NEW YORK -- There had to be close to 50 bodies pressed together in the corner of the Yankees' clubhouse, cameras bumping heads and notebooks battling microphones. The team has a perfectly spacious interview room around the corner, a nice podium where an athlete can stretch and pontificate without a bunch of sweaty reporters pushing close enough to see his nose hairs.
But Alex Rodriguez was perfectly happy to make his way through the chaotic crush and face the media without a buffer. Someone fired a question and, from the back of the pack, all we could make out was, "Jetes ...CC ... they were the story." What about his two RBI singles that twice extended the Yankee lead? "Felt good ... team effort ... great pitching from CC." Was the postseason monkey off his back? "Not about me ... good to contribute ... hey, no need to shove each other."
URL-eponymous Dugout star Jim Thome reached another in a series of milestones last night, when he launched a Jeremy Guthrie pitch 412 feet to dead center. That home run was number 564, moving him ahead of Reggie Jackson on the all-time list. Thome, a week shy of his 39th birthday, passed Mike Schmidt earlier this season and continues hitting balls as high and as far as they will go in the patented AL Central "losing effort."
To us, nothing Jim Thome does is a losing effort. We love you, Jimbo, congratulations! Today's Dugout is after the jump.
Reggie Jackson is right. So is Jim Rice, along with Rick Telander, a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, who joins me as a baseball Hall of Fame voter and as a hardliner who agrees with Jackson and Rice:
I don't care that Ty Cobb was a racist (and possibly worse), that Mickey Mantle joined others as prolific drunks, and that Gaylord Perry spit his way into Cooperstown. They're already in the Hall of Fame. I can't do anything about their entries, but I can do something about Clemens, Bonds and the rest.
ACC play has officially begun. In their first conference game of the season, the No. 1 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels were beaten by unranked Boston College, 85-78.
How the Eagles did it was pretty simple: BC was on fire from behind the arc and clamped down on the Heels defensively. The Eagles also fought on the offensive glass and kept UNC from getting into its deadly transition game. That fact caused the normally poised Tar Heels to take frustration shots and make frustration fouls, which fed the deficit.
This was the first time all season that the Tar Heels have been truly tested. In every other game, they went on huge runs to create distance from their opponents. Of course, those runs are fueled by creating turnovers and getting out on the break and Boston College simply wasn't allowing that. BC kept the Tar Heels in check with a 17-7 run in the middle of the second half and Carolina just couldn't complete the comeback.
As we enter the final weeks of Yankee Stadium's existence, it's hard not to think of the history that was made there and the great players who used to call it home. Whether it's the Mickey Mantles, and Whitey Fords of old or the Reggie Jacksons and Thurman Munsons of more recent times, the place has seen more than it's fair share of Hall of Fame players.
Many Yankees fans and baseball fans in general will leave the place with fond memories of baseball's great cathedral. Well, not all of them. One fan in particular probably isn't going to have very nice things to say about the place after being kicked out earlier this week. His crime? He had to use the washroom.
A Queens man is considering legal action against the New York Yankees after he was ejected from Tuesday night's contest against the Boston Red Sox for trying to use the restroom during the playing of "God Bless America."
During the patriotic 7th inning stretch at Yankee Stadium, nature called on Bradford Campeau-Laurion. When he tried to leave his seat during the traditional singing of God Bless America, however, he says he was stopped by a NYPD officer who said he'd have to wait until the song was done.
I think that a good rule of thumb is that if you are walking the streets of New York and someone is videotaping you, not to make fun of other people or make what could be regarded as anti-Semitic jokes. Seems simple enough, no?
Well, Mr. October, Reggie Jackson, did not follow the golden rule recently, and was caught on tape by the New York Post. What is caught on tape below is the camera man asking him "why he said that" and then Jackson asking him if he's "Jewish too". Not good, Reg. Not good. Then, Mr. O tells the cameraman (:44) to make sure and let everyone know that he's with his daughter, not his girlfriend, because "he's not A-Rod".
