SO HOW MANY ROUND TRIP TICKETS BETWEEN NY AND PHILLY DO YOU THINK AMTRAK SOLD THIS WEEKEND?

Greetings folks, Jay from "On The Sportslines" here. Call it fate, call it destiny, call it a fluke of the schedule makers, call it whatever you want, but this weekend, the sports world belongs to the cities of New York and Philadelphia.

Last night the 76ers spoiled the Knicks home opener with a wild 121-115 overtime win at The Garden. I may be a born and raised New Yorker - who for the most part LOVES and roots for the hometown teams - but as most of you know, the Knicks aren't the first team I root for in the Association. That would be the Sixers. So, while I feel bad for my hometown team, this is one of the VERY FEW times that a Knick loss doesn't make me completely unhappy. But that's where my affection for ANY of Philly's sports teams ends.

I write this while watching those damn Iggles dismantle Eli and the Giants 40-17, hating the fact that I'm being proved a prophet for my comments on the show that the Saints gave the rest of the NFL a blueprint on how to beat the G-Men. To say that it was pretty ugly at the Linc for the visitors is a New York-sized understatement.

Thus my hopes for a happy end to the weekend rest with The Bronx Bombers. Game 4 of the World Series is tonight and it caps this New York-Philadelphia sports-a-palooza weekend.

That this Fall Classic has been a back and forth series through the first 3 games isn't surprising. The Phillies are a team to be reckoned with and the Yankees don't have MLB's best record for nothing. The defending champs against the team that practically claims the World Series as its birthright makes for one hell of a baseball story.

That the teams split the first 2 games didn't surprise. And while I expected better from CC in game 1, I don't how much better he or the Yankee bats would have had to be the way Cliff Lee was dealing. After taking the Yankee ace deep twice, I now know why my Met fan friends can't stand Chase Utley, but I have to give the Phillies Second Sacker his props - he's got game.

I was pleasantly surprised by how dominant AJ was in game 2 and happy to see the Yankees scrap together just enough runs to secure a win. The game felt a bit like 2003 all over again - a manager leaving Pedro Martinez out there one inning too long and the Yankees taking advantage of it. Thank the Baseball Gods for Mariano Rivera, a guy who can get a 6-out save when one is desperately needed. I was, however, a bit concerned that A-Rod was regressing after going 0-8 with 6 K's through the first 2 games.

Game 3 was the kind of game you expected from this series. Home runs abounding on both sides (damn you Jayson Werth). Andy Pettitte gutting out his 17th post-season win by keeping the opposition in just enough check (Utley, Howard and Ibanez were a combined 0-9 vs. Pettitte and 0-12 for the game), just long enough for the Yankee bats to wake up and get to work, led by A-Rod (with special props to Hideki Matsui and his pinch-hit HR). Pettitte even chipped in an RBI of his own, dropping a single into shallow centerfield to plate Nick Swisher. That made Pettitte the first Yankees pitcher to drive in a run in the World Series since Jim Bouton in 1964. The Yankee bullpen did its job, getting the ball to Rivera who - like he always does - closed the door and notched yet another post-season save.

As crucial as it was for the Phillies to leave The Bronx with a split, that's how important it was for the Yankees to win game 3 last night to take a 2-1 series lead. Tonight will be interesting. Charlie Manuel has decided not to send Cliff Lee to the hill on short rest for a rematch with CC Sabathia (who will also be pitching on short rest), instead he sends journeyman Joe Blanton to the mound. Blanton got knocked around some by the Yankees while he was in the American League.

Shane Victorino said that since the Phillies got to CC in game 1 there's no reason they can't do it again in game 4. Manuel better hope his Center Fielder is right. If not, then Cliff Lee will have to out-duel AJ Burnett in game 5 just to keep the Phillies in the Series.

I don't know about all of you, but something tells me, that CC is fired up for this game more than any other game he's pitched this season. He knows that if he shuts down the vaunted Phillies offense (anyone seen Ryan Howard in this series?) and Jeter, A-Rod and company get to Blanton, chances are pretty good that the Yankees will end this night with a commanding 3-1 lead in this World Series.

And I will end this weekend with one hell of a smile on my face.