AaronGleeman.com

• My fellow writing nerds will be glad to note the Associated Press finally changed "Web site" to "website" as the approved usage. I've always written it that way, but then again I'm a rebel.

• Kate Beckinsale is really good at working out. Or at least looks really good working out.

• Andre Dawson was way better at playing baseball than he is at owning funeral homes.

• Speaking of funerals, I really enjoyed reading this Chicago Sun-Times piece on the White Sox.

• As part of the team's "social media strategy" the Indians have created a quasi-press box at Progressive Field reserved strictly for bloggers. I'd love to see the Twins do something similar and have suggested it to a few people within the organization, but that seems highly unlikely to say the least. My press pass came via NBCSports.com and definitely not this blog.

• Strange as it may sound, my personality likely being classified somewhere between "loner" and "hermit" often keeps me from realizing that real, live people actually read this website, but once in a while that changes and it has happened plenty this month. I met a ton of incredibly nice AG.com readers at the TwinsCentric event and was amazed by how many media members in the press box reacted kindly to being introduced to me. And then I got this in the mail:

There was also a hand-written note attached from a reader named Matt that read: "I saw this record and immediately thought of you." And really, if this blog does nothing else the idea that people who read it might immediately think of me when they stumble across an Otis Redding and Jimi Hendrix record is more than enough for me. Actually, in over seven years of blogging readers have sent me two unsolicited gifts.

One is the above Redding/Hendrix album and the other was a copy of British men's magazine Zoo Weekly with about a dozen pages devoted to Keeley Hazell in various states of undress. That obviously qualifies as a gift-giving exacta and if not for the fact that Chinese food doesn't travel all that well through the mail I'm confident you'd nail the trifecta. You guys are like the John Paciorek of blog readers. Thanks.

• Haralabos Voulgaris, who in addition to having a great name and being a well-known poker player also made his living betting on basketball and does lots of intriguing statistical analysis, recently made his picks for the NBA's worst defenders and ... well, congrats to Jonny Flynn.

• Compared to some of the reaction in the comments section here following my Delmon Young vs. Jim Thome entry, this comment an NBCSports.com reader left at Hardball Talk was funny: "How come you never say anything negative about the Twins?" That's comments, in a nutshell.

• That comment from Hardball Talk was left on an entry about Ike Davis, who along with being a good first base prospect called up by the Mets this week is former Twins closer Ron Davis' son. He was born in Edina and is a much-needed addition to the member-of-the-tribe lineup.

• Seems like Coachella was a good time for flip-flop wearers:

My favorite part is that he takes a break in the middle to hit on a few girls.

• Congratulations to my favorite announcer for his 60th anniversary calling Dodgers games.

• Last week I noted the great job Phil Mackey and Tom Pelissero are doing reporting on the Twins for the recently revamped ESPN Twins Cities website. Their radio colleague and longtime Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse agrees and used Twitter to offer some sage advice for the two upstarts:

Pelissero and Mackey keep tearing it up  for 1500espn.com, but I'm getting worried about the lads. They are working so hard for the website I don't  think they are leaving enough time to consume proper amount of adult  beverages. When I was young and covering ball, we gave it an effort but also had our priorities--3 hours of drinking per day at minimum.

So, here's old Uncle Pat's advice, boys: Keep the  tradition of sportswriting alive. Work a little less, drink a lot more. I gave that same advice to Strib colleague LaVelle E. Neal years ago, he took it to heart and look what a happy, well-rounded man he's become.

Being teamed up with Mackey on the radio has given me a whole new appreciation for Reusse and sitting behind him in the press box was one of the highlights of the my Target Field opener experience. Seriously.

• This is Week 12 of my latest weight-loss effort and I'm down 64.5 pounds. I've also recently discovered a 260-calorie meal that I really like in the Thai Style Chicken by Lean Cuisine, which includes a little rice, some surprisingly high-quality chicken, and a few vegetables mixed with a tasty sauce. For just 260 calories, four grams of fat, and three dollars I highly recommend it.

• Speaking of the weight-loss effort, I was never all that into Food Network, but since starting my diet I've been watching it non-stop. I'm not sure whether it somehow decreases cravings or is just a way to punish myself, but at this point the channel dominates my DVR. My favorite show is Chopped, but I've watched and enjoyed nearly every show in the lineup despite having zero ability or inclination to cook anything. Also, I'm getting old.

• In other television news Curb Your Enthusiasm is thankfully coming back for an eighth season on HBO and NBC renewed Parenthood, which I've enjoyed despite some uneven episodes.

• One of the better Willie Mays Hayes impressions you'll ever see:

The announcing is pretty amusing too.

• We may have finally found some people with worse musical taste than me.

• Former Official Fantasy Girl of AG.com Jessica Alba provides a reminder that she's still alive.

• Ed Price of Fanhouse recently wrote about the Twins' bullpen, but any worthwhile points he made were obscured by personal attacks and every tired anti-sabermetrics cliche in the book.

• Next time you halfheartedly try to identify the letters on an eye chart, think of this.

• My favorite Bert Blyleven quote this week: "Kevin Slowey is just a hugger. Guys hug all the time, it's OK."

• Some of the highlights from my NBCSports.com blogging this week:

- Joe Maddon says ump Joe West is 'inappropriate'
- Aaron Harang thinks his struggles are 'bad luck'
- Chad Billingsley and the Dodgers are searching for answers
- Angels sticking with Brandon Wood ... for now
- GM says 'nothing physically the matter' with Madison Bumgarner
- Miguel Cabrera in some elite company at age 27

• Finally, this week's AG.com-approved music video is Corinne Bailey Rae singing "Closer" live: