Off The Bench

Bud Selig will follow Barry Bonds until the record falls. Whew...I was losing sleep on that one.

Ken Rosenthal (whom I like, by the way - he's become the latter-day Peter Gammons) says that Selig should be there - he thinks that's Selig's job. I don't necessarily agree, but a FOXSports.com poll suggests otherwise, with 73% saying that the commissioner made the right decision.

I think Bud Selig's showing up for Barry indicates that he supports Bonds, and he could have made a remarkable stance by not following him.

The return of Imus on WFAN is probably not going to happen after all. My new friend, Neil Best, says:

Boomer Esiason's agent confirmed Tuesday he has been in discussions with CBS Radio about Esiason filling the morning slot on WFAN, where it now appears any chance of Don Imus returning to his old job has evaporated.

The rest is here.

My opinion? Mark Chernoff (WFAN PD)wanted Imuis back, but that Al Sharpton butt-boy Les Moonves wouldn't give in. So Imus is now off to likely WOR (because where there's smoke...you know) where he will destroy the likely I-replacement, Boomer Esiason. Believe me, Esiason will wear out his welcome, and fast.

This explains why Mike Francesa, Chuck McCord, Lou Ruffino and other FANnies have been mum on the issue since they all returned from vacation. McCord and Ruffino should now do whatever necessary to get back to working with Mr. Imus.

For me, this will change my AM-listening habits, once and for all.

Oh Lindsay. What can be done to save you?

I'm slowly starting to turn the telephone ringers back on. Some of the debt has been addressed, so the calls are beginning to stop. Not that it's over yet.

And here's the rub - when I see a call come in from somebody that I don't know , or doesn't immediately interest me, I will let it go to the answering machine. We could use voicemail here, but don't because I like to see if the person will leave a message. Once I get a sample of what the call is about, I'll pick it up. Those who don't leave a message get in the doghouse.

That's what these credit card companies do. If they would just simply start talking with a personal message along the lines of "This message is for Robert Adams. This is blah from Visa/MasterCard/WhateverCard, calling about an outstanding balance", guess what? I'd pick up!! In fact, I already did so with one who did leave a message and the call was great.

So everyone who calls from "Private Caller", "Unknown", and only state names, like "Kentucky", "Florida", "North Carolina", "New Mexico", "Missouri", and the other caller, "Meredith Corp" - be warned. I'll put your phone numbers here next.

Oh, and I might understand why they do it, but I think in this day and age of caller ID, every phone number should show up. "Private Caller" shouldn't be an option. If you're a company, your company name should appear.

Neil Best puts the blog address in Newsday and the hits just keep on coming!

I'm in trouble with Mets fans again. According the aforementioned Mr. Best, Metsblog.com has somehow used a write-in campaign to get Ketih Hernandez into the mix for the Best Sports Mustache of all time at the American Mustache Institute. At last check, the "Seinfeld" actor was ahead of Rollie Fingers and Al Hrabosky. That led me to chime in:

This is why I don't get Mets fans. Don't they have better things to do - like win the World Series? This is why Colin Cowherd mocked them a while back (not that I'm a fan of "The Herd").

It's just funny, that's all.

And I would be against starting a write-in vote for Don Mattingly as well, just for the record.

This of course, got them tearing their Jerry Grote posters off the wall in anger, with one certified arse-clown saying:

Lighten up Yank fans, Met fans like to have a little fun while you guys shove rings in everyone's face.

However, I think the negative responses were due to somebody else who went into full Met attack mode. I was just wondering, and laughing at the same time, but I can't help but wonder: isn't it all about the rings?

So based on this rationale, I've come up with the following formula:
Yankees=rings. Mets=State Fair. State Fair=uh...we come out to have a good time and if we win, that's OK. If we don't than oh well.

I'm basing this on the responses over at Watchdog.

Must we post the Colin Cowherd thing again?

Oh, in case you think I'm getting cocky, I still don't believe in the Yankees. The schedule is soft right now. I need to see them take the lead in the Wild Card and give Boston a serious threat in the division, PLUS see them beat quality opponents (Boston, Detroit, Cleveland).

So I'm still the pessimist, with the heart of an optimist.

Friends, give it up for this guy:

This is Jon, code name "Jon From Richmond" who "Simpsonized" himself. His wife, Mrs. Jon from Richmond, code name "Mommy M. Mommerson" (among others) has a blog of her own. "Artipantz" (that's her blog name) writes about her life, and make sure to have a look at her creations - she is very talented as an artist, and a good person to boot.

I guess this will be part one of my current rant, as I'm getting long-winded here.

Best of luck to everyone at the Empire State Games in Westchester, beginning tonight.