Today marked the beginning of the 2010 Tour de France. While today was just a prologue it was still exciting. This is seemingly the only cycling event that has permeated itself into mainstream American sports. Anyone who is interested in watching the races live can do so at the newly formed Rapha Cycle Club! There until September at 352 Bowery they will be showing every second of the televised tour. So get up early, bring the kids, and get some tasty coffee and pastries from Third Rail Coffee. I’ll be there as much as time permits. I know I’m tired of every bar in the greater NYC area showing nothing but football.

I took my wife to a Yankee game for their inaugural season in the new stadium. It is the first week of games in the newly built house that Ruth didn’t build. I was impressed with the way the stadium is laid out, I’d better be for all the money they spent on it. We both enjoyed the game and the Yankees won! Since we are both rather big baseball fans we hope to see many more games this year. For those of you wondering how much it will cost you to see the Bronx Bombers play in the new joint, you can get bleacher seats for $12 a game. When was the last time you went to a baseball game?

Here’s your chance to see Governor’s Island, by bike, before the developers go in and change it [and you know that’s next]
Transportation Alternativesand the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation are expanding their popular “Free Bike Fridays” this entire weekend on Governors Island. Bring your own bike, or take a free one-hour rental [limited supply, first-come first-serve]. 250 kites will also be available for flying. From Friday 9/19 10am to 5pm and Saturday 9/20 and Sunday 9/21 10am to 7pm, you can take advantage of this great opportunity. Ferries will leave from the Battery Maritime Building, 10 South St., at Whitehall St. You can check the ferry schedule online at govisland.com.

Castle Williams, Governors Island, NYC

I need a recommendation for a nice place to watch football (you may also call it “soccer”) next week. I want to watch the semi final game between Germany and Turkey, next Wednesday (25th June). It’ll be on around 2:30 PM.

My requirements are: a tv, a nice place to hang out for around two hours, moderate prices, nice people and maybe must serve beer.

If you know of such a spot, please comment, and if anyone wants to join up to watch the game, I’ll make sure to give out a couple beers or maybe coffees if you are a wussy and don’t drink in the afternoon. :-)

I come from a long line [well, two generations long] of Mets fans. And it isn’t because I live in Queens either. I was raised in Brooklyn, and then Long Island. My dad was born in Brooklyn. Even his dad was born in Brooklyn. My dad is still sitting shiva for the Dodgers moving to LA! Therefore, in my family, you wouldn’t be caught dead rooting for the Yankees!

But yesterday, I was ready to burn my orange and blue and wear pinstripes. Okay, I’m not running a benefit for Willie Randolph! You can’t even equate his firing to layoffs at United or Starbuck’s or even Bear Stearns. Besides Willie’s money, I’m sure he’ll get snatched up as fast as the Dodgers nabbed Joe Torre.

And I’m not questioning whether he needed to go. Maybe Willie’s time was up. But do you have to fly the guy to California, let him qvell over his winning team, and then fire him at midnight after he reaches his hotel room? Beyond tacky. I never thought anyone could make the Steinbrenners look like nice guys, but this did just that!

Shame on you, Mets Management!! photo credit:Kjetil Ree/Wikimedia Commons

So I wonder how many football fans went to the ER last night with heart attacks. Seriously, the nail salons will be busy today. Last night’s Super Bowl game was the nail-biter to end all nail-biters! And combine heart-unhealthy foods [nachos and buffalo wings et. al] with game-watching and it was a heart-attack in the making!

But in the end, the Giants took XLII, Eli Manning gets his ring, Brady doesn’t get his fourth ring, and Mayor Bloomberg gets lots of New England clam chowder [he was to send the Manhattan variety to Boston if we lost]. And Super Tuesday tomorrow is not all about the primary election. In every sanitation-engineer’s worst nightmare, the Giants will get a ticker-tape parade down the “Canyon of Heroes” tomorrow in Manhattan.

GO BIG BLUUUUUUUE!!!!

