What a shame that the big 60th anniversary celebrations in East Coast ballparks, from Boston down to Baltimore, got rained out today. I wasn't even writing about it for tomorrow, but was going to be there for the festivities at Camden Yards - but word came of the rainout as I was halfway to the ballpark. Worse news: the player who would wear #42 for the Orioles, Corey Patterson, lost his grandfather and had to leave the team, so he wouldn't have played anyway.

Still, there's the sight of all the 42s on the field at the Dodgers' game tonight, where the big ceremonies are to take place. That'll be interesting to see - I don't know if it will look weird, moving or what. I hope it doesn't look stupid when it's trying to look meaningful, the way the end of "V for Vendetta'' looked when all those people wearing the "V'' masks marched to the Parliament building at the end. I feel comfortable spoiling the ending for you, because that movie got spoiled about an hour and 45 minutes before that scene. I have more faith in this gesture than in that scene.

Meanwhile, a nice side note from the NBA game currently on Channel 2 right now: it turns out that current Mav, ex-Tar Heel and ex-Wizard Jerry Stackhouse wears No. 42 because of Jackie Robinson, and he asked the NBA if he could wear the name "Robinson'' on his uniform for this game. The way it was explained, it sounded as if the NBA might have done it had it been requested earlier, to let other players pick ways to honor him too, the way baseball did with its players, but it would have been a logistical nightmare to do it on short notice. It's refreshing, then, to see baseball ahead of the NBA on a topic like that. For once. Maybe for the first time since Robinson broke in.

As for the Wizards game against the Bulls, the less said, the better. They're one injury away from trying out walk-ons. Gini Chukura's available, isn't he?