See, this is ironic too, because at the 1:56 mark Jackson talks about keeping relationships with other ladies quiet and on the down low. In other words, the majority of the videotape is a full-fledged nightmare for Jackson. There's nothing particularly damning or hateful about his Jewish remark, but it does seem to perpetuate a stereotype, and I think we all know how those go over.
But, hey, at least there won't be an abundance of media people looking for stories in New York this weekend.
Major League Baseball has dropped the hammer on Reggie Jackson, both forbidding him from his perch inside the Yankees dugout the rest of the season as well as fining him $250 for taking the field during the Yankees-Rays melee last week. From the New York Post:
"I am going to call Bud (Selig) today," said Jackson, who explained he was on the field in the role of a peacemaker. "I called him (Saturday) and left a message. I was trying to make peace. I didn't have my number (44) on but I had the windbreaker that a lot of guys wear. (Don) Zimmer was on the field. He walked out; I jogged."
The fine is just dumb. I mean, $250? That's a lunch tab for Reggie. But as far as being banished, fair is fair and even a personal appeal to Selig won't change anything. What Jackson doesn't realize is he's not being given the boot so much as being reminded he was never supposed to be there in the first place. The Red Sox ran into this same problem a year ago when MLB told them they couldn't have legend Johnny Pesky hanging around the dugout, since the rules limit team personnel to just players, managers and six coaches.
Detroit Tigers Miguel Cabrera, right, and Maglio Ordonez stand around the batting cage during batting practice before spring training baseball action against the Cincinnati Reds in Sarasota, Fla., Monday, March 17, 2008. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
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Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland sits in the dugout during spring training action against the Cincinnati Reds in Sarasota, Fla., Monday, March 17, 2008. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
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Colorado Rockies' Willy Taveras, left, safely steals second base as San Francisco Giants shortstop Brian Bocock applies a late tag during the third inning of a spring training baseball game on Monday, March 17, 2008, in Tucson, Ariz. The Rockies won 4-2. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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Colorado Rockies' Jayson Nix rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the San Francisco Giants during the third inning of a spring training baseball game on Monday, March 17, 2008, in Tucson, Ariz. The Rockies won 4-2. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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San Francisco Giants' Randy Winn reacts after striking out against the Colorado Rockies during the third inning of a spring training baseball game on Monday, March 17, 2008, in Tucson, Ariz. The Rockies won 4-2. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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San Francisco Giants second baseman Eugenio Velez, left, of the Dominican Republic, tags out Colorado Rockies' Ryan Spilborghs during the second inning of a spring training baseball game on Monday, March 17, 2008, in Tucson, Ariz. The Rockies won 4-2. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Aaron Cook delivers a pitch against the San Francisco Giants during the first inning of a spring training baseball game on Monday, March 17, 2008, in Tucson, Ariz. The Rockies won 4-2. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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San Francisco Giants right fielder Randy Winn catches the ball hit by Colorado Rockies' Garrett Atkins during the second inning of a spring training baseball game on Monday, March 17, 2008, in Tucson, Ariz. The Rockies won 4-2. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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Oakland Athletics' Dan Johnson doubles off of Kansas City Royals' Brian Bannister in the second inning of a spring training baseball game in Phoenix on Monday, March 17, 2008. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
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Oakland Athletics' Emil Brown catches a fly ball hit by Kansas City Royals' Mark Teahen in the sixth inning of a spring training baseball game in Phoenix on Monday, March 17, 2008. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Xavier 68, Fordham 50 - After beating St. Bonaventure this week, Sean Miller wasn't happy with the way his team played defense. Yesterday, though, he had no reason to be upset. The Musketeers shut out the Rams for seven minutes and set a new low in points allowed on the season. Up six at the half, the X-men put the game away with a 16-4 run to start the second half. C.J. Anderson and B.J. Raymond combined for 11 of the points and Raymond led the team with 20 points overall. Bryant Dunston, Fordham's impressive big man, had 19 points and 11 rebounds but couldn't overcome a keyed up Musketeer defense.
