Extra innings

I haven't had many opportunities to watch a lot of baseball this summer. You know, with Phoebe hoarding our TV to watch Dora the Explorer, Mickey Mouse, Little Einsteins and any other Disney movie she can get her hands on.

Then I missed the World Cup final yesterday afternoon because of another commitment.

So last night I put my claim on the TV and settled in for a little Sunday Night Baseball. Red Sox-Rays. It turned out I picked a good one.

The Red Sox won the game, 1-0. In 16 innings. On Dustin Pedroia's single to right field, batting in Josh Reddick from third base. The game lasted 5 hours and 44 minutes. It ended at about 1 a.m.

It may go down as the baseball game of the season. And I watched it from beginning to end.

Rays manager Joe Maddon was thrown out of the game. Then his bench coach and back up was thrown out in the 11th inning.

Boston nearly ended the game in the 10th when Adrian Gonzalez hit a ball to deep left field that fell just inches outside fair territory. Then the Red Sox loaded the bases in the top of the 11th inning with no outs, and they still couldn't get a run across.

Dan Shulman, Orel Hershiser and Bobby Valentine -- doing the ESPN broadcast -- were getting tired, too. One of my favorite lines came when they mentioned Tim Wakefield had left Tampa earlier for Baltimore. Said Hershiser: "He might need to fly back." 

By the 15th inning the Red Sox had left 15 men on base, to the Rays' four. Just three hits for each team. With all the men they put on base, it was hard to believe the Red Sox had yet to score a run; I think it was Valentine who quipped, "The Rays, meanwhile, get a runner every couple hours."

In the top of the 16th, at 12:42 a.m., Dustin Pedroia, who'd been great all night with three hits and a couple defensive gems at second base, drove in the winning run.

The Red Sox bullpen held on for the win. And I could finally go to bed, knowing I would pay for it in the morning.

(Update 7.19.2011) Bob Ryan with a good read this morning about the game: "I hung in till the end. There was no excuse to do otherwise."

Sunday reading

The good reads that caught my eyes over the last couple weeks ...

Baseball ...
a Cubs' selection Sunday fast approaching
a Piniella settles on batting order
a Wrigley Field sale to state looking like latest Cubs loser
a Lasorda and the Dodgers say goodbye to Vero Beach
a Emotional day at Dodgertown for Lasorda
a Do-it-all Bill Hall returns to infield for Brewers' new defensive look
a Brewers slugger Prince Fielder now eating a Field of Greens
a Q & A with Brewers' owner Mark Attanasio
a Brewers owner: Yost dynamic leader who gives stability to club
a Japan Trip on for Red Sox, Athletics ... an extraordinary move indeed.
a Keeping up with Jones: Aside from closer, Tigers' bullpen is a big concern ... Not good.
a Why it's so Grand to be Tigers' Granderson
a Nobody's calling for Barry Bonds, and the phone won't start ringing soon
a Suspicion lingers in wake of Report
a Nats' Food Will Tag More Home Bases

Other sports ...
a Knight's ESPN gig could provide a bleeping good time ... From what I've seen, it has been.
a Rodgers ready to play for Packers

TV ...
a TV series alter time

Music ...
a Apple Said to Weigh Unlimited Music Deal
a Nine Inch Nails scares up sales with 'Ghosts'
a Judge Portrays McCartney's Ex As 'Out of Control'
a Judge says Heather Mills 'her own worst enemy'

Politics ...
a '3 a.m. call' Clinton-ad actress gets rude awakening
a What we don't know about Obama hurts him

Media & the Internet ...
a Wikipedia starts to look a bit less wiki
a In a newspaper war, we must mind our p's and q's ... an update from the Trib's big contest win.

Travel ...
a Mount St. Helens' booming history
a Restoring the Mall From 'Disgrace' to Showcase

Life & other stuff ...
a Hey, It's Your Funeral
a Dump the penny
a Starbucks tips ruling is made to order for baristas
a Neighbor 'ghosts' haunt drama on deadly summer ... I remember that summer -- and the heat -- well. It was the first time I'd ever been to Chicago, and every night on the news there were reports of more deaths ...

Sunday reading

Kates and I are feeling truly blessed today ...

Mom & Pops were here for the weekend to help us prepare more for Baby ...

All of today we were finding ourselves surrounded by people who have loved and supported us and played significant parts in our lives, people who have known both of us from the very beginning, some of our closest friends and family members ...

And tonight we had to say good-bye to a dear friend. As Kates' father said in his message, he was "the quintessential Milwaukeean." He was always there with a kind greeting or words of wisdom. He was a devoted baseball fan, too -- As the pallbearers carried away his casket tonight, we sang "Take Me Out To the Ball Game." Kates and I were blessed to have known him.

Here's some of the good reads that caught my attention this week ...

Baseball ...
a Authority assessing face-lift of Wrigley
a Naming rights for sale, but Wrigley can't be bought
a This field by any other name ... Would be risky for would-be corporate sponsors, experts say
a Why Wrigley Field's landmark status should be preserved
a Kenney: More Cubs games on Comcast SportsNet ... and Spanish radio?
a Piniella open to extending stay with Cubs
a Nobody's perfect: Even the best teams have holes to fill this spring
a The big question for Big Papi
a Sox may have (computer) chip on their shoulder

Politics ...
a A little something for the ladies
a A Clinton-Obama ticket?
a John McCain: Consistent on Iraq... ...consistent in folly
a Gary David Goldberg: Just what would Alex Keaton do?

