The History of the New York Yankees

The History of the New York Yankees

One can call it greatness, one can call it destiny, but the most successful franchise in all of sports The New York Yankees are a team that developed into nothing but a world renown team of excellence.  The story of the New York Yankees developed from and covers for more than a century.  This is the story that is filled with the most memorable and magical moments, mystique, drama, destiny, thus it falls nothing short of a fairy tale.  Just the word Yankees represents ideas of greatness, excellence, and success.  One can say the names Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Mickey Mantle, Reggie Jackson, Don Mattingly.  One would totally be confounded in amazement at the greatness of these legendary players especially those that have followed the success of the team’s history over the years.  One may not have grown up around the time of the great “Babe” or “Joltin Joe”, but certainly they have heard of the names before.  The countless times of magic and mystique continue to dwell in the hearts and memories of Yankee Fans forever and the Yankee fans of today fall nothing short of that sense of pride in the pinstripes also.  In fact the pride and the belief in this team is what fueled the spirits of many New Yorkers throughout the years.  Throughout the existence of the New York Yankees, its greatness would not exist without the ultimate support and backing of the “greatest fans in the world”.  The home of where this storied franchise began and where the memories and the lore had been born laid in the heart of the South Bronx, Yankee Stadium.  The fans it drew, the financial success it helped give the city, as well as the greatest team that took host in this famous piece of real estate showed its significance to New York City.

Throughout the eras, the Yankees have assembled possibly the most lethal and best teams in baseball and the league.  The 27 world championships won marks and exemplifies the awesomeness of the franchise.  However this team of New York as the majority of the people know and come to love was not always great and in fact was born from nothing but a second or even third rate squad.  The Yankees were actually born as the Baltimore Orioles in 1901.  About two years later, Bill Devery and Frank Ferrell bought the team for $18,000 dollars, moving this franchise to be situated in a location in upper Manhattan.  They built a stadium nearby to where the Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital is now, and they called it Hill Top Park, thus naming the team the New York Highlanders.  This team was composed of their best player a pitcher named Jack Chesbro who had won 41 games in 1904 which was a standard high at the time.  However, Chesbro threw a wild pitch in the 9^th inning of their last game of the season that year costing them the pennant and rendering them inferior to many of the top teams for the next ten years.  Due to poor management, the next highlight for this third-rate team was in 1912 when they added pinstripes to their uniform(signifying what is now an emblem of a world renown icon).  The first decade of the history of the Yankees was riddled with mediocrity and poor ownership and management.  Soon these Highlanders moved into and shared the Polo Grounds, home of John McGraw’s New York Giants.  It was not until 1914 that a wealthy businessman in Jacob Rupert bought the team now without a home and the Highlanders, after being labeled as “Yankees” in the media at the time became known as the New York Yankees within those years of change. 

Jacob Rupert in need of promoting his brewery products decided to try and take this team into a new direction.  Since the beginning of baseball and up to the point of 1918, the most successful baseball team was that of the Boston Red Sox.  They had won the majority of world championships up to that point.  They were led by a superstar by the name of George Herman Ruth(Babe) who spent the early days of his career as a great pitcher.  In 1918 he was among the leaders in strikeouts, wins, and because the manager Ed Barrow switched him to the outfield, he led the league in home runs as well.  However the most dubious move and arguably the most well-known move in baseball history came in the 1918 off-season.  It was said that Harry Frazee the owner of the Red Sox also ran and invested in Broadway shows.  *Needing the money to continue running that business, he sold the “Babe” to the New York Yankees for what was $125,000 dollars at the time stunning baseball fans and perhaps setting their own Red Sox fans in what would be the next 86 years of misery.  However what an impact Babe Ruth had in his first years with New York.  He set the major league record for home runs in 1920 and 1921 and drew a record high 1 million fans to watch the Yankees play in the Polo Grounds.  This feat was an accomplishment not even the New York Giants had achieved.  Ruth was arguably the biggest star and attraction to the New York fans which of course brought in much more revenue and profit.  Seeing the increase in fans of these new Yankees, John McGraw kicked his residents out.  So the New York Yankees found land just across the river in the South Bronx and this new building would become known as “the House that Ruth built”.  So in 1923, Yankee Stadium opened up and to many people’s delight, The Babe hit a home-run on Yankee Stadium’s opening day and that year they would go on to beat their rivals across the river, the New York Giants for their first World Series title in their history.

* Film/Documentary: 100 Years of the New York Yankees

           In the years after that, the Yankees hired Ed Barrow away from the Red Sox as their general manager, and from that point on, half the Red Sox team followed the Babe from Boston to New York.  Pitchers like Waite Hoyt and Herb Pennock would be included.  This remarkable change would in turn throw the Red Sox into a next generation of incompetence.  The sale of Babe Ruth and the events that followed right after would utterly begin the most fabled and most famous rivalry in sports history, between the Yankees and Red Sox.  The Red Sox would not win for nearly a century as the “Curse of the Bambino” was born.  The dawn of Lou Gehrig in 1925 would signify a sure quality first-baseman for the Yankees and batted right after the Babe himself.  Gehrig would become the Yankees 5^th team captain and in 1927, players such as Tony Lazzeri, Earl Combes and Bob Muesel would add to this already powerful lineup into what the Yankees were known as “Murderer’s Row” that year.  The most devastating 1-2 punch in history of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig resembled that awesomeness of the Yankees as Ruth set a record that year with 60 home runs and Gehrig followed with 46.  The Yankees would go on to win in 1927 beating the Pirates and also won the year after.  Lou Gehrig would be perhaps the most famous sports athlete to have played in more than 2000 consecutive games and starts.  Most of their early success came from manager Miller Huggins who led them through their first decade of excellence.  Unfortunately the late 1920s marked the beginning of the Great Depression and the loss of Miller Huggins in 29’. 

The entrance of Joe McCarthy would pick up where Miller Huggins left off.  The Yankees would win again in 1932 but also marking the end of Babe Ruth’s legendary career with the Yankees and would end his career with the Boston Braves.  Players such as Red Ruffing, Lefty Gomez and Bill Dickey filled out the lineup and order that was now led by Lou Gehrig.  The arrival of a young boy named Joe DiMaggio in 1936 would take this team to one of their pinnacles of their history.  With the addition of “Joltin Joe” on a team that already featured Lou Gehrig, the Yankees would win three consecutive World Series Titles from 1936 onto 1938.  Lou Gehrig’s incredible run and streak of 2,130 consecutive games ended in 1938.  *In the summer of 1939, Gehrig spoke the most famous words in sports history in front of the crowd at Yankee Stadium as well as in front of his teammates from the eras of the past.  He had addressed and announced the diagnosis of the disease that unfortunately ended his life at an early age of 37.  The Yankees would win the World Series that year.  Lou Gehrig’s number 4 would be the first number retired as a Yankee.

1941 marked a significant year as Joe DiMaggio set a record still held today hitting in 56 consecutive games leading them to yet another Pennant and championship that year.  The Yankees would win eight World Series titles with Joe McCarthy as manager.  In 1947, “Joltin Joe” would win his third MVP that year and Red Sox outfielder Ted Williams would win the triple-crown.  Both were have said to be in a rumor that was brewing and said to have involved a trade between DiMaggio and the “splendid splitter”.  However both Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams had served in the military in several of their big league careers prior to 1947.  In fact, the nation’s victory in the war resembled great pride and honor in the strength in this country and fans were absolutely proud of their many heroes in the war.  Fans showed great support for especially two of the league’s best in DiMaggio and Williams.  Thus baseball and the success of the New York Yankees gave fans but also the American people something to fall back on, to get them through, to relieve their stresses and worries in a time of war as well as a sense of entertainment and pride as well.

* Film/Documentary: 100 Years of the New York Yankees

Though the Yankees would win in 1947 under Bucky Harris, they would replace Harris in 1949 with Casey Stengel whom many people and media doubted in terms of character and managerial skill.  Surprisingly he stunned the skeptics with a Championship victory his first year.  In the years following, this team would be surrounded by dominant pitching such as Vic Raschi, Eddie Lopat, Joe Page and Allie Reynolds who is the only Yankee to throw two no-hitters in a single year.  Names such as Phil Rizzuto “Scooter”, Jerry Coleman, and Bobby Brown would help the team’s success.  1951 marked the end of an incredible career for Joe DiMaggio but also paved the way for a guy named Mickey Mantle to enter the stage.  Billy “the Kid” Martin would be players who followed making great defensive plays in critical world series games along with a great catcher Yogi Berra who would lead the team after DiMaggio’s departure.  *The Yankees would go onto win five consecutive World Series from 1949 to 1953, a feat unmatched in baseball history.  This decade of Yankee success but also led by manager Casey Stengel would be a great decade in Yankee and New York history as well.  The Yankees would win the pennant for another four consecutive years from 55’ to 58’.  In 1956, Don Larsen in game 5 of the World Series would throw a perfect game leading the Yankees to win that year.  Casey Stengel would round out his career in 1960 leading the Yankees to 10 American League pennants and 7 World Series Titles under his management.  Thus New York’s golden age was well in motion as Yankee fans knew in their hearts that the Yankees were going to win the pennant nearly each and every year.  On top of that, there were 6 subway series played in the 1950s and that really gave New York that great sense of pride knowing that at least one team from New York was going to win.  Most if not all New York baseball fans got into it and it thrilled the fans, excited them, provided that sense of pride and it marked a decade of Glory years for New York City. 

