The Final “Judge” ment has been made  

By Bill Murphy 

Well after two miserable seasons New York Giants Head Coach, Joe Judge has been fired.  Judge finished his tenure  in New York with an abysmal  10-23 record .  Over the past couple weeks there was speculation about Joe Judge’s future, right before the week 16 game against the Eagles, It was reported that Judge was going to be safe for the 2022-23 season. After that game there was talk that John Mara said if a new GM said that they need to move on from Judge he would do that.  

  Calling Judge incompetent is an understatement, in all of my years watching the Giants, Judge has to be the absolute worst coach, I’ve seen. My problems with Judge range from the excuses such as “my headset wasn’t working and I couldn’t see the game “to the stupid game decisions that were made such as just this past week when he made the decision to do a QB sneak at third and nine on his own five-yard line.  His reason being he wanted to give his punter more room. 

The worst of all in my opinion was after the week 17 loss against the Bears in his press conference when he went on a bizarre 11-minute rant. In the rant, He said some things like “this ain’t no clown show “went on about how he changed the culture in the locker room and former players were reaching out to him about how they wanted to come back to the Giants. Judge also blamed his predecessor Pat Shurmur and former Offensive Coordinator Jason Garret (who was fired earlier in the season). He also said that they were “heading in the right direction “. This stunt showed that Judge is delusional and refuses to take responsibility for the state of his team.

It is beyond fair to say that John Mara made the right decision and didn’t wait. There were reports that the Players wanted him gone and that Giants Co- owner Steve Tisch was saying that he would be open to making changes “beyond just a new GM. “Big changes are coming to the Meadowlands with the retirement of General Manager Dave Gettleman on Monday and Judge’s firing on Tuesday, Mara and Tisch now have decisions to make that can make or break this team as they begin their rebuild. It’s a long road ahead, but for now Giant fans rejoice!!!!

Flores Fired: Instant Reaction

By: Mike Rifkin

Brian Flores has been fired as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins season ended the same way it started a victory over the New England Patriots, and for the first time since 2000 swept the Patriots. In his three years as the Dolphins coach Flores was 4-2 against his former mentor Bill Bellichick and had an overall record of 24-25. 

Flores had a 19-14 record the last two seasons and gave the Dolphins back to back winning seasons for the first time since 2003. The Dolphins started this season at 1-7 and finished with a record of 9-8,he also didn’t have his starting quarterback for four games. This team could have quit at any point this season, but they didn’t and found their way back into playoff positioning as of week 17.  He also had to coach in a difficult circumstance when the team was pursuing Deshaun Watson of the Texans, despite the legal situation of Watson. Brian Flores IS  a good coach. Just look at his first season as the coach the team was not good and were in position to draft a quarterback and he still found a way for them to win five games. 

The major catalyst for them during the seven game winning streak was the defense.  In six of the seven games during the streak the defense allowed 17 points or less and held teams to under 300 total yards. The defense which last season feasted on turnovers and having a +9 turnover differential, during this streak forced 14 turnovers. Rookies Jaelan Phillips and Jevon Holland had excellent rookie years playing in Flores defense. 

Owner Stephen Ross said today that he will not be hiring Jim Harbaugh from Michigan. But whoever he hires it better be somebody Dolphin fans like because the firing of Flores makes no sense and I don’t believe this is the last change for the Dolphins as they enter the offseason. Brian Flores didn’t deserve to be fired so Chris Grier and Stephen Ross the pressure is now on both of you.

Believe In The Blue Shirts 

By: Mike Rifkin

After Monday’s 4-1 win over the Oilers the New York Rangers sat atop the entire NHL. I think most people will agree that this is a major shock. I think most people had them competing for a playoff spot. The Rangers have won three in a row including a home and home sweep of the two time defending Stanley Cup Champion Tampa Bay Lightning. The most impressive thing about the last two wins is they have done that without their best player Artemi Panarin who is in Covid protocols. 

