(Long Island, N.Y.) The Jets take some well deserved criticism, so it only seems fair to give them credit where it is due. By staving off potential ‘elimination’ with a victory this past Sunday in St. Louis, they find themselves 4-6 and only a few games out of first place. Getting a little ahead of ourselves? Yes, so let’s take it down a few notches.

It is true that if they somehow find a way to beat New England on Thursday night, the Jets will be one game closer to their divisional rivals and have ended up with a split of the season series. But beating the Rams is a totally different accomplishment than besting the perennial Super Bowl contender.

More impressive than the win itself was the way that Rex Ryan was able to get his team to focus on actually playing football after a week full of torrential locker room squawking. Deflecting and defending became euphemisms rather than action on the field after the anonymous quotes about Tim Tebow came to light. Even owner Woody Johnson felt the need to address the media and try to put it to rest.

Ryan pointed to the pressure being put on the team as originating from the “outside in,” and he was able to back up his claim that the locker room is a tight knit one, regardless of the public perception. If the truth even lies somewhere in the middle, the results prove that it leans towards the latter.

“I think that all of the hard work on the practice field and in the classroom paid off,” the fourth year head coach said. “Our guys have been working extremely hard. We needed a win in the worst way.”

Now they must build on that and still take it one week at a time. If they can get the same type of efficiency out of Mark Sanchez the rest of the way, all of the Tebow chatter will go away and allow the former USC Trojan an opportunity to return to his 2009 and 2010 form.

“It seems that in our toughest times, we end up playing our best football,” the quarterback said. “It’s a fast way to lose your hair or turn your hair gray, but whatever it takes to win, we’ve got to get wins. I think this team can really turn this around. We’ve shown we can handle pressure situations before. We’ve shown we can play well on the road and at home.

“Now we just have to keep building off of it.”

And that begins with the primetime game at MetLife Stadium versus New England, who beat the Jets in overtime earlier this season. It was a game that the Jets could have – and should have – won, so it behooves them to make up for that. Any time these two teams face off, it figures to be a good one. Their recent history is like a soap opera with so many turns and it would be a great addition if the Jets can get the job done.

And wouldn’t you know it – that would quell the criticism for at least another week.

(Long Island, N.Y.) Yes, the initial shock of losing their professional hockey team may have hit Long Islanders hard, but the big picture makes total sense once it is looked at from afar. Owner Charles Wang did everything but put the shovel in the ground himself to either build a new or refurbish the old Nassau Coliseum. He should not be viewed as a modern day Walter O’Malley in any shape or form.

If anything, Wang should be thanked for his patience and the years of stonewalled negotiations with politicians and officials that made his choice an easy one. So considering that the move was still basically a local one, he comes out of this shining bright.

It is kind of surreal to even be bantering about the NHL, considering that they are in the midst of a lockout that is threatening the entire campaign. And that the Islanders are not making their official move to Brooklyn until 2015 when their current lease runs out. But the business side of things must go on in the sports world and this was a move that may result in a much better situation for the organization than they currently have.

Makes no mistake about it, the Islanders are the last club that any potential free agent would choose to sign with. They are a weak team playing in an antiquated arena and outshined by the Rangers in the Big Apple. The four consecutive Stanley Cup championships from the early 1980s are about as far away as the Super Bowl III win for the Jets – in more ways than one.

Hockey is way down on the sports totem pole as it is and a struggling franchise that gets barely any coverage is not a profitable business venture, especially in these trying economic times. So give Wang credit for making the best deal possible and not leaving for other greener pastures in Kansas City or Saskatoon.

“It was our goal from Day One to keep the Islanders in the local New York area,” Wang said at a press conference held at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, which will be the team’s new home. “We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to play (here), a first class arena. This has been a long journey for the Islanders family starting with our loyal fans, sponsors and employees. I want to thank them personally for their patience, loyalty and support.

“I am excited about today’s announcement and I am looking forward to a long and successful future in Brooklyn.”

