So when it came down to make the same decision this year, Greene didn’t have to give it too much of a thought judging by his – and his fellow competitor’s –  recent history. Both Phil Heath and Jay Cutler (the last two Mr. Olympia winners, respectively) prepared solely for the O and stayed away from competing until September.

Greene had a lot to prove in 2011 after a lackluster seventh place finish at his maiden Olympia voyage the previous year. He came back strong and dominated the big city stage at the New York Pro, which put him right back into the mix for a top three placing at the Olympia.

That is exactly what happened and Greene is once again in the conversation of dominating bodybuilders. He has already proven himself in Columbus on more than one occasion and he is more than ready to take it a step further.

KAI GREENE – CONTEST HISTORY

And just like the 1980s movement, spring may be in the air. When the USFL was able to take advantage of that lull following the Super Bowl, it was able to catch on. Only when they decided to go up against the NFL did they go belly up – and that happened even before they were able to kick off a fall season.

Recently on the official UFL league website, Commissioner Michael Huyghue reached out to the fans with an honest question of what season they would prefer:

Fans,

We remain committed to providing the best football that we can to cities like Omaha, Sacramento, Virginia Beach and Las Vegas. As we look to 2012 we are seeking to determine the best path forward for the league to make sure that we can provide quality, affordable football for all of you for years to come.

Businesses must continually reevaluate where they are and what path the need to take to provide maximum return to investors and maximum value to customers. We may opt to stay in the fall, but potential media partners, potential investors and stadium authorities have said that they want us to consider spring as our football crazed country lacks professional football during that time period.

With that said, our fans come first and we want to hear from you before we make any decisions. You are the foundation upon which this league is built.

Thank you for your continued support,

Michael Huyghue
Commissioner
United Football League

Of course there are pros and cons for both, but it would seem to make the most sense to play their schedule in the spring. That way, the void for gridiron action is filled and the talent pool will be much larger. Currently, the UFL has a rule that a player who signs a contract must honor it throughout the entire season. So a potential star may decide to sit and wait for the NFL to call. In the spring, players who are not under contract in the NFL can showcase their talent in the UFL and be able to finish out the season before training camps open.

Photo courtesy of UFL-football.com

The top six resembled the one in Las Vegas in more ways, with Dexter Jackson being the one exception. ‘The Blade’ sat this show out, so Toney Freeman moved up from seventh at the O to sixth here. Kai Greene (third), Victor Martinez (fourth) and Dennis Wolf (fifth) placed the same.

The big names in bodybuilding will now enter a much deserved offseason in anticipation for an action packed 2012. In March, of course, the Arnold Classic takes place and we surely will see the likes of Martinez, Wolf and Freeman. But there will be questions if Greene will compete in Ohio again.  It seems a given that Cutler and Heath will choose to prepare year round for the Olympia.

The final placings at the IFBB Sheru Classic were as follows:

1- Phil Heath

2- Jay Cutler

3- Kai Greene

4- Victor Martinez

5- Dennis Wolf

6- Toney Freeman

7- Michael Kefalianos

8- Alfonso Del Rio Valencia

9- Mohammed Touri

10- Ntuk Sunday

11- Varinder Singh Ghuman

There are a few possible scenarios and we will have at least one eliminated when August 1 rolls around. General manager Sandy Alderson is surely exploring the option of trading Reyes and seeing who will give him the best package in return. The table setter should bring back a bevy of prospects and that would clarify any question if the Mets are in a full-blown rebuilding stage. The trading deadline arrives the last day of July, and the Mets will in all likelihood be sellers. It remains to be seen just how much is on the table.

If the Mets decide to hang onto Reyes, then they will be doing so with the knowledge that he is not going to discuss any contract extension. He has made it clear that the offseason is the time to talk business off the field.

“He wants to focus on baseball,” Alderson told reporters. “He wants to focus on what’s going on on the field. So with that in mind, we will respect his wishes and hopefully pick up negotiations at the end of the season.”

What Alderson failed to mention is that Reyes could be traded and still return to Flushing as a free agent. That is the second possibility. The best of both worlds, in a way.

But that is also taking a big risk. If Alderson truly believes that Reyes is the player he should build the team around, then trading him may send the wrong signals. In that case, hanging on to Reyes until the season commences will give the Mets exclusive negotiating rights for five days after the World Series ends. After that, Reyes hits the open market and anything can happen then.

But there is a silver lining if Reyes is a Met and walks at the end of the season. He is a Type A free agent and the Mets would receive two first round draft picks next year. They would have to offer him arbitration for that to kick in, but that’s merely a formality.

Photo by John Scollo

While the NFL goes through its lockout, Terrell Pryor has endured quite a rocky offseason himself. The three-year Buckeye starting quarterback made it official this week and will not be returning to Ohio State due to the NCAA investigation into him receiving improper benefits. The free tattoos he has admitted to may result in something a lot more important than that.

If Pryor had made himself eligible for the 2011 NFL Draft, he would at least have had a known destination, albeit one that would be on hold during the labor dispute. But the fallout didn’t occur until afterwards and Pryor is now looking to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders sent Pryor’s attorney a contract offer to join the CFL club and all indications point to him turning it down. But he should really give it some thought before rushing to judgement. For a player like Pryor that has many question marks concerning his readiness to play at the next level, a league where athletic quarterbacks shine is not the worst place to get your feet wet. Warren Moon and Doug Flutie are two names that roll off the tongue when speaking about QBs who made their bones up north and transcended that into successful NFL careers.

The CFL schedule begins in June and at the start, does not go directly up against the NFL’s, but that is the case with the UFL. The newest outdoor pro football league plays in the fall and has a rule that a player must spend the entire season there after signing a deal. So if Pryor goes to a UFL team and the NFL settles it contract situation even during the season, Pryor would have to wait until the short schedule commences before even negotiating with someone else. That may be counter-productive to Pryor reaching his ultimate destination, but is a better situation than sitting out the entire season.

He has to make a decision and his development should be the main reason. Pryor has even been mentioned as a wide receiver project in the NFL and he has to establish himself as a quarterback if that is the position he wishes to continue playing. Missing his final season in college may have bigger ramifications for Pryor than he realizes right now.

Centopani was victorious that evening in Manhattan and did not enter a contest again until the FLEX Pro Championships earlier this year, where he once again stood in the winner’s circle. He then entered his first Arnold Classic and placed a very respectable fourth in a stacked line-up.

Contemplating the Mr. Olympia, Centopani took many things into consideration. His wife is expecting their first child and he is having a house built, so the Connecticut native decided to wait until next year. “Earlier in the year I was thinking that I wanted to do the Olympia and now that things are coming up, with everything going on with the house and the baby seven weeks from now, and I’m looking at where I’ll have to be getting ready for the Olympia, I think maybe it would be in my best interest probably to wait one more time and come in strong at the (2012) Arnold and know that I’m going to go from there into the Olympia,” he said in a recent video clip on Muscular Development.

If Centopani did go to Las Vegas this year, he probably would not have had an easy time of it. With the likes of Jay Cutler, Phil Heath, Branch Warren, Kai Greene and Dennis Wolf up there, there’s a good chance that he would have not made the top six. That doesn’t mean the field will be any easier in 2012, but the youngster is giving himself a better chance by keeping it to the two major contests in the calendar year.

This will give him ample time to work on some weaker points, such as his chest. By possessing such mass and symmetry, a Sandow or two is certainly not an impossibility for Centopani.

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It’s one thing when your team loses, but combine that with a shaky financial situation from ownership and that spells for a long summer in Flushing. “I’ve dealt with losing before, so that comes with the territory,” T.C. said, “but when there is absolutely no stability whatsoever from the guys at the top, then what does that say to us, the fans? But at least they’re starting to get rid of some of that dead wood on the roster.”

The conversation then began to change direction towards what has been a hot topic in the Gotham tabloids since Omar Minaya was hired as the Mets’ general manager following the 2004 season. “That’s when the team started to…how should I say it using a little political correctness? Take on a heavy Spanish flavor.”

Some folks may be offended by the mere mention of having too many of any type on a team, but let’s try to put any of those feelings aside for a moment. This has been an issue in sports for decades, even when you want to go back before integration at the pro level. So T.C. is far from the only person that has felt like this.

T.C. is white and says he has no problem with hispanic players. As a matter of fact, he cites Keith Hernandez as being one of his all-time favorites. “But they not only changed the roster when Omar was here, they also forced everything Spanish down our throats at Shea Satdium.”

When prodded, T.C. mentioned that the music played at the ballpark was “all salsa and I couldn’t understand a word in it.” He further mentioned that the team took to wearing different uniforms on occasions. “Los Mets? Are you kidding me? Throwback uniforms are one thing, but that was worse than the futuristic garb.”

The ‘Mercury Mets’ made one appearance during the 1999 campaign and they have donned the Spanish version unis occasionally as a home alternate for the past few years. The Mets also hold a number of Latino Fiesta nights at Citi Field where all the announcements are in Spanish. “I made the mistake of going to one of those games and I’ll never do it again,” T.C. added. “Why should I have no idea what is being said when I paid the same money for my ticket as someone who speaks Spanish? Call me a racist if you want, but I have no problem admitting that pisses me off.”

