Morning Jolt: Mets owner Wilpon rips Reyes

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
May 23, 2011

Monday, May 23

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In a recent magazine article, Fred Wilpon comes off somewhat like George Steinbrenner. "Fred suffers," says Saul Katz, Wilpon's brother-in-law and the president of the team. "He really thinks they should go 162-0." ... Several times, Wilpon sounds less like a detached tycoon and more like Freddy from Brooklyn, venting his complaints to Steve Somers on WFAN after midnight. On Jose Reyes, the often-injured shortstop with an expiring contract: "He thinks he's going to get Carl Crawford money. He's had everything wrong with him. He won't get it." On David Wright, the centerpiece third baseman: "A really good kid. A very good player. Not a superstar." (New York Times)Comment

Is Yao's career over?

Yao Ming's form looked fine while horsing around with a toy basketball with a team mascot, though just about everything about his basketball future remains up in the air. [For] those of us who would love to see him back in the NBA, Yao's words weren't so encouraging. The oft-injured big man has never sounded so unsure about his ability to recover from an injury. ... Yao is a proud player who works as hard as anyone in the sport, but his body has failed him. He didn't fail it. That body has taken its toll on his mind. With previous injuries, Yao always had been confident he would return. He has always spoken in an upbeat tone about his hard work in rehab and the reports from his doctors about his status. That isn't the case this time. (Houston Chronicle)Comment

Lewis: lockout will lead to more crime

Beyond the obvious, Ray Lewis cites another concern if football is lost for any significant time: idle hands. One of the consequences of a lost NFL season will be an increase in crime, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said in a wide-raging one-on-one interview with ESPN. "Do this research if we don't have a season -- watch how much evil, which we call crime, watch how much crime picks up, if you take away our game," Lewis told ESPN. ... "Yeah, walk in the streets, the way I walk the streets, and I'm not talking about the people you see all the time." When asked why he thought crime would increase if the NFL doesn't play games this year, Lewis said: "There's nothing else to do." (ESPN.com)Comment

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