Tom (The Tank) has already landed in Hong Kong and I finished up packing my gear and stuff for the trek to Mt. Everest Base Camp. I leave tomorrow and travel to India and the entire team meets in Kathmandu on Wednesday. This is the first time I am the leader of an international trek of this kind. It was hard work but a lot of fun. Let me give you some behind the scenes information.

Our team is made up of some of my closest friends and I designed this trip almost a year ago. Actually I have been planning this trip since the last time I was at Everest. Here is the team:

• Richard Campbell (Canada)
• Tom Howe (USA)
• Mychal Howe (USA)
• Gautam Gujral (USA)
• Remi Caron (Netherlands)
• Joel Semeniuk (Canada)
• Rod Giesbrecht (Canada)
• Vasseto Terziev (Bulgaria)
• Linda Varoli (USA)
• Tom (the Tank) Djurdjevich (USA)

Some old Sherpa buddies helped me out on the Nepal side, but I planned out a great trip based on my previous visits to Nepal. I wanted to start the trek with a flight to Lukla on Friday (Sept 5th) so I wanted everyone to arrive in Asia on Tuesday (Sept 2) and Kathmandu on Wednesday (Sept 3). This is really for two reasons, one is to get everyone here on time with some extra wiggle room due to the crazy airlines canceling flights (which did happen to 5 of us!) and second is that I can do a gear check on Wednesday so we can buy any missing supplies in Kathmandu on Thursday before we fly.

Here is the trek schedule that we have posted on this blog before. It is different than most Everest Base Camp treks insofar as I have planned a lot of extra time in the schedule to accommodate flight delays (in and out of Kathmandu) and bad weather, which there is a lot of.

Sept 5: Fly to Lukla. Lukla (9,000’) to Phakding (9,500’) Overnight at Phakding

For starters we fly to Lukla on Friday, this can be a problem since there are no lights in Lukla and it gets fogged in a lot. There is a 50% chance that we won't fly on Friday and have to fly on Saturday, or worse on Sunday! So if all goes well we will stay in Phakding and acclimate, if our flights are late we will head straight to Namche Bizarre from Lukla.

Sept 6: Phakding (9,500’) to Namche Bizarre (11,500’) Overnight in Namche

Sept 7: Acclimation day in Namche Bizarre (11,500’) Overnight in Namche

It is very important to rest in Namche and see how we are doing with the altitude. At this point altitude is usually not a problem with anyone. That is why it is very safe to build up the red blood cells here.

Sept 8: Namche (11,500’) to Pangboche (12,700’) Overnight at Pangboche

First spot where altitude can start to be a problem. Hopefully the extra night at Namche worked.

Sept 9: Pangboche (12,700’) to Pheriche (14,000’) Overnight in Pheriche

Sept 10: Acclimation day in Pheriche (14,000’) Overnight in Pheriche

Pheriche is higher than any point in the lower 48 states of the USA and all of Western Europe. We spend an extra day here

Sept 11: Pheriche (14,000’) to Loboche (16,000’) Overnight in Loboche

Sept 12: Loboche (16,000’) to Gorak Shep (16,800’) Overnight in Gorak Shep

This is when people will start to feel bad. That is why the next two days are very different than most treks to Everest.

Sept 13: Visit Everest Base Camp (17,400’). Overnight in Gorak Shep

Sept 14: Summit Kala Pattar (18,700’) Gorak Shep (16,800’) to Loboche (16,000’) Overnight in Loboche

The 13th or 14th (or 14th and 15th if we are day behind) we visit base camp as well as climb a nice high mountain Kala Pattar. Most treks do both in the same day, get up early, climb Kala Pattar and then come down and go to base camp. We will split this into two days since if there is bad weather we will go to base camp (since there is not much to see) and use the good weather day for the views from on top of Kala Pattar. If we are two days behind schedule we will do both in one day. This gives us tons of flexibility.

Sept 15: Loboche (16,000’) to Kumjum (12,500’) Overnight in Kumjum

If we are stuck behind again, we can go straight to Namche.

Sept 16: Kumjum (12,500’) to Namche (11,500’) Overnight in Namche

Sept 17: Namche (11,500’) to Lukla (9,000’) overnight in Lukla

Sept 18: Fly to Katmandu (weather permitting) Overnight at Katmandu

 

What is critical to me is that we put in extra days in Phakding and Gorak Shep for acclimation and rest as well as to give us wiggle room if someone gets sick or if there is bad weather.

What happens if someone gets altitude sickness (or if the Tank has blackberry withdrawal and we decide to leave him in Namche?) No problem, Namche is our hub, so if someone gets sick or tired, or does not want to continue, we'll take them to Namche and a sherpa will wait with them until we return. At absolute worst they will have to wait a week for us. Most likely what will happen is that if someone gets sick it will be at Loboche or Gorak Shep. So we will send them down to Pheriche to wait for us to come pick them up in a few days.

