Air Bud to the Rescue

In a last ditch effort to appear relevant commissioner Bud Selig will fly to New York to join the collective bargaining agreement negotiations. Never mind that MLB's offices are in New York to begin with and today is a work day. Bud, in a move that emulates George W. Bush's proclivity for vacationing, has been spending his time away from the fray in his ancestural home in scenic Milwaukee.

Apparently, Bud smells blood, and he now wants to get his puss on TV signing the agreement with a pen wrestled from Rob Manfred, the owners' chief negotiator, who will be rewarded with milk and cookies in a back office somewhere. Or maybe Bud actually sees himself as a letter-day Kennesaw Mountain Landis, above the game, trying to avert catastrophe, as opposed to just the owners' figurehead. Given that the players know otherwise, don't expect much from Air Bud.

ESPN meanwhile in its continuing effort to be as impartial as their pocketbook allows (they're owned by Angels owner Disney), is running a headline on its baseball page that reads "Bud to the Rescue?" above a picture of Bud with his hand over his heart standing solemnly erect for the national anthem. I guess the one with him eating apple pie and driving a Chevy was not available.