 Sunday, November 05, 2006
I left my pants in Staten Island and it was all downhill from there…
The highest point of the New York City Marathon is around Mile 1 at the crux of the Verrazano Bridge’s span. We were staging for about 3 hours in Staten Island and had to abandon our jackets, pants and other stuff that we wore to keep us warm.
10:10am-The foot of the Verrazano Bridge
The cannon goes off. Go Lance Armstrong!!
10:15am-The foot of the Verrazano Bridge, we finally get through the start line. We run uphill, a long steady climb. About a 10:35 minute mile.
Miles 2-7 Brooklyn rocks!
We plow through Brooklyn from Bay Ridge (my old town), Sunset Park, Red Hook and Carroll Gardens. Tons of people are lining the streets, I high 5 about 100 kids. A talk to a 10 year old girl with a “Run like Reyes” sign. A kid gives me a lollipop, much better than gu or powergel. Linda accuses me of hamming it up. (I was.)
11:25am Mile 8: Looking for Slander
As we cruse through Carroll Gardens and Park Slope we look for Sarah. She is nowhere to be found. Good news for us and bad news for anyone we told to look for us, we are about 20-30 minutes ahead of our expected times, we thought we would take at least 15 minutes to get to the start line as well as run slower miles. All of us are very strong.
12:20pm 13.1 Miles (1/2 way point) The Pulaski Bridge 2hours 4 minutes
As we leave Brooklyn and enter Queens I shout “LET’S GO METS!!!” And Linda and some other Queens natives chant some Mets in 2007 cheers.
12:50pm: The span of the Queensborough Bridge Mile 16
Ug, the first major uphill challenge in a while. Bridges suck. As we get to the center of the span of the lower deck after about a mile climb, we enter a section in complete darkness. I ask Kathleen and Linda if I blacked out. We get behind some crazy Brazilians who start singing Ole! Ole! Ole! Someone also starts a “if you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands!” chant. We descend into Manhattan into the legendary crowds up first avenue.
Miles 16-19 1st Avenue
We are all still strong, Kathleen and Linda run into the Tank who is not doing that well and tell him to look for me since I fall a little behind at this point. I don’t see the Tank until 8pm at the bar. As I pass 30km (18.6 miles), Lance Armstrong finishes. He said it was the hardest race he ever did, even said “I don’t know how you do it!” He bonked, he is Human!!!
1:30pm Mile 20, The Willis Avenue Bridge 3:20 pace
Bridges suck. I try to tell myself that this is the next to last one. Linda and Kathleen pull ahead for good and I am on my own so I break out the MP3 player and crank up the tunes. My legs start to get tired. I feel great but start to slow down. I notice that by mile 21 I am now doing 10 minute miles. The Bronx gets jiped, only about a mile in the Bronx.
1:52pm Marcus Garvey Park, Manhattan Mile 22
Back to Manhattan and holy crap only about 4 miles to go! The legs are now screaming in pain and the bottoms of the feet hurt. I am just looking forward to E 90th Street and the entrance to Central Park, my home turf.
Mile 25, Central Park 4 hours 14 minutes (4:09 pace)
As I pass under Mile 25, I am almost in tears of joy and pain. I find out later that Kathleen and Linda and just crossing the finish line, rock on!!!
The 1 Mile to Go Sign!
Woo hoo! We leave the park to run on E. 59th Street back to the park.
Mile 26, reenter the park.
Only .2 of a mile to go. This honestly is the longest .2 of a mile in my life. I see the finish!! I pick up the speed and thrown my hands in fists in the air and scream as the crowd roars. The clock says 4:26 and change, so my official time will be about 4:20.
The Aftermath.
You have to walk through the finish and get water, your bad check (UPS shipped them from Staten Island) and then reunions. We get medals and space blankets. It took about an hour, everyone is in pain and walking very slow. I barely can walk at this point. Luckily 37,000 people can’t walk either. Due to all the road being closed I have to walk home. Lot so of folks give me congratz.
8pm, The Mad Hatter Pub
After the best burger and beer of my life, Steve and the Tank are reunited. Steve says he is retired from running and will do tennis and yoga now. The Tank says he will slow down.
Posted By Steve, in marathon pain.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
College Football Picks
#3 West Virginia at #5 Louisville: This game has huge implications as the winner has the inside track to represent the Big East in the Broken Computer Sham (DBA Bowl Championship Series). The Tank won't have closure until there is a real Division 1-A playoff, more on that another day. West Virginia wins what should be a great game.
#8 Tennessee beats #13 LSU in another great SEC showdown.
#22 Wake Forest hosts #16 Boston College and should beat them at home. Second hardest game of the week to pick.
#18 Oklahoma beats #21 Texas A&M in College Station. I foolishly picked against the Sooners, one of my favorite teams, at Missouri last week. Go Sooners!
P.S. Congratulations to the Bricks for beating the Memphis Grizzlies 118-117 in triple overtime last night. Go Bricks!
Posted by The Tank in NY.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Will Tiki Barber replace Bob Barker on the "Price is Right"? R.I.P. Silas Simmons
The Giants are on a roll but can not overlook the improving Texans. The Giants should win. Tiki Barber is talking about retiring and getting into broadcasting. Will he take over for Bob Barker on the "Price Is Right"? (I heard the theory on the Dan Patrick Show on ESPN 1050 AM this afternoon and wanted to share it with you.)
Bills are coming off a bye and the Packers off a win. Tough call but the Bills are at home, should, and better win. Go Bills!
The Jets can't get robbed by the refs this week as they have a bye. Pennington's 21 quarterback rating was the worst of this career and the Jets didn't deserve to win. However, the ref who screwed up the end zone call also screwed the Ravens last year.
We've lost another sports pioneer in the oldest professional athlete, Silas Simmons. Mr. Simmons is the third recent pioneer to pass on after Messrs. Buck O'Neil and Red Auerbach. Though not as well known as other African American legends Jackie Robinson or Buck O'Neil, he won't be forgotten. I hope I don't have to post anymore sports obituaries for a long, long time.
Posted by The Tank in NY.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
NBA Preview; Red Auerbach, R.I.P.
My cousin, Mirko, and I started a relatively new tradition three seasons ago with his best friend from college, Lubo, about picking the playoff seeds in each conference, a couple of dark horses, conference champions, and the NBA Champion. This tradition is similar to Buffalo Steve's and my pro football picks which goes back about a decade. No money is wagered, just friends and family seeing who is the most correct.
Review: The Tank was thankfully on point by picking the Heat to win it all last season.
Preview: This season proves more challenging as parity rules the roost with many free agents and draft moves. Ben Wallace going from Detroit to Chicago will have profound affect on the balance of power in the Central Division and beyond both this and future seasons. What makes it harder to pick is the fact that Chicago and Cleveland have improved but not to the point of making the NBA Finals, yet. Detroit had a big loss but still has a great core. Depending upon on how the ball bounces, these teams can win from 45 to 60 wins.
Miami and New Jersey play in relatively weak divisions so they should be fine as every night won't be as contested in the Central.
The winner of the Western Conference used to be the NBA Champion but it's hard enough making it through the regular season and playoffs. So many teams have players playing internationally that it also take a toll, i.e. Yao Ming and Dwyane Wade. Wade got banged up by going too inside during the 2004-2005 season but did less so last season (granted all things are relative). He needs to continue to pound the ball into Shaq. Will the Diesel be able to play 60+ games? At his age and weight, it is hard to withstand the 82 game regular season and then about 20 games in the playoffs. The more games Shaq plays, the better off the Heat will be.
Without further ado, please find my picks in order of playoff seeding:
Eastern Conference
1. Miami
2. NJ Nets
3. Detroit
4. Cleveland
5. Chicago
6. Washington
7. Boston
8. Indiana
Dark Horse: Charlotte, Orlando, Milwaukee (if they weren't in rough and tumble Central, they would be in the playoffs.)
Conference Champion: Miami.
Western Conference:
1. Dallas
2. Phoenix
3. Denver
4. San Antonio
5. LA Clippers
6. Utah
7. Houston
8. LA Lakers
Dark Horses: Sacramento, New Orleans/Oklahoma City, Golden State (Donnie Nelson is great but I am afraid for his health because of his age and burning out. Be well Donnie and please stay away from the cigars. The NBA needs you.)
Conference Champion: Dallas
NBA Champion: Dallas (David Stern and the refs finally let the Mavericks win one in a rematch of last season's finals).
---------------
Local Team Outlook:
Knicks (AKA the Bricks after their performance last season):
The Vegas over/under on the Bricks win total this season is 31. I think they will beat that and win about 33 to 39+ games because Isiah's and everyone else jobs are on the line. The Knicks up tempo offense this year will be an improvement even if they lose games by 130-110 which is more watch able than last season's painful and lower scoring games.
NJ Nets:
The Tank is looking forward to the day that the Nets return home to NY, specifically Brooklyn. It can't come soon enough as they are talented and well coached which is more than I can say about the Bricks. The Vegas over/under on the Nets is 48. Take the over as they should win about 50 to 55+ games.
Perspective:
None of the above would have been possible without the herculean efforts of basketball pioneer and genius extraordinaire and Brooklyn born Red Auerbach. R.I.P. Mr. Auerbach, you are missed.
Posted by The Tank in NY.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Marathon Rest Trumps Halloween Party
With the weather dramatically turning colder, the Tank has been fighting off a cold over the past week. Colds are always inopportune but especially more so as the NYC Marathon draws closer next Sunday. To add salt to the wounds, the Tank won FREE tickets to the Skid Row Album Debut and Halloween Party hosted by Mike Piazza and Q104.3 DJ and VH1 Classic VJ Eddie Trunk. What should the Tank do? Party or Rest?
I like Skid Row but need my rest. I missed the NYC Half Marathon in late August after working too much that week and catching a fever. I can't risk it here and couldn't sleep in yesterday as I had to work on an IP Telephony project at work. If it weren't for the Marathon, I would suck up the cold and go to the FREE Skid Row concert.
Rock on! Happy and Safe Halloween!
Posted by The Tank in NY.
P.S. Congratulations to Steve on his 200th .NET broadcast tonight!
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Fearless Football Picks
Pro:
The Jets beat the Browns but beware of the Browns front starting seven on defense.
Giants beat the Bucs who are coming off of an incredible win on an almost record setting 62 yard field goal to beat the Eagles in waning seconds of last week's games.
The Bills can't lose this week as we have a bye.
College:
Speaking of byes, #9 Florida bounces back after its week off and losing to Auburn (darn Tigers) and beats #25 (according to the NYP) Georgia in Jacksonville.
#19 Oklahoma at #23 Missouri: Toughest game of the week to pick. The Tigers have lost 15 of the last 16 against the Sooners according to ESPN but they are due, at home, and the Sooners don't have injured RB Adrian Peterson.
Posted by The Tank in NY.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry
Friday, October 27, 2006
Congratulations Cardinals
Medford Bob provided a key reporting assist while the Tank was busy multi-tasking eTime and telephone server maintenance, floor calls, and an e-mail restore. Verlander threw 35 pitches and got out of a bases loaded jam without yielding a run. It is scoreless through 1.
Since Medford Bob is superstitious, he asks me to root for the Tigers because most of my baseball playoff predictions except the Mets beating the Dodgers in the NLDS was wrong because of the underdogs won each post-season series. I can't root for the Cheater so I am conflicted. Enjoy the game if I can because of work. I guess I should stick to picking football, touch wood.
Super Shortstop Eckstein singles in Molina in the bottom of the second inning. Cardinals 1 - Tigers 0.
After an error by Taguchi on an Ordonez fly ball, Casey hits the first pitch out over the left field wall. After the top of the 4th, the Tigers are leading 2-1.
The Tigers see the Cardinals error and Verlander makes a throwing error. According to the Cardinals radio broadcasters, it is the third pitchers throwing error since the World Series shifted from Detroit to Saint Louis. How unlucky is this? Buy a lottery ticket kids!
Pujols makes a great stop and got the ball to former NY and Detroit Choke Artist Jeff Weaver to start the 7th. Detroit is making it easy for Weaver who has only thrown 81 pitches through seven innings.
Up and coming R&B group and Saint Louis based "Varsity" sings "God Bless America". Great job guys! Good luck on the road to stardom!
Eckstein hustles out a single to start the bottom of the 7th. He's definitely a World Series MVP candidate. Leadoff men like Eckstein, Jose Reyes, and Johnny Damon often mean more than big boppers like Pujols, Delgado, and Giambi. Preston "Mookie's Not Your Father" Wilson works out a walk. Pujols and Edmonds fly out. Rolen hit a foul ball down the left field line which would have sealed it. On the next pitch, Rolen singled to right which scores Eckstein and advances Wilson to third. Belliard grounds out to end the 7th. The Cardinals lead 4-2.
I usually don't drink beer but I love the Bud Light commercials. After next weekend's marathon, I'll buy Linda, Steve, Kathleen, and the rest of the Gang a Bud Light to reward the advertising geniuses. I'll probably drink an orange juice or water.
Wainwright comes into the relieve Weaver who throws 99 pitches in eight solid innings. Unfreaking believable! Figures.
Casey doubles with one out in the top of the 9th. Pudge Rodriguez grounds out to Wainwright. Polanco works out a walk. The Tank is called away to send our backup tapes to a secret offsite location. However, he hears Medford Bob scream out as I walk by the Help Desk so I figured the Cardinals win the World Series, their first since 1982. Medford Bob reports that Inge is out on a pitch like Beltran was out on in Game 7 of the NLCS but at least Inge took the bat off his shoulder.
Congratulations to the Cardinals for their tenth World Series title and their fans like Medford Bob, Shawn on 29, Mieka in Florida. Congratulations to World Series MVP David Eckstein and his new bride. The Cardinals broadcasters compare him to players from the old Gashouse Gang. Eckstein plays shortstop like the late great Leo Durocher. Wow! That's old school. Eckstein wins the MVP trophy and his first brand new car. Baseball condolences to Detroit Dale.
Walt Jocketty is genius because he got Wainwright, the Braves former top prospect, for J.D. Drew. Since the Baseball Apocalypse happened two years ago when the Red Sox won, I do award Dave Duncan the first ever Mother Teresa Miracle Pitching Coach award for bringing Weaver back from getting cut by the Angels for a roster spot for his brother to the World Series Clinching Pitcher.
Momentum is a weird thing because both the Tigers and Cardinals had great starts, had key injuries, and then backed into the playoffs. Heck, the Cardinals almost beat out the 1964 Phillies for the worst late regular season collapse of all time.
The end of the World Series marks the beginning of hot stove action. Please check back for future posts as Steve and I prepare for what figures to be an exciting off season. Let's hope the Yankees and Mets get some pitching!
Posted by the Tank with key early and late assists from Medford Bob in NY.
The Cardinals Inch Closer to Avenging 1968
The weather finally held up enough to get World Series Game 4 in Saint Louis.
The Tigers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead through three. The Cardinals countered with a run each in the bottom of the third in the fourth.
Bonderman had a tough start but was able to through 5.1 innings before an injury. Suppan pitched six solid innings but not as great as hit did last Thursday against the Mets. Figures.
The Cardinals tied the game in the 8th. Preston "Mookie's Not Your Father" Wilson singles to left and Taguchi scores. Pujols is tagged out at third by Inge.
The Tigers tied the game at 4 in the 8th.
The injured SS Eckstein doubles (again for the third time) to left for his fourth hit of the game and second RBI. The Cardinals lead 5-4 at the end of the 8th.
Wainwright holds the 5-4 lead and the Cardinals win and now lead the series 3 Games to 1. I am certain Medford Bob and Shawn on 29 are happy as the Cardinals are one win away from their tenth World Series title. Will the Cardinals be able to get revenge for the 1968 loss to the Tigers? We may find out Friday night, weather permitting.
Posted by The Tank in NY.
 MLB | Playoffs
 Thursday, October 26, 2006 11:37:51 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, October 26, 2006
Rain Delay Solution
Tonight's Game 4 rainout in Saint Louis underscores a necessity for many teams around MLB, especially the Yankees and Mets, to address. Both teams lost valuable momentum to their opponents and subsequent victors and eventual World Series opponents in those respective series, the Tigers in Game 2 of the ALDS, and Cardinals in Games 1 and 5 of the NLCS. This is not making any excuses for the Yankees and Mets losses but a possible solution to prevent future inclement weather issues.
Both the Cardinals and Tigers are now rained out as well. With rain forecasted over the next few days in both Saint Louis and Detroit, who knows when they'll get the games in? Seattle is known for its inclement weather and took the necessary precautions when they built Safeco Field. It is a state of the art facility that Yankees radio broadcasters John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman rave about as the best stadium they have seen. Given not only the playoff rainouts and even difficulties of getting regular season games in from early in the season to summer showers and into September when often heavy rains from hurricanes coming up the East Coast, the Mets and Yankees should put retractable roofs on their state of the art facilities. Ground has barely been broken on both facilities and there is time to make the necessary engineering and architectural modifications.
Yes, it will cost more money but the Mets and Yankees won't have to worry about lost revenue if fans don't want to take the chance on getting themselves and their loved ones sick from rain and the wind that accompanies it, especially from Long Island Sound. Furthermore, both teams will be able to stage off season events. This is a work around to the failed West Side Stadium which died when London beat out NYC for the 2012 Olympics as well as a little help from the Dolan MSG Monopoly. NYC is 26th in Convention business and the new stadiums can help the City move up in the ranking creating jobs (granted some not great paying but jobs nevertheless), especially in the off season. What out of town sports fan wouldn't want to visit the new Yankee or Met Stadium? Concerts, political conventions, and other events could also generate additional tax revenue.
Traditionalists can point to the romantic nature of a nice summer day at the ballpark. That's great. But, if it's raining (or even the threat of rain), romance and MONEY are out the window as our weather continues to become more unpredictable with global warming and other climate changes. What if you try to play when there is light rain and someone gets hurt God Forbid? More lost MONEY down the drain. Why chance it? Please join me in calling local sports talk stations like the FAN 660 and ESPN 1050 to get the debate going for retractable roofs as well as contact the Yankees and Mets directly. Thank you very much for your support!
Posted by the always passionate and pensive Tank in NY.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Is the Gambler Kenny Rogers Cutting the Cards in more ways than one?
Was Sunday's game the first time Kenny Rogers pitched with an illegal substance on his hand?
Why is Rogers suddenly pitching lights out? Before the 2006 playoffs, Rogers was 0-3 in 9 appearances with an 8.96 ERA. In the 2006 playoffs, he has pitched 23 scoreless innings. Mike Francesa made a great point in his Sunday evening "Mike'd Up" Show on NBC.
Max Kellerman had a caller Monday morning on his return to 1050 AM ESPN attest to seeing him use an illegal substance during the Yankees and As series.
Why didn't the umpires throw him out of the game? It's an automatic ten game suspension which would have disqualified him for a possible Game 6 and another start next season. Why didn't Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa object more vehemently? Is it because of his close friendship with Tiger Manager Jim Leyland? Why does La Russa's hitting coach Hal McRae have to stand up for the Cardinals and not La Russa?
A caller into Brandon Tierney's 1050 ESPN Monday Night radio show that the brim on Rogers' hat was darker than the other Tigers' players. Was it to hide the pine tar and/or another illegal substance?
Even Sports Illustrated, a magazine that I grew up reading but boycotted after they put the Padres Trevor Hoffman as the so-called "Best Reliever of All Time". BTW, all National League fans can "thank" Trevor for blowing the save in the All-Star Game and with it home field advantage in the World Series. Moreover, my friend Nancy from work gave me this SI link on how pitchers cheat.
Too many unanswered questions. When a gambler cheats in poker, they call it cutting the cards. If Kenny Rogers used an illegal substance, he cut the cards and the Cardinals throats. If Rogers did, he's a cheater, not worthy of the great "Gambler" name nor even his real name which really only belongs to great country singer Kenny Rogers. From here on out, Tigers baseball pitcher Kenny Rogers will be known as the Cheater and a freaking loser almost as bad as Hall of Shame gambling on baseball loser like Pete "Burn in H*ll" Rose. Baseball players like the Cheater and Rose are real "Coward(s) of the Count(r)y".
BTW, I listened to the Cardinals radio broadcast tonight in the spirit of equal time. It was a great treat listening to a clip of the late, great Jack Buck with a call from the 1968 World Series. Tiger starter Nate Robinson didn't seem too bothered by the 13 day layoff until the fourth. Reigning NL Cy Young Award Winner Chris Carpenter pitched a three hitter through eight strong shutout innings. Even another former NY Choke Artist (NYCA) Braden Looper pitched a scoreless 9th inning.
Reigning NL MVP King Albert Pujols got an unlucky break in the bottom of the fourth with a ground rule double which would have scored Preston "Mookie's Not Your Father" Wilson from first. However, after loading the bases in the same inning, Edmonds doubled in two runs. The Cardinals added two more runs in the 7th and another in the 8th.
The Cardinals win the game 5-0 and lead the series 2 games to 1. Medford Bob (formerly known as Boston Bob) is smiling and happy that the Cardinals, one of his teams won.
Posted by The Tank in NY.
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