Sunday reading

Happy, sunny Sunday, folks.

Just finished watching Kansas whip up on Missouri. ... Things couldn't be better.

Here's some of the stuff that caught my eyes last week ...

Baseball ...
a Five bold predictions for 2009 ... I'm not holding my breath for the Cubs.
a At 81, Lasorda still has nothing but love for game
a Griffey and Giambi Head Back Home in Twilight
a Judge in Bonds Case Has Reputation as Quick Study
a Johnson Has Lost a Little Off His Fastball but Not His Reputation
a The Incredible Shrinking Baseball Player

Music ...
a At White House Show, Truly a Night of Wonder
a Lawmakers, promoters slam Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger at Senate hearing ... Let's hope their money-making ideas include reducing or getting rid of those wretched "convenience fees."

TV ...
a Ready or Not, Here Comes Jimmy Fallon To Update 'Late Night'
a 'Late Night' host Fallon just wants to have fun
a Don’t Worry, Bedtime’s Safe With the Lads ... Good read on the constant that is late night television.
a Conan O'Brien's 'The Tonight Show'
a Once Again, Conan Will Be on a Richter Scale ... Yes!
a Oscars host Hugh Jackman gave the job his all ... I seemed to be one of the few last week who really enjoyed Jackman as the Oscar host. His opening number featuring Anne Hathaway was one of the best moments of the night.

Politics ...
a A Better Bobby Jindal ... Another good one from Kathleen Parker. Kates and I couldn't stop rolling our eyes during his speech Tuesday night.
a The Jindal Phenomenon

Media & the Internet ...
a Advertisers need patience to tap into Web's potential
a Google Puts Small Ads on Pages of News Site
a What Are You Doing? Media Twitterers Can’t Stop Typing ... After initially being weary and then a slow warming period, I became a full-fledged Twitterer last week.
a Anchors Oblige Public's Craving for Tweets
a A Tale of 140 Characters, Plus the Ones in Congress ... Speaking of Twitter, this was one of the more amusing stories I read last week.
a Tragic death of Rocky Mountain News
a Tropicana Discovers Some Buyers Are Passionate About Packaging
a Hit 'send,' then hit the door

Life & other stuff ...
a Miami banker lavishes $60M on his employees ... Got this one from my friend Raechel
a A jobless man around the house
a Missouri family struggles to pay for cave home ... Now this sounds like a fun place to live. Something tells me it's not, however.
a Restroom ransom? Airline mulls toilet toll ... In case you hadn't heard. This is the Bonehead Idea of the Week.
a The 3 R’s? A Fourth Is Crucial, Too: Recess
a The unclaimed ashes of hard times
a 6,473 Texts a Month, But at What Cost?

Finally ... Check out this clip featuring Frank Caliendo and Dana Carvey doing their respective Bush impressions ...

A-Bomb

The new alerts started flowing into my inbox at 1:46 this afternoon, and my jaw dropped.

A-Rod admits to using performance-enhancing drugs‏

Wow.

My immediate reaction was, Well kudos to him for admitting it! ... I felt an oddly-shaped weight lifted off my shoulders -- a far differently shaped weight than the one A-Rod felt, I'm sure.

And tonight when I arrived home, I turned on Sportscenter, sort of by accident -- so many different things had happened since the A-Rod news broke that I’d almost forgotten about it … But there he was deep in his interview with Peter Gammons, followed with ESPN folks analyzing every line of his admission and how it will affect the rest of his career. "I was young, I was stupid, I was naive," Alex said.

Even after soaking in most of the interview, I still say: Kudos to Alex. I don’t for a second condone his use of a banned substance, but I have the utmost respect for the way he sat down with Gammons and laid it all on the table … And my gut says, Hey, if he really, as he claims, has been clean since 2003 and he stays that way, and he continues to put up great numbers -- than yeah, he deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame.

In the 48 hours since the Sports Illustrated story broke, A-Rod gave us more than Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Roger Clemens have given us in years. Even more than Jason Giambi, who apologized but never told us what he was apologizing for.

My hope is that A-Rod’s admission paves the way for the rest of these guys -- especially McGwire, who’s been living in a sad cocoon -- to finally tell us the truth.