Just the name Mickey Mantle would resemble greatness and that sense of respect.  That is what he was all about Mantle did not only win batting crowns and hit home runs, and drive in RBIs and fielded the ball exceptionally well, he was a great teammate and a hero to many people and those that really admired and looked up to him.  Elston Howard became the first black player on the Yankees several months after the Dodgers signed and brought in Jackie Robinson.  Howard was a great catcher along with Berra and played in the outfield as well.  Ralph Houk replaced Stengel and became manager in 1961.  That year was arguably perhaps the most studded and awesome line-up in baseball history as it featured players like Mickey Mantle of course, Yogi Berra, Elston Howard, Moose Skowron, Bobby Richardson, Tony Kubek, and Clete Boyer.  Whitey Ford had 25 wins that year, Mickey Mantle hit 54 home runs and Roger Maris broke a record set only in history by the Babe himself.  Maris hit his 61^st home run on the final day of the regular season in 61’ surpassing Ruth’s prior record of 60 and Whitey Ford also surpassed Ruth’s record as a pitcher 33 1/3 scoreless innings pitched.  Comparing such a line-up to the “Murderer’s Row” of 27’ exemplified the greatness of the team over the eras.  The Yankees won 109 games that year and went on to win another championship.  1964, Mickey Mantle hit his 18^th home run in the playoffs but were beaten by the Cardinals in seven games.  That was Berra’s only season of managing while leading them into a pennant.  In 64’ the Yankees were bought by CBS and were brought into a decade of mediocrity as players such as Mantle and others got older and lost skill.  It was not until the 1970s that players such as Thurman Munson, Graig Nettles, Bobby Murcer and Sparky Lyle were brought in. 

1973 marked the dawn of a new era as a group of businessmen from Cleveland bought the team from CBS and was led by George Steinbrenner.  *He says “this team will be champions again, give me three years”.  So within those three years, he had brought in guys like Chris Chambliss, Mickey Rivers, Willie Randolph, Lou Piniella, Dick Tidrow, Ed Figueroa, and Catfish Hunter.  Yankee Stadium had undergone renovation in those years and reopened  in 1976 beginning a new era in their history.  Thurman Munson became team captain and Billy Martin returned as manager.  So the Yankees returned to the postseason after a 12 year drought of not being in the playoffs.  In the 5^th game against the Kansas City royals, Chris Chambliss hit a walk-off game winning homerun in the bottom of the ninth sending the Yankees back to the World Series however they lost to the Cincinatti Reds.  In the off-season after, Steinbrenner signed a free agent named Reggie Jackson.  His immediate impact on the team brought drama to the team as well as the media.  He doubted and questioned the leadership of Thurman Munson and also noted in a magazine “I’m the straw that stirs the drink”.  This immediate impact caused a ruckus in the Yankee dugout as clearly Munson was the Yankee captain and also during a game against the Red Sox, in 77’, a failure to make a

routine play put Jackson on the bad end with manager Billy Martin.  All this drama and ruckus in the Yankee clubhouse was termed “The Bronx Zoo” and attracted the media and the press and everyone involved with the Yankees.  The Yankees went on to beat their American League rivals the Royals which landed them back into the world series against the L.A. Dodgers.  This is when those magical moments of the Yankees seem to stir and rear itself up when in game 6, Reggie Jackson blasted 3 home runs never done by a Yankee or perhaps any other player in the world series.  This brought the Yankees back to their winning ways as they brought home their 21^st World Series title and all that fury, that turmoil was forgotten and perhaps forgiven.  George Steinbrenner had more or less kept to his word as a title returned to the Bronx.  The 78’ season did not start as expected as early troubles between the Martin and Jackson and the team took holster forcing Billy Martin to resign as manager and Bob Lemon took over to try and re-inspire the team.  Trailing by 14 games behind Boston late in the season, the Yankees crept back and tied the Sox by the end of the season forcing a single game playoff between the two.  Ron Guidry prior to this start against the Sox had recorded an 18 strikeout game against the Angels surpassing Whitey Ford’s record of 15.  Guidry won the Cy Young that year and the Yanks entered this must-win game.  Down by two, “The Curse of the Bambino” presented itself as Bucky Dent hit a three-run home run to give the Yankees the lead and eventually win the pennant that year.  The Yankees would also go on to win the World Series that 78’ season.

