May 7, 2006: The Highbury Farewell & the Tottenham Lasagne

May 7, 2006, 20 years ago: The rivalry between the professional soccer teams of North London takes its strangest turn ever.

Arsenal Football Club (a.k.a. "The Arsenal") and Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (a.k.a. "Spurs") are separated by 4.7 miles in North London. To put that in perspective: Imagine that, in New York City, the Yankees and Mets played each other regularly, and that, while the Mets played in Flushing Meadow as they actually do, the Yankees played in Astoria, instead of the South Bronx.

The relationship is similar -- or it would be, if the Mets, instead of being the successors to the baseball version of the New York Giants, were a continuation of the same team: Great long ago, but only sporadically so since the Yankees first began winning, perennially getting humiliated by the more successful club, treating every win over the more successful club like you'd just won a world championship, and collapsing just as glory seems within your grasp.

But Met fans think the Yankees have unfair advantages: Money (true), getting the benefit of the doubt from the officials and the league office (don't make me laugh), favorable treatment by the media (don't take drugs). Tottenham fans think Arsenal have these advantages, and one more: Arsenal "bribed their way into the First Division in 1919." (It's been over 100 years: Not one shred of evidence has ever been found to back up this fact that "everybody knows is true.")

Therefore, both Met fans and Spurs fans claim a moral high ground over their local rivals. This results in a huge superiority complex and a huge inferiority complex at the same time.

Even the mottoes are similar: The Mets' is "Ya gotta believe!" while Spurs' is "To dare is to do."

I've mentioned before that the Mets are the Tottenham of New York, and that this might not be fair... to the Mets. Tottenham have not won their league since 1961, while the Mets, who started in 1962 as a replacement for the Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers (who left for California in 1957), have now won their league 5 times. (The real "Tottenham of New York" is hockey's Rangers, complete with their idiot thug fans: They talk as much trash as Yankee and Arsenal fans do, but they don't get the results to back it up.)

Tottenham have won England's top division of soccer (or, as they say, "football") twice, both times clinching at their home ground of White Hart Lane: In 1951 and 1961. They beat the same opponent both times: Sheffield Wednesday.

Arsenal have also twice clinched England's top division of soccer (or, as they say, "football") at White Hart Lane: In 1971 and 2004. They beat the same opponent both times: Tottenham.

Arsenal have won the League 13 times, including 6 times since Spurs' last title: 1971, 1989, 1991, 1998, 2002 and 2004.

Tottenham have won the FA Cup, England's national tournament, 8 times. This is actually a very impressive total. But they haven't won it since 1991, when they beat Arsenal in a Semifinal. They haven't even been to a Final since, going 0-3 in Semifinals, including losing to Arsenal in 1993 and 2001. Arsenal have won the FA Cup 14 times, more than any other club, including 9 times since Spurs last did: 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2020.

Because of their association with the old Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, in what's now Southeast London, Arsenal have always had a cannon on their club crest, and are thus known as the Gunners. Their fans, known as Gooners, like to say that Tottenham Hotspur, named for early 15th Century English rebel Henry Percy, a.k.a. Lord Harry Hotspur, are "forever in our shadow."

But every so often -- currently, we are in one of those moments -- the lopsided advantage in honors that tilts toward Arsenal looks like it might be reversed, what Spurs fans call "a power shift in North London."

A decade ago, there was one of those moments. But it ended up getting flushed down the toilet. Almost literally.

In 2005-06, Arsenal had their best Champions League campaign ever, reaching the Final. That Final, still the closest Arsenal have ever come to winning the European Cup (the UEFA Champions League format kept the name for the trophy), turned out to be the last appearance in Arsenal's colors for Dutch forward Dennis Bergkamp, French winger Robert Pires, English centreback Sol Campbell (who controversially transferred from Spurs to Arsenal 5 years earlier), and, controversially, English left back Ashley Cole.

Cole had grown up as an Arsenal fan and in Arsenal's youth system, but had been "tapped up" by West London rivals Chelsea, and would go to them due to new owner Roman Abramovich's spending spree, which had gotten Chelsea the 2005 and '06 Premier League titles. Cole has been known as "Cashley" to Gooners fans ever since.

But the 2005-06 season was the end of an era for another reason: It was the last season for the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury. The new Emirates Stadium -- some call it The Emirates, some by the area's former name Ashburton Grove, some cheekily call it New Highbury -- was going up, 500 yards away, and would open in the summer, the product of the success Arsenal had enjoyed in its 1st 10 years of management by the Alsatian genius, Arsène Wenger.

Arsenal wanted very badly to end the last game at Highbury with a win. It was against Manchester area club Wigan Athletic, and was expected to not be hard, but Arsenal have a history of losing the occasional game that they really should win.

But it wasn't just sentiment: Arsenal went into the season's League finale in 5th place in the Premiership, with Tottenham in 4th. All Spurs had to do in their game, which was away to East London club West Ham United, was match Arsenal's performance on that final day of the Premiership season, and it would be Spurs in the 2006-07 Champions League, with Arsenal "relegated" to the UEFA Cup -- unless, of course, Arsenal could win the CL Final, as the defending champion is always invited back.

The night before, Tottenham manager Martin Jol had secluded his players at a hotel, the Marriott Canary Wharf, in London's financial district, a.k.a. The City. This is not unusual: Many managers do things like this, even before home games. American football head coaches, in both the professional and the collegiate ranks, also do this. The players would have a nice dinner the night before the game, and get a good night's sleep, and would have a nice short bus ride to the stadium, all away from the prying of fans and the media.

What did Scottish poet Robert Burns say? Translated into modern common English, "The best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray."

In the middle of the night, 10 Spurs players woke up, vomiting, and/or having diarrhea: Robbie Keane, Edgar Davids, Michael Carrick, Aaron Lennon, Michael Dawson, Lee Barnard, Calum Davenport, Teemu Tainio, Lee Young-Pyo and Radek Cerny.

Someone decided to blame the lasagne they'd eaten for dinner that night, and after the whole thing was over, some Spurs fans started a conspiracy theory (shades of their delusions about 1919) that the Marriott chef was an Arsenal fan, and had purposely poisoned the Spurs players! It became known as Lasagne-gate.

In the morning, several Spurs players were still, uh, indisposed. So club chairman Daniel Levy called the League office, and asked League chairman Richard Scudamore to postpone the game.

Nothing doing: With 1 League game to go, all teams were to play their games at the same time, 3:00 PM. This was a change from past policy, to avoid teams whose League place had already been decided from laying down on the job, thus giving gamblers some easy pickings and paying customers a less than honest performance.

Levy protested: We have sick players, so can't the game be postponed until tomorrow? Or even until tonight, just to give us a few more hours to recover? Scudamore asked if Spurs had 11 players who could play. Well, yes, but... Then the game would go on. If Spurs wanted to postpone, they could refuse to play, but an inquiry would be held, and Spurs would likely lose that appeal, and the penalty for refusing to play would be a deduction of points, which would make a win in the rescheduled match meaningless.

West Ham officials said they were willing to accept a postponement, so long as it wasn't too close to the following Saturday, when they were to play Liverpool in the FA Cup Final (which Liverpool went on to win). Unlike Spurs, West Ham were not threatened with a points deduction for going along with the postponement (which makes sense, since it wasn't their idea).

But the police were afraid of what additional time to drink that day would do, considering the reputation that both Spurs' and the Hammers' fans had for hooliganism, including against each other. (A fight between fictionalized versions of hooligan firms from those clubs opened the 2005 film Green Street.) So the cops said they would allow the game to start no later than 5:00 -- an extra 2 hours, not much of a help for the last 2 players who still needed rehydration, Carrick and Lennon.

Carrick and Lennon

In the end, the game kicked off on time, at the traditional English football starting time of 3:00 in the afternoon, and only one of the affected players, backup goalkeeper Cerny, did not make it into the game, although Carrick had to be subbed off after 63 minutes, Lee (for fellow affectee Barnard) in the 78th, and Tainio (for fellow affectee Davenport) in the 87th.

*

That season was Wigan's first-ever season in the Premiership, and they had achieved midtable respectability, finishing 10th. An Arsenal win shouldn't have been assumed, but it was well possible. West Ham were about Wigan's equal, finishing 9th, and were hosting Spurs -- hence the Canary Wharf hotel, not far from the Hammers' Boleyn Ground, a.k.a. Upton Park.

Pires scored the Highbury opener, and, for the last time at that ground, the song "One-nil to The Arsenal" was sung -- by both Arsenal fans at Highbury and West Ham fans, learning by radio and text message, at Upton Park.

But Wigan struck back, and led 2-1. Spurs fans, getting calls and messages on their mobile phones, found out, and were ecstatic. And when Jermaine Defoe scored in the 35th to match Darren Fletcher's goal for the Hammers in the 10th, meaning Spurs were looking at a draw while Arsenal were losing, it looked like it would be Spurs' day.

It wasn't. Arsenal's superstar French forward Thierry Henry scored a hat trick, tallying in the 35th, the 56th, and the 76th with a penalty that was the last goal ever scored in the ground's 93-year history. Feeling that history, after putting the ball in the net, instead of launching a ghastly celebration, he bent down and kissed the grass. The final score was Arsenal 4-2 Wigan Athletic.

Of course, it wouldn't have mattered if Spurs had also won. But West Ham came from behind, and won 2-1 on a goal in the 80th minute by Yossi Benayoun, a midfielder from Israel.

Arsenal finished 4th, 2 points ahead of Tottenham, and qualified for the Champions League; Tottenham, finishing 5th, went to the UEFA Cup.

*

The remains of the supposedly offending lasagne were sent to a laboratory, and tested. As it turned out, there was nothing wrong with it, at least not medically. The virus that spread among the Spurs players was real, but it had nothing to do with food.

Still, Spurs fans blame that lasagne, and the chef that served it. Just like the Yankees-Red Sox "Curse of the Bambino," the lasagne contagion never really existed, but it has taken on a life of its own, because the afflicted team's fans believed it. And so, to spite them, ever since, Arsenal fans have sung, to "Volare":

Lasagne, whoa!
Lasagne, whoa!
We laughed ourselves to bits
when Tottenham got the shits!

Which matches another Arsenal chant. I don't know how far back it goes, but it was already in place in early 2007:

Q: What do you think of Tottenham?
A: Shit!
Q: What do you think of shit?
A: Tottenham!
Q: Thank you!
A: That's all right! We hate Tottenham and we hate Tottenham! We hate Tottenham and we hate Tottenham! We hate Tottenham and we hate Tottenham! We are the Tottenham haters!

Indeed, Tottenham didn't finished higher than Arsenal in the League between 1995 and 2017. They then did it 4 times in a row, before Arsenal took over again in 2022.

For talk among their organization, and talk among their fans, and talk among the media, all combined, and then divided by results, Tottenham Hotspur are arguably the biggest joke franchise in sports on planet Earth, any sport, any country.

Lasagne-gate may have been the highest moment -- or the lowest, if you prefer.

Ted Turner, 1938-2026

Ted Turner once said, "There's a fine line between being colorful and being an asshole, and I hope I'm still just colorful."

Robert Edward Turner III was born on November 19, 1938 in Cincinnati, and grew up in Savannah, Georgia. Expelled from Ivy League school Brown University for being caught with a woman in his dorm, he enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard, so he wouldn't be drafted to fight in Vietnam during the early phase of that war. He later admitted, "I like boats," and was "deployed to some pretty sweet places -- Charleston and Fort Lauderdale."

How much did he like boats? In 1964, he competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials for yacht racing. In 1974, he entered the defender's trials for the America's Cup. On September 18, 1977,  commanding

Courageous, Ted Turner won the America's Cup, defeating Australia in a 4-race sweep.

His father committed suicide in 1963, and 24-year-old Ted took over his father's business, producing advertising billboards. Like another young man who would become a baseball mogul, George Steinbrenner, he took his father's business and grew it far beyond anything his father had imagined, making it "the largest outdoor advertising company in the Southeast."

