The fight will take place on March 13th on HBO PPV and will take place at Cowboys stadium in Dallas, Texas. This fight marks the biggest world championship fight to be held in a major U.S. sports stadium since the Muhammad Ali vs. Ken Norton World Heavyweight championship fight in Yankee stadium in 1976.

The March 13th date was originally set for Pacquiao vs. Mayweather but negotiations broke off. The stumbling block of a potential Mayweather-Pacquiao mega fight was the scheduling of blood testing. Mayweather said he believes Pacquiao has used performance-enhancing drugs. Pacquiao said he felt insulted to be accused of taking PEDs. So while boxing fans are the big losers in the failed attempt for the super fight, Joshua Clottey became the only winner in the fiasco. To no surprise, Clottey is more than excited to have the chance to fight the best in the world.

“This is a miracle opportunity for me,”said Clottey. To share a ring with Manny Pacquiao is something I want to do because he is the best fighter pound for pound. He beat everyone in front of him, but I promise you that we are coming to fight and we will please the people.”

In his last fight, Clottey lost a controversial split decision to Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden. Clottey put on a tremendous performance against Cotto but faded in the later rounds. Despite the loss, Clottey showed that he belongs among the elite in the exciting welterweight division and bigger fights will come. There is no bigger one than this one.

“This is a very big fight. He’s one of the best fighters out there, and he’s beaten everyone they’ve given him. But we’re going to fight,” Clottey said. “I know it’s not an easy fight for me and it’s not an easy fight for him.”

Many boxing experts feel that Clottey has a decent chance of scoring the upset and he concurs with that thought when asked about his chances.

” I have everything needed to beat Pacquiao,” Clottey said. ” He throws a lot of punches but I block a lot of punches. We will see what happens. I have never lost to a southpaw in my career. When I fought Judah, he was quicker than me and threw a lot of punches. But my blocking had him confused and I took advantage.”

Clottey and his thoughts on the size advantage he will have over Pacquiao.
” Cotto had no respect for Manny’s power because he felt he was the bigger man, Clottey said.”  That will not happen to me. It does not matter how small he is. All it takes is one solid punch to the chin to knock you down and that is what happened with Cotto. It will not happen to me.”

Manny Pacquiao will try to further cement his legacy as he faces a tough challenge in Clottey. During the press conference, Pacquiao made it known that he wanted to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. He doesn’t think the feeling was mutual.

“He didn’t want to fight me,” Pacquiao said. “I think maybe Mayweather is scared to lose.But I am not that disappointed on not fighting Floyd. It’s no big deal because I have to fight Clottey.

Manny needs to put the Mayweather fiasco behind him quickly as the fight is only less than 8 weeks away and has to put in a quicker training camp than usual. Pacquiao’s super trainer, Freddie Roach, does not seem too concerned on the fight being so close.

” We are little behind schedule,” Roach said. ” We are going forward with a six week training camp instead of the standard eight. He is doing plenty of running and playing plenty of basketball to keep him in shape. Manny is a great athlete and he will be more than ready for March 13th.”

Pacquiao was asked during the conference on how he feels about Clottey as an opponent.

“Joshua Clottey’s style is different from styles I have fought,” Pacquiao said. Clottey is bigger and taller than Miguel Cotto. I thought his fight with Cotto was very close. I have to prepare and train hard for this fight because Clottey is a strong fighter and a former champion. I won’t promise that I’ll win, but I promise a good fight.”

Well, I guess this is it. After more than 33 years, they’re gonna start taking me down next month.

I can’t believe it, but I’ll soon be a parking lot for this shiny new Meadowlands stadium right next to me, over here.

Me, Giants Stadium. Ground broken on November 19, 1972, and opened on October 10, 1976, when my beloved New York Giants hosted the Dallas Cowboys before a sellout crowd of 76,042 fans.

Thirty-three years may not seem like a long life to you guys, on the New York Jets or the Baltimore Ravens, I suppose.

After all, a lot of you younger players will still be playing after that age, and I hope all of you will live well beyond the 89 years that the great Wellington Mara — rest his soul, the man most responsible for having me built — spent on this earth.

Stadiums like me though, built in the 1970’s, don’t last nearly as long. I’ve lived my life, and I’ve accepted my fate.

Sure, I wish I were built a lot earlier, and lived for the eight-and-a-half decades that the old Yankee Stadium up in the Bronx lasted, or at least for the 44 years that Shea Stadium over in Queens, was around.

I won’t last as long as those stadiums, but I have no regrets.

I’ve hosted some great things and wonderful people here, and even some events I never thought I would.

College football. The Cosmos. Pele. The Pope. Men’s and women’s soccer world cups. The New Jersey Generals… You know, to this day, the last USFL game ever played was right here?

And, great concerts… my all-time attendance record? 84,472, just a few months ago, September 9, 2009, for a U2 concert. You shoulda been three, it was great!

Yup, all of that and much more at yours truly, Giants Stadium.

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you though, that my proudest memories are of the NFL games.

My Giants won three Super Bowls while they played here! Two NFC Championship games, won by a combined score of 58-0, right on my field. So what if the second one was on that field of painted mud, as they called it.

The most NFL games ever played in one place? Guess where. You’re talking to the very venue itself.

LT revolutionized the game here, and I brought along Phil Simms, who I’m very proud to say still holds the record for having the most accurate passing day (22 of 25, for 88 percent) in Super Bowl history.

And, the sack record, first broken by a Jet, and then by a Giant.

Michael Strahan, from I-AA Texas Southern, getting the NFL’s all-time single season sack record here, even if Brett Favre fell down to gave it to him, breaking the record held by Mark Gastineau, main member of The New York Sack Exchange.

