One of our favorite things about baseball is the 7th Inning Stretch. There's something about a stadium full of people standing up and singing a completely quaint, nearly 100 year-old-song in our jaded, post-post punk, post-post modern, post-post-ironic age that gives us the warm fuzzies. But at last Sunday's Giants game, the Giants continued on with a new tradition that is slowly and quickly ruining the 7th Inning Stretch-- the playing of "God Bless America" right before "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." And yes, we do hate America, why do you ask? ...

Our fevered dreams of watching Barry Bonds hitting the game-winning home run against the Dominicans in the World Baseball Classic as fireworks explode below soaring eagles, all to the strains of "God Bless the U.S.A" will sadly go unrealized as Barry has announced that he has dropped out of playing in the WBC. On his Web site, the Barry claims that with his knees being what they are, it would be in the best interests of his "family, the Giants, and our fans that I sit the WBC out." And yes, apparently he let the world know not the customary way of calling everyone up-- like Bud Selig or the people running Team USA-- but instead by letting them know by posting on his blog. Hey, how else is he going to get people to go to his Web site? It's either this way or saying he's got the Britney/K-Fed sex tape. ...

Special "Sorry for the linklessness, we're busy voting for Jack Daniels" Edition It's basically over, folks. Maybe some lawyers can pull this one out of their collective asses, but the man over eighty percent of San Franciscans voted against is probably going to be our next President. Oh well. We've got lots of ballot initiatives and some really angry bicyclists. There's that going for us. We feel totally double-crossed by the blogosphere. Once Zogby went......