Soccer Debuts at Yankee Stadium

(Photos by NY Yankees)

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, July 23- Soccer, the world’s most popular spectator sport, made its debut at the most iconic sports stadium in the United States, Yankee Stadium, on Sunday evening. The current Yankee Stadium will be hosting two of the matches being played as part of the Herbalife World Football Challenge.

The Bronx, the home to natives of many nations from all corners of the globe, will welcome football stars from four world renowned teams representing four countries, England, France, Italy, and Spain, this summer.

The international appeal of soccer is illustrated by the number of nations represented on the rosters of the two clubs that played on Sunday, 11 on the English side (Chelsea) and 8 on the club from Paris (PSG). The manager of each side is an Italian national, Roberto Di Matteo of Chelsea and Carlo Ancelotti of PSG.

Fans of Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain or world class soccer in general were welcomed to the neighborhood by several of the area’s eateries, Billy’s, Crown Diner, The Dugout, Stan’s and Yankee Tavern miniature soccer balls inscribed for the special occasion were distributed at each restaurant.

Dr. Cary Goodman, executive director of the 161^st Street Business Improvement District (BID), who inspired the promotion, described its purpose, “We’re used to having sports fans from around the world visit our district in The Bronx. We want them to see and feel how happy we are to greet guests. The souvenirs are our way of saying, ‘Thanks for coming’.”

As Yankee Stadium’s infield and outfield were transformed into a 110’ by 70”soccer pitch, two first division clubs took the field for a friendly match. The English entry, Chelsea FC, is visiting the U.S. in the wake of a superlative season. It captured the FA title in England with a victory over Liverpool. On May 19, Chelsea had a penalty kick win over favored Bayren Munich in the latter’s home field.

On July 18, Chelsea was victorious over the Seattle Sounders of the MLS in its first of three contests in the United States this summer.

The match at Yankee Stadium was only the third between the two soccer powers. Both previous matches occurred during the 2004-5 UEFA Champions League competition. Chelsea was the winner of the first match in Paris, 3-0, on goals by veteran John Terry and Didier Drogba (2). The second contest ended in a scoreless tie, 0-0.

Shortly after 7 p.m., the match on Sunday began. The happy rooters of PSG erupted in cheers in the 30^th minutes of the first half as Nené scored an unassisted goal. The Brazilian native, who celebrated his 31^st birthday three days earlier, was PSG’s leading goal scorer during the league season. The fleet midfielder scored 21 of his team’s 75 goals.

PSG registered 7 of the 12 shots on goal during the first half, but none from either side was close to a score.

In the early minutes of the second half, both teams made many substitutions. As Di Matteo explained to reporters, “For us, it’s [each match in the U.S.] is preparation for our season.”

As the match neared its conclusion, in the 82^nd minute, two Brazilians combined to tie the match. Ramires passed to Lucas Piazon who booted in Chelsea’s first goal. The match ended in a 1-1 tie.

Although neither side achieved a victory, the crowd of 38,202 knowledgeable and enthusiastic soccer fans demonstrated their enjoyment of the contest. 

After the contest, Di Matteo stated, “It was a great atmosphere. I think the folks enjoyed themselves.” Of the overwhelming support from the fans for Chelsea, the manager commented, “I want to thank all the fans; it was like a home game.”

Di Matteo gave his opinion about the venue, Yankee Stadium, “It’s the first time I’ve been here. It’s very impressive. It’s a piece of art. The pitch was better than we expected.”

As soon as the match concluded, many soccer aficionados in the crowd were already preparing for their attendance at the next match in the Stadium on August 8 when AC Milan will face Real Madrid.

Cops Step Up Security after ‘Dark Knight’ Massacre

Concern Over Copycats Leads to Beefed up Security

By Dan Gesslein

BRONX, NEW YORK, July 20- In the wake of the Colorado Massacre during the showing of “The Dark Knight Rises,” the NYPD is stepping up security at movie theaters throughout the city.

"As a precaution against copycats and to raise the comfort levels among movie patrons in the wake of the horrendous shooting in Colorado, the New York City Police Department is providing coverage at theaters where the 'The Dark Knight Rises' is playing in the five boroughs," said Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly.

