If you didn't go to this event last year, you can not miss it!  Mets At The Movies is  a very fun event and I'm glad they are doing it again in 2008, probably multiple times.

Here is my review from last year.

Harold Reynolds has joined the staff at SNY. Reynolds will be a studio analyst for Mets broadcasts.

"I've never worked on a 'local' broadcast," Reynolds said. "I hope to bring some national perspective."

I am so happy this happened. Reynolds was the reason I watched Baseball Tonight which has now become almost as unwatchable as Mike & the Mad Dog are unlistenable.

Whether right or wrong, his opinions are usually well thought out which is more than I can say for John Kruk and Co.  Welcome to NY Harry!

Check out Metsblog.com (where you can mostly find me these days) for my happy recap of going to Wrigley Field and back in a single day.

Tomorrow, I'll be flying into Chicago in time for the game, then flying back to NY. Yes, a lot could go wrong, but hopefully I have time to meet up with everyone at Murphy's Bleachers before the game.

Drop me an email at metsheads[at]yahoo.com if you'll be sitting in the bleachers and maybe we can get a group together. Pics to come, and see ya there!

I kind of feel bad about this ambush on Miguel Tejada, but it's pretty funny as well

My buddy Jesse pointed out that last night there were many players with biblical names, oddly timed with the Pope's visit he made sure to add.

(Ryan) Church
Damion (Easley)
Angel Pagan
Cristian (Guzman)
Jesus (Colome)
(Carlos) Del-GOD-o (ok, now that's a stretch)

Coincidence? I think so Jesse, but funny just the same.

I'm putting this Rick Astley charade to bed, but if you don't watch NY1 in the morning, you need to start:

I'm Back! I took a much needed break from blogging here at Mets Heads, partially thanks to a crazy work schedule.

I hope to post more, but for now here is my experience from Shea Stadium's final Opening Day:

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to attend Opening Day and wanted to share my experience, for better and for worse.  I have been to the last couple opening days, and this one was a bit different from the rest.  It wasn't the last game at Shea, but being there for its final season sparked many memories such as my first game with my dad, and spending many a Sunday in the mezzanine.

Seeing citi field looming in the background was strange.  It felt to me like shea was that old car i didn't want to sell for sentimental reasons, but Citi Field is the shiny new ride i need to move on to...it was definitely bittersweet.

In the pre-game introductions, Johan Santana, Howard Johnson, and David Wright received the warmest ovations by far.  Scott Schoeneweis, not so much.  The fly-by missed the stadium altogether as well, not sure how that happens.

I won't revisit much of the in-game action for obvious reasons.  The crowd was charged by Carlos Delgado's home run, but after Oliver Perez came out of the game the fans became deflated by the course of events that followed.  The mets had their chances, and the crowd got behind them, but failing to score runs will quiet even the most enthusiastic fan.

Sitting in the cheap seats is always an interesting experience, but i was a little shocked by all of the fights that broke out.  Most of the people I encountered were very upbeat, happy, and excited all day, but i personally witnessed three altercations and the vibe was more like that of Yankee Stadium than what i am used to at Shea.  I would not want to be a visiting team's fan at Shea Stadium that's for sure, and the geniality that fans once showed seems to be all but gone.  Here is a slideshow of some of the "action" thanks to my zoom lens which came in handy from the Upper Deck, Row O.

The Rick Astley song was booed instantly, and I'm not sure that they even finished playing it.  The whole thing was embarrassing yet funny at the same time...here's a video i took of it.  I vote for "Don't Stop Believin'" because that might keep people from leaving the games early.

I'm not a big fan of the new Subway/LIRR entrance which was a madhouse after the game.

However, overall it was a great day to be a part of.  The Shea family was honored as they should be, and it was exciting to be watching baseball live and in person again after a long winter...Let's Go Mets!

                            

Former Mets pinch-hitter/3B Matt Franco, who played for Bobby Valentine in Japan following his big league career, has retired. He is 38. Franco last played in the big leagues in 2003, his second season with the Braves.

I saw Franco in the Mets Classics game they played the other night on SNY showcasing Mike Piazza's first game on the Mets. The team has upgraded only slightly at the "hot corner" since then.

If you care, I've been taking a little hiatus from MH these days to focus on a few things, namely work, traveling for work, and oh yeah, work. Happy Spring Training!

Out of respect for first-time visitors to my site, I shrunk the pic below, but you can still see all the horrible details here.

Many have compared David Tyree's miraculous catch against the Patriots in the Super Bowl to Endy Chavez' amazing catch against the Cardinals in the 2006 NLCS.  I don't really get it.

Although both displayed great athletic skill, I think the Tyree catch is way more significant because the team went on to win a championship, while the '06 Mets struck out looking.

Here's a day in the life of Manny Ramirez, Dustin Pedroia, and Kevin Youykilis' offseason workouts.

8 a.m. -- Group 1 (Manny Ramirez, Kevin Youkilis, Nick Punto, Eric Munson) begins stretching. The activity is performed inside the facility’s weight room.

8:15 a.m. -- Plyometrics. The activities are performed on black-top area just outside the weight room, approximately the size of half a basketball court.

One-legged jumps on and off a small platform

Continuous one-legged jumps over foot-high hurdles.

Side jumps on three-lane track, bounding back and forth.

8:45 a.m. -- Pull sled with metal weights affixed to the top. Distance of pull is approximately 50 feet.

Ramirez and Youkilis pull 115 pounds of weight including metal sled

8:55 a.m. -- Sprints, 15 yards each

9 a.m. -- Group 2 (includes Kyle Snyder) and Group 3 (includes Dustin Pedroia) begin their workouts.

Exercises include dumbbell bench press, one-legged squats, lunges, cable chop (simulating baseball swing with weight-attached cable), bench press using ball.

Stretching and abdominal training in between sets.

9:45 a.m. -- Running. Activity is performed on half a football field, shared with the Arizona State University football team.

Two laps

Baserunning starting at 30-yard line, heading toward end zone. Half speed until end zone line, then sprint to far side of goal post

10:30 a.m. -- Cold pool and hot tub

And so on and so forth...it is now 9:15 am and I have drank some coffee and rubbed my eyes alot.  I guess I'm not quite MLB ready.

Thanks to Catherine V. for the link

PS, if you're looking for the cockfight videos, I took 'em down until the buzz wears off a bit.  If you didn't notice, I'm a Mets fan, not a Mets hater and I felt bad about fanning those flames.  If you reaaally want to see it shoot me an email.

I was able to go down to the Giants Ticker-Tape Parade yesterday which was a blast. To view pics (mostly blurry due to the madness), click here.

To see a video of us having fun before the parade, click here.

And finally, here's a video of me on Fox News buying a sweatshirt at Modells. Verrrry exciting....not.

The "eye-candy" of the SNY crew, Julie Donaldson, has departed New York for Boston.


Well, we always have...well...no one.  No other women are on the SNY crew, is this true?