Beakman's Back!

"Beakman's World" the greatest and funniest kids science show ever produced is back on the air! This award winner was a favorite of kids, parents and even teachers alike. Check local listings, then check it out! Beakmania Lives!

Don't Forget Yankees Hot Stove

On YES tonight at 6:30 pm est. They probably don't have much Yankee news, but they should at least have Kei Igawa footage.

More Yanks!

Apparently, the Yanks are still in the market for another starter. Names being bandied about in the articles are Lilly, Meche, Batista, Pettitte, Clemens and now Padilla. Obviously the best buy will be whoever will except the shortest deal. That would put Clemens, Pettitte and Batista at the top of the list. Of the pitchers who will require 4 year deals, Padilla is probably better than Lilly and Meche, but has had some off field issues down in Nicaragua. Whatever the Yanks are able to do here, it's important that they not block the kids who'll be ready in `07,`08,`09 etc, and that they get something GOOD for Pavano. Hopefully, something from the Nats.

The Yanks remain in the hunt for a back-up catcher, 1st baseman, UT and lefty in the pen. Let's hope they are all upgrades over last year's performers at those spots.

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Stange Tales #161 (1967) Another Steranko materpiece featuring Nick Fury, Agent of Shield and Captain America nearly in the clutches of the insidious Yellow Claw. You can see the heavy Kirby influence in this one. Awesome stuff.

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

The All Time Greatest Hits of Roy Orbison (Monument, 1972) . Ever been sad? Roy has. Ever been lonely? Roy has. Every cried? Roy has. Collected here are all the hits of his original prime (I would argue that he had a hell of comeback in the 1980's both solo and with the Travelling Wilbury's). This is some of the greatest and at times most haunting music ever made. "In Dreams", "Running Scared", "Cryin", "Pretty Woman" they're all here. I hope someday someone compiles the stuff that he did in the `80's before his sudden death. Roy was amazing.

Knicks Win! Knicks Win! Knicks Win!

Quentin Richardson had a great night after missing a game with a strained hammy and Eddy Curry came through big when they got him the ball in the 4th quarter. All the guards had their moments and mysteries. In fact, Francis was having a terrific game until he missed a pair of free throws and tossed an airball at crunch time. The Knicks blew a lead in the third, but came all the way back to win by 3. Well done! Here's the boxscore!
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=261129005

More Yanks!

Philip Hughes won AA pitcher of the Year and Tyler Clippard won best single game performance in AA.

The Yanks' Cody Ehlers and George Kontos were also honored for their seasons in High A and Shortseason. New Yank Anthony Clagget was honored as Class A reliever of the year! Way to go, Yanks!

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/news/awards/y2006/index.jsp

Knicks UP 56-51 at the Half

Marbury has played a little better, and QRich, Curry and Lee have all looked good! Last night, we collapsed in the 4th quarter. Let's avoid that tonight and welcome a win.

Knicks Tonight

QRich is back and that should help. He needs to feed the pivot though.

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Here's Justice Inc. #1 by Joe Kubert. Kubert, I believe was a big desciple of the legendary Burne Hogarth, who drew Prince Valiant, and authored "Dynamic Figure Drawing" and "Dynamic Head Drawing." Anyway, when I was a kid his dynamic work was all over DC where he handled Tarzan, Sgt. Rock and is the artist of record on their Hawkman books. He went for realism, like Buscema and some others we've looked like and his work was always a bonus for the reader. Rock on, Joe, wherever you are.

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

Silk Degree (Columbia, 1976). By 1976 Boz Scaggs was a grown up and he made a grown up soul record full of great songs like "Lowdown", "It's Over", "Harbor Lights", "We're All Alone", "Lido Shuffle", and my favorite "Georgia" which turned out to be written about a good friend of mine's daughter. This is about as close to making a Van Morrison album as an American has ever come, he doesn't use Van's mystical imagery, but the rest is right there. Boz is a great singer and songwriter and here he was at the very top of his powers. He apparently ended up firing his manager, because the manager wouldn't let RSO put Lowdown in Saturday Night Fever. That ended up costing him millions, his new manager made sure he had a few songs in Urban Cowboy. The things you can learn here! Give a listen.

Knicks Tonight

At Cleveland at 7:00. Balkman has to guard LeBron. Could be tough for the rook, but he'll try. This one probably depends on how much Marbury plays. The less, the better. Go Knicks.

Is House Jumping the Shark?

My favorite show is really starting to bug the crap out of me. Several weeks ago I wrote about their traditional "bring in the outsider" to challenge House arc. This year they been working that angle through a vigilante cop, played by David Morse, who apparently has more power than the President. So far, he has stalked House, arrested House, and frozen the assets of everyone involved with House. This nonsense is wholly unbelievable, and virtually any group of doctors being so persecuted would have long since had the vigilante's badge by now. I hope they get this arc wrapped up soon, as the vigilante scenes are brutally unwatchable. BTW, the actors all continue to do a great job, and there's plenty of drama, but this yearly "outsider" arc has been too incredulous. I know the challenges of creating a consistently excellent procedural are vast, but this really seems like a little too unreal.

Stephon Marbury is Killing the Knicks

The Knicks are in the process of getting blown out in the 4th quarter of what had been a tight game all night because Stephon Marbury was on the court way too much. His horrific play has wasted winning efforts by Curry, Lee and Francis. The Knicks need to find a taker or buy him out. They cannot beat anyone these days when he is on the court. He is not remotely the player he's been in the past.

Rangers LOSE

Holik gets his own rebound past a lousy Lundqvist. That's two overtime losses in a row! Craptastic, boys. Play Callahan.

Rangers TIED after 3

Another night of overtime! They played poorly with a 3-1 lead than Nylander had to score to tie it at 4! Lundqvist has not been his superstar self tonight, though, as always it's not all his fault.

More Yanks

So, with Kei Igawa basically secured our starters are Wang, Moose, Johnson, Pavano, Kei. Anyone else want to see if we can build a Nick Johnson package around Carl Pavano? Even if the pitching poor Nationals don't want Pavano, there are teams that do, and perhaps we can get some parts from them to put together a trade for Nick and Brian Schneider. I think they'd take Pavano+ and I think that's a move we should strongly consider. Our remaining needs are 1st, back-up catcher and bullpen. If we trade Pavano we could also sign Batista for a starter/bullpen role till the kids are ready.

Rangers UP 3-2 after 2.

The first Thrasher goal was soft. The second came off a Marcel Hossa turnover. He's getting way too much time, and that's the cost. Our goals came from Adam Hall (again) and Straka. Ryan Callahan has been recalled from the minors, but they're not letting him play! That's foolishiness, as anyone who's ever seen Blair Betts or Marcell Hossa blow and easy scoring chance can attest. Callahan is a scorer!

Rangers UP 1-0 after 1

Adam Hall from Prucha and Ozolinsh! It was a power play goal!

Rangers Game Night!

Go Rangers!!!!!!! Let's hope more than just Straka can score tonight!

Yanks Apparently Win Bid For Kei Igawa

The Yanks have apparently posted the winning bid in the less heralded Kei Igawa sweepstakes. The number being thrown around is 25M. That's a lot of money, but I really believe it beats bringing back Ted Lilly for 4 years at an inflated price. He's a fastball, slider, change pitcher. He's a healthy innings eater. Some reports have his fastball in the 80's, while others say he throws in the low 90's and can reach back for a little more at times. The worst case scenario is that he ends up in the pen, and we can always use a lefty in the pen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYRbIougvyA&mode=related&search=

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Spiderman #7 by Steve Ditko. Here Spidey fights the Vulture high above NYC. I always found the Vulture to be a scary villain when I was a kid, I think it was because he was old and Ditko's design of him was so evil. Anyway, I wonder what he's up to these days.

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

Sly and the Family Stone Anthology (Epic 1981) Now Sly made great albums, especially Stand and There's a Riot Going On, which I think you can now only find paired with something else. If you can find them paired together, pick it up, if you can't get this! Sly and the Family Stone were profoundly influential, and one listen to "Dance to the Music," "Stand," "Hot Fun in the Summertime," and "Family Affair" will clue you into how broad their influence was. The merged pop with funk, soul,and rock, and created incredible music. Sly is in the Hall of Fame of tortured geniuses (genii) with Brian Wilson and a few others, and it's a shame that he didn't keep it going past his heyday in the late sixties and early seventies. We missed a lot, don't miss this.

Rangers Tonight

Rangers host Atlanta tonight, 7pm est. Another tough game for the Rangers. We'll have to hope for another superhuman effort from Lundqvist to stay in it. Prucha really needs to get going, as we are depending too much on the big 4.

Knicks Tonight

Knicks at Bulls, 8:30 pm est. I don't know if QRich is playing tonight, but Frye sure isn't a David Lee will start in his place. The Bulls really embarrassed the Knicks the other night, and I'm not sure we can return the favor without Frye and possibly Q. The interesting thing will be to see what kind of numbers Lee can put up as a starter, what Balkman will do with more time, and if Marbury moves himself any closer to a trade or buyout. Go Knicks.

Recommended Noirs

Behold Notorious! (RKO, 1946) directed by Alfred Hitchcock! written by Ben Hecht! Here's a thing about great talents like Hitch and Hecht: they could do anything! Hitchcock ended up doing a bunch of noirs. In fact, I'd say three of his top ten were noirs, including this one. In this one Cary Grant is a cold hearted government agent named Devlin, who must seduce the beautiful and temporarily nihistic daughter of a Nazi Spy, Alicia Huberman(Ingrid Bergman), into undertaking a dangerous mission in South America. The mission calls for Bergman to marry Claude Rains, as he and a cadre of uncaught Nazi's plan to get things going again. That's when things get intense. Now, even a non-noir about confronting rooting out Nazi's would be cool, the attitudes played here are totally noir and all the cooler for it. Devlin, like Sam Spade, seems to have situational relationship with any sort of ethics, so does Alicia Huberman, who's basically trying to party herself to death when they hook-up. The story is great and Hitchcock's feel for noir was sublime. Check it out!

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

Born to Run (Columbia, 1975). Now Phil Spector's influence on this has always been easily recognized and oft proclaimed. But, there is also a hell of a lot of Pet Sounds in here. The albums structure is pretty openly influenced by the Beach Boys, even if fewer chords come into play. But beyond attributable influences, this is just a great rock record from a time when we really needed them. We'll see more of Bruce on this list'o'mine, but we might as well start here. "Thunder Road," "Born To Run," "Backstreets," "Jungleland." Keep playin', Bruce! I've seen you 30 times, but not for some time.

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Thor #126 just a part of his epic multi issue battle with Hercules. Of course, you know it's another Jack Kirby masterpiece and here Jack is clearly inked by Vince Colletta. Vince used this "feathering" technique that didn't alwas work on all comics or artists, but it worked over Kirby in Thor. You're gonna see a lot of Kirby here, so get ready.

Monster Movie Day on TCM

12:00pm
Thin Man, The (1934) A husband-and-wife detective team takes on the search for a missing inventor and almost get killed for their efforts.Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O'Sullivan. Dir: W.S. Van Dyke II. BW-93 mins, TV-PG




4:00pm
From Here To Eternity (1953) Enlisted men in Hawaii fight for love and honor on the eve of World War II.Cast: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra. Dir: Fred Zinnemann. BW-118 mins, TV-PG




6:00pm
12 Angry Men (1957) A jury holdout tries to convince his colleagues to vote not guilty.Cast: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall. Dir: Sidney Lumet. BW-96 mins, TV-PG



8:00pm
Public Enemy, The (1931) An Irish-American street punk tries to make it big in the world of organized crime.Cast: James Cagney, Edward Woods, Jean Harlow. Dir: William A. Wellman. BW-83 mins, TV-PG



9:30pm
African Queen, The (1951) A grizzled skipper and a spirited missionary take on the Germans in Africa during World War I.Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley. Dir: John Huston. C-105 mins, TV-PG



11:30pm
North By Northwest (1959) An advertising man is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.Cast: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason. Dir: Alfred Hitchcock. C-136 mins, TV-PG



2:00am
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) A Korean War hero doesn't realize he's been programmed to kill by the enemy.Cast: Laurence Harvey, Frank Sinatra, Angela Lansbury. Dir: John Frankenheimer. BW-126 mins, TV-PG




The Thin Man has already started but that along with everything on this list is pretty much must see stuff. All times are EST and the Rangers and Knicks are off tonight.

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

The Temptations Anthology (Motown, 1974), now I don't generally support putting greatest hits collections on top albums lists, but in the case of certain Motown stars, and some others who's regular album were composed of a couple of hits and filler, I will gladly recommend the collections like this one which features the best of the Tempting Temptations from `64 through `73. The Temptations basically consisted of 5 lead singers: Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin and Otis Williams. If I ever do a list of favorite singers Kendricks, Ruffin, Paul Willians and Ruffin's first replacement, Dennis Edwards will all be on the list! That's how much vocal talent they had over the years.

In their early years, The Temps basically sang music written and produced by the Great Smokey Robinson, this was their "My Girl," "It's Growing," and "Get Ready" period and leads were generally sung by Eddie Kendricks, though Ruffin and occasionally Paul Williams got them, too. All that's on here.

And the Tempts greater Norman Whitfield (writer producer) phase is also comprehensively represented with everything from "I Wish it Would Rain" to "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" and all the classics in between. Whitfield took them from romantic baladeers to funky social comentators, often in the space of two songs. By this time Ruffin was taking most of the leads, and Paul Williams who was just as great, was more or less crowded out. He was replaced initially by Richard Street. Ruffin left and was replaced by Dennis Edwards, who you know from his leads on every non Kendricks song from "Cloud Nine" through "Papa Was a Rolling Stone." You know his voice. You dig it. You gotta hear it.

Anyway, it's all here, and if you want to know why I'm such a fan of Paul Williams, check out his leads on "Walk and Don't Look Back" and "The Impossible Dream" he's also the deeper lead on "Just My Imagination." Enjoy!

Rangers LOSE 3-2

Drury deflects it in and Lundqvist who'd had a great game was handcuffed. This came after a face off in the Ranger zone which came after 210 turned it over in the zone and Lundqvist stopped a shot. Shanny is furious cause he thinks he was interfered with. It's good that we got a point, but this just shows we are no closer to the younger, faster Sabres than we were several weeks ago. It's amazing that the Sabres are outskating us with 6 rookies. This is especially amazing in light of the fact that we basically get no scoring from anyone but the Jagr line and Shanny. Prucha and Cullen have been big disappointments. But beyond that we have a lot of really average or worse vets who could be replaced by kids. The top two lines and kids should be the formula. Tough loss, especially for Lundqvist who was brilliant.

Rangers and Sabres Head to Overtime!

Two nights in a row, can your heart stand it?

Rangers DOWN 2-1 after 2

Both Sabre goals were the products of turnovers. The first by Cullen, the second by Ozolinsh. There were so many Sabre power plays that I can't remember if any of the Sabre goals were even strength, but if you're reading this don't get the idea that Lundqvist hasn't been great, because he has. After the second Sabre goal, Jagr came right back and made a brilliant pass to Straka for the Ranger goal. After that the Rangers had more jump. I'd love to see them come all the way back here. Why should Titans fans have all the fun?

Straka just tied it!!!!! From Nylander!!!!!!

Does Giant Pride Really Exist?

I don't understand how Giant Pride could produce efforts like we've seen the last three weeks. So, does it really exist or is it a meaningless turn of phrase. I guess we'll find out, but, it certainly has not been restored. Let me know what you think about Giant Pride.

Rangers TIED 0-0 after 1

They'll still be on a power play when the second half begins.

Giants Give Another One Away

The Giants, through a series of terrible player decisions in the 4th quarter, gave up a 21 point lead and with under a minute left Eli Manning threw his second interception of the quarter (both to PacMan Jones) and lost on a Rob Baronas 49 yard field goal 24-21.

The problems started for the Giants when Eli tried a needlessly deep throw to Plaxico Burress that Burress, somewhat typically, quit on only to see PacMan Jones pick it off and return it when Burress was too apathetic to tackle him. This led to a Touchdown. Later, with the score 21-14 and a 4th and 10 for the Titans, rookie Mathias Kiwanuka sacked Vince Young - only he let him go before bringing him down and Vince ran for a first. The drive continued and they tied the game. Finally, with the game tied and the Giants needing to move into FG position, Eli rolled out and threw another pick. Killing our chances, and very possibly our season.

Giants UP 21-0 at the Half

Balance has been restored as Shockey is back in the game plan, and the run has balanced the pass. Plax is holding onto them today, and so is Tiki. Brandon Jacobs has 2 TD's so far, Plax has the other. More to come in the second half. Go Giants!

Giants Today

The Giants play the Titans today at 4:15 pm est. The Titans are a bad team. Over the last game and a half, the Giants have also been a bad team. Things blew up this week when Tiki Barber once again threw the coaching staff under the bus for their gameplanning and playcalling. Though what Tiki said validated the feelings of Giants fans, it's a bad situation, and he should have gone straight to the coach. For the past several weeks, Eli Manning has looked like Dave Brown, and it's on Eli to start looking like a Manning again.

Onto the game, with a banged up front 7 the Giants will have to really focus on their assignments to keep Vince Young from running all over them. Sadly, with Sam Madison still out, and Cory Webster questionable, Coach Lewis will probably not suplement the pass rush with aggressive blitzes. As a result, Young might get off in the passing game.

On O, we should be able to run on the Titans, but we don't seem to like to anymore, so we better hope that Plax and Carter can hold onto the bombs, and Jeremy Shockey takes pride in his pass blocking. Eli needs to be much better today, even if the playcalls remain an issue.

Ultimately, this is a team the Giants should get well against, but truthfully, who knows if they will? They should have won their last two games... 7-4 would help. BTW, you can listen to the game right here http://wfan.com/ and you can follow a full pre and postgame menu of features at http://giants.com/. I hope we can all enjoy the game this week, Go Giants!

Rangers Tonight

Home against Buffalo, 7pm est. This is a measuring game. The Rangers have won 3 in a row, but regardless of how hot they may appear, the Sabres have been a much, much better team this year. The Rangers need to start beating teams like this if they want to go anywhere. BTW, we all know that Jagr, Nylander, Straka and Shanahan have been playing too much this year, and that's going to lead to problems, but now, Renney is giving too much ice time to Marcel Hossa! That's not gonna LEAD to problems, that is a problem. Last night, he played in overtime, and Petr Prucha didn't. Keep an eye on this situation. I don't want to see Prucha traded for an old guy because Renney has devalued him.

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

"Martinis and Bikinis" by Sam Phillips (Virgin `94) is a superb and I fear overlooked album. From the opening ditty "Love and Kisses" through her cover of John Lennon's "Gimme Some Truth" the album rocks and rings with distinctive pop. From their are literally 13 great songs collected here including "Same Rain," "Baby I Can't Please You," "Strawberry Road," and "I Need Love." I think this album is every bit as good as Tapestry, which we will discuss at some point. Find this one if you haven't heard it.

USC WINS!

Dwayne Jarrett, and Pete Carroll's ultimate D were too much for the Irish this year. There is still a talent imbalance that it will take Charlie a few more recruiting classes to catch up with Pete. If USC beats UCLA next weekend, they will play for the National Title. Notre Dame is still probably headed to a BCS bowl since both of their losses came at the hands of top 3 teams. I hope both USC and ND go on to win the rest of their games this year. It's been a treat watching Brady Quinn, Jeff Samardzija and Tom Zbikowski over the last several year. Best wishes to all who played in tonight's game.

J.D. Drew is Apparently a Red Sox

According to Jon Heyman, J.D. Drew to the Sox is more or less a done deal. Now, I'm not a Yankee fan who's gonna trash this player. He's an outstanding player who gets on base and plays good D. There is nothing that is good about this move for the Yankees - unless - the Red Sox are dumb enough to trade Manny. Manny is a Hall of Fame offensive machine, and won't be remotely replaced by Drew. So we must hope that they do indeed trade him. Hopefully for some Angel crap.

BTW, I use the term "a Red Sox" and will continue to, cause I think it's goofy.

Frye Out 3-6 Weeks

He injured his lower leg when he landed on PJ Brown's foot while trying to block a shot. This is terrible news and terrible timing for Channing, who was really improving and becoming a more physical player. He needed this time, while the team is down, to work on his game. Now he must work on rehab and we all must wish him a speedy return. Get well soon, Channing!

Knicks LOSE 106-95

They actually got the deficit that had been 24 down to 5, before they turned it over and started having to foul. Channing Frye and QRich were hurt in the first half and that really hurt. But as a result Renaldo Balkman played the whole second half and put up a double-double. Lee also had a double-double, but, also turned it over 7 times! Here's the boxscore. It will be hard to be optimistic if the injuries to Frey and Q are serious.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=261125018

Rangers WIN in OT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Straka is your hero, with huge plays by Lundqvist and Jagr, that made it a game. Straka scored with :02 left in OT, after Lundqvist had turned away a Jordan Staal penalty shot. What a win! 2 points! And lots of work to be done!

Rangers Heading to OT!

Jagr scored a 3rd period goal to get us a point and send the game to OT. Let's go Rangers! Get the other point!

More Yanks

Pinstripe Plus, the best subscription Yankee site on the net is having a free content weekend. Sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but here you go!
http://yankees.scout.com/ Enjoy, read as much as you can! And then elect to join!

Knicks DOWN 56-34 at the Half

They are playing like DOGS. I don't understand why they are so terrible at the Garden, but they are truly awful there. Turnovers and dumb fouls. That's their game tonight.

TJ Surgery for Christian Garcia?

When power pitcher Chris Garcia left the HBL early, many of us thought it might have been his maturity issues cropping up again. Now, we are hearing it's his elbow, and TJ surgery as well as rehab could be in the cards for him. This is awful news for the high ceiling kid and we can only wish him a speedy and complete recovery. If he does get the surgery, his rehab schedule should coincide pretty closely with Mark Melancon's. Hopefully, Melancon's bulldog attitude will rub off on the kid. It would be a tragedy if Garcia couldn't reach his top of the rotation potential.

Rangers GameNight!

Don't take any guff from the Penguins! And somebody - please - put Sidney Crosby on his ass! Go Rangers!

Knicks GameNight

Do it again, Eddy!!!!!! Destroy the Bulls!!!!!!

Rangers Tonight

At the Pens, 7:30 pm est. The Rangers owe these boys a beating. Go Blueshirts!

Knicks Tonight

Home against the Bulls, 7:30. It would behoove us to beat the Bulls every time we play them. They have the right to switch first round picks with us this year, and having a better record than the Bulls will prevent that from happening. Go Knicks!

College Football Today!

12:00 PM #4 Florida at Florida State
12:00 PM South Florida at #7 West Virginia
12:00 PM Syracuse at #15 Rutgers
12:00 PM Virginia at #17 Virginia Tech
12:00 PM South Carolina at #24 Clemson
12:00 PM Cincinnati at Connecticut
12:00 PM Kansas at Missouri
12:00 PM North Carolina at Duke
12:00 PM UAB at UCF
12:30 PM Kentucky at #19 Tennessee
2:00 PM Mississippi State at Mississippi
2:30 PM #13 Oklahoma at Oklahoma State
2:30 PM San Diego State at New Mexico
3:00 PM Southern Methodist at Rice
3:00 PM New Mexico State at Utah State
3:30 PM #8 Louisville at Pittsburgh
3:30 PM #16 Georgia Tech at Georgia CBS
3:30 PM #21 Brigham Young at Utah CSTV
3:30 PM Oregon at Oregon State
3:30 PM Troy at Middle Tennessee State
4:00 PM #12 Boise State at Nevada
5:00 PM Arkansas State at Louisiana-Lafayette
6:00 PM Arizona State at Arizona
7:00 PM TCU at Colorado State
7:00 PM East Carolina at North Carolina State
7:00 PM Florida International at Florida Atlantic
7:00 PM North Texas at Louisiana-Monroe
7:30 PM Marshall at Southern Miss
7:45 PM #20 Wake Forest at Maryland
8:00 PM #6 Notre Dame at #3 USC
9:00 PM San Jose State at Idaho
9:00 PM Memphis at UTEP
11:05 PM Purdue at #25 Hawaii

Rivalry Saturday! Okay, you can't go wrong today, but the two games I won't miss are Boise State at Nevada and Notre Dame at USC. Boise has to beat a very tough Nevada team to finish undefeated. USC has to beat Notre Dame to get a shot at the National Championship. Notre Dame and USC are probably my two favorite programs these days, and I hate seeing either lose. USC still has a shot at the title, so I'm probably leaning their way today, but it remains to be seen if I can actually root one way or the other. I think USC will win. They're just two fast and talenter right now, and that's primarily because Pete has all of his own players, and Charlie's only got one and a half recruiting classes on the the roster. The USC receivers are big, fast and talented. Jarrett, Smith and Turner should wreak havoc in the ND secondary. USC will use running back by committee, but Freshman C.J. Gable has been starting to flash some Bush-like tools and could emerge tonight. The Irish aren't hopeless, thoough. They have the best quarterback in the country, a great WR/TE tandem and a brilliant play-caller in Charlie Weis. The one thing that might turn this game on its ear is turnovers. John David Booty has thrown some picks, and frequent tail back Chauncy Washington has been a bit of a fumbler (these two did in the Trojans at Washinton State). Anyway, it should be a great game, enjoy!

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

The Spinners (1972) was a fantastic record. The Spinners had been sort of lesser lights during the glory days of Motown, but in the early `70's they left Hitsville, USA and moved to Philly, where a smooth soul sound was developing. In Philly, they teamed with producer Thom Bell and made some really important music. Whether or not you know their names, you know the falsetto of Henry Farmbrough, the bass of Perivs Jackson, and the sensational leads of the late Phillipe "Soul" Wynne. Well, this was their breakout album and contains the hits "Could It be I'm Falling in Love", "I'll be Around," and "One of a Kind (Love Affair)." Ultimately, the Spinners were to the `70's what the Temptations had been to the `60's: the very best vocal group in the world. Give it a listen.

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Dr. Strange #1 by Frank Brunner. Frank was another great artist who worked for Marvel in the `70's. His work was precise and realistic. Dr. Strange almost always had a great artist working on him. Ditko was first, then I think it was Dan Adkins, then Gene "the Dean" Colan, then Brunner, with more excellent artists in between. Brunner also drew some of the Kung Fu comics Marvel made back in the day. A really tremendous artist.

Whither Zaun?

The Yanks are apparently in the running to get Greg Zaun as a back-up catcher. This would actually be a back-up to get excited about. He would not create a hole in our line-up when Po sits. There's apparently competition for his services, but hopefully, Cashmoney Green can get something done here. I hope this wouldn't derail any attempt to land Nick Johnson, as the deal I heard would include taking back Brian Schneider to back-up Po. The more important piece would be getting OBP Jesus back. So, if Zaun would screw that up, pass.

Knicks Pound the Living the Crap out of Celts!

Steve Francis, David Lee and Eddy Curry were all outstanding as the Knicks used a 2-1-2 zone to completely dominate the Celtics in Boston. There were contributions all over, and you had to like what you saw from Frye, Q and Nate, as well.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=261124002
Here's your boxscore! Tomorrow we play Chicago! I'd love to see another effort like tonight's!

Ted Lilly Redux for Yanks?

Ted Lilly's agent is making it sound like Lilly really wants to return to the Bronx. Fortunately, they don't expect any action there until the winning bid in the Kei Igawa sweepstakes is known. I don't think Lilly is quite what we're looking for. He's been giving 30 starts a year lately, but he doesn't give 200 innings a year. That translates into bullpen stress. Not what the Yanks need. I hope we win the Igawa lotto, because we'd have all the leverage there, and could probably get a 3 year deal, where Lilly requires 4 years. Worst case scenario is we get Lilly and he's a lefty Jarret Wright for 4 years and not two. Be slightly concerned, Yankee fans.

Dig the New Links!

Courtesy of SportsSpyder you can now check Yankees, Giants, Knicks and Rangers news every day at this site! Just check the links on the right of the screen.

Knicks UP 52-47 at the Half

Eddy Curry and David Lee are having great games. Gotta keep it going. Go Knicks!

Knicks GameNight!

Knicks need to start winning. Beat those Celtics!

Recommended Noirs

Behold a real cracker of a caper flick! The Asphalt Jungle (MGM, 1950) like The Maltese Falcon was directed by John Huston and based on a story by the hardboiled W.R. Burnett. It involves a group of disperate and desperate men's attempt at a big time jewlery heist. The action starts when "Doc," a legendary burglar gets out of jail with a foolproof plan for a heist. He gains financial backing and assembles a group of career criminals to pull off the job. That's all you need to know, plotwise. The cast, featuring the great Sterling Hayden, Sam Jaffe, Louie Calhern, a young James Whitmore and a curvy Marilyn Monroe. The cinematography, by Harold Rosson, is fantastically moody and pure noir. You'll notice that many of the things you see in this flick were later borrowed by other movies. That I suppose is the greatest compliment a film can receive. Check it out!

Miami Does the Right Thing

Miami finally fired Larry Coker today, and now maybe they can get their football team back to where it belongs. There's been a lot of talk about Barry Alvarez and the Miami job, but he would be a mistake. The `Canes need a younger coach to restore the vitality to the program. I'm sure they're looking at Greg Schiano, who may or may not be available, but think they should also talk to Chris Peterson of Boise State, Dan Hawkins of Colorado and Steve Kragthorpe of Tulsa. The big young names like Bobby Petrino would only leave their current situations for the right NFL offer.

Good luck to Da U in finding a tough, young coach who loves recruiting!

Rest in Peace, Pat Dobson

Pat was most famous for being a 20 game winner in Baltimore, but for 3 seasons, when I was pre-teen, Dobson was an anchor of the Yankee rotation. He won 19 games for us in `74, but sadly, was gone when we really started winning like Yankees again in `76. My prayers are with his friends and family and I wish him the most peaceful of rests.

Rest in Peace, Willie Pep

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Pep

Willie was one of the greatest and busiest featherweight fighters of all time. His 4 fight war with Sandy Sadler is the stuff of boxing legend. He was an original member of the Boxing Hall of Fame and we will not see his like again. Rest in peace, Champ.

College Football Today!

11:00 AM Northern Illinois at Eastern Michigan
12:00 PM Texas A&M at #11 Texas
12:00 PM Ohio at Miami (OH)
12:00 PM Kent State at Ball State
1:00 PM Central Michigan at Buffalo
2:30 PM #9 LSU at #5 Arkansas CBS
3:00 PM Tulane at Tulsa
3:30 PM Colorado at #23 Nebraska
3:30 PM Western Michigan at Akron
7:00 PM Air Force at UNLV CSTV
9:00 PM Fresno State at Louisiana Tech

The game you must see ins LSU/Arkansas, the rest of the games are optional, though Texas/Texas A+M and Nebraska/Colorado are generally good games.

Knicks Tonight

Knicks travel to Boston, a team they should beat, but didn't when the played them at home. 7:30 pm est game.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have the most fun possible and be safe everyone!

Great Game Alert!

Gonzaga vs. UNC in the pre-season NIT tournament semi-final. Zags up 3 as the second half just begins. Go ZAGS!

Knicks LOSE

and don't deserve another moment spent on them tonight.

Knicks DOWN 20 at the Half

And looking worse than ever. Even the 2's suck tonight, and no one has come to play. There's too much talent on this team to be down like this at the Half. If they are not motivated it's time to switch coaches.

More Yanks

On this night before Thanksgiving, there's a rumor that Cashmoney Green is looking to reacquire Nick "the Stick" Johnson from the Washington Nationals. It will take one of his Jedi mind tricks to make this happen, but make this happen Cashmoney must! One of the grail like missions of this offseason has involved finding a righty firstbaseman who can play Yankee baseball. Frankly none are available and the one who comes closest would cost us our first rounder. Nick is an OBP Machine and has always been an ideal Yankee. Use some of the pitchers like Clippard, White and Beam, and get this done. He belongs! This is a perfect target!

Knicks GameNight!

Francis has been replaced in the starting line-up by Jamal Crawford. This should help Marbury and Curry, and lord knows, they need the help. Maybe if Marbury plays well enough the TWolves will take him off our hands. GO KNICKS!

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

Todd Rundgren's Something/Anything? was a brilliant state of the art pop double album from 1972. From "I Saw The Light" to "It Takes Two To Tango" to "Sweeter Memories" to "Hello It's Me" this is for the pop confectioneer. Sweeter stuff few would ever cook up. This is just a dazzling exhibition of what he could do in a studio, and he left some of that studio stuff on there to let us know what it was like while they were making this. Todd kept experiementing after this one, and is now the lead singer for "The New Cars" but he was never this amazing again, and I will always wonder why. Give it a listen!

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Daredevil #7 by Wally Wood! Wally is another great artist who produced really clean lines and dynamic compositions. He was great with superhero books, but was more famous for his work at EC back in the `50's where he handled a lot of Weird Science stories.
Wally rocked!

Knicks Tonight!

Knicks at Timberwolves @ 8pm est. The Knicks have been getting better and usually play pretty well on the road. I say we win this one!

Rangers SHUTOUT the Canes 4-0!

Lundqvist shuts em out! Jagr had two goals and was superb, Shanny got one and Hossa scored on a redirect of a Tyutin slapshot. They have to keep this going!

Rangers UP 3-0 after 2

Jagr scored in the second. Hossa and Shanny scored in the first. Twenty more minutes of good D will get Lundqvist the shutout he deserved the other night. Go Rangers!

Yankees Cold Stove

Since nothing seems to be cooking on the stove, here are the ten Yankee hitting prospects I am most excited about at this time. Most are young, so don't go expecting them any time soon.

1. Jose Tabata
2. Jesus Montero
3. Gerardo Rodriguez
4. Carlos Urena
5. Eric Duncan
6. Prylis Cuello
7. Abraham Almonte
8. Zolio Almonte
9. Jose Pirela
10. Jimmy Paredes.
**** I left out Josue Calzado when I made this list and he should appear around the 6 or 7 spot.

Every one of them but Eric Duncan is a teenager and Eric would be a lot higher if he didn't have the balky back. I left some of higher prospects, like Marcos Vechionacci, Reegio Corona, Eduardo Nunez and Wilmer Pino off, cause at this point none of them projects as an impact bat. The guys I listed all profile as impact if they make it all the way.

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

Check out, Al Green's Call Me! Some time around `69 or `70 Al hooked up with Willie Mitchell, a bandleader/record exec, and the two of them found a groove that would last through several albums and an never fade away. Call Me smokes through sweet soul songs like Call Me, Here I am (Come and Take Me) and You Ought To be With Me. `70's soul never got better than this (though we're gonna meet some candidates, including more Al). You're gonna love it if you don't already.

Derek Jeter LOSES MVP to 3rd Best Player on Twins

For the second time in his career, Derek Jeter has lost the AL MVP to an unworthy winner. Justin Morneau was the 3rd best player on the Twins, and his election just shows you how baseball STUPID the BBWAA remains in this age of statistical enlightenment.

Rangers Tonight

Rangers against the Canes, 7pm est. Play a solid two way game, and get two points! Go Rangers!

My Favorite Comic Book Covers!

This is Creepy #7 by Frank Frazetta! Frazetta is a legendary comic artist and painter whose work has inspired artists, writers and filmmakers alike. His amazing work graced many a Creepy cover, as well as the covers of many Conan and Michael Moorlock paperbacks. He was and is the Sword and Sorcery artist of record. Accept no substitutes and if anything I write every gets turned into a book, make my cover Frazetta!

Giants Humiliate Themselves and Their Fans Again

Eli Manning was terrible, and so were most of his targets, notably Tim Carter who fumbled at the Jacksonville 7 when the Giants were moving toward a late score. The Giant defense, which has been decimated by injury, got decimated by the Jags tonight. The game plan must be called into question, and serious organizational thought must be spent on Eli's development or rather regression under the current offensive braintrust. As it stands now, the Giants are still in first by virtue of the tie breakers, but going nowhere unless they get some defenders back, and find away to spring all that healthy offensive talent.

Knicks DOWN 48-45 at the Half

I think they can actually come back and win this.

Giants GameNight!

Sorry the blog's been down since this morning. Moss is inactive afterall. You can listen to Giants/Jags here http://wfan.com/ and check all updates and postgame stuff at http://giants.com/ sorry that I don't have my usual enthusiasm for the game. Been busy, and still sorta pissed about the game we gave away last week. That said, GO GIANTS!

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

Guitar meets organ and the world changes. This is one of the most important albums ever and Dylan was just getting warmed up (we're gonna see him a lot on this list). It starts off with "Like a Rolling Stone" (Al Kooper!) and keeps kicking ass through 9 classic songs, including Tombstone Blues, Ballad of a Thin Man, and Desolation Row. 40 years later, it's hard to explain how different this album must have been, but if you listen to rock from just before it was released in `65, and then listen to what started happening about 6 months later, you start to get an idea of what it meant. Anyway, check it out if you haven't and check it out again if you already have.

Kncks Tonight

Houston visits the Garden at 7:30 pm est. Yao went nuts when we played them in Houston, let's hope for a better result.

Giants Tonight

Huge game tonight. The Giants should be able to beat Jacksonville, by just running the ball and using play action in other words just play Giants Football. Of course, running the ball is just too easy for the Giants, so we'll probably try some high risk stuff from our brilliant crack playcaller Coach Hufnagel (he's our playcaller and he's on crack). The Jags are gonna try to do the same thing, running Taylor and Jones-Drew right at the Giants, who better be ready for the screen to Jones-Drew.

The Giants are supposedly getting back Walker and Moss tonight. Walker, might surprise us with a pick. Moss will surprise if he actually plays. Now, if Moss does play, we should see some screens, and might even see a deep pass thrown to a receiver who's gotten some separation.

The Giants have to win this game, I believe they can and should, but don't know if they will, because they refuse to press their running advantage. Go Giants!

Ranger WIN 4-1!

Jagr is your first start with 1 goal and two assists. Nylander and Straka also each had 1 goal and two assists. Shanny had the other goal and an assist of his own. Lundqvist was a few minutes from a shutout, but their was a defensive lapse. Other than that, the Rangers played good hockey, and really attacked the net for a change!

600 for JAGR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1-0 Rangers early in the first! Win, Rangers, Win!

My Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Batman, by Neal Adams! Neal Adams was sort of an executive John Buscema. His pencils were dynamic and anatomically plausible if not realistic. Adams and artist Irv Novick and Jim Aparo sort of restored the original `30's darkness to "The Batman" before Frank Miller ever got a chance to. Following the goofiness of the `50's Batman and the absurdity of the TV show and responding to the challenge that was Marvel (where Neal had worked on the X-Men), Adams, Novick and Aparo brough Batman back to where he began.

Rangers GameNight

Rangers play again tonight againts Tampa Bay, at the Garden at 7pm est. We have been awful on the second of back to back nights this season, so things ought to be pretty rough for the Rangers. Let's hope they're as sick of losing as I am sick of watching them lose.

More Yanks

The Sori Deal makes it clear: the market has gone NUTS. Cashmoney Green is wisely staying out of it, and probably should continue to do so. Sori got 8 years and 136M. Not only have the $ amounts gone crazy, but years the remaining FA's will now seek will also go up. I'm sure if there's anything that makes sense for the Yanks in this climate, Cash will pull the trigger, but I really hope he's more inclined to just stick with the pitching he has in the system right now.

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

Rolling Stones, Exile on Main Street, 1972. This is just an amazing disc. Here the Stones reclaim their bluesy roots, and loudly affirm their power and complexity. I think, by now, a lot of people have primarily experienced the Stones through hits collections like Hot Rocks, etc, but this is really the Stones at their greatest, and the smaller songs like Torn and Frayed, Sweet Virginia and All Down the Line are every bit as resonant as Rocks Off, Tumblin Dice and Happy (Keith's greatest hit!). The Stones have now been around a very long time and if anyone ever forgets how great they really are, I hope they get to spend some time with this record. They'll get it then.

My Favorite Comic Book Covers

The Shadow #1 by Mike Kaluta. See? I had DC comics, too! This is not only one of my favorite covers, but this is also my opportunity to complain that this book was cancelled way too soon! And the should have kept Kaluta and writer Denny O'Neill on it longer! It was a great mag! Bastards!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, Kaluta was one of a group of really great artist who appeared in the `70's and threatened to really do some amazing things. Mike, who was apparently from Guatemala, was as great as this cover looks. He did the Shadow and also used to do DC's Carson of Venus stories in the Tarzan 100 pagers. His stuff seemed to be heavily influenced by Alex Raymond and the pulp cover art of the `30's and `40's. He only drew 4 Shadows, and I really, really wish there had been more. They knew what evil lurked in the hearts of men.

My Greatest 100 (or so) Albums...

You'll be seeing more of these guys, too. The the first Clash album was the greatest punk record ever. This was was made while they were quickly growing out of punk and realized they had a ton of roads they could go down. There were actually two versions of this record. The English version, which you could only get on import over here prior to `79 and the American version, which came out in `79 - after their second album "Give `em Enough Rope" and not terribly long before another album you'll see here soon. Career Opportunities, Remote Control, Complete Control, White Man in Hammersmith Palais, I Fought the Law - just an unbelievably amazing debut. The hits would keep coming - but not nearly as long as they should have. They said release remote control but didn't want it on label...

Knicks LOSE

We came all the way back from 20 down to take a 1 point lead. We fell back a few more points, but were not out of it when Nate got called for a bs foul, and Isaiah Thomas got a double tech over Nate's foul and was ejected. The doors came off from there... The reason it was even a game to begin with is because Eddy Curry, Quentin Richardson, and Stephon Marbury were all bloody awful tonight. A terrible, terrible loss.

Rangers LOSE 3-1

The lousy job this man does is probably why.

Rangers DOWN 1-0 in the 2nd

They better win.

Knicks UP 3 at the Half

They do seem a bit like they are playing the second of back to back games. And once again, Eddy Curry is playing like a big baby. Still, they're trying and they're leading. Hopefully, they can put a run on and put the Celts away early.

Rangers GameNight

Ranger at Pens. Let's hope Renney doesn't overskate the vets and we win!

Knicks GameNight!

Knicks play the Celts tonight, and could prove a lot and really start something, if they can handle them the way they've handled the last two opponents. This is the second of back to back games, let's hope they can handle it better than the Rangers.

More Yanks

Not much cooking, though, apparently Wes Helms would rather play 3rd for Philly than 1st for the Yanks. That brings us to the persistent rumor that the Yanks are about to give a multi-year deal to type A free agent Rich Aurilia, who's 35. Aurilia is coming off his first 800+ OPS season since 2001. I don't think we can expect him to be more consistently productive in his late 30's than he was in his early thirties and I'd have to look at his 2006 as a fluke. Now, he can back up 3 infield positions, BUT he would cost us our First Round Draft pick. As a result, I just don't think he's worth it. Now the Yanks might think that losing the #30 won't mean much since they'll be getting a sandwich pick when Villone signs somewhere else - and he better. But it's still really unlikely that Aurilia will be worth years and the first rounder. Use it on Zito, but not on another mid-30's free agent.

My Top 100 or so Albums

Get used to seeing this guy in my top hundred or so. 20 songs, ten per side, all of them good! Elvis mixed original soulful material with covers of Sam and Dave and Jerry Butler to create a great, great record. You can always read me the Riot Act.

Rangers Tonight

Rangers @ Pens at 7:30 pm. We better win this!

Knicks Tonight!

Celtics at Knicks at the Garden at 7:30. Clearly, the Knicks could orove a lot by playing 48 more minutes of defense against a hot Boston team. Go Knicks!

College Football Today

Two huge games Michigan at Ohio State at 3:30 est and Cal at USC at 8 est. Don't miss them!

More Yanks

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061107&content_id=142758&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp

Here's a system overview from milb.com!

This Man Knows Things We Don't...

But what are they and when will we know? It was a lot easier getting info when the Tampa group had power! Of course, we're trading info for far better management and decision making.

Knicks CRUSH Heat 100-78!

And it wasn't even that close!
I'm showing you the coach, because he got a total team effort out of the Knicks. They held the Heat to 37% shooting as the finished off their second 20 point victory in a row! I'm getting excited. Here's the boxscorehttp://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=261117014

Knicks UP 5 at the Half

Knicks need to keep playing D. They may be able to put this one away. Wade has three first half fouls.

Favorite Comics Covers!

Silver Surfer #1! Apparently, one of the reason Jack Kirby left Marvel was that Stan Lee gave Jack's character, The Silver Surfer, to classic comic artist John Buscema. As much as I would have rather seen `68 era Jack do it and stay with Marvel, Buscema did an outstanding job. There was a strong Alex Raymond influence in his work and, like Romita, he was often flawless as he handled the Surfer, the Avengers, Conan, and, after Kirby, Thor. As for the Surfer, they started him out as a 25 cent book, then scaled him back to a standard lenth book, but he still wouldn't catch fire. Totally weird. Throughout the `70's people kept demanding him. There has been a Silver Surfer movie in the works forever, and in fact, in 1994 I switched agents cause the new one told me I could write the SS movie! But that was the last he ever mentioned it.

Knicks GameNight

Jerome James is back for the Knicks and Shaq is doubtful to go for the Heat. There's a lot our bigs can learn from Alonzo Mourning and they'll be going up against him primarily if Shaq can't play. I want the rest of the Knick to play as hard as the second unit.

Tomorrow's College Football

12:00 PM Western Carolina at #3 Florida
12:00 PM Buffalo at #12 Wisconsin
12:00 PM #16 Oklahoma at Baylor
12:00 PM #21 Maryland at #20 Boston College
12:00 PM Iowa at Minnesota
12:00 PM North Carolina State at North Carolina
12:00 PM Connecticut at Syracuse
12:00 PM Michigan State at Penn State
12:00 PM Miami (FL) at Virginia
12:00 PM Indiana at Purdue
12:30 PM #22 Tennessee at Vanderbilt
12:30 PM Temple at Navy
12:30 PM Middle Tennessee State at South Carolina
1:00 PM Illinois at Northwestern
1:00 PM Louisiana-Monroe at Kentucky
1:30 PM Duke at #18 Georgia Tech
2:00 PM Western Michigan at Florida State
2:00 PM Missouri at Iowa State
2:00 PM Houston at Memphis
2:00 PM Oklahoma State at Texas Tech
2:00 PM UCF at Tulane
2:00 PM Utah at Air Force
2:30 PM #5 Arkansas at Mississippi State
2:30 PM Army at #6 Notre Dame
3:00 PM Utah State at #13 Boise State
3:00 PM East Carolina at Rice
3:00 PM Tulsa at Southern Methodist
3:30 PM #2 Michigan at #1 Ohio State
3:30 PM Oregon State at Stanford
3:30 PM Kansas State at Kansas
3:30 PM Arizona at Oregon
3:34 PM #15 Auburn at Alabama
4:00 PM New Mexico at #23 Brigham Young
4:00 PM San Diego State at TCU
4:30 PM UTEP at Marshall
5:00 PM Idaho at Fresno State
6:00 PM Louisiana-Lafayette at Florida International
6:45 PM Washington at Washington State
7:00 PM #19 Virginia Tech at #14 Wake Forest
7:00 PM Wyoming at UNLV
7:00 PM Florida Atlantic at North Texas
7:00 PM Arkansas State at Troy
7:30 PM South Florida at #10 Louisville
7:45 PM #7 Rutgers at Cincinnati
8:00 PM #17 California at #4 USC
8:00 PM Mississippi at #9 LSU
8:00 PM Nevada at Louisiana Tech
8:00 PM UAB at Southern Miss
10:15 PM UCLA at Arizona State
11:05 PM San Jose State at Hawaii

Enjoy!

For vandrop

Here's a page from a Ditko sequence that matched anything anyone ever did and Spidey struggles against death as tons of metal!

My Top 100 Albums

Okay, I wasn't terribly into Time's list, so I'll be posting mine, in no particular order over the next few months. You've already seen Pet Sounds on this blog, now you've gotta-gotta-gotta own Otis Redding Live in Europe. This is the best live album, ever. Otis is in command as he and the Bar-Kays navigate the highs and lows that his soul dictated. This much more than the single "Dock of the Bay" tells you just what we lost on December 10, 1967. Dig his versions of "Day Tripper" and "Satisfaction." I think this is what started the rumor that Satisfaction was really written by Otis and Steve Cropper and sold to the Mick and Keith in a hotel room. I don't believe it, but I love to hear it. Give a listen.

Top Ten Power Arms Update - November

Okay, since the Sheff trade and Joba's utter dominance in HBL I've shuffled the list.

1. Philip Hughes: The complete package
2. Humberto Sanchez: Great stuff and close!
3. Joba Chamberlain: Can't argue with 42/3 and 97mph.
4. Dellin Betances: So far away but ace-stuff
5. Christian Garcia: Left HBL early, but great stuff
6. Jeff Marquez: Power sinker!
7. Zach McAllister: Hughes comps to come
8. Angel Reyes: Power Lefty.
9. Steven White: Close and correctable
10. Dixon Marquez: Mid 90's teen.

We're gonna be in good shape soon.

No listing for Tyler Clippard, Ian Kennedy and Erik Abreu, but I'm excited about them, too.

Recommended Noirs

The Maltese Falcom (1941, Warner Brothers) written and direct by John Huston (his directorial debut) from the novel by Dashiell Hammet! Meet gumshoe Sam Spade, meet his heel of a partner, Miles Archer, meet his Sam smitten wife Iva, meet Brigid O'Shaunessy, Floyd Thursby, Joel Cairo, Wilmer the gunsel, Kasper the fatman Gutman, Effie the secretary, the ill fated Captain Jacobi and Detective Dundy. Meet them in one of the greatest movies ever made, and if you can, meet them tonight.

For as long as I can remember, this has been my favorite movie to stay home and watch on a Friday night. I don't know why certain movies or genres go with certain days, but damn they do, and I'm grateful.

The Maltese Falcon is the story of a shady and somewhat ruthless private dick named Sam Spade, the murder of his partner, the deadly lure of a Femme Fatale, and the ends a group of hedonists will go to to to secure a priceless artifact.

This flick, from early in the cycle, was actually the third feature adaptation of Hammet's classic novel and is clearly the best. The performances by Bogart, Lorre, Astor, Greenstreet and Elisha Cook Jr. are legendary and perfect in every dimension.

I cannot give a better recommendation than I give this movie. Check it out, soon as you can. I'm watching it tonight, after the Knicks.

More Yanks

http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061116&content_id=1741926&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy

Good update on all the winter stuff Yanks prospects are doing. Check it out!

More Yanks

3 Yankee Pitchers take spots onBA's Top 8 HBL Prospects list.



Number 1! Joba Chamberlain! Joba, as we've recounted absolutely dominated, throwing mid to upper 90's gas as well as an average change and a slurve. He posted a 42-3 K/BB record. Big time prospect going forward.



Number 4! Jeff Marquez! Jeff struggled some, after an injury filled regular season, but his 92-94 mph sinker still produced tons of grounders and his change was above average. He needs to work on his breaking stuff, and his command of the zone. The Yanks want him to throw more 4 seamers going forward in hopes of raising his K rate and making him a true power pitcher.



Number 8! Ian Kennedy! Ian had one terrible start, but was otherwise his usual consistent self. He produces K's with his pitchability rather than straight gas as he sat 88-92 with the fastball. He's just good and projects as a #3. His first round pick will be questioned till he makes it, but going conservative in the first before swinging for the fences in the other rounds made some sense for the Yanks.

More Yanks

The Yanks have apparently thrown in a bid on Japanese Lefty junkballer Kei Igawa. This is not something to get excited about one way or the other, but the Yanks have had some success with lefty junkballers before - Eddie Lopat, late era Whitey Ford, later era Tommy John, Jimmy Key - but this guy profiles as more of a five. His plus pitch is his change, which he may rely on too much. He's supposed to have a good curve, too, but his fastball is mid-80's. Whatever, if he can give us some starts till Hughes and Sanchez are ready, god bless him.

Knicks Tonight!

Tonight, the Knicks travel to Miami to get their butts kicked in. My hope is that Shaq, who's returning to action tonight, teaches Eddy Curry a lesson or two. Other than that, I expect our kids to keep it closer than our vets ever could. Some things are becoming really apparent about the roster and rotation, and the sooner Thomas can dump Marbury and Francis, the sooner the Knicks will start to emerge. The kids can play. The game starts at 7:30 pm est, check local listings.

Rest in Peace, Bo Schembechler

Bo Schembechler passed away this morning after collapsing during a TV taping where he was being interviewed about the big game tomorrow. He was the picture of the crusty, tempermental, brutally honest football coach. He returned Michigan to greatness, and his name sounded perfect when Keith Jackson would say it. If you get college football at all, you know what he was. Rest in peace to a great coach!

Great Game Alert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WVU at Pitt is turning into a classic! You like playmakers, both teams got `em! And they're making plays! Second half is on ESPN right now, and WVU has just pulled back ahead, courtesy of a 60 yard run by QB Pat White!

More Yanks!

Yankee Hot Stove is on again tonight at 6:30 est. Tonight Bob Lorenz will once again be joined by Tom Verducci and Jack Curry. They'll probably review the Sheff and Wright deals, and might just announce that finalized Moose deal that was awaiting a physical.

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Hulk #6! Drawn by the amazing Steve Ditko, who was more famous for his work on the Amazing Spiderman. I didn't want to start off with too many Spidey's or Kirby's, and wanted to get all my favorites in before repeating artists or characters. There will be Ditko Spidey's in the future. Comic fans here probably know that Ditko left his co-creation Spidey over the Green Goblin. Ditko and Stan the Man Lee had an argument over whether the Goblin should be revealed to be Norman Osborne, or whether he should be just some unknown guy. I don't know if Steve quit and then Stan "won" or Stan won so Steve quit. But either way, it resulted in tragedy. Ditko went on to do work for DC and then in the `70's he worked - with Stan Lee's brother Larry Leiber at the short lived Atlas Comics, where he handled a Spidey like character called the Destructor. Here he be...



Steve went back to Marvel later, but I was off comics by then. In any event, we'll be seeing more of Steve's Spidey's, Hulks and Dr. Strange's as we progress here. He rocked.

College Football Tonight

7:30 PM #8 West Virginia at Pittsburgh
7:30 PM Akron at Ohio.

West Virginia looking to bounce back, Akron looking to finish with a winnig record.

Time's List of 100 Greatest Albums

http://www.time.com/time/2006/100albums/

No diggity. Where's Elvis Costello? Where's Graham Parker's `70's stuff? Where are the Spinners? Where's Big Star? If they're including so many greatest hits collections, where is Wilson Pickett? Where are the tempting Temptations?

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Marvel's Captain Marvel #1 by Gene the Dean Colan. Colan was the master of dynamic use of shadows. Like Kirby and Steranko and more that you'll meet here, he was a distinctive stylist. I loved the Gene Colan Captain Marvels. The original story line of a Kree warrior come to earth were outstanding and though his name was borrowed for the old Fawcett Comics Captain Marvel (Shazam!) his story borrowed a little more from Superman. After Colan left the book, Mar-vell got lost a bit with guys like Wayne Boring (long time Superman artist) taking over the pencils. Finally Mar-Vell was reimagined by Gil Kane and brought to a new peak by the once really impressive Jim Starlin. If you can ever get your hands on these comics take them out of the plastic and read em!

Yankee Assignment: Get Barry Zito!

I was originally against getting Zito cause I didn't want to pay a #3 starter ace money. But this #3 starter has been remarkably consistent and healthy, even though his overreliance on the curve will have to be tamed and his armstrength restored for the fastball. He gives you 7 or more innings all the time. He saves the pen and protects the high upside talent on the farm. This is a safe bet and it's okay to overpay him a little, if it saves Melky and Sanchez and the other that the soon to be injured Dontrelle Willis will cost. So get `er done, Cashmoney Green. Go Yanks!

KNICKS WIN!!!!! 102-82!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Balkmania ran wild at the Garden as the rookie exploded for 18 pts, 7 boards and at least 1 block! David Lee had his typical Double-Double and Nate Robinbson is still gonna be a start. Dig it all - here!
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=261115018

Rangers LOSE 2-1

What me put in the young guys on the second night of back to back games?

Rangers TIED 1-1 after 2

Jagr had the Ranger goal. They need to at least get a point here.

