I'll steal an idea from our own Andy Kehe and do some short, quick hits from the past few days in the sports world and one from here in the city:

Phil Dumatrait. A middle reliever has the worse job in major league baseball. I'd rather be a bullpen catcher then be called in to pitch with runners on base and no outs, and be expected to keep the damage to a minimum. The former Ridgeview High and Bakersfield College pitcher has had some great outings, and laid two eggs this season in relief. I wanted to see him succeed with the Reds last season, and I'm hoping he can pitch well with the Pirates.

Jimmie Johnson. I know I wasn't the only one in the office Saturday night that was waiting for a breaking news item from ESPN to come across that read, "Jimmie Johnson's car failed post-race inspection." When your crew chief is the biggest cheater in sports, you always suspect he'll get caught, AGAIN.

Kevin Harvick. It's too bad Fox didn't show what happened on Harvick's last pit stop in Phoenix. He dropped way back, and they mentioned he stalled, but show a replay or something.

Casey Mears. Talk about a surprise. He almost snuck into a Top-10 finish at the Subway Fresh 500 with the same fuel strategy as Johnson. His 11th-place finish pushed him to 25th in the points standings and out of danger of having to qualify his way into a race for a few more weeks.

Trevor Immelman. Congrats on the Masters championship. The South African has come a long way from choking away a lead at the Wachovia Championship in 2006. He lost to Jim Furyk in a playoff in the event, the last major event I covered for the Gaston Gazette.

Bakersfield Motorcycle Cop. Next time STOP at the four-way stop on Main Plaza Dr. and Granite Falls behind the Promenade early Wednesday morning. Apparently, the "I'm a cop, I don't need to stop," applies to some BPD officers. No lights, no sirens, no nothing. We've had two motorcyclists or riders killed in the past 7 days, and this guy didn't want to stop for traffic. You expect citizens to follow the rules of the road, yet you can't seem to do it. He got a one-finger salute for his driving skills.