He began buying radio stations, and, in 1969, traded them for a struggling Atlanta TV statin, WJRJ-Channel 17. He changed the call sign to WTCG, for Turner Communications Group, although he advertised it as "Watch This Channel Grow."

Initially, the station ran old movies from prior decades, along with theatrical cartoons and bygone sitcoms and drama programs. As a better syndicated product fell off the VHF stations, Turner would acquire it for his station at a very low price. WTCG ran mostly second- and even third-hand programming of the time, including fare such as I Love Lucy, Gilligan's Island and Star Trek.

In 1972, he bought the rights to broadcast the games of baseball's Atlanta Braves and the NBA's Atlanta Hawks. In 1976, he bought those teams outright, thinking that his broadcast revenue would allow him to buy better players, and the teams would help the station grow further

On May 2, 1976, Turner announced that, instead of their surnames, the Braves players would have their nicknames above their uniform numbers on their backs. Darrell Evans had "HOWDY." Darrel Chaney had "NORT." Jimmy Wynn's nickname, "The Toy Cannon" (because he was short but powerful), was too long to fit, so his was just "CANNON." And pitcher Andy Messersmith had "CHANNEL."

Bowie Kuhn, the Commissioner of Baseball, saw through this blatant attempt by Turner to advertise for his station, and prohibited it thereafter. Turner and Kuhn were now at odds, and would remain so. (Not that he was the only owner with whom Kuhn was at odds.) On January 3, 1977, Kuhn suspended Turner for a year, for his actions in signing free agent outfielder Gary Matthews. Turner appealed the suspension, and it was overturned.

On May 11, 1977, with the team mired in a 16-game losing streak, Turner sent manager Dave Bristol on a 10-day "scouting trip," and installed himself took over as interim manager. This made him the 1st owner/manager in the major leagues since Connie Mack stepped down as manager of the Philadelphia Athletics in 1950.

That night, the Braves lost 2-1 to the Pirates. Phil Niekro went the distance, and pitched well, but fell to 0-7 on the season. He would end it 16-20. John Candelaria held the Braves to 1 run on 8 hits, 3 of them by rookie outfielder Barry Bonnell, who ended up batting .300 for the season. Dave Parker hit a home run for the Pirates, and that made the difference. Willie Stargell went 1-for- 2 with 2 walks.

The next day, National League President Charles "Chub" Feeney ordered Turner to step down as manager, citing MLB's Rule 20(e), which prohibits managers from owning any stock in the team that employs them, unless specifically granted an exemption by the Commissioner. This rule was put in place in 1927, after a situation regarding Rogers Hornsby. Mack, and also John McGraw of the New York Giants, who owned stock in their teams, were "grandfathered in." Turner appealed to Kuhn, but was never going to get anywhere with him.

The next day, with 3rd base coach Vern Benson running the team, the Braves broke their 17-game losing streak, beating the Pirates, 6-1. Bristol returned for the next game, and the team finished 61-101, in 6th and last place in the NL Western Division, 37 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Turner fired Bristol after the season, and replaced him with New York Yankees coach Bobby Cox. He got nowhere with the Braves, but their next manager, Joe Torre, led them to the NL West title in 1982, and almost did it again in 1983.

That 1982 season was the year that made the Braves a national phenomenon: Not only had Turner changed Channel 17's call letters to WTBS, for "Turner Broadcasting System," but he'd made it a national "SuperStation." Like the Chicago Cubs on WGN, his games were now broadcast nationwide, and they got a national following, not just a regional one. He even billed the Braves as "America's Team," just as football's Dallas Cowboys had done. They lost the NL Championship Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, whose vast radio network had made them something like a national team.

Cox went on to the Toronto Blue Jays, and led them to their 1st Division title in 1985, but they lost the American League Championship Series to the Kansas City Royals.

In 1990, Turner lured away the Royals' general manager, John Schuerholz. He brought Cox back to the Braves, and the next year, they began one of the most successful runs in NL history. Not counting the strike-shortened 1994 season, the Braves won their Division -- the NL West through 1993, the NL East thereafter -- every season from 1991 to 2005. They won their 1st Pennant in Atlanta in 1991, and also won in 1992, 1995, 1996 and 1999. And they won the 1995 World Series, although they lost the others, including in 1996 and 1999 to the Yankees, who were managed by... Joe Torre.

In 1980, Turner founded CNN, Cable News Network, creating the 24-hour news cycle format. It revolutionized news broadcasting, in ways both positive and not-so-positive. Due to its role in covering the Persian Gulf War, Time magazine named Turner its Man of the Year for 1991.

He sold Turner Broadcasting, including CNN, in 1996, a year after the Braves finally won the World Series. He sold the Braves and the Hawks in 2007. He became one of the largest private landowners in America, and one of the country's leading conservationists.

Turner was married and divorced three times: To Judy Nye (1960–1964), Jane Shirley Smith (1965–1988), and actress Jane Fonda (1991–2001). He had five children: Laura Turner Seydel and Robert Edward Turner Jr., a.k.a. Eddy Turner, with Judy; and Beau Turner, Rhett Turner and Jennie Turner Garlington with Jane Smith. Generally, his children have followed in Ted's philanthropic and conservationist goals.

Turner and Fonda

In a 2018 interview on CBS Sunday Morning, Turner revealed his diagnosis of Lewy body dementia, which had led comedian-actor Robin Williams to commit suicide, and would also lead to the death of baseball legend Tom Seaver. It was Turner's last public appearance. He died today, May 6, 2026, at his home in Lamont, on the Florida Panhandle, at the age of 87.

In spite of their divorce, today, Fonda spoke well of Turner on Instagram:

MY IMMEDIATE THOUGHTS ABOUT TED He swept into my life, a gloriously handsome, deeply romantic, swashbuckling pirate and I've never been the same. He needed me. No one had ever let me know they needed me, and this wasn't your average human being that needed me, this was the creator of CNN, and Turner Classic Movies, who had won the America's Cup as the world's greatest sailor. He had a big life, a brilliant mind and a soaring sense of humor.

