GET OVER IT

BY MIKE RIFKIN

Do you remember the episode of “Family Guy” where Peter joined the news team for his segment “What Really Grinds My Gears”?  December 8th 2024, 596 days ago that’s a day that has haunted the state of New York Sports. It was the day Juan Soto and the Mets agreed to his 15 year 765 million dollar contract, and there are people who can’t get over it. 

For the first time ever the Mets outbid the Yankees for a player both teams coveted, especially after what Soto did in his one season in the Bronx. Now, Soto’s time in Queens has not been great, the Mets missed the playoffs last season and will miss again this year and that is definitely not the fault of Soto. As a Met has a slash line of .270/.400/.530 with 64 homers and 157 RBI’S. It’s not Soto’s fault the Mets are where they are, that’s on David Stearns, who really needs a good trade deadline. 

Soto, is a generational player, he is one of the faces of the sport, but yet people on Social Media or the media as a whole want to talk about if he made a mistake leaving the Bronx for Queens. So this is what “Grinds My Gears” Soto obviously was sold on whatever the vision Steve Cohen and Stearns have mapped out. And let’s be honest most of what has happened has not worked out in the Mets favor, but 600 days later we’re still talking about if it was a mistake? I know The Yankees have their shills in the media and Yankee fans are not used to losing out on free agents, but people need to get over this. Michael Kay on his program Monday claimed Soto has “wasted two prime years” The guy will be 28 years old in October, so he is just entering his prime. 

This notion that leaving the Bronx for Queens being a mistake needs to be looked at like this, the media and Yankee fans are not used to losing out on star players, especially to the Mets. And while the Mets are the biggest disappointment in the sport, the Yankee fan feels it’s cool to flex their muscle at being better than the Mets. But at the end of the day Juan Soto is the King Of Queens.

MESS AROUND AND FIND OUT

BY MARK HALPERN

     To be high up in the social media game you have to be known or do something to get known. Now there are right ways and wrong ways of doing it. We have seen YouTube sensation Mr. Beast turn his life into millions of dollars from his wild antics to cash winning games. Others rely on other talents from looks to personality. To be in SPORTS as a respected YouTuber it takes a lot and it takes dedication and there are ways of doing it and Fred Beyer found out the wrong way to do things.

    During the 2026 NFL Draft Fred Beyer ran on stage during the Pittsburgh Steelers pick and grabbed the microphone. He thought this would be his viral moment and it is but not in a good way. Fred was greeted by an NFL Attorney who gave him a sheet of paper explaining to him if he ever shows up at any NFL venue he will be arrested on the spot. There’s good publicity and bad publicity and whether or not Mr. Beyer believes his viral moment was worth it, it wasn’t. The Attorney requested he sign that he received the notice and he did, instead of fighting this in a court room. In my personal opinion it kept him out of jail and out of any other trouble with the law that he has been dealing with.

    Social Media has changed many a way we do things. We get information and sometimes you get recognized for things you do and sometimes other people are watching and a job opportunity presents itself. The moral of the story is there is a right way and a wrong way to break in to the media side of things. I just explained to you the wrong way.

GET WELL KYLE

BY MARK HALPERN

      This past weekend Kyle Shanahan, the head coach for the San Francisco 49ers was involved in a serious car collision. The collision involved four cars including Shanahan and the accident is not related to  DRUGS & OR ALCOHOL suspected. Just how serious was the crash you may ask? Well, when all said and done car totaled, A severe concussion, 40 stitches to his face, 3 broken ribs and fractures in his wrist. John Lynch who is the General Manager of the 49ers has stated that all these injuries thank goodness were non-life threatening and they will be taking a slow and careful approach to how he coaches in this preseason. Chris Foerster will be at the helm. Foerster has been an Offensive line coach around the league and has been in San Francisco since 2019. All of us here at the network wish for Kyle to have a safe a healthy recovery.

76ERS SERIOUS CONTENDER?

