Changes To Stadium Football Schedule

This homestand marks the first games at Yankee Stadium since the first non-baseball event at the park, the Miguel Cotto - Yuri Foreman fight on June 5th. While the boxing ring is long gone, the Stadium has a few souvenirs from the event, including noticeably worn patches of grass in center field, where the ring was located.

The Stadium will host another in-season, non-baseball event before 2010 is over, as Jay-Z and Eminem will perform the venue's first concert on September 13th. Following that, the next non-baseball event will occur on November 20th, when Army hosts Notre Dame in the first football game at the new Stadium.

Lost amongst all the potential conference realignment news that shook the foundation of college football last week were a couple notes relating to future football games at Yankee Stadium. First, last week Notre Dame quietly canceled their scheduled 2013 game against Army, which was penciled in as being a Yankee Stadium game. That cancellation may or may not be an indicator that the long-independent Fighting Irish were positioning themselves to finally join a conference in the event of a BCS superconference armageddon.

While one of the linked articles above speculates that Syracuse could replace Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium on Army's 2013 schedule, it's also possible that one of the principle movers and shakers in last week's conference realignments could be Army's opponent. Prior to leaving the Big XII to join the Pac-10 last week, Colorado made it clear that they wanted to play Army at Yankee Stadium. The Buffs' non-conference schedule had been booked through 2015, but with their move to the Pac-10 altering future schedules and with Army now having an open date in 2013, they may be able to get their wish sooner rather than later.

After hosting Notre Dame this fall, Army will host Rutgers at the Stadium in 2011, Air Force in 2012, and Boston College in 2014. In addition to the annual Army game, Yankee Stadium will also host the New Era Pinstripe Bowl for at least the next four years. The game will take place between Christmas and New Year's, and will match the third selection from the Big East against the sixth selection from the Big XII. No word yet as to how the Big XII's reduction to ten teams will impact the bowl's future. The inaugural game will take place on December 30th this year, with tickets already on sale.

Cotto Wins An Interesting Stadium Slugfest

The first boxing match at the New Yankee Stadium was not a marquee pairing. Miguel Cotto was a premier welterweight until a plaster-handed Antonio Margarito knocked him down in the eleventh round and quite possibly broke his will. After easily handling Michael Jennings in a rebound fight and winning a close and debatable decision over Joshua Clottey, he got a shot at Manny Pacquiao because the mega-bout with Floyd Mayweather couldn't be put together. Cotto hung in there against Manny, but it was clear early on that they were on different levels, and he fell victim to a TKO in the 12th round.

Yuri Foreman's career, on the other hand, was still ascending coming into last night's fight. Only two and a half years ago, he fought on the undercard of the Miguel Cotto-Zab Judah bout and coming of a recent win over Daniel Santos to claim the WBA super welterweight chanpionship, finally earned a bout against a name brand fighter. Foreman carried a 28-0 record into the Bronx, but with just eight knockouts, clearly wasn't going to out-slug Cotto, particularly considering that it took Antonio Margarito 11 rounds with illegally hard gloves and Miguel was still standing when Pacquiao won.

This fight was more about the characters and the location, which paired a Jewish fighter who is studying to be a rabbi with a popular Puerto Rican in a baseball stadium in New York City, a city that is home to what are probably the largest populations of both of those ethic groups in the United States.

In the early going Saturday night, Cotto took control. Rolling his shoulders and bouncing on his toes, he kept coming forward and popping the aspiring rabbi with jabs, double jabs and the occassional left hook in the first couple of rounds, pushing him back with each clean shot. As a smooth Cotto stayed in rhythm and on the offensive, Foreman shuffled back and forth on his feet, his elbows suspended awkwardly away from his body, just trying not to get hit too hard.

Midway through the third round, though, Foreman discovered that he could start with his right hand and square up on Cotto's. As the fourth began, Foreman finally landed some solid combinations and hung on to win his first round, although it was around then that his nose started bleeding from both sides.

The fight settled down in the fifth and sixth, with both boxers trading shots, but neither making much of an impact. Had the fight gone the distance, the judges would have likely awarded both to Cotto, but there weren't any standout punches or powerful exchanges in either direction.

The seventh round was what earned Yuri Foreman the respect or the fans in attendance who paid good money to see the fight, with the exception of his wife, who was sitting ringside. About a minute into the round, Foreman's right knee buckled as he tried to plant his foot and he slipped on the canvas. He wears a brace on that joint and it was clear that he was seriously injured. As Yuri hobbled back and forth, referee Arthur Mercante, Jr. offered him the obligatory five minutes to recover but Foreman declined. The announcers seemed sure that Foreman couldn't continue. But he did. And it wasn't just that he stayed in the ring. Without the lateral movement that he relies on so heavily, Foreman stood toe-to-toe with Cotto and traded some powerful blows as the Stadium came to life with the loudest cheers of the night.

With about a minute left in the eighth round, a white towel came flying into the ring from the direction of Foreman's corner, brushed off Cotto's shoulder, and appeared to signal the end of the fight. Trainers, officials and press started flooding the ring, and Cotto even came over to talk to Yuri and congratulate him on a gutsy fight.

However, the fight wasn't over, yet. Mercanti determined that Foreman wanted to continue and he cleared the ring. The PA system in the Stadium announced that the bout was still on, of those still in attendance.

It was only a short reprieve. Foreman lasted into the ninth but was knocked down by a powerful left hook from Cotto less than a minute in. It was inevitable that Cotto was going to win, and it's probably good that Foreman didn't go down after a series of shots to the head.

Although it was immediately apparent that Foreman wasn't in the same class as Cotto, but he showed a lot of heart in the ring. It was the first time he had been beaten and although he took an injury that no one would begrudge him stopping the fight over, he wasn't about to give up. Miguel was the far superior fighter tonight but Yuri undoubtedly won plenty of supporters and respect.

IFs, ANDs & BUTs

• The Stadium was not even half full, with storms in the area probably limiting walk up sales, but over 20,000 people showed up. From the overhead shots that were shown, there were lots of people sitting on the playing field (I think I heard 9,000 at some point leading up to this) but there were a ton of empty seats. This is one of the reasons I'm lukewarm about the Stadium as a multi-purpose facility. Baseball parks just don't translate well to other sports and events.
  
  
• Appropriately, Fack Youk favorite Max Kellerman did the broadcast. A huge fan of both the Yankees and boxing and a native of New York City, this fight was made for him. After the fight, he said:

  It doesn't quite measure up with the great fights in New York history or Yankee Stadium history, but it does do credit to that history. It adds to that history. It was a better than expected fight, it had an odd kind of ending, but it allowed Cotto to show what he still has left. And it allowed Yuri Foreman to show, for the first time, his guts -- he showed that he's a real fighter.

• Roy Jones, Jr. was also in the booth. It was the first time I've heard him in that role and although he certainly wasn't up to Lennox Lewis' level, he wasn't too bad as an analyst.
  
  
• When Foreman hurt his knee, you could hear Mercanti say "Suck it up kid. Walk it off". Between that and restarting the fight, you could tell that Mercanti had a lot of respect for Foreman and wanted to see him go out with as much dignity as possible. However, sending a guy in there who was severely diminished could have been really dangerous and, although I'm not expert in boxing, thought it was inadvisable. Foreman obviously wasn't going to win.
  
  
• I'm pretty sure I saw Bob Simon from 60 Minutes in the crowd, so I'm guessing there is a profile on Foreman upcoming. Not that Cotto isn't interesting, but you could put together a pretty compelling lede about a boxing rabbi.
  
  
• After the fight, Foreman thanked God for keeping both fighters healthy, "more or less". You probably tore a ligament in your knee, man. I don't think the Big Man needs a "thank you" for that one.

Fight Night In The Bronx

In the history of Major League Baseball, there have been only three men with the surname "Foreman" to play the game. None of them played for the Yankees, but Frank Foreman pitched for the Baltimore Orioles in 1901 and 1902. Following the '02 season, the Baltimore franchise relocated to New York, renamed the Highlanders, and a decade later, the Yankees.

There has been but one "Cotto" to play in the Major Leagues, Henry Cotto, pictured to the right. Cotto was born in the Bronx in 1961, but his family returned to their native Puerto Rico when Henry was just three months old. After breaking into the Majors with the Cubs in 1984, Cotto was traded to the Yankees. He spent the next three years shuttling between New York and Columbus, never really distinguishing himself.

After the 1987 season, Cotto was packaged with the highly unpopular Steve Trout and shipped to Seattle in exchange for Lee Guetterman, Clay Parker, and Wade Taylor. Cotto carved out a job for himself in Seattle as a reserve outfielder, base stealing specialist, and Junior Griffey's back up in center field. After washing out with the expansion Marlins in '93, Cotto surface as a replacement player during the '94-'95 strike, has been a coach in the Mariners' system since '96, and was the inspiration for the humorous Henry Cotto's Mustache.

Tomorrow night at Yankee Stadium another Foreman and another Cotto will be on the field. But despite the gloves on their hands, they won't be baseball players. Yuri Foreman and Miguel Cotto will take part in the first night of boxing at Yankee Stadium since September 28, 1976, when Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton had their third and final bout, one of the more controversial in history.

Despite the sweet science's long absence from River Ave, boxing has a rich and storied history at Yankee Stadia, with Gene Tunney, Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano, Jake LaMotta, Sugar Ray Robinson, Floyd Patterson, and others joining Ali and Norton as some of the greats to have stepped in the ring in the House that Ruth Built.

I'm not crazy about the idea of turning Yankee Stadium into a multiuse facility, but with this fight, Army football, and the Pinstripe Bowl, it's clearly the direction in which the organization is leaning. But for tomorrow night at least, it'll be nice to see Yankee Stadium explore a different part of it's illustrious past.

For more on boxing's past at the Stadium, check out these links.

Game 23 WPA Chart

Oh yeah, and this happened.

