Mets Mess: MLB Gave Mets $25 Million Last Year

Article first published as Mets Mess: MLB Gave Mets $25 Million Last Year on Blogcritics.

If the dire situation on the field was not enough for Mets fans, the situation in the executive offices can make them worry even more these days. Today, the New York Daily News is reporting that team owner Fred Wilpon borrowed $25 million big ones from Major League Baseball to help "shore up the team's liquidity." In other words this was a one-time bailout that helped the team get back on its feet.


At the heart of all this is the shadow of Bernie Madoff, Ponzi schemer extraordinaire who bilked many investors, including Wilpon, out of hard earned money. While this may make Mets fans squirm as they hear about this loan (that, by the way, must be paid back), they think about the future of this organization and fear things are quite grim indeed.

Last month Wilpon announced that he was searching for a limited partner to buy a stake in the Mets. It seems everyone from Donald Trump to Justin Bieber has been rumored to be looking to get involved, but what price will be ultimately paid besides money? How will this affect day-to-day operation of the club, and more specifically, what happens on the field?

Right now Mets fans have little if anything to look forward to this season. Johann Santana will probably not pitch until after the All Star break, and with no major trades and returning players who, besides David Wright and Ike Davis, inspire little if any confidence, 2011 is shaping up to be a long wait until next year exercise in more futility.

The only bright side is that perhaps this revelation will lend credence to Wilpon's plea that he too was a victim of Madoff. We will have to see what happens in court in regards to that, but right now we Mets fans might as well settle in for the bumpy ride this season; from all indications things are going to get worse before they get any better in Metsville.


Photo credit: Simmons/Daily News

As Gang Green Turns: It's a Hard Knock Life

Article first published as As Gang Green Turns: It's a Hard Knock Life on Blogcritics.

As anyone who has seen this season's Hard Knocks on HBO can tell you, it probably isn't the worst place in the world for a football team to get exposure. Yes, you get a weekly dose of Gang Green in all its glory and infamy, with Coach Rex Ryan getting a little heat for his language from Tony Dungy and inspiring Patriot's Quarterback Tom Brady to say he doesn't watch the show and "hates" the Jets. Is this the way to conduct a preseason or what?

Now we hear reports that on tonight's episode of the show that we could have a special guest star: contract holdout Darrelle Revis. Is this just a good ploy to spike those viewer ratings or is it a way to finally get both sides to the table? There are always rumors in the world of Gang Green, and there have been plenty of them going around this week that Revis was close to a deal, but then we get alternating stories about the Jets and Revis being about as far apart as the Golden Gate and George Washington Bridges.

A report in the New York Daily News last week suggested that both sides were $40 million apart in the negotiations, and there has been no budging from either side as we reach day twenty-four in Revis's holdout. That is why these rumors about Revis appearing on tonight's episode of Hard Knocks, while intriguing to say the least, seem dubious. During this whole time the team has maintained that negotiations are "confidential," and so we have heard nothing new; that is nothing new except for all the rumblings, grumblings, and gossip that gets dissected on talk radio day after day.

What is interesting to note is that a significant deal was announced regarding All-Pro center Nick Mangold. He signed a seven-year deal making him the highest paid center in the NFL ($57 million). The whole Revis thing looks considerably more disdainful when we note that Mangold came to camp without a deal. While he may or may not have known a deal would be reached, Mangold took the view of the team coming first. Revis is making it clear that he comes first, but maybe tonight things will change in the unreal world of reality TV.

How long can this holdout last? Maybe all season? "Who cares!" the Jets will tell us, courtesy of the tunnel known as Rex Ryan's mouth. He says that they are confidant in Antonio Cromartie stepping up on the left and rookie Kyle Wilson on the right, backed by the less than astounding Dwight Lowery and Drew Coleman. "To the right of them; to the left of them." Where have I heard that before? Oh, yeah, but things have to be considerably better for the Jets without Revis than those Light Brigade guys Tennyson wrote about, right?

So tune in tonight to see if the green really hits the fan: same Gang Green time; same Gang Green station. There could be some genuine fireworks, and even if Ryan doesn't shoot his mouth off, Revis just might show up. Da-da-da-dum.

