Bleacher Report - Articles by Rob Civardi

Enough's Enough: Amazin Avenue Needs Repaving

Rob Civardi — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 16:06:43 -0400

There comes a time for every organization, when they have to start over and change there ways. It comes after years of injuries, inadequate trades, second rate signings, terrible draft selections, and blind faith. The franchise, nor there players want to admit it, but it must be done. After years of misfortune, Mets fans are in despair. Their moment has past, the players that once lead them a strike away from a World Series birth are getting old and past there primes. Amazin Avenue needs to be repaved. It's time for change

Growing up in a household of Met fans, I know all about the hero’s of Mets history. Guys like Mookie Wilson, Sid Fernandez, Garry Carter, and Keith Hernandez are talked about with the highest praise. Those were the good ole days my father says often. Back then it wasn't about getting the biggest contract or hitting the most homeruns, it was about winning. They didn’t care if they were making twenty thousand, or twenty million, the guys were always going to hustle and play the right way.

The team was stacked from top to bottom, there farm wasn't the laughing stock of baseball. The GM knew how to spend his money wisely, instead of wasting it all on 30 plus players past there primes and players who have no talent. There comes a time for every organization, when they have to start over and change there ways, the time is now for the Mets.

I know you don’t want to hear this, but the team stinks, no one is coming to the games, the franchise’s is losing money, and the economy is in the tank. Its time to rebuild. People aren’t going to spend a hundred dollars to buy the newest Mets jerseys, and companies surely aren’t going to buy up luxury boxes to see the team lose. The time has come for a new GM, one with a plan, who will rebuild the franchise from top to bottom. One which takes the Mets out of the free agent market for a few years, and saves them money. While also finding good young talent which will produce in the future.

Whatever Minaya has been doing the past few years surely hasent worked, and I doubt the plan his Assistant GM who has been advising him since he became the Mets head honcho will be any different. Its about time they bring someone with a winning tradition who can both draft, spend, and develop talent.

John Abbamondi (Cardinals Assistant Gm), or Gerry Hunsicker (Rays Assistant Vp) would do just that. All it takes is one trade, one trade of stars like Beltran or Santana who could net a big return. If the Orioles could land an all-star center fielder, front of the line rotation starter, and the teams closer for Erik Bedard, theres's little doubt in my mind the Mets could do better with either of the two.

Just imagine a roster full of homegrown Mets. Players your organization groomed into stars, taking full flight as they lead your team to glory. It may take a few years, but the fruits of one rebuilding project could be worth more than anyone imagined. Just think if you had Pujols and Carpenter, or Longoria and Upton, a few years of sub .500 seasons is worth it right?

The Charlotte Bobcats' Magical Game Ends In Heartbreak

Rob Civardi — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 12:16:40 -0400

Every team has their moment. The moment which gets people talking and puts people into to seats. I thought the Bobcats had their moment yesterday, only to let it fade away quicker then it happened.

Down 83-77 with slightly over two minutes to go, the Bobcats began to score. Raja Bell, who had been ice cold all night, hit two clutch baskets. The second basket came with the shot clock winding down.

Then, Raymond Felton stole the ball from Aaron Brooks and hit Boris Diaw for a layup. Bell followed an offensive rebound with a basket, and Charlotte had the lead.

Ron Artest hit a shot with 22.1 seconds remaining to put the Rockets up 87-86. Now, the Bobcats had the opportunity for their moment.

This season has been filled with overachieving moments for the Bobcats. Going into the season, Larry Brown thought they may be the worse team he has ever coached. He even said that they would be lucky to win ten games this year. But after trades that brought in guys like Diaw, Bell, and many others, there now in the thick of a playoff hunt too close to call.

Going up against Houston, no one gave Charlotte a chance. The Bobcats were going to be blown out. It was going to be one of those games where the bench sees the floor half the game. One of those games would have happened in the past, but it did not happen last night.

A few weeks ago, the Cats lost by 20 to this same Houston club. It was a horrible effort in which everyone seemed to have a bad night. The game was so bad Sean May saw the floor, and when he is on the court, you know they have played one horrible game.

Now, with 22 seconds remaining, it was the Cats time to shine.

For the past five years, the Bobcats have had one of the lowest attendance averages in the NBA. For the past five years, Charlotte has been the laughing stock of the NBA. For the past five years, busts like Adam Morrison and Sean May have haunted their franchise. For the past five years, Bobcat fans have stayed true to their pride and joy despite disappointing results.

That was the past five years, but our time is now or so we thought.

The small crowd of 16,809 was rocking. It felt more like a Lakers/Celtics game than a Bobcats/Rockets game. With 22 seconds remaining, everyone was on their feet screaming their hearts out, hoping their team could defeat one of the West's best teams.

The inbounds was perfect; everyone hustled up the court looking for that final basket. They moved the ball around, finally getting the ball to their best shooter who was at the right place at the right time.