He could also take care of me. That was new as well. To be needed and cared for simultaneously is transformative. Ted Turner helped me believe in myself. He gave me confidence. I think I did the same for him, but that's what women are raised to do. Men like Ted aren’t supposed to express need and vulnerability. That was Ted's greatest strength, I believe.

He also taught me more than any other person or school classes, mostly about nature and wildlife, hunting and fishing (hunters and fishermen who follow the law are the best environmentalists), but also about business and strategy. Ted was supremely strategic. It was likely innate, but he studied the Classics in college, knew about the Peleponesian War inside and out and the strategies used by Alexander the Great and even Genghis Khan. And sailing big boats as he did further honed those strategic talents which he then brought into his businesses to much success. He could see around corners for sure.

Next to Katharine Hepburn, Ted was the most competitive person I have ever met and that was fascinating to witness. Whether it was who'd made the most ski runs at the end of the day, to acres of land owned (stewarded is the more fitting word for his relationship to land), who had the most billions, how many countries he'd made love to his prior lover in and could I match that, it was challenging. Ted was challenging, but I've always been up for a challenge, and with Ted it was almost always worth it.

As our friend, Ron Olson, said, "Ted was a great teacher, often by example. He challenged us to think big (he once asked me to draft a resolution for the UN and the US Congress to ban all nuclear weapons; I did) and act small (for the twenty years since meeting Ted, I too, pick up trash on my walks)."

I loved Ted with all my heart. I see him in heaven now with all the wildlife he helped bring back from extinction – the black footed ferrets, the prairie dogs, Big Horned sheep, Mexican Gray Wolf, the Yellowstone wolf pack, bison, the red cockaded woodpecker and so many more, they’re all gathered at the pearly gates applauding and thanking him for saving their species.

Five children survive him, five talented, complex kids who I had the privilege of becoming stepmother to. I had four stepmothers growing up and I know how important stepmothers can be, so we all did our best to build an extended, rag tag family, and I love them to this day. If it was complicated to be married to him, think how complicated it was being his child. And they are all doing fine.

Rest in Peace, dearest Ted. You are loved and you will be remembered.

Whatever caused them to split up, clearly, Jane Fonda thought Ted Turner was still, to use his word, "colorful" -- and, to use a too-often-used phrase, a great man.

If he had still been able to run CNN in 2015, I have no doubt that there would have been a proper journalistic investigation of Donald Trump. And that fat fascist son of a bitch would have been arrested by the FBI when he got to the bottom of the damn escalator. And, today, the world would be much better off.

Yankees Sweep Orioles Amid Sterling Memorial

The Yankees were doing so well, looking like they might be launching a historic season, in spite of all their injuries.

And then, yesterday, we got word that John Sterling, Yankee broadcaster from 1989 to 2024, had passed away at the age of 87. To paraphrase the man himself: Ballgame over, life well lived over.

The Yankees played on, with the letters "JS" stitched in white on the backs of their caps. I suspect there will be a uniform sleeve mourning band or patch to come.

*

They began a weekend 4-game series with the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium II on Friday night. Will Warren, meant to plug one of the holes in the rotation caused by the long-term injuries to Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodón and Clarke Schmidt, pitched very well again, going 6 1/3rd innings, allowing 2 runs, only 1 earned, on 3 hits and 1 walk, striking out 9.

His main support came in a 4-run 2nd inning that included home runs by José Caballero and Ben Rice. The Yankee bullpen allowed just 1 baserunner, a walk, and the Yankees began the series with a 7-2 win.

Ryan Weathers was also meant to be a hole-plugger. On Saturday afternoon, he only went 5 innings, because he had thrown 90 pitches. He allowed 3 runs, but only 1 earned, on 3 hits and 2 walks, striking out 5.

But Cody Bellinger had himself a very nice day. How nice was it? 4-for-4 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs. Trent Grisham also homered, and the Yanks beat the O's, 9-4.

On Sunday, in the last game that John Sterling would ever see, Max Fried had a rare struggling start, going just 5 1/3rd innings, throwing 107 pitches, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks, although he did strike out 9. The bullpen pitched shutout ball the rest of the way, allowing 3 hits and no walks. Fernando Cruz turned out to be the winning pitcher.

Rice hit another home run, his 12th of the season. Aaron Judge hit his 13th, to retake the American League lead. Returning from injury to make his 1st major league appearance of the season, highly-touted prospect Jasson Domínguez, "The Martian," went 3-for-5 with a home run and 3 RBIs. With 7 runs in the bottom of the 8th, the Yankees pulled away, and won, 11-3.

The Yankees gave Sterling one last smile.

Last night, a pregame ceremony was held in his memory. Highlights of his calls were played on the big video board in center field. Two of his former broadcast partners, Michael Kay and Suzyn Waldman, walked onto the field, and each laid a bouquet of flowers on home plate.

Like Fried the day before, Cam Schlittler struggled, going 5 2/3rds innings, allowing only 1 run, but 7 hits and 3 walks. Fortunately, the bullpen threw shutout ball the rest of the way.

Judge went 2-for-4 with a walk and 4 RBIs, including a home run. It was the 382nd of his career. On the all-time list, this surpassed Albert Belle, and tied Frank Howard, Jim Rice and Ryan Howard (no relation to Frank). Next up on the all-time list: Larry Walker, with 383.

Yankees 12, Orioles 1. The Orioles did not hold a lead in any of the 36 innings of this series.

*

We are now 21 percent of the way into the season, 1/5th. The Yankees are 24-11, a pace for 111 wins, having won winning 13 of their last 15. They have done this without 3 projected starting pitchers, and also without Domínguez until Sunday.

They have also done this without their intended starting shortstop, Anthony Volpe. But Caballero has played so well, they Yankees decided to send Volpe to their Class AAA team in Scranton (actually, Moosic), Pennsylvania. They had to do either that, or promote him (meaning they would have to clear a roster spot), or waive him, or "designate him for assignment," or release him outright. They chose the path most likely to make him a contributing player in the future.

The Yankees have the best record in the American League. Only the Atlanta Braves, by half a game (1 more win and the same number of losses) have a better one in the National League. The Yankees lead the AL Eastern Division by a game and a half over the Tampa Bay Rays, 8 over the Toronto Blue Jays, 9 over the Orioles, and 10 over the despised Boston Red Sox.

