There are several things I hate about summer.  Heat. Humidity. Cutting the grass in heat and humidity.  Mosquitoes. The sun coming up at 5:30 and certain canines who shall remain nameless thinking it's time for dog breakfast.  And, the all-star break.

Three days without meaningful baseball.  Even on the days where the White Sox are off, I'll squeeze in a Brewers game or a Cubs game or a Braves game.  I'd even watch the Devil Rays and the Royals if it were the only game on.  But during the all-star break, it's three days of sheer boredom.  And Wednesday is what is known in the trade as the dulest sports day of the year.  All of the big four leagues are off and there are no games played.

I'm not a big all-star game fan. I've missed a lot of them working or being on vacation or just being somewhere where it was hard to watch the game.  And I really don't care that much, I just want to see the White Sox players do well and this year there is only one, Bobby Jenks, who will be in the game and he won't show up until the seventh or eighth inning.  So honestly, my motivation to watch is down.

It used to be, back in the day, that the all-star game was interesting in that you could finally see that matchup between Bob Gibson and Harmon Killebrew.  Now, all of the players have been at all of the parks and with player movement being what it is, there are no secrets anymore.  So, it's just a big, long, boring exhibition game.

I don't watch home run derby.  It is a contrived, made for TV event.  Besides, having to listen to Chris Berman for two hours makes my ears bleed.

So while you may enjoy the next three days, I'll be sitting in the corner, sucking my thumb waiting for Thursday when the putrid White Sox meet the rancid Orioles.  After all, there is almost half a season left.

Lightning Round

• The good news: The Sox and Kenny Williams finally git er done with Mark Buehrle. The bad news is the Sox have over 84 million committed to 10 players next year and will have to move a few pieces to downsize the budget enough to afford to bid on free agents. 
  
• Contrary to what some of the idiots have written on the message boards or have said on the radio to Sox apologist Ranger Ronge, the Sox made the right move in re-signing Buehrle.  Our friends at "Winning the Turnover Battle" provide some expert stats on how Buehrle compares to similar left handers.  The Sox got the hometown discount and kept a fan favorite, something they have not done in the past.  The good will should translate to decent attendance which is tied to spending.  So, the more Sox games you go to, the more you help pay for future acquisitions like Ichiro or Torrie Hunter or someone like that. 
• The Sox end a disappointing and underachieving first half by beating the Twinkies.  It should be noted that the Sox have won two games in a row after being outscored 32-14 on Friday.  At very least it shows that this team has some backbone. 
  
• Here's the first sign that any major league team is in panic mode: They make Kip Wells a starter.  I wouldn't let him start on a rec league softball team.
• What is it about college basketball coaches in Louisiana that forces them to resign suddenly for mysterious and unexplained reasons?
• Broadcaster Bill Maas has been released from an Illinois jail after being busted with coke, pot, ex and a an illegal hand gun.  If he's behind the microphone for Fox this fall, I will be shocked.
• Nothing tarnishes the image of a beloved football player than the transcripts of his text messages to the mother of his illegitimate child, a former stripper extortionist.  The big loser here is the kid.  Here's how I would resolve it.  If Urlacher's claim that the stripper extortionist is denying him his legal visitation rights, I say she has to stand on a practice field on the 30 yard line and he gets one free shot at her.
  
• Kyle Bush says some not so flattering things about the other drivers in the Hendricks garage.  Even if it's true, you are better off not saying it in print, especially in a year where your contract is up and you are trying to get another team to sign you.  Being an asshat does not make you money.
  
• It's comforting for NASCAR Craftsman Truck series drivers that one of their own is doing heroin.  Especially since they have to race with the guy every week.  The good news is, NASCAR isn't like the other sports leagues that have to deal with players unions and once they get the information they need, NASCAR will make it so Aaron Fike won't be able to race soap box derby cars, let alone anything on a sanctioned track.
  
• Nintendo is experimenting with interactive technology at Seattle's Safeco Field.  By using their wireless gaming device, you can order food and beverages, check out of town scores and play interactive games.  I thought that's why we went to the ballpark, to get away from all that stuff.
• The four letter network gets spanked hard by MLB. Now ESPN has to cover an event like everyone else.
• It's the fiftieth anniversary of the greatest cartoon of all time.  The article also contains generous pub for our mascot, Wyle E, Coyote.
  
• Boeing is about to introduce a new plane, the 787. Unless they can invent a plane where I have zero chance of getting seated between a fat woman and a person eating a salami, I'm not that interested.
  
• A Chewbacca impersonator makes a wookie mistake with a Marilyn Monroe impersonator. Police consider this a big, hairy deal.
  
•  Katie Couric slaps a toadie for putting a word in a script that she didn't like.  Reports vary as to whether she was goofing or she was violently diva angry.
• Barack Obama's Iowa campaign headquarters was broken in to and burglarized.  G. Gordon Liddy unavailable for comment.
• Have you no decency music licensing companies?  No, they don't.
• Take it from a former pharmacist:  Pills cure ills, but liquor is quicker.
• Here's an inside look at what it's like to run a strip club.  I have no clue why these places are so popular.  To me, it's like going to an indoor shopping complex: Ugly, overpriced merchandise that you wouldn't want to take home and you can't really afford anyway.  Why go at all?  Oh I guess I actually a) like my wife and b) have a shred of self esteem left.
• In case you missed it, here is a selfless act of heroism  performed by the Philadelphia  Phillies: