Beginning next month, car buyers who visit a Saturn dealer will not only be able to test drive the Saturn line up but will also be able to check out the competition. Dealerships will have a Toyota Camry and Accord available for test drives in the hopes the buyer will end up choosing the new Saturn Aura instead. The Aura was named "Car Of The Year" by automotive journalists earlier this year and it's done well in comparisons with other vehicles, according to Mark LaNeve, head of North American sales and marketing for General Motors. But sales of the Aura have been sluggish.

Part of the reason GM is willing to take this step, said LaNeve, is because the company has little to lose. Midsized sedan shoppers often don't even consider GM products, he said, instead going straight to Honda and Toyota dealers.

GM is also planning to implement a similar plan with the redesigned Chevy Malibu, which shares the same platform as the Aura.

Something is new in the Red Sox clubhouse—It’s the socks several of the players are wearing this season. Pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima started the trend early in the season, wearing socks that have a spot for each individual toe. 

The five-toed socks are shipped to Matsuzaka from Japan, where they’re quite popular. He’s been doling them out to teammates, including Mike Lowell, Alex Cora and Doug Mirabelli, who have been wearing them regularly during games, according to a story in the New York Times.

“At first they feel kind of weird,” Mirabelli said. “They got some sticky things on the bottom, like little kids would have on the bottom of their socks. But you get used to them.” 

The socks that Matsuzaka wears are covered with hundreds of tiny rubbery beads on the sole for better traction. As for Okajima, the individual toe slots help with his balance because he can firmly grip each toe, he said.

Whether or not the socks have helped the Red Sox with their strong start, perhaps the sock is once again becoming a symbol for the team. In 2004, when Boston was on the way to their first World Series in 86 years, Curt Schilling’s bloody socks became a symbol as they beat the Yankees to win the AL Championship.

The San Jose Sharks might not have been able to beat the Detroit Red Wings in round two of the NHL playoffs, but has the series revealed a new hockey tradition? During game four (which the Sharks ended up losing), a fan threw a dead shark onto the ice at the San Jose arena.  

The Red Wings' Joe Louis Arena is more accustomed to having sea creatures tossed onto the ice. In 1952, the first octopus was thrown onto the Red Wings’ rink, starting a tradition that still goes on. Each tentacle on the octopus symbolized a win in the playoffs. At that time, there were only six teams in the NHL and eight wins in two best-of-seven series were needed to win the cup. 

Whether or not the shark on the ice will become a new hockey tradition for Sharks fans remains to be seen. For now, it seems the dead shark didn’t bring the San Jose team much luck. Or maybe it’s just poetic justice.

By now, everyone has heard about Roger Clemens rejoining the New York Yankees pitching lineup, but not everyone may have heard Curt Schilling’s take on the move. With rumors circulating this year that the Red Sox were also trying to get Clemens back, sportswriters have been reporting that his move back to New York was met with mixed emotions among both Red Sox fans and players.

Those mixed feelings may indeed be real, but Schilling tries to clarify his opinion on the Clemens move, saying the Yankees made a wise decision given the current state of their pitching lineup. He goes on to affirm his confidence in the Boston pitching lineup:

I think we have the best staff in the game right now. Can that change? Sure it can but no one here can tell us how when and why it will change. Maybe it won’t. Bottom line is if you are in our clubhouse wishing we had Clemens you are basically telling a teammate you suit up with every day that we’re better off without you.

You can check out more of what Schilling had to say about the Clemens’ move on his blog—yes Schilling has his own blog, the thought of which was at first unsettling to me as a Yankee fan. But Schilling tells it like it is in his posts and offers a forum where Red Sox and MLB fans can communicate. The other goal behind his blog is to raise awareness of Lou Gehrig’s Disease and Malignant Melanoma.

Top indie bands are playing free shows at various Urban Outfitters’ locations this spring and summer as part of a tour known as “Free Yr Radio.” The idea behind the program is to help support indie, non-commercial radio. Urban Outfitters has partnered up with Toyota’s Yaris brand and with independent radio stations across the country, including such notables as Seattle’s KEXP and Boston’s WERS.

According to Free Yr Radio:

Having access to non-commercial radio is like having an older brother or sister who always knows about cool stuff before you do. College and non-commercial radio has long been a breeding ground of taste, culture, and personality. Poll any band, label honcho or commercial radio personality and you'll find that a huge, almost ridiculous number of 'em got their start at a college station.

The in-store performances are slated to run through July 21st and feature bands such as The Klaxons, Dinosaur Jr., The Rapture, Tapes ‘N Tapes and others. The bands and the events are also being featured on the Urban Outfitters' blog.

Plans are also in the works for a compilation CD with songs from bands playing the events. Proceeds will be divided up amongst the participating stations.