CNATI: Cincinnati OH Sports Journalism

So, this is probably a little overdue. But I've got a good excuse -- I have no idea what's going on.

I can't tell you how grateful I've been to you guys for keeping CNati afloat for as long as it has. I'm also grateful to so many people, including Lee Heidel, Scott Priestle, Paul Dehner Jr., Brian Baker, Chris Bergman, Paul Armstrong, Katie Budke, John Lachmann, Justice Hill, Ryan Cost and, of course, Michelle Martin Rosecrans for helping out.

But the bottom line is, I need to make money to pay the bills. CNati made a little money, but not a lot. If it weren't for volunteer labor, it wouldn't. It's just not enough.

I've recently taken a job with CBSSports.com and you can read what we're doing here -- and that's a full-time job. With a full-time job comes some off days, something I haven't had for about a year.

So what's next?

I don't know. I know for the time being, we'll be on kind of a break -- or at least I will. Paul will likely do some more High-5s, Brian may shoot more Reds games. We will still host the best Reds message board on the ol' internets in Red Letter Daze.

Honestly, I just haven't felt compelled to do a Thinking Out Loud. It amy come back, but I can't tell you when, how or why. We'll see.

That's what's going on and I have no idea what's next. I hope you understand. Thanks.

I don't have a whole lot today... sorry.

* Anyway, a sad sign-off from one of my best friends, Josh Katzowitz. But Josh is starting a new job today, with CBSSports.com. So, yeah, it's goodbye to GoBearcats.com for him, but you'l still be able to read him. After you read the baseball blog, of course.

* My buddy Corey Brinn has some great photos from Star Wars night at the Wisconsin Timberrattlers game in Appleton, Wisc.

* Stephen Strasburg actually slept on a couch in the clubhouse before a game. Inexcusable. (I hope the sarcasm comes through here...)

* A nice story on the Bengals' Michael Johnson mentoring a kid from his hometown of Selma, Ala.

* If you're a football coach, I doubt there are a better $50 than you could spend than for Mike Zimmer's coaching clinic. All the money from your fee goes to charity, so it's win-win. Here are more details.

* Speaking of charity events, John Thornton's Bowling for Autism event was this weekend, and CNati bought a lane. What a spectacular event. Even though John's not playing anymore, his company, JockBiz, is still here and next year you'l have to go. A lot of Bengals players there and in the end, the championship round came down to me and Pat Sims. I talked some smack, but Pat ended up winning. Pat's a good bowler.

Then at the after-party event, Chris Bergman and I spent some time talking to Darrelle Revis, who was impressive off the field as he is on the field.

* Check out the menu for the Taste of the NFL event. Sounds awesome.

* I love my Georgia Bulldogs, but I don't think I'm going to go around punching people if they don't like 'em -- like Vince Young. Unless they're from Tech, but the law is on my side there, everyone knows they deserve it.

* The English press had some fun with headlines after the US-England draw.

* The DLP can't stand me having the World Cup on TV because of the vuvuzelas, and I might get helped if FIFA bans them from games. I don't know why, but I kind of like them. Maybe because I giggle and do a dubble-take when I read the name.

* But Cincinnati loves the World Cup.

* I'm happy Japan won. They're one of my teams, too. I was living in Japan when soccer just exploded there.

Sometimes I don't know if I'm watching a seismic shift, evolution or just a blip, That's how I'm watching college football realignment and glad I'm not someone like Mike Thomas right now.

OK, Thomas is paid quite a bit and has a nice gig, but UC and the rest of the Big East has to be holding its breath.

Still, the Big East worry is on the backburner for Big 12 angst.

Anyone else noticed that the Big 12 now has 10 teams and the Big 10 has 12?

Anyway, talked to my sister a bit last night about all this -- she went to Texas A&M for undergrad and medical school, so she's quite interested.

The thing that just doesn't make sense to me is the geography of the whole thing. Sure, the A-10 is neither Atlantic nor 10, but Cincinnati to Philly is a little bit easier for women's soccer teams than say College Station to Corvalis, or Lubbock to Pullman.

