April 26,2006

Hey

I know its been a while and I apologize. I hope everyone has been well.


           You know that American Express commercial with M Night Shyamalan , the guy who wrote The
Sixth Sense and The Village? You know the one where he is sitting in a diner with a bunch of weirdoes
who amongst other things can choke people by just staring at them, catch flies with their tongue, and
disappear at the drop of a glass. When the waitress comes over to his table and starts babbling to him,
we realize that these are all images from his head that will go into his movies.
     Alas, if Shyamalan really wanted inspiration for his movies, he could head down to Night Court.  In
the past three weeks, I've made three trips to night court, once in Manhattan, once in Brooklyn and most
recently in the Bronx. A couple of Sundays ago I was in Manhattan and I thought back to that
commercial, looking around at all these strange characters. And I'm not even talking about the poor
schmucks who were going before the judge. I mean the people with me in the peanut gallery.
      In Manhattan, I had a woman sitting next to me who suddenly had an earring go missing. She was
down on all fours looking for this thing while her son was being arraigned on a larceny charge. The
defense attorney told the judge about what a wonderful kid this guy was (aren't they all?) and that his
mother was here in the courtroom. When he went to point her out, she was still on hands and knees
looking under the bench. The judge released the kid to the custody of his mother, (when she could have
set a high bail) but the night was a flop because this gal never got her earring back. I have a feeling if
she had to put that earring up as collateral for bail, this petty thief would have ended up in the clink.
       Manhattan and Brooklyn night courts are very similar. Both very strange. My favorite part of
Brooklyn night court is that when they have their dinner breaks, I can go to the Barnes & Noble Super
Store on Court Street for a snack, and to look through magazines.
       I've been to Queens night court a few times and I find that place very annoying. First of all, you
could strip down naked and still set off the metal detectors. I appreciate in this age of terrorism that you
have to be safe, but I just don't see Osama and pals sitting around in their caves saying "You know what
would be a good idea? Let's hit Queens night court. That would teach those infidels."
        Then once you get through the metal detectors and put your clothes back on, you sit in the
courtroom and have the court officers constantly giving out to you. "Sit up straight, eyes forward!" If
they know you are a reporter, they stand over you. It's ridiculous.
        My favorite is the Bronx. I know its not the greatest neighborhood, but during baseball season, if
the Yankees are playing, its actually a great area. All the stores have radios with the game on, and there
are plenty of cops around.
        But failing that, the court itself is great. The court officers don't give you a hard time going in and
out, as long as you have your press ID. They're also willing to give you a heads-up as to when your case
is going to go. Otherwise they leave you alone.
         In Queens during the dinner breaks you can go to Pasta Lovers on Queens Boulevard, which is
good but kind of pricey, other than that, its pretty slim pickens. Manhattan Criminal Court is close to
Chinatown, so you have some choices there. Last week I asked some kids in the Bronx where was a
good place to eat and they all pointed me to the shopping mall across the street. It wouldn't be so bad
because there is a Sabbarro's in there but its usually closed. I ended up going for Teryaki Boy.
        But no matter what court I end up in, its always a show. And although I'd rather be home with my
honey than spending anytime surrounded by these lunatics, well, its entertainment and admission is free.

          ****************************************SPORTS*************************

THE NHL PLAYOFFS

On the last day of the 1987-88 season, the Rangers missed the playoffs when the Devils won their final
game in overtime. It was the first time I saw the Rangers miss the playoffs. In fact until their recent run of
9 years out, the Rangers had only missed the playoffs 3 times in my lifetime. That speaks more to the
fact that the NHL at one time allowed 16 of its 21 teams to qualify for the playoffs than anything else,
but that's besides the point.
       The season after that, 1988-89, the Rangers had an excellent season, or should I say an excellent
3/4 of a season. From October till early March, they were contending for the Patrick Division Title. They
started coming apart in mid March and with two games left in the regular season, GM Phil Esposito fired
coach Michel Bergeron and put himself behind the bench. Espo proceeded to go 0-6, including a sweep
at the hands of Mario Lemiux and the Penguins, and he himself was canned the following summer.
       This walk down memory lane has been provided to offer some insight as to why I picked the Devils
to blow past my beloved Rangers in their first round Stanley Cup Playoff Matchup. I realize that as most
of you are reading this, the Devils have a commanding 2-0 series lead after 2 blowouts, so it make look
like I'm cheating. But my dad is running a mini pool for the NHL playoffs and when I submitted my picks,
I included Devils sweep in there, breaking my dad's heart. I just couldn't, with a straight face, pick the
Rangers, not after the way they fell apart at the end of the season.
       But this was a team that was picked to Finnish dead last in the league by Sports Illustrated, and not
picked to do much better by any other publication. I had no reason to disagree with any of this,
especially after Gary Bettman rigged the NHL draft lottery to give the Penguins Sidney Crosby. I figured
with bumbling Glen Sather in charge, and no accountability from the ownership, the Rangers didn't have
a prayer of competing.
 I was wrong. Big time
Sather, idiot that he is, actually put together a team of young scrappers to complement Jaromir Jagr and
a team of unsung but solid veterans to form a balanced attack. He also gave Hendrick Lundquist a
chance to shine, and he quickly became a household name in New York. Coach Tom Renney got the
Rangers to commit to a system that stressed team play, and the result was, well 3/4 of a season of great
hockey.
         A combination of injuries, untimely slumps, and perhaps a slight case of falling back to earth has
led the Rangers to where they are now.  2 games away from elimination. They lost their last 5 games in
the regular season to hand the Devils the Atlantic Division, and have provided me with no reason to
believe they will win any games here against the Devils. Its a shame, because they really were a great
story this year.

BASEBALL 2006

While I'm ecstatic over the Mets fast start here in 2006, I won't be convinced of anything till they can beat
the Braves when need be. And after knocking them off in the first game of their 3 game series last
Monday at Shea,  they proceeded to lose the next 2. They play them again this weekend in Atlanta. If
you think that an early season series don't mean much, then I again take you back, this time to 1986
almost exactly 20 years ago.. Mets vs. Cardinals, a four game series in St. Louis between the two teams
that had battled for the NL East crown. the year before. The Cardinals, led by manger Whitey Herzog and
SS Ozzie Smith, two of the most despicable people in the history of baseball, were the defending
NL champs.
The Mets promptly went into Busch Stadium and from April 24-27, took all four games and never looked
back. A sweep down in Turner Field may do the same thing here.

As for your Bronx Bombers, they are doing about what we expected them to do. They're hitting the
stuffing out of the ball, but their pitching is spotty. Problem for them is, Josh Beckett is having a great
April for Boston. I thought the Red Sox would struggle this year, (and they still might with their bullpen)
but with Beckett and Curt Shilling at the top of the rotation, they could be hard to beat. In any event, next
Monday is the first Yankee Red Sox game of the season, so let the hype begin.

THE NFL DRAFT.

This has been one of the most talked about drafts in years, especially around here, with the Jets having
a high pick. You have the three stars from the National Championship Game up for grabs (USC's Matt
Leinart and Reggie Bush & Texas' Vince Young) and some lesser known players that have suddenly
come to prominence.
    For months it was assumed that Bush would go to Houston, Young to the Saints and Leinart to the
Titans, leaving the Jets once again out of the money. But now, scouts are putting Vanderbilt QB Jay
Cutler right there with QB's Young and Leinart, and hyping up defensive end Mario Williams, offensive
tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson, and linebacker AJ Hawk. Plus Young supposedly didn't do well on an
NFL Issued IQ test, Leinart may be too Hollywood for some tastes, and even Bush, who was a
consensus Number 1, is rumored to have soured some in the Texans organization.
     I'm hoping that either one of the Super 3 slips down to the Jets and they grab him. I'm 99.999999%
sure Bush will end up in Houston and all this is just BS, but he would be a nice guy for Curtis Martin to
eventually pass the torch to. Young may not be Stephen Hawking, but he's an unbelievable talent and
would be exciting to watch.
        The guy I really want is Leinart. He has the stats, and the style to be one of the all time great QB's.
He broke my heart in that game against Notre Dame last year, but that just proved how graceful he is
under pressure. And as for this nonsense that he's too cool for school, the last time the Jets had a
young Hollywood style QB, he was running off the field in Miami with his index finger in the air,
having just done what he predicted he would do: beat the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.
I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mind seeing that again.
         Of course this being the Jets, I'm sure they will end up doing something stupid, like trading the
pick, or picking someone nobody ever heard of. Anything just to tick me off.

I missed a boatload of birthdays, including my sister's 30th, McGrath, Kim Morgan and little Grace Haley.
So I hope you ladies had wonderful days, and that this year is special for you.

Also would like y'all to keep good thoughts for our good friend Joann.

Finally some of you have asked about my blog, and what happened was, during the wedding
preparations, I didn't have time to do all the extra stuff I wanted to do with that, so I stopped. I may be
starting one up again using MySpace.com. My goal is still to end up with a webpage or something
similar, with a little something for everyone. It would be a home for Weekly Mail, along with relevant
sports and information. Don't know if I can pull it off yet, but we're working on it. I'll keep you posted
with details as they come in.

Sorry again for the delays.
Have a Great Week
Billy G