We read darn near the entire internets so you don’t have to, presenting you with some of the best baseball-related material darn near every weekday in Peanuts & CrackerLINKS….

• SI’s Tom Verducci says the home field advantage NFL dome teams like the Saints, Colts, Vikings and Cardinals have is similar to the Rockies at Coors Field. [major LEAGUE jerk]
• Justin Verlander signs 5-year, $80M deal with the Tigers. [detroit4lyfe]
• Great Moments In Unlicensed Pittsburgh Sports Merch: Maz’s Home Run. [p.S.a.M.p.]
• Joba Chamberlain, permanently in the bullpen? [circling THE bases]
• This Valentine’s Day, give the gift of singing sausages — two of which have mustaches. [the BREWERS bar]
• Biased Yankees blog: Yankees SS Derek Jeter > Red Sox SS Marco Scutaro. [sliding INTO home]
• VIDEO: Stephen Colbert traces the history of sports psychology to the 1938 Cubs and the Oakland A’s teams of the late 80′s. [sports UNTAPPED]

Got a post you think is worthy of link dumpage? Please send links @ NESWblogs-at-gmail.com. Or just follow Chalk on twitter and send him a DM.

We read darn near the entire internets so you don’t have to, presenting you with some of the best baseball-related material darn near every weekday in Peanuts & CrackerLINKS….

• Is there a better post title than “Mark McGwire, Drug Fiend?” (Includes VIDEO.) [the GLOBAL sports FRATERNITY]
• Speaking of great titles, Harold Reynolds ain’t afraid to poke fun at a dude for being legally blind, even if said dude pardoned Slick Rick. [hugging HAROLD reynolds]
• Bill Pecota predicts the Devil Rays will have the best record in baseball in 2010, and the Yankees will miss the playoffs for the second time in three years. [sports UNTAPPED]
• Pro poker player donates $200K to Division III baseball team. [babes LOVE baseball]
• AUDIO: Mevs takes a break from sitting on Pete Rose, and talks baseball on the aptly named THE BASEBALL SHOW. [diamond HOGGERS]
• Dreaming about Gary Sheffield and Dr. Drew. [bugs&cranks]

Got a post you think is worthy of link dumpage? Please send links @ NESWblogs-at-gmail.com. Or just follow Chalk on twitter and send him a DM.

It’s part of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that I must love hockey, and I’m a good citizen so I do just that. My love for NHL hockey in particular, however, has been sharply declining over the past few years, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let the root cause seep into Major League Baseball.

The salary cap is doing exactly what I thought it would do when it was introduced. It is turning the league into a boring collection of bland teams. The most interesting story of this season so far has been the Toronto disaster. The two most interesting teams are probably Chicago and Washington – the next two teams that will have to shed talent before they have won anything. It is Gary Bettman’s McHockey league, a celebration of mediocrity. – The Great Hockey Blogger Tom Benjamin

Do we really want a new incarnation of the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals to win the World Series every year? If we do, then why stop there?  Let’s adapt more NHL-esque rules:

• Home runs don’t count if the umpire had the intent to stop play prior to the ball leaving the field
• When a batter takes a defensive swing at a pitch and hits it foul and out of play, he’s out
• Games tied after 9 innings will be decided by Milk Bottle Throw
• If your side loses Milk Bottle Throw, you still get half a win (and you still get half a win if you lose in the bottom of the 9th)
• There will be more fighting (yay!), but most of the fights will be pre-scripted (i.e., the batter will walk to the plate, he will nod to the pitcher, and before a single pitch is thrown they will charge each other and hold each other’s jerseys with vigour for three minutes)
• Two umpires behind home plate (I don’t see what could go wrong here)
• The season will be interrupted during Olympic years so millionaires can win medals/star in even more cereal commercials
• Every stadium shall have a roof, and all ballpark dimensions shall be identical
• No personalities are allowed for MLB players.  Everyone has to talk like “Celine” Dion Phaneuf
• Mike Milbury will be allowed to run a team in New York for about a decade.  I can see him putting his stamp on a team by trading Alfredo Aceves, Phil Hughes, and Robinson Cano (and cash) for Yuniesky Betancourt

And while we’re at it, and for the future stability of Major League Baseball, let’s expand to Professional Baseball hotbeds like Red Deer, Moose Jaw, Hay River, and Flin Flon.  The Milwaukee Brewers should be moved to Iqaluit and called the Ookpiks.  The NHL has all the answers.  C’mon Baseball, follow the leader.

We read darn near the entire internets so you don’t have to, presenting you with some of the best baseball-related material darn near every weekday in Peanuts and CrackerLINKS….

Bud Selig plans to follow Oprah, retire in 2012. [mlb TRADE rumors]

Ken Williams as Prince. (Y’all see Prince at the Vikings game yesterday?) [zoner SPORTS]

Minka Kelly further domesticating Derek Jeter. [sports CRACKLE pop]

VIDEO: Remember when Dr. Dre led off for the Dodgers and Matt Holliday had that error in the NLCS? [diamond NOTES] [via sons OF steve GARVEY]

Could the next great name in Red Sox shortstops be …. Iglesias? [tetreault VISION]

Mets new pinstripe uniforms bomb on Black Friday, may impact offseason acquisitions. [can't STOP the BLEEDING]

Sal Fasano to manage Blue Jays A-ball affiliate in Lansing next year. [inside THE rockies]

A limited edition Squirt Pete Rose and other Phillies cardboard classics. [we SHOULD be GMs]

Grady Sizemore really Grady SizeLESS? Tea cups are tiny, right? [baseball MUSINGS]

Got a post you think is worthy of link dumpage? Please send links @ NESWblogs-at-gmail.com. Or just follow Chalk on twitter and send him a DM.