NEW YORK CAN'T BEAR COSTS ALONE.(PERSPECTIVE)

Byline: SAUNDRA SMOKES

It was a sports pig-out kind of week. On one night, in one city, the New York Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks played game three of the World Series at Yankee Stadium.

Then, there was the return of Michael Jordan to the basketball court. His new team, the Washington Wizards, played the New York Knicks in the NBA season-opener at Madison Square Garden.

And, for the folks upstate, we had more sports nirvana when the Syracuse University Orangemen football team beat the favored Virginia Tech Hokies last weekend. It was a much-needed break from reality -- cotton candy for the brain.

If the nation has been profoundly …