California prep outfielder Mickey Moniak was the No. 1 overall pick Thursday by the Philadelphia Phillies in the MLB Draft, a cause for great celebration. Especially when it comes at a cost for a childhood friend.
Moniak revealed on MLB Network afterward that he had made a bet with Ethan Abrams involving the draft. If Moniak went in the top 10, Abrams would have to get an embarrassing tattoo.
How embarrassing?
Abrams needs to get Moniak's name tattooed on his rear end, and the No. 1 pick is holding him to it.
Moniak might not get out of this completely unscathed, though. Abrams is a freshman pitcher at Columbia University. If he goes in the first 20 rounds of the draft, Moniak has to return the favor and get Abrams' name tattooed on his posterior.
Youth. Taking bold risks, like betting away space on their behind, without properly assessing the consequences. One would think a kid smart enough to attend an Ivy League school wouldn't have found himself in this sort of situation.
Getting out the vote
With the presidential candidates essentially set in the Republican and Democratic parties and the campaign ready to hit the summer stretch, new polls are due to come out on a frequent basis.
Some of those polls will provide useful information in terms of which way voters are leaning ahead of the final vote in November. Others will do nothing more than humor voters as they ponder how absurd the polling can be in general.
With that in mind, the most recent Public Policy Polling survey should fall under the category of absurd, although in some ways it may be telling. According to Philadelphia Magazine, 46 percent of the Pennsylvania voters polled for that survey answered that the Philadelphia Phillies mascot would make a more qualified president than assumed Republican candidate Donald Trump.
The poll question: Who do you think is more qualified to be president -- the Phillie Phanatic or Donald Trump?
The Phanatic received 46 percent of the vote, Trump 40 percent and 14 percent voted not sure.
A total of 1,106 registered voters responded to the survey between June 3-5. Also, Public Policy Polling, which is admittedly a liberal-leaning polling firm, also was determined to be the most accurate polling agency among Pennsylvania voters in 2012.
The Phillies giant green mascot is among the most popular mascots in all of sports. He cements his status every day by launching hot dogs into the stands and tormenting opposing players for the amusement of others.
Getting out the vote II
Rotary telephones. Remember those?
Chicago Cubs catcher David Ross surely does, which is probably why the team is using him for an '80s-themed All-Star Game campaign video. Ross, 39, teaches Cubs fans how to vote for their favorite players using the hashtag #VOTECUBS, except he does it with a rotary telephone, which leads into a really drawn-out demonstration of Ross dialing the hashtag into that telephone.
The Cubs have five players leading the National League voting through Tuesday. Ross is not among those. He has never played in the All-Star game, but one Cubs fan has led a campaign to get him write-in votes.
Sports on 06/11/2016