The boys gathers at Aussie Rod's place for the first Euro 2008 semifinal between Germany and Turkey. 

I asked Steve and Ronjon NOT to tell me the score during the day.  I purposely avoided checking the score.  If I saw a red shirt (Turkey's color), I covered my eyes and walked the other way.

Turkey had nine men out to injuries and suspensions.  What an opportunity for a second unit player to play for a contract with a major league club in the Premiership, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, etc. 

Turkey scored in the last minute in their previous three matches against Croatia, Czech Republic, and Switzerland.  Thanks for JH for the final two Turkish victims.

Ugur Boral of Turkey strikes first blood in the 22nd minute through Lehmann's leg.  Whoa!

Schweinsteiger equalized with an awesome finish off the outside of his right foot in the 26th minute.

Podolski had a nice run in 34th minute.  But his upper body was leaning back like Italy's Roberto Baggio's on a penalty kick over the goal into outer space in the 1994 World Cup Final against Brasil.

After a 39th minute collision, both sides try to stop the their bleeding players like boxing cutmen.  Check that, the Turkish player is getting stapled on the top of his head.  OMG!  You leave it all out on the pitch.  Pain is temporary, pride is forever.

It was 1-1 at half.

JH and his brother Brandon make a good points about Turkey's freshness and looseness.

Nick's wife has negative interest in soccer but she told Nick the score during halftime.  Our future karaoke duets for her and me are in jeopardy.

Turkey continued to attack in the second half.  But Germany should have had a penalty kick after Lahm was tackled just inside the box.

We're watching the Fan Zone outside the Stadium as ESPN has technical difficulties.  James asks for the radio feed.  The Swiss had a power issue for a few minutes. 

Klose scored for Germany in the 79th minute during another Swiss power outage.  The Turks equal with Senturk in the 86th minute.  You've got to be kidding me.

James demands the BBC line-by-line Internet feed.  The power finally comes back on Lahm scored the go-ahead goal in the 90th minute.

A nice cutout to the crowd with ladies with Mrs. Lahm, Klose, etc.  Mrs. Jeter, Wright, and their American counterparts have nice competition.  Das fraulein!  

Three strikes and another power outage.  We find out Germany won 3-2. 

ESPN gets burned.  I thought they learned from World Cup 2006.  Their commentators watched and commented from the ESPN Studios in Bristol, Connecticut.  Talk about cost cutting but this is ridiculous.  So much for the world wide leader in sports.  I nominate the six of us to cover the next soccer match for ESPN.  James and Nick with the radio commentary, Brandon and JH with insightful analysis, Aussie Rod keeps the referees honest, and yours truly blogs it from the Stadium.  I'm serious about this.

Congratulations to Germany!  They meet the winner of Russia-Spain on Sunday.

Posted by The Tank reporting live from Aussie Rod's awesome apartment in Manhattan.

Even though the Mets are 3-4 under Jerry Manuel and have lost two straight to the worst team in baseball, at least they are entertaining.

Last night Carlos Beltran argued a 1-1 strike with home plate umpire Brian Runge in the 4th inning. Runge then took off his mask and looked like he was baiting the normally reserved Beltran. That is when Manuel came out and intervened. It appeared that Runge bumped Manuel. Manuel was then ejected from the game.

While the Mets lost 11-0 to a last place team, it was good to see Manuel defend his players. In his first week on the job, he is only 3-4, however, in the first week he had an on the field confrontation with Jose Reyes, called Reyes a "she", defended accusations from Willie that he was "plotting" against Willie, called out HoJo to get the Mets to start hitting, told Carlos Delgado that he may have to start stealing bases, benched David Wright, compared Mets fans fertilizer, and was ejected from a game.

The Mets may stink, but at least they are entertaining.

Posted by Steve in New York

Spain had never won an international soccer competition on any June 22 according to the graphic on ESPN.

They were matched in the Euro 2008 quarterfinal against defending World Cup Champions Italy.  Italy was favored but you can never count the Spanairds out with players like Fabregas, Casillas, and others.

