Another good column from the NY Daily News by Mike Lupica:
By George,
are Yanks worth it?
Saturday, October 25th, 2003
We find out now, once and for all, if the Yankees are worth the money.
George Steinbrenner paid more than $180 million for this Yankee team. His payroll is three times bigger than the one belonging to the Florida Marlins. Only now, the bargain-basement Marlins are up three games to two in the World Series. Starting tonight at Yankee Stadium, we find out if all Steinbrenner's money can buy him two more wins.
The Marlins go up against Andy Pettitte tonight in Game 6. If they can't beat Pettitte, they go up against Mike Mussina in Game 7. They go up against class pitchers like that, against the most expensive sports team in history, against the full force of the Stadium.
The Marlins go up against all that looking to get a game.
Once, when Joe Torre's Yankees were winning three World Series in a row, it would have been the hardest game in the world to get. Even after the Red Sox series, we're still not so sure about this Yankee team. There are still plenty of players who know how to win it all, Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams, Pettitte and Jorge Posada and Mo Rivera. There are plenty more who have never won anything. Here is their chance, the chance of a baseball lifetime, to come off the ropes and win the last two games of the World Series. And do it here.
Starting tonight, we find out if these Yankees have it in them to come all the way back against the Marlins, if they have the baseball talent and character to get the job done when they are up against it this way.
This is the World Series, and around here that has always been the only game in town.
"If you're going to be a Yankee," Reggie Jackson said the other night in Florida, "now is the time."
In the old days, Reggie would stand at the batting cage before the biggest games and say, "Well, tonight we're going to find out how much of that Mr. October stuff is true."
He didn't exactly use the word "stuff."
But he would usually go out that night and hit one over the wall and make you believe there was a magic about him at this time of year, about the uniform, about the place, about all those ghosts Jeter is always talking about.
Much will be expected of Jeter tonight, because much is always expected of him. And Pettitte. And Williams, who has his swing back.
An awful lot will be expected from Jason Giambi, who sat down at the start of Game 5 because he said his knee was too sore for him to play first base, even though he did manage to come off the bench and hit a home run after the game was already lost.
If Giambi is ever going to be a great Yankee, to make a Reggie swing when everything is on the line, now is the time. Mickey Mantle was his hero? How were The Mick's knees at this time of year?
The Yankees have outspent the Marlins by $130 million. The last few years, this insane spending bought them Giambi, Mussina, Hideki Matsui, Jose Contreras and almost as many relief pitchers as there are New York City cops. The money was supposed to buy Steinbrenner another World Series championship, put him back on top.
Now it all rides on this one game tonight. Now Steinbrenner would pay anything for one more game tomorrow night.
"I'd rather be up 3-2 than down 3-2," Joe Torre said, "but I feel good about who we have pitching."
His team tries to come back from that home run Jeff Weaver gave up to Alex Gonzalez in the 12th inning of Game 4, the one that turned the Series around. If the Yankees end up losing to the Marlins, pitching Weaver in that situation is a decision that will haunt Torre all across a baseball winter that would be as cold as any the Yankees have ever known.
Torre's Yankees try to come back from Aaron Boone not being able to get a ball to the outfield in the top of the 11th, Game 4. There was one out, the bases were loaded, it seemed like the Series was out there on the bases in front of Boone, hero of the Red Sox series. He struck out. The Marlins got out of the inning. Gonzalez took Weaver out of the park in the 12th, the Marlins won the next night, here we are.
Giambi tries to come back from the pictures of him sitting in the dugout next to Torre in Game 5 of a 2-2 World Series. Alfonso Soriano tries again to be the flashy kid with the fastest hands around. All Torre's Yankees try to do this against as tough an opponent as they have ever faced at this time of year.
The Marlins come to the Stadium looking to get the one game the Giants couldn't get off the Angels last year, the Yankees couldn't get off the Diamondbacks the year before. The Yankees? They are officially asked to earn all the money. Reggie's right. If you're going to be a Yankee, now is the time.
Saturday, October 25, 2003
Thursday, October 23, 2003
From Ananova News:
Priest sacked and church destroyed over gay wedding row
A priest has been sacked, his church bulldozed and the wreckage burnt after he allowed the building to be used for a gay marriage last month.
Church officials in Nizhni Novgorod, west Russia, said that the chapel in which the men were married had been destroyed because the marriage ceremony had "desecrated" it.
Father Andriy, spokesman for the Nizhni Novgorod eparchy told the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper: "Father Vladimir Enert, who married the gay couple, committed a sin in doing so. He desecrated the place. We therefore needed to destroy the chapel."
He added that Vladmir Enert had been defrocked by Russian Orthodox Church officials.
The marriage of Dennis Gogolev and Michail Borozov in early September caused outrage among many Russian Orthodox Christians.
Gogolev had first approached Father Enert to arrange a marriage ceremony but told him he wanted to keep his bride's identity secret till the last minute because her parents did not agree with their wedding.
But he arrived at the ceremony with his boyfriend, Borozov, and asked the priest to go ahead with the wedding service.
Father Enert reportedly married the couple, despite initially protesting that he had been expecting Gogolev to arrive with a woman.
Priest sacked and church destroyed over gay wedding row
A priest has been sacked, his church bulldozed and the wreckage burnt after he allowed the building to be used for a gay marriage last month.
Church officials in Nizhni Novgorod, west Russia, said that the chapel in which the men were married had been destroyed because the marriage ceremony had "desecrated" it.
Father Andriy, spokesman for the Nizhni Novgorod eparchy told the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper: "Father Vladimir Enert, who married the gay couple, committed a sin in doing so. He desecrated the place. We therefore needed to destroy the chapel."
He added that Vladmir Enert had been defrocked by Russian Orthodox Church officials.
The marriage of Dennis Gogolev and Michail Borozov in early September caused outrage among many Russian Orthodox Christians.
Gogolev had first approached Father Enert to arrange a marriage ceremony but told him he wanted to keep his bride's identity secret till the last minute because her parents did not agree with their wedding.
But he arrived at the ceremony with his boyfriend, Borozov, and asked the priest to go ahead with the wedding service.
Father Enert reportedly married the couple, despite initially protesting that he had been expecting Gogolev to arrive with a woman.
Excellent Ann Coulter column today:
Bush Official Caught In Church Dragnet
October 22, 2003
IN AN EMERGING scandal, NBC News has produced tapes proving beyond deniability that the new deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence is ... a Christian. Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin has been captured on a series of grainy tapes, attesting to his faith at churches and prayer breakfasts. Having driven the Judeo-Christian value system out of the public square, the classrooms and the Alabama Supreme Court, liberals now want to drive it out of church.
In one "inflammatory" remark, Boykin said that the enemy was not Osama bin Laden or Saddam Hussein, but "is a spiritual enemy. He's called the principality of darkness. The enemy is a guy called Satan."
Islamic leaders in the United States instantly denounced Boykin's unflattering characterization of bin Laden and Hussein as an attack on Islam. They haven't been this huffy since describing bin Laden as "not a true Muslim" and Hussein as a "secularist." If our enemies aren't "true Muslims," why are the "true Muslims" always so offended on their behalf?
James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, has called for Boykin to be fired. After the 9-11 attacks, Zogby said: "Regardless of who is ultimately found to be responsible for these terrorist murders, no ethnic or religious community should be treated as suspect and collectively blamed." But apparently they are collectively offended. They might want to think through the implications of that. If we have to apologize for the general, then maybe they should apologize for 9-11.
Zogby made the curious argument that Boykin is "unfit for the position" because he has "become a weapon our enemies will use against us." On Fox News' "Hannity and Colmes," a Clinton administration official made the same inane point, saying Boykin's remarks "could be used as a recruitment video for Osama bin Laden." I love the idea of moderate Arabs carefully poring over American newspapers before deciding whether or not to join al-Qaida.
In fact, an Arab-American was quoted in the Boston Globe saying Boykin's remarks "made most people in our community think the Bush administration is racist." That's interesting. The deputy undersecretary of defense calls Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein evil – and all those patriotic Arabs we keep hearing about are lost to Bush forever! Osama supporters are now moving decisively to the Dean camp.
