and we'll be all set.

maybe we should get Mark Sweeney.

Arlen Specter is going to find out, by gum, as he is demanding to know why the NFL destroyed the Patriots spy tapes.

Picking up on the horse Gregg Easterbrook's been flogging all year, Sen. Specter wonders why the NFL immediately destroyed (ostensibly) every copy of every tape the Pats recorded of opponents' signals, contravening NFL rules, and also destroyed what may have been evidence of other forbidden tech snooping activities, perhaps extending to past Super Bowls.  Specter also wonders why the NFL didn't answer when he asked them the first time, in November, or the second time, in December.

In a Jan. 31 letter to Specter, which the senator released Friday, Goodell said the tapes and notes on the investigation were destroyed to ensure that the Patriots "would not secure any possible competitive advantage as a result of the misconduct."

Specter said the explanation "absolutely makes no sense at all...There's a credibility issue here," Specter said.

Specter, a lifelong Philadelphia Eagles fan who still calls sports radio stations on Monday mornings, said he was concerned about the integrity of sports.

He also, I imagine, promptly took the Giants and the points.

sigh

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/Hea...

Report: Mets, Santana nearing agreement

SI.com's Jon Heyman believes the Mets and Johan Santana are closing in on a six-year extension worth about $22 million per season.
Other sources have said the Mets are holding firm at five years, perhaps with a vesting option, but Heyman has said all along it'd be six years. Heyman also says the Mets would add about $7 million to his 2008 salary of $13.25 million. That'd mean Santana would earn about $152 million over the next seven years. Feb. 1 - 2:26 pm et

Mets get two-hour extension in Santana talks

Several reports indicate that the Mets and Johan Santana have been granted a two-hour extension past the Friday 5 p.m. EST deadline to continue contract negotiations.
This previously happened during the Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson deals, and it's no surprise that MLB is letting it go again here. If they didn't, there's nothing in the rules to stop the Mets and Twins from agreeing to a new trade and opening a new 72-hour window that way. All signs still point to the sides coming to an agreement. Feb. 1 - 5:20 pm et

Speaking of frankenplayers, scientists can now use stem cells to grow spare body parts in your abdomen. That one might not really be off topic, as this could have come in handy for the A's the last couple of years.

And under pressure from outraged parents, Woolworths has stopped selling the "Lolita Midsleeper Combi, a whitewashed wooden bed with pull-out desk and cupboard intended for girls aged about 6."

... I didn't do it!

Where to start with a story about a state police employee breaking into a church to use a nun's computer to surf for porn ...

On yardbarker

MR. Lynch showing some oakland A's pride.

The Video at the yard

Ever hear of Joe Arpaio?  He's the self-promoting tough on criminals sheriff of Maricopa Country, Phoenix AZ, who believes that prisoners are too damn well treated in this country.  Over the years he's brought in "civilized" measures like chain gangs, tent prisons, and issuing pink clothing (including underwear) to his inmates, in pursuit of the penological theory that it's not enough to have tough sentences...prisoners need to be humiliated at every turn to truly be scared straight.

In today's Chron Scott Ostler catches up with Sheriff Joe and his plans to introduce his retro-style to a whole new audience:  people attending the Super Bowl!

Included on my (embarrassingly long) list of nervous encounters with law enforcement was my trip to spring training in 1994.  My buddy and I drove all night, arriving just before noon on a scorching day in the parking lot of Phoenix Muni.  Just enough time before the game to, um, burn an offering of California's top cash crop to the Gods of the Desert.  And to drink a bunch of beers.

In high spirits we then traipsed into the ballpark and found our seats, which as luck would have it were across the aisle from a maybe a hundred folks with cropped hair, mirrored sunglasses, and rigid postures.  And their husbands.  Their disdain washed palpably about us; fortunately their attention quickly shifted to the on-field ceremonies, where the first pitch was about to be thrown...by Sheriff Joe Arpaio, celebrating Law Enforcement Day at the ballpark.  His legions next to us stood and cheered raucously.

I've never made more of an effort to avoid locking eyes with other fans in my life.   Somehow, my (non-Samoan, non-attorney) friend and I managed to avoid giving any offense beyond the unavoidable ones made by our long hair, sandals, and tie-dyed clothing.

Most of the Arpaio contingent left before the game ended.  We of course stayed for the full 10 innings (the game was eventually called in a 2-2 tie) and headed for my truck.  Wherein we found that the blistering desert heat, reaching perhaps 150 degrees in the closed cab, had the effect of multiplying the smell of agricultural products many times over.  The truck reeked with an intense aroma more common to New Year's Eve in the Coliseum lot than March in Phoenix.  

Five hours of no drink and abundant fear had me scared cold sober.  I locked arms on wheel in 10-to-2 position, stared straight ahead and inched slowly, very slowly, through the lot, which was exceptionally well staffed by Men With No Eyes.

We made it to our Motel 6 refuge without incident, or really (in retrospect) even the slightest actual brush with John Law.  But to this day that remains my benchmark of sporting event fear, against which encounters with Hayward meth freaks, angry drunk Angels fans, and obnoxious Boston ex-pats have been mere trifles in comparison.

Larry Stone indicates from this article that if the Bedard trade goes through, the Mariners gain in the short-term (immediate contention for the AL West), but at great longterm cost.