A lot of credit goes to first year General Manager Chris Drury and first year coach Gerard Gallant. Gallant had previously coached the Blue Jackets, Panthers, and Golden Knights. He had made the playoffs on three separate occasions including taking Vegas to the Stanley Cup Finals in their inaugural season. Drury, who was the assistant GM under Jeff Gorton, was promoted once Gorton was fired. Drury inherited a very skilled team, but his mission this offseason was to get tougher for the team to play against, a lot of people point to the Tom Wilson incident late last season or how they played against the rival New York Islanders but if you go back and watch a lot of the Stanley Cup Champions over the past decade or so they all had a bit of toughness to them. Barclay Goodrow who was acquired from the Lightning brings playoff experience, versatility, among other things. Goodrow has played in every game so far this season he has seven goals including three in his last three games played and sixteen points and has a rating of  +6. The Rangers also added enforcer Ryan Reaves this offseason. Reaves was coached by Gallant in Vegas and brings toughness to the team. He is currently third in the league in hits and has six assists. They also traded winger Pavel Buchnevich to the Blues for Sammie Blais. Blais in 14 games had four assists before tearing his ACL. 

But like I said at the top Gallant and Drury inherited a very skilled team. That starts with Artemi Panarin the skilled left winger has 10 goals and 36 points in 31 games played. Panarin has missed the last two games due to covid protocols. Continuing down the left side there is the longest tenured Ranger Chris Kreider who leads the team with 20 goals a mark he has hit for the sixth time in his career and fourth consecutive. Kreider has never had a 30 goal season. Playing with Kreider is Mika Zibanejad who the Rangers gave a massive eight year contract to. Zibanejad has nine points in his last six games including a hat trick against the Lightning. Continuing at center there is Ryan Strome who is an impending unrestricted free agent has eight points in his last seven games, including four in the last two without Panarin. Then there is reigning Norris winner Adam Fox who is tied with Victor Hedman in points for a defenseman with 35. Fox averages 24:39 on ice per game. Jacob Trouba who the Rangers acquired from the Jets prior to the 19-20 season and signed a seven year 56 million dollar contract has played his best hockey as a Ranger posting six goals and fifteen points. But Trouba’s physical play is what sets him apart from most of the other Rangers defensemen. Then there is goaltender Igor Shesterkin who the Rangers gave a four year 22 million dollar contract in the offseason has a 15-4-2 record with a 2.09 goals against average and a .936 save percentage and two shutouts. The 2.09 GAA ranks fifth in the NHL and the .936 save percentage is fourth. 

How can you talk about the Rangers and not talk about some of the youth on the roster. Alexis Lafreniere and Kappo Kakko each have 11 points on the season, but you can tell they play with more confidence than they had last year. Whether that has to do with the coaching change or the fact that both players got a full training camp but they play with more confidence. Then there is a player like Julien Gauthier who has five points in 25 games but he also is playing with more confidence playing every game since coming in for Blais. But the guy who has probably taken the biggest step forward is K’Andre Miller the second year defenseman has six points in 34 games, but you can see when you watch him that he also has a bit more confidence and is growing into one of the better young defensemen in the NHL.

A lot of credit should go to Jeff Gorton for putting a lot of the pieces on this roster. But combining the coaching change with the acquisitions of some veterans along with the growth of the young players has the New York Rangers in a very good position. What that means for this season I have no idea but it will be fun to watch

Sentry Tournament of Champions

By Mark Halpern

After a small hiatus I am back at again bringing you the best golf opinion on the Sport Inanity Network. Tomorrow the Sentry Champion tournament tees off at Kapaula Plantaion course on the beautiful island of Maui, Hawaii. Held every year the Sentry tournament began back in 1953 and has been a tradition in Hawaii for over 55 years. This year the field is what you expect from a big tournament like this one. I am going to give you my opinions on who will win and why plus a look at the possible top 5.

    There is so much talent in this field it will be a close match. I do not foresee a runaway in this. I like Colin Morikawa to win this tournament. He took the golfing world by storm last year with his aggressive and accurate play. I expect him to take over from where he left off and shoot towards his goal of being the #1 golfer in the world.

