The Kiss Of Death?

Since the Mets and Yankees were both off yesterday, the New York tabloids have to find something to write about and put on their back pages (US soccer team's loss obviously doesn't qualify). So they both wrote about the same thing: how the Mets have won back the baseball fans of New York City. The News' back page shouted loudly: "Kings of New York."

I love the route the Mets are going, and they are putting together a terrific team for the future. The left side of the Mets infield, Jose Reyes and David Wright, is downright scary. I've always hoped for the day the Mets take back New York from the Yankees. It always goes in cycles here. The Mets last had the run of the city back in the mid-to-late 1980s. But they were poorly run in the latter half of the 1980s, and the franchise paid for it for a number of years. By the time the Mets got better and competitive in the late 1990s, the Yankees had won two World Series and would win two more.

Right now, the Yankees remind of those teams they had back in the early 1980s. Aging homegrown talent and relying on too many free agents who are beyond their best years. Signing guys like Johnny Damon is like putting a band-aid on a gaping wound. They've gotten away from what made them champions, and they need an overhaul of their farm system.

Things are starting to look the Mets way, and that's a good thing. They are on the way to a division title, but they are not there yet. I've always said that I don't count the Yankees out until they are mathematically eliminated.

I hope the Mets become "The Kings of New York" again. But I'm not ready to crown them just yet.

A New Career?

Last night was my debut as MC for Professor Thom's Trivia Night, and it went extremely well. I had a blast doing it. One of my friends in the bar was looking to take me on in trivia last night, and was very disappointed to learn that I had been kicked upstairs.

We did five categories: Current Events, General Knowledge, Music, Movies and Sports. There were ten questions per category. Six teams vied for the coveted crown of Professor Thom Trivia Champion. About midway through the competition, some loudmouth yelled out an answer (he wasn't playing), and my good friend and bartender Jim McGuire exited him and his two friends off the premises. (I did warn people not to yell any answers out.) Jim may not be a very big guy, but he's someone you don't want to mess with.

After the competition ended, I received a nice hand from the competitors, and I really appreciated that. (I did receive one or two minor complaints about the qustions being a little too difficult, so I will add some easier ones next week.) I will be back again next Monday night to MC once again.

Tonight, the announcing by the bar patrons returns to PT, and my buddy Matt and I will have another go at calling a Red Sox inning of baseball. Should be more fun, even if the Sox aren't playing the Yankees.

A USA Bomb Out

A really lousy effort from the U.S. national team in the World Cup yesterday. They were whacked by the Czech Republic, 3-0. The Czechs scored early, and basically put the game in their back pocket. They even lost their best player, Jan Koller, at halftime, but that didn't matter. The U.S. had few good chances, the best when captain Claudio Reyna hit the post with a cracking shot that would have put the Americans back in the match. They looked really sluggish most of the match, as the Czechs dominated midfield. So much for the old guys of the Czech Republic being outlasted by the young Americans.

Saturday's match against Italy maybe one of the most important matches in the history of USA soccer. The Americans need at least a draw, or the World Cup will be over for them. Then the final first round match against Ghana will be almost irrelevant. I don't want to sound too panicky, but the future of U.S. soccer may be riding on Saturday's match. This was a team that many were calling a dark horse to go deep in the tournament.

Another lackluster effort against Italy and the U.S. might be back to where they were in 1998, when the U.S. was swept out of World Cup in France in three matches: little world respect, and trying to figure out where a bright future all went wrong.

The Real MVP Strikes Again

A 2-and-2 count. His team was down 4-2 in the bottom of the ninth. Two men on and two men out. He barely fouls off the previous pitch to stay alive. The next pitch is a fastball right in his wheelhouse.

David Ortiz parks it over the bullpen and into the bleachers in right field to give the Red Sox a 5-4 win over the Texas Rangers in the first game of a doubleheader yesterday at Fenway Park.

Yes, there was a second game yesterday. The best I can say about that was that David Pauley was optioned to Pawtucket after the game to make room for Mike Timlin, who was activated off the DL.

Big Papi continues to be the biggest money player in baseball today.