The Yankees would not win for another 18 years.  Within those unsuccessful years, Dave Righetti pitched a no-hitter against the Red Sox in 1983 and Don Mattingly’s first taste of the off season in 95’ landed not much success.  It did however bring in players such as Bernie Williams, and Paul O’Neill as led by Buck Showalter in the 95’ season brought them closer but no cigar.  Mattingly retired and Tino Martinez came in 96’.  That also marked the beginning of the Joe Torre era and a young kid who would be named the “Captain” and certainly is still the captain today, Derek Jeter.  The greatest closer of all time arguably also came in, Mariano Rivera.  The Yankees would return to the postseason that year with Derek Jeter’s mystified home run caught by a kid in right field.  The catch of third base Charlie Hayes and John Wetteland with the save brought the Yankees back to being World Champions as they defeated the Braves in 96’.  1998 marked another historic season as the Yankees go on to win 125 games in total and clinch another title.  They would sweep the Braves in 1999 and go on to defeat the New York Mets in the subway series of 2000 signifying their 26^th World Series Championship.  The Yankees led by Joe Torre and Derek Jeter along with the great line-ups of that era would win 4 World Series titles out of the five years.  The 2001 World Series and its magical moments in it with Tino’s game tie-ing home run in game 4 and Scott Brosius’ game tie-ing home run would represent the spirit and the fight of New York especially after the events of 9/11.  The comeback the team showed against the Athletics as well as against the Diamondbacks represented the strength and fire in rising out of the ashes, it gave New York as well as the New York Fans a sense of hope in those devastating times.  It brought people together and it also reminded New Yorkers of the strength and the pride of the city.

Throughout the Yankees illustrious history, there were many moments of magic,, mystique, story that surrounded this greatest franchise in all of sports.  The excellence and success of these Yankee dynasties throughout the century really exemplified wonder and greatness of the team.  The Yankees meant more than just a baseball team, their success gave the fans a wonderful sense of leisure.  They gave the fans a team to root for.  The excellence over the years brought in a great amount of revenue for the city.  In times of trouble, the Yankees symbolized the strength and recuperation that the fans and New Yorkers needed.  The determination to recover resembles the fire of the people that made New York City great.  To come out and play and win as the New York Yankees came to do in their history portrayed that sense of triumph, excellence and pride in the pinstripes and also the fans that have supported them throughout their century, the New York Yankees have fell nothing short of baseball’s greatest.

* Film/Documentary: 100 Years of the New York Yankees

Knicks NBA Playoffs

May 3, 2012


   
     The Knicks coming into the season with high hopes, new talent and a revamped lineup have not failed their intentions... make the playoffs!  However with two games into their first round, the Knicks already find themselves down two games to the second seed Miami Heat.  This is due in part to the injuries of Iman Shumpert who is done for the season after tearing his left ACL in game one and Amar'e  Stoudemire foolishly cutting his left hand while taking out frustration on a glass fire extinguisher box after game two's loss.


     So with both Amar'e and Iman out of the lineup and Jeremy Lin still indecisive of his return, the Knicks return to Madison Square Garden to face the Heat in Game three.  Hopefully the Knicks will finally have some fire and energy on their home court and the Garden crowd.  Carmelo and the Knicks have not done well in the first two games losing game one by thirty-seven points and dropping game two by ten.  It had not been what the Knicks were envisioning with their stagnant offense and only shooting 43 percent from the field in those two games.  They have also not been able to stop the duo of Wade and Lebron allowing them to score too frequently in the paint.  




    With no Shumpert in the guard position, it will stretch minutes for the Knicks guards including JR Smith leaving them with only Mike Bibby and a not very pleasing Toney Douglas off the bench.  Amar'e Stoudemire's injury would force Carmelo Anthony back in the 4 position making the lineup even smaller.  However Melo has flourished and thrived in that forward position during the late winning stretch in the season.  With Stoudemire out of the way and Melo now able to run the open floor, this move might allow more points and attempts from Carmelo and allow the Knicks offense to open up.  Injuries are expected to be part of what the playoffs are all about.  Perhaps it gives the Knicks incentive to fight and try to win for their home crowd.  The Knicks are going to have to tighten their defense and continue to play with the intensity under Mike Woodson.  It will be something they are going to have to buy into and gather each other up.  Expect the Knicks to possibly win two games in the next three.  The Knicks need to stop worrying about being all too perfect and shooting 82 percent from the field. They are going to have to trust each other out there and play basketball!

Game 3 coming up!!!


