THE EVIL EMPIRE . . .

You can call them that, if you'd like, but you can't deny that there are some classy guys, including team captain Derek Jeter, on the New York Yankees. His thoughts on their recent "road trip" to Japan (from the New York Daily News) ...

"You get a chance to market the sport, but more importantly, we got a chance to see Matsu's culture," said Jeter, using his own shortening of Hideki Matsui's name. "He's thrust into ours, so now you get to see what it's like for him.

"You have more respect for the situation he's put in. One thing we take for granted is communication. He has to deal with that every day and now we saw what it's like."

...

"I'd like the chance to come back when we're not playing to get to see stuff," Jeter added. "It'd have to be in the offseason, to get a chance to be on your own schedule. I'd like to come with nothing going on.

"It's something special," Jeter said. "Not every team gets the opportunity to do this. You should cherish it, because not a lot of teams do it."