Seriously, how long does it take to tear down a stadium? Oh, I forgot that we’re dealing with people from New York and New Jersey, people who think that the United States doesn’t extend west of the Erie Canal. That would explain why they decided to make the press box at Giants stadium something of a free-standing structure, one that demolition company Gramercy Group decided to just yank down in a very low-tech way.

A traditional ‘pull-down’ method successfully and safely brought the structure to the ground after weeks of preparation.

Using their 2 Caterpillar dozers and 2 Komatsu loaders the front support columns were first pulled out of the way. This allowed 3 of their Komatsu and 3 of their Hitachi excavators to pull the structure with heavy cables wrapped around structural columns on the top floor of the Press Box, 185 feet up. –Stephen SetteDucati’s YouTube page.

And here’s a good spot for me to gripe about over-editing. The press box is plummeting to earth, and that’s pretty cool by itself, so why the hell did SetteDucati decide to turn it into Cloverfield? And I love how they hose it off after the fact. And did they doublecheck to make sure that structure was actually empty? Hey, it’s north Jersey. There could have been two families’ worth of Croatian immigrants living in there.

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Most of you already have seen the implosion of Texas Stadium (and of Jerry Jones, for that matter). But here’s a chance to watch it as if you were actually there. The following video includes two panoramic views, one of each side of the stadium. I’m pretty sure this is how fish see the world. I enjoy the camera cutting out as the debris falls; it was like watching the end of “The Sopranos” again, but actually conclusive. Read the rest of this entry »

I was in attendance for the thrilling contest between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres (Assistant Editor's note: Actual excitement of this game may be embellished by several beers consumed during the game), which the Fightin' Phils won 7-3, and I had a waking nightmare of a large, menacing, polydactyly slugger this morning.  Upon checking the box score this morning, I groggily discovered the freakish batsman of my nocturnal terror (Assistant Editor's note: Actual grogginess and terror of this nightmare may be enhanced by a 1AM drinking match with a bosomy Eastern European woman) was Antonio Alfonseca.  Yes, the Phillies closer with the extra digits grounded to 2nd in the top of the 9th.  It was quite comical, and I hoped to find a YouTube of the at-bat.  Alas, there is none, so this is what you get:    

I always suspected that Phillie Fanatic was a home-wrecker.  Harold shed no tears for Ethel when she died in this tragedy. -KD