Missy Franklin 17 Years Old, Gets The Gold!

The Olympics are filled with unbelievable highs and heart-shattering lows! Winning a Gold, setting a World Record are fulfillments of a life of training. Likewise a defeat, a disqualification or tripping coming out of the starting blocks can be devastating . Nothing you can do about it!
One of top "feel good " moments of the London Olympics so far, took place yesterday when Missy Franklin, the 17 year old American won a Gold in the 100 meter backstroke in the fastest time ever. Yes, the fastest time ever. While most 17 year olds are finishing high school, taking the SAT's or getting ready for college she simply went out and cemented her place in history as the fastest female backstroker in the history of the World. Wow! Life will never be the same.
Hopefully, we'll have many more such moments to come.

Olympic beat witer Steve "Jim Thorpe " Goldman reporting.

Michael Phelps, One of The Greatest Olympians Ever; Don't Count Him Out Yet!

I guess when you win 8 golds in one Olympics, and 16 Olympic medals in your career, people's expectations are high. And rightfully so. So despite Phelps' admission that he did not train as diligently as in past years, he's here trying to become the all-time Olympic Medal winner! I can tell you, I'm rooting hard for him .
Off to an"Un-Phelps like " start. 4th in the 400 meter Individual Medley . Did get a Silver in a team relay and now is one medal away from tying for all-time medal lead. Come on Michael, you can do it!
My prediction. When all is said and done he is the all-time leader. That will be a great moment for him, swimming and the USA . Remember , don't count him out yet!

Olympic reporter Steve "Spitz" Goldman.

Insider Trading, Americans Don't Have Exclusive License On It, Japanese Doing it Too!

Everyone's doing it, "trading on Inside,Non-Public Information "! It's the latest and greatest international craze . And guess what? Us Americans don't have the patent on it . I know Boesky, Raj R, Gupta et al. Who said prostitution was the "world's oldest profession".
Latest company to be ensnared in an insider trading scandal is Japan's largest investment bank, Nomura Securities . Are you shocked ? I suspect you're not . Nomura admitted that it's employees leaked inside information regarding Inpex, Mizuho and Tokoyo Electric before it was made available to the public. Where I come from(Not Kansas you nitwit), that's called cheating ! And why ? Greed, power, impressing customers and" I'll only do it this one-time attitude". Customers greed and over the top trades did everyone in . No sympathy here . CEO Kenichi Watanabe just resigned.
Well, if convicted , I understand the defendants will face an unusual, but harsh penalty under Japan's Securities Laws. Yes, ten years in jail, sharing a bunk (bottom) with a 400 lb Sumo Wrestler convicted of eating a "day trader ".
Good luck. Sayonara!

International Securities Analyst Steve "Sushi "Goldman reporting.

A-Rod Fractures Left Hand, Another Yankee Down For The Count!

We get Sabathia back, Joba is close, Andy is coming along, and bang! A-Rod suffers a non-displaced fracture of his left hand . Could be out 5 weeks. Eric Chavez, a very competent third baseman will take over . Should do ok. Despite A-Rod's generally unproductive year, he has been hot as of late . Hitting the ball hard . He's usually a quick healer too.
So , if all goes well maybe we'll get him back by Labor Day. Give him 3-4 weeks to get back in game shape and ready himself for the post-season.
In the meantime, a little "silver lining ". Move Granderson to the 5 spot, and bat Ichiro 2nd behind Jeter. That would be exciting. Almost 6000 hits between them!

MLB analyst Steve Goldman reporting.

Yanks Get Ichiro, I Hope The Sushi in New York is Up to His Standards!

