So my headline might be a little dramatic (and mean) but…

AJ Burnett is now a officially a Pirate! Good riddance! AJ Burnett is finally gone and I feel like a brand new person. A brand new person that is a fan of a brand new New York Yankees baseball team. That’s how passionately I feel about AJ Burnett, he was just bringing the team down in my opinion. He was erratic, unreliable, sometimes would pitch a gem but usually give up five runs in the first three innings and then settle down after putting us in a five run hole.

OFFICIAL: Yankees acquire Minor Leaguers Diego Moreno and Exicardo Cayones in exchange for RHP A.J. Burnett.

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) February 20, 2012

With that said, I do however, feel kind of bad for him. It’s one thing to get traded from a team like the Yankees (if you like playing for the team, who wouldn’t?) but it’s another to get traded to the Pirates. No offense to the Pirates, but they are an awful baseball team. But knowing my luck, he will probably be the next Carl Pavano and become a great pitcher and the Pirates will turn into the Rays and have a crazy season becoming the team to beat. I also have an immense hatred for Carl “Break my ribs in a car accident and not tell anybody” Pavano, but that’s for another blog post.

But seriously, look at this guy.

I can now feel better about the Yanks game I’m going to in Baltimore in a couple of months–I had sworn to myself that if AJ Burnett is pitching my tickets would given away for free. That should adequately sum up how I feel about AJ Burnett. But he is no longer my problem so onward!

So rumors are still flying and I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but AJ Burnett may finally be leaving the Yankees!! AJ Burnett is the biggest thorn in my side when it comes to my precious Yankees. Talk about erratic and not dependable to say the least.

Yankees, pirates still optimistic about possible aj deal. Still working out $ and other players, but working hard on it

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) February 12, 2012

Thank you Jon Heyman! Please come true. To be honest, I don’t even care who the Yankees get for Burnett as long as he is gone. I don’t even care if we get anyone for that matter.

Speaking of baseball, finally got my Yankees replacement tickets. Those tickets were actually cursed. I originally bought tickets for April 29th of last year, naturally it rained out and got postponed for a date towards the end of August which naturally was the same date as Hurricane Irene. And now I finally have tickets for May 15th and I’m not getting my hopes up. Over a year later I may or may not be attending this game.

Interesting fact? I bought tickets right behind home plate in Camden Yards for $95. Same place in Yankee Stadium during a prime game, like against the Red Sox? Well over $300 at the very least. I should start saving for a game in 2014.

As a native New Yorker and Knicks fan, OF COURSE I’m going to do a Jeremy Lin! Jeremy Lin is a feel good story in my humble opinion. Maybe because basketball doesn’t get the same attention football does or maybe it’s because I’m actually a Knicks fan but I don’t hate him. He just seems like an all around good guy. He’s very team oriented and doesn’t talk a lot of game.

Then I think to myself, Tim Tebow seems like a good guy, I’m not religious person, but really it’s the media that kind of shoves everything he does in my face, not him. And then hit me. I know what it is. What differentiates Jeremy Lin from Tim Tebow.

Jeremy Lin actually scores points!

And that’s how I knew I would love Jeremy Lin. He had this humbled attitude and dare I say it? Live up to the hype. Good for him! It’s also really reviving the Knicks as a whole. They’ve won five in a row after hitting a really, really rough skid where they lost more than I would like to mention. And on top of that A’mare and Melo are both coming back soon.

And then. Then there are the Lin puns. So. Many. Puns. Where do I start?

• Linsane/Linsanity
• Lin/Linning
• Lin Diesel
• Linevitibale
• Linfatuation
• Lintensity
• Lincredible

And so many more, that’s honestly just a few of the ones I’ve heard. And of cawse, I’ll be ending this blog post with a little Mike Francesa.

Of awl of da impressive things dat Germ E Lin has done, numbah 1 by FAH is da fact dat I am opening my show with 20 minutes of Knicks tawk.

— Mike Francesa (@MikeFrancesaNY) February 13, 2012

The name of my blog is a tennis term so I should probably write a post about tennis.

I got into a tennis a few years ago. I would say I started paying attention to it in 2007, mostly watching the semis and finals of the major opens except Australia (3 am finals!) but then really got into it in 2008 after the epic Wimbledon match between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

You can tell by my title that my fandom lies with Rafael Nadal and I’ve enthusiastically supported him since 2008. Before that though, I was a huge Andy Roddick supporter based on the fact that he was American and after Agassi and Sampras left, men’s tennis lacked an American presence. Roddick was the lone American in the top ten but after a while, I totally lost support for him, pulled out of a lot of matches and was pretty heavy with the excuses. Never really liked Federer so Rafa it was. Also, his muscles. More specifically his arms.

And from Wimbledon:

What I love about tennis is that it is all year round. There are always matches happening. The Australian Open just ended which I stayed up for for SIX HOURS starting at 3 am. A heartbreaking loss for Rafa but I can’t help but adore Djokovic who, to me, is such a lovable guy.

Really looking forward to this season, so much potential for great matches. The battle between Nole and Rafa and the possible resurgence of Federer. I’m excited mostly for the Sony Ericsson Open mostly because it’s in Miami and it’s in the same time zone!

¡Vamos Rafa!

Those out of the tri-state area or are not too familiar with sports radio may not know who Mike Francesa is. Mike Francesa, aka the Sports Pope, is a radio personality based out of New York that is known for many things that have nothing to do with radio. Youmight be wondering, why would I dedicate an entire blog post to him? Well let me tell you.