George Steinbrenner's Passing - New York Covers

The best way to get the local reaction to significant events is a glance at the local newspaper covers.

Here are the covers of today's NY Post and NY Daily News.

Yes! The 1986 NY Daily News

Collecting newspapers of your team's accomplishment is a great way to capture the moment. You get the "YES!," the stories from the writers who followed them all year, and the emotion of the town.

In 1986, I was more concerned with the outfit my 7th grade teacher was wearing than collecting a NY Daily News after the Mets won the World Series - so I never thought about keeping the paper.

I finally found really nice conditioned NY Post and NY Daily News from the day after Game 7 of the 1986 World Series.

I usually see the folded, ripped, and stained versions on eBay, but a dealer at the MAB show in November had some great ones. I really only wanted the NY Daily News (I like the cover better), but he gave me a great deal if I bought both.

These go with the Dallas Morning News from the Cowboys' Super Bowl wins in the '90s, the Baltimore Sun from Cal Ripken's streak, and several Sept. 12, 2001 newspapers - including the SF Chronicle with "BASTARDS" in bold type face on the cover.

New Yankee Stars Were Slow Starters in '08

It was all smiles in December when the contracts were signed, but what will the back of the NY Post look like this May?

The Yanks have opened up the checkbooks and bought Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia, and AJ Burnett for close to a half a billion dollars. As a Mets fan, I'm well aware that championships are won in September/October, but how will the media respond if the Yankees half billion dollar investment doesn't pay immediate dividends?



Based on last year's April and May statistics, the headline writer for the NY Post and NY Daily News could be busy.

Mark Teixiera
Through May, 2008 (54 games): Tex was hitting .271 with 7 home runs and 39 RBIs.

CC Sabathia
Through May, 2008 (12 starts): CC was 3-7 with a 4.73 ERA

AJ Burnett
Through May, 2008 (11 starts): AJ was 5-5 with a 4.56 ERA

Championships may be won in Sept/Oct, but the papers could get pretty interesting this spring. Seven home runs, and eight wins for three players worth half a billion dollars isn't what the Steinbrenner boys are expecting.

OJ Simpson to Serve Time for Memorabilia Heist?

I really like sports memorabilia, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't rob and kidnap to take a signed jersey, football, and suit that no longer fits.

But I'm not OJ and today he'll learn his sentencing following the guilty verdicts he received in October for robbery and kidnapping.

Karma? I don't know.





I pretty sure the following things will happen today though:

• Johnnie Cochrane will rise from the dead and defend OJ.
• Robert Kardashian will rise and die again after watching an episode of his family's reality TV Show.
• William Vannatter will leave his farm and join the Las Vegas PD.
• Judge Sam Alito will take the appeal trial.
• Marcia Clark will come back with another hairstyle from the '80s.
• Mark Fuhrman will solve the Natalie Holloway case.
• Robert Shapiro will stop selling LegalZoom.
• The Goldman family will all grow 'staches like Fred Goldman.
• Gil Garcetti will now run the Las Vegas Police Department.
• Al Cowlings will crash a white Ford Bronco into the courthouse.
• John Starks will keep throwing up three-point bricks for the NY Knicks against the Houston Rockets in a rematch of the NBA Finals.

NY Mets Art Shamsky in Page 6 of the Post

Art Shamsky was signing autographs last month at MAB's Amazing Mets Fest. He was great with the fans and pushing his book, "The Magnificent Seasons."

Today Art Shamsky is in the middle of Page 6 in the NY Post and being sued by his ex-wife for $11 Million dollars in damages for spreading more than the pages of his book. According to Page 6 of the Post, the ex-Mrs. Shamsky is claiming he passed an STD to her after he engaged in unsafe squeeze plays with men and women while the two were still married.

Shamsky was a member of the 1969 Miracle Mets and hit over .300 that season. He also played for the Reds, Cubs, and A's.

Stray-Rod Strikes Again

Ah, another good A-Rod story - the cover of the Daily News was better than the NY Post.
First he sticks to the fans by backing out of the all-star game home run derby. Then he sticks it to Madonna?

At what point does Stray-Rod stop going after Jose Canseco's women? Remember Canseco's latest book claimed that Rodriguez went after Jose's wife!

Mets Clowns Getting Grilled in Papers

Today's NY Post covers. There are great articles in all the papers - especially the Amazin' Stories Blog w/ Steve Popper. No one felt sorry for Williot until the Wilpons and Omar FUBARed this one.

This is one of the most embarrassing episodes in Mets History... which is saying something when you consider Vince Coleman's fire-cracker handouts and the trade of Tom Seaver are part of the Mets library of FUBARs.

How Would the Yankees Have Treated Joe Torre?

What if Joe Torre had accepted the Yankees one year managerial contract offer?

How would things have been different if Joe Torre, not Joe Girardi, was the manager of a team that is:

• Playing .500 baseball
• In fourth place in the AL East
• Trails Tampa Bay in the standings
• Four games out of first place in the division

Would Joe Torre still have a job? How would he have been treated by the NY Daily News and NY Post? I think reporters for the Daily News and Post would be making daily calls to the Steinbrenner/Cashman clan about the manager's job status.

What if Torre was the manager and Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes were struggling like this? The NY media and ESPN would be all over him and We'd hear all kinds of cries about Torre's inability to work with young pitchers.

I'm not a Yankees fan - I'm just making an observation and wondering if Joe Girardi's honeymoon in the Bronx is about to end?

Update May 14:
What do you know. . . Baby Boss Hank Steinbrenner is now ripping the Yanks. Here's a link to Wednesday's NY Post.

Roger Clemens - Like Sands Through the Hour Glass . . .

Is Roger Clemens the gift that keeps on giving? Watching his life unfold on the internet and through the NY tabloids is like watching a train wreck - you can't help looking, staring, and being thankful that it's not you in the rear-view mirror.

The amazing thing is . . . All he had to do was speak to George Mitchell when he was originally asked and tell the truth!

During his first press conference about the Mitchell Report, Clemens said that he didn't know what Mitchell wanted to talk to him about. Um, Roger... it's a steroid investigation, what do you think they want to talk to you about?

Since his "I'm not talking to anybody" stance, his career and reputation has been stuck swirling around this performance enhancing drug toilet bowl. And now his lawsuit against Brian McNamee is plunging everything from the bowels of Clemens' past.

First there was the country music star - oh and she was 15 when they met!

Then the NY Daily News linked Roger to a few other pinstripe huggers in Manhattan.

And today there is John Daly's ex wife! The Daily News and SI.com have stories about Roger and Mrs. ex-John Daly traveling the country and dancing with boa constrictors! What's next? Roger dancing with just a boa?!

We need to find Dan Duquette and get his reaction!

The only thing missing from this bad day-time soap opera is Paris Hilton, Rupaul, and a bowl of salsa. Lets see what happens next week on Clemens' very own Wisteria Lane!

Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium Proceeds to Charity

According to Monday's NY Post, the ownership of Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium is being negotiated between the city of New York and the team's owners in order to maximize profits at the fans' expense... again.

Currently, the city owns the actual stadiums.

The teams are trying to lock-up the ownership of their facilities so they can get the majority of the profits by selling everything can of ball parks before the wrecking ball swings through. You can expect the Yanks and Mets to sell everything including: seats, signs, and sh*tters.

What is the Steiner Sports role in this?

I'm not sure how Steiner Sports may be involved. They currently sell everything game-used that deals with the two New York teams. When I talked to Steiner Reps at the National Card show in Cleveland and at an MAB Show last year, they said they were in negotiations with the city to be the broker of these items.

So it sounds like once again, corporate attorneys are fighting to see who can rip off fans the most. I'm worried about prices for these items will go insane. If the team, the city, and (maybe) Steiner are all asking for a percentage - this could get really expensive.

Instead of lining the pockets of the Steinbrenners, Wilpons, government, and (maybe) Steiner... I'd like to see these the sale of these items benefit the local charities! Proceeds from the destruction of these parks should go to Bronx and Queens based charities. They put up with the traffic, parking, and noise... why not let their community benefit from the wrecking ball?

Mr. Saturday Night in Pinstripes?

Are you kidding me? Billy Crystal has signed with the Yanks to play a spring trianing game for the Yankees against the Pirates tomorrow night. I guess Pay-Rod needs another day of rest.

What? Are we turning spring training into the MTV Rock/Jock softball challenge? Is Roger McDowell going to come back and pitch?

Does Billy Crystal have something better to do? Like start working on the much anticipated and hyped "Mr. Saturday Night 2?"

The NY Post has a good review on this.

Today's NY Newspapers

I know, this isn't sports memorabilia related, but I can't get enough of the NY Papers when a scandal hits the scene like this!

NY Post Back Page - Feb. 8, 2008

This is why the NY Post rocks! Here's the back page for Friday, Feb. 8, 2008.