So after my kids went off to camp today, I picked up the Times to browse the headlines. What do I see? Ichiro is a Yankee! I gotta tell you , it picked me up like two double expressos. Yes, I know he's 38. Yes I know he's in the last year of his contract. Yes, I know he's had 3 down years in a row. Yes, I know we're about 20 games over .500...But, he's Ichiro. 2500 HITS in 12 or so years. 438 stolen bases. Had 262 hits in one year. Rocket for an arm. Premier "singles hitter" of this generation ! Future Hall of Famer . Yes, I said it.
And you know what? Baseball is all about the post-season . Just maybe, New York will revitalize Ichiro. Maybe he's the piece we need to get back to the "Promise Land". He's certainly an improvement over anything we got now . What a lineup too. Jeter, A-Rod, Tex, Cano , Ichiro and more . As a Yankee Fan , I feel like I'm in for a treat getting to watch this guy every night for the last 70 games. Will be a blast!
And while we lost Jeremy Lin, we have picked up another international Asian sensation. Stay tuned! Enjoy.

Romney, I Got a Good Idea, Make Shelly Adelson Your Secretary of State...He's Got Good International Diplomatic Skills(Lol)!

You know Shelly Adelson. Billionaire Casino mogul. Chief of the Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chief of the Company that runs his high-flying Macau Casino. Donated $20 million to an "independent group" backing Gingrich and has contributed another $10 million to another "so-called independent group " backing Romney . GOP groupie , in my opinion .
Hasn't had a good last 3 weeks in the news or in the Courts . In Court filings in a lawsuit filed by former Macau executive , Steven Jacobs , against Adelson et al, Adelson has been accused of personally approving prostitution at his Macau properties and violating immigration laws ! He is also under investigation for possibly bribing foreign officials . He would have loved Watergate! But hey, the First Commandment of Politics; Thou shall honor the almighty dollar contributed by wealthy donors. Adelson and Romney apparently abide by the same business rule...Eat or be eaten ! Ten million pays for a lot of "air time".
So with all these millions of dollars that Adelson has given , what will Romney do in return if by some miracle he makes it to the White House ? That's an easy one . Make him Secretary of State . Seems to have an"excellent way with foreign officials ". Maybe could win a Nobel Prize in "bribery ".
And don't forget as an added perk , when the President visits Macau Adelson can provide free hookers to his "advance team ".

Political analyst Steve "Woodward and Bernstein " Goldman reporting.

Lin's Gone; Ok Felton Get in Shape, And Kidd Please Don't Drive(Not To the Hoop You Knucklehead) Your Car Anymore...Get A Driver Already!

Tuesday night was dramatic, anticlimactic , disappointing and depressing all at once. I'm of course referring to losing Lin to the Rockets. The Knicks assumed too much, underestimated Lin and the Rockets took us to the cleaners . Great for Lin, the Rockets and the City of Houston. They'll get 3 years at least of Linsanity! Wow. We only had it for 25 games . I'll bet they sell out every game . Of course they need some pieces, but I believe Lin will be an all-star caliber point guard if he continues to work hard , get stronger and progress under Kevin McHale's system. I feel a little bad for Lin that Houston will be a work in progress. Hope he doesn't get stuck in a "long-term rebuilding scenario". As for James Dolan, you demonstrated that you're only positive attribute is having been " born into money ". You let a "megastar go"! Probably against the advice of Grunwald, Woodson et. al. You misled your fans, sold out all the season tickets and let the "Golden Goose" go. Sneaky stuff!
Enough of that . Time to move on. Let's hope Felton regains his form from 2010, Amare as well and that JR Smith can show some consistency . Let's not forget future Hall of Famer , Jason Kidd. If everybody plays together and up to to their capabilites they can win 50..Then who knows.
So Knick fans, stop crying in your beer. We still got some real pieces, finished strong last year and expectations are high.
Remember , unfortunately we can't put our owner out on waivers!

Reporting Steve "Hoops" Goldman.

James Dolan, Are You Fu__in Kidding Me? Not Signing Lin Would Be The Garden's Biggest Mistake Ever!

