The Giants went into last night's game in Cleveland on top of the world as the undefeated World Champions at 4-0.  Cleveland was coming off a bye week at 1-3.  Their excellent coach, Romeo Crennel, job was on the line. 

Translation: The Browns were due for a win and the Giants were due for a loss, especially since it was the first Monday night game in Cleveland since 1995.

The Browns won 35-14.  A key play was made by a friend of the blog, Braylon Edwards, who I met at last year's NFL Draft.  Braylon caught an 11 yard touchdown pass to put the Browns up 27-14 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.  Braylon and I are pictured below.

Yes, Tennessee is undefeated at 5-0.  But, New England has lost Tom Brady for the season and San Diego and Indianapolis are not as good as I and others thought.  At 2-3, the Browns' season is not lost and have a chance to make the playoffs.  The Giants better hope that Browns stay hot and do a favor of beating the Redskins on Sunday.  In sports, anything can happen. 

Posted by The Tank in NY.

The Tampa Rays routed the Red Sox 9-1 this afternoon at Fenway Park this afternoon.  This is huge because the Red Sox are tough at home AND the Rays took a 2 games to 1 lead over the Red Sox. 

As I write this post, the Dodgers have 5-3 lead on the Phillies.  The Phillies have a 2 games to 1 lead over the Dodgers.  Last night's game featured a benches clearing incident which resulted in fines for seven players and coaches.  Manny was held back from a fight.  Nothing unifies a team like a fight and Manny may have increased his value in Mannywood, I mean Hollywood. 

Posted by The Tank in NY.

It hasn't been easy but I am getting back into football.  I watched parts of some good college games yesterday including #5 Texas beat #1 Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry, North Carolina beating Notre Dame in a barn burner, and then Florida beat up on defending national champion LSU in the night cap.

I watched the Jets beat the winless Bengals today which was a solid win.  But what really got me going was Matt Schaub running into the end zone to beat the Dolphins with about 3 seconds in regulation.  A quarterback draw to win the game.  Yeah, that's football!  Though I kind of felt bad for a dejected Chad Pennington on the sideline but not too bad because the Dolphins are an arch-rival and my brother-in-law's team. 

I needed that to get out of my two week plus baseball funk. 

Posted by an energized Tank in NY.

Due a sharp hamstring pain last Saturday morning, I passed on running Greta Gallop's, the half marathon honoring nine time NYC Marathon Women's Champion and cancer survivor Greta Waitz.  It pained me because of the hamstring pain itself.  More importantly, I am running for cancer research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in honor of Greta.  (We are pictured below after last year's Greta's Gallop.) 

However, I erred on the sign of caution and signed up for this morning's 20 mile Running Center training run.  I started running (not racing) at a good pace, touch wood.  After we finished the first loop of the reservoir, one of my fellow runners shouts "Howard Stern!"  I thought she was listening to a recording on her iPod of previous Howard show.  Nope, it was the real guy running with a blue running head band.

Howard was unfortunately running in the other direction.  We missed an opportunity to talk and see if I could guest host for him. 

Congratulations to Howard for his recent wedding with Beth Ostrovsky!  Good luck to Beth who will be joining me (touch wood) and about 38,000+ of our closest running friends in the NYC Marathon three weeks from tomorrow!

You know I always want to meet celebrities like Howard Stern.  However, I'm focused on the run against cancer.  Please sponsor me below at this fundraising permalink OR copy and paste the link below into a browser:

https://fredsteam.mskcc.org/fundraising/Controller?action=userHome&user_id=35640&event_id=113

Many thanks in advance for your support in these difficult economic times for a great cause.

Posted by a grateful Tank running against cancer in Central Park.

I'm not quoting Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in her recent Vice Presidential debate against Senator Joe Biden.  But, the old adage is directed at former Yankee and current Dodger manager Joe Torre.

The Dodgers have fallen behind the Phillies 2-0 in their best of seven NLCS.  To their credit, the Phillies defended home field advantage.  The Dodgers need to go home and defend their turf.  We'll see what happens. 

Posted by a somewhat apathetic Tank in NY.  I'm still not yet totally ready for football, hockey, and basketball.

I joined Aussie Rod and hundreds of my closest fellow Aussie citizens for the Aussie Rules Grand Final, AKA the Australian Football Super Bowl.  (BTW, I hold honorary Aussie, Canadian, Dominican, Kiwi, and Puerto Rican citizenships.)  We gathered at BowlMor Lanes in the Village on Friday night on late Friday, September 26, 2008.  JH unfortunately can't make it but is with us in spirit. 

I love baseball, football (soccer), basketball, hockey, and other sports but Aussie Rules is my favorite sport.  It's my favorite because it basically combines the best of "hot potato" and "kill the guy with the ball".  You have to bounce the ball and then pass it to another guy within three steps.  Seriously, it combines the athleticism of football (soccer) with the team work of rugby without the injuries caused by American football's metal helmets. 

Aussie Rules is a fast moving game with 4 quarters of 20 minutes of moving time.  It's a high scoring game where six points are awarded for a goal (like a touchdown in American football), one point for a behind (like an extra point in American football), and you add them together.  Therefore, if you see 13 + 15 = 93 points, it is 78 points for the goals (13 times 6) + 15 (15 one points for behinds) = 93 points.  You'll often see points in the high double digits or low triple digits.  

Back to tonight's action.  Geelong was the defending champion after winning their first title in 44 years last year.  Hawthorne was the second seeded team.  The game was close in the first half but Hawthorne pulled away in the second half.

To get in the spirit of the game, I impersonated one of the umpires who signals a goal.  (I just came from the Mets loss at Shea to the Marlins so I wasn't in the best of moods.)
 

Hawthorne won the game 115 - 89.  Congratulations to Hawthorne for winning the Grand Final! 



Mega thanks to Aussie Rod for the invitation! 

To learn more about the world's best sport, Aussie Rules Football, please check out the NY Magpies Australian Football Club website for rules, schedules, and other fun information. 

Posted by The Tank reporting live from BowlMor Lanes in the Village. 

The MLB post-season has witnessed a perfect storm for the New York baseball fan. 

(1) The Yankees and Mets didn't make the playoffs.

(2) Arch-rivals like the Red Sox, Phillies, and Dodgers remain.  How can you root for those teams?

(3) That only leaves the Tampa Rays.  Though I like Manager Joe Madden and many of the players, it's hard to root for the Rays given my friend Robert's personal row with the owners after the 2007 season and the poor customer service he has received over the years. 

I have attended several Rays games over the years since 2002 including Mariano's 300th save in May 2004.  Most fans are fans of out of town teams like the Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles, etc.  It's so bad that Rays players complain that there are more fans of other teams than the Rays fans in their building, Tropicana Field.  Maybe success in this post-season will change this trend in future years. 

Who Should The Tank Root For: I really can't root for any of the teams but the Rays are the least odious.  In the meantime, I am trying to transition into football, basketball, and hockey. 

Posted by a conflicted Tank in NY.

ESPN 1050 reported that Mariano Rivera thankfully had successful shoulder surgery earlier today.  He can't pitch for three months but will hopefully be ready by the beginning of the season, God Willing. 

The Yankees should play it safe by keeping Joba as a reliever.  He should be Mariano's successor a few years down the line anyway.  The biggest factors will be Andy and/or Moose return, what happens with Hughes/Kennedy/etc, and who the Yankees are able to get in free agency.

Across town, the Mets MUST break the bank to get K-Rod or someone of comparable talent.  The good news for the Mets is that K-Rod is done pitching for the season as the Angels lost to the Red Sox in four games.  If Omar doesn't sign K-Rod, Steve must replace him ASAP.  It will be time for Coup d'Omar.

Posted by The Tank in NY.

Yesterday's post took me to Monument Park.  We were hustled along the third baseline to the dugout. 

What a view of the field!  Incredible! 

Home Plate behind me




I go to the dugout to view the field from the players and managers perspective starting with Derek Jeter's spot on the top step.




Chilling in the dugout.




I wanted to make a pitching change but the bullpen phone was locked. 




Richie the Tour Guide answered our questions.




I finally made it from the Bleachers to the seats right by the dugout. 




We had a group photo with new photos to capture the memories forever.




Time for a photo with the 21st Century Thurman Munson and Reggie Jackson. 




As I left the Stadium, I went to buy a "Yankee Universe" t-shirt which symbolizes the Yankees partnership with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.  To sponsor me in the 2008 NYC and 2009 North Pole Marathon fundraiser for cancer research at Sloan-Kettering, please visit the following fundraising link -- many thanks in advance.

Outside the Stadium, autograph seekers waited for hours like this gentleman below to get players' autographs.  Judging by his jersey, he has met several Yankees over the years. 




Before I left the Stadium for good, I got some final souvenirs of plaster and real authentic Stadium dirt stored in the plastic bag.




Posted by an emotional Tank reporting live from Yankee Stadium in the Boogie Down Bronx.