Remember back in early April or even before that when everyone from the NATION AKA(The Mainstream Sports Media) Said how the Yankees were such big spenders and that these guys would all be busts and how theY “SUCK” and the SAWX would be “Numero Uno” Well guess what they were WRONG!!!! And I was RIGHT !!!!!! I mean what a year it has been for the MLB World Series Champs (It feels SO GOOD TO SAY IT and Type it!!) They got it done in the clutch, on the Mound and most importantly I think with their GLOVES. You could really put a turning point anywhere during the season for what really led the way to the “Canyon of Heroes” . But I say it was when Alex Rodriquez returned from the DL and had to deal with the brain sucking leech that is Selena Roberts ruined his life the same way she blew the whole DUKE Lacrosse Scandal out of proportion and got up to the plate and slammed a solo shot over the left field wall in Camden Yards in Baltimore where their were surprisingly more Yankee fans than O’s cheering and supporting the “A-BOMB” that had just been deployed in front of their very eyes!!! Another huge component was the veteran leaders that are the “Core Four” Derek Jeter , Jorge Posada, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera who together have won a combined 5 World Series Championships and have a combined total of 20 RINGS!!!!

A-BOMB!!

And the coolest thing I think is how they are all “Old Guys” but they had the same kind of thing going on in the early stages of their career’s. And now for guys like Melky Cabrera, Robinson Cano and even a Fransisco Cervelli have all witnessed the feeling that Jeter and the other “Wise Men” have told them about for the past couple of years and now they will hopefully want to get back to have another parade throughout NYC. Watching this years addition of the fall classic made me think of a few things like: Philly Fans make Boston fans look classy,Jay-Z is the official entertainer or musician of the 2009 World Series Champion New York Yankees , and THE YANKEES are still Pedros DADDY’S!!!

Daddy's Little Devil

What is really going to be big for the Yanks and their quest of creating a Dynasty will be how they handle free agents Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and Andy Pettitte who’s contracts are up. Here is my plan I would ask Pettitte if he still wants to play then I would get him to another small 1 year deal with a player option then I would let Damon walk and bring up the future in Austin Jackson and Finally I would do something similar to Pettitte with Matsui not in fear that he would go to another team but just I feel that Godzilla wants to go back home to his family and his fan base in Tokyo on a high note with his MVP honors in the Championship. I have put a poll up asking Yankee Fans to choose their most important free agent to sign. And I will leave you with one lasting remark. THERE’S ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP COMING THIS TIME NEXT YEAR!!!!!!

CHAMPIONS!!!!!

Thursday  October 29th  at 7:30 pm in Rocking Lane Stadium is where and when the North Carolina Tarheels will be welcomed to the nightmare that is Thursday Night Football in Blacksburg,Va. And if that’s not bad enough it’s Halloween Weekend. This Nightmare will begin with the entrance of the Bloodthirsty Monsters themselves THE VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES to the Terrifying music of Enter Sandman with 66,000 members of Hokie Nation on their feet. Once the pregame ritual is over the Tarheels will battle for their lives against the beasts like Kam Chancellor , Cody Grimm , Jason Worilds and Dorian Porch who shall OBLITERATE the Heels in their  SKY BLUE jerseys. Once the beasts take care of the bait the speedy gobblers like Tyrod “T-MOBILE” Taylor and Dyrell Roberts will run the oblivious men in front of them right back to the playpen from which they came  known as “Chapel Hill”by using the skin of the pigs that they had slaughtered in the previous beating they had given.Now most importantly  the prophet of the Hokie gods will have his say in the matter of how and what to do will the Heels with his devilish Dreadlocks and powerful legs  Ryan Williams will unleash the true power of the Dark Side on these basketball worshiping Rams!!And I mustn’t forget the Evil Monkey’s from the closet who will use the Gorilla Warfare tactic of “Beamer Ball” to reek havoc and chaos on the Kicker and Punter of the Heels and the footballs that will be coming off their feminine 5.5 size feet!!! That is the story of what will happen on Thursday Night which will be better known as the HOKIES NIGHT OF FRIGHT!!!!!!! Thank you for reading my story today and please tell as many friends or family members as you may that they shall not listen to the ignorance that is Mark May and if you  are not a follower of the Hokie Liege there will be Gobblers coming to siege!!!!

