NFL Kickoff, More from the Bungles and NBA Acclimation

The NFL season is underway, the Giants are in the win column and the Redskins still look lost on offense. Plaxico Burress celebrated his new contract by pulling in 10 catches for 130+ yards and Brandon Jacobs rushed for 116 as the Giants rode the Redskins' inept offense to the win.

The game may best be summed up by this clip here when Jacobs introduces LaRon Landry (whom Redskins fans worship for his physical play) to his shoulder.

It wasn't a great game from the Giants. They left a lot of points on the board and Eli wasn't as sharp as he can be, but it's a W against a division foe so I don't think they'll complain too much. The blips that turned three drives from touchdowns to field goals looked to be the sort that will work themselves out over time — false starts, missed assignments, passes falling a step away from receivers. The Redskins on the other hand looked stagnant all night long. The Giants got pressure on QB Jason Campbell early and only allowed Clinton Portis one big run. And when the Redskins had a chance to come back in the fourth quarter (albeit a slim one) they sapped the clock and seldom threw the ball downfield.

A lot of the early season attention has been on Campbell's development at quarterback (despite picking up a different playbook about every year for the last four), but maybe Jim Zorn's development as a head coach should be up there as well. The play calling didn't seem to jive with the Skins' strengths. They threw at Chris Cooley twice, with one of those passes called back for a penalty. They ran the ball, but only to try to set up a pass by Campbell. I get the feeling this is going to be a long year in the District.

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David Stern is smoked that former Kansas stars Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur were found with women and marijuana in their room during NBA rookie orientation. Weed, women, sounds like Chalmers and Arthur are adapting to their new surroundings just fine. What will they get for their advanced acclimation? Possible suspensions to start the season.

***

The Bengals spent the early part of the offseason refusing to trade Chad Johnson and swearing they were not going to bow to player demands. Then they allow Chad Johnson to wear a jersey featuring the title of his alter ego "Ocho Cinco." Way to hold the line there Bengals.

Italian Trash Talkin'

New mantra for Italian soccer: Sticks and stones (and headbutts from French midfielders) will break our bones, but words will never hurt us ... unless we're Neopolitan soccer fans.

Maybe the folks at UVA knew what they were doing when they banned signs from their sporting events. Italian soccer team Inter Milan was ordered to pay 1,500 euros to a fan who suffered "existential damage" from signs debasing Napoli for its well-documented trash problem. Among the signs: “Ciao cholera sufferers!” and “Neapolitans have tuberculosis.” Zing.

If thin skin can grab some cash for those weak insults, can you imagine the kind of paper schools would have to cough up for signs like the one shown here?

More to come from the NFL opener and the rest of the sporting world tomorrow.

Wait, You Lied? I Love You!

Because a promise is a promise, here are some thoughts on the "Gossip Girl" premiere. If this isn't a sign that I'm desperate for college football, the NFL and the fall TV season I don't know what is.


I know asking for complex characters from a show like "Gossip Girl" is like asking Joey from "Friends" to develop an emotional brooding side, but it still kills me when shows reverse course at the drop of a hat ... or in this case maybe an ascot.


When we left off, Serena and Dan spent the summer in Splitsville while the viewership spent the offseason realizing the break was all wrong. Well, less than an hour of television later and it seems they're back together. So much for the suspense. Adios Playboy Dan and Sulking Serena we hardly knew ye.


Speaking of relationships, the bitchy-but-beautiful Blair is now with the newly introduced Baron of Boredom, who she was completely using to get back at true-love Chuck and placed no value on anything they'd shared together. Ah, but the Baron is so much more. He had cunningly adopted the disguise of a Georgetown student to make sure women would respect him for his personality and not his royal title. So, naturally, after learning Blair had no interest in his personality whatsoever, he drops his game, spills the beans and ... stays with a vengeful, selfish girl who is interested in him solely for his royal title.


For the record, I was onto his game from the start. There are no "eating" clubs at Georgetown. The only thing the Hoyas devour are undersized post-players.


