| 2007 |
Only the Big East Tournament can bring four radio engineers to the same place at the same time. This was taken prior to
the beginning of the night session of the first round of the tournament on March 7th. From left to right are Chris
Majkowski, myself, Jack Maldonado and Gary Jeffries. The trophy I'm holding (most of it in my left hand) is for
continually being named the radio engineer of the year at Madison Square Garden by the building's telecommunications
department. As you can see, Chris, Jack and Gary are very jealous.
the beginning of the night session of the first round of the tournament on March 7th. From left to right are Chris
Majkowski, myself, Jack Maldonado and Gary Jeffries. The trophy I'm holding (most of it in my left hand) is for
continually being named the radio engineer of the year at Madison Square Garden by the building's telecommunications
department. As you can see, Chris, Jack and Gary are very jealous.
| Strange facts from 2007 |
1. January 30th is only the second time I've seen the Detroit Red Wings play in a game. The other time I saw them
play was on April 1st, 1990. Both games went in to overtime.
2. May 12th is the first time I ever saw the Milwaukee Brewers play in a game.
3. May 23rd is the first time I went to a Minor League Baseball game. The Trenton Thunder are a AA team in the
Eastern League.
4. This is the first year since 1997 I didn't attend at least one NBA playoff game.
5. August 16th is the first time I ever saw the Detroit Tigers win a game. The Tigers had lost the previous seven games I
saw them play in. The Tigers would go on and lose the final three games of the four-game series I attended this year,
dropping their all-time mark to 1-10 in games I've been to.
6. The 133,315 fans that attended the Mets and Giants home games combined on September 30th are the most ever
amount of fans that were at games I attended in one day. 54,453 fans were at the Mets afternoon game at Shea
Stadium and 78,862 was the announced attendance at Giants Stadium at night.
7. This was only the second year since 2000 I didn't attend a baseball playoff game. The other year was in 2002.
8. West Virginia's victory on October 27th improved its football record to 10-0 in games I've seen the Mountaineers play
in.
9. The October 27th soccer game is the first time I've ever been to a game that ended in a scoreless tie.
10. November 17th is the first time I ever saw the Pittsburgh Panthers lose a road football game. The Panthers had won
the first four road games I attended.
play was on April 1st, 1990. Both games went in to overtime.
2. May 12th is the first time I ever saw the Milwaukee Brewers play in a game.
3. May 23rd is the first time I went to a Minor League Baseball game. The Trenton Thunder are a AA team in the
Eastern League.
4. This is the first year since 1997 I didn't attend at least one NBA playoff game.
5. August 16th is the first time I ever saw the Detroit Tigers win a game. The Tigers had lost the previous seven games I
saw them play in. The Tigers would go on and lose the final three games of the four-game series I attended this year,
dropping their all-time mark to 1-10 in games I've been to.
6. The 133,315 fans that attended the Mets and Giants home games combined on September 30th are the most ever
amount of fans that were at games I attended in one day. 54,453 fans were at the Mets afternoon game at Shea
Stadium and 78,862 was the announced attendance at Giants Stadium at night.
7. This was only the second year since 2000 I didn't attend a baseball playoff game. The other year was in 2002.
8. West Virginia's victory on October 27th improved its football record to 10-0 in games I've seen the Mountaineers play
in.
9. The October 27th soccer game is the first time I've ever been to a game that ended in a scoreless tie.
10. November 17th is the first time I ever saw the Pittsburgh Panthers lose a road football game. The Panthers had won
the first four road games I attended.
| Date visiting team home team sport 1/2/07 New York Rangers 3 New Jersey 2 (8 SO) NHL 1/3/07 Rutgers 72 Seton Hall Pirates 77 CBB 1/4/07 New York Islanders 3 New Jersey Devils 4 NHL 1/7/07 Rutgers 54 Cincinnati Bearcats 42 CBB 1/9/07 New York Islanders 5 New York Rangers 3 NHL 1/10/07 Syracuse Orange 68 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 58 CBB 1/11/07 St. John's Red Storm 63 Seton Hall Pirates 79 CBB 1/12/07 Charlotte Bobcats 126 New York Knicks 110 NBA 1/13/07 De Paul 60 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 37 CBB 1/15/07 Sacramento Kings 97 New York Knicks 102 NBA 1/16/07 New York Rangers 0 New Jersey Devils 1 NHL 1/17/07 Georgetown Hoyas 68 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 54 CBB 1/20/07 Rutgers 63 Providence Friars 78 CBB 1/24/07 Rutgers 40 South Florida Bulls 62 CBB 1/26/07 Miami Heat 96 New York Knicks 116 NBA 1/27/07 Seton Hall Pirates 70 Rutgers 74 (2OT) CBB 1/30/07 Detroit Red Wings 4 NY Islanders 3 (OT) NHL 1/31/07 West Virginia 89 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 