MLB Players Union Accuses NY Times of Criminal Act after Red Sox players named

Editor & Publisher, Joe Strupp: NEW YORK : "The Major League Baseball Players Association is accusing The New York Times of committing a crime in its attempt to identify players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

• In a statement late Thursday, Players Association President Donald Fehr claims Times reporter Michael S. Schmidt broke the law when he sought to interview people with knowledge of a controversial 2003 list of some 100 players who tested positive. That list has been the subject of litigation and has been under court seal.

Fehr responded to Schmidt's Thursday story revealing that Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were on the list. Last month, he previously had disclosed that former player Sammy Sosa was on the list.

• "Today The New York Times, once again, reports what it asserts to be information contained in documents under court seal. And precisely for that reason, the Players Association will not, indeed cannot, comment on whether the information is accurate," the statement says.

"But there should be no mistake. The leaking of information under a court seal is a crime. The active pursuit of information that may not lawfully be disclosed because it is under court seal is a crime. That its informants, according to the Times, are lawyers is both shocking and sad....

• Schmidt told E&P on Thursday that he had sought to interview anyone who might have knowledge of the list after Sports Illustrated reported in February that Alex Rodriguez had been among the 2003 players to test positive."... "" "Players Union accuses 'NYT' of Criminal Action in Steroid Reporting," Editor and Publisher, via Poynter.org/Romenesko

(I couldn't find any record that the players union accused Sports Illustrated and its employees in the Alex Rodriguez case). sm

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How to recognize a 'concerned' troll

• Examples of trolls today:

"The Concerned Troll

• "I feel bad for Sarah,"...
• (or fill in the name of any high achieving figure who is famous in spite of the media's best efforts to defame or marginalize them)
• (continuing) "...really. She does have promise but she was thrust into the spotlight way too early and she simply wasn't ready..."
• "There's no denying Sarah was dealt some tough cards. She had a left-leaning MSM that was out to put a dagger in her candidacy from day one. Instead of playing the hand she was dealt, she folded. Sarah couldn't stand the heat and so she left the kitchen... we absolutely need fresh moral leadership. We'll never get it from a quitter."

Speak Softly While Manipulating a Change of Focus

• I don't like Obama's policies anymore than you do, but as an undergrad law student I have to tell you that this case has had its day in court and the court has ruled that Obama is a US Citizen. I think it's time for us to move on to more substantive issues."...

Some trolls try to disrupt via personal attacks. Others use 'caring' approaches as above. The point is they are everywhere -they overwhelm baseball forums.

• Reference from American Thinker article, "Caution: Trolls at Work," by Jennifer Colville, 7/31/09 via Lucianne.com

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Media test positive for Big Dopes

What should be instructive for the media in planning future exposes is that one player (it could be anyone but happened to be Bonds)

• wasn't on the 2003 list. Until his sample was retested,

• at which point he was termed positive.

(NY Times on the news about Ortiz and Ramirez): "Five others have been tied to positive tests from that year: Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Jason Grimsley and David Segui.

• Bonds, baseball’s career home runs leader, was not on the original list,

• although federal agents seized his 2003 sample and

• had it retested. Those results showed

• the presence of steroids, according to court documents."...

"Ortiz and Ramirez said to be on '03 Doping List," NY Times, by Michael S. Schmidt, 7/30/09

• P.S. From the same article:

"The players union issued a statement, saying it could not comment on the matter.

• “The leaking of information under a court seal is a crime,”

Donald M. Fehr, the union’s executive director, said in the statement.

• “The active pursuit of information that may not lawfully be disclosed because it is under court seal

• is a crime.”

The NY Times saves the most interesting piece of the story until the last sentence:

• "In February (2009), he (David Ortiz) said that players who tested positive for steroids
• should be suspended for an entire season — about 100 games more than the current policy requires for a first offense."

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Cincinnati Reds put WLW back on top

"After a dip in winter ratings, WLW-AM (700) roared to the top of nearly all categories in Arbitron's spring quarter.

• The Clear Channel news-talk-sports station was No. 1 with all listeners ages 12 and up, and the age 25-54 demographic sought by most advertisers, throughout weekdays and weekends.

WLW-AM and KQRS-FM, a Minneapolis classic rock station, were the only two stations in top 30 markets to register a double-digit audience share, according to Radio-Info.com, a trade Web site....

• The station rebounded to first from fifth place

• 7 p.m.-midnight in winter with the return of Cincinnati Reds games."...

...via Radio Daily News

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Mr. Steinbrenner at Yankee-Rays game

George Steinbrenner watches Yankee-Tampa Bay Rays game, 7/29/09. Suzyn Waldman said he spent about a half hour in Joe Girardi's office, a few players dropped in, he seemed in good spirits, said team was doing well. ap photo.

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Fox Sports dares to be anti-ESPN, Obama makes list of those they wish would go away

Fox Sports dares to be the anti-ESPN- not dazzled with a 56 foot throw on July 14 nor does it declare the First Fan some super athlete.

"Fox Sports Net goes after the president's "athleticism" and after the king of sports media in one swell foop," by Jeff Emanuel, Redstate.com

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Jeff Wilpon says he pitched Adam Rubin's name for a job at Mets tv--NY Times

• The NY Times notes The NY Daily News has a regular show on the Mets TV channel, SNY- so everyone knows each other. Sometime after Tuesday's telecast, Jeff Wilpon manages to bring Adam Rubin back into the picture after bashing Omar Minaya for doing so:

(NY Times, Sandomir): "...it was jarring to see the “Daily News Live” panel on (SNY the NY Mets television channel) Tuesday ignore the Rubin-Minaya dust-up. Maybe there was no news to advance the story, by 5:30 p.m., but it was worth a second-day perspective.

