The Yankees are headed to their 40th World Series. Johnny Damon had the big hit, a two-run single that put New York up 2-1 in the fourth. A-Rod forced in a run with a walk and that gave the Yankees a 3-1 lead heading into the fifth. Andy Pettitte made that stand up, holding the Angels to one run over 6-1/3 and Joba Chamberlain closed out the seventh to keep the lead at two. Joe Girardi went for the kill, calling Mariano Rivera into the game to start the eighth, but Rivera allowed a run in that frame to put the Angels only one run behind. more ›

It's the biggest sporting event of the year, with the bruising Pittsburgh Steelers facing off against the underdog Arizona Cardinals in the Super Bowl. New Yorkers may remember when Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner was the pre-Eli Manning quarterback for the Giants. And New Jerseyites have their moment in the sun at half time with this year's musical performance coming from the Garden State via The Boss. more ›

Former Mets pitcher Don Cardwell died yesterday at the age of 72 in North Carolina. Traded to the Lovable Loser Mets in 1966, Cardwell's performance during 1969 mirrored that of the team itself and helped the Mets win the their division title on the way to their first World Series Championship. Like the Mets, Cardwell started the '69 season in a lackluster manner, posting a 3-9 win-loss record through the first four months of the season. The Mets were 10 games behind the Chicago Cubs heading into August. more ›

Oops! WNBC's Mistake Causes Problems for St. Louis TV Station more ›

Jens Lekman is one of our favorite songwriters, so any opportunity to see the funnyman crooner play is a treat, no matter the circumstances. The set at Webster Hall was generally excellent. Bordering on Magical, in fact, a perfect mix of his old and new -- mixing in Swedish deadpan quips and stories the whole time through. The only knock we had came from the venue, which we usually enjoy. The sound was fine, the site lines were good, the bands came out on time, but on this night, they started opening up the night club a little bit earlier. Around 30 minutes into his set, the thumping dance beats could be felt through the floor loud and strong enough that you could actually make out the song at times. It was distracting, to say the least, especially during the quieter songs. It even forced a puzzled Jens to ask what was going on during his encore, before attempting to play along to the beat. Webster Hall has taken giant strides over the last few years to become a perfectly good rock venue, but an extra layer of soundproofing would go a long way to remove the cheesy dance club stigma for the concert attendees. (pic via Ryan Dombal's flickr) more ›

You probably won't catch any Mets fans or anyone associated with the club purchasing these yet, but MLB.com already has the New York Mets 2007 NL East Division Champions Roster T-Shirt up for sale on its website. Talk about counting your eggs way before they're hatched. The shirts aren't even available for pre-sale only, but are "in stock and ready to leave the warehouse" in 4-6 business days! Hmm...in 4-6 days, the NL East will have been decided. Does this mean MLB.com can cancel your order if the Mets fail to win their division? more ›

Marlins 8, Mets 7 (10 innings): Taking a three-run lead into the bottom of the ninth against the Marlins should be no problem right? Not when Billy Wagner is mysteriously absent -- the Mets later said he was having back spasms -- and his replacements are the not-so-capable Pedro Feliciano and the highly inflammable Jorge Sosa. They combined to cough up the lead in the bottom of the ninth, ruining a dramatic comeback posted by the Mets in the top of the inning. Then Sosa gave up the winning run all by himself in the 10th. Why is Sosa in there? Because everyone else stinks or had been used, frankly. After seeing the right-hander struggle so frequently of late, Manager Willie Randolph still didn't look for another option. more ›

We never realized exactly what a force Manu Chao was live until experiencing him ourselves at Sasquatch several weeks ago. The man has the power to move people. To incite hysteria and completely dominate his entire audience. It is something any music fan should experience at least once in their life, because there is really nobody else like him performing today. Earlier this week, He did two nights at the Prospect Park Bandshell to a crowd that more resembled a soccer stadium than a rock concert. There was chanting and singing and air horns and flags, but none of that could beat back the rain, which poured down in buckets towards the end of the second night, drenching the fans and creating a lovely mess. Few would argue that after a hot night of dancing, there could have been no perfect release. Check out some more incredible pics (like the one to the left) over at Brooklyn Vegan. more ›

• Baltimore 3 Yankees 2: From the multiple camera shots of a glum Joe Torre shown on YES, it was obvious he was in the ballpark tonight, but was he paying attention? After all, what other conclusion can you come to when Torre let Scott Proctor load the bases with one out in the ninth and still let him pitch with the game on the line and Mariano in the bullpen? more ›

• Mets 2, Cardinals 1 (11 innings): No matter how many times the Mets beat the Cardinals in the regular season, the sting from last year's loss in the National League Championship Series won't disappear until New York takes a pennant. Going 4-0 in their first four games against the Cardinals this season doesn't hurt, though. Shawn Green hit a 3-2 pitch off the scoreboard in right field to give the Mets a walk-off win. The Cardinals won the World Series last year, but the Mets can take solace in not hitting someone like Scott Spiezio in the cleanup spot. Jorge Sosa and the Mets bullpen combined to shut down the Cardinals lineup, which consisted of Albert Pujols and not much else.
• Staten Island 7, Hudson Valley 3: Luis Nunez went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and the Baby Bombers scored in every inning from the second through the sixth.
• Brooklyn 5, Aberdeen 4: Down a run entering the eighth, the Cyclones rallied when Will Vogl singled in the tying run and scored the go-ahead one at home. David Koons threw three innings of one-run ball for the win in relief.