Police in Colorado arrested 24-year-old James Holmes in the shooting which so far has left 12 people dead and 38 wounded. The youngest victim, an infant, is expected to recover. According to published reports, the gunman, clad in a gas mask and body armor, stormed the movie theater at North Aurora. The gunman entered through an emergency door and set off a smoke bomb. When the theater goers attempted to exit the gunman opened fire. 

“I, along with all 1.4 million residents of the Bronx, would like to extend our most heartfelt condolences to the victims of last night’s deadly movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado. It is absolutely shocking that someone would look to hurt hard working individuals who wanted to do nothing more than relax and watch a movie with friends and family. 

“I and the residents of the Bronx will keep the victims of this devastating event, as well as the entire state of Colorado, in our prayers,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

This is not the first time violence has been linked to a Batman movie. During the showing of the 1989 Tim Burton film “Batman” an argument on line for popcorn at the Whitestone Cineplex led to the fatal shooting. Seventeen years later Ricardo Jimenez was arrested for the shooting. He is serving 22 years to life for the crime.

Yanks, Mother Nature Beat Jays

Yanks head to Oakland after rain shortened game and sweep of Blue Jays

By Rich Mancuso

BRONX, NEW YORK, July 19- This time claps of thunder, lightning, and rain stopped a New York Yankees game in the Bronx Wednesday afternoon. Their offense also continued to excel before the weather caused a rain shortened 6-0 win and sweep over the Toronto Blue Jays after six innings.

With threatening weather in the forecast, the game was delayed 51 minutes. However, in a season where the Yankees seem to be hitting the ball all over the place, delays don’t seem to matter.

New York got on the scoreboard early when Mark Teixeira hit a two-run home run, his 19^th, in a four-run first inning off Toronto starter and loser Ricky Romero (8-6) who lost his fifth straight, a career low.

The inning started when Derek Jeter, inserted as the designated hitter, led off with a double. There were four extra base hits that included two straight doubles from Andruw Jones and Robinson Cano. The hit from Cano extended his career best hitting streak to 21 games.

“You got to get contributions from everyone,” said Jeter who went 2 for 3. It was the Yankees third straight win, nine in their last 11, a season-high 23 games over .500.

And the Yankees continue to get those contributions with guys off the bench. It enables manager Joe Girardi to give his starters some rest, in particular, during this 13-game stretch that continues Thursday night with three games in Oakland and three at Seattle.

DeWayne Wise had an RBI double in the fourth inning off Romero and a run scoring single in the sixth. He gave Curtis Granderson a day of rest out in center as once again the strategy, Girardi getting the best from his bench, worked to perfection.

“It’s been really special what these guys have done for us, you kinda’ want to talk about giving some other guys off during this run of 13- games,” commented Girardi about how Wise, Jayson Nix with two hits, and Eric Chavez have contributed off the bench.

That gave the Yankees a 5-0 lead. They added another run in the sixth and the weather got worse. The tarp came on the field, and after a delay of 58 minutes the Yankees packed and went to Oakland also propelling Hiroki Kuroda (9-7) to his third career complete game victory.

“His slider was good, he kept away from getting the first hitter on and made some good pitches,” said Girardi about Kuroda.

In his last start Kuroda gave up five runs, 11 in his last two starts. But he bounced back tossing seven shutout innings, limited the Jays to four hits, no walks and striking out five. Though it was a shortened game, the outing by Kuroda leads to more encouragement.

With Kuroda bouncing back, CC Sabathia healthy after missing two starts, and with Andy Pettitte recovering well from a broken ankle, Girardi has to be pleased.

“Pitching is the one constant that you have to have to win on a daily basis and we’ve been getting that,” said Girardi. New York has also scored three runs in 42 consecutive games.

“I think our guys set the tone early,” said Girardi about how his team tacked on runs, off Romero, a pitcher that has given the Yankees problems in the past.

The Yankees have pitched well, swung the bats, and tacked on runs late. That also had led to them widening their gap on first place in the American League east. Girardi alluded to those factors in taking five of six games on the home stand from the Angels and Blue Jays,

Now they hit the road with right hander Freddie Garcia (4-2), who won his last start Saturday against the Angels, getting the start against Oakland.

“It’s a lot of fun coming to the ballpark every day,” said Nick Swisher. 

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

Returning CC Dominates Jays

Sabathia returns and Yankees win another one from Blue Jays

By Rich Mancuso

BRONX, NEW YORK, July 18- CC Sabathia had control of his pitches and he was strong in his return from the disabled list Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. He dominated the Toronto Blue Jays lineup, without power hitter Jose Bautista who was placed on the 15-day disabled list and the Yankees continued to roll taking their second straight over the Jays 6-1 in the Bronx.

Sabathia carried a shutout into the seventh inning and the Yankees bullpen took over. The lefthander improved to 10-3, gave up four hits and struck out six.

“It was tough sitting here and watching your teammates go out and battle every day,” said Sabathia who improved to 13-3 lifetime against Toronto. “It feels good to come back and be a part of it.”

And for the Yankees and manager Joe Girardi, having Sabathia back in the rotation, only makes them continue their roll to another American League east division title. New York has won five of their last six and increased their lead in the division to 9 /1-2 games over Tampa Bay with a major league best record of 56-34.

After the three-run second inning, led by the three-run home run from Andruw Jones to left, Sabathia who missed two starts due to a left groin strain kept Blue Jays batters at bay.

Girardi was cautious. He removed Sabathia after throwing 87 pitches on a steamy 95-degree night. His ace, though, likes to pitch in steamy conditions and Girardi also said it may be an advantage that Sabathia missed a few starts because he will have less innings as the Yankees prepare for their post season run.

“My arm feels good when it is warm,” said Sabathia who had no lingering effects from the injury that sidelined him on June 24^th. He experienced pain in the groin after pitching against the Mets in the final game of the subway interleague series.

“CC likes the heat,” said Girardi. “Can’t say that I ever did, but CC really enjoys it,”

Jays’ starter Brett Cecil (2-2) suffered his second loss of the season. In six innings he was touched for the three runs on the 12^th home run of the year from Jones. He would settle down and not allow another run, but the Yankees got to the Toronto pen again scoring three more runs in the seventh inning.

“To his credit, he kept the ball down and he changed speeds effectively,” said Toronto manager John Farrell about his starter and the adjustments made after the Jones home run.

It was the 432^nd career home run for Jones that surpassed Cal Ripken Jr. for sole possession of 41^st place on baseball’s all time list.

Jones has been another weapon off the bench for Girardi along with Eric Chavez, DeWayne Wise and Jayson Nix. They have also accounted for many of the 145 home runs hit by the Yankees that lead baseball.

Girardi said about his bench “I think I have a really good bench that can be extremely productive for us. It’s been really helpful.”

Rafael Soriano closed the door in the ninth inning for his 24^th save in 25 opportunities. Girardi once again used four pitchers out of the pen before calling on his closer as the Blue Jays scored their lone run in the eighth and stranded two in the ninth.

Robinson Cano also extended his career best hitting streak to 20- games, the longest active in the majors and most since Derek Jeter in the 2007 season.

With Sabathia back in the rotation and the Yankees winning in this 13-game stretch, there is more room for confidence. They go for the series sweep in the get- away finale Wednesday afternoon with Hiroki Kuroda (8-7) on the mound.

“We’ve been doing a little bit of everything,” said Jeter. “We’ve got a pretty good combination of things going right now.”

e-mail Rich Mancuso:  Ring786@aol.com

Food Truck for the Hungry

Truck gives out FREE meals

 

BRONX, NEW YORK, July 16- Chancellor Dennis M.
Walcott, joined by federal and city agencies and non-profit organizations,
encouraged families to take advantage of free breakfast and lunch for their
youngsters as part of the annual summer meals program that runs through August
31.

Summer meals are provided in more than 1,000
locations, including pools, parks, public housing sites and soup kitchens
throughout the five boroughs. In addition to these locations, the Department of
Education (DOE) is operating mobile refrigerated trucks that provide meals to
children at Orchard Beach in the Bronx and at Flushing Meadows Park. There are
currently two trucks and the DOE is adding a third one to serve meals to
youngsters at Queens Farm Park, starting Monday, July 23.

Last year, more than 7 million meals were served
during the summer, including 67,000 meals served by the trucks, which is more
meals than some states served for their entire summer program. To help promote
summer meals, Share Our Strength, a national non-profit that focuses on
eliminating childhood hunger, is providing text messaging capabilities and has
produced postcards and flyers that are being distributed throughout the City
through food advocates, community-based organizations City agencies and the DOE
to alert families of the summer meals program.

