-Don't forget: tonight at The SideBar on Washington Avenue...it's the December 2008 Girl Next Door Party in which 2 of the 5 ladies will advance to next Sunday's Girl Next Door of The Year Contest at Lush. The fun and games get underway at 10:30 tonight at The SideBar.

-Producer Joe has shaved off his mustache. The reasoning: it itched too much, and he's running a half marathon in a couple of months. I gather the aerodynamics of the 10 hairs would have precluded him from running like the wind.

-I don't get into the radio competition thing all that much. I am fascinated (and glad) that it seems a healthy amount of people love to talk about sports talk radio in St. Louis...and bitch about it. So, for those of you that like to get into message board arguments about which show/personality is the greatest and which is the worst, here's a little fun fact for know and tell:

     In August 2007, Team 1380 logged 10,000 total streaming hours from St. Louis area listeners. In November 2008, that number went up to 110,000 total streaming hours for the month.

-Sneaking suspicion: Jim Haslett isn't out of the head coaching picture for the Rams. Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch said this week on The ITD Morning After that he thought Haslett still had a 35% chance of being the Rams' head coach in 2009. Sure, the fact that he had a five hour interview with ownership indicates that fact, but I get the feeling that the Rams may not be able to get the guy or guys they really want, and when it gets down to it, they'll feel like Haslett is the best available option. As odd as that sounds, I think it could be the case. However, from a business standpoint, I think bringing Haslett back would be a deadly decision for the franchise.

-I'm a big fan of John Mozeliak...the person. I'm still not sure who John Mozeliak the GM is, however. I don't blame fans for freaking out considering Spring Training is a month away and the team's big acquisitions this offseason are the re-signing of Kyle Lohse, shortstop Khalil Greene, lefty Trevor Miller, and somebody names Royce. But, the reality is that this offseason is so much different than past offseasons in Major League Baseball. Last year, I was fascinated by the fact that Jeff Weaver (who I wanted the Cardinals to sign) was still out there and available in mid-January. This year, Manny Ramirez is still out there and available...along with 25 other guys who "Weaves" couldn't hold a candle to. It's a different world in 2009. So, I am going to give Mozeliak the benefit of the doubt on the offseason thus far. But, I will say this: if Ankiel, Ludwick, Schumaker, Duncan, Rasmus, and Mather are still a part of the organization when the club shows up to Jupiter, Florida in a little more than a month *and* no substantial free agent pitching acquisition has been made to upgrade the pitching staff, I'll have to wonder just what is going on over at Busch Stadium. They didn't do a thing at the trade deadline last year, and to essentially bring the same team back that collapsed in August and September of '08 would be justifiably infuriating to a loyal fan base.

-You can still vote for the December 2008 Girl Next Door all the way up until 5 p.m. today. Click here to vote for your favorite of the five ladies.

Log-in and post your comments, or you can email me at tmckernan@insidestl.com.