The plan is to keep the same team name, colors and logo, but it will be interesting to see if that changes in the next few years before the players are actually wearing the jerseys.

The map of Long Island – and the name Islanders, as well – doesn’t really fit in the Borough of Churches (but neither does the Utah Jazz, which was a great fit in their original home of New Orleans).

It would probably make more sense to reinvent the franchise similar to the Brooklyn Nets, who went from a basically unknown organization in New Jersey to the new darling of the NBA – and the season is only a few games old.

Can the Brooklyn Ice make the same impact? We may never know…

(Long Island, N.Y.) Heading into last Sunday’s matchup at Foxboro, the Jets and Patriots both had a share of the top spot in the AFC East. As a matter of fact, all four teams residing in the division had identical 3-3 records. So a casual observer may have felt that they were on equal ground.

That assumption gained even more credence as the Jets mounted a fourth quarter comeback and even took a slim three-point lead with less than two minutes remaining in the contest. But those are the times when the serious contenders seal the deal, and unfortunately for the Jets, they were not able to do so.

“I just went through the entire game and when you look back on it, we definitely had opportunities to win that game.a play here, a play there,” Jets head coach Rex Ryan said, stating the obvious. “Obviously, it doesn’t matter. Once you lose, that’s the end result.”

Three weeks ago, the Jets were shut out at home versus the San Francisco 49ers, so it is apparent that they have been playing better football. But they are 1-2 in those games and sooner or later, you have to beat a playoff team to be considered one yourself. The Jets have beaten the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts, not exactly a trifecta to wear as a badge of honor.

It is the little things that can change an entire season, such as a key late game drop. But rookie Stephen Hill can’t be the sole culprit because that entire drive (the Jets’ go-ahead field goal) was ultra-conservative. Offensive coordinator Tony Sparano played it safe and only took the narrowest of leads instead of trying for a touchdown and forcing the Pats to go the length of the field.

“We knew we needed the first down,” Ryan said. “We were trying to get a first down. It wasn’t like we were just trying to burn their timeouts. To their credit, they made some plays.”

The issue is that the Jets made it easy for New England with runs up the middle and the aforementioned drop, as well as giving up an ill-advised sack to make the field goal attempt more of a challenge. For a short period of time, it seemed as if the Jets would somehow find a way to win. Short time, indeed.

Did it ever seem as if Tom Brady – armed with one time out – wouldn’t get the Patriots in field goal range executing the two-minute drill? He didn’t even need to stop the clock until they were already in a comfort zone for the game-tying kick. And it only seemed appropriate that the momentum pendulum didn’t swing back as New England won the overtime coin toss and proceeded to march right down the field to kick another field goal.

The game wasn’t officially decided until the Jets were unable to do anything with the ball, but a Patriot victory was merely a matter of time much earlier. There’s no such thing as a team being snake bitten or unlucky and that is a loser’s cop-out. The Jets did not win this game because they were not the better team – that day and many other days.

(Long Island, N.Y.) Going on the road to play one of the top teams in the conference – and league, for that matter – is a daunting task for any team, even the defending Super Bowl champions. But that did not seem to phase the New York Giants one bit as they left San Francisco for the second time in less than a year with a victory under their belts.

Sure, the last time held a much larger stake as it was during the postseason, but this Week 6 game jumped off the schedule as a potential statement game. Could the 49ers redeem themselves and get revenge on the team that upset them in January? Or would Big Blue show them that it was far from a fluke?

Judging by the dominating 26-3 win by the Giants last Sunday, that doesn’t need to be answered. It’s self-explanatory and the importance of it was something certainly not lost on Victor Cruz.

“We just made the statement that we came out here and played against a good team,” the wide receiver said. “The statement was made that we are here to stay and that we put together some good drives and we have a very good offense.”

Going up against the formidable 49ers defense did not appear to be a problem for the Giants and they were able to put together drives that mixed in the pass and run equally effective. Eli Manning (15-for-28, 193 yards, 1 touchdown) had another excellent game, as did Ahmad Bradshaw, who ran for 116 yards and a touchdown on 27 attempts.