The Beast!!!

The Fright Begins

What a Year!!! The New York Yankees have finally returned to their winning ways and captured their 16th AL East Division title. And if that wasn’t sweet it was the Bombers 100th win of the year and it game at the disposal of GUESS WHO…. THE NATION. There were two key elements that I think made this team great. The first one being the chemistry which I hadn’t seen before as a 14 year old Yankee Fan and the 2nd element that sent the Bombers “SKY HIGH”  Was their ability to get the job done in the clutch. I mean if they were down by  5 runs in the 7th inning or later you thought they still had a shot… It was that kind of year and it is what many Yankee Fans or as I like to call us “THE COUNTRY“ expected coming into the season. Besides that I had the pleasure of going to the game on Saturday and Boy O’ Boy did it bring back some good memories from the empty Cathedral across the street. I wouldn’t call it SHAKING quite yet but it was really getting up there. This past weekend had 2 negatives and 3 positives. I’ll start with the bad news…. I go to South High School and we have a huge rivalry with North High School. So every year the two   get together and battle for the Supervisor’s Cup. We’ve had the trophy for the last 6 year in and We lost it. And if that weren’t bad enough on the JV team we lost on North’s  field the following morning but now on to the good news. 1. The Hokies KILLED the Canes as Jacory Harris got his first taste of the wet, cold and loud  arena that is Lane Stadium/Worsham Field. 2. The New York Football Giants…. Another week of dominance from Big Blue as they get ready for another 2 weeks of fun vs the Chiefs and the Raiders!! They should be 5-0 by week 6!! and I saved the Best for Last 3. The Yankees clinching the AL EAST, Homefield Advantage and BEATING THE SAWX!! The one I thing I didn’t enjoy about the game were the worst and most controversial broadcasting team of Steve Phillips, John Miller and Joey”DUMB DUMB” Morgan!!! I know I am not the first to say this but those guys are just terrible!! They’re almost as bad as the NBC Football crew or as I call them the “T-FAGS” or (Typical Football Analyst Guys). Back to the Yankees… The big keys to the post season are going to be A.J. Burnett who has been very inconsistent lately, Joba Chamberlain and seeing how he does with where ever Girardi decides to put him, and probably the biggest key or factor for the Yanks in October will b non other than the man worth 300 million Alex Rodriquez who hasn’t done anything for the Yanks when really counts in the playoffs !! I predicted the Yankees would win the World Series and so far that idea is still with really only 3 teams standing in there way things look very good for the Bombers in October!!

Yankees Win

Finally…. I’m back! I actually still don’t have my pc for the 2nd week in a row so I’m writing this post from My Aunt Wendy’s house in Jersey!! But back to the topic The Yankees are now 5.5 games ahead of THE NATION!!! which means my predictions are coming more and more together like my steroid report with Papi and Manny and Phil Hughes is still just plain Philthy. Also I 2 weeks ago I  attended an amazing camp which was hosted by CBS sports man Ian Eagle (not EEAN or Iron) and Bruce “Bubba” Beck of NBC NY. It was at the Yogi Berra Museum in Montclair New Jersey where I had the chance to interview the ten time World Series Champion (Hes got more rings then the  NATION and MESS combined ) But anyway back to the title of the post “Gotta Go To Mo” which is actually the slogan of Modell’s Sporting Goods said by Ian Eagle. Mariano Rivera has been regarded or thought of as the best or at least one of the best closers in the history of our past time. Witha career ERA of 2.27 and 514 saves recorded its no wonder “The Sandman” was one of the center peices of the great Yankee Dynasty of the late 1990’s.  I still personally think that Mo has at least 3 to 4 good years left in him which could give him enough time to record close to 700 career saves. Also to settle the debate here in the Tri-State NY are I would pick Mo over K-Roid in a second and because I’m just a Yankees Fanatic but also cause I don’t believe the media. I mean remember when BESPN “Boston Entertainment Sports Network” kept on saying that Derek Jeter was done and a washed up second tier Shortstop well… look at him mow he’s batting .314 and has only 5 E’s at SS plus I’ve seen him make the lunging move back showing off his great armstrenth on a ball hit right in the middle of him an A-Rod. Also I just want to point out that with the K-Roid comment I mean on my list of unconfirmed steroid names from 2003. Which you should all check out called “New Steroid Report” in my archives.  And if all you regular readers here at Sports Haven are wondering NO!! I AM NOT THE LEAK THAT THE TIMES IS GETTING THESE NAMES FROM!!! Until next time I’m Matt Burrill and thanks for checking out Sports Haven.

