So this is what Powerman 5000 meant...according to the Washington Post yesterday, we might get to find out what happens when two worlds collide as XM and Sirius are mulling a merger. I'm firmly on the XM side of the argument here for a couple of reasons: a) I have XM and not Sirius because b) listening to baseball is a far superior experience than listening to football, and c) I don't give a damn about Howard Stern.
With that said, check out the potential sports radio line-up if this happens: NFL, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, MLB, UEFA Champions League and Barclays English Premiere League, PGA, Indy Car and every college team that matters. You can even get the crazy Canuck Football League if you're interested.
I don't know anything about anti-trust laws, but there seems to be some skepticism as to whether or not this deal will get done, especially when you consider that the competition they're planning to cite is the iPod. How does that affect satellite radio? Fourteen million people are anxious to find out.
Jim Hendry, today you are, indeed, deft...absolutely loved the headline over on Cubs.com announcing that Zambrano and the Cubs had avoided arbitration. This is good because, as Carrie Muskat (deftly?) points out later in that same article, there are definite winners and losers in arbitration. In fact, the Cubs are 3-2 all time in arbitration for a .600 winning percentage which is markedly better than their .513 all-time mark on the field.
Oh, the Cubs. They haven't won a World Series since 1908, but they jobbed Mark Grace just 14 short years ago.
I'm glad they got to avoid the namecalling. Hopefully this makes Carlos happy and gives the Cubs a shot at inking him long-term, but perhaps more important this allows me to unveil my new nickname for Big Z: Hagwilt.
It started when Carlos made his third-person extension request and I started thinking "Have Gun Will Travel" will surely be a headline somewhere. (It wasn't.) That doesn't exactly roll off the tongue or fingers, so I went military style and came up with the acronym: HaGWilT.
Account for proper noun capitalization and adjust for ease of typing and finally you get to Hagwilt. Kind of Harry Potter, no?
It's either that or Paladin.
Synthetic substances continue to plague MLB...I was all set to buy my first New Era 5950 in years to celebrate the start of spring training. Lately, I've been sporting the Twins Enterprise Franchise model, in a couple of different teams, because, well, that's what white dudes wear. But then I saw this 5950 Surgery post over on Bugs & Cranks and I realized that it had been awhile since I had gotten my hands dirty and gutted an authentic. The timing was perfect, pitchers and catchers had just reported and I'd have six weeks to get my new lid into game shape.
But then an AP report on boston.com reminded me of something I read weeks ago on Uniwatch: New Era is ditching the all-wool caps of the past in favor of a new polyester blend. Now I'm having second thoughts.
I'm probably sadder about this than I have any right to be, but the wool cap was the last link modern baseball had left to the old flannels. Now it's all about moisture-wicking. Wherever there is moisture in sport, it simply must be wicked away as quickly and efficiently as possible. Every time a league debuts one of these fancy new smart uniforms we're made to believe it is the greatest innovation in player comfort since the athletic supporter. Can we even compare players today to players from non-wick eras?
Personally I'll miss the sweat stains from the hike-your-pants-up, one gamer per season guys. I'm going out today in search of any woolies still left on the market and I urge you to do the same. (And if you really want to go authentic and get a horsehide band, check out Cooperstown Ball Cap Co.)
UPDATE: Some bad news...retailers were alerted to the impending switch from wool to polyester a few weeks after the season was over and have been selling down their old stock all winter, so if you're like me and have an average head size, finding one of the wool soliders might be difficult.
Some good news...if you do happen to find your size, there's a good chance it might be on sale. I picked one up for $20 today and the mod is complete.
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