Sheppard hopes to return for Yankee Stadium finale

September 4, 2008

Everyone knows the only fitting way to close Yankee Stadium is with Bob Sheppard returning to be the public-address announcer for the final game. His health has kept him from doing a single Yankees game this season - which would have been his 58th - but rest assured he has visions of returning for the finale.

Recent columns

• Delgado not quite in the MVP race

  September 2, 2008

  A major reason why the Mets sit atop the National League East on Tuesday is the stunning -- and thoroughly unforeseen -- turnaround by Carlos Delgado. He's had so many big hits, the latest coming Monday in the form of a two-run, eighth-inning home run that lifted the Mets to a 4-2 win over the Brewers.

• Where are they now? Ex-Yankee Cecil Fielder

  August 31, 2008

  Cecil Fielder loves to talk, but the last thing he wants to discuss is his estranged son, Prince. "I'm done with that," Cecil said rather abruptly last week by phone. "It is what it is."

• Marat Safin's little sister a title contender

  August 26, 2008

  To prove Marat Safin's name still carries a good amount of weight in the tennis world, all you need to do is look at Tuesday's schedule. Safin's first-round match was played on the headline court here - Arthur Ashe Stadium - which is an awfully big stage for an unseeded player.

• Dementieva has post-Olympic letdown

  August 25, 2008

  In the wake of capturing the gold at the Beijing Olympics, Elena Dementieva was so ecstatic by her achievement that she held on to her medal for three straight days.

• Despite flaws, don't count Yankees out

  August 25, 2008

  It's so tempting to declare the Yankees' playoff hopes a lost cause because they've offered us no tangible reason to believe otherwise.

• Ron Blomberg happy with claim to fame

  August 22, 2008

  When Ron Blomberg mentions his name to check into a hotel, make an airline reservation or something of that sort, he said he typically gets recognized for one of two reasons.

• Mark Spitz at peace with lost record

  August 20, 2008

  Yes, Mark Spitz "would have loved" to be in Beijing last week to witness Michael Phelps break his 36-year-old record of seven gold medals in a single Olympics. But now that the moment has passed, Spitz has moved on.

• Don't count on Pavano, Yankees fans

  August 18, 2008

  Things that make you go hmmmmmmm: the Yankees need someone to pitch on Saturday and just yesterday Carl Pavano tossed six impressive innings for Double-A Trenton.

• Browning Nagle reflects on Jets, Favre

  August 14, 2008

  For years Jets fans have tortured themselves by wondering how their franchise's history would have been different if they landed Brett Favre instead of Browning Nagle in the 1991 draft.

• It's not the same without Mike and the Mad Dog

  August 14, 2008

  In sifting through the rubble after the divorce of WFAN's Mike and the Mad Dog, it's clear there really is only one loser here. Us. The hundreds of thousands of long-time-listeners, first-time-callers everywhere.

• Mets get Piazza to help close Shea

  August 13, 2008

  Before the Mets tear down Shea Stadium later this year, their plan is to honor their home of the past 44 years with a special ceremony during the final weekend of the regular season. The organization has stayed tight-lipped about the details, but Newsday has learned perhaps the most important detail of the ceremony.

• Torve has unique place in Mets history

  August 8, 2008

  After Willie Mays finished his illustrious career with the Mets in 1973, the team's owner gave one of the game's best players ever a nice parting gift. Joan Payson promised him no Met would wear 24 again.

• Jets finally land Favre after 17 years

  August 7, 2008

  The stunning news that Brett Favre has been traded to the Jets puts a fitting end to the team's 1991 draft-day debacle.

• Hughes, Kennedy could save Yankees

  August 6, 2008

  Sure does seem fitting that the fate of the 2008 Yankees season now sits on the shoulders of Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy, who you'd have to rank right now as the Yankees' two most disappointing players.

• Joba's injury could be last straw for Yankees

  August 5, 2008

  The picture of Joba Chamberlain holding his forehead and grimacing in pain on the back page of Newsday is all you need to see to realize he won't be pitching again anytime soon.

• Viola recalls his trade deadline deal to Mets

  August 1, 2008

  As baseball's July 31 trade deadline comes and goes every year, Frank Viola's mind inevitably brings him back to 1989.

• Still hope Manny's ploy backfires

  July 31, 2008

  Manny Ramirez got his wish today, and in a perfect world for sports fans, it will backfire on him big time.

• Mets should go after Ichiro

  July 30, 2008

  The countdown to the trade deadline is almost at 24 hours, just enough time for Omar Minaya to pick up the phone, dial the Mariners' interim general manager and blow his mind away with these words.

• Sisk never got his second shot with Mets

  July 25, 2008

  When the booing and the heckling of Doug Sisk at Shea Stadium became too much for him to even sign autographs before games, he decided it was enough. So one one day during the 1987 season he took the elevator to Frank Cashen's office and told the Mets general manager a divorce was best for both parties.

• A birthday letter to Barry Bonds

  July 24, 2008

  Dear Barry Bonds,

• Foster, Mets reconcile after bitter end

  July 3, 2008

  More than two decades have passed since the Mets and George Foster bitterly parted ways, and apparently that's been enough time for a reconciliation.

• 10 reasons why the Rays are legit

  July 2, 2008

  We're more than halfway through the baseball schedule, the perfect time for everyone to officially stop wondering if the Tampa Bay Rays are for real.

• Abbott uses no-hitter to motivate others

  June 27, 2008

  A day rarely passes in Jim Abbott's life when he is not reminded of his most memorable day in the majors.

• Picking baseball's all-star starters

  June 24, 2008

  There's three weeks left until the All-Star Game, so let's take a look at the players who we believe deserve the honor of starting the big game at Yankee Stadium.

• Picking baseball's all-star starters

  June 24, 2008

  There's three weeks left until the All-Star Game, so let's take a look at the players who we believe deserve the honor of starting the big game at Yankee Stadium.

• Mike and Mad Dog oddly addictive

  June 23, 2008

  In some ways it actually pains me to write this next sentence.

• Mets' handling of Willie cowardly

  June 17, 2008

  Cowards.

• NBA refs should not answer to Stern

  June 11, 2008

  OK, so you've heard this before. Perception of impropriety is as much a problem as impropriety itself. But inside the National Basketball Association offices this morning, they're dealing with this bigtime. And rightfully so. We will probably never know for certain if Tim Donaghy is telling the truth about the bothersome acts of others, so we are left to wonder. What if the NBA really did care about television ratings more than its integrity? Is it that outlandish to think? Not in this age of mega billions. We've certainly seen worse.

• Subway Series remains special for Mlicki

  May 16, 2008

  The annual installments of the Subway Series surely don't pass without Mets fans thinking of Dave Mlicki and that memorable shutout he pitched in the first ever Mets-Yankees regular-season game in 1997.

• My day with the Dragons' chain crew

  March 31, 2008

  Be safe.

• Amityville's Fraser optimistic about Villanova -- and his NBA dream

  March 28, 2008

  So you think Villanova making the Sweet 16 as a 12 seed is an upset?

• Yankees signing Billy Crystal is absurd

  March 11, 2008

  Look, we've never taken spring training games too seriously. Otherwise, we'd write about wins and losses and openly question why pitchers are allowed to do their running on the warning track during games.

• Giants' win ranks among NY's best

  February 4, 2008

  Now whenever you mention those special teams such as the 1969 Jets, 1969 Mets, 1986 Mets and the 1994 Rangers, you have to include this Giants team. They made history, and will forever be remembered and cherished for it.

• Getting carried away

  February 1, 2008

  In an effort to see the trick plays the Giants and Patriots are working on, I asked the people at Goodyear to take me for a ride in their blimp.

• Where are they now? Matt Bahr

  January 30, 2008

  Doubt and uncertainty have to be foreign emotions for kickers. The most successful ones tend to be completely self-confident, never a doubt entering the mind, regardless of the situation. Maybe that's why former Giants kicker Matt Bahr always has had such strong convictions -- and still does today. Bahr told Newsday this past week that he was one of the Giants who in 1991 spearheaded the campaign to have the players wear yellow armbands to support the troops overseas.

• Catching up with Y.A. Tittle

  January 18, 2008

  Yelberton Abraham Tittle, famously known as Y.A., enjoys a laid-back, simple life. He's 81 years old, resides just off the San Francisco Bay and still reports to work at the insurance agency that bears his name. He said he goes in to the office for a half day three or four days a week, mainly to avoid his honey-do list.

• Catching up with Mackey Sasser

  December 8, 2007

  Like every head coach or manager on every level of baseball, one of Mackey Sasser's responsibilities at Wallace Community College in Dothan, Ala., is to throw daily batting practice.

• Former Yankee Phelps remembered more for 'Seinfeld' episode

  November 30, 2007

  Ken Phelps, for the record, was a fan of "Seinfeld" before his name came up in that hilarious conversation between Frank Costanza and the fictional George Steinbrenner.

• Outside Steinbrenner's house looking in

  October 17, 2007

  George Steinbrenner's home here in South Tampa is so large, it has its own name. We know this because it says so on one of the signs that hangs on the black metal gates blocking his driveway. One sign lists his address. The other says, "The Anchorage."

• Dolan's taped deposition raises behavior questions

  September 19, 2007

  When James Dolan's video deposition appeared in court yesterday afternoon on the oversized television, you couldn't help but take note of how large his head appeared on screen. Based on the arrogant way he conducted himself on tape, that's how he likes it.

• Dan Reeves says NFL can't stand for cheats

  September 12, 2007

  In Dan Reeves' 40-plus years in the NFL, he has seen, heard and witnessed countless stories of players peering in at defensive coaches as they gave their players signals.

• For Astros' Biggio, Long Island and Shea are home

  September 9, 2007

  Having spent his formative years as a sports junkie in Kings Park, Craig Biggio got to know Shea Stadium pretty well. He said he enjoyed watching the meteoric rise of Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry and even managed to sit in the upper deck with a few college buddies for one of the epic Mets-Astros games in the 1986 National League Championship Series.

• Pepitone to A-Rod: "Big deal!"

  September 6, 2007

  It didn't take long for Joe Pepitone to hear about how Alex Rodriguez hit two homers in an inning last night. The former Yankee was nearing the end of a day-long promotional appearance in Scranton, Pa. when one of his dinner mates told him the news.

• Fan predicted he'd catch Bonds' 756 HR

  September 5, 2007

  Matt Murphy doesn't want to come off as arrogant, doesn't want to sound pompous, doesn't want to seem entitled. That's why the 21-year-old from Elmhurst has said since the day he caught Barry Bonds' record-breaking 756th home run that his goal when he bought Giants tickets for August 7th was to witness history.

• When life gets in the way of itself

  September 4, 2007

  Now that Roger Clemens is out for who-knows-how-long with an ailing elbow, the Yankees have to rely even more on rookie Ian Kennedy to pitch them into the playoffs. This creates a cruel twist for Kennedy.

• This guy Ian Kennedy was born ready

  September 2, 2007

  Ian Kennedy wasn't allowed in the Yankees' dugout or clubhouse Friday because he wasn't officially on their active roster yet, so the 22-year-old rookie had to scout the Devil Rays' hitters elsewhere. His parents' midtown hotel room seemed as good a place as any.

• Revenge for '06 Boston Massacre?

  August 28, 2007

  With a month left in the regular season the American League East race is all but over, and for the first time since 1997 the Yankees won't win it. Boston has it all wrapped up, leading by eight games with 31 to play.

• So much for Vick's 'hard-fought' trial

  August 27, 2007

  There are so many gruesome reasons to be outraged by Michael Vick right now that I understand that lying about his involvement in dogfighting is not at the top. But now that he has officially pleaded guilty in court this morning, are we supposed to just forget that it wasn't long ago when he and his lawyers were telling us he wasn't involved?

• Job security not an issue for SJU's Roberts

  August 24, 2007

  This is a big season coming up for Norm Roberts, no doubt about it. It will be his fourth year at the helm of the St. John's men's basketball program, and everyone associated with the team realizes it's of utmost importance for St. John's to improve on the court.

• Think 30-3 is bad? Try 103-3

  August 23, 2007

  How about those poor, hapless Orioles. Imagine how it felt to be on the field as the Rangers kept scoring all those runs, 30 unanswered to be exact, en route to becoming the first major-league team in more than 100 years (!) to score 30?

• What will Mitchell do with these names?

  August 22, 2007

  You better believe there are several major leaguers waking up Wednesday wondering (a) if Kirk Radomski mentioned his name to George Mitchell and (b) what exactly is Mitchell going to do with this information?

• Don't count on Pedro just yet

  August 21, 2007

  It's never been done. . .

• First he saw Mantle's 500th HR, then A-Rod's

  August 10, 2007

  When Alex Rodriguez recently joined Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle as the only players to hit their 500th career home run in a Yankee uniform, Larry Lapka of Massapequa Park was inducted into an even more exclusive group.

• Father has concerns about Joba's move to pen

  August 1, 2007

  With top Yankee pitching prospect Joba Chamberlain in the process of converting to be a reliever so he can join the major-league bullpen, you would expect nothing but excitement at the Chamberlain house in Lincoln, Neb.

• Ozzie Smith: Fans will honor Aaron over Bonds

  July 25, 2007

  Barry Bonds is only three homers from eclipsing Hank Aaron's career mark of 755 and etching his name in baseball's hallowed record books as the reigning home-run king.

• Quiet country road rocked by Vick's indictment

  July 19, 2007

  The house that Michael Vick is alleged to have used to train pitbulls for dogfights is on a long rural road that is described by locals as the essence of country living.

• How's this for a job? Try representing Sheffield

  July 18, 2007

  As we all know by now, Gary Sheffield said some crazy stuff in his interview with HBO's "Real Sports," which finally aired last night. But overshadowed by his controversial comments about race and steroids was an amusing and telling admission by the former Yankee slugger.

• A Sheffield-Mitchell meeting seems unlikely

  July 17, 2007

  Say what you want about George Mitchell's steroid investigation and his obvious conflicts of interest, but the former Senator and his underlings certainly deserve credit for acting swiftly when they sense a big opportunity. And getting Gary Sheffield to talk to them would be huge.

• Before Shea, Milledge played in Williamsport, Pa.

  July 13, 2007

  Did you see what Lastings Milledge did last night? Did you see the way he scored from first, how he slid into home, how he snuck his hand in at the last second?

• The best of Rickey being Rickey

  July 12, 2007

  Rickey Henderson is back in uniform and on a major-league roster, albeit in the coaches section. But we all know being the Mets hitting coach is not his first choice of an occupation. All year he's been saying he thinks he can still play in the majors, even at age 48. Just give Rickey a chance.

• Unlike New York, New Jersey tests for steroids

  July 6, 2007

  If New York really was serious about testing its high school athletes for performance-enhancing drugs, the state's officials wouldn't have to look all that far for a good working model.

• Sean Hill (still) has some explaining to do

  July 3, 2007

  Finally, Sean Hill can hide no longer.

• Smyth trade was a mistake

  July 2, 2007

  You can give the Islanders credit for acting boldly and aggressively at the trade deadline. They traded for the best player available in the hopes of (a) a long playoff run, and/or (b) convincing Ryan Smyth to sign a long-term contract.

• NBA Draft dream so close for this NYC hoops star

  June 28, 2007

  New York City native Quinton Hosley arrived home last night around the same time the power stopped working across the city. Which made perfect sense, really, because he was starting to feel as if time wasn't moving, anyway.

