• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a crime scene/hanging at East 13th St. and Shore Parkway in Brooklyn, a child mauled by a dog in the area of 91-43 Gold Rd. in Queens, and a possible escaped prisoner on Wards Island across from Manhattan.
• Asbestos removal at the Carroll St. F and G line station appears to be a non-issue. Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn received a note saying that air levels were fine and removal is not scheduled for the immediate future.
• The New York Aquarium's sharks at Coney Island are moving on up. They're upgrading their modest 90,000 cubic foot tank to a $67 million waterfront palace.
• The City is pursuing criminal charges against an 82-year-old buildings engineer for what they claim was perjury. A $.99 store whose designs he ok'd caught fire and rotten timbers allegedly resulted in the deaths of two firefighters.
• Did the Hell's Angels plan a 'Bay of Hogs' Long Island beachfront attack that ended in embarrassing failure during the 1960s? Apparently, after the Rolling Stones' concert at Altamont, some Hells Angels tried sailing to Mick Jagger's estate to kill him, but hit rough seas and fell overboard.
• The box office at Yankee Stadium opened this morning at 10 a.m., as the organization began selling tickets to games at the Bronx Bombers' final season in the House that Ruth Built, and that we mostly paid for when it was renovated.
• Bravo to Shannon O'Hanlon, the 9-year-old 4th grader from Queens who won yesterday's Fay Wray Scream-A-Like Contest at Film Forum in Manhattan. The contest was part of a commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the original King Kong film.

Of course Joe Torre's decision to reject a $5 million one-year contract (with $3-million in bonuses if he progressed into the off-season) coaching the Yankees for another year is the big news story of the day, if not the month. The speculation about whether he would keep his job has been scuttlebutt for weeks (or months, when the Yankees fell behind over the summer). Yes, the offer was a pay cut and, yes, now... more ›

Tonight, the Yankees will face off against the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium, and many hope the Bronx Bombers can avoid the sweep (and mayflies) and claw their way back to winning this first round of playoff games. Since things are so nerve-wracking, we thought some Yankees fans - and even haters - might be find this Village Voice story funny. more ›

Former Yankees shortstop and long-time announcer for the team Phil Rizzuto died this morning at the age of 89. Rizzuto played his entire professional baseball career with the New York Yankees after being selected by the team as an amateur free agent in 1937. He wouldn't play his first major league game with the Yanks until 1941, but then served as shortstop for 13 seasons, during which the Bronx Bombers won 10 Pennants and 8 World Series Championships. more ›

Darrel Rasner's broken index finger sends yet another Yankees pitcher to the sidelines for as long as three months, and necessitates that Joe Torre call up yet another young prospect to deal from the mound for the Bronx Bombers. The candidate making his Major League debut pitching at an away game in the high profile Subway Series at Shea will likely be Tyler Clippard, a righthanded 22-year-old. Just nine weeks ago, Clippard acknowledged that as the 7th-best Yankees prospect ranked by Baseball America at the start of 2007, he wasn't too dispirited by the lack of attention he was garnering in comparsion to some of his teammates. What a difference a few months can make! more ›

The dust-up over Rudy Giuliani's waffling over abortion is small political beans in comparison to a liability he cannot possibly shrug off. Rudy Giuliani is an unapologetic Yankees fan, and people outside of NYC (and some within the confines of the city) HATE the Yankees. With a passion. There's a fabled Broadway musical called "Damn Yankees!" and it's not about Paul Revere or George Washington. To the hometown fan and natural supporter, Giuliani's support for the Yankees (and he appeared at the Mets home re-opener following 9/11, which preceded the Yanks') seems like a no-brainer and genuine. Other policiticans from parts farther afield have donned Yankees caps and looked ridiculous. more ›

We certainly know how some Yankee fans feel about the baseball season so far, but what about The Boss? George Steinbrenner, the Yankees principal owner released a statement yesterday, supporting manager Joe Torre and general manager Brian Cashman. Steinbrenner's statement said:

"The season is still very young, but up to now the results are clearly not acceptable to me or to Yankee fans. However, Brian Cashman, our general manager, Joe Torre, our manager, and our players all believe that they will turn this around quickly. I believe in them. I am here to support them in any way to help them accomplish this turnaround. It is time to put excuses and talk away. It is time to see if people are ready to step up and accept their responsibilities. It is time for all of them to show me and the fans what they are made of.

A look at some noteworthy television this week: more ›

The Mayor is very chummy with the Governor - it must be leftover appendectomy sympathy or something - as they announced their supoprt for a Metro-North station near the new Yankee stadium in the Bronx. Now, the MTA doesn't have any money earmarked to actually build the station, which officials hope will help ease South Bronx congestion (those suburban fans who drive into to see the Bronx Bombers play) as well as encourage people visit the South Bronx more, but the MTA apparently does have $5 million to design the "Yankee Stadium Multimodal Transportation Center." The Mayor and Governor want the MTA to "present a plan to fund the construction and completion of this important project," Gothamist will just settle for the MTA figuring out a transit contract (the Tranport Workers Union are re-voting on the contract that the MTA says isn't on the table anymore today). And one stumbling block is out of the way for the new Yankee Stadium - the City Council just voted yes on the project, much to the dismay of protesters. more ›

Nothing the Yankees do is without controversy. The proposed new stadium for the Bronx Bombers is coming under fire from some Bronx residents as the plan calls for the stadium to be built on two parks - the Macombs Dam Park and John Mullaly Park. The public hearing on the $800 million project had 85 speakers which the Daily News reports were chanting back and forth - "Build it now!" and "Not on the park!". The two parks, totaling 22 acres, is eventually to be replaced by 28 acres of new park. more ›

Breaking news: the Yankees are headed to the playoffs!! Okay, maybe that's not so "breaking" from a team that is expected to win the World Series, but it's news nonetheless. Yesterday, the Yankees made the playoffs for the 10th straight season. more ›

The Yankees took three games over the weekend from a struggling Toronto team to increase their record to 71-39 overall and expand their lead over the Red Sox to 10.5 games. In the first three games of the four game series the Yankees outscored Toronto 25-6. Friday 11-4, Saturday 6-0 and Sunday 8-2 more ›

Ponson was the story of the night. After the first two innings, Ponson retired 16 straight batters. Matsui broke the streak with a single in the 8th inning. The Yankees could only muster 4 hits off of Ponson as he pitched a complete game. Jose Contreras on the other hand was doomed by one bad inning. He was pitching on three days' rest. more ›

Jon Lieber pitched his best game as a Yankee. Lieber went seven and two-thirds innings, scattering seven hits, and allowing two earned runs (the game tying run that Heredia allowed to score was charged to Lieber). Scott Proctor, who has pitched wonderfully in the last week, retired one batter before allowing the home run to Vernon Wells. more ›

Pitching was the key to the Yankee win last night. After Contreras left the game, Paul Quantrill (who is on pace to pitch in every Yankee game this season) pitch 2/3 of an inning before handing over the reigns to Mariano Rivera for the final five outs. The Devil Rays were held to one run on six hits. more ›

After a disappointing Subway Series for the Bronx Bombers, the Yankees came home to face the Detroit Tigers in a three games series. The Yanks won the opening game in the series 10-3, with the long ball and solid pitching. The game was 7-0 after two innings, but that did not keep things from getting interesting. more ›

Stay tuned for the NBA Draft wrap-up and check out the week in full. more ›

Erik Bedard and the Baltimore bullpen, led by newly acquired and former Yankee Jason Grimsley, held the Bronx Bombers to two runs and seven hits. Miguel Tejada led the way for the Orioles going 3-5 with four RBI. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg and Miami Mayor Manuel Diaz have put their stomachs as well as sports prides on the line. Mayor Bloomberg's office released this press release about their friendly wager: more ›