Long story short, I'm not asking for an Emmy-winning script, but they can still do better than tossing aside everything that happened in the season finale and introducing new characters that behave completely contrary to common sense.

Okay, that's enough. Tomorrow maybe I'll attempt to regain my masculinity by talking about the "Prison Break" premiere and the proper etiquette to use when shanking a snitch.

College Ball Begins

The first weekend of college football is over and the seasons' storylines are already developing.

Ron Zook has snagged some of the top recruits for the past few years, angering coaches at larger programs who think something sinister is going on. The talent seems to be there, but something sure was missing — like defense — as the Illini got dismantled by Mizzou. Zook's team looked shellshocked every time the defense took the field. If they don't improve, Illini fans ought to brace for an embarrasing Saturday when Ohio State comes to town Nov. 15.

Chase Daniel has to be the early Heisman favorite. Missouri looks like a title contenter and Daniel looks like a more mobile Ben Roethlisberger. Mizzou ducks at least one of the Big 12's top teams with both No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 14 Texas Tech omitted from their regular season schedules. If the Tigers can claim the Big XII title this year, my money says Daniel strikes the Heisman pose.

The ACC is overrated. Badly so. Clemson, a pre-season BCS Championship contender looked flat out awful losing to Alabama. The Tide isn't even supposed to be a top four team in the SEC. Those are the games national championship teams win. Instead the Tigers tucked their tails. East Carolina isn't a bad team, but if the ACC was a legit football conference, its No. 2 team — Virginia Tech — should have thrashed them instead of losing 27-22. Speaking of thrashed, see USC's transcontinental beat down at Virginia, 52-7. At least Maryland prevailed ... 14-7 over D-I AA school Delaware. Well done, Terps.

Utah is this season's Hawaii. The Utes took down Michigan at the Big House. The biggest hurdle to a BCS bowl? A season-ending showdown with No. 16 BYU. That brings me to my closing segment today ...

Picking Splinters' Premature Projections

Utah will make a BCS bowl. About as likely as: Obama defeating McCain in the presidential election.

No ACC team will compete for the national championship. About as likely as: Obama defeating McCain in a game of one-on-one basketball.

Though they haven't even started their schedule yet, someone will call for Notre Dame Head Coach Charlie Weiss to be fired at some point this year. About as likely as: McCain defeating Obama in a game of "Uncle." To clarify — That's a sure thing, folks.

Temperature in Hell? 32-Degrees and Dropping

Satan is throwing snowballs this morning. I don't have proof, of course, but he must be given that Cristian Guzman hit for the cycle last night.

In 2005, Guzman batted .219 and was mercilessly booed by Nats fans. This year he's been the only consistent player for the team. I'm starting to think my opinion regarding his new contract with Washington needs to be revised. At a minimum, he's the least of the Nationals' problems.

Sorry for Slacking

Apologies to everyone for the limited posts this week. I have a work project that is really grinding me pretty good and haven't had much time to post lately.


Here are the News-Press articles for this week. I'd like to dedicate Splinters this week to every misunderstood fantasy sports player. Significant others don't see why we bother spending our time with fantasy teams when we could be spending it having "quality time" with them engaging in something called "communication." Look ladies, Plaxico Burress needs a little quality time too. Even if that quality time simply consists of moving him to the bench during his bye week.



In an attempt to bridge this misunderstanding, I take a stab at why people enjoy fantasy football so much.



At the time I landed the interview, I didn't know that Jesse McCartney was such a big deal. I only thought that he was a former soap opera actor who also happened to sing that song they always played in movie theaters before the previews came on. Instead he's a tween heart throb with a No. 1 single in "Leavin'." I mean just look at the cute little kid. You can understand why 12 year old girls spend "quality time" with his posters each night.



But relying on the unconditional crushes of teenagers isn't enough these days. Check out how he's attempted to grow his popularity using some innovative techniques.

Banned for Being "Too Good"

Just wanted to bring this outrageous story to everyone's attention today with the hope of posting more after I get a bit of work done.