Don't wanna talk about it? Me neither.

In a completely unrelated story, people who say that the Kentucky Derby is the most exciting two minutes in "sports" didn't watch the final two-thirds of the 2nd round of Mayweather vs. Moseley.

Could Pacquaio & Mayweather Fight At Yankee Stadium?

On the heels of Manny Pacquiao's 12th round TKO against Miguel Cotto that took place in the wee hours of this past Sunday morning, the New York Times wonders if the first boxing match in the New Yankee Stadium could be the biggest fight boxing has seen in quite some time:

With the undefeated Mayweather and an international superstar in Pacquiao, the biggest draws in boxing, Greenburg said the bout would deserve a “Super Bowl-type stage.” That presents an enticing option, as early as next May — Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees are interested in hosting a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight next spring, according to a person in baseball who spoke on the condition of anonymity. There have been no formal discussions, and there will not be before an agreement is reached between the fighters, but high-ranking Yankees employees have told boxing officials of their interest.

Of course, in order for this to happen, Mayweather and Pacquiao actually have to agree to fight, something that should be a foregone conclusion but isn't. One thing that promises to make these discussions difficult is the relationship between Floyd Mayweather and Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter. Floyd used to be a client of Arum's at Top Rank but bought out his contract in 2006 for Golden Boy.

Since then, lawsuits have been filed, insults heaved and Mayweather has gone so as to say that he wouldn't fight Pacquiao if Bob Arum was involved. At the press conference for the Pacquaio vs. Cotto fight that took place at Yankee Stadium, Arum was confident that Yankee Stadium would host a big fight this year but pessimistic that it would be this one.

One obvious advantage that Yankee Stadium has over anywhere in Las Vegas is seating capacity. The arena in the MGM Grand seats about 17,000 people while a fight in Yankee Stadium with the field being utilized for seating would comfortably hold over 60,000. However, the 45,000 or so marginal seats that would be gained by moving the fight to Yankee Stadium would probably average say, $75 a pop, equating to just a rounding error in comparison to where the bread will really be buttered: Pay Per View buys.

Early estimates place that number for Saturday's Pacquiao vs. Cotto fight at about 1.3 to 1.4 million (at $55 each) and should the mega fight come to fruition, it would easily surpass those numbers. Floyd makes his home in Vegas and might use the location as a bargaining chip in what are sure to be contentious fight negotiations.

Each participant would be guaranteed tens of millions of dollars. The public clearly wants to see a match up between the two best pound-for-pound boxers on the planet. Each can make the case that they are the best fighter of this generation but neither will be validated until they beat the other.

It would be cool to have such a huge event take place at Yankee Stadium, but the most important thing is that it actually does happen. When push comes to shove, I think it will. Arum and Mayweather should be able to put their personal distaste for each other aside for the sake of the almighty dollar. We all know Floyd's a fan of that.

[Update: There is a similar story about the Cowboys' new stadium, for what it's worth. The venue itself would be much more conducive to hosting a huge fight but I wonder how many tickets they could sell in Dallas, which isn't the best boxing market.]

The Fight Tonight: Pacquiao vs. Cotto

We don't talk too much about the boxing here at Fack Youk but the 145 lb. bout between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto tonight couldn't fall more squarely in our wheelhouse. The photo about was taken at the press conference for the fight held at Yankee Stadium and we've discussed both contestants on the blog before.

Cotto is the current pride of Puerto Rican boxing, a mantle previously held by past champions Sixto Escobar, Wilfred Benitez, Hector Camacho, Wilfredo Vazquez and most recently, Felix Trinidad. The only loss of his professional career came at the possibly plastered hands of Antonio Margarito in July of 2008. Since then, he punished Michael Jennings and won a narrow (and questionable) split decision over Joshua Clottey in his most recent fight in June.

Between his last two fights, Cotto fired his old trainer and uncle, Evangelista in favor of 32 year old Joe Santiago. He has a masters degree in athletic training and has been surrounded by boxing his whole life, but Santiago has no experience in preparing a fighter for a bout of this magnitude, something that Pacquiao's trainer, Freddy Roach has made sure to point out in the HBO documentary series 24/7 leading up to the fight. The conflict between the two trainers nearly turned physical at the weigh-in, when Santiago reportedly looked at Roach when Cotto was weighing in and said "145, asshole". It was a not-so-subtle barb aimed at the fact Roach had questioned whether Cotto was going to be able to make weight.

This incident was just the latest in an uncharacteristically tumultuous few months of training for Pacquiao. He started his camp in Baguio City in the Phillippines and withstood one Typhoon but was forced to flee to Manilla when another one was bearing down. They eventually relocated to Roach's Wild Card gym in Los Angeles and completed training there.

Within his ever-massive entourage, there was drama as well. His conditioning coach Alex Ariza and an "advisor", Michael Koncz came to blows over who would be in the corner on fight night, and have been at odds all along the way. To a fault, Pacquiao greets people with open arms, but Koncz is pretty clearly a snake and according to many on 24/7, serves essentially no function.

