Thursday on Today 8/2

Today's fluff was cut short due to the ongoing coverage of the bridge collapse in Minneapolis. That certainly is the dominant news story of the day--more like the month. Natalie Morales was in Minneapolis talking to one of the doctors treating the injured. There are several in critical condition and one died as of the result of his injuries. I'm sure there will be ongoing coverage as the day goes on.

Meanwhile, America The Beautiful continues with number seven on the list: America's ballparks, in particular, Fenway Park, home of my beloved Boston Red Sox. Oddly, Tiki Barber, retired running back from The Giants, was the person doing the touring today. He did something I thought it was impossible to do: Fenway Park on $50/day. Tickets to Fenway are out of the park (pun intended) but you can get a bleacher seat for $12.00--that's news to me. Then he hit the concession stand where he spent $6.00 but didn't mention the famous Fenway Franks--they're the best. The Red Sox won their game, then Tiki interviewed Kenneth Hogan, author of "America's Ball Parks," up in the seats above the famous Green Monster. Those seats were only added in the last few years. Then it was time for some batting practice. Tiki put on a #21 shirt--his old number--and hit some balls with Red Sox slugger Wily Mo Pena and centerfielder, Coco Crisp, as his batting coach. I don't think the average tourist would have this option. Wily Mo knocked seven balls out of the park. Tiki didn't hit any home runs but he did make contact a few times. Fenway Park is almost a hundred years old and is one of the oldest ball parks in the country. Definitely a fun place to visit, but you'd better root for the Sox. Tiki finished up his visit with a trip to the souvenier shop and stayed for another game. He left a Red Sox fan--at least temporarily.

Today's Fitness featured "5-Factor Fitness" author, Harley Pasternak. Apparently his book shows gym exercises you can do at home. Today's page from the book of the obvious: A chest press that you do at the gym can be duplicated at home with the basic push-up. Pretty self explanatory. The leg press from the gym can be turned into lunges at home. For a new twist, try walking lunges. And here's where I'm really starting to question Ann Curry's intelligence. They walked over to the next person demonstrating leg extensions which everyone knows works your quadriceps. Ann says, "You're working your hamstrings with leg curls." That's the kind of comment I would expect from Katie Couric. I guess in Katie's absence, Ann feels like taking over as the resident ditz. Anyway, if those truly had been leg curls--which do work the hamstrings, the next exercise on the stability ball would duplicate that at home. You have to put your feet on the ball and lie on your back, bringing the ball up toward your butt, then away from you. These are pretty basic exercises, but if you want more you can buy the book. You can use my Amazon search box to check it out.

The last segment featured the stars of Drake and Josh: New Adventures For Kid Stars. I've never heard of them, but I guess they're big with the tweens. Drake Bell performed a bubble gum pop song in the studio to end the show.

And that's a wrap. Till tomorrow.