I covered the 30^th West Palm Beach Kiwanis Club preseason high school football coaches’ luncheon/banquet/meeting/award ceremony today. The fact that it has no official title is part of what makes it so great.

Basically, coaches and athletic directors from all five “West Palm area” schools (Palm Beach Lakes, Palm Beach Central, Forest Hill, Cardinal Newman and The King’s Academy) come, eat lunch and then the coaches give a 5-10 minute talk about the previous year and the year ahead. The Kiwanis Club then presented each AD with a $500 donation to their school’s athletic program.

Then, the Kiwanis Club handed out the coveted City Championship, which also has no definitive criteria. They acknowledge this. The best way to describe it, I guess, would to say it’s judged by a mix of last year’s success and this year’s expectations. Anyway – Lakes was awarded it for this year, and it’s tough to argue that they’re not the best team in the city. So you can say it works.

I had the chance to catch-up with most of the guys in attendance. Here are some notes:

n  In what is a much-overlooked Week 1 game, Palm Beach Lakes travels to Palm Beach Gardens for the official opening of Gardens’ beautiful, brand-spanking-new stadium after five years of construction. Due to indecision about turf style, among other things, an entire Gardens class never played a true home game. Alonzo Jefferson, Lakes’ head coach, told me he didn’t realize the magnitude of the rivalry between the two until he took the job. During his time at the podium, he playfully made a joke about his good buddy and Dwyer head coach Jack Daniels, and congratulated him for winning with his players. Of course, former Dwyer star Matt Elam transferred to Dwyer from Lakes after his sophomore year.

n  Palm Beach Central has another major FBS prospect in the making, and this time it’s a skill player. Broncos head coach Rod Harris raved about wide receiver Angelo Jean-Louis, a junior. The 6’0”, 175 pounder may be a jewel of the 2012 recruiting class, along with Gardens OL Avery Young.

n  King’s head coach Craig Dobson is excited about running back Brian Grove, who we saw rush for over 200 yards when we broadcasted their spring game, but his excitement has definitely cooled since the spring. He said today he will be as good as his conditioning. Read into that what you would like. Dobson also missed a number of games last season dealing with health issues. Fortunately, the coach is posting a clean bill of health these days, but AD Adam Winters has assumed some of his responsibilities to lighten his load.

n  Forest Hill has a new head coach and a new attitude heading into this season. Chris Kokell, who coached at Pope John Paul II the past two seasons, is taking over for the Falcons, and today boasted about an experienced offensive line and a pair of young receivers that he compared to Chad OchoCinco and Terrell Owens based on trash-talk and talent. They also see a possible path to the playoffs this year. “We play in a three-team district (16-4A),” Kokell said. “All we have to do is beat one of those teams (Stranahan, Hollywood Hills).”

Nothing like a little hate to get your Wednesday afternoon back on track:

-- Why is everyone crying for Tarvaris Jackson? Wahhhh, so sorry Brett Favre is back. Jackson gets to sit back and collect a second-round pay check, one that he should have never gotten in the first place. No other coach beside Brad Childress would have drafted him that high. He is a back-up quarterback, if that,  getting paid like a starter. Get over it.

-- By the way, did anyone hear Tedy Bruschi on NFL Live last night bashing the Vikings and Brett Favre? There isn't a hole deep enough for that guy to crawl into. Who do you think you are? Newsflash to all you Patriots football snobs: your way is just one way -- it's not necessarily the right way. When was the last time the Pats won a big game again?

-- Everyone is making a rather large deal over Brandon Marshall's drops of late. I wouldn't put too much stock into it. The first preseason game was played under terrible conditions, and he's still getting adjusted to Chad Henne's ball. Of course, Dolphins fans couldn't care less. They're too busy watching Jets games with a cry face on, waiting to pounce on Twitter and Facebook when they lose a preseason game to the Giants.

-- Rex Ryan is the man.

-- I feel awful for the Arkansas sports radio host, Renee Gork, who was fired for going to a Razorbacks press conference with a Gators hat on. Really? Sports media is the biggest joke on the planet. Let me let you guys in on something: everyone is a homer. Everyone who covers a team for a paper, radio station or TV station is really a fan of that team. Almost without exception. You should hear the press box grumblings when the Marlins lose. Sad. "Reporters" slamming their fists on the terrible, cry faces, the whole nine yards. I hope Renee wins some kind of settlement against that station.

