Bye, Bye Willie

Baseball Update:
As to not ruin Father's Day, the Mets decided to fly Willie Randolph across the country, have him coach a game, in which the Mets actually won, 9-6 and then fire him. What makes this whole thing even more henious is that this was their plan all along. Good job Omar, make your team expensive and elderly and then alienate your fans base. Bench Coach Jerry Manuel will be promoted to interim manager.

Ah, but Willie wasn't the only one getting the ax, prior to another disappointing loss (6-1 to the Marlins) the Mariners have fired GM Bill Bavasi. They also moved Ichiro to right field.

The Rangers have released pitcher Sidney Ponson. They also activated minor leaguer Thomas Diamond from the 60 day DL. Only a few days prior, manager Ron Washington had considered Ponson a "disruptive presense."

Meanwhile former Oriole Jay Gibbons has signed with the Long Island Ducks. Gibbons had been cut before opening day and is still owed $11.9 million by Baltimore.

While the Braves were able to smash the Rockies, 7-1, Colorado did get some good news. Short stop Troy Tulowitzki could be back with the team by the end of the week. Tulowitzki has been out since late April when he tore his quad.

Ryan Howard knocked two out of the park while Cole Hamels 2 earned runs came from back to back blasts by Dustin Pedroia and J.D. Drew in the Phillies 8-2 rout of the Red Sox. The Sox, who currenlty have five players leading their respective positions in all-star balloting, were without first baseman Kevin Youkilis who was a late stratch due to muscle spasms.

Sox pitcher Dice-K threw five innings for AAA Pawtucket, striking out five and throwing 47 of 65 pitches for strikes.

John Bowker hit a go ahead three run homer in the Giants 8-6 win over the Tigers. This marks the first interleague game win for San Francisco in seven tries this season. Bowker's long ball spoiled Fernando Rodney's season debut.

The Yankees got some bad news, their star pitcher Chien-Ming Wang will be out until September after injuring his ankle running the bases in Houston. Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner was not happy with the news and has challenged the Nation League to enter the 21st century by adopting the DH, saying the National League style of play has been around since the 1800s. Instead of blaming the National League for preserving baseball, how about blaming your coaches for not teaching your pitchers how to run. I see lots of little kids run the bases at Major League Stadiums and not get injured, so why can't a 20 something professional athlete do the same?

The final Hall of Fame game between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres was canceled by rain.

Nascar Update:
Click here to see who is on the entry list for this week's race at Infineon Raceway.

Kyle Busch has decided not to run for both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series championships. While his name is on the Nationwide Series entry list for the Milwaukee 250 at The Milwaukee Mile, a Braun spokesman said Busch will not be traveling from Sonoma, CA (where the Cup race is being held) to Milwaukee to compete in the Nationwide Series race. Good call there Kyle. It's fine to race in both when their held at the same track, but traveling back and forth has started to take a toll on the 23 year old.

Tony Stewart maybe known as well for his aggressive driving on the track as he is for his kindness outside of racing after recently raising $1 million at his Prelude to the Dream race at his Eldora Speedway but his philanthropy has not stopped there. After catastrophic flooding destroyed homes and farms around his hometown of Columbus, Indiana, Stewart decided to donate most of his $137,000 winnings from Sunday's race at Michigan. Click here for the full story.

Popo in my crib News:
It's sad when you read a title that you expect the worse, so when I read that the Radiers' Javon Walker was found unconscious on in Las Vegas, I figured it was because of too much partying but instead, it seems he was the victim of a robbery in which he incurred "significant injuries." At this point a suspect's name has not been released but watch out attacker, because the popo are on your tail!

News&Notes: It took 18 holes and a sudden death for Tiger Woods to walk away with the U.S. Open...It may have taken the rest of the Celtics 12 extra hours to get home, but not Ray Allen who rushed home after his son fell ill. Allen is, however, expected to play in game six aganist the Lakers Tuesday in Boston...North Carolina's Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green have all withdrawn their names from the NBA draft...Former Patriots linebacker Rosevelt Colvin has signed with the Houston Texans.

Check this out: Click here to find out how to survive the summer, TV style!

It's been fun blogging with you,
Kate