     Justin Thomas will be on Morikawa’s heels all the way through this tournament. Thomas has 4 top 5 finishes dating back to last year and looks to keep it up. He is a master on the fringe and his great short game will help him on this course. He will be Morikawa’s main challenger.

     Xander Schauffele won this tournament back in 2019. He knows this course and has done very well on it. If Xander comes our firing he will be in the top 5. He has great vision on the greens and his accurate drives keeping him on the fairway to help with those birdies. Justin Thomas will be looking at Xander’s score during this match.

    Another name to watch out for and that is Sam Burns. Sam a Florida resident has had a great run from the beginning of December to the current tournament finishing 5 times in the top ten. There is no shortchange of names in this match that I expect that the guys doing the video board and visual board will be busy with changing score every few minutes.

No match would be complete without some underdog picks. First on my list is Joel Dahmen. His -5 under par play at the Packer Enterprise Houston open tied him for 5th during this match. After e completed that match, he had made the cut 5/5 times. I could see him sneak into the top 15 with his long powerful drives and good short game.

     My second Wild Card pick Billy Horschel made the cut for his first tournament back in November of 2021 and has his sites set on the beautiful course on Maui. He has powerful drives and his putting his beautiful. His only real flaw is chipping around the fringe and other close areas, and it often costs him an important stroke. If Horschel comes out with the form, he did in November I can see a top 10 finish in his field.

   Now there is a ton of talent in this tournament, and I would love to write small expose on each of them but, only have so much room in this article. Other golfers who will be driving their balls after the leader will be {in no Particular order}

Bryson Dechambeau

Viktor Hovland

Xander Schauffele

   The weather couldn’t be better day for a well renowned tournament. The sun will be out shining bright and will be warm with a nice high of 79 degrees.

    This is a beautiful course and is known to challenge even the best of golfers. Again, My Pick Is Colin Morikawa to win it with either Justin Thomas or Xander Schauffele to be nipping at his heels all through out the tournament. This match will come to a playoff and that is how the old man sees it.

Also Be on the look out for information regarding the SIN Golf Podcast that will be coming to the Network this late spring.

ANTONIO BROWN

By: Mike Rifkin

During the third quarter of the Bucs 28-24 victory over the Jets Antonio Brown took off his jersey, pads, and undershirt and ran off the field. There have been reports that coach Bruce Arians asked Brown to go back into the game and Brown said no. Arians said he isn’t talking about Brown and he is no longer a Buccaneer, but my thing is if you have a guy like Brown and you want to talk about the positive, you have to talk about the negative. 

Last October Arians told Peter King of NBC Sports “He screws up one time, he’s gone.” This wasn’t Brown’s first screw up as he was just coming back into the lineup due to an injury and was suspended for three games for having a fake vaccination card. Yes circumstances dictated the need for Brown to play after with Chris Godwin being out for the season with a torn ACL. Antonio Brown was a major force in the Bucs winning the Super Bowl last season he had eight catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns in three games. Brown when he returned from his suspension said “It’s a lot of drama. It’s a lot of drama you guys create, a lot of drama that people create that want stuff from me. But that’s just a part of life, a part of being in the position. I can’t control what people want from me, I can’t control what people write about me, I can’t control what people say about me. All I could do is get up every day and be the best person I can be, and when I get a chance to do my job, do my job the best way I could do it, and that’s what we had today.” The problem with what Brown said is that the media is not the one who creates the drama, it’s  Brown who has put himself in this spot and it’s a narrative he created. 

Brown has now been essentially kicked off of three different teams. The other stuff had been because of off the field problems, but now it has slipped to on the field. Bruce Arians said on Monday “ It was very hard,” “ I wish him well. If he needs help, I hope he gets some. It’s very hard. Because I do care about him.” Antonio Brown doesn’t need to be thinking about playing football or what is next in his career, Brown needs help. If he will not help himself the NFL should step in and offer to get him the help he needs.

Season’s Beatings

By: Mike Rifkin

On Sunday the Miami Dolphins seven game winning streak was snapped with a 34-3 loss to the Titans, and later in the day the Dolphins were officially eliminated from Playoff contention.  For the second consecutive season the Dolphins entered week 17 in a Wild Card spot and got thoroughly handled by a team that is going to the playoffs. 

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa who entered the game with a 70 percent completion percentage was 18 – 38 for 205 yards and an interception. He also had three fumbles in the game. Yes Tua wasn’t good, but the other flaws on the Dolphins offense really showed up. Tua was sacked four times and as a team the Dolphins ran for 74 yards, yes the score dictated the play calling but the Dolphins don’t have the weapons on offense to put up 30 points per game. On offense the Dolphins average 19.3 points per game with one game left to play, so the biggest thing they have to do this offseason is improve on that. 

The major catalyst for the team’s recent performance has been the defense. In six of the seven games during the streak the defense has allowed 17 points or less and held teams to under 300 total yards. The defense which last season feasted on turnovers and having a +9 turnover differential, during this streak they have forced  14 turnovers. After eight sacks of Saints quarterback Ian Book last night, Miami now leads the NFL with 45 sacks. Against the Titans the Dolphins had one sack and did not force a turnover. The defense gave up 198 yards rushing WITHOUT DERRICK HENRY. For the season teams averaged 4.4 yards per carry against the Dolphin defense, on Sunday the Titans averaged 5.0 yards per carry. The Dolphins defense tried to keep them in the game but the inability to get off on third down was also a factor as the Titans were 7-15 on third downs. The offense’s inability to continue drives with the Titans run game caused the defense to tire out. 

For the second straight season with the playoffs in their grasp the Dolphins didn’t show up. They were overmatched by a team with Super Bowl aspirations. Yes the seven game winning streak was fun and saw a lot of things but this team needs to take a step forward. With one game remaining before the offseason the ultimate question is what happens primarily with Tua? Do they go out and get Deshaun Watson? Do they look at Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers or do they feel Tua is the guy and they have to build around him. Those are offseason questions but the team will look to play spoiler against the New England Patriots who can win the AFC East.

John Madden An NFL Legend

Passes away suddenly at 85

By Mark Halpern

On Monday, December 28th, John Earl Madden, Legendary Coach of the Oakland Raiders and NFL Analyst, passed away at 85. He passed suddenly and from Natural causes. He was loved by the NFL community, from its fans to its heads in the NFL front office.

    Madden got his start in the NFL in 1959 when he played as a tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles in the 21st round of the draft, mind you. In today’s draft, it didn’t go past 8 rounds. Unfortunately, Madden suffered a horrible knee injury and never played for the Eagles. Madden Knew his chances of playing in the NFL just went out the window, but his love of the sport turned him to coaching, and in 1966 he met Al Davis, which was the beginning of a great relationship. In 1967 Davis promoted Madden to oversee the LineBackers, and just two years later, he was named head coach. After ten years of building a great team, Madden took them to Super Bowl XI in 1977 and won. A Madden Legacy was Born.

     After some health issues, Madden retired from coaching only to find himself in the announcing booth calling games on CBS and FOX. He was put with Pat Summerall, and over the next 21 years, the two of them had some of the best broadcasts aired on national television. The two of them worked so well together there was no time for dead air because when one of them stopped, the other chimed in and kept the conversation going. The final game of their long-time partnership ended with them doing Super Bowl XLIII in Feb 2009. I don’t believe in my generation that we will hear two perfect analysts in a booth again.

     John Madden had his name attached to the most significant selling sports game franchise of all season. In 1991, the Nintendo company released the first Madden game for its Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It was one of the most sought-after games of that year. It was the first Football game that made you feel like you were playing the game. Over the next 23 years, we have seen this game evolve, and the graphics in today’s game make you feel like you are paying as your favorite character. Madden gave his advice for the game inserting many plays he used over his tenure in Oakland and his knowledge of Football. Like MLB, The Show is the staple video game for baseball; Madden is the staple game for Football.