BC Sports

Knicks 2nd Half: Take Out Cavs - Feb 29, 2012

Second Half Knicks Storm Past Cavaliers: Feb 29-2012


   Amare Stoudamire and the Knicks returning from the All-Star break said they were back and ready to roll in the second half of the season.  So hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers at the Garden, the Knicks did just that stopping Kyrie Irving and and his aggressive young team with a 120-103 win.


   What was a horrendous first half with poor defense on all angles, and the Knicks unable to percolate their offense, Knicks were down an embarrassing 17 points early on.  Cavaliers shot close to 50% from the field the first half against a Knick team that did not seem to have much energy.  The Knickerbockers somehow turned it around in the second half with huge contributions from the bench including 17 from Steve Novak whose big 3-point shooting helped rally the Knicks and rocked the Garden in this comeback.  He shot 5 of 6 from downtown at the end of the night.  Jeremy Lin had 19 points and 13 assists in the victory but this win and effort came from contributions from not just a few players but everyone.  The Knicks bench looked strong with Baron Davis, JR Smith, Steve Novak, and Jared Jeffries all adding to this team chemistry.  This is certainly the deepest bench the Knicks have had in a while also now with Iman Shumpert returning from an injury.  


    What started out as a struggle ended up as a 34 point turn-around and everyone goes home happy.  The defense finally picked up in the second half as they held down the Cavaliers offense in the final two quarters.  Certainly fans were happy with this explosive effort by their Knicks team which rocked the Garden tonight.  Knicks begin their second half of the season in fashion!


Bleeding Orange and Blue,
B.C.

New York Giants Superbowl Champions!!! Feb 8, 2012

The New York Giants Reign as Superbowl Champs Once Again:   February 8, 2012

    It has been four years since the New York Giants have been to the Superbowl, but yet it seemed not so long ago that David Tyree's unbelievable catch pinning the ball against his helmet proved to be a miraculous play as the New York Giants came back and defeated the New England Patriots 17-14 in the 2007-08 season.  Four seasons later, it would be Mario Manningham making an incredible catch down-field to push the Giants offense and eventually reclaim the crown!  The New York Giants return as champions as they take Superbowl XLVI and defeat the New England Patriots 21-17. 

   One can call it deja vu! It seemed like yesterday when the undefeated Brady and the Patriots took the stage in Arizona against the Giants and the G-Men took them out 17-14.  This time the big spotlight landed in Indianapolis where Eli Manning and the Giants would claim glory or Tom Brady and the Patriots would seek revenge.  So on sport's biggest Sunday, it would be the New York Giants once again defeating the New England Patriots.  With the Giants down 17-15, the rally by the Giants came late in the fourth quarter as Eli Manning threw another miraculous pass, a remarkable 38-yard pass completion to Mario Manningham keeping both feet inbound.  The outstanding play much compared to the memorable helmet catch by David Tyree in Superbowl XLII(42) led to a Ahmad Bradshaw who reluctantly ran it falling into the endzone for a touchdown with 57 seconds left on the field.  With speculation that the Patriots strategically laid their defense back and allowed the touchdown in order for New England to regain possession of the ball, it would once again come down to key stops by the Giants defense against a quarterback named Tom Brady.  Certainly a dropped pass by the wide-open Wes Welker did not help the Patriots cause, neither did another incompletion to Aaron Hernandez.  Finally it would come down to one last play with 5 seconds left on the clock of the NFL season with the Giants up 21-17.  Tom Brady hurled a Hail Mary from mid-field intended for Aaron Hernandez in the endzone with Giant defenders all around, the ball bounces around in the endzone with a failed attempt by Rob Gronkowski to secure it, the pass is no good, incomplete, and that did it!  The New York Giants are Superbowl Champions once again!


   For the quarterback, that makes it two Superbowl rings and MVPs!  "I'm just excited to win a championship, excited for my teammates, for a number of guys this is their first one, obviously some guys who are getting their second, just excited for Coach Coughlin and all the coaches, the Giants organization... this isn't about one person, this is about a whole team coming together getting this win, i'm just proud of our guys, proud of the team the way we fought all year, never not discouraged, kept our faith kept our confidence and fought our way to the very end".  And it is true, Eli and the Giants never buckled knowing the fact that they would have to mount another fourth quarter comeback and they did.  He gives much of the credit to the coaching staff and playing smart, crediting the offense and defensive line.  Eli pays homage to the best fans in the world in supporting and sticking with the team and looks forward to celebrating with them Tuesday morning which they did.  Eli hoisted the Vince Lombardi trophy in front of thousands of Giants fans in the Canyon of Heroes Tuesday morning and a very excited fired up Giants crew brought in all the cheer and happiness New York Giants fans can ever ask for.