TV & entertainment ...
a Eleanor knockoffs spark a knock-down, drag-out fight
a Did 'SNL' Go Beyond the Pale With Fauxbama? ... I totally don't get why so many outlets are making an issue of this ...
a Hillary Clinton: 'Live from N.Y., it is Saturday night' ... This was a classic.
a 3 a.m. call: President Obama calling Sen. Clinton ... This was classic, too. I know a few people who haven't enjoyed SNL's Clinton-Obama spoofs the last few weeks, but I've loved 'em ...



Music ...
a ‘One Tree Hill’ helps launch Kate Voegele
a Tragedy Knocked Blind Melon Off the Rock Radar 12 Years Ago. But With a New Lead Singer, the Time May Be Ripe for a Comeback.
a Q&A: 'Once' in a Lifetime

Media & the Internet ...
a At Wall Street Journal, Change of Accents
a With parents on Facebook, 'friend' now a relative term

And finally, a cool trivia game about Wheel of Fortune.

Sunday reading

It's Oscar night ...

Yippee.

The only things I cared about were Jon Stewart's comedy and Diablo Cody winning the award for best original screenplay. Both played out just the way I'd hoped -- Stewart was funny and Cody won. But there were a few bonuses, too -- I loved Amy Adams singing the Happy Working Song (she was adorable!) and it also was great seeing Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova perform their song from "Once" ... And then winning for it! ... And then seeing Stewart bring Irglova back out to the microphone for a second chance at giving an acceptance speech!

All great moments.

Some of the good reads that caught my eyes during the last couple weeks ...

Baseball ...
a Look who's in LA-LA land
a Fewer WGN games means more revenue ... Yeah, but it sucks for Cubs fans not living in the Chicago area.
a Pettitte praised by Congress, but hits are coming soon
a Ten key points that were missed during the hearings
a Prosecutors file new details in Bonds case
a The bottom line on Clemens' statistical performance
a Whether on mound or Hill, Clemens is the same man
a 'You can tell your boys I did it the right way' Or not.
a Lot of misremembering going on, but Clemens is the one doing it
a Hank Aaron Believes Baseball Can Move On
a Wood favored in competition for closer
a Carlos Zambrano ready to be ace Cubs need
a Soriano reports early to Cubs camp
a Kosuke Fukudome launches Cubs' career
a Lee could drop to cleanup as part of Cubs' lineup shuffle
a Ranking the best general managers in the game... Yep. Theo Epstein, hands down.
a Bonds' value significantly deflated

Music ...
a Soundtrack making star of Kimya Dawson
a Fans love Carpenters, not carpenters ... I love the Carpenters! Save the house!

TV ...
a 'Lost': Mind-Blowing Scoop From Its Producers

Movies ...
a A year for hot movie scripts
a Not just anyone can be an actor
a The Oscars: A dark view on dark times
a Lindsay Lohan nude in recreated Marilyn Monroe photo shoot

The Internet ...
a What Facebook Knows That You Don't

Politics ...
a Clintons' bias card has basis
a Obama Fever Is Breaking On the Web
a Obama's Missing Ideas
a It will be tough getting used to life without Hillary Clinton, a candidate so perfect that few could identify with her

Life & other stuff ...
a Red-letter day for Blu-ray
a A kiss is just a kiss

Just perfect

Kates and I are in Ohio tonight.

We've just finished meeting and spending much of the day with our new niece. She's adorable.

Now we're back in our hotel room. Kates is in the corner reading a book, and I'm watching the Patriots finish off the Giants and their perfect regular season ...

The Giants, as I predicted when the Patriots were losing the game earlier tonight, have fallen apart in the fourth quarter. The Pats started putting the pressure on a bumbling Eli Manning and took control.

And then, how about that go-ahead touchdown! Seconds earlier, Tom Brady had thrown a bomb to Randy Moss, but the ball was underthrown and Moss dropped it. Then they go back and try the exact same play again and -- bam! -- Moss catches it in stride for a 65-yard touchdown that not only gives the Patriots the lead, but gives Brady the record for most touchdown passes in a season and Moss the record for touchdown receptions in a season.

I've said it all season long. I was cheering for the Pats to go 16-0. They're a classy team that's oh so talented and fun to watch. Plain and simple.

Red Sox win the World Series. Patriots go 16-0 and look like a good bet for the Super Bowl. And the Celtics are looking unstoppable. Oh, to be in Boston right now ...

Sunday reading

Some of the reads that piqued my interests during the last couple weeks ...

Baseball ...
a Dog gone it? Pap's pooch eats history ... Only Jonathan Papelbon could pull this off. The interesting thing is: Now the ball could be worth even more because the fact it became a chew toy adds to the lore ...
a White Sox radio adds Stone ... good for them. I can't stand Steve Stone.
a Update: Cremated remains on the Wrigley Field warning track

The Internet & media ...
a A change of hands for Tribune
a Randy Michaels to head Internet, broadcast operations
a Douglas Is NBC `Nightly News' Announcer ... When Brian Williams announced this on the broadcast this week, I did a "Whaaa ??" I'm not sure I like Douglas's voice as the announcer -- not dramatic enough -- but whatever ...

