I think I want to try this...

This is from Sunday's New York Post article on Johan Santana.

He also keeps his old friends near. They gather at the house (in Venezuela) for card games and accompany him to his favorite hamburger stand, Huevos Hamburguesa, where he will order a heart-stopping stack of a beef patty, eggs, pork, bacon and chicken on a bun.

One question. No cheese?

Second and third periods

7:01 I didn't really think Scott Gomez would play for the Rangers tonight, but he is. I have to believe his ribs will hamper his ability to shoot and skate though. The Devils are really starting to control this game. The Rangers have not had a power play opportunity yet and the Devils are on their second. Brian Gionta had a good shot, but doinked it off the crossbar.

7:05 The Rangers power play will go to work now. After struggling so much over the last 20 games, it's time for them to convert... And they do! At 5:21 of the second, Gomez finds Brendan Shanahan, who goes to the front of the net and lifts the puck over Brodeur's shoulder. The PP works! Career goal #650 for Shanahan. 1-0 Rangers.

7:09 Lundqvist stones the Devils on a 2-on-1. 12:21 left.

7:16 Elias scores. 1-1.

7:29 Tight game, as usually happens when these two play each other. Of course, sopcast has crapped out on me so all I have is the radio... Backman sucks. Stop passing the puck into the middle. 2-1 New Jersey.

7:55 Wow, Backman gives the puck away to Parise leading to a Devils goal, and then early in the third, the Rangers score another power play goal! And who did it? Backman! Unbelievable. Gomez and Chris Drury with two power play assists apiece. And the energy is picking up. The Garden is alive. A little scuffling in front of the net...

8:06 Rangers on the PP again. 12 minutes left. Backman drew the penalty! No luck this time.

8:11 Back and forth both teams go. Eight minutes are left and I don't see this game ending in 60 minutes of regulation. And since I only have the radio, I can't see it either.

8:16 Oh man! Ryan Callahan, my favorite Ranger, gets stopped on a breakaway!

8:21 NIGEL! NIGEL! NIGEL! Dawes crashes into Brodeur and it was a close call, but he scores! After further review, it counts! Yes! 3:06 left. Play some defense Blueshirts!

8:27 1:44 left, Devils take a time out and the Rangers are looking to make it 7-0 against New Jersey this year. New Jersey does not score a lot of goals, the Rangers d has to show they can hold off an opponent in a big spot. Championship caliber teams will do this.

8:31 Game over! Rangers win 3-2 and tie New Jersey for fifth place in the East. Home and home against Pittsburgh this weekend.

Disgraceful move by the Mets

Well, I am home and it's snowing again. Right now, Rangers and Devils are scoreless in the first period. I have a few things on my mind. So I'm going to track the game as I type. And let me start with this. We are 4 days from Opening Day of the 2008 baseball season. And I am again, one disgusted Mets fan. They announced today they have placed Ruben Gotay on waivers. And from all indications, it's to open up a roster spot for veteran journeyman Fernando Tatis.

What do the Mets have against Gotay? He had so many clutch hits last year, batted .318 against righties, and gave energy to a team that always seemed to be going through the motions last year. He reminded me of what Melvin Mora or Timo Perez used to do. Clearly, they don't like Gotay's defense, they admit this. OK, so they don't like a 25 year old kid's defense, but they'll go ahead and re-sign 32-year-old Luis Castillo to a 4-year deal, who is coming off arthroscopic surgery on BOTH KNEES?! How mobile can we expect him to be now, let alone when he's 36?

"I thought I did a good job last year," Gotay told multiple news outlets this morning. "I didn't deserve this." Damn right Ruben, you didn't.

First period over, 0-0. Pretty even.

Now Omar has a history of signing "his guys." Sometimes it has worked well (Endy Chavez). But he had Tatis in Montreal five years ago, which I think was the last time Tatis was in the major leagues. And I also know Tatis is a confirmed steroid user, another kind of player Omar a has a history of signing (Guillermo Mota). The Mets need power off the bench, no doubt and they need someone who can hit left handed pitching. And if Gotay had to be traded to land Xavier Nady from Pittsburgh or Brandon Inge from Detroit, I'd understand. But I cannot understand how Omar can justify trading for a washed up 33 year old, who had one good season in 1999, when he was probably juicing.

