Since I am from Northern New Jersey and grew up as a Yankees fan I was thrilled that they won the World Series last night. Congratulations Yankees!!!

Susan Finkelstein offered sex as an exchange for a World Series ticket. Photo Source: CBS News.

With this in mind I figured I would share a breaking news story that I had heard about a “desperate” (in my mind appalling) Philadelphia Phillies Fan.

Allegedly Susan Finkelstein, a 43 year old Philadelphia Phillies Fan was arrested for trying to offer sex as an exchange for a ticket to the World Series game to see the Phillies play.  She had posted advertisements for the tickets on craigslist stating she needed 2 tickets for Monday nights Game 4 of the World Series taking place at the Philadelphia Stadium. Headlines of her ad post said “DESPERARE BLODE NEEDS WS TIX!” then went on to say “Diehard Phillies fan – gorgeous tall buxom blonde – in desperate need of two World Series Tickets … negotiable price, I’m Creative!”

Someone had taken noticed the ad and the post was quickly brought to the attention of Bucks County Public Safety to further investigate the severity of the case. After meeting up with the woman at a bar two under cover policemen negotiated the fake tickets for sex acts.  When the offer was made clear of an exchange of tickets for sex the criminal offense was made and she could be prosecuted for a misdemeanor charge of prostitution. Which she was!

Just thought I would share this news. Any thoughts?

Esaminiamo i dati di ascolto statunitensi della serata di ieri 1° novembre 2009, in base alle cifre preliminari diffuse da Nielsen Media Research e pubblicate ogni pomeriggio da diversi siti web USA come Mediaweek e Hollywood Reporter.
In chiusura, le ultime notizie del panorama televisivo statunitense che potranno anche essere approfondite negli spazi settimanali “TV USA Gazette” e “TV USA Giorno per giorno”, ed un elenco dei prossimi episodi inediti di telefilm a breve in onda negli Stati Uniti.
Per favore evitate nei commenti qualsiasi tipo di SPOILER sugli episodi dei telefilm citati in questo spazio!

ASCOLTI USA di domenica 1° novembre 2009
20 milioni di spettatori per il Game 4 delle World Series di baseball; tiene benissimo ABC con “Desperate Housewives”, ancora male “Three Rivers”; pessima domenica sera senza football in casa NBC
Vi presento la classifica degli spettatori totali dei cinque principali network statunitensi (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX e The CW): nella prima colonna è indicata l’audience in milioni di spettatori, nella seconda il rating e lo share nella fascia di pubblico 18-49 anni.

	AUDIENCE	RATING/ SHARE
	21,12	7,4/18
	10,44	3,4/8
	9,94	2,2/5
	4,36	1,6/4

* Come ogni domenica, il network The CW non è indicato in quanto le stazioni affiliate di ciascuno Stato trasmettono programmi diversi tra loro.

Ecco un elenco degli episodi inediti di serie e sit-com trasmessi ieri sera sui cinque network:

• ore 21.00 Desperate Housewives 6×06 (ABC), Three Rivers 1×05 (CBS)
• ore 22.00 Brothers & Sisters 4×06 (ABC), Cold Case 7×05 (CBS)

Di seguito entro più nel dettaglio dei programmi trasmessi, con una classifica per fascia oraria di trasmissione ordinata in base agli spettatori totalizzati.

ORE 19.00:

1. Su FOX è sforato di circa 75 minuti l’incontro di football del pomeriggio, con circa 30,57 milioni di spettatori (11,2/30), e alle ore 19.30 è seguito il programma sportivo “The OT” con 18,24 milioni di spettatori (6,5/7).
2. Su CBS il programma giornalistico “60 Minutes” ha totalizzato 12,32 milioni di spettatori (2,1/6).
3. Su ABC il varietà “America’s Funniest Home Videos” ha avuto 6,84 milioni di spettatori (2,0/6).
4. Su NBC il programma sportivo “Football Night in America” ha avuto 2,57 milioni di spettatori (0,8/2).

ORE 20.00:

1. Su FOX è andato in onda il Game 4 delle World Series di baseball, con la sfida New York Yankees – Philadelphia Phillies vinta dagli Yankees per 7-4, che ha dominato nuovamente la serata con una media di 20,02 milioni di spettatori (6,9/17) fino alle ore 23.00.
2. Su CBS la sesta puntata del reality-game “The Amazing Race” ha avuto 11,10 milioni di spettatori (3,2/8).
3. Su ABC una nuova puntata del reality “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” ha avuto 10,75 milioni di spettatori (3,4/9).
4. Su NBC, in una domenica sera senza football, è andata in onda tra le ore 20.00 e le 23.00 la replica del film avventuroso “National Treasure” con Nicolas Cage e Diane Kruger, con appena 4,59 milioni di spettatori (1,7/4) fino alle 23.00.

ORE 21.00:

1. Su FOX è proseguito il Game 4 delle World Series di baseball.
2. Su ABC il sesto episodio inedito della sesta stagione della serie Desperate Housewives – I segreti di Wisteria Lane ha ottenuto 13,80 milioni di spettatori (5,0/12).
3. Su CBS il quinto episodio inedito della serie medica flop Three Rivers ha ottenuto 7,71 milioni di spettatori (1,7/4).
4. Su NBC è proseguita la replica del film avventuroso “National Treasure”.