83 CBB 2/1/07 Georgetown Hoyas 72 St. John's Red Storm 48* CBB 2/3/07 Rutgers 50 UConn 61 (OT)% CBB 2/5/07 Sacred Heart 76 Wagner Seahawks 80 CBB 2/7/07 Rutgers 47 Marquette 67 CBB 2/10/07 Cincinnati Bearcats 69 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 73 CBB 2/14/07 Montreal Canadiens 2 New Jersey Devils 5 NHL 2/15/07 Rutgers 55 St. John's Red Storm 60 CBB 2/17/07 Philadelphia Flyers 5 New York Rangers 3 NHL 2/18/07 Chicago Blackhawks 1 New York Rangers 2 NHL 2/20/07 New York Rangers 1 New Jersey Devils 2 NHL 2/21/07 Connecticut Huskies 65 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 55 CBB 2/22/07 Toronto Maple Leafs 2 NY Islanders 3 (SO) NHL 2/23/07 Milwaukee Bucks 93 New York Knicks 95 NBA 2/24/07 Rutgers 51 Villanova Wildcats 74 CBB 2/25/07 New York Knicks 92 New Jersey Nets 101 NBA 2/26/07 Miami Heat 93 New York Knicks 99 NBA 2/27/07 Montreal Canadiens 0 New York Rangers 4 NHL 3/1/07 St. Louis Blues 3 New York Islanders 2 (OT) NHL 3/2/07 Golden State Warriors 97 New York Knicks 106 NBA 3/3/07 Notre Dame 73 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 66 CBB 3/4/07 Providence Friars 64 St. John's Red Storm 77* CBB 3/7/07 Providence Friars 79 West Virginia 92 & CBB 3/7/07 Marquette 76 St. John's Red Storm 67& CBB 3/8/07 Villanova Wildcats 57 Georgetown Hoyas 62 & CBB 3/8/07 Syracuse Orangemen 83 Notre Dame 89 & CBB 3/8/07 West Virginia 71 Louisville 82 (2 OT) & CBB 3/8/07 Marquette 79 Pittsburgh Panthers 89 & CBB 3/9/07 Notre Dame 82 Georgetown Hoyas 84 & CBB 3/9/07 Pittsburgh Panthers 65 Louisville Cardinals 59 & CBB 3/10/07 Pittsburgh Panthers 42 Georgetown Hoyas 65 & CBB 3/15/07 Miami Heat 93 New Jersey Nets 86 NBA 3/16/07 New Orleans Hornets 92 New York Knicks 90 NBA 3/17/07 Carolina Hurricanes 7 New Jersey Devils 2 NHL 3/17/07 Boston Bruins 0 New York Rangers 7 NHL 3/18/07 Toronto Raptors 74 New York Knicks 92 NBA 3/19/07 Pittsburgh Penguins 1 New York Rangers 2 NHL 3/20/07 Dallas Mavericks 92 New York Knicks 77 NBA 3/21/07 Philadelphia Flyers 0 New York Rangers 5 NHL 3/22/07 Portland Trail Blazers 92 New York Knicks 86 NBA 3/23/07 Vanderbilt 65 Georgetown Hoyas 66 # CBB 3/23/07 Southern California 64 North Carolina 74 # CBB 3/25/07 Georgetown Hoyas 96 North Carolina 84 (OT) # CBB 3/26/07 Orlando Magic 94 New York Knicks 89 NBA 3/27/07 New Jersey Devils 3 New York Islanders 2 NHL 3/28/07 Cleveland Cavaliers 93 New York Knicks 97 NBA 4/1/07 Philadelphia Soul 65 New York Dragons 60 AFL 4/2/07 Tampa Bay 5 New York Yankees 9 MLB 4/3/07 New York Rangers 2 New York Islanders 3 (SO) NHL 4/4/07 Atlanta Hawks 86 New Jersey Nets 101 NBA 4/5/07 Tampa Bay 7 New York Yankees 6 MLB 4/6/07 Baltimore Orioles 5 New York Yankees 4 MLB 4/7/07 Baltimore Orioles 7 New York Yankees 10 MLB 4/8/07 Baltimore Orioles 5 New York Yankees 4 MLB 4/9/07 Philadelphia Phillies 5 New York Mets 11 MLB 4/11/07 Philadelphia Phillies 5 New York Mets 2 MLB 4/12/07 Philadelphia Phillies 3 New York Mets 5 MLB 4/13/07 New York Knicks 86 New Jersey Nets 100 NBA 4/15/07 Colorado Crush 49 New York Dragons 48 AFL 4/17/07 Atlanta Thrashers 0 New York Rangers 7 $ NHL 4/18/07 Atlanta Thrashers 2 New York Rangers 4 $ NHL 4/26/07 Toronto Blue Jays 6 New York Yankees 0 MLB 4/27/07 Boston Red Sox 11 New York Yankees 4 MLB 4/30/07 Florida Marlins 9 New York Mets 6 MLB 5/1/07 Florida Marlins 5 New York Mets 2 MLB 5/2/07 Florida Marlins 3 New York Mets 6 MLB 5/6/07 Buffalo Sabres 5 New York Rangers 4 @ NHL 5/8/07 Texas Rangers 2 New York Yankees 8 MLB 5/9/07 Texas Rangers 2 New York Yankees 6 MLB 5/10/07 Texas Rangers 14 New York Yankees 2 MLB 5/12/07 Milwaukee Brewers 12 New York Mets 3 MLB 5/14/07 Chicago Cubs 4 New York Mets 5 MLB 5/20/07 Kansas City Brigade 56 New York Dragons 62 AFL 5/23/07 Portland Sea Dogs 3 Trenton Thunder 4 (10) MiLB 5/25/07 LA Angels of Anaheim 10 New York Yankees 6 MLB 5/26/07 LA Angels of Anaheim 3 New York Yankees 1 MLB 5/27/07 LA Angels of Anaheim 4 New York Yankees 3 MLB 6/2/07 Austin Wranglers 82 New York Dragons 54 AFL 6/5/07 Philadelphia Phillies 4 New York Mets 2 (11) MLB 6/6/07 Philadelphia Phillies 4 New York Mets 2 MLB 6/7/07 Philadelphia Phillies 6 New York Mets 3 (10) MLB 6/8/07 Pittsburgh Pirates 4 New York Yankees 5 (10) MLB 6/9/07 Pittsburgh Pirates 3 New York Yankees 9 MLB 6/10/07 Pittsburgh Pirates 6 New York Yankees 13 MLB 6/12/07 Washington Mystics 69 New York Liberty 79 WNBA 6/18/07 Minnesota Twins 1 New York Mets 8 MLB 6/19/07 Minnesota Twins 9 New York Mets 0 MLB 6/20/07 Minnesota Twins 6 New York Mets 2 MLB 6/23/07 Columbus Destroyers 74 New York Dragons 43 AFL 6/24/07 Oakland Athletics 2 New York Mets 10 MLB 6/30/07 Oakland Athletics 7 New York Yankees 0 MLB 7/1/07 Oakland Athletics 11 New York Yankees 5 MLB 7/2/07 Minnesota Twins 1 New York Yankees 5 MLB 7/3/07 Minnesota Twins 0 New York Yankees 8 MLB 7/4/07 Minnesota Twins 6 New York Yankees 2 MLB 7/5/07 Minnesota Twins 6 New York Yankees 7 MLB 7/6/07 LA Angels of Anaheim 9 New York Yankees 14 MLB 7/7/07 LA Angels of Anaheim 2 New York Yankees 1 (13) MLB 7/8/07 