Longtime ShysterBall readers know that I take hot dogs very seriously. I’m not a snob about them — I’m cool with whatever is popular in whatever region I happen to be in — but I am certainly someone who expects others to honor and respect hot dog culture for the wonderful thing that it is. […]

Courtesy of Joesph P. at River Ave. Blues is everything you ever wanted to know about the cratering of corporate sponsorships but were afraid to ask: The risk for the sports industry and those who follow it is that a collapse in sports sponsorships could cause a downward spiral similar to the housing and credit […]

It appears that Red Sox owner John Henry is adding a third trophy to the case: Red Sox owner John Henry is engaged to girlfriend Linda Pizzuti . . . . . . It will be the first marriage for Pizzuti, who has been dating the millionaire businessman since she was introduced to him last […]

Dierkes rounds up all of the chatter about Adam Dunn. Upshot: no one is all that hot for him. Someone, however, is eventually going to sign this guy and get the biggest bargain of the offseason. Sure, his defense is reason for every NL to give pause, but that’s the reason not to pay him, […]

Another fun day in Pirates land: The Pittsburgh Pirates made a candid and surprising admission: Not only are they perennially in last place in the NL Central, they’ve dropped into last in their own city. The Pirates rank third among the Steel City’s three major sports franchises from a marketing and business perspective, team president […]

Only two comments about the Stupid Bowl: 1. The counter-programming award has to go to The Learning Channel, which ran the following shows during the game: “Forbidden Love: Polygamy”; “My Husband’s Three Wives”; “Anatomy of Sex;” and “Mother Knows Sex.” Yeah, they probably got trounced by both the game and the Puppy Bowl, but it’s […]

Rick Reilly makes trespassing sound so glamorous: Now, the Phillies have just won, 4-3, when Lionel notices a 6’8″ guy in a suit begin to walk down the aisle. Lionel figures the guy’s important, so he slinks in behind him, through a gate and toward the Tampa dugout. Who’s in there but Bud Selig, some […]

Neyer linked my bit about the feds raiding Greg Anderson’s mother-in-law’s house over in his Friday Filberts today, and he asks a good question: But on the other hand — and I should probably defer to Craig on these things, because he’s got a law degree and I don’t — perhaps a high-profile prosecution of […]

Forget Joe Torre. His tell-all isn’t even the most interesting one to come to light this week: On the greatest day of his life, Matt McCarthy took a call from a Major League baseball scout named Byron, who told him he had been drafted to play baseball for the Angels. “Now, you went to Yale,” […]

A lot of folks linked to John Updike’s “Hub Fan Bids Kid Adieu” essay this week, myself included. Today HuffPo’s David Margolick analyzes it. That’s interesting enough and worth your click, but this passage is the best: Nowadays, when nostalgia is big business and every sports milestone is hyped, such an event would be covered […]