• But by 6 p.m., video of Jeff Wilpon, the Mets’ chief operating officer, saying that Minaya had put the Mets in a “bad spot” and apologizing to Rubin had been posted on “Wheelhouse”;

• it was repeated on the Mets’ pregame show.

Given the SNY/Mets/(NY Daily) News ties, is it surprising that Wilpon also said that

• a while back he had circulated (Daily News reporter, Adam) Rubin’s name to the network’s

• executive producer about potential employment?"

(Item at end of column by NY Times' Richard Sandomir, "Ties that Bind SNY, the (Daily) News and the Mets,"

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Mets have long lost lovable facade--George Vecsey

George Vecsey: "(Jeff) Wilpon did not transmit any human need to address the roughing-up the reporter (Adam Rubin) had taken in Wilpon’s ballpark.

• For an organization that has long lost its lovable facade,

• it was a major tumble down the chute

• of incompetence and arrogance."

Last sentence in NY Times column by George Vecsey, "Mets Latest Error Comes from Front Office," 7/28/09

• Jeff Wilpon is one of only 5 owners on the MLB Channel's Board of Directors.

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Church sign: 'God Loves Everybody, Even the Mets'

Joshua Missionary Baptist Church, Huntington, Long Island posted during the week of July 20th. photo from Newsday with article, "Huntington Church's Sign Touts God's Love and the Mets," by Joe Tyrrell, 7/27/09

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Adam Rubin 2006 book, "Pedro, Carlos, and Omar"

From Amazon.com: "Review

“It would be hard to find a more comprehensive review of what was…a fascinating season.” — Baseball America

“The most recent fun baseball read I've had.” — Palm Beach Post

“The book offers welcome respite from the steroid controversy by focusing on the players, the personalities and the game.” — Miami Herald

Product Description An inside look at the Mets' resurgence thanks to the influx of Latino stars, with an update to report on the

• team's return to first place in 2006, when they got off to their best start in twenty-one years."

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Hank Aaron and Yogi at Cooperstown

Hank Aaron and Yogi Berra chat during Cooperstown gathering, 7/26/09. getty photo.

• Yogi-ism from 2006 Hall of Fame weekend:

"It wouldn't be a Hall of Fame weekend without at least one Yogi-ism. As he came off the golf course Saturday in the midst of one of several thunderstorms to interrupt the weekend festivities, Yogi Berra asked Hall of Fame VP Jeff Idelson:

• "How come it rains every Hall of Fame weekend?
• They need to move it to a different weekend." " from Bill Madden, NY Daily News 7/31/06

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First Yankee sellout may be Army-Notre Dame--Mushnick

(NY Post): "If or when the Yankees make the playoffs, ticket pricing will have to be reduced

• or the first sellout in Yankee Stadium

• will be the Army-Notre Dame game."..."NFL Commish allows (KC) Chiefs to fleece fans," by Phil Mushnick, 7/26/09

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Radio host Michael Savage targeted by UK to placate Muslims--emails

(UK Mail): "Emails written by Home Office officials privately acknowledged the ban on Mr Savage would

• provide 'balance' to a list dominated by Muslims - and linked the decision to Gordon Brown

• and Foreign Secretary David Miliband....

Now, correspondence released under Freedom of Information legislation suggests the banning of Mr Savage, whose real name is Michael Weiner, was based on a party political calculation made at the highest level of Government.

One message, sent by an unidentified Home Office official on November 27 last year, said that

• 'with Weiner, I can understand that disclosure of the decision would help provide a balance of types of exclusion cases'.

The documents include a draft recommendation, marked 'Restricted', saying: 'We will want to ensure that the names disclosed reflect the broad range of cases and are not all Islamic extremists.'

A further email confirmed the decision was approved at the highest level of Government, saying: 'HO [Home Office] intend to include Weiner in their quarterly stats...

• Both the FS [Foreign Secretary] and PM [Prime Minister] are firmly behind listing and naming such people.'

• One civil servant, again unnamed, counselled caution, saying: 'I think we could be accused of duplicity in naming him' - without explaining why - and even added that 'the fact that he is homophobic does help'." from UK Mail Online, by Glen Owen, "US Shock Jock Savage Targeted 'to balance least wanted list'" 7/25/09 ******

UK Muslims to Get Separate Police force who better understand

• "honour killings" and forced marriages,

Sunday Express, 7/23/09, "Muslims Could Get Own Police"

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Government allied media have a pebble in their patent leather pumps--talk radio, of course.

Government allied media control much of what we know and don't know. This is fine with both the left AND right today-neither side likes dissent. The right, a small group sometimes known as republicans, is eager to side with the left and wants no intrusion from constituents. A news blog writes that nevertheless, 7 Democrat US representatives are questioning the contents of the government's pending health bill--what nerve that something over 1000 pages should be questioned-- and comes up with 4 culprits:

• 1. Their pesky constituents have communicated objections to the bill.

• 2. These constituents live in states that have talk radio stations. (The states with apparent dimwits are: Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio, Tennessee, and Utah).

• 3. Pew Research says (only) 22% of Americans get news from talk radio (which proves the opposite of what the author is worried about).

