Happy Fourth

It's been a hectic holiday weekend - baseball has taken a backseat the past few days to visiting family, riding my bike, watching fireworks (last night and tonight), barbecuing and watching the annual Nathan's hot dog eating contest.

Yup, if you count that as sport, then the bulk of my sports-watching the last two days has been seeing people shove hot dogs and soggy rolls down their gullets. Joey Chestnut won again; I'm bummed.

Last night, I see that Rodrigo Lopez bailed out the Phillies, helping them to get a rare win at home. Christine and I debated whether it's a sign that the champs have righted the ship or that they're just taking advantage of playing an even more dreadful team (the Mets).

The Red Sox battled back to tie the Mariners, but wound up losing in 11 innings. I tried to listen while sitting in my truck waiting for the fireworks to start. Reception was decent, but not clear enough to hear over the din of the crowd waiting for the show.

Later this afternoon, the Phillies and Jamie Moyer host Ferando Nieve and the Mets. The Red Sox (Brad Penny) and Mariners (Garrett Olson) have already started. The Sox are up 2-0 in the 2nd.

We're curious who will read Lou Gehrig's speech for the Phillies and Red Sox. I like this idea to honor him this way.