Does Ozzie Guillen Get Free Slurpies Now?

I used to be violently opposed to the ever-growing orgy between corporate sponsorship and the sports world. However, in the last couple years, my position has softened. Perhaps it's because I realized the force pulling the two together is unbreakable, kind of like whatever it was that held Excalibur into that giant slab of rock. I'm sure in a few years my favorite teams will have replaced the logos on the front of their jersey's with ads for Wonderbread. At this point though, I'm okay with it. Really.

So it is not with poisinous disgust, but rather light amusement that I regard this story from Chicago. It seems the White Sox are bumping up the start of their home games by four minutes, to 7:11 p.m. as part of a three-year deal with the convenience store of the same name. Although financial figure were not disclosed, a White Sox spokesmen said he expects the team to re-invest the revenue into the team's payroll or to make improvements on the ballpark.

"Every time the media announces the game's start time it will be a gentle reminder of our sponsorship," Margaret Chabris, a 7-11 spokeswoman said.

Four minutes seems like a small price to pay for a nice influx of cash. Hell, I'd allow my WFTIPS Pirates to call the starting time for their home games "Uni-Mart" if it meant they could actually afford a left-handed, power-hitting first baseman.