Politics ...
a Fla. Teen Documenting '08 Election
a Candidates scramble to cope with Huckabee
a Lashing Out From Under Cover: Hey, Play Fair!
a The Scribe Who Gets The Candidates' Vote

TV & movies
a Be thankful for TV, but not satisfied
a A TV fall to remember
a Strike Watch: Is the TV season over? A report from the picket lines in L.A.
a Hearing voices: More and more television shows use narration to advance story
a Anniversary for Drama 'Lou Grant'
a Slattery a man for all seasons (and all TV shows)
a An Actress Who's As Great as the Sum of Her Parts
a Hollywood's Trophy Strife
a News hounds pine for Comedy Central's Jon Stewart
a Stewart, Colbert Returning to the Air
a Year-end extravaganza: My Top 10 TV shows (and the runners up)


Music ...
a Led Zeppelin's time has come again
a In 'Walk Hard,' Records Speak For Themselves
a 'Grandma' got run over by the ratings, dear

Life & other stuff ...
a Chicago Might Sell Naming Rights ... This makes me want to throw up. Sorry, but U.S. Cellular Field is always going to be Comiskey Park to me, and no corporate named train, plane or park will ever influence me to buy that brand ...
a Crash kills astronaut's mom
a Spears pregnancy has families talking (and the related: Jamie Lynn Spears' mom's book on parenting delayed.)
a Mich. Man Learns Co-Worker Is Birth Mom
a The Santa Claus dilemma
a Wrangling with Christmas lights a ho-ho-headache
a Family drama, painful travels, obnoxious decorations make some say bah humbug

Playing catchup...

So the Red Sox won the World Series Sunday night ...

What can you say? Sure I was rooting for the Rockies -- they were the sentimental favorite. But, don't get me wrong, I've been a Red Sox fan for awhile now, too. They're darn good (as the analysts said afterward, get ready world, this is going to be the team to beat for years to come. No more curses in Boston...), and they pretty much knocked the purple mountain majesty out of the Rockies ...

* * *

Thank you Jacoby Ellsbury. For my free taco, that is ... In case you missed it, and I know many of you did, Ellsbury, the lovable Red Sox rookie stole second base in Game 2. Even if you were paying moderate attention to that game, it was easy to miss. It wasn't at all a significant point in the game, and Ellsbury swiped it without even drawing a throw ... But, hey, it was enough for Taco Bell to offer everyone in the country a free taco between the hours of 2 and 5 p.m. on Tuesday ...

So, on Tuesday, at about 2:15, I took a jaunt to a local Taco Bell for my free taco ... Going in, I wasn't sure what to expect. Would the parking lot be packed!? Would the drive-thru be a dozen cars deep? Would I have to fear being trampled?

Turns out, my car was one of two in the parking lot. I went inside the store and waited as another couple placed their order; clearly they had no knowledge of the free taco. Then, the cashier asked them, "Would you like your free taco?" The man looked at his companion, shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head. The woman -- she declined the free taco.

My turn. I stepped to the register. Ordered a taco supreme for my cohort Laura, soft taco for myself and a Mountain Dew to go with it. And then I added "And yes, I want my free taco."

The cheery cashier replied, "Ok, I was waiting to see how you were going to order and then I was going to ask."

"Yep. I'm a big baseball fan, so I know all about it."

The cheery cashier then went on to tell me all about her and her boyfriend cheering and getting excited about Monday night's Packers game. Sure, it was a great game, but how she thought that had anything to do with the Worlds Series, a stolen base and free tacos, I'm not so sure ...

I took my free taco back to work and noted it was the best free taco I'd ever tasted ...

I should have gone for more. It didn't occur to me until afterward, when I got this e-mail from my friend Matt, that I could have hit up every Taco Bell in the city for a free taco and no one would have known ...

I outsmarted Taco Bell. I just pulled up to the drive-thru and said “I’d like my free taco.” And she said, “Would you like something to drink with that?” Me again: “Nope, just the free taco.” And then I peeled out of there! Woo Hoo!

Actually, I don’t think I really outsmarted Taco Bell. But I did enjoy my tasty free taco. And I really wanted to drive back through again.

Dang. I could have done my run at 2, and again on my way home just before 5. Next year.

* * *

So Joe Torre's going to manage the Dodgers!? Nice ... I'm happy, thrilled really. But it's a well-known fact Torre didn't exactly have a stellar managerial record before arriving at Yankee Stadium. Now we'll get to see what he's really made of ...

And the Tigers got Edgar Renteria!? Also nice. Now they just need Craig Counsell, Moises Alou and Jeff Conine and they'll really be the '97 Marlins reincarnated. They've already got Dombrowski, Leyland and Sheffield ... Too bad Livan Hernandez and Kevin Brown are washed up.

And Alex Rodriguez is opting out of his contract. I still can't blame him ... Even then, I'm still debating in my head whether I'd want him on my team ... It's always interesting with A-Rod.

More good reads ...
a Schilling: 'Realistic chance' I won't be back ... That sucks. I'll be really sorry to see Schilling leave Boston ... But what's this!? He's interested in coming to Milwaukee!? Oh, tell me more!!
a Papelbon a hit on Letterman ... I watched this last night. Good stuff. Is it just me, or does anyone else think Papelbon's just a little bit nuts?
a 2007: 'A great year for baseball' ... I second that. My highlights: Verlander's no-hitter. The Red Sox four straight home runs. Sammy Sosa's 600th. Barry Bonds 756th -- sigh. And of course the Brewers and the pennant races, not to mention my two games in one day. Oh, and the whole 'winter ball' experience ...

* * *

How about that Packers game on Monday night!?!

It was a snoozefest until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. For the better part of the contest, the game was only background noise as I worked on other things; I paid more attention to Deanna Favre's interview with Kornheiser and the gang in the broadcast booth then I did during other play in the first three quarters ...

Then Kates joined me and we took a seat to see the Broncos scramble and kick the tying field goal in the final five seconds. How amazing -- and comical -- was that replay of the players running on/off the field and hastily getting in position for that kick!?

Seeing the end of regulation, Kates announced she had to go to bed and went upstairs, while I remained in front of the TV, determined to stay it out ... No sooner had Kates gotten up the stairs, Brett Favre was airing it up to Greg Jennings, who pulled it in and ran it in for the winning score ... I bolted up the stairs and was running down our hallway, hands in the air -- like Favre running down field to meet his teammates -- shouting the details to Kates as I turned on our bedroom TV so we could catch the replays together ...

Ah, Brett Favre.

I don't know what Mike McCarthy told him before the season, but the guy is throwing better this season than he has in years. I take back everything I said a couple years ago about Favre and retirement ...


* * *

I spent Monday in Chicago. (Woo hoo!) Saw the new "Maps" exhibit at the Field Museum ...

Kinda fascinating.

When my cohort Liz pitched the idea of me tagging along with her and one of my editors to review the exhibit, I wasn't that excited. I mean, c'mon, how exciting can maps really be?

The exhibit is comprised of more than 100 significant and rare maps, spanning hundreds of years from those carved on stone tablets to today's computerized images ... (The Trib has a great online interactive...)

The highlights in my eyes included a map from the 1930s of London's underground rail system, a significant map because the rail system's simple, rectangular design became the template for other large city systems ...

Another gem was a colorful heart-shaped globe, that was more a beautiful piece of art than a usable map. Still, it was made more captivating in that the shapes, sizes and proximity of the continents remained exact even with the distortion of the globe ...

We saw a road map of the United States in the 1930s. What made this one so fascinating was that the map had been used during one family's series of vacations. With no interstate highways, the map was colored with red and blue lines tracing routes they took to various destinations, including the year of the vacation route ...

There was a map used to draw the boundaries of the new United States after the Revolutionary War, a map on which the negotiators had outlined the U.S. boundaries in red and gave it to England's King George III ...

There was Charles Lindbergh's flight map. Maps drawn by Abraham Lincoln and Leonardo da Vinci ...

But the one that had us all talking during our train ride back: An Inuit's pencil sketch, done in the 1800s, of a series of islands he'd drawn based on what he observed while kayaking. And next to that pencil drawing, a recent satellite image of the same islands; the pencil drawing was astonishingly accurate ...

* * *

Some of the radio stations started playing Christmas music yesterday. On Nov. 1.

Fa la la la blah!

Sunday reading ...

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

Politics ...
a Clinton Uses Birthday to Raise Funds
a Pressed on administration role for Gore, Obama says possible but unlikely

Baseball ...
a Mitchell investigation raises questions
a On the Mark: Boston Glee Party
a Schilling's genius, Lowell's hustle, Rockies' struggles
a Mile-High Madness
a Pennant Race Collapses
a SI Flashback: This Year's Phenom
a Zell: 'I don't understand' Cubs' business
a 'Sodfather' begins renovation of field

Music, art & entertainment ...
a Arrested Development pumps up the positive energy
a The Art of the American Snapshot, 1888-1978: From the Collection of Robert E. Jackson
a Fall TV shows that should go away now

Bye, bye Indians

Ok. So the Red Sox won the ALCS last night ...

But really. Is anyone that surprised they came back from 3-1 to win the series in seven? I'm not.

I had hoped the Indians would close it out the other night at Jacobs Field. But they didn't; they couldn't field the ball. As soon as that happened and the series went back to Fenway for games six and seven, it was over -- for the Red Sox.

At least it makes my decision for which team I'm going to root for in the World Series easier ...

Go Rockies.

Good reads ...
a Red Sox rout Tribe to complete ALCS comeback
a Something old, something new in Series
a Will drought ever end for Cleveland?

Yankee fallout

... In a replay of my activities around this same time last fall -- several late nights in a row, concerts and postseason baseball -- I arrived home last night at about 1 a.m. from the Regina Spektor show ... and stayed up until past 3 watching the Indians-Yankees game on the DVR.

C'mon I couldn't go to bed without knowing the outcome of the game! And for that, I got just over three hours of sleep.

But hey, the Indians wiped out the Yankees! Sweet bliss ... What'd I tell you: Indians in four.

Now -- while I try to decide who I'm going to root for in the ALCS ...

(While I greatly admire Big Papi and the Red Sox Nation, I think I'm going to lean toward the Indians for these reasons ...

• The Red Sox are just three years removed from their last world championship, but the Indians haven't won it all since 1948.


• The Indians beat the Yankees after going winless against them during the regular season; that's heart. Experience, schmerience.


• And you gotta love a team that's made it this far with a roster that's had barely any posteason experience, aside from Kenny Lofton's 84 playoff games.


• I loved the '95 and '97 Indians. I loooove Kenny Lofton.)

... the real fun begins.

The Yankees soap opera.

First of all, Steinbrenner and his band of suits would be fools to get rid of Joe Torre ... The guy has returned pride to the Yankees, won 10 division titles, including nine straight, in his 12 years as manager. And he's got the utmost respect of his players ... No matter how successful they've been in their respective playing/managerial careers, I honestly can't see Don Mattingly, Joe Girardi or Tony LaRussa faring any better managing the Yankees ...

I could care less what happens to Mariano Rivera. I think he's overrated and it won't make any difference whether the Yankees have him next season.

Roger Clemens needs to stay home for good.

And that brings up Alex Rodriguez and the churning speculation of whether he's staying or going ... If I were Alex Rodriguez, I think I'd want to get the heck out of the chaotic Bronx, no matter who's calling me a quitter, and go to a franchise that's committed to building a winner around the right players for the team, not because they're sluggers or power pitchers who can be lured by throwing money at them, even if I have to renegotiate my contract and accept a pay cut. I'd want to go to a team where I could have fun playing again, go back to playing shortstop and earn the respect of the fans ... Then again, I'm not A-Rod.

... And if I were the Cubs, I'd forget about trying to make a run at Rodriguez and go instead for the veteran catcher who's a proven leader and a guy who can handle my pitching staff. That'd be Jorge Posada ...

Rockies rollin'

My tagline for the week:

Hey, I'm just happy I can start cheering for the Cubs whole-heartedly ...

Check this out and hear what Lou Piniella is saying.

More Cubs stuff ...
Chicago Tribune multimedia
99 things every real Cubs fan should know

* * *


How about those Rockies!?!

How about that game last night!?!

Going into the game, I couldn't say I was rooting for one team more than the other; I barely knew anything about either team. But as the game went on, the Rockies, their exciting lineup and their exuberant fans started to win over my heart …And when the Padres came from behind to tie the game at six in the eighth, I was all but certain it signaled the beginning of the end for Denver’s run …

Then the Padres put two on the board in the top of the 13th and send Trevor Hoffman, arguably the greatest closer this game’s ever seen, to the mound. Seriously -- game over … Nope. Kaz Matsui doubled. Troy Tulowitzki doubled. Matt Holliday tripled and drove in the tying runs … all with no outs.

I was doing all I could to squelch my clapping and screams, and not wake Kates.

Then Jamey Carroll hit the sacrifice fly to right field that sent Holliday sprinting to home plate, planting his chin in the dirt as he skidded past Michael Barrett, clearly not touching home plate for the winning run.

The unfortunate part of it, though, is that we’re going to have to listen for the rest of the week to ESPN and all the other sports talkers berating the umpires' disputed calls and pushing for instant replay in baseball. If you ask me, Tim Kurkjan put it best immediately after the game -- It was a heckuva ballgame, you’ve got the Colorado fans going crazy and you can’t say, “Oh, wait a minute, we have to review this play.” Then you take 10 minutes to review it, find out he did or didn’t touch the plate and oh yeah, now you can celebrate …

Nope. The absence of instant replay is part of what makes baseball, for lack of another word, pure.

And seriously, how awful was TBS’ coverage!? … Ugh. Good thing I'm a huge baseball fan and the game was exciting ... First of all, the announcers were such no-names TBS could've pulled any guy from the street into the booth and we wouldn't have known the difference -- Any stories or insights they provided were about as exciting as a pair of college-aged amatuers auditioning for their first internships. Plus the graphics were too gimmicky and large to digest, and Cal Ripken, sitting in the studio, looked as though he was in just as much disblelief at the unintelligent questions his partner was tossing him ... The last straw was when I caught one of the analysts say something like “Barrett has done a great job since coming over from the Mets” (He was traded from the Cubs, you idiot! He‘s never played an inning for the Mets in his career …) Worse yet, the analyst never bothered to correct himself, which leads me to believe the researchers or producers working behind him weren't any more competent ...

And we have more several more games of dealing with this.

I miss Jeanne Zelasko, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

* * *

Here’s what I’m thinking about the playoffs …

A couple weeks ago, I was saying Angels-Cubs.

But frankly, I’m not high on any of the National League teams right now …

I don’t believe the Phillies or the Diamondbacks are strong enough to advance, which leaves the Cubs and the Rockies. I’d like to think this could be the Cubs’ year, but c’mon it’s the Cubs, and they‘ve faded down the stretch.

The Rockies, however, are on a roll that’s going to be hard to stop -- check last night’s game as exhibit No. 1 -- They’ve won 14 of 15 games, and I would not be surprised if they blow through the postseason the same way last October’s Cardinals did … They're looking like a team of destiny.

In the American League, it’s the opposite. Angels-Red Sox, Yankees-Indians -- I could see any one of those teams taking it all … But injuries have slowed the Angels, and now I’m seeing the Red Sox rolling through the playoffs …

… And Yankees-Indians? Don’t even talk to me about the Yankees vaunted lineup and Mariano Rivera in the bullpen. At least the other three AL teams in the postseason have heart; the Yankees are robots. The Yankees have blown enough postseason games since 2001 (in addition to the fact they buy their pennants, rather than nurture players …) to lose their rights to be playing in October. It’s gonna be the Cleveland Indians in four games.

The Rockies will take the Cubs in five games; the Red Sox will beat the Indians in six.

Red Sox win the World Championship in a high-scoring seven-game series.

Baseball reads ...
a Burning questions: Race is over, now what?
a Here’s what the Sox need to get by the Angels
a Phillies celebration could be short-lived against a Rockies team of destiny

Not ready for primetime

It can’t start. I’m not ready yet.

For the fall TV season that is.

There’s still too much good baseball left, dang it.

( … and it’s not looking good for the Brewers right now, folks. Stayed up and watched ‘em blow an extra innings affair against the Astros on Wednesday night. Then Kates and I hooped and hollered watching the come-from-behind thriller on Friday night. And we endured the heartbreaker yesterday during which they came from behind once again and went up in the top of the 10th on a Corey Hart home run, only to see the Braves tie it up again in the bottom of the 10th on a Scott Thorman home run, and then we watched the Brewers lose it in the bottom of the 11th …All the while, the Cubs have kept on winning, and as of this evening, the Cubs are 3.5 games up with six left to play … Ah well. The Red Sox are in. The Angels are in. And at least all is well in Packer country … )

On Wednesday night, Kates and I caught the premiere of “Back to You.” ... Not bad. It is a change from Fox’s usual style of programming, and Patricia Heaton's and Kelsey Grammer's and Fred Willard's comedic chops will be enough to keep me watching for awhile … Though I’m not betting on this one. Frankly, it reminds me too much of “Good Morning, Miami.” And we all know how long that one lasted ... On the other hand (and I'm disagreeing on this one with my cohorts who also watched the show) there could be some strong possibilities with Kelly Carr's daughter Gracie and the idea that Chuck Darling is her father. It could be fun to watch how Darling adapts to the news, which Carr broke to him at the end of the premiere, and then how the parents raise her while serving as co-anchors of the Pittsburgh news station.

Then on Thursday night, only because we couldn’t find anything else to watch for the time, Kates and I ran through the DVR and watched the “Grey’s Anatomy” Addison Montgomery lovefest that originally aired on Wednesday night … Seriously. That thing featured everyone on the People Magazine staff, including the janitor, (and probably paid them handsomely) gushing about how strong and smart and vulnerable and dignified Addison is …. And blah, blah blah … bleh!

Whatever. I’m boycotting “Private Practice.” (see why here.) I wish I could predict that it will barely last a season, but the reality is that Grey's has such a strong fan base and PP has such a cast of TV stars that it will probably stick around. And before we know it Grey's is going to be ABC's version of "CSI" ... bleh!

Still, the premiere of "Survivor" remains on our DVR, unwatched. And tonight “Desperate Housewives” and “Brothers & Sisters” come back.

I’m not ready yet.

But here’s what I do plan to watch during what looks like an otherwise disappointing year for new shows …

a Pushing Daisies ... This reviewer, and the fact it has Kristin Chenoweth was enough to pique my interest ...

"... Chenoweth calls this show "fantasmagorical," and when you see it, you’ll know precisely what she means. Pushing Daisies is bizarre and strange and wonderful and vivid and has all the makings of a great new TV love affair."

a Samantha Who? ... Same reviewer.

a Cavemen ... which I'll bet doesn't make it past a third or fourth week. But, hey, the commercials make me laugh ...

Good TV reads ...
a CBS aims to be the talk of the Web
a The joke's on sitcoms as dramas get the laughs

There's only one September ...

I'm feeling like I've said this before, but how great of a weekend was this for baseball!?!

And I know I've said this before: This is the most exciting baseball season we've seen since at least 1998 ...

Kates and I spent our weekend making the rounds to each of the parents' houses, and the baseball was always on. Going in, we knew this was going to be a make-it-or-break-it weekend...

Friday night was Applebees takeout with Kates' parents. And then the Brewers-Reds game ... When we turned it on, the Brew Crew already was down 5-0 and Ben Sheets had been plucked from the game in favor of Chris Capuano (Chris Capuano!?! ... ugh...). We got to see Prince Fielder tie the franchise home run mark, and Capuano actually pitched better than he had in months, but the comeback fell short ... The Brewers lost. The Cubs had beaten the Cardinals. The Brewers fall 1.5 games back from the Cubs, and the Cardinals -- thankfully -- lose their eighth straight to go six games back ...

I switch channels ...

To the Red Sox-Yanees game. It was 10:30 at night and that game was in the eighth inning. We had just missed a Jason Giambi home run, but with a 7-3 lead the Red Sox appeared to be cruising ...

Right ... Robinson Cano homered for the Yankees. Melky Cabrera walked. Johnny Damon doubled. Derek Jeter singled. Bobby Abreu doubled. And Alex Rodriguez singled to give the Yankees a 8-7 lead ...

Kates was already asleep on my shoulder. And I went lights-out for the ninth, only to make up to the postgame highlights.

That was Friday night.

* * *

On Saturday, it was off to my parents' place ...

For lunch, I brought Culver's; Kates brought Arby's (... hey, we were road trippin' ...). We had some sit-down time with Mom & Pops ... and then it was time for another Cubs-Cardinals game. The first of a doubleheader, actually ...

The Cardinals were looking good ... Then Alfonso Soriano whacked a two-run homer to win it. Alfonso!!

On to the Red Sox-Yankees game ... What started out as a captivating pitcher's dual between Josh Beckett and Chien-Ming Wang turned into a Yankee-drubbing (lovely!) in the blink of an eye ...

We watched until the eighth, and then it was time for Kates and I to hit the road again ... Flipping between the Cubs-Cardinals nightcap and the Brewers-Reds games all the way home ...

I figured the Cardinals couldn't keep losing the way they had been; they took their game. And I figured the Brewers couldn't let themselves slip any further; they took their game too with Prince hitting another home run to become the single-season record holder for the Brewers.

So the Cubs still lead. But the Brewers are just one back. And the Cardinals are all but done at six games back.

* * *

On Sunday, Kates and I threw the Packers-Giants game into the mix as we did some shopping and worked around the house ...

To be honest, I didn't watch the Packers that closely. But they looked good enough to me. And a 35-13 win can't tell me anything less ... I'll take it.

Didn't catch any of the Brewers game. But they won, and I'll take that too.

I did, however, listen to almost all of the Cubs-Reds game. And the Cubs won ...

Driving to the hardware store for some supplies and listening to the jubilee of Pat and Ron celebrating the fact the Cubs were heading back to Wrigley in first place, I couldn't keep the smile from leaking on to my face. It was then then it hit me: Hey, it's either going to be the Cubs or the Brewers winning this thing, this has been one HECK of a pennant race and I'm going to be having a ball no matter which one makes it ...