No More Tomorrows for Little Orphan Annie

Article first published as No More Tomorrows for Little Orphan Annie on Blogcritics.

If you have seen the Broadway play, watched the movie, or caught the comic strip on a daily basis, it is probably hard to say goodbye to the little red-haired orphan girl named Annie but, after eighty-six years, as of Sunday, June 13, 2010, the comic strip Annie will no longer appear in daily newspapers.

Little Annie has been around a long time, as have her cast of characters that included Daddy Warbucks (so named because he made his bucks during the war- that is World War I), Punjab, the Asp, Mr. Am, Tom Short, and a long list of nefarious guys and gals out to get either Annie or Warbucks.

Born during the Roaring Twenties, Annie was the poor girl who got a big break: a really big break. She is adopted by Warbucks and gets away from the hard-knock life to live in a palace on Fifth Avenue. She brings along her faithful dog Sandy, who was loyal and could always be counted on for an "Arf" when the situation called for it.

My father remembers when Annie first appeared in the newspaper (the New York Daily News) as Little Orphan Annie when he was a kid. It seemed to become immediately popular, as the story of a little poor girl wandering the streets, living a tough life, and then getting lucky enough to be adopted by a wealthy man struck a chord in the public.

Dad also hit on what I think is the key to Annie's long-term popularity: despite Annie's good fortune, she never loses her down to earth personality and cares about the people and the place from whence she came. As the comic was first geared to little kids, he recalled that sometime during the Depression the story got more serious (no doubt because of the times), and Annie was thrown into a series of perils and long periods of separation from her "Daddy."

As she wandered the roads and towns of America looking for a way home, vagabond Annie survived by using her wits, lots of pluck, and sometimes the kindness of strangers. The comic strip certainly represented what was for many people at that time a real life experience because so many families lost their homes and were out on their own. It also appealed to kids especially as the fantasy that seemed a lot like their own.

In the 1970s Annie became a hit Broadway musical and gave many young actresses a chance to play the part and become famous (including Andrea McArdle and Sarah Jessica Parker). It was a tremendous success and eventually a movie would be made in 1982 starring Albert Finney as Warbucks and Carol Burnett as Miss Hannigan. In 1999 a TV movie with Victor Garber and Kathy Bates in those roles premiered, and that version has become a family favorite (I can't count how many times my daughter has watched it).

Through it all Annie remained the sweet but tough little girl who managed to escape an orphange, fight her way out of scrapes, stay on the run (whether by train, car, boat, bus, or just walking) and eventually find a way back into the arms of the "Daddy" who loved her.

One of the things I liked about Annie over the years was the adventurous nature of the strip. Usually over breakfast, I read the paper and the comics, while most of them are mildly amusing, they did nothing to satisfy my need for some action. Annie gave me that little adventure everyday, whether she was crossing the roads of America, getting mixed up with gangsters, or trying to help those less fortunate than herself. I looked forward to seeing that comic strip every morning, and now it is gone.

Sadly, Annie ends with a sort of cliffhanger, which I guess is apropos for a comic strip that very well could have been called The Perils of Annie. Annie is in the clutches of The Butcher of the Balkans, and he has escaped with her on a boat and is on the run. As her "Daddy" does everything her can to find her, she is stuck with a killer who will not harm her because she is a child. The strip ends with the words, "And this is where we leave our Annie. For now --"

Well, in a world where we can see last episodes showing Tony Soprano (The Sopranos) fade to black and Jack Bauer of 24 have to go off on the run, it just could be the fitting end the little red-haired heroine of the comics deserved.

Annie will be remembered fondly by children and adults and even senior citizens like my Dad who was a child when he first read the comic strip. Besides the movies and merchandise that will always be available, there is a promise of a new Broadway production of Annie to come our way sometime in the future. Will the show pick up where the strip left off? Will Annie find a way back to the "Daddy" who loves her? "Gee whiskers!" I wish I had the answers, but I have a feeling that we will be seeing her hugging her dog and Warbucks by the time the curtain falls.