July 2007 Archives

Veteran Ravens tackle Jonathan Ogden was placed on the physically unable to perform list to start training camp.

Said Ravens coach Brian Billick: "We knew last February (Jonathan) would go to PUP and miss three maybe four weeks of training camp. That was the design; we structured it that way. His workouts in the offseason were structured knowing that he would come in here on PUP and that's a good thing. Even if he weren't hurt, this process probably suits JO right now. Where he is in his career, he finished the season very strong, not withstanding the injury. Due to unfortunate circumstances (the passing of his father) last year at this time, we are going to be ahead of the curve because he’s going to be working out the whole time during this camp"

"It wouldn't matter if I were the mayor of the Munchkin City. What matters is the validity of the information and the validity of the comments I have made, and very often when people have no credible argument -- and in this case Barry Bonds has no credible argument -- they resort to nonsense and ad hominem attacks, and that's what he did."
-Bob Costas on Barry Bonds

Well said.
Now, where exactly would one find this Munchkin City?

It would be redundant to state my feelings for that other school in my home state of Florida.

It's no secret; I'm no fan of the Orange and Blue. Now, hate is a strong word for an entire school and general grouping of people. I mean I hate things like pickles and purple skittles. But to hate an entire university of people, 95% of which I'll never meet? To despise something for the simple fact that they are a rival to my alma mater? To disasociate myself in celebrating a team that wins it for the state of Florida? 100% Yes. When it comes to sports, feelings reserved only for disgusting food can suddenly transfer over to evil little opponents running around in helmets. So with this admission, the following two stories (which both occurred in a matter of 72 hours time) horrifies me. To. No. End.

Thursday- July 26, 2007
Joakim Noah. Corey Brewer. Heard of em?
They were in town (when I say town, I mean Scarsdale, NY) to sign autographs and promote their new NBA trading cards. I will not go into detail about my feelings towards these two before this encounter, but lets just say I was none to happy when the Gators ruined my NCAA bracket and wound up in the Final 2.

To get to the point, I was a little more then pleasantly surprised by Noah and Brewer. They were charming, funny, and well spoken. They were nice to the little kids. They smiled for pictures. They were happy to be there. They were ... likeable! I left the signing pretty excited for them to do well in the NBA. Could I maybe...? I couldn't, could I?

Saturday- July 28, 2007
Out to dinner with huge group. Discussing sports. Guy tries to tell me that USC deserved to be in every National Championship game they played. While I had no hard feelings to the Carroll-Leinart-Bush regime, I stated my case by saying USC didn't exactly play the toughest of schedules to get there. He began to argue. I referred to the SEC. I actually went there and said, "Look at UF's schedule. Come on. You're telling me USC can compare?" The fact that I used UF as an example actually made my argument stronger. The rest of the table agreed, UF had a harder schedule then USC. We went back to talking about Dan Marino.

*Lesson learned: Maybe, just a very little bit, I might actually semi begin to stick up for UF. Of course the circumstances for this to happen must be when FSU isn't in the discussion, I've actually met the players (and liked them) and someone has the courage to argue that UF doesn't have a hard schedule. Even I know that's a ridiculous statement. And I hate ...

Another begins.

Your favorite NFL Bad Boy, Adam "Pacman" Jones, is on the rebound. Seeing as how he will have some free time this coming Fall, rumor has it the cornerback is ready to torture a differnt 'sport'. Wrestling.

Don't get too excited yet. Jones' attorney claims he will not be "wrestling" and is not set to play a villain.

So does that make him a ring girl?

NASHVILLE - The Titans went to full pads this afternoon but there were no full-on bouts to report.

The dustups in the morning practice that seemed a harbinger of afternoon fireworks did not continue.

In the morning, Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth was agitated at offensive lineman Jacob Bell and, it seemed, the world in general.

Asked after the afternoon practice about the intensity on Sunday, quarterback Vince Young said, "That's a good thing. You've gotta have attitude out there on both sides of the ball. You go out there all nice, you'll get hit in the mouth. You gotta go out there and wanna work, you gotta go out there and compete. There ain't no job guaranteed to none of us out here."

Said Titans coach Jeff Fisher, "Guys understand there's a right way to go about (practicing with intensity) and a wrong way to go about it but you have to do that. We'll back off that also. This team had a great offseason and worked hard and our challenge is to be able to turn it up and turn it down. There will be times we're gonna go out there and body parts are gonna fly and we're gonna compete and when we walk in the door, we'll walk in the door together. The next morning we'll back off and have a walk-through."

The Titans have a special teams practice tomorrow morning.

I'm in San Francisco still, but won't be attending the final game of the Giants' homestand. Bruce Bochy is giving me the day off to rest. Thanks, skip.

*********

Shark Week begins tonight on the Discovery Channel. It's the most wonderful time of the year. The most memorable moment of Shark Week '06 for me was during a piece on shark attacks in South Africa. The narrator noted that, as deadly and fearsome as sharks are thought to be off the coast of South Africa, more people in that country are killed by hippos each year than sharks. And you have the same thought at reading that fact that I did upon hearing it:
Hippo Week !

**********

Let's assume that Barry Bonds does not hit 755 and 756 this afternoon against the MarlinBrandos. That puts the Los Angeles Dodgers on deck for three games. Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run against the Dodgers, specifically Al Downing. So why don't the Dodgers just re-sign Downing, now 66 and, we can only assume, with a well-rested arm, to pitch exclusively to Bonds once he reaches 755? Why not? That way there will only be one trivia answer we'll have to remember.

************

Thanks to Johntouragers G.A. and L.A. for their faithful comments. They can see, if they go back to last night's blogs, that I adjusted the list of names who'd congratulate Bonds, as well as having added a Final Jeopardy! question.

NASHVILLE - The Titans go harder in shells (shoulder pads and shorts) than most teams go in full pads. I was seriously stunned at the pace they had this morning on the practice field.

I'm eager to watch this afternoon's full-pad practice especially after the near-bouts and spicy language that went on in the morning.

A few other notes from the a.m....

- LenDale White is a bit of a chub but he moves pretty well. He weighed in at 241 pounds and doesn't seem to plod at that weight at all. It's funny, nobody made an issue of Jerome Bettis' rotundness and he was about 30 pounds heavier than White.

- Eric Moulds made a brilliant catch along the sidelines on a throw from Vince Young, diving and tumbling into a metal fence 10 feet away from the sidelines.

- Young and second string QB Kerry Collins each threw a pick in the morning practice. The first was against Young by linebacker Keith Bulluck on a terrific leaping play. The second came when Nick Harper jumped a route thrown by Collins.

- Vince Young threw a tremendous number of checkdown routes during the morning.

We'll check back in around 7 p.m. after the p,m practice and a talk with Jeff Fisher and Young.

