If anyone in Seattle heard the sound of thunder over the weekend...

It was actually the sound of a shotgun blowing someone's balls off:

A 20-year-old man shot himself in the groin early Sunday while trying to hide a shotgun down his pants, city police said.

A news release did not describe the injury except to say that it was "serious."

In other places, if you haven't already, this latest Rany post is a must-read. Positively gives one the chills.

And in case you missed it, Kinsella posted a link to a Chicago Tribute (we think) blog in which the Royals are called a "joke team":

What exactly are the A's doing winning all those games? I mean, they traded Nick Swisher to the Sox and Dan Haren to Arizona, so what are they doing in first place? Probably the same thing Kansas City and Baltimore are doing in first place. Yes, Kansas City and Baltimore. And Florida in the NL East. Here's the rule: If some joke team such as Kansas City is in first place after two weeks, you say it's early; if your team is in first place, you start talking wire-to-wire.

First, allow us to state for the record that while we have no idea who Steve Rosenbloom is, we're more than willing to assume he's a kind, caring man, possibly even a baseball man, but at least a hard-working, fine sports journalist.

Now: Steve, you know nothing about baseball and are an awful example of a functioning life form. How long do you suppose it takes to open an Internet browser and look up a couple facts about the 2008 Kansas City Royals, to find they have a terrific bullpen, three very good front-of-the-rotation starters, emerging young stars, veteran leaders and a beyond-capable manager? Or, at the very least, to find another word for "joke." Possibly you meant "surprise," as in, "If some surprise team such as Kansas City is in first place after two weeks..." You see how much more civil and, more importantly, accurate that is? But no, you had to try to make a funny, and now you've drawn our ire. Damn you.

Royals go for the sweep today: John Bale vs. Miguel Batista, 5:40 CT. It's tax
Jackie Robinson Day.

POSTSCRIPT: FanHouse reminds us that Alex Gordon is awesome.