Thursday, April 8, 2010

Wrap-Up of a Nice Yanks-Sox Series

3-1! We Beat The Scum 3-1! We Beat The Scum 3-1! We Beat The Scum 3-1!

Two of three from The Scum in their own little dump. (Actually, I like Fenway Park. Especially after series like this.)

It took Alex Rodriguez 6 seasons for me to admit he was a True Yankee. It took Curtis Granderson 3 games.

John Sterling got it right with his home run call this time: No more "Something Sort of Grandish" from Finian's Rainbow, it was "The Grandy Man Can!" to the tune of "The Candy Man."

I don't know what team Sammy Davis Jr. rooted for, or Gene Wilder for that matter. I do know that Sammy occasionally did Old West gun tricks on TV, and Wilder played Jim, the Waco Kid, in Blazing Saddles. Steady as a rock? "But I shoot with THIS hand!" If only that film could've been made 10 years earlier, with Sammy as Sheriff Bart and Frank as the Kid. Maybe Lili von Schtupp could have been played by Hedy Lamarr. (That's "Hedley!") Oh yeah, who would've played Hedley?

Back on topic: I can't wait for Granderson to hit one out with the bases loaded, so Eyewitness News (WABC, Channel 7) sports anchor Scott Clark -- who I actually met outside Fenway during the 2003 Playoffs -- can say, "Somebody call the deli, it's a Grand-erson salami!"

Better, I suppose, than ESPN Around the Horn host Tony Reali doing his awful Sean Connery impression: "Operation Grahnd Shlahm."

Umpire Joe West, the crew chief during this series, took both the Yanks and the Sox to task for the time they take to play, according to the Bergen Record: "They're the two clubs that don't try to pick up the pace. They're two of the best teams in baseball. Why are they playing the slowest? "It's pathetic and embarrassing. They take too long to play."

Oh, boo freaking hoo. He sounds like Michael Kay when he describes a game over 3 hours as "unmanageable."

A wise man -- I forget who -- once said that a man in a hurry has no business at a ballgame.

*

The Mets came from 6-1 down and tied it -- and still lost to the Marlins! They really are pathetic. This might be the very definition of "can't win for losing."

Nets 11-67, with 4 games left. This coming Monday is their Meadowlands Arena farewell.

With 3 games left, the Devils are in the driver's seat as far as winning the Patrick Division -- excuse me, the Atlantic Division -- is concerned, and have a good shot at beating out the Buffalo Sabres for the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference. They weren't going to catch the Washington Capitals for the 1st seed, but the Caps did help the Mulberry Street Marauders by beating the Pittsburgh Penguins, who now look like a good bet for the 4th seed.

The Rangers have 2 games left, a home-and-home against the Philadelphia Flyers. If the Rangers win them both, they make the Playoffs and the Flyers don't: Rangers 88 points, Flyers 86.

Except... if both games go to overtime, the Flyers get 1 point for each, so it'll be Flyers and Rangers each with 88, and the first tiebreaker is most wins, which would be 40-39 in the Flyers' favor.

Of course, if the Flyers win either, the Broadway Boozehounds are eliminated. Looks like The Scum (hockey division) will be playing golf again.)

*

Speaking of golf... No, Eldrick Woods didn't learn anything.

I wish Butler had won. As great as the upset wins of North Carolina State in 1983 and Villanova in 1985 were, neither Houston nor Georgetown had anywhere near the arrogance of the Dukies. A Butler win would have been the greatest upset in NCAA Tournament history. And the Dukies could not have moaned about the game being in Butler's hometown, Indianapolis: How many Tournament games has Duke played in Charlotte and Raleigh?

Bayern Munich are hard to root for, but I'm glad they embarrassed The Devil's Own United at Old Trafford. Guess Sir Gumchomper brought Shrek back too soon.

*

Days until the last Nets game at the Meadowlands: 4, next Monday against the Charlotte Bobcats.

Days until the Yankees' 2010 home opener: 5, next Tuesday against the Anaheim Angels, or whatever they're calling themselves this season.

Days until the next North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham: 6, next Wednesday at The Lane. Shred the bastards.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series: 29, starting Friday night, May 7, at Fenway. Huh? How come we have to play them there again, before playing them at home? Stupid schedulemaker.

Days until the 2010 World Cup begins: 63. Nine weeks.

Days until the World Cup Final: 94.

Days until Rutgers plays football again: 149.

Days until East Brunswick plays football again: 155.

Days until the new Meadowlands Stadium (still unnamed) opens: 157. For the Giants and Jets, that is: It actually opens this month, with... a collegiate lacrosse tournament?!?

Days until the Devils play another local rival: At least 180 -- in other words, the start of next season, about 6 months from now, unless they end up playing the Rangers in the Playoffs, which is not likely this time.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving clash: 231.

Days until Derek Jeter collects his 3,000th career hit: 419 (estimated).

Days until the Rutgers-Army football game at Yankee Stadium: 583.

Days until the last Nets game in New Jersey: 731 (estimated).

Days until the 2012 Olympics begin in London: 851.

No comments: