Yesterday, no pun intended, Sir Paul turned 64 and the whole world knew it.

"Send him a postcard, drop him a line, stating point of view. Indicate precisely what you mean to say, yours sincerely, wasting away."

Happy Birthday Sir Paul!

In case you missed it, One Of My Best Friends penned an Op-Ed on the environment that appeared in Saturday's Chron. It will be posted on this website later on today.

There are 32 countries participating in the World Cup. When a country's team takes the field, everything stops in the countries that are playing - except in the good old USA. Folks know Roger Clemens, folks don't know Brian McBride. Did you know that Ecuador and Germany are two of six teams that have so far clinched spots in the Round of 16? Do you care?

"I'm such an idiot," said Phil "Lefty" Mickelson after blowing a two shot lead at yesterday's U.S. Open. Lefty was talking about his shot selection. The whole golfing world watched his meltdown, yet, he handled it with class. Lefty is known as a gambler on the course. Yesterday he bet on the wrong shot. The shot was so bad, not even the TV cameras were able to catch it. Way to go Lefty!

Saturday at the yard, they gave away tin cans. I was watching BP, errr, batting practice from the Crawford Boxes and a hit ball came at me. I tried catching the ball with the can. Not a smart move. I got a busted up tin can sitting in my office this morning.

Yesterday, they gave away Astros neckties to all the fellas 16 years and up. A whole lot of fellas wore the ties at the yard - over T-shirts and jerseys. It looked kind of weird. Necktie giveaways ought to be reconsidered - Astros choked yesterday. Losing two of three to the lowly KC Royals this past weekend is not cool.

For the second Saturday in a row, there was an induction service at the yard. Before the singing of our national anthem (only Commentary knows the words to and sings to in our section) young male and female recruits took their oath at home plate before the heading off to basic training and becoming soldiers and Marines. I would call that a kind of an unusual recruitment tool.

You know the day's going to be unusual when "The Today Show" is preempted due to the weather. I guess you could call today in Houston a wash.

June 19, 2006, 9:00AM