Some numbers are synonymous with certain players: 3 for the Babe, 42 for Jackie Robinson to name a couple.
But what of the number 35? Well, there's Ricky Henderson, Phil Niekro and Frank Thomas. But as a Yankee fan that number goes to a moose.
THE Moose,to be exact, Mike Mussina. No one has worn that number since the righty retired in 2008 after a 20-9 campaign(the first pitcher to retire after a 20-win season since Sandy Koufax in 1966).
But coming into spring training, the number 35 will be worn by a young phenom. Michael Pineda is the "prize" of the Yankee offseason. The bulky right-hander from the Mariners, has a huge frame while handling a high 90s fastball. He has drawn comparisons to Felix Hernandez and to the Yanks own CC Sabathia.
Pineda finished 2011 with a 9-10 record, 3.73 ERA and 173 strikeouts for one of the most inept offenses in recent memory.
The Yanks hope they have found the current number 2 starter and future ace for years to come. Why else would they trade Jesus Montero, the Yanks number one hitting prospect, for him?
Will he live up to our standards? Will he be worth the possible talent dealt in Montero?
Or is he just what the Yanks need to compliment a growing starting rotation like another 35 did back when the Bombers had in 2000?
All of this has yet to be seen, but Pineda has some big shoes to fill to do the number on his back justice.
270 Wins 3.68 ERA 2,813 Strikeouts 7-time Gold Glove winner
The St. Johns Men’s basketball team has a rich history of winning and playing competitively.
However, this has not been the case in recent years as the school's basketball program has been swept under the population's conscientiousness as a result of losing, scandals and lack of interest from fans.
In 2009, the Red Storm is trying to change that while making noise in the process. Going undefeated in 6 games for the first time since 2002 has gained them national recognition and a national ranking of 35.
But the Johnnies toughest opponent was lying in wait, as the team was ready to play in the biggest game of the young season.
Their opponent...the Duke University Blue Devils.
A team that has won their conference championship 7 times this decade and made the NCAA tournament each year since 1995.
Defeating them would be a daunting task for any team especially since they were to travel to North Carolina to face Duke on their home court where they rarely lose.
David Berov and Frank Quasim, co-sports directors at St. Johns student run radio station WSJU, came up with the idea to take the trip to Durham and Broadcast the game back in September.
“Me and Dave wanted to do something big this year.” Said Frank “And when we saw Duke on the schedule we knew we had to go.”
Once the pair approached WSJU general manager Al Ragone with the proposition of a road trip to Duke, the manager agreed and the trip was a go.
Dave and Frank picked seven other members from the station to accompany them on this trip.
Derek Sheppard and Rob Tausch were the first ones to be chosen because Derek was the pre-game and post-game announcer while Rob was the station’s technical “guru”.
The other five were committed students to the team and wanted to show their pride.
On Friday December 4th, the nine St. John’s students left for North Carolina on a nine-hour trip across four states.
“The trip was long and tiring but with the right people in the car, it can be loads of fun too.” Said Dan Martin a member of WSJU’s sports department.
When the crew arrived in Durham, they all breathed a sigh of relief and got right into making themselves at home.
The broadcast team however, was not so fortunate. They immediately went to the office of the hotel and began preparing for the next day’s game.
“We couldn’t waste any time.” Said David Berov “This is the biggest game of WSJU’s sports department and we have to be sure it’s as close to perfect as possible.”
All that preparation paid off as the next day the team went to Cameron Indoor Stadium and set up for the game.
At 3:30 pm, the St. Johns vs. Duke basketball game was underway.
The Red Storm started off strong going basket for basket with the Devils but it wasn’t long till Duke went on a run ending the first half with a 16 point lead.
The deficit is a tough mountain to climb on the road in one of the most hostile environments in the country.
“I’ve never been anywhere like this.” Said Idil Kirimica a member of the station “The noise level is almost deafening, I don’t know how they can play in this.”
When the second half started the Johnnies seemed like an entirely different team. They tightened up their defense and made some critical shots as they chipped away at Duke’s lead.
At one point, St. John’s cut the lead to only four with seven minutes remaining. But Duke showed why they are one of the elite teams in college basketball by overcoming the Red Storm surge and pulling out the victory 80-71.
“Considering the program at Duke and the odds we were up against we did well” said Quasim “We showed how tough we were and that this season will be different from the others.”
A strong performance by St. Johns reassured the gang’s reasons for traveling this far. They got to see their team go toe to toe with a goliath-like school and almost pull off the upset.
The trip was a success and everyone who went enjoyed them selves. But this won’t be the last WSJU sports trip. Dave and Frank are already working on planning trips to Syracuse, the University of Connecticut, Rutgers and Georgetown in Washington D.C.
So expect the sports department to come back to New York with more good news of the St. John’s men’s basketball team.
Here's a video I threw together that encompasses the weekend trip in a few minutes.
The St. Johns University Mens basketball team has started the 2009-2010 season undefeated causing a stir in the college basketball world.
"It's great to start 5-0 but we can't think about it for too long cause we have another game to worry about then another game after that." said Coach Norm Roberts after the Red Storm defeated the Temple Owls 55-48 on Saturday.
The Red Storm are having their best start since the 2002-03 season when they also started off 5-0 before losing their next game to Wake Forest.
But this particular team has gotten the students and college basketball experts talking about the team from Queens.
Senior college basketball writer, Andy Katz has acknowledged the Red Storm as a team who will improve and make a run in their conference this season.
And a big reason for the optimism is that St. Johns is the only team in the Big East Conference that has all five starters returning this season.
"The experience and maturity from the returning players will generate to wins on the court" said David Berov, Red Storm play-by-play announcer for WSJU radio. "They have all been on the big stage before and the trust between the players and coaches is evidence to their cohesiveness."
2009 began with the Red Storm winning their season opener against Long Island University 83-70.
One week later St. Johns showed their veteran game play against St. Bonaventure by pulling off a 69-68 victory thanks to starting guard Malik Boothe's free-throws with less than a second remaining.
"Malik [Boothe] is the one person we want with the ball with time running out." said starting forward D.J. Kennedy after the victory "He has the instinct and knowledge to know what to do when we need him."
With the momentum from the the next two games St. Johns defeated Brown and Siena University by the scores 79-76 and 77-68 respectively.
"I've been going to St. Johns for three years and haven't really had any interest in the basketball team." said senior Idil Kirimica "But it's hard to go here and not notice a different feel around this team and the campus is showing it little by little."
The Red Storm put their undefeated record to the test against Stony Brook University on Wednesday before heading to Durham to face Duke University on Saturday.
And there is no doubt in the team's mind that they can win both and continue their surprise run.
With a universal health care plan knocking on the doors of the White House a question still needs to be answered;
Will Illegal Immigrants receive the same benefits as everyone else?
A tricky and touchy subject seeing as the whole Immigrant issue is also being discussed on Capital Hill. But many people want to know if tax dollars will go to provide people, who aren't supposed to be in this country, medical coverage.
The proposal, Affordable Health Care for America, which made it's way through the House by a vote of 220-215, aims to build on "what works in today's health care system, while repairing the aspects that are broken."
According to ABC News White House Correspondent Jake Tapper, the Health Care bill in regards to illegal immigrants will provide the following:
some illegal immigrants -- those who "meet the substantial presence test" -- would be taxed if they don't obtain health insurance that meets the requirements of the law;
* there are no immigration-related restrictions on who can participate in President Obama’s proposed health insurance exchanges;
* to qualify for any subsidies for health insurance, "individuals must be lawfully present in a state in the United States." That does not preclude those in this country legally who have illegal immigrants in their family from qualifying for the subsidies.
Illegal immigrants are already eligible for emergency care through the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, signed by President Reagan in 1986. This emergency care is often paid for by Emergency Medicaid, private insurance if the patients have it, out-of-pocket, or it's written off as bad debt or charity care by the hospital.
So how would illegal immigrants receive more health care?
Well that only happens if Medicaid is expanded. The Health Care Bill would extend Medicaid coverage up to 133 1/3% of poverty for populations that previously were not covered such as some parents and childless adults.
That expansion could mean more illegal immigrants would become eligible for Emergency Medicaid. Which is not to say that citizens don't pay for those costs anyway through extra hospital fees, but this would clearly be a more direct billing to the taxpayer.
"I don't agree with that at all" said Henry Lederer, a senior biology major at Stony Brook University "Why should we have to pay out of our pockets when they don't have to pay for anything of ours? They don't get taxed, they don't pay for the schools or the streets."
A feeling that some people seem to have especially in these trying times. However, not everyone is opposed to this plan.
"In my profession we are supposed to take care of everyone," said Marisol Acevedo, a 24 year old Bronx nurse "it doesn't matter who they are, it's not our job to decide who to care for."
