I was fascinated to read on SI.com about Santana’s hard won contract battle. Apparently, earlier in the day he had made his views clear through his agent that he wanted $140 million. The Mets were holding to $135 million.

Santana then flew from Florida to New York to make his stance firm. He arrived, with five minutes left in negotiations, and told them that he wanted $140 million and if they couldn’t offer that, he’d have to pass.

Mets COO, Jeff Wilpon, replied:

“I’ve been in business a long time. That’s a lot of money to walk away from.”

Santana’s response was confident:

“No disrespect to you. But I deserve it. I’ll just go back and pitch and I’ll get it later.

Santana then made reference to Alex Rodriguez, the highest paid player in the game. He then asserted that he’s the best pitcher and he’s not asking for that much.

In the end, Mr. Santana got his wish. The Mets asked for a two hour extension on the negotiation to reach an agreement. Two hours later, while splitting the difference, they agreed to $137.5 million.

Hopefully, for Mets fans, he’ll be just as competitive on the field as he was at the negotiation table. For Mets tickets, feel free to buy online.

Tino Martinez, the former first baseman for the New York Yankees is coming back to the team, this time as an instructor. He reported to the press that he felt excited to be back on the field with the players.

When asked if he’d pursue opportunities to manage or coach a team in the future ESPN reports that he said:

“Probably, eventually, down the line. I didn’t know how much I would enjoy coaching in college last year, and I really enjoyed it. Right now, I’m just very content with the role I have.”

In other news, the team is likely to finalize a contract with Robinson Cano. They’re looking at a contract worth $57 million over six seasons. If he gets the contract, he will get “$3 million this season, $6 million next year, $9 million in 2010 and $10 million in 2011.”

And finally, as the team gets ready for Spring Training next week, with the steroids controversy looming, team captain Derek Jeter assures the fans that it will not be a distraction. His attitude seems to suggest that he’s seen lots of controversy over his years in the league and figures that the game will go on regardless.

Let’s hope he’s right. To get NY Yankee tickets feel free to click on the link.

The new 2008 Broadway revival of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” has a surprising element. It will feature an all black cast. This is a particularly interesting choice, given the fact that the play is about a wealthy plantation owning family in the south.

The play will feature stars from the small and big screen. Terrence Howard, best known for his Oscar nominated role in “Hustle and Flow,” will be playing Brick. James Earl Jones, also known as the voice of Darth Vader, will be playing big Daddy. And Phylicia Rashad, from “The Cosby Show,” will be playing Big Mama. The play will be directed by Debbie Allen, the sister of Rashad.

The decision to choose an all black cast raises many interesting issues. The play is written specifically for white actors. The theater world has traditionally done color-blind or multi-racial casts. But this would not be classified as color-blind since color clearly was a factor in the casting choices. Race in this case is being used to make a statement. Without having seen the play, it’s hard for me to know what the statement would be.

If you’re interested in finding out for yourself, feel free to buy Broadway tickets online.

The Mets have what Ben Shpigel of the New York Times calls, “the best pitcher in baseball.” The agreement process sounds a bit grueling. It took 72 hours and 90 minutes. The final cost: $137.5 million over 6 years. That is some big cash. But they feel it is worth the price for the former left handed pitcher from the Minnesota Twins.

The Mets first had to aquire the rights to negotiate with him. They made a deal with the Twins, giving them four prospects. The Twins gave them 72 hours to make the deal with Santana. When it appeared that they needed a little more time, they petitioned the Twins for another 2 hours, which they were given.

The haggling that went on to secure this deal was obviously two sided. The Mets wanted to give Santana a five-year deal, but he was demanding six. In the end, he got his way, and he got his extremely generous contract.

The Mets had a strong team this last year that ended prematurely. The hope is that this will put an extra positive spin on a potentially great 2008 season.

Mets tickets should sell well without him. But with a genuine star pitcher, his presence will hopefully pay for itself.

Last night I asked my girlfriend, someone who knows nothing about professional sports, which team was going to win the Super Bowl. She asked me which teams were playing. I told her that it was the Giants and the Patriots. Out of the sky she chose the Giants. So I said, “I’ll bet you ten bucks the Patriots win.” She accepted the bet, not knowing that she had taken the unlikely odds. Now it appears that I owe her ten bucks.

Few would have bet against a Patriots win. After an undefeated season, it seemed as if they were destined to make history. The only other team to go undefeated and win the Super Bowl was the 1972 Dolphins. But it appeared that destiny was a dream in the sky for the Patriots.

The Associated Press described it as, “One of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history.” Bill Belichick was bitter and unsportsmanlike in his response to the Giant’s win: “I don’t rank them. It’s disappointing.”

But history will rank the Giants based on that ending score, and the Super Bowl trophy. No theorizing about history and ranking can take that away from them. The fact of the matter is that they won fair and square.

New York fans are likely to revel over the next few months before changing their focus to baseball. When you’re ready to start thinking about a new sport, and If you’re a New York sports fan, feel free to purchase NY Yankee tickets online through the link.

When I first saw Clay Aiken perform on “American Idol,” I thought, “This guy will never make it as a pop star . . . but he needs to be on Broadway.” He doesn’t have the traditional sex appeal that you need to have in the music industry. But on Broadway, they need character actors, people with charisma that can translate on stage, and people that can really sing. He seems to have all three.

Although his acting experience has been small, I saw him playing a supporting role on “Scrubs” a few years ago and his performance was really excellent. I didn’t even notice that he was Clay Aiken until the end of the episode when he did a special musical number, which would have been cheesy except that it was “Scrubs” and for some reason they can get away with that stuff.

Mr. Aiken will be playing Sir Robin in Spamalot, which is described by its tagline as “a new musical lovingly ripped off from the motion picture ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail.’” The play is created by Eric Idle, legendary cast member of Monty Python, and composed by Python’s musical collaborator, John Du Prez. Legendary director of the stage and screen, Mike Nichols, directs the play.

To see this new cast member in a play created by these legendary comic minds you can find your Broadway tickets online.