• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a bank robbery at 59-23 Main St. in Queens, a partial collapse of a house being renovated in Wingate, Brooklyn, and a pedestrian was struck at Clove Rd. and Victory Blvd. on Staten Island.
• The idiot fan arrested at a Mets game the other week plead guilty to attempting to blind Braves players with a high-powered flashlight. His sentence: 15 days in jail and a three two-year ban from home games at Shea and at the team's new Citi-Field for three one year.
• The National Transportation Safety Board released the final results of its investigation Corey Lidle's plane crash: The pilot misjudged a u-turn over the East River, crashing into a highrise buildings and it's still unclear who was flying at the time.
• Brownstoner.com is passing on a story about residents of a Brooklyn Heights co-op who had to vacate because of an older resident who seems have fire-starter tendencies.
• Some observers hinted that Tishman-Speyer may have overpaid when it bought the former New York Times building in 2004, but the real estate company is the one laughing all the way to the bank after unloading it at triple the price ($525 million) three years later.
• Love it or hate, you can schedule your prospective condo buying or protesting for the next nine years with this timeline map of the Atlantic Yards development.
• The Baltimore Police are not happy with a Brooklyn man who made more than 250 911 calls to them in a month-long period, once reporting that a Baltimore officer had been shot. He is also accused of making nearly 400 hoax calls to call centers in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland.
• The driver of a stolen SUV being pursued by police struck a private special-ed school's mini-bus, overturning it in Douglaston, Queens. Eight students, a driver, and an escort were injured in the crash, the escort seriously.

Red Alligator, by Soupflowers. more ›

- Yankees 8, Twins 1: Doing well against a potential first round opponent is never a bad thing. Unfortunately for the Yankees, they weren't facing one of the Twins' aces yesterday. Fortunately, it looks like Alex Rodriguez might be coming out of his slump. A-Rod got the Yankees off to a good start with a solo home run in the 2nd inning and later added another solo shot in the 7th. There was even a bases-loaded single in a four-run Yankee fifth inning. It was the 2nd game in a row that Rodriguez had a home run and the first time since July 1st and 2nd, good enough to earn him a curtain call. Corey Lidle pitched six shutout innings for his 3rd win as a Yankee. more ›

-Mets 6, Marlins 5: A night after blowing a save and giving up a walk-off homer, Billy Wagner worked out of a jam to seal the Mets' win over the Marlins. Good thing, too, because the Mets would not have enjoyed blowing a six-run lead. Wagner hasn't been lucky this year, but he hasn't helped himself by allowing five homers and 18 walks in 49 1/3 innings. His strikeouts will only help him if he keeps people off base via the free pass. more ›

As far as painful losses go, the Mets' 5-4 loss to the Phillies Tuesday ranks near the top of the list. To lose when Aaron Heilman threw away a swinging bunt with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the ninth would be bad enough. Add in that the rally started with two out and no one on. Then remember Carlos Delgado's home run that had just brought the Mets even in the top of the ninth. Throw in that Tuesday's game marked the first time the Mets lost when Pedro Martinez started. To top it off, it came against the Phillies, who could prove the stiffest competition for the Mets this year in their division. more ›

Every time the Mets get to one game over .500, the Mets fail to get to two games above .500. Last night was no different. The Mets are 0-5 this season when they have a chance to go 2 games above .500. Last night's chance was blown in the 12th inning when Sean Casey hit a two-run home run off of John Franco that resulted in a 6-4 loss (box score). more ›