Hondo collected with the Diamondbacks and White Sox yesterday but was betrayed by the Nationals, so the debt dropped only to 530 powells.

Tonight, Mr. Aitch hopes that Bird is the word – 10 units on the Orioles to do the Hiroki pokey in El Bronx. Also, he’ll give the nod to the other king who’s working tonight in Florida – 10 units on King Felix and the Mariners.

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In a candid moment Friday night on the Tonight Show, Mel Gibson told Jay Leno: “I’ve got a bit of a temper.” If he wanted to be totally forthright, Mad Mel would have added: And I am a bit of an anti-Semite, and I am a bit of a misogynist and I am a bit of a racist . . . At long last, Newt Gingrich reportedly will announce this week he is ending his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President. Newt talks as much about quitting the race as Angry Alec Baldwin talks about getting in one.

hondo@nypost.com