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While the 2008 All Star Game may be a thing of the past, people have still been talking about things they saw at Yankee Stadium those three days, and most of them have to do with Josh Hamilton. While most of the talk is about the 498 home runs (give or take) that Hamilton hit during the Home Run Derby (How dumb did Justin Morneau feel having to accept that trophy?), there's also a lot of talk about Hamilton's relationship with the legendary Willie Mays.

The day after the game there was a lot of talk about the apparent snub of Hamilton by Mays before the game. If you didn't see it, before the player introductions, forty-nine Hall of Famers were announced at their positions. Then, when the players were introduced, they ran out to their spot and shook hands with the legends that stood before them. Just one tiny problem.

When Hamilton ran out to his spot in centerfield, Willie Mays turned away from him and kept on talking to Kosuke Fukudome, who doesn't speak a whole lot of English. This of course started the firestorm that Mays didn't like Hamilton for some reason, but Josh wants us to know that wasn't the case at all.

Hamilton quickly denied any sort of snub, though, and said Mays was simply talking to National League starter Kosuke Fukudome and later greeted Hamilton (visual proof above).

"He leaned over and told me, 'Congratulations,' " said Hamilton, a first-time All-Star. "I told him that I've known who he is for a long time and that I'm a big fan."

Josh then told Willie to let his godson know that he has a ton of unused needles should he need any. Or he just sang along to the Star-Spangled Banner, I don't know, I'm not a lip-reader.

Every year for seemingly the last five years, the Red Sox have hinted at their willingness to trade Manny Ramirez. Given Manny's huge contract, goofy antics, and ability to crush the ball, the rumors never seem that serious. With Manny's monster contract running out after this year and Manny missing games for a mysterious knee ailment, suddenly things seem awfully serious.

Today in the Boston Globe, Dan Shaughnessy published a story that seemed to indicate that the Red Sox were finally growing tired for Manny's shenanigans. That in itself isn't really noteworthy, but it is in conjunction with some statements made by Theo Epstein through Tim McCarver during this afternoon's FOX broadcast. Prior to the game, Epstein told McCarver that he'd be willing to trade Manny if Ramirez was willing to waive his no-trade clause, then pointedly told McCarver that he could repeat that rumor on the air. It sounds to me like Epstein wants people to know that he's serious about trading Manny this time around.

With Manny's deal up and the Sox interested in getting him out of town, there would certainly be some interested parties (the Mets, Phillies, Dodgers, Cardinals and maybe the Astros if Ed Wade is feeling particularly crazy all quickly come to mind). The key for the Red Sox would be finding a quick replacement. The Pirates will certainly be listening to offers for Jason Bay and the Sox have enough prospects to work something out there. The Braves are shopping Mark Teixeira, who could bump Kevin Youkilis to left field. It would be a lot of work for Esptein to pull off in five days, but it seems like he just might be serious about getting rid of Manny this time around.

I love going to training camp. I see a bunch of friends, and it means that the season is around the corner. It also means that we start seeing breathless speculating accounts of who is doing what in camp, but you know, it is just practice in shorts.

You really can't tell much watching a team practice versus reading about it. Often all you can really see is the excitement of the fans, and what sort of condition players appear to be. But most of all, it is an excuse for the team to talk football, so you get that.

So with such caveats in place, this will be my Texans training camp report from the practice fields across from Reliant Stadium with picture goodness. To get the best information from the coaches and players, I strongly suggest checking out the HoustonTexans.com camp quotes and Texans TV.

And to see better pictures than mine, please check out Andy Martin's pictures at TexansBullPen.com. I am no good with action shots, and the one nice one I had of a Schaub to Johnson pass, I accidentally deleted. Grrrr.

According to the Day 2 Training Camp transcript, wide receiver Andre Johnson is reporting no pain with his knee at all, and from my eye, looked like his normal abnormally fit self:

All it took was a visit to Michael Irvin's radio show, a little public contrition, temporary reinstatement, and a name change, and the endorsement deals have started rolling in for Dig Dug Jones. Suh-weet.



And he's even getting better at reading the cue cards! (Somebody used their one-year suspension to better themselves.) I would've loved to hear the Drivers Select marketing meeting where somebody pitches the "hey, why not have Pacman pimping cars?" idea.

That it got to this point is a testament to, well, I have no idea, but it's too bad Mr. Cousins of Ron Mexico wasn't around to suggest the line, "Payments so low, you could make it rain with the savings!" That could've really moved some inventory.

Jones is better than I expected, but he's still got a long way to go before he even approaches the excellence that is Eastern Motors.

The Chicago Tribune's Dan Pompei puts on his Matt Millen gorilla suit and makes the following suggestion in yesterday's column: the Bears should trade Devin Hester. Well, if the idea is to see a team go through an entire season without scoring a single point, I think it's a swell idea.

If, on the other hand, Chicago would like to have a shred of dignity remaining by January 2009, I'd suggest keeping Hester. And not only that, pay the guy, too.

Look, I take Pompei's point -- there are probably a handful of teams willing to part with a boatload of draft picks for Hester -- but for as bad as the Bears already look on paper, they'll be much, much worse with Hester taking kickoffs and punts for six in another NFL city.

I suppose there's a scenario that makes the trade an attractive one -- maybe the Patriots are willing to swap Tom Brady for Hester straight up, or perhaps the Steelers, in an effort to shore up their craptacular special teams, sends the Bears a first-rounder for the Pro Bowl returner.

I'm joking -- neither is gonna happen -- and I just can't see Chicago somehow being better off without Hester. Forget that he is trying to transition to wideout; if he bombs in that roll, he's still the Bears' best scoring threat.