This is our trek. We will try to blog every day from now until September 21st when we come home. Most days on the trek we will not have coverage or Internet, so if we can get the sat phone to work perma-guest Jack will post for us via our messages on the sat phone.

Posted by Steve in New York

I got to the US Open at about 6pm, quickly scalped some tickets, and went straight to the back courts to watch the unseeded player play. Caught a female match where we sat in the first row, then a men's match, and then some mixed doubles. After a rain delay and the day sessions going over, around 8pm we went into the stadium to watch Marion Bartoli defeat Lindsay Davenport 6-1, 7-6 (3), earning Bartoli her first win in her first match in center court at the USTA.

The headline event was 26 year old Andy Roddick vs Ernests Gulbis, a 19-year-old from Latvia. Gulbis comes out with a cannon, acing and winning fast, taking the first three games in about 11 minutes. After about 25 minutes Roddick did manage to win a few games, but Gulbis won the first set.

Then something happened. The clock struck midnight and *both* Roddick and Gulbis were celebrating their birthdays. Roddick 27 and Gulbis 20. Experience mattered and Roddick went on to win in 4 sets.

ESPN reports that Roddick is washed up. Younger players are passing him by and it is only a matter of time before young kids like Gulbis give him a scare and defeat him in early rounds.

Posted by Steve from New York

As posted Live! by Jack:

12:15pm and I've just boarded a Yankee bound 4 train at Bowling Green for what may very well be the last ever meeting of the Red Sox and Yankees at the House that Ruth built. With the way the Yanks are playing it probably will be.

I had to put in some long days at work to ensure I could take off today, the 2nd to last sales day for August (I'm a sales systems engineer for a Telecom) but how could I miss this? Especially since I'm meeting my Dad when I get there. The enormity of the closing of Yankee Stadium is setting in and I'm actually getting choked up as I type this.

For my Dad it may be more so since he's been going to Yankee since the late 40s or early 50s. He used to cut school to go with his brothers to the original Yankee.

Regardless of if the Bombers can pull off a win to avoid the sweep to the Boston sports machine or they look like little leaguers again, I will be in the sun with my Dad. The man who raised my brother and I to bleed Yankee blue. The man who still has his Mickey Mantle clippings in a folder somewhere. Priceless man. Absolutely priceless. Its what makes baseball great. Fathers and sons.

Go Yankees. Keep the faith! We've pulled off miracles before and maybe the departed. Greats can smile down on us for a few weeks till the closing curtain at the Cathedral.

 

2:33pm

Olympian Jason Kidd is in attendance.
Moose is at 69 pitches thru 4 and 2/3 innings but we are down 2 0.
Too many Sox fans here. Its sickening.

3:11pm

A-rod continues to be unproductive. Can't even sac fly a runner over. And again bottom of the 6th we leave 2 runners on. They were on with no outs. At least Abreu sac'd Damon to 3rd.

3:25pm

Moose 112 through 7 complete including a self fedencr 3rd out snag to end the top of the 7th.
Still 2 0 sawx.
Ronan Tynan singing god bless America

3:40pm

Cody ransom doubles then The stache rockets a 2 out 2 run homer to dead center. All tied up.

3:57pm

Bruney comes out for the 8th and gets pedroia to fly out. Marte comes in to face Ortiz. Cano playing shallow right center. Perfectly placed to field a hard liner and throw little pee pee out. 2 out. Mo comes in and gets youlkis to pop to center.
Bottom 8 now. Jeter is 3 for 3 (half of the Yankees 6 guys!) and leads off. Drives one to left center and is robbed of his 4th hit by a great diving catch from Jacoby Ellsbury. 1 away.

4:00pm

Abreu flies to left with Jacoby Ellsbury again Making the play. Long run too.
Pitching change. Justin Masterson replaces Hideki Okajima.

4:02pm

2 outs non on and 0-3 rod is up. Fear!

Just call him K-rod. I mean come on at least lean into the pitch and take one for the team. Baylor and Balboni did it all the time.

4:14pm

Bay hits a Soft grounder to jeter who throws it wide pulling giambi off the bag. E6.
Kotsay flies out to the right field warning track.
Lowrie grounds to giambi on a tough play. Bay to 2nd.
Cora grounds out to 3rd.

4:18pm

Bottom 9th. The Xman is up and rips one just foul down the left field line. Full count and he nails one up the middle. Gardner in to run.

4:21pm

Cano rockets one to lowrie. Godzilla up.
Gardner steals 2nd. 1 out

4:25pm

They intentionally walk Godzilla. 2 on 1 out pudge is up.
Pudge walks. Bases loaded. Giambi is up. How many walk offs does he have?

4:29pm

Sawx bring in an over rated reliever.
Bases loaded 1 out.
GIAMBI WALK OFF SINGLE! Yankees win this historic game in classic fashion!

Posted by Jack LIVE! At the House the Ruth Built

The Tank finally met boyhood idol Joe Namath almost a year ago, Friday, September 7, 2007.  I didn't post it for a long time because I've been busy with work, looking for work, and working on Jets closure.

