9/17/2012- WWE Night of Champions results, Yankees def Rays 2 out of 3, Steelers def NY Jets, more

Hello everyone! I hope all of you had a great weekend. My weekend was bittersweet since the Yankees were able to win a series against the Rays 2 out of 3, but the Jets lost to the Steelers. More info will be shared as you read along. Here we go!

MLB
After the series at Fenway where the Yankees won against the Red Sox 2 out of 3, the Yanks returned home and hosted the Tampa Bay Rays. The Yankees lost the 1st game, but won the 2nd and final game of the series due to strong outings from a returning Ivan Nova and Hiroki Kuroda respectively. Meanwhile for the Mets, they traveled to Miller Park to face the Milwaukee Brewers in a 3 game set. The Mets ended a 6 game losing streak on Friday, but went to another losing streak on Saturday and Sunday.

In a rare move, both the Yankees and the Mets will host home games in the same city as the Mets host the Philadelphia Phillies in a 3 game set starting tonight, while the Yankees host the Toronto Blue Jays in a 3 game set starting tomorrow night.

NFL
Yesterday was Week 2 of the NFL Season as the New York Giants hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the early game on FOX. This matchup was considered to be of interest for the Giants faithful since the head coach of Tampa Bay is the former Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano. The game started out very dismal since the Bucs dominated the Giants for the 1st 3 quarters, as well as multiple turnovers from Eli Manning. However, for some reason, the Giants made a 4th quarter comeback and win the game. Here are the highlights:

In the late game was the New York Jets facing the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. The Jets played decent in the opening drive, but everything started to fall apart. Wideouts couldn't catch the ball, Defense wasn't tackling, and after Mark Sanchez got hit via helmet to helmet from one of the Steelers defense, he wasn't the same. It may have been possible that Sanchez got a mild concussion, but nothing has been reported. Here are the highlights:

It's pretty obvious that the Jets miss Revis. Hopefully, Revis can come back for the game against Miami. This Thursday, the New York Giants will be on the road to face the Carolina Panthers on Thursday Night Football on NFL Network. WWE Last night was the Night of Champions PPV. What made this show unique was that it had a partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure, thus the middle ring rope was Pink and John Cena had a shirt that says "Rise Above Cancer" in order to raise awareness on Breast Cancer. Also, John Bradshaw Layfield filled in for Jerry Lawler and reunited with former SmackDown colleague Michael Cole. Overall, there were 8 matches on the card. One was streamed online, while the rest aired on PPV. Here are the results: YouTube/Facebook/WWE.com

• Zack Ryder won a 16 man Battle Royal to face the US Champion Antonio Cesaro in the PPV. (Other 15 participants included Brodus Clay, Primo, Epico, Justin Gabriel, Tensai, Tyson Kidd, Michael McGillicutty, Darren Young, Titus O'Neil, Jinder Mahal, JTG, Drew McIntyre, Ted DiBiase, Heath Slater, and Santino Marella)

PPV

• The Miz def Rey Mysterio, Sin Cara, and Cody Rhodes in a Fatal Four-Way match to retain the Intercontinental Championship
• Kane & Daniel Bryan def R-Truth & Kofi Kingston to become the NEW WWE Tag Team Champions
• Antonio Cesaro def Zack Ryder to retain the US Championship
• Randy Orton def Dolph Ziggler
• Eve Torres def Layla to become the NEW Divas Champion*
• Sheamus def Alberto Del Rio to retain the World Heavyweight Championship
• CM Punk vs John Cena went to a Draw. Therefore, CM Punk retains the WWE Championship

(*)- Originally Kaitlyn was scheduled to face Layla but was attacked backstage before the match. Eve Torres took her place.

Tune in this Monday on Raw to find out the fallout from the PPV. That's all I have to say for now. Have a good week! -NYCKNP

9/14/2012- Yankees def Red Sox 2 out of 3, Nationals sweep Mets, review of WWE Raw, more

Hello everyone! I hope all of you had a great week this week! As you may know, this is the 100th post from the NYCKNP Blog. Which means, there will be some format changes to this well. Here are some of the changes that will happen:

1. NYCKNP Blog will be re-branded as @NYCKNP Blog
2. The Q&A page will be removed as it was a failed experiment that never worked
3. New Design, New Look

Other than that, it's still the same webpage, same link, and the same person blogging from my desk (or anywhere where I can get Internet access). Now back to business, here are some events that occurred during the week as well as my thoughts on a Monday night that I will never forget.

MLB
After the Yankees split the series against the Orioles, the Men in Pinstripes traveled to Fenway Park to take on the Boston Red Sox in a 3 game set. The Yankees lost the 1st game, but rebounded and beat Boston the following night and yesterday to win the series. Meanwhile for the Mets, things got even worse as they got swept by the Nationals at home, extending their losing streak to 6 games.

The Yankees will be home this weekend to take on the Tampa Bay Rays in a 3 game set, while the Mets will be on the road this weekend in Milwaukee to take on the Brewers in a 3 game set.

NFL
It's officially Week 2 of the NFL season as Thursday Night Football has started on the NFL Network. The New York Jets will be on the road this Sunday as they face the Pittsburgh Steelers at 4:25 PM on CBS, while the New York Giants will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the early game at 1 PM on FOX.

WWE
This past Monday night on Raw was the night to never forget. It wasn't because Bret Hart returned to Montreal on WWE TV since 1997, but for a reason that was never part of the show to begin with. Before I get to this, here is a clip of Bret Hart interacting with CM Punk in the beginning of Raw:

 

 

After that, Raw was slowly getting good. Especially when CM Punk interacted with Paul Heyman in the middle of Raw:

 



 

 

A few segments after that, this was the worst thing I ever saw on live television:

 



 

 

WWE didn't show any footage of it, so this is a video from one of the fans in the audience. Looks like I'll have to explain it. During a tag team match between Daniel Bryan & Kane vs Prime Time Players, Jerry Lawler collapsed while doing commentary with Michael Cole and was taken to the back by medical personnel from the arena. CPR was performed on Lawler, and he was taken to a nearby hospital in Montreal. The following day, it was reported that Jerry Lawler suffered a heart attack on Raw. However, WWE didn't mention it since the report came out after Raw went off the air. Although, Michael Cole gave updates throughout the night on Jerry Lawler's condition, and opted not to announce for the remainder of the night out of respect for The King.

 

 



 

 

I was very scared when this happened and was hoping Jerry Lawler would be okay, which he did. I'm not a fan of Michael Cole, but after this past Monday he has earned my respect. Cole made these statements not in character, but as the former news journalist from CBS News Radio giving reports. In a way, Cole mirrored what Howard Cosell, Jim Ross, and Dan Shulman did and that is to tell the viewers what happened was very serious. If you don't know what I'm talking about, here it is:

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Even though these 3 events were completely different, it was telling the story that what ever happens in sports and entertainment will stay in there, and it won't affect us in real life. It also showed how much responsibility these announcers have to make in order to break the news.

 

 

Despite what happened on Raw, the show went on, and I'm impressed that Bret Hart, CM Punk, and John Cena maintained their composure and finished the show:

 



 

Even though the Night of Champions PPV is this Sunday, no one really cared about it since what happened that Monday was very serious. I'm glad Jerry Lawler is okay, and hopefully he will recover sooner than later. Speaking of which, Jerry Lawler posted a Tout regarding his recovery.

 



 

 

That's all I have to say for now. Have a good weekend! And here is to 100 posts on the re-branded @NYCKNP Blog.

 

- NYCKNP

 

9/10/2012- NY Jets def Buffalo, Yankees/Orioles split series, Braves sweep Mets, more

Hello everyone! I hope all of you had a great weekend, as I sure definitely did. A lot of great things happened over the weekend, so let's get right to it. Here we go!

