My favorite sports teams

I'm originally from New York. My favorite sports teams were all located on Long Island while I was growing up there, the Mets, Jets and Islanders. I'm also a casual fan of the New York Giants, and I loved watching them stomp all over the arrogant, hated Patriots last week. That was sweet.

Having lived in Arizona for the past 26 years, I'm also a fan of the Diamondbacks, the Phoenix Suns and the Arizona Cardinals. I also root for the University of Arizona football and basketball teams. I'll be talking about all these teams, and more, in the future.

It's actually a pretty good time for my teams. I've already talked about the Giants. That had to be one of the best Super Bowls ever, if not the best. The play where Eli Manning escaped being sacked, and then passed to David Tyree, who made one of the most amazing catches ever, will be talked about for years. I honestly didn't think the Giants could win until that play. It was amazing.

The Mets recently made an outstanding trade for Johan Santana, one of the best pitchers in the game. If Pedro Martinez regains his form of two years ago, and John Maine and Oliver Perez continue the progress they displayed a year ago, the starting staff should be pretty solid. Carlos Beltran, David Wright, and Jose Reyes are three of the brightest young stars in the National League, and they form a pretty solid core, although the rest of the lineup is peppered with question marks. The bullpen is a huge question mark. I'm excited about the Mets, but cautious. This team still needs some help to overcome the Phillies and move on in the playoffs.

The Diamondbacks might be the best team in the National League. With Brandon Webb and newly acquired Dan Haren, they probably have the best one two punch of any starting staff in the league. The lineup is filled with young players of enormous potential, like Orlando Hudson, Stephen Drew, Justin Upton and Chris Young. Remember, this team finished with the most wins of any team in the National League last year, and they are only going to get better. I can't wait for the season to start.

Then there's the Phoenix Suns. Like most of the sports world, I am scratching my head over the recent trade of Shaquille O'Neal to the Valley of the Sun. I mean, five years ago, it would have been dynamite. But unless Shaq can prove that he is not over the hill, too fat and too slow, it will prove to be a disaster. I'm cautiously optimistic, but will wait to see what happens. The window of opportunity with Steve Nash is closing fast. If the Suns don't win it all this year or next, it will be time to seriously rebuild.

Finally, there's the Arizona Wildcats basketball team. They actually look pretty good lately, although I think they miss Lute Olson. The Pac 10 is brutally tough this year, and I wouldn't be surprised if six teams from the conference make it to the tournament. Hopefully, the Cats will be one of them.