• 4. When a lie is told on talk radio no one is there to correct it. In this case, the writer surmises a lie is told about the health bill, an outraged citizen complains to one of the 7 named democrats, who then--in dazed stupor objects to the health bill. And it's all talk radio's fault, the author deduces.

Who is there to correct or amplify everyday blanket coverage from national TV Networks who broadcast government propaganda, the NY Times, Washington Post, LA Times, MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, CNBC, the Comedy Channel, Newsweek, Time, Boston Globe, ABC Radio Networks, and many more?

• Reference: "Talk Radio Rules Blue Dog States," 7/23/09, by Sue Wilson at Huffington Post, via Radio Daily News

(Democrats of course don't need these 7 to pass anything in the House. They have a vast majority without them).

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Virginia Gov. Kaine special commission never interviewed Va. Tech counselor who removed Cho records

"(Virginia Governor Tim) Kaine's special commission on the shootings did not interview Miller, W. Gerald Massengill, the panel's chairman and a retired state police superintendent, said Wednesday."..."

• "The missing mental health records of Seung Hui Cho, who was responsible for the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, mysteriously resurfaced last week
• in the home of the former director of the university's counseling center.

Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) announced Wednesday that the records, which neither the state police nor a state investigative commission had been able to locate,

• turned up as a result of pretrial discovery in two lawsuits that have been filed by families of Cho's victims.

University officials received the records last Thursday but did not inform state police until Monday and did not provide copies of the records to state police until Tuesday,

• five days after they were recovered, according to Corinne Geller, a state police spokeswoman....

Kaine (D) did not identify the Virginia Tech employee who had the records, but a memo written by a university lawyer identified him as Robert Miller.

• Miller headed the Cook Counseling Center at the university
• until 2006,

• the year before

• the Virginia Tech massacre, the worst mass shooting by an individual in U.S. history.

On April 16, 2007, Cho killed 32 students and teachers and wounded many more before taking his own life.

• Miller took Cho's records and those of "several other students" when

• he was transferred from the counseling center to the Human Resources Department,

• according to the memo from the Virginia Tech lawyer, Mary Beth Nash, to Kaine's office....

Lucinda Roy, a Virginia Tech English professor who encouraged Cho to get counseling, said the late and mysterious reappearance of the records adds to concern that the university has been more concerned with preserving its reputation than with providing the public with a thorough account of how Cho's case was handled. ...

• "It was always puzzling to me that they couldn't find the records and"...

Due to her safe, puzzled passivity, 32 people were murdered.

• (Continuing, Washington Post): "there was not a huge push to try to find them."

Because of Cho's odd behavior, his stalking of a fellow student and his threats to kill himself,

• Cho was detained in a psychiatric hospital in December 2005.

• A judge found him to be a danger to himself

and released him on condition that he receive mental health counseling.

• That day, at 3 p.m., Cho showed up at the Cook Counseling Center.

The long-missing records, Owczarski said, are now on file there."

• Va. Tech Shooter's Mental Files Turn Up, State Probes Failed to Find Records," by Brigid Schulte and Rosalind S. Helderman, Washington Post, 7/23/09, ap photo, Gov. Tim Kaine

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'Ink-stained wretches' have reason to do Selig's laundry--lifelong jobs

"In its nine years, MLB.com has thrown lifelines to ink-stained wretches from coast to coast. There are now a dozen

• MLB (MLB.com) Web writers who hold Hall of Fame votes, including

• editor Mark Newman,
• national writers Hal Bodley and
• Barry Bloom and
• beat writers Marty Noble (Mets),
• T.R. Sullivan (Rangers),
• Carrie Muskat (Cubs),
• Dick Kaegel (Royals) and
• Chris Haft (Giants)."...

from Sports Business Journal, "No News is Bad News, Decline in Local Coverage pushes sports to Innovate" 7/20/09, by Bill King

• If baseball reporters are not independent minded and seek cradle to grave security, they're in the right place. Bud Selig is known to be quite invested in control of media, portrayals of players, awards, and the like. Now he has the MLB TV Network and increased control of programming on XM 175 Home Plate and Sirius 210 (MLB Network Radio) yielding a bunch more prizes to be handed out.

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Yankee fan throws back home run ball hit by Oriole in 9th inning

Orioles @ Yankees, 7/22/09, this ball hit by either Adam Jones or Nick Markakis. photo by getty

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Tony Bernazard center of attention inside and outside Mets clubhouse

NY Daily News back cover, 7/22/09 "With Tony Bernazard's Actions, Off-field Antics Beginning to look Worse than Mets' Play on it," by John Harper

• Reference: "Omar Minaya's Mets have issues with injuries and Inside the Clubhouse," by Bill Madden, 7/4/09

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Where are MLB DNA test results being held and how secure are they?

In light of MLB's record regarding lab tests and the conditions under which results are held, I wondered how recent DNA tests were being handled. Two articles about MLB's use of DNA testing do not mention the lab they're using, how samples are stored, and who exactly is in charge of their security. Is the lab in Canada, the US, or elsewhere? Can some authority come into the place and grab the samples? If confidential information about lab results is leaked, who will be fired if anyone?

• The late Doug Pappas noted in May 2004 that Selig moved MLB testing to Canada, out of immediate reach of US authorities.

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Brian Roberts waits for the call

Roberts attempted to score on a wild pitch by Phil Coke in the 8th, game tied, waits for the call from umpire Adrian Johnson. Orioles @ Yankees, 7/20/09. ap photo.

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Well done Andy

Andy Pettitte goes 7.1 innings, gave up one run in tie game v Orioles, 7/20/09. getty photo

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Ellerson and Weis chat football at Yankee Stadium

NEW YORK - JULY 20, Yahoo: "Army head coach Rich Ellerson and Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weiss speak during a press conference announcing that Yankee Stadium will play host to the 2010 Notre Dame v Army college football game on July 19, 2009 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx borough of New York City. The game is to be played on November 20, 2010." getty photo

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Mike James new Sports Editor of LA Times

Randy Harvey moves up to Associate Editor, 7/2/09.

• Mike James promoted to LA Times Sports Editor, moving up from Deputy Sports Editor, 7/20/09 via Poynter.org/Romenesko

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Winning pitcher Phil Hughes shows it's not a 'waste' to be '8th inning man'

• Posada talks with Hughes during 7th inning of Detroit-Yankee game, proving an '8th inning man' is much more than that and someone you can't win without. ap photo

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Burnett, A	6.0	6	3	3	5	1	1	3.81
Hughes, P (W, 4-2)	2.0	3	0	0	0	6	0	3.76
Rivera, Ma (S, 24)	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2.37

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Larry King sits in on Dodger radio

Larry King is on Dodger radio with Charley Steiner doing fill in color for a few innings, Rick Monday being off til Monday. I heard King say he was in the stands watching the game and someone said, hey why don't you go up and help Charley out for a couple of innings? Larry is of course a big baseball fan from Brooklyn. I think he'd be perfect doing the job of color man on radio full time. He knows how to talk on radio having made his name doing an all night show for many years.

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Obama's Bounce: There was money on it.

Darren Rovell, CNBC.com, 7/14/09: "You can bet on everything these days.

As evidence, consider this bet that was called to our attention for tonight’s All-Star Game in St. Louis.

Will President Obama’s Opening Pitch Be Caught or Not?

• Obama 1^st Pitch Caught In Air -400

• Obama 1^st Pitch Bounces Or Not Caught +300...

“Given Obama’s well-known athletic ability, I felt that he has as good of a shot as anyone to get the ball across the plate,” said Richard Gardner, sportsbook manager for

• Bodog, which is listing the bet....

The maximum bet Bodog is taking is $100 and 80 percent of the action is currently on “caught in air.” For what it’s worth, Bodog says that everything is off if the ball is dropped by the catcher."...

• "Will Obama Bounce It? You can bet on it," by Darren Rovell, CNBC.com, 7/14/09, chart from CNBC.com

(Major media reported Obama made throw without a bounce. Most didn't reveal that Pujols had to move to the front of the plate and put his glove on the ground. It was a safe bet to say it would end up in the catcher's mitt--how could you lose, since the catcher can move all over the place)? sm

• Reference: Despite Media Hope, Obama's Bounce was Changed.

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Sports talk radio expanding on FM band

• CBS Radio to start FM sports talk to rival WEEI.

Boston.com: "CBS Radio revealed yesterday that it will launch a new sports-talk station, named 98.5 The Sports Hub, on Aug. 13 in Boston. The station, which will be heard at 98.5 FM and have the call letters WBZ-FM pending FCC approval, will try to lure listeners with

• call-in shows and broadcasts of New England Patriots and Boston Bruins games....

More broadly, yesterday’s announcement underscores the continuing extension of the talk radio format, long a mainstay of AM radio, into FM territory. Sports radio has proven to be a lucrative format because of its appeal to a

• demographic that can be hard to reach: young and middle-aged male listeners. FM stations are increasingly trying to grab a piece of that audience, with sports-talk shows on FM in Detroit, Dallas, Washington, and, soon, Boston."...

by Don Aucoin, 7/15/09, "FM Start-up Muscling into Sports Talk" via Radio Daily News

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Edmonton listeners keep XM afloat

EDMONTON - "Greater Edmonton has the second highest number of XM satellite radio subscribers in the nation behind Calgary, while Fort McMurray has the highest saturation rate, according to

• parent company Canadian Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (TSX: XSR).

And Alberta played a major role in improved third quarter numbers, the company said.

• Net income was $24.4 million, worth 49 cents a share,

• bolstered by a $16.4 million foreign exchange gain, and $22.8 million of repurchased debt." ...from Edmonton.com, 7/15, via Radio Daily News

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Anticipated tribute to Stan Musial unfulfilled at All Star game--Miklasz

St. Louis fans saw their hero Stan Musial arrive on the field, but only one MLB representative came out of a dugout to shake The Man's hand. Article by Bernie Miklasz, "Musial Tribute Was Kind of a Dud," 7/15/09, St. Louis Post Dispatch. via Rush Limbaugh show.

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Spring 2009 Francesa rating #1 Men 25-54

(Neil Best): "In the spring ratings period covering April 2 through June 24, the big guy (Mike Francesa) backed up his strong words.

• WFAN finished first from 3 to 7 p.m. among men 25-54 with an average of 7.2 percent of the audience,

• compared to 2.1 for (local ESPN AM) 1050, which ranked 18th."...

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NL dugout faces, 9th inning

Joe Torre (left), Tony La Russa (center), and Charlie Manuel (right) view the 9th inning of the All Star game from the NL dugout. photo from SI.com

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Obama recalls beloved 'Cominsky Field'...Costas rushes to rescue him

Obama botches name of beloved Comiskey Park, calls it "Cominsky Field", Bob Costas helps him out.

• via Breitbart TV, via Mark Levin radio show

If you say you're a big baseball fan and you're not, like anything else people will find out. It's perfectly fine if one is just a casual fan.

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Despite Media Hope, Obama's Bounce was Changed

Pujols catching Obama's pitch in front of the plate. photo from Deadspin, view not seen on tv.

• No politician or president is expected to throw a perfect pitch. But if one decides to take the field, don't hide the results.

(Powerline): "Those of you who watched the beginning of the All Star game last night will have noticed that, when President Obama threw the first pitch, the camera shot was a close-up that made it impossible to see whether his pitch was on target. I found this odd, and so did Andy McCarthy.

• I'll make an educated guess that this was done at the insistence of the White House to prevent embarrassment in case Obama's pitch was a poor one. To be sure, the White House ultimately could not prevent everyone from seeing a bad pitch (YouTube and all of that), but using a bizarre camera angle in real time would minimize the number who saw a miscue.

Obama's pitch failed to reach home plate.

• Albert Pujols, serving as Obama's catcher, had stationed himself on the plate, rather than behind it, and still had to lurch forward in the hope of preventing a bounce. He almost succeeded.

There is nothing wrong with a politician throwing a bad pitch, of course.

• Although much was made by some of the strike President Bush threw at Yankee Stadium during the 2001 World Series, there is no relationship between pitching prowess and being a good president.

The point, then, is not Obama's poor pitch, but rather the media's complicity in preventing people from seeing it. Andy is probably right in saying that

• "the sports press is among the media's
• leftiest precincts."

As Andy explains, the weird camera angle was part of a series of choreographing decisions designed to spare Obama from embarrassment:

His entrance was shrewdly orchestrated. The cheers and boos started as soon as he came onto the field, but he was steered immediately over to shake hands with Stan Musial -- the most beloved player in the history of the Cardinals. No true St. Louis fan would boo Satan if he was shaking hands with Stan the Man. The president then went straight to the mound, where today's Stan the Man, the great Pujols, took good care of him -- quickly embracing Obama right after making sure his heave looked borderline respectable ... with a little help from the cameras. Finally, Obama moved was ushered quickly over to the third-base line, where Cardinal legends Bob Gibson, Ozzie Smith, and Lou Brock (among others) were there to share warm-handshakes.

Finally, as Andy notes, the fact that Pujols was behind (or on top of) the plate for Obama's pitch is itself telling. In these situations, it is almost always a catcher who catches the "first" pitch. Pujols, of course, is a first baseman. But he is venerated in St. Louis, so

• the White House chose to make him a prop for the president.

You can't really blame the White House for attempting to stage Obama's appearance this way; nor can major league baseball be expected to resist the White House on cosmetic matters. All I ask is that,

• if a president chooses to take the mound, we get to see what he delivers when he delivers it."

"One Bounce Obama Didn't Want," by Paul Mirengoff, via Lucianne.com

• ****Important P.S.: OBAMA PRESENCE FAILED TO BRING THE CHARM of predecessors who sought THE PUBLICITY OF THIS MEDIA EVENT : from AP: "Not even President Barack Obama's ceremonial first pitch helped the NL,

• which had been 4-0 previously when sitting presidents threw out the first offering." AP story, "Oh, no...not again!," The Herald-Sun, St. Louis, July, 2009

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AL All Stars after the game

Jeter, Youkilis, Rivera, Nathan, Martinez, USA Today photo

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Larry King says Wilpon lost $700 million to Madoff

• Fred Wilpon was King's entree to Madoff years ago but he only lost $2.8 million.

NY Post Mets blog: "CNN's Larry King says that close friend Fred Wilpon lost a staggering $700 million in the Bernie Madoff scheme.

• In a lengthy interview with GQ Magazine in its June issue, King told author Chris Heath that

• Wilpon was responsible years ago for putting King in touch with Madoff to invest.

King said he lost $2.8 million to Madoff, but that Wilpon was duped out of the $700 million. According to Forbes magazine, which values all of the major professional franchises, the Mets are worth $912 million....

• Neither the Mets nor Wilpon have ever confirmed how much he lost with Madoff, who recently began a 150-year prison sentence for the reported $65 billion scam. Earlier reports had put Wilpon's loss at between $300 million-$500 million."...

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Don Ohlmeyer named new ESPN ombudsman

ESPN: "Don Ohlmeyer, one of television's most successful and honored innovators as a producer and programmer in both sports and entertainment television, has been appointed as ESPN's third ombudsman.

• Ohlmeyer will begin an 18-month term in August, offering independent examination, critique and analysis of ESPN.

"Few people on the planet could bring to the role of ESPN ombudsman more credentials, intelligence, a track record of success and the fearlessness to speak his mind than Don Ohlmeyer," John Walsh, ESPN executive vice president and executive editor, said in a statement. "He is a noted maverick in the industry with a vast understanding of media, and we look forward to his contributions."

• Ohlmeyer will share his thoughts via a column on ESPN.com monthly. He succeeds Le Anne Schreiber, a former New York Times sports editor-turned-author whose term recently expired."...via Poynter.org/Romenesko

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Yankees 5 or 6 games better with Chamberlain in pen--Gossage

• Save the 'only 1 inning' rap. It's 3-5 games a week and 70% plus in post season. Unless you prefer running a nursery school.

(NY Post): ""For me, it's a no-brainer," Gossage told The Post, incredulous the Bombers insist on using Chamberlain as a starter instead of in the setup role in which he excelled during 2007.