ORE 22.00:

1. Su FOX è proseguito il Game 4 delle World Series di baseball.
2. Su ABC il sesto episodio inedito della quarta stagione della serie Brothers & Sisters – Segreti di famiglia ha ottenuto 9,37 milioni di spettatori (3,3/9).
3. Su CBS il quinto episodio inedito della settima stagione della serie poliziesca Cold Case – Delitti irrisolti ha avuto 8,64 milioni di spettatori (1,6/4).
4. Su NBC è proseguita la replica del film avventuroso “National Treasure”.

QUESTA SERA IN TV NEGLI STATI UNITI…
Gli episodi inediti di serie e sit-com su network e canali cavo
Informazioni tratte dallo spazio “TV USA Giorno per giorno”.

Lunedì 2 novembre 2009

• ore 20.00 How I Met Your Mother – E alla fine arriva mamma! 5×06 (CBS), Heroes 4×08 (NBC), One Tree Hill 7×08 (CW), Lincoln Heights – Ritorno a casa 4×08 (ABC Family)
• ore 20.30 Accidentally on Purpose 1×06 (CBS)
• ore 21.00 Due uomini e mezzo 7×06 (CBS), Trauma 1×06 (NBC), Gossip Girl 3×08 (CW), Greek – La confraternita 3×10 – finale autunnale di mezza stagione (ABC Family)
• ore 21.30 The Big Bang Theory 3×06 (CBS)
• ore 22.00 C.S.I.: Miami 8×06 (CBS), Castle – Detective tra le righe 2×07 (ABC), Rita Rocks 2×10-11 (Lifetime)

One more win. One more win for #27. Didn’t manage to catch the game live on ESPN again, but caught most of the action on Gameday (as usual lol). The Yankees were up 4-3 when Joba Chamberlain serves up a home run to Pedro Feliz, tying it at 4-4 to end the 8th.

Send in “Mr. Blown Save” Brad Lidge at the top of the 9th inning to preserve the tie and what do you get? You guessed it; a loss for the Phillies… I have nothing against him (he seems like a genuine guy who’s struggling and trying hard to bounce back), but seriously. Cole Hamels and Lidge both need to work out where they went wrong this season/postseason…

After breezing through the first two outs, getting pinch-hitter Hideki Matsui to pop out to Jimmy Rollins AND striking out Derek Jeter, Lidge crumbles after a lengthy 9-pitch duel with Johnny Damon, giving up a single. THEN on the first pitch to Mark Teixeira, Damon takes off, bringing chaos along and an eventual win for the Bombers. Not only does he steal 2nd, but he manages to steal 3rd base as well on the same play (you have to watch the replay/highlight at MLB.com, because it’s simply epic). Lidge proceeds to hit Teix with a pitch, then Damon comes home on Alex Rodriguez’s clutch RBI-double. By now, the Yanks re-claim the lead, 5-4. Next up, Jorge Posada drills a two-RBI single to center, inflating the lead to 7-4.

Enter Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the 9th. Mo only needs EIGHT pitches to dispose of Matt Stairs, Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino. All three grounding out/popping up harmlessly to Teix at 1st. Game over, save, victory for the Yankees.

So there you have it. Clutch hitting from Damon, A-Rod and Jorgie; combined with clutch (and epic) base-running from Damon; and a solid save from Mo brings the Yankees within ONE win for #27. I look forward to Game 5 tomorrow!

Player of the Game for today? Johnny Damon. Period.

LET’S GO YANKEES!!

GREAT 2009 WORLD SERIES SITES

OFFICIAL 2009 WORLD SERIES SITE

TEAMS:

New York Yankees Official Site

Phillies Official Site

LIVE TWITTER FEED: all tweets on the world series (via NowPublic.com)

GAME 4 RECAP via CBS Sports

OTHER RESOURCES:

ESPN World Series Game 4

Wall Street Journal LIVE Blog Play by Play

NEWS of the World Series Online:

GAME 2 = JAY-z feat Alicia Keys “Empire State of Mind”

PLEASE RETWEET

It all began back on a cold April day with a 10-5 loss in Baltimore.  What a long time ago it seems, and how far they have come.  113 wins later The Yankees find themselves only a single victory away from their 27th World Series title.  Win 113 did not come easily.  With a 4-3 lead with two outs in the bottom of the 8th Joba Chamberlain, who had dominated the first two batters of the inning, gave up the game tying home run to Pedro Feliz, the Phillies fans went crazy.  They continued to flood the field with their cheers through the first two outs of the top of the 9th, no doubt salivating at their chance to get a walk off win, then up came Johnny Damon.  After seeing 10 pitches Johnny finally slapped a single to left, then on the first pitch to Mark Teixeira he took off for second.  The Phillies had been playing the usual Teixeira shift when they move their short stop to the second base side of the bag and move their 3rd baseman to short…well this would have consequences.  Damon takes off for second and the 3rd baseman moves to cover second base, Damon slides in safely, then pops to his feet and begins sprinting for 3rd, why? Because nobody is covering the bag, two stolen bases on the same play.  This play was important because it shut the crowd up, and Phillies closer Brad Lidge was obviously rattled because he promptly hits Tex with the next pitch, and up walks Alex Rodriguez.  Mostly silent in this World Series Arod had come through last night with a big momentum shifting HR and now had the chance to give the Yanks back the lead…and did he ever, driving an 0-1 pitch to the wall in left…what it must have felt like to be a Phillies fan at that moment.  After Posada drove in two more runs the stage was all Mo’s…and he didn’t need long on it.  In just 8 pitches Mariano Rivera shut down the last hope of the Phillies and put the Yanks on the brink.

Well with one win to go The Yanks turn to A.J. Burnett on short rest tomorrow in game 5.  He’ll be going against game 1 winner Cliff Lee.  This is a game that on paper heavily favors the Phillies, I have no idea how this team will do now that they’ve had the life sucked out of them, but I expect to see some fight, and I know Cliff Lee is going to throw a great game…A.J. has to match. 

Well another road win means we have to see Kate Hudson again (and how can that be a bad thing? Yanks have a good track record the games after I play this clip), and considering what Arod has done these last two games it seems more than appropriate…Yanks haven’t been this close to a title since 2001…let’s finish this off tomorrow so I can hit my prediction…Yanks in 5.

     If you were in New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi’s shoes, would you start in Game 4 of the World Series a 6’7’’, 290-pound, left-handed goliath and former Cy Young Winner or a guy who made one postseason appearance (but struck out the side when he did)? If you choose the former, then you’ve got the approval of the all the other coaches! Yankees ace CC Sabathia will start game 4 tonight on FOX against the Philadelphia Phillies, rather than the inexperienced Chad Gaudin, who, to his own chagrin, may never appear in this postseason again.

Yankees ace CC Sabathia will start Game 4 of the World Series on three days rest - Chris McGrath/Getty Images

     Word on the street is that because Sabathia is starting on three days rest, he has the advantage over Phillies starter Joe Blanton. Last time Sabathia took the mound after starting three days earlier, he secured a win against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ALCS, putting the Yankees up 3-1 in a pivotal game 4. He went eight innings, allowing only one earned run, five hits, and two walks, while striking out five. Blanton on the other hand made one start in the NLCS and received a no decision (even though the Phillies won that game to go up 3-1 as well). He pitched six innings, allowing three earned runs, six hits, and two walks, while striking out just two.

     Furthermore, Blanton’s postseason numbers pale in comparison to CC’s:

Blanton’s three postseason starts: 4.66 ERA, 3 SO, opponents AVG .256

Sabathia’s four postseason starts: 1.52 ERA, 26 SO, opponents AVG .196

     So, advantage Yankees for Game 4. The Yankees’ Game 3 win says history is in their favor: nine of the past ten teams to win Game 3 when the World Series was tied 1-all went on to take the title. However, a reversal of fortune may still be looming: in the 17 times that the Yankees have been up 2-1 in a World Series, they’ve only won 10 of them.

The New York Yankees announced that they will open up the stadium’s field level and Great Hall to the public to watch Game #4 of the world Series.

From the press release:

Turnstiles between Gates 4 and 6 will open at 7:00 p.m. for the 8:20 p.m. game. Fans can watch the Game in the Great Hall or in the opened sections of the Field Level.

“When we opened the Stadium for Game 3 in the ALCS, the response was positive and the energy from our fans was truly infectious. They really enjoyed coming together to watch the game,” said Hal Steinbrenner, Yankees Managing General Partner. “Once we reached the World Series, we felt that it was the perfect time to open the Stadium again. We remain grateful for the support of the best fans in baseball.”

Food and concession stands will be open and available to fans. NYY Steak and Hard Rock Café will also be open.

If the Yankees are Pedro’s Daddy, then the Phils are CC Sabathia’s Daddy.

While fatman CC has mowed down opponents throughout the last two years, he hasn’t done so well against the Phillies. In three career games, he’s 1-1 with a 4.35 ERA. That is not your normal CC Sabathia.

Last year, he gave up five runs on six hits in just 3.2 innings against the Phillies. He also walked Brett Myers in a memorable at-bat en route to racking up a 12.27 ERA in the postseason.

Then in Game 1 on Wednesday, CC got the loss, giving up two earned runs in seven innings as the Phils spanked the Bronx Bitches 6-1.

Of course, now, Sabathia goes against Joe Blanton who has been up-and-down this year. If Sabathia pitches as well on Sunday as he did on Wednesday, he could very well get the victory and out the Yankees in a position to go back home and win the series.

However, first, he must show he can stop Utley, Myers and the rest of the Phils lineup.

Thanks to Daily News columnist Dan Gross for pointing this out to us….

Kobe Bryant might be a Mets fan, but the Goodfellas‘ Henry Hill is a Phillies fan.

Captain Yankee Hater America, also known as ESPN’s Skip Bayless, had some nerve polluting the show First and Ten with ridiculous comments completely undermining last night’s New York Yankee ALCS game four victory.

Upon discussing Yankees star pitcher CC Sabathia’s dominating playoff performances this postseason, Skip Bayless took both idiocracy and Yankee-hating to a new level.

