So I'm sitting down to watch the All-Star game (or at least some of it) and I've got some things on my mind for a change.  Here we go.

They're showing the Presidents talking.  Jimmy Carter . . . George W. Bush . . . we elected these guys?  Are you kidding me?  At least for a few seconds Bill Clinton was back in our lives.

I was debating doing a column on Arturo Gatti, but I figured only one or two of you would appreciate it.  Just know that there has not been a more exciting boxer in my lifetime.  The guy had a smile that made you root for him.  I remember calling a friend who lives a few blocks away.  I asked him if he was about to watch the Gatti fight.  My friend responded, "who's he fighting?"  To which I said, "does it matter?"  My friend was over two minutes later and we had the pleasure of watching the warrior in action.  Part of me is shocked at his death, but, as wrong as this sounds, I'm kind of happy that he didn't have to grow old with all of the damage I'm sure he did to himself throughout his career, especially toward the end.  Gatti will forever be etched in boxing fans' minds as the warrior, as "Thunder Gatti."  He didn't think himself a hero but for boxing fans, he was our Seabiscuit, someone with more guts than anyone, someone who you couldn't count out.  My prayers go out to his son that he left behind.

Back to happier talk, why is baseball so dumb?  This game determines home field advantage?  So Jeter can drive in a game winning run that gives Tampa Bay home field?  K-Rod can come through in the clutch and the Dodgers reap the reward?  It's just stupid.  Not BCS-level stupid, but not as far off on a logic scale as one would hope.

Why does that little orphan girl have to be named Esther?  My Mom asked me that and now every time I see that awful ad I think, there she goes, Esther Schwartz terrorizing everyone.  As if people didn't hate Jews already, now they're going to hate everybody named Esther even more.  What's next, remaking the Good Son with a kid named Moishe Goldstein playing MacCauley Culkin's character?  What happens at the kid's trial?  Does Alan Dershowitz act as the kid's lawyer?

Watching Obama interact with people isn't funny.  That's not a joke.  It's just that with Dubya, you never knew what was going to happen when the camera was on him.  Obama sounds like a normal person, only smarter. 

Obama's wearing jeans and a White Sox jacket?  Why does that weird me out for some reason?  Great job Fox not showing the actual pitch.  Fox doesn't want to show anything pro-Obama I guess. Fair and balanced.

Ugh, Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.  Can't we get Vin Scully in there.  Or can we at least replace McCarver with Charles Barkley?  Or MacGuyver?  It looks like McCarver and we'd all be a lot happier.

I know I've said this before, but when a guy looks like Pujols, a.k.a. a ginormous guy, and he's on his way to 60 HR, isn't it sad that at least 60% of you doubts his being clean?  Why 60%?  I don't know.  Stop bothering me.

I like Juan Pierre at the plate, but after watching that highlight from the celebrity softball game, wouldn't you rather have Nelly in left field for defensive purposes than Pierre at this point?

Iverson to the Clippers makes perfect sense.  Nobody listens to Dunleavy anyway, so this won't change things.  The Clippers don't care about winning, and Iverson will boost ticket sales.  Everybody wins, except Clippers fans that is. 

Damn it, there she is again.  Careful everyone at home, little Esther Schwartz is coming to get you.  Why doesn't Spike Lee re-release Mo Better Blues for old time's sake?  Seriously, could they get away with naming the kid Juanita or Shamika?

How do the 2 Live Stews get paid?  Who voluntarily listens to them? 

Is Ken Rosenthal from Fox Sports Esther's biological father?  Hmm. . .

Jeter just got hit in the hand.  I hope that doesn't affect his range at shortstop.

Is this Tim Lincecum or Russ Ortiz in a Tim Lincecum body suit?

E-3 Pujols.  Hometown he . . . nope. 

Wait, Michael Jackson died?  Why wasn't there any news coverage?  In other news, I guess the problems in Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, 1/2 of Africa, North Korea, Myanmar, and back home are all solved.  Nice.

Kobe talking trash about LeBron at the Kobe camp was the first funny thing I've ever heard out of Kobe.  He wasn't even faking either.  He was just being his competitive, ego-driven self, and it was great.

The AL's up 2-0.  Game's over.  No seriously.  It is.  I'm going to go eat and then get some work done.