• "I look at ballgames that this guy could've impacted that they lost. I'm just shaking my head. I can't believe it.

"This guy was their savior two years ago when they didn't have a set-up guy.

• They wouldn't have made the playoffs without Joba. He'd be the perfect [set-up] guy. If you could impact three or four ballgames a week instead of one ...
• I think you're wasting a tremendous talent."

Chamberlain is 4-2 with a 4.25 ERA. But those numbers don't tell the story.

• In seven starts since smothering Cleveland on June 1, he's 1-1 with a 5.05 ERA, reaching seven innings just once. He's allowed nine hits in each of his last three, and over his last two he's coughed up 13 runs and 18 hits.

And while the team insists his problem is about pitch selection not arm strength, his velocity is down.

"His effectiveness and value to the ballclub is in the bullpen," said Gossage. "I think what they're thinking is we can't be jerking this guy around. [But] I don't think they're maximizing his talent.

• They'd be better by five, six games.

"How many games have they lost after six or seven innings? It's huge. I'm not being critical. I just think that's where his value is."" 'Gossage: Put Joba Back in Bullpen,' by Brian Lewis, 7/14/09

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NY Times sells WQXR and WNYC radio

July 14, Bloomberg: "New York Times Co. agreed to sell WQXR-FM, the New York classical-music radio station, for $45 million in a series of transactions with a division of Univision Communications Inc. and public broadcaster WNYC....

• The transaction will end the publisher’s ventures into so-called terrestrial radio; in April 2007, Times Co. sold its WQEW-AM station to Walt Disney Co. for $40 million.

Times Co. has been selling assets, cutting jobs and slashing wages to cope with plunging advertising sales at its New York Times and Boston Globe newspapers. The publisher is also seeking a buyer for its minority stake in the Boston Red Sox baseball team.

• Univision will pay Times Co. $33.5 million to swap broadcasting licenses and shift its WCAA broadcast to 96.3 FM from 105.9 FM, which will become WQXR, according to the statement. Spanish-language WCAA will get 96.3 FM’s stronger signal.
• WNYC will pay Times Co. $11.5 million for 105.9 FM’s license and equipment and the WQXR call letters."...

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MLB sells out All Star game and its fans to an Obama farce

"Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and....Obama?"

• MLB, practically weeping, pitched Obama's support of it as an agent of social change (and legal monopoly) Obama agreed that MLB was in fact worthy of giving him more media attention.

(American Thinker): "Is nothing sacred to Team Obama? Does the most anti-American president in the country's history have to turn everything we true blooded Americans hold dear into The Obama Show 24/7? Wasn't Chevrolet enough? Does the POTUS who built an indoor basketball court in the White House now have to take over Major League Baseball as well? Apparently the answer to all four questions is a resounding "Yes" (as in "Yes We Can", because "I won").

• With just three sitting Presidents throwing out the first ceremonial pitch in an All-Star Game, Barack Obama, self-described sports aficionado, friend of our foes, and narcissist of the year,

• found another golden opportunity to project himself on the world stage.

He also probably noticed that his face has not yet graced the cover of Sports Illustrated. In order to correct that dreadful oversight,

• Obama has decided to inject himself into America's national pastime and be the first President since Gerald Ford in 1976 to toss the first pitch.

Perhaps Obama believes that this will help further ingratiate him to the likes of the Castro brothers and other Latin American despots who also enjoy a good game of baseball. Maybe he will even join MLB's talent scouts on a trip to Cuba to choose the next Tony Perez or Luis Tiant

• since world travel on the taxpayers' dime seems to be something that Obama quite enjoys.

However, since Obama declined an invitation from the Cincinnati Reds to throw out the first pitch at the Civil Rights Game this past Saturday against his beloved Chicago White Sox, as well as requests by the White Sox and the Nationals to toss the ball for their season openers, my guess is that the media attention surrounding the All Star Game was simply too irresistible....

In a Q&A interview with John Brody, senior vice president of corporate sales and marketing for Major League Baseball, Barry Janoff noted:

• Baseball and its partners have made President Obama's call to service in his inauguration speech, in which he asked all Americans to give back to the country and their communities,
• the focal point of their All-Star Game efforts."

John Brody explained the new campaign entitled "This is Beyond Baseball":

"We realized quickly that this year we had to lead and we had to listen to President Obama's call to give back to the country and to the community. We had to look at what we are as a social institution."

Sadly, America's favorite pastime has afforded Obama yet another platform on which to peddle his socialist agenda as he preaches to baseball fans about community service. In Obama speak, fans are to believe that giving back to the community through wealth redistribution is our patriotic duty and is not the same thing as socialism.

Mr. Brody further explained:

• "It started with the President asking during his inauguration in January for all Americans to give back and answer the call for service.
• That led to the White House and Major League Baseball coming together.

When we presented plans about what we and our partners were working on for the All-Star Game, [the White House] knew this was something vital to President Obama's call to service."...

The US government owns the financial industry, it owns the auto industry, and it will soon own the healthcare industry. Should any of us be surprised that Obama is involving himself in the sports industry? Will he speak out regarding players salaries? Probably not. But I would not be surprised if we read in the newspapers that he has ordained a

• new sports czar who is tasked with the job of dictating to the teams' owners what is fair to charge for seats, sodas, and souvenirs....

