Comedian Bill Maher buys minority stake in New York Mets

You've got to be joking. Comedian Bill Maher has jumped on the New York Mets bandwagon and bought a minority stake in ownership of the team.

In a surprise announcement before Sunday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals, the political commentator and comic said he purchased one of the reported 12 minority stakes available to investors over the winter, reports the Newark Star-Ledger.

"First of all, I think it's a great investment," Maher said.  "People sometimes forget that there's only one National League franchise in New York City and they're not making anymore.  I'm a Met fan all my life and I think it would be a great place."

Think the liberal leftie will be able to get along with Mets who bat from the right?

Neither Maher or the Mets organization would comment on the percentage of his ownership or how much he paid for it, but he did make the purchase before the Mets started winning and got their first no-hitter.

Maher— who was raised in the northern New Jersey suburb of River Vale— said he always followed the Mets but never intended to buy a piece of a sports franchise.  He became interested in the Mets after seeing stories about the Wilpon family offering minority shares of the team due to the team's overwhelming debt— as a result of their association with  jailed Ponzi-schemer Bernie Madoff.  The 56-year old Maher— who resides in Los Angeles— began thinking about investing in his favorite team over the winter.

"It happened months ago," Maher said about the deal.  "It's the first time I've been in New York, so we didn't say anything. But I read about it  in the paper in December saying the Mets  were available— that you could buy these limited partnerships."

The host of his HBO show "Real Time with Bill Maher" won't have as much control over the team as he does with his guest panelists.  His new official title will be "New Partner," said Mets Vice-president of Marketing and Communications, David Newman.

And if you think Maher might be taking swings at the political right with David Wright, Ike Davis and Johan Santana instead of Cornel West, Rachel Maddow or Seth MacFarlane— you're out of luck.

"I'm just a fan," Maher said. "I'm not going to get involved.  I think my role is going to be bringing luck to the team— they didn't have a no-hitter for 50 years, I buy in and I come to town and there's a no hitter.  Draw your own conclusions."

Goat ends Cubs losing streak but still banned from Wrigley Field

The five Chicago Cubs fans who trekked nearly 1,800 miles with a goat to break the Chicago Cubs' so-called "Billy Goat Curse" arrived in Chicago on Monday— the same day the team ended a 12-game losing streak— but were told goats are banned from entering Wrigley Field.

The group planned to bring "Wrigley" inside for Tuesday's game, but were told the Cubs still wouldn't allow the animal into the park.

Instead, the celebrated animal (a 22-pound Nigerian dwarf goat) was the center of attention outside the stadium as the five trekkers continued to raise money for cancer research by selling t-shirts with the slogan "Crack the Curse" printed on them.

Maybe it was a coincidence the losing streak ended the same day the group ended their three-month journey— or maybe it was just because the Cubs were playing the slightly more pitiful San Diego Padres— but either way, the Cubs actually have a two-game win streak since little Wrigley came to town.

In their quest to end the "Curse," the five hikers started their 1,746 mile trip to Wrigley Field in Mesa, Ariz. on Feb. 25 and raised over $20,000 on the way.

The Cubs said they will donate $1,746 to their cause— $1.00 for every mile the group walked, but stopped short of saying if they would infuse any more cash into the team's payroll.

The curse got its start during the 1945 World Series after a local tavern owner was told by the Cubs he couldn't bring his goat into the game.  In retaliation, he put the famous whammy on the Cubs when he said the team would never win a World Series game again.  Sixty seven years later, the Cubs are still waiting to make it back into the Fall Classic.

The five young hikers— Matt Gregory, Kyle Townsend, Patrick Fisher, Blake Ferrell, and Phillip Aldrich— aren't even from Illinois but are Cubs fans nonetheless. They still hope the Cubs will lift the team policy on banning goats at Wrigley Field— at least one time.

"It's all about respecting the goat," said Aldrich.  "The hike is about 2,000 miles, but you know, raising money for cancer research and letting the goat see all the different parts of the country like Route 66, the goat's helped us raise over $20,000. To me, that's respecting the goat and I think that was part of the curse, not respecting the goat."

A lot of fans have brought goats to Wrigley for their fifteen minutes of fame, then the next thing you know the cute little creature is hanging in the butcher shop window.  Wrigley deserves a chance to literally munch on the ivy-covered walls because he has the blisters on his little hooves to earn that right.