He declared with a weak shrug that sure, Sabathia deserves “some credit” for his performance last night and throughout the playoffs so far. “Some credit” to CC for going out there and doing his job very well. “Against what line-up?” he inquired as he decided that the home team Angels self-destructed. Skip was clearly unwilling to admit that the Yankees shut down the so-called missing line-up that clearly does exist or else how would a team make it all the way to a Championship Series?

“Let’s see CC versus Cliff Lee,” Bayless challenged. Hopefully, we will see what would obviously promise to be a top-notch pitching battle. But in the meantime, baseball is a team sport that requires more than just the pitcher to perform well. No one wins a 0-0 game. Oh, and while Scott Kazmir is not as impressive as Cliff Lee, he’s no minor league starter.

Sabathia having a record postseason and Skippy is acting like nothing matters except the world series. Um, how do teams get to world series? By earning their spot with division series and championship series wins. That’s the process that’s happening now and it’s going pretty nicely for the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies. Skip is more than happy to recognize the latter team for their accomplishments.

Bayless went on to comment about the Angels bad throws. Did you see the score of the game, Skippy? Even if you want to discredit a couple of runs, the margin of victory was secure enough to win, anyway. It’s not like one or two bad plays would’ve swung a 10-1 game to something close.

After some cheap, nonsensical incomplete thought about how A-Rod should give Kate Hudson a wedding ring if the Yankees win the world series, Skip’s two coworkers couldn’t resist rolling their eyes. I guess Skip felt it was important to show that he notices the pop culture side of baseball. Way to be conscious throughout the season, Skip. Want to talk about your brother Rick’s successful culinary career and its place in pop culture to prove you are the less talented Bayless?

Of course, the hating continued.

“Yankee fans are acting like CC threw a perfect game in the game 7 of the world series,” his diarrhea of the mouth continued. Apparently, Yankee fans are not entitled to celebrate an impressive, dominating victory the day after the game.

“If there even are any real Yankee fans left,” Bayless challenged. If he was a real sportscaster and a real baseball fan, he wouldn’t be so blatantly bitter to make unreasonable statements about one of the most popular sports franchises in the world… that, according to his warped little balloon for a brain, has no true fans.

As I conclude my hating on the hater, I will leave with one positive thought about Skip Bayless’ Yankee opinions: it is impressive that his mouth can move so accurately while he was clearly speaking from his ass.

Also posted on National Lampoon’s Splog

Esaminiamo i dati di ascolto statunitensi della serata di ieri 20 ottobre 2009, in base alle cifre preliminari diffuse da Nielsen Media Research e pubblicate ogni pomeriggio da diversi siti web USA come Mediaweek e Hollywood Reporter.
In chiusura, le ultime notizie del panorama televisivo statunitense che potranno anche essere approfondite negli spazi settimanali “TV USA Gazette” e “TV USA Giorno per giorno”, ed un elenco dei prossimi episodi inediti di telefilm a breve in onda negli Stati Uniti.
Per favore evitate nei commenti qualsiasi tipo di SPOILER sugli episodi dei telefilm citati in questo spazio!

ASCOLTI USA di martedì 20 ottobre 2009
Contro il baseball, rimane stabile e vincente il martedì sera CBS con “NCIS”, “NCIS: Los Angeles” e “The Good Wife”; delude ancora “The Forgotten”, ancora scarsi gli ascolti di “Melrose Place”
Vi presento la classifica degli spettatori totali dei cinque principali network statunitensi (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX e The CW): nella prima colonna è indicata l’audience in milioni di spettatori, nella seconda il rating e lo share nella fascia di pubblico 18-49 anni.

	AUDIENCE	RATING/ SHARE
	16,67	3,8/10
	9,43	3,1/8
	9,37	2,3/6
	8,32	3,2/9
	1,94	0,9/2

Ecco un elenco degli episodi inediti di serie e sit-com trasmessi ieri sera sui cinque network:

• ore 20.00 NCIS – Unità anticrimine 7×05 (CBS ), 90210 2×07 (CW)
• ore 21.00 NCIS: Los Angeles 1×05 (CBS), Melrose Place 1×07 (CW)
• ore 22.00 The Good Wife 1×05 (CBS), The Forgotten 1×05 (ABC)

Di seguito entro più nel dettaglio dei programmi trasmessi, con una classifica per fascia oraria di trasmissione ordinata in base agli spettatori totalizzati.

ORE 20.00:

1. Su CBS il quinto episodio inedito della settima stagione della serie poliziesca NCIS – Unità anticrimine ha ottenuto l’ennesimo ascolto eccezionale con 20,60 milioni di spettatori (4,7/13).
2. Su FOX il Game 4 delle American League Championship Series di baseball, con la sfida New York Yankees – Los Angeles Angels, è andato in onda per tutta la serata, con una media di 9,43 milioni di spettatori (3,1/8) tra le ore 20.00 e le 23.00.
3. Su NBC una nuova puntata di due ore del reality show “The Biggest Loser” ha ottenuto 9,77 milioni di spettatori (3,9/11) fino alle ore 22.00.
4. Su ABC il reality “Shark Tank” ha avuto appena 6,24 milioni di spettatori (1,9/5).
5. Su CW il settimo episodio inedito della seconda stagione della serie 90210 ha ottenuto 2,36 milioni di spettatori (1,1/3).

