Across from the tennis center is the old and the new of the New York Metropolitans. This view peeks into Shea Stadium which will be closed following this season. Like their cross-town rival Yankees, the Mets are building a brand new ballpark for 2009. This picture shows the mural honoring the Amazin's 1969 World Championship.
On a side note, there remains controversy over the Mets' decision to sell the naming rights to Citi Bank. New Yorkers and Mets fans were clamoring for the new stadium to be named Jackie Robinson Stadium. It would have been a fitting memorial, especially since the stadium is located on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens. Nevertheless, as is the case in the modern era, the Mets took the money and ran and so the new ballpark will be named for after a bank.
Now, we are in Philly and preparing for Cheesesteaks and an Independence Day baseball treat: the Phillies and the Mets from Citizens Bank Park. The weather forecast for Independence Day is not promising, with a 60% chance of thundershowers for Friday evening. We're calling on the good luck of the C.J. bobblehead to hold the rain at bay.
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Do me a favor. Click this link to see the YouTube video chronicle of Chandler Harris' night at Yankee Stadium. Chandler is the junior broadcast journalism major at Abilene Christian University who is interning for Jeremy Schaap of ESPN this summer. Chandler's video is outstanding. You'll love his work.