25 years a go today..........

October 25th, 1986 Game Six of the World Series. I still remember the Mookie commentary from a video on the 86 Mets "The ball shall not pass without offering." The famous/infamous squibber through Bill Buckner's wickets on a 3-2 count from Bob Stanley. The drama was pretty nuts if you remember 25 years a go. This 1986 Mets team may be my favorite sports team of all-time. I was reminiscing about them a little yesterday after having seen Doc Gooden on TV talk about missing the ticker tape parade because he was in the projects somewhere in Long Island whacked out on drugs.

Here is the full details of game six from baseballreference:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198610250.shtml

They won 108 games that year, many with suspense and drama in come from behind wins. They had a great starting rotation of : Gooden, Darling, Sid Fernandez (one of the game 7 heros in relief), Bob Ojeda (who they got in a package from Boston --- Mets sent Cal Schiraldi and others)

Gooden went 0-3 in the World Series as did Schiraldi. Can you believe the Sawx brought Schiraldi back out there in game 7 even after he threw 55 pitches in game 6? Perhaps it was because besides Bob Stanley their pen had guys like Al Nipper and Joe Sambito.

One thing I loved about this team besides having one of my favorite all time players Gary Carter (the biggest reason I started watching the Mets [I was an Expo fan b/c of Carter]), was the fact that they had stars(Carter, Hernandez, Strawberry), and they had characters like Mookie, Dykstra, Wally Backman, HoJo. I liked that they had 3 platoons going on, and it seemed like there was continually unlikely heros.

I might have to watch some youtube clips of the '86 Mets tonight to bring back the fond memories, or better yet maybe I can find that old VHS I have!

Fall Television Review

It's that time of year again: it's time to take a look at all the best shows on television. During the summer I ranked the shows and last year I just wrote my feelings on each one. This year? We go with superlatives like we're in our Senior year of High School. I have to admit: I don't watch every show on TV and I'm not a big fan of reality television. But here's what I got:

Claire Daines' Homeland is the Best New Show on TV (Showtime)

Best Show: Breaking Bad

This wasn't Breaking's best season (Season 3 certainly was), and there were some flaws to this season, but there is still no doubt this is the best show on television. Things with Walter White started out pretty poor when the season started and the show wasn't at its best for much of the season, but the leadup to the finale and then the finale itself were edge-of-your-seat awesomeness. I don't think I breathed for about 5 weeks as I watched the three-way showdown between Gus, Walter, and Jesse unfold. Mr. White and Mr. Pink (what else should I call Mr. Pink-man?) started out facing the blade of a boxcutter, but ended the season with their faces still in tact--which is much more than we can say for some characters (most brilliantly gif'ed here). Fabulous show that I miss already and cannot wait to see how they end it. Bonus Thought: It took me a week to be convinced that Walter White was responsible for a kid being poisoned. I don't know why, but it took me forever to feel like that was actually his doing despite the end of the episode. And I, like everyone else, should have realized what was going to happen in the episode as LOST's Damon Lindelof wrote on Twitter: "@DamonLindelof: The true brilliance of what happened last night is that we should have been spoiled by the TITLE OF THE SHOW ITSELF... and yet? Shocker."

Best New Show: Homeland

If 24 has to be off the air, at least I now have Homeland. It's gripping, engaging and all-too-real. And I have to agree with the critics who love this show. And we're three freaking episodes in! If I told you Claire Daines was going to star in a hit a thriller of a television show, you would have probably thought I was as bat-shit crazy as she seems to be on the show (and while she is great, she's nowhere near the top actor as Damian Lewis has stolen the show so far). But the writing is fantastic, the background stories have been engaging and, in true 24 fashion, I have no clue whatsoever where this show is going. I have my theories, of course, and I've read theories on line, but like Season 1 of 24, I don't feel like I can trust anyone (damn you, Nina Myers--you've ruined my TV innocence). I've really enjoyed it so far and, for bonus points, the people behind the show really love boobs. Bonus Thought: Saul=Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride. Thank you IMDB for helping me make that connection!

Funniest Show: It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
 

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View From the Seats: Bills at Giants

The view today is from Section 143, row 15 as the New York Giants get ready to host the upstart Buffalo Bills. The view is of the G-men running in for their pregame introduction. It's a beautiful day for football and the seats are great, 15 rows off of the goalline.

The Giants have a must-win game here in Week 6 as they need to make sure to keep their lead in the division. The Bills have been the surprise team of 2011 and are looking to keep up their success against the G-men. The key will be avoiding the big turnovers and to stop the Buffalo running game.

Let's go Big Blue!

-Andrew

In a pickle..........

I think they summed it all up pretty good over at itsaboutthemoney.net :

http://itsaboutthemoney.net/archives/2011/10/04/so-its-come-to-this/

Don't bother even checking, I already did, and there is no rain in the forecast for Detroit tonight.All we can do is hope we can get to Porcello early and often!