MSGNetwork.com Top 10 Metro Sports stories of '04: 10 through 6

[GaryMrMets]

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Top 10 Metro Sports stories of '04: 10 through 6

Dec 31, 2004

By MSGNetwork.com

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2004 will certainly live forever in many New York sports fans' minds -- and if you're a Bronx native, all for the wrong reason. But there were certainly debatable and delightful events that captured the back pages and home pages devoted to Metro sports. There were hellos to Eli, A-Rod, Starbury, and Pedro, while there were goodbyes to Taurasi, Leetch, KMart and the Voice of Summer, Bob Murphy.

In the tough task of identifying what was foremost in our area, we've enlisted our talent to help us put together the Top 10 Metro-Area Sports stories of 2004, and, this week, we begin with numbers 10 through 6:

10 Gang Green's big start
Unlike 2003, the Jets stay sharp out of the gate with a healthy Chad Pennington and get off to a 6-1 start, their best in team history. A tenacious Curtis Martin is again amongst the AFC rushing leaders (while moving up the all-time list), Shaun Ellis, Dewayne Robertson and John Abraham lead a smothering 'D' and Gang Green overcomes another Pennington injury to go into the holidays at 10-4 on the verge of clinching the AFC Wild Card.

http://www.msgnetwork.com/mediaStore/r/red_fucilli_anthony.gifFooch says: After a 6-10 2003, the Jets turn it around; the additions and subtractions Terry Bradway made worked great.

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9 Nets dismantle
A restricted free agent and cornerstone of a Nets revival that included two NBA Finals trips, Martin is sent to the Nuggets, who were set to offer him a front-loaded contract with a hefty signing bonus that would have had costly luxury tax ramifications for incoming Nets owner Bruce Ratner. Kerry Kittles is also dealt days later for financial reasons.

http://www.msgnetwork.com/mediaStore/r/red_kaufman_deb.gifDeb Kaufman says: Based on the fact that Rod Thorn has, in fact, admitted to it, you get the idea New Jersey's decision to do a sign and trade with Kenyon Martin is something the Nets' GM will regret for the rest of his life -- UNLESS Vince Carter brings the Nets something even KMart couldn't and that's an NBA Championship. As we approach the Christmas holiday Vinsanity had yet to suit up for Lawrence Frank but the two draft picks Thorn got in the Denver deal helped the Nets swoop in and steal Carter from, among others, the Knicks...who had been after him since before Isiah arrived.

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8 Mets hire Omar Minaya as GM, Willie Randolph as manager
A year after he turned down the Mets' offer to share power with Jim Duquette, Minaya is lured from the Expos with a five-year contract and the title general manager and executive vice president of baseball operations. He is given "total autonomy" from team owner Fred Wilpon, and shows it by hiring Yankee luminary Willie Randolph as the first African-American manager ever in New York baseball.

http://www.msgnetwork.com/mediaStore/r/red_robinson_ted.gifRobinson says: The Mets listened to the drumbeat and gave their baseball department to a baseball executive. Omar Minaya was handed autonomy as the Mets demonstrated the willingness to mirror every successful organization. And Omar hired a New Yorker and a winner.

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7 Pedro Martinez joins the Mets
A Yankee enemy with the Red Sox, future Hall of Famer -- and eccentric spirit -- Martinez gets a whopping four-year $53-million contract offer from new Mets GM Omar Minaya and makes a surprising move to Flushing. The 33-year-old right-hander becomes the staff ace, as Al Leiter moves on to Florida.

http://www.msgnetwork.com/mediaStore/r/red_cangialosi_steve.gifSteve Cangialosi says: Only Tom Seaver's trade to Cincinnati and Mike Piazza's arrival from Florida via Los Angeles rate as more significant transactions in Mets’ history.

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6 Knicks get Stephon Marbury to begin makeover
The focal point of Isiah Thomas' midseason roster turnover, New York engineers a blockbuster 10-player trade with Phoenix to get Brooklyn native Marbury, who becomes the face of the Knicks. Lenny Wilkens takes over as coach short time later, and the Knicks get to the first round of the playoffs, where they fall to the Nets.

http://www.msgnetwork.com/mediaStore/r/red_popper_steve.gifSteve Popper says: Remember Howard Eisley? The Knicks bring in Steph, Jamal Crawford, Nazr Mohammed and even get Allan Houston back -- plus, finally, two playoff games.

