In a roller coaster season of ups and downs that began with high hopes and coasted with an air of cautious optimism, the New York Mets were once again left behind their NL rivals as the Florida Marlins kept them out of the playoffs yet again.

Just as last year, their playoff hopes were dashed on the final day of the regular season when a win over Florida could have given them a taste of playoff glory. And, just as last year, it was the Phillies who fought in September to win the NL East and venture into October baseball. Additionally, the Milwaukee Brewers, who had their own sets of ups and downs this year, joined the Dodgers, Cubs, and Phillies as the NL wildcard team.

In the AL, the Angels, Red Sox, and Rays are waiting to see who will join them. A makeup game between Chicago and Detroit can earn the White Sox a playoff between themselves and Minnesota for the AL Central championship and the final playoff spot.

But for now, we know that the Mets will have to “wait until next year” once again. When the time comes, get in line for Mets tickets and watch the 2009 Mets try to regain their legacy.

The top five events on www.SelectATicket.com for the past week were:

1. AC/DC Tickets
2. Phantom of the Opera
3. Mamma Mia
4. Radio City Christmas Spectacular
5. Wicked

Come back next week to see what five events top the list!

MLB’s regular season is coming to a close this weekend, and after 162 games, and nearly six months of playing the greatest game in the world, most of the boys of summer will be hanging up their cleats until next April.

For New York’s dynamic duo of the Mets and the Yankees, the final weekend provides huge opportunities, huge spectacles and potentially, huge playoff implications (even for the Yankees, in a round-about way).

New York begins tonight against a very scrappy Florida Marlins team who has been playing very comfortably during the past few weeks, despite being out of the grander playoff picture. As you grab your Mets tickets for the final games in Shea, don’t think for a second that the Marlins are going to roll over and not play their starters. It should be a nail-biting conclusion as the Mets look to find a playoff spot one way or another.

For the Yankees, even though they now have no chance of making the playoffs, they can play spoiler to the bitter rivals, the Boston Red Sox, who will host the Yankees in a final three-game series, with a possibility of winning the division and displacing the Rays into the Wildcard spot. For NY Yankees fans, I’m sure there is no better consolation prize than to disrupt the Red Sox plans and force them to remain the Wildcard team instead of the division winner.

What a great game! And what a great conclusion to this outstanding 2008 baseball season!

The Mets are giving their fans a scare again this year, as they have managed to make their playoff run an extremely tight race after letting the Phillies get back into the division lead, while falling into a dead-even tie with Milwaukee for the sole NL Wildcard spot.

Yesterday was a chance for separation, as the Mets entered with a one-game lead over the Brewers in the Wildcard. A win over the Cubs at home would have ensured that they kept or gained their lead in the wildcard, while also pulling closer in the division race with Philadelphia. After 10 innings of baseball, however, it was not to be as the Mets fell 9-6 and the Cubs left Shea victorious.

The Mets were not without their chances in the late innings, as they left runners stranded in the 7th, 8th, and 9th, all while involved in game that was tied at 6’s. Had any of those runners been plated, the game would have been over in regulation and the Cubs 10th inning heroics would have been null.

Currently the Mets NL East elimination number is 3. This means that three wins by the Phillies, or 3 losses by the Mets, or a combination of the two, will result in the Mets being eliminated from the division race and making the Wildcard that much more important.

With it all coming down to this, every game is more important than the last. Grab some Mets tickets and cheer them on through the 2008 playoffs!

This is surely not the end result that Steinbrenner’s were looking for when they (essentially) fired Joe Torre last year and hired Joe Girardi to head up the Yankees. After all, Joe Torre was the longest lasting single-term manager in the Steinbrenner era and had the Yankees sitting on 13 consecutive playoff berths in the highly competitive AL East.

Nevertheless, the Yankees will be sitting at home this October while arch-rival Boston has clinched its spot in the playoffs with a win on Tuesday against Cleveland. Despite the rivalry, and the fact that Boston’s win - and not a Yankee loss - was what eliminated the Yankees from playoff contention, it wasn’t the Red Sox that “took” the Yankee’s regular playoff spot. It was Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay came out of nowhere this year and have lead the AL East nearly all season long. It is still uncertain which team will win the division and which is destined for the wildcard, but with a three-game buffer over Boston, it’s looking good for Tampa Bay.

The Yankees will close their season this weekend in Boston and would love nothing more than to play spoiler to the Red Sox playoff hopes. Grab some NY Yankee tickets and enjoy some beautiful September baseball.

Earlier this month, Rent, one of Broadway’s most popular shows dropped the curtain forever. While the final show was extremely popular and an instant sell-out, there were undoubtedly many, many people who were unable to enjoy the finale.

Sony and Rent have teamed up together to make sure that anyone across the country will have the opportunity to see the final Broadway performance on a screen in their hometown. This Wednesday through Sunday, anyone who wants to see the complete Broadway performance of Rent will be able to enjoy it in their hometown.

Don’t expect to pay “normal” movie ticket prices, however, as tickets for Rent: The Broadway Closing are more going to run more than the $8.50 that you might expect to pay for a movie. But remember, this isn’t a movie and if you were going to watch the Broadway show, you’d be dropping a minimum of $75 a ticket. So in perspective, the $20 ticket price is quite reasonable.

Don’t miss out on this! This will be the last chance to see the Broadway performance of Rent, ever! If Rent isn’t your thing, then there are numerous other Broadway shows that you can enjoy. Simply look for Broadway tickets online.

This week’s list of hot events on SelectATicket.com features some new additions to the list and some return visits from former top 5 events.

1. AC/DC Tickets
2. All My Sons
3. New York Yankees
4. Phantom of the Opera
5. New Jersey Devils tickets

With the new AC/DC tour and the closing of Yankee Stadium it is no shock to see those two make the top five.

And it is good to see the return of hockey season has not gone unnoticed as New Jersey Devils tickets are getting a lot of action on SelectATicket.com.

Come back again next week to see what makes the top five events!

Andy Pettitte, a longtime Yankee favorite and hometown hero, was given the ball to begin the final game ever to be played in Yankee Stadium. With a history as rich and as storied as that of “The House that Ruth Built”, one might assume that the outcome of this final game wouldn’t mean much, but to the Yankees players and fans alike, this was a huge game for the franchise, as well as the team’s nearly impossible playoff hopes.

The Yankees’ not-so-magic number is one, meaning that a single loss would officially eliminate them from playoff contention, and that loss coming during the final, emotionally-charged game at Yankee Stadium might have been too much for anyone to have endured.

The Yankees did prevail however, 7-3 as a pair of homeruns by Johnny Damon and Jose Molina helped the Yankees keep their dangling playoff hopes alive. Appropriately, Mariano Rivera recorded the final out for the Yankees (even though it was not a save situation).

The Yankees will now play their final six games of the year on the road while looking forward to next year’s grand opening of the new Yankee Stadium across the street from where the old one will be demolished. If you are in Toronto or Boston, you can check out the Yankees on the road this year, or you can grab some NY Yankees tickets for next season in the new ballpark.

With 10 games left in the regular season, the NL East division fight between New York and Philadelphia literally could not be any closer. After giving up a four game lead in September that reminded us all of 2007’s disastrous collapse, the Mets now stand a mere half-game in back of the Phillies for the division lead.

One key could be the Phillies game (well, lack there of) on September 25. The off-day combined with a Mets win, would pull the teams even (provided there is not separation by then), while a Mets loss, would give the Phillies a full game advantage going into a home series against the Washington Nationals.

Let’s take a look at the rest of the schedule for both teams…

For the Phillies:

• Three game series at Florida
• Three game series vs. Atlanta Braves in Philadelphia
• Three game series vs. Washington Nationals in Philadelphia

For the Mets:

• Three game series at Atlanta
• Four game series vs. Chicago Cubs in New York
• Three game series vs. Florida Marlins in New York

From the looks of the remaining games, I’d say that Philadelphia has the definite advantage with Atlanta and Washington making up their final six games - all at home. While the four game series against a stout Chicago team could spell serious trouble for the Mets.

You gotta love this time of year as we are really in the heat of the playoff races. There are still tickets available for most of these games, and you can grab some Mets tickets and be a part of the action!

On April 18, 1923 a ballpark opened in the Bronx to an enthusiastic crowd of baseball lovers who had stood in line to see the likes of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig head to the plate and play the Boston Red Sox in the first game of the spring.

Babe Ruth’s salary that year was $52,000 - an unheard of amount back then for a ball player, and an unheard of amount now in the opposite respect. None of the Yankee players wore numerals on their jerseys, as Ruth’s #3 and Gehrig’s #4 wouldn’t be seen until 1929 when the Yankees’ pinstriped and numbered jerseys would set the precedent for the rest of the league. There was no designated hitter rule either - could you imagine the potential of Babe Ruth as a DH?

Despite the vast differences in the in 1923 and 2008 in the game of baseball and in the makeup of the New York Yankees, there has been one constant - “The Stadium”, “The House that Ruth Built”, “The Cathedral” - Yankee Stadium.

For 75 years, Yankee Stadium has been the most renown and history-rich ballparks in the game and it will close its doors forever on Sunday following a weekend series against the Baltimore Orioles. If you are anywhere the vicinity of New York - or even on planet Earth for that matter, do whatever it takes to grab some NY Yankees tickets and be at the ballpark this weekend!

Imagine all of the greats to play in Yankee Stadium, from Ruth and Gehrig to Mantle and Maris; the great achievements of Mr. October, and the unforgettable opinings of Yogi and Stengel. Remember the legacies of Billy Martin, Joe Torre, and Joe McCarthy. Shed a tear for Thurman Munson and Cory Lidle. But most of all - enjoy the day, enjoy the ballpark, and enjoy the greatest game ever played.