Charlie Voelker

For the fifth time this summer, a person has been attacked by a shark on a New York beach. This time, the swimmer was left in critical condition.

Last week, in the midst of the holiday season, New York's Governor, Kathy Hochul granted clemency to 13 individuals that exhibited remorse, demonstrated the effects of their rehabilitation, and have displayed a commitment to improving themselves and their communities. Among the 13 grantees are two prisoners that are currently serving sentences for murder and a woman that is a domestic violence survivor, in prison for manslaughter for the death of her abuser. Another woman convicted of the same crime was absent from the list.

Many love a good calzone. Those of us that enjoy the pizza cousin, have probably had some really good ones and some incredibly bad ones. The dough, the sauce, the fillers and/or the cheese can each make-or-brake the half-moon shaped crusty fold-over. I have to admit, when I first read that the winner of the "World Calzone Championship" was made in New York, I immediately thought "Brooklyn, maybe Manhattan." I should really start thinking west instead of south.

It was a long road just to choose a destination for Dior Johnson and his on-court talents. ESPN ranked him amongst the best 40 freshman college basketball players in the nation coming into the season. Four high schools and three college commitments may have been a troublesome sign for some programs. However, University of Pittsburgh head coach Jeff Capel was confident that his team was a good fit for Johnson. Now, that all could be in jeopardy for the one-time Syracuse University commit.

Obviously, the New York Mets wanted and expected to go further in the playoffs than they did, especially after a 101 win regular season. However, the baseball gods don't often cooperate with Amazin's best laid plans. Hence, on Sunday night, instead of strategizing to beat the Los Angelas Dodgers, general manager Billy Eppler and manager Buck Showalter began the process of figuring out how to get this team to play a few weeks deeper into October. In other words, how do they make a run at the 2023 World Series? That's what owner Steve Cohen expects in the next two years. What questions are Eppler and Showalter facing?

Being a coach's son or daughter, it has its advantages and disadvantages. When you are a coaching legend's child expectations can often be, well, legendary. Syracuse hoops fans had some of those projections satisfied on Tuesday, when their head coach, Jim Boeheim's sons took the court in the NBA Summer League for the Detroit Pistons.

Some things in baseball seem like they would happen more than they do. For instance, a player hitting four home runs in a game has happened only 17 times in Major League Baseball history. On Sunday, a New York Yankees pitcher accomplished one of those rare baseball feats.

Call me harsh but I have little sympathy for professional athletes that turn down fairly valued hundred million dollar contracts. Then, when circumstances or injuries prevent that player from ever earning the amount of money that they turned down, you want to say I told you so.

His loyal followers wear number 99 for a reason. In the physical and satirical sense, Aaron Judge is larger than life. For many 2022 New York Yankees fans, the 6' 7" right-fielder represents the greatness of this storied franchise.

This past weekend, the New York Yankees pitchers were once again subject to Major League Baseball umpires checking for foreign grip-aiding substances. The practice had not been enforced so far in spring training games and there is a new procedure in practice. Ironically, Gerrit Cole was on the mound Sunday for the Pinstripes.