While You Weren't in Cooperstown...

Or perhaps you were. You were certainly somewhere because we were dealt some extremely slim pickings in "While You Were" land this weekend so we're hoping everyone had a very nice time doing whatever they did whereever they were (including a few vacationing IN VIVO Bloggers).

But let's give a heartfelt congratulations to two people who WERE and will remain in Cooperstown--Jim Rice and Rickey Henderson. Jim Ed's induction into Baseball's Hall of Fame was long overdue but it's fitting that he stood alongside Henderson, a fellow left fielder who cinched a place in the hall many years ago.

Our only regret is we weren't in Cooperstown to cheer them on, and here are some people who probably also couldn't make the festivities.

• Andrew Witty: The GlaxoSmithKline CEO's last vacation was a ski trip in Vermont, so he certainly could have found his way to Cooperstown in upstate New York. But we're guessing his daily five miles runs and new home project keep him just a little busy these days. Oh, and he's also running one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. Read the this interview in the Sunday Times to learn more fun facts and get his take on GSK's H1N1 (aka Swine flu) vaccine.
• Your Doctor: Well, he might have been there, but who can pick a doctor out of a crowd if they're not wearing their white lab coats. No one, says the docs who don't like the American Medical Association's thinking that the white coat may be responsible for spreading disease from patient to patient. The concern has the AMA mulling over the idea of having doctors toss aside their number two prop (stethescope has to be number one). See this New York Times article. Sounds like a good enough reason for physicians to go casual. Plus, think how much money this might save the US health care system in clothing and laundry costs.
• Dr. William F. Streck: Whoa, waitaminute. Dr. Streck actually might have been in Cooperstown since he's president of Bassett Healthcare, a hospital system based in the village. Bassett received a tiny piece of the spotlight for its practice of paying its physicians salaries instead of compensating them for the fees they generate. The New York Times presents Bassett's plan as a potentially more practical role model for curtailing US health care costs than the Cleveland Clinic, which has received a whole lot of love from President Obama for its approach.
• Representative James P. Moran, Democrat of Virginia, who is sponsoring a bill in the House to ban direct-to-consumer ads for drugs treating sexual dysfunction from prime time television on decency grounds. The New York Times reported on his and other measures by legislators to curtail direct-to-consumer drug advertising.
• Curt Schilling: He may be in the Hall of Fame someday although we're still on the fence. But he was likely too busy raising money for his computer gaming start-up to make the four-hour drive on I-90 West. Then again, he's such a fan of the game, so maybe...