The weekend is here

It's here again come 2:55 PM!

Let's get down to business.

Will Rachel Dratch leave SNL? She has been cast in a pilot and time will tell for that. She's been on since the 2000 season.

A UK student has a music-focused weblog that is a hit. I don't link to any music blogs. Official sites of musicians, yes. A lot of the blogs I link to relate to comedy, sports, or politics.

We have some exciting news from Jupiter, Florida. Mainly dealing with the 5th starting position for pitching and the battle for left field.

Pitching coach Dave Duncan got a close-up comparison of the two top candidates for the fifth starter job on Wednesday. In succession, right-handers Sidney Ponson and Anthony Reyes threw live batting practice to the same group of hitters. In both cases, starting catcher Yadier Molina was doing the receiving.[...]

La Russa cautioned that the battle for the starting left-field job features more than three contenders. The most obvious candidates are Taguchi, Larry Bigbie and John Rodriguez. But according to the manager, plenty of other names are in the hat -- Skip Schumaker, John Gall, Chris Duncan and Rick Ankiel among them.

"If you're getting at-bats, you can win the job," La Russa said. "All you've got to do is play better than the other guys."

Taguchi is considered the favorite, thanks to his contributions over the past two years and his defensive and baserunning abilities.

J-Rod is likely to be platooning with Larry Bigbie and who knows, maybe Rick Ankiel will start producing over spring training and bring his rookie card back up in price value.

Chris Regan speaks in Richmond. Does he offer any advice for comedians?

Q. Can you learn to write funny? Or is that something you've either got or you don't?

A. I think there's a degree to which you either have it or you don't. But there are some classes that teach you some discipline in terms of how to be a writer. A lot of writing is just sitting down and writing. So, if you're in a class and given a deadline, it helps.

But if it's been five years and you've been taking one comedy class after another because you think you need to improve, it might not be the genre you should be exploring.

Regan just left a job with The Daily Show with Jon Stewart for a development deal he has with FOX.

Can someone please explain why South Dakota's legislature prefers rape and incest to happen? You know, I believe in safe, legal, and rare. I do think that people should have the choice to do what they want with their bodies as long as it is not illegal. However, when it comes to the touchy issue of abortion, doctors should have no choice when one is forced into sex due to rape, incest, and definitely when the mother's life is in danger. Unfortunately, South Dakota does not see it that way. They'd rather there be more cases of rapes and incest causing births. Did they ask the opinion of female legislators? Rape and incest is wrong.

The measure, which passed the state Senate 23 to 12, makes it a felony for doctors to perform any abortion, except to save the life of a pregnant woman. The proposal still must be signed by Gov. Mike Rounds (R), who opposes abortion.[...]

"The momentum for a change in the national policy on abortion is going to come in the not-too-distant future," said Rep. Roger W. Hunt, a Republican who sponsored the bill. To his delight, abortion opponents succeeded in defeating all amendments designed to mitigate the ban, including exceptions in the case of rape or incest or the health of the woman. Hunt said that such "special circumstances" would have diluted the bill and its impact on the national scene.

If Mike Rounds signs this bill, he endorses RAPE AND INCEST! I don't care what party he is. Contact Mike Rounds and give him your thoughts.

State Rep. Peter Sullivan, already a candidate for Congress in the 1st District of New Hampshire, released the following:

"I welcome Jim Craig to the race. I hope that he will be able to articulate an agenda for change, and I hope that he will join Carol, Gary and me in a vigorous debate on the issues.

"That said, I want to remind Jim that this is a nomination, not a coronation. Jim needs to talk to voters, not just old-line party activists and state house insiders.

"Jim also needs to understand that his record is now fair game for discussion. His cozy relationship with lobbyists and his support for a job-killing sales tax are legitimate issues, and we should not hesitate to have a spirited discussion".

U.S. Rep. John Salazar has endorsed Bill Ritter for Governor in Colorado.

David Yepsen, a name I regularly find over at Drew Miller's blog or the Political Forecast, writes about Sen. Evan Bayh.

Last week, he made his third trip of this cycle. On paper, he might just be the sort of presidential candidate who could win a general election — if the party's far left doesn't chew him up.

That's because instead of pandering, the 50-year-old former governor is telling Democrats some things the left doesn't like hearing: That offering an angry message won't attract votes. And that the party's weak image on military defense and anti-terrorism issues is a political loser.

"The deep antipathy many Democrats have toward this administration is in many ways justified, but in itself is not productive," Bayh said in an interview. "Just as the whole impeachment issue was a diversion we couldn't afford during challenging times, anger by itself toward this administration is not going to improve America.

Mr. Yepsen, we shall see what happens in 2008.