Knicks up 50-43 at the Half!

They are playing better, though the kids still seem better when Steph and Steve are sitting on the bench.

Rangers Game Night

Sorry I missed that there was a Ranger game tonight, been busy. Anyway, they're at Carolina and down 1 in the first. Once again showing they are unlikely to skate well two nights in a row.

Recommended Noirs

Double Indemnity (Paramount, 1944) directed by Billy Wilder! Screenplay by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler! From the book by James M. Cain. This is one of those rare movies that is better than book it came from. Walter Neff is a heel, Phyllis Dietrichson is a femme fatale of the first order, Barton Keyes is an exacting insurance investigator, blinded by his paternal affection for his colleague Neff. These three characters are brilliantly played by Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson in what amounts to a pretty perfect movie from early in the cycle.

When Neff pays a visit to the Deitrichson home to re-up an auto insurance policy, and meets Phyllis, the wheels of design, fate and actual autos start to turn. I don't want to get into this too much, because I really want you to see it, but Phyllis's attractive step daughter (played by Jean Heather) is also a bit of a Femme Fatale and cat-nip for a heel like Neff.

Double Indemnity is one of the all time noirs. The whole thing is told in flashback - like D.O.A. - and features copious amounts of brilliant Wilder/Chandler voiceover. Themes of lust, ammoral ambition, opportunism, distrust and how fate is determined by character are darkly and delightfully explored here. You cannot see it soon enough, or often enough. Enjoy!

Knicks Tonight

The Bullets will play the Knicks at the Garden, 7:30 pm est. This is another game the Knicks will probably lose, but if Isaiah holds Marbury and Francis at all responsible for their crappy play, it could be fun to watch the kids do their thing against the Bullets, who I will never use the politically correct name for. Bullets was a good enough team name for Earl Monroe, and that's good enough for me.

More Yanks!

The Yanks finally completed their 2 year 22.5M deal with Mike Mussina. This should keep him in pinstripes, where he belongs, until retirement. Not only can Moose continue to give the Yanks 180 or so quality innings, but over the past few years he, as well as Mo Rivera, has shown a great generosity in sharing what he knows with prospects like Philip Hughes and Tyler Clippard. Big time teen prospect Dellin Betances also throws a knuckle curve and will benefit from talking to the masters. I love this deal.

I am currently starting to lean in the direction of signing Barry Zito, if he really wants to be a Yankee and will be reasonable. I know there is great demand for him, but if the Yanks could get something done, he could give them 200 middle of the rotation innings a year while keeping the farm safe. The tier of pitchers in which I was originally interested are completely erratic and totally fungible, and, like Wright and Pavano before them, generally come with injury flags. Sources were supposedly telling George King that the Yanks were listening to offers for Humberto Sanchez and that is not what they should be doing. Dontrelle Willis may also be in play, but he'd cost a fortune it youth and we've had trouble with National League pitchers coming up to the AL and getting smoked - see Vazquez, Johnson, Pavano and Wright. What's more, Dontrelle's delivery really has to have the Yanks worried about future arm health. Zito is really looking like the safe bet from where things stand this morning. Of course, things could change.

Less Yanks?

After two days of GM Meetings down in blessed Naples, Florida there seems to be little cooking with the Yanks. Now, I doubt this is ever true, especially now, but it seems like there are a lot fewer leaks under Cashmoney Green control. As expected, the Yanks lost out - by over 20 Million! - on the Matsuzaka blind auction. So, finding a pitcher or two to bridge the gap `til Hughes, Sanchez and Clippard seems to be the most pressing concern.

I hope they are leaning toward the second or third tier of free agent pitchers, and exploring trades. I'd be willing to deal Proctor, Clippard, Karstens, Rasner, Gardner, Cox, and a few others if the right deal came along. The Rockies are apparently interested in Pavano, but for the amount the Yanks would have to kick in, we'd better be getting top prospects back.

First base, back-up catcher and "bench" are still to be looked into. I think if they don't go big on a free agent pitcher like Zito or Schmidt, they might aim a little higher at first and look to add another impact bat...

Rangers WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3-2

They were down 2 after two and I was all set for more of that basically illegal Devil D. But, in ninety second burst early in the 3rd, Jagr, Rachunek and Shanny scored, then the Rangers held on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rangers DOWN 1-0 after 1

Lundqvist gave up a terrible, long goal that he should have picked up easily. Shanahan and Jagr have both missed point blank opportunities to score. The Rangers aren't as sluggish as they were the other night, but they're not good, either.

Rangers GameNight

Devils at Rangers. I doubt we'll see any changes, but, what the hey, Go Rangers!

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Ahh, The Amazing Spider-Man #50! A fairly simple but remarkably moving cover by Jazzy Johnny Romita, the man who took over the Spiderman gig once Steve Ditko got pissed and left. Romita's stuff was very clean and sorta flawless. Overall, he was not as innovative or dynamic as Kirby or Steranko, but his pencils told some of the greatest Spidey stories ever. Non comic book fans, might recognize the Spider-Man No More theme from the movie, Spiderman 2.

Rangers Tonight

Rangers vs. Devils at the Garden, 7pm est. I wonder if we'll ever see Pock and Dawes again.

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

Check out Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.E.I.L.D. #4! This brilliant collage was rendered by Jim Steranko. While Steranko's work showed the privilege of having grown up in the Jack Kirby era, he was also amping things up on his own. His compositions were cinematic and fantastic. And after a really brief career, he went on to other work, including putting out his own movie mag back and writing a great two part history of the comics in the `70's. He remains one of my all time favorites, and you'll see more of his covers as we keep this feature going.

Knicks LOSE

Once again, they have a 4th quarter comeback where they don't come all the way back. Stephon Marbury is holding the young Knicks back. Q, Craw, Curry, Nate, Lee and Frye were all ready to win tonight, but Marbury couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat. It's a shame. There are things to be excited about in Knickland. As it is, the Knicks are 0-3 at the Garden.

Oh, and Nate Robinson is gonna be a star.

Knicks DOWN 4 at the Half

Frye is coming around, but we gave up 36 points and lead in the second quarter and that just won't get it done. QRich is once again our best player. We can win this one. Go Knicks!!!!!

Knicks Game Knight

Steve Francis is back - that oughta clear things up... He will start.

More Yanks

It's becoming more and more apparent that the Boston Red Sox have won the right to negotiate a contract with Yankee #1 offseason target Dice Matsuzaka. This throws a monkey wrench in their plans, since none of the other FA pitchers seem like ideal fits for a Yankee team looking to start winning championships again.

Barry Zito is the next big name out there, but he's not an ace, and has had historical trouble against the Yanks and Red Sox. What's more, he and his agent, Scott Boras will be looking for ace dollars. On the plus side, he's a lefty and a consistent outlier and been so long enough to simply state certain stats don't define the quality pitcher he is. Ultimately, it seems like he would require too large a commitment for a guy who'd be the #4 or #5 pitcher on the squad by the middle of his deal.

Next on the list and a man who is thought to be the Yanks plan b is Jason Schmidt, a 34 year old power righty who has had some injury concerns lately. Depending on years and dollars Schmidt might make the most sense. The Yanks have a # of power arms who will be coming up over the next few years, and Schmidt could be a good mentor for them. That's not a practical reason to get him, though. The question really comes down to, will he be healthy enough to be dominant in the playoffs? I don't think that's a big money bet they should make.

The next group includes two guys who might retire: Clemens and Pettitte. Clemens would probably be ideal for a one year arrangement, but Pettitte isn't what he's been, and his wife wants him down in Texas. Ultimately, I see these guys both back in Houston and the Yanks having to look elsewhere.

Finally there is a pol of guys like Lilly, Meche, Padilla and Wolf. I'm not interested in Lilly but taking a shot on any two of the others might make some sense. Each comes with an injury or development flag, but as a result the Yanks could get a little more bang for the buck if they perform.

Ultimately, the free agent market is wanting, and with a number of pitchers who are just about ready in the system already, I hope Cashmoney Green either goes cheap on a free agent starter or two, or uses some prospects and parts (not Hughes, Tabata, Sanchez) to get a young starter who can be a long term fit for the Yanks.

Go Cash! Go Yanks!

My Recommended Noirs

Bang Bang - You're in Love! Gun Crazy (UA 1950) directed by Joseph H. Lewis and starring Peggy Cummins and John Dall is a tremendously influential noir about a guy, a gal and some guns. The movie starts whith the male lead, Bart, stealing a gun and getting caught and sent away as a teen. Yes folks, MULTIPLE FLASHBACKS are used to show that though Bart loves guns, he will never use them to kill. That would be his code till he met Annie Laurie Starr! Bart and Annie hook up at a carnival where she is the female sharpshooter - he beats her in a shooting contest and they are instantly smitten. He wants her, she wants him and THINGS. Thus begins their fast but tragically short life of love, bank robbing and death.

This is another noir, from the middle of the cycle, where the leads are just playing the cruel hands dealt by fate. As you can tell from the brief set-up, this flick was monumentally influential on movies ranging from Bonnie and Clyde to Natural Born Killers and numerous other crime films.

Dig it.

Favorite Comic Book Covers!

As I'm always trying to add good visuals to m'blog I thought I'd do a series of my favorite Silver Age comic covers. Dig em!
Behold: Captain America #100. In 1968 Marvel got a better distribution deal and as a result introduced a bunch of new books. Under their old deal Cap had to share pages with Iron Man in "Tales of Suspense." At #100, Tales of Suspense became Captain America, and Iron Man got his own book. It's very clearly a Jack Kirby cover, and, though I wish the pic was bigger, I'd also guess from a gander that the inks were rendered by Frank Giocia and not Joe Sinnot. I say that based on line quality. This sort of looks more like and Avengers cover, than a cap, but they're coming at you and they rock!

College Hoops Tonight

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/schedules Pretty healthy slate tonight. Check it out!

Knicks Tonight

Cleveland visits the Garden, 7:30 est. I predict another game where the Knicks fall behind early, then get it close and lose. Just the same, Go Knicks!

Giants LOSE 38-20

Goat 1
Goat 2
Goat 3
The Giants tonight gave away control of the NFC, largely, because in a critical game, the coach, the quarterback and a cornerback couldn't get things figured out.

Coach Coughlin had a critical and game changing error in the 4th quarter, when he elected to go for an impossible field goal - which was returned 108 yards for a TD by Devin Hester - instead of punting with lots of time left in the 4th and the game momentum back with the Giants. Instead of playing field position, when trailing by just 4, he went for a meaningless - though unkickable - field goal. This is a coach I have alway respected, but I have never seen a Giant coach do anything stupider than to call that FGA. The game became unmanageable after that point, and he has no one to blame but himself.

Eli Manning came up tiny on National TV - again. The serially idiotic play calling didn't help him at all, but he was off and throwing picks and near picks all night long. He has shown us an amazing upside, but tonight, he also showed us, he cannot be counted on in a big game. He was playoff game bad, and questions have to be asked about his committment to the Giants and the job the coaches have done in developing him. He's got to get better.

Cory Webster became a target late in the second quarter and Grossman didn't stop looking for him till they had scored 4 more offensive touchdowns. This kid looked like a playmaker at LSU and in his first Giant preseason, but he has not been a playmaker in the regular season. He looked lost most of the night, and the Bears weren't doing anything exotic. Again, his development has to be questioned.

With any luck the Giants will start getting some players back next week, but unless the Coach, theQB and the "most talented" remaining CB step up, the Giants will keep losing.

Giants LEAD 13-10 at the Half

The Giants dominated the first half against the Bears, but because they have been brutally awful on O and gave up three plays on D right before the half, it's now 13-10. Eli threw a horrible int early and hasn't really recovered. Additionally, we have lost Luke Pettigout with a broken leg. As the half ended, it also appeared that Sam Madison had re-injured his hammy. The Giants are the far better team and should win this, but they have to pick it up on O, and get rid of those lapses on D! GO GIANTS!

Giants GameNight

William Joseph will start for the injured Michael Strahan at LDE, Reggie Torbor will start at Strong Side LB, Rookie Gerris Wilkinson will start at Weak Side LB. Sam Madison is back!

Tim Carter will start for the injured Amani Toomer. Plaxico Burress is back!

GO GIANTS!!!!!!!!!!!

Giant Inactives

8 T.Hasselbeck QB
41 F.Walker CB
51 C.Emmons
LB54 B.Short LB
72 O.Umenyiora DE
83 S.Moss WR
91 J.Tuck DE
92 M.Strahan DE

That is a brutal list, kids. But, we have other talent on the team, and they still have to show the world they can win a big game on National TV tonight.

Giants Tonight

The waiting is brutal!

The Giants are down a bunch of defenders, but they have to win anyway. They need to stop the run, watch out for the short drops as well as the designed deep balls, and find a way to rough up Grossman early.

On O, they have to run, play action pass, and avoid turnovers.

On specials, they can't let Hester bust a big return. Tyree's been hurting all year, but they have to stop him. In other words, JUST PLAY GIANT FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!

You can follow all game related details here http://giants.com/ and if you can't get NBC at 8pm, you can listen to the game for free at http://wfan.com/ . WFAN will make you register, but it's free and easy thereafter.

More Yanks!

Instead of buying out Jaret Wright for 4M, the Yanks have traded him and the 4M to Baltimore for 23 year old power reliever Chris Britton, who, in 2006 jumped from AA to the bigs and had a strong season. This is a big win for the Yanks. They would have had to give Wright 4M anyway, and to come away with another young piece in the bridge to Mo is just great. Keep rockin' Cashmony Green!

Giant Tip of the Day

For this opponent, do use the no huddle to start the game. The no huddle is what Eli does best, and using it to start the game would get him in his rhythm and prevent the bears for constantly substituting defenders. Get a lead, then slow it down! Go Giants!

Knicks LOSE 100-92

There really is no rhyme or reason behind their actions on the court. That they hang around in every game is a testament to their talent. That they rarely win is a testament to how poorly they've been coached and developed. The Knicks have Mark Aguirre and Herb Williams to work with their big men, and yet, those big men don't progress. If you look at the progress Andrew Bynum and Kwame Brown have made for the Lakers while being tutored by Kareem, you'll see a big difference in development. Some things have to change here.

