The yet-to-be-named bowl game will pit the Big East conference’s third or fourth selection against the Big 12 conference’s seventh selection and will take place sometime between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.  It marks the first NCAA football bowl game in the Bronx since the Gotham Bowl on December 15, 1962, when Nebraska edged Miami (Fla.), 36-34, at the original Yankee Stadium.

“This is a great day for the New York City and the Bronx, as we bring a premier college football bowl game to Yankee Stadium,” said Yankees Managing General Partner Hal Steinbrenner.  “When we constructed this Stadium, it was our intention to create a first-class baseball stadium as well as a venue capable of holding a variety of unique and memorable events.”

A vote to approve the bowl game was passed by both conferences with a four-year agreement in place (through 2013).  The NCAA is expected to formalize the four-year bowl agreement in April, 2010.  Should the Big 12 representative not qualify for bowl eligibility under NCAA guidelines, Notre Dame has agreed to take part in the Yankee Stadium bowl game against a Big East opponent, barring Notre Dame’s availability to participate.

“There is no better place during the holiday season to host big events than New York City, and no one does big events better than New York City,” said Yankees President Randy Levine.  “Hosting two of college football’s premier conferences in an annual bowl game will give sports fans from all over the country a unique opportunity to experience and enjoy Yankee Stadium.  It is a tremendous honor to bring the excitement and prestige of college football to the great stage of Yankee Stadium and the great city of New York.”

“What better place for a big game between the Big 12 and the Big East than the Big Apple,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “Not only will it give fans a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to close out their season and the year in the world’s most exciting City, it will also give us a chance to introduce New York City to thousands of new visitors, including college students and football fans from the South, East, and Midwest. Over the last several years we’ve targeted events that might seem unconventional for New York City – like the Country Music Awards or NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Champions Week – for just that reason: they highlight the City to new audiences. An annual college football bowl game is the latest example, and – with an anticipated economic impact of $47 million – we’re thrilled to join the Yankees and play host.”

The Bowl Game Host Committee will be managed by Mark Holtzman, the bowl’s Executive Director, and Maureen Reidy, the bowl’s Director.

As one of the world’s most prestigious addresses, the original Yankee Stadium played host to a number of college football games from the year it opened in 1923, including New York University and Fordham home games and the two schools’ annual matchup. From 1925-46, and again in 1969, the annual Notre Dame-Army football game took place at Yankee Stadium, including the memorable “win one for the Gipper” matchup in 1928, and the 1946 contest which ended in a scoreless tie and featured four Heisman Trophy winners (Doc Blanchard, Glenn Davis, Johnny Lujack and Leon Hart).  From 1968-73 and ’76-87, Grambling played a series of home games at Yankee Stadium, known as the Whitney M. Young Urban Classic.

The original Yankee Stadium was also the home for scores of other sports, entertainment and cultural events, including boxing, professional football, soccer, political assemblies, three Papal masses, religious conventions, concerts, NYU commencement and the circus.

Today’s news comes two months after it was announced that Yankee Stadium will host the Notre Dame-Army game on November 20, 2010, as well as a series of Army home football games vs. Rutgers in 2011, Air Force in 2012 and Boston College in 2014.

The Yankees will have a future announcement regarding ticket availability for the general public.

What almost seemed like a case of ‘turnabout is fair play,’ the chants of “you took steroids” that Jason Giambi and, more recently, Alex Rodriguez heard at Fenway Park were thrown back into the Red Sox’s faces. With the news of Manny Ramirez (the current Dodger and long time Red Sox outfielder) being suspended for a banned substance and now Ortiz being named as one of the 104 players who tested positive back in 2003, it has taken some of the sting away from the Yankees’ reputation of the team most likely to test positive.

When asked during the pre-game press conference if he anticipated a rough reception for Ortiz from the Yankee faithful, Boston manager Terry Francona said, “That won’t make or break my night how the fans are going to treat one of our players.”

Already having a sub-par season, Ortiz has slumped of late, especially after the word leaked out that he was another on the so-called ‘anonymous’ list. “I haven’t noticed him being any different thatn he has in the past,” Francona said, also noting that Ortiz hit a home run in the first game after the news broke but then went on a 1-for-14 slide. “I see him handling things very well, but I can’t see inside him.”

In the Yankees’ 13-6 win in the opener of a four-game set in the Bronx, Ortiz had a rough night, going 0-for-5. The fans made sure to get their voices up for him as he made his way to the batter’s box and even more so as the public address announcer called his name. The chant of ‘steroids’ could be clearly heard from the press box, especially coming down from the upper deck.

Ortiz would not exactly have been getting any sort of cheer from this crowd, but the venom that spewed from the charged-up Yankee fans – who finally could enjoy a win over Boston after eight consecutive losses to their nemesis to start the season – was especially harsh on this night.

DAVID ORTIZ – 2009 STATS (not including 8/6/09)

Games – 89; At-Bats – 356; Runs – 42; Hits – 80; Doubles – 23; Triples – 1; Home Runs – 15; RBI – 61; Total Bases – 150; Walks – 44; Strike Outs – 89; Stolen Bases – 0; Caught Stealing – 2; On Base Pct. – .312; Slugging Pct. – .412, Batting Averge – .225

Photo by Bill Menzel

Coming at the most inopportune time, goalkeeper Jon Conway and defender Jeff Parke of the New York Red Bulls were both handed a 10-game suspension for violating the MLS substance abuse policy. They will miss at least the team’s final two regular season games as the club is striving for a playoff berth.

Both are claiming that they took an unnamed “over-the-counter nutritional supplement” purchased from a “vitamin store that is part of a national chain,” according to a league statement. This mystery concoction is said to contain ATD, a substance that metabolizes into boldenone. It would seem that this claim would have more validity if both the store and supplement were named. How easy is it to just turn around and plead ignorance? Perhaps they did divulge this information to MLS officials and the league chose to not release it, but it all seems a bit sketchy with the scant report.

The first game they missed turned out to be a blessing in surprise, as replacement goalie Danny Depero – who had not played a minute during the season – scored a goal on an 81-yard free kick in a 3-1 win over Columbus. The team has one game remaining to round out their schedule, which they hope will extend into the postseason.

If the NFL Network had to do it all over again, they probably would have named Bob Papa as their play-by-play man from Day One. The radio voice of the New York Giants is a valid choice and will handle the job with dignity while bringing something to the table. Unfortunately, this comes a year too late and after football fans had to deal with Bryant Gumbel calling games, who’s style was reminiscent of the lead character in “Weekend at Bernie’s.”

While he may have been a decent studio host many years ago on NBC, Gumbel was an odd choice to be in the booth during the fledging network’s first season exclusively covering Thursday night games. His years as a ‘Today’ show host seemed to have taken a lot of his being considered a ‘sports’ person away. No matter what color analyst Cris Collinsworth did to attempt to salvage what was being said over the microphones, Gumbel’s inability to even have a deep knowledge of the game reared its ugly head on more than one occasion. If that wasn’t bad enough, his style was so laid back that even his calls of critical touchdowns had the same intensity as when he called for a commercial break.

Papa has been with the Giants since 1995 and has been called “one of the most talented and experiences announcers in the business” by NFL Network president Steve Bornstein. While being accused of being a ‘homer’ during Giant games, Papa won’t have to hear that on a national scale. His broadcasts sound as if he is having fun and not just doing a job, a claim that Gumbel cannot make.

The NFL Network’s first game this season will be on November 6 with the Denver Broncos at the Cleveland Browns.