So much to talk about. Where to begin?

Foul Ball: Jim Bouton is updating his book Foul Ball to talk about the events of last summer in Pittsfield. And I'm in it! This may be just about the coolest thing to happen to me, being in a book written by the author of one of the greatest sports books of all time. It's certainly up there with Fenway Fantasy Day in 2001 and getting to meet a number of the stars of the original Star Trek back in the '80s when I was involved with conventions.

The Steroid Hearings: A Whiner Line caller on WEEI put it best when he cribbed from a Southwest Airlines commercial: "Hey Mark McGwire, wanna get away?" McGwire and the MLB leadership (Bud Sehlig and Donald Fehr, primarily) came off looking the worst from the hearings in Washington on Thursday. McGwire, especially, tarnished his legend by refusing to say under oath that he had not used steroids, even though he had made the claim in the past. Whoever it was who coached him for his appearance in front of the House committee did a really poor job, especially when you compare McGwire to Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmiero, both of whom said under oath that they had never used performance enhancing drugs. Of course, I'm assuming Palmiero was talking about athletic performance, since he was doing commercials for drugs that help him perform in, er, other areas.

It'll be interesting to see what comes of this. You have to think that MLB and the Players Union will have to consider toughening the testing policy even more. Especially when the big stick of having the game's anti-trust exemption is waved over their heads.

The Monster: Perhaps the greatest relief pitcher in Red Sox history, Dick "The Monster" Radatz, died in an accident in his home earlier this week. I was too young to see Radatz pitch, but I have certainly heard the many stories about his legendary performances for the pre-Impossible Dream Sox of the early '60's. I had much greater knowledge of The Monster as a co-host on WEEI's Big Show, where he was a funny and knowledgeable guy. Good bye, Dick. We'll miss you.

Lunch in Arkansas: I decided to cross over the Mississippi river on Tuesday afternoon while I was in Memphis to have lunch in Arkansas. I figured, when would I ever have another chance to visit Arkansas? So I went over the bridge from Memphis, drove 3 miles into Arkansas, and stopped at a truck stop to have a sandwich. One thing I learned a long time ago is that truck stops don't stay around long if they don't have good food, and that held true this time. After finishing lunch, I turned around and headed back to Memphis to finish the business I had there before flying home.