But since Brett's retirement, nine men have managed (or mismanaged) the Royals.

WSJ: Brett Returns as Royals Hitting Coach

And even Funny Or Die took time out to spoof the Royals when there are plenty of Americans who are doing stupid things and deserve to be made fun of.

FORBES: Didn't America Fight So We Wouldn't Have to Care About Royal Wedding?

As a result, the Dutch people tend to look to the royals as symbols of unity in times of turmoil or political division.

BBC: The Netherlands' love and respect for Beatrix

Saudis love to trade tales of royals muscling in on profitable businesses, appropriating land or flogging their grace-and-favour tickets on the national airline.

ECONOMIST: Saudi Arabia on the dole

Mills scored the only goal of the game at Goodison Park to book the Royals a quarter-final trip to either Manchester City or Aston Villa.

BBC: Reading captain Matt Mills thrilled with 'dream' win

But as the 2006 season approaches the All-Star break, top teams like the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox, along with bottom feeders like the Kansas City Royals, shouldn't be looking at those clubs as the standard to either emulate or avoid.

FORBES: Magazine Article

During that testimony, Mr. Hinton said there was no "firm evidence" or "suspicion" implicating any News of the World employees in phone hacking other than Mr. Goodman, the royals correspondent convicted of the practice in 2006.

WSJ: U.K. Report Assails News Corp.