I do not write this in an incensed, over-reactive state. I have had several years to prepare for this moment, knowing it would come, yet refusing to believe it.

For five years I have contended that Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes and David Wright were part of the solution, and not the problem. For five years I was right. Maybe I'm still right, who knows? It doesn't matter --  due to a variety of over-cited reasons -- they never proved it.

Now it's time to blow it up.

The Mets course of action is simple in theory but difficult in execution. The Wilpons have to do something they've never done: stop living in denial.  They need to rebuild, and by rebuild I mean stock-pile good, young arms. They have to come out and tell the fans their plan and commit to it 100%.

The first step has to be to fire Omar Minaya, his entire front-office staff and the entire coaching staff. I never, never advocate people losing their jobs. But, despite all the missteps, this is not a damning of the job Minaya or Jerry Manuel did with the Mets. They did a lot more good than bad, but I don't think anyone could have forseen or have since factored the mental effects that 2007 had on Wright and Reyes. No, this is about cleaning house. I used to think that hitting rock-bottom meant you had nowhere to go but up. The Mets showed me it's possible to just meander at rock-bottom. Who would I replace them with? I don't know. It doesn't matter.

They are the Murphy's Law Mets. The worst possible outcome will always happen. Pedro Martinez will throw 8 shutout innings against you, in a Phillies uniform, in Philly.  Aaron Heilman will shut you down for two innings in an absolutely crucial, extra-inning game against a last-place team that ended up sweeping you.

They will go down without a whimper. Night in, night out, an opposing pitcher retires double-digit Mets batters in order. It's safe to say they are not a good team under pressure, and I think six years is a large enough sample-size. It truly seems like they would rather get their at-bats over with-- regardless of the outcome --  rather than having to be in the box.

The second step is to release Luis Castillo. Make a statement. Let him go with a year left on his deal. He is the only Mets player to be involved in both collapses, and an awful 2009, without being around for the winning in 2006. He has not a single redeeming quality. Oliver Perez stays. You'll need him in the rotation next year.

Next, the Mets need to immediately look into trading David Wright and Johan Santana. Whether it happens at the deadline or in the off-season, it needs to happen. I've always liked Wright, and he is the face of the franchise, sure. You can't win when your best player is that streaky. He murders bad pitching, but is overmatched by every righty with any type of heat. Johan Santana can still garner you a lot, especially with a strong second half. If you have to eat some salary to get the young arms you want in return, bring a bib.

Unfortunately, the Mets are all but stuck with Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez for next year, and Jason Bay for much longer. Believe it or not, I think Bay would be a good veteran around during the rebuilding process. He always plays hard. Rodriguez is signed through next year, but has an easy attainable incentive option worth $17.5 million for 2012. Ouch. The only way the Mets could avoid this would be to take him out of the closer's role. A lot of contenders this year need a center fielder. Would anyone pay for Beltran?

If you can't move Jeff Francouer before this trade deadline, than he's a non-tender. I like Frenchy, but being good-looking, well-liked and possessing the best outfield arm in the game can only get you so far. Angel Pagan stays and hopefully continues to build value for a possible deadline deal next year.

Lastly, the Mets need to offer Reyes a contract extension. He will be affordable, again, for the next few years, and he's one of the best all-around shortstops in the game.

It's time to build around this young group of players that is either already in the big leagues or on the brink of making it. Ike Davis, Jon Niese, Jennry Mejia, Josh Thole, Ruben Tejada, Bobby Parnell in the short term, with guys like Fernando Martinez and Wilmer Flores on deck, and theoretically the guys you got for Wright and Santana.

The Mets need to find a direction. This is the start.

That's what former Major League pitcher and Jupiter resident Jack Armstrong says about my swing in the above video. Evan Cohen and I took some soft-toss after doing a shoot with Armstrong and his sons...

I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July holiday. By that I mean I hope the rain ruined everyone's time and your barbecue was awful and you had no fun.

Anyway, I know it's been awhile, but I have some hate to unleash, so here it is.