Tonight, the Yankees start a home series with the Texas Rangers, from whom they took 2 out of 3 last week. Elmer Rodríguez makes his 2nd major league appearance and start, against Jacob deGrom. For his career, Rodríguez is 0-1, while the fragile deGrom is 98-66. Perhaps Rodríguez will end up with more career wins.

Come on you Pinstripes!

May 5, 1956: Bert Trautmann Breaks His Neck to Win the FA Cup

May 5, 1956, 70 years ago: Many sports fans have said they would die for their team. Most don't mean it. And most don't expect their players to die for their teams. Well, one man broke his neck to win his team a trophy, and lived to tell about it.

Bernhard Carl Trautmann was born on October 22, 1923 in Bremen, Germany. This was the same month in which Charlton Heston, Glynis Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, and New York baseball legend Bobby Thomson were born.

He excelled in multiple sports, including soccer, where he was an expert goalkeeper. Like nearly every German male of his generation, he joined the Army, fighting for the Nazis whether they liked it or not. He became a paratrooper, so he was certainly brave. He would eventually be captured by, and escape from, the Americans, the Soviet Red Army, and the French Resistance. The 4th time, he was captured by the British. This time, he accepted his fate, and was taken to a prisoner-of-war camp near Liverpool.

After The War, he was released, but declined an offer of repatriation, and stayed in England. He played for St. Helens Town, a club near Liverpool. He was allowed to marry Margaret Friar, the daughter of the club secretary. He got the club promoted, and in 1949, he was signed by Manchester City Football Club. This made him the 1st soccer player in England to wear Adidas shoes, since he was a friend of the company's founder, Adolf Dassler. (His nickname was Adi, hence, "Adi Das." His brother Rudolf Dassler founded Puma.)

Man City fans were not happy about the signing. A, Trautmann wasn't just German, he had actually fought for the enemy. B, He was replacing Frank Swift, the greatest goalie in Man City's history to that point. (Swift then became a journalist, and died in the Munich Air Disaster of 1958, covering Manchester United's European Cup run.)

A January 1950 match away to West London club Fulham changed things. He made several great saves, and, although Fulham won 1-0, their fans stopped hurling insults at him, and gave him a standing ovation as he walked off the field.

Man City were relegated to the Football League Division Two at the end of the season, but bounced back up to Division One at the end of the next season. Led by Trautmann and forward Don Revie (later the manager of the great Leeds United team of the late 1960s and early 1970s), they reached the 1955 FA Cup Final, losing to Newcastle United FC.

In 1956, they got back to the Final, and faced Birmingham City FC. The game was 1-1 at the hour, but Bobby Johnstone and Jack Dyson scored in quick succession to make it 3-1 to Man City. In the 73rd minute, Peter Murphy attempted a shot for the Brummies, but Trautmann dove at his feet to win the ball. In the process, Murphy's knee struck Trautmann in the neck.

Trautmann was knocked unconscious. Substitutes were not allowed in English football until the 1965-66 season, so if he could not continue, an outfield player would have to put on the green shirt, and City would be down to 10 men. Trautmann came to, and, with the situation explained to him, he insisted on staying in the game.

The Man City players did what they could to keep the ball away from him, but he had to make 2 more saves, the 2nd of which was another collision with Murphy, resulting in his needing treatment.

The game ended 3-1, and the Man City players climbed the famed Wembley Stadium steps to the royal box, where Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and husband of Queen Elizabeth II, handed out the Cup to winning Captain Roy Paul, and the winner's medals to all the players. On the film, Trautmann can be seen rubbing his neck. Prince Philip expressed concern for Trautmann's condition.

After 3 days, the pain didn't go away, so Trautmann went to the doctor. He was told he had dislocated 5 vertebrae, 1 of which was cracked. The 3rd vertebra had lodged against the cracked 2nd, possibly saving his life. He had, quite literally, broken his neck to win the FA Cup.

He missed much of the 1956-57 season, and in 1958, because he had not fully recovered, Man City became the only team in the history of England's Football League (including the post-1992 Premier League) to score 100 goals and allow 100 goals in a single League season. But he continued to play until 1964, and his final match was a testimonial at Maine Road, City's ground from 1923 to 2003. He captained a combined City and United team, with Bobby Charlton and Denis Law guesting from United, against an International XI that had England stars Stanley Matthews, Tom Finney and Jimmy Armfield.

He was not allowed to play for the West Germany national team, under their rules of the time, because he was playing outside the country, and so he was not on the team that won the 1954 World Cup. He later coached in England, Germany and Spain, and managed the national teams of Burma, Tanzania, Liberia and Pakistan.

He settled in the Mediterranean coastal city of Valencia, Spain. He married 3 times, and had 4 children, 1 of whom died in a car crash as a boy, which led to the breakup of his 1st marriage. Queen Elizabeth II awarded him an OBE for his efforts at diplomacy through sport, and, on the occasion, asked him if his neck felt better.

He was honored with a statue outside the City of Manchester Stadium, to which Man City moved in 2003, and is now named the Etihad Stadium.

He died on July 19, 2013, in Valencia, from the effects of a pair of heart attacks earlier in the year, up to which point he was still thought to be in good health. He was 89 years old.

Bert Trautmann was a symbol of courage, perseverance, understanding and sportsmanship. He could have been embittered by either the war he was in or his new country's reaction to his service in it. Instead, he made both his old country and his new country better places to be. That's testimonial enough for anyone.

John Sterling, 1938-2026

Like George Steinbrenner, but not like George M. Cohan, who was actually born on a July 3, John Sterling was, to borrow Cohan's words, "a real live nephew of my Uncle Sam, born on the 4th of July."

Unlike Steinbrenner, on the day that John Sterling, under the name John Sloss, was born in Manhattan, July 4, 1938, the New York Yankees were in first place -- or, at least, tied for it, with the Cleveland Indians. They went on to win the World Series that season.