NASHVILLE - Whatever new leaf Albert Haynesworth turned over last year appears to have been flipped once again.

During this morning's Titans practice - which was carried out in shorts and shoulder pads - the combustible Haynesworth went off a couple of times.

Things initially got chippy when defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch took running back LenDale White off his feet during the touch-but-don't-tackle session. From there, guard Jacob Bell got involved and Haynesworth locked up with him in a scrap that lasted about eight seconds.

Later, after corner Nick Harper picked off Vince Young, Bell whacked corner Reynaldo Hill during the runback from the blindside, infuriating Haynesworth.

With the units switching up, Vanden Bosch, Haynesworth and defensive lineman Tony Brown were jawing and walking toward the offensive group prompting head coach Jeff Fisher to tell them to get back with the defense.

Once there, Young yelled to Haynesworth, "Come on, we're a team here."

An inflamed Haynesworth - who was suspended six games last year for stomping the head of Cowboys center Andre Gurode - said something back to Young which caused tight end Bo Scaife to take up for Young (albeit from a distance).

Haynesworth then said to nobody in particular, "Be a (expletive) man and step up, bitch."

After that practice, Haynesworth told me in the locker room, "That's just how we are here on this defense. The Tennessee Tyrants. That's what we're bringing back. The first few years we were good when I came in and we were the Tennessee Tyrants. We were playing hard, didn't care what anyone thought and that's what we're going to get back to. We can't apologize for going hard."

Asked what set him off, Haynesworth said, "Well, we're playing football. I'm a contact person I just don't like to be snatched down. That's all I've got to say about that."

Haynesworth has gone the demonic route with his eyes. He has on red-tinted contacts from Nike which work as sunglasses.

This afternoon, the Titans are going in full pads for the first time in camp and it could get pretty lively.

Last night, after Barry Bonds hit his 754th (actually his 755th) career home run in the bottom of the first inning, the centerfield video board played a taped message of congratulations from none other than Michael Jordan . This evening, shortly before the game's first pitch at 6:08 p.m., Bonds and the rest of the Giants--as well as all of us--turned their attention to the big board as Wayne Gretzky offered a taped message of encouragement and congrats.

Jordan.
Gretzky.

Who's next? Here's my list of possibilities for when Bonds hits No. 756:

1. Hank Aaron...Hammerin' Hank does not have to actually attend the record-breaking blast, but he can offer a tempered 'Attaboy, Barry' from afar.
2. Tiger Woods...has the Bay Area connection from his Stanford days.
3. Osama Bin Laden: "Congratulations, Barry. Oh, and Death To America."
4. Obi Wan Kenobi...He swung a wicked bat himself, and likes to appear from the afterlife.
5. Jim Morrison...Look how he inspired Wayne and Garth.
6. Mark McGwire: "I'd really just like to concentrate on the present."
7. Posh and Becks...I mean, would this really shock anyone?
8. David Bowie...who will advise Bonds to jump up on Bud Selig's desk after breaking the record and drop trou to reveal lightning bolts in the strangest place.
9. Patches O'Houlihan ("If you can dodge steroid allegations for the better part of a decade, you can dodge a ball...")
10. Bob Costas and Curt Schilling

And for when Barry is stuck on 755, and before he takes the field for 756:

Leslie Nielsen: "I just wanted to say, 'Good luck, we're all counting on you."

Bonds popped out to the catcher (Matt Treanor of the MarlinBrandos actually caught it in the lefty batter's box where Bonds had been standing) to end the 7th with two men on base. After the Giants went down in order in the 8th, it looked as if BB would get no more ABs tonight.

However, Mark Sweeney hit a pinch-hit double to score pinch-runner Dave Roberts--hey, maybe the Giants should start their pinch guys more often-- despite a fantastic fielding play by the Marlin rightfielder. Now the score is tied at 3-3 in the bottom of the 9th. The Ginats have no outs and the winning run on 2nd. I'm guessing most every fan here would rather see an extra inning than have SF win it here.

Randy Winn, representing the top of the order, is at bat. Bonds could still bat this inning.

If he does not, his line for the last two games will be 1-4 with four walks and one home run. That's a .250 batting average, but a .625 on-base %. That's what it's like being Barry Bonds this decade.

Okay, this game is taking on some robust flavor. Winn just walked, so there's first and second, nobody out. Omar Vizquel is up and he'll surely bunt. If that goes well, we're talking 2nd and 3rd with one out. Do you walk Ray Durham to set up a double play and pitch to Bonds? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. You try and get Durham out, then you walk Bonds with two outs.

But, uh-oh, the pitcher, Kevin Gregg, has thrown three straight balls to Vizquel to begin this at-bat.

Vizquel bunted, and it worked.

Now it's up to Durham. I believe we're all rooting for him to walk, so that Bonds will come up with the bases loaded. If he whiffs, they'll walk Bonds. If he gets a hit or a deep fly, it's game over.

Durham hits a deep fly to right....Game over. Giants win. Or, as my Grandpa Joe used to say (and he really used to say this, and the score is exactly the same), "4-3 you lose, San Francisco!"

Giants win. Souvenir poachers lose. Bonds was on deck when the game ended.

Come back tomorrow.

Name these famous Barrys. Answer in the form of a question, please.

$100: "In between being your first and your last, he wanted to be your everything."

$200: "Damnit, Janet, I 'm no longer Brad and I'm not the mayor of New York City any more, either."

$300: "This former Heisman Trophy winner retired at the height of his career, and we ain't Lion."

$400: "He wrote a song about who writes the songs the whole world sings."

$756: "Say hey, do you know who his godfather is?"

Answers:

Game conditions:

Sky: Perfect. Sunny
Temp: 64, slight breeze blowing to left.
Pitchers: Young. Matt Cain of the Giants is just 22, and despite that lively arm, is 3-12 on the season. Marlin lefty Dontrelle Willis is 25. The 2003 NL Rookie of the Year is having the worst season of his five-year career, with a 7-10 record and a bizarre 5.15 ERA. His highest previous ERA was 4.02 in 2004.

Barry Time: The Marlins failed to score in the top of the first, and Bonds bats cleanup. Just to refresh, the Giant host Florida today and tomorrow before heading down I-5 (as if they're bussing) to Los Angeles and then San Diego for a total of six games. They have an off-day Monday. Bonds actually lives in L.A., so it will be a quasi-home series for him Tuesday through Thursday at the Dodgers.

By the way, it is a treat to watch Dontrelle Willis pitch. I feel as if I'm watching Lou Gossett, Jr., portraying Satchel Paige in "Don't Look Back: The Story of Leroy 'Satchel' Paige". Yeah, I know he was a righty.

Randy Winn just singled leading off for the Giants. Unless there's a double play or he's picked off or a radioactive meteor plummets from the sky onto the field, Bonds will bat this inning.

Omar Vizquel, batting second, just walked.

Could Bonds possibly hit a grand slam to tie Aaron?

By the way, who wants to make this bet with me: I'll bet $10,000 of my dollars to $1 of yours that Bonds' 756th homer is not an inside-the-park job. I'll check after this at-bat to see if he's ever hit one.

Ray Durham just lined out, but the attempted double play toss went into the dugout, giving each baserunner two bases. Winn scored and Vizquel is now on third.

Bonds is batting....

And Bonds strikes out swinging. Pitch-by-pitch:

1: Low, ball 1
2. Inside, but the ump calls a strike. 1-1. Bonds steps out of the strike zone, turns his back to the ump and smiles in disbelief.
3. Low, but down the middle. Could have gone either way but ump calls a strike. 1-2
4. Swing and a miss, Bonds goes down swinging.

He's now 1-4 against Willis lifetime, with another 4 walks. The lone hit was a single.

A vestigial Lou Holtz greatest-poor-mouthing quotes shout-out to you with that header.

Welcome back to BA(RR)YWATCH , live from AT&T Park in San Francisco. This is my second and final night here. Barry Bonds is facing Florida Marlin southpaw Dontrelle Willis, who grew up in the East Bay idolizing Bonds. Don't be surprised if he grooves one in for Barry to smoke.

Our first topic this evening: How come people--fans, media, ex-girlfriends who pose in Playboy--are preoccupied with whether or not Bonds is a good guy. It's not as if they give out an award to someone for being a good guy or-What? They do?

Um, yes they do. There's a plaque just outside of Giant manager Bruce Bochy's office in the San Francisco clubhouse recognizing the yearly winners of the "Bill Rigney Good Guy Award". Rigney was the Giants' first manager when they arrived in San Francisco, and the award is given annually to the Giant who is "most cooperative with the media". The late SF reliever Rod Beck won the award in its inaugural season, 1997, while shortstop Omar Vizquel (who made an unbelievable play in the 8th inning last night, throwing out a runner whilst bumped on his derriere behind second base) won last year.

Bonds, the longest tenured Giant (he signed with San Fran before the 1993 season) has never won the award. It must tear him up at night.

JACKSONVILLE - The Jaguars started camp this morning with a two hour workout before the heat of the day hit. They'll be back on the field tonight at 7 p.m.

One of the interesting subplots to their summer is going to be grooming safeties Gerald Sensabaugh and rookie first-rounder Reggie Nelson to take over for Deon Grant (Seattle) and Donovin Darius (Oakland).

Nelson has been running with the first defense all offseason and that continued today so it's clear the Jags have a lot riding on him.

"Reggie's done a very good job in the scheme," said Jags defensive coordinator Mike Smith. "We put a lot on him and we'll continue to put pressure on him. We know athletically what he can do. He's been a phenomenal playmaker at the collegiate level and it's a matter of him becoming comfortable in our system."

Jags coach Jack Del Rio said that starting a rookie at safety isn't unheard of and mentioned Ravens safety Dawan Landry as an example from last season.

But the dfference is that Landry plays next to Ed Reed who's the best in the business. Nelson plays next to Gerald Sensabaugh who's not the best in the business.

At Florida, Nelson played centerfield patrolling the secondary. He'll have to do more run support and be more physical for the Jags.

"Sensabaugh is helping me out a lot," said the 5-11, 198-pound Nelson. "Like I said with Donovin Darius, he was the first person I talked to when I got here and pretty much was helping me out. Sensabaugh is doing a great job in that area and everything by taking me under his wing. He was just telling me, 'don't take in too much, just take it in a day at a time.' Like I said that is my thing right now, just to take it a day at a time."

"We are counting on Reggie," said Smith. "I think Reggie has the mental makeup and athleticism to be a good player. He just needs to get as much experience as he can without us overworking him."

You'd think that if you were standing on base with Barry Bonds batting that you'd know better than go take too large a lead. Apparently, Ray Durham brain-farted or simply forgot, because with one out Durham, standing on second base and with Bonds batting, got picked off on a throw from the catcher. Not very smart.

Bonds walked (career No. 2,528--Bonds has more walks than most players who've ever played the game have had at-bats, much less hits) and then two batters later, Pedro Feliz hit a three-run blast near the left field foul pole. Benji Molina followed with a home run into the left field bleachers to tie the score at 6 here in the fifth inning.

So, Bonds did bat this inning and two home runs were hit, but neither was No. 755.

In the bottom of the 3rd inning Barry Bonds extended his Major League record for career walks with his 2,527th. The count was 3-0 before Rick Vanden Hurk put one pitch over the plate. Bonds walked on the next pitch.

I was standing out on the right field landing. You could purchase a standing-room only seat (pardon the oxymoron; I guess it's SRO ticket) for $14. Two college-aged guys I spoke with out there had done just that this morning on-line.

It's fun out there. From the foul pole to about 30 yards inward (i.e, from the "309" sign to the "365" sign), there are only three rows of seats. After that it's the promenade, which is well-stocked this evening. In fact, ushers are only allowing a certain amount of fans onto the walkway at a time. There's a lot of unhappy fans at the corner waiting for their opportunity to catch a historic homer in hopes that Todd McFarlane will overpay for it.

The vistas are good out there, once you get past the ushers. Standing there you can see the field, of course. Look off to your right, just beyond the left field upper deck, and you can see the fog beginning to enshroud the Bay Bridge. Look behind you, and there's the flotilla of kayaks patrolling McCovey Cove. I counted 18 kayaks in the 3rd inning.

Meanwhile, Barry Zito is being booed so much you'd think he was not giving Bonds a good pitch to hit. The Giant starter has allowed eight hits and six runs through four innings, and worse, kept us waiting for the next Bonds at-bat by doing so. Zito looks like anything but a staff ace this evening.

Bottom of the second inning. After making two quick outs, the Giants have managed three consecutive singles by centerfielder Freddie Lewis (one of my favorite rookies), pitcher Barry Zito and Dave Roberts. Omar Vizquel and Ray Durham would need to get on still for Bonds to bat this inning. I don't foresee that, but every Giant hit translates to more potential ABs for BB this evening.

Vizquel just flied out to end the second stanza. I'm off to the right field promenade (a.k.a. "Levi's Landing") for Bonds' next at-bat. Wish me luck.

Give the people what they want.

Barry Bonds just blasted the 754th (or 755th, if you ask Bonds and Tom Candiotti) home run of his career. It was a line drive shot to centerfield, just a little to the left of dead center. Bonds actually hit it to one of the farthest points of the park, just to the right of the 404 sign and above the "Sharp" signage. The shot was measured at 420 feet.