• Don't laugh! Sheffield's predictions were accurate

  June 27, 2007

  We really don't want to defend Gary Sheffield and his propensity to open his mouth and say something controversial, then change his mind 20 minutes later. We witnessed his act up close the last three years, and it was as disturbing as it was entertaining.

• Nathan, Stony Brook benefited from each other

  June 21, 2007

  It's easy to make the argument that Joe Nathan played a very significant role raising the profile of Stony Brook University's baseball team. Only four years after the Giants drafted him in the sixth round, Stony Brook made the leap from D-III to D-I.

• Think things are bad with the Mets? Think again

  June 18, 2007

  While watching the Mets continue their June swoon last night at Yankee Stadium, I found myself thinking about other more difficult times for the Mets. Times when it was a struggle to win games all season long.

• Who knew Plainview produced basketball coaches?

  June 13, 2007

  A little more than a week ago, around the same time Billy Donovan provided everyone with a great impersonation of a high school senior reneging on his new prom date so he could go with his old girlfriend, another Long Islander made some NBA news that slipped under people's radar.

• Never too early to preview baseball's trade deadline

  June 12, 2007

  You know what's the best thing about baseball's amateur draft? Once it's over, baseball's trading season officially gets started. This is the time when GMs really start to focus their attention on what they're going to do at the trade deadline, perhaps our favorite time of year.

• The man who gave up Bonds' first HR

  May 30, 2007

  Nearly 21 years have passed since Barry Bonds hit the first of his 746 career home runs (and counting), and the pitcher who gave up that historic shot understandably doesn't remember it.

• Steroids testing in high schools long overdue

  May 24, 2007

  Eighteen years ago, in the year 1989, Jason Giambi was an 18-year-old high school senior, Barry Bonds was a talented major-leaguer but by no means considered a threat to Hank Aaron's home-run record and the company named BALCO was a decade from entering our vocabulary.

• Was that blood or red paint?

  April 26, 2007

  More than two years after the fact we still don't truly know whether that really was blood on the sock of Boston's pitcher / publicist Curt Schilling during the 2004 postseason. Last night, however, we received an interesting second-hand admission that it was staged with - get this - red paint.

• For Yankees, the end of an awful era

  April 25, 2007

  Once Phil Hughes steps on the mound tomorrow night, Yankee officials will be relieved, and not just because their battered pitching staff is getting what they hope to be a boost. It's also because the mere fact Hughes is pitching in a major-league game will end a forgettable run of horrific drafting.

• Hughes is ahead of schedule

  April 24, 2007

  Is it a desperation move or out of necessity? How about both? No matter how you look at it, the Yankees are turning to Phil Hughes to pitch on Thursday, and that's way ahead of the schedule they had planned for him.

• NHL: Refs made right calls

  April 17, 2007

  After watching the Islanders fans' idiotic trashing-the-ice display and then hearing several players question the referee's calls after their 3-2 Game 3 loss, I got a little tired of the belly-aching.

• Time has passed Imus by

  April 10, 2007

  The only way this whole Don Imus saga is going to go away is by you, the listener, taking action. It's time to hit the mute button on his show, change the station, and look the other way. It's time for him to leave.

• Back home, the Dubielewicz family celebrates

  April 9, 2007

  For all you Islanders fans who could barely bring yourself to watch the shootout against the Devils yesterday in fear of what horror might take place next, just think of what was going through the minds of Wade Dubielewicz's parents.

• From The Boss to The Donald?

  April 2, 2007

  This whole guessing game regarding whom George Steinbrenner is going to pick as his Chosen One is fun, but not complete. Let's not overlook the possibility that The Boss's family could simply cash in on this pinstriped-empire after George is gone.

• Bookmark this Web gem

  April 1, 2007

  So where do you get your news these days? It's OK. You can admit it. We already know what most of you are going to say, anyway. It's the Internet, not the newspaper. Don't be ashamed. The world is changing, and you're on board with it.