Cautionary note to all New Haven youth baseball players, don't play too well, or they'll kick you out of the league. Not only is this disgusting that a league would do this, but it should be written into the constitution so that moves like this are illegal.

You never used to be able to ban kids who are so bad they can't get out of their own way on a baseball field (I know because I played with a bunch of them). So how can you ban kids for being too talented? I don't know what sort of hippie communists are running this league, but this is a terrible answer to something that isn't even a problem.

A Splinter Sprint

Really quick post today since I have a lot of work to do.

Baseball has officially adopted instant replay. I'm curious to see how this works out. The purist in me doesn't like this at all. However, it doesn't seem like it would slow the game down much and you'd get the call (presumably) right. I'm still waiting to see where Jeffrey Maier weighs in on this one.

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UVA has banned signs made by fans at sports arenas. This is weak. If the school's concerned that a sign is offensive, have security take the sign. And this still won't stop them from screaming. Wonder what Wisconsin can do to halt their famous and oh-so-classy "Eat S---, F--- you" cheer. Available on YouTube for mature audiences. Maybe Home Depot can sponsor duct tape night and The Man can tape fans' mouths shut. Or Dial can have Wash Your Mouth Out Weekend!

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Speaking of foul language, anyone catch Tiki Barber's "slip up" deriding his co-host Jenna Wolfe and their painfully awkward interaction that ensued for the remainder of the day. Here's the YouTube clip, you be the judge if Tiki drops the C-bomb. It comes at about the 45 second mark. Keep in mind, that this clip was preceded by Wolfe claiming that she's been wearing Tiki's Super Bowl ring all week ... and yes, that would be the Super Bowl Ring that Tiki does not own since he prematurely retired from the Super Bowl Champion N.Y. Giants last season.

***

As a followup to yesterday's post, the U.S. women won in basketball and claimed the gold medal in soccer. Though the women's 4x100m relay also dropped the baton, prompting the U.S. to look into their failures on the track this year.

And the IOC says there's no proof that China's female gymnasts are underage, but asked official to investigate anyway. Odds of that investigation turning up substantive? About as good as Usain Bolt losing a race to a constipated sloth.

Bad Day for USA?

Rough Olympic news to start the day. The U.S. softball team, who looked completely unbeatable ever since softball became an Olympic sport, lost in the finals to Japan. Moreover, the women's water polo team lost to the Netherlands despite being favored. To top it all off, the men's 4x100m relay team dropped the baton. At least Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh prevailed over China in the women's beach volleyball final. Still ... Ouch.

At least, "ouch" in the sense that as a sports superpower losing at all is unexpected. But maybe there's even more disappointment on the way.

The U.S. women's basketball team was only up one point at halftime and the U.S.-Brazil women's soccer final just got underway. Losing to Russia in hoops would be a huge shock. Brazil may in fact be the better team on the soccer pitch. Should be some exciting finishes.

Oh, Henry

Looks like Cincinnati police officers will again have no problem meeting their monthly arrest quotas ... The Bengals (Bungles?) are close to bringing back Chris Henry according to his agent.

"We're in talks and we're real close," [Marvin] Frazier [his agent] said. "I'm just glad they're willing to let the past be the past and give him a chance. I just hope that the Cincinnati fans will give him the same type of chance."

That chance would be Chance No. 17 I believe ...

How weak is this. The Bengals already have two world-class wideouts, but they have to bring back Henry too. Henry had his chances. Lots of them. He screwed them all up. Any guesses on how this one will end?

***

Tough luck for a few kids with bright futures in the pros as Texas's Ian Kinsler and Milwaukee's Ryan Braun look like they're going to miss time with injuries. Kinsler looks to be done for the year with the dreaded sports hernia.

The Brewers are right in the thick of the pennant race and the Rangers have an outside shot at the Wild Card, but both blows can't help their causes.

***

An injury may also have ended the career of shoe-in Hall of Famer Tom Glavine. The 300-game winner and two-time Cy Young Award winner is set to have the dreaded meeting with Dr. James Andrews (he of Tommy John surgery fame) to diagnose Glavine's ailing arm. If it requires surgery, that will most likely end the pitcher's career.

