In Case You Missed It

In case you missed it Friday night, here is a link for a transcript and video of the first debate between the prospective presidents.

http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/debates/first-presidential-debate.html

Big Win For Rutgers Not That Big

Maybe it speaks about the way that the Rutgers football season has gone so far or to the nature of Scarlet Knights fans that a loud, sarcastic sigh of relief could be heard from Piscataway following the team’s 38-0 win over Morgan State. But that’s about all that could be taken from the victory.
It does not reflect at all about the quality of team that this Rutgers squad may be. It was a game they were supposed to win, and would look immeasurably worse than ever if they lost. Sure, they didn’t have to rely on a last-minute touchdown to defeat a Football Championship Subdivision team like Arkansas did earlier this. And yes, it can be assumed that this team is still better than some of the bottom barrel BCS teams like Minnesota or Iowa State, but that’s about it. It just confirms that Rutgers can still pound a cupcake team when given the chance.
Don’t look too far into those stats. Mike Teel’s line looked mighty impressive, including those eight consecutive completions to start his day. But so what. That only means he could complete just three of his final ten throws. And for the second straight day, his last pass of the game was an interception. Not exactly a confidence builder, and a questionable decision by Greg Schiano to not let his senior leader back on the field for an opportunity to end the game on a high.
That running game didn’t look too impressive either. Yes, Mason Robinson and Jourdan Brooks combined for four touchdowns, but they also combined for a 3.46 yards-per-carry average. It may be nitpicking the small stuff in a largely irrelevant game, but when a team loses their first three to start the season, isn’t that what can help it build itself back up?
And what about the two players who had no effect on today’s game? What did Anthony Davis and Kenny Britt have to do to get themselves suspended. It better have been more egregious than maliciously hitting a teammate on national television. And what does it say about their frame of mind to do it when your team is winless?
The only good thing that came out of a day where Rutgers could do no right was the results of the other games on the docket. Last week’s loss to Navy looks more impressive now that the Midshipmen walked into Winston-Salem, ran all over No. 16 Wake Forest, and left with a 24-17 victory. The fact that Eric Kettani trampled all over the RU defense can now be seen in a different light after he topped himself against the Deamon Decons, and ran for 175 yards.
North Carolina hit the road as well, going to Miami to take on the frisky team from the U. They stole a win on a last second interception in the end zone. But a win is a win, no matter how you get it, and Rutgers would undoubtedly agree. Fresno State feels the same way after taking down UCLA in Pasadena. It’s still more than supposed SEC big dog Tennessee can say.
All that really matters for Rutgers after today is that the 2008 team finally put a crooked number in their win column. The first one is supposed to be the hardest, so that can only be positive foreshadowing for the rest of the season because that first win seemed impossible after last Saturday. Now they will have a few days to pat themselves on the back, maybe take a sigh of relief of their own. But they shouldn’t harp on it for too long. West Virginia is next and they’ve had a pretty tough season too. I bet they would like to take out some of that anxiety on someone too.

Links:
WWBD?
The Sports Guy's Take on the NFL
Maybe It's Time For Marbury to Go
If You Haven't Heard, That Johan Santana Is Good
Recapping the First Presidential Debate

One Heck of a Playoff Race

There is a reason baseball has the best playoff races and days like today back it up. Three games to go until the end of the regular season and three teams in the NL still don’t know what their plans will look like in a week. Will it be playoff baseball under the bright lights of October or drinking fruity drinks with umbrellas under the hot sun.
The National League has three teams that have been unable to lock up their playoff spots despite numerous chances and now are forced to tough it out in what will certainly be a hectic final weekend. The Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies will be battling it out for two spots, the NL East crown and the wildcard. And if you have passed third grade math class, you can see that one team won’t make it.
One month ago, everyone thought the Brewers would be where the Cubs are right now: resting their starters, lining up the playoff rotation and putting Bernie Brewer on bodyguard duty to make sure nothing happens to CC Sabathia and his golden left arm. Practically no one thought that the Brew Crew would be playing Chicago the final weekend, trying to lock down their first playoff appearance since 1982.
Practically everything that could have gone wrong for Milwaukee has in that time span. Their bats shut it down. They went on a drastic dry spell, losing 16 of 19 games starting September 1. Ben Sheets finally got hurt. Ned Yost was fired and replaced by a guy who is most famous for being one of the worst third base coaches in recent history. And Sabathia still couldn’t beat the Cubs. If it wasn’t for Prince Fielder’s bat and late-inning heroics, they might actually be out of the race right now. Shocking for a team that was four games up as of late August.
Now they face a crucial three-game series for their season. Since Milwaukee got hot in May, they have played at times like the best team in the NL. Their only kryptonite has been the Cubs, the actual best in the league. Their inability to beat Chicago has been drastically apparent, something even a 5-8 record cannot attest to. The Cubs just have their number. Look no further than Sabathia. Since joining the team, against the Cubs he is 0-1 with a 4.61 ERA in two starts, against everyone else 10-1 with a 1.42 era.
If the Brewers are going to make it then they will have to overcome their arch-nemesis. If not, expect a large spike in beer sales in the greater Milwaukee area.
But those fans won’t be the only ones in a drunken stupor, Mets fans have been that way for weeks already. That is the only way to make sense of what has been happening to the Metropolitans. In the middle of September it seemed the Mets were ready to overcome their epic failures of last year. Jerry Manuel was the new boss and brought with him a more care-free attitude that livened up the clubhouse and brought Jose Reyes back from his Willie-Randolph induced coma. They had even overcome their atrocious (and that is an understatement) bullpen to take a three and a half game lead. Yet, if 2007 taught the Mets anything, it’s that the first 145 games don’t really matter.
That lead lasted for five games before the Phillies once again overtook them. This time, New York did not melt down. The team pulled themselves up, led by the bats of Carlos Delgado and Reyes and the arm of Johan Santana. And if it wasn’t for those three, who knows where they would be today.
Santana has pitched masterfully in September, throwing himself into the Cy Young and MVP races. His start against the Cubs probably saved their season. Monday was a blowout loss to a team that fielded half of it’s Triple A lineup that could have deflated any postseason hopeful and Wednesday’s loss saw the bullpen once again blow a lead, while the offense could not bail them out despite having a runner on third with no one out and the heart of the order up to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning. If not for Santana winning the game in between those two, the Mets would have lost three-out-of-four to a team that looked more like the Iowa Cubs and put them a game back heading into the weekend.
Instead they have a weekend series against the Florida Marlins on deck. The Marlins are the same team that ruined 2007. They blasted Tom Glavine on the final day of the season, eliminating them from the playoffs. If the Mets are still in contention Sunday, don’t bet on that happening again. Manuel has lined up his rotation perfectly with Santana going that day.
That leaves only the Phillies. Philadelphia has been the quietest team of the three this September, despite making the most noise. They have taken back the lead of the East, seen an MVP develop and almost mutely become the second best team in the league.
Since overtaking the Mets about a weekend and a half ago, Philadelphia has shown that this team is not going to give it up. Cole Hamels and Jamie Moyer have put in stellar pitching performances, one after another. Brett Myers, despite getting roughed up recently, developed into a second ace in the latter half of the season. Oh, and Ryan Howard might become the first MVP to hit below .250.
Howard has put up huge stats once again this year. While not as good as he did in 2006, when he won the award or even last year, he leads the NL with 47 homeruns and 142 rbi. Throw away his .248 average, its not important how often he gets a hit, only that when he does they always come at the right times. Combine that with the fact that he has yet to miss a game, important for a team that has had to deal with injuries and disappointing results from Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins, and Howard should be at the top of most ballots.
The Phils have overcome all of that to have the best position going into tonight. They are the only one of those three teams to hold a lead in the race. The Brewers and Mets are tied for the wild card, but the Phils are a game up on NY in the East. They also have the easiest opponent as a final series against Washington awaits. And if Joe Blanton and Moyer can’t get it done the first two games, Hamels will be on the mound for Sunday’s game. In fact all three teams will have their aces going the final day, with Sabathia on three day’s rest.
If Sunday does work out with all three in the mix, it should be an exciting day of baseball. I’ll be sitting in front of the television all day watching everything go down. The only question remaining is, which team will be joining me on the couch for Game One on Wednesday?

Links:
A new look at the Stonehenge
Are you ready for the Ovechkin Era?
Hope the candidates did their homework for tonight's debate
Gentiles aren't the only ones hit hard by the recession
The Economist takes a look at the bailout plan
Should soccer add instant replay?
MVP and LVP for each baseball team

Say goodbye to Shea

Lost in the pomp and celebration for Yankee Stadium's final day is that across Flushing Bay, Shea Stadium is on its last legs as well. How apropos.

The 44-year old ballpark has always been in the shadow of its counterpart in the Bronx. Like a little brother trying to match his older sibling, Shea never got the attention it deserved. It could barely steal the headlines while Yankee Stadium always got stories to themselves.

Shea is the dumpy park with the kitschy Apple past centerfield, while Yankee Stadium is iconic, identified with everything from its famous façade to the overlapping "NY" insignia behind home plate. But now Shea has its chance to get the last laugh. Yankee Stadium went out on life support, with the last homestand leaving fans hoping Sunday night arrived with the their team not yet eliminated. The Mets get four days to prove they are a playoff team and so Shea can get a post-season sendoff.

If they do, it will be one of many memories that Mets fans will take with them to Citi Field. Sure, the stadium got off to a rocky start, as Philadelphia's Jim Bunning pitched a perfect game on Father's Day. But it was mostly uphill from there.

In 1969, the previously record-book-bad team turned into the Miracle Mets, clinching their first title in front of 57,397 fans. In 1973 with Yogi Berra managing and an over-the-hill Willie Mays roaming around the outfield, the Mets were in last place at the end of August. Then Tug McGraw uttered those words that Mets fans still haven't forgotten: "Ya Gotta Believe!" And they did, all the way to the World Series, overcoming the Big Red Machine Cincinnati Reds in the NLCS.

Then there was the magical summer of 1986. Dr. K and Darryl Strawberry led the Mets to a World Series, where they faced the Boston Red Sox. The Sox were ready to take the title in game six, before the ball went through Buckner's legs and the rest is history.

No memory may be more poignant than the still of Mike Piazza, bat over his shoulder, watching the ball disappear over the fence as the fans celebrate behind him in the first game after the terrorist attacks of September 11.
The Mets aren't the only ones to have some fond memories at Shea. The Yankees played there for two years while their stadium was being renovated, but could never make it feel like home as they missed the playoffs both years. The Jets spent 20 years at Shea, beating the Oakland Raiders there on the way to their only Super Bowl victory. The Giants spent a year there as well.

The Beatles made Shea famous in 1965, opening their North American tour and setting records while being the first band to hold a concert at a major Stadium. Billy Joel became the last in August. VH1 even named it the most hallowed arena in rock music.

With all its history, Shea will always hold a place in my heart as well. My first baseball game came in Queens, and it's one I still remember vividly. It was a warm May night and the Astros were in town, led by those Killer B's. Along with my father and sister, we sat in the upper deck along the left field foul line. A pinstripe fan walking into a sea of blue and orange, I was pleasantly surprised that I was not kicked out for daring to wear a Yankee hat. I cheered for the Mets that night, thankful just to see a game in person for the first time. It was the night I saw my first homerun, a blast by Derek Bell that found a spot in the left field bleachers.

My memory is like those held by millions of others who have walked through the same turnstiles I have. And anyone who can still remember how they felt that day they first took their trip to Flushing, by car or seven train, will tune in and say goodbye. With the Mets still having something to play for, the nation will have its eyes on Shea as well. It is about time.

