Today at FanHouse

Just because I haven't been here, doesn't mean I haven't been pretending to be a writer.

• Joe Kennedy Thinks the A's Are Cheap - Charles Finley hasn't owned the Athletics in years, but apparently his outlook towards the money he paid his players is still alive within the organization today. You may remember that Finley broke up one of the most dominant teams in baseball history after the Athletics won three straight titles because he didn't want to give his players a raise. So instead he just sold everybody. Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, he sold everybody.
• Scott Podsednik is Moving North - Now here's what can happen next. The Sox can either try to work out a trade with the Cubs for Podsednik, they'd probably just ask for an infield or pitching prospect in return. If no deal is worked out, the Sox could just let Podsednik go to the Cubs and let them take on the remainder of his $2.9 million salary (About $800,000). Or the Sox could just say screw it and keep Podsednik. The least likely scenario is the one where Podsednik stays with the White Sox. Whether they get anything in return or not, the Sox just want to move on. Ozzie Guillen has already stated publicly that Pods cannot be counted on, and the team has liked what it's seen from Jerry Owens in the lead-off spot.
• Buckeyes Going With Trio of Terror - I tell you, there is just nothing in this world that's harder than making a decision. You have to weigh all your options, think of the consequences, and then cross your fingers that you don't end up regretting getting that quarter pounder instead of the Big Mac. It's tough! What's even tougher is trying to figure out whom you're going to replace your Heisman Trophy winning quarterback with, and Jim Tressel just doesn't feel like dealing with that.
• Notre Dame + Penn State/Happy Valley = $1,100 - It's getting pretty expensive to be a college football fan, especially if you're planning on traveling to see your team play. Ticket City, a ticket broker agency, just released a list of the top 50 most expensive games this season based on average ticket price and Notre Dame's trip to Happy Valley on September 8th checks in at the top. If you would like to see the game, you're going to have to bring about $1,100 with you, and that doesn't even include beer money.
• Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis Are in Love - I like my friends. Seriously, they're all wonderful people and without them I couldn't handle the high stress world of watching and writing about sports. That said, I don't need to spend all my time with them. They start to get annoying, and I'm sure I start to annoy them. Next thing you know we're breaking chairs over each other's heads because one of us saw that girl first. Apparently Mike Napoli and Jeff Mathis don't experience these kinds of things, because they are with each other all the time.
• The Sheff's Wallet is Now Lighter - The commissioner's office wouldn't disclose the amount of the fine, but that probably means it's heavy. Considering Selig wanted to suspend Sheffield, and the fact that this obviously isn't the first time this season Gary's spoken his mind, I'm going to take a wild guess and say the fine is somewhere along the lines of $25,000. Which is just an important reminder to us all that while you're free to say whatever the hell you want in this country (Bud Selig eats babies!), it doesn't necessarily mean you'll say it for free.
• Kenny Lofton Doesn't Think Joe Torre is Racist - Last month Sheffield publicly stated that Yankees manager Joe Torre is a racist. He said if you didn't believe him, you could just ask Tony Womack and Kenny Lofton. So a couple of reporters did ask Kenny Lofton, and Lofton told them that Sheffield was right. Now Lofton wants you to know that Sheffield was right but he wasn't right. Make sense?