GOOD BOUNCEBACK

The Jets put a pretty emphatic end to their 3-game losing streak, shutting out the Raiders in Oakland 38-0.

I don't know about you, but I was pretty surprised.

Not so much that the Jets won....just the way they won. No matter how bad the Raiders have been throughout the years (especially recent years), the Jets have always had trouble out there. So I never expected them to hand the Raiders their most lopsided home loss ever.

The Jets' running game and defense helped out Mark Sanchez, coming off a 5-interception game last week, which was the direction Rex Ryan said he'd go. Shonn Green, he of the monster pre-season but only about one or two games so far in the regular season, had a big performance, going for 144 yards and 2 touchdowns.

For the first time this season, and probably the first time in years, I didn't seek out the Jets. They weren't on local TV, and I didn't go out to find them...I guess because I'm still recovering from the 400-mile round trip last week just to watch them crap out on TV.

The most disappointing part of not watching the blowout was that I didn't know until I saw some highlights afterwards that the Jets' road Titans uniforms are awesome. I love blue and yellow in a uniform, but for some reason, I don't love the Titans uniforms - the home ones, anyway...the blue, I think, way outdoes the yellow. The road ones are awesome, with the yellow pants, white shirt, blue helmet. I really like those.
So now the Jets get the Dolphins again. The Dolphins are coming off a loss to the Saints - a game which they should have won. The Jets showed that they are going to win their share of games still this season - they can beat the bad teams, and their schedule is full of bad teams the rest of the season....so if they can get a win at home against Miami, that will go a long way to deciding whether or not they'll be a playoff team. And hopefully there's still a bad taste in the Jets' mouths from their trip to Miami not three weeks ago.

I know the Jets aren't a legit playoff threat, but they really could win enough games against bad teams to get in...and that would be one more huge learning experience for Mark Sanchez (and Rex Ryan) in a season full of learning.

SUNDAY PAPER

I was really looking forward to a Game 6 of the ALCS Saturday night - the night I could actually stay up to watch a game. Now I need to either set myself back entirely for the week by staying up late for a Sunday night game, or miss the late innings.

I really have a lot riding on the outcome, too. There are a few reasons I want the Angels to pull this series out, none of which have anything to do with rooting against the Yankees just because.

One thing is, I'd like to see the Angels win Game 6 so that there's a Game 7. That would be exciting. Secondly, it has been a long haul for the Angels this season. As I've mentioned before, they have the best story this post-season - no one would have blamed them if they had mailed their season in after the early-season Nick Adenhart tragedy. But they've come this far, it would be a shame if they fell short of the World Series.

Finally, though, I don't want it to be a Phillies-Yankees World Series. There are two reasons for this. One is that this is a repeat World Series, and I would feel like we wasted the year if there wasn't a new matchup in the World Series. Secondly, this is the baseball equivalent of the Super Bowl a couple of years ago when the Giants beat the Patriots.

The Yankees are the Giants - the team that but for the grace of God I could have chosen as my own, resulting in me celebrating multiple championships in my lifetime in either sport rather than the one (1986 Mets) I've lived through.

The Phillies are the Patriots - the rival team that is enjoying all of its success at the expense of my team. I have to watch them celebrate championships while my team watches from home...and it becomes more and more clear that this situation bothers me more than it ever will them.

So there's a no-win situation for me with Phillies-Yankees. Let's Go Angels.

*A few articles this week called the Mets "winners" in the Bernie Madoff situation, because they ended up 'making' money on the Ponzi scheme. I think that's just tasteless - no one is a winner in that situation, and it shouldn't be said no matter how clever it makes a headline. Second to that, the Mets will literally not end up winners - won't they have to pay back those millions of dollars? What I took from those stories is that the Madoff scandal may affect the Mets for years down the road.

*I feel like I need to weigh in on this ESPN controversy this week. I don't know why I'm always surprised when these things, like the Steve Phillips situation, come out - I worked in the TV news business for a number of years and there must be something about the egos involved, but there's a lot of low-lifes in the industry. And the people at ESPN have turned me off for a number of years - I never watch SportsCenter anymore - I get my sports news in quick chunks on ESPNEWS and then move on. So I shouldn't be surprised when these types of revelations come out - yet I always am. I guess I expect the best of people. Now, though, I may have to take the opposite approach - and it's going to be hard for any of the ESPN-affiliated folks to earn my respect.

*Today is the 23rd anniversary of Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. It's funny - I think this merits another blog another day, maybe during the World Series, but I have some very distinct memories from the 1986 post-season (and season)...Game 6 is not one of them. (I was 8 years old.) I'm not sure why - maybe because I've seen it so many times on tape since....but I feel like of all the games this is one I would have seen much if not all of - it was a Saturday night, I remember being up for other games....I don't know. Just no memory of it as a live event. I will re-visit this conversation.

*Thanks to the reality check offered by the Jets these past few weeks, I no longer feel like I have to make an argument for the Jets to win every week. I still think they beat Oakland in Oakland, but we all know what a tough place that has been for the Jets historically. I'll say Jets 13, Raiders 10, but I would not be the least bit surprised if Oakland wins. (The Eagles probably helped the Jets out last week by laying an egg in Oakland - I just figure it's less likely for the Raiders to win two weeks in a row.)

*In other pick news, I'm big on the road teams this week. (And not to brag or anything, but I'm currently second place overall in my pool...I win a lot of the games that I don't write about here, believe it or not.) I like Chicago, Atlanta, Arizona, San Francisco, and Minnesota - all getting points on the road, and I like Green Bay, San Diego, Indy, and the Patriots (the 'road' team in England) all giving points on the road. One road team I do not like, you may remember from my rambling earlier in the week, is the Saints. Watch out for the Dolphins upset.

*For those of you reading 200 Miles From the Citi who may not know this, my new blog location (not so new anymore, I guess) is through a sort of parent group - http://www.worldsportsblogs.com/ - you may want to start coming to my site through there. There's some other stuff worth reading there on a variety of topics.