San Diego Mayor Bob Filner to Resign As Part of Settlement

How odd- I mean the mayor went to a counselor and even finished his therapy a week ahead of time and everything.

After weeks of steadfastly resisting calls to step down (including from some within his own party) reports are circulating in southern California that the embattled first-term Democrat mayor of San Diego will resign as part of a settlement with the city and at least 18 women accusing Filner of harassing them.

Filner's decision to resign comes after three days of closed-door mediation and after six weeks of scandal in the city. At least 18 women have publicly accused Filner of sexual harassment, including one former aide who filed the lawsuit.

In exchange for his resignation, the city will pay some, if not all, of Filner’s share of any damages awarded in the lawsuit, said the sources, who spoke on the condition anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The City Council is set to vote on the settlement in a closed session Friday.

Filner, a Democrat, was seen Wednesday night loading boxes into an SUV parked outside City Hall -- and driven by a San Diego police officer, part of the mayor's security detail -- after saying farewell to his staff and cleaning out his office.

All nine council members and numerous other officials had called for Filner's resignation.

City Atty. Jan Goldsmith had said last week that he was working on “exit plans” for Filner. His office was preparing, “as a last resort,” to seek a restraining order against Filner to bar him from City Hall on grounds that he created a hostile working environment for women.

With Filner's resignation, San Diego's City Council President- Democrat Todd Gloria- will become acting mayor. According to the city's municipal code, a special election will take place within 90 days of Filner's resignation.

After serving in Congress for more than 20 years, Filner announced that he wouldn't run for re-election to the House of Representatives after California lost a seat due to redistricting in 2012 and instead run for mayor of San Diego. After securing endorsements from prominent Democrats such as former president Bill Clinton, Filner narrowly defeated former City Councilman Carl DeMaio in the 2012 mayoral race. While Filner is a Democrat and DeMaio is a Republican, county and municipal elections in California are theoretically non-partisan.

At least 18 women- some of them military veterans and survivors of sexual assault- came forward to accuse Filner of groping or fondling them as mayor or promising to help constituents as congressman, but only if they'd agree to go on a date with him.

The sheer number of accusers and relative silence of the media and local politicians raise the question of how long the local and state Democrat party had known about Filner's misconduct and what was done about it aside from sweeping it under the rug come election time.

Boston Mob Boss Whitey Bulger Found Guilty of 11 Murders, Racketeering,

Elise Amendola; U.S. Marshals Service/AP Photo

A jury at the Federal Courthouse in Boston, MA found captured fugitive mob boss James 'Whitey' Bulger guilty of racketeering and 11 counts of murder last week.

The elusive Bulger was captured with girlfriend Catherine Greig at a luxury apartment complex in Santa Monica, CA in June 2011 after more than 16 years on the run. Bulger was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list for most of those 16 years, was also a source of embarrassment for the agency when it was made public that the Boston office of the FBI allowed Bulger's Winter Hill Gang to continue their criminal activities unimpeded in exchange for information on rival gangs, including the Providence, RI based Patriarcha crime family.

Bulger and his associates in the Winter Hill Gang were hired by former World Jai Alai president and Boston businessman John B Callahan to kill Oklahoma businessman Roger Wheeler- Callahan's successor at World Jai Alai. Callahan was reportedly worried that Wheeler would discover his embezzlement from the organization and report it to the FBI. One of Bulger's FBI handlers had retired and became head of World Jai Alai security, but would instead report on Wheeler's whereabouts to Bulger and the Winter Hill gang. Wheeler was shot and killed in his car outside a Tulsa, OK country club in May 1981.

Another FBI handler warned Bulger that Callahan was unlikely to hold up under questioning and one of the triggermen in Wheeler's killing was offering information to the Feds to try and get out of a separate murder charge. In July 1982, Callahan's bullet-riddled body was found stuffed in the trunk of his Cadillac at Miami International Airport. Two months earlier, Bulger and associate Stephen 'the Rifleman' Flemmi shot and killed suspected FBI informant Brian Halloran and a bystander named Michael Donahue in South Boston.