John grew up on the Upper East Side, and attended Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; Boston University, and Columbia University in Manhattan, before leaving school to work at a small radio station in Wellsville, New York, in Alleghany County in the State's Southern Tier. Like many Jewish broadcasters, he changed his name to ward off anti-Semitism, becoming "John Sterling," choosing the name because it sounded like he could "shine."

In 1970, he moved to Baltimore, broadcasting for the NBA's Baltimore Bullets, who reached the NBA Finals in his 1st season with them. He also broadcast football games for Morgan State University, a historically black school in Baltimore.

He returned to New York, and hosted a sports-talk show on radio station WMCA, 570 on the AM dial. He broadcast basketball for the ABA's New York Nets, remaining with the for a while after they joined the NBA and then moved to New Jersey. He broadcast hockey for the NHL's New York Islanders and the WHA's New York Raiders, and football for the World Football League's New York Stars.

In 1981, he moved to Atlanta, hired by Turner Sports to broadcast for baseball's Braves and the NBA's Hawks. On July 4, 1985, the Braves played the Mets at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Braves owner Ted Turner scheduled a postgame 4th of July fireworks show. But the game was delayed by rain, and didn't start until 9:04 PM. And it went to extra innings. A lot of extra innings.

In the top of the 18th inning, the Mets took an 11-10 lead. The only pitchers the Braves had left were 3 starters and the current reliever, Rick Camp. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 18th, there was no player left to pinch-hit for Camp, except for the 3 starting pitchers. He came into that game 10-for-168 for his career -- a lifetime batting average of .060. 

Sterling turned to his broadcast partner, Ernie Johnson -- who pitched for the Braves in Milwaukee and was the father of basketball announcer Ernie Johnson Jr. -- and said, "I'll tell you, Ernie: If hits a home run to tie this game, this game will be certified as absolutely the nuttiest in the history of baseball."

I was 15 years old, and watched this game on WOR-Channel 9, but, because of Sterling's call, it's the TBS version that seems to have been preserved for posterity and shown on highlights. Here's what Sterling said:

And he hits it to deep left! Heep goes back! It is... GONE! Holy cow! Oh my goodness! I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Rick Camp! Rick Camp! I told you Ernie, if he hits it out... That certifies this game as the wildest, wackiest, most improbable game in history!

But the Mets took a 16-11 lead in the top of the 19th. In the bottom of the 19th, the Braves closed to 16-13, had 2 men on, and Camp came up again. This time, Met starter Ron Darling, who had come on as an emergency reliever, struck Camp out to end it.

In 1989, Sterling came back to New York, as the radio voice of the Yankees, on 770 WABC until 2001, on 880 WCBS from 2002 to 2013, and on WFAN from 2014 until his retirement in 2024. In 1989 and '90, his partner was former outfielder (including for the Yankees) Jay Johnstone. In 1991, it was Joe Angel, who became better known later as an announcer for the Baltimore Orioles.

In 1992, he teamed with Daily News baseball columnist Michael Kay. The pair split in 2002, when the YES Network was founded, and Kay became their lead announcer, although the pair still teamed up to do the introductions every Old-Timers Day. Kay was replaced as Sterling's partner by Charley Steiner, now better known as a Los Angeles Dodgers announcer. And in 2005, Steiner was replaced by WFAN announcer Suzyn Waldman.

Like legendary Yankee announcers Mel Allen (1939-64) and Phil Rizzuto (1957-96), John Sterling was a "homer." He was not objective, supporting the Yankees throughout his 36-season tenure, longer than any Yankee announcer so far, except Rizzuto. And, like Mel and Phil, he made no apologies for it.

When something unusual happened on the field, he would turn to Waldman and say, "You know, Suzyn, you just can't predict baseball." In fact, baseball is among the more predictable sports.

For example, when a Yankee player hit a long drive, you had a 50-50 chance of correctly guessing that Sterling would guess wrong. Like Allen and Rizzuto, he tended to watch the ball, not the outfielder. In contrast, Red Barber, who broadcast for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939 to 1953, before coming to the Yankees and staying through 1966, told would-be announcers to watch the outfielder: If he looks like he thinks he can catch the ball, don't act like it's going to be a home run.

And so, Sterling would go into his home run call: "Swung on, and there it goes! Deep to left! That ball is high! It is far! It is... gone!" But, as so often happened, it would be, "It is high! It is far! It is... caught at the wall!" Or, "It is high! It is far! It is... off the wall!" One time, he said, "It is high! It is far! It is... a foul ball! Wow, Suzyn, that ball was gone!" No, it wasn't, it was foul!

Just as Allen tended to make up nicknames for Yankee players, Sterling would tailor home run calls around the hitter's name:

* Bernie Williams: "Bernie goes boom! Bern, baby, Bern!"

* Jorge Posada: "Jorgie juiced one!" (Instead of the seemingly obvious, "Hip, hip, Jorge!")

* Tino Martinez: "The Bam-tino!" (A play on one of Babe Ruth's nicknames, The Bambino.")

* Derek Jeter, after being named team Captain in 2003: "El Capitan!"

* Jason Giambi: "The Giambino!" (Same.)

* Alex Rodriguez: "It's an A-bomb for A-Rod!"

* Hideki Matsui, who was nicknamed Godzilla because he was from Japan: "It's a thrilla from Godzilla!"

* Robinson Canó: "Robbie Canó, doncha know!"

* Mark Teixeira: "Mark sends a Tex message! You're on the Mark, Teixeira!"

* Nick Swisher: "Positively Swish-a-licious!"

* Curtis Granderson: "The Grandy Man can!"

* Giancarlo Stanton: This one should have been obvious: "It's a Giac by Giancarlo!" Instead, he used “Giancarlo, non si può de stopparlo!” Sterling called a friend at the Berlitz Academy of Foreign Languages. Loosely translated from Italian, the call means, “You cannot be stopped!”

* Didi Gregorius: "Didi Gregorius makes Yankee fans euphorious!"

* Aaron Judge: "All rise! Here comes the judge!" (Reminding everyone of the "Here Come Da Judge" sketch on Laugh-In.)

* Gleyber Torres: "It's Gleyber Day! And like a good Gleyber, Torres is there!"

