Ailene Voisin

The question isn't what Manny Ramirez wants to do with the rest of his life. Manny always takes care of Manny. It's what the former Boston Red Sox slugger can do – if anything – for the A's for the remainder of their surprisingly competitive 2012 season.

This latest example of arena envy strikes close to home – too close to home.

Seven weeks into this mixed bag of a Giants season, Buster Posey is starting to feel right again, to feel the way he did before his career came crashing down during that devastating, bone-crunching collision at the plate.

USA Basketball czar Jerry Colangelo doesn't need additional distractions at this point. He's right about that. If this NBA injury epidemic continues, his Olympic team will limp into the 2012 London Games with members of its medical squad afforded superstar status.

Shareef Abdur-Rahim has been stuck in freeway traffic more times than he can count. Thus, he has become a huge fan of earpieces, micromanaging and weekend travel. He also has experimented with every shortcut imaginable between his Sacramento-area home and his alma mater in Berkeley.

Let's call them the original dream team, this group of local architects and engineers and businessmen that accomplished something amazing 25 years ago, only to fade into the area's major league sports background.

The discussion about whether the Giants should trade mercurial but immensely talented starter Jonathan Sanchez lasted longer than a political campaign. What was it? Two years? Three years? More?

As the next in line, River Cats right-hander Brad Peacock knows the drill.

DeMarcus Cousins wants to play for the 2012 U.S. Olympic team, but barring another series of freakish injuries to more established frontcourt stars, that isn't going to happen.