Of course, I wasn't done yet. The Red Sox and Yankees were on Sunday Night Baseball (lovely!) ...

And it was a classic as usual.

... Curt Schilling against Roger Clemens (no two pitchers had gone against each other with more wins in the history of Fenway Park ...)

... Game is tied 1-1 heading into the eighth. Then Derek "Mr. Clutch" Jeter launches a 3-run homer over the Green Monster to silence the Red Sox nation ...

... Jeter had fouled off pitch after pitch, and Jason Varitek went to the mound after almost every one to talk with Schilling. Jon Miller offered up an interesting stat that put to rest one of the thoughts swirling in my head all weekend long: The average American League game lasts about 2 hours and 53 minutes. The average Red Sox-Yankees game lasts 3 hours and 33 minutes -- because there's so much strategy and thinking that goes into each pitch.

... The Red Sox start mounting a comeback in the bottom of the ninth ... Against Mariano Rivera (... Need I say again how horribly overrated I think Mariano Rivera is!?! Every time a broadcast team starts gushing about him I want to run to throw a baseball at the TV ... He's not invincible people = 2001 World Series.)

... Then Rivera loads of the bases for (insert dramatic music here) David Ortiz. (More dramatic music here.) ... A couple weeks ago, Matty and I were discussing who we thought the three most exciting players were in baseball right now. I answered Vladimir Guerrero, Prince Fielder and David Ortiz. Prince had come through for me this weekend, I hadn't been paying much attention to Vlady, but surely Big Papi was going to come through here, I thought ...

He struck out ... oooooooooooooooh! I sigh with the Red Sox Nation ...

And so ends my latest baseball weekend.

* * *

... So I caught this story on MLB.com today ... and once again, I'm wondering, how much more fun can this get!?

What in the world has happened to the standings everywhere else? Five minutes ago, it seems, it was two Wild Card races and a pair of National League division races. Now every division but the AL West has a race, half of baseball is still alive, it looks like a seventh straight year with a new world champ, tiebreaker-scenario talk will soon be all the rage and someone will be crying more tears of joy than Jamie Pressly.

Uh. Yeah!!

A week ago I figured my ultimate postseason was out of reach. Now, anything could happen ...

If the Red Sox and Yankees meet again, it would be in the AL Championship Series. You know what those are like, and it could happen again. Any wild guess will do. The Cubs and Indians could meet in a battle of the two teams with the longest world championship droughts in the Majors, and the Cubs could win it all for the first time since 1908. The Brewers could win it all for the first time, and so could the Padres or Rockies. It could be another Subway Series, it could be 1986 revisited with Mets-Red Sox, or Grady Little could come back to Fenway with the Dodgers.

I might pee my pants.

That is, if it's a Cubs-Indians world series. Or even a Cubs-Red Sox World Series. Or if the Brewers or Dodgers even make it to the World Series.

The Rivalry never seems to disappoint when it comes to drama. Fans who went to sleep Friday night assuming the Red Sox had won the opener easily awoke on Saturday to hear about an epic Yankee comeback. Saturday was the day Josh Beckett one-upped Chien-Mien Wang, and then Sunday was a fabulous Roger Clemens-Schilling pitching duel (representing the most-ever combined victories by two starters at Fenway) that Jeter broke up. And what an amazing finish, with Big Papi just loaded up for a grand slam walk-off against a closer he had beaten before. This time, Rivera won.

Like I said -- I watched every one. And no, I was not dissappointed.

Last year, the Tigers basically gave away this division at home on the final weekend, their hopes spoiled by Kansas City while Minnesota clinched. Of course, Detroit took advantage of its Wild Card berth instead, making it to the club's first Fall Classic since 1984. Those Tigers seem determined to do things different in 2007, and now it remains to be seen whether their momentum will stretch across an entire fortnight ...

Guess where Cleveland plays on the final weekend of the season? Kansas City. The Royals won at the Jake on Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep, but if the AL Central is still a race on the last weekend, it would be too ironic.

Too ironic.

There's only one October. There's only two weeks left in the regular season.

And I looooooove this commercial ...

Hot summer nights

These are the best nights of the summer ...

And I'm not talking about sweating it out because our air-conditioner is on the fritz again ...

Heading into tonight, Barry Bonds was sitting on homerun No. 754, Alex Rodriguez was sitting on homerun No. 499, and Tom Glavine was sitting on win No. 299 ...

And thanks to the revolution of cable television and DVR technology, I've had the chance to watch all three games -- and see none of the milestones being reached ...

I caught most of the Yankess-White Sox game and got to see everyone but Alex Rodriguez hit a homerun -- talk about a slugfest -- and then flipped over to watch Glavine take a 2-1 lead on the Brewers, only to have the Brewers tie the game at 2 ...

... And just now! as I'm writing this! Geoff Jenkins won it in the 13th inning with a two-run homerun to right. Imagine, I'm sitting here at the kitchen table and I looked up at the TV just in time to see Jenkins swing the bat. Seeing he caked it and there was no doubt about where it was heading, I shot up from my seat and walked into the living room with my hands raised, joining Kates in celebration as the ball fell into the left field bleachers ... What a game!

Oh yeah, and in between innings of the Brewers game, I was catching parts of the Dodgers-Giants game, seeing Bonds walk twice, strike out and then get a single on a botched fly ball in the seventh inning before promptly being pulled for a pinch runner.

Sigh.

When it comes to Barry Bonds, there's not a lot more I can think of saying other than the whole situation just makes me sad. I'm not sure how I'll react when and if he breaks the record, but I'm sad for Hank Aaron and the lack of respect he's recieved over the years. For all the fans and players that have been cheated by Bonds. And for the game of baseball, that the people who should've known better let it get to this point ...

I hate talking about it as much as Bond himself ... but for different reasons.

And yet, I still watch, with a deep interest in all of it. When you factor all the pending accomplishments, along with Frank Thomas's 500th homerun earlier this season, Craig Biggio's 3,000 hit, Justin Verlander's and Mark Buerhle's no-hitters -- not to mention the excitement of the Brewers and the pennant races that are simmering -- I can't help but compare this season to that glorious '98 season when we had McGwire and Sosa (for better or worse) trading homeruns, Kerry Wood tearing up the National League, Cal Ripken breaking his streak, the Yankees winning 114 games and all the other feats of that season ...

It has all the makings to be quite a ride the rest of the way ...

So what are my predictions?

For one, I'm rooting for the Brewers to to take the NL Central. The Cubs have been there over the years, and they bought their team. The Brewers haven't tasted it since '82, they've developed their team, and they're a bunch of kids that still play the game like they did in high school ...The Cubs can have the NL Wild Card.

I'm rooting for the Dodgers, of course, in the NL west. And the Braves to get back atop the NL East.

In the American League, I'll take the Angels in the West, the Tigers in the Central and the Red Sox in the East. If you know me, you're not seeing any surprises there either. Give the Indians the AL Wild Card.

How about a Tigers-Brewers Great Lakes series?

Good baseball

At times this spring I've felt ashamed of myself for being so busy that I can't follow the baseball as closely as I'd like ...

In fact, I had no idea Alex Rodriguez was so hot until seeing some of his stats on the scoreboard at Miller Park a couple week's ago ...

But I still get at least a glimpse at my daily newspaper. All I need to know is that the teams I've attached myself closest to -- the Dodgers, Tigers, Angels and Red Sox -- are playing well. Heck, the Brewers are in first place and nine games over .500!! And the Cubs appear (as I pause for good measure) to be putting together a run ...

But the best part: The Yankees are losing.

I'm not holding my breath yet, though. They seem to start this way every year ... Check back in October.

This from yesterday's SI newsletter ...

Something is rotten in the Bronx. Despite a big month from third baseman Alex Rodriguez (far left, with Derek Jeter), who leads the majors with 14 home runs, the Yankees finished April at 9-14 and at the bottom of the AL East standings. Can New York turn things around in time to make the postseason? Despite last night's 10-1 win over the Rangers, in which rookie righthander Phil Hughes threw 6 1/3 hitless innings before leaving with a hamstring injury (one that will sideline him for 4-6 weeks), SI's Tom Verducci foresees an uphill climb. "The cold fact is the Yankees face overwhelming odds to get into the postseason," says Verducci. "They were not just a little off their game in April, or a game or two below .500. They were .391 baseball awful. How many teams recover from that kind of terrible start to get into the postseason? Would you believe 4.8 percent? From 1996 to 2006, 62 teams played worse than .400 baseball in April. Only three of those teams made the playoffs. If there is good news for New York it is that it was done twice just last year, bringing the odds up all the way from 1.3 percent."

Yankees Lose World Series

An oldie but a goodie I recently stumbled across from The Onion ...

Here's hoping they don't even make the playoffs this year ...

Yankees Lose World Series

NEW YORK (Oct. 27)-Many baseball fans were disappointed Wednesday when the New York Yankees, 26-time world champions and the highest-paid team in baseball, did not win the 2004 World Series.

You can't always get what you want

So we got new soda machines in our office today ...

After lunch, in need of some pick-me-up and a good Mountain Dew, I sauntered to the break room and surveyed the new choices.

Hmm. We now have bottles of Diet Coke and Aquafina for $1. But everything else is still 50-cent cans. Oh, and yep, they still have Mountain Dew. Great!

So I insert my $1 bill and punch the Mountain Dew button. Out comes my 50 cents in change. And I reach for ...

... a bottle of Diet Coke!? Are you serious!?

... I took it out to the newsroom and drew a good laugh from my podmates. And then an offer to buy it from me. ... Sold!

... And back I went to the break room for another try.

... OK. I'm not going to hit the Mountain Dew button again. Maybe I can get a Pepsi.

... So I insert my two quarters and out comes ...

... a bottle of Aquafina!?! Come on!?!?!

... I returned to the newsroom, this time drawing a bigger laugh ... and proceeded to drink my water.


* * *

From SI's morning call ...

Children are crying all across New England today. The Red Sox lost their sixth straight game last night, an excruciating 4-3 defeat to the Angels in the first game of a nine-game road trip. The result comes on the heels of a five-game sweep by the Yankees, who lost 6-5 in Seattle when Adrian Beltre hit a walk-off home run leading off the bottom of the ninth. While Boston fans are crying-the Red Sox' losing streak is their longest since a nine-game drought from Aug. 25-Sept. 4, 2001-the Angels are on a roll. L.A. cut Oakland's AL West lead to four games and improved to a season-best eight games over .500. The only hope for the Red Sox, who are a miserable 6-15 this month, looks to be the wild card. They remained four games behind the White Sox and 31/2 games behind Minnesota. Last night's loss hurt one Red Sox fan more than most. Yesterday was Carl Yastrzemski's 67th birthday.

... And not only is Red Sox Nation suffering. The Cubs lost tonight. The Tigers lost tonight. ... At least the Brewers won.

It figures the Tigers lost. After all SI put them on the cover this week. ... If the Tigers don't at least make the World Series, I'm blaming it all on Sports Illustrated.

... Grrrrrrrr ...