In addition to tipping off Bulger on the whereabouts of potential witnesses or other Winter Hill gang members ready to turn informant, agents from the Boston office of the FBI has been accused of lying to detectives in Oklahoma and Florida investigating the Jai Alai slayings and pressured an eyewitness in the Halloran and Donahue murders to identify the wrong man.

Bulger and Flemmi also extorted Southie liquor store owner Stephen Rakes into selling his business to them and then intimidated him into changing his story when the matter initially went to court in the early 1990s. The 2013 trial of Whitey Bulger took a dramatic turn when  Rakes turned up dead in Lincoln, MA last month. An autopsy showed that Rakes was poisoned and the Middlesex County DA charged a 69 year old man who reportedly owed Rakes a large sum of money with the murder.

Bulger and his girlfriend went into hiding in 1995 after FBI Agent John Connoly Jr tipped him off that a racketeering indictment was coming down. The FBI made hardly any headway until they ran a series of public service announcements focusing on Greig on daytime women's talk shows- within days, a tipster in southern California recognized Greig and Bulger as their neighbors, leading to their arrests.

Muslim Brotherhood Supporters Torch Christian Churches Throughout Egypt Amid Deadly Clashes With the Army

Coptic Pope Tawadros II seen on a visit to the Vatican with Pope Francis in May

Human rights officials in Egypt say that at least 25 churches throughout the country have been torched by supporters of ousted Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi, although the unofficial count may be more than double that number. Numerous eyewitnesses described the attackers as chanting slogans in support of Morsi as they attacked the churches as well as businesses and homes owned by Christians.

According to the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), at least 25 churches across Egypt were attacked by arsonists on Wednesday and Thursday, following the violence in the capital, Cairo, between security forces and supporters of Mr Morsi.

Christian schools, shops and homes were also targeted, it said.

The Mar Gergiss church in Sohag, a city about 390km (240 miles) south of Cairo, with a large community of Coptic Christians, was one target.

Witnesses likened the area to a ghost town, with residents hiding indoors.

Patriarch Louis Sako, the head of the Chaldean Catholic church which is based in Iraq, said churches belonging to his community in Egypt were among those targeted on Wednesday.

"This is a real disaster," he told the AFP news agency, saying the region was a "dangerous volcano".

The Coptic Church is Egypt's largest and oldest Christian denomination, dating back to 42 AD. Other denominations include Greek Orthodox and Protestant.

Last month, the Coptic Church's Pope Tawadros II expressed his support for the massive demonstrations throughout Egypt calling for the removal of Mohammed Morsi from office. Many Christians said the rights of Egypt's 12 million Copts were eroded by a constitution written by the formerly outlawed Islamist party while Morsi's supporters say that the church was inviting attack by supporting the massive demonstrations that led to the Egyptian military ousting the Muslim Brotherhood.

According to Egypt's Health Ministry, at least 638 people were killed in clashes this week when security forces moved in to clear out an encampment of pro-Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators. Defense Minister and interim president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has also promised to rebuild the damaged churches in a statement on Egyptian state TV shortly after the coordinated attacks.

Sports Chowdah Update- Sox Alive, Red Sox Bats Wake Up As Lackey Outduels Kuroda At Fenway; Manuel Labor, Phillies Dismiss Manager Charlie Manuel

Michael Dwyer- AP

RED SOX- I wouldn't call this most recent road trip for the Red Sox a disaster, but with the team managed only four wins in 10 games while missing out on an opportunity to but some distance between themselves and Tampa Bay.

And for those of us who thought things might start to turn around with some home cookin' were in for a rude awakening on Friday night when the Yankees thumped the Red Sox by a score that would seem more at home in a football game featuring strong defense (10-3). And just to make things even more interesting, Tampa Bay beat Toronto with a walkoff triple in the bottom of the 9th to pull within one game of the Red Sox in the AL East.

