Back March 13, 2008

I am back from Vegas and exhausted. We had a great time and did some things we’ve never done before, like Hoover Dam, ate well, especially at Mario Batali’s Carnevino, and saw two divas — Bette Midler and Sylvia Browne (my God just look at her. She’s even more…something…in person). Both were fabulous in completely different ways. Report and photos will be forthcoming.

Also back are the M’s (whom I couldn’t seem to bet on during Spring Training, but whom I did bet on to win the AL West and to win more than 84.5 games; hey, it’s possible) and their commercials. This year’s lot is really up and down, with “Pepe” being almost unwatchable and “Yuni the Magician” and “Slide Show” being barely smile-worthy. Ichiro’s commercial is a waste of a good concept (too many shots of the ball hitting the target and not enough of Ichiro trying on different suits), and Beltre’s is just fine (though somehow leading the voting right now). The best by far are “Fullness and Sheen,” with just a great “effect” and cameo by Richie, and “Fungo”: I had no idea what that one was going to be, but having baseball players dance and do the limbo is always a good idea. I don’t know if they approach 2006’s Jamie Moyer tribute making fun of his age and the ad with ordinary citizens doing Ichiro’s sleeve tug, 2004’s ad with Edgar and the Clapper (perhaps my favorite), or 2003’s ad with ordinary citizens doing Boone’s bat flip and “Casual Friday.”

Ah, they make me happy. We are going to be doing a ton of baseball this year — many Sundays at the Bank, trips to Balto and NYC, our planned PA baseball/roller coaster road trip, and probably visits to Reading and Allentown, if only to chant Go Pigs!