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[GaryMrMets]

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Top 10 Metro Sports stories of '04: 5 through 1

Dec 31, 2004

By MSGNetwork.com

2004 will certainly live forever in many New York sports fans' minds -- and if you're a Bronx native, all for the wrong reason. But there were certainly debatable and delightful events that captured the back pages and home pages devoted to Metro sports. There were hellos to Eli, A-Rod, Starbury, and Pedro -- and almost certainly early on in 2005, The Big Unit -- while there were goodbyes to Taurasi, Leetch, KMart and the Voice of Summer, Bob Murphy.

In the tough task of identifying what was foremost in our area, we've enlisted our talent to help us put together the Top 10 Metro-Area Sports stories of 2004, and, this week, we offer Part 2 (Nos. 5 through 1):

5 NHL Lockout
The Rangers, Islanders and Devils do not take to the ice in October after the league's collective bargaining agreement expires amid the NHL and its players union squabbling over concepts of a new CBA. The major difference in the dispute remains the salary-cap roadblock. The NHL wants one to achieve what it calls cost certainty for franchises, many of which lose money, while the players' association says it will never accept that as a solution.

http://www.msgnetwork.com/mediaStore/r/red_fischler_stan.gifStan Fischler says: No Rangers, Islanders or Devils hockey. What a bummer. More than that there's the blood war between ownership and players' association. League governors are trying to stop the players' union from taking over the NHL. It's a fascinating fight to the finish. But the fans suffer on the side.

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4 Eli Manning
Coming off a horrid 2003 season, the Giants swing a draft day trade and snare Ole Miss' Manning, whose bloodlines prove too appetizing to pass up at No. 1 overall. The Chargers draft Eli, who's makes no secret of his desire to go elsewhere.

Considered a surefire star QB in waiting, Manning then inks a deal that includes a $20 million signing bonus in a package that, with incentives could be tally up to $54 million over six years. Big Blue then parts with Kerry Collins and enlists Kurt Warner to mentor Manning, who takes over the top QB spot when the Giants stumble in midseason.

http://www.msgnetwork.com/mediaStore/r/red_leberfeld_dan.gifDan Leberfeld says: In the long run the trade will still be worth it. Fans can boo him, and columnists can rip him, but Manning made a prudent decision avoiding the San Diego Chargers. Consider these names – David Klinger, Akili Smith, Ryan Leaf, Cade McNown, and of course his father - Archie Manning. Just a few of many quarterbacks in NFL history who never realized their potential in large part because of the incompetent organizations that selected them.

http://www.msgnetwork.com/mediaStore/r/red_cangialosi_steve.gifSteve Cangialosi says: Refresh my memory, what was the problem with playing pro football in San Diego? Is it the bad weather in Southern California, or just that the team there (which has already clinched the AFC West with weeks remaining in the season) that’s the problem?

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3 Yankees acquire A-Rod
After the rival Red Sox see a mega deal for the Texas superstar fall through, the Yankees swoop in a bring A-Rod, arguably considered the Game's biggest star, to the Bronx. What's more, the star shortstop defers to Derek Jeter and shifts over to third base, where he performs better than expected. Rodriguez hits 36 homers and 106 RBI and helps intensify the Yanks-BoSox blood feud by helping fuel a Fenway brawl.

http://www.msgnetwork.com/mediaStore/r/red_cangialosi_steve.gifCangialosi says: He joined the Yankees as the only player in baseball history other than Babe Ruth to hit 40 or more homers in six consecutive seasons. He’s perhaps the best pure talent in the game today, and yet his season hardly lived up to the hype. The signing is still huge because it’s a matter of time before he produces. He’s too special a talent to fail.

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2 Jason Giambi and steroids in MLB
Leaked 2003 testimony to the federal grand jury investigating BALCO revealed that Yankee slugger Jason Giambi admitted he injected himself with human growth hormone and used steroids for at least three seasons, which contradict Giambi's public statements. The furor escalates to include Gary Sheffield's and Barry Bond's testimonies, prompting baseball and the players union to push for the eradication of performance-enhancing drugs.

http://www.msgnetwork.com/mediaStore/r/red_robinson_ted.gifTed Robinson says: Jason Giambi's physical horrors have no benefit. Giambi is a good guy gone awry. But his error in judgement, and those of others, will serve his peers by forcing baseball to cleanse itself.

