Friday Stuff

A friend from New York, Paul Arellano, wrote from NYC regarding the Save the Gate movement. Wrote Paul: "Baka pumayag si Bloomberg. Malamang sa landfill ang bagsak ng gate na iyan o tunawin. Magandang tourist attraction iyang gate sa Bronx dahil pinapaganda ng todo todo ang Bronx ngayon. Dapat iyon ang arguement ni Hagan. Sayang ang old Yankee Stadium kung sa bagay napakahirap maghanap ng parking diyan."

Thanks, Paul! When I left, they were beginning to work on the old World Trade Center site. I wondered if they were using anything left of it for the new memorial but am not sure there is. There are some quarters pushing for the rebuilding of Blue Eagle Gym to the point of tearing it down to make way for a newer and better venue (the old fogies refuse this citing the place as a landmark but they don't even contribute anything to its upkeep). I'm all for it. Save the facade with the Blue Eagle but that place has seen better days. If Boston Garden, Chicago Stadium, and Yankee Stadium have been torn down to make way for bigger, better, and much improved facilities -- and they are way more historic -- then why can't BEG go the same route? Even LFC's cherished Anfield will eventually go that route.

Anyway, more on the Save the Gate next week.

From Sanjeeb Gopaldas of Shalimar Sports who sent me this. Sanjeeb is a massive sports fan and he roots for another UAAP school (from Taft) and is a dedicated reader of Brew. We've been corresponding on various matters from time to time and I'm happy to have made his acquaintance. He once told me that he was able to purchase John Feinstein's books on a San Francisco sidewalk for a dollar each! Good finds and good buys, dude. Anyways, if you're looking for Kinesio taping, you might want to click on the image below to enlarge it. Good luck with it, pal.

When Tiger Woods takes the greens of Augusta, it will take a supreme effort to concentrate with all the crowds, fellow golfers, and possible hecklers. I'm not going to speculate about that just yet. Will wait for the actual tournament and watch.

And indeed, the decision to let go of CJ Giles was in the words of an SBP official, "Solomonic" after he and Nate Johnson failed a drug test for Al Riyadi in Lebanon. Friends I've made from other teams that are based in the Middle East have told me before that Giles was more than a party animal in Beirut and was such a distraction and disappointment for the club. All I can say is, sayang talaga. All that talent going to waste.

We began this post with the Yankees and we'll end on that note. Phil Hughes is named the team's fifth starter after CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, Andy Pettite, and Javier Vasquez. Joba Chamberlain who has struggled in his starting role moves to the bullpen once more. I agree with the choice and it seemed fairly obvious that Hughes would be the choice. But if he falters, either New York adds another arm or Joba moves back in. For now Chamberlain will be a crucial link to Mariano Rivera. Hmm. Is that possible -- that Joba could take Mo's place when he retires?