“We were obviously able to dink and dunk and hit a few runs,” said Manning. “We blocked up their front seven pretty well on the run end and pass and give us time to get down the field. They’re talented, they are very good – we just played a little bit better today.”

The two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback is being modest with that last part, of course, as is his demeanor. When you just crushed your opponent in their own stadium and controlled all three facets of the game (offense, defense, special teams), there is no need to say much.

At 4-2, the Giants are in a good position but have a tough schedule for the last 10 games. They have two games against the improved Washington Redskins (including this week), a team they lost to twice a year ago, as well as one more versus Dallas and Philadelphia. Green Bay, Atlanta and Baltimore are also on the schedule, so it will not be an easy task to make the postseason again. Especially when you consider that the Giants are 0-2 so far against divisional opponents.

“We haven’t done very well in the division, so if we’re going to do something in the division, we’ve got to get going,” said head coach Tom Coughlin with an eye towards the Redskins game.

But by putting away the Niners in easy fashion, it will be the opponents saying that they have a tough game ahead if the Giants are lined up on the opposite sideline.

(Long Island, N.Y.) Even as recent as August, the Baltimore Orioles were not considered a contender and their mostly young lineup was said to be all getting hot at the right time. That talk continued through September, as the team was able to cut into a once-large Yankees lead in the division. At one point, the two teams were deadlocked for the top spot.

Although the Bronx Bombers were able to hold off the resilient O’s and win the American League East, they were only able to do so on the last day of the regular season. That put Baltimore into one of the Wild Card spots and they disposed of the reeling Texas Rangers by a score of 5-1, setting up a playoff round versus New York.

If you ask either team, both are content with the split of the first two games held in Baltimore and now they will play three games (if necessary) at Yankee Stadium. The Orioles could have folded up after dropping the first game, but they persevered and knotted things up with a Game 2 victory. Taking this team lightly is certainly not on Joe Girardi’s agenda.

“I think (that) they’re a talented group, number one,” the Yankees manager said. “It’s a pitching staff that knows how to pitch behind in the count, pitch ahead in the count. They’ve had a very good bullpen throughout the course of the year. They’re a team that hits the ball out of the ballpark. It’s how they score a lot of their runs.”

“They’ve been very good in tight ballgames, so they’re used to playing them,” he continued. “To me the biggest difference is the improvement in their pitching staff from last year to this year, where they’ve always had some talented position players, but they’ve lost some games late at times and some tough games, and those games they’re winning this year.”

If the Yanks are to regain the momentum in the American League Division Series, they will need a big outing from their number three starter, Hiroki Kuroda. “We’ve seen he’s been pretty good on extra rest the times he’s went on his sixth day – and I know that it’s his seventh day – but we feel with the innings that he’s logged, that this will be beneficial for him. When you look at his statistics, this is the most innings he’s thrown in a long time, so I think this will be beneficial.”

As far as Kuroda is concerned, the long season and the abundance he has thrown in it does not concern him. “I don’t really feel fatigued, or I don’t think I can afford to think like that because I always prepare myself for the next game, and that’s what I’m doing right now,” the veteran righty said. “So I’m going to do my best and pitch my best game possible.”

The Yankees won 95 games this season and bested Baltimore by two games, so both teams are formidable enough to advance. But it would still come as a shock if the underdog Orioles are able to take two out of three in the Bronx. This Yankee team was built to win it all now and getting ousted by an upstart surprise team will be a tough pill to swallow.

Even at this stage of the game.

(Long Island, N.Y.) Doing things the easy way is just not in their DNA, so it should come as no surprise that the Long Island Ducks made their fans sweat it out in another elimination game. And similar to what occurred during that magical 2004 title run, they came out on top when it seemed as if all hope was lost.