And Jets, don’t think I just forgot all about the Monday Night Miracle.

Haha, I remember everyone filing out of me to their cars with you guys trailing the Miami Dolphins 30-7 in the fourth quarter, on October 23, 2000 (incidentally, the 24th anniversary of my first college football game, which saw home state Rutgers trounce New York’s Columbia, 47-0, in 1976, for the Scarlet Knights’ 14th straight victory at the time).

Then, all of those Jets fans started coming back inside, as you turned the tables, outscoring the Dolphins by that same 30-7 margin in the fourth quarter, alone. And, I loved how you finished it! Big ol’ offensive tackle Jumbo Elliott, from Lake Ronkonkoma, a Giant for eight years, and then a Jet for six, catches the game-tying touchdown to force overtime. Ha, what a call! And, then you complete the comeback, winning 40-37, on overtime field goal. Just classic!

Hey, Ravens, I know the Jets already know this, but since you fellas have only been around since 1996 (after you left Cleveland), you may not.

Did you guys know that my Giants, yeah, the wonderful New York Football Giants, played in both Yankee and Shea Stadiums before coming here? And, my Jets came here from Shea, too.

I guess that’s why the New York name always stuck with the Giants and Jets. Well that, and the fact that the National Football League needed the biggest market of all. New York, of course.

Even though, I always thought “Jersey Giants” and “Jersey Jets” would not only be a lot more geographically accurate, but they also have a much better ring, don’t ya think?

I mean, you wouldn’t even need the “New” for New Jersey, just “Jersey.” After all, it’s not “North Carolina Panthers,” it’s just “Carolina Panthers.”

I’ll talk about them in a minute, because the way my Giants just crumbled against the Panthers in their last game here… there are just no words for that kind of disappointment.

But, I digress.

Listen… Jets, Ravens: the real reason I’m talking to you now is because I need you.

Yes, even you, Baltimore.

Never mind that you beat my Giants in Super Bowl XXXV. I’ll be honest, I can never forget, but I can forgive. Ah, what does it matter anyway, since I’ll be gone soon?

But, I’ll tell you what… as long as I’m still here, I’ll forgive all that if you beat the Colts in Indianapolis on Saturday night.

Yeah, I know. They’re the top seed, and they might have gone undefeated if Bill Polian hadn’t foolishly made them lay down, ironically, against my Jets. You never would have seen the Maras pull that kind of stuff, I’ll tell you that!

And, I know, Peyton Manning, who’s better? But, you’re a good team, Baltimore. Look at the way you jumped on the Patriots last weekend. And, you almost beat the Colts in November. I’m telling you, you can do this. Go into Indy and get a win!

Now, on to my Jets.

As for you guys, you’re my last hope, since my Giants, as I was saying earlier, incredibly, decided not to show up in that 41-9 disgrace against Carolina last month. I mean, come on, playoffs on the line, their last game here, and that’s how they go out? Ugh, I better get off of that topic. I could go on from now until they start hitting me with the wrecking ball in February.

So, back to what I was saying… Gang Green, I need you guys, too.

Especially if the Ravens win on Saturday night, you guys just have to pull through against the Chargers on Sunday.

And, why not? You saw what my fifth-seeded Giants did only two years ago around this time of the year, didn’t you?

They beat fourth-seeded Tampa Bay on the road, 24-14, to start that amazing run to their Super Bowl XLII title. And you? Also a five seed, same score in Cincinnati last week, against the fourth-seeded Bengals. Sounds familiar, no?

Okay, I admit, unlike the two previous Super Bowl titles, I didn’t have a lot to do with that last one, at first. We all know that Giants team was a road warrior, and they only went 3-5 at home that year. But, I might add, that run really started right here, with me, Giants Stadium, in the good ol’ Meadowlands.

Allow me to refresh your memory, since I love telling this story. They lost to the 16-0 New England Patriots (another bit of NFL history made right here, that night), but man did they show up to play and give the Pats a tough game!

It was the type of effort that gave my Big Blue boys the confidence they needed to win that game in Tampa, and then in Dallas (ha! that was so sweet, I’ve always hated the Cowboys the most). And then, Green Bay in the snow, and finally, ruining the Pats’ quest for a perfect season in Arizona.

And, what happened when it was all over? They came back from the desert and had the parade down the famed Canyon of Heroes, only to end up with a wonderful celebration that same day, right here in their home. Giants Stadium.

So, what do you say, boys?

Ravens? Jets?

One more postseason game here for old time’s sake?

But, hang on, lemme finish. This wouldn’t be just any final playoff game. No, this would be the perfect way for me to go out, because look at the way you both play.

Jets, as far as points and total yards allowed, you’re the top-ranked defense in the whole league! You’re not quite as good as my ’85 Giants who I sent to their Super Bowl XXV victory with their 17-0 NFC championship game blanking of the Redskins on January 11, 1987, with my swirling winds blowing all of that confetti all over the place.

But, you’re still damn good, defensively. And, trust me, I know, because I know your head coach, and what his defense did to my Giants in Super Bowl XXXV.

And, I know he’s still got great “Rex-pectations” (heh heh, I love saying that) for you guys.

Back to you, Ravens. I know you’re not quite the dominant defense of years past. Hey, we all get older, but you’re still right behind the Jets, ranked third in the league in both points and total yards allowed.

Both of you also run the ball extremely well.

Baltimore, you’re fifth in the NFL in rushing, led by of course, Ray Rice, from where else? Rutgers, right here in Jersey. And, look at your playoff win in New England last week. You ran 52 times for 234 yards and four touchdowns! Need I say more?

And my Jets, no one in the league runs it better than you! A league-topping 172 yards per game. So, last week in your wild-card win in Cincinnati? Right on the same pace, with 171 yards on 41 carries. As dependable as the Meadowlands wind howling in December and January. Outstanding!