On Diamond, China Leaves U.S. Red, White, Black and Blue

The U.S. and China got chippy on the ball field today, when Chinese pitchers drilled six U.S. batter, including Indians power prospect Matt LaPorta in the head. Just prior to the LaPorta bean ball, the U.S.'s Nate Schierholtz dropped his shoulder and absolutely trucked China's catcher on a play at the plate.

You can read up on it, here.

***

SI's blog is hosting conversation about Bela Karolyi's work with NBC. The dude is extremely entertaining and I have no problem with the enthusiasm. But if he's going to sit on the set of a "news" broadcast and critique the performances of all gymnasts while openly rooting for the American team, there needs to be a more clear definition of his role for the viewers.

***

The Washington Nationals failed to sign their first round draft pick by last weekend's deadline, meaning RHP Aaron Crow will go back into the draft in 2009. GM Jim Bowden blames Crow's agents, Crow's agents blame Bowden's unwillingness to give their client the money he wanted. Looks like both parties lose now. ESPN baseball writer Keith Law puts it all on Bowden, saying Crow's high asking price was well known prior to the draft and he should have either been willing to meet it, or pick a different player.

My only concern is this: The Nationals need young talent. Ross Detwiler and Josh Smoker, last year's first round "can't miss picks" have thus far missed. When D.C. built the stadium for the team, ownership said they'd spend money on talent. Thus far, they haven't spent it on free agents (not that they should have, but they haven't) and now they didn't pony up to meet Crow's last-minute price of $4.4 million (down from $9 million). It's a bad PR trend for a team that could stand to generate some goodwill from season ticket holders looking for a reason to renew after a disastrous 2007 season.

8 Is Great, but Now What?

Michael Phelps completed his unlikely and unparalleled quest for eight gold medals last night. Oh, and by the way, there's another week left in the Olympics.

Now that the men's 100m record was again shattered by Usain Bolt, who could have done a cartwheel over the finish line and still posted the fastest time in history, what's left? Yeah, there's the men's 200m, anyone think Bolt isn't going to win that one? There's Jeremy Wariner in the 400m, but have you heard a peep about him from the press? (Besides the feature in ESPN the Magazine's preview issue that is ... )

To date, and perhaps deservedly so given the historic implications of the achievement, these Olympics have been all about Phelps, all the time. But now that his story has been written, there feels like there's little left to get excited about.

Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of great athletes yet to come, but the way NBC has covered Phelps, he's left everyone else in his wake. Will viewers give those who have yet to compete a chance to catch up? Or will they change the channel?

The Magnificent 7, Karolyi Goes Crazy and More

Michael Phelps ... how? I've seen the replay. I've seen the replay in slow motion. I've seen the replay in super duper 21st century high definition slow motion. I have no idea how Michael Phelps managed to touch that wall before Milorad Cavic in the 100m butterfly.

One, one-hundredth of a second. That's the smallest increment of time kept by the Olympics. Unreal.

The reaction by Phelps' mother was priceless. It could only be matched by gymnastics "analyst" Bela Karolyi on Thursday night.

Anyone who happened to be watching the Olympics last night during the women's all-around competition was treated to crazy Karolyi having a "Belagasm" during Nastia Liukin's floor exercise.

I was hoping to track down the video to share, but all I could find with this hysterical spoof. The real version has Liukin performing in the background and not, well, you'll see. Enjoy.

***

The Yankees are pretty much dead as far as the postseason goes. They're going to have to hope the Red Sox collapse down the stretch in order to sniff the Wild Card. Injuries have taken their toll and their lineup is stagnant. That's a pretty bad combination when you're in a pennant race. So, next question. Should the Yankees try to trade Jason Giambi or Mike Mussina? Their salaries are huge and they may clear waivers and they could fetch some prospects for an inevitable rebuild. Far fetched? Absolutely. But would it be smart? Hmm ...

Why No Phelps Flap? And Raging Against the Democrats?