Joe Namath is why I used to root for the Jets.  This is the final part of my Jets closure. 

Posted by a grateful Tank on the ESPN 1050 Jets Cruise cruising around Manhattan.

Tonight is the beginning of the final Yankees-Red Sox series at the Stadium.   Tomorrow night maybe my final visit as I am not exactly sure when I'll be back from Everest Base Camp.  BTW, Bob Seger's "I'm going to Kathmandu" played on Q104.3 this morning.  Coincidence, I think not. 

LI Mike is scheduled to join me for the game.  I hope to see JR and other friends there.   I don't know if I'll be able to write as I'll be pretty revved and choked up.   It's hard to say goodbye to a big part of my life.  Many great memories over the years with Otto (Jeter diving into the stands game four years ago), JH, Super Twin Gil, Medford Bob, Bay Ridge Bob, Rochester/CFA Mike, Howard, Ronjon, Linda, Score's Mike, "Diamond Dave", Jimbo, the real Dominican Luis, Anna, Nicholas, and apologies to anyone else who I may have forgotten.  Steve, Kathleen, Jack, and I witnessed the All Star Game finale.  What a classic!

If the Yankees are to make the playoffs, the Yankees really need a sweep and then 2 out of 3 at Fenway on the final weekend of the season.  If the Yankees go 27-7 as we did in 1995 to make the playoffs, we can make the playoffs.  There are six head-to-head games with the Red Sox and Rays and four against the White Sox.   Nina from Deep Water Running doesn't have much faith and asked me to reinforce it last night.  Life is never easy but you have to take chances and believe in your team, yourself, and  God/G-d/Allah/Buddha/Creator/etc.  Fight the good fight and let the chips fall where they may.

Posted by The Tank Keeping the Faith at the Baseball Cathedral, Yankee Stadium, in the Boogie Down Bronx.

Tank's Notes: Editor In Chief and PermaGuest Outlaw Jack traveled to Baltimore on Sunday with Adam and his son Chris.  Jack is a true rebel, especially against the inhospitable Baltimore hosts try to tell him what to do.

Adam and Chris wait in center field for a home run. 



Without further ado, I turn it over to Jack.

I took the notes on the first trip through the Yankees batting order on Adam's iPhone as my Blackberry was out of juice.  (Jack is awesome at sending The Tank Blackberry Pin messages.  It helped get me through the Yankees 1-0 victory at Fenway when I went home for Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Weekend.)

It was a beautiful day for the drive down to Charm City. Pretty much 3 hours door to door.

We parked at the Marriott hotel just down the block from the Oriole Park on Eutaw Street and wandered to the gates to what seemed like a Yankee Home game. The crowd filing in past the statue of the Babe, had to be 85% Yankee fans. The rest of the crowd seemed to be fans of just about every other team in the majors and a few minors.  As usual there was a pitiful turn out of Oriole faithful.  (The Tank can attest to this as John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman noted the same thing on the radio broadcast.  It is so bad that 40 percent of the Orioles attendance comes during Yankees and Red Sox series.  40 percent of entire attendance is from 18 Yankee/Red Sox games out of the 81 home dates or about 22 percent.  Just sad I tell you.) 

The smoke and the smell of Boog's BBQ was enticing but the lines in that 90F heat at the start of the game had us seeking the refuge of our seats, which turned out to be in the sun for the first half of the game.

It's been a while since I was at Oriole Park and I'd forgotten that the O's fans (what seemed like 2 or 3 thousand who actually showed up) shout "OH" at every "O" or "O'er" of the Star Spangled Banner.

Onto the game itself, Damon bloops one to 3rd.  Jeter nails a frozen rope right to 3rd. 2 Out.  Bobby "Clutch" Abreu lines single to right.  The major Giambi shift is on and he lines one right to Kevin Millar who was playing about 8' into the Right Field Grass. Would have been over his head had he been playing a normal 1st.  Giambi needs to learn to go the opposite way.

In the Oriole half of the first, Rasner gives up a 2 out homer to Melvin Mora.  Aubrey Hugg goes Back to Back with Mora.  2-0 Birds.  Millar singles but thankfully Lou Montanez makes the 3rd out.

Nady singles to start the second.  (The Tank is the founder of the Xavier Nady Fan Club.)  Matsui walks. Cano lines a 3-1 pitch to right.  Nady scores.  Matsui to 3rd.  Cano at 2nd.  No outs.  Pudge rockets a 3-1 to right for the first out.  (BTW, JR from Deep Water Running ran into Pudge at the Brooklyn Diner in the City on late Sunday evening.  It's hard to escape the crack team of SteveAndTheTank.com reporters.)  Daniel Cabrera is at 43 pitches as Damon sneaks a 3-run homer around the right field pole.  4-2 Yankees.  Jeter out on a 6-3.  2 Outs.  Abreu walked.  The Tank's buddy A-Rod pops out ending the rally as usual over the past month.  (BTW, Nina from Deep Water Running prays that A-Rod gets beaned when he's at bat but doesn't get injured.  She just doesn't want him hitting into an inning ending double play.)

