T.D.

No question, Wodehouse wouldn't even get a sniff of the top ten on an American list! But I'm surprised by the overlap: I'm pretty sure Catch-22, Confederacy of Dunces and Hitchhiker's Guide (OK, I haven't read the latter...) would make the US list.

Agreed that Joy [Jeeves] in the Morning and some suitable Blandings title are essential Wodehouse. But I won't argue with the list. Happy to see Wodehouse represented with two of the ten.

I've read five of the ten: the Wodehouses, Catch-22, Confederacy of Dunces and Lucky Jim. Seem like reasonable choices. I'm slightly more partial to the Wodehouse novels featuring Uncle Fred, and Confederacy of Dunces, while side-splitting on first reading, has a rather sad and depressing undertone if reread.

Why the Armstrong comeback? I dunno. Complete mystery to me. Cancellara? I'd never be surprised by any professional athlete testing positive. Under the general principle that one has to dope in order to medal in any major international competition (Worlds ITT in his case), certainly not. But I enjoy seeing Cancellara do well, since his listed height and weight are almost exactly the same as mine (and I'm a horrid cyclist, btw).

never got around to checking out more than the one i'v read (missionary stew) but he is indead a pretty good alternative to chandler (or maybe ambler?) Missionary Stew is one of the three I've read. Also The Fools in Town are On Our Side (which is really wild, best of the three) and Ah, Treachery. Not so sure about Ambler comparison, as the novels' geographical and time scope is usually wider, and the protagonists considerably less naive/innocent. Thomas also reminds me a bit of Richard Condon (Manchurian Candidate, Winter Kills, Prizzi's Honor), with the satire, cynicism and Cold War setting.

From the Chessbase site (courtesy Frederic Friedel): [Cuban GM] Leinier Dominguez with his girlfriend Yisel Martinez I had the following exchange with this young lady: "So where are you from, Yisel?" – "Cuba. Actually from the same village as Leinier." – "And what do you do? What is your profession?" – "I am an atomic physicist." – "You are a WHAT?" – "You know, Frederic: atom? Boom!" – "Yes, I know what an atomic or nuclear physicist is. But are you really one?" – "Sure, why not?" – "Okay, sorry to do this, but can you tell me what a Large Hadron Collider is?" – "You mean the LHC? Well, I actually worked at CERN..." There followed an intense exchange in which I told her about my fears that the LHC might be a deadly threat to humankind. "No, no, don't worry," she said. "On the one hand it is highly unlikely – practically impossible – that dangerous black holes will be produced, the kind that last longer than microseconds before they evaporate due to Hawking radiation. And secondly they will never get it to run. The whole machine is too complicated, it will keep failing until they give up." Yep, she is the real thing. Later that evening I told a friend about this conversation. "Why didn't I know this?" he groaned. "They were sitting at the next table at the closing dinner and I did not join them! I could have spent hours discussing particle physics with her, and instead had an evening listening to missed chances in an Open Catalan."

Have been reading some new (to me) fiction authors: David Liss: The Coffee Trader and A Conspiracy of Paper are very enjoyable, I'd categorize them as "historical financial thrillers." Well-written and seemingly well-researched. Ross Thomas: Can't believe I never read any of his novels before. Rather Chandleresque, "satirical thrillers" with a sense of humor and heavy doses of international travel, politics, rogue military and intelligence officers, conniving and double-crossing. Complex plots and an enviably clear writing style.

Trip down memory lane: Even if you originally read it, Verducci's 2002 Sports Illustrated MLB/PED article is still worth a look... And a funny 2005 article on the oft-overlooked amphetamines.

Nobody would really surprise me. Pujols not at all: not that I've heard rumors or anything, it's just that his physique looks so pumped-up.

Porter Waggoner Frank Butler Jeeves

Earlier than the mid-'90s. I recall reading articles / hearing speculation about McGwire, Canseco and steroids back in the late '80s, when they were A's teammates. And Fay Vincent delivered an anti-steroids memo to each club and the players' union on June 7, 1991. Laughably, Selig reissued Vincent's statement on May 15, 1997 (source: Selena Roberts article on A-Hole-Rod in latest Sports Illustrated)! Bud's the owners' creature, and they apparently feel he's doing a decent job, hence the $18MM paycheck...

Just received the latest entry in my yourmusic queue: Curtis Fuller, The Opener

Probably ought to wait for confirmation from a better source than a tabloid gossip column...

