The New York Mets are not the worst team in baseball.

They are not even the most incompetently run franchise in their own division. Yet, their campaign this 2009 MLB baseball season may have forever redefined the concept of losing.

Nothing has gone right for the poor New York Mets in this calendar year. From the ownership down to the bat boys, the entire organization has been beset by financial issues, management missteps, injuries, errors, poor timing, and just plain bad luck. Every week seemed to bring a new crisis or terrible disaster and through it all, they constantly found inventive and entertaining ways to squander victory. And there’s still a month left!

Let’s take a look at this disgruntled franchise on what has gone wrong this year. Actually, it started in the offseason when the Mets first gave Francisco Rodriguez a three year, $37 million contract. This was the biggest buyers market in years and no other big market teams were in the mix for a closer, and yet they still gave him premium money. Frankie finishes 55 games in 2010, 100 games between 2010 and 2011, and is deemed healthy after the 2011 season, his fourth year option vests for $17.5 million. The bad news is, Frankie has been declining the past four seasons and the decline has continued this season.

Then the injuries.

The first set of injuries came within a few days of each other in May. Carlos Delgado got injured in a game against the Pirates on May 10th, yet doesn’t go on the disabled list until May 16th, despite requiring hip surgery. Jose Reyes injures his calf in a game against the Braves on May 13th but was placed on the disabled list on the 26th, almost two weeks after the initial injury. Reyes has not been seen since, and apparently everybody thinks he’s a wuss for making sure he is completely healthy before returning to the field.

The Mets lost their last remaining star when David Wright was…

And while you probably wouldn’t give a flying fuck about it, at least we informed you about it.

That’s right, the 2009 MLB All-Star Game is set this Tuesday as the players fans voted in to play will hope they won’t make an ass of themselves like Brock Lesnar did over the weekend.

So who made the cut? Let’s start with the 2009 MLB National League All-Star starters. The NL team consists of catcher Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals, and top vote-getter Albert Pujols at first base.

And since Pujols was the leading vote-getter in balloting for the Midsummer Classic, he became the very first Cardinal to start an All-Star game in his home ballpark. ”It feels great to be there and represent the organization and the city you play in,” Albert Pujols said.

Albert Pujols is well on his way to another amazing year, leading the majors with 31 homers and 82 RBIs. He collected 5,397,374 votes to finish with the second-highest total in Major League history, trailing only Ken Griffey Jr.’s six million votes in 1994. Pujols has made the NL team eight times in nine seasons and will be making his sixth start.

The rest of the National League all star infield consists of…

What the heck happened to the New York Mets?

After leading the National League East by seven games with only 17 games to go in the 2007-08 MLB baseball season, the New York Mets made history Sunday, becoming the only team to miss the playoffs with the kind of meltdown they had the past few weeks.

Jeez… The New York Mets, after a healthy seven-game advantage in their division, just kept on crumbling down, losing to the Florida Marlins that virtually eliminated them from the postseason last Sunday.

The New York Mets completed one of the epic collapses in MLB history. The last time the Mets held the top spot in the NL East, the chances of them missing the 2007 MLB playoffs were 500-1. He he… The Mets hit it against the Marlins.

”It’s embarrassing,” Mets closer Billy Wagner said. ”That’s the big thing.”

The New York Mets, after looking like the more talented team in New York City, went for a pathetic 5-12 to finish the season. As they should be, the rest of the Mets are embarrassed, as is their general manager Willie Randolph.

”This is just a tough life lesson in baseball,” Willie Randolph said.

”Any time you have an opportunity to finish the deal and don’t capitalize on it, it will come back to haunt you. And it sure did with us. The bottom line is that we spit away an opportunity to…”

Right know, all three guys are down and out.

Surprisingly though, despite the fact that Wayne Rooney, David Beckham and Frank Lampard are not playing for England in the Euro 2008 qualifiers, the England team is doing just fine behind their less-heralded replacements, lifting the team up to 3-0 consecutive wins.

So what does this mean for England’s power trio? Will England coach Steve McLaren realize that they don’t need these three huge egos after all to conquer the Euro 2008 qualifiers? If that’s the case, then all of these egomaniacs thinking they’re God’s gift to England football should worry.

With his star players missing, England head coach Steve McClaren ignored more predictable replacements and brought in more virtual unknowns like Gareth Barry, Emile Heskey and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

He was rewarded by consecutive wins at Wembley that revived England’s chances of reaching next year’s tournament, and his chances of keeping his job.

McLaren tried to combine all of his powerhouse players into the England contingent and failed to win games, miserably. Now that some of them are gone, McLaren came up with what appears to be a stronger team that wins games in…

Wha?!? Sorry, we shouldn’t be talking about that THIS EARLY. For what it’s worth, the Mets started this season firing.

