• Remember when no-hitters were rare? The Reds’ Homer Bailey pitched the seventh of the season Friday. Ultimate mocking indignity for batters: Being no-hit by a guy named Homer.

• Former Marlin Miguel Cabrera is chasing baseball’s first Triple Crown since 1967. Carl Yastrzemski’s name hasn’t been uttered (and misspelled) this much in 45 years.

• NASCAR’s third of 10 Chase for the Cup races is Sunday in Dover, Del. Standings are close but Chase is lacking something. Excitement? Controversy? I say we throw a Busch brother in there to rile things up.

• Not much progress to end the NHL lockout and have a hockey season. Seldom has the image of ice slowly melting been a better metaphor.

• Scandal! Hope Solo claims judges, not voters, decide who is eliminated on Dancing With the Stars. Question: Does one have to take something seriously to be outraged?

• You know how Jewish folks fasted 24 hours on Yom Kippur? In my religion, I spent 24 hours eating nonstop.

•  Serena Williams’ fourth U.S. Open championship was her 15th major. I’m not sure if she’s the best women’s tennis player ever. But I do think she could beat up all the other ones.

•  Gabby Douglas and two other members of the U.S. gold-medal women’s gymnastics team attended a Dodgers game and met Matt Kemp. Based on what I’ve read about Kemp as a ladies man, I trust there was a chaperone?

• A Michigan woman, Linda Chase, 72, watched NASCAR races for two years beside the corpse of a dead friend. Or, put another way, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby meets Weekend at Bernie’s.

•  Parting thought: Houston Texans quarterback Matt Schaub lost a chunk of one of his earlobes during a game last week. Who knew Mike Tyson had even taken up football?

Visit Greg’s Random Evidence of a Cluttered Blog daily at MiamiHerald.com, watch video commentaries at YouTube/TheGregCote and follow on Twitter @gregcote.