Rhode Island 80, Duquesne 78 - The Rams narrowly avoided a second straight loss to start conference play thanks to Jimmy Baron's late heroics. Baron hit a fadeaway jumper with three seconds left to put the Rams up one after Reggie Jackson missed a big free throw. Jackson led the Dukes with 19 points while the Rams got another huge game from Will Daniels. He tied a season-high with 28 points and added 11 rebounds. Kahiem Seawright also had a big game for URI. He scored nine points, grabbed 10 caroms and blocked four shots.
Day one of the Atlantic 10's conference season was a good one. So good, in fact, that they didn't even let the start of league play stop them from knocking off another ACC school. Charlotte went into Clemson and whipped the Tigers 82-72 to even their record against the conference to 2-2 on the season. While that's a good thing for the A-10 and the Niners, it's a bad thing for those of us who wrote that Charlotte's inconsistency has made them a little disappointing this season. At least we saved ourselves by pointing out Leemire Goldwire's skills. He had 21 points and 10 rebounds to lead the upset.
On the league front, there was a dandy of an opener in Dayton where the #22 Flyers played host to #20 Rhode Island in a thriller. The Rams cut a 13-point Dayton lead to four with 90 seconds to play but Marcus Johnson nailed a three on the next trip downcourt and the home team escaped 92-83. Brian Roberts was also huge down the stretch for Dayton. Despite the full attention of the Ram defense that forced him into seven turnovers, Roberts scored nine points in the final two and a half minutes to keep his team in front.
That defense was a key for Rhode Island all night. They forced 18 turnovers overall but it came with a downside.
By playing the ninth hardest nonconference schedule in the country, Southern Illinois gave themselves a convenient excuse for starting the season 5-6. The reasoning was that losses to Indiana, Saint Mary's and Butler would steel them for MVC play where they would blow past less seasoned competition. It's not working out that way.
They needed everything they had to outlast Missouri State in the conference opener and then lost 61-51 at Drake last night. The loss dropped the Salukis to 1-4 on the road, they won 10 such games last season, and drops them to 1-1 in the MVC. The loss was a reversion to poor form for SIU. Joshua Bone, who finally started hitting some shot in the last two, was 2-for-10 and they shot 39% as a team. They also missed 7-of-13 free throws while their physical defense sent the Bulldogs to the line 30 times.
Josh Young led the way for 2-0 Drake with 24 points. Young spurred the winning rally in the second half when, up 47-43, he scored five points to open an 11-2 run. They're 11-1 overall with their lone blemish a road loss at Saint Mary's and could be poised for a big conference run.
As for SIU, it's hard to predict a complete turnaround at this point. They'd need to win 14 of their remaining 16 to reach 20 wins, so at-large bids are a fantasy, and they'll need to find some consistent backcourt play to make an honest challenge at the MVC crown.
NEW YORK -- There had to be close to 50 bodies pressed together in the corner of the Yankees' clubhouse, cameras bumping heads and notebooks battling microphones. The team has a perfectly spacious interview room around the corner, a nice podium where an athlete can stretch and pontificate without a bunch of sweaty reporters pushing close enough to see his nose hairs. 
URL-eponymous Dugout star 
ACC play has officially begun. In their first conference game of the season, the No. 1 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels were beaten by unranked Boston College, 85-78.
Major League Baseball has dropped the hammer on 
Xavier 68, Fordham 50
Day one of the Atlantic 10's conference season was a good one. So good, in fact, that they didn't even let the start of league play stop them from knocking off another ACC school. Charlotte went into Clemson and 
By playing the ninth hardest nonconference schedule in the country, Southern Illinois gave themselves a convenient excuse for starting the season 5-6. The reasoning was that losses to Indiana, Saint Mary's and Butler would steel them for MVC play where they would blow past less seasoned competition. It's not working out that way. 