NBA Free Agency: Is anybody else turned off by the behavior of the Big Three (LeBron, Wade, Bosh) during this whole free agency period? Look, I know they are like, oh my God, like, super, awesome, all-time BFFs, but do they have to go around acting like their shooting a special, NBA version of MTV's My Super Sweet 16? Wade especially. We expected this type of behavior out of LeBron and Bosh, but Wade, we thought, was always different. Well, he's not. He's the same as the rest of them. Jason Pugh said last night on Braman Motor Cars 5 Sports Live that if Wade indeed leaves this off-season, after years of pledging his allegiance to the Heat, it would be worse than what Nick Saban did to the Dolphins. I tend to agree. Wade should be side-by-side with Pat Riley in this recruiting process, interviewing these players from the other side of the table. The fact that he continues to visit other teams is a bad sign for the Heat, it makes Riley look bad and it makes other free agents even more unsure of themselves. And then for him to tell a camera he was in a "New York State of Mind"... please. Either Wade meant that and he's seriously considering the Knicks, or, more likely, he's just purposely messing with the media's head. Look, there are a lot of good, quality reporters out there that are going to get this story wrong and have their credibility tarnished, all because these clowns feel like lying for the fun of it.

At the end of the day, you can do and say what you want. I just hope the media returns the favor when they cover them for the rest of their careers.

Allen Iverson: ...is still holding out for a max contract.

K-Rod: Well this guy is sure something else. Not only does his ineffectiveness border on the criminal, he's a sociopath as well. I read some of his postgame quotes after Saturday's blown-save debacle in Washington. I couldn't tell if he had just lost a game or was auditioning for the lead in The Last Samurai 2. The Mets don't need an 8th-inning guy, they have one. They need a closer.

Closers in general: Look, every closer sucks. Except one. Mariano Rivera. The rest can be gotten to. A lot. Every closer but one is the same. The rest will blow 5-10 a year. Live with it.

Kobayashi: No hate in the world for this beautiful young man. Every competitive eater on this planet, please heed this warning: You call out Kobayashi from the stage, expect him to rush it. When he gets intercepted by police, expect him to resist. When he gets subdued, expect him to make one final, unexpected rush at you on the stage. The guy doesn't play. I know Joey Chestnut is on top of the world right now, but Kobayashi made this sport. If it wasn't for him, Nathan's would just be lingering in the back of random Miami Subs drive-throughs, enticing you to go with their fries instead of Miami's.
 

Kobayashi is a legend; the first head on the Mount Rushmore of eating until sick. All Chestnut is is New Money. He may have won the battle (or like the last five) but Kobayashi will win this war. Staged or unstaged, Kobayashi is my hero.

FakePatRiley: If you're not following @FakePatRiley on Twitter, you need to be immediately.

Kobayashi: Let me just reiterate: we have our first, true competitive eating rivalry. Like a guy who shoved 56 hot dogs and buns into his mouth in 10 minutes, called out another guy in the crowd, A GUY WHO REFUSED TO PARTICIPATE DUE TO CONTRACT ISSUES, and the guy in the crowd tried to rush the stage to fight the guy on stage. That's what we have. That's what this is. Can we go back 200 years and just surrender to England?

Florida: Hottest. June. In. South. Florida. History. That really says it all.

World Cup: I don't want to offend anybody, but the World Cup stinks. I've watched a combined 10 minutes of it so far, and I can't do it anymore. It's awful. It's boring. I refuse to like it just because everyone says I should. I am just not a fan of soccer. If I was, I would watch year-round. Why do the "best players in the world" always play like crap in the World Cup? In 2006, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Henry were all awful. This time around, Messi, Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo were all awful. Oh, I know why. Because when you really want to bare down, it's really easy to stop one guy in soccer. Stupid.

Random Hate:

-- I don't know who's hotter: Megan Fox or Brian Austin Green. Dude's still got it.

-- Congrats to Elin Nordegrin on her humongous pay-day. See kids, hard work does pay off in this world.

-- A.J. Burnett, the pie in the face thing is cool when you're not the worst pitcher in the American League. The other 24 guys should line up in the tunnel from the dugout to the clubhouse and each hit Burnett with a shaving cream pie after every game.

-- Diego Maradona's daughter is smoking hot. Too bad she's already taken... by him..