Tony Curtis passed away last night at around 9:30. RIP.

Classic.

Greg Giraldo RIP. Dude cracked me up. I had no idea he had a JD from Harvard.

I saw Giraldo live a couple years ago...he absolutely killed. Brought the house down.

I have a friend, a rabid Pirates fan, who was 12 years old when Clemente died. He said to me recently: "I swear to God, I still feel like I'll turn on the game and they'll announce it was all a mistake, and Clemente is there, smiling and waving to the crowd."

The Tampa free ticket giveaway was a smash hit, as they packed the house after already clinching their playoff spot.

This sure lends credence to the notion that the biggest problem in Tampa (and probably many other markets as well) is that going to a game is simply perceived as being too expensive.

I have a friend, a rabid Pirates fan, who was 12 years old when Clemente died. He said to me recently: "I swear to God, I still feel like I'll turn on the game and they'll announce it was all a mistake, and Clemente is there, smiling and waving to the crowd."

I think I once read a story (it might have been by W.P. Kinsella) where somebody comes across Clemente's ghost on a Puerto Rico Beach, and all that Clemente wants to know is if aid had gotten to Nicaragua, and if the Pirates would still want him. My memory is kind of hazy.

Eddie Bane out in Anaheim.

This sure lends credence to the notion that the biggest problem in Tampa (and probably many other markets as well) is that going to a game is simply perceived as being too expensive.

The average non-premium ticket price in Tampa is under $20 a game. I can understand Met fans not going because they perceive Met tickets to be too expensive in regards to how good the team is, but in Tampa you can sit anywhere in the upper deck for $15 or under for most games.

This sure lends credence to the notion that the biggest problem in Tampa (and probably many other markets as well) is that going to a game is simply perceived as being too expensive.

So Tampa is a great market for baseball so long as tickets are free - great business model.

Why is Montreal without a team again?

I think I once read a story (it might have been by W.P. Kinsella) where somebody comes across Clemente's ghost on a Puerto Rico Beach, and all that Clemente wants to know is if aid had gotten to Nicaragua, and if the Pirates would still want him. My memory is kind of hazy.

Its titled "Searching for January" in his book "The Dixon Cornbelt League."

The average non-premium ticket price in Tampa is under $20 a game. I can understand Met fans not going because they perceive Met tickets to be too expensive in regards to how good the team is, but in Tampa you can sit anywhere in the upper deck for $15 or under for most games.

I agree, and I'm totally with you, but the facts don't lie: when the tickets were free instead of $15-$20, people got on line down there, waited for a couple of hours, and the place was packed for a game against the Orioles.

I think most people are just funny this way and it's human nature. That shitty ninety-nine cent fast food taco that is normally the furthest thing from most peoples' minds suddenly becomes a desireable commodity when it's free instead of ninety-nine cents. Apparently the way to do business is you have to make people feel as though they're getting a really good deal. And it's probably more true now than ever in this bad economy. A lot of these teams should probably give serious consideration to lowering their prices next season.

I think I once read a story (it might have been by W.P. Kinsella) where somebody comes across Clemente's ghost on a Puerto Rico Beach, and all that Clemente wants to know is if aid had gotten to Nicaragua, and if the Pirates would still want him. My memory is kind of hazy.

I have an aunt in PR who refuses to go to Isla Verde beach because she's convinced that she's going to get in the water and step in one of his bones.

The Economist on betting scandals and sports (and why the US ismore immune to them).