What is most ironic about MLB's approach to the game is that the type of giving on the part of the sponsors of the event is that of charitable donation. Yet as I wrote previously, one of the ways in which Obama is paying for his socialist "investments" is by

• removing the tax incentives associated with charitable donations.

The promotion of Obama's community service agenda is a farce given the nature of the monetary giving on the part of the game's sponsors.

Mr. Brody's most insightful observation was when he noted that:

• "It's also about the tremendous pageantry of having the President of the United States come to the All-Star Game and throw out the ceremonial first pitch."

And our POTUS loves pageantry. What's next? The Obama's walking down the red carpet at the Academy Awards and announcing the winner of the Best Picture? Perhaps someone from her $1.5 million staff can teach Michelle the words to the Star Spangled Banner which she could sing at the World Series - now that would certainly be something for the little misses who was never proud of her country until it was handed it her on a silver platter."... from article by Laurie Regan, 7/14/09, "Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie, and ...Obama?" American Thinker, via Lucianne.com Selig can set an example by giving Obama half his $18 million salary this year, which would be $9 million. He obviously doesn't "need" the money, and in the spirit of Obama's inaugural address, as MLB instructs, it's only fair that he give back. Last year they sold the All Star game to global warming profiteers. I'd rather see baseball close down than have it sold off like this. (sm)

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Oakland All Star Bailey studies Mo tapes--SF Chronicle

New All Star Oakland A's closer Andrew Bailey studies tape of Mariano Rivera before every series.

• (SF Chronicle): "Bailey's rise began last season, when he started throwing a cut fastball, a pitch Rivera has used to become one of the all-time elite closers.

"That's who I want to emulate, especially with my cutter," Bailey said. "I'm trying to do what he does."

• So much so that Bailey (4-1, 10 saves, 1.92 ERA)

• watches tapes of Rivera before
• every series.

Each tape is of Rivera facing the team the A's are about to face,

• giving Bailey a heads-up on how Rivera attacks particular hitters.

"It helps to see how he gets them out," Bailey said. "You try to keep that in mind when you're on the mound, along with the scouting report."

• "He's someone I'd love to learn from," Bailey said of Rivera. "He stays so calm out there. He doesn't wear his emotions. I don't know how he does it.""..."Bailey can't wait to meet Rivera," by John Shea, Susan Slusser, 7/12/09

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Chris Russo apparently fired his news pal for poor ratings--Mushnick

• UPDATE, 7/17: Per Neil Best Watchdog, nobody has been fired. Looking like a bit of shtick.

(NY Post, Mushnick): "In what became a bogus, transparent, desperate, designed-for-suckers publicity ploy -- sadly in the WWE mold --

• Chris Russo flipped out on the air on Thursday, blamed his staff for poor ratings and
• fired his longtime pal and Sirius XM program director/sidekick Steve Torre.

• Friday, Russo's behavior and Torre's "firing" was the forced theme of the shows that preceded his.

When Russo entered, sans Torre, he childishly sustained that con.

• Regardless, Sirius XM's FCC-unregulated, satellite-delivered sports talk and call-in shows have become go-to places for naughty boys of all ages -- Russo now included -- who like to shout and hear cuss words on the radio. Russo, once a clean act, has gone radio formula low. Pathetic."...from Phil Mushnick column, 7/12/09, NY Post, "HBO's 'Ted Williams' is Right Down the Middle,"

Chris Russo criticizes performance of his channel, per NY Radio Message Board, 7/11/09

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Ted Lilly earns 100th win

Congratulations to Ted Lilly of the Cubs for his 100th win today. On July 5th, 2002 the Yankees made the unfortunate decision to trade him away in a complex deal that brought them Jeff Weaver. The Yankees have been missing a good young lefty pitcher every day since then.

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Yankee brass blind adoration of Chamberlain trashes entire team

Joba Chamberlain is mediocre, has a bad temperament, and bad make up (according to scouts per Francesa, 6/19/09). Sometimes people like this never make it. The Yankees insist on treating him like a prima donna which makes things worse. Keith Hernandez said he should be sent to the minors.

• Not long ago he was arrested for speeding while drunk, was drinking as he was speeding, spent a night in jail, has a young toddler son who could have been
• left without a father.

• He shows no sign that this event humbled him in the slightest. In other words, nothing gets through to him.

If he follows his mother's unfortunate path, nothing ever will. There are many people like this. Chamberlain needs to be shaken up badly by the Yankees. Even that might not help. He is an embarrassment, a joke, and hurts the Yankee team.

• The Yankee brass forgot. The 'Yankee name' did not pay for the new stadium. Big attendance came only from 13 consecutive years in the post season. Most of which happened with no stars. Remember:

Reference: Nobody will come to the Bronx.

• "Pettitte, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera go back far enough to remember weeknights with

• fewer than 20,000 in the stands."...posted on this blog from Hartford Courant, 9/20/08

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Bartolo Colon a Michael Jackson fan, also has an entourage

• Desperately seeking Bartolo Colon
• via mention on XM MLB, Mouthpiece sports

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Chamberlain also fails as a philosopher

Phil Mushnick: "After the (Blue) Jays bombed him and Yankees fans booed him Sunday,

• Joba Chamberlain took a philosophical approach.

• "At the end of the day, the sun comes up and I still have a job."

Where, asks reader Pedro Acevedo, does Chamberlain live that the sun comes up at the end of the day? Antarctica?"...

• from NY Post column by Phil Mushnick, 7/10/09, "'Out' in Fashion, I presume"

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United Breaks Guitars-song

• Musician's guitar carelessly thrown and broken by United Airlines baggage handlers. He took his case to You Tube in a song. CNN introduces. United following up. via Schnitt show.

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Vacuuming for Fan Fest in St. Louis

I like seeing what goes on behind the scenes at big events. I heard Dibs' and Jody's conversation with Brian Sabean this afternoon on Sirius XM Homeplate 175 re the home field advantage angle of the All Star Game. I agree with them it's become a bad idea, too costly for players and teams (last year's overuse of Brad Lidge and George Sherrill are examples--I didn't hear them say this today but it was discussed after last year's game). As they were saying, home field advantage is too important, managers don't get to choose the best team to do the job anyway. If, as they say, it's for the fans, it shouldn't be for World Series home field advantage.

• (If Selig wants it to mean more, he's free to reinstate separate presidents for the AL and NL). photo by ap.

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NYC Mayor Bloomberg rescues media

"Eight initiatives to promote innovation, attract new media businesses and help traditional-media workers transition to jobs in the digital sector are on the way.

• Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the initiatives Tuesday at IAC headquarters on Manhattan’s West Side. They grew out of MediaNYC 2020, a program that convened media and technology executives

• with university and government officials in recent months to develop strategies for the media sector.

The initiatives are projected to create 8,000 jobs, according to city officials, and are designed to address the weak spots in New York’s media economy.

• At a briefing last week to introduce the initiatives to reporters, officials of the New York City Economic Development Corp. pointed out that New York’s biggest media industries, like publishing and television, are projected to claim less and less of consumers’ time every year through 2012.

Meanwhile, digital media industries like gaming and social networking are growing by double digits.

• “New York City is the media capital of the world, but—with the industry undergoing profound changes—it’s incumbent on us to take steps now to capitalize on growth opportunities and ensure we remain an industry leader,” Mr. Bloomberg said in a statement."...from Crain's NY Business article, "Bloomberg Rides to Media's Rescue," by Matthew Flamm, 7/7/09. via Radio Daily News.

Bloomberg uses back room deals with media elites to strangle the voice of the voter. A system successfully used in the average Banana Republic. NY Times, 8/22/08, "Bloomberg Said to Test a Term Limit Reversal"

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Goldman Sachs to cash in on environmental hoax Cap & Trade--Rolling Stone

(Taibbi, Rolling Stone): "Gone are Hank Paulson and Neel Kashkari; in their place are Treasury chief of staff Mark Patterson and CFTC chief Gary Gensler, both former Goldmanites. (Gensler was the firm's co-head of finance.)

• And instead of credit derivatives or oil futures or mortgage-backed CDOs, the new game in town,

the next bubble, is in carbon credits — a booming trillion- dollar market that barely even exists yet,

• but will if the Democratic Party that it (Goldman Sachs) gave $4,452,585 to in the last election manages to push into existence a groundbreaking new commodities bubble,

• disguised as an "environmental plan," called
• cap-and-trade.

The new carbon-credit market is a virtual repeat of the commodities-market casino that's been kind to Goldman,

• except it has one delicious new wrinkle:

If the plan goes forward as expected, the rise in prices

• will be government-mandated.

• Goldman won't even have to rig the game.

• It will be rigged in advance."

from Rolling Stone article by Matt Taibbi, "The Great American Bubble Machine: How Goldman Sachs has Engineered Every Major Market Manipulation Since the Great Depression" 7/02/09

• Reference, "Goldman Sachs Buys into Carbon Offsets," 11/12/08 NY Times Green, Inc. Blogs

• "Street Cred: Goldman Sachs Buys into Carbon Credit Developer," 10/27/08, WSJ Blogs

November, 2006, BNet: "NEW YORK - Market-based incentives to cap carbon emissions have created a budding commodities market that recently has caught the attention of U.S. investment banks and brokerage firms.

• In September, Goldman Sachs & Co. Inc. of New York paid $23 million for a 10% share in the London-based
• Climate Exchange PLC, parent of Chicago Climate Exchange and of European Climate Exchange in Amsterdam.

On Oct. 26, New York-based Morgan Stanley said it would invest in about $3 billion of carbon credits and emissions reduction projects over the next five ..." "Street Takes Notice of Carbon Credit Trading; Goldman, Morgan Stanley Invest in Exchanges, Emission Reduction." byline Riva Froymovich

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Boston Globe or Boston Herald more credible than MLB.com--AP Sports official

NiemanLab on ethics of entities such as MLB Network which pays reporters to reveal its own news: "If league-owned networks continue to grow in prominence, how will that impact the way sports are covered?...

• “I will go to the grave thinking people find more credibility in the independent voice of the Boston Globe or Boston Herald,” (John) Cherwa, (sports coordinator for the Tribune Co. and legal affairs chair for Associated Press Sports Editors,) says,

• “and believe it to be more factual than the people at MLB.com.”...

(NiemanLab, continuing): "The lines between media and sports teams and leagues have never been perfectly clear. The New York Times Co., which owns The Boston Globe, also owns 17.8 percent of the Boston Red Sox, which Globe reporters obviously cover every day. The Tribune Co., owner of the Chicago Tribune, also owns the Chicago Cubs. Cablevision, which owns Newsday, also owns the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers. "...

• "When the League Owns the Network--and pays the Journalists, a New set of Ethical Questions Arise,"7/1/09, by Justin Rice, NiemanLab.org via Poynter.org/Romenesko

How to read an MLB.com article if you must

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