Deliveries from the Paperboy

How Do You Value a Good Reputation? And the Steps to Get There

2011-06-23T11:45:00.001-04:00

There’s nothing more valuable to a company than a good reputation.

That’s a difficult statement to get your company’s financial people to swallow though, as measuring the true value of a company’s reputation is very hard, if not impossible, to cite on a balance sheet.

In 2007, the Chartered Institute of Managed Accountants published a paper called: Corporation Reputation: Perspectives of Measuring and Managing Principle Risk” where they concluded the following: “Reputation has a value even if it cannot be expressed financially … although reputation cannot be classed as an asset for balance sheet purposes; a good reputation can be seen as a asset to corporations.” The full report can be read at: http://www.cimaglobal.com/Thought-leadership/Research-topics/Enterprise-governance-restoring-boardroom-leadership/Corporate-reputation/

Simply put, while a company’s reputation is nearly impossible to value by an exact number, it’s a major reason why some companies prosper in both the short and long term.

Companies that build good reputations and brands by delivering great products, telling positive stories on how their product/program helped others and by communicating honestly and accurately with their stakeholders and customers, frequently find long-term success because they are able to develop a strong base of loyal, long-term customers who tell everyone they know about the positive experience they had with a company.

How exactly can you develop public relations/marketing initiatives that provide both tangible bottom line results and more importantly the intangible ones that will help your company to enhance its reputation amongst its customer base?

The Intangible

Public relations activities that can help your company to create or enhance its reputation are virtually endless, from getting a customer to write a favorable post on Facebook or positive review on Amazon.com or write a letter to their local newspaper about their experience.

And there’s a lot that your public relations firm or internal marketing staff can do to promote these positive customer stories to potential customers. You can promote these positive stories through:

• Press releases to the news media.
• Posting the stories and positive customer testimonials on your website.
• Posting a video on YouTube or various other Internet video websites.
• Get your third party stakeholders to recommend your company to their friends through word of mouth, sharing of your Fan Page on Facebook or Retweeting your company’s daily updates/news to their Twitter followers.

As I mentioned previously, some of these tactics can be highly successful in creating a good reputation for your company and spreading word on the street about your brand. These activities through are very difficult to measure success for; unless you’re planning talk to the millions of people who may have heard about your company on the local news, or read about it on Facebook, or saw a newspaper story on a positive experience that one of your customers had.

The Tangible

There are a great range of public relations and marketing activities that a company can undertake to take advantage of the latest technologies as well as some tried and true public relations and marketing/advertising techniques.

The emergence of social media, the Internet, Google Analytics and other Internet measurement tools has made it much easier in recent years to gauge the success and tangible results of public relations and marketing campaigns. As a result, a company is able to see in definite numbers how many unique users are clicking on their web pages, how many search for their company name and keywords that can lead to your company’s website, and how many people click on an advertising banner on a business website and it leads to them signing up for your product or program..

For the tried and true public relations and marketing/advertising techniques, you could create unique phone numbers for your company and its programs and cite them on advertisements that promote your program or alert your administrative staff to the latest public relations program to ask incoming callers where they heard about your company’s program.

These are just a few of the many public relations/marketing techniques that can help your company to increase and enhance your reputation and positively impact your company’s bottom line.

The latter will certainly keep the bean counters happy.

Extra, Extra … Read All About It…On Facebook and Twitter

2011-04-12T14:33:00.003-04:00

When I was studying to become a journalist at the University of Maryland, I had to take more than 20 classes to learn what it took to become a professional reporter. Little did I know, but all I had to do was wait 15 years and I could become “a reporter” just by creating a new Facebook page. Don’t tell that to my father; he’s still paying for the University of Maryland. Web 2.0 and the explosion of social media outlets has not only changed the way that people communicate with their friends and family, but it’s also opened up the way they disseminate news to business colleagues, potential customers or communicate with Facebook Friends or Twitter followers (akin to a newspaper’s circulation) about what they had for dinner at Five Guys (and more importantly, if it was good or not). I know. There’s nothing more annoying than reading what a person you knew in high school ate for dinner that night, but when you think about it: 1) you read their status update; 2) formed an opinion on it; and 3) may in fact eat at that restaurant simply because your brain stored that information and remembered that someone you knew had a good experience there. While there are still many reputable and professional journalists in our State and the world at large, the simple fact is that today, everyone, including YOU, has the ability to become a “reporter” because the Internet has allowed websites like Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and a variety of other social media outlets to become the newsstands of the 21st Century. Think about it: People are no longer hearing about world events like the earthquake and tsunami on the ABC Nightly News. They are reading about it from their friends’ first person accounts in Japan on Twitter or Facebook. Now people aren’t just learning about the hot new restaurant because they read a food review in a newspaper. They’re reading posts from their friends on Foursquare. Now people aren’t opening up the Sports Section first thing in the morning; they’re opening up Ubersocial on their smart phones and reading the Tweets of their favorite sports reporters. Whether, it’s Twitter or Facebook or the ABC Evening News or NJ.com or the Star Ledger print edition, people learn about the world around them from a variety of “news” sources. And believe it or not, sometimes it’s not a professional journalist who’s sharing that information with thousands of people. It’s YOU. Tony Bianchini is the Director of Public Affairs at Open Door Media, a public affairs and community relations firm based in Trenton, NJ. He can be reached at: (609) 396-6620 or by email at: tony@opendoormedianj.com. Visit Open Door Media at: www.opendoormedianj.com to learn more.

It's Been Two Years...

2011-03-23T13:14:00.003-04:00

It's been two years today since my mother died at the age of 59.

She had turned 59 just a month earlier. ...

And her granddaughter Grace had been born just a month earlier....

My mother was taken away much too soon from us, but I've come to accept it over the last two years, after crying a lot, reflecting a lot on her life and thinking about how much she suffered since 1996 when she got pancreatitis. No one deserved to suffer the way she did.

Still, even when she was in the most gut wretching pain that even I can't possibly imagine, she always had a smile on her face and always cared about us first and foremost.

In the month that she was alive at the same time as her granddaughter Grace, my mother called everyday to ask about her, spoiled her as much as she could and died way too soon before she was ever able to see her granddaughter speak her first word or recite her first color or count to 20 for the first time.

I will always regret that she wasn't there to experience those moments in person and I will always regret that she wasn't there for Grace's Baptism or 1st birthday or 2nd birthday.

But still, I always know that she's always in the room.

I can literally feel it.

I talk to Grace every day about her grandmother and I could swear that she recognizes her grandmother's face when I show her pictures.

And I can swear that when we're playing, she sometimes looks over at the couch and can see her grandmother sitting there like she was the last time I saw her alive - truly alive - on March 16, 2009. ...

808 Wedgewood Circle, Flemington, NJ For Sale

2011-03-16T14:31:00.006-04:00

808 Wedgewood Circle in Flemington NJ is for sale starting on March 15th. It's a 2 BR, 1.5 Bath and is listed at $235,900. We've taken great care of the condo in the last five years that we've lived there and have had the entire house professionally painted, redesigned the master bath with new tile, vanity, medicine cabinet and mirror, installed four new windows in the master bedroom and second bedroom.

You can visit the listing on the Garden State MLS (http://new.gsmls.com/). The MLS # is 2840617

It's been a great house for us and would be a wonderful home for anyone looking for a 2 BR and 1.5 Bath condo. Here are some photos:

Tony Gwynn Has Cancer

2010-10-09T19:48:00.004-04:00

I heard today that one of my childhood idols, Tony Gwynn, has cancer.

See that bulge in his lip above?

That's dip. ...

And that's why he has cancer.

Gwynn admitted today that dipping during and after his playing days gave him cancer.

That sucks. But it is unfortunately something that many people in America struggle with...

That's why when Tony Gwynn recovers from his fight with salivary cancer, he needs to use his national status and tell kids and adults not to dip. And show them what can happen if you do dip.

Dip is just as addictive and dangerous as smoking cigarettes. The thing with dip though is that people usually associate those who dip with ball players or those who live in the South.

That's not the case at all.

Dipping is something that unfortunately people of all ages do, and believe me, it is just as tough to quit it as it is to quit smoking cigarettes. Maybe harder.

I wish Tony Gwynn the best in his fight against cancer and hope that he lives through this and becomes a spokesperson to urge people not to dip.

Giants draft the freak...or a bust?

2010-04-23T00:07:00.004-04:00

The Giants drafted DE Jason Pierre-Paul and I am not the bit happy about it.

Earlier this week, Giants GM Jerry Reese said that while the combine was added into the value of a player, it did not make the player because they were drafting a football player and not a gymnast. Was he trying to throw us off the scent. Or did he just panic when Mcclain and Spiller were off the board?

That's the question of the day folks.

Reese and the Giants scouts are saying now that Pierre-Paul is the second coming of the Freak Jevon Kearse, but Pierre-Paul has 1 year of college football experience. Wow.

I pointed this out to The Daily News's Giants beat reporter Ralph Vacchiano (http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/giants/) and he agreed with me on Twitter:

abianchini23 @TheBlueScreen didn't reese say this wk that he didn't think combine mattered because they were drafting a football player and not gymast?

TheBlueScreen @abianchini23 Good memory. Yes, he did say that.

I guess we'll all see together if Pierre-Paul turns out to be the freak that Reese is talking about or a complete bust.

XBox 360 games, DVDs and Blu Rays for Sale on eBay!!

2010-03-11T00:57:00.002-05:00

Check out my eBay auctions of XBox 360 games, DVDs and Blu Rays.. Get them while they're hot: http://shop.ebay.com/abianchini23/m.html

March 10th

2010-03-10T13:39:00.003-05:00

A year ago today, my mother was scheduled for surgery at Columbia Pres. They called her at the last minute and asked her to reschedule to the following week.

She got another week of life because of it. I'm sad today, but grateful that we got that extra week with her.

Happy Birthday Mom

2010-02-11T09:49:00.008-05:00

My mom’s birthday is today. She would have been 60 years old.

When she passed away -- nearly 11 months ago -- on March 23rd, I couldn’t handle it.

I'm still having a hard time.

This last year has been extremely tough for me and my family and the only way I've dealt with things is because of the love of my family (Megan, Grace, my dad, sister, aunt, grandmother and all of my friends.)

I think my mother would want us to remember her for the wonderful woman that she was, but more importantly, she would want us to take care of each other and want me to be a good son, husband and especially a good father. So, I’ve tried in the last year to be all of those things.

At the same time, I've tried to remember the person that my mother was. I've listened to others tell stories about how she impacted their lives. And I've tried not to cry hysterically at the drop of a hat.

The one thing I’ll always remember about my mom happened on her birthday last year. She asked for a Kohl's gift card for her birthday, so we bought her one. Instead of buying something for herself with the gift card, she bought outfits for her new granddaughter Grace.

That says all you need to know about my mother. She cared more for others than she cared for herself. And that is what made her a truly wonderful and special individual.

Happy Birthday Mom. I miss you every second of every day.

The Most Amazing Thing of All. ...

2010-01-23T21:02:00.004-05:00

There was Aaron Boone's blast off Tim Wakefield in Game 7 of the ALCS when I was there at Yankee Stadium. ...

There was the scramble by Manning and catch by Tyree in SB XLII

There was Plax to win it for the Giants.

There were the gutty 2009 World Champion New York Yankees.

There was wide right by Norwood

...and

Matteau! Matteau! Matteau!

Those were equally amazing...

Today was the most amazing of all.

My wife put first word/picture flash cards on the floor and asked Grace where the "cat" was. She looked over the cards and picked up the "cat." We cheered. Then we asked about the baby and the dog and one by one she picked them out. It was pretty amazing.

The most amazing thing I've ever seen before.

Entertain Me....with Video Games

2010-01-14T19:43:00.009-05:00

Many of you who read this blog know I used to have a long running column about what was entertaining me lately. Well, needless to say that it's been a long time since I've written that column.

While the major reason is that there's a little 11 month old girl that takes up much of my time, a secondary reason is that after my daughter and wife go to sleep for the night I have WAY too many things have entertain me from 10:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. each night. So, needless to say, I haven't had time to come up for air and write the column.

I'm not kidding. Right now I have a pile of 15 video games, 11 books and a bunch of movies too numerous to name that I've just finished playing/watching or are currently gathering dust on my shelf.

I've made a very small dent in that stack, but I'm still coming up for a breath with a new version of Entertain Me. ...This one will just be about the video games I've been playing lately and I'll come back later (probably 2012!) when I'm done with the 11 books that I plan on reading.

Here's a sample of the games I've been playing lately and what I've thought about them.

Batman Arkham Asylum (XBox 360): The latest addition to the Batman video game library is by far one of the best superhero and videogames period that I've played before. It's right up there with superhero games like Spiderman 2 and with some of the great action games like Prince of Persia: Sands of Time to Ninja Gaiden 360.

The story line is engaging, the vocals (featuring Mark Hamill) are outstanding, the graphics are among the best on this generation of consoles, there a ton of easter eggs and "hidden packages - in the form of riddles - to find in the game and the gameplay and the controls are tight and engaging. And it's just a fun game to play.

At the end of the day, the aforementioned things and the fact that I'm a completionist at heart will keep me coming back for more as I try to collect all of the Riddler Trophies, locate all of the game's riddles and achieve 100% completion. It will be hard, but I can guarantee you that I'll try. A great overall game that is well worth your money.

Dragon Age Origins (XBox 360): I'm not like the typical gamer in 2010. For one, I'm not 20 years old anymore. And for another, I prefer a good roleplaying game or -gasp- JRPG rather than playing another dime a dozen shooter.

That said, I do NOT like Dragon Age Origins.

I'm a sucker for Tolkien fantasy and really, really wanted to like the game. Everytime I boot up the disc though, I am completely unimpressed with its gameplay, combat mechanics and the graphics. On top of that, when I'm playing Dragon Age, all I can think about is what else I'd rather be playing; and if that's not the worst thing I can say about a videogame, I don't know what is.

New Super Mario Bros. (Wii): My wife and I haven't communicated this well in years...Kidding honey. While some people might say that this is a rehash of NES Super Mario Bros. with better graphics, it's the multiplayer where this game really shines.

My wife is not a big fan of videogames, but actually asks me to play this game with her. In single player, I'll agree that it's your run of the mill side scrolling Mario game. In multiplayer though, the tension is ramped up and if you don't communicate with your partner every single second one or both of you is likely to fall of the edge to your death. A great overall game.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 (XBox 360): I've played only a few of the single player missions in this game and -- as always -- I'm impressed with the game's graphics, sound and most of all intensity of the game.

There's nothing like a Call of Duty game to get your blood pumping and it's definitely not the run of the mill shooter that I mentioned in the Dragon Age review above.

To be honest though, I don't play MW2 for the single player mode, you're not here to read about its single player mode and thousands of gamers agree with me that it's the multiplayer mode that is truly the reason that someone would buy and burn out this game.

Multiplayer in MW2 topples all of the competition - even the vaunted Halo 3 - because of its game selection, character customization and levelling up system. I stay up past midnight way too many nights just to get a better gun. That is truly the mark of not just a good game, but an all-time great game. Highly recommended.

Borderlands (XBox 360): I had absolutely no expectations for Borderlands when I popped it into my XBox; maybe that's a good thing. After playing it non-stop a couple months ago, all I can say is that it's one of my favorite games of all time simply because it is one of the most unique games out there. From its unique cell shaded graphics to the literally hundreds of thousands of weapons in the game, it's a game that I will remember for a long, long time.

Dead Rising (XBox 360): Yes, I know, this game came out in 2006 when the XBox was in its infancy. I borrowed it from a friend back then played it for a few days and stopped around Case file 1-4 because I was so frustrated by the save system and game difficulty. I bought it for $10 a few weeks ago played it for a few days and guess where I am now. Yes, same place I was 4 years ago. I want to like this game. It's still different than a lot of games out there. But it still frustrates the hell out of me. It's worth it for the $10 I paid for it, but isn't worth much more than that.

Lindsey Jacobellis...

2010-01-12T16:46:00.005-05:00

I'm looking forward to the 2010 Olympics. ....If for no other reason than to see Lindsey Jacobellis again.

I will never forget her 2006 Olympic sno-cross final where she had a big lead, decided to tweak her board and ended up falling.

It definitely taught me an important life lesson. Even if you have a big lead , you need to stay humble because if you get cocky, God will humble you instead:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quQODOvrWMs

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2009-12-24T23:37:00.005-05:00

2009 was one of the worst and one of the best years of my life.

My daughter Grace was born on Feb. 13th and since then she has made me laugh, smile and stand in amazement at the beautiful wonderful, intelligent and funny little girl that she is.

My mother died on March 23rd at the age of 59 after a 13 year battle with pancreatitis, diabetes and various other complications. ...It has rocked my world more than anything else ever has.

I got a new job. ...

My wife's grandfather and my brother-in-law's mother passed away which again rocked my family and left me to question yet again what God's plan is ...

The Yankees won their 27th World Series and brought some enjoyment to my life ...

And through it all, I have seemingly kept it together while trying to do the best I can for the people around me that I love.

More than anything else, this year has taught a number of lessons that I will take with me. Cherish what you have in life. Take care of yourself and the people around you. Don't take anything or anyone you know for granted. Be grateful for what you have. If you want something, don't sit around waiting for it to happen. And each day tell the people that you love how much you care for them.

That last one is the most important of all, I think.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Giants-Eagles Running Blog - The Battle for 1st Place in NFC East

2009-12-13T20:17:00.028-05:00

7:50 p.m. - I'm back by unpopular demand with a new running blog of tonight's Giants vs. Eagles game. Let's see how it goes.

7:57 p.m. - Things are working out well for me in fantasy football this week and this year. I'm in 1st place in two leagues and 2nd in another. I advanced in the first round of my Fanball.com league, have a bye week in the Auxiliary league and am fighting for regular season first place ($55) and points leader ($55) in my Keeper league. I never do well in fantasy football, so I'm extremely happy about this.

8:05 p.m. - In the keeper league, I'm in good position to take home both the regular season and the points championships.

Me - 87-67 with Steve Smith, Frank Gore and Eagles Def. yet to play against Vern Davis, Lesean McCoy and Brent Celek.

Pit Crew (First place...he needs to lose and I need to win to capture the regular season championship). He is losing 74-67 with Jacobs going against him tonight. He has Boldin tomorrow.

Pacman Jones (Current points leader by 1 point.) He has 57 points with Kevin Boss and Larry Fitzgerald yet to play.

It's going to be crazy close in every matchup, but I'm hoping to bring home the dough

8:18 p.m. - It's a huge, huge game for the Giants tonight - maybe the Game of the Year - after the Cowboys wet the bed against the Chargers today. Giants win and they are in first place. That's about the furthest thing I thought could happen after watching the team stink up the place for 5 of the last 6 games. Let's see if they answer the bell tonight.

8:25 p.m. - The Giants always play better with their backs against the wall and love playing the "Nobody believed in us card." It's that attitude that won them Super Bowl XLII.

8:27 p.m. - I've heard a ton about Battlestar Galatica since it premiered in 2005, but I never watched it for one reason or another. I was wrong to wait. I just blew through the 4 hour pilot and first 8 episodes and have loved it. It rivals The Wire as my favorite drama of all time.

8:29 p.m. - I don't care how bad he's played this year, if Brandon Jacobs steps up big-time tonight - on the real life and fantasy football side of things - all will be forgotten.

8:30 p.m. - I continually marvel at Justin Tuck's head. It's egg shaped. Very strange.

8:34 p.m. - Eagles are driving and the Giants defense does not look good at all. Yuck.

8:35 p.m. - Al Michaels refers to Michael Boley as one of the "new" Giants. When does he not become a "new" Giant Al? This is the 13th game this season. He ceased being new after the first game.

8:36 p.m. - Celek scores and hurts both the Giants (7-0) and my fantasy team (87-73).... Crap.

8:39 p.m. - Nice runback by Dom Hixon who runs it from the 5 yard line to to the 33.

8:40 p.m. - Hakeem Nicks gets his first pro start. He's earned it with 575 yards and 5 touchdowns this season. Pretty nice for a rookie.

8:42 p.m. - Jacobs fumbles (NO!!!) and the Eagles defense takes it back for a TD. It's good for my fantasy defense, but a complete and utter disaster for the Giants who are now down 14-0.

8:46 p.m. -- Well at least my fantasy team is in good shape. 106-73, although that Jacobs fumble hurt the guy who is playing Pit Crew.

8:47 p.m. - Nicks catches a 17-yard slant from Eli. Every time he gets the ball he makes a ton of things happen.

8:49 p.m. - Great, great year for the real Steve Smith -- not the fake one from Carolina. Smith has 80 catches, 1,007 yards and 5 TDs through 12+ games. He's a dominant No. 1 WR and has completely replaced Plaxico...Plaxico who?

Who would have expected that?

8:51 p.m. - G-men going for it on 4 and 1. They need this right here.

8:52 p.m. - Jacobs buries his head ahead for a first down - for the first time this season - and gets a big first down.

8:52 p.m. - Just got my first glimpse at the wet soggy field turf at the Meadowlands. Lots of puddles. It looks like a little league field.

8:53 p.m. - Kevin Boss makes a crazy, Phil McConkey type catch off a deflection from Eagles DB Jeremiah Trotter.

8:54 p.m. - Giants need to score right here to get some of the momentum back in this game.

8:55 p.m. - Manningham catches a TD out of bounds. Just horrible field awareness there as he should have gotten two feet in bounds.

8:56 p.m. - And the Giants settle for a short field goal. 14-3 Philly.

9:01 p.m. - Forgive me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the route that Manningham ran the same Slant n Go route that Burress caught the SuperBowl XLII winning TD on?

9:03 p.m. - Nice pressure by Giants defense and Eagles offense goes 3 and out.

9:05 p.m. - Giants need to score here to cut the Eagles' surprisingly early lead.

9:11 p.m. - Nicks drops a wide open sure TD. ...And then he drops a second bomb by Eli. Both would have been complete daggers to the Eagles. Luckily Eagles get back-to-back illegal contact calls.

9:14 p.m. - And Nicks follows that up with a crazy Madden like 68-yard TD catch started by a nifty catch, a juke and a spin followed by a sprint to the end zone. I believe you execute those moves in Madden by hitting Y, RB, B and then RT. Ha. 14-10 Eagles.

9:18 p.m. - 101-73. Still winning in fantasy as Eagles defense has taken a few lumps from Giants defense. Luckily. Yes. I am rooting for Giants and not my fantasy team. I'm serious. No, really.

9:21 p.m. - Of course, the Giants D is letting the Eagles take the momentum right back. Can they stop someone please?

9:24 p.m. - Considering that the Eagles are on the 2 yard line and bound to score a TD here, can I ask that it be someone other than McCoy or Celek. Please?

9:25 p.m. - Wow, the Giants D actually stops them. Nice work by Aaron Rouse on last two plays. FG attempt by Eagles. 17-10 Eagles.

9:26 p.m. - 6:42 left until the half. Can the Giants tie it up before the half. That would be nice.

9:35 p.m. - And Giants don't do it and instead - aided by a missed block in the back by the Eagles - allow Jackson to run it back 72 yards for a punt return TD. 24-10 Eagles.

9:36 p.m. - Up 107-58 vs. Pacman right now, which pretty much puts the points championship in my pocket. He still has Boss and Fitzgerald, but I'm not guessing they are scoring 50 points combined. It would take like 300 yards and 5 TDs. That still doesn't make the Giants' 2 TD deficit better.

9:49 p.m. - Bradshaw leads the Giants down the field with a number of great runs. He ends it with a short 3 yard TD up the middle. 24-17 Eagles.

9:52 p.m. - Honestly, the Giants offense has looked good tonight. They are losing because of a Eagle fumble recovery TD and a punt return TD. I think we can take that into the lockerroom if they hold right here, with 1:08 left in the 1st half.

9:54 p.m. - Boley drops a sure pick-6 that would have tied up the game going into the half. Ahhhh.

9:55 p.m. - Not sure why Coughlin calls a timeout. It's 3rd and 10, crowd is going wild and they have the Eagles offense on their heels. Of course, after the timeout, they complete a long pass to Jackson.

10:02 p.m. - The convicted dog killer runs it in for a TD and the extra pt is blocked. 30-17 Eagles.

10:12 p.m. - First time I've ever seen it, but boy is the Tailgating History bit really, really bad. It's worst than SNL. ...and that's pretty bad.

10:12 p.m. - Gotta love Tony Dungy promoting his pet - no pun intended - project Mike Vick by showing a Vick pass completion highlight during the half-time show.

10:17 p.m. - After the TD to end the half by the Eagles, I'm really not sure how to characterize the first half. Giants need to really try to score early in the 3rd quarter to set the tone for the 2nd half.

10:29 p.m. - Jacobs runs it in to cut Eagles lead to 30-24 and to increases Clams lead over Pit Crew to 82-67 (with Boldin yet to play for Crew). I can smell the regular season championship money!

10:32 p.m. - If the Giants really want to make the playoffs here, their defense needs to start coming up with stops against the Eagles offense.

10:35 p.m. - JON GOFF WITH A HUGE INT AT EAGLES 35 YARD LINE. BIG TIME!

10:37 p.m. - Eli runs it to the 10 and fumbles the ball after diving head first. The booth is reviewing the play now. Was he touched? Hope so?!

10:38 p.m. - Question is should Joe Girardi have trained Mark Sanchez or Eli Manning to slide feet first?

10:41 p.m. - Giants' don't win the call and Eagles retain possession.

10:47 p.m. - Hixon takes a short pass from Eli 67 yards to tie the game for Giants!! What a crazy game! Extra pt by Tynes and its 31-30 Giants!!

10:52 p.m. - Another big play by Eagles and they go right back up. 37-31 Eagles.

11:01 p.m. - I'm amazed that Andy Reid got a contract extension. He's a horrible game manager.

11:08 p.m. - Why are the Giants running on 3rd and 5. What kind of play calling is that?

11:15 p.m. - And the Giants defense is bending on a mid-4th quarter Eagle drive that is featuring a lot of screens and a lot of running plays. Even a FG here is bad news. We need a turnover!

11:18 p.m. - And Eagles score TD to go up by 2 TDs. The Giants Defense let them go 91 yards and tear up 7 1/2 minutes of 4th quarters. Worst drive of the game. There goes 1st place and probably the playoffs. 45-31

11:20 p.m. - The defense should be ashamed of themselves. They've given up 85 points....85! in the last two games against the Eagles. Fire defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan right now.

11:34 p.m. - Manningham makes his second out of bounds TD catch. Another play where he should have gotten 2 feet down.

11:41 p.m. - Boss scores to cut lead, but it's pretty much over. ...

Recap not needed....Blech.

Cheetah Woods

2009-12-02T15:17:00.004-05:00

I heard a funny, albeit it extremely corny joke today: Eldrick is changing his name from Tiger Woods to Cheetah Woods.

That's all I'm saying about this topic. What he did was reprehensible, but a person's private life is just that....no matter how much money he makes or how much his persona is in the public eye. He isn't a role model. He is just extremely talented at a job that nets him an extremely lucrative income.

That doesn't give me the right to know everything he does or the troubles/addiction/problems he has outside of the public eye. I'm not paying to look in on his private life. I'm paying to watch a talented athlete perform in his sport.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T09:00:00.003-05:00

It has been a tough year to be thankful this year with the passing of my mother, my wife's grandfather and recently the passing of my sister's mother-in-law, but I am indeed thankful this holiday, for a couple things:

The healthy birth of my daughter Grace and the wonderous smile she continually brings to my face and the healing spirit that this little girl has brought to my heart.

and...

The support and love of my wonderful wife who has stuck by me during the best and worst year of my life.

I love my girls....

The U.S. House of Rep. Vote....

2009-11-09T14:49:00.001-05:00

.....no, not that vote.

House Resolution 893 -- congratulating the New York Yankees for winning the World Series -- passed last week by a vote of 386 to 17, with 11 Congressmen voting "present."

HRES 893 IH

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. RES. 893

Congratulating the 2009 Major League Baseball World Series Champions, the New York Yankees.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

November 5, 2009

Mr. SERRANO (for himself, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr. ARCURI, Mr. BACA, Mr. BISHOP of New York, Ms. BORDALLO, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. CROWLEY, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. DICKS, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HALL of New York, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. KING of New York, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. LARSON of Connecticut, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mrs. LOWEY, Mrs. MALONEY, Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCMAHON, Mr. MEEKS of New York, Mr. MURPHY of New York, Mr. NADLER of New York, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. OBEY, Mr. ORTIZ, Mr. PASCRELL, Mr. PASTOR of Arizona, Mr. PIERLUISI, Mr. REYES, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. SIRES, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. TONKO, Ms. VELAZQUEZ, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. WAMP, Mr. REHBERG, Mr. HOLT, Mr. DAVIS of Kentucky, Mr. HONDA, Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. WATT, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. MASSA, Mr. GRAYSON, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. MAFFEI, Mr. LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART of Florida, Mr. SABLAN, and Mr. UPTON) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

RESOLUTION

Congratulating the 2009 Major League Baseball World Series Champions, the New York Yankees.

Whereas the New York Yankees are the most successful franchise in the history of Major League Baseball;

Whereas prior to this year the Yankees had won 26 World Series Championships, the most in the Major Leagues;

Whereas this historic franchise is located in the Bronx and is known as the ‘Bronx Bombers’;

Whereas the Yankees franchise has included all-time great players;

Whereas for many years the Yankees played baseball in the historic Yankee Stadium;

Whereas this year the Yankees opened a new stadium and hope to emulate the success achieved in the ‘House that Ruth Built’;

Whereas during the 2009 regular season, the Yankees had the best record in baseball, going 103-59;

Whereas the Yankees finished at the top of the American League East Division;

Whereas the Yankees went on to beat the Minnesota Twins 3 games to 0;

Whereas the Yankees then faced off against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the American League Championship Series, and emerged victorious in 6 games;

Whereas that victory represented the 40th American League Pennant that the Yankees have won;

Whereas the Yankees were matched up against a valiant Philadelphia Phillies squad for the World Series title;

Whereas the Yankees were able to defeat the defending World Series Champions by 4 games to 2;

Whereas this victory represents the Yankees’ 27th World Series Championship win;

Whereas this number of championship wins is 17 more than their next closest competitor;

Whereas the contributions of the Yankees’ players throughout the season were all vital in securing the title; and

Whereas the Yankees were guided to victory by Manager Joe Girardi, General Manager Brian Cashman, President Randy Levine, and the leadership of Hank and Hal Steinbrenner: Now therefore be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives congratulates--

(1) the 2009 Major League Baseball World Series Champions, the New York Yankees, for an outstanding season and a record 27th World Series Championship win; and

(2) the players, coaches, staff and leadership of the Yankees organization for their great success

World Series Champions!

2009-11-05T09:21:00.000-05:00

Delivering #27 - Right Now

2009-11-04T15:34:00.037-05:00

3:34 p.m. - You would literally think I was playing in tonight's game based on how nervous I have been the whole day. Instead, I've hid in my office buried in preparing for a meeting tomorrow and following the healthcare debate on the web while listening to nervous Yankee fan after nervous Yankee fan on WFAN who were equally as nervous as I am right now. The Yankees need to win tonight to clinch their #27 World Series.

3:35 p.m. - Jay Z's Empire State of Mind has also been stuck in my head today and I've listened to the clip on iTunes at least 5 times today. I might even buy it. ....

3:41 p.m. - 6th time: In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of....There's nothing you can't do now you're in New York. These streets will make you feel brand new. Big lights will inspire you, let's here it for New York, New York, New York.

3:43 p.m. - I am so tired of hearing about "3 days rest" and "short rest". It's been a topic on WFAN for the last week and Burnett's blow up in Game 5 on 3 days rest did not help. Now Andy Pettitte, winner of the most postseason games and series clinching games ever, is pitching on 3 days rest and everyone is freaking out. I think he'll do well tonight. He's Andy "freaking" Pettitte.

7:23 p.m. - In New York!! Concrete Jungle.....(Yes, it is still stuck in my head.) I'm even dancing along to it now.

7:33 p.m. - I'm crazy hyper tonight.

7:52 p.m. - Nearly gametime and I'm crashing.

7:57 p.m. - Andy's got some really great numbers this postseason: 3-0 with 3.24 ERA. 25 IP with 22 Ks, including game 3 of WS....

7:59 p.m. - Francesca talked on WFAN the last two days about how he didn't think Andy was going to do well on 3 days rest. I disagree. I think he's going 6 innings and going to win it for us.

8:01 p.m. - Keep the freaking ball away from Chase Utley, please.

8:02 p.m. - Andy coerces a double play out of Utley after Vic Torino hits a tiny, tiny infield single and gets out of the first 1-2-3 (in the unconventional sort of way.) Good start.

8:04 p.m. - Let's get the bats rocking in the new Stadium!!

8:05 p.m. - Jeter strolls to the plate and his music comes on: "Big lights will inspire you, let's here it for New York, New York, New York." Let's go!

8:06 p.m. - Yankees have to make Pedro work tonight and get into the bullpen early.

8:07 p.m. - Pedro calls Phillies catcher Ruiz to the mound after the first pitch to ask him who his parental guardian is.

8:09 p.m. Frankly I'm shocked at how cold that Mark Teixiera has been during this year's playoffs. He has 2 hits during the World Series (HR and Double) -- he's 2 for 19 -- and needs to do something tonight.

8:11 p.m. - Tex gets JUST under the ball and hits it to the track for a loud 3rd out to the 1st inning.

8:16 p.m. - I've said it before and I'll say it again: Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are rooting for the Phillies. It's not just the inflection in their voices when the Phillies do something well, it's the stats and commentary they give about the Phillies. Maybe I'm hearing things, but I don't think so.

8:25 p.m. - Seriously if the producers of 2012 wanted to do something cool, they would release the movie on December 21st, not November 13. We all know - if you are Mayan - that the world is going to end on December 21, 2012. It's common knowledge. :-)

8:28 p.m. - The Yankees' lineup is significantly better when they play in their park. Despite winning 2 of 3 in Philadelphia, they really missed Matsui's bat.

8:29 p.m. - Question for you: Do you know who your daddy is?

8:32 p.m. - The new Yankees Stadium sounds loud tonight...on my TV at least.

8:34 p.m. - Matsui hits BIG BOMB IN THE SECOND DECK OF RIGHT FIELD JUST INSIDE THE FOUL POLE FOR A 2 RUN HR. Yankees break out ahead. Yankees 2-0.

8:35 p.m. - My lovely, beautiful, fabulous wife just told me that I am a fairweather Hideki Matsui fan. I told her not true, but she may be right. Who knows. Who cares. Yankees lead!!

8:36 p.m. - Tim McCarver just said that Godzilla is hugely popular in Tokyo. Well, why did they run away screaming from him then?

8:41 p.m. - RT @YankeesWFAN: Matsui now 6 for 10 in the series with 3 HR....I think there's a chance he could be the WS MVP if Yankees close out the series tonight.

8:42 p.m. - I'm a record (read my previous blogs) but after the Yankees take an early 2-0 lead, Pettitte needs to shut down Phillies in the Top of the 3rd.

8:44 p.m. - That was a horrible play of the Ruiz carom off the wall by Gardner. It allowed the Phillies to score on a sac fly by Rollins. 2-1 Yankees.

8:52 p.m. - There's nothing you can't do now you're in New York. ...Jeter singles to center on a sinking line drive.

8:59 p.m. - Johnny walks to put runners on 1st and 2nd with 1 out. Pedro has 51 pitches through 2 1/3 innings. Yankees are cooking!

9:00 p.m. - Tex is hit on first pitch to put the ducks on the pond with Mr. Alex Rodriguez coming to the plate. About time to break this open Mr. WS MVP.

9:04 p.m. - A-Rod strikes out looking on a pitch that was not a strike. It was in the other batters box.

9:05 p.m. - Matsui up here with bases loaded and 2 outs. He gets a hit and he's the MVP for sure.

9:07 p.m. - Matsui hits an 0-2 pitch for 2 RBI single to center field. Jeter and Damon score. 4-1 Yankees. Nice! That's 4 RBIs tonight and 6 total in the series for Matsui.

9:12 p.m. - Hairston is in for Johnny in left field. Not good for Yankees as Damon as been one of the team's MVPs this series. As you know, I think A-Rod and Matsui have been the others.

9:14 p.m. - Pettitte strikes out Utley to start the 4th inning. Bout time.

9:17 p.m. - Totally meaningless comment that you will clearly not care about or remember tomorrow: RT@TylerKepner: Matsui was MVP of Japan Series in 2000 vs. Hawks. He was 8x21 with 3 HR, 8 rbi in Series, including 2x2 with 4 RBI in Game 6.

9:18 p.m. - Joe Buck is totally rooting for Ibanez to hit a HR here.

9:19 p.m. - This "3 days rest" b.s. is so overblown. You would have thought it was 2012 that world was ending the way everyone was talking about it the last few days.

9:20 p.m. - Despite a few idiotic statements - re: people in Toyko loving Godzilla and the daylight savings time one - I think Tim McCarver has been very good this postseason with his commentary.

9:23 p.m. - Pettitte gets out of a big jam to end the top of the 4th. He's pitching well so far as thru 4 innings, he has given up 1 run on 2 hits.

9:27 p.m. - I have no idea why Pedro is still in there to start the 4th inning. He's got nothing tonight. Does Charlie Manuel realize that this is an elimination game for him and not a game in mid-May.

9:32 p.m. - Brett Gardner should be a career pitch runner. He is truly atrocious at the plate. I hope Austin Jackson is ready next year.

9:37 p.m. - Andy strikes out Francisco with a fastball on the corner. He's finally gets that call from Joe West, who Andy talked to (more like yelled at) after the top of the 4th inning.

9:39 p.m. - Human Target on Fox looks interesting. I might have to watch that when it starts up. However, Fox cancels its new shows far too quickly as the network gives its shows about 2 episodes to build a fan base and if they don't, they cancel it - remember Drive, you Fox producing punks -- so I'm not holding my breath.

9:41 p.m. - Andy gets another DP off the bat of Jimmy Rollins to end the 5th inning. He has walked 4 tonight and given up 2 hits, but is pitching very well out of jams.

9:43 p.m. - Is Avatar going to be really bad or really good? I can't tell after watching the trailer for the fifth time. It's not going to be just okay. It's the kind of movie that will be a box office disaster or a Top 10 highest grossing movie. No in between.

9:46 p.m. - Pedro's out and Durbin in to start the bottom of the 5th. Jeter knocks a ground rule double.

9:49 p.m. - Tex singles to center (3rd hit this WS) to drive in Jeter from 3rd. 5-1 Yankees.

9:57 p.m. - Matsui rockets a double to deep center (it nearly goes out) to drive home Tex and A-Rod. 7-1 Yankees.

9:58 p.m. - 6 RBIs tonight for Matsui. Yeah, he's the MVP.

10:00 p.m. - @Ledger_Yankees Matsui has tied a WS record with 6 RBIs (the Yanks' Bobby Richardson v Pit in 1960)

10:02 p.m. - @YankeesWFAN Matsui: 8 for 12 in the Series, 3 HR and 8 RBI (6 in Game 6). Really???

10:03 p.m. RT @BrendanPrunty: List of cities destroyed by Godzilla: 1) Tokyo. 2) Philadelphia.

10:07 p.m. - Based on how he's pitched in this year's playoffs and during the regular season: (14-8 4.16 ERA), I think the Yankees need to re-sign Andy this offseason. Just a clutch, stellar performance by him in the biggest game of the year.

10:09 p.m. - Crowd is chanting "Andy Pettitte" loudly like they were for Paul O'Neill in 2001 WS - in last Yankee Stadium game before he retired.

10:10 p.m. - Howard hits 2 run HR to cut score. 7-3 Yankees.

10:13 p.m. - Jayson Werth strikes out looking on a pitch that Andy has thrown for a ball 4 or 5 tonight. West has been soooo inconsistent tonight.

10:15 p.m. - Andy is pulled and gets a standing O. Here comes Joba with 2 outs in the 6th inning.

10:18 p.m. - Joba gets out of 6th inning without further damage.

10:19 p.m. - Andy's final line tonight: 5 2/3 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 3 K, 5 BB. A lot of walks for Andy and he needed to work out of trouble a few times, but an overall gutty performance from the all-time leader in postseason victories. Take that Mike Francesca! I wonder what he will say tomorrow.

10:32 p.m. - Guess what?! The Box (the movie) is sponsoring Fox's In Game Box Score. How original! And pathetic that everything is sponsored now. (This insta-blog is sponsored by Newcastle Beer imported from England.)

10:34 p.m. - Stop talking about greatest Philly-Phillie comebacks ever Tim McCarver. I will hurt you.

10:36 p.m. - 9 more outs. I'm just saying....

10:37 p.m. - For the last couple days, Francesca has completely obsessed -- even more than he is obsessed with the Joba in the bullpen discussion -- with the fact that Mariano should be in Game 6 during the 7th inning if the game was close. By close, he meant 1-2 runs. Right now, it's at 4 runs.

He literally ripped apart Sweeney Murti and any caller who contested him about his thesis. I love listening to him, but he can be a complete bastard sometime. Hopefully he won't have a chance to be right this inning.

10:40 p.m. - Joba strikes out Francisco swinging....8 outs.......

10:43 p.m. - Rollins grounds into FC......7 outs.

10:45 p.m. - Joba walks Italian BMT Sub Torino to put runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs. Marte in

10:48 p.m. - Big spot by Marte here. Hughes warming up in pen. Just give me one out Marte, please

10:50 p.m. - Marte gets Utley to chase a ball out of the strike zone and the ump calls him out for breaking his wrists! 6 outs to #27!!

10:53 p.m. - I'm kinda in awe at how Marte is pitching this postseason since we've really never seen this from him before....except when he was with the Pirates...okay, no one really saw that except the 32 people in the stands.

10:55 p.m. - RT@Ledger_Yankees Outlandish: Damaso Marte comes up with one of the biggest pitches of the season.

11:01 p.m. - Web 2.0 has helped to calm my fears during the 2009 World Series. While I was watching the World Series in the '96, '98, '99, '00, '01, and '03, all I did was drink beer and sit on the edge of my seat. I was a complete and utter nervous wreck.

Now -- because of Web 2.o - along with watching the 2009 World Series -- I am talking to my wife (in person), reading what people are Twittering about the game, writing this insta-blog, Twittering myself, reading videogame reviews and Im'ing a friend. It has made me much more busy and decidedly less nervous about the game. The 7-3 score tonight also helps.

11:11 p.m. - I know we're ahead by 4 runs Robbie, but you looked like you didn't care in that at-bat.

11:12 p.m. - Is Mo coming in to start the 8th? 6 outs left.

11:13 p.m. - Marte, who has pitched really well in the playoffs, to start the 8th.

11:14 p.m. - Howard strikes out for 14th time this WS to break the mark set by Willie Wilson in 1980. 5 outs left.

11:15 p.m. - Joe isn't messing around. Mariano coming into game amongst cheers and Metallica's Enter Sandman. Here we go.

11:17 p.m. - In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of....There's nothing you can't do now you're in New York. These streets will make you feel brand new. Big lights will inspire you, let's here it for New York, New York, New York.

11:19 p.m. - Mo strikes out Werth swinging. 4 outs.

11:25 p.m. - After a double to center by Ibanez, Mo gets Feliz to foul out to Posada. End of 8th.

11:27 p.m. - 3 OUTS TILL #27!

11:32 p.m. - Despite the fact that he can't hit for anything, you have to still respect Gardner for completely tearing down the line after he hit a routine grounder to 2nd base.

11:36 p.m - Derek lines single to right field for 3rd hit in the game and 175th hit in postseason. That's his 11th hit this series. He sure is something else.

11:38 p.m. - The 8th inning is over and Game 6 heads into the Top of the 9th inning with the best closer in MLB history taking the mound to finish off the Phillies.

11:39 p.m. - 3 outs until the Yankees capture their 27th World Championship!

11:43 p.m. - Matt Stairs, who totally looks like Darvin Moon who is at the final table at the 2009 WSOP, lines out to Jeter. 2 outs left!

11:46 p.m. - Swisher catches a fly ball by Rollins at the track and we are down to the final out!

11:51 p.m. #27!

In Andy We Trust

2009-11-03T19:51:00.004-05:00

Andy Pettitte is starting for the Yankees tomorrow night in Game 6 of the 2009 World Series. If he wins, the Yankees will secure their 27th World Championship and Andy Pettitte will win his record breaking 17th playoff victory and 6th series clinching win.

He clinched the ALCS for the Yankees against the Angels and I'm confident he can do it again against the Phillies.

Let's go Yankees!!

Delivering #27 Diary - Game 5 World Series - Yankees vs. Phillies - 1 win till #27

2009-11-02T19:30:00.031-05:00

7:31 p.m. - Yankees won a very important game last night against the Phillies to put them up 3-1 in the series and 1 game (27 outs) away from their #27 World Championship. Taking the mound is A.J. Burnett who was completely stellar against the Phillies in Game 2.

7:33 p.m. - Burnett's line in Game 2 was: 7 IP, 1 R, 4 Hits, 9 Ks and 2 BBs. It was the best that he's pitched all season long as he used his emotion to get ahead of 22 of 26 Phillie hitters with 1st pitch strikes.

7:43 p.m. - Sorry Fox analysts, including YOU Ozzie Guillen who I can't understand at all, you are all wrong: The Yankees are winning #27 tonight. Mark it down.

7:47 p.m. - Uh, why is Alanis Morrisette singing the United States National Anthem. Isn't she Canadian? Way to go Philly!

7:53 p.m. - Melky Cabrera strained/tore his hamstring in last night's game and is out for tonight's game. He's replaced by Ramiro Pena on the 25 man playoff roster.

7:54 p.m. - I have a feeling that the bottom of the Yankees lineup is going to do something tonight, despite the loss of Melky, Molina catching Burnett and AJ batting tonight. Maybe AJ will get a big hit?

7:57 p.m. - I just love the pine tar on Lee's hat - NOT. Cheater. If he touches it once to put something on the ball I'm going to scream. Why do you think he was so good in Game 1.

8:01 p.m. - Johnny continues his great World Series with a single to center. I sung his praises yesterday and can't say enough about what a great at-bat and heads up play on the basepath in the Top of the 9th last night.

8:02 p.m. - Tex hasn't done anything this series. He has 1 hit. Granted it was a homerun, but he's better than that. ...and he flies out to right.

8:04 p.m. - That's quite a pick off attempt for Lee, as he lobs the ball over the Howard to "chase" back Damon.

8:05 p.m. - A-Rod smashes a ball down the right field line to chase home Damon. Nice early lead for the Yankees...and great baserunning again by Johnny. 1-0 Yankees.

8:07 p.m. - That's A-Rod's 16th RBI of postseason, which is a new Yankees team record.

8:11 p.m. - I've mentioned it in previous insta-blogging sessions, and I'll say it again. It's important right here for AJ to shut down the top of the Phillies lineup after the Yankees took an early lead.

8:13 p.m. - Jeter just gave AJ a short pep talk before the 1st pitch. I love that. I wonder what he said?

8:16 p.m. - AJ hits Vic Torino on his right hand (the one he uses to twirl spaghetti on his spoon.) Payback for last night?

8:17 p.m. - How many HRs can grease ball hit this series? 3-1 Phillies

8:19 p.m. - Howard throws his bat at ball and the bat goes flying. Maybe he should use some of the pine tar on Cliff Lee's hat.

8:25 p.m. - Teixiera makes another patented Mark Teixiera play as he dives to his right to steal single from Ibanez and gets the force at 2nd base. Again, he makes a play like that at least once a game.

8:28 p.m. - AJ gets out of a rough inning after giving up a 3 run HR to Utley. Yankees need to start the climb back.

8:30 p.m. - Lee threw 20 pitches in first inning giving up a run on 2 hits and a walk. The Yankees need to continue that this inning.

8:35 p.m. - AJ actually looks good at bat. Let's see what he does. ...and he strikes out looking. Pitchers shouldn't hit.

8:37 p.m. - I totally forgot that there's a Monday Night Football game tonight and I have a bunch of guys playing who are on my fantasy football team.

8:42 p.m. - Vic Torino's finger is clearly hurt. Hopefully that comes into play later. Mwahhaaaahaaa...

8:48 p.m. - Top of Yankees order to start the 3rd. They need to get some runs in here.

8:52 p.m. - Johnny walks and once again if Tex wants to come up big in the WS, now would be the prime time.

8:59 p.m. - What does Chase Utley have in common with Duke Snider, Baroid Bonds and a Bankrupt Speculator who formerly moonlighted as a Mets/Phillies CF? I'll give you a hint, it's not greasy hair or steroid use.

9:03 p.m. - Jeter should have caught that short-hop and tagged out Utley. Not a good play by the Captain.

9:08 p.m. - We are continuing to see a classic AJ Burnett - a phenomenal performance in Game 2 followed by a turd in Game 5. 4-1 Phillies.

9:09 p.m. - I don't care what WFAN's Mike Francesca says, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver are clearly rooting for the Phillies. 5-1 Phillies. AJ is coming out of game now. Jesus.

9:16 p.m. - Robertson replaces Burnett and gets two ground balls, one of which leads to a run for the Phillies. I'm disgusted. 6-1 Phillies.

9:20 p.m. - This half inning has been a half hour long.

9:37 p.m. - Why does Tim McCarver feel it necessary to tell us that David Robertson's father is a poinsetta farmer?

9:38 p.m. - Son of a poinsetta farmer aside, I've been very impressed with Robertson this postseason. I never really paid too much attention to him during the regular season, but now that I've seen him I think he's got a real bright future for the Yankees. He could be our future closer if Joba stays in the starting role.

9:42 p.m. - I feel like vomiting. And it's not because I've eaten too much leftover Halloween candy.

9:45 p.m. - Jeter just singled to right for his 8th hit this World Series. He is something else. He's hit safely in 31 of 37 World Series games and all five games this year.

9:46 p.m. - Yankees have 1st and 3rd with 1 out. Yankees are cooking, hopefully.

9:47 p.m. - Howard is a horrible 1st baseman. He gets force on Johnny, but neglects to check back Hinske who scores. 6-2 Phillies.

9:51 p.m. - Aceves who hasn't pitched since Oct. 19th comes into the game to relieve Robertson. Can he hold the Phillies?

9:53 p.m - Gardner makes a great catch and slams into the wall. Please get up. We don't havfe a replacement for you. He is a great fielder and a terror on the basepaths, but he is not a good hitter.

9:58 p.m. - Joe Buck just said that the Phillie Phanatic was the best mascot in sports. Uh, thanks Homer. There are probably 100 college mascots that are better.

10:05 p.m. - Gardner comes up and takes three pitches right down the middle. Doesn't swing the bat once. He looks lost at the plate completely.

10:34 p.m. - Utley hits his 7th HR of World Series. How many singles does he have? 0. With the homerun he ties Mr. October for most HRs in World Series. 7-2 Phillies.

10:35 p.m. - Can this game just be over or can the Phillies bullpen relieve Lee? I'll take either.

10:37 p.m. - Not to be outdone by record breaking Gordon Gekko, Howard strikes out for 12th time and ties Willie Wilson for most K's in World Series.

10:38 p.m. - Great job Phil Coke as Ibanez hits another one out. 8-2.

10:39 p.m. If we are going to score against a tiring Lee (at 103 pitches), now would be the time with Damon, Tex and A-Rod coming to bat. Get your rally caps on, boys!

10:49 p.m. - Johnny walks, Tex doubles and A-Rod steps to the plate. Do we have one more come from behind rally in us?

10:50 p.m. - Those tack on solo HRs in last inning were huge for the Phillies.

10:51 p.m. - How many pitches is Lee going for tonight? 130?

10:51 p.m. - A-Rod hits 2 run double to cut Phillies lead. 8-4 Phillies. Nice job by A-Rod.

10:52 p.m. - Lee is taken out with no outs in 8th. Rally time for Yankees!

10:56 p.m. - Yankee bullpen hasn't been horrible tonight outside of the 2 solo shots by Phillies last inning that were given up by Coke. Burnett was a disaster though.

10:59 p.m. - Any chance that Cano puts together a good at-bat here to get on base? I say no.

11:00 p.m. - Cano flies out to shallow center and A-Rod tags up to score. 8-5 Phillies.

11:02 p.m. - Once again Gardner can't buy a hit as he flies out to end the Yankee rally. I miss Melky already.

11:06 p.m. - RT@BobKlap Home runs allowed by Coke look even worse now....

11:10 p.m. - Yankees go to the Top of the 9th with Posada, Matsui, Jeter, Damon (and beyond) and a chance to tie it against Phillie-Philly bullpen. I can guarantee you that Brad Lidge will not be the pitcher facing them.

11:15 p.m. - Jorge juices one - nearly out of park - and gets a stand up double. Yanks are cooking. Matsui is up. Let's go!

11:17 p.m. - Matsui singles to bring up the Captain as the tying run!

11:21 p.m. - Jeter grounds into DP and Posada scores. Not good. 8-6 Phillies. I hate Phil Coke, btw.

11:24 p.m. - Johnny singles up the middle to bring Tex to the plate as the tying run. Another great at-bat by Damon.

11:27 p.m. - Tex strikes out in yet another horrible WS at-bat to end the game. He's killing me.

Wrap-up - A very poor performance for Burnett and Coke tonight and that in a nutshell (help, I'm in a nutshell) is the reason that the Yankees lost the game tonight. Another valiant effort by the Yankees offense to come back, but it wasn't enough as the Phillies force Game 6 back at the new Yankee Stadium.

Delivering #27 Diary - Game 4 World Series - Yankees vs. Phillies - 1 win till #27!

2009-11-01T19:52:00.022-05:00

7:54 p.m. - Welcome back to the Delivering #27 Diary. Yankees are just two wins away from delivering their #27 World Championship to their fans.

7:55 p.m. - In Game 4, C.C. Sabathia has a chance to put a strangehold on this series and with a good performance put the Yankees up 3-1.

8:02 p.m. - Yes, the New York Giants got drubbed by the Philadelphia Eagles today. I don't know what's wrong with the Giants. Tonight, with a win, the Yankees have the chance to make up for that 40-17 drubbing, ten fold.

8:22 p.m. - It's game time. The one promise I'll make tonight is to not do so much play-by-play and be more of a color commentator. Not, that surpassing Tim McCarver is that difficult.

8:25 p.m. - After Jeter and Damon reaches base on hits, Tex drives in a run on a fielders choice.
1-0 Yankees.

8:26 p.m. - It's getting ridiculous how many times A-Rod has been hit this series. He just got hit for the 3rd time this series. The umps then make a horrible decision to warn both benches which greatly hurts the Yankees if C.C. has a pitch mistakingly go awry.

8:30 p.m. - Jorge drives in another run this World Series with a sac fly to left to drive home Damon. 2-0 Yankees. A very nice early start for the Yankees who are not doubt upset about how many times Eli Manning was intercepted by the Eagles earlier today.

8:37 p.m. - Fox just showed a comparison of how C.C. pitched against Chase Utley (Utley was 2 for 2) and how the rest of the Phillies did (2 for 22). McCarver's response to this was: "Wow, that's quite a tele-graphic." Uh, okay Tim.

8:38 p.m. - Utley continues his dominance of C.C. and hits a double to drive in Vic Torino, my wife's favorite Italian player. 2-1 Yankees.

8:42 p.m. - C.C. pitches superbly to Ryan Howard coming back from a 3-1 count to strike out Howard for the 10th time this series.

8:47 p.m. - C.C. works out of a 1st inning jam by striking out Raul Ibanez to end the threat.

8:51 p.m. - Seriously Joe Buck. I don't need you to mention how the Eagles dismantled the Giants. I know they dismantled them as does every Yankee-Giants fan. Quit it with the bad vibes, man.

8:53 p.m. - Here's C.C. for his first at-bat of the playoffs. I hear he's a good hitter. Let's see it C.C. ...and he strikes out. Have I mentioned how I hate that pitchers are batting in this series? Yes, I know Pettitte got a hit to tie up the game yesterday.

9:15 p.m. - Excellent play by Tex on a groundball by Giuseppe Torino (he he). Tex makes at least one tough play a game that Jason Giambi would never make in his life...on or off steroids.

9:21 p.m. - A-Rod's up to start the 4th inning with a chance to strike back at the people who've hurt him deeply in the past... Or something like that.

9:26 p.m. - Cano strikes out again and looks very bad doing it. He's having a horrible World Series. After that K, he's 1 for 13 this series.

9:34 p.m. - The home plate umpire tonight is wildly inconsistent with his strike zone and waits far too long to determine if it's a strike or not. The hitters on both teams are not happy about it tonight. The umpires in this year's playoffs are truly being talked about far too often for their ineptitude and bad calls. Umpires are like offensive lineman in football. You don't talk about them until they do something wrong.

9:36 p.m. - Johnny Damon's arm continues to hurt us as Howard scores on a line drive single to right. That should never happen. What does happen though is that Howard never touches the plate and is still called safe by the umpires. The lunacy continues! 2-2.

9:39 p.m. - Blanton strikes out badly to end the Phillie-Philly threat in the 4th. What am I going to say about that?....

Yes, pitchers shouldn't hit.

9:41 p.m. - After the Phillies tie up the game, the Yankees need to strike back in the Top of the 5th inning.

9:41 p.m. - Watching a Verizon Fios commercial featuring an actor who used to star in NBC's My Own Worst Enemy. What ever happened to that show? Was it cancelled? It was one of my favorite shows and I haven't heard anything about Season 2.

9:42 p.m. - I saw the extended preview of James Cameron's Avatar today. Looks pretty awesome.

9:43 p.m. - Nick Swisher starts the 5th and walks on 4 pitches. He is usually such a patient hitter - with a great eye for balls and strikes. He's been in such a bad slump - before last night's breakout game - that I think that's his first walk this postseason. Or it seems like it.

9:45 p.m. - Melky grounds ball up middle and Chase Utley tries to backhand throw the ball like he's a juggler in Cirque Soleil. Yankees are cooking with 1st and 2nd and no one out.

9:46 p.m. - And here comes Carsten Charles to the plate.

9:48 p.m. - Jeter sneaks a single past Rollins into left field and Swisher races home to put the Yankees up again. 3-2 Yankees.

9:50 p.m. - Johnny Rockets - or loops - a single to center and Melky displays some stellar baserunning - even goes back to step on the plate after he initially missed it (something Ryan Howard didn't do) - to tack on another run for the Yankees. 4-2 Yankees.

9:59 p.m. - Is Charlie Manuel incapable of talking to Buck and McCarver between innings. Girardi does it, yet Phillie hitting coach does it for their team. Would he talk if they agreed to only talk about NASCAR, Pabst Blue Ribbon and scrapple?

10:03 p.m. - Not a good start to the bottom of the 5th for C.C. as Rollins reaches on a hit and Cappacola Torino walks.

10:12 p.m. - C.C. works in and out of trouble after the first two batters reach base. Great performance for his right there.

10:15 p.m. - Verizon has a brilliant 3G commercial where they play off the iPhone's: "There's an app for that" theme....instead Verizon says "there's a map for that, which highlights their superior 3G nation-wide coverage when compared to AT&T's. My question is: Does AT&T even utilize 3G? I thought they used a different technology?

10:17 p.m. - Cano is hitting .077 this series..ouch.

10:20 p.m. - Howard short hops the ball and throws it to Blanton for the force of Cano. Hey, umps. Did you see that. HE SHORT HOPPED IT!

10:22 p.m. - Swisher walks again. There you go Nick. You're on like Donkey Kong.

10:33 p.m. - Great bottom of 6th for C.C. Only 7 pitches for 3 outs. He's at 95 pitches for game. The question is does Girardi let him bat to lead off the inning. I say yes. I love when pitchers bat.

10:35 p.m. - And the big man is batting to lead off the inning.

10:38 p.m. - I would love it if the Yankees could tack on a couple runs right here. After C.C. flies out to Werth - I swear, it's an adventure everytime it's hit to Werth -- Jeter walks and brings up Damon.

10:48 p.m. - Rollins grounds out to A-Rod and up steps Ziti Torino.

10:52 p.m. - Utley homers to right. C.C. threw one too many curve balls. 4-3 Yankees. According to Fox, Utley is 4 for 6 against C.C. in this series, while the rest of the Phillies are 7 for 45. That's what you call a stark contrast there.

10:53 p.m. - Girardi pulls C.C. who battled (and pitched well at times) tonight on short rest. His final line was:

6 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 7 hits, 6 K, 3 BB

Now, it's up to the Yankee bullpen to get the final 7 outs tonight.

10:57 p.m. - Marte comes in and coaxes a fly out out of Howard. Hey, at least he didn't strike out again. We go to the 8th inning (as Joe Buck might say). Yankees need to re-tack some runs on the board.

11:06 p.m. - My new buddy Nick Swisher is at the plate with runners on 1st and 2nd and 1 out. Tack on!

11:13 p.m. - Joba's in the game to face Werth. This is a big spot right here for him.

11:14 p.m. - Joba overpowers Werth with a high fastball.

11:15 p.m. - Everytime Fox shows a picture of Utley without his hat on, I marvel at how much grease is in his hair. What in his right mind is he thinking.

11:16 p.m. - Joba overpowers Ibanez with a high fastball.

11:18 p.m. - Feliz ties it up with a homerun. Ugh. 4-4.

11:19 p.m. - Joba looked really solid for the first two outs of the inning. I'm shocked that just happened.

11:23 p.m. - Matsui, Jeter and Damon to start the 9th gives the Yankees a good shot to take the lead again.

11:33 p.m. - After a tough 9 pitch at-bat, Johnny singles to left and gives Mark Teixiera a chance to write his first golden NY Yankee moment.

11:34 P.M. - In a weird, weird play, Johnny steals 2nd and then outraces a shifted Feliz to 3rd base. That's two stolen bases on one play. Just plain weird.

11:36 p.m. - Lidge hits Tex and somehow the ump doesn't throw out Lidge. Wasn't there a warning?

11:36 p.m. - And up comes A-Rod with a chance to drive in a big, big run for the Yankees.

11:38 p.m. - And Alex rips a double to left to put Yankees ahead! 5-4 Yankees! HUGE HIT FOR A-Rod. Maybe bigger than all of his homeruns in ALDS and ALCS combined.

11:40 p.m. - Yes, I'm not happy that Brad Lidge wasn't thrown out of the game after hitting Teixiera.

11:40 p.m. - RT @YankeesWFAN 15 RBIs for ARod, ties Bernie in 96 and Brosius in 98 for most ever by a Yankee in the postseason.

11:41 p.m. - If a man approached you in 2006 and said by 2009 Alex Rodriguez will be a World Series Hero and Eli Manning will have been a Super Bowl MVP, would you believe either?

11:42 p.m. - Posada doubles to deep center to drive in 2 for Yankees. 7-4 Yankees.

11:43 p.m. - A-Rod is now 16 for 46 this postseason with .347 AVG, 6 HR, 15 RBI and 12 Runs. Wow. That's a stark contrast from prior postseasons.

11:44 p.m. - Mariano comes on to start the bottom of the 9th. He has never given up a 3-run lead in his postseason career.

11:48 p.m. - Mo quickly dispatches Phillies with an 8-pitch save, his 39th career postseason save.

11:52 p.m. - Johnny Damon has been really great this series. Tonight, was his biggest game by far as he was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and an RBI. Overall, in the series, he's been 5 for 17, 3 Runs, 3 RBI, 2 SB

Wrap-up - This was such an important win for the Yankees, especially after the Phillies tied the game up in the Bottom of the 8th. This game and frankly series could have turned in the Phillies favor if the Yankees did not score 3 runs in the Top of the 9th. Instead, the series is 3-1 and the Yankees are 1 win.....1 WIN away from capturing #27.

Delivering #27 Diary - Game 3 World Series - Yankees vs. Phillies - 2 wins till #27!

2009-10-31T19:15:00.023-04:00

7:11 p.m. - Happy Halloween. It's 46 minutes till first pitch of Game 3 of the 2009 World Series and also 46 minutes until we stop answering the door for neighbor kids looking for a free handout of candy.

7:12 p.m. - Question: If the US Government was giving out free candy tonight, would Republicans stauchly oppose it and crazed Americans hold packed town hall meetings to scream about it?

7:27 p.m. - Joe Girardi announced today that C.C. Sabathia is pitching for the Yankees in Game 4. If Andy Pettitte wins tonight against Cole Hamels, I think that gives the Yankees a considerable edge in the series.

7:32 p.m. - Just turned on the Fox pre-game and found out there is a rain delay for Game 3. Guess, the trick or treaters have a few extra minutes to fleece me out of candy. Come and get it.

7:34 p.m. - Honestly, how is Ozzie Guillen a commentator on the pre-game. He doesn't even speak good english. I can't even understand him. He sounds worse than Shannon Sharpe....And Sharpe is unintelligible.

7:36 p.m. - On Twitter: BobKlap (From The Bergen Record) Curious how Pettitte, who is as gentle as a dove, will handle a hostile crowd tonight....Really, Bob? Andy has the most postseason wins in Major League HISTORY. Plus, this is his 8th World Series. He will pitch well tonight.

7:42 p.m. - I keep saying this before every game, but this is a big game tonight that will turn the momentum of the series. Andy Pettitte is the person I want pitching this game.

7:46 p.m. - From LoHud Blog: "Tonight is Andy Pettitte’s 11th World Series start for the Yankees, which is the second-most in team history. Pettitte passes Waite Hoyt and Red Ruffing."

7:51 p.m. - I echo what Eric Karros just said on the pre-game: "Alex Rodriguez is going to have a good game tonight. Isn't it interesting how he had an other worldly ALDS and ALCS and now that he's gone 0 for 8 in the World Series, that people are starting to question him again. What the hell. I think he's going to do well and go deep tonight.

8:10 p.m. - We're in a rain delay and I switched over to Ocean's 11 on TNT, one of the few movies I have watched a thousand times and will still watch again and again whenever it is on TV.

8:32 p.m. - The rain delay has forced me to desperate measures. We're taking advantage of the free Halloween Black Taco from Taco Bell.

9:03 p.m. - I'd imagine that those 3 Taco Supremes that I just ate aren't going to feel good later.

9:05 p.m. - The cast of Glee is singing the National Anthem and the guy who plays Artie Abrams in the show is standing. It's a Halloween Miracle!

9:20 p.m. - It's game time, finally!

9:22 p.m. - God, I hate Phillies fans already. They suck. They are surprisely loud in the first inning.

9:23 p.m. - The home plate umpire is the horrible 1B ump from Game 2. This is going to be rough.

9:26 p.m. - Rollins singles to left and A-Rod makes another bad defensive play. 1st one resulted in only run for Phillies in Game 2. Let's hope trend doesn't continue.

9:30 p.m. - I wonder if Chase Utley's hair is as greasy tonight as it was in Game 1. Do you think the rain watered it down somewhat tonight?

9:32 p.m. - I think I hate Philly fans more than I hate more than Red Sox fans. ...And I've only had to endure them for one inning. I've had to endure Red Sox fans for years upon years.

9:36 p.m. - Great pitch by Andy to strike out to Chase Utley. Big, big time.

9:42 p.m. - Ryan Howard strikes out to end the inning with Rollins on second base. It's his 7th K of series and he's now 2 for 10 in the series. Earlier in the at-bat, Fox was comparing A-Rod to Howard (in snarky fashion) as a way to show how bad both team's sluggers have been this series. Are Philly fans getting on Howard the same way NY fans are getting on A-Rod? Probably not.

9:43 p.m. - Yes, I realize I just said NY fans are "getting on A-Rod." Don't be dirty!

9:46 p.m. - A-Rod leads off the second and it hit in the shoulder by Hamels.

9:47 p.m. - How is it that Tim McCarver can see Hamels balk from up in the TV booth, but the umps can't see it and they are on the field?

9:49 p.m. - Mr. .114 steps to the plate after a 1 game layoff. Can you make up for your previous playoff suckyness, please?

9:50 p.m. - Mr. .114 flies out to Jason Werth. Is it me or does it look like Werth is going to drop the ball everytime he catches it?

9:55 p.m. - Well, I shouldn't have made fun of Werth. He hits a homerun to lead off the 2nd. 1-0 Phillies.

10:02 p.m. - I don't think I could ever root for a National League team. I hate when the pitcher bats. It's just unnatural.

10:03 p.m. - How does Pettitte not make a play on that bunt by Hamels?

10:04 p.m. - And the whole pitcher wearing a jacket when he's on first base is just plain dumb.

10:05 p.m. - Walk to Rollins with the bases loaded. Andy is not looking good tonight. 2-0 Phillies

10:07 p.m. - Sac fly on an 0-2 pitch and it's another run for Philly. 3-0

10:10 p.m. - And Pettitte mercifully gets out of the 2nd with a strikeout of Utley. Yankees have 6 innings to come from behind, as they are so good at doing this year.

10:14 p.m. - Pettitte comes to bat. Can he make up for the 3 runs he just gave up. Probably not. That's why pitchers shouldn't hit.

10:17 p.m. - The Yankees are making Cole Hamels look good tonight. And he's not good.

10:19 p.m. - I feel sick. I don't think it's from the Taco Bell I ate an hour ago.

10:21 p.m. - Howard strikes out for 8th time in series. No, I'm not making fun of you Ryan. Don't hurt the Yankees later.

10:24 p.m. - 1-2-3 inning for Pettitte and hopefully he's calmed down. Damon, Tex and A-Rod to start the 4th. Let's break it open here.

10:27 p.m. - No, I would not like to get paid in gum, Trident Layers guy. Trident should fire their marketing staff. They should have totally played it off of Shrek's classic "onions have layers...donkeys have layers."

10:29 p.m. - How do the Yankees not even have a hit yet?

10:31 p.m. - If Alex was looking for a time to break out, here might be a good place with Tex on first after a walk.

10:32 p.m. - Alex rockets a ball to right and the ball hits the camera hanging over the wall in right field. That was a homerun. The umps need to replay that!

10:33 p.m. - And they are replaying it. It better be in the Yankees favor.

10:34 p.m. - And it's RULED A HOMERUN! 3-2 Yankees.

10:34 p.m. - I am Nostradamus, by the way.

10:35 p.m. - It took the umps literally 1 minute to look at the replay and rule it a Home Run. Wouldn't it be nice to replay plays in all cases to make sure the call is right?

10:40 p.m. - Out of A-Rod's 6 HRs this postseason, 5 of 6 have been hit to right or right-center field.

10:42 p.m. - Andy needs to get out of this inning without giving up a run. The Yankees offense is going to come alive the next inning.

10:44 p.m. - And Hamels bunts again and Posada actually makes the play this time. THIS IS WHY THE PITCHER SHOULDN'T BAT!

10:45 p.m. - MLB really needs to discuss this offseason about expanding the "limited use of replay". The technology is in place to warrant it. Of course, Bud Selig is spineless, puppet commissioner so I would not bet on it.

10:46 p.m. - Pettitte stymies Philly threat in 4th and I'm feeling some fireworks from Mr. .110 to start the Top of the 5th.

10:49 p.m. - Is it Philly or Phillie? Who cares. They and their fans both suck.

10:51 p.m. - Mr. .110 with leadoff double to start the 5th! Yes, I am Nostradamus!

10:53 p.m. - Andy Pettitte with single to center and Swisher scores! 3-3. That's why pitcher's should bat!!

10:54 p.m. - Jeter singles to put runners on 1 and 2nd with 1 out and the Yankees have something going. Come on Johnny!

10:56 p.m. - Johnny Rockets a double to center and drives in two to put the Yankees ahead for the first time tonight. 5-3 Yankees!

10:59 p.m. - A-Rod comes to the plate again with runners on 1st and 2nd and a big chance to make a big impact again in this game.

11:06 p.m. - The Yankees Suck chants by the Phillie-Philly faithful don't have the same affect now that Yankees are leading as they did when they were losing 3-0.

11:08 p.m. - Again, the bottom of the 5th is another big inning for Pettitte to shut down the Phillies.

11:09 pm. - I've been playing Borderlands and Halo ODST lately for XBox 360 and recommend both if you are fan of shooters. While both are shooters, Borderlands has a heavy RPG (role playing game; not rocket propelled grenade) angle to it and ODST is more of a straight shooter.

11:10 p.m. - Those pumpkins with Yankee and Phillies logo on them (behind Buck and McCarver) are very nice. Are they carved or drawn?

11:15 p.m. - Pettitte downs Phillies 1-2-3 and looks like he is back to his usual self after a rough start to the game.

11:16 p.m. - Yankees need to start tacking on runs in the Top of the 6th to give Pettitte and eventually the bullpen some breathing room.

11:19 p.m. - Robinson Cano really needs to take more than one damn pitch to start the 6th. He's 1 for 10 this Series. Not good.

11:21 p.m. - My buddy, Mr. .114 just nailed a homerun to left. I guess that 1-game benching was a wake up call, huh? 6-3 Yankees! It's a Swish-a-licious! That's 2 extra base hits this game for Nick Swisher.

11:26 p.m. - According to my DVR, the "Talkshow with Spike Feresten is supposed to be on now. Yes, that's the only time you'll ever see my DVR tuned to that show.

11:27 p.m. - Jason Werth leads off bottom of 6th with his 2nd homerun of the night. 6-4 Yankees. That makes Swisher tack on solo homerun even more important.

11:35 p.m. - McCarver just said: remember to turn your clocks back so you won't be late for the start of 1 p.m NFL games tomorrow. Uh, if we don't turn our clocks back won't we be an hour early Tim?

11:36 p.m. - I've said it before and I'll say it again. Yankees need to tack on in 7th. Pettitte definitely isn't starting the 7th.

11:38 p.m. - McCarver is totally getting blasted on Twitter right now for his lack of understanding for Daylight Savings Time.

11:43 p.m. - Damon walks and steals second. A-Rod up with a chance to tack on run for Yankees.

11:46 p.m. - A-Rod gets hit for 2nd time tonight. Intentional? Maybe. Nonetheless, Jorge steps up with chance to add run for Yankees.

11:49 p.m. - Jorge comes up clutch again as he dunks a flare single into left to drive home Damon. 7-4 Yankees!

11:50 p.m. - Wow, Robbie takes a pitch. Good for you.

11:54 p.m. - I love the U.S. Military for what they give to our country, but the guy who sang God Bless America was worst than the one who sang it at Yankee Stadium. Sorry. Ronan Tynan was the best God Bless America singer, his horrible comments recently aside.

11:56 p.m. - Joba comes in to start the 7th for Yankees.

11:57 p.m. - Great start tonight by Pettitte. He got into trouble early in the 2nd inning, but pitched very well after that getting 12 of the next 14 batters out. Here's tonight's line for Pettitte: 6 IP, 4 runs, 5 hits, 3 BB, 7K

11:59 p.m. - Joba gets Phillies out 1-2-3.

12:05 p.m. - I'm glad to hear that Brett Myers bowled a 298. Who cares about that?

12:06 p.m. - Phil Hughes warming up in bullpen and of course Joe Buck mentions that he hasn't pitched well lately. Thanks for bringing that up there Joe. You'd mention Don Larsen was pitching a perfect game while he was doing it if you were an announcer back then.

12:07 p.m. - Matsui pinch hits for Joba and smacks a homerun to left field. 8-4 Yankees. Oh, how I wish you could play in the field tonight and didn't have the knees of an 80-year-old.

12:08 p.m. - How crap it's November. And Mr. November steps up to the plate! Any coincidence?

12:11 p.m. - Jeter strikes out, but I still can't believe it's November and we're playing baseball.

12:12 p.m. - Marte comes in to start the 8th. A little bit of a surprise, but lets see what happens after Howard bats.

12:16 p.m. - Howard strikes out for 3rd time tonight and 9th time in series. If the Phillie-Philly fans don't get on him tomorrow for his series, I don't know what to say.

12:17 p.m. - Interesting that Marte stays out there to pitch to Werth. I'm surprised when Girardi doesn't overmanage, I guess.

12:19 p.m. - Very nice 1-2-3 inning by Marte. That's two straight 1-2-3 inning for Yankee bullpen, which is saying something after their recent struggles.

12:21 p.m. - The Phillie-Philly faithful who were loud as hell early in the game sure are quiet right now. Do they all have Philly Cheesesteak stuck in their craw?

12:27 p.m. - Uh, why did A-Rod just try to pick up that ball in the dirt like he was a ball boy? Is he trying to get a World Series souvenir for his girlfriend Kate Hudson?

12:30 p.m. - A daylight saving time question for you and Tim McCarver: Does Grace, my 9 month old, know it's daylight savings time and she gets an extra hour of sleep or will she wake up on Sunday at 5 a.m. instead of 6 a.m.? And will she miss the 1 p.m. game if she tunes in late-early, whatever?

12:37 p.m. - Good thing Phil Hughes has some breathing room as Ruiz hits a homerun, 8-5 Yankees.

12:39 p.m. - Girardi isn't messing around and brings in Mariano. I don't have a problem with this move despite what Joe Buck is saying on TV now. McCarver agrees with me.

12:43 p.m. - And Mo closes it out on 5 pitches. Yankees win 8-5.

Wrap-up: This was definitely a big game for the Yankees as their offense finally broke out and they got a good game from Andy Pettitte and a great effort by the Yankee bullpen. Tomorrow C.C. is up with a good chance to put a strangehold on this series.

2 wins till #27!

Let's go Yankees!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T19:09:00.005-04:00

World Series Game 2 - Yankees vs. Phillies - 3 wins to #27

2009-10-29T19:52:00.013-04:00

7:53 p.m. - Simply put, this is a huge, huge game for the 2009 New York Yankees. They were dominated by Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee last night and need to make a statement right here to tie the best-of-seven series at 1.

7:55 p.m. - As I've stated in past insta-blogging sessions during this years playoffs, A.J. Burnett has awesome stuff, yet he tends to get a little too amp'ed up when he starts in a 2009 playoff game. Thus, his "awesome stuff" can be more likely classified as wild. He needs to have awesome stuff tonight to get his team back on track tonight.

7:57 p.m. - Here we go. ...Yes, I am more nervous than I was in any game against the Angels. It's the World Series for cripes sake!

8:00 p.m. - My wife is so cute. Last night she asked if Vic Torino was Italian. I told her that his name was Shane Victorino.

8:02 p.m. - I'm playing Facebook's Farmville while watching the 1st inning of the 2009 World Series featuring the Yankees, a team I've loved since 1984. Would you say I obsess much?

8:04 p.m. - 1-2-3 for A.J. and I can already tell that he's keeping it under control and has his "awesome stuff" tonight. Great cut on his fastball and he got ahead of all three hitters in the first inning.

8:07 p.m. - Yankees need to be patient at the plate tonight against Pedro Martinez and let "Who's Your Daddy?" beat himself.

8:08 p.m. - Yes, the "Who's Your Daddy?" chants are already starting.

8:19 p.m. - A.J. makes Ryan Howard look silly as he strikes out his 2nd batter of the night.

8:20 p.m. - Joe Buck just called A.J. Burnett...Beckett. I hate you Joe Buck. Have I mentioned that lately?

8:27 p.m. - A dumb bloop double and single that gets past A-Rod puts Phillies up in first, 1-0 Phillies.

8:43 p.m. - Ibanez makes a diving stop to deny the Yankees of their first run. That's the difference right there in this game. The Phillies got a couple lucky bounces in the 2nd inning. The Yankees did not.

8:44 p.m. - Come on Jerry Hairston Jr. Make your Manager look like he made a good decision for once. ....Girardi got killed all day about this move on WFAN. What else is new. And Hairston flies out. Girardi is the worst manager ever," so says everyone on WFAN tomorrow.

8:49 p.m. - And I finally finished planting carrots in my farm for harvesting tomorrow. Yes, I obsess much. Now, to concentrate on the gae.

8:56 p.m. - I don't like Vic Torino's double ear flapped helmet. What is he in: the little leagues?

8:57 p.m. - AJ needs to concentrate on batter right here. Game is slowing down to a snails pace and he is off his rhythm.

8:59 p.m. - Thanks for the old news, Fox: Brett Favre returning to play in Green Bay is so 2006. Oh wait....

9:01 p.m. - Do you think Charlie Manuel and Johnny Lackey drink Pabst Blue Ribbon at a Texas trailer park together? See my Game 1 ALCS insta-blogging for reference.

9:03 p.m. - Phillies on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs in the Top of 3rd. And up steps Ryan Howard, who is hitting .500-something with runners in scoring position during this year's playoffs. Jesus.

9:05 p.m. - Nice sequence there for AJ as he strikes out Ryan Howard to end the threat.

9:07 p.m. - Pedro has 43 pitches to the first 7 Yankee batters. We need to break thru in the 3rd inning against him.

9:12 p.m. - Molina walks and reaches first base for the first time in the 2009 Playoffs. At least, that's something. Maybe he'll score and make his start tonight worthwhile.

9:13 p.m. - I wish Joe Buck would stop talking about Pedro's good years in Boston. I wonder if Fox announcers will talk about Favre's good years in Green Bay on Sunday. Ya think?

9:16 p.m. - I wish the Yankees could actually score a run. That would be nice.

9:23 p.m. - Excellent, excellent throw by Molina to get Werth out. Posada definitely doesn't make that play there. So, Molina's got that going for him, too.

9:28 p.m. - Tex with a big bang, deep to center to finally break through against Pedro. 1-1. Bout time Tex. Bout time.

9:32 p.m. - Matsui walks and the Yankees have something going. ...The Yankee threat ends shortly after.

9:42 p.m. - I wish Buck would stop openingly rooting for the Phillies. Seriously. He is spewing stats about Phillie prowess.

9:48 p.m. - It's the start of the bottom of the 5th and time for the Yankees to break it out against Pedro. He's tiring. We need to finish him, Mortal Kombat-style!!

9:52 p.m. - After Jeter doubles to left (typical), Damon swings at first pitch from a tiring Martinez to end the 5th.

10:01 p.m. - Burnett thru 6. Pedro coming out with Tex, A-Rod and Matsui coming up. I smell big things.

10:03 p.m. - No matter what happens tonight, it won't surpass the fact that my 8-month-old daughter Grace stood up today by herself for the first time.

10:08 p.m. - Fox just showed a shot of Rudy Giuliani's girlfriend trying to calm him down. That makes me feel better about my nervousness. The guy was the NYC mayor during 9/11 for cripes sake

10:11 p.m. - Matsui dings one to right field and beer goes flying everywhere. Shades of Tino Martinez's grand slam in 98 against Padres. The flying beer, I mean. 2-1 Yankees. First lead for the Yankees in the World Series.

10:13 p.m. - AJ needs to lock Phillies down in 7th after homer by Matsui.

10:15 p.m. - RT JoeandEvan I know its early in the series...but I go Mo for 8th and 9th tonight. I don't think Girardi will though

10:16 p.m. - My response: @JoeandEvan I think you have to go Mo in 8th and 9th. This is a must win for #Yankees and there's an off-day tomorrow.

10:18 p.m. - AJ strikes out Stairs for 9th K of night. Good stat by Fox. AJ has thrown first strike to 22 of 25 Phillie batter tonight.

10:21 p.m. - After that 1-2-3 inning by AJ, I'd revise my 10:16 thoughts. He's dealing and it's his game. Let him start 8th and only take him out if a runner reaches base.

10:29 p.m. - Hairston singles to start the 7th inning (validation for Girardi?) and is replaced by Gardner.

10:29 p.m. - BTW, Pedro surpassed 100 pitches (his dreaded career highwater pitch count) right before Hairston singled.

10:29 p.m. - RT @YankeesWFAN Pedro back for the 7th. Did Grady Little chloroform Charlie Manuel and take over as Phillies manager?

10:30 p.m. - Melky singles on a hit and run and Gardner speeds to third to put runners on the corner with no one out.

10:32 p.m. - Pedro lifted to raucous boos and he actually smiles. He loves it! Wow. You could tell that he was completely fueled - and not hurt at all - with the "Who's Your Daddy?" chats. Just an interesting, interesting individual even though I hate him more than Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin combined. And I hate them, a lot.

10:34 p.m. - And here comes HIP HIP..Jorge! to replace Molina behind the plate.

10:35 p.m. - What the hell happened to Chan Ho Park? He looks completely different. Like he was a snow-bound in a Alaskan log cabin for years and finally let out.

10:37 p.m. - Jorge lines a single up the middle for Yankees to add another run on for Yankees. 3-1 Yankees. I'm seeing shades of 2003 ALCS right there.

10:39 p.m. - Bad decision by Jeter there to bunt with 2 strikes.

10:43 p.m. - Ryan Howard completely trapped that ball. Another horrible call by umps though, as they say it's a double play. Horrible, horrible call.

10:46 p.m. - Girardi's not messing around tonight as he brings Mo in to start the 8th. Guess that he's listened to the bashing he's gotten on WFAN about his handling of the bullpen throughout the 2009 playoffs.

10:53 p.m. - Burnett's line on the night: 7 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 9 K and 2 BB (1 intentional).

10:59 p.m. - Huge double play (Cano to Jeter to Tex) and the Yankees get out of a tough, tough jam there. Biggest outs of the night for the Yankees as the Phillies were threatening.

11:04 p.m. - DJ Hero? What? EA and Activision are out of control with their music-based games. Guitar Hero 1-3 and Rock Band were awesome and were crazy successful. So -- what usually happens -- money hungry execs step in and oversaturate the marketplace, including specialized versions of GH Aerosmith, Metallica, Van Halen, Guitar Hero: World Tour, Rock Ban 2 and Rock Band Beatles. It's just out of control. Stop already.

11:06 p.m. - Aceves is warming up in bullpen. Jesus. He can't come into this game. He just can't. Please just be getting your day work in.

11:19 p.m. - Mariano strikes out Ryan Howard looking to start the 9th. Howard is very foreboding player who reminds me of Manny and Ortiz - when they were taking steroids from 2004-2007.

11:26 p.m. - Mariano comes on for a six out save and wins it for the Yankees. Burnett was completely lights out tonight for the Yankees and pitched like a big-time pitcher on the biggest stage.

Wrap-up - Big, big win for the Yankees and the Series moves to Philadelphia tied at 1. All is right with the world.

2009 World Series - Game 1 - Yankees vs. Phillies - 4 wins to #27

2009-10-29T09:36:00.005-04:00

It was a rough game last night, but you have to remember something: It's not the Super Bowl.

It's a best of 7 series where the winning team usually loses a few games. So, the Yankees got drubbed 6-1 last night, who cares.

It's not the end of the world. Really, it's not.

I've never seen so many people overreacting more to Yankee playoff game losses then they have this year.

The Yankees swept the Twins and then beat the Angels in six games. After both of the Yankees' two ALCS losses you would have thought that every Yankee fan had lost their minds. It wasn't the end of the world then though, and it's certainly not the end of the world now.

I've feeling bummed this morning, but know in my heart and in my head and that this is a resilient Yankee team that can still win the World Series backed by great starting pitchers and a clutch starting lineup. Sure, they played poorly last night, but it was more about the dominance of Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee than it was about anything else. Despite the loss, I thought C.C. Sabathia, while slightly off at times, pitched great and the Yankees weren't patient enough at the plate.

Tonight A.J. Burnett takes the mound with a chance to right the ship against long-time Yankee nemesis Pedro Martinez. If A.J. is under control, we're golden tonight. If he isn't and Pedro finds his early 2000s form, then I'll admit they are in trouble. Stay tuned.

The Battle for New Jersey

2009-10-27T10:33:00.002-04:00

This map sums it up pretty easily on who's rooting for who:

Delivering #27 & Night at the Meadowlands

2009-10-25T19:38:00.013-04:00

7:45 p.m. - It's my first ever dual insta-blogging session and it comes at a time when the Yankees are on the verge of their 40th pennant and a trip to the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, while the Giants face the defending NFC champion Arizona Cardinals.

For the Yankees: Tonight is it for them. They are up 3-2 in the series against the Angels, but are coming off a disappointing loss in Game 5. The Yankees need to win tonight to finish off a dangerous Angels team and to silence the critics who keep talking about the 2004 ALCS collapse to the Red Sox. Just be quiet people. You are making me more nervous. For the Yankees, Andy Pettitte is on the mound. And really, who better to calm my fears? With a win tonight, Pettitte will secure a historic, record breaking 16th playoff victory and record breaking 5th playoff series clincher.

For the Giants: They were embarrassed last week by the New Orleans Saints and need to come out tonight and get back to old Giant smash mouth running football, complimented by a confident Eli Manning and a young receiving core that has impressed the critics early in this season. I'm confident they can win it tonight if they can control the Cardinals aerial attack and put pressure on QB Kurt Warner - something they didn't do against the Saints' Drew Brees last week.

8:12 p.m. (Yankees) - In my Oct. 16th Delivering #27 Diary of Game 1 of the ALCS, I predicted that the Yankees would win the series in 6 games. Well, here we are. I'm sticking to my prediction.

8:20 p.m. (Giants) - Giants have to get up early in this game to silence the critics. Last week, they were down 2 TDs to the Saints before they could blink.

8:25 p.m. (Yankees) - Really good start by Andy. He's getting strike calls on the corner and his curve looks sharp tonight.

8:26 p.m. (Giants) - And now my first successful switch between the Yankees and Giants game. Did I mention that I'm also giving my wife a back massage at the same time. I'm talented..

8:31 p.m. (Yankees) - Johnny hits a pop fly to right and it nearly goes out of the park, but it is just foul. That's shades of early in the Yankees season when everything that was hit to right went out for a homer.

8:33 p.m. - (Giants) - Early fumble by Cardinals called down by contact, but replay shows otherwise. Giants need to challenge this. That's totally a fumble by Hightower. Tuck nearly ripped off his arm trying to get the ball.

8:34 p.m. (Yankees) - Tex rockets a single to center and the best player in this years playoffs comes to the plate to make a statement - hopefully....

8:35 p.m. (Yankees) - A-Rod knocks a single to right. 1st and 2nd with Jorge Posada coming to the plate. We need to break through early and get the Angels on their heels.

8:37 p.m. (Giants) - They are showing a shot of the new Giants Stadium and it just dwarfs and looks awesome compared to the old Stadium where tonight's game is being played.

8:38 p.m. (Giants) - And the Giants win the challenge and get 1st and 10 on the Giants' 27 yard line! Let's break it open early!

8:39 p.m. (Yankees) - The Yanks threaten in the bottom of 1st and don't score. Guerrero starts off top of 2nd with a infield single and barely beats the throw. Boy, he looks old...

8:40 p.m. (Yankees) - Old man Guerrero then gets doubled off of 1st on a great catch and throw by Nick Swisher. Hey, at least Swisher did something this series. :-)

8:41 p.m. (Giants) - A lot of early passing by Giants with a few runs sprinkled in. That worries me against the Cards.

8:49 p.m. (Random) - Just found out that the St. Louis - not Arizona - Cardinals hired Mark McGwire as the strength and steroid conditioning coach - I mean hitting coach....I'll be here all week.

8:50 p.m. (Yankees) - Cano knocks a single to center and up comes Mr. .118. Can we pick it up at bat, Nick. Please?!

8:51 p.m. (Giants) - Eli throws a deep pass and Hixon misses it and it's caught by Rodgers-Cromartie. Hixon really needs to fight harder for that ball. Plaxico was good at doing that....Yeah, he would have shot the guy in the leg....Please tip your wait staff.

8:52 p.m. (Yankees) - And Nick flies out and his AVG goes down to .110-something....

8:56 p.m. (Yankees) - The Captain comes to the plate and the table is set for him with Cano on 2nd and Melky on 1st.

8:57 p.m. (Giants) - Warner complains about a pass interference, but refs don't see it that way. And G-men get the ball back. It's still scoreless at the Meadowlands.

8:59 p.m. (Yankees) - Jeter walks to load the bases and 1B ump McClelland says Jeter didn't swing on ball 4. First call that he's got right all series. The ducks are on the pond for Johnny.

9:01 p.m. (Yankees) - And he hits a weak ground ball to right to end the inning. Rough. It's still scoreless at Yankee Stadium.

9:04 p.m (Yankees) - Angels backup catcher Jeff Mathis comes up to start 3rd and hits another double to center. Where did this guy come from? He thinks he's Johnny Bench or something.

9:05 p.m. (Giants) - Great throw and catch by Manning and Manningham there. ...or Ham as I like to call that connection. Giants have been aided this drive on 2 off-sides calls in a row by Cards.

9:07 p.m. (Giants) - Rough start for the Giants offense as they look as disjointed tonight as my DVR channel switching skills.

9:10 p.m. (Yankees) - Who is the Preston on the right shoulder of each Angels jersey? Bill S. Preston Esq.?.....And Ted "Theodore" Logan. ...Try the veal.

9:11 p.m. (Yankees) - Great, great play by Cano as he gets groundball, spins and throws out Figgins. He's been doing that all season long. A great, underrated fielder.

9:12 p.m. (Yankees) - Abreu singles in Mathis. 1-0 Angels. Uh oh.

9:15 p.m. (Giants) - Very nice pick there by Terrell Thomas as Kurt Warner just flings it. Giants ball on Cards' 29 yard line. The offense need to bang it in here.

9:16 p.m. (Giants) - Jacobs bangs his first nice run of the year flying 25 yards. Giants at 4 yeard line.

9:17 p.m. (Giants) - Jacobs bulls his way into endzone to put the Giants up: 7-0 Giants.

9:19 p.m. (Yankees) - After threatening in 1st and 2nd, Yankees need to score in 3rd to answer Angels. With the heart of their lineup coming up, hopefully they can do just that.

9:19 p.m. (Yankees) - Tex was completely safe on that infield single there and McClleland paused for a few seconds before calling him out.

9:21 p.m. (Yankees) - A-Rod walks on 5 pitches. It's clear in that at-bat right there that the Angels don't want any part of Alex. Now, the Yankees batters need to make them pay for that.

9:23 p.m. (Giants) - Giants pressure Cards on series and Cards go 3 and out. The defense looks great tonight.

9:24 p.m. (Yankees) - Posada hits one to the RF wall and Abreu nearly misplays it. Oh, how I miss those days.

9:25 p.m. (Giants) - Does the good Steve Smith even have a catch tonigh?. What happened to that guy? I have him on two of my fantasy teams, joined as a fan on his FB page, follow him on Twitter and now he lets me down with no catches. What gives?

9:28 p.m. (Yankees) - It's only the top of the 4th with Angels leading 1-0, but I've officially become nervous. Did you hear there's a Giants game on and they are leading? Who knew?

9:29 p.m. (Yankees) - Old man Guerrero strikes out looking and shows up HP ump Dale Scott. Should have gotten thrown out right there.

9:31 p.m. (Giants) - More pressure by Giants defense, including a sack by Danny Clark and the Cards are 3 and out again.

9:32 p.m. (Yankees) - Andy strikes out his 5th batter to end the top of 4th. Yanks need to break thru in bottom of 4th.

9:34 p.m. (Random) - I think I've seen the Transformers 2 commercial four times already and I'm fast forwarding through them!

9:35 p.m. (Giants) - It's definitely hurting the Giants tonight that McKenzie isn't playing. Eli is getting rushed a ton and his hurrying his throws. And that's when the bad Eli comes out. We hate the bad Eli.

9:36 p.m. (Yankees) - Cano starts it off right for Yankees as he walks to lead off the bottom of 4th. When's the last time he walked? Last year?

9:37 p.m. (Yankees) ....And up comes Mr. 111.

9:38 p.m. (Yankees) ....And he literally dribbles a single to left field. Nice. 1st and 2nd and no outs. Yanks threatening again.

9:40 p.m. (Yankees) - Melky bunts and puts runners on 2nd and 3rd. Angels are thinking about walking Jeter to load the bases. Do they realize it's only the 4th inning and not the 8th?

9:44 p.m. (Yankees) - And Fox screws me by showing that the Cards just tied the Giants at 7. Damn, I was a few minutes behind that game! I hate you Joe Buck.

9:44 p.m. (Giants) - Hey, Beanie Wells just scored a TD for the Cards to tie the game. Who knew? I hate you Fox. 7-7

9:45 p.m. (Yankees) - Jeter walks to load up the bases again for Yankees and Johnny, for 2nd time tonight. Ducks! On! Pond!

9:47 p.m. (Yankees) - Johnny rips it to left to drive in 2 runs for Yanks. 2-1 Yankees!

9:48 p.m. (Yankees) - Seriously Joe Buck...Stop giving me updates on the Giants game. Still behind! I'm not leaving the Yankees game now to catch up.

9:48 p.m. (Giants) - Hakeem Nicks catches a deflection off of Mario Manningham and speeds into endzone for a 62 yard TD. 14-7 Giants.

9:49 p.m. (Giants) - Did I mention I am playing my brother-in-law tonight in fantasy football and he has Manningham and I have Nicks. Nice!

9:51 p.m. (Yankees) - Tex knocks Fielders choice to SS and Jeter is safe at second. Bases loaded for A-Rod.

9:52 p.m. (Yankees) - You would think that Sciososa should take out Saunders here, no?

9:54 p.m. (Yankees) - A-Rod walks to bring in a run. That pitch from Saunders was literally right down the middle. Maybe low. 3-1 Yankees.

9:56 p.m. (Giants) - Great stop by Giants defense to stop them before the half. I'm shocked the refs didn't throw a flag on Webster because they always assume pass interference and throw the flag regardless.

9:57 p.m. (Giants) - Cards knock through 30 yard FG. 14-10 Giants.

9:59 p.m. (Yankees) - Posada grounds into double play with the bases loaded. Thanks Jorge for ending that rally. Damn.

10:05 p.m. (Yankees) - Pettitte strikes out Mathis, the Angels hottest hitter doing a Johnny Bench impersonation. It's his 6th K of the night.

10:10 p.m. (Giants) - It's halftime for the Giants and they are leading by 4. I wish I could tell you how they are playing, but I have literally been fast forwarding through the game as I have been making Game 6 of the ALCS a top priority. So I really couldn't tell you about the flow of the game or how the team is performing. I saw some pressures of Kurt Warner in there and a fluke 62 yard TD catch by Nicks, but that's about it. Now back to the Yankees game.

10:11p.m. (Yankees) - Hey, everyone, it's Mr. .158.

10:16 p.m. (Giants) - The Giants offense go 3 and out and their offense continues to look disjointed tonight. No, it's not my DVR fast forwarding.

10:17 p.m. (Yankees) - Andy has pitched real well tonight. Top 6 and he's got to keep it going.

10:18 p.m. (Yankees) - Figgins tries to bunt and the ball hits him on the way to 2nd base and he's called out. Tim McCarver tells us later that if you are scoring at home it's a 2 unassisted. That's something I didn't know and I was a professional score keeper on my high school baseball team. Thanks Tim. You are having a good ALCS. I'm shocked and in awe.

10:20 p.m. (Yankees) - Where did this "Core 4" garbage come from. Supposedly what they call Jeter, Posada, Pettitte and Rivera for being with the Yankees during their late 90s Dynasty. I have never heard that before. It's just plain dumb.

10:21 p.m. (Giants) - Cards are driving on Giants defense on 27 yard pass to Fitzgerald.

10:24 p.m. (Yankees) - That's literally the 3rd time this series that a Hunter check swing wasn't called a strike.

10:25 p.m. (Yankees) - Seriously Fox, stop showing highlights where Guerrero actually got a hit and drove in a run. I'd rather hear the score to the Giants game again.

10:25 p.m. (Giants) - Tim Hightower bangs it in for Cards. Ugh. 17-14 Cardinals. The Giants, much like Pettitte need to start picking it up right here.

10:28 p.m. (Yankees) - Guerrero hits one off his shoetops and puts runners on 2nd and 3rd. Come on Andy!

10:29 p.m. (Giants) - No doubt due to the absence of McKenzie, the Giants offensive line looks horrible tonight and Eli is sacked again.

10:30 p.m. (Yankees) - Seriously Fox. Stop...showing...the Giants score.. Oh wait, I already knew about that score change.

10:31 p.m. (Yankees) - Ground ball to Andy to end the Angels threat and I couldn't care less about the Giants score...or world peace....or nuclear weapons in Iran.

10:34 p.m. (Yankees) - Yanks need to put some distance between them and the Angels. That last half inning was a little too nerve wracking to my liking.

10:35 p.m. (Giants) - The Giants offense looks gawd awful tonight.

10:36 p.m. (Giants) - Giants dodge one as Fitzgerald drops an easy TD.

10:39 p.m. (Yankees) - I think Andy should definitely start the 7th for the Yankees. Hopefully Girardi agrees.

10:41 p.m. (Yankees) - Johnny hits a Johnny Rocket....er I mean Johnny Sparkler to short center field and it's 1st and 2nd with 1 out for Tex. ...and then Tex hits a DP to end the inning. ugh.

10:43 p.m. (Giants) - A tipped ball is intercepted by Cards and they have the ball deep in Giants territory. Double ugh.

10:44 p.m. (Giants) - And now the defense looks as bad as the offense as Beanie Wells runs up the middle for 20+ yards. Triple ugh.

10:46 p.m. (Giants) - Cards Score. I'm out of ughs. 24-14 Cardinals. Back to the Yankee game. My emotions are all over the place tonight.

10:46 p.m. (Yankees) - Andy starts the 7th. Let's go!

10:47 p.m. (Yankees) - Great diving catch by Swisher on a line drive by Kendrick. My heart jumped for a second there.

10:49 p.m. - (Yankees) - Andy is taken out of the game with 1 out in 7th and a runner on 1B. Great performance by Pettitte tonight. Now, the bullpen has to finish it.

10:51 p.m. (Yankees) - Joba's in for the Yankees. For some reason, Scosicia lifted Mathis - who has been completely unconscious this series - for Izturis.

10:51 p.m. (Giants) Wow, the good Steve Smith finally made his first catch of the night. Sorry Steve, even the bad Steve Smith had a better game for the putrid Carolina Panthers today.

10:54 p.m. (Yankees) - Great play by Cano to make up for near Jeter error. 2 outs in 7th.

10:55 p.m. (Yankees) - Joba gets out of 7th on another ground ball, this time it's fielded easily by Jeter.

10:56 p.m. (Yankees) - 6 outs to World Series!

10:58 p.m. (Yankees) - Final line on Pettitte: 6 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 7 Hits, 6 Ks, 1 BB

10:59 p.m. (Giants) - Offense back on the field after a bad series by Cards. Anquan Boldin cannot run at all on his high ankle sprain. That is bad news for the fantasy team. Yeah, in addition to the good Steve Smith's ineptness tonight.

11:01 p.m. (Giants) - Nice bull rush by Jacobs. That reminds me of the old Jacobs.

11:02 p.m. (Yankees) - The Sandman is warming up the in the bullpen for the Yankees.

11:03 p.m. (Giants) - Just a horrible drop by Manningham on a sure TD pass from Eli.

11:04 p.m. (Yankees) - A-Rod starts the 7th with a single straight at my TV screen (or up the middle in the real world).

11:05 p.m. (Giants) - Great catch over the middle for Steve Smith. Hey, thanks for waking up. Was my taunting that you weren't the best Steve Smith any longer offending to you?

11:07 p.m. (Yankees) - Posada grounds into yet another DP and runs to first base slower than Old Man Guerrero. And he runs slow....

11:08 p.m. (Giants) - It's just really disappointing that the Giants don't score a TD right there. Tynes cuts Cards lead to 7. Cards 24-17

11:11 p.m. (Yankees) - Enter Sandman!

11:12 p.m. (Yankees) RT @JoeandEvan Girardi now officially "second guess" proof in handling his pen today...its all on the back of the greatest closer in history

11:15 p.m. (Yankees) - Great, great diving stop by Tex. 5 outs left.

11:16 p.m. (Yankees) - Luckily Cano was positioned up the middle and he makes a play to throw out Hunter. 4 outs.

11:21 p.m. (Yankees) - A long battle between Mo and Old Man Guerrero ends with a dinker to right to cut score. 3-2 Yankees.

11:23 p.m. (Yankees) - Another ground ball out for Mo and he escapes further damage. I am officially not turning back on the Giants game until this one is over.

11:24 p.m. (Giants) - And then I do anyway. Great run by Bradshaw ends up in a fumble. That is a heartbreaker for the Giants right there.

11:26 p.m. (Yankees) - 3 outs to the World Series.

11:28 p.m. (Yankees) - Cano walks to lead off inning. Yankees need to tack on a run right here.

11:30 p.m. (Yankees) - Hello Mr. .150. Care to bunt?

11:31 p.m. (Giants) -Just a great, great catch by Smith and a great pass by Manning out of the Giants endzone.

11:33 p.m. (Yankees) - Great bunt by Swisher and Kendrick drops the throw. I'm surprised McClelland didn't call Swisher out.

11:34 p.m. (Giants) - Eli is driving Giants under 2 minutes in the only way he knows how: Awesomely.

11:35 p.m. (Yankees) - Another bunt, by Melky, and another horrible throw to first by Kazmir, who launches the ball over Kendrick's head. Cano scores. 4-2 Yankees. I can smell the World Series.

11:36 p.m. (Yankees) - Kazmir literally launched that ball into the upper deck.

11:38 p.m. (Giants) - Damn, Eli throws a pick and the Giants late comeback ends in defeat

11:40 p.m. (Yankees) - Johnny needs to break it open here to leave no doubt. ...and he walks.

11:44 p.m. (Yankees) - Tex hits a blast DEEP to center and Gardner scores on the Sac Fly. 5-2 Yankees.

11:45 p.m. (Giants) - And the Giants lose to Cards 24-17. If the Yankees weren't winning now, I would be pissed. But right now, I couldn't care less.

11:53 p.m. - (Yankees) The bottom of the 9th ends with the bases loaded when Posada strikes out looking. Hey, at least he didn't ground into a double play. Oh wait....

11:54 p.m. - (Yankees) Despite the strikeout by Posada, those 2 runs the Yankees added in the bottom of the 8th were huge.

11:55 p.m. - (Yankees) 3 more outs until a Wednesday date with the Phillies in the World Series.

11:56 p.m. - (Yankees) 2 more outs!

11:58 p.m. (Yankees) 1 more out!

12:01 p.m. (Yankees) - And it's over....on a strikeout by Mariano Rivera! How fitting!

The New York Yankees have won their 40th AL Pennant and are headed to face the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. It's going to be a fascinating and classic World Series....but that is for tomorrow. I can finally breath a sigh of relief after the Yankees dispatch their long-time nemesis Angels.

Let's go Yankees!

Delivering #27 Diary - Game 5 ALCS - Yankees vs. Angels - 5 wins to #27

2009-10-22T19:54:00.012-04:00

7:55 p.m. - I'm back again for more fun insta-blogging Delivering #27 Diary for Game 5 of the 2009 ALCS. If A.J. pitches well tonight, he'll deliver the Yankees their 40th pennant and launch them into the 2009 World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies. He's going to be amp'ed. I'm amp'ed. Are you?

7:58 p.m. - As always, the Captain sets the table with a leadoff single on the first pitch.

8:01 p.m. - It's 1st and 2nd with 1 out and up to the plate comes the ALCS MVP....and a pop fly that he just missed. Darn.

8:05 p.m. - I'm sorry, but John Lackey looks like he should be sitting in a $5 folding chair drinking a Pabst Blue Ribbon, while sitting in a trailer park in Texas...Hey, wait, he is from Texas! I could be onto something there.

8:09 p.m. - A.J. has pitched well this postseason, but has walked way too many people (7 walks). He gets so amp'ed up for these games and his stuff is so sick that he overthrows the ball.

8:13 p.m. - Abreu wakes up finally and hits a double. 2nd and 3rd with no outs. A.J. needs to settle.

8:13 p.m. - Not a good start. 2-0 Angels.

8:15 p.m. - Just getting tattoo'ed. 3-0 Angels.

8:17 p.m. - Seriously, AJ needs to settle. Do you think a visit to mound might make sense right here? 4-0 Angels.

8:19 p.m. - Nice...first out by AJ is a deep flyout to the track.

8:22 p.m. - And a double play mercilessly ends the inning. Hey, still 8 innings left.

8:25 p.m. - Let's chip away here like only the Yankees know how. ...

8:35 p.m. - Despite a 1-2-3 inning from AJ (assisted by a DP), every ball was hit hard during that half inning.

8:40 p.m. - I hate how Fox is superimposing an ad for Brothers behind home plate. That is a rough show. To quote Michael Strahan: "Say it with me...17-14 is the final score... and I will retire and be in a horrible Fox sitcom for 3 weeks". Okay, maybe he didn't say that last part.

8:41 p.m. - Johnny was safe by a foot. Another bad call by the umps. What else is new?

8:49 p.m. - AJ lets Hunter walk to 2nd base without so much as a look. He is having a rough, rough night.

8:57 p.m. - With Tex, A-Rod and Matsui to bat, Yankees need to break out the bats in the 4th.

9:06 p.m. - That was a rough inning as A-Rod strikes out looking, Matsui's walker breaks on the way to first and Cano swings and misses as a horrible 3-2 pitch in the dirt.

9:16 p.m. - Reading Tweets from Yankee beat writers at NY Post and Daily News and hate how they think they are being funny when they are actually being snarky.

9:19 p.m. - He was great for the Yankees this regular season, but this postseason, Swisher has really reverted to his White Sox days when he was a .200 hitter.

9:21 p.m. - Good move by Girardi to lift Molina for Posada. Let's hope it pays off. ...

9:22 p.m. - Nope.

9:26 p.m. - I'm annoyed tonight.

9:28 p.m. - How much worse could Burnett to Posada be than Burnett to Molina was tonight?

9:32 p.m. - Good story by McCarver about Steve Carlton and Bob Boone. He has been uncharacteristically good color commentator this postseason. He usually just annoys me.

9:39 p.m. - Yanks need to start chipping away in 6th.

9:47 p.m. - Yankees threaten in 6th (highlighted by a blast double by A-Rod) but Cano grounds weakly to shortstop. Really, Robbie? A freaking groundball? That's it?

9:53 p.m. - I love Joe Buck telling story of how Aroldis Chapman established residency in Andorra and then goes on to say: "Andorra..if you don't know...is a small island....[fade away]. And then nothing...I don't think Joe knows where Andorra is.

9:55 p.m. - What an idiot in the center field waterfalls. And where is the Angels security? And how is Fox showing this? And why is there waterfalls in a baseball park?

9:59 p.m. - I'm wondering why Nick Swisher is still playing RF. Isn't it time to give Brett Gardner a start? I mean, Swisher is hitting like .125 this series.

10:04 p.m. RTJoeandEvan It would be fitting for Yanks to complete AL pennant with dramatic comeback

10:05 p.m. - Lackey just showed up ump there big-time on walk to Posada....Should be thrown out of game!

10:06 p.m. - Jorgie on 1B and Melky on 2B. Let's get it going...Captain, oh my captain...

10:08 p.m. - Jeter walks and the ducks are on the pond! Come on Johnny!

10:10 p.m. - Johnny flies to left. Lackey's is lifted and telling Scioscia, "You're shitting me, this is mine." (I read his lips.) Let's hope Lackey was right.

10:12 p.m. Tex is up with bases juiced. And Lackey was right as Tex hits double to drive in 3. Angels 4-3.

10:13 p.m. - The Yanks are coming!

10:15 p.m. - Godzilla strikes with single up middle. Tex scores. Tie game!! 4-4.

10:17 p.m. - RT @JoeandEvan Wow the anti Grady Little...Scioscia may regret this all winter.

10:20 p.m. - Robbie comes through for once in the series and racks a double to center. 6-4 Yankees. Biggest hit of Cano's career.

10:25 p.m. - Yankees scored 6 runs in 7th inning on 7 pitches. Very remiscent of the Angels' 12 pitch rally in the bottom of the first.

10:26 p.m. - 9 outs to the World Series.

10:27 p.m. - AJ is still pitching. Jesus. I am having a heart attack. Ask my wife. Get 9-1-1 on standby.

10:32 p.m. - Uh no, Marte is coming in. Someone please turn off my TV...I might pass out.

10:36 p.m. - I'm watching between two fingers with both hands in front of my face.

10:37 p.m. - Groundball and Angels score. 6-5 Yankees

10:45 p.m. - Angels tie it up with weak single to center. 6-6.

10:48 p.m. - Phil Hughes is not doing well. 7-6 Angels.

10:49 p.m. - After an emotional 6-run inning - for me anyway - the Yankees give the lead right back and are headed into the 8th.

10:54 p.m. - RT@JoeandEvan Call me crazy but I don't think the Yanks are gonna lose this 7-6

11:00 p.m. - Joba comes in and gives up double immediately. Both Joba and Hughes are not performing tonight.

11:12 p.m. - Don't you dare mention Luis Gonzalez, Tim McCarver. Forget the earlier compliment I gave to you. You annoy me.

11:13 p.m. - Good catch and throw by Nick Swisher, the first good thing he's done this series.

11:14 p.m. - Nice job by Mo there. Yankees go to 9th with their big guns coming up. Didn't you think this game was coming down to Mr. Alex Rodriguez? Well, here we go.

11:17 p.m. - Interesting move to bring Fuentes in the game. Weaver was pitching well. Will it bite Scioscia again?

11:19 p.m. - Two outs...Here comes Alex. Let's do it again!

11:20 p.m. - I can't believe they are walking him. GODZILLA WILL STRIKE AGAIN!

11:24 p.m. - And Matsui walks.

11:25 p.m. - It's up to Cano now. Break thru Robbie...

11:26 p.m. -And Cano is hit to load the bases.

11:27 p.m. - It's up to Swisher, who doesn't have RBI this series (Thanks Joe Buck for that stat).

11:32 p.m. - Damn, Swisher pops up on 3-2 count and Yankees lose. Headed back to NY to hopefully wrap this up.

Wrap-up - Sure, the series is now 3-2 Yankees, but we are headed back to the new Yankee Stadium where the Yankees have a stellar record this year and Andy Pettitte - owner of 4 series clinching wins - on the mound. Tonight was a rough game to lose, especially after the Yankees stormed back in the 7th.

5 wins until #27.

Let's go Yankees.

Delivering #27 Diary - Game 4 ALCS - Yankees vs. Angels - 5 wins to #27

2009-10-20T19:48:00.018-04:00

Welcome back to the Delivering #27 Diary!

7:49 p.m. - I'll be blogging all night long about Game 4 of the ALCS - or what I'm calling it, the biggest game of the year for the Yankees. Sure, they are up 2-1 in the series, but they simply cannot allow the Angels to tie up the series at 2 games apiece. They need to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series to give them some breathing room against an Angels team that won a truly heartbreaking game -- for the Yankees and their fans anyway -- last night.

7:50 p.m. - I listened to WFAN radio hosts and Yankee fans complain all day long about how Girardi lost Game 3 for the Yankees, but it was much more than Girardi's decision to relieve David Robertson in the 11th inning: it was about the team not hitting with runners in scoring position (0 for 8 in Game 3 and 0 for 20 something in the series thus far); it was also about Joba and Aceves not having their best stuff out of the bullpen and it was about Swisher, Cabrera, Cano and others not hitting - oh right, I said that already.

7:52 p.m. - I like C.C. on the mound tonight for the Yankees. He's been golden throughout the 2009 playoffs thus far and I'm hoping he can come up big again for the team.

8:00 p.m. - Great start for the Captain with a single. ....but he gets picked off on first pitch. Damn.

8:05 p.m. - Tex has a good at-bat vs. Kazmir -- including a near HR to left -- but strikes out looking to end the inning.

8:08 p.m. - CC needs to come up big tonight. He's 2-0 with a 1.23 and 15 Ks in 14 2/3 innings this postseason. I love those numbers.

8:12 p.m. - How does Tex only have 2 Gold Gloves? He should have won it every year with his stellar defense.

8:18 p.m. - Pat Sajak is at the game again. Has the Wheel of Fortune stopped?

8:21 p.m. - A-Rod surprises everyone and swipes a base after walking. I'm really surprised -- as are the Angels -- as the Yankees aren't really known for that. Kazmir is clearly concentrating on A-Rod on 2nd base before each pitch.

8:25 p.m. - Yanks are being patient at plate and aggressive on the bases tonight. I like it.

8:29 p.m. - Can someone from the bottom of the order please come up clutch when runners are in scoring position??

8:46 p.m. - Smart thinking by Melky with a push bunt. That's how you get out of slump!

8:47 p.m. - A-Rod's future father in law Kurt Russell is in the house!

9:02 - C.C. strikes out Abreu looking and he is also LOOKING really sharp tonight on 3 days rest.

9:08 p.m. - To steal from Joe Buck, A-Rod knocks a single up the middle and is really "locked in" during this playoffs..

9:13 p.m. - Really nice baserunning by A-Rod as he scores on a little squib by Cano. When the last time you saw him do that? Wow. 1-0 Yankees.

9:17 p.m. - Let's break this open Yankees and make Kazmir wish the Mets never traded him!

9:21 p.m. - Melky breaks the Yankees 0 for 26 or something streak with runners in scoring position. Nice. 3-0 Yankees. Maybe it was the giant chaw in Melky's lip that helped.

9:25 p.m. - Not that I needed the Coors Lite Freeze Cam to show me, but Swisher was out by a mile!
9:26 p.m. - A bad umpiring call on Swisher's tag up from 3rd helps Kazmir get out of a nightmare inning. Hey, he was supposed to be out on 2nd base anyway, so that makes up for it, right?

9:35 p.m. - C.C.has given up 1 hit thru 4 innings. He's been worth every penny that the Yankees paid him this year.

9:38 p.m. - Interesting stat from Fox: Angels have led in 2 of the 37 innings played so far in ALCS.

9:43 p.m. - A-Rod is LOCKED IN and hits his 5th HR in seven 2009 playoff games...5-0 Yankees

9:47 p.m. - RT nyp_joelsherman A-Rod now has an RBI in eight straight Yankee postseason games, tying him with Lou Gehrig for the most in team history.

9:50 p.m. - Do my eyes deceive me? Jorge just stole a base!

9:52 p.m. - Instead of decoying Posada, why didn't Hunter actually try to catch the ball?

9:53 p.m. - Some horrible baserunning by Yankees there. And horrible umpiring AGAIN by the Crew Chief!

10:01 p.m. - C.C. gives up first run of game. 5-1 Yankees

10:10 p.m. - If Yanks get out of this giving up only 1 run they are lucky.

10:12 p.m. - Great job by CC in getting out of trouble!

10:24 p.m. - Damn, A-Rod, striking out looking when men are in scoring position. Same ol' A-Rod in postseason...Haha. Kidding. Isn't it funny how different this year is?

10:30 p.m. - How was that not a swing by Hunter?! What?! The umpiring is horrible tonight.

10:36 p.m. - Great double play there by C.C. as he is close to getting out of another jam!

10:37 p.m. - C.C. gets out of it. Two big jams in last two innings and he gets out of both giving up only 1 run. A lesser pitcher would have let the floodgates open.

10:53 p.m. - For the record, the Yanks lost last night because I wasn't wearing my Joba Rules shirt...it was in the wash for the 1st time since Gm 1 ALDS. I'm wearing it tonight. No coincidence at all.

11:02 p.m. - You would think that Girardi was putting Gardner in there to get thrown out. It has happened past 3 times.

11:09 p.m. - It's a JOHNNY ROCKET!! 7-1 Yankees!

11:23 p.m. - Alex doubles, tags up on fly ball and scores on error. Great baseball. 8-1 Yankees.

11:25 p.m. - C.C. is done for the night. Another wonderful start for him.

Just great, great numbers for him:

2009 Playoffs = 22 2/3 IP, 3 ERs, 20 Ks, 4 BB
Game 1 ALDS - 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 8Ks, 1 BB
Game 1 ALCS - 8 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 7 Ks, 1 BB
Game 4 ALCS (Tonight) - 8 IP, 1 ER, 5 H, 5 Ks, 2 BB

11:28 p.m. - Melky knocks a double to right to score Cano and Gardner and the Yankees are breaking out the whipping stick. 10-1 Yankees

11:29 p.m. - It's about time Gaudin got some work. He hasn't been one of the thousand Yankee relievers who have pitched in the ALCS.

Wrap-up - Just a great, great pitching performance from C.C. and another stellar game by A-Rod who has homered in the last 3 straight playoff games. 1 more win to wrap up the ALCS and 5 more wins total to #27.

Let's go Yankees.

Game 3 ALCS - Yankees vs. Angels

2009-10-20T10:24:00.001-04:00

All, I have to say is ugh.

Besides A-Rod and Jeter, no one in the Yankees lineup is hitting, so I guess that we should be fortunate that the team is up 2 games to 1 and not vice versa. The starting pitching for the Yankees has been lights out and up until last night the bullpen has been great.

The only thing consistent about the team has been Joe Girardi's overmanaging. He did it again last night and it cost the team the game. I'm not going to blame the whole loss on him, because like I said Tex, Swisher, Cano, Cabrera are not hitting, but he deserves a big part of the blame for the loss.

Game 2 ALCS - Yankees vs. Angels -- 6 wins left till #27

2009-10-19T14:10:00.004-04:00

I was at a wedding on Saturday night and tried in vain for hours to avoid finding out the Yankee score.

I gave up when we left the wedding at 10:30 and I broke down and checked the score and found out it was tied 2-2 in the 9th inning.

I tuned in when we got back to my sister's and nearly got thrown out of her house after I jumped up and down uncontrollably when Alex Rodriguez continued to be Mr. Clutch this postseason with a game-tying solo homerun to right field in the bottom of the 11th inning.

Since I didn't watch innings 1 thru 9, I don't have too much more analysis of the game other than to say:

Thank you, Ms. Hudson (a.k.a. The Future Mrs. Rodriguez)

Thank you for making Alex happy and relaxed...You deserve a bonus if the Yankees win a World Series this year.

6 wins left until #27...

Game 1: ALCS - Yankees vs. Angels ...7 wins left until #27

2009-10-16T19:45:00.009-04:00

I'm bringing back the running diary that I used to do in 2007-2008 during each Giants game for the Yankees playoff run and renaming it: "Delivering #27 Diary"

I'm predicting it here first: Yankees in 6 over Angels.

Let's go Yankees!

Here goes:

7:57 p.m. - Here we go, first pitch. I'm confident in the Yankees, but my memories of the 2002 and 2005 playoffs against the Angels make me as scared as the girl in the tent in the Blair Witch Project. But we didn't have C.C. back then!

8:01 p.m. - Bobby Abreu's hitting 2nd for the Angels. Welcome back Bobby. Now, sprain a knee!

8:03 p.m. - Why is the Fox HD broadcast keep breaking up in picture and sound? Is it just me?

8:05 p.m. - Despite a soft hit by Hunter in the 1st, it looks like C.C. is really dealing tonight. Let's go Yankees!

8:11 p.m. - Tim McCarver makes his first "Captain Obvious" prediction when he predicts Jeter's right field single in the 1st inning seconds before the Captain hits it.

8:12 p.m. - Johnny needs to step it up in the ALCS. He was awful in the ALDS against the Twins.

8:13 p.m. - Heeeeeere's Johnny!! as Damon drops in a double to left field.

8:15 p.m. - Don't know why Tex was swinging at 3-0 right there.

8:17 p.m. - A-Rod drives in 7th run of postseason with sac fly to center. 1-0 Yankees.

8:20 p.m. - Shades of the Mets's Luis Castillo in the ALCS...It's windy tonight at Yankee Stadium as Hideki Matsui hits pop fly to SS and Aybar and Figgins look at each other as the flyball drops in between them. Damon scores from 2nd. 2-0 Yankees. Angels look sloppy tonight.

8:27 p.m. - C.C.'s first K of the night. I wish Fox could get their act together with this HD transmission.

8:30 p.m. - Great, great play by Robinson Cano on a slow dribbler to 2nd. He's been making great plays like that all year long...

8:33 p.m. - Cano leads off to start 2nd. It's uncanny - SI did an article on it once - how in an inordinate amount of cases, a player who makes a great defensive play to end an inning leads off at bat the next inning...

8:43 p.m. - 2nd K of night for C.C. He looks really good tonight. This is the reason the Yankees paid him a bajillion dollars this past offseason.

8:52 p.m. - Tex tatooes a ball to right like he tatoo'ed it to left for the Game 2 ALDS Game Winning HR.

9:02 p.m. - Vlad Guerrero looks a lot chubbier since he stopped using steroids. The ball he just hit to the fence would have been gone if he was still on the juice. ...

9:05 p.m. - Angels cut the lead in half, 2-1.

9:19 p.m. - Melky needs to deliver right here.....and he walks. At least he got on base. Feels like he hasn't been on base in weeks.

9:23 p.m. - John Lackey looks like a fat accountant.

9:25 p.m. - Damn! I forgot to tape NBC's Secrets of the Lost Symbol! Great book by Dan Brown. Hopefully it'll be on NBC.com later tonight.

9:25 p.m. - Yanks broke through early in the 1st as a result of some sloppy play by the Angels and haven't broken through since as the fat accountant has pitched well. C.C. needs to keep it up!
9:30 p.m. - 3 groundouts and 3 great plays by Yankee IFs. Yankees up through 4 1/2 innings...

9:34 p.m. - I just typed Amazone.com into my Internetweb address by mistake and went to the French version of Amazon.com....Wee...wee...

9:35 p.m. - Johnny hits a gapper into left-center and is 2 for 3 in ALCS after going 1 for 12 in ALDS. Welcome back Johnny.

9:42 p.m. - Matsui sticks out his bat and hits double to left. Johnny scores and Alex tries to run over catcher and is out at the plate. 3-1 Yankees. Kate Hudson must have been cringing, like Abby Manning, when Alex ran into the catcher. Abby cringes when Eli hikes the ball.

9:49 p.m. - Damon makes a great diving catch off bat of Abreu. I am shocked and in awe.

9:50 p.m. - Great play by C.C. on bunt by Hunter and great split by Tex. I don't care if his foot was off the bag. He did a damn split! Tex makes a great play like that almost once per game. The Yankees could pay his double what he is making and he wouldn't be making enough.

9:56 p.m. - Wow, Bobby Abreu actually caught Cano's fly ball near the rightfield wall and didn't cringe up in the fetal position at all. That's progress for him...

10:02 p.m. - Jeter up with 2 outs in 6th and Melky on 1st. Come on, Derek...do something clutch for once in your life....Kidding.

10:03 p.m. - Melky to 2nd on another sloppy play/2nd error of the night by the Angels. ...

10:04 p.m. - Jeter comes through in the clutch again with a base knock up the middle. Goes to second on 3rd error of game for Angels. 4-1 Yankees....

10:07 p.m. - Marc Bulger takes the mound for the Angels. I guess the Rams gave up on him.

10:12 p.m. - McCarver says that C.C. has lost 1 game since the All-Star Break. I had no idea. If it's true - and you never know with McCarver - that's awesome.

10:13 p.m. - 6th K by C.C. Did I mention, he's dealing tonight. Just a clutch, clutch performance on the big stage by C.C.

10:16 p.m. - Another great play by Robbie as he lays out and gets the 2nd out of the 7th.

10:20 p.m. - The Yankee Stadium crowd is loudly chanting C.C. as Sabathia strikes out 7th batter of game. Must be an awesome feeling.

10:23 p.m. - Thru 7 innings, C.C. has given up 1 run, 4 hits while striking out 7 and walking 1. This is the best pitching performance by a Yankees starter since Andy Pettitte outpitched John Smoltz, 1-0 in Game 5 of the 1996 World Series.

10:40 p.m. - The ducks are on the pond for Swishalicious! Break it open Nick!

10:43 p.m. - On 3-2, Swisher, who usually has a really good eye, strikes out on a horrible pitch.

10:53 p.m. - C.C. thru 8 innings...1 run, 4 hits, 7 Ks, 1 BB. Just an awesome performance. Will he come out for 9th?

11:00 p.m. - I'm pleasantly surprised...Joe Buck and Tim McCarver have been informative and not annoying tonight. They are much better than Skip Caray and Ron Darling. My cat's would be better than Skip Caray.

11:06 p.m. - Top 9...Enter Sandman.

11:13 p.m. - Mariano blows it by Vlad for 1st out in 9th.

11:17 p.m. - 36 postseason save for Mariano Rivera and Yankees win game 1 against the Angels.

11:18 p.m. - Great, great outing by C.C. Sabathia tonight. Timely hitting by Yankees who took advantage of 3 errors by Angels. Yankees up 1-0 on Angels in 2009 ALCS.

Who's scared now Blair Witch girl!

7 wins left until #27.

Game 3 ALDS - Yanks vs. Twins (Win 3 of 11)

2009-10-14T10:10:00.001-04:00

I'm a few days late with this, but felt the need to post it for posterity.

The Yankees swept the Twins on Sunday night, winning Game 3 in the same fashion that they won the previous two against the Twins: coming from behind. A-Rod, once again, hit a big time homerun to tie up the game in the 6th inning and was followed a batter later by Jorge Posada who put the Yankees up for good.

Next up, the dreaded Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim sponsored by Home Depot and Best Buy. They've beat us in the 2002 and 2005 playoffs and I'm scared of them as that girl in the tent in The Blair Witch Project.

The 2009 Yankees is a different team though than they were in 2002 and 2005, so I am hopeful and confident that we can beat the Angels in 5 or 6 games.

Let's go Yankees...8 wins away from the 2009 World Champions.

Game 2 ALDS - Yankees vs. Twins (Win 2 of 11)

2009-10-10T10:33:00.004-04:00

The only way I can explain the Stadium last night, before, during and after Alex Rodriguez hit a game-tying 2 run homer in the bottom of the 9th inning last night was complete and utter pandemonium.

I was there to witness it and I must say it's the loudest that I've ever heard the new Stadium and it came very, very close to being as loud as the old Stadium was when Aaron Boone jacked one off of Tim Wakefield in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS against the Red Sox. I was there for that one too, but there was something extra special about last night's game.

Last night's blast by A-Rod in the 9th and Mark Teixiera's laser beam of a homerun to lead off the bottom of the 11th inning was definitely the first real special moment in the new Stadium.

That's win 2 of 11 on the Yankees' journey to becoming the 2009 World Series Champion.

Game 1: ALDS - Yankees vs. Twins (Win 1 out of 11)

2009-10-08T15:51:00.005-04:00

The Yankees played a typical 2009 Yankee game: They had great starting pitching, a solid bullpen, didn't get down on themselves when they fell behind early and everyone on the team contributed (including Jeter, A-Rod and Matsui) with big hits...

I'll admit, I was more than worried before this series started. Everyone was picking the Yankees to win the series against the Twins. But I was concerned. There's something to be said for the hot team that is on a roll.

The Twins were coming off a torrid finish to their regular season and an emotional 1 game playoff against the Tigers. Plus, the Yankees' 2006 ALDS defeat to the Tigers - another team they were heavily favored to beat - is still a deep scar in my mind. So, yes, I had some trepidation about this game.

I was definitely concerned early on in the game as the Twins threatened to score both in the 1st and 2nd innings before breaking through with two runs in the 3rd. Yes, it was only two runs, but I think past Yankee playoff teams would have folded up like a cheap suit right there....

Not the 2009 Yankees though.

In the next half inning, the Captain (as he always does) tied up the game with a clutch 2-run blast to left field. I can't say enough about how clutch Derek Jeter is in each and every postseason game... It's inexplicable. ...From the flip against the A's, to the homer against the Mets in 2000, to the Nov. 1 homer off the D-backs and last night's homerun, he always comes up big when it matters the most.

From there, it was easy sailing for the Yanks with great contributions from Sabathia, A-Rod (2 RBIs in the post season for the first time in forever) and a deep blast by Matsui and great bullpen work from Hughes, Coke and Joba.

That's win 1 of 11 for the Yankees in the 2009 playoffs.

Eli Christens New Cowboys Stadium

2009-10-05T10:20:00.002-04:00

Apparently Eli christened the new Cowboys Stadium by writing this in sharpie marker in the visitors clubhouse. Very nice.

She's unbelievable

2009-10-01T14:36:00.000-04:00

Yanks Clinch AL East; Home Field Thru Playoffs

2009-09-27T20:53:00.000-04:00

Go Giants!!

2009-09-23T19:53:00.001-04:00

Mario Manningham is Grace's favorite player

9/11/01 - Feels like it was just yesterday ...

2009-09-11T09:17:00.005-04:00

To be honest, I was hungover when I woke up on Tuesday, September 11, 2001.

The night before I had watched -- with a few friends -- the New York Giants play the Denver Broncos in the first Monday night football game of the year. I watched both the Giants lose and Broncos' Wide Receiver Ed McCafferty suffer a horrific broken leg during the game. I woke up that morning remembering how horrific it had looked on TV.

I left from my apartment in Arlington – three miles from the Pentagon – at around 8:20 a.m. and got into work a little before 9 a.m. On the way to work, I don’t remember if I listened to sports radio talk show or if I was listening to a CD. I know for sure that I didn’t hear anything about the horrific events that were unfolding in America that morning.

When I got into work, my colleague Mark told us that a small plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. No one thought for a second that it dealt with terrorism. Still, we went into our meeting at 9:30 a.m. and brought up during the meeting how nuts the news was.

By the time we got out of the meeting, we learned that a 2nd plane had flown into the Trade Center and another one had crashed into the Pentagon. Of course, we all knew then it dealt with terrorism. The news instantly affected everyone in the office because of the Pentagon’s proximity to our office. I think all of us literally feared for our lives. We all wondered what would come next. Would a plane crash into the White House or Capitol? The CIA building was right down the street from us…Would something happen there? The scariest thing was the unknown.

So, for three hours, the staff at our small office sat in front of the radio listening to the news come in. I’ll never forget the face of my boss Alison when she told us that her sister heard a bomb go off in nearby Alexandria. In reality, I think it was the sonic boom of jets rushing to secure the U.S. airways. The entire morning was just surreal.

After hours of waiting for traffic to thin out around Arlington, I made the usual 15 miles trek home. Traffic wasn’t thin that afternoon though. As I drove down Glebe Road – a main thoroughfare in Arlington – a trip that usually took a half hour, took me three hours that afternoon. We were forced on numerous occasions to drive up on the curb to allow ambulances to get pass us on their way to the Pentagon. Traffic was packed and you could hear everyone on the road tuned into news radio.

I got home after three hours and sat down in front of the TV watching the same images over and over. I was mesmerized. I was sickened. I was sad.

That day, as it did for millions of people, left an undeniable scar on my life forever. I didn’t know anyone who died in the World Trade Center or the Pentagon. I didn’t know anyone on the planes that crashed. But at the time, I lived three miles from the Pentagon and grew up in the NYC area, so I felt as if I was somehow affected. To this day, I tear up when I think about that day. I can’t read anything about it. I’ll never watch movies about it. And I won’t watch coverage of it if it’s on the news.

Eight years later, it’s still hard for me to look back and remember that day. I’m not sure when it will be easy.

Scars take time to heal.

These scars are deep.

Swish...a....licious

2009-09-09T14:54:00.003-04:00

Nick Swisher sure has been a breath of fresh air for the usually stodgy, all-business mercenaries that have classified the Yankees of the 2000s.

When he was traded for Wilson Betemit, I thought that it was a great trade for the Yankees because I remembered Swisher as a pretty good player for the A's back in the day. As a result, I was willing to go into the season with Nick Swisher as the Yankees first basemen

In between, Mark Teixiera signed with the Yankees (and has since rocked my world) and starting RF Xavier Nady was lost for the season with an arm injury. Since Swisher took over the starting RF role, he has been a pleasant surprise....from his off the wall attitude to his above average production (26 homeruns and 77 RBIs in 131 games).

Not to be overlooked has been how Swisher has changed the entire attitude of the Yankees clubhouse.

I really think the 2009 Yankees are the best Yankees team in the last decade. It's just a different team this year due to Swisher's contribution.

My Future Soprano

2009-08-25T11:16:00.003-04:00

Thank You David Ortiz

2009-07-31T10:29:00.004-04:00

It's been awhile since I posted something and even longer since I've written anything, but I felt it was appropriate to post after hearing yesterday about the 2003 positive performance enhancing drug (PED) trust of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz.

My first response when I heard the news was: Duh, I knew that already.

And my second response -- and one that I felt when Alex Rodriguez came out and admitted to using steroids from 2001-2003 - was: So what...

Listen, it's my view that these men are entertainers. They make gobs of money and are here for my enjoyment.

They are here to hit home runs.

I am not a big believer in the whole: they artifically enhanced themselves and ruined the sanctity of baseballs sacred records. That to me is for the historians and baseball purists to fight over. And I'm not either.

Let me ask you: Does anyone in America - besides U.S. Weekly and Star Magazine - complain and criticize actors/actresses get plastic surgery to improve their appearance?

No, of course not.

Yet, they are doing so to prolong their career, land them bigger contracts and contribute to our entertainment.

See, what I'm getting at?

Believe me, I'm as pissed as the next Yankees fan that steroids and other PEDs contributed to helping Manny, Ortiz and yet to be named - Trot Nixon, Kevin Millar, Johnny Damon (yes, I know he's now a Yankee) and others on the Red Sox in accomplishing the impossible when they came back to beat the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS.

Yes, it still burns.

But I'm not so naive to think that no one on those Yankee teams were also using PEDs. That would also be impossible.

When it comes down to it, I believe that these players have every right to do whatever they need to do to earn a living.

They are entertainers.

They acknowledge it. They are doing this to their bodies in the short-term to earn gaud-awful sums of money...money that I and many others will never see in their life time. And they will have to live with that in the long-term when they see what these PEDs do to their bodies.

That's why I'm not shocked, surprised or saddened by yesterday's news. ...

Thank you David Ortiz. ...

5 months

2009-07-15T10:36:00.003-04:00

4 Months Old

2009-06-30T13:59:00.001-04:00

I've been meaning to post on the blog for awhile now, but just haven't had the chance with the new job. Here's a new photo of Grace.

Grace is Growing!!

2009-05-18T08:43:00.003-04:00

Grace - 1 Week Old

Grace - 1 Month Old

Grace - 2 Months Old

Grace - 3 months old

Time sure does Fly. ...

Random Thoughts Percolating ...

2009-05-13T21:30:00.003-04:00

Here's some random thoughts that have been brewing in my noggin lately.

Since Tiki Barber left, Eli Manning really hasn't had a check down receiver that can catch the ball out of the backfield. And there's many times he needs that. Especially with Plax gone. And Brandon Jacobs has hands made of stone. I think Travis Beckum, a halfback/TE drafted out of Wisconsin this past year could be the answer. ...

I played the Wolverine demo the other night on Xbox 360 and thought it was awesome. I usually hate hack and slash games because they get stale quickly. I wonder what this game would be like. ...

The curious case of Benjamin Button should have been called The boring case of Ben Button ...

Season 7 of 24 is one of the best seasons ever. ... Rescue Me too. .... I highly recommend both shows.

My wife wants to watch Glee, the new show on Fox and I told her to seriously not like the show,e because Fox will cancel it after 2 episodes. That's just their M.O.

I really liked Bedtime Stories, the Disney-Adam Sandler movie. It was heartwarming. ...

I don't know what's wrong with the Yankees this year. They just suck. ...

Grace is awesome, btw....

The More Things Change...

2009-05-05T10:04:00.003-04:00

...the more they stay the same.

When I was 12 years old (when it was much too late at night) I used to play Tetris on my Gameboy in my dark room. ...

When I was 17 years old (and it was much later at night) I used to listen to Steve Sommers on WFAN in my dark room. ...

So, I found it funny that last night... now that I'm 31 years old (and it's much, much later at night) that I watched the end of the Yankees-Red Sox game on ESPN Gamecast on my cell phone ...while my wife and 11 week old daughter slept nearby in our dark room. ...

The more things change, the more they stay the same...

Happy Birthday Donnie Baseball

2009-04-20T08:56:00.002-04:00

I've already chronicled my slight infatuation with former Yankees First Baseman Don Mattingly -- bordering on the same psycho, bro-mance levels as my affection for Robert Plant and Jack Bauer -- so I won't rehash it here.

All I'll say is: Happy 48th Birthday, Don Mattingly. Hope you got my card.

...I'm kidding....seriously. I am...

Just Yesterday

2009-04-17T21:20:00.002-04:00

It’s been 25 days since you left
But I still feel like I saw you just yesterday.

I love you Mom.
And while the pain might subside a little.
It is and will always be there.

These past 25 days:
I raged.
I cried.
I dreamed.
I’ve accepted it.
But when I go to sleep and when I wake up, it’s still the same.

It’s an empty feeling.
A numb one.
I can’t explain it any better than that.

I’ve had flashbacks too numerous to count.
And I can’t make them stop.

I try.
But they don’t.

And still something is pulling me through these days.
Something that I can’t even see.

I think it’s you looking down on me from heaven, Mom.
Even though I still feel like I just saw you yesterday.

Happy Easter

2009-04-13T10:15:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter...a day late.

What's Keeping Me Going...

2009-04-08T14:20:00.000-04:00

Hurting Down Deep

2009-04-06T23:43:00.004-04:00

Mom

I’ve stopped crying uncontrollably since you left, but I still feel a tremendous pain now that you are gone.

I fall to sleep – not well – thinking of you
And I wake up…still thinking.
You are all that is in my mind
And I still can’t believe that you are gone.

Since you left I’ve reconnected with my old acquaintances and pals
Who relived their stories for me on how you touched their lives
From the people who called you Aunt
To the people you worked with.
And it makes me both happy and sad…
To think of the lives you touched
To think of the times we had.
And to think of what will never be.

You were the driving force in my life.
And now that you are gone I feel like there’s no one behind the wheel.
I'm simply numb.

We will all try to live on
But I know it won’t ever be the same again ...without you.

And the pain will always be there down deep
As I think fondly of you Mom.

