Breaking News: Jets Ink Sanchez to Deal

Just in, the Jets and quarterback Mark Sanchez have agreed on a contract. According to the Daily News, the deal is for 5 years and $28 million in guaranteed money. That would make him the highest-paid player in team history.

It was obviously expected both sides would reach a deal without a problem. The biggest thing, as noted in the article, is that the contract is for 5 years and not 6. Most Top-5 quarterbacks in the draft get a 6-year deal (Matt Stafford, the #1 pick, got 6 years and about $42 million from the Lions). The advantage here is for Sanchez, who can become a free agent a year early.

Nothing further is available at this point, but Sanchez as well as Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum will speak to reporters after the afternoon practice, which began at about 4:10 PM.

The Return

After a long time away from the blog to finish up schoolwork and get settled back at home, I have returned to revive this blog. I want to get back up and running, giving you all the best I have to offer regarding NY-area sports. For my first post, I want to look at all the of current head coaches/managers and take a look at who has done the best job. Few have been around for a while (Coughlin) while many are just getting started (Manuel, Tortorella, Gordon). However, let's take a look at what they've done so far, see who's done the best and worst job, and who has potential for future success:

Joe Girardi

Team: New York Yankees

Arrived: October 30, 2007 (hired by Yankees)

Record: 116-93

Playoffs: None

Overall Consensus: Girardi had big shoes to fill after Joe Torre left, and has been okay so far. The Yanks didn't make the playoffs in his first season, missing out on October baseball for the first time since 1993. In '09, the Yanks have shown some signs of life and increasing chemistry. He continues to make questionable decisions but overall has done a decent job. I think he'll continue to have success, find his way back into the playoffs, and has a chance at a championship. However, he won't have the same success that Torre did.

Jerry Manuel
Team: New York Mets

Arrived: June 17, 2008 (replaced Willie Randolph)
Record: 72-52
Playoffs: None
Overall Consensus: Manuel took over for Randolph midseason in '08 and helped stabilize a struggling Mets team, only to watch them collapse in September for a 2nd year in a row. The team removed his interim tag, and he's started 2009 off okay despite the team being riddled with injuries. It still seems like he has some relationship issues with players in the clubhouse, namely Jose Reyes, but overall he has held down the fort. If he's going to be successful, he needs to find a way to get the team focusing on the fundamentals of baseball (baserunning especially) and prevent another choke job late in the season. I think it's possible.

Tom Coughlin

Team: New York Giants
Arrived: January 6, 2004 (hired by Giants)
Record: 47-33
Playoffs: 4 times (Super Bowl Champs in 2008, lost NFC divisional game to Eagles in '09, lost NFC wild card games to Panthers and Eagles in '06 and '07, respectively)
Overall Consensus: Tom Coughlin has been around the longest among the NY sports coaches and has done a fine job. The team has made the playoffs in four out to his five seasons at the helm and has won a Super Bowl as well. Not much to complain about here. As long as he keeps the team in the playoffs, he has the talent on the roster to keep them mentioned in Super Bowl talks year after year.

Rex Ryan
Team: New York Jets
Arrived: January 21, 2009 (hired after Eric Mangini was fired)
Record: None, was with Ravens who were 5-11 in 2008
Playoffs: None, won Super Bowl in 2000 with Ravens as Defensive Line Coach
Overall Consensus: Eric Mangini didn't fulfill the dreams of Jets fans, and now, Rex Ryan has the chance to do that. He stresses defense, a major issue for the Jets last season, and brings in a lock-down package that has been lacking in recent years. He still has to figure out who will be the starting QB in 2009 (Kellen Clemens or Mark Sanchez) and who his wide receivers will be, but he has the foundation for a playoff team. He has the potential to succeed but needs to build up his offense a little more.

Mike D'Antoni
Team: New York Knicks
Arrived: May 10, 2008 (hired by Knicks)
Record: 32-50
Playoffs: None, made playoffs previous 4 seasons as Head Coach of the Suns
Overall Consensus: D'Antoni has a major, major task to try and build this Knicks team into a winner. The organization is banking on a big free agent signing in 2010 (namely, Lebron), but as of now, the team is very weak. They have some bright spots in David Lee and Nate Robinson, and showed brief success in 08-09, but not enough to warrant a playoff berth. I don't think he finishes his time in NY with an NBA title, but I do think if he's around after 2010, he can lead the team back to the playoffs.

John Tortorella
Team: New York Rangers
Arrived: February 23, 2009 (hired by Rangers after firing Tom Renney)
Record: 12-7-2
Playoffs: Once in 2008-09, Rangers lost to Capitals in 1st Round
Overall Consensus: He was brought in after Tom Renney was let go to lead the Rangers into the playoffs, and he accomplished that. After blowing a 3-1 series lead, it is now his job to help restructure the team to his liking and use a full season to build a team that can go deep into the playoffs. He has a good style of play that's aggressive and stresses scoring, but lacks a big-time scorer. If he can nab someone like Ilya Kovalchuk, the Rangers have a great mix of young and old talent that can lead to success. He can have a temper though, and he needs to learn to keep his cool. No more squirting water on fans behind the bench! I say he brings the Rangers back to the playoffs, but won't win a Stanley Cup during his time at The Garden.

Scott Gordon
Team: New York Islanders
Arrived: August 12, 2008 (hired by Islanders after firing Ted Nolan)
Record: 26-45-9
Playoffs: None
Overall Consensus: Just like D'Antoni, he has a tall task to take this team of youngsters and bring them to the playoffs and beyond. The Islanders are the joke of the league and will not get any true, proven talent as long as they are playing at Nassau Coliseum. Until they get their new arena, IF they get a new arena, they will continue to struggle because simply, no one wants to play there and fans don't want to go and watch. I don't see a bright future for Gordon and the Islanders, and I think he's gone before the end of the upcoming season.

That does it for this debate. I left out Lawrence Frank (Nets) and Brent Sutter (Devils) since they're mostly NJ. However, Frank had some early success with the Nets but has struggled since, and Sutter has helped the Devils continue making the playoffs and will do so with the teams he keeps producing. Let me know your thoughts on all of the coaches.

In addition, since baseball is in high swing, I will try and do some liveblogging later on tonight with the Yanks at Cleveland and the Mets hosting the Marlins. I will especially be active with this when the Yanks and Mets play each other in June. Until then, I plan on being more active once again!

Around New York on a Wednesday in February

Hey Everyone. So today I figured I'd cover a whole mess of New York sports news considering there were so many teams in action and other news today. So, here we go:

Yankees:
Beat the Blue Jays 6-1 in their first spring training game of the season. A-Rod was booed and responded with a homer. Brett Gardner hit one as well. Very impressive to see the little guy show he has some power and on the second pitch of the game no less. I think this guy desperately wants to make the team and will have a monster spring to prove he deserves the center field spot. Pitchers threw fairly well so that's a good sign. Overall, solid start for the Yanks.

Mets:
Also started off the spring well with a 9-3 rout of the Orioles. Biggest surprises were four RBI's for Luis Castillo and three for Ryan Church. It would be huge for the Mets to have a good campaign from Castillo after a mediocre start with the team. It's also important that Church shows he can still play well after his concussion problems last year. Pitching was alright but no one very important threw. Again, good beginning.

Rangers:
In their first game under new Head Coach John Tortorella, the Rangers showed more of the same and lost in a shootout 2-1 in Toronto. The team is just incapable of scoring. They had a ton of opportunities and got more shots on net but failed to capitalize. Nice to see Wade Redden get in the goal column for the first time since the home opener on October 10th. The team looked a little more lively but continues to struggle scoring goals every game.

Knicks:
Another game that looked close at the end, but a lackluster effort at the beginning did them in. Mike D'Antoni was as irate as I've ever seen in the first half when his team failed to shoot well from the field and lacked communication on defense. It was like the Knicks just came out half asleep. The second half was much better, and I was impressed with Danilo Gallinari's shooting. However, Larry Hughes and Chris Wilcox failed to impress, and the team as a whole will need to play well for 48 minutes every night if they want to get in the playoffs.

Jets:
The long relationship with Laveranues Coles is over after the Jets and the receiver parted ways. Now, he can still come back as a free agent, but I think the Jets might go after a guy like Marvin Harrison or someone else to help boost a struggling Jets offense. Coles is a great receiver, but he was never part of the Jets' prime plans last year. It would be smarter for the Jets to get someone who can be more of a primary option.

Giants:
Brandon Jacobs was locked up for four years in a deal that was important to keep the Giants running game as superb as it's been. Jacobs has had to deal with injuries, but he provides a power running game that not too many have in the NFL. Not much to say about this, but the Giants made the right move by keeping him in a blue jersey.

Rex Ryan Goes to the Jets

Well, that certainly happened in a flash.

Not even a full day after the Ravens lost to the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game, Baltimore's Defensive Coordinator Rex Ryan has agreed to become the next Head Coach of the New York Jets. Ryan's deal is said to be a four year contract, similar to the one Steve Spagnuolo got from the Rams to coach there. That deal was worth $11.5-million.

When it came down to it, I thought the best candidates for the Jets job (once Cowher took himself out and Shanahan wanted to go on vacation) were Spagnuolo and Ryan. I liked Spags' recent success with the Giants and how he won over a lot of respect from his defense. However, it showed this year that without Osi Umenyiora and Michael Strahan, the defense struggled late in the season and in the playoffs.

Rex Ryan was the easier option because he ran a 3-4 in Baltimore already and the Jets had been running the 3-4 since Eric Mangini came to town. Ryan has also been the forefront of the Ravens' success because their defense has been one of the stingiest in the NFL. The team has been one of the top teams defensively year after year and Ryan's aggressive style is something the Jets needed after this past season's collapse.

The biggest thing with Ryan was that he was also an Assistant Head Coach to John Harbaugh. Now, that's not necessarily experience as a Head Coach, but I'm sure it helped better prepare him for what he'll face as a head honcho. Being in New York is definitely a tough place to be a head coach. This past year, Willie Randolph, Eric Mangini, Ted Nolan, and Isiah Thomas all lost their jobs. Ryan's seat will be hot from the start, especially with the quarterback situation so cloudy. He'll need to take a team with significant talent and mold it into a true playoff team and Super Bowl contender. It may not happen in Year 1, but I think he can definitely take this team deep!