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Here's something new.
Doormen for a Senate committee are telling reporters they can't text message on cell phones during committee hearings under the general rule of electronic devices not being allowed.

They've always made way for cameras and tape recorders (now digital recorders) but looks like the Blackberries and texting faces a battle.

The reasoning given was the noise is distracting to others in the committee.

****UPDATE****
The Senate Democrats spokeswoman came by to say she was checking into this situation. A bit later she came back to say the texting ban was "done in error and changed as of now."

Back in Baltimore last month, Boone Logan and Bobby Jenks blew a game against the Orioles.
Afterward, Logan took his share of the blame and then wondered why relief pitchers only see reporters after bad outings.
It was a legitimate question. And in the spirit of the inquiry, let's just say White Sox relievers haven't been asked too much lately.
If there has big one huge difference between this season and last, OK, there's also Carlos Quentin, it's the Sox' bullpen.
In the three-game sweep over the Indians, White Sox relievers pitched a combined 7 innings and allowed zero runs on 3 hits. That's about as good as it gets, and Scott Linebrink and Bobby Jenks have been particularly lethal in the eighth and ninth innings.

Angered by the treatment they’d received from the majority Democratic lawmakers, Senate Republicans stormed out of a Revenue Committee meeting Thursday evening that'd been called to debate and vote on a massive pension borrowing scheme Senate Democrats and Gov. Rod Blagojevich hope to use to balance the budget.

The state owes itself billions in pension payments that have been skipped over the years. It’s kinda like skipping your kid’s college fund payments, the longer you let it go and more you skip, the more it’s gonna cost down the road. Imagine skipping billions in payments ... for years.

But it’s “soft” debt, money the state owes itself so it’s often overlooked.

It's about 14 hours since the credits rolled on "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," and I'm still trying to convince myself that Steven Spielberg did not direct it.

"Crystal Skull" plays, more or less, like a cheap imitation of an "Indiana Jones" movie. Everything about it just seems...off. I knew we were in trouble when the film's very first shot was of a CGI gopher poking its head out of the dirt. The movie betrays, again and again, a year's worth of interviews with Spielberg in which he said he would do everything possible to not make this film a digital effects extravaganza. There are digital effects -- and shoddy ones, at that -- in every corner of this movie, from the sets, to the "matte paintings," to the characters ... there's one scene in which I'm fairly certain Indy's torch flame has been added in post with computer graphics.

Cubs GM Jim Hendry and bench coach Alan Trammell took part in a Major League Baseball conference call today to talk about the pace of games. Apparently MLB feels the pace is slowing too much. If Cubs games are taking longer this year, it's because their batters are working counts and taking walks.

Manager Lou Piniella put the blame on television. Monday night's game (3 hours, 19 minutes) was televised by ESPN, who crammed in more commercial time between innings. For that reason, Piniella had pitcher Ted Lilly stay back in the dugout a little longer between innings.

"The biggest thing is television with their commercials," Piniella said.

They've retired his uniform number. They honored him with a statue. And then, the White Sox stood on the sidelines while Carlton Fisk entered the Hall of Fame wearing a Boston Red Sox cap.
Now, the White Sox are preparing to honor Fisk again, this time with an on-field tribute before Thursday night's game against the Cleveland Indians.
Am I missing something here?
Isn't this the same Carlton Fisk who has never had the time to come to spring training and give something back to the franchise that keeps showering him with gifts and tributes _ including a 2005 World Series ring?
Isn't this the same Carlton Fisk that came out and said he wanted to manage the White Sox just before Terry Bevington was fired in 2007, even though he had zero coaching experience?

Former Bulls center Bill Cartwright was in Springfield today lobbying on behalf of the Allendale Association, a Lake Villa-based group with a long history of working with children with emotional and mental illness. Cartwright is on the association's board.

Cartwright visited the House floor and a long line of lamwakers seeking pictures and autographs quickly formed even as debate continued on how billions of tax dollars should be spent. House Republican leader Tom Cross of Oswego finally asked if the House could take a quick break, which was granted.

After lawmakers, Cartwright took some pictures with reporters and did his best to swat away Bulls questions from Daily Herald reporter Nick Shields.

Shields: Rose or Beasley?
Cartwright: What do you think?

Invites have apparently been distributed to groups of lawmakers for meetings with Gov. Rod Blagojevich in an effort to try to set aside harsh feelings, mistrust and all the other ill will that members have had toward the administration. The intent is to try to win lawmakers over to the governor's side for budget debates.

Will it work? Similar meetings in past years didn’t exactly smooth the political pavement. But hope always springs eternal at the Illinois Capitol.

The best defense …

First things first: If you haven't read Marni Pyke's great story about Field Museum archaeologist Ryan Williams, please do. It's a fun, informative read, and has more than few tips of the fedora to "Indiana Jones" fans.

Now, onto Gurnee, and Six Flags Great America, which hosted a media preview of its new Dark Knight ride today. The Dark Knight Coaster (hereafter TDK) is an indoor ride of the "wild mouse" variety, which means riders don't board a train, like on traditional steel and wooden coasters, but instead board a single car that typically holds 2-4 people. Early pictures and video suggest TDK's cars hold four people. Wild mouse rides are typically tame, depending on sudden small dips and turns for thrills. Theme Park Insider reports the ride will serve 600 guests an hour.

Why did the White Sox rush out of the clubhouse on Tuesday afternoon almost 30 minutes earlier than usual?
Big meeting on the field? Major announcement? Team photo?
None of the above.
The Sox filed out early in order to catch outfielder Brian Anderson's workout video on the Jumbotron at U.S. Cellular Field.
"I'm just going to wear it,'' Anderson said from the dugout while his teammates lounged and laughed in the outfield grass. "I make fun of people all the time, so it's about time somebody gets me back.''
That "somebody'' was White Sox catcher Toby Hall, who acquired the video of Anderson working out near his off-season home in San Diego.
It was pretty basic stuff _ Anderson lifting weights, doing cardiovascular work, even rolling a giant truck tire.