It's been asked if this turmoil will have any effect on Pacquiao, however he wouldn't be poised to take a title in an all-time record 7th weight division if he was easily distracted. He debuted fourteen years ago as a diminutive 106 lb puncher in a 4 round fight and, against all odds, has a chance to break his tie with Oscar De La Hoya - who Pacquiao mercilessly destroyed last December - with championships in six distinct weight classes. He's notched belts at 112, 122, 126, 130, 135 & 140, so tonight would be his highest yet, although he beat De La Hoya at 147.

If you're watching the fight tonight, be sure to cash in on Tecate's promotion that grants you a $25 rebate on the PPV purchase in exchange for buying a 12 pack of their beer. You can get the fight for essentially half price, just for buying a 12 pack of beer. In fact, in New York, no purchase is even necessary. Can't beat that with a stick.

As was the case with Pacquiao's last fight, I'm a fan of both contestants. However, unlike Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto can take some licks, so I doubt this fight is going to end in a scintillating 2nd round KO like that one. If Antonio Margarito couldn't knock Cotto out with plaster on his hands, I don't think Pacquiao is going to be able to do it either. Even Freddie Roach admits that Cotto is the physically stronger of the two fighters, but it's obvious that Pacman has the quicker hands. The game plan is for Manny to be aggressive early and prevent Cotto from gaining any momentum.

You can't go wring picking either guy, but one good reason to root for Pacquiao is that he has the better chance of enticing Floyd Mayweather to fight him than does Cotto. Floyd has become a massive draw and right or wrong, is only going to agree to step into the ring with someone who he views as a big ticket fighter. Cotto might bring most of Puerto Rico along with him, but in terms of drawing the numbers worldwide that Pacquiao does, he just isn't there yet.

There are justifications for pulling for Pacquiao that don't have anything to do with Mayweather as well. It's hard not to like a guy who walks towards the ring smiling ear to ear. He's got an entire country pulling for him and maybe a little harder than usual given the typhoons they just went though. But this is the biggest fight of Cotto's career, he's fighting closer to his natural weight and he has a lot to prove. Neither are afraid to brawl and that should result in some fireworks early.

I'm guessing Pacquiao wins by split decision but Cotto at +195 doesn't seem like too bad of a bet. Enjoy the fight. It should be an entertaining one. And keep an eye out for some Yankees sitting ringside.

How Not To Conduct An Interview, By Mark Grace

On the Bats Blog at the New York Times, Richard Sandomir points out something that never ceases to annoy me about the postgame interviews conducted by network reporters:

Fox needs a question coach for Mark Grace. One of the failings of many sideline/stadium reporters is that they do not jot down good, solid, clear questions to ask the stars of a game.

There usually isn’t much time to prepare, but coming up with three pertinent thoughts to frame as questions, or as leading statements, shouldn’t be as hard as a nervous Grace made it when he interviewed Jimmy Rollins after the Phillies’ 8-6 win against the Yankees in Game 5 of the World Series on Monday.

Sandomir uses Grace as an example and transcribes some example from last night, but you could easily switch his name with Kim Jones, Ken Rosenthal or countless other reporters. (Here's a clip of the Rosenthal & Grace interviews from last night). It seems as though, in the cutthroat world of TV journalism, interviewers are constantly trying use their queries to display how smart they are as opposed to asking questions that lead to good responses.

Since the best baseball players - the ones most likely to be interview after the game - are interviewed so frequently during the season, they answer the questions - or in many cases weak leading statements - with relative ease. The player knows what the interviewer is getting at and usually obliges them with the type of vague and vapid answer they think they are looking for.

ESPN has actually tried to correct this problem by hiring an interview guru named John Sawatsky to conduct seminars on the proper way to interview (sort of like the "question coach" Sandomir suggested). Here is an 8 minute radio segment and accompanying article from NPR from back in 2006 on that very subject.

Sawatsky is a full time employee in Bristol and has his own office, complete with a giant question mark on the door. Max Kellerman used to talk about the "Sawatsky Technique" on his old radio show on 1050AM in New York, but would struggle to take the advice, like he did in his botched interview with Floyd Mayweather after the Juan Manuel Marquez fight.

In the seminars, Sawatsky uses interviewers like Barbara Walters and Larry King as examples of exactly what not to do. Don't ask long-winded questions (or worse, make long-winded statements) or pose inquiries that only demand a "yes" or "no" response. Ask only one question at a time. Try to learn, not validate your own opinion. Don't try to insert yourself into the interview, because the interview isn't about you:

The best questions, argues Sawatsky, are like clean windows. “A clean window gives a perfect view. When we ask a question, we want to get a window into the source. When you put values in your questions, it’s like putting dirt on the window. It obscures the view of the lake beyond. People shouldn’t notice the question in an interview, just like they shouldn’t notice the window. They should be looking at the lake.