It seems A&M wants to go to the SEC, and the SEC wants A&M. But will A&M leave Texas? The thing is, A&M seems to fit in with the SEC more in georgraphy and philosophy. It makes sense. Then does the SEC go one more and add Virginia Tech? Or three more to 16 teams and add... who? Not too many of the other ACC teams make sense from a money standpoint, maybe Florida State, but other than FSU, none of the other teams make sense unless in some strange world you can add UNC -- but you can't.

From the ACC, Georgia Tech and Clemson don't add any new markets. Miami doesn't either, and it's a smaller, private school. They've already got one of those and it doesn't really fit, either. Duke and UNC probably stay together, NC State doesn't bring you enough of North Carolina. Boston College doesn't fit in the ACC, much less the SEC.

In the end, it's a high-priced game of Tetris and nobody wants to try to fit in one of the big pieces when the music is getting faster.

* I'm curious what happens to Missouri now -- for so long it was just assumed the Big 10 wanted them, now they have to count on Notre Dame -- something you never want to do for conference affiliation.

* Poz on the history of the Big 12.

* The TV money side of all of this.

* In light of the sanctions against USC, Tommy Tuberville says Auburn deserves the 2004 title.

* Holy crap what a goal by Tsabalala to open the World Cup. And what a name! I'm pretty excited for the next month of soccer. Every four years I think I should get more into soccer -- and I like soccer a lot, I just don't follow it -- and for the World Cup I'm usually watching as many of the games as I can. But somehow I just can't get into club soccer as much as national team soccer.

I'm hoping the US can make a little run, and I like England a lot, too (although I want them to finish second in their group). My usual second-favorite team, Nigeria, didn't qualify is in Group B. I was at the gold medal game in Atlanta in 1996 and watched the Super Eagles win it and their fans won everyone over.

* Going to the World Cup is still on my list of things to do in life.  I've covered a US-Mexico qualifier and it may have been one of my all-time favorite events I've covered. When the World Cup was in the US, I was living in Japan. When the World Cup was in Japan, I was living in the US.

* Now that I think of it, I've watched at least parts of the last two World Cups with Josh Katzowitz. We worked at teh Post together in 2006 and then we were at the Georgia Sportswriter's Association  conference in 2002 when the US was playing a game. I'm pretty sure I'll be watching a coupel of games with Josh this time, too.

* The UC men's soccer staff is blogging about the World Cup.

* Chris Heisey, Chris Dickerson and Nick Masset will be at the Kenton County Animal Shelter tomorrow as part of the shelter's Adopt-a-thon.

* Larry Granillo at Wezen-Ball is quickly becoming my favorite baseball blogger. I kinda have a baseball blogger crush on the dude. The inventor of Tater Trot Tracker has developed a baseball chess set.

* When was the last time you heard the words "Philadelphia" and "friendly" in the same sentence? I don't know of one... Anyway, Citizen's Bank Park tops  PETA's list of "Vegetarian Friendly Ballparks." GABP does not appear.

* They're already working on a sequel for the Green Lantern. Bit cocky don't ya think?

* The Ralph Macchio Funny or Die video is pretty awesome.

* Did Alfred Hitchcock invent "that's what she said"?

* Are food bloggers worth the hassle to restaurants? I'm guilty of taking pictures with my iPhone at a restaurant if something is really cool looking, but I've never used flash. I also did some of that when I was putting together the spring training guide.

* Speaing of food, the Oxford American visits Weaver D's in Athens, Ga. Get the mac and cheese. You must.

* Amazon has the MP3 of the National's Alligator on sale for $3.99. A fantastic album from some Cincy guys.

* A look at the history of Jock Jams.

Last night reminded me of LeBron's debut. I was sick of the hype, was pretty sure it was more of that than actual substance -- but when I watched Stephen Strasburg, damn it if he didn't live up to what everyone was saying. Dude is legit.

I was really, really impressed. Guy throws 100 and has a wicked curve. I thought his curve was as impressive as the heat. The change wasn't just there -- but those first two pitches were so good that it didn't matter.

He'll have outings where he'll take his lumps, but as long as he stays healthy, dude is the real deal.

* You may have missed this, but I had a story in CityBeat last week about the Reds' walk-up music choices.

* A nice read by Jeff Pearlman on Ken Griffey Jr. -- he's pretty much spot-on, as far as I'm concerned.

* Twins hitters aren't happy with a couple of things at Target Field. This happens in every new park and the home team usually gets what they want, in some way.

* Topps is producing a Stephen Strasburg rookie card from last night, but should also add a Mike Leake, among others.

* I love going to minor league games, and I'd always heard good things about Greenville, S.C., but now that park's on the top of my list. Check out these photos and it'll be there for you, too.

* The author of The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America's Pastime doesn't agree with a columnist in our fair city.

* A look at the myth that Big 10 teams make more money than anyone else off TV rights.

* In defense of Golden Tate, Top Pot doughnuts are amazing.

* Disney is shutting down most of its ESPN Zone restaurants. I've eaten at ones a couple of times, and never had anything really good. But they did have a ton of TVs -- including TVs at the urinals. There were worse palces to watch the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

* There's apparently only one newspaper prop in Hollywood.

* Eastbound and Down comes back Sept. 26.

* Mr. T is unhappy with the violence in the A-Team movie. Really?

* Voltron is coming back.

* Chris Rock asked Jay Leno about "the redheaded guy."

* The Montreal Gazette interviews Matt Berninger of The National.

* Corin Tucker, formerly of Sleater-Kinney, is coming out with a solo album.

First off, CNati will be undergoing some changes here in the next couple of weeks and the next month. Why? Because I've accepted a job with CBSSports.com and that will make it impossible to do what I've been doing with CNati.

That doesn't mean CNati is dying. It means we're changing.

Thinking out loud will still be around, although I may change it from five days a week to a different frequency. I'm not exactly sure how often that will be now, but I'm not going away.

CNati will be less focused on the day-to-day. Instead, we'll take a step back and look at the bigger picture. It's something that's hard to do sometimes when you're focused on a game story or the latest transaction. Instead, we'll look more at personalities, trends and analysis more than rehashing what has happened.

There will be more changes and we'll announces those later on. Stay tuned and thanks for everything thus far.

* No shocker here, the Reds lead the big leagues in the fastest home run trots -- and former Red Adam Rosales is the fastest in the big leagues around the bases.

* Reds fans don't have to be reminded who was drafted after Chad Mottola, but, well, yeah, the New York Times reminds you anyway.

There was a really interesting quote from Mottola in the story, he said, "The only thing I regret is not taking steroids."

I wonder how many other career minor leaguers would say the same thing?

One thing that should be noted, the Reds had a young, Hall of Fame-caliber shortstop at the time, but I think Jeter could have played somewhere else, maybe third or second.

That's why GMs talk all the time about taking the best available player, regardless of position -- and that's why the Reds took Yonder Alonso two years ago despite having Joey Votto.

* Morgan Ensberg remembers his draft day.

* A must-read on Jim Joyce.

* Sarasota has approved the upgrades to Tired Old Ed Smith Stadium, but a new lawsuit has popped up. I'll still believe the upgrades when I see them.

* Paul Rudd, Rob Riggle and Will Farrell made it to a Royals game and made some funnies. C'mon Chen!

* The Indians' clubhouse manager makes portraits out of Legos.

* One of the UGA blogs I read linked to this story I wrote when John Wooden came to Athens several years ago. As I mentioned, it was an honor to meet him.

* Scott Miller is frustrated with the idiots that run newspapers.

* I gotta admit, I enjoyed this critique of Bill Simmons. I used to enjoy Simmons, but don't read him anymore, because, well, I'd read it all 10 years ago.

* Remember, this weekend is John Thornton's Bowling for Autism.

* I wonder how much better my resume would look to future employers with Bootsy Collins' Funk University on it.

