At the ballpark, one beer--or, at most, two--should be more than enough, given the astronomical stadium prices. But even one or two beers can necessitate a quick between-innings visit to the rest room.

At Yankee Stadium, though, you shouldn't plan on taking that bathroom break during the pre-game singing of the national anthem, or in the seventh inning, during the singing of "God Bless America." The Yankees have a strict policy: no leaving your seats during these patriotic tunes.

And they mean it.

This week, a fan made the mistake of trying to go to the bathroom during "God Bless America," and was forcefully, arm-twistingly ejected from the ballpark. (The Gothamist investigated the unfortunate cascade of events and generated some lively dialogue on baseball, toilets and "forced patriotism.")

This seems to be taking mandatory singing just a step too far. There are many definitions of patriotism, such as loyalty to the highest ideals of the nation, to name one excellent one. But at Yankee Stadium, it seems, being a patriot also requires a large bladder.

On the world stage, the brilliant performance of the Chinese women's gymnastics team has inspired awe--and a touch of doubt. As today's editorial page noted, their teeny frames have prompted suspicions of age doctoring.

The media is swirling with reports that some girls may be under age 16 — too young to compete in the Olympics--while state press reports seem to have been suspiciously scrubbed, possibly in an Orwellian effort to erase any trace of scandal.

Some commentators seem refreshed that the issue has finally given some bite to what they see as a sanitized Olympics love-fest — the "Kumbaya games."

Harvey Araton of the New York Times questioned why there was not more talk of Pixie-gate in the media circus:

"...why do I get the feeling that if these Olympics were happening in Chicago or Los Angeles, the story would by now be a serious cable television cause célèbre?

"Larry King would be hosting the stricken parents of victimized Americans. Hannity would be chiding Colmes about Communist child abusers. Lou Dobbs would be demanding the borders be closed to all Chinese gymnasts under 80 pounds....

"When in North America, do as the North Americans do — overreact. When in China, overlook.

"For better or worse, these are the shrug-and-don’t-tell Olympics, undoubtedly because it would be considered impolitic to embarrass the Chinese after they went to such great expense to throw the world this lavish party."

Is the American media giving its Olympic hosts a free pass?

From the perspective of many Chinese, Western outlets are in fact running a smear campaign to blemish China's Olympic moment. But China can't deny that it's tossed plenty of riddles at quizzical spectators.

It doesn't really bother me that some of the fireworks from the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony in Beijing were computer-generated -- visible only to those of us watching the display on TV. Fireworks are cool, granted, but what was so amazing about this spectacular production was its human element. The cast of thousands. The sheer athleticism of the runner in the sky. The sweet, pure voice of that red-dressed 9-year-old singing "Hymn to the Motherland."

Oh, wait a minute. Now we know that lovely voice didn't belong to that lovely girl. A 7-year-old, Yang Peiyi, won a competition to sing the anthem, but at the last minute, a Chinese official decided she didn't have the right look. Something about buck teeth. The BBC also reported a complaint about chubby cheeks. In other words, she looked like many 7-year-olds. So a more supposedly suitable-looking girl, Lin Miaoke, appeared in the ceremony, while Yang Peiyi's voice was broadcast to the gazillion spectators at the stadium and around the world.

We all know China has a lot to prove with this Olympics, but it's hard to imagine how replacing the girl on the right here with the girl on the left would make a shred of difference -- to anyone except for the 7-year-old who was told she didn't look right. She's a beautiful girl with a beautiful voice, and I think we all know who's looking ugly right now.

Photo: Getty/AFP

On the day the Jets got Brett Favre in “one of the most stunning trades in their history”, Shaun Powell published a column a page away in the same sports section headlined, “Pedro no event anymore.”

It was about Pedro Martinez, how he’d given up a home run on the first pitch of the Mets’ game against San Diego, how it wasn’t the same anymore when Pedro pitches, how there’s no buzz, “no sense that something special is going to happen.”

There was plenty of buzz when Pedro first came to New York from the Red Sox in 2005, but as Powell points out, in a four-year deal, the Mets got one good season out of him. The Jets have to be hoping for more from Favre.

For a time, Pedro was the face of the new, heavier-weight Mets. At this moment Favre is the face of the new, seriously-contending Jets. Both these teams share the historical problem of playing second banana to an old, established franchise in the same town. The way they make news traditionally is to sign an established player with enough star power to steal headlines from the old, established franchise.

When the Mets started, they had Duke Snider in right field, a Hall of Famer from the Dodgers, and Warren Spahn, a Hall of Fame pitcher from the Braves, and Yogi Berra, from the Yankees. It was like watching one of those greatest hits of the Temptations concerts today on PBS. These guys were great—years ago and someplace else.

When the team finally got good and won a pennant in 1969, “The Franchise” was a 24-year-old named Tom Seaver, and the Mets were his first major league team. He played his Hall of Fame years as a Met. Brett Favre played his as a Packer.

Do I miss the days when all the Brooklyn Dodgers lived in the neighborhood and stayed for years? No, because I am too young to remember it. Players haven’t been our neighbors for a long time. I don't wish they were.

What's unsettling about Brett Favre’s arrival in New York (and Pedro's when he got here) is not that he's from someplace else, but that he became great someplace else.

Once again the press misses the bigger perspective as it chases the sexy breaking story.

What’s sexy at the moment is Jason Giambi’s moustache.

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The Yankees have spread the word: Giambi's having a good year because of that moustache!