It's hot.  There were lots and lots of Yankee chants on a beautiful day.   It was an untimely but exciting 4 hour 1 minute game with some late inning nail biting drama.  (Justice prevailed with an 8-7 Yankee victory.)  It was a not-so wonderful 6+ hour drive home on I-95 thanks to construction and several accidents.  We thankfully jumped off the NJ Turnpike at 7A and managed to find side roads to bypass what would have made it an 8 hour ride.

Written by Editor in Chief and Perma Guest Outlaw Jack reporting live from Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland.  Photos by Adam and his son Chris.  Edited by The Tank.

Yesterday was circled on my calendar for many weeks, the date of Saturday August 23rd, 2008 would be the last time I ever step foot on my most sacred and hallowed ground: Shea Stadium. With my upcoming trip to Mt. Everest taking taking me away for all of September and the playoffs no guarantee (and my crazy travel schedule to Europe in October for work), this would be my last visit to Shea Stadium in my life. I estimate that I have been to Shea almost 1,000 times, my estimates:

1977-1981: (year of the strike): Approximately 5 games a year (including Jets games): 25 visits

1982-1987: (a boy's prime baseball years, I was 10-15 and lived 2.5 miles away from Shea): Approximately 25 games a year: 150 visits

1988-1994: Employee of New York Mets/Harry M. Stevens as a Stadium Vendor: Approximately 80 events a year (games, employee parties, religious ceremonies, concerts, playoffs): 560 visits

1995: No Visits (Boycotting the strike of 1994)

1996-2008: Average of 6 games a year: 78 visits

Ok that is approximately 813 times. But when I was a kid Shea would open up to the public in the winter and you could go sleigh riding and cross country skiing for free. I would often go with my dad or best friend Billy. As an adult I would also run the NY Road Runners "Run to Home Plate" (with the Tank) 5K run. So Let's say 850. I round up, 1,000 sounds better.

My Grandfather took me to my first Mets game on Memorial Day, 1977-May 30th for a double header against the Montreal Expos. The Mets lost both games (game 2 box score). My dad took me to my first Jets game at Shea Nov 23rd, 1980, a 31-28 OT win over the Houston Oilers. (And we sat next to a bunch of Oilers fans and they bought me a Jets hat to shut me up! I was always loud and annoying.)

Yesterday got off to a bad start. Kathleen had no idea where our tickets were! We had to go on StubHub and get tickets last minute. We got to Shea on time only to find out that a water bottle leaked in Kathleen's pocketbook and killed her iPod and such. Not a good omen. I felt a loss in my bones, I have witnessed far more losses (mostly from 1977-1983) than wins as a fan in the early years. (Come on my first visit was a double header loss!)

The Mets lost 8-3 last night. It was an ok game, the game was fast paced and the Mets did not give up, making it interesting in the bottom of the 8th inning. I kept telling stories of vending, going to games in 1986, what sections I worked during the Rolling Stones concerts.

Shea holds many memories for me like watching the Jets with my Dad and watching the Mets with my late Grandfather. It was also the venue of my first job, a job that made me rebel against "normal" jobs and lead to a life of enterpreunship. I witnessed some amazing playoff games in 1986, 1988, 1999, 2000, and 2006. Even saw some great Jet games (some great come from behind games with Richard Todd!). I always go between Game 6 and the 1980 US Hockey game vs USSR as the best sporting event of my life.Game 6 is forever part of my life and Endy's catch in 2006 (the other (bad) Game 6) is something I will tell my grandchildren about.

As a lifelong Mets fan, I have wanted to tear the place down since about 1992, once the new stadiums started going up. I got my dream a few years ago with the agreement to build CitiField.The new place looks great, it will make a great home for the Mets. I can't wait to go to a few games there.

At 9:54 pm, I looked at my cell phone for the time, paused, and then walked over the threshold at Gate C, exiting the stadium for my very last time. Kathleen just rolled her eyes, but a huge chapter of my life just closed.

So long and thanks for the memories. We'll miss you William A. Shea Municipal Stadium.

Posted by Steve (with a tear in my eye) in New York

The US has more medals overall and China has the most Golds. Here is the current medal count as of close of activities on Saturday (from ESPN):

 

 

Most mainstream events are over but some goodies are on the deck for tomorrow (China time):

Men's Marathon

Men's Basketball (USA v Spain)

Allegations have dogged the Chinese Olympic Women's Gymnastics team about the age of its athletes.  You have to be at least 16 years old by January 1, 2009 to compete in this Olympics in the Gymnastics events.