In another talk, Gen. Boykin recalled seeing a Somalian warlord on television laughing at Americans and saying they would never capture him because his God, Allah, would protect him. Boykin said: "Well, you know what? I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God, and his was an idol."
A reporter for the Los Angeles Times claimed that Boykin referred to the God of Islam as "an idol." The reporter, of course, was committing a hate crime by assuming that fascist warlords trying to kill Americans are practicing "true Islam." As we have repeatedly been assured, they are not. Apparently, what Boykin should have said is: "Well, you know what? I knew that his remark was a violation of separation of church and state!"
In any event, I guess we've come a long way from calling our enemies "nips" and "krauts." Now we can't even say they're idolaters. When referring to people trying to kill Americans, how about we pull only from the list of names liberals use every day of the week for George Bush, Dick Cheney, John Ashcroft and Gen. Boykin?
Boykin also said the terrorists are "after us because we're a Christian nation." This is just silly. As Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad recently indicated in his speech before the Islamic Summit Conference, they are after us because we are a Jewish nation.
Last week Democratic presidential candidates speaking to an Arab-American conference were tripping over one another for the Osama-is-not-Satan vote by demanding Boykin's resignation. These characters are terrific at figuring how to fire anyone in the Bush administration except Norman Mineta. How about we trade in Mineta for the 20-year-old kid who managed to place boxcutters, bleach and molding clay on four airplanes? If only he had put them in his shoes! Then Norman Mineta would have caught him.
Sen. Kerry said Boykin's remarks were "un-American." The only people you can't call un-American are the ones burning the American flag or demanding an apology from a man who called Osama bin Laden satanic.
Howard Dean said the American flag "does not belong to Gen. Boykin," it belongs to all Americans. Could someone rustle up a liberal who actually owns a flag?
In the most pathetic case of pandering in recorded history, Sen. Joe Lieberman called for Boykin's resignation before the group, but still got booed. Lieberman said "the war on terror is a war on terrorists, not religion." Who is Lieberman standing up for here? Is he upset because Boykin compared the terrorists to Satan or Satan to the terrorists?
Boykin is a highly decorated officer who has participated in nearly every major military operation for the past 25 years – from Jimmy Carter's failed attempt to rescue hostages in Iran, to Reagan's successful invasion of Grenada, to Clinton's disastrous "Black Hawk Down" episode in Somalia. (Say, anyone notice a pattern?) No one has questioned the general's job qualifications. Liberals want him fired because he spoke in a church. If Gen. Boykin had been caught giving talks to NAMBLA instead of church groups, Democrats would be hailing him as a patriot for exercising his First Amendment rights.
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., demanded that Boykin be reprimanded or reassigned, saying his views were "extreme," "closed-minded" and "zealous." We should be more open-minded toward people trying to kill us.
Rev. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, said Boykin's remarks "fly in the face of the pleas of the president and violate the basic principles of tolerance and inclusion that are implicit in the culture of this nation." Uh-oh. If liberals don't like what Boykin said about the terrorists, wait until they find out about the MOAB bombs the U.S. military has been dropping on them.
Bush Official Caught In Church Dragnet
October 22, 2003
IN AN EMERGING scandal, NBC News has produced tapes proving beyond deniability that the new deputy undersecretary of defense for intelligence is ... a Christian. Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin has been captured on a series of grainy tapes, attesting to his faith at churches and prayer breakfasts. Having driven the Judeo-Christian value system out of the public square, the classrooms and the Alabama Supreme Court, liberals now want to drive it out of church.
In one "inflammatory" remark, Boykin said that the enemy was not Osama bin Laden or Saddam Hussein, but "is a spiritual enemy. He's called the principality of darkness. The enemy is a guy called Satan."
Islamic leaders in the United States instantly denounced Boykin's unflattering characterization of bin Laden and Hussein as an attack on Islam. They haven't been this huffy since describing bin Laden as "not a true Muslim" and Hussein as a "secularist." If our enemies aren't "true Muslims," why are the "true Muslims" always so offended on their behalf?