What the Red Sox needed on Saturday afternoon was a strong outing from John Lackey, who was searching for his first win since July 12th. Lackey managed to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the 2nd before getting some run support in the bottom of the 4th. Big Papi led off the bottom half of the inning with a ground-rule double. Carp then singled to move Papi over to third with nobody out before Daniel Nava struck out looking. Stephen Drew hit into what looked like would surely be an inning ending double play, but Yankees 1B Lyle Overbay overthrew the ball to second and the ball was then air-mailed into the Yankees dugout, bringing Big Papi home to make it 1-0. With two away, Middlebrooks and Ellsbury hit back to back RBI singles to give Boston a 3-0 lead.

The Yankees got a run back with an Ichiro Suzuki RBI groundout in the top of the 5th to make it 3-1. However, that would be all the Yankees would get as the Red Sox started to break the game open in the bottom of the 6th with an RBI single from Jarrod Saltalamacchia and an RBI double from Ellsbury. Big Papi tacked on another run with a 1-out solo homer to deep center in the bottom of the 7th to make it 6-1 in Boston's favor. Breslow, Tazawa and Uehara would come out of the pen to relieve Lackey and give Boston the 6-1 win.

Lackey goes 6⅔ innings and gets his first win since the All Star break, allowing just the one earned run, walking three and striking out one. Jacoby Ellsbury led the Red Sox batters by going 3 for 5 with 2 RBI while Big Papi went 2 for 4 with the homer. A-Rod was a conspicuous non-factor for the Yankees by going 0-3- including Lackey's only K of the game.

Tomorrow night's Yankees/Red Sox game will be nationally televised on ESPN before the Red Sox embark on an inter-league road trip on the West Coast. Ryan Dempster [6-8; 4.50 ERA] will get the start against New York's CC Sabathia [10-10; 4.66 ERA] with a first pitch scheduled for 8:05 ET.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES- The Philadelphia Phillies announced that they had fired manager Charlie Manuel on Friday after managing the team since 2005. Manuel, who led the team to their first World Series title 28 years in 2008, was replaced with third base coach Ryne Sandberg.

Sandberg, a Hall of Fame second baseman with the Cubs in the 1980s, has managed the minor league Peoria Chiefs and Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. The interim appointment as Phillies manager is Sandberg's first to an MLB club.

Manuel's record with the Phillies was 780-636 and the team won five consecutive NL East pennants between 2007 and 2011. However, since the All Star break, Philadelphia has lost 21 of their last 26 games. This was the final year of Manuel's contract with the Phillies and in a press conference on Friday, Manuel made it clear he was still interested in managing.

Charlie Manuel is the winningest manager in the history of the Phillies organization.

KANSAS CITY ROYALS- MLB has announced the suspension of Kansas City Royals veteran infielder Miguel Tejada on Saturday. Although the announcement came shortly after the league announced a dozen suspensions of MLB players as a result of the Biogenesis Clinic HGH investigation, the league cited multiple violations of MLB's methamphetamine policy. In 53 games with Kansas City this season, Tejada has hit .288 with 3 homers and 20 RBI.

Tejada came up through the Oakland system in the 1990s and parlayed his 2002 AL MVP award into a lucrative $72 million six year deal with the Baltimore Orioles by 2004. Since 2007, Tejada has also played with Houston, San Diego, San Francisco and Kansas City.

PATRIOTS- Just days after a scare regarding Tom Brady's knee in training camp, the New England QB went 11 for 12 with 107 yards and a TD against Tampa Bay in the Patriot's 25-21 win on Friday. Brady showed no apparent signs of distress, but it was mostly Ryan Mallet who got the attention as he stayed in longer and went 12-20 with 137 yards and a TD.

The Patriots will next take on take on the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Aug 22nd with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 ET.

Today's Train of Thought- Geeps and Juice, August 16th 2013

Today's train of thought takes us to the Sunshine State and upon closer examination seems to involve things that are immediately evocative of Florida, such as orange juice, water and things coming down to Florida after having spent much of their lives in the northeastern USA.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Barney Rebel caught CSX GP39-2s #4303 and #4301 trundling across the Manatee River in Bradenton, FL in February 2008 with a cut of general freight and refrigerator cars for Tropicana's Bradenton plant bringing up the rear. On one side of the lowered drawbridge is the older wooden pilings for the trestle while further back and on the other side is the newer, concrete portion of the former Seaboard Air Line span.

Bradenton is also the spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates- although many other teams make their home in the Grapefruit league in nearby towns. Meanwhile the Manatee River does in fact boast a manatee population, although depending on the time of the year, they're usually found further upstream.

The white refrigerated boxcars towards the very rear of the train are part of the Tropicana fleet. For 40 years, the company has been shipping juice and concentrate some 1200 miles from the Bradenton area to New Jersey [with unit trains to Cincinnati also eventually added- NANESB!].

The two units actually started out life on Pennsylvania's Reading railroad in the mid 1970s, and while the line was folded into Conrail by 1976, the Reading's fleet of GP39-2s were sent to the Delaware & Hudson along with a handful of former Lehigh Valley GP38-2s in addition to being awarded trackage rights to Buffalo, Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Washington DC. CSX predecessor Chessie System had apparently financed the Reading's purchase of the GP39-2s and when their lease came up shortly after the Canadian Pacific purchase of the D&H in the early 1990s, the former Reading units were turned over to CSX where they traversed the system in a motley assortment of colors ranging from Reading green to Guilford charcoal grey to D&H's classic 'Lightning Stripe' scheme before eventually being repainted into CSX colors.

After nearly 20 years of service, the former Reading units seem to generally congregate around the Tampa, FL area hauling aggregates, orange juice, phosphate or general freight. I would make the 'Northeast-retiree-moves-down-to-Florida' comparison, but it isn't analogous- the former Reading GP39-2s are still working on a daily basis [plus its entirely possible that CSX may end up selling them to an out-of-state shortline or regional- NANESB!].

Fears of a Clown- Rodeo Clown Recieves Lifetime Ban From Missouri State Fair For Mocking Obama

Several days after the fact, I have a hard time believing this is even a story.

The antics of a rodeo clown who donned an Obama mask at the Missouri State Fair this past weekend has left state officials scrambling to issue apologies and the progressive blogosphere fuming and comparing the scene to a latter-day minstrel show.

A clown wearing a President Barack Obama mask appeared at a Missouri State Fair rodeo this weekend and the announcer asked the enthusiastic spectators if they wanted to see "Obama run down by a bull."

The antics led the state's second highest-ranking official, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, to denounce the performance in a tweet Sunday. He said it was "disrespectful" to the president.

"We are better than this," the Republican tweeted.

State Fair officials said the show in Sedalia was "inappropriate" and "does not reflect the opinions or standards" of the fair. "We strive to be a family friendly event and regret that Saturday's rodeo badly missed that mark," they said in a statement Sunday.

The furor started when fairgoer Perry Beam posted video of the clown in the Obama mask on Facebook and claimed that the crowd was little different from a Ku Klux Klan rally [which naturally begs the question of how many KKK rallies Beam has attended for his informed comparison- NANESB!].

Fairgoer Perry Beam of Higginsville, Missouri attended and snapped photos of the incident, which have spread rapidly via political blogs statewide.

Beam claims the announcer "whipped the audience into a lather" by repeatedly asking attendees if they wanted to see "Obama run down by a bull." Beam says another clown ran up and "started bobbling the lips on the mask and the people went crazy."

In an interview with NewsChannel 5, Beam called it a "racist" display.

Naturally, the 'political blogs' alluded to include far left forums such as Show Me Progress and the Daily Kos. The story gained further attention when AP writer and Salon.com contributor Maria Sudekum picked up on it and both Beam's account and the reactions of officials like Missouri governor Jay Nixon and Sen Claire McCaskill (both Democrats) were front page news for The Kansas City Star. Comments and op-eds in the Star's online edition drew thousands of remarks from across the region and country before the publication decided to suspend comments for the articles- this included a few pithy observations from yours truly that were reiterated in the Twitter format.

At least the #Obama rodeo clown at #MoStateFair isn't forcing me to buy health insurance or shutting down coal-fired power plants
— Fenway Nation (@Fenway_Nation) August 12, 2013

No long after, an op-ed where columnist Yael T Abouhalkah implied that the rodeo clown's antics warranted a Secret Service investigation [coz remember when John Hinkley tried trampling President Reagan with a rodeo bull to impress Jodie Foster? NANESB!].

It’s also borderline illegal; the U.S. Secret Service takes threats against the president seriously. While the president himself was in no danger here, it’s the kind of stupid activity that could give nuts ideas about harming the president.

Using Abouhalkah's logic, I suppose opposing Obamacare, gun control, amnesty, various 'green energy' boondoggles or Card Check could 'give nuts ideas about harming the President', so perhaps its best we stay quiet- otherwise President Obama might find himself on the wrong end of an irate bull someday. The Missouri chapter of the NAACP doubled down on the hand-wringing and have reportedly called for a federal investigation into rodeo clowns inciting violence against the President. Also continuing to use the 'logic' of Abouhalkah, the NAACP and those who comment on Show Me Progress or Daily Kos, the Occupy movement must be overtly racist for their practice of wearing Obama masks at various rallies as well.

In reaction to all of the hyperventilating, Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association Mark Ficken stepped down. The clown- identified as Tuffy Gessling- has been hit with a lifetime ban from the Missouri State Fair on Monday. In the future, rodeo clowns who perform at the fair will be [I shit you not- NANESB!] required to undergo sensitivity training as well.

Meanwhile, in what's considered a mostly symbolic gesture, congressman Steve Stockman [R- TX 36] invited the clown to perform in Texas, adding that he'd be welcome any time.

Interestingly, the overwhelming majority of the articles describing events at the state fair rodeo rely heavily on quotes exclusively from Beam's perspective- although the Washington Post thoughtfully was able to track down other State Fair attendees who could vouch for the alleged racism of the mostly white crowd present at the time.

I must admit that I shrugged this off as a non-story when I heard it at first. However, the rebukes directed at the rural, blue-collar crowd from the media, coastal elitists and state party officials comes off as nothing less than tone-deaf, patronizing, thin-skinned hypersensitivity in their defense of a man who has been President for five years- yet anything bad that's happened on his watch is magically somebody else's fault. Seriously- look at the issues President Obama has made a priority and his accomplishments- how well do you think gun control, the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and the Obamacare individual mandate would go over in swing states like Virginia or Colorado- let alone the crowd in a darker red state like Missouri?

The same people who are wagging their fingers at the uneducated rubes and hillbillies in flyover land for guffawing at the antics of a rodeo clown in a President Obama mask raised were eerily quiet when novels and mockumentaries detailing a fictitious assassination of then-President George W Bush were published. They feel that Americans have an unspoken obligation to mock those in power- until they're the ones in power. Then talking about insensitive rodeo clowns becomes much more important than discussing the continuing turmoil in the middle east, the stagnant economy or those in charge using supposedly nonpartisan government agencies to harass political opponents.

I'm sure this could lead to renewed calls for a national 'dialogue' about race in this country, but to a liberal "dialogue" means you're supposed to quietly sit there and nod politely as they are informing you of how ignorant and racist you are. The 'dialogue' is also based on the somewhat laughable premise that folks in flyover country would be OK with higher taxes, gun control, gay marriage, abortion and shutting down the coal industry if it was a white liberal speaking in favor of all these things.

