Tag: New York

Jets Make Sam Darnold the Youngest Week 1 Starting QB in the History of the NFL

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ESPN – The New York Jets have a new starting quarterback and a new face of the franchise.

Rookie Sam Darnold was officially named the starter Monday, coach Todd Bowles announced. He will become the youngest opening-day quarterback in NFL history. He will be 21 years, 97 days old when the Jets travel to play the Detroit Lions next Monday night.

Since my brain only works in fragments of movie quotes and pop culture references, lets set the table for this story first.

The Jets are going to make the newly minted 21-year-old, Sam Darnold, the youngest Week 1 starting QB in the history of the NFL.

GOOD LUCK!

The Jets went 5-11 last year with one of the oldest starting QBs in the league in Josh McCown aka Dolph Lundgren.

So it should come as no surprise the Jets turned to the No. 3 overall pick sooner than later to take over under center. Could a guy who just became old enough to buy a beer use a little more seasoning before suiting up for one of the worst teams in the league? Yea probably, but I guess if you’re the Jets whats the difference? You won 5 games with the veteran last year and that 5-year contract clock is already ticking so why redshirt the rookie?

Darnold looked like a lock to be the No. 1 overall pick after his redshirt freshman year at USC throwing for 31 TDs with only 9 INTs, 3086 yards, 67.2 completion % and a 161.1 passing efficiency rating. His numbers dropped pretty  much across the board though in his second and final year as a starter at USC. He threw less TDs, threw more INTs, had a lower completion % and a worse passing efficiency rating — so that would concern me.

What would also concern me is where the guy went to school. University of Southern California. Not exactly a beacon for future NFL QBs and its where the Jets have some experience.

Side note: I was at that game!

But in all seriousness, USC has produced only one real viable NFL starter in Carson Palmer. The rest of the USC signal callers turned into serviceable at best NFL QBs; Matt Leinart, Mark Sanchez, Matt Cassel, Matt Barkley, Cody Kessler, and John David Booty! Not a lot of Pro Bowls in there.

Who knows though? Picking a QB in the NFL is a total crapshoot. With my luck he’ll turn into the next great quarterback stud and will haunt me for all the fun I’ve had at the Jets expense over the past 18 years.

In Case You Missed the Patriots Last PreSeason Game, Rookie QB Danny Etling RAN for an 86 Yard Touchdown

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I don’t know how you could have missed the illustrious fourth preseason game, but if you somehow did you missed Michael Vick Danny Etling, and recently inducted member of the Handsome Mens Club, rushing for an 86 yard touchdown.

Good luck trying to stash those wheels on the practice squad, Bill.

After Some PR Disasters, This Actually Isn’t a Bad Idea from Marlins Owner Derek Jeter

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Yahoo – Miami Marlins part owner Derek Jeter has an idea that could bring the team closer together. Jeter will require the American-born coaches and players to take Spanish lessons, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN. The initiative from Jeter will not only help players in the organization communicate better, but will also bring the team closer with the city of Miami, according to ESPN.

With one PR blunder after the other, when I saw the headline that Jeter was forcing the entire Marlins organization to do X, I thought oh God what did this dude do now. Apparently he’s requiring everyone, from the players to the coaches to the executives, take Spanish lessons.

“As the Marlins’ young Latin American players take English lessons, the American-born players and coaches will be required to learn Spanish.

On Thursday, Jeter hauled a bunch of vice presidents into a room for the first of what will be regular weekly lessons in Español.

“… Everybody expects the Latin players to make an effort to speak English. Well, especially here in Miami, if you don’t speak Spanish, you don’t fit in. I think it’s important.’”

As the story notes, Latino players make up 31.9% of Major League Baseball, add to that the fact that the Marlins play in Miami, which is 70% Hispanic or Latino. So yea, actually not a bad idea from Jeets.

The last thing you want is to be like Tom Selleck in the 1992 classic, Mr. Baseball, sitting at the end of the bench by yourself. Oh you didn’t see that movie? It got a 13% on Rotten Tomatoes so I can’t see why you might not pick up on that obscure reference. Basically Tom Selleck goes to play baseball in Japan and can’t understand a goddamn word anyone is saying and is miserable.

Sneaky racist 1990’s movie poster too.

Of course he eventually learns the universal language of baseball (and some Japanese) to bond with his new teammates as (SPOILER) the Chunichi Dragons win the pennant.

