Onion read

The good Onion reads just keep on coming this week...

Although I extremely enjoyed this one ...

Nation To Ken Griffey Jr.: 'We Wish It Were You Hitting 756 Home Runs'

CINCINNATI—Overcome with a mixture of distaste at the almost certain future and a wistful sense at the way things could and should have been, baseball fans across America took time to address veteran Reds superstar Ken Griffey Jr. yesterday...

MySpace Outage Leaves Millions Friendless

MySpace Outage Leaves Millions Friendless

BEVERLY HILLS, CA—It is feared the sudden lack of online companionship could inflict long-term psychological damage among MySpace's 150 million users.

Only on the Internet

Here's two videos that came as part of a Web feature over our wires today ...

Our staff decided they were too offensive to print ...

But I thought they were too funny not to share. And I can publish them here! Enjoy.



... The second video can be found here, compliments of Will Ferrell ... and when you're done be sure to check out the outtakes.

Al Qaeda Also Fed Up With Ground Zero Construction Delays

Al Qaeda Also Fed Up With Ground Zero Construction Delays

Back from the farm

Kates and I spent the holiday weekend at the family farm …

Which means a lazy weekend spent reading, hiking, good eating, doing puzzles, playing with the dog, playing Phase 10, sleeping and watching movies …

On Saturday night, we caught “Must Love Dogs” … Your standard chick flick, featuring the beautiful Diane Lane as the recently-divorced preschool teacher Sarah and the charming John Cusack, the recently-divorced Jake, a boat builder who finds Sarah’s profile on a dating Web site.

Mostly, it’s a predictable -- Sarah initially starts to fall for a father of one of her students and then gets her heart broken when she discovers he was sleeping with another teacher -- and forgettable film, with a few good chuckles and fun scenes mixed it -- like Sarah and Jake racing all over the city to find an open drug store so they can purchase a condom to, you know; or Sarah’s father’s girlfriend (Stockard Channing) who says, while showing Sarah the ways of online dating profiles, “I love this Internet. It’s part fantasy, part community and you get to pay your bills naked.”

Expectations were understandably higher on Sunday night when we popped in “Sideways,” considering it was an Oscar contender a couple years ago … A pretty good movie for sure, but I’m not so sure I’d want to see it again.

With a strong cast -- Paul Giamatti as Miles, Thomas Haden Church as Jack, Virginia Madsen as Maya and Sandra Oh as Stephanie -- to boot, the movie is about two middle-aged men (Miles and Jack) who take a road trip across California wine country, a week before Jack is set to be married. Along the way they meet up with Maya, a waitress at a restaurant that Miles frequents, and Stephanie, a friend of Maya’s who works at a vineyard. Jack, looking for one last fling before he has to settle down, doesn’t waist anytime swooning Stephanie. Miles and Maya, meanwhile take things a little slower, but end up better off (or so you’re led to believe … ) when the credits start rolling …

Giamatti steals just about every scene he's in. Virginia Madsen always impresses me. And Sandra Oh showed me that she can do much more than just play Christina on "Grey's Anatomy." Thomas Haden Church's character was just a dweeb.

Still, almost every conversation in this film revolves around Miles’ and Maya’s obsessions with wine …

If only I liked wine. I don’t.

Sunday reading

Some of the headlines and stories that caught my eyes last week ...

Baseball ...
a Turbulent Heir: Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder may look like a chunk off the old block, but he's determined to prove that any resemblance to his father, Cecil, ends with his prodigious home runs
a Milwaukee's Other Masher: After an injury-shortened 2006, a healthy J.J. Hardy is the surprise NL leader in home runs
a Something's Brewin': Fast-starting Milwaukee has history on its side
a The man with the details: Ex-clubhouse attendant may 'blow lid off' steroid saga
a Bud's big dilemma: Watch Barry or not

TV ...
a Jack Coleman shows the power to survive on 'Heroes'
a Salvation through changing the past
a In 'Flashpoint,' CBS correspondent Kimberly Dozier recounts the aftermath of the Baghdad bombing that injured her and killed 4 others
a American Idol: A night full of good feelings, but for Jordin, this is her now
a For 'Brothers & Sisters,' politics isn't off limits
a 'Bionic Woman' gets a makeover

Life & other stuff ...
a Coming back from a big loss: Eight years after a deadly attack, former Gardena football star clings to the memory of a fallen friend and understands that satisfaction in life often comes from the simple things.
a High-tech TV upgrades will create low-tech trash
a Hollywood's problem with addiction
a On the Hill, a Heap of Trouble
a Wild Generalization X: In Details, a Hilarious Screed on Turning 40 and Not Loving It

Onion read

I'm not sure what I got more of a kick from ...

The headline of this story or the picture, which shows a part of the interstate and an exit that Kates and I use all the time ...

Nation Mobilizes For Beautiful Weekend

NEW YORK—"It may mean sacrificing TV shows and even chores, but we cannot sit idly by as this gorgeous weather rolls in," said one resident, checking multiple forecasts.

Sunny & clear

I rode my bike to work this morning ...

Sunny and clear. 80 degrees. Riding along the shore of Lake Michigan. Nice breeze in my face. Marveling at all the old lake shore mansions. Listening to the Grey's Anatomy playlist on my iPod ...