Some good reads ...
a The full transcript
a A-Rod Backs Stimulus, Says Economy Needs Shot in Arm
a Why single out A-Rod?
a Apology by a Yankees Star Becomes a Rite of Spring
a Result for Rodriguez Revives Testing Controversy

Sunday reading

... So we just returned from a run to Target where we looked at an amusing number of greeting cards that dealt with farting.

All things considered, it's been a good weekend. Temperatures in the 40s. The rain that forecasts were predicting never came, and we had nothing but sun. Almost all of our snow is gone ...

I got out a few times this weekend -- and didn't have to wear a jacket ...

This couldn't have come sooner. I've been suffering from a serious case of cabin fever the last couple weeks.

Here's some of the stuff that caught my attention -- and kept it -- the last couple weeks ...

Sports ...
a Super Bowl XLIII best ever? Let's not get carried away ... My thoughts exactly. Last year's battle was better than this year's, hands down.
a Positive Drug Tests in Bonds Case ... Just send him away already ... Ah, but then came this.
a Verdict on Bonds is already in ... By the way, not surprised by the news about A-Rod.
a Late-blooming slugger Kent definitely deserves spot in Hall ... The above stories do make Kent's case more compelling. But then again, who can you believe these days?
a Who will be the next Rays? ... Pitchers and catchers. Aw yeah.
a Torre’s Pinstripe Tales Lure Readers on Winter Day
a Citgroup considers backing out of $400 million naming-rights deal for the Mets' new stadium ... And people wonder why banks and corporations are in trouble. Because they've been sponsoring stadiums for millions of dollars the last 10 years! Sick.
a At Citi Field, Swinging for the (Higher) Fences
a A Manny-Pedro Reunion? ... Um, awesome.
a More insight into The Yankee Years

Music ...
a Despite iTunes Accord, Music Labels Still Fret
a Adele’s voice belies her age ... I never would've guessed she's only 20.

Entertainment ...
a Rise of Citizen Dave ... Some of the reasons I've enjoyed watching David Letterman more in these later years than ever before. The show he did after 9/11 and his post-jail interview with Paris Hilton are classics.
a Ferrell's Frat-Boy 'Bush' Freshens Broadway Show
a 'Big Bang Theory' has burst into an old-school hit comedy ... Kates and I have been watching this one since the very beginning, and it's become one of our favorites on all of TV.

Politics ...
a In the Spotlight, And Seared By the Glare ... Interesting stuff about the falls of Caroline, Palin and Blago.
a In Attack on Kennedy, Echo of a Spitzer Tactic
a Tough Times at Obama Inc.

Technology ...
a Can the Cellphone Industry Keep Growing?

Media & the Internet ...
a Dumped by Facebook? 10 etiquette rules ... Good stuff sent to me from my friend Raechel ... I don't know if I'll ever understand how some people fail to 'get' these rules.
a What's behind the '25 Random Things About Me' phenomenon? ... Another story about the random facts, this time from the Boston Globe. Obviously not everyone is so keen on the idea ...
a Oh, the Random Things We Do for the Sake of Facebook ... And here's the Washington Post's take.
a How to Friend Mom, Dad, and the Boss on Facebook...Safely
a All a-Twitter: You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll wonder why - all in 140 characters ... I'm delving slowly into Twitter, which I call Facebook on crack.
a Marina City Web site draws board's anger with slate of news, scandal
a Oprah Winfrey, the Chicago Sun-Times' biggest fan, would be its best backer
a Editors and Publishers in a Revolving Door
a Ex-Journalists’ New Jobs Fuel Debate on Favoritism ... With newspapers flat-lining and companies laying off, why wouldn't you go for some of these jobs?
a Why Television Still Shines in a World of Screens

The Onion ...
a Action Figure Fights On Despite Loss Of Dragon Sword

Life & other stuff ...
a Octuplet Mother Also Gives Birth To Ethical Debate

Sunday reading ...

Some of the reads that caught my eyes last week ...

Baseball ...
a Kosuke Fukudome Tastes Good
a Mark Cuban takes closer look at Cubs
a Reporters on scene recall Elia's meltdown ... This was a new story of Cubs lore to me. You can hear the rant here.
a Message to Bonds: It's over

Entertainment ...
a Kristen Bell: Sassy Is the New Cute
a Spears reprises guest role on CBS' 'Mother'
a TV crew members still feeling effects of writers strike
a Tom Petty returns to his roots with Mudcrutch
a Leibovitz defends Miley photo ... OK. Is it just me or was this story way overblown this week. Miley exposes her back -- her back! -- for a prominent and respected magazine and suddenly her career is in danger? I'm not getting it. She could've done much, much worse.

Media & the Internet ...
a Friends Indeed? As We Click With More Pals Online, The Idea of Friendship Multiplies
a When Young Teachers Go Wild on the Web

Life & other stuff ...
a Another Chicago business icon gets swallowed
a IDOT fails to see humor in Oak Lawn's quirky stop-sign campaign
a Between Medieval And Folk, Two Mass Audiences
a Moe: Fame didn't change humble Pollard ... A good story about a famed local artist whom I'm pleased to say I once interviewed.
a How much about your teenage transgressions should you tell your kids?

And finally ...

Potential Employee Uprising Quelled With Free Pizza

NEW YORK—Besides suppressing office acrimony, the pizza appeared to subdue frustrated employees on a physical level, leaving many full and slightly fatigued.

Roger and Mitchell

I promised more about the Mitchell Report. I’m sorry it took tonight’s highly-touted Roger Clemens interview on “60 Minutes” to inspire me (Boy, would I like to see the ratings numbers on that one … I’m not sure I’ve ever received so many emails and text messages on a single subject in such a short time. They were coming in the minute it was over … ).

I’d sure like to believe Roger. The problem is we don’t know who to believe or trust anymore …

I have a bleacher row of friends who disagree with me on this, but I'm a Clemens fan. I can't recall seeing him bull-headed or surly with the media the way Barry Bonds has been. Clemens has had a long, sustained career, without the types of injuries a lot of guys supposedly using steroids have had. He’s also been a great ambassador of the game and a class act -- excluding, perhaps, the whole Piazza-Bat-Gate thing. And yes, I’d still vote for him to go into the Hall of Fame.

Then again, I’m not that naive. I wish I could turn a blind eye, and love the stars the way I did when I was a kid, before I knew any better …

Clemens, like Bonds, has somehow defied the odds and performed far better than guys have his age when his performance should have been declining. The stuff about him in the Mitchell Report is pretty damning, and his reputation is damaged no matter what happens.

Clemens’ biggest mistake was not getting in front of camera and speaking for himself the minute the Mitchell Report was published. Instead he let an attorney speak for him, and the negative public opinions of Clemens swelled while other guys came out and said, 'Yep, I'm in the report, I did it' or 'It's completely inaccurate' ... and when Clemens did start speaking it was hard to take him seriously. I’ve been thinking it all along, and this morning’s “Outside The Lines” illustrated it with some classic clips: Think of all the times we’ve watched someone vehemently deny some allegations only to watch the truth unravel in the weeks or years that followed -- Richard Nixon not being a crook, Pete Rose not betting on baseball, Bill Clinton not having sex with that woman. OJ Simpson, Kobe Bryant, Marion Jones, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds and on and on and on …

And though the buzz on the Mitchell Report has simmered, I’m thinking this whole steroids thing is far from over. This is the biggest scandal Major League Baseball has had to deal with since the 1919 Black Sox, and no one's accepting blame …

I wish Bud Selig would start accepting some blame. Donald Fehr needs to get out of the way. And the players had better start cooperating for the good of the game -- if only more of them spoke up the way Curt Schilling has ...

Baseball continues to break my heart. And I can't stop loving it ...

And I'm sick of talking about the game's long nightmare, too ... which is part of the reason it took me so long to post about it.

In the moments after "the list" came out I divided the names into a few categories. Here's the way I see them ...

Not surprised (Seriously. Most of these guys are the epitome of overrated, overpaid, injury-prone and forgotten in the blink of an eye. That or it’s just repeating what we already knew.)
Kevin Brown
David Justice
Paul Lo Duca
Mo Vaughn
Rick Ankiel
Barry Bonds
Ken Caminiti
Jose Canseco
Jason Giambi
Jeremy Giambi
Jay Gibbons
Juan Gonzalez
Jason Grimsley
Jose Guillen
Jerry Hairston Jr.
Wally Joyner
Gary Matthews Jr.
Rafael Palmeiro
Benito Santiago
David Segui
Gary Sheffield

Not surprised but still a little heartbroken (I heard the whispers of steroid use and saw the injuries, but still loved what they could do on the diamond.)
Brendan Donnelly
Eric Gagne
Andy Pettitte
Scott Schoeneweis
Miguel Tejada
Derrick Turnbow

I'm in denial he's on the list (Whether it was their abilities or the way they carried themselves … I really liked what they did and had hoped they knew better.)
Roger Clemens
Chris Donnels
Todd Hundley
Lenny Dykstra
Troy Glaus
Matt Williams

Who cares? (I haven’t heard of most of these guys, and the ones that I do know never excited me.)
Chad Allen
Mike Bell
Gary Bennett
Larry Bigbie
Alex Cabrera
Mark Carreon
Jason Christiansen
Howie Clark
Jack Cust
Matt Franco
Matt Herges
Phil Hiatt
Glenallen Hill
Mike Judd
Chuck Knoblauch
Tim Laker
Mike Lansing
Nook Logan
Josias Manzanillo
Cody McKay
Kent Mercker
Bart Miadich
Hal Morris
Daniel Naulty
Denny Neagle
Jim Parque
Luis Perez
Adam Piatt
Todd Pratt
Stephen Randolph
Adam Riggs
Armando Rios
Brian Roberts
F.P. Santangelo
Mike Stanton
Ricky Stone
Ismael Valdez
Ron Villone
Fernando Vina
Rondell White
Jeff Williams
Todd Williams
Steve Woodard
Kevin Young
Gregg Zaun
Manny Alexander
David Bell
Marvin Benard
Ricky Bones
Paul Byrd
Paxton Crawford
Bobby Estalella
Ryan Franklin
Darren Holmes
Ryan Jorgensen
John Rocker
Randy Velarde

And here's some good reads I've collected about the Mitchell Report over the last several weeks ...
a Sifting through the aftermath
a Mitchell Report exposes clubhouse culture and dangers
a Mitchell says naming names was right decision
a Big blast from the past: Report ties Hill, but not current Cubs, to steroids usage
a Sammy Sosa escapes Mitchell Report
a Sosa in clear? Sorry, no way
a Schoeneweis, Parque named: Investigation cites 2 other former Sox, 5 minor leaguers
a Grimsley's sworn statement unsealed
a Facing the lies: List shouldn't be shocking, but betrayal is cold reality
a Say it's so – steroids saved baseball
a The fallout continues: Clemens among big losers; redemption for Duquette
a Clemens for the Hall? Mitchell Report raises doubt
a Ex-big leaguer recalls Clemens' trainer
a Worth the wait: Thanks to Radomski, Mitchell accomplished plenty
a Mitchell Report: The Evidence
a Scandal to alter old ad game: Named players likely to lose marketability
a Time is not right to decide on Steroid Era players
a Fixing baseball
a Ending drug use in baseball a difficult road
a Now What? The Mitchell Report has the potential to change baseball
a Selig support strong, with some owners intending to push for another extension

Sunday reading

Some of the reads that piqued my interest this last week ...

Sports ...
a University of Wisconsin, Washburn wrangling in court over ‘W’ logos ... Ah yes. The good 'ol Washburn 'W'. See Washburn is a rival of Northwest, and it struck me every time we played them how similar Washburn's 'W' looked to Wisconsin's 'W.' ... Not that I think the school needs to get sued over it, but it is interesting ...
a BCS got it right this time ... Whatever. Yes, it was a loony college football season, but it didn't make me any more hip to the BCS.
a Why clean up college football's lovely mess? ... Ditto.
a No favoritism toward Pats, or is there?
a Cuban's 'passion project': Buying Cubs
a A new boss in the Bronx
a Barry Bonds Pleads Not Guilty to Perjury
a Bonds' team has tough road ahead
a Baseball waits, wonders as Mitchell report on steroid use in the sport looms
a Gagne deal is for one year ... I think he's a has-been. But I'm willing to believe.

