Insurance Yacking & Kids Packing

1. On Sunday the New York Yankees completed a 3-game sweep by beating the Minnesota Twins 4-1 and thus earning a place in the American League Championship Series against the Angels. Three MLB divisional series this year have resulted in sweeps. When asked what they thought of the sweep, Yankee manager Joe Girardi said, "It's pretty neat since we don't get to see a lot of sweeping in New York City."

2. This weekend, insurance companies released an industry-funded report that shows a spike in insurance premiums will occur should one of the current health bills be passed. The current legislation "will be disastrous for their business, so they can't stand on the sidelines any longer," says health insurance industry consultant Robert Laszewsky. Oh, I see. So apparently the sidelines are in the middle of the field these days, traveling directly into the owner's box.

3. The executive director of the NFL players union wrote a letter this week asking that Rush Limbaugh not be considered for ownership with the St. Louis Rams. A St. Louis ownership deal is still in the early stages but Limbaugh has been mentioned as a potential buyer. You know it's not good when a group that supported Michael Vick thinks you'd be bad at owning things.

4. A Delaware first grader was suspended last week after he brought a Cub Scout eating utensil to school. The school's zero tolerance policy was applied by a committee who felt the boy's knife/spoon/fork combination tool could have been used as a weapon. To be fair to the school though, it did contain a 5-inch switch spoon illegally obtained in Mexico.

5. Last week Elinor Ostrum of Indiana University was the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Economics. Ostrum's win ends a 41 year old streak of all male winners. Ostrum says she's happy to accept the prize but feels the Nobel Prize Committee didn't need to award it specifically for "Economics of Baby-Making."

High five.