Get Madoff'd

Remember when we thought the Sandy Alderson-Paul DePodesta-J.P. Ricciardi trifecta wold be unstoppable now that they had big market money behind them? Looks like they may need to rely on their Moneyball smarts a few years more...

* * * * *

You know what would be really nice? If following your favorite baseball team didn't entail periodic articles and persistent questions relating to Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme.

Alas, such is life as a Mets fan ever since Madoff's house of cards came crashing down around him in December 2008.

I have nothing personally against Fred Wilpon. The boss of my company meets with him periodically, and the one thing he says about Wilpon is that he's one of the nicest men you'll ever meet. As regular readers are aware, I met him briefly some time ago, and my impression was very much the same (even if he had a bizarre disinterest in talking about the Mets).

But this situation with Madoff is clearly a MUCH bigger deal than he or his bonehead son have ever let on. When the news broke yesterday, it was like every guy who knew a guy who knew the first thing about the Mets wanted to be the first to break the news about how. bad. the Wilpons' financial situation really is.

So now they want to sell a minority position in the team. For the bargain-basement price of $200-300 million, a non-controlling stake in a go-nowhere baseball franchise could be yours! Naturally they're having to beat potential investors off with a stick.

Give the Mets credit though, they waited until Friday to break the news. They're getting media savvy over in Queens!

It just keeps getting better and better with this team. 17 days until Spring Training! Still PLENTY of good seats available at Citi Field for the 2011 season!!

- A.F.O.M.G.

Beat the Heat!

Heck of a return to the Garden last night for the Glass Man. I hadn't been in at least two years, but with my new-found enthusiasm for the Knicks, I was overdue for a return trip.

In the first of three marquee games I have tickets to, courtesy of an awesome Christmas/birthday present from my girlfriend, me and Y2K Godfather Sippy Momo descended on MSG for yesterday's Knicks-Heat rematch.

We didn't quite have courtside tickets, but the great thing about the Garden is how small it is compared to places like Shea Stadium that set my expectations of what viewing live sporting events should be like.

If you were in the nosebleeds at Shea, you were REALLY removed from the action (don't get me wrong, I loved it, but I can objectively say that there were bad seats at our beloved former home). At the Garden though you can be really high up there and still have a pretty good view (note: I haven't been to nearly enough games to know whether there are obstructed views or especially bad angles).

So the seats, a lot of rows up but right at midcourt, were actually really good. The game was even better. The Knicks trailed most of the night but somehow managed to keep the Heat from pulling away.

They remained within striking distance until the final 3 minutes of the game, when a one-two pair of threes from Danilo Gallinari and Landry Fields sent the Garden crowd into a frenzy by giving the Knicks a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

All in all, a great return trip to MSG. Sip's doing well, he's got some interesting business ventures going now and one in particular seems especially promising.

Anyway, gotta keep things short today. Have nice weekends everybody! New Knicks!

- A.F.O.M.G.

And We're Back!

Hey team, sorry for the lack of posts recently.

This past week me and Little Miss Citi were in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico where the temperature was in the high 70s/low 80s and the sky couldn't have been more blue. Needless to say it was completely miserable coming back to high single-digit temperatures here in NYC, but c'est la vie.

It was a heck of a time down there, I'll tell you. Good food, good people, and plenty of new experiences to be had. On Thursday we went whale watching in the bay, then on Friday we went zip-lining through the surrounding mountains.

If you've never done either, do both. Watching those whales flop in and out of the water was one of those transcendent experiences that lets even a city boy like me realize the awesomeness of nature. Zip-lining, meanwhile, is just a rush.

You hang on for dear life as you zip over cavernous ravines, hundreds of feet in the air. There's definitely an "oh shit" moment before you set forth on each line, but the feeling you get as you zoom through the air is unlike anything I'd ever experienced.

Anyway, we got back late last night, watching the Jets game on our flight which made the four hours fly by. It was a nice diversion from my fear of flying (improving!), but the result obviously sucked. It would have been really exciting if they'd won.

In some respects it kind of reminds me of the Mets in 2006. You come so close, you comeback so furiously, and then, just when you finally let yourself believe a miracle is on the way, the air comes flying out of the balloon. Let's hope they don't have to wait five years (and counting) to get another chance at reaching the Super Bowl.

No matter the result, it was cool flying in last night and seeing the Empire State Building lit in green and white, and the antenna of the New York Times building in green.

But I guess that means the Knicks will have my complete and undivided attention the next three weeks until pitchers and catchers report.

As I write this the Knicks are putting their 6-game losing streak behind them, just in time for the Heat's return trip to New York. The Glass Man and Y2K Godfather Sippy Momo will be in the building, my first Knicks game in two years I want to say.

As for the Mets... no big player moves today, can you believe it? 2011 Mets... at least by September I'll be in Boston, the better to cheer on the Red Sox with gusto.

- A.F.O.M.G.

Note to the Giants' Department of Social Media

On Facebook I recently cataloged my favorite sports teams, putting down the Mets, Knicks, and Giants*. I thought about putting down the Jets as well (awesome win yesterday), but ultimately I decided to be a purist about it; when push comes to shove in football, I'm a Giants fan first.

Anyway, since listing these teams as my favorites I've received periodic updates from the teams. Actually, that's only partially true -- I've received updates from the Giants and Knicks, and, I'm pretty sure, nothing from the Mets.

Maybe I'm mistaken and just haven't noticed; if they have in fact sent nothing, I suppose it is the offseason, so it would make sense if they were not reaching out to people on Facebook as often as the Knicks, say, who send a blast after each win. When you have good news to report, people want to hear it.

However, when you're a massive disappointment to people, it's probably a good idea to fly a bit more under the radar. At least I would think so.

Not the Giants' social media department! I realize in order to stay relevant you have to give people content, but sending out a blast the morning of your would-be playoff game to say "GMORNING... BIG BLUE NATION" just seems incredibly tone deaf.

I sort of understood yesterday when they sent a message saying that the Super Bowl win over the Pats was a bigger upset than yesterday's Seahawks triumph over the Saints, but to arbitrarily send messages to people when they're still pissed off about missing the playoffs seems oblivious to the way fans think.

I don't know. Anyone else a "fan" of these teams on Facebook / find this a bit odd?

- A.F.O.M.G.

* In case you're wondering... the Giants have 556,276 fans, the Knicks have 328,916 fans, and it's the Mets bringing up the rear with 298,922 fans. Sigh...

Retaining Tom Coughlin

Happy New Year. Quick one for you here to get us up and running in 2011.

I woke up on Sunday feeling confident; I told anyone who would listen that I had a good feeling that the Giants would win and the Packers would lose.

It's not the first time I've had that kind of confidence in a team. As a matter of fact, my severe pessimism about the Mets seems to breed a uniquely unfailing confidence in the prospects of other teams I support (with the definite exception of the Knicks; that's what 10 years of losing will do to you).

When the Saints were in the Super Bowl I had no doubt they were going to win. Ditto the 2004 Red Sox when they fell behind 3-0 in the ALCS.

Fat load of good that confidence did me on Sunday, however. The Giants held up their end of the bargain but the Packers didn't, beating the Bears 10-3 and locking up the playoff spot that was 8 minutes away from the Giants' grasp that horrible afternoon against Philly.

Before, during, and After the game, speculation immediately turned to the job security of Head Coach Tom Coughlin. The drama was resolved quickly, however, when John Mara stated unequivocally that Coughlin would return as HC in 2011.

Let me caveat what follows by saying that I cannot judge football coaches the way I can judge baseball managers. I know enough about baseball to know what a smart manager should do in a given situation, or at least I know enough to have an understanding of the full menu of options.

I don't know enough about football to be able to evaluate decisions as they happen. So for all I know Coughlin made a number of questionable moves this year that screwed the team over (certainly I heard all about not having his "hands" team out there for that onside kick by the Eagles).

Be that as it may, I feel like the Giants made the right move here. I think back on the Mets' decision to fire Willie Randolph. As much as I supported that decision at the time, it's impossible to feel that the organization hasn't been languishing under a certain degree of flux ever since.

Jerry Manuel had a great sense of humor and was somebody I liked on a number of levels, but it was clear from day one that senior management wasn't committed to him. I hate to say it, but I kind of get the same vibe from Terry Collins; management likes him of course, but you don't give someone a 2-year deal if you think he's the guy to lead you to the promised land.

As far as I could tell, firing Coughlin would have raised more questions than it answered, the principal one being, is there another coach out there who's good for 10 wins next season? Maybe Bill Cowher was that guy, maybe not.

The Giants were lauded in the press for striking a blow for reasoned reflection, and not doing the New York thing and firing a guy just because the tabloids say you must.

Beyond that, however, they struck a blow for the value of consistency in leadership. For a team that just won 10 games and is three/four years removed from a Super Bowl title, is that really such a bad thing?

- A.F.O.M.G.