Blogger was down earlier so here goes...

Good to see that my cousin is alive and well.

Johnny Damon is hitting safely in 15 games now. With a hit tonight, he will match the Red Sox record from last season--which he set himself. Arroyo continues his streak tonight with a win.

Statement on Steve Martin being awarded the Mark Twain Prize for Humor: Congrats! I knew Steve could do it and way to represent SNL. In addition, I aspire to Steve Martin's comedic skills. Furthermore, after seeing Lorne awarded last year, it was only fate that decided another comedian with SNL ties would get it this year. Way to go, Steve Martin!

Beginning in stand-up comedy (he coined the phrase, "Well, excuuuuuse meeeee!"), Martin has gone on to make films (The Jerk, Roxanne and Cheaper by the Dozen), written plays, novels and has hosted the Oscars.

Through it all, however, his quick wit seems to have remained intact.

"Mark Twain is a great guy and I can't wait to meet him," Martin joked.

Martin's fellow comedians will take part in his tribute, which will be held Oct. 23.

The event will be taped for broadcast on a later date.

He's one wild and crazy guy!

Evan Bayh says the filibuster must stay. If Evan Bayh says the filibuster must stay, then, by G-d, the filibuster must stay!

Evan Bayh looks at it this way, the Senate has confirmed 98 percent of the President's judge candidates and he sees no need to change the rules. "It would be basically an insistence that the administration have their way not only 98 percent of the time, but 100 percent of the time and the checks and balances that we have built into our system have worked well now for two centuries."

Dick Lugar hopes a showdown can be avoided, but if not he'll vote to nuke the filibuster. "When push comes to shove, I would not take a stand against my party's view that we should have up or down votes on judges."

And if it comes to Armageddon over filibusters in the Senate, Lugar's decision to stick with his party could be critical. It only takes a simple majority to change the rules, and the few Republicans still uncommitted could tip the balance one way or the other.

The reason Republicans want to change the rules is the difficulty of breaking a filibuster. It takes 60 votes.

What will they do when we regain control in 2006 and 2008?

In other baseball news, St. Louis is 115-109 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. 2002 sixteenth round draft pick Brad Thompson has made his MLB debut and he recieved his first save last night when he made his debut. Mark Grudzielanek needs ten hits to have 1,500 hits.

Bellamy Road was placed on the disabled list for injuries suffered during the 131st running of the Kentucky Derby.

Can she grow her hair back sooner? But will the real Natalie Portman please stand up?

Portman seemed like a prodigy destined for greatness back then, and for a while, she made all the right choices — working with prestigious directors like Woody Allen and Tim Burton, not over-exposing herself.

But along came George Lucas, and Portman’s high-profile part as Queen Amidala, followed by a couple of sugary chick flicks; critics slammed her performance in the Star Wars movies as phoned in at best, and she didn’t work much outside of the Lucas oeuvre, focusing instead on school.

Then Portman reversed course again, starring in last year’s well-regarded Garden State and pulling down an Oscar nom and a Golden Globe statue for her part in Closer.

So is Natalie Portman the outsized acting talent that (wisely) turned down a role in The Horse Whisperer to play Anne Frank on Broadway, or the board-like costume rack from Attack of the Clones? Is she a great actress who chooses her directors wisely most of the time, or is she just kind of flukey?

Quote of the Day will resume at a later date because, while I am at home, I am unable to blog at a reasonable time and they refuse to watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.