* NPR is streaming the new Gaslight Anthem album. The last couple of times I've listened to a streamed new album, I've not liked it anywhere near as much as the real album. It's probably the speakers on my laptop.

* I'm pretty excited to pick up the reissue of what Kyle Broflovski calls the the greatest album ever. It's also the first CD I ever bought.

* The LA Times Magazine names Duane Allman the greatest guitarist ever.

* Astoria, Ore., celebrated the 25th anniversary of The Goonies

* A day in the life of sitcom writers.

* When zombies attack, the University of Florida is going to be sorry they called it "a joke."

* Was President Obama in the "Whoomp (There it Is)" video?

* A loyal reader sent on his new project, "a sci-fi 24" web series called "Zimm" -- although it has nothing to do with Mike or Don Zimmer.

* OK, first day on a new job, MLB draft, Reds back in town and new iPhones being announced. It's a big, big day.

John Wooden is in grave condition, according to multiple reports.

I don't have a whole lot of autographed stuff around my house -- I have a George Brett 1985 World Series baseball (I bought it on eBay, not knowing it was signed -- they didn't advertise that part), a Jimmy Anderson baseball (we were on the same teams growing up), a Hal McCoy baseball, a Walter Payton poster, a poster from the Baseball Project, a poster from Paul Westerberg and an 8x10 of the pyramid of success made out to me personally. It was a gift from a friend and it's probably my favorite autographed piece of memorbilia.

I was lucky enough to meet Mr. Wooden twice -- once when he spoke at the Classic Center in Athens, invited by then-UGA basketball coach Jim Harrick and once at a press conference for the Wooden Classic in Indy with UC.

Both times I was just taken by the aura of the man, but also how he made everyone feel like an equal. I don't know how to describe it -- there's something about the man the exudes humilty as well as greatness. I'm honored that I've been able to meet the man.

* Wow, Didier Drogba is out of the World Cup with a broken arm. Damn, that makes the World Cup a little less exciting. It was going to be a tough road for the Ivory Coast in Group G, but it looks a little easier now for Portugal and Brazil.

I'm also worried about the sprained anke for Jozy Altidore. But England's Rio Ferdinand was hurt, too, which helps the US.

Yep, I love soccer, I love the World Cup and I'm not going to appologize for it.

* Yesterday's Armando Galarraga-Jim Joyce meeting showed all that is good in baseball. Really, the most credit to both individuals who showed so much class in a difficult situation and turned into an historic moment in a different way than expected. I really find it one of the best stories in humility.

* Jeff Passan on a replay system.

* And, well, I agree with Bud Selig. I said it.


* Former Reds first-round pick Devin Mesoraco was promoted to Class AA Carolina.

* Chris Lang in Lynchburg (Va.) has a story on Eric Davis visiting the Reds' High Class A Lynchburg Hillcats.

* A Reds minor leaguer gives a different spin to the ballpark proposal.

* FanGraphs tries to evaluate just how much a GIDP hurts.

* Check out this walk-off brawl.

* David Pogue at the NY Times writes that AT&T's new capped data usage could actually save you some money.

* Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney talks about his inability to grow a beard and other stuff.

* This was sent from a reader, and he's right, this would be an amazing show -- The National at the Ryman in Nashville. The Ryman is on my list of places I need to go before I die. Ooh, or how about the Pixies at the Ryman? Man...

* Pictures of the costumes for Thor and Captain America. I finally saw Iron Man 2 last weekend and enjoyed it. It wasn't as good as the first one, but it was enjoyable. The DLP enjoyed it as well, and it was the first time she was OK with Scarlett Johansson, which was a big step for her. I liked the teasers for Captain America and Thor. We were the only people in the theate that waited after the credits to get the last teaser. Also, is it wrong that I judged people I saw coming out of Prince of Persia? There's nothing that makes me want to see that movie.

* How can the Daily Show get better? Add Olivia Munn.

* A review of Burger King's ribs. Shocker, they're not awful.

* I just found out about this Asian FoodFest this weekend... man, lumpia is one of my favorite things in the world. I think I may go and just hang out at the lumpia booth.

