Hillary and Barack meet for coffee ...

Pres. Obama Celebrates Final Presidential Medal of Freedom Ceremony

I watched, with great interest, last night the coverage of President Obama awarding the final Presidential Medals of Freedom of his presidency. To some of the greatest icons of our generation.

This is a bittersweet piece to watch, considering the uncertainty and division our country is confronting these days. And I found it especially heartening to see how touched these individuals were by the honors.



Here's a good read by Mike Lupica: Precedential Mettle: Jordan = The One.
Here's more about Vin Scully receiving the honor. 

USA TODAY exclusive: Hundreds allege Donald Trump doesn’t pay his bills

Well, this is interesting ...

"Donald Trump casts himself as a protector of workers and jobs, but a USA TODAY NETWORK investigation found hundreds of people – carpenters, dishwashers, painters, even his own lawyers – who say he didn’t pay them for their work. ... 

(H)e has been involved in more than 3,500 lawsuits over the past three decades — and a large number of those involve ordinary Americans, like the Friels, who say Trump or his companies have refused to pay them.

At least 60 lawsuits, along with hundreds of liens, judgments, and other government filings reviewed by the USA TODAY NETWORK, document people who have accused Trump and his businesses of failing to pay them for their work. Among them: a dishwasher in Florida. A glass company in New Jersey. A carpet company. A plumber. Painters. Forty-eight waiters. Dozens of bartenders and other hourly workers at his resorts and clubs, coast to coast. Real estate brokers who sold his properties. And, ironically, several law firms that once represented him in these suits and others."

Meanwhile, the Democrats are coming together and digging in ...

The president's speechwriter

My work involves writing for a president, too. On a smaller scale.

Nonetheless, it's an important role. I take it seriously. And this video pretty well sums up how it works.

Barack Chalk, Jayhawk

One of the big stories in these parts last week was Barack Obama's visit to KU. ... KU will always hold a special place in my heart for many reasons, I loved watching this today.

'West Wing' cast reunites to promote White House's Big Block of Cheese Day

So this popped up on the interwebs today ...

It's awesome -- though I would have enjoyed it more if the cast were in character as the former staff members of the Bartlet administration -- and, man, it makes me miss "The West Wing."

Enjoy.

The Hilarious Moment When a Guy Told Obama ‘Don’t Touch My Girlfriend’

Here's the in-case-you-missed-it Internet item of today ...

The hilarious moment when a guy told Barack Obama "Don’t touch my girlfriend."


More ABC news videos | ABC Health News

Presidential images

I enjoyed yesterday's inauguration coverage, watching it nearly all day from home, like I've never done before. Here are some good reads and images that I think best capture yesterday's festivities ...

First, some stunning photos from The New York Times. ... Which doesn't include Malia's photobomb, which, in case you missed seeing it play out live during the TV coverage, was a classic family moment of the day.

From Rolling Stone: Obama's 2013 Presidential Inauguration
From Parade: Top 5 moments from the inauguration
And this morning's New York Times editorial: President Barack Obama

Then there's the always wonderful, entertaining and amusing reviews by NBC News ... Which doesn't mention Al Roker's impromptu interviews with Barack Obama and Joe Biden, not to mention his comical banter with Brian Williams and David Gregory afterward.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

... And finally, this wonderful little commercial that aired during yesterday's coverage ... The shot of that little girl staring out the window, riding in the car with cotton, or stuffing, or whatever it is attached to her face is priceless.

Off and running

Well, it wasn’t as dramatic as four years ago (I did miss the ol' newsroom a little). But Election Night 2012 was still a lot of fun.

I voted over my lunch break. Kates voted when she was finished with her school day.

Later, we met at home as a family. Ate dinner. Got the girls tucked into their beds. And settled in for what we figured would be a long night of watching the election returns.

After all, this year’s campaign was one of the nastiest ever. Watching and reading the people who cover news these last few days, the race appeared to be so evenly split. I had begun to believe Romney had the edge. Or we were destined for a repeat of 2000 when we didn't know who won for weeks …

Side note: I was in Washington, D.C., for that election. And I’ll never forget walking the streets the morning after with the front pages of the Washington Times shouting, “NO PRESIDENT YET.” I have a photograph …

As always, we tuned into Brian Williams, the crew on NBC, and their painted ice rink at Rockefeller Center. I also kept a close eye on Twitter, of course.

As the hours passed, the returns looked good for Obama. … But I wasn’t taking anything for granted. There were a lot of states left to be called.

Around 10 p.m., I decided to switch to The Daily Show, wanting a break from the straight news talk and thinking surely Jon Stewart and his crew would provide some good entertainment. … Actually, we watched The Daily Show up to the first commercial break, and then I switched to our DVR’d recording of Monday night’s Daily Show, while fully intending to come back to the Election Night Daily Show afteward so we could watch it commercial free.

But around 10:15, a Twitter post flashed that Obama won Ohio and thus had been declared the winner.

It was too early. That couldn’t be true.

Immediately, I stopped the Daily Show and switched back to NBC’s live coverage. Brian and the gang were calling it for Obama, too.

Twitter was flying with tweets now. And like that, this long, bitter, rollercoaster of a presidential campaign was over with Barack Obama retaining the presidency.

Sweet.

Now, there were a lot of races and propositions during this election that Kates and I would have preferred to go the other way, but I’m not going to get that detailed.

I’m glad it’s over.

Another thing that’s over: Phoebe’s sling-wearing.

After last week’s accident the doctor told us she might only have to wear the sling for a week before she’d be running around like nothing happened. But as much pain as Phoebe appeared to be in, we thought surely she’d have to wear it for two or three weeks, at least.

Instead – after our sleepless weekend – something changed Sunday.That evening Phoebe shouted to me, “Daddy! Look! I can move my arm!” And there she was, flapping it like a bird.

So, as scheduled, I took her to the doctor this afternoon for a check-up. The doctor removed the sling from Phoebe’s arm, felt the bones and had Phoebe move her arm. Phoebe moved it freely without pain. … The doctor made a call to an orthopedic doctor for some consultation, and when she returned she gave Phoebe the all-clear.

Phoebe jumped and danced all the way out of the doctor’s office, flinging her arms above her head and singing, “No more sling! No more sling!”

We’re off and running again.

Good reads ...
a How a Race in the Balance Went to Obama
a How Obama Won Re-election
a President Obama's Six Keys to Victory
a Networks tread lightly to avoid 'Dewey defeats Truman' flub
a From Frustrated to Nervous, Television Networks’ Moods Explain Results
a Election night review: TV news announces Obama re-elected; analyzing the analysts
a On TV, broadcasters search for a drama that never materialized
a Election 2012: From Brian Williams to Jon Stewart to Shep Smith, how each network covered the election
a Rove holds Fox News hostage, is ultimately defeated by those traitorous statistics he once loved so much
a Twitter reaction to Obama win: Trump goes on tirade, RuPaul tells Romney to 'sashay away'

The vote

One week to Election Day.

To me, the choice is pretty clear.

Here are some good reads from some good news outlets ...

• Chicago Tribune: Tribune endorses Obama: Our children's America
• The New York Times: Barack Obama for Re-election
• Rolling Stone: Obama and the Road Ahead

And for good measure, here's The Onion's endorsement. Or something like it ...

I mean, wouldn’t you kill yourself if the U.S. population felt that Mitt Romney — a man who basically wrote off half the American population as entitled victims incapable of taking care of themselves — was a more viable leader than you? Wouldn’t you take your own life if a massive segment of the citizenry basically said, “You know what, you ended the war in Iraq, you passed health care reform, you saved the auto industry, you repealed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, you had 32 straight months of job creation, and you killed Osama bin Laden, but sorry, I’m going with Romney?”

One year later

As much as I admire Brian Williams and NBC News, we've only tuned into Rock Center once or twice since it began airing last fall. But I had no intention of missing tonight's program.

A year ago, we sat here stunned at the news that special forces had killed Osama bin Laden.

Tonight we watched Rock Center's "Inside the Situation Room," an unbelievably fascinating breakdown of the events and decisions inside the White House leading up to and during that night.

The piece is filled with so many mind-boggling decisions and strategies, with the ways members of the administration went about their planned activities that weekend without giving up a hint of what they'd been planning. President Obama, of course, attended the now infamous correspondents' dinner. And perhaps my favorite part, Hillary Clinton attended the wedding of one of her daughter's friends.

During an interview in the anniversary piece, Hillary says ...

“It was so ironic. All these smart young people who work in all kinds of enterprises, one of them came up and said, ‘Do you think we’ll ever get bin Laden?’  I said, ‘I don’t know. I have no way of knowing, but I can tell you this, we’ll keep trying.’”

Here's a good read from Rolling Stone: #RIP: The New Media of Celebrity Deaths

Obama slow jams the news

In case you missed it ...