• Islanders 3 Rangers 2 (Shootout): Their playoff hopes may be on life-support, but at least the Islanders didn’t have to see their arch-rivals clinch their own spot in the postseason in person. more ›

It doesn’t make up for the NLCS, but the Mets got 2007 off to a great start, pummeling Chris Carpenter and getting a great start from Tom Glavine. Paul LoDuca had 3 RBI’s and Carlos Delgado had 2, while Shawn Green got off to a good start with a 2-for-4 night at the plate. more ›

A look at some noteworthy television this week:
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In keeping with our lists of events from 2006, here are some of the sports stories that Gothamist found compelling in the past year. It ranges from the playoff disappointment from the Mets and the Yankees to the welcome performances of last season's Rangers, this season's Jets and Rutgers. more ›

When the dust cleared after the elections on Tuesday, the Democrats were the last party standing. Even in a blue-leaning state like New York, Democrats had to play hard in their quest to dominate the old boys' club known as the Republican party. As Dems claimed victory in every state race, Republicans retreated and joined the ranks of some other New York losers. more ›

How often does college football matter to a New York-area team? Rutgers's game against Louisville garnered enough attention the Empire State Building was lit up in scarlet. It was the biggest local game in recent memory. But despite all the hype, the Scarlet Knights were heavy underdogs to the Cardinals, even at home. A last-minute field goal by Jeremy Ito stunned the No. 3 Cardinals and capped a shocking 28-25 Rutgers win. The result effectively ended Louisville's national title hopes and kept Rutgers, which still has to play three more games -- including at West Virginia -- in the discussion. That's right. Rutgers is in the national title discussion. more ›

Sigh, the Mets cleaned out their lockers at Shea yesterday. We imagine that the hurt has just set in for Mets fans after last night's disappointing end to the season. (Our head is still spinning. ) Everyone is talking about the lack of offensive power, and it's so true. But since there will be many recriminations, let's savor Endy Chavez's beautiful catch for now with this clip. more ›

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With his teammates and fans crossing their fingers, John Maine held the Cardinals scoreless over 5 1/3 innings, and the Mets bats scratched their way to a 4-2 win over St. Louis on Wednesday. The win forces a deciding seventh game in the National League Championship Series on Thursday. more ›

We were at Friday's game and admit to contributing to the boos. What can we say, it was a really bad throw. In all fairness, there's no way in hell that we could have gotten that ball over the plate in that situation. Maybe Stewart can fill in for TBD that is scheduled to pitch in game 7 (if necessary - let's pray!). more ›

All those wins during that memorable cruise-control summer mean nothing now. The Mets can become the latest regular-season juggernaut to fall in the postseason with only one more defeat. After a disheartening 4-2 loss to St. Louis on Tuesday in which they couldn't solve Jeff Weaver or the Cardinals bullpen, the Mets head home needing both games to win the series. To make matters worse, their Game 6 starter is the sometimes-shaky John Maine, and their Game 7 pitcher is To Be Determined. more ›

Mother Nature didn't agree with the scheduled off-days in this year's National League Championship Series. Monday's rainout was the second of the series, and the Mets will stay in St. Louis to play Game 5 against the Cardinals today instead of being back in New York. The more recent postponement removes the imbalance the first created -- the starting pitchers will be working on normal rest instead of three days' worth. Early speculation that Chris Carpenter would be moved up to start today's game was ruled out by Tony La Russa. more ›

When Laveranues Coles caught his second touchdown of the game to give the Jets a 17-point lead with 13:15 remaining in the fourth quarter, some of the fans at the Meadowlands headed for the exit, hoping to get home to catch more of the Mets-Cardinals playoff game. A Dolphins rally prevented those who stayed from leaving until the final seconds, lest they miss a Jets collapse. But the Jets hung on by the skin of their teeth and won, 20-17, when Olindo Mare missed a 51-yard field goal in the game's final minute. more ›

Given the pitching matchup entering Game 4 of the National League Championship Series, Sunday's high-scoring affair should come as no surprise. With a slugfest win over the Cardinals, the Mets tied the series at two games apiece before Monday's Game 5. They can thank Carlos Delgado, who hit a three-run homer in the fifth to snap a 2-2 tie before adding two-run double during a six-run sixth inning. more ›