And two straight players hitting them "go back-to-back, and a-belly-to-belly!"

Let's be honest: Some of them were better than others.

On May 27, 1991, the Yankees were struggling, but came from behind to win a Memorial Day matinee against the hated Boston Red Sox, on a 3-run walkoff home run by Mel Hall. Sterling yelled, "Ballgame over! Yankees win! The Yankees win!"

He began using it after every game. By the time of the 1996 postseason run, the "The" had gotten stretched out: "The-uh-uh-uh-uh Yankees win!" The bigger the game, the longer the "The." At the end of a postseason series, he would mention it. "Ballgame over! World Series over! Yankees win! Theeeeeeeeeeee Yankees win!"

Eventually, a recording of it would be played by the Yankees' scoreboard operator, followed by Frank Sinatra's version of "Theme from New York, New York." In 2007, someone with a camera phone got a closeup of Sterling saying it, pumping his fists, shaking in his chair, and posted it on YouTube, calling it "The Sterling Shake."

Sterling was typical of Yankee figures: People who loved the Yankees loved him, and loved his whole shtick; people who hated the Yankees thought he was dumb and annoying.

He was not dumb. And the only time when he was annoying was when he went into "It is high! It is far... " and it turned out not to be gone.

When the YES Network was founded in 2002, Sterling became the host and narrator for its Yankeeography series. He also hosted the Yankees Classics series, including many games that he had broadcast himself. He won 16 Sports Emmy Awards, including 2 for Yankeeography.

He lived with his wife, Jennifer, in Teaneck, Bergen County, not far from the George Washington Bridge and The Stadium, until they divorced. They had 4 children. He then moved into The Avalon at Edgewater, overlooking the Hudson River, with a view of The Stadium. He lost that apartment in a fire in 2015, but found a new apartment in Edgewater.

His 1st game with the Yankees was on April 4, 1989, a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Twins at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. On October 19, 2019, he broadcast Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, a 6-4 loss to the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston. It was the game where Jose Altuve hit a Pennant-winning home run, and then yelled at his teammates not to rip his shirt open. In between, over 31 seasons and 5,060 games, John Sterling broadcast every Yankee game.

This included every single game in the careers of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera; the 3,000th hits of Jeter and Alex Rodriguez; A-Rod's 400th, 500th and 600th career home runs; Rivera's record-breaking 602nd save; the perfect games of David Wells, David Cone and Domingo Germán, and the no-hitters of Jim Abbott, Dwight Gooden and Corey Kluber; the Opening Series in Japan in 2004; the London Series in 2019; the last game at the old Yankee Stadium in 2008; the 1st game at the new Yankee Stadium in 2009; the AL Wild Card Game in 2015, '17, '18 and '21; the AL Wild Card Series in 2020; the AL Division Series in 1995, '96, '97, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07, '09, '10, '11, '12, '17, '18, '19, '20 and '22; the AL Championship Series in 1996, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '03, '04, '09, '10, '12, '17, '19 and '22; and the World Series in 1996, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '03 and '09.

But advancing age and heart trouble were taking their toll. He missed games in the COVID-shortened season of 2020. He was making more mistakes. On June 10, 2023, while broadcasting a game against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, he was hit in the head by a foul ball off the bat of Justin Turner. He stayed in the game.

On April 14, 2024, he called the Yankees' 8-7 loss to the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field in Cleveland. It was his 5,651st game for the Yankees, counting the postseason. The next day, arriving back in New York, he announced his retirement, effective immediately. It appears he left on his own terms. He said:

I am a very blessed human being. I have been able to do what I wanted, broadcasting for 64 years. As a little boy growing up in New York as a Yankees fan, I was able to broadcast the Yankees for 36 years. It's all to my benefit, and I leave very, very happy.

The Yankees won the Pennant in 2024, and he was invited back to broadcast an inning of the World Series, which the Yankees lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

John Sterling died today, May 4, 2026, at Englewood Hospital in Englewood, Bergen County, New Jersey, from longstanding heart trouble. He was 87 years old, 2 months short of his 88th birthday.

And the New York Yankees are in first place. Cliché Alert: He would have wanted it that way.

He is... gone. But he will never leave us.

UPDATE: That night, before the game, a pregame ceremony was held. Highlights of John's calls were played on the big screen behind center field, and Michael Kay and Suzyn Waldman walked out together and laid bouquets of flowers on home plate.

New York vs. Philadelphia In the Postseason

The New York Knicks won their 1st Round Playoff series, beating the Atlanta Hawks in 6 games, winning Game 6 by a Playoff-record-setting margin.

The Philadelphia 76ers won theirs, beating their arch-rivals, the Boston Celtics, in a Game 7 in Boston. Truly an epic achievement.

The Knicks and Sixers will now play each other in the NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals. They haven't been to the NBA Finals since 1999 and 2001, respectively. They haven't won an NBA Championship since 1973 (Knicks) and 1983 (76ers).

New York vs. Philadelphia In the Postseason

1905 World Series: New York Giants beat Philadelphia Athletics

1911 World Series: Athletics beat Giants

1913 World Series: Athletics beat Giants

1947 BAA Semifinals: Philadelphia Warriors beat New York Knicks

1950 World Series: New York Yankees beat Philadelphia Phillies

1968 NBA Eastern Division Semifinals: Philadelphia 76ers beat Knicks

1974 Stanley Cup Semifinals: Philadelphia Flyers beat New York Rangers

1975 Stanley Cup Semifinals: Flyers beat New York Islanders

1977 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals: 76ers beat Knicks

1979 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals: Rangers beat Flyers

1979 NBA Eastern Conference 1st Round: 76ers beat New Jersey Nets

1980 Stanley Cup Quarterfinals: Flyers beat Rangers

1980 Stanley Cup Finals: Islanders beat Flyers

1981 NFC Wild Card Playoff: Philadelphia Eagles beat New York Giants

1982 NHL Patrick Division Semifinals: Rangers beat Flyers

1983 NHL Patrick Division Semifinals: Rangers beat Flyers

1983 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals: 76ers beat Knicks

1984 NBA Eastern Conference 1st Round: Nets beat 76ers

1985 NHL Patrick Division Semifinals: Flyers beat Rangers

1985 NHL Patrick Division Finals: Flyers beat Islanders

1986 NHL Patrick Division Semifinals: Rangers beat Flyers

1987 NHL Patrick Division Semifinals: Flyers beat Rangers

1987 NHL Patrick Division Finals: Flyers beat Islanders

1989 NBA Eastern Conference 1st Round: Knicks beat 76ers

1995 NHL Eastern Conference Semifinals: Flyers beat Rangers

1995 NHL Eastern Conference Finals: New Jersey Devils beat Flyers

1997 NHL Eastern Conference Semifinals: Flyers beat Rangers

2000 NHL Eastern Conference Finals: Devils beat Flyers

2000 NFC Divisional Playoff: Giants beat Eagles

2004 NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: Flyers beat Devils

2006 NFC Wild Card Playoff: Eagles beat Giants

2008 NFC Divisional Playoff: Eagles beat Giants

2009 World Series: Yankees beat Phillies

2010 NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: Flyers beat Devils

2012 NHL Eastern Conference Semifinals: Devils beat Flyers

2014 NHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: Rangers beat Flyers

2018 MLS Cup Knockout Round: New York City FC beat Philadelphia Union

2019 NBA Eastern Conference 1st Round: 76ers beat Nets

2019 MLS Cup 1st Round: Union beat New York Red Bulls

2020 Stanley Cup 2nd Round: Islanders beat Flyers

2021 MLS Cup 1st Round: Union beat Red Bulls

2021 MLS Cup Eastern Conference Finals: City beat Union

2022 NFC Divisional Playoff: Eagles beat Giants

2022 MLS Cup Eastern Conference Finals: Union beat City

2023 NBA Eastern Conference 1st Round: 76ers beat Nets

2024 NBA Eastern Conference 1st Round: Knicks beat 76ers

2024 National League Championship Series: New York Mets beat Phillies

2025 MLS Cup Eastern Conference Semifinals: City beat Union

Note: For soccer, I counted only Major League Soccer. I would have counted the North American Soccer League, but the New York Cosmos and the Philadelphia Atoms never played each other in the Playoffs. Nor did the Cosmos and the later Philadelphia Fury. I did not count the U.S. Open Cup, because that's an in-season tournament, not postseason.

MLB: New York, 4-2

NFL: Philadelphia, 4-1

NBA: Philadelphia, 7-3

NHL: Philadelphia, 11-10

MLS: Tie, 3-3

TOTAL: Philadelphia 27-21.

Yankees Mess With Texas, Enter May In 1st Place

The Yankees had to go to Boston to play the Red Sox? Then to Houston to play the Astros? Then to the suburbs of Dallas to play the Texas Rangers? Tough roadtrip.

Well, we took Seven of Nine. For those teams, resistance was futile.

Yes, that was a Star Trek joke in a blog post about the Yankees. It might not have been the logical thing to do, but it was the human thing to do.

On Monday night, the Yankees began that series at Globe Life Field (not to be confused with the Rangers' previous stadium, now named Choctaw Stadium, formerly Globe Life Park, Rangers Ballpark, Ameriquest Field and simply The Ballpark), and turned it, like the do any stadium, into "a little league field." Aaron Judge, Ben Rice and Jazz Chisholm hit home runs, to support 6 shutout innings by Max Fried. The Yankees ended up winning, 4-2.

Tuesday night was a battle between young Yankee sensation Cam Schlittler and former Met "legend" Jacob deGrom, recipient of the two least-earned Cy Young Awards of all time. Cody Bellinger doubled Aaron Judge home in the 1st inning. That would be the only run either man allowed.

In the top of the 7th, with deGrom relieved by Jalen Beeks, Austin Wells hit a home run. Brent Headrick worked in and out of trouble for the Yankees. Fernando Cruz did the same in the 8th. Judge hit a home run in the 9th, the 380th of his career, to surpass Orlando Cepeda and Tony Pérez with 379 on the all-time list. Next up: Albert Belle at 381.

And that "insurance run" turned out to be crucial: David Bednar did his best Aroldis Chapman -- or Boone Logan, or Scott Proctor, or Kyle Farnsworth -- impression in the bottom of the 9th, letting the Rangers get to within 3-2, before he finally slammed the door.

On Wednesday afternoon, Elmer Rodríguez, a 22-year-old righthanded pitcher from Puerto Rico, made his major league debut. Wearing Number 71, he went 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks, striking out 3. Presuming neither Gerrit Cole, nor Carlos Rodón, nor Clarke Schmidt comes off the Injured List in the next week (as seems likely), Rodríguez will probably get at least one more start before he gets sent back to Class AAA Scranton. The bullpen did well, allowing just 1 run over the last 5 innings.

But what may well be Brian Cashman's dumbest transaction as Yankee general manager came back to bite him, and us, again: Releasing Nathan Eovaldi after the 2016 season. Eovaldi allowed just 4 hits, and the Yankees never got going, losing to the Rangers, 3-0.

In spite of this last game, not only did the Yankees go 7-2 on the roadtrip, but they took 2 out of 3 in both Houston and the Dallas-Fort Worth "Metroplex." They messed with Texas.

They leave April and enter May 20-11, with the best record in the American League. In the AL Eastern Division, they are a game and a half ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, 5 ahead of the Baltimore Orioles, 6 ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays, and 8 ahead of the Boston Red Sox.

They had yesterday off, and tonight, they open a homestand with a weekend 3-gamer against the Orioles. Their manager, Craig Albernaz -- a former catcher who never reached the majors, and previously coached for Tampa Bay, San Francisco and Cleveland -- has not yet selected his starters for any of the games. Aaron Boone has selected Will Warren for tonight, first pitch 7:05 PM; Ryan Weathers for tomorrow, at 1:35; and Max Fried for Sunday, at 1:35, with all games to be broadcast on the YES Network.

Meanwhile, on this May 1, with the worst record in baseball, the Mets might want to shout, "Mayday!"

This photo, from their 14-2 loss to the Washington Nationals

on Wednesday night, sums up their season so far.