Downpour

Braves Update:
What should have been an easy sweep has turned into a dissapointment for the Braves. The Cincinnati Reds Bronson Arroyo pitched seven shut out innings only to watch his bullpen practically give his win away as the Braves were able to post four runs in the eight and another in the ninth but they still fell short losing 6-5. The Braves look to stop the sweep with John Smoltz returning to the mound on Wednesday. He'll go up against Aaron Harang. Watch the game live at 1:05 PM/est on TBS.

Games behind NY Mets in NL East: 2.5
Games above .500: 6
NL Wild Card Leader: San Diego Padres

Braves Notes: Jarrod Saltamacchia, Tim Hudson, Matt Diaz and Jeff Francoeur spread some festive cheer to young Braves fans at the Scottish Rite, Egleston and Hughes Spadling hospitals for the Braves Christmas in July...The Braves are still without reliever Wilfredo Ledezema after he had a washing machine incident over the all-star break. Ledezema, who had gone home to Venezuela, apparently washed a pair of pants that had his passport and visa in its pocket. Both were distroyed and he is waiting for a new visa to be issued. The Braves are hoping he can rejoin them later in the week or early next week.

NASCAR Update:
Terry Labonte will once again be subbing for Michael Waltrip in the #55 Napa Auto Parts Toyota, this time it will be at the Brickyard. Labonte is the 1984 and 1996 Cup Series champion.

Travis Kvapil was docked 25 championship driver points, his truck owner Jack Roush was penalized 25 owner points and crew chiref Mike Beam was fined $10,000 for a rules infraction found during post-race inspection at Kentucky Speedway on July 14th.

Popo in my Crib News:
Atlanta Falcon's quarterback, Michael Vick was indicted on charges of sponsoring a dogfight operation on Monday. He and three others were also charged with competitive dogfighting, procurring and training and conducting enterprises across state lines. I hope the Falcons have a competant backup QB, because Mikey might be out for a while. Watch out Michael, because the popo are on your tail!

News & Notes: Thanks in part to Jeremy Accardo's balk in the ninth inning that brought in the tying run, the Yankees were able to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-2 in 10 off of a Robinson Cano single...The Miami Dolphins released quarterback Daunte Culpepper on Monday...Here's a suprise, cyclist Patrik Sinkewitz tested positive for high levels of testostrerone before competing in the Tour de France. He has since dropped out after a crash...Finally, in a cautionary tale news Anastasia Rodinova was disqualified on Tuesday after she hit a tennis ball towards fans rooting for her oponent at the Cincinnati Women's Open. Rodinova became the second player on the WTA tour to be ousted this year. Remember, tennis is different from football or NASCAR the players can and will hurt you with a 100 mph serve, "accidently."

Check this out: Sarah Buxton is an amazing singer song writter whose debut EP Almost my Record was released on itunes last week. You can get a sneak preview of her album here. My favorite is "Innocence."

It's been fun blogging with you,
Kate