Big match today between Germany and Portugal! SPOILER ALERT: Nothing will happen for a while and then several guys will fall on the ground holding their ankles and then nothing will happen for a long time and then hey look, boobs! (Pretty safe for work, unless you can’t look at girl in bikinis or body paint.)
UPDATE: Germany wins 3-2, which we’re pretty sure is the highest scoring game in the history of soccer.

This from the New York Post: What a crowd, these bums are, all of them, from the Wilpons at the top to Omar Minaya down below, all of them who conspired to botch this firing worse than any firing has ever been botched. Ever. You wouldn’t trust these guys to run a 7-11, let alone a National League baseball team. What a joke. What a cowardly, dastardly joke. A midnight massacre. A 3 a.m. thrashing. Disgraceful. Utterly, completely, disgraceful…Is this the best the Mets can do? Is this really what they are about? Can they really consider themselves a professional operation when they do the simplest task in sports, firing the manager, this wretchedly?

A sad, sad day to have a hairy neck.

Am I the only one who finds the Tim Donaghy case a lot more compelling than either Spygate or the steroid scandal in baseball? For one thing, that Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals was perhaps the worst robbery I have ever seen in a sporting event as the referees were all but visibly rooting for the Lakers in the 4th quarter. At one point, a foul was called on Mike Bibby for being elbowed in the head by Kobe. I remember being furious after that game (and I’m not even a Kings fan), and so, to be honest, I am glad to see the NBA get its comeuppance. I have thought for years that the NBA was not on the up and up, and I am obviously not alone. A recent poll on ESPN.com showed that 76% of over 80,000 in the poll thought that two refs conspired to fix Game 6 of the 2002 Western Conference Final. 1 in 4 people think that the NBA is on the up and up! I bet 1 in 4 people believe that Pro Wrestling is on the up and up!

RELATED: Nader’s back at it.
RELATED: News story about Game 6.

This one comes courtesy of Steve O.: What National League East team is 81-81 since last June 1st? I’ll give you a hint: hairy necked fans.

Happy 52nd birthday to Marvelous Marvin Hagler! I saw that it was his birthday and thought back to watching his fight against Thomas Hearns as a kid, possibly the most exciting boxing match I’ve ever seen on TV. (Do yourself a favor and at least watch the first round. One of the greatest boxing rounds ever.)

Headed down to DC yesterday afternoon with Gabe from the Omelette and a few of the guys from the Kingdom. The traffic was surprisingly smooth. We got there and rolled in. The stadium just opened this year, so they still have a few kinks to work out. Parking is still kind of a crapshoot, and plenty expensive. Cheapest lots we found were $25. Rolled into a Permit Parking Lot only, where the girl told us, she’s let us park there for $20 “on the DL”. Why can’t I go anywhere without being sketchy? Anyways, we walked up got tickets. They say the stadium has been pretty empty this year, and one reason is the tickets. The tickets down in the lower level are waaaaay more expensive than they are in Philly. For example, tickets right above the dugout in Philly are $50. In DC, they are $75. Lower level outfield in Philly is $24. In DC, it’s $35.

As for the ballpark itself, the first thing I thought of when I walked in was, “I feel like I’m in a video game ballpark.” Hard to explain, but everyone agreed with me. Everything was sort of harshly angled, the scoreboard was so huge it was borderline silly, and there were areas that didn’t really make any sense (A section right behind the center field wall that I think was, no kidding, a sandy hill spray painted green to look like it had grass on it, like they ran out of money before they could lay the last of the sod.)

The concourses were extremely dull. Both the walkways and the floor were sort of tannish white color. The food choices were ok, and there didn’t seem to be much of an effort to support local institutions, either beer wise or food wise. The stadium was a very fair representation of this team: generic and somewhat uninteresting. And the field will torture the Phillies for years to come, as it is not a home run hitters ballpark. The Phils had three or four hits last night that would have been gone at CBP, but were routine pop flies at Nationals Park.

By far the highlight of the night was the president race, when the four guys with huge heads raced around the track. Apparently Teddy Roosevelt has never won, and on this night his streak continued, as he finished a distant third. Teddy really looks lost out there, but I still bet he could beat Ryan Howard in a footrace.

Anyways, the best part of the (terrible) game was how eerie the first four innings were for the Phillies:
1st Inning: Rollins out, Victorino singles, Utley singles, Howard out, Burrell out
2nd Inning: Jenkins double, Feliz out (fails to advance the runner), Ruiz out but advances runner, Myers out
3rd Inning: Rollins out, Victorino singles, Utley singles, Howard out, Burrell out
4th Inning: Jenkins double, Feliz out (fails to advance the runner), Ruiz out but advances runner, Myers out

Weird. Anyways, it turned out to be quite possibly the worst Phillies game I have ever seen, as the listless Phightins’ went down 4-0, despite a crowd that was probably abotu 50% pro-Phillies. But a bad day at the ballpark still beats a good day workin’.

This from a recent interview with Politico:

Question: Mr. President, I know you’re going to hate this, but I’m hoping that we may twist your arm and talk about baseball for just a moment. (Laughter.) Mr. President, you’re a Major League Baseball team owner again. Everyone is a free agent. You have a Yankees-like wallet. Who is your first position player?

THE PRESIDENT: That’s a great question. I like Utley from the Philadelphia Phillies. He’s a middle infielder, which is always — you know, they say you have strength up the middle — there’s nothing better than having a good person up the middle that can hit.

Apparently tickets are selling poorly to tomorrow night’s Game 6 against the Pistons. What? I mean tickets aren’t that expensive, the team, although blown out in the last two games, has taken this series deeper than anyone thought they would, and they are a fun team to watch. Philly.com is giving away almost 100 tickets, and WIP is giving away tickets as well. That means that nobody is buying, and they don’t want the arena to look empty for a Game 6 in the playoffs. Playoffs, people! I went last Friday and it was a blast. If I didn’t have to work manana, I’d be there again. Crowd energy is such a big part of playoff basketball (thus the huge home court advantage), and it’s really lame if we’re the only city that can’t bring any.

This town is so ridiculous. We’ve got two teams in the playoffs, the baseball team is hot, and I’ll bet you dollars to donuts that if you turn on WIP today, they’re talking about the NFL draft and what to do with Lito Sheppard. Well, I don’t care if they drop Lito Sheppard into the goddamm river with cement shoes on, we have two teams in the playoffs so screw the Eagles.

Well gang, this is one of those times that you need to appreciate the moment. The Flyers pulled it off in highly dramatic fashion last night (how the Caps didn’t score as they continually assaulted the net in the 3rd period is anyone’s guess), then the Phillies followed suit by pulling off a thrilling win thanks to Pat the Bat. He is playing like a man in a contract year possessed. And not to mention that the Sixers pulled off a huge upset in Game One and look to keep it going against the Pistons tonight. Good times, people. Enjoy them.

Remember last year, when the Phillies were like 86-60 at games I didn’t attend, and 3-13 at games I did attend? What a difference a year makes. Thus far this year, the Phils are 4-0 at games I attend, and 5-10 in games I don’t. It is becoming increasingly obvious to everyone with any sense that I am going to be an integral part of this team’s success this season.