I'm beside myself . The pieces seemed to be falling into place. Mike Woodson assured us on numerous occasions that " Jeremy Lin is our starting point guard. You don't lose your spot when you're injured ". Kidd would mentor Lin and give them 20-25 minutes a game. Camby's our backup. More "Linsanity ". Looking forward to training camp.
So what do the "Garden Brass " (Garden "ass " is more like it ) do? They don't give Lin a contract , wait for other teams to court him and lo and fu__in behold he signs a three year deal with Houston and now it seems that the Knicks won't match the offer and Lin will be gone forever . We're talking about Jeremy Lin here. A guy who came out of nowhere to start 25 games, put up sick #'s and basically saved the Knicks season and electrified the NBA, America and the world! Markerting megastar, solid citizen...Can only get better . So what do the Knicks do? They go out and get a fat Raymond Felton . Oy vey.
The sticking point is now about the $14 million in year 3 of the contract and "Luxury Tax " ramifications . Lin will pay for himself 100 times over!
So here we are 24 hours away from the time to match the offer about to expire. No Lin still . If he's not signed, he'll always be known as the one who got away. And Carmelo be quiet, stop chiming in . Your comments are not welcome.
Somehow I hope a miracle happens and Lin stays.

If not , all I can say is "let's go Rock-ets"!

Steve "Hot Rod " Goldman reporting .

Let's Face It, The Worldwide Financial Systems Are Broken,Do You Really Think Romney Could Fix Them?

Holy schmoly, the World's financial systems , dominated by the "big banks" are totally out of control. The credit crisis. Lehman Brothers falling. The "sub-prime " mortgage crisis . Bailout after bailout. European economies falling like dominoes. The Countrywide Crisis". Insider trading like it's going out of style. Madoff . The "Amish Ponzi-Scheme". MF Global. The "derivatives market ". The "Delta Desk Scandal " in London. Greece, Italy, Spain. Municipal bankruptcies in California. JP Morgan losing it's shirt . HSBC laundering money and admitting they lacked adequate internal contols. Bain Capital. Barclays manipulating interest rates, and Governmental agencies conceding they knew of this practice for many years. More Ponzi schemes. Raj R. and Gupta both convicted. ....When will it end ?
That's a great question I can assure you . But , right now anyone who says they can answer that question is full of sh_t! Where do you start ? Are you even thinking(while sober) that Mitt Romney, part of this "Wall Street Culture " ,would even lift one pinkie to police , scrap and start over a system that made him millions at others expense . Did someone say "Blue Star " was in play ?(Michael Douglas/Charlie Sheen).
I can picture Romney as President laying out his economic policies.
Romney:" So how can the White House and the USA make some money"?
Economic Adviser: Sell more Treasury bonds. Sell more military weapons to our allies. Become more aggressive in collecting taxes. What do you suggest Mr. President?
Romney: I was thinking more along the lines of buying up some of our poorer states, collecting a commission on the purchase, and then scrapping them and selling off all their assets to Brazil and the Arab World. Oh, and China would be a great buyer too.
Economic Adviser: Then what do we do with these States ?
Romney: That's a no-brainer! We bankrupt them, loot their State Treasuries and kick em out of the Union. It'll serve em right. Who's going to miss Alabama, West Virginia , Idaho , Montana North Dakota and South Dakota anyway.
Economic Adviser: Any other ideas Sir?
Romney: Yes, while we're at it, let's sell off Guam, The US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico . They're all a drain on our bottom line . Hey beachfront property would go at a premium!
Economic Adviser: Don't let me stop you now. You're on a roll.
Romney: Sure. Two more things I would like to do .First I think the White House should receive a 2% commission on these sell-offs of these States and US Territories. Afterall ,it was my idea.(Thinking to himself ,"What's another Swiss Account anyway"?) Secondly, I think we should penalize the 20 poorest states by taking away at least one of their US Senators and half of their Congressman. That will give them an incentive to make money for us.
Economic Adviser:Very novel. Does that conclude our meeting Mr. President?
Romney: Yes, but I did have one last idea. Let's move the White House and Capitol Hill to Salt Lake City . The cost of living in Washington has spiraled out of control! Meeting adjourned.

Economic adviser Steve "Milton Smith " Goldman reporting.

Paterno Has No Legacy as Far As I'm Concerned...Tear Down All Paterno Monuments..Rename The Library......

Yesterday was another bad day for Penn state, it's hierarchy and what remains of Joe Paterno's reputation. The Freeh Report confirmed what everyone had believed since last October. Yes, there was a massive coverup . Penn State and it's " decision-makers " concealed. covered -up, enabled, permitted, turned a blind eye and were huge facilitators of Jerry "The Monster" Sandusky's 15 year rampage . " Like a kid in a candystore "! Shame , shame a million times over !
Now if this "stomach-turning" chain of events doesn't put big time college sports into perspective for you, then you better check your pulse! Sports are great! Part of the University culture. Exhilirating at times . Tailgating , frat parties. Alumni in their docksiders and striped pants . Football at Penn State was everything. Transcended every aspect of College life for generations. A matter of pride ...Remember the name "Happy Valley"? Now, you mean "unhappy gully".
And Joe Paterno was God! At Penn State, nationally, universally . Wore "PSU" on his chest .Bled Penn State blood. Raised money, donated $, won football games...An awful lot of them . As long as he won, his life, influence, Penn State pride and his future legacy swelled . 61 years there. A lifetime!
But all that good(and there is a lot of it ) is wiped out by this massive coverup, concealment and most blatantly his placing the importance of his beloved "football program" over the health, safety and welfare of human beings; kids for that matter. He condoned the behavior of a sexual predator right there in his building.
Joe, you let these kids down, their families, the University , yourself and all of "Happy Valley". You were a coward. You were selfish . You knew ,but did nothing. You gave the fox the key to the hen house! Disgusting!
As far as I'm concerned you're a loser. I'm sorry Joe. Football is not more important than life.You and your cronies obviously didn't believe that at PSU.
Reporting college football analyst Steve "Pigskin" Goldman .

Knicks; Even if They Sign Kidd, Camby, Novak and Lin...Still Need a Shooting Guard!

Haven't enjoyed an NBA "offseason" as much as this year in a long, long time . The Knicks do a have a core of some very good players. I'm not concerned about Melo, but in all honesty my biggest question mark is reserved for Amare. Here's a guy who 2 years ago was one of the five most dominant offensive guys in the league until the Melo trade. Last season, injuries, out of shape, the lockout, personal issues, lost his hop, looked lost...Simply a shell of his old self! Sad. Hope he bounces back..My gut is that he will.
So we have Chandler in the middle. Amare at the 4. Melo at small forward and a Lin/Kidd 2 headed monster at the point. Nice nucleus, but we're one integral part short . A shooting guard who can drain open shots and create his own shots. Need 14-15 points every night from that spot. I like Landry fields a lot..Think he will be a good player for a long time in this league . Nice, surprising offer from Toronto. Hey, he's now a millionaire over night . Good for him. But I don't think he's the answer. Need a guy like Anthony Parker of the Cavs. Who's available and affordable out there?
Your thoughts?

NBA analyst Steve " Hops" Goldman reporting.

AJ Burnett; Yankee Fans Eat Your Collective Hearts Out!

AJ Burnett. Amazing talent, strong , had all the pitches. Yankee killer when he was in Toronto . Signs a big contract with Yanks. Apparently loved being in New York . But inexplicably (Rep is he's a head case) he is a huge, huge bust in New York . Aside from his "shaving cream pies" he provided after "walkoffs " he contributed very little else . And when it was time to cut the umbilical cord, there were very few takers .
So AJ took his 6 ft 4 , 230 lbs to the perennial lowly Pirates. Quite a humbling experience being banished to Pittsburg, albeit with $80 million in his pocket . So lo and behold, what does a fresh start do for him and his new club? Did someone say change of scenery? I did!
AJ is only 10-2 with a 3.68 ERA, and has basically become the ace of the staff. Pirates are winning , AJ is performing ! So what happened in New York? Did he have too many tattoos ? Was NY too overwhelming? Expectations too high ? We'll probably never know.
I can tell you one thing. I am rooting for Burnett. Hope he wins 20 and gets NL Cy Young . That would be a great story!

Reporting Steve "Slugger " Goldman.

Wimbledon, Roger and Serena Too Good!

Serena took home "Major #14 " on Saturday. Not a bad match, and Serena actually had some shaky moments. Her 5th Wimbledon. She later won her 5th Wimbledon doubles title with "big sis " Venus. How much longer will she play? How hungry is she for "more majors "? Her true place in history will be determined after seeing what more she can accomplish over the next 3 -4 years. She's already top ten all-time, possibly top 7 . Can she sneak into top 5, top 3 ? Let's see!
On the Men's side , the Federer -Murray match was "high drama" all the way. Federer wanting and needing that 7th Wimbledon Title and striving to regain his #1 ranking. Murray "the favorite son ", playing for himself and a nation. Serving up 2 sets to one , up 5-4 , Federer could taste it . The crowd was pulling so hard for Murray, but I guess, not suprisingly there were a lot of Federer supporters there.
As you know Roger pulled it out. Won #7 and Murray and all of Great Britian was devastated. There was not a dry eye at Wimbledon(or anywhere else) during Murray's post-match comments. Two very classy guys! Great stuff.
Well don't go anywhere...Next stop London Olympics right back at Wimbledon!
Steve 'Pancho ' Goldman reporting.

Roger and Serena Wipe Out Opponents in Wimbledon Semis..Can They Win it All?

Seemed like old times yesterday and today! On Thursday against the "grunting Azarenka ", Serena played one of the most perfect matches in a Major that you will see. 24 aces, 82% first serves, court coverage...A thing of power and beauty!
Just now, Federer humbled and dismantled #1 Djokovic in a tremendous "big match " performance . Roger was superior in every facet of the match. It actually seemed like Federer took the heart out of the world's #1 player, and Djokovic looked to me like he threw in the towel in the latter part of the 4th set. Great champions.
So can Serena win her 14th career major Saturday ? Can Roger tie Sampras Sunday with a 7th Wimdledon crown against Murray-Tsongas winner ? That could be a match for the ages..Murray, the British Savior!
Don't miss these matches.. History could be in the making!

Wimbledon analyst Steve "Bud" Goldman reporting.

NBA Hoops; Steve Nash to Lakers, Doesn't Get Any Better!

Give Mitch Kupchak and the Lakers credit. Anything short of a championship is not acceptable to them . They're like the West Coast Yankees. A tough second round exit at the hands of the Thunder, release of Derek Fisher, Kobe's quest for another ring and the fans thirst to win, win ,win prompted Kupchak to "pull off " the move of the off-season . Yes, 2 -time MVP Steve Nash to the Lakers for a series of first and second round draft picks. If somehow the Lakers can land an athletic-shooting small forward ,Kobe could have a shot at number 6!
I gotta tell you, I'm a Knicks fan, but I'm excited. Just renewed my NBA League Pass. Kobe playing alongside one of the best "true point guards " of this generation. A guy who looks to PASS first and shoot second. Nash will make Kobe's life (and shot selection) so much easier. And Stevie Nash must be drooling . Playing 2 man, inside -outside with Bynum . Either Nash or Bynum could average 25 a game. Did we forget the "high pick and roll " with Gasol?(That rhymes). Nash, can and will make everyone better. He could average 15 assists per game.
Nash and Kobe will be on a mission together. Kobe goes for number 6, Nash his first ring. Sky is the limit . I hope to stay up for at least 40-50 Laker games this upcoming season .
Only question that remains is whether Nash can get Mehta World Peace to take his medicine every day.
NBA analyst Steve "Hustle " Goldman reporting.

Happy 4th to All; Enjoy !

Fourth of July is here already. Wow! Kids on vacation, trying our best to keep them busy. Beach , pools, water parks , Baseball, Wimbledon, NFL training camps.
Ah , and the heat and humidity.
To all my friends, customers and readers....We wish you a safe, fun and relaxing Independence Day!

"Funder to the Trial Bar "!