Online records as well as media reports by the Chinese government's news agency, Xinhua, seem to suggest that Chinese (Gold winning) gymnast He Kexin may be as young as 14. Her birth certificate is alleged to say January 1, 1994, but her passport is suppose to say January 1, 1992. She responded:

"I was born in 1992, and I'm 16 years old now," He said. "The FIG has proved that. If I'm under 16, I couldn't have been competing here."

So if the teams are cheating, and if the judges are cheating (thankfully no scandals *this* year), then why not introduce Internet voting as the last judge? Longtime reader Bill in Vermont says that there will be fraud, but apparently there is already fraud in Gymnastics. That said, having built Internet voting for Zagat in the .com era, I know how to build a voting system that counters fraud. The IOC can just hire my old team. More people buy Zagat books than watch Gymnastics anyway...

Posted by Steve in New York

While the Mets have not put an exact date or timeline on Wagner's return, initial estimates are now 3 more weeks. After Johan Santana pitched a complete game shutout earlier this week, Mike Pelfrey pitched a complete game 3 hitter last night against the Braves.

What should the Mets do? September 1 is not too far away and they can get by with relief pitching until Wagner gets back. But the team will have to count on its starters going 7+ innings. What happens if Wagner can't make it and the Mets make the playoffs? go with a four man rotation and make one of your starters your closer. I nominate Pedro.

Posted by Steve in New York

As of now (Thursday morning China time) Michael Phelps has more metals than all but 8 countries. How amazing is that? Phelps has almost 30% of US Gold Metals.

Also, China has more Golds than the US, but the US has more metals overall. A great Olympics!

--Source ESPN

Yesterday we saw two very strange things in Women's Gymnastics. The first was a Chinese woman doing a routine and then not landing on her legs, she landed on her knees. Other competitors landed perfectly and according to the TV announcers, who were Gymnastics coaches in the past, were "ripped off" and scored lower.

We also saw a Chinese girl score the exact same number as an American girl and the Chinese was awarded the Gold by the computer, the American the Silver.

Once again the experts on TV were not sure how to deal with it. They all agreed that the American deserved a higher score in the first place, but could not explain the tie going to the Chinese.

I ask, why is Gymnastics in the Olympics? If the experts can't agree and the judges are too subjective, you should remove it from the games. Or at least give a vote to the audience via the Internet.

While loyal reader Bill in VT says that internet voting could lead to fraud, I just remind you about previous Olympics where judges were paid to put certain figure skaters in the lead.

Bring on the internet. The All Star Game has it. Time for the Olympics to get on board.

It is our job here at Steve and the Tank to report the (sporting) news. In two weeks we will be making the news. Both Steve and Tom (the Tank) will be leaving for a trek to Mt. Everest Base Camp. The Tank leaves next week and I leave two week from today and we all meet in Kathmandu on Sept 3rd. For the entire month of September we will be blogging the experience right here. (No Internet at Base Camp? No problem, we are going to phone in the the post to Jack via sat phone and he will post for us.)

I have been planning this trip for a year with the Sherpas and our schedule looks like this. We should have Internet access in Kathmandu and in Namche Bizarre so we can also post some photos. Below is our proposed schedules, we hope that we can have enough bandwidth (and sat phone coverage) to blog. Stay tuned!

 

Sept 5: Fly to Lukla. Lukla (9,000’) to Phakding (9,500’) Overnight at Phakding

Sept 6: Phakding (9,500’) to Namche Bizarre (11,500’) Overnight in Namche

Sept 7: Acclimation day in Namche Bizarre (11,500’) Overnight in Namche

Sept 8: Namche (11,500’) to Pangboche (12,700’) Overnight at Pangboche

Sept 9: Pangboche (12,700’) to Pheriche (14,000’) Overnight in Pheriche

Sept 10: Acclimation day in Pheriche (14,000’) Overnight in Pheriche

Sept 11: Pheriche (14,000’) to Loboche (16,000’) Overnight in Loboche

Sept 12: Loboche (16,000’) to Gorak Shep (16,800’) Overnight in Gorak Shep

Sept 13: Visit Everest Base Camp (17,400’).  Overnight in Gorak Shep

Sept 14: Summit Kala Pattar (18,700’) Gorak Shep (16,800’) to Loboche (16,000’) Overnight in Loboche

Sept 15: Loboche (16,000’) to Kumjum (12,500’) Overnight in Kumjum

Sept 16: Kumjum (12,500’) to Namche (11,500’) Overnight in Namche

Sept 17: Namche (11,500’) to Lukla (9,000’)

Sept 18: Fly to Katmandu (weather permitting) Overnight at Katmandu

Dara, Congratulations on winning medals over the years and making the USA and whole world proud!

I know you have been divorced twice in the past.  Would you please consider marrying The Tank?  Your partner David might mind but hey, you're technically not married and I'm running for President and I'm single.  We haven't had a bachelor President since James Buchanan.  So, how about please helping me on the road to the White House? 

OK, maybe not, but I'll settle for a swimming lesson as I almost drowned when I was 10 and 18 years old.  My Vice President Steve will be too busy to take over the Presidency because he'll be the Mets next General Manager and still be traveling to places like NotNewYorkStan. 