Internet & media ...
a Japan's Bloggers: Humble Giants of the Web
a Readers' online postings enliven site, merit caution
a The Decline Of The Critic

TV ...
a Zachary Quinto: Highly logical, for a human ... All I know is I detest is character in "Heroes."
a Pulling Their Punch Lines

Music ...
a No academy CDs? Play live!
a It's a holiday tune full of pure joy ... I remember the first time I heard this song too. December 1994. I was a sophomore in high school, getting ready to head to my job as a grocery clerk at the local Price Chopper. I was listening to my stereo in my room -- as usual. I started bouncing around my room, and I thought then that it was one of the greatest song's I'd ever heard ... Yeah. Here's the video.
a James Taylor returns to his roots
a Jordin Sparks maintains innocent charm in pop CD debut
a Blake Lewis, 'American Idol' runner-up, looks to move beyond the show with release of new CD
a Led Zeppelin's glorious excess ... I'm becoming a fan too. And here's one thing I won't soon forget: How cool it was a couple weeks ago to be glancing at the Billboard charts and seeing both Led Zeppelin and the Eagles with albums in the Top 10 ... whoah.
a The Song Still Remains The Same for Led Zeppelin
a The McCartney interview: 'I'm trying to create an antidote' for difficult times

Politics ...
a The Love Song of Dennis J. Kucinich
a Bush in Psych 101: 'Feeling... pretty good about life'

Life & other stuff ...
a Easy on the eggnog, Cinderella
a AT&T saying good-bye to its last pay phones
a D.C. leads metro areas in walkability

Sunday reading

So the storm that was coming yesterday? ... Yeah, it came all right -- in the form of a wet, icy mess. Shoveling the driveway and sidewalks last night was like trying to shovel Lake Michigan ...

Kates and I just finished watching "Elf" on TV ... We saw it in the theater a few years ago, and I hadn't seen it since -- mostly because I haven't had a high regard for it. I think perhaps it was one of those movies where it was so hyped that we went in with huge expectations, and left the theater feeling let down. So last week when my cohorts were putting together a short list of the greatest holiday movies ever made, I bemoaned "Elf" going on the list ... Seeing it again today, I realized how charming of a little holiday film (and cast) it really is. Forgive me.

Here's some of the reads that piqued my interests last week ...

Drew Peterson ...
a Relative's help alleged in Peterson case ... Like I've said: The twists get better each day ...
a Peterson's camcorder footage shown on 'Good Morning America'

Music ...
a 'Idol' Jordin Sparks makes CD debut ... I do like her first single.

TV ...
a Late-night laugh-in

Baseball ...
a Dodgers' activity absent after Torre ... Yep. It's pitiful.
a Raines deserves Hall of Fame induction ... Until I read this story, I wouldn't have taken a second look at ol' Rock. Indeed he's a worthy candidate ...
a What the voters got right ... and wrong ... more on baseball's objectionable postseason awards. This one is quite a bit closer to my opinions compared to a column I cited last weekend on the same subject. Jimmy Rollin should have finished at least third in the NL MVP voting ...
a Hometown Views of Bonds Are Unchanged
a Next year's Rockies: Six teams poised to go from sub-.500 to postseason ... I do believe the Reds are going to be in it next year; they've been on the cusp for a couple years now. But the Royals and the Rangers!? I'll believe it when I see it ...

The Internet and media ...
a How Do You Tell a Web Name From A Typo?
a Storming the News Gatekeepers: On the Internet, Citizen Journalists Raise Their Voices

Politics ...
a Calculation and Conviction
a Her Heart's in the Race: Michelle Obama on the Campaign Trail and Her Life's Path
a Obama's Amnesia Problem
a Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton Bring Star Power to Iowa

Life and other stuff ...
a Capturing final, precious moments
a The Truth About Lying: Our Lives Are Filled With Untruths. But Why Do We Lie, And How Can We Tell When Others Are Full of It?
a What's wrong with this picture?
a Lincoln had cancer, doctor theorizes
a Is Lincoln Earliest Recorded Case of Rare Disease?
a Step Inside, and Back in Time, and Dial Away: The Area's Last Public Phone Booth Is Shabby but Holding On

More on Thursday night's football game ...

a In heart of Packers country, Romo's hometown faces tough choice

Bonds watch

Now that I’ve had a few days to process the case of one, Barry Bonds …

I’ve gotta believe his career is over. I can’t concoct a reason why any team would want to take on his demons and baggage … But then again, I fear there’s a slimey franchise out there that still could make a pitch for Bonds with the idea that his presence will fill seats and rake in some quick cash. Thus, I let out a long sigh of relief today when I read that Oakland, one of the few teams remotely interested in Bonds, appears to be backing away …