I was hoping to watch the game with JH and Aussie Rod but my meeting with the Professor took longer than expected after Church.  The Professor was a right half in his younger days and told many stories.  I asked him who was the best player ever.  He replied Diego Maradona because of his speed and you could never take the ball off his foot.  The Professor gave the edge to Diego Maradona over Pele and former Manchester United and Northern Ireland legend George Best.  Pele was blessed with teammates who made perfect passes with the right spin to him.  George Best was great (R.I.P.) but not Maradona.  BTW, if you are ever in Argentina, you should check out the "Church of Diego Maradona".
 
Back to the match at hand.  Spain controlled play most of the first half, about 65 to 35 percent according to another ESPN graphic.  But, the match was scoreless at halftime and the end of regulation.  You know what that means, penalty kicks.

Penalty kicks sends a surge of adrenaline through this goalie's body and soul.  I knew two next to last penalty kicks would be blocked.  Call it goalie intuition.  Spain won 4-2 on penalty kicks.  They are going to the Euro semifinals against Russia on Thursday.

Congratulations to Spain! 

Posted by an exhilirated Tank in NY.

Mets manager Jerry Manuel compared Shea Stadium fans to cow manure yesterday for booing Aaron Heilman so much. Asked about how Heilman was holding up under the pressure of the boos, Manuel said:

"It's very, very fertile ground for growth in Shea Stadium. "It's fertile ground for a team's growth and development. Sometimes, fertile ground has fertilizer."

This of course made the front page of the NY Post.

I applaud Manuel for speaking his mind and calling a spade a spade. Someone has to. Manuel also told Reyes that if he has another on the field temper tantrum like Reyes did on Tuesday, that Manuel would knife him in the back right there on the field."I told him the next time he does that, I'm going to get my blade out and cut him right on the field," Manuel said. "I'm a gangster." He even referred to Reyes as a "She" just like Jets/Giants great coach Bill Parcells: "She acted up with me, and she had a day off."

New York loved it when Bill Parcells did the straight talk like when he would tell a reporter that it was a "stupid question." Maybe the Mets need a little bit of Parcells at this time. We'll see how Manuel is greeted at Shea Stadium tonight.

Posted by Steve in New York

Last week, the Yankees lost ace Chien-Ming Wang while he was running the bases in Houston. A crazed Hank Steinbrenner said the NL should get into the 21st century and incorporate the DH rule. This brings up the question of our generation: is the DH an abomination or does it represent progress?

Progress Argument

The AL, minors, college, high school and some international play all use the DH. If everyone else is doing it, shouldn't the NL? It helps create higher scoring games, makes pitchers pitch to 9 betters instead of 8, forces managers to take the pitcher out when they should, instead of pinch hit, and extends the careers of fan favorites.

The Abomination Argument

If all of your friends were to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, would you? Forget 100 years of history and that Abner Doubleday fully intended pitchers to hit. Forget that in my high school (a NYC championship team), our ace pitcher was also a rock star hitter. That argument holds no water because sometimes a tweak in the rules is necessary in a sport (see some of hockey's recent changes to make the game faster. And Steve has always been lobbying for a 19 second shot clock in the NBA and a 23 second shot clock in NCAA hoops). The real argument is that pitchers need to bat so they can be thrown at by other pitchers in retaliation for throwing at someone on their team. That simple.

Add to the equation  that pitchers are not special prima donna, but members of the team who will be counted on to pinch hit or run the bases in extra inning or other special situations. If your pitchers hit then they will be available to you in extreme situations like having Tom Glavine available to pinch hit in the bottom of the 9th in game 7 of the 2006 NLCS... (But who am I to question Willie?)

While there are only 8 hitters in the NL, pitchers go get hits, homers, and stolen bases (el Duque has 2 last year in one game!) Having the pitcher hit also makes the game more strategic and double switches are fun!

Lastly, some old farts still DHing just piss me off. Go retire already you fat slob! What is next DRs, or designated runners?

Posted by Steve DHing for the Tank.