Mom's Obituary

2009-03-28T23:36:00.002-04:00

Darlene L. Bianchini

Hospital volunteer, wife, mother, grandmother, 59

Darlene L. Bianchini, 59, of Belle Mead died Monday, March 23, in New York Presbyterian Hospital. Funeral services will begin at 8:45 a.m. on Saturday, March 28, in the Hillsborough Funeral Home, 796 Route 206, Hillsborough, N.J. 08844 followed by a 9:30 a.m. Mass in St. Joseph's Church, 34 Yorktown Rd., Hillsborough. Burial will be in Cedar Hill Cemetery, East Millstone. Visiting will be on Friday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. in the funeral home. Darlene was born in Newark and raised in East Orange and had lived in Morris Plains and Mount Arlington before moving to Belle Mead in 1999. She was a homemaker. She enjoyed spending time with her family, ceramics, traveling and the Jersey Shore. Darlene also was a volunteer at Somerset Medical Center. She is survived by her husband of 37 years, Joseph; her son, Tony and his wife Megan of Flemington; her daughter, Nicole and her husband Marc Gregson of Maryland; her mother, Evelyn Durnin of Jim Thorpe, Pa.; her brother, Vincent Yaniro of Basking Ridge, and her granddaughter, Grace Catherine.

I Love You Mom

2009-03-24T15:51:00.002-04:00

This is my mom.

She passed away last night at the age of 59.

I love you Mom and will never forget you. I am so happy for the times we spent together, so grateful for the things you taught me and so happy that you had the opportunity to see your first grandchild Grace Catherine born - just 5 weeks ago. I posted this picture of you because it is simply the happiest I think you've ever looked.

I don't know why God took you so early and why he made you suffer so much for the past 13 years. You did not deserve to suffer so much. No one deserves to suffer as much as you did. I hope and pray that you are in a better place now and are not in pain any longer.

I will always love you, Mom.

You will always be in my thoughts.

You will always be in my dreams.

And I'll always tell Grace about her grandmother.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T11:26:00.002-04:00

Entertain Me...With Two New Great TV Shows!

2009-03-16T12:09:00.007-04:00

It's been a long time, since I've posted an Entertain Me...blog, so here goes.

Kings - I watched the 2-hour premiere of this show last night and loved it. It's got suspense, drama, intrigue and is a really interesting show. I'm a big fan of medieval type stories - ala Lord of the Rings or The Song of Fire and Ice - and this show has such an interesting spin on the typical king-queen story as it's set in the modern day society of Gilboa. Okay, a horrible name for a country - and I'm not even too keen on Gilboa's flag (orange with a butterfly in the middle) but it is a phenomenal show.

Ian McShane - formerly of HBO's phenomenal series Deadwood - stars as King Silas Benjamin and puts on a great performance. I highly recommend this show to anyone looking for the next best drama on TV.

Eastbound and Down - I started watching this show when I heard it was produced by funny man Will Ferrell and loved the show from the start. The show stars Danny McBride as Kenny Powers, an ex-baseball player turned gym teacher who is having trouble coming to grips with the fact that he no longer is a major league baseball player.

It's funny. It's crude. ...and it's right up my alley.

I highly recommend watching this show.

Speechless

2009-03-11T16:20:00.001-04:00

There's really nothing else that needs to be said....

Heeding Caution to Diaper Eaters Everywhere!

2009-03-04T09:20:00.004-05:00

Baby Mama - previously known as "the wife" -- and I were at the doctor's office the other day with Grace -- hereafter known as Paperbaby -- and saw the funniest sign EVER. I wonder who came up with this gem. It reminded Baby Mama and I about the time that Bear Grylls squeezed water out of elephant poo on Man Vs. Wild.

The Baby Mama

2009-03-03T11:35:00.006-05:00

Per her request, here's some pictures of Grace and her Baby Mama!

Two Weeks Have Flown By

2009-03-02T22:49:00.010-05:00

It's been amazing. It's been trying. It's been exhilirating. It's been tiring. I've been 2+ weeks since Grace was born and being a father has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life so far. Here's some pictures for Grace. You may have already seen these on Facebook or from an email from me, but I figured I would post again to my nearly defunct blog.

Grace Catherine Bianchini

2009-02-14T15:24:00.003-05:00

Megan delivered Grace Catherine Bianchini on February 13th at 8:30 a.m. She weighed in at 7 lbs., 6.2 ounces and 19 1/2 inches. Mother and baby are doing great.

Pictures to be posted on the blog soon.

Stay tuned.

Alex Admits It

2009-02-09T14:31:00.003-05:00

I was meaning to blog about this sooner, but didn't get the chance until now.

I'm so disappointed in Alex Rodriguez.

But I'm glad that he came out, showed some guts and admitted to using performance enhancing drugs. He was totally, completely wrong for what he did, but he surprised me today and admitted that he used steroids.

I think that now that he admitted his mistake, people will forgive him. It might take some time, but I think they will forgive him. He has 9 years left on his contract and I think, for better or worse, the Yankees will rally around Alex and maybe the team will be better for it.

Will he still be voted into the Hall of Fame. I really don't know. Maybe the next 9 years will change things.

I'm so disappointed. But at least he stood up and admitted he made a mistake. We all do, from time to time. And only the biggest admit that they were wrong.

What is the World Coming to?

2009-02-05T12:39:00.003-05:00

I heard today that Lawrence Taylor has signed up to do the next season of Dancing with the Stars. What the hell is the world coming to?

Baby's Room is Done!!

2009-01-28T12:00:00.004-05:00

It took nearly a million manhours, but the baby's room is finally done. And it looks awesome. I'll let the pictures tell the story.

A Slice of American History...er Cheers.

2009-01-26T21:59:00.006-05:00

This is random, dorky, geekdome, but I'm bored so I wanted to post an interesting observation I made the other day.

I was reading my book the Intellectual Devotional: American History the other day -- a cool history book that has 1 page snippets on different historical figures in the history of America --and my mouth dropped when I saw a picture of Jacob Riis. For those of you who don't know - you uneducated nits! - Jacob Riis was a famous journalist and photographer from the late 1800s.

Well, my mouth dropped open when I read about Jacob Riis, not because I was flabbergasted by his super cool contribution to American history, but because of the fact that he looks like Cliff Claven -- a.k.a John Ratzenberger... It's uncanny!

You be the judge!

Entertain Me....Between Football and Baseball Season

2009-01-15T13:55:00.003-05:00

Only 30 or so days until pitchers and catchers report to spring training, so I'm spending a large majority of my time reading books, watching movies and playing our new Wii. So, without further delay, here's the next installment of Entertain me.....

Wii (is there anything more popular today?)

It took multiple weeks until I finally gave up on getting a Wii at one of my 20 or so local electronics stores. So I finally broke down and got a Wii on eBay. I've had it for about a week and must say that it's a lot of fun. Here's the games I got for the Wii.

Super Mario Galaxy - Probably one of the best games I've played on any system in 2 years. The last great game I played was Oblivion on the Xbox 360. I loved that game and I'm close to loving Super Mario Galaxy even more. The graphics are great. The controls are tight and it's a ton of fun to play.

Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition - This is one of my all-time favorite games on the Gamecube, so I spent $19.99 and got this for the Wii. I've only played this a little, since most of my time has been spent playing SMG. The controls are tough to figure out and the graphics are significantly worse on the Wii than they were on the Gamecube.

Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - I love Zelda games and that's why I gave this one a shot. Like RE4, the graphics stink on this Zelda. I've played the game for 2 hours so far and just left the first -boring - town in the game. The 30 Year Old Gamer tells me to stick with the game and give it a shot and I'm going to do that.

Mario Kart Wii - Just a great fun game that I'm enjoying with the wife. It's a lot of fun.

Wii Sports - Decent, and a lot of fun to play with others, but the graphics are so NES.

Wii Play - Better than I expected when you're playing with another person.

I'll write more tomorrow about the movies I've been watching and books I've been reading lately.

2007 dulls the pain from 2008...

2009-01-12T11:20:00.003-05:00

I said at the beginning of the season (and think I even told this directly to a few of you) that I wouldn't care if the Giants went 4-12 during the 2008 season.

The 2007 season was so awesome and so exhilarating that I didn't have any expectations or hopes or demands for the 2008 season.

If the Giants did well, I would be happy.

Well, when it comes down to it, the Giants did well this season. They were not 4-12. They were 12-4 and the best team in the NFL for much of the season. ...That is, until the loss of Plaxico Burress. I don't care what anyone says, the loss of Burress hurt the team. They were completely a different team after Burress left the team. It made Eli a different QB. It killed the offense.

Yesterday's 23-11 lost to the Philadelphia Eagles left a bad taste in my mouth, but I'm definitely not as disappointed as I've been in previous seasons.

Sure, Eli played horrible yesterday. But I also think that the play calling was simply atrocious. And while the Giants defense played okay, they did not make the big stops that were necessary.

I got text messages throughout yesterday's monstrosity from jealous Redskins and 49ers fans - who shall be nameless - talking about how Eli was horrible and how much the Giants sucked. yada. yada. yada. Sure, they played bad yesterday and yes, I am disappointed by how they ended the 2008 season, but I think this team has a bright future ahead.

...and think that their amazing 2007 season dulled the pain from yesterday's loss a bit.

Giants Ready to Take Down for Eagles

2009-01-11T12:49:00.001-05:00

They've had a week off to rest up and take care of all of their injuries. Now, I think the Giants are ready to take down the Eagles today. Chosen One, doesn't think so, but we'll see what happens.

Go Giants!

R.I.P. Xbox #2

2009-01-06T00:01:00.003-05:00

I think my Xbox 360 knows that I’ve been shopping around for a new Wii console for the past two weeks.

Tonight, as I was playing Super Bowl XLV against the San Diego Chargers in Madden ’09, my Xbox 360 froze up. When I went to turn it back on, it showed me the dreaded 3 rings of death.

That means it is toast.

I filled out an online repair form and even though it’s out of warranty, Microsoft says it will fix it for free because it’s a prevalent problem with everyone’s Xbox 360 consoles. It’ll take a month to fix it and by that time hopefully I’ll have found a Wii that is backordered everywhere from now until eternity.

This is my second Xbox 360 that has died from the dreaded hardware malfunction. And it certainly will be the last after I finally find a new Wii.

An Exciting Weekend

2009-01-05T12:23:00.002-05:00

I had an exciting weekend and wanted to share the news with you:

1) On Friday night, me and the wife went to the Raritan Township Re-organization Meeting where I was nominated to serve on the Open Space Committee - for a 3 year term - and as an alternate on the Environmental Committee - for a 1 year term. I'm really psyched about both of these appointments. Who knows where it will lead?

2) On Saturday morning, me and a bunch of friends went down to AC to play in a poker tournament at Taj Mahal. 164 people signed up for the tourney and the top prize was $3210. Alas, I did not win the tourney, but finished 7th and took home a nice chunk of change. I've played in two tournaments at Taj and made the final table both times. That's some good odds. I was completely focused at the tournament and afterward felt like I was going to fall over from exhaustion. I don't know how the people who play at the World Series of Poker do it. I played for 6 hours and felt like death.

3) I'm happy to extend an offer to Chosen One to serve as my research assistant. Since, I am horrible at research and backing up my claims -- according to the Chosen One -- I want to offer him the astute position as Paper-researcher. In return, I'll offer him a lifetime supply of cocoa butter - insert inside joke here.

A Tex-rrific Christmas!!

2008-12-23T23:12:00.005-05:00

I'm more speechless today than I was after Sunday night's Giants game against the Panthers.

The Yankees continued to make a HUGE splash this baseball offseason by landing another big fish; this time in the form of All Star 1B Mark Teixeira.

It took me a few hours, but I think I finally got the spelling of his name right. For the rest of this blog, I'll just stick with calling him Tex.

This is clearly a win-win situation for the Yankees as they get a stellar defense player and run producer (.300 AVG, 30 HRs and 110 RBIs) for the next 8 years, while punching the Red Sox management in the face with the signing. The Red Sox made it clear this offseason that Tex was their top priority. Well, so much for that.

It's been a long time - since Don Mattingly retired in 1995 - that the Yankees had a solid defensive player at 1B. In his 6 year MLB career, Tex has only 39 errors and an awesome .995 fielding percentage. That's phenomenal!!

Welcome to New York, Tex.

Big Game on Sunday

2008-12-19T12:43:00.004-05:00

Sunday against the Panthers is an important game for the Giants.

Win and they're the No. 1 playoff seed in the NFC

Win and they secure an IMPORTANT first round bye.

Win and they have home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

After the first 6 games of the year, the Giants - according Elias Sports Bureau - are the first team to play 10 straight games against teams with a winning record. That's a tough - as tough as any other team in NFL history - stretch there. And through eight of those games, the Giants have won 6 of 8. That's pretty good in my book. Despite how they've looked the last two games of the season.

You could say these 2 losses have to do with the loss of Plaxico Burress and I'll respond by saying it has more to do with the loss of Brandon Jacobs to his annual injury breakdown. The lose of Plax is definitely tough, but the team isn't running the ball like it did earlier in the season without Jacobs and the team has seemingly abandoned the run for long periods of times during the last 2 games. They haven't and aren't going to win games simply by depending on the pass.

Sure, the Giants haven't looked good in the last two games, but I'm confident that with Jacobs and a number of other starters coming back from injury - including Fred Robbins - that the Giants will beat the Panthers this Sunday night.

This is a BIG GAME.

Welcome to New York ... C.C. and A.J.

2008-12-18T14:59:00.004-05:00

It was a good day for the Yanks and their fans today.

I liked what C.C. Sabathia had to say in his joint press conference and - speaking of joints - loved what A.J. Burnett had to say. That guy is so burnt, I'm going to love him.

He said today to YES's Kim Jones that he joined the Yankees because he wanted to be like M.J. -- Michael Jordan for those of you playing at home - and put up 6 fingers for the number of championships he won - like Jordan did shortly after he won his 6th NBA Championship. That's awesome.

He's bold. He's straightforward. He's cool and he's soooo burnt. Forget A.J....His nickname henceforth is M.J. (for both Jordan and Mary Jane).

Move over Joba. I love A.J. Burnett.

A Bad Day

2008-12-17T17:06:00.002-05:00

It's been a bad day for me. My financial advisor notified me today that I lost $1.2 billion last week in a Ponzi Scheme. (insert tongue in cheek here.)

Guess I have to keep my shitty job.

Odd Headline of the Day

2008-12-16T13:35:00.003-05:00

I saw this headline on CNN.com today and thought it was a little odd:

Nude models strip to protest low pay

Shouldn't they keep their clothes on if they are protesting their low pay??

Welcome to N.Y....Carsten Charles Sabathia

2008-12-10T09:45:00.003-05:00

Carsten Charles Sabathia, otherwise known as C.C. Sabathia reportedly has signed a 7 year, $160 contract with the Yankees today. Wow. He's going to look good in pinstripes.

Entertain Me...

2008-12-08T19:09:00.002-05:00

...with something other than the Plaxico Burress shooting.

Madmen – A friend of mine recommended it a few weeks ago and the wife and I have watched 5 episodes of Season 1 so far and really like it.

Click – Great movie. I always thought it would suck and avoided it like the plague. I saw it on TV a couple weeks ago and decided to tape it. Great, great movie. It was a little dusty in the room at the end.

Sunshine – Okay movie, but I got tired of it and turned it off halfway through.

Bloodsucking Fiends – I haven’t finished it yet, but it’s a superb book. I just love the way that Christopher Moore writes. He’s unlike any other writer I’ve ever seen before.

Here’s an example: And Tommy might have starved in Paris, if a cursory inspection of the Volvo had not revealed that it would not survive the dampness of the drive."

....meaning, his volvo couldn't drive across the ocean to paris because it would get wet. There are just so many things about that sentence that are so awesome and make him one of the most unique writers I've read before.

Pushing Daisies – I heard the other day that ABC is cancelling this superb show. F you ABC. Along with Friday Night Lights and Arrested Development this is another creative show that never caught on with the larger, reality-obsessed ingrates who live in America.

The Annual Guinea Pig Dinner - Along with two other couples, we spent Saturday night with Smelmooo and Tangent Woman at their annual Guinea Pig dinner. Thanks guys, the food was excellent.

I'll Take His Sloppy Seconds

2008-12-05T14:53:00.005-05:00

I'm listening to NHL commish Gary Bettman - the man who killed the sport - talk to Mike Francesca on WFAN and I just can't believe what he's saying.

How is Sean Avery suspended for 6 games for saying that another NHL player is taking advantage of his "sloppy seconds". How is this inflammatory?

There are about 2,000 other things he could have said that were more inflammatory. I could type 10 things out right now he could have said that would have been worse.

This is coming from a toothless hockey player. Take a chill pill people...He's not speaking at the United Nations....And even if he was, it's nowhere near the story that some people are making it out to be.

Are you my Friend?

2008-12-04T13:53:00.002-05:00

Are you my friend?

I'm not going to ask you to take a test on if you can take an educated guess about the things I like (Stephen King and video games) and the things I don't like (bug spray and suntan lotion).

I'll just ask a simple question:

If I shot myself in the leg, would you hide the gun and take me to the hospital?

Discuss...

See Ya P-money

2008-12-03T13:42:00.004-05:00

I've been depressed for three days. ...

Plaxico let me down.

While he's always been a bit of a problem both on and off the field, I never expected him to be so dumb and bring a gun into public. Not to mention the fact that he brought two of his teammates - Antonio Pierce and Ahmad Bradshaw - into his clusterf#ck.

It's clear that he'll never play for the Giants again and after he figures out all of his legal troubles it's still unclear if he will ever play professional football again. ... I hope so.

I like Plaxico. He's a flawed figure and made a mistake....albeit a very dumb one. Hopefully this incident makes him see where he went wrong. We all deserve a second chance...even when we f%ck up royally like he did.

...and even after he was suspended from the Giants for the season and put on the trading block for my Giants team in Madden 09.

Happy Birthday to Me

2008-11-30T22:52:00.003-05:00

I'm 31 today.

Yikes....

That's scarier than Plaxico Burress at a NYC nightclub with a loaded gun.

I'll be back tomorrow or later this week with another Random Thoughts blog. I'm getting more and more tired as I grow older.

Random Thoughts...

2008-11-17T23:20:00.002-05:00

I'm up in Scranton again for a week long business trip, so I thought it was appropriately to break up the boredom by another random thought blog. ...

First, happy birthday to my boy Smelmooo who turns 104 on Wednesday. ...

I think it's strange that Mark Cuban is being accused of insider trading to save a mere $750k when he's a billionaire..What's $750k to a billionaire? Like $10 to a regular person. Is a jail term worth it? ...

I think it's strange that I haven't gotten a text from the Chosen One in weeks. Throughout the first 7-8 weeks of this football season, I've been getting nearly hundreds of texts from the Chosen One on every football sunday to flaunt his 2nd place Redskins and to break down my Super Bowl champs. So, that's why it's hilarious that haven't gotten 1 text from the Chosen One in the last two weeks, when his Skins were losing to the Steelers and Cowboys, and the 9-1 Giants were soundly thrashing the Eagles and Ravens. Where have you gone Chosen One? A lonely nation turns it's eyes to you.

I beat Fallout 3 in 22 hours and was thoroughly unimpressed by it. The game was made by Bethesda Studios, the makers of my favorite game of all-time: Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. Fallout 3 was clearly built as a Oblivion clone with guns and while it was an okay game it nowhere measured up to Oblivion. ...

Poker game at my place on Saturday at 7 p.m. if anyone is interested ...

Movies I've recently watched that sucked: You Don't Mess with the Zohan, Speed Racer, Be Kind Rewind ...

Movies I've watch recently that were good (I rarely think a movie is great; just ask Smelmooo): 88 Minutes, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Baby Mama and The Mist ...

I thought President-Elect Obama's interview on 60 minutes yesterday was awesome. I talked to a staunch Republican today and even he was impressed by it. ...

The wife and I are very close to naming Paperbaby...not that we plan on telling anyone until she arrives. ...

I've neglected posting another Rushing blog since Week 6 of the NFL season because I got tired of watching the Giants, following my 2 fantasy teams, following 3 other games on ESPN Gamecast and typing my blog at the same time. I felt like I wasn't paying enough attention to anything. A heartfelt apology to my loyal readers ...

R.I.P. Michael Crichton...I really enjoyed reading Jurassic Park, Congo, Terminal Man, Andromeda Strain, Disclosure and Rising Sun ...

I'm done with my Facebook addiction...It was fun while it lasted. ...

I'm watching Dexter Season 2 and think it's better than Season 1. I highly, highly recommend this show. ...

And finally....

There was a time when I only read Stephen King and George R.R. Martin books - two of my favorite authors. Now, I'm reading The Exceptant Father, Be Prepared and Dr. Spock's Baby and Childcare. ...

Nothing Else Needs to be Said...

2008-11-10T16:41:00.000-05:00

The World Has Changed ...

2008-11-05T13:37:00.004-05:00

This was a - personal - email I got from Barack after he won the election. I think this email says it all. ...It says to me that the people of the United States of America will change our country for the better...led by President Barack Obama

"Friend -- I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first. We just made history. And I don't want you to forget how we did it. You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change. I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign. We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next. But I want to be very clear about one thing... All of this happened because of you. Thank you, Barack"

Meet the 44th President of the U.S.A.

2008-11-05T00:25:00.001-05:00

Quite a historic night....

Barack the Vote!

2008-11-04T08:11:00.006-05:00

I'll admit. I haven't hid my adulation for Barack Obama during this campaign season. My message today is a simple one though:

VOTE.

It doesn't matter which candidate you like...or who you think will be a better President....or who you believe will make your life better 4 years from now....

It just matters that you take the time to Vote.

In America you have the ability to vote for your leaders...

You have the ability to make them accountable for your actions..

You have the ability to tell them how to spend your hard earn tax dollars.

You have the ability to Rock - or...er.. Barack - the Vote because your vote does actually mean something - didn't the last two elections teach you anything?

So go out and Vote...and make a difference in this world.

Have They Lost Their Minds?

2008-10-31T12:21:00.004-04:00

I thought it was ridiculous when both McCain and Obama kept referring to "Joe the Plumber" numerous times during the 3rd debate....

Then it stepped up another notch with the McCain-Palin ticket referring to good old Joe the Plumber every chance they got during their rally speeches....

Then they started calling out different people by their first name and occupation. ...like Tito the Builder and Mary the Teacher...you have to wonder why Eric the Red, Ivan the Terrible and Barack the Terrorist weren't at McCain-Palin rallies.

...Now McCain has Joe the Plumber on the stump with him at rallies and is saying that he's considering taking "Joe to DC with him."

Does Joe not understand that he doesn't make $250k a year and is not going to get taxed in an Obama adminstration? (Or maybe after his multiple appearances as of late the McCain campaign is helping Joe get up to that lofty sum.)

Does Joe not understand that McCain is simply using him as a cartoon of what the common man is supposed to look like?

Have they lost their minds? I can't take it anymore. This election can't come soon enough and I can only hope it finally turns out well for the good guys.

...if it doesn't, there's sure going to be a lot of shitty, overflowed toilets.

Am I Dirty or Crazy?

2008-10-29T14:35:00.003-04:00

My wife is a teacher and is dressing up as a football player for Halloween with her other teaching colleagues. Naturally she asked me to borrow my Eli Manning replica Giants jersey. When I told her that I wouldn't let her borrow my favorite jersey and she could instead borrow my Jeremy Shockey jersey, her response was a surprising: "He's not even on the team any longer".

I disagreed with her. It is a Halloween costume afterall and Shockey is a clown....but I finally relented and told her that she could borrow the Eli jersey.

She then went to smell it and asked when was the last time it was washed.

After telling her 2 years ago, she looked at me in horror.

My explanation was that it hadn't been washed in two years because I was superstituous after the Giants Super Bowl run.

After her constant conjoling, I agreed to wash it today. And I'm not one bit happy about it. I'm literally scared that the Giants mojo will be flushed away because I was dumb enough to wash it.

So, I ask you...Am I dirty or just plain crazy?

Paperboy Endorses Obama

2008-10-27T18:40:00.003-04:00

I’ve detested George W. Bush for the last eight years, but that didn’t prevent me from honestly looking at both Presidential candidates to hear what they had to say. And after listening to countless speeches, all three debates and reading hundreds of newspaper articles, I’ve made up my mind to vote for Barack Obama for President of the United States on November 4th.

I’ll admit that my mind was already 50 percent made up when I started my “vetting” process – a vetting process more stringent that McCain’s vetting of Sarah Palin. I’ve always been a staunch Democrat, but I honestly took a serious look at McCain.

And what I found was someone who was offering more of the same after eight years of devastation after devastation from President Bush, including:

1) The continuation of a costly and meaningless war in Iraq
2) A “go at it alone” strategy in the War on Terror, which will continue to deteriorate the world view of America
3) Tax cut upon tax cut for rich – really rich – Americans who don’t need it
4) A bad healthcare plan

5) A freeze on government spending that would hurt many beneficial government programs. Of course, there is a lot of waste and pork - like Palin's Bridge to Nowhere - but there are more beneficial than bad government programs that help hundreds of thousands of Americans.

And ultimately – especially in the last few weeks as he got really desperate --McCain is in favor of generating more fear and hate in Americans than promoting hope and dreams of how truly amazing America is and can be in the future. In the last few weeks, McCain hasn’t told America what he would do for them as the President. He and idiots like Rush Limbaugh, Fox News and The Drudge Report have simply tried to scare me and other Americans into not voting for Obama.

And I'm not having any of it.

It’s been a long time that I’ve liked my President.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been proud of my country. Yes, I know Michelle Obama said that and she was blasted for it, but I’m not backing down from that statement. George W. Bush has made me embarrassed to be an American.

I want other countries to respect us as a super power again.

I don’t think it’s “us against them”. I think it’s us working together with other countries to curtail evil in the world so it doesn’t result in the meaningless death of thousands of innocent people.

I’m tired of people caring more about the 2nd amendment than the 1st. It’s been a long time that you could even think about questioning your leadership or express a dissenting opinion without being considered anti-American and a traitor to your country. Isn’t that what free speech is all about? It’s about talking to others who may have different opinions that you, respecting their opinions and reaching a common ground that is acceptable to the general public.

I’m tired of Republicans saying that they want to keep government out of our lives and then they talk about how they want a constitutional ban on gay marriage and want to restrict a woman’s right to choose. Aren’t those two Republican tenets the very opposite of staying out of people’s lives with “big government”?

And I – and I hope all Americans – won’t stand for it any longer. And that’s why Barack Obama needs to be elected on November 4th. He inspires me in his speeches and his core belief that the U.S. isn’t made up of blue and red states, but of the “United” States. His policies will provide benefits to all Americans and help us get back on our feet.

I think this election will make the world think different of America then it has in the last eight year. Do you think – after 8 years of bigoted, "go it alone" hatred against people from other countries – that the rest of the world thinks that the U.S. is progressive enough to elect a black man? Let’s shock the rest of the world, and show them what America has always been about: A mixing bowl of people from different races, religions and beliefs coming together.

I think Obama will restore our national pride, make us again a leader in education, energy policy, economics and technology around the world. He’ll listen to his opponents and be willing to work with and accept their ideas/differences while taking responsibility for his actions. I’m hoping and praying that Obama becomes our next President on November 4th. Yes, I'm from a "blue state" and believe in God, contrary to what the McCain-Palin ticket might lead you believe..

If Obama is elected, I truly believe that he'll unite our country again and bring light to our country after years of complete darkness.

Week 6 Rushing Blog

2008-10-13T18:54:00.005-04:00

Welcome back to the Rushing Blog. It's been a busy blogging day for the Paperboy - and for good reason! I'm down by 40+ points in both of my leagues with Eli and the Giants defense going for both of my teams tonight, but I could care less because I got the greatest news ever today that me and the wife are having a healthy, baby girl in March.

7:01 p.m. - Big game for the Giants tonight. They can further solidify their ranking as the top team in the league and they can jump out 2 games in front of the 2ND PLACE Dallas Cowboys - sans Tony Romo - the Washington Redskins - sans the ability to beat the St. Louis Rams, a.k.a the worst team in the league.

7:03 p.m. - I'm calling it right now that Plaxico Burress, off his two week suspension for "insubordination," is going to have a HUGE game tonight.

7:05 p.m. - I didn't know Brad Johnson, the guy taking over the the injured Tony Romo, was still in the NFL.

7:16 p.m. - This is the first time that I've heard Emmitt Smith speak on the ESPN pre-game show. I had heard that he was a horrible commentator and I agree with that sentiment. He was a breathtaking running back -- probably the best I've ever seen -- but he is a bumbling fool as a commentator.

7:38 p.m. - If Obama blows his 10 point lead with 20+ days until the election, it'll be worst that the Yankees blowing that 3 game lead to the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS. And that was bad!

8:10 p.m. - I wonder how Derek Anderson is feeling today...not only is Brady Quinn breathing down his neck for the starting QB position, but the Giants defense has knocked out the last two QBs (Palmer and Hasselbeck) they have faced. Both Palmer and Hasselbeck missed the game that was played the week after they faced the G-men. Maybe Anderson's hoping that Quinn starts tonight.

8:15 p.m. - It looks like the Browns took a thick sharpie marker and wrote their numbers on their helmets. Ugh.

8:28 p.m. - All of the experts on ESPN's pre-game show, sans Steve Young, are picking the Giants to win tonight. Hopefully that's not a bad omen.

8:30 p.m. - I hate Mike Tirico, Tony Kornheiser and Ron Jaworski....but I hate Troy Aikman more. Speaking of that, I've been getting more and more anonymous comments lately from readers of the WWW about my "I hate Troy Aikman" blog that I wrote last year. Maybe I'm onto something.

8:37 p.m. - Tony Kornheiser just said that Peyton - not Eli, as the pundits have said for years - is "the other Manning". I love that.

8:45 p.m. - Giants defense needs a big stop as Edwards 49 yard reception puts the Browns on the 25 yard line. Why Coughlin declined the false start penalty on the first play of the game is beyond me.

8:47 p.m. - Another Browns false start - this time it was accepted! - and a fumble by Anderson leads to a FG to put the Browns up 3-0.

8:54 p.m. - Nice catch by Steve Smith - the former No. 2 WR at USC. He's been a really great addition since last year for the Giants. I haven't heard about how Dwayne Jarrett - the No. 1 USC Trojan - is doing with the Panthers. Does that guy have a catch in two years?

8:57 p.m. - It's taking 4 or 5 Browns players to take down Brandon Jacobs tonight. Do you think he's amped up after the Browns trash talked him all week long?

8:58 p.m. - Bad pick by Eli. I don't remember his first pick this year, but this one was pretty bad as he overthrew Burress.

9:05 p.m. - The Giants defense looks very mediocre when they face an offense that plays dink and dunk. Shh...don't tell the rest of the league.

9:09 p.m. - No good FG from 51 yards by Phil - don't call me James Vanderbeek - Dawson. Giants have great field position at their own 42 yard line and need to grab hold of this game right here.

9:10 p.m. - My grandfather John Carney is starting over Lawrence Tynes again. I heard Tynes isn't injured, but Carney was chosen to start over him. Interesting.

9:13 p.m. - Is anyone else surprised that Pacman Jones got into trouble again only a 1/3 of the way through the season. Didn't think so.

9:14 p.m. - It seems that Derrick Ward runs for like 15 yards every time he comes into the game. He just ran for 17. Nice change of pace from Brandon Jacobs.

9:17 p.m. - Big 7 yard run from Jacobs as he takes the toss and he runs right over a Browns CB for a TD. Being down by 40 points in both of my fantasy leagues makes me care less about Jacobs -- and not Eli - scoring that TD there (insert inside joke here if you read my other Rushing Blogs). Giants up 7-3.

9:27 p.m. - After a 70+ yard throw to Edwards, Jamal Lewis runs in for a TD. Glad I didn't start him on my fantasy team this week. 10-7 Browns.

9:37 p.m. - Tony Kornheiser is an idiot as he compares Plaxico to T.O. in terms of Plaxico demanding the ball.

9:40 p.m. - I need to see a big stop from the Giants defense right here. The problem is that they haven't had pressure on Derek Anderson the entire night.

9:43 p.m. - The announcers have talked about Tony Romo's injury for literally 5 minutes. That's unacceptable during the middle of the game.

9:49 p.m. - The Giants look like crap right now as the Browns take the ball down the field to make the score 17-7. I told you it was a bad omen. The Giants need to wake the fuck up.

9:52 p.m. - Giants start from their own 20 yard line. I need to see a patented Eli Manning 2 minute drill right here where they get some points to cut the deficit before the half - and maybe get the momentum back.

10 p.m. - Shawn Rogers is one ugly dude.

10:03 p.m. - Eli has been pressured way more times tonight than any other times this season

10:05 p.m. - Welcome back Plax. Eli runs the 2 minute drill in the only way he knows -AWESOMELY - and throws a 3 yard TD to Plaxico to indeed cut the deficit to 17-14 Browns.

Half - It's been a bad half for the Giants defense. They haven't been able to stop the Browns offense, which up until tonight's game, has been inept this season. The offense has been decent, but the line isn't giving Eli anytime to throw and when that happens he's prone to make a mistake. The Giants definitely got the momentum back before the end of the half and will receive to start the 3rd Quarter. I'm hopeful for a better 2nd half.

10:17 p.m. - There was a election type poll at the half that asked who was the better Manning. Eli won 51 to 49 percent. I didn't vote in it. Awesome.

10:18 p.m. - The Rays destroyed the Red Sox today to take a 2-1 lead in the ALCS. That's even more awesome.

10:22 p.m. - Even more awesome is that I am going to be a father to a healthy baby girl in March. Did I mention that?

10:23 p.m. - Dear Giants, Let's go out there with a strong drive to start the 3rd Quarter, okay? Got it? Sincerely, Concerned Fan

10:24 p.m. - Why is Eli throwing a bomb down the field to start the half. That doesn't work as he's intercepted for the second time tonight. Guess they missed my memo

10:26 p.m. - Why is it that the Giants play awesome when no one respects them and crappy when everyone respects them??

10:30 p.m. - Refs miss a blatant holding call on the Browns allowing them to drive down to the Giants 8 yard line before they settle for 3 points. They really let the Giants off the hook there. 20-14 Browns.

10:31 p.m. - I think the Giants should get back to actually running the ball. That's what got them here, right?

10:35 p.m. - Kornheiser just stole my magic marker comment. Bastard.

10:40 p.m. - I don't get the play calling tonight. They abandon the run after running the ball well early and then call a run on 2 and 12th?

10:44 p.m. - Is a turnover from the Giants defense too much to ask for? Ahh.....

10:58 - The Browns have 8 false starts tonight and a ton of other penalties and they are still making the Giants defense look bad.

11:01 p.m. - 27-14 Browns. I'm speechless. This is why the NFL is so intersting because any team can win any week.

11:03 p.m. - There's no way the Giants can win tonight if their offense doesn't wake up and the defense doesn't stop someone.

11:15 p.m. - Just a bad overall game for the Giants as Eli throws his 3rd pick and the Browns take it back for a score. 34-14 Browns. What a debacle. I'm changing the channel with 8 minutes to play. Ugh!

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read All About It

2008-10-13T15:51:00.003-04:00

Paperboy and his wife are proud to announce that the stork will deliver a healthy, baby girl on March 3, 2009. ...or March 1...or March 2....depending on which healthcare practioner you ask.

Tony Romo Goes Down!

2008-10-13T11:54:00.005-04:00

I heard today that Tony Romo has a broken pinkie on his throwing hand and is out for 4 weeks.

That's really sad news. So sad that I laughed out loud when I heard it.

This presents a dilemma for Tony Romo.

No, I don't mean how the Cowboys are going to survive without him.

The true dilemma is do you think he's going to wear his promise ring from Jessica Simpson on his ring finger or just store it in his Terrell Owens jewelry box until his pinkie finger is healed.

More Terrifying than McCain-Palin

2008-10-10T17:38:00.004-04:00

There's only one thing that is more frightening to me than a McCain-Palin ticket in the White House in January...and that's the scariest/most terrifying movie I've ever seen before: The People Under the Stairs.

I saw it when I was 15 or so and didn't watch it again until just last week. Because it left such an undeniable scar on my psyche. After watching the movie again last week on Netflix.com, I'm still scared as hell about the movie.

It is demented and unforgiving and I recommend it only to people who can deal with it.

Week 5 - Paperboy's Rushing Blog

2008-10-05T11:48:00.007-04:00

Welcome back to Paperboy's Week 5 Rushing Blog. I guess you could call it Week 5. I didn't write one in Week 4 of the NFL season because of the Giants bye, so I guess you could call it Week 4. It's a busy day for Paperboy and his wife today. Cleaned up around the house this morning, watching the Giants game at 1 p.m. and then headed out to a 6 p.m. wedding in Short Hills.

11:51 p.m. - Both of my lineups are set for this week with one exception. I have John Carney, the old man Giants kicker starting for my team Road Warriors and I'm waiting to find out whether or not it's him or Lawrence Tynes - who's back from injury -who is kicking today for the team. You know my opinion: Carney is 9 for 9 this season as the placekicker and I don't think he should lose the job to Tynes, who is wildly inconsistent. I've heard the argument that the starter - Tynes - shouldn't lose his job because of an injury and I've also heard that while Carney is 9 for 9 early in the season, the Giants are worried that he is going to wear down - because of his age - as the season moves on. I don't buy either.

11:54 p.m. - This morning, I'm finishing up People Under the Stairs for the second time in my life. I remember watching it when I was 14 years old and having it scare the bejesus out of me. It took me 16 years to watch it for the second time and I'm definitely as scared as I was when I was 14. I'll be back (shaking) in a half hour or so.

12:27 p.m - In the first half hour of the Fox Pre-Game (a show I never watch) they've talked about the Redskins and Cowboys and still haven't talked about the Giants. The Super Bowl Champs get no respect.

12:45 p.m. - I've already written about the Plaxico Burress suspension, so I'll just say that I think that the team will miss him, but I think Domenick Hixon and Steve Smith will fill in just find for Burress.

12:57 p.m. - People Under the Stairs is one scary, demented movie. Kinda like future movie about the life of Al Davis.

1:01 p.m. - This is a big game for the Giants. They've started the season 3-0 and are historically bad after their bye week. The Seahawks are 1-2 and also coming off their bye week, so hopefully that helps Big Blue.

1:06 p.m. - On their first drive of the game, Matt Hasselbeck goes down on 3 and 5 and screams as loud as Elizabeth Hasselbeck does about Sarah Palin in The View. That can't be good for the Seahawks.

1:13 p.m. Nice 44 yard run by Jacobs followed up by a phenomenal 33 yard Touchdown pass from Eli to Domenick Hixon. Plax who? 7-0 Giants.

1:23 p.m. - Helped by a dumb personal foul call on Kevin Dockery, the Seahawks cut the score to 7-3 Giants.

1:28 p.m. - A sweet 15 yard end around rush by Dom Hixon - I've decided to call him Dom. This guy is something. Strahan called him a future superstar in the Fox pre-game show. You know, when they finally talked about the Giants at 1:47 p.m.

1:32 p.m. - I keep talking about it - and you can tell me to shut up - but since last year's regular season game against the Pats there's something different about Eli Manning. He actually stands in the pocket now, throws the ball off his front foot with force and is not scared by the pressure. I don't know what happened, but he's been a different QB since that game.

1:33 p.m. - 3 yard TD run by Jacobs, 14-3 Giants. Again, I was wishing that it was Jacobs that scored the TD, but instead Eli throwing it - since he's my QB in both leagues. Again, I'm sick.

1:38 p.m. - After a quick 3 and out by the Seahawks, Manning hits Hixon on 41 Yard bomb on the first play of the Giants series.

S-U-P-E-R-S-T-A-R.

1:43 p.m. - My fantasy starter John Carney nails a 29 yard FG and puts the Giants up by 2 TDs, 17-3 Giants.

1:48 p.m. - Another 3 and out by the Seahawks. The Giants defense looks really good today.

2:00 p.m. - 2nd TD of game for Jacobs after Hixon comes up just short of the goal line on throw by Manning. You would think I was rooting against the Giants! 24-3 Giants.

2:04 p.m. - John Carney has been rough on kickoff today as his kickoff lands just in front of the 20 yard line. That's definitely a positive in Tynes "Pro" column. He is better than Carney on kickoffs.

2:08 p.m. - Another 3 and out for the Seahawks offense. They are 0 for 5 on 3rd down today. The Giants offense, who has scored on their first four possessions will take the field again. They must be tired.

2:20 p.m. - Carney nails a 33-yard FG to put the Giants up 27-3. He then kicks the ball out of bounds on the kickoff. Not a good thing to do with 47 seconds left. The last thing the Giants need to do now is give the Seahawks life.

2:24 p.m. - 2 separate, dumb personal foul face mask penalties by the Giants defense gives the Seahawks life -- and 30 yards -- and they cash in with a field goal. 27-6 Giants.

At the half - Giants have 342 yards of offense in the first half...the most of any team in the league this year and most by a Giants team in 17 years. Thanks to Kenny Albert for those two morsels of information. Eli has his most first half passing yards in his career. Strahan says during the half-time show: "Giants are a new team. This is not even the team that I played on. They don't need me. They don't need Osi. They don't need Plaxico. The team really believes that they can win with whoever they have in there."

2:47 p.m. - A wide open 23 yard TD pass from Eli to Sinorice Moss. Did you hear that the Giants use to have a WR named Plaxico Burress? 34-6 Giants. According to Kenny Albert, the Giants have scored on all 6 possessions. Thanks again Kenny.

2:52 p.m. - Another 3 and out for the Seahawks. They are a pitiful team that has only been helped by Giant penalties.

2:55 p.m. - The Giants offense takes the field again. Boring. Where's Ahmad Bradshaw today? He hasn't seen the field once in a running situtation today.

2:57 p.m. - The Giants are denied on 3rd down! ...and Jeff Feagles comes in to punt for the first time today.

3:02 p.m. - Seattle is 0 for 7 on 3rd down as Kevin Dockery intercepts Hasselbeck and runs it back 30+ yards.

3:08 p.m. - 35 yard FG by my fantasy guy John Carney to make it 37-6 Giants. That's 3 FGs and 4 XPs by Carney today. That's nice.

3:15 p.m. - Hasselbeck is taken out of the game for Seneca Wallace. Presumably so he doesn't get hurt in the Giants blow-up win.

3:23 p.m. - Coughlan makes the same decision and takes out Eli. I think that's a great decision despite the fact that Eli won't be getting any more fantasy points for me today.

3:24 p.m. - Bradshaw finally gets into the game and is running like a madman.

3:27 p.m. - Bradshaw just rushed for 30+ yards like he was a player in Madden 09. He was spinning and stiff arming and kicking butt.

3:28 p.m. - 2 TD of the game for Sinorice Moss and it's 44-6 Giants. Do you remember way back when the Giants won the Super Bowl on that last minute TD catch. Who was the WR who caught that pass, again?

3:29 p.m. - Alright, I need to get ready for this wedding we're going to and with a 38 point lead and 9 minutes left in the game, I'm pretty sure the game is well in hand.

Way to Go Joe!

2008-10-03T11:50:00.007-04:00

Sarah Palin did a great job last night (reading her cue cards word for word).

For the first half hour of last night's debate, she was CRUSHING Joe Biden, who was flat and boring and produced more misstatements than did Palin. It was apparent that she "studied" for the debate and knew where the appropriate cue card was in her packet.

But then something changed....maybe she ran out of cue cards?

At about 9:31 p.m., Sarah Palin had a moment that she looked like she was a Fembot who's head was about to explode. Gwen Ifil, who did a horrible job last night (more on this later), asked Palin and Biden about climate change and it was obvious that Palin had either lost that cue card or simply hadn't prepared for the question because she produced a Katie Couric interview type answer that left me - and probably the rest of America - puzzled.

And then Sarah Palin started bringing out the old Reagan cliches, turning on the drawl, winking at the camera, giving out shoutouts to her family and brother's 3rd grade class. I thought to myself: "Am I really watching a VP debate or a H.S. debate?

And that's why I thought Joe Biden, despite a slow start, won this debate handily.

The pundits are also saying this morning that Biden won the debate and I agree. He did bad in the first hour and for the next hour after that he went on the attack of John McCain and performed wonderfully. It is truly sad that some people are saying this morning that it was a tie because Palin put together a coherant sentence and didn't make any huge gaffes. That's just plain wrong.

My favorite moments of the debate were:

1) When Biden got choked up talking about his son who almost died. Palin didn't even acknowledge this after his comments and went on to spurt nonsense about John McCain and her being a maverick.

2) After the 60th time that Palin mentioned that John McCain was a maverick, Biden shot back. "Let me talk to you about how John McCain isn't a maverick." That was a great moment and I literally jumped out of my seat when he said it.

3) Biden talking about how Palin hadn't mentioned how the McCain-Palin ticket would do things differently than Bush did. His repeating of the phase: "I haven't heard how they are going to do things different than President Bush" was a powerful moment.

The Dumbing Down of America

2008-10-02T17:09:00.000-04:00

I think Sarah Palin is going to do a fine job tonight.

I’m a staunch supporter of Obama-Biden ’08, but I believe all Palin needs to win tonight’s debate is make some salient points and string together a few coherent sentences.

The public’s expectations of Sarah Palin are so low it’s ridiculous. The public is expecting to be entertained by her nonsensical answers tonight and if she simply puts together some coherent thoughts – a questionable feat after hearing what she named her kids (you thought I was going to say something about the Katie Couric interviews, didn’t you) – she’ll wildly exceed everyone’s expectations. And that’s sad since she’s the Republican VP candidate who is – watch for the cliché – one heartbeat away from being the President.

Short of her running off stage tonight like her hair is on fire, screeching “I have people skills, damnit!” I think the – liberal, elite, pro-Obama (tongue in cheek) – media will declare her tonight’s winner.

I hope I’m wrong. It’ll make for entertaining television if am.

I See Dead People

2008-10-01T11:15:00.002-04:00

It's ridiculous that Al Davis - Skelator - said yesterday that former Raiders coach Lane Kiffin - who he fired yesterday - was an embarrassment to the team. He should look in his undead mirror to see who's the true embarrassment to the team.

A Family & National Emergency

2008-09-24T18:40:00.004-04:00

It was a rough and confusing day for me. My tooth hurts like hell, my head hurts worse and I am simply dumbfounded by the actions today of both Plaxico Burress and John McCain. No, Plaxico is not McCain's Republican running mate, some experienced politician from our country's most sparsely populated state is.

Plaxico was suspended for 2 weeks (1 game plus the Giants bye week) and docked 2 weeks pay ($235k) for insubordination. He skipped two days of practice and didn't tell the team about it because of what he says was a family emergency. After reading about 65 pages of his new "self serving" book "Giant" about his life, I totally know this excuse is complete crap. I forgive him though because he caught the game winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII.

He could streak naked on meth through a crowd of nuns walking through Times Square and I would forgive him.

Equally confusing and bizarre to Plax's behavior was John McCain's call today for the Friday night debate to be postponed so both candidates could help solve the nation's financial crisis. This makes no sense to me? How exactly could these two senators help solve the nation's crisis? Are they are on banking committee?

What is going on with this guy? I could see a call for postponing the debates if they were scheduled on September 11, 2001 or if someone famous was assassinated or something, but this makes less sense than Plaxico's excuse ... What is he thinking?

I know these two men are separated by 200 years of age, but they are frankly very similar because of just how confusing they acted today.