BY MARK HALPERN

     In sports most offseasons have their high and low points. The highs are usually the draft and the first days of free agency. The low points are every day where nothing happens. One of the teams pundits keep getting excited about are the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers are one of the most consistent regular season teams, and then in the playoffs they fold. This year they came back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Celtics, only to get swept by the Knicks in the second round. Remember trusting the process?

    The 76ers have had a very active offseason.  First was a huge trade with the Boston Celtics in which sent Jaylen Brown to Philly in exchange for Paul George and four draft picks (two firsts and two seconds). Jaylen Brown didn’t get the spotlight in Boston, due to Jayson Tatum. But Brown is a really good player, he’s won a Finals MVP and this season without Tatum for a good chunk averaged 28.7 points per game, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists, while shooting 47.7% from the field and 34.7% from three. The next move repulses me because in my opinion he is just going to be a distraction more than anything. Lebron James has signed a 2 year 8-million-dollar deal. We are all thinking it where is the big money for him. Well let’s face money LeBron doesn’t need the money. That he has plenty but, this will be his probably last and final chance to win another ring (mind you Jordan did it all with the Bulls) to go along with his impressive time in the NBA. I will not say he sucks and is a bad player cause that’s not the case. He was one of the best young talents to enter the game and achieve the things he did. The jumping from team to team trying to prove he is the best and be paired with some of the best (Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Kevin Love, Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving) just to name a few. LeBron averaged 20.9 points per game, 6.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists and shot 51.5 % from the field last season. 

   The Sixers also signed Dean Wade and they quietly signed Ariel Hukaporti from the Knicks and Anfernee Simons. They are also bringing in Kentavious Caldwell -Pope, once his buyout from Memphis is complete. Let’s not forget they will be joining Joel Embiid on this impressive 76er team. Embiid for one of the first times that I can remember has a solid core around him to take some of the heavy lifting off of his weakening knees and ankle problems. With Embiid, Brown, LeBron and Tyrese Maxey it will be difficult for defenses to defend, but who is going to be the primary ball handler?

    The Sixers will have to face perennial postseason teams such as the Celtics, the Cavaliers, Hawks and the reigning NBA champions the New York Knicks. The Eastern Conference is going to be a gauntlet, can James overcome it and win another title?

BEHIND THE SCENES AT S.I.N

PART 1

BY MARK HALPERN

The Sports Insanity Network has many faces. You have been able to put names to faces or voices since we’ve done a lot of work on Youtube ( https://www.youtube.com/@thesportsinsanitynetwork9343) You knowLawrence Lang, Dan Ryans, Mike Rifkin, Bill Murphy, Noah Trombly and myself. We have our blogging done on our website  (https://thesportsinsanitynetwork.com/) However, we’ve got a few other members who also contribute. The one I am talking about has made several appearances on  the network and his name is Ross Mazin.

     Ross went to school with some of the guys mentioned above. I got to meet Ross through the network. Ross likes to challenge our smarts buy sending out a trivia game based on our favorite team. The puzzles vary on their difficulty, but it’s the fact that he sends it and makes us think that’s great. Sometimes some great ideas for some of my blogs have been based on a category from these trivia games.

     Ross has been on the network with myself for the 19th hole that got held up this year but has full plans on returning in 2027.  Hey it might even be more than the two of us. Ross is a passionate Jets, Yankees, Knicks and Rangers fan. Ross enjoys going to different sporting venues both college and professional.

     Ross is just one of many who help the network in his own way. Stay tuned from other members who report on members who help outside the network. 

SCORE ONE FOR NOSTALGIA

BY MIKE RIFKIN

The Chicago Blackhawks have not made the playoffs since 2020 (bubble), in fact the Blackhawks have finished last in the Central Division each of the last four seasons. GM Kyle Davidson has handed out some interesting contracts throughout his tenure : Teuvo Teravainen three years 16.2 million dollars (5.4 million AAV) In his return to Chicago Teravainen has posted 29 goals and 93 points and is a -53. Tyler Bertuzzi signed a four year 22 million dollar contract (5.5 million AAV) and has posted 55 goals and 104 points and is -55. Now for the money those contracts are pretty good for the production. 

But this offseason has been a bit of a different story, Connor Bedard got a massive contract extension as the face of the franchise. Five years 75 Million Dollars (15 million AAV) for the next face of the franchise. But the one that still gets me is trading and signing Bowen Byram. Byram was acquired with Forward Jordan Greenway from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for picks 4 and 45 in this year’s draft. Byram then signed a six year 75 million dollar contract (12.5 AAV). Byram posted a career high 11 goals and 42 points for the Sabres this past season. Byram is 25 years old and is a former top five pick in 2019. So there’s a ton of upside to his game and even with the cap rising that contract doesn’t seem bad, but you’re paying him to be your version of Cale Makar or Quinn Hughes, both of whom the Blackhawks will see a lot of over the next couple of seasons. 

On Thursday it was announced the Blackhawks are bringing back Winger Patrick Kane on a two year contract. Kane, the first overall pick in 2007 helped the Blackhawks secure three Stanley Cup Championships (2010,2013, 2015) and in 2013 won the Conn Smythe as the Playoffs MVP. Since leaving Chicago Kane has played for the New York Rangers and has spent the last three seasons in Detroit, where he posted 57 goals and 163 points in 189 games. There’s a cool nostalgia factor with Kane being back in Chicago especially if it’s his final two seasons. But there’s a part that bothers me and it does coincide with Byram, if the Blackhawks wanted an established winger to play with Bedard, they could’ve used that pick to get a big time player, but instead go Byram and sign Kane, who will provide leadership to the room. But is this a passing of the torch signing? 

Even with Kane’s return the Blackhawks are still not a playoff team, yes they have building blocks and have a ton of pieces to move. But is signing Kane just to appease the fans or is there something more there. Kyle Davidson has hit on some signings, but eventually it has to parlay into winning, the way the Central Division is shaped I’m not sure Patrick Kane makes the Hawks a playoff team. But hey score one for nostalgia.

MASSIVE FAILURE

BY MIKE RIFKIN

The 2026 New York Mets have been abysmal to watch (shoutout to the people who continually watch). Everything David Stearns did hasn’t worked, and nothing shows that more than Freddy Peralta. Peralta, who Stearns knew from their days in Milwaukee, has been dreadful this season. 

Last night Peralta returned to Milwaukee and it didn’t go as he planned. Peralta went 5.1 innings giving up seven runs, eight hits, two walks and six strikeouts. The seven runs pushes Peralta’s ERA to 5.01, the 5.01 ERA is 55th among qualified pitchers, Last season in Milwaukee Peralta had a 2.70 ERA, which was top ten in Baseball, that’s the Peralta the Mets needed this season, but haven’t gotten. Also the 5.1 innings Peralta gave the Mets, were the most innings he threw in his last four starts. In fact Peralta hasn’t completed six innings since June 9th, and he’s only completed six innings six times this season. 

But with the Mets being where they are in the standings and Peralta set to become a free agent after the season, he is one of the many pieces the Mets can move. Here’s the problem with the year Peralta’s having, what is he worth? He’s not worth the Jett Williams and Brandon Sproat package the Mets sent to Milwaukee for him. 

The Mets have made it clear they’re selling and Peralta is at the forefront of the sale. But knowing what the expectations were going into the season for both player and team, the fact that we’re talking about what the Mets can get for Peralta at the deadline just sums up that the 2026 season is one that Met fans want to forget quickly.

WALK-OFF

     BY MARK HALPERN

        The Home Run Derby is the thing most fans look forward to, when Baseball hits the All-Star Break. It’s something everyone loves watching, just like the Dunk contest. I  wish Baseball would be like the NBA and have multiple events such as fielding, bunting, throwing accuracy etc.… 

   The Home Run derby has changed rules three times during my time of watching. First, it was 10 outs if a ball didn’t go out it was an out.  Then it was changed to a three minute time limit in the first round and then more rounds of timed limits. I hated this because it caused more of a rush and put the players in a chance for a greater risk of tiring themselves out in the heat. Now, this year they brought back the swings but doubled it to 20 then each round got less. The crop of players for this years derby was one of the more anticipated ones because the field of players was of such high caliber with such players as Bryce Harper, Kyle Swarber, Jordan Walker, Junior Caminero and others.  