Hey, HBO plays a lot of random shit on hungover Saturday mornings…

The 300s Power Rankings of America: Who’s Trending Up and Who’s Trending Down

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Another week, another chance to check in and see who’s doing great and who’s doing shit.

Trending Up:

Idris Elba

Talk has once again resumed of Elba taking on the role of James Bond once Daniel Craig wraps up his fifth and final turn of the character in next year’s untitled installment of the franchise. Elba is a perfect fit to play the part in a series that is approaching the 60 year mark. I’m sure there are a lot of neck beards out there that think giving the role to a black man is a problem, but when you boil the character down to his leading traits of be being suave, sophisticated, and downright handsome, Elba checks all the boxes. It’s time this sexy son of a bitch got a shot at being 007.

Rockstar Games

Yesterday, Rockstar debuted the first official gameplay trailer for the company’s second biggest franchise outside of Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption. The only words I could use to describe what I saw are Holy and Shit. Rockstar always pushes the envelope in their game development, which is why we only get a game from them once every five years or so. They’re brilliant at crafting a world that feels lived in that’s also cinematic in nature. Aside from the various debauchery displayed across the 7 minute video, players will also have the opportunity to spend some time fishing. That’s right, everybody’s favorite in-game activity that wastes countless hours, virtual fishing. Can’t wait to spend an entire weekend catching trout and shooting prostitutes in the local saloon.

Space Force

Honestly, who’s having a better week than our official soon to be sixth branch of the military? If we’re going to actually do this nonsense, we better go all out. I’m talking lasers, Millennium Falcons, planetary shields to keep out the Cylons. Dominate space like we dominate earth. Now you may be saying “I need an affordable living wage! My healthcare is terrible!” Stop being selfish. Insurance and a few extra bucks in your pocket isn’t going to help when the Klingons come for our women and children. Think of the bigger picture.

Trending Down:

Luigi

Here lies Luigi. Murdered in cold blood on the official Nintendo presentation for the upcoming Super Smash Bros game. Best known for being a green, taller Mario. Had a mansion once. Decent option for Mario Kart 64. You will be missed.

New York Yankees

Getting absolutely smoked by the Red Sox in a four game series isn’t ideal right? Being eight games out of the division when you’re on pace for 103 wins is definitely not ideal. Playing in the one game winner-take-all wild card is even less ideal I think. Being a Mets fan writing this is probably the least ideal. Honestly though, Judge better get back soon or the Yankees are going to have a short stint in the playoffs, if they even make the cut based on the way the A’s have been playing as of late. What a shame!

My Wallet Because The 300s is Invading Boston Comic Con Tomorrow!

Stay tuned for all the nonsense we get into as we take on Boston Comic Con tomorrow. We’ll be bringing you reviews, interviews, and hopefully a picture of us with the Pink Power Ranger. Have a great weekend folks!

The 300s Power Rankings of America: Who’s Trending Up and Who’s Trending Down

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Another week, another chance to check in and see who’s doing great and who’s doing shit.

Trending Up:

Tom Cruise

Mission Impossible 6 is getting glowing reviews across the board and if you bet me 10 years ago that we’d be getting a sixth installment starring this couch jumping lunatic, well I would have joined Scientology. This franchise has been getting better and better with each release and it just goes to show you that there are still quality action films out there to be made that don’t involve Tony Stark.

 

Star Wars Fandom

Episode 9 officially started filming Wednesday with J.J. Abrams back in the Director’s chair. Confirmed to return are Mark Hamill, Back-From-The-Dead Carrie Fisher, and everybody’s favorite space pimp, Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian. I’m hoping for a satisfying conclusion to the sequel trilogy as the last chapter left a lot to be desired for me personally. More Adam Driver is always welcomed though.

 

Jose Reyes

Reyes made his pitching debut this week and it could have honestly gone a lot worse. Mets got completely blown out for the worst loss in franchise history and we’re at the point where I’m just here to see how low and hilarious this can get. Reyes gave up two homers and followed it up the next day by hitting two homers, which is the first time anyone’s done that since 1876. Hard to believe this team was in the World Series in 2015. Amazing Mets indeed.

 

Trending Down:

The NFL

Are we really so petty against Colin Kaepernick that we’re editing his name out of songs for a video game? If this was a problem, why did you even use the song in the first place? Regardless of your actual stance on the matter, it’s hard for an organization to be more unaware of their own bullshit. Talk about not being able to get out of your own way.

