Happy Wednesday everyone, here's my Top 5 for July 15, 2009 from www.LenBermanSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
The American League wins the All Star Game yet again, 4-3, securing home field for the World Series. They haven't lost since 1996.
Pitcher Pedro Martinez gets a one year deal with the Phillies.
The British Open begins tomorrow at Turnberry in Scotland.
The wife of NBA star Tony Parker, actress Eva Longoria, told Cosmopolitan she likes to be tied up with silk scarves during love making. Just thought you'd like to know.
2. Mid Summer Classic
They paid homage to St. Louis baseball and the great Cardinals of the past at the All Star Game last night, but Mark McGwire was persona non grata. No mention whatsoever. The President throws out the first pitch, and incredibly the camera doesn't show where it goes. (He didn't quite make it to home plate.) Top of the first, and the hometown hero Albert Pujols botches a ground ball leading to two runs for the American League. And that was all before the first inning was over. But in the end, there was the incomparable Mariano Rivera of the Yankees getting yet another save and burnishing his Hall of Fame credentials.
3. This Bud's for You
I find myself ambivalent toward Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig. Since he's the "owners man," I'm often suspect when he does things for the "good of the game." But I have to agree with him on one point. Some agents are yammering about collusion. They claim the owners illegally conspired to hold down salaries during the off-season. They've got to be kidding. Did they hear what the Yankees spent? Have they heard about the economy? The truth is, agents can be more oily than commissioners.
4. Trade Bait
It looks like the best pitcher in baseball is up for grabs. Toronto's Roy Halladay is likely to be traded before the end of the month and he says he's open to pitching for the Yankees. Who wouldn't be?
First of all, the Blue Jays are unlikely to trade Halladay within their division. Second, haven't the Yankees spent enough? Third, isn't competitive balance a complete joke in baseball? Here's what the Commissioner should do. Figure out a way to put the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Yankees on equal footing, the way the Steelers and Giants are in football. If he does that, he gets my vote for the Hall of Fame.
5. Dear Old Dad
A 14-year old was arrested for running onto the field at a Charlotte Knights game in South Carolina. He led stadium employees on a merry chase across the diamond. Why did the kid do it? He told police that his father dared him. Police then arrested the dad as well, but they released him and held the kid. The brilliant father had told his son beforehand, "Boy, if you do it, you'd be the man."
Something the dad has yet to experience.