Makes sense, doesn't it? No one wants to hear Ken Rosenthal or Kim Jones awkwardly attempt to interject their observations on what just happened. They want to hear what the player was thinking. Typically the athletes don't really have anything interesting to say either, but maybe if the people interviewing them could put some effort into crafting questions that would provoke some thoughtful responses, that wouldn't be the case.

Today In Headlines That Shouldn't Need To Be Written

Why Last Night’s Loss Doesn’t Necessarily Mean This Is 2004 All Over Again

Jon DeLessio over at The Sports Section at New York Magazine would like to talk you down from a metaphorical ledge. His hostage negotiation tactics include A) comparing 2009 A-Rod to 2004 David Ortiz, B) saying that the homefield advantage is somehow better this time although both teams went (57-24) at home, and C) pointing out that CC Sabathia would start a Game 7 should it be necessary. Guess which one of these is a valid point. If you said C, congratulations, you may be a rational person!

The problem is that the people who are standing on said ledge are not going to be talked down from it.

If you've given up on this series after one loss, you're a special kind of pathetic. That's the kind of fatalism reserved for Red Sox, Cubs and Mets fans.

Here are some reasons that this year, even if the worst case scenario comes to fruition, isn't 2004:

1. The deficit wasn't 3-0
2. These aren't the Red Sox
3. This isn't 5 years ago
4. There are 5 players out of 50 that the two playoff rosters have in common - six if you count Johnny Damon, which I don't

So no, Wallace Matthews. This wouldn't be worse than 2004, you moron.

Just as a blowout victory in Game 4 didn't predict success in last night's game, one tough loss doesn't mean the Yanks are going to drop the last two. Relax everyone, it's still match point and we've got the next two serves.

Remember when everyone was in agreement that this was going to be a great series? Well, in a great series, there are going to be triumphs and tragedies. Glorious victories and heartbreaking losses. Let's try not to lose our minds so badly in the latter that we can't enjoy the former.

It's Friday night. Blow off some steam. I might be witnessing some amateur pugilism. Some of you are probably planning to get extremely drunk. Others may be doing slightly more respectable activities like going out to dinner and seeing a movie. Do your respective things and let's meet back here sometime tomorrow afternoon.

Twins & Tigers Thrill Through Twelve

Good morning, Fackers. Did you see that game last night? If you didn't, you're probably already regretting it. It was one of the all-too-rare moments in sports in general and baseball in particular when a game with huge implications delivers huge drama. One of the few times that we can look at incredible over hyping that led up to the event after the fact and it actually seems less ridiculous. It would have been a great game had you stripped away the context of what was at stake.

With the spotlight pretty much all to themselves on a quiet Tuesday night in the world of sports, with their seasons on the line, the Twins and Tigers played like it. I hate do trot out the old boxing metaphors about "trading blows" and "having each other on the ropes" but there isn't really any other way to characterize the changes in momentum. The game even went 12 rounds innings.

We've been lucky with the last three play-in games. The Rockies and Padres came down to a play at the plate in '07, the White Sox and Twins last year turned on an 8th inning home run and ended on a great catch, but this year's version might have been the best of the trio.

Check out the WPA graph. It looks like the results of a polygraph test.

I didn't "see" the game until the bottom of the 10th inning. I was doing some painting (housework, not art) and started with the Tigers' radio broadcast on WXYT with Dan Dickerson and Jim Price. Then I flipped over to the Minnesota guys to see if I liked it any better, but that was a terrible, terrible mistake. John "Gordo" Gordon has a laughable token radio voice and constantly places the emphasis on the wrong words. I'd say he's a cut-rate Jon Miller, but that would be giving him too much credit.

I stuck with the Detroit fellows until I had to run an errand and got the ESPN Radio team for the whole 9th and top of the 10th inning. I believe it was Gary Thorne and Dave Campbell and those guys were excellent. I finally got in front of the TV for the bottom of the 10th until the end and by then I wasn't paying attention to a word Chip Caray said.

There's nothing like some mindless labor and a good baseball game on the radio. If you're with around other people or the game isn't compelling, it's easy to lose track of what's going on. But when you are alone, applying coat upon coat of latex paint to a metal door, it's easy to get entranced in a hardball battle as good as the one last night.

After striking out one batter in each of his last three starts, twenty year-old Rick Porcello matched his season high in K's with 8, all swinging. Neyer surmised yesterday that he might have been a little tired down the stretch, so maybe the fact that he hadn't pitched in a week cured what ailed him. The kid should just be starting his junior year in college but instead he was starting a game with an MLB team's playoff chances in his hands, and did a pretty damn good job.

He pitched 5 2/3, and allowed two runs, one earned. However, the unearned run scored on Porcello's error - a botched pickoff throw to first in the third inning that could have been worse had it not his Twins first base coach Jerry White. He had nearly picked off Denard Span a few throws earlier but made the rookie mistake of not realizing that you usually only get one good chance to get someone snoozing with a big lead. The earned one came in the 6th when he allowed a solo homer to Jason Kubel.

In so far as it's okay to like a Boras bonus baby from another team, I think I like Rick Porcello. One more of these and I'm sold.

