Jeff Francoeur Has A Hissy Fit

You will not like Jeff Francoeur when he's angry. And by moving the Phillies-Blue Jays series from Toronto to Philadelphia because of the G20 Summit, MLB has made Jeff Francoeur angry. Former Phillies beat writer and current writer for the New York Daily News, Andy Martino, published the quote that made I am sure he believed his former fans would enjoy quite a bit.

"That's just bull----," Francoeur said. "That's not really fair. That's just not fair. It's ridiculous. Absolutely crazy."

Well, no one really said it was fair. The fact the NL East favorite happened to be scheduled in Toronto at the same time as the G20 Summit right across the way is nothing if not a coincidence. MLB solved it by moving the games to Philadelphia (complete with the Phillies batting first and the DH rule being in place!). It is hardly a fair solution, no doubt about that, but at the same time, as a Phillies fan, you can't help but laugh. I will never say that MLB's solution to this is in any way a fair one, but the direct and indirect hilarity it has brought out is absolutely priceless.

It's Official: The Phillies Are Playing 84 Home Games In The 2010 Series

Well that was a quick resolution, wasn't it? Because of the G20 summit occurring right across the way from Rogers Centre at the same time as this year's Phillies-Blue Jays series to be played June 25-27 has in fact been moved to Philadelphia. MLB.com has more of the details on the move.

Considering the close proximity of the two sites, the Blue Jays consulted with the G20 organizers and decided that moving the baseball games to a different location offered the best solution. It is a series that was expected to draw a large crowd in Toronto, given that it would have marked the return of former Jays ace Roy Halladay, who was traded to the Phillies in December.

"We regret we had to make this decision," Blue Jays president and CEO Paul Beeston said. "But given what's happening on those three days, and the focus that will be on the downtown core of Toronto, and the fact that we are situated right next door to them, where the G20 is going to take place, we felt it was in the best interest of everybody to move the games.

"It's particularly disappointing, for very obvious reasons, with Roy Halladay coming back. Roy, who had been with the organization for as long as he'd been here, it was our opportunity for the fans and for ourselves to give him the appreciation for what he had done and what he had meant to this team."

Beeston said that the Blue Jays will put in a request with Major League Baseball to host the Phillies in Toronto as part of Interleague Play in 2011. If the series is scheduled as Beeston hopes, that will give Toronto a chance to honor Halladay during his first trip north of the border since parting ways with the organization.

Major League Baseball approved the series relocation after discussing the situation with the Blue Jays, the Phillies, the G20 Summit Management, the Integrated Security Unit and the city of Toronto.

"After reviewing all of the options with the parties and taking all of the security considerations into account, it was determined that the best course of action is to play the series in Philadelphia," Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. "I appreciate the cooperation of the Blue Jays, the Phillies and all of the parties who have helped resolve this challenging situation."

While the games will take place on the road, they will still be considered "home" contests for the Blue Jays. The designated hitter will be utilized, and Toronto will have the last at-bat in each of the games. The June 25 game is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET and the June 27 contest will begin at 1:35 p.m. The time of the June 26 game has not been finalized.

Beeston noted that the Jays and Phillies have a financial agreement to share the revenue generated from the series at Citizens Bank Park.

"This wasn't a negotiation," Beeston said. "The Phillies are terrific people to deal with. We were fortunate that we were playing the Phillies at this time, so we could sit down with [Phillies president and CEO] Dave Montgomery. I've had a number of conversations with him, starting back when it was first announced.

"As it became a little bit more definitive that it was happening, we kept him informed as to what was happening. He's got costs of putting on the games, so we've worked out an arrangement that hopefully will make us both revenue neutral."

Beeston, who emphasized that the relocation was ultimately the Blue Jays' decision, said the teams discussed shifting the series to Cleveland's Progressive Field or Detroit's Comerica Park. At the end of the day, though, moving to a neutral site was never a serious part of the discussions.

"No, it really wasn't considered," Beeston said. "I guess that was an option, whether we'd go to Cleveland or whether we'd go to Detroit or whether we'd go up to Ottawa and play in one of those places. At the very conclusion of all our deliberations, the easiest was just to go to Philadelphia."

According to Beeston, another alternative was to play a doubleheader in Toronto on June 25 with a night game on June 26, creating an off-day on June 27 to help account for the G20 activities. Beeston said there were still too many unknowns to go through with that proposed plan.