Bell, who leads Charlotte's perimeter players with a 46.9 shooting percentage and was 5-for-6 during the fourth quarter, was open from 19 feet. This could be the moment!

As the ball went up in the air, the crowd noise grew louder. People said it felt like the Garden not the D-League game atmosphere you experience nightly at the Time Warner Cable Arena. Everyone was watching that ball; the two seconds the ball was in the air seemed like hours. It looked good from the start, but hit the front rim and went right into a Rockets' player hands.

The crowd suddenly went silent. The game and, likely, our playoff chances were lost.

The Oriole Way

Rob Civardi — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:58:13 -0500

It was the bottom of the eighth in an empty Memorial Stadium. Most of the 40,000 fans that came to see the Orioles that day had already left. The place looked like an Independent League game, with perhaps a quarter of the original crowd scattered throughout the stadium, watching their Baltimore club lose like it had all season.

But this time, actually, was different.

The Baby Birds had their backs against the wall and a rough road ahead of them if they were to come back. Down by five against the Yankees, most teams would have given up, but they didn’t.

Rising to the challenge, the Orioles rallied. With one out and the bases loaded, Brooks Robinson stepped up the plate. With the small crowd behind him, he knew he had to do something special.

And he did.

On the first pitch of the at-bat, he rocketed the ball right back at the Yankees pitcher and into center field, scoring two runners and cutting the lead to three.

Later that inning, Willie Kirkland drove in two to pull the Orioles close for the first time all day. Jerry Adiars then singled another run in, tying the ball game at 7-7.

Up came Charlie Lau (for only the second time that day). After beginning the inning with a pinch-hit single, he clobbered a fastball into left-center, doubling and scoring Aidars, giving Baltimore a lead they would never surrender.

With every fan in the stands on their feet, the Orioles took the field in the top of the ninth. Roger Maris homered for the Yankees, but it didn’t matter, as Stu Miller closed the door and ended the game 9-8.

No one expected the Orioles to win that day against the all-powerful Yankees, but they did. They showed respect for the game by never giving up, even when the chances of winning seemed slim; the Birds still gave it 100 percent the whole way.

Most players would have lost all hope, but they didn’t. Though at the time they didn’t know, it was a pivotal moment in Orioles history. I like to think it was the start of the "Oriole Way."

The Oriole Way was a template that was used to draft, develop, and train players in Double-A and Triple-A ball in preparation for the professional ranks.

The concept was to teach a system and have a "plug-and-play" mentality with all of the organization's players, and it worked. For a short period of time, it truly was the standard in baseball.

They found a way to win when others couldn’t, which was really what the Oriole way was all about. They played great defense, pitched well, and never gave up. The three attributes to any winning organization. Even with their skills diminishing, and their hours as immortals dwindling, they found a way to win.

That’s what Oriole baseball is all about, never giving up, playing till the final out.

The one thing that Baltimore has lacked these past 11 years is consistency. Every year, we seem to have a new manager and vice president. Who knows, if Angelos feels like we're not rebuilding fast enough, we may have a new one tomorrow.

If it's true that history repeats itself, then maybe, just maybe, the Oriole Way can get up and running once again.

Don Maynard: New York Jets Legends, Part I

Rob Civardi — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:05:49 -0500

In the first of hopefully many blogs about past New York Jets, I'm proud to start off with Don Maynard, the Jets' first legend.

Born in Crosbyton, TX, Maynard played his college ball at Texas Western College where he was a two-time all-conference running back and track star. He was drafted by the New York Giants in 1957 and was converted to wide receiver, but after one year he was released, having only five catches for 84 yards.

The Giants thought he was nothing more than an average player (of which they had enough) so the move made perfect sense considering the Giants had just won the Championship and didn't need Maynard anymore.

Maynard then played a year in the Canadian Football League, but when the newly formed New York Titans offered him a contract, he accepted and became the first ever New York Titan, and his life would never be the same.

In his first year as a Titan, he had 72 catches for 1,265 yards, which was truly amazing for a guy whose team went 7-7 and, like today, their QB situation wasn't good.

For years to come, Maynard was a great wide receiver with good numbers on a bad team—until 1968. As you all know, that was the year the Jets won their only Super Bowl. Even though he only had 57 catches, he still had over 1,200 yards receiving, which, even today, is just unbelievable.

Maynard was always Joe's favorite target because he was big, worked hard, and was fast. Don's last three years were a bit of a wash however, considering he was injured for some of that time.

The Jets found other younger guys to take his place while they became a run-oriented team. But even when he wasn't getting the ball, he still averaged over 16 yards a catch every year, which will never be matched.

Then in 1972 he moved on to St. Louis, and a year later Don decided to retire. Amazingly, Maynard never led the AFL in receiving yards or catches, but he still ended his career with 633 catches for 11,834 yards and 88 touchdowns with a career average of 18.7 yards per catch.

In the end, Don Maynard was the first ever Jets legend. Let's all take a few seconds to thank the Giants for releasing him and letting us get one of the best wide receivers of all time.