The S Words

Since the topics in this post all begin with "S" the title I've given this seems appropriate. And in one case, as you'll see, very appropriate.

Sarah: First, more information on the wife of Phillies pitcher Ryan Madson and her comment on fans. I'm glad I didn't really attack her on her comment, as I imagine others have. There are questions about the background of the woman who wrote the original blog post, as well as whether she identified herself as a reporter to Sarah Madson or not. The Phillies have issued a statement that says, in part: "(The writer) began to ask many personal questions about the life of a wife of a professional baseball player. The comments reported by Ms. Goldman were taken completely out of context, and as a result, Sarah is extremely upset and feels violated by the situation. Sarah says, 'For every one fan that may upset us, there are 99 Phillies fans that we love. We have lived here for years, have many friends, neighbors and acquaintances -- who also happen to be Phillies fans -- for whom we have the utmost respect.'" This post on PhillyChitChat.com states that the  woman offered him the story first, and had offered it to the Metro newspaper as well. Both rejected her. There's another "S" word that seems to apply to this woman's handling of this "story" -- sleazy. I'm definitely on the side of Sarah Madson now.

Softball: Weather permitting (or, to be accurate, if the field is dry enough Sunday after Saturday's rain), the City of Brotherly Love Softball League season opens at 9:50 am on Sunday morning. I don't expect anyone to come out and cheer me on (heck, I wouldn't be there that early if I didn't have to) but if you might be so inclined, come to Fairmount Park's Edgely Fields -- my team, now sponsored by Valanni, is on field 8. The opening day block party (200-300 blocks of S. Camac St.) takes place later that afternoon and evening.

Sixers: On Saturday afternoon the NBA playoffs begin, and while there's nothing more I'd like to see than the 76ers winning their best-four-out-of-seven series against LeBron James and the Miami Heat, there's only about a 0.05 percent chance of that happening. But, as their Twitter hashtag says, #showyaluv -- so here's a photo I took today of a mural of the late jazzman Grover Washington Jr. near Broad and Diamond Streets. Check out this old Sports Illustrated article on Washington and his Sixers connection (plus the song he wrote for Dr. J)...

And, finally...

Subway Sushi: To be precise, an ad on the wall of the subway station that amuses me. Note the fish's reply...

Have a great weekend!