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1 The Collapse of the Yankees
What else?! Once again battling in the ALCS, the Yankees open up a 3-0 series lead over their hated rivals, who proceed to obliterate 86 years of winless-ness by storming to four straight wins over the Bombers -- including a 10-3 rout in Game 7 and celebration on Bronx soil -- en route to their first World Series win since 1918.

http://www.msgnetwork.com/mediaStore/r/red_daughtry_bill.gifBill Daughtry says: A baseball first, a total 180 by the Yankees after dominating Boston in Games 1, 2, and 3 of the ALCS. Magnified of course by two facts. One, that it came against the franchise that had known 85 years of some of the cruelest heartbreak the game had to offer. And two, that it happened to the team that has been the paragon of excellence for all of professional sports. Those World Series parades seem so far away now.

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[GaryMrMets]

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MSG talent picks top-10 stories of 2004

Jan 03, 2005

By MSGNetwork.com

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Steve Cangialosi
10. UConn dual National Basketball Championships - If Connecticut played its home games at --- let’s say, Chelsea Piers --- this story would be number one. Instead it’s number ten, because Connecticut means about as much to the fabric of New York City sports as Scranton. However, what Jim Calhoun has done is nothing short of incredible.

9. Mets hire Omar Minaya/Willie Randolph - I’m stunned, but happy that Willie Randolph is getting a shot here. Minaya will be a breath of fresh air for an organization that needs one. He knows what he’s doing, and it’s a great hire. The only reason the story doesn’t rank higher is that FANS DON’T CARE WHO THE GM IS.

8. Knicks get Marbury - This has the potential to be much higher on the list, because we’re still in the embryonic stage of Marbury’s Knick career. If the Knicks are to seriously contend for an NBA title, there will come a time when Stephon will be asked to be the best player on the floor, in a high stakes game or series, on a court filled with All-Stars. It’s a tall order.

7. Rangers Trade Brian Leetch/Housecleaning - Brian Leetch’s legacy in New York will ultimately be overshadowed by Mark Messier’s presence, yet the 18,000 who watched him every night know how special he is/was. There are players who should wear one uniform only in their career. Brian Leetch is one of them.

6. Nets trade K-Mart and Kittles - Kenyon Martin was the perfect complement for Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson. Even Vince Carter won’t change my mind.

5. Eli Manning to Giants - Refresh my memory, what was the problem with playing pro football in San Diego? Is it the bad weather in Southern California, or just that the team there (which has already clinched the AFC West with weeks remaining in the season) that’s the problem?

4. Mets Sign Pedro - Only Tom Seaver’s trade to Cincinnati and Mike Piazza’s arrival from Florida via Los Angeles rate as more significant transactions in Mets’ history.

3. Giambi Steroids Revelation - The aftermath of this revelation will also rate as one of the top stories of 2005, if he remains a Yankee. Prediction: Since fans root for the laundry, and not the players, a strong enough faction of Pinstripe faithful will paint him a sympathetic figure.

2. The Yankees get A-Rod - He joined the Yankees as the only player in baseball history other than Babe Ruth to hit 40 or more homers in six consecutive seasons. He’s perhaps the best pure talent in the game today, and yet his season hardly lived up to the hype. The signing is still huge because it’s a matter of time before he produces. He’s too special a talent to fail.

1. The Yankees collapse, Boston wins the World Series - Very few stories make you feel as if you’ve been dropped into an alternate universe. The one picture I still can’t erase from my mind, and probably never will, is that of approximately 20,000 Red Sox fans refusing to leave Yankee Stadium about one hour after Game Seven. I know I’m in the minority, but this series, in my mind, actually made the Red Sox World series sweep of the Cardinals anticlimactic.

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Bill Daughtry
10. Bob Murphy dies -I was playing golf in Connecticut when we got news of his passing. Our foursome stopped for a moment of silence.

9. NHL Lockout - Can't really say I've missed hockey. The league got too big too fast, they lost me. Hasn't exactly worked to their benefit, has it?

8. Nets dismantling (then get Vince!) - With only five players, it doesn't take much to change a team for better or for worse. The dismissal of Martin, Kittles and Harris has shown us the worst. Now I want to see the better with the acquisition of Vince Carter and a healthy Jason Kidd. I wonder if Ratner will ever get this group to a glistening new palace in Brooklyn.

7. Jets and Giants combine for 9-1 start - I don't know about you, but I was giddy for a moment there. While Giants opted for growing pains with Eli, this may be the year the Jets finally grow up in the playoffs. Donnie Henderson may have a championship defense on his hands. Now if Paul Hackett can keep up his end of the deal.

6. Giambi, MLB steroid scandal - If it was a surprise it would have made my top three. Hopefully baseball's move to clean it up will provide more of a shock than the Grand Jury admissions of Giambi, Sheffield and Bonds.

5. Knicks makeover - Grumble and moan all you want about Tim Thomas, Vin Baker and Penny Hardaway. But would you really prefer to have the "un-tradable"Shandon Anderson, Howard Eisley, Othella Harrington and Clarence Weatherspoon?

4. Omar, Willie and Pedro in Flushing - No doubt about it, this franchise has a new face. Their makeover has been long overdue, but it starts with a G-M who has "total autonomy". A G-M who's far from finished shaping the opening day roster for 2005.

3. A-Rod joins Yankees - I can't believe how the fans have already turned on the guy who is still regarded as the best player in baseball. 36-106 .286. .320 with 3-8 in October, better than average in his first year as a third baseman. But all everyone wants to talk about is the Arroyo play in the A-L-C-S, and how this guy isn't a Yankee? Hmmm...

2. The 13 inning epic at The Stadium - Jeter's catch, the bumps and lumps that came with it were merely the signature on one of the top 10 games in baseball history.

1. The Collapse - A baseball first, a total 180 by the Yankees after dominating Boston in games 1, 2, & 3 of the A-L-C-S. Magnified of course by two facts. One, that it came against the franchise that had known 85 years of some of the cruelest heartbreak the game had to offer. And two, that it happened to the team that has been the paragon of excellence for all of professional sports. Those World Series parades seem so far away now.

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Stan Fischler
10. Tom Coughlin hired - It caused a meaningful buzz of excitement and curiosity. Bringing in a strict disciplinarian had the potential to turn the Giants around. And for a brief period it brought some optimism to disheartened Giant fans. But the period was all too brief.

9. Mets hire Minaya, Randolph - Luring the Mets' former assistant GM excited the fans; especially since Minaya had success in Montreal - acquiring big-timers such as Bartolo Colon and Cliff Floyd. Hiring Randolph is a schizophrenic choice. A lifetime Yankee now calling the shots at Shea. OY VAY!

8. NHL Lockout - No Rangers, Devils, nor Islanders. What a bummer. More than that there's the blood war between ownership and players' association. League governors are trying to stop the players' union from taking over the NHL. It's a fascinating fight to the finish. But the fans suffer on the side.

7. Eli to Giants -- The Giants invested all of their future in Manning stock and that may prove to be the biggest build-up to a letdown since the Yankees blew the ALCS to Boston. The question on most Giant's fans minds is not whether the stock grows to a Fortune 500 item, but when. Drafting a man with football in his blood and fire in his arm has brought enthusiasm and hope back to the Meadowlands.

6. Yanks get A-Rod --They did it again. Beating the Red Sox to sign arguably the best player in baseball was great stuff. The roller coaster season for A-Rod was an arresting story throughout the year. And the playoffs flop vs. Boston remains a bone in the Bombers' craw.

5. Messier's possible last game - The Messiah saluted the fans in what looms as his farewell after leading the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup in 54 years. After a short stint in Vancouver he returned to finish his career in New York. Perhaps the greatest Ranger center of all-time, Messier hangs up his skates; depending on the Lockout. It was a sentimental day in Rangers history as the immortal Mark played what could be his last NHL game.

4. UConn men's and women's hoops both win NCAA Title - While the women captured their third consecutive national championship, the men won their second title since 1999. UConn becomes the only school in NCAA history to win both men’s and women’s national championships in the same season. This dominance at the highest level of college sports earned fourth spot.

3. Bob Murphy dies - Since the Mets’ inaugural season in 1962, Robert Allan Murphy worked for the club’s play by play broadcasts. In 1994 Murphy received the Ford C. Frick Award and was inducted into the broadcasters’ wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame. A legend in the booth, Murphy is missed by all.

2. Giambi steroids revelation - The Giambi story may change the outlook of baseball forever. The expose brings into serious question the giant home run numbers posted this past decade. As time passes, the effects on baseball’s integrity will unfold. Meanwhile, New York fans are down on the former American League MVP. Who knows what will happen with their starting right fielder?

1. The Yankees collapse, Boston wins World Series - No question this is the all-time giant of sports chokes. Who could believe that the Red Sox could come back from a 3-0 deficit in the AL Championship series to beat the 26 time World Champions. The Sox went on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals and win their first World Series since 1918. The single greatest collapse in sports history is arguably the story for a lifetime!

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Anthony Fucilli
10. St. John's troubles - Jarvis firing, Pitt scandals and Abe Keita made it a long year.

9. Seton Hall over 'Zona in NCAA tourney - Pirates down double-digits come back to upset in Round 1.

8. NHL Lockout - Unfortunately, everyone said for a long time this would happen, and they were right.

7. Jets turnaround - After a 6-10 2003, the Jets turn it around; the additions & subtractions Terry Bradway made worked great.

6. Nets vs. Pistons Game 5, 3OT - One of the best games I saw this year -- some of the things that happened in this game were unbelievable.

5. Coughlin hired by Giants - The Fassel era ends, a new one begins.

4. Eli Manning - Couldn't believe the Giants would mortgage their future, when I thought the last thing they needed was a QB.

3. Marbury to Knicks - The fact that the Knicks were able to trade for that quality of a player within their salary cap situation was amazing.

2. Yankees get A-Rod - Just couldn't believe magnitude of this deal and that he'd move to 3B.

1. The Yankees' collapse - The Red Sox win a historic World Series because of this.

[GaryMrMets]

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Deb Kaufman
10. Both UConn hoops teams win NCAA tourney - Winning college basketball's ultimate prize is such an accomplishment, having both the men and women win it in the same year is even more remarkable, but if you didn't grow up in Hartford or actually attend the University of Connecticut you probably don't care all that much.

9. Mets struggles - The upside is the Mets have made MAJOR changes with the additions of Omar Minaya and Willie Randolph and especially Pedro Martinez... but the 9th biggest story of the year is after a promising April, just how miserable their season turned out to be.

8. Knicks makeover - Still a work in progress, but Isiah Thomas made quick work to get Stephon Marbury to NY, while also acquiring Nazr Mohammed and Jamal Crawford.

7. Giambi's steroid admission - The steroid scandal rocked baseball and dominated headlines for a couple of weeks. But as Randy Johnson and Pedro started to steal the tabloids' attention, MLB quickly reacted to shore up the policy and the scandal has quieted down -- until at least February when Giambi shows up for Spring Training.

6. Nets deal KMart - Based on the fact that Rod Thorn has, in fact, admitted to it, you get the idea New Jersey's decision to do a sign and trade with Kenyon Martin is something the Nets' GM will regret for the rest of his life. UNLESS Vince Carter brings the Nets something even KMart couldn't and that's an NBA Championship. As we approach the Christmas holiday Vinsanity had yet to suit up for Lawrence Frank but the two draft picks Thorn got in the Denver deal helped the Nets swoop in and steal Carter from, among others, the Knicks...who had been after him since before Isiah arrived.

5. The Olympics - The female athletes in Athens stole the show. From the women's soccer team to the controversy free women's gymnastics to the attitude free women's basketball team the U.S. swimmers and volleyball players and softball players were the class of the games. Even Michael Phelps, who has stumbled out of the pool since coming back form the Games can't top them.

4. MNF's Desperate Housewives Skit - Anytime anything happens in sports and it ends up as water cooler talk and fodder for media outlets from 'The Today Show' and 'Chris Matthews Hardball' on MSNBC to the 'CBS Evening News,' it's a big story. This was not because of something extraordinary on the field but it counts for me as No. 5 because it represents the state of Sports TV in the 21st Century. Where is it going, where should it be headed, and who's to judge? If interviewing "Leon" at Fenway Park during the World Series turns out to be kind of funny, what's so wrong with that? The Monday Night Football skit was poorly done and in poor taste, but if it had actually been well written and clever, it could've worked.

3. NBA brawl - See No. 5. In other words, this story had legs beyond the world of sports and it draws in at 3, also for the fact that it had so many ramifications. Pundits and politicians are wondering, and rightly so, where the civility has gone in our country. It pointed out loud and clear that we live in a violent time. Young people full of beer and young athletes full of rage.. .what to do?

