The end of the year is always overloaded with tributes to how great the past year has been. Luckily in 2008, we don’t have to wait. We can come right out and say that 2008 has been the greatest year in sports. Think about all we have seen so far. We had the Ice Bowl 2 and then the greatest upset in Super Bowl history when the Giants defeated the Patriots. Kansas shocked Memphis in......

The NY Times takes a look inside the ping-pong world of New York. Sure, it may not be as big as the US Open, but the Naked Ping-Pong tournament is growing bigger and better every week out of a loft in Tribeca. The tournament (which is actually fully-clothed) was started by three friends in their 30s who hope to bring table tennis to the forefront of urban sport. The Times introduces them as "Jonathan Bricklin,......

Forbes has put out their list of the Top 100 Most Powerful Celebrities, something to bicker about at the water cooler, no doubt. Here are some of the top-ranked New Yorker's and their earnings: Jay-Z at #9 with $83M David Letterman at #17 with $40M Donald Trump at #19 with $32M Sean Combs at #43 with $23M Derek Jeter at #50 with $28M Bill Clinton at #55 with $7M Regis Philbin at #64 with $21M......

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. Mickelson Chokes at Winged Foot: Everyone knew the Winged Foot course in Mamaroneck, N.Y., was a tough place to play, but no one found it crueler......

-Yankees 9 Orioles 4: Sal Fasano became a Yankee because of his defense and not his hitting, but on Sunday he showed that he has some offensive skills too. Fasano went 2-4 with a three-run homer as New York cruised to an easy victory. Derek Jeter extended his career-best hitting streak to 20 games and drove in four runs. It looked like Jaret Wright might actually pitch seven innings, but he tired and left the......

I'm aware of Randall's Island and Coney Island having miniature golf available. Short of these, is there anywhere else in NYC to play? I've had no luck doing the research myself, and frankly, my "regular golf" experience is limited to playing Tiger Woods on the PS2.After doing some research, we were able to find a couple other options for miniature golf around the city in addition to Randall's Island and Coney Island. The first place......

Gothamist has decided to liveblog this year's Nathan's Famous July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest. Jen and Tien will be providing color commentary; Tien will also be attempting to eat hot dogs competition-style 12:00PM - Announcers say there are 15,000 spectators at Surf and Stillwell. Crazy! And the media loves the Takeru Kobayashi-Joey Chestnut matchup. And did you realize that there are 320 calories per dog with bun!!! Tien: Man, I hate George Shea.......

- The statute of limitations is nixing an increasing number of rape cases. - In Pataki's final session there is still alot to do. - Oh, snap Trinity! You going to take that? - 40 stories in Williamsburg? Doesn't sound very Square to us. - The Falls' Jimmy Dorian's arrest might not stick due to a lineup mixup. - Tiger Woods' private boat is very popular. - Oy, not the shellfish! - Chowhound is......

- Orioles 6, Mets 3: For the Mets, their 8-game winning streak had to end sometime, and that sometime was last night against the Orioles in a rematch of the 1969 World Series. Alay Soler struggled at the start of the game, but it he pitched well enough to give the Mets a chance for their 9th straight victory. Aaron Heilman blew the save and the Mets chances at victory in the 7th inning......

-Mamaroneck's Winged Foot golf course proved challenging to the US Open field on Thursday, with only Colin Montgomerie shooting under par. Tiger Woods finished at a six-over-par 76. With everyone from from ESPN to Sports Illustrated billing this as a battle between Woods and Phil Mickelson, fans will have to wait for that duel to emerge, if it does.With such a tough course, the tournament should be wide open throughout. -Mets 5, Phillies 4: By......

Patrick Borelli, comedian...

After much talk about the problems that the weather at Shinnecock could cause, day 1 of the U.S. Open was quite calm. Play was eventually halted by rain and thunderstorms, but the wind that can make the course so difficult was not a factor at all. After one day of play, the leaderboard had the 50 year old Jay Haas and Shigeki Maruyama tied at a four-under 66. Tiger Woods, mired in a major......

The 114th U.S. Open starts Thursday at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, but coverage on the tournament is well underway. As is the norm with the U.S. Open, the course will be challenging. Players have started taking notes on the course as The Times reports, "do not miss the fairway to the right at No. 3; do not miss the green long and right at No. 7; and do not miss the green long and left......

There are two U.S. Opens on the local horizon. The first is the 104th U.S. Open of golf which takes place June 17-20 at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton. As if summer traffic wasn't enough, a golf tournament is also taking place in the Hamptons. You have to admit though, the PGA definitely knows their audience. Can Tiger Woods come out of his "slump" to win another major? Can Phil Mickelson take his Masters victory and......

A cartoon making fun of the Holocaust that appeared in a Rutgers student newspaper is causing unrest at the school. The Times describes the cartoon as such: The publication, The Medium - a journal of news and opinion that features humor, cultural items and sexual and scatological references - ran a cartoon depicting a bearded man wearing a hat and sitting on the edge of an open kitchen stove in a carnival setting. Under the......