LA Angels of Anaheim 0 New York Yankees 12 MLB 7/20/07 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 14 New York Yankees 4 MLB 7/21/07 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 3 New York Yankees 7 MLB 7/21/07 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 5 New York Yankees 17 MLB 7/22/07 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 4 New York Yankees 21 MLB 7/24/07 Pittsburgh Pirates 4 New York Mets 8 MLB 7/25/07 Pittsburgh Pirates 3 New York Mets 6 MLB 7/26/07 Pittsburgh Pirates 8 New York Mets 4 MLB 7/31/07 Chicago White Sox 3 New York Yankees 16 MLB 8/1/07 Chicago White Sox 1 New York Yankees 8 MLB 8/2/07 Chicago White Sox 13 New York Yankees 9 MLB 8/7/07 Florida Marlins 1 Philadelphia Phillies 11 MLB 8/10/07 Florida Marlins 4 New York Mets 3 MLB 8/11/07 Florida Marlins 7 New York Mets 5 MLB 8/12/07 Florida Marlins 4 New York Mets 10 MLB 8/13/07 Baltimore Orioles 6 New York Yankees 7 MLB 8/14/07 Baltimore Orioles 12 New York Yankees 0 MLB 8/15/07 Baltimore Orioles 6 New York Yankees 3 MLB 8/16/07 Detroit Tigers 8 New York Yankees 5 MLB 8/17/07 Detroit Tigers 1 New York Yankees 6 MLB 8/18/07 Detroit Tigers 2 New York Yankees 5 MLB 8/19/07 Detroit Tigers 3 New York Yankees 9 MLB 8/25/07 New York Jets 20 New York Giants 12 ! NFL 8/29/07 Boston Red Sox 3 New York Yankees 4 MLB 8/30/07 Buffalo Bulls 3 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 38 CFB 8/31/07 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 9 New York Yankees 1 MLB 9/1/07 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 6 New York Yankees 9 MLB 9/2/07 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 8 New York Yankees 2 MLB 9/7/07 Navy Midshipmen 24 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 41 CFB 9/8/07 Houston Astros 1 New York Mets 3 MLB 9/9/07 Houston Astros 1 New York Mets 4 MLB 9/14/07 Philadelphia Phillies 3 New York Mets 2 (10) MLB 9/15/07 Norfolk State 0 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 59 CFB 9/16/07 Philadelphia Phillies 10 New York Mets 6 MLB 9/17/07 Baltimore Orioles 5 New York Yankees 8 MLB 9/18/07 Baltimore Orioles 0 New York Yankees 12 MLB 9/19/07 Baltimore Orioles 1 New York Yankees 2 MLB 9/23/07 Miami Dolphins 28 New York Jets 31 NFL 9/24/07 New York Rangers 4 NY Islanders 5 (OT) ! NHL 9/28/07 Florida Marlins 7 New York Mets 4 MLB 9/29/07 Maryland Terrapins 34 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 24 CFB 9/30/07 Florida Marlins 8 New York Mets 1 MLB 9/30/07 Philadelphia Eagles 3 New York Giants 16 MLB 10/6/07 Cincinnati Bearcats 28 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 23 CFB 10/7/07 New York Jets 24 New York Giants 35 NFL 10/8/07 Washington Capitals 2 New York Islanders 1 NHL 10/13/07 Rutgers 38 Syracuse Orange 14 CFB 10/14/07 Philadelphia Eagles 16 New York Jets 9 NFL 10/18/07 South Florida 27 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 30 CFB 10/21/07 San Francisco 49ers 15 New York Giants 33 NFL 10/25/07 New Jersey Devils 0 New York Rangers 2 NHL 10/27/07 West Virginia 31 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 3 CFB 10/27/07 New England Revolution 0 New York Red Bulls 0 + MLS 10/28/07 Buffalo Bills 13 New York Jets 3 NFL 10/29/07 Tampa Bay Lightning 1 New York Rangers 3 NHL 11/1/07 Washington Capitals 0 New York Rangers 2 NHL 11/2/07 Toronto Raptors 106 New Jersey Nets 69 NBA 11/3/07 Rutgers 19 Connecticut Huskies 38 CFB 11/4/07 Minnesota 93 New York Knicks 97 NBA 11/5/07 Pittsburgh Penguins 5 New Jersey Devils 0 NHL 11/6/07 New York Rangers 2 New York Islanders 3 NHL 11/8/07 Pittsburgh Penguins 2 New York Rangers 4 NHL 11/9/07 Rutgers 41 Army Black Knights 6 CFB 11/10/07 New Jersey Devils 1 New York Islanders 2 NHL 11/11/07 North Dakota State 67 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 79 CBB 11/11/07 Stanford Cardinal 60 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 58 WCBB 11/12/07 North Carolina Central 48 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 73 CBB 11/15/07 Connecticut Huskies 78 Gardner-Webb 66 * CBB 11/15/07 Memphis Tigers 63 Oklahoma Sooners 53 * CBB 11/16/07 Oklahoma Sooners 69 Gardner-Webb 55 * CBB 11/16/07 Memphis Tigers 81 Connecticut Huskies 70 * CBB 11/17/07 Pittsburgh Panthers 16 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 20 CFB 11/17/07 Miami Heat 91 New Jersey Nets 87 NBA 11/18/07 Pittsburgh Steelers 16 New York Jets 19 NFL 11/20/07 Dartmouth College 50 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 55 CBB 11/21/07 Montreal Canadiens 4 New York Islanders 1 NHL 11/24/07 Chicago Bulls 78 New York Knicks 85 NBA 11/25/07 Rutgers 58 St. Peter's College 65 = CBB 11/26/07 Utah Jazz 109 New York Knicks 113 NBA 11/29/07 Rutgers 38 Louisville Cardinals 41 CFB 11/30/07 Milwaukee Bucks 88 New York Knicks 91 NBA 12/1/07 Princeton Tigers 50 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 54 CBB 12/2/07 Phoenix Suns 115 New York Knicks 104 NBA 12/3/07 Boston Bruins 3 New York Islanders 1 NHL 12/4/07 Kansas State Wildcats 59 Notre Dame 68 * CBB 12/4/07 USC Trojans 58 Memphis 62 (OT) * ? CBB 12/5/07 Lafayette Leopards 79 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 90 CBB 12/6/07 Toronto Maple Leafs 6 New York Rangers 2 NHL 12/7/07 Houston Rockets 96 New Jersey Nets 89 NBA 12/9/07 Rutgers 51 Nebraska Cornhuskers 63 CBB 12/10/07 Dallas Mavericks 99 New York Knicks 89 NBA 12/12/07 Seattle Sonics 117 New York Knicks 110 NBA 12/13/07 Rutgers 65 NJIT 55 / CBB 12/15/07 New Jersey Nets 86 New York Knicks 94 NBA 12/16/07 North Carolina 93 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 71 CBB 12/17/07 Indiana Pacers 119 New York Knicks 92 NBA 12/18/07 Pittsburgh Penguins 0 New York Rangers 4 NHL 12/21/07 Rider Broncs 61 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 57 CBB 12/22/07 Golden State Warriors 95 New Jersey Nets 100 NBA 12/23/07 Los Angeles Lakers 95 New York Knicks 90 NBA 12/23/07 Ottawa Senators 3 New York Rangers 1 NHL 12/28/07 Washington Wizards 106 New Jersey Nets 109 NBA 12/29/07 Manhattan Jaspers 67 Rutgers Scarlet Knights 73 CBB 12/29/07 New England Patriots 38 New York Giants 35 NFL 12/30/07 Chicago Bulls 100 New York Knicks 83 NBA 12/30/07 Montreal Canadiens 3 New York Rangers 4 (OT) NHL % Game played in Hartford * Game played at MSG & Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden # NCAA Tournament in East Rutherford, NJ = Game played at the Jersey City Armory / Game played at Prudential Center, Newark $ First round playoff game @ Second Round playoff game + Conference semifinal ! Exhibition game ? Left game before it concluded Back to sports page |
| Top 5 sporting events from 2007 |
5. September 30th, 2007 -- Florida Marlins 8, New York Mets 1: This game completed the biggest collapse in
baseball history. The Mets, who had a seven game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies on September 12th with just 17
to play, wound up losing the division and missing the playoffs. This 8-1 loss, the regular season finale, saw Tom
Glavine give up seven runs in the first two innings, Carlos Delgado suffer a broken hand, and a sold out raucous crowd
at the end of the game turn in to the type of crowd you have at a library. Just like the end of the Mets season last
year, when they lost to the Cardinals in the 7th game of the NLCS, it was the atmosphere when the game was over
that made Shea a site to behold. The combination of the Mets loss and the Phillies beating the Washington Nationals
on this day is what eliminated the Mets. And, after the Mets lost today, there was this very quiet music being played in
the background. The Phillies score was shown in progress on the out-of-town scoreboard (along with the scores of
all the other games that day). About 10 minutes or so after the Mets game ended, the scoreboard showed the Phillies
had won. Two minutes later, the scoreboard went black and the music in the stadium was shut off. The Mets were
dead, the stadium was dead. Time to turn the lights and sounds off to the season. I said it after the Mets devastating
loss in the playoffs in 2006 and I'll say it again this year. This end of the season just proved to me how meaningless
April and May baseball games are. I just can't get in to a full baseball season anymore. And you won't see me
watching the standings day-in-and-day out until later into the summer.
4. December 29th, 2007 -- New England Patriots 38, New York Giants 35: Unless you asked Michael
Strahan, the Giants should be very proud of how they played against the Patriots, who with this win became the first
NFL team all-time to finish a regular season 16-0. The Giants actually held a 28-16 lead in the third quarter of this
game, but Tom Brady demonstrated why he's as good a passer as he is, completing 32-of-42 passes for 356 yards
and two touchdown tosses to Randy Moss. Laurence Maroney's touchdown in the fourth quarter capped
22-unanswered points for the Patriots, who would go up 38-28 and hold on for the victory. It was a well played
game for both teams, who both gave it their all despite it being meaningless in the playoff standings. There was only
one turnover the entire contest and very few penalties. It was just well executed football from the outset, which means
a lot when you have a game with this much anticipation. Needless to say, it was also a media blitz at Giants Stadium
this night and the atmosphere and electricity before the game was intense. I have been going to Giants and Jets games
now on a regular basis for 13 years, and being on the field before the game reminded me of my first regular-season
Giants game during this long run -- a Labor Day Monday night game between the Dallas Cowboys and Giants in
1995. So, this game consisted of some nostalgia, too.
3. October 18th, 2007 -- Rutgers Scarlet Knights 30, South Florida Bulls 27: This Thursday night game has
had a lot of similarities to the Rutgers football victory over Louisville last year. Rutgers defeated an unbeaten team.
The Louisville game was also on a Thursday night and nationally televised. After both games, the fans rushed the field.