UPDATE- 6/16: Parson the pun, but when it comes to protecting Barack Obama from criticism, this isn't the Missouri Democrats' first rodeo. St Louis radio hostess Dana Loesch details Missouri's recent history of using the mechanisms of state to stifle dissent- starting with 'truth squads' comprised of sheriff's and prosecutors who were acting on behalf of then-candidate Obama in 2008.

Friends of Tsarnaev Brother Plead Not Guilty to Obstruction

Two 19 year old UMass Dartmouth students who were friends with surviving Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice after being arrested in early May.

Prosecutors say they tried to thwart the investigation of the deadly April explosions by throwing away fireworks and other items they found in Tsarnaev's dorm room the day before his capture.

Authorities say they found the fireworks in a New Bedford, Mass. landfill.

If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison. Family members of both attended the hearing. According to CBS Boston, federal prosecutors said Tuesday that 15-to-20 witnesses may be called during the trial.

Lawyers for Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov- both exchange students from the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan- denied their clients did anything wrong and fully cooperated with the FBI investigation. The two 19 year olds were in the country on a student visa and were taken into custody on charges they had overstayed their visas.

Another acquaintance of the younger Tsarnaev brother arrested around the same time as Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov was scheduled to appear in US District court in Boston last month, but the hearing for 19 year old Robel Phillipos had been postponed and he remains free on $100,000 bond.

Several weeks after the arrest of Phillipos, Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev, FBI agents were interviewing a friend of Tamerlan Tsarnaev in his Orlando, FL-area condo when he allegedly became combative and was shot and killed after attacking one of the agents. Massachusetts State Police believed that Ibragim Todashev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev were suspected of a grisly 2011 triple homicide in Waltham, MA.

Quickie Sports Chowdah Update- Red Sox Rebound After Some Northern Exposure; Pats Clip Eagles' Wings in Preseason Opener

Tom Szczerbowski- Getty Images

RED SOX- Well, this weekend's series against Kansas City sure sucked. I should probably write a thank-you note to all the teams in the NL West for their part in keeping Boston in 1st place in the AL East despite the Red Sox spending much of the weekend spinning their wheels against a game Royals club at Kauffman Stadium- Tampa Bay was swept by the surging Dodgers while the Diamondbacks have taken two of their first three games against the Orioles.

After Monday's travel day, the Red Sox returned to the AL East with the first of a three game series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Ontario's Rogers Centre. The last time Boston faced the Jays, they had won 17 of their last 22 games and were within striking distance of the AL East lead [although still dead last at the time- NANESB!].

Tuesday night's pitching matchup pitted Ryan Dempster against Todd Redmond and both starters took shutouts fairly deep into the game, with Toronto finally getting on the board thanks to a 2-out J.P. Arencibia RBI single in the bottom of the 5th to make it 1-0 Toronto. The Jays tried adding to that lead with Reyes on base and two out in the bottom of the 6th, but Victorino gunned down the Jays shortstop with a throw from right field after Edwin Encarnacion singled.

Redmond would last 5⅓ shutout innings, but the Red Sox would touch up the Jays bullpen for two runs- RBI singles from Ellsbury and Pedroia in the top of the 7th- before Arencibia would again knot up the score; this time with a solo homer off of Junichi Tazawa to lead off the bottom of the 8th to make it 2-2.

The game would go into extras and Loup would come out of the bullpen for Toronto in the 11th and get Stephen Drew to fly out to left field. Saltalamacchia would then draw a walk and Middlebrooks would hit a single. More importantly, when Ellsbury hit into what looked like a surefire inning-ending double play at short, Middlebrooks broke it up cleanly on a slide into second to keep the inning alive- Ellsbury would reach on what was scored a fielder's choice while Saltalamacchia went to 3rd. Ellsbury also immediately stole 2nd as Victorino was in the batter's box.