Rangers LOSE 3-1

They were completely flat on night 2 of back to back road games. This is what can be expected when your coach makes sure that everyone 34 or over plays the most minutes. It's shame, we need points.

Knicks DOWN 11 at the half

They're not a team yet, and may never be one.

Rangers STILL DOWN 1-0 after 2

Nothing is cooking on O. So different from last night. They better at least get a point here, cause Lundqvist doesn't deserve to lose.

Rangers DOWN 1-0 after 1

They look really slow tonight. They need a spark. Lundqvist is keeping them in it, but someone needs to score and get them going. We need the points.

Knicks GameNight

START DAVID LEE! At San Antonio starting at 8 est. There's a good chance they'll get slaughtered, but I'd feel better about that if they didn't keep running Frye out with the first team while he struggles.

Rangers GameNight

Rangers against Washington, still watching college football, but I hope Lundqvist is back in goal. Play tough and GO RANGERS!

More Yanks

Cashmoney Green is apparently talking to the Orioles about Jaret Wright, whose option must be picked up or declined tomorrow. If the Yanks have to throw in some cake, we can assume Cash will get something good for Wright.

College Hoops Today!

You can find a full schedule here: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/schedules

Knicks Tonight

Knicks@ San Antonio, 8pm est. I wonder if San Antonio is mad at them for almost coming back the other night. This could get ugly.

Rangers Tonight

Rangers at Washington, 7pm. Let's see if they can put two good performances back to back.

College Football Today

I'll be watching Cincy and West Virginia at 12:00 pm est. Then at 3:30, I'll be looking around at 3:30 PM #1 Ohio State at Northwestern 3:30 PM #2 Michigan at Indiana 3:30 PM South Carolina at #6 Florida3:30 PM #8 California at Arizona. At 4:00, I'm watching Notre Dame at Air Force, cause I always watch Notre Dame. At 7pm, I'm watching Tennessee at Auburn, which just might be the game of the day. And at 10:15 I'm watching Oregon at USC, which is another game of the day candidate.

Overall, I'd look out for some upsets here as teams are looking forward to their rivalry games in the next two weeks.

There is one rivalry I'll be checking in on today: Williams @ Amherst. GO EPHS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Knicks LOSE

They did show great energy in trying to come back in the 4th, but it was not to be. There are some encouraging signs on the team and there names are Quentin Richardson, David Lee, Nate Robinson, and Renaldo Balkman. Yao had a career night against Curry who has to ask himself some serious questions about what he wants to be. Balkman played better D against Yao, and Curry outweighs Balkman by 100 pounds. Unreal. There are things a good coach could get out of this group, though, especially if Marbury, Crawford, Frye and Curry find themselves.

Knicks DOWN 16 after 3.

Pathetic. The Rangers would look better agains the Rockets tonight. Let's hope they have a run in them.

Rangers WIN 5-2!

The Rangers had their toughest and in many ways their most impressive game of the year. Captain Jagr and his team were physically challenged and every last one of them, including the stars, stepped up and met the challenge. Nylander had two goals, and Lundqvist, who is starting to look like King Henrik again, allowed just two PP goals. Big win! Yeah, Rangers!!!!

Knicks DOWN 8 at the Half

They are sort of hanging around, but it's a real wonder they are. They had a chance to get it to a two or three point game, but Marbury travelled, and then they came down and hit a three to make it 8. Marbury and Crawford have both been whistled for travelling before putting the ball on the floor tonight. That's pathetic. And I really do wonder when Eddy Curry is gonna get sick of being everybody's bitch. Tonight he's Yao's and he's so passive about it that you'd actually think Yao had a lot more game than he has. It's sad to watch.

Rangers LEAD 4-2 after 2

Prucha with the 4th goal. They gave up another power play goal. It is tough, chippy game, but the Rangers are actually manning up and playing tough.

Knicks GameNight

At Houston, no known changes in the line-up right now. Go Knicks!

Rangers LEAD 3-1 after 1

Goals by Nylander, Roszival and Shanny. They gave up a power play goal sort of late in the period on a long shot. Not good. They have been responding pretty well the rough house tactics for a change.

Rangers GameNight

Lundqvist is back in goal and Dawes and Pock are still healthy scratches. Go Rangers!

Saturday's NCAA Football Match-Ups

12:00 PM Cincinnati at #10 at West Virginia
12:00 PM #16 Wisconsin at Iowa
12:00 PM #19 Georgia Tech at North Carolina
12:00 PM Syracuse at South Florida
12:00 PM Minnesota at Michigan State
12:00 PM North Carolina State at Clemson
12:00 PM Purdue at Illinois
12:30 PM Georgia at #5 Auburn
12:30 PM Baylor at Oklahoma State
1:00 PM Vanderbilt at Kentucky
1:00 PM Marshall at East Carolina
1:00 PM Navy at Eastern Michigan
2:00 PM Colorado State at Utah
2:00 PM Southern Miss at Tulane
3:00 PM Iowa State at Colorado
3:00 PM Rice at Tulsa
3:00 PM Houston at Southern Methodist
3:05 PM Middle Tennessee State at Arkansas State
3:30 PM #1 Ohio State at Northwestern
3:30 PM #2 Michigan at Indiana
3:30 PM South Carolina at #6 Florida
3:30 PM #8 California at Arizona
3:30 PM Kent State at #20 Virginia Tech
3:30 PM Miami (FL) at #23 Maryland
3:30 PM Nebraska at #24 Texas A&M
3:30 PM Pittsburgh at Connecticut
3:30 PM Temple at Penn State
3:30 PM Stanford at Washington
4:00 PM #9 Notre Dame at Air Force
4:00 PM Troy at Florida Atlantic
4:00 PM Utah State at Nevada
5:00 PM New Mexico State at Fresno State
5:00 PM North Texas at Louisiana-Lafayette
5:00 PM Washington State at Arizona State
5:30 PM TCU at New Mexico
6:15 PM Oregon State at UCLA
7:00 PM #13 Tennessee at #11 Arkansas
7:00 PM Texas Tech at #17 Oklahoma
7:00 PM Duke at #22 Boston College
7:00 PM Louisiana-Monroe at Florida International
7:45 PM Alabama at #12 LSU
8:00 PM #4 Texas at Kansas State
8:00 PM #18 Wake Forest at Florida State
8:00 PM UCF at Memphis
8:00 PM UNLV at San Diego State
10:15 PM #21 Oregon at #7 USC
10:15 PM #14 Boise State at San Jose State
11:05 PM Louisiana Tech at Hawaii

I'll be online tomorrow with what I'll be watching.

Rest in Peace, Jack Palance

Super screen badass, Jack Palance has passed away at 87. He worked in every genre I care about from Noir, to Horror, to Spaghetti Westerns and so many other important films. He had a sort of surreal detective show back in `75 called "Bronc." Many people remember him doing 1-armed push-ups on stage at the `91 Academy Awards. I think the hosts made sport of it, but all he was trying to do was prove he could still bring it, and would still do the work. Rest in Peace to a truly unforgettable actor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Palance

Prayers for Coach Walsh

It was just revealed that legendary 49er coach Bill Walsh is battling adult onset leukemia. My prayers are with him as he gameplans against an opponent he cannot see. God bless you, Coach.

More Yanks

Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano have won Silver Slugger recognition for their hitting and short and second. Alex Rodriguez, who should have won for 3rd wasn't recognized. He and Travis Hafner, who got screwed at DH can commiserate.

Rest in Peace Gerald Levert

Gerald Levert, the son of legendary O'Jays frontman Eddie Levert, and one of the best soul singers of this generation has left us way to soon. He was only 40. It just never stops. I bet he's teaching the angels, "Casanova."

More Yanks

The Yanks have gotten pitching richer by trading Gary Sheffield to the Detroit Tigers for top prospect Humberto Sanchez and a-ball pitchers Kevin Whelan and Anthony Claggett. I'll have more on the propects later, but Sanchez is huge and has great stuff. In Cashmoney i trust, and I have to think Nardi Contreras and the Yankee minor league bird dogs probably liked the other two pitchers as well. I haven't heard the Yanks threw any money into this, so, it looks like a good deal from a financial perspective, too.

My Recommended Noirs

Okay, I was gonna knock out a list of my ten favorite film noirs but then I realized I don't have a favorite, and that I favor more than ten - many more than ten. So what I will do, if there is time, is to recommend one each day or so till I run out of ones I like.

Today's recommendation is D.O.A (1950) directed by Ruben Mate', Cinemastered by Ernest Laszlo, and starring Edmund O'Brien, Pamela Britton and the legendarily unattractive Neville Brand. Also, look for late era "My Three Sons" stepmom and San Fernando Valley legend Beverly Garland in this one.

You know the drill here: a dying man (Edmund O'Brien) must race death to find his own murder. That's what we call a high concept. Now the thing about high concepts - and everything you will ever like is execution! This one is executed brilliantly. The deeper drill: Frank Bigelow can't wait to get away from his girlfriend/secretary and visit San Francisco. Once there, Frank is a man on the make, Mate' brilliantly uses "wolf whistles" on the soundtrack to tell us what Frank is all about. So, he's out trolling "The Fisherman's Club" when a stranger dumps some radioctive crap in his drink. He discovers he has less than a week to live and spends it both tracking his killer through a maze of strange connections and becoming a better guy.

The action here zooms from Los Angeles to San Francisco and back again. Both cities are exquisitely presented, as is the whole film by Ernest Laszlo. Once you've seen it, you'll notice his influence in a lot of other stuff - even color stuff.

This particular noir, which came right around the late middle of the cycle, packs a powerful, fateful and ultimately cautionary punch. Check it out, and always keep an eye on your drink.

Giants Tip of The Day

Stick with the run! The Giants have been able to run on everyone, and I blame at least the Colts loss on the fact that they didn't run more. They can absolutely dominate this weeks game by running right up the gut, and they should. Set up the play action and then call your deep passes, Huffy.

College Hoops Tonight

There's a full slate and you can seen it here: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/schedules A lot of mid-majors starting, and we get our first look at Gonzaga without Adam Morrison. I'll try to write more about the smaller conferences as the season progresses, but they are a blast to watch.

Rangers Tonight

Rangers @ Thrashers at 7:30 pm. The Rangers have gotten 7 of their last available 8 points. Given the state of their D, and the serial shortsightedness of their coach (look at the minutes Jagr and Shanahan are getting!), that's good. Remember to backcheck and get 2 more tonight. Go Rangers!

Knicks Tonight

Knicks @ Houston at 8:30 est. Tough game for the Knicks, but they are all tough games for the Knicks. I hope that Curry and Frye don't look to silly against Yao. Go Knicks!

More Yanks

Here's some cruddy footage of Jose Tabata in the VWL. His plate mannerisms really will remind you of Manny's.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsTGUe8cNiw
btw, he's shutdown right now because he hurt his hand again.

Rutgers Wins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 28-25!

They were down 25-7 and came all the way back to win! Congrats, New Jersey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fantastic Finish Alert!

Rutgers and Louisville are tied at 25 with 10:13 left in the 4th. Rutgers has ALL the momentum!

Daily Giants Tip

Get your hands up! Last week the Texans had some success with their short drops and quick passes. Our DT's didn't get their hands up. The Bears have two shortish qb's and will likely try some of the short drops that were successful in week 9. So get your hands up DL's! Bat a few passes and make them take deeper drops.

Why The Movie Channel is so great

Right now they are showing Lone Wolf McQuade in LETTERBOX. Of course, if they wanted to be even greater, they'd be showing Lone Wolf and Cub in letterbox...

Yankees Hot Stove Starts Tonight on YES!

It's on tonight at 7pm est and again at 10:30pm. This is a great show and even though they have scared us in the past with the Eric Milton possibility, it's still cool to have a show that is just about the Yanks offseason. It's a shame that YES doesn't have a New York Giants Hot Stove for the draft and free agency, but, what can you do? I wonder if they'll have any announcements on Yankee Hot Stove tonight. A lot of stuff is cooking!

TCM Tonight!

8:00pm
Bad Day At Black Rock (1955) A one-armed veteran uncovers small-town secrets when he tries to visit an Asian-American war hero's family.Cast: Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis. Dir: John Sturges. C-81 mins, TV-PG

9:30pm
Ball Of Fire (1941) A group of professors takes in a stripper on the run from her gangster boyfriend.Cast: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Dana Andrews. Dir: Howard Hawks. BW-111 mins, TV-G

11:30pm
Gunga Din (1939) Three British soldiers seek treasure during an uprising in India.Cast: Cary Grant, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Victor McLaglen. Dir: George Stevens. BW-117 mins, TV-PG

4:45am
Detour (1945) A hitchhiker takes on a dead man's identity only to face blackmail by an unscrupulous woman.Cast: Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake. Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer. BW-67 mins, TV-PG Okay, TiVo Time, these are 4 pretty amazing movies.

Bad Day at Black Rock features a great cast and I think it's the flick that put John (The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape) Sturges on the map. BTW, rule of thumb, the vast majority of movies that feature Robert Ryan are well worth watching.

Ball of Fire is a classic romantic comedy from the amazing Howard Hawks (who could do anything). It was remade with Danny Kaye as "A Song is Born" and then shown on WPIX in New York a lot, but this is the genuine article. This script by The Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett is still really funny. This was the flick Hawks made right after "His Girl Friday" and it is very nearly as good.

Gunga Din, which was supposed to be directed by Howard Hawks, but was instead directed by George Stevens, is possibly my favorite action flick and definitely my favorite "buddy" movie. It is funny, it is exciting, it is moving and it is cool. I wouldn't trust someone if they didn't like this flick, and though I have seen it dozens of times, I'm watching it again after the Rutgers game, and you should too.

Detour is a classic film noir directed by classic noir director Edward G. Ulmer and starring classic noir actors Tom Neal, Anne Savage, and Claudia Drake. It's interesting, but there were a bunch of actors who fit noir so perfectly that you couldn't believe them in anything else - you just knew they had bigger problems than whatever was cooking in the non noirs. Anyway, in this one a desperate man who has assumed another man's identity, gets mixed up with a femme fatale and it all leads to murder! I sort of wonder if anything like this goes on anywhere anymore...

College Basketball Tonight!

9:30 PM ET
Alcorn State at No. 19 Texas

6:30 PM ET
Chicago State at St. Bonaventure

4:30 PM ET
Brown at Central Michigan

7:30 PM ET
Youngstown State at Michigan State


I'm going to try to look in on the Texas and Michigan State games at some point and so should you.

College Football Tonight!

6:00 PM Buffalo at Akron
7:30 PM #3 Louisville at #15 Rutgers
8:00 PM Wyoming at #25 Brigham Young

The Buffalo/Akron game and the Wyoming/BYU game should be fun. The main event; however, is Louisville at Rutgers. This might actually be the biggest event to take place in New Jersey since Bruce Springsteen opened the Brendan Byrne arena in 1981. Sure, there have been Giant playoff games that took place in the Garden State that generated some buzz, and all 7 Devils fans have probably gotten this kind of excited about their playoff runs, but this Rutgers game is HUGE! Both Louisville and Rutgers are still undefeated and this game will not only eliminate one of them from the ranks, but it will amp up the din from Southern, Western and Midwestern college football fans who dread an undefeated team from the East playing in the National Title game over one of their 1 loss teams. Either way, this should be great. I believe Louisvilles has the easier schedule after this game, while Rutgers would still have to play West Virginia. Enjoy!

Knicks Win!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jamal Crawford scores 35 including the game winning 3!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=261108007

109-107 in a genuinely exciting comeback! They were down 1o going into the 4th and flipped out as a team when Craw put them ahead for good!

Rangers WIN!

Nylander scores in the shootout and Lundqvist stones em!

Knicks DOWN 57-49 at the Half

This is another sad showing. Curry drew three quick fouls, and I mean, quick. They came back from 14 down to take a lead for a few seconds, but then they subbed out the guys who got them there, and put the starters and Malik Rose for Curry back in, and the lead was gone and now they're down 8.

Rangers TIED 3-3 after OT

They'll go to a shootout. Blair Betts had the 3rd Ranger goal.

Knicks GameNight

Crawford starts from Francis who is out. Go Knicks.

Rangers TIED 2-2 after 2

Terrible D bites them over and over. Lundqvist wasn't horrible in the second but the D was incredibly bad on both goals. These guys are irresponsible and always out of position. But they keep running the same scrubs out there. Straka had the second Ranger goal.

Rangers UP 1-0

after 1 on a power play goal by Marty Straka. Lundqvist looked good. The Rangers only got 1 goal out of a bunch of power plays. That's discouraging.

Rangers GameNight

Lundqvist will be in goal. His only two career shutouts are against Florida. Let's hope he can do it again.

Yanks Rumor

Yanks win Matsuzaka bidding for 27M. This is a rumor, but it is getting louder and louder.

Matsuzaka UPDATE

The Yankee Bid is in. Now, we sit and wait. Do we get our first choice - or do we have to scramble to fill out a rotation that struggled in the postseason? I really don't want or expect the Yanks to rush the kids.

Giant Great Amani Toomer Out for the Year

Today, the Giants took a massive hit as their all time leading receiver Amani Toomer was ruled out for the season and will have surgery to repair a partially torn ACL. This is a blow to the offense as Amani has been a clutch receiver and made an unbelievable number of big catches for the Giants, this year and throughout his underrated career. The Giants were wise to hang onto Anthony Mix, another big receiver who I had rated right with Marcus Colston last year at draft time.

Get well soon, Amani! I hope the Giants can still get you your ring this year.

Knicks Tonight

Knicks @ Denver 9pm est. This team is even worse than the Rangers when it comes to playing D, of course they're not allowed to have a goalie, so that partially explains things. We get to see former Knicks Marcus Camby and Nene tonight, and if nothing else, they will remind us that the bad deals didn't start under Isaiah.

Rangers Tonight

Rangers @ Florida 7:30 pm est. Another tough game for a team that can't play D and isn't getting the goaltending it was getting last year. Let's hope the overworked mid to late 30's guys don't wilt in the heat.

All New Daily Giants Tip!

These are things the Giants need to do to give themselves the best chance to win. First tip: Prepare for both Bear QB's. After the Cowboy game, it was revealed that the Giants had not prepared at all for Tony Romo, and as a result, he produced a bunch of 4th quarter points on the Giants. After last week's game, Grossman has got to be on thin ice, especially if the Giants get out to be lead, or if he has an early turnover, I'd look for Griese. So should the Giants. Griese has a lot of experience, and probably will be more adept at throwing from the short drops the Giants are gonna see till they stop them. So that's the daily tip: Prepare for both QB's!

More Yanks

Baseball America has published their list of the top ten Yankee prospects

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/features/262804.html

They have them
1. Philip Hughes
2. Jose Tabata
3. Dellin Betances
4. Joba Chamberlain
5. Ian Kennedy
6. Chris Garcia
7. Tyler Clippard
8. J.Brent Cox
9. Mark Melancon
10. Brett Gardner

Pretty pitching heavy, huh? I might have had Eric Duncan and Jesus Montero in there ahead of Garder and the two relief pitchers (Cox, who doesn't profile as a closer, and Melancon, whose been shut down a lot). Further, I'd have Garcia ahead of Kennedy and Clippard which is pick `em. The prospect book should be great this year, because the Yanks now have more than 30 prospects that are worth knowing about.

Rest in Peace, Johnny Sain

An NL MVP starter for the old Boston Braves, then a great starter/swingman/closer for the Yanks, Johnny probably also the greatest and most influential Pitching Coach in baseball history. Rest in peace to a forward thinker. In Boston, where the Braves had been historically bad, they came up with Sain and Warren Spahn after WWII and finally had a chance. Their catch phrase was, "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain." Today we pray for Johnny, his family and all who feel his loss.

Matsuzaka Day

Today is the final day of the Matsuzaka posting. The Yanks will reportedly try to their bid in late. Several other teams are in the running, and this is far from a sure thing for the Spanks. If they whiff here, the alternatives are not terribly appetizing. So - GO YANKS!

Clemens and Pettitte in Trouble?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/em_swift/11/01/clemens.real/index.html//urll

I don't think anyone will be surprised if these suppositions turn out to be true. What is making me sick, is that the very people who are racing around now pointing fingers - like Bud Selig and the sporting press - are the very same people who turned a blind but not unknowing eye on the steroid explosion in baseball while it was happening. It's a pathetic display of hypocricy and it's even more offensive than the generation of roiders they are now out witch hunting.

Standoff and House

So, we're in the second Tuesday since Baseball on Fox ended and Standoff and House are back. For reasons beyond those that were articulated in reviews Standoff was largely panned by tv critics. I; however, don't think it's a bad show and can see character chemistry growing. The trap here, like in any procedural show, including our fave, House, is basically confronting a variation of the same situation every week. But so far, it's not bugging, and this Rosemarie DeWitt is rather charming.

House, on the other hand, is going through it's seasonal "outsider who shakes things up for House" arc. Season 1 gave up Chi McBride as the new Hospital owner - or whatever - and that was totally annoying. Last year it was Sela Ward - the woman House loved and lost - back to haunt him, and that was more successful. This year they have David Morse as a cop bent on teaching House a lesson. And man, is he ever tiresome. Yikes! House is a great, great show, and they really don't need a strawman to challenge House every year. I dread the day that they introduce the woman doctor who's even sharper than House, but I have a sinking feeling we'll see it in season 4 or 5. I know they want to stay out of the procedural familiarity cycle but the characters they've already assembled have enough steam to carry us through the medical mystery of the week 22-26 times a year.

More Yanks

The Yanks have signed 16 year old Venezuelan slugger Alberto Acosta. I don't know when I'll have a link for this, because when I googled him all the stuff was en Espanol. Needless to say, another high upside bat added to a very impressive 2006 prospect haul!

Get Out And Vote!

I don't care what you vote for or against, but exercise your rights! I voted earlier and was shocked to see that I was not required to a single piece of identification. I could could have changed clothes, gone back and voted as any other guy who's address I knew! Anyway, I'm left wondering what sorts of voter fraud stories we will hear in the coming days. I know one that would work easy out here in Cali!

College Hoops Tonight!

8:30 PM ET
Hampton at Maryland

6:30 PM ET
Vermont at New Orleans


In many ways, College Basketball is the greatest of all TV sports. First, it beats the crap out of NBA basketball because college teams really play like teams and don't jake it on the way to the playoffs, like NBA teams do. Secondly, when conference play starts there are fantastic rivalries, and growing parity which makes for absolutely great regular season competition.

As readers know, I also love college football above the standard NFL product. In college hoops, as in college football, it's fun to see coaches build programs, and great to see kids play their hearts out. College Hoops holds a slight advantage in TV terms because the games are shorter (thus you can watch more of them!), and the action fits the screen a little better. Enjoy!

Faith Hill Has Integrity

Watch the video http://youtube.com/watch?v=c1bwMOc0I7Y&mode=related&search= this will haunt her. I am lucky that there were no cameras at the daytime emmys several years ago.

Knicks LOSE 105-93

They were often despicable tonight, but they did go on a 20-2 run in the 3rd/4th that brought them withing 1 before collapsing back into bad D and poor shot selection again. Frye was benched for the second half, and I agree with that move. Francis got hurt, and once he was in street clothes, Marbury actually started to play. When they played hard on that 20-2 run they were a team I could root for. I hope, but do not trust, that Thomas can coach them to that level, and not settle for the crap they've mostly been giving him, us, and each other on their way to 1-3.

They still don't get the ball to Curry enough, Frye is still a disaster, Lee still plays hard, but was not as good as he's been. Likewise, Q. Nate had another strong game, and Mardy Collins really contributed. Malik Rose played well against his old team, though that may be why he played well, having spent so much time practicing with them. Renaldo Balkman brings energy, rebounds, blocks and takeaways. He needs to develop a shot, but his block of Duncan tonight was outstanding. Play him!

Knicks DOWN 13 at the Half

They were down 23, and when Zeke tried to give up by emptying the bench, they started coming back. Curry once again is ready to score big, but the top 3 guards are not finding him. Frye is shellshocked and nowhere near the player he promised to be last year. Francis, Marbury and Crawford are not earning their money. They are reckless with the ball and useless on D. Craw had made progress their last year, but now he's not into it. QRich plays hard, so does Lee and Nate Robinson can be a star. Mardy Collins also played hard and contributed to the comeback.

People the Garden Needs to Fire

AND STEVE MILLS (No Photo Available, sealed in court documents?)

More Yanks

Joba Chamberlain is electrifying Hawaii!!!!!

RHP Joba Chamberlain, West Oahu CaneFires (Hawaiian Winter League, Yankees)
For the few who have scouted the Hawaiian Winter League this year, we seem to have a consensus on one thing: Joba Chamberlain is the best pitcher from this side of the Pacific. On Sunday afternoon the former Cornhusker went five innings, allowing a run on three hits, but what really has scouts buzzing is his command and control (and yes, those are two different things). In this particular game, Chamberlain recorded five strikeouts without walking a batter. That's pretty much par for his particular course: in seven appearances on the year, he's struck out at least a batter per inning five times, and he's not walked a batter in five games. The net result has been 35 strikeouts and just three walks in 28.2 innings. With two plus pitches (fastball and slider) and a classic power pitcher's frame, Chamberlain will likely begin 2007 at High-A Tampa, but he's expected to move up quickly.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=5688

He has a quality curve and developing change to go with his two plus pitches. His fastball has been in the 93-97 range and has topped out at 98 and 99(this number comes from Yankee exec Mark Newman) during his stay in Hawaii. He's not a teenager like Hughes, Garcia and Marquez were or Betances and McAllister are, and he could actually move fast from High A next year.

Knicks Tonight

START DAVID LEE! But even if they do, they are likely to be somewhat embarrassed by the Spurs tonight at the Garden, 7pm est. We can only hope they start Lee, get the ball to Curry and get Balkman plenty of minutes as he actually plays D.

Rangers LOSE 4-3 in OT

They pick up a point, but gave away a 3-2 lead in the 3rd, then blew many opportunities to break the tie before losing on a softish goal in OT. Weekes is not the answer, and it's clear the D will not hold leads against the league's best.

Rangers LEAD 3-2 after 2

Hilariously the power play finally started to work. Goals by Jagr, Pruch and Nylander all came with a man advantage - as did Buff's second goal. The Rangers will be down a man when the 3rd period begins, but are in good position to steal a win here.

Rangers DOWN 1-0 after 1

They were getting severely outskated early, but battled back some. The Power Play is still poor.

Rangers Game Night

Maxim Ife is out for the Sabres. Try to steal one here at home! Go Rangers!

Giants WIN 14-10!

Way closer than it should have been due to penalties and misplays, but glad to see we are two games up in the East at 6-2! We had the benefit of witnessing yet another 4th quarter comeback in the Eli era. Game ball goes to:

Tiki Barber! We didn't run enough, he did enough with his runs (and catches) to once again tilt things in our favor. He was breaking em off in the 4th quarter when we needed a TD then some first downs. He also had his first TD of the year in the first half. Shockey had the other TD, but also had to more costly drops. Love the guy, but hold onto the ball!

Giants LEAD 7-3 at the Half

This has been a pathetic display by all aspects of the Giant team. The OL has been atrocious and took us out of what would have been a second TD when they gave up a hold, two sacks, and a blocked pass on successive plays. McKenzie is missing the game with migraines and Whitfield has been lousy in his place. Feagles and Feely were shaky and the defensive secondary was atrocious. Strahan is now out with a foot injury, and we weren't getting any pass rush when he was in. We get the ball first to start the second half, but unless the OL steps up, we're gonna be stuck on 7.

Giants Inactives

GIANTS INACTIVES
8 T.Hasselbeck QB
17 P.Burress WR
22 S.Madison CB
54 B.Short LB
72 O.Umenyiora DE
79 G.Whimper T
83 S.Moss WR
91 J.Tuck DE

That's a lot of unavailable talent. At least Tyree is going.

Here's a Place

Where you can still see The Adventures of Superman, Kung Fu, and a some Hammer Horror on your computer! http://television.aol.com/in2tv Check it out! It's a quirky collection, but there's some gold there.

Rangers Today!

Remember, the Sabres at Rangers game today starts at 5pm est, not 7pm est. Buffalo embarrassed the crap out of them earlier this season in Buffalo, we can only hope for better late his afternoon.

Giants Game Day!