As for his records? Initially, when the indictment came out Thursday, I was taking solace in the notion that Major League Baseball could turn its record books upside down and wipe them clean … Then I caught an interview with Tim Kurkjian, during which he was asked about Bonds records. A true baseball purist, Kurkjian made an excellent point, saying that questionable numbers are scattered throughout baseball’s history. It’s the makeup of the game. From The Black Sox to Gaylord Perry’s spitball. Even Pete Rose’s all-time hits record. You start messing with those records, and then you’re going to have to start looking at wins, losses, opposing pitchers’ stats and every play that was affected by Barry Bonds. And how do you determine what home runs were hit legitimately and which ones were not? Ultimately, does erasing his records from the books solve anything? … I say leave ‘em. Any decent baseball fan understands this era of inflated numbers, and I think that mystique will linger through future generations. Barry Bonds will never be viewed as the pure hitter Henry Aaron was …

So, then, where do Barry Bonds’ chances of getting into the Hall of Fame stand? … I think I know what Bud Selig would say, and I’m thinking I’ll disagree with him.

I do think Bonds belongs in the Hall, for the same reason I think Pete Rose deserves to be inducted. (Pete Rose, as far as we know, didn’t bet on the game until after he’d finished playing. He’s the all-time hits leader and one of the most exciting players ever to play the game. Period.) And let’s not forget, there’s other racists, misanthropes, drunks, womanizers and villains already in the Hall.

Between 1986 and 1999, Bonds was one of the best players in baseball. During those years, he led Pittsburgh to three straight division titles between 1990 and 1992. He won three MVPs. He became only the second 40-40 man in baseball. And in 1998, he became the first player to hit 400 home runs and steal 400 bases in his career. He batted over .300 six times, over .290 three times. He won eight Gold Gloves …

There. I’ve said it.

Good reads ...
a Barry Bonds indictment
a Feds, not fans, now call Bonds liar, steroid user
a Now what for Bonds, the player?
a Barry Bonds' Hall of Fame hopes hampered
a Bonds would benefit if more get caught
a Hammer falls on Bonds: Major League Baseball knew this day was coming

Federal grand jury indicts Bonds

This just in ...

Federal grand jury indicts Bonds

YES!

The news -- actually e-mail alerts -- rushed through our newsroom tonight like a California wildfire. I was working on another project when my cohort Laura read the headline out loud from the alert that popped on her screen ...

"Are you serious!?" I shouted.

She nodded.

My arms shot in the air as though I'd just watched the Cubs win the World Series. I'd been waiting years for that moment ...

Friends started calling and e-mailing me with the news. I started calling and e-mailing friends too.

I spent almost the entire ride home from the office smiling. And my mind was racing. What team could possibly sign Barry after this? What is Major League Baseball going to do? Will he be stripped of the record? Suspended? Banned from baseball?

All questions that will be answered in the coming days and weeks I'm sure.

... I'm going to rest easy tonight.

Sunday rambling

Toured haunted houses on Friday night ... Worked around the house yesterday ... Stayed up late to watch the Sox-Indians game last night ... And just finished watching the Packers-Redskins game, which neither team apparently wanted to win today ...

Now I'm wondering where the weekend went again ...

* * *

Kates and I just finished eating supper. Pierogis with sausages and an array of peppers. Good stuff.

Afterward, Kates tells me “You’re on dish duty.”

“Wha?” I say. “I got a baseball game to watch.”

“Whatever. I got papers to grade. Masters papers to write. I got people calling me. I’m a busy woman.”

Whatever? I’m always on dish duty. We need a dishwasher …

* * *

I still can't stop listening to Regina Spektor ...

Here's two weeks worth of good reads that caught my eyes ...

Entertainment ...
a To Leno, it's guilty until proven innocent
a Can Lindsay save herself from Britneyville?

Music ...
a Sell your old CDs at your own risk. It won't be long before you get a yen to sing along with them again
a Sting tops Blender’s list of worst lyricists
a Are record companies still relevant?
a The folks who brought you 'American Idol' turn voters loose on bands
a Josh Ritter Eschews Politics for Heartland Rock on 'Historical Conquests'
a Kid Rock has an 8-track mind
a Radiohead, the savior of 21st century rock?
a 'Kurt Cobain About a Son' an intimate portrait of the artist

Business...
a Is Apple losing some of its shine?
a The end of the Wal-Mart era
a Newspapers, bloggers now on same page

Washington & politics ...
a Arlington National Cemetery Plans to Move Beyond Its Borders
a Hillary Chuckles; Pundits Snort
a Chill out: Stop fighting over global warming -- here's the smart way to attack it.

Baseball ...
a As Bonds and Giants Part, BALCO Limps On
a Cubs' baggage gets heavier
a Song Makes a Comeback Along With the Cubs
a GM job of no interest to Stone ... thank goodness. I got a little bit nervous this week when I read he could be the GM.
a Yanks' loss may mean end of an era
a A-Rod could solve a lot of problems
a On the Mark: A-Rod fails to shine again
a Meet the Mets: They're not what they seem
a Where does Mets' collapse rank?
a Oh baby, what's a Sox fan to do?
a Times change. To his credit, so did Bud

Life & other stuff ...
a Whatcha Doing Now? ... And Now?

Aunt Threatens To Devour Helpless Newborn's Toes

WALDEN, TN—While family members stood silently by and did nothing, visiting aunt Debbie Koeler proclaimed her desire to consume the "tiny...

No. 756 going into Hall with asterisk

This is awesome ...

No. 756 going into Hall with an asterisk

... And seriously. If I have to watch Sportscenter run one more montage of Bonds' most memorable home runs, I'm gonna ...

Sunday reading

... Talk about a crazy week ...

... On the heels of my dream week of baseball last week, last Saturday started a string of eight straight days of rain. Not a sprinkle -- long, hard, pouring rain. Luckily Kates and I escaped with only a trickl of water in our basement ... The rest of our area wasn't so lucky, and much of the land to the west of us remained flooded with numerous roads closed and the rivers at record heights ...

... All of that made for a somewhat chaotic and sometimes tense work week ... To ease the tension a littke bit, one of my cohorts delivered this radio snippet ... I'd already heard it a few times before, but it'll have you laughing every time!

Here's some of the headlines and stories that caught my eye during the last week ...

Baseball ...
a Froemming has called 'em like he's seen 'em
a Bouton gives fans a real 'old-timer's day'
a Bonds' uncharted universe: 755 and beyond
a Home run record may bring Bonds neither respect nor adulation
a Angels' Anderson bombs Yankees with 10 RBI
a Gloveless hitters buck the trend
a Happy returns: Cleveland Indians acquire well-traveled Lofton in trade with Texas Rangers ... apparently this happened a month ago, but I just caught it this week. Poor Kenny ... though if he's anywhere, it's good to see him in Cleveland.
a A half-century ago, a baseball era ended in New York and another started in California

Internet & Media ...
a In Month Before Labor Day, Pointless 'Filler' Columns Abound ... so HA-larious. So true.
a Playboy courts college students with online site ... now this is a new one ...
a It came from outer space

Politics ...
a Bill Clinton in '08!
a It's all about priorities for Michelle Obama
a Obama: Presidential Bid at Times Insane ... Kates and I caught this Daily Show. Awesome.
a Huckabee: a Republican who can lead us back home

Entertainment ...
a Her book is Hollywood, according to Courtney
a MTV’s ‘Sweet 16’ show drives fad for lavish birthday parties ... this is just insane ...
a La-La Land lets Lindsay Lohan off easy ... this is insane too ...
a Put the Kids in Bed and Close the Door, the Real Bob Saget Is in the House

Music ...
a This Furniture Rocks
a Music-Selling Rivals Take Aim at iTunes

Other stuff ...
a Cellphone Contracts: Hard to Get off the Hook
a One in Four Read No Books Last Year
a Certified Guaranty Co. puts comics on a slab

Streaming ...

So the story of the week is the rain. And the flooding ...

The rain started early Saturday afternoon -- just after I finished mowing our lawn and doing some work in our yard -- and literally did not stop until mid-day Sunday ... And we have several major downpours in the days that have followed ...

Last night, at about 3 a.m. actually, I was woken by another storm with lightning so bright and thunder so loud I swore it was topping the trees in our front yard. And man was the rain beating against the windows ...

So far, our house has been spared from any major water damage ... many in our area can't say that ...

And the ball field where I've played a lot of games this summer? There's about three feet of water standing on it ...

* * *

... So, in my continuing fascination with the Internet and my work responsibilities to be as knowledgeable about the culture and trends as I can be, I joined Facebook this week ...

