Yahoo! Sports is legit. They have been ahead of the curve on BALCO, Reggie Bush, Cam Newton, and the latest NCAA investigation into University of Oregon football. The reason Yahoo! consistently produces outstanding sports reporting is that they employ good writers. Jeff Passan – the national baseball columnist for Yahoo! – is one such writer. He joined Robert in Hour 3 to talk about the upcoming All-Star Game. Podcast after the jump. 

The Twins have not had a terrific season thus far. Beset by injuries, they are a half-game out of last place in the AL Central at 10-18. Finally, some good news: Francisco Liriano no-hit the White Sox.

Tom Verducci is a senior writer at Sports Illustrated. He’s also an analyst on the MLB Network. Tom joined Robert in Hour 1 to talk about the crazy April we’re all enjoying as baseball fans. Click through for a podcast.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa’s daughter Bianca is now a cheerleader for the Oakland Raiders.

There is no punch line here.

Photo of the entire 2011 Raiderettes after the jump.

Many of baseball’s all-time greats have been black. And, baseball lays claim to a particular resonance within the American cultural soul, and that American soul is certainly as black as it is white and everything else.

So it’s of specific concern that the number of black players (and by this we’re talking non-Latino black players) has been dipping over the past 20 years. Major League Baseball had appeared to stem the tide, with the number trending higher since 2007.

Now it has dropped again.

Major League Baseball has taken over the day-to-day operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers, because the incompetence of their ninny twit owner Frank McCourt became too loud in the room to ignore any longer.

Whether Bud Selig is a preferable alternative to Frank McCourt is another discussion. Here on this digital archipelago, we say it is.

The bigger lesson is this: Professional sports franchises do not operate in a free and open market. Make no mistake. Major League Baseball is a cartel, and if one of the bosses gets out of line, they are put out of business.

The eight women and four men who comprise the Barry Bonds jury have been sealed off in a room in San Francisco today. Closing arguments wrapped up yesterday.

Bonds is facing three charges of lying to a grand jury and one charge of obstructing justice.

Being a baseball writer can be a thankless job. Prima donna players, manipulative front office figures, low pay, and an intimidatingly rich literary standard to uphold, bound tightly to the game. Memorable baseball writing emerged almost simultaneously with the sport itself from the bucolic mists of 19th century meadows and memories, and remains an expectation – conscious or otherwise – of nearly every fan who has ever read a game story.

Bob Nightengale is a baseball writer for a little paper called USA Today. He joined the conversation in the 2nd hour this afternoon. Audio of the interview with Robert after the jump.