Entries from July 2003 ↓

Several websites are reporting this afternoon that the Gunners have agreed to personal terms with Borussia Dortmund keeper Jens Lehmann. Lehmann is currently Germany’s number two, second only to Chewbacca himself, Ollie Kahn.

Borussia Dortmund and AFC have not yet completed the transfer, but the numbers being thrown around (2,5 million GBPS) seem reasonable to me.

Lehmann helped Borussia Dortmund win the Bundesliga title in 2002. However, he is known to have a bit of a temper. In fact, he once got a yellow card for shoving his own teammate during the second half of a league match last season. It was his second booking of the night! What with AFC’s diciplinary record of the last few seasons, I’m sure Jens will fit in just fine.

The US Mens National Soccer Team put an amazing five goals past Cuba on Saturday afternoon to cruise to a 5-0 win in the quarter-finals of Gold Cup 2003. Landon Donovan scored four goals of his own, matching the mark set by Joe Max Moore in 1993 against El Salvador.

Next up for the US, Brazil in Miami this Wednesday. The US are on a roll, but they’ll need to conjure up something special to get past the reigning World Cup Champions.

East Rutherford, NJ 7/17/03

The Rising
Lonesome Day
Night
Candys Room
Prove It All Night
Empty Sky
You’re Missing
Waitin’ On A Sunny Day
Growin’ Up
Worlds Apart
Badlands
Out In The Street
Mary’s Place
Jungleland
Into The Fire
No Surrender
Thunder Road

Hungry Heart
Ramrod
Born To Run

My City Of Ruins
Land Of Hopes And Dreams
Rosalita
Dancing In The Dark

WHAT A SHOW!!!

Steve and I picked Josh up around 4 PM to begin the journey northward to Giants Stadium. The trip up the Turnpike was uneventful, and we reached exit 15 by 6 PM. We reached exit 16 by 7 PM. Yes, the traffic leading into the parking lots was brutal. We finally parked at around 7:30. Not wanting to let the beer we purchased four hours ago go to waste, we decided to have our dinner right there and then. We quickly gulped down our subs, and washed them down with some Flying Fish ESBs and Harpoon IPAs.

After our quick dinner, it was time to make the long walk over the pedestrian bridge that connects the Continental Airlines Arena lot with the Giants Stadium lot. As we reached the other end of the tunnel, a huge banner that was hanging on the side of the stadium, advertising the 10 shows Bruce and the band are playing here at Giants came into view.

Having floor seats, we needed to enter via Gate C. This gave us a chance to walk through the mock boardwalk that had been set up in the lots closest to the stadium. Everything you would expect to see on the Jersey Shore, sans water and sand, was there, including cotton candy vendors, dunking booths and a Ferris Wheel.

Being so close to show time, most of the vendors were closing up shop for the night. However, the dunking booth was still doing good business, due in large part to the slighty psychotic clown sitting in the tank. The clown would goad the men trying to dunk him, and after every quip laugh maniaclly, not unlike Jack Nicholson from the Shining. Wild stuff!

Upon finding Gate C, it was time for the requisite pat-down. Being deemed worthy of entry, the three of us proceeded down the ramp and through the tunnel. The opening strains of “The Rising” greeted us as we made our way onto the field. We may have purchased tickets for section 15, row 12, but we never sat there. Between the two rear-most sections there was a large open space. We made our way to the front of this space, right up to the barrier separating our sections from the more forward sections.

We had a blast! The view of the stage was excellent, and after a few moments, we got used to the echo that so haunts stadium shows, and soaked it all in. With the band playing hit after hit, the electricity in the crowd grew more and more intense. The energy coming from the stage was phenomenal.

At one point, in the middle of “Jungleland,” I looked around at the crowd, down at my $6.75 plastic bottle of Budweiser, and then up at the stage and thought to myself, “You can’t get much more American than this.”

Highlights -
Jungleland - serene
Thunder Road - my favorite Bruce song, played to perfection
Born To Run - well, duh
Rosalita - Josh had been wanting to hear this one all night, and when the band kicked into it, his face lit up like a little kid on Christmas morning.

Reports out of London yesterday revealed that two angry Islington residents have decided to plead their case to the European Court Of Human Rights. The residents argue that the club was not entirely honest regarding its’ financial situation, and as a result, the project should never have been approved in the first place.

AFC have released a statement, which can be seen on their site: Ashburton Grove Statement

It became official last night. Armando Benitez was traded by the Mets to the Yankees in exchange for right-handed pitchers Jason Anderson, Anderson Garcia and Ryan Bicondoa.

It has been confirmed by Yankee management that Benitez will indeed be the set up man for Mariano Rivera, pitching the eighth inning of games before turning things over to the closer.

Like I said yesterday, an intriguing project, but not when Boston and Toronto are breathing down the Yankees’s necks. Let’s hope Mel Stottlemyre can work some magic, and do so quickly.

According to reports seen on ESPN.com and other sites, the Mets and Yankees are in deep negotiations over a trade that would send closer Armando Benitez to the Yankees.

Apparently, the Yankees are willing to pay the rest of Benitez’s 3 million dollar salary for the remainder of the season, which means that the Mets will only be getting “B-level” prospects in return.

I’m not quite sure about this one. Benitez is a proven choke artist. However, an argument can be made that in being a set-up man for Mariano Rivera and not the closer, it could ease some of the pressure Benitez has been feeling, thus making him a more effective pitcher. It’s an interesting theory, but one I don’t relish putting into practice in the middle of a pennant race.