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– The Wilmington Blue Rocks are doing their best to outdo the Reading Phillies in hosting the craziest minor league baseball home run derby:

On December 7, 1787 the state of Delaware forged its identity by becoming the first state to ratify the constitution of the United States of America. It was the first step down a long path of trendsetting that has helped set Delaware apart from its peers. The Wilmington Blue Rocks will continue that tradition of trying new things by becoming the first Minor League baseball club to host a Home Run Derby where players bat from the outfield and try to hit the ball into the stands behind where home plate normally resides. That is the highlight of the Hitting Challenge that will open the California League/Carolina League All-Star Game festivities presented by Bank of America at Frawley Stadium on Monday, June 16.

Those first two sentences are delightfully ridiculous and sound like a line straight out of a Delaware 87ers press release, but we like the effort. It’s not Reading. Nothing will ever be Reading. But it’s… something. The batted balls will head in a similar direction as a Jimmy Rollins pop-up.

Great longform article on ESPN today – and not one of those longform articles that’s just longform for the sake of being longform, but one that’s actually readable – about the time Justin Timberlake pulled out Janet Jackson’s tit at the Super Bowl… and the ensuing fallout, if you will.

Fucking Yinzers:

An employee of a McDonald’s restaurant in Pittsburgh is charged with selling heroin in Happy Meals.

Officers say customers looking for heroin were told to go through the drive-thru and say “I’d like to order a toy.” The customer would then be told to drive to the first window, where they’d hand over their money and get a Happy Meal box containing heroin in exchange.

Where have I seen this sort of thing before?

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Right.

[Fucking Yinz aside, thanks to our friends at Pensblog for posting our USA hockey shirt, which is burning right now. Good people. Good site.]

The NFL media is completely outraged that Marshawn Lynch wouldn’t take the podium at Super Bowl Media Day. In a memo, the PFWA:

The Pro Football Writers of America, the official voice of pro football writers fighting and promoting for access to NFL personnel to best serve the public, is extremely disappointed in the lack of meaningful access to Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch at the Super Bowl XLVIII media day on Tuesday.

Several of our long-standing and high profile members were appalled by Mr. Lynch’s conduct and refusal to answer any questions.

We find the statement that by the league that “Players are required to participate and he participated” to be an affront to our membership.

However, we are encouraged that the league will continue to closely monitor this situation.

This sounds like something that would come from the Flyers’ beat writers.

Biebs is about to be charged in Toronto assault.

I HATE SUPER BOWL WEEK.