Watched last night's debate at a Woodland Hills sports bar. Although I couldn't hear any of the action, and saw the debate only intermittently between breaks in the playoff game, it did seem like Kerry was, once again, composed and reassuring. Bush looked like he had improved; I didn't spot a single rude gesture the whole night, and the "deer in the headlights" look that can seem so unsettling to even the most fervid Bush-basher was not in evidence. But who goes to a sports bar to watch a debate?

I wonder if the debate audience got larger as the night wore on, since the Yankees pulled away from the Twins about an hour in. Gallup, polling what it described as a GOP-leaning audience, gave Kerry a narrow victory, and that seems to be the consensus (see Andrew Sullivan and Mickey Kaus); even Baghdad Hugh doesn't seem to have his heart in spinning for our Great Maximum Leader's performance last night. No gaffes, with both men performing cautiously, so my guess is that the essential momentum of the race will continue to move in Kerry's favor.

No WMD's in pre-war Iraq: Did anyone out there see that one coming? Who knew?

In the 8th inning tonight, Garret Anderson bore a queasy resemblance to John Mayberry in Game 4 of the 1977 ALCS. What an awful, potentially career-defining at bat that was; isn't Andres Gallaraga on the post-season roster? Come back, Jose; all is forgiven....

Happy Birthday to me?!? There are some years when I think the flu season doesn't officially start until October 6. Alas, no Bavarian, hop-and-barley based folk remedies for this illness....

I didn't get to watch the Veep Debate tonight, on account of there being a ballgame on, but apparently those who tuned in did get to hear someone in the GOP finally give some props to George Soros, billionaire philanthropist and do-gooder. Isn't that nice? My non-interest in tonight's face-off doesn't mean I can't authoritatively state that the clear winner was Edwards: after all, how can I conclude otherwise if someone as conservative as Andrew Sullivan has concluded that "[I]f last Thursday night's debate was an assisted suicide for president Bush, this debate - just concluded - was a car wreck. And Cheney was road-kill. There were times when it was so overwhelming a debate victory for Edwards that I had to look away." The next real debate takes place on Friday, a "townhall" meeting that I will, again, miss because it conflicts with baseball, but hopefully, Bush can explain why he disagrees with Thomas Jefferson on the "global test" issue [link via Jack O'Toole].

Thornton Melon, R.I.P.

Who is Tom Wilson? Well, it was nice while it lasted, but this afternoon was a sobering experience for those of us who have long looked forward to a Freeway Series. I figured Schilling v. J-Wash would be a mismatch; getting the automatic loss out of the way was probably the only reason Scioscia allowed that stiff to pitch. But Perez was probably the Dodgers best hope to win a game, and he got shelled early. The other starters (Lima and Weaver) don't exactly strike fear into the best offense in baseball. Dodgers and Angels see their seasons end Saturday.

Apparently, they're not having success with the "global test" spin. As new polls show that their candidate's lead has gone the way of the Bay Area's baseball fortunes, the newest attempt to breathe life back into the Bush Campaign focuses on whether Kerry "cheated" by bringing notes into the debate on Thursday. No word yet on whether his cheat sheet was in Times New Roman. What can I say; there's no rest for the wicked !!

...'cause I'm a ball,
and I go boo-bip-bip boo-bip-bip YEAH !!!