Mets Pull One Out of the Hat After Phils Do

When you look back at the regular season, there are games that jump off the page that stand out as the ones that either killed or salvaged the campaign. After one of the most wild and wacky two-game sets all year, the Mets and Phillies played to a stalemate.

The Mets answered an 8-7 extra-inning loss with a 6-3 victory on Wednesday night. An unlikely come-from-behind win was made possible by Carlos Delgado’s two home run performance, including the tying solo shot to the opposite field in the eighth inning.

How enormous the win was cannot be measured when you think of what could have been. Turn-about is fair play, and the usually reliable Philadelphia relievers – including closer Brad Lidge – allowed a 3-2 lead to disappear. Rookie Daniel Murphy and light hitting, but hot of late Brian Schneider had key hits to break the tie. The bullpen that opened the floodgates 24 hours earlier slammed the door and a split was the result.

“You know that one game could determine who wins and loses (referring to the division),” Mets manager Jerry Manuel told reporters. “Every game is important – it’s a must-win.” Continue Reading »

Your Favorite Online Publication Seen in Robert Kennedy’s Print Edition

MuscleSport Mag is featured in the October 2008 issue of “MuscleMag Interntional.” See our advertisement in an exciting, extra-packed issue with Joel Stubbs as the cover main feature. There’s also “Road Map to Mass” (and “Nutritional Road Map to Mass”), “Peak Performance,” “Creatine Under the Microscope,” and great department pieces such as “Priority on Pecs” (Workout of the Month) and “Rise of the Living Deadlift” (Strongman).

What magazine would be complete without a sexy pictorial? Certainly not this one. The amazing April Ireland is seen from every angle in “Sock it Up.” As if a MSM ad wasn’t enough reason to buy this issue!

Manny Kirby Uses Car Accident as Inspiration for Bodybuilding

This is part of a continuing series provided exclusively by MuscleSport Mag entitled, “This is Your Magazine,” where we profile the every-day athlete. If you would like to see yourself profiled here, please send us your story and photo to superbas@optonline.net.

Many kids dream about being as big as the Incredible Hulk, but few actually live it. A young Manny Kirby used to confide to his father about that, and he ended up morphing into Bruce Banner’s alter ego following an incident that was more catastrophic than gamma rays.

12 years ago, the 41 year-old Kirby was involved in a serious automobile accident that left him with a cracked sternum and four cracked ribs (two each in the front and back). Doctors told him that he wouldn’t be able to do anything such involving constant movement such as dancing due to his heart being bruised by his injured ribs.

While some people would have wallowed in their misery, Kirby found a new way while convalescing for over two months. He started reading the writings of Bruce Lee and Mike Mentzer. “Lee’s mental focus on the body astounded me,” recalled Kirby, “and spoke about the mind and spirit.

“Mentzer had the same mental focus, but was more about the mind and pushing beyond your limits,” continued Kirby. “I combined the two and, lo and behold, stepped forth into a gym.” Continue Reading »

Personal Trainers will Incorporate Many Different Styles into Programs; It’s Your Job to Find the Right One

By Matthew Sgro

This is part of a continuing series provided exclusively by MuscleSport Mag entitled, “This is Your Magazine,” where we profile the every-day athlete. If you would like to see yourself profiled here, please send us your story and photo to superbas@optonline.net.

There are many ways to improve one’s physique and fitness level. One example of this is kettle bell training. Under the guidance of a properly trained professional this can be a highly effective and safe manner of training. As many physical therapists and professional personal trainers will tell you, training of this type with an unqualified trainer can be dangerous. They can say this because they’ve probably seen people after they’ve recieved this training.

There are very few exercises that are “wrong.” With the right form and instruction, you can get in phenomenal shape with many different types of training. Someone who specializes in a type of training such as kettle bells is exactly what you need when training with such type of training. Continue Reading »

Guilty Pleas in 2005 Brutal Slaying

You get what you deserve. Bodybuilder Craig Titus and his spouse, fitness pro Kelly Ryan both accepted guilty pleas in a Las Vegas courtroom of a crime that rivaled the slayings in the popular motion picture, “Natural Born Killers.” Titus’ sentence of 21 to 55 years and Ryan’s of six to 26 years are hardly enough in a crime that shocked more than the sports world.