And now he's guaranteed that everyone will remain tonight until the final out, given as how there's a chance he'll at least tie Aaron tonight.

Bonds did it in the bottom of the first inning on a 2-1 pitch off Florida starter Rick Vanden Hurk , who may just be the first Dutch-born pitcher Bonds has ever homered off. The board said that Vanden Hurk's pitch was 84 m.p.h.

When the inning ended two members of the Giant grounds crew jogged onto the field and replaced all three bases.

The home run is Bonds' 20th of the season, his 19th season of having at least 20 home runs. Only one player ever had more 20-homer seasons (20) and yes, that player was Hank Aaron.

Between innings, the entire ballpark grew silent when a special sports figure appeared on the centerfield video board to offer Bonds congratulations. That person? Michael Jordan.

Being here, I'll agree that it was difficult not to be caught up in the moment. It's one thing to be seated on a couch watching Bob Costas interview Patrick Arnold. It's another to be seated no more than thirty yards directly behind Bonds as he unwields a mammoth swing. Watching him in batting practice, for example, you're instantly struck by how fast the ball ricochets off his bat. Doesn't matter if it's a homer or a line drive or a grounder. Bonds' swing is lightning-fast. He punishes a baseball.

Greetings from AT&T Park and sunny San Francisco. I'm here as part of the problem: the national media who've descended on the scene to record a momentous occasion: Omar Vizquel 's assault on Luis Aparicio's record for haviing played the most games at shortstop in the history of the MLB. Last Sunday in Milwaukee Viqzuel, 40, played in his 2,513th game at the 6 spot, surpassing Ozzie Smith. Tonight he will play in his 2,518th game at short, putting him just 65 games short of tying Aparicio for the record.
And I'll be here every game until he does. It's a tough gig, living in San Francisco until one of baseball's most hallowed records is broken, but then why should Pedro Gomez have all the fun?

The above is actually true--about the record, that is--and Giant owner Peter McGowan gently chided the media during batting practice this afternoon for not paying more attention to Vizquel's putting himself second on the all-time list earlier this week. After all, isn't Barry Bonds only second all-time right now on his particular list? Then again, when the Giants hand you a 23-page release on Bonds' homer history, it's difficult for us neanderthal media types to maintain perspective (the Giant game notes this evening, in comparison), are just seven pages in length.

Depending on your sense of humor, you either find Bill Belichick to be a condescending dullard or a pretty funny guy. I live in the latter group and, that being the case, I like to peruse press conference transcripts sent by the Patriots CRACK media relations staff for Belichick smart-assedness.

Offerings from the first training camp press conference.

Q: How did Randy Moss do today in terms of his conditioning and just generally?
BB: I don't know. We had about 70 players out there practicing today. I couldn't give you a rundown on each guy.

Q: How would you characterize where things stand with Brandon (Meriweather, the Pats first-round pick who agreed to terms later in the day) right now?
BB: I wouldn't. I would just talk about the people that are here. I'd be happy to talk about them.

Q: I'm just wondering if Brady Quinn's situation affects that at all, is that a factor?
BB: He doesn't play for us.

Q: When you say it's not about expectations, do you have to make any conscious effort with them to tell these guys they're not as great as everybody thinks they are going to be?
BB: Oh, about what you guys write?

Q: Right.
BB: Oh, yeah, sure. Yes. It doesn't matter. It doesn't make any difference. Really. It doesn't make any difference. Anybody can go out there and say whatever they want. They can say we're the best team in the league, we’re the worst team in the league. It doesn't really matter. What will really matter is what we do on Sundays and that's what we have to focus on. What everybody thinks and says and the predictions and all that, we look at them every year. There's just too many variables in the NFL to predict that.

Q: Are you more comfortable when you can sneak up on people though and everyone doesn't go in thinking you're the team?
BB: I don't think you really sneak up on anybody in this league. When you go out there and compete against the other team on Sunday afternoon, they are as ready for you as you are for them. The team that plays the best wins, not the team that has the most all-stars, most Pro Bowl guys or any of that. That's not what it's about. It's about the team that plays the best and that's what we're about is trying to play better.

Q: Do you run out of the room when they’re on TV talking about how great you are?
BB: I don't see a lot of that.

We begin today by noting the passing of distance running ambassador/entrepeneur Mike Long of Elite Racing. If you're one of the hundreds of thousands of runners who's signed up to run a Rock and Roll Marathon (or 1/2 Marathon) in San Diego, Phoenix or Virginia Beach, you should take a moment to thank Long for all he contributed to road racing.

Long passed away last week at his home in San Diego, possibly of a heart attack. He was 65.

I met Long once, at the New York City Marathon. He was a man whom every elite runner in the world seemed to know and adore. And with the work that he did at Elite Racing, which in the last decade or so has come to corner the market (for better or worse, but that's a different story) on registering for road racing the way Starbucks has on coffee.

A lot of the reason for Elite's growth was Long's charisma and his relationship with elite runners all over the world. A former wrestler at Michigan State who once ran a 2:54 marathon (Boston, 1982) himself, Long had long ago established credibility with the world's greatest names in running.

Want proof? Check out the homepage of letsrun.com this morning. I've included the link, but it's a photo of some of the greatest Ethiopian runners the world has produced, 27 in all, holding photos of Long in honor of his memory. Included in the photo are two-time Olympic women's 10,000-meter gold medalist Derartu Tulu, 1996 Olympic women's marathon gold medalist Fatuma Roba, men's 5,000-meter world-record holder Meseret Defar, and arguably the greatest distance runner of all time, Haile Gebrselassie.

Here's the link:

www.letsrun.com

FLOWERY BRANCH - I understand that professional football players aren't paid to be great orators.

Their physical ability leads us to put value on their thoughts and words. Even if they aren't the best talkers, they are still experts in their field and can tell you stuff you don't already know about football.

But when they wander too far from their comfort zone, it's like watching a moose on skates.

Such was the case yesterday when Atlanta Falcons linebacker Keith Brooking was asked whether he read the Michael Vick indictment.

"I don't have ...," Brooking began. "Our legal system, is in place ....What good is it for me to have thoughts or judge Mike or have an opinion on it. Our legal system was set in place to have due process take its course. I don't think it does us any good to sit here and comment on that or have an opinion on it. We're sitting up here today to try and bring closure for our football team."

Wide receiver Joe Horn and corner DeAngelo Hall both tried to get philosophical about the fact that Vick allegedly ran a dogfighting operation for half a decade.

"It can happen to anyone," said Hall.

"No one's immune to the trials and tribulations of life," said Horn.

Fellas, this isn't like leaving the bathroom with toilet paper stuck to your shoe. It's a barbaric criminal enterprise with a gambling charge riding shotgun.