The Yankees won seven in a row coming into Friday's game at the Stadium.  The Cincinnati Reds lost three game losing streak.

The Reds took a one run lead but the Yankees tied in the third.

Damon missed a ball in top of the fifth which was scored a double.  A sacrifice advanced the runner to third.  Griffey hit to right and Abreu's throw was on target but Molina just missed the runner's leg at home.  The Reds scored three runs and took a 4-1 lead.

Giambi flied out to start the fifth.  Cano singled to right.

Abreu grounded out to first.  A-Rod singled to center.  Matsui to right.  Giambino flew out to Death Valley.  A-rod tagged and went to third.  Cano singles to right center.  A-Rod scores.  Cabrera is out.  Reds 4 - Yankees 2. 

Moose was very impressive getting eight innings with 110 pitches.

Betemit almost hit it out to right center.  Darn it!

Traber pitched a nice 9th inning.  Maybe there is hope for setup men after Joba went to the starting rotation.

Abreu grounded out.  A-Rod lined out to second.  Matsui got an 0-2 count, took three balls, and then singled to left.  Yeah!  Will the winning streak be extended to eight games?  No, as Giambino grounded out to end the game.  Double darn!

Posted by a dejected Tank reporting live from Yankee Stadium in the Boogie Down Bronx.

Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open on the 91st hole in sudden death after a full 18 playoff holes on Monday.  Yes, that was amazing but he did it with a bad knee which everyone knew about his surgery after the Masters.  But, he also had a broken leg.  Amazing!

Tiger will be healing for the rest of the season.  Best wishes on getting back better than ever.

Posted by a encouraged Tank in NY.

Jerry Manuel earned is 501st win as a major league manager yesterday as the Mets did all the right thing. A come from behind, extra inning game where Jose Reyes had three hits and scratched out three runs, clutch hitting from David Wright, good pitching, and a home run from Carlos Delgado. The Mets take a series from the first place Angles 2 games to 1.

That was the good news. Now the Mets have to go in and finish off this road trip with the same level of play. If the Mets are to come back and take the Wild Card, they have to start playing like they did last night. Many the distractions are now gone and they can get back to playing baseball.

Posted by Steve in New York

It's hard to find a more painful 24 hours in sports than on Tuesday.  It started with the Mets firing Willie Randolph in the middle of the night, about 3:15 a.m. Eastern Time.  It ended with the Boston Celtics destroyed the LA Lakers 131-92 to win the NBA Finals.  I had predicted a Celtics Championship back on Halloween 2007 as part of the Boston Sports Apocalypse.  I don't like being wrong but wanted to be wrong about the Celtics because the future of the sports world and how the rest of the world may react to it.

What impact does the Boston Sports Apocalypse have on everyone else?  Mr. Met is frowning on the cover of the NY Post and that's even before Linda punches his lights out.  Steve is too depressed to write. The Yankees are dealing with Ching-Ming Wang's injury by signing on-the-wagon-again/off-the- wagon-again Sidney Ponson. 

You don't have to be Reverend Dr. Jack Van Impe to know where this is going.  Food riots.  Climate change.  Extreme heat and humidity.  Much of the Heartland is under water.  The US is about to bomb Iran.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed below 12,500 for the first time since Saint Patrick's Day.


Where Do We Go From Here:

(1) Without sports and personal repentance, we are doomed to more Boston sports championships as well as global pestilence, wars, famines, etc.

(2) If the Mets don't win this year, I will recommend that the Wilpons' fire Omar and hire Steve as the Mets next General Manager.  I know it will be difficult for Steve to be Vice President of the United States AND the Mets GM at the same time but I only need him in Washington for time breaking votes in the Senate.  If past travel patterns are indicative of the future, he'll spend most of his Vice Presidency and Mets General Managership in Pakistan, the Netherlands, or wherever you throw a dart on the map. 

You know what to do.  Pray to God/G-d/Allah/Buddha/etc for forgiveness and root for all Boston opponents.  The fate of the (sports) world lies in your hands and hearts.

Posted by a Repentant Tank at the edge of the Biblical Abyss.

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.