Perhaps shamed by their crushing defeat in the World Series, someone in the office of Arlington, Texas Mayor Robert Cluck's office apparently leaked a photo of Mayor Newsom chowing down on his plate of victory ribs to notorious gossip site TMZ.com. Bay City News, who has a much nicer photo on The Appeal, reports that Newsom's office sent the photos to Mayor Cluck after platters of barbecue (the winnings in a friendly wager, you'll remember) arrived in San Francisco in time for lunch last Friday.

Newsom insists his office didn't leak the photos to anyone else, so we're left to conclude that someone in Texas is attempting to shame our deliciously-coiffured mayor by releasing photos of him in a t-shirt. (Eating ribs, on the other hand, is never something to be embarrassed about.) We suspect this even goes beyond Mayor Cluck's office and the proprietors of Spring Creek Barbecue have staged a play for increasing their name recognition. (In which case: You're welcome, Spring Creek Barbecue, the highest-rated barbecue among overrated American League Pitchers.)

Either way, the real gossip here is: why didn't you invite Willie Brown, Mr. Mayor? You know he loves ribs!

[SFAppeal]