Mystifying to me was the team's expectation that the talking about Vick on the first day of camp was going to bring "closure."

The frying pan just hit the burner. The heat rises from here.

I asked head coach Bobby Petrino if it was naive to expect a ceasefire on Vick talk.

"Yeah, I'm not sure about that," he answered (What's he going to say.."Yeah, I'm naive."?). "Like I said, we had the 90-minute press conference and I'd like to stay on focus with our football team. We all have different feelings for Mike. The Michael Vick I know worked hard and did everything we asked him to do. So we're hoping things work out OK for him."

FLOWERY BRANCH, GEORGIA - There were protesters at the gates and plane circling overhead that suggested the Falcons change their name to "Dogkillers."

Under that bad moon, the Bobby Petrino Era really began in Atlanta with the first practice of training camp. In hot but not ridiulous weather, the Falcons went for two hours.

When they were done, they trotted out seven players to do the "all is well" routine.

Here's the good, the bad and the stupid from those press conferences.

THE GOOD

ALGE CRUMPLER: "Obviously everyone knows we're in a tough situation with the ultimate leader being out. I played with Michael since the beginning. I support Michael and hope he can get through this ordeal. The outlook isn't the best right now but the outcome is under our control."

BUMP'nRUN VIEW: Really well phrased. Acknowledge the difficulty. Show loyalty to the longtime teammate. Admit that it's bleak. Then end with a fetching turn of phrase. Well DONE, Mr. Crumpler!

LAWYER MILLOY: "It's about how you as a team approach it. Do you say 'woe is me'? (Coach Petrino) gave a couple examples, one that I know personally. There were some injuries that happened to a team, major injuries. And an individual that was ready behind that injured player came in and the team rallied behind that player. Ultimately the team went on to be successful and won a championship. And that individual has had the best first five years of his career of any player in history."

BUMP'nRUN VIEW: I know who it was. Aaron Brooks and the 2002 Saints, right? Am I right? Actually, it was the 2001 Patriots. Good story by Petrino and Milloy although Drew Bledsoe came by his sheared artery honestly during a game while Mike Vick singlehandedly tore the heart out of these Falcons in his spare time.

Apparently, it's SEC Media Day.

Yeah, I didn't really care either.

FLOWERY BRANCH, GEORGIA - While Mike Vick, the face of the Falcons franchise is about to be arraigned in Richmond, Virginia, the rest of his team is preparing for its first training camp practice at their facility in Flowery Branch.

There are about 100 anti-Vick protestors outside the teams facility; about 50 in support of Vick. I got video from people on both sides of the issue and you are guaranteed to appreciate the folks with a pro-Vick stance.

Practice is at 3:30 and we'll have access to a handful of players and new coach Bobby Petrino after.

Tom

ATLANTA - This blog is making it's way over to the Falcons complex in Flowery Branch, Georgia later this morning. Once there, this blog expects to be asked by Falcons staff members not to ask questions about Michael Vick.

The Falcons first practice of training camp begins at 3:25 p.m. The main reason I'm here isn't here. Vick's arraignment in Richmond, Virginia on dogfighting and maintaining an interstate gambling enterprise is today as well. But even if Vick were here and not banned from camp by Roger Goodell, he wouldn't make a peep about what he faces.

So what do we expect to get today in Flowery Branch? Well, the Falcons players (with the exception of Joe Horn who said he thought it would be good for Vick to play football this year) haven't weighed in on the fact that their most recognizable and important player has put himself in this position.

If head coach Bobby Petrino is smart, he will have instructed his players to refer to these talking points.

1) We're disappointed.
2) We're concerned for Michael.
3) We don't condone what he's been charged with.

Our job? Get the fellas to freelance some. There's absolutely no doubt that there are Falcons who don't think this is a big deal. Who think that Vick's getting railroaded. Who believe he's being persecuted because of celebrity and race. And I find it hard to imagine that not one of Vick's Atlanta teammates ever went to that Surry County home for dinner and a dogfight.

No doubt, there are also some pretty pissed off Falcons. The careers of NFL players are short. The sacrifices made before and during the season are long. The desire to play for a winning team with a chance to win a championship is universal. Vick's actions crippled the Falcons chances of competing for the playoffs this year.

I want to talk to Lawyer Milloy today. He's a player that was the heart and soul leader of the New England Patriots first Super Bowl team in 2001. I'm not saying winning is more important to him than other players, but he wears his disgust on his sleeve more readily when things go badly. It will be interesting to hear his take.

The plan is to head to the complex around noon, get the lay of the land, do a blog or video piece and send that in then wait for practice to start.

I won't have access to the players or coaches until about 5:30. Expect to see updates by 7:30 or 8.

Tonight, I fly to Jacksonville to catch the Jags tomorrow and Saturday.

Remember that show?

The one where all these former celebs are thrown into a house and videotaped as they completely self-destruct in front of all of us, who at some point in life, used to adore them (well maybe adore is overstating). It was entertaining at the least and beat out watching Real World (which is now way to predictable and boring and plain stupid). And until they make The Hills a year round show, I'll take the reruns of Surreal Life. (PS: Hills, LC, Heidi and that awful Spencer start it up for round three on August 13th! TIVO!).

Back to Surreal Life... The premise of getting cast on the show is:
You have to have been famous. (Child stars really have the advantage here.)
Your career got derailed by controversy. (Drugs, sex, crime, bad hair)
Currently, at best, you rank as a C-List star.
You posses that sad but true desire to do anything in front of the camera and consistently put yourself in bad situations that provide for dramatic and interesting television.
You have a temper, which equals fights with roommates, which leads to ridiculous storylines, which keeps us normal people laughing and more importantly watching, which makes the producers and TV company *very* happy. (Hey, everyone wins!)
And finally... People still have an interest in you.

So with all of these qualifications laid out, combined with the latest celebs making headlines in the past two weeks, don't you think the following list of names would be perfect for a new show?

Michael Vick-former NFL God, now Dogs Rights Activist?
Paris Hilton-she spent time in jail, she can do time in the house.
PacMan Jones-only allowed entry if entourage and guns are kept outside of house. Gotta play fair.
Lindsay Lohan-if she doesn't scream train wreck, I don't know what does.
Tim Donaghy-who will officiate all of the games played by the housemates and will surely swing the vote your way for just a small fee.
Britney Spears-easily the STAR of the show.

The sad part is I'm sure this list will grow. And grow. And grow.

I just don't understand how so many of these people can not just once but continuously make horrible decisions. So instead of sitting here and trying to make sense of it all, I say we just throw them all into a house and get some entertainment out of it! You can not tell me you wouldn't watch. Honestly.

I'm laying out in Central Park yesterday and a guy comes up to my towel and says: "That's a huge book! Talk about summer reading."

First: Guys, when approaching a girl, let's try to come up with something more creative then that?
Second: If you haven't bought the book of the summer yet, what are you waiting for? (Acceptable answer: My roommate/sibling/friend bought it and I'm waiting for him/her to finish it so I don't have to drop the 23 bucks.)

According to this, more then one million copies were sold on the first day! Yes, I'm talking about Harry Potter.

Only for kids you say? Well tell that to the five people I saw at LaGuardia Airport on Sunday night who were so intently reading it they didn't notice their own luggage at baggage claim (all of which were well over 24 thank you).

Don't you dare to tell me what happens. I'm only on page 200 something. And with 759 pages, I got a ways to go. If you haven't started yet, it gets really good about oh say, page 2.

Michael Chiklis never had a day like this.

Yesterday Roger Goodell, Bud Selig and David Stern all made news on what was an otherwise slow news day (okay, Barry Bonds did celebrate a birthday). The latter two appeared on camera. Let's review how they did.

Roger Goodell ... A+

On Monday the NFL commissioner ordered Michael Vick to stay away from Falcon training camp when it opens later this week. Wow. A pro-emptive maneuver that reeks of decisiveness, common sense and leadership.
It's not Goodell's job to determine whether or not Vick--whose name appears fifty times on the indictment, as Falcon owner Arthur Blank himself remarked in Tuesday's press conference-- is guilty. It's Goodell's job to protect the integrity of the league.
By telling Vick to stay away, but keeping him on the payroll, Goodell is making the most Solomonic compromise that he is capable of. Vick, and his agent, cannot claim that they are being treated unfairly, since he still is receiving a paycheck. Meanwhile, both the Falcons and the NFL can prepare for the upcoming season without all the peripheral ballyhoo. And don't blame the media for this. It would be utterly irresponsible of anyone covering the Falcons not to inquire as to how long their best player would be around this season, regardless of the heinous nature of the alleged crimes.
Interesting note: When Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso sat in for Mike & Mike yesterday, Herbstreit made a salient point. He noted that we've heard nothing from Michael Vick. If you were innocent of these charges, wouldn't you be looking for every microphone you could locate to arrest this assault on your reputation?
Goodell done good. He understands the difference between due process in the legal system and due process within his own league. He acted quickly and decisively. And if Vick is innocent, all he's lost is time....not money. Besides, you can bet that if the indictment were less damning, that Goodell would never have taken those measures.

A bizarre rumor that Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi died on Monday is swirling through New England.

I'm in Atlanta and I've gotten four phone calls and two e-mails asking whether it was true.

Happily, it is not.

How did it get this far? Well, the answer won't really drape the journalism industry in glory.

Apparently, an anonymous e-mail to a TV affiliate in Boston came in Monday afternoon saying that Bruschi had gone to Jesus.

Before getting confirmation from the Patriots that Bruschi was (and is) indeed alive, the rumor made its way to other media types putting them on red alert as well. This caused them to start calling every contact they could to find out if tragedy had struck Bruschi and the Patriots again. And they called two friends and so on, and so on.

The rumor mill has continued churning through the day on Tuesday.

Bruschi, who suffered a stroke after the 2004 season, has been tremendous with the media throughout his career but abhors having his privacy invaded by the media. This episode, which he is aware of, is not going to be a hit with him.

First of all, lets just say one thing: Cleveland rocks. Not really sure what I was expecting, however I had no idea what a great city this is. Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to return (and won't have to work crazy hours) and will actually enjoy it!

The second stop of the Dew Tour:
The theme for the weekend has been: if you won in Baltimore, you win again in Cleveland. With two competitions left to go, FMX and BMX Vert, four of the six disciplines have seen repeat winners. Shaun White took SKB Vert yesterday when he edged out Bucky Lasek in his very last run of the day. If you missed me interviewing White at the end of the show, it was pretty funny. He was so ecstatic on the win that he was literally all over the place. At one point he said: "This is the worst interview ever! I'm all over the place." Haha... it came down to a high pressure situation where he had to do his best, and the kid got the job done.

In BMX Dirt, Ryan Nyquist squeezed past Corey Bohan for his second Dirt win of the year. A wonderful tribute to fellow BMX'er Stephen Murray was the theme of the show and the night. The riders sported black t-shirts and almost the entire staff and rider community all have worn blue bands with "Stay Strong Stephen Murray" on them. Be sure to go to ASTDewtour.com and check out the insane amount of stuff you can bid on to help raise money for Stephen. Guranteed your favorite rider put something up and this is your chance to not only buy it but also an amazing opportunity to help someone out in the greatest way possible. Nyquist donated his entire earnings from BMX Dirt to Stephen. Way to lead by an admirable example.

In SKB Park, Sheckler dominates the playground. He came into finals in a surprising 6th place (due to crazy weather situation). Yet that didn't slow, stop or scare the guy. He showed up ready to go and even surprised himself (possible?) when his board failed to flip on a trick and he STILL managed to land it. Classic. I was pretty happy for Greg Lutzka who came into Finals as the number one qualifier but failed to make due during Finals. Maybe Portland will be different.

And that leaves us with BMX Park. New format, same winner. It was a battle between Ryan Nyquist and Daniel Dhers but in the end the Brazilian stomped the competition. He just has soooo many tricks and he consistently throws runs that make you tired just watching them. Way to go Josh Harrington and youngin' Garett Reynolds for breaking into that top 6. Dave Mirra looked as good as ever and if it hadn't been for that crash into the railing, we might have had a different name at number one. Congrats to Morgan Wade who is getting hitched this week.

BMX Vert is tonight. FMX was scheduled to be coming to you today LIVE on NBC however this wind has made things difficult and I'm unsure when that will happen. Try to keep you posted. Nate Adams finished first in prelims last night and Jeremy Stenberg is back with a nice third place prelim finish.

Alright gotta run to the show... Have a good Sunday. A few weeks and we'll be in Portland for the third stop. Don't forget GO TO ASTDEWTOUR.COM and bid on items to help out the Stephen Murray fund. If you don't want to buy anything, no worries. You can donate and remember, every little bit helps!

The second stop of the AST Dew Tour is well under way.

The athletes started pouring in early this week and in spite of some crappy weather yesterday, the prelims have begun. Tonight BMX Dirt Finals will take place. Anthony Napolitan is back and claims to have recovered from that shoulder injury he took in back in Baltimore, MD. Ryan Nyquist, coming off of a huge win at the Red Bull Elevation contest-barely edging out Corey Bohan, is looking to continue his winning streak. Not to be counted out, Cory Nastazio making the big return to the dirt course after undergoing knee surgery. And of course you gotta keep an eye on guys like TJ Lavin, Ryan Guettler, Cam White, Dave Dillewaard and the ever consistent Chris Doyle. Sure to be a good comp tonight and you can catch it on USA Network at midnight.

Yesterday we tried to get the Dirt prelims underway but rain swept in and sent everyone running. Seriously, I wish I had pictures because it would make you laugh to see everyone scattering, dripping wet, and laughing because really, what else are you going to do? However, before the skies opened up, the entire group of riders at the Dirt course were sporting black t-shirts with yellow writing. On the front it said "Stay Strong" and the back read "Stephen Murray". Just another awesome example of how aside from this being a competitive sport, the athletes are each others family and will always unify to show support for one of their own. Murray must be proud.

Heyyyohh!

The blog is officially back up and running. I took a little break (vacation).

However, vacation is over and that means back to work.

And work means doing a blog.

Today.

This morning, while taking the Metro North Railroad from Manhattan to Stamford, I witnessed a scene that just blew me away. Here's how the conversation went down when I told my buddy Mike M. about it later this evening:

Me: "Today I witnessed the most audacious pick-up attempt I've ever seen in New York City, and what may surprise you is that it didn't involve me."

Mike: "Well, did it work?"

Me: "No."

Mike: "Well then, I really am surprised that it didn't involve you."

Anyway, here's what happened. Because of the volcanic blast we had here on Wednesday that shut down the subway stations near Grand Central, I boarded the train at 125th Street in Harlem. It was about 9:45 a.m. There's nobody in my end of the car, but an attractive young woman follows behind me and chooses to sit in a seat directly across the aisle from me.

I'm not into meeting anyone at this point--and besides, let's face it, I'm dressed like a slob and gassy at that moment--but if nothing else it's good eye candy for the trip. Suddenly, after we've been moving a few minutes, a good-looking guy (I mean, not Steve Phillips-handsome, but somewhere closer to the dude who was the villain in "Ghost" handsome) in a suit walks our way and sits behind me. With all the available seats on the train, he takes this one at the end of the car, right behind me.

A few minutes later, suit dude stands up, steps into the aisle, and sits himself down right next to the hottie. At first I thought, They must work together. But no. He just sat right next to her, said, "Hi...Is this okay?" and began working it.

The woman, I think (she was mid-twenties, he looked to be about 30), was both shocked and flattered (and hoping it was not he who was emitting that foul odor) and replied, "Sure."

Now, I wish that I could tell you that they hit it off instantly, but in fact after the initial rush for both of them (Him: I really am that fearless; Her: I really am this hot) the conversation stalled. And it was so awkward, because she had sat in a two-seat row, so when he sat down next to her they looked like two cramped 8th graders in a school bus that best fits 2nd graders. And what could he do? Move to the seat in front of her? That would give each of them more personal space, but it would also be like admitting defeat for him. I don't know what the answer is on that one.

What I do know is that this provided me a priceless opportunity to create a laugh, and that I am in retrospect kicking myself for not attempting to get one. Here are the two ideas I came up with later:

1. Take the unocccupied seat in front of them, kneel on it so that I'm facing them both, and simply handing her my business card and telling her to call me. Only so that when he flashed me a dirty look, I could say, "Oh, so you've known her four minutes. What, that's a relationship?"

2. Take that same seat in front of them, twist my head back to face them, and ask her, "Hey, do you like rice?" ( I mean, because who doesn't like rice? And presto! we have something in common).

So, yeah, that was my day.

Charter Johntourage member R.R., who some folks believe is a dead ringer for Meredith Viera--but whom I believe is closer in resemblance to Meredith Baxter-Birney, or Don Meredith, for that matter--wrote in to take issue with my "harsh" treatment of ESPN analyst Steve Phillips. R.R. chided me, she admonished me, chastised me, castigated me, even.

It's not nice to call people names, she said. Like coward. Or dope. Or idiot.

She's right, of course. But then, you'd expect as much from Alex Keaton's mom.

So consider this my formal apology, at least for the tone I took, to Steve Phillips (see blog below). At the time his words made me so angry, like Yosemite Sam "Sufferin' Succotash!" angry, like Bigbie when he bumps into someone at a bar ("Trainspotting") angry.

And here's why. Phillips was advocating illusion over truth. To retrace briefly, Phillips said that Barry Bonds should not take an at-bat on the road if he were within one or tied with Hank Aaron's home run record because it "would not be in the best interests of baseball".

Phillips said that it was an historic moment. That we'd be watching footage of this years and years from now, and that that footage should of a new home run record should not include heckling or booing or worse.

And so, Phillips concluded, Bonds should only break the record in his hometown.

Forget the crucial aspect that by not playing their best player when he is healthy that the San Francisco Giants are spitting in the face of their fans and obstructing the competitive integrity of the league in which they play. That's obvious. And what about the family who bought tickets in Chicago or Milwaukee hoping to catch a glimpse of Bonds playing? Doesn't Major League Baseball owe them better than that? If Bonds is indeed one of the best players who ever lived, isn't that at the very least, uncool of MLB and the Giants not to feature him?

What Phillips is advocating is something more sinister, though. It's Orwellian. He wants to manipulate the message. If fans in Milwaukee or Atlanta were to boo Bonds' 756th homer--and I'm not sure that they would; even those who believe he's on roids, or that he was (as Mike Greenberg said on Letterman last night, "And then at the age of 37, Bonds just became very muscular and his hat size increased three sizes") would have to grudgingly admit that 756 homers is not done without ethereal talent-- whose fault would that be?

From the Arizona Diamondbacks banning a series of non-profane signs that ridiculed Bonds, to Phillips' latest stance, there are those in baseball who are determined to silence those who would question the integrity of Bonds' blasts. It's as if now that he is on the threshold of achieving diamond immortality (that is, until A-Rod wrests the record away in 2015 or so) that we need to accept him.

He won, he got away with it, so let's all just pretend that it was a valid feat and move on. Maybe not the best example to use, but if you ever read "The Prince of Tides" and recall what happened to the mother, well, kind of like that. Let's just pretend the bad parts never happened.

To paraphrase one of Chris Rock's best lines, "It's all right...if it's all white-washed."

But it doesn't change the truth.

Anyway, I'm sorry that I devolved into name-calling in the previous blog. Steve Phillips seems like a reasonably decent fella, and he has terrific hair and the smoothest-looking skin of any grownup on TV. He's a good-lookin' guy. And he may even phone and consent to talk to me about this issue in a day or two.

So I apologize for that nasty tone I took. But I (Lt. Commander Galloway) "strenuously object" to his rationale that the best way for baseball to handle the Bonds situation is to take the fans' voice away from them. That sounds like the kind of guy take the tank and run over the lone protester in Tianenmen Square. If you're for that guy, Steve, how can you advocate what you do? Sure, the gravity of the situations is different, but the principle is the same.

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Did anyone else catch Christopher Walken on "The Daily Show" last night? Terrific. Walken was discussing how he grew up in Queens in an area that produces many police officers and how as kids Saturdays were spent at dance lessons. "I have a theory," Walken said to Jon Stewart, "that now there are a lot of retired New York City cops who know how to tap dance."

Mike & Mike were on Letterman and were pretty funny. Greenie got off a good line when Letterman asked about Bonds not being popular with media or players. "Inexplicably," said the metrosexual multimedia maven, "he's prone to mood swings."

6:54 p.m., Monday night....On SportsCenter, Steve Phillips just said the stupidest thing (non-Stephen A. Smith division) that I've heard anyone on ESPN say all year. I'll wax more on it later, but Phillips argued that Barry Bonds should be forced to sit out road games until he breaks Hank Aaron's home run record because it will be "in the best interests of baseball" for him to do it at SBC Park in San Francisco.

Phillips said that if Bonds were to hit his 756th homer on the road, he might be subject to heckling, to boos, and to possibly people even tossing syringes on the field. So that would be a bad thing. No, Steve, you freaking cowardly spin doctor. The only thing that is ever a black eye for baseball, for government, for anything (such as, oh I don't know, adultery, Steve?) is to cover up the truth.

Fans on the road might--I stress, might--heckle Bonds but only because of everything that he has brought on himself. It's not the fans' fault if they boo Bonds. It's Bonds'.

To quote the great Geno Auriemma, who says this often (and likely, occasionally, about me), "What a dope."

Moreover, what a coward.

I've crunched all the numbers-- 1s, by the way, are the most difficult numbers to crunch, because they're just a straight line; 8s, on the other hand? Very easy to crunch because of all the curvy parts; 5s will give, but they usually squirt out when you press down on the top....

What were we talking about? Oh yeah. I've crunched the numbers and I've come up with some prospectuses (prospecti?) about the team I'm infatuated with--the Yankees...in the same manner Mel's infatuated with Bret and Jemaine (in the same manner I'm infatuated with Mel and Bret and Jemaine).

New York began today 45-44, playing .506 ball after more than half the season. If they were to play .700 ball the rest of the way, going 51-22, they'd most likely make the playoffs. The Yanks would finish 96-66, which should be good enough to at least grab a wildcard berth. Maybe.
But, as I say, they'd have to win an average of 7 out of 10 games the rest of the season in order to do that. And right now the best team in the MLB--Boston-- has won an average of just over 6 out of 10 games (.604) all season. So that's going to be a tall order.

Now, if you do the math, you'll recognize that 96-66 is actually better than .604. But experience tells us that as we get into late August and September, teams in pennant races usually win even a higher percentage of their games, because the games become must-wins. Teams that are out of it--the Baltimores, Tampa Bays and Texases--usually fade further.

With the way that Seattle, Cleveland and Detroit are playing, don't be surprised if New York's best bet for a postseason berth comes by overtaking Boston in the A.L. East. And, no, they've never played .700 ball after the break since Joe Torre's been in charge. The best they've played is just under .666, at 50-27. Then again, the need has never been so urgent.

Coming out of the All-Star break, the Yankees play 19 games (and they'll finish up a 2oth that was halted in the 8th inning at Baltimore) in 18 days. All four teams New York plays--Tampa Bay, Toronto, Kansas City and Baltimore--have losing records and two of them are in last place in their divisions. If the Yankees, who are 3-1 in this 20-game stretch thus far, are to win 70% of their games the rest of the season, they'd do themselves a huge favor by going no worse than 15-5 (75%) against this foursome.

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I'm sorry... I just couldn't bring myself to watch The ESPYs. I loathe everything about that show, except for the old Jimmy V "Don't give up, don't ever give up" speech they replay every year about this time. I was fortunate enough to be in the audience that night in 1993, and it really was inspirational. Anyway, I surfed over to it for just a moment, just long enough to catch LeBron "dunking" his newborn, Bryce Maximus James. Or a prop of his infant son. And I might have laughed, but Jimmy Kimmel (or more likely his writers) has probably read Tom Shales' and James Andrew Miller's book, Live From New York , the uncensored history of "Saturday Night Live", and so they stole that joke directly from Al Franken. Yes, that Al Franken.

Shortly after Franken had his first child, he and his wife were invited to an SNL party (Franken was a writer and part-time performer on SNL). Franken did the stunt-baby joke there, pretending to drop his newborn as he and whis wife were walking into the apartment. So, yeah, I saw that one coming down Broadway, as you did, too.

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Scott Van Pelt is a Flight of the Conchords fan, it turns out. And you have to be impressed with his fervor. Last night, near the end of the Sunday SportsCenter , Van Pelt dropped the phrase, "It's business time." That was the title of the first song performed in last night's episode of FotC. Now here's the strange part. On Sunday nights, SportsCenter is taped just once, at 11 p.m. (there's no 2 a.m. edition, as on weeknights). And FotC airs on HBO for the first time at 10:30.
So are we to presume that half an hour before SportsCenter aired, Van Pelt had time to catch FotC out of one eye on? That's devotion. I'm impressed.
"Mmmmmm, team-building exercise, '99!"

...as Sheryl Crow says, it can't be that bad.

Don't you wonder if A-Rod will take that into consideration after this baseball season ends? His agent, Scott Bore-us, has already confided that just the way his deal works, he'll make at least $30 million next season from whomever he plays for. There's no reason to think that a few of the most well-heeled clubs wouldn't throw as much as $35 million at him. Granted, there's only about four, maybe five teams that could do that ("My kinda town, Chicago is...") but that still leaves him a choice.

What if the Yankees come all the way back and do well in the postseason? Will that affect his decision? What if they fail to reach the playoffs? Or am I just thinking like a fan and not a businessman? But here's the question: At what point do you have so much freaking cash that you no longer have to worry about thinking like a businessman? Whatever point that is, hasn't A-Rod reached it? After all, no amount of money is going to keep you off the front page of the New York Post with a buxom blonde...although true, that is less likely to happen if you live outside of New York City.

It should all come down to happiness. No? To me it should. A-Rod's a rich, rich man already. And he may just be the best player in baseball. One of the best ever. What he lacks is the trust of his teammates, or even fans, as to his loyalty. If he hitches up the team and moves the wagon out of town yet again, his legacy as a mercenary will be sealed. If he remains in pinstripes, he has a chance to go down as one of the best players--if not the best-- ever to play for the best franchise in baseball history.

Does that mean anything to him? The only out you can possibly see A-Rod doing, and yet still validating the idea that he's not just a money-grubbing playa', is if he were to go to the Cubs and lead them to their first World Series title in a century. And Jeff Samardzija will pitch Game 7.

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Craziest thing I learned y