Keyboard Quarterbacks

By Mark La Monica

Yankee fans generally don't enjoy when the Mets win a baseball game or take a positive step toward the postseason.

Mets fans generally don't enjoy when the Yankees win a baseball game or take a positive step toward the postseason.

None of this is earth-shattering news that will revamp the way you eat breakfast each morning.

But for these three games between the Mets and Red Sox, Yankee fans should be thoroughly joyed upon hearing of a Mets victory. In fact, they should actively seek such an outcome. For, these Mets, already with a 12-game lead in the National League East, play a three-game series at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox, owners of a 2.5-game lead over the Yankees in the American League East.

Ultimately, the AL East will be won by the team that gains controlling interest in the remaining nine games between the Yankees and Red Sox. But there's no reason to root for Boston to keep its nine-game winning streak going if you’re a Yankee fan. Or a Met fan, for that matter.

It may seem blasphemous for a Yankee fan to openly favor the Mets to score more runs than their opponent, but they must think of the bigger picture. The Mets have already locked up the NL East, barring a Bostonian-like collapse, so they're playing in October regardless. 

The American League playoff picture is a bit muddier. With the Tigers and White Sox playing as well as they are, there's a good chance the AL East runner-up will be watching the postseason from the comforts of their million-dollar couches inside their multimillion-dollar homes.

It may only be the end of June and there may be three months left to play, but a loss is a loss and the more of them the Red Sox have, the better it is for the Yankees. Every starting position player for the Yankees has gotten hurt at some point this season and the pitching is still suspect.

After the Mets series, the Red Sox have 87 games left, 40 of which are against teams with winning records as of Monday night. Nine of those games are against the Yankees. The Yankees play 44 of their 88 remaining games against winning teams, including those same nine against the Red Sox.

The Yankees helped out the Mets last week by taking two of three against the Marlins and two of three against the Phillies. Of course, the Mets are running away with their division, but losses for their divisional rivals can't hurt.

So, Mets, take the series in Boston before coming down to Yankee Stadium for the weekend. You’ll receive a much warmer welcome in the Bronx if you do.

By Mark La Monica

Forget superlatives. Don’t waste your time with the dreaded cliché of Michael Jordan comparisons. Erase the “Look at me, I’m a cool writer” metaphors.

Dwyane Wade is just plain amazing.

He won the NBA Championship last night. By default of wearing matching uniforms, the other players on the Miami Heat won the NBA Championship, too. But this was all about D-Wade. His official coming-out party, just in case you didn’t already know that he’s among the five best players in the league.

We’ll let the Miami columnists and ESPN analysts do the rest of the fawning over Wade. Here are 12 other thoughts on the NBA Finals.

* “15 Strong”. Great motivational phrase. Gotta love Pat Riley.

* Speaking of Riles, he has the best gel job among championship-winning coaches, a list that includes gel wizard Geno Auriemma of UConn.

* On the drive home last night, God shot 60 percent from the field on the ESPN Radio postgame interviews. Wade, Alonzo Mourning and Udonis Haslem all thanked God for their victory. Shaq and Gary Payton did not. Only Mourning, a kidney transplant success story, should be allowed to do that.

* South Beach is going get a little crazy in the next few days. Crazier than anything seen in "Any Given Sunday."

*  That Miami afternoon on July 20, 2004 day, in between pulling up in a Shaq Diesel truck, using a supersoaker on the crowd and threatening to walk naked on the beach, Shaquille O’Neal promised to deliver a championship to the city. Every big-name free agent makes that proclamation. Very few actually do it.

*  Gonna miss Avery Johnson. Great coach. Great speaker. Great voice.

*  After watching a fourth postgame interview with Pat Riley, one thing remains clear: He was definitely the visual inspiration for Don Flamenco of Mike Tyson’s Punch Out.

* First person to email me a link to a story about fans being arrested in South Beach for dumb celebratory mischief wins a prize.

* Riley told everyone before the game that he only brought one suit and one tie to Dallas. In a word, cajones

*  Mourning sat down at the microphone in the press room at 12:57 a.m. EST carrying a bottle of champagne. “We’re not doin’ any Moet commercials,” he said as he raised the bottle for people to see. “So, I’m a put this under here.”
* At the parade in Miami, will Shaq reprise the “Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan youuuuuuuuuuuu dig it?” phrase he invented during the Lakers’ parades.

* What do you think Kobe Bryant is doing today?

By Mark La Monica

Thanks, Dad.

For that night you brought home my first Little League jersey when I was 7 years old. It was a blue No. 8 jersey, which by the way, is still in your attic somewhere. I never forgot that day. It started my love of sports.

For that Saturday a few days later when you took me to Herman's Sporting Goods at Roosevelt Field to buy a new baseball glove. A Ron Guidry signature lefty mitt that was bigger than my head at the time. (By the way, that glove is likely in your basement, somewhere at the bottom of the toy chest you built for us.)

For teaching me how to pitch. For putting those garbage cans in harm's way so I could simulate seeing the plate with an actual batter there. Sure, the mound at the end of the driveway was flat and I was pitching slightly uphill, but that's what makes me smile when I think about those days. (And sorry to Mom for drilling the side door with a few, um, non-strikes. I like to think of them as nasty Mariano Rivera-esque cutters, but the truth is I had John Rocker control back then.)

For coaching me in Little League, Summer League, Babe Ruth and Senior League.

For making me the No. 1 draft pick in Little League when I was 12. That was pretty cool.

For all those NERF toys each Christmas, which led to all those indoor soccer and floor hockey games after dinner in the basement.

For the basketball hoop and teaching me "The Move" and all those games to 3. (By the way, "The Move" still works after all these years. Except, I never actually hit the shot because when I see the defender go for the fake, I just start laughing.)

For driving me to all the baseball games, soccer games, football games, hockey games, CYO basketball games and the second round of the Knights of Columbus free-throw shooting contest.

For coaching my 0-4 flag football team that one week when the other coaches couldn't be there and making us a 1-4 flag football team.

For giving our indoor soccer team some advice and direction that one season when we had no coach. You knew nothing about soccer. We knew even less. Somehow, your "Just kick the ball and hope it goes in" strategy worked. In life, as much in soccer.

For being there to see my one and only soccer goal in the Great Neck tournament when I was a little kid.

For not getting mad when we spray painted a foul line on the street for Wiffle Ball.

For always managing to find a way to get good seats to Yankee games on my birthday.

For helping Christian and I collect the Dellwood coupons for free Yankee tickets.

For your theory that baseball cards are constantly changing until we actually open the pack.

For Wall Ball and Roof Ball, the two greatest backyard pool games ever invented.

For the duct tape strike zone on the back fence. No umpire in their right mind would have that big a strike zone, but it did wonders for my confidence.

For the ski lesson when I was 16. "To turn, put all your weight on one foot," you said. "Some people say put all your weight on one foot to turn; Well, lift up one leg, are you turning?" the instructor said.  What did he know?

For the set of King Cobra golf clubs when I graduated from college. Sure, they were your old set and that allowed you to buy a new set for yourself. Come to think of it, you should thank me for that one.

For the Big Bertha driver you gave me as a birthday gift in Las Vegas a few years ago . . . and for laughing instead of yelling when I shattered your 8-iron teeing off in the 117-degree heat, a few holes after destroying your 6-iron in the 117-degree heat.

For rolling the ball back to me during the 1998 Father-Son World Series in Arizona with a runner on second base just like we were back in the front yard. Every other curveball you called for after that was thrown where you wanted it.

For letting me go behind the plate to catch for you in the last three innings of that game after you caught me for the first six. I got the win, you got the save and we caught for one another. Neither you nor I were ever catchers. Best day of my sports career.

For everything.

Thanks, Dad.

By Mark La Monica

Some thoughts a few days into the 2006 FIFA World Cup:

* It always amazes me how a 3-0 score is only considered a thorough drubbing in soccer.

* I wish I was on Little Brazil Street in Manhattan (46th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue) on Tuesday afternoon when Brazil played Croatia. If you've never been over there during a World Cup, go! It's a great scene and if you can't have fun there, turn in your personality.

* Soccer is widely unappreciated in America, which is somewhat of a shame. It can be a very interesting sport once you remove all the hooliganism and the fake dives  and then study the geometry of the game. How many other sports feature the science of going backwards as a viable strategy toward victory?

* I paused for a few moments of silence at the start of the Italy-Ghana game in honor of Paolo Maldini, my second favorite soccer player of all time. He retired from international play following  the 2002 World Cup.

* I'm fairly excited to still proudly own the back cover from a 1994 Newsday celebrating Roberto Baggio's two late goals as Italy beat Nigeria in the USA '94. The headline: Italian Hero. Nice!

* Valentin Ivanov may be the most clueless referee in World Cup history. How is it possible that he missed that handball in the box during the France-Switzerland match? Let's see. The ball is sailing through the air and has clearly passed the defender's body. All of a sudden, the ball darts to the ground as the defender's arm is extended behind him. C'mon, guy? That's just plain awful. I was watching at the gym about 20 feet away from the television and saw it happen? And this guy was right there. Just plain awful, perhaps even worse than the dives players fake to draw fouls.

* Nike's U.S. soccer marketing slogan coming into the World Cup:  "The world no longer wants to play us." Oopsies. It would appear Croatia had no problem playing Team USA. Perhaps a new billboard and slogan is needed. A suggestion: "Oh yeah? Well, our football is better than your football!"

By Mark La Monica

Way up there in Section 8, Row M of the upper deck at Shea Stadium, the sound of the bat left no room for debate. Lastings Milledge just crushed a home run off Armando Benitez to tie the score at 6 in the bottom of the 10th inning.

Those around me rocket-blasted out of their seats, enraptured by the majestic blast and the fact the Mets had just tied it up. I think seven or eight people pulled their hamstrings from the self-catapulting.

Me, I slowly stood and clapped in appreciation of a young talent fulfilling his promise.

As Milledge, the Mets rookie with five games of major-league experience and three years of major-league hype, went out to his position in right field to start the 11th inning, he high-fived a bunch of fans in the front row along the right-field line. It was a great moment to watch. Boss friend Lil Jon pointed it out as he watched the events unfold through half-impressed, half-shocked eyes.

My first thought: That is awesome. (I like my athletes to be a little brash and shocking, especially when they've done something exciting for the fans and not something worthy of 30 seconds on "Celebrity Justice.")

My second thought: Oh, boy, someone is going to have a problem with that.

Predictably, it was Mets manager Willie Randolph. "It won't happen again," Randolph was quoted in Monday's newspapers.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure a few of us will have some conversations with the kid," Cliff Floyd told MLB.com.

Those conversations will probably center on respecting the game and such actions having consequences for himself or his teammates. Don't listen too intently, Lastings.

Respecting the game is an important concept and no one wants to do things that could adversely affect a teammate (well, maybe Barry Bonds' teammates are the exception).

But is high-fiving fans after a game-tying home run any different than taking a curtain call? It's the same fans acknowledging on-field heroics. When Milledge went out to his positions, fans were still chanting his name.

Is high-fiving fans after a game-tying home run any different than staring at the ball from the plate or doing something noticeable as you trot around the bases? Yes it is, provided you believe in the arcane "unwritten rules of baseball." A pitcher -- 104 percent of the time it's the same person who served up the blast -- views that as being shown up. Hey guess what, pitcher? Some 40,000 people already know what you did, so what's one more?

Randolph has a job to do and that is to manage his team, so he has to take some kind of stand to keep the clubhouse on an even keel. A veteran may not be happy with the rookie's display of exhuberance.

That's the veteran's problem!

