Ken Griffey Jr. owed $1,500 to teammate Josh Fogg, and he paid his debt using only pennies: sixty 16-pound boxes of 'em.

... LeBron James, not so much. 2-18 shooting?!! King James, it's time to step up. For the rest of you, it's time to enjoy a photo gallery of cheerleaders from this year's NBA Playoffs. Thanks, COED Magazine.

Fastball + metal bat + human head = PAIN.

8-bit Nintendo classic, Tecmo Bowl, is being released for the Nintendo Wii. Hopefully Lawrence Taylor has a cameo. Bo Jackson, too. Here's a video from the original classic.

Somebody developed awesome MLB-themed Obama t-shirts. Unfortunately, MLB's lawyers have no sense of humor. Boo.

Includes detailed scoring information and how this impacts draft strategy. Overall #1? A-Rod. Biggest first-round surprise? Hanley Ramirez dropping all the way to #8.

Former O's manager Earl Weaver is a volatile guy: quick to drink, curse, kick dirt on umpires, and turn his hat around to get even more up in someone's grill. And according to the linked article, he also demanded that a cigarette pouch be sewn into his manager's uniform.

That's probably what earned him a plaque in the Hall of Fame. That or his nearly 100 career ejections (an AL record). He made it a point to never go quietly. Once while headed to the dugout, he said, "I'm going check the rulebook on that," to which the umpire responded, "Here, use mine."

Earl's reply? "That's no good. I can't read Braille."

The Rocket's appearance in Washington was by most accounts a five-hour Snooze Fest, but here are 60 seconds worth watching. Important bald man, smack that gavel!

"What possible purpose does the Congressional investigation serve in the national interest? Without getting overly political, if possible, consider the situation: Congress, with massive deficits and two ongoing wars overseas to look after, devotes committee time to examining the ultimately circumstantial evidence turned over by a trainer who was caught on audio obviously begging Roger Clemens for hush money."

After months of dialogue and weeks of speculation, the O's finally shipped Erik Bedard to Seattle in exchange for five players, one of whom is Adam Jones, the outfielder-prospect not to be confused with Adam "Pacman" Jones, the strip-club king of former NFL fame.

Bedard had arguably better numbers last year than even Johan Santana, but despite the fact that the O's are desperate for help on the mound, they had to send Bedard packing. The lefty ace had made it clear to the organization that he was not going to re-up after this season, his last under contract. Bedard does not want to play for a team that is rebuilding, and for the past decade "rebuilding" would be too positive a term to describe Baltimore's once-proud baseball franchise.

Things are looking up in Baltimore, though, and all signs point toward Andy MacPhail as the reason why. The C.O.O. of the O's, MacPhail wisely shipped Miggy out of town about five seconds before the Mitchell Report implicated him as a cheater, and somehow he slipped this trade by owner Peter Angelos, who has a track record of meddling in and killing potential trades.

Up next is Brian Roberts, a favorite of Angelos but also the best remaining trade bait for a franchise that won't compete in the AL East for many years to come. If MacPhail can get something decent in return for B-Rob, there is a chance the O's may be back in the mix in three or four years. Until then, the best O's fans can hope for is .500 ball, and even that seems like a stretch.

For more on the trade, check out the Baltimore Sun.

"After the game-fixing scandal involving former NBA referee Tim Donaghy, Major League Baseball is right to ask discomfiting questions about its umpires — including whether they gamble, live beyond their means, smoke pot or belong to organizations like the KKK. This isn't character assassination, and it's not screaming 'fire!' in the absence of smoke. It's common sense taken to its obvious end."

Being an MLB umpire (like any job) is a privilege, not a right. So if the MLB wants to ask whether or not you rock a white hood with eye-holes cut out, that's their right, isn't it? But it does seem a bit much, don't you think? And another thing, if these guys could hit the ball 400 feet, nobody would be asking them any questions at all. Some might consider that a double standard.

Seth Prescott is the Susan Lucci of downhill X Games snowboarding: He'd made it to the X Games finals ten separate years before this year but had zero golds to show for it. Today was no different. Another X Games finals appearance, another loss. Nate Holland won the gold. Prescott finished fifth. Here's a video of Prescott, who won Olympic gold in 2006, carving it up in Alaska.

Phillies pitcher Brett Myers was asked whether Ryan Howard's new contract will impact his play on the field. He said, "It better not. I'll smack him around a little bit." Comcast editors cut the quote from subsequent broadcasts, but Bugs & Cranks has both videos on its site.

Making fun of SI's Peter King is always a good time.

Peter Angelos has a reputation for meddling in personnel decisions. This off-season is no different. Reports are that he recently killed 7-for-2 trade that would have sent Brian Roberts and Erik Bedard to the Cubs, ostensibly for prospects. The guy runs the O's like a fantasy team, and he's accomplished nothing in the past 10 years except losing.