PLAY BALL!

In his House office closet, Tiahrt has about 12 boxes of gear donated by Major League Baseball, youth leagues and equipment manufacturers. His plan is to get them overseas on flights used for congressional visits to the Iraq region.

He hopes that the equipment will eventually go to youth leagues in Iraq.

Tiahrt said that when he was visiting Iraq in September, he met with an Iraqi official interested in jump-starting baseball in Iraq. Baseball "could be part of the westernization of Iraq," he said.