*I hope today is the last time the press follows the Obama daughters as they go to school. First day? OK. More than that? Please, stop.

*Just learned the Freeman Holiday Fund received another $2,000, which puts it over last year's total. That's pretty darn amazing, considering the bad economy.

*The new Major League Baseball Network, about which I wrote last week, has produced some lively and nostalgic programming. It's been a good start for a fledgling channel. To make it better, how about a little more Joe Magrane, Barry Larkin, Mitch Williams and Al Leiter, and a little less Harold Reynolds?

*When you drive Washington Avenue to Hurley Avenue as often as I do, you don't always give much thought to what you pass along the way. But as I came into the city Saturday, I made it a point to notice the necessary, but not particularly attractive, retail establishments. I couldn't help but wonder, what is it about a proposed CVS Pharmacy that opponents think will detract from what's already there?

*Here's what I learned from the movie "Valkyrie": 1. There was, in fact, resistance in Germany to Hitler (and a plot to kill him nearly succeeded); 2. Tom Cruise does not have to worry about writing an acceptance speech for Best Actor.