This was awesome ...

President Obama meets with Nickelback fans

So my office cohorts and I have had an inside joke about Nickelback's power to repress and annoy people -- I say it's a miracle they remain relevent in the media -- since a couple months ago when our university photographer posted a football highlight video set to a Nickelback song and viewers overloaded the video's messageboard with disdainful comments.

My friend Mallory delivered the latest punch line this week by forwarding this photo, which has been circulating around the Internet for some time with the caption:

President Obama meets with Nickelback fans.

May 1, 2011

(5.09.2011 -- I've updated this post to include
some of the good reads I've found
since the news of Bin Laden's death
broke last week)

We just finished watching our late night television shows. And ate them up. The Daily Show tonight was a classic.

After all, how crazy -- and unbelievable -- have these 24 hours been?!

Up until about 9:51 p.m. yesterday, it had been another Sunday. We went to church and said goodbye to Kates' parents in the morning. Lunch. Kates took a nap. I played with Phoebe. Paid bills. Did laundry. Dinner ...

I was frustrated that it was past 9 by the time I could indulge in Sunday Night Baseball. At around 9:30, I told Kates I was ready for bed but instead got comfortable on the couch and fired up my laptop.

Good thing we didn't go to bed.

A news alert popped on my screen.

U.S. has the body of Osama bin Laden, sources say

I gasped and shared the headline with Kates. In moments, more alerts started popping up. I immediately reached for the TV remote and turned to CNN. Kates reached for her phone and dialed her parents, who had returned to The Farm and wouldn't have known. ...

Twitter and Facebook. Absolutely. Lit. Up. ... My friend Sarah in Chicago posted to her Facebook, simply, "Wow." Those of us watching a computer, smartphone or television knew exactly what she was talking about. Many, many more tweets and status updates like hers quickly followed.

My favorite tweet of the night as the world waited for President Obama to adress the nation:

At this rate U.S. President Obama
may come on and just say
"Check Twitter."

A couple others from some of my journalism colleagues ...

Ooh. Just got goosebumps hearing the U-S-A chants

bleeding over the NYM-PHI game on @espn. Imagine if the game
was being played in NY?

This is amazing, but newspapers

everywhere are on deadline.

You can bet A sections

all over America are on hold.

As the updates continued to flow and we started seeing images of people gathering in city streets, cheering and chanting U-S-A in front of the White House -- and getting reports of people shooting fireworks in celebration -- it was apparent very quickly that the night would be one none of us will forget. Years from now we'll be asking the question, "Where were you when ... "

As the social media chatter continued, another thing struck me: How far our communication has come in the 10 years since 9/11. ... Think about it: On that day most of us were crowded around television sets to get the latest information from newscasts. There were no iPhones or smartphones to help you get breaking news mobily. And there was no Facebook or Twitter to share the news when you got it. The communication was primarily one-way. And here we were now, a mere 10 years later, learning --and sharing -- the latest details about the developing story via our vast internet networks long before the television media interuptted our regularly scheduled programming. Mind-blowing.

Good reads regarding the use of social media ...
a Sohaib Athar’s Tweets from the attack on Osama bin Laden
a Paste has a great post with some of the best Tweets of the night.
a So how did you hear about Bin Laden’s death?
a Twitter breaks record as news of bin Laden’s death spreads
a Turning to Social Networks for News... 3,440 per second from 10:45 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Eastern time!
aFirst bin Laden reports came in tweets, as media scrambled for confirmation
a Martin Luther King, Jr. misquoted after Osama bin Laden killed... I found this amusing because I saw several status updates and tweets with this quote. I'm not a fan of the practice.
aObama’s TV Audience Was His Largest
a How 4 people & their social network turned an unwitting witness to bin Laden’s death into a citizen journalist

I had another thought, now having firsthand knowledge of the speech-writing process and the thought that goes into finding just the right words. "Can you imagine the conversations that were going on in that room, crossing out words and rewriting phrases?" I told a communication colleague this morning.

Eventually we turned over to NBC's coverage. And when President Obama himself delivered the news, I got chills. To hear him say the words out loud ...

"Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children ... "

Whoah.

As the news settled, I got back to my Sunday Night Baseball. The Mets and Phillies were now tied at 1-1 in the 12th inning. At 11:30 p.m. I went to bed.

More thoughts ...

Here's a good read from a Christian perspective.

On releasing the photos ...
As a media relations professional with a journalism background, I understand both sides of the debate and the philosphy that the Bin Laden photos represent "the very definition of news." But I respect and commend President Obama for taking a firm stance, saying “We don’t trot this stuff out as trophies — that’s not who we are.’’
a The Boston Globe published an interesting editorial pushing for the release of the photos.
a Eugene Robinson also had an interesting view in favor of releasing the photos.
a And Now, the Search for the bin Laden Death Photo

How it all went down ...
I find it -- the years of intelligence gathering that started with finding Bin Laden's courier, and the stealth descent on the compound -- absolutely fascinating. The New York Times has an excellent graphic and timeline. Also ...
a Bin Laden discovered ‘hiding in plain sight’
a Detective Work on Courier Led to Breakthrough on Bin Laden
a Behind the Hunt for Bin Laden
a In Long Pursuit of Bin Laden, the ’07 Raid, and Frustration
a Death of Osama bin Laden: Phone call pointed U.S. to compound — and to ‘the pacer’
a CIA spied on bin Laden from safe house
a The Force of the Deed

The infamous Situation Room photo ...
I started following the White House Flickr feed shortly after President Obama was elected ... Fascinating.
a White House photo viewed as often as it is parodied
a Breaking down the Situation Room -- A fascinating tour of the room, and the photo, from the Washington Post.

Other good reads ...
a Newspaper front pages capture elation, relief that Osama bin Laden was killeda The Most Wanted Face of Terrorism
a After Killing of Bin Laden, Official Reaction Pours In
a Bin Laden’s death: a moment of unity
a 13 Strangest Ways People Found Out Bin Laden Died
a The Long-Awaited News
a Osama bin Laden changed us in ways minute, monumental
a Bin Laden’s Secret Life in a Diminished World
a Adm. William McRaven: The terrorist hunter on whose shoulders Osama bin Laden raid rested

Stories related to 9/11 ...
a Resilient New York takes grim satisfaction in bin Laden’s death
a The Interrupted Reading: The Kids with George W. Bush on 9/11
aConstructing a Story, With 2,982 Names

President party

I'm late to the party on this one ...

I still think Darrell Hammond's portrayal of Bill Clinton is the best of the bunch.

In case you missed it this week, check out Funny Or Die's latest viral hit ...

Funny or Die's Presidential Reunion from Will Ferrell

Where Did ‘We’ Go?

An excellent, thought-provoking op-ed piece in The New York Times this morning.

Humming along

Our DVR has been positively humming the last few days. Like it or not, fall is here and so is a brand new TV season ...

Kates and I finally found time to watch President Obama's appearance on Letterman ...

Mr. Obama showed aces with his comment that he was "black before the election." Beyond that, aside from his eloquence and charm, I thought his answers to questions about healthcare and the wars we're fighting were on par.

Although, I do think there was some truth in President Carter's statements last week. My hope is that Obama doesn't get too caught up in the discussion and remains focused on his agenda while allowing the race debate to take place outside the White House.

* * *

Now that we've almost completed the round of Fall Premieres '09, I can follow-up on my earlier list of new shows Kates and I planned to watch ... I can also report there have been some pleasant surprises ...

On Monday night, it was thoroughly enjoyable to get reacquainted with our old pals on CBS's comedy lineup. ("How I Met Your Mother:" Barney and Robin are totally a couple!) ... We're also quite intrigued with the possibilities of "Accidentally on Purpose."

After reading some not-so-great reviews beforehand, I had low hopes going in ... But I think one morning show DJ said it best: You've just got to buckle up and enjoy the ride!

I don't think any of CBS's Monday night shows made me laugh more than "Accidentally." And if you can make me laugh, you've won ... Sure the pace of Billie's and James's meet-up/baby news/moving in together was a little unrealistic, but I also thought the episode had about as much charm and wit as the stuff James showed in snagging Billie in the first place/wanting to stay with her/painting the baby's room, all by the end of the episode.

The pilot was hilarious. But only time will tell if the show can stand up beyond its first date.

On Wednesday ..."Modern Family" gets the prize as our favorite new show (I'm not counting "Glee," which technically debuted last spring) ... I love the premise, and I'm really excited to see Julie Bowen doing some comedy (sigh ... I miss "Ed."). ... The bit with the family looking over their appointment calendar to schedule a time that Dad could fire a BB gun at his son as payback for shooting his sister was beyond funny. And then, when the time came, the plan went haywire and Dad shoots his teenage daughter's senior class boyfriend ... It's also good to see Jesse Tyler Ferguson on TV again (sigh ... I miss "The Class." ... Here's an old, but still good read I dug up about it.)

"Cougar Town" also got our thumbs-up -- although I feel a little dirty saying that because the show is geared so tightly toward and about so-called cougar women ... Nonetheless, for me, Courtney Cox broke her Monica mold within the first two minutes of the show, and the casting is wonderful ("The Drew Carey Show," "Scrubs" and now "Cougar Town" -- Christa Miller, like Julie Bowen, gets me every time.)

(Here's a good read on "Modern Family" and the rebirth of the family comedy.)

Thursday night is stacked ... And it's looking like we'll be spending most of our time -- for now -- with "Flash Forward" and "Grey's Anatomy," while "The Office" and "30 Rock" get put off to Friday nights. ... We dropped "Community," deeming last week's premiere just plain dumb.

Starting with "FlashForward." ... Seriously!? There's a million questions going through my mind after watching the premiere. Like, why was a kangaroo jaunting through downtown Los Angeles after the flashforward? And who the heck was the guy in Detroit?! ... The acting, the "Lost"-like mysteries and the action-movie production are all factors that have me wanting more ...

But here's my beef: "Lost" has set the bar so high, and there will never be another show like it. I'm also skeptical of the glimpse of a future on April 29, 2010. Setting a specific date so near in the future -- not too mention the visions and the inherent desire to change circumstances -- reminds me too much of "Heroes." And those of us who fell so hard for that show during it's first season know how that turned out. What are we going to be left with when next April passes?

About last night's "Grey's" premiere ... Indeed, our roller coaster love affair with the docs at Seattle Grace will continue. Last night's episode succeeded again at pulling our heartstrings with real characters and raw emotions, with the laughter that's born from strong bonds mixed in. The twisted scene with the gang laughing hysterically at George's funeral is one that has stuck with me most. Yep, George died and Izzie lived -- the worst kept secret of TV's summer offseason.

Yet, my lingering thought on the episode is that it marked the end of an era for the show. With George gone and now the impending merger -- plus a handful of new characters (I do enjoy Arizona) -- "Grey's" is resembling less of its original self every season.

* * *

The death notices just keep coming ...

Last week: Patrick Swayze and Mary Travers.

I pulled out my "Peter, Paul & Mary: Ten Years Together" album for a good listen the other night ... It's easy to get caught up in the tributes and emotions of another great loss, but I must admit now that I don't listen to that album as much as I should. I hadn't realize how good their songs are.

* * *

While cleaning off our DVR, I also watched last week's "VH1 Divas" show. Is it wrong that I think Miley Cyrus gave the best performance of the show -- which was otherwise utterly boring?

On Tuesday, I did something I never ever thought I'd do. I downloaded a Miley Cyrus song. "Party in the U.S.A." from iTunes.

* * *

I stumbled onto this video last week ...

Every time I watch it, I break out laughing ... Ha-larious.

Teach your children

I'm not getting the controversy over President Obama's upcoming speech to school children.

In fact, the furor over it upsets me.

Sure, I'm of the opinion that George W. Bush made some questionable calls in the Oval Office. But I still respect him for his courage and ability to take on the highest office in the land. And still, would I raise the kind of ruckus that people are raising over Obama's speech if it were Bush talking to school children? Of course not.

He's the President of the United States. The leader of the Free World.

The President is a figure schoolchildren should be encouraged to look up to for his work ethic and leadership. He's a person we, as citizens of this country, should respect and honor, whether he's black or white, male or female, Democrat or Republican.

For all of his accomplishments, why wouldn't a parent want Obama to encourage his or her child to work hard in school and go after their dreams?

The speech -- which will likely last a mere 10 minutes and probably won't seriously disrupt classroom instruction, as some opponents of it are charging -- implores students to take responsibility for their education and work hard toward their goals. The Presidents relays some of his own childhood experiences and makes a request for the students to "show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed."

A news report on the controversey tonight included a parent who cited Obama's stance on abortion and healthcare, among other hot-button issues, as her reasons for not allowing her child to have the president's views "pushed down her child's throat" -- or something to that effect. ... For godsakes people, the speech is a universe away from those subjects! He's only encouraging your children to stay in school and put forth their best efforts!

And what else does it say of the schools who agree to block -- or censor? -- students from seeing Obama's speech. To borrow a point from one of my cohorts, it's almost like parents telling their children's schools that they can't teach about the legacy of Abraham Lincoln, or the lessons of 9/11, or science.

