Meet the "Mess''

In honor of "Banners Day'' - at one time an annual event at old Shea Stadium - the New York Times asked Mets fans to suggest slogans they would have put on their banners were such a day scheduled for this summer.

The flood of responses clearly indicate that Mets fans haven't lost their sense of humor during this lost season.

Among the more creative submissions:

SOMEONE MADOFF WITH THE METS SEASON

METS FEVER: CATCH IT WITH BOTH HANDS

LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL AT BIG-LEAGUE PRICES.

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So I ask you: If Tom Watson can seriously contend for a golf major at age 59, does that mean 33-year-old Tigers Woods has 26 more years to pick up the five majors he needs to surpass Jack Nicklaus?

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As suggested in a previous column in this cyberspace, I was hoping to see Syracuse play the first college football game at the new Yankee Stadium. Unfortunately, Army, Notre Dame and Rutgers beat them to it, with the West Pointers playing the Irish and Scarlet Knights there. The fact Rutgers was able to beat SU to the punch is embarrasing to the Orange program, which is attempting to reestablish a recruiting foothold in the metropolitan New York area.

Word is, though, that SU and Notre Dame are in negotiations to play each other at the new Giants Stadium in the not-so-distant future.

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I see where the NFL has decided to spread the draft over three days instead of two, which means we can be bored to tears for three days instead of two. That third day should make for really compelling television, as fans wait with bated breath to see who their respective teams pick in the fifth and sixth rounds.

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LeBron James did a terrible public relations job handling this incident of a college player dunking on him during his recent Nike camp. By confiscating the videos, King James turned a molehill into a mountain, and showed how immature and small-minded he can be.

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I'm not surprised one iota that Gerry McNamara has decided to pursue his coaching career as a grad assistant with the Syracuse basketball staff. I think it's a great move for him and for the Orange hoopsters. There's also talk that Greg Paulus will join the basketball team as a grad student manager once his football season with the 'Cuse finishes. Those are two great additions to Jim Boeheim's veteran staff.

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Congratulations to my niece Katie O'Brien and Jeff Tudini who will be tying the knot today in Buffalo.