 “We want all
families with children, no matter their residency, to have one of our
nutritious meals free of charge. In an effort to make the summer meals even
more accessible and convenient, we will be operating three refrigerated food
trucks that will serve meals to youngsters,” Chancellor Walcott said. “We are
reaching out to families through posters and flyers, thanks to the efforts of
the USDA, Share Our Strength, the Mayor’s Food Policy Coordinator and the
Office of SchoolFood.”

Chancellor Walcott made his comments at a press
conference today at Orchard Beach, next to one of the refrigerated trucks. He
was joined by USDA Regional Administrator James Arena-DeRosa, Share Our
Strength No Kid Hungry NY Director Megan Cryan, Mayor’s Food Policy Coordinator
Kimberly Kessler, Deputy Chancellor of Operations Kathleen Grimm, Council
member James Vacca, and several non-profit organizations.

 “No child
should go hungry. The USDA Summer Food Service Program provides free nutritious
meals to children when the school doors close,” said USDA Regional
Administrator James Arena-DeRosa. “Children need good nutrition all year long,
so grab a healthy lunch at a summer site near you.”

“The summer meals program is a great way to make
sure that kids who get free lunch during the school year can also get the
nutrition they need when school is out,” said Bill Shore, founder and CEO of
Share Our Strength. “We are thrilled to be partnering with the NYC Department
of Education to ensure that every child in New York who needs something to eat
can get something to eat.”

 “Children who
eat regular, nutritious meals have more time and energy to focus on doing what
they do best: learning,” said City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn.
“Fighting hunger is a key component of academic success. Through summer meals,
the city maintains our commitment to fighting hunger year round. I hope
families will take advantage of this terrific program.”

 “This year,
we have brought together many city agencies and nonprofit partners to help
ensure that families are aware of this important program,” said Kimberly
Kessler, the Mayor’s food policy coordinator. “I am grateful to these partners
for their terrific efforts in getting the word out and look forward to
continuing to work together.”

 “The summer
meals program is a wonderful opportunity for young children to receive free
meals at over 1,000 schools, pools, parks and other great places in the city
while they enjoy their summer vacation,” Councilman James Vacca said. “Just
like during the school year, it’s absolutely vital that we continue to offer
these free and nutritious meals to these youngsters during the months that they
are not in school. Making sure our kids eat healthy year-round is something
that we should all take seriously.”

For a location and meal hours, parents can call 311,
log onto the DOE at www.opt-osfns.org/schoolfood/public1/default.aspx, visit
Share Our Strength’s website at www.strength.org, or NYCFood at
www.nyc.gov/nycfood. Parents also may text “nycmeals” to 877877, or visit the
Parks Department website for locations at parks and pools.

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A-Choke Strikes Again!

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Yanks Blast Four Homers, but Lose to Angels, 10-8

(Photos by Gary Quintal)

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, July 16- The mound matchup of two 10-game winners, Jared Weaver and Ivan Nova, created the expectation that the finale of the three-game series between the Yankees and Angels would be a tight pitchers’ duel. Instead the batters unloaded 27 hits including eight home runs, four by each team, during the Angels 10-8 win.

Each team put runs on the scoreboard via four baggers with one out in the first inning. Erick Aybar (4) and Albert Pujols (15) hit back-to-back home runs. The homer was the 450^th in the Hall of Fame career of Pujols.

After Curtis Granderson singled, Alex Rodriguez smacked his 643^rd career homer into the right field stands to tie the game.

The Yanks scored single runs in the second, sixth and seventh frames. A solo homer by Granderson (250) in the sixth and Eric Chavez (8) accounted for two of those runs.

The Yanks were topped by the visitors who scored eight runs on 11 hits in the final four innings. Maicer Itzuris’s first homer of the year scored two in the sixth. The play of two young phenoms, Mark Trumbo (26) and Mike Trout (20) led to several scores.

Trumbo was on first and scored on the homer by Itzuris. He led off the ninth with his 24^th home run of the season. The homer was his sixth in the last seven games against the Yanks for the “Yankee killer.” Trumbo raised his season batting average to .310 after getting five hits in 12 at bats in the three game series. The outstanding 2011 rookie is 14 for 30 against the Yanks in 2012 with six home runs and 11 runs batted in.

Sensational rookie Mike Trout doubled and scored a run the next inning with his second double of the contest. After going seven for 12 in the three multi-hit games, Trout’s A.L., leading batting average rose to .349. A sensational catch by Granderson in the third robbed Trout of another extra-base hit. In his last 21 games, Trout is batting above .400 (35 for 86).

A two-run homer By Mark Teixeira and four walks in the ninth gave the Yanks three runs to bring the game closer. With the score 10-8 in favor of the Angels and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, A-Rod stepped to the plate. With many fans screaming for him to break Lou Gehrig’s record of 23 grand slam home runs, the game ended as a-Rod popped to first. The batter stated, “I put a good swing on it and I just popped it up.”

Both Rodriguez and Yankee manager Joe Girardi, although disappointed by the loss were pleased by the never-say-die attitude of the club. According to Rodriguez, “You can’t win every day. I like how we battled. Our objective was to win the series and we did that.”

Girardi commented, “When you come from behind, that’s how you win games. We were one hit away.” The Yanks have won a major league leading 29 come-from-behind games in 2012.

Yankees stats-Derek Jeter’s single was the 3,204^th in his career. Cano’s two singles tied his career high hitting streak of 18 consecutive games. He is 29 for 72 during that period. The Yankees have scored at least three runs in 39 straight games, a single season team mark. The Yanks have hit a major league high of 142 home runs in 2012, 41 in the last 21 contests.

Phil Hughes (9-7) will go to the mound in the first game of a three-game series with Toronto on Monday evening. Henderson Alvarez (5-7) will start for the Blue Jays.

Can Do!

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Cano, Grandi-Man Homer Yanks to Stuff Angel

(Photos by Ken Carozza)

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, July 14- The Yanks successfully continued their quest to compile the best mark in the majors at the conclusion of the 2012 season with a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday afternoon. The win was their sixth in the last seven contests; their record of 54-33 is the best in MLB.

Yankee starter Freddy Garcia ran into difficulty in the first inning as the first two batters singled and later in the frame were driven across the plate on a single by third sacker Alberto Collapso. Yankees skipper Joe Girardi confessed, “Anytime a pitcher labors in the first inning, you get a little worried.” 

Garcia explained the difficulty, “They’re a pretty tough lineup. They don’t swing at a bad pitch.”

Garcia limited the Halos to two hits and one run in the other four innings he pitched. After throwing a season high of 98 pitches, Garcia was lifted after the fifth.

The relievers, Cody Eppley, David Robertson and Rafael Soriano, saved Garcia’s victory by yielding only two hits and no runs in the final four innings. The save by Soriano was his 22^nd in 23 save opportunities.

Girardi commented, “It’s hard to say where we’d be without him [Soriano]. He’s beren tremendous.” When asked if he was surprised by Soriano’s superiority as a closer over his work as a setup man, Girardi responded, “A lot of guys thrive when the adrenaline is pumping, so I’m not surprised.”

The win was the fourth straight for Garcia, who lost his first two decisions of 2012. He is especially dominant over the Angels. His mark is 16-3 with an ERA of 2.66, the highest winning percentage of any pitcher against the Halos.

Home runs again controlled the outcome of the contest. Derek Jeter led-off the bottom of the first with an infield single, his 3,202^nd base hit. With two out Robinson Cano took a 2-2 pitch into the left field stands to tie the game. The homer extended Cano’s hitting streak to a season high 17 games. He has raised his batting average to a team high .315. The home run was his 10^th in the last 24 games.

In the third, Curtis Ganderson broke the tie by driving in two runs with his 24^th home run of the season.

The Yankees lead the majors with 138 home runs. They have hit 37 homers in the last 20 contests. They also lead all MLB teams in slugging percentage.

The Angels’ rookie sensation, Mike trout, continues to impress New York fans. He hit successfully in his first three trips to the plate. After singling in the third, he stole second and third. He leads the A.L, with a batting average of .348 and paces the league in steals with 30. In the first two games at Yankee Stadium, he has five hits and four stolen bases.

The finale of the three game series will be played on Sunday afternoon with two 10 game winners on the mound. Ivan Nova (10-3) will face Jered Weaver (10-1).