Firing your manager is one thing. String him along is another. Making him get on a plane to California and wait until after the Mets win at 3:15am New York time is just unprofessional.

The Mets really showed a lack of professionalism in firing Willie this morning. They fired him since they disagree with his on the field decisions and handling of the players. They replaced him with his bench coach, the same person who helped Willie make those decisions.

We will see now if the Mets respond well. They sure better.

Posted by Steve in New York

 

Update:

New York Newsday calls the Mets Ownership Cowards. Read here.

The Lakers huge collapse of a 24 point lead on Thursday night gave the Celtics a commanding 3-1 lead. 

I liked Jimmy Kimmel's pre-game interview of Senator Barack Obama on Sunday.  But, I had to change the channel because I have seen too much KG, either being offered one of Bill Russell's championship rings if he doesn't win a championship and the annoying Gatorade commercials.  One thing for certain, I'll be boycotting Gatorade for the near future.  I changed the channel to CSPAN.  BTW,  Brian Lamb had a fascinating interview with Michelle Bernard of the Independent Women's Forum. 

The Lakers came out on fire in Game 5 but the Celtics chipped away.

Who will Bill Walton root for?  His son Luke who plays for the Lakers OR the Celtics he won a championship with.  On Father's Day, you can see Bill smile after Luke made a basket.

The Lakers almost folded again on Sunday.  The Celtics cut the 19 point Laker lead to about four points with about 5:17 left in the third quarter.  But, Derek Fisher hustled to get and win a jump ball.  A three pointer followed and the Lakers finally won the third quarter.

I know Steve and many other Knick fans wanted Mark Jackson as Knicks head coach.  But, I really enjoy his commentary as an analyst, especially the "fake hustle" perspective.

Former Knick Head Coach Jeff Van Gundy was Mark Jackson's broadcasting colleague.  He also made great coverage points like Vladimir Radmanovic not sealing the baseline against Paul Pierce.  Van Gundy recommended that Lamar Odom guard Pierce.  I don't know why Phil Jackson didn't make the adjustment until the fourth quarter.

The Lakers thankfully won 103-98.

Bottom Line: I know the Celtics have a 3-2 advantage and will have the home crowd behind them for Game 6 in Boston.  But, if the Lakers can force a Game 7 on Thursday, anything can happen.  I like the Lakers' chances.  Keep the Faith!  Go Lakers!

Posted by a relieved Tank in LaLa Land.

The Mets lost a lot of games recently and once again the media speculates that Willie will go. This will continue for the rest of the season unless Omar will come out and say "Willie is our manager no matter what, stop speculating." Unfortunately he has not done that and the writing is on the wall, Willie may not last the whole season. He may not last past the All-Star break.

Steve and the Tank will make one last appeal for Willie. Think of it this way, interim managers never work out. There is no body out there who can "save" the season. So the season is already pretty much done for the Mets, so why not just sick with Willie, he can't do any worse?

Posted by Steve in New York

Steve is depressed about the Mets.  He thankfully isn't going to jump but is considering covering curling.  He finally came around to my cricket suggestion of a year ago.  Steve is nowhere to be found -- probably somewhere between New York and Boston.  Linda is at her niece's recital so I am going to have to put the Mets on my shoulders and carry them home to victory.

The Rangers haven't played at Shea Stadium since they played the Yankees there in 1970s during the Stadium reconstruction. 

You know I am superstitious, especially on Friday the 13th.  My superstition was confirmed by Josh Hamilton's first inning home run. 

Were the Mets going to fold and lose their sixth in a row?  I didn't think so and the Mets fought back with Reyes lead-off hit.  A balk.  A high throw to first.  The Mets lead 2-1 at the end of the first.

Reyes hit an infield single in the fifth.  He stole second.  Castillo sacrificed Reyes to third.  DW sacrifice flied to right Field.  Mets 3 - Rangers 1.

Oliver Perez helped his own cause by singling in two in the sixth.  The Mets added two more runs to make it Mets 7 - Rangers 1.  Schoenweis and Sanchez came in the eighth and ninth innings to thankfully secure the win and the Mets won by a final of 7-1. 

Posted by The Tank reporting live from Shea Stadium in Queens.

Up here in Boston, the locals are enjoying the best sports quadfecta of all time. Patriots, Bruins, Celtics, and the Red Sox all went deep into the playoffs or won a championship.

Since I can't stand to have Boston on top of all four major sports, I am rooting for the Lakers. I was excited last night when the Lakers had a 24 point lead. But unfortunately, the Celtics showed that they are true champs and overcame the 24 point deficit and won the game to take a 3-1 lead in the NBA finals. It is obvious that the Lakers have given up and the Celtics will win the title, depressing more and more sports fans in the greater New York area.

How do we undo the Boston hex on New York? Voodoo dolls is all we have left.

