Pirate Fever Spreads, from South Park to the Ballpark

Not since Johnny Depp have pirates been so hot, as the entertainment biz continues to capitalize on the Navy SEALs' rescue of Captain Richard Phillips from a band of high-seas bandits.

On the heels of Spike fast-tracking a docu-series about the Navy's anti-pirate operations, Comedy Central's South Park will offer its special take on the recent headline this Wednesday, when Cartman runs away from home to become a lootin' (and presumably tootin') buccaneer named Fatbeard.

Just moments after Comedy Central fired off that press release, videogame developer Playlogic announced a May 12 street date for Age of Pirates 2, a PC-based role-playing game in which gamers are invited to "sail the high seas as a swashbuckling dread pirate or assume the role of a dashing naval captain."

And speaking of dashing captains, Phillips has been invited by the Boston Red Sox to throw out the first pitch at a day named in his honor. (Fenway Park is where Phillips met his wife.)

"I was so inspired, like everyone else, by your story," Red Sox owner Tom Werner says in a video to Phillips airing Monday on Extra. "I want you to be my personal guest because you ... are a true American hero."