Question of the Day: Why were there two tickets to the 2002 Salt Lake Paralympic Opening Ceremony in my middle compartment in my car this morning? I remembered I had placed my Powerball ticket from Monday in the compartment, so while driving to work, I felt around and tried to pull the ticket out, but instead grabbed the Paralympic tickets. I was utterly bewildered. Where did these come from? How did they get there? Who do I even know that would have gone to the Paralympics? It’s not as if I’ve never cleaned out that compartment before. I think I would have noticed at some point the large six-year-old tickets. As of now I have no answers, but I will keep searching.

Last night Lauren, Walsh, Jason, Sarah, and I went to the Twins/White Sox game, and we were part of the biggest crowd for a non-Opening Day game since 2006 as over 42,000 crammed their way into the Dome. And I do mean crammed. We foolishly sat in the cheap seats where it was Student Night and Dollar Dog Night. It was a madhouse! Trying to get to find seats was next to impossible, then having to squeeze single file between the end of the concession lines and the wall to get down the concourse added to the mayhem. In the second inning, Lauren, Sarah, and I got up to get a beer and Dollar Dog. Of course the dogs had long ago run out, but we didn’t find that out till we waited twenty minutes to get to the front of the line. Add in the fact that Livan Hernandez pitched like crap and Gavin Floyd cruised through the Twins’ lineup, and it made for a rough night. But a Twins game is still good fun, no matter what happens.

Today at 3pm is the trading deadline in baseball, and the Twins have a couple big holes to fill, especially after second baseman Alexi Casilla went down for the year with a hand injury. There are a few second basemen out there the Twins could look to, including Mark Grudzielanek and Brian Roberts, but my guess is the Twins will follow in their usual tradition of making no deadline moves. Technically, teams can continue to make trades until August 31, but it’s more difficult because players have to first be passed through waivers to be traded. If the player is dangling on waivers and another team wants him, the trade can’t happen. The Twins could also use a Neshek replacement in the setup role. Many names come to mind, but I like Huston Street and Brian Fuentes best. Again, no deal is very likely.

Tonight and tomorrow night are wide open. Saturday night I’m DJing a dance down in Byron, just outside Rochester. This weekend is also Lauren’s family reunion, so I’m sure I’ll be visiting with the Poulters. Tuesday after work a few of us are going to Valleyfair. It will give me a chance to see who’s left from my days in the Games department, though I can’t imagine I’ll recognize too many faces other than seasonal manager Jeff LaPlant.