In 2006 Madden was elected into the Nfl Hall of Fame as part of the Oakland Raiders. The News of his passing struck me hard as I have admired him from his knowledge of the sport of Football, and his attachment to the NFL game Madden was legendary. I have collected one madden game since its inception. SO from 1991-2022, I have games from SNES, N64, GAME CUBE, THE WII. XBOX 360 AND XBOX 1S. When I heard the announcement of his passing, it was like a little of my childhood/adulthood died, and that is how the old man sees it.

The Dallas Cowboys Win the NFC EAST

Destroy the WFT 56-14

By Mark Halpern

 This game was scheduled because someone in the higher-ups thought this would be a very close game and with serious playoff consequences on the line. Before the game, the Cowboys were on the field doing warmups, and a flash came across the Jumbotron “THE DALLAS COWBOYS HAVE WON THE NFC EAST” with the Tennessee Titians just edging out the 49ers 20-17. With the defeat of San Francisco, the cowboys by conference, and head-to-head wins, the Cowboys won the NFC East. So not only are the Cowboys in the playoffs, they will host a first-round home game. As it stands today, Dallas would face Philadelphia. 

     Even though the Cowboys knew that they were in the playoffs, many people said it was time to rest Zeke, Dak, Cooper, and Zach Martian. That isn’t going to happen cause, as of today, the Cowboys are one game behind the Packers for the top seed and a bye week. The Packers must win out, and they face two formidable division rivals in Detroit and Minnesota. Division games are played with a little more intensity because of bragging rights. 

     The Dallas/Washington game itself was an embarrassment to the fans of the no-name football team. For the first time in the last few weeks, Dak Prescott looked like he did at the beginning of the year. He seemed lighter on his feet, his passes were on target, and he threaded the needle several times. Dak threw for 365yard and 4td in the game. Mind you; this was only in the first half. They could have brought him back in the second half to play and go for the record, but since we are almost at the end of the season, why not rest the big 4 {DAK, Zeke, Cooper, and Martain.} Zeke Elliot had a quiet day, but he was pulled from the game after the first half. Zeke did chip in 45 yards and scored 2 touchdowns on the day. Cooper had  7 rec 5 yards, and 1td. Dalton Schultz has been fire this season and has totaled 8 receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown.

      The Defense kept on just getting better. On the first play, Heineken threw a drunken pass that was supposed to be to Terry McLaurin but was picked off by no other than #7 Treyvon Diggs. That gives him his 11th interception tying the great Everson Walls back in 1981. He isn’t worried about records; he wants to go out every weekend and win the game. 

       Demarcus “Tank” Lawrence is back at full strength as he played phenomenally. He had 4 tackles 2 of which were for a loss. Several QB hits/pressures, and he tipped a pass at the line, snagged it out of the air, and took it back for a touchdown. With Lawrence, Parsons, Gregory, Kneal and Vanderesch, and The No-Fly Zone of the Cowboys secondary, I believe it can handle the task of any high-powered passing office.

       The Offense had its best day in the last 5 weeks. Dak looks healthy, and Zeke is getting better; Armani Cooper and Gallup are almost 100%, and the Cowboys will have starting right tackle Tyron Smith back on the line against Cardinals.

       Even with the Cowboys locking up the NFC East and a playoff berth, they still have 2 games left to play, and they are against teams fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive. This weekend Dallas will take on the Arizona “depleted Cardinals” on Sunday at 4pm. This is a massive game for both teams, and since that bye week is still attainable, I expect to see the same Cowboys that were on the field against the WFT. It wont be an easy game but Dallas should keep the winning bus moving to keep pressure of Green Bay

Streaking Fins

By: Mike Rifkin

Monday night the Miami Dolphins defeated the New Orleans Saints 20-3. It was the seventh consecutive win for Miami. The Dolphins are the first team in NFL history to win and lose seven consecutive games in the same season. With this streak the Dolphins now own the last wild card spot in the AFC. 

The major catalyst for the team’s recent performance has been the defense. In six of the seven games during the streak the defense has allowed 17 points or less and held teams to under 300 total yards. The defense which last season feasted on turnovers and having a +9 turnover differential, during this streak they have forced  14 turnovers. After eight sacks of Saints quarterback Ian Book last night, Miami now leads the NFL with 45 sacks. There have been a lot of standouts on defense including All- Pro Cornerback Xavien Howard and linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah. But the young guys on this defense have also been impressive in Safeties Brandon Jones and Jevon Holland and rookie Pass Rusher Jaelan Phillips who is second on the team with eight and a half sacks.