I guess that's just a matter of being scheduled in the right place at the right time if you are the Phillies. I must admit that even I was looking forward to Halladay's return to Toronto, but Roy Halladay has nothing on global officials with a political agenda. Hopefully they can schedule that series for next year and also hopefully the Phillies will be able to take advantage of the added home games they now have.

There Is A Possibility The Phillies Will Have More Home Games Than Any Team In Baseball This Season...

These are just the kinds of privileges you get when you are 2 time defending NL Champions, bitches. Actually no, not really. Just what happens when you are scheduled to play in Toronto on the just right date. But I do like to feel like I am privileged in some sort of way, so just let me have my glory and let me think it is the former, kk? Anyway, I guess I should catch you up to speed on how we got to this point.....

I thought I brought this up a few months ago but have not been able to find the post. Anyways, in case I did not and it was just something I threw up on Twitter real fast, the Phillies are scheduled a series in Toronto in June during interleague play. Just one slight problem: The G20 summit is scheduled right across the way on Toronto during that same time. And that's an apparent problem. The games must be played, so if they cannot be played in Toronto, where do you play them? At a neutral site somewhere? One possible solution: move the series to Philadelphia and thus give the Phillies 84 home games this season. From Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki's MLBlog, The Zo Zone.

The Phillies playing 84 games would be kind of a big deal, so I contacted Katy Feeney, who is MLB's senior vice president of scheduling and club relations. I asked her: "Is there any chance that series is moved to Philly or elsewhere, or is the series definitely going to be played in Toronto?"

Her response: "We are fully aware of the situation and working with the Blue Jays and the G20 organizers and security as well as the Phillies and once a final determination is made for any of the games, we will announce."

While there is no inkling as to what the destination might be, it certainly does not sound like the game is going to be played at Skydome Rogers Centre. Will it be Philadelphia? It could be, after all, Toronto is not exactly home to baseball stadiums left and right. This is pure speculation on my part and is backed up with absolutely 0 facts, historical trends, or rumors, but I am thinking the games either get moved around on the schedule, get moved to Citizens Bank Park, Ottawa Baseball Stadium, or even possibly Olympic Stadium in Montreal. Regardless, I do not see high ranking officials with a political agenda allowing baseball games to be played right by where they are meeting. For security reasons, of course.

Donovan McNabb Attends The White House Correspondants Dinner......And Meets Justin Bieber?!?!?!?

I think my Twitter peeps will bet the biggest laugh out of this, but it is funny for all regardless.

I guess being a Washington Redskin does have it's advantages. But in a sign that the apocalypse is surely here, Donovan McNabb attended the White House Correspondents Dinner where he met none other than Twitter's favorite Canadian pre-pubescent pop star, Justin Bieber! From the Washington Post.

Justin Bieber, the tiny tween idol with a big bow tie, was striding out of the dining room of the Hilton Washington Saturday night when a much larger man stopped him and asked to shake his hand.

"My daughter loves you," said Donovan McNabb.

Bieber, 16, with a swagger way beyond his years, turned and took the new Redskins quarterback's outstretched hand. "You might want to shake it before I go to the bathroom," the singer said. McNabb waited for Bieber to emerge from the men's room and asked for photo with him. "This is going to help me at home," he said.

First of all, what on earth do Donovan McNabb and Justin Bieber have to do with the White House and/or its correspondents? Donovan McNabb is not a exactly some sort of political lobbyist or activist and Justin Bieber is not even American!

Secondly, could there be a more random celebrity encounter than a recently traded pro football QB and a Canadian pop star whose lyrics are taken way too seriously by teenage girls desperate for love?

Reason #3446 The Drinking Age In The United States Should Be Lowered To 18

I give you 18-year old Marie-Philip Poulin at Canada Hockey Place shortly after Team Canada defeated Team USA to take the gold in women's ice hockey. And yes, my friends, that is a beer. And yes, her drinking that beer is perfectly legal where she is.

Officially, the sexiest hockey picture ever taken.

Update: Damn further research. The drinking age in parts of Canada is 18, but apparently those parts do not include British Columbia, where the drinking age is 19. That being said, her home province is Quebec where the drinking age is 18 and her 19th birthday is 31 days. So before you uptight mounties start getting on me and this, can't we consider all circumstances and accept this for the awesomely legal sexiness that I initially thought it was?

