The Strike Zone

Tracking the week's news both inside and outside the confines of cool

OUTSIDE

If you're reading this then you juuust missed MC Hammer Bobblehead Night in Oakland. Sorry.

The ingenuity of Prince Fielder, who, having lost his sunglasses and facing a sunset during a game, borrowed a pair from a Rockies fan near the dugout.

Jimmermania, Part XI: A colt named after the Kings' guard is racing at Saratoga, and Lil Wayne name-dropped him in a new song.

Remember the Columbia University runner on whom the song Hey Delilah was based? She just qualified for the worlds in South Korea.

A Miami newspaper, reacting to Jose Canseco's tweeting the digits of an ex with whom he was fighting, ran the former slugger's number as revenge.

Wait, what? Phyllis from The Office used to be an NFL cheerleader!?

After five years and 76 episodes, on the eve of its satisfying series finale, Friday Night Lights finally got a Best Drama Emmy nom ...

... and, naturally, creator Peter Berg is now talking about an FNL movie ...

The St. Paul Saints' flimsy excuse for holding a Zombie Night (not that it needed one): to protest the construction of a light-rail system that is "killing" local business.

This so-hokey-it's-kinda-charming wedding photo from Joe Flacco's June nuptials.

Larry David's ongoing love affair with sports, evidenced by pop-ins on Curb Your Enthusiasm from Bill Buckner and a (fake) L.A. Dodgers owner.

... Also due for a movie, reportedly: the 784-page ESPN tell-all, Those Guys Have All the Fun.

Brett Favre's brother says there's a "less than 1% chance" of Favre's returning to the NFL... . So there's a chance?

Ron Artest's first attempt at stand-up comedy included a routine about his walking in as a kid on his parents having sex and then grabbing his father's genitals. Ha ... ha?

So much for soccer catching on Stateside. The Copa America, featuring Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez, only airs in Spanish in the U.S.

Eschewing, oh, say, a press conference, a high school football recruit declared his commitment to Alabama last week by shaving the team's logo into his hair.

All those Hope Solo--punning headlines (HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL)—really just an excuse to run her photo.

Perhaps not the best message to send in a lockout: The NBA lent its name and emblem to a French champagne called Les Jeux.

LOW

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MLB.COM (BOBBLEHEAD)

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RODRIGO BUENDIA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES (MESSI)

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JOHN W. MCDONOUGH (FIELDER)

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MITCHELL HAASETH/NBC PHOTO (PHYLLIS)

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JASON PREZANT PHOTOGRAPHY/WWW.JASONPREZANT.COM (WEDDING)

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BILL RECORDS/NBC (FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS)

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MICHAEL CARVELL/AJC/AP (HAIR)

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RICH PEDRONCELLI/AP (JIMMER)

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SOUL BROTHER/FILMMAGIC/GETTY IMAGES (DAVID)

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BILL FRAKES (RUNNER)

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JOHN DORTON/ISIPHOTOS.COM (SOLO)

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BOB ROSATO (FAVRE)

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JOHN CORDES/ICON SMI (CANSECO)

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RENEE KEITH/VETTA/GETTY IMAGES (ZOMBIE)

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YOUTUBE.COM (ARTEST)

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