Before I continue, this week's FCNP Splinters takes a look at the Olympic experience thus far and why I'm glad the focus has been on the athletes and not the politics of the Games.

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A co-worker today raised this question: Why is no one accusing Michael Phelps of doping?

Yeah, it's a question that stirs the pot, but isn't it legitimate? This guy is crushing the competition and setting world records like they were nothing. We've raised an eyebrow at everyone who's had even the slightest bit of success lately, but Phelps has been untouchable. Why?

Is it because he's tested regularly for drugs at the Olympics? (There's still no reliable test for HGH.) Is it because he's American? (If he was from China, you know people would jump on this ... just look at the skepticism surrounding what was most likely a misprinted age for gymnast He Kexin.

I personally don't think Phelps is doping. He'd have to be either pretty bold or pretty dumb to try. He probably has to slug down a gallon of water just to keep up with the little plastic cups they're passing his way. Plus, Phelps has improved incrementally since 2004. It hasn't been a spike like Floyd Landis or Barry Bonds or Marion Jones. This falls well inside the realm of credibility. Still, the sad reality is that we should probably be skeptical of any landmark athletic achievement until there is comprehensive drug testing that includes HGH. Sad, but true.

***

Great column from ESPN's Jayson Stark on Manny Ramirez today. I totally agree.

I'm working on a longer piece about the former Red Sox slugger and hope to have it up this weekend. Keep your eyes peeled.

On the music front ...

Political rock fans, rejoice! Rage Against the Machine will perform in Denver, coinciding with the Democratic National Convention. Here's a snippet from the press release:

"Rage Against the Machine has joined forces with the Iraq Veterans Against the War and Tent State University to perform as part of the "Tent State Music Festival to End the War" on Wednesday, August 27 at the Denver Coliseum. They will join the Flobots, The Coup, State Radio, and Wayne Kramer. Doors open at 9:30 AM, show begins at 11:00 AM."

I'm not one to turn up my nose at a chance to see this band, but wouldn't it make more sense if they were playing outside the REPUBLICAN National Convention? Isn't that what the Democrats are trying to do already?

***

"Press Pass" this week checks in with some of my favorites (Joe Purdy, Husky Rescue, No Second Troy) from interview past to find out Where Are They Now?

The Fantastic Phelps and a Few Music Notes

Five gold medals in 2008. Five world records at the Beijing Games. It's becoming more and more evident that the only thing Michael Phelps has to fear in the water is Jaws ... if the great white could catch him that is.

Now that he has 11 gold medals over two Olympics (and you know he'll be back for the London Games in four years) it's pretty evident that Phelps is the best athlete ever. Is there any debate? Of course there is.

One candidate: Jackie Robinson. Not only did he break baseball's color barrier, he was also a varsity athlete for UCLA's football, basketball, baseball and track teams.

Some disturbing news from the Big East, as UConn men's coach Jim Calhoun is battling health issues. He's not getting any younger and the recruiting game is a brutal one. It's only my opinion, but this could be Calhoun's last season. After this year, when the Huskies are primed for a return to the Final Four, they'll likely lose Hasheem Thabeet and A.J. Price to the NBA Draft and Jeff Adrien's eligibility expires. The Huskies have a good freshmen class coming in with Kemba Walker and Scottie Haralson, but will they have the pieces to make a serious run in 2009-10?

I think there's a real possibility Calhoun calls it a career after this spring.

***

On the music front, I chatted with Peter Bradley Adams yesterday about his new release, Leavetaking. If you've got a sec, pop over to his home page and check out the new tunes.

Also, D.C. area music enthusiasts, if you want to catch a band on the rise, visit the MySpace page for No Second Troy and pickup tickets to their Aug. 22 gig at 9:30 Club. Not only will you get to see one of the most polished bands in the District perform live, you'll also get to download their new single, "Masquerade" for free. And do yourself a favor and listen to "The Gardens After Lockout" while you're there.

Excess Baggage

After doing my duty in my friends' wedding and baking in San Antonio's summer sun, I'm back. No thanks to American Airlines.

