8 For '08

You probably don't read Brooklyn Heights Blog. I don't usually, but because my good friend Daniel Squadron was running for State Senate, I set up a Google Alert for his name to see what was being written about him in the press/blogs. And because Brooklyn Heights Blog wrote about his election extensively, I've become quite familiar with it.

I got another Google Alert that linked me to BHB today because they released "The BHB Ten," which is supposed to be the most influential and important Brooklyn Heights' residents of the past year, and I got a kick out of seeing Daniel as No. 1. Not so much because that blog is super-relevant or anything, but because he ranked one spot ahead of Paul Giamatti, who earned the No. 2 spot based on his portrayal of John Adams the HBO mini-series about our second president.

Since I didn't have a great idea for an end-of-the-year post, I decided to steal BHB's idea and do my 8 for '08. Unlike BHB, I am not limiting my list to my neighborhood. If I did, it would definitely include (in no particular order), my roommates, my ping-pong table, Bergen Bagel, the free popcorn at Fourth Avenue Pub, the Prospect Park loop, my roof, and Los Pollitos' $3.95 half-chicken.

Without further adieu (you're getting bullet points again, deal with it) . . .

8. The Tampa Bay Rays: Yes, a small-market team can finish ahead of the Yankees. All they have to do is be terrible for 10 years and be relatively successful with their plethora top-five draft picks. Seriously though, I want to thank them for keeping the Yankees out of the playoffs for the first time since people were wearing Cross Colours.

7. Nate Silver: It's fitting he comes in right next to the Rays because his PECOTA projection system said they would win 89 games. People said he was crazy. As he proved with fivethirtyeight.com, he's just smarter than everyone else.

6. The New "90210": It's so bad it's good! Or at least that's what I keep telling myself. It's pretty amazing how much the "90210" branding affects me. If this show were called "Matter Of Chance," and was about a group of high school kids form Chance, Mich., I would never watch it (even if it had the greatest trailer ever). But because it's "90210" and it's had some appearances from original cast members, I'm hooked.

5. Heartless Bastards: There's nothing quite like the feeling of discovering a new band and finding out you like pretty much every one of their songs. And then you go see them in concert and they rock your proverbial balls off. Their third album is due out February 3, and as I'm sure you can tell, I'm excited.

4. Joe Posnanski's Blog: Even though he's a contributor to Sports Illustrated, my magazine's competitor, I will say that he is the best sportswriter out there. When I read his blog, I'm constantly thinking, "I wish I could write like that." In fact, if you like this blog a little, you'll probably love his blog and never come back here again. On second thought, maybe I shouldn't have told you about his blog.

3. Shea Stadium: It was a bittersweet farewell for the legendary ballfield as the Mets choked away a postseason opportunity for the second straight September. If you care, you can read about my final experience at Shea. At least I went out on a high note.

2. Bruce Springsteen Concerts: I saw him live for the fourth time this summer, and it never gets old. In fact, if you want a great take on a Springsteen concert, check out Joe Posnanski's. Oh crap, I did it again.

1. David Tyree: If you've been reading this blog, you know my feelings on him. If you haven't been reading this blog, I wrote my definitive David Tyree post here.

Yes, I realize that this was a lot of links, but they were quality links. Just enough to get you through to ABCQ in 2009. Happy new year.