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Polar bears on stamps? Really? Yes, according to the article on the web site, which states: "You can find polar bears on many different postcards and stamps some are funny, clever, and some are in their natural habitat."
Hmmm, never knew that, and never really cared or thought about it that much.
The only Bears that I really care about are in Chicago and play football ... Da Bears....
Of course, I do know there are bears in Maine ... the football team is called the Black Bears.
Then again,I know about Yogi, who was smarter than the average bear. ... and Smokey the bear, who put out forest fires.
Don't know if they are many bears here in Connecticut, though.
As the Yankees kick off their spring training slate - their first game is Wednesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates - one of the major questions is how the lineup will shake out by Opening Day.
The leadoff spot obviously is set with Derek Jeter, as are the three and four holes with Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. The bottom of the order also is pretty clear. Nick Swisher will hit eighth and Brett Gardnder ninth.
Howver, the other spots -- Nos. 2, 5 6 and 7 - are unsettled, and for manager Joe Girardi, it will be like a puzzle figurng out who to slot into the those four positions.
The Yankees have to replace Johnny Damon in the No. 2 hole and Hideki Matsui in the No. 5 position. Nick Johnson, with his .402 on-base percentage last year, could be a candidate to back second, but so could Curtis Granderson.
Here's another big question: is second baseman Robinson Cano ready to take on the responsibility of batting fifth, which is a big RBI position?
Cano arguably has emerged as the best second baseman in the American League and is just entering his prime at 26. He finished sixth in the AL batting race last season, hitting .320. But if Cano is going to bat fifth, he must become more of a clutch hitter, and that is something he has talked about. In 2009, Cano batted only .207, with runners in scoring position, which is a significant problem.
If Cano's RISP average doesn't improve, you could definitely see drop to sixth or seventh in a top-heavy lineup. That would likely leave catcher Jorge Posada to hit fifth and Granderson in the spot not occupied by Cano.
Girardi has talked about wanting a consistent every-day lineup, and here's how I see it working out by Opening Day: 1. Jeter, 2. Johnson, 3. Teixeira, 4, Rodriguez, 5. Posada, 6. Cano, 7. Granderson, 8. Swisher, 9. Gardner.
For the record, the Yankees' first spring training lineup of 2010 looked like this: 1. Jeter, SS; 2. Granderson, CF; 3. Teixeira, 1B; 4. Rodriguez, 3B; 5. Marcus Thames, DH; 6. Jamie Hoffman, RF; 7. Gardner, LF; 8. Francisco Cervelli, C; 9. Ramiro Pena, 2B. Rest assured, that will not be the Opening Day lineup.
Louisville's game against Syracuse on Saturday is creating a high demand for tickets. It's not because the Cardinals are hosting the No. 1 team in the country, it's because this will be the last game at famed Freedom Hall -- unless the Cardinals host a contest in the National Invitation Tournament. Tickets in the upper deck are going anywhere from $200 and $300, but lower level are ranging from $500 to $1,500.
This is the end of an era, as Louisville has called Freedom Hall home for 54 years.Next season, the Cardinals move into a new 22,000-seat, $238-million downtown palace (more than $200 million to build an arena, and this is supposed to be about amateur sports!)
Freedom Hall has meant so much to the city of Louisville. The Louisville Courier-Journal put together a 12-page special section to honor the old building and all the memories generated there. The special section's title: "So long, old friend."
Of course, Freedom Hall also has played a big part in the history of college basketball itself. The Final Four, before moving exclusively to domes, was played there six times between 1958 and 1969.
Louisville won two national championships (1980 and 1986) under legendary coach Denny Crum while playing at Freedom Hall and advanced to the "Final Four" on four other occasions.
As an avid reader, I enjoy visiting old bookstores and searching through the musty and dusty-covered shelves for old tomes to devour. Of course, not every town has those kinds of bookstores -- and I'm not going to one of the chains and pay $27.95 for a new release - so as the article on the web site states, the best way to find bargains may be online and searching book clubs.
According to the article on the web site, book clubs provide member discounts on popular authors and bestselling books. Purchasing books from online bookstores such as Amazon or through eBay offers huge savings. A savings of 40 percent is not uncommon.
Another option, of course, is to visit the local library. Of course, those books can only be borrowed and not bought. But if you're a fast reader, as I am, it wouldn't make a difference.
Anyway, there is nothing getting under the covers on a cold, winter night and getting lost in a good book.
Turns out John Daly was a really, really, really bad boy during his time on the PGA Tour.  Responding to a court order, the PGA Tour tuned over a file it had kept on Daly's personal life, and now it has become a matter of public record.The 456-page file, which was obtained by The Florida Times-Union, covers the years 1991 through late 2008 and revealed the following:
-- That the PGA Tour, on seven occasions, ordered Daly to undergo counseling or enter alcohol rehabilitation;
-- That Daly was placed on Tour probation six times;
-- That Daly was cited 11 times for "conduct unbecoming a professional";
-- That Daly was flagged 21 times for "failure to give best efforts";
-- That Daly accrued fines of nearly $100,000 during the period covered in the file.
The final transgression listed in his file, according to the Times-Union, details Daly's six-month suspension from the PGA Tour at the start of the 2009 golf season after his October 2008 arrest, in which he was found intoxicated outside a Hooters restaurant in North Carolina.
Daly's personnel file also included accusations that he nearly struck an Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent after failing to stop his car at a security checkpoint at the 2005 U.S. Open in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
This is a dude with some serious personal problems. Kind of makes Tiger Woods look like an angel.
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