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!