In a couple of hours, Yankee Stadium will host its final professional baseball game. It has seen an obscene parade of stars over the years, from Ruth and Gehrig to DiMaggio and Dickey to Berra and Ford and Mantle, and winding up with Jeter and Mariano.

Growing up in New York City (or "the city" as it's known to the locals), I spent my share of afternoons at Yankee Stadium enjoying the winning ways of Reggie and Munson, and the not so great years of Winfield and Mattingly. It was a wonderful run for me, capped off by my very last game at the stadium -- Game 5 of the 2001 World Series. (I was sitting just beyond the left field wall for that game, and got a close look at Scott Brosius' game-tying homer in the ninth inning. In fact, stop the video at 12 seconds and find the "M" in Moments on the Kodak sign -- I'm wearing a bright blue jacket about one inch above the M.)

It's a shame things didn't work out this season and the last game played there will not be in the playoffs. I have no doubt, though, that come next year we'll be right back in the thick of things where we belong. We'll just be missing our old friend Yankee Stadium, but we'll have our new friend Yankee Stadium to keep us company.