Countdown with JFein

I've teased this on Twitter and I teased this earlier today, and now, you will finally see it. This may be one of the greatest things that I have ever done in my sports blogging career, even though it does not have much to do with sports. It's my first podcast ever and I will use it to parody Keith Olbermann and Countdown! You guys don't know how long I've wanted to do this for.

Regardless, whether you are an Olbermann fan or not a fan, I am hopeful that you will find this funny. It is a parody that's not meant to be taken too seriously nor is it in any way shape or form, a representation of my personal political views. The fact that I bring up an issue in someway in this satirical piece of Keith Olbermann, does in no way representat my actual stance on the issue, whether I be for what I am saying or against what I am saying.

Countdown with JFein

Justin Feinberg's Podcast

I rehearsed this a bunch and pretty much know it inside and out, but everytime I play back the Musto part, I can't help but crack up. Not that all the inside jokes and jabs and sarcastic ironies are not funny, but Musto gets me everytime. And yes, that whole 11 minutes and 30 seconds was my voice and only my voice.

And I don't know about you, but personally I think my Keith Olbermann doing Tad Baxter as Bill O'Reilly was spot on if you ask me.

Keith Olbermann Has Been Making Quite A Bit Of Headlines

Seeing as my last big Keith Olbermann post got linked big, I guess I should preface this by telling new visitors to this site that I am a liberal and a democrat and voted for Obama in the 2008 election (and every other Democrat that ran for office in my area).

I should have been getting most of this stuff up earlier, but my workload and a little thing called the World Series prevented this. I have 3 (count 'em, 3!!!) Keith Olbermann head scratchers for you.

Now I'm about the farthest thing possible from a religious person, but if Bob Griese is suspended for a game for making a bad joke about about Montoya and a taco, then surely Keith Olbermann would be suspended for telling Glenn Beck to go to hell, right?

First of all, nice job Keith of putting everything Glenn Beck into a nice beautiful context so that all could understand. That's sarcasm by the way. For the full monologue instead of a quote that was beautifully cut and picked apart and spliced together, here is what Glenn said, and while I don't agree in principle with his point about healthcare, it is not the worst point in the world to make and there was no exploitation as Olbermann made you believe.



How on earth this guy still has a show is utterly beyond me. Not only did he tell Glenn Beck to "go to hell" but he insinuated that the average Americans that support Beck's 9/12 Project can go to hell as well. And frankly, there are a bunch of crazy radical groups out there. The 9/12 Project is not one of those.

It also does not help him that since his boy Obama got elected, MSNBC's ratings are going down down down. So much so that on multiple occasions, Olbermann has made up non-existent calbe news demographics to make himself look better. It's pathetic, really.

And to think we're just a third of the way through this post.

Those of us familiar with the real Olbermann know that he is a pathological liar. This does even more to confirm that theory.

Here's the PbP of Olbermann's whereabouts on Tuesday night courtesy of OlbermannWatch.

MSNBC boasted that on election night they would present a "special live edition of Countdown" at 10:00 pm. But with bad news for the Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey, a funny thing happened on the way to the bonus [Countdown}. Keith wasn't there! After a live update (not from Olby but from Lawrence O'Donnell) [MSNBC] ("the place for politics") proceeded to rerun the 8:00 pm showing.

Update: Steve Krakauer hears one possible explanation of Olby's whereabouts:

"Around 10:15pmET, there was a commercial break, and the repeat 8pmET Countdown kicked in. It aired the rest of the hour. We hear Olbermann was visiting his dad in the hospital, which accounted for his absence. But that doesn't answer why O'Donnell or Matthews didn't fill in during the prime results hour. In the MSNBC release Monday, it was listed as a live edition of Countdown."

Update update: Does anyone really believe what is almost certainly an MSNBC leak, that he was visiting his sick Dad? Especially when nobody is willing to go on the record to say it's true? Keith announced at 8:59 pm that he and Larry O'Donnell would be back at 10:00. So what happened between 9:00 and 10:00 pm that might have sent Olby to the bathtub? Could it have been Corzine losing? Ya think? Will [Olbermann] show up tonight? Or will he end up at Yankee Stadium? That would be peculiar, if his dad's illness prevented Olby from staying at work past ten o'clock, but allows him to spend all night at a ball game.

Update Update Update: Well Keith is just where we thought he'd be: Yankee Stadium, merrily posting one blog entry after another at tonight's game. So either his Dad made a miraculous recovery from just 24 hours ago, or MSNBC's PR line explaining away Keith's sudden disappearance on election night is even shadier than we suspected. Discuss and resolve.

First a comment about the elections. I'm not going to use this post to tell you "I told you so", but after Obama won and the Democrats won even more seats in both the House and the Senate, I stated in no uncertain terms that slowly but surely the Republicans would start getting some power back in this country and that in 2010 they would get some more seats. While it's obviously not 2010 yet, the fact that the GOP got governors victories in New Jersey and Virginia of all places, certainly tells me that they are on their way to fulfilling my prediction. Like I said, the phrase "I told you so" did not appear in that analysis. But JFein, you said above you were a liberal democrat, how could you predict such things? Are you a hypocrit? No, new reader, like I said in the Phillies live blog last night, I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist. And while sports and politics have hardly anything in common, go to that live blog last night and read through it and see the number of times my "Debbie Downer pessimistic" predictions came true. It's startling.

(Am I the only one that has problems seeing names when I click on the 2nd and 3rd parts at the bottom? Oh well, my crowning call is in the first part anyway.

Secondly, I seriously challenge anyone to defend this douche and this douchebaggery. And by defend, I don't mean to say state that Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck and "Fixed Noise" (as you Olby fans love to say) are worse. Like actually defend this guy has an honest, fair, and balanced journalist who will be remembered as the next Edward R. Murrow. Give me reasons that Olbermann is good, not a random tangent that Fox News is worse. As much hell as Fox got for being a shill for the Republican Party and Bush and read Bush talking points do-da do-da, through it all, they all allowed guests with opposing views to come on and generate discussions. The last time Keith Olbermann did that was....uh....never. And sarcasm aside, he did not do it all last month. OlbermannWatch has the proof.

Lastly is a little more light-hearted matter, but nonetheless, one that is sure to drive fans of Keith Olbermann completely nuts and searching for answers and desparate explanations of pure hilarity. This pitcure was taken by Keith Olbermann and actually put online for the entire blogosphere to see on his blog, The Baseball Nerd

You're eyes are not deceiving you and I have not lied to you about the origins of the picture. This really is Keith Olbermann taking a picture of a smiling Rudi Giuliani who is in return taking a picture of Keith Olbermann.

To quote perhaps the most famous quote in World Series history, I don't believe what I've just seen....

Stephen A. Smith Goes On The Mark Levin Show; Claims There's A Government Takeover And Racism Is A Good Thing

Oh, Stephen, we have missed your inane rants!



At least SAS managed to make some sense with the Mike Vick comments. Other than that, I'm pretty sure he now needs surgery to get Mark Levin's head out of his rectum (yeah, it was that far up there).

Oh, and I would like to hear those positive qualities to racism of which he speaks. Incredible idiocy.

Joe Wilson Is Not A Barack Obama Fan

Sorry for not getting this up sooner. I was extremely tired last night after yet another exhausting day of 5 classes and sometimes when I get really exhausted I start to long for a girl I like back home with whom for reasons more complicated than Obama's health care plan, I can never have (I'm thinking of doing a Basketbawful-esque tell-all after football season; even though there really is not an end yet, writing it all out may help me find one). At which point, the absolute last thing on my mind is politics.

The only thing funnier than a politician channeling his or her inner sports fan by bashing his opponent over the airwaves via a campaign commercial is when they heckle the President during a joint session of Congress on national TV and flat out call him a liar in front of everyone.



Too funny. But if he really was going to do that, he should have gone all in his heckling and sreamed "YOU SUCK!" or started a GOP chant of "Ass-Hole!". At which point, the Dems would somehow figure out a way to play the hypocrisy and race card, a massive fight would have then ensued and you would have had yourselves some Good Times at the joint session.

Note: I am not defending Wilson or Obama, I am too far out of the loop on the debate and the ins and outs of all the little details to have and defend in argument form an actual opinion on the health care debate. And even though Wilson has since apologized and Obama has forgiven him, I just think the whole concept of someone heckling the President in front of everyone on national TV is hilarious.

CBS Golf Commentator David Feherty Does Not Like Democrats

And that's about the lightest way that this can be put. I don't watch golf so I do not know how good of a color commentator David Feherty is, but methinks he really should stay out of political commentary. And not only is he Keith Olbermann's Worst Person In The World for May 8, but he may also no longer have a job as a golf color commentator. Here's Keith Olbermann with more.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Actually scratch that remark about staying out of political commentary, Fox News would love to have him! In all seriousness though, at the bare minimum, Feherty should be suspended for what he said if not fired or resignation as Olbermann alluded should happen. Regardless of whether you are a liberal, conservative, Democrat, or Reupblican, to suggest that something like that would happen is just downright wrong.