Here’s another big reason you both have to win this weekend.

Not even for me, not even for yourselves, but for the hardcore followers of the game.

See, I know football fans, real football fans.

True football fans don’t want to see a 51-45 mockery of the game in a climate-controlled dome like the Packers and Cardinals played last week. Geez, with my Giants out of the playoffs, we’ll probably get the same thing this week with the two NFC games this weekend. The Cowboys and Vikings probably throwing it all over the place in the Metrodome, while the Cardinals get into another shootout, this time, with the Saints, in the Superdome.

Dome, shome. It  ain’t a real football home!

Serious football fans know that real football shouldn’t be played in places like that, least of all this time of year.

No, I know what the true football fan wants, and that’s the hard-nosed, hard-hitting brand of ball you guys both play, with terrific, aggressive defenses, and two great rushing games, on a cold, windy January Sunday, in a venue like mine.

The one and only Giants Stadium.

And, we also know those fans don’t want to see the favorites. They love underdogs making a magic carpet ride of a run like my 2008 Giants. So, who better than the two lowest seeds in the AFC to play for a trip to Super Bowl XLIV? The sixth-seeded Baltimore Ravens against the fifth-seeded New York Jets, in the AFC championship game, at Giants Stadium!

I have no delusions, trust me. I know how good the Colts and Chargers are, especially at home. I might add, that “home” for those teams are that fancy new Lucas Oil dome with a retractable roof in Indy, and beautiful, perfect, sunny San Diego. Gag me.

Yes, they’re both great teams. But, remember what my Giants did a couple years ago, and realize what you’re both very capable of because of the way you both play the game.

So, will you do it?

Jets? Ravens?

Will you each get one more win this weekend and send me out in grand style with one last real postseason game for the genuine football fans?

Signed,

Giants Stadium

p.s. Baltimore, I guess now would be good time to let you know that although I’ll be pulling for you on Saturday night, I can’t possibly be a gracious host should you play here next weekend against my Jets. If you and the Jets win this weekend, I first get my chance to forgive both you and Rex, for Super Bowl XXXV. But, after that, you know I have to go with Gang Green, because in a weird sort of way, my adopted sons, my Jets, would exact a small measure of New Jersey (okay, fine, New York) revenge on behalf of my favorite sons, my Giants, for what happened nine years ago. So, if an AFC title game here would come down to a late field goal one way or the other, you’ll excuse me if I have someone open my tunnel doors again to play those little tricks with the swirling winds that I’m famous for. I hope you understand. Take care of the Colts, and then I’ll see you –- and the Jets — next week!

“In this fight, he is not the star of the show,” said Arum about Cotto at the final news conference for a fight that needs no hype. Cotto and Pacquiao proudly have nine world titles in seven weight divisions, Cotto (34-1, 27KO’s) of Caguas Puerto Rico with three titles to his credit. Pacquiao (49-3.2, 37 KO’s) from the Philippines is also considered the best pound-for-pound fighter in the business.

“But he plays a role that has made this fight what it is,” says Arum about Cotto. “Miguel Cotto is the biggest obstacle in Manny’s path. He is a true welterweight with a heart as big as this room. When the bell rings there won’t be one icon and one great fighter. There will be two great fighters in the ring and they will be fighting for their country and their families.”

And also fighting for the sport of boxing because this has become one of the most anticipated and talked about fights in years.  Not since the great welterweight wars that involved Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns and Sugar Rey Leonard has boxing seen the magnitude of two great fighters like this.

There is no telling how far this fight will go, but the implications after the result will also create interest in what is perhaps the premiere division in the sport. Waiting in the wings for the winner is an inevitable clash with the undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. Reportedly a Pacquiao win could have him facing Mayweather at the new billion dollar Yankee Stadium in New York, or the comparable new football home of the Dallas Cowboys.

But Cotto can change the entire scope of where Mayweather fits in the picture. “I know the skills of Manny,” commented Cotto who had, what has been claimed to be the hardest and best training camp of his career in preparation for this mega fight, “We created a game plan for this fight and we are pretty sure this is going to be a great fight for boxing all over the world but especially for the Latin fans and the Puerto Ricans.”

Though Cotto never thrives on the future and Mayweather, looking in, is not a priority to him at least for the moment. Pacquiao has lived up to his distinction as being the top fighter in the game and in many ways, so has Cotto. The difference is Cotto fighting again at his natural weight and Pacquiao has moved up to another weight division which has never proved to be a problem.

To that Pacquiao said, “This fight is the most important of my boxing career .because if I win this fight I will go down in history. It’s a big honor for my country, for my family and myself. That’s why I work hard.” And it has more to do than the winner getting the new WBC Diamond Belt.  The winner is guaranteed more lucrative pay days and pay-per-per-view revenue that could surpass previous earnings of Mayweather and

Oscar De La Hoya.

And Pacquiao is claiming, “This is a once in a lifetime fight.”  Arum, who promotes both fighters, is in the driver’s seat either way.  When the fight was officially announced with a five city coast-to-coast tour in September, the kickoff at the new Yankee Stadium, there was mention of a trilogy between his two fighters, the next one at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

Then Mayweather started to make some noise, of which Arum has had a previous and bad history with “Mayweather is just a showman and not a fighter,” said Arum when asked if Cotto or Pacquiao is in the plan to fight Mayweather. But the most likely and lucrative fight, even before Cotto and Pacquiao talk trilogy is Mayweather taking on the winner after the final result is in Saturday evening.

The pick here: Pacquiao in eight rounds by TKO. He may be too quick for Cotto and if he gets his opponent in the ropes it spells trouble for Cotto.

