I am not sure if Bon Jovi thinks its still 1989 or if they have no idea the country is coming out of a recession, but the band is doing three big shows at the New Meadowlands Stadium in NJ next may. The best thing about this is not that the place holds 80,000 people its the fact they are charging $150 plus fees for tickets. Oh, I also forgot to leave out some other options for fans. If you would like to get seats in the first 10 rows the band has them for you at the low price of $1,875 or $1425. Way to go Bon Jovi, really looking out for fans in tough times. With all the years that we have been doing this, I don’t see any of these shows selling out. I hear from many people each year that get mad at ticket brokers for selling tickets, why are these same people not call the bands about these prices? I can tell you that if I had 10th row for this show I would not be charging people $1,875 per ticket.
It was a tale of 2 different nights – less than 24 hours after a successful Bulls home opener win over the Spurs on Thursday night, the Bulls took it on the chin against the Celtics in Boston on Friday night. The Celtics used a 29-18 advantage in the 2nd quarter to open up a 15-point halftime lead. A 12-point advantage in the 3rd quarter gave the Celtics a 27-point lead after 36 minutes – game over.
There was a lot of anticipation heading into this game because of the way the 2 teams battled in the 1st round of the playoffs just 6 months ago. The Celtics won that series in 7 games, but the Celtics did not have Kevin Garnett in that series, and the Bulls had Ben Gordon who has since left the Bulls for the Detroit Pistons.
Paul Pierce (22 points), Ray Allen (20 points) and Kevin Garnett (16 points) led the way for the Celtics, while Rajon Rondo chipped in 8 rebounds and 16 assists as the general of the team. The Celtics have looked great so far in their 3 wins this season and Head Coach Doc Rivers is really pacing his older players’ minutes in order to keep them fresh for the long haul. Having Rasheed Wallace coming off the bench doesn’t hurt either.
The Bulls looked a little bit lost after a full team effort on Thursday. Joakim Noah looked the best – 16 points and 10 rebounds. Tyrus Thomas also had a solid game – 10 points and 8 rebounds – as did Kirk Hinrich who scored 10 points and dished out 7 assists off the bench. Derrick Rose scored 10 points, but he only had 2 assists and no rebounds. And Luol Deng only played 19 minutes because of foul trouble, scoring 4 points and grabbing 5 boards.
Looks like much will be the same for the Bulls in 2009-2010. This is an average team that will look great one night, only to look dazed and confused the next night. Buckle in for a long ride Bulls fans – but hopefully they will be able to win enough games to qualify for post-season play for a second year in a row.
Each year in New York Z100 has a show at the Madison Square Garden and this year they got some pick names to play. Scheduled to play is Taylor Swift, John Mayer, The Fray. Justine Bieber, Jordin Sparks, and many more. Taylor Swift has had one of the hottest tours of 2009 and is extending it in 2010. John Mayer has a new album out next month and will also kick off a big 2010, and with both of these big names it should make the Z100 show a hot ticket. So if you are in NY on Dec 11 make sure you don’t miss out on what should be a great night.
Not that it was a must-win, but the Yankees must sure be thrilled that they defeated the Phillies 3-1 on Thursday night at the new Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Going down 2-0 and heading to Philadelphia would not have meant the end of the World Series, but it would have been a mighty hill to have to climb to win 2 out of 3 in Philly and then 2 at home in New York to pull off a 7-game World Series win.
A.J. Burnett’s 7-inning gem allowed Manager Joe Girardi to keep his bullpen off the field. Burnett gave up just 1 earned run on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 9. After 108 pitches, Girardi called upon Mariano Rivera to get the Yankees a 6-out save and preserve the 3-1 lead. Rivera came up big in the 8th after 2 men were on with just 1 out. Rivera induced Chase Utley – the Phillies’ Game 1 hero – to hit into an inning-ending double play to end the threat. Rivera allowed the Phillies to get the tying run to the plate when Raul Ibanez doubled with 2-out, but he struck out Matt Stairs swinging to end the game. And then the celebration began in the Bronx.
Pedro Martinez did about as well as he could given the circumstances – he pitched 6 innings, giving up just 3 earned runs on 6 hits and 2 walks. He also had 8 strikeouts. But he gave up solo home runs to Mark Teixeira in the 4th inning and Hideki Matsui in the 6th inning that gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead. Martinez even started the 7th inning, but Manager Charlie Manuel removed him after he gave up leadoff singles to Jerry Hairston, Jr. and Melky Cabrera. Brett Gardner – who ran for Hairston – ended up scoring an insurance run when Jorge Posada singled off of reliever Chan Ho Park.
