Yanks Lose to Jays, GSW73 > Kobe 60

The Yankees looked good in the opening game of their series against the Blue Jays in Toronto. This did not continue in last night's middle game of the series.

Michael Pineda started for the Bronx Bombers, and allowed 3 runs, 2 of them earned, over 6 innings. He threw 105 pitches, and should have been allowed to go longer, especially with the game only 3-1 in Toronto's favor at that point. The Yankee run was scored on a double by fill-in shortstop Ronald Torreyes.

But Joe Girardi saw the triple-digit number in Pineda's pitch count, and, as he so often does, he panicked. He sent Kirby Yates in to pitch the 7th, and he set the Jays down 1-2-3. And, in the top of the 8th, Mark Teixeira hit a home run (his 3rd of the season, the 397th of his career) to pull the Yankees to within 3-2. So, not a bad decision by Girardi, was it?

Well, he should have left Yates in to pitch the 8th. Instead, he brings in Ivan Nova, and, as C.J. Cregg (played by Allison Janney) said when Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) filled in for her in a White House press briefing (she had a mouthful of dentist-supplied novocaine) on The West Wing, he compwetewy impwoded. He allowed 4 runs on 5 hits in the inning, putting it out of reach.

Blue Jays 7, Yankees 2. WP: J.A. Happ (1-0). No save. LP: Pineda (1-1). Can't really blame this one on Girardi: If Alex Rodrgiuez, Starlin Castro, Chase Headley and Aaron Hicks hadn't gone 0-for-14 betwen them, Nova might have had a lead to blow. But he didn't.

The series continues tonight, with Nathan Eovaldi starting against Marcus Stroman, who really drove the Yankees nuts last season.

UPDATE: We did not yet know that Happ would one day be a Yankee.

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The Golden State Warriors won their 73rd game of the season last night, setting a new NBA record, their 73-9 topping the 72-10 of the 1996 Chicago Bulls.

It remains to be seen if the Warriors can match the '96 Bulls by winning the NBA title, but they are the defending Champions, so anyone betting against them does so knowing that.

Kobe Bryant played his last game last night, as the Los Angeles Lakers didn't make the Playoffs. He scored 60 points.

Players as good as Kobe played before him, played against him, and will play after him. But 73 wins in an NBA season has never happened before, and may never happen again.

To put that in perspective: That's a winning percentage of ,890. A baseball team winning at the same clip would go 144-18.

As Phil Rizzuto would have said, "Holy cow, that is unbelievable."

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Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 2, this Saturday night at 9:00 Eastern Time, away to the Colorado Rapids.

Days until The Arsenal play again: 3, this Sunday, 11:00 AM our time, home to South London club Crystal Palace.

Days until the 1st Yankees-Red Sox series of the season: 8, a week from tomorrow night, taking on the baseball version of The Scum at Fenway Park.

Days until the Red Bulls play a "derby": 36, on Friday night, May 13, against D.C. United (a.k.a. The DC Scum), at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. Just 5 weeks. They next play New York City F.C. (a.k.a. Man City NYC and The Homeless) on Saturday afternoon, May 21, at Yankee Stadium II. They next play the Philadelphia Union on Sunday night, July 17, at Talen Energy Stadium (formerly PPL Park) in Chester, Pennsylvania. And the next game against the New England Revolution is on Sunday night, August 28, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

Days until the 2016 Copa America kicks off in the U.S.: 50, on Friday, June 3. Just 7 weeks.

Days until Euro 2016 kicks off in France: 57, on Friday, June 10. Just 8 weeks.

Days until Arsenal play as the opponents in the 2016 Major League Soccer All-Star Game: 112, on Thursday night, July 28, at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California, home of the San Jose Earthquakes. Just 15 weeks. Three days later, Arsenal will play C.D. Guadalajara, a.k.a. Chivas, one of the biggest clubs in Mexico, at the StubHub Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, in Carson, California. This will be just 2 years after The Arsenal came to America to play the Red Bulls in New Jersey. I went to that one. I don't think I'll be going to either of these: Even if I could get a game ticket, paying for a plane ticket would be difficult.

Days until the 2016 Olympics begin in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 160, on Friday, August 5.

Days until the next North London Derby: Unknown, but at least 128. The 2016-17 Premier League season is likely to open on Saturday, August 20, but it's unlikely that Arsenal will play Tottenham (a.k.a. The Scum) in the opener.
 
Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 142, on Saturday, September 3, away to the University of Washington, in Seattle. Under 5 months.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 148, on Friday, September 9, probably away, since, while the 2016 schedule hasn't been released yet, the Big Green opened last season at home.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play another local rival: Unknown, but at least 196. The new season is likely to being on the 1st Friday in October, which would be October 7. But they're not likely to play either the New York Rangers (a.k.a. The Scum), the New York Islanders or the Philadelphia Flyers (a.k.a. The Philth) in the opener.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving game: 244, on Thursday morning, November 24, at the purple shit pit on Route 9. A little over 7 months.

Days until Alex Rodriguez' alleged retirement becomes official: 585, as his contract runs out on October 31, 2017. Or at the conclusion of the 2017 World Series, if the Yankees make it. Whichever comes last. A little over 19 months.

Days until the 2018 World Cup kicks off in Russia: 809, on June 14, 2018. Just 26 months.