THROWING THE PUNCHES: The Nevada State Athletic Commission which is sanctioning the Cotto-Pacquiao fight recently approved the use of instant replay to be used in televised fights in their jurisdiction/ Though it is not known if the rule will be implemented for Cotto-Pacquiao.

Good for boxing when it comes to controversial scoring decisions based on the discretion of a referee when it comes to a knockdown or slippage.  Sometimes the knockdown as opposed to the slip can be vital in the final scoring of the judges as to a 10-8 or 10-9 round….

The career of Hector Camacho Jr, has been revived after his recent unanimous decision win over the veteran champion Yori Boy Campos. Camacho, son of former champion Hector of Spanish Harlem came in the ring at his heaviest weight, 174 and claims he can be a contender now in the welterweight division. His next target, Fernando Vargas, who has made noise about coming out of retirement after leaving the ring a few years ago with a bad back…

So Paul Williams gets his date in Atlantic City, December 5^th on HBO but it is not for the middleweight championship against Kelly Pavlik.  Instead Williams, a definite threat to Pavlik, draws Sergio Martinez the exciting puncher from Argentina. Pavlik pulled out of the fight last month when it was well known his bad left hand would not heel in time. So what happens?

Williams gets to keep his HBO date and Pavlik weeks later, when it was said he could not fight for another seven weeks, signs on to defend his middleweight title against the lesser known and easier opponent Miguel Espino in his hometown of Youngstown Ohio. Pavlik also makes out on the deal getting a more lucrative deal as the fight will be televised on HBO PPV.

A good under card bout on the Williams card in Atlantic City, now moved to a ballroom instead of the more known Boardwalk Hall. Welterweight Johsua Clottey of Ghana and now residing in the Bronx, who gave Cotto a scare in June at Madison Square Garden, takes on the tough Carlos Quintana…

John Ruiz the two-time heavyweight champion is a stubborn and persistent fighter who believes his time is still coming to make boxing history. The first heavyweight champion of Latino descent form the United States gets his chance when he takes on newly crowned WBA champion David Haye.  Haye made history becoming the second light heavyweight champ to take a part of the heavyweight title, the first being Evander Holyfield…

January 30^th out in Vegas another compelling welterweight bout. Andre Berto the WBC champ taking on veteran WBA title holder Shane Mosley, also on HBO and a fight that makes it more interesting for Cotto, Pacquiao and Mayweather. Do we smell possible unification of the title again, or maybe not because the promoters and sanctioning bodies don’t want it that way,,,

The 42-year old Bernard Hopkins, partner with Oscar De La Hoya Golden Boy Promotions wants to make his hometown Philadelphia proud when he steps in the ring to defend his light heavyweight title on December 4^th at the Liacourras Center when he opposes the unknown Enrique Omeles…   …

And the busy end of the year boxing calendar continues on December 13^th, the interesting and return 12-round bout that fans anticipated after their first bout. Paulie Malignaggi of Brooklyn New York, the junior welterweight meets Juan “Baby Bull” Diaz this time at a neutral venue, the UIC Pavillon in Chicago Illinois to be televised on HBO

Many felt that their first encounter on August 22, in Diaz’ hometown of Houston Texas was a hometown decision as Malignaggi threw more punches and got the best of Diaz. “I am not going to dwell on the past,” said Diaz this week when the fight was announced. “This time it is a different city and a new and different game plan.”

Said Malignaggi, the former junior welterweight champion who revived his career in that first bout, “I made enough of a stink after the first match to help get the rematch,” And indeed he did as his promoter,  Lou DiBella, one who is very vocal about bad decisions immediately petitioned Diaz and his management, Golden Boy Promotions, to put the gloves on again and do it at any other place but Houston Texas where Diaz still resides and is extremely popular.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

For years, Hideki Matsui was one of the symbols of a New York Yankees team that never reached the promised land.

Not any more.

In playing what could be his last game in pinstripes, Matsui made the most of his final curtain call, driving in record-tying six runs to power the Bronx Bombers to their 27th World Series title.

Much like his Yankee Stadium debut seven seasons ago, a performance that saw the Japanese slugger called “Godzilla” drive in four runs with a grand slam in a 7-3 win over the Twins, Matsui was the leading man in Wednesday’s victory, by the identical score of 7-3.

Lending even more credence to the idea that the ghosts of championships past have moved across the street, Andy Pettitte was the winning pitcher that cold April day so many years ago.

”It’s mind-boggling the things that happen here at the Stadium,” said Pettitte that day. ”It’s obviously a great moment for him. That was special.”

On a night when the pre-game chatter in the press box was about how the Yankees had to find a way to stop Chase Utley from ruining their season, it was the Phillies who never found a way to keep Matsui from ending theirs.

While it’s certainly true that Matsui never truly delivered the kind of numbers that were expected of him when the Yankees signed him, his career in pinstripes has earned a great deal of respect
from anyone who has ever come in contact with him.

Perhaps it was his first impression, which could be his last. Either way, I leave it to Tyler Kepner, who wrote so eloquently about Matsui on Opening Day, 2003.

“… Matsui unleashed his compact swing and drove it more than 400 feet. When he returned to the dugout, the fans gave Matsui a 30-second standing ovation until he appeared and lifted his helmet to them in a curtain call. Matsui called it the ”greatest moment” of his life.”

That was then. This is now.

But, as the Yankees prepare for Game 6 of the 2009 World Series on Wednesday leading the Philadelphia Phillies three games to two, there exists a chance of gaining at least some satisfaction for what happened in 2004 if they can again beat longtime, hated former Red Sock Pedro Martinez.