Houston Texans at New York Giants, 1pm est. Okay, we need this win and we need it bad. Just play New York Giant Football! Don't get cute, just dominate!

If you want to listen live for free!, go to http://wfan.com/ and click the listen live link. For all the pre and post game info you need, visit, http://giants.com/ and there you'll find it. Want to participate in a "game thread"? Go to http://www.bigblueinteractive.com/petescorner2/petes_menu.cfm?SortBy=2&Show=1 but don't create extra threads! Okay, I'll be back later with the inactives - let's hope Plax is not amoung them.

More Yanks

The Yanks and Mike Mussina are apparently very close to or have already agreed to a new two year deal that will keep Moose in pinstripes. I like this move, because we know what we're getting and because Moose has shown a willingness to work with the young pitchers we'll be calling up over the life of his new deal. For example, last spring, he taught Philip Hughes the knuckle-curve grip. I hope he finally gets the rings he deserves.

mfile.akamai.com/24715/wm...fl_350.wmv

Here's a YES NETWORK feature on the Arizona Fall League.

Giants Tomorrow!

Another trap game looms and Houston comes to town. To make matters worse, Plax's back has been acting up and he could be out. Hopefully, the injuries on O and D will create great focus for the healthy players and they won't look past the Texans.

On D, Stop the run. Carr is a good QB but he gets sacked a lot, and it will be the Giants' job to add to that total. Kiwi should get a couple, and Strahan should break his tie with LT. The DL's also need to watch out for the chopblocks, as Houston uses the Denver OL system.

On O, the Giants need to run the ball and avoid turnovers. It should be a big day for Shockey, and he hasn't really had one yet this year. It's important that they not throw away possessions with arrogant play calling early. First halfs have been unimpressive this year, but they can't let a bad team like Houston hang around. Control the ball and score.

On specials: don't give up returns and hit your kicks.

That's the recipe for avoiding the trap: Play Giants Football.

Knicks Humiliated in Home Opener

The Main Culprits


More turnovers than points. His insertion into the line-up in the 4th quarter killed the Knicks, who had drawn within 1 at the end of the 3rd.


His shot is nowhere to be found, and he doesn't seem to be looking for it between games.

Francis, Curry, and Nate played hard. Lee was a little off and Balkman didn't get enough time. QRich once again played hard. Frye still stinks. The Knicks couldn't penetrate a 2-3 zone, and once again didn't make a an effort to make Curry a regular part of the O. They went on a great run to end the 3rd, but then Zeke pulled a Brown and took out the players who'd led the charge. The Knicks D is still atrocious for the most part. Just a terrible way to start.

Knicks DOWN 5 At the Half

They've been down as much as 13 showing the same problems they've had thus far this season. Turnovers, poor D, and not consistently getting the ball to the big man. Frye is still struggling, thouhg only Q is looking better so far this year (of the starters). Lee was a little up and down and had a big turnover. But he and Balkman and Nate do bring energy and that has helped lift the Knicks to within 5.

Knicks Game Night!

Well, they're rolling out the same line-up tonight, so they haven't addressed the fact that Lee is their ingnition. He'll be in soon enough, I hope and guess. Go Knicks!

Great Game Alert

Tennessee 24 LSU 21 with just over 7 minutes left, and after a bomb that just put the Vols on top. It's on CBS, watch it!

TMC TONIGHT

8:00pm
Thin Man, The (1934) A husband-and-wife detective team takes on the search for a missing inventor and almost get killed for their efforts.Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O'Sullivan. Dir: W.S. Van Dyke II. BW-93 mins, TV-G

This is one of my favorite movies, and the first of a series you will fall in love with.


10:00pm
Desk Set (1957) A computer expert tries to prove his electronic brain can replace a television network's research staff.Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, Gig Young. Dir: Walter Lang. C-103 mins, TV-G

Another in the series of excellent Tracy/Hepburn pairings. You cannot go wrong with these two.

12:00am
Key Largo (1948) A returning veteran tangles with a ruthless gangster during a hurricane.Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall. Dir: John Huston. BW-101 mins, TV-G


Another one of my favorite movies. Bogey and Bacall at their best, and Edward G. Robinson giving us an update on his old `30's gangster roles. This movie ROCKS!

Hey Knicks...

START DAVID LEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HE IS A DOUBLE-DOUBLE WAITING TO HAPPEN! AND, PLAYING WITH THE STARTERS HE WILL GET HIS SHARE OF ASSISTS!!!!!!!!!!!!

More Yanks

Top Prospect Alert has a free listing of their idea of the Yanks Top Ten. Dig it, here http://www.topprospectalert.com/2007newyorkyankeesprospects.htm
The Yanks by now have either picked up Sheffield's option or will do so momentarily. It's unclear whether there is a deal in place that Cashmoney likes or not. What is clear is that the Yanks are close to a new two year deal with Mike Mussina. According to news reports they intend to enter the Matsuzaka bidding about 5 minutes before the deadline. If they can't get him, they will probably add one more pitcher. We'll take a look at those when and if we have to.

Knicks Tonight!

Pacers @ Knicks in the home opener. I'm very apprehensive about what the introductions will be like during the "Home Opener." I hope the players aren't too humiliated to compete afterward. Reggie Miller and Ron Artest won't be playing, so I'm hoping we can maybe win this one. I trust that Isaiah lit into them after the game last night.

What to Watch

12:00 PM Penn State at #17 Wisconsin
12:00 PM Maryland at #19 Clemson
12:00 PM Virginia at Florida State
12:00 PM Pittsburgh at South Florida
12:00 PM Indiana at Minnesota

Early, I'll be flipping around these games, hoping some good games develop. At 2:30, I'm gonna watch Notre Dame, cause I always do.
3:30 PM #1 Ohio State at Illinois
3:30 PM #13 LSU at #8 Tennessee CBS

These two games speak for themselves. I don't see OSU losing, but it will be fun to watch them against the Illinois frosh QB.
A little later
7:00 PM #9 USC at Stanford
7:00 PM #16 Boston College at #22 Wake Forest
7:00 PM #20 Georgia Tech at North Carolina State
The BC/Wake game should be a good one and BC really has a chance to play for the ACC title. I always watch USC, and I want to see if Georgia Tech has remembered that the best WR in the nation is on their team.

Late, these games should be fun.
7:45 PM #12 Arkansas at South Carolina
8:00 PM UCLA at #10 California
8:00 PM #18 Oklahoma at #21 Texas A&M
8:00 PM #23 Virginia Tech at Miami (FL)

These should all be really good games as we start heading into bowl season. Enjoy!

Knicks LOSE 102 - 92

Channing Frye continued to play terribly. He managed to collect some boards, but those were halved by his 4 turnovers. He took a number of bad shots, which he missed, and then couldn't convert from in close. He is hurting the team when he is out there right now. Marbury, Francis and Craw also did far less than we need them to do. Curry couldn't be stopped, but once again the guards did not get him the ball! He ended up with 20, but should have had 30 or more. Quentin Richardson had another good game, but his shot was not as sharp tonight. Lee played well and should be starting over Frye. Nate did his thing late, but the rest of the team wasn't functioning while he was. Here's the box score: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=261103001
Home Opener tomorrow night, let's win it.

Knicks DOWN 10 at the Half

Too many turnovers. More incomprehensibly bad play for Channing Frye. They've done little to no rebounding, while allowing the Hawks to collect offensive boards like the knicks collect technicals. Poor showing so far, but it's only a ten point game and they should be able to go on a few runs.

Saturday's College Football

Saturday, November 4 Time (ET) Matchup TV PPV
12:00 PM Ball State at #2 Michigan
12:00 PM Penn State at #17 Wisconsin
12:00 PM Maryland at #19 Clemson
12:00 PM Virginia at Florida State
12:00 PM Pittsburgh at South Florida
12:00 PM Indiana at Minnesota
12:00 PM Missouri at Nebraska
12:00 PM Baylor at Texas Tech
12:05 PM Northwestern at Iowa
12:30 PM #7 Florida at Vanderbilt
12:30 PM Mississippi State at Alabama
1:00 PM Georgia at Kentucky
1:00 PM Navy at Duke
1:00 PM Central Michigan at Temple
1:00 PM Bowling Green at Akron
1:00 PM Kent State at Buffalo
1:00 PM Ohio at Eastern Michigan
2:00 PM Kansas at Iowa State
2:00 PM Northwestern State at Mississippi
2:30 PM Arkansas State at #6 Auburn
2:30 PM North Carolina at #11 Notre Dame NBC
3:00 PM TCU at UNLV
3:00 PM San Diego State at Wyoming CSTV
3:05 PM Hawaii at Utah State
3:30 PM #1 Ohio State at Illinois
3:30 PM #13 LSU at #8 Tennessee CBS
3:30 PM Washington at #24 Oregon TBS
3:30 PM Kansas State at Colorado
3:30 PM Purdue at Michigan State
3:30 PM Tulsa at Houston CSTV
3:30 PM Florida Atlantic at Middle Tennessee State
3:30 PM Miami (OH) at Western Michigan
4:00 PM East Carolina at UCF
4:00 PM Louisiana-Lafayette at Troy
4:05 PM Arizona State at Oregon State
5:00 PM Arizona at #25 Washington State
5:05 PM Nevada at Idaho
6:30 PM Brigham Young at Colorado State
7:00 PM Oklahoma State at #4 Texas TBS
7:00 PM #9 USC at Stanford
7:00 PM #16 Boston College at #22 Wake Forest
7:00 PM #20 Georgia Tech at North Carolina State
7:00 PM Louisiana Tech at North Texas
7:30 PM Tulane at Marshall CSTV
7:45 PM #12 Arkansas at South Carolina
8:00 PM UCLA at #10 California
8:00 PM #18 Oklahoma at #21 Texas A&M
8:00 PM #23 Virginia Tech at Miami (FL)
8:00 PM San Jose State at New Mexico State
9:00 PM Rice at UTEP

I'll be back in the morning with a list of what I'll be watching.

Knicks Game Night!

No word on the line-up yet, so it seems the Frye and Francis will still be in it. Keys to the game: Get the ball to Curry! Move the ball around! Play D and try to create turnovers! Watch out for your own turnovers. Trautwig just said the Knicks rotation will remain at ten, and to him that apparently mean Balkman is still in it. Balkman better be, Al.

No Marvin Williams for the Hawks tonight.

Prucha, Rachunek and crap to Chicago for Seabrook?

????????????????????
That's the rumor. This would bug me a bit, as Prucha is my favorite player. At the same time, I'm not 12 and Seabrook essentially taking the place of Rachunek would really help the D. Let's see if this one is true.

TCM Tonight!

8:00pm
King Kong (1933) A film crew discovers the "eighth wonder of the world," a giant prehistoric ape, and brings him back to New York, where he wreaks havoc.Cast: Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong. Dir: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack. BW-100 mins, TV-PG

10:00pm
Land That Time Forgot, The (1975) A World War I U-boat takes a wrong turn and discovers a lost world of dinosaurs and cavemen.Cast: Doug McClure, John McEnery, Susan Penhaligon. Dir: Kevin Connor. C-90 mins, TV-PG

12:00am
One Million B.C. (1940) An exiled cave man finds love when he joins another tribe.Cast: Carole Landis, Victor Mature, Lon Chaney, Jr. Dir: Hal Roach, Jr., Hal Roach. BW-80 mins, TV-G

King Kong needs no introduction and is an all-time classic.

The Land That Time Forgot was one of a number of Edgar Rice Burroughs' non-Tarzan novels that was brought to life in the mid-70's by Hammer Films big rival Amicus. Movies like The Land That Time Forgot, The People That Time Forgot, At The Earth's Core and the non-Burroughs Doc Savage formed a little sub-genre back in the `70's and all of them probably would have been a little more successful in the wake of Raiders of The Lost Ark, instead of presaging it.

One Million B.C. features more early dinosaur effects, and though a sort of cheesy love story, it's still fun. Enjoy.

Knicks Tonight!

At Atlanta 7:30pm est. They have to watch the turnonvers, get the ball to Curry more and watch out for the flops.

Rangers WIN 3-1!

Shanny got a late empty netter, and goalie Kevin Weekes is your player of the game! He's been steady and really withstood a few separate onslaughts tonight. Well done, Rangers! 6 points on the road trip!

Rangers UP 2-0 after 2

Straka had the second goal. They seem to be playing hard tonight. I appreciate that.

Louisville 44-WVU 34

I was gonna feel bad for the loser in either event. I have nothing but repsect for these two programs and the excitment they have restored to the Big East. Louisville moves on undefeated. WVU must now in out.

Rangers UP 1-0 after 1

The goal came on a breakaway in the last seconds by Matt Cullen.

Rangers Game Night!

They're gonna start Weekes again... Hope it works.

Daisuke Matsuzaka Officially Posted

The Yanks and other teams have till next Wednesday to get their bids in, then the Seibu Lions will have another 4 days to determine a winner (not sure why that would take more than ten or fifteen minutes). In any event, Go Yanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rangers at Sharks @ 10:30 pm EST. Let's see if they can win on back to back nights!

College Football Tonight!

7:30 PM #3 West Virginia at #5 Louisville!

This could and should be a great game as the two undefeated's battle for Big East supremacy. BCS be damned, this should rock!

College Football Tonight!

7:30 PM #3 West Virginia at #5 Louisville!

This could and should be a great game as the two undefeated's battle for Big East supremacy. BCS be damned, this should rock!

College Football Tonight!

7:30 PM #3 West Virginia at #5 Louisville!

This could and should be a great game as the two undefeated's battle for Big East supremacy. BCS be damned, this should rock!

Rangers win in OT 4-3

JAGR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/boxscore?gameId=261101025

Knicks WIN 118-117 in Triple OT!

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=261101029

Above you'll find the box score. Francis and Frye did all they could to make us lose, and Craw was off much of the night, but QRich, Eddy, Marbs, Lee and some of the other role players, gutted out the tough win. Way to start the season! There's a lot to work on, but wins count!

Knicks Going Into Triple OT

Crawford has missed a possible game winner at the end of each of the last three periods. Sorry, I believe the Rangers are up 2-1. Will have final updates when I get back from dinner.

Knicks Going Into Overtime

They have blown a 19 point lead, and now must play more with lots of guys in foul trouble. The leading culprits have been Francis and Frye.