WHILE WE WAIT FOR TONITE'S GAME...

## The Mets are continuing their appeal for a hit to be changed to an error, so R.A. Dickey can be credited with a ho-hitter. Mets' manager, Terry Collins would like to see Dickey get his no-hitter, but holds little hope the appeal will be upheld. Everyone has their opinion and even Dickey thinks that getting it via an appeal, "...cheapens it, in a way."  Buster Olney says that he would be inclined to say it was a really good play if successful, then he would call it a hit if the fielder couldn't make the play.  As good a criteria as any I've heard. Joe Torre is the person responsible for making the decision and that decision is due today. Based on Torre's history, he'll probably call it a hit, but try to find a way to charge A-Rod with an error, even though he wasn't in the game.

##  Another debate has sprung up about a no-hitter. There are some sportswriters who claim that Matt Cain's perfect game with 14 strikeouts is the BEST pitched game ever.  Seems like a silly argument because all 22 perfectos could be considered as the best. Again, I turn to Buster Olney. I don't always agree with him, but this is two in a row. Olney says he thinks the proper thing is to consider the opposition for each perfect game. With that as the determining factor, he feels the best one was the one thrown against a team that won the pennant, had FIVE future Hall-of-Fame position players on it plus it was in the most pressure situation in baseball: the World Series. If you haven't figured it out, he is referring to Don Larsen's game in the 1956 Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers.  

## Speaking of no-hitters, here's an interesting little tid-bit. The umpiring crew for Matt Cain's perfect game was Ted Barrett (HP), Mike Muchlinski, Angel Campos and Brian Runge. Earlier in the year, when White Sox pitcher, Phil Humber threw his no-hitter against the Seattle Mariners, this same crew worked the game, this time with Runge behind the plate. And when six Mariner pitchers combined for a ho-hitter, there they were again, with Runge behind the plate. Runge's grandfather Ed, was a major league umpire from 1954 thru 1970. Paul Runge, Brian's dad, umpired in the majors from 1973 until 1997.  Brian wears a sweatband with the #13, Ed's number and carries his dad's strike/ball indicator with him for every game.  Here endith the history lesson.

## The good news for the Yanks this weekend: they won't have to face Stephen Strausburg. The bad news is they will face Gio Gonzales, Jordan Zimmerman and Edwin Jackson. Their combined totals are outstanding. Their combined record is 14-10 with a 2.78 ERA and a WHIP of 1.06. They walked 65 and struckout 207. It could be a long weekend for New York.

***THEY SAID IT***
"People hate the Heat for the same reason they hate the Yankees: too much money for the best players, and they've all dated Kardashians."  -- Alex Kaseberg
"After the Patriots released receiver Chad Ochocinco, Giselle Bundchen said this was one of the most difficult decisions she's ever had to make."  -- Brad Dickson
"Los Angeles celebrated the Kings Stanley Cup victory today by parading through downtown and tying up traffic for miles and miles. This is generally known by LA commuters as Thursday.  -- Tony Chong
"The pro-marijuana activists team — the One-Hitters — smoked their White House counterparts in a softball game this month, 25-3. To no one's surprise, the winners left 'em loaded every inning."  -- Dwight Perry
"Former Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan withdrew his name for Charlotte’s head coaching job, which was a good thing.  He would have faced some tough interview questions, for example: “Are you the man who can lead us to double-digit wins?”  -- Torbin Rolfsen
"So Tiger Woods shot a -1 during the first round of the U.S. Open. Anyone hear ESPN talk about who’s actually LEADING the Open? Yeah, me neither."  -- Janice Hough

"Boxing News: Judges awarded Bradley a split decision over Pacquiao in which observers called “unbelievable”. Who knew that some Major League umpires were moonlighting as boxing judges?"  -- TC Chong

"From the Do As I Say, Not As I Did file comes word that Adam "Pacman" Jones will be among the speakers at this month's NFL's rookie symposium. Coincidence? Participants' gift bags this year include an Xbox, an iPod and lots of $1 bills."  -- Dwight Perry

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