I can't think of a better way to start my morning ...

* * *

So Jordin won American Idol last night ... Good for her.

Going in, I was hardly excited for the two-hour tearfest, but it wasn't so bad.

Good performances. I've enjoyed Ryan Seacrest's comic bits all season long. And bringing back some of the eccentric non-idols who bombed in their tryouts was a nice touch ...

My favorite performance of the night? That Take 6/Smokey Robinson medley with the top six guys was pretty sweet. Man, they sounded (and looked) good ...



The top six girls looked good too in their white dresses. I thought they sounded just ok on their Gladys Knight tribute, though ... That was until they did "Midnight Train to Georgia." With Knight singing the lead, the girls gave some sweet, sweet background vocals (So good they made my eyes water!)



The Beatles tribute featuring past Idol winners also was pretty awesome ...

It wouldn't have been an Idol finale without Sanjaya and his hair bouncing around the stage once more (and the crying girl!) ...

And Bette Midler just sounded flat old singing "Wind Beneath My Wings." Or as Kates put it simply, "She can't sing anymore" ...

But hey, congrats to Jordin!

... you never would have caught me saying this a year ago, but it's been a heckuva ride. Six months ago, I'd never seen an episode. Now, I think I might actually miss it over the summer ...

* * *

But really, how 'bout that Lost finale last night!

Probably one of the best, most gripping episodes since the first season ...

Finally, finally! we got to see the castaways fighting back and taking down The Others. The explosives blew the camp away, then Jack slugged the snot out of Ben, and Hurley saved the day by plowing through the trees with that VW. Wam bam thank you man! ...

And Locke's alive!

And the plotline surrounding Charlie and Desmond taking over the underwater hatch was just as enthralling ... Never mind that it sucked to see Charlie die.

As for that flash-forward of Jack, I caught on the moment we first saw Jack back on a plane and drinking up. No. 1, he had a beard. We've seen a lot of Jack in flashbacks and he never had a beard. I figured immediately that it was an after-the-island, more-deranged Jack. No. 2, when Sara came to see Jack in the hospital (because she was "still" listed as his emergency contact), she was very pregnant. If my memory's right, their break-up happened not too long before the plane crash; she wasn't even an ounce pregnant. And No. 3, Jack was always using a cell phone that didn't exist at the time the plane crashed ... Ah, but what about that hospital confrontation when he mentioned his father, you ask? I shrugged it off to Jack flipping out. After all, he followed that line with "you don't know what I've been through!"

Now if only we knew whose death he kept referring to!?!?!

... As for that whole Naomi/phone/rescue freighter thing? Here's my theory: That freighter arrives and it's not really a rescue ship. It's another tribe of bad people and we're going to get a whole new chapter of trials and tribulation on the island in Season Four...

We've still got three more seasons to go, baby!

Idol chatter

... Kates and I watched Part I of the American Idol finale last night ... Whatever. I miss Gina.

... Jordin is my pick to win it all. How can she not after, in Simon's words, she "wiped the floor with Blake" during the last performance ... (watch it on YouTube...)

... Then again, how could Blake not lose. Don't blame him more choking on his last song -- that "This Is My Now" song was awful. The melody was all over the place and the chorus was so cheesy it was giving me a migraine. I survived hearing it the first time, but having to hear that melody a second time -- Jordin's heartfelt vocals aside -- was like someone was taking a hammer to my head. I was having visions of those poor winning songwriters burying their heads in their seats in embarassment. It was awful, dudes.

Too bad too. Blake wiped the floor with Jordin on his re-do of "You Give Love a Bad Name."

Onion read

... There's an ongoing debate in our household about getting a dog.

... All arguments aside I told Kates a few weeks ago that if we were to get a dog, it'd be fun to have a pug. (It's between that and a westie ...)

... But after seeing this today, maybe we should think twice.

(I laughed out loud when I saw this ...)

Dog Breeders Issue Massive Recall Of '07 Pugs

WASHINGTON, DC—While pug owners are accustomed to chronic dog malfunction, the latest animals are prone to more than the usual overheating, seizures, and joint failure.

Nice work

I took the day off today …

Remember that bathroom renovation project we started in January? … Yeah, we’re finally finishing it. Today we’re getting the new window installed … Woo hoo!

And that means I get to watch an entire airing of Sportscenter this morning. Can I get another woo hoo!? (Woo hoo!)

I’m as big a fan of Sportscenter as the next guy, but there’s not a lot of changes or things the ESPN crew has done to its powerhouse the last couple years that have impressed me. Instead, they’ve done more to annoy me …

Until I noticed the addition of their “Rundown” a week or so ago … I love it! Finally, I can get ready for work, run around the house, brush my teeth, etc., and not miss a thing because thanks to the “Rundown” scrolling on the right side of the screen, I know exactly what story or game recap is coming next …

If I see on the “Rundown” that Michael Vick is next, I’m at my closet finding a shirt. But if I see the next story is about Barry Bonds or The Rocket, I know to sit tight in front of the TV …

Love it! Good thinking ESPN …

SNL Digital short

Kates and I just got around to watching Saturday night's SNL seaon finale with Zach Braff ...

This was hilarious ...