 

Chipotle

At this point it is rarer to go into this chain and come out healthy than it is to get sick. 683 people have now claimed to have gotten sick eating at an Ohio location which is absolutely believable. Are we cooking chicken in Easy Bake Ovens or something? Guac remains extra, but diarrhea is free of charge.

 

The Wilpons

Two years ago, the New York Mets were in the World Series. They lost, but they were good enough to get there. Between countless injuries, mishandling of players, and constant penny pinching, it’s time Major League Baseball stepped in and did something about the worst ownership in professional sports. This team is a piggy bank to Wilpon family (a piggy bank that Bernie Madoff enjoyed dipping his hand into over a decade ago, but ownership would like you to think happened last week). Mets fans are tired of the nonsense, and these two frauds will not see another dime of my money til something is done.

Yankees Add Stud Closer Zach Britton, Red Sox Continue to Do Nothing

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This is a headline that seems to be repeating itself over and over again like we’re in the damn Matrix. American League team x adds a weapon for the stretch run, Red Sox do nothing. The Indians added Brad Hand, the Yankees added Zach Britton, and the Astros continue to be on the hunt for bullpen arms with a deep farm system to deal from. Of course this all stems back to Dave Dombrowski absolutely gutting the Sox farm system.

Now those trades were made to acquire Craig Kimbrel and Chris Sale, which have worked out pretty well, but this is why I am pro-prospect. Big Z and I argue about this constantly on The 300s Podcast. He wants to dish prospects all day every day because most of them don’t pan out, which I understand. But in my opinion, prospects are more about their perceived value than their actual intrinsic value. They are poker chips. Some of them turn into Mookie Betts, others fizzle into Casey Kelly. So, no you can’t hold onto all of them, but to trade away so many of your top prospects in 2 years is just risky.

—Begin Pomeranz Rant—

This is why the Drew Pomeranz trade still bugs me. The Sox traded Anderson Espinoza, who was their top pitching prospect, straight up for the NL All-Star, who was in his first year as a starter and known to have injury issues. In 2+ seasons with Boston, Pomeranz has posted ERAs of 4.78, 3.84, and 5.70 this year.

Not to mention he’s hit the DL four different times since joining the Red Sox. Excellent trade, Dave!

Now Espinoza actually pitched pretty poorly in the Padres system before blowing out his elbow in 2017, but thats besides the point. I wasn’t against trading Espinoza because I thought he was the second coming of Pedro, I was against trading our top pitching prospect (and No. 73 prospect in all of baseball in 2016 after his first pro season) for a guy with an injury history (which the Padres’ GM was suspended for lying about) and a minuscule track record of success. Espinoza was a blue chip prospect and should have gotten a better return.

This is also why I’m always hesitant to trade from pitchers from the NL, unless they are studs with a pedigree because jumping from the NL to the AL East almost always adds a run onto a pitchers ERA. In the first half of 2016 with the Padres, Pomeranz had an ERA of 3.15, which ballooned to 4.78 for the Sox in the second half. Not impressed, Dave.

—End of Pomeranz Rant—

The Sox are an offensive juggernaut this year with a Cy Young candidate ace, pretty good starting pitching behind him, and a dominant closer. Outside of Kimbrel though their bullpen is a high wire act every night. So now the Sox, one of the best and most expensive teams in baseball, can’t make a deal for a Snickers bar because their farm system is full of JV players.

If they bow out early in the playoffs yet again because their bullpen implodes then Dombrowski should absolutely be on the hot seat. The guy who comes into town with his beautiful lettuce and does nothing but trade away top prospects and sign the highest price free agents hasn’t proved anything to me since he got here in 2015. Tony Mazz laid it out pretty well in this article from the other day. Not to mention, the biggest knock against Dombrowski over the years has been his inability to build a great bullpen. Great…

This team as currently constituted will not win a World Series, especially not with their direct competition adding weapons like Zach Britton right in their face. But, I don’t know what the Sox can really do aside from picking someone off the scrap heap and hoping to catch lightning in a bottle like they did with Doug Fister last year. If this team doesn’t make a significant move, wins 100+ games, and gets bounced in the first round again then someone needs to get fired.

