Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

The President at play:

PRESIDENT OBAMA took a few minutes out of his schedule yesterday to welcome the 2009 World Series Champion New York Yankees to the White House. The president praised the Yanks for their on and off the field traditions, and --as a devoted Chicago Wite Sox fan-- got in his usual dig at the Chicago Cubs.
   He said, "It's been nine years since your last title, which must have felt like an eternity for Yankees fans... I think other teams would be just fine with a spell like that... the Cubs, for example." (Pacelli)

Baseball:

The Philadelphia Phillies signed slugger RYAN HOWARD to a five-year, $125 million extension yesterday. And that's without any bonuses. Ryan leads all major leaguers in home runs (222) and RBIs (650) since joining the lineup in 2005. Last year he joined BABE RUTH, KEN GRIFFEY Jr. and SAMMY SOSA as the only players ever to hit at least 40 homers and drive in at least 130 runs in four consecutive seasons.
   The move gives 17 players more than $130 million for next season, and if they give JASON WERTH a long-term deal, their payroll will likely soar over $150 million. That'll put them second to the NY Yankees, the only team whose payroll is over $200 million.

Computers, and other techno-geek-a-zoid crap:

Those 3.5-inch floppy disks are going the way of 8-tracks and cassette tapes. Finally.
   According to Wired News, it's been 12 years since Apple led the way in removing the floppy drives from its computers. Sony, which sells 70 percent of the world's supply of floppy discs, sold a mere 12 million last year. Compare that to 47 million in 2002. CNET says the company is bagging the 3.5-inch floppy disk early next year. (Page)

Bad luck:

A guy in Indianapolis is suing a convenience store, saying he should have won 11-point-5 million dollars in the lotto. But, the store clerk allegedly refused to sell him a ticket.
   The Indianapolis Star has the story of 70-year-old CHARLES ANDREWS who claims he picked the winning numbers back in 2008. But, according to Andrews, workers at the store wouldn't let him play the numbers because it was getting too close to the actual drawing. Andrews claims the store stopped selling tickets several minutes too early. But, it was too late for him to go to another store.
   Andrews says he found out the next morning that his numbers would have earned him the jackpot.
   Speedway SuperAmerica LLC --the company that owns the store-- denies any responsibility. (Still)

Guilty Pleasures:

While we're on the subject, no winner in Friday night's drawing for the Mega Millions Lottery. That means tonight's drawing is valued at $191 million ($117.2 million cash value). Mega Millions is played in 34 states and Washington DC. Chances of winning the big prize are 1 in 175.7 million.

Mother's Day:

The National Retail Federation reports consumers are planning to spend about $126.90 on gifts, cards and celebrations for Mother's Day --up a little from $123.89 last year. Total spending for the holiday --which is on May 09 this year-- is expected to be around $14.6 billion. Mother's Day continues to be the second-largest U.S. consumer spending holiday.
   What the money will be spent on:
   --63% will buy Mom flowers
   --52% will treat mom to a brunch or dinner out (Kaye)

Reality Round-Up:

The first place you saw SUSAN BOYLE was online, right? Well, producers over at NBC's clone, "America's Got Talent," have done a deal with YouTube to let you see some of the show's auditions.
   If you'd like to be on this summer's show, just upload your video to www.youtube.com/americasgottalent and producers will choose 40 "acts" for a YouTube channel. Of those 40, 12 will be selected to compete on the show.