Long gripe short, my connecting flight back Monday morning from St. Louis was canceled due to weather in New York. I can handle that. Bad weather happens. And I was fortunate enough to be able to stay with my girlfriends' parents who live outside the city. All I needed was my bag back. Apparently that's a problem.

Despite the flight being canceled, I had to revisit the ticket counter to make a special request to get my bag back. After doing that and waiting 40 minutes for it at the bag claim, I visited the American Airlines baggage office.

Mike: Yeah, I need my bag back. Is it coming?

Attendant: Well ... [walkie talkie beeps, then explodes with Charlie-Brown Teacher chatter. The attendant, completely panicked translates] OKAY, EVERYONE NEEDS TO EVACUATE THIS FLOOR RIGHT NOW. THE POLICE WILL EXPLAIN WHEN THEY GET HERE, BUT YOU NEED TO MOVE NOW!

15 minutes later after heroically running to retrieve my girlfriend from certain death and safely exit the building ... only to be told within seconds of our exit that it's a false alarm and some moron leaned against the wrong button ...

Mike: Yeah, I need my bag back. Is it coming?

New, calmer, but much more incompetent attendant: It could be 20 minutes, it could be four hours.

Mike: Um, can you narrow that down for me?

Same, calmer, attendant who is now uneager to accept any shred of responsibility for my missing bag: Not really.

Mike: Aren't you guys the baggage department? Isn't finding people's lost luggage what you do?

Same, calmer, but now somewhat confused attendant: Yes.

Mike: So why can't you go find my bag?

Same, calmer, but completely boggled attendant: Well, because we don't have access to the baggage room. If you want to wait by the baggage belt, your bag should come out.

Mike, far from calm and quietly calculating the legal consequences of throttling an airline employee relative to the Darwinian justice of ridding the earth of an inept employee sapping this planet's valuable resources, such as water, oxygen and my time: So, just to sum up. You represent the airline's baggage department. Your sole responsibility is to monitor people's luggage and not only are you unable to tell me where my bag is, but you're entirely unable to even TRY to find it.

Same, calmer attendant slowly realizing she's the butt of a joke: So, sir, what exactly do you suggest I do?

Mike's mind: See if the DMV is hiring.

Mike's body: I wish this boarding pass I am currently tearing in half with my hands was your soul.

Mike's mind again: Nothing. Do nothing. You seem to do it so well, why stop now?

Mike's actual response: I think I'll go find someone else to speak to by the baggage claim.

After another 30 minutes of no one knowing where my bag is, one attendant tells me I should just leave it and let it get put onto the flight tomorrow morning or even sent on later that evening. Never mind that it has all of my clothes. Or all of my toiletries. Or could have contained large quantities of substances frowned upon by the TSA but embraced by fundamentalist militants. I should just forget about it, potentially let it fly on a plane without me, and go about my day.

Riiiight ...

Scary realization No. 1: These are the people keeping our planes "safe" from terrorists.

Scary realization No. 2: The attendent's vote in the presidential election counts just as much as mine does.

Did I mention that American Airlines is now charging for checked baggage?

In five weeks I guarantee all you will find in airplane cargo holds are leather leggings, whips, spiked collars and other implements only a masochist could love.

Which very much reminds me of watching the Nationals.

Okay, rant over. More actual content later.

Olympics, Moose Sighting and Vacation

Early end to the week, as I'm heading to Texas for a wedding. But plenty of stuff to leave you with.

• Olympics open tonight (this morning really) in Beijing. Will the delegations wear masks during the ceremony (my bet is no), will there be protests (my bet is yes but not during the ceremonies, and NBC is guaranteed to talk about them for 15 minutes or so) and will China's flag be the highest when the athletes carry them into the stadium (definitely, given that it will be carried by Yao Ming.

• Yankees avoided trouble last night. They lost Joba, lost Pudge and lost the first two games in Texas against the Rangers. Had they been swept or even lost 3 of 4 heading into Anaheim (with Giese and Kennedy set to pitch) it probably would have killed their hopes for a playoff berth. Good thing Mike Mussina stepped up big last night.

