- Parents of young children, the time has never been better to shove a baseball into your child’s hand or chain them to the backstop at the local baseball field and not allow them to leave until they’ve taken enough batting practice to make their hands bleed and their arms turn into rubber. For the first time in Major League Baseball history, the average salary in Major League Baseball finished over $3 million for the just-completed season. According to the Major League Baseball Players Association, the 912 players in the big leagues before rosters expanded in September averaged $3,014,572. That represents an increase of 0.6 percent from last year's $2,996,106, the smallest increase since a 2.5 percent drop in 2004. In other words, MLB players are getting richer and richer and there’s no stopping it. Now, some of you might recall that the union's Opening Day average first reached $3 million in 2007, but that average drops during the season as veterans are released and replaced by younger players earning far less. In breaking down the numbers, the MLBPA found predictable results when it came to which teams paid their players the most. At the top of the list was the bluest of baseball’s blue-blood franchises, the New York Yankees. The Yankees had the highest final average at $7,604,937, down slightly from $7,663,351 when they won the World Series in 2009. Perhaps that $59,000 decline was the reason their players weren’t motivated enough to win another title in 2010. Far behind in second place were the Philadelphia Phillies, who rose from eighth to second at $5,662,551. In third place with a paltry $4,821,016 average salary were the Boston Red Sox, followed by the Chicago White Sox ($4,580,868) in fourth and the Chicago Cubs ($4,107,304), who dropped from second to fifth. On the opposite end of the scale were baseball’s perennial doormats, the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates wrapped up their 17th straight losing season while paying players an average of $1,140,598. What makes that number even more hilarious is that the Pirates are probably livid that their average salary was that high. Ironically enough, only three of the top seven teams by average salary made the postseason, with the Yankees and Phillies joined by the World Series champion San Francisco Giants, who were seventh at $4,042,950. The other World Series participants, the AL champion Texas Rangers, were 14th at $2,778,920. Others making the playoffs were No. 10 Atlanta, No. 11 Minnesota, No. 16 Tampa Bay and No. 19 Cincinnati. Commissioner Bud Selig is certain to tout those numbers as evidence that a) revenue sharing is working for the middle- and low-revenue teams and b) that small-market teams can compete with high-payroll teams. I take them as evidence that turning your child into an elite baseball player is the way to go………
- When one uncovers a piece of 250-year-old history, what is the appropriate response? You should treasure it, learn about it and…..bury it underground so you can turn it into a vacant plot of land? That’s the option officials in New Jersey have chosen with a rough-looking tract on the south side of the Statehouse in Trenton, home to the remains of what may be the only colonial-era steel mill excavated in North America. The mill was opened and run by two Philadelphians - Timothy Matlack and Owen Biddle - once made steel at the so-called Petty's Run site, shoving it right in the face of England by daring to show the very sort of independence that would ultimately lead to the revolution that won us out freedom. "This was part of American independence," said Ian Burrow, vice president of Hunter Research Inc. in Trenton, which conducted the archaeological dig. "We can be more self-sufficient." The mill stuck it to the British, who wanted raw materials from the colonies so they could turn out the finished product for sale in America. Instead, men like Matlack and Biddle cut out the middle man and lowered the final price of steel for Americans. With the site uncovered, the logical step would seem to be taking the site and turning it into some sort of park or monument for future generations to visit and learn about this nation’s great history. Unfortunately, times are tough and the recession is kicking the sh*t out of the entire country. The cost of turning the site into a publicly accessible park is estimated to be in the millions of dollars and those are millions of dollars that the state of New Jersey simply does not have. Thus, the State Capitol Joint Management Commission voted last month in favor of Lt. Gov. Kimberly Guadagno's order to fill in the site and protect the ruins until better economic times, when the state can revisit plans for a park. "The No. 1 reason is economics," Irene Kropp, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection, said last week. "Let's focus the money on current parks, and let's preserve [the Petty's Run site] properly so we can open it again when we have money to build a really cool interpretative center with staff." Oddly enough, that decision has caused an uproar among historians and Trenton boosters, including business owners and civic leaders. They believe that turning the site into a publicly accessible park would draw tourists to their hell hole of a city and thus boost tourism revenues. To that end, they hope to meet soon with Guadagno and persuade her to keep the site open as a way of drawing more visitors. "We're looking to enhance the business climate, and tourism is one area we've identified as a key opportunity for doing that," said real estate developer David Henderson, chairman of the nonprofit Trenton Downtown Association. "It makes more sense to stabilize the site, fence it in, and provide public access to get as much economic draw as we can. If it is viewable in minimal way, it will draw visitors and dollars and generate revenue for the state. We understand the desire not to waste money, but this can add another boost to the economy." Right. You do know that you live in Trenton, N.J., right? Just thought I would point that out………
