Happy Tuesday everyone, here's my Top 5 for December 22, 2009 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
* In Monday night football, the Giants awaken and roll over Washington 45-12. Where was this team all season?
* Former Green Bay and Seattle coach Mike Holmgren is the new president of the Cleveland Browns.
* Pitcher Jason Marquis appears headed to Washington. The Staten Island native had voiced interest in pitching for the Mets.
* The Yankees are the only team hit with a luxury tax this year. Because of their high payroll, they'll pay $25.7 million. Of the $190 million in luxury taxes paid by teams since its inception in 2003, the Yankees have paid $174 million of that total.
* The AP names NASCAR driving champ Jimmie Johnson as the athlete of the year. I lean towards Roger Federer and his record 15th tennis major.
2. Revisionist History
Tiger Woods has won Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill tournament 6 times. His picture appears in the banner on the web site holding the trophy. Oops, not anymore. The web site has now been sanitized. It is a Tiger free zone. In one of the quotes of the year, the tournament director said the redesign was "not necessarily" prompted by Woods' recent infidelity. Oh.
3. M-V-P
So now that we answered the burning question of who won rings with both the Red Sox and Yankees, subscriber R.B. wants to know about World Series MVPs like Hideki Matsui winding up on a different team the following year. Well it turns out 1996 Yankees World Series MVP, reliever John Wetteland, pitched for Texas in 1997. And 1986 Mets World Series MVP, Ray Knight, played for Baltimore in 1987. It must be a New York thing! What have you done for me lately?
4. Goose Eggs
So who is the best athlete in the New York area? Before you knee jerk your baseball or football answer, it has to be Devils goalie Martin Brodeur. Last night he shutout Pittsburgh 4-0 to set the all time shutout record. An astounding 104 games. Clearly hockey is the step-child of pro sports, but that doesn't diminish what Brodeur has accomplished. A hall of famer in our midst, and clearly under-appreciated by sports fans in general.
5. It Figures
Now I've figured out why sports people are so sexually charged. There were side by side ads in one of my favorite New York tabloids yesterday advertising a sexual enhancement liquid and a Gentlemen's Club with continuous topless entertainment. The ads were in the sports section. I guess if they were on the op ed page then politicians would be involved in this stuff. No wait...
Happy Birthday: The great punter from the Oakland Raiders, Ray Guy. 60.
Bonus Birthday: American Idol winner Jordin Sparks (daughter of former Giants defensive back Phillippi Sparks). 20.
Today in Sports: The Coneheads arrive in the Bronx. Pitcher David Cone signs a 3 year $19.5 million contract with the Yankees. 1995.
Bonus Event: The Lincoln Tunnel opens connecting New York and New Jersey. Cars pay 50 cents. (Today it's 8 dollars heading to NY, no charge leaving town.) 1937.
Follow Len Berman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lenbermansports
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