Charles Wang, owner of the New York Islanders, announced today that when the hockey team's contract is up with Nassau County in 2015, the team has committed to a 25-year deal with Brooklyn and the Barclays Center.
I live in Nassau County, within walking distance of the Coliseum, which Wang has been trying to get the county to refurbish/renovate/something for the past I don't even know how many years. A lot of people I know, Islander fans, are upset about the move but grateful that the team will still be close by.
I'm not a hockey fan. But my mom was. And according to my dad, she was a major Islanders fan, so I wonder how she would have reacted to the news. I don't feel bad for the county for the loss of revenue - they didn't want the team to stay. Charles Wang is a Nassau County guy (albeit a super rich Nassau County guy). But he gives back to this area - he supports schools, businesses, and churches in this county. I'm sure he did everything he could to keep the team here - if the county had been willing to work with him, he would've done what he could to make sure the Islanders were a Long Island fixture.
Oh well. With the NHL season currently in jeopardy, there isn't much other hockey news to talk about. And like I said, I'm not a fan anyway, but what with it being super local news and having to do with my mom's favorite hockey team, I figured I'd mention it!
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Thursday, October 18, 2012
New York Yankees: DOA
This isn't going to be a long post. I have more important things to worry about then the Yankees' pedestrian performance in this series. Game 4 of the ALCS isn't even over yet but I'm calling it. The Yanks were dead on arrival - I'm four months pregnant and I could've played better than these guys have.
It just boggles the mind how a team full of millionaire superstars can completely shut down in the postseason - they played well enough to come in first in their division, and yet they can't even score a run in the postseason? They can't even get a hit? I'm no baseball expert, but I know for a fact that you can't win a game if you can't get men on base, and you sure as heck can't win a series. The Detroit Tigers, in their defense, have been playing outstanding and that hasn't helped, but the Yanks are pretty equally as good, ordinarily. The past few games, they don't even look like they should be qualified to play Little League. My fiance says they haven't been playing with any fire, with any spirit, and maybe that's part of the problem - this is old hat to them, and they don't want it as badly as we, the fans, do. Losing Derek Jeter didn't help - the player this should be oldest hat for always gave 110 percent and played with heart, but a team that collapses after the loss of one player is not a team to begin with.
I don't feel like talking about A-Rod. I've never been his biggest fan to begin with, but I'm disappointed in the likes of Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, and Nick Swisher - they're young enough that they should still care. Mark Texeira stepped up a bit but again, one player does not make a team. Raul Ibanez gave more than his share, putting to shame players 10 years younger than him, but as an older player, maybe this series meant more as possibly being his last.
All I can say is, I'm dumbfounded that a first place team can't put up more than big fat zeros in a do or die game, and it makes me really glad the baseball season is over. Now I can concentrate on a team that actually cares, the New York Giants. And it clears up my television watching schedule. So I guess that's a plus, too.
It just boggles the mind how a team full of millionaire superstars can completely shut down in the postseason - they played well enough to come in first in their division, and yet they can't even score a run in the postseason? They can't even get a hit? I'm no baseball expert, but I know for a fact that you can't win a game if you can't get men on base, and you sure as heck can't win a series. The Detroit Tigers, in their defense, have been playing outstanding and that hasn't helped, but the Yanks are pretty equally as good, ordinarily. The past few games, they don't even look like they should be qualified to play Little League. My fiance says they haven't been playing with any fire, with any spirit, and maybe that's part of the problem - this is old hat to them, and they don't want it as badly as we, the fans, do. Losing Derek Jeter didn't help - the player this should be oldest hat for always gave 110 percent and played with heart, but a team that collapses after the loss of one player is not a team to begin with.
I don't feel like talking about A-Rod. I've never been his biggest fan to begin with, but I'm disappointed in the likes of Robinson Cano, Curtis Granderson, and Nick Swisher - they're young enough that they should still care. Mark Texeira stepped up a bit but again, one player does not make a team. Raul Ibanez gave more than his share, putting to shame players 10 years younger than him, but as an older player, maybe this series meant more as possibly being his last.
