Albert vs. Tiger?

I'm always amazed at how much our fascination with public figures' personal lives often trumps coverage of stories that are actually important. The recent major story in the headlines has been a rumor--and a massive one, at that--which has the Phillies trying to trade Ryan Howard to the Cards for Albert Pujols. But today, that headline isn't even on ESPN's homepage major headline list; it's been replaced by the news that Tiger Woods will be returning to PGA action at The Masters. True, this is a big story. But, really, who didn't see this coming? The same day that the Woods media dam broke, spilling the story of his many misdeeds, I read multiple stories prophesying his return at The Masters. It just made too much sense. Meanwhile, today, a theoretical trade involving two former MVPs, one of whom is the hands-down greatest active player in baseball, has been bumped to the back-burner.

Speaking of that trade rumor, ESPN's Buster Olney reports that it was, at best, an internal conversation by the Phillies. According to Olney, Phils GM Ruben Amaro Jr. "denied his team had discused a trade and used 'lies' and 'ridiculous' and 'irresponsible' to describe the report." If this idea actually did come up in Phillies internal discussions, it was probably around the water cooler and went something like this:

Executive A: Dude, imagine if we had Pujols. With him and Halladay, we'd win the Cy Young and the MVP!

Executive B: That'd be sweet. We'd probably have to give up Howard though.

Mailroom Guy: Oh man! I better call ESPN!