Taking a step back, beating Martinez, now the Phillies’ starting pitcher for Wednesday’s Game 6, wouldn’t entirely wash away the 2004 memory of losing to a much less loathed, yet still disliked Curt Schilling — Martinez’s teammate that year — who pitched the Red Sox past the Yankees in Game 6 of the 2004 ALCS.

On a few different levels, another Phillies’ world championship on Thursday, should it happen, wouldn’t equate to when Boston accomplished the previously unthinkable five years ago.

For one, the Phillies aren’t really a Yankee rival, let alone the Yankees’ biggest rival for many decades in arguably the greatest rivalry in all of sports, as the Red Sox have been.

And, coming back from a 3-1 deficit, as the Phillies are trying to do, doesn’t compare to Boston’s feat. That’s not to take away from what a great accomplishment it would still be, but it’s been done before, even in the World Series.

Also, it’s not as if the Yankees haven’t beaten Martinez in a big spot in the playoffs at home before. The year prior to Boston’s 2004 comeback, the Yankees rallied from a 5-2 eighth-inning deficit against a tiring Martinez who was left in too long, to win Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS on Aaron Boone’s heroic 11th inning shot deep into the New York night.

Still, there are some similarities between that Schilling victory and what could take place on Wednesday night at the new Yankee Stadium.

When the Yankees won Game 3 of the 2004 ALCS by the football-like score of 19-8, how many really believed, even among Red Sox fans, that the Bronx Bombers weren’t headed to the 2004 World Series?

Likewise, after the Yankees won two games in Philadelphia last weekend to take a commanding three games to one lead, the overwhelming consensus was that it would only be a matter of time before the Yankees would capture their 27th world championship in their long and storied history.

And, it still may be.

But, the Phillies, as they showed in their Game 5 home victory to send this year’s World Series back to the Bronx, have proven to be among the scrappiest and grittiest teams in all of professional sports, let alone major league baseball.

So, even if you’re the mighty Yankees, with your huge payroll and a roster chock full of all-star caliber talent, you had better come to play, if you want to put these Phillies away for good.

And, that’s where the reminder of the 2004 ALCS comes into play now.

The Yankees face that same opportunity on Wednesday night.

They still control their own destiny, at home, with a Game 6 starting pitcher in Andy Pettitte, who’s

pitched the Yankees to success in big postseason spots before.

And, of course, if the Yankees win Game 6, or even a Game 7, they and their fans will simply celebrate with 2004 being a distant memory.

But, because the Yankees couldn’t close the deal back then, they saw the Red Sox go on to win their first championship in 86 years instead of winning what would have been their own fifth title in nine years.

Now, as in the 2004 ALCS, because New York didn’t close out the 2009 World Series on the road when they had the chance to, the Yankees on Wednesday night at home, have to once again avoid all of the pressure of letting a postseason series that was in their control turn on them.

So, here the Yankees are, five years later, in a familiar and somewhat suddenly uncomfortable situation.

Instead of the old Yankee Stadium, it’s the new park in the Bronx. And, in place of the disliked Red Sock Schilling, it’s the even more despised former Red Sock Martinez trying to get his new team to a Game 7, and put all of the pressure on the Yankees to win in an all-or-nothing game on Thursday night.

Just like that other former Red Sock did on October 19, 2004.

Should Martinez accomplish what Schilling did, recollections of that night and of the way that season ended for the Yankees will return to the forefront. Even Yankees’ projected Game 7 ace starter C.C. Sabathia, would feel the weight — not his of his own 6-foot-7, 290-pound frame, but of not letting 2004, to only a slightly lesser degree, happen all over again in the Bronx.

Adding to that responsibility is that Sabathia, like Pettitte in Game 6, would be throwing on short rest, which is something didn’t work out well for Yankees’ Game 5 starter A.J Burnett on Monday, after he earlier shut the Phillies down on his full compliment of rest in a Game 2 win that evened the Series at a game apiece.

Martinez meanwhile, will be going on regular rest on Wednesday. On Monday, on his way out of the Phillies’ clubhouse, the day before the Phillies’ Game 5 win, Martinez coolly smiled and said simply, “See you manana.”

Now, it’s up to the Yankees to make sure that Martinez won’t say the same after Game 6.

Doing so would not only finally capture that 27th title which has eluded the Yankees since 2000, but it would also, at least in some way, make up for 2004.

It was an issue addressed by Martinez to the media after his Phillies lost game 2 of the Series and headed home. Martinez would smile at the fans as he left the mound, in particular made note of one fan, a father with his young daughter who took the competition of sports to a nasty level.

He was one of those many arrogant Yankee fans that made unkind gestures to Martinez, and in turn damage the integrity of other fans who appreciate the greatness and attributes of the great ones who play the game.

“I just told him,” commented Martinez, “’Your daughter is right beside you. It’s a little girl. It’s a shame you’re saying all these things.’  I had to stop and tell him because I’m a father myself and, God how can you be so dumb to do those kind of things in front of your child? What kind of example are you setting?”

Yeah fans have the right to boo all they want to the opposing player and team.  Their ticket purchase gives them that right, but before every game Major League Baseball makes the home team inform fans about using offensive language. Not when the Yankees play the Red Sox, or in this case with Martinez on the mound and the Yankees so desperate to get their 27^th world title

But this fan, and others, who disrespected Martinez saw the situation had more to do with a previous and ugly incident when Martinez was a member of the hated Boston Red Sox. Then, he pushed Don Zimmer, once a coach with the Yankees to the ground during an ugly brawl when the two teams battled for the American League pennant.

This was Martinez, pitching in another uniform, at another time.  But to the Yankee fan there is no reflection of greatness to another team, or another player, except for their history and one of their own.  So to them, Martinez was just an enemy on the mound last week and not remembered for being a three-time Cy Young Award winner and eight-time All-Star.

