August 5, 2007 11:45 PM

Wally goes crazy, baseball rats and saving the big apple

MONSTER MADNESS: Boston Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner dressed up as Red Sox mascot Wally, tousled the hair of an unsuspecting Larry Lucchino and pushed him and fired rubber baseballs at his head in front of a group of fans before letting the team president and C.E.O in on the practical joke.

HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM APPLES: Fans have set up letsbuythecubbies.com to try and get enough people to raise the expected $600 million needed to, well, buy the Cubbies. Elsewhere in the National League, a group of fans has created savetheapple.com, an online petition seeking the relocation of the giant apple that pops up from a top hat when the New York Mets hit a home run from its current location behind centerfield at Shea Stadium to the team’s new home, Citi Field, which opens next season.

BASEBALL RATS: Health officials in Anaheim, Calif., have discovered 118 vermin violations at Angel Stadium kiosks and restaurants over the past 2½ years, including 33 “major� violations of “rodent activity� in a “critical area.�

CLEAN SWEEP: As part of China’s continuing effort to create a more “civilized� environment leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympics, authorities detained fans who were observed swearing, fighting or throwing trash during a weekend soccer game in Beijing.

RIDE ‘EM COWBOYS: Former football player Raghib “Rocket� Ismail, actor Stephen Baldwin and musician Vanilla Ice are among nine celebrities who will compete on Ty Murray’s Celebrity Bull Riding Challenge, a reality show debuting Friday on CMT.

IRON MAN NEEDED AN IRON STOMACH: A bout of food poisoning led to the end of Cubs broadcaster Pat Hughes’ consecutive games streak, which was approaching 2,900.
--Brian Clark

Posted by Brian Clark at 11:45 PM | Comments (1)