Of course, that says as much about the front office's seeming indifference to the myriad needs on offense as it does about Hester's ability, but there's not a lot you can do about the former right now. On the bright side, the draft is only nine months away.

With five days to go until the trade deadline, I can't remember a more active year on the trade fronts. One night after the Pirates and Yankees exchanged six players, it looks like the Dodgers are close to acquiring corner infielder Casey Blake from the Indians for two prospects. That's right. Casey Blake for two prospects. Remember when I said Ned Colletti was going to do something stupid? Yeah, it just happened.

The key player in this deal for the Indians is 23-year-old pitching prospect Jon Meloan. He's having a rough go of it this year, after being converted from the bullpen to the rotation, but his numbers in the low minors as a reliever are lights out. John Sickels listed him as one of his top fifty pitching prospects in baseball this year (#35) and he's way too good of a prospect to be traded for Casey Blake. On top of that, they're getting 22-year-old catcher Carlos Santana who's killing the ball in Class A.

In return, the Dodgers get Blake, who plays first base (where they have James Loney), third base (Andy LaRoche), and sometimes the outifield. He's a decent hitter that's having a pretty good year, but this trade is pretty baffling. If it's true that the Dodgers have been showcasing Andy LaRoche in the past week or so, it also might portend another trade in the next couple days to create a position for Blake. Anything in the name of a shot to win a division title, I guess.

Two weeks after police in Arkansas arrested him for possessing cocaine in the back of a truck, Matt Jones apologized to the Jacksonville Jaguars for his actions.

"I'm embarrassed for Mr. and Mrs. Weaver, coach Del Rio and my teammates, and even the fans of Jacksonville. It's not good, but I really can't comment on it right now until all the things are settled in the courts and everything."

With that apology out of the way, Jones' next step is to apologize for being such a crappy receiver. I'm sure a few folks in Jacksonville wish he'd be embarrassed for them after the ball bounced off his hands in the end zone a few times. The Jaguars did spend all that money on Jerry Porter for a reason.

Then again, perhaps I'm being too harsh. I mean, I still won my fantasy league two seasons ago despite drafting Jones -- thank you, Maurice Jones-Drew -- and really, Jones has bigger problems right now than his inability to catch a ball consistently.

Previously at FanHouse:
Those Weren't Matt Jones' Drugs, He Was Just Holding Them in the Backseat of a Truck
Jaguars' Matt Jones Arrested, Police Say He Possessed Cocaine

By now, we all know Michelle Wie: she's 18 years old, just so happens to be very good at golf, but has made some questionable career decisions. I'd like to think that's on her parents (Dottie Pepper agrees), and I wonder if she would be perfectly happy as an anonymous teenager enjoying college.

Whatever, if the golf thing doesn't work out, Wie might want to think about going into comedy. Sure, she doesn't look like she has a funny bone in her body, but apparently, when pressed, she's a riot. Earlier this week, PGA Tour player Jay Williamson offered these encouraging words when he found out Wie had accepted a sponsor's exemption to the Reno-Tahoe Open:

"When I saw it I actually thought it was a joke, quite honestly ... I know she is going to sell a lot more tickets than I will, but I would say it's surprising. I don't think it's a real popular decision out here."

Wie's response? "I don't even know who that is." Fair point, but for those of you who are interested, here's a quick primer: Williamson was born in St. Louis, was a political science major at Trinity College, and he's the guy who, at last year's Canadian Open, fired his caddie mid-round for mouthing off. Hilarity ensued.

And say what you want about Wie's rocky professional career; she's never had a caddie quit on her in the middle of a round and then toss a bag full of golf balls in the drink on his way back to the clubhouse.

So this all started as a goof, and has somehow mushroomed into the very real possibility that the Jets could end up with Brett Favre as the starting quarterback. Weird.

When it became apparent that Favre really did want to play one more season, the Jets brain trust seemed uninterested, but now, just a few days later, New York and Tampa Bay are the front runners for the right to call Brett Favre "our 39-year-old QB." (At least as much as you can be a "front runner" without actually talking to the player in question.)

Three days ago, the Jets had no interest in Favre, the Daily News reported. Mangini all but confirmed that Thursday, saying he was "really happy" with Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens. The team decided to sniff around, perhaps recognizing the unique opportunity to acquire a quarterback of Favre's stature. Owner Woody Johnson wants to win now after doling out $140 million to acquire new veterans, and perhaps he sees Favre as the missing piece.

According to the Daily News, the Packers are looking for a first-round pick for Favre, and that doesn't seem unreasonable for a team who thinks it's a quarterback away from making a deep playoff run. Thing is, I'm not sure the Jets are in such a situation.

FanHouse reader jvsiii3 makes an important point, one that has seemingly been lost amid all the FAVRE MANIA:

The off-field distractions that have followed the Giants for most of the offseason were basically solved when the Saints agreed to take Jeremy Shockey off their hands. Now, with Ahmad Bradshaw a free man, the only lingering issue is Plaxico Burress and his desire for a new deal.

He promised to be at training camp -- and so far, so good on that front -- but he's not particularly jazzed about still playing under the original contract he signed with the team in 2005. While his agent Drew Rosenhaus works to hammer out an extension, Burress remains at camp.

Burress is a camper but not a happy one, and he did not practice in the morning or the afternoon, supposedly because the left ankle that was thought to be healed was acting up.

More likely, Burress in another "business decision" decided to deny the Giants his services until they ante up some more money.

Well, give Plax credit for keeping his word -- he is at camp -- but it sounds like he's in no hurry to practice until he gets that raise. Eh, if this was his first year with the team, or if he was a young player, missing training camp might be a big deal, but Burress has basically been a weekend player for the better part of a year now.