Goodbye, Yankee Stadium

Yankee Stadium, the House That Ruth Built, saw its last days of working life this week, and will now yield to the House That (apparently) Taxpayers (illegally) Built. More greed in a City currently crippled by widespread greed.

Here are some accounts of the grand old stadium's final days.

The New York Times allowed all kinds of non-reporters to submit their memories of the stadium, including Paul Simon, the guy who wrote "Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio?"; that relentless Yankee-wannabe Billy Crystal (we know you love the Yankees, Billy, now will you drop it?); New Yawk actress and director Penny Marshall; and still uncharged war criminal Henry Kissinger.

George Steinbrenner shares his Yankee Stadium memories with the New York Post. Is the moment he decided to tear the thing down to further line his pockets one of those memories? "The new ballpark with its design replicates the original 1923 stadium," he writes. "It is beautiful and really befits the team. Yankee Stadium is the cathedral of baseball, and it was most important to us in the design that we recognized the history, roots and legacy of our franchise. Our fans will love it, and that is so important to me. The field and its dimensions are exactly the same as the old stadium. The amenities will be great even down to the fact that you can go to a concession stand and buy a hot dog and still be able to watch the action on the field. It's going to be incredible." Asshole.

Mike Lupica's take in The Daily News.

Newsday notes bitterly that the stadium was unaccountably passed over many times by The National Register of Historic Places and the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Politics anyone? A few well-place calls by Steinbrenner? I'll say it again: Asshole. Asshole for the ages.