It sits there in the corner of my living room, waiting to bring me the news of the sports world in an instant. A single click of the remote brings it to life and, with it, access to all of the sports happenings I could possibly ask for. So, when I sprang my television to action this weekend, I was not disappointed.

The Human Lightning Rod

AJ Pierzynski certainly has a magnetic relationship with the spotlight.

Either, he finds it or it finds him. And, yesterday, it found him on the most routine of plays, a sacrifice fly ball to left that scored a runner from third.

As Pierzynski chugged down the line from third, Chicago Cub catcher Michael Barrett stood in the baseline waiting for the throw from left. As the runner with the right of way, Pierzynski plowed into Barrett to get to the plate with the run. As Barrett went sprawling, Pierzynski emphatically slapped the plate with his hand.

As it turned out, that was a bad idea.

As Pierzynski jogged toward Barrett to get his helmet, Barrett stopped him and punched him in the side of the head. With that, all hell broke loose. Benches emptied, other punches were thrown by other players, and AJ Pierzynski was given the heave-ho.

Huh?

That's right. Pierzynski essentially got thrown out of a baseball game for getting punched in the side of the head by an opponent. It was only after the umpires conferred that Barrett was also tossed. After all, if you're going to throw the guy who got punched out of the game, it might not be a bad idea to throw the guy who delivered the punch out as well.

As for Pierzynski, he really didn't do anything wrong. Even though Barrett did not have the ball at the time of the collision, Pierzynski is allowed to make contact with him if he's in the baseline and does not get out of the way. As for the hand slap, that's borderline hot-dogging, but is it enough to trigger a punch to the chops?

Such is the way it is for Pierzynski, though. From rumors of clubhouse troubles in San Francisco to his supposed trash talking to the Oakland A's bench in the ALDS a few seasons back, his reputation around the league hasn't been good. So when he finds himself in the middle of a storm, opponents tend to react strongly. Like wanting to punch the guy in the side of the head for not really doing anything wrong.

Speaking of polarizing the masses on the baseball diamond...

Barry and the Babe

With all of the pro-Barry and anti-Barry sentiments that have been aired over the past few weeks, sometimes it's easy to lose track of what is actually happening on the diamond.

On Saturday, Bonds left little doubt as to that angle of the story.

The 714th home run of his MLB career was a no-doubter, a towering drive into the right field bleachers in Oakland. And with that, Bonds brought himself even with George Ruth's career home run total.

Whether loved or hated, Bonds did produce baseball history on May 20 in Oakland. Perhaps, that is the ultimate lesson to be learned here. History always seems to have the last word. So while opinions may differ, and differ significantly, baseball history tells us that Barry Lamar Bonds has as many home runs in his MLB career as George Herman Ruth.

And I, for one, was glad I spent a part of my afternoon watching it happen.

Tragedy at the Track

Two weeks ago, Barbaro destroyed the field at the Kentucky Derby. His overwhelming victory at Churchill Downs led many to predict Triple Crown immortality for the champion thoroughbred.

At yesterday's Preakness Stakes, something went horribly, horribly wrong.

Shortly after the start of the race, Barbaro stumbled and then dashed awkwardly and painfully away from the rest of the pack. The look of utter surprise and then absolute confusion on the horse's face may be one of the most heartbreaking things I have ever seen at a major sports event. Indeed, it was painful to watch the champion thoroughbred trying to continue in the race but not comprehending why he could no longer run.

Sadly, the question now is not about Barbaro's chances of achieving horse racing greatness by storming to a Triple Crown but whether or not this magnificent thoroughbred will need to put to sleep as a result of his injuries.

Not So Fast, My Friend

A funny thing happened on the way to the King's coronation.

The Detroit Pistons suddenly remembered their own championship pedigree and went back to doing the things that had made them champions in the first place. On Sunday, the Pistons held LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavs to 61 points and took Game 7 and the second round playoff series, 4-3.

Despite the emphasis on Game 7, Cleveland's best chance to bounce the Pistons from the playoffs came in Game 6 at home. The Cavs had just stunned Detroit at Auburn Hills to take a 3-2 series lead, and King James could do little wrong. The 21-year-old phenom had simply taken over the 4th period in Games 3 and 5 to lead the Cavs to upset wins.

With everything seemingly in their favor going into Game 6, LeBron and company had an excellent chance to win the game and take the series. However, they could not hold serve (and home court), and the Pistons proved once again that a champion's heart will tend to show itself when it matters most.

Surely LeBron is on his way, it's just too soon for his complete ascent to the crown.

And so it was this weekend. My television brought me AJ getting popped in Chicago, Barry chasing the Babe's ghost off the field in Oakland, Barbaro's heartbreak in Baltimore, and the Pistons resurgence in Motown, all in the course of a couple of afternoons.

If that's not some sort of magic, I don't really know what is.