Al Roker Coming to Des Moines

Next week, if you are driving in Des Moines and you think, "Hey, that guy looks like Al Roker!", there is a good reason for it. The Today Show's head weather dude is surprising a metro charity as part of the "Today Lends a Hand" program. Roker surprises charities live on the Today Show with a truckload of goodies donated by major companies that help the group's do-good mission. WHO-TV has been helping the Today Show get ready for the visit to Des Moines by providing the show with video footage of the metro area, its highlights and its people. Next Wednesday, June 23rd, Roker will be in the metro surprising someone with a bunch of free stuff. And, before you ask, no, we don't know exactly where he will be. NBC is keeping that a surprise from us, too.

Any guesses who this will be? Which organization deserves some help and some national recognition for its efforts? Will it be someone trying to help Iowans through the recession? A food bank? The Isiserettes? Habit for Humanity? Who do you think?

ETC...

For the Love of the Game...

Sure is good to see my Cardinals swinging the bat better. And I know this is easy to say, but what took Tony LaRussa so long to move Matt Holliday OUT of the cleanup spot? LaRussa is a definite hall-of-fame manager, albeit a frustrating guy to watch some times. But he sure seems stubborn about things. And we fans have watched Holliday whiff a third of the season and fail mightily to live up to his ridiculous contract. But at least LaRussa finally had the guts to make the change. I'm not saying Holliday is a waste of money, but he surely needs time out of the pressure spot of cleanup to focus on getting his act together. And Ryan Ludwick has earned the spot the past two years. It's definitely paid off so far.