Sox are starting the second half the same way they started the first. Against the Yankees. They're leading 5-3 in the 4th as I write this.

A couple of quick All-Star thoughts:

- I was really pleased to see that some relatively unheralded guys won the ballotting. Mark Teixeira, David Eckstein and Derrick Lee were among those who deserved to start the game this year. And, of course, Scott Posednik beating out Jeter and Matsui for the last spot in the fan ballotting put a smile on my face.

- Did it bother anyone else that the Cardinal's new shortstop (Eckstein) was starting the game while their old one (Renteria) was watching at home.

- The game started too damn late. The telecast started at 8, but by the time they got through the player intros, the national anthems and such it was after 8:30. I caught about the first 3 innings before I needed to go to bed.

- Everyone else has said it, but I'll say it, too. I know the Home Run Derby is really glorified batting practice, but Bobby Abreu's display Monday night (24 homers!) was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. He wasn't just hitting home runs, but he was hitting them all over the ballpark.

- It was nice to see Francona in his uniform top instead of his oil changing sweatshirt for a change.

I downloaded iTunes 4.9, which has built in podcasting. I had toyed with iPodderX, but it's nowhere near as elegant as the iTunes solution. Subscribing to a podcast is as easy as buying a song, and the ones you download are automatically updated when there are new 'casts. I need to subscribe to some more offbeat stuff - I have a Disney podcast, one from ESPN, a New Music Tuesdays one from Apple. The most useful one is a podcast that updates CNN headlines every two hours. I upload it before I leave for work and I get fresh news while I'm on the train. I also subscribed to a Star Wars podcast from TheForce.net which is pretty nicely done.

Well, it's now the 6th, and the Empire has tied it up 5-5. The Sox have two on and none out in the last of the 6th. Go Sox!!!