Gonna be a long year, baby.

Easter 08

This Easter kind of snuck up on me, yet, I'm as excited about this one as I've been about this day in a few years. And I don't have any huge plans for Sunday. Now onto the life and times.

1) I was buying laundry detergent today. Now I mean this very seriously. What is the root of detergent? I mean there's deodorize, decompose, deconstruct. With those words, you get a feel of what the "de" is doing. Now thin about this word. De-terg-ent. What does that mean?

2) Willow Creek had an excellent service. The production and sets were much more laid back than in previous years and I appreciate that. There was certainly no loss in the impact. Bill Hybels discussed various icons such as God's love vs. human acceptance (something I can relate to), a grater purpose, the need for inner cleansing, and basic questions to life. It was one of the best messages I've heard him give.

3) Happy 20th birthday to Outback Steakhouse. I had the mixed grill of steak, scallops, and shrimp. It was excellent, but even after that, a grilled shrimp appetizer, salad, bread, rice, and spinach, I was still hungry. I'm sorry, but I could go for more than 2 shrimp, 2 scallops, and 4 oz of sirloin. Then again, I felt a little guilty when in church, they addressed hunger in the message.

4) My NCAA brackets blow this year. Am I about to watch UCLA and Pittsburgh lose?

5) Why do I have a brutal feeling about the fate of my Mets this year. I'm thinking 85 wins, 3rd place in the NL East. As great as the starting pitching is (when healthy!!!!), I just do not like our lineup.

6) Thank you God, that Scott Gomez is not seriously injured, and will not miss extensive playing time.

7) I just finished a bio on Frank Sinatra. OK read, but too many mafia stories for my liking. I would have liked to have read more about the music and the Rat Pack gang.

8) Now it's onto The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, best known for the Pink Panther movies. I'm only 20 pages into it and I already have a few huge issues. One, the author jumps around in the course of Sellers' life. He doesn't go in chronological order, he connects issues from Sellers' youth and adulthood from the start so it's hard to follow. Also, to understand this book, the reader has to watch almost every TV show and movie Sellers ever made. Worst of all, the author references himself way too often. For example, he writes "I concluded..." or "I cannot be convinced...". It's like he's trying to make himself the star of the book. I'm going to push through this, but this writer is not making easy.

Transition

One hour away from fantasy draft #2. And I'm alone at work, nothing really is going on tonight. So a few things.

1) Last week, a few of my friends and I started talking about dreams we'd been having. What they were, how vivid they were, what they mean. I'd never had that kind of conversation before. I always thought dreams were basically subconscious thoughts that didn't deserve that much attention. And last night, I had one of the scariest, most vivid, and realistic dreams of my life. I rarely remember my dreams, but I was actually convinced this one was real.

2) It's strange how the world seems just a little different when that extra daylight kicks in.

3) Earth to Warner Brothers! Please make some more Whose Line DVD sets!

4) The documentary section on "Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen" may be the best doc I have seen in some time.

5) One month ago, I thought Eliot Spitzer was the coolest politician I'd ever seen. How things change so suddenly. And does the entire front page of the New York Post really have to profile the whore he was with?

6) Lee Strobel just wrote a new book called "The Case for the Real Jesus." I'm very excited to check this one out.

7) What will happen first: the cost of gasoline dropping below $3.00 a gallon or the cost of a postage stamp dropping one cent?

8) I just tried the broccoli cheese soup from Original Soup Man. I never thought anyone could make that kind of soup as well as Popeye's in Lake Geneva. This comes darn close.

9) When I leave this night job in June, things will be very different. How, I don't know. I just hope I can find some way to make it good.

10) Let's Go Rangers!!!

Song pick: "No Such Thing" John Mayer

This blows