And I actually thought this was more of a competitive game than the Louisville contest, even though USF was ranked
#2 at the time and Rutgers had a couple of losses. Last year, the Louisville contest I thought was won by RU because
it was a team of destiny. This year, the team had to show a lot of character, and pull off some trick plays, to pull out
this victory. And there were more fans at this game. Yet, for some reason, this game has not been given the notoriety
or exposure that the Louisville contest got, and I just don't get it. I just thought this was a better played game with a
final outcome much more in doubt. Rutgers scored a field goal on its opening possession after pulling off a fake punt
which led to a first down. And a third-quarter touchdown came as a result of a fake field goal, when holder Andrew
DePaola threw a touchdown pass. But the hero of this game was the Rutgers defense, which managed to limit the
damage created by a couple of muffed punts by Rutgers, and a late Ray Rice fumble. Oh, and the illegal batting by the
USF defenders after a Rutgers field goal was blocked was clearly the right call. It negated a USF touchdown that
should never have happened in the first place. This game just took so many twists and turns, but hard nosed defense
in the end by RU made all the difference.
2. March 25th, 2007 -- Georgetown Hoyas 96, North Carolina Tar Heels 84 (OT): Jonathan Wallace hit the
game-tying three pointer that Mark Macon of Temple in 1991 failed to hit against North Carolina in this same elite
eight round of the NCAA Tournament, which was also played in the same building in East Rutherford, NJ -- the
Brendan Byrne Arena, or whatever you want to call it. Wallace's three capped a stirring comeback for the Hoyas,
who overcame a 75-65 deficit with 6:02 to play. After the tying three-pointer, overtime was a joke. The Tar Heels
missed their first 12 overtime shots, and would finish the game making only one-of-23. The big theme of this game
going in was it was the first matchup between Georgetown and UNC since the 1982 Championship game, which was
won by North Carolina on a Michael Jordan basket with 17 seconds left. But this time, North Carolina's winning field
goal attempt at the regulation buzzer missed, and Georgetown was able to carry its momentum in to overtime to
advance to the final four. This game had some nostalgia -- there goes that word again -- for me, as it reminded me of
when I witnessed my alma mater Temple lose to North Carolina back during my senior year in 1991. Temple never
led in that game, but had a chance to tie it at the buzzer on the Macon three-point attempt.
1. March 23rd, 2007 -- Georgetown Hoyas 66, Vanderbilt Commodores 65: Hoyas win, Hoyas win, Hoyas
win. Try saying that 17 times. I engineered Georgetown's radio broadcast at this Sweet 16 contest and Hoyas
announcer Rich Chvotkin yelled out "Hoyas win" 17 times in a row after this buzzer beating victory. It was hysterical.
Jeff Green hit a running bank shot with 2.5 seconds left to provide the winning margin, and Alex Gordon's desperation
three was blocked at the buzzer to allow Georgetown to advance. Georgetown, by most experts, wasn't supposed to
struggle this mightily against the likes of Vanderbilt, but the Commodores scared me (I was rooting for Georgetown,
naturally) because of their outside shooting potential. Sure enough, Vanderbilt led by eight points at halftime and after
the Hoyas started the second half on a 12-4 run to tie the game, neither team could pull away until Georgetown led by
three, 64-61, with one minute left. But Vanderbilt would hit four straight foul shots, the last two with 18 seconds to
play, before Green's heroics. The scary thing for me was the superstition I was trying to prove was nonsense.
Georgetown had requested a good friend of mine to engineer its radio broadcasts for these games at the
Meadowlands, since he was the Hoyas radio engineer when Georgetown won the Big East tournament a couple of
weeks earlier. But when Rutgers advanced to the third round of the NCAA women's tournament, he had to commit
to working their games down in Greensboro, North Carolina. So, I had to "fill in" and hope the Hoyas would win
anyway. I think if they had lost to Vanderbilt, I might've been burned at the stake.
baseball history. The Mets, who had a seven game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies on September 12th with just 17
to play, wound up losing the division and missing the playoffs. This 8-1 loss, the regular season finale, saw Tom
Glavine give up seven runs in the first two innings, Carlos Delgado suffer a broken hand, and a sold out raucous crowd
at the end of the game turn in to the type of crowd you have at a library. Just like the end of the Mets season last
year, when they lost to the Cardinals in the 7th game of the NLCS, it was the atmosphere when the game was over
that made Shea a site to behold. The combination of the Mets loss and the Phillies beating the Washington Nationals
on this day is what eliminated the Mets. And, after the Mets lost today, there was this very quiet music being played in
the background. The Phillies score was shown in progress on the out-of-town scoreboard (along with the scores of
all the other games that day). About 10 minutes or so after the Mets game ended, the scoreboard showed the Phillies
had won. Two minutes later, the scoreboard went black and the music in the stadium was shut off. The Mets were
dead, the stadium was dead. Time to turn the lights and sounds off to the season. I said it after the Mets devastating
loss in the playoffs in 2006 and I'll say it again this year. This end of the season just proved to me how meaningless
April and May baseball games are. I just can't get in to a full baseball season anymore. And you won't see me
watching the standings day-in-and-day out until later into the summer.
4. December 29th, 2007 -- New England Patriots 38, New York Giants 35: Unless you asked Michael
Strahan, the Giants should be very proud of how they played against the Patriots, who with this win became the first
NFL team all-time to finish a regular season 16-0. The Giants actually held a 28-16 lead in the third quarter of this
game, but Tom Brady demonstrated why he's as good a passer as he is, completing 32-of-42 passes for 356 yards
and two touchdown tosses to Randy Moss. Laurence Maroney's touchdown in the fourth quarter capped
22-unanswered points for the Patriots, who would go up 38-28 and hold on for the victory. It was a well played
game for both teams, who both gave it their all despite it being meaningless in the playoff standings. There was only
one turnover the entire contest and very few penalties. It was just well executed football from the outset, which means
a lot when you have a game with this much anticipation. Needless to say, it was also a media blitz at Giants Stadium
this night and the atmosphere and electricity before the game was intense. I have been going to Giants and Jets games
now on a regular basis for 13 years, and being on the field before the game reminded me of my first regular-season
Giants game during this long run -- a Labor Day Monday night game between the Dallas Cowboys and Giants in
1995. So, this game consisted of some nostalgia, too.
3. October 18th, 2007 -- Rutgers Scarlet Knights 30, South Florida Bulls 27: This Thursday night game has
had a lot of similarities to the Rutgers football victory over Louisville last year. Rutgers defeated an unbeaten team.
