Saturday Morning Quick Hitters

Paul Byrd gets his 1st win in a Red Sox uniform, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 8 - 4. Red Sox right fielder might have a herniated disc.

Tampa Bay stays 4 1/2 games up on the Red Sox by beating AL Central contender Chicago White Sox 9 - 4.

The Minnesota Twins moved 1/2 game ahead of the Pale Hose in the AL Central by beating AL West leaders California Angels, 9 - 0.

The New York Mets and Johan Santana shut out another team, the Houston Astros, 3 - 0 Friday night. Santana pitched 7 very strong innings on the way to the win.

Greg Maddux return to the LA Dodgers was not that spectacular Friday, as the Philadelphia Phillies pounded the Dodgers 8 - 1. The loss puts the Dodgers 2 games back of the D-Backs.

Willie Harris and the Washington Nationals took what looks like a season worth of frustrations out on the Cubs Friday in day baseball. Willie Harris hit a grand Slam and a 2 run HR to cap his biggest day at the plate, helping the Nats to a 13 - 5 blasting of the Cubbies.

The Milwaukee Brewers gained a game on the Cubs by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 10 - 4. The Brew Crew are no 4 1/2 games behind the Cubs in the Nl Central.

The Arizona Diamondbacks blew a late game lead, losing to the Florida Marlins 5 - 4.


Houston Texans WR Harry Williams was down on the carpet for a long time after a head to head hit on one of his teammates during the Texans game with the Dallas Cowboys. While Williams regained sensations, spinal surgery is needed.

Tom Brady didn't play again and the offewnsive line was offensive as the Philadelphia Eagles pounded the Patriots 27 - 17.

The San Fransisco 49ers admit failure and name JT O'Sullivan starting QB for the season opener.

San Diego Chargers superstar LB Shawne Merriman tells the North County (CA) Times that he has ligament damage.


The Boston Celtics sign oft injured Darius Miles.

The Denver Nuggets re-sign JR Smith to a 3 yr deal.

Michael Finley officially returns to the San Antonio Spurs.

New Orleans Hornets sign Devin brown.

Wednesday Morning Quick Hitters

Dice K pitched as usual and still wins. He threw 105 pitches in 5 innings, walked 6 and struck out 5 an still got his 15th win. The Sox beat the Orioles 7 - 2. In other Sox news, Captain Carl Yastrzemski had successful triple by pass surgery yesterday. For you whipper snappers that haven't see Yaz in action, check out this 3 partner on YouTube on the 1967 World Series. Yet more Sox news, good times to come, Josh Beckett has numbness in his arm, and to steal a joke, does that mean that Clay Buchholtz have numbness in his head?

Tampa Bay just keeps winning. The Rays beat the Angels again, 4 - 2.

The New York Yankees continue their freefall, losing to the Toronto Blue Jays 2 - 1.

The AL Central stayed the same as the Chicago White Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 5 - 0 , while the Minnesota Twins blasted the Oakland A's 13 - 2. Kevin Slowey struck out 12 continuing his stretch of masterful pitching. The Pale Hose still have a 1 game lead on the Twins.

While off the field the Mets got bad news on closer Billy Wagner, on the field, the Mets beat up on Atlanta Braves 7 - 3.

Philadelphia Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins heard it loud and clear from the Phillies fans last night, but that didn't stop the team from defeating the Washington Nationals 5 - 4. The Phils stayed 1 1/2 games back of the Mets.

Rich Harden and the Chicago Cubs had another stellar game, shutting out the Cincinnati Reds 5 - 0.

The Milwaukee Brewers lost another game in the standings as Ben Sheets is just 1 - 5 since the All Star break, losing to the Houston Astros 5 - 2.

The Arizona Diamondbacks held on for dear life as the San Diego Padres scrored 3 runs in the 9th, falling just short of a comeback and finally losing to the D-Backs 7 - 6.

The LA Dodgers lost ground in the NL West, losing to the Colorado Rockies 8 - 3. The Dodgers are 1 game behind Arizona.


The Philadelphia 76ers have signed Theo Ratliff.

Gordan Giricek is the latest NBA vet to bolt for Europe.




It's a done deal, Chris Henry re-signed with the Bengals.

The Arizona Cardinals seem to be in a standoff with Anquan Boldin.

Trent Edwards leaves Buffalo Bills practice with a leg injury.

Oh oh, Peyton Manning may not be as ready as we all though.

Monday Morning Quick Hitters

Clay Buchholz had another poor performance, losing to the Chicago White Sox 6 - 5.

The California Angels finished off a sweep of the New York Yankees with a 4 - 3 win.

The Minnesota Twins lost to the KC Royals 5 - 4 in 12 innings and also lost a game in the standings to the Chicago White Sox, now 1/2 game down.

A late inning rally got the Philadelphia Phillies over the Pittsburgh Pirates 6 - 3.

The NL East stayed tight Sunday, as the Florida Marlins stayed away from a sweep, and beat the New York Mets 8 - 2. The Mets are 2 games back of the Phils and the Marlins are 2 1/2 games back.

Former Portland Sea Dog Ryan Dempster dominated the St Louis Cardinals on the way to a 6 - 2 win. The Cubbies are now 4 games up on the Brewers and 7 up on the Cardinals.

Gabe Kapler, through 12 innings was 0 - 6 with 2 Ks and 6 LOB, but leading off the 13th, Kapler beat the Nationals wioth a walkoff HR. The Brewers beat the Nationals 5 - 4.

Arizona D-Backs pitcher Brandon Webb dominated on the mound and also added 2 RBIs on the way to beating the Atlanta Braves 6 - 1.

The LA Dodgers blow another save against the San Francisco Giants, losing to the Giants 5 - 4. The Dodgers are now 1 1/2 game back of the D-Backs.


Kyle Busch continued his absolute dominance in the NASCAR.





Michael Phelps won an improbable 2nd Gold in the 4x100 Men's Freestyle. Trailing on the final turn, Jason Lezak, swimming anchor, swam the fastest leg in Olympic relay history, beating the world record holder to win the Gold.

Approximately 1 billion (insert Dr Evil joke here) people watched USA Basketball put away an early challenge from China, and finally beating them in prelim action, 101 - 70.

Nadal struggles to a 3 set win in Olympic tennis.

Seems the rain from home has followed Maine's Olympic rowers.

Sunday Morning Quick Hitters

The Boston Red Sox continued their mastery over the AL Central, beating the White Sox 6 - 2. The win give the BoSox an 18 - 7 record against the AL Central. Chicago lost Jose Contreras for the rest of the season while he was trying to cover 1st on a Jacoby Ellsbury grounder.

The California Angels pounded the New York Yankees once again. Vlad Guerrero triggered a 8 run 8th inning with a HR starting the onslaught. The Angels won 11 - 4.

Tampa Bay came back again, beating the Seattle Mariners in 11 innings 8 - 7. The Rays tied their franchise record for total wins, 70. The Rays stayed 3 1/2 games up on Boston.

The Minnesota Twins took sole possession of 1st place with their 7 - 3 win over the KC Royals. Francisco Liriano looked very good again in his 2nd start back from the DL. The Twins are 1/2 game up on the Pale Hose in the AL Central.

Philadelphia Phillies starter Brett Myers did not like being told "boom...Outta Here" by manager Charlie Manual after 7 2/3 strong inning, arguing with his skipper on the mound and in the dugout during the Phillies 4 - 2 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. All seemed calm after the game from all parties.

The New York Mets used huge rookie contributions to stay within 1 game of NL East leaders, the Philadelphia Phillies. Mets outfielder Daniel Murphy ( pinch hit 2 run HR) and starter Brian Stokes (5 2/3 innings, 6 Ks) helped the Mets to the 8 - 6 win over the Florida Marlins.

The St Louis Cardinals playoff hopes got a slight bit brighter with their 12 - 3 win over the NL Central leading Chicago Cubs. Troy Glauss, who was previously hitless against the Cubbies, hit 2 HRs and had 5 RBIs. St Louis' win puts them 6 games behind the Cubs.

The Milwaukee Brewers gained a game in the standings by beating the Washington Nationals 6 -0. The win marks the 1st time since 1992 that the Brewers has back to back complete game shutouts by their pitching staff. The Brewers are now 4 games behind the Cubs.

The Arizona Diamondback's playoff push may have taken a monstrous blow Saturday. 2nd Baseman Orlando Hudson broke his wrist attempting a tag. Hudson could be gone for the year. The Atlanta Braves used a 7 run 6th inning to top the D-Backs 11 - 4.

The Los Angeles Dodgers missed a golden opportunity to take sole possession of 1st place in the NL West Saturday, losing to the San Francisco Giants 3 - 2 in 10 innings. Jeff Kent gave the Dodgers the lead with a solo HR in the top of the 10th. Captain Fake Tan aka Jonathan Broxton quickly blew that lead when he had a wild throw home on a squibber, loaded the bases and allowed a line drive through the drawn in infield for a blown save. Manny "I Love LA" Ramirez had 3 more hits for the Dodgers. The win came on the Giants 50th Anniversary in San Francisco which Barry Bonds attended.


