FanHouse GeorgeW.Bush

Former President George W. Bush will be kick-starting the Texas Rangers season from the pitcher's mound. When the Rangers square off against the Cleveland Indians on April 6, our country's former leader will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.

It will be interesting to see how much Dubya has regressed since his last outing. You might recall him bringing a strike with decent velocity in Yankee Stadium back in the 2001 World Series. Last time we saw him throw, however, the results weren't nearly as pretty. He almost threw a wild pitch last season in the Nationals' opener.

Although it looks like Josh Hamilton isn't totally ready to stake his future in the Texas Rangers, that doesn't mean team owner Tom Hicks is going to stop his search for somebody to take some of the team off of his hands. While Hicks, who also owns the NHL's Dallas Stars and 50 percent of the English Premier League's Liverpool FC, isn't exactly bleeding money at the moment, he does see selling some of his share during these times to be prudent.

Hicks says that during times like these you want to "reduce your debt and diversify your investments" and there's no better way to do that than by finding somebody who is looking to take on debt while diversifying their investments during times like these.

There are a lot of players in baseball whom fans would argue are incredibly overpaid. Whether you think Alex Rodriguez makes too much money for a guy who seems to disappear at the most vital times, or Carl Pavano made way too much in New York for all nine of his starts in Yankee pinstripes, there are plenty of options for you.

Still, if you were to think of the job Bud Selig has done as commissioner of baseball, overseeing the cancellation of the 1994 World Series, ignoring the steroid explosion that was so obvious to anybody with half a brain, and generally making sure the owners made a ton of money while not really caring about the fans, how much would you think Bud should make annually? What's that? $18 million? Wow, good call.

Left on Base is MLB FanHouse's link dump.

* The 45-man rosters for the World Baseball Classic were announced yesterday, which is interesting but not altogether meaningful -- the 28-man rosters that teams will actually play with won't be announced until Feb. 24. In the meantime, Baseball America scours the WBC for prospects.

* Curt Schilling does the math to "prove" the Red Sox should bring back Jason Varitek.

President George W. Bush only has 38 days left as President of the United States, and as anybody who is about to be forced out of a job -- you think he wants to leave? -- he's turned his mind to what he'd like to do with himself once he's out of the White House. President Bush has a myriad of hobbies and interests that range from baseball to invading countries, so, really, he could choose anything he wants to do.

Which is why, given his past as owner of the Texas Rangers, some folks have begun to wonder if President Bush would ever consider becoming Commissioner of Major League Baseball after Bud Selig retires from the position. As it turns out, George has had enough of being in charge of things, and wants no part of it.

Bush, a former owner of the Texas Rangers baseball club once linked to the top spot in the American pastime, spoke Wednesday about sports topics with the newspaper as he prepares to leave office next month for incoming Barack Obama.

"I'm looking forward to getting off the stage," Bush told the Post. "I have done my duty to my country. I have given it my all. It's now President-elect Obama's time. I have had enough of the spotlight."

This is probably good news for MLB, because given George's track record while owning the Rangers, he'd probably end up trading the New York Yankees to Japan for one of those shiny swords. "Look! I can see myself! Heh heh."

Look at that guy. How could you not pardon that? Roger Clemens could be seeking a Presidential pardon for his crimes, and his journey toward freedom begins here, with his biggest fans, the writers of The Dugout.

This afternoon's Dugout -- a tasteful, progressive look at the gray areas of white-collar American crime -- is after the jump.

It's the tradition that will not die. You win a major sporting event, any sporting event, and you either get a call from the President or a visit to the White House.

On Monday, the United States Ryder Cup team, months off fresh off their win over those pesky Europeans, took a trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue to visit our good pal George W. Bush as what could be the last sports team to make an appearance with His Stumbleness.

Only seven of the 12 members of the team showed, with no real report on why the others didn't make. Phil Mickelson, Anthony Kim, Kenny Perry, Steve Stricker, and fellow Texan Justin Leonard decided not to show their face around Bush, which always makes you wonder what the motives behind the shunning were.

Bush did say that he watched "every minute" of the Ryder Cup, which bodes well for the leader of a country that is in such stable condition right now. I hope he was at the ranch when he watched the golf. That is really the only way to enjoy a nice game of white ball on the tele.

Team captain Paul Azinger said afterwards that meeting with Bush was the "icing on the cake," which means Azinger was about 4,000 times more happy to have Bush around than anyone at the Republican National Convention would have been.

Hey, don't get mad at me, blame McCain. Or the economy. Yeah, blame the economy for my Bush jokes.

With attention spans dwindling, we forego full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. Click here to go back in time.

The 1s

Denver (5-4) at Atlanta (6-3): It isn't a coincidence that the two breakout teams this season have a ton of similarities, mostly with quarterback. In the five wins for Denver, Jay Cutler has had passer ratings of 93.3, 96.1, 107.9, 109.6 and 137.5. In the Falcons' six wins, Matt Ryan has racked up ratings of 94.1, 116.1, 120.6, 134, 137, and 138.4. On the flip side, in all seven of the combined losses with these two, neither quarterback had a rating higher than 77.8. Why did I clutter your screen with all these numbers? To tell you that for either of these teams to win, their young passer has to have a great game. I'm picking the Falcons because it is a lot easier to free up the air attack with Michael Turner as your running back compared to a dude that enjoys stealing luggage.

Pick: Atlanta

Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around with his finger in the air while the next he's laying on his back, holding his face-mask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's our new feature, Studs and Duds:

Here's Week 4 at a glance, where we point out the horses destined for the Kentucky Derby and jeer those headed to the glue factory.

Studs

Matt Bryant, K Tampa Bay (3 - 3 FG, 3 - 3 XP) -- A day after burying his 3-month-old son, Matthew Tryson, Bryant decided to suit up for the Buccaneers, and in an emotional battle most could never imagine, didn't miss a kick all game, helping Tampa Bay beat Green Bay. Some things in this world make absolutely no sense, this being one of them, but the toughness of Matt and his wife is something to be respected. Amazing effort Matt, we are all sorry for your loss.

It really was a sad day for all sports writers when the announcement came down that the Matt Millen era was over. We who enjoy criticizing the moronic moves of owners day in and day out feel exactly how Jon Stewart and company will feel when George W. Bush finally steps away from the seal in January. "Ok, who are we supposed to make fun of now?"

As a final FanHouse farewell to the incredible tenure that was Millen's Lions, we offer up the always impressive Ryan Parker and his salute to Miller's departure.

if you don't laugh at the line, "It looked like he used the same management tricks, That Isiah successfully used on the Knicks," than you really are a bitter, bitter Detroit sports fan.

Here it is, your moment of Zen.