The Louisville game was also on a Thursday night and nationally televised. After both games, the fans rushed the field.
And I actually thought this was more of a competitive game than the Louisville contest, even though USF was ranked
#2 at the time and Rutgers had a couple of losses. Last year, the Louisville contest I thought was won by RU because
it was a team of destiny. This year, the team had to show a lot of character, and pull off some trick plays, to pull out
this victory. And there were more fans at this game. Yet, for some reason, this game has not been given the notoriety
or exposure that the Louisville contest got, and I just don't get it. I just thought this was a better played game with a
final outcome much more in doubt. Rutgers scored a field goal on its opening possession after pulling off a fake punt
which led to a first down. And a third-quarter touchdown came as a result of a fake field goal, when holder Andrew
DePaola threw a touchdown pass. But the hero of this game was the Rutgers defense, which managed to limit the
damage created by a couple of muffed punts by Rutgers, and a late Ray Rice fumble. Oh, and the illegal batting by the
USF defenders after a Rutgers field goal was blocked was clearly the right call. It negated a USF touchdown that
should never have happened in the first place. This game just took so many twists and turns, but hard nosed defense
in the end by RU made all the difference.
2. March 25th, 2007 -- Georgetown Hoyas 96, North Carolina Tar Heels 84 (OT): Jonathan Wallace hit the
game-tying three pointer that Mark Macon of Temple in 1991 failed to hit against North Carolina in this same elite
eight round of the NCAA Tournament, which was also played in the same building in East Rutherford, NJ -- the
Brendan Byrne Arena, or whatever you want to call it. Wallace's three capped a stirring comeback for the Hoyas,
who overcame a 75-65 deficit with 6:02 to play. After the tying three-pointer, overtime was a joke. The Tar Heels
missed their first 12 overtime shots, and would finish the game making only one-of-23. The big theme of this game
going in was it was the first matchup between Georgetown and UNC since the 1982 Championship game, which was
won by North Carolina on a Michael Jordan basket with 17 seconds left. But this time, North Carolina's winning field
goal attempt at the regulation buzzer missed, and Georgetown was able to carry its momentum in to overtime to
advance to the final four. This game had some nostalgia -- there goes that word again -- for me, as it reminded me of
when I witnessed my alma mater Temple lose to North Carolina back during my senior year in 1991. Temple never
led in that game, but had a chance to tie it at the buzzer on the Macon three-point attempt.
1. March 23rd, 2007 -- Georgetown Hoyas 66, Vanderbilt Commodores 65: Hoyas win, Hoyas win, Hoyas
win. Try saying that 17 times. I engineered Georgetown's radio broadcast at this Sweet 16 contest and Hoyas
announcer Rich Chvotkin yelled out "Hoyas win" 17 times in a row after this buzzer beating victory. It was hysterical.
Jeff Green hit a running bank shot with 2.5 seconds left to provide the winning margin, and Alex Gordon's desperation
three was blocked at the buzzer to allow Georgetown to advance. Georgetown, by most experts, wasn't supposed to
struggle this mightily against the likes of Vanderbilt, but the Commodores scared me (I was rooting for Georgetown,
naturally) because of their outside shooting potential. Sure enough, Vanderbilt led by eight points at halftime and after
the Hoyas started the second half on a 12-4 run to tie the game, neither team could pull away until Georgetown led by
three, 64-61, with one minute left. But Vanderbilt would hit four straight foul shots, the last two with 18 seconds to
play, before Green's heroics. The scary thing for me was the superstition I was trying to prove was nonsense.
Georgetown had requested a good friend of mine to engineer its radio broadcasts for these games at the
Meadowlands, since he was the Hoyas radio engineer when Georgetown won the Big East tournament a couple of
weeks earlier. But when Rutgers advanced to the third round of the NCAA women's tournament, he had to commit
to working their games down in Greensboro, North Carolina. So, I had to "fill in" and hope the Hoyas would win
anyway. I think if they had lost to Vanderbilt, I might've been burned at the stake.
1. January 2nd, 2007 -- New York Rangers 3, New Jersey Devils 2 (8 SO) -- It takes eight shootout rounds (a
normal shootout lasts three rounds), before the Rangers finally prevail in this game at the Meadowlands. The oddity
of this contest is it happened exactly one year to the day after I attended a triple overtime game between the Phoenix
Suns and New York Knicks.
2. January 27th, 2007 -- Rutgers Scarlet Knights 74, Seton Hall Pirates 70 (2 OT) -- After watching the antics of
Seton Hall head coach Bobby Gonzalez during this game, particularly how he celebrated after his team scored a
basket and was fouled, I was happy Rutgers won. JR Inman's three-pointer for Rutgers with 16 seconds left in
regulation tied the score and ultimately forced the first OT, but it wasn't until an Ollie Bailey jumper with two minutes
left when RU would take the lead for good. The Scarlet Knights solidified the win with five-of-six shooting from the
line down the stretch.
3. February 3rd, 2007 -- UConn Huskies 61, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 50 (OT) -- Oh, what a win this would've
been for RU. A shorthanded Rutgers team, playing without forward JR Inman, made a gallant comeback to get the
game in to overtime before running out of gas at the Hartford Civic Center. The Knights trailed 46-41 with 19
seconds left in the second half when Anthony Farmer hit a three-point shot. After UConn's Stanley Robinson made
one-of-two foul shots, Farmer hit another three pointer to tie the game. UConn would actually go the last 4:37 of
regulation and all of OT without hitting a field goal, but the Huskies were nearly flawless from the foul line in overtime.
4. March 1, 2007 -- St. Louis Blues 3, New York Islanders 2 (OT) -- The Islanders held a 2-0 lead with under
three minutes left before the Blues scored two goals in a 38-second span to tie it, and then Lee Stempniak's
power-play goal 25 seconds in to OT won the game. I joked with a friend of mine for a while after this game that the
lost point in the standings could cost the Isles a playoff spot. It almost happened, but fortunately didn't.
5. March 8th, 2007 -- Louisville Cardinals 82, West Virginia Mountaineers 71 (2 OT) -- Edgar Sosa's layup at the
regulation buzzer for Louisville tied the game, but it was so obvious to me he traveled when driving to the basket. It
happened right in front of me. Nevertheless, the basket counted and the result of this game would ultimately cost
West Virginia a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
6. April 3rd 2007 -- New York Islanders 3, New York Rangers 2 (SO) -- The Islanders needed to win this game,
and basically win out the season to make the playoffs. This was considered one of their toughest challenges against a
hot Rangers team, but they were helped by an early 2-0 lead. In the shootout, Wade Dubielewicz stopped all three
Rangers shots. Hey, it's Rangers vs. Islanders. Always a lot of fun.
7. April 7th, 2007 -- New York Yankees 10, Baltimore Orioles 7 -- Alex Rodriguez's grand slam home run in the
bottom of the 9th inning would propel him to a spectacular season, which included many clutch hits. That's not
something he had been good at since becoming a Yankee.
8. April 18th, 2007 -- New York Rangers 4, Atlanta Thrashers 2 -- The Rangers erase a 2-1 lead to finish a
four-game sweep of the Atlanta Thrashers in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It is the Rangers first series
win in 10 years.
9. May 14th, 2007 -- New York Mets 5, Chicago Cubs 4 -- Carlos Delgado's bases loaded walk forced in the
winning run. The one-run winning rally happened after there was nobody on base and two outs in the bottom of the
9th.
10. May 23rd, 2007 -- Trenton Thunder 4, Portland Sea Dogs 3 (OT) -- My first minor league baseball game
attended as a media person was packed at the start as Roger Clemens made his second minor-league comeback
start. By the 8th inning, once Clemens had left, the game resembled more of a typical minor league game. A very
small, family type of crowd, with plenty of legroom. So, I got the best of both Worlds. An overlooked fact is that the
Thunder tied this game in the bottom of the 9th inning, preventing Clemens from being the losing pitcher.
11. June 5th, 2007 -- Philadelphia Phillies 4, New York Mets 2 (11) -- The first of many Mets blown leads against
the Phillies this season. An early 2-0 Mets lead was erased by the Phillies in the third inning, and Chase Utley's
homer in the 11th inning broke the tie.
12. June 7th, 2007 -- Philadelphia Phillies 6, New York Mets 3 (10) -- Another blown lead against the Phillies, and
a blown save by Billy Wagner, which would become commonplace later on in the year. Back-to-back-to-back
homers for the Mets in the 6th gave them a 3-2 lead, but the Phillies tied it in the 9th and scored three times in the
10th.
13. July 7th, 2007 -- Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2, New York Yankees 1 (13) -- Well, if there's a such thing
as a game going three hours and 46 minutes being considered short, this is it. That's because it went 13 innings.
Miguel Cairo's two errors in the top of the 13th inning led to the winning run.
14. July 31st, 2007 -- New York Yankees 16, Chicago White Sox 3 -- The Yankees hit eight homers in the game
(And the White Sox hit one, too). Alex Rodriguez, going for his 500th round-tripper, didn't hit one.
15. August 2nd, 2007 -- Chicago White Sox 13, New York Yankees 9 -- The White Sox scored eight runs in the
top of the 2nd, but the Yankees scored eight in the bottom half of the inning, ,which took over an hour to play.
A-Rod would fail for the third straight home game to hit his 500th homer, so I unfortunately wouldn't be able to
witness the feat.
16. August 10th, 2007 -- Florida Marlins 4, New York Mets 3 -- Billy Wagner blew his second save of the season
(I was also at the first) when he gave up a two-run homer to Hanley Ramirez in the 9th inning. Carlos Beltran hit a
three-run homer for New York in his return from the disabled list.
17. September 14th, 2007 -- Philadelphia Phillies 3, New York Mets 2 (10) -- Another lead blown by the Mets
against the Phillies and this is the game that really started the Mets end of the season slump that left them out of the
playoffs. Greg Dobbs hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to give the Phillies their sixth straight win overall against New
York.
18. November 5th, 2007 -- Pittsburgh Penguins 5, New Jersey Devils 0 -- This would be my first game at the new
Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. I highly recommend it.
19. November 17th, 2007 -- Rutgers Scarlet Knights 20, Pittsburgh Panthers 16 -- This was a victory Rutgers
desperately needed to guarantee it would go to a bowl game for the third straight season. And the Scarlet Knights
got it, thanks to a Devin McCourty interception in the end zone on Pittsburgh's final drive, which went as far as the
Scarlet Knights' six-yard line. The Panthers actually had a TD called back on the drive because of an offensive pass
interference penalty.
normal shootout lasts three rounds), before the Rangers finally prevail in this game at the Meadowlands. The oddity
of this contest is it happened exactly one year to the day after I attended a triple overtime game between the Phoenix
Suns and New York Knicks.
2. January 27th, 2007 -- Rutgers Scarlet Knights 74, Seton Hall Pirates 70 (2 OT) -- After watching the antics of
Seton Hall head coach Bobby Gonzalez during this game, particularly how he celebrated after his team scored a
basket and was fouled, I was happy Rutgers won. JR Inman's three-pointer for Rutgers with 16 seconds left in
regulation tied the score and ultimately forced the first OT, but it wasn't until an Ollie Bailey jumper with two minutes
left when RU would take the lead for good. The Scarlet Knights solidified the win with five-of-six shooting from the
line down the stretch.
