Shea Goodbye

Through the years, I saw some great games at Shea Stadium, including a 1972 game that featured both Hank Aaron and Willie Mays (both went hitless and remained tied with 648 career home runs), a 1986 NLCS encounter when Houston’s Mike Scott stopped the Mets, and some memorable Subway Series clashes with the Yankees, most [...]

Take My Wife….Please

Mike Mussina is not the only Yankee pitcher to beat the Red Sox for his 20th win on the final day of the season at Fenway Park.
As a sophomore in college, I went to my first game at Fenway in 1970 and saw left-hander Fritz Peterson beat the Sox, 4-3 for his 20th victory.
In [...]

Meet the Mutts

It’s gotta be tough being a Met fan these days. There’s not much to say – other than bag it — after the Mets’ blew it in September and failed to make the playoffs for the second year in a row.
The collapse was historic. You have to go back to 1950 and 1951, when the [...]

Not Even Hurricane Kyle Can Dampen This Tradition

Traditions are a good thing. Opening Day, fireworks on the Fourth, that special Super Bowl party.
Records are made to be broken….but traditions are made to be continued.
This past weekend one of life’s greatest traditions was celebrated in Woodford State Park, elevation 2,400 feet, in the backwoods of Vermont.
On a weekend where Hurricane Kyle threatened [...]

The Best of Yankee Stadium: Post-Season Baseball

The 1927 New York Yankees
As Yankee Stadium closes its doors, this is the final of a three-part retrospective on the moments that shaped Yankee Stadium, New York and the world of sports.
Top 10 post-season baseball moments at Yankee Stadium (chronological order)
1. Babe Ruth homers and the Yankees score the winning run on a wild [...]

UnderDawgs Thrive on Adversity

The Dutchess UnderDawgs enter Week 4 of Nightcap fantasy football play with an undefeated record and a "bite me" mentality.
The big Dawgs came to play once again last week, running all over the Pittsburgh Stealers in a defensive muscle tussle to raise their record to 3-0, good for undisputed possession of first place in [...]

Who’s on Third?

The cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated is a black and white shot, with Mickey Mantle swinging and Roger Maris kneeling in the on-deck circle. Shot over Maris’ left shoulder, the picture looks down the third-base line to nearly empty stands in left.
The picture, which was shot in 1960, got me to thinking: “Who’s on [...]

The Last Time

 
Babe Ruth’s farewell to Yankee Stadium, June, 1948.
Well this could be the last time This could be the last time Maybe the last time I don’t know. Oh no. Oh no.
- The Rolling Stones
The final game in [...]

Bidding Adieu to The House That Ruth Built

Yankee Stadium, at left, with the new Stadium across 161st Street in the Bronx.
It’s been compared to the Colosseum, been called The House That Ruth Built.
Mel Allen, the late Yankee broadcaster, once said, “St. Patrick’s is the Yankee Stadium of cathedrals.”
It has hosted Popes and Cardinals, Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali, Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn [...]

Dawgs Barking for Respect

The late comedian Rodney Dangerfield once remarked: “I don’t get no respect. I played hide-and-seek, and they wouldn’t even look for me”.
The Dutchess Dawgs are the Rodney Dangerfields of the NFL (Nightcap Fantasy League). They don’t get no respect.
Last year, the Dawgs had the best record in the NFL at 10-2. They went to [...]