Martinez would strikeout eight Yankees in game 2 which matched his second most ever in a postseason game.  And he had an answer to all New York fans about his unpleasant, though impressive return to New York. Remember, he played also for the cross-town Mets and helped them to the 2006 postseason.

“I know I played for the Mets,” he said. “I know they really want to root for me. It’s just that I don’t play for the Yankees that’s all.  I’ve always been a good competitor, and they love that. They love the fact that I compete. I’m a New Yorker, as well. If I was on the Yankees, I’d probably be like a king over here.”

Yeah, Martinez said it.  He is not a New York Yankee and will never be, so Yankee fans will never consider him a king or a pitcher that has contributed so much to baseball over the years.  If indeed that was his last appearance on a pitching mound in New York it will be another memorable moment in the career of Pedro Martinez.

He said, “I did everything I could to beat those guys. You have to give them a lot of credit,” said Martinez about the Yankees. It was just a loss for Martinez, even if it was a World Series game that meant so much.

The unfortunate thing is Yankee fans look at another World Series win as more important than giving some accolades to a pitcher that has contributed so much to the game of baseball

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

(BRONX, NY)  There were a few tense moments in the press box before Tuesday’s World Series opener, as the rain seemed to intensify the closer it got to game-time.  As if on cue, at about 4:00 PM, the precipitation slowed, then stopped.  A few moments later, the sun shone on Yankee Stadium.  It continued to shine long after Apollo’s chariot had completed its journey – on the Phillies.

There were some that questioned whether the new Olympus would be as intimidating to opponents as the palace it replaced.  At least for one night, the Phillies proved them right, as Chase Utley provided the thunder of Hephaestus, and Cliff Lee delivered the lightning of Zeus in a 6-1 win over the AL champs.

Twice, Yankees’ ace CC Sabathia grooved a fastball over the heart of the plate to Utley, and twice, the Phillies’ All-Star second baseman made him pay.  It was all the offense the Phillies would need, and gave the team a critical 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven Fall Classic.

The last six teams to win Game 1 – and 10 of the last 11 – have all gone on to win the World Series.

***

Hard to believe the Phillies waited until Utley was 26 to give him a full-time job.

Utley shared second base with Placido Polanco for the first two seasons of his career.  But in 2005, a new manager named Charley Manuel, awarded him the starting second base job after a solid spring training.

He finished his first season as a full-time player with a .291 average, 39 doubles, 28 homers and 105 RBIs.  He’s put up the best numbers of any second baseman in baseball over the last five seasons, and is a player, said Fox broadcaster Tim McCarver, who is a “gamer”, which he considers a compliment of the highest order.  From a guy that played with Joe Morgan and Pete Rose, that’s quite a call-out.

“He had a good night tonight,” said a deadpan Charlie Manuel.  “He’s got real quick hands … he’s got a good cut, and very good to coach.”

Utley went just 4-for-19 in the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.  But he took advantage of some early command issues by Sabathia, who was otherwise solid for seven innings.

Lee, on the other hand, was brilliant, striking out 10 and allowing just one unearned run in a complete game win.  He was sharp from the first pitch, continuing what has been an incredible run in a Phillies’ uniform.

When Ruben Amaro Jr. finally told then-Toronto GM J.P. Riccardi that his asking price for Roy Halladay was too high, he set his sights upon another Cy Young Award winner.  When he did finally acquired Lee from the Indians, he did so without relinquishing either his top prospect (Kyle Drabek) or his impressive left-handed rookie pitcher (J.A. Happ).

***

Pedro Martinez will start Game 2 for the Phillies on Thursday, coming off a stellar performance in the NLCS against the Dodgers, throwing seven scores innings in an eventual  defeat to the Dodgers, 2-1.

The veteran right-hander provided the Phillies with some solid pitching down the stretch, going 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA in nine starts.   In 12 career postseason starts, Martinez is 6-2 with a 3.13 ERA.  However, at old Yankee Stadium, he went 0-2 with a 6.28 ERA in three postseason games, two of which were starts.

Utley is exactly the type of gritty, rise-to-the-occasion player which has filled the Phillies’ roster the past two years, and those traits might be what ultimately carry the Phillies to their second straight world championship over a team which is widely considered better than the team which owns 2008 World Series rings.

Yes, that’s right, it’s the Yankees who have to take that title from Philadelphia, not the other way around, as it might have often seemed leading up to this season’s World Series.

Behind Utley, the Phillies served early notice that they won’t be intimidated in the least by any sort of Yankee postseason mystique.

For all the talk of how dominant Sabathia had been this postseason (and, he was) and how powerful the Yankees’ lineup is (and, it is), it seems that a certain thing was forgotten by many fans and media members about the team in the opposing dugout –- that Philadelphia, not New York, is the defending world champion, and that the fightin’ Phils, with a payroll of nearly S100 million less than that of their 2009 World Series counterparts, possess both the ability and all of the intangibles needed to overcome the mighty, favored Yankees.

The other main story in Philadelphia’s 6-1 Game 1 victory besides Utley’s heroics was that of the Phillies’ own ace starter, Cliff Lee, who finished a complete game as the only pitcher in baseball history to strike out 10 batters while allowing no walks and no earned runs in a World Series game.

Pitching on the grand stage as a Game 1 World Series starter in Yankee Stadium, it was Lee who showed up the Yankees and shut them down the way many thought Sabathia would stop the Phillies’ powerful lineup.

Lee certainly didn’t shy away from such an opportunity. “I’ve never been nervous in the big leagues,” he said, a few moments after winning the first ever World Series game played at the new Yankee Stadium, a victory which comes six months and twelve days after Lee won the first regular season game ever played in the same building, on April 16th, as a member of the Cleveland Indians.