The villain in this game, aside from the Metrodome, was clearly Miguel Cabrera. The (wife) slugger was booed vociferously anytime he came to the plate or touched the ball. He responded in a big way though, with a double in the gap in his first at bat and a two run homer that temporarily put the Tigers ahead 3-0 and hushed the crowed in his second.

The hero was probably another man named Cabrera... Orlando. He hit a two run homer in the 7th inning that gave the Twins a one run lead and afterwards said it was the best game he ever played in.

In the top of the 9th, the Tigers looked to be set up with runners on 1st and 3rd with no one out but Joe Nathan struck out Placido Polanco looking and then got Magglio Ordonez to line out into a double play to short.

Brandon Inge had a double and an RBI, but also a diving, game-saving catch in the 9th on a bounce that almost certainly would have scored the winning run. I just listened to the highlight on MLB.com and in typical Chip Caray fashion he declared that the play saved a run but didn't acknowledge that said run would have ended the game, since the score was tied at 4-4 and it was the bottom of the 9th. Get ready!

Ryan Rayburn was very nearly the goat after he badly misplayed a single into a triple, putting what proved to be the tying run on third with no one out. He partially redeemed himself by catching a line out by Nick Punto and gunning down Alexi Casilla at home plate to end the inning. The speedy Casilla blundered by tagging up a moment too late, and was tagged out by Gerald Laird by the slimmest of margins.

Casilla got some redemption of his own in the bottom of the 12th when he lined a one out single to right field to drive in Carlos Gomez from third and send the Twins to New York.

Get some rest, Twinkies. Don't stay up too late savoring your thrilling victory. Wouldn't want you to be all tired for the game tomorrow...

Nine More Runs, One More Win

[Photos]

One of the major reasons that the Yankees are a blistering 27-10 since the All-Star Break is that when they've been knocked down, they haven't stayed on the mat for very long. They lost multiple games in a row only twice during that stretch and it seems as though they've been much more likely to answer a score by an opponent with one of their own in the next half of the inning. After losing a tough game on Tuesday night, they Yanks roared back, starting in the second inning with a three run homer by Jorge Posada.

Posada also helped guide Andy Pettitte through the potent Rangers line up with relative ease after escaping a first inning jam via a Pudge Rodriguez double play. Former Red Sox farmhand David Murphy drove in the only two Rangers runs on the night, one on a double in the fifth inning and the other on a two out, solo shot off of Pettitte in the 7th. That homer was the first in six starts for Pettitte, a factor which has certainly contributed to his impressive recent performances.

After the homer by Murphy, Andy settled down and got Elvis Andrus swinging for his 7th K of the night and the offense backed him up with a 5 run rally in the bottom half of the inning, complete with a bunt base hit by Melky Cabrera and an RBI double by Nick Swisher. Apparently it was the batting order that was the problem on Tuesday.

The one unfortunate development in this game for the Yanks was that Posada had to be taken out in the 8th inning after being hit with a foul ball on his left ring finger. X-Rays were negative and he's day to day. Since tomorrow's game is a matinee (live chat, y'all!) he was scheduled for a rest anyway.

After the game, Pettitte had some compliments for his nicked up teammate, saying "Jorgie called a great game". Whether it was intended to quiet the questioning of Posada's game-calling abilities that cropped up after Saturday's drubbing in Boston or not, it was a true statement. Or at least that's how it sounded after Pettitte allowed 8 baserunners in 7 innings, struck out 7 and allowed two runs. The only two hits for extra bases went to Murphy. It was plenty good enough for the win as the offense put up 9 runs once again, but this time in a winning effort.

Battle Of The Bullpens Ends In KO

Going into last night, we knew it wasn't going to be a pitcher's duel. A game with last second spot starter facing a guy making his third Major League start just one year off of Tommy John Surgery (who wasn't all that great to begin with) had "slugfest" written all over it. D.J. Carrasco and Sergio Mitre didn't waste any time delaying the inevitable.

The Yanks went up 3-0 in the first but Mitre had coughed up the lead before he recorded his fifth out of the game. He allowed another run in the third and was summarily yanked, having thrown 75 pitches in three innings and giving up 5 runs on 7 hits. Carrasco was only a little bit better, blowing a lead of his own in the fourth and finishing with a line of 4.0IP, 9H, 5R.

With the starters out of the picture, it became a battle of the bullpens, one which the ChiSox won by 7th inning KO. David Robertson pitched fairly well, going two innings and giving up one run, and then handed the ball to Alfredo Aceves to start the sixth.

Alf worked a scoreless frame but gave up a walk and a single to start the 7th. Johnny Damon temporarily stemmed the tide by making a spectacular catch on a liner by Carlos Quentin, which carried him into the wall, head/shoulder first. On TV, it looked like Damon had lost the ball, but in fact it was the interlocking NY logo his hat which had been forcefully ejected from his head.

Undeterred, Damon leaped to his feet and made a strong throw back to the infield, holding the runners. Quentin couldn't believe it, but he still had an excellent night, with a double, a deep homer off of Mitre, 2RBIs and a walk.

