It's also about time...

...a big name player fired Scott Boras like Kenny Rogers did last week. Alex Rodriguez had my hopes up for a little while, first that he wouldn't return to the Yankees and then, after he decided he did want to return to the Bronx after all, that he would have to cut ties with Boras in order to do so. It turned out, much to my disappointment, that Rodriguez simply did the monetary negotiating without Boras (since the Yankees refused to negotiate with Boras after he convinced A-Rod to utilize his opt-out clause) and, after agreeing on the basic terms with the Yankees, is letting Boras finalize the details. Personally, I'm not quite sure how the Yankees' stance of not negotiating with Boras is compatible with him finalizing the details for A-Rod. So much for the Yankees management sticking to their guns on that one.

As for Rogers, I just read earlier this afternoon that he finally re-signed with the Tigers. It sounds like the delay in his negotiations and signing after he fired Boras was because he was getting himself up-to-speed on how to negotiate for himself. Yes, after 20 years in the majors, and multiple times through the arbitration and free agency processes, he apparently didn't already know how to do that. This struck me as odd at first, but then I remembered that Boras always does everything for his clients, seemingly without any input at all from them. I'll admit, I was skeptical when the Tigers signed Rogers initially two off-seasons ago, and last season was a injury-marred disappointment to say the least. But, he showed in the 2006 postseason what he was worth to the team and, from all reports, is a good influence on the younger pitchers on the staff. I'm glad he's back!

It's about time...

...for me to have a blog again. I was inspired to have an active blog once again when Lisa directed me to some pictures on Keith and Bethany Miller's blog after we saw them at The Federalist Society's 25th Anniversary Gala last week.

When Lisa invited me initally to accompany her to the Gala, she mentioned that since it was Fed-Soc's 25th Anniversary, it was a black tie event this year. So, several (last minute) shopping trips and a (rather frantic) trip to the tailor later, I became the proud owner of a tuxedo and all the necessary accessories, including the all-important black (bow) tie. If anyone sees an arm or leg of mine lying around while they're out shopping this weekend, my wallet would appreciate it greatly if you'd send them back my way. But since that's rather unlikely, I need simply to find more black tie events to which I can wear my tux and continue to recoup its purchase value.

The Gala was held in the Main Hall at Union Station and was a lovely event. As it was the 25th Anniversary Gala, not only was it black tie, it featured several guest speakers including Ted Olson, who served as the Master of Ceremonies, President Bush, and Justices Alito, Scalia, and Thomas. We were seated in the far corner of the room from the stage, so we had to watch all of the special guests on the projection screen, but it was pretty exciting nonetheless! Each place setting included a newly minted (released earlier that day) Madison dollar coin, which was a particularly nice touch, especially since Madison's bust is part of Fed-Soc's logo. The food, although not overly impressive as a whole, had several highlights, including an amazing Crab Parfait as the appetizer and a delicious Veal Medallion as part of the main course. All-in-all, it was a very pleasant and enjoyable evening.