget if they should lose a game seven.

From the onset, this one had the feeling of a wild night. The Rangers had St. Louis starter Jaime Garcia on the chopping block after Josh Hamilton singled home Ian Kinsler to give Texas a 1-0 lead with two on and none out. However, Garica reared back and struck out Michael Young and Adrian Beltre, and forced Nelson Cruz into a ground out to end the inning. An inning that could have been so much more for Texas.

In the bottom half of the inning, St. Louis took control when Lance Berkman, the native Texan, and former Houston Astro, blasted a two run shot to give the Cardinals a 2-1 lead.

With the score tied at two in the fourth inning, the bizzare factor took over in this incredible baseball game. With Fernando Salas on the mound for the Cards, Nelson Cruz popped up to left field, however, Matt Holliday dropped the ball, allowing Cruz to reach. Mike Napoli, who is sure to be the series MVP, if Texas wins, drove in his 10th run of this classic with a single to left to give Texas a 3-2 lead.

Fast forward to the sixth inning, and St. Louis was once again knocking on the door; with one on and one out, Holliday's weak grounder to Michael Young at first was bobbled by the sure-handed veteran. It was Young's second error of the night, and fifth error made on the night between the two teams. The extra life line gave St. Louis life. David Freese walked to load the bases, forcing Texas manager Ron Washington to remove starter Colby Lewis for Alexi Ogando.

Ogando, who has had a terrible series walked potent Cardinals clutch hitter Yadier Molina to drive in the tying run, and from that point on all hell would break loose.

Texas grabbed a two run lead on back-to-back homers by Beltre and Cruz. For Beltre it was his second homer of the series, and the biggest hit of his career. Cruz, who hit six homers in the ALCS, was quiet up to this point in the World Series. His hit appeared to be the icing on the cake for Texas.

The Rangers would tack on with a Kinsler RBI single to score Derek Holland, and with Holland now on the mound it appeared that the party was inevitable. Holland, who cruised past St. Louis in game four, retired four straight Cardinals before Allen Craig blasted a solo shot in the eighth to cut the deficit to 7-5. But even with that it didn't look good for St. Louis.

That being said, never once did it seem that the Cardinals would go away quietly in this baseball game. Even to the final out, there was a strange sense that St. Louis would find a way to prevail in the most incredible fashion. Heck, this was a team that defied the odds all season. They got into the playoffs as a wild card, erasing a 10 game deficit to the Atlanta Braves. They beat up on the seemingly unstoppable Philadelphia Phillies, and bulldozed past their NL Central bully, Milwaukee Brewers in the LCS. Comebacks are nothing new to the Cardinals.

In the ninth with Neteli Feliz on the mound for the Rangers, the All Star closer struck out Ryan Theriot for the first out. A huge out, considering Albert Pujols was on deck. Pujols could have hit the ball 600 feet, and Rangers wouldn't have cared, but instead the free-agent-to-be stroked a double to right center, and Lance Berkman walked.

After Allen Craig struck out, Feliz had Freese on a 1-2 count, before the son of St. Louis cracked a triple over the head of Cruz, as the ball went up against the right field wall, and trickled away from the right fielder, as Pujols and Berkman scored to tie it at seven.

Then in the tenth inning, it was Hamilton who rose from the dead. Hamilton whose bat has been silenced in the World Series due to a groin injury hit his first homerun of the playoffs, when he smacked a two run shot to center to give the Rangers a 9-7 lead.

Washington then turned the ball over to former Met Darren Oliver in the bottom of the inning to close it out. Lesson learned, never rely on a Met to close anything out.

Oliver gave up singles to David Descalso and John Jay to get things rolling. After a Kyle Loshe sacrifice, and an RBI ground out by Theriot, reliever Scott Feldman came in for Oliver and walked Pujols. What appeared to be a smart move came back to bite the Rangers. Feldman had Berkman on a 1-2 count. Again the Rangers were a strike away from winning it all, but the veteran lifted the pitch into center field allowing Jay to score the tying run. Busch Stadium was electric.

After Jake Westbrook did away with the Rangers in the top of the eleventh, it was Freese who put the Rangers on ice, as he blasted a solo home run off Mark Lowe to send St. Louis into total bedlam. Fox broadcaster Joe Buck, a former Cardinals local TV commentator, and son of the late Jack Buck, who was the Cardinals play-by-play man concluded the telecast by signing off with his father's famous "We'll see you tomorrow night," which he used during Cardinal victories.

Freese was met at home plate by his teammates who ripped his jersey into pieces; it was like they already won the World Series. Instead St. Louis lives to play another day. A day nobody will ever forget. Game six box score.

Keep in mind, that Chris Carpenter will start game seven for the Cardinals against Matt Harrison. Both Nelson Cruz and Mike Napoli are listed as questionable for the game, after they suffered injuries in the game for the Rangers. Texas hasn't lost two in a row since August 23.

Revis Interception sparks Jets to victory over Bolts

JETS 27
CHARGERS 21

Give credit where credit is due. For the first time this season, the New York Jets played their best game and beat a legitimate opponent. Unlike their previous three wins, Week 1 vs. Dallas, which should never have happened, and two subsequent victories against the dreadful Jaguars and Dolphins, the Jets came back to stun a very good Chargers team at the Meadowlands.

It's not like this was a pretty game to watch for Gang Green. As usual, the Jets got off to a hideous start, falling behind 21-10 by the half, looking and playing like a team destined to be blown out of their own building.

On the first play of the game things looked ominous when Mark Sanchez was hit from behind; his pass to Dustin Keller was juggled by the tight, ending up in the hands of Donald Bulter who rumbled 37 yards for a Chargers touchdown.

Later in the quarter with the Jets moving the ball on a couple of nice completions by Sanchez, the Jets struggling quarterback found a wide open Santonio Holmes in the end zone for the touchdown. However, a hold by the Jets offensive line negated the score, forcing the Jets into a first and 20 situation. Two plays later, Sanchez was picked off by Eric Weddle at the Chargers one yard line, killing the Jets momentum.

In turn, the Bolts drove the ball right down the field, keyed by big passes by Phillip Rivers to his tight end Antonio Gates and wide receiver Vincent Jackson, to set the Chargers up inside the Jets 10 yard line. Rivers eventually found Gates in the corner of the end zone for the touchdown and a 14-3 lead.

At this point it looked hopeless for the Jets. They once again had fallen far behind; Sanchez was plain awful, and the Jets defense was porous. It appeared that San Diego was on their way to an easy victory, bu things quickly changed in the second half.

The Chargers were shut down offensively by the Jets. On three drives in the third quarter, the Chargers totaled only 17 yards of offense. Defensively, the Chargers had no answer for the Jets on third down and couldn't avoid getting flagged for off sides and pass interference penalties.

Case in point: In the third quarter, Sanchez converted two huge third downs with big completions to slot receiver Jeremy Kerley keeping the Jets moving to an eventual touchdown. Even though he was erratic at times, when he needed to make a big throw, Sanchez accomodated. The Jets converted 61 percent of their third downs, and Sanchez's passes to Kerley and Dustin Keller played a big part in that statistic.

And who was there to haul in the touchdown catches? None other than Plaxico Burress.
Burress had three touchdowns on the afternoon. The guy who looked uninterested in the game last week against Miami and had been seldom used all season to point he even complained to Coach Rex Ryan, was more involved in the offense this time. Burress's second touchdown pulled the Jets back to within four, at 21-17, giving Gang Green renewed life.

Still, the Chargers had one last drive left in them. Rivers' 30 yard bomb to a wide open Randy McMichael moved San Diego to the Jets 30. It appeared that San Diego would eventually score to ice the game, until Darrelle Revis stepped in and changed the course of the afternoon.

Revis, who made waves on Friday by hanging up on WFAN host Mike Francesa after Revis was prompted by Francesa to admit that he got away with a pass interference call on Monday against Miami, left no doubt about his efforts time around. Rivers pass to Vincent Jackson was tipped up into the air, and Revis came away with it and ran down the sideline for a 64 yard return before getting banged out of bounds.

The Jets were in business. Sanchez heaved a pass down the side to Holmes for an incompletion, but the play was ruled for pass interference on San Diego, moving the Jets closer. A few plays later, Sanchez found Burress in the back of the end zone for the touchdown.

Now leading 27-21, Rivers got one last shot to win the game for San Diego with a 1:40 left. He was off to a good start when he hit Gates for 18 yards to the 42 yard line, but San Diego couldn't move it any further. With no timeouts, the Chargers struggled to get back to the line after the Jets stopped a series of short passes. Rivers hauled up one last pass on 4th down with 11 seconds left only to watch it fall incomplete.

For the Jets, it was their most complete effort. Even though Sanchez was inconsistent at times, he did throw three touchdowns and showed some good touch on the ball in key situations. A Jets defense that had been mauled for the better part of the season, stiffened against a high powered Chargers offense. And for the first time all year, Shonn Greene ran for over 100 yards, and the Jets opened the playbook to include their big target wide outs.

So the Jets backed Rex Ryan's bravado this week and now head into the Bye at 4-3, avoiding the possiblity of living two weeks with an all hands-on-deck mindset. The big challenge for Gang Green is can they parlay this success in their next two games against Buffalo and New England.