    One thing about the Derby, whether you’re a young player or a Veteran everyone wants to participate in the Derby. We have seen veterans win, but we’ve also seen young players such as Julio Rodriguez and Pete Alonso win. This year we witnessed another young player win. Jordan Walker was a top prospect for the Cardinals and it had been a struggle. This year has been a pure breakout year for him as he has been a reason why the Cardinals are shocking the world. Walker in the last round launched and I mean launched 11 home runs, including six consecutive with one out to play with to win the title.

    After the win the internet had some fun showing that Walker winning one million dollars is more than what he currently makes. For the Cardinals sake hopefully 2026 Jordan Walker is what they see for a long time, because if so Monday night a star was born.

THE DISRESPECT

BY MIKE RIFKIN

In 2024 Lamar Jackson was in a heated MVP debate with Josh Allen. Last season Jackson hurt his Hamstring and missed some time, yet the Ravens still had a chance to win the AFC North, and you really can’t blame him as to why they lost that game to the Steelers. Lamar Jackson is a two time MVP and a three time first team All-Pro, yet he still gets disrespected. 

On the NFL’S top 100 players list Jackson came in at 69, 67 spots lower than he was. There are not 68 better football players than Lamar Jackson. People are always moving the goalposts when it comes to Jackson. They’ve gone from he’s not a NFL QB, to he can’t be a great pocket passer and when he’s succeeded at that it’s moved to he can’t win the big game. Has Lamar played his best in the postseason? No, but we can have the same conversation when it comes to other Quarterbacks. The Raven defense is what let them down last season. The Ravens gave up 354.5 yards per game, 30 sacks, and had a -3 turnover differential. The Raven defense was near the bottom in all three categories, how is that Lamar’s fault?

ESPN also came out with a top ten Quarterback list and Jackson ranks fifth behind Allen, Mahomes, Matt Stafford, and Joe Burrow. I love Patrick Mahomes but he’s coming off a torn ACL and I love Joe Burrow but he was hurt last year too. Now Mahomes’ body of work speaks for itself, but Joe Burrow hasn’t won a thing yet in this league to put him over Lamar is a little ridiculous.

Look here’s the thing Lamar is as under as much pressure as anyone in the league (that’s a different blog) but how does he drop 67 spots? It can’t be the injury or performance based, so what is it? Either way I think this puts a chip on Lamar’s shoulder and the Ravens will be playing football in January.

DISGRACEFUL

BY MARK HALPERN

    Officiating, sometimes they’re right, sometimes they’re wrong but more often than not they’re the center of attention. The World Cup has been no different. We have seen incidents with multiple players who think they’re being targeted more for calls based on their  (as we saw with the Red Card for Team U.S.A that was later rescinded) Grouping. 

    I wanted to wait to see as much information about this topic had been released before writing. During the Egypt vs Argentina match last week Egypt jumped out to a 2-0 lead. Argentina looked flat but, the “TOM BRADY PROTECTION” was not yet in use. If you do not know Lionel Messi is retiring after this season and a loss here would end his final run. Well in the second half there were multiple calls against Egypt but, there were blatant and I mean blatant calls that gave Messi and Argentina time to tie it. Mohammad Saleh had broken free and he would have scored and with barley any time left it would have sealed the deal. But, wait the whistle blew and called a penalty far away from the play. Instead of it sealing the deal for Egypt, that whistle created a comeback for Argentina. Argentina scored three goals in the span of about 13 minutes, including the game winner in stoppage time, to make the comeback. If Argentina can defeat England on Wednesday and go to the Final and potentially win, as great of a story that would be for Messi, there’d still be some controversy. What happens if the officials don’t call the foul on Egypt? That’s something we’ll never know.