Earlier today, we attempted to handicap the 2009 World Series (which starts in only a few hours) by taking a look at the at-bat songs for the Philadelphia Phillies. This time, we take a look at the lineup offered up by the New York Yankees. It's a less eclectic batch of tunes for sure, but possibly more effective, as it's filled top-to-bottom with badass New York hip-hop and tough guy tunes sure to swing any game in the Bronx's favor.

It begins with Derek Jeter and Jay-Z's "Empire State of Mind" (which he and Alicia Keys will perform live during Game 2 on Thursday night), a great New York anthem for a great New York team (and a great New Yorker). Johnny Damon uses Saliva's "I Walk Alone" as his entrance tune, yet another track that connects baseball and wrestling (it's the same song used by WWE star Batista). Mark Teixeira uses Twisted Sister's "I Wanna Rock" (another New York-centric selection, as the band is from Long Island) while Nick Swisher saunters in to Ludacris and R. Kelly's "Rockstar."

There are some stranger moments, most notably Hideki Matsui's use of Billy Joel's "Big Shot" — a New York tune for sure, but probably not in Matsui's regular iPod rotation.

Still, the Yankees have the advantage. Sure, they've got three Jay-Z songs, but they also have a secret weapon: Closer Mariano Rivera, who enters every game with Metallica's "Enter Sandman" pumping through the PA. With a playlist like that, the World Series is the Yanks' to lose. They will "Run This Town," indeed.

Official MTV Newsroom Prediction: Yankees in 6

This afternoon, the National Press Club got a visit from Christopher "Ludacris" Bridges, who stopped by one of the group's regular luncheons to plug the fundraising dinner for his Ludacris Foundation, advocate for leadership and service and perform "Get Back." (Just kidding on that last part.)

Though most people probably consider him the rapper behind "What's Your Fantasy" and "Money Maker" first and an actor from films like "Hustle & Flow" and "Crash" second, Luda was right at home behind the NPC podium. With his mother Roberta Shields by his side (she's the president of the Ludacris Foundation), the rapper joked about the possibilities of running for office (he's not interested in challenging Barack Obama in 2012) and plugged his work on "Law & Order." "'Gamer' is in theaters, too," he joked.

Once he got down to business, he spoke candidly about his involvement in philanthropy and defended the work of the hip-hop community for the betterment of communities across the country. He mentioned that his organization helped provide $100,000 to people who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina and ended up in his hometown of Atlanta. He also talked about how his music has crossed over into his philanthropic life, specifically citing the song "Runaway Love" (from his 2006 album Release Therapy), a tune about kids who escape their negative home life that lead to a partnership with the National Runaway Switchboard. "Any song I put out, I want to make it a movement, not just a single!" he said of "Runaway Love."

At the end, he took questions from the audience about his other charity work, violence in hip-hop ("Hip-hop doesn't cause violence — ignorance causes violence, and that's what I'm trying to combat," he said), his relationship status (he's taken, ladies) and his many nicknames. The best one that came out of the afternoon at the NPC? "I have many different nicknames, and LudaFEMA is one of them," he joked.

By Eric Ditzian

I want to switch MTV jobs. All is fine and dandy within the toasty pop-culture confines of MTV News, but when I see a day in the life of Rob Dyrdek and the amusement park-esque warehouse he calls his office, I start thinking I need to flee our Times Square home and latch onto anything that has to with Dyrdek's "Fantasy Factory."

Case in (jealous) point: In this week's upcoming season finale on MTV, the skateboarder-turned-reality-TV star invites Ludacris and NBA All-Star and Denver Nuggets franchise player Carmelo Anthony over for a play date. It's every little kid's dream: Motorbikes, skateboard ramps, zip lines and giant pits filled with foam to break your landing after pulling insane, you-should-really-know-better stunts.

"You skateboard on this?" Luda asks at one point. "What happens when yo a-- falls smooth on the concrete?"

"It hurts," replies Dyrdek. "It hurts."

The full episode rolls out on Thursday at 9 p.m. E.T. as the two celebs stop by the Factory for a charitable wager with their host. But before then, check out this sneak peek to catch Luda tooling around like a dude in "ExciteBike" and to find out what 'Melo did to have Dyrdek cry, "No season enders in here! I'll have all Denver coming down on me!"

The week is over (as is the month of July), so it's time to close the books here in the Newsroom. It was another wild one, with plenty of beef, a handful of rumors, a little hilarity and at least one incredibly amazing video care of Shakira. But what lessons did we learn? You can feel confident walking into the weekend knowing that you can take the following revelations as absolute truth.

» It's unlikely that Eminem will be buying Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon an anniversary gift.

» William Shatner has a knack for nonsensical poetry. Got a Twitter account? He'll kill that too.

» Madonna may have been hitting the gym too hard. (Though she's still not as jacked as Trent Reznor.)
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Since he broke out in 2000, Ludacris has become one of the most prolific rappers in the business, churning out hit after hit on what has become an annual parade of albums. The Atlanta native has made six solo albums, plus two more full-lengths with his Disturbing Tha Peace crew and an upcoming album of duets with Shawnna called Battle of the Sexes. But even though that album won't hit stores for at least another month, Luda is already working on his 2010 solo album. He even announced the album title during an interview yesterday, declaring the next record will be called Ludaversal. He wanted to squash the rumors that the album was going to be titled Cineplex. "I never remotely said anything about something called Cineplex," he told Rap-Up. "Dead that s---."

Ludaversal is a great title, and reinvigorates the rapper's interest in puns (his first independent release was hilariously called Incognegro). But here in the Newsroom, we discovered Luda's various rejected album titles, obtained through an exclusive* source. Check out some of the titles that the man born Christopher Bridges passed on.

» Ludacristal Ball
» The Ludatics Are On the Grass
» Ludatics As Usual
» LudaBob SquareCris
» Luda Diamond Phillips
» Ludachristening Read more...

It's officially the halfway point of summer this week, as the Major League Baseball All-Star Game is tomorrow at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The week will feature a number of musical guests, including a rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" care of Sheryl Crow and a performance by David Cook at tonight's Home Run Derby.

While the actual All-Star Game is perpetually a snoozer even for hardcore fans, the Home Run Derby is always a reason to tune in to ESPN. This year's contestants are an eclectic mix of old saws and newcomers, and since it's regularly impossible to project just who is going to win (past victors include not-quite-legends like Garret Anderson and Wally Joyner), the only real way to judge who will come out on top is to judge each contestant by his entrance music.

Yes, just like the WWE, just about every player in baseball has a song that plays over stadium PAs when they come to the plate. Some choices are inspired, some inexplicable. So here's how the field will likely shake out, based solely on each individual's taste in tunes.

8. Brandon Inge (Detroit Tigers; Korn, "Coming Undone"): Inge would have picked up some points by having the only rock song on this list, but he loses everything he might have gained by attaching his name to one of the least badass tunes in the Korn catalogue. Why wouldn't he go with "Right Now" or "Got the Life"?

7. Ryan Howard (Philadelphia Phillies; Ludacris, "Last of a Dying Breed"): Howard is one of the most feared hitters in baseball, and the intro to "Last of a Dying Breed" is fittingly epic, but the track is full of over-blustery boasts like "Soldiers couldn't cause more disasters on D-Day" and "Luda's got more records than a DJ."
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It's not the biggest surprise on the world, but DJ Khaled is predicting that Rick Ross' Deeper Than Rap will be the primo album in the land come tomorrow.

Khaled also spilled the beans that his Miami friend is already working on Deeper Than Rap's follow-up. "I'm probably not supposed to tell you," Khaled joked while on the set of Ace Hood's "Overtime" video. Khaled worked closely with Ross on Deeper Than Rap, serving as the project's A&R, and hinted that fans can expect more of the same from the Boss' next opus.

Meanwhile, Khaled will continue to work with a plethora of other Def Jam artists. (He's the president of Def Jam South and has his own label, We the Best, which Ace is signed to.) Look for Khaled to be sliding beats to acts such as Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Fabolous and new singer Cherlise.

With all the love the New York crowd at the Highline Ballroom was giving last night, leave it to Ludacris to start off his show with "Everybody Hates Chris." He has a big sense of humor, if you haven't noticed. The Atlanta MC had the release party for Theater of the Mind, which culminated in a concert of collaborations and solo hits.

“Where the real Luda fans at?” he asked, before going into “Ho,” "Splash Waterfalls" and "Yeah!" Obviously T-Pain and Ludacris' relationship wasn't on the rocks after Luda replaced the singer with the Blizzard Man on "Saturday Night Live."

(More from the record release show, plus lots of photos after the jump!)

Ludacris brought 18-year-old Eddie White to a polling station in St. Louis. It was White's first time voting, and he showed a strong grasp of just how much is at stake in this election. Eddie said he's concerned about health care, since he's no longer covered by his mother's insurance, and he also said that "the next four years determine where our country goes." His comments and attitude earned him no faint praise from Luda: "You're making me proud," the MC said, shaking Eddie's hand.
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Saving Abel might not be household names just yet, but that could all change when the band performs alongside Ludacris, 50 Cent and other superstars on "A Night for Vets: An MTV Concert for the BRAVE," airing Friday at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.

We got a sneak peek at the band's performance during a rehearsal of their song "18 Days" inside New York's Nokia Theatre Times Square. Frontman Jared Weeks plans to send a special message to veterans before their performance — but we're not giving everything away here. You have to tune in to hear what he has to say!

The band should fit right in with the mostly veteran-filled crowd during the show: Weeks was sporting a few dog-tag chains around his neck, which he said were sent to him by fans in the military.

There were four giant chandeliers hanging from the ceiling above the band during rehearsal that we could have sworn were going to fall because of the vibration from the band's rocking. The stage also had what looked like ninja stars stacked on top of one another behind the band. The lighting scheme — appropriately enough — was red, white and blue, except when the guys were bathed in a golden-red glow during their rehearsal.

But why take our word for it when you can see for yourself? Check out our pictures from the run-through, and make sure to tune in Friday night at 8 p.m. ET on MTV for even more.

(Follow us inside the BRAVE rehearsals and see more Saving Abel, after the jump!)