Odds & Sods "Summertime Blues" Version

The hazy, hot and humid weather we've had the last couple of days coupled with the boring stuff I hear and read about makes me yearn for football and cooler weather.

NEWS
Hey did you hear Michael Jackson died?

R.I.P. Frank McCourt (August 19, 1930-July 19,2009). Brilliant, brilliant author.

Meanwhile, author Anne Rice has been hospitalized for intestinal blockage. She has never specified why, but she stopped travelling within the last couple of years due to her health.

I get that people may not like Sarah Palin's politics, but some people are taking it very, very personally.

I'm not sure which group of folks are crazier: birthers or 9/11 truthers.

July has been the deadliest month in Afghanistan for U.S. forces since we arrived there, yet it never gets a mention by the mainstream press. Why?

Oh yeah, Michael Jackson died, that's right.

SPORTS
Major League Baseball drops the ball with the trade deadline. Yes, the deadline is Friday, but deals can still be made in August. Huh? Here is an explanation of the rules. So much for MLB being fan-friendly!

Speaking of which, the N.H.L. has unhealthy franchises in Phoenix and on Long Island, so why was the cancellation of an entire season so necessary, Gary Bettman?

Bad news here for the Giants, looks like Antonio Pierce has some legal problems stemming from the whole Plax Burress thing.

U.F.C. President Dana White is holding a major press conference on Friday...should be very interesting.

Can ego possibly stand in the way of the biggest pay-per-view moneymaker of all time: Fedor Emelianenko versus Brock Lesnar?

I sent an email to New York Post columnist and blowhard Phil Mushnick correcting him on some items in a recent column of his. "Mr. Sloppy" loves to leave out the facts in order to further his vindictive agenda.

What about Dale Murphy for the Baseball Hall of Fame? I know, the teams he played on were never that good, but....

I was channel surfing last night and came across the 1997 home run derby on the MLB Network featuring a massive Sammy Sosa.

Old blues....Mark Messier bolted the Rangers in the summer of 1997 because G.M. Neil Smith wouldn't have a beer with him (i.e. wouldn't offer up enough shekels). Gee, if only Barack Obama was around then to have The Captain over for a beer, I'm sure things would have been worked out.

MUSIC
Martha Wainwright plays Central Park on August 14 and 15th. She'll also be teaming up with her brother, Rufus, and Norah Jones at the second annual Watermill Summer Concert in Southampton on August 29.

Hall & Oates will be playing in Trumbull, Conn. at the Indian Ledge Park Amphitheater on August 21 at 7 p.m.

Nicole Hart visits Pete's Saloon in Elmsford, N.Y. the same night.

As we approach the 40th anniversary of Woodstock in mid-August, there are plenty of books coming out. However, I want to give a plug to Back To The Garden: The Story of Woodstock and How it Changed a Generation by legendary New York radio guy Pete Fornatale.

Meanwhile, enjoy the above video of The Who covering Eddie Cochran and Jerry Capehart's "Summertime Blues" at the 1969 festival.