The Mets Police

It’s time once again for an alternative professional football league, this time the UFL.

I always fall in love with these – I can’t get enough football (fellow Mets Policeman Cyclones Fan won our Fantasy XFL league).

I still think the USFL would have made it if they had stayed in the spring and hung in there just a little bit longer until ESPN took off.  (It was 1987 before cable TV came to the outer boroughs of New York City).

I liked the XFL.  I understood what it was.   NBC made a fatal mistake that first night.  I forget the specifics but the “A” game was a blowout, and the “B” game was a tight shootout.  They stayed with boring football to keep the “cool” announcers on, and should have switched to the better game.  Then again NBC used to do that to me with the NFL so why am I surprised.

Now the UFL, and they are already making some bad choices.

1.  They are going to play in the fall.   Guys, we’re pretty well covered with the fall.   You may have heard of the NFL and College Football.   That’s enough without worrying about the Birmingham Burgers vs the San Anotio Banderas.

2.  They already don’t understand new media.  The commish seems like a nice guy.  He posted a video on the web to explain the league.  I’d like to share it with you.  That’s not an option, they are seemingly unfamiliar with embed technology.   Foolish.

Anyway here’s a fun game.  Name the Teams.  They are inviting fans to name the teams in the following markets:  Hartford, Orlando, Salt Lake, Las Vegas, Monterrey, New York, Los Angeles & San Francisco.   Let me guess – something gambling related for Vegas.   How about we call the Monterrey team the “soon to be Portlands.”   I’d also suggest putting two teams in LA and just having them where red and blue (respectively) if you know what I mean.   The New York team?   Yeah you need a New York team but we don’t even watch college football around here, good luck.

I wish the UFL well, but I don’t see it.   Go to the spring fellas.

www.metspolice.com

There’s (light) talk of the NHL returning to Hartford.  I don’t know where these teams are coming from – KC seems to want one, and I don’t think anybody wants to see the Islanders leave town….but it would be neat to have Hartford back in the NHL.

From a press release put out by the mayor’s office in Hartford:

(January 14, 2009)— Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez met this morning with National

Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman at NHL Headquarters in Manhattan to

update the Commissioner on the status of Hartford’s plans for a new arena in the city.

Mayor Perez along with Andy Bessette, Chief Administrative Officer of the Travelers

Insurance Company— who is leading a task force on private sector support for a new

arena— and Oz Griebel, CEO of the MetroHartford Alliance, discussed with

Commissioner Bettman the potential for including an NHL franchise in future plans for

the development of a new Hartford arena.

“Today’s meeting with Commissioner Bettman was an excellent opportunity to let him

know that Hartford remains interested in bringing the NHL back to Connecticut’s Capital

City. We had a very good discussion and the Commissioner was generous with his time

and thoughts about what was necessary for an NHL franchise to succeed. This was the

first discussion in what all parties agreed should be an ongoing dialogue about Hartford’s

interest in bringing back an NHL team,” Mayor Perez stated.

“With the state returning the XL Center, formerly the Hartford Civic Center, to the city

by 2013, there is clearly a day of reckoning about what we as a city and state want to do

with a facility that by all accounts is rapidly reaching the end of its useful life. To keep

the momentum going in Hartford’s renaissance, we must be prepared in the next three to

five years to implement a redevelopment plan for a new multi-use arena facility that

serves the entire state not only as a world class venue for concerts, family shows and

UCONN Basketball, but also as a potential home for a major league sports franchise. In

light of these difficult financial times, this effort will take a considerable amount of work

and partnership between the city, state and corporate community to bring the plans for the

development of a new facility to reality, but the benefits have the potential to be

exponential,” Perez stated.

The city retained HOK Sport to develop a feasibility plan for the development of a new

arena facility. The preliminary report identified the present site of the XL Center

(Hartford Civic Center) as the most viable location for a new facility.

www.metspolice.com

I know what baseball is trying to do, again, with the World Baseball Classic, but I just can’t get excited about it.

Instead of being excited that “my guys” are playing – I’m fearful that they might get hurt (hey the could also fall on the ice) but also that they aren’t spending time with the team.

Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, David Wright and Jose Reyes away from the club for a few weeks.  Um, aren’t they sort of the main guys on the team?  Wouldn’t you want them around?

Oh yeah let’s send Santana and K-Rod there too.

Do you really care if the USA beats Italy 16-0 or if there’s some amazing final game where Jose Reyes is facing K-Rod in the 9th?   (Really, really are you going to watch Venezuela vs the Dominican Republic?  Really?)

Wouldn’t you rather the Mets win 3-2 at Port St. Lucie on a lonesome Wednesday afternoon?  Have all the guys there under Jerry’s watchful eye so he can build a team?

I’m more interested in the fourth starter than the WBC.  I’ll get more excited about Jon Niese pitching four scoreless innings than I will about Wright homering against Canada.  The Mets couldn’t possibly let Santana pitch in this, could they?

I notice that none of the Yankees new toys were invited.  Sure A-Rod & The Captain will be there, but Tex will be making friends with his new teammates, and C.C. and A.J. can keep their arms well rested for meaningful games in October, not March.

www.metspolice.com