Considered one of baseball's greatest second basemen, Alomar stirred controversy in 1996 by spitting in the face of umpire John Hirschbeck. The incident prompted fellow ump Al Clark to say, "If I were John, I'd insist that Robbie Alomar take an AIDS test." I recall the spitting incident. It was revealed shortly thereafter that Alomar spit in the umpire's face because, during a pitched on-field rhubarb, Hirschbeck called Alomar a "faggot."

Yup, and it was weight machine by Nautilus that changed attitudes in baseball. Working with dumbbells could lead to too much bulk, but by using a machine like Nautilus, or perhaps because such a machine required some initial instruction, it was possible for baseball players to add muscle without becoming too bulky. Not just weight lifting, but also general changes to hitting technique. At the same time players started lifting weights, they also started focusing on "bat speed", using much lighter bats with thin handles and fat barrels, and whipping the bat through the hitting zone very quickly. The changes were pretty dramatic: old-time players used big heavy telephone-pole bats, while current MLB bats often weigh no more than models I used in Little League. [Added] Tejada to "apologize" to Congress. More vindication for Canseco!

Disclaimer: I don't watch TV, and won't see the interview. But, as a former New Yorker, I figure A-Hole-Rod had to confess. Otherwise the NY media would have hounded him to death. The prior confessions by Pettitte and Giambi, and the mild fan reaction thereto, were probably also factors in the decision. Re. Canseco: Hey, I'll never deny he's a buffoonish dolt, but I always believed the book (I even read the damn thing!). Were any libel suits ever filed?

Not too big a surprise, but what I'd really like to see is a detailed report of Abramovich's finances. He must have lost a whole lot of money recently.

Word.

I live about 50 mi. W of the Hudson Valley Mall, and it's by no means dead. To the extent I shop at malls (practically not at all, as they make me very uncomfortable), I go there: I've been to Best Buy, Target and Dick's Sporting Goods a couple of times each. One non-cultural reason for discomfort: a couple of years ago, some nut with a rifle randomly shot several people at that mall! I can say that the site's coverage of the King's Mall (less than a mile down the road from Hudson Valley Mall, it's very depressing), Dutchess Mall and Mall at New Rochelle is very accurate.

Can't see that happening. Too much money involved, and the players' union has too much power. MLB isn't alone in that regard: European professional football (e.g. English Premier League) is also very light on drug testing compared with the Olympics. For MLB to adopt IOC/WADA-level testing, the scandal would have to get so bad that either the players' union dissolves or Congress threatens to take away antitrust exemptions. Again, too much money involved, and MLB revenues don't suggest that fans have been significantly turned off by dope stories. Let's not even talk about the NFL (I find it difficult to believe that league isn't chemical-fueled, regardless of the claimed level of testing ).

Definitely contact them and let them know of the mistake. I expect that they'll send you a prepaid mailer, so that you won't have to pay (even temporarily) for any extra postage. (That's what Berkshire Record Outlet has done for me in the past, and Mosaic's customer service should be at least as good. )

I'm strongly opposed to doping in sports, but a lot of the current hand-wringing about steroids in baseball strikes me as disingenuous. What was everybody saying during the height of the steroid era, say the McGwire-Sosa HR battles of 1998-1999? It couldn't have been more obvious that the participants in that freak show were doped to the gills, but nobody said a fucking thing! In fact, many of the dumbasses who hyped the crap out of the McGwire-Sosa spectacle (which was more suited to the World Wrestling Federation) are now crying about steroids. I don't get it.

Paul Scholes Myron Scholes Fischer Black

Agreed, except I thought that HGH was the substance that improved vision. At least according to the famous article by the age-group cyclist who experimented with PEDs. (Great article, btw.)

I can't say I'm surprised. Wouldn't be surprised to hear that any MLB player was on the juice. And it's always been clear that MLB's "testing program" is a joke (that's a big reason why the IOC doesn't want the sport in the Olympics, not that any pros would be likely to subject themselves to Olympic-level dope testing). But I think this info won't go any further. Quoting from the SI story (near the end): Arguments before an 11-judge panel in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Pasadena are ongoing between government prosecutors and the players' association over the government's seizure of the test results from the Long Beach lab. The agents who collected the material had a search warrant only for the results for the 10 BALCO-linked players. Attorneys from the union argue that the government is entitled only to the results for those players, not the entire list. If the court sides with the union, federal authorities may be barred from using the positive survey test results of non-BALCO players such as Rodriguez in their ongoing investigations. Seems to me the court will side with the union here. But A-Hole-Rod's gonna get raked over the coals by the NY tabloids.