Goodbye Yankee Stadium

How terribly ironic it is that the House that Ruth built and made Lou Gehrig feel “like the luckiest man on the face of the earth” says its goodbye with Derek Jeter being the last Yankee at the plate. Jeter, one of the greatest winners of all time, giving the country’s most revered sports arena a warm goodbye on chill September night.
It was a night that will be remembered in the annals of baseball history. One that paid tribute to Yankees from the past and the memories that made the place so iconic. Ruth, Berra, Ford, Munson, and Maris; all were present or represented by family. Bernie Williams made his first return to 161st and River since being unceremoniously let go in 2006.
Like usual, no one was more prepared to describe all of the evening’s events so perfectly than the current Yankee captain.
"It was a perfect evening," Jeter said.
Jeter sent the stadium off right, standing on the mound and addressing the crowd before leading the team on one last victory lap. It was a moment that gave fans goosebumps and was reminiscent of the celebratory laps players would take after clinching one of the organizations record 26 titles.
The Stadium, of course, made its name in October. It has hosted 21 percent of all World Series games, seen 40 Fall Classics played on its lush green grass. Been there for the Yankees winning 26 of them. But the stadium was never one to share the spotlight, it created as many names as well. Too many to count.
Don Larsen went from fourth starter to October’s only perfect man on that afternoon in 1956 when he leaped into Yogi’s arms. Reggie Jackson, after swatting three homeruns on three straight pitches in 1977, became Mr. October. Derek Jeter made November his own when he went deep in Game 5 in 2001 after the clock turned midnight in the first baseball game ever played past Halloween.
Jose Molina was only the latest victim of the Stadium’s ability to make the most irrelevant players historic. He hit the last home run ever in Yankee Stadium’s 85 years, ironic that it came from a player who has only gone deep 19 times in nine seasons. But it should make fans remember other famous homeruns in years past.
Of course it was the player for whom the Stadium was built that hit the first one. Babe Ruth went deep on the very first opening day back in 1923, fulfilling a goal he was so desperate to reach that he told reporters he would give up a year of his life to put one in the seats that day.
38 seasons later, on October 1, Roger Maris hit his 61st homer of the season to break Ruth’s single season record. Mickey Mantle hit his 500th there on May 14, 1967. And Tino Martinez turned on a pitch from Mark Langston, that ended up in the right field upper deck, giving the home team the momentum it needed to finish off that magical 1998 season.
All these moments added up to shift the perception of the stadium from any other park to a secular temple. There were those that dared to fight the sometimes unworldly pull of the Stadium, but they all were proven wrong. During the 2001 World Series, Diamondbacks pitcher Curt Schilling famously said that mystique and aura were more likely to be found at your local gentlemen’s club than in the Bronx. Arizona lost all three games to the Yankees, with the last two coming in astonishing and historic fashion. It was as if the Stadium had a mind of its own.
So to see it fall short of the only baseball playing month that ever mattered in New York is a travesty.
But its last few days are still ones that fans will never forget. A highlight reel catch by brett gardner friday night brought back memories of when Joe D, Williams and the Mick used to roam center field. Jeter set the all-time hits record at the Stadium, taking away a record that Lou Gehrig had owned for almost 70 years.
When Mariano Rivera entered the game in the ninth inning, it was finally time to take one last look. As has been the case for the last 12 years, the opening chords of “Enter Sandman” meant that the night would soon end. The greatest closer of all time went through the Orioles’ lineup 1-2-3, as automatic as he as always been.
Then that familiar voice of Frank Sinatra once again started booming from the speakers. Usually reserved for wins, this time it was to serenade the biggest winner New York has ever seen.
And it was a night so grand, only baseball’s greatest witticist could wrap it all up.
"This time when it's over, it's over," Berra said.

Another Sour Saturday

For three quarters, it looked the Rutgers football team brought back all of the ingredients that made for such a special recipe in 2006 and 2007. A big special teams play, a great running game, a solid defense, and a quarterback who could manage the game.
Scratch those last two. And cross out that win in RU's win column, after a game most thought would be a gimme.
The Scarlet Knights came so close, but the fourth quarter proved to be their downfall. Rutgers took a 21-20 lead when surprise starting running back Jourdan Brooks scored on a 12-yard touchdown run. That was with 7:38 remaining. Navy would not need the entire clock to go 63 yards down the field from the ensuing kickoff and re-take the lead, a 23-21 advantage that would last.
Left with essentially a two-minute drive to win the game, it only took Rutgers quarterback Mike Teel 30 seconds to put that thought to rest.
On the second play of the drive Teel dropped back to pass, looked right and thought he had Britt down the sideline for a first down. Instead Navy lineback Ross Pospisil jumped the pass and made the interception. Game over.
The interception was the sixth of the season for the senior, to only one touchdown. Once again, an offense that was expected to be explosive could not make a play when needed most. The Knights have now been held to 13 points-per-game after averaging almost 33 last year. The 20 points scored are a season high.
Of course, the game-saving drive would not have been necessary if the defense, the lynchpin of prior Greg Schiano teams and how the coach made his name, could have made a crucial stop. Instead the Midshipmen ran their patented triple-option to perfection. Eric Kettani picked up 40 yards on the drive, before kicker Matt Harmon nailed a 24-yard field goal through the uprights to put his team up 23-21.
More proof arose that the recipe Rutgers used so many times to win big games over the last three years may need to be torn out of the cookbook, especially if two of the ingredients go sour. Unfortunately for the Knights, this was a huge game that the team could not win, as struggling Rutgers dropped to 0-3. It is the first time the school has lost its first three games to start a season since 1997, with the third loss also coming at Navy. That team went on to finish 0-11. An unfathomable thought for Rutgers fans, yet remarkable for a program that seemed to be on the rise.
The lone bright spot for Rutgers on the day came from its backfield. No, not that it took Teel over 58 minutes to make his first mistake, but the running backs. Brooks received his first career collegiate start and made the most out of it. He rushed for 134 yards on 22 carries, a 6.1 yards-per-carry average, and twice got into the endzone. The red-shirt freshman showed speed, power and vision, adding a dynamic aspect to a stagnant offense.
Joe Martinek received time as his backup and was also impressive. New Jersey's all-time leading rusher gained 61 yards on only eight carries and scored RU's first touchdown of the game, tying the game up at seven in the first quarter.
Now Rutgers heads back to Piscataway, beaten and winless. A weekend that was supposed to include an easy win that lost to Duke only a week ago, instead ends dourly.
It maybe time for a new recipe.

Santana Provides Insurance

Back when the New York Mets acquired Johan Santana, they knew they were getting an ace. A former two-time Cy Young winner and the owner of the game’s nastiest change-up. Arguably the game’s best pitcher. But there was more impetus behind that trade then the point-blank. When the Mets gave up four prospects and $137 million, they were buying assurance.
Nights like Thursday’s show why sometimes that can be priceless.
The baseball season is a long one, and games in July have a what have you done for me so-far feel. What you did today is just as important as what you did a week ago. But as soon as the calendar turns to September, it’s all about what you have done lately.
And on a September night when the Mets were in a position they never could have imagined themselves to be again. Again fighting for their playoff lives, looking to prove that choke does not even exist in their vocabulary. By now, all signs for the Heimlich maneuver have probably been banished from the clubhouse just so nobody even gets the thought in their head.
That is why going into their game against the Washington Nationals, the Mets were once again under the microscope. After blowing a seven game lead with 17 games remaining last year, they rang up a three-and-a-half game lead with the same amount of season left. This time it only took them six days and five games to blow it. Cynicism is alive and well with Mets fans, who had spent all season telling themselves that this year is different.
It is, because this year they have Santana. He is the assurance that the Mets were missing last year. They got him to guarantee wins in September. He hasn’t disappointed.
In three starts this month Santana has a 2.66 era and averaging a strike-out an inning. A seven inning, one run, 8K game to beat the gNats was just another run of the mill dominant performance for him. The Mets have won eight of his last nine starts and will need to win his remaining two starts to make the playoffs.
Last year, when the team ERA was over six during that infamous stretch, the Mets never knew what they were getting from their pitching. Not even future Hall-of-Famers like Tom Glavine could be counted on.
The Phillies beat them at their own game, with a worse rotation they allowed four runs per game. Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer and even struggling Brett Myers all threw gems and won important games when they needed to. The Mets had to rely on Glavine and a barely back from injury Pedro Martinez to provide balance. That’s how a team that spent 140 days in first place spends October trying to bare Joe Buck like the rest of us.
Santana is that insurance plan that was missing in 2007, that even when the team goes on a run of losses they can rely on him to go out there every fifth day and provide the line he did last night.
It’s great to have an insurance plan, takes all the worries away.

Links:
Hamlet if Shakespeare had Facebook
Where has the real John McCain gone?
Who is Sarah Palin?
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