How good was Michael Phelps? He was as good as Tyson Gay was bad. Gay’s misery began in the US Olympic Trials when he pulled up lame and didn’t qualify for the 200m. But that’s ok because he had the 100m and a showdown with the Usain Bolt. Well, a funny thing happened on the way to the Birds Nest. Let me go off on a tiny tangent. I saw a picture of Gay in the NY Times, taken during the Opening Ceremonies. The dude looked scared to death. He had a forced smile and a look in his eyes that didn’t portray on ounce of confidence. Anyway, the dude then fails to qualify for the 100m final, and the other day he drops the baton in the 4×100m relay. As great as Phelps was, Gay was equally bad.

There are changes happening today and some that are happening tomorrow. Today the DET stock is being closed. Their lack of pitching and upcoming schedule make them not very attractive. In its place an anti-Nationals stock is being opened. The plan at this point in time is to run this stock through 9/18/08. This of course is subject to change.

Beginning tomorrow the NYM stock will be closed as the Mets enter a tough part of their schedule and to be honest, the Mets scare me. Also, with as good as the NL East is, the Mets can play just above .500 ball and they will still be in the hunt. So don’t take the closing of the stock as an indictment of the Mets, it is merely a statement that I believe there is better value out there.

The value I see beginning tomorrow is the Yankees. With the addition of the Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte the Yankees made themselves better. Their pitching staff has also seemed to right the ship. All around they are playing with confidence and should they add Jarod Washburn then they will have done all the things they can to get ready for a run. The current plan with the NYY stock is to open it tomorrow and run it through 8/24/08.

In summary, DET is closed effective immediately. Today the plays will by NYM, COL, MIL and LAD (WAS opponent). The NYM stock will close after today and tomorrow will open the NYY stock. The plan with MIL is to run it through 8/31/08 and with COL to run it through 9/7/08. Additionally, LAA is possible to open on 8/12/08.

There are a few truly great sports days and most of them you can see coming. Granted many more disappoint but one of the main ingredients of a great sports day is that there are many scheduled events of at least some local importance. New Years Day used to be like that before they diluted the bowl games over a two week period. But how many New Years Days do you recall for ALL the action that day, not just your favorite team getting a win? Not many. An example of a great sports day was June 5, 1999 when the NY Knicks were playing the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Yankees and Mets were playing an interleague game (this was only the 3rd year of interleague so it was still a big deal) and Charismatic was running in the Belmont Stakes for a chance at a Triple Crown. This day had all the makings of a great sports day if for no other reason than there was all day sports, a major ingredient in being a great sports day, get it? June 5, 1999 ended up being great because the action was also great. The Knicks and Pacers played a game that came down to the final 5 seconds, and LJ hit his famous 4-pt shot; the Yankees and Mets played an entertaining 6-3 NYY win and Lemon Drop Kid upset Charismatic. This was a great day.

Additionally, there are a few games that you wish would never end because of the continued drama and unbelievable action. Three instances that come to my mind:

Add yesterday to both of the lists, and it all happened with only one event

Not all the ingredients were in place, but many were. Two fierce rivals, two stellar athletes, amazing play after amazing play, a comeback, an upstart, the dominant one and what turned a special event into a special day, some rain. You add all those ingredients and you get not only a great tennis match on one of the grandest of stages but for those of us watching on the east coast we got drama from 9 am until 4pm, an all-day event.

I went to the store and it was still on, I did some chores and it is was still on. Only a little would I feel bad about wishing players that had endured so much to endure a little more just for my pleasure. Yesterday I wanted the match to go on. I thought let Federer and Nadal play until neither could grip a racket, play until they broke all their rackets, just keep playing.

July 6, 2008 will go down as a special day in sports.

Ah, the Pro-Bowl, the last sniff of football until late summer is upon us. For all the previous years of my life, this was a day that deserved a big ‘WHO CARES?!”. But with today’s Dean Browski Celebration we are going to turn this normally irrelevant day into a day of fun and frivolity. Being that we are a New York/New Jersey based group, expect that there will be plenty of leftover exuberance from the Giants thrilling upset win over the Patriots. Details of the party are below. Come one, come all!! Bring your friends, bring your girlfriends, bring your boyfriends, bring your girlfriends boyfriends and their girlfriends boyfriends.

We all look forward to seeing you!!

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