re: yesterdays news ...

Larry Stone says "Detroit general manager Dave Dombrowski explained why he settled on the Yankees and Diamondbacks as his trading partners ...  "At times, there were a couple of situations that might have happened. I think the phone calls to me were much more on a persistent basis, because really, when you looked at it, there were only a few places that really satisfied what we needed. And it kept coming back to this situation, which we felt was the best one for us. Even though at times it looked like, well, this might not work, we might have to switch off...I really didn't want to give this one up, because we felt it was the one situation that kept coming back to giving us that young starter and that young center fielder, and also giving us additional pieces to the deal."

The Mariners didn't have the center fielder, and while Brandon Morrow was certainly discussed, the Mariners appeared to be reluctant to give up the bulk in pitching prospects (Josh Fields, Phillippe Aumont, Shawn Kelley) that the Tigers were seeking. And the Tigers were looking for players that would help them in 2010.

and Geoff Baker on Harden:

"Players and clubs are going to market and feel about players differently," Zduriencik said. "And some clubs will pay a player certain dollars and other clubs won't. It's the world you live in." Zduriencik was speaking in general terms and did not even officially confirm he'd offered Harden a deal. But sources had indicated the Mariners were hesitant about accelerator clauses Harden's camp had asked for, leading to his selection of the Rangers.

Thanksgiving is so November.

Indianapolis is the 13th largest city in the United States and  became the capital of Indiana in 1820.

The most common nickname for Indianapolis is ‘Indy’; other nicknames include ‘Circle City’ and ‘Naptown’.

Indianapolis was designated as the “Crossroads of America” in 1847 because a railroad was
built and was the first to have all its lines meet in one union station in the city.

The Indianapolis Zoo houses over 4,000 animals and is home to the state’s largest aquarium.
It also has the country’s first totally submerged, underwater dolphin viewing dome.

The Indianapolis 500 is the largest single day sporting event in the world.

The NCAA Hall of Champions (Hall of Fame for college athletics) is located in Indianapolis

Elvis Presley’s last concert was in Indianapolis at Market Square Arena in 1977.

with one Doug Miller at Pravda.

Lots of good stuff, from his input at the Winter meetings, working with Zduriencik & Blengino ("Am I a total stats guy? No. But I always welcome the addition of as much information as possible to help make decisions"), Gold Glove selections ("I was with Texas at the time that Raffy Palmeiro won a Gold Glove as a DH") and Felix ("What can I say about Felix? What a joy.")

Mostly because the last one hit over 1000 comments, primarily due to a spirited discussion about meaningful things.You won't find that here, though, bucko.

Anyone watch the new version of "V"? Was there anything more to it than Morena Baccarin's cool new haircut?

Anyone going any where near the scarifying rotoscoping of A Christmas Carol?

Is Anthony Lane one of the most entertaining film reviewers working today?

"Please make sure, when you buy a ticket for “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” to pronounce the title in full. I know you will. There was a plan to call it “Push,” until another movie got there first. But why not call the new one “Precious,” and leave it at that? After all, Deborah Kerr didn’t star in “The Innocents: Based on the Novella ‘The Turn of the Screw’ by Henry James,” and Dustin Hoffman didn’t star in “Rain Man: Based on the Overwhelming Desire to Win an Academy Award by Dustin Hoffman,” so why the change in rubric?"