After very nonchalantly sticking out his glove to catch a pop-up on the mound by Johhny Damon in the 6th inning as if he was shagging a fly ball during batting practice, and later in the 8th inning, fielding a bouncing ball behind his back, to retire Robinson Cano, Fox television announcer Joe Buck remarked, “His body language is like he’s pitching in spring training… Cliff Lee has made it look easy.” Tim McCarver jokingly added, “Yeah, he’s just getting his work in.”

That attitude typifies the Phillies and why they lead the World Series 1-0 as last year’s champions even though the Yankees are favored and thought of by most as being a stronger team from top to bottom.

As Utley said, it doesn’t matter in the Phillies’ clubhouse what others think of them or what they think of a team like the Yankees in comparison. “We have confidence, we know we have a good team,” Utley said.

Without Utley, who set a major league baseball record in Game 1 by reaching base in his 26th postseason game (matching his uniform number), the game’s final two innings (during which the Phillies tacked on four runs after Sabathia left the game), might have played out much differently, and Lee’s spectacular efforts might have gone to waste.

However, it didn’t matter to the clutch left-hand-hitting Utley that Sabathia hadn’t allowed a home run to a left-handed batter all season. Utley hit the ninth pitch of his third inning at-bat, sending a two-strike, 95 mph fastball into the right field seats for a 1-0 Phillies’ lead. Sabathia then retired the next eight hitters until Utley’s next at-bat. So, what did the ultimate gamer Utley, do then? He smacked another 95 mph fastball, this time, on an 0-2 pitch, even further than his earlier home run, into the right-center field stands, to put the Phillies up 2-0, in the sixth inning.

Before Utley, the only other left-handed hitter to homer twice off a lefty pitcher in a World Series game was legendary Yankee Babe Ruth, in 1928, off of the Cardinals’ Bill Sherdel.

It’s only one game, and this World Series is far from over. But, Utley’s play on Wednesday night exemplified the scrappy, determined nature of the Phillies, and why the Yankees may be on the verge of yet again, vastly outspending the rest of major-league baseball with free agent mercenaries like Sabathia, only to possibly fall short of a world championship yet again.

Recent history doesn’t bode well for New York in that regard. The last six World Series winners have all won Game 1, as Philadelphia did on Wednesday night. The team that started that trend? The underdog Florida Marlins, who sharing many of the same characteristics of Utley and his current Phillie teammates, fought their way to a 4-2 victory over the heavily favored Yankees, in 2003.

“It’s just weird because a couple of years ago we were talking about maybe pitching in a World Series together,” commented Sabathia Tuesday at Yankee Stadium about his former Cleveland teammate Lee. Now, though the last two American League Cy Young Award winners are on opposing sides and can set the table for something special.

It is the first time that former teammates have matched up in the World Series for different clubs since game 1 of the 2005 Fall Classic when former Yankee teammates Roger Clemens (Houston) and Jose Contreras (Chicago) met at the series opener in Chicago.

Joe Girardi debuts as a World Series manager, the fourth such Yankee who has played and managed in the Series having been a player under previous manager Joe Torre in 1996 and 1998-99. Plenty of history then for the Yankees, and Girardi is well aware of the pressures involved with his team as favorites to get their elusive 27^th world title.

“I was pretty aware of the pressures, because I think as players you understood what the deal was every year here, because of the way that Mr. Steinbrenner and everyone put the club together,” commented Girardi after his team concluded their workout on a misty field Tuesday.

Of course there is pressure. George Steinbrenner has less authority now as the owner. Hank and Hal will welcome their father to the new billion dollar stadium in the Bronx Wednesday evening and have made it known, getting to and winning the World Series is a necessity when you sign on and manage the Yankees.   They have come this far, and the Steinbrenner family wants nothing but the brass ring and a championship for New York.

And for Phils manager Charlie Manuel, the pressure does not seem to be an issue. He has guided his team to a second consecutive Series appearance, the first manager since Torre took his Yankees to four straight from 1998-2201.  The Phillies, perhaps are attempting to become a dynasty like the Yankees, as no team has won back-to-back championships since the Yankees did that with three straight from 1998-2000.

“We have no pressure as the defending champions,” said Manuel when it was his turn to take the podium. “They have to take it from us,’ he said. “The games are won on the field,” commented Manuel when asked his opinion about the Yankees being the favorites.  His Phils have more experienced Series experience, 17 have been there before to the Yankees nine.

A classic Series perhaps because Manuel has opted to go with Pedro Martinez as his game two starter Thursday evening over  last year’s Series MVP Cole Hamels.  Martinez returns to New York, once again on the big stage and this time at the new Yankee Stadium.

“This may be my last big stage,” said Martinez who had a serious look in his eye at one of the many booths set up in the Great Hall at the Stadium where media met the players.  Afterwards, fans peeking in from the closed gates taunted the 16-year veteran. He was receptive and Pedro put on a show before testing his arm on the field

There were some questions in early May, before Alex Rodriguez returned to the lineup. After that the Yankees proved they were destined to get back to the World Series. They were the best team in baseball from then on, and now four more wins await them this time, before they can be called the best against the defending champions.

If Rodriguez continues his torrid hitting, which may be stopped by the numerous lefthanders the Phillies throw, well the Yankees could be in trouble.  If Mark Teixiera, who showed some signs of getting out of a horrid postseason slump at the end of the ALCS, then the Phillies will have their problems.

“Think we can put ourselves on the map to be the better team,” said the Phillies Shane Victorino who ignored a New York tabloid front page that mocked him. Victorino also pays no attention towards comparing his team and the Yankees. Getting 26 championships like the Yankees also can’t be compared, but consecutive championships would be an accomplishment especially going through New York.

