Jamie Mottram's Sports Blog - www.misterirrelevant.com

Thanks to SBL friend Dan Shanoff's Daily Quickie on ESPN, I discovered Retrosheet's list of every Hidden Ball Trick in MLB history, which of course is (Ir)relevant this week when Mike Lowell pulled a fast one on Luis Terrerro.

This happened to me once in Little League when I was 8 and I think I cried for like two innings. I'd love to get my hands on that little perp who got me. Of course, I tried to pull it on others for the rest of my playing days, which ended prematurely due to scheduling conflicts (see: weddings, see also: bachelor parties) two summers ago.

Notables on Retrosheet's bizarre and superb list include:

-- This is the second time Lowell has pulled the trick. The first was last year on Nats/Expos C Brian Schneider.
-- Ozzie Guillen was victimized three times between '89-'91.
-- Raffy perped Rickey back in '94.
-- The "Human Rain Delay" (Mike Hargrove) allegedly perped Andre "Thunder" Thornton back in '77 before they became teammates in Cleveland.

 Fooled by the Hidden Ball

Today is way too fun wif links:

· Michael Jordan's golf party may've started a 25-acre fire. In a seemingly unrelated story, MJ's on the cover of this month's Cigar Aficionado.

· Former Cowboys and Colts QB Gary Hogeboom will star on Survivor 11. Hogeboom passed for 8,876 more yards and 46 more TDs than Bachelor Jesse Palmer.

· L'il E visits 'Skins camp and reveals, "During the race season, I'm under caution, I'm getting stats and numbers told to me over the radio during the race. I've got to know. I can't concentrate on what I'm doing if I don't know what the Redskins are doing."

· Rumor has it that Shaq gets Punk'd this Sunday.

· Van Hagar sues the O's.

· SI's Don Banks says the Jets are thinking Super Bowl with the Ty Law signing. And Coztanza's Jets Commentary says, "Law is arguably the best corner in the league... The media will never admit this because they are too busy sucking up to New England, but the gap between the Pats and the Jets has narrowed quite a bit."

· Yannis' 10 favorite athletes include the all-natural gang of American Gladiators.

· SI's Scorecard Daily quotes the Tribune in saying, "Dusty Baker casually mentioned that Greg Maddux was contemplating retirement after the season." SI's Tom Verducci also points out, "On July 5, though it went virtually unnoticed, a sad moment occurred in Major League Baseball. The career ERA of Greg Maddux officially exceeded 3.00... There's something just not right about it, like Mickey Mantle retiring with a .298 batting average or Sam Rice with 2,987 hits. It's the reason gas is priced to the nine-tenths and that $19.99 DVD seems a whole lot cheaper than if it were marked at $20. We live not just on margins but the perceptions of margins, and 3.00 doesn't impress quite like 2.99."

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