After winning the first two games at home versus the Blue Crabs, the series was evened out in Southern Maryland. The deciding Game Five was played in Central Islip and of course came down to the ninth inning of a one-run game. However difficult it was, the Ducks came away with a 5-4 victory and a trip to their second consecutive Atlantic League Championship Series.

“The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs deserve a tremendous amount of credit and I congratulate them on an exciting series and season,” Ducks President and General Manager Michael Pfaff said. “We’re looking forward to the opportunity to bring Long Island their second Atlantic League championship.”

Standing in their way will be the Lancaster Barnstormers, with the opening contest coming on Wednesday night from Clipper Magazine Stadium in Pennsylvania. A year ago, the Ducks had a chance to win their second title and were unable to do so. Perhaps that will be the type of incentive that they need to do it now.

There are some key players that will have a say in that and their experience may go a long way in bringing that trophy back here. Port Washington’s Ray Navarette has been with the Ducks for six years and the infielder/designated hitter hit .309 with 18 home runs and 90 RBI during the regular season.

First baseman Brandon Sing, who hit a two-run homerun in the pivotal playoff win against Southern Maryland, has been in professional baseball for 14 years after being drafted in 1999 and led the team with 26 home runs and batted .284 with 78 RBI. Across the diamond, Bryant Nelson has manned the hot corner and the former major leaguer (25 games with the Boston Red Sox in 2002) chipped in with 13 home runs and 80 RBI.

Left-handed starter Randy Keisler has been on Long Island for two years and is the ace of the staff. He had a 4-4 record in six big league campaigns and went 5-3, 60 strike outs, 19 walks and a 2.63 ERA in 13 starts for the Ducks this summer. Fellow southpaw Matt Way may only be in his third season of pro ball, but the Alaskan pitched a gem (8 innings, 1 earned run, 10 strikeouts, 0 walks) in Game Two of the Liberty Division Championship Series.

Team MVP Bob Zimmerman has been bouncing around the Atlantic League since 2010 and the right starter led the staff in innings pitched with 172 and also with 117 strikeouts. He became a fan favorite for his gritty performances on the mound and won all of his 16 decisions at Bethpage Ballpark.

(Long Island, N.Y.) 2012 has been a year to forget for the New York Mets – for the most part. Perhaps at the cost of his arm’s health, Johan Santana threw the first no-hitter in franchise history earlier this summer and now David Wright has also put his name (again) in the team’s record book.

Fittingly in a home loss to the reeling Pittsburgh Pirates, the Mets All-Star third baseman hit a two-run single in the seventh inning to tie Ed Kranepool with 1,418 hits as a Met. Steady Eddie played his entire career in Flushing (1,853 games) and set the previous mark with 5,436 at bats. Wright was able to match it after only 1,255 games and 4,717 at bats.

“He is truly a great player,” Mets manager Terry Collins said to reporters after the game. “This guy holds records now in so many different departments of the organization. In a short period of time that he’s played with this team, it is truly a tribute first to his durability and his talent. He plays every day. He plays hard. He prepares himself second to none and just continues to put up numbers.”

Coming out of the gate flirting with a .400 batting average, Wright has had a strong bounce back season after going through an off-year in 2011 that was marred with a back injury. After 82 games this summer, Wright was batting .351 with a 1.004 OPS and 11 home runs. His production has tailed off as the losses mounted and he is currently hitting .306, .884 OPS and 20 long balls.

So with just a little over a week left in the regular season, Wright will in all likelihood finish somewhere near his .301 career average and at 29, shows no signs of slowing down. Just how this transcends into determining Wright’s future remains to be seen.

The team has a $16 million option for 2013 on Wright that they will surely invoke. General manager Sandy Alderson would like to get Wright to sign a long-term deal, but will he offer them a home town discount, especially with no end in sight of the losing?

When both parties were in negotiations earlier this season, Wright’s side ended the talks and stated that they preferred to wait until the winter to resume. That is a normal course of business for many players, as they want to concentrate on the games and leave the contract talk for a later day.

By cutting payroll in so many other areas, the Mets can probably take on a large contract or two, especially when since they already let Jose Reyes leave as a free agent after the 2011 campaign. It would behoove them to keep Wright at Citi Field and continue to make him the face of the franchise and team leader (even though he lacks many of the qualities for the latter, but is the best they have).

To get an idea of what he is in store for, Alderson doesn’t need to look much further than the six-year, $100 million deal that the Nationals gave fellow third baseman Ryan Zimmerman to keep him in Washington.

If the Mets are not willing to spend money on a player of Wright’s caliber, then there will be many more long seasons without even a sniff of the playoffs around that part of town.

(Long Island, N.Y.) Everything was in place for one of those letdown games. The New York Giants were coming off a comeback win at home and had to go on the road four days later to face the rebuilding Carolina Panthers. They also had a number of key players sitting this one out with injuries and to top it off, their next game is against the division rival Philadelphia Eagles.

This one had trap game written all over it.

But looking ahead is not a characteristic of a Tom Coughlin coached team and the veterans on this club would also have none of that. “I just said that everyone needs to step up and do their assignments,” Eli Manning said following the 36-7 victory. “I had total confidence.”

Two players that did not let the Giants quarterback down were running back Andre Brown and wide receiver Ramses Barden, who started in place of Ahmad Bradshaw and Hakeem Nicks, respectively.

“I just went out there and tried to be the best I can be,” said Brown, who had 113 yards rushing and two touchdowns in the state he calls home. Barden (nine catches for 138 yards and a 15.3 average) called it a “complete team victory.”

When Bradshaw went down with an injured neck last week against Tampa Bay, Brown stepped in and gained 71 yards on the ground. So it was no secret as to who was going to get the bulk of the workload out of the backfield. But this is a player who had a career total of minus one yard prior to the Bucs game. Not exactly a comfort zone, but the much-traveled North Carolina State product has seemed to find a home.

Barden was a third round pick by the Giants back in 2009 but has barely made his presence known before Thursday night. The 26-year-old had 16 career receptions coming into the game, so he was probably not the main target during film sessions for the Panthers’ secondary earlier in the week. But having capable second stringers is a key ingredient in becoming a winning team in a sport such as football, where you expect first team players to miss time every year.

“Injuries are going to happen, but everywhere you look from the d-line to the receivers to the backs, there’s so much depth and it’s just a matter of time before these guys get those opportunities and they get to showcase their talents,” added Barden.

Now at 2-1 and three extra days to get rested and healthy for the trip down the turnpike to Philadelphia, the Giants are right there and keeping pace in the much-improved NFC East. The Eagles are 2-0 and Dallas and Washington are both 1-1 (at press time). So it may take a few more weeks until the cream rises to the top and the also-rans begin to fade.

Winning games such as the one versus Carolina may go a long way once December rolls around. It would have been an easy excuse to let Cam Newton shine in his first prime time affair in the league, but the Giants came out of the gate strong and took a 20-0 lead at the half. It was smooth sailing from there.

The only trap in the game was the one the Giants set for the opponent, not themselves.

(Long Island, N.Y.) All eyes may have started on Tim Tebow, but Mark Sanchez made short work of that activity by dominating the Buffalo defense early and often in the New York Jets’ season opener on Sunday. The fourth-year quarterback also erased all of the preseason questions about the team’s offense and looked sharp in leading them to the end zone in all four quarters.

Things may have appeared bleak when Sanchez threw an interception on the opening offensive drive, an ill-advised flip on the run that was deflected and picked off near the Jets sideline. But that was the only blemish on a day where the USC product went 19-for-27 for 266 yards and four touchdowns, along with a QB rating of 123.4.

“I had a pretty good feeling that we were going to play well,” Jets head coach Rex Ryan said. “When Mark has the time to throw the football, he can throw it with anybody.”

