Baseball Tidbits

USA Today's Hal Bodley chats with President Bush about baseball

Hal Bodley

The Cubs Dusty Baker preaches to reporters

Jay Mariotti

Happy McBirthday

Today is the 50th birthday of McDonald's . . . even though the cheapskates did not offer the public any deal, such as maybe 50 cent cheeseburgs or 50 cent fries, here are some interesting facts about this American institution:

- Ray Kroc may have been the founder McDonald's, but he wasn't alone in hatching his idea of fast food burgers . . . Richard and Maurice McDonald were pioneers of McDonald's and the quick service restaurant industry . . . Kroc was the founder of McDonald's Corporation . . . Richard and Maurice McDonald converted their barbecue drive-in with car hops into the world's first McDonald's limited-menu, self-service, drive-in in 1948, in San Bernardino, California . . . in 1954, Ray Kroc was granted exclusive U.S. franchising rights by the brothers . . . he opened his first McDonald's in Des Plaines, Illinois in April 1955

- McDonald's first mascot was not Ronald McDonald -- it was "Speedee" a smiling chef with a hamburger head

- Willard Scott was the first Ronald McDonald

- In 1955 a hamburger cost 15 cents and fries were 10 cents

- The famous Big Mac was introduced in 1968 by Jim Delligatti, one of Ray Kroc's earliest franchisees, who by the late 1960s operated a dozen stores in Pittsburgh

Odds on the next Pope

Now that March Madness is over and you have a couple of dollars burning in your pocket -- you don't have to wait until the Kentucky Derby on May 7th . . . the hottest betting going on right now is on who is going to be the next Pope . . . the BBC ran a story about all the betting taking place on who is going to be the next Pope (see link below)

BBC - Odds on the Pope

CURRENT ODDS

A realiable source has provided me with the current odds in Antigua . . . as of this morning, Dionigi Tettamanzi is the favorite -- a $10 bet would get you $20 . . . here are the frontrunners:

Tettamanzi (Italy) - $10 to win $20

Francis Arinze (Nigeria) - 10/30

Oscar Rodriguez Maradiago (Honduras) - 10/50

Joseph Ratzinger (Germany) - 10/50

Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino (Cuba) - 10/100

Also, if you still have a few more bucks and want to bet on what will be the name of the next Pope, here are your odds on that:

Benedict - 10/30

John - 10/30

John Paul - 10/50

Pius - 10/60

Andrew - 10/100

The odds on the next Pope being over 70 years old is high - you have to place $30 just to win $10 . . .

Get to your piggy banks and let the betting begin!!

Health Minute - The top killers in men and women

The leading cause of death in women are as follows:
1. Heart disease - most people think cancer is the top killer in women - NOT!
2. Cancer
3. Stroke
4. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) - example - bronchitis, emphysema
5. Alzheimer's disease
6. Diabetes
7. Accidents

The leading cause of death in men are as follows:
1. Heart disease
2. Cancer
3. Accidents
4. Stroke
5. COPD
6. Diabetes
7. Influenza and pneumonia

Clinton finds a friend

Interesting column about Bill Clinton and the Bush Boys - Boston Globe

The Kings get their Rings - Boston Globe

Yankees show class - N.Y. Daily News

Kids cuss too much - Washington Post

A look back at Tiger's run - Washington Post

One week complete

Here are some thoughts after one week of baseball:

On the Indians
- Aaron Boone may be a steal for the Tribe . . . he played well in the field and is hitting at the plate . . . general manager Mark Shapiro did well by signing the injured Boone last August
- he may never be an All-Star, but Casey Blake is just a plain ole simple baseball player . . . this guy can play any position . . . offensively, he is a solid hitter
- the Tribe propoganda team (aka Cleveland media) built up shortstop Jhonny (yes it is spelled that way) Peralta during spring training . . . he was supposed to be the next Barry Larkin . . . through four games played, Peralta has committed four errors . . . it's funny how the Cleveland media failed to mention that Peralta is a liability in the field
- the Indians better hope that Dave Riske and Arthur Rhodes can close games because Bob Wickman will not make it through the entire season as a closer

By the way, whatever happened to John Rocker? . . .

On the Yankees
- from day one I have stated that the Yankees made a mistake by signing pitcher Jaret Wright . . . Wright had one good season -- and that was last year in the National League . . . 1 good season!!! . . . Wright is a headcase who couldn't handle the pressure when the Indians fans got on his case -- what is he going to do when the New York fans start on him? . . .
- the Yankees Mariano Rivera better get ready to hear the chant "Who's your daddy" during his next appearance at Fenway Park . . . the Red Sox have gotten into the head of the greatest closer of all time
- Bernie Williams is in the last year of his contract with the team . . . he has gotten off to a terrible start batting .063 and has stranded runners in scoring position often

Other nuggets
- Tampa Bay's Jorge Cantu had three homers during the week . . . I say he won't finish with 20 on the year . . .
- are the Angels officially the Los Angeles Angels???? . . . I lost track . . .

Series of the Week
Yankees @ Red Sox - the Yankees head into Fenway on Monday after beating the World Champs 2 out 3 last week . . . on Monday the Sox players get their World Series rings and raise the championship banner . . . the Yankees players should sit in the dugout and watch the ceremony to refresh their memories after choking last October . . . here are the possible pitching match-ups

Monday - Mussina vs. Wakefield - Yankees win
Wednesday - Wright vs. Arroyo - Red Sox win
Thursday - Johnson vs. Schilling - Yankees win

Prediction - Yankees will take 2 of the 3 games