One school in our area is prohibiting its teachers from showing the speech to students on Tuesday, but allowing them to show a recorded version later only if it fits into the teacher's curriculum. Furthermore, the school is barring any student from entering the White House's video contest in conjunction with the speech because "it violates the school's policies on proper Internet usage," or something like that. ... What does that say about encouraging our students to learn technology, or be creative, or helping them discover new interests that could, say, inspire them to become filmmakers?

I applaud the schools that encourage their students to watch Tuesday's address.

See Cartoons by Cartoon by John Cole - Courtesy of Politicalcartoons.com - Email this Cartoon

Beer Summit '09

... So the President, the professor and the police man had their beer summit today.

Wonderful. Can we get on with solving the rest of the world's problems now?

... Best political cartoon I've seen in a long time came the other day via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. (Check it out here.) ... I could totally hear the music of those classic beer commercials playing in my head as I read the lyrics ...

Late nights with all-stars

Compared to most of my summers, this one has been brutal for me.

Since my switch to working early mornings in the spring, the night life I once knew has nearly been erased. All the things I was used to enjoying at night had to be avoided …

It became a marathon just to finish out the TV season with “Lost” and “American Idol” and all the other programming Kates and I have loved watching together.

Then, once the baseball season started – forget it. I probably could count on one hand the number of games I’ve watched this season. On most mornings now, I’m cursing my work schedule when I get in the shower at 4:15 in the morning and I have to get my sports updates by reading the morning newspaper. Ha, getting updates from the morning newspaper. Imagine that.

But this week, I was set out to defy my early bed time. It’s the All-Star Game, the Midsummer Classic, for cripes sake. And I was not missing it.

(Sure, I figured I could sneak in some afternoon naps to accommodate my move. But seriously, when’s the last time I came home from work and wanted to take a nap instead of doing yard work or cleanup around the house or some free writing. Yeah, I wasn’t taking any naps.)

On Monday night, Kates cooked up some Chicken Salad Veronique (thanks, Joel and Stephanie!) while I gladly stretched out on the couch and soaked up every moment of the All-Star festivities. The pregame show with the “Baseball Tonight” gang. The Home run Derby. And the celebrity softball game, arguably the most fun-to-watch event of them all ... Watching guys like Bobby Knight tower over Shawn Johnson in between her doing back flips around them, not to mention Nelly playing like he belonged with the rest of the Hall of Famers on the field, was tremendously entertaining.

For the record, while everybody else was picking Albert, Albert, Albert to win the Home Run Derby, I confidently said to Kates beforehand, I think Prince is going to win it this year. … Sure, he was a bust two years ago when he only hit home runs in the derby. But I was banking on an older, wiser and more patient Fielder this year, and that was exactly the way he played it.

497 feet. 503 feet. Prince hit like four of the five farthest homers of the derby. The guy was launching ‘em, and it was so fun to watch.

Then last night: the All-Star Game.

I didn’t enjoy watching the AL knock off the NL again … but it was a well-played, gripping and entertaining game. All the makings of a classic. Another gem, although not quite as good as last year’s thriller.

We had Carlos Crawford’s home run-stealing catch that saved the game for the AL. We had some great defensive plays in the infield, most notably by Chase Utley and Albert Pujols. We had a stellar lineup of AL pitchers mowing down the NL hitters. We had Curtis Granderson hustling around the bases for a triple. We had Barack Obama, clad in his White Sox gear, throwing out the first pitch (despite the shady camera angle) and yuking it up with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver in the TV booth.

If there was one thing I was bummed about after the game, it was that Prince Fielder was used so early and as a pinch-hitter … But the more I think about it, NL manager Charlie Manuel probably couldn’t have used him in a better spot – pinch-hitting for pitcher Tim Lincecum in the third. Fielder ended up hitting an RBI-double that gave the NL a 3-2 lead.

One more thing: If Major League Baseball ever makes the players wear universal jerseys for the All-Star Game, I think I'll puke. I can stand the American and National jerseys, the color of the host city's team, for batting practice and the Home Run Derby, as another marketing ploy / money-maker for the league ... But seeing the array of individual jerseys across the field in baseball's All-Star Game is one of the things I truly love about the Midsummer Classic game. Don't change that.

Good reads (Updated 07.17.2009) ...
a Crawford stole the show
a Some good, and bad as baseball heads to break
a All-Star Game photos
a President Barack Obama shows poor form