NFL – The New York Jets are falling off the radar

This was the New York Jets chance to make-up for the humiliating 45-3 lost against the Division leaders, heck the League, the New England Patriots. Let’s be clear on one point. So this seemed like a really great chance to redeem themselves. The Dolphins where playing at the Meadowlands and quite frankly, at 7-5 for the season, the Dolphins have been nothing but an under-par team so far this season. So perhaps that’s exactly why losing to the Miami Dolphins 10-6 at home was such an utter disappointment to the New York Jets.

Mark Sanchez could be a brilliant young quarterback at times, capable of great things. Other times, he could simply have one of those off-days we all experience in our daily lives, but his mistakes tend to have much larger repercussions. Take the Jets-Dolphins matchup for an example.

Sure, the Jets were embarrassed on the road against the Patriots, but this one hurt even more. The Jets failed to defeat the a Dolphins squad that gained 131 total yards, only completed 30 passing yards and committed 3 turnovers.

Chad Hane, the Dolphins quarterback was sincerely awful. He completed 5 of 18 for 55 yards and 1 touchdown. On the other hand, the Jets quarterback, Mark Sanchez managed to play even worse, completing 17 of 44 passes for 216 yards, no touchdown passes and one interceptions. His passer rating hit a 45.3% in what has been a lopsided season for the 24-year-old quarterback.

And as if that was not enough embarrassment for the Jets, the team’s strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi viciously tripped Miami CB Nolan Carroll as he slightly ran out of bounds in apunt coverage. Yes, it was cough on National Television. If the Jets are not having a great moment, Alosi is certainly not helping, with such an unprofessional on-court tantric. He is an utter embarrassment to the team.

Italian football falling from grace

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A year after one of Italian football’s most hated managers led Inter Milan to the glory of Champions League success, football in the country has once again slumped back into the malaise that it was in before Jose Mourinho pulled Inter back to the top of the pile in European football.

Despite Rafa Benitez proving a far more likeable replacement for the Italian media to get along with, so far he has failed to achieve anything like the success that his predecessor enjoyed. With both Milan sides having failed to light up this year’s Champions League, and Inter thoroughly embarrassed by the exploits of Gareth Bale, it appears extremely unlikely at the moment that an Italian side will be lifting the trophy this year and the Champions League promotions reflect this.

With Spanish sides Real Madrid and Barcelona looking like the strongest contenders to win the competition this season, and English sides such as Chelsea and Manchester United always likely to be among the contenders to pick up the famous trophy when it comes to the final stages of the competition, the onus is on Italian football to once again pick itself up and force its way back to the top of European club football.

If Milan and Inter cannot achieve this sooner rather than later, then the gap between them and Europe’s elite may well be of too great a distance for them to narrow without significant investment in their squads. However, with the world economy still struggling, and few rich investors looking to put money into Italian football at the moment, it appears that there is currently no hero looking to rescue the game in that country.

Ultimately, should either Inter or Milan beat the Champions League betting odds and triumph in this season’s competition, then Italian football could well enjoy the success it needs to stay in the big time long-term.