• Since I likely won't be able to update until Monday, keep an eye on Jim Furyk, +1 through round 1 of the PGA Championship. Not a great start, but as mentioned a while back, I still like him to pull through.

No time for spellcheck, so hopefully this willl be error free (at 4:30 a.m.? Not bloody likely.)

Favre Lands With Jets

How fitting that on the day that professional reporters were tracking flight traffic to discern if Brett Favre had left Green Bay, the quarterback is traded to the New York Jets. At least the media coverage should die down in the media capital of the world ... oh ...

The Olympics begin tomorrow, but the soccer tournament has already begun with the U.S. women losing to Norway 2-0 and the men beating Japan 1-0. The women should still be able to make the medal round, but their prospects look a lot worse once they get there after a pasting like Wednesday's. Losing Abby Wambach in the team's tune-up win over Brazil was a brutal stroke of bad luck.

According to this story, the pollution in Beijing's bad air has actually gone indoors , with a haze collecting on the ceiling of the aquatic center.

And since the Games have yet to award their first medal, that means that Afghanistan is atop the medal count! This could be the feel good story of the Olympics.

Sports Illustrated released its complete college football rankings. Georgia comes in at No. 1, though both East Carolina and Northwestern sit ahead of perennially over ranked Notre Dame. This thing must be broken.

Wednesday Items

Sorry for the missed update on Tuesday, but just didn't have time to put it up.

The Favre Saga, still, is the big story of the day. The main rumor is that he'll be traded to Tampa Bay by the end of the day. Please just let this end.

The big story of my day on Monday was when F.C. Barcelona kicked us off our softball field in order to practice in Central Park. The team is in town to play the New York Red Bulls of MLS, well, fame is the wrong word, but they're part of Major League Soccer. Pretty cool to see Thierry Henry warming up in the park a few feet away. Dude's got his own Gillette commercial, in the States, so you know he's legit. Goals like these help too.

Funniest anecdote came when some kids started giddily sprinting toward the team and one of them, wrapped in an F.C. Barcelona flag, yells to his cohorts, "Guys! Don't Make a Scene!" Good call, flag boy, keep it subtle.

Manny Being Mangled? Okay, so it's Manny Parra and not Ramirez, but whatever. The Brewers' Prince Fielder took issue with Tuesday's starting pitcher and shoved him repeatedly in the dugout before teammates separated the two. Actually, that's a little inaccurate. They stopped the rather gargantuan Fielder from throwing Parra repeatedly into the bench, while Parra flopped like a shell-shocked doll.

This is the sort of reaction I was looking for after the Brewers getting swept at home by the Cubs. This isn't necessarily the beginning of the end for Milwaukee, this doesn't mean the clubhouse is going to explode in frustration or hold grudges (it's a guy thing). In fact, this could light a fire and get the team moving forward again. This is another turning point for their season, let's see where the Brewers go now.

Some final thoughts:

• Francisco Rodriguez is takes himself completely out of fielding position with his follow through. Why don't more people bunt against him?

• What exactly was that thing the Clay Buchholz was wearing around his neck on Monday and how much did it cost at the Denny's salad bar? (On review: Guess it's not made of foliage, but it sure looked that way on TV.)

• David Cone admitted on Monday while broadcasting the Yankees-Rangers game on YES that when he pitched he had some "sticky stuff" on his person, crediting notorious ball doctor Gaylord Perry for the tips. Does this affect anyone's perception of David Cone? Should it?

• Interviewed Garrett Dutton, better known as G. Love, for "Press Pass" this week. A snippet that didn't make the final piece:

Hume: You've always been known for your distinctive style. Who are some other artists you think are breaking ground with their sound these days?

