Still slacking, but still standing

Okay, I'm having some trouble getting back into the swing of things, following my MCSM deadline crunch, and facing a holiday of sleep, beer, and burgers on the grill. But here's some stuff I've been shaking out of my head this afternoon:

♦ I'll certainly be writing more about this later in the week, but if you haven't already heard (meaning you've been a newspaper, radio, and TV slacker like I've been lately), Steve Yzerman made it official a couple of hours ago: He's retiring.

• Abel to Yzerman saw this coming, as soon as a press conference was announced.
• Evan over at Orotundity responded almost immediately to the Free Press hastily (too hastily?) posting the news, and wrote his tribute.
• Snapshots has some excerpts from the Yzerman presser.

♦ My inner Tigers fan isn't very happy with me about this, but when I look at the five vote-in candidates for the last spot on the American League All-Star team, I'm not sure Justin Verlander is the one who deserves to go. Do I want a third Detroit Tiger to join Pudge Rodriguez and Kenny Rogers on the team? Of course I do. And it's not like Verlander wouldn't belong. He already has 10 wins for the best team in baseball and is good for a quality start and giving the Tigers a chance to win every time he takes the mound.

But Travis Hafner is hitting .312, with 22 homers and 66 RBIs. (Do the disappointing Indians deserve only one All-Star?) Has there been a better pitcher in the American League over the past month than Francisco Liriano? (Thank You Brian Sabean makes the case for Liriano here.) And Ramon Hernandez might be having the best year for a catcher not named Joe Mauer.

I'm glad I have until Thursday to decide my vote(s).

♦ Do the Tigers disrespect their little baseball brothers across the state? The Grand Rapids Press says yes, the big-league club continually treats the West Michigan Whitecaps like a minor-league step-team. I'd love to hear from some Whitecaps fans on this one.

♦ The writer who was the first to ask Mark McGwire about androstendione use during his "magical" home run chase of 1998 is now burned out on writing about steroids (and sportswriting in general).

♦ And maybe you're sick of hearing about Jay Mariotti, but a writer from the Chicago Reader is also taking him to task for keeping a distance from the environment he covers. The story also has some quotes from the embattled sports columnist himself.