In fairness to T.C., he also said that any Heritage Nights have no place at a ballpark. Italian, Irish, German, etc. His attitude is that he doesn’t even enjoy it when the theme matches his background. “I’m there to watch a ballgame, not sing and dance between innings.”

Water cooler talk around the city did sometimes revolve around the amount of hispanic players on the Mets, and not only at T.C.’s place of employment. This has been an issue in the tabloids and on sports radio since the Minaya era began with the signing of Pedro Martinez that first winter. “No one that I know had any problem with that move,” said T.C. “Pedro was a great guy and brought some much-needed character to a dead franchise. Even though the injuries eventually caught up to him, he was an important piece in what became a winning ballclub.”

Minaya did put together a team that reached Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS and many of those players were hispanic. “Sure, a lot of those guys Omar brought in were talented and helped the team get that far,” T.C. told us. “(Carlos) Delgado was the last true slugger the Mets have had, Duaner Sanchez was a good set-up man and Julio Franco was a good leader and bat off the bench.”

Conspicuously absent from that list was Carlos Beltran. “Never wanted him here in the first place,” T.C. said with a snarl. “The guy had one good playoff (with Houston) and then made money demands as if he were Willie Mays. Beltran tried to go to the Yankees, of all teams, the night before signing with the Mets.

“They had an efficient centerfielder in Mike Cameron and didn’t need Beltran,” he continued. “He looked at strike three in that last playoff game they were in and has been injured on and off ever since. Now he hurt his left knee while recovering from right knee surgery. Thank God he’s out of here after this season when his contract is up.”

Asked if he dislikes Beltran because he is hispanic, T.C. said firmly, “No, because he only came here for the money and hasn’t performed well enough to justify it. Do I think Omar went after him as hard as he did because he is Spanish? Yeah, I do.”

Minaya has gone on record saying that he feels more comfortable negotiating with Spanish players, so T.C.’s statement does have some validity to it. As a matter of fact, Minaya was wooing Delgado when he was a free agent using the Spanish angle and Delgado became frustrated by that. He signed with Florida but was eventually traded to New York.

Besides Beltran, there have been a few other Mets players that have been beacons for criticism and T.C. is far from the only one feeling that way. “Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez were given their contracts because they were Spanish,” he said. “An aging speedster who was losing his speed and a middle-of-the-rotation guy with a spotty track record. Anyone who knows anything about baseball saw this coming.”

What T.C. refers to is both players struggling after getting their respective present contracts, Castillo’s recent release and Perez’s likely departure after another ineffective spring. “The worst part was when Perez turned down Minaya’s first offer of $30 million over three years. No one else was banging down his door and Omar gives him $6 more. They could have signed Randy Wolf – a guy who always beat the Mets – to a much cheaper and shorter deal. But instead they give a guy with absolutely no consistency big money.”

The Mets have two other players that T.C. is frustrated with as a fan, and one just happens to be white. “David Wright and Jose Reyes have had plenty of chances to take the reins and be leaders on this team and both have either been unable or unwilling to do so. How many times has the batter before them walked and one of them swings at the first pitch, that just happens to be in the dirt? That’s just baseball ignorance and something even high school level ballplayers have more patience and sense to do.”

When it comes to Reyes, T.C. sees more problems than just being a free swinger. “Immaturity is his main trait. All of that dancin’ around and hip bumps…that’s just going to get the next batter drilled. Plus the time when he was screaming at (former manager Jerry) Manuel on the field during his first game after Willie Randolph was fired. And then the guy has the balls to not run hard on pop-ups and easy ground balls.

“Besides that, can he stay healthy for any extended period of time? You can’t keep saying that Reyes is one of your core guys you’re building around when he spends more time on the DL than on the field.”

Knowing that most people will feel anger when reading his words, T.C. is fine with that. “Listen, I’m not Osama bin Laden because I feel like this. It isn’t all Spanish players, trust me. I love (Johan) Santana and loved that move, but knew right away that (Jason) Bay was the wrong fit for this team and got way too much money.”

In T.C.’s perfect world, the Mets would have more guys like Santana and less like Bay. “The bottom line is winning and I’m not naive to that. But when a ton of money is thrown at guys who do not deserve it and they don’t perform, people such as myself will look at any other reason to boo them more and complain. I’m not the only one, believe me.”

We wanted to prove T.C.’s last challenge and had no problem finding others to back him up. A few local sports bars had more than one person see things in a similar fashion. There is definitely a sentiment from a contingent of Mets fans that feel some sort of relief that Minaya is gone and his replacement has started to get rid of the mistakes he made.

And a good portion of them pointed to the hispanic angle. These are not a bunch of teenagers we spoke to but rather grown men with families and good jobs and it sadly does not come as a total surprise with the environment we live in today. “Everyone has some hint of racism in them, even though they won’t admit it,” said T.C. “Some take it to the extreme, but most people just mutter stuff to themselves in the car or to their buddies. Omar was man enough to admit that he liked Spanish players more and I’m man enough to say that I have a problem with it. Let’s leave it at that.”

And we shall, T.C.

Photo by Bill Menzel

Gang Green led the NFL in rushing in 2009 and Thomas Jones played a big part in that. The Virginia product had a career-best 1,402 yards on the ground and 14 touchdowns but began to slow down later in the season just as the Jets made their playoff move. Rookie Shonn Greene took over as the number one back in the postseason and looked like a veteran.

Third down back and special teams standout Leon Washington suffered a broken leg halfway through the season and the uncertainty of him being effective after that was on everyone’s mind.

Washington’s leg and Jones running out of gas was more than enough to convince Tannenbaum to look in a different direction. West, to be more exact.

The San Diego Chargers decided to part ways with running back LaDainian Tomlinson and the Jets gladly signed the five-time pro Bowler to a free agent contract. Critics cried that if Jones was on the decline after his best statistical campaign, then how could LT – who saw his rushing totals go from over 1,800 yards in 2006 when he won the NFL MVP Award to 730 three years later – be an improvement?

Through the first 12 games of 2010, Tomlinson has run at times as if he was put through a time machine and amassed 788 yards on 176 attempts for a 4.5 average. With Greene suffering an sophomore jinx, LT has been the starter since Week 3 and his veteran leadership has been a great addition to the huddle and locker room alike.

Even the prospect of playing cold weather games on the east coast in the stretch run didn’t faze Tomlinson. To the contrary, he actually welcomed the challenge and wanted the offense to emphasize the rushing attack.

“I think that we’re going to do what we do, obviously the things that we’re good at,” he said. “That means we’re going to have to run the football and we’ll have to run it successfully. We definitely want to be able to let the run game set up our passing game. We want to be an all-weather football team, being able to run and pass it.”

Jets head coach Rex Ryan realizes that 2009 was a very special year for the running game and with the changes in the backfield and offense line, leading the league cannot happen every time out. “I don’t know if we’ve (had) the same amount of attempts as last year,” he said. “I think we’re throwing it more this year. I think we’re very effective in the rushing part. Obviously, I love to run the football. Hopefully, that will pick up. In the next several weeks, we’re facing some really good run defenses. Still, I have confidence in our running game. I think our backs are healthy.

“I think we’re (in) a good spot.”

No doubt that Tomlinson’s resurgence has a lot to do with that.

Photo by Rich O’Neill

Yamagishi is scheduled to undergo an MRI exam on Monday to ascertain the extent of the injury. As it is, he had to pull out of two shows because of it, in Tampa and Connecticut. He is said to also look to take this time off with getting hernia surgery that he was putting off until the offseason.

Considering that the Olympia is coming up in September, that would mean that Yamagishi is done for the year. A big blow, for sure, but not one that he cannot recover from. He has many good years left on the big stage and this may turn out to be the best thing that happened to Yamagishi. His body needs the rest and he can use the time off for that and to put on some size.

Hurting your quad while doing a seated upper body movement is a message that your body is telling you to slow down. Yamagishi has already competed in four shows this year and planned on doing seven. That is too much for anyone, especially a bodybuilder with a smaller frame like his. In 2009, Yamagishi competed five times.

The giant from  Germany did not even place and finished tied for 16th with Troy Alves, Darrem Charles, Martin Kjellstrom, Bill Wilmore, Joel Stubbs, Michael Kefalianos and Ahmad Haidar. Perhaps the hernia injury and subsequent surgery that kept him out of the Arnold Classic had more of an effect on Wolf’s preparation than anyone knows.

He did not appear to be anywhere near contest shape and one has to wonder if the 5’11″, 270-pounder has missed out on his best opportunities already. Wolf switched to a low-carb diet in 2008 and came in looking flat, but still placed one higher than the previous year. This time around, he went back to a regular diet under the impression that he would fill out better. Unfortunately this was not the case.

Because his offseason was cut short by the injury and recovery period, Wolf did not have the same time frame to get himself ready for this show. Even if he had competed in March, Wolf would have been in better condition to bulk up and cut down by September.

Because he will now need to qualify for next year’s Olympia, Wolf must decide on what show he chooses to compete in to get there. It will not be an easy road back but he is going to be one of the biggest names at a show such as the Iron Man Pro or Europa. If he has any expectations on becoming a legitimate Olympia candidate again, he needs to dominate at one of these ‘second tier’ competitions and also place high at the Arnold.