- Am I just missing it? Is there actually a legit reason to give a rat’s backside about the engagement photos and wedding details of two people I don’t know simply because they’re famous and one of them will possibly inherit the throne of England some day? Look, I wish nothing but happiness and marital bliss to Prince William and longtime love Kate Middleton, but I could not care less when it comes to the details of their engagement or wedding. First, there was the requisite drama when their official engagement photos were released. I was under the impression that we had seen thousands upon thousands of pictures of them before now and hours of video footage of them in different settings, thus meaning we had a fairly solid idea of how they look. Did their appearance somehow change once he slipped an engagement ring on her finger? Did they both become more attractive by virtue of being set to wed? But as it turns out, the excitement over the engagement pictures was only the beginning. Now that we’ve seen those photos, mulled them over and moved on, the big buzz is about Middleton’s potential wedding dress and who its designer will be. According to fashion insiders, landing this gig will place one fortunate designer at the top of the fashion pecking order. Designers will first send Middleton sketches and samples and getting them to her is so important that many will include expensive gifts with their samples in order to make them stand out from the crowd. Others may take their pitch a step further and invite Middleton to a meeting at their showroom and pick up all expenses to do so, including a private plane and accommodations for assistants, handlers and even family members. Those wishing to offer the ultimate pitch could even defer all costs for the production of the dress and any additional dresses that may be worn for the various celebrations or offer to design all the wedding attire, including the groom, ladies in waiting, parents and children. But before a designer can take those steps, they should first study British royal culture intently and find something that fits well with past royal weddings in terms of style. Putting in that work could pay off hugely, as being selected to design a royal wedding gown would be a massive boost the business. Needless to say, you can charge a lot more for your gear if you have the royal stamp of approval on something you’ve designed. However, I still have no idea why I or anyone not actually involved in the wedding should care about any of this…………
- For those who have been clamoring for Apple to release the iPhone on a network other than AT&T, the wait may be almost over. A report surfaced Monday that Apple will launch a new iPhone on the Verizon network after Christmas, with the upgraded handset capable of accessing the carrier's new 4G long-term evolution wireless network. Sources inside Verizon claimed that the wireless giant showed off LTE-capable iPhones to company management at a training session last week. Although the story has not yet been independently confirmed, the source has been called “credible” by multiple tech media outlets. Other reports have claimed that Apple plans to launch a CDMA iPhone in early 2011, but made no mention of an LTE 4G model. Why wait until after holiday shopping is over? Apparently, the current exclusive carrier of Apple's smartphone, AT&T, reportedly had a "final demand" to maximize holiday sales. To mitigate the effect of the delayed release, the new Verizon iPhone will reportedly become immediately available once it is announced. "Verizon agreed to take 100 percent responsibility for security, so all the devices will be in their hands until the official announcement date, and they will then distribute thru channels in massive manner (hence early stockpiling)," the source said. That same source claimed that the new handset will be marketed as Verizon's first and only 4G LTE phone. However, the 4G network is not yet nationwide, so the LTE 4G will include a CDMA chip for coverage on the company's existing network. Right now, the 4G network is somewhere in between the 38 metropolitan areas and more than 60 commercial airports across the U.S. where it launched earlier this month and completion, trending toward the low end of the scale at this point. The network’s most impressive feature is that it offers data speeds of between 5 and 12 megabits per second downstream. Previously, Apple had planned to launch an "iPhone 5" in the summer of 2011 as LTE-only, but neither AT&T nor Verizon are expected to have their 4G network operational nationwide by then. Apple CEO Steve Jobs is reportedly unhappy enough with the situation that the company is assisting the carriers in building their next-generation networks to expedite the process. Verizon has already begun its partnership with Apple, as it started selling the iPad in October. Ultimately, variety is a good thing and anyone who has wanted an iPhone but not AT&T service could soon have at least one more option………
- Sometimes, a stint in prison is just what the doctor ordered. It could be for any number of reasons, ranging from a need for life change and redemption to providing a desperately needed infusion of street cred for a faltering career. For Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, going to prison was the admitted best thing that ever happened to him and saved him from a life spent doing reprehensible things such as operating a dogfighting ring. For has-been rapper Ja Rule, heading to the slam could be exactly what he needs to take himself from E-lister to C- or B-lister in the world of hip-hop. Mr. Rule reached a plea deal with prosecutors in a Manhattan courtroom on Monday that will send him to prison for two years. His plea stems from charges brought after a gun bust in July 2007, when both Ja and Lil Wayne were arrested separately following a concert performance in what had to be the biggest celebrity arrest night ever for the NYPD. Rule, who apparently is still on the artist roster for Murder Inc., pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon, a class D felony in the second degree. "Minor setback for a major comeback," he tweeted after reaching the deal. Despite reaching the plea deal Monday, Rule won't be sentenced until February, following a court appearance that same month to report his progress to the judge. Every time a case like this comes up, it always reassures me and bolsters my faith in the American judicial system to know that a person can commit a crime and string things out long enough to make it three-fourths of the way through a presidential term. For those of you without an ironclad memory of rappers being arrested for firearm possession (it is a long list, after all), the arrest came after Ja Rule joined Lil Wayne at Manhattan's Beacon Theatre in what was Wayne’s his first New York City headlining gig. Following the show, the NYPD pulled over the vehicles in which both rappers were riding and in separate instances, found an unlicensed firearm in the vehicles. Both were subsequently charged with illegal possession of a firearm and Lil Wayne received the added bonus of being hit up with drug charges. In Ja Rule's case, police said they found a loaded semiautomatic weapon in the rear door of his car. The plea deal earned him a huge break on the amount of time he could have spent in jail, as he could have faced up to seven years behind bars if the case had gone to trial and he had been found guilty. Now, he'll likely serve 16 months in prison, followed by a year and a half of post-prison supervision. Lil Wayne, who didn’t drag his case out for three years, also reached a plea deal in his case, went to jail in March and completed his sentence last month. He’s moved on from being incarcerated in the great state of New York to being on probation for an unrelated incident in Arizona. For Ja Rule, dragging out the case bought him more time in the spotlight at a time when no one has any interest in listening to his music…………
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