BREAKING: Islanders Hire Stanley Cup Champion Barry Trotz as Head Coach

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Look, I’m not going to pretend this is what puts the Islanders over the edge as far as chasing a cup goes. We have a lot of holes, namely a star free agent center we have to re-sign, but this is such a drastic step in the right direction. The way this organization has been run over the course of my lifetime is indefensible. We’ve been plagued by bad ownership (one of which, the poster boy for the phrase “Snake It Til You Make It”, John Spano, who bought a team with absolutely no money!), bad coaches, injuries, pretty much whatever you can think of that screams circus on ice. This offseason has now brought in a 3-time Stanley Cup GM in Lou Lamoriello and current Stanley Cup Champion coach Barry Trotz. Get John Tavares to sign on the dotted line and bring in a half way decent goalie and I will be on the phone with Isles ticket reps TONIGHT.

We’ll post more info as it becomes available.

Former Jets QB Christian Hackenberg is Visiting the Patriots Today

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How about that Belichick, man? When the rest of the league is playing checkers he’s playing chess. He trades away his elite young backup QB and then just sits in the weeds waiting for the Jets to outsmart themselves and dump Hackenberg onto the Raiders who then cut him less than 2 weeks later, and thats when Belichick POUNCES.

In all seriousness I hated this pick by the Jets from Day 1. Well technically Day 2 since he was a second round pick. But the guy flashed as a freshman at Penn State with 20 TDs and 10 INTs under old friend Bill O’Brien. Then he regressed the next two years throwing 12/15 and 16/6 before going pro and getting drafted by the New York Football Jets, despite never posting a completion percentage above 59% in college.

In two years with the Jets he threw a grand total of zero passes despite being surrounded by bums like Bryce Petty, Geno Smith, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and Josh McCown. Not exactly murderers row ahead of him.

But before we all freak out lets just remember that the Patriots, as does every other team in the NFL, routinely workout guys that they never sign. Guys they never even hope to have to sign. These are often just workouts to keep the pipeline full in case disaster strikes and guys on your roster get injured.

Or Belichick is dabbling in the dark arts again and has grand plans for young Hackenberg. Jimmy Garoppo-WHO am I right??

The New York Islanders Just Fired Garth Snow and I FEEL ALIVE

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ESPN-  The New York Islanders have fired general manager Garth Snow and coach Doug Weight, the organization’s first major decision under Lou Lamoriello. The Islanders announced Tuesday that Lamoriello, who was hired last month as the team’s president of hockey operations, also would assume the role of GM and would oversee the hiring of New York’s new coach. Snow, who had been the Islanders’ GM since 2006, and Weight, the team’s coach since January 2017, will remain with the organization in unspecified roles.

YES! YES! YES! Oh my god I can barely contain my excitement. Jesus Christ himself has returned in the form of Lou Lamoriello to save the Islanders from the GM/back-up goalie from hell, Garth Snow. Snow has been in charge of the team since I was in high school, and the damage he’s done to a once storied franchise can finally come to an end. Snow was ripped straight from the bench (I’m not kidding) and thrust into the GM position under previous ownership and ever since then has been the punch line of every hockey joke this side of Manhattan. Also fired was head coach Doug Weight, who I kind of feel bad for, but he had his fair share of chances to step up last season and proved to be a mediocre coach at best.

If anything, this move proves my boy Lou does not mess around. He was brought in to save this franchise and so far he’s made the most important move we could make for this franchise’s future. With John Tavares being an UFA July 1st, we needed to prove to the soon to be $10 million dollar man that this organization isn’t just the little brother of the big bad Rangers (or bastard step-child, depending on your preference.) Lamoriello has brought myself and the rest of Isles Nation hope that our All-Star captain will stick around on the island for the long haul, something I would never have dreamed of only a month ago. There’s almost too much to be positive about around the Islanders these days. Don’t forget, a new arena is on the horizon slated to open at Belmont Racetrack within the next 2 years. If the Isles can somehow convince Tavares to stay, well then it is officially on in the Eastern Conference (we still need a goalie, I am well aware.)

P.S. Previous Islanders head coach Jack Capuano (who I will not tombstone on this happiest of hockey days) once lived in the basement of GM Garth Snow’s house. There were rumors circulating forever that the reason Snow didn’t let go of Capuano sooner was because of the living situation.  This is the kind of nonsense i’ve had to deal with for the past 12 years. Thank god it’s finally over. The circus has finally left town.