Love!
Your Biggest Fan - The Tank

P.S. I want to confess to my readers that I write in the best loving traditions of the Onion's "Smoove B".  Have you ever seen The Tank and Smooth B in the same place at the same time?  Coincidence, I think not.

P.S.S. Congratulations to Michael Phelps on becoming the greatest athlete of all time in winning eight gold medals in a single Olympics!  Congratulations are also in order to Phelps' competitor, Milorad Cavic, who almost won by .01 of a second.  Milorad is from California but swims for Serbia.  Milorad was punished by the European Federation for wearing a "Kosovo is Serbia" t-shirt written in Cyrillic during the European Championships.  Bravo Milorad for standing up for the right thing!  Kosovo is Serbia! 

Posted by Smoove B / The Tank in Olympic Loveland.

The Royals and Yankees went to extra innings.  Youth was served when rookie Brett Gardner drove in Robinson Cano for the game-winning run in the 13th.  The Yankees won 3-2.  It helped sooth Friday's heartbreaking loss where Mariano gave up the go-ahead run in the ninth in a non-save situation.  He has given up seven of his nine runs in non-save situations.  He nor anyone else can explain it.  The Yankees have to keep winning while Wang, Joba, Hughes, and I rehab our injuries.

As for the Mets, they continue to roll as they beat the Pirates for their fifth straight win. 

Posted by The Tank barely keeping the faith for a Subway Series to close out Yankee and Shea Stadiums in NY.

Swimming

Michael Phelps kills his own World Record in the 200 IM for his 6th gold medal of the Beijing games and 12 gold overall. He has two more events, the 100m Fly tonight and the 400m medley relay. The 100m fly is Phelps' signature event, last time he lost it was like in High School. He he wins that tonight that will make 7 golds in one game, tying Mark Spitz. On Sunday the US is a heavy favorite for gold in the relay, which would put Phelps in a league of his own.

Tennis

James Blake's impressive win over Roger Federer on Thursday did not help him today as he lost to Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 4-6, 7-5, 11-9.Blake had three match points that he failed to convert. Blake is not out of it, Gonzalez will play the winner of the Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic match for gold and Blake will play the loser. Facing Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic for Bronze is a daunting prospect.

Baseball

"Red" China defeated "Free" China (Taiwan) 8-7 yesterday. Cuba defeated the US 5-4. Who said politics is not part of the Olympics.

Women Gymnastics

The USA took 1-2 in the women's all around on Friday.Shawn Johnson finished second overall to teammate Nastia Liukin in the women's all-around Friday. This was not without judging problems. On the vault Liukin  had a perfect landing and a near perfect routine but was heavily penalized. This leads me to believe that all scored sports need an overhaul in the Olympics. Maybe make the last judge an Internet vote?

Russia v Georgia

Speaking of politics. Two nations at war, Russia and Georgia, had events against each other this week. Georgia and Russia faced each other in Judo and Women's beach volleyball (my favorite event). Georgia won both events (and took gold in Judo) and the women's beach volleyball team embraced after the event shown here. (I just needed an excuse for a photo of beach volleyball.)

 

Posted by Steve in New York

Roger Federer has been having a bad year. Having lost in Austrailia to the Tank's cousin in the semi's and to Nadal in the finals in both Paris and London, Federer's bid for his first Olympic medal ended yesterday when he lost to American James Blake.

As reported by Steve and the Tank in the past, we think that Roger Federer is human after all. Having never defeated Roger Federer in the past, actually only winning 1 set against him in the past, Blake defeated Federer in straight sets 6-4, 7-6 (2).

Roger Federer showed some negative energy with an angry scream toward his feet. Then he swatted a stray ball in utter frustration. Next was his thigh and then stomped behind the baseline. Federer even got desperate and started to challenge calls, something that he almost never does. That backfired and was 0-4 on the replays.

And as a last resort, he questioned calls, something he hates to do. That merely made him madder: He went 0-4 on replay challenges.

Federer had been seeking his first Olympic medal after losing in the singles semifinals in Sydney and in the second round in Athens. Blake has never won a medal and has never gone to the finals in a grand slam. He got a call of good wishes from the US Mens Basketball team to wish him luck. Just 2 wins away from gold.

Michael Phelps has done the impossible. He has achieved something no one has ever done before, won 11 gold medals, more than anyone else in history. He is 5-5 in Beijing and will most likely tie or break Mark Spitz's record of 8 in a single games in route to 14 gold metals in total and 9 in Beijing.

While that is amazing, what is more amazing is how Phelps is winning. He took the world record in each of his 5 events and the 800 meter Freestyle relay was not even close. Watch that here.

Unless injury hit him, Phelps will be back in 2012 at age 27 and can tack on to his records. He is already the best ever, not it remains to be seen just how great it will be.

Posted by Steve in New York

Team USA has won convincingly over China and Angola in early Olympic play.  Their dominance is as close to a 1992 Dream Team as you are going to get.  It's not hard with players like Kobe, LeBron, Dwight Howard, D-Wade, and on-and-on. 

Coach K makes sure that they are doing it with grace and class.  Coach K finally gets to coach Kobe as he recruited him out of him school and almost took the Laker coaching job a few years ago.  I met Coach K in Los Angeles in 1991 while I playing goalie for the North Region in Team Handball in the U.S. Olympic Festival.   (We took the Bronze Medal.)  During halftime of a basketball game, a few teammates and myself went up to Coach K to introduce ourselves.   He looked straight ahead and was very intense.  You thought he was still a cadet playing for Bobby Knight at West Point decades ago. 

Barring some catastrophe (God forbid), Team USA will win gold and reestablish global basketball dominance.

Posted by The Tank in NY.

The US Men's 4x100 meter swim team set an Olympic and World Record in Beijing.  Wow!  I thought the favored French were going to win as they took the lead from Jones on the third lap.  But, Lezak dug deep in the anchor leg and set a new Olympic and World Record.

Lezak silenced his critics by beating the Frenchman who said they would "crush" Team USA.  In so doing, Michael Phelps dream of winning eight gold medals is still alive.  He will hopefully best Spitz's 1972 record.  He has won his two hardest events. 

Posted by a celebrating Tank, Honorary Swimmer At Large, in an Olympic State of Mind. 

After a great start following the All Star Break and great trade deadline deals, the Yankees have fallen on tough times.  Joba is out injured on the DL.  Ian Kennedy had attitude issues after melting down on Friday in Anaheim.

The Yankees were swept by the Angels over the weekend.  This is morally devastating because two of the three games were winnable, especially Saturday. 

It is still mathematically possible to catch Tampa as they have a 8.5 game lead but the Yankees will need help.  The Red Sox are still in striking distance with 4.0 games with 6 head-to-head games remaining.  The Yankees have to leap frog the Twins who have a 2.5 game lead.  The Yankees can help their cause in a four game set in Minnesota starting tomorrow night.

Can the Yankees weather the storm until Hughes and Wang return?  I like the offense but the Yankees can't afford any more bullpen meltdowns.  We have to keep the faith in the darkest hours.

Posted by a concerned Tank in NY.

After a long week of work, it was great to get out to Shea on a beautiful summer Friday night.  Thanks to Linda for joining me for Mets-Marlins game!

If you ever watched "All in the Family", you'll remember Archie Bunker's wife Edith.  Well, her biological or spiritual daughter sat behind us.  Substitute "Archie" for "Perez" or anything else Mets and your taken back to Queens sometimes in the 1970s. 

"Perez has gotta get 'em out!" she yelled in classic Edith fashion.

DW's hit run two blast put the Mets ahead 2-0 in the first.

Perez had a bases loaded jam in the second.  We almost died laughing as "Edith" cheers Perez on.  Perez being Perez is why I don't have my physical and stress test during the season.  There were some stressful moments but he thankfully got through them, touch wood.

Delgado hits an opposite field solo shot to left in the fourth inning made it 3-0.

"Are you writing a book?" Edith asks.

"No, I'm writing a blog post," I reply.

"I work enough with computers," Edith says.

Perez threw 120 pitches on a two hitter through seven innings.  DW pats him on the shoulder.  Mets 3 - Marlins 0.

Schneider hits a single to right with one out in the bottom of the seventh.  Argenis Reyes strikes out when he pinch hit for Perez.  Jose Reyes singled to right.  The Mets don't add a run and still lead 3-0 going into the eighth.

Is a three run lead enough for the Mets? 

Mets Bull Pen Coping Mechanism: Linda drinks more beer and I take off my glasses for the 8th and 9th innings.  Since I am a laser vision candidate, I am going by Linda's and the crowd's reaction with the occasional squint.  I tell myself I can't see Heilman screw up if I don't wear my glasses.

Beltran makes a great catch to end the game.  Heilman gets the two inning save, touch wood.  The Mets win 3-0.  High fives to Edith, Linda, and everyone all around.

Posted by a grateful Tank reporting live from Shea Stadium in Queens.

The Summer Olympics are underway with opening ceremonies tomorrow.  I love the Olympics and competition of athletes from all over the world with as little politics as possible.

Dark clouds of pollution and Darfur hang over the Beijing Games.  I am glad that I visited Beijing for the Great Wall Marathon in May 2005.  It thankfully was NOT as hot or polluted as it is now.  To put it in context, Beijing is more polluted than Los Angeles.  Steve told me that Shanghai is more polluted than Beijing.  Cough, cough!

Onto to the Games themselves, Aussie Rod reported the skill and beauty of the Norwegian team beating USA 2-0.

As some of you know, I have a crush on swimmer Dara Torres as she is beautiful.  She is also inspirational as I almost drowned when I was 10 and 18.  Maybe she can teach me to swim?    Go Dara go! 