Remember when everyone would complain that the Yankees need that dominant setup or bridge for Mariano Rivera in the Bullpen.I was one of those people who said that Joba Chamberlain was the “Chosen One” for that spot but I have changed my mind on that statement for 2 reasons. One is that Joba has been pitching great as a starter and two ” Philthy Phil Hughes!! ” I mean he has been lights out literally. Here’s a stat for all you guys still on the Joba Train. Hughes averaged 91 mph on his Fastball as a starter but now hes averaging 96mph in the Pen.  Also I am a little to young to of witnessed the Yankees winning in the 70’s but remember the hard throwing right hander that came outta the pen in those winning years. That’s right folks I’m talking about Rich “Goose” Gossage. And if you watch the Yankees broadcast on YES you can clearly here the Yankee faithful hollering “HUUGHES!!!!! I mean its just great. The one thing that I really don’t agree with Joe Girardi on Hughes is  that they still have him as a starter and not as a permanent reliever. I mean this is gonna turn into another Joba debate. Thanks for checkin out Sports Haven and just to let you’ll know I’M ON TWITTER!!!!!

Philty Phil

I have found it… Found what you ask? I have found a sport writers Golden Ticket. I have found the MLB’ s  Anonymous Drug Test from 2003. It says that it is unconfirmed but I think that the MLB doesn’t want to have “Red Scare” in the wonderful sport of baseball. This test reveals a lot of names and teams that were well.. ALL JUICED UP!!! First I will ask you all a pretty straight foreword question. In 2003 what did Miguel Tejada , Alex Rodriquez and Nomar Garciaparra have in common? The correct answer is NEEDLES !!! or the fancier term would be Performance Enhancing Drugs. If you can all go back in time and think about this statement which everyone had assumed was correct… The ranking of Shortstops 1. A-Rod2. Nomar 3. Tejada 4. Jeter. How good does that statment make The Captain look. On this list here are some numbers.44 Hispanic players . 25 players have been members of the Mets organization. 10 players were on the 2004 World Seires SAWX . 12 players have played on the Yankees. 103 names in total (No Jason Grimsly ). The list is below I also want to say that I didn’t right this list it is from Roto Wire. Alot of the names were in the Bias Mitchell report which was conducted by members of guess who… THE NATION!!! Here it is I am estimating that the next name will be out with in 2 weeks and it will be BIG PAPI And remember this list is from 2003 which was 6 years ago I’ve got Yanks at time in Blue and Sawx at the time in Bloody Red

Here are the names as reported by RotoInfo:

1.Nomar Garciaparra
2.Manny Ramirez
3.Johnny Damon
4.Trot Nixon
5.David Ortiz
6.Shea Hillenbrand
7.Derek Lowe
8.Pedro Martinez
9.Brian Roberts
10.Jay Gibbons
11.Melvin Mora
12.Jerry Hairston
13.Jason Giambi
14.Alfonso Soriano
15.Raul Mondesi
16. Aaron Boone
17.Andy Pettitte
18.Jose Contreras
19.Roger Clemens
20.Carlos Delgado
21.Vernon Wells
22.Frank Catalanotto
23.Kenny Rogers
24.Magglio Ordonez
25.Sandy Alomar
26.Bartolo Colon
27.Brent Abernathy
28.Jose Lima
29.Milton Bradley
30.Casey Blake
31.Danys Baez
32.Craig Monroe
33.Dmitri Young
34.Alex Sanchez
35.Eric Chavez
36.Miguel Tejada
37.Eric Byrnes
38.Jose Guillen
39.Keith Foulke
40.Ricardo Rincon
41.Bret Boone
42.Mike Cameron
43.Randy Winn
44.Ryan Franklin
45.Freddy Garcia
46.Rafael Soriano
47.Scott Spiezio
48.Troy Glaus
49.Francisco Rodriguez
50.Ben Weber
51.Alex Rodriguez
52.Juan Gonzalez
53.Rafael Palmeiro
54.Carl Everett
55.Javy Lopez
56.Gary Sheffield
57.Mike Hampton
58.Ivan Rodriguez
59.Derrek Lee
60.Bobby Abreu
61.Terry Adams
62.Fernando Tatis
63.Livan Hernandez
64.Hector Almonte
65.Tony Armas
66.Dan Smith
67.Roberto Alomar
68.Cliff Floyd
69.Roger Cedeno
70.Jeromy Burnitz
71.Moises Alou
72.Sammy Sosa
73.Corey Patterson
74.Carlos Zambrano
75.Mark Prior
76.Kerry Wood
77.Matt Clement
78.Antonio Alfonseca
79.Juan Cruz
80.Aramis Ramirez
81.Craig Wilson
82.Kris Benson
83.Richie Sexson
84.Geoff Jenkins
85.Valerio de los Santos
86.Benito Santiago
87.Rich Aurilia
88.Barry Bonds
89.Andres Galarraga
90.Jason Schmidt
91.Felix Rodriguez
92.Jason Christiansen
93.Matt Herges
94.Paul Lo Duca
95.Shawn Green
96.Oliver Perez
97.Adrian Beltre
98.Eric Gagne
99.Guillermo Mota
100.Luis Gonzalez
101.Todd Helton
102.Ryan Klesko
103.Gary Matthews

From the looks of things right now the Hokies have the potential to make a run at the BCS National Championship… To bad we’re in June!!! This year’s team has similar elements to last years team in that they will be more run than pass and pretty darn good on D!! But the main difference is experience!! This year Tyrod “U CAN’T C ME” Taylor is a jr, Darren Evans is the lock at RB and the WR’s will know what they are doing! One thing that this team will lack is a crazy DB with a kick ass Hair Dew… That’s right I’m talking bout my boy MACHO HARRIS!! Virgil should step up and be what Tech calls a normal DB in that he’ll talk and talk but will also be effective like Flowers, Hall and yes MACHO.  From what I have heard on TSL and from my secret source Ryan Williams  looked very impressive in the spring game. I have also heard that there will be some more WILD TURKEY in the Tech offensive scheme. I like the Turkey because you can have Tyrod get it, Boone bust it up the middle or have Evans/Williams run with the pigskin. The whole season unfortunately will be decided by one game on Saturday 9/5/09 Alabama vs Virginia Tech @ 8:00 in the Georgia Dome. This will be a good match up because both teams were exciting to watch and were lead by mostly young guns like Julio Jones and Darren Evans. Even with all this Offensive talent for Tech to have a chance its just gotta play BEAMERBALL and create plays where plays aren’t expected to be made.  I am gonna say that Tech wins the conference with there only competition being Georgia Tech and UNC. But after that I am just waiting to find out. So until next time I’m OUT like PAPI with out his precious  needle !!!!

MACHO HARRIS

Finally the Yankees did what they were supposed to do… WIN. Yeah I’ll admit it I was wrong about A-ROD and wrong about Swisher but at this point in the season my preseason prediction still seems valid. I know that they got off to a shaky start but I am gonna stick with my prediction of a NATION divided when the Yankees have their parade in late October.  I along with the rest of the COUNTRY am pleasantly surprised with the production of Brett Gardner, Melky Cabrera and Fransisco Cervelli. I knew that Gardner and Melky were gonna be helpful but I had Austin Jackson as the 1st prospect to be called up not the ITALIAN STALLION . That’s right I actually have some faith in Franky because he has some that Kevin Cash and Jose Molina don’t have… a BAT!! In the preseason I also said that the Yankees were gonna have a killer bullpen but of coarse what I say about everything that ain’t HOKIES never ends up happening. I already have some ideas on who my AL and NL MVP candidates are AL 1st… Ian Kinsler, Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer and Carlos Pena. For the NL… Albert Pujols, Carlos Beltran, Adrian Gonzalez and Ryan Zimmerman. Out of these 8 names I like for the AL to be Justin Morneau and for the NL Albert Pujols. Both guys are power hitting 1st baseman and I have Morneau on my fantasy team. (Which is Beastly). But back to the Yankees.. I think that at the end of the season the rotation will be C.C., A.J. Pettite, Wang and then Hughes. The reason that Joba is not  on this list is because he will be in a bullpen “FAR FAR AWAY” and will be called “JOBA THE HEAT”. I also think that with this addition the bullpen will look somewhat like this. 6th/7th inning guys include Phil Coke, Jose Veras, Damaso Marte  andBrett Tomko. 8th inning is Joba and Brian Bruney. And then in the 9th is the SANDMAN, Mariano Rivera. If things turn out the way I think they will I’ll be saying how right I was back in May 19th 2009. Until next time PEACE IN THE EAST!!!

JOBA THE HEAT

“Manny being Manny” the phrase that will live on in Sox history forever. Well until last year when he was traded from the nation to Hollywood. I think that only one side benefited from this blockbuster deal and that side unfortunately for me as a New Yorker is the side of the NATION. The main reason is that they don’t have to deal with the BS that was Manny being Manny and now J-BAY as they like to call him is a monster hit with the people up north and you know what I must admit he is the best Yankee killer their ever was and will be.  You’re all asking yourselves why I didn’t say Ortiz. Well I have something that very few people in the media have today and that my friends is COMMON SENSE. I like a small population of sports fans think that yes BIG PAPI was using da Juice!! Here are some stats to prove it. From the year 2002 -2003 Ortiz went from .234 to .345!! and in that same 1 year span he went from 12- 31 HR’s and you guys cant just tell me its the Lobster because its not and I am going to give you list of people I suspect have done the Juice …. Carlos Delgado , Albert Pujols ,  Jim Thome , Prince Fielder and finally Carlos Pena. And that right there I think is just the tip of the Iceberg and I guarantee that at least 3 out of 6 of these names will come out within the next several years. Call me a Damn New Yorker or a BIAS Bastard but hey man I say what comes to my head and the Picture below describes it all.. Until next time I am out !!

PAPI AND MANNY

The NFL draft 2009 is almost in the books and what do you all think the headline is gonna be? Will it be “Stafford leads 09 class” or “Jets make big move for Sanchez” well I think that it will be titled “Next chapter in Feel Good Story begins with Oher to Ravens”. That’s right for those of you that don’t know Micheal Oher was the main character in the amazing novel and soon to be hit motion picture “The Blindside”. His story is one of triumph and determination. This beast  is 6-4 1/2 weighing in at 309 lbs. Oher was one of 13 children being raised by a crack head mother in the northern part of Memphis,Tennessee. Ohre often had to fend for himself to get food and shelter. The Tuohy’s an upperclass white family ended up taking him in and the rest will if it isn’t already HISTORY!! Oher has showed alot of upside and was a dominant force up front in the always tough SEC. I was talking with some of my friends shortly after Oher was drafted and they all said “Their on the waiting list for the jersey!!”

In my mind I have a gut feeling that this class is gonna be just incredible as far as down the road talent meaning Pro Bowls and MVP’s go. But I also think that their were some moves that just don’t make any sense what so ever. Like the Raiders well… Pulling a Raiders like move going Heyward-Bey instead of Crabtree. Also with all of their picks today there was definetly alot of talk comin in to today about the Pats dealing 1 of their 11 draft picks to move up and snag Mike Crabtree or B.J. Raji . One of the moves that I absoultly loved was the Jets taking Mark Sanchez VIVA LA SANCHEZ will be the cover  of the NY POST on Sunday 4/26/09. I mean you resolve so many problems and questions people might have about the Jets offense. I still do however think that the Jets are destined to be a SMASHMOUTH football team this year. My best draft grade of day 1 would probably have to go to the Detroit Lions. They got the franchise QB in Stafford plus Brandon Pettigrew as Stafford’s target at TE. They also got Louis Delmas who is one of the harder hitters in this year’s class. It will be intresting to see what happens in Day 2 of this great event. I personally think the Braylon Edwards will be out of Cleveland within the next 24 hrs. Until next time I’M OUT!!

Micheal Oher