Thoughts From The Weekend

Before we begin the usual nonsense, my condolences to the Russert family. Tim Russert was one of the last bastions of integrity in a new industry that's been reduced to shock journalism. He was always fair, did his research and never felt the need to force his views on his audience as so many of his colleagues have. R.I.P. Tim.

- As I type this, Tiger leads the U.S. Open Playoff by 1 stroke after 8 in Torrey Pines. Whether or not he holds off Rocco Mediate today, this is Tiger's second best performance behind his absolute demolition of the field at Pebble Beach in 2000. To go 5 rounds on a bum knee and have a real good chance to win is just inhuman. The look on his face after his last ridculous putt on Saturday says it all. He's better than everyone, he knows it, you know it and he knows that you know it.

-Brandon Marshall is a weirdo

- The NBA really didn't help the perception that the officials have ulterior moves with the way the last 2 minutes of Game 5 went down last night.

-Speaking of, not counting the free throw contest he had at the end, Kobe had exactly 5 points after the 1st quarter. Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure MJ would've had more than 5 after the 1st quarter of a do-or-die game. We can stop the comparisons now, Kobe may be the best we've had since Jordan hung it up (with LeBron a very close 2nd), but he cannot shine Jordan's shoes.

- Taking 2 of 3 from a mediocre Texas team, Willie Randolph still doesn't have a genuine endorsement from Omar Minaya. The Mets make what seems like their 20th trip to the west coast this week for a three-game set against the AL West leading Angels and another set in Denver against the Rockies, inculding a great matchup on Tuesday between Johan Santana and John Lackey. The good news for the Mets is that the Angels can be a streaky team especially on offense, so it is imperative that the Met offense come to play in this series. As proven in the Game 1 loss yesterday, they have the ability to get out of large deficits, but to have any realistic chance of catching Philadelphia, they must be consistent on a nightly basis.

- If they can continue to get efforts like they did out of Oliver Perez on Friday night and (knock on wood for tonight) Mike Pelfrey, this season is not a lost cause just yet. Also imperative are moves to upgrade the bullpen, something I've been preaching for almost 8 months.