The other night at a Twins-A's game in Oakland, a guy in a genuine Biakabatuka jersey was hanging over the Twins' dugout, trying to get an autograph from A.J. Pierzynski.

While all the news channels spend the next few days in an all-out search for contrived symbols of our freedom, all you have to do is head for the ballpark. What's more poignant than the freedom to flaunt your allegiance to Biakabatuka while distending your carotid pleading with Pierzynski?

	According to his wife, Edgar already has enough pop in his bat.

So we've got your freedom. The freedom to turn down a couple million bucks for endorsing Viagra after talking it over with your wife (Edgar Martinez).

The freedom to refuse a journalist's offer to buy a round of testing for the house (Sammy Sosa).

The freedom to wear your hair in any damn color, and any damn style, no matter how many people are watching (Oracene Williams).

And in whatever shape, no matter what country you're from (Ronaldo).

The freedom to fire up the bulldozer and drive it straight through a team that has been given unprecedented fan support (Indians).

And the freedom to spend $135 million in payroll to win or else (Yankees).

The freedom for our nation's men to be, for the first time, better at soccer than tennis.

The freedom to hemorrhage money in pursuit of something you -- and only you -- care about (Steve Fossett).

The freedom to coach your team to a USBL title and then resign, perhaps figuring it's the rare man who goes out on top (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar).

And the wrong-headed freedom to demand that one of your pitchers (El Duque) ditch his interpreter and conduct media interviews in his halting English, apparently as a means of easing his way into making it his first language.

Freedom -- if you've got it, use it.

This Week's List

Speaking of freedom: With Tiger and the Williams sisters, the traditional country-club sports are dominated by people of color.

Up next, High And Tight: The Sitcom: With brushbacks and retaliation providing a persistent storyline to the season, Bob Gibson's mystique has experienced a remarkable renaissance.

Weirdest stat of the week: The Giants hit seven homers on Tuesday night, none by Barry Bonds.

Premiering next week on "E!": Shopping with George, in which the owner of the Yankees strolls the aisles, indiscriminately tossing items into the basket while a sweating Brian Cashman attempts to keep up with a wobbly-wheeled cart.

Just for the heck of it: Angel Mangual.

With the gap between rich and poor increasing every day, what can possibly be done to stop these guys?: Fresh off his steal of Bartolo Colon, Expos GM Oscar Minaya has his sights set on taking Armando Benitez from the Mets.

The language, it adapts according to need: Thanks to Bill Conlin of the Philly Daily News, "Rolen" has become a verb, as in "[Mondesi's] tendency to Rolenize his situation."

The honor for best sporting event/worst television show goes to: Tour de France.

Fourth of July nostalgia, probably limited to folks in Northern California: Willie Mays' TV spots warning the youngsters of the dangers of "blasting caps."

You can complain about the favoritism showed by Bob Brenly and Joe Torre for the next week, but remember this: Neither had anything to do with voting two Phillies into the starting lineup.

Far be it from me to generalize, but …: With the kind of people you envision sitting in front of their computers, voting repeatedly and feverishly for the All-Star Game's 30th men, you realize why Chris Sabo is thinking he was born 15 years too late.

He might come to realize that being the best player left off the All-Star team comes with more benefits than actually making the team: Paul Lo Duca, two years in a row.

Because stunts like these always, always work: An Arizona State professor is leading a charge to get fans to boycott all July 4 big-league games.

Two guys who figure to get a lesson in supply and demand: Tony Tarasco and Mark Corey, two guys who probably aren't good enough to overcome admitting to smoking pot on their way home from a game.

It's apparent that Operation Shutdown never turned into Operation Lockdown: Former Oklahoma State basketball player Glendon Alexander was arrested for allegedly stealing $150,000 worth of jewelry and cash from Derek Bell's boat.

Twenty years from now, when the topic of Kareem's stunning retirement from coaching comes up, amaze your friends with this knowledge: It happened in Enid, Okla., at historic Mark Price Arena.

The story behind the story: In choosing to bypass the All-Star Game, Pedro Martinez lobbied for teammate John Burkett to refuse to take his place.

If it's the Fourth of July in New York, there's one event that never fails to make its way into the papers: Dave Righetti's no-hitter.

And finally, one idea for the 30th man: Ted Williams' son.

Tim Keown is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at tim.keown@espnmag.com.