I remember the day Ken Griffey Jr. was traded to the Reds. I was working in Athens, Ga., and was laying out the afteroon paper and had to redo quite a bit when it came over the wires.

I don't think I was alone when I had the Reds winning it all in 2000.

That same year, I saw him hit a grand slam at Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

Everyone knows what happened from there. Griffey was never what anyone expected here, even though I'm not sure there were ever realistic expectations.

That, well, that's not something I want to revisit, plenty of others will.

Instead, I'll tell the story that I think says more about Griffey than any home run or catch can.

During spring training of 2008, my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. I knew Griffey's mother had overcome colon cancer a couple of years before. So the day after I found out, I went up to him, "Ken, you got a sec?"

"What's up? What's wrong?" he asked me.

"Yesterday my mom was diagnosed with colon cancer," I said.

"Sit down," and then the first thing he did was give me his mother's phone number to pass on to my mother.

Then we talked for about an hour. He told me what to expect, what I could do and all sorts of other things.

I called my mom and gave her the number. She left a message and Birdie called her back a they talked several times. Birdie was the only person who had actually gone through everything my mom was going to go through she was able to talk to and learned about it. She comforted her and it was invaluable.

If the story stopped there, it would still be a heck of a story. But it didn't.

Every day that spring, Griffey would ask for an update on my mom, when she was going to have surgery, how she was feeling, the rest.

Then throughout the season, he'd ask for more updates. Later that season he was traded to the White Sox.

A couple of weeks after he'd gone to Chicago, the Tampa Bay Rays went there and my friend Marc Lancaster went over to the White Sox's clubhouse to talk to Griffey. The first thing he said, "how's Trent's mom?"

Fortunately, Marc had good news.

I last saw Griffey this spring and again, he was asking about my mom, asking if she'd had her two-year checkup yet. Some may remember the gorgeous swing -- which I once described as "baseball porn" -- or a home-run robbbing catch, but I'll always think of the guy who wanted to make sure my mom was getting the care she needed in a tough time in our family's life. That's the Ken Griffey Jr. I know.

* I know this isn't a popular opinion, but I feel just sick for Jim Joyce.

And this won't be a popular opinion, either -- but I hear all the time about how bad MLB umps are. Of all the calls made in a game, so few are wrong that I'm amazed. There are bad calls out there, but they're aren't as many bad calls as bad swings, bad pitches and bad throws.

That said, I do think replay should be expanded and this could be the impetus.

* And then there's Poz, who knows something about perfection: "Dallas Braden's perfect game was thrilling. Roy Halladay's perfect game was art. But Armando's Galarraga's perfect game was a lesson in grace."

* I heard a lot of people call for Joyce's firing. As if firing one of the best umpires in baseball will help the state of umpiring. I think Joyce will punish himself more than any organization could.

Galaraga, apparently, has forgiven him. And after that, it doesn't really matter. It happened. It's done. I can't see them changing it in any way.

* The New York Times on Scott Rolen and the Reds.

* FYI, the Taste of the NFL event is coming up. From everything I've heard, it's an amazing even with good food and pretty much all the Bengals there. It's also one of the biggest fundraising events of the season for the Freextore Food Bank. If you can swing it, it's definitely a good cause and a good event.

* Proof low-brow sells -- a certain sports website sold for "low-seven figures" without regard to journalism, facts or taste.

* Reader Mark sent me this link about high-alcohol content beers.

* College students in Minnesota make a planetarium look like R2D2.

* In my RSS, it popped up that the greatest TV series of all time is on sale at Amazon for $89.99. So, if you don't own it -- here it is: The Wire: The Complete Series


* Oh, what the heck, one more Junior thing. I didn't realize until later that I saw his last home run (sorta -- it was in spring training).

Here it is, with a video I took.

Reds owner Bob Castellini released this statement on the retirement of Ken Griffey Jr.

