If, like me, you harbour a healthy skepticism about received wisdom, you should have the Urban Legends Reference Page bookmarked on your browser (www.snopes.com). The URLP regularly takes the air out of any number of Net-powered or widely circulated bits of nonsense, exaggeration, fakery, or just plain legend. In the latter category, the ULRP recently turned its attention to one of the most hallowed pieces of baseball lore: that Lou Gehrig started his Iron Man streak with the Yankees when incumbent first baseman Wally Pipp begged off with a headache.

Well, after a week off for the 518 gang we're back at it.

If Bush isn't a favorite today in Texas I don't know when he'll be.

The Jays look to avoid a 3 game sweep in Arlington.

The Fisher Cats defeated Binghamton 5-2 last night to win the Eastern League's Northern Division crown.

Going to the candidates debate
Laugh about it shout about when you got to choose
Every way you look at it you lose
Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio
a nation turns its lonely eyes to you?

That's when they say I lost my only friend
Well they said she died easy of a broken heart disease
As I listened through the cemetery trees
I seen the sun comin' up at the funeral at dawn
The long broken arm of human law
Now it always seemed such a waste
She always had a pretty face
I wonder why she hung around this place

More bad news from the minor leagues, as Charleston is eliminated from the playoffs and New Hampshire fails in its bid to sweep its first-round series.

On a warm summer's evenin' on a train bound for nowhere,
I met up with the gambler; we were both too tired to sleep.
So we took turns a starin' out the window at the darkness
'Til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.

I'm not the same anymore
Thunder and spark in the Heart of the Dark

The Fisher Cats make it two straight. Shaun Marcum and Tom Mastny lose. Dunedin are toast and get to head out of town before Ivan moves in. New Hampshire and Charleston are the only clubs still playing.

The Jays made up 1.5 games on their "fierce" rivals last night, and now sit just two games in the loss column behind the floundering D-Rays.

There are a bunch of teams with similar records right now that will battle it out for the #4 to #10 draft picks in the 2005 Amateur Draft. Arizona, KC and Seattle seem to have the top three spots sewn up, leaving Toronto to battle the D-Rays, Expos, Mets, Rockies, Brewers, Reds and Pirates for draft order position.

In other news, the Indians are two games below .500; if that doesn't change it will cost me a pair of field-level Jays tickets.

Jerry Howarth has been broadcasting Blue Jays baseball for over two decades, forming one of the longest-lived partnerships in baseball broadcasting history with Tom Cheek. To several generations of Blue Jays fans they are known simply as "Tom and Jerry".

In Volume 1 of our Ask Jerry series, Mr. Howarth did not shy away from expressing opinions on the current state of the Blue Jays. I caught up with him a few weeks ago and was eager to find out what he thought of some of the newcomers to the team. I presented a selection of readers' questions from our Ask Jerry, Volume 2 thread and threw in a few of my own. Some questions were not addressed this time around; we'll try to get to them for Volume 3.

Please note: since the interview took place, Jason Frasor has lost the closer role and Vinnie Chulk has struggled mightily.

I have started an "NFL Survivor" football pool for Batter's Box over at Yahoo! Sports. The rules are very simple... pick one team per week and if your team wins, you move on to the next week's

We are going to start with Week 2, which is *next* week. Many bragging rights are at stake - so do join us. Go to Yahoo Survival Football, sign up, and choose "Join Existing Group". The Group ID number is 30077 and the password is cuttlefish.

Toronto takes on a struggling and desperate Ranger squad now on the fringe of the AL West division race. Texas won ten games in a stretch of fourteen in August; meanwhile, Oakland, Anaheim and Boston each won thirteen of fourteen. Losing three games in the standings while playing .714 ball seems to have sucked some energy out of the Rangers, as they have lost nine of the last eleven. The Jays have the opportunity to drive a few more nails into the Ranger coffin before Texas finishes the season with twenty straight against division rivals.

On to the Advance Scout!

New Hampshire won a thrilling pitcher's duel, while Dunedin was swamped by those damn Tampa Yankees in playoff openers. Charleston's opener was postponed due to rain.