Let Lastings Milledge be Lastings Milledge.

He's 21. In the major leagues. In New York. Living the dream he spent a life dreaming about. He just hit his first career home run. It tied the score in extra innings. It came off Giants closer Armando Benitez, an ex-Met and perpetual big-save-blower.

Those fans will remember that moment for the rest of their lives. And this is a fan's game anyway. Isn't that what the athletes always say anyway? Milledge just gave those Mets fans another reason to love their team and come back to Shea Stadium, pay $13 to park, buy concessions and souvenirs and make sure those big-salaried players remained big-salaried players.

Milledge has already tucked in the extra-large cross he wears on a lengthy necklace. That's an acceptable move, seeing how loose jewelry could cause an injury.

But there's no reason to put an electric-shock leash collar around Milledge's personal expression. Let the kid play freely. He's part of something here in New York, a renewed sense of hope and excitement for Mets fans.

True, there's no guarantee Milledge even will be in the big leagues once Xavier Nady returns from the 15-day DL after his emergency appendectomy, but he is an exciting player on an exciting team in an exciting city.  Let him enjoy his moments when they come.  If it gets way out of hand, then deal with it.

In the meantime, let Lastings Milledge be Lastings Milledge.

By Mark La Monica

Third-and-5. Wayne Chrebet catches a 6-yard pass and gets the first down. Fitting end to an admirable and improbable 11 years in the NFL.

By Mark La Monica

In the ever-expanding world  of merging and meshing and fusing different cultures and genres into one, we present the clashing of film, books and sports.

We present Frank Vincent the actor, the author, the sports fan.

A few days before the airing of the final episode of "The Sopranos" until early 2007, we sat down with Vincent for an e-mail interview with topics ranging from Johnny Sack to Jennifer Aniston to Derek Jeter.

ML: Now that Johnny Sack is away in jail for the next 15 years and you are the acting boss of the New York family on “The Sopranos,” will we get to see Phil Leotardo rise to prominence on the show?

FV: Well, what happens to Phil Leotardo is always a surprise to me, as it is for every other character on “The Sopranos.”  The writers develop the storylines as they go along.  I guess the interaction between Phil and Vito was what most people expected.  What’s next?  My guess is as good as yours.       

ML: You’ve been in the industry close to 30 years, and before acting, there was your music career. How much has being on “The Sopranos” during the past two seasons increased your notoriety to the average person on the street?

FV: “The Sopranos” is undoubtedly one of the most popular shows, not just in the United States, but the entire world.  I have messages on my website www.frankvincent.com from “Sopranos” fans in England, Germany, Sweden, Ireland, and many more countries.  But, I would have to say the role I am most known for is Billy Batts from “Goodfellas.”  In fact, I sell Billy Batts “Go home and get your shinebox!” T-shirts on my website and the fans have been buying them like crazy.    

ML: Outside of “Go home and get your shinebox!” – one of the best insults you can ever dish out to someone – what other lines do people say when they meet you on the street or in a restaurant?

FV: “Clean, no marks,” from “Raging Bull.”  “Smarten-up,” from “Casino.”  Jeez, there are far too many to list.

ML: The majority of your roles have been as a gangster, from your part credited as “Mobster Dressed in Trenchcoat” in “Easy Money” – great movie, by the way – to your most well-known role as Billy Batts in “Goodfellas.”  Is it a good thing or a bad thing to be typecast?

FV: Well, I have acted in numerous movies outside the mob genre.  I played Aristotle Onassis in the Bette Midler-starring film “Isn’t She Great.”  I played a police chief in “Copland.”  I played a racist Italian-American father to Annabella Sciorra’s character in Spike Lee’s, “Jungle Fever.”  But, casting agents and directors know me from the many tough guy/mob roles I’ve played and continue to send me those kinds of scripts.  Hey, if it’s a well-written script, mob part or not, I don’t turn it down.  Got to pay the bills, right?