"We were very honored to have a first-ballot Hall of Famer like Ken play for us for nine years. The Griffey family is at the center of baseball tradition in Cincinnati, and Ken and his father gave our organization and Reds fans many wonderful memories. Not only was Junior one of the best baseball players of this or any other generation, he is a wonderful person and family man. We wish Ken, Melissa and their family success and happiness in life off the field."

I missed Sam LeCure's debut on Friday because I was sitting on the tarmac in Atlanta. I was kinda bummed.

As soon as the Reds drafted LeCure in 2005, I heard from my family. My parents are from a small town in central Missouri, LeCure is from a small town that's close to my parents' small town. His hometown is called Centertown, it's between my dad's hometown of California and the big city -- Jefferson City, the capital of the state.

Now, it's kinda misleading to say that LeCure was the next-door neighbor of my aunt Rita, but, well, the LeCure's house is one of the cloest houses to my aunt's, but, well, it's not exactly like I think of next door. So technically, it may be. Anyway, the short version is my family knows the LeCures, and so I've kept tabs on LeCure through the process.

When LeCure was in big league camp this spring, I got to talk to him quite a bit, and besides the connection, he's just a good dude. And I love talking to guys after their debuts. I missed two last week, LeCure and Enerio Del Rosario. It's a special day for anyone who has dreamed of making the big leagues.

I talked to LeCure on Saturday and he said he wasn't as nervous as he thought he was going to be on Friday -- and a little run support didn't hurt. He did, however, note that he'd be more nervous facing the Cardinals because he's so close to home.

Centertown, as its name would imply, is in the middle of the state. My family is split between Royals and Cardianls fans, but it's mostly Cardinals fans. LeCure said he wasn't really a fan of either team, he played more baseball than watched it. They got three TV channels, so it wasn't something he kept up with.

But that doesn't mean he doesn't have Cardinal fans in his family, they're mostly Cardinal fans. And he was searching for tickets, he'd used his allotment and called Matt Holliday to ask for more. Holliday's father, Tom, was LeCure's pitching coach at Texas, so he hoped to get more tickets for friends and family (LeCure has five brothers and two sisters -- so there's plenty of family -- I understand, since my mom is one of 11).

Anyway, hopefully all goes well for the LeCures today.

Here's an article in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat about LeCure.

* Not sure if you read our story from St. Louis last night, I found this statement from Tony La Russa about Scott Rolen odd -- ""He's an outstanding player when he's healthy. Their manager has probably gotten more out of him than I did. I know that's true."

Did he mean that Rolen didn't give it his all for him? Matt Leach, who covers the Cardinals for MLB.com, doesn't think so. Matt's pretty in tune with things, so I usually like to get his side on these things. Still, I thought it was odd.

* A good win last night, but way too much emphasis seems to be put on it as the key to the season for me. It's really early. But it's better that they won than losing. If the Reds hang in this thing, there will be at least four more "key wins" in the next couple of months. That said, as a really good win.

* Aroldis Chapman impressed at least one person in Columbus last night.

* Jeff Passan on Colby Lewis' stint in Japan making him an ace.

* The Supreme Court is stacked with baseball fans.

* If you missed Alberto Colypso avoiding a tag, check it out here. The same blog post talks about the book Odd Man Out: A Year on the Mound with a Minor League Misfit. I talked to the Bengals' Quan Cosby, who was also on that Provo Angels team, about the book, but he said you just don't talk about what goes on in the clubhouse and beyond, so he wouldn't comment on any specifics. Cosby said he hadn't read the book.

* Good news for those of you going to Bengals games -- the NFL is letting teams show the RedZone channel during the games.

* The most important news of the day, Uga VII won't be ready for UGA's opener, so that means more of Russ, who is undefeated.

* My friend Josh Katzowitz on his favorite sport, boxing.

* I hope for the best for the Cincinnati Rollergirls, who are dealing with a scandal of their own.

* Magazine prices on the iPad seem out of whack. Pricing is a funny thing, but one of the keys to online content. Double the print version is not the way to do it. It'll have to be less than the print version.

* Christina Hendricks. Always a good thing.

* I was listening to my podcast of All Songs Considered yesterday, and the topic was borrowed from High Fidelity (one of my all-time favorite books), best side 1, track 1. I couldn't believe they didn't have London Calling -- but they did have a couple of good points, just about any Led Zepplin or Rolling Stones (especially Gimmie Shelter from Let It Bleed and they kicked it all off with one of the best, Let's Go Crazy from Purple Rain ). From more recent albums, I guess I'll be predictable and go with one Wilco track, I Am Trying To Break Your Heart from Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and Stuck Between Stations from Boys and Girls in America by a nose over Constructive Summer from Stay Positive.

What you got?

Well, I'm back.

I don't know how I managed when I was young. That's kinda what the three grown-ups figured out with our boys' week through Georgia.

Really, it's amazing what we were able to do when we were young and stupid. Now old and stupid, it's just difficult. But fun. Younger me would be disappointed we didn't see last call anywhere we went.

That said, when you can spend that kind of quality time with two of your best friends, you should do it.

It's something I want to do yearly. Last year I went with some friends down to Savannah for a boys' fishing trip and besides not really catching any fish, it was a great time. This year, it was good friends and music -- three nights of the Hold Steady.

Had three great nights -- the first in a tiny place in Savannah, where I could reach out and touch the band. The second night was in my hometown of Athens, where it was nice to see more friends and my old stomping grounds, including my favorite bar and favorite venue in the world. Also, Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers joined the band for a song. In all, it was an amazing week with amazing friends.

It's sad that as we grow up, geography can get between us and the people we love. My friends live in Savannah and D.C. and I live in Cincinnati. Another of my best friends from Cincinnati is moving to Atlanta this year. It's a sad part of growing up, but it's important to find time to spend with the people you love while you can. Just a wonderful week withw onderful people and wonderful shows.

* Yeah, sometimes if you look at my links, you get where my head is... not a lot of sports stuff right now...

* Poz on perfect games. And Kevin Kaduk points out six of the 20 perfect games have been 1-0. That's crazy. You know what's even crazier? All six of those runs in 1-0 perfect games were unearned. That's beyond crazy, it's insane.

* Frankie Piliere of AOL Fanhouse has his mock draft and has the Reds taking a college catcher.

* Two minor league hamburger stories -- one on Dayton's Mark Fleury downing the infamous Fifth-Third Burger in Michigan and the other of a Royal-themed burger in Arkansas.

* The New York Times on Japanese knuckleballer Eri Yoshida and her debut in the Golden League.

* The daughter of former Reds pitcher Bill Gullickson, Chelsea, won the NCAA women's singles title.

* My buddy Jay G. Tate on a rant about college baseball. He's not wrong.

* Richard Sandomir on Jay Glazer's journalistic conflict of interest.

* The Avett Brothers talk about working with Rick Rubin.

* Info on the new Arcade Fire album. I was slow to come around to the Arcade Fire, but love 'em now.

* The Boston Globe talks to Aaron Dessner of The National.

* The Louisville Courier-Journal gets to the bottom of people yelling out "Freebird" at concerts.

* How to obtain Dwight Schrute's special skills.

* ABC Family has bought the syndication rights to Friday NIght Lights.

* You know, I do think Andy Richter woud make a great game show host and he's apparently going to host a reboot of Pyramid. I've been a big fan fo Richter for a long time. He came to speak at UGA when I was in school there and one of my favorites was during the Q&A, my buddy Andy asked him how a harem girl dances.

* Michael Bay is taking on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

* DC is issuing a hardcover version of their Wednesday comics. If you didn't see the Wednesday broadsheet comics, you missed out. They were great.

* Neil Strauss's The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists is being made into a movie.

* Avenue Q deals with the loss of Gary Coleman. There's something about what I read on Twitter on Friday about Coleman's death that really bugged me about humanity and technology.

* Time's 50 worst inventions.

I don't know that Burger King's ribs are on there -- but I'm guessing they would be if the list were written today. I'm tempted to try them, just so I know how bad they are.