The Final Score

Blind driver breaks speed record

2008-10-12T15:47:51Z

This one goes out to Kevin M., but you're all welcome to enjoy it: Luc Costermans has broken the world blind road speed record, hitting 192 mph in a Lamborghini Gallardo on an airstrip in France, according to the BBC. Costermans, who was blinded in an accident four years ago, was accompanied by an instructor and a navigator. The reason that our former Newsday colleague Kevin will find this amusing goes back to a trip to Hartford for a Whalers game. On the way to The Mall (also known as the Hartford Civic Center), we somehow wound up in a residential neighbood and ran across a "Blind Driveway" yellow warning sign that had been altered to say "Blind Driver." I'm sorry, I know it sounds lame now. You had to be there.

NASCAR: Kahne, Busch become relevant again

2008-10-12T14:50:33Z

photo from yahoo.com Jeff Burton won the Bank of America 500 on Saturday night but Kasey Kahne and Kurt Busch finished second and third, bringing a glimmer of light back to their lost seasons. Here's the story by Yahoo's Joe Menzer, but feel free to use this space to discuss.

Football upset buzzkill: Fans who paid to park come back from Texas-Oklahoma game to find their cars towed

2008-10-12T14:46:34Z

Imagine driving 2-3 hours to attend a football game, paying $10 for parking, having your spirits crushed by an upset for the ages, dejectedly returning to the parking lot to find your car - and everyone else's - missing, then having to find the place to where your car had been towed, paying $200 to get it back, and then driving 2-4 hours back in the worst mood you've ever been in. That's how the day went for some Sooners fans attending Saturday's annual Oklahoma-Texas game at the Cotton Bowl. The day went pretty much the same for some Longhorns fans who were flagged into the same lots by people wearing orange vests, but at least they'll have the huge win to look back on some day when pain of the parking horror show wears off. Here's more from the dallasnews.com crime blog. By the way, parking scams are a way of life at the Texas State Fairgrounds. One year, Dallas Police had to issue an alert after patrons were voluntarily handing over their keys to a ring of car thieves in maroon vests. Seems that there is no valet parking at the Fairgrounds.

Observations from the Islanders home opener

2008-10-12T13:11:13Z

Couple of thoughts from the Islanders home opener: * The Islanders' aggressive offensive style in the first period was fun to watch. Lots of movement, lots of shots on goal, lots of scoring. Totally outplayed the Blues, especially early on. * I kept thinking through the first and second periods that one big difference had been the goalies. Chris Mason was downright awful for the Blues, but Joey MacDonald had largely been untested, except for one or two occasions. So even at 4-1 I thought it could still be a game. That being said, when MacDonald was finally tested he stepped up. * BTW, bought tickets 20 minutes before the game. Sat in the middle of section 323. They announced a sellout. No way it was. I'd estimate between 13,000 and 14,000. * I was particularly impressed with Nate Thompson. He was in the mix on a lot of plays. He was quicker than I expected him to be, and he was physical, too. On the flip side, it's just one game, but wow does Billy Guerin seem old on the ice. At least to me... * I'm still interested in DiPietro's reaction to Scott Gordon sitting him the first two games. To reiterate, it's the right call. But it doesn't matter what I think. It matters what DiPietro thinks, for the good of the rookie coach. For more on that, see down below.

Sarah Palin booed at Rangers-Flyers game (with video)

2008-10-12T08:15:20Z

Makes perfect sense to me. These are same people who booed Santa in a building across the street. And both Santa and Sarah are fictional characters who live in the North Pole.

Isles fans: Shortly after midnight, I will post something that will make make you smile

2008-10-12T07:26:29Z

This offer comes with a money-back guarantee.

Jose Canseco busted for allegedly smuggling "anti-shrinkage" drugs across the border

2008-10-12T06:42:13Z

Jose Canseco was detained at the Mexican border after a search allegedly turned up the drug HCG, which is short for human chorionic gonadotropin. In layman's terms, excuse the expression, this is a drug that helps restore testosterone and helps bring one's "spheroids" back from steroids nothingness. I'm sorry. I can't go on without without laughing or making some totally inappropriate comment.

DiPietro mum after sitting out Islanders opener

2008-10-11T11:09:19Z

Let's rank the people in the Isles organization that rookie coach Scott Gordon must get along with to keep his job for more than two years (going rate for NYI coaches): 1. Charles Wang. 2. Garth Snow. 3. Rick DiPietro. After that no one really matters. Wang and Snow are there for obvious reasons; they're Gordon's bosses. Then it's DiPietro, also for obvious reasons. He has 13 years left on his contract. If Gordon and DiPietro don't get along, guess who will be on the outs? So I'm not so interested in the decision Gordon and co. made to sit DiPietro for last night's season opener. Was it tough? Sure, it had to have been. But it's also a bit of a no-brainer, too. If there's even a question to give him some extra time coming off surgery, you give him the time. Because he's more important than one of 82 games in a major rebuilding year. But the biggest question of all is how did this go over with DiPietro? He ducked reporters last night after the game, so we don't know. But presumably reporters will catch up with him at today's morning skate, and then we'll find out. Was he a part of the decision? Did he know his status was in question? Does he agree with the decision? How did he respond when he got the news from Gordon? These questions are more important than anything that happened in last night's game, for the livelihood of the new coach. We have no doubt Gordon made the right decision. But, far more importantly, soon we'll find out if he handled it the right way - and that's finding a way to make this decision without disenfranchising the franchise player.

Guess who will be in the crowd at the Isles game tonight?