ML: You’ve got the gangster image down pat on film. Do you even have to read for these parts anymore or do people in the business just say, “Go get me Frank Vincent”?

FV: They usually say, “Go get me Frank Vincent.”

ML: What is your favorite role and why?

FV: How could it not be “Goodfellas?”  The Billy Batts scene was hands down the most important three minutes of my film career.

ML: You recently wrote a book entitled “A Guy’s Guide to Being a Man’s Man.”  What made you decide to write it?

FV: I had wanted to write a book for quite some time.  I got together with my co-author Steven Priggé and we spoke about my career and the roles I’ve played on-screen.  A lot of the tough guy characters I portrayed certainly had a man’s man aura to them.  Then, we met over lunch at Goodfellas restaurant in Garfield, New Jersey, and talked about the whole man’s man concept for a book.  As we were both leaving the restaurant a fan driving by in a van opened his window and yelled, “Frank Vincent you’re the man!”  We took it as a sign and started writing the next day. 

“A Guy’s Guide to Being a Man’s Man” is humorous and informative.  We have chapters on dating, music, movies, grooming, cigars, Vegas, and much more. James Gandolfini even wrote the foreword.  The book has been selling extremely well.  We are very excited about it.

ML: Describe a man’s man.

FV: A man’s man has honor, loyalty, humor, respect, character and strength.  A man’s man also has the ability to be vulnerable, which, by the way, is very appealing to women.  A man’s man is not just a fighter, he’s a lover, too!

ML: “She’s the One” is one of, if not the best man’s man chick flick of all time. Did you anticipate that when signing on to play Jennifer Aniston’s dad, or did you just want the chance to charm Jennifer Aniston in between takes?

FV: The director/writer Ed Burns cast me in the film.  He is a very talented filmmaker and it was a pleasure to act in “She’s the One.”  Having Jennifer Aniston play my daughter in the movie was definitely a nice bonus.  She’s a beautiful and talented actress.

ML: What sort of sports does a man’s man watch and/or play?

FV: A man’s man watches and/or plays baseball, basketball, football, tennis, hockey, golf, NASCAR, etc.  The Olympics are extremely manly as well.  Especially watching the women figure skating competition – Madone!

ML: There exists a concept that sports equals manliness. Is there a sport that a man’s man simply is not allowed to play, watch or follow?

FV: No, most sports are manly.  But, synchronized swimming might be suspect.

ML: What if you can bet on a sport, does that make a difference?

FV: Yeah.  Only if you win, then it could make a difference.

ML: Is being a sports fan or just an athletic person a requirement for being a man’s man?

FV: Well, a man’s man definitely exercises and playing sports is a great way to do that.  Hey, if you don’t work out, how are you going to look nice for all the beautiful ladies on the beach?   

ML: What sports teams did you grow up rooting for?

FV: I grew up rooting for the New York Yankees.  Whenever my father took me to Yankee Stadium as a young boy, it was a real treat.  Seeing the ultimate man’s man ballplayer, Mickey Mantle, play in person always took my breath away. 

ML: Who are some athletes today that embody being a man’s man?

FV: Some men’s men playing on our local teams are Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Tiki Barber, Eli Manning, Jason Kidd, and Vince Carter.  I would also like to point out that Mets manager Willie Randolph has done a man’s man job of turning around that team.  Beyond our local teams some men’s men athletes that I enjoy watching are LeBron James, Steve Nash, Oscar De La Hoya, Tiger Woods, and Andre Agassi. 

ML: What about female athletes? Is it possible for a female athlete to embody the concept of a man’s man and still retain their femininity?

FV: Absolutely.  Look at race car driver Danica Patrick.  She’s not only extremely beautiful, but she’s also a phenomenal and gutsy driver.  In fact, Danica is the first woman ever to lead a lap in the Indy 500.  Not only can she burn rubber, she can break hearts.   

ML: One last question, Frank. C’mon, you feel strong?

FV: Always, pal.  Now, go home and get your shinebox!

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