Sunday reading

Some of the reads that caught my eyes this past week ...

Books ...
a An in-depth look at the assassination of President Kennedy

TV ...
a ABC News's Charlie Gibson Calls the Shots, Lands on Top
a Getting upfront and personal for network advertising dollars
a 'Grey's Anatomy' spinoff leads ABC's new lineup
a Five networks in search of a brand
a A death in the TV family
a Sitcoms take another hit
a When Child-Star Egos Attack

Movies ...
a 'Shrek 3's' Miller': Screen green writing machine

Music ...
a The Sound of Copy Restrictions Crashing
a Paul Simon, The Sound Of America
a Artists and labels seek royalties from radio

Baseball ...
a Bonds-bashing: bad sport
a No tag on 2007 Brewers: Baseball's long history laced with nicknames

Everything else ...
a Wrapping My Arms Around Memories
a Scientists Cast Doubt on Kennedy Bullet Analysis: Multiple Shooters Possible, Study Says
a Frisbee at fifty: Plastic disc's freestyle fun now includes organized sports
a Still going on vacation but closer to home
a Key to prayer is understanding the ritual
a This Bright Idea Is a Glowing Achievement

Game #2

… man I’m sore.

Another baseball game in my men’s league this afternoon. Game No. 2 of the season.

We lost. 13-2.

Nothing to blame it on this time except darn good pitching. By the time the other team employed their fourth ace pitcher to wrap up the game, we were beginning to wonder if this other team built their entire roster with no one but pitchers. All of them were good. All of them threw hard. And all of them threw strikes.

… Ok, so we made a few errors on defense, too. That cold wind rolling off the lake didn’t help either …

I started today’s game in left field and batted second in the lineup. In the field, I got a lot of action, but no errors on me today! (thank, God …) … If there was any knock on my defense today it was that I wasn’t playing deep enough on a couple batters. I got two balls that I couldn’t get back on fast enough, both dropped on the warning track and there was little I could do other than get the ball back to the infield and hold the batters to doubles. Otherwise I did make a couple grabs … In the sixth, I moved over to center field after the starting center fielder pulled a hamstring as he tried running out a bunted ball. I stayed in center for the remainder of the game, but fielded only a bloop single.

… At the plate in the first inning, our lead off hitter struck out. Then, my turn. I took the first pitch right down the middle. The second was chest high; I swung and was way behind it. The third pitch, I was way ahead and I fouled it off deep down the left field line. The fourth pitch was well below my knees, but the umpire rung me up anyway and I had struck out.

… I got my second at-bat when I led off the fifth inning (… in our league, everybody bats whether they’re playing the field or not, which explains why I wasn’t leading off the fourth …). Again, I got a first pitch strike; I swung and missed. But the second pitch was right there, and I got around on it. I slapped a line drive into right-center field, and I had notched my first hit of the season … (whew!) … It was the just the second of our team’s four hits today. I would get to second on a fielder’s choice and then took third on the aforementioned bunt play during which our center fielder was hurt. But I was left stranded there.

… I stepped to the plate for the last time as the second batter of the eighth. There were no runners on, we had yet to score any runs, and now the rain was starting to fall … I took the first pitch for a strike and fouled off the second pitch. The third pitch was a low ball. I thought the fourth pitch looked ripe for a hit and swung, but it dropped near the plate -- and got past the catcher. Dropped third strike, I got a jump to first base and made it safely. I was on.

… Then came our big catcher, Josh. A few pitches into his at-bat, he hit a ball deep to right field and I held up halfway between first and second to tag if the ball was caught. But the right fielder misplayed it and I took off, rounded second and headed for third. As I came around the bag there, I looked at my third base coach, thinking he would give me the stop sign. Nope, he was twirling his hand and sending me home. I rounded third at full speed and took a look at the right side where the second baseman was taking the cutoff throw and turning to throw home. I was heading for a close play at the plate. The throw to the catcher was a little to his right and as I got closer to the plate it was as if everything snapped into slow motion. I went down and lunged for the plate, my hand slapping it just before the catcher got me with his glove. The umpire yelled “Safe!” and the shutout had been broken. We were on the board. I bounced to my feet and looked down at my jersey -- I was covered from head to toe in dirt. It was beautiful.

… Josh would come into score on the fourth and last hit we’d get. Meanwhile, I caught my breath and then settled outside the dugout next to my buddy, Tom. “That was fun,” I said, referring to that play at the plate.

... That’s what it’s all about.

Movie nostalgia

… Earlier this week at work I was berated for admitting that “Ocean’s 11” is a movie I’d drop everything to watch if it came on TV …(c’mon! It’s a great movie! … the characters are great, the dialogue is snappy and that heist carried out by Danny Ocean and his gang is flat-out sweet and clever …)

Then while getting ready for church this morning Kates and I switched on TBS. “Serendipity” was on -- another movie I’d drop everything to watch. And we did … Kates and I caught the last 10 minutes of it, the parts where Jonathan reads the obit Dean wrote for him, and Sara gets on the plane and spots the $5 bill with Jonathan's phone number on it, Sara races to the Waldorf to stop the wedding, which Jonathan has already broken off. And finally Sara goes back to the ice rink where she left her jacket earlier that day. She finds Jonathan lying on the ice, tosses the matching glove onto his hands. The two reacquaint and live happily ever after … Don’t understand what I’m talking about? See the movie. It’ll make you smile and/or cry every time.