Michael Phelps won, what is likely the 1st of many Gold Medals setting a blazing world record of 4:03.84 in the 400M Individual Medley (IM consists of all 4 swimming strokes, freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly).

The Men's Volleyball team overcomes shock and sadness to win their 1st match of the Olympics.

Dara Torres became the oldest competitor in Olympic swimming to win a medal, when at age 41, the US 4x100 freestyle team took home silver. Torres won her 10th Olympic Medal in her 5th Olympic competition.

US sprinter Tyson Gay feels good in 1st full workout in Beijing.



Denver Broncos linebacker Louis Green was carted off the field in a violent collision in the 1st quarter of Denver's 19 - 16 loss to the Houston Texans.

Multi-year Multi-Million dollar RB Ryan Gran has a hamstring injury that is causing concern for the Packers.

Brett Favre was a huge hit in his 1st practice with the Jets.

Sports Vortex guest Paul Kuharsky has a nice story on David Garrard and his 1st full off season as starting QB.


The Los Angeles Lakers signed their 2nd round draft pick Sun Yue, who is currently playing for the Chinese Olympic Basketball Team.

Friday Morning Quickies

MLB

Mike Mussina got his 15th win...yes I did say 15th win, last night, on the way to shutting out the Texas Rangers 3 - 0.

The Tampa Bay Rays heroics may have caught up with them Thursday. The Seattle Mariners Raul Ibanez continued his monster August with a walkoff HR against the Rays. The Mariners won 2 - 1.

The New York Mets David Wright bailed out Scott Shoeneweis in the 9th, by hitting a 2 run walkoff HR to give the Mets a 5 - 3 win over the San Diego Padres. The Mets gained 1 game on the Philadelphia Phillies and are now 2 1/2 games back in the NL East.

The Florida Marlin inch closer to the top of the NL East by beating the Philadelphia Phillies 3 - 0. Florida Rookie Chris Volstad pitched 6 shutout innings to bring the Marlins within 1 1/2 games of the Phils in the NL East.

Manny being Manny is apparently better in Dodgertown than it is in Boston. In 6 games with the Dodgers, Manny is 13 - 23 (that .565 folks) 4 homers, and 9 RBIs. He hasn't had a HR stretch like that this season and only 1 6 game streak with as many RBIs..hmmm....maybe Scott Borus really is the best. Manny helped the Dodgers beat the St Louis Cardinals 4 - 1.

NFL

Quick Scores for Pre-Season : The Patriots lost to the Baltimore Ravens 15 -16. The Saints beat the Cardinals 24 - 10. The Chiefs beat the Bears 24 -20. The NYJ beat the Browns 24 - 20 and the Detroit Lions beat the Super Bowl Champs (yech!) New York Giants 13 - 10.

Sorry, have to report, Brett Favre meets the press in New York City. In related news, the Jets release Chad Pennington.

Indianapolis Colts camp seems to be missing their little Peyton.

Chicago Bears 1st Round Draft Pick Chris Williams had back surgery yesterday, leaving season in doubt.

Former Patriot Asante Samual will miss The Philadelphia Eagles opening pre-season game wit a hamstring injury.

NBA

The Los Angeles Clippers continue to overhaul their roster by signing White Chocolate, Jason Williams.

Olympic Coverage

As much as NBC would like to pretend it hasn't happened yet, the Beijing Olympics opened with a glorious fireworks display and ceremony. NBA players Yao Ming and Dirk Nowitzki carried their countries flag in the opening ceremony.

Some Helpful Olympic links

A Great Event Calendar at New York Times

NBC Main Page

NBC TV & Online Schedule.

Portland Press Herald's Coverage of the Maine participants in the Olympics.

Trade Update 1-Noon EST

I neglected to hit on the Mets trade for Luis Castillo yesterday earlier. Nice trade by Minaya to FINALLY get the Mets a decent all around second baseman (minus the power of course). I think it will do Castillo some good to get off that Metrodome turf and back into the NL East. The two minor leaguers the Twins got are supposed to be possible role players for an ML club, so this may have worked out well for them.

The Red Sox finally cut ties on the Joel Piniero experiment, shipping him to the Cardinals for the popular "player to be named". Given the Cards track record in these types of deals, Piniero should become the NL Centrals best 7th inning set-up guy within the next two weeks. (Hey, it worked for Ryan Franklin).