Catching Up

FINALLY....... COSTA'S IN THE CAGE HAS COME BACK!!!!!

After the sports purgatory of February/March, there is a lot to talk about so far in April.

 NFL

We start with today's breaking news, the Jets' trade of Darrelle Revis to the Tampa Bay Bucs, for this year's first round pick (13th overall) and a conditional 4th or 3rd round pick next season. Revis signed his John Hancock on a 6-year $96 million contract that puts him in Tampa until he's 33. It will be hard to determine who got the better of this deal until we see who the Jets take on draft day Thursday, and how well that player performs in his first couple seasons in the league, and how well Revis comes back from his torn ACL.

The fact of the matter is the Jets knew that Revis was going to get big money on the open-market, and with a dozen holes on the team they couldn't give one player the type of money he was going to be looking for. There is no denying that the 2013 Jets team has gotten weaker because of the loss of arguably the best defensive player in the league, but Jets fans know we don't have a team that is going to be very competitive this season. I have faith that John Idzik could turn this franchise around (if not Jets fans can boo two first-round picks this year instead of just one) and this trade sets us up better for the future.

Putting the bottom line on Darrelle Revis' Jet career is bittersweet. On the field there was no denying that he could have been the best Jet to ever put on the uniform. However, he left a sour taste in my mouth after two holdouts, plus him forcing our hands this off-season. It's clear the only person Darrelle Revis cares about is Darrelle Revis, and because of that I say goodbye and good riddance.

NBA

The Knicks started off there first-round series against the Celtics with a raucous Madison Square Garden crowd this weekend, hungry for a deep playoff push. A date with the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals is a realistic goal for even the most pessimistic Knicks fan. Carmelo Anthony has been playing out of his mind the final month of the regular season, and this team can only go as far as Melo is willing to take us. JR Smith is really our only other consistant scoring threat, as Raymond Felton and Iman Shumpert both have their good and bad days, and Stevie Novakaine is a non-threat against good teams.

I made jokes when we first made the move, but Kenyon Martin has been the cure for our supposed soft team. K-Mart brings a great energy to the court and provides the role of "enforcer" on the team, stepping in if the opposition is a little to physical with Melo. 

WWE

I had a great time at Wrestlemania weekend at the Meadowlands. Fan Axxess was hit and miss, with the autograph lines a little too crowded on the Saturday afternoon session. I decided to spend the day ringside where they had matches with younger talent, like Chris Hero aka Kassius Ono, had fans doing some fun competitions, and the highlight of the day, a Q and A session with CM Punk and Paul Heyman. Looking back on it the money would have been better spent going to the Hall of Fame, which I heard was awesome. 

Wrestlemania itself is an awesome live event experience, as Jet-Life Stadium was breath-taking when I first saw the set. This year's Mania was hurt by being a little too predictable, and I don't think I would've loved the show if I ordered it on pay-per view. There must have been a timing issue, because you didn't get any backstage promos or skits that you come to expect at Wrestlemania. Being there in person though, it was amazing. The highlight of Wrestlemania was the CM Punk-Undertaker match, as the Deadman continued his winning streak at the Showcase of the Immortals to 21-0.

Raw the night after of Wrestlemania was the most fun I've ever had a wrestling show, and I couldn't believe I was going to skip it. Dolph Ziggler cashing in his Money in the Bank was a moment I'll never forget, but the Sheamus-Randy Orton match was unforgettable for another reason. I can't pinpoint an exact reason why (the fans being fed up and just decided to entertain themselves is most likely), but we started by doing a Yankee Stadium like roll-call of the announcers, referee and ring announcer, then just started chanting for random wrestlers. I think April 8, 2013 will go down in history as Fandango Monday. The fans were humming Fandango's entrance during his match, the main event, after the event. leaving the arena, and even in their cars as they left their parking lot capping off a great weekend.

MLB

The small-market Yankees are doing an excellent job holding down the fort until the calvary can return.  Vernon Wells, Travis Hafner, Lyle Overbay, and Kevin Youkilis are all playing above their expectations. Combine that with the fact that Andy Pettite, CC Sabathia, and Hiroki Kuroda all have ERA's under 3, if we can avoid any more injuries the Yanks might surprise some people who wrote them off this year.

With news that Derek Jeter had another set-back in his recovery from a broken ankle, it's not out of the realm of possibility that the Captain is no longer an everyday shortstop. If Jeter can accept a role as DH then he can still play for a few more seasons, if not, can you think of a better ending than having Jeter, Andy Pettitte, and Mariano Rivera all take their final bows together at the end of this season?