Those are not the only young guys playing well as rookie receiver Jaylen Waddle is five catches away from breaking Anquan Boldin’s record for most catches in a rookie season. Waddle has 96 catches for 941 and five touchdowns on the season. Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has also played well during the streak. On the season the second year quarterback has a 70.1 completion percentage with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions.  One thing that I believe has also fueled this streak is now the team knows who their quarterback is. Prior to the trade deadline there was a lot of chatter that the Dolphins were going to acquire Deshaun Watson from the Texans. I think a lot of that may have gotten into Tua’s head a little bit and the team’s as well. Now it is hard to judge Tua the offensive line is one of the worst in the league, the team has no run game and outside of Waddle and tight end Mike Gesicki the outside weapons are not great. For context Waddle has 96 catches, Gesicki has 67 catches the next closest player has 46. Now whether the Dolphins continue their pursuit of Watson will have to wait until the offseason.

A lot of people look at the winning streak and the first thing they ask is who were the other quarterbacks that the Dolphins have beaten. That list would be Tyrod Taylor, Lamar Jackson, Joe Flacco, Cam Newton, Mike Glennon, Zach Wilson, and Ian Book. Outside of Lamar this is not a great list but this is the NFL and winning seven in a row is not easy. The NFL is not college where you can make your own schedule, you play who you have to and nobody is going to apologize for taking advantage of the situation. The only two things standing in the Dolphins way are former quarterback Ryan Tannehill and Bill Bellichick. Whether they make the playoffs or not this team showed a lot of fight coming from 1-7 to 8-7 controlling their own destiny.

Welcome To The Jungle

By: Mike Rifkin

On Sunday the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Baltimore Ravens 41-21.  Yes, the Ravens had to start Josh Johnson at quarterback because of Lamar Jackson’s injury and Tyler Huntley being placed on the Covid list and the Ravens have a ton of injuries but this was a statement by the Bengals. The Bengals had not swept the Ravens in a season series since 2015. In the season series the Bengals outscored Baltimore 82-38 in the season series. Quarterback Joe Burrow had a 71.4 completion percentage 941 yards seven touchdowns and an interception in the season series against Baltimore, including 525 yards and four touchdowns on Sunday.  For the first time since 2009 the Bengals have swept both the Ravens and the Steelers.

At 9-6 they sit at the top of the AFC North with two games to play. Those two games will be a test to this team as they play the Chiefs and Browns to end the season. The Bengals have won two in a row after losing two in a row. A year after tearing his ACL quarterback Joe Burrow has a 69.9 completion percentage 4,165 yards, 30 touchdowns and 14 interceptions with a quarterback rating of 105. Joe Mixon, who is second in the NFL in rushing, Ja’marr Chase, Tee Higgins who both have over 1,000 receiving yards and Tyler Boyd the Bengals have one of the most dynamic offenses in the league.  The Bengals have only been held to under 20 points three times this season, they average 27.3 points per game. 

The Bengals offense will get most of the headlines but the defense has been very good as well. In the offseason the lost pass rusher Carl Lawson to the Jets and replaced him with Trey Hendrickson who signed a four year 60 million dollar contract with the Bengals is fifth in the NFL with 14 sacks. The Bengals as a team have 41 sacks which is sixth in the NFL. Last season they had 17 sacks which was dead last in the NFL. Lou Anarumo, who is in his third season as defensive coordinator, has seen his defense improve. Last season this defense gave up 26.5 points per game, this season they have given up 21.6 points per game. Last season they gave up 148 yards rushing per game and this season they give up 92 yards rushing per game.  

Zac Taylor should be one of the frontrunners for Coach Of The Year because nobody saw this coming from the Bengals.The Bengals have made a lot of progress this season and if they get into the playoffs don’t overlook them because they can be a very dangerous team not just this season but going forward.