ORE 21.00:

1. Su CBS il quinto episodio inedito della serie poliziesca NCIS: Los Angeles ha ottenuto 16,51 milioni di spettatori (3,9/10).
2. Su FOX è proseguito il Game 4 delle American League Championship Series di baseball.
3. Su ABC la puntata in diretta del reality musicale “Dancing With the Stars Results Show”, con l’uscita dalla gara di Natalie Couglin, ha avuto 14,23 milioni di spettatori (3,2/8).
4. Su NBC è proseguita la nuova puntata di due ore del reality show “The Biggest Loser”.
5. Su CW il settimo episodio inedito della serie Melrose Place ha totalizzato 1,52 milioni di spettatori (0,7/2).

ORE 22.00:

1. Su CBS il quinto episodio inedito del legal drama The Good Wife ha avuto 12,89 milioni di spettatori (2,8/7).
2. Su FOX è proseguito il Game 4 delle American League Championship Series di baseball.
3. Su ABC il quinto episodio inedito della serie poliziesca The Forgotten ha ottenuto 7,72 milioni di spettatori (2,0/5).
4. Su NBC la puntata 27 del talk-show quotidiano “The Jay Leno Show” ha avuto 5,42 milioni di spettatori (1,8/5).

• Seconda stagione completa di 22 episodi per “Castle”
  Il network ABC ha esteso l’ordine iniziale della seconda stagione della serie gialla Castle con Nathan Fillion e Stana Katic, che ora comprenderà 22 episodi.
  Anche se non eccezionali, gli ascolti del telefilm nella sua collocazione settimanale del lunedì alle ore 22.00 sono stati positivi, con una media di 10,1 milioni di spettatori (2,5/7), classificandosi al secondo posto dell’ora dietro il colosso C.S.I.: Miami di CBS.
  Tra le nuove serie dell’autunno ABC, si aspettano notizie sui telefilm in onda il martedì e il mercoledì alle ore 22.00, ovvero The Forgotten e Eastwick: quest’ultima è già oggetto di una “campagna di salvataggio” da parte dei fan di tutto il mondo. Non ci sono nemmeno notizie su un’estensione dell’ordine della nuova sit-com Hank con Kelsey Grammer.
• Cambio di guardia anche a “FlashForward”
  Dopo la notizia relativa al cambio al timone del telefilm The Good Wife di qualche giorno fa, un’altra nuova serie vede una variazione di showrunner: si tratta della nuova thriller FlashForward con Joseph Fiennes, recentemente rinnovata per una stagione completa di 25 episodi.
  Il co-showrunner e produttore esecutivo Marc Guggenheim (Eli Stone) abbandona infatti il telefilm prodotto da ABC Studios, lasciando come unico “timoniere” il co-creatore e produttore esecutivo David Goyer. Guggenheim era entrato nella troupe del telefilm dopo la produzione dell’episodio pilota per affiancare Goyer, data la limitata esperienza in ambito telefilmico di quest’ultimo: dopo il pilota ed i successivi 12 episodi dell’ordine iniziale, Goyer si è fatto le ossa e può proseguire il suo lavoro da solo per i rimanenti episodi della stagione.
• ABC progetta la sit-com “I’m With Stupid”
  Il network ABC sta sviluppando I’m With Stupid, nuova sit-com multicamera (che ha ricevuto l’ordine per una sceneggiatura), che in caso di realizzazione dell’episodio pilota vedrà protagonista l’attrice Judy Greer (che di recente ha concluso il film “Marmaduke” e sta girando “Love and Other Drugs” di Ed Zwick, e già protagonista su ABC della fallita sit-com Miss Guided).
  Basata sul romanzo di Elaine Szewczyk, la sit-com è incentrata su Kas Sienkiewicz (Greer), nata e cresciuta a Manhattan, che ha una relazione con un apparentemente perfetto ranger durante un safari in Sudafrica: quando torna a casa si chiede se rivedrà mai più l’uomo, quando lui arriva a sorpresa nel suo appartamento. La donna si renderà allora conto delle sue limitate capacità intellettuali, e capirà che quello che accade in un safari dovrebbe rimanere limitato a quell’occasione.
  La Szewczyk, autrice del romanzo, scriverà l’adattamento televisivo con Allan Loeb (“21″): il progetto, originariamente sviluppato presso Lionsgate Television, sarà invece prodotto da ABC Studios.
• CBS ripropone gli episodi di domenica di “Three Rivers” e “Cold Case”
  Il network CBS darà ai telespettatori statunitensi un’altra possibilità di vedere gli episodi trasmessi domenica scorsa delle serie Three Rivers e Cold Case, trasmessi con un indecente ritardo di 75 minuti a causa di uno sforamento dell’incontro di football del pomeriggio.
  L’episodio 4 “Good Intentions” di Three Rivers, trasmesso domenica 18 alle ore 22.15, sarà allora replicato sabato prossimo 24 ottobre alle ore 20.00 su CBS; l’episodio 7×04 “Soul” di Cold Case sarà invece ritrasmesso domenica 25 ottobre alle ore 22.00, al posto del previsto episodio inedito 7×05, dato che la metà delle emittenti statunitensi affiliate con CBS, a causa del ritardo, domenica scorsa hanno preferito trasmettere un episodio precedente in replica (“Wednesday’s Women”).
• La campagna promozionale dei nuovi “Visitors”
  ABC si prepara a lanciare la nuova versione della serie V (remake aggiornato dei Visitors anni ‘80), che partirà il prossimo martedì 3 novembre alle ore 20.00 con la trasmissione dei primi 4 episodi, per proseguire poi in primavera.
  Da venerdì 23 ottobre, infatti, nei cieli di 26 luoghi caratteristici statunitensi (tra cui, quasi certamente, l’edificio Capitol Records e la Statua della Libertà) appariranno delle giganti “V” realizzate da alcuni piccoli aerei e da esperti skywriter. La scritta verrà realizzata più volte al giorno in ogni luogo, fino al lancio della serie.

QUESTA SERA IN TV NEGLI STATI UNITI…
Gli episodi inediti di serie e sit-com su network e canali cavo
Informazioni tratte dallo spazio “TV USA Giorno per giorno”.

Mercoledì 21 ottobre 2009

• ore 20.00 Mercy 1×05 (NBC), La complicata vita di Christine 5×05 (CBS), Hank 1×04 (ABC)
• ore 20.30 Provaci ancora Gary 2×05 (CBS), The Middle 1×04 (ABC)
• ore 21.00 Criminal Minds 5×05 (CBS), Modern Family 1×05 (ABC), Law & Order: Unità speciale 11×05 (NBC), Glee 1×08 (FOX)
• ore 21.30 Cougar Town 1×05 (ABC)
• ore 22.00 C.S.I.: NY 6×05 (CBS), Eastwick 1×05 (ABC), Nip/Tuck 6×02 (FX), South Park 13×10 (Comedy Central)
• ore 22.30 Secret Girlfriend 1×03 (Comedy Central)

Here are some interesting/funny/badass links for your viewing pleasure:

dmac at The Fightins had a nice little Playoff Diary Post, which includes Kyle Kendrick’s new job, and lots and lots of Tommy Lasorda bashing. I’m all for Lasorda bashing. Anyone who hates the Philly Phanatic is pretty much an asshole in my book.

Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams seems to believe that our All Star second baseman, Chase Utley, is playing hurt. I can see that, as Utley isn’t the kind of guy who is going to make excuses, or pull himself from a game if he can still play through it. Although, I had just figured that he was just dead tired due to the fact that he didn’t get many off days this year, after coming off hip surgery after the ‘08 season…

Apparently, Manny Ramirez couldn’t stand to watch the conclusion of the exciting Game 4 in Philly…or wait, maybe he just wanted to shower before the rest of the guys came in so that he could hide his shrunken testicles…Remember kids, Manny isn’t Manny without a needle in his fanny. (If anybody knows where I can find the picture of the guy holding that sign, please let me know. Pretty please.)

Bill Baer over at Crashburn Alley goes all FJM on a recent article by Buzz Bissinger, who is pretty pissed at Billy Beane and all the Moneyball guys. Bill Baer is a much smarter guy than me, and I’ll leave all that sabermetric stuff to him…Take a gander here.

Pat Gallen over at Phillies Nation had a pretty nice post up about witnessing the dramatic game 4 in person, and it’s definitely worth a read.

C.C. Sabathia, on three days rest, pitches the Yankees to within a game of their 40th World Series appearance.  C.C. went 8 innings, allowing only 1 run on 5 hits and has cemented himself as an ace postseason pitcher.  In Sabathia’s three starts this postseason he has gone 22.2 innings, allowed only 3 earned runs and 17 hits.  Arod tonight had another 3 hits including a 2 run homerun and has tied the major league postseason record for consecutive games with an RBI at 8.  I think the “A-Rod can’t hit in October” people can kindly shut the fuck up, he’s been fantastic.  A.J. takes the mound on thursday for game 5 and can put the Yanks in the fall classic for the first time since 2003.  He’s going to have to face a tough pitcher in John Lackey who will be pitching for his team’s life.  The Yanks are in great position to win this series with at worst C.C. going on full rest in game 7.  Now since this is a road win we can’t use Frank, last time I went to A-Rod’s muse and we won the next two games, so I’ll do it again!  So once again here’s to you Kate!  Keep doing whatever it is you’re doing…

When C.C. Sabathia was brought to N.Y. last spring it was for moments just like this.  Up 2 games to 1 in the ALCS, Sabathia has the chance to move The Yankees to within a single victory of The World Series.  If he pitches anything like he did in his 8 inning gem in game 1 he should do just that.  In fact he has pitched so well this postseason that any failures he had pitching for the Brewers a year ago have been forgotten.  He has excelled on the big stage, living up to the enormous hype and expectations bestowed on him.  However, this is New York…you’re only as good as your last start, so tonight the slate is wiped clean and C.C. has to go out on three days rest and pitch the game of his life, and when his next start comes around, he has to pitch the game of his life again.  Not many can handle such pressure, but so far C.C. has past the test, let’s see if he can continue to do so.

The Fightins put together this great video.

Wow!  What a game 3!

Well, my final score prediction was off, but I was close.  Mathis came up huge for us.

That’s the amazing thing about the postseason.  A team’s depth become evident when the players you don’t expect to provide offense are coming through in clutch situations.  We’re all expecting big things from Vlad, Abreu, Hunter and Figgins.  But Kendrick and Mathis were the stars yesterday.  Same can be said of the Yankees.  Cano, Swisher, Cabrera are not doing their part while the stars are hitting.

Girardi really seems to over-manage his bullpen.  I was questioning a lot of his moves.  They all worked out for us, so I guess he should keep making them.

Pettitte was really dealing yesterday.  It was clear that the Angels were trying to be aggressive and the Yankees took advantage of it.  This win should really get this team back on track to Angel baseball.

Today’s match up is a tough one.  Facing Sabathia again, I’m hoping the Angels can get to him early.  If the Angels can get to the Yankees bullpen early, then we should be able to even up the series.

Prediction:  Angels 7, Yankees 4.

Can you PHEEL it?

For those who saw the 4-3, 9th innning Dodgers lead with Jonathan Broxton(whom the Phillies haven’t had a hit off this postseason)  and decided “I guess we’ll get ‘em in game five, I’m going to bed.” Shame on you. Shame. No dessert and no phone for a month.

What you may have forgotten, is that this team is clutch like a purse without a strap on it…
The female readers will get that one.

Early on in the game, it looked like the Phillies might have a replay of game three. In the bottom of the first, Ryan Howard continued his Roy Hobbs impersonation, hitting a 2-run blast off of Randy Wolf, who hadn’t allowed a HR to a lefty since APRIL.  In doing so, Howard tied Lou Gehrig for 8 straight playoff games with an RBI – a record that Alex Rodriguez tied a day later  (even more impressive was the fact that, unlike Gehrig or Arod, Howard had his in one year, rather than over a span of 3 or 4 years). Blanton went through the first 3 innings without allowing a base-runner, and this game looked like it was going to be easier than Paris Hilton after an evening of drinking.

Wrong. Some questionable managing led to Blanton staying in and getting smacked around a bit in the 4th inning, giving up a solo HR to Kemp in the 5th, and after an error and a lucky pop up that landed just out of Rollins reach, Casey Blake hit a single to score Manny from 2nd.

Now it was 4-2 and the Citizens Bank crowd suddenly more silent than “the quiet game” at a mime convention. No problem though, sixth inning is the top of the order – and the perfect time for a comeback.

…Jimmy Rollins promptly grounded out to third. Swinging on the first pitch. The entire Phillies’ fan base rolls its eyes and groans simultaneously. It would not be a wasted inning though, as Shane came through with a triple – and Utley followed it with a line drive to close the game to 4-3. Unfortunately, that’s all they got.

Fast-forward to the bottom of the 8th inning. George Sherrill is in, whom the Phillies killed in game one. Rollins grounds out again to start the inning, then after Sherill hits Victorino, throws a wild pitch, and walks Utley – Phillies have a man on first and second with The Big Piece up to bat.

Philadelphia was on its feet, anticipating another clutch hit by Howard. We wouldn’t get one. Howard struck out, then Torre brought in Broxton for the 4-out save. Werth hits a ball deep to right, but not quite deep enough. Three more outs.

The Phillies get through the top of the 9th with a little bit of suspense. Lidge(who has his swagger back) struck out Kemp and Ethier to end the inning.

Now it’s down to RAUUUUUL, Feliz, and Ruiz. After Ibanez grounds out to 2nd, we realize who’s in the batter’s box. Not Feliz, but 2008’s NLCS game 4 hero, Matt Stairs – ready to cement his place as the all time best “bit player” in Phillies history. (passing Kim Batiste?)

Broxton wants no part of Stairs here. He avoids him like Jennifer Aniston does Brad Pitt movies, throwing him 4 straight balls. Ruiz then steps in and gets hit with a “slow” 96 mph “changeup”. Dobbs at the plate. Dobbs almost gets it over 3rd base with a soft liner. Almost.

It’s down to Rollins with two outs with the most crucial AB of the series season. A hit here, and we’re at least tied with a chance to go up 3-1. An out, and the series is tied 2-2 with a trip back to LA in the cards.

What’s that? Broxton is throwing 101 and can hit 103 on the gun? No problem. Jimmy Rollins takes a 99 mph fastball (the fastest pitch Rollins has seen all season) on a 1-1 count  and smokes it in the right center field gap all the way to the wall. With the runners bolting at the crack of the bat…Ruiz gets on his horse and scores all the way from first. Ryan Howard would later say he hasn’t seen him run that fast since when they were in the minors together.

The Phillies win 5-4 and take a commanding lead in the series with game 5 on Wednesday night.

Oh, it's true.

Upon official review, I think that was the best game I’ve seen since…well…since last years playoff run.

See you on Wednesday, Phillies’ fans.

- Magnum

Thanks Shec

Although the Angels’ 2008 season ended on a walk-off hit by the Red Sox, many remember it ending with Erick Aybar at the plate.

With 1 out and a pinch-runner Reggie Willits on 3rd, Mike Scioscia opted to win or lose by doing what they had done all year… play Angel baseball.

A suicide squeeze was the call, but when the pitch ran up inside on Aybar and he couldn’t get the bat on the ball, Willits, like the rest of the team, was done for. You could feel the momentum shift away from the Angels, it was that monumental. Pack it up. Head home. Season over.

One could only imagine what had gone through Aybar’s head on that flight home, and for the entire offseason for that matter. Many people (including myself) blamed Aybar for ending the Angels’ postseason run. Many people blamed Mike Scioscia for putting on a high-risk play in such a crucial situation.

When a suicide squeeze is called, the manager puts the absolute utmost confidence in the batter to at least hit the ball into the field of play, because if not, the runner is a sitting duck, and the team squanders a potentially vital run-scoring opportunity.

But, as the great Mark McGwire once said, “I’m not here to talk about the past.” It’s time to recognize what’s been going on in the present day.

Since day 1 of  being part of the Angels’ system (just like that fateful at-bat in Boston), the club had invested the utmost of confidence and placed immensely high hopes in this “Aybar kid”. He’s quick, he’s a slap-hitter, his range in the field is jaw-dropping, he’s acrobatic, you name it. Over his minor league career, Aybar hit at an impressive .312 mark. When he was 20 years old, he stole 51 bases over the course of his season in Advanced-A ball.

Management had touted Aybar as a player where “the sky’s the limit” for him in terms of potential and the type of player he could grow to be.

In 2007, he hit .237.

In 2008, he hit .277.

An improvement, yes, but me like plenty of other Angel fans out there were missing something. If this kid is supposed to be “so good”, don’t you think he could lay a suicide squeeze down? You’d think. This guy’s our future everyday shortstop? Yeah right.

As you can tell, I was not impressed with Aybar whatsoever since he had been called up to the Angels’ big league squad. I had seen flashes of him being who the Angels hyped him up to be, but he was way too streaky. He’d go on a tear for a few games with the bat, then go ice cold for a week. Consistency was nonexistent.

Then 2009 rolled around.

A redemption year for Aybar, if you will. And a year where I finally understand why the Angels’ front office loved this kid so much.

To start the season, I was hoping they would give the starting shortstop job to Maicer Izturis, a guy who was consistent, clutch, and more proven to-date. But Aybar had put forth a better spring training than Mighty Maicer, and was the Opening Day shortstop for the Halos.

Erick would hit at a disappointing .245 mark over the course of the opening month, which had me somewhat furious why Mike Scioscia kept putting him in the lineup.

He would hit .303 during the month of May, which made me a tad bit happier. His season average was just a shade under .280 after 2 months of play… not great, but not horrible either.

June gloom hit Aybar pretty hard as he batted a mere .256 during June, but then Aybar would turn on the jets.

EA had an absolutely unreal month of July. So good in fact that he had the highest batting average of every starting position player in the entire league over the course of the month.

What did he hit, you ask?

.414. Let that soak in for a moment, do a double take if you need to, you’re reading it correctly.

36 hits in 87 at-bats, 17 runs scored, 18 RBI, a homer, 2 triples, and 6 doubles. All while playing exceptional defense in the field.

In a double-header at Kansas City, Aybar collected 7 hits (yeah… 7 hits in one day!) by going 7-for-9 with 5 runs scored! I don’t know if you could draw up a more successful day of baseball for one player.

His batting average has dipped below .300 once since July 19th (September 4th’s game with the Mariners capped off an 0-for-20 slide… which brought his average to .299).

On the season he’s hitting .306 with 5 homers, 53 RBI, 62 runs scored, 21 doubles, and 5 triples, all career bests. He’s also stolen 13 bases and posted a .350 on-base percentage, also his best marks in his young career.

But as much as he’s been letting his bat do the talking, his work at shortstop has been nothing short of sensational.

Entering 2009, Aybar had possessed unbelievable range in the field, meaning he could cover so much ground that he would almost always get a glove on a ball hit in his general area. He has a cannon for an arm despite being just 5′10″ and 170 pounds. But he had always been erratic. For every highlight reel play that he’d make, he would counter by messing up the simplest of grounders.

But as in almost every aspect of Aybar’s game, 2009 would be a new season.

This year has proven to be a “make a name for myself” type of year for Aybar. He would routinely make plays that even the best of shortstops could only dream of making. He’s been making appearances on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays of the day feature seemingly every other day.

At this juncture, I don’t think I could be any happier for Erick.

Nearly 11 months after a potentially career-defining blunder at the ripe age 0f 24, he’s helping erase Angel fans’ unforgettable memory of his ALDS Game 4 mishap by playing the best ball of his career.

And although 2009 has been a year that has shown me a lot about individual players (Torii Hunter, Kendry Morales, Aybar, Juan Rivera just to name a few), but more about what this team is really made of.

This team is made of competitors. This team is made of positive influences. This team is made of winners.

This team… is a team of destiny.