Last week I reported how Mets fans have never seen a no-hitter from their team in it’s entire history, even though Mike Pelfrey came close last week. But last night, the first no-hitter of the 2008 season occurred. And what’s truly remarkable, is the person who did it.

The Red Sox haven’t had a lefty no-hitter in 52 years. Red Sox pitcher, Jon Lester, got to be the person to break that streak. He threw 130 pitches against the Kansas City Royals, without a hit. He had nine strike outs and walked only two. And what’s more impressive is the fact that this 24-year-old is a cancer survivor.

Less than two years ago Lester was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He missed the final weeks of the 2006 season.

Manager Terry Francona admits to being a wreck in the dugout in the dugout during the 9th inning. As Lester was mobbed by teammates on the mound after the last strike, Francona joined the celebration, giving him a huge hug.

It was a special day for a team that has had its share of inspirational victories over the last few years. But even with two amazing World Series wins, this might stand aside as a special victory for a great team, and an equally great pitcher.

Have you ever dreamed of switching from a Broadway ticket buyer to a Broadway performer? Well, now is your chance.

Universal CityWalk is partnering with the musical “Wicked” for the program appropriately titled, “Wannabe Wicked.” It’s all part of the “Summer Block Party” entertainment series.

Now this isn’t for some tone deaf American Idol wannabe. This is for someone who really has some performing chops. Contestants must turn in a video performance of one of five songs: “Popular,” “Defying Gravity,” “Dancing Through Life,” “For Good” or “The Wizard and I.”

These online auditions will be judged every week by a series of professional judges. They will rate the performances based on vocal quality, performance delivery, vocal accuracy, and overall performance. They will narrow the performers down to ten finalists.

The next phase of the contest will entail live performing. Each of the finalists will sing in front of a live Universal CityWalk audience starting on July 2nd, running at various times through August.

The winner of the contest will be chosen on August 20th. They will then receive an opportunity to be a walk-on in “Wicked” as their prize.

Anyone is free to try-out. There is a $10 processing fee to submit your online performance audition. You must submit your audition by June 5th.

So if you’ve dreamed of being on the big stage in NY, now is your chance. Grab your video camera, do some vocal exercises, and show the world what you’ve got.

Another week has gone by and we have the results for the Top Five Events on SelectATicket.com!

South Pacific

New York Yankees

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof

Wicked

Little Mermaid

What a Broadway dominated week! Come back next week to see if more sporting events or New York area concerts crack the list.

This is just sad. Mike Pelfrey came super close to a no-hitter, an accomplishment never achieved in Mets history. Yet in spite of his stunning performance the Mets still lost?

How? The hitters couldn’t score for the life of them. The consequence? 1-0 loss. Totally heartbreaking.

The Daily News writer Kristie Ackert reports that his great run ended in the seventh inning when “Aaron Boone led off the inning with a single to right-center field, meaning Pelfrey had to settle merely for pitching a gem. An inning later, Felipe Lopez’s sacrifice fly cost Pelfrey his shutout.”

But in spite of his small miss at perfection, the Shea stadium ticket buyers were brought to two standing ovations in his honor.

Surprisingly enough, he attributes the success to a cold. Feeling a little under the weather actually improved his performance. He said that he has a tendency of trying to do too much. The cold kept him from overthrowing.

So now the Mets head into the Subway series, what can we expect from these two teams hovering around .500 for the season? The rivalry will never end and NY fans will still be excited to see their two local teams go at it. Maybe both teams’ mediocrity will result in an even match up that could result in a few good games. Let’s hope.

Alex Rodriguez feels great. But the doctor is still telling him that he’s not ready to hit the field quite yet. This is not the news that Joe Girardi was hoping for, but one that they must accept.

The Yankees have gone 5-8 without the big slugger at bat. Which means that they’d like him back on the offense as soon as possible. But they certainly don’t want him back before he’s truly ready, risking his presence for the long term.

They learned this lesson the hard way. The injury occurred back on April 20th. He sat out of for 3 games, returning for 4, aggravating the injury and making it worse. They’re not bound to make the same mistake twice, erring on the side of extra caution.

The injury was initially diagnosed as a Grade 2 tear. It’s now being called a Grade 1 injury, which means it’s an improvement. It’s healing and moving in the right direction. Just not nearly as fast as everyone except the Yankee opponents would hope for.

The Daily News quotes Rodriguez:

“I don’t feel it. I think it’s more precaution now than anything else. It’s frustrating, but everything happens for a reason.”

It’s looking like he may be able to play in a pair of rehab games this weekend, with the hope to see him back in the lineup on Tuesday next week against the Orioles.

Yankee fans who hope to see the dynamic MVP in action again can purchase their future NY tickets online with a little more confidence.

Tony Award winners, Sara Ramirez and David Hyde Pierce, announced the nominees for the 2007-2008 Tony Awards yesterday morning.

“In the Heights” earned the most nominations with 13. This play started off Broadway and made the transition to the Richard Rodgers Theatre earlier this year. One of the nominations was for Best Musical.

The revival for South Pacific also performed strong, with 11 nominations. Sondheim and Lapine’s revival of “Sunday in the Park with George” followed up with 9 nominations. A few productions got 7 nominations, including “August: Osage County,” the revival of “Gypsy,” and “Passing Strange.”

Lin-Manuel Miranda got two nominations for his performance and score for “In the Heights.” Pop artist Stew earned four Tony nominations for “Passing Strange.”

Steven Sondheim will be recipient of a Lifetime Achievement in the Theater.

The Tony Awards started in 1947. They were named after Antoinette Perry, an actress, director, and producer. It started as a dinner. It now is presented on television. This year’s show will be presented on Sunday, June 15th, on CBS, 8/7c.

To see all of the nominees, go to the official Tony Awards website here. To purchase tickets for any of these acclaimed shows, you will want to purchase Broadway tickets online.

Here’s some good news for New York baseball fans. Yankees and Shea stadium are some of the cleanest in the nation. In other words, you can buy Mets tickets and a hot dog at the game with very little worry.

The report claims that Shea stadium had 58 health violations in 2007 which might not inspire confidence. But when you consider the fact that Angels stadium racked up 732, the Mets come off looking sparkling clean.

Of the Angels stadium, the Daily News reports:

“There was also a major vermin violation in April that forced the shutdown of a food stand.”

It further reports:

“The A’s McAfee Coliseum reported 493 violations, several of which came from food being exposed to “overhead leakage, dirt, insects, rodents and chemical contamination.”

The cleanest of all of the stadiums was the Colorado Rockies home, Coors Field, which only showed 16 violations.

So how is all of this supposed to make us feel? It’s like those reports that find that only .05% of our food is in fact rat feces, something that’s apparently supposed to reassure us. Yay!

I still don’t like the idea that there would ever be an incidence of violation of any health code in any organization distributing food. But it appears that both Shea and Yankees stadium are making great efforts to minimize the risks.

Key to the Yankees franchise selling tickets is having star players and leaders. This is exemplified in Derek Jeter.

In an interview with Steve Serby of the New York Post, he reveals that he’s ready to make the big commitment of marriage, if he finds the right girl. He discusses many other topics, from his inspirations as an athlete and aspirations of owning a ball club.

Jeter credits his mother for a lot of the guiding principles for his life. He was not allowed to use the word “can’t.” He describes her as the ultimate optimist. He was implored to outwork everyone.

Jeter describes his desire to own his own ball club. Serby tried to see if he’d be willing to own the Yankees, to which Jeter said that he’d need a big discount to be able to afford it.

He also talks about letters he gets from Iraq:

“It’s an unbelievable feeling to know that someone’s over there fighting for our country, and yet they find the time to write to me here at Yankee Stadium. It puts a lot of things in perspective, but also makes you appreciate the position you’re in, in terms of playing for this organization . . . to get a chance to provide entertainment for people.”

When all is said and done, Jeter comes across as a pretty charming guy. Who ever snags him as a husband is going to make a bigger catch than he’s ever made in his career as shortstop.

For the timespan from May 5 through May 12, the following events were the most popular on www.SelectATicket.com

1. Wicked Tickets
2. South Pacific
3. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof
4. New York Red Bulls Tickets
5. Neil Diamond

And there you have it for this past week. Not surprising that there are three Broadway shows as last week’s weather in New York was perfect for a night out on the town.

The movie star system has been part and parcel to the entire industry since its inception. And it’s vital. Because a movie basically has one weekend to succeed. If it doesn’t the movie will likely not make money

Studios build up actors’ careers as recognizable brands that carry over from movie to movie. It’s always an enormous risk to hire a no-name actor for a big movie requiring a big payoff.

This poses problems for musicals. The perfect actor to sell the movie may not be a Broadway level singer. Sometimes you can fudge, and it works, as was demonstrated by Johnny Depp’s wonderful performance in “Sweeney Todd.” But Johnny Depp is sort of an exception to the rule. It doesn’t matter what the role, if you can get Depp you go with him.

But other actors have been less successful. “Chicago” and “Moulin Rouge” come to mind. Those starts were okay but they didn’t blow me away like many stage performers might have been able to do.

I’m reminded of Julie Andrews not getting cast for “My Fair Lady” because she wasn’t a big name. She then got cast for “Mary Poppins” and won an Oscar. My fear is that there may be some potential stars like Julie Andrews that will never get their chance in the current movie climate.

Broadway tickets sales suffers from this trend. Because the more successful musicals and Broadway performers are on screen, the more they’ll be able to draw people to the theater.