We reported this spring on the new fixin’s on the menu over at Grayson Stadium, home of minor league baseball’s Savannah Sand Gnats.  Mrs TheUmpire and I were lucky enough to sample the tasty new wares at a recent game.  We present this "Making of the S’mores Panini" photo essay for your enjoyment:

First, the bread…	…then Nutella…	…marshmallow fluff…	…crushed graham crackers…
…on the grill…	…a dusting of powdered sugar…	…a drizzle of Hershey’s chocolate syrup…	…ta-da!

Lefthander Cody Kukuk was drafted in the seventh round by the Boston Red Sox last month. If he makes it to the show then he will become one of a select number of MLBers, and the first Red Sox since Johnny Reder in the 1930s, whose last name constitutes a palindrome.

• Truck Hannah
• Toby Harrah
• Eddie Kazak
• Dick Nen
• Robb Nen
• Dave Otto
• Johnny Reder
• Juan Salas
• Marino Salas
• Mark Salas

Sources: Boston.com, All Experts, Wikipedia

A few weeks ago The New Yorker ran a long but compelling piece by Jeffrey Toobin about the close relationship between Bernie Madoff and the Mets’ principal owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, with the primary focus on Wilpon. The in-depth article leaves much for the reader to decide as to whether Wilpon and co. were complicit in Madoff’s “too good to be true returns” or whether they did indeed think they were investing in a legitimate fund and not a Ponzi scheme. Still, one does have to wonder how two people whose business acumen has enabled them to amass millions of dollars for themselves and their families, and who invested much of those millions back into Madoff’s funds, could not have spotted that something was a bit fishy.

Ironic, though, that the team might soon find itself in the hands of another hedge fund manager — albeit one with a much better reputation.

You can find the entire New Yorker piece here.

(from press release)

SAN PEDRO DE MACORIS, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – The Arias & Goodman Academy, one of the premiere baseball development programs in the Dominican Republic, has launched a pilot project to provide education for its prospects.

“Make no mistake about it,” said Gary Goodman in announcing the program. “We are in the business of preparing young Dominicans for careers in baseball; to help talented young men achieve their dreams. But there is also a social side that must be addressed.  Reality is that most of these kids will not succeed in baseball and we owe it to them to make sure they are prepared for life after baseball.”

The educational program was designed by the Dominican Republic Sports & Education Academy (DRSEA), whose mission is to educate young athletes in the Dominican Republic, help develop their baseball skills, and give them the tools to success in life on and off the field.

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The ubiquitous Yankees insignia

Allow me to digress a bit: Several years ago, 1998 to be precise, I was the lowest man on the Sports Illustrated totem pole. I was a suggestion guy. A suggestion guy does what the title implies; he sends in suggestions to the news bureau which, if accepted, are then handed to a staff reporter to do a write-up. Everyone from the SI doorman on up has more editorial sway than the suggestion guy.

One day in said year of 1998 I was strolling around Budapest, Hungary and I noticed that one of the casual fashion trends among the locals was to have clothing tagged somewhere with the New York Yankees logo on it – mostly on caps, of course, but there was also jackets, tote bags, beach towels, and much more.

I asked some folks wearing Yankees caps if they knew what the “NY” stood for; the overwhelming majority did not. And thus a suggestion was born. After all, unlike soccer, basketball and even American football, baseball has yet to strike a chord with sports fans outside of the United States and pockets of Asia and Central America. In Europe, it has nary a following.

So why then was nearly everyone in Budapest wearing Yankees clothing?

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