NYC terror plot “still alive”?

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Sounds like the authorities are pretty damn concerned about the alleged terrorism plot supposedly masterminded by a Denver-area airport shuttle driver:

Law enforcement officials say the alleged terror plot against New York City may be “still alive” despite the arrest of its alleged ringleader, 24-year-old Najibullah Zazi of Denver, Colorado.

“I have never been so worried,” said one senior law enforcement official with more than a dozen years of experience in counter-terrorism investigations.

In Washington, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin to law enforcement authorities urging vigilance at so-called “soft targets” including sports stadiums and luxury hotels.

ABCNews.com reported Monday that Zazi’s computer contained information relating to New York area baseball and football stadiums and a video of Grand Central Terminal in New York.

Earlier, the FBI and Homeland Security had warned police about possible attacks on mass transit targets but said there was no evidence of any specific target or timing.

You’d think that, if this plot is the real deal, and given that the terrorists would obviously have to know that the authorities are “onto them,” the plot would either be called off — or accelerated. (That is, if it wasn’t already scheduled to happen very soon.) They’ve got to think that, if they wait a couple of weeks or more, the whole thing could unravel.

About those “baseball and football stadiums”: FWIW, the Yankees have home games against the Red Sox this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 7:05, 4:10 and 1:05 PM, respectively, followed by a Monday-Wednesday series against Kansas City. Then they’ll have some home playoff games, of course. The Mets, for their part, are at home tonight and tomorrow at 7:10 PM against the Braves, then return home next weekend, October 2-4, against Houston; after that, their season ends. The football Giants are on the road until October 11, but the Jets host Tennessee this Sunday at 1:00 PM.

Yankees Stadium holds 52,325 people, and will certainly be at or near capacity for the Red Sox series. Citi Field, where the Mets play, has a capacity of 41,800 (though I wouldn’t imagine that their final series of a crappy season would be sold out). Giants Stadium, where both the Giants and Jets play, holds 78,741.

I heart Sean McDonough

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I’ve mentioned before that I have a man-crush on announcer Sean McDonough, who was responsible for pretty much all of the most memorable baseball calls of my youth. (“Hooking toward the corner, BRUNANSKY!!!“) Whenever I hear him call a game, it’s like I’m a 9-year-old kid again — sort of the sports equivalent of how I feel listening to my parents’ old crackling vinyl Christmas-music records.

Anyway, as Stewart Mandel notes, Saturday’s college football action gave rise to a classic McDonough moment. Mandel headlines it, “Sean McDonough attempts to one-up Gus Johnson”:

Last week, Gus Johnson nearly had a heart attack on air while calling Denver Broncos receiver Brandon Stokley’s 87-yard game-winning touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals. Saturday, it sounded as if Sean McDonough’s lungs might pop right out of his body following Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor’s two miraculous throws to beat Nebraska.

I missed it live, because I was watching USC-UW at the time, but here’s the clip: