Yeah, it's over.

No more Podium Girls.







































No more Road ID ads with Bobke.



No more El Diablo.






















No more fear of a fan impeding a rider.



























I love the Tour de France, because it fits so nicely within the July sports calendar when there is a not much goin' on, 'cept the rent.







































This year gives us the first Aussie winner, the first winner from the Southern Hemisphere and the second-oldest winner ever. It was Cadel Evans and he gave it quite the ride this year.

Meal of Links

They are correct. Olivia Wilde is jarringly beautiful. She was on Bill Maher's show once and I think she was overwhelmed at that time. They need to bring her back.

I think I've waited a year-and-a-half to find a Thermopen on sale. It finally happened.

This guy's church HAS to be fun. "Boogity, Boggity, Amen!"

Invocation of the Year



"Wedgie, you're doing a heckuva job." The Mariners have lost 15 straight.

NFL seems to be starting again this week. BTW, Jay Cutler dumped his girlfriend and there will be no "Hard Knocks" this season.

The good old days.

About that Borders liquidation sale. You may want to wait.

Campbell's looks at the facts. It's hard to sell low-sodium soup. So, they are adding salt to the Select Harvest line.

Exercise Yard

I don't know if there is anyone out there who can help the Tribe. But, after today's game, I wonder "if the ship be sinking."

I'll be at either Monday's or Wednesday's game and have a better sense of what is going on.

Visitor

None, on a still humid Sunday.

I am officially on...



Big day on the Tour day, as the snow cleared in the Alps. My main man, Andy Schleck, decided to attack with, oh, only 60 KM left in the race and got himself back in line for a shot at the yellow jersey with basically only two days left. Tomorrow may be a repeat as it's Alpe d'Huez, followed by the time trial in Grenoble on Saturday. With the ride into Paris on Sunday, a symbolic one, the finish will be bang-bang, as Rick Manning likes to say.





























Schleck's ride today will be epic, especially if he wins the Tour. Probably the best one-day ride since Floyd Landis in the infamous Stage 17 in 2006. You guessed it, shades of Eddy Merckx. But the leader, Thomas Voeckler, didn't crack and hardly anyone can believe he still has the yellow jersey. But the Schleck ride cracked Alberto Contador and Sammy Sanchez.

So, it's probably down to 4 guys. The Schleck Brothers, Cadel Evans and Voeckler. After tomorrow, the leader will be one of the Schlecks, so it all comes down to Saturday's time trial.

But the Tour finally started today.

Allez!

Meal of Links

Going to the movies in Australia is like buying books in Canada. The prices are high.

Debt ceiling talk. Yeah, it's important.

"Dexter" cranks up Season 6 on October 2. New trailer is out.

Did someone mention R.E.M.?

The endorsements are starting for US Women's Soccer. Not a bad idea, as that team competes in the Olympics next year in London. I think the real star is Megan Rapinoe.

Richard Lewis was back on "Curb Your Enthusiasm" last week. He chats about Larry David.

Comeback of the Year? WWE Wrestling!

Exercise Yard

I'm actually on Team Stevie on Steve Williams firing by Tiger Woods. Yeah, that Stevie, the scourge of photogs everywhere. Boy, are there a lot of folks giving Stevie the business over how much money he received for being Tiger's caddie.

But, let's face it, he was not on some mystery retainer and he hadn't worked that much in the last 18 months. Typical caddie pay is a Missed Cut will get you zip, 5% of earnings for a cut finish, 7% for a Top Ten, and 10% for a win.

I'm not sure how much loyalty comes into play, when you are deprived of a job you like to do and you get that itch to get out there and do something. I'm sure Stevie was tired of sitting.

But, man, is he getting blasted for being "The Caddie".

Visitor

44 Across: PETCO Park player (5 letters) Answer: Padre

It's not the heat, it's the stupidity.

Try a secret beach.

Meal of Links

Richard Jewell still had a court case against the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That case was dismissed last week. Unclear if it will be appealed.

The Weinermobile is now 75 years old. Not on my list for the next car I get.

The 5-album test. I kinda like it.

How about a limburger cheese sammie? I don't think I've ever had one.

The Gang of Six. And their plan.

Modern poverty includes an Xbox No, can't be.

As always, the day to watch the Tour de France is when they get to Alpe d'Huez. BTW, that is this Friday. It's also snowing in the Alps. Huh?

Borders is dead.

Exercise Yard

NFL free agency starts in a few days. And what a whirlwind that will be. 5 months compressed into a fortnight.

Avoid these types of players.

Visitor

67 Across: Buck of country music (5 letters) Answer: Owens

The Seattle Mariners had another 3-ball walk against them yesterday. Wedgie apologized to the team after missing the first one.

Here's what he said after missing the second one in a week.

"I was OK with that," Wedge said. "I figured it worked against us last time, let it work for us this time. ... I was fine with Abreu not being up there 3-1 with the next two guys coming. I felt good about Felix facing those next two guys. I was hoping for a double play, but we got a strikeout and a popup."

He is still The Mentalist.

Meal of Links

OK. I have no idea if "Senna" is here soon. But, come on. I'm there. Wait a minute. Ron Howard is doing a film about the rivalry of James Hunt and Niki Lauda? That is a huge WTF.

"Curb Your Enthusiasm" returned last night. I laughed.

Italy. The new Greece. Only larger.

24 Dance Songs you can't dance to. Including the great Roxy Music tune "Do The Strand" with a much younger Bryan Ferry and a glam Brian Eno. I actually heard "Sally Can't Dance" just last Friday.

Exercise Yard

Rest day in the Tour today. But what was with the French TV car wiping out a couple of riders to avoid hitting a tree. There have been lots of wrecks, thus far.

Poor Johnny Hoogerland went right through the barbed wire fence. He was cut up real good. Finished the stage, but in not-so-good shape.

Tour de France Wreck



Visitor

43 Across: "Sexual Healing" singer Marvin (4 letters) Answer: Gaye

"Inner City Blues"/Marvin Gaye

I must confess, today's Klitschko-Haye fight was an abomination. This was wrong on so many levels from one of the strangest ring entrances by both fighters (featuring cameos by Lennox Lewis and George Foreman) to an apparent lack of security ringside. Plus, this was held at an outdoor stadium in Hamburg where patrons only 10 rows back were getting rained on. All sides should be glad there was no controversy or this could have ended badly for lots of people.

One more thing, the ring entrances were so tardy, HBO comes on at 4:45 local time and the opening bell sounds at about 5:27. Lamps kept blaming German TV. Anyhow, once the fight started, Roy Jones insanely insisted Haye's strategy was to beat Klitschko with one punch and it didn't matter when it came. Larry Merchant, around Round 5, said that may be true, but Haye was wasting his time. God bless Larry Merchant! Harold Lederman with, "Haye bobs, he weaves, he ducks, he moves. But he doesn't throw any punches." It was that bad.

For Haye didn't do anything. He had a habit of ducking around Klitschko's knees and Klitschko would oblige him by helping him to the mat. This happened about 5 times, like bad wrestling, before Klitschko had a point deducted for pushing. It continued later a few more times, and Haye even made a feeble attempt to steal another point. Finally, late in the fight, the ref, fed up like everyone else, gave Haye a standing-8 to stop him from doing it.

I wish I could describe any action. But it was like that movie title, give me "Something, Anything", and until a bit of a flurry in Round 12, there was nothing.

The disappointment of this fight is endless. I have to believe HBO will go back to avoiding the heavyweights. After the fight, Haye blamed a broken toe, suffered three weeks ago, as an excuse, and didn't want to drop out. You know, for the fans. Last time I looked, you don't throw punches with your feet.

Each guy got paid between $15 and $20 million for the bout. Haye should get down on his knees and thank his favorite deity for that check. For the "Hayemaker" should retire before he's known as the "Paytaker".

This one will leave a bad taste in everyone's mouth for quite a while. Or, maybe not, as the heavyweights will continue to be ignored.

Meal of Links

Kutcher vs. Village Voice seems to have more fight than the boxing match. Advertisers are leaving.

The Top 100 Products on Amazon. I actually have that OXO Can Opener and the OXO Tongs. Those tongs are great for the grill. Also have the "iPad Blender", but it's not an iPad. It's a Blendtec. Love that thing. Got an insane deal on it earlier this year.

NYPD blows up 5,000 lbs. of illegal fireworks...

Happy Birthday, America!



It was sort of tragic to see Spike Lee in attendance at the NBA Draft. He hasn't made a feature film in thre years, because he can't get funding.

Exercise Yard

The Tour started today. Two major pileups. The booed Alberto Contador is way back already. He'll be the story, if he catches up.

Visitor

15 Across: "The Defense Never Rests' co-author (10 letters) Answer: F. Lee Bailey

So, what are you going to watch this weekend? Hopefully, not much, so you can enjoy the weekend outdoors. But, if you are inside, here are some hints.

Here are this weekend's TV Marathons. My Dad will be psyched for that "Martin" marathon. And a very theme-worthy "How The States Got Their Shapes".

Klitschko vs. Haye is tomorrow. Like the old days, HBO has this one live at 4:45. Has potential to revive the heavyweights.

The Tour returns. I confess, I'm an Andy Schleck guy.

The closing arguments in the Tot Mom Trial are on Sunday. A quiz is included.

Alan Sepinwall makes a case for "Treme". That's a 90-minute closer on Sunday.

Close it out with a sold-out Indians-Yankees game on the 4th.

Meal of Links

A rerun of Fireworks suck.

Really loud movies. "Shoot the glass."

Work hard, feel poor. Explained here.

What's this? I may have missed Bash "Treme" Week.

Exercise Yard

First USC. Then Ohio State. Now Oregon.

Visitor

56 Across: Super bowl party array (6 letters) Answer: Salsas

Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band

Last night, a half dozen of us joined several others to watch a Beatle. This was a "I better see a Beatle before I, or most likely they, die" sort of concert. I'd given up on Macca live years ago, so Ringo comes to town every couple of summers and now that he's 70, I thought, yep, better see go him. It's kind of a jolt to see a sign at a rock show that reads, "Happy Birthday, 7/7/40". BTW, he looks fantastic for age 70.

The Venue: The "Sauna By the Sea", Nautica Pavilion. You know, the place where you have to sit in the bleachers, poised like a catcher, hoping you don't knee anyone in the back, hopefully avoiding the same treatment from the rear.

Stage Banter: Ringo actually got off a few good lines. About the weather: "They told me about some breeze that was supposed to come off the water". About the sales of his last album: "This is for the 9 of you who bought the CD. A couple over here, a couple over there, and the six of you over there who stole it".

The Tickets: S. used her Rock Hall Membership to grab Gale and I some General Admission tickets. We were on the left, maybe 10-12 rows up in the bleachers.

The Crowd: No chaperone hat this night. Distinctly older. Most people knew the words to most songs, including "Frankenstein". "Yellow Submarine" was a big sing-a-long, and, unfortunately, Rick Derringer sang the longest version ever of "Hang On Sloopy".

The Sound: The sound was actually really good. The only part I did not understand was when Edgar Winter spoke. I think it was in English.

There was no opening act.

The Stage: Fairly sparse setup. Left-to-right upfront were: Edgar Winter, Romantics Dude, Rick Derringer, Mr. Mister Mister and Gary Wright. In the back were Ringo and fellow drummer Gregg Bissonette.

The Music: Obviously, it was a lot of old tunes from the '70s and the '80s. The beauty of the format for the performers is they could rotate twice through the All-Starrs, so they could play their hits. One-hit wonders need not apply. Two-hit wonders, however, are welcomed with open arms. The beauty of the format for the paying customer is, if you had seen each of the performers at your local Ribfest, it would take two hours to hear each of them perform their two hits. So, this is a huge timesaver. Hey, I've seen Donnie Iris in that format. It's not pretty.

"Peace and Love...But Don't Send Me Shit...Peace and Love"






























Setlist:

"It Don’t Come Easy" (Ringo)
"Honey Don’t" (Ringo)
"Choose Love" (Ringo)
"Hang On Sloopy" (Rick Derringer)
"Free Ride" (Edgar Winter)
"Talking in Your Sleep" (Romantics Dude)
"I Wanna Be Your Man" (Ringo)
"Dream Weaver" (Gary Wright)
"Kyrie" (Mr. Mister Mister)
"The Other Side of Liverpool" (Ringo)
"Yellow Submarine" (Ringo)
"Frankenstein" (Edgar Winter)
"Peace Dream" (Ringo)
"Back Off Boogaloo" (Ringo)
"What I Like About You" (Romantics Dude)
"Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" (Rick Derringer)
"Boys" (Ringo)
"Love Is Alive" (Gary Wright)
"Broken Wings" (Mr. Mister Mister)
"Photograph" (Ringo)
"Act Naturally" (Ringo)
"With a Little Help from My Friends" (Ringo)
"Give Peace a Chance" (Ringo)

Encore:

None. That hasn't happened in a very long time.

Another view.

Meal of Links

Simon Cowell could be replaced by Chris Isaak. "Bullets ain't got no eyes."

Jenna Fischer got married a few weeks ago. The person who presided over that union? Why, it was Jeff Probst.

Speaking of Probst, Jimmy Johnson is on "Survivor: Guatemala". His hair cannot possibly survive.

Castro's niece has an interview. Cuban free speech prisoners are mercenaries paid by Washington. Huh?

There can be nice ditties about death. Here's a list.

Mitch Albom won this year's Red Smith Award. Dave Kindred addresses the elephant in the room.

Could you imagine this headline even 10 years ago? "Oakland allows industrial-scale marijuana farms".

More Palin. This time on Israel and the mosque.

Looks like a new "Seinfeld" movie. Not really, just a trailer.

"Serenity Now"



Exercise Yard

If you haven't watched the Tour de France this year, tomorrow is the day to change that. This Tour has been wild. We've seen injuries, we've seen suspensions, we've seen headbutts, we've seen tire fights, we've even seen the demise of Lance Armstrong.

The latest controversy involved the yellow jersey-wearing Andy Schleck and Alberto Contador, last year's winner. Schleck was attacking when his chain got loose. A previous unwritten Tour rule is you always wait and never take advantage of a mechanical failure of the yellow jersey. Contador said, "Fuck that!" and eventually gained 34 seconds on Schleck to get the yellow jersey and lead Schleck by 8 seconds, heading into the final 3 days.

All bets are off tomorrow in the mountains. I happen to like the Schleck Brothers (Frank went out on Day 3), so I hope Andy can pull it off. Big day tomorrow.

Visitor

22 Across: Sylvester Pussycat nemesis (14 letters) Answer: Speedy Gonzales

Speedy Gonzales Ad

Time to address some local deaths:

Milt Morin died. Morin was the favorite of countless kids who were Browns fans in the late '60s and early '70s. he had soft hands, blocked well and ran over a whole slew of defenders. Too bad he predates YouTube, as some of his YAC (yards after catch) footage would be priceless.

Harvey Pekar died. Never read his comics, but Paul Giamatti was perfect in his role in "American Splendor". All about The Pekar Project.

Bourdain Meets Pekar



George Steinbrenner died. Clearly the biggest "What If?" in Cleveland sports. Knowing the history of the Indians would have been different, you wonder how different with The Boss as owner. All I know is when he took over the Yankees, they were shit. Today, they play in a $1 billion stadium, have revenues of $600 million and a TV network (YES) valued at over $1 billion. Without question, this is the funniest "Steinbrenner" appearance on "Seinfeld". Frank Costanza's actions before he confronts Steinbrenner kills me every time.

Meal of Links

Top 15 cringeworthy Tour de France crashes. there are some gems here.

This is your brain. This is your brain on caffeine.

Here is the original Outside article from January on The Barefoot Bandit. And Bob Friel is still tracking him.

Chubby Checker is still twisting. 50 years later.

It sounds disgusting. But it's Science!

One of the cool things about the Happy Dog is that every other week they have a guy spinning old country music. So, I give you, Waylon Jennings, Nashville Rebel. If you can listen to only one of the songs, pick "Luckenbach, Texas".

"True Blood" equals "The Wire". Huh?

More science.

Exercise Yard

I don't want to belabor LeBron's decision, but there are are a few loose ends. And I'm sure more to come. Didn't the Dan Gilbert interview with SI come as close to a mea culpa as we are gonna get. After ripping LeBron on how the organization "enabled" him, he comes up with this quote: "He really never did ask and go above and beyond for material things." Huh? Gilbert goes on to say they enabled him in terms of returning calls, texts, etc. (and lack thereof) and frames that as a lack of respect issue. Fine. But that's not what he implied in his first "open letter".

if you like Matt Taibbi, you'll like his thoughts on "The Decision". (Hat tip to Gale)















(Hat tip to S.)

Visitor

15 Across: Wild Australian dog (5 letters) Answer: Dingo

Hirsh picks the best 11 of the World Cup.

Have you noticed how risky it has been for an athlete to appear in a high-profile ad? The World Cup has only Fabregas that I see remaining.

Nike World Cup Ad



Then we have this epic FAIL.

Gillette Ad



But good news. Andres Cantor appeared in a GEICO ad that made me laugh.

Andres Cantor GEICO Ad



Meal of Links

The Meadowlands is now officially torn down. No sign of Hoffa.

They have exhumed the body of Bobby Fischer to determine paternity. I'm betting he's still angry.

Here is the first picture from the new Planck telescope. Pretty awesome, it's of the universe.

One of the all-time baddies in hockey died today. Bob Probert was 45.

Exercise Yard

If you were blowing up things this weekend, you may not have realized the Tour de France started. Tomorrow promises to be a fun day. Why? Cobblestones!

Visitor

11 Down: "Shaft" star Richard (9 letters) Answer: Roundtree

Floyd Landis finally comes clean. But then decides to take down Lance and everyone else on the former Postal Service team with him. I'm not sure what the answer is to the why now question, I take him at his word that he's tired of lying and maybe he thinks this is his Jose Canseco moment. I watched that stage in 2006 where the test came back positive. I've never seen anything like it before or since. So, maybe that day haunts him more than we know.

In typical fashion, WADA seems very interested in what Landis has to say. Especially if he has kept any sort of meticulous records. And, of course, US Cycling continues to discredit him. I'm not saying Lance did or didn't, but as the de facto face of cycling in the US, it's easy to see why US Cycling lines up with Lance. And there are a huge number of people out there who say his off-track work with LiveStrong far outweighs any on-track doping.

I think the overlooked word in all of the PED talk, is that Landis mentions a dalliance with insulin. Bodybuilders use insulin a lot as a PED and it's use as such is generally an unknown to the public. Estimates claim as many as 25% of athletes use it for doping because the tests aren't really there yet and it gets out of your system really quick.

So, with Landis today and Dr. Galea yesterday, it's a big week for the anti-doping crowd.

Meal of Links

Wow. Google TV looks cool. Me (remember I have Time Warner Cable) wants it.

Bret Michaels cannot catch a break. Gotta slow down just a bit.

Pee Wee goes to Broadway. I predict that will be a hot ticket.

Craig Kilborn is back on TV. Well, in some places. When he was on CBS, I had a long stretch of coming home late on Fridays and he would be on the TV, regardless of what time I arrived. Very strange, uncanny phenomenon.

It's the latest David Lynch movie! Well, sorta movie, it's a lengthy ad for Christian Dior.

American scientists did something awesome. They developed the first synthetic living cell.

I don't know if it's the worth of the paintings, the actual planning and process used or whatever. But in the world of theft, isn't stolen art from a museum the neatest crime?

Spaghetti westerns! And, yes, Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time In The West" is mentioned. Saw it again a few weeks ago on Turner. Bronson is unbelievably good here as Harmonica. Only have to mine the Comments for a short time to grab this all-time quote by Henry Fonda: "Never trust a man who wears a belt with suspenders. Man can't even trust his own pants." Jason Robards as Cheyenne is superb (hell, it's a great movie) and his line in his agonizingly painful death scene is choice; "Hey, Harmonica, when they do you in. Pray it's somebody who knows where to shoot." If you have a spare three hours, watch this one. Or if you have a spare few minutes, the quotes that are quoted in the Comments are worth it.

Nice Birthday Surprise for a Bus Driver



Exercise Yard

The Indians are having a rough go of it. They have lost two games within 24 hours for the second time this week.

But the schedule afforded me the opportunity to hear two games on the radio. You have to listen to Hammy and the return of Homer Mike. Hammy ripping the opponents and Homer Mike paddling upstream once more. It's hilarious to hear the sell job they are saddled with, calling games for the last-place Indians.

Visitor

30 Down: Frontiersman Carson (3 letters) Answer: Kit

I don't know much about the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. But I got a call today from InfoCision, who must be the telemarketer that does calls for them.

Do you know what they want you to do? I'm sure they are soliciting donations, but they wanted me to mail 15 letters to some people. WTF? I didn't wait for them to tell me who these 15 people were or why they can't send the letters themselves, but I'm supposed to do it for them? What is up with that crap?

I was waiting for the hit me up for cash deal, so I could say no. Then when I heard what the call was about, it made me angry. Obviously, this is a nuisance as their calling tactics for the Society are chronicled all over the Internets.

Meal of Links

Why is Katherine Heigl so annoying? Newsweek tells us.

The "Wizard of Oz" is now 70. But you have to see the Pink Floyd version.

The Big Picture chronicles the Tour de France. My favorite photo has to be, well, #3 has kind of a Where's Waldo? look to it. Of course, El Diablo, #25, was there again. But I think #36 with the eventual winner, Alberto Contador, is a great shot.

Exercise Yard

Catching up with one of the first female sideline reporters, Lesley Visser. She started in 1976.

Visitor

65 Across: 1988 winner of seven Olympic swimming medals (10 letters) Answer: Matt Biondi

I go to watch the Tour de France on Versus HD tonight and this is the screenshot I get. For over an hour.
















All is not lost, of course, because of the access to the Versus digital channel, but it's so much better in HD. Lance Armstrong was pretty shitty today. However, Lance zipping down that descent at the end of yesterday's stage was one of the coolest things I've seen in HD. Can't get a clip of the descent, but here's a clip of Lance's climb. Check #22 in the Astana jersey at about the 3-minute mark:



If you wanna see what the craziness is all about, I urge you to watch Stage 20 on Saturday, the second last day of this year's tour. Mont Ventoux. Get up early. See if Lance can win a stage.

Meal of Links

Here's a bunch of "Star Wars" T-shirts I own #81.

Tackling myths of Canadian health care. Look out for that e-mail.

It's stupidity, not racialism. Arrested for "breaking in" to your own house. WTF?

Exercise Yard

Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game today. The great thing about Buehrle is he works fast. Really fast.

He's pitched two games against the Indians in 2009. Lost 4-0 in May in 2 hours and 23 minutes. Won 10-6 two weeks ago in 2:46. That's a lot of runs scored in less than 3 hours.

Visitor

29 Across: Bando of the 1960s-'70s Athletics (3 letters) Answer: sal

Since I was off yesterday, I went to Lowe's and bought a dishwasher. Now the last time I had installation done by one of their contractors (for doors), it was a clusterfuck. On the surface, this seems to be an easy install, so I'm hoping I am vindicated by trying them one more time.

Have you ever taken the time to study dishwashers? Man, the ratings are all over the map. One man's nirvana is another one's worst nightmare. More than any other appliance, it seems. I got me a Whirlpool. It was the right color, a good price, 12 months same as cash, discount for Energy Star and all that, so I'm confident it was the proper selection. One other thing. With the install, I pay no sales tax. Don't ask me why, I have no idea. It's a loophole I like though. They promise they can do it sometime next week. We'll see how it goes.

Meal of Links

Lenovo moves the Delete key. Now if they could just find a way to move Insert.

Check this out. Maine lobsters are now cheap.

This Pringles banner ad is kinda funny, I think. I'm not sure I want to test its limit, but...

Why listening to celebrities who fall ill may not be the best method to face disease in your own life. Farrah, for example.

Exercise Yard

Previewing the Tour. It starts Saturday.

Visitor

36 Down: Tragic king (4 letters) Answer: Lear

After I trimmed some hedges this a.m., I set about to do a little grocery shopping. Mainly to get some steak at Giant Eagle. I was trying to buy some olive oil, as well. Thought for sure I had seen some at Marc's and it might be cheaper. I couldn't find it, but I did buy the 625-pack of Q-Tips there. BTW, how do those people stay in business?

Then I went over to Giant Eagle. Couldn't find any there, knew they had it though. Asked a worker, who took me to it. Why is it in the coffee aisle? Bottles of balsamic vinegar are elsewhere, shouldn't they be like peanut butter and jelly? I hate when I can't find stuff there!

Meal of Links

The Times of London says, "We don't live there." Has the story of John Edwards sex scandal. Gives every newspaper and network in the USA the greenlight to report it.

We've had some nice weather lately. How about a smoothie or a frozen drink. I must admit the picture of the Banana-Split Cake looks pretty good.





















The gang at Fire Joe Morgan really loves the Casey Blake trade. And I'm speaking of love in a rather snarky way. He did defy the odds by getting 2 hits yesterday. But whiffed twice and hit into a double play today.

The lesser-known 5 Best British Gangster Movies. I've seen "The Long Good Friday", "Sexy Beast" and "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels". Saw a piece (ha, ha) of "Layer Cake" before I had to run off somewhere. All worth the time.

Exercise Yard

Fell asleep before I could see Margarito-Cotto over the Internets. Sounds like a great fight to catch on the replay next week.

So, today I watched the Brickyard 400 from Indy. Mostly after the Indians blew a game in the ninth inning. For some reason this year, games against the Twins have fascinated me enough to watch almost the whole game. Very strange. I think the Indians have lost most of those, BTW.

As for the race. What the hell was with those tires. They called about 7"Competition Yellows" because the Goodyear tires sucked today. They could barely go 15 laps before averting disaster, so the race was kind of a dull one. Not a whole lot of racing.

That's two races where the fans at Indy have been hosed. The F1 debacle of a few years ago also comes to mind.

I'll watch Carlos Sastre take the Tour de France in a few minutes here. And wonder why Cadel Evans didn't attack in the three weeks of the race.

Visitor

None, a rather nice summer Sunday.

I just finished watching the replay of today's Tour de France. Today's stage featured probably the most famous climb in cycling, the finish at L'Alpe D'Huez. They hadn't been here in two years and it's always a pretty good time when they show up. This is a stage that packs a lot of history as Hinault has won here. Lance won this stage twice, the last on in insane time trial. The yellow jersey this year coming in was Frank Schleck, who won here the last time.
















It's just an awesome stage. 21 hairpin turns, crowds numbering towards a million, nutbags running aside the bikes. All this after biking about 185 km to climb an Alp. Basically, it's chaos. Today was no different. Carlos Sastre attacks right at the bottom of the hill and swept to a margin of over two minutes to claim the yellow jersey from Shleck the Greater. Keep your eye on Andy, the Lesser Schleck, who finished second today. That kid can fly and looked like he could ride it again afterward.

Really neat stuff. With the final time trial coming up, it looks like Cadel Evans of Australia will win.

Meal of Links

Every once in a while, I'll be watching a music doc and Bob Gruen tends to show up. Who's Bob Gruen? Well, he's a photographer who shoots terrific rock n'roll pics.

I was half-watching a cable news show last night when someone casually mentioned that John Edwards had a love child. WTF? So, I searched the crawls for the next 10 minutes to find some sort of breaking news. It seems the Enquirer broke the story. But I'll be damned if I see any mainstream media outlet touching it.

Rush visits "The Colbert Report". Backstage, they play "Tom Sawyer" on "Rock Band".

Exercise Yard

It's hard to believe the Browns started training camp today. Also hard to believe the EPL starts in three weeks. Here is the fall TV schedule.

Man U and Chelsea at 9:00 on Sunday, September 21. Mark that one down. Browns don't play a roadie until 4:00 that day.

Visitor

25 Down: Skater Sonja (5 letters) Answer: Henie

I started to watch the Tour de France again this week. I got to see protesters on the course the other day, so outside of doping scandals, it's business as usual. Chipotle is sponsoring a team and I'm not sure if you want to ride behind them.

Take a peek at tomorrow's stage, Stage 6. That should be fun to watch.

Meal of Links

20 healthy foods for under a buck. Well, I did have broccoli today.

Seven movies based on true stories that are complete bullshit. Even though "Hurricane" is fictitious, I knew that goin' in and I still liked it. I'm a sucker for anything boxing-related on film.

The Four-Letter gets an earful. Somewhat of a rehash, but can we get them to show less poker? I see "World's Strongest Man" is in heavy rotation currently, but I'm down with that.

Speaking of sports on TV, how about 3,600 hours of Olympics? Doesn't that seem like overkill? However, 75% of it will be live (including primetime beach volleyball). They've even roped in Oxygen as one of their family of networks that gets some coverage. CNBC gets the boxing again from 5:00 until 8:00 p.m. Teddy Atlas did a great job on the Sweet Science in Athens and hopefully he'll be along this time.

Check out the folks running for this British election. Mad-Cow Girl is running, so is the current Miss Great Britain, one guy thinks Bush is the anti-Christ and so on.

Exercise Yard

This got near zero coverage in the States as far as I know, but Randy Lerner did a fairly noble thing with his Other Team. As you know, soccer franchises sell the marketing rights so a company can advertise on a team's uniforms. Aston Villa had an Internet gambling company as its uniform sponsor since Lerner took over. It's a fairly big deal, as most teams get upwards of 2 million pounds.

But this year, Lerner tried something different a la Barcelona, what with all the money pouring into the EPL these days. Aston Villa will have their uniforms adorned with the name of a local Birmingham children's hospice called Acorns. That is pretty cool. Plus, the jersey looks really nice.

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20 Across: "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" host (12 letters) Answer: Ty Pennington

Baghdad-by-the-Zoo survived another Independence Day. It seems the populace has dissed the louder fireworks for the more professional "puttin' on a show" types. Sounds better until you consider these amateurs have no idea how high these things go (some seemed awfully low before explosion time) or how windy it might be.

I spent most of the day by my Dad's. Where we tore into some burgers, ribs, corn-on-the-cob, slaw, baked beans, watermelon, and his famous iced tea. Later on, my brother and niece stopped by for some root beer floats using that Duetto ice cream. That's good stuff.

Of course, a highlight on July 4th is always watching Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, probably the grossest thing I see all year. This was an event that was mainly seen as a taped special on Discovery for many years. They never hesitated to show people getting ill, known as a "reversal". Maybe not graphically, but you knew what was happening.

Since the four-letter has carried it live the last several years, it is reaching a much wider audience. The color announcer on these broadcasts is hilarious. The guy kills me every year. They had a faith-based contestant he described as the "Billy Graham of Ham". He called the defending champ, Joey Chestnut, the "Clay Aiken of Bacon" and alternatively, the "Chikezie of Greasy". He also said "They attack those dogs like Lindsay Lohan attacks a mini-bar." And the graphics for each contestant are great. The old-timer in the competition once ate a gallon-and-a-half of chili in 10 minutes. Good God!

Although I thought Kobayashi won, they called it a tie. He probably couldn't argue because his mouth was full. Then, it seemed rules were made on the fly (A Dog Off?) and Chestnut won again. Then I realized it's only a Hot Dog Eating Contest and decided to enjoy the moment.

Quote from the on-site announcer: “Gas is 5 dollars. You can’t eat tomatoes. But the Mustard Belt will stay in America and that’s good enough for me”.

But my favorite Kobayashi moment is from the late, lamented series "Man Vs. Beast". Kobayashi takes on a bear in a hot dog eating contest, but it's Michael Buffer's intro from the "main scene of cuisine" that has stuck with me since the day I heard it. Remember, the bear "doesn't know he's in a competition".



Meal of Links

All is not great working for Google. Take the price of in-house day care as an example.

This guy says Starbucks is getting what it deserves.

Ruhlman talks about cast iron for cooking. I don't have any presently, but have been thinking of grabbing a skillet. I was watching that PBS show, America's Test Kitchen and they had these selections.

Exercise Yard

I thought the Indians version of the Stars and Stripes cap looked spiffy last night. Too bad they suck. BTW, it's not that Joe Borowski was a bad signing. He was a bad signing for two years. That noodle of his just wasn't cutting it this year. See David Delucci for other signings that were too lengthy. Toronto was not forced to wear a Stars and Stripes cap, because the Blue Jays cap had the Maple Leaf.






















This is what modern athletics has to face with the steroid issue. Dana Torres becomes the oldest swimmer ever in the Olympics and it only takes one to pee on the parade.

The Tour de France starts today. Google Maps with the route.

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Not sure what that was in today's PD. Certainly not a Saturday crossword. Oh, Saturday's solution was in, just not the actual puzzle, which forced me to go online.

13 Down: Joe, first A.L. catcher to win a batting title (2006) (5 letters) Answer: Mauer ("The Chairman")

I was in one of those traffic jams this morning where you just have to suck on it and like it. It took me twice the drive time as normal. Not really sure where the accident was on 480, but there was fire, and EMS and more fire. It took me an hour to get from Ridge to 77 today. So, it was roll the windows down and crank the music time.

Oddly enough, Elvis came on with "Welcome to the Working Week". But I heard stuff from Nine Inch Nails, Sublime, The Used, the new one from Beck, Talking Heads, T. Rex, Public Image amongst others, so I was able to tolerate it.

Meal of Links

Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello and Jack White were at the Ryman last night? And, pray tell, who was here in Podunk last night? Damn it.

This time, it truly was a last lecture. More here.

"The View" picked another gem as a host. Seriously, if you don't know the world is round, how do you get on a nationally-broadcasted show and offer opinions? On anything. And to say it's unimportant and try to change the subject is just ridiculous.

Exercise Yard

Floyd Landis is mercifully running out of appeals. It's too bad that one of the coolest things I ever saw became tainted and has retained its joke status.

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18 Across: Journalist on ice? (10 letters) Answer: NHL Mencken

Yep, it's all downhill from here...

...and who didn't see that coming? Michael Rasmussen, the leader of the Tour de France, was sacked by his team for lying about his whereabouts for drug testing. And you thought the NFL, MLB and NBA had problems?

Meal of Links

David Lynch talks. The guy always fascinates me.

Blockbuster tells lies to their customers. Nice "Shaggy Dog" reference.

Speaking of movies, why does HBO insist on showing crappy ones? I'm not sure who the biggest culprit on cable is, but I do like the selection that HDnet has. I stumbled upon "The Searchers" one Saturday morning a couple of weeks back and it was a great companion on a sleepy day.

Exercise Yard

This guy liveblogged Mike & Mike's "Sportscenter" episode last night. And, what a surprise, it sucked. Today on "Sportscenter", they had some Barry Bonds Town Meeting from Frisco, WTF? Where are my highlights?

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5 Down: Guitarist Segovia (6 letters) Answer: Andres

While trying to survive the demise of Weekly World News:

Last night, I ventured over to the Winking Lizard before the Tribe-Red Sox game. There I visited with my goddaughter, her brother, brother's friend, Mom, and a couple of local friends. Everybody looked good and it was nice to see some of our Miami contingent, up from southern Ohio.

As far as the game was concerned, Jake Westbrook didn't look so good. He gave up 5 in the first two innings and that was a big rut to climb out from. So, it was kind of a sucky game and the Red Sox cruised to another win.

Meal of Links

After seeing her mugshot that reminded me of Tatum O'Neal, I feel compelled to offer my services to Lindsay Lohan. Whatever it costs for her rehab, I'll take half. I'll have the electronic fence up for her ankle bracelet so she can't escape, I mean, visit the bars. And, if she does not want to move here, I volunteer to be her driver. As Amy Winehouse sings, "They tried to make me go to rehab. I said no, no, no."

Keith Hernandez talks about his guest role on "Seinfeld". That was only 15 years ago. So many classics in this episode. "Ah, I'm jealous of everybody."

David Stern proves his worth as NBA commissioner. As predicted he said, "rogue" as in "rogue, isolated criminal".

Exercise Yard

More doping at this year's "Tour de France". It's now reached the comical stage, where Alexandre Vinokourov wins a stage and fails a drug test. The current wearer of the yellow jersey, Michael Rasmussen, has missed a couple of drug tests, resulting in a ban at the 2008 Olympics. So, even this win, if it happens, will be tainted.

Visitor

53 Down: "Picnic" playwright (4 letters) Answer: Inge