Posted by an excited Tank in an Olympic State of mind.

Unless you have been living under a rock, you've probably heard about the Brett Favre Soap Opera. 

He retired from the Packers in the winter.  But, he recently changed his mind.  He said he was pressured to retire.

Brett reached out to the Minnesota Vikings, THE Packers' fiercest rival.  But, he used a cell phone the Packers provided him.  Big mistake and the Packers leaked it when Brett tried to use the court of public opinion to force the Packers' hand.

After NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell reinstated Favre, Brett and his wife traveled to Green Bay over the weekend.  You would have thought the Pope was back in town given the media coverage.  ESPN Radio was giving minute-by-minute countdown as his plane arrived in Green Bay on Sunday evening.  It was too much.  I had to switch to business news on Bloomberg Radio.

Where Do We Go From Here:
Brett returned to his home in Mississippi.  The Jets have offered a fourth rounder to the Packers which goes to a first rounder depending upon the Jets performance according to the FAN.  Ouch!  That's it for a first ballot Hall of Famer who is better than Pennington and Clemens?  The Jets need to show they are doing something but not spend too much.  Who knows where he'll end up?  Jets?  Tampa?  Kids Pee Wee Football League?  Retirement?  

Posted by an exhausted Tank in NY. 

UPDATE: The Jets signed Favre.  Watch this page for more commentary and analysis as the season approaches.

The Mets and Yankees were on a roll going into last weekend.  But, the injury bug hit local teams hard like a plague.

The Mets were first victims as John Maine went on the DL.  Billy Wagner had arm pain on Sunday and then went on the DL today.  Aaron "The Human Rain Delay" Heilman is now the closer.  OMG!

The biggest injury could be Joba Chamberlain who had shoulder soreness during last night's loss at Texas.  He will be examined by Dr. James Andrews.  The Yankees may have lost the battle AND war, God forbid.

Steve and I may have to get stress tests during our next annual physicals with Dr. George.  Ugh!

Posted by The Tank hanging on the thread of his bad shoulder in NY.

The Yankees could have laid down and play dead after the Angels took a 5-0 lead yesterday.  They didn't.  They came back twice and won 14-9.  Nady was awesome with six RBIs.

The Yankees finally had timely hitting, sacrificed runners, and did all the things they used to in the late 1990s.  Is the magic back?  I'm not sure yet but I like the chemistry.  The Yankees have a little less than a third of a season to execute with a retooled team.  Texas is not a great team but the Yankees recently lost two out of three to them.  The Yankees must win at least three out of four.

Posted by The Tank in NY.

Yesterday marked 29 years since the passing of Thurman Munson in a tragic air crash.  It went by in a 
blink of an eye.  (August 2 is also the date of the ascension of the Old Testament Prophet Elijah into 
Heaven thousands of years ago.)  

When I pass from this earth (hopefully not for many years to come), I have asked to be buried in my 
Thurman Munson jersey.

Thunder and lightning passed through the area in the lead up to the game.  Would they be able to get 
the game in?  Why was CBS 880 AM only giving news updates and not going to the ceremony?

A record number, 72, players make it for the farewell.  

Super Twin Gil joins me for the first game in over a year at the Stadium.  The Angels who have won five 
in a row including sweeping the Red Sox and winning the first two at the Stadium.  Can the Yankees 
bounce back?  It did not look good early as the Angels scored two runs in the second.  The Yankees 
fought back with a bloop and a blast to tie it at 2.

Moose get his rhythm and shuts the Angels down in the third.  Molina hit a lead off single.  I go crazy.  
Damon singles him to third.  I suggest putting him on the 4x100 meter Olympic relay team.  Jeter hits into 
a double play.  Molina scores.  Yankees 3 - Angels 2.  As Brooklyn Brant check in, Bobby "El Como Dulce" 
(Just Like Sugar) Abreu hits a solo shot to right center.  Gil asks for silence but 54,000 plus fans and 
yours truly are screaming our lungs out.  Yankees 4 - Angels 2.  A-Rod singles to center.  Giambi 
grounds out to end the third inning.

Molina hits a lead off home run in the fifth.  Yankees 5 - Angels 2.  I call Robert in Tampa but I think he 
is in shock.  Damon grounds out to second.  Jeter flies out to center.  Abreu does the same.

A-Rod hits a solo home run to the netting in left field.  Yankees 6 - Angels 2.

Molina singled to lead off the seventh.  The Jose Molina Fan Club is growing by leaps and bounds.  Damon 
walks.  Jeter singles home Molina and Damon advances to third.  Yankees 7 - Angels 2.  Abreu grounds out
to second to get Jeter but Abreu is safe at force and Damon scores.  Yankees 8 - Angels 2.  The Angels 
go to the pen.

Moose's day is done as Veras comes out for the 8th.  Nice job.

Bruney wraps up with Mariano watching as the Yankees go down in order in the bottom of 8th.  Bruney 
knocks off the rust and does a great job.

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