With two runners now in scoring position, Victorino hit a 1-2 pitch right up the middle to give Boston a 4-2 lead and after getting the final out in the bottom of the 10th, Koji Uehara would come back on to close out the game with a 1-2-3 bottom of the 11th. Uehara would get all four batters he faced out as well as the W.

Wednesday's game will feature Jon Lester [10-7; 4.37 ERA] going up against Esmil Rogers [3-7; 5.12 ERA], although Lester's record against Toronto this season is a somewhat more impressive 3-0 with a 2.79 ERA. The game will get started a 7:07 and be televised on both NESN and Rogers Sports Net.


TEXAS RANGERS- I had to double check and make sure somebody wasn't recycling headlines from April, but on Monday night, Texas Rangers starter Yu Darvish took a no-hitter against the Houston Astros into the 8th inning. Just like in April, Darvish was denied the no-no, but he struck out a career high 15 batters in the Rangers' 2-1 win over Houston.

The Rangers currently have a 1 game lead over Oakland in the AL West.


OTHER RANGERS NEWS- In a deal that the Rangers front office was no doubt hoping they could've completed before the July 31st trade deadline, the Rangers acquired outfielder Alex Rios from the Chicago White Sox for a player to be named later. Rios is hitting .279 with 12 homers and 57 RBI this season.

The Rangers were hoping to acquire Rios earlier after learning that outfielder Nelson Cruz would be suspended by MLB for the remainder of the season in the wake of the BioGenesis scandal. By way of comparison, Cruz was batting .269 with 27 homers and 76 RBIs before his suspension.

The acquisition of Rios from the White Sox has also meant that the Rangers organization has released former Red Sox and Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez from AAA Round Rock. Manny was signed as a low-to-no-risk gambit by the Rangers organization and was batting .259 with 3 homers and 13 RBI in his 30 game stint with the Round Rock Express.


NHL- The new owners of the Phoenix Coyotes were introduced at a press conference in Glendale, AZ on Monday. Alberta businessman George Gosbee and Ice Edge Holdings CEO Anthony LeBlanc were named as the new owners. After bankruptcy and being managed by the NHL since their 2009 bankruptcy, the new ownership announced that the team was 'here to stay' and that they'd pursue a bid to host the All Star game after the organization missed out in 2006 due to the lockout.

It was also announced that the team would be renamed the Arizona Coyotes starting with the 2014 season.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS- All three Patriots QBs got to see playing time in last week's preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles while RB LeGarrette Blount led the Pats in scoring in Friday's 31-22 win.

Brady went 7-8 with 65 yards and 1 TD while Ryan Mallet went 9-18 with 97 yards on the night. Tim Tebow was sacked three times, but had 31 rushing yards in the preseason effort. Meanwhile, Blount raised some eyebrows with his performance, getting 101 yards and 2 TDs on 11 rushes/

The next Patriots preseason game is set to take place at Foxborough when the Patriots will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday night.


NCAA FOOTBALL- New questions about Texas A&M's Heisman-winning QB Johnny Manziel's eligibility are being raised after a number of media reports claimed that he had been paid to sign autographs for sports memorabilia dealers in violations of NCAA rules.

Interestingly, Texas A&M has decided to retain the services of Birmingham, AL law firm Lightfoot Franklin & White as legal counsel- the same firm that Auburn university had retained when QB Cam Newton's father reportedly sought large sums of money in exchange for his son playing for a major NCAA program. In November 2010, Newton was declared ineligible by Auburn after Mississippi State boosters revealed that Newton's father told them it would take 'more than a scholarship' to get him to persuade his son to play for the Bulldogs and kicking around an $80,000 pricetag.

Last month, video of Manziel getting kicked out of a frathouse at the rival University of Texas went viral. The Texas and Texas A&M football programs had a rivalry dating back to 1894 until the end of the 2011 regular season before A&M moved over to the SEC conference.

