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2009 Double G Sports Awards

The Double G Sports Expert Panel brings you their year end awards for 2009.

Now that 2010 is here, the Double G Sports Panel has taken a look back at the past year. 2009 was a great year for some area sports, a good year for some others, and a bad year for some as well. Lets take a look at what the expert panel had to say:

*Remember, Double G Sports is about NY and NJ sports only*

Team of the Year: New York Yankees

Gregg: Yankees. Never really any doubt they were the best team in 2009.

John: Yankees, only team to win 100 games and the World Series in the same year this decade. Honorable Mention: Don Bosco Prep HS Football Team (#1 in the country).

Mark:  Yankees. They won their 27th championship. Pretty much the only team that lived up to the expectations this past year.

Jon:  New York Yankees

Rob:  Yankees. The only Tri-State area team to win a championship. The Yankees won their 27th World Championship against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Spenser:  NY Yankees

Player of the Year:  CC Sabathia

Gregg: Derek Jeter had an all around great season and continued to lead the Yankees as captain.

John: Derek Jeter. Excellent campaign, did it all, including defensive brilliance. Honorable Mention: Darrelle Revis.

Mark:  CC Sabathia. 19-8 3.37 ERA. The workhorse with a rubber arm threw 230 innings. Saved a lot of strain on the bullpen during his outings.

Jon:  CC Sabathia

Rob:  CC Sabathia. The ace of the Yankee pitching staff, CC showed his toughness during the playoffs to pitch the Yankees to their 27th World Championship.

Spenser:  Alex Rodriguez

Disappointing Team of the Year: New York Giants

Gregg: New York Giants. Big expectations entering the year. Started the season 5-0 and just completely fell apart. The big time defense left the building completely many times.

John: Giants/Mets. Both Teams had lofty expectations only to fail to reach the postseason. Honorable Mention: Knicks

Mark: Giants. They missed the playoffs in 2009 and at best finished with a .500 record. Hopefully the poor defensive play was due to all the injuries in the secondary. Maybe Brandon Jacobs will return to form in 2010.

Jon:  New York Giants

Rob:  Tie, New York Giants and New York Mets. Both teams didn’t live up to the hype of their respective preseasons. Both teams were to talented to end up where they have.

Spenser:  New Jersey Nets

Rookie of the Year: Mohamed Sanu

Gregg:  Mohamed Sanu, Rutgers.  The next big thing in college football. Sanu did it all for Rutgers during his freshman campaign.

John:  Hakeem Nicks, Giants. Big play ability was one of the few bright spots besides Eli’s play in a bleak Giants season. Honorable Mention: Tom Savage, Rutgers.

Mark:  Brett Gardner, Yankees. The speedster hit .270 and stole 26 bases. He gave the Yankees a much needed threat of speed on the bases and was also a reliable defensive player.

Jon: Mohamed Sanu, Rutgers.

Rob: Mohamed Sanu, Rutgers. The most explosive player on the Scarlet Knights roster. Used his unique blend of athleticism to lead the Rutgers offense.

Spenser: Hakeem Nicks, Giants

Coach of the Year: Joe Girardi

Gregg:  Greg Toal. Don Bosco Prep’s high school football coach led his team to a state championship, undefeated season, and #1 overall ranking in the country.

John: Joe Girardi. Most people would ridicule this pick, but I defend it by saying he managed his way and didn’t care what the critics said..and WON #27..with a three man playoff rotation. Honorable Mention: Rex Ryan.

Mark: Lawrence Frank of the Nets. Hahaha I’m just kidding. Sorry Nets fans out there. In all seriousness, Joe Girardi, he helped the Bombers bring home the title to the Bronx.

Jon:  Joe Girardi

Rob: Joe Girardi. Although at times I did not agree with some of the moves he made, the Yankee skipper kept all the talent together to bring The Boss his 27th.

Spenser:  Joe Girardi

Team on the Rise: New York Jets

Gregg:  As much as I hate to say it, the Jets. I cant stand the coach and QB but they are both young, enthusiastic individuals that can ride the teams dominant defense for years to come.

John: Jets. Young, flamboyant coach, strong defense, and a very good young offensive line, they look to be strong in the future, young QB (not sold on him at all). Giants who still have an excellent young nucleus and the Jets should provide us with a good decade of NFL football in this area. Honorable Mention: Knicks (after free agency in 2010.)

Mark: With a quarterback that looks like the real deal, the Jets have a promising future.

Jon: New York Jets

Rob: Rutgers football. With both Sanu and QB Tom Savage, the Scarlet Knights seem to have a weapon for the next three seasons.

Spenser: New York Knicks

Team on the Decline: New Jersey Nets

Gregg:  New Jersey Nets. Just a bad team. No defensive play, lacky an offensive go to guy. Still planning to leave the state. GO TO NEWARK!

John: Nets. Where do I begin. Honorable Mention: Mets

Mark:  As much as this pains me to say, the Giants. I can only hope that with a healthy secondary, next year will be much more promising.

Jon:  New York Giants

Rob: New Jersey Nets, I think they need to move to Brooklyn.

Spenser: Buffalo Bills

Most Improved Team: New York Yankees

Gregg: Jets. Rex Ryan brought a brand new attitude to this team. Great defense and a very good hard nosed rushing attack.

John: Yankees, From missing the playoffs for the first time since 1993 to winning it all. Great spending spree in offseason was key but also lesser acquisitions like Swisher and Hairston. Honorable Mention: Jets.

Mark: The Yankees. After a disappointing year in 2008 when they failed to make the playoffs, the Yanks won it all in 2009.

Jon: New York Yankees

Rob:  Rutgers football. After an early season blow-out loss to Cincinnati, the Scarlet Knights kept things together in their Big East games and won their bowl game.

Spenser: New York Yankees

Most disappointing Player: Brandon Jacobs

Gregg:  Brandon Jacobs. Stopped running with the power he used to have. Giants running game disappeared this season, mostly because Jacobs couldn’t be found.

John: Giants defense/David Wright, Mets. Giants defense was atrocious and Wright had a tough year with no one around him, but still needed to hit more then 10 home runs, although he hit over .300. He will bounce back. Honorable Mention: Brandon Jacobs

Mark: Brandon Jacobs. At the time these awards were given by me, Jacobs has rushed for only 835 yards and 5 touchdowns. This after a year when he rushed for over 1,000 yards and 15 TD’s.

Jon:  Osi Umenyiora

Rob:  Robinson Cano, Yankees. Needs to understand that he can’t just turn on the switch and have great games. Have watched him look clueless at the plate to many times.

Spenser: Terrell Owens, Buffalo Bills

Who Should Not Be Around in 2010: Bill Sheridan

Gregg:  Bill Sheridan and Kevin Gilbride.  Both Giants coordinators should be fired. The team lacked in both areas, due to play calling.

John: Bill Sheridan, Kevin Gilbride, Antonio Pierce, Jerry Manuel, Omar Minaya, Nate Robinson

Mark: At first I thought Giants defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan, but I figured I’d give him one more year with the return of his healthy defense who will hopefully be acclimated to his coaching style. So, I’ll go with Omar Minaya. I don’t claim to be an expert on the Mets, but in my opinion they will not win with him behind the scenes.

Jon: Bill Sheridan

Rob: Omar Minaya, Jerry Manual. Both need to prove their value in the Mets organization

Spenser: New York Liberty

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