Aceves got Mark Kotsay to fly out for the second out of the inning, but the thread by which he has hanging snapped shortly thereafter. He gave up a walk and two singles all in a row, four runs came to the plate and he was lifted from the game before he got another out.

It's hard to tell what to make of Alf at the moment. On one hand, you have the news of his sore shoulder, an increasing FB%, and his back to back awful performances. On the other, he was just one out away from getting out of both of the outings without giving up a run.

The Yanks, meanwhile, were held scoreless by the Sox pen over the final five innings. The fact that they were 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position probably didn't help.

It's was a poor time to lose a game in this fashion. Now everyone can say the Yankees should have picked up a starter at the deadline. But Mitre's poor showing doesn't mean the Yanks should have made a deal any more than a solid performance would have meant they were right to stand pat. It's one game. More on his later.

On the bright side, it's Saturday!

You Ready, Floyd?

I can't speak for BWS, John, Meredith, or Janna (screenshot courtesy of her camera), but I still feel like I got my money's worth. Holy shit. Manny Pacquiao makes it look waaaaay too easy to punch people in face.

You've gotta feel for Ricky Hatton. He's a proud dude and a whole lot of people flew all the way from Manchester to Las Vegas, and brought their trumpets and drums to cheer him on. He has to feel like he let them down. Seeing the shot of his distraught fiancee while he was still lying motionless on the mat was heart-wrenching.

You knew someone had to lose this fight, but I don't think anyone aside from Freddie Roach thought it was going to end in a brutal knockout before the first three rounds were over:

"The fight was no surprise to me," Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, said. "We know he always pumps his hands before he throws a punch. He's a sucker for the right hook."

Hatton had a great run, but when he was matched up truly elite competiton, he got exposed. If it makes you feel any better, Ricky, Will is still going to buy your t-shirt.

Like Mike Tyson said in his documentary, "You should fear the happy fighter". Pacquiao walked down to the ring smiling ear to ear, extending glove bumps to whoever had their fists out. Boxing is a violent sport, but it's not inherently mean-spirited. Roach and Pacquiao go about things the right way, and you can see it in their results. If Floyd Mayweather Jr. beats Juan Manuel Marquez like he should on July 18th, it will set up a perfect Good vs. Evil storyline. Braggadocio, Materialism and Superficiality vs. Humility, Piousness and Virtue. Stay tuned.

Pacman vs. The Hitman

If you were one of the 8 people who were reading this site before the baseball season, you would know that here at Fack Youk, we are fans of sports in general, not just of baseball and not just of the Yankees. Those of us from Upstate New York grew up watching Mike Tyson, and were captivated by the vicious dominance of his early years. But like many boxing fans, we sort of lost interest in the sweet science when Lennox Lewis absconded with the heavyweight title, thereby submarining the division.

Boxing tends to live and die with the charisma of its heavyweights. History tells you that. For every Sugar Ray Robinson, there are ten Gene Tunneys, Jack Dempseys, Max Schmelings, Joe Louises, Rocky Marcianos, Floyd Pattersons, Muhammad Alis, George Foremans, Mike Tysons and Evander Holyfields. There is something inherently captivating about watching two of the biggest and baddest men on the planet determine who is smarter, stronger and tougher, playing by the same rules, using only their fists. It's sporting reduced to it's most basic elements: Strength and Strategy.

Between the Klitschko brothers refusing to fight each other and the 7 foot behemoth Nikolai Valuev refusing to throw a punch and still getting the decision, the heavyweight division is entirely unwatchable at the moment. If you bother to dig a little deeper, however, you'll find that sort of drama can exist at any weight class.

One gigantic reason for that is HBO's 24/7 documentaries. Typically four to six episodes leading up to major fights, the crew follows each fighter through their training regiment all the way to Vegas or whever the bout happens to be. They are incredibly entertaining and astonishingly well done. They are beautifully shot and the musical selections are spot on, something we clearly strive towards on our "Game: XX" posts. It's even more remarkable when you consider that they are aired less than a week after they are filmed. Watch the series and you will find a rooting interest based on the way the fighter's personalities come out through the episodes. I realize it's a little bit late for the heads up, but you can catch up on the episodes on HBO OnDemand or on their website.

I've been looking forward to tonight's junior welterweight (140lb) tilt ever since Manny Pacquiao, as Jim Lampley put it, "rearrang[ed] De La Hoya's beautiful face" and Ricky Hatton did the same to Paulie Malignaggi. As was masterfully portrayed in the episodes of 24/7, Pacman and The Hitman are ideal foils; Pacquiao a proud, humble, generous, religious Filipino and Hatton a brash, fun loving joker from Manchester, England. Both fighters are revered to epic proportions in their native lands, but you will undoubtedly notice the cheering section for Hatton serenading their hero if you order the fight.

Each is likable in their own way, but I'm rooting for Pacquiao. I love his trainer, Freddie Roach, and the fact that Manny keeps a tight-knit staff of 10 guys who all live in a 2 bedroom apartment leading up to his fights. I find it fascinating that he is a national icon, literally the most famous person in his country, and is called "the nation's fist". As the Phillipines prepares it's power grid for the surge resulting from almost every resident watching the fight, I will be heading over the la casa de Big Willie Style, pulling in the same direction.

See You In Tijuana, Tony

Everyone's favorite plaster craftsman/welterweight boxer, Antonio Margarito and his trainer Javier Capetillo had their boxing licenses revoked by the California State Athletic Commission (and therefore the rest of the US) for at least one year:

Voting 7-0 on both motions for revocation, the panel found that they put a
plaster-like substance on illegal pads inside Margarito's hand wraps.

Before Margarito was knocked out in the ninth round, Mosley's trainer, Naazim Richardson, had objected to the way Margarito's left hand was wrapped. When the wrap was cut off, officials found a suspect bandage wrap inside the knuckle pad that would be placed over Margarito's hands.

Richardson then insisted that the wrap on Margarito's right hand be checked and another identical illegal pad was discovered. Margarito eventually had his hands re-wrapped and went on to lose the fight.

Margarito told the panel that he just held his hands up to be wrapped, and had no knowledge of what his trainer was doing. His trainer echoed the sentiment, saying:

I don't want this young man to have problems. I'm here to cover any responsibility. I take full responsibility. I committed this innocent mistake.

Pleading ignorance? Yeah fucking right, Antonio. So I'm assuming they wrapped your hands with plaster in your sparring matches and training sessions, right? Oh, no? So you just closed your eyes when they were being applied? You couldn't feel the illegal pads when Javier put them on? You didn't notice that your hands were significantly heavier? Your wraps didn't feel any different? Really?

What incentive would your trainer have to do this without your consent? Why is it that when lost your illegal edge, you got your ass handed to you by a 37 year old dude?

In related news, Roger Clemens just held down his pants so Brain McNamee could inject him and had no idea what was in those syringes. And that "innocent mistake" resulted in other people taking vicious and illegal blows to the head with a rock hard substance. Altering hand wraps is considered an especially serious violation in the boxing world, for obvious reasons. After the one year ban, Margarito and his trainer can apply for reinstatement but there is not guarantee that they will be accepted.

This now opens the door for legal action from Miguel Cotto, Kermit Cintron, Joshua Clottey and other past opponents. After the his fight with Margarito, Cotto said it felt like he was being "hit with bricks". Doesn't sound like hyperbole anymore, does it? Unfortunately for him, his bell cannot be unrung, and he may never be the same fighter again. But at least people know he wasn't taking a knee for no reason.

Antonio Margarito: Humble Artisan

Would everyone leave Antonio Margarito alone? The guy had to rush from his second job as a craftsman, putting some finishing touches on a bathroom in Santa Monica, just to get to the Staples Center on Saturday night, which is why he looked so flat. He didn't have time to wash off his hands, which explains the "plaster like substance" found in his wraps.

The substance was found before the fight, so he was re-taped under the supervision of a boxing official. Then, coincidentally, the Tijuana Tornado got his ass handed to him by a 37 year old "Sugar" Shane Mosley. Boxing gloves weigh about 12 oz, and I'm guessing a handful of plaster is going to increase that pretty significantly.

The real loser of that fight was Miguel Cotto, who beat Mosely in November 2007, but lost his WBO Welterweight title to Margarito in July.

That was Cotto's first career loss, and it looks a whole lot different after the revelation that Margarito was cheating. You might doubt whether Margarito used the plaster in his 11th round defeat of Cotto, but ask yourself this: Why would you win the Welterweight title and THEN start cheating?

WBA Reviews Holyfield vs. Valuev Decision

I first saw this on the crawl during SportsCenter last night:

FightNews has learned that the WBA Championship Committee has ordered a panel of judges to review the contest between WBA heavyweight champion Nicolay Valuev and Evander Holyfield, for the WBA Heavyweight title, held December 20th in Switzerland. The source stated that the WBA is taking this action “Due to the respect for the opinion of the fans and the media.”

Since the fight was in Switzerland, it aired live in the afternoon two Saturdays ago. Partially out of boredom and partially out of morbid curiosity, I went on channelsurfing.net and watched the fight from the third round on and read along with Brain Armen Graham's SI.com live blog.

The fight was wildly boring, with Valuev basically sitting in the middle of the ring, not throwing any punches and Evander not doing a whole lot more, but significantly out-landing the giant. Graham (118-110) and every single other account of the fight I read agreed it was an obvious win for Holyfield, who came out of retirement because "God told him to unify the heavyweight belts". (Sidenote: watch Religulous)

Shockingly, the judges awarded the fight to the 7 foot ogre from Russia 114-114, 116-112, 115-114. Holyfield took the "defeat" graciously, probably more so than I would have. I don't know how often these things get reversed, but it would be nice to see Holyfield rewarded for getting into great shape at age 46 and getting the job done. And hopefully he never fights again.