Stay cool on Sunday– It’s only a game. live a long life and die with smile on your face while cheating on your spouse like a normal person. ( Spouses should fire from left to right) Repeat after me– They are the New Jersey Giants, not the NY Giants.

“German researchers tracking cardiac emergencies during the 2006 World Cup of Soccer (which Germany hosted), found that on the days when Germany played, the rate of cardiac events, such as heart attacks, angina attacks or cardiac arrhythmias was 2.66 higher than the norm.

The rate of such events among women was 1.82 times higher than average, while the rate for men was a whopping 3.26 times higher than normal.

Among those who suffered heart emergencies on days when the German team played, 47 per cent had been diagnosed with heart disease in the past. Normally, only about 29 per cent of patients who head to hospital for a heart emergency have already had a diagnosis of heart disease?”

On Streetsblog I learned that a number of NY Ranger players regularly take the subway to work and one bikes. This shouldn’t seem so strange, but sadly I think it is. One major reason for down to earth lifestyle of these players is that Hockey paychecks are a lot less grand. A commenter on the blog named the other big reason, which is pretty sad – a lot of these players are not from America and they are just doing what they consider normal.

Let me start by saying that I am NOT a baseball fan. I’ll go to a game, but I don’t follow it. Some people in my family are CRAZY Mets fans so I sort of consider myself a Mets fan. I actually don’t religiously follow any sport, but I’m more of a Hockey girl than anything else.

Today, while at Physical Therapy I started chatting it up with a tall good-looking guy by asking him what he was “in” for. It’s not often that I see someone cute AND tall at PT and since it was my last time there, I thought I’d entertain myself. After we spoke about our injuries, he asked me where I grew up, where I lived, what I did for a living, blah blah blah. Quite the curious fellow. Me being me, I didn’t ask too much and didn’t inquire further when he told me that he got his injury pitching. I thought he might just have meant pitching for a work league or something. I did ask to see his scar though… good stuff. He hated it, but I told him that it adds character. It does! Plus, it’s always good for a story.

So, after about an hour we parted ways and I wished him luck with his healing. I wonder if my charming personality kept his attention or if it was the cat poses I had to do while he stood behind me with my ass in full view. Hmmm.

When I left, my trainer asked if I knew who I was talking to. My response? “No, should I?” I was just enjoying flirting with a tall good-looking guy… I wasn’t LOOKING for anything, but we all love a little flirting every once in a while. Or is that just me. The mystery is almost ALWAYS better than the reality which is why flirting is so much fun.

OK. I’ll get to who it was. Yankee pitcher Carl Pavano. As soon as I heard he was a Yankee, I felt like I betrayed the team my family has been fans of for ages.

My apologies to the Mets. I will make it up to you if you send one of your tall cuties to my office to flirt with. Promise!

As many may know, the Mets went from being first in the NL East to completely missing the cut for the playoffs. As the NY Daily News (who are known for their succinct and sometimes kind of insane cover headlines) put it, they went FROM CHAMPS TO CHUMPS!!!!!!!11!!1! I’m sorry, Mets fans. Better luck next year!

But now, the Yankees are in the playoffs after making the AL wildcard. Tonight is the first game in their series with the Indians, and right now Cleveland is beating the everloving monkeyshit out of them. I am a Yankees fan, born and raised, but I have to admit that I kind of like the Indians, because they are the focus of my favorite baseball movie of all time, Major League. It came at a time when male leads had mullets, Wesley Snipes was still a relative unkown and fairly un-steroidy-looking, and Charlie Sheen was at his Sheeniest.

But of course, the big rivalry in the AL is the one between the Red Sox and the Yankees. As they’re both in the playoffs right now, they may end up facing each other for the AL championship once again, and I will get to hear a whole earful from my friends that are Red Sox fans as they yell about the Yankees’ high payroll and facial hair policies. I don’t really care to argue about it – I just like the game – but I sure do like to see Sox fans get all riled up and red-faced when I tell them I’m a Yankees fan. People get awfully passionate about this stuff!

Who are you rooting for?

image courtesy The Onion