Second Thoughts

Nothing says love you, bro like crackers

Tampa Bay Rays catcher Jose Molina is seen during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in Detroit, Sunday, July 6, 2014. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Tampa Bay Rays catcher Jose Molina is seen during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers in Detroit, Sunday, July 6, 2014. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James sent cupcakes to his neighbors Tuesday night to apologize for the traffic jams caused by the interest in James' return earlier this month.

It's unclear what St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina was trying to tell his older brother Jose on Wednesday, but he chose to say it with a plate of cheese and crackers.

Never mind that in this case the plate was home plate.

Jose was in St. Louis, assuming his usual role as starting catcher for the Tampa Bay Rays while Yadier is sidelined with a thumb injury. Perhaps Jose should have been the one sending the pick-me-up, but as it happened, TV cameras caught Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo putting two packages of peanut butter-filled cheese crackers on home plate between innings. The cameras also showed Yadier laughing and motioning for his brother to take them.

So Jose did, putting the crackers in his back pocket for the rest of the first inning.

"No word yet on whether Jose ate the crackers or what that was all about," Des Bieler of the Washington Post wrote. "We do know that Jose went 1 for 4 with three strikeouts. However, his Rays beat the [Cardinals] 3-0, so he must have called a pretty good game.

"Add in a hand-delivered snack from his younger brother, and I'd say Jose had a pretty successful evening."

No taunting

Pierogi racing has become a staple between innings at Pittsburgh Pirates home games.

That staple will be missing an ingredient for an extended amount of time.

Cheese Chester, a cheddar-filled fan favorite known for his quick acceleration off the line, broke away from the pack during Wednesday night's race.

Ever the showman, Chester turned to taunt his seemingly vanquished opponents and tripped over his own feet. Medical personnel arrived quickly on the scene, and Chester was carted away from the field and is reported to have a broken foot.

The timeline for Chester's return remains unknown, but the Pirates are estimating six to eight weeks for the dumpling. Potato Pete, who has not run a race sine 2001, will race in Chester's place as he recovers from the injury.

"While tragic, a broken foot is just another day in the fast times of a racing dumpling," Dan Carson of bleacherreport.com wrote. "As another famous Chester once said, 'It ain't easy being cheesy.' "

She's the one

Pam Oliver said she felt blindsided when Fox announced that Erin Andrews would replace her as the sideline reporter on its top NFL broadcast crew.

"We have about 314 million Americans," Brad Dickson of the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald noted. "I'm pretty sure the other 313,999,999 saw this one coming."

They said it

• Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, to The Associated Press, on why he and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman hit it off: "He's a psycho like me."

• RJ Currie of sportsdeke.com, who is not impressed that forward Pau Gasol signed with the Chicago Bulls: "He'll just be another Spaniard running with the Bulls."

Sports quiz

How many teams has Jose Molina played for in his major-league career?

Answer

Five: the Chicago Cubs, the Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels, the New York Yankees, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Rays.

Sports on 07/25/2014

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