Obama Warns Disabled Veterans That Sequester Cuts Could Endanger Their Benefits Before Having His Dog Flown to Martha's Vineyard

Before flying off to Martha's Vineyard for vacation, President Obama addressed the Disabled American Veteran's convention in Orlando, FL this weekend and warned attendees that veteran's benefits would be jeopardized by a prolonged fight between the White House and GOP led House of Representatives over budget sequestration.

President Obama took his case for ending the sequester to hundreds of disabled veterans Saturday, saying he protected their benefits from the “reckless” cuts to the federal budget but suggesting next year might be different.

“It’s hurting our military. I made it clear that your veteran’s benefits are exempt from this year’s sequester,” the president said to the applause of hundreds at the Disabled American Veterans' convention in Orlando, Fla. “But I want to tell you going forward the best way to protect the VA care you have earned is to get rid of this sequester altogether.”

The president but the blame squarely on Congress, which returns in about four weeks to work on a new federal budget and increasing the federal debt limit.

“We’ve got these reckless, across-the-board budget cuts called the sequester that are hitting a lot of folks hard,” Obama said. “Congress needs to come together and agree on a responsible plan that reduces our deficit and keeps our promises to our veterans and keeps our promises to future generations.”

The cuts went into effect in March after Congress and the White House failed to agree on a more balanced plan to cut government spending.

Some Republicans have meanwhile said the president shares in the responsibility, considering he signed the 2011 Budget Control Act that raised the debt ceiling and led to sequester.

The remarks to the DAV were made the same day President Obama flew to Martha's Vineyard. The First Family will be staying at a $7.6 million property owned by Chicago corporate financier and Democrat donor David Schulte until Aug 18th.

However, not everybody in the First Family was able to make it up on the same Air Force One flight. Bo, the President's dog, was apparently flown up from Washington DC separately on a V-22 Osprey along with equipment and additional White House staff. According to the UK's Telegraph this is the first time that the Osprey's have been used for a Presidential vacation of any kind.

Apparently the progressive blogosphere has been patting themselves on the back over how they 'debunked' the Telegraph's story about Bo being flown up when in fact Bo WAS flown up to Martha's Vineyard along with equipment and personnel. Still, the defenders of this Administration seem all to willing to overlook the fact that the President basically told a convention hall full of disabled US veterans that they'll lose their benefits if he doesn't get his way with the upcoming budget before jetting off to Martha's Vineyard where his wealthy donors will roll out the red carpet for him.

Keep Watching Those Skies- Summertime Perseid Meteor Shower Close To Its Peak

Jeff Rose- Jeka photography

Between baseball on the radio, the occasional thunderstorms, road trips, county fairs and fireworks, there's a lot for me to love about this time of year.

But I'd have to say that one of the most underrated events of summertime is actually the Perseid meteor shower, which usually slashes luminescent stitches across the night sky in mid-August. The peak for this year's meteor shower will be Monday, Aug 12th. All one needs to take advantage of the nocturnal light show is about an hour or so of spare time to gaze skyward in a fairly sparsely populated location.

This is nothing new- the Perseids have been observed by mankind for nearly 2000 years. The display is said to be caused by debris from the passing Swift-Tuttle comet breaking off and burning up high in the earth's atmosphere as the comet makes its way through our solar system. Many of these meteors are bright enough to be visible to the naked eye as they streak across the sky.

Lack of ambient lighting is key, which is why skywatchers highly recommend that anybody in densely populated urban centers head out to a state or National Park for less light and more open terrain. The National Parks out in the Western USA are ideal and are expecting an increase in visitors, with plenty of wide open spaces and miles away from many population centers.

The Perseids actually began a couple of weeks ago in mid-July and will continue for several days past Monday. I actually went for a fairly short 2 mile hike this weekend and literally lost track of how many shooting stars I saw while scanning the skies on the hike.

Moonlight will also be a minimal factor, as the moon will be at a waxing crescent (and setting relatively early) when the Perseids is at its peak.