NFL Nl West

When luck's got you down. When it feels like everyone in the free world is against you (except for those in San Francisco, natch). And, when all hope is lost, don't fret. He will appear like a vision on the center field video screen. It's Joe Montana, there to comfort you, Barry Bonds.

"Hey Barry, Joe Montana here," said the football Hall of Famer, shown on the ballpark's large video screen in centerfield. "Congratulations on a great career, and good luck on the road to history. And remember, don't just break that record. Give 'em a number that no one will reach."

Bonds, standing in leftfield for the start of the first inning, applauded with his glove. The Giants greatly hope there'll be more reason to celebrate by the end of this week, although they're not sharing every last detail of their plans.

Rumor has it Bob Costas came on the screen in the sixth inning to lend his support as well, but because he's a midget, you could only hear him. Cameras can only shoot straight ahead, don't you know that?

{Via the Biz of Baseball.}

In a "I think you do a great job" sort of way, don't get any wrong ideas here. Matter of fact, the two were scheduled to have a "mutual admiration" meeting prior to the Cardinals/Rockies game Thursday night in Denver. How did the whole thing come about you ask? A lot of it started when La Russa read Shanahan's book. From The Denver Post: All Things Rockies blog:

Shanahan and his father, Ed, are planning to watch the game and then meet up with LaRussa.
Last year, La Russa read Shanhan's book, "Think Like a Champion," and came away very impressed.
"I admire him and I've heard a lot about him," La Russa said. "A lot of NFL guys come by our camp during spring training and I hear them talk about him. His name comes up a lot – always complimentary. It's about all the responsibility he has and how he handles it."

Just another example of the crossover amongst successful professionals in the sports world. It's like a secret society of elite coaches. Now you can add Mike Shanahan to the list of La Russa supporters, along with Bill Belichick, Bill Parcells, and Bobby Knight (thanks to MW of DBB for the reminder). I'll say this for the guy, if La Russa ever finds himself out of managing, he'll have no trouble sliding into the NFL.

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

A few weeks ago, as I purchased tickets to the Saints/Rams game in New Orleans this November on StubHub, I wondered how teams could sit idly back knowing people were re-selling their tickets for gross profit on the Internet (for the record, I paid $70 apiece and a limb for $35 tickets). Historically, there's never been a profit a sports team hasn't liked, and if they could find a way to make extra money on something like ticket sales, why not?

Little did I know that the wheels have already been set in motion. If you live in St. Louis, take solace in knowing that, at the very least, the Rams and Cardinals will be making money twice on ticket sales. Each team will be offering a re-sell option for ticket holders who can't use their tickets. After you pay the team for your tickets, you can bring the tickets back to them, where they'll sell them to someone else for whatever price you set. They take a "convenience" commission. You keep the profits. It's like Flip This House, but you don't have to think about pastel-themed dining rooms or what tile to use in the master bath.

This is being made possible by the repeal on scalping in Missouri, although scalping in front of stadiums (or as I like to call it, the black market without all the fun of drugs or prostitution) will still be a no-no -- this is an Internet-only venture. The San Francisco Giants, in a move that contradicts the city's decidedly bohemian (read: dirty hippy) ethos, have already been using a system like this.

I'm really trying to find a reason to be indignant about this, but I can't come up with anything good. The system is literally identical to StubHub, a service I use fairly often. If someone is willing to pay more than face value for an event, that's their right. The seller sets their price for a good, the buyer decides whether or not to pay it, and the middleman takes a piece for the trouble. Let's hear it for the free market!

Still, I feel dirty knowing that teams are profitting twice on ticket sales. Something about it just doesn't seem right. Any anarchists out there care to conjure up some reason for me to want to rebel against the system for this?

No, it wasn't Philip Rivers or LaDainian Tomlinson. Though, you really wouldn't put it past Tomlinson to be able do it.

Instead it was Rockies rookie, Jason Hirsh, who allowed one fun on five hits to defeat Greg Maddux and the Padres. Hirsh spent last season as a photo-runner for the Chargers. Hirsh earned minimum-wage for the game-day gig. But something says that he is not going to need the money this year after earning baseball's league minimum, which is a just a touch higher than California's generous minimum wage.