(Thanks to JC for the tip!)

Update: It took awhile, but I finally found the D Magazine article where Feherty says this (once I give you the link, you'll see why it took awhile to find this). This is the paragraph in its entirety.

From my own experience visiting the troops in the Middle East, I can tell you this, though: despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Osama bin Laden, there’s a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death. I’ve never met a soldier who didn’t love this president and this country, and I’ve met a bunch of them, at home and abroad, in hospitals and in theater. At Walter Reed, Bethesda Naval Medical Center, and the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, I have visited dozens of patients, and I always ask of them before I leave: “What do you want to do when you get out?” No matter how broken or burned, or how many limbs they are missing, they give only one answer: “I want to go back. I want to rejoin my team, to finish our mission.” They are rightfully proud of what they have done and want nothing more than to be with their brothers and sisters in arms, because they know the consequences if their job is left unfinished. Right here on American soil, we will end up with unqualified people having to do the job they have been doing over there so incredibly well, and with such extraordinary compassion. The fact is, Americans in America have been safe since 9/11, almost the whole length of [George W. Bush]’s term as president, and for that we should be thankful.

The more I read it, the more I think that his worst punishment will be a suspension. Outside of the liberal media, this story has gained little ground and I am yet to see it reported on a big sports media site. The more I read it, the more it seems like he just misstated a political point and there was no ill-will intended.

An F-List Celeb Imagines What Preston Hollow Life Will Be Like For W (Scroll down to the 3rd article on this site for the Feherty column). (D Magazine)

Fox News Guest To Glenn Beck: "I'm Passing Out"

Yesterday was a creepy day enough as it already was. There was the passing of Harry Kalas, Mark "The Tiger" Fidrych, Bruce Snyder, there was the discovery of the goat's head on the statue of Harry Caray, and then there this was this little incident of real life on the the Glenn Beck Show on Fox News last night which is hilariously scary. David Buckner, a professor from Columbia University was on with Glenn Beck last night when he uttered the phrase, "I'm passing out" and scary hilarity erupted as Professor Buckner proceeded to wobble and pass out live, on the air! But alas, it's the reactions of Beck that steal the show and make this video hilarious and worthwhile.



I love how it took pretty much forever for Beck to pick up what was actually going on. As he was the professor was constantly going "I'm passing out" Beck was like, "okay, moving on, you're passing out, let's continue to talk....". Too funny. And the close-up of Beck at the 36-second mark...priceless.

But despite the fact that it took him awhile to process what was happening, thank goodness he was there to catch him like he did because otherwise that would have been a really hard, not-so-fun fall for Professor Buckner. It really looked like Beck's outstretched arm took away a good deal of the impact of the fall. Seriously, kudos to Mr. Beck for that one. And it is reported that the Professor is all right so there is no shame in watching this video clip and laughing. But honestly, I don't think I've ever seen anyone pass out before where they knew 5 seconds ahead of time that they were passing out.

Phillies To Meet With President Obama

Ah, the advantages of being World Fucking Champions! Next week the Phillies are set to go down to Washington for a series with the Nationals. And they'll be spending an unusual day off in the middle of the series to meet someone of rather high importance that just so happens to live in that area. Yep, you guessed it. As World Fucking Champions, the Phillies have been invited to the White House to meet President Barack Obama! From the 700 Level

The Phillies will play the Nationals next Monday in our nation's capital. On their off day on Tuesday, the 2008 World Champions will get a chance to meet Barack Obama at the White House. "It should be very exciting," first baseman Ryan Howard said. "I'm looking forward to it."

And I thought it was a neat privilege to be a fan of said Phillies at the parade after they won the World Series where some odd delay had me staring straight into the eyes of Harry Kalas and (Flyers PbP man) Jim Jackson for 20 minutes. Talk about the privileges of actually being World Champions!

And what's with this rumor that Joe Biden is actually more of a Yankees fan than a Phillies fan? What happened to being proud of being from the Scranton/Delaware area? Being a Yankee fan in this area are treated just about the same as Mets fans are. And to think that I voted for you! Oh well, at least one half of the executive branch that I voted for has some respect for good baseball...

Jim Nantz For President!

Okay, so he's not running for President yet, as I was perusing the506 last night looking for the announcer schedules, the link to the confirmed schedule for the Sweet Sixteen led to a USA Today column by Michael Hiestand and that column was not just on the announcers and th Sweet 16. Apparently our friend, Jim Nantz, has some political aspirations! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Jim Nantz for public office! Hello, friends!

CBS' Jim Nantz, in an interview with CBS' WANE affiliate in Fort Wayne, Ind., suggests he eventually might run for public office. "Someday if I could run for mayor of my little town or city councilman or state congressman or U.S. congressman … I think that would be really neat. I really do."

I can see the campaign slogan now: "Hello, friend! Vote for Nantz!"

In all seriousness, though, I am starting to come around a bit to Jim Nantz. First of all, there is little doubt in my mind that he is nothing but a stand up, classy guy and I have always recognized and acknowleged that about him. My gripe about Nantz is that he is, in my opinion, rather monotonous and drag some of the excitement out of the game. I don't expect every announcer to be like Gus Johnson, but sometimes I just feel like the enthusiasm is not there for him. Maybe it's the analysts that have been dragging him down. I mean, for goodness sakes, the guy has been stuck with Phil Simms and Billy Packer for numerous years (I don't watch golf so I can't comment on his work there), but now that he has been parntered with Clark Kellogg, he has been coming out of his shell a bit, seemingly. I will say (and I will have a whole announcing review later for the first round later on today) that this is the most I think I have ever enjoyed listening to Jim Nantz.

Back to politics though, I wonder what ideology Jim Nantz is...

The "Oh God" Heard Round America

I'm not sure how many were of you were watching MSNBC last night, but for those of you that were watching, we were given something that has already stirred a great controversy on the internet. Right before Lousisana governor Bobby Jindal delievered his response to President Obama's speech, there was a very distinct, whispered, "oh God" heard on the MSNBC broadcast. The big question is, who was it? I've been looking around and I've read posts where people were certain it was Keith Olbermann, I've read posts where people were certain they heard Chris Matthews' voice, and others are certain it was an MSNBC producer. Here's the video and you can judge for yourself.



When I first heard it, I immediately thought the producer option. But then I heard it more, and I began hearing Keith Olbermann's voice. I then listened to it some more and I'm back to thinking it was an MSNBC producer/director. I don't think it's Matthews for a couple of reasons. For one, Matthews was serving as a guest to the show in Washington and not at the MSNBC studios at 30 Rock in New York. And secondly, try as I might, I just can't get Matthews' voice out of it. In all likelihood it came from Keith Olbermann's mic, but the question is, was it Olbermann who said it or a producer that came running in after Olbermann was off-camera? Was the "oh God" meant as an "oh God, here's a lame-ass Republican speaking" or was there some sort of production difficulty? If it's the former, then someone at MSNBC may be in hot water. If it's the latter, then good luck convincing the right-wing blogs that that is so.

If there's a confirmation of some sort later today, I'll be sure to give it to you.

Update: A recent post on the forum from Olbermann Watch that I linked to below has reported that Chris Matthews will confess tonight to being the one saying "oh God" and it was (allegedly) in reference to the setting that Governor Jindal used in his response, as it was made to look like the East Room of the White House. I still have problems hearing the voice but I guess when you're whispering it's hard to make any sort of distinction. Good times, MSNBC, good times!

Update #2: From the Huffington Post, here is a tidbit of what we can expect to hear from Matthews tonight on Hardball according to an NBC Spokesperson

I was taken aback by that peculiar stagecraft, the walking from somewhere in the back of this narrow hall, this winding staircase looming there, the odd anti-bellum [sic] look of the scene. Was this some mimicking of a president walking along the state floor to the East Room?

Update #3: We have confirmation that it was indeed Matthews. And what do you know, if you click on the Olbermann Watch link below and you'll find that my prediction came true. Now that it's been revealed to have been Chris Matthews, the right-wingers are trying to say that he was just taking a bullet for Keith and that the more and more they hear it, the more and more they think it's Keith Olbermann. Of course last night, they were just as willing to play the guessing game as the rest of us but now that it was not what they had hoped for, they're saying he's taking a bullet for Olbermann.

MSNBC: "Oh God" and laughter as Jindal began to speak (Olbermann Watch)
MSNBC Welcomes Jindal: "Oh God" (Politico)