Sports With Balls  

Well, it's not official, but the Mets have apparently finally gotten their man. Johan Santana will be the new Mets ace, while four top prospects head to Minnesota. I've had mixed feelings about this for a long time, but now as the deal is just about official, I'm thrilled. Although the Mets have just about completely drained their farm system, they finally have a stud pitcher the likes of which we haven't seen since Doc Gooden (I can't count Pedro since he's been banged in the two of the three years he's been with the Mets). The Mets rotation goes from maybe being slightly above average to possibly the best in the National League. I still hate the Lastings Milledge trade, but I'm glad they kept Fernando Martinez, their top prospect, plus Pelphrey (who may or may not ever live up to this potential) and Aaron Heilman.
While most Mets fans have to be elated about this deal, Yankees and Red Sox fans are breathing collective sighs of relief, as neither could one up the other on the pitching front. The loser in this deal - aside from possibly the Twins - would have to be the Phillies. I'll admit, before today I was ready to concede the NL East to the Phils. But his changes everything. I'm not about to make any Jimmy Rollins-esque statements, but this deal at least puts the Mets back on equal footing with Philadelphia.

OH YEAH, AND THERE'S THE SUPER BOWL TOO
Similar to what I wrote last week, I'm still kinda bored of the extensive Super Bowl coverage. But now I'm at the point where I'm getting antsy. Sunday still seems to be so far away. The Giants (some of them at least) are a little too cocky for my liking right now, but come Sunday night none of these comments or predictions will mean much. This will sound strange, but I hope Tom Brady is 100%. If the Giants do somehow pull off the upset, I don't want to the lasting memory be, "well we'll never know what would have happened if Brady wasn't hurt". Don't get me wrong, I'll take a Giants win any way possible, but in a perfect world, the Giants beat a perfectly healthy Brady.
I'll make my prediction on the show, but I've been leaning towards picking the Giants to cover the whole way, so I'll probably stick with that. I still think the Giants will come up short, but I have a feeling this will a memorable Super Bowl.

LOOSE BALLS
-It pains me to give credit to UConn basketball, but winning at Indiana and then beating Lousville at home without your top scorer and another vital player is pretty impressive. Calhoun was his usual charming self in the postgame last night, giving a foul mouthed reply to reporters when questioned about his two suspended players. I really feel for you, Jim...it's tough having a player getting into trouble almost every single year. How about this...run a little tighter ship (or is it shift?) and maybe you won't have players having problems off the court.

-I only check the NBA standings once a week or so, but New Orleans has the best record in the West? Wow! They play in the best division in basketball and are a very young team, but it hasn't mattered. Chris Paul, David West and Tyson Chandler could make this team great for years to come. Quietly Byron Scott has been a very good coach. He brought the Nets from perennial ineptitude to the NBA finals and now he's gotten the Hornets through a last place a finish, a temporary move to Oklahoma City, to best in the West. I'm a believer!

-It's weird for me to think that I was once a huge hockey fan. Did anybody watch the All-Star game on Sunday? Maybe the fact that it's on Versus (a channel I don't even get) is part of the problem. The novelty of the shootout is wearing off, there's too much scoring, and having teams south of Washington, D.C. and west of Colorado is ridiculous.

NEXT EPISODE OF SPORTS WITH BALLS
I'll be on once again on Thursday afternoon, 2 P.M. Eastern. Thanks to Johan Santana, there will be more than just the Super Bowl to talk about. I'm hope to be joined by Mike Orzechowski (blogtalkradio.com/mike-o), host of numerous shows here on blogtalkradio.com, to get a Patriots fan's perspective on the Super Bowl, plus maybe a Phillies fan's perspective of the Johan Santana deal. And hopefully usual guest Brian will come on the show for some banter, sarcasm, and of course sports knowledge.