Fortunately, the Phillies are the only Philadelphia team that captured my heart, which has spared me some heartbreak. I too am not a big basketball fan although I used to follow the Celtics in the 70s and 80s and hopped shamelessly back on their bandwagon last year.

I think my most painful sports moment (other than perhaps the Joe Carter homerun) was Game 3 of the '77 NLCS when the Phillies had a two run lead in the top of the ninth with two out. Vic Davaliilo of LA dragged a bunt and was safe; Manny Mota hit a ball that Luzinski trapped against the wall in left; Mota ended up on third with a throwing error, and scored when Davey Lopes rocketed a bad hop grounder off Schmidt's shoulder, which Larry Bowa barehanded and fired to first. Replays confirm that the throw beat Lopes, but safe was the call. He stole second and scored on Bill Russell's hit.

Interesting side note:

Former Phillie Bowa now coaches third base for LA (the base from which he tried to throw out Lopes; Former Dodger Lopes now coaches first for the Phillies (the base where he was safe).

Those were good pictures, Lou. It was actually nice to have Yogi Berra there. While Yankee Stadium is much older and has more history, it's hard to beat Game 6 of '86 for WS history.

Oh? Was that a good game?

Great Pics Lou. The closing ceremony was just fantastic. It was such a treat to see all of those old timers and ex Met players!

Very touching and very moving. I'm so glads that I DVRed the ceremony. I am going to put it on DVD. That surely will be something to watch many years from now.

I thought that it was great that Seaver and Piazza recieved such an outstanding ovation. And deservadly so!

Probably two of the greatest Mets that ever played for the organization.

Seaver pitching to Piazza...how fitting was that!?!?!

The whole thing really choked me up and brought tears to my eyes a couple of times.

what a way to cap off a great year by the Mets bullpen - Mets reliever involved in fatal hit-and-run

ouch!

He's the same piece of shit that was arrested this year for beating his girlfriend.

Some good details here on how Shea Stadium is going down...

To those Mets fans frustrated enough to want Shea Stadium blown up to rid the franchise of the stench of another September collapse, you're going to be disappointed.

The stadium will be torn down slowly and meticulously, without the help of any dynamite.

"It will be dismantled," said Dave Howard, executive vice president of business operations. "There won't be an implosion and there won't be any wrecking balls. It will sort of be strategic cutting and dismantling section by section."

That process is going to begin in less than two weeks, Howard said, and it's something the Mets have been quickly preparing for.

For starters, Tuesday was the first day not a single Mets employee reported to work at Shea Stadium. Everyone with the Mets, from the general manager to the switchboard operator, has now officially been moved to Citi Field.

The transition process actually began two weeks ago, Howard said. By the time the Mets' final homestand at Shea began, most employees already were working out of their offices inside Citi Field.

The only workers who remained at Shea during the final regular-season games, he said, were those who worked in the ticket office and stadium operations. That's only because their jobs required them to be there.

Now that the Mets are out of Shea, Howard said they have 15 days from the final game to clear the stadium of everything they want to save ... or else.

"It's being prepped for demolition," Howard said. "We're pulling out all salvageable stuff and memorabilia items. It's a very active site right, with regards to both the Mets and the Parks Department."

That means everything that is for sale or has been bought, from the seats to the dugouts to the foul poles, are currently being removed. In a matter of days the stadium will be barren.

Then comes the demolition and pretty soon after that you will start to notice a difference as you drive by on the Grand Central Parkway.

"It will be gradual," Howard said. "The goal is to have it down by Opening Day next year for Citi Field, which is April 13. That will be a challenge, and it will be dependent on a lot of things, including what the weather is like this winter. But that's the goal."

As Howard spoke, he said he was looking out his office window onto the crews of workers on the new playing field. The irrigation system is being installed and the sod is expected to be down by the end of October, just in time to set in before the winter frost hits. He thinks more than 90 percent of the seats are now in place.

For Mets fans already looking ahead to next year, the vision of an almost-finished Citi Field will likely bring warm feelings of a new beginning.

"It was very interesting to move over here while the season was still going on at Shea because we would go back over for games during the final homestand, and you definitely see Shea Stadium in different eyes," Howard said. "Even for just a couple of days. The quantitative difference is exponential."

Shea Stadium Demolition

I just ordered my "Authentic Shea Stadium Brick" from the NY Mets.

Ugh! This really puts the Wilpons on my shit list , but at least the Daily News readers were decent.

Woman reunited with dad's ashes, readers give fan sacred Shea dirt
BY TINA MOORE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Monday, October 6th 2008

Chris McGonigle gave Lisa Hasson and son Ben a jar of Shea Stadium dirt after he read The News of her attempt to get soil from pitching mound where she left dad's ashes 12 years ago.

The Mets vowed not to budge - but three big-hearted Daily News readers were eager to help a woman barred from retrieving her father's ashes at Shea Stadium.

The story of Lisa Hasson's failed attempt to scoop dirt, and hopefully some of her father's remains, from the ballpark's pitching mound on Saturday touched one worker.

So the worker, who said he was dismantling the doomed stadium's bleachers, contacted The News and offered to give Hasson a plastic bag of dirt he took from the mound.

"I took this for myself but it means more to her than it means to me," said carpenter Chris McGonigle, 26, of Queens, as he handed over a jar full of dirt to Hasson and her 10-year-old son, Ben, last night.

The gesture meant the world to Hasson.

"Honestly, that's the sweetest thing," she said. "I never expected this."

"[It's] New York at its best," added her husband, Ira Hasson.

The News reported Sunday that Hasson went to the stadium to take dirt from the mound, but was turned away.

Hasson, 48, said she was following the final wishes of her father by sprinkling his ashes on the mound 12 years ago. She planned to save some of the soil and sprinkle the rest in the new Citi Field.

Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said the organization could not let Hasson on the field for "safety reasons," as workers were tearing out the bleachers and using large machinery.

""I'm not trying to be hard about it," Horwitz said. "But the stadium is closed."

Hasson's predicament moved Ralph Bencivenga, 57, so much that he decided to give her a dollop of dirt from Shea that he won in a contest.

Bencivenga, of Staten Island, won the dirt when his scratchoff Mets ticket was pulled in a New York Lottery second-chance drawing.

"When I read the story this morning, I thought, 'I wish I had done that for my father,'" Bencivenga said. "I said, 'If I can make these folks feel better, I should.'"

Mets usher Richard Rosenblum, of the Bronx, wanted to give Hasson dirt he took from the mound after the final game.

"It seems like it means a lot more to them than it does to me," he said.

I had mixed feeling when I heard the story. First, I thought it was bizarre that they allowed her to put the ashes there in the first place. Second, after twelve years, there is nothing left to original mound. 3rd, the Mets were probably correct in not allowing anyone into Shea while it being demolished.

From SNY. The latest video of Shea's demise.

The scoreboard at Shea comes crashing down.

It's really starting to make me sad, Lou.

Funny you just posted that, because I had to run out to Forest Hills this morning. I usually take the long way, which is the Throgs Neck Bridge, to the Clearview to the Grand Central West. It's longer, but wide open. But today, I deliberately took the Whitestone to the Van Wyck, because I wanted to have a look at Shea. It gave me a really empty, melancholy feeling.

I took the long way home.

If we get a real nice day on one of my days off in the next week or so, I'm going to take a ride out there on the 7 train to take a look around and take some pics.

Sounds good, Lou. Do lunch at Primo Amore on Francis Lewis Boulevard. My favorite Queens Italian lunch spot.

Why does it always come back to food for me?

...The only thing I have to double check is whether or not the #7 is skipping the Willets Point/Shea Stadium stop.

Wow. That scoreboard caved in almost as fast as the Mets did.

Sorry. It may bring misfortune to the Phillies, but I couldn't resist.

Anyway, tearing down an old ballpark is like losing a friend.

I remember waaaay back when they tore down Ebbets Field (where the Brooklyn Dodgers played). This was back in the days when you'd see this stuff only on tv. I'll never forget the day they showed the wrecking ball knocking into one of the dugouts at Ebbets Field. It was on the early news and it was the quietest dinner my family ever had.

Uncalled for, Counselor.

But that's okay, you just gave me a rooting interest in an otherwise boring World Series.

Go Rays!!!!

Perhaps, but damn funny!!!

If you care to watch it, here it is:

OMG... that brings back some memories. The early scenes in that video (with the wrecking ball) are what I remember seeing on tv.

Thanks for posting that, JL.

Not to make a comparison, but maybe one is inevitable... sure both Yankee Stadium and Shea held some great moments and memories for many, but they're being re-built a block or two away from where they originally stood. When Ebbets Field went down, it lost those memories to 3,000 miles away.

As you know, SC, my dad was a huge Dodgers fan. He never reconciled himself to that loss.

Not sure if it was the year they lost the World Series or when the franchise moved, but my dad and his landlord both loved the Dodgers. They had a funeral wreath made up and hung on the door to the house. The little Italian lady who lived next door assumed that a family member had died and hobbled over, all upset (probably carrying a tray of lasagna for the family). When she found out that the wreath was for the Dodgers, she hit them with her cane.

She must've been a Yankee fan.

Could be, SC. Could be.

I can't even imagine what it must feel like for a favorite team to pack up and leave. It hurts me to see a dump like Shea getting demolished, and they're moving into a palace right next door.

Beltran, Wright win Gold Gloves
by Jeremy Cothran/The Star-Ledger
Wednesday November 05, 2008, 6:02 PM

Carlos Beltran and David Wright each took home Rawlings Gold Glove awards Wednesday for the second straight year. It is the third overall for Beltran and the second for Wright.

With his fantastic instincts and range in center field, Beltran was a no-brainer for the award. Wright said he focused hard on his defense following the 2007 season, and had his best season at third base this year, sporting a career-high .962 fielding percentage along with a highlight reel's worth of defensive gems.

"Individual awards are nice, but for me, the entire focus is on the team and getting back to the playoffs," Wright said in a statement released by the team.

Yeah, the gold gloves redeem the whole season for me.

I'm trying to find something positive.

Hey, if Citi Group collapses, can we get a better name for our new stadium?