So the end credits begin to roll. Kates and I have finished our breakfasts and we figure we’ll get off the couch to continue getting ready for church …

But what comes on next? “I Am Sam” … Another movie I’d drop everything to watch!! We caught the first 10 minutes of it, but eventually we did have to face reality and get going …I did, however, catch the last five minutes of the movie when I arrived back home from church …

Now I’m watching “Erin Brockovich.” And coming up later today are “Air Force One” and “Deep Impact.”

Nothing like reliving the most memorable movies of my college years …

Fall ball

... Just the other day I was explaining to Kates about how much the NBA and NHL sucks for dragging out their postseasons ...

Then comes this news that MLB is pushing back the start of the World Series ...

Nothing like MLB sticking another thorn in its fan base ...

As always Tom Verducci says it best ...

"I feel your pain ... Seems like a TV deal all the way. As many as eight days between the NLCS and Series? Two or three days off after the season ends? Three days off among seven LCS games? Look how the NBA kills postseason momentum with so many days off. Why does baseball want that?"

It’s all consuming

Kates continues to plug away on her masters degree. I just started a new role at work. And if I'm not trying to solve the world's problems in that seat, I'm tinkering around in our yard or on our house. Or I'm playing baseball ...

We've been so busy, we’ve hardly had time to watch our TV shows. Our DVR is so jammed full with shows, we had to watch this week’s Desperate Housewives and Heroes online because the DVR couldn’t hold ‘em. (But seriously, how cool is it to watch a TV show on the Internet!?)

... Last night's Lost was a good one. Jack and Juliet finally seem to be jiving with the good guys back on the island. And Charlie gives in to death in an attempt to try flipping some underwater switch to boost the castaways' favor... But when he gets to the underwater hatch, he finds air and seemingly defies death. Then a set of rifle-toting women burst from doors in every corner -- setting us up for what should be a jaw-dropping finale. Aw yeah!

Then there was tonight's Grey's Anatomy season finale (...BTW, I couldn't agree more with Gregory Kirschling's review) ... I was really liking it -- until the last 10 minutes. As Christina was fretting with the girls at the back of the sanctuary, Burke began walking down the aisle to go after her. As he got closer to the door, all I could do was wait for it to swing open with Christina declaring she was ready to go.

Nope. Too easy for the Grey's writers, I guess. Instead Burke tells Christina she'll never be ready and calls off the wedding.

And the whole chief thing. Callie got the chief-resident post (why!?), so when Chief was telling candidate after candidate that he/she didn't get the chief of surgery role, I thought for sure it was going to Bailey, who would've been great! to watch in that role ... Nope. It went to Shepherd, who then turned it down.

The Chief and Adele reunited (Was she really saying the Chief is the father of that baby!?). We find out George failed his exam ... and we get a glimpse of some immature new cheeseball interns in the locker room. Seriously!? Those new characters!? That's what we have to look forward to next year!?

Now I understand why Meredith tried to drown herself ...

At this point, I think I've been more excited just to see some of these shows end for the summer than I have about the finales themselves ...

Bring on the baseball games.

* * *

What’s with all the babies everywhere lately!? I mean Kates and I are talking about it, but c’mon. All this baby talk surrounding us lately isn’t putting the pressure on at all … It's every-where!

All of our closest friends/cousins/brother are having babies. Then it’s all the celebs having babies -- we caught Amanda Peet, to name one, discussing her pregnancy/new mom experiences on Conan the other night. Or it’s Kim and J.D. on Scrubs. Or it’s Dana on According to Jim. Or Callie and George on Grey's Anatomy. Or Christine on New Adventures of Old Christine or Ted and Robin on How I Met Your Mother -- who thought they were going to have babies. Or it’s all the baby snatching on Lost. Or it’s everything on Notes From the Underbelly …

Kates will have her masters finished in seven months ...

Then ...

* * *

Then there’s the matter of these Brewers medallions …

It all started about three weeks ago when we went to a Brewers game. The promotion of the day was a picture album to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 1982 American League Championship season. But there was a catch -- to complete the album, fans had to collect each of 23 medallions that would be sold at any one of 300 locations in the region over the ensuing three weeks. A different medallion would be available each day for $2.99, but to get it you had to have a coupon that could only be found in that day’s Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel …

Got all that?

And the collector that I am, how could I resist!?! The chase was on …

For each of the first few days, I was driving on my lunch break to a Walgreens 15 miles north -- one of the closest locations selling the medallions -- to make the pickup. But that routine changed about a week into my pursuit when I nearly missed getting the day’s medallion and concluded the other guys out to get these things were getting a little more savvy. After all, each store only had about 10 of the pieces. I had to adjust my game …

So instead I started heading out before work in the morning, and began hitting up a corner gas station about 10 miles up the road. I’d pick up a copy of the Journal-Sentinel on the way, and then, every morning around 8 a.m., the older lady behind the counter could expect to see my little green machine pull up, and I would get out with my little newsprint coupon, lay it on her counter and pay the $2.99, plus tax, to get that colorful little medallion …

“You know, you time this really well,” she told me on Wednesday. “Every day you come in here you manage to get my last one.”

Lucky me.

Now the end of this crazy newspaper promotion is finally in sight …The 23rd and final medallion comes out tomorrow.

When I arrived at the station this morning, there was another man at the counter in front of me buying a cup of coffee and hoarding papers. As usual, there were a couple more guys gabbing by the side window and watching the traffic go by. And I was paying for today’s medallion …

“Doesn’t that thing end tomorrow?” one of the guys by the window says.

“Thank God,” says the man hoarding the papers, now tearing out the coupons on the counter beside me.

“Yeah, now their paper sales are going to drop like crazy,” another guy by the window says.

I chuckled and nodded my head. If it wasn’t for this whole medallion thing, I’d wouldn’t be buying these newspapers. Kudos to the marketing department on that one …

“They’ve probably never sold so many papers,” another man says.

Probably not. But it sure was fun while it lasted … I’m such a dork. But darn it, this is going to be a sweet collection when it’s completed tomorrow …

Onion reads

Brett Favre Demands Trade To 1996 Packers

GREEN BAY—Three-time MVP and undisputed future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre, disappointed with the Packers' refusal to aggressively pursue receiver Randy Moss and frustrated with his team's apparent indifference to making immediate...

MLB Announces Acceptable 2007 World Series Matchups

MILWAUKEE—Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig announced the acceptable matchups for the 2007 World Series yesterday, insisting that...

Onion read

Hallmark Scientists Identify 3 New Human Emotions

KANSAS CITY, MO-The new Hallmark-brand feelings will fill any gaps left by the company's "Thinking of You" and "Just Because" categories.

Game #1

Months of practice. And it all came down to this ...

We opened our men's baseball league season tonight. And lost 16-4.

You could blame it on nerves. You could blame it on poor defense. You could blame it on a lack of timely hitting. Blame it on the wicked wind blowing out to right field. Or you could blame it on the fact that the team we were facing was one of the better teams in the league last year ...

Coming into the game, we were feeling capable of beating anyone. In our months of practice we'd built a strong chemistry and camaraderie. And all of us were pretty decent ballplayers capable of playing any position ...

We batted first and quickly put two runs on the board. I batted fifth in the order, walked on four straight pitches and got moved over to second on a single. But that was the only taste we'd have of the lead. The other team came up and scored four runs in their half or the first, including a three-run homerun that cleared the fence by about 15 feet. Stupid wind.

On defense, I started the game in center field. And given some of the balls I'd chased down in practices, my confidence to play the position was up -- way up ... and instead, I was humiliated.

As the innings went on and more batters were making contact, it was becoming unbelievably tough to pick up the ball from the outfield. I could follow it from the pitcher's hand to the plate, but as soon as any batter made contact, and if it was hit back in the air, I was losing sight of the ball ...

In my first mishap, a ball was hit to my left in right center field. My fielders were yelling in, in, in, and the ball was totally in my range. But I had no idea where it was. And before I picked it up, the ball had fallen and the right fielder was sprinting over to pick it up and get it in. As for the batter: an inside the park homerun. That play should have been the third out of the inning, but they would go one to score three more runs.

Then in the next inning, another ball was hit to straight center field and falling about 10 feet in front of me. But again, I didn't see it off the bat and I had no clue as to where it was. Luckily, the left fielder had picked it up, saw I was lost again, and sprinted over, nearly making a diving catch. The batter ended up with a double.

Though I can't imagine they were causing my sudden blindness, I immediately removed my sunglasses ... A couple batters later, a ball was hit in my direction and deep. That one I picked up quickly, ran back, following it all the way, and I made the grab over my shoulder. Now why couldn't the other ones be that easy!?

By the fourth, we were down by at least 10, and my switch to second base couldn't come soon enough. It was a fresh start, and I wasted no time redeeming myself ...

A batter sent a soft liner through the right side and rolling into the right field grass. I ran out and normally would have let the right fielder grab it, but his speed wasn't cutting it. I tore after the ball, picked it up in right field and fired into the shortstop covering second base as the batter was trying to stretch the hit to a double. My throw was right on the money and he made a perfect tag to get the runner out ...

Then , a couple innings later, a batter hit a chop grounder straight to me at second. With a runner on first, I snagged the ball, made the pivot and made a good throw to second to get the first runner. Then the shortstop fired to first base for the second runner. His throw would been in plenty of time but it pulled the first baseman off the bag and the runner was safe … Man, it would’ve been a sweet play had we turned that ...

I would get to the plate one more time before the end of the game. I slapped a groundball to the shortstop who threw me out at first base. But I moved a runner from second to third on the play, and that runner scored on the next at-bat ...

So yeah we lost. But it was a whole lot easier to take than any of our losses last year. That's because we have a fun team this year, and we know we're going to win some games ...

Sunday reading

Some of the stories that caught my eyes this past week ...