And PLEASE do not insult my intelligence by saying he was not the 2005 AL MVP. And don't use that BS argument that because he's a DH he can't win the award. The DH has been part of the law of the land in the AL for 33 years.

Honestly, do you think Slappy would have come through in similar fashion yesterday? I rest my case.

David Ortiz. The 2005 American League MVP.

Uncrowned.

I've Been Promoted to M.C.

Tonight at Professor Thom's, I will be the Master of Ceremonies for the weekly Monday night trivia contest. It will be similar to the ones that the bar used to run. There will be 50 questions, 10 in five categories. I was asked to run it because I won it so often I guess.

The five categories will be: general knowledge, current events, sports, movies and music. It should be a lot of fun.

Justice Served

Talk about sticking your foot in your mouth. Defender on the Paraguay World Cup team Carlos Gamarra basically called out the English team before their clash today in Germany when he earlier this week said that England was "the number three team in this group" (behind Paraguay and Sweden).

England didn't play the best game today against Paraguay, and looked rather listless during most of it. But they scored an early goal off a free kick from David Beckham. But it wasn't an English player who scored the goal. It was headed in by a Paraguay defender.....Carlos Gamarra.

It was the first time in World Cup history that an own goal decided a 1-0 game. Gamarra better be careful as well. I remember back in 1994 when a Colombian defender (who's name I can't remember) scored an own goal against the U.S. that cost Colombia the game and eliminated them from the Cup. A short time after the tournament ended, he was killed back in Colombia by some crazy "fan" seeking revenge.

They really take their soccer VERY seriously in South America.

Still Obsessed With Bonds

This is maybe a very little thing, but as I was watching the World Cup matches this afternoon (Germany-Costa Rica was a terrific match), I noticed something on ESPN2, and later the same thing over at ESPNews. On their Bottom Line that shows all the games and scores, they always list the games in the time order they are going to be played. (In other words, the games starting at 7PM are listed first, and the games beginning at 10 PM out West are listed last.) But today I noticed that they are listing the Pirates-Giants game first (which begins at 10:15 PM ET), even though there are games beginning in the East in the NL at 7 PM tonight.

Oh, I wonder why?

Why would the Giants game come before all the others? ESPN is still under the thinking that we as baseball fans care what Barry Bonds does every night. So now in all their updates the Giants come first. Only if I were a Giants fan would it matter to me. Pathetic.

When ESPN canned that Barry Bonds reality show a couple of weeks ago, I thought maybe they were coming to their senses.

Silly me.

More Fun And Frolic At PT

The Red Sox bounced back nicely from the two losses earlier this week at Yankee Stadium with a 9-3 win to conclude their long road trip. Jason Varitek had three hits including a three-run homer that iced the game for the Sox in the seventh inning. Curt Schilling won his league-leading ninth game of the year and seventh career game against the Yankees with a solid eight-inning performance. He allowed three solo homers and double, and that was all.

The trivia contest didn't happen at Professor Thom's last night, but the Tune Out YES promotion did, and my buddy Matt and I did two half-innings last night, including the sixth inning where the Sox got three runs to put them ahead to stay. The bar was packed last night, and it was the biggest crowd at PT's this week, and perhaps all season. The bar just rocked from the sixth inning on. It was fun going back behind the mic again last night, and Matt and I had a blast.

I want to thank all those people who came up to me and congratulated me on my performance. People said Matt and I make a great team! Everyone seemed to enjoy all of the Sox fans who participated in it from the 3rd to the 7th innings. They all did a great job, and Professor Thom's is going to make it a more regular feature.

I'm so glad to see so many people supporting Professor Thom's, as my friends do a great job making the bar a great place to hang out. It's reputation is growing, and I'm seeing more Red Sox fans in the bar who I've never seen before, which is great to see.

A Real World Championship

Today in Germany, the entire world will be focused on the start of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. It is by far the most popular individual sports tournament in the world. Millions and millions of people will be watching the Germany-Costa Rica match, which will start the World Cup.

This is a REAL world championship. Let's face it, the World Series, the Super Bowl and the NBA Finals aren't world championships. This is one the entire world watches. In most nations of the world, soccer is an incredible passion, on a par with being a member of Red Sox Nation!!

Brazil are the defending champions, and are the odds-on favorites to repeat. Germany, England and Italy are other strong contenders to take the cup. The United States' first match will be Monday afternoon against the Czech Republic. They are also paired with Italy and Ghana. It's a tough group, but the U.S. has a good chance to make it to the second round.

I've been following the World Cup since 1978, and it's always an exciting time. Here in the U.S. you always get the usual group of wiseasses in the media who'll give you a thousand good reasons why you shouldn't bother watching, as they consider soccer "boring"and "foreign," the usual elitist crap you hear from these cretins.

For example, palaver from a dubious "writer" named Hondo, in today's New York Post:

"The World Cup kicks off today, the beginning of one month of monotony. Now would be the time to start catching up on all that sleep you've missed in your life."

Soccer will never reach the popularity of baseball, American football, hockey or basketball in the United States, but that doesn't matter. Soccer has a definite following here, and I'll bet the ratings numbers won't be bad, especially if the U.S. goes a long way in the tournament.

The official World Cup site is: http://www.fifaworldcup.com.
Other good sites are at ESPN Soccernet: http://www.soccernet.com and Fox Sports soccer site: http://www.foxsoccer.com.

And did any of you happen to see those Nike commercials about the U.S. World Cup team? (And let's get one thing straight. They are not "Team USA." People who know nothing about soccer call them that. They are "The U.S. National Team.") In the background an instrumental version of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" is played. Isn't that a baseball song? I'd like to have an explanation on that one.

Baseball will always be my main passion, but I'll be watching a good number of World Cup matches over the next month. The final will be played in Berlin on July 9th.

Let's Go USA!!!

Anything For A Buck

Some people will do ANYTHING for publicity. Ann Coulter, the shrill Conservative author, really took some unbelievable cheap shots at four 9/11 widows when she labeled "The Jersey Girls" as self-obsessed opportunists who enjoy their role as widows of 9/11 victims.

I find Coulter's act rather tired, as she seems to scream bloody murder at anyone who isn't a Republican or a Conservative. (For the record, I am a very much an Independent.) But to label these women they way she has is absolutely reprehensible. The Jersey Girls, four married women from New Jersey who lost their husbands in the World Trade Center, were the ones mostly responsible for the independent commission that looked into the 9/11 disasters. They have criticized President Bush, supported John Kerry for president in 2004 and continue to argue that America still has gaping holes in its security measures.

Now you can see why Coulter has gone after them. But after her appearances on TV yesterday, where she still labeled the 9/11 widows, "witches and harpies," impress me as being more for her own publicity and selling her new book, which recently just came out. Coulter also appears to me to be from that Spike Lee/Michael Moore/Bill Maher school of saying anything to get the public's attention, no matter how stupid or outrageous. She craves publicity, and she's got a ton of it now.

Coulter has a lot of supporters, but going after women who suffered a heartbreaking loss on 9/11, and have dedicated their lives to the memories of their lost loved ones might even turn some of her most avid admirers against her.

Then again, some people will do anything for publicity. And the almighty dollar.

This Rotten Weather

The weather in New York City lately has been incredibly depressing lately. Lots of rain, and the temperatures have dipped below normal. We've gotten more rain in the first week in June than in a normal month of June already.

Now it plays havoc with the Red Sox' schedule. They will now play a four-game series with the Yankees during the weekend of September 15. Last night's rainout also means that Jon Lester's major league debut on Saturday is probably off for now. It also gives Curt Schilling an extra day of rest, and he faces Jaret Wright in the series finale at Yankee Stadium tonight. The rainout also hurts my fantasy league teams, as I have a number of Red Sox players on all three teams. Bummer.

Hopefully at Professor Thom's tonight, the Red Sox vs. Yankees fans trivia contest will go off as scheduled. It was called off last night due to the rainout. If we have the contest, we won't be doing the Tune Out YES announcing tonight. The weather will have the final say on that.

Big news in baseball yesterday was former Diamondbacks pitcher Jason Grimsley's admission he took steroids for years, and the feds raided his home in Arizona looking for evidence. He also rolled over on many ballplayers. He named many names, but they were redacted out of the affidavit. Grimsley looks like baseball's version of Henry Hill, and a lot of baseball players probably lost a lot of sleep last night. Baseball could be facing its Armageddon. Stay tuned.

Where Is The Memorial?

This is a tremendous article written by Debra Burlingame, whose brother Charles was the pilot of Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, about the WTC Memorial debacle. Debra was the first to expose "The Great Ground Zero Heist,"about the plans to put in that ill-conceived International Freedom Center at the WTC site. Her article led to the successful fight to get rid of it. I've had the pleasure of meeting her on a couple of occasions, and she's quite a lady. This article is a bit long, but worth reading. (Many thanks to the good people at http://www.takebackthememorial.org for sending it along.)

Where Is The Memorial?
By Debra Burlingame

I am an ironworker. I held you in my hands. I did not know who you were and now I am showered clean . . . yet I still feel dirty. I don't know why, but I feel ashamed. WHO WERE YOU? --Anonymous message, left at Ground Zero.

They came and would not leave, an army of ironworkers and heavy-equipment operators, stopping only when the scent-trained dogs barked out a signal. They cut and moved twisted steel and steaming concrete, clearing an astonishing 1.8 million tons in a continuous convoy of trucks and a 20,000-barge armada. The last steel beam, covered from top to bottom with handwritten prayers and messages of hope from those who worked the site, was hauled away in a solemn site-closing ceremony that left grown men weeping quietly. "The Pile" was cleared in eight-and-a-half months. Only then did they go home, different men. Who will tell their story?

The answer depends on whether we believe we have a stake in a future we will not live to see. Today, a handful of people are considering how the history of 9/11 will be preserved for future generations. Will it be scattered all over the globe, eroded by small museums, cannibalized by private collectors, or simply lost forever?

From the giant steel facades that broke but did not fall to the thousands of "Missing" flyers that speak of humanity as no granite monument can; from the harrowing digital footage to the oral histories that provide a mosaic of facts as detailed and compelling as a thousand handmade quilts; these are the pieces that make up our generation's "Day of Infamy." Preserving that history is both the mission and the moral imperative of the World Trade Center Memorial Museum--if we build it.

The decision lies in one man's hands: New York Gov. George E. Pataki. It is that simple. Advisory councils, stakeholder meetings and a public comment period not withstanding, if Gov. Pataki agrees with 87% of the respondents in last year's Zogby poll, stating that 9/11 was "the most historic event of their lifetime" that "changed the way Americans live and view the world," then he will step up and mark that history--or answer to those same people. And he will have one tough time doing it.

The American people, watching the horrific scenes in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania, voiced nary a peep of dissent when the federal government handed over $21 billion in disaster relief--$18 billion in rebuilding bonds and tax credits, and $2.8 billion in immediate cash grants--to the state and city of New York. The desire to raise buildings and bring back neighborhoods and businesses far from their own communities is powerful proof of the generosity of a people whose hearts were broken but whose resolve was not.

The public has heard plenty about the "empty pit of Ground Zero," but most do not know that the$2.8 billion allocated to Lower Manhattan in cash grants has virtually all been spent. It is difficult to trace where all the money went while being routed through the Department of Housing and Urban Development and six different city and state entities. Now, after four-and-a-half years of press conferences, ribbon-cuttings and groundbreakings (the Freedom Tower has had two), at which the lost 343 firefighters were invoked and the memorial and museum was touted as the "centerpiece"around which hundreds of millions of dollars in spending projects would turn, Gov. Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg have teamed up to tell the public that it's time to "rethink" the project where the history of those valiant firefighters will be secured. Not only does this undermine Daniel Libeskind's master plan, which always included a museum of "memory and hope," it also manifests a standard of fiscal responsibility that the governor and the mayor have refrained from imposing anywhere else at Ground Zero.

The Port Authority's massive new transportation hub, designed by superstar architect Santiago Calatrava, will cost an estimated $2.2 billion. Some $2 billion of that is federal money, which means that the entire country is supporting the "awe-inspiring" makeover of a terminal that willserve a mere 40,000 commuters (a number so embarrassing the Port Authority upped it to 80,000 byincluding round trips). The chief executive of a construction firm involved in the building illustrates the absurdity of what insiders call a "vanity project" by pointing out that $2.2 billion is enough to build a metropolitan airport.

The governor has also handed out hundreds of millions in relief money to corporate powerhouses, ostensibly to get them to relocate to Lower Manhattan or to prevent them from leaving. He signed off on $25 million worth of recovery funds for American Express, which expressly announced it hadn't intended to leave Lower Manhattan and posted doubled profits less than a year after 9/11.Goldman Sachs, which made $4.55 billion dollars in net profits in 2004, received a $2 billion"assistance" package consisting of triple-tax-free Liberty Bonds, tax credits and cash the following year.

Mr. Bloomberg talks about a "sensible" approach to Ground Zero rebuilding, but has declined to fully explain his allocation of $650 million dollars worth of Liberty Bonds to construct the Bank of America tower in midtown, an allocation that competes with downtown redevelopment; or why he awarded $114 million in Liberty Bonds to the Ratner office tower--in Brooklyn.

The mayor has suggested locating the World Trade Center Museum in the controversial Freedom Tower, declaring it "a good use of that lobby." To put the story of that day in another commercial office tower is an insult to the memory of the 3,000 who died and to the thousands who barely escaped. Would the Holocaust Museum be treated as an afterthought and crammed into such a space? Moreover,why would any commercial tenant be attracted to a building that will be the destination of as many as 20,000 to 30,000 tourists per day?

The mayor's proposal was promptly embraced by New York's cultural elite--the same folks who were despondent over the loss, last fall, of the International Freedom Center and its slavery exhibits. The New York Times editorial page went so far as to suggest that the 9/11 museum is not really necessary since "most of us remember that day very clearly." The same paper, in contrast, published six hyperventilating editorials last year, telling us that the Freedom Center must be built on sacred ground to provide the memorial with "historical context," albeit one that didn't include a word about terrorism.

Interestingly, the no-museum proponents have uniformly invoked the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington as an example of a simple and appropriate remembrance. While it eventually became accepted as a locus of healing, "The Wall" was controversial when it opened in 1982 in no small part because of its failure to tell the story of the war. Jan Scruggs, founder of the VietnamVeterans Memorial Foundation, recognizes that when the contemporaries of that war are gone, the 58,000 names carved in granite will not resonate with future generations. To remedy this, he sought and won congressional approval to build a museum that will tell the story of the war and those who fought it.

Ironically, the designer of the Vietnam memorial, Maya Lin, was a member of the World Trade Center Memorial jury and the most vocal advocate of the design that was eventually chosen, Michael Arad's"Reflecting Absence." Like Ms. Lin's Wall, Mr. Arad's design, consisting of reflecting pools and waterfalls with a random listing of 3,000 victims' names, says nothing about how they died or the historic event it is memorializing. Without the museum there will be nothing on the plaza, not even the iconic artifacts, to tell future visitors what actually happened on 9/11.

But let us not get too carried away with comparisons to other memorials. The Vietnam War did not take place on that grassy mall in Washington. Ground Zero is a historic battleground; and of the 2,755 who died there, 1,157 were vaporized without a trace.

The American people intuitively understand what the New York intelligentsia does not. They already stream to Ground Zero in the tens of thousands, signing up for tours to stand and look at the iron fence of St. Paul's Church across the street, now stripped of the faded flags, the personal tokens of remembrance and the hand-lettered messages of sympathy that poured in from all over the world. They shell out countless thousands of dollars for picture books and postcards bearing the images ofthe twin towers from the ragtag vendors who line the site's perimeter.

It is this humble assortment of Ground Zero entrepreneurs who have shown City Hall's economic development experts that it is possible to blend commerce and commemoration. And the Memorial Museum will help restore a standard of dignity, which will be more about providing a lasting remembrance than making a quick buck.

Yes, the $500 million price tag for the memorial and museum is steep, but the reality is that it was the terrorists who chose the most expensive building site in all the world for the location of their attack. That is where our people died and that is where we must build it--especially as the cost of not doing so is even higher. This is an investment in the future that will allow visitors from all over the world the opportunity to see the contrast between those who died to take the lives of strangers, and those who gave their lives to save them. The millions who will make a pilgrimage to Ground Zero will surely enjoy the fine boulevards and piers that their own generosity provided, but the experience they most anticipate is not a frozen latte in Hudson River Park. They want to confront the reality of the day that changed their lives, and the world they once knew.

The World Trade Center Memorial and Museum will commemorate, educate and inspire. It will convey to future generations that we as a people are more than sleek neighborhoods and buildings. That is something our enemies did not understand and should be reflected in everything we do on that much-hallowed ground.

Governor, we're ready.

Incredibly Lame Shirts

Anyone who has watched a Yankees game on the YES Network couldn't have missed those commercials advertising some lame t-shirt with the words "YANKEES UNIVERSE" on it. Now where in the world did they come up with that?? Could it be that those Yankee folks have some sort of "inferiority complex" and have to find a way to compete with "Red Sox Nation?" The commercials show Yankee players smiling and posing wearing the shirts. I find them more laughable than anything else. And I have yet to see even one Yankee fan on the street wearing one.

I really love those "answering back" shirts I see Yankee fans wearing. Right after their team's titanic choke in the 2004 ALCS, those "got rings?" shirts started popping up. (I've also seen another one called "Do The Math." Basically the same thing.) You know the ones that have 26 Yankee rings next to the 6 Red Sox rings. And I laugh out loud when I read part of the back of the shirt one day:

"We won't go 86 years before winning our next ring" or some palaver to that effect. I love these Yankee fans. First they are history professors ("1918") and now they are fortune tellers! I'd love to know how ANYONE could know that!! The recent past is too painful to remember, so it's time to predict the future!!

I also saw a girl wearing a "2090" hat down by Ground Zero last year. (I said nothing to her, as it wasn't the time or place to get into it about such nonsense.) That's another silly "answering back" thing from those lame fans. Right, the Red Sox won't win another title until 2090. Once again, these pathetic fans think of themselves as fortune tellers!!

Pity those poor Yankee fans. They had to burn all that 1918 and Curse of the Bambino crap they all wore, so now it's time for what I call "The Old Yankee Fan Standby": When all else fails, annoy the hell out of everyone by mentioning ad nauseum that our team has won more championships than anyone else.

To quote another t-shirt that made the rounds a few years ago:

Take your 26 rings and shove them......well, you know where.

Working The Bugs Out

I finally was able to make my broadcasting debut at Professor Thom's last night. This time the mics were working and everything was fine, and in the fourth inning, my friend Matt and I each did play-by-play and color for a half-inning. It was a lot of fun. For four innings, different people took turns calling the action while the YES Propaganda Network was put on mute. This time I was fortunate not to have to wear the wig and funny glasses. But I was told that one of the pictures taken of me on Monday night in full costume will be put up on the bar wall soon, for patrons to see for all eternity.

There will be a Red Sox Fans Vs. Yankees Fans trivia contest at PT's tonight (which I will be part of), and the Tune Out YES promotion will return on Thursday night. Matt and I are gearing up for another inning. I think the trivia contest will go on even if the game at Yankee Stadium gets rained out (a definite possibility as I write this).

Professor Thom's continues to be a really fun place to hang out and watch the Red Sox games with other devoted Sox maniacs. Trivia, bingo, the muted YES network, you can't go wrong checking it out. Will you find such fun at the Riviera Cafe? I wouldn't bet on it.

Great performance by David Pauley last night against the Yankees, going 6 2/3 innings and allowing just 2 runs. It's a shame he couldn't get the win. Who knew that Tuesday night's game would be a better game than Monday night's? Pauley's earned another start, on Sunday afternoon against the Texas Rangers.

Professor Thomfoolery

A big crowd gathered at Professor Thom's last night in Greenwich Village for the opening game of the Red Sox-Yankees series. The Yankees games always brings out a big crowd, but last night there was a special promotion for all of us Red Sox fans: have the patrons do some announcing of the game in the bar.

It was a great idea to combat the inane announcing of Michael Kay and the gang from YES, aka Al-Yankzeera. We are forced to have to listen to their blather every time the Sox play the Evil Empire. (Although last night for some reason, ESPN was NOT blacked out in New York and Boston, so ESPN was on the screens. It was still a trial having to suffer through the babbling of Rick Sutcliffe. But at least he's not Kay.)

A number of people had signed up to do an inning, including myself and my pal Matt. We were going to start in the top of the third, with myself handling "play-by-play" in the top, and Matt doing it in the bottom of the inning. Mics were set up at the back of the bar, and we were good to go in the third.

The game had started to spiral out of control (I won't go into the sordid details), so it was our job to keep up the morale of the troops. I was "forced" to wear a black wig, fake glasses (which I had to wear over my own) and a cheesy shirt. A couple of friends took pictures of me and Matt at the mics, and I just know one day someone will use them to blackmail me! Behind us was a genuine bunting from Game 4 of the 2004 World Series in St. Louis to add to the festivities.

Matt and I were rolling along in the top of the inning when we realized that Matt's mic wasn't working, and then mine went out. There was all kinds of trouble with feedback, and PT's owners did their best to rectify it, but without success. So my broadcasting debut was cut short, in many ways much to my relief. I did have fun, but I was really glad to get that wig off.

A short time later, our friend Michael got up and did his best to entertain the Red Sox faithful with another mic that was working. He certainly got everyone's attention when he put on that goofy wig I was wearing!

Please check out Professor Thom's blog (http://www.professorthoms.blogspot.com) for more on last night's gala festivities.

I may give it another whirl tonight, as Professor Thom's is doing the Tune Out YES promotion throughout the series. Hopefully all the bugs will be worked out. And even more, I hope I have a better game to call.

Forget This Mess

The less said about Monday night in the Bronx, the better.

Throw this game in the garbage, get a stiff drink, some shut eye, and come out slugging on Tuesday night.

And pray David Pauley goes at least five innings.

Lighten Up, Would You Please?

It's amazing the way the media can take a "non-story" and turn it into something. During yesterday's Mets-Giants game, rookie Lastings Milledge hit a game-tying homer in the bottom of the tenth to send it into the eleventh (the Mets eventually lost). As Milledge was running to his position in right field before the eleventh, he saw the Mets fans giving him a standing ovation for his heroics. He suddenly turned towards the fans and high-fived them down the right field side. It was a really cool thing to do, as the fans had given Lastings a warm welcome since his call-up earlier last week. It was spontaneous, and it was his way of saying "thank you" to the fans for their support.

But yet, there are knuckleheads who just don't get it. They are led by that moronic nitwit of a "sportswriter," Bill Madden of the NY Daily News, who basically called out Milledge as unprofessional. Steve Kline and Felipe Alou of the Giants basically said the same thing. Unbelievable.

At Fenway Park, Red Sox players who've hit homers or scored runs at times will high-five the fans as they go back to the dugout, and no one says a word about that. (And it's always cool to see the players mingle with fans like that.) None other than Mike and The Mad Dog, aka "Fatso and Fruit Loops,"on their WFAN radio show today both defended Milledge, citing his youthful exuberance and nice way of thanking the fans. Even Francesa said, "Can you find me ANY fan who doesn't like that?" Damn right.

The players have to find ways of thanking the fans for their support. They do some nice things, like toss balls to the crowd after an inning. Lastings Milledge was thanking the fans for all they did for him to get his major league career off to a good start. It was cool and the fans appreciated it.

Imbeciles like Madden and Kline should basically lighten up and get a life.

Disappearing Links

One of the things I've been complimented about on my blog is my extensive length of links I have on the left hand side of my page. I enjoy putting them up, especially the ones for my friends. It's always good to share the love.

Those of you who check out my blog regularly may have noticed that a few links may have disappeared in the last few weeks. There is a simple reason for that.

I have emailed a few people whose sites I've liked and put up here if they would also put up a link for me on their site. I'm doing my best to try and spread the word about my blog. I have received some nice replies and my blog has been linked to those sites.

But some others I never heard back from. I find that rather rude and because they basically blew me off, I pulled the link from my site. (I won't name them, as I'm not out to embarrass them or start a war over it.)

I will continue to add links, and if anyone wants me to put one up for them, I would certainly be happy to do so.

Just as long as they are willing to do the same for me.

Questions I'd Like Answered

There are a number of questions I'd love to have an answer to, just based on a number of observations I make regarding not just baseball, but just life in general. Nothing earthshaking here, and they are all rhetorical in nature.

1. Why are the new stadiums that are being built in baseball putting up brick walls behind home plate? Jason Varitek slid into one back in April in Baltimore trying to catch a foul pop but was not hurt. Is this for esthetic reasons? It is a stupid idea, and some catcher will get hurt running into one someday.

2. Why do players talk into their gloves when they have a meeting on the mound with the pitcher? Do they really think there are lip readers in the opposing dugout? If so, then why don't pitching coaches cup their mouths when they go out to talk to pitchers on visits out there?

3. Why do the media insist on putting the term "gate" at the end of every so-called controversy that pops up? (I know it stems from Watergate, but it is still very stupid.)

4. Why is it when the odds are posted on say, a golfer or tennis player winning a tournament, the odds for someone from the "field" is always less than most of the favorites? Shouldn't the odds on a longshot winning be far higher?

5. Why do we say, "back East" and "out West", and not "back West" and "out East?"

6. I've noticed that when media people talk about a court case, it's becoming more fashionable for them to say, "Roe v. Wade", instead of saying "Roe versus Wade". It's silly, annoying and lazy. Do you ever hear anyone say "the Red Sox v. the Yankees"? Of course not. So why do these so-called reasonably intelligent commentators say that? They are setting a bad example.

I'll have more burning questions I'd like answered in future columns.

This Crap Is Front Page News?

It must be a slow news day.

The New York Daily News has on its front page today a story about how legendary thief Jeffrey Maier, who just graduated from Wesleyan University, is being looked at by the Yankees as a possible pick in this month's amateur draft.

"That Kid Is Back!" the headline screams. Ugh.

Maier is a marginal prospect who set the record for hits at the school (Wesleyan isn't exactly a major college baseball power). But he will forever be known as the kid who stole a home run for the Yankees in the 1996 ALCS, as Orioles outfielder Tony Tarasco was attempting to catch the ball hit by Derek Jeter. The umpire, Richie Garcia, totally blew the call and later admitted that he did. (If you go to the spot where Maier interfered with Tarasco, you'll see it can't happen again, as barriers have since been built there.) The home run tied the game in the eighth inning and the Yankees went on to win Game 1 in extra innings, and later the series.

Umps blow calls all the time, but what bothered me most after it happened was the fact the media anointed this kid "The Angel In The Outfield," and made him into some kind of hero. He and his family made appearances on talk shows, that sort of thing. If an Orioles player hit that ball, and had they won by one run, Maier and his family would have been thrown out bodily by Yankee Stadium security, arrested and would probably have received death threats from angry Yankee fans. (It would have been "The Steve Bartman Incident" 7 years before it actually happened.) The whole affair made me want to throw up.

Now the media is once again making a big deal over this kid. I've heard him interviewed and he seems like a decent guy. But it doesn't excuse the media's once again fawning all over him again.

However, don't bring up Maier's name to Orioles fans. A couple of them I know have never forgiven him and still want his head on a stick.

With everything going on in the world (Iraq, DHS cuts, oil prices, etc.), this nonsense gets the front page. It should be buried deep in the sports pages, where it belongs. Or even in the "whatever happened to" section. Maier belongs in obscurity, and let's hope he goes there soon.