Some toys to chew on while wondering if Ellen DeGeneres’ hairdresser has recovered from the trauma. No, not the fact they took the dog away, but the fact people now know she’s the one responsible for Ellen’s hairstyle;

I’ll take 24 more players who care as little about winning and losing as Manny Ramirez does any day of the week. Question for the Manny bashers out there; do you really think the best right-handed hitter of this generation just shows up and produces those gaudy numbers? You don’t maintain that level of excellence without working extremely hard at your craft, which in my mind translates into caring very much.

Giving pep talks to fans over the airways…throwing out the first pitch in Game 7 of the ALCS while still a member of the Orioles. Has there ever been an athlete who loved playing in a city more than Kevin Millar loved playing in Boston? I still can’t, for the life of me, understand how people used to boo someone who enjoyed being a citizen of Red Sox Nation so much.

However, I can understand how his current team in Baltimore might not find Mr. Cowboy Up’s antics so amusing. I’m guessing that boss-employee relationship is about to turn more sour than the Karla Brooks Baehr-William Samaras union.

Congratulations Major League Baseball. You now have three games scheduled in Denver at the end of October. That’s the same Denver that’s already seen 1-3 inches of snow. Serves you right for A) stretching out your schedule so far into the Fall and B) awarding a team to Colorado in the first place, especially without the promise of a domed stadium.

How slow was Paul Byrd’s fastball before he started taking HGH?

Those who’ve paid attention are aware I’ve made some pretty foolish statements in the past (Dice-K for Cy Young anyone?), but I don’t think I’ve ever been more wrong about an athlete than I was about Dustin Pedroia. The guy who looks like everybody’s kid brother not only can hit in the majors, but has just enough pop to steal a game or two with a homer like he did in Game 7 against Cleveland.

Speaking of players I’ve been wrong about, I keep telling myself not to make any more Randy Moss references for a while because they’re starting to get redundant. Then “The Freak” goes out and makes another one of those “did he really just do what I think he just did” plays. In Miami, we saw a pair of them; the leaping grab over the shoulder of the defenders and the one-handed catch of a 50-yard pass while being bumped, held and spun around.

Tell me he doesn’t remind you of that older, physically superior relative who played keepaway from all the little kids at family outings.

Don’t you get the impression Bill Belichick is going to make sure Tom Brady breaks Peyton Manning’s single season touchdown record no matter how soon the Patriots clinch everything there is to clinch? It’s almost as if the coach told his star QB;

“Sorry about hanging you out to dry last year, Tommy Boy. For being such a good team guy and not ripping those stiffs in the press, how about we go out and sign the two best free agent receivers available, trade for a future Hall of Famer, then go out and erase that Frankenstein looking guy from the record books. Just get me prime seats to the Victoria’s Secret Christmas Fashion Show and we’ll call it even, OK?”