National - Friday, October 30, 2009 10:30 - 1 Comment
World Series is a Dead Heat, but the Yankees Win at Congress
Game 2 of the World Series was last night, and it was a pretty solid night for the Yanks. Not only did they rebound from the near-blowout of Game 1, but Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performed “Empire State of Mind” in the stadium (see above). And on top of that, OpenSecrets is reporting that in the war of campaign contributions, they’re beating the Phillies handily.
Since its inception during the 2002 election cycle, the Major League Baseball Commissioner’s Office Political Action Committee has donated about two-and-a-half times as much money to federal candidates from New York ($51,136) than to those from Pennsylvania ($22,000), CRP has found.
In all, Major League Baseball has contributed money to 14 New York politicos versus six from Pennsylvania. Such donations are part of a broader political influence effort by the baseball commissioner’s office that this decade has featured hundreds of individual campaign contributions to federal candidates and committees. It’s also included more than $9 million in federal lobbying expenditures intended to affect issues ranging from copyright law to broadcast rights to immigration.
City - Wednesday, October 28, 2009 10:00 - 4 Comments
Watch the World Series Like a Real Sports Fan
The 2009 MLB World Series begins tonight and, in case you haven’t read a sports section lately (you’re not alone), the local New York Yankees will be facing the somewhat local Philadelphia Phillies. If you’re not already, now is a great time to start getting into baseball. Not only could you impress your dad with your new sports IQ, but this Fall Classic also seems destined to be especially epic.
Of course, we know that fellow NYU students don’t exactly hang out at the ESPN Zone. But if you plan on visiting a sports bar sometime or on talking to any of your masculine friends at all, here’s some Cliff Notes on this World Series, sufficient enough to carry a conversation. Be forewarned, you might need a few shots before you start discussing batting averages:
- The World Series is a seven game series. The first team to win four games wins the championship. Got it? Okay.
- The Yankees are huge favorites to win. The Yankees’ current payroll is over $200 million, by far the highest in American sports, and they play like it. For the second half of the season, the Yankees were unambiguously the best club in baseball. Key offseason pickups last winter — pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, first baseman Mark Teixeira — were instrumental in this success, but the team’s recognized mainstays — Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera — are probably most deserving of the credit.
- But the Phillies pack a punch. The previous bullet point is to no discredit of last year’s World Series victors. Behind some flashy, clutch performances, the Phillies demolished the Dodgers and Rockies in the previous rounds of the playoffs. Pitching has been inconsistent, but I’ve come close to peeing my pants when looking at their lineup on offense. Rollins, Victorino, Utley, Howard, Ibanez, Ruiz — these guys won’t make a New York championship easy. Look, I just pee’d my pants. Continue…