“We want to put ourselves in that category,” he commented about a possible dynasty. “You know to win back-to-back would be fun.  They have power and pitching and ultimately it comes down to one game at a time.”

Both teams combined hit 468 home runs this season, and for the first time in 83 years the World Series features two teams with the most home runs hit in the Majors. Yankee pitchers will face a lineup of Philly hitters that have six players in double digits when hitting the long ball and they both have hit 14 home runs this postseason.

So there are some comparisons, and then there is the rooting interest of New York baseball fans. Martinez had a stint with the cross-town Mets and still respects that other baseball team in town. “They will get stronger and better,” he said, “and I know there fans won’t be rooting for us.

Of course not, because in New York a Mets fan has a dilemma. It will be heard. They despise the cross-town Yankees because they always get to this point of a baseball season. And the dreadful Phillies have become a nemesis taking the last three National League east division titles under Manuel, so a Mets fan may root for the Yanks.

But in baseball circles it does not matter who a fan roots for. Fans want to see a good World Series, so does everyone associated with Major League Baseball, and the Fox Sports Network may have a ratings buster due to the interest and magnitude of this series.

So when the Phillies Jimmy Rollins made a bold prediction, his team in five games that set the tone more.  Others believe it will be Yankees in six or seven games and a lot rides on how Girardi sets his roster. He may carry two catchers instead one instead of the three he has used in the previous postseason games against Minnesota and the Angels.

And the Yankees will probably use a game four starter. “You look at where you’re at and make decisions as you go,” says Girardi about who to start after Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte.  “We have a plan of what we’re going to do and that plan can be adjusted depending on where you are in the Series.”

That relates also to the bullpen where the Series can ultimately be decided. Girardi still has plans to use Phil Hughes in a set up role, along with Joba Chamberlain. And one thing is certain, the Yankees have Mariano Rivera and the all-time best closer in postseason baseball just about assures a Yankees win.

The difference from Rivera and other postseason closers, you are seeing Cy Young and not Mel Rojas or Armando Benitez two former New York Mets who had no consistency when closing an important game. And don’t be surprised to see Girardi call his closer for a six out save like he did Sunday in the ALCS clincher against the Angels.

A classic in the making for all baseball fans the next week or so for sure.  In the end, home runs from both sides including Ryan Howard of the Phillies. “Just try and take advantages of some mistakes they may make,” he says about ways to overtake the Yankees.

.“Don’t know a thing about them, don’t know much about them,” said the captain Derek Jeter when asked about the Phillies in the new spacious Yankees clubhouse that got another dose of champagne Sunday evening. Jeter is a part of that core of four with Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte who now go to their seventh World Series.

Who is better, Jeter or the Phils Chase Utley? In a matter of hours, the Yankees will know more about the Phillies than they did in the three games they played against each other earlier this season. Then the Phils took two of three in the Bronx.  They were good games then, and expect the same now.

Yankees have home field advantage.  That helps also and in the end they get their 27^th world championship in the Bronx next week in six games.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

Perhaps the managers, Joe Girardi and Mike Scioscia could have had better judgment as to who belonged on the mound, in particular the questions about the way Girardi continues to use his bullpen, and as to how Scioscia let the Yankees briefly take control again in game 6 after lifting his starter John Lackey.

If Nick Swisher drives in a run or two Thursday night, with the bases loaded in the ninth, the Phillies would be preparing for a trip to the Bronx instead of the Angels continuing the drama.  We have had it all in the ALCS and if the weather cooperates, there certainly is more to come Saturday night in the Bronx.

And then there is the factor of these umpires, now under considerable scrutiny with their horrible decision making process.  Perhaps one or two calls go to the advantage of the Yankees and it is Phillies against the Yankees.  The controversy surrounding the umpires left no impact on the final outcome that has led us to this point.

What we are left with is opening more questions to expand the instant replay rule for post season baseball games. It certainly is worth consideration based on the events of the last few days. And give or take a few more minutes, more replay rulings wont delay the game any more than what it is now.

The guys who review and evaluate these umpires sit in a press box or behind home plate at various stadiums during the course of a 162 game season.  They, too watch the replays like we do at home.  Some evaluations are accurate, and others try not to be so critical because of friendships formed over the years.

But that is an issue that the silent commissioner of baseball, Bud Selig must review. A merit and evaluation system of umpires obviously can’t be acceptable to the managers, players, and those with a rooting interest. They all deserve better this time of year with so much on the line.

You watch this Yankees-Angels battle with fans of the Yankees. They also scrutinize every move that Girardi makes. More so after game 3 when Girardi removed David Robertson for Alfredo Aceves with two outs, which ultimately put the Angeles back in the series

They, the Yankee fans says Swisher is an abomination and should not be in the lineup  with one run batted through eight games this postseason, 3-for-29 with 10 strikeouts  Yet they forget. Girardi has faith in his player that drove in 82 runs and hit 29 homers during the season.

And tthe drama of how the Yankees have become so dependable on their ace, CC Sabathia and the revival of Alex Rodriguez and his postseason bat. They are two viable candidates for ALCS Most Valuable Player honors, if indeed these Yankees wrap this up the next few days.

Yes this has been an interesting and complex ALCS, as was expected. And sure there is every right to critique the managers and umpires from events of the past week.  But we don’t play the game like they do. We don’t make the calls on the field, and we certainly have no experience making hasty and crucial decisions from a dugout like Girardi and Scioscia.

Game 6 and possibly a game 7 on the horizon, and if there is a final and decisive game, how many Yankee fans will talk more about the 2004 Yankees 3-0 advantage that was lost to the Red Sox?

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com