No matter your view, the Health Care and Immigration issues will continue to battle until Congress comes to an agreement on the best way to
Here are a few charts that will help explain the new Health Plan.
Acquired through Times Magazine
This first chart is what the Democrats in Congress would like to do:
And this one is what the current system is like:
To better understand this, click the link an explanation of the Health Care Reform.
When a professional team wins a championship, it is only customary that they receive a parade from the city that hosts them.
In the city of New York we have had a lot of parades. 15 times has a sports team been honored with a parade through Manhattan with one team having the most... The New York Yankees.
The Yankees have had 9 ticker tape parades dating back to 1961 when they won the American League Pennant. And this year after winning their 27th World Series, the city of New York honored them with another parade.
Yankee fans waited 9 long seasons to see their team march down the canyon of heroes once again but it was well worth it as the team that won a major league best 103 games greeted the masses on a chilly Friday morning.
Just two days after clinching the title with a 7-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies the players, coaches and fans met along Broadway to show their appreciation for each other.
And during the parade, the people went nuts, fans crowded the sidewalks, climbing up street poles and trucks to get a better view of their favorite players. Chants of "C.C." and "Jeter" rang so loudly I'm sure you could hear it from 161st and River Avenue in the Bronx where the Bombers play.
Those who braved the windy, cold weather were rewarded with entertainment in the form of speeches from fan favorites like Derek Jeter and a concert by rapper Jay-Z who performed his hit "Empire State of Mind".
The parade was an experience that many fans young and old call "a once in a lifetime experience"
That is until the next championship comes to the Big Apple.
This past weekend my family and I moved to a new apartment. The packing process took many days to complete and while I was putting my stuff together I rediscovered some of my valuables that I thought were long gone.
And looking at these items helped me recover some memories that were buried deep in my mind. So here is a slideshow I created showcasing some of these items in a rough timeline of my life.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (or NCAA as we know it) is beginning to show its muscle even more than usual these days. Just ask Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant.
Before the season even started Bryant was approached by Marcus M. Wilson, NCAA’s assistant director of agent, gambling and amateurism activities, in July. Wilson then proceeded to question the young receiver about meetings with former NFL star Deion Sanders. The interview unnerved the young man causing him to lie to the official.
“I just panicked because I was scared and afraid that I was in some kind of trouble.” said Bryant in a 2 page apology to the NCAA that the Associated Press obtained "I was scared because I was thinking, why would the NCAA talk to me unless they thought I had done something wrong, even though I did not think I had."
In September the NCAA declared the All-American ineligible to play for the Cowboys and was expected to appear for a follow up interview with the NCAA on Tuesday in Indianapolis. He has already missed two of the school's five games this season and the rest of his season is still in jeopardy. The crime being the lie and not the actual meeting with Sanders.
Was this going too far?
Oklahoma State, who asked the NCAA to go easy on Bryant, thinks so. And if you ask Florida State and head coach Bobby Bowden they would likely agree.
The NCAA investigated the school and found that many student-athletes were guilty of academic cheating last October. The NCAA Committee then proposed to vacate victories from coaches and athletes-even those not implicated in the crime. Florida State has appealed the proposition delaying the final ruling of the NCAA.
Is the NCAA going too far in making a point?
Many see the increase in authoritative action as a benefit. As NCAA football expert Michael David Smith wrote, the lack of consistent discipline can harm the institution. Citing three separate incidences of players punching opposing players, he feels the response of each school gives a bad example to how misbehavior should be handled. When the same misbehavior is punished with a range from one game to one entire season, there is something wrong.
Maybe they should take a page out of the NFL discipline book. Commissioner Roger Goodell since beginning his tenure in 2006 has implemented a new Personal Conduct Policy after a season of scandal from his players. The policy has made it detrimental for a player to act up on or off the field and has set a precedent for future seasons.
Goodell has tightened his grip on the league but when someone acts out there is no question as to how the commissioner will act.
Should the NCAA remain an entity where they leave the punishments to particular schools or should they become more like the pros and make a "universal code of ethics" for the student-athletes with a set discipline regiment?
It's an iffy subject as the NCAA tries to be the governing body of college athletics yet allow a laissez-faire style of punishment with results that may not bode well for the future.
I am currently a journalism major at a four year college with aspirations of having my own sports radio show. As you can tell I love sports but I'm also an avid gamer.
