Jets 20, Dolphins 14: They didn't make it look easy, but the Jets took down the Dolphins to get the Brett Favre era off to a solid, if not resounding, start. Favre, came out of retirement and got traded to the Jets from Green Bay, threw two touchdown passes. The first, to Jerricho Cotchery, was a well-executed play on both ends. The second, to Chansi Stuckey, was not. On a fourth-down desperation play, Favre simply......

Yankees 7, Mariners 4: A big 7th inning helped propel the Yankees to victory against the worst team in the American League. They scored 5 runs in the frame, sending all 9 batters to the plate and giving Sidney Ponson his first win since August 6th. Mariano Rivera pitched 1 1/3 innings for his 33rd save. As the season slowly ticks away, the Yankees continue to hold onto hope. After defeating Seattle on Saturday and......

Phillies 3, Mets 0: The Mets entered the first game of a three-game series with the Phillies riding the high of a sweep of the Brewers, but were quickly brought back to earth by Brett Myers's pitching. Meyers allowed only three hits over 8 shutout innings of work that included 10 strikeouts, stymieing the Mets for his 4th win in a row. The Phillies got all the offense they needed in the first inning when......

The Queens DA's office revealed a 19-year-old Queens resident hired as a contract employee at the U.S. Open was charged with falsely reporting an incident--actually three bomb threats. Apparently Mehmet Kadayifci, per WNBC, "pretended to be hearing impaired and used a special Web site to type three bogus claims between midnight and 1 a.m. about a bomb being inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium." (The website is to help deaf people make phone calls.) One note......

Mets 6, Brewers 5 (10 innings): This game had all the requirements of any contest involving the Mets. No. 1: Take an early lead -- the Mets led, 5-1, by the third inning. No. 2: Throw out a starter from which the team has little idea what to expect. They should have expected little of Jon Niese, who went three-plus innings in his big-league debut and gave back the Mets' lead in the fourth. No.......

Photograph of Johan Santana pitching against the Brewers by Bill Waugh/AP Mets 4 Milwaukee 2: There is a good chance that this series could be a preview of the playoffs so it behooves the Mets to jump on the Brewers and pay them back for a series loss back in April. Johan Santana pitched very well, striking out 10 over six innings, but he left the game losing 2-0. Luckily for the Mets, Brewers’......

Mets 6, Marlins 2: Both times a team in this series suffered a crushing loss, it came back to win the next day. After Friday's deflating loss, the Marlins won Saturday on a walk-off walk. Pedro Martinez helped the Mets in Sunday's rubber game. He turned in six strong winnings, striking out four and walking one. Three solo homers -- from Carlos Beltran, Nick Evans and then David Wright -- helped the Mets erase a......

For those New Yorkers not fortunate enough to have snagged U.S. Open tickets (and to nibble on the fancy food options out in Flushing), American Express has set up an alternate viewing and eating spot -- no 7 train necessary. From Friday, August 29 through Sunday, September 7 between 11:00 AM and 11:00 PM, you can watch the U.S. Open at Madison Square Park, where they're setting up huge viewing screens and stadium seating. There's......

Roger Federer has won the last four U.S. Open titles, but he won't be the favorite when the tournament starts tomorrow at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing. That honor will go to Rafael Nadal, the new world No. 1 and winner of the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympics this summer. Federer, 27, has looked mortal or worse this season, and Nadal, 22, has peaked while displaying an all-surface versatility that had eluded him in previous summers. For the first time since the 2004 Australian Open, Federer will not be the top seed at a Grand Slam event. ...

Yankees 6 Royals 3: At this point, the YES Network should just play a “ch-ching” sound everytime A-Rod steps up to the plate. After hitting a home run for the 5th-consecutive game on Sunday, A-Rod has 52 for the season, the most for a Yankee since Mantle and Maris hit 54 and 61 in 1961. He also has 138 RBI’s with 19 games left, which puts him in line to have the most RBI’s as......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a two alarm fire at 80 Washington St in Lower Manhattan; an aircraft emergency at JFK this morning; two pedestrians struck on E. 53rd St.; and a "possible A.I. job" (whatever that is) in Woodhaven. The NYCLU objected yesterday to the number of cases the Civilian Complaint Review Board substantiated. The board, which investigates police misconduct, only substantiated 5% of the cases, but that's actually higher than that of......

Mets 7, Braves 1: What the? After getting swept by the Phillies, the Mets managed to get a win against a team they've had little success against all this season. Boy did they need it too after losing five straight games. John Maine pitched marvelously over 7 innings, only allowing 3 hits. The one run the Braves scored came on a wild pitch in a tense 6th inning when the Braves had the bases loaded.......

The NY Times takes a look inside the ping-pong world of New York. Sure, it may not be as big as the US Open, but the Naked Ping-Pong tournament is growing bigger and better every week out of a loft in Tribeca. The tournament (which is actually fully-clothed) was started by three friends in their 30s who hope to bring table tennis to the forefront of urban sport. The Times introduces them as "Jonathan Bricklin,......

With the US Open heading to its climactic weekend, there have been some fun articles about the ball boys and girls at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Take the NY Times' US Open blog post about "Ballbabes": Male spectators seem to love some of the ladies wearing the Ralph Lauren designed outfits (sleeveless and short, while the ball boys get less revealing polo shirts and shorts) and boo when their favorites get rotated......

Andre Agassi's career has officially ended. After a four set loss at the hands of a familiar tennis foe. Agassi lost 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 5-7 to German qualifier Benjamin Becker (no relation to Boris). Over his 21-year career, Agassi played 1144 matches, won 60 titles, and played in 21 consecutive US Opens. The 36 year-old Agassi is a two-time US Open Champion in 1994 and 1999 and a four-time runner-up. The crowd at Arthur......

- Mets 4, Astros 2: We always thought that Philadelphia fans had the reputation for being the nastiest fans in the sports, but maybe not. Last night, former Astro and current Mets MVP candidate, Carlos Beltran made a game saving catch with two runners on base in the 9th inning and hurt his knee on the fence in the process. While being helped off the field, an audible group of Astros fans were actually......

- Mets 11, Rockies 3: Would it be safe to say that David Wright is out of his slump? We'll see when he leaves the friendly atmosphere of Colorado, but last night it certainly looked like it. Wright had a grand slam in the 1st inning against Josh Fogg. Jose Valentin added to the offensive production with two solo home runs of his own and Carlos Delgado had his own solo shot. Dave Williams......

- Mets 10, Rockies 5: The humidor didn't seem to be keeping the offense down in Colorado last night as the Mets rang up two home runs and David Wright's bat came back to life. TheRockies didn't help their cause with some missed opportunities in the outfield. Carlos Beltran hit his 39th home run of the season, setting a career record and later in the game batted to chants of MVP from at least......

Joy for tennis fans around New York City as the US Open officially started today out in Flushing despite some unfriendly tennis weather. Fun outings (with outrageously priced food and drink) for the whole family! With first-round matches underway, one seeded player has already fallen. 19th seed Dominik Hrbaty lost to Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets in opening round play. Some other big names advanced without much resistance. In men's singles, Andy Roddick easily......

- Eugene Hernandez spots Wong Kar Wai filiming in Chinatown - The two men who killed cops on Staten Island in 2003 were sentenced to 25+ years in jail; the judge called them "morally bankrupt" - A man dies and it's suspected it's because of the heat - Even the NY Times, NY Post, Newsday, and Daily News can't convince the judge to release papers in the Brooke Astor brouhaha - Reasons why someone......

- Orioles 6, Mets 3: For the Mets, their 8-game winning streak had to end sometime, and that sometime was last night against the Orioles in a rematch of the 1969 World Series. Alay Soler struggled at the start of the game, but it he pitched well enough to give the Mets a chance for their 9th straight victory. Aaron Heilman blew the save and the Mets chances at victory in the 7th inning......

-Mamaroneck's Winged Foot golf course proved challenging to the US Open field on Thursday, with only Colin Montgomerie shooting under par. Tiger Woods finished at a six-over-par 76. With everyone from from ESPN to Sports Illustrated billing this as a battle between Woods and Phil Mickelson, fans will have to wait for that duel to emerge, if it does.With such a tough course, the tournament should be wide open throughout. -Mets 5, Phillies 4: By......

- Get your seersucker suits and sun dresses out! Tomorrow evening is the 138th running of the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown and horse racing's "Test of the Champion." Races on stakes day begin at noon with post time for the Belmont Stakes at 6:33 pm Television coverage starts at noon on ESPN with coverage on ABC starting at 5. The current favorite for the race is Bluegrass Cat, but......

Andre Agassi's five-set victory over James Blake proves he still has some magic left in the tank, and may have helped saved CBS's bacon. The match, which alteranted between sloppy and brilliant, was played a breakneck speed, with players rushing their serves. Blake was up two sets before anyone had gotten into the match, and although Agassi deserves credit for his dramatic comeback, Blake let him off the hook. At one point, Blake served up......

In this era of tennis that does not see American men or women dominate the sport, the United States Open has struggled to maintain its appeal to American sports fans. The casual observer, whose fandom has made the US Open's popularity soar, has paid attention n the past because Americans have been winning. They don't appreciate the genius of Roger Federer or the deceiving power of Justine Henin-Hardenne. No longer can the USTA rely on......

With a rain out of Friday night's game, the Mets played a doubleheader Sunday to finish up the three game series against the Giants. The Giants won the first game 6-3 behind the pitching and hitting of Brett Tomko. Tomko threw 7.2 innings and allowed only one run, but his biggest impact was at the plate. In the 6th inning, Tomko hit a bases clearing double with two outs off Kaz Ishii. The win snapped......

Every May the United States Tennis Center in Flushing resurfaces its courts. This year, they've taken it a step further, changing the color of the courts to blue from green. They say it will help the visibility for players, spectators and television viewers. Gothamist thinks blue inner courts surrounded by green outer courts make for a hideous combination. Only Boise State and its blue football field can get away with such a strange playing surface.......

- The first Gothamist Division 1A rankings. - There is controversy at the US Open. - The Yankees straighten things out with some wins against the D-Rays. - The Mets finally end their losing streak. - As the NFL season begins, previews for the Giants and for the Jets.......

Serena Williams lost a wild one to Jennifer Capriati last night in the women�s quarterfinals at the US Open in Flushing. Williams was serving at deuce in the first game of the third set when her backhand passing shot was incorrectly called out by the chair umpire. Capriati took advantage, going on to win the game and eventually, the match. Understandably, Serena was none to pleased with the call. "No!" Williams shrieked. "No, no, no,......

- During the annual Giants/Jets game, the Jets win this meeting. - Eli Manning takes a back seat to Kurt Warner. - The US Open starts with some funky fashion statements. - The Mets are playing ugly, real ugly, but the Yankees are playing no better, despite winning the series against the Indians. - Oy, the Giants aren't looking good and the season has yet to start. The week in full from Gothamist Sports.......