3. February 3rd, 2007 -- UConn Huskies 61, Rutgers Scarlet Knights 50 (OT) -- Oh, what a win this would've
been for RU. A shorthanded Rutgers team, playing without forward JR Inman, made a gallant comeback to get the
game in to overtime before running out of gas at the Hartford Civic Center. The Knights trailed 46-41 with 19
seconds left in the second half when Anthony Farmer hit a three-point shot. After UConn's Stanley Robinson made
one-of-two foul shots, Farmer hit another three pointer to tie the game. UConn would actually go the last 4:37 of
regulation and all of OT without hitting a field goal, but the Huskies were nearly flawless from the foul line in overtime.
4. March 1, 2007 -- St. Louis Blues 3, New York Islanders 2 (OT) -- The Islanders held a 2-0 lead with under
three minutes left before the Blues scored two goals in a 38-second span to tie it, and then Lee Stempniak's
power-play goal 25 seconds in to OT won the game. I joked with a friend of mine for a while after this game that the
lost point in the standings could cost the Isles a playoff spot. It almost happened, but fortunately didn't.
5. March 8th, 2007 -- Louisville Cardinals 82, West Virginia Mountaineers 71 (2 OT) -- Edgar Sosa's layup at the
regulation buzzer for Louisville tied the game, but it was so obvious to me he traveled when driving to the basket. It
happened right in front of me. Nevertheless, the basket counted and the result of this game would ultimately cost
West Virginia a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
6. April 3rd 2007 -- New York Islanders 3, New York Rangers 2 (SO) -- The Islanders needed to win this game,
and basically win out the season to make the playoffs. This was considered one of their toughest challenges against a
hot Rangers team, but they were helped by an early 2-0 lead. In the shootout, Wade Dubielewicz stopped all three
Rangers shots. Hey, it's Rangers vs. Islanders. Always a lot of fun.
7. April 7th, 2007 -- New York Yankees 10, Baltimore Orioles 7 -- Alex Rodriguez's grand slam home run in the
bottom of the 9th inning would propel him to a spectacular season, which included many clutch hits. That's not
something he had been good at since becoming a Yankee.
8. April 18th, 2007 -- New York Rangers 4, Atlanta Thrashers 2 -- The Rangers erase a 2-1 lead to finish a
four-game sweep of the Atlanta Thrashers in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It is the Rangers first series
win in 10 years.
9. May 14th, 2007 -- New York Mets 5, Chicago Cubs 4 -- Carlos Delgado's bases loaded walk forced in the
winning run. The one-run winning rally happened after there was nobody on base and two outs in the bottom of the
9th.
10. May 23rd, 2007 -- Trenton Thunder 4, Portland Sea Dogs 3 (OT) -- My first minor league baseball game
attended as a media person was packed at the start as Roger Clemens made his second minor-league comeback
start. By the 8th inning, once Clemens had left, the game resembled more of a typical minor league game. A very
small, family type of crowd, with plenty of legroom. So, I got the best of both Worlds. An overlooked fact is that the
Thunder tied this game in the bottom of the 9th inning, preventing Clemens from being the losing pitcher.
11. June 5th, 2007 -- Philadelphia Phillies 4, New York Mets 2 (11) -- The first of many Mets blown leads against
the Phillies this season. An early 2-0 Mets lead was erased by the Phillies in the third inning, and Chase Utley's
homer in the 11th inning broke the tie.
12. June 7th, 2007 -- Philadelphia Phillies 6, New York Mets 3 (10) -- Another blown lead against the Phillies, and
a blown save by Billy Wagner, which would become commonplace later on in the year. Back-to-back-to-back
homers for the Mets in the 6th gave them a 3-2 lead, but the Phillies tied it in the 9th and scored three times in the
10th.
13. July 7th, 2007 -- Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2, New York Yankees 1 (13) -- Well, if there's a such thing
as a game going three hours and 46 minutes being considered short, this is it. That's because it went 13 innings.
Miguel Cairo's two errors in the top of the 13th inning led to the winning run.
14. July 31st, 2007 -- New York Yankees 16, Chicago White Sox 3 -- The Yankees hit eight homers in the game
(And the White Sox hit one, too). Alex Rodriguez, going for his 500th round-tripper, didn't hit one.
15. August 2nd, 2007 -- Chicago White Sox 13, New York Yankees 9 -- The White Sox scored eight runs in the
top of the 2nd, but the Yankees scored eight in the bottom half of the inning, ,which took over an hour to play.
A-Rod would fail for the third straight home game to hit his 500th homer, so I unfortunately wouldn't be able to
witness the feat.
16. August 10th, 2007 -- Florida Marlins 4, New York Mets 3 -- Billy Wagner blew his second save of the season
(I was also at the first) when he gave up a two-run homer to Hanley Ramirez in the 9th inning. Carlos Beltran hit a
three-run homer for New York in his return from the disabled list.
17. September 14th, 2007 -- Philadelphia Phillies 3, New York Mets 2 (10) -- Another lead blown by the Mets
against the Phillies and this is the game that really started the Mets end of the season slump that left them out of the
playoffs. Greg Dobbs hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning to give the Phillies their sixth straight win overall against New
York.
18. November 5th, 2007 -- Pittsburgh Penguins 5, New Jersey Devils 0 -- This would be my first game at the new
Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. I highly recommend it.
19. November 17th, 2007 -- Rutgers Scarlet Knights 20, Pittsburgh Panthers 16 -- This was a victory Rutgers
desperately needed to guarantee it would go to a bowl game for the third straight season. And the Scarlet Knights
got it, thanks to a Devin McCourty interception in the end zone on Pittsburgh's final drive, which went as far as the
Scarlet Knights' six-yard line. The Panthers actually had a TD called back on the drive because of an offensive pass
interference penalty.
| Honorable mentions |