All I can say is, I'm dumbfounded that a first place team can't put up more than big fat zeros in a do or die game, and it makes me really glad the baseball season is over. Now I can concentrate on a team that actually cares, the New York Giants. And it clears up my television watching schedule. So I guess that's a plus, too.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Just a few quick thoughts on baseball's Division League Series
Well, the San Francisco Giants are the first of the postseason teams to move on, eliminating the Reds in Game 5. The Washington Nationals are fighting for their lives right now against the Cards, and tonight Baltimore and the Yanks and the A's and Tigers both have match-ups. What I find interesting is that not a single division series was a sweep. Every single one of them has had some back-and-forth, which I guess means these teams that made it to the postseason have been pretty evenly matched so far. Which is a good thing. It's no fun when one team beats up on another (even when the team doing the beating is yours) and there's nothing more boring when there's no competition between teams. That's right - sweeps are boring. I hate when the Yankees sweep. Almost as much as I hate when they're swept... ;)
Speaking of my Yanks, what a nailbiter last night's win was. Kudos to Raul Ibanez, who has proven that just because you're 40 doesn't mean your major league baseball career has to be over - talk about clutch! I did not see that coming. Also, I hope Derek Jeter is okay - he was limping last night and was finally removed from the game after an at-bat where he couldn't even put his full weight on his front leg. Not good - because talk about clutch...there's a reason Jeter is the captain and the face of the Yankees. They need him. Although it was nice to see that other players could step up and the team could still win without him.
Also speaking of the Yankees, let's all keep manager Joe Girardi in our thoughts or prayers today, whether you're a Yanks fan or not. His father, Jerry Girardi, passed away last weekend and the news has finally become public.
And as a final thought, even though I am a diehard Yankees fan, I'm kinda rooting for the Nats...I'm a sucker for an underdog (though the way they played this season they might not be considered underdogs, their franchise as a whole is) and I lived in Washington, D.C. for four years and would love to see their team keep advancing...though I still want the Yanks to win the series! ;)
Yanks-Os 7:30 p.m., As-Tigers 9:30 p.m. EST
Be there!
Speaking of my Yanks, what a nailbiter last night's win was. Kudos to Raul Ibanez, who has proven that just because you're 40 doesn't mean your major league baseball career has to be over - talk about clutch! I did not see that coming. Also, I hope Derek Jeter is okay - he was limping last night and was finally removed from the game after an at-bat where he couldn't even put his full weight on his front leg. Not good - because talk about clutch...there's a reason Jeter is the captain and the face of the Yankees. They need him. Although it was nice to see that other players could step up and the team could still win without him.
Also speaking of the Yankees, let's all keep manager Joe Girardi in our thoughts or prayers today, whether you're a Yanks fan or not. His father, Jerry Girardi, passed away last weekend and the news has finally become public.
And as a final thought, even though I am a diehard Yankees fan, I'm kinda rooting for the Nats...I'm a sucker for an underdog (though the way they played this season they might not be considered underdogs, their franchise as a whole is) and I lived in Washington, D.C. for four years and would love to see their team keep advancing...though I still want the Yanks to win the series! ;)
Yanks-Os 7:30 p.m., As-Tigers 9:30 p.m. EST
Be there!
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Miguel Cabrera wins Triple Crown
No, not in horseracing.
A few days before it became official, my fiance and I were trying to figure out what stats an MLB player had to be #1 in to win the Triple Crown title - for two baseball fans, we were pretty clueless. I think I got two out of three. But maybe that just goes to show that it really has been 45 years since the last Triple Crown winner. Neither of us was born yet in 1967, so how would we know? That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
Anyway, a player has to rank #1 in batting average, homers, and runs batted in (RBIs). Melky Cabrera's suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs (uh, don't even get me started on that) may have helped pave the way for the other Cabrera's win, since at the time of his suspension, Melky had the highest batting average, but the Tigers' Cabrera has always been a force to be reckoned with on the field, so congrats to him on his accomplishment - he's not a Yankee, but I appreciate well-rounded excellence wherever it can be found.
Oh, and congrats to the Yankees, too, for FINALLY clinching the AL East Division...
The first round of Wild Card games (1-game playoff) will be tomorrow Oct. 5 between Baltimore-Texas and St. Louis-Atlanta. Division series playoffs begin Saturday Oct. 6 - be there!!
A few days before it became official, my fiance and I were trying to figure out what stats an MLB player had to be #1 in to win the Triple Crown title - for two baseball fans, we were pretty clueless. I think I got two out of three. But maybe that just goes to show that it really has been 45 years since the last Triple Crown winner. Neither of us was born yet in 1967, so how would we know? That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.
Anyway, a player has to rank #1 in batting average, homers, and runs batted in (RBIs). Melky Cabrera's suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs (uh, don't even get me started on that) may have helped pave the way for the other Cabrera's win, since at the time of his suspension, Melky had the highest batting average, but the Tigers' Cabrera has always been a force to be reckoned with on the field, so congrats to him on his accomplishment - he's not a Yankee, but I appreciate well-rounded excellence wherever it can be found.
Oh, and congrats to the Yankees, too, for FINALLY clinching the AL East Division...
The first round of Wild Card games (1-game playoff) will be tomorrow Oct. 5 between Baltimore-Texas and St. Louis-Atlanta. Division series playoffs begin Saturday Oct. 6 - be there!!
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Time flies when you're having fun: final day of baseball's regular season
Although it kinda feels like the MLB season just started, today is the final day of baseball's regular season - that is, unless the New York Yankees lose today and the Baltimore Orioles win, in which case it would force a one-game tie-breaker, which would be considered part of the regular season. They're both guaranteed to be in the postseason - it's still a matter of who goes in as winner of the division and who goes in as a wild card. It's kind of exciting that on the last day of the season, wins and losses still matter.
Anyway, I went to a record (for me) number of games at Yankee Stadium this year - versus the Twins (and my fake boyfriend Joe Mauer) back in April, versus Boston, the Orioles, and Indians over the summer, and then versus the Orioles again Labor Day weekend - it was my first New York-Boston series in years, but who knew I would see them play twice the team they're ending up fighting tooth and nail down to the very last day to clinch the division - not their normal rivals up in New England, but the Orioles. (By the way, I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but the very first Yankee game I went to was versus the Orioles, except it wasn't at Yankee Stadium, it was down in Camden Yards.) And, I got to be a part of the Bleacher Creatures' roll call for the first time ever and it was a blast!
So I thought it would be fun to look back at my summer of baseball, in photos. If your team has made it to the post season, good luck! If not, you can root for my team...or just be glad that it's also football season!
Anyway, I went to a record (for me) number of games at Yankee Stadium this year - versus the Twins (and my fake boyfriend Joe Mauer) back in April, versus Boston, the Orioles, and Indians over the summer, and then versus the Orioles again Labor Day weekend - it was my first New York-Boston series in years, but who knew I would see them play twice the team they're ending up fighting tooth and nail down to the very last day to clinch the division - not their normal rivals up in New England, but the Orioles. (By the way, I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but the very first Yankee game I went to was versus the Orioles, except it wasn't at Yankee Stadium, it was down in Camden Yards.) And, I got to be a part of the Bleacher Creatures' roll call for the first time ever and it was a blast!
So I thought it would be fun to look back at my summer of baseball, in photos. If your team has made it to the post season, good luck! If not, you can root for my team...or just be glad that it's also football season!
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| June 27, 2012: New York Yankees v. Cleveland Indians |
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| June 27, 2012: C'mon, Yanks! |
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| July 28, 2012: Yankee Stadium...and that sky is looking a little foreboding... |
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| July 28, 2012: Inside Yankee Stadium |
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| July 28, 2012: Yay! At my first Yankees-Red Sox game in years! |
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| July 28, 2012: And my first New York-Boston game in years will have to wait a little longer as the tarp comes out and the sky threatens... |
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| July 28, 2012: Ruh-roh...storm clouds rolling in over Yankee Stadium. |
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| July 28, 2012: Two hour rain delay...boo! This baseball fan girl is not a happy camper, even though I had the forethought to buy a New York Yankees poncho... |
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| July 28, 2012: Jon Lester warms up on a wet field while Yankees fans heckle him. |
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| July 28, 2012: Yankee Stadium, y'all. |
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| Aug. 1, 2012: New York Yankees v. Baltimore Orioles, from my view as a Bleacher Creature. This game started on time but it started raining during...thank God I brought my Yankees poncho with me! |
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| Sept. 2, 2012: New York Yankees v. Baltimore Orioles game with Sam, Suzy, and Matt...a great way to end the summer! |
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| Sept. 2, 2012: Nick Swisher at bat. |
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| Sept. 2, 2012: At Yankee Stadium with my fiance Sam. |
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