Dutton: I really like Jack White. I have a lot of respect for him. We both have a lot of traditional blues in our recordings and live show and really appreciate it. I think he's a pretty visionary guy. I think Jack Johnson is also a visionary and groundbreaking musician. Even though, on the outside, it seems like he's not doing anything very hard, as a musician he's able to make a stadium full of people sing everyone of his words. Not too many people of our generation have been able to do that. Dave Matthews, maybe? But I think people go to sing along at a Jack Johnson show. I think hip-hop is where a lot of pretty groundbreaking production stuff is going on. And I guess Radiohead is pretty groundbreaking but I've never really listened to them.

I'm not going to joke around, my manager wanted to release Lemonade as a free digital release like a year before they did that and I definitely saw the power in it. But the reason it was so groundbreaking was because they're going to sell a million copies, whereas if we did that we only would have sold like 150,000 copies, so it wouldn't have been in Time Magazine, you know?

• I know I haven't written about much TV of late, but let's face it, when your girlfriend is reduced to watching Project Runway reruns, the pickings are pretty slim. When the fall arrives, I'll have more. And no, I'm not afraid to start with Gossip Girl.

Who Made Manny?

Having spent less than a week with the Los Angeles Dodgers enigmatic left fielder Manny Ramirez now says he would like to end his career with the team. I wonder how long that sentiment will last.

Ramirez has been playing major league baseball for almost 15 years now and, even in this era of intense media scrutiny, we know surprisingly little about what makes this guy tick. Our only explanation for his absurd conduct is to turn our palms skyward, shrug our shoulders and repeat the cliche "That's just Manny being Manny."

He pouts. He doesn't hustle. He laughs off errors. He uses (likely) phony injuries as leverage. He shoves down senior citizens. And he's still loved by fans. How does this happen?

My question to you all, Who Made Manny? Is this the inevitable evolution of a spoiled athlete used to getting his way, content with the millions he knows he has made and will make, who treats the game he plays as just that, a game.

Is he a creation of the Red Sox front office? Did they repeatedly allow Manny to get away with these ridiculous antics. Did they choose to turn a blind eye to incidents, knowing they needed his bat in the middle of the lineup to contend for a World Series title, and thereby encourage his childish behavior?

Or is it the fans' undying love of him that fosters this behavior? And why do they love him? Is it the bat? Is it the smile? How is this guy given a free pass, when Kenny Rogers (shoving camera men) and others would be crucified for throwing an elderly clubhouse attendant to the ground? Really, does the smile make it all okay? If he scowled like Barry Bonds, would he be equally loathed?

He doesn't hustle, he's a lousy fielder, his minor injuries flare up when he faces hard-throwing right-handed pitchers, he laughs of errors, he hits 500 home runs, he is a World Series MVP, he beats up old men, he was essentially voted off the team by his teammates and yet fans continue to love the guy. How in the world does this happen? How does Manny come to be?

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Brett Favre is back with the Pack and the quarterback competition begins tomorrow in Green Bay. This is probably how it should have been decided all along in an ideal world. But the ideal world doesn't include a media maelstrom following every breath Favre draws.

Now, even if Aaron Rodgers beats out Favre, there will be claims that the Packers' front office was desirous for Favre to go away and Rodgers was destined to win all along. The next few days at Packers' camp are going to be insane.

I know it's the summer and the NFL is short on news, but let's step back and think about what kind of undue attention this story has gotten. Favre had a great year last year, but Drew Brees threw for more yards and Derek Anderson had more TDs. Meanwhile, Peyton Manning is coming off surgery and Tom Brady is coming off a record-setting career year and a stinging loss in a Super Bowl that was supposed to serve as the Pats' coronation as the best team ever.

• Remember when Albert Pujols was supposed to have a terrible year because of all those injuries in the spring? Looks like that prognosis was a little off.

• Speaking of Pujols, Brad Lidge, the man whose psyche Pujols demolished with a monster home run in the 2005 NL Championship Series, has yet to blow a save in 2008.

• Good reporting by ESPN on the USA basketball team's previous opposition to China's human rights abuses and their current position that they're just there to play basketball. For the record, I have no problem with the stance. I also have no problem if an athlete does decide to speak out. For a detailed explanation on my position, see "speech, free."