Andy Pettitte will square off against Cole Hamels at Citizens Bank Ballpark on Saturday night in Philadelphia. And as it stands now, it looks like we could see a rematch of Game 1 on Sunday night, as CC Sabathia and Cliff Lee are penciled in to start in Game 4 of the World Series on Sunday night. This is really turning into the Classic Epic World Series Battle that we hoped for…
What a great way to open the NBA season for the home town Bulls – a 92-85 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Derrick Rose – who had missed most of the Bulls pre-season with an ankle/knee injury – started for the Bulls to delight of the sold out United Center crowd. But it was the balanced attack orchestrated by Head Coach Vinny Del Negro and delivered by the Bulls players that really made a huge impact at the UC.
Six Bulls players scored in double-digits. Luol Deng led the way with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Derrick Rose poured in 13 points while racking up 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Joakim Noah added 10 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. John Salmons scored 10 points, Tyrus Thomas scored 13 points and grabbed 6 boards, while Kirk Hinrich scored 14 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench. Talk about a full team effort.
What made it even more special was that it came against a good team-oriented basketball squad – the San Antonio Spurs. The Bulls shut down the Spurs playmaker Tony Parker, and although Tim Duncan still had a phenomenal night – 18 points, 16 rebounds – they made sure that no one else had a big night.
The Bulls didn’t have much time to bask in the glow of victory as the team boarded a choppy flight east right after the game to get ready for NBA Game 2 on the young season against the Celtics in Boston. The Bulls and Celtics battled in a grueling 7-game series in the 1st round of the 2009 NBA playoffs, so let’s hope there is some excitement in the air at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston on Friday night. Go Bulls!
Cliff Lee made it look easy as the Phillies cruised past the Yankees 6-1 in Game 1 of the 2009 World Series. Heading into the 9th inning, Lee had given up just 4 hits (and no walks!) through 8 innings while striking out 8. After giving up singles to Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon to start the inning, Lee induced Mark Teixeira to hit into what should have been a double play. But Jimmy Rollins error allowed Jeter to score and Teixeira to move up to 2nd base with 1 out. But instead of getting flustered, Lee simply struck out Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada swinging to end the “mini” threat. Phillies 6, Yankees 1, Advantage Phillies with the 1-0 lead. The Lee – Sabathia duel was a good one, but Lee was just that much better. To not walk a single Yankees batter while pitching 9 innings is simply incredible. Lee never seemed out of sync and he never seemed to be intimidated by pitching in the Bronx.
Sabathia pitched well for the Yankees, but not good enough. He only gave up 4 hits and 3 walks in 7 solid innings of work. But 2 of the hits were solo home runs to Chase Utley. The Phillies only broke the game open after Sabathia departed after throwing 113 pitches in 7 innings. Phil Hughes promptly walked the only 2 batters he faced in the top of the 8th inning. Both runners came around to score on Raul Ibanez’s clutch 2-out 2-run single against David Robertson. That gave the Phillies a daunting 4-0 lead with just 6 outs left for the Yankees. Brian Bruney and Phil Coke did not fare much better in the top of the 9th inning. The 2 pitchers allowed 2 more insurance runs to score on Shane Victorino’s single and Ryans Howard’s double.
All in all, it was a solid start for the Phillies. They showed they were not intimidated by the Yankee “aura”. They showed the could score runs against the Yankees best pitcher. And they showed that they were in this for the long haul.
There’s not too much time to dwell on the Game 1 loss for the Yankees. Game 2 is tonight at 7:57PM EST on FOX. Pedro Martinez will surely be greeted with a lot of boos as he tries to pitch the Phillies to a 2-0 lead against A.J. Burnett. I hate to say there is a must-win game this early in a series, but it would serve the Yankees well to find a way to get a W tonight in the Bronx. Heading back to Philly for Game 3 on Saturday night down 2 games to none is not the game plan that Manager Joe Girardi and the Yankees drew up before the start of the 2009 Fall Classic.
I am not sure if Bon Jovi thinks its still 1989 or if they have no idea the country is coming out of a recession, but the band is doing three big shows at the New Meadowlands Stadium in NJ next may. The best thing about this is not that the place holds 80,000 people its the fact they are charging $150 plus fees for tickets. Oh, I also forgot to leave out some other options for fans. If you would like to get seats in the first 10 rows the band has them for you at the low price of $1,875 or $1425. Way to go Bon Jovi, really looking out for fans in tough times. With all the years that we have been doing this, I don’t see any of these shows selling out. I hear from many people each year that get mad at ticket brokers for selling tickets, why are these same people not call the bands about these prices? I can tell you that if I had 10th row for this show I would not be charging people $1,875 per ticket.
Each year in New York Z100 has a show at the Madison Square Garden and this year they got some pick names to play. Scheduled to play is Taylor Swift, John Mayer, The Fray. Justine Bieber, Jordin Sparks, and many more. Taylor Swift has had one of the hottest tours of 2009 and is extending it in 2010. John Mayer has a new album out next month and will also kick off a big 2010, and with both of these big names it should make the Z100 show a hot ticket. So if you are in NY on Dec 11 make sure you don’t miss out on what should be a great night.