Yep, you know them, they’re that ”other” MLB Baseball team in New York. And yes, revenge was on their minds as they prepared to play the very team that eliminated them in the National League Championship Series, the St. Louis Cardinals.

While the St. Louis Cardinals were parading like morons, still basking in the glory of their 2006 World Series championship, Mets players like David Wright and Paul Lo Duca stretched in shallow left field and Carlos Delgado was running sprints as they watch the Cardinals hoist the 2006 MLB World Series flag.

After the festivities were over, it was the Mets celebrating, celebrating a win over the defending World Series champions.

The New York Mets parlayed some fine pitching by Tom Glavine, exceptional defense and clutch hitting to a 6-1 victory before 45,429 true believers at Busch. Best of all, they officially put spring training in the rear-view mirror.

I guess the Mets watching how the Cardinals celebrate their World Series win didn’t faze them one bit eh?

”It’s a respect thing and a good sportsmanship thing, and you can use it for some motivation,” David Wright said. ”In the back of your mind, you want to be a part of that at some point. And it’s kind of cool to see a World Series banner raised. That’s my first time seeing…”

Yep, the North Carolina Tar Heels will begin their march for the 2007 NCAA College Basketball title on Thursday.

The no.1 seed North Carolina Tar Heels will meet the no.16 seed Eastern Kentucky Colonels on Thursday to open up the 2007 March Madness bracket tournament as UNC begins their march from the Field of 65 to the Sweet 16, the Elite Eight, the NCAA Final Four and finally, to the NCAA College Basketball championship game.

Of course, the North Carolina Tar Heels are expected to just dismantle Eastern Kentucky. Heck, Tyler Hansbrough should have a huge game on Thursday, with or without the stupid mask.

The Tar Heels are looking to repeat the success these guys had back in ‘05 when they went on to become the national champions. Head coach Roy Williams for one, expects no less than a national championship after it’s all said and done. Williams, after all, have seen his fair share of good NCAA College Basketball clubs, including FOUR different Kansas teams he took all the way to the Final Four.

With that said, can he bring the North Carolina Tar Heels to the 2007 NCAA Final Four?

The North Carolina Tar Heels are one of four No.1 seeds in the March Madness bracket this year. No other team can match the Tar Heels’ combination of inside-outside balance, depth of talent, size and quickness. And I’m not just saying that just because I’m a huge Tar Heel fan.

The Tar Heels get 33.7 points and 14.3 rebounds from post players Tyler Hansbrough and Brandan Wright. Hansbrough, only a sophomore, already is a two-time All-American. Wright, only a freshman, is potentially the No.3 overall pick in the…

Okay, so who’s in and who’s out?

With the final Field of 65 getting ready to be finalized Sunday, this 2007 season’s March Madness bracket picture is finally clear… ALMOST. With only FOUR at-large bids left, here are the NCAA College Basketball teams you’ll more likely STILL see when the entire field is finalized.

Tuesday night was BIG for this 2007 NCAA College Basketball season’s March Madness bracket. Butler lost at Wright State in the Horizon League championship game, giving the Bulldogs a spot in the at-large pool.

You just know that these guys will take away a March Madness bracket spot and join the likes of the Sun Belt conference champions, North Texas and Oral Roberts, your 2007 Mid-Con champions.

NCAA College Basketball teams in the ACC Conference like the North Carolina Tar Heels and the Duke Blue Devils seem destined to continue their ongoing rivalry in the 2007 March Madness bracket battles.

Oh yeah, North Carolina Tar Heels sophomore sensation Tyler Hansbrough will definitely be out for blood after Duke left him with a bloody nose in their last encounter. I will definitely watch out for…

World Series of Poker (WSOP) Champions 2000 to 1990

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2000

Chris FergusonTony MaJerri ThomasIvo DonevRandy HollandJohnny ChanNat KoeDiego CordovezChris "Jesus" FergusonJimmy AthanasChris TsiprailidisJoseph WynnJennifer HarmanPhil IveyRichard DunbergMichael SohayeghHuck SeedMike CarsonDavid ChiuChris BjorinHoward LedererJay HeimowitzNani Dollison
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7:10 p.m. Philadelphia Phillies (70-61, R. Tejeda) at New York Mets (68-62, J. Seo) Best Line: PHI +128, NYM -129 The Mets, those sneaky bastards bordering New York’s other filthy river, are suddenly very alive and very exciting and – you know what? – very solid. Forget for a minute that they have the suddenly scary Jae Seo (6-1, 1.30) on the mound at home tonight. That ought to be enough for them to nip the Phillie’s rookie Robinson Tejeda. But commit to this: The most exciting baseball duo in New York this season may not be in pinstripes, but instead could very well be the Mets’ David Wright and Jose Reyes.