Seems like every week I skim through the Sunday papers (yeah I wrote this yesterday, busted!) and find something else offensive about the new stadiums.  Below are some excerpts – basically the city wanted to own a luxury box (why does the city need Yankee tickets?) and the Yankees got more parking spaces (instead of a private garage owning them) – and the city wanted free food in the box.   Another example of the rich elite helping themselves.

So you may ask, what’s the harm here?  It’s the mindset:

“We can’t find the money for the M.T.A., or schools, or hospitals, and these folks are used to the perks and good things of life, and expect them.” (Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky, Democrat of Westchester, who questions whether taxpayers were adequately protected in the city’s deal with the team.)

The Bloomberg administration was so intent on obtaining a free luxury suite for its own use at the new Yankee Stadium, newly released e-mail messages show, that the mayor’s aides pushed for a larger suite and free food, and eventually gave the Yankees 250 additional parking spaces in exchange.

The project required permission from the Internal Revenue Service because of the team’s desire to use tax-exempt bonds to finance construction. In one heated exchange, city lawyers threatened they would not make the request to the I.R.S. for the use of the tax-exempt financing unless the Yankees would consider providing the luxury suite.

Lonn Trust, the Yankees chief operating officer, wrote to the city on Jan. 26, 2006: “For clarity, no seats, no suites, no tickets, and as they say in Brooklyn ‘No nothin’.’ â€

In response, a lawyer for the city, Joseph Gunn, warned that “No nothin’ can go both ways,” adding that if the luxury suite was not included, “We do not submit the letter ruling request.”

Were you shot last night?  No you weren’t.

Were you in a nightclub early Saturday morning?  No you weren’t.

Are you a cop?  No?  Then I bet you didn’t shoot yourself.

You are a cop?  I bet you know how to safe your gun so you don’t shoot yourself in the leg.

When you were young and went to a nightclub did you bring a gun?  No.

Did you hang out at clubs where guns were acceptable?  No.

Where there is smoke there is fire.   The Evil Money Grubbing Giants who charge their long-time fans $20,000 for the rights to pay for tickets did a good thing in getting rid of Shockey.   The team played better without the bad seed.  They should do the same with Plaxico.

Sheriff Goodell has done a great job so far trying to clean up the league.   The NFL needs to focus less on end-zone celebrations and more on off-field thuggery.   The league should use whatever clause it has to free the Giants of the financial burden, and the Giants should cut ties with Mr. Burress and encourage him to nightclub safely.

Yesterday we covered part one of  the all-time Mets Turkeys, those Mets who were supposed to do great things but didn’t.   Today we cover part two, once again in no particular order.

Bobby Valentine.  Don’t buy into this revisionist history that V is a great manager.  If you want your team to finish second then hire him.   V makes the list because he never had the Mets prepared.   Every season they would dig a big hole in April, be something like 8 games back, and then have to scratch and claw the rest of the season just to hope to play a one game play-in with the Reds to then be the Wild Card.    It’s a drain on players when you can’t rest anyone because every game after May 1st is a must-win.   The season goes a lot easier if you have a big lead unless you are our next turkey…

Willie Randolph.   Go over to some Yankees blog if you want to wax poetic on this guy.   He managed the biggest choke job in history and then dug a hole for the 2008 Mets that ended with the worst stadium closing of all-time.   Omar should have fired him last winter when that other guy from Brooklyn was available.  I think he’s in Los Angeles now, I heard something about him making the playoffs….again.

Mickey Lolich.   Here’s some data I grabbed off wikipedia that will tell you the story.  What it doesn’t tell you is that he was 8-13 for the Mets, and hated New York so much that he sat out 1977 (opened a donut shop and then rejoined baseball in 1978).

• 2,679 strikeouts is #1 on the Tigers all time list
• 39 shutouts is #1 on the Tigers all time list
• 459 games started is #1 on the Tigers all time list
• 329 home runs allowed is #1 on the Tigers all time list
• 109 wild pitches is #2 on the Tigers all time list (behind Jack Morris)
• 207 wins is #3 on the Tigers all time list (behind Hooks Dauss and George Mullin)
• 508 games is #3 on the Tigers all time list (behind John Hiller and Hooks Dauss)
• 3,361 innings pitched is #3 on Tigers all time list (behind George Mullin and Hooks Dauss)

Juan Samuel.  Look at the picture of Lenny Dykstra in a Phillies uniform.  Feel the pain.   They traded a beloved CFer and another beloved player in Roger McDowell, two of the key 1986 Mets for Juan Samuel.  Sammy played 86 games for the Mets and hit .226   Dykstra was an All-Star and flirted with .400 for a while.

Victor Zambrano.   Ah Victor, we surrendered Scott Kazmir for you.  Well, we didn’t, the Mets did.  Any fat blogger worth his salt wouldn’t have made that trade.  

Devil Rays GM Chuck Lamar told ESPN Radio Friday night that he lamented giving up Zambrano, but felt Kazmir was too good to pass up.

“It was a good trade for us, and I think it was a heck of a trade for the New York Mets,” Lamar said. “Victor Zambrano has been here a long time. … You hate to give him up but we’ve spent a lot of time and effort and money of getting a nucleus of our young position players. We knew this day was coming that we needed to start getting our hands on some pitching that can truly beat the Red Sox and Yankees in this division, and we think Scott Kazmir has that kind of ability.”

The Mets went 71-91.   Scott Kazmir…you know the story.

Did we forget any turkeys?  Hit comments.