NFL
The 2012 NFL Season has officially started. The New York Jets hosted division rival Buffalo Bills in a matchup where the Bills were heavily favored during the offseason. However, the Jets proved to be a dominant force and blew expectations out of the fans. Mark Sanchez did a great job yesterday afternoon, as he completed most of his passes with only one small interception. Final score of the game was 48-28. Here are the highlights:

MLB After facing a brutal series in Tampa Bay where they lost the series 2 out of 3 to the Rays, the Yankees traveled to Baltimore on Thursday to take on the Orioles. The Yankees lost on Thursday, won on Friday, lost on Saturday in controversial fashion, and won on Sunday to split the series and take sole possession of 1st place in the AL East. The controversy I am talking about is around the end of the game, Mark Teixiera attempted to go to 1st and was clearly safe. However, first base umpire Jerry Meals called him "out", thus avoiding a tie game and causing the "Baltimore Screwjob". Meanwhile for the Mets, they have hosted the Atlanta Braves at home where they got swept by them in 3 games. Another interesting note is that this was Chipper Jones last appearance visiting Flushing as he retires after the 2012 season. Tonight, the Mets host the Washington Nationals in a 3 game set, while tomorrow night the Yankees travel to Fenway Park to take on the Boston Red Sox in a 3 game set. WWE Tonight on Monday Night Raw, WWE Hall of Famer Bret "The Hitman" Hart makes his appearance for the 1st time in several years in Montreal since the "Montreal Screwjob".

That's all I have to say for now. Have a great week! -NYCKNP  

8/31/2012- Blue Jays def Yankees 2 out of 3, Mets def Phillies 2 out of 3, NFL Preseason concludes, more

Hello everyone! I hope all of you had a great week this week. There was a lot of newsworthy events, especially what happened today (even though it's not sports related). I'll share more information as you read along. Here we go!

MLB
After the Yankees concluded their series in Cleveland, the Yankees returned home and hosted the Toronto Blue Jays in a 3 game set. The Yankees lost the 1st game due to blown save both in regulation and in extra innings, won the 2nd game, and lost the Wednesday matinee game. For the Mets, they traveled to Philadelphia and faced the Phillies in a 3 game set where they came from behind win on Tuesday, dominated on Wednesday, but failed to sweep on Thursday.

This weekend, the Yankees will host the Baltimore Orioles in a 3 game set, while the Mets will be in Marlins Park to face the Miami Marlins.

NFL
It's official, NFL Preseason is over. And that means the New York Giants is 2-2, while the Jets are 0-4 in the preseason. The Giants faced the New England Patriots on Wednesday night at home where it was a low scoring affair. You could say it was like "watching paint dry".

The following night, the Jets were in Philadelphia facing the Eagles in what turned out to be a blowout loss. The only good news was that the Jets scored a TD for the 1st time this preseason. However, it was all downhill from here.

Starting next week, the Giants will open their season against the Dallas Cowboys on September 5th. This will make the 1st NFL game to be scheduled on a Wednesday.

WWE
This past Monday on Raw wasn't really a good episode, with the exception of a few highlights.

I don't know what's going on, but Raw needs to do something since next Monday will be the last Monday Night Raw where there's no competition. Once the 2012 NFL Season starts, WWE will have to create a better Raw and not lose viewers to Monday Night Football. Outside of Sports If you all heard what happened this morning, a shooting happened at a Pathmark store in Old Bridge, NJ around the late night/early morning hours. And this Pathmark just happens to be not too far from my house. I do remember when I woke up this morning I saw helicopters flying, and I didn't know what happened until I read what happened on the news. Here are more details about this:

 

 

You definitely heard it from the video. The gunman killed 2 people, and shot himself. Since the video was taken early in the morning, updated details have not been given in the video. For more details, check your local news stations about this. I have also posted a link giving the updated info: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Ex-Marine-Shoots-Coworkers-Old-Bridge-Pathmark-168153356.html

 

My thoughts on this are "Why are people being so violent nowadays?" and "What is with these shootings?". Something needs to be done regarding gun control. I give my sympathies to the friends and families of the victims.

 

That's all I'm going to say for now. Have a good Labor Day weekend!

 

-NYCKNP

 

8/27/2012- Yankees def Indians 2 out of 3, Mets def Astros 2 out of 3, NFL Preseason, Bellator 73 results, more

Hello everyone! I hope all of you had a great weekend! As you may know, the season of summer is coming to an end as next week students will be returning to school. That also means that next week my fall semester starts. Let's cut to the chase, shall we. Here we go!

