First, the New York Yankees continue to crumble on the backs of overrated young arms that are just not getting the job done from the mound. As a Met fan, I may mock the Yankees, but as a Bronxite, there is a side of me that would really like to see them do well, especially in their final year at their old stadium. It just doesn’t seem right to usher in a new era of Yankee baseball on a losing note. Hopefully, they can turn things around.
But in the PSAL, it is all over. The A Division produced some exciting new stories and while I correctly predicted that the Monroe Eagles would be ousted early from the playoffs, I was wrong in the belief that the Bronx would be taking back the championship. Lehman was ousted early last week and then despite some amazing efforts from Dominique Parra, who threw his second straight no-hitter in the playoffs, Gompers was also eliminated in a best-of-three series against Madison.
Clinton, who surprised many with their efforts this year, also found themselves on the short end of the stick, losing to George Washington High School in their semifinal series. The news coming out of that game was that Clinton’s standout catcher Mauricio Matos, did not compete in the playoff games, instead traveling out to Kansas City for a pre-draft workout with the Royals. Whether that made a difference or not is anyone’s guess, but I would have to side with Matos here.
Sure, it would be great to win the playoffs with the team, but there are two more important factors when playing high school sports; getting good grades and ensuring your future. Matos is obviously passing classes to play ball and if he is going to make a name for himself in baseball, he needs to take advantage of every opportunity he can get. I wish him good luck with the draft.
I guess, as the saying goes, “We’ll get them next year.”
George Washington will take on Madison at Shea Stadium this Friday in the finals. I hope this tradition continues in Citi Field.
As far as the Mets are concerned, the team is back to their winning ways. Willie Randolph suddenly remembered how to manage again, or, could it possibly be that Randolph has been doing the same thing this whole time, and the Mets just finally broke out of a bad slump? I believe the latter, and I think fans should get over the fire Willie nonsense. This is not the New York Knicks we are dealing with. No coach would have gotten the Mets through their temporary crisis. It wasn’t about the manager; it had everything to do with the tough luck. Let’s see how the whole season turns out before pointing fingers.
Was Manny Ramirez’s 500th home run the quietest milestone ever achieved? Ramirez has consistently played well, but his attitude so overshadowed his performance that I don’t think anyone knew he was approaching 500 home runs at all. Right now, all eyes are on Alex Rodriguez, and rightfully so.
Sports fans had something new to enjoy this weekend when CBS presented the MMA fighting of EliteXC on primetime. I love Mixed Martial Arts. There is nothing else quite like it and I hope Bronxites got to see for themselves what all the hype is about. I, for one, had never seen women participate in the action. But Gina Carano, who plays the sexy Crush on TV’s American Gladiators, may have put forth the best match on the card against Kaitlin Young. Their match is what MMA fighting is all about. It’s not just beating your opponent up; it’s all about strategy. This match had it all, and while EliteXC is not up there with the UFC in terms of fight quality, it was a strong first showing and definitely helped advance the sport.
From the sexy Crush to the beautiful Maureen Shea – the Bronx boxer continues to up her stock value with her latest inclusion among the top Sexy Vegetarians of 2008. The PETA contest includes such names as Alyssa Milano, Carrie Underwood and Mary Tyler Moore, among others. There’s a men’s division, too, but there are no Bronxites involved, so who cares. To vote for Shea, go to www.peta.org.
And finally, the Bronx New York International Soccer League’s 33rd season kicked off at Evander High School, with games being played on Saturday and Sunday. This year, for the first time, starting on June 6, the league will play its first Friday night games at 7 p.m. Don’t miss the action.
And now you know the score, and knowing is half the battle.