There were so many positives to take away from the 48-28 home win over the Bills, one being that it set a new team record for the most points scored in a season opener. Heading into the game, it was thought that the Wildcat formation and the possible presence of Tebow on the field would have been the difference maker, but it turned out to be the exact opposite.

Although the versatile backup quarterback was lined up as a wideout on the first offensive play from scrimmage, it was not a sign of things to come. Tebow was on the field for only 12 total plays, including eight as a Wildcat quarterback. He attempted no passes and had only 11 yards on five rushing attempts. Tebow also logged four special teams plays, the most important being the onsides kick recovery at the Buffalo 49-yard line late in the fourth quarter.

Although it didn’t seem to work on paper, Ryan felt that the Wildcat did have some effect on the way the Bills came into the game. “Sometimes it’s about that preparation,” he said. “As much time as that team spent on the Wildcat, it maybe it took away some preparation. We have that ability and certainly we can do a lot more out of it, as well.”

Keeping teams on their toes may be one thing, but it also helps when your starter can make it all happen without having to rely on trickery to result in points. Sanchez also had a number of weapons to choose from, something that injuries during the summer did not allow. He spread the ball around to seven different receivers, with rookie Stephen Hill being his favorite on the day with five catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns. Hill also set a new team record for the most receiving yards in a Jet rookie debut.

So the feel-good attitude is present, at least for this week at the Jets training facility in Floral Park, New Jersey. The stakes get a little higher next weekend in Pittsburgh, and the Steelers and their strong defense will be looking to redeem themselves after getting picked apart by Peyton Manning.

But if Sanchez can show some of the accuracy that he did against the Bills, he buys some time for himself and the impatient fans that will be looking to chant Tebow’s name before too long.

(Long Island, N.Y.) The only way that this scenario could have been better is if it were to take place at home instead of on the road. But any time your team will be facing one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history – albeit one half a century old – is cause for positive apprehension.

The experiment occurring in Texas will extend to at least a second stanza when Roger Clemens takes the pitcher’s mound on Friday, September 7th at Constellation Field for the Sugar Land Skeeters to face our own Long Island Ducks. In his first outing on August 25th, ‘The Rocket’ threw three and one-third scoreless innings and one-hit ball versus the Bridgeport Bluefish.

No one – not even Clemens himself – knows where and when this is going to end up. But he is showing everyone that he can still at least get up there and bring it (with an 88 MPH fastball) while most people his age are more of the couch potato variety.

“To face a pitcher of his caliber will be a tremendous experience for our club,” Ducks manager Kevin Baez said. “Roger had a great major league career and we’re excited for the opportunity to play against him.”

The added publicity and exposure does not hurt, either, for an independent league. Although the Atlantic League has had its fair share of big leaguers come through its turnstiles (such as Rickey Henderson and Juan Gonzalez), anything that Clemens’s name is attached to becomes instant top story material. Especially coming on the heels of his acquittal in the perjury steroid trial.

The Worldwide Leader in Sports will cover the game online via its ESPN3 network and they will cut in live throughout the night on SportsCenter with reporter Bob Holtzman and former Cincinnati Reds and Long Island Ducks closer Danny Graves behind the microphones.

There are a million theories why Clemens would decide to suit up again at this stage of his life. One is that since his last Major League Baseball appearance came in 2007 for the Yankees, Clemens will appear on the Hall of Fame ballot this year. If he makes even one appearance for, let’s say, the Houston Astros, before the end of the season, that will start the five-year wait clock on him again for the next time he can be considered for enshrinement into Cooperstown.

With the lack of votes from the BBWAA for other players either suspected or guilty of performance-enhancing drug use, Clemens may be trying to put it off as long as possible as to hope that clearer heads will prevail as this becomes less and less of an issue.

But that is a bit of a reach and there is more likelihood that he just loves pitching and wants to prove to the world that he can do it as long as he wants and do it effectively. Clemens is a special player and if you love him or hate him, there are no sports fans that will not at least check his pitching line in the Saturday morning newspaper.