Titus’ lawyer, Marc Saggese, supplied some extra drama when he claimed that his client was “assured before pleading guilty on May 30 that he would have a chance at parole after 15 to 17 years.” When you stand up and admit to second-degree murder, kidnapping and arson charges, learn how to take your medicine. Continue Reading »

SF Giants One Light-Hitting Bunch Without Bonds

When the calendar shows that August is closing out in one week and your team leader in home runs has 12, it’s fair to say that small-ball is your style. In San Francisco, Aaron Rowand is the only player on the roster with a double-digit total in long balls, which is not easy to do at this juncture of the season. Even players that hit one out rarely approach the 10 to 15 total. With only 71 total at the time of this writing, the Giants are on an anemic pace for production.

In 2007, Barry Bonds hit 28 home runs, leading the way by a wide margin. The next up on that team were third baseman Pedro Feliz (20) and catcher Bengie Molina (19). Rowand, who played for the Phillies a year ago, hit 27. As a team, the Giants hit 128 during Bonds’ farewell season in town. Continue Reading »

No Place to Go But Up for Birds Looking to Rebound

With the start of NFL training camps, MuscleSport Mag will bring you a team-by-team breakdown of all 32 clubs vying for the Lombardi Trophy on February 1, 2009 in Tampa Bay. We will start with the NFC East and work our way around the league.

Following a ‘kiss your sister’ 8-8 finish last season, the Philadelphia Eagles are hoping to make a come back in perhaps the NFL’s toughest division. A healthy Donovan McNabb will at least give the Eagles some continuity at the quarterback position, but after missing quality time with a bum knee, the veteran scrambler is a far cry from what he once was. Continue Reading »

Gibbs, Riding Off into the Sunset, Replaced by Rookie HC Zorn

With the start of NFL training camps, MuscleSport Mag will bring you a team-by-team breakdown of all 32 clubs vying for the Lombardi Trophy on February 1, 2009 in Tampa Bay. We will start with the NFC East and work our way around the league.

Coming off an emotional playoff run last season and a coaching change, the Washington Redskins may take a step back in order to take two or more forward. The team ame together after the tragic death of Sean Taylor when no one would have faulted them for playing out the string.

Jim Zorn comes in from Seattle to replace the retired legend, Joe Gibbs. Shoes that will be extremely difficult to fill, no doubt. The former southpaw signal-caller finds himself in a tough division housing the Super Bowl champion Giants, division winning Dallas Cowboys, and a Philadelphia Eagles team hungry for a strong rebound after a down year.

Another new face in town will be Jason Taylor, who tangoed his way under Bill Parcells’ skin and out of Miami. While his talent cannot be questioned, the same can’t be said for his dedication. Continue Reading »

Giants, the Team to Beat, Ring in the New Year

2008 NEW YORK GIANTS PREVIEW

This time, they won’t be able to take anyone by surprise. The entire league will be on the lookout for the Giants, and - if they know what’s good for them – emulate what they did in Super Bowl XLII to defeat the high-flying New England Patriots. Facing the task of replacing a veteran leader two years in a row, Big Blue will look to make Michael Strahan’s absence as inconspicuous as Tike Barber’s.

Playing in the extremely tough NFC East, the regular season will not be a cakewalk, but an overall weaker conference should allow the Giants to qualify for the playoffs easily. Eli Manning made all the doubters swallow their words and pride with a postseason full of magic, while head coach Tom Coughlin reaped the benefits of a championship after being raked over the New York coals. Continue Reading »

ESPN (No) Personality Can’t Stay Away from Being A Rabble Rouser, Even After Being Sacked from Most Jobs

When you’re a one-trick pony, there should be no surprise that a lesson is never learned. Take Stephen A. Smith, for example. At one point in his career, he was writing for The Philadelphia Inquirer, and had his own radio and television show. All three have blown up in his face, and no matter what spin he may want to put on it, his controversial ways sealed his fate.

Smith has an uncanny ability to rub people the wrong way with his pro-African American views on everything in the sports world. Someone can be proud of their race and heritage, but when you’re supposedly doing your job - which calls for objectiveness - leave those ideas home. No one reading about a sports organization wants to hear which player is best black athlete. The old saying, “You root for laundry,” means just that - fans don’t care if the player is white, black, hispanic or other. We’re into the team because we grew up with them and cheer for the players wearing that jersey.

Because Smith turns off the majority of the audience - if you need me to spell it out, the white part of the audience - his ratings were not up to par and thus the reason for “Quite Frankly” bouncing around the schedule before being dropped a year and a half later. While the man knows his business, he loses a lot of his credibility by harping on social issues that have no correlation. A prime example is his latest “Up Front” column in the August 25 issue of ‘ESPN The Magazine.’ Calling himself an “angry black man” who has “no desire to be PC,” Smith sounds as if he were standing on a small platform in Times Square instead of sitting in front of a computer. Continue Reading »