It's something I've been meaning to do for months, ever since the powers-that-be opened up the site to more than just college students ...

Yeah. First impressions? I enjoy MySpace much more ... but I'll keep logging in ...

* * *

... How 'bout those Brewers!?! ... Monday night they roll into Arizona and jumped all over former Brewer Doug Davis for a 9-0 win. Prince Fielder absolutely pasted that ball he hit in the second inning. Yovani Gallardo hit a homerun. And it was so bad that Jeff Cirillo -- another former Brewer, but an infielder! -- even got some action on the mound ...

Last night's game wasn't as exciting -- well, Gabe Gross's grand slam was pretty exciting -- but it was a win, and we'll take it ...

Now tonight's game is a little closer ... But I'm tellin' ya -- they're gonna get hot ...

In the meantime, I'm keeping my watch on the Cubs this week too while they're in San Francisco. Wanna talk about exciting games? How 'bout Cliff Floyd and last night's Cubs finish in the ninth ...

Yep, it's exciting ... but the downside of it all, they're late, west coast games this week that I refuse to miss -- and they're kicking my butt when it comes to getting up the next mornings ...

* * *

This guy was on Monday night's Letterman show ...

This is awesome ...



* * *

... So I had a dream last night that I was reporting in the Giants lockerroom and I confronted Barry Bonds, looked him straight in the eyes and convinced him to give it up and admit his steroid use. My dream ended with a forlorn Bonds sitting front of a mic and beginning a press conference to admit his steroid use ...

Oh, if only the world were so perfect ...

There's some good Bonds cartoons on Cagle's ...

Sunday reading

... Some of the stories and headlines that have caught my eyes the last couple weeks ...

Music, pop culture, entertainment ...
a Britney to kids: You’re both mistakes!
a Bigger audience would suit Fey better
a Pop looks to the past for a forward-feeling sound
a Weird Al's Imitation: A Funky Form of Flattery
a Movie Endings We Love Forty pitch-perfect film finales
a Jim Killeen: The Man Who Found Himself: "Google Me'' might have begun as a gee-whiz exercise in egotism for Jim Killeen, who found numerous other Jim Killeens via Google, but it quickly became much more.
a Colbie Caillat: A MySpace Star on the Rise

Newspapering ...
a The graying lady: Cuts in newspapers' foreign reporting will leave the world worse off
a For Some in Oakland, Editor's Death Shows Subversion of Black Activism

Politics ...
a Obama Says He Can Unite U.S. 'More Effectively' Than Clinton
a Eating Right: In Frederick, a Bushel Of Crabs and a Back Slap For President Bush

Baseball ...
a Keep the Brewers in perspective
a Giambi escapes punishment from baseball
a Ruthian or Faustian? Barry Bonds' sins -- the questionable use of science, the raging drive to be No. 1 -- are, we should remember, distinctly sins of our time.
a Vincent says Bonds' record tainted
a Connor was baseball's first home run king
a Costas: HR record is 'inauthentic'
a Aaron, Bonds faced hatred on the way to historic homer marks
a Will A-Rod be the next HR king?
a Rizzuto’s Secret of Youth Lasted for Years
a Goodbye, Scooter: Insults didn't stop Rizzuto from living a wonderful life
a Dubious distinction: Cox passes McGraw for most ejections with No. 132
a My All-Time Team: Cobb, Hornsby, Ruth are among the best of the best
a My All-Current Team: Jeter, A-Rod, Manny lead the crop of today's stars
a My All-Future Team: Which stars of today will still be great in five years?

The Internet ...
a Bloggers consider forming labor union
a Facebook Grows Up
a Class War: MySpace vs. Facebook

Other stuff ...
a Gruesome mystery of eight skeletons in a forest
a Old Age Cause Gives Pause

Onion reads

... So I just read Barry hit No. 757 last night.

And the taint remains ...

Destruction Of National Pastime Given Two-Minute Standing Ovation

SAN FRANCISCO—A sellout crowd rose to its feet and exploded into ecstatic cheers Tuesday night as Barry Bonds completed the downfall of America's most revered sport by hitting a thundering 435-foot shot into the left field bleachers for...

Barry Bonds Not Certain He'll Be Present For His 756th Home Run

SAN FRANCISCO—Barry Bonds added his voice to the chorus of criticism surrounding his inevitable breaking of the all-time home-run record...