   Antrel Rolle said after the game, "tough times never last, but tough people always do, the New York Giants we are Giants we love it from the heart, we play it from the heart and we will not be denied".  That seems to have been the key for these Giants all season long.  Osi Umenyiora was just overflowed with emotion he could not answer reporters directly.  The tears, sweat, and emotion from these players just epitomizes the greatness and the effort of this Giants team all year in not surrendering, always keeping their spirits up, always believing, and persevering, and here they stand as Superbowl Champs!  For Umenyiora and other players like    Justin Tuck, Chris Canty, and Mathias Kiwanuka, Brandon Jacobs, and Ahmad Bradshaw along with others, they all win their second Superbowl ring.  


   There could not have been a more pleased individual and person than their very own leader Coach Coughlin, "Each one is very unique and this is just exciting probably more so because of the kind of year we had, and wonderful experience it was in seeing this team come together the way they did, our defense started to play well and when our defense started to play well, we gained some confidence, and as they say the rest is history".  Coach Coughlin always preached the words "finish, finish, finish", and when asked about the finish line he said, "This is the finish line for this year, yes it is".  And indeed the ever-excited coach had been preaching to his Giants all season long.  This is a team that people dismissed earlier in the season when the Giants were 7-7, there was a whole lot of sports talk and people wanting the Giants to get rid of Tom Coughlin.  Nobody was giving this team a chance of even making it to the playoffs, the football atmosphere never had the Giants being any sort of favorite in any way, players even wanted out of this team and longed for free agency.  This team was ranked not even top 10 in defense and was never in any way shape or form seen as capable of going as far they did.  Since then, the Giants went on to win 6 consecutive games including throughout the playoffs and much of the reason for that was the Coach himself.  After all when everything was said, endured, and done, there was nobody to have fired-up his team as he did, nobody to have sparked the spirit of the team the way he did and an overjoyed Tom Coughlin expressed gratitude to his team, his coaching staff, and his players.  Here the New York Giants are standing on top of the world!


   Michael Strahan joined his former team in City Hall yesterday after a special invite by Mayor Bloomberg himself.  The former Giant was honored to stand by his former team and celebrate the awesome accomplishment that this team has done.  Strahan won back in the 2007 season with the Giants and perhaps jokingly envied his teammates for getting a second Championship ring.  The loud and excited atmosphere by Giants fans as the Stars headed up the Canyon of Heroes really depicted what they meant to their fans, their supporters, and the City of New York.  This is what the players dream about, this is what the fans dream and cheer about, way to bring the Superbowl Championship crown back to New York again!


To the Superbowl Champions New York Giants!!!


B.C.

GIANTS PACK GREENBAY (January 16, 2012)

Giants on to NFC Championship:  January 16, 2012

   Say goodbye to the Cheeseheads for the year! The New York Giants came into Lambeau field and packed Greenbay 37-20 on Sunday, sending the 15-1 defending champions home.  The impressive Giants victory marked the second time in four years that Big Blue has knocked the Greenbay Packers out of the playoffs.  Fans may remember the 2007-08 season when they defeated Brett Favre and the Packers in the NFC Championship.  The Giants did it again this time in the division series defeating a Packers squad led by Aaron Rodgers.


   In fact, the New York Giants did not show any signs of fear or recognition of a highly favored 15-1 Packers team.  Pregame speculation praised the numbers that Aaron Rodgers put up, and favored the high-powered offense of Greenbay.  This is a team that is supposed to return to the Superbowl and be crowned victorious again, maybe even have a 1-loss season.  The Giants came in and demolished all that.  Their level of domination proved superb against a highly-predicted Greenbay team.  Many speculate the by-week may have potentially hurt Rodgers and the Packers, and the New York Giants coming off hot was the right place at the right time.


   Credit the Giant defense as they stopped a Packers offense that beat them earlier in the season.  Much of what we are looking at is a different Giants team.  This is not the same team that we saw earlier in the year.  Osi Umenyiora put it, "It feels good, where we came from, all the doubting all the hatred, we came in and pulled this game out".  This team is playing with heart, this team is playing with fire and passion.  Give credit to the players and especially credit defensive coach Perry Fewell whose defense stopped a quarterback with 45 touchdowns this season.  Umenyiora's reaction when asked about the superb defensive performance, "Coach Fewell, he believed in us and we believed in him, I can't say enough about this team, we are going to keep on fighting".  Giant defense forced 3 fumbles against the Packers squad including two outstanding returns off of Packers offside kicks.  Osi Umenyiora and Michael Boley combined for the 4 sacks on Aaron Rodgers.  The Giants showed some impressive defense even despite two critical and seemingly unfair calls in favor of Greenbay made by the officials during the game.  There is no question Big Blue is playing with alot of confidence, the coaches, the players all seem in sync with one another right now, there should be no reason why the Giants should stop right here.


   As for Eli Manning and the offense they scored 37 points against a cheese defense as this game seemed to have displayed.  Taking nothing away from the Packers defense as they did play the Giants tough, Manning was on his game.  Eli threw for 330 yards, which is the first time in his career he has thrown over 300 yards in a game let alone impressively in a playoff game.  Him and his receivers were on the same page and played outstanding.  There was no bigger play then the final 10 seconds before the half when Eli Manning hurled a 37-yard Hail Mary into the endzone which landed into the hands of Hakeem Nicks for a touchdown with defenders all around him.  "Pretty confident in my hands, as long as I can compete to go get it" Nicks responded about the exciting catch.  He added that it was his first time making such a hail Mary play.  It gave the NY Giants a 20-10 lead at the half, and the Giants went on to roll over the Packs.  Nicks ended the day with 7 receptions and 165 yards including a 66-yard touchdown in the first quarter.  The offense played superb led by Eli Manning and touchdowns to Mario Manningham and Brandon Jacobs later in the second half to seal it.  They came into Greenbay and destroyed this powerful Packers team.


   Giants fans reek the rewards of redemption and revenge against the Greenbay Packers especially if it meant taking them out of the playoffs.  However the New York Giants are not done, they will head to San Fran next week to take on another behemoth in this NFL postseason.  Mario Manningham says the Giants are ready to take on the 49ers, "Oh we're going back, we're going back.. with confidence too" he added.  There is no doubt the New York Giants would love a rematch against Alex Smith and the 49ers that defeated them earlier on in the season.  No question it just gets harder and harder in the playoffs as the San Francisco 49ers showed on Saturday that they are a much better and superior team than they were during the regular season.  Still to many Giants fans and the Giants community, there are shades of the 07' season hanging in the air.  They are one big game away from that possible deja vu!


To San Fran,
B.C   

NY Giants down the Atlanta Falcons in Round One of Playoffs (January 8, 2012)

Giants take Falcons:  January 8, 2012

   A season of inconsistency, mediocrity, a team that just a month ago showed little speculation of their attendance in the playoffs, have won their last two big games of the final season defeating the New York Jets and then the Dallas Cowboys to clinch a playoff berth.  There is certainly no question that the New York Giants(9-7 in regular season) to showed up big and proved they are worthy of the playoffs. On a Sunday afternoon in East Rutherford, NJ the Giants did just that as they pounded the Atlanta Falcons in a 24-2 victory to secure round one and knock the Falcons out of the playoffs.

   There is no question that we saw a completely different team on the field Sunday than we did all year.  A team that fans doubted would make the playoffs made the playoffs.  A team that many fans see as lacking in many aspects of their game this year especially offensively saw an explosion in the running game.  An offense that lacked the consistency of pass-yard completions during the regular season saw an especially improved completion percentage particularly during third-down conversions.  A defensive-line that was dotted with injuries and given little hope held the opposing team to 0 points on offense.  Much of the New York Giants that we followed during this regular season completely redefined themselves in their impressive performance against the Atlanta Falcons.  There seems to be no doubt this moment for the Giants faithful out there of what this team is capable of especially in the playoffs.  In fact there is this feeling in the air that is very reminiscent and familiar to that feel that fans remember in the 2007 season.  


   Could the Giants simply have gotten lucky?!  Well ask the defense.  Justin Tuck leading that defense was a big part of that, "I just feel like we're playing together, sometimes in this season we were kind of divided in the fact that we just wanted to make plays and also alot of guys were trying to be individual out there, but now there's eleven guys playing at once, we are going to get efforts like this".  A defense that saw injuries all year held the Falcons to 64 rushing yards and 183 passing yards.  This defense stopped Matt Ryan and the Falcons rushing on 4th down attempts multiple times in Giant territory.  It seemed as if when the Giants needed a stop, they made a stop.  In fact the only points the Falcons put up were when they sacked Eli Manning in the Giants endzone during a defensive play resulting in a safety.  The Giants defense was so key and overly dominating that they allowed 0 Falcons points during their offensive possessions.  In fact, this is the first time in playoff history where a team scored as little as two points.  Credit Tuck, and Umenyiora on the defensive end.  The defensive stops and plays of Jason Pierre-Paul were key in this victory.  It was obvious the way the defensive end played, Matt Ryan almost had no chance in this game.  Luckily, that scary collision between Jason Pierre-Paul and Aaron Ross did not result in any critical injury although Ross returned to the locker-room.  


   The defense certainly highlighted this big win, but the offensive line did a great job as well.  Eli Manning went 23-32 in pass completions and threw for 277 yards.  The rushing game deemed huge for Big Blue.  A team that averages around 89 yards a game had a total of 172 rushing yards well over their average in this win.  Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw were a huge part of that combining for 155 of those rushing yards.  The rushing really opened up the field for the passing game as well.  It opened up wide-receivers such as Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham and Victor Cruz.  The offense showed up as Nicks put it, "we know what we're capable of doing, we gotta step up make plays on offense, we came out second half and that's what we did, running game came out pretty good and the offense was clicking".  Hakeem Nicks had 2 touchdowns including a 72 yard touchdown run.  When asked about the "dirty-bird" dance in the endzone, he said, "Antrel Rolle told me to do it".  The offense proved effective with the running game doing the its job as well as the passing percentage and conversions.  The Giants are sure a playoff team.  Giants fans as well as the team have to be happy and very pleased with the way they played.  


   However this only the first week folks.  This big win over the Atlanta Falcons only means what is next for the New York Giants, the 15-1 Green Bay Packers.  That is right, the Giants travel to Lambeau field next Sunday to face off against this strong Packers team which beat them 38-35 the last time the teams met earlier in the season.  This will surely be quite a matchup especially this time of season with the New York Giants winning impressively their last three games and heating up at the right time.  This would be the perfect challenge for the Giants defensive line to prove themselves against the high powered offense of Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.  The Giants know they have been in this spot before back in 07' when they defeated Brett Favre and the Packs in the Conference Championship.  The ice cold weather will again pose a big factor in Lambeau field.  The Packers with 3rd in passing yards and the best record this NFL season will welcome in the Giants.  Big Blue will be bringing in a new look, new surge and fired-up defense and offense line.  Can the fired-up New York Giants surge and continue to explode in the playoffs or will Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers claim the crown in the NFL this season?




To Lambeau Field, Wisconsin they March!
B.C

The New York Giants Make Playoffs

Giants in Playoffs:

January 2, 2012

  What seemed to be a foreseen disappointment for a team that has struggled in the second half of the season in recent years, Big Blue found a way in all their possibilities to avoid such a disappointment this year again.  It would once again come down to a deciding game where the Giants would have to pull off a big win.  The Giants 31-14 victory over their division rivals the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday was huge and propelled them into the playoffs.  With the win, the Giants clinched the NFC East and move on to round one of the playoffs at home against the Atlanta Falcons.

 With the season coming down to its final game, it would be either the Giants or Cowboys locking up the wild card.  With both teams tied for first, it would make it the most important game of the season.  Playing against an arguably less than one-hundred-percent Tony Romo and a defensive-proned Cowboys team, the Giants would have to be relatively be more accurate in completions, yardage, conversions, and making key stops in the game.  There would be no one better to spark the Giant offense early on than rookie wide receiver Victor Cruz who took an Eli Manning pass completion for 74 yards to give NY an early 7-0 lead.  With a 21-0 lead at the half, it seemed the Giants would make a statement and make this one look easy.  Not so fast as Romo and the Cowboys get on the board in the third quarter with a completion to Laurent Robinson taking it for 34 yards to the endzone.  Trailing by 14 in the fourth, Romo and the boys would cut the lead to 21-14 with another touchdown pass again to Laurent Robinson.  It was crucial the Giants had made several defensive stops to the Cowboy offense in the second half.  However with the Cowboys not going away and right on Big Blue's tail, it would be Victor Cruz again with a huge 44 yard pass completion from Eli Manning which lead to a Lawrence Tynes 28 yard field goal giving NY a 24-14 lead.  Eli would throw for another touchdown to Hakeem Nicks in a later possession giving the Giants the key victory over the Dallas Cowboys.

  Eli Manning threw for 346 yards and three touchdown passes, and now leads NFL quarter backs for most touchdowns in the fourth quarter in a single season with 15.  The Giant defense showed up big sacking Romo six times, and Victor Cruz who already leads Giants receivers all time in single season receiving yards continued to impress in his rookie season.  Just the way Giants fans and the community liked it, coach Tom Coughlin was pleased.  The Giants would have to pull off two wins in the last two games of the season.  The Giants went out and did what was expected, they came out and beat the Jets last week, they came out yesterday and played big against the Cowboys, they put that devastating 4-game losing streak behind them and now they are looking at round 1 of the playoffs against the Falcons next week.  All in all, the Giants are back in the playoffs! A way to kick off the new year!

Until the NFL playoffs, Go yard!
B.C