Dear A-Rod,
I am sure you are already well aware, but the frustration level of your performance on the baseball diamond has reached an all time high. I am not here to remind you yet again of your 0-10 performance the last two games in Anaheim, which includes seven strikeouts. Instead, please think of this as a simple form of motivation.
As a service for the Sportscolumn community, I went to the 11:30 AM showing of Invincible today. Who am I kidding, if I wasn’t going to write a review for SC, I’d have seen the 2:30 showing anyway. As an Eagles fan, I am obligated to see the movie. What’s the population of the Delaware Valley? 6 million people? Multiply by $9… Invincible is guaranteed to bring in at least $50M just from the Philly area alone.
It was just past 11:10 PM EST last night when I was watching Sportscenter, resting after four days and five games of hell (I am a Yankees fan, but those four days were still hell regardless). Given the opportunity, I was tempted not to even stay up for the eleven o’clock Sportscenter, but just listening to Tony Kornheiser was enough to keep me awake longer than expected. And it’s a good thing I did because I have a message I’d like to send to Toronto Blue Jays Manager John Gibbons: I love you big man.
By Billy Fellin
The New York Yankees and other prestigious members of the New York hierarchy were across the street from Yankee Stadium on Tuesday around a loosened pile of dirt. All donning Yankee hardhats, they broke ground on the $1.2 billion stadium that will be completed and ready for the team to move into in 2009.
So what does this mean for baseball? Just as the title says, another great stadium bites the dust.
Growing up a kid in New York, you would think I would have been immediately drawn to the greatest franchise in the history of sports. The only problem was that early in my life the New York Yankees were playing like anything but the great teams of their storied past. In fact, it wasn’t until 1996, when my Dad bought me the Official 1996 World Series Home Video that I really started to understand the Yankees and like baseball. I’ve now watched that video so many times, it’s only a matter of time before I wear out its viewings. But even before I learned who the Yankees actually were, I already knew of a man who seemed to be quite popular, but dead now for over a year. His name was even mentioned in the video, as on his birthday, October 20th, the Yankees lost Game One of the 1996 World Series 12-1 to the defending World Champion Atlanta Braves. This mythic figure turned out to be Mickey Mantle. A fan favorite and the first real sports icon of the television era, the Mick had all the characteristics of a great player. Obviously, Mantle was a first ballot Hall of Famer, but it is the story off the field that will forever link Mickey with generations to come.
My mission here is simple: Explain why Mickey Mantle really is a positive role model, not a negative one like he stated shortly before he passed away in 1995.
by Matt Wells
Recently, I wrote an article giving songs to some of the starting pitchers of today’s game. Josh Towers, the now-demoted Oliver Perez, and the now-promoted Jered Weaver were just some of the names who were in sync with the songs I chose from my playlist.
So, we got relievers who enter the game to their choice of music. We got some starters who had some songs hand-picked for them by me. What about the teams? (This time, I’ll go outside my playlist for a few of the songs.)
The Yankees have a song (“Here Come the Yan-kees”). The Mets have a song (“Meet the Mets”). What about some of the other teams? What songs can I give them? Read on….