Posted by Steve in Boston (of all places)

Curt Schilling sat courtside for Game 2 of the NBA Finals in Boston.  He made critical comments of Kobe Bryant.  When asked for his response to Schilling's critique, Kobe responded "Go Yankees!"  Touche.

You gotta love the NBA Finals.  It brings out the intensity of fans and players alike.  Go Lakers!  Go Yankees!

Posted by The Tank in Lakerland.

Saturday through Tuesday, especially Monday and Tuesday were unseasonably and dangerously hot and humid in New York City.  Moving, much less going to the Mets-Diamondbacks game, was out of the question.

I made the right call for the following reasons:

(1) It was hotter than heck.
(2) The Mets lost 9-5.  The Mets squandered a 5-1 lead. 
(3) There was a 45 minute rain delay and the game didn't finish until about 11:30 pm.
(4) I was home to watch the Lakers-Celtics Game 3 of the NBA Finals.  Even though the Lakers missed lots of free throws, it was a great game.  Sasha Vujacic hit a three pointer to give the Lakers a 81-76 lead late in the fourth quarter.  The Lakers won 87-81.  Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 36 points.

The series is now 2-1 Celtics.  The Lakers are civilization's last hope against the Boston Sports Apocalypse.  Go Lakers!

Posted by a sweating Tank in Hot and Humid NY.

In an era plagued by steroids, watching Ken Griffey Jr hit his 600th home run is very exciting. In 19 major league seasons Jr has proven that he is an awesome player and the real deal. Jr connected to hit his 600th home run and if he stays healthy, it is more than possible that he can pass Sosa and Willie Mays and finish his career in fourth place.

Congratulations to Jr!

This also shows just how good A-Rod is, A-Rod is only 32 and has 528 home runs, on pace to enter the 600 club when he is 35 years old, 3 years younger than Jr.

Player	Home runs
Barry Bonds	762
Hank Aaron	755
Babe Ruth	714
Willie Mays	660
Sammy Sosa	609
Ken Griffey Jr.	600

I was depressed after leaving Friday's game at the Stadium.  Darrell Rasner pitched 119 pitches and held the Royals to 2 runs.  Enough to win, right?  Wrong as the Yankees only scored one paltry run.  The Yankees left many men on base.

I traded in my coat Friday evening for an air conditioner on Saturday as there was about 30+ degrees difference in the game time temperatures.  I didn't go to Saturday's game but psyched that the Yankees rallied three times, including erasing four run deficits on two occassions.  Johnny Damon was 6 for 6.  Whoa!

Sunday was another hot but less stressful game.  The Yankees held on for a 6-3 victory.  A-Rod, Giambi, and Abreu hit home runs.

Monday was even hotter.  Mike Mussina, the American League winner in wins, was down 2-0 before the Yankees tied it.  The Yankees lost the game 3-2. 

Where Do We Go From Here:

Sunday was the third time in 63 games that the Yankee starters played together.  It's a small miracle that the Yankees are at .500.  Think about it, Posada was out for six weeks, A-Rod for 17 games, Jeter for 7 games, Bruney out for the season, Hughes is out for a couple of months.   

Pitching seems to be improving and the bats are coming around, touch wood.  Today would have been a perfect opportunity to get two games above .500. 

Robert in Tampa refers to Hank and Hal Steinbrenner as Honky Tonk and Ham-Bone.  It's little wonder why they managed Mr. Steinbrenner's horse and shipping interests instead of baseball.  They had little choice to get into the baseball business after their brother-in-law recently divorced their sister and Mr. Steinbrenner's health started declining. 

Honky Tonk and Ham-Bone will go through growing pains as owners as the Yankees and Joba do this season.  Let's hope we see as few as possible public outbursts and moves that jeopardize the future of the team.

Posted by a philosophical Tank reporting live from Yankees Stadium in the Boogie Down Bronx.

Today Rafal Nadal defeated Roger Federer in straight sets to win the French Open, his fourth straight, tying Bjorn Borg's record.

Federer was humiliated 6-1, 6-3, 6-0. Nadal won 18 of 22 games: Federer's 4 games was the fewest number of games won by a #1 seed in any Grand Slam final. After losing in Australia and some minor tournaments, is #1 in trouble?

We'll only see at Centre Court at Wimbledon. "If [Nadal] survives the first couple rounds this year, I pick him to win Wimbledon," Bjorn Borg who was on hand today at the French Open.

Posted by Steve in New York

Ana Ivanovic cemented her #1 status in the world after beating Dinara Safina in straight sets at the French Open this morning.  After the recent and sudden retirement of Justine Henin, Ivanovic was already #1 but Henin was on hand to give her trophy and pass the torch in person.

Posted by a celebrating Tank in NY and in spirit at Roland Garos and in Serbia.