2. Yankees collapse - From a pure on the field perspective, this is the top story of 2004 for Boston and New England and Red Sox nation...maybe even from a national perspective but I have it #2 because the Yankees will be back and this is a NY list.

1. NHL Lockout - Since I was the only one who thought they might actually play hockey this season I figured I should be the only one who will put this at #1. No hockey is a disgrace. Not just in Canada but here, too. The thought that a $2 billion a year business, a thread in the fabric of NY, NJ, and even CT during the cold winter months, a major league sport responsible for bringing joy to many and jobs to a lot have allowed finances to keep arenas all over North America dark is astounding.

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Matt Loughlin
10. Brian Leetch traded - Rebuilding project begins after long playoff drought. One of the best defensemen ever, but it proves that almost no one plays their entire career with one team any more.

9. Bob Murphy die - Millions mourn as the "Voice of Summer" is silenced.

8. Marbury and Knicks makeover - City kid returns to light up the Garden and lead Knicks to the playoffs. Who says you can't go home again?

7. NHL Lockout - No sport has had a season cancelled because of a labor dispute. This could be the first.

6. Jets best start- Huge season for a franchise and its fans that have had little to cheer about over the years. Chad and Curtis hope to lead the team to postseason glory.

5. Eli Manning - Little return this year but he holds the key to the team's future. How Manning turns out will determine GM Ernie Accorsi's legacy.

4. Minaya as GM, Randolph as manager -The Mets hire the first Hispanic GM in baseball who in turn hires the team's first black manager. Historic moves as well as ones that make the Mets the new face of baseball.

3. Pedro Martinez signing - The Mets announce that they are a player in the market again. Omar Minaya's first statement move in the free agent world. It won't be his last.

2. Steroids in MLB -The dark corners of sport are illuminated. What will the commissioner and the players association do to clean up the cheaters?

1. Yankees collapse, Boston Wins WS - -86 years of heartbreak ends for the Red Sox nation and it is preceded by a historic comeback against the Evil Empire!

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Dan Leberfeld
10. NHL Lockout - Good for you Gary Bettman. Clean the darn thing up.

9. Giambi steroids revelation - Just the tip of the iceberg.

8. Knicks get Marbury - Who says the Knicks cap situation had them handcuffed?

7. Tom Coughlin hired - Not a player's coach, but that's fine - he has no players.

6. Nets trade KMart, Kittles - The New Jersey Expos.

5. Jets draft Jonathan Vilma - We could be looking at the next Ray Lewis

4. Yanks get A-Rod - I got enough money, now I want a championship.

3. Eli Manning to Giants - In the long run the trade will still be worth it.

2. Bob Murphy dies - "Oh can that Mookie fly!"

1. The Yankees Collapse, Boston wins WS - Finally an end to the curse nonsense.

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Steve Popper
10. Bob Murphy - And so does a little bit of all of our youth.

9. NHL Lockout - Who noticed?

8. A-Rod to the Bronx - The Yanks sit back and get their man, after watching the Red Sox swing and miss again. Who would've thought that wouldn't always be the way it was?

7. Willie Randolph - He gets his chance finally by crossing the river.

6. The Knicks makeover - Remember Howard Eisley? The Knicks bring in Steph, Crawford, Nazr and even get Allan back -- plus two playoff games.

5. Giambi/Steroids - The rich contract, the struggles on the field and the admission finally in testimony that he's juicing. A disaster.

4. Pedro Martinez to Mets - The guy who offered to dig up Babe Ruth and drill him in the ass is here full-time.

3. Nets leaving the Swamp - The best show in hoops for three years disbands and heads to Brooklyn -- bringing with it Brooklyn-born Vince Carter.

2. Eli Manning - The Giants not only hand the reins to Eli, but mortgage much of the franchise to get him.

1. Yankees collapse - Even though it is Boston's victory, the Red Sox comeback and World Series victory makes it tops.

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Joel Sherman
10. Mets hire Omar Minaya/Willie Randolph

9. UConn men and women win in hoops

8. Piazza a first baseman

7. Mets sign Pedro Martinez

6. St. John's humiliation

5. Giambi steroid story

4. Stephon Marbury

3. Eli Manning

2. Yanks get A-Rod

1. Yankee collapse vs. Red Sox