2008-10-11T11:01:43Z

With family in town for the weekend, we have been looking for things to do. While I'm scanning through the channels and checking the Islanders and Rangers scores, my father-in-law mentions in passing he's never been to a hockey game. My wife mentions why not go to the Islanders game Saturday night. Probably a tough ticket, I thought to myself. It IS their home opener, afterall. Man, was I wrong. So many available. Thus, when the puck drops tonight between the Islanders and Blues at the Coliseum, yours truly will be in the crowd. And you know what? I'm looking forward to experiencing it from the crowd. Of course, I will report back with my thoughts...

I'm stunned Dustin Pedroia has become this good this fast

2008-10-11T10:51:20Z

Watching the ALCS last night, they posted Dustin Pedroia's season stats on the screen and I did a double take. I knew he had a great year. I've heard the people calling for him to be the MVP in the American League. But I was stunned at his stats. Stunned. .326 / .376 / .493 54 doubles 2 triples 17 home runs 83 RBIs 20 SBs, only caught once 50 / 52 walks to strikeouts only six errors I remember scoffing last year when people debated whether Pedroia was better than Robinson Cano. No way. But now, in just one year, it's so clear Pedroia is head-and-shoulders better than Cano. Look at those numbers. Wow. Just wow.

AP: No Drug Violation for Big Brown Trainer Dutrow

2008-10-11T10:13:06Z

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentucky racing officials plan to challenge a recommendation that there's insufficient evidence to suspend Big Brown's trainer, Rick Dutrow, for violating doping rules. The order by hearing officer James Robke indicated the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission was unable to prove Dutrow's horse, Salute the Count, had an excessive amount of the legal drug Clenbuterol in his blood after finishing second May 2 in the Aegon Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs. That was one day before Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby. "We have concluded that we have a strong basis for filing exceptions to the recommended order, and we intend to do so promptly," Lisa Underwood, commission executive director Lisa Underwood said in a statement. Continue reading this story...

Our friends at HHR update the new Giants Stadium

2008-10-11T09:42:02Z

For those of you who haven't been to Giants Stadium this year for a Giants or Jets game, the fine folks at Hugging Harold Reynolds posted photos of the construction. For your viewing pleasure.

Joe Torre's brother, Frank, rips Yankees

2008-10-11T08:16:05Z

A lot of Yankees fans have gotten nostalgic over Joe Torre, even after his team went down for a second time to the Phillies Friday night. But Joe's brother Frank, you know, the former Milwaukee Brave portrayed by Robert Loggia in "Curveballs Along the Way," is just plan furious at his brother's former employers. "I wonder what the Yankees are thinking now while they're fishing or doing whatever," Torre said. "I have friends there. I will always root for Derek Jeter. But what they did to my brother was not right. Really, it was pathetic what they did. There was no class." Here's the full story by Bob Nightengale of USA Today. More from Frank, in case you're too tired or lazy to click on the link and leave The Final Score for even a moment. "I hear (Yankees co-chairman) Hank Steinbrenner say where would Joe Torre be without the Yankees," Frank Torre said. "Well, let me tell you, Hank Steinbrenner was fortunate he was born in the Steinbrenner family. His inheritance is a whole lot bigger now than it would have been if not for my brother. I think he gained a lot more money than my brother after all of those World Series."

Bat-ty about The Final Score

2008-10-10T22:13:31Z

Tyler Kepner, the fine Yankees beat writer for the NY Times, has been a Friend of the Final Score (FOTFS) since Jim started this blog from his basement in 1998. It was Tyler, as I've told you before, who unknowingly came up with our new slogan, "A lot of stuff about sports, and some of it is interesting." And now, Tyler has paid us the ultimate compliment. A link from the NY Times Bats Blog in which he calls TFS "hilarious" and "insightful." Wow. Best might win all the page-view titles, and Glauber might hold the record for most consecutive months with page-view increases, but this is something Jim, CN and I are very proud of. And we pledge to you all to continue this fine tradition of blogging right up until the moment when we all lose interest.

Mangini’s wife has kid, middle name Brett, on Brett’s birthday!

2008-10-10T21:29:20Z

This gem comes from Anthony, who spent the day at Jets camp in Florham Park, NJ.: Jets coach Eric Mangini’s third son was delivered at 7:43 a.m. on Friday morning. His name: Zack Brett Mangini. And he was born on Brett Favre’s 39th birthday. “I’m not inherently superstitious,” Mangini said. “But I like the way it felt.” The date of birth is a coincidence. The middle name is not. Mangini and his wife, Julie, have honored a different person in Eric’s football life by giving each of their sons a special middle name. Four-year-old Jake’s middle name is Harrison, for Patriots safety Rodney Harrison (Mangini was a defensive assistant in New England). Two-year-old Luke’s middle name is William for Bill Belichick, once Mangini’s friend and mentor (and now not so much, but that’s another story). “All my kids have middle names that are related to people that have been important to me in my football career,” said Mangini, still wearing his hospital ID bracelet on his left wrist. “So in talking to Brett when we were first recruiting him, I explained that history,” Mangini said. “I really believed that he’d be an instrumental part of another good year and another important part of my football sort of life.” Said Favre: “The odds of the child being born the same day as my birthday, I don’t know what the odds are. He told me that today was the day and I asked, ‘Well, is he still going to be Brett?’ He said, ‘Yeah, Zack Brett.’ I thought it was pretty cool. First of all the odds, in some respects, are a lot like me. What were the odds of me ever coming to the Jets? It is a pretty cool thing.”