Cardinals Rally Squirrel Gets Card

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In the bottom of the fifth inning of a Cardinals’ victory against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 4 of the NL Division Series, a squirrel darted across the Busch Stadium field just as Phillies pitcher Roy Oswalt delivered a pitch to Schumaker.

The squirrel, which became a rallying rodent for Cardinals players and fans during St. Louis’ remarkable run to a World Series title, appears on a Topps 2012 card along with Schumaker’s foot.

According to Beckett Baseball, which covers the collecting business, the card is “one of a few surprise short-printed variation cards to be found in the product, so it’s not really a Rookie Card—but it should be one that commands attention from collectors.” Full story here.

You may think all of this is a bit nutty, but the first eBay auction to end showed the card commanding $319.95 via a Buy it Now. The first auctioned copy of the card is set to end on Tuesday afternoon and stands at a mere $611.99 after 25 bids. See ESPN story.

IRS Claims Erroneous Refund Issued to Hal Steinbrenner

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No doubt the Steinbrenners can still stir up controversy. This time it’s tax problems.

The Justice Department has sued Harold “Hal” Steinbrenner, co-owner of the New York Yankees and son of the late George Steinbrenner, over a $670,000 refund that they say was issued to him in error two years ago.  In 2009 Hal filed an amended 2001 return, seeking a refund because of a $6.8 million net operating loss carried back from 2002. The IRS paid out the refund but then determined that the amendment was filed 5 months too late. Full story here.

Hal Steinbrenner’s representatives had no knowledge of the lawsuit and had received no prior notices regarding this matter from the IRS or any other governmental agency.

~ Alice McGillion, a family spokeswoman

The IRS is notorious for dropping bombs on people without prior notice, but even I am a little surprised by this one. It seems like the IRS would have initially sent letters to the taxpayer informing him of the erroneous refund and requesting he pay it back. I can’t imagine they would have referred the case out to legal and then to the Justice Department unless they were up against some filing deadline and they needed to preserve their rights by filing suit.

SF Giants and Burgers- A Sign of Karma for winning it all in 2010

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Regular readers of this blog are aware that the tax attorneys at Montgomery & Wetenkamp are huge baseball fans; and great SF Giants fans. We’ve been hoping the Giants with all their injuries would still find a way to pull it together. The first major blow of the year was of course the Buster Posey injury. However, the last straw may have been today’s announcement that Jeremy Affeldt will be out for the rest of the season. My mother has been a Jeremy Affeldt fan ever since he served her hot dogs at a season ticket holder event with the charm of a young boy a few years ago. But sorry mom, you should have whispered the secrets of defrosting meat before barbequing, as he stabbed himself separating burgers with a knife… and is now joining rest of the SF Giants on the disabled list.

Go Hit a Wiffle Ball Today

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There are so many great things about Wiffle Balls.

  • My kids can’t hit them as far as a hard ball.
  • They don’t break windows.
  • It’s the only way I am able to throw a curve.
  • They’re made exclusively in Shelton, Connecticut

Check out this nice Labor Day story on NPR.