because this never happens...

"hey, did you catch venkataraman's last no-hitter?"

yeah, something's wrong with that picture.

indians aren't too notorious for their baseball skills - cliff lee aside. (har har har, i'm here all week.) the subcontinent is much more cricket-crazy than homer-hungry, preferring to play for five days straight in the sun rather than wuss out after five rain-filled innings.

all that side, two indian pitchers made history today when they dotted the i's and crossed the t's with the pittsburgh pirates, becoming the first indian athletes to sign professional baseball contracts.

it gets better. they were apparently noticed because of a publicity stunt, a "million dollar arm" contest run by jeff bernstein, a promoter more famously known for being barry lamar bonds' marketing agent.

(side note: bonds gets three counts thrown out, but he's still on the hook for 10 others, with a trial pending in march. yawn?)

no word, though, on whether this signing will prove to be any more than a marketing gimmick for south asia. is espn-star trying to line up some new television deals with major league baseball out there? will sportscenter asia finally stop showing bowling and pool highlights?

only time will tell. in the meantime, the pirates organization should get ready for a serious dose of aloo gobi.