MLB
After a rough outing in Chicago, the Yankees traveled to Cleveland in hopes of a win and it sure came as the Yankees ended a 3 game losing streak on Friday. Even though the Yankees got shut out on Saturday, they won the series on Sunday. Meanwhile for the Mets, they hosted the Astros one last time as intradivision opponents where they lost on Friday, got a win on Saturday, and an ugly win on Sunday.

This week, the Yankees are home and will host the Toronto Blue Jays in a 3 game set starting tonight, while the Mets are on the road and will face the Philadelphia Phillies in a 3 game set starting tomorrow night.

NFL
This past weekend was "the final dress rehearsal" for all the NFL teams in week 3 of the preseason as all the starters prepare for the regular season come September. The New York Giants hosted the Chicago Bears on Friday night, and aired on CBS. I didn't see the entire game, but I know that Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf called the game. All I can say is Dan Dierdorf was a little annoying that night as he was making puns for no reason, and accidentally called Eli Manning "Peyton". The highlights will speak louder than my words.

Last night on Sunday Night Football, the New York Jets hosted the Carolina Panthers. Even though the Jets lost the game, and haven't scored a touchdown this preseason, improvement was made last night compared to the Week 2 preseason game. Mark Sanchez was given time to throw from the pocket, and looked alright in the game. However, his receiving core didn't as Stephen Hill dropped a few passes (one that led to an INT), Santonio Holmes was rusty, TE Dustin Keller was removed from the game due to injury, and Josh Baker is out for the season. Also, it didn't help with the penalties when Slauson attempted to break up a fight between Jets' Turner and Panthers' Nakamura and got flagged for "personal foul". As for the secondary team, and Tim Tebow, let's just say that he can rush, but his passing needs improvement. Here are the highlights.

Bellator Bellator Fighting Championships concluded the 2012 Summer Series with a bang, as a Knockout finished the Light Heavyweight Tournament Final. The event took place in Tunica, Mississippi, and emanated from Harrah's Tunica Hotel and Casino. Here are the results:

• Mike Wessel def Ryan Martinez via split decision
• Mike Mucitelli def Matt Van Buren via submission at Round 1
• Marcos Galvao def Luis Nogueira via TKO in Round 2 to win the Season 6 Bantamweight Tournament
• Attila Vegh def Travis Wiuff via KO at Round 1 to win the Summer Series Light Heavyweight Tournament

Here are the highlights:

Bellator Fighting Championships will return on September 28th with Season 7. WWE This Monday on Raw, Triple H will make an appearance addressing his future in the WWE. Also, find out what happened after CM Punk attacked Jerry Lawler. That's all I have to say for now. Have a good week! -NYCKNP

8/24/2012- White Sox swept Yankees, Rockies swept Mets, UFC 151 Cancelled, more

Hello everyone! I hope all of you had a great week this week as a lot happened such as a bad spell for New York baseball, as well as a cancellation of a UFC event. More will be shared as you read along. Here we go!

MLB
After hosting the Red Sox and winning the series 2 out of 3, the Yankees traveled to US Cellular Field to take on the Chicago White Sox in a 3 game set. The Yankees lost the 1st 2 games in a blowout, and attempted to avoid a sweep but it wasn't to be as they fell short by 1 run on Wednesday. If getting swept wasn't enough, the worst part is that the Tampa Bay Rays are catching up in division standings and now the Yankees are only 2 games ahead in the AL East. Meanwhile for the Mets, they lost 4 games at home to the Colorado Rockies, even though they made an attempt to avoid a sweep yesterday.

The Yankees will be in Cleveland to take on the Cleveland Indians this weekend in a 3 game set before heading back home. The Mets will host the Houston Astros one final time as intradivision opponents this weekend. The reason being is that the Houston Astros will be in the AL West in 2013, and the next time the Mets face them will be in Interleague Play.

MMA
If you heard about it yesterday, it's definitely true that UFC 151 is indeed cancelled. The reason being is that Dan Henderson got injured, and the replacement opponent was going to be Chael Sonnen. However, Jon Jones refused to fight Sonnen, which led to Dana White cancelling the entire event altogether. Here are some of the video highlights.

Even though most of the video highlights is true, part of it is outdated since Machida declined the title shot, and Jones will face Vitor Belfort at UFC 152. Initial reports stated that UFC 152 would be renamed to UFC 151, but Zuffa decided not to and declared that UFC 151 is a lost event. Here's the fight card of what could have happened on September 1st.

MMA fans, even though UFC 151 is not taking place, the good news is that there will be an MMA event tonight. That's right, Bellator Fighting Championships will host the last event of the 2012 Summer Series. NFL This weekend is the third week of NFL Preseason. The New York Giants will host the Chicago Bears tonight and will air on CBS. 2 days later, the New York Jets will host the Carolina Panthers and will air on Sunday Night Football on NBC. The good news for Jets fans is that Austin Howard will start at Right Tackle for this game, and Santonio Holmes and Jeremy Kerley will play as well. WWE This past Monday on Raw was the Raw after the SummerSlam PPV. Raw kicked off with Brock Lesnar in the ring telling how he made Triple H tap out (and would eventually announce "retirement" later on via Tout). Other than that, Raw was basically filler with a few highlights such as Shawn Michaels making a speech via satellite and CM Punk "apparently" turning heel.

Overall, it was a better Monday Night Raw compared to the Raw that happened last week. However, there still more work to be done. That's all I have to say for now. Have a good weekend! - NYCKNP

8/20/2012- WWE SummerSlam results, Yankees def Red Sox 2 out of 3, Nationals def Mets 2 out of 3, NFL Preseason, more

Hello everyone! I hope all of you had a great weekend this weekend. Here is a recap of what happened over the weekend and what to expect this week. Here we go!

WWE

Last night was "The 25th Anniversary of SummerSlam" where it emanated from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Overall there were 8 matches on the card. 1 was streamed online while the remaining 7 aired on PPV. Here are the results:

YouTube/Facebook/WWE.com

• Antonio Cesaro def Santino Marella to become the NEW United States Champion

PPV

• Chris Jericho def Dolph Ziggler via Lion Tamer
• Daniel Bryan def Kane
• The Miz def Rey Mysterio to retain the Intercontinental Championship
• Sheamus def Alberto Del Rio to retain the World Heavyweight Championship
• R-Truth & Kofi Kingston def Prime Time Players (Darren Young & Titus O'Neil) to retain the WWE Tag Team Championship
• CM Punk def John Cena and The Big Show in a triple threat match to retain the WWE Championship
• Brock Lesnar def Triple H via Kimura Lock submission

On my previous blog post, I said that I wouldn't be watching the PPV, but I did since I won a code from WWE's Twitter contest where I gave my thoughts using the #SummerSlam hashtag. WWE chose me and a few others via random selection as winners and I got a redeemable code to watch the PPV on WWE.com/PPV. How the code worked was when I purchased the PPV, the $44.95 price was waived and I watched it for free. Thank you WWE for allowing me to save $45 dollars. Here's proof if you don't believe me:

Here are the highlights from the PPV:

Don't forget to tune in tonight on Monday Night Raw to see the fallout from SummerSlam

MLB

This weekend, the Yankees faced division rival Boston Red Sox in a 3 game set at home before going on the road. The Yankees won Friday's game, fell short on Saturday, and won yesterday on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball to win the series 2 out of 3. On the other side of things, the Mets were in Washington D.C. to take on the Washington Nationals. Mets lost on Friday, won on Saturday, but failed to win the series yesterday.

This week, the Yankees will be at the South Side to take on the Chicago White Sox at US Cellular Field in a 3 game set , while the Mets will return home to host the Colorado Rockies in a 4 game set.

NFL

This past Saturday was the second week of NFL Preseason as the New York Jets hosted the New York Giants in what they call the "MetLife Bowl". This was the worst preseason game I've ever seen, since the Jets offensive line is complete garbage and Wayne Hunter is terrible at his role at Right Tackle. Without a good offensive line, how can Mark Sanchez have time to throw from the pocket? The secondary team didn't look good either since Tim Tebow was sacked a few times as well. Sanchez did throw an interception, but Eli Manning of the Giants threw an interception as well (although Sanchez's INT turned into a Pick Six). Here are the highlights:

That's all I have to say for now. Have a good week -NYCKNP