On Broadway, in Lower Manhattan, the sidewalk is regularly interrupted by embedded plaques which memorialize each of the city's ticker tape parades along the so-called "Canyon of Heroes." Over 180 parades have been held, recognizing everyone from Albert Einstein to Miguel Alemán Valdés. (He was President of Mexico, as you no doubt recall.) The first ticker tape parade, legend has it, was a spontaneous affair in honor of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty. It caught on - for a while anyway.

Since the parade honoring the 1969 Mets, who, believe it or not, actually won the World Series, there have been, counting today's, nineteen parades. Of those 19, one was for the Pope, one for Nelson Mandela, one for released hostages, one for astronauts, three for veterans - and 12 have been for athletes or teams. In fact, since 1991, John Glenn and crew have been the only non-athletes to earn a parade. In that time span, the Yankees have had five. (more...)

Congrats to the New York Yankees, who clinched their 27th World Series Wednesday night by defeating the Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 7 to 3. The Yankees' dominance of Major League Baseball is the stuff of legends. But let's look at their success in a way that is both relevant to our media coverage AND a shameless attempt for getting linked across the Internet: let's compare the payroll differential between the Yankees and the Phillies as if they were media outlets. Fair? Balanced? I think so! (more...)

Let's get the facts out of the way first - Keith Olbermann went to see Game 6 of the World Series, watching the Yankees close it out, instead of hosting his 8pmET MSNBC show Countdown last night - the day after the first elections of the Obama administration. We know this because he wrote all about it on his MLB blog. There's photo evidence he was hanging out...with a Fox News host! Now that the facts are settled - does this make any sense? (more...)

POLL/VIDEO At least in New York, the biggest single of the summer, and maybe the fall too, has been Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind," featuring Alicia Keys. Jay-Z's success this summer and his ability to hold the attention of the City and even the country during historically important moments is a reminder of how dominant he is within the world of hip-hop. (more...)

World Series! I was maybe 10 when my father handed me a bible, a tome that encapsulated the fundamental tenets of our religion. It was called The Yankee Hater's Handbook. A masterpiece of framing, it armed me with any number of responses to claims of the greatness of the team, the excellence of Mssrs. DiMaggio and Maris, the basic mental capacity of Mr. Berra. At that time, though, in the mid-1980s, hating the Yankees was like someone today hating the Knicks. They're so terrible - why bother? (more...)