I met up again with the Professor yesterday to watch the Euro 2008 Final pitting Germany versus Spain.

Though Germany was the favorite, I liked Spain because I knew Ballack wasn't 100 percent.  I thought that Casillas is a better goalie than Lehmann.  The Professor disagreed but that's what makes sports and the world go around.

Torres' header went off the post in the 23rd minute.  Whoa!  So close!

Torres silenced the crowd in the 33rd minute.  What a goal past Lahm and Lehmann!  Spain 1 - Germany 0.

Ballack was bloodied in the 36th minute.  It takes a few minutes to patch him.  Ballack and Casillas were yellow carded in the 43rd minute.

Spain led 1-0 at half.

The Spainards tried to get too fancy on a back kick in the 54th minute.

Ballack missed in the 60th minute.

Casillas made a nice save on a cross in the 62nd minute.

Spain had nice chances in the 67th to 69th minutes.

Senna just missed in the 81st minute on a header cross.

Spain continued to attack as the Professor counseled.  They kicked the ball over the goal in the 86th minute.

A yellow on Kuranyi in the 88th minute.  He should have gotten it a few minutes sooner.

Spain wins 1-0.  Congratulations to Spain for winning their first major title in 44 years!  Quite coincidential for a country of 44 million people.

Football condolences to Germany fans such as Ronjon and Kai.

------------

On a light note, the Euro 2008 Program had the "Top 10 excuses for leaving work early" to watch Euro 2008 were awesome. 

(10) The gas company has to read my meter once a year and this was the only time they would come.

(9) I have to pick up my car from the garage, if I don't get there in half an hour it'll be locked up all weekend.

(8) I have to get my contact lenses fitted.

(7) I have a dentist/doctor/hospital appointment.

(6) My kids are locked outside.

(5) I have to take my dog to the vet and they close early today.

(4) My son/daughter is competing in the school sports day.

(3) I have to go to the airport to pick up my mother.

(2) The couch I ordered umpteen weeks ago has arrived and this was the only time they could deliver it.

(1) I need to give blood.


    My personal favorite was Nick's from Aussie Rod's party.  He put "International Roundball Appreciation Meeting" in his office calendar.  Some co-workers were invited to nearby pubs, others were not. 

Posted by The Tank in Football Heaven.  Only two more years to the World Cup.  Woooo!

After a frustrating 3-2 loss yesterday where Johan Santana pitched well and gave up three runs over six innings, Johan called out his team saying that “All I can say is that I am doing my job. Other than that, there’s nothing else I can do. I can’t go out there and do the things that my teammates have to do.”

While Johan has a point (and it is frustrating to see him drop to 7-7 and have one of the best ERAs in the league, he continually loses games 2-1, 3-2), Johan can also be part of the solution and rally his teammates in the clubhouse, on the bench, and in the media.

The Mets have fallen apart and are airing their dirty laundry in the media. Time for the Wilpons to clean house and fire Omar, trade some players and start with a clean slate.

The Yankees and Mets played a two stadium doubleheader yesterday.  The Mets won the first game 15-6 at the Stadium during the day.  The Yankees returned the nine run favor and won 9-0 at Shea in the night cap.  Linda's text claimed that she jinxed the Mets.  I asked her if Sidney Ponson really pitching on the mound  Wow!  Best wishes for a speedy recovery from his personal and baseball issues.

I had tickets to both games but, of course, could not make it because of my high school reunion in beautiful Upstate New York (AKA "Appalachia" according to former Governor Spitzer).  It was great catching up with Ronjon, Oak, Bilbo, and the rest of the class.  Two thirds of our class started kindergarten together in 1975 and graduated high school in 1988.  Wow!  You don't see that too often.

Posted by The Tank on the road "Back to the Future" from beautiful Upstate New York returning to the greatest city in the world, New York.

The annual subway series will be played out today with a Yankee Stadium-Shea Stadium double header tonight and two games at Shea Stadium this weekend. The Mets enter the double header with a 2-0 series lead this year.

Both teams need to start playing better and this series, even if it ends 2-2 could be a spark for both clubs since each game is a "big game" of playoff style capacity and most star players A-Rod, Reyes, etc, and even some mediocre ones (Oliver Perez) bring their A games to the subway series.You always get good baseball at these games. Hopefully the energy can propel both teams to winning streaks that build momentum to the all-star break.

Posted by Steve in New York

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.

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.

The Boston Celtics unfortunately took Game 1 of the NBA Finals last night against the LA Lakers in Boston.

They were led by veteran Paul Pierce who was injured in the third quarter.  With shades of Willis Reed limping onto the Garden floor in 1970, Pierce returned to the roar of the crowd.  Laker Coach Phil Jackson wisely took a timeout to try to stop the momentum.  But, Pierce hit three point shots including a four point play after being fouled by Vladimir Radmanovic.

Pierce finished with 22 points and the Celtics won 98-88.

I don't hate Pierce nor KG or Ray Allen for that matter.  I must root for the Lakers because I became a fan in the 1980s.  (I met former Lakers Magic Johnson and Vlade Divac in July 1991 and February 2002, respectively.).  Though I predicted a Celtics NBA Championship before the beginning of the season, I want the Lakers to win and the Celtics to lose as to prevent the Boston Sports Apocalypse. 

If you think Patriots and Red Sox fans are obnoxious, the Celtics fans will be much worse because they haven't won in a long time.  Celtics fans may not know what to do with themselves and may even totally destroy the beautiful city of Boston if the Celtics win.  The fate of Boston, the sports world, and the rest of the world relies on your prayers and the Lakers to prevent the Boston Sports Apocalypse.

Posted by a concerned Tank in NY.

 

It is reported the construction of Citi  Field have been nearly completed. The dimensions are also there, shown with paint on the outfield walls. It is:

Right Field: 330

Dead Center: 408

Left-Center (14+ foot high wall to get Santana's home runs down?): 379

Left Field: 335

Posted by Steve in Orlando.

Pedro Martinez looked good last night, going 6 innings and scattering 7 hits and 3 runs, walking 3 and striking out 3 to earn a win in his first start coming off the DL. This is a short in the arm for the Mets, who are more and more worried about 1/3 of an inning Oliver Perez. Pedro threw 109 pitches and struggled some times but was solid.

Pedro said: “I’m thankful to be back. I hope I can stay a little longer. It was a while back (the last outing), especially with all the distractions I had off the field, which made it even tougher. … I still feel like every time I’m given the ball I have the same responsibility, to set an example.”

Joba Chamberlain, lasted only 2.1 innings and allowed 4 walks, 1 hit and 2 runs (only 1 earned) while throwing 62 pitches. While the first pitch was 101 mph, the entire performance that bad but under whelming. In a sign that he was rushed into this role, Joba threw his mitt at the doughout wall when he was pulled from the game.

Joba said: “It didn’t go very good.I wanted to get my team a lot deeper into the game. Gotta be better, that’s for sure.”

Posted by Steve in Orlando

One of the greatest songs of all time, "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey, was playing over the loudspeakers as the Detroit Red Wings were winning 3-2 in the last minute of the third period against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Red Wings were in line to win their third Stanley Cup in 11 years.

But, the Penguins' Talbot tied to it with 31.3 seconds remaining.

Wow!  Talbot took all the air out of the Joe Louis Arena.  The alternating cheers of "We want the Cup" and Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" lyrics "...Born and Raised South Detroit..." stopped immediately.

Hockey may NOT get as much attention as it deserves but it has the best playoff format, sudden death overtime.  One shot, one mistake is the difference between raising the Cup for Detroit or extending the series to a sixth game to Pittsburgh.

After a brief intermission, Detroit was better rested as Pittsburgh had to expend lots of energy to tie the game.

Detroit had the most shots in the first overtime period but Fleury was equal to the task.  The Red Wings outshot the Penguins by almost two to one for the game.

The Penguins had a man advantage early in the second overtime but the Red Wings killed the penalty.

One of the TV announcers granted permission to his 11 and 13 year old children to stay up late as the game was over 100 minutes long.

Detroit's made a critical mistake as Hudler hit Skadery in the mouth for a four minute penalty with about ten minutes left in the third overtime.

Sykora pulled a Babe Ruth and told one of the TV announcers that he would score the winning goal.  True to his word, Sykora put the puck past Osgood to win the game and send the series back to Pittsburgh.

Posted by a Tired Tank in NY.

Tomorrow is a big day in New York pitching starting rotations. Joba Chamberlain, who has not started a single game in the minors in preparation for tuesday, is starting. Is he going to cut it? Will the Yankee's bullpen lose its oomf?

Pedro Martinez makes his return from the DL for the Mets tomorrow. Can he last the remainder of the year without stubbing his toe, hurting himself in his sleep, or falling down the stairs?

New York is waiting. Steve and the Tank's predictions? Both will be under whelming. But both will provide a boost to ailing teams.

 

Posted by Steve in Orlando. (And the talk of the town are "Are the Rays for real?")

The Mets failed us last year. That was their fault. Today on June 1, they stand at .500, playing at a subpar level, but hanging in there just a few behind the Phillies in the loss column, despite a significant amount of injuries.

The Mets have disappointed us so we went for blood. First we said fire Willie. I say fire the fans and media. The fans and the media are the a large reason for the recent "distractions."

So the Mets had a bad week after beating the Yankees two weeks ago. Ok, they had a bad 2 weeks. Did the Wilpons call for Willie's head? No. Did Omar call for Willie's head? No. Did the fans and media? Yes. The Talk Shows? Yes. The Mets players, management, or ownership? No?

Twice this week you can see the effect the media had. David Wright said after the 12th inning come from behind game: "The off the field distractions are now behind us." Carlos Beltran said that he was happy to hear that "Willie is our manager." And that the "distractions are now behind us."

So while the players are to blame for the poor play, the fans, and their evil enabler, the media, are to blame for the "distractions."

Posted by Steve in New York