Politics ...
a How Big a Stretch? For Barack Obama, Winning the White House Would Mean Bridging The Biggest Gap Of All
a The Truman Primary

Movies ...
a THE BIG PICTURE: Cue the sequel, and the safe, boring route
a The Princess Inquiries: Having Helped Voice 'Shrek the Third,' Four Actresses Reminisce Snappily Ever After

TV ...
a HERE'S THE STORY: TV theme music plays a vital role
a Mismatches Made in Sitcom Heaven
a The series finale of 'King of Queens' signals the further dwindling of a long-popular genre
a Host With the Most: The Cult of Bob Barker
a CBS salutes retiring game-show host Bob Barker this week
a Did the Others save 'Lost'?
a 'Idol' sweetheart Kelly Clarkson is ready to rock it
a 'American Idol': It's all about the makeup

The internet ...
a New survey shows it's not the future yet
a Cut-and-Paste Is a Skill, Too

Baseball ...
a Success doesn't rattle Brewers ... yes, it has been quite a month for the Brewers ...
a Brewers firing on all cylinders
a Crew's cooking when Soup's on
a When it's time to shut 'em down, Francisco Cordero is ... lights out
a Fever brewing, but team has much to prove
a Brewtown 90210 is a big hit
a History makes this likely year of the Brewers
a Brewers stack up well next to recent elite
a Youngsters continue talent show
a It's time to take New York by storm
a Not bad for part-time job: Clemens' deal raises eyebrows

Just a good read ...
a 'Reunion' turns out to be just one big fish tale

TV talk

So Lakisha got voted off Idol last night ...

Big deal.

I can't say I really, really like any of the final three ...

Blake's beat boxing is starting to get really old. And there's nothing about Melinda or Jordin that excites me ...

I'm losing interest ...

I miss Gina.

* * *

Another messed-up episode of Lost ...

It was nice to learn some background of Ben ...

But I can't possibly imagine Locke is dead!?! He's one of the show's deepest characters!

... but hey, at least we know now that the writers are concocting an end for this thing ...

* * *
Grey's Anatomy was another eye-roller this week ...

I miss the bliss of Season 1 ...

Watching the previews leading up to this week's episode I thought for sure that Adele was the woman collapsed on the floor beneath the Chief. But all the Grey's fans I spoke to swore it was going to be Bailey because she's been working so hard, she doesn't take breaks, she never sees her family and blah, blah, blah. Yeah. They were wrong, I was right ...

But she's pregnant!?! Seriously!?! ... Eye roll.

I will say this though -- and it's something you never would've caught me saying a year ago during the whole Denny fiasco -- Izzie might be my favorite character on Grey's right now. I'm loving her vulnerability, her longing for George and the notion that the two of them could make a really sweet couple ...

* * *

About tonight's Survivor ...

Yeah, this season has sucked ... But watching Yau Man and Earl play the game to perfection every week nearly washes all the bad feelings away ...

Ok, so Yau Man wasn't thinking when he actually gave away his truck to Dreamz -- seriously, why, why, why has no one on that island learned not to trust Dreamz?! -- but Yau Man certainly had his ears turned on during the tribal council. Stacy said too much and that was all Yau needed. Watching him play the idol and then seeing Stacy finally get voted out was almost as good as watching the horsemen's faces the night Dreamz turned on them and got Edgardo voted out ...

Yau Man and Earl are the final two, no doubt.

Lovable losing

… So Kates and I got tickets for the Cubs game last night. Any other time, going to Wrigley on a weeknight would be a long shot for us. But the tickets were free and the Cubs had won five in a row. Both of us were going to have to squeak out of work early, but we were going!

… I hurried out of my office, grabbed some things at the house and then picked up Kates five minutes behind schedule. It would cost us … We also didn’t anticipate road construction along the heart of our route to the train station.

At the station, more problems. A woman in front of us couldn’t seem to get her money in the parking meter, and then, once we got our parking pass, all the spaces were full. With barely a minute to spare, Kates and I opted to park the car illegally and hoped the police wouldn’t check the lot. In the end, none of it mattered, we got out of the car only to watch the 5:58 train leaving the station.

The next one wasn’t for another hour. And so we’d wait. Parking spaces emptied, allowing us to move the car and park it legally. We sat in the car and by the time the 6:58 train arrived, together we’d read this week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly cover to cover. We hopped on the train and caught the purple and red lines with no glitches, but I wasn't exactly in the peppiest of moods as we got closer to the ballpark ...

Then those bright Wrigley lights appeared as the el train got closer. It was the first time I'd experienced that feeling this season. Breathtaking. Like the scene toward the end of "Field of Dreams" when Ray is returning to the farm with Terrence Mann and Archie Graham and they see the field's lights as they approach on the road ...

Kates and I rushed from the platform and we were walking to our seats in Wrigley’s upper deck midway through the second inning. Not bad at all -- even if we weren’t one of the first 10,000 lucky fans to receive a Cubs visor.

It took us a couple more innings to get into the game, though. Last night, the Cubs weren’t exactly playing spectacular ball, and the crowd wasn’t the most fun to be around either.

… Sitting to our left was a very large, cranky older man who spent most of the game balking at almost everything happening on the field. First, it was an inning-long rant about why football is better than baseball (Seriously dude. Time the seconds it takes between plays in football and the time between pitches in baseball, and I bet baseball wins out …) And later when Bob Howry entered the game to pitch for the Cubs, the man yelled out, “Who’s this guy!?” Without a word, Kates and I looked up his No. 62 in our program and told the man it was Howry, to which he replied, “Who the hell’s that!?” I just shook my head and stayed silent, knowing Howry’s been a steady arm in the Cubs bullpen for a couple of years now.

… And to our right was a gang of frat boys who spent more time crossing in front of us for beer runs than they did watching the game …

By the sixth inning, however, the Cubs were showing some life. And I was eating a genuine ballpark hot dog and enjoying a Mountain Dew (my first in a couple weeks … Thanks, Corporate Cup!).

... It was a game of single runs. The Pirates got one in the second, and the Cubs tied it in their half of the third. Then the Pirates went back up with one in the fourth, but the Cubs took the lead with single runs in the fifth and seventh. Then Jim Tracy was ejected from the game for the Pirates and the Cubs were looking good with the bases loaded in the eighth ...

“If the Cubs score here we can go. We need some insurance runs!” I told Kates.

But the Cubs didn’t score. The Pirates escaped the inning with the score stuck at 3-2.

Still, it was a weeknight, and Kates and I needed to get home. We started the walk down the ramps and saw the Cubs catch a flyout for the first out. A couple minutes later we were crossing Sheffield and heading up the staircase to the el platform where the news eventually started circulating through the crowd: The Cubs had given up the tie run and were going into extra innings.

It was 10:22 p.m. and my first text of the night from my buddy Matt -- who the night before had been in the running to come to the game with me -- confirmed it: Free baseball! No more errors!

I returned a text: we left early 2 get a train keep me updated

Finally, the red line train pulled up and we began our race to catch the 10:58 train in Evanston … But we stalled a few minutes later at the Howard stop. There were no trains in sight. And when one did arrive, it was only a two-car. Kates and I didn’t stand a chance of getting on it …

Still Matt kept me updated with the texts.

10:45 p.m.: Still 3 to 3. Top 12. One on third for pirates - jones error - no out.

10:53 p.m.: Great great play to get out of bases jammed one out. Theriot is awesome. bot 12 tied

Re: go cubs!

… At 10:55 p.m., Kates and I were stepping onto the purple line train and praying that we’d make it to the Evanston in time. We also got some good laughs out of the conductor who was encouraging all of us on the train to call the Chicago CTA in the morning and complain about not having enough cars running. You tell them me need more trains for Cubs night games, he said. We need at least four cars. These trains running with two and three cars -- that's ridiculous ...

As the el slowed for the Evanston stop, I glanced at my cell phone clock: 10:57 p.m. The next train was coming and we'd be lucky to catch it. I looked at Kates and said: “You better run for your life.”

The doors opened and we hustled down the stairs. Across the parkway. And up the stairs to the Metra platform. The train was a minute late.

Kates and I breathed a sigh of relief and I had another text from Matt …

10:59 p.m.: One, two, three. going to 13 tied at three.

Re: we just ran 4 r lives n barely caught r train

Kates and I settled in for the train ride and began flipping through the Entertainment Weekly again, looking for things we might have missed the first time …

In the meantime, Matt kept up with the updates …

11:10 p.m.: Pee rates and Cubs go to 14 still three all. You might see the end at home!
 Re: tell me about it!

11:28 p.m.: Soriano Ks. to the 15 - still tied.
 Re: jeeeeeeeez!

11:39 p.m.: Pee rats score one. lee theriot ramirez coming up.
Re: doh!

11:44 p.m.: Bad news. One two three. Cubs lose. I missed a good game.
Re: dang.

At 11:57 p.m., Kates and I were getting into the car and starting our drive home. I turned the Cubs postgame on the radio and said, “Just think we could still be there.”

Kates laughed and rolled her eyes.

This day in baseball

... The Brewers are flying!!

... The Cubs came from behind this afternoon to go above .500. They've won five straight, baby ...

... And Barry Bonds isn't playing tonight. (And no my delight in that has nothing to do with the fact that he's black and I'm white ... )

It's been a good day in baseball ...

... well, except for the fact that Roger is returning to the Yankees. But c'mon, he's not going to be their savior. The Yanks still aren't winning the World Series ...

Sunday reading

Some of the headlines and stories that caught my eye this week ...

Life, history & politics
a From Here to Eternity
a Happy 50th, Helvetica
a A Law Day Unto Himself: Beyond Presidential Power, What Is Bush Upholding? a Obama reaches out with tough love
a I'm sorry, Barack, we're through: Obama may make a good president, but he's a bad MySpace friend. ... I decided to cut him loose from my Space for a short time this week too, after hearing and reading about this ...
a Pastor: Stop Complaining ... a rule to live by.
a Need It or Want It? ... Fickle consumers' constant itch to refresh and remodel their homes keeps the makers of toilets, cabinets, countertops and more in business, which in turn helps keep the economy humming. Never mind if many of these things do not need replacing.
a Tall building with a twist: Calatrava design carries Chicago's lofty aspirations
a 70th Anniversary of Hindenburg's End

Baseball
a The Dignified Slugger From Mobile
a Brewers giving fans reason to believe

TV
a In Depth, and in the Elements: Weather Channel Marks 25 Years on the Nation's Radar Screen ... Hey, it's my mom's favorite channel. And Kates and I now find ourselves tuning in regularly too.
a Special reveals how 'SNL' got its 'schwing!' back in '90s

Music
a Britney Spears swirls up another flash in the pan

Movies
a Sony spins Web to pitch Spidey ... I didn't see Spider-Man 3 this weekend. And I probably won't see it for awhile ... The fact is I was turned off by the first one. I saw it in the theater, thought it was a bland film with less-than believable computer graphics and special effects (believe it or not, I've read similar reviews about this third installment, now five years later), and I haven't looked back ...
a Take a dream and bake till golden: In 'Waitress,' a zany and touching film by the late Adrienne Shelly, a server takes out her life's frustrations by creating luscious pies.
a For 'Waitress' actress, pregnancy is a way of life ... More on Keri Russell, who, by the way, was pretty good in Scrubs the last couple weeks ...
a Show house: Let outdoor movies light up your yard

TV talk

Ah, spring.

The time when TV networks give in. They dole out their leftovers and cheaply-made, reject TV shows to fill the voids left by the shows that at first seemed oh so glamorous but we, the Average Joe, middle-class audience didn’t get 'em or like 'em …

With baseball, church activities, graduate classes and workplace responsibilities running us straight to bedtime on most weeknights lately, Kates and I have barely been keeping up …

Thank God for DVR. Now we spend most Friday and Saturday nights parked on the couch taking in all the TV we’ve missed during the week …

The usual favorites have remained steady and strong. Desperate Housewives (Mrs. McCluskey was keeping her husband in he freezer!!), Brothers & Sisters (We’ve believed in it even when it wasn’t doing well, and now it’s picking up steam. Woo hoo! … Last week: Best episode of the season; excellent writing. Ooooh Rebecca!), How I Met Your Mother (Best sitcom on TV!), Heroes (Ok, that’s my personal favorite) According To Jim, American Idol (Talk about addictive ...), Lost (uh, where the heck is this thing going!?), Survivor, The Office, Scrubs and Grey’s Anatomy (Kates’ favorite … and more on that later…)

Now we’ve got October Road (actually, that’s just Kates’ show … I refused to let myself get into it), The Real Wedding Crashers (my show. Kates refuses to let herself get into that one …) Thank God You’re Here and Notes From The Underbelly …

... The latest candid camera show to hit TV, The Real Wedding Crashers gets my vote simply for being a zany, laugh-out-loud prankfest. Plus Ben, Gareth, Cat, Desi and Steve are five people I'd love to party with ...

... And Thank God You're Here is just as fun for it's never-know-what's-gonna-happen-next factor. It's fun to see people like Jason Alexander and Angela Kinsey doing something out of the norm, and the icing on the cake is watching the talented ensemble cast play with the guest stars -- Hello, Maribeth Monroe! -- Kates and I saw her perform on more than one occasion in Chicago, loved her!, and now she's all over TV!!

Meanwhile, Notes is good for its wry, sarcastic humor, spun on Andrew and Lauren's journey into parenthood. Or maybe it's just more interesting because Kates and I are inching closer to that chapter of our lives ... Either way, Andrew and Lauren are a totally cool, relatable couple. I'll watch anything that Rachael Harris is on. And Melanie Paxson has been a favorite of mine for a few years too ...

Then there's that whole Grey's matter ... Thursday's episode? Loved Christina's latest bout with Burke about the idea of a big wedding (the scene of the girls in the bridal shop was priceless), it was heart-warming to see Meredith and her dad getting along, and smiling, and the whole George-Izzie-Callie love triangle continues to pull on the heart strings too (I'm rooting for Izzie). It's a great show... when it's only an hour long...

So when ABC started advertising Thursday's special two-hour episode, my expectations were lowered considerably considering the show's lackluster other special episodes (the whole Izzie-Denny debacle and the Meredith-drowns-and-comes-back-from-the-dead escapade) ...

What I didn't love about Thursday night's episode? Addison going off to free herself, aka the pilot for her Grey's spinoff ...

It was as if the creators grabbed as many beautiful actors as they could find, stuck them in a glossy California treatment center, loaded up the characters were there own life issues and wah-lah, Addison has her spin-off ...

At least most of the beautiful actors in Grey's Anatomy were virtual unknowns. The spin-off -- Taye Diggs? Amy Brenneman? Timothy Daly? -- the star-power was too distracting ...

Sure, the show obviously has a ton of possibilities, but there's almost too many possibilities -- with little direction, no depth and too many gags. Seriously. The show could've done without the whole receptionist/surfer dude walking through the lobby shirtless. Having Pete drooling over Addison was way too predictable, and then having them makeout in the stairwell was just weird and creepy. And let's not forget the biggest gag of them all -- an elevator that Addison believed was talking to her. Yes, we learned at the end of the show that the voice in the elevator was a security woman, but seriously?

Good read: 'Grey's' secret weapon: Can ABC bank on breakout success with an "Anatomy" spinoff ?

Onion reads

Manny Ramirez Asks Red Sox If He Can Work From Home

BOSTON—Claiming that a relaxed atmosphere and a chance to create his own schedule would greatly benefit his productivity, Red Sox...

A.J. Burnett Blames Poor Outing On Stupid Good Hitters

CLEVELAND—After giving up seven earned runs over just five innings against the Indians Tuesday, Blue Jays starter A.J. Burnett told...

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."