James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, has called for Boykin to be fired. After the 9-11 attacks, Zogby said: "Regardless of who is ultimately found to be responsible for these terrorist murders, no ethnic or religious community should be treated as suspect and collectively blamed." But apparently they are collectively offended. They might want to think through the implications of that. If we have to apologize for the general, then maybe they should apologize for 9-11.
Zogby made the curious argument that Boykin is "unfit for the position" because he has "become a weapon our enemies will use against us." On Fox News' "Hannity and Colmes," a Clinton administration official made the same inane point, saying Boykin's remarks "could be used as a recruitment video for Osama bin Laden." I love the idea of moderate Arabs carefully poring over American newspapers before deciding whether or not to join al-Qaida.
In fact, an Arab-American was quoted in the Boston Globe saying Boykin's remarks "made most people in our community think the Bush administration is racist." That's interesting. The deputy undersecretary of defense calls Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein evil – and all those patriotic Arabs we keep hearing about are lost to Bush forever! Osama supporters are now moving decisively to the Dean camp.
In another talk, Gen. Boykin recalled seeing a Somalian warlord on television laughing at Americans and saying they would never capture him because his God, Allah, would protect him. Boykin said: "Well, you know what? I knew that my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God, and his was an idol."
A reporter for the Los Angeles Times claimed that Boykin referred to the God of Islam as "an idol." The reporter, of course, was committing a hate crime by assuming that fascist warlords trying to kill Americans are practicing "true Islam." As we have repeatedly been assured, they are not. Apparently, what Boykin should have said is: "Well, you know what? I knew that his remark was a violation of separation of church and state!"
In any event, I guess we've come a long way from calling our enemies "nips" and "krauts." Now we can't even say they're idolaters. When referring to people trying to kill Americans, how about we pull only from the list of names liberals use every day of the week for George Bush, Dick Cheney, John Ashcroft and Gen. Boykin?
Boykin also said the terrorists are "after us because we're a Christian nation." This is just silly. As Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad recently indicated in his speech before the Islamic Summit Conference, they are after us because we are a Jewish nation.
Last week Democratic presidential candidates speaking to an Arab-American conference were tripping over one another for the Osama-is-not-Satan vote by demanding Boykin's resignation. These characters are terrific at figuring how to fire anyone in the Bush administration except Norman Mineta. How about we trade in Mineta for the 20-year-old kid who managed to place boxcutters, bleach and molding clay on four airplanes? If only he had put them in his shoes! Then Norman Mineta would have caught him.
Sen. Kerry said Boykin's remarks were "un-American." The only people you can't call un-American are the ones burning the American flag or demanding an apology from a man who called Osama bin Laden satanic.
Howard Dean said the American flag "does not belong to Gen. Boykin," it belongs to all Americans. Could someone rustle up a liberal who actually owns a flag?
In the most pathetic case of pandering in recorded history, Sen. Joe Lieberman called for Boykin's resignation before the group, but still got booed. Lieberman said "the war on terror is a war on terrorists, not religion." Who is Lieberman standing up for here? Is he upset because Boykin compared the terrorists to Satan or Satan to the terrorists?
Boykin is a highly decorated officer who has participated in nearly every major military operation for the past 25 years – from Jimmy Carter's failed attempt to rescue hostages in Iran, to Reagan's successful invasion of Grenada, to Clinton's disastrous "Black Hawk Down" episode in Somalia. (Say, anyone notice a pattern?) No one has questioned the general's job qualifications. Liberals want him fired because he spoke in a church. If Gen. Boykin had been caught giving talks to NAMBLA instead of church groups, Democrats would be hailing him as a patriot for exercising his First Amendment rights.
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., demanded that Boykin be reprimanded or reassigned, saying his views were "extreme," "closed-minded" and "zealous." We should be more open-minded toward people trying to kill us.
Rev. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance, said Boykin's remarks "fly in the face of the pleas of the president and violate the basic